US08645034B2
A method of detecting synchronizer misalignment in a vehicle transmission, includes: applying an engagement force to an input side of a synchronizer or output side of the synchronizer; monitoring a performance characteristic of a power source configured to apply the engagement force; and determining a misalignment based on the performance characteristic exceeding or not achieving a predetermined threshold.
US08645023B2
A wire harness includes a standard connection circuit part which connects a standard electronic device and an ECU, and an optional connection circuit part which connects optional electronic devices and the ECU. The optional connection circuit part includes a communication connector which is provided to be connectable to the optional electronic devices, and an optional circuit which connects the ECU to the communication connector. The communication connector performs multiplex communication which multiplexes communication of the optional electronic devices and the ECU.
US08645018B2
A system and method for determining the time to change the oil of an automatic transmission includes: continuously tracing/storing oil change-related information, which serves as a basis for an oil change, from the point of time when new automatic transmission oil is provided, such as the point in time of a new car purchase or the point in time of an automatic transmission oil change; determining whether or not it is time to change the oil of the automatic transmission on the basis of the oil change-related information, a preset change reference value, an oil temperature reference value, a recommended vehicle travel mileage and the like. When it is determined to be the time to change the oil of the automatic transmission, an automatic transmission oil change signal is generated to inform a driver of the necessity of changing the oil of the automatic transmission.
US08645016B2
A control system is provided for automatically moving at least one machine along a desired path.
US08645013B2
A hybrid powertrain includes an engine and electric motors configured to transfer torque through a transmission. A method for controlling the hybrid powertrain includes determining a transition window associated with torque output of one of the electric motors coupled to an element of the transmission. A noise reduction control scheme is executed when the torque output of the one of the electric motors coupled to the element of the transmission is within the transition window.
US08645007B2
An aircraft, which has a respective arrangement of flow-influencing devices in at least one surface segment of each wing extending in the wingspan direction in order to influence the fluid flow over the surface segment, and of flow condition sensor devices for measuring the flow condition on the respective segment, and a flight control device, wherein the flight control device has a flow-influencing target parameter setting device connected with the arrangement of flow-influencing devices for generating target parameters for the flow-influencing devices of the at least one surface segment, wherein the flow-influencing devices are designed in such a way as to use the target parameters to change the local lift coefficients or correlations between the drag and lift coefficients in the segment where respectively located.
US08644996B2
A positioner operating mode identifying function is provided in a calculating unit. A pressure value of an amplified pneumatic pressure signal, from a single-mode pilot relay, is detected by a pressure sensor and sent to the calculating unit. The calculating unit, through the positioner operating mode identifying function, monitors a change in the amplified pneumatic pressure signal corresponding to a change in the control signal, and if the direction of change in the control output and the direction of change of the amplified pneumatic pressure signal are the identical direction, identifies the operating mode of the positioner as the positive operating mode. The operating mode of the positioner is identified as the negative operating mode if the direction of change in the control output and the direction of change of the amplified pneumatic pressure signal are the opposite directions. The identification results displayed on a screen of a display unit.
US08644987B2
Disclosed are a robot, in which a walking pattern of the robot is changed into a new walking pattern by stages when it is necessary to suddenly change the walking pattern to promote stabilization in walking, and a walking control apparatus and method thereof. When the walking pattern is changed, a preview time is decreased by stages and then is restored to its original state and thus it is possible to prevent the robot from losing its balance.
US08644986B2
A control device that controls grip of an object is disclosed. The control device includes: detecting means for detecting a slip of the object and outputting a slip detection value; change-value calculating means for calculating, on the basis of the slip detection value, a change value for changing a command value, which sets gripping force for the object, to magnitude for resting the object; suppression-value calculating means for calculating, on the basis of the slip detection value, a suppression value for suppressing the command value to necessary minimum magnitude for resting the object; and setting means for setting the magnitude of the command value on the basis of the change value and the suppression value.
US08644980B2
The cable lift system provides assistance to movement of a flexibly suspended payload actuated by operator input into one or more sensing devices attached to the payload. The sensing device is configured to collect information about the typical push-pull and lift-lower motions of an operator moving the payload horizontally and/or vertically, such that the operator's input to the sensor is intuitive and is provided in a manner which is substantially transparent to the operator. The assist mechanisms included in the system are actuated by a controller processing signals received from the one or more sensing devices on the payload. Movement assistance is provided such that the manual effort required by the operator to overcome the inertia of the payload in a starting or stopping event is substantially relieved, thus minimizing the ergonomic impact of the starting and stopping events on the operator.
US08644974B2
A computerized system and method for supply chain order aids a manufacturer's production control departments in setting manufacturer production schedules and purchase schedules. A computerized production control system in communication with a computerized ordering system presents a consistent demand level to reduce changes to the purchase and delivery schedules. A next day production schedule is adjusted to keep total demand within the supply chain constant. At the end of a production day, actual production is compared to an original production plan to calculate an adjustment value. The adjustment value is applied to the next day's production schedule to revise the production schedule. If the actual number of units produced is lower than the planned number of units, units are added to the next day's purchase schedule to determine a revised purchase schedule. Other adjustments may be made if the actual number of units produced exceeds the planned number of units.
US08644973B2
A design system for a surgical kit includes surgical tools and an implant. The design system includes the basic blocks of: I. Determining physical parameters for cartilage damage in a joint; II. Generating design parameters of a medical implant; and III. Generating design parameters of a set of tools for implanting the implant.
US08644942B1
A method and apparatus for treating tissue of a patient with an implantable material comprising a plurality of electrodes for providing controlled microcurrent stimulation.
US08644940B2
A therapeutic brain stimulation system comprises at least two stimulation signal emitters generating stimulation signals from different positions towards a common target region in a patient's brain. While the signal intensity of each stimulation signal is much too low to cause stimulation, the accumulated stimulation signals cause a stimulation and, thus, a therapeutic effect in the neuronal brain cells of the target region. The stimulation signals accumulating in the target region are adjustable so as not to negatively affect the anatomic structure of neuronal brain cells in the target region.
US08644938B2
A wearable neuromodulation device (1), configured for insertion into a pelvic orifice of the human body for treating urinary incontinence, faecal incontinence, muscle wastage, spasm and/or spasticity by applying electrical stimulation signals to pudendal nerves through the wall of the rectum or vagina, comprises at least one sensor, such as an electromyographic (EMG) sensor (11) or pressure sensor (12, 13), configured to detect conditions that indicate a requirement for stimulation. The device (1) is autonomous but may be arranged to communicate with an external device (28) comprising an alarm (33), to alert a user to their condition, and/or means (34) for allowing the user to control the stimulation applied by the device. Alternatively, or additionally, the device (1) may communicate with a computer (37) to store patient data for review by a medical professional and/or permit updating of device software. The device (1) may communicate with the external device(s) (28, 37) via wired or wireless links, including Bluetooth or a Body Area Network (BAN). Such a device (1) may comprise an outer sleeve (5) that can be replaced in event of damage, deterioration or discolouration.
US08644929B2
An implantable medical device includes a telemetry unit wirelessly receiving data signals and control commands; a control unit connected to the telemetry unit; and a comparator unit which compares data signals received via the telemetry unit with data signals generated in or detected by the implantable medical device. Each of the data signals represents specific features, e.g., patient characteristics. The comparator unit generates a release signal if data signals received via the telemetry unit represent one or more features that are similar, according to a specified similarity measure, to one or more features represented by data signals generated in or detected by the implantable medical device. The control unit executes control commands received via the telemetry unit, or receives control commands via the telemetry unit, in response to such a release signal (or, in the absence of the release signal, does not execute or receive control commands).
