US07726560B2
Information such as financial information related to one or more accounts of one or more business units is compiled. The compiled information is converted into a predefined format and is uploaded on a database. One or more views of the information included in the database are generated based on user privileges. Customized views of the information are used by one or more users to monitor the performance of business units.
US07726559B2
An automated banking machine (10) includes a lockable first fascia portion (20) which when unlocked enables access to a chest lock input device (104), inputs to which enable opening a chest door (18) of the machine. Opening the first fascia portion also enables access to an actuator (116) which enables moving a second fascia portion (22) for conducting service activities. A controller (72) in the machine selectively illuminates light emitting devices (118, 126) for purposes of facilitating user operation of the machine. Sensing devices (128) adjacent a card reader slot (28) on the machine enables the controller to detect the presence of unauthorized card reading devices. Servicing the machine is facilitated through use of a portable diagnostic article (98) which enables the controller to access diagnostic data stored in memory and which provides data indicative of the significance of the diagnostic data.
US07726558B1
A method provides for accessing components of an automated banking machine (ATM) housed in the secure enclosure or chest. The chest is adapted for use in either a front-load or a rear-load ATM. AN operable chest door controls access through one of the openings in the chest housing by operation of a locking bolt mechanism. The other opening in the chest housing is semi-permanently closed by a second chest door by operation fo an alternate securing mechanism.
US07726553B2
A stamping device, which in particular is arranged for stamping unfired ceramic substrates, has a die holder device with a plurality of dies, which for activation can be locked to the die holder device and then jointly with it execute an axial stamping motion. A coupling device which is remote-actuated is used for the locking. For the remote transmission of the actuation motion, a flexible mechanical connecting arrangement is used, such as preferably a cable.
US07726541B2
Friction plug welding methods and systems plug a hole extending through a component part from front and back faces thereof. A sacrificial plate having an opening therethrough may be positioned against the back face of the component part with assistance from a restraint part (which is also preferably provided with a space of sufficient dept to receive a terminal end of the male plug) so that the opening is coaxially aligned with the hole to be plugged. Upon advancing a male plug of a plug rod into the hole under friction plug welding conditions, a friction weld region will therefore be formed between the male plug and defining surfaces of both the hole extending through the component part and the opening extending through the sacrificial plate. The plug rod may include an annular shoulder flange which defines a plane parallel to the front face of the component part so that flash flow from the friction welding will be displaced laterally of the hole. The male plug may be frustroconically shaped. An annular arcuate surface may also be provided which joins the male plug to the shoulder flange.
US07726539B2
A surgical stapling apparatus includes a staple cartridge and an anvil member. The staple cartridge includes a plurality of surgical fasteners disposed in rows of retention slots. The staple cartridge may have an annular or linear configuration of retention slots. The tissue contacting surface of the staple cartridge may be tapered or stepped. The anvil member has a tissue contacting surface that includes a number of pockets arranged for substantially aligning with the retention slots. In addition, the tissue contacting surface of the anvil member may complement the tissue contacting surface of the staple cartridge.
US07726531B2
A method for covering a retail display support structure to alter its appearance is provided. The method first includes the step of dispensing a length of covering material from a wound state on a roll. Next, the length of covering material is severed from roll to form a placard of the covering material having a dimension that corresponds to at least one dimension of the retail display support structure. Next, the placard is secured to retail display support structure to cover at least a portion of the retail display support structure. The placard may be secured to the retail display support structure by pushpins that push through the placard and into holes for supporting peg hooks or shelves.
US07726500B2
A hollow plastic container with a separately formed handle engaging the sidewall of the container and supported thereby. The handle includes an elongated portion extending upwardly over the major portion of the longitudinal extent of the sidewall and arm portions extending from the elongated portion towards the sidewall for engagement with the sidewall, wherein the sidewall receives the arm portions and holds the handle in place.
US07726493B2
The invention relates to a method for the recovery of non-ferrous metal-comprising particles from a particle stream. According to the invention, the particle stream is put onto a conveyor belt in the form of a monolayer such that with the aid of a liquid, at least the non-ferrous metal comprising particles will adhere to the conveyor belt, and the mono-layer is subjected to a magnetic field rotating in the same direction as the belt, for the separation of non-ferrous metal-comprising particles, yielding the non-ferrous-enriched fraction, and subsequent to which the metal particles that are not nonferrous adhering to the conveyor belt are removed, yielding the non-ferrous metal-depleted fraction.
US07726492B2
A separator device comprising a housing having an inlet and an outlet, a magnetic separator rod or element being located within the housing to collect and separate from the flow of fluid through the housing magnetic particles carried by the flow of fluid.
US07726490B2
The present invention is directed to a lid unit having a latching mechanism for firmly fixing the lid unit to a container body for containing semiconductor wafers and the like, which latching mechanism can be easily disassembled for cleaning and drying of its components, and to a wafer presser for retaining the semiconductor wafers in position when the container is shaken. The latching mechanism includes a locking member which, when projected, secures the lid unit to the container body; an actuator for moving the locking member between projected and retracted positions; a tip-side cam for pressing a tip portion of the locking member in one direction relative to the lid unit when the locking member is projected by the actuator; a base-end lower cam for pressing a base-end of the locking member in a second direction, opposite the one direction; and a base-end upper cam and a cam projection follower for pressing the base-end in the second direction. The wafer presser is supported by a supporting projection bar formed with its ends thinner than its center portion.
US07726489B2
A packaging box includes a top plate, a bottom plate, two side plates, a front plate, and a rear plate. The packaging box has two shock absorbers extending from the bottom end of the two side plates respectively. Each of the shock absorbers includes a lower surface, a first side surface, an upper surface, and a second side surface extending from the bottom end of the corresponding side plate in sequence. The second side surface is formed opposite to the first side surface and is adjacent to the corresponding side plate.
US07726488B2
A shock absorbing device formed by a foldable card board sheet comprises a base portion, two wings extending perpendicularly from two opposite edges of the base portion, and two flaps extending perpendicularly from another two opposite edges of the base portion. The wings and the flaps are folded perpendicular to the base portion to enclose a space.
US07726485B2
The present invention relates to a switch for use with an article formed from paperboard. The article includes a first panel and a second panel. The first panel and the second panel each have a sliding surface facing one another. The first and the second panels are in sliding relation to one another between a first position and a second position. The switch comprises a conductive pathway disposed on the sliding surface of the first panel and a first contact surface is disposed on the sliding surface of the second panel and a second contact surface is disposed on the sliding surface of the second panel. The second contact surface is in spaced relation to the first contact surface so as to prevent electrical communication between the first and second contact surfaces. The conductive pathway of the first panel is in spaced relation to at least one of the first and second contact surfaces of the second panel when the first and second panels are in the first position. The conductive pathway bridges the first and second contact surfaces when the first and second panels are in the second position to thereby permitting electrical communication between said first and second contact surfaces.
US07726470B2
A packaged orthodontic assembly includes a container with a chamber and an orthodontic appliance received in the chamber. A quantity of a first orthodontic adhesive material is applied by the manufacturer to the base of the orthodontic appliance. A second orthodontic adhesive material is also received in the chamber in initially spaced relationship to the first orthodontic adhesive material. The practitioner can elect to bring the first orthodontic adhesive material into contact with the second orthodontic adhesive material when desired.
US07726464B2
The objective of this invention is to provide an apparatus for forming a stable arrangement of bottles so they can be moved on an inline conveyor system. This is accomplished by an apparatus for nesting bottles comprising a first conveyor having lanes of bottles, and a second conveyor, wherein a fixed number of bottles from each lane is released from each lane in a staggered arrangement to facilitate nesting of the released bottles and then pushing and guiding the released bottles from the first conveyor onto a second conveyor so that the bottles form a nested bundle.
US07726463B2
A unit for grouping packages along a transfer path includes an input station receiving the packages arranged in longitudinal lines parallel to the transfer path; an output station for groups defined by a given number of packages from respective longitudinal lines and aligned in at least one line crosswise to the transfer path; a movable conveying surface, which is fed at predetermined time intervals with a number of packages equal to that of each group, and feeds the packages along the transfer path; and at least one movable member, which is fed cyclically along an operating path having at least one portion parallel to the transfer path, and has an aligning surface, against which, at each cycle, the packages in each group upstream from the movable member come to rest and are aligned in at least one line crosswise to the transfer path; the movable member also has a push surface which, at each cycle, acts on each group of packages downstream from the movable member to push the group out of the unit.
US07726459B2
An escalator step (12) includes a sound barrier material (40) covering over at least a portion of an inner surface (42) of a tread portion(30) and an inner surface (44) of a rise portion (32). In one example, the sound barrier material (40) comprises a sheet of vinyl. The sound barrier material (40) reduces noise radiation from the step (12) toward a cavity (26) within a passenger conveyor support structure (20) and reduces noise emanations from the cavity (26) through the steps (12). Several embodiments for securing the sound barrier material (40) in place are disclosed.
US07726457B2
According to one embodiment of the present invention, a currency processing device for receiving and processing a stack of currency bills is disclosed. The currency processing device comprises an input receptacle for receiving a stack of bills to be processed, a plurality of output receptacles for receiving bills after the bills have been processed, a transport mechanism for transporting the bills from the input receptacle to the output receptacles, and a discriminating unit for examining the bills. The output receptacles are arranged such that a center of at least one output receptacle is laterally offset from a center of the input receptacle. The discriminating unit includes a detector positioned between the input receptacle and the output receptacles and is adapted to determine the denomination of bills.
US07726453B2
A device for controlling the activation of an apparatus by a motor, intended to be inserted between, the operation output of the motor and the operation input of the apparatus whose activation is to be controlled. The device includes: —a blade pump having a rotor, at least one blade carried by this rotor and a rotary body forming a pumping chamber missing an outlet, and one of the component parts, among the rotor and the rotary body, being connected to the operation output of the motor, whilst the other of these component parts is connected to the operation input of the apparatus to be controlled; —and a supply intended to supply liquid to the pumping chamber.
US07726450B2
A shim for use in a braking subassembly comprising a metal backing plate comprising a first side surface, wherein the shim comprises at least one flexible tab extending from an edge thereof for assisting in coupling the shim to the backing plate along a backing plate side surface thereof, and wherein the at least one flexible tab comprises an integrally formed and extending finger therefrom, wherein the finger has a leading edge that frictionally engages the backing plate edge surface when the shim is subjected to a separation force, which, relative to the backing plate, has a directional component at least essentially parallel to and in the same direction as the direction in which the finger extends; whereby the shim is resisted from separating from the first side surface of the backing plate at least in part by the frictional resistance of the leading edge of the finger against the backing plate side surface.
US07726448B2
A distributor element, in particular a feed distributor, is provided for the metering of lubricants for lubricating installations. The element includes a valve piston featuring a bore. The valve piston moves under the pressure of a lubricant operating at a lubricant inlet against the force of a first return spring from a starting position in which the bore releases a connection between a dispensing chamber and a metering chamber via a connecting passage, to a metering position in which the valve piston releases a passage from the lubricant inlet to the connecting passage and therefore to the metering chamber. Furthermore, the distributor element features a dispensing piston which under the effect of a lubricant entering the metering chamber moves against the force of a second return spring from a starting position and thereby pushes the lubricant volume present in the dispensing chamber between the valve piston and the dispensing piston into a lubricant outlet. The valve piston may also be moved into an intermediate position until equalization of pressure has occurred, in which position the valve piston blocks the passage from the lubricant inlet to the connecting passage and therefore to the metering chamber. Upon pressure relief at the lubricant inlet, the valve piston is moved back to its starting position by the first return spring and the dispensing piston is moved back to its starting position by the second return spring.
US07726441B2
There is provided an acoustic vibratory plate having at least first to third laminated bodies layered. In the acoustic vibratory plate, the first and third laminated bodies are formed of a polymer material, and the second laminated body is formed of a polymer material different from the polymer material forming the first and third laminated bodies in dynamic internal loss.
US07726438B2
Disclosed is a hydraulic steering system (100) for a vehicle, especially a mobile working machine, comprising at least two steering cylinders (1, 2) within which two cylinder pistons (3, 4) can be displaced, and a first hydraulic pump (14) that can be adjusted regarding the swept volume. The position or the direction of displacement of the cylinder pistons (3, 4) in the steering cylinders (3, 4) defines the steering angle or the steering direction of the steerable vehicle wheels relative to a body (5) of the vehicle. The displaceable cylinder pistons (3, 4) divide the associated steering cylinder (1, 2) into two respective pressure chambers (6 and 7, 8 and 9). The first connection (46) of the adjustable hydraulic pump (14) is joined to one of the pressure chambers (6 or 7, 8 or 9) of the two steering cylinders (1, 2) according to the steering direction while the second connection (15) thereof is joined to the other respective pressure chamber (6 or 7, 8 or 9) of the two steering cylinders (1, 2) in a closed circuit.
US07726436B2
A torque control element for a steering system in a motor vehicle, and such a steering system are provided. The torque control element includes at least two electrical units, each of the electrical units being assigned a separate power supply unit, connected via at least one fuse.
US07726434B2
A holding fixture for a camera and a method for monitoring the surrounding area of a vehicle, using at least one camera, which is used to draw a holding fixture out of the body shell of a vehicle, as needed. The holding fixture is extended as a function of a speed signal or a transmission-setting signal, and, in addition to a camera, the holding fixture has a further device, in particular a washer device or a trunk handle. Furthermore, the holding fixture can be drawn out as a function of a signal from a control element. Holding fixtures having cameras can be attached at various positions of the vehicle.
US07726430B2
An energy storage type of differential hybrid power distribution system to drive an all wheel driving carrier; a revolution output end of an internal combustion engine (or any other revolution power source) to drive the front wheel through an intermediate transmission and control interface device, and to also drive an input end of the energy storage type of differential hybrid power device to output kinetics to further drive the rear wheel; and an electro-mechanical unit functioning as a generator and a motor being disposed in the energy storage type of differential hybrid power device to regulate the power distribution between the front wheel and the rear wheel by controlling the electro-mechanical unit to operate as a motor or as a generator.
US07726424B2
A motor vehicle includes a chassis, a passenger compartment disposed on the chassis, a control center for remote, controllable equipment, the control center being disposed in the passenger compartment, and a dedicated interface for connecting the control center to the controllable equipment. A method for making a motor vehicle is also disclosed.
US07726421B2
Thermally stable diamond-bonded compacts include a diamond-bonded body having a thermally stable region extending a distance below a diamond-bonded body surface. The thermally stable region comprises a matrix first phase of bonded together diamond crystals, and a second phase interposed within the matrix phase. At least some population of the second phase comprises a reaction product formed between an infiltrant material and the diamond crystals at high pressure/high temperature conditions. The diamond bonded body further includes a polycrystalline diamond region that extends a depth from the thermally stable region and has a microstructure comprising a polycrystalline diamond matrix phase and a catalyst material disposed within interstitial regions of the matrix phase. The compact includes a substrate attached to the diamond-bonded body.
US07726413B2
A tool holder for a powered hammer includes a tool holder housing. An actuator is coupled to the tool holder housing and is moveable among a range of operating positions that include a first position where the actuator locks a tool within the tool holder by engaging a rib on the tool, a second position where the actuator locks a tool within the tool holder by engaging a recess in the tool, and a third position where the actuator allows a tool to be released from the tool holder. An actuator locking mechanism releasably locks the actuator in at least the third position.
US07726409B2
Non-reactive test agents may be used to test fire suppression systems in which reactive fire suppression agents may be used to release catalytic fire suppression agents for transport by naturally occurring flows paths downstream to the vicinity of flame holding regions for fire suppression for example, in aircraft.
US07726382B2
A mold and a die-cast manufacturing method for the die-cast product, in which a main frame which is contiguously formed with a head pipe constitutes a portion of a hollow light-weight-metal-made vehicle-body frame. The mold includes a core for forming an inner space of the hollow vehicle-body frame. The core includes a core body and a plurality of splints mounted on the core body, the splints having approximately elliptical cross-sectional shapes. The long axes direction of ellipses of the splints are set parallel to a mold split surface of the mold. As a result, measurement of the positional accuracy of the splints is facilitated, a clearance between the splint and the mold can decrease by increasing the dimensional accuracy of splint mounting portions of the mold based on sizes of the splints, and the frame can be manufactured with high dimensional accuracy.
US07726381B2
A die-casting machine using an electric servo motor as a driving source for injecting/filling molten metal into a cavity of a mold through an injection sleeve. The molten metal in the injection sleeve is injected/filled into the cavity by an injection member. During the course between the stage when the molten metal has not reached a gate of the mold yet and the stage when the molten metal begins to pass the gate of the mold, the speed of the injection member is controlled to be accelerated in a smooth speed characteristic curve which does not have a broken-line characteristic. Thus, rising to a high injection speed can be attained rapidly and smoothly.
US07726379B2
A device including a tube for winding and unwinding a screen which is controlled in rotation by a gear motor and which is supported on a fixed head and wherein a rotational part mounted within the tube is kinematically linked to rotate with the tube with the part including elements that are used to reflect a position of the rotational part and which elements are detected by senors that are connected to an electronic processing unit. A tightly sealed partition secured to the head is further provided to define, on one side, a first compartment for receiving at least the rotational part and, on the other side, a second compartment for receiving at least the electronic processing unit.
US07726378B1
A door assembly includes multiple door panels arranged in series along laterally spaced tracks, extending laterally between the tracks, and supported for movement on the tracks. A first pair of hinge plates is secured to a first door panel, each member of the first pair being located at an opposite lateral side of the first panel. A second pair of hinge plates is secured to a second door panel, each member of the second pair being located at an opposite lateral side of the second panel. A first release pin alternately disconnects and connects the first and second hinge plates at the first lateral side of the door panels. A second release pin alternately disconnects and connects the first and second hinge plates at the second lateral side of the door panels.
US07726377B2
A screen device in which a screen is provided in a contractable and expandable manner between a pair of screen installation frames, at least one of which is movable in a sliding manner, and the screen can be opened and closed by pulling it sideways, and which has upper guide frames for guiding the screen installation frames while covering their upper end sections. The screen installation frames have, at their upper end sections, fall-down prevention guide sections. The upper guide frames have, in their insides, guide rail projections which prevent, by holding the fall-down prevention guide sections, the upper end sections of the screen installation frames from coming out of the upper guide frames.
US07726366B2
A wood planing machine includes a base adapted to permit a workpiece to be moved thereon in a front-to-rear direction, a plurality guide posts fixed on the base, a mounting seat sleeved movably on the guide posts, a motor disposed on the mounting seat, and a cutting unit disposed on the mounting seat. The cutting unit includes a rough-plane cutter, a fine-plane cutter disposed behind the rough-plane cutter, a first transmission unit interconnecting the motor and the rough-plane cutter to allow the rough-plane cutter to be driven by the motor, and a second transmission unit interconnecting the rough-plane cutter and the fine-plane cutter to allow rotation of the rough-plane cutter to be transferred to the fine-plane cutter.
US07726365B2
An electric pencil sharpener includes a motor, a transmission subassembly and a cutter subassembly driven by the motor, a feeding subassembly and at least one resilient adjusting means. The feeding subassembly includes a feeding gear set coupled to the transmission subassembly and two feeding rollers adapted to sandwich a pencil to be sharpened, at least one feeding roller is driven by the feeding gear set. The pair of brackets is arranged in parallel, respectively defining slide ways to movablely support the feeding rollers. A feeding space is defined between the two brackets. The at least one resilient adjusting means connects the two feeding rollers outside or inside the feeding space, adapted for keeping the feeding rollers nipping the pencil and engendering a pencil feeding friction.
US07726363B2
A filler tube assembly for use in a system having vapor recirculation includes a check valve having a flapper that is responsive to the viscosity of fluid around the flapper and/or a differential pressure across the flapper. The assembly also includes a nozzle chamber formed in the filler neck that has a constant diameter to ensure consistent vacuum generation regardless of fuel nozzle length.
US07726360B2
Fuel supply station information distributing system includes at least one vehicle, an information distributing server and at least one station, which are interconnected through communication line networks. The information distributing server transmits at every given time a request-to-send for vehicle information to the vehicles as well as a request-to-send for station information to the stations. The information distributing server then creates a fuel supply station information associating for each vehicle based on the vehicle information received from the vehicle and the station information received from the stations, and distributes it to the vehicle. When the vehicle receives the fuel supply station information from the information distributing server, it is displayed on the car navigation screen for notifying the driver.
US07726354B2
A container lid assembly (2) that includes an integral pump (6P) so as to create pressure differential within a container. This pressure differential may be lower than atmospheric pressure so as to be at least a partial vacuum within the container. Alternatively, the pressure differential may be a state of higher than atmospheric pressure within the container. There are several features of the present invention that can be used in synergy, but are of value when implemented separately. These features include a pump configuration (120) that activates the reciprocating linear motion of the piston (10) by the rotational movement of a pump actuating element; a contents-dispensing mechanism (150) for removing contents from the container while maintaining the at least a partial vacuum within the container, a vacuum indicator, and a filter configured to filter the gases entering the pump from the interior of the container.
US07726351B2
A device for inserting of weft threads in an air jet weaving machine comprising at least one set of main nozzles (13, 14) which are mounted in series, and to which individual regulating valves (21, 22) are assigned, is provided with a control and regulating unit (17) which defines the individual settings of the regulating valves (21, 22) with respect to one another, in order to form an overall value for the intensity of the impulse transmission of the set of main nozzles with each regulating valve contributing a proportion of the overall impulse intensity.
US07726345B2
A flexible cable may include an elongated shaped strip helically wound around itself to form a generally tubular body having at least one interior passageway and at least one conductor at least partially disposed within the interior passageway. The elongated shaped strip may include a non-rectangular cross-sectional thickness having a central portion disposed between a first and a second end portion. The first and second end portions may extend generally outwardly from the central portion from generally opposite sides. At least a portion of the central portion may include a cross-sectional thickness TC which is less than a maximum cross-sectional thickness TM of the elongated shaped strip. The first and second end portions may include a first and a second cross-section thickness TS1, TS2, respectively, wherein at least one of the first and second cross-section thicknesses TS1, TS2 is greater than the cross-sectional thickness TC.
US07726344B2
The disclosure relates to a device for dynamic adjustment of a water flow, used to stabilize the operational mode of a thermostatic mixing tap. The inventive device includes a valve consisting of a piston and a return spring forcing the piston into a first position, said piston being displaced into two positions according to the flow. When the flow is lower than a threshold value, the piston is located in the first position and a flow limited means limits the flow. When the flow exceeds the threshold value, the piston is displaced into the second position and the flow limiting means is obviated.
US07726342B2
A backup valve for use with a pool cleaner coupled to a source of water under pressure. The valve includes a housing having an inlet and at least a first outlet and a second outlet. The valve further includes a timing apparatus directing water from said inlet to the first outlet or the second outlet. In addition, an adjustable flow controller over the second outlet is provided to increase the flow speed of fluid exiting the outlet.
US07726338B2
A valve comprises a housing and at least three ceramic discs in the housing such that at least two fixed ceramic discs are provided and at least one rotatable ceramic disc is provided between the fixed ceramic discs. The ceramic discs comprise through holes such that when the holes are aligned, the valve is open, and turning the rotatable ceramic disc turns the holes to be misaligned in successive ceramic discs, which prevents water flow through the valve. The valve further comprises a handle for rotating a rotatable ceramic disc and the handle comprises a stem extending through the housing, and a curved part, the curved part curving at least partly around the housing along the circumference of the housing.
US07726330B2
The invention relates to an air core filling system for reclining or seating furniture, for example, for a mattress, an armchair, a car seat, a piece of camping furniture or similar, comprising an air core and an integrated air core filling system, reacting to a load, which independently, supplies a dosed amount of air into the air core, in order to maintain the same at a given adjustable pressure in the non-loaded state. Said air core filling system comprises an air pump system (3) with at least two separate chambers (2, 6) and control system (17), whereby the first chamber (2) is directly connected to the air core by a line (1) and a second chamber (6) is connected to the air core by a line (7) through a pressure regulation valve (13) and to the ambient air by a line (9). The air pump system (3) is preferably embodied in the form of a double-chamber bellows, whereby the chambers (2, 6) have a common defining surface (4), on which a return device, for example, a spring (5), acts, in order to almost completely empty the chambers (2, 6) on relief of the air core.
US07726327B2
A walker includes a universal mount adapted to interchangeably receive multiple different attachments useful for a patient using the walker. A single walker may have an array of attachments adapted to be interchangeably used by a particular user. Alternatively, a care provider may stock a single walker available for use by many different patients, because individual needs may be met by the different attachments that may be interchangeably used with the mount on the single walker.
US07726323B2
A device for liquid treatment of a defined area of a wafer-shaped article, especially of a wafer, near the edge, in which the liquid is applied to a first surface, flows essentially radially to the outside to the peripheral-side edge of the wafer-shaped article and around this edge onto the second surface, the liquid wetting a defined section near the edge on the second surface and thereupon being removed from the wafer-shaped article.
US07726318B2
A flexible, relatively flat and thin patch, optionally made of biodegradable material, substantially attenuates ionizing radiation from normal but sensitive anatomy during radio-therapy, particularly breast brachytherapy. The patch is of such a thickness as to substantially attenuate radiation by distance or consists of a material that has been formulated with radio-attenuating filler or is of radio-attenuating material. An alternative version consists of a thin patch that is coated with radio-attenuating material.
US07726317B1
An apparatus to protect a body and facial piercing and its affected area during a healing period, has a body assembly. The body assembly has top and bottom faces, an exterior wall, and an interior wall. The body assembly further defines a cavity that extends inwardly from the interior wall. A permeable cover covers the top face and the cavity to allow ambient-air to enter and circulate therethrough. This allows healing of a body or facial piercing, and specifically the opening created by the piercing, and the surrounding area around the piercing. A removable cover covers the bottom face and the cavity. The bottom face has an adhesive, and the removable cover is removably attached to the bottom face.
US07726315B2
A closed system suction catheter has a catheter enclosed within a flexible envelope secured between a patient end fitting and a machine end fitting. The patient end fitting has a cleaning chamber with a valve at its patient side and is normally closed so that the cleaning chamber is isolated from the patient. The valve has an outer rigid housing enclosing a one-piece elastomeric moulding of tubular shape. The elastomeric moulding has two pads projecting externally through openings in the outer housing. The elastomeric moulding also has a web extending internally across its diameter with a diametrically-extending slit aligned with the pads. A collar mounted on the housing is slidable along the housing to engage the pads so as to apply pressure across the web and open the slit, thereby allowing the catheter to be advanced to the patient.
US07726300B2
A fireplace including a backlighting system. The backlighting system can be positioned in a back portion of the bottom panel of the fireplace. The backlighting system includes at least one light source to shine light upon the components of the fireplace. For example, the light source can be positioned to shine light on a back panel of the fireplace. The light source of the backlighting system can be modulated depending on a state of the fireplace. For example, the light source can be turned on or off depending on whether the flame of the fireplace is on or off.
US07726298B2
A method and apparatus for heating a liquid storage tank includes a liquid storage tank having an interior and a peripheral sidewall. An engine compartment is appended to the peripheral sidewall in front of the heat tube. An engine is disposed in the engine compartment. Heat given off from the engine during operation heats the engine compartment and such heat is transferred through peripheral sidewall to the interior of the liquid storage tank. An exhaust conduit extends into the interior of the liquid storage tank. Heat from hot exhaust gases passing through the exhaust conduit heats the interior of the liquid storage tank.
US07726296B2
A drywell table includes a top frame defining at least one opening configured to receive a serving pan therethrough and a heating plate disposed below the top frame. The drywell table also includes at least two heating fins extending between the heating plate and the top frame, and defining at least one row configured to receive the pan therein, wherein heat is transferred from the heating plate and heating fins to the serving pan via a sufficiently small air gap defined between the heating plate, heating fins and the serving pan, wherein the gap minimizes convection and radiation.
US07726293B2
A continuous firing type trigger structure of a toy gun (air soft gun/BB-gun) includes a valve body disposed behind the output port of a magazine clip in air communication with the gas outlet of a high-pressure gas can, an enclosed socket connected to the rear side of the valve body, a valve tube inserted through the valve body, a spring that pushes the valve tube forwards to keep the air inlet of the valve tube not in communication with the inside space of the valve body, and a piston inserted into the enclosed socket and fixedly connected to a sliding shell on the outside of the toy gun such that the valve tube is moved with the piston forwards (or backwards) to let a high pressure gas be discharged out of the high-pressure gas can into the valve tube to drive an airsoft gun out of the toy gun and to force the piston and the sliding shell backwards after triggering of the trigger of the toy gun, for enabling the piston and the sliding shell to be immediately returned by a return spring for a next firing operation. A hammer is pivoted to the toy gun and releasably secured in place by a spring-supported sear for firing one single airsoft bullet per each hammering action.
US07726291B2
A device is provided for releasing a spear shaft of a spear gun for scuba diving or the like. The shaft has a latch element formed on a first lever pivotally connected at its front end to a screw attached to and integrally with a frame of the gun, the lever being maintained elastically in a resting position. The gun has a trigger with an abutment portion forced elastically against the front end of the first lever extending forward of a convex upper surface. The convex upper surface intersects a concave surface at an edge that traces a first circular trajectory when the trigger is rotated. A second lever is rotatably connected to the frame, the front end of the second lever being movable along a second circular trajectory intersecting the first circular trajectory. An arm of the second lever extends so as to intersect the trajectory of the spear shaft when it is loaded in the gun, such that the shaft abuts the latch element first, thereby moving the first lever away from its resting position, until it engages a shaped cavity of the shaft, and subsequently abuts the arm of the second lever. This causes the second lever to turn until it abuts the first lever in line with the latch element, simultaneously raising its front end up to and against the convex surface of the trigger. The front end of the first lever is slidingly connected to a screw, such that the first lever may be variably displaced, thereby adjusting the force applied by the second lever to the trigger.
US07726287B2
Method and device for controlling a valve for recycling gases burned during an engine starting phase
A method carried out by a control device, the method holding a valve EGR completely opened during a determined short time after a starting phase of a diesel engine, which is provided with an EGR recirculation, and controlling the valve EGR in a partially closed state during the starting time of the engine to increase the engine speed to a threshold speed corresponding to the end of the starting phase. The control is progressively carried out according to a determined closing instruction via a calibration by using data representative of engine speed and ambient temperature. The dynamically controlled recirculation makes it possible, in particular, to accumulate more fuel at the staring phase without increasing injected quantities, to increase the speed of engine actuated by a starter, and to avoid engine blocking.
US07726282B2
A direct injection spark ignition internal combustion engine includes a fuel injector for directly injecting fuel into a cylinder and intensifies a tumble flow using the fuel injected into the cylinder bore at a time near an intake stroke bottom dead center during homogenous combustion. The thrust force of the fuel injected from the fuel injector is set to intensify the tumble flow based on at least one of the state of the combustion chamber, the temperature of the injected fuel, and the orientation of the injection hole.
US07726278B2
In order to accurately detect an abnormal state of a rotation direction detection unit for detecting a rotation direction of a crank shaft, provided is an internal combustion engine control apparatus including: a rotation detection unit including the rotation direction detection unit for detecting the rotation direction of the crank shaft of an engine to output a rotation direction signal, and a rotation speed detection unit for outputting a pulse signal according to a rotation speed of the crank shaft; a stop position calculation unit for calculating, based on an output from the rotation detection unit, a stop position of the crank shaft when the engine stops; and an abnormal state detection unit for detecting the abnormal state of the rotation direction detection unit when an actual rotation direction of the crank shaft differs from the rotation direction of the crank shaft based on the rotation direction signal.
US07726277B2
A homogeneous charge compression ignition engine is fueled within a warm-up region of engine temperatures using a minimally defined fuel mass schedule and injection timings and simple interpolative techniques.
US07726276B2
In a method for adapting variations in cylinder-selective injection quantities of a direct injection system of an internal combustion engine with a plurality of cylinders, factorial and additive adaptive values are determined in order to be able to reliably adjust a given lambda value for the entire engine even in the event of a multiple injection.
