US08206583B2
Fluid treatment elements substantially inhibit electrical charge imbalances and/or build-ups of electrical charges. A fluid treatment element may comprise a multilayer composite including an electrically conductive fibrous matrix, having an upstream side and a downstream side, disposed on a porous substrate, also having an upstream side and a downstream side, which supports the fibrous matrix. The fibrous matrix may include a combination of conductive and nonconductive fibers. The multilayer composite may also include a drainage layer positioned along one of the upstream side of the fibrous matrix and the downstream side of the porous substrate.
US08206579B1
An aquarium filtration system with enhanced features comprising a continuous flow of filtered and processed water as well as a continuous drain system is herein disclosed. In such a manner, the water is continually changed over time, thus minimizing required emptying and/or cleaning. Additionally the system holds and maintains the desired pH level and water hardness, while controlling ammonia and nitrite levels. A filter on the incoming water line removes chlorine and other chemicals before the water passes onto the aquarium. The system works in conjunction with a conventional automatic water level controller. Automatic check valves control water flow and prevent back flow.
US08206576B2
The present invention relates to a nickel-based catalyst using hydrotalcite-like precursor and a steam reforming reaction by using the catalyst, and particularly to a nickel-based catalyst prepared by dispersing nickel uniformly onto the inner part and the surface of the support through a substitution between the magnesium and the active nickel metal and optimizing the molar ratios of nickel, magnesium and aluminum in order to utilize nickel as an active metal and a hydrotalcite-like precursor consisting of aluminum and magnesium, which shows an increased specific surface area of the catalyst and surface area of the active nickel, and thus enables the production of hydrogen-rich gas in high yield during the steam reforming reaction of LPG with superior maintenance of catalytic activity for a long period of time due to the inhibition of carbon deposition.
US08206553B2
A method of improving retention and drainage in a papermaking process is disclosed. The method provides for the addition of an associative polymer, prepared by an inverse emulsion polymerization process that utilizes multiple, discrete additions of initiator. Additionally, a process for preparation of an associative polymer, prepared by an inverse emulsion polymerization process that utilizes multiple discrete additions of initiator is disclosed.
US08206552B2
Embodiments of the invention provide an apparatus which provide good RF uniformity within a processing chamber. In one embodiment, an apparatus includes a substrate support assembly, a terminal, and a dielectric insulator. The substrate support assembly has a center passage formed along a center axis. An RF transmission line is provided. The RF transmission line has a substantially vertical portion and a substantially horizontal portion, wherein the terminal is coupled to the substantially horizontal portion of the RF transmission line. The dielectric insulator circumscribes the substantially horizontal portion of the RF transmission line. The dielectric insulator has a first opening through which the terminal passes.
US08206548B2
Mutually different plural kinds of processing liquid are sequentially supplied to a gap space in which a substrate is arranged to perform a wet processing to the substrate with respect to each processing liquid. Further, the processing liquid used in the wet processing is sequentially released from the communicating portion upon execution of each wet processing. The liquid retrieval tanks are selectively positioned at a retrieval position corresponding to the kind of processing liquid released from the communicating portion by relatively moving the processing unit and the liquid retrieval unit. The liquid retrieval unit is separated from the processing unit and is arranged below the processing unit. The processing liquid is released from the communicating portion of the processing unit to below the gap space downwards vertically.
US08206540B2
A layered material includes a ply material and a backing film to support the ply material. The backing film includes a polyester film. The layered material is generated by disposing the backing film upon the ply material. A composite layup is generated by tacking the layered material to a tool, disposing the layered material upon the tool along a path, and removing the backing film.
US08206538B2
The present invention relates to a composite with thermo-formability, a method for making the same and a method for making a casing with a texture on the surface thereof. The composite includes a polyurethane medium layer, a thermo-formable resin layer, a base layer and a surface layer. The thermo-formable resin layer is disposed on the polyurethane medium layer, and includes polyol. The base layer is disposed on the thermo-formable resin layer. The surface layer is disposed on the base layer. As a result, the composite has good stability after thermoforming, and plastic can be injected into the composite, so a PC film is unnecessary. Moreover, the composite may be adhered to a substrate directly or after thermoforming.
US08206531B2
The object of the invention is a process for the production of a tube of high stiffness, characterized in that it comprises the following steps: producing a first internal tube (10) of a first material, placing intermediate members (12) on this first tube, regularly spaced, these intermediate members being made of a composite material producing at least one second tube (14) of a second material, about these intermediate members, at least one of the first or second tubes being made by filamentary winding. The invention also covers the obtained tube.
US08206529B2
Corroded hollow sections, more preferably of orthotropic slabs, are cleaned and de-rusted on the inner surface with a rotating maximum-pressure water-jet continuously guided through the hollow section and angle-adjustable feeler-controlled corresponding to the respective interior surface region and capable of being throttled in critical regions. For the sealing of entering moisture and for corrosion protection as well as to improve the vibration behavior and the strength characteristics of the orthotropic slab, the cleaned and dried inner surface is holohedrally connected with a shapeable and stretchable fabric hose coated with a water-proof plastic in a sealing manner by means of an adhesive and using a pressure medium or a memory plastic hollow profile assuming its original shape under the effect of heat, wherein the internal pressure is maintained up to the curing of the adhesive.
US08206522B2
A non-toxic, non-hydroscopic percussion primer composition and methods of preparing the same, including at least one explosive component that has been traditionally considered a moderately insensitive explosive or secondary explosive, and at least fuel particle component having a particle size of about 1.5 microns to about 12 microns, which allows the use of moderately active metal oxidizers. The sensitivity of the primer composition is created by the interaction between the moderately insensitive explosive and the fuel agent such that traditional primary explosives such as lead styphnate or DDNP are not needed. The primer composition also eliminates the risks and dangers associated with traditional nano-sized fuel particles.
US08206519B2
The present invention relates to a method of making an aluminum alloy product having a gauge below 200 μm. It also relates to an aluminum alloy product having a gauge below the same value and to containers for food packaging application made from the aluminum alloy product. The invention is process of manufacturing an aluminum alloy comprising the following steps: continuous casting an aluminum alloy melt of the following composition, (in weight %): Fe 1.0-1.8, Si 0.3-0.8, Mn up to 0.25, other elements less than or equal to 0.05 each and less than or equal to 0.15 in total, balance aluminum, cold rolling the cast product without an interanneal step to a gauge below 200 μm and final annealing the cold rolled product.
US08206509B2
Provided are a cleaning liquid for lithography that exhibits excellent corrosion suppression performance in relation to tungsten, and excellent removal performance in relation to a resist film or the like, and a method for forming a wiring using the cleaning liquid for lithography. The cleaning liquid for lithography according to the present invention includes a quaternary ammonium hydroxide, a water-soluble organic solvent, water, an inorganic salt and an anti-corrosion agent represented by a general formula (1) below. In the general formula (1), R1 represents an alkyl group or an aryl group having 1-17 carbon atoms, and R2 represents an alkyl group having 1-13 carbon atoms.
US08206498B2
The invention provides methods of recovering a pore-forming agent from an inorganic material that defines a plurality of mesopores having a controlled cross sectional area to form a mesostructure having long-range crystallinity and also to methods of making one or more mesostructures that features removal, recovery, and/or reuse of the pore-forming agent. Suitable pore-forming agents include, for example, surfactants.
US08206496B2
Mixed phthalocyanine and naphthalocyanine water-soluble dyes with near-infrared absorption comprise four isoindole units linked together in a large ring to form a phthalocyanine macrocycle. At least one benzene ring is linked to an isoindole unit and at least one naphthalene ring is linked to another isoindole unit. The remaining two isoindole units each have a benzene ring or a naphthalene ring linked thereto, in any combination. A metal atom is optionally complexed to the phthalocyanine macrocycle.
US08206487B2
A method for producing carbon composite metal oxide briquettes includes a mixing step of adding a binder to a metal oxide raw material and a carbonaceous material and mixing the metal oxide raw material, the carbonaceous material, and the binder by a mixer to prepare a powder mixture, and a forming step of forming the powder mixture into carbon composite metal oxide briquettes by using a briquetting machine, in which, in the mixing step, a batch mixer is used as the mixer.
US08206479B2
An air cleaner includes a housing and an access cover. The internal volume of the housing can be reached through an opening in a side wall of the housing. A filter element having fluted filter media is removable and replaceable from the air cleaner. The housing is constructed and arranged to cam the element into sealing engagement with the housing. The access cover includes structure to help support and ensure proper seating of the filter element within the housing. A method of installing the filter element in the air cleaner includes sliding a portion of the filter element against a slide surface in the housing. A method of servicing an air cleaner includes tilting the filter element against a tilt surface in the housing to release a seal between the filter element and the housing. The filter element can have a handle to assist in servicing of the air cleaner. The housing can have a window to allow visual inspection of the internal component of the housing and to determine visually whether a filter element is installed therein.
US08206474B2
An abrasive compact having at least a tri-modal particle size distribution, and a binder phase, define a plurality of interstices. The binder phase is distributed in the interstices to form binder pools that correspond substantially in average size to that of an ultrahard polycrystalline composite material having a monomodal particle size distribution and substantially the same overall average particle grain size.
US08206471B1
Efficient biomass conversion systems, methods and apparatus utilize a fast pyrolysis unit installed at a sawmill or similar location where substantial quantities of biomass are generated, with the biomass generated at the sawmill fed into the fast pyrolysis unit under pyrolytic reaction conditions, and with exhaust gases containing entrained matter resulting from the pyrolytic reactions being separated into constituent char and bio-fuel constituents.
US08206469B2
An energy storage device includes a first electrode comprising a first material and a second electrode comprising a second material, at least a portion of the first and second materials forming an interpenetrating network when dispersed in an electrolyte, the electrolyte, the first material and the second material are selected so that the first and second materials exert a repelling force on each other when combined. An electrochemical device, includes a first electrode in electrical communication with a first current collector; a second electrode in electrical communication with a second current collector; and an ionically conductive medium in ionic contact with said first and second electrodes, wherein at least a portion of the first and second electrodes form an interpenetrating network and wherein at least one of the first and second electrodes comprises an electrode structure providing two or more pathways to its current collector.
US08206466B2
Electrode lead terminals in a number not less than three are attached to a cathode foil and an anode foil. The electrode lead terminals include at least one cathode lead terminal attached to the cathode foil and at least one anode lead terminal attached to the anode foil. A winding core having an axis is prepared. The cathode foil and the anode foil are wound around the winding core, being overlapped each other. A cross section of the winding core perpendicular to the axis includes an outer edge having a portion along each side of a polygon with the above number of sides. Thereby, a method for manufacturing an electrolytic capacitor capable of suppressing displacement of a lead terminal can be provided.
US08206461B1
Leather in form of hides or articles of leather or other articles comprised of similarly behaving material is introduced (for purposes of this application all of these articles of leather jointly referred to as “hides”) into rotating drum or stirring vessel or other form of similar device where it undergoes spraying with chemicals and drying to desired humidity to be followed by drying and another treatment of milling in rotating drum.
US08206456B2
The present application describes an implant system useable for positioning an implant device such as a device useful for restricting passage of ingested food into the stomach. In one embodiment, the disclosed system includes a plurality of anchors that may be coupled to tissue within the stomach, or to a tissue tunnel formed by plicating stomach wall tissue. The anchor includes a loop. During use, the implant device is inserted through the loop and expanded such that it retains its position within the loop until removed. Instruments for implanting and explanting the implant device are also described.
US08206446B1
An anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) surgical repair technique involves the use of a single femoral and tibial tunnel and an implant that separates and positions two distinct bundles. This allows for the surgeon to create a more anatomic reconstruction with a procedure that is less technically demanding, can be performed using a transtibial or anteromedial approach, minimizes tunnel widening, and decreases operative time. The result is a strong fixation option for soft tissue grafts, with circumferential graft compression at the aperture, high pull-out strength, and ease of use. The graft bundles are positioned in a more anatomic orientation through the above noted single femoral and tibial tunnel.
US08206444B2
A middle ear prosthesis comprises a body of deformable material capable of retaining different shapes. The body comprises a slotted wall defining a cavity for receiving a bone of the middle ear. The wall is deformable proximate slots in the wall between an open position for receiving the bone and a closed position wherein the body is reshaped to grasp the bone.
US08206441B2
A device transfers donor endothelial cells to the cornea of a recipient without injuring the cells or the cornea during the transfer process. The device transfers living endothelial cells from a donor to a recipient with minimal or no trauma. The device includes a handle, an irrigation tube lengthwise within the handle, a button upon the handle concentric with the irrigation tube, a tapered nose opposite the button, a forward tube extending outwardly from the nose, and a platform joined to the irrigation tube. The forward tube has an elliptical cross section and two beveled features. The platform has two wings that curl gently around donor tissue upon retracting the platform into the forward tube. The handle has a groove for a stem of a knob that surgeon presses and pulls to move the platform.
US08206440B2
A microapparatus (11) implantable in the eye (13) includes a cuasi-bistable microvalve (21) commanded by an intraocular pressure sensor (23) in situ. The microvalve mechanism includes a diaphragm (27) made of a conjugated polymer (29) that shows high deformation and biocompatibility capabilities and which volume depends from the electric potential applied by its pair of electrodes (31). The sensor and actuator-valve are coupled to a drainage conduit (15), the first to deform by the pressure in the ocular globe and the second in a position of buckling to normally close the drainage conduit. The sensor has a membrane of conductive polymeric material with these same properties and whose ohmic resistance varies with the mechanical deformation produced by the ocular pressure.
US08206434B2
A stent includes a wave form that includes a plurality of struts and a plurality of crowns. The wave form is wrapped around a longitudinal axis so as to define a plurality of turns, including a first turn disposed at a first angle and a second turn disposed at a second angle relative to the longitudinal axis. A first connection connects an end of the wave form that started the first turn to an adjacent crown of the wave form that completed the first turn, a second connection connects a first crown of the second turn to an adjacent crown that completed the second turn, and a third connection connects a crown of the first turn to an adjacent crown of the second turn. The wave form is disrupted between the first turn and the second turn.
US08206432B2
A radially expandable stent comprising a plurality of spaced band-like elements and intersecting links is disclosed. The band-like elements have a generally serpentine configuration to provide continuous waves of generally sinusoidal character to each band-like element. The waves are characterized by a plurality of peaks and troughs taking a generally longitudinal direction along the cylinder such that the waves in the band-like elements open as the stent is expanded from a first diameter to a second diameter. The intersecting links are substantially U-shaped and terminate in first and second shanks. The first shank of a link emanates from a region between a peak and trough on a band-like element and the second shank of the link emanates from a region between a peak and trough on an adjacent band-like element.
US08206429B2
A medical device having at least one static state, at least activated state, and at least one active region including electroactive polymer (EAP) capable of fine electro-activated movements. The EAP movements include bending components for proper alignment, rotating components for pooper fittings, making components more rigid or flexible, and increasing and decreasing the volume of components. The fine movements allow for highly versatile and adaptable medical devices.
US08206422B2
In various embodiments, a spinal stabilization system has a first and a second vertebral anchor each adapted to be coupled to one of a first and a second vertebrae. The system also includes a flexible connecting element coupled to each of the first and second vertebral anchors and extending between the vertebral anchors. The connecting element has a central member and a brace positioned about the central member and the central member is stiffer than the brace to provide the needed combination of support and stiffness to the construct while offering flexibility. These and other various embodiments of this invention offer an improvement over known systems by providing stabilization of the vertebral column while allowing for flexibility and axial dampening.
US08206421B2
A method of securing vertebrae includes inserting a first pedicle screw into a first pedicle of a first vertebra. The first pedicle screw includes a first channel running perpendicular to a first central axis of the first pedicle screw. The first pedicle screw has a first engagement structure. The method further includes inserting a second pedicle screw into a second pedicle of a second vertebra. The second pedicle screw includes a second channel running perpendicular to a second central axis of the second pedicle screw. The second pedicle screw has a second engagement structure. The method also includes inserting a guidewire through the first and second channels, threading a tether attached to an end of the guidewire through the first and second channels, securing the tether to the first pedicle screw, applying tension to the tether, and securing the tether to the second pedicle screw.
US08206407B2
A medical procedure tool equipped with: a flexible linear material for carrying out a specific procedure to a biological tissue; a linear material holding member provided covering the linear material in a freely advancing and retracting manner, for holding the linear material; a flexible first sheath provided so as to come into contact with the base end side of the linear material holding member; a flexible second sheath provided so as to be freely advancing and retracting with respect to the first sheath and the linear material holding member; an operator for advancing and retracting manipulation of the second sheath; and a cutting means for cutting the linear material; wherein the cutting means is provided with a first cutting part provided to the linear material holding member; and a second cutting part that is provided to the front end of the second sheath and which, together with the first cutting part, grips the linear material there between; and one of either the first cutting part or the second cutting part is a blade member.
US08206405B2
A computer aided surgery system, method, surgical method and instrument for guiding the positioning of an acetabular cup in a pelvis are described. The position of the transverse acetabular ligament of the pelvis and the position of the acetabular labrum of the pelvis are determined. The orientation of an acetabular plane including the acetabular labrum and the transverse acetabular ligament is calculated. A planned position for the acetabular cup is determined, in which an inlet plane of the cup is substantially parallel to the acetabular plane. The instrument comprises a mounting for attaching the instrument to a patient, a support, a guide defining a longitudinal axis, and for receiving a further instrument bearing the acetabular cup implant, and an adjustment mechanism. The adjustment mechanism can allow the angular orientation of the guide to be adjusted about at least two different axes to allow the inclination and version or anteversion of the longitudinal axis to be altered.
US08206364B2
The collecting bag is intended for human body wastes and has a bag member (1) and a discharge portion (8) including a discharge opening (9). The bag member (1) and the discharge portion (8) are formed by a first and a second film blank (2, 3). A first plate member (21) is positioned on the first film blank (2) and a second plate member (22) is positioned on an extension (3e) of the second film blank (3) such that the plate members have a distance (d) between them. Two strap members (23, 24) are positioned between the first and the second plate member (21, 22).
US08206362B1
The present invention provides a device to facilitate the self-administration of eye drops. The device includes a body portion adapted for placement on the user's face, generally over the eye in which the drops are to be applied. The body portion preferably includes an integral handle which may be held between the thumb and forefinger of the user. Many embodiments may also incorporate a nose bridge to assist in locating the device in the correct position.
US08206361B2
An injection device for injection of set doses of medicine from a cartridge, in which syringe a dose is set by screwing a nut up along a threaded piston rod, whereby a dose setting drum, which carries on its cylindrical surface along a helix a scale of which a number corresponding to the set dose is shown in a window in the housing of the syringe, and an injection button, which is elevated over the end of the syringe, are moved axially a distance which is larger than the axial movement of the nut. A gear wheel transmission is established between the nut and the injection button.
US08206360B2
An apparatus includes a label configured to be coupled to a medicament delivery device. The label includes a first surface and a second surface. The first surface is configured to be coupled to an outer surface of the medicament delivery device. The second surface includes a textual indicia. The label further includes an electronic circuit system configured to output an electronic signal.
US08206359B1
The present invention is an introducer sheath that is improved by having an adhesive pad located near the sheath's proximal end that detachably attaches the introducer sheath to the patient's skin without requiring any additional parts that come from a separate sterile package such as a needle and a suture or a separate adhesive pad. The present invention also teaches a means to rotatingly connect the adhesive pad to the sheath's hemostasis valve so that the proximal portion of the hemostasis valve is free to rotate about the adhesive pad even after the adhesive pad is firmly attached to the patient's skin. This design allows the operator to position the side tube that is connected to the hemostasis valve at an optimum location relative to the patient's skin.
US08206354B2
A method for inserting a multiple catheter assembly into a patient. The assembly includes a first catheter which includes a first distal end region, a first outer surface defining a first lumen, and a first transition region transitioning cross sections of the first outer surface and the first lumen. A second catheter includes a second distal end region, a second outer surface defining a second lumen, and a second transition region transitioning cross sections of the second outer surface and the second lumen. The outer surfaces of the first and second catheters are releasably joined by a splittable bond for allowing first and second distal tips of the assembly to be at least partially longitudinally split from each other. The method includes steps of separating the first and second distal end regions, and inserting the first and second distal tips through an incision and into an area to be catheterized.
US08206351B2
An expansion/compression mechanism of a piston rod assembly is composed of a bush shaft, a first cylindrical piston rod that is screwed with the bush shaft, a second cylindrical piston rod that is screwed with the first piston rod, and a piston rod holding member for housing the bush shaft and these piston rods. Therefore, the piston rods move linearly in multiple stages.
US08206350B2
An infusion system for infusing a liquid into a body includes an external infusion device and a remote commander. The external infusion device includes a housing, a receiver, a processor and an indication device. The receiver is coupled to the housing and for receiving remotely generated commands. The processor is coupled to the housing and the receiver to receive remotely generated commands and to control the external infusion device in accordance with the commands. The indication device indicates when a command has been received and indicates when the command is being utilized to control the external infusion device so that the external infusion device is capable of being concealed from view when being remotely commanded. The remote commander includes a commander housing, a keypad for transmitting commands, and a transmitter for transmitting commands to the receiver of the external infusion device.
US08206349B2
Systems and methods of removing bacterial biofilm from a target site using a biofilm removal endoscope. The endoscope has an insertion portion including an imaging channel terminating at a viewing window and an irrigation channel terminating at a nozzle. The imaging and irrigation channels are permanently affixed relative to one another. The insertion portion is inserted into the patient, with a working end thereof being disposed proximate the target site. The target site is imaged and a flow of fluid is dispensed via the nozzle to mechanically remove bacterial biofilm from the target site.
US08206344B2
A catheter assembly includes a catheter body that extends from a distal end to a proximal end. The catheter body includes a delivery lumen, and an actuator lumen, where the actuator lumen extends from a position near or at the distal end to an intermediate portion that does not extend through the proximal end of the catheter body. The catheter body optionally includes an accessory lumen that extends from at or near the distal end and terminates at an intermediate portion that does not extend through the proximal end surface of the catheter body, for example, on a side wall.
US08206342B2
A fluid management system with a detection circuit for detecting whether an attached surgical device is operational. The fluid management system changes at least one operation mode when the surgical device is detected as being operational. The fluid management system may include inflow, outflow, or inflow/outflow capabilities, and monitors at least one signal characteristic of an AC power signal provided to the surgical device.
US08206337B2
This invention relates to apparatus used to heat, humidify and filter insufflated gases to alter the temperature and humidity of gases prior to delivering the gases into a patient The apparatus includes an insufflator, humidifier and gas transportation conduit connected to gas delivery tubing to deliver humidified and heated gases to a body cavity prior to and during a medical procedure. The insufflator an humidifier are contained in the one housing, enabling the housing to be located remote from an operating table. The gas transportation conduit delivers the humidified gases to the body cavity in a flexible tubing having located within, throughout or around it heating apparatus enabling the gas temperature and humidity levels to be maintained from the housing to the patient.
US08206335B2
The present invention provides fluid and material delivery methods and devices for practicing the methods. The invention provides a method of delivering cellular material comprising injecting the cellular material into a subject such that the injected cells retain their inherent morphologic characteristics upon injection. The method comprises the steps of aspirating the cellular material into a fluid delivery device which incorporates a syringe arrangement. The cellular material is aspirated into the main body of the syringe until the desired amount of a material has filled the syringe body. The needle of the fluid delivery device is then inserted into the skin of a subject at an angle about parallel to the skin until a desired depth has been reached. The cellular material is then injected in the subject until the desired volume of material has been injected. The needle of the device is then rotated approximately 45 to 90 degrees and the needle is removed from the injection site.
US08206329B2
The present provides an orthosis for stretching tissue around a joint of a patient between first and second relatively pivotable body portions. The orthosis includes a first arm member affixable to the first body portion and including a first extension member extending therefrom. A second arm member affixable to the second body portion is also included and has a second extension member having an arcuate shape extending therefrom. The second extension member is operatively connected to the first extension member and travels through the first extension member along an arcuate path when the second arm member is moved from a first position to a second position relative to the first arm member.
US08206325B1
The present invention relates to a light-weight, small and portable ambulatory sensor for measuring and monitoring a person's physical activity. Based on these measurements and computations, the invented system quantifies the subject's physical activity, quantifies the subject's gait, determines his or her risk of falling, and automatically detects falls. The invention combines the features of portability, high autonomy, and real-time computational capacity. High autonomy is achieved by using only accelerometers, which have low power consumption rates as compared with gyroscope-based systems. Accelerometer measurements, however, contain significant amounts of noise, which must be removed before further analysis. The invention therefore uses novel time-frequency filters to denoise the measurements, and in conjunction with biomechanical models of human movement, perform the requisite computations, which may also be done in real time.
US08206321B2
A device for loading a guide wire into the open end of a tubular instrument such as a catheter. The device can be a block of material having a groove in its surface. The ends of the guide wire and the tubular instrument are placed into the groove and moved toward each other. When the ends meet, the groove guides the guide wire into the open end of the tubular instrument. The groove, or at least a portion of the groove, can have a cross-sectional contour that closely matches the outside radius of the tubular instrument. The groove can have one portion with a shallower depth than the other portion, with the guide wire run in the shallower portion and the tubular instrument in the deeper portion. The guide wire and the tubular instrument can be angled above the device, with just their ends moving along the groove.
US08206319B2
A moving coil tissue penetration device includes a magnetic source that produces a magnetic field in a magnetically active region. A cylindrical coil is secured to a translation substrate and disposed at least partially within the magnetically active region. A sharpened member is configured to penetrate tissue and mechanically coupled to the translation substrate.
US08206313B2
A method of determining the sympathetic tone, a system for applying and measuring a stimulation, and the use of a system for applying and measuring a stimulation for determining the sympathetic tone are provided. The method of determining the sympathetic tone includes the steps of: measuring an applied stimulation at a threshold value of the stimulation in one or more sympathetic tone-neutral points and measuring an applied stimulation at the same threshold value in one or more sympathetic tone-dependent points. The use of a system for applying and measuring a stimulation for determining the sympathetic tone includes the steps of: measuring an applied stimulation at a threshold value of the stimulation at one or more sympathetic tone-neutral points and measuring an applied stimulation at the same threshold value of the stimulation at one or more sympathetic tone-dependent points.
US08206310B2
A blood pressure measuring apparatus controls a winding mechanism in parallel with increase or decrease of a pressure of a measuring fluid bladder after the measuring fluid bladder is wound around a measurement region. Therefore, a change in a winding state of the measuring fluid bladder is prevented. Additionally, measurement accuracy is improved by keeping compliance of the measuring fluid bladder constant.
US08206302B2
The present invention provides a method and apparatus for filling Doppler signal gaps. The method comprises steps of: storing Doppler signals before and after a gap; analyzing spectral characteristics of the Doppler signals to be filled; judging whether the Doppler signals are to be frequency compensated according to the spectral parameters; compensating the Doppler signals; and filling the gap by means of weighting and superposing the frequency compensated Doppler signals to be filled and the original Doppler signals before and after the gap based on the judging result. According to the method of the present invention, the Doppler signals before and after the gap are first subjected to frequency compensation, and then weighted and superposed with the acquired Doppler signals, thus obtaining a continuous spectrogram and audio output and maintaining the original spectral characteristics of the Doppler signal.
US08206301B2
An ultrasonic image processing apparatus capable of analyzing speckle information contained in the entire ultrasonic image and displaying the analysis results as a moving image. The ultrasonic image processing apparatus is an apparatus for processing reception signals, which are obtained by transmitting ultrasonic waves toward an object to be inspected and receiving ultrasonic echoes from the object, to generate ultrasonic image data, and the apparatus includes: a speckle image generating unit for generating speckle image data representing a speckle image based on original data generated by performing signal processing on the reception signals and representing ultrasonic image information on the object; and a speckle image analysis unit for performing analysis of the speckle images represented by the speckle image data generated by the speckle image generating unit to generate speckle analysis result image data representing analysis results as a moving image.
US08206299B2
A method for using high intensity focused ultrasound (HIFU) to treat neurological structures to achieve a desired therapeutic effect. Depending on the dosage of HIFU applied, it can have a reversible or irreversible effect on neural structures. For example, a relatively high dose of HIFU can be used to permanently block nerve function, to provide a non-invasive alternative to severing a nerve to treat severe spasticity. Relatively lower doses of HIFU can be used to reversibly block nerve function, to alleviate pain, to achieve an anesthetic effect, or to achieve a cosmetic effect. Where sensory nerves are not necessary for voluntary function, but are involved in pain associated with tumors or bone cancer, HIFU can be used to non-invasively destroy such sensory nerves to alleviate pain without drugs. Preferably, ultrasound imaging synchronized to the HIFU therapy is used to provide real-time ultrasound image guided HIFU therapy of neural structures.
US08206298B2
An ultrasonographic device includes an ultrasonic wave transmitter/receiver section which transmits and receives ultrasonic waves to and from a test subject through a probe, a phasing addition circuit which controls the phase of the received ultrasonic wave and generates RF signal frame data, an RF signal frame data selection section which makes variable the frame interval of the RF signal frame data to be outputted, and an elastic image generating section which sets the optimum imaging range for each elastic frame data generated based on the RF signal frame data and generates elastic image.
US08206294B2
A surgical access device is provided that includes a housing having at least one access port therein for receiving a surgical instrument therethrough, and at least one elongate flexible instrument channel extending from the housing and having a lumen extending therethrough and in fluid communication with the at least one access port in the housing. The instrument channel is adapted to move from a first collapsed configuration in which the channel is sealed to substantially prevent fluid from flowing therethrough to a second expanded configuration upon insertion of an instrument therethrough.
US08206291B2
A surgical portal device includes a body portion defining a longitudinal axis and having a proximal end, a distal end, and a lumen configured to allow a surgical instrument to pass therethrough. At least one securing member is disposed in mechanical cooperation with the body portion and is longitudinally translatable with respect to the body portion between a first, non-actuated position and a second, actuated position. The one securing mechanism has a fixation segment configured to grasp tissue when the one securing member is in the second, actuated position to facilitate fixation of the body portion within the tissue. The body portion may include a channel. The one securing member may be disposed at least partially within the channel and is longitudinally translatable with respect to the channel.
US08206289B2
An electrical connection portion fixed to an apparatus main body includes a plurality of conductive members and an insulating portion for electrically insulating the conductive members from the apparatus main body in which the conductive members are arranged. The insulating portion covers the circumference of the plurality of conductive members. Further, the insulating portion makes the conductive members arranged side by side in a state where the conductive members are insulated from each other.
US08206287B2
A flexible tube for an endoscope and an endoscope device are provided. According to the present invention, a flexible tube for an endoscope is included in an insertion portion of the endoscope to be inserted into a body cavity and the flexible tube for the endoscope includes a bending portion provided at a distal end side and configured to perform a bending operation corresponding to an operation of an operator, and a flexible tube portion having a distal end and a proximal end and the distal end is connected to a proximal end side of the bending portion. The bending portion has a region that is bent at a first curvature radius when the bending portion is maximally bent, and at the distal end side of the flexible tube portion, a region that is set to be bent at a second curvature radius smaller than the first curvature radius when the bending portion is passively bent by a predetermined force quantity is provided. Accordingly, resistance which occurs when the bending portion is passing through the intestine bending portion is suppressed and an insertion performance of the insertion portion is increased. Thus, patients are less burdened and less painful.