US08644925B2
A wearable therapeutic device to facilitate care of a subject is provided. The wearable therapeutic device can include a garment having a sensing electrode. The garment includes at least one of an inductive element and a capacitive element, and a controller identifies an inductance of the inductive element or a capacitance of the capacitive element, and determines a confidence level of information received from the sensing electrode based on the inductance or the capacitance. The wearable therapeutic device also includes an alarm module coupled with the controller and configured to provide a notification to a subject based on the confidence level.
US08644921B2
The present disclosure provides systems and methods for treating apnea by controlled delivery of a swallow stimulus to a subject in which apnea is detected. In the systems and method, burst electrical or mechanical stimulation to one or more swallow-related nerves and/or muscles can be timed for delivery between the expiratory phase of the respiration cycle, following detection of an apneic event in the subject.
US08644915B2
A handheld electrocardiographic device for perform an ECG signal acquisition is provided. The ECG device includes at least two electrodes for obtaining ECG signals from a user's skin, an analog signal processing module, an analog/digital converter for digitizing the ECG signals, a processor, which controls the ECG device and processes the ECG signals, a display unit for displaying a processed result of ECG signals and other related information, a memory for data storage, a battery for providing power, at least a contacting interface having at least one of the electrodes mounted thereon, and a detecting unit for sensing a physical condition of the contacting interface, wherein the processor compares the physical condition to a preset criterion, and takes the result as a reference for processing the ECG signals.
US08644914B2
This invention relates to the healthcare industry and to a novel non-invasive body surface bipolar ECG to monitor the action potential (AP) of the myocardium muscle. The invention uses surface ECG signals to deduce information on the cardiac ion channels, founded on the reconstruction of the epicardial ECG T-wave using a single transfer filter function of the frequency domain. Ion channels conductances obtained are then used to calculate action potential EndAP, EpiAP and MAP of the myocardium. These APs values can in turn be used to calculate post drug transmural dispersion of repolarisation values to giving an indication of possible cardiac arrhythmias. The invention further relates to various apparatus for carrying out the invention, including an array of bipolar electrodes which in use is arranged on the body surface so as to comprise multiples of orthogonally bisecting electrodes.
US08644912B2
An apparatus to interrogate, receive, and analyze full emission spectra for at least one fluorescence excitation wavelength and for at least one reflectance measurement to determine tissue characteristics. The apparatus includes a base unit having illumination, detection and control sub-units, the illumination sub-unit providing illumination optical energy for illuminating a target tissue and the detection sub-unit detecting tissue characteristics of a target tissue, a separate tissue interface unit, and a pathway coupling the base unit and the tissue interface unit. The system and apparatus may also include a tube for maintaining the distance between the tissue and units and for surrounding the tissue to prevent patient movement from being transmitted to the tissue.
US08644906B2
A method includes providing a patch including: a flexible base layer that is mountable on and substantially conformable to a patient's body surface, the base layer having opposed upper and lower primary surfaces; a flexible substrate that is releasably attached to the upper primary surface of the base layer and substantially conformable to the patient's body surface; and at least one MRI-visible fiducial element defined by or secured to the flexible substrate. The method further includes: securing the base layer to the body surface to mount the patch on the body surface such that the flexible substrate conforms to the body surface; MRI scanning the patient with the patch on the body surface to generate corresponding image data; identifying a physical location on the body surface using the image data; and removing the flexible substrate from the base layer.
US08644905B2
A method removes a part representing non-brain tissue of the MR brain image. For each generated magnetic field gradient, acquiring a current signal respectively at a first time of echo TE1 after an excitation radio frequency pulse and at a second time of echo TE2 after the radio frequency pulse. The MR brain image of an internal structure of the target. The first time of echo TE1 and the second time of echo TE2 are adjusted for correlating time of echo difference ΔTE=TE2−TE1 with a fat and water mutual resonance frequency difference δ, and in that fat and water information encoded in the current signal resulting from the correlation of the second and first time of echo difference ΔTE with the fat and water mutual resonance frequency difference is used as an additional input source into a multispectral analysis method for removing the part.
US08644900B2
Method and apparatus for noninvasively monitoring parameters of a region of interest in a human body
Apparatus and methods are provided for monitoring a parameter of a region of interest (ROI) within a first tissue type within a body. A control unit drives a measurement unit to provide an operating condition such that acoustic waves overlap with a region within the ROI that is illuminated by illuminating light such as to generate a first set of tagged photons, and such that the acoustic waves overlap with a region of tissue within a second tissue type that is illuminated by illuminating light such as to generate a second set of tagged photons, the first and second sets of tagged photons being distinguishable from one another. The control unit determines the parameter of the ROI by extracting data portions associated with, respectively, the light response of the ROI and the light response of the second tissue type, by distinguishing between the sets of tagged photons.
US08644894B2
A mobile wireless communications device may include a portable housing, and a printed circuit board (PCB) carried by the housing and having opposing upper and lower portions. The device may also include at least one wireless transceiver carried by the portable housing, and a satellite positioning signal receiver carried by the portable housing. An antenna assembly may be carried adjacent the upper portion of the PCB. The antenna assembly may include a horizontal conductor extending along the upper portion of the PCB in spaced relation therefrom. The horizontal conductor may be coupled to the satellite positioning receiver. The antenna assembly may also include a loop conductor extending from the horizontal conductor toward the lower portion of the PCB and in spaced relation from the PCB. The loop conductor may be coupled to the wireless transceiver.
US08644893B2
An iPad and keypad cover structure includes an iPad leather cover, a cover board, and a foldable member to connect the iPad leather cover and the cover board. The cover board has a fold line at a central portion thereof and at least one fixing tongue at an outer edge thereof. A keypad is provided on an inner side of the cover board. The iPad leather cover has a chamber at an inner side thereof and at least one transverse engaging piece disposed on an outer side thereof. The fixing tongue is inserted in the engaging piece of the iPad leather cover to secure the iPad and keypad cover structure when the cover board is folded face-to-face or back-to-back relative to the iPad leather cover. An iPad and the keypad are received therein face-to-face when the cover board is folded face-to-face relative to the iPad leather cover.
US08644884B2
Methods and devices for sensor-based user interface control are disclosed. In one embodiment, a method for determining a characteristic of handedness includes sensing a rotation of a mobile device, determining a direction of rotation based at least in part on accessing information indicative of a first position state prior to sensing the rotation and accessing information indicative of a second position state subsequent to sensing the rotation, and determining the characteristic of handedness based at least in part on the direction of rotation, the first position state, and the second position state. The characteristic of handedness includes one of a left handedness or right handedness. The method further includes determining a user interface mode based on the determined characteristic of handedness, and controlling the mobile device in accordance with the determined user interface mode.
US08644882B2
A portable electronic apparatus functioning as a pen-table, includes a touch-screen module for detecting contact with an external object and creating position data of a detected region. The portable electronic apparatus, by functioning as a pen-table, eliminates the need to install or carry a mouse, a pen-table, etc. for controlling a personal computer, a laptop computer or the like. A local area communication module transmits and receives data based on a local area communication protocol, and a display module displays the detected region and information on a user interface (UI) and functions of the apparatus. A controller controls the operations of the modules in response to the user's input so as to transmit position data created by the touch-screen module to an electronic device that includes the functions of a pen-table and local area communication.
US08644879B2
A wireless transmit/receive unit (WTRU) sending a first data signal via an enhanced dedicated channel (E-DCH) is provided. The WTRU may reconfigure physical channel parameters based on a reconfiguration message. The WTRU may subsequently send a second data signal without performing a synchronization procedure.
US08644878B2
A method and apparatus perform pressure detection in a mobile terminal. method determines a squeezing pressure of the mobile terminal. The method determines whether a user squeezes the mobile terminal using the squeezing pressure determined and a value of a proximity sensor. The method transitions the mobile terminal to a wakeup state in response to determining that the user squeezed the mobile terminal.