US07726269B2
A glow plug includes: a tubular body (2) having at one of its ends a plug head as well as a fixing zone including elements (12, 13) for being fixed in a bore, an arm (4) mounted on the body (2) of the plug at the end opposite to the plug head, and a pressure sensor (8) sealingly insulated from the corresponding cylinder. The arm (4) is fixed to an elastically deformable tubular zone (17) designed to project inside the cylinder. The pressure sensor (8) is mounted between the arm (4) and a support component (18) fixed inside the tubular body (2).
US07726267B2
A cylinder liner for an internal combustion engine, especially a gasoline motor, in which a piston can move between a lower and an upper dead center in an axial direction K, and the cylinder liner has a thrust collar, by which the cylinder liner can be fixed in a housing of the internal combustion engine, and there is provided a recess at the cylinder head end, in which there is installed an insert ring with a height hR, while the thrust collar of the liner has a height hB which is between 65% and 100% or between 83% and 95% or 100% of the height hR of the insert ring.
US07726266B2
A cooling circuit comprises a cylinder block and a cylinder head block, these blocks each including cooling elements the form of integrated portions of circuit. The cooling circuit also includes at least a first, a second and a third separate external loops for external recirculation or reinjection mounted in parallel and looped on the integrated cooling elements. A circulating pump is connected fluidically to the integrated cooling element and to the three recirculation loops causing the fluid to circulate in the integrated cooling element and in the three recirculation loops. The at least three recirculation loops offer at least one common fluid node and are at least partially overlapping. A single actuator controls the flow of liquid circulating in the at least three recirculation loops.
US07726265B2
Fuel tank system for a direct ethanol injection octane boosted gasoline engine. The system includes a gasoline engine and a main fuel tank that contains a mix of gasoline and gasoline E85. A smaller secondary tank is provided to contain ethanol or E85. An injector directly injects in a separately controlled fashion ethanol or E85 into a cylinder of the engine to boost octane. A control module controls the relative amounts of gasoline and ethanol used and structure is provided for fueling the main and secondary fuel tanks.
US07726262B2
A device for application on an animal for deterring the animal from wound licking is provided. The device includes a flexible first layer of material and a deterrent composition in contact with the flexible first layer of material. A layer of adhesive is connected with the flexible first layer of material, and a second layer of material is connected with the layer of adhesive opposite the flexible first layer of material. A method for deterring an animal from licking a wound is also provided.
US07726253B2
The invention relates to a method of manufacturing a fiber mat adapted for use in the manufacture of a fiber-reinforced device, said fiber mat comprising at least two essentially longitudinally extending and parallel batches of fibers. Novel aspects of the method according to the invention involves that the method comprises that the batches are joined by holder means that span above or below each batch, whereby the holder means impart an influence to each batch which is essentially symmetrical about an axis situated longitudinally between the batches. A symmetrical influence about an axis longitudinally between the batches accomplishes that influence from one side is matched by influence from an opposite side. Hereby it is prevented that the batch will undulate. Simultaneously the batches are clearly separated, whereby resin is more easily conducted longitudinally of the batches.
US07726251B1
A seeding machine having a plurality of row units and a processing circuit. Each of the row units have a seed metering device, a seed placement device and a sensor suitable to detect a parameter related to seed placement. The seed metering device includes a metering member providing a metering action to a plurality of seeds. The seed placement device receives the seeds from the seed metering device. A seed meter drive controller receives an index signal from the sensor on the row unit as well as a reference pulse signal. The processing signal of the drive controllers compares the index signal to the reference signal. Each drive controller is selectively programmable to control an associated motor of the meter drive to produce a desired relationship between the row unit index signal and the reference signal thereby synchronizing the seed placement among two or more rows. block diagram illustrating an alternative arrangement of the meter drive and control system components.
US07726250B2
A method of managing timberland that utilizes multiple genetic crops. The method comprises planting within a plot of land a first genetic crop in a substantially linear pattern. This first genetic crop is selected for yielding trees with high lumber values. The first genetic crop is planted at a first crop spacing and at a first row spacing that is beneficial to yielding trees with high lumber value. Interplanted along the substantially linear pattern is a second genetic crop. The second genetic crop is selected for yielding trees for other than lumber value. The second genetic crop is planted at a second crop spacing that is shorter than the first crop spacing. Pruning the first genetic crop occurs at a time such that the final value of the first genetic crop will be maximized. Harvesting of the second genetic crop occurs at a time when either the final value of the first genetic crop will be maximized or the final value of the second genetic crop is high. The second genetic crop is harvested at a time when the second genetic crop is about 8 to 14 years old. The first genetic crop is harvested at a time when the first genetic crop is 20 to 30 years old.
US07726249B2
This invention relates to an apparatus and a method for at least partially isolating a zone of an industrial furnace. The apparatus includes a hanger block and a hanger clamp. The method includes removably mounting a hanger block with respect to a furnace structure. A hanger clamp is engaged with the hanger block. A curtain structure is mounted in the hanger block, and the hanger clamp is mounted to an adjustable support or mechanism.
US07726248B2
A plastic pallet comprising an upper plastic sheet and a lower plastic sheet. The lower sheet has a generally rectangular configuration, including sidewalls and end walls, and includes a plurality of separate parallel upwardly opening longitudinally extending U-shaped grooves extending from end to end of the sheet and a plurality of downwardly opening U-shaped grooves interspersed between the upwardly opening grooves and opening in the end walls of the sheet. The upper sheet defines a top wall and a plurality of upwardly opening U-shaped protrusions extending downwardly from the top wall and sized to nest within the upwardly opening grooves of the lower sheet, whereby the sheets may be fused together to form double thickness U-shaped wall structures at the interfaces of the protrusions and the upwardly opening grooves. The pallet further includes a pair of longitudinally extending metallic beams positioned between the upper and lower sheets.
US07726247B2
A dual-use automobile-boat storage pallet, having a structural support framework of generally rectangular shape with first and second side members and a plurality of cross-members. The storage pallet includes an apparatus for holding a boat that is width adjustable and height adjustable and includes a plurality of folding bunks that are mounted on and supported by two or more of the cross-members. The storage pallet includes an apparatus for holding a car, which includes a first automobile tread plate and a second automobile tread plate supported by the first and second side members of the structural support framework. The dual-use automobile storage pallet can include an optional pair of forklift tine guides.
US07726246B2
The present invention comprises a tamping tool comprising a shank and a blade, with the blade having various arrangements of wear-resistant material affixed to the face of the blade by means of brazing, soldering, gluing or other method. Additionally, some arrangements of the tamping tool have a wear-resistant tip inserted into a groove in the end of the blade. The tamping tool of the present invention reduces wear, providing an increased life and increasing the time intervals at which it becomes necessary to replace the tamping tool.
US07726240B2
A cleaning apparatus includes a liquid supply device and cleaning unit. The liquid supply device supplies a transfer liquid to a first cylinder. The transfer liquid supplied from the liquid supply device to the first cylinder is transferred to a transfer target body which comes into contact with the first cylinder. The cleaning unit comes into contact with and cleans the first cylinder. The cleaning unit is arranged downstream of a contact position where the first cylinder is in contact with the transfer target body in a rotational direction of the first cylinder, and upstream of a liquid receiving position where the first cylinder receives a liquid supplied from the liquid supply device in a rotational direction of the first cylinder.
US07726231B2
A lightweight, inexpensive, corrosion proof, utility pump having a flexible member forming a sliding interference fit with a pump rod with the flexible member confined between a pump rod bushing and an end cap to prevent leakage and a method of converting an inexpensive utility pump from a leaking condition to a non leaking condition without having to modify the existing components of the utility pump.
US07726224B1
A crown molding cutting aid apparatus includes a panel that has a top side, a bottom side, a front edge, a back edge, a first side edge and a second side edge. The panel has a slot therein extending into the back edge. The back edge has a first notch and a second notch extending therein. The first and second notches are positioned on opposite sides of the slot. The notches are each angled away from the slot. The panel has a plurality of elongated apertures extending therethrough. Each of a plurality of fasteners is removably positionable through one of the apertures and into a table of a miter saw so that the panel is releasably secured to the table.
US07726217B2
The self-adjusting locking pliers include a fixed assembly having a fixed jaw supported at one end. A moveable jaw is pivotably supported on the fixed assembly at a slidable pivot connection. The slidable pivot connection includes a pawl provided with teeth. A rack of teeth includes first and second sets of teeth offset from one another by 1/2 of the pitch that may each be engaged by the teeth formed on pawl. A lever is attached to the fixed assembly and a linkage transmits a force applied to the lever to the jaws and locks the jaws in the clamping position. The linkage allows the angle between the links to be preset to thereby control the clamping force applied to the work piece. The movable jaw is selectively attached to the linkage in one two positions such that the jaw span may be adjusted without affecting the geometry of the linkage.
US07726216B2
A structural component, especially a shielding component, has structural parts (10, 12, 14, 16, 18) at least in part differently configured with respect to their surface extent and/or the directional pattern. At least one structural part (10) of a first type is provided with a curvature and with a longitudinal orientation. Structural parts (12) of a second type at least in part follow that curvature. Since the structural part (10) of the first type is designed as a shell and since the structural parts (12) of the second type are combined in pairs into groups (20, 22) and extend transversely to the longitudinal orientation of the structural part (10) of the first type, the edge area is strengthened by an additional structural part. The additional structural part is an integral component of the shielding body and does not need mounting-bracket parts positioned on the edge side.
US07726208B2
A combined steering angle and torque sensor that inductively and with eddy current damping generates two absolute angle measurement signals over an angle range of 360 degrees including a first damping rotor being disposed on an end of an input shaft of steering column divided by a torsion element; a second damping rotor being disposed on an end of an output shaft of the steering column; at least one carrier being fixed to a housing of the steering column and through which the steering column passes at a right angle, the at least one carrier being fitted with flat coils in a complete angle range; and at least one passive actuating element, without periodically repeated structures, being borne on each of said first and second damping rotors, the actuating elements being in two different locations of said angle range acting on the flat coils of the at least one carrier.
US07726201B2
A system includes a first shedder that is at least partially disposed in a fluid conduit and that generates vortices within the fluid conduit, a first flow sensor system that is responsive to the vortices generated by the first shedder and a second flow sensor system that is responsive to the vortices generated by the first shedder. The system further includes a second shedder that is at least partially disposed in the fluid conduit, that generates vortices within the fluid conduit, and that is separated from the first shedder by a distance. A third flow sensor system is responsive to the vortices generated by the second shedder.
US07726200B2
An integratable sensor for an airfoil of an aircraft such as an airplane and a helicopter comprises a sensor capsule, in whose inner chamber a measuring element for measuring an environmental parameter is situated. A capsule carrier is implemented to accommodate and removably attach the sensor capsule and is integratable in an airfoil of an airplane or a helicopter. Elastic contact elements are used for secure electrical connection of the sensor capsule to the capsule carrier. The sensor capsule is replaceable, while the capsule carrier is permanently integrated in the airfoil, in particular in a rotor blade. The measuring element is, for example, a pressure sensor.
US07726197B2
A low cost force sensor package and a method of forming such a package. The force sensor has a housing or package, such as a surface mount technology package (SMT), and a piezo resistive silicon die, or other force sensing element, carried on the housing or package. An actuator is operably coupled to the force sensing element for transferring force to the sensing element in response to receiving a force from an external source. The force sensing element is configured to sense the external force and generate an output signal representing the force. A signal conditioner is also carried on the housing for receiving the output signal. When the signal conditioner is electrically coupled to the force sensing element, the signal conditioner can condition the output signal and generate a conditioned output.
US07726194B2
A vibration test device for an electronic device(40) includes a test platform (10), and at least a pair of holders (20) attached to the platform. The test platform is capable of vibrating along any predetermined direction, and at any predetermined frequency. Each of the holders includes a pair of parallel base brackets(22) attached to the platform, and a mounting bracket(24) attached to the base brackets for mounting the electronic device. The holders and the electronic device are capable of vibrating together with the test platform.
US07726191B2
A method for ultrasonic testing of an object, wherein at least one test moment an ultrasonic test signal (S1, S2) is transmitted into the object (2), while after a particular verification period (Δt1, Δt2) measured from said test moment, an ultrasonic verification signal (S1′, S2′) is transmitted into the object (2), a possible echo of said test signal (S1, S2) being received from said object (2) at a particular first measuring moment, the possible echo being accepted as being the echo (E1, E2) of said test signal (S1, S2) only when the echo (E1′, E2′) of the verification signal is received at a particular second measuring moment. In addition, the invention provides an apparatus, evidently intended and designed for carrying out such a method and a use of such an apparatus.
US07726190B2
A speaker unit has a plurality of sound sources each outputting a sound wave. The compressional, sound wave output from the speaker unit arrives, or vibrates air, which moves a movable part of a three-axis acceleration sensor, or a microstructure of a chip to be tested TP. As the movable part thus moves, a value in resistance accordingly varies, and such variation is measured as based on an output voltage provided via a probe. A control unit determines a property of the three-axis acceleration sensor from a value in property as measured or measurement data. Furthermore, the plurality of sound sources can be spaced by a pitch of a predetermined value set as based on their difference in the distance to the movable part of the three-axis acceleration sensor and the wavelength of the test wave to apply a composite test wave to the movable part such that the composite sound wave's composite sound field is maximized.
US07726189B2
A micromechanical resonator having an actuator configured to provide an excitation, a second component configured to move within a plane at a second frequency in response to the excitation of the actuator, and a first component coupled with the second component such that the movement of the second component at the second frequency induces resonant excitation of the first component that is substantially completely out of the plane.
US07726183B2
In order to make it possible to also mount an original exhaust system (10) substantially leading away from the internal combustion engine (2) below the output axle (7) parallel to the extension thereof in a test rig for internal combustion engines (2), the driving engine or load generator (4) is mounted in a suspended manner at a certain vertical distance from the pedestal (1) on a support arrangement (6) mounted thereon, with the input axle (8) being substantially aligned with the output axle (7) of the internal combustion engine (2) that is to be tested, whereby the space from below the interference contour (9) of the driving engine or load generator (4) to the pedestal remains free for the passage of the exhaust system (10).
US07726178B2
System for the non invasive control of the tightness condition of apparatus, in particular of the constancy of said condition of m homogenous series, each one of n apparatus, which in the absence of said pressure constancy would have not acceptable, not uniform characteristics and performances, especially of electronic mechanical, hydraulic and similar apparatus. The system includes (a) a first sub system including a pneumatic chamber, set at a sampling reference pressure, for the pressure control of each one of said n apparatus of each one of said m homogenous series; (b) a second sub system of treatment and feeding of pneumatic fluid to said chamber in order to support and stabilize said reference pressure; and (c) a third sub system of comparison and detection of undesired deviations over said reference pressure, of the detected pressure in the chamber occupied, on turn, by each one of the n apparatus of each of the m series.
US07726177B2
An apparatus for sensing a constituent in an environment including a sensor circuit and a suppression circuit. The sensor circuit has a sensor element and an operating state control element. The sensor element senses the constituent by presenting an electrical parameter which varies as a function of a degree of the constituent. The control element maintains the sensor at a preferred operating state. A detected electrical parameter of said sensor element is subject to error resulting from a leakage of electrical current between the control element and the sensor element. The suppression circuit reduces or stops the leakage to reduce the error.
US07726171B2
A device (1) for calibrating geometrical measurements of surgical tools (10) as well as for orienting the same in space, including: A) a docking station (2) having two jaws (3) and a surface (21); and B) at least three marking indicators (9) firmly attached to the docking station (2) and capable of being measured, in reference to their position in space, electromagnetically or acoustically through a position detecting device (14), where C) the jaws (3) each have a lateral wall (40) so that the surface (21) and the lateral walls (21) of the two jaws (3) enclose a U-shaped passage (18), where D) the two jaws are conformed in a cylindrical or double conical manner; and E) the two lateral walls (40) or the surface (21) present a form comprising at least two additional contact points for a surgical tool (10) inserted between the jaws (3) across its longitudinal axis (11).
US07726166B2
A multi-step press system includes a press that consists of a press frame, a table provided on the press frame and a ram provided above the table for making movement in a Z-axis direction. The table has a standby station into which workpieces are loaded one by one and a plurality of press-forming stations in which the workpieces are sequentially press-formed. The system further includes a press die set consisting of a lower die attached to the table and an upper die attached to the ram. The lower die and the upper die are adapted to simultaneously press-form the workpieces placed in the press-forming stations. On one side of the press, there is provided a destacker for periodically loading the workpieces into the standby station. A transfer feeder is provided between the table and the ram for simultaneously picking up and transferring the workpieces.
US07726160B2
An automatic cycle storage system comprising a plurality of cycles, each of which carries a locking member designed to be received in a keeper of a locking station. Each cycle includes an anti-theft cycle lock which, when it is in the position in which it immobilizes the cycle, prevents the cycle from being locked to a locking station.
US07726158B2
A damper pin in a drum type washing machine is disclosed. The present invention includes a cabinet forming an exterior of the drum type washing machine, a tub provided within the cabinet, a damper having one end connected to the tub and the other end rotatably connected to the cabinet, a damper pin rotatably joining the damper to the cabinet to have prescribed elasticity, and an elastic member provided within the damper pin. Therefore, the present invention prevents the damper pin from being loosened for duration, thereby reducing noise and abrasion in driving the drum type washing machine.
US07726156B2
Proposed is a sinker (2) provided with a region (23) of reduced thickness on its working part (9). As a result, a clearance space is created on at least one side of the sinker (2). This clearance space makes it possible to reduce the distance between the sinker (2) and the latch needle (3) or to reduce the wear between these two elements. The clearance space furthermore does not change the distance between the sinker and the latch needle on the other side of the sinker. The sinker (2) according to the invention preferably has a clearance space on both sides, so that this sinker can be used in circular knitting machines which are designed for both rotational directions.
US07726153B2
An object of the present invention is to provide a method for manufacturing a glass particle deposited body in which a taper portion formed at an end portion of the glass particle deposited body is reduced without increasing the number of burners.The invention allows the glass particle deposited body to be manufactured in such a manner that a plurality of glass particle synthesizing burners are arranged to be opposed to a rotating starting rod, wherein the starting rod and the glass particle synthesizing burners are relatively reciprocated to move a turn-back location of reciprocating movement in a certain direction, and then move the turn-back location of reciprocating movement in the reverse direction if the turn-back location is moved to a predetermined position, until each burner is returned to an initial position, which operation is defined as one set of operation, with an average reciprocating movement distance of one set being less than double a burner-to-burner interval, whereby the glass particles are deposited on the starting rod by repeating one set of operation.
US07726152B2
A releasable and separable magnetic clasp for a body-part encircling article of jewelry, such as a bracelet or necklace, or the article of jewelry itself comprising such clasp, the main body of the article being of semi-rigid, non-articulated construction and having an inherently curved configuration, and composed of one or more cables, braids or bundled wires or fibers. The clasp comprises a pair of ferrules joined to the main body. The ferrules are axially curved to match the inherent curve of the main body. A curved insertion member having a first magnet extends from one of the ferrules and is received by a bore present in the other ferrule, and a second magnet or magnetically receptive metal member is disposed within the bore, such that with the two ferrules joined the first magnet abuts the second magnet or metal member in order to maintain the clasp in the closed configuration.
US07726145B2
A temperature control unit for an electronic component and a handler apparatus, which are excellent in responsibility during cooling and heating, is obtained. The temperature control unit for an electronic component includes a cooling cycle device having a refrigerant passage circulating through a compressor, a condenser, an expander, and an evaporator; a thermally conductive block having an outer surface capable of coming in contact with the electronic component that is an object to be temperature-controlled, where an inner surface corresponding to the outer surface is placed opposite to the outer surface so as to be brought in contact with or apart from the evaporator; at least one first heater for heating the thermally conductive block; and a compressed air feeding circuit for feeding compressed air between facing surfaces of the evaporator and the thermally conductive block to part them.
US07726140B2
A humidity control method is provided for a multi-stage cooling system having two or more refrigerant circuits. A hot gas re-heat circuit having a hot gas re-heat coil, an evaporator and a compressor, such as the evaporator and compressor utilized in one of the refrigerant circuits, is provided. The hot gas re-heat coil is placed in fluid communication with the output airflow from the evaporator of the re-heat circuit. Humidity control is performed during cooling operations and ventilation operations. During a first stage cooling operation using only one refrigerant circuit and having a low cooling demand, the request for humidity control activates the hot gas re-heat circuit for dehumidification and activates a second refrigerant circuit to provide cooling capacity. During a second stage cooling operation using multiple refrigerant circuits and having a high cooling demand, the request for humidity control is suspended until completion of the second stage cooling demand.
US07726138B2
A water production system (1) for making potable water (7) in an environment of humid tropical air (6) and cold deep ocean water (8) comprising a heat exchanger (2), means for controlling (3) the volume of the deep ocean water (2) passing through the heat exchanger (2) based on the amount of heat absorbed by the heat exchanger (2) in the process of condensing water vapor (7a) from the humid air (6), and means for enhancing (4) the rate of at which water vapor (7a) is condensed including a positive air pressure dome (9) system for enhancing the humidity, condensation rate, and water quality, and a continuous coil (2a) disposed in the flow of humid air (6) to condense additional potable water (7), and means for vibrating (38) elements of the system to increase condensation.
US07726137B2
A method and apparatus for ensuring a user to change a filter dryer of a refrigerant recovery unit having a refrigerant determining module that is configured to determine a condition of the refrigerant or an amount of refrigerant that has passed through the filter dryer, or a condition of the filter dryer, an alert device that notifies the user to change the filter dryer in response to the condition, a pressure module that regulates the pressure in the filter dryer, and a pressure-sensing device that is configured to detect a change of pressure in response to filter dryer maintenance. The refrigerant recovery unit is disabled from recovering refrigerant when the refrigerant determining module determines that the filter dryer needs to be replaced, and it is activated in response to the change of pressure detected by the pressure-sensing device.
US07726135B2
The invention provides an energy transfer apparatus having an energy transfer chamber (optionally bounded by an energy transfer tube) in which rotating flow is established. Preferably, the apparatus has a cold-fluid-discharge end and a hot-fluid-discharge end. Also provided are methods of using such apparatuses.
US07726134B2
A method for performing maintenance on a gas turbine engine assembly includes unplugging a first connector from a first socket, the first connector electrically coupled to the engine control unit, the first socket electrically coupled to the hydromechanical unit, plugging a second connector into the first socket, the second connector electrically coupled to a driver simulator, cranking the engine core to a low speed value, and operating the driver simulator to reposition at least one of the variable stator vane assembly and the variable bypass valve from a first operational position to a second operational position that is different than the first operational position.
US07726122B2
A hydrodynamic torque converter including a housing connectable to a drive element for rotation in common around an axis of rotation, the housing being fillable with a fluid; a pump wheel in the housing; a turbine wheel in the housing and connected to a takeoff element; and a supporting/sealing hub area on an axial side of the housing and facing away from the drive element, the supporting/sealing hub area comprising a first hub element permanently connected to the housing; and a second hub element connected to the first hub element for rotation in common around the axis of rotation, the second hub element being axially movable relative to the first hub element, the second hub element comprising an outside circumference, a sealing surface on the outside circumference, a first axial end facing away from the drive element, and a rotational driver formation at the first axial end.
US07726117B2
The invention relates to a method for controlling an internal combustion engine with a motor control system that adjusts the exhaust-gas temperature by influencing the air-fuel mixture. Said motor control system has a temperature model so as to determine a preset temperature for a component in the exhaust manifold, which is achieved after a longer period of time while maintaining current operating and driving conditions. The motor control system regulates the exhaust-gas temperature depending on the preset temperature for the purpose of component protection.
US07726104B2
The present invention relates to a vacuum packaging system having an automatic bag cutter. The vacuum packaging system includes a housing constructed to sealingly engage a platen. A vacuum system is constructed to remove the gas from a container, or bag, placed between the housing and the platen. A blade is operable to sever excess material of the bag whereupon the bag is evacuated by the vacuum system, and a seal bar seals the severed end area of the bag.
US07726100B2
A method and a structure (1) are provided for enclosing a packaging machine (100), which can be divided in at least two work areas or portions (110; 130, 120) having different operation tasks, arranged one after another along a packaging line (2) of the machine (100). The structure (1) includes a plurality of enclosing panels (P), suitably assembled together to form enclosing chambers (3, 4) for protection of each of the work portions (110; 130, 120). At least one of the enclosing chambers (3) is aimed at enclosing, a pressurized environment and at least the other chamber (4) is aimed at enclosing an environment, whose pressure is substantially constant and equal to the outside pressure.
US07726099B2
A case sealing device is provided for applying a sealing tape to a surface of a case to be sealed. The device includes a work surface. A first portion of the work surface defines an entry region and a second portion of the work surface defines an exit region. A taping assembly is mounted adjacent the work surface between the entry region and the exit region. The taping assembly includes a taping head and a taping head linkage. The linkage has a rotatable first end and a second end. The second end is secured to the taping head. The taping head is adapted to hold an associated roll of tape. The taping head and the taping head linkage are configured to cooperate to dispense a strip of the tape from the taping head onto the surface of the case to be sealed as the case to be sealed is brought into contact with the taping assembly during sliding movement from the entry region to the exit region of the work surface.
US07726086B2
A roofing panel, a roof, an array of roofing panels, and a method of manufacturing a roofing panel by transporting a capstock layer of the roofing panel through a moving belt mold, and forming a polymeric material in situ against the outer layer while in a mold cavity of the moving belt mold. The capstock layer is vacuum formed to shape and form a plurality of roofing shingles and to impress the shingles with surface topography features simulating natural materials.
US07726085B2
Systems for attaching a plurality of wood products are provided. In a first type of system, a first wood product has a first chemical compound applied to a surface of the first wood product. A second wood product has a second chemical compound applied to a surface of the second wood product. An adduct is formed when the first chemical compound contacts the second chemical compound wherein the first wood product becomes adhered to the second wood product. In a second type of system, a pressure sensitive and/or anaerobic adhesive is placed on at least one of the wood products prior to assembly. The compounds/adhesives have an open assembly time greater than or approximately equal to 24 hours.
US07726083B2
A curtain-type facade structure is described, comprising a fixedly supported substructure of vertical or horizontal basic profiled supports and crossing horizontal or vertical profiled supports mounted thereon, panel holders which are fastened to the supporting profiles, and facade panels which are retained by means of the panel holders. The panel holder is composed of separate components, one of the components being designed as a basic holder and another of the components being designed as an elastic clip. The elastic clip latches with the basic holder and forms a seat for the facade panels.
US07726079B2
A device for the dehumidification, perspiration, ventilation or impermeabilization of walls, floors and/or ceilings by the use of a double fretted membrane of the known type, the shape of which defines longitudinal channels, characterized in that there is provided a peripheral section having a tubular body from which two pairs of longitudinal ribs perpendicular to each other and extending all over the length of the section project. Each pair of ribs is able to receive a peripheral edge of the double membrane.
US07726078B2
A dome type clear-span roof construction, having an exterior, polygonal arch frame (1), and a pre-tensioned, doubly curved membrane cover (2), which is suspended from the arch frame and is tied down to anchors (9) along its perimeter. Underneath the arch frame, a single, continuous suspension cable (4), anchored to the arch's end supports (8), is alternately taken through a series of upper pulleys (6) secured to the underside of the arch break points, and lower pulleys (5) secured at similar spacing to the membrane's ridge line (3), creating a multiple block-and-tackle suspension mechanism in the full length of the arch. The suspension mechanism converts the random membrane loads into concentrated, identical arch loads. The centerline of the polygonal arch coincides with the constant pressure line of its concentrated loads, which therefore do not cause bending moments in the arch.
US07726070B2
A material for maintaining hydration in plants, whether potted or in natural soils may include a substrate treated with a binder, securing a layer of hydrating particles thereto. Typical binders may include lignicite, or other naturally occurring materials such as sugars, molasses, corn syrup, gelatin, or the like. A byproduct of wood, lignicite has been found to be very effective. Various materials can serve as a hydrating, particulate coating. Polyacrylamide has been found to serve well and provide relief from the stress of dehydration that normally occurs in plants between waterings.
US07726066B1
The elongated tubular pesticide administration system is designed to fit between the foundation wall of a structure and the lowest board in a lapped exterior wall system, such as wood, composites, cement-fiber board, vinyl, or aluminum siding. The pesticide dispersion system is attached to the inner surface of the lowest board, and it includes an extended, flexible, resilient seal which seals it against the outside of the foundation wall, thereby sealing the exposed area between formed between the foundation wall and the exterior siding. Pesticide foam is injected into the system through fill ports which are spaced along the bottom of the system. The pesticide foam fills the aperture and is then disbursed through pesticide dispersion holes.
US07726064B2
A crustacean trap that includes a collapsible frame assembly surrounded by a collapsible net body. The frame assembly includes a lower collar perpendicularly aligned and attached to a hollow mast. The mast extends upward from the lower collar and slides through an upper collar. Pivotally attached to the upper collar are four radially aligned upper legs. Pivotally coupled to the lower end of each upper leg is a lower leg that is vertically aligned under the upper leg. Each lower leg extends inward and pivotally connects to the lower collar. The upper and lower collars are aligned and registered so when the mast is extended downward through the upper collar, the upper collar and the lower collar separate thereby forcing each upper leg diagonally downward from the upper collar and forcing each lower leg horizontally outward from the lower collar.
US07726061B1
A dual beam laser aiming module for a firearm has a dual-laser alignment housing with a first IR laser assembly in a first cavity and that provides a first beam axis. A second visible laser assembly is adjustably located in a second cavity to provide a second beam having an axis parallel to the first beam axis. A housing for the dual-laser alignment housing is adapted to be fixed to the firearm. The dual-laser alignment housing has a rounded exterior surface that interfaces with a corresponding rounded surface in the interior of the cavity of the laser housing. The dual-laser alignment housing is adjustably pivoted with respect to the laser housing with a four-point laser alignment mechanism to align the parallel first and second axes further in parallel to a centerline of a barrel of the firearm.
US07726057B2
A label holder for attachment to, or integrated into, a retail shelf is provided. The label holder includes a deck and an electronic price label holder. The deck has a front deck portion and a back deck portion. The electronic price label holder is supported by the front deck portion. The label holder also has a back wall extending between a top wall and a bottom wall to form a retention channel. The back wall includes a hinge structure such that an entrance opening in the retention channel is expandable and retractable for receipt of electronic price labels.
US07726050B2
A line 93 is provided with a line 71 communicating the line 93 and a hydraulic oil tank 51. The line 71 is provided with a throttle 72 to construct a throttle-provided line 7. When air is trapped between the hydraulic oil tank 51 and the hydraulic pump 52, the hydraulic pump 52 is driven to discharge the air from the throttle-provided line 7 to the hydraulic oil tank 51, thereby removing the air in the hydraulic circuit 5. When the air is removed, resistance caused by the throttle 72 is increased, which makes hydraulic oil flow from a pilot pump 522 to a PPC valve. Since the throttle-provided line 7 realizes air removal with a simple structure, a hydraulic cylinder 44 can be supplied with the air-removed hydraulic oil from an initial stage, thereby enhancing responsiveness of the hydraulic cylinder 44.
US07726046B2
Clock sandal with a flexible sole plate, a pair of flexible foot retaining straps, a time keeping device and a time keeping device retaining loop. The sole plate includes a thin flexible top layer of material. The sole heal portion includes a hollow cavity which is covered by a hinged top plate. The foot retaining straps are each attached to the left and right heal portion of the sole plate. The straps join to form a single strap that is fixedly connected to the portion of the sole plate that corresponds to the space between the wearer's big toe and second toe. The time keeping device retaining loop is fixedly attached to the single strap at the strap joining location and the time keeping device is frictionally retained within the time keeping device retaining loop.