US08206283B2
Locking device that is mounted on an endoscope or the like for selectively securing the position of a guide wire and/or catheter relative to the endoscope or the like. The locking device preferably includes a side wall with an opening therein for receiving the proximal end of a guide wire or catheter. The opening is preferably J-shaped or boot shaped, and has an entry end and a locking end. Once a guide wire or catheter is in a desired position within a body cavity, the portion of the guide wire or catheter that extends outside of the endoscope or the like may be moved into the opening. More particularly, a portion of the guide wire or catheter may be inserted by an operator through the entry end of the opening and into the locking end, wherein the locking end frictionally secures the position of the guide wire or catheter relative to the endoscope or the like.
US08206281B2
An apparatus for treating pelvic organ prolapse in a patient is provided. The apparatus includes a support portion having first and second ends. A first elongated end portion is connected to said first end of said support portion. The first elongated end portion includes a first dilator configured to attach securely with a tip of a needle. A second elongated end portion is connected to said second end of said support portion. The second elongated end portion includes a second dilator configured to attach securely with a tip of a needle. The first and second needles include a straight portion, a tip, a first radius, and a second radius distinct from the first radius. The first radius and the second radius are disposed between the straight portion and the tip. A method and kit for said treatment is further provided.
US08206272B2
An exercise machine suitable for exercising a person's muscles contains a frame (100), a seat (102) situated over the frame, a seatback (104), a connection mechanism (106) for flexibly and adjustably connecting the seatback to the frame or/and the seat, and a pedaling mechanism (112) connectable to the frame. The pedaling mechanism has a pair of movable pedals (140) that revolve generally around a pedaling axis. The seatback is capable of swiveling.
US08206271B2
A cyclical skating motion exercise machine has a base frame assembly. A first pedal arm mounted on a first pedal axle, wherein the first pedal axle is substantially vertical. A first link assembly mounted to the first pedal arm at a first pedal joint. The first pedal joint provides motion between the first link assembly and the first pedal arm. A first pedal mounted to the first pedal arm for supporting a user's foot. A second pedal arm is mounted on a second pedal axle, wherein the second pedal axle is substantially vertical. A crank assembly has a first link assembly is mounted to the a crank assembly, and the crank assembly has rotational inertia is substantially orthogonally to the first pedal axle.
US08206269B2
Apparatus and method for monitoring a body portion of a user during the use of a gymnastic machine provided with a video monitoring apparatus; this method comprising a phase of defining the body portion to be monitored, followed by a phase of visually and continuously monitoring this body portion through the video monitoring apparatus; this last phase comprising a sub-phase of synchronizing the trend over time of the value of at least one operating parameter of the video monitoring apparatus with a motion of the body portion described on the basis of given kinematic information acquired by a control unit of the gymnastic machine.
US08206268B2
An apparatus, a method, and a computer program are disclosed. The apparatus comprises a processor. The processor is configured to obtain exercise data of a user from a measurement sensor, to identify a present exercise phase of an exercise from among a plurality of exercise phases on the basis of the exercise data, and to select a relevant display mode from among a plurality of display modes on the basis of the present exercise phase and a mapping between the display modes and the exercise phases, wherein the relevant display mode defines a set of display elements associated with the present exercise phase to be displayed to the user.
US08206263B2
In order to attain a stable traction control regardless of an inertia change in a driving system, when a driving force transmitted from driving wheels to a road surface is lowered by a certain quantity by torque control, the driving force is lowered according to a transmission torque capacity of a clutch element for connecting and disconnecting a power source and the driving wheels.
US08206259B2
A rotary actuator comprises a rotatable output ring with a generally denticulate inner surface region and an output ring axis of rotation; a pair of stationary rings, each with a generally denticulate inner surface region and a stationary ring axis, each located on a different end of the output ring with the stationary ring axes in general alignment with the output ring axis; a generally cylindrical planet comprising distal outer regions that each have outer surfaces for supporting the planet, a generally denticulate central outer surface region that engages the denticulate inner surface region of the output ring, and generally denticulate intermediate outer surface regions that each engage the denticulate inner surface region of a respective one of the stationary rings, and a planet axis of rotation that is generally parallel to the output ring axis; and a pair of generally cylindrical planet carriers, each having a carrier axis of rotation in general alignment with the output ring axis.
US08206257B2
A multi-speed transmission having four gearsets, eight shafts and six shifting elements. The sun gear of gearset (P2) couples, via shaft (5) and brake (05), the housing (G), and, via clutch (15) the drive shaft. The carriers of gearsets (P2, P3) communicate, via shaft (4) and brake (04), with housing (G), and the sun gear of gearset (P3) communicates, via shaft (8) and clutch (18), with the drive shaft. The ring gears of gearsets (P2, P3) communicate, via shaft (6), with the ring gear of gearset (P4) and the sun gear of gearset (P1). The ring gear of gearset (P4) and the sun gear of gearset (P1) are connected with one another. The sun gear of gearset (P4) communicates, via shaft (3) and brake (03), with housing (G). The carriers of gearsets (P1, P4) communicate, via shaft (7) and clutch (17), with the drive shaft and the output shaft couples the ring gear of gearset (P1).
US08206255B2
Actuator adapted to cooperate with a drive of an endothermic engine including power source and a releasable accessory, the actuator including a box-shaped casing, a motorized eccentric group housed inside the casing and including a reduction gearing, an arm cooperating with the eccentric group and supporting a friction wheel adapted to cooperate with the accessory and with the power source, the arm being mobile between an engaged position and a disengaged position of the accessory.
US08206254B2
A manual valve control for a multi-speed vehicle transmission is provided. Electronic and hydraulic components are provided, including trim valve systems that are multiplexed by a shift valve and a manual valve. The trim valves and shift valve are self-diagnosing via a plurality of multiplexed pressure switches. The control enables single and double range shifts among the multiple forward speed ratios, including shifts to and from sixth and higher forward ratios, reverse and neutral. The control also includes a reduced engine load at stop feature. In addition, a power off/limp home feature provides a plurality of failure modes, including a failure mode for sixth and higher forward speed ratios.
US08206253B2
A method is provided for adjusting the displacement angles of two hydrostatic units in an infinitely variable hydro-mechanical transmission.
US08206241B2
A body member has a face plate and a first engaging member. A sole plate has a second engaging member, the first and second engaging members being interlocked with one another. A layer of resilient material is disposed between the first engaging member and the second engaging member.
US08206235B1
A sighting device, for use by a golfer while standing on a ground surface and gazing at a golf ball upon the ground surface at a natural viewing angle, and hitting the golf ball. The device has a stand which includes a base for resting on the ground surface in front of the golfer, and a vertical mast. A pair of rings are suspended by the vertical mast in the path of the natural viewing angle. The rings have alignment indicia. Accordingly, the golfer observes the golf ball through the rings with both rings are concentric with the golf ball, and the alignment indicia of both rings are arranged in a straight line. Any movement of the golfer's head during the golf swing is immediately revealed to the golfer by a change in relative position between the rings and ball, and the alignment indicia deviating from a straight line.
US08206231B2
An improved novelty teeth device for use with a user's teeth movable between a first concealed position and a second visible position. The novelty teeth device has a pair of spaced apart tooth wells for receiving the user's teeth. Between the tooth wells is a central lever element that connects and interacts with two rods, each of which is inserted across each tooth well. The other end of each rod is connected to a curve arm. At the distal end of each curve arm is one or more teeth elements. When the central lever element is pivoted up or down, it rotates the rods, which causes the curve arms to move up or down, concealing or revealing the teeth elements, respectively. A moldable putty can be used in the tooth well to improve comfort to the user.
US08206229B2
The system provides a tristable environment that effects reorientation of horizontal and vertical surfaces at a human scale. The system allows the engagement and disengagement of the effect via movement of the observer without loss of the intensity of the effect. The system also provides a combined vection/motion induced blindness environment at human scale with interactivity available to non-trained participants.
US08206215B2
The present invention provides employs a multi-phase process that improves historical capture and video playback on gaming machines. The first phase occurs during game creation and production, where video data required for video re-creation and playback is identified for each scene or frame in a game where a designer seeks playback capability. The second phase occurs during game play. Historical game re-creation software on the gaming machine knows what data in each frame is needed for historical video re-creation of the frame, and saves this data. The third phase occurs during re-capture and playback, where the data is recalled from memory to enable video playback at the particular instance of interest.
US08206203B2
The present invention relates to a method for unloading birds from a compartment for holding birds, wherein a first conveyor belt is provided above the birds and a second conveyor belt is provided underneath the birds, for moving the birds toward the exit of the compartment. The present invention further relates to a conveyor assembly for unloading birds from a compartment for holding birds, the device includes a first conveyor belt which is configured to be provided above the birds and a second conveyor belt which is configured to be provided underneath the birds, for moving the birds toward the exit of the compartment.
US08206185B2
A plug for a tool changing system for electrically connecting a tool to a robot hand, including a plug housing adapted to be fastened on a robot arm or on a tool, wherein the plug housing includes at least one contact chamber and at least one accommodating chamber, which is arranged substantially above the contact chamber; a connection module having electrically conductive elements adapted to be connected to at least one first peripheral device, wherein the connection module can be arranged in the at least one contact chamber, and a wear module having electrically conductive elements adapted to be connected to a second peripheral device; wherein the connection module and the wear module are arranged in the at least one accommodating chamber; and wherein the electrically conductive elements of the connection module can be connected to the electrically conductive elements of the wear module.
US08206184B2
A connector assembly is provided with a support structure having an elongate shape and an inlet for receiving a charging cable. A fitting is disposed in mechanical interlocking engagement with a distal end of the support structure for interconnecting the support structure with a vehicle charging receptacle. The support structure and the fitting are configured for disconnecting from each other when the connector assembly is subjected to a lateral load above a predetermined threshold value.
US08206180B1
A connector assembly of a medical electrical device includes a plurality of electrical contacts and an insulative base that supports the plurality of electrical contacts and extends between the plurality of electrical contacts and a housing of the device, and, wherein at least one contact of the plurality includes an elongate electrical coupling receptacle in which a first part of a feedthrough member extends, being fixedly coupled thereto. The feedthrough member further includes a second part and a bend, which is located between the first and second parts. The second part of the feedthrough member extends away from the contact and through a port formed in the insulative base adjacent to the contact.
US08206170B2
A female housing of the female connector has a slider slidably installed in a direction orthogonal to a longitudinal joining direction. The slider includes a first cam provided with a first ridge portion, and a pair of opposing first and second slanting portions extending from the first ridge portion. The male housing of the male connector is formed with a second cam on an outer wall surface thereof. The second cam provided with a second ridge portion, a third slanting portion coming into abutment and slidably contacting with the first slanting portion of the slider, and a fourth slanting portion being slidably in contact with the second slanting portion and pressed and retained by the second slanting portion. Thus a half-fitted state can be detected and the connectors are prevented from loosening.
US08206169B2
A cable connection assembly comprising a moisture migration prevention component located entirely within a nut component, and a threaded actuator integrated entirely within the nut component of said assembly, wherein upon attachment of the nut component onto a threaded port, the threaded actuator engages the threaded port, wherein upon an initial actuation of the nut component, the threaded actuator axially advances to a partially engaged position and axially advances the moisture migration prevention component, wherein continued actuation of the nut component further axially advances the threaded actuator to a fully engaged position and compresses the moisture migration prevention component to exhibit moisture migration prevention at a location external to a plurality of threads of the threaded port engaged within said connection assembly is provided. An associated method is also provided.
US08206165B2
An electrical connector assembly is configured so that a plug can be connected to or disconnected from a receptacle easily and reliably. Levers (40A, 40C) of plug (30A, 30C) out of three plug (30A, 30B, 30C), the plug (30A, 30C) being connected to hoods (26A, 26C) on both end sides of a receptacle (20), each have a length such as to project to outward from the hoods (26A, 26C), and the levers (40A, 40C) are configured so as to be locked to a receptacle (21) on the outside of the hoods (26A, 26C).
US08206164B2
A securing device for a plug unit configured to automatically establish a secured state when the plug unit is plugged in includes an engagement element configured to automatically trigger the secured state through an engagement when the plug unit is plugged in, the automatically established secured state corresponding to a first stable position of the securing device, and an actuatable releasing device configured to unplug the plug unit. The actuatable releasing device is configured to actuate so as to undo the secured state and move the securing device into a second stable position. An unplugging and plugging in of the plug unit enables the securing device to move out of the second stable position.
US08206158B2
An electrical connector assembly includes an electrical connector and a pick-up cap assembled to the electrical connector. The electrical connector has an insulative housing defining a substantially rectangular cavity in a middle thereof and a plurality of contacts received in the cavity. The pick-up cap includes a main portion with a planar top surface and a plurality of latching arms extending from two opposite edges of the main portion for engaging with the electrical connector. Each latching arm has an engaging arm extending in a direction for engaging with the electrical connector and a pressing arm extending in an opposite direction. When the pressing arm is pressed inwardly, the engaging arm expands outwardly to release the electrical connector.
US08206155B2
The present invention provides a teaching aid system (10) for assisting students in applying trigonometric classroom lessons in real life applications both in indoor and outdoor settings. The teaching aid system consists of a pivoting scope (16) and an asymmetrically weighing gravity dial (18) that are pivotally mounted to a pair of support members (12). A tape measure (42) and an arithmetic electronic calculator (46) are attached on the support members (12) to enable students compute trigonometric formulations and applications of the same, when utilizing the system for real life objects either in indoor or outdoor settings. For determining dimensions of viewed objects, the student determines the distance from the viewed object using the tape measure (42), and the angles between the top and bottom of the viewed object using the scope (16) and gravity dial (18). Then applying the proper trigonometric formulae from a booklet or other conventional trigonometric formulae sources, the student can determine the height, elevations or slopes of objects.
US08206154B2
Methods, systems, algorithms, and uses for dentition scores having clinical applicability for an individual patient are described herein. The scores increase as a condition worsens and decrease with treatment. The score can be used to communicate the status of a patient's dentitions to the patient, to an insurer, or to another health care professional.
US08206152B2
Method for producing a base part of a set of artificial teeth, or a set of artificial teeth having a base part, comprising the step of forming the base part by a rapid prototyping process, e.g. 3D lithography and, in particular, 3D laser lithography. Furthermore, the invention relates to a method of establishing a data set representing the shape of a base part of a set of artificial teeth, wherein a gum area or a model thereof is scanned and/or a model of a base part is scanned and/or the shape of the base part is simulated on a computer.
US08206150B2
A method for extinguishing a candle at timed intervals using a combustible material is disclosed. In one exemplary embodiment, the method includes: utilizing a combustible composition adapted for application to a wick segment; utilizing a combustible first wick segment; coupling a combustible second wick segment to the combustible first wick segment; placing the combustible second wick segment adjacent to the first wick segment; and configuring the combustible second wick segment to, as the combustible first wick segment, once ignited, burns down to the combustible second wick segment, interrupt and slowly self-extinguish the burning of the first wick segment. The candle wick is configured to be relit, post extinguishment, without having to physically remove a non-combustible barrier. A combustible composition also is disclosed. A candle further is disclosed.
US08206147B2
A heating apparatus for a heat exchanger system includes a manifold having a plurality of burners, a shutoff valve, a first controller and a second controller. The shutoff valve divides the manifold into a first manifold portion and a second manifold portion. The first controller selectively controls the communication of a fluid within the manifold. The second controller selectively actuates the shutoff valve between a first position and a second position to control a firing rate of the plurality of burners.
US08206144B2
A preform transfer device includes at least one clamp including two levers pivoting between an open position and a closed position and elements for the elastic return of the levers to the closed position. The device includes a mechanism for selectively controlling the opening and closing of the clamp, this mechanism including: a lever spreading member driven by a link including at least one free end able to interact with actuating elements to cause the clamp to open against the force of the elastic return elements, and associated locking elements that are able to move between a locked position in which the clamp is held in the open position and a retracted position in which the clamp is free to close, the locking elements being able to interact with second actuating elements designed to cause the locking element to move from the locked position to the retracted position, to trigger the closure of the clamp.
US08206142B2
A hydraulic locking mechanism for multiple extrusion heads of an extruder, has two Y-shaped clamping arms, six wedges, six pushing bars, six oil cylinder brackets, six oil cylinders, and six locking holes. A pair of locking holes is formed on both sides of an upper portion and a lower portion of the barrel and the extrusion head thereof, respectively. The wedge is disposed on inner wall of the locking hole, and a locking hole thereof has a sectional area gradually decreasing from the outside to the inside. The clamping arms are disposed on both sides of the barrel and the extrusion head via fastening devices. A through hole for the pushing bar is disposed on a branch of each of the clamping arm and corresponds to six locking holes. A piston rod of the oil cylinder is connected to a rear end of the pushing bar, the six oil cylinders and the six pushing bars are respectively fixed on six branches of the two clamping arms via six brackets of an oil cylinder. The pushing bar is capable of moving along the through hole for the pushing bar as being driven by the oil cylinder, and a front end thereof is inserted in the locking hole and penetrably disposed in the through hole for the pushing bar. A slant is formed on the outer side on a front end of the pushing bar.
US08206136B2
The invention relates to a system of bellows and co-acting part, including a co-acting part which comprises a stiff outer wall, and a bellows co-acting therewith which comprises a flexible wall of a predetermined shape and thickness, wherein the flexible wall of the bellows is movable along the stiff outer wall of the co-acting part, wherein the bellows includes at least two separately deformable flexible wall parts' which each co-act with a different part of the stiff outer wall of the co-acting part.
US08206134B2
A power pack unit includes a first hydraulic pump including a first pump enclosure accommodating a first pump cartridge. A second hydraulic pump includes a second pump enclosure accommodating a second pump cartridge. A hydraulic fluid reservoir is positioned between the first and second hydraulic pumps. A first end of the reservoir is secured to the first pump enclosure and a second end of the reservoir is secured to the second pump enclosure. The first and second hydraulic pumps and the reservoir can extend along a common axis. First and second motors can be connected to the first and second pumps. The entire structure can extend along a common axis.
US08206132B2
A compressor (20) has an unloading slide valve (100). The valve has a valve element (102) having a range between a first condition and a second condition, the second condition being unloaded relative to the first condition. A piston (124) is in a cylinder (128) and mechanically coupled to the valve element. A control valve (140) is coupled to a headspace (138) of the cylinder to selectively expose the headspace to a flu source (144), pressure of fluid in the headspace producing a force on the piston and valve element in a direction from the second condition toward the first condition. The compressor includes a pressure relief valve coupling (180) in the headspace to suction conditions to unload the compressor responsive to an overpressure.
US08206126B2
A pump unit (12) includes a pump housing (14), a pump cover (16), and an impeller (18) between the pump housing and pump cover. The pump housing and pump cover define a first channel (32) and a second channel (34) each having an inlet and an outlet. The impeller has first vanes (36) cooperating with the first channel and second vanes (38) cooperating with the second channel. The outlet of the second channel is constructed and arranged to provide fuel to an engine upon rotation of the impeller. A jet pump (38) is fluidly connected with the outlet of the first channel such that as the impeller rotates, the jet pump causes fuel to be drawn into the reservoir (37). Connecting structure (44, 44′) fluidly connects the first and second channels such that upon rotation of the impeller, fuel in the second channel flows into the first channel to prime the first channel.
US08206124B1
An oil-gas vapor collection, storage, and recovery system ensures that no air or oxygen leakage into the production tank occurs when gauging and/or emptying a tank. The system provides a constant reservoir-type storage system by utilizing a variable volume gas bag, expanding with a surge of gas from the separator and with minimal water column pressure from the plunger lift system, thereby containing the gas surge, but contracting with gas dissipation thus minimizing the compressor cycling, while accommodating rapid liquid and vapor influxes into the tank thus maintaining constant tank pressure. With expansion, the bag actuates a switch which activates a compressor, which, in turn, compresses the contained gas into the pipeline. Upon bag collapse, a switch is activated to turn off the compressor. Thus, the system provides constant storage tank pressure because the gas bag accommodates and controls variable gas volume.
US08206121B2
A method of repairing an airfoil blade involves the steps of providing an airfoil blade have a leading edge, a trailing edge, a tip and a base. A length of the airfoil blade is defined by the tip and the base and a width of the airfoil blade is defined by the leading edge and the trailing edge. A weld is made along a first direction of the length of the airfoil blade and then made in a second direction along the width of the airfoil blade to form a first weld layer. The first weld layer has a first portion extending across the length of the airfoil blade and a second portion extending across its width. A second weld layer is welded onto the first layer such that an end wall of the second weld layer abuts the second portion of the first weld layer.
US08206118B2
A rotor blade for a gas turbine engine includes an airfoil that extends in span between a tip and a root opposite from the tip. The root includes a plug, a looped portion that surrounds the plug and a clamp. The clamp contacts only a portion of the looped portion on an opposite side of the looped portion from the plug.
US08206117B2
Turbine components are provided. In an embodiment, by way of example, a hub and a ring are included. The hub comprises a first material. The ring is bonded to the hub. The ring comprises a plurality of arc segments forming a ring, each arc segment comprising a second material comprising a single crystal superalloy material having a predetermined primary orientation and a predetermined secondary orientation, each predetermined primary orientation of each arc segment being substantially equal, and each predetermined secondary orientation of each arc segment being substantially equal, each arc segment adjacent another arc segment, and the adjacent arc segments having a predetermined crystallographic mismatch therebetween. Methods of manufacturing are also provided.
US08206097B2
A compressor which includes: an inner casing arranged so as to cover a rotor shaft; an outer casing arranged so as to cover the inner casing and forming a fluid flow path around the rotor shaft; and a plurality of struts mounted in the entrance of the fluid flow path and between the inner casing and the outer casing; in which the plurality of struts are arranged in a radial pattern centered on the rotor shaft, and the spacings between the adjacent struts in the circumferential direction of the rotor shaft are unequal.
US08206094B2
An inner shroud portion and an outer shroud portion dividedly formed per stationary blade are formed integrally with each stationary blade. A plurality of the stationary blades adjacent to each other in a circumferential direction are coupled together by a band member at the outer shroud portions. The inner shroud portions are held between seal holders which are formed as two divided members in the flowing direction of a working fluid, which are fastened by a bolt, and which have a length corresponding to the plurality of the stationary blades. The plurality of stationary blades, the inner and outer shroud portions, the band member, and the seal holders assembled in this manner constitute a unit. A plurality of the units are connected in the circumferential direction to constitute a stationary blade ring of an axial compressor.
US08206093B2
There is described a gas turbine with a channel wall that limits a flow, said channel wall comprising first and second wall sections, one of the wall sections being part of a combustion chamber of the gas turbine and the other wall section being part of an annular hot gas channel of a turbine unit, and the two adjacent wall sections facing each other with a gap there between. In order to reduce the leakage quantities of blocking gas that protect the gap from the entry of hot gas, it is proposed that blocking element projects from the side of the first wall section into the gap and can be displaced transversely thereto, said blocking element comprising a piston face disposed in the first wall section and a sealing structure lying opposite the piston face, it being possible to press said sealing means against an end sealing section of the second wall section by means of a pressure medium that acts on the piston face.
US08206087B2
A sealing arrangement for use in a turbine engine having ceramic components. The sealing arrangement is retained in a seal gap formed between adjacent segments and is compliant to accommodate variations in the size of the seal gap as the adjacent segments move relative to one another.
US08206085B2
In one embodiment, a system includes a turbine engine that includes a rotor including multiple blades. The turbine engine also includes a shroud disposed about the blades. The shroud includes multiple segments engaged with one another via mating teeth. The mating teeth are oriented in an axial direction along a longitudinal axis of the turbine engine.
US08206075B2
In certain aspects, a load lock chamber is provided that includes a body having at least one sealing surface wall including a sealing surface. The sealing surface wall has an opening adjacent the sealing surface adapted to input or output a substrate. The body further includes a plurality of side walls. The load lock chamber also includes a top coupled to the body. The top includes one or more openings that divide the top into a first portion and a second portion. The load lock chamber further includes one or more top sealing members adapted to cover each opening of the top. Each top sealing member absorbs a movement of the first portion of the top relative to the second portion of the top. Numerous other aspects are provided.
US08206074B2
A port storage and distribution system for facilitating the transfer and/or storage of international shipping containers between container ships and ground transport carriers wherein an overhead grid guide track structure is provide that permits overhead transfer units to selectively engage and convey containers as required between the various ships, carriers and storage area without requiring multiple transfers of containers between different handling equipment. The system provides for container scanning and is either fully automated or partially manually controlled.
US08206052B1
The invention is an end connector for a horizontal scaffold member where the top of the end connector is inserted into the interior of a scaffold pipe. The invention includes a locking latch that includes a rotating latch member and a rotating lock that interfere when the latch is locked.
US08206040B1
An accessory is adapted to removably couple to a laser source connector separate from a fiber connector. The accessory includes a first contact element configured to form an electrical connection to a first portion of the laser source connector. The accessory further includes a second contact element configured to form an electrical connection to a second portion of the laser source connector. The second portion of the laser source connector is electrically insulated from the first portion of the laser source connector. The accessory also includes a network connected to the first contact element and the second contact element. The network establishes a defined electrical characteristic between the first and second contact element when a fiber connector is connected to laser source connector.
US08206034B2
An opening mechanism for use with a fluid filled collapsible container is disclosed. The mechanism comprises an outlet spout adapted to be joined to a wall of the collapsible container, a perforator for opening the collapsible container through the outlet spout and a driver having a passage therethrough. The driver is received within the outlet spout and screw threadedly engaged therewith for advancement by relative rotation thereof to drive the perforator though the outlet spout to thereby open the collapsible container and permit fluid to be dispensed through the passage. A circumferential flexible seal is provided within the outlet spout on one of the driver and the outlet spout to engage with the other of the driver and the outlet spout to reduce leakage of fluid between the outlet spout and the driver as the collapsible container is opened.
US08206019B2
A connector assembly is provided. The connector assembly includes a housing having at least a socket, an electronic device disposed in the housing, a protection member disposed on a side of the housing, a light emitting element disposed on the protection member, a light pipe disposed on the housing for guiding light from the light emitting element, a shield surrounding the protection member and the light emitting element, and a cover encompassing the light pipe, the shield, and the light emitting element.
US08206017B2
An illumination device (11) for a motor vehicle includes a transparent light guide (13). At least a first decoupling element (33) is formed into the light guide (13). At least one reflector (35) is assigned to the first decoupling element (33) for reflection of light coupled-out by the first decoupling element (33) and aligned and formed in such a way that at least a portion of the light reflected by the reflector (35) irradiates the light guide (13). At least one second decoupling element (37) is formed in the light guide (13) for coupling-out of light from the light guide (13) and aligned and formed in such a way that light coupled-out by the second decoupling element (37) ultimately exits the light guide (13).
US08206013B2
A light-guiding module includes a casing, a light-guiding body, a light source, and a light-abating element. The casing has an accommodating space and a light-emerging surface. The light-guiding body is received in the accommodating space of the casing and has a light-entering surface and a light-emerging surface. The light-emerging surface is located to correspond to the light-emerging surface of the casing. The light source is located to correspond to the light-entering surface of the light-guiding body. The light-abating element is located to correspond to the light-emerging surface of the light-guiding body, and the light-abating element may be located close to the light source. The light-abating element may be provided at a position which the light-guiding body is close to the light source, thereby making the light emerging from the light-guiding body to become more uniform and thus overcoming the problem that the brightness of light is uneven.
US08205996B2
A light switch cover having a light switch identifier to identify light coupled to a particular light switch. To this end, the light switch identifier may be positioned adjacent the light switch and/or a designation (number, letter or both) may be established for the light switch identifier and the light switch. The light switch cover may include a small clear cover behind which a label is positioned which identifies the particular light (or other device) that the corresponding light switch is operable to control.
US08205994B1
A system, method and assembly for performing traffic sign inspections is provided. In one embodiment, the assembly includes a first plurality of sheetings that each have a combination of retroreflectivity and color that is different from the combination of retroreflectivity and color of each of the other first plurality of sheetings; a first clamp and second clamp for clamping one of said first plurality of sheetings to a traffic sign; a first handheld light source; and a first enclosure for removably housing the first plurality of sheetings, said first and second clamps, and said first handheld light source. The assembly may further include a second enclosure for removably housing a second plurality of sheetings that each has a combination of retroreflectivity and color that is different from the combination of retroreflectivity and color of each of the other second plurality of sheetings.
US08205993B2
A projection-type image displaying apparatus takes in outside air through an air inlet formed in a housing unit to cool at least one of an optical modulator and an optical element that are accommodated in the housing unit, the optical modulator forming an optical image and the optical element being disposed between the optical modulator and a light source. The projection-type image displaying apparatus includes a cooling fan, a first dustproof filter disposed at the air inlet of the housing unit, a second dustproof filter disposed in a flow path that guides the outside air toward the optical modulator or the optical element after the outside air passes through the first dustproof filter and the cooling fan, and a holder for holding the optical modulator or the optical element, the holder having an outside-air introducing portion, wherein the second dustproof filter is attachable to the outside-air introducing portion.
US08205984B2
In one embodiment, a web printer includes a base, an arched member detachably supported on the base for supporting a web, and multiple print bars each detachably supported on the arched member. A positioning system is operatively connected between the arched member and the base when the arched member is supported on the base for aligning the arched member to the base. In one embodiment, the web printer also includes a second positioning system operatively connected between each print bar and the arched member when the print bar is supported on the arched member for aligning the print bars to the arched member.
US08205973B2
An ink jet recording apparatus according to an embodiment of the invention includes an ink jet head having a pressure chamber facing a nozzle, and an upstream port and a downstream port connected to the pressure chamber, a main tank connected to the ink jet head via the upstream port and capable of storing ink therein, and a sub-tank connected to the ink jet head via the downstream port and capable of storing ink, wherein at least when printing by ejecting ink from the nozzle, the relation between ph, r, R and Q is held to satisfy ph−{QR×(1/(1+r))}=Pn (Pn being a constant representing a proper pressure in the nozzle), where ph represents a potential pressure in the main tank as viewed from a surface of an orifice plate where the nozzle of the ink jet head is formed, R represents a total flow path resistance from the main tank to the sub-tank via the ink jet head, a ratio of a flow path resistance from the main tank to the nozzle and a flow path resistance from the nozzle to the sub-tank is expressed by 1:r, and Q represents a flow rate of ink that circulates in a circulation path formed by connecting the ink jet head, the main tank and the sub-tank.
US08205966B2
An inkjet print head is provided with a plurality of electrode terminals connected to a plurality of connecting terminals extending from electrical wiring members transmitting drive signals of elements generating energy for ejecting ink, and an insulating portion for insulating the extending portion of the connecting terminal to the connecting portion where the connecting terminal is connected to the electrode terminal from the print element substrate, the connecting portion being sealed by a sealant spreading due to a capillary force between the plurality of the connecting terminals. In order to prevent occurrence of the non-existence region of the sealant due to the blocking of the sealant by the insulating portion, the insulating portion is constructed of a plurality of separated convex portions in contact with the plurality of the connecting terminals respectively to form a groove between the convex portions for allowing the passing of the sealant.
US08205944B2
An arrangement lever device for an automobile seat including a reclining operation lever (1) mounted on a support shaft that is concentrically joined with an actuating shaft (5) interconnecting reclining lock mechanisms which are arranged between brackets (3) of a seat cushion and brackets (4) of a seat back, a walk-in operation lever (2) arranged to be adjacent to the reclining operation lever (1) and supported on one of the brackets (3) of the seat cushion, and a linkage mechanism for preventing the motion of one of the levers (1, 2) from being transmitted to the other of the levers (1, 2), the linkage mechanism coupled between the levers (1, 2).