US08644876B2
A combined open loop and closed loop (channel quality indicator (CQI)-based) transmit power control (TPC) scheme with interference mitigation for a long term evolution (LTE) wireless transmit/receive unit (WTRU) is disclosed. The transmit power of the WTRU is derived based on a target signal-to-interference noise ratio (SINR) and a pathloss value. The pathloss value pertains to the downlink signal from a serving evolved Node-B (eNodeB) and includes shadowing. An interference and noise value of the serving eNodeB is included in the transmit power derivation, along with an offset constant value to adjust for downlink (DL) reference signal power and actual transmit power. A weighting factor is also used based on the availability of CQI feedback.
US08644873B2
Delivering information to an idle mobile station in a group communication network includes delivering the information to the mobile station in special form, e.g., short data burst (SDB) form, if the information is smaller than a predetermined size limit. In one embodiment, the information is encapsulated inside a frame, forwarding the frame to a server for delivery to the mobile station, and causing the server to extract the information from the frame and deliver the information to the mobile station on a forward common channel. Another aspect provides for receiving information for delivery to the mobile station, the information being tagged for delivery on a forward common channel, and delivering the information to the mobile station on the forward common channel. Another aspect delivers the information when the mobile station is in idle state with no traffic channel.
US08644872B2
A system, method, and computer device that selectively maintain an open broadcast interface to a communication control device that is controlling wireless communication to at least one wireless communication device that is configured to receive group-directed communications for a communication group, such as a push-to-talk (PTT) group. In one embodiment, the wireless communication device registers at the communication control device, such as a base station controller, and at least one broadcast interface is established between the communication control device and another computer device, such as a broadcast A10 interface with a broadcast serving node (BSN). The communication control device maintains the broadcast interface while the wireless communication device configured to receive group-directed communications is registered such that group-directed broadcast communications can more rapidly be delivered to the wireless communication device. When the communication control device determines that the group communication has ended, it releases the broadcast interface.
US08644861B1
A method includes attempting to receive at a mobile communication terminal paging messages, which are transmitted from a base station. A likelihood that the mobile communication terminal has missed one or more of the paging messages is estimated. In response to finding that the estimated likelihood exceeds a likelihood threshold, an ascertainment is made at the mobile communication terminal whether at least one parameter of operation of the base station has changed by decoding at least part of a downlink message, other than the paging messages, that is transmitted by the base station.
US08644860B2
An apparatus and a method for facilitating paging of a mobile station in a multi-user communication system. A page message is generated that includes page addresses of mobile stations that are to be paged. The page addresses are shortened addresses, if possible, that are selected to unambiguously identify the paged mobile stations. The page message includes page addresses of corresponding lengths and of unequal values.
US08644859B2
An augmented reality (AR) service apparatus includes a camera to capture an actual image, a controller to receive feature point information about the captured image from at least one of a plurality of base stations (BSs), detect a location of the camera by matching data of feature points with data of the image, and provide location-based information in a same direction as the captured image according to the location of the camera, and a display to realize an AR service by combining the captured image with the location-based information under control of the controller.
US08644855B2
A technique is provided for determining a location of a mobile device configured to a femtocell network. The technique includes a cluster of femtocell devices. Each of the femtocell devices is coupled to a macro network. The technique includes determining a position of mobile device coupled to a femtocell by transferring a request query to a switching device. The femtocell has been registered with the switching device.
US08644851B2
An apparatus configured to determine one or more channels available for use by respective one or more white-space devices in a particular determined geographical location. The apparatus is configured to: receive geographic location signalling associated with the particular determined geographical location of one or more white-space devices; receive uncertainty indication signalling for the uncertainty associated with the particular determined geographic location of the one or more white-space devices; and determine the one or more channels available for use by the respective one or more white-space devices in the particular determined geographical location by using the geographic location signalling and uncertainty indication signalling.
US08644842B2
Personal augmented reality advertising involves detecting a proximity between a participant's mobile device and a viewer's mobile device. An identifier of the participant's mobile device and biometric data that describes the participant have both been made publicly available. The biometric data is obtained in response to detecting the proximity between the participant's mobile device and the viewer's mobile device. A match is detected between the biometric data of the participant and an image captured from a sensor of the viewer's mobile device. In response to detecting the match, the captured image and an advertisement presented with the captured image is presented in the viewer's mobile device. The advertisement is associated with the participant.
US08644827B2
Provided are a communication system, a base station apparatus, a mobile station apparatus, and a communication method which can effectively manage measurement information held by a base station apparatus and a mobile station apparatus in a system comprising a plurality of component carriers. The mobile station apparatus is used in a mobile communication system configured by a base station apparatus and a mobile station apparatus. For a plurality of cells with each cell having different frequency, the mobile station apparatus manages each of the cells activated by the base station apparatus to be a belonging cell and manages a cell adjacent to the first cell among the aforementioned cells as a cell other than the first cell.
US08644826B2
Even when a radio terminal cannot receive content data from a base station to which the radio terminal serves, the radio terminal receives the content data from other base station. A wireless communication system (1) includes a plurality of radio base stations (21 to 23) and a radio terminal (40). The radio terminal (40) serves to a specific radio base station (serving radio base station) among the radio base stations (21 to 23). Moreover, the radio terminal (40) receives content data which is broadcasted or multicasted from a non-serving radio base station among the radio base stations (21 to 23) according to a gap pattern.
US08644824B1
Embodiments described herein may help to provide a delayed zone-update process. An exemplary method may involve a user entity, which is initially operating in a first of a plurality of multi-coverage-area zones in a radio access network (RAN), subsequently determining that the user entity has moved into a second multi-coverage-area zone of the RAN, wherein the user entity is located in a first coverage area of the second multi-coverage-area zone. In response, the user entity may refrain from sending a registration message to register in the second multi-coverage-area zone until the earlier of: (i) a threshold period of time elapsing and (ii) the user entity moving into another coverage area in the second multi-coverage-area zone that is different from the first coverage area.
US08644821B2
The present invention discloses a method of beacon synchronization for base stations, which comprises the following steps: receiving or transmitting a beacon by a first base station or a second base station; scanning at least one channel by the second base station to search for a channel of the first base station; calculating a time difference between the beacon sent by the first base station and the beacon sent by the second base station; and adjusting a time of transmitting the beacon sent by the second base station to synchronize the beacon sent by the second base station with the beacon sent by the first base station. Wherein, a wireless signal of the second base station is interfered by the first base station.
US08644819B2
Methods, systems, and apparatus are presented for enabling unlimited roaming service on a roaming partner switch. In one aspect, a method includes configuring a billing system corresponding to a home wireless service provider to authorize a subscriber device to receive unlimited roaming service on a roaming partner switch; receiving, by the home wireless service provider, a registration request from the roaming partner switch identifying the subscriber device; registering the subscriber device in the billing system as an unlimited roaming service subscriber device; and providing unlimited roaming service to the subscriber device. Further, a call request associated with the subscriber device can be received from the roaming partner switch and billing associated with the call request can be suspended.
US08644810B1
The method and system for dynamic font support on a mobile communication device is disclosed herein. The present invention determines if a mobile communication device such as a mobile phone can properly render a digital communication from an enterprise using the native language of the mobile communication device. If not, the invention will render the digital communication at a server and transmit a raster equivalent to the mobile communication device.
US08644809B2
A system and method of transmitting electronic voucher through short message. The method of transmitting an electronic voucher through a short message includes converting an electronic voucher to be transmitted into a bit stream; mapping each n-bits of the bit stream to any one text character of one of a plurality of text character groups, wherein text characters in each of the text character groups have at least one same or similar feature, and bit number n corresponding to each text character depends on the number m of the text character groups; arranging the text characters obtained through the mapping into a character sequence; and transmitting the character sequence through a short message. The present invention greatly reduces the cost for issuing an electronic voucher, significantly increases the convenience and apparently improves the safety and the stability.