US07726042B2
An athletic shoe is provided with a selectively adjustable shock-absorbing element. In one preferred aspect, a plate is provided with a plurality of independently moveable portions in contact with the shock-absorbing element. In another aspect, a plate is provided at an angle relative to a coil spring. A method is provided for adjusting a shock-absorbing spring.
US07726039B2
The invention provides a tape measure housing having resilient material located at its outersurface. The resilient material defines one or more gas-filled cavities, each of which is located on a line tangential to an outer wall of the housing between the outer wall of the housing and an outer wall of the resilient material. This provides improved shock protection.
US07726031B1
A knife system for providing efficient replacement of a knife blade. The knife system generally includes a body, a lever pivotally connected to the body, a collet connected to the body, and a shaft connected between the lever and the collet. When the lever is in a closed position, the shaft applies tension to the collet resulting in frictional engagement with a blade within the collet. An illuminating unit is preferably positioned within the body directing light towards the blade within the collet to illuminate a work area.
US07726030B2
Double handle knives and attachments to convert a knife to a double handle knife are described with secondary handles able to form an angle of 45 degrees (+ or −15) degrees between the long axis of the secondary handle and the long axis of the blade in a plane at about right angles to the plane of the blade. Embodiments describe fixed and rotatable means of attachment of the secondary handle to the blade. Embodiments further describe reversible and permanent means of attachment of the secondary handle. The placement of the secondary handle at the angle described allows for the optimal positioning of the hands for both controlling an assisting with the cutting of foods and other items.
US07726024B2
In a heat exchanger, a core portion includes a plurality of plate fins each shaped like a flat plate and a plurality of tubes in which a fluid flows and each of which is inserted into each of the plate fins to be mechanically bonded thereto. Further, an end portion in a longitudinal direction of each of the tubes is bonded to a header plate which constructs a part of a header tank. The manufacturing method for this heat exchanger includes inserting the tube into the plate fins; expanding the tube to attach the plate fins; connect the tube into the header plate; and vibrate the tube with respect to the plate while applying a load to the tube in the direction of the header plate.
US07726020B2
A compressor capable of surely preventing leakage of a refrigerant gas from a connection portion between an airtight container and a pipe to the outside at low cost is provided. The compressor comprises an airtight container to which a refrigerant introduction pipe is connected, and a compression element received in the airtight container to discharge the refrigerant into the same. The refrigerant introduction pipe has a cylindrical pipe main body, and a jaw-like flange portion formed in a tip of the pipe main body. A cylindrical connection sleeve is disposed between the refrigerant introduction pipe and the airtight container. A first bolt is disposed to connect the connection sleeve to the airtight container, and a second bolt is disposed to connect the connection sleeve to the flange portion of the refrigerant introduction pipe. The flange portion of the refrigerant introduction pipe hides the first bolt.
US07726016B2
The present invention provides a method of manufacturing a printed circuit board. The method includes the steps of preparing an insulating substrate having a front surface and a back surface and a layer of metal foil formed on each of the front surface and the back surface; selectively forming a plating layer for forming a land on at least one of the metal foils; adjusting a thickness of the plating layer; and forming the metal foils into lines.
US07726004B2
A processing cell of automatic machining system configured in that it is easy to decide or change the number of steps and to design, and to reduce the installation cost. The control unit of the processing cell comprises an operation data storing means for storing every position necessary data for operation at each position of the processing cell installed in the machining section of the automatic machining system, and a position designating means for designating the after-installation position. The control unit reads necessary data for operation out of the operation data storing means in accordance with the position designated by the position designating means. Thus, the operation of each cell can be switched in accordance with the position, and the processing cells can be easily changed in position and adjusted in quantity.
US07726003B1
A simple and versatile door support system holds a door by attaching to top and bottom edges. The system allows the two visible door faces and the two visible door edges to be painted at one time, and may be converted to hold a door horizontally or to transport a door. The system includes four support blocks which mount to corners of top and bottom surfaces of the door. The blocks have mounting features for mounting to the door, and attachment features for attaching one or more attachments. A rod attachment may be connected to each of the four blocks to support the door horizontally, and a pair of support shoes may be attached to two of the blocks to support the door vertically or on an edge. Casters may be attached directly to the blocks, or indirectly to the blocks (e.g., to the attachments), to transport the door.
US07725993B1
A passive latch provided in a clasped buckle provides a clasping action with no active release. The passive latch is disengaged when the buckle parts are separated through application of a separation force. The separation force can be provided in part by a component of a pinching force applied to another latch mechanism to release the other latch mechanism. The buckle may include other child resistant features, and can be composed of impact modified nylon to resist loss of tolerances or deformation to contribute to maintaining the child resistant features.
US07725992B2
A mechanical fastener is disclosed. The mechanical fastener generally comprises the male component of a hook and loop fastening system. The male component contains a plurality of protrusions that have been surface modified. In particular, the protrusions have been surfaced modified in a manner that prevents damage to a female component during engagement and disengagement but yet still forms a firm attachment with the female component.
US07725990B2
Hinge reinforcement (10), for a motor vehicle door hinge, has a shape corresponding to the shape of the hinge bracket (6) and is able to be joined to the hinge bracket. The first end (11) of the reinforcement (10) facing the hinge pin (5) is provided with a fork-like shape so that it can be placed against the hinge pin (5) from below the bracket onto the hinge pin between the bearing arms (9) of the bracket, and on its side facing the bracket a cam (12) engages a recess (13) of the hinge bracket (6) to prevent the hinge reinforcement (10) from falling out. The second end (14) of the reinforcement is connected to the hinge bracket (6) by a fastening element.
US07725988B2
Disclosed are a hinge assembly and a mobile device having the hinge assembly. In the mobile device, a rotation portion 14 slides and rotates on a base portion 10, so as to be inclined to the base portion 10. For this reason, the rotation portion 14 is connected to the base portion by means of the hinge assembly 20 so as to slide and rotate on the base portion 10. The rotation portion 14 slides on the base portion by a predetermined distance, and then rotates to be inclined at a desired angle with respect to the base portion 10. The rotation portion 14 easily rotates with respect to the base portion of the mobile device, so that the status of the mobile device can be easily converted. Further, when the status of the mobile device is converted, the front, rear, left and right of a display screen is not changed. As a result, the mobile device should not have a structure of changing a display direction of the display screen. Further, there is an advantage in that an electric connection between the base portion and the rotation portion by means of a connection link mechanism can be stably achieved.
US07725985B2
A surface cleaning implement has a suction nozzle, a fan in fluid communication with the suction nozzle, a suction-driven turbine motor for driving the fan and a magnetic coupling between the fan and the motor. The surface cleaning implement can be in the form of an accessory tool that has a housing with a suction opening adapted to be connected to a vacuum hose and mounting the suction nozzle, the fan and the motor and the housing mounts a recovery tank that is in fluid communication with the suction nozzle. The accessory tool can further comprise a fluid dispensing assembly for storing and distributing fluid to the surface to the cleaned. The fluid dispensing assembly can comprise a turbine-driven fluid pump.
US07725982B2
An adjustable hinged corner trowel is formed from hinged plates with a removeably attached handle. Cooperating control arms connect the handle to the hinged plates. The control arms are fixed to the hinged plates and can be fixed relative to each other at the handle by cooperating teeth and grooves. The handle has a threaded member capable of receiving a wing nut to fix the control arms against each other. Thereby, the angle of the hinged plates may be adjusted. The hinged corner trowel establishes both sides of any angled corner at the same time for utilization on drywall or similar materials.
US07725978B2
An apparatus for cleaning a culvert includes a rod pushing and pulling machine, a rod string made from a series of extension rods coupled end to end, which rod string is mounted at a proximal end to the rod pushing and pulling machine. A debris removal tool is mounted on a distal end of the rod string. The debris removal tool may comprises a rod having a center longitudinal axis, a proximal end, and a distal end, the rod having a coupling at its proximal end. A bucket is mounted at the distal end of the rod, which bucket has an end opening positioned so that movement of the bucket along the culvert scoops debris into the bucket.
US07725970B2
A washing machine control system is combined with a working fluid dispensing system and a payment processing system to provide a merged system for automatically providing detergents, bleach, softeners and the like in a pay-as-you-go laundry environment, such as public laundry facilities in Laundromats, dormitories, apartment complexes and the like.
US07725964B2
An apparatus comprises an architectural system and a patient adjustment device. The patient adjustment device is coupled to the architectural system and adapted to pull on a patient receiver to move a patient received by the patient receiver and located on a bed relative to the bed to adjust the position of the patient.
US07725958B1
Apparatus 10 discloses a shoulder strap retainer device providing means for selectively fastening a purse 26 or carryall strap to a user's shoulder 28. In one embodiment of the present invention 10, a pair of decorative jewelry-like articles 24 having means for attachment to an article of clothing 14 are fixed a selected distance apart providing means for easily inserting and removing a strap 12 therefrom while keeping the purse 26 or carryall strap from easily being displaced once placed therebetween. In another embodiment, the shoulder strap retainer is comprised of a housing having a transverse slot with opposing flanges 22 forming a cavity for the placement therein of a strap 12.
US07725957B2
A touch sensitization glove (1), comprising a sensitizing layer (2) and an external cover (3). The sensitizing layer (2) further comprises a first film (10) coming into contact with an object, a second film (12) superposed on the first film (10), and an air inlet (14) leading air between the first film (10) and the second film (12). The second film (12) is allowed to slidably move on the first film (10). Thus, lubricant can be eliminated, and an advanced touch sensitization glove can be provided.
US07725956B1
A golf glove provides a positive stop for the end of a golf club handle and a resilient pad for seating the golf club handle against the glove. The stop reaches across the glove palm and angles towards the small finger and has a wall extending perpendicular to the wearer's palm for the handle to abut against. The resilient pad fills a concave portion of the palm to provide a substantially flat surface for the golf club handle to seat against.
US07725953B2
Disclosed is a napkin holder for easy use and easy carrying. A napkin holder comprises a neck band and the fixing holes are positioned at both end portions of the neck band to hold a napkin, a bib or a towel. The fixing holes may be formed in assorted sizes and various shapes to fix the napkin, bib and towel, and the neck band may be formed using rubber material like silicone or plastics like soft PVC so that the napkin holder may be formed using elastic materials and used semi-permanently.
US07725952B1
The present invention provides a protective weather garment. The protective weather garment may include an upper portion, a body portion, and an adjustable bottom portion. The adjustable bottom portion includes an adjusting member so that the bottom portion can be adjusted to fit to the dimensions of an under garment worm by a person. The adjusting member includes a flap having a flap width disposed about a periphery of the adjustable bottom portion and extending from the adjustable bottom portion. The adjusting member is configurable to adjust a diameter of the adjustable bottom portion formed by the flap such that the flap width is adjusted with the adjusting member.
US07730546B2
A method and apparatus for determining a current user by receiving an application-level usage indicator; determining a user identifier by consulting a pre-established set of one or more user profiles according to the application-level usage indicator; and executing the application when the determined user identifier is associated with a user that is entitled to use the application.
US07730544B2
A processor architecture provides for at least two simultaneous execution contexts, hardware resources having at least one execution unit, an instruction scheduler, an interrupt controller, and memory management means, and a given privileged context from among the simultaneous execution contexts that, in a privileged mode of an operating system, commands the other processor contexts by reading from and writing to registers of other contexts.
US07730531B2
A system and method are provided for detecting artificially generated load on a search system. The system may include a load monitoring component for monitoring a current load for comparison with an expected load. The system may additionally include an abnormality detection component for detecting an abnormality when the monitored load exceeds an expected amount by a predetermined threshold. The system may further include an analysis component for determining if the monitored load is an artificial load.
US07730529B2
A method of operating a computer system comprises the following steps:installing an executable main module of a program on the computer system, storing module data for the main module and/or for an additional module (A, B, C, D) of the program in the computer system, said stored module data comprising a license part required to determine the presence of the use authorization of the main module and/or of the additional module, and preferably also comprising an information part,evaluating the stored module data for acquisition of a further use authorization for the additional module (A-D) or for a further additional module (A-D), andproviding information for the acquisition of a use authorization as a function of the result of evaluation.
US07730523B1
A method for remote services authentication in an internet hosted environment includes a high level process and functionality for a secure, practical and logically optimized inter-network authentication mechanism by employees, partners and customers of an enterprise into the hosted Internet site. The lightweight authentication and authorization mechanism can be most effectively implemented in Java as part of the application or web server servlet. The method for remote services authentication includes initial secure password establishment, subsequent authentication and authorization, as well as authentication and authorization upon resuming previously run sessions with the hosted server using Internet cookies.
US07730520B2
This invention provides an automated adaptive method for identity verification of claimants that attempt to get access into a resource by responding to a sequence of identifiers. The sequence has a specified maximal length and the identifiers are partitioned into multiple groups where identifiers in the same group are correlated and identifiers in different groups are not correlated. The method guarantees that an impostor will be accepted with a probability that does not exceed a specified parameter and that a legitimate claimant will be rejected with a probability that does not exceed a different specified parameter. The method also computes the probabilities that a legitimate claimant, or an impostor, will terminate an interrogation session with an inconclusive result, which would necessitate further manual interrogation. The method is adaptive as the conditional probabilities of an impostor's responses change throughout a session of interrogation.
US07730516B2
A method for abstracting a TV hardware component to a service class to facilitate providing services through a TV.
US07730509B2
A system and method is provided for use in connection with delivering content that is targeted to users of a broadcast network. In order to select content that is targeted to users of the broadcast network, signals are received from a plurality of customer premise equipment devices (CPEs) of the network users via a broadcast network interface. Based on the received signals, broadcast assets (e.g., programming, advertisements etc.) are selected from a collection of available asset options. Accordingly, at least a portion of the selected assets are inserted into a content stream of the broadcast network. Once the content stream is broadcast over a broadcast network interface, at least a portion of the selected assets area available for receipt by at least a portion of the CPEs. The CPEs generate reports regarding assets delivered such that asset providers can be billed based on guaranteed targeted impressions.
US07730499B2
A system and method for facilitating communications over a protocol is provided. The system includes a class factory that holds identifiers associated with determining which, if any, registered protocol object creator should be employed to create a protocol object. The protocol object implements an abstract network protocol base class. The protocol object is employed to abstract details of communicating over a protocol and to provide a byte stream interface to communications occurring over the protocol, while removing protocol specific code from an application program. The method includes creating an instance of a protocol object from a source of registered protocol handlers based on a request to communicate over a protocol and using a base class API to communicate over the protocol through the protocol object.
US07730498B2
An application object for a supervisory process control and manufacturing information system application distributable to a plurality of networked computer devices and having a layered architecture, the application object comprising a set of text entries listed in a first language, a dictionary within each object drafted to enable the set of text entries to be translated into a plurality of multiple languages, and a set of one or more translation fields for storing text in each of the plurality of languages corresponding to the set of text entries listed in the first language.
US07730487B2
The present invention extends to methods, systems, and computer program products for synchronizing ambient state among multiple transaction managers. A coordinating transaction manager establishes transaction ambient state for an application initiated transaction. The coordinating transaction manager sends and a subordinate transaction manager receives a pointer to an ambient state delegate. The subordinate transaction manager sends a request to invoke the ambient state delegate to the coordinating transaction manager in response to receiving an operation. The coordinating transaction manager invokes the ambient state delegate to format the transaction ambient state for the subordinate transaction manager. The coordinating transaction manager sends and the subordinate transaction manager receives the formatted transaction ambient state such that the subordinate transaction manager can appropriately process the operation within the scope of the transaction. The subordinate transaction manager utilizes the formatted transaction ambient state to appropriately process the operation within the scope of the transaction.
US07730484B2
A generic interface device may operate as an interface with different types of electronic data devices that perform data operations. The interface device may establish communications with one of these data devices, and identify the particular type of data device based on data received from the data device. Using the identified type of data device, the interface device downloads a suitable computer program from a server. By executing the downloaded program, the interface device is able to obtain, understand and output specialized data produced by the data device.
US07730470B2
A system for binary code instrumentation to reduce effective memory latency comprises a processor and memory coupled to the processor. The memory comprises program instructions executable by the processor to implement a code analyzer configured to analyze an instruction stream of compiled code executable at an execution engine to identify, for a given memory reference instruction in the stream that references data at a memory address calculated during an execution of the instruction stream, an earliest point in time during the execution at which sufficient data is available at the execution engine to calculate the memory address. The code analyzer generates an indication of whether the given memory reference instruction is suitable for a prefetch operation based on a difference in time between the earliest point in time and a time at which the given memory reference instruction is executed during the execution.
US07730468B1
A system and method is provided for generating and executing specialized code executables. The system includes a virtual subsystem that processes a generic code image and logs information relating to an operating environment of the virtual subsystem. The logged information is employed as feedback to generate a specialized native executable, wherein the specialized native executable is utilized to provide improved performance of the virtual subsystem. The specialized native executable is selected for execution by the virtual subsystem by matching a current operating environment setting with the logged information.
US07730455B2
A method and apparatus is disclosed herein for generating and solving constraints. In one embodiment, the method comprises modifying program code by inserting one or more dynamic annotations having unsolved variables, generating one or more constraints based on the one or more dynamic annotations using a verifier, solving the one or more generated constraints; and modifying the program code by inserting a dynamic annotation in place of an annotation containing an unsolved variable.
US07730452B1
In a method for testing a component of a distributed system, a first invocation request is sent to the component, where the first invocation request includes an identifier. A second invocation request is sent to a second component, where the second invocation request carries the identifier from the first invocation request. In addition, the second component switches behavior based upon the identifier, where the switching of behavior of the second component is employed to test the component.
US07730446B2
A business software framework includes an application framework that has a process model. The process model provides desired services to the business components. The process model arranges operations into activities. The process model can also use an agent/service arrangement.
US07730443B2
System and method for checking a length of a wire path between a capacitor and a via of a PCB design
A method for checking a length of a wire path between a capacitor and a via of the PCB design obtains length criteria and information on capacitors from a database, selects one or more capacitors and pins of the selected capacitors from the obtained information on capacitors and selects one of the length criteria, and obtains positions of selected capacitors and positions of vias corresponding to the positions of selected capacitors from the database. The method further calculates each length of a wire path between a selected capacitor and a corresponding via according to the position of the capacitor and the position of the via, determines whether each calculated length of a wire path between a selected capacitor and a corresponding via is acceptable according to a comparison with the selected length criterion, and outputs check results of the determining step.
US07730441B2
The present invention introduces methods, systems, and architectures for routing clock signals in an integrated circuit layout. The introduced clock signal clock signal structures are rendered with non Manhattan routing. In a first embodiment, the traditional recursive H clock signal structure is rendered after transforming the coordinates system such that a rotated recursive H clock signal structure is rendered. In another embodiment, a recursive Y structure is used to create a clock signal structure. The recursive Y structure may also be implemented in a rotated alignment. For clock signal redundancy, non Manhattan wiring may be used to create a clock signal mesh network.
US07730435B2
Methods and apparatus are provided for efficiently generating test components for testing and evaluating a design under test. As a design is being configured, generated test components are made available. In one example, test components are automatically generated and included in a simulation testbench based on selected components in the design. Generally, the test components complement the selected components in the design. Moreover, the test components can be automatically seeded with initial contents.
US07730431B2
The relative placement orders of cells with respect to circuit diagram information received are automatically determined, and the cells are automatically placed in relative positional relationships according to the placement orders given to the circuit diagram information.
US07730427B2
The present invention introduces a “contextual icon” to an icon-driven interface in which a single icon represents a shortcut to a suite of computer applications. The icon is associated with a single main application that may be invoked if an operator double-clicks on it or enters some other predetermined quick launch command. The desktop icon also may be associated with a context menu that reveals ancillary applications or tools that are related to the suite and typically are used less frequently than the main menu. The context menu may be opened with an ancillary interaction command (example: right clicking on the icon) and, thereafter, an operator may browse through and select an application from the context menu that may be desired. In this way, the contextual icon management scheme reduces desktop clutter while maintaining a highly intuitive navigation scheme among related applications.
US07730419B2
A system for communication between browser windows includes a first web page configured to enable a first browser window into which the first web page is loaded to write a first message into a cookie; a second web page configured to enable a second browser window into which the second web page is loaded to retrieve the first message from the cookie; wherein the second web page is configured to enable the second browser window into which the second web page is loaded to write a second message into a the cookie; and wherein the first web page is configured to enable the first browser window into which the first web page is loaded to retrieve the second message from the cookie.
US07730416B2
A communication apparatus and display method are capable of displaying one frame of a plurality of frames, and displaying automatically an appropriate frame for a user in the case that there are changes in display contents. A display part displays screen data while enlarging a frame which is specified by the user and is included in Web data including a plurality of frames received by a data communicating part. While the screen data of the frame specified by the user is displayed, a frame configuration management part judges that changes took place in display contents of other frames that are not displayed. A data processing part performs data processing so as to cause all frames included in the received Web data to be displayed on the display part when it is judged that the changes took place in the display contents.
US07730415B2
A control system, a safety system, etc., within a process plant may each use one or more state machine function blocks that can be easily integrated into a function block diagram programming environment. Such a state machine function block may include one or more inputs, which may cause a state machine implemented by the state machine function block to change states. The state machine function block may determine a next state to which it is to transition based, at least in part, on data indicative of the next state to which to transition, if any. The configuration data may be retrieved from a database based on the current state of the state machine and at least one of the inputs. The state machine function block may also include one or more outputs that are generated based on the state of the state machine.
US07730414B2
A device may include logic configured to store a number of media files. The media files may include audio files, video files, image files or multimedia files. The device may also include a display configured to display a graphical representation illustrating information associated with the media files.
US07730411B2
In one embodiment, a method can include: (i) connecting to a conference server via a network; (ii) viewing a list of available past meetings and associated forms of access; (iii) selecting a meeting and form of access from the list; and (iv) re-creating the meeting in a context using the form of access. Example forms of access can include a dialing of all meeting participants, re-creating a previous meeting context, summarizing a meeting, displaying action items, and replaying or viewing a portion of a meeting.
US07730410B2
A method and system for customizing form elements in a form building application. According to one embodiment, a form builder receives an identification of a user of the form building application, the form building application providing a graphical user interface for the manipulation of a set of form elements, and enables access to a subset of the form elements according to authorization rules, and an access manager determines the authorization rules associated with the user.
US07730404B2
A method of composing an email message at an electronic device and an electronic device operable to carry out the method are provided. The method includes receiving an email command from a user input of the electronic device through a calendar user interface, the email command relating to at least one of a plurality of intended attendees of a calendared meeting, and providing an email composition interface in response to receiving the email command. The email composition interface includes a user-editable portion of an address field. The user-editable portion of the address field is automatically populated with email address information for the at least one of the plurality of intended attendees.
US07730401B2
The present invention is a graphical user interface in a computing device having a processor running an operating system and a display. The graphical user interface comprises a touch screen and a driver coupling the touch screen to the operating system. The driver can display a plurality of icons on the touch screen, or a plurality of screen images having at least one icon, with each of the icons associated with operations on the display and/or the touch screen. Other embodiments include the touch screen having unactivated and activated states, as well as the presence of an application programming interface that enables an application to display at least one image on the touch screen.
US07730397B2
Methods, systems, and products are disclosed for presenting structured digital content items. A file is read that defines a hierarchical structure. A display region is divided into regions and each region is mapped to a category within the hierarchical structure. An x-coordinate and a y-coordinate, corresponding to a location on the display, are received. The category that maps to the x-coordinate and the y-coordinate is displayed.
US07730391B2
A system and method for rendering ink annotations for a displayed image is disclosed. The invention adjusts the thickness of rendered lines for ink annotations when rendered. Ink annotations are created by capturing and connecting a set of data points input by a user. The invention outlines various pixels and weights saturation of anti-aliasing pixels to improve a user's viewing experience.
US07730389B2
A method and system for integrating a digital map system with a source document is disclosed including detecting a location description in the source document, and replacing the detected location description with a hyperlink linking to a depiction of the location description. Another embodiment may include a method and system for integrating a digital map system with a source document including detecting a location description in a source document, verifying that the location description describes an actual location, and integrating a hyperlink linking a depiction of the location description into the source document.
US07730386B2
The present invention relates to a digital television (DTV) transmitter/receiver. In the DTV transmitter, enhanced data is pre-processed by coding the enhanced data for forward error correction (FEC) and expanding the FEC-coded enhanced data. Enhanced data packets are generated including the pre-processed enhanced data and known data is inserted to at least one of the enhanced data packets. The enhanced data packets are multiplexed main data packets including main data. An RS encoder RS-codes the multiplexed main and enhanced data packets, the RS encoder adding systematic parity data to each main data packet and adding RS parity place holders to each enhanced data packet. The RS encoder may also insert non-systematic RS parity data or null data into the RS parity place holders included in each enhanced data packet.
US07730378B2
An encoder includes an outer repetition encoder, an interleaver for permuting encoding from said outer repetition encoder; and an inner encoder for encoding information from the interleaver to provide a repeat zigzag-Hadamard code. In an exemplary embodiment, a common bit of a zigzag-Hadamard segment of encoding from said inner encoder is a repetition of a last parity bit of a previous zigzag-Hadamard segment of encoding from said inner encoder and said common bit is punctured.
US07730377B2
A system for decoding in layers data received from a communication channel, comprising a first adder module adapted to determine an extrinsic estimate using a probability value estimate and a check node value estimate, the probability value estimate and the check node value estimate associated with a parity check matrix. The system also comprises a plurality of parity check update modules (PCUMs) in parallel with each other, coupled to the first adder module and adapted to update the check node value estimate, and a second adder module coupled to the plurality of PCUMs and adapted to update the probability value estimate using the extrinsic estimate and the updated check node value estimate. The PCUMs process at least some columns of at least some rows of the parity check matrix in a serial fashion.
US07730376B2
A method, device, and system are disclosed. In one embodiment, the method comprises discovering a failure on a PCI Express interconnect, determining whether a failure override bit has been set to override the standard PCI Express Polling. Compliance state for the failure on the PCI Express interconnect, and if the failure override bit has been set, entering PCI Express Polling. Configuration state if any one lane of the interconnect successfully completes the transmitting and receiving training sequence requirements in PCI Express Polling.Active state.
US07730374B2
A semiconductor integrated circuit that self-tests the skew margin of the clock and data signals in an LVDS. A clock signal CKB1 is held in flip-flop circuit 105 synchronously with checking clock signal A1. Checking pattern signal PAT_A is held in flip-flop circuit 104 synchronously with checking clock signal A2. When the skew margin of clock signal CKA_IN and data signal DA_IN are checked, the checking signal TCKA of flip-flop circuit 105 is input instead of clock signal CKA_IN, and the checking signal TDA of flip-flop circuit 104 is input instead of clock signal DA_IN. The timing relationship between clock signal CKB7 and checking timing signal A1 and the timing relationship between clock signal CKB7 and checking timing signal A2 are controlled independently by timing control circuit 109.
US07730373B2
A method includes obtaining an equivalent core of multiple cores in a System-on-Chip circuit, and applying linear-feedback shift register LFSR reseeding for compressing test data of the equivalent core.
US07730370B2
An apparatus and method for controlling a disk drive is provided. A disk lubricant sweep component for periodically initiates a disk lubricant spreading action. A disk data read check component checks data at one or more LBAs during the disk lubricant sweep. The apparatus may cache data from LBAs that have been checked by the disk data read check component and found correct and record LBAs that have been found correct, so that they can be omitted from subsequent operation of the read check component. The apparatus may further comprise an error checking and correcting component for checking and correcting data found incorrect by reason of a soft error, and an error reporting component for reporting on one or more LBAs that have been checked and found incorrect by reason of a hard error.
US07730369B2
A method for performing memory diagnostics using a programmable diagnostic memory module provides enhanced testability of memory controller and memory subsystem design. The programmable diagnostic memory module includes an interface for communicating with an external diagnostic system, and the interface is used to transfer commands to the memory module to alter various behaviors of the memory module. The altered behaviors may be changing data streams that are written to the memory module to simulate errors, altering the timing and/or loading of the memory module signals, downloading programs for execution by a processor core within the memory module, changing driver strengths of output signals of the memory module, and manipulating in an analog domain, signals at terminals of the memory module such as injecting noise on power supply connections to the memory module. The memory module may emulate multiple selectable memory module types, and may include a complete storage array to provide standard memory module operation.
US07730361B2
A method of aggregating events in a PCIe (Peripheral Component Interconnect Express) multifunction device minimizes reported error messages, where several functions share a common PCIe interface logic. A predetermined number of function entities with logical gates, connected in daisy chain configuration, process incoming information, and a decision is made whether each function entity will generate a blocking control or a pass-through control. The error messages are aggregated across the function entities in a single clock cycle with the help of an error controller. The functions can be from IEEE 1394 interface, graphics display controller, sound card, PCIe switch, or PCIe to PCI bridge connection. Each function preferably has a different configuration and security level setting for error reporting and messaging. There may be a plurality of parallel daisy chains, and the PCIe device may include three layers namely, a physical layer, data link layer and transaction protocol layer (for error logging, reporting).
US07730340B2
A machine learning technique is used to improve dynamic prediction of processor utilization for multi-threaded user-level applications in a dynamic run-time environment based on processor utilization history. Processor supply voltage and processor clock frequency may be dynamically scaled based on the predicted processor utilization in order to reduce processor power consumption.
US07730314B2
A method and apparatus for electronic commerce using a digital ticket are provided. The method for electronic commerce using a digital ticket includes hiding a message comprising a random number and transmitting the hidden message to a ticket issuer, receiving the hidden message signed with a digital signature by the ticket issuer, verifying the digital signature on the message, and transmitting the message with the verified digital signature to the ticket issuer to consume a digital ticket.
US07730303B2
A method of providing automatically verifiable trust in a content resolution process in which a PDR resolves a content reference identifier (CRID) identifying a content item using a resolution authority record (RAR) to obtain a locator identifying a location where the PDR can obtain the content item. Preferably, the measure comprises computing a digital signature over at least part of the contents of the CRID, the locator and/or the RAR. The method may also comprise encrypting at least a data portion of the CRID, RAR or locator. Digital rights needed to access the content item can be provided with the CRID, RAR or locator.
US07730296B2
Aspects of the invention provide a method and system for coding information in a communication channel. More particularly, aspects of the invention provide an method and system for synchronous running encryption and/or encoding and corresponding decryption and decoding in a communication channel or link. Aspects of the method may include encoding and/or encrypting a first data using a first or second encoding table and/or a first or second encryption table. The method may indicate which one of the first or second encoding tables or which one of the first or second encryption tables were utilized for encoding and/or encrypting the said first data. The encoded and/or encrypted first data may subsequently be transferred downstream and decoded by synchronous decoder/decryptor using a corresponding decoding and/or decryption table. The corresponding decoding and/or decryption table may be determined based on the indicated first and/or second encoding and/or encrypting tables.
US07730295B1
An embodiment of the present invention comprises a method of updating firmware of a peripheral device coupled to a computer system. A first boot operation is executed for loading an operating system into the computer system, and an update routine is installed for loading updated firmware into the peripheral device. The operating system is modified so that the update routine is executed early during a second boot operation for loading the operating system into the computer system. The second boot operation is executed, during which the update routine is executed to load the updated firmware into the peripheral device. In one embodiment, the update routine comprises an update driver having a DriverEntry code segment for loading the updated firmware into the peripheral device.
US07730293B2
A hard disk drive (HDD) self-test system comprises a basic input/output system (BIOS) configured to automatically invoke a self-test of an HDD based on a predetermined schedule.
US07730284B2
An instruction processing device has a of pipe-line stage with a functional unit for executing a command from an instruction. A first register unit is coupled to the functional unit for storing a result of execution of the command when the command has reached a first one of the pipeline stages, and for supplying bypass operand data to the functional unit. A register file is coupled to the functional unit for storing the result when the command has reached a second one of the pipeline stages, downstream from the first one of the pipeline stages, and for supplying operand data to the functional unit. A disable circuit is coupled to selectively disable storing of the results in the register file under control of the instructions.