US08205941B2
A head restraint (14) for helping to protect an occupant (60) of a vehicle seat (20) includes a base frame (150) connected to the vehicle seat. A cushion carrier (350) is supported on the base frame (150) by a track assembly (440) that facilitates movement of the cushion carrier (350) relative to the base frame (150) along a deployment axis (18) from a non-deployed condition to a deployed condition. The track assembly (440) includes a fixed track member (182) that forms a portion of the base frame (150). The fixed track member (182) includes spaced axially extending beam portions (190) with opposing surfaces (200) that define a channel (184) between the beam portions (190). The track assembly (440) also includes a sliding track member (370) that forms a portion of the cushion carrier (350). The sliding track member (370) includes a sliding frame (372) positioned in the channel (184) and having portions (442) positioned in sliding contact with portions (444) on the opposing surfaces (200) defining the channel (184).
US08205935B2
A collapsible stool for easy storage, comprising a collapsible, bench body member, a bench body support panel; and a bench cap. When in use, the bench cap is mounted on the bench body member in its expanded state. The bench body member, in its expanded state, forms a four-sided cylindrical body. Each of the four walls of the four-sided cylindrical body is made of a soft exterior layer, and a solid composite panel that is enclosed within the soft exterior layer. The bench cap is a non-collapsible cap-shaped body that is formed from a bench cap surface member, and bench cap walls to which the bench cap surface member is connected. The bench cap surface member and the bench cap walls are made of a soft exterior layer, and a solid composite panel enclosed within the soft exterior layer. When stored, the bench body support panel and the collapsed bench body member of the present collapsible stool are disposed in the non-collapsible bench cap, forming a single unit that is convenient for storage and transportation.
US08205934B2
The portable chair frame that supports a sling of the preferred embodiments includes a brace, a first pair of collapsible bars, a second pair of collapsible bars, and two joints that each provide a point of contact with a ground surface. Each collapsible bar has a first end coupled to the brace and a second end that provides a sling interface for the sling. The joints are included in each of the collapsible bars of the first pair of collapsible bars.
US08205926B2
A vehicular storage enclosure comprising a sub-compartment (108) disposed within a passenger compartment (P) of a vehicle (V), wherein the sub-compartment (108) includes a closure panel (106) that provides selective access to the sub-compartment (108), wherein the closure panel (106) includes an outboard surface (116) that is substantially exposed to the passenger compartment (106) and an inboard surface (114) that is substantially exposed to the sub-compartment (108) when the sub-compartment (108) is closed off by the closure panel (106), and a handle (204) that is accessible from within the sub-compartment (108), and wherein one of or both of the handle (204) and an area proximate the handle (204) on the inboard surface (114) includes indicia (G) to conspicuously provide one or more instructions for opening the closure panel (106) from within the sub-compartment (108).
US08205909B2
An active knee bolster for an automotive vehicle has a base which is attached to a supporting structure, such as a glove box. The base has an outer periphery and an inner field containing a number of frangible attachment tabs. A combination inflatable bladder and cover is attached to the frangible attachment tabs such that the tabs tear partially free, and effectively become hinged from, the base when the bladder is inflated.
US08205904B1
One embodiment of the vehicle mounting includes a frame assembly. The frame assembly may include a panel member, a set of elongated members, and a bracket member. The panel member may be configured to be supported on a front part of the vehicle. The set of elongated members may extend from a surface of the panel member. The bracket member may be associated at the free end portions of the set of elongated members. The vehicle mounting may further include an arm assembly carried by the bracket member of the frame assembly. The arm assembly may include a first arm member and a second arm member adapted to be telescopically received within the first arm member. The arm assembly may also include a hitch member operatively coupled with the second arm member. The hitch member may be adapted to receive a towing rod of the wheeled article.
US08205899B2
An extendible axle member (146 or 148) is provided for a pivoting axle of an agricultural harvester (100), the extendible axle member (146 or 148) having an elongate telescopic portion (400) with bearing surfaces for being slidably received in an outer axle member (142 or 144), wherein the elongate telescopic portion (400) is formed integral with and abuts a C-frame for supporting a steering knuckle (158 or 160).
US08205891B2
An intershaft seal assembly for counter-rotating and co-rotating turbine engines is described. The seal assembly includes a pair of end rings and a seal element. At least one end ring has a flange, with upper and lower surfaces, disposed along and extending from one side of the ring. The seal element includes a ring, with inner and outer radial surfaces, and a ring flange wider than the ring. The ring flange is disposed along and extends diametrically from the outer radial surface, the latter also contacting the lower surface along at least one flange. The seal element is disposed between the end rings so that the ring flange extends beyond the flanges. The invention avoids the wear and heating problems inherent to intershaft seal systems, thus allowing the seal element to be composed of a temperature resistant metal, metal alloy, or carbon graphite.
US08205886B1
A didactic skill developing puzzle having a center segment with a first end and a second end, a right side large loop, a right side small loop, a left side large loop, a left side small loop, and at least one continuous loop of material is described herein. The right side large loop can have a first snap connection, and the right side small loop can have a second snap connection. The first snap connection can removeably engage the second snap connection through the first web to form a first connected end. The left side has an identical pair of large and small loops and connections for engaging the second web to form a connected second end. The loops do not touch, and a continuous loop of material with an openable clasp is positioned between the loops allowing a user to experience a three dimensional maze.
US08205885B2
A tiling puzzle having a first two-dimensional portion and a second three-dimensional portion that extends away from the plane of the first two-dimensional portion.
US08205880B2
A plurality of moving-amount detecting units respectively detects a moving amount of the sheet fed by a feeding unit at a plurality of points in a width direction of the sheet. A skew detecting unit detects a skew of the sheet based on the moving amount of the sheet detected by the moving-amount detecting units.
US08205878B2
An image forming apparatus includes: a sheet conveyance path in which a sheet is conveyed; at least one sheet feeding mechanism to supply the sheet to the sheet conveyance path; a sheet conveyance mechanism to convey the sheet in a sheet conveyance direction; a detection mechanism to detect a position of a side of the sheet parallel to the sheet conveyance direction; a movement mechanism to move the sheet in a direction perpendicular to the sheet conveyance direction; a memory to store reference position information specific to the at least one sheet feeding mechanism, respectively; and a movement control mechanism to control a movement distance of the movement mechanism based on the detected position and the reference position information specific to a selected one of the at least one sheet feeding mechanism.
US08205859B2
A valve handle assembly for a valve having an outwardly extending rotatable stem for opening and closing the valve by rotation of the stem includes a stop plate for engaging the stem, a handle for rotating the stem by engaging and rotating the stop plate, and a cup washer for engaging the handle and retaining the stop plate and handle on the stem upon placing a nut on the stem and tightening of the nut. The handle has an internal lip for retaining the handle and the cup washer has a raised flange for engaging the lip to retain the handle upon tightening of the nut.
US08205851B2
A self-adjusting apparatus is provided for clamping and supporting a substantially cylindrical element. When an element is placed in the self-adjusting apparatus, the element is supported at about 90° from the surface on which the apparatus sits. This is achieved with an integrated clamping mechanism and, preferably, with a self-centering mechanism comprising flexure springs and a retaining-center pin. The clamping mechanism applies a substantially radial force on the element that is directly proportional to the substantially cylindrical element's weight, and can be less than the weight of the element, preventing damage to the element. The present invention can include a liquid management system for when the apparatus supports a tree trunk. The liquid management system can include a reservoir, a funnel for filling the reservoir, a capillary wick and mat that provides water to the tree even when it is above the level of water in the reservoir.
US08205845B2
A holding arrangement is suitable especially for medical-optical equipment (108). The holding arrangement includes a carrier arm (101) for accommodating a load. The carrier arm (101) is pivotally mounted on a holder (102) with the aid of a first rotational joint (103). The holding arrangement further includes a linear spring arrangement (120) for generating a longitudinal force which acts upon the carrier arm (101) in order to compensate a load torque arising in the first rotational joint (103) of the carrier arm (101). The linear spring arrangement (120) for generating a longitudinal force is pivotally mounted on the holder (102) and applies a force on a curved carrier (119) which is operatively connected to the carrier arm (101).
US08205835B2
The technology described herein provides for the creation of an atmospherically-lifted multi-tethered structure in a semi-stationary position in the atmosphere, which supports cabled cargo handling operations within the three-dimensional space beneath the structure, allowing cargo loads to move directly from source to destination in that same space (between the ground and the atmospherically-suspended structure itself). The design combines a highly configurable aerial platform with the usefulness of complex cargo transportation systems to enable transit both at high speeds over long distances, and at low speeds on the localized level. Constant atmospheric lift from buoyancy and wind effects allows for a flexible transportation infrastructure over a broad three-dimensional area.
US08205829B2
Embodiments of a method for deploying an airborne object are provided utilizing a submersible transport and launch canister of the type that includes a pressure vessel in which the airborne object is stored and a cap which sealingly engages the pressure vessel. In one embodiment, the method includes the steps of positioning an end portion of the pressure vessel above the surface level of a body of water, opening the cap, and launching the airborne object from the pressure vessel while in the body of water.
US08205823B2
Heavier-than-air, aircraft having flapping wings, e.g., ornithopters, where angular orientation control is effected by variable differential sweep angles of deflection of the flappable wings in the course of sweep angles of travel and/or the control of variable wing membrane tension.
US08205822B1
An unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) has a payload or body affixed at one end of an elongated airfoil. The entire airfoil/payload combination rotates about a center of mass to define a rotor disk. Thrust is provided by air-augmented rocket engine thrusting tangentially at a location remote from the payload. A control system maintains knowledge of its environment, as by a camera, to produce directional control signals which actuate lift control means in synchronism with the rotational position of the vehicle. A deployable object may be carried. Protection of the stowed vehicle is provided by blister packaging.
US08205818B1
A strap and cord winder is adjustable for different width straps and reconfigurable for cords. The winder includes a handle assembly with a center shaft and an offset pin for engaging and winding a strap. The center shaft adjustably passes through a face plate creating an adjustable width between a handle arm of the handle assembly and the face plate for winding different width straps. A cylindrical grip is attached to the face plate opposite the handle arm and the face plate attaches to a chest plate. A spool may be positioned on the center shaft between the handle arm and face plate for coiling cords and hoses and the offset pin engages a notch on one end of the spool to couple rotation of the handle to rotation of the spool. The spool includes disks at each end including open ended slots reaching radially to capture cord ends.
US08205815B2
A shredder includes a housing having a throat for receiving at least one article to be shredded and a shredder mechanism received in the housing. The shredder mechanism includes a motor and cutter elements, and enables the articles to be shredded to be fed into the cutter elements. The motor is operable to drive the cutter elements so that the cutter elements shred the articles into shredded particles. The shredder also includes a plurality of sensors provided along the throat for sensing articles. A controller is coupled to the motor and the sensors, the controller being configured to perform a predetermined motor control operation of the motor responsive to the sensors sensing the articles inserted into the throat at an angle above a predetermined angle threshold or the sensors sensing with a predetermined sensing pattern the at least one rectangular sheet of paper inserted into the throat.
US08205813B2
The recycling method according to the invention involves, when manufacturing the objects (12), a preliminary phase of selectively labelling the objects (12), the parts of the objects and/or the components of the objects that include the materials to be recycled, and a phase of concentrating the recyclable materials involving grinding the objects (12) down into particles (15), remotely detecting the labels that may be borne by each of the particles, extracting those parts (26) in which a label has been detected and directing them to a storage area (27) specific to said label.
US08205805B2
The present disclosure is directed to fuel injectors that provide efficient injection, ignition, and combustion of various types of fuels. One example of such an injector can include a sensor that detects one or more conditions in the combustion chamber. The injector can also include an acoustical force generator or modifier that is responsive to the sensor and can be configured to (a) induce vibrations in the fuel in the injector body and/or in the combustion chamber, (b) induce vibrations in air in the combustion chamber, (c) induce vibrations in a valve driver or other injector component to actuate a flow valve, and/or (d) control patterning of fuel injected into the combustion chamber.
US08205797B2
A method and system is provided including a plurality of multi-function devices being operatively associated with at least one controller. Each of the plurality of multi-function devices having time staggered payment support capabilities for enabling at least one user continued access to the plurality of multi-function devices. A detecting module is provided for enabling the plurality of multi-function devices to automatically detect, inspect, and verify at least one authorization code located on incoming print jobs. The method and system enable the at least one user to pay for continued access to the plurality of multi-function devices via time staggered installments without one or more of the plurality of MFDs directly accessing a payment center via a network connection and without manually supplying the at least one authorization code to the plurality of multi-function devices.
US08205778B2
A nailing device of the present invention mainly includes a main body, a striker, an actuator, a resilient member, a nail slot, a magazine, a guider, an adjuster and a controlling means. The magazine has a main rail and a sub rail parallel to the main rail, and the main rail is substantially as tall as the sub rail. The adjuster has a protrusive portion having a guiding surface facing the magazine. The guiding surface is vertically formed with two parallel longitudinal grooves and has a bottom end. The longitudinal grooves extend toward the bottom end. The controlling means is for selectively pushing the adjuster to flush the guiding surface with a step surface of the guider.
US08205774B2
A connecting assembly for support frames of a bicycle saddle is fixed to the support frames under the saddle in a simple and stable way, the connecting assembly can also be used together with a connecting member which has one end engaged with the connecting assembly and the other end for clamping or carrying objects.
US08205773B2
A logistic container intended to be made integral with a structure, such as a vehicle, and incorporating a clasping device intended to cooperate with a matching device carried by the structure, the container being of a geometry with several faces wherein the container incorporates at least two opening flaps each arranged on a separate face.
US08205768B2
A lid and container assembly includes a container having a rim portion that defines a container opening, and a lid having (i) a cover portion positioned over the container opening, and (ii) a skirt extending from the cover portion and positioned circumferentially around the rim portion. The skirt defines an interior facing surface and an exterior facing surface. The skirt includes a sealing band extending from the interior facing surface positioned in contact with the rim portion. The sealing band defines a vertex along the extent of the sealing band. The vertex possesses (i) a first height at a first circumferential position of the sealing band, and (ii) a second height at a second circumferential position of the sealing band. The second height is greater than the first height. Height of the vertex asymptotically increases as the sealing band extends from the first circumferential position to the second circumferential position.
US08205741B2
A bulk material handling system comprises a bulk material handling apparatus to convey bulk material, and a bulk material handling accessory that aids in the operation of the bulk material handling apparatus. The bulk material handling accessory comprises a controller having one or more sensors. The controller comprises a processor and a computer readable memory capable of: (i) generating a control signal indicative of an operating condition of the bulk material handling accessory during a cycle of operation of the accessory; (ii) storing in the memory of the controller a limit associated with an operating condition of the accessory; (iii) comparing the control signal to the limit; (iv) generating a signal indicative of an abnormal event associated with the operating condition when the control signal is beyond the limit; and (v) generating a response signal when a number of abnormal event signals generated exceeds a predetermined level of abnormal events.
US08205740B2
A conveyor device for containers having a receiving rail for receiving a neck area of the containers, the containers being held by the receiving rail and are movable within this receiving rail. Guide mechanisms are provided with guide elements that are arranged beneath the receiving rail and guide the movement of the containers. The guide elements are movable in the longitudinal direction of the containers and the movements in the longitudinal direction of the containers of a plurality of different guide elements are mechanically linked to one another.
US08205738B1
A case turner and associated method for rotating conveyed articles. The case turner includes a pair of conveyor belts advancing side by side in a conveying direction. The belts, which are tilted downward toward each other, have rows of article-supporting rollers that can rotate freely on axes parallel to the conveying direction. Each of the belts advances at a different speed so that an article bridging both belts is rotated as it is conveyed along the belt. The speed differential is set to provide a desired degree of rotation for the length of the two belts.
US08205728B2
The present invention discloses a magnetorheological force transmission device which comprises at least two solid body parts adapted to be moved in a substantially translational manner against each other, and an MRF gap, which is at least partially fillable and/or filled with a magnetorheological material 2MRF, the MRF gap being arranged at least partially inside one of or both of the two parts and/or being arranged at least partially in-between the two parts, and which is characterized in that the magnetic circuit system of the magnetorheological force transmission device being designed and/or disposed to generate a magnetic flux within at least part of the MRF gap comprises at least one electromagnet, at least one permanent magnet and at least one magnetic-field-balancing insert and/or magnetic isolator.
US08205708B2
A hydraulic transaxle has an axle casing and a pair of hydraulic motors disposed in the axle casing. The hydraulic motors have respective motor shafts and respective moveable swash plates. An axis of tilt of each moveable swash plate is offset with respect to a longitudinal axis of the respective motor shaft, and the moveable swash plates are operatively engaged to a steering operation device.
US08205705B2
A middle electric motor drive unit for an electric bicycle, including a motor, a controller, a sensor, a gear reducer, a one-way clutch, a chain tightener, and a housing. The middle electric motor drive unit is disposed below a frame of the electric bicycle, and in the vicinity of a pedal shaft thereof. The middle electric motor drive unit is independent from the pedal shaft with respect to functions and structure. The motor is an internal rotor and permanent magnet DC motor. The motor shaft of the motor is parallel to a gear shaft and the pedal shaft. The controller is built-in, and disposed in or on the housing. The sensor is an internal sensor or an external pedal shaft sensor.
US08205703B2
A modular, wheeled vehicle suitable for military use, includes a driver module having a width for seating one person and having length for seating a second (and optional third) person therebehind, and an engine module disposed behind the driver module containing an engine for powering the modular vehicle. The engine module has a rear surface adapted to receive a storage module. The driver module and the engine module form a central element having a pair of sides, a bottom, and a top. The central element is adapted to receive the modules on both of the central element sides. The central element has air inlet for personnel and for the engine disposed atop the central element. The bottom of the central element and troop side pods generally are V-shaped with slanted, upward extending sides.
US08205700B2
A power storage device is mounted on a rear portion of a vehicle. The power storage device includes a high-voltage terminal and a low-voltage connector having a lower voltage than the high-voltage terminal. The high-voltage terminal is arranged on a front side in the vehicle. The low-voltage connector is arranged on a rear side in the vehicle.
US08205690B2
A double action locking jar is operable to provide a jarring force in an upward or downward direction. A pair of pressure pistons form a pressure chamber in which a Belleville spring stack is located. A metering orifice in one of the pistons serves to provide a delay mechanism for release of a mandrel within the housing. Two collets are located within the housing for mechanically releasing the mandrel when a tension or compression force is applied to the mandrel. The jar may be mechanically actuated only by allowing the pistons to freely move within the housing without hydraulic resistance.
US08205684B2
A pistol and/or clam shell style power tool housing. With respect to the pistol style housing, the tool housing includes a body defining a head portion with a handle portion depending therefrom to define a forward and/or a rear junction. A metal reinforcing member is configured to span along an inside surface of the body from the head portion to the handle portion such that the reinforcing member bridges either the forward or rear junction. In at least one embodiment, the reinforcing member is provided along each lateral side of the tool body. With respect to the clam shell style housing, with two opposed body halves interconnected to define the tool housing body, at least one continuous reinforcing ring is positioned about both halves of the tool housing body to prevent splitting between the two halves.
US08205683B2
A handheld power tool has a housing having two separate housing parts, between which a primary damping element is disposed, wherein a secondary damping element is disposed acting parallel to said primary damping element. During regular function of the primary damping element, the secondary damping element is at least approximately force-free. In the event of a changed relative position between the two housing parts, the damping occurs via the secondary damping element.
US08205678B1
The present invention is a blowout preventer including a large frustoconical funnel, made of metal or other material. The large end of the funnel is placed over a well pipe (or other pipe) through which oil (or gas or other fluid) is blowing out. The small end of the funnel is connected to a return pipe. A high pressure pipe with a smaller diameter is inserted into the well pipe. Air is pumped under high pressure through the high pressure pipe, separating the oil and forcing the oil that is not kept down in the well pipe by the pressure up through the return pipe. The Bernoulli effect keeps the funnel on the well pipe. A gasket at the top end of the channel prevents leaks. Channels and rotating blades near the top of the funnel accelerate the flow, reducing pressure and increasing the suction due to the Bernoulli effect.
US08205676B2
A method and system for cleaning the perforations of well casings employs a non-rotating tubing string attached to a hydraulic jet carrier body. The carrier body has outwardly extending arms which terminate in spray nozzles, each of the nozzles expelling a stream of fluid under pressure against the well casing with an inertial force. The nozzles are oriented on the carrier body such that the reactive force for each jet is directionally offset with respect to the central axis of the carrier, thereby creating a twisting moment tending to rotate the carrier body about its central axis. The nozzles are located a fixed distance from the carrier body which is between about ½ and 1½ inches from the well casing perforations in use.
US08205674B2
An apparatus, system, and method are disclosed for in-situ extraction of hydrocarbons from a hydrocarbon-bearing formation. The system includes a well drilled through a hydrocarbon-bearing formation, and a completion unit that places an injection tube near a fluid injection point near the bottom of a target zone and a production tube near a fluid production point near the top of the target zone. An isolation unit isolates the fluid injection point from the fluid production point such that injected fluid flows through the target zone. The system further includes a heat source, and a fluid that delivers thermal energy from the heat source to the hydrocarbons in the target zone to entrain the hydrocarbons in the fluid. The resulting production fluid is heated, free hydrogen is added, and the production fluid is treated on a catalytic reactor to reduce the size of the hydrocarbon chains.
US08205669B2
The well condition during gravel packing is monitored and the gravel distribution condition is sent to the surface in real time through the preferred technique of a fiber optic line that wraps around the screens directly or indirectly on a surrounding tube around the screens. The fiber optic line has a breakaway connection that severs when the completion inner string is removed. A production string can then be run in to tag the fiber optic line through a wet connect to continue monitoring well conditions in the production phase. The fiber optic line can also be coiled above the packer so that relative movement of the inner string to the set packer can be detected and communicated to the surface in real time so as to know that the crossover has been moved the proper distance to, for example, get it from the gravel packing position to the reverse out position.
US08205666B2
A heat sink (and method of forming a heat sink) is provided that includes a core having a central axis and a plurality of cooling fins arranged about the core. Each fin has a base and a tip. The fins may be shaped to capture a tangential component of air from the fan. At least one portion (such as upper portion) of the fins may be bent. A lower portion of each fin may also be bent.
US08205651B2
A pneumatic tire according to the present invention improves wet performance.The pneumatic tire has a tread surface 1. A first main groove 2 extending in the circumferential direction TC of the tire is provided in the tread surface 1. First lateral grooves 7 extending from the first main groove 2 outward in the widthwise direction of the tire beyond one ground contact end TX1 of the tire are disposed at prescribed intervals in the circumferential direction TC of the tire. Blocks 8 are defined by the first main groove 2 and the first lateral grooves 7. The first lateral grooves 7 comprise inner groove portions 7A and outer groove portions 7B. The inner groove portions 7A extend with their widths gradually increasing from the first main groove 2 outward in the widthwise direction of the tire to midways of the first lateral grooves 7. The outer groove portions 7B extend with their widths gradually decreasing from the gradually increasing inner groove portions 7A outward in the widthwise direction of the tire beyond the one ground contact end TX1 of the tire. A circumferential narrow groove 5 which extends in the circumferential direction TC of the tire and is less in width than the first main groove 2 is disposed at boundary positions between the inner groove portions 7A and the outer groove portions 7B.
US08205641B2
A hydraulic apparatus includes a housing portion having two main conduits and a central conduit. Valves are supported in the housing portion. At least one valve is interposed between each main conduit and the central conduit. Each of the valves has a closed position for preventing a free flow of fluid between the central conduit and its associated main conduit and have an open position for enabling the free flow of fluid between the central conduit and its associated main conduit. The hydraulic apparatus also includes a bypass valve assembly having a plunger portion that extends into the central conduit. The plunger portion is movable in an axial direction for moving the valves from the closed position to the open position.
US08205635B2
A flowmeter in which a flow rate can be measured over a wide flow-rate range while an increase in the cost of manufacture thereof is minimized, and a flow-rate controller equipped with such a flowmeter are provided. Provided are an upstream-side pressure sensor that measures the pressure of a fluid in an upstream-side channel, a downstream-side pressure sensor that measures the pressure of the fluid in a downstream-side channel, a first throttle section disposed between the upstream-side channel and the downstream-side channel and having a channel area that is smaller than that of at least the upstream-side channel, a bypass channel branching off from between the upstream-side pressure sensor in the upstream-side channel and the first throttle section and connected with the downstream-side channel, an on/off valve that controls the flow rate of the fluid flowing through the bypass channel, and a second throttle section disposed between the bypass channel and the downstream-side channel and having a channel area that is smaller than that of at least the bypass channel.
US08205629B2
A method and apparatus that solve the problem of accurate measurement of gas flow so that the delivery of gases in semiconductor processing may be performed with greater confidence and accuracy by performing real-time characterization of a lead-line for mass flow controller (MFC) flow verification are provided. In one embodiment a mass flow verifier (MFV) provides rate of rise information to a controller via a digital interface without correcting for lead-line influences. After receiving the rate of rise data, the tool host computer computes a gas mass correction factor in real-time based on at least one of the following: MFC temperature sensor data, lead-line temperature sensor data, lead-line pressure transducer data, and lead-line volume. The rate of rise data and gas mass correction factor are used to compute accurate mass flow. The accurate mass flow information may be used to calibrate the MFC.
US08205624B2
An applicator for applying a composition to eyelashes or eyebrows, includes a support structure that is elongate along a longitudinal axis. The support structure may include i) at least one branch member that is within the support structure at least in part, the support structure being an open-work structure; and/or ii) at least one branch member having a free end. The branch member may extend, at least in part, obliquely relative to the longitudinal axis of the support structure and may include teeth.
US08205623B2
This disclosure relates to personal grooming apparatus that include coatings on the surface thereof that incorporate calcium carbonate derived from the shell of a mollusk and/or from a mollusk pearl. Other aspects of the present disclosure relate to methods for producing such apparatus, and methods of grooming the hair or skin of an individual.
US08205620B2
A surgical stapling apparatus includes a stapling assembly including a staple cartridge for retaining and selectively releasing a plurality of staples, a forming member engageable by a staple during formation thereof, and first and second anvil sections for forming the staples. The first and second anvil sections are configured for independent actuation. A method of stapling first and second sections of tissue is also disclosed.
US08205618B2
The present invention is a mouthguard to be used in sports to protect the mouth and teeth from blows to the face and head. The mouthguard has a three layer laminate construction and is fabricated from thermoplastic material that may be softened in hot water to enable a user to form it to the contours of his or her mouth. The mouthguard is formed from an upper portion shaped into a channel with holes distributed on the channel floor and a lower platform with posts aligned to fit into the holes. A part of the posts extend from the upper portion to the platform to form gaps between the upper portion and the platform with the gaps acting as air cushions. In one embodiment, a strap is attached to the assembled mouthguard.
US08205614B2
A delivery device, e.g. an inhaler, includes a rotatable metering member adapted to dispense a measured amount of material, a material delivery passage and a material delivery orifice and at least one actuator member adapted to move the metering member from a material retaining position to a material dispensing position. In a magazine including a plurality of metering members, the actuator and metering members may operate in a radial direction. A plurality of rotatable magazines may be utilized in the delivery device. The delivery device may be used to deliver a single or a combination therapy.
US08205609B2
A window with an integral solar heat-absorber is provided in a compact, low-cost package. Two transparent panes are separated from one another to provide a first passageway for receiving a working fluid. The periphery of the panes is secured in a frame in which a heat exchanger is also secured, the heat exchanger having a second passageway for the working fluid and a third passageway for a service fluid. The first and second passageways are coupled to make a working fluid circuit.
US08205605B2
In a method for operating an internal combustion engine, in particular of a motor vehicle, the internal combustion engine is controlled by at least one drive variable, and an instantaneous torque output by the internal combustion engine is determined from a performance variable of the internal combustion engine that differs from the drive variable. To determine the instantaneous torque, an exhaust-gas temperature of the internal combustion engine is used as performance quantity that differs from the drive variable.
US08205604B2
A crankcase ventilation system is provided. The crankcase ventilation system is fluidly coupled between an engine block assembly and an axially extending air inlet adapter. A crankcase vent nozzle is provided as one aspect of the system and extends into the air inlet adapter. The crankcase vent nozzle has a leading edge portion and a trailing edge portion extending radially into an axially extending flow path in the air inlet adapter. The trailing edge portion extending further into the flow path than the leading edge portion.
US08205600B2
An apparatus for the production of ozone for an internal combustion engine comprising a non-conductive shell having a first and second opening which allows air to flow therethrough and first and second electrodes disposed inside the shell. The first electrode is spaced a distance from the second electrode, the first electrode having a smaller diameter than, and being aligned axially within the second electrode. The first electrode permits air to flow therethrough. A high voltage source is connected to the first and second electrode, the high voltage source capable of producing a voltage differential on the first and second electrodes sufficient to cause the production of ozone. A change from oxygen to ozone occurs in the air flowing through the apparatus. The shell is preferably cylindrical.
US08205587B2
In an engine with a cam phase change mechanism which is disposed on one end portion of an intake camshaft and variably changes a phase of a drive cam of an intake valve relative to a crankshaft, the cam phase change mechanism is configured so that two vane-type hydraulic actuators of which variable-phase torques produced at the same supplied oil pressure are different are arranged axially relative to the intake camshaft.
US08205585B2
In a variable valve gear for an internal combustion engine provided with a camshaft phase change mechanism for variably controlling opening and closing timings of an intake valve, the camshaft phase change mechanism and a variable valve lift mechanism are controlled so that the closing timing of the intake valve is advanced beyond a predetermined range T1 including a bottom dead center when a load L of the internal combustion engine is less than a first predetermined value L1 and that the closing timing of the intake valve is delayed beyond the predetermined range T1 when the load L of the internal combustion engine is not less than the first predetermined value L1.
US08205583B2
A method is disclosed for operating an engine with a first cylinder providing a net flow of gases from the intake to the exhaust while combusting; and a second cylinder providing a net flow of gases from the exhaust to the intake. Both the first and second cylinders may carry out combustion during such operation.
US08205581B2
In an engine-driven power generator, a fan-equipped flywheel and a drive shaft of a power generation section are connected to a crankshaft of an engine, and the power generation section is driven by the drive shaft being driven via the crankshaft. The fan-equipped flywheel is disposed between a crankcase of the engine and the power generation section, and small- and large-diameter cooling fans for cooling the engine and power generation section are provided on the fan-equipped flywheel.
US08205580B2
A pet waste capture device includes a harness and a collection container where the harness fits around the pet to secure the collection container in position. The harness may include straps and elastic bands to comfortably and securely fit to the pet. The collection container may be removable.
US08205578B2
An animal toy includes a compressibly elastically deformable hollow thin-walled elastomer core sealingly circumscribing a center, includes an exterior including a first gravure elastomer relief surface and a second surface, includes a wall less than about eight millimeters thick, and includes points on the exterior at varying distances from the center. A fabric cover is affixed to the second surface and has a selected thickness, the ratio of the thickness of the fabric cover to the thickness of the wall being in the range of 1:6 to 1:0.15.A line of demarcation separates the exterior into at least two areas.
US08205577B2
A swiftlet breeding facility, for use in creating and harvesting edible bird's nests. The facility includes sub-systems for injecting live insect and worm prey, and water, into an aerial enclosure to provide a feeding system imitative of a natural swiftlet feeding environment.
US08205575B2
A particulate collector configured to engage a container proximate to the container perimeter and which can disengage from the perimeter of the container to collect particulate accumulated in an amount liquid in the container.
US08205573B2
A rotary parlour for milking of animals includes an annular rotary platform (20) adapted to form a support surface (18) for the animals (22), positioning elements (19, 23) for arranging the animals (1) in milking positions on the platform (20), a drive mechanism (30) adapted to supply a rotational motion to the platform (20), and teat cup storing devices (11) for holding parked teat cups (2, 2′) in predetermined storing positions. The teat cup storing devices (11) are mounted in positions such that the teat cups (2, 2′) are located vertically above the platform (20) in their storing positions.