US08644807B2
A system and method for controlling the presence status on a mobile device is provided. The method comprises determining an active notification profile for said mobile device, said active notification profile defining how said mobile device notifies of new events; determining a corresponding presence status for said active notification profile; and setting said corresponding presence status as a current presence status.
US08644803B1
A Mobile Voice Self Service (MVSS) mobile device incorporating a mobile contacts outdialer and method thereof. The MVSS mobile device may include a connection application operable to connect to at least one contact device. The connection application may include a launch interface that displays a representation of the at least one contact device, a selection interface that allows a user of the MVSS mobile device to select one or more of the at least one contact device, and a contact protocol operable to communicate with the selected at least one contact device. The multimedia application may be operable to present a multimedia presentation to the selected at least one contact device, wherein the multimedia application is further operable to solicit and collect one or more responses from the at least one contact device to the multimedia presentation.
US08644801B1
Methods and systems for dynamic treatment of callers are described. Optionally, a communication system may include an application installed on a user communication device. The communication system may be utilized to receive and screen calls, enable a user to specify which calling parties may bypass a low indication mode and/or a non-indication mode, challenge callers, and/or identify urgent calls.
US08644796B1
A system and method for the real-time management of a device, and more particularly to the establishment and enforcement of policies or rules associated with the feature or functions that may be performed with the device, such as making and receiving calls, exchanging data, playing games and music, sending and receiving email, accessing web sites, and paying for goods and services. If a child or employee is using the device, there may be a need to regulate how that device can be used and to determine who will pay for what goods or services. In addition to providing all of the features associated with a device, service providers need to be able to establish and enforce rules (policies) regulating how and when that device can be used and who will pay for a good or service requested by the user of the device.
US08644793B2
Methods of determining a location of a mobile device in a first communication network are presented. The mobile device is in communication with a cellular base station in a second communication network. First, access points within the first communication network are detected with the mobile device. Then, one or more of the detected access points is selected based on information provided by the cellular base station. Finally, the location of the mobile device is determined based on the selected access points.
US08644791B2
A communications module apparatus for an automotive network comprises an input for receiving data to be transmitted. The apparatus also comprises a first output for coupling to a first bus line and a second output for coupling to a second bus line. An alternating voltage signal transmission circuit for transmitting at least part of the received data is also provided. The alternating voltage signal transmission circuit is coupled to the first output and the second output.
US08644770B2
Protocol adaptation layer for wireless communications. Communication devices that include one or more radio modules operable in accordance with multiple communication protocols establish communications using one communication protocol and then switch to another communication protocol. This switching to another communication protocol may be performed based on a variety of factors including effectuating communications of higher throughput, supporting uni-directional communications vs. bi-directional communications, or any other desired factor. In some embodiments, various communication devices include two radio modules that are each implemented to operate in accordance with one particular communication protocol. Alternatively, a multi-protocol capable radio module may support and operate in accordance with more than one communication protocol. Examples of possible communication protocols include those compliant with Bluetooth, IEEE 802.11, and/or 802.15.3c.
US08644769B2
Input devices such as computer mice are commonly used for interacting with personal computers (PCs). Increasingly, wireless computer mice are becoming popular with users due to their ability to provide cordless accessibility for interaction with the PCs. The wireless computer mice are usually powered using batteries and uses radio frequencies (RF) for transmitting the users' input to the PCs. The wireless computer mice usually have a fixed transmission power, thus resulting in a fixed transmission range. Notably, the battery life and transmission range of the wireless mice share an inversely proportional relationship. Hence, a long battery life cannot be obtained without decreasing the transmission range and vice versa. However, existing wireless computer mice typically do not have provisions for making such adjustments. An embodiment of the invention describes an apparatus and a method for managing power usage of wireless input devices.
US08644768B2
A system and method for distance measurement between two nodes of a radio network is provided. A first unmodulated carrier signal is transmitted by the first node and received by the second node. A second unmodulated carrier signal is transmitted by the second node and received by the first node. A first value and a second value of a first phase are measured by the first node, whereby the first value of the first phase is assigned to a first frequency of the received second carrier signal and the second value the first phase is assigned to a second frequency of the received second carrier signal, whereby the first frequency and the second frequency have a frequency difference. A third value and a fourth value of a second phase are measured by the second node, whereby the third value of the second phase is assigned to a third frequency of the received first carrier signal and the fourth value of the second phase to a fourth frequency of the received first carrier signal, whereby the third frequency and the fourth frequency have the frequency difference. The distance is determined from the frequency difference from the first value and the second value of the first phase and from the third value and fourth value of the second phase.
US08644766B2
A radio communication system includes a transmission device which transmits a plurality of radio signals, and a reception device which receives the plurality of radio signals from the transmission device and estimates, as a carrier frequency offset, a difference between a carrier frequency transmitted by the transmission device and a reference reception frequency used for reception. The system includes the transmission device which branches a first previously determined sequence of training signals, and transmits the radio signals modulated with frequencies by the carrier frequency offsets having regularity for a first sequence of a plurality of branched training signals, and the reception device which estimates the carrier frequency offset with the transmission device according to the first sequence of training signals included in the radio signals transmitted from the transmission device and phase shift amounts obtained from the first previously determined sequence of training signals.
US08644757B2
Methods and systems for coordinating user terminals are disclosed. A user terminal may receive a user terminal identifier and a sensor identifier from a user terminal, determine a group topology based on the user terminal identifier and the sensor identifier to identify a spatial relationship relative to the user terminal, receive a media signal, and identify a subsection of the media signal. The user terminal also may generate subsection information to assign a subsection of the media signal to the user terminal corresponding to the spatial relationship, and may communicate the subsection information to the user terminal.
US08644754B2
An interactive health monitoring system. A multimedia processor is a electronic apparatus comprising a microprocessor, hardware, software, and a modem. One or more physiological data monitors are coupled to provide a signal representative of a user's physiological parameter to the multimedia processor through an isolated interface circuit. A hand-held program controller with directional buttons is operated by the user to control the various functions of the multimedia processor. A television is coupled to the multimedia processor to provide sound and a video display based upon output signals from the multimedia processor. Software necessary for the system and medical information are downloaded from a remote server based upon the user's operation of the hand-held program controller and also based upon predetermined software routines and data stored within the system.
US08644725B2
An end seal for use in an image forming apparatus that provides increased contact pressure using projecting ribs at nip locations formed between an end of a roll and the ends of other components such as a doctor blade or flap seal and lower contact pressure along the end of the roll. Contact pressure may be varied by changing the thickness along portions of the projecting ribs or the use of transverse ribs between each of the projecting ribs and a second surface of the end seal.
US08644716B2
A heating device includes a first rotating member and a second rotating member revolving in contact with the first rotating member. The second rotating member heats a passing recording medium having a toner image and held between the first and second rotating members, thereby fixing the toner image on the recording medium. The heating device further includes a pair of supporting plates supporting the first and second rotating members by being arranged on both sides across the first and second rotating members in a width direction crossing the passing direction of the recording medium. The supporting plates each have a tabular section with a first surface facing the first and second rotating members. The heating device further includes a resistance element arranged on a second surface side opposite to the first surface of the tabular section, and representing the type of a fixing device by using resistance.
US08644714B2
Provided is a multi-wavelength optical source generator. The multi-wavelength optical source generator includes: a gain part generating a plurality of lights through a plurality of gain waveguides; a reflective part transmitting or reflecting lights provided from each of the plurality of gain waveguides according to a wavelength; and a multiplexing part multiplexing a plurality of lights transmitted and outputted through the reflective part.