US07730283B2
Embodiments of the invention provide a processor for executing instructions. In one embodiment, the processor includes circuitry to receive a load instruction and a store instruction to be executed in the processor and detect a conflict between the load instruction and the store instruction. Detecting the conflict includes determining if load-store conflict information indicates that the load instruction previously conflicted with the store instruction. The load-store conflict information is stored for both the load instruction and the store instruction. The processor further includes circuitry to schedule execution of the load instruction and the store instruction so that execution of the load instruction and the store instruction do not result in a conflict.
US07730281B2
An article comprising an instruction stored on a storage medium. The instruction includes opcode field storing an opcode signal and an operand field storing an operand signal. The operand is compressed prior to being stored in the operand field.
US07730278B2
A mechanism is disclosed for storing one or more chunk-specific sets of executable instructions at one or more predetermined offsets within chunks of a chunked heap. The mechanism provides for storing a chunk-specific set of executable instructions within a portion of a chunk, where the set of executable instructions begins at a predetermined offset within the range of virtual memory addresses allocated to the chunk. The set of executable instructions, when executed, is operable to perform one or more operations that are specific to the chunk.
US07730262B2
A method and system for dynamic distributed data caching is presented. The method includes providing a cache community comprising at least one peer. Each peer has an associated first content portion indicating content to be cached by the respective peer. A client may be allowed to join the cache community. A peer list associated with the cache community is updated to include the client. The peer list indicates the peers in the cache community. A respective second content portion is associated with each peer based on the addition of the client.
US07730256B2
Herein described is at least a method and system for improving the performance of a disk drive. A cache work queue and a disk work queue operate together as a dual work queue to facilitate efficient processing of one or more read/write operations performed by the disk drive. In a representative embodiment, the disk drive controller comprises a host interface, a cache buffer, and a disk drive media interface. The disk drive controller comprises the necessary circuitry to execute one or more host commands provided by a host computer. Further, the disk drive controller may facilitate the generation of the cache work queue and the disk work queue. The disk drive controller executes one or more host commands that are received through the host interface such that the cache work queue and disk work queue are employed when a read or write operation is performed.
US07730255B2
A recording apparatus for recording data in individual blocks each made of plural given regions on an optical disc is disclosed. The recording apparatus may have (i) a detection portion which detects a finally recorded region on the disc by detecting for each of the given regions as to whether or not data is recorded and (ii) a recording control portion which records dummy data from a region next to the finally recorded region detected by the detection portion to the final region of a block located behind the finally recorded region by at least one region and then starting to record data from the head region of the subsequent block.
US07730252B2
Embodiments of the invention include a method, apparatus and system for managing SAS zoning, using connector grouping. A connector grouping management application is configured to allow connectors on the edge of the ZPSDS to be grouped into defined zones. The defined zones are used to create a minimal number of zone groups and to configure the respective permissions of the zone groups. The connector grouping application then compares all existing zone groups for phys common to more than one zone group. The connector grouping application removes all phys common to more than one zone group from the respective zone groups and moves the common phys to a new zone group. The zone groups are processed in this manner until no zone groups have common phys. Once all zone groups have been processed accordingly, information associated with the resulting zone groups and their respective permissions are transferred to the zone manager.
US07730251B2
A support identification device comprising a support (BPA), e.g. a rack or backplane of a telecommunication system, and an identity receiver (PCB), e.g. a printed circuit board or card, coupled to an identity transmitter or connector of the support. The identity transmitter has several read pins (id1-id4=R1-R4) each at a logical level (0, 1) to indicate (identify) the type of support. The card (PCB) further has write terminals (W1, W2) coupled to dynamic terminals (D1, D2) of the support (BPA). These dynamic terminals are coupled to one or more of the read pins (id1-id4). The card is also provided with a program that sets the write terminals at a first logical level, reads a first logical level at each read pin (R1-R4), then sets the write terminals at a second logical level, reads a second logical level at each read pin, and determines from the difference between the first and the second read logical levels to which write terminal each read terminal is coupled, or not. This allows to obtain (2+w)n identifications with n read pins and w write pins, instead of 2n+w identifications with the same total number n+w of read or basic pins.
US07730249B2
In a device control apparatus, a processor that operates according to software, an OS storage unit stores Operating Systems that operate on the processor, and a storage unit stores privileged software which operates on the processor. The privileged software calls one of the Operating Systems when the processor receives an interrupt from a device, and the Operating System controls the device. Furthermore, a detecting unit detects an interrupt to the processor, a judging unit judges whether the Operating System has called the privileged software from the storage unit in a first predetermined time from detection of the interrupt, and a resetting unit resets the processor when the judging unit judges that the Operating Systcm 9em has not called the privileged software from the storage unit.
US07730248B2
An electronic configuration circuit includes a processing circuit (2610) operable for executing instructions and responsive to interrupt requests and operable in a plurality of execution environments (EE) selectively wherein a said execution environment (EE) is activated or suspended, a first configuration register (SCR) coupled to the processing circuit (2610) for identifying the interrupt request as an ordinary interrupt request IRQ when the execution environment (EE) is activated (EE_Active); and a second configuration register (SSM_FIQ_EE_y) for associating an identification of that execution environment (EE) with the same interrupt request, the processing circuit (2610) coupled (5910) to the second configuration register (SSM_FIQ_EE_y) to respond to the same interrupt request as a more urgent type of interrupt request when that execution environment (EE) is suspended (5920).
US07730246B2
A method is described that involves determining that software state information of program code is to be made visible to a monitoring system. The method also involves initiating the writing of the software state information into a register. The method also involves waiting for the software state information to be placed onto a link within a link based computing system.
US07730241B2
A process for configuring a computing device to operate with a peripheral device having a configuration control and that is coupled to the computing device via a network, including: detecting activation of the configuration control at the peripheral device; receiving information associated with a user of the computing device at the peripheral device; outputting information from the peripheral device dependent on the received information; and configuring the computing device to operate with the peripheral device using the outputted information.
US07730240B2
A method for defining a cycle time for a transmission cycle on a system bus of a monitoring and/or control system having at least one communication module and at least one input/output module, which is connected to the communication module via the system bus for transmitting measurement and/or control signals and is intended to input and/or output measurement and/or control signals to field applications, the at least one communication module having a time control unit for controlling a transmission cycle which is constantly repeatedly carried out and has defined communication times for the communication and input/output modules which are connected to the system bus, comprises measuring the signal propagation times on the system bus and defining the cycle time for a transmission cycle on the system bus on the basis of the longest signal propagation time measured.
US07730231B2
A data transfer interface system is provided that directly transfers data from one data storage drive to another data storage drive under the control of a host. The host and data storage drives are jointly connected to one another with data lines and control lines. Each data storage drive is connected separately to the host with a read/write command line. The host initializes the data storage drives providing initialization data to the drives where the data may include position information and commend information. After initialization, the host concurrently instructs one data storage drive to read the data from the drive while the other data storage drive writes the data to memory.
US07730224B2
According to the present invention, an information processing apparatus which has a recognition function for recognizing connected peripheral devices and can make the connected peripheral devices available, comprises a holding unit adapted to hold the upper limit of device drivers to be installed, and an install controlling unit adapted to install device drivers by the upper limit held by the holding unit when device drivers corresponding to peripheral devices recognized by the recognition function are installed.
US07730217B2
A system and method are provided for accelerating data transfer between networked databases. First provided are a plurality of databases coupled by a network. At least one laser unit is coupled to each database. In operation, such laser units are capable of communicating data between the databases via free space by way of a laser beam. This allows data communication at a rate faster than that which the network is capable.
US07730215B1
A network connection manager detects entry-portal-only network connections. The network connection manager requests content from at least one remote location through a network connection. The network connection manager examines the received content, and determines whether the network connection is an entry-portal-only network connection. In response to detecting an entry-portal-only condition, the network connection manager prompts the user to logon through the entry portal and establish a general purpose network connection.
US07730212B2
A message transformation selection tool and method for use in a distributed message processing system running applications on subsystems using incompatible message formats, selects the most appropriate output message format for a given input message format. Firstly, the tool determines compatibility of each field of the input message format with fields of all possible output message formats. Next, it statistically analyses the values of message fields in messages stored in message logs for each of the subsystems. On the basis of this analysis, the tool selects the best fit output message into which to transform a given input message.
US07730199B2
Methods and systems of processing a data stream are disclosed. A developer may develop a service only by programming a Service Unit (SU) including a service logic (SL) and including a Service Unit Description Language (SUDL) file, so that the developer may not need to program complicated stream processing code, such as stream source connection code, network input/output (I/O) code, and buffering code. In addition, the stream source connected dynamically to the service and a service execution mode (such as push and pull modes) may be converted by simply changing setting files based on the service model. The system includes modules for managing and processing the stream in reality, such as stream source connection modules, network I/O processing modules, and stream buffering modules, the modules operating the developed program through the service model.
US07730196B2
The present invention provides for flow and congestion control mechanisms in accordance with a Reliable Message protocol for Web Services (RM-WS). For flow control, one endpoint informs another endpoint of its available buffer size by including buffer size information in response messages. The response messages, typically RM-WS infrastructure messages, are then used to determine an upper limit on the number of messages that can be sent to the acceptor in order to prevent resending messages due to buffer overrun. In the case of congestion control, embodiments provide for increasing the number of in-flight messages until a failure point is found. The last successful rate below the failure point is the closest known point to the optimum point. Example embodiments then reset and try again raising the rate back to the last known good point and fine tuning from there using an algorithm that asymptotes the optimum rate.
US07730193B2
Time zone data is obtained from clients, such as web browsers, which interact with a server, and used to classify metrics of the clients such as response times. This classification technique does not require that a mapping of IP addresses to geographic location is available. Metrics from the clients are communicated from the server to a manager, which aggregates the metrics for each time zone. The manager can automatically associate geographic descriptors, such as names of cities, with the metrics in a report such as in a user interface display. If a partial mapping of IP address to location is available, the report can aggregate metrics which are grouped by IP address separately from metrics which are not grouped by IP address. The user interface display can be automatically populated with selectable nodes which allow a user to selectively view the metrics.
US07730192B2
A facility is described for managing parallel requests in a communications environment having devices or applications (“request handlers”) that support serial and parallel message processing. In various embodiments, the facility receives messages directed to a recipient from an application and sends a first message to the recipient without sending subsequently received messages to the recipient. Upon receiving a response from the recipient to the first message, the facility determines whether the recipient supports parallel or serial message processing. When the recipient supports parallel message processing, the facility sends the subsequently received messages to the recipient without awaiting a response to a message before sending another message. When the recipient supports serial message processing, the facility sends a subsequent message after receiving a response to a previously sent message.
US07730189B2
Techniques for network-initiated session recovery are described. A relationship is maintained between two identifiers both associated with a session between a first device and an access terminal in a wireless network. The first identifier is associated with the first device, and the second identifier is associated with a second device in communication with the first device. After a breach of the session, communications associated with the session are preserved based on the relationship between the first and second identifiers.
US07730187B2
Method and systems to resolve IP addresses in response to domain name resolution requests on a packet-switched network. A request to resolve the domain name is received at a CDN in a second location. The domain name is associated with a content object and is relayed with a terminal device, which receives Internet access from an access network. The access network comprises a first DNS system that functions in an authoritative DNS mode. The content object is realized in a first location of the terminal device, different from the second location. An IP address for the domain name is returned from the second DNS system, wherein the second DNS system alternatively operates in both the authoritative and a recursing DNS mode. The content object is delivered from the second location with the CDN toward the terminal device.
US07730163B2
A system that services international multimedia message calls includes an MMSC that determines from the destination MSISDN of the header of a multimedia message that the call is an international transmission and, at the same time, determines whether or not the forwarding destination supports number portability, by referencing the MSISDN routing table. If number portability is supported, it acquires the IMSI corresponding to the destination MSISDN by inquiring the HLR. Next, the MMSC acquires the domain name of the MMSE of the forwarding destination by referencing the IMSI routing table from the IMSI that has thus been acquired and forwards the multimedia message to this MMSE. If number portability is not supported, it forwards the multimedia message to the MMSE of the domain name acquired by referencing the MSISDN routing table.
US07730160B2
Methods, apparatuses, and articles for receiving a search request associated with a hospitality service from a client device, the search request including a plurality of search criteria, are described herein. Additionally, the methods, apparatuses, and articles further return to the client device an answer page having a plurality of answers potentially associated with the hospitality service, the plurality of answers identifying a plurality of information locations having information potentially associated with at least a one of the plurality of search criteria, where at least one of the answers includes at least one input field of a query answer page for entry of at least one feature of the hospitality service, the query answer page to be dynamically generated by one of the information locations in response to a query.
US07730158B2
In an information system including an information processing apparatus and an in-vehicle apparatus, a synchronization process is performed in a highly efficient manner, which allows an improvement in usability in playing back playable data on the in-vehicle apparatus. The information processing apparatus acquires a list of playable data already existing in the in-vehicle apparatus and produces synchronization data by extracting, as the synchronization data, playable data from the playable data existing in the information processing apparatus in accordance with the acquired list such that the extracted playable data does not include any part of the playable data already existing in the in-vehicle apparatus.
US07730156B1
A method and system for reporting changes in personal information management (PIM) data. A user operating a client station subscribes to a presence server to be notified when a change in another user's PIM data occurs. The presence server responsively subscribes to a PIM host. When the designated change occurs, the PIM host notifies the presence server. The presence server then correlates the notification with the user's subscription and responsively notifies the user of the change.
US07730154B2
A method, a system, an apparatus, and a computer program product are presented for fragment caching. After a message is received at a computing device that contains a cache management unit, a fragment in the message body of the message is cached. Subsequent requests for the fragment at the cache management unit result in a cache hit. The cache management unit operates equivalently in support of fragment caching operations without regard to whether the computing device acts as a client, a server, or a hub located throughout the network; in other words, the fragment caching technique is uniform throughout a network. Cache ID rules accompany a fragment from an origin server; the cache ID rules describe a method for forming a unique cache ID for the fragment such that dynamic content can be cached away from an origin server.
US07730144B2
A technique for providing high level network layer functionality to an IM environment involves providing a high level platform through which IM clients can connect to IM networks. A platform according to the technique may include a low level network connect engine, an aggregated low level information database, and/or a high level function engine. A method according to the technique may include facilitating a high level login; checking user configurations; accomplishing one or more IM network logins in accordance with the user configurations; and providing high level services in association with at least one of the IM networks. Another method according to the technique may include logging into a high level platform; logging into a first IM network; logging into a second IM network; and accessing at the high level platform aggregated low level information associated with the first IM network and the second IM network.
US07730135B2
A routing system is provided for intelligent routing of instant messages between clients connected to a data network and customer service representatives connected to the network. The system comprises at least one instant message server and at least one intermediate server connected to and addressable on the network, the intermediate server capable of routing and accessible to the instant message server. Clients connecting to the instant message server through instant message software assert a connection link advertised by the instant message server to establish bi-directional communication between the client machine and the intermediate server. In preferred application, the intermediate server interacts with the client for identification of client and client software. The client request is then routed to an appropriate customer service representative running compatible software according to enterprise rules establishing an active instant message connection between the client and the selected customer service representative.
US07730134B2
Methods, systems, and computer program products for tracking real-time communication data within a single contact tracking application for diverse communication providers and applications. A global data store is synchronized with real-time communication data, such as presence, status, unread messages, and unread notifications, from each application/provider. Real-time communication data for contacts dynamically determined to be recent contacts is retrieved from the data store, based on properties such as a most recent communication time, a communication count, and the like. Real-time communication data corresponding to contacts identified as pinned contacts for which display of real-time communication data is preferred, also may be retrieved. A user interface is generated for displaying the one or more recent and/or pinned contacts, which may vary in size based on the number of contacts identified as pinned contacts, from which a contact may be selected for real-time conversation or e-mail.
US07730131B2
A user interface is configured to identify and display each of the one or more service providers servicing the user's computing system. The interface also identifies the presence information that is being supplied to the service providers by the user's computing system for publication. The presence information that is provided to the service providers can include, but is not limited to, the name, alias, location, and network status of the user. A user can make global or discrete customized changes to the presence information that is provided to each of the service providers through the user interface. Modifications made to the presence information can also be made automatically to reflect a new condition or status in the user's presence on a network that is provided by a service provider.
US07730127B2
A method for video sharing, which realizes video sharing between an originating UE and a terminating UE when the terminating UE is not IMS core network registered. The method includes the following steps: an originating UE sends a video sharing request containing a URI of callee to an application server; the application server determines that the terminating UE of the callee is not IMS core network registered and notifies the terminating UE to register; the terminating UE activates a GPRS connection and registers with the IMS core network; the originating UE and the registered terminating UE set up a sharing session via the application server; the originating UE and the terminating UE share video information. A system and apparatus for practicing this method is also disclosed.
US07730125B2
A method for reporting a user's emergency condition by sending an emergency help request message in a TCP/IP format to an emergency service center (ESC). The help request message may be sent over the Internet to advantageously harness the data transmission resources provided by the Internet. A support service provider may commercially provide such an emergency reporting service to a group of subscribers. The service provider may receive emergency requests from the subscribers and may send those requests over the Internet to the emergency service center. The service provider may also convert any non-TCP/IP message received from the subscriber into a TCP/IP message prior to sending the message to the ESC. A per-usage fee or a flat subscription fee may be charged by the service provider to allow users to report emergency conditions over the Internet. The support service provider thus coordinates the emergency help on behalf of the user. Internet-based emergency message delivery may be useful in many situations, for example, when the person in need of help is mute, disabled or in a situation that prevents the person from orally requesting emergency help from the ESC.
US07730124B2
A system, method and computer program product for exchanging data between a client and information sources via a server. The invention operates by obtaining data objects from a plurality of sources, wherein the data objects have native data formats specific to the sources. The data objects are converted to a common data format, and are then transmitted to the client. At the client, the data objects are modified. The modified data objects are compliant with the common data format. The modified data objects are transmitted to the server, where they are converted to the native data formats specific to the sources associated therewith. Then, the converted modified data objects are transmitted to the associated sources.
US07730122B2
Provided are a method, system, and program for authenticating a node requesting another node to perform work on behalf of yet another node. A plurality of agent nodes in the network are associated with a multi-node, wherein the agent nodes are associated with machines in the network capable of performing operations on behalf of the multi-node. A target node receives a request from a calling node for the target node to perform operations on behalf of the multi-node, wherein the target node is one of the agent nodes associated with the multi-node. The target node determines whether the calling node is one of the agent nodes associated with the multi-node and determines whether the calling node is capable of authenticating with a server. The target node performs the operations requested by the calling node in response to determining that the calling node is associated with the multi-node and is capable of authenticating with the server.
US07730121B2
Methods and systems for parallel computation of an algorithm using a plurality of nodes configured as a Howard Cascade. A home node of a Howard Cascade receives a request from a host system to compute an algorithm identified in the request. The request is distributed to processing nodes of the Howard Cascade in a time sequence order in a manner to minimize the time to so expand the Howard Cascade. The participating nodes then perform the designated portion of the algorithm in parallel. Partial results from each node are agglomerated upstream to higher nodes of the structure and then returned to the host system. The nodes each include a library of stored algorithms accompanied by data template information defining partitioning of the data used in the algorithm among the number of participating nodes.
US07730120B2
Methods and systems are provided herein for the analysis of clickstream data of online users. The analysis methods and systems allow for the creation of new offline business methods based on online consumer behavior.
US07730118B2
An arithmetic unit for selectively implementing one of a multiply and multiply-accumulate instruction, including a multiplier, addition circuitry, a result register, and accumulator circuitry. The multiplier arranged to receive first and second operands and operable to generate multiplication terms. The addition circuitry for receiving multiplication terms from the multiplier and operable to combine them to generate a multiplication result. The result register for receiving the multiplication result from the adder. The accumulator circuitry connected to receive a value stored in the result register and an accumulate control signal which determines whether the arithmetic unit implements a multiply or a multiply-accumulate instruction.
US07730109B2
A system and method for incorporating message catalogs in remote modules. The system and method comprise a container server that identifies one or more modules for use with a container document, receives a module specification from a remote server, and serves the container document with module data based on the module specification, wherein the module data comprises a message reference that identifies a message catalog.
US07730107B1
A service registry that supports updating and sharing of profile data with partners. The registry allows organizations such as libraries and consortia to manage and share data that define their organizations (e.g., institution type, location, main and branch institutions, URLs for electronic services, circulation statistics, and population served). Organizations share a RSS-enabled obfuscated link with their partners that enables the partners to access a page with the latest institutional profile, and to be notified when it is updated. The obfuscation of the RSS feed provides a notification while keeping the data private. Every time a user creates an institutional profile, an equivalent RSS-enabled page is generated that can be reached through a RSS feed that has an obfuscated link name. The user shares this link with the institution's partners and others that have a need to know the information and to access details about the institution and its services.
US07730104B2
A method of extracting information from a structured document includes the steps of assigning a partial tree identifier inclusive of a tag identifier to a selected partial tree wherein the tag identifier includes a name of a tag corresponding to a root of the selected partial tree, a name of at least one format attribute of the tag, and a value of the at least one format attribute, arranging names of format attributes in a predetermined order in the tag identifier if the at least one format attribute of the tag includes two or more format attributes, and identifying a partial tree having a partial tree identifier identical to the partial tree identifier of the selected partial tree from a list of partial tree identifiers of partial trees that exist in the structured document after updating thereof.
US07730103B2
A system and method for the simplification of data structures, particularly those used for wireless communications, encodes data structures for efficient storage and access. Wireless devices are provisioned with user applications for accessing remote services, such as World Wide Web services. The user applications comprise a plurality of component definitions which typically describe complex data structures for execution by a runtime environment. The runtime environment is conditioned to use a manner to encode such data structures in flat arrays of primitive types.
US07730098B2
A method for supporting semantic matching queries in a database management system (DBMS) by extracting and storing the transitive/subsumption relationships from a given ontology data in a DBMS with native XML support. These transitive relationships are transformed into a set of XML documents that are natural mappings of the hierarchical structure of the transitive relationships. A table function construct expresses semantic matching queries in a declarative manner. The semantic matching queried are automatically rewritten or translated into standard SQL/XML search operators such as XQuery, XPath and XMLExists, and executed by the SQL/XML DBMS on the given instance data and the extracted transitive relationships data.
US07730094B2
Methods, systems, and data structures for communicating object metadata are provided. A generic metadata container is presented that allows object metadata to be described in an extensible manner using protocol-neutral and platform-independent methodologies. A metadata scope refers to a dynamic universe of targets to which the included metadata statements correspond. Metadata properties provide a mechanism to describe the metadata itself, and metadata security can be used to ensure authentic metadata is sent and received. Mechanisms are also provided to allow refinement and replacement of metadata statements. The generic metadata container can be adapted to dynamically define access control rights to a range of objects by a range of users, including granted and denied access rights.
US07730082B2
A system and method for serving content in a container document. The system comprises a container server that identifies one or more modules for use with a container document, receives a module specification from a remote server, and serves the container document including module data based on the module specification. The module specification comprises a content element and one or more optional preference elements that enable the container server to provide preferences to the module.
US07730072B2
A method and apparatus for use in an information retrieval system is provided, which derives related informational items that have a usage based relationship strength, and which results in an efficient and more accurate dynamic relationship association between informational items. This system comprises the steps for detecting a selection of at least a first informational item and a second informational item in an information retrieval session. A relationship type is assigned based on characteristic similarities between the first informational item and the second informational item. Additionally, a relationship strength is assigned based on historical frequency of the consecutive selection of the first and second informational items and providing an access to the second informational item upon detection of the first being accessed by a user of the information retrieval system. Also, in accordance with the principles of the present invention, the extraction of textual database fields; the application of multiple text classification algorithms; the merging of the algorithm results; the encoding of the merged results as a Bayesian-type link; the use of feedback methods to weight, prune and age the relationship link serves to automate and enhance the process of classification in an information retrieval system.
US07730070B2
Systems and methods for processing an index are described. An index may be merged with another index of comparable age and size into a single index. Since older indexes are less likely to need updating, they are “set aside” to age based on certain adaptive criteria such as the age and size of the index, percentage of deletions, and how long it takes to update the index. An index that has been set aside may be compacted into a format that is optimized for fast searching.
US07730064B2
A system and method for viewing models and model variables within a sophisticated modeling environment is disclosed. The system provides varying levels of insight into a modeling infrastructure to help the user understand model and model variable dependencies, usage, distribution, and/or the like. The method includes storing model and model variable data within a relational database system, receiving a request from a user interfacing with the system via a web interface, extracting search criteria and presentation preferences from the request, formulating and executing one or more queries on the database to retrieve the required data, formatting the data in accordance with the request, and retuning the data to the requesting user in the form of a web page.
US07730060B2
The subject disclosure pertains to a class of object finder queries that return the best target objects that match a set of given keywords. Mechanisms are provided that facilitate identification of target objects related to search objects that match a set of query keywords. Scoring mechanisms/functions are also disclosed that compute relevance scores of target objects. Further, efficient early termination techniques are provided to compute the top K target objects based on a scoring function.
US07730059B2
Methods, systems, and computer readable medium for displaying results of a search query. In one implementation, the method includes receiving a query, obtaining documents that satisfy the query, constructing a facet hierarchy based on documents that satisfy the query, creating a cube structure based on the facet hierarchy, and displaying a multi-dimensional search interface based on the cube structure.
US07730052B2
A virtual item set representing a subset of items stored within an original data structure. The system includes a virtual item set processor configured to generate a plurality of virtual items that are a subset of items in the original data structure, and a virtual item set including the plurality of virtual items. Each virtual item includes a data field containing a data item from the original data structure and a metadata field, the meta field data including position information representing the position of the data field within an original data structure.
US07730049B2
A geographic database represents roads including an altitudinal component of the geometry of the roads. The altitudinal component of the geometry of roads is represented using data that indicate straight line segments and vertical curves, in particular parabolic vertical curves. The straight lines and vertical curves are determined by providing data, indicating the altitude at a plurality of locations along portions of roads, as an input to a Hough transform to determine the straight line segments and vertical curves that coincide with the portions of the roads vertically. Then, data that define the straight line segments and vertical curves are stored to represent the altitudinal component of the geometry of the portions of the roads in the geographic database. The altitudinal variation of roads is thus expressed in closed form. From this closed form representation, the slope or grade at any point along the road can be easily computed.
US07730044B2
A mechanism works in conjunction with a DB2® Log and an analysis tool, such as BMC's Log Master™, to handle logged data for Large Objects (LOBs) stored in tables of a DB2 database system. A plurality of controls track data logged for the LOBs. The mechanism reads log records from a DB2 Log and uses the controls to determine which of the tracked LOBs is associated with the log records and obtains data from those associated log records. The mechanism builds keys to index the data and stores the keys and the data in a Virtual Storage Access Method store having Key Sequenced Data Sets maintained separate from the log record store for the DB2 Log. When requested by the analysis tool, the data in the store can be reassembled using the keys and map records in the first store that map the logged data for the tracked LOBs.
US07730037B2
Disclosed is a fragile watermarking scheme for detecting and localizing malicious alterations made to a database relation with categorical attributes without introducing distortions to cover data. A watermark for a tuple group may be inserted by selectively switching the position of tuples in tuple pairs using a tuple hash associated with each tuple in the tuple pair; and a corresponding bit in a watermark derived from the tuple group using a embedding key, a primary key and hash functions.
US07730030B1
This invention disclosed a system and method for resource based virtual communities. Any resources that can be shared or used by multiple people, including Internet resources, software or other resources can be the basis for the community, whose members are users of the resource. Web resources include web sites, web pages, news groups or discussion forums. Other types of resources include software products, bulletin boards, games or other products. The community composes of the current resource users such as web page readers, bulletin board posters, game players, software users. Whenever a person accesses or uses the resource, the user is automatically joined as part of the community. At the same time they are using the resource, they can access all services provide by the community, such as talking with other members, collaborating with others, publishing comments, or even adding new community services.
US07730024B2
An Analysis Services server component that facilitates data mining using Analysis Services in a distributed environment is provided. The Analysis Services server component can be a component of a distributed Analysis Services system for distributed data mining. The distributed Analysis Services system can provide support for collaboration between multiple Analysis Services server components having similar models that can be shared for collaborative work.Data can be distributed to a plurality of Analysis Services server components so that multiple data mining models can be built on the server components based on certain parameters (e.g., number of servers to use, accuracy details etc. as algorithmic parameters). Based on that when a model is being processed, data can be shipped across multiple Analysis Services server components and multiple models can be built. During prediction these analysis services server components can collaborate between them to give the prediction results by different mechanisms.
US07730011B1
Regular expressions used for searching for patterns in captured objects can be grouped into attributes. Such attributes can be associated with captured objects using tags stored in a database. In one embodiment, the present invention includes capturing an object being transmitted over a network, and determining that a regular expression appears in the object, the regular expression belonging to a group of one or more regular expressions associated with an attribute. If a regular expression associated with the attribute is found in the object, then an attribute field of a tag containing metadata related to the captured object is set to indicate the presence of the attribute in the captured object. The presence of the attribute in the captured object can now be determined from the tag, which can be stored in a database.
US07729996B2
A technique for accessing an electronic commerce service is provided in which information associated with a subscriber's account with an electronic commerce service is stored along with first subscriber credentials for that subscriber to access the services. An account is created during enrollment. The enrollment is associated with a first electronic commerce participant, i.e., a biller or a payee. A request for the subscriber to access an electronic commerce service in association with a second electronic commerce participant is received. Without the subscriber, or any other entity providing the credentials, the subscriber is granted access to the requested service utilizing the account established in association with the first participant. This access is granted based upon the subscriber providing information other than credentials, the provided information being information stored by the service provider in association with the enrollment.
US07729991B2
A method and system are described for completing and submitting an electronic voter registration form and an electronic ballot over a network. In accordance with exemplary embodiments of the present invention, a blank registration form is transmitted, upon request at a first computer, via a transaction mediator, to the first computer. Registration information is transmitted from the first computer, via a transaction mediator, to a computer database that resides on a transaction repository server, all of which are networked together, to establish a registered voter. Upon request by a registered voter at a second computer, a blank electronic ballot is transmitted from the computer database that resides on the transaction repository server, via a transaction mediator, to the second computer. A voted electronic ballot is transmitted from the second computer, via the transaction mediator, to the computer database that resides on the transaction repository server.
US07729990B2
Systems and methods of processing financial transaction information are provided. In one embodiment, a financial institution runs an index generating software program to generate a downloadable index of images of cleared checks. The account customer uses complementary software to remotely download, search, and display the index of cleared check images, together with the images themselves. In another embodiment, the financial institution periodically runs a software program to generate digital archives of the cleared check images for the account customer. The account customer is provided with secure online access to the digital archives. The account customer may use standard financial bookkeeping software to download and display the cleared check images and associate the cleared check images with transactions in the associated account registers.
US07729984B1
A financial account that represents value is maintained on behalf of an account holder. The financial account has a plurality of account identifiers that enable a party that presents a debit account identifier to effect a debit transaction in the account, or a party that presents a general account identifier to effect both debit and credit transactions in the account. A third party is permitted to effect a credit transaction in the account by presenting a credit identifier, which is an identifier different from the debit or general account identifiers. The credit identifier is insufficient to enable a third party to effect a debit transaction in the account.
US07729983B1
A system providing a comprehensive tool useful in credit risk managing a set of loans. The system includes a method for obtaining an estimated financial outcome, i.e., a gain or a loss, for a particular loan, and applying the estimated loss for to the set. The system also includes a method for obtaining a probability of a loss for a particular loan, and applying the probability of loss to the set. The system further includes the generation of a list of loans from the set of loans with a heightened risk of loss.