US08205566B2
A method and apparatus to be mounted upon a planter row unit for delivering liquid fertilizer to the bottom of a trench without contacting the seed to be planted may be integrated with a cleaner for the furrow opening device. The system as claimed and described is adapted for mounting to substantially all modern row units employing floating row units. The method and apparatus as described does not interfere with existing down pressure or seed placement systems as found on modern row crop planters. As described and implemented, the method and apparatus is more compact and lighter in weight than the prior art. The attached assembly for a seed planting unit works in combination with a seed trench opener to form a trench for the deposit of liquid fertilizer offset from and parallel to the later formed seed trench.
US08205558B2
Means and methods for optimizing the utilization of monorail-based vehicles carrying a work-in-progress in a clean manufacturing environment. The method includes increasing the number of pick up and drop off points on a primary or secondary monorail transportation network, to amplify the number and frequency of pick up and drop off events per vehicle per circumnavigation of the network or loop. By increasing the number of pick up and drop off events, the empty run or idle time of the corresponding vehicle will decrease, improving utilization and throughput.
US08205556B1
A less lethal projectile comprising a hollow body filled with a high density filler, a closure to seal the filler in the body and a bore-rider stabilizer, attached to the rear of the closure. The bore rider stabilizer comprises a material having a low coefficient of friction.
US08205555B1
A method is provided for recovering and/or exploded an unexploded munition. The method including: providing the munition with a power supply having a piezoelectric material for generating power from an induced vibration; inducing a vibration; monitoring an output from the power supply after the power supply has stopped generating power from a firing of the munition; and generating a beacon signal or detonation signal upon the detection of the output.
US08205553B2
A printing press is comprised of at least one dry offset printing unit. At least two different webs can be fed through the dry offset printing unit. In a first production mode “C” of the printing press, a first web is fed through the dry offset printing unit without a subsequent drying process. In a second production mode “H” of the printing press, a second web is fed through the dry offset printing unit and through an active dryer. In both the first and second production modes “C”, “H”, an inking unit of the printing unit is filled with the same ink.
US08205551B2
The inventive method consists in transferring a pattern (P) onto the optical article (1) in the form of one or several portions of transferable material (3) retained by a pressure-sensitive adhesive material layer (2) and in applying transferable material portions with the aid of a pad by placing the adhesive material layer between the pad and a pattern receiving article. The use of the pressure-sensitive adhesive material makes it possible to use the different materials in the form of a transferable material. Said method is particularly suitable for producing patterns, in particular in the form of holograms on optical lenses, in particular ophthalmic lenses.
US08205549B2
A wheel assembly for applying ink to a target surface employs a wheel member, first and second adhesive sheets, and at least one inking member. Each adhesive sheet defines an inner adhesive surface and an outer adhesive surface. The inner adhesive surface of the first adhesive sheet secures the first adhesive sheet to the wheel member. In a first mode, the at least one inking member is detachably secured relative to the wheel member by an exposed outer adhesive surface of the second adhesive sheet. In a second mode, the at least one inking member is detachably secured relative to the wheel member by an exposed outer adhesive surface of the first adhesive sheet. The at least one inking member is brought into contact with the target surface to transfer ink on the at least one inking member to the target surface.
US08205548B2
There is provided a method of winding up a transfer film and a device for performing transfer printing on printed sheets of paper, capable of eliminating the need to frequently replace the transfer film, thereby allowing the transfer film to be used over a prolonged time. According to the method of winding up a transfer film, the transfer film fed from a feed roll through a feed path is pressed onto a fed printed sheet to transfer patterns of the transfer film, and then the transfer film is wound up onto a windup roll through a windup path. During the rewind of the transfer film from the windup roll to the feed roll, a lateral position of the transfer film running along the feed path is detected, and the feed roll is moved in its axial direction to follow a lateral positional change of the transfer film.
US08205547B2
The invention relates to an embossing apparatus for embossing cards, in particular plastic cards, comprising a feed unit for feeding a card into an embossing region, and an embossing device. The embossing device comprises a displaceable, actuatable embossing die which can be positioned above a position that is to be embossed in the embossing region; a plunger unit which has a displaceable plunger for moving forward the actuatable embossing die, and a striking mechanism for applying pressure to the plunger of the plunger unit in order to carry out an embossing on a card in the embossing region by means of the embossing die.
US08205544B2
An automatic juicer turns and pushes an upward facing juicing cone into a fruit for releasing juice. The juicer includes a base containing a motor, gear and shaft assembly. A fixed guide extends upward from the base and inner and outer shafts reside inside the fixed guide and are driven by the motor and gear assembly to rotate and advance the juicing cone into the fruit. The inner shaft includes threads to vertically advance and retreat a shaft nut and the outer shaft rotates with the inner shaft, but is lifted by the shaft nut when the inner shaft turns. The juicing cone releases the juice and a stationary bowl catches the juice.
US08205543B2
A pressure cooker equipped with a screen is disclosed, having a pan with a lid designed to be added to the pan, the lid having locking and release elements. The locking/release elements have a locking opening fitted through the wall of the pan and one pin with a mobile mounting on the lid, movable between a locked position with the pin engaged inside the locked opening and a released position where the pin is clear of the opening. The cooker includes a screen attached to the pan to mask the locking opening.
US08205538B2
A muzzle brake for a firearm, in accordance with one or more embodiments, may provide structural features that affect the flow characteristics of the combustion gases for reducing concussion to the shooter and/or to personnel to the sides of the shooter, as well as for directionally countering upward and sideward movement of the firearm's muzzle upon the firing of the firearm.
US08205537B1
An interceptor projectile includes a deployable net that deploys during flight and wraps around an incoming projectile, such as a rocket propelled grenade (RPG). The net is initially in a tubular body of the interceptor projectile. A propellant is used to deploy the net from the body. Even after deployment the net remains attached to the body by an elastic tether. The engagement of the net with the incoming projectile disables the incoming projectile, with the momentum imparted by the interceptor projectile sending the incoming projectile off course. This successfully defends a target against the incoming projectile. Through the tether, substantially all of the parts of the interceptor projectile may be mechanically linked together even after deployment of the net. This mechanical linking provides more momentum for impacting the interceptor projectile, which may facilitate diverting the incoming projectile.
US08205535B2
A fiber cable for helicopter rescue winches includes a plurality of load-bearing synthetic-fiber strands braided with one another, at least one electrically conductive insert, and a wear indicator providing a visual check of a state of the fiber cable, where the load-bearing synthetic-fiber strands are encased in a radial direction by a friction-reducing stable fiber layer, an inner cable jacket, and outer cable jacket.
US08205534B2
The present invention provides cutting methods and cutting apparatus that can precisely cut workpieces in complicated shapes with high aspect ratios regardless of materials of the workpieces. The present invention is cutting methods and cutting apparatus using a wire saw wherein cutting processing is performed for a workpiece by extending a cutting wire on a cutting arm that rotates around a wire's center axis or a real cutting position relative to a fixed section and rotating the cutting arm such that a cutting direction of the wire matches a support direction of a total stiffness that supports the wire.
US08205529B1
A low profile ratchet wrench incorporates a ratchet gear drive having a female section of a socket or tool drive interface. The socket incorporates a male section for attaching the socket to a ratchet drive head section. By utilizing a female section of the interface in the wrench, the projected height of the socket is reduced as compared to a standard socket. An optional female section can be a cavity provided within the male section of the socket or other tool, allowing the tool to be used on both a standard wrench and a low profile wrench. A snap ring is disposed within a recession about an engaging end of the male section. The snap ring rests against a chamfer in a peripheral edge of the female drive tool interface securing the socket with the gear. Accessories can include attaching section style adapters, size adjusting adapters, extensions, universal joints, and wobble features.
US08205527B2
A bottle opening wristband, having: a pivot member; a buckle loop rotatably connected to the pivot member; a first projection extending from a center edge of the buckle loop, the projection being dimensioned to be received under an edge of a bottle cap; and a second projection positioned opposite the first projection, wherein the first and second projections are positioned on opposite sides of the pivot member.
US08205519B2
A ball screw drive which has a ball nut arranged on a spindle. The ball nut has a nut element and a deflecting element that deflects balls out of one end of an endless ball channel defined by the ball nut and the spindle to a beginning of the ball channel. The deflecting element is retained on the nut element through a clip. At least one clip leg of the clip has a first, resiliently biased section and a second section separated from the first section by a slit. The first section resiliently suspends the deflecting element on the nut element and the second section retains the clip inseparably on the deflecting element.
US08205510B2
A hand brake torque input indicator arrangement for detecting and indicating a torque of rotating mechanical components has an indicator provided between two rotatable bodies, a shaft and a wheel, which are coupled to the indicator so that a torque acting on the shaft by the wheel or vice versa can be indicated.
US08205509B2
A flow meter for measuring the velocity of surrounding fluid, comprising a rotatable member rotatably coupled to a shaft member, wherein the shaft member comprises a measuring electrical circuit comprising an AC power supply and a primary coil, the rotatable member comprising a passive non-permanent magnet marker responsive to a magnetic field, the arrangement being such that when the circuit is powered by the AC supply the coil generates a magnetic field and the marker is positioned on the rotatable member such that rotation of the rotatable member in response to fluid drag on the member causes the distance between the marker and the coil to oscillate, the marker interacting with the magnetic field at its closest approach to the coil, thereby to cause a measurable electrical response in the circuit. Thus, the speed of rotation of the rotatable member can be determined by measuring an electrical response in the circuit without physically contacting the rotatable member and without involving a permanent magnet is provided.
US08205502B2
A system in accordance with an embodiment of the present disclosure comprises a plurality of electrodes communicatively coupled to an electromagnetically sensitive bio-organism isolated from electrostatic energy and control logic configured to detect at least one signal from the electrodes and determine, based upon the at least one signal, whether seismic activity is present, the at least one signal indicative of an action potential in the bio-organism.
US08205500B2
An ultrasound inspection system is provided for inspecting an object. The inspection system includes an ultrasound probe configured to scan the object and acquire a plurality of ultrasound scan data. The inspection system further includes a processor coupled to the ultrasound probe and configured to apply a transfer function to the ultrasound scan data to compensate for distortion of a plurality of ultrasound signals through the object and thereby generate a plurality of compensated ultrasound scan data, and to process the compensated ultrasonic scan data to characterize a feature in the object.
US08205497B1
A microelectromechanical (MEM) inertial sensor is disclosed which can be used to sense a linear acceleration, or a Coriolis acceleration due to an angular rotation rate, or both. The MEM inertial sensor has a proof mass which is supported on a bridge extending across an opening through a substrate, with the proof mass being balanced on the bridge by a pivot, or suspended from the bridge by the pivot. The proof mass can be oscillated in a tangential direction in the plane of the substrate, with any out-of-plane movement of the proof mass in response to a sensed acceleration being optically detected using transmission gratings located about an outer edge of the proof mass to generate a diffracted light pattern which changes with the out-of-plane movement of the proof mass.
US08205495B2
Tuning an axisymmetric resonator such as in a disc resonator gyroscope (DRG) is disclosed. Frequency tuning a DRG in a single step informed by a systematic physical model of the resonator structure, sensing and actuation elements, such as a finite element model, is provided. The sensitivity of selected trimming positions on the resonator to reducing asymmetry terms is determined via perturbations of the systematic model. As well, the dependence of the parameters of model transfer functions between actuation and sensing elements on resonator asymmetry are systematically determined. One or two measured transfer functions may then be analyzed according to the systematic model to fully determine the needed asymmetry correction components of the DRG. One or two of four groups of four electrostatic bias electrodes or four groups of four laser trimming locations for the DRG are utilized to correct the asymmetry components which can give rise to mistuning.
US08205494B2
The machine for balancing vehicle wheels comprises a base frame supporting a substantially horizontal balancing spindle, a lifting device for lifting a vehicle wheel to be fitted/removed to/from the balancing spindle, contact-free reading means of the profile of the tire associated with the base frame, and a processing and control unit operatively associated with the lifting device and with the reading means and suitable for calculating the position of the center of the wheel in accordance with the values read by the reading means, and for stopping the lifting device in an end-of-lifting position, in which the wheel center is substantially at the same height as the balancing spindle.
US08205492B2
A precipitation collector includes a container having a container space for containing precipitation received through a container opening. The container includes a discharge outlet fluidly coupled to a valve to define selectively operable outlet of the collector for selectively discharging the received precipitation. A lid partially covering the container opening and includes a lid passage which defines a collector inlet disposed in fluid communication with the container space through the container opening such that the lid passage provides a passage for entry of environmental precipitation into the container space. The container includes an overflow outlet configured for discharging an overflow of the received precipitation collected within the container space.
US08205491B2
Disclosed is both an apparatus and method for quantifying an injection event of a fuel injector, including both multiple pulse and single pulse injection events. Typically, the fuel injector is a common rail injector. The apparatus includes a pressure chamber for isolating a portion of the injection pressure for reducing pressure waves and reflections which can create “noise” in the detection of an injection pressure. The invention further includes determining the precise start and end times of injection using cavitation created by the injection event by determining the intensity of light within a spray chamber.
US08205488B2
A controller for cantilever-based instruments, including atomic force microscopes, molecular force probe instruments, high-resolution profilometers and chemical or biological sensing probes. The controller samples the output of the photo-detector commonly used to detect cantilever deflection in these instruments with a very fast analog/digital converter (ADC). The resulting digitized representation of the output signal is then processed with field programmable gate arrays and digital signal processors without making use of analog electronics. Analog signal processing is inherently noisy while digital calculations are inherently “perfect” in that they do not add any random noise to the measured signal. Processing by field programmable gate arrays and digital signal processors maximizes the flexibility of the controller because it can be varied through programming means, without modification of the controller hardware.
US08205477B2
A metallic container end closure is provided which includes a channel or groove in a predetermined location in at least one of an inner panel wall, outer panel wall, or chuckwall, and which is formed by a shaping tool. An apparatus and method for spin-forming the end closure with the improved geometry is also provided herein.
US08205473B2
A key for use in a cylinder lock with a rotatable key plug having an elongated key blade with a relatively wide lower portion and a relatively narrow upper portion. A step-like transition region between the wider lower portion and the narrow upper portion. The key blade includes a longitudinal profile groove located adjacent to the step-like transition region that extends along at least a portion of the length of the blade. An inner wall of groove is substantially parallel to a side surface of the lower portion of the key blade. The longitudinal profile groove includes an undercut portion adjacent to and inside a ridge portion of the key blade. The outside of ridge portion forms a part of the side surface of the blade in the relatively wide lower portion up to the step-like transition region and the inside of ridge portion facing inner wall of the groove.
US08205469B2
There is provided a two-stage screw compressor including a first-stage compressor that compresses a fluid, a second-stage compressor that further compresses the fluid compressed by the first-stage compressor, a motor that drives the first-stage compressor and the second-stage compressor, and a box body that serves as a flow passage connecting an outlet of the first-stage compressor and an inlet of the second-stage compressor, and also forms a connection space storing a transmission mechanism for transmitting a rotation force from the motor to the first-stage compressor and to the second-stage compressor, wherein the connection space is sealed by the casing of the motor, and the connection space and an internal space of the casing of the motor communicate with each other.
US08205463B2
An air conditioner is provided. The air conditioner includes a first temperature sensor configured to measure an indoor temperature during a heating operation, a second temperature sensor configured to measure a discharge temperature of a compressor, a valve provided at an outlet side of an indoor heat exchanger during the heating operation, and a controller configured to control an opening of the valve by comparing a temperature detected by the first temperature sensor with a temperature detected by the second temperature sensor.
US08205448B2
The invention relates to a turbocharger (1) comprising a compressor (2), a turbine connected to the compressor (2) by means of a shaft (3) and provided with an exhaust inlet (5) and an exhaust outlet (7), and a bypass line (6) which branches off from the exhaust inlet (5), bypassing the turbine, and leads to the exhaust outlet in which a boost-pressure regulating flap is arranged, said regulating flap comprising a flap plate (13) which is connected to a flap shaft (14) by means of a connecting device (12).
US08205435B2
A deterioration determination device for a catalyst, which is capable of accurately determining deterioration of a catalyst without being influenced by the response delays of outputs from the upstream and downstream oxygen concentration parameter sensors. The deterioration determination device includes upstream and downstream LAF sensors for detecting respective upstream and downstream oxygen concentration parameters. After switching exhaust gases flowing through the former parameter sensor into the catalyst to a reduction atmosphere, an upstream oxygen concentration parameter detected for comparison when a predetermined time period elapses after it exceeds a predetermined value is compared with a downstream oxygen concentration parameter detected for comparison when the predetermined time period elapses after it exceeds the predetermined value. Based results of the comparison, deterioration of the catalyst is determined.
US08205432B2
A two-stage turbofan system for use in a gas turbine engine comprises a first-stage fan shaft, a second-stage fan shaft, a stationary torque tube and a gear system. The second-stage fan shaft connects with a drive shaft in the gas turbine engine such that the second-stage fan shaft is driven at the speed of the drive shaft. The stationary torque tube is connected with a fan case in the gas turbine engine. The gear system is connected to the second-stage fan shaft and the torque tube. The first-stage fan shaft extends from the gear system such that the first-stage fan shaft is driven at a speed reduced from that of the drive shaft.
US08205424B1
Tines of a baler pre-cutter rotor each include a plate having a plurality of points disposed at equally spaced locations about a rotation axis of the rotor, with each point having a leading region reinforced by a pair of straps fixed in sandwiching relationship to the point. In one embodiment, the pair of straps is also applied to opposite sides of a trailing region bordering a circular mounting hole of the plate. In another embodiment, a second pair of straps abuts each first pair of straps and reinforces a leading region bordering the circular mounting hole. Instead of the second pair of straps, a ramp may be provided on a side surface of the plate for deflecting crop towards a pre-cutter stationary cutting knife. Instead of including separate straps, the tines can be cast or forged as identical sections including a tine point.
US08205417B2
The present invention relates to a process for thermoforming a foamed polyester sheet of low crystallinity to produce a heat-resistant molded foam article (13). The process comprises the steps of heating a foamed polyester sheet (10) to a preforming temperature by contact with at least one heating plate and molding the heated foamed polyester sheet onto a non-heated mold (30). The present invention further relates to a process for manufacturing a package by thermoforming a foamed polyester sheet of low crystallinity to produce a heat-resistant molded foam container, loading a product (51) into said container and sealing or welding a film of thermoplastic material (61) onto said container to close it.The heat-resistant molded foam articles and the packages thus obtained are excellent in heat resistance and are not thermally distorted even when heated in a microwave or conventional oven. They are particularly useful for the packaging of food products for dual ovenable applications.
US08205413B2
Decapping system for opening or closing reagent containers or cartridge systems closed by a lid which is removed and secured by a rotational movement and method thereof are disclosed. The decapping system has a centering unit at its lower end that provides a snap-in element which engages the lid, and a plurality of simultaneously driven and vertically movable screwing heads which compensates for variable heights and/or sizes of cartridge systems to be processed.
US08205396B2
A combination fascia cover system is provided including a base plate having a shorter portion for lying atop the roof edge and a longer portion at right angles to the first portion for overlying the upper sidewall and being attached thereto by threaded fasteners through a series of holes perforating the longer portion. The shorter portion of the base plate having, at its distal end, an upwardly extending flange for creating an upward spacing away from the roofing system and at end of the flange a partially reinforced pocket is formed by overlying folds to form the pocket. The cover plate is mounted over the base plate with a spring clip having uniquely spaced bends configured to match the dimensions of the base and cover plates, which spring clip engages the pocket, the base plate and the cover plate to retain the base and cover plates in tensioned spaced relationship while engaged together with one another.
US08205393B1
A weight system for a landfill tarpaulin. A pair of parallel chains are retained within a pair of sleeves in the tarp. A plurality of parallel wire lines traverse the tarpaulin. A plurality of elongated coupler bodies are provided with each coupler body having a first end terminating in a eyelet and a second, opposed end terminating in a hollow recess. A chain fastener passes through one eyelet, passes through one of the chains, and passes through the tarp. At least one wire line fastener passes through an opening in the coupler body to engage one of the wire lines received in the second, opposed end hollow recess.
US08205389B1
A window seal assembly having glass run channels (134, 210), outer belt seals (300) and a T-shaped trim member (128). The window seal assembly eliminates the need for joints, seems, metal fasteners and end caps resulting in an improved aesthetic appearance as well as enhanced window seating. The trim member (128) can having various finishes such as low gloss black, high gloss black and chrome.
US08205386B2
The invention comprises a transparent/translucent panel system including two spaced flat panels and a series of elongated, abutting, rotatably mounted transparent/translucent light-controlling members disposed between the panels in which the light-controlling members are at least partially tubular or have annular members along their length to facilitate rotation of the light-controlling members and include a light-blocking surface whereby differently sized light-controlling members may be used and the light-controlling members, when rotated by a simple drive mechanism, can vary the light passing through the panel system from clear to opaque and can effectively block light between adjacent light-controlling members.
US08205383B2
A plant packaging and covering system comprising a floral sleeve having a lower portion and optionally an upper detachable portion which may be sized to surround a plant disposed in a pot. The floral sleeve has a lower end having an angular arcuate portion for improving the conformation of the sleeve to the shape of a pot.
US08205381B2
A container liner comprising a backing, a porous covering, a seed carrier interposed between the backing and the covering, and a plurality of seeds embedded in the seed carrier such that upon germination the seeds will sprout through the porous covering to form a soft, natural, protective cushion for objects, such as candies or Easter eggs. The container liner is sufficiently flexible so that the container liner can be easily manipulated to substantially conform to the interior contour of the container.
US08205376B1
A system for carrying and changing pre-rigged fish hooks comprising a fish hook carrying device including a flexible support structure having a hook retainer end and line retainer end. The hook retainer end includes a fish hook retainer and the line retainer end includes a plurality of sleeves. Each separate sleeve is for accepting a weight attached to the line of a different pre-rigged fish hook. Each separate weight provides a constant downward straightening force on the line to which it is attached when the carrying device is flexed by a fisherman. The system may further include pairs of indicia, one on the hook retainer and one on a corresponding sleeve, to aid a visually impaired fisherman to keep the line of each pre-rigged fish hook untangled along the support structure.
US08205372B2
A safety device (1) for fire-arms (11), includes actuator elements (10; 10′; 19, 20, 21, 21′, 22), suitable to engage with mechanical parts of the fire-arm (11) so as to prevent and/or permit its operation; and a control unit (2), operatively connected with the actuator elements (10; 10′; 19, 20, 21, 21′, 22), the control unit (2) including transceiving elements (3), cooperating with certification outer members brought by an authorized user (U) for exchanging signals with the same for codified remote control of the actuator elements (10; 10′; 19, 20, 21, 21′, 22). A remote control system for one or more firearms provided with the safety device is also disclosed.
US08205371B1
A recoil reduction system having a stock with a track formed therein and extending a bottom wall; a sliding member that includes a rail extending from the right side and the left side of the rail, and wherein the sliding member is slidably received within the track by interaction of the track and the rail; a handgrip member formed as a portion of the stock, wherein the handgrip member includes a chamber that extends within the handgrip member; a first recoil reduction means mounted within the chamber, wherein the first recoil reduction means is configured to oppose sliding by the sliding member in at least one direction; and a second recoil reduction means mounted within the track, wherein the recoil reduction means is configured to oppose sliding by the sliding member in at least one direction.
US08205369B2
A modifiable modular sign apparatus is especially useful for fast food restaurants as backlighted menu boards. The apparatus comprises a translucent substrate board which is planar and has a front surface and a back surface. Precisely positioned holes are prepared at selected locations. These holes are aligned with thin metal shims which are affixed on the back surface of the mounting board and receive cylindrical magnets. In one embodiment the magnets are attached directly to the rear of printed sheet. In a second embodiment, magnets are positioned in the mounting board holes adhesively secured to the shims. Each printed sheet has a plurality of snap-caps extending through respective holes. The board side end of each snap-cap has a metal member for being magnetically affixed to a magnet in the mounting board hole. The printed sheet may be provided with price carriers to permit personnel to change prices.
US08205366B2
A snap mobile is disclosed for advertising a product or event and includes a display card having a first printed surface and an oppositely aligned second surface. The display card has a width divided by at least five score lines into first, second, third, fourth, fifth and sixth panels, with the first and sixth panels having an equal width. The snap mobile contains no adhesive between the second, third, fourth and fifth panels. This lack of adhesive enables the snap mobile to be manipulated into three separate and distinct positions after the first panel is secured to the sixth panel.
US08205365B2
Three-dimensional lightweight foam greeting cards are described herein having a foam body with a perimeter wall that extends between two spaced apart parallel pieces of planar sheet material such as heavy gauge paper, cardboard, or other such material. The greeting cards have a partially hollowed foam body or one or more cavities in the foam body concealed in the front and back by the planar sheet material which may be pre-cut in the shape of the foam body are decorated consistent with the design of the foam body. The cavities in the foam body may contain various electronic components that enable the greeting card to produce sound, record and playback a personalized message, trigger light activation, trigger the movement of moveable parts, display digital video, photographs or slideshows, or a combination thereof. The greeting cards may include various switch mechanisms that may be located and accessed through various locations on the foam greeting card body.
US08205360B1
A snowplow laser guidance system is disclosed. The system can include, for example, a laser light source, a laser exit window through which a laser beam generated by the laser light source is transmitted, and a pressurized gas conduit. The pressurized gas conduit can have an opening positioned such that gas released through the opening flows across a face of the laser exit window. This can be useful to remove accumulated material, such as snow, ice, water, and dirt. The gas can be, for example, pressurized gas from a pressurized gas source of a snowplow vehicle. Release of pressurized gas across the face of the laser exit window can occur at a programmed frequency and/or in response to an operator signal, such as a signal from a switch on a control panel. The system also can include a heater connected to the laser exit window for defrosting.
US08205357B2
Exemplary embodiments of the invention provide a shoe assembly having at least an outsole portion and a midsole portion, the midsole portion is removably engaged with the outsole to allow replacement of the midsole with another midsole having different structural features, and at least one projection extends from the midsole through an aperture of the outsole, the projection configured to engage with a corresponding aperture of the outsole to align and secure the midsole to the outsole.
US08205350B2
A centrifugal dryer that has improved throughput capacity resulting from the combination of a high angle agglomerate catcher with optional overflow, increased dewatering capacity, a cylindrical dewatering feed chute, a modified rotor design with positionally and structurally modified lifters in the feed and dewatering section, the drying and propagating section, as well as the pellet discharge section, and an efficient circumferential foraminous membrane.
US08205342B2
A reciprocating saw including a first end, a working end opposite the first end, and a housing extending between the first end and the working end. A reciprocating shaft is supported within the housing and has a longitudinal axis. A locking mechanism is supported at the housing and is selectively moveable between a first position and a second position. When the locking mechanism is in the first position the reciprocating shaft is configured to substantially reciprocate relative to the housing but remain substantially rotationally fixed relative to the longitudinal axis of the reciprocating shaft. When the locking mechanism is in the second position, the reciprocating shaft is configured to substantially reciprocate relative to the housing and at the same time substantially rotate about the longitudinal axis of the reciprocating shaft independent of the housing.
US08205339B2
A method for manufacturing a nozzle substrate includes forming a first hollow recess in a first surface of a silicon substrate, forming a liquid-resistant protective film on the first surface of the silicon substrate including an inner wall of the first hollow recess, forming a second hollow recess in a first surface of a glass substrate, bonding the first surfaces of the silicon substrate and the glass substrate by anodic bonding, reducing a thickness of the glass substrate from a second surface until an aperture is formed in a bottom surface of the second hollow recess to form a second nozzle hole disposed on a droplet feed side, and reducing a thickness of the silicon substrate from a second surface until an aperture is formed in a bottom surface of the first hollow recess to form a first nozzle hole disposed on a droplet discharge side.
US08205336B2
A combustor heat shield comprises a heat shield member defining at least one opening for receiving a fuel nozzle. A louver is received in the opening. The louver has a flow diverting portion extending radially outwardly from the opening for directing air along the hot side of the heat shield member.
US08205334B2
A method for repairing a component having first and second major surfaces, a thickness between the major surfaces, and an edge, is characterized by utilizing a template to determine if the component is suitable for repair, and forming a slot cut entirely through the thickness of the component. The slot extends inward from the edge of the component, has an open end at the edge of the component, a closed end within the component, a width, a radius at the closed end, and chamfered edges at the open end. Forming the slot includes forming an initial cut with a first cutting surface from the edge of the component at least to the defect, finishing the initial cut to the width and the radius with a second cutting surface, resulting in a finished cut, and chamfering the edge of the finished cut with a third cutting surface.
US08205331B2
A full time lean air fuel mixture running spark ignited air cooled aircraft piston engine. In one embodiment, a drop-in substitution is provided for an equivalent make, model, and engine size, wherein the new, rebuilt, or reconfigured engine provides as much or more horsepower when compared to the original engine, but runs at a lean air fuel ratio condition during normal operating modes, including takeoff, climb, and cruise, thus saving significantly on fuel. In yet another embodiment, a drop-in substitution having a somewhat larger cylinder displacement volume may be provided to attain equivalent or enhanced maximum horsepower while operating at lean air fuel ratios. Enhanced engine life may be anticipated, since cylinder head temperatures (CHTs) may be reduced, compared to engines using rich air fuel ratios for climb and cruise conditions. Aircraft using such engines are also disclosed.
US08205329B2
An object is to obtain a dielectric layer constituting material, a capacitor circuit forming piece, etc. in which unnecessary dielectric layer is removed except capacitor circuit parts that improve accuracy of position of an embedded capacitor circuit in a multi-layer printed wiring board. For the purpose of achieving the object, “a method for manufacturing a dielectric layer constituting material characterized in that step a is a step for forming a first electrode circuit by etching a conductor layer on one side of a metal clad dielectric comprising a conductor layer on each side of a dielectric layer; step b is a step for removing the dielectric layer that is exposed between the first electrode circuits to manufacture the dielectric layer constituting material; and the step a is conducted and then the step b is conducted” is adopted. Then as a process for manufacturing a capacitor circuit forming piece, the dielectric layer constituting material obtained above is used and a process for forming a second electrode at a position facing the first electrode is conducted.
US08205308B2
A clamping mechanism, including: a deformable body configured to provide a friction fit with at least one element to which it is fitted, at least one slot in the deformable body, wherein the slot traverses at least a portion of the longitudinal and latitudinal direction of the body.
US08205292B1
A windshield wiper arm assembly that is adapted to support a wiper blade as it moves across a surface to be wiped. The windshield wiper arm assembly includes a body and a head supported by the body and adapted to be mounted to a pivot shaft that defines a pivot axis P and drives the wiper blade in an oscillating manner across the surface to be wiped. The body also includes an opening providing access to the head mounted to the pivot shaft. A cover is mounted to the body at the opening and is movable about an axis A substantially parallel to the pivot axis P from a first position closing the opening to a second position allowing access to the head.
US08205291B2
The invention relates to a wiper system for the front windscreens of motor vehicles. Said system comprises at least one wiper blade, which can be guided over the front windscreen (4) on a pivotable wiper arm (11), at least one bearing part (1) that can be pivoted about an axis (5), at least one fixing part (10) that can be connected to the bearing part (1) in a non-torsional manner and at least one single-axis articulation that connects the wiper arm (11) to the fixing part (10). The position of the connection between the bearing part (1) and fixing part (10) lies in the vicinity of the axis (5) about which the bearing part (1) is pivoted.