US08644703B2
An optimal resource utilization method and system is disclosed. The method includes monitoring an optical network comprising optical cross connect (OXC) nodes comprising regenerators and connected by links. Communication paths each comprising a group of OXC nodes connected by links of said links are selected. Routing demands, working communication paths, and protection communication paths are selected. A computer processor assigns successive links a wave length and allocates regenerators to multiple successive links. The computer processor positions a first group of the regenerators along the working communication paths and positioning a second group of regenerators along the protection communication paths.
US08644701B2
“A camera platform for three dimensional photography comprises a first support wall having an inner surface, an outer surface and a fastening end, and a second support wall having an inner surface, an outer surface and a fastening end. The first and second support walls are connected substantially at right angles to each. The inner surface of the first support wall and the inner surface of the second support wall define a quadrant. A fixed camera connector for a first camera is formed on the outer surface of the first support wall, and an adjustable camera connector for a second camera is formed on the outer surface of the second support wall. A beam splitter support frame outside the quadrant between the outer surface of the first support wall and the outer surface of the second support wall supports a beam splitter.”
US08644700B2
A digital camera is provided with a high dynamic range (HDR) mode of operation wherein a nominal exposure is automatically bracketed by one or more under exposures and one or more overexposures. The images thus obtained can then be used by suitable software to process the images to produce a final HDR image.
US08644694B2
To provide a camera that can perform a removal operation for particles adherent to a surface upon which light is incident, of a pickup device and a transmitting member disposed on an optical path of the pickup device in such a condition that the particles are properly removed. According to the present invention, a camera comprises a driving mechanism section to drop and remove particles on a cleaning target that is a surface of an image pickup device and/or a surface of a low-pass filter provided closer to a side of a subject in an optical path than the image pickup device, the subject light passing through the low-pass filter, which is provided with: a tilt sensor to detect an orientation of the camera; and a control section to judge whether a removal operation for the particles by the driving mechanism section should be carried out or not in accordance with the detected value from the tilt sensor.
US08644686B2
An image recording method for a time shift function and an image recording apparatus thereof are provided. The image recording method includes, if a channel is changed, tuning one of first and second tuners to the change channel, based on time information of each channel received through the first and second tuners, and controlling a record progress state of each channel image received through the first and second tuners based on the time information.
US08644682B2
Authoring a Blu-ray disc (BD), the method comprising: creating playable content structures; linking elementary stream data to the playable content structures; merging the elementary stream data into packetized elementary streams; and generating BD-ROM structures representing playable entities, wherein the playable entities provide information describing the packetized elementary streams and navigation scenarios of the BD.
US08644678B2
A device may estimate a probability that each video recording, of a group of video recordings, will be played back at the device during a time interval. The group of video recordings may include video recordings stored locally at the device and video recording stored at a remote location. The device may also determine whether to transfer a video recording to the remote location or retrieve a video recording from the remote location based on the estimated probabilities.
US08644667B2
A backplane, a method for making a backplane, and optical communication apparatuses. The backplane includes: a plurality of optical elements each selected from the group consisting of: (i) optical fibers, (ii) optical waveguides, and (iii) a combination thereof, where the plurality of optical elements have the same length, where the plurality of optical elements form at least one bundle, where the elements are bundled at both ends of the at least one bundle such that end portion lengths of the plurality of optical elements differ from each other, thus forming a broadcast-star topology, and where the plurality of optical elements is connected such that communication distance between at least two blades that can be inserted into the back plane is constant.
US08644665B2
To project a rectangular laser spot having a predetermined size and a high laser power density onto the surface of an object, a semiconductor manufacturing apparatus comprises a control unit for controlling power of a laser light source, an optical waveguide unit (1) including a core section (10) transmitting laser light and a clad section (11) covering the core section (10), and a lens (3) for forming the laser light output through the optical waveguide unit (1) into a laser spot having a predetermined shape, an output end surface (15) of the core section (10) has a rectangular shape with one side length of 1 μm to 20 μm and the other side length of 1 mm to 60 mm, and the laser source is set to make the power density of the laser spot output from the core section (10) to be 0.1 mW/μm2 or more.
US08644664B2
The present invention embraces an optical fiber that includes a central core having an alpha refractive index profile with respect to an outer optical cladding. The optical fiber also includes an inner cladding and a buried trench. The central core includes a core matrix doped with at least fluorine and a dopant element that increases refractive index. The optical fiber typically has reduced bending losses and cladding effect as well as a high bandwidth at the wavelengths of 850 nanometers and 1300 nanometers for high-data-rate applications.
US08644655B2
Provided are an opto-electric hybrid board which eliminates the necessity of an aligning operation of a core of an optical waveguide unit and an optical element of an electric circuit unit and which is excellent in mass-productivity, and a manufacturing method therefor. The opto-electric hybrid board includes an optical waveguide unit and an electric circuit unit having an optical element mounted thereon, the electric circuit unit being coupled to the optical waveguide unit. The optical waveguide unit includes protruding portions which are extendingly provided at portions of at least one of the undercladding layer and the overcladding layer, and are located and formed at predetermined locations with respect to a light transmitting surface of a core. The electric circuit unit includes fitting holes into which the protruding portions fit, and are located and formed at predetermined locations with respect to the optical element.
US08644654B2
The optical coupler module for converting and transmitting electrical/optical signals includes a semiconductor substrate, a first film, a second film, an electrical transmission unit, at least one signal conversion unit and an optical waveguide structure. The first film and the second film are formed on opposite surfaces of the semiconductor substrate. The signal conversion unit and the optical waveguide structure are disposed on opposite sides of the semiconductor substrate. The optical waveguide structure has a reflector and a waveguide body. The optical signal generated from the signal conversion unit sequentially passes the first film, the semiconductor substrate and the second film and enters the optical waveguide structure. Then, the optical signal is reflected by the reflector and transmitted in the waveguide body to be outputted. Alternatively, the optical signal is transmitted in a reverse direction from the optical waveguide structure to the signal conversion unit.
US08644653B2
The present disclosure provides a system, apparatus and method to for providing highly manufacturable compact optical structures in optical circuits, increasing overall yield and lowering manufacturing costs. According to one aspect, an optical circuit is provided which includes an multimode interference element and first and second waveguides. The first waveguide may be provided adjacent a first side of the optical device and extending along at least the length of the multimode interference element, while the second waveguide may be provided adjacent a second side of the multimode interference element and extending along at least the length of the optical device. Each of the first and second waveguide have first and second ends which may be configured to dissipate propagating light in the first and second waveguides. The first waveguide may be spaced a first distance from the multimode interference element, the first distance being substantially constant along the length of the multimode interference element, and the second waveguide may be spaced a second distance from the multimode interference element, the second distance being substantially constant along the length of the multimode interference element. The first and second distances may be selected such that the first and second waveguides provide sufficient fabrication loading to maintain a width of the optical device along, a length of the optical device, within a deviation or range of values. In certain embodiments, the multimode interference element may be a multimode interference optical coupler.
US08644651B2
The approach of one embodiment of the present invention is to mechanically vibrate a length of fiber optic cable transmitting coherent laser light, so that a mechanical resonance in the optical fiber is excited. This is achieved by suspending the fiber optic cable between two points and controlling both the axial tension on the suspended fiber optic cable as well as the mechanical forcing frequency. The cyclic, high-frequency mechanical perturbations of the fiber rapidly vary the path length and internal reflection angles of one or more respective modes of the transmitted laser light. In certain embodiments, the system may be tuned to induce a standing mechanical wave in the fiber. Higher-harmonic waveforms and higher amplitudes in the resonant fiber produce excellent speckle reduction and uniform intensity distributions.