US07729980B2
An incentive based loan method and related system provides a loan to a purchaser in association with the purchase of goods or services. An amount of purchases to be made by a purchaser, such as a small business, is projected over a period of time. The purchases can be goods or services, such as package shipping services. Based on the amount of the projected purchases, an incentive rate is agreed upon by the seller of the goods or services and the purchaser. In lieu of receiving the discounted rate on the goods or services during the period of time, the present value of the total incentives to be earned over the projection period is loaned to the purchaser. The purchaser thereafter pays list price for the goods or services, and the incentives earned are applied to the required loan payment.
US07729978B2
A system and methods for dynamically changing a trade order quantity in an electronic trading environment are described herein. According to one example embodiment, an automated trading tool determines if a leaned on quantity of a trading strategy has increased or decreased and if so, dynamically changing a desired order quantity to reflect the change in the leaned on quantity. Dynamically changing an order quantity may be more profitable for a trader as order queue position may be maintained and portion of the desired order quantity may get filled; rather than a trader losing their order queue position and/or taking a chance of not getting any of their order quantity filled.
US07729971B2
A computer-aided financial analysis system and method provides research analytical capabilities for modeling financial security holdings that include the capability to conduct multi-dimensional dynamic searches across fundamental research, technical research, market data and exposure to exogenous economic and market factors. The capability to isolate securities most susceptible to market movements and overlay available research analyses on top of this view and to view exposure to directional change in any exogenous economic and market factor on an individual security or portfolio of securities in a real-time, intuitive manner via charts, tables and/or heat maps is also provided.
US07729967B2
Systems and methods of trading items on an electronic trading system according to the invention are provided. The embodiments of the invention are based at least in part on a new order type. The new order type is an only at best order type, whereby trades are preferably only executed at the best price the item is being bought or sold.
US07729961B1
Systems, methods, and computer-readable storage media are described for normalizing HMDA data. In one exemplary embodiment, a computer-implemented method of normalizing HMDA data comprises receiving HMDA data including at least one of HMDA data reports and loan-level public HMDA data, the HMDA data having information that varies as a function of time; correcting errors in the HMDA data; normalizing the HMDA data across any variation in the information; summarizing the normalized HMDA data; and outputting the summarized and normalized HMDA data to an application for analysis.
US07729956B2
The present invention provides systems and methods to allow those offering products and services, for example, via web pages, to collect accurate preferences and requirements with a minimum of effort required from a potential customer. Product information containing priority indicators is presented to a user while the user is viewing product information. By selecting a priority indicator, he user may indicate that he is interested in specific product features associated with each priority indicator. This information may then be used to construct detailed product information, quotations, demonstrations, or other material. Thus, accurate, valuable, and useful customer data may be collected without imposing on potential customers to invest a great deal of effort.
US07729951B2
The present invention is directed to a dynamic virtual shopping area based on user preferences and history. A method for providing a dynamic virtual shopping area in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention includes: capturing user preferences; and dynamically customizing a virtual shopping area for an avatar based on the user preferences, such that the avatar is presented with items the avatar is more likely to purchase upon entering the virtual shopping area.
US07729947B1
A route may be created and provided to a client. A stopping point along the route is received, and a search is performed for at least one point of interest according to the stopping point. Further, a route is created and provided to a client, and at least one stopping point associated with the route is identified based on at least one of a distance along the route, an indication of a place on a map, a category search, and a key word search.
US07729943B1
A processor-based system utilized by a consumer may be controlled and managed by a service provider for the benefit of a retail vendor. The service provider may control the content that is displayed on the client system. For example, the service provider may control the initial sets of graphical user interfaces that are provided to enable the consumer to make service selections. In addition, the consumer may be asked for information that enables the system to customize subsequent information provided to the consumer. As a result, the consumer's processor-based system may be remotely managed and controlled to facilitate communications between a particular retail vendor and a consumer.
US07729928B2
A system for managing remote doctor medical request workflow may include a workflow module that optimizes assignments of medical requests to remote doctors based on parameterized doctor and scheduling information and may further include a forecasting module that predicts the hospital credentials, state licenses or doctors needed to fulfill a projected volume of future medical requests. In one embodiment, radiologists are parameterized and then matched with requests for radiological readings based on information extracted from DICOM image headers and merged with associated information contained in a medical work order. In this embodiment, the radiologists are parameterized based on their locations, schedules, hospital credentials, state licensing, compensation metrics, and performance metrics and incoming requests for review of CT scans and the like are filtered based on the parameterized radiologist information to identify one or more radiologists who are to fulfill the medical request.
US07729927B2
A new and improved method of dispensing, tracking and managing pharmaceutical product samples by communicatively linking prescribers and pharmacies to a central computing station. The present invention entails utilizing product trial media that is exchanged for actual pharmaceutical product. The media is encoded with information that identifies a particular pharmaceutical trial product, such as by magnetic encoding similar to that used with credit cards. The media is distributed to participating medical doctors or prescribers who then activate the media via the central computing station. The prescriber then transfers the activated media to patients who then present the media to participating pharmacies. Before filling the pharmaceutical trial product identified by the media, the pharmacy validates the media via a link with the central computing station. Then, the pharmacy dispenses the prescribed pharmaceutical trial product. The central computing station also includes a database that records data related to the use of the media so that all pharmaceutical trial products can be accounted for.
US07729921B2
For design of a speech interface accepting speech control options, speech samples are stored on a computer-readable medium. A similarity calculating unit calculates a certain indication of similarity of first and second sets of ones of the speech samples, the first set of speech samples being associated with a first speech control option and the second set of speech samples being associated with a second speech control option. A display unit displays the similarity indication.In another aspect, word vectors are generated for the respective speech sample sets, indicating frequencies of occurrence of respective words in the respective speech sample sets. The similarity calculating unit calculates the similarity indication responsive to the word vectors of the respective speech sample sets.In another aspect, a perplexity indication is calculated for respective speech sample sets responsive to language models for the respective speech sample sets.
US07729919B2
The present invention provides a system and method for combining VoiceXML with an speech application development tool such as SALT. In one aspect of the present invention, a VoiceXML module includes VoiceXML executable instructions. A SALT module includes speech application language tags to execute instructions associated with the VoiceXML module.
US07729917B2
A device of the present invention obtains a character string of a speech recognition result and a confidence factor thereof. A time monitor monitors time and determines whether or not processing is delayed by checking the confidence factor and time status. When the processing is not delayed, a checker is asked to perform manual judgment. In this event, speech is processed and the manual judgment of the speech recognition result is performed on the basis of the processed speech. When the processing is delayed, automatic judgment is performed by use of the confidence factor. When the character string is judged to be correct as a result of the manual judgment or the automatic judgment, the character string is displayed as a confirmed character string. When the character string is judged to be incorrect, automatic correction is performed by matching on the basis of a next candidate obtained by the speech recognition, texts and attributes of the presentation, a script text, and the like. Character string after the automatic correction is displayed as an unconfirmed character string.
US07729911B2
A speech recognition method comprising the steps of: storing multiple recognition models for a vocabulary set, each model distinguished from the other models in response to a Lombard characteristic, detecting at least one speaker utterance in a motor vehicle, selecting one of the multiple recognition models in response to a Lombard characteristic of the at least one speaker utterance, utilizing the selected recognition model to recognize the at least one speaker utterance; and providing a signal in response to the recognition.
US07729908B2
Joint signal and model based noise matching noise robustness method for automatic speech recognition
A noise robustness method operates jointly in a signal domain and a model domain. For example, energy is added in the signal domain for frequency bands where an actual noise level of an incoming signal is lower than a noise level used to train models, thus obtaining a compensated signal. Also, energy is added in the model domain for frequency bands where noise level of the incoming signal or the compensated signal is higher than the noise level used to train the models. Moreover, energy is never removed, thereby avoiding problems of higher sensitivity of energy removal to estimation errors.
US07729904B2
A client device incorporates partial speech recognition for recognizing a spoken query by a user. The full recognition process is distributed over a client/server architecture, so that the amount of partial recognition signal processing tasks can be allocated on a dynamic basis based on processing resources, channel conditions, etc. Partially processed speech data from the client device can be streamed to a server for a real-time response. Additional natural language processing operations can also be performed to implement sentence recognition functionality.
US07729903B2
The central idea of the present invention is that the prior procedure, namely interpolation relative to the filter coefficients and the amplification value, for obtaining interpolated values for the intermediate audio values starting from the nodes has to be dismissed. Coding containing less audible artifacts can be obtained by not interpolating the amplification value, but rather taking the power limit derived from the masking threshold, for each node, i.e. for each parameterization to be transferred, and then performing the interpolation between these power limits of neighboring nodes, such as, for example, a linear interpolation. On both the coder and the decoder side, an amplification value can then be calculated from the intermediate power limit determined such that the quantizing noise caused by quantization, which has a constant frequency before post-filtering on the decoder side, is below the power limit or corresponds thereto after post-filtering.
US07729895B2
Methods and systems may be provided for simulating forming a wide variety of directional wellbores including wellbores with variable tilt rates and/or relatively constant tilt rates. The methods and systems may also be used to simulate forming a wellbore in subterranean formations having a combination of soft, medium and hard formation materials, multiple layers of formation materials and relatively hard stringers disposed throughout one or more layers of formation material. Values of bit steerability and controllability calculated from such simulations may be used to design and/or select drilling equipment for use in forming a directional wellbore.
US07729889B2
A method of random sampling a signal includes determining a bounded sample timing interval, and acquiring a sample of the signal at random sample times within the bounded sample timing interval. Sample acquisition is repeated until the signal to noise ratio of an estimated spectrum of the signal, produced from the acquired samples, achieves a target signal to noise ratio.
US07729870B2
Methods for detecting oil conditions including a top level of an oil in an oil system which is reduced to a top level of a predetermined threshold amount of the oil, a normal oil deterioration which occurs in the absence of water having a confirmed actual remaining usage of the oil, and an abnormal oil deterioration which occurs in the presence of water. The methods include a first preferred embodiment which applies reference and sensing capacitors to obtain a measured temperature compensated electrical property of the oil. From which a quantitatively measured remaining usage is obtained so as to a predicted one for the oil. Therefore, the respective top oil level, or the normal or the abnormal oil deterioration can be concluded according to the measured remaining usage which is respectively larger than, or similar to, or less than the predicted one for the oil. A second preferred embodiment only includes the sensing capacitor for obtaining the measured temperature compensated electrical property of the oil. Variations to the embodiments lead to application of at least two sensing capacitors to monitor an uneven distribution of the oil deterioration or a full range of the level of the oil in the entire oil system.
US07729867B2
A method of introducing conjugated caps onto molecular fragments is described. A first molecule may be decomposed or cut into molecular fragments. Molecular caps may then be introduced in the form of conjugated caps onto the molecular fragments at the decomposition points to form molecular portions. The interaction energy between the molecular portion and a second molecule can then be calculated. This scheme, termed molecular fractionation with conjugated caps, makes it possible and practical to carry out full quantum mechanical (ab initio) calculation of intermolecular interaction energies involving molecules, such as proteins or other biological molecules.
US07729861B2
A method for conducting a formation test includes providing a volume change model for a tool component, and providing a control program that uses the volume change model to estimate a system volume change resulting from a change in the tool component during a downhole operation. An apparatus for conducting a formation test includes a carrier, a formation test tool, a measurement device that estimates a change in a tool component during operation, and a processor that uses a volume change model to estimate a system volume change resulting at least in part from the change in the tool component during a downhole operation.
US07729853B2
An integrated guidance system is disclosed. The integrated guidance system includes a position determination system adapted for determining a current position. Additionally, the integrated guidance system further includes a lightbar device adapted for providing a visual representation of the deviation of the current position from a desired path to guide movement along the desired path. Furthermore, the integrated guidance system has a data input device, and a display device for displaying text and graphics. Moreover, the integrated guidance system includes a user interface system adapted for facilitating user interaction by integrating operation of the position determination system, the lightbar device, the data input device, and the display device. In an embodiment, the user interface system comprises a processor and processor-executable instructions for implementing a user interface.
US07729849B2
A method for detecting the angular position of a gas knob of a motorcycle; the method presents the steps of: detecting simultaneously four mutually redundant measurements of the angular position of the gas knob by means of two mutually independent angular-position sensors forming part of an acquisition system; making a cross comparison two by two between the four measurements for diagnosing any possible malfunctioning of the angular-position sensors; and determining the angular position of the gas knob, using at least one measurement supplied by an angular-position sensor operating properly.
US07729847B2
The combustion air-fuel ratio is made leaner than the stoichiometric air-fuel ratio at the time of engine startup and the combustion air-fuel ratio is made richer than the stoichiometric air-fuel ratio and the exhaust downstream part of the three-way catalyst apparatus is raised in temperature when it is judged that just the exhaust upstream part of the three-way catalyst apparatus arranged in the engine exhaust system has been raised to the catalyst activation temperature.
US07729846B2
A control device for an engine includes an air-fuel ratio detector detecting an air-fuel ratio of an exhaust gas of the engine. A feedback controller performs a feedback control of an amount of a fuel injection of mixed fuel including alcohol so that the air-fuel ratio detected by the air-fuel ratio detector is come close to a target air-fuel ratio, the mixed fuel supplied from a fuel feeder. A concentration estimator estimates a concentration of the alcohol in the mixed fuel based on the air-fuel ratio of the exhaust gas and a correction amount for the amount of the fuel injection controlled by the feedback control. A malfunction determiner determines that the fuel feeder has a malfunction when the correction amount is greater than or equal to a value for a period which is longer than a first period in a second period. The second period is from a first time point when the feedback controller starts to perform the feedback control.
US07729844B2
A method and system for controlling an engine includes a spark ignition (SI) control module operating the engine in a spark ignition mode in a high lift valve state and a pre-HCCI control module entering a matching state when homogeneous charge compression ignition (HCCI) mode conditions are met. When a matching condition is met, the pre-HCCI control module enters a pre-homogeneous charge compression ignition mode and performs spark retardation, stratified operation or lean operation and commands a low lift valve state. The system also includes an HCCI control module entering an HCCI mode and when in the low lift valve state.
US07729842B2
A vehicle includes an internal combustion engine that drives a first set of wheels, a generator, wherein the generator is powered by the internal combustion engine, a inverter connected to an output of the generator, an AC motor connected to an output of the inverter, and a controller, wherein the controller controls the generator, the inverter and the AC motor. The AC motor drives a second set of wheels. Power output by the generator is controlled according to a desired torque output for the second set of wheels. The controller calculates a potential power based upon the current status of the generator and controls the AC motor by the inverter based on the smaller of the desired torque and the potential power output of the generator.
US07729838B2
A vehicle having a sun gear, a carrier, and a ring gear of a planetary gear mechanism respectively connected to a first motor, an engine, and a drive shaft and second motor. When the combination of measured accelerator opening and measured vehicle speed is in an ordinary acceleration area, the vehicle sets a torque demand to decrease with an increase in measured vehicle speed at a specific reduction rate that ensures substantially constant output power to the drive shaft corresponding to the accelerator opening. When the combination of the measured accelerator opening and the measured vehicle speed is in an acceleration feel improvement area, on the other hand, the vehicle sets the torque demand to an extent of or below a maximum allowable value of the torque demand to decrease with an increase in measured vehicle speed at a lower reduction rate than the specific reduction rate.
US07729837B2
When the vehicle is traveling on an uphill road (step 100: YES), the ECU executes a program in which, if the speed of the vehicle is equal to or higher than Vblt (step 102: NO) and a speed ratio γ(1) required to secure a sufficient climbing capacity of the vehicle is equal to or lower than a speed ratio γ(2) required to secure a sufficient returnability of the belt of the continuously variable transmission (step 106: NO), a belt returnability securing control is executed (step 110), and otherwise (step 102: YES or step 106: YES), a climbing control is executed (step 104 or step 108).
US07729829B2
A vehicle suspension system (19) includes a suspension (47). A lateral acceleration sensor (32) generates a lateral acceleration signal. A roll rate sensor (34) generates a roll rate signal. A controller (26) detects an irregularity in the suspension in response to the lateral acceleration signal and the roll rate signal. A method of detecting suspension irregularities in a vehicle (10) includes the generating of a lateral acceleration signal and a roll rate signal. Roll angle is determined in response to the lateral acceleration signal and roll rate signal. A roll gradient, a roll acceleration coefficient, and a roll damping parameter are determined in response to at least the roll angle. The roll gradient, the roll acceleration coefficient, and the roll damping parameter are compared to associated nominal values. A suspension irregularity is indicated in response to the comparison.
US07729817B2
An emergency flight plan useable for an aircraft provided with a navigation system wherein the flight plan includes a pointer matrix including a number of cells. Each cell of the matrix has a unique identification and each cell corresponds to a geographical area, and wherein each cell of the matrix includes an identification of a cell corresponding to a next waypoint in an emergency route.
US07729816B1
A system includes an angular rate sensor disposed in a vehicle for providing angular rates of the vehicle, and an instrument disposed in the vehicle for providing line-of-sight control with respect to a line-of-sight reference. The instrument includes an integrator which is configured to integrate the angular rates of the vehicle to form non-compensated attitudes. Also included is a compensator coupled across the integrator, in a feed-forward loop, for receiving the angular rates of the vehicle and outputting compensated angular rates of the vehicle. A summer combines the non-compensated attitudes and the compensated angular rates of the to vehicle to form estimated vehicle attitudes for controlling the instrument with respect to the line-of-sight reference. The compensator is configured to provide error compensation to the instrument free-of any feedback loop that uses an error signal. The compensator may include a transfer function providing a fixed gain to the received angular rates of the vehicle. The compensator may, alternatively, include a is transfer function providing a variable gain as a function of frequency to operate on the received angular rates of the vehicle.
US07729815B2
A vehicle remote control apparatus (100) for causing a vehicle (101) to perform a requested operation in response to a remote operation request from a vehicle user includes a location identifying unit (204) configured to identify a latest vehicle location where the vehicle is parked, and a decision unit configured to decide whether it is acceptable to cause the vehicle to perform an operation requested from the vehicle user at the latest vehicle location identified by the location identifying unit.
US07729814B2
A vehicle control system is for a vehicle including a data communications bus extending throughout the vehicle, and at least one vehicle device connected to the data communications bus. The vehicle control system includes a a true controller at the vehicle for controlling the vehicle device via a true command on the data communications bus. The true controller also controls the vehicle device via a respective counteracting command on the data communications bus based upon detecting a rogue controller attempt to control the at least one vehicle device via a rogue command on the data communications bus. The true controller may thus counteract a rogue controller attempt to start the engine, unlock vehicle doors, roll down windows, and/or disarm the vehicle security system, for example.
US07729800B2
A method and apparatus wherein traditional design methodologies directed toward obtaining minimized component costs are largely set aside in favor of mass customization, reduced design and ownership costs, and shorter design cycles. The distributed architecture contemplates widespread distribution of monitoring and control functions for most device-specific hardware under the direction of a CPU module. In implementation of the distributed architecture, various component modules are placed in communication with the CPU module through at least one and preferably multiple communication busses.
US07729797B2
An article transport apparatus comprises: an article transporting mobile body movable along a predetermined path extending along a storage rack having a plurality of article storage units; a loading unit disposed on the predetermined path for supporting an article to be stored; an article transfer device disposed on the mobile body for transferring the article; operation control device for controlling traveling operation of the mobile body and transfer operation of the article transfer device; and article position detection device for detecting a position, in a first direction along a traveling direction of the mobile body, of the article transferred from the loading unit to the mobile body; wherein the operation control device obtains a misalignment amount with respect to a predetermined proper position, in the first direction, of the article transferred from the loading unit to the mobile body, based on detected information from the article position detection device, and corrects a horizontal component of an article transfer position for an article storage unit to which the article is to be transferred, based on the misalignment amount.
US07729791B2
A method of operating a portable electronics device can include integrated operation of media playback processing and non-media-playback processing (such as, for example, a game). The method can include receiving an event corresponding to operation of a user interface item by a user of the portable electronics device. The received event can be provided to the non-media-playback processing. The non-media-playback processing can determine whether to cause an action corresponding to the provided received event with respect to the non-media-playback processing. For an event determined by the non-media-playback processing to not cause an action corresponding to the provided received event with respect to the non-media-playback processing, the provided received event can be provided to the media playback processing. Typically, the operating performed by the media playback processing based on the event can be the processing that would otherwise be performed by the media playback processing if the non-media-playback processing was not even occurring.
US07729785B2
A method and a controller are provided for controlling the execution of a computer program having multitasking capability on a computing element of a controller for controlling and/or regulating a system. The system may take up various possible system states. At the beginning of the execution of a function, the following steps may be executed: subdividing the computer program into a plurality of functionally linked functionalities; defining possible operating states for the functionalities; defining the possible system states of the system, in that specifiable operating states are allocated to the functionalities for each system state; ascertaining the dependencies of the functionalities upon one another, a first functionality dependent upon a second functionality if at least one input variable of the first functionality is ascertained in the second functionality; and centrally specifying the operating states required for a certain system state, taking into consideration the ascertained dependencies among the functionalities and further boundary conditions.
US07729784B2
An electrode generally comprises a body, which makes up the electrode and which is formed as a thin flexible polymeric substance such as urethane foam. The electrode body includes a central inner conductive area, which is associated with a first electrode connector. Around the inner conductive area is a non-conductive area formed as a ring around the inner conductive area and there is also an outer conductive area provided as a ring, concentrically arranged around the non-conductive area. Electrode connector (6B) is connected to the outer conductive ring. The electrode body, which has a release tag and is supported on a backing sheet and body can be peeled off the backing sheet using the release tag. The condition of the electrode can be evaluated using a test device, which can for example measure electrical impedance across the electrode via electrodes (6A) and (6B).
US07729760B2
A method, system, graphical user interface, and apparatus are provided for performing a patient management function providing parameter data for delivering a therapeutic signal. A first electrical signal comprising a first therapy parameter is applied to a portion of a patient's body for providing a therapy. At least one patient parameter relating to an effect of applying the first electrical signal is acquired. A second therapy parameter for defining a second electrical signal to provide a therapy is determined in response to the patient parameter. The second therapy parameter is displayed on an external device. An input signal for defining the second electrical signal is received. The input signal includes a signal indicative of the whether the second therapy parameter was accepted or not.
US07729756B2
A measurement system for examining a section of tissue on a patient in which electric current and/or voltages are applied to a patient in at least one location and are measured on the section of tissue to be examined by at least one electrode of a contact surface of the measurement system. As a result, conclusions can be drawn about the interior of the section of tissue to be examined. The electrode is at least partially surrounded by a conductor element for contacting with a potential which deviates from that of the conductor element.
US07729752B2
A non-contact cardiac mapping method is disclosed that includes: (i) inserting a catheter into a heart cavity having an endocardium surface, the catheter including multiple, spatially distributed electrodes; (ii) measuring signals at the catheter electrodes in response to electrical activity in the heart cavity with the catheter spaced from the endocardium surface; and (iii) determining physiological information at multiple locations of the endocardium surface based on the measured signals and positions of the electrodes with respect to the endocardium surface. Related systems and computer programs are also disclosed.
US07729751B2
A spectral image obtainment unit obtains spectral image data by receiving reflection light in different wavelength bands, into which light reflected by a living body mucous membrane has been separated, at a light receiving unit by causing a ratio of a light receiving level in a short wavelength band with respect to a light receiving level in a long wavelength band to be greater than a ratio of spectral reflectance in the short wavelength band at the living body mucous membrane with respect to spectral reflectance in the long wavelength band thereat. A spectral image data operation unit performs a spectral image estimation operation by correcting the value of the spectral image data to that of spectral image data obtained by receiving light without causing the ratio to increase. Accordingly, a diagnostic spectral image of the living body mucous membrane is obtained in an electronic endoscopic apparatus.
US07729749B2
Methods and apparatus are provided for evaluating a connective tissue condition of a patient (e.g., a disease, a risk of developing a disease, a risk of developing a fracture, etc.). For example, an indicator associated with the connective tissue condition may be generated. First, tissue at a first location of the body of the patient is irradiated using a light source. The tissue may be irradiated in vivo through the skin or via an incision, for example. Alternatively, a biopsy of the tissue may be irradiated. Then, spectral content information for light scattered, reflected, or transmitted by the irradiated tissue is determined. The spectral content information may be used, at least in part, to generate an indicator associated with a condition of connective tissue at a second location of the body of the patient, the second location remote from the first location. The indicator may, for example, assist a physician in diagnosing or ruling out the connective tissue condition.
US07729743B2
The invention relates to a method and an arrangement for the intravascular or intracardial navigation of a catheter (5). Using an X-ray fluoroscopy device (1), firstly an image database of 2D images is generated, where at the same time as each 2D image (I) is taken the associated heartbeat phase is recorded using an ECG (8). During the catheter intervention, the position of the catheter (5) is measured by means of a position measurement unit (6), and at the same time the ECG and preferably also a signal that is dependent on the breathing movement are recorded. The current spatial position of the catheter (5) that is measured is then assigned the 2D image of the image database which corresponds in terms of the heartbeat phase and also possibly in terms of the breathing phase, on which image the position of the catheter can be represented.
US07729740B2
An apparatus measures electromagnetic signals from a weak signal source. A plurality of primary sensors is placed in functional proximity to the weak signal source with an electromagnetic field isolation surface arranged adjacent the primary sensors and between the weak signal source and sources of ambient noise. A plurality of reference sensors is placed adjacent the electromagnetic field isolation surface and arranged between the electromagnetic isolation surface and sources of ambient noise.
US07729737B2
Embodiments of the present invention provide for raising a background current setting for a biosensor above the actual (measured) background current present (i.e., overestimating the background current), particularly in the hypoglycemic range, to improve sensor accuracy and decrease the chance of glucose value overestimation by the sensor.
US07729736B2
A medical sensor may be adapted to account for factors that cause irregularities in pulse oximetry measurements or other spectrophotemetric measurements. Sensors are provided with surface features that reduce the amount of outside light or shunted light that impinge the detecting elements of the sensor. The sensor is adapted to reduce the effect of outside light or shunted light on pulse oximetry measurements.
US07729734B2
There is provided a glucose monitoring method and apparatus based on the principle of Wavelength-Modulated Differential Laser Photothermal Radiometry (WM-DPTR). Two intensity modulated laser beams operating in tandem at specific mid-infrared (IR) wavelengths and current-modulated synchronously by two electrical waveforms 180 degrees out-of-phase, are used to interrogate the tissue surface. The laser wavelengths are selected to absorb in the mid infrared range (8.5-10.5 μm) where the glucose spectrum exhibits a discrete absorption band. The differential thermal-wave signal generated by the tissue sample through modulated absorption between two specific wavelengths within the band (for example, the peak at 9.6 and the nearest baseline at 10.5 μm) lead to minute changes in sample temperature and to non-equilibrium blackbody radiation emission. This modulated emission is measured with a broadband infrared detector. The detector is coupled to a lock-in amplifier for signal demodulation. Any glucose concentration increases will be registered as differential photothermal signals above the fully suppressed signal baseline due to increased absorption at the probed peak or near-peak of the band at 9.6 μm at the selected wavelength modulation frequency. The emphasis is on the ability to monitor blood glucose levels in diabetic patients in a non-invasive, non-contacting manner with differential signal generation methods for real-time baseline corrections, a crucial feature toward precise and universal calibration (independent of person-to-person contact, skin, temperature or IR-emission variations) in order to offer accurate absolute glucose concentration readings.
US07729732B2
A biological information measuring apparatus includes a plurality of light emission sections, a plurality of light detection sections, and a control section. Each light emission section injects, into a living organism, a spectrum-modulated light beam having a specific wavelength. The control section acquires a spread code sequence employed by each of the light emission sections for spread spectrum modulation, and supplies the spread code sequence to the light detection sections. By use of the spread code sequence, each light detection section selectively receives a specific reflected light beam having the spread code sequence, which is selected from among the light beams which have been emitted from the light emission sections and reflected in the living organism. Subsequently, each light detection section despreads an electrical signal corresponding to the thus-received reflected light beam, and outputs a detection signal corresponding to the intensity of the reflected light beam.
US07729724B2
An RF front-end includes a receiver frequency band filter module, a low noise amplifier, a first power amplifier module, a second power amplifier module, and a transmit frequency band filter module. The receiver frequency band filter module filters a received RF signal and the low noise amplifier amplifies the signal in accordance with the first or the second RF front-end configuration signal. The first power amplifier module is enabled in accordance with the first RF front-end configuration signal to amplify the first outbound RF signal and the second power amplifier module is enabled in accordance with the second RF front-end configuration signal to amplify the second outbound RF signal. The transmitter frequency band filter module is enabled in accordance with the second RF front-end configuration signal to filter the second transmit RF signal.
US07729721B2
An antenna integrated speaker assembly, a manufacturing method thereof, and a wireless communication device having the same. The antenna integrated speaker assembly comprises a speaker unit for outputting sound corresponding to an electric signal of a controller; and an antenna unit formed at the speaker unit, for transceiving an electric signal by an interwork with the controller. Accordingly, an installation space for an antenna and a speaker is minimized.
US07729720B2
A mobile phone including an embedded camera apparatus having a camera module that is projectable from a main body of the mobile phone and a flexible circuit board that provides a stable electrical connection between the camera module and a main board when the camera module is projected from or inserted in the main body of mobile phone.
US07729716B2
A mobile terminal reduces power consumption when operating at a high transmit power by altering a modulation scheme used for transmitting signals over an uplink to a base station. The mobile terminal receives uplink load indications from the base station and determines it current transmit power level. Based on this information, the mobile terminal selects an appropriate modulation scheme.
US07729713B1
A push-to-talk communications device (PCD) provides improved push-to-talk (PTT) communications. The PCD may include a PTT activator and a PTT module having a buffer and communications logic for providing full duplex PTT communications. In a Point-to-Point PTT mode of operation, PTT communications are performed between two PCDs with the PCDs exercising floor control. After the establishment of communications between the PCDs, the PCDs may enter a PTT talk mode wherein messages are transmitted between the PCDs in real time when a PTT activator is engaged. A PCD may also enter a group PTT mode wherein a PTT server exercises floor control between an initiating PCD and multiple target PCDs.
US07729708B2
Provided is a computer system and methods for directing mobile peer devices. A method includes receiving an itinerary identifying one or more goals for the peer devices; receiving a priority associated with the itinerary, the priority identifying at least one goal of the one or more goals, the priority listing the at least one goal in order of importance; determining a routing in accordance with the itinerary and the priority; and broadcasting the routing. A computer system includes a routing module coupled to a memory configurable to determine a routing based on priorities and itinerary goals; a receiver coupled to a processor configurable to receive the priorities and the itinerary goals from at least two peer devices over a wireless connection; and a transmitter coupled to the processor configurable to broadcast the routing to the peer devices, the routing configurable to direct the peer devices.
US07729695B2
Method and apparatus for updating roaming lists. An error handling message is provided when the roaming list protocols within the elements of a system are not compatible. A roaming list format identifier is provided to the remote user identifying the protocol version supported by the network. The roaming list format identifier acts to either request an old version of the protocol or request the current stored format at the remote user. In one embodiment, the old version is the Preferred Roaming List, and the new version is the Extended Preferred Roaming List.
US07729692B2
There is provided an inspection system capable of easily performing inspection of a radio section under an actual environment and enabling a user to easily identify a trouble. In this system, an analysis/display device (400) analyzes the data outputted from an inspection device (200, 300) and extracts a radio parameter. By using the radio parameter extracted from the data obtained by inspection of a cabled section, an inspection device (100) inspects the state of radio communication between a communication terminal device (50) and abase station device (150). The analysis/display device (400) aligns the cabled message and the radio message obtained by analyzing the data outputted from the inspection devices (100, 200, 300) in time series or in sequence of calls and displays them.
US07729690B1
A mobile telephone includes an application processor, internal memory, an external memory card, a backup software module and a restore software module. User data is stored in the internal memory. The backup software module detects changes in the user data, resulting in modified user data. The modified user data is stored onto the external memory card. When the user data is erased from the internal drive or the wireless device needs to be reset the restore software module reads the modified user data from the external memory card and writes the modified user data back onto the internal memory. In this fashion, any modified user data is not lost when the wireless device is reset.