US08205290B2
A wiper blade to clean windshields, in particular of automobiles. The wiper blade (10) has an elongated belt-shaped, flexible spring support element (12), with a separate first component designed as an elastic rubber wiper strip (14) that can be pressed against the windshield (20) located at the bottom belt surface (13) of the support element and with a separate second component located at the other upper belt surface (11) of the support element (12) that is designed as a wind deflection strip (24) that extends at least along a longitudinal section of the wiper blade (10). A particularly low-disruption wiper blade results if the two components (14, 24) are connected together at their sides facing one another.
US08205287B2
An insulation element is provided for installation in a gap of thickness G provided between two objects. The insulation element includes a body made from a thermoplastic polymer material. The body has a first face, a second face and a thickness defined between the first and second faces. The body is characterized by a semi permanently pre-installation thickness T1 where T1 is less than G. The body swells upon heating to a thickness T2 where T2 is greater than or equal to G so that the insulation element bridges the gap, engages the two objects and provides a spring rate of between 4.0 and 275.0 grams per square inch.
US08205279B2
A pump assembly for an emergency eyewash station and method of retrofitting a plumbed emergency eyewash station is disclosed. The pump is configured into two parts, an impeller assembly and a drive assembly, that are configured to couple together. The impeller assembly is isolated from the drive assembly and can be easily replaced to ensure a sterile fluid path is maintained for the eyewash fluid. The drive assembly can be fluid powered or an electric motor as desired. The present invention allows a plumbed eyewash station to be retrofitted to use a sterile eyewash fluid. The present invention can also be used in portable eyewash station units too.
US08205277B2
In the upper part and the lower part of a micro-nano bubble generation section 34 in a micro-nano bubble bathtub 1, two kinds of micro-nano bubbles different in a size distribution are generated by first and second micro-nano bubble generators (submerged pump-type micro-nano bubble generator 2 and spiral flow-type micro-nano bubble generator 10) of two kinds, so that bathtub water containing micro-nano bubbles in a wide size distribution can be produced in a large amount. Some of the water containing micro-nano bubbles generated in the lower part is thrown into the first micro-nano bubble generator (spiral flow-type micro-nano bubble generator 10) in the upper part, so that the spiral flow-type micro-nano bubble generator 10 can generate micro-nano bubbles in a smaller size. Therefore, in this bathtub, micro-nano bubbles abundant in size and large in amount can be produced economically.
US08209766B2
A scanning probe microscope tilts the scanning direction of a z-scanner by a precise amount and with high repeatability using a movable assembly that rotates the scanning direction of the z-scanner with respect to the sample plane. The movable assembly is moved along a curved guide by a rack-and-pinion drive system and has grooves that engage with corresponding ceramic balls formed on a stationary frame to precisely position the movable assembly at predefined locations along the curved guide. The grooves are urged against the ceramic balls via a spring force and, prior to movement of the movable assembly, a pneumatic force is applied to overcome the spring force and disengage the grooves from the ceramic balls.
US08209761B2
A wireless network system, information providing apparatus and wireless terminal that can prevent the leak of information such as an address of the wireless terminal. A wireless network system includes an information providing apparatus that provides service information over a wireless network, and multiple wireless terminals each of which receives the service information provided from the information providing apparatus. In this case, the information providing apparatus includes destination possibility data in the service information, and each of the wireless terminals determines the destination possibility that the destination of the provided service information is the wireless terminal based on the destination possibility data included in the provided service information accepts the provided service information only if it is determined that there is the destination possibility.
US08209755B2
Apparatus are provided that include a communication circuit, monitoring circuit, and an alert circuit and a method is provided that includes receiving at least a portion of a protected set of files including a tripwire file and at least one normal file, the at least one normal file including a number of attributes, and the tripwire file lacking an attribute of the at least one normal file; and detecting a sign of an activity related to the tripwire file of the protected set of files, wherein the protected set of files includes a protected database, the protected database including the at least one normal file and the tripwire file; and generating a signal indicating an unauthorized activity related to the protected set of files in response to the detected sign of an activity related to the tripwire file.
US08209744B2
Mobile device assisted secure computer network communications embodiments are presented that employ a mobile device (e.g., a mobile phone, personal digital assistant (PDA), and the like) to assist in user authentication. In general, this is accomplished by having a user enter a password into a client computer which is in contact with a server associated with a secure Web site. This password is integrated with a secret value, which is generated in real time by the mobile device. The secret value is bound to both the mobile device's hardware and the secure Web site being accessed, such that it is unique to both. In this way, a different secret value is generated for each secure Web site accessed, and another user cannot impersonate the user and log into a secure Web site unless he or she knows the password and possesses the user's mobile device simultaneously.
US08209740B1
Disclosed are systems, methods and computer program products for controlling access to a computer network. An example network access controller is configured to intercept data transmission to or from a computer and identify a network access policy associated with said computer. If there is no network access policy associated with said computer, the controller deploys on said computer an administration agent configured to collect configuration information from said computer and information about topology of said network. The controller determines a network access policy for said computer based on the collected information. The controller also activates antivirus software on said computer, to detect any malicious activity on said computer. If malicious activity is detected, the controller limits data transmissions to or from said computer until the malicious activity is eliminated by the antivirus software to prevent spread of the malicious activity to other computers in the network.
US08209732B2
Arrangement and method for managing set-top boxes used by customers of a content service provider includes at least one automated tester each arranged to couple to set-top boxes and subject each set-top box to a series of automated tests to determine whether each set-top box is functioning properly or requires subsequent repair, and a processor unit coupled to each automated tester for receiving test results therefrom and monitoring testing of set-top boxes via the automated tester(s). Each automated tester is located at a testing facility maintained by the content service provider. A database stores the test results from the automated tester(s) and enables generation of customized reports about the set-top boxes tested by the automated tester(s). A billing system is coupled to each automated tester and to the processor unit and coordinates invoicing for testing performed by the automated tester(s) and repair of set-top boxes at a repair facility.
US08209730B2
A method of transmitting a Video-on-Demand (VOD) program involves at a service provider head-end, separating VOD program data into first and second parts; transmitting the first part over a communication network to a recipient receiver for storage at a storage device as cached speculative data, where the transmitting is carried out as a data push when the communication network has available bandwidth to permit such transmitting and without regard for any order having been received for the VOD program to be sent to the receiver; receiving an order for the VOD program to be sent to the receiver; and streaming the second part to the receiver for reassembly into the VOD program at the receiver by combining the second part as it is streamed with the cached speculative data. This abstract is not to be considered limiting, since other embodiments may deviate from the features described in this abstract.
US08209726B2
A satellite transponder switch (STS) maintains a table that maps set-top boxes (STBs) to carrier frequencies. The STS receives a first request from a first STB for a first transponder band and a second request from a second STB for a second transponder band. The STS receives contact from the first STB on a control channel upon power-up of the first STB and in response to the contact from the first STB, assigns a first carrier frequency to the first STB. The STS frequency shifts the first transponder band to a first carrier frequency assigned to the first STB and the second transponder band to a second carrier frequency assigned to the second STB. The STS outputs a signal that comprises the frequency-shifted first and second transponder bands to the first STB and the second STB. The frequency-shifted first and second transponder bands are separated by a separation band. A first carrier frequency of the signal is unique to the first STB and a second carrier frequency of the signal is unique to the second STB.
US08209718B2
A method of arranging row ads system within a program guide includes communicating row ad metadata to a user device and communicating program guide information to a user device. The program guide information defines a plurality of rows, wherein at least a first row is associated with a first channel. The method includes associating positioning information with the row ad relative to the first row, populating a second row from the plurality of rows in response to the metadata and displaying the row ad and displaying the first row associated with the first channel within a program guide structure on a display associated with the user device in response to the positioning information.
US08209716B2
A setting information database associates setting information used to output a video signal or an audio signal with a corresponding viewing condition. A setting information registration unit registers setting information and a corresponding viewing condition which have been received by a setting information reception unit so as to store them in the setting information database. An adequacy determination unit determines the adequacy of recommended setting information to be stored in the setting information database. A condition extraction unit extracts pieces of setting information stored in the setting information database on the basis of a viewing condition supplied from an extraction condition reception unit. A recommendable setting derivation unit derives recommendable setting information from the extracted pieces of setting information.
US08209713B1
The present invention discloses systems for monitoring advertisements. A system for monitoring advertisements in a broadcast television channel in accordance with the present invention comprises a sound level monitor for monitoring an audio level of a first broadcast television channel, a data tagger, coupled to the sound level monitor, for tagging a start and an end of an advertisement segment within the first broadcast television channel, and a receiver, wherein when the receiver is first tuned to the first broadcast channel and then tuned to a second broadcast channel, an on-screen display is displayed on a monitor displaying the second broadcast channel, the OSD being displayed when the end of the advertisement segment within the first broadcast channel occurs.
US08209705B2
A system, method and computer program product are provided for sharing information in a distributed system. After information is received, it is stored on a bulletin board. In use, the information is shared, in real-time, among a plurality of heterogeneous processes.
US08209699B2
A method for processing a transaction request at a database load balancer is disclosed. The method comprises receiving the transaction request, where the transaction request is comprised of one or more operations to be performed upon a database; analyzing the transaction request to determine the one or more operations; analyzing the transaction to determine one or more database units associated with the operations; analyzing the transaction requests and the one or more database units to determine one or more database subunits associated with the database units that the transaction request will perform one or more operations upon; associating one or more database locks with each of the one or more operations; analyzing one or more of the database locks to determine one or more sequence numbers associated with each of the one or more operations; and transmitting one or more unique identifiers for each of the database subunits, the one or more operations with the associated database locks and the sequence numbers to one or more database servers accessible to the database load balancer. Systems, apparatus and computer programming associated with or implementing the method are also disclosed.
US08209684B2
A monitoring system for virtual application environments comprising: at least one physical machine executing a first operating system; at least one virtual machine operating on at least one of the at least one physical machines, each such virtual machine operating a second operating system; and an agent program operating on each of the at least one physical machines, where, each agent program is operable to obtain a first set of metrics from the first operating system, such first set of metrics including metrics in respect of each virtual machine as viewed by the first operating system, and operable to connect to the second operating system of each virtual machine hosted on the physical machine the agent program operates on and obtain a second set of metrics in respect of the virtual machine from the second operating system, the agent program further operable to communicate the first and second sets of metrics to a manager program.
US08209680B1
A system is disclosed that uses a dual loopback mounting mechanism to capture and deploy an image of a source disk with no need for the source disk to be loaded with special software or otherwise prepared. The image may be captured even where the source disk uses a proprietary file system. The invention also provides mechanisms to extract a system's hardware configuration from a static image of its disk, and to catalog, warehouse, reconfigure, customize, and deploy disk images on diverse computers. Still other mechanisms are provided to perform efficient physical-to-virtual, virtual-to-physical, and virtual-to-virtual system migration.
US08209679B2
A computer implemented method and system for processing a client request for an application program. The application program may require one or more software applications as prerequisites. In response to a client request for the application program, the system automatically determines prerequisite application programs associated with the requested application program. The prerequisite applications include a first set of direct prerequisite application programs and a second set of indirect prerequisite application programs. The method includes checking whether the second set contains a duplicate prerequisite application program that corresponds to an original prerequisite application program existing in the first set, and removing the original prerequisite application program from the first set automatically if the second set contains the duplicate prerequisite application program. Further, the method includes saving non-duplicated prerequisite programs of the first set. The pruned set of prerequisite programs and the requested program may be downloaded to the client.
US08209673B1
One embodiment of the present invention sets forth a system and method for implementing a scalable link interface (SLI) approval policy using a database. The resource manager within a GPU driver incorporates a database, which may be used to determine whether the current computer system configuration is approved for running in SLI mode. The database of specific approved configurations may be embedded within the GPU driver or stored in a separate file, which may be modified by an authorized user. The database may be encrypted to prevent unauthorized users from modifying to the database contents. When a given computer system configuration is an approved configuration within the database, the system may be enabled to operate in SLI mode.
US08209669B2
This disclosure provides various embodiments of software for supporting a business application. In one aspect, the software receives error information and dynamic context information from a remote business application, where the dynamic context information may partially identify the particular execution point of the business application and a portion of the business data associated with that execution point, present a search interface to a support user utilizing search criteria that is automatically populated using the received information, and, upon request of the support user, generates an execution environment that simulates the remote business application execution using the received information. In some implementations, the software is farther operable to retrieve static context information related to the remote business application from a static context information repository. In those instances, the execution environment for the support user may be generated using at least a portion of the retrieved static context information.
US08209661B2
A system including spreadsheet sheets, makes calculations and data transformations, which is available through a programming interface, and conforms to the grammar and syntax of a target software development language is presented. The system includes an Object Model with Data Structures representing entities involved in spreadsheets. The system includes a Parser and Code Generator that extracts data from a body of spreadsheet data, instantiates instances of Data Structures of the Object Model to represent the spreadsheet data, parses the data and formulas contained in the cells of the spreadsheets, iterates through the instantiated instances of the Data Structures, and generates source code that performs the calculations and data transformations embodied in the spreadsheet data. The system includes a Calculation Engine with software base classes that implement the common structural and data access features of spreadsheet data, and further implement the operations of common spreadsheet functions and operators.
US08209659B2
One embodiment of the present invention provides a system for creating a custom workflow which facilitates performing repetitive processes by aggregating application-screens. During operation, the system receives a request from a client to open an application-screen for an application. In response to the request, the system opens the application-screen. Next, the system receives a request to add the application-screen to a custom workflow. In response to the request, the system adds the application-screen to the custom workflow.
US08209658B2
A novel and useful method of creating signatures for use in classifying failures of software programs in general and circuit design simulation tests in particular. Upon failure of a processor simulation test, the method of the present invention creates a signature comprising the sequence of source code commands executed shortly before the failure. The created signature, along with the reported error message together provides a functional grouping of the tests into groups of similar failures. After executing a suite of processor simulation test programs the resulting signatures are classified by their respective error messages and signatures. The results are then analyzed to pinpoint any program errors, or (in the case of processor design tests) design flaws causing the simulation test failures.
US08209652B2
A semiconductor device and a layout method of a decoupling capacitor thereof are disclosed. The semiconductor device includes a main power/ground voltage voltage supplying line arranged in a first direction; a plurality of decoupling capacitor cells to reduce power noise generated by the power voltage and the ground voltage in the first direction and in a second direction; a plurality of sub power voltage supplying lines arranged in the second direction in a border of the plurality of decoupling capacitor cells; and a plurality of sub ground voltage supplying lines arranged in a net form in the border of the plurality of decoupling capacitor cells, wherein the plurality of decoupling capacitor cells have a first active region arranged to receive the ground voltage and the second active region disposed to receive the power voltage and to avoid a region where an inversion is formed in the decoupling capacitor.
US08209651B2
A wiring layout method includes designing a layout of a power wiring for an integrated circuit; designing a layout of plural signal wirings for the integrated circuit; comparing the signal frequency; classifying the signal wirings; calculating an evaluation value of a temperature rise; and modifying the layouts of the integrated circuit.
US08209648B1
Certain embodiments of the present invention enable comparisons between constrained circuit designs by generating timing graphs for circuit designs, mapping timing constraints to the timing graphs, and comparing the mapped timing constraints from different timing graphs. Typically this comparison is made by identifying corresponding nodes in two or more timing graphs. Specific embodiments are also directed to multiple SDC (Synopsis Design Constraint) constraint specifications for a circuit and multiple constraint sets for different operational modes of a circuit.
US08209645B2
A hierarchizing means 101 for blocking, of a first description which represents a functional circuit in an RTL, a second description and for converting the first description into a hierarchized third description; a first logic synthesis means 102 for logic synthesis of the third description; a first placement and routing means 103 for first placement and routing; a first substitution means 104 for substituting a fourth description indicating the unit circuit which is asynchronous for the second description; a second logic synthesis means 105 for logic synthesis of the fourth description; a second placement and routing means 106 for second placement and routing; a calculation means 107 for calculating a circuit on which the second placement and routing is performed; and a second substitution means 108 for substituting the circuit on which placement and routing is performed by the second placement and routing means 106 for a selected circuit on which placement and routing is performed by the first placement and routing means 103.
US08209642B2
A system for preparing mask data to create a desired layout pattern on a wafer with a multiple exposure photolithographic printing system. In one embodiment, boundaries of features are expanded to create shields for those features, or portions thereof, that are not oriented in a direction that are printed with greater fidelity by an illumination pattern used in the multiple exposure printing system.
US08209640B2
There are many inventions described and illustrated herein. In one aspect, the present invention is directed to a technique of, and system for simulating, verifying, inspecting, characterizing, determining and/or evaluating the lithographic designs, techniques and/or systems, and/or individual functions performed thereby or components used therein. In one embodiment, the present invention is a system and method that accelerates lithography simulation, inspection, characterization and/or evaluation of the optical characteristics and/or properties, as well as the effects and/or interactions of lithographic systems and processing techniques. In this regard, in one embodiment, the present invention employs a lithography simulation system architecture, including application-specific hardware accelerators, and a processing technique to accelerate and facilitate verification, characterization and/or inspection of a mask design, for example, RET design, including detailed simulation and characterization of the entire lithography process to verify that the design achieves and/or provides the desired results on final wafer pattern. The system includes: (1) general purpose-type computing device(s) to perform the case-based logic having branches and inter-dependency in the data handling and (2) accelerator subsystems to perform a majority of the computation intensive tasks.
US08209638B2
Which one of a plurality of customization levels of a customizable operation of a software application is to be provided to a customizing user of the customizable operation may be determined, wherein each of the plurality of customization levels represents a different level of customization abstraction for customizing the customizable operation at an associated level of complexity. A maintenance view including a visual representation of the customizable operation may be provided, the visual representation corresponding to the determined customization level. A customization to the customizable operation may be received and applied to the customization to the customizable operation to cause the software application to implement the customization during an execution thereof.
US08209637B2
A device with a touch-sensitive display may be unlocked via gestures performed on the touch-sensitive display. The device is unlocked if contact with the display corresponds to a predefined gesture for unlocking the device. The device displays one or more unlock images with respect to which the predefined gesture is to be performed in order to unlock the device. The performance of the predefined gesture with respect to the unlock image may include moving the unlock image to a predefined location and/or moving the unlock image along a predefined path. The device may also display visual cues of the predefined gesture on the touch screen to remind a user of the gesture.
US08209635B2
A technique for managing the display of content on a display of an electronic device may be based on a distance of the user to the display. The distance may be estimated by analyzing video data to detect a face of the user and establish a distance parameter based on a relationship between facial features. Based on this information, the displayed content may be adjusted to facilitate easy viewing of the displayed content, such as by changing the size of the displayed content, the layout of the displayed content, or the number of visual elements that make up the displayed content.
US08209621B2
An image processing system includes an information processing apparatus and an image processing apparatus connected to each other via a network. The information processing apparatus has an application installed thereon to give a new function to the image processing apparatus. The image processing apparatus transmits to the information processing apparatus, voice data obtained by a microphone of the image processing apparatus and data set via an operation screen customized according to the application. The information processing apparatus determines answer information indicating an action to be taken by the image processing apparatus, based on the received voice data, a dictionary owned by the application and the data set via the operation screen, and then transmits the determined answer information to the image processing apparatus. The image processing apparatus takes an action according to the answer information received therefrom.
US08209613B2
A device and method for scheduling follow-up events in relation to an existing event record. The device receives an input follow-up request associated with the existing event record and automatically generates a follow-up event record having information in its field populated using the information contained in the existing event record. The date of the follow-up event is automatically generated based upon the date of the existing event record. If the existing event record is a recurring event, then the date of the follow-up event is based on the frequency of recurrence. The follow-up event record may be displayed for user editing and may be transmitted to the attendees to propose scheduling of the follow-up event.
US08209612B2
Some embodiments provide a method of specifying speed effects for playing a video clip. The method defines a set of speed effects for the video clip. It then displays in real-time a presentation of the video clip that accounts for the set of speed effects defined for the video clip. In some embodiments, this method represents the playback speed of a video clip in terms of a graph that is part of a graphical user interface (“GUI”). This graph is defined along two axes, with one axis representing the playback time, and the other axis representing the content-time (i.e., the time within the video clip). In these embodiments, a user can change the playback speed of the video clip by using a set of GUI operations to select and modify the graph. For instance, a user can select and adjust the graph at different instances in time in order to change the playback speed of the video clip at these instances. Different embodiments use different types of graphs to represent playback speed. For instance, some embodiments use a deformable line bar that is superimposed on a rectangle that represents the video clip.
US08209601B2
A text formatting system parses text and reformats it to establish optimal spacing for readability and reader comprehension. It also reduces the incidence of rivers and therefore enhances the aesthetic quality of the formatted text. The formatting applied to the text by the present invention is based on structure rules that determine key parameters of page layout including for example column width, font, font size, color, leading and kerning.
US08209600B1
Methods and apparatus for generating layout-preserved text output from portable document format (PDF) input are described. A layout-preserved text generation method may generate layout-preserved text output from PDF input that includes the text along with indentations, spaces, newlines, and paging and that thus preserves the global document layout view of the original PDF input document. The layout-preserved text generation method may transform the PDF (X, Y) document space into a text file grid space while preserving a similar global view of the text and layout from the PDF (X, Y) document space. This transformation may include determining a base size per grid that may produce accurate layout in the text output from the PDF input.
US08209599B2
A computer-based method and system for processing links in a markup language document are provided. The method includes providing a specification in computer memory, the specification including at least one link description rule and at least one link processing rule for processing links which satisfy the link description rule. A markup language document is input to computer memory and links in the markup language document are processed in accordance with the link description rule(s) and link processing rule(s) of the specification to generate processed data. The processed data includes at least one of a modified markup language document and data derived from the markup language document.
US08209592B2
A method and apparatus for decoding transmissions in a wireless communications network is provided. A receiver includes a receive path. The receive path includes a low density parity check (LDPC) decoder. The receiver is configured to receive encoded transmissions and perform low density parity check decoding operations using a CRISP decoder. The CRISP decoder includes a plurality of memory units, and a plurality of processors.
US08209587B1
Embodiments of the present invention disclose a technique for providing an indication whether data stored on a disk drive are invalid. As used herein, invalid data are data written prior to the disk drive being added to an array of the disk drives or data in a block that has become free and which has been removed from the corresponding parity block of the stripe. Knowing that the disk drive was written prior to the drive being added to the existing array or having data which has become invalid allows a storage server to ignore the invalid data and not to use it when computing parity (i.e., a data protection value computed as a result of a logical operation on data blocks in a stripe in the array of disk drives). This, in turn, eliminates the need to zero disk drives or to perform parity re-computation prior to using the disk drives.
US08209584B2
A transmitting system, a receiving system, and a method of processing broadcast signals are disclosed. Herein, the transmitting system includes an RS frame encoder, a block processor, a group formatter, and a trellis encoding module. The RS frame encoder performs error correction encoding on an RS frame payload including mobile service data so as to form an RS frame, divides the RS frame into a plurality of portions, and outputs the divided RS frame portions. The block processor performs one of ½-rate encoding and ¼-rate encoding on each bit of the mobile service data included in each portion. The group formatter maps a portion including symbols of the ¼-rate encoded mobile service data and symbols of the ½-rate encoded mobile service data to a corresponding region of a data group. And, the trellis encoding module performs trellis encoding on the symbols of the ¼-rate encoded mobile service data and the symbols of the ½-rate encoded mobile service data of the data group.
US08209582B1
Systems and methods for jointly optimizing various parameters of an error-correction code (e.g., a product code or other multi-dimensional code) are provided. In certain embodiments, joint optimization of coverage assignments, configuration assignments, rate assignments, and/or user data length assignments of an error-correction code is performed so as to achieve desired error-protection performance at minimized implementation complexity. In certain embodiments, coverage assignments of an error-correction code are optimized to achieve a desired performance level with minimized implementation complexity.
US08209578B2
A system corrects errors in a bit stream. The system includes an encoder and a decoder. The encoder encodes the bit stream using a low density parity check code by inserting parity check bits into the bit stream to generate codewords. The decoder decodes the codewords using parity check equations that are based on the low density parity check code. The parity check bits may comprise no more than four percent of the bits in the codewords of the low density parity check code. The low density parity check code can have a minimum separation of at least 7 between any two ones in each row of a parity-check matrix that is based on the low density parity check code. The encoder and the decoder can be defined in hardware using logic circuits that are interconnected to implement a trellis based on the low density parity check code.
US08209576B2
A method for dynamic adjustment of downlink/uplink resource allocation ratio in a long-term evolution (LTE) time division duplex (TDD) system is disclosed. The method includes replacing at least one of an uplink subframe and a downlink subframe with a mute subframe in a subframe pattern, indicating a first downlink/uplink resource allocation ratio. Thereafter, the mute subframe is replaced with either the uplink subframe or the downlink subframe to form another subframe pattern. The subframe pattern including the mute subframe is obtained from a lookup table, such that the replacing the mute subframe results in the other pattern. A data transmission in accordance with the other subframe pattern, indicating a second downlink/uplink resource allocation ratio, may be scheduled. Hybrid Automatic Repeat-request (HARQ) processing may be implemented after the at least one of the uplink subframe and the downlink subframe is replaced with the mute subframe in the first subframe pattern.
US08209573B2
A sequential element having a master stage and a slave stage and a method of testing an IC having a scan chain and an IC. In one embodiment, the sequential element includes an input scan multiplexor configured to place the sequential element in a functional mode or a scan mode in response to a scan enable input and a scan out driver coupled to the slave stage and configured to provide a scan out signal when the sequential element is in the scan mode, the scan out driver coupled to an inverted scan enable input for a negative voltage supply.
US08209572B2
Various new and non-obvious apparatus and methods for testing embedded memories in an integrated circuit are disclosed. One of the disclosed embodiments is an apparatus for testing an embedded memory in an integrated circuit. This exemplary embodiment comprises input logic that includes one or more memory-input paths coupled to respective memory inputs of the embedded memory, a memory built-in self-test (MBIST) controller, and at least one scan cell coupled between the input logic and the MBIST controller. The scan cell of this embodiment is selectively operable in a memory-test mode and a system mode. In memory-test mode, the scan cell can apply memory-test data to the memory inputs along the memory-input paths of the integrated circuit. Any of the disclosed apparatus can be designed, simulated, and/or verified (and any of the disclosed methods can be performed) in a computer-executed application, such as an electronic-design-automation (“EDA”) software tool.
US08209567B2
An automated method of processing computer system event logs comprises receiving event messages associated with one or more system event logs, each event message including event text, determining a set of message clusters, each comprising a template text, representative of the event messages across the one or more event logs, and assigning each event message to a message cluster of the set, according to a measure of similarity between the respective event text of the event message and the template text of the message cluster.
US08209564B2
Embodiments relate to systems and methods for systems and methods for initiating software repairs in conjunction with software package updates. A physical or virtual client machine can host a set of installed software packages, including operating system, application, and/or other software. A package manager tracks the set of installed packages and updates available for the installed set. A notification tool, in conjunction with the package manager, can monitor the user's selection of package update options, and compare those updates to a diagnostic database, current state of the client machine, or other resources. Based on those determinations, the notification tool can generate one or more potential software repair actions to correct or avoid potential conflicts, faults, or other conditions that may arise due to, or may surround, the prospective package update.
US08209561B2
A real time clock for outputting data indicating a time of day includes: an event detection circuit for detecting that an event detection signal has been inputted from outside; a timing circuit for generating the time-of-day data according to a signal outputted from an oscillator circuit; a memory; and a control circuit for, if the event detection circuit detects input of the event detection signal, recording event data in the memory, the event data including additional data indicating an operating state of the real time clock and the time-of-day data generated by the timing circuit.
US08209560B2
To provide a semiconductor device including a data input circuit and a data output circuit connected to a plurality of data input/output terminals, where at least one of the data input circuit and the data output circuit fetches data in response to multi-phase clock signals having different phases to be timing signals for fetching data, and adjusts a valid range for fetching data to be substantially uniform for each of the multi-phase clock signals. According to the present invention, the window width of data can be made uniform by individually adjusting the multi-phase clock signals that are input or output timing signals, and thus characteristics of the semiconductor device can be improved.
US08209544B2
Systems and methods are disclosed for providing a trusted database system that leverages a small amount of trusted storage to secure a larger amount of untrusted storage. Data are encrypted and validated to prevent unauthorized modification or access. Encryption and hashing are integrated with a low-level data model in which data and meta-data are secured uniformly. Synergies between data validation and log-structured storage are exploited.
US08209531B2
A single validity proof (ci(F)) may be provided to certificate owners for a set (F) of the certificates via a multicast transmission if a multicasting group (2010) is formed to correspond to the set.
US08209519B2
A pipeline processor has a first stage to read data from a general purpose register unit, a second stage to execute instruction, and a third stage to write back the data into the general purpose register unit. A pipeline register retains data obtained by executing the second stage. The pipeline register stores a data validity flag. A WRITE suspension unit suspends execution of writing the retained data into a general purpose register of the general purpose register unit until the retained data is rewritten by a subsequent instruction, even if the data validity flag indicates “valid.” A data invalidation unit cancels the execution of writing the data retained in the pipeline register into the general purpose register into which the data is to be written by a preceding instruction and invalidates the retained data, when data is written into the general purpose register by the subsequent instruction.
US08209518B2
A processing bypass directory system and method are disclosed. In one embodiment, a bypass directory tracking process includes setting bits in a bypass directory when a corresponding architectural register is written. The bits are selectively cleared in the bypass directory each cycle. The configuration of the bits is utilized to determine which stage of a bypass path processing information is at.
US08209511B2
A storage management apparatus performs migration considering an I/O load that will be generated during migration between a source array group and a destination array group. To migrate data from the source array group to the destination array group, a bandwidth that is available for use between the source and destination array groups is calculated. A volume that is within the source array group, and that has a write I/O amount that is smaller than the calculated bandwidth, is selected as the source volume for the migration, wherein the write I/O amount is the information transmission amount of information that is written. Data is thus migrated from the selected volume to the movement destination array group.
US08209510B1
In general, the invention is directed to techniques for identifying memory overruns. For example, as described herein, a device includes a main memory that enables an addressable memory space for the device. A plurality of memory pages each comprises a separate, contiguous block of addressable memory locations within the addressable memory space. The device also includes a memory manager comprising a secure pool allocator that assigns a secure pool size value to a first one of the plurality of memory pages. The secure pool size value defines a plurality of protected memory spaces in the first memory page that partition the first memory page into a plurality of secure objects. The device also includes a memory management unit comprising secure pool logic that determines, based on the secure pool size value, whether a memory address is an address of one of the protected memory spaces in the first memory page.
US08209509B2
The present disclosure includes, among other things, methods, systems, program products, and devices for providing access to memory in a system with memory protection. A request is received from a processor for a memory access at a first memory location. A second memory location is determined. The second memory location is associated with the first memory location and is protected from access by the processor. The requested memory access is performed at the second memory location.
US08209508B2
The present invention is directed toward methods and systems for data de-duplication. More particularly, in various embodiments, the present invention provides systems and methods for data de-duplication that may utilize a data de-duplication system that retrieves data from a data storage device in an order based on the location of blocks on the data storage device. Some embodiments break a data stream into multiple blocks of data and store the blocks of data on a data storage device of a data de-duplication system, wherein a code representing a redundant block of data is stored in place of the block of data. A location for each block of data may be stored. Additionally, the blocks may be read in an order that is determined based on the location of the blocks.