US08644647B2
It is an object to provide an optical control device capable of realizing speed matching between a microwave and a light wave or impedance matching of microwaves and of reducing a driving voltage. An optical control device including a thin plate 1 (11) which has an electro-optical effect and has a thickness of 10 μm or less, an optical waveguide 2 formed in the thin plate, and control electrodes for controlling light passing through the optical waveguide is characterized in that the control electrodes are configured to include a first electrode and a second electrode disposed to interpose the thin plate therebetween, the first electrode has a coplanar type electrode including at least a signal electrode 4 and a ground electrode 5, and the second electrode has at least a ground electrode 54 (55, 56) and is configured to apply an electric field to the optical waveguide in cooperation with the signal electrode of the first electrode.
US08644646B2
A system for identifying digital content related to a portion of a block of text receives, automatically or via input by a user, an indication of one or more words included in the block of text. The system searches a database of digital content based on the one or more words and retrieves from the database one or more digital content items or identifiers of digital content items that are related to the one or more words. The system provides the retrieved digital content items or identifiers to the user, and receives a selection of one or more of the provided items or identifiers from the user. The system associates for display or replay the one or more selected digital content items with the one or more words in the block of text. Other embodiments of the system are also disclosed.
US08644645B2
The invention is directed to an image processing device and a processing method thereof. The image processing device comprises an image calibration module estimating multiple local motions and global motions of unselected images relative to a target image and performing multiple motions calibrations so as to generate multiple calibrated images, a moving-object detection module determining if a difference value between each of the local motions and the corresponding global motions is greater than a threshold value and if a pixel difference value between each pixel point of the target image and each pixel point of the calibrated images is greater than a predetermined difference value so as to generate multiple object motion pointers, and an image blending module performing a calculation on each pixel point of the target and calibrated images based on the object motion pointers so as to generate a super-resolution image.
US08644640B2
Methods and a processing device are provided for reducing purple fringing artifacts appearing in a digital image. A linear filter may be applied to a digital image to identify purplish candidate regions of pixels. Ones of pixels that are in any of the purplish candidate regions and are within a predefined distance of a high gradient/high contrast region may be identified as damaged pixels. A map of the damaged pixels may then be created, or formed. The damaged pixels may be reconstructed based on interpolation of values from undamaged pixels on a fringe boundary with guidance from a green channel. In various embodiments, the damaged pixels may be reconstructed based on a Poisson blending approach, an approximated Poisson blending approach, or a variety of approaches based on interpolation of values from undamaged pixels on a fringe boundary, with guidance from a green channel.
US08644631B2
In one embodiment, a method of predicting a motion vector for a current block in a current picture by a moving picture decoding device includes obtaining, by the moving picture decoding device, a direction of a reference picture of the current picture, based on comparison of a display order of the reference picture and a display order of the current picture, obtaining, by the moving picture decoding device, at least three motion vectors for at least three other blocks than the current block based on the direction of the reference picture and predicting, by the moving picture decoding device, a motion vector for the current block by using a median operation of the at least three motion vectors.
US08644628B2
A Method and apparatus for encoding and decoding a multi-view image are provided. The method of encoding a multi-view image includes determining whether each of pictures included in multi-view image sequences is a reference picture referred to by other pictures included in the multi-view image sequences for inter-view prediction, and encoding the pictures using at least one of inter-view prediction and temporal prediction based on the determination result, thereby efficiently encoding and decoding the multi-view image at high speed.
US08644621B2
A image processing apparatus extracts a plurality of feature points, comprising a local feature amount, from an inputted image, and a region information that relates to the feature point, identifies at least one of the plurality of feature points, associates the feature point thus identified with a feature point with a high relational degree between the feature point thus identified and a region that is denoted by the region information of the feature point thus identified, and registers the feature point thus identified and associated as an index of the inputted image.
US08644617B2
A method executed by a computer system for detecting edges comprises receiving an image comprising a plurality of pixels, determining a phase congruency value for a pixel, where the phase congruency value comprises a plurality of phase congruency components, and determining if the phase congruency value satisfies a phase congruency criteria. If the phase congruency value satisfies the phase congruency criteria, the computer system categorizes the pixel as an edge pixel. If the phase congruency value does not satisfy the phase congruency criteria, the computer system compares a first phase congruency component of the plurality of phase congruency components to a phase congruency component criteria. If the first phase congruency component satisfies the phase congruency component criteria, the computer system categorizes the pixel as an edge pixel, and if the first phase congruency component does not satisfy the phase congruency component criteria, categorizes the pixel as a non-edge pixel.
US08644614B2
An image processing apparatus includes an image input unit configured to input an image in which a real space is captured by an image capturing apparatus, an image recognition unit configured to recognize a situation in the real space captured in the input image, an image recording unit configured to record the input image, an image selection unit configured to select an image used for image communication from a plurality of images including images recorded by the image recording unit in the past based on a recognition result of the input image, and an image output unit configured to modify the selected image and output the modified image.
US08644609B2
A method of up-sampling binary images for segmentation is described. In an embodiment, digital images are down-sampled before segmentation. The resulting initial binary segmentation, which has a lower resolution than the original image, is then up-sampled and smoothed to generate an interim non-binary solution which has a higher resolution than the initial binary segmentation. The final binary segmentation for the image is then computed from the interim non-binary solution based on a threshold. This method does not use the original image data in inferring the final binary segmentation solution from the initial binary segmentation. In an embodiment, the method may be applied to all images and in another embodiment, the method may be used for images which comprise a large number of pixels in total or in single dimension and smaller images may not be down-sampled before segmentation.
US08644605B2
A method and system for mapping colors of an image. The method including the steps of: segmenting an image into a plurality of regions, so that pixels in each of the plurality of regions have a characteristic that meets a predetermined similarity; determining an initial contrast between adjacent regions in the plurality of regions; and transforming an initial color of each of the plurality of regions into a target color; where a target contrast between the adjacent regions in the plurality of regions is equal to or greater than the initial contrast or a difference between the target contrast and corresponding initial contrast is less than a predetermined threshold; and where at least one of the steps is carried out by a computer device.
US08644604B2
Provided are an apparatus and method for aligning color channels on the basis of depth information on an image taken by an imaging device equipped with a multiple color-filter aperture (MCA). An image divider generates a binary image including edge information on an original image, and generates a label map including a plurality of regions of interest (ROIs) respectively corresponding to a plurality of objects included in the original image. A shifting vector estimator estimates color shifting vectors (CSVs) indicating shift directions and distances of color channels of the original image according to the respective ROIs. A channel matching unit obtains a plurality of matched images corresponding to the respective ROIs included in the label map by shifting the color channels according to the respective CSVs, and generates a multi-focus image by combining the matched images.
US08644602B2
A method (199) is disclosed for modifying colors of text extracted from an image of a document page to improve visual quality. The document image comprises text and image regions of various colors. The method divides (100) the document image into a plurality of connected components, the connected components comprising pixels of similar color that are closely spatially located, and selects from the image a plurality of the connected components that represent text. The plurality of text connected components are grouped to form a logical structure grouping of said page comprising one or more text blocks wherein each said text block represents a text line or paragraph. One or more logically consistent color sets are then formed (120, 699, 399, 499) for each text block based on the colors of the connected components in the text block. The logically consistent color sets represent all text of visually similar color of the corresponding text line or paragraph. The method then applies color enhancement (130) to the logically consistent color sets to enhance visual quality and correct image defects in the document image.