US07729687B2
Systems and methods for announcing audio calling identification information associated with an incoming communications signal from a calling party to a wireless communications device are disclosed. The invention makes use of a translatable telephone number associated with a wireless communications device of a subscribing customer. The translatable telephone number includes a wireless telephone number of a wireless communications device and also includes an access telephone number that is associated with an access address serviced by a communications network. The wireless communications device is typically serviced by a separate wireless communications network that connects with the communications network over a communications link. The calling party dials the access telephone number and the incoming communications signal is detected, decoded, and processed to generate an audio communication by the communications network. The communications network also maps the access address with the wireless telephone number and presents the audio calling identification information to the wireless communications network.
US07729686B2
Signal, e.g., message, security techniques are described for wireless systems. A first signal is received by an access node via a wireless link. The signal includes a first authenticator that was generated by the transmitting device, e.g., wireless terminal. The access node determines from an attribute of the signal at least some information known to both the access node and transmitting device but which was not transmitted as part of the message content. The determined information was used by the wireless terminal in generating the first authenticator. The access node sends at least a portion of the first signal including the first authenticator and the determined information to another entity. The entity compares the first authenticator to a second authenticator it generates from the determined information and a secure key which it shares with the transmitting device to determine if the first and second authenticators match.
US07729685B1
Prepaid PTT service calls through a switched mobile communication network may originate at off-net roaming locations. A flag is set in a mobile telephone station indicating that the mobile station is that of a prepaid subscriber, to set a PTT client program to its “prepaid mode.” When the prepaid mobile station initiates a PTT call while roaming off-net, the call is directed to a prepaid server, and the PTT client program assists the subscriber to re-enter the called number when the prepaid server prompts the subscriber to do so. The call can then be extended from the prepaid server platform to a PTT switch for establishing communication with one or more selected contacts in a contact list, based on translation of the contact number to one or more destination telephone numbers for the called contact(s).
US07729684B1
A portable GPS/radio unit (10) communicates over a wireless radio network (12) with at least one other such unit. The unit (10) may transmit radio signals over the network (12) indicative of the unit's location. The unit (10) includes a single, push-to-talk button (38) that may be pressed to both transmit a voice communication and to initiate transmission of location data. The unit (10) also includes a “polling” function that requests location data from other units, an auxiliary coding system that codes or encrypts all transmitted data, and an emergency message feature that facilities the transmission and receipt of emergency messages.
US07729681B2
In the radio-wave receiving apparatus according to the invention, a signal received by a receiving antenna is amplified and the amplified received signal is input into a multi-stage frequency conversion circuit including a plurality of basic circuits connected in series. The multi-stage frequency conversion circuit converts the frequency of the received signal from the antenna into frequencies based on signals input from the frequency divider circuit sequentially, thereby to output a signal “a” which is obtained by conversions into gradually lower frequencies. Detection is performed by a detection circuit on the basis of the signal. Thereby, a radio-wave receiving apparatus which requires no local oscillating circuit nor a PLL circuit and is also stable in operation and high in accuracy is realized.
US07729678B2
Controllable operational transconductance power amplifier (controllable power OTA) including an input stage receiving a differential input signal (Ovin) and deriving therefrom first (i1) and second (i2) low power current signals being coupled to first (ccs1) and second (ccs2) current controlled output current sources being arranged in class B push pull configuration. To obtain an effective gain control while securing power efficiency and linearity, the overall gain of the power OTA is controlled by varying the gain or transconductance of the input stage (c15) and by the use of means for bi-directionally rectifying said first (i1) and second (io) low power current signals and providing in mutual alternation power amplification of said first (i1) and second (i2) low power current signals into first (I01) and second (Io2) mutually exclusive high power current output signals, which are supplied through a current summer to a current output (I0) of said linear power amplifier.
US07729676B2
An integrated receiver with channel selection and image rejection substantially implemented on a single CMOS integrated circuit is described. A receiver front end provides programmable attenuation and a programmable gain low noise amplifier. Frequency conversion circuitry advantageously uses LC filters integrated onto the substrate in conjunction with image reject mixers to provide sufficient image frequency rejection. Filter tuning and inductor Q compensation over temperature are performed on chip. The filters utilize multi track spiral inductors. The filters are tuned using local oscillators to tune a substitute filter, and frequency scaling during filter component values to those of the filter being tuned. In conjunction with filtering, frequency planning provides additional image rejection. The advantageous choice of local oscillator signal generation methods on chip is by PLL out of band local oscillation and by direct synthesis for in band local oscillator. The VCOs in the PLLs are centered using a control circuit to center the tuning capacitance range. A differential crystal oscillator is advantageously used as a frequency reference. Differential signal transmission is advantageously used throughout the receiver.
US07729674B2
A multi-band communication device with a front end antenna switch module and shared bias circuit is disclosed. Control inputs determine signal routing and amplifier biasing in response to the communication device's mode or band of operation. A received signal is routed to an active path, which corresponds to the band of the received signal. A received signal is selectively switched to one or more switch outputs, which connect to one or more filters matched to the band of the received signal. After filtering, the signal is directly provided to an active amplifier. An amplifier is activated by a bias signal received from a shared bias circuit. The shared bias circuit generates a bias signal which is selectively switched to an amplifier associated with an active path.
US07729672B2
An RF output power amplifier (PA) of a cellular telephone includes first and second Class AB amplifier circuits. If the cellular telephone is to operate in a high power operating mode, then the first amplifier drives the PA output terminal. The power transistor(s) in the first amplifier is/are biased at a first DC current and a first DC voltage so as to optimize efficiency and linearity at high output powers. If the cellular telephone is to operate in a low power operating mode, then the second amplifier drives the output terminal. The power transistor(s) in the second amplifier is/are biased at a second DC current and a second DC voltage so as to optimize efficiency and linearity at low output powers. By sizing the power transistors in the amplifiers appropriately, emitter current densities are maintained substantially equal so that PA power gain is the same in the two operating modes.
US07729669B2
A system and method for amplifying cellular signals and reducing interference introduced into a cellular network by the network amplifiers. The network amplifier includes an antenna configured to receive a downlink signal from a base station and a variable gain module for amplifying an uplink signal received from a handset. The variable gain module applies an amplification factor to the uplink signal to generate an adjusted uplink signal to be transmitted to the base station via the antenna. A processor is used for determining a value of the amplification factor, where the value of the amplification factor is a function of a level of the downlink signal. The amplification factor may be selected so that interference introduced into a cellular network by the transmission of the adjusted uplink signal is substantially eliminated.
US07729666B2
Embodiments of the present invention include a system and method of dynamic space-frequency-division multiple-access for the uplink from terminals to a base-station. The system includes a base-station and multiple terminals. According to different spatial mapping modes, the base-station performs an optimization computation using an optimization function in order to obtain control information for controlling terminals; after receiving the control information, the user terminal controls the transmitting mode using this control information. The method includes the following operations: at the base-station, performing an optimization computation using an optimization function according to different spatial mapping modes respectively, in order to obtain control information for controlling terminals; at the user terminal, controlling a transmitting mode using the control information after receiving the above control information. An embodiment of the present invention can achieve a higher system capacity by balancing resource allocation among different users in a domain of transmission power, bandwidth and spatial channels.
US07729663B2
A technique for modifying communication operational parameters using fast, low complexity, accurately calculated SNR values. Techniques may improve upon prior art by calculating SNR values in a more color noise insensitive manner in the frequency domain. An agent may be implemented to calculate SNR values and either store or use the SNR values to modify operational parameters in communicative system.
US07729656B2
An amplification circuit that enables a network amplifier to amplify multiple mobile telephone signals transmitted at different frequencies. The amplification circuit includes a first diplexer which receives a first signal having a first frequency band and a second signal having a second frequency band. The first diplexer generates a combined signal containing both the first and the second signals. The combined signal is amplified by a single low noise amplifier to generate an amplified combined signal. A second diplexer receives the amplified combined signal and separates the amplified combined signal into a first amplified signal having the first frequency band and a second amplified signal having the second frequency band. The resultant signals can then be transmitted by the network amplifier to a target destination, such as a handset or base station.
US07729655B2
An essay is analyzed automatically by accepting the essay and determining whether each of a predetermined set of features is present or absent in each sentence of the essay. For each sentence in the essay a probability that the sentence is a member of a certain discourse element category is calculated. The probability is based on the determinations of whether each feature in the set of features is present or absent. Furthermore, based on the calculated probabilities, a sentence is chosen as the choice for the discourse element category.
US07729647B2
An image forming apparatus includes a developer bearing member for transporting developer to an opposing position opposing an image bearing member. Regularly-disposed concave sections are formed on a surface of the developer bearing member. An alternating voltage that includes a first voltage for moving developer from the developer bearing member toward the image bearing member and a second voltage for moving developer from the image bearing member toward the developer bearing member is applied to the developer bearing member. A cycle period of the alternating voltage is smaller than or equal to a minimum width of the concave section in a circumferential direction of the developer bearing member divided by a moving velocity of a surface of the rotating developer bearing member.
US07729639B2
There is provided a charging apparatus which has high durability and suffers from no rust etc. and of which controllability of charged potential of a photoreceptor is hardly impaired even with a some amount of contaminants such as a toner so that control of charged potential of a photoreceptor can be stably carried out to fall in an appropriate range over a long period of time, and moreover which is inexpensive. A charging apparatus includes a needle electrode, a holding member, two cleaner members, a support member, a moving member, a shield case, and a grid electrode. A length in minor axis of a secondary aggregate of polytetrafluoroethylene contained in a polytetrafluoroethylene-containing nickel layer formed on a surface of the needle electrode is twice or less than a layer thickness of the nickel layer.
US07729633B2
An printer, such as a state of the art a high performance, electro-photographic printer. The printer includes at least one smart material sensor enclosed in the printer enclosure that monitors for the presence of a contaminant (e.g., toner or developer) above a selected threshold. Each smart material sensor is coupled to a control unit by a sensor driver coupling. When a smart material sensor finds that a contaminant is present the control unit may indicate the finding on a printer display and/or change operating mode.
US07729620B2
Methods and systems for controlling optical power attenuation are provided. A method comprises periodically measuring an optical power of an optical signal received by an optical receiver and periodically measuring a first attenuation control signal voltage. When the optical power measurement is outside a target power range, the method continues with calculating a target voltage necessary to maintain the optical power measurements at a target power level; calculating a second attenuation control signal based on the target voltage, wherein the second attenuation control signal is calculated to provide an over-damped transient response that maintains the second attenuation control signal within a usable range of a variable optical power attenuator; applying a second attenuation control signal voltage based on the second attenuation control signal to the variable optical power attenuator; and adjusting attenuation of the optical signal based on the second attenuation control signal voltage.
US07729617B2
The invention is relevant to optical fiber transmission systems, and in particular, pertains to the transceiver cards in an optical fiber transport system. In particular the invention teaches an improved transceiver card architecture that allows high density, flexibility and interchangeability of functionality.
US07729615B1
A method for transmitting signaling and control information for wavelength-division multiplex networks for optical, fiber-bound information transfer in digitized form, the signaling and control information being transmitted via the same optical channel, particularly with the same wavelength, as the useful information, but being encoded and decoded independently thereof, with the result that the control and signaling information can also be accessed independently of the useful information. The use of a time-division multiplex method allowing the different encoding of useful information and control information makes it possible considerably to reduce the technical complexity of passive optical network elements with regard to the routing of the signaling and control information. This method permits the simple, low-cost and transparent transmission of signaling and control information in the optical WDM network.
US07729614B2
A data distribution system transmitting and receiving a large capacity of data such as image data smoothly without incurring a delay over an optical fiber line located between a data sever and a client device. In the data transmission system, a plurality of client devices are bus-connected through an optical fiber to a data server transmitting and receiving data as signal light. Each of the client devices has a client optical switch and is connected with a client access device. The client optical switch is structured with a thermal-lens forming element and a signal-light path shifting member. When any of the client devices forwards an access command to its own client access device, control light is irradiated from the client access device to the own client optical switch thus effecting a switchover. Thus, transmission data of from the data server is stored in a data storage of the relevant client device.
US07729611B2
In order to detect a position of an optical recording medium on which printing is performed, it is provided an optical sensor provided with include a photo emitter operable to emit light and a photo receiver operable to receive light and output a first signal in accordance with an amount of the received light. The optical sensor is transported to a position above a marker provided on the tray. Light is emitted from the photo emitter to irradiate the marker. Light reflected from the marker is received by the photo receiver. A reference value is determined based on a first value of the first signal outputted when the marker is irradiated. A predetermined calculation is executed with respect to the reference value to determine a threshold value. The optical sensor is transported above the tray, while emitting light from the photo emitter and comparing the first signal outputted from the photo receiver with the threshold value. A position of the marker is identified based on the comparison of the first signal and the threshold value. It is determined a position at which the printing begins based on the identified position of the marker.
US07729606B2
A digital camera module (100) includes a lens module (20) and a chip package (50) mounted in a light path of the lens module. The lens module includes a first lens assembly (21) and a second lens assembly (23). The first lens assembly includes a first fixture (211) having a through hole (212) defined therein and at least one lens (218) received in the through hole. The second assembly includes a second fixture (23) having a through hole (232) defined therein and at least one lens (238) attached therein. One of the first fixture and the second fixture has a slotted annular ring (213) protruding therefrom with an annular slot (214) defined therein. The other has a male annular ring (235) extending therefrom, and the slotted annular ring and the male annular ring matingly engage with each other to fix the first lens assembly and second assembly together.
US07729605B2
An auto-focusing camera includes a stator (20), a rotor (30) rotatably disposed in the stator, and a lens unit (40) received in the rotor. The stator includes a stator core (23) and coils (25) winding on the stator core. The rotor is a permanent magnet (32) securely mounted around the lens unit. The lens unit forms three ears (414) at a bottom thereof, and a wave-shaped surface (220) is formed on a top of an inner, bottom flange (22) of the stator. The ears abut the wave-shaped surface. The ears of the lens unit move along the wave-shaped surface during rotation of the rotor and the lens mount, and thus the lens unit moves telescopically along an axial direction thereof.
US07729590B2
An example trick mode play process for digital video stores a plurality of most recent reference frames in a corresponding plurality of frame buffers; displaying a current frame during a current frame time interval; determining a next frame for display; inspecting the plurality of frame buffers to determine if the next frame is present in a frame buffers. If the next frame is present, designating the frame for display in the next frame time interval. If the next frame is not present: checking if the frame buffers contain any reference frames needed to decode the next frame; and decoding a next frame using all reference frames needed to decode the next frame which can be found in the frame. This abstract is not to be considered limiting, since other embodiments may deviate from the features described in this abstract.
US07729586B2
A telecommunications patching system includes: a carrier having a horizontally disposed member with longitudinal slots; and at least one patching module. The module includes: a generally vertically disposed main panel; a plurality of connectors mounted on the main panel, the connectors configured to receive and interconnect patch cords; and a guide member connected with the main panel and received in one of the longitudinal slots of the carrier. The module is slidable relative to the carrier along a path defined by the slot between an access position, in which a front portion of the main panel slides forward so that the plurality of connectors are accessible to a technician, and a non-access position, in which the plurality of connectors are not accessible to a technician.
US07729578B2
A first toroidal ray guide defines an axis of revolution and has a toroidal entrance pupil adapted to image light incident on the entrance pupil at an angle to the axis of revolution between 40 and 140 degrees, and it also has a first imaging surface opposite the entrance pupil. A second toroidal ray guide also defines the same axis of revolution and has a second imaging surface adjacent to the first imaging surface. Various additions and further qualities of the ray guides, which form optical channels, are disclosed. In a method light emanating from a source at between 40-140 degrees from an optical axis is received at an entrance pupil of a ray guide arrangement that is circularly symmetric about the optical axis. Then the received light is redirected through the ray guide arrangement to an exit pupil in an average direction substantially parallel to the optical axis.
US07729577B2
A waveguide version of a Kohler integrator is disclosed, utilizing geodesic lenses with a surface that can be mapped to a gradient-index Luneburg lens or to a nonfull-aperture Luneburg lens in such a way that the light paths in the gradient index lenses map into the geodesics of the surface, with the outer region of the gradient index lenses mapped into a flat surface. Arrays of these can be applied to lines of LEDs, as in CHMSLs, to mix light in intensity and in illumination as well as to avoid the deleterious effects of binning and burnout, or in multicolor arrays, to ensure complete chromatic mixing.
US07729573B2
An optical reader system is described herein which has a single mode (SM) optical fiber launch/receive system that uses one or more SM optical fibers to interrogate a biosensor and does not use multimode (MM) optical fibers to interrogate the biosensor. The use of the SM optical fiber launch/receive system effectively reduces angular sensitivity, reduces unwanted system reflections, improves overall angular tolerance, and improves resonant peak reflectivity and resonant peak width. Two specific embodiments of the SM optical fiber launch/receive system are described herein which include: (1) a dual fiber collimator launch/receive system; and (2) a single fiber launch/receive system that interrogates the biosensor at a normal incidence.
US07729565B2
A fiber sensor comprising: an optical waveguide unit having a measurement surface formed at an end of an optical waveguide; and a channel unit through which a specimen, serving as a measurement object to be measured by contact with the measurement surface, is caused to flow in and out via a specimen channel, wherein the optical waveguide is fixed to the optical waveguide unit such that the measurement surface forms a part of a channel wall surface of the channel unit, and the optical waveguide unit is provided so as to be detachable from the channel unit.
US07729558B2
The present invention relates to an apparatus for processing an image signal etc. that are well applicable to removal of coding noise from, for example, an image signal. Based on five consecutive frames of an image signal Va, a memory portion 121 outputs as pixel data xi of predictive taps plural items of pixel data located in a space directional and time directional peripheries with respect to a target position in an image signal Vb. In the case, frames before and after a current frame are subjected to motion compensation by using a motion vector. A class classification portion 124 obtains a class code CL indicating a class to which pixel data of the target position in the image signal Vb belongs, by using the pixel data xi and motion vectors BWV(0), BWV(−1), FWV(0), and FWV(+1). A calculating circuit 126 obtains pixel data y of the target position in the image signal Vb based on an estimation equation by using the pixel data xi and coefficient data Wi that corresponds to the class code CL.
US07729556B2
In order to improve image quality of high compression ratio images, a de-blocking process is performed on decoded image data, and then an edge enhancement process is performed on the de-blocked image data. Performing the edge enhancement process after performing the de-blocking process can improve image quality of high compression ratio images.
US07729555B2
A method includes calculating a mean of a plurality of pixels of a motion window, calculating a pixel amount of pixels similar to a center pixel, calculating a variance of the pixels, determining whether a difference between the center pixel and the mean is greater than a first predetermined value, determining whether the pixel amount similar to the center pixel is greater than a second predetermined value if the difference between the center pixel and the mean is not greater than the first predetermined value, determining whether the variance is smaller than a threshold value if the pixel amount similar to the center pixel is not greater than the second predetermined value, and filtering the center pixel according to a result of determining whether the variance is smaller than the threshold value. Finally, temporal weighted mean filters involving motion estimation are used for motion compensation in images after spatial filtering.
US07729553B2
A method and system for quantizing a vector corresponding to an input signal is described. The vector has a plurality of components corresponding to an N-dimensional space. In one aspect, the method and system include recursively dividing the space into equal spaces having one dimension less than a previous recursion until end spaces are formed. Each end space is two-dimensional. The method and system also include asynchronously comparing the components in each end space to determine a sub-space of a particular end space having a closest match to the vector. In another aspect, the method and system include providing tree(s) including a plurality of nodes and asynchronously traversing the tree(s) to determine a closest match to the vector. The nodes correspond to ANDs of comparisons between the components. Each comparison determines whether a first component is greater than a second component.
US07729546B2
In an array of pixels, a method for segmenting a selected pixel of the array between at least two layers including identifying an N-by-N window centered upon the selected pixel, evaluating at least one pixel in the N-by-N window to determine whether the selected pixel is a potential text element, identifying an M-by-M window centered upon the selected pixel when the evaluation determines that the selected pixel is a potential text element, wherein the M-by-M window is smaller than the N-by-N window, and determining whether the potential text element includes text by comparing at least two pixels within the M-by-M window.
US07729545B2
A first image of two images to be compared for similarity is divided into small areas and one small area is selected for calculating the correlation with a second image using a correlative method. Then, the position difference, luminance ratio and similarity in an area where the similarity, which is the square of the correlation value, reaches its maximum, are found. Values based on the similarity are integrated at a position represented by the position difference and the luminance ratio. Similar processing is performed with respect to all the small areas, and at a peak where the maximum integral value of the similarity is obtained, its magnitude is compared with a threshold value to evaluate the similarity. By extracting the small area voted for that peak, it is possible to extract a similar area.
US07729533B2
The systems and methods of the invention described herein improve classification accuracy by producing classifiers with individuality, in which each classifier exhibits its own distinctive behavior. A method according to one exemplary embodiment produces each classifier with individuality by randomly selecting subsets of a feature vector and using the randomly selected subsets of the feature vector in the design of the classifier. Because different subsets of the feature vector are used for each classifier, each classifier exhibits its own distinctive behavior or individuality. The classifiers with individuality improve classification accuracy, for example, when used as classifiers in a classifier array. This is because the individuality among the classifiers in the array ensures that a misclassification committed by one of the classifiers will not be repeated by other classifiers in the array, thereby improving the overall accuracy of the classifier array.
US07729531B2
Many problems in the fields of image processing and computer vision relate to creating good representations of information in images of objects in scenes. We provide a system for learning repeated-structure elements from one or more input images. The repeated-structure elements are patches that may be single pixels or coherent groups of pixels of varying shape, size and appearance (where those shapes and sizes are not pre-specified). Input images are mapped to a single output image using offset maps to specify the mapping. A joint probability distribution on the offset maps, output image and input images is specified and an unsupervised learning process is used to learn the offset maps and output image. The learnt output image comprises repeated-structure elements. This shape and appearance information captured in the learnt repeated-structure elements may be used for object recognition and many other tasks.
US07729529B2
Various computer-implemented methods are provided. One method for sorting defects in a design pattern of a reticle includes searching for defects of interest in inspection data using priority information associated with individual defects in combination with one or more characteristics of a region proximate the individual defects. The priority information corresponds to modulation levels associated with the individual defects. The inspection data is generated by comparing images of the reticle generated for different values of a lithographic variable. The images include at least one reference image and at least one modulated image. A composite reference image can be generated from two or more reference images. The method also includes assigning one or more identifiers to the defects of interest. The identifier(s) may include, for example, a defect classification and/or an indicator identifying if the defects of interest are to be used for further processing.
US07729510B2
Detecting video phenomena, such as fire in an aircraft cargo bay, includes receiving a plurality of video images from a plurality of sources, compensating the images to provide enhanced images, extracting features from the enhanced images, and combining the features from the plurality of sources to detect the video phenomena. Extracting features may include determining an energy indicator for each of a subset of the plurality of frames. Detecting video phenomena may also include comparing energy indicators for each of the subset of the plurality of frames to a reference frame. The reference frame corresponds to a video frame taken when no fire is present, video frame immediately preceding each of the subset of the plurality of frames, or a video frame immediately preceding a frame that is immediately preceding each of the subset of the plurality of frames. Image-based and non-image based techniques are described herein in connection with fire detection and/or verification and other applications.
US07729505B2
The invention concerns a method of inserting a watermark in an image comprising at least three components, the method comprises the steps of decomposing at least one component of the image into detail sub-bands in various directions and comprising coefficients, each coefficient being characterized by its position in the detail sub-band to which it belongs and its amplitude, of determining, for each position, information representing local amplitude variations from the amplitudes of the coefficients at this position in the various detail sub-bands and the coefficients close to this position in the various detail sub-bands, of determining a watermarking strength at each position from the information representing determined local amplitude variations in the said position and inserting a watermark composed of a plurality of binary information in the image, inserting each item of binary information at a position on the image according to the watermarking strength determined for a position corresponding to the position at which the binary information is inserted.
US07729501B2
The present invention thus provides a hearing device with at least one programmable signal processing unit for the temporary or permanent activation or deactivation of features of the hearing device, comprising at least one counter for the logging of discrete actions and at least one stored threshold value related to at least one specific type of said actions, the counter being connected to said signal processing unit for activating or deactivating a feature of said signal processing unit when reaching or passing said threshold value. As long as the threshold value is not reached by the counter, the hearing device will have its originally predetermined functionality or programmed features without any further limitations. If the counter reaches or passes its threshold value, an action will be triggered by the counter directed to the signal processing unit causing any predefined reaction of the hearing device.
US07729497B2
An audio signal (A) is enhanced by dividing the signal into time segments of a selected frequency range and scaling the audio signal in each time segment. The time segments (S) are defined by zero crossings (Z) of the audio signal, thus avoiding the introduction of any undesired harmonics. The scaling may involve linear or non-linear scaling factors. When the selected frequency range comprises bass frequencies, a very effective and distortion-free bass enhancement is obtained.
US07729496B2
A system, method and programmed article of manufacture to perform efficient encryption key updates in encrypted database-as-a-service (DAS) environments using a key registry and key locks. A database as a service environment allows organizations to send their data management infrastructures to a database service provider. The service provider employs data encryption techniques to ensure the privacy of hosted data. The security of encryption techniques relies on the confidentiality of the encryption keys. The dynamic nature of the encrypted database in the DAS model adds complexity and raises specific requirements on key management techniques. The solution is provided by the key registry and by the key update lock, key management process and log management process to allow data update access to data concurrently with encryption key update for the same data.
US07729489B2
Methods and systems for transferring a communications exchange using a mobile handset are described. A radio frequency (RF) signal is transmitted from a mobile handset to a base station to provide a communications exchange. The communications exchange exists between the mobile handset and a first communications device. The mobile handset automatically detects a second communications device when it is in close proximity to the second communications device. The second communications device is capable of receiving a call handoff. If the mobile handset is in close proximity to the second communications device, then a transfer request including information associated with the second communications device is received from the second communications device. The transfer request is accepted and the communications exchange is seamlessly transferred to the second communications device form the mobile handset.
US07729477B2
The present disclosure provides a system and method for detecting faults related to lines linked to provide network services. The method includes storing a synthetic value for the performance of a line, receiving a measured value of a performance parameter of the line measured at a customer end and comparing the synthetic value with the measured value to determine if a fault condition exists.
US07729459B1
A system and method is disclosed for providing a robust ultra low power serial interface with a digital clock and data recovery circuit for power management systems. In one advantageous embodiment a digital clock and data recovery circuit of the invention comprises a quadruple phase clock generator circuit that generates four shifted clock signals, a decision logic circuit, a state detector circuit, and an edge detector circuit. The detected edges of data signals are used to latch the state of the four shifted clock signals. The state detector circuit selects a stable clock signal among the four shifted clock signals for use as a recovered clock signal and synchronizes the recovered clock signal at a center of the data signal. The selected recovered clock signal remains available until another data signal transition is detected.
US07729458B2
Signal decoding apparatus, signal decoding method, program, and information record medium are provided and can accomplish not only high-speed and high-capacity communication, but high-accuracy decoding. An initial channel estimation section 31 estimates an initial channel with a pilot symbol added at the beginning of each packet. After a replica of a transmission symbol is generated, for a reception signal vector, CCI components for L transmission antennas are generated. A CCI canceller 33 removes the CCI components from the reception signal vector. After the reception symbol vector from which the CCI components had been removed has been obtained, a division device 34 obtains an instantaneous estimation value. An update condition determination section 35 detects deterioration of a channel response accuracy based on a threshold value. An instantaneous estimation value whose SNR has been determined to be insufficient is discarded. An averaging circuit 36 outputs a channel response estimation matrix at time t+1 obtained by an averaging process and supplies the matrix to a symbol decoding section 13.
US07729454B2
Aspects of a method and system for signal phase variation detection in communication systems are presented. Aspects of the system may enable detection of phase change between a current received symbol, and one or more previous received symbols. Based on the phase change a channel estimation filter bandwidth may be selected for despreading and/or descrambling one or more subsequent received symbols. In addition, a decision may be made as to whether the subsequent received symbols are to be received based on a closed loop system, or based on an open loop system.
US07729444B2
Techniques to process data for transmission in a time division duplexed (TDD) communication system. In one aspect, the frequency response of a forward link is estimated at a base station based on reverse link transmissions (e.g., pilots) from a terminal. Prior to a data transmission on the forward link, the base station determines a reverse transfer function based on the pilots transmitted by the terminal, “calibrates” the reverse transfer function with a calibration function to derive an estimate of a forward transfer function, and preconditions modulation symbols based on weights derived from the forward transfer function. In another aspect, the terminal estimates the “quality” of the forward link and provides this information to the base station. The base station then uses the information to properly code and modulate data prior to transmission such that the transmitted data can be received by the terminal at the desired level of performance.
US07729441B2
A method for generating a modulated carrier signal with reduced bit error rates based on a plurality of data symbols. A plurality of data symbols are received, and a digital input signal is generated based on the plurality of data symbols. The digital input signal are filtered to produce a digital output signal including a phase characteristic. The phase characteristic of the digital output signal remains close to the desired symbol phase for substantial portion of the symbol period. A carrier signal is modulated using the digital output signal to produce the modulated carrier signal.
US07729439B2
A transmitter beamforming technique for use in a MIMO wireless communication system determines a partial description of a reverse channel without determining a full dimensional description of the reverse channel. A correction matrix is developed from the partial description of the reverse channel and a description of the forward channel. The correction matrix is used to process signals to be transmitted via the forward channel, and a steering matrix is used to perform beamforming in the forward channel.
US07729436B2
The disclosure relates to a method for decoding a received signal comprising symbols which are distributed in space and time with the aid of a space-time coding matrix, comprising a space-time decoding stage and at least two iterations, each of which comprising the following sub-stages: diversity pre-decoding, the opposite of diversity pre-decoding carried out when the signal is emitted, providing precoded data; estimation of symbols forming said signal on the basis of said pre-decoded data, providing estimated symbols; diversity preceding identical to diversity preceding carried out during emission, applied to the estimated symbols in order to provide an estimated signal.
US07729434B2
In accordance with an embodiment of the present invention, a novel system and method for MMSE channel estimation are provided that take synchronization errors, either intentional or unintentional, into account during the channel estimation process. The proposed channel estimation in accordance with the present invention improves the noise averaging capability and takes advantage of channel correlation fully by removing the effect of synchronization errors during the estimation process.
US07729428B2
A method for recognizing a valid change of state in a communication signal including capacitively coupled signals received by an input contact includes maintaining the input contact in a first state and an impedance of the first contact input in a first impedance level, validating that the communication signal sent from to the input contact is a valid change of state, and changing the input contact to a second state and the impedance of the first input contact input to a second impedance level when the voltage signal is validated. An input contact circuit is also disclosed.
US07729421B2
Loss of decoding time prior to the vertical synchronization signal when motion video is arbitrarily scaled and positioned by placing the frame switch point at the completion of frame decoding and synchronizing the bottom border of the scaled image therewith while maintaining low latency of decoded data. High latency operation is provided only when necessitated by minimal spill buffer capacity and in combination with fractional image size reduction in the decoding path in order to maintain image resolution without requiring additional memory.
US07729415B1
A high-speed interface for implementation in a programmable device such as, e.g., a programmable logic device (“PLD”) is described. Multi-gigabit transceivers of the PLD provide transmit and receive lock signals and have inputs for reference transmit and receive clock signals. One of the multi-gigabit transceivers provides a first transmit clock signal, a first receive clock signal, and a second receive clock signal. A data rate converter fractionally multiplies a second transmit clock signal to provide the reference transmit clock signal. A skew synchronization block obtains respective transmit and receive lock signals from the multi-gigabit transceivers and provides respective receive and transmit synch adjustment signals to the multi-gigabit transceivers. Synchronous operation of the multi-gigabit transceivers in receive and transmit directions is adjusted with receive and transmit synch adjustment signals to maintain lane-to-lane skew for the high-speed interface within a target range.