US08209506B2
A data de-duplication application de-duplicates redundant data in the pooled storage capacity of a virtualized storage environment. The virtualized storage environment includes a plurality of storage devices and a virtualization or abstraction layer that aggregates all or a portion of the storage capacity of each storage device into a single pool of storage capacity, all or portions of which can be allocated to one or more host systems. For each host system, the virtualization layer presents a representation of at least a portion of the pooled storage capacity wherein the corresponding host system can read and write data. The data de-duplication application identifies redundant data in the pooled storage capacity and replaces it with one or more pointers pointing to a single instance of the data. The de-duplication application can operate on fixed or variable size blocks of data and can de-duplicate data either post-process or in-line.
US08209504B2
When an access device accesses a nonvolatile memory device, the nonvolatile memory device or the access device detects or calculates a temperature T of the nonvolatile memory device. A temperature-adaptive control part of the nonvolatile memory device controls an access rate to a nonvolatile memory on the basis of the temperature T. Accordingly, the control part controls the rate so that the temperature T of the nonvolatile memory devices cannot exceed a limit temperature Trisk. In this manner, a nonvolatile memory system can eliminate a risk of a burn when ejecting the semiconductor memory device and can read and write data at a high speed.
US08209503B1
A method and system for performing memory optimization is described. In one embodiment, a method includes receiving a plurality of read/write requests, wherein at least a portion of the read/write requests are assigned respective identifiers for associating related requests of the read/write requests. Arrival times of the read/write requests assigned to each of the identifiers is measured and predicted arrival times of future read/write requests assigned to each of the identifiers is determined. A real-time schedule of memory requests is created using the arrival times of the read/write requests and the predicted arrival times. The method includes using the real-time schedule to determine idle periods and performing opportunistic functions in the memory during the idle periods, including performing at least one of garbage collection or translation cache pre-fetch.
US08209502B2
An area detection unit detects a main rectangular area to which an access start address indicated by one-dimensional access information is included among main rectangular areas corresponding to two-dimensional access information. An address conversion unit divides the detected main rectangular area into sub rectangular areas, detects a sub rectangular area to which the access start address indicated by the one-dimensional access information is included, and converts the one-dimensional access information into first two-dimensional access information based on a relative position of the sub rectangular area being detected. A memory controller receives the first and second two-dimensional access information, and converts the two-dimensional access information into an access address. Accordingly, a modification of a memory controller accessing a semiconductor memory by receiving the two-dimensional access information becomes unnecessary. As a result, existing design properties can be effectively utilized, and a development period of a system can be reduced.
US08209501B2
Operating system states capture and loading technique embodiments are presented that involve the capture and loading of baseline system states. This is accomplished, in one embodiment, by storing the states of a computer's operating system memory that it is desired to restore at a future time. No changes are permitted to the persisted storage associated with the computer. Instead, changes that would have been made to the persisted storage during an ensuing computing session, had they not been prevented, are stored in a separate computing session file. Whenever it is desired to return the operating system to its baseline condition, the stored baseline system memory states are loaded into the operating system memory, in lieu of the operating system memory's current states.
US08209500B1
A method and apparatus for scheduling a backup operation for a computer is described. The method includes searching a database for at least one record possessing an absence indicia. The method further includes scheduling an operation to be performed during a time period associated with the at least one record.
US08209497B2
A multi-port memory, comprising: a memory array made of a plurality of memory cells arranged at intersection points between a plurality of bit lines and a plurality of word lines, the memory array being divided into n (an integer of 2 or greater) memory banks; m (an integer of 2 or greater) input/output ports, each independently performing input and output of a command, an address, data to and from each of the memory banks; and a route switching circuit that sets signal for the command, address, and data between the memory banks and the input/output ports, the route switching circuit controlling a connection state of signal lines between the plurality of input/output ports and the plurality of memory banks.
US08209490B2
The present application is a protocol for maintaining cache coherency in a CMP. The CMP design contains multiple processor cores with each core having it own private cache. In addition, the CMP has a single on-ship shared cache. The processor cores and the shared cache may be connected together with a synchronous, unbuffered bidirectional ring interconnect. In the present protocol, a single INVALIDATEANDACKNOWLEDGE message is sent on the ring to invalidate a particular core and acknowledge a particular core.
US08209487B2
The invention discloses a flash memory apparatus, including a plurality of blocks and a memory controller. The blocks include a first block, wherein the first block includes a first page. The memory controller receives a first data to be written into the first page of the first block. When the first page has already been written to, the memory controller further selects one of the blocks as a first cache block, writes the first data into a first cache page of the first cache block and records the number of the first block and the number of the first page into the first cache page. The memory controller further updates the first block according to the number of the first block and the number of the first page recorded in the first cache page when receiving an update command.
US08209478B2
A system and method for resolving request collision in a single-port static random access memory (SRAM) are disclosed. A first SRAM part and a second SRAM part of the single-port SRAM are accessed in turn. When request collision occurs, data is temporarily stored in a first or second shadow bank associated with the first or the second SRAM part which is under access. The temporarily stored data is then transferred, at a later time, to an associated one of the first/second SRAM parts while the other one of the first/second SRAM parts is being accessed.
US08209468B2
Disclosed is a semiconductor memory device and wear leveling method thereof. The semiconductor memory device including: a nonvolatile memory having pluralities of memory blocks, at least one of the memory blocks storing erasing counts of the memory blocks; and a memory controller managing wear leveling of the nonvolatile memory. The memory controller adjusts a period of managing the wear leveling with reference to the erasing counts.
US08209467B2
A recording apparatus includes: a type detecting section that detects a type of storage medium; an erase-block size detecting section that detects an erase-block size of the storage medium; a recording section that records desired data to a data area in the storage medium and records management information of the data area to a management area in the storage medium; and a control section that controls the recording section by issuing a command to the recording section, on the basis of results of the detection. Each time a certain amount of data is recorded to the data area, the control section updates the management information in accordance with the recording, and when the storage medium is a storage medium in which recorded data is updated for each erase-block size, the control section increases the certain amount of data according to an increase in the erase-block size.
US08209464B2
A management method, a management apparatus, and a controller for memory data access are provided. The management apparatus is disposed between a host and a device for managing the data transmitted between the host and the device, wherein the management apparatus includes a control unit and a storage unit. When the control unit receives a data writing command from the host, it searches for a set mapped to the data in the storage unit and updates the data in the set. Then, the control unit collects the other parts of the data in the storage unit and the device, integrates all parts of the data, and writes the integrated data into the device. Accordingly, the efficiency in data transmission can be improved, and the number of data writing operations can be reduced so that the lifespan of the device can be prolonged.
US08209463B2
A memory system is provided. The system includes a controller that regulates read and write access to one or more FLASH memory devices that are employed for random access memory applications. A buffer component operates in conjunction with the controller to regulate read and write access to the one or more FLASH devices. Wear leveling components along with read and write processing components are provided to facilitate efficient operations of the FLASH memory devices.
US08209459B2
A method is provided for managing errors in a virtualized information handling system that includes an error detection system and a hypervisor allowing multiple virtual machines to run on the information handling system. The hypervisor may assign at least one memory region to each of multiple virtual machines. The error detection system may detect an error, determine a physical memory address associated with the error, and report that address to the hypervisor. Additionally, the hypervisor may determine whether the memory region assigned to each virtual machine includes the physical memory address associated with the error. The hypervisor may shut down each virtual machine for which a memory region assigned to that virtual machine includes the physical memory address associated with the error, and not shut down each virtual machine for which the memory regions assigned to that virtual machine do not include the physical memory address associated with the error.
US08209457B2
Systems and methods for efficient handling of data traffic and processing within a processing device
The present invention provides an improved platform hub that aims to, in some embodiments, optimize system resources to improve system performance and/or reduce consumption of power.
US08209437B2
A data management application that may be implemented in a mobile device to perform two-way synchronization of electronic messages and/or PIM data with a server device. The device may be a mobile device such as a mobile phone or Smartphone, as well as a personal digital assistant, notebook computer, or other mobile device communicating using any of several wireless protocols. PIM data may include PIM application objects or other data, including but not limited to calendar, contact, and task object data. The data management application may synchronize e-mail and PIM data on a client device with that of a server where the server and client utilize one or more different protocols.
US08209436B2
A method of migrating a user profile from a first device to a second device. Firstly, a request is made (1a, 1b, 1c) for migrating a user profile (102) located in the first device (100) to the second device (120). Next, the information forming said user profile (102) and an access policy (103) to said user profile is retrieved (2, 3). The request and the retrieval steps are mediated by a profile manager (104). This profile manager (104) then sends, to a server (150), said information forming said user profile (102) and said access policy (103). The server (150) stores (5) said information forming the user profile (102) in a first database (154) and said access policy (103) in a second database (153), the server (150) comprising a profile manager database (155) wherein a plurality of profile managers are stored. One of the stored profile managers is a copy of said profile manager (104) located within said first device (100). A further request (10a, 10b, 10c) is made for sending from said server (150) to the second device (120) said user profile (102), said user policy (103) and said profile manager (104) located in said respective databases (154, 153, 155). The server (150) then sends (13a, 13b, 13c, 14a, 14b, 14c), to said second device (120), at least a reduced version of said profile manager which is compatible with the second device (120).
US08209433B2
A facility for congestion management and latency prediction is described. In various embodiments, the facility sums a series of fractional transmission delays wherein each fractional transmission delay is measured as a probability of a failed transmission attempt multiplied by the cost of the failed transmission attempt, and provides the sum.
US08209432B2
A method and arrangement for conveying selected media content from a sending entity (A) to a receiving terminal (B) when the sending entity sends the media content for immediate delivery over IP. A session manager detects that the receiving terminal is unable to receive the selected multimedia content by immediate delivery over IP. A format converter (308,608) converts the media content into a format adapted for deferred delivery involving temporary storage of the media content in an intermediate messaging center (310,610), and sends the converted media content to the messaging center for deferred delivery to the receiving terminal. The session manager and the format converter are both implemented in an originating multimedia service network (300,600) serving the sending entity, or in a terminating multimedia service network (302,602) serving the receiving terminal.
US08209431B1
An access point (AP) includes a control module that defines N basic service set identifiers (BSSID's) each corresponding to a class of service and having M service parameters, where N and M are integers greater than one. The AP includes an AP scheduling module that schedules communication between the AP and a plurality of client stations based on the N BSSID's and that determines a quality of service for the communication based on the N BSSID's and the M service parameters.
US08209421B2
The system comprises a client and a set of servers for processing calls in a communications system; the servers providing call status messages to the client; in which each call status message comprises an identifier associated with the call to which the message relates. The client is arranged to handle duplicate copies of call status messages as follows. The client receives a copy of each call status message from each of the servers and identifies duplicate copies of each message received by reading the identifier in the received messages.
US08209419B2
A system initiates multiple instances of a concurrent computing process, establishes a communication channel among the multiple instances, initiates execution of a computational job on the multiple instances, detects an interrupt request on one of the multiple instances, and terminates execution of the computational job while maintaining communication among the multiple instances via the communication channel.
US08209415B2
A method for auto-scaling the infrastructure capacity of an application in response to client demands includes providing an application configured to run on an application infrastructure comprising a plurality of server nodes and to be accessed by clients via a first network. Next, providing traffic management means directing traffic from the clients to the server nodes of the application infrastructure. Providing monitoring means gathering performance metrics of the application and metrics of the application infrastructure. Providing controlling means configured to change the application infrastructure. Next, monitoring the performance metrics of the application and the metrics of the application infrastructure via the monitoring means thereby obtaining metrics information and then changing the application infrastructure based on the metrics information via the controlling means. Finally directing network traffic targeted to access the application to server nodes of the changed application infrastructure via the traffic management means.
US08209401B2
According to the invention, a content download system for downloading a content file and additional content using a window is disclosed. The content download system includes a content site, a content provider and a third party. The content site presents the window that displays the download progress of the content file, presents the additional content while the content file is downloaded, and allows selection of the additional content. The content provider serves as an origin server for the content file. The third party receives information on the content file and provides the additional content.
US08209400B2
An integrated security system integrates broadband and mobile access and control with conventional security systems and premise devices to provide a tri-mode security network having remote connectivity and access. The integrated security system delivers remote premise monitoring and control functionality to conventional monitored premise protection and complements existing premise protection equipment. The integrated security system integrates into the premise network and couples wirelessly with the conventional security panel, enabling broadband access to premise security systems. Automation devices can be added, enabling users to remotely see live video or pictures and control home devices via a personal web portal or other client device. Camera management enables automatic configuration and management of cameras in the premise network. The camera management extends to remote control and monitoring from outside the firewall of the premise network to include routing of images or video from a streaming source device to a requesting client device.
US08209397B2
A method and apparatus for managing bookmark information of a media server through a network based on the UPnP AV standard is disclosed. If a request for bookmarking a content item is made, a bookmark item is created and the created bookmark item is linked to the content item by adding the ID of the created bookmark item to the property information of the content item and recording the ID of the content item to be bookmarked in the created bookmark item.
US08209379B2
Systems and methods of the present invention provide for redirecting a user to a book's website after submitting a request for information about the book. The book's website or a link to the website may be displayed to the user on a client browser.
US08209372B2
A bitmap transfer-based display remoting by a server coupled to a client is described. Specifically, an application executing on the server implements operations to render a portion of a graphical user interface (GUI). The server decomposes corresponding rendering-based command(s) into simple bitmap raster operations commands. The server sends the bitmap-based commands to the client. The client, responsive to receiving the commands, respectively stores and draws bitmaps from an offscreen display surface, as directed by the server, to an onscreen display surface to present the GUI portion to a user. Logic at the client to store and present the GUI portion are independent of any client-implemented display remoting cache management logic. The client operations are also independent of determinations and processing of graphical object semantics beyond bitmap semantics. Such management and semantic determinations and processing are implemented and maintained respectively at and by the server.
US08209365B2
A system and method for virtualizing networked heterogeneous storage devices in a computing system using stateless servers is disclosed. In one embodiment, the method includes self discovery of mapping information between a plurality of virtual file systems to a plurality of physical file systems upon startup by a virtual data store (VDS) server. The networked heterogeneous storage devices include the plurality of physical file systems hosted on associated file servers. Further, each physical file system includes a storage space in which a plurality of data files may be stored.
US08209361B2
Techniques are described herein for efficient and scalable processing of complex sets of XML schemas. The techniques described herein provide for reducing duplication of schema elements in volatile memory by building an XML schema in-memory model that stores repeating schema elements in in-memory data structures that are separate from in-memory data structures that store the parent schema elements which logically include or otherwise refer to the repeating schema elements. The techniques described herein also provide for faster generation of an in-memory model of an XML schema by pre-loading, in data structures on persistent storage, of schema elements from dependent XML schemas that are referenced and/or incorporated by the XML schema. The techniques described herein also provide for efficient processing of inter-dependent XML schemas by tracking all unresolved schema elements from dependent XML schemas and freeing the portions of volatile memory, which are used to process schema elements from the dependent XML schemas, as soon as the dependent schema elements being processed are stored in data structures on persistent storage.
US08209357B2
A device may receive a selection of an application from a client device, send two or more sets of questions related to the application to the client device, receive answers to the two or more sets of questions from the client device, obtain a score for each of the sets of questions based on the answers, determine whether the application is to be ported from a first computing environment to a virtual computing environment based on the scores, and send results of the determination to the client device.
US08209348B2
In an information processing apparatus, an acquisition unit acquires a keyword, and a calculation unit calculates the importance level of each keyword by adding a value determined depending on an increase in the number of occurrences to the importance level and subtracting a value determined depending on an increase in the difference between a current time and a last acquisition time to the importance level. An extraction unit extracts text information of a subtitle in a program. A subtitle morphological analysis unit morphologically analyzes the text information of the subtitle. A comparison unit compares each acquired keyword with each keyword detected via the morphological analysis. A recording unit records the program if the comparison indicates that any acquired keyword is identical to any keyword detected via the morphological analysis. A registration unit registers the recorded program and information indicating the importance level in a table in association with the keyword.
US08209345B2
A user information management device configured to manage user information regarding content provision service users, and to provide a content acquisition method to a user client device, the user information management device includes, a user information storage unit configured to store user information for each user, the user information including an address of the content acquisition method and attribute information including a user's attributes using attribute values classified into predetermined attribute categories; an access attribute information storage unit configured to store access attribute information for each set of content; a content provision unit that acquires from the user information storage unit, a content provision request including content information; an access acquisition unit configured such that, upon receiving a content acquisition request from the user client device including content information, attribute criteria, and user attribute information.
US08209342B2
A data structure that includes at least one partition containing non-confidential quasi-identifier microdata and at least one other partition containing confidential microdata is formed. The partitioned confidential microdata is disguised by transforming the confidential microdata to conform to a target distribution. The disguised confidential microdata and the quasi-identifier microdata are combined to generate a disguised data structure. The disguised data structure is used to carry out statistical analysis and to respond to a statistical query is directed to the use of confidential microdata. In this manner, the privacy of the confidential microdata is preserved.
US08209331B1
Methods, systems, and apparatus, including computer program products, in which context can be used to rank search results. Context associated with a user session can be identified. A search query received during the user session can be used to identify a contextual click model based upon the context associated with the user session.
US08209323B2
In one embodiment, an original search input entered is detected. A plurality of stored terms in a record are detected. The original search input is modified to remove an excluded term from the search input to form a modified search input. The modified search input is matched against the plurality of stored terms to form a first result that includes a number of the stored terms. The number of the stored terms in the first result is compared to a threshold value. In response to the number of the stored terms in the first result satisfying the threshold value, the stored terms of the first result are displayed. Otherwise, the original search input is matched against the plurality of stored terms to form a second result that includes a number of the stored terms, and the stored terms of the second result are displayed.
US08209318B2
A product search system and a product search method which is performed in the product search system. The product search system includes: maintaining a database including a product identifier and a product category of the product identifier; receiving an original query for search of a product from a user terminal, and extracting a category query associated with the original query; selecting at least one product category included in the database, as a category corresponding to the original query, using the category query; identifying a product identifier type associated with the selected category; searching the database by applying a search logic corresponding to the identified product identifier type from a plurality of search logics; and outputting a result of the search as a product identifier type that matches the original query.
US08209311B2
A method and system for grouping metadata search results associated with media on a computer network, such as multimedia and streaming media include binning and iterative masking. The media metadata has an associated media file, which has an associated uniform resource locator (URL). Each URL has at least one field, and each field has at least one character. Binning includes selecting, sorting, and putting URLs having a common attribute into the same bin. Masking includes creating a mask of masking characters. Each field in each URL in each bin is compare with the mask. If a masking character matches a character in a field, the character in the field is removed from the field. This produces at least one resultant URL, i.e., URL that has been compared with a mask. Identical resultant URLs are collapsing into one URL. Thus, redundant and variant URLs are collapsed into a single URL, which may be provided to a search system (e.g., search engine) and/or to a user.
US08209306B2
A data repository system and method are provided. A method in accordance with an embodiment includes an operation that can be used to port data from one or more existing database partitions to new database partitions according to a minimally progressive hash. The method can be used to increase the overall size of databases while a system runs hot, with little or no downtime.
US08209302B2
A system and method for processing data objects is provided. The system and method may comprise: a data object database for storing data objects, a transaction document database for storing transaction documents, a fast data provider module configured to provide, upon request from a user interface module, data objects to the user interface module; a user transaction provider module configured to read changed data objects from the user interface module, read data objects from the fast data provider module, and store changed data objects in a user transaction document; and a business transaction provider module to read changed data objects from the user transaction document and perform updates of the changed data objects based on the user transaction document.
US08209299B2
Embodiments of the invention enable application programs running across multiple compute nodes of a highly-parallel system to selectively migrate objects from one node to another. For example, when an object becomes too large, a node containing the object may migrate the object to another node, thereby freeing memory space. Whether a large object is migrated can be dependent on how frequently the object is used by the application. Because the memory used by such an object is freed for other uses by the application, overall application performance may be improved. On large parallel systems with thousands of compute nodes, even relatively small improvements in application performance an individual compute node may be magnified many times, resulting in dramatic improvements in overall application performance.
US08209294B2
A method and apparatus for managing data in a partitioned data storage space is provided. Data referencing a new data item to be stored in the data storage space is received. It is determined that the data item does not pertain to any previously created partition. In response to the determination, a new partition is automatically created in the data storage space. The partition is mapped to a new set of values, such as to a next unpartitioned interval of dates or numbers.
US08209276B2
A constraint based system solves a network that includes a first variable node having a first integer domain, a second variable node having a second integer domain, and a constraint for the first variable node and the second variable node. The system retrieves a first integer domain representation of the first integer domain and a second integer domain representation of the second integer domain and determines from the first and second integer domain representations if the first integer domain or second integer domain has at least one excluded value. The system then determines a type of constraint consistency checking based on whether the integer domains have at least one excluded value.
US08209272B2
Components of a distributed computing system are monitored, the components including hardware components and software components that operate on the hardware components. At least one of the software components is a service that includes a service level agreement. Performance characteristics of the components are determined based on the monitoring. The performance characteristics of the service are compared to the service level agreement to determine whether the service level agreement has been violated. At least one of the service or an additional service collocated with the service is migrated based on the performance characteristics of the components if the service level agreement has been violated.
US08209271B1
Methods, systems, and apparatus, including computer programs stored on a computer storage medium, for training predictive models using large datasets.
US08209264B2
An entering and leaving management system is provided. The management system includes a management terminal including: an authentication history information acquisition section configured to acquire authentication history information; a registered person image acquisition section configured to acquire a registered person image recorded associated with personal identification data of the authentication history information; an image acquisition section configured to acquire an image of a person to be authenticated, recorded associated with an authentication time of the authentication history information; and a listing section configured to list the registered person images and the image of the person to be authenticated on the operation screen side by side with the authentication history information.
US08209263B2
In one embodiment of the present invention, a source point in a supply chain generates a secret and devises a secret sharing scheme that parcels the secret into a number of secret shares. The source point retains at least one secret share, and distributes the remaining secret shares to trusted, intermediate points in the supply chain. The source point then ships a shipment comprising are least one object, and frequently including at least one level of packaging, to a destination point in the supply chain, labeling the object or objects and/or packaging enclosing the object or objects with the retained secret share. Each intermediate point incorporates the secret share obtained by the intermediate point from the source point into the object, packaging enclosing the object, or a label on the object or packaging. At the destination point, the recipient of the object can use the secret shares incorporated into the object, packaging enclosing the object, or a label on the object or packaging to reconstruct the secret initially generated by the source point, and compares the reconstructed secret to the original secret forwarded from the source point.
US08209262B2
A pattern-based policy method for service component architecture (SCA) defines a policy pattern for SCA. The policy pattern includes a plurality of roles and one or more constraints between said plurality of roles. Each of said plurality of roles defines a plurality of intents or policy sets or combination thereof. One or more roles assigned to said one or more SCA components are identified and one or more intents or policy sets or combination thereof associated with said one or more roles are automatically applied to said one or more SCA components. Said one or more intents or policy sets or combination thereof applied to said one or more SCA components are validated based on said one or more constraints.
US08209260B2
An apparatus and method capable of purchasing external charged content in a UPnP network are provided. A media server (MS) provides a media renderer (MR) with a URL that executes a CGI that that performs purchasing of a charged content included in an external server, and, if the MR requests the reproduction of content corresponding to the URL, the MS executes a CGI of the URL, purchases charged content corresponding to the URL, and downloads the charged content, thereby browsing a list of contents provided by an external contents purchase site through a consumer electronic device such as a digital television, in which a UPnP audio/visual control point is mounted without a separate interface, purchasing desired content, and reproducing the purchased content.
US08209253B2
Systems and methods for allocating limited resources of a securities research department to accounts of the department are disclosed. According to various embodiments, the system includes an account scoring module and a resource matching module. The account scoring module is for generating a score for each account, and the resource matching module is for matching the resources of the department to the accounts based on the scores for each account.
US08209251B2
The cross correlation tool is used to quickly understand and describe the composition of an asset portfolio and the response of a user selected variable versus other variables in the portfolio. The tool is also used to quickly identify unexpectedly high or low correlation between two attribute variables and the response variable. Identification of unexpected correlations improves understanding of the portfolio data and the decisions regarding a potential purchase of the portfolio. Attribute variables are of two types, continuous and categorical. The cross correlations are computed between all variables of interest and their bin or level and presented in a two dimensional matrix for easy identification of trends.
US08209250B2
A method for conducting an interactive financial simulation. The method is implemented at least in part by a computer and includes transmitting an initial financial projection for a fictitious company, transmitting a news story, generating a new share price for the fictitious company based on an index, generating a new financial projection for the fictitious company based on a set of decisions selected for implementation by a participant of the interactive financial simulation, and generating a final share price for the fictitious company based on a final set of decisions selected for implementation by the participant.
US08209247B2
A system and method of providing payment information for a lease of a specific vehicle in a vehicle dealer's inventory to a consumer via an Internet website of a dealer service is disclosed. A lease service obtains data via the Internet from the dealer service. The data is stored in a database associated with an Internet website and includes vehicle data, lease data, and consumer data. The lease service determines a residual value of the vehicle and obtains lease funding information from one or more third parties. The lease service then determines lease payment information and generates a disclosure webpage of the lease payment information. The disclosure webpage is formatted to comply with the Regulation “M” disclosure notice for vehicle lease payments. The consumer is allowed to view the disclosure webpage from the Internet website before committing to the lease.
US08209239B2
The present invention seamlessly facilitates information exchange between not only a vendor and a single customer but also between vendors and Procurement Services Providers (PSPs), supporting more than one customer, each with its unique specifications. This framework also has the capability to handle dual pricing. Dual pricing is used to differentiate the price that a PSP has negotiated with a vendor from the price that an end user/customer will be ultimately charged. These two levels of pricing are maintained at the customer/vendor level. This invention is used to create a framework for exchanging catalogue information between the vendors or vendors of IT products and a customer or a PSP acting on behalf of one or more customers.
US08209224B2
A system uses neuro-response information to evaluate content within a cluster, such as commercials in a pod, advertisements in a frame, or products on a shelf, to determine priming characteristics associated with each pieces of content within the cluster. The priming characteristics and other data are combined to obtain blended attributes. The blended attributes are correlated with each piece of intracluster content to allow intelligent management including selection, arrangement, ordering, presentation, and/or scheduling of intracluster content. Intracluster content may also use priming characteristics associated with extracluster content to further improve management.
US08209221B2
A method and system for producing a gaming system that is based on a game design. The game design includes a plurality of design elements with at least some of the design elements are generic elements of a particular type. The method and system offer to place a product or service on a gaming system on which the game design is used, where the offer is to use a branded element in place of a selected one of the generic elements of the game design. The method and system also dynamically place a branded element in the game in place of the selected one of the genetic elements during operation of the gaming system, where the branded element is of the same type as the generic element. The method and system also compensate a producer of the gaming system for the placement of the branded element in the gaming system.
US08209220B2
Online services offer modeling is provided. A system for managing online offers for products and services includes a components module, an offer module, a subscription module, a billing module and a change management module. The component module defines the properties of components that may be included in an offer. The offer module defines the features of the offer, including one or more components. The components may be a base component or an add-on component. The subscription module processes the provisioning of an offer. The market module specifies countries or regions in which offers are made available. The billing module processes billing and payment actions for an offer. The change management module processes alterations to a provisioned offer, inserting the properties of an add-on component into the properties of a base component.
US08209215B1
When deciding whether to fund a project, such as a movie, investors consider information such as what is often referred to as the “bankability” of people or entities attached to the project, such as the top-billed actors, the director, the producer, and/or the screenwriter. A system can collect information about people or entities and prior projects associated with those people or entities and use that information to calculate the bankability of those people or entities. Project developers can use the calculated bankability of the people or entities when deciding which people or entities to attach to in-development projects to increase the chance that the project will attract funding.
US08209211B2
An apparatus and methods are disclosed for requirements decomposition and management. The apparatus includes a collection module, an organization module, and a graph module. These modules carry out the steps of collecting a project task description, the project task description comprising one or more properties, generating a directed acyclic hierarchy of one or more project tasks associated with the project task description, and generating a directed acyclic hierarchical graph view of the project, wherein the directed acyclic hierarchical graph view of the project comprises one or more nodes representing the one or more project tasks, and wherein the one or more nodes are arranged to graphically illustrate a directed acyclic hierarchical relationship between the one or more project tasks.
US08209207B2
Several of the embodiments disclosed herein relate to accessing and tracking real-time data concerning company representative performance, proficiency, training, scheduling, current work flow, and estimated work flow. Moreover, many of the improvements in contact handling systems disclosed herein automatically provide training, work, and incentives to company representatives to improve performance, proficiency, efficiency, effectiveness, automate scheduling, and automated work flow. More specifically, a method for providing training to company representatives is disclosed. Also disclosed is a system for managing work and training of company representatives. As a result of the teachings disclosed herein, customer satisfaction, employee satisfaction, and revenue may be improved in the contact handling industry.
US08209203B1
An integrated data management system, method, and computer program for querying, collecting, tracking, comparing, and displaying floating production system daily operations data, market data, and technical data to one or more users is disclosed. The data management system includes one or more processors with memory carrying one or more sequences of computer instructions for receiving floating production system data from floating production systems (FPS), receiving search criteria from the users, and comparing the floating production system data to the search criteria to determine matches between the FPS data and the search criteria. The floating production system data includes fleet and vessel data, upcoming tenders, latest project sanctions, technical specifications, status criteria, and market news. A user accesses the system with a graphical user interface and uses market information modules, news search modules, and other modules for searching and comparing floating production system data for generating user reports.
US08209202B2
A client-server based system for building and executing flows (i.e., interconnected systems of algorithms). The client allows a user to build a flow specification and send the flow specification to the server. The server assembles the flow from the flow spec and executes the flow. A flow may be configured to analyze the impact (e.g., the financial impact) of a number of uncertainties associated with a plurality of assets. Uncertainty variables are used to characterize the uncertainties associated with the assets. An uncertainty variable associated with one asset may be functionally dependent on an uncertainty variable associated with another asset.
US08209190B2
During operation an input signal to be coded is received and coded to produce a coded audio signal. The coded audio signal is then scaled with a plurality of gain values to produce a plurality of scaled coded audio signals, each having an associated gain value and a plurality of error values are determined existing between the input signal and each of the plurality of scaled coded audio signals. A gain value is then chosen that is associated with a scaled coded audio signal resulting in a low error value existing between the input signal and the scaled coded audio signal. Finally, the low error value is transmitted along with the gain value as part of an enhancement layer to the coded audio signal.
US08209185B2
A method, article of manufacture, and apparatus for presenting an auditory recording having associated data representing at least one term identified in the recording is disclosed. In an embodiment, this comprises providing a visual representation of the term, providing a link associated with an occurrence of the term in the recording, and when the link is selected, playing a portion of the recording corresponding to the occurrence of the term. A portion of the recording following the portion corresponding to the occurrence of the term may be played.
US08209165B2
A method is disclosed for translation of an input sentence in a source language to an output sentence in a target language using a store comprising a plurality of example sentences in the source language each paired with its translation in the target language. The method provides for improved matching of the input text against the store of example sentences by analysing both the sentences in the store and the input sentence using a bilingual resource combining aspects of a bilingual dictionary and thesaurus in order to determine the senses and translations of the words in the input sentence and the examples.
US08209158B1
A model may be constructed and simulated using processor-in-the-loop co-simulation at a target device. In one implementation, a host environment may provide a graphical environment that facilitates construction of the model defined as a plurality of functional blocks. The host environment may receive, via graphical selection menus associated with the blocks of the model, an indication of which blocks of the model are to simulated at an external target device and which blocks of the model are to be simulated at the host environment. Further, the host environment may receive a command, that may be entered interactively by a user, to start simulation of the model and execute, in response to the command, co-simulation of the model at the host environment and the external target device.