US08644600B2
Systems and methods are described for learning visual object cutout from a single example. In one implementation, an exemplary system determines the color context near each block in a model image to create an appearance model. The system also learns color sequences that occur across visual edges in the model image to create an edge profile model. The exemplary system then infers segmentation boundaries in unknown images based on the appearance model and edge profile model. In one implementation, the exemplary system minimizes the energy in a graph-cut model where the appearance model is used for data energy and the edge profile is used to modulate edges. The system is not limited to images with nearly identical foregrounds or backgrounds. Some variations in scale, rotation, and viewpoint are allowed.
US08644598B2
A method of pattern recognition is disclosed. The method includes steps of: providing a cellular computer structure with processing cell units arranged in layers; sensing the threshold parameter in an unknown pattern accessible; creating a binary number for each sensed threshold parameter; storing each binary number; creating a binary sequence; calculating a decimal number from each binary sequence; storing each decimal number in the central hexagram cell; outputting the binary sequence; preserving position information of each binary sequence; enabling the hidden layer to adjust the threshold parameter; and analyzing the binary numbers in the hidden layer to compare with known patterns to establish a recognized pattern.
US08644588B2
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.
US08644584B1
A stack of currency bills is received, transported, and imaged via an image scanner to produce image data that is reproducible as a visually readable image for each currency bill. Each of the currency bills has an associated serial number and additional identifying character information. The associated currency bill serial number and the additional identifying character information are extracted from the image data of each currency bill. Each currency bill is denominated. A suspect determination is made for each currency bill and upon a determination that a currency bill is a suspect bill, A suspect note report is automatically generated. Fields in the report are populated with information associated with the suspect bill including the extracted serial number, the extracted additional identifying character information, and the denomination of the suspect bill.
US08644576B2
A method and system for multi-part left atrium (LA) segmentation in a C-arm CT volume is disclosed. Multiple LA part models, including an LA chamber body mesh, an appendage mesh, a left inferior pulmonary vein (PV) mesh, a left superior PV mesh, a right inferior PV mesh, and a right superior PV mesh, are segmented in a 3D volume. The LA chamber body mesh and the appendage mesh may be segmented as a combined object and the PV meshes may be segmented subject to a statistical shape constraint. A consolidated LA mesh is generated from the segmented LA part models.
US08644568B1
An apparatus, method, and computer program product for providing information for surgical planning based on automated biomechanical analysis of a bone-implant system using finite element analysis of a patient's 3D medical image, including automated biomechanical analysis of bone-implant systems for use in surgical planning both pre-operatively and intra-operatively and for use in research and development studies.
US08644561B2
A method and system for recognizing a license plate character utilizing a machine learning classifier. A license plate image with respect to a vehicle can be captured by an image capturing unit and the license plate image can be segmented into license plate character images. The character image can be preprocessed to remove a local background variation in the image and to define a local feature utilizing a quantization transformation. A classification margin for each character image can be identified utilizing a set of machine learning classifiers each binary in nature, for the character image. Each binary classifier can be trained utilizing a character sample as a positive class and all other characters as well as non-character images as a negative class. The character type associated with the classifier with a largest classification margin can be determined and the OCR result can be declared.
US08644558B2
A passenger detector includes an image taker, an image processor and a storage unit. The image taker is used for taking an image of a passenger sitting on a seat. The image processor is connected to the image taker. The image processor is used to learn and identify features of the image and possibilities of states of the passenger and integrate the possibilities to select the most likely state of the passenger. The storage unit is connected to the image processor. The storage unit is used to store image data before and after taking the image.
US08644555B2
A device for detecting a movement of an object includes: an image shooting unit to generate a first image and a second image by continuous shooting; a detection unit to detect a movement region based on a difference between the first and second images; an edge detection unit to detect an edge region in the first image; a deletion unit to delete the edge region from the movement region; and a decision unit to determine a degree of object movement in accordance with the movement region in which a part of the movement region being deleted by the deletion unit.
US08644552B2
A markerless motion capturing apparatus and method is provided. The markerless motion capturing apparatus may track a pose and a motion of a performer from an image, inputted from a camera, without using a marker or a sensor, and thereby may extend an application of the markerless motion capturing apparatus and selection of a location.
US08644548B2
The present invention relates generally to digital watermarking and steganographic data hiding. In one embodiment a method of rendering content to a user is provided. The rendered content includes a digital watermark embedded therein. In another embodiment, digital watermarking is utilized to facilitate purchase or lease of audio or video content over a network or with a remote computer. In still another embodiment, a compression characteristic is determined, and subsequent steganographic embedding is influenced based on the characteristic. Other embodiments are provided as well.
US08644540B2
The invention relates to a hearing device 1 adapted for placement in, at or near a person's ear, the hearing device 1 comprising a microphone 2, a receiver 4 and a signal conditioning means 3 connected to the microphone 2 and to the receiver 4, the microphone 2 being arranged for receiving acoustical signals from the person's surroundings 7 and converting these acoustical signals into electrical signals and the receiver 4 being arranged for converting electrical signals into acoustical signals and transmitting these into the ear's ear canal 13. The object of the present invention is to provide a small, light-weight hearing device 1. The problem is solved in that the receiver 4 comprises a thermoacoustical transducer 18, which allows for a receiver 4 which may take up less space in the hearing device 1 and may have a smaller weight. This has the advantage of allowing the hearing device 1 to be small and light-weight, thus providing an improved wearing comfort. The invention may e.g. be used in hearing aids for compensating a person's loss of hearing capability.
US08644525B2
This disclosure describes a virtual microphone for reducing common-mode noise for an individual pod in a multi-pod conferencing system that includes a base and a plurality of pods for local conference participants to communicate with remote conference participants. The described virtual microphone includes pod processor means and a loudspeaker that couples to a digital to analog converter that converts digital audio to analog audio, where the loudspeaker couples to the pod processor means. In addition, the virtual microphone includes three physical bi-polar microphones positioned at 120-degree intervals in the horizontal resting plane of the pod, where each individual physical microphone connects to a pair of audio ports with each audio port being equal distance from the loudspeaker, and where the physical microphones couple to analog to digital converting means, and further where the physical microphones couple to the pod processor means. Further, the virtual microphone includes virtual microphone means. And, the virtual microphone includes pod echo cancellation means. Further, the virtual microphone includes microphone gating means using a loudness value, a quietness counter, and a noise floor value. And further, the virtual microphone also has the individual pod using the microphone gating means to gate on or off the virtual microphone.
US08644523B2
A digital circuit arrangement for an ambient noise-reduction system affording a higher degree of noise reduction than has hitherto been possible. The arrangement converts the analog signals into N-bit digital signals at sample rate f0, and then subjects the converted signals to digital filtering. The value of N in some embodiments is 1 but, in any event, is no greater than 8, and f0 may be 64 times the Nyquist sampling rate but, in any event, is substantially greater than the Nyquist sampling rate. This permits digital processing to be used without incurring group delay problems that rule out the use of conventional digital processing in this context. Furthermore, adjustment of the group delay can readily be achieved, in units of a fraction of a micro-second, providing the ability to fine tune the group delay for feed forward applications.
US08644521B2
An active noise cancellation system includes an adaptive filter, a signal source, an acoustic actuator, a microphone, a secondary path and an estimation unit. The adaptive filter receives a reference signal representing noise, and provides a compensation signal in response to the received reference signal. The signal source provides a measurement signal. The acoustic actuator radiates the compensation signal and the measurement signal to the listening position. The microphone receives a first signal that is a superposition of the radiated compensation signal, the radiated measurement signal, and the noise signal at the listening position, and provides a microphone signal in response to the received first signal. The secondary path includes a secondary path system that represents a signal transmission path between an output of the adaptive filter and an output of the microphone. The estimation unit estimates a transfer characteristic of the secondary path system in response to the measurement signal and the microphone signal.