US07729414B2
A receiver circuit processes a received signal to determine information regarding a guard interval therein. The receiver circuit typically forms digital samples from the received signal; generates a correlation function with peaks at positions that are determined by the size of the guard interval and a position of the guard interval within the received signal. The receiver circuit includes one or more comb filters, each corresponding to a possible guard interval size, each receiving a series of locations at which the correlation function exceeds a predetermined threshold, and each producing an output that provides information about the guard interval size and/or position. This advantageously allows the receiver circuit to determine the guard interval size quickly, for example, even in the case of received signals with relatively low signal-noise ratio.
US07729413B2
A system and a method to track GPS (Global Positioning System) satellite signal in a GPS receiver that includes an expanded capture window to rapidly reacquire the satellite signal after the satellite signal has been obstructed or when there is other type of signal loss. The expanded capture window includes a plurality of additional early and late correlations for maintaining synchronization of the GPS signal with a generated replica signal when positional error has accumulated during the time of the signal loss. The plurality of additional early and late correlations may be delayed from each other by a multiple of a fraction of a chip and may be performed in one or multiple channels of the GPS receiver. The adjoining code samples in the replica signal may also be offset by a fraction of a chip or by a multiple of the fraction of a chip.
US07729408B2
A spread spectrum slip time encoding scheme encodes data values with one or more Pseudo Noise (PN) codes and generates a corresponding PN encoded data stream. Other data values are encoded into the PN encoded data stream by varying a slip time between the PN-encoded data values.
US07729401B2
The semiconductor laser device includes a cavity structure having a first clad layer, an active layer and a second clad layer formed on a substrate. The second clad layer has a stripe portion extending between the front end face from which laser light is extracted and the rear end face opposite to the front end face. The stripe portion has a first region located closer to the front end face, a second region located closer to the rear end face and a change region whose width changes located between the first and second regions. The effective refractive index difference between the inside and outside of the stripe portion in the change region is greater than that in the first region.
US07729394B2
Particular embodiments of the present invention relate generally to altering the effective conversion efficiency curve of an optical package employing a semiconductor laser and an SHG crystal or other type of wavelength conversion device. For example, according to one embodiment of the present invention, a method of controlling an optical package is provided where the optical package is tuned such that ascending portions of a transmission curve representing a spectral filter are aligned with descending portions of a conversion efficiency curve representing a wavelength conversion device. With the filter and wavelength conversion device so aligned, the optical package is further tuned such that the wavelength of the fundamental laser signal lies within a wavelength range corresponding to aligned portions of the ascending and descending portions of the transmission and conversion efficiency curves. Additional embodiments are disclosed and claimed.
US07729384B1
The framer, also referred to as the scrambler/Reed-Solomon encoder (SRS), is a part of the transmitter and accepts user and control data in the form of one or more logical channels, partitions this data into frames, adds error correction codes, randomizes the data through a scrambler, and multiplexes logical channels into a single data stream. The multiplexed data is then passed to the constellation encoder as the next step in the formation of the VDSL symbol. The deframer, also referred as the descrambler/Reed-Solomon decoder (DRS), is part of the receiver and performs the inverse function of the framer. Disclosed is a highly configurable hardware framer/deframer that includes a digital signal processor interface configured to provide high level control, a FIFO coupled to data interfaces, a scrambler and CRC generator, a Reed-Solomon encoder, an interleaver, a data interface coupled to a constellation encoder, a data interface coupled to a constellation decoder, a deinterleaver, a Reed-Solomon decoder, descrambler and CRC check, an interface to external data sync, methods for control of configuration of data paths between hardware blocks, and methods for control and configuration of the individual hardware blocks in a manner that provides compliance with VDSL and many related standards.
US07729381B2
A method including receiving data packets encapsulating at least part of a media stream, extracting a decoder-ready packet from the data packets, processing the decoder-ready packet; and substantially synchronously with the processing of the decoder-ready packet, generating delivery performance information for the at least part of the media stream, data from which is included in the decoder-ready packet.
US07729376B2
A logical quality-of-service management method for peer-to-peer networks uses a special group service for QoS management within peer-groups. This group service determines and assigns a budget per time unit for each peer. Such time unit may be in the range of milliseconds or few seconds. It may also determine a group budget for the peer-group. While a peer uses bandwidth, i.e. while it sends or receives data, its budget is decreased. When a peer has exhausted its budget, it has to lower its priority for transferring or receiving data. Each peer is responsible for keeping its own budget. If a peer does not keep the conditions, other peers may have the right to deny the data transfer from that peer. The QoS service function is advertised in peer-group advertisement messages.
US07729364B2
A communication device is coupled to an analog telephone and a packet network. The communication device detects an off-hook condition for the analog telephone and transfers a dial tone to the analog telephone, detects digit tones from the analog telephone that indicate a called number and responsively transfers a first message indicating the called number to the packet network, receives a second message from the packet network indicating that a called party associated with the called number is being alerted and responsively transfers a ring tone to the analog telephone, receives a third message from the packet network indicating that the called party has accepted the communication session and responsively stops the transfer of the ring tone to the analog telephone, exchanges analog voice signals with the analog telephone, exchanges voice packets with the packet network, and interworks between the analog voice signals and the voice packets.
US07729362B2
An apparatus for processing packets in a high speed router and a method thereof are provided. The high speed router includes a forward processor and a control processor where the forward processor having an input terminal processor and an output terminal processor. The output terminal processor manages a Layer 2 Address Table by dividing the Layer 2 Address Table into a layer 2 indirect address table and a layer 2 direct address table and by managing them. The indirect address table is directly indexed in the Next-hop Table of the input terminal processor table. The direct address table is composed of a hashing table for a destination IP address. Therefore, the system efficiency can be improved by reducing the memory which is used for storing the forwarding information table occupied by the forward processor and by reducing the IPC message between the control processor and the forwarding process.
US07729357B2
A method and an apparatus are provided for improving or optimizing the frequency at which the keep-alive messages are sent to a network device (e.g., an Internet service platform) from a set top box (STB) connected to a router or gateway. By improving or optimizing the frequency at which these messages are sent by the STB to the network device, the amount of network bandwidth that is consumed as a result of sending keep-alive messages can be reduced. This allows a network device to remotely and asynchronously access a STB in a very efficient manner in terms of bandwidth consumption.
US07729348B2
A technique for providing data unit concatenation in a shared communications network is disclosed. The technique establishes a distinction between a first address space and a second address space within one or more shared communications networks, such as a wireless local area network, in a telecommunications system. At a transmitter node, data units arriving from one or more source nodes are packaged together if they are intended a network accessible through a receiver and then are transmitted to the receiver node. During the transfer of data units across the telecommunications system, the addressing mechanism will use either source and destination nodes or transmitter and receiver nodes, depending on the address space relevant at the moment of transmission. The technique increases utilization efficiency, because overhead attributed to headers, acknowledgements and interframe gaps is reduced.
US07729343B2
An IP phone terminal registration method capable of reducing the workload as to telephone terminal setup and excluding working mistakes by achieving automated phone terminal registration is provided. Upon connection of a telephone terminal to IP network, a DHCP device issues a terminal registration request to a main apparatus. The main apparatus performs automated phone number allocation to thereby perform terminal registration processing. The DHCP device sends back to the telephone terminal an item of network information that contains therein IP address of the main apparatus and the phone number thus allocated. The phone terminal sets up the IP address of main apparatus and the phone number as self-terminal information, thereby automating the phone terminal registration.
US07729334B2
A particular protocol layer of the transmitting side (transmitter) initially receives service data units (SDUs) having the same priority through a single stream from an upper layer, processes these SDUs to generate protocol data units (PDUs) having different priorities, and uses respectively different transmission methods to transmit the generated PDUs over a radio interface in order to guarantee their respectively different quality of service (QoS) requirements.
US07729333B2
In a method for selecting a transmission target terminal in a zero-forcing beamforming algorithm, information about a channel capacity of each terminal is received from all K terminals. A terminal with a largest channel capacity is selected as an initial transmission target terminal. A determination is made as to whether the number of currently selected terminals, i, is equal to the predefined number N. If the number of currently selected terminals, i, is different from the predefined number N, information about channel capacities of remaining terminals except previously selected transmission target terminals is received until i is equal to N and a terminal with a largest channel capacity is selected as a transmission target terminal.
US07729331B2
An Internet terminal comprising: a communication unit that sends a local packet generated by a packet generation unit and receives a response local packet from a server apparatus; an encryption processing unit that encrypts the local packet to be sent out and decrypts the received response local packet; the packet generation unit that generates the local packet; a polling information storage unit that holds a terminal ID and a password used for identifying the internet terminal; a polling interval adjustment unit that identifies a polling interval at which the local packet is periodically sent to the router; and a control unit that sends control information to a terminal apparatus to be controlled and controls such terminal apparatus accordingly.
US07729328B2
A real-time data transport protocol directed to aggregating multiple packets of a real-time protocol session and transmitting redundant copies of the packets as defined by a sliding window. In particular implementations, a method comprising accessing a plurality of packets of a real-time protocol session; aggregating, over a sliding window, a contiguous sequence of packets in the plurality of packets into real-time data transport packets, and transmitting the real-time data transport packets to a receiving node.
US07729326B2
A communication system comprises a wireless switch, a plurality of wired access ports and a plurality of wireless access ports. The plurality of wired access ports are coupled to the wireless switch via a wired connection and are configured to receive data over the wired connection and over a wireless connection. The plurality of wireless access ports are configured to receive data over the wireless connection from the wireless access port and to send data over the wireless connection to the wired access port. The wireless access ports are further configured to receive and encapsulate first wireless data packets in to first wired data packets based on a wired transmission protocol and encapsulate the first wired data packets into second wireless data packets based on a wireless transmission protocol.
US07729316B2
Embodiments of the present invention can be used to efficiently receive access control and traffic information. In one embodiment, the invention includes receiving a signal at a radio in a timeslot on a carrier using a plurality of antenna elements, the signal including an access control burst from a first remote radio and a traffic burst from a second remote radio, the traffic burst being part of an existing logical connection between the radio and the second remote radio. The access control burst and the traffic burst can then be extracted using spatial processing.
US07729315B2
A method of performing cell measurements in a telecommunications system. The method includes the steps of receiving a signal by a user equipment (UE) operating within the telecommunications system and served by a serving cell, storing the received signal in a buffer, and determining a first portion of the signal related to the serving cell and a second portion related to neighbor (NB) cells. The first portion of the signal is decoded by the Fast Fourier Transforms (FFT) and the signal strength is estimated by a measurement unit coupled to the FFT. Next, any approximately synchronized NB cell signals in the second portion of the signal are then decoded and a signal strength is estimated. It is then determined if sufficient time remains to process unsynchronized NB cell signals of the second portion of the signal. If it is determined that sufficient time remains, the second portion of the signal is played back and decoded using the FFT and a signal strength of any unsynchronized NB cell signals of the second portion of the received signal is estimated.
US07729306B2
A method and apparatus for a wireless communication system having a plurality of terminals is provided. At least one quality requirement defining a minimum quality of communication service threshold for receiving information by at least one terminal over a communication channel is determined. At least one quality parameter of the communication channel is also determined, where the quality parameter defines a degree of quality in which communication is received by the terminal over the communication channel. The quality parameter is compared to the quality requirement, and the terminal is prevented from tuning to the communication channel providing that the quality parameter is lower than the quality requirement. In another embodiment, the at least one quality requirement is associated with a service threshold indicator (STI) value, and the STI value is communicated to the terminal for comparison of the quality requirement to the quality parameter.
US07729296B1
A distributed spanning tree protocol is implemented on a modular packet switch. At least some port-specific spanning tree functionality, for instance a port receive state machine and/or a port transmit state machine, operates on a processor on a line port module. At least some bridge-specific spanning tree functionality operates on a processor on a management or control module. When the spanning tree is stable, the line port module processor handles routine spanning tree “hello” messages without having to involve the control module processor. This arrangement allows the switch to handle large and/or multiple spanning trees and large numbers of bridged ports without overloading the control module processor with routine spanning tree module communications.
US07729294B2
A method for discovering a network device is disclosed for executing a discovery procedure of the network device in a Data Link Layer (i.e. Layer 2 of OSI 7 Layers Model) via a Network Management Server (NMS) within a Local Area Network (LAN) system to discover other network devices within the LAN. Firstly, sending a discovery packet from a Network Management Server (NMS), wherein the discovery packet comprises a command for requesting the network device to send back a corresponding Media Access Control (MAC) address. Then, receiving the discovery packet by at least one of the network device, and generating a response packet corresponding to the discovery packet for sending the response packet, wherein the response packet comprises the Media Access Control (MAC) address of the network device. Then, receiving the response packet from the NMS for collecting the MAC address while ignoring an IP address in the response packet, and updating a device information table according to the MAC address for identifying the network device.
US07729287B2
A method of simulating a telecommunications network may include providing a database including status information for a plurality of virtual network elements. More particularly, the status information for each of the plurality of virtual network elements may include a respective network element identifier. A communication including a received network element identifier may be received. If the received network element identifier does not correspond to a network element identifier included in the database, status information for a new virtual network element may be added to the database and the status information for the new virtual network element may include the received network element identifier. After adding the status information for the new virtual network element, a communication regarding the new virtual network element may be transmitted. Related systems and computer program products are also discussed.
US07729282B2
The present invention discloses a configuration apparatus thereof which can efficiently configure a new home appliance in the home network system comprised of various home appliances. The configuration method of a home network system, comprising of confirming whether a previously-stored logical address is an initial logical address, transmitting a master search packet to the home network system when the logical address previously stored in the storage means is an initial logical address, waiting for a response packet from the home network system, when the response packet is received from the home network system, changing the initial logical address into a predetermined logical address according to reception of the response packet; and when the response packet is not received from the home network system, changing the previously-stored initial logical address into a previously-stored basic logical address.
US07729281B2
Messages transmitted between a receiver and a transmitter are used to maximize a communication data rate. In particular, a multicarrier modulation system uses messages that are sent from the receiver to the transmitter to exchange one or more sets of optimized communication parameters. The transmitter then stores these communication parameters and when transmitting to that particular receiver, the transmitter utilizes the stored parameters in an effort to maximize the data rate to that receiver. Likewise, when the receiver receives packets from that particular transmitter, the receiver can utilize the stored communication parameters for reception.
US07729276B2
Aspects of a method and system for tunneling MACSec packets through non-MACSec-enabled nodes are provided. In this regard, aspects of the invention may be utilized for transmitting MACSec Ethernet packets over MACSec and/or non-MACSec-enabled network nodes. In one embodiment of the invention, additional header information may be inserted into a MACSec packet before transmitting the MACSec packet to a non-MACSec-enabled node. Accordingly, aspects of the invention may remove the additional header information from a packet received from a non-MACSec-enabled node to distinguish the packets comprising inserted additional header information, which may comprise a distinguishing Ethertype.
US07729273B2
A method and an apparatus are provided for improving or optimizing the frequency at which the keep-alive messages are exchanged between a network device (e.g., network server) and a remote device (e.g., a PC) behind a router or gateway. By improving or optimizing the frequency at which these messages are exchanged, the amount of network bandwidth that is consumed as a result of the exchange of keep-alive messages can be reduced. This allows a network device to remotely access a remote device in a very efficient manner in terms of the number of keep-alive messages that are generated and processed and in terms of bandwidth consumption.
US07729262B2
Described is a system and method for receiving traffic load information for a plurality of access points, each of the access points including at least two channels for communicating and neighboring at least one of the other access points. A throughput of each channel of each access point is determined based on the traffic load information for each access point and any neighboring access points. A channel with a maximum determined throughput is selected for each access point. Each access point then switches to the selected channel at a defined probability rate.
US07729257B2
The invention includes a method and apparatus for generating a link transmission schedule for handling traffic variation in wireless networks without dynamic scheduling or routing. The method includes determining fixed traffic capacities associated with respective wireless links of a wireless network according to a routing algorithm, and generating, using the routing algorithm and the fixed traffic capacities, a link transmission schedule including at least one condition by which traffic is transmitted using each of the network links. The link transmission schedule is adapted to remain substantially fixed during dynamic traffic changes. The routing algorithm may be a two-phase routing algorithm in which traffic is distributed by each node in the wireless network to every node in the wireless network using traffic split ratios. For two-phase routing, fixed traffic capacities may be determined using ingress and egress traffic capacities and traffic split ratios associated with respective nodes in the wireless network.
US07729255B2
When digital signals are to be transmitted between a camera unit and a camera control unit, the distance of their transmission depends on the frequency at which the digital signals are transmitted. The higher the frequency of the digital signals is, the greater the cable attenuation is, inviting deterioration of the signals. Therefore, with a view to matching the quantity of transmitted signals with the length of the transmission path and thereby achieving high quality of signal transmission, a method of signal transmission for a signal transmission apparatus wherein a camera unit and a camera control unit for controlling the camera unit are connected by a transmission path and a video signal, an audio signal and a control signal are digitized, time division multiplexed and transmitted between the camera unit and the camera control unit, has a step of measuring the value of delay of signals transmitted over the transmission path, and each of the camera unit and the camera control unit performs a step of controlling the data quantity of signals to be delivered to the transmission path on the basis of the measured value of delay.
US07729246B1
Systems and methods for communications between networks that support dispatch communication services are provided. A server is coupled to at least two networks that provide dispatch communications, one of which employs an inactivity timer. When the server determines that the inactivity timer for a dispatch call is about to expire due to, for example, no bearer packets being transmitted, the server will request the floor of the call. The server will then transmit bearer packets for a predetermined amount of time, and then release the floor.
US07729245B1
A method and system for monitoring data packet traffic in a multicast network comprising determining a first packet count received at a receiver router, representing a quantity of data packets associated with a multicast group and source at a first time, determining a second packet count received at that receiver router representing a quantity of data packets associated with that multicast group and source, at a second time subsequent to the first time, comparing the second packet count to the first packet count, and indicating an alarm in response to the second packet count being less than a predetermined value greater than the first packet count. A status for multiple routers can be obtained, comprising a difference between the quantity of the first and second packet counts; and indicating a warning in response to at least one of the plurality of router status being less than the predetermined value.
US07729243B2
In a radio access network, the reverse link rate of an access terminal is controlled and stabilized by determining a number of connections in one or more sectors in which the access terminal has a connection and setting a rate limit based on at least one of the determined number of connections. The number of connections can be determined for each sector in which the access terminal has a connection or for some subset of these sectors. If the number of connections is determined for more than one sector, the radio access network may limit the reverse link rate based on the sector having the greatest number of connections.
US07729235B2
Methods and apparatuses for generating an OVSF code are disclosed. A proposed method for generating a current code chip of an OVSF code includes: determining a correlation factor between the current code chip and a preceding code chip of the OVSF code; and generating the current code chip according to the preceding code chip and the correlation factor.
US07729230B2
Plural grooves or lands formed in an information recording carrier include at least a wobbling region and data is recorded wobblingly in this wobbling region by phase shift modulation while recorded digitally with a single or multiple waves as a channel bit.
US07729225B2
An optical information processing apparatus is provided. The optical information processing apparatus includes: an optical system which irradiates a reference beam on an optical information recording medium having a plurality of recording regions adjacent to each other so that the reference beam is wider than each of the recording regions; a filter which filters readout beams reproduced from the optical information recording medium to pass a selected readout beam reproduced from a selected recording region and separates neighborhood readout beams reproduced from neighborhood of the selected recording regions; a readout beam detector which detects the selected readout beam passing through the filter; a neighborhood readout beam detector which detects the neighborhood readout beams separated by the filter; and a controller which compares the neighborhood readout beams detected by the neighborhood readout beam detector to control a reproduction condition of the selected readout beam.
US07729224B2
An optical information reproducing apparatus and an optical information reproducing method using the same are provided. The optical information reproducing apparatus includes: a light source; a beam splitter which splits a beam emitted from the light source into a reference beam and a temporary beam; a temporary beam splitter which splits the temporary beam into a pair of assistant beams; an incident optical system which inputs the reference beam and the assistant beams to a recording medium in which optical information is recorded; a reproduction beam detector which detects reproduction beams reproduced in response to the reference beam, sets the position of the reproduction beam having the largest light intensity as a reference position, and sets a signal region on the basis of the reference beam; and an assistant beam detector which compares the light intensity of the assistant beams incident on the signal region with each other and sets an incident angle of the reference beam. Accordingly, it is possible to detect a tilt error and to correct the tilt error at the time of reproducing data from the recording medium.
US07729223B2
A recording method for dye-based recordable DVD medium which includes recording shortest marks on a recording layer primarily containing an organic dye using a simple rectangular wave pulse; recording marks each having the second shortest or still longer mark length using one pulse of which the front and rear edges are highly energized for a given time; and controlling the optical energy for irradiating rear edge or backward of the pulse with a cooling pulse to be 0.1 mW or less for a given time, wherein when the recording power of the front and rear edges of the respective pulses is represented by P1 and the recording power of intermediate pulse between the pulse front edge and the pulse rear edge is represented by P2, P1/P2 is set to be greater when P1 is a low power, and P1/P2 is set to be smaller when P1 is a high power.
US07729218B2
Test signals are recorded on a prescribed area in an optical disc. The prescribed area is scanned by a laser beam while the power of the laser beam is changed among different DC erasing values. The different DC erasing values are assigned to the recorded test signals, respectively. The recorded test signals are reproduced from the prescribed area to obtain reproduced signals. Parameter values of the respective reproduced signals are detected. The detected parameter values correspond to the different DC erasing values, respectively. Among the detected parameter values, a detected parameter value is decided which matches a target. One corresponding to the decided parameter value is selected from the different DC erasing values. A prescribed coefficient and the selected DC erasing value are multiplied to calculate an optimum level of an erasing power of the laser beam.
US07729212B2
The objective lens driving device of the present invention for an optical pickup device is provided. The device includes first and second objective lenses, and a lens holder for supporting the first and second objective lenses. The lens holder has a first through-hole for passage of first laser beam and a second through-hole for passage of second laser beam. Where a plane defined by a central axis of the first objective lens and a central axis of the second objective lens is a central plane, a plane perpendicular to the central plane and including the central axis of the first objective lens is a first plane, and a plane perpendicular to the central plane and including the central axis of the second objective lens is a second plane; the first through-hole is asymmetrical with respect to the first plane and/or the second through-hole is asymmetrical with respect to the second plane.
US07729211B2
An information recording medium 1 at least comprises a substrate 13 having a microscopic pattern 20, which is constituted by a shape of continuous substance of approximately parallel grooves formed with a groove section G and a land section L alternately, a recording layer 12 formed on the microscopic pattern 20 and a light transmission layer 11 formed on the recording layer. The microscopic pattern 20 is formed so as to satisfy a relation of P<λ
US07729210B2
An information recording medium 1 at least comprises a substrate 13 having a microscopic pattern 20, which is constituted by a shape of continuous substance of approximately parallel grooves formed with a groove section G and a land section L alternately, a recording layer 12 formed on the microscopic pattern 20 and a light transmission layer 11 formed on the recording layer. The microscopic pattern 20 is formed so as to satisfy a relation of P<λ
US07729201B2
A method and apparatus for spread spectrum distance and for spread spectrum velocity profile measurement is provided where the short pulse of traditional ultrasonic and radar level gauges is replaced by low peak power direct sequence spread spectrum (DSSS) modulated energy. An echo sequence subtraction process is provided that increases the signal to noise ratio of each echo sequence thus increasing the dynamic range of the system. In addition to providing a higher signal to noise ratio (SNR), better precision and accuracy in ranging Doppler applications and the ability to use lower peak power transmissions, the system is more immune to interference from the environment and allows for less expensive and less bulky ultrasonic transducers.
US07729200B2
The memory device has: a plurality of banks, each of which has a memory cell array having a plurality of page areas that are selected by row addresses respectively, and each of which is selected by a bank address; a row controller that controls activation of the page areas within each of the banks in response to a first operation code; and a group of data input/output terminals. A memory unit area within each of the activated page areas is accessed based on the column address. The row controller generates bank activation signals for the plurality of banks in response to multi-bank information data and a supplied bank address that are supplied along with the first command, and generates the row address of each of the plurality of banks in response to the supplied bank address and a supplied row address. The plurality of banks activate the page areas in response to the bank activation signals and the row addresses generated by the row address calculator.
US07729195B2
Semiconductor memory devices having hierarchical word line structures are provided. A block of sub-word line driver circuits (SWDB) are disposed between a first block of memory and a second block of memory. A SWDB includes a plurality of sub-wordline driver (SWD) circuits arranged in a plurality of SWD columns each having four SWD circuits extending in a first direction between the first and second blocks of memory. Two adjacent SWD columns include a SWD group for driving a plurality of sub-word lines extending from the SWD group along the first direction into the first and second blocks of memory.
US07729191B2
Systems, devices and methods are disclosed. In an embodiment of one such device, an embodiment of a memory device includes a command decoder that is operable to decode received write enable, row address strobe and column address strobe signals to place the memory device in at least one reduced power state despite the absence of either a clock enable signal or a chip select signal. The command decoder performs this function by decoding the write enable, row address strobe and column address strobe signals in combination with at least one address signal received by the memory device. The command decoder can also decode a no operation command, which differs from the at least one reduced power state by only the state of the write enable signal. As a result, when the at least one reduced power state is terminated by a transition of the write enable signal, the memory device automatically transitions to a no operation mode.
US07729187B2
A bit line precharge circuit capable of improving bit line precharge operation includes a first precharge element for precharging a first bit line in response to a first precharge signal, a precharge unit for precharging second and third bit lines in response to a second precharge signal, and a second precharge element for precharging a fourth bit line in response to a third precharge signal.
US07729184B2
Provided is a memory device that can detect a mismatch in a bit line sense amp, wherein the memory device includes a sense amp drive unit for selectively supplying a pull-up drive voltage or a pull-down drive voltage to a bit line sense amp in response to a sensing test signal provided from outside.
US07729183B2
A data sensing method for a dynamic random access memory including a storage capacitor configured to store data, a bit line, a transistor connecting the storage capacitor and the bit line, a reference bit line, and a sense amplifier connecting the bit line and the reference bit line. The data sensing method comprises the steps of turning off the transistor when the stored data is a predetermined value before enabling the sense amplifier to sense the voltage of the bit line and the reference bit line, and turning on the transistor when the stored data is opposite to the predetermined value such that a charge sharing process occurs between the storage capacitor and a parasitic capacitor of the bit line before enabling the sense amplifier to sense the voltage of the bit line and the reference bit line.
US07729181B2
A semiconductor storage device comprises of a memory cell connected to a plate line and a bit line, a potential shift circuit which is connected to a bit line, temporarily changes in output voltage corresponding to the voltage change of the bit line when a voltage is applied to the plate line, a charge transfer circuit for transferring charge stored on the potential shift circuit corresponding to the temporary output voltage change of the potential shift circuit, and a charge accumulation circuit for generating a read voltage from a memory cell after accumulating the transferred charge.
US07729178B2
The non-volatile semiconductor memory device has a circuit which maintains and holds the potentials of bit lines, and either ones of even-bit lines or odd-bit lines are connected to the circuit. When the bit line potential holding circuit is connected to even-bit lines and a block copy is performed, data is first outputted to the even-bit lines, and after the potential of the even-bit line is determined, the bit line potential holding circuit operates. Then, biasing of the potential of the even-bit lines is carried out by the bit line potential holding circuit, the potentials of the bit lines are maintained and held. At the same time, data is outputted to the odd-bit lines and the potentials of the odd-bit lines are determined. Then, a program voltage is supplied to a selected word line, and data is simultaneously written (programmed) in the memory cells connected to the even-bit lines, and the memory cells connected to the odd-bit lines.
US07729171B2
The invention provides methods and apparatus. A portion of a memory array has a string of two or more non-volatile memory cells, a first select gate coupled in series with one non-volatile memory cell of the string of two or more non-volatile memory cells, and a second select gate coupled in series with the first select gate. A length of the second select gate is greater than a length of the first select gate.
US07729168B2
Embodiments of the invention are generally directed to systems, methods, and apparatuses for reduced signal level support for memory devices. In some embodiments, a host includes one or more additional electrical contacts to provide a controllable voltage reference to a memory device. The host may also include driver circuitry to provide a driver signal to the memory device. In some embodiments, the driver signal is substantially symmetrical around the controllable voltage reference.
US07729166B2
A Multiple-bit per Cell (MBC) non-volatile memory apparatus, method, and system wherein a controller for writing/reading data to/from a memory array controls polarity of data by selectively inverting data words to maximize a number of bits to be programmed within (M−1) virtual pages and selectively inverts data words to minimize a number of bits to be programmed in an Mth virtual page where M is the number of bits per cell. A corresponding polarity control flag is set when a data word is inverted. Data is selectively inverted according the corresponding polarity flag when being read from the M virtual pages. A number of the highest threshold voltage programming states in reduced. This provides tighter distribution of programmed cell threshold voltage, reduced power consumption, reduced programming time, and enhanced device reliability.
US07729162B2
In accordance with some embodiments, a phase change memory may be formed in which the thermal conductivity in the region outside the programmed volume of phase change material is reduced. This may reduce the power consumption of the resulting phase change memory. The reduction in power consumption may be achieved by forming distinct layers of phase change material that have little or no mixing between them outside the programmed volume. For example, in one embodiment, a diffusion barrier layer may be maintained between the two distinct phase change layers. In another embodiment, a face centered cubic chalcogenide structure may be utilized.
US07729156B2
The method includes storing a memory data state in the ferroelectric memory cell. An event will trigger the evaluation of signal margin on a memory cell. If the memory cell is identified to have a weak signal, the memory cell is exercised. Exercising includes either performing one or more data read/re-write events or performing one or more simulated data read and data write events of an alternating high data state and a low data state to the memory cell associated with the weak data bit. Both the lifetime retention testing and the memory data state exercising are performed in the background of normal memory operation.
US07729155B2
A read only memory (ROM) for providing a high operational speed with reduced leakage and low power consumption. The read only memory (ROM) includes multiple bit lines, multiple word lines, multiple column select lines and these lines are operatively coupled with multiple transistors. The arrangement of the ROM is such that the word line of a selected row is pulled down to a ground voltage (Vgnd). Non-selected word lines are kept at a supply voltage VDD to ensure that unwanted rows will not have any sub-threshold current (as Vds=0). So during read “1” operation (that is when bit line (BL) is high) load cells would not leak unnecessarily. Thus the ROM achieves a high operational speed with reduced leakage and low power consumption.
US07729153B2
A dual inline memory module (DIMM) includes a card having a length of about 151.2 to about 151.5 millimeters, a plurality of individual local memory devices attached to the card, and a buffer device attached to the card, the buffer device configured for converting a packetized memory interface. The card includes at least 276 pins configured thereon.
US07729149B2
A semiconductor device that includes a memory cell having a junction field effect transistor (JFET) used to form a content addressable memory (CAM) cell is disclosed. The JFET may include a data storage region disposed between a first and second insulating region. The data storage region provides a first threshold voltage to the JFET when storing a first data value and provides a second threshold voltage to the JFET when storing a second data value. The memory cell is a dynamic random access memory (DRAM) cell and can be used to form a CAM cell. The CAM cell may be a ternary CAM cell formed with as few as two JFETs.
US07729145B2
A power converter that converts an AC power outputted from a generator into a DC power and supplies it to a battery (load). The power converter includes a thyristor (switch unit) connected between an output unit of the generator and the battery (load); and a gate control unit (control unit) for generating a triangle wave voltage having a constant peak voltage corresponding to each cycle of the AC power outputted from the generator, generating a differential voltage between the voltage supplied to the load via the switch unit and a predetermined target voltage, and controlling the conductive state of the switch unit based on the triangle wave voltage and the differential voltage.