US08209157B2
Methods and systems for simulating beam-to-surface contacts in finite element analysis (FEA) are disclosed. A FEA model contains at least one beam element and at least one surface mesh. Surface mesh comprises a plurality of two-dimensional finite elements having arbitrary mesh density. A minimum characteristic length (CL) of the surface mesh is calculated. One or more interior points are defined for those beam elements with length longer than CL. For every nodal point (i.e., end nodes and interior points if any), a parametric coordinate between 0 and 1 inclusive is established and kept constant throughout the FEA analysis. Distributed nodal masses are used for calculating a stiffness value for calculating nodal force to resist penetration. Initial penetration with the surface mesh at each nodal point along the beam element is compensated with a set of displacements subtracting from the initial nodal displacements, such that the compensational forces remain at zero as the nodal point's initial interpenetration decreases.
US08209156B2
A method is provided for designing a product. The method may include obtaining data records relating to one or more input variables and one or more output parameters associated with the product and selecting one or more input parameters from the one or more input variables. The method may also include generating a computational model indicative of interrelationships between the one or more input parameters and the one or more output parameters based on the data records and providing a set of constraints to the computational model representative of a compliance state for the product. Further the method may include using the computational model and the provided set of constraints to generate statistical distributions for the one or more output parameters. The one or more input parameters and the one or more output parameters represent a design for the product.
US08209154B2
A system for a fast method to simulate phase lock loop (PLL) sub-block simulation is presented. The simulation of the sub-blocks of the PLL involve solving a system of non-linear equations for the voltages and currents in the sub-blocks of the PLL. A harmonic balance method is used to solve the system of non-linear equation. The harmonic balance method involves creating a system of linear equations which is solved using a novel hybrid time and frequency domain preconditioner. The hybrid time and frequency domain preconditioner includes the strong and fast convergence property of time-domain preconditioning while avoiding the potential divergent problems of time-domain preconditioning. In addition the hybrid time and frequency domain preconditioner also includes the dependable convergence of frequency domain preconditioning while avoiding the potential stalling problems of frequency domain preconditioning.
US08209151B2
In order to make error recognition, for example, in cabling, in the stored data or in the data allocation, in the allocation of a sensor unit to sensor-relevant data for calibration of an analysis unit that is connected with a sensor unit possible, a sensor identification (6) is located in or on the sensor unit that can be polled by the analysis unit (4) and to which sensor-specific data are allocated in a storage unit (5), and a data carrier (7) is located in or on the sensor unit in which a second set of sensor-specific data are stored that can be read by the analysis unit (4) and can be compared with the first set of sensor-specific data of storage unit (5). Upon agreement of the first and second set of sensor-specific data, the measuring signals are transformed into measurement data by considering the sensor-specific data.
US08209139B2
A capacitance evaluation circuit includes a capacitive voltage divider, an analog-to-digital converter (ADC) and a processing module. The capacitive voltage divider includes a switch circuit, a known capacitor and a capacitor under test. The switch circuit is controlled by first and second clock signals. A voltage variation at a first terminal of the known capacitor is coupled to a first terminal of the capacitor under test based on a conduction state of the switch circuit. The ADC converts a voltage on the first terminal of the capacitor under test into a digital signal. The processing module detects a capacitance and a capacitance variation of the capacitor under test according to the digital signal from the ADC and a parameter of the ADC.
US08209134B2
Methods are disclosed wherein the structural health of a civil structure, such as, but not limited to, a bridge or the like is measured by electronic distance measurement (EDM) from a plurality of stable locations to a plurality of cardinal points on the structure in a methodical manner. By measuring the coordinates of the cardinal points, the dynamic and long-term static behavior of the structure provide an indication of the health of the structure. Analysis includes: comparison to a Finite Element Model (FEM); comparison to historical data; and modeling based on linearity, hysteresis, symmetry, creep, damping coefficient, and harmonic analysis.
US08209128B1
This invention provides a new method for rapidly analyzing single bioparticles to assess their material condition and state of health. The method is enabled by use of a resonant cavity apparatus to measure an optical property related to the bioparticle size and refractive index. Measuring the refractive index is useful for determining material properties of the bioparticle. The material properties depend on the biomolecular composition of the bioparticle. The biomolecular composition is, in turn, dependent on the state of health of the bioparticle. Thus, measured optical properties can be used to differentiate normal (healthy) and abnormal (diseased) states of bioparticles derived from cells or tissues. The method is illustrated with data obtained from a resonator with a gain medium. The invention also provides new methods for making multiple measurements in a single device and detecting, analyzing, and manipulating bioparticles that are much smaller than the wavelength of light.
US08209126B2
A computer-implemented method for processing data includes accepting a first collection of traces corresponding to signals received over time due to reflection of seismic waves from subsurface structures. A Radon transform is defined with respect to a set of wavefront parameters of the seismic waves. The transform defines a summation of amplitudes of the seismic waves over trajectories defined by the wavefront parameters.The Radon transform is applied to the first collection of traces, so as to convert the first collection into a multidimensional data array that is defined as a function of at least two of the wavefront parameters. The multidimensional data array is processed to produce a second collection of traces having an improved imaging quality with respect to the first collection. The second collection of traces is processed to generate a seismic image of the subsurface structures at the improved imaging quality.
US08209121B1
The present invention provides systems and methods for improving the accuracy of location data, such as GPS data. In an embodiment, the present invention adjusts coordinates by receiving a sequence of coordinates corresponding to a plurality of locations; identifying in a map database, for each location, polyline features within a distance from the coordinates for the location; calculating emission probabilities for the polyline features; calculating transition probabilities for the polyline feature; and adjusting the coordinates for the plurality of locations so that the adjusted coordinates correspond to polyline features belonging to a sequence of polyline features selected, based on the emission probabilities and the transition probabilities, to be the most likely sequence of polyline features that correspond to the sequence of coordinates. Besides improving accuracy, embodiments of this invention enable novel geospatial applications and user interfaces by adding a large amount of meta-information to a location.
US08209118B2
A vehicle dispatch system includes a plurality of vehicle loading modules and a vehicle controlling server. The vehicle loading modules comprises a first wireless transmitting apparatus, a global positioning receiver for providing current coordinates of the vehicles, and a meter apparatus for transmitting an activating message when transporting a passenger. The vehicle controlling server comprises a geographic information system database apparatus for receiving and storing current coordinates of the vehicles, a plurality of road information, an operating interface platform for providing a user with a network apparatus to connect to the operating interface platform for inputting a calling request, and a second wireless transmitting apparatus for transmitting a request to a specified vehicle.
US08209109B2
A method for controlling differences in cylinder mixtures for a two cylinder bank engine having a turbocharger is presented. In one example, the description includes a method for adjusting valve timing to reduce cylinder mixture variation.
US08209106B2
A control apparatus for an internal combustion engine that accurately incorporates demands related to various capabilities of the internal combustion engine. A demand output unit outputs various capability demands of the internal combustion engine, expressed in terms of either torque, efficiency, or an air-fuel ratio data. A torque mediation unit collects only the demand values expressed in terms of torque, and mediates the torque demand values into one. An efficiency mediation unit collects the demand values expressed in terms of efficiency and mediates the efficiency demand values into one. An air-fuel ratio mediation unit collects the demand values expressed in terms of the air-fuel ratio and mediates the air-fuel ratio demand values into one. A control variable computing unit computes control variables of actuators, based upon the torque demand value, efficiency demand value, and air-fuel ratio demand value output from the mediation units.
US08209087B2
A suspension device has in- and out-configurations for use with a vehicle, including means for damping and/or spring action, the damping and/or spring action being controllable, wherein the controllability of the damping and/or spring action includes a locked or substantially locked state in the out-configuration. A method of using the suspension device with a vehicle is also provided.
US08209079B2
An electric power steering system of a vehicle has a plurality of Hall ICs for sensing torque applied to a steering wheel, and an electric motor for power-assisting the steering wheel. A supply voltage for the Hall ICs is varied temporarily to check the electric output signals of the Hall ICs. A non-failing device of the plurality of Hall ICs, which generates the electric output signal varying in response to the variation of the supply voltage, is selected. The electric motor is controlled based on only the electric output signal of the non-failing device.
US08209076B2
Radio frequency identification is used in cooperation with the computer system aboard a motor vehicle to track service and maintenance activities relating to the vehicle. Each component or part of the vehicle that may require maintenance is provided with a unique passive identification tag. The output data from the tag is read by a reader placed in proximity to the tag, and the data is transmitted to an on-board computer module where it is processed, and the service record is updated. A data stream converter may be used to process the information read by the reader into a format that is acceptable to the on-board computer. The data from the on-board computer is stored in a device external to the computer. Provisions are included for notification to the user, the auto dealer or service other agency as needed.
US08209074B2
A robot includes: a main body; a traveling mechanism attached to the main body to move the main body; an image pickup device which picks up an image of an object in a space including a traveling plane; an object detector which detects the object existing in the space based on an image picked up by the image pickup device; a distance calculator which calculates a distance to the object detected by the object detector; a degree of caution setting device which sets a degree of caution with respect to the object detected by the object detector based on the image picked up by the image pickup device and the distance calculated by the distance calculator; and a controller which controls the traveling mechanism based on the degree of caution set by the degree of caution setting device and the distance calculated by the distance calculator.
US08209072B2
A method and device to assist in the piloting of an aircraft in a landing phase may apply a maximum braking of the aircraft if there is a risk of longitudinal departure from a runway.
US08209056B2
A system and method for providing energy assessment and optimization in a data center that includes at least one cooling provider, and at least one cooling consumer, the at least one cooling consumer having cooling requirements. The method according to one aspect includes receiving data regarding cooling availability and power consumption for the at least one cooling consumer, cooling capacity of the at least one cooling provider, and a physical relationship between the at least one cooling consumer and the at least one cooling provider in the data center, storing the received data, determining airflow distribution effectiveness between the at least one cooling consumer and the at least one cooling provider, and displaying at least one value representative of the effectiveness of the distribution of airflow in the data center between the at least one cooling consumer and the at least one cooling provider.
US08209054B2
An embodiment of a haptic gripper system includes a slave gripper device, a master gripper device, and a gripper motor controller. The gripper motor controller includes a slave encoder loop, a master encoder loop, and a haptic loop. The haptic loop is configured to receive a slave motor encoder loop output signal and a master motor encoder loop output signal, determine a difference signal between the slave motor encoder loop output signal and the master motor encoder loop output signal representative of a difference between a first relative angular position of a slave gripper motor and a second relative angular position of a master gripper motor, and provide a slave motor control signal to a slave motor control signal input, and provide a master motor control signal to the master motor control signal input. The slave motor control signal and the master motor control signal drive at least one of the slave gripper motor and the master gripper motor to match their respective relative angular positions with respect to the other.
US08209047B2
The purpose of the invention is a control device for handling mobility elements of a cutting tool (1) and/or a carrier device of a flat printing medium (2) whereon an inscription has been previously printed. The device includes teaching elements (9) for reading information (10) transmitted via reading means (5) which are associated with elements (14, 18) for comparing between the reading information (10) and the instruction information (15, d, D, C) previously stored in memory relating to the definition of the inscription (3, 4) from a density of pixels and/or the framing of the inscription (3, 4) from a relative position between two (3, 4) at least.
US08209038B2
A system and method for radio network planning comprises a grid generator and a Monte Carlo analysis module. The Monte Carlo analysis module comprises a snapshot generation module which draws, for each snapshot and for each pixel, a statistical realization from a distribution function relating to slow fading, and a snapshot evaluation module which establishes radio network parameters. The Monte Carlo analysis module further comprises a sub-snapshot generation module which generates at least one sub-snapshot for each evaluated snapshot result, and a sub-snapshot evaluation module (14) for evaluating HSDPA performance parameters based on the sub-snapshot. The sub-snapshot evaluation module (14) comprises a scheduler module (16) which is arranged for scheduling a HSDPA user according to a scheduling scheme.
US08209025B1
Methods of optimizing stimulation current applied to a cochlear implant patient include determining a plurality of narrowband spectral modulation detection thresholds for the patient and adjusting a stimulation current applied to the patient in accordance with the narrowband spectral modulation detection thresholds. Systems for optimizing stimulation current applied to a cochlear implant patient include an electrode array having a plurality of electrodes disposed thereon, an implantable cochlear stimulator coupled to the electrode array and configured to apply a stimulation current to one or more locations along a cochlea of a patient via one or more of the electrodes, and a fitting station communicatively coupled to the implantable cochlear stimulator. The fitting station is configured determine a plurality of narrowband spectral modulation detection thresholds and adjust the stimulation current in accordance with the narrowband spectral modulation detection thresholds.
US08209021B2
Selective high-frequency spinal chord modulation for inhibiting pain with reduced side affects and associated systems and methods are disclosed. In particular embodiments, high-frequency modulation in the range of from about 1.5 kHz to about 50 kHz may be applied to the patient's spinal chord region to address low back pain without creating unwanted sensory and/or motor side affects. In other embodiments, modulation in accordance with similar parameters can be applied to other spinal or peripheral locations to address other indications.
US08209019B2
A system for regulating or modulating cardiac therapy using brain state information. The modulation may include suppressing standard, prescribed cardiac therapy for a period of time or it may involve modulating the type of cardiac therapy delivered In another embodiment, a system is provided for determining whether a cardiac event is categorized as neurologically matched, and, if so, modulating the therapeutic output to the heart.
US08209012B2
A system with an implantable cardiac stimulation device having an implantable stimulation generator, at least one implantable lead adapted for connection to the implantable stimulation generator and further adapted for at least one of sensing physiologic activity and delivery of therapy, memory, and a controller in communication with the memory and with the at least one implantable lead and stimulation generator. The controller is configured to automatically evaluate a patient's physiologic status and selectively induce delivery of therapeutic stimulation under variable timing parameters. The system also has a measurement system adapted to measure at least one of strain and velocity of myocardial tissue and is adapted to evaluate strain and/or velocity measures and adjust the variable timing parameters of the implantable stimulation device to increase mechanical synchrony of the myocardial tissue.
US08209009B2
A medical device system that includes a brain stimulating element, cardiac monitoring element and a processor. The processor is configured to receive a brain stimulation signal from the brain stimulating element and a cardiac signal from the cardiac monitoring element. The processor is further configured to determine at least one reference point for a stimulation event time period by evaluation of the brain stimulation signal. The processor further identifies a first portion of the cardiac signal based on the at least one reference point of the stimulation event time period.
US08209008B2
A method for operating an automatic external defibrillator (AED) prompts an operator about proper operation of the automatic external defibrillator and placement of the electrodes to ensure rapid and proper operation. Depending upon a state of a pad storage compartment, upon activation the AED issues an initial prompt, pauses after the initial prompt and then issues a second prompt. The AED also determines whether the pads have been removed from a liner and if so, issues a pad application prompt. The AED next determines whether both pads have been placed and if so, analyzes an impedance signal and if the impedance signal is erratic, issues a pad correction prompt. The AED also issues the pad correction prompt if the pads are removed from the liner but never go on the patient.
US08209004B2
Apparatus and methods for monitoring electrical activity within the brain of a person (“brainwaves”) employing electrodes or other sensors connected or placed proximate to portions of the body below the head to develop raw signals. The raw signals are filtered to produce analysis signals including frequency components relevant to brain electrical activity while attenuating unrelated frequency components. Purposes include but are not limited to, biofeedback-based attention training, human performance training, gaming, and relaxation training. Either wired or wireless signal connections are made to electronic circuitry, typically including a digital computer, for performing signal processing and analysis functions.
US08209003B2
A morphology discrimination scheme extracts shape characteristics from cardiac signals and identifies an associated cardiac condition based on the shape characteristics. For example, internal data structures may be updated to match the shape characteristics of a known condition (e.g., a patient's normal sinus rhythm). Similarly acquired shape characteristics obtained in conjunction with a later event (e.g., QRS complexes acquired during a tachycardia episode) may be compared with the previously stored shape characteristics to characterize the later event. In some aspects the shape characteristics relate to inflection points of cardiac signals.
US08209002B2
Method and apparatus for computer enabled analysis of ECG (electro cardiographic) data by exploiting computerized three-dimensional spatial presentation of the measured data using vectors. A three-dimensional presentation of the human heart may be correlated with waveforms specific for standard ECG or derived ECG signals based on the dipole approximation of the heart electrical activity. Additional tools for analyzing ECG data are also provided which may be used to determine the time of cardiac electrical events, to select specific beats for automated cardiac interval determination, and to flag ECGs that have been evaluated by automated means but may benefit by human reading.
US08208996B2
The present invention provides for the detection and display of polarization scrambling tissue without resolving the polarization state of the backscattered imaging beam. In one embodiment, we illuminate the tissue using two different polarizations. A first polarization determines a first image of high intensity while the second polarization determines a second image of low intensity. Comparison and combination of the first and second images determines tissue which scrambles the polarization in neighboring detection cells.
US08208993B2
An MRI-guided interventional system includes a head support apparatus for engaging and securing the head of a patient, and a targeting frame configured to be secured to the body of a patient. The targeting frame includes a cooperating targeting cannula that is configured to guide placement of an interventional device through a burr hole in a patient's skull in vivo. The system includes an MRI-compatible camera positioned proximate to the head support apparatus, and an MRI-compatible imaging device having one end attached to the targeting frame to provide a local field of view of the burr hole, and an opposite end in communication with the camera. The system also includes a display output module coupled to the camera for receiving electrical signals therefrom and for displaying images corresponding thereto.
US08208992B2
An image diagnosis support device 10 includes an image acquisition section 61 which acquires a tomographic image including a desired organ of an object from a medical image scanning apparatus 2 or a magnetic disk 13; a reference region extraction section 62 which extracts a reference region representing a reference in the organ of interest from the tomographic image acquired by the image acquisition section 61; an organ region extraction section 63 which extracts an organ region representing a region of the organ of interest from the tomographic image acquired by the image acquisition section 61; an organ shape information calculation section 64 which calculates organ shape information regarding the shape of the organ of interest from the reference region extracted by the reference region extraction section 62 and the organ region extracted by the organ region extraction section 63; and display control section 11 which displays on a monitor 15, which is a display device, the organ shape information calculated by the organ shape information calculation section 64.
US08208987B2
A method for quantifying the uptake of at least one radiotracer in a body region of a patient of interest to a positron emission tomography measurement is disclosed. In at least one embodiment of the method, the uptake of the radiotracer in the body region of the patient of interest to the positron emission tomography measurement is quantified taking into account at least one permeability information item relating to the permeability of at least one blood vessel of the patient, in particular in the body region of interest.
US08208982B2
An evanescent catheter system having a tip portion of an optical fiber capable of securely measuring fluorescence intensity or fluorescence spectrum of a substance around a catheter tip, without being hindered by optical absorption of hemoglobin in erythrocytes in blood, and being capable of calculating an existing amount of a fluorescence-emitting substance existing in an evanescent light generating part. A protecting layer 22 and a cladding 23 are removed from an upper semicircular part of a core 24 at a tip of a catheter 21 to expose the core 24. When excitation light 29 is incident, evanescent light 25 is generated on the upper semicircular part of the core 24 and a fluorescent substance generates emits fluorescence 30. An interference filter 26 filters out the excitation light and only the fluorescence 30 reaches the photodiode 28, permitting a measuring device to measure an existing amount of the fluorescent substance.
US08208981B2
Provided is a MIMO communication device which can maintain the MIMO communication characteristic at a certain level regardless of the device installation position. The MIMO communication device (100) includes antenna elements (101-1, 101-2) as a first and a second antenna element which are arranged on a single straight line and an antenna element (102-1) or an antenna element (102-2) as a third antenna element which is arranged out of the straight line. A MIMO modulation unit (105) is connected to all the antenna elements. This assures that there exists a combination of antennas having other than 0 as a matrix expression of a channel estimation matrix in a propagation path between the MIMO communication device (100) and the communication partner regardless of the installation position of the MIMO communication device (100) with respect to a communication partner. As a result, it is possible to realize the MIMO communication device which can maintain the MIMO communication characteristic at a certain level or above regardless of the device installation position.
US08208974B2
A method of performing actions related to handover by a mobile station (MS) in a wireless mobile communication system is disclosed. More specifically, the MS receives information from a base station (BS), wherein the information includes at least one action for performing handover and at least one condition corresponding to the at least one action. Furthermore, the MS transmits a request message to perform the at least one action based on the received information from the BS and receives a response message in response to the request message. Lastly, the MS performs the at least one action according to the received response message.
US08208972B2
A mobile computing device with multiple modes, for example, wireless communication and personal computing, has an application processor and a communication processor. In the computing mode, the application processor is the master processor. In the communication mode, the application processor is deenergized to conserve battery power, with the communication processor functioning as the master processor by accessing the device's peripheral bus using the memory interface of the communication processor.
US08208971B2
An integrated access system of a wireless and wired network is provided. The system includes a basic network and a newly-added network, wherein the newly-added network includes an access processing device combination and a terminal communication device, the access processing device combination combines with a communication device of the basic network, to realize service functions of the newly-added network via information interaction with the terminal communication device.
US08208969B2
An electronic device providing ringtone control and method include an infrared sensor. When the electronic device receives an incoming call, the electronic device turns on the infrared sensor if the incoming call has not been answered within a first time period. If one or more human bodies are detected by the sensor, the electronic device turns off the ringtone of the electronic device when the incoming call has not been answered within a second time period.
US08208961B2
A system for operating at least two subscriber identity cards has a subscriber identity module (SIM) controller generating a first voltage variable signal with a first voltage level to a first subscriber identity card during a first time period, generating the first voltage variable signal at a second voltage level to the first subscriber identity card during a second time period, receiving a first code indicating that generated voltage matches from the first subscriber identity card during the first or second time period, generating a first operating voltage with the first voltage level to the first subscriber identity card when receiving the first code in the first time period, generating the first operating voltage with the second voltage level when receiving the first code in the second time period.
US08208955B1
Disclosed are systems and techniques for identifying VoIP phone connector locations whereby an emergency call request can be specifically located on a VoIP phone network. This system addresses prior-art shortcomings in which the location information is attempted to be tracked with identification information stored in VoIP phones, or in which databases of location information are created relative to MAC addresses of component pieces of the VoIP phone network (such as the VoIP phones themselves, data switches, or LAN routers) Further described are VoIP phone server embodiments that enable the location and/or caller information to be determined according to the associated VoIP phone connectors and for that information to be transmitted both to public safety access points and to campus security networks, and for emergency calls to be bridged both to public safety access points and to campus security networks.
US08208948B2
A method and an apparatus for selecting a location platform for a user equipment to roam and a method for determining the location of the user equipment using the same. The method for selecting a location platform includes: checking a visiting network of the UE in response to a location request message transmitted from the UE which is roaming; and selecting a location platform to calculate a location of the UE by comparing positioning capability information of the checked visiting network and positioning capability information of a home network of the UE. According to such a method, it is possible to efficiently perform the positioning of the UE, regardless of the location of the UE, thereby improving the quality of the positioning service.
US08208935B2
A system, method, and computer readable medium for a data call setup comprises receiving an origination message by a radio call control (RCC) and by a main call control (MCC), receiving an assignment request message by the MCC and by the RCC, and receiving a traffic channel assignment message by a channel element control (CEC) and by the MCC.
US08208924B2
A method and system for improving a call drop caused by a Radio Link Failure (RLF) before handover triggering in a mobile communication system are provided. The method of improving the call drop caused by the RLF in the mobile communication system includes detecting an RLF occurring before handover triggering (RLF_before_HO), generating one of an RLF_before_HO-dependent statistics and an RLF_before_HO-dependent log file, transmitting the one of the RLF_before_HO-dependent statistics and the RLF_before_HO-dependent log file to a serving Base Station (BS), and updating a Neighbor Relation Table (NRT) and optimizing a handover parameter using the one of the RLF_before_HO-dependent statistics and the RLF_before_HO-dependent log file.
US08208919B2
A method for performing route optimization based on network enforced, and mobile implemented, policy. The method includes establishing, from a mobile device, a communication session with an access router; receiving, via the established communication session, a first IP address and a second IP address to be assigned to the mobile device; and receiving, at the mobile device, a set of rules. The method also includes evaluating, at the mobile device, at least one parameter of the communication session against the set of rules to determine to communicate with an external device using a selected one of the first IP address and the second IP address and communicating with the external device using the selected IP address as the address for the mobile device based upon a result of the evaluation.
US08208916B2
Provided is an apparatus and method of predicting a radio-wave environment. The apparatus may include an arrival recognition unit to determine whether a ray emitted from a transmission unit of the ray tracing scheme arrives within a reception radius, a position determination unit to determine an arrival position where the ray arrives within the reception radius, and a processing unit to correct the reception radius by differently applying a size of the ray according to the arrival position.
US08208901B2
A mobile terminal apparatus checks if a user is a proper user based on the operation of the user and, if the result of authentication is negative, uploads predetermined data, which is part of data stored in a memory, to a predetermined server. After the transmission is completed, the mobile terminal apparatus erases the uploaded data from the memory. It is also possible to instruct the mobile terminal apparatus to upload and erase data from an external source using an electronic mail or a telephone tone signal sequence. This may protect data contained in mobile terminal apparatus that has been lost, from a person who improperly attempts to access the data.
US08208883B2
The present invention provides a receiver with low power consumption. The receiver with low power consumption adjusts the gain of the programmable gain amplifier based on the automatic gain controller and further optimizes the gain bandwidth product by current-adjusting unit. The current-adjusting unit thus adjusts the current provided for the programmable gain amplifier, e.g. operational amplifier. Therefore, the gain bandwidth product of the programmable gain amplifier is optimized and the power consumption of the receiver is effectively decreased.
US08208878B1
A method, amplifier and system are provided for enabling power recovery from a narrow-band antenna when a signal having bandwidth exceeding that of the antenna is utilized. The amplifier provides amplification of a source signal to the antenna and recovery of power stored in the antenna during periods when the impedance of the antenna is negative to enable reverse current through the amplifier to a direct current (DC) power source.
US08208876B2
A power amplifier controller circuit controls a power amplifier based upon an amplitude correction signal indicating the amplitude difference between the amplitude of the input signal and an attenuated amplitude of the output signal. The power amplifier controller circuit comprises an amplitude control loop and a phase control loop. The amplitude control loop adjusts the supply voltage to the power amplifier based upon the amplitude correction signal.The amplitude loop may include a variable gain amplifier adjusting the amplitude of the input signal. The amplitude loop can include a compression control block which may be configured either to adjust the gain in the variable gain amplifier or the voltage from the power supply based upon the operating level of the other, in addition to being based upon the amplitude correction signal, thus providing a way of maintaining the depth beyond the PA's compression point and allowing a control of the efficiency of the RF power amplifier.
US08208871B2
A an apparatus and method for providing a hand held, ergonomic grip removably retaining a portable phone device and sized and shaped to accommodate the distance from the ear to the mouth on a human head. The grip having an ergonomic grip body held in a hand and sized and shaped to accommodate the distance between said ear and said mouth when held in an operating position. An opening within the ergonomic grip body removably retaining the portable phone device therein. An at least one operating control element thereon. An at least one portion of the ergonomic grip body facilitating release of the portable phone device from the ergonomic grip body and an at least one grip element on the ergonomic grip, wherein a user holds the grip element and thereby the grip body the removable retains the portable phone device in the operating position and the ergonomic grip body fits the ergonomic distance from ear to mouth.
US08208864B2
A system to provide narrowcast communications uses adaptive data rate control to individual subscribers such that the effects of precipitation or other link conditions, which are not common to all subscribers, is mitigated. The invention takes advantage of the fact that the narrowcast data consist of packets which are individually addressed to specific subscribers, or groups of subscribers. The narrowcast data is communicated on a plurality of channels, each of potentially differing data rates. The subscribers are assigned a particular channel, based upon their link quality, to receive packets addressed to them. The lower data rate channel will be less affected by adverse link conditions and are hence assigned to subscribers most likely to incur adverse link conditions.
US08208863B2
A Radio Frequency (RF) transceiver includes a baseband processor, a receiver section, and a transmitter section. The receiver section communicatively couples to the baseband processor and includes a plurality of tuned RF circuits. The transmitter section communicatively couples to the baseband processor and includes a plurality of tuned RF circuits. In a calibration operation, the transmitter section applies a RF test signal to its plurality of tuned RF circuits. The baseband processor applies a plurality of tuning control settings to each the tuned RF circuit. The baseband processor, for each of the plurality of tuning control settings, measures an output of the tuned RF circuit. The baseband processor selects a tuning control setting for the tuned RF circuit based upon at least one measured output of the tuned RF circuit. Finally, the baseband processor is operable to apply a selected tuning control setting to the tuned RF circuit.
US08208860B2
A transmitter transmits a signal to a receiver along a transmission path. The respective positions of the transmitter and the receiver are determined, and notice is received that a moving vehicle is proximate to the transmission path. Responsive to such notice, the moving vehicle position is determined, and such position is used with the transmitter and receiver positions to determine whether the moving vehicle is located between the transmitter and receiver positions. If so, the moving vehicle position is used to calculate the time delay between the times at which first and second components of the transmitted signal are received at the receiver, wherein the first component is transmitted directly to the receiver, and the second component is transmitted to the receiver after reflection from the moving vehicle. The calculated time delay is then used to provide a corrective signal component, which is employed to reduce degradation of the first component caused by the second signal component.
US08208856B2
Aspects of a method and system for a programmable interference suppression module may include receiving a communication signal comprising one or more desired signal, and one or more undesired signals. The communication signal may be utilized to generate estimated channel state information. The estimated channel state information may be formatted for use in interference suppression. A reduced interference signal may be generated from a delayed version of said communications signal and the estimated channel state information, wherein the one or more undesired signals may be attenuated. The reduced interference signal may be formatted for post-processing. The desired signals may comprise WCDMA and/or HSDPA signals, and the undesired signals may be inter-cell and/or intra-cell interference. Further processing may comprise HSDPA processing and/or RAKE finger processing. The communication signal may be a Universal Mobile Telecommunication System (UMTS) compliant signal.
US08208851B2
When an event associated with a mobile station occurs, a relay station requests a base station to allocate a dedicated control channel required for transmitting control information on the mobile station to the base station. Next, when the control information on the mobile station is generated, the relay station transmits the control information to the base station through the dedicated control channel. Accordingly, since the base station allocates the dedicated control channel to the relay station in advance before the control information is generated in the relay station, the relay station can transmit the control information to the base station with a minimum of time delay.
US08208846B2
An image forming apparatus is provided with an apparatus main body, an image forming assembly arranged in the apparatus main body, a sheet tray on which a sheet is to be placed, a conveyance unit detachably insertable into the apparatus main body, provided between the sheet tray and the image forming assembly and adapted to convey the sheet on the sheet tray toward the image forming assembly, an openable and closable cover member provided on a wall of the apparatus main body facing a downstream end of the conveyance unit in a sheet conveying direction, a vertical conveyance path defined at an inner side of the cover member by closing the cover member for further conveying the sheet conveyed by the conveyance unit upward, and a locking mechanism for preventing the conveyance unit from being pulled out from the apparatus main body with the cover member closed.
US08208841B2
A developing device develops an electrostatic latent image on an image bearing body, and includes first, second and third rollers, a developing belt and a developer supply member. The developing belt, which is entrained about the first, second and third rollers, is opposed to the image bearing body between the first and second rollers, and is in contact with the developer supply member between the first and third rollers. The developer supply member supplies a developer to the developing belt.