US07729135B1
In one embodiment, a power converter system includes an input terminal for an input voltage. A transformer, coupled to the input terminal, has a primary winding and a secondary winding. An output terminal is coupled to the secondary winding. Power is delivered to a load of the power converter system at the output terminal. A first control module, coupled through a relay to a tap terminal to the primary winding of the transformer, operates the power converter system if a magnitude of the input voltage is within a low voltage range. A second control module, coupled at an end terminal of the primary winding of the transformer, operates the power converter system if a magnitude of the input voltage is within a high voltage range.
US07729122B2
A fastener includes a rod and a sleeve. The rod has a flat top for depression and a rod body extending downwardly from the flat top. The upper end of the rod body is provided with a circular groove. The sleeve is formed with a through hole and a flange close to its upper end. The inner side of the sleeve is provided above the flange with a first engaging section engageable with the circular groove of the rod. The sleeve is provided with a second engaging section below the flange and a third engaging section at the lower end thereof. By means of the engagement between the circular groove of the rod and the first engaging section of the sleeve, the rod will be prevented from detaching from the sleeve. The second and third engaging sections are used for preventing the fastener from disengaging from a workpiece.
US07729111B2
A hard drive includes an external hard drive and a stand integrally formed with the external hard drive. The external hard drive includes a housing maintaining a hard drive assembly configured to exchange data with a computer system, with the housing having opposing first and second major faces. The stand includes a first leg configured to project from the first major face of the housing and a second leg configured to project from the second major face of the housing.
US07729102B2
A solid electrolytic capacitor 1 includes a capacitor element 2 and a resin package 9 enclosing the capacitor element. The capacitor element includes a sintered body 3 of valve metal powder, an anode 4a provided by embedding an anode wire 4 in the sintered body, and a cathode 5 provided by forming a metal layer on the sintered body. A first lead member 6 in the form of a plate is connected to the anode wire 4. The end of the first lead member projects from a side surface 9a of the resin package 9 to provide an anode terminal T1. A second lead member 7 in the form of a plate is connected to the cathode 5. The end of the second lead member projects from a side surface 9b of the resin package 9 to provide a cathode terminal T2. By extending the first and the second lead members 6 and 7 generally horizontally at the substantially same height from the lower end of the resin package and making the portions projecting from the resin package 9 serve as the anode terminal T1 and the cathode terminal T2, the lead length between the anode 4a of the capacitor element 2 and the anode terminal T1 and the lead length between the cathode 5 and the cathode terminal T2 is made as short as possible, whereby ESL is reduced.
US07729101B2
An apparatus and method for monitoring the output of an ionizing blower. A measuring channel captures a portion of the air ion stream, and measures balance plus air ion current. Since the measurement channel is isolated from extraneous electrostatic fields, measurements contain less analytical noise. Air flow through the measurement chamber is created by the inherent pressure difference between the high pressure and low pressure sides of an air mover. Two electrodes inside the measurement chamber are combined with a power supply, a low current amplifier, and a controller. The controller also makes adjustments to the ionizing blower.
US07729099B2
A surge arrester has a discharge current path. The discharge current path is surrounded by an insulating sleeve. The insulating sleeve has at least one area that is optically transparent.
US07729094B2
A method and a device are disclosed herein for protecting a circuit including a first terminal and a second terminal from electrostatic discharges. The device comprises at least one current path, wherein each current path of the at least one current path includes a transistor and a first circuit element. A first load terminal of the transistor is coupled to the first terminal of the circuit. A second load terminal of the transistor is coupled to a control terminal of the transistor and to a first terminal of the first circuit element. A second terminal of the first circuit element is coupled to the second terminal of the circuit. A well terminal of the transistor is coupled to the second terminal of the circuit via a second circuit element.
US07729090B2
Disclosed is an inertia latch mechanism capable of omitting erection of a pin for swinging an inertia lever. An inertia lever for use in the inertia latch mechanism is constituted of: a lever body swinging by inertia when an impact is applied thereto; a fixture fixed to a case of a disk drive device; and a plate spring member for connecting the lever body and the fixture and permitting swing of the lever body.
US07729089B1
A head-gimbal assembly (HGA) is disclosed. The HGA comprises a head including a slider having a leading end and a trailing end that define a slider length. The head further includes a read transducer disposed at the trailing end. The HGA further comprises an adhesive material and a flexure that includes a tongue to which the head is adhered. The tongue includes three stand-offs in contact with the slider, each of the three stand-offs spanning a stand-off length that is one-half the slider length or less. Two of the three stand-offs are disposed adjacent the leading end.
US07729086B1
A magnetic head for perpendicular magnetic recording includes a slider having an air bearing surface (ABS) and a trailing surface and a transducer fabricated on the trailing surface. The transducer includes a magnetoresistive (MR) read element disposed within a gap material bounded by shield material, an adjunct pole, and a main pole formed in an adjacent layered relationship to the adjunct pole. The adjunct pole has a front edge that is recessed from the ABS and a rear edge. The main pole has a write tip that extends approximately to the ABS. The transducer further includes a write coil having a first layer of turns below the adjunct pole and above the shield material. The magnetic head also includes a heating element with a portion of the heating element below the write coil and behind the rear edge of the adjunct pole.
US07729079B1
A disk drive is disclosed comprising a disk, a head actuated over the disk, and control circuitry operable to estimate a fly height of the head by tuning a phase locked loop (PLL) in response to a fly height capacitance. In one embodiment, the PLL comprises a resistive component having a second terminal coupled to the fly height capacitance, a variable oscillator operable to generate a first oscillating signal applied to a first terminal of the resistive component to generate a second oscillating signal at the second end of the resistive component, and a phase detector operable to generate a control signal by comparing a phase of the first oscillating signal to a phase of the second oscillating signal. The control signal is applied to the variable oscillator to adjust a frequency of the first oscillating signal.
US07729075B2
An improved mass storage system having a read channel adapted to store in a FIFO memory digitized analog samples of data symbols read from a disk, the buffered digitized samples being processed by digital circuitry that may be operated at a slower speed than the maximum symbol rate from the disk. In one embodiment, the read channel has an analog portion that processes analog signals from a read head and includes an ADC for converting the processed analog signals into digital samples in response to a first clock; a FIFO storing therein the digital samples in response to the first clock and reading out the stored digital samples in response to a second clock; and a detector, in response to the second clock, detecting the digital samples from the FIFO into digital data. The maximum frequency of the first clock is less than the maximum frequency of the second clock.
US07729072B2
A storage drive implements a method for operating the storage drive between a plurality of operational modes. For a test mode of the storage drive, a write current driver circuit and a test current sensor are electrically connected to the write head, wherein the test current sensor generates a sense signal indicative of a degree of a flow of a test current through the write head to thereby facilitate a detection of any presence of an open write condition of the storage drive (i.e., any impedance condition impeding a flow of a write current through the write head). For a write mode of the storage drive, the write current driver circuit is electrically connected to the write head and the test current sensor is electrically disconnected from the write head, wherein the write head records data on a magnetic media based on a flow of the write current through the write head.
US07729052B2
An optical diffraction grating having a superior ultra-precise non-planar surface shape desired in extremely sensitive and complex optical imaging devices (e.g. spectrometers or hyperspectral imagers) is provided. The optical diffraction grating comprises a substrate having a plurality of substantially parallel grooves, wherein each of the grooves includes a plurality of substantially parallel sub-grooves. A non-planar substrate surface shape is defined by a combination of the grooves. A groove profile is defined by a combination of the sub-grooves within a corresponding one of the grooves. In a preferred method of manufacturing the optical diffraction grating, a rotating spindle technique would be employed.
US07729047B1
A method of shifting and fixing an optical frequency of an optical resonator to a desired optical frequency, and an optical resonator made by such a method are provided. The method includes providing an optical resonator having a surface and a refractive index, and obtaining a coating composition having a predetermined concentration of a substance and having a refractive index that is substantially similar to the refractive index of the optical resonator. The coating composition inherently possesses a thickness when it is applied as a coating. The method further includes determining a coating ratio for the surface of the optical resonator and applying the coating composition onto a portion of the surface of the optical resonator based upon the determined coating ratio.
US07729040B2
An electrophoretic display device includes; a first substrate having a plurality of pixel electrodes in a display region thereof; and an electrophoretic sheet that includes a second substrate on which a common electrode, an electrophoretic layer, and an adhesive layer are laminated. The electrophoretic sheet is bonded to the display region of the first substrate via the adhesive layer. The distance between neighboring pixel electrodes among the plurality of pixel electrodes is 5 μm or more.
US07729038B2
In the method of manufacturing an information display panel, in which at least one group of display media having optical reflectance and charge characteristics and consisting of at least one or more groups of particles, are sealed in a cell formed by partition walls between two substrates, at least one substrate being transparent, and, in which the display media, to which an electrostatic field is applied, are made to move so as to display information such as an image, a display media filling step for filling the display media in the cell includes the steps of: setting a screen over the partition walls; arranging the display media on the screen; and moving a plate member on the screen under such a condition that the plate member is contacted to the screen. In this manner, it is possible to obtain the method of manufacturing the information display panel in which it is possible to fill the display media by an easy process, and to make easy a control of an area, to which the display media are to be filled, and a control of an amount of the display media to be filled.
US07729032B2
In one embodiment the invention provides a device for modulating light. The device includes a non-imaging concentrating optic having a body with a first end through which light enters the body and a second end through which light leaves the body; and a shutter component which can be selectively aligned with the second end in one of several operative positions wherein in at least one operative position, the shutter component is sufficiently close to the second end of the body to be within the wavelength of an evanescent wave generated at a surface of the body at the second end when total internal reflection occurs at the surface.
US07729022B2
A method for processing an image is provided. The method is to calculate the amount of original gray levels in a frame according to the original gray level difference between each pixel and an adjacent pixel thereof and adjusts the contrast of the frame according to the calculated amount of gray levels and the contrast difference between the current frame and the previous frame.
US07729013B2
An image processing apparatus includes a character-area extracting unit that extracts a character area in which characters are displayed from image data including characters, a character-color converting unit that converts the color of characters in the character area extracted by the character-area extracting unit to a predetermined prescribed character color, and a background-color converting unit that converts a background color of the background, which is an area other than the characters in the character area extracted by the character-area extracting unit to a predetermined prescribed background color.
US07729009B2
An is an image processing apparatus including: an image memory section to store an image data obtained by reading an image of an original manuscript; an external light memory section to store a data of external light entering to a stage for the original manuscript and to form histograms of each color based on the data of external light; a judging section to calculate an external light level from a higher luminance by each color out of luminance values of a foot of a peak including a maximum frequency value measured on the histograms; and an area detecting section to determine a non-image area erase threshold based on the external light level, so as to detect an image area and to erase a non-image area.
US07729005B2
An engine control section detects that a sheet in a cassette is exhausted during duplex image formation. If a sheet with its first surface being printed is on standby in a duplexer, an image formation timing signal is output for a first surface of a sheet not fed because of a paper-out. Subsequently, an image formation timing signal is output for a second surface of the sheet that is in the duplexer and has its first surface printed. After completing the image formation of the second surface of the sheet, the operation is halted.
US07728996B2
An image processing apparatus includes an input unit to input an image, a connection unit to perform connection to an external network, an output unit to output a request for processing the input image to a unit connected thereto through the external network, and a control unit to perform connection to an authentication unit connected to the external network using the connection unit and requesting the authentication unit for an authentication process, when the output unit outputs the request for the processing.
US07728993B2
An image forming apparatus includes a receiving device which receives data to be printed. a reading device which reads a document, a selecting device which selects one of a print function of printing the data received by the receiving device and a copy function of printing the data read by the reading device, in accordance with an operation of a user, and a control device which inhibits printing by the copy function even if the document is set in the reading device, and changes a state of the receiving device from a state of not receiving the data to a state of receiving the data, when the print function is selected by the selecting device.
US07728991B2
A printer is provided for printing, onto a surface, an interface of document data and coded data. The document data includes first identity data indicative of an identity associated with a region of the interface. The coded data includes tags each including the first identity data and second identity data defining a relative position of the respective tag. The printer comprises an actuator, a coded data generator configured to generate the coded data based at least partially on the first identity data, and a printing mechanism. The printer is configured to print the interface onto the surface, using the printing mechanism, in response to actuation of the actuator.
US07728988B2
According to one aspect, a part has two reflective surfaces, one being a conic surface portion having an axis with a focus thereon, and the other being part of a spherical surface with a centerpoint at the focus. According to a different aspect, a method includes fabricating a part with first and second reflective surfaces, the first being a conic surface portion with an axis and a focus on the axis, and the second being a spherical surface portion with a centerpoint at the focus. The second surface is used to position the part so that the focus coincides with the centerpoint of a spherical wave from an interferometer. Then, a reflective further spherical surface portion on a member is used with the interferometer to position a centerpoint of the further surface at the focus. The interferometer then evaluates the first surface for accuracy.
US07728985B2
Polarization sensitive common path OCT/OCR devices are presented. Optical radiation from a source is converted into two cross-polarized replicas propagating therethrough with a predetermined optical path length difference. The two cross-polarized replicas are then delivered to an associated sample by a delivering device, which is, preferably, an optical fiber probe. A combination optical radiation is produced in at least one secondary interferometer by combining a corresponding portion of an optical radiation returning from the associated sample with a reference optical radiation reflected from a tip of an optical fiber of the optical fiber probe. Subject to a preset optical path length difference of the arms of the at least one secondary interferometer, a cross-polarized component, and/or a parallel-polarized component of the combined optical radiation, are selected. The topology of the devices allows for time domain, as well as for frequency domain registration.
US07728984B2
For evaluation of a measured parameter with a measuring cell having a cavity which generates for light an optical path length difference changing corresponding to the variation of the measured parameter, the method includes: introducing light from a white light source with the aid of an optical waveguide via a coupler (3) disposed in the path of the optical waveguide into the cavity, coupling out at least a portion of the light reflected back into the optical waveguide from the cavity with the aid of the coupler and conducting this reflected light to an optical spectrometer, determining the optical spectrum of the reflected light in the spectrometer and generating a spectrometer signal, conducting the spectrometer signal to a computing unit, wherein the spectrometer signal is directly converted through the computing unit to an interferogram and from its intensity progression the location of the particular extremal amplitude value is determined and this particular location represents directly the particular value of the optical path length difference in the cavity, which comprises the measured parameter.
US07728983B2
Diffraction grating based fiber optic interferometric systems for use in optical coherence tomography, wherein sample and reference light beams are formed by a first beam splitter and the sample light beam received from a sample and a reference light beam are combined on a second beam splitter. In one embodiment, the first beam splitter is an approximately 50/50 beam splitter, and the second beam splitter is a non 50/50 beam splitter. More than half of the energy of the sample light beam is directed into the combined beam and less than half of the energy of the reference light beam are directed into the combined beam by the second beam splitter. In another embodiment, the first beam splitter is a non 50/50 beam splitter and the second beam splitter is an approximately 50/50 beam splitter. An optical circulator is provided to enable the sample light beam to bypass the first beam splitter after interaction with a sample. Two combined beams are formed by the second beam splitter for detection by two respective detectors. More than half of the energy of the light source provided to the first beam splitter is directed into the sample light beam and less than half of the energy is directed into the reference light beam. The energy distribution between the sample and reference light beams can be controlled by selection of the characteristics of the beam splitters.
US07728978B2
Moisture can be detected in a refrigerant background such as HFC (Hydrofluorocarbon) HFC-134A and HFC-152A and exampled by HFC-23, HFC-32, HFC-143A, HFC-125, HFC-245FA, HFC-227EA, and the like. The system can include a light source operating at any one of several wavelengths within the water absorption bands at wavelengths such as 1.4, 1.9 and 2.7 μm and a detector that measures the transmitted light intensity through the HFC samples. In one variation, the light source is a tunable diode laser and the moisture level is determined by direct absorption and harmonic spectroscopy. Related techniques, apparatus, systems, and articles are also described.
US07728974B2
An enhanced detection system can eliminate use of a sheath fluid by selecting which particles that pass through an sensing region to detect parametric characteristics thereof based upon position of each particle while it is in a sensing region relative to one or more predetermined positions, such as an in-focus position relative to one or more light beams directed into the sensing region, to enhance accuracy and robustness of particle parametric characteristics detection.
US07728971B2
An analysis system, tool, and method for performing downhole fluid analysis, such as within a wellbore. The analysis system, tool, and method provide for a tool including a spectroscope for use in downhole fluid analysis which utilizes an adaptive optical element such as a Micro Mirror Array (MMA) and two distinct light channels and detectors to provide real-time scaling or normalization.
US07728963B2
A separation from at least one and an image of at least three reflective regions on the orientation indicator are recorded by a separation measurement sensor and an image sensor in a measuring device, for the purpose of determining the orientation of an orientation indicator. The separation measurement and image recording are achieved by means of a directed emission of a collimated first beam and a divergent second beam with differing wavelengths and/or polarization in the direction of the orientation indicator and a simultaneous recording of the reflected and/or scattered first and second beams. The reflective regions on the orientation indicator are embodied and arranged such as to be positioned at a target point with a detectable geometric relationship to each other and to be simultaneously resolved by the image recorder. By means of the orientation determination, amongst other things, separations from target points, even not directly visible, can be precisely determined.
US07728953B2
high performance and high quality micro devices, etc. are produced highly efficiently at a high throughput. Before transferring a wafer W to an exposure apparatus 200 for exposing the wafer W, marks formed on the wafer W is measured by an in-line measurement device 400 and a measurement result and/or a result of performing calculation processing on the measurement result is notified to the exposure apparatus 200. In the exposure apparatus 200, a measurement condition is optimized based on the notified result and an alignment processing and other processing are performed.
US07728952B2
Aspects of the present disclosure provide a method and a system for closing plate take-over in immersion lithography. A plate holder is provided for a closing plate in a wafer holder of an immersion lithography system. An optical detector is provided below the plate holder for determining whether a light signal passing through the closing plate is aligned with the plate holder using the optical detector. If the light signal is aligned, a fluid containment mechanism is lowered, and the closing plate is placed into the plate holder. Alternatively, the fluid containment mechanism is lowered to surface of the closing plate, the closing plate is affixed to the mechanism, and the mechanism is raised with the closing plate. If the light signal is not aligned, an error is triggered and the scanner is stopped.
US07728951B2
A lithographic apparatus is disclosed that includes a first gas shower configured to supply a first gas flow to an interior space of the apparatus, and a second gas shower configured to supply a second gas flow to the interior space of the apparatus, the gas showers configured to direct the first gas flow and the second gas flow at least partly towards each other. Also, a method for conditioning an interior space of a device manufacturing apparatus is provided that includes supplying a first conditioned gas flow and a second conditioned gas flow to the interior space, such that the first conditioned gas flow and the second conditioned gas flow are at least partly directed to each other.
US07728942B2
A brighter active matrix type liquid crystal electro-optical device with a higher contrast, yet having a wider visual angle is realized, said liquid crystal electro-optical device comprises a liquid crystal layer and means for applying an electric field to the liquid crystal layer in the direction parallel to the substrate, wherein the liquid crystal layer comprises a liquid crystal material dispersed in a polymer material. Also a liquid crystal electro-optical device comprising a liquid crystal layer disposed on a substrate is included, wherein the transmission mode or the dispersion mode of an incident light is selected by an electric field applied to the liquid crystal layer in the direction parallel to the liquid crystal layer.
US07728939B2
A multi-domain liquid crystal display includes a plurality of first and second picture elements having polarities opposite to each other under the same frame of an inversion drive scheme. Each first picture element has an extension part positioned next to at least one side of the adjacent second picture element, and each second picture element has an extension part positioned next to at least one side of the adjacent first picture element.
US07728934B2
A method for fabricating a liquid crystal display (LCD) is provided. The method includes the steps stated below. At first, providing an LCD panel including a first substrate, a second substrate and a liquid crystal layer therebetween. The liquid crystal layer includes several photo-sensitive monomers and several liquid crystal molecules. The LCD panel has at least a first pixel and a second pixel. Afterwards, correspondingly driving the first pixel and the second pixel by the first voltage and the second voltage. At last, applying a ultra-violet source onto the LCD panel to enable several photo-sensitive monomers to polymerize several alignment polymers on the first substrate and the second substrate.
US07728933B2
A method for forming an alignment layer is disclosed, to prevent light leakage generated by a physical contact between a rubbing roll and a substrate, which includes preparing a substrate; coating an alignment material on the substrate, for initial alignment of liquid crystal; applying an electric field or a magnetic field to the alignment material, for determination of alignment direction in the alignment material; and curing the alignment material.
US07728932B2
The present invention provides a liquid crystal display device. An optical film having negative uniaxial double refractive index ellipsoids is arranged below a semi-transmitting liquid crystal display cell and, thereafter, a λ/4 phase difference plate, a λ/2 phase difference plate and a polarizer are arranged. The orientation axis direction of the optical film having negative uniaxial double refractive index ellipsoids is substantially equal to the direction which is rotated by 90° in the clockwise direction from a resultant vector of the orientation axis direction of the upper orientation film and the orientation axis direction of the lower orientation film of the liquid crystal display cell. Further, phase lagging axis of the upper and lower λ/4 phase difference plate is set substantially equal to the orientation axis direction of the optical film having negative uniaxial double refractive index ellipsoids.
US07728924B2
An exemplary backlight module (2) includes a light guide plate (21) and a light source (23). The light guide plate includes a main body, a protrusion (217) extending from an end of the main body, a main light emitting surface (211), and a light incident surface (215) at the end of the main body. Wherein one side of the protrusion forms a part of the light emitting surface, another side (2171) of the protrusion is adjacent to the light incident surface. The protrusion and the light incident surface cooperatively form an accommodating space. The light source is substantially received in the accommodating space.
US07728917B2
A pixel structure formed on a substrate and electrically connected with a scan line and a data line, and including a semiconductor pattern and a pixel electrode is provided. The semiconductor pattern includes at least two channel areas, at least one doping area, a source area, and a drain area. The channel areas are located below the scan line and have different aspect ratios. The doping area is connected between the channel areas. The pixel electrode electrically connects the drain area, the source area is connected between one of the channel areas and the data line, and the drain area is connected between the other channel area and the pixel electrode. The scan line has different widths above different channel areas, and a length of each channel area is substantially equal to the width of the scan line.
US07728915B2
A pixel structure of the present invention includes two metal plates and a transistor. The metal plates are electrically connected together. The gate of the transistor receives a scan signal. The drain of the transistor receives a data signal. The source of the transistor includes two extending portions. A store capacitor is formed between the two extending portions and the two metal plates. The two extending portions are plate structures.
US07728913B2
An electro-optical device comprising an image signal line that supplies an image signal to a sampling circuit, the image signal line extending from an image signal terminal, bypassing a data line driving circuit, and reaching the sampling circuit. The image signal line has a first straight line portion extending in one direction, a second straight line portion extending in another direction, and an intermediate wiring portion connecting the first straight line portion and the second straight line portion. An angle of a corner formed between the first straight line portion, the second straight line portion, and the intermediate wiring portion is an obtuse angle. The intermediate wiring portion is wired to pass around a vertical conduction terminal. Detailed information on various example embodiments of the inventions are provided in the Description of Exemplary Embodiments below, and the inventions are defined by the appended claims.
US07728908B2
According to the invention, a pull-down signal detecting apparatus includes: an interfield motion detecting module configured to determine whether or not an interfield motion between a first field signal and a second field signal exists by comparing a first counted number with a first threshold; an interframe motion determining module configured to determine whether or not an interframe motion between the first field signal and a third field signal exists by comparing a second counted number with a second threshold; a determination module configured to determine whether or not the video signal is pull-down signal based on the determination result of the interfield motion determining module and the interframe motion determining module; and a threshold control module configured to vary the first threshold, when the determination result of the interframe motion determining module corresponds with a second pull-down pattern and when the determination result of the interfield motion determining module does not correspond to a first pull-down pattern.
US07728903B2
A focus adjustment device includes: a first focus detection unit that detects a focus adjustment state for a subject image in a first focusing area; a second focus detection unit that detects a focus adjustment state in a second focusing area through a method different from a method adopted by the first focus detection unit; a judgment unit that makes a judgment as to whether or not the first focusing area and the second focusing area have a specific positional relationship; and a focus adjustment unit that executes focus adjustment based upon focus detection results obtained via the first focus detection unit and focus detection results obtained via the second focus detection unit when the judgment unit decides that the first focusing area and the second focusing area have the specific positional relationship.
US07728902B2
An imaging device includes a photoreceptor portion including a plurality of photoreceptors arranged in an array, a microlens array including a plurality of microlenses, and a light shielding layer placed between the photoreceptor portion and the microlens array. The light shielding layer has apertures located corresponding to the plurality of photoreceptors. An optical relationship of an actual length d1 of an aperture width of the apertures on a side of the photoreceptors, an actual length p of a distance between adjacent microlenses, an equivalent air length t0 of a distance between vein and a top of the microlenses, and an equivalent air length t1 of a thickness between the top of the microlenses and an aperture position of the apertures on the side of the photoreceptors satisfies: 1.36 × t 1 p ≤ d 1 ≤ 2.4 × t 1 p + p × t 1 t 0 .
US07728889B2
The present invention relates to a method of driving a photosensitive device comprising a matrix of photosensitive pixels distributed at the intersections of rows and columns of the matrix. The invention relates more particularly to the control of such devices used for the detection of radiological images. The method consists in subjecting the matrix to an image cycle that includes a reset phase prior to an image acquisition phase. The rows of the matrix are distributed in several groups, and during the reset phase, the method consists in resetting all the rows in any one group simultaneously and in resetting each group of rows in succession.
US07728887B2
Image data of a digital signal is inputted to a digital signal processor. A CPU reads out color correction coefficients from a ROM. Weights are added to the color correction coefficients based on information regarding transfer efficiency of a CCD image sensor such that the coefficients in a horizontal direction are set larger than those in a vertical direction. Further, an interpolation processor calculates horizontal and vertical components of R, G, and B colors of each pixel through color interpolation processing based on image data of each pixel and its peripheral pixels. A linear matrix circuit is controlled by the CPU and subjects the horizontal and vertical components to linear matrix operation using the color correction coefficients, thus subjecting each pixel data to color correction processing.
US07728885B2
A system for capturing and displaying images of subjects includes a digital camera and a slide show controller disposed in a common case. A subject can take his own picture using the digital camera. The resulting image is stored in an electronic folder with other images and all the images from the folder are distributed by a controller to several large displays.
US07728872B2
A camera for capturing and printing an image. The camera includes a camera module which captures an image via an image sensor. The image is transferred to a network interface module which transfers the image to a computer system. The image is also transferred to a printing mechanism which prints an interface onto a surface. The interface includes the image and coded data at least partially indicative of an identity of the image, thereby allowing the identity of the image to be obtained from the interface. The computer system is then responsive to the identity of the image to perform an action with the image.
US07728870B2
A system and method for capturing, logging and retrieval of face-to-face interactions characterizing walk-in environments. The system comprising a device for capturing and storing one or more face to face interactions captured in the presence of the parties to the interaction, and a database for storing data and metadata information associated with the face-to-face interactions captured.
US07728866B2
Herein described is a system and method for modifying facial video transmitted from a first videophone to a second videophone during a videophone conversation. A videophone comprises a videophone image processing system (VIPS) that stores one or more preferred images. The one or more preferred images may comprise an image of a person presented in an attractive appearance. The one or more preferred images may comprise one or more avatars. Additionally, the VIPS may be used to incorporate one or more facial features of the person into a preferred image or avatar. Furthermore, a replacement background may be incorporated into the preferred image or avatar. The VIPS transmits a preferred image of a first speaker of a first videophone to a second speaker of a second videophone by capturing an actual image of the first speaker and substituting at least a portion of said actual image with a stored image.
US07728864B2
An optical disc device recording method, which includes determining whether or not a recording process that records information on a label surface of an optical disc has failed, detecting a recording failure position at which the recording process has failed when the determining step determines the recording process has failed, and resuming the recording process from the detected recording failure position.
US07728863B2
An optical scanning device has a light source, a unit configured to deflect a light beam from the light source; and a system including at least two scanning lenses and configured to guide the light beam deflected to a surface to be scanned. One of the scanning lenses closest to the deflecting unit has a positive refractive power in a main scanning direction and zero or approximately zero refractive power in a sub scanning direction, and another one of the scanning lenses closest to the surface has a negative refractive power in the main scanning direction, a positive refractive power in the sub scanning direction, and an incidence surface in the sub-scanning direction which is convex toward the deflecting unit.
US07728862B2
An optical scanning apparatus includes a plurality of light sources capable of emitting light. A detection unit detects a light quantity of the light emitted from the plurality of light sources. A control unit controls drive current of a light source designated as a control object based on a detection result obtained by the detection unit. The control unit controls the drive current based on an activation state of the light source designated as the control object and an activation state of a light source other than the control object.
US07728858B2
An image forming apparatus uses toner that is given color-generation information and a color-generation state or a non-color-generation state of the toner is controlled, and includes an image carrier, a unit that forms toner image on the image carrier, an intermediate transfer medium that the toner image formed on the image carrier is transferred to, a first transfer unit that transfers the toner image to the intermediate transfer medium surface, a unit that gives color-generation information to the toner image transferred to the intermediate transfer medium, a second transfer unit that transfers the toner image transferred to the intermediate transfer medium surface to a recording medium, a unit that fixes the toner image transferred to the recording medium and a unit that causes color generation in the toner image that the color-generation information is given.
US07728856B2
A light amount correcting method for a light emitting apparatus having a plurality of light emitting devices, includes: measuring light amount values of a plurality of the light emitting devices; extracting high frequency components from the measured light amount values; extracting low frequency components from the measured light amount values; calculating a first correction value for correcting a light amount value of a first light emitting device on the basis of the high frequency components; and correcting a second correction value for correcting the light amount value of the first light emitting device on the basis of the low frequency components; and correcting a light amount value of a second light emitting device such that it is included in both of the first allowable range and the second allowable range.
US07728855B2
On both sides of a resin-made frame, a metallic edge frame member that sandwiches a liquid crystal panel into the frame and a metallic backboard member equipped with a circuit board are disposed, and these are screw-fitted to the frame. On both sides sandwiching identical points of the flange of the frame, first projection pieces on the edge frame member side and second projection pieces on the backboard member 8 side are disposed, these respective projection pieces are fastened by screws made of headed screws, and by these respective projection pieces and and screws, earth conductive path that make the edge frame member electrically conduct to the backboard member are formed.
US07728847B2
A color conversion device includes a three-dimensional lookup table and an interpolation unit. The interpolation unit includes a plurality of operation circuits for realizing an operation process.
US07728845B2
Color calibration of color image rendering devices, such as large color displays, which operate by either projection or emission of images, utilize internal color measurement instrument or external color measurement modules locatable on a wall or speaker. A dual use camera is provided for a portable or laptop computer, or a cellular phone, handset, personal digital assistant or other handheld device with a digital camera, in which one of the camera or a display is movable with respect to the other to enable the camera in a first mode to capture images of the display for enabling calibration of the display, and in a second mode for capturing image other than of the display. The displays may represent rendering devices for enabling virtual proofing in a network, or may be part of stand-alone systems and apparatuses for color calibration. Improved calibration is also provided for sensing and correcting for non-uniformities of rendering devices, such as color displays, printer, presses, or other color image rendering device.
US07728842B2
An image formation processing simulation apparatus includes: a receiving unit that receives image data to which image formation processing is applied in an image formation processing device; a performing unit that performs simulation of image formation processing applied to the image data in the image formation processing device using the image data; a memory management unit that allocates a memory area for the image formation processing before the simulation, monitors the memory size required for the image formation processing in the simulation, and compares between the required memory size and the size of the allocated memory area; and an output unit that outputs information concerning the comparison result.
US07728836B2
A method for displaying time dependent information includes displaying a time axis, wherein periods of time are displayed equidistantly on the time axis regardless of an actual time period being represented and providing a user interface allowing a user to scroll along the time axis.