US08208830B2
A process cartridge is detachably mountable to a main assembly of an electrophotographic image forming apparatus. The process cartridge includes a photosensitive member unit having a photosensitive drum, a developer carrying member for developing an electrostatic latent image formed on the photosensitive drum with a developer, and a toner accommodating unit having a developer accommodating portion accommodating the developer to be used for development of the electrostatic latent image. A movable frame supports the developer carrying member, and an urging member is provided for urging the movable frame in a direction in which the developer carrying member approaches the photosensitive drum. A space maintaining member, is also provided for maintaining a state in which a distance between the photosensitive drum and the developer carrying member is larger than that in an image formation.
US08208826B2
An image forming device has a conveying member, a light source, a photo-sensor, a shutter member, a shutter driving unit, a reflecting member and a judging member. The shutter member located between the photo-sensor and the conveying member is moved between a close position and an open position. The reflecting member provided on shutter member reflects light emitted by the light source when the shutter member entirely or partially shields the light emitted by the light source and directed toward the conveying member, and an intensity of light reflected by the reflecting member and detected by the photo-sensor varying depending on a position of the shutter member. The judging member judges whether the shutter member is located at the close position or the open position and whether the conveying member is present or absent based on the intensity of the light detected by the photo-sensor.
US08208825B2
An electrostatographic printing machine has a liquid toner supply chain incorporating at least a toner supply device (10), a metering roller (21) and a development member (31) and an image carrying member (41). An electrostatic charging device (33) acts onto the development member to impress an electrostatic charge onto the development member and to induce a voltage thereon with respect to a machine electrical common earth potential. The toner supply roller, the metering roller and the developer member are each electrically connected to the machine electrical common earth potential (37) via a respective voltage regulating or controlling means (25, 27, 35) to regulate or control induced voltages on each of the toner supply roller, the metering roller and the developer member.
US08208823B2
A transfer device includes: a first transfer unit that transfers a developer image formed on an image carrier to an intermediate transfer member; a second transfer unit that transfers the developer image on the intermediate transfer member to a recording medium; and a control unit that controls at least one of a transfer pressure and a transfer electric field by the first transfer unit in accordance with a type of the recording medium to which the developer image is transferred.
US08208822B2
An image forming apparatus includes an image bearing member for bearing a toner image; toner image forming means for forming a toner image on the image bearing member; a detecting member for directing light to an object and for detecting the light reflected by the object; a controller for controlling a toner image forming condition of the toner image forming means in accordance with an output of the detecting member with respect to the toner image formed on the image bearing member and an output of the detecting member with respect to the image bearing member; a cleaning member, in contact to the image bearing member, for cleaning the image bearing member; an executing portion for executing, when the output with respect to the image bearing member reaches a reference level, an operation in a cleaning mode in which the cleaning member cleans the image bearing member; and a change portion for changing the reference level in accordance with a use amount of the image bearing member.
US08208819B2
An optical signal generator includes a splitter, a first modulator, a second modulator, a signal-switching unit and a multiplexer. The splitter splits an optical pulse train into a first pulse train and a second pulse train. The first modulator receives the first pulse train and first data signal, and generates a first modulation signal by performing on-off-keying or phase modulation on the first pulse train based on the strength of the first data signal. The second modulator receives the second pulse train and second data signal, and generates a second modulation signal by performing the on-off-keying or phase modulation on the second pulse train based on the strength of the second data signal. The signal-switching unit delays pulses of the second modulation signal or adjusts a phase of a carrier included in the second modulation signal according to a switching signal. The multiplexer generates an optical modulation signal by multiplexing the first modulation signal and the second modulation signal.
US08208805B2
In an imaging apparatus, a first slope is formed that inclines toward a second flash-unit cam at an end face of a first flash-unit cam on the second flash-unit cam side at a first position where a flash-unit follower is located on the first cam when the flash-unit follower is engaged with the first flash-unit cam and the lens barrel unit is changed into wide angle state, and a second slope is formed that inclines toward the first flash-unit cam at an end face of the second cam on the first flash-unit cam side at a second position where the flash-unit follower is located on the second flash-unit cam when the flash-unit follower is engaged with the second flash-unit cam and the lens barrel unit is changed into a wide angle state.
US08208790B2
A pair of main-view and sub-view video streams, a graphics stream, and playlist information are recorded on a BD-ROM disc. The sub-view video stream includes metadata arranged in each GOP. The metadata includes a correspondence table associating offset identifiers and offset information. The offset information defines offset control for each picture in a GOP. Offset control is processing to provide a left offset and right offset for the horizontal coordinates in a graphics plane to generate a pair of graphics planes that are respectively combined with main-view and sub-view video planes. The playlist information includes a stream selection table for each playback section. When the stream selection table associates a stream number with a packet identifier of a graphics stream, one of the offset identifiers is further allocated to the stream number.
US08208788B2
According to one embodiment, an information storage medium, and the program comprises referring to a manifest from a playlist that manages playback presentation of a playback presentation object, referring to one of a markup and a script from the manifest, monitoring defining of a name corresponding to an event in the markup, and generation of an event in response to the name corresponding to the event defined in the markup using an event listener in the script, and designating function contents that execute processing when the event is generated.
US08208785B2
A video recording system is provided in which reliability of information supplied from a video camera to control recording and the like is improved when video being obtained by a video camera is recorded in one or more VTRs. In the video recording system, the video camera multiplexes: control information to control the VTR in accordance with an operational status of an operation unit of the video camera and a video signal from an imaging unit of the video camera, and transmits the result to the VTR as a transmission serial digital signal. The VTR separates the video signal and the control information from the serial digital signal and controls a video recording system of the VTR based on the control information.
US08208774B2
A silica-based multi core optical fiber and a fabrication method for the same are provided, and include two or more cores of GeO2—SiO2 glass including an fluorine concentration not less than about 15 w % and a germanium concentration about 0.05 wt % to 2 wt %, in a core. A relative refractive index difference of a cladding and a core is not less than about 3%; and a ratio of a cladding diameter to a core diameter is about 1.02 to 3.0. A silica-based single core optical fiber is also provided, and includes a core having a germanium concentration not less than about 15 wt % and an fluorine concentration about 0.05 wt % to 2 wt %.
US08208765B2
An image of a character string composed of M pieces of characters is clipped from a document image, and the image is divided into separate characters. Image features of each character image are extracted. Based on the image features, N (N>1, integer) pieces of character images in descending order of degree of similarity are selected as candidate characters, from a character image feature dictionary which stores the image features of character image in units of character, and a first index matrix of M×N cells is prepared. A candidate character string composed of a plurality of candidate characters constituting a first column of the first index matrix, is subjected to a lexical analysis according to a language model, and whereby a second index matrix having a character string which makes sense is prepared. In the language model, statistics are taken and then, the lexical analysis is performed.
US08208764B2
A system for accessing multiple similar key-face images and associated electronic data by providing an image containing a face, the system including a means for capturing an image containing a face, a means for transmitting said image to a facial image recognition search engine. The engine includes a means to receive said image, a means of extracting a facial image from the captured image, a web crawler or spider configured to seek “best-fit” matching facial images disposed on the internet, a means to access said facial image's “best-fit” matching facial images and associated electronic data with each “best-fit” image, a means to transmit said “best-fit” matching facial images and associated data to a display unit, and a mirror imaging device configured to superimpose at least one “best-fit” image on an other facial image, wherein at least one of the images is semi-transparent such that both can be seen superimposed simultaneously.
US08208754B2
An apparatus for reducing image noise with filter matrix comprises a first input unit for receiving input of an object image data for conversion; a second input unit for receiving input of a size data of a convention area; a first output unit for setting conversion unit matrixes movable in the conversion area in a predetermined direction relative to a standard matrix; a second output unit for outputting average values of image information of pixels corresponding to the conversion unit matrixes set by first output unit and outputting an average value of image information of pixels corresponding to the standard matrix; an arrangement unit for calculating difference values between the average value of the standard matrix and the average values of the conversion unit matrixes and arranging calculation (difference) values according to size; and a conversion unit for low-pass filtering the conversion unit matrixes having calculation values smaller than a predetermined ordinal number among the arranged calculation values.
US08208742B2
A method and apparatus for encoding an image is provided. An image coding unit, including a region that deviates from a boundary of a current picture, is divided to obtain a coding unit having a smaller size than the size of the image coding unit, and encoding is performed only in a region that does not deviate from the boundary of the current picture. A method and apparatus for decoding an image encoded by the method and apparatus for encoding an image is also provided.
US08208740B2
A method for transmitting a compressed image via a network, the method comprising: converting (11) the compressed image into a plurality of images, each of the plurality of images having a predetermined resolution level which is less than the original resolution of the image; transforming (12) each of the plurality of images into a data stream; and transmitting (13) each data stream in order according to resolution level, from the lowest resolution level to the original resolution of the image; wherein the compressed image is an image compressed (10) by comparing each image element with a previous image element and; if they are both equal, a first value is recorded; and if they are not both equal, a second value is recorded.
US08208727B2
An information storage medium including graphic data and presentation information, and an apparatus and method of processing the graphic data are provided. The information storage medium includes the graphic data, page composition information which defines page composition of the graphic data, and the presentation information indicating when graphic screen data, which is composed with reference to the page composition information of the graphic data, is output to a display screen. Therefore, a graphic object is reusable in graphic data processing, and accordingly, a time taken to process the graphic data is reducible and memory area may be saved.
US08208725B2
Aspects of the present invention relate to systems and methods for determining text orientation in a digital image.
US08208724B2
The present invention includes methods for the reduction of speckle noise in an image and methods for segmenting an image. Each of the methods disclosed herein includes steps for analyzing the uniformity of a pixel within a plurality of pixels forming a portion of the image and, based on the uniformity of the intensity of the plurality of pixels, adjusting and/or replacing the pixel in order to produce a speckle-noise reduced image, a segmented image, or a segmented and speckle-noise reduced image. The methods of the present invention can employ for example conditional probability density functions, nonlinear estimator functions, convex energy functions and simulated annealing algorithms in the performance of their respective steps.
US08208720B2
A digital media with encoded audio-visual content includes an encoded token. The token comprises visual data having defined characteristics, which are designed such that when the audio-visual content is output as analog output and then re-recorded as digital data, the resulting digital data includes an altered token. Digital data may be processed to detect altered tokens indicating that the data was recorded from an analog output. When an altered token is detected, the copy may be considered to be an unauthorized copy and handled accordingly.
US08208719B2
A method and apparatus for obtaining an image to determine a three dimensional shape of a stationary or moving object using a bi dimensional coded light pattern having a plurality of distinct identifiable feature types. The coded light pattern is projected on the object such that each of the identifiable feature types appears at most once on predefined sections of distinguishable epipolar lines. An image of the object is captured and the reflected feature types are extracted along with their location on known epipolar lines in the captured image. Displacements of the reflected feature types along their epipolar lines from reference coordinates thereupon determine corresponding three dimensional coordinates in space and thus a 3D mapping or model of the shape of the object at any point in time.
US08208713B2
A method for inspecting a diced object that comprises multiple dies, the method includes: acquiring multiple images of multiple portions of the diced object, starting from a first portion that comprises an alignment area and continuing through adjacent portions of the diced object; assigning a die index to each die of the multiple dies of the diced object, starting from a die of the first portion and continuing through adjacent portions of the diced object; associating between dies of the diced object and a dies of a reference object in response to the assigned indexes and locations of the dies of the diced object; wherein the reference object is not diced; and comparing between a die of the diced object and another die while taking into account an association between the die of the diced object and a reference object die.
US08208712B2
A system receives a mask pattern and a first image of at least a portion of a photo-mask corresponding to the mask pattern. The system determines a second image of at least the portion of the photo-mask based on the first image and the mask pattern. This second image is characterized by additional spatial frequencies than the first image.
US08208709B2
A cine imaging filter and method of use that includes a denoising image-filter based on the Karhunen-Loeve transform along the temporal direction to take advantage of the high temporal correlation among images. The cine imaging filter may further include the application of a simple formula describing the quantitative noise reduction capabilities of the KLT filter as a function of eigenimage cutoff. Additionally, the filter may validate its accuracy in numerical simulation and in in-vivo real time cine images. Furthermore, exemplary embodiments of the cine imaging filter may employ a technique to automatically select the optimal eigenimage cutoff to maximize noise reduction with minimal effect on image information.
US08208704B2
A method and apparatus for obtaining a color mapping of a dental object. Illumination is directed toward the object over at least first, second, and third wavelength band, one band at a time. An image of the dental object is captured at each wavelength band to form a set of images of the dental object. For pixels in the captured set of images, an image data value for the pixel corresponds to each of the wavelength bands and calculates interpolated image data values proportional to the spectral reflectance of the dental object, according to the obtained image data values and according to image data values obtained from a reference object at the wavelength bands. Spectral distribution data for a viewing illuminant is obtained and the visual color of the dental object reconstructed according to the calculated interpolated image data values and the obtained spectral distribution of the viewing illuminant.
US08208698B2
Among other things, a texture of an image is characterized by deriving lacunarity measures from the image based on a wavelet analysis.
US08208693B2
A plurality of iris images are acquired (SA0), and aggregation of iris images of which distribution of pupil openings is uniform is acquired from the plurality of iris images by duplication and/or deletion (SA1). Features are generated from the respective iris images that belong to the aggregation (SA2), and a predetermined number of registration features are selected from the features, using authentication performance as an evaluation index.
US08208684B2
A method of processing image data from a multi-chip array with a plurality of photosensitive chips aligned substantially in a transverse direction, including: generating, using a processor for at least one specially programmed computer, a Δy or Δx optical error value equal to a difference in process and transverse directions, respectively, between actual and apparent locations for a first photosensor, the apparent location due to optical error; and storing, in a memory element for the specially programmed computer, respective outputs from the photosensors in the array for first and second scan lines. The actual location is included in the first scan line. The processor retrieves, for use as at least part of useful image data for the first photosensor, the stored output of: the first photosensor for the second scan line for a Δy optical error, or a second photosensor for the first line for a Δx optical error.
US08208683B2
A digital watermark embedding apparatus for embedding embedding information, as digital watermark, into an input signal having dimensions equal to or greater than N (N is an integer equal to or greater than 2) and a digital watermark detection apparatus for detecting the digital watermark are disclosed. The digital watermark embedding apparatus generates an embedding sequence based on embedding information, generates a N−1-dimensional pattern based on the embedding sequence, generates N-dimensional embedding pattern by modulating a periodic signal according to a value on the N−1-dimensional pattern, and superimposing the embedding pattern in the input signal and outputs it. The digital watermark detection apparatus measures a component of a predetermined periodic signal in a direction of a dimension of the input signal to obtain a N−1-dimensional pattern, obtains a detection sequence from values of the N−1 dimensional pattern, and detects embedded digital watermark based on a size of correlation value between the detection sequence and an embedding sequence.
US08208682B2
Provided is an apparatus and method for detecting an image enhanced from a low resolution image to a high resolution image. An apparatus detects an image converted from a first resolution to a higher second resolution. A frequency converter converts a received second resolution image signal to a frequency domain. An image determiner calculates energy per frequency from the received second resolution image signal. If an amount of energy in over a pre-set frequency is less than a threshold, the received second resolution image signal corresponds to a second resolution image converted from a first resolution image, and if the amount of energy in over the pre-set frequency is greater than the threshold, determining that the received second resolution image signal corresponds to a real second resolution image.
US08208680B2
A method for determining the yield loss of a crop using remote sensor data is described. The yield loss is determined using the reflectivity of green light by the crop canopy measured from remote sensor data such as an aerial photograph that is digitized and spatially referenced to the field's longitude and latitude. Green pixel values from the aerial photograph, expressed relative to green pixel values from well-fertilized areas of the field, are transformed to yield losses using a linear transformation that was developed using empirical data. A similar method is described to determine recommended nitrogen fertilization rates for the crop fields. The yield loss data is useful for nitrogen fertilization management, as it allows a producer of crops to weigh the expense of fertilization against the loss of revenue due to yield loss.
US08208679B2
A transducer membrane enhances sound reproduction. Curved portions of the membrane periphery contribute to the enhanced sound reproduction. The transducer membrane may add or improve sound reproduction capability in cell phones, gaming systems, personal data assistants, or other devices.
US08208677B2
An elastically deformable suspension member for use in a speaker to establish a sufficient support to a cone is disclosed. The suspension member has an inner diameter portion for mounting the cone, an outer diameter portion spaced around the inner diameter portion for fastening to a basket, a first annular convex surface portion concentrically arranged between the inner diameter portion and the outer diameter portion and constituting a summit, and a number of second annular convex surface portions symmetrically arranged at two opposite lateral sides of the first annular convex surface portion between the inner diameter portion and the outer diameter portion and respectively constituting summit ridges having a height below the summit and above the elevations of the inner diameter portion and the outer diameter portion.
US08208667B2
The invention relates to an adjustable hearing aid to which at least one parameter which influences the response and amplification characteristics of the hearing aid can be adjusted, with means being included which carry out testing of the effectiveness of an adjustment of this parameter in the prevailing auditory situation, and means being included which, given the existence of a minimum effectiveness, enable the adjustment option of this parameter.
US08208661B2
An apparatus includes a headphone. The headphone includes at least one housing; and at least one sound wave generator disposed in the housing. The sound wave generator includes at least one carbon nanotube structure.
US08208660B2
In a method and system for audio level detection and control, an amplitude of an audio signal may be compared to a threshold and an attenuation applied to the audio signal may be adjusted based on the comparison. In instances that the amplitude of the audio signal is greater than or equal to the threshold the adjustment may comprise increasing a first attenuation factor until the amplitude of the audio signal is less than the threshold. The first attenuation factor may be subsequently decreased until the amplitude of the audio signal is greater than or equal to the threshold or until the first attenuation factor is equal to zero. The attenuation of the audio signal may be controlled via a digital gain circuit within the hardware audio CODEC, wherein an overall attenuation factor of the digital gain circuit is a sum of the first attenuation factor and a second attenuation factor.
US08208658B2
An amplifier power-down apparatus for suppressing transient signals in a circuit, for example an audio circuit, comprising a reference voltage generator circuit for generating a reference voltage. The reference voltage generator circuit comprises a capacitor for maintaining the reference voltage at a desired level. The amplifier power-down apparatus comprises a discharge control circuit for controlling the operation of the reference voltage generator circuit during power-down. The discharge control circuit comprises an amplifier with a positive feedback path for controlling a current flow from the capacitor during power-down.
US08208656B2
An array microphone system includes a first omni-directional microphone, a second omni-directional microphone, a gain control, and a beam former. The first omni-directional microphone faces a first direction. The second omni-directional microphone faces a second direction opposing the first direction. When receiving sound, the first omni-directional microphone and the second omni-directional microphone respectively generate a first signal and a second signal. The gain control amplifies the second signal to transform into a third signal, wherein strength of the third signal is equal to that of the first signal when the sound comes from the first direction. The beam former separates an in-beam sound signal and an out-beam sound signal from the first signal and the third signal.
US08208655B2
A wireless speaker and mounting system for use with a resonating surface of an automobile includes a wireless speaker mechanism including a vibrator, the wireless speaker mechanism configured to receive and convert a wireless signal representative of sound from a separate wireless electronic device into vibrations transmitted by vibrator to the resonating surface of the automobile for creating sound waves by the resonating surface; and a mounting mechanism configured to directly mount the wireless speaker mechanism to the resonating surface of the automobile.
US08208651B2
A noise reduction system for actively blocking a noise source for a means of transport. The noise reduction system comprises at least one counter sound source and at least one intensity sensor. The at least one counter sound source and the at least one intensity sensor are arranged in a measuring region. In the measuring region, measuring of the noise intensity of the noise source and measuring of the counter sound intensity of the counter sound source are by the intensity sensor. Based on the measured noise intensity and the counter sound intensity, the counter sound source is controllable such that the sound energy input of the noise source can be globally reduced by the counter sound source.
US08208624B2
A device such as a mobile phone includes a device to be hearing aid compatible. The device may include a first speaker for private listening operation and a second speaker that provides both speakerphone operation and hearing aid (e.g. telecoil) operation. The device may include a first use position for normal listening and a second, substantially different, use position for telecoil operation.
US08208619B2
A method and apparatus for improving call yields and reducing redundant calls while contacting patients who have not responded to reminders to schedule a return appointment, or who are due for a visit according to accepted standards of care or office policies, but have not scheduled an appointment. The patient reactivation system is queried for the next patient on the contact list, and queried again to find all patients sharing one or more phone numbers with this patient. Information required for contacting these patients to invite them to make an appointment is displayed. The user is presented one phone number at a time, and prompted to call this number and invite all listed patients to make an appointment. Results are collected, and when multiple patients are displayed, the program may prompt the user for clarification regarding which patients a given result applies to. Based on the results collected, the system determines whether or not to prompt the user to call the same patients again with other phone numbers, if available. Finally, the system analyzes the set of results collected in order to calculate follow-up call times for each patient. The system may keep separate follow-up call times for each phone number as well in order to further improve the patient experience.
US08208614B2
A reliability authorizing device determines whether to authorize a service transfer based on reliability of a partner device or a partner user when one user of one device authenticates other user of other device to exchange the service between devices connected to a network. A partner-reliability collecting unit collects reliability of the partner device or the partner user. A partner-reliability providing unit provides the reliability of the partner device or the partner user collected by the partner-reliability collecting unit.
US08208609B2
A system and method for remotely enabled voice activated dialing. Generation of a special dial tone indicating that a user may give the voice identifier is initiated. A voice identifier is received over a network from a wired telephone utilized by a user. Dialing information associated with the voice identifier is determined. One or more receiving parties associated with the voice identifier are dialed. The wired telephone is connected to the one or more receiving parties.
US08208602B2
A system for producing at least one high flux photon beam is provided. The system includes two or more photon sources configured to produce photon beams, and at least one first stage optic device coupled to at least one of the photon sources and providing at least one focused photon beam through total internal reflection, wherein at least one of the photon beams and the focused photon beams are combined at a virtual focal spot.
US08208599B2
An imaging system (10) comprises at least one radiation detector (20) disposed adjacent a subject receiving aperture (18) to detect radiation from a subject, receive the radiation and generate measured data. An image processor (38) iteratively reconstructs the detected radiation into image representations, in each reconstruction iteration the image processor (38) applies noise reduction algorithms to at least a difference between the measured data and a portion of a previous iteration image representation.
US08208595B2
An apparatus that reduces sampling errors for data communicated between devices uses phase information acquired from a timing reference signal such as a strobe signal to align a data-sampling signal for sampling a data signal that was sent along with the timing reference signal. The data-sampling signal may be provided by adjustably delaying a clock signal according to the phase information acquired from the strobe signal. The data-sampling signal may also have an improved waveform compared to the timing reference signal, including a fifty percent duty cycle and sharp transitions. The phase information acquired from the timing reference signal may also be used for other purposes, such as aligning received data with a local clock domain, or transmitting data so that it arrives at a remote device in synchronism with a reference clock signal at the remote device.
US08208591B2
Systems and techniques for adapting and/or optimizing an equalizer of a receiver are described. The equalizer's behavior can be adjusted by modifying one or more equalization parameters. At the beginning of the adaptation and/or optimization process, the system can determine robust initial values for the one or more equalization parameters. The system can then adapt and/or optimize the equalizer by iteratively adjusting the one or more equalization parameters. Specifically, in each iteration, the system can use the receiver's clock and data recovery (CDR) circuitry to determine the number of early and late data transitions associated with one or more data patterns. Next, the system can adjust the one or more equalization parameters so that, for each data pattern in the one or more data patterns, the ratio between the number of early data transitions and the number of late data transitions is substantially equal to a desired value.
US08208577B2
Improved control apparatus and methods transfer information between devices, such as controllers and field devices, utilizing a modulator that generates a pulse width modulated (PWM) signal containing information to be transferred by a first of the devices, e.g., the controller, to the second device. A transformer or other inductive device transfers the PWM signal across the isolation barrier, where it is demodulated to analog form for application to the second device, e.g., the field device. Information transferred from the second device to the first device can be transferred in an amplitude modulated (AM) signal that utilizes, as its carrier, a fixed duty cycle output of the modulator that generates the PWM signal.
US08208576B2
A method for performing a precoding based on a generalized phase shift or a precoding based on an extended phase shift in a Multi-Input Multi-Output (MIMO) system employing several sub-carriers, and a transceiver for supporting the same are disclosed. A phase-shift-based precoding matrix is generalized by multiplying a diagonal matrix for a phase shift by a unitary matrix for maintaining orthogonality between sub-carriers. In this case, a diagonal matrix part may be extended by multiplying a precoding matrix for removing an interference between sub-carriers by a diagonal matrix for a phase shift. By generalization and extension of the phase-shift-based precoding, a transceiver is more simplified, and a communication efficiency increases.
US08208573B2
A method and apparatus for performing trellis coded modulation of signals for transmission on a TDMA channel of a cable network, such as a DOCSIS cable network, is provided. In an embodiment, an upstream modulator portion of a cable modem receives burst data, selectively encodes the burst data for trellis coded modulation to generate encoded symbols, and modulates the encoded symbols for selective transmission over a time division multiple access (TDMA) channel or a synchronous code division multiple access (S-CDMA) channel of the cable network.
US08208571B1
In detecting a signal, angle information is generated based on a complex signal having a periodic portion. An autocorrelation signal is generated based on the angle information and not based on magnitude information associated with the complex signal. The periodic portion is detected based on the autocorrelation signal.
US08208563B2
This disclosure describes techniques for correcting artifacts that occur along a boundary of a substitute video unit generated using video unit substitution, e.g., motion-compensated video unit interpolation or extrapolation. In accordance with the techniques described in this disclosure, a frame substitution unit identifies first locations within a substitute video unit that correspond with a boundary that exists within a reference video unit and should exist within the substitute video unit, and corrects boundary artifacts in the first locations using a first boundary artifact correction technique. The frame substitution unit also identifies second locations within the substitute video unit that correspond with a boundary that exists within the substitute video unit and does not exist within the reference video unit and corrects boundary artifacts in the second locations using a second boundary artifact correction technique.
US08208562B2
A transcoding device has been disclosed, which reduces the influence of an error even if the error has occurred in a decode image before re-encoding (transcoding). The transcoding device includes a decoder that decodes image data encoded in a first format and a transcoder that re-encodes image data supplied from the decoder into a second format, wherein the decoder calculates and outputs an amount of decode errors at the time of decoding and a transcoder 3 outputs re-encoded image data as it is or outputs it after replacement with skip data.
US08208550B2
Techniques for adapting an encoded video signal to a complexity of video encoding may be used to reduce a bit rate of an encoded video signal when the complexity is reduced. Video communication according to the present techniques includes adapting an encoded video signal to an encoding complexity used to derive a set of encoded data from a series of video frames.
US08208547B2
A method is provided for decoding a bit stream representing an image that has been encoded The method includes the steps of: performing an entropy decoding of the bit stream to form a plurality of transform coefficients and a plurality of motion vectors; performing an inverse transformation on the plurality of transform coefficients to form a plurality of error blocks; determining a plurality of predicted blocks based on bidirectional motion estimation that employs the motion vectors, wherein the bidirectional motion estimation includes a direct prediction mode and a second prediction mode; and, adding the plurality of error blocks to the plurality of predicted blocks to form the image. The second prediction mode may include forward, backward, and interpolated prediction modes.
US08208530B2
An apparatus and method for correcting IQ imbalance are presented. An exemplary receiver for processing I and Q signals from a tuner includes: a non-decision directed (NDD) imbalance canceller coupled to receive the I and Q signals, and a decision directed (DD) imbalance canceller coupled to the non-decision directed imbalance canceller. The DD imbalance canceller converges after the NDD imbalance canceller converges, so as to correct IQ imbalances in the receiver. An exemplary method for processing I and Q signals from a tuner includes: (a) converging a NDD imbalance canceller to correct a majority of IQ imbalances, and (b) subsequently converging a DD imbalance canceller to correct a remainder of IQ imbalances not corrected in step (a). The apparatus and method correct frequency-dependent and frequency-independent IQ imbalances.
US08208524B2
A data processing apparatus maps input symbols to be communicated onto a predetermined number of sub-carrier signals of an Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiplexed (OFDM) symbol. The data processor includes an interleaver memory which reads-in the predetermined number of data symbols for mapping onto the OFDM sub-carrier signals. The interleaver memory reads-out the data symbols on to the OFDM sub-carriers to effect the mapping, the read-out being in a different order than the read-in, the order being determined from a set of addresses, with the effect that the data symbols are interleaved on to the sub-carrier signals. The set of addresses are generated from an address generator which comprises a linear feedback shift register and a permutation circuit. The linear feedback shift register has eleven register stages with a generator polynomial for the linear feedback shift register of R′i[10]=R′i-1[0]⊕R′i-1[2], and the permutation code forms, with an additional bit, a twelve bit address.
US08208523B2
Equalization of an incoming data signal can be controlled by sampling that signal at times when data values in that signal should be stable (“data samples”) and when that signal should be in transition between successive data values that are different (“transition samples”). A transition sample that has been taken between two successive differently valued data samples is compared to a reference value (which can be one of those two data samples). The result of this comparison can be used as part of a determination as to whether to increase or decrease equalization of the incoming data signal.
US08208521B2
Methods and apparatus are provided for detecting a loss of lock condition in a clock and data recovery system. A loss of lock condition is detected in a clock and data recovery system that generates a recovered clock signal from a received signal by sampling the received signal for a plurality of different phases using one or more latches clocked by the recovered clock; evaluating the samples to monitor a data eye associated with the received signal; and detecting the loss of lock condition if the data eye does not satisfy one or more predefined conditions. Generally, the predefined conditions identify a loss of the data eye (e.g., when the data eye cannot be substantially detected), for example, based on a degree of opening of the data eye. The clock and data recovery system can optionally be restarted if the loss of lock condition is detected.
US08208520B2
Through the use of a variable state length initialization, both the transmitter and the receiver can have control of the length of one or more initialization states. For example, a transmitter can send information, such as a message, to the receiver at the commencement of, during initialization or prior to entering a variable length initialization state. The information can specify, for example, a minimum length of an initialization state as needed by the transmitter.
US08208519B2
Using DSL modems as data collectors, the modems processes the data to, for example, allow easier interpretation of the line characteristics. In particular, the modems postprocess the data including calibration, filter compensation, determination of the SNR medley from the bits and gains tables and rate conversion. The interpretation process uses the postprocessed data and determines loop characterization, interferer detection, a data reduction estimation and a data rate estimation. The outputs of these determinations least allow for the characterization of the line conditions between the two modems.
US08208513B2
Receivers and reception methods conduct spread spectrum reception using the energy of multiple bits, preferably a substantial number of bits, in a packet for correct alignment of the spreading code at the receiver. Code acquisition, as well as packet detection and acquisition are provided by embodiments of the invention. Preferred embodiment receivers and reception methods provide packet detection at low SINR looking at energy of multiple bits of the packet, frame synchronization using short preamble, timing recovery at low SINR looking at energy of multiple bits of the packet, quick code acquisition using parallel search for all possible code phases, code acquisition at low SINR, and tracking of acquired timing and code phase. Preferred embodiment receivers and reception methods use the energy of multiple bits for making decisions.
US08208494B2
Packets can be intelligently sliced by removing irrelevant portions of a packet, while retaining relevant portions. For a series of network packets, a packet is obtained from the network. The packet includes at least a header, one or more packet fields, and a first data payload. The protocol of the packet is determined. Once the protocol is known, the packet header is parsed to determine the position of the first data payload. Based on the determine positions of the first data payload, a modified packet is created by removing or masking the first data payload.