US08644512B2
In an aspect, the invention features a method for mission planning. The method includes displaying a graphical representation of a geographical area and displaying a graphical representation of one or more regions within the geographical area. The method also includes accepting a specification of geographical regions from a user, accepting a specification of a set of one or more receivers from the user, and accepting a specification of resource access rights associated with the specific one of the geographical regions from the user. The method also includes remotely causing access to a vehicle's resources to be provided or denied to the specified set of one or more receivers based on their association with the specific one of the geographical regions specified by the user when the vehicle is within the specific one of the geographical regions specified by the user.
US08644511B2
A method of providing access to content based upon one or more adequately-credentialed keys being proximate to a certain location. The method includes a first step of acquiring credential information from at least one key tagged with credential information using a credential acquisition device (CAD) at the certain location. The method also includes a second step of confirming that the credential information meets requirements for receiving the content. Further, the method includes a step of providing access to the content after performing the first and second steps.
US08644500B2
Method and apparatus for increasing security of a cryptographic algorithm such as deciphering, enciphering, or a digital signature using a block type cipher such as AES implemented for instance in a “whitebox” model with the cipher key either known or unknown at the compilation time. This method is secure for use in entrusted environments, particularly for securing cryptographic keys. The look up tables characteristic of such algorithms are protected against attack here by making all such tables of the same size and indistinguishable, and further by masking the output values of such tables, typically where the tables carry out a permutation function or a logical exclusive OR operation.
US08644499B2
A semiconductor chip may be operable to block the debug interfaces when the semiconductor chip boots up from the boot read-only memory (ROM). The semiconductor chip may be operable to authenticate a debug certificate received by the semiconductor chip and enable one or more debug interfaces in the semiconductor chip based on the information resulting from the authentication of the debug certificate. The debug certificate may be in a form of a cryptographic public key certificate. A unique device ID which may be generated at boot and stored in the memory may be used by the semiconductor chip to authenticate the debug certificate. The device ID may be generated using the cryptographic public key that is stored in the one-time programmable (OTP) memory in the semiconductor chip and a cryptographic hash algorithm.
US08644490B2
Methods and systems are disclosed for routing callers to agents in a contact center, along with an intelligent routing system. A method for routing callers includes routing a caller, if agents are available, to an agent based on a pattern matching algorithm (which may include performance based matching, pattern matching based on agent and caller data, computer models for predicting outcomes of agent-caller pairs, and so on). Further, if no agents are available for the incoming caller, the method includes holding the caller in a shadow queue, e.g., a set of callers. When an agent becomes available the method includes scanning all of the callers in the shadow queue and matching the agent to the best matching caller within shadow queue.
US08644485B1
Systems, methods and computer program products for managing a call are described. In some implementations, an intelligent softswitch can be used to communicate with a provider system that can relay or switch one or more outbound calls initiated by a caller and intended for a subscriber to the intelligent softswitch. Upon receiving the relayed call, the intelligent softswitch can process the relayed call using one or more call handling rules that have been specified by the subscriber. After processing, the relayed call is routed back to the provider system for completing the call.
US08644481B2
A system and method for improved audio controls on a personal computer is provided. The system and method provide a unified architecture for audio controls across hardware and software interfaces of the personal computer. An intelligent facility may automatically change audio controls for users to simply interact with various communications and media applications. To this end, a configurable audio controller intelligently handles various aspects of the system's audio devices by following various rules that may be based at least in part on user-configurable settings and a current operating state. The present invention also provides audio controls so that a user may easily change audio settings such as the volume of an audio output device. There are many applications that may use the present invention for automatic control of audio devices based upon the user's context.
US08644475B1
The present invention relates to a mechanism for providing state information, which bears on the presence of a telephone user, to a presence system. The state information is derived by monitoring events relating to telephony use. Once derived, the state information is directly or indirectly sent to a presence service, which provides presence information to applications requiring such information about the telephone user. The state information preferably bears on the presence, absence, or availability of the telephone user based on their interaction with a telephony device or function. In one embodiment, a telephony switching system is configured to monitor events associated with a telephony device or function and send messages to a presence service over a packet-switched network when the state of the telephony device or function changes. In another embodiment, an IP telephone system is configured to provide state information to the presence service.
US08644464B1
The disclosed embodiments related to a method and system for creating an audio snippet. The method includes receiving a call from a calling party on a communication device. The method further includes recording a first audio of the calling party at the communication device. The method further includes creating the audio snippet by using the first audio of the calling party and, one or more pre-stored second audio on the communication device on the basis of one or more techniques.
US08644453B2
The present application discloses methods and systems for scanning an object. The scanning system provides a first detector region having a thickness of at least 2 mm and a second detector region having a thickness of at least 5 mm. The second detector region is arranged to receive radiation that has passed through the first detector region. The method includes irradiating the object with radiation having a peak energy of a least 1 MeV, and detecting the first profile radiation after it has interacted with or passed through the object in order to provide information relating to the object.
US08644451B2
An X-ray generating apparatus is disclosed which includes a tube body having a vacuum interior, an electron source provided within the tube body to generate an electron beam, a target, within the tube body that is irradiated with the electron beam to generate an X-ray, and an X-ray window for taking out the X-ray generated outside of the tube body. A plurality of grooves are formed on a surface of a member building up the target. The grooves each have a fine width and are inclined by a predetermined angle (α), from a direction perpendicular to an elongating direction of the grooves, so that they bridge over the plural numbers of grooves. The X-ray generating apparatus is configured such that a multi-line X-ray generating from the plural numbers of multi-line targets, which are formed between the grooves, emits at a predetermined extraction angle (β), passing through the X-ray window. An inspection apparatus which includes the X-ray generating apparatus is also disclosed.
US08644449B2
Provided is an X-ray imaging apparatus and a method of X-ray imaging, with which the apparatus can be reduced in size and a with which differential phase image or a phase image with consideration of an X-ray absorption effect of an object can be obtained.A displacement of X-rays that have been split by a splitting element and have passed through an object is measured. The displacement can be measured by using a first attenuation element having a transmission amount that continuously changes in accordance with the incident position of X-rays. At this time, an X-ray transmittance of an object that is calculated by using a second attenuation element having a transmission amount that does not change in accordance with the incident position of X-rays is used.
US08644441B2
Clock generators are provided. A phase locked loop generates an output clock, a delay line is coupled to an input of the phase locked loop, and a modulation unit integrates an input signal with a constant level to generate a modulation signal controlling the delay line, thereby modulating a phase of a first input clock of the phase locked loop, such that frequency of the output clock is locked at a desired frequency.
US08644421B2
A digital broadcast transmitter comprising: a randomizer to receive a data stream of which stuff bytes are inserted into a specified position and to randomize the received data stream; a stuff-byte exchange unit to generate known data having a predefined pattern and to insert the known data into the specified position of the data stream into which the stuff bytes are inserted; an encoder to encode the data stream output from the stuff-byte exchange unit for an error correction; and a modulator and RF converter to modulate the encoded data stream, RF-convert the modulated data stream and transmit the RF-converted data.
US08644415B2
An objective problem of the invention is to provide a mechanism for improving the performance of a radio access network. According to a first aspect of the present invention, the object is achieved by a method in a first node for adapting a multi-antenna transmission to a second node over an effective channel. The first node and the second node are comprised in a wireless communication system. The method comprises the steps of obtaining at least one symbol stream and determining a precoding matrix having a block diagonal structure. The method comprises the further steps of precoding the at least one symbol stream with the determined precoding matrix, and transmitting the at least one precoded symbol stream over the effective channel to the second node.
US08644407B2
An apparatus, and an associated methodology, for facilitating communication of data in a wireless communication systems. Binary data are modulated to form modulated symbols on parallel paths. The symbols formed on one of the parallel paths are phase-offset by a phase rotator to form phase-offset symbols. The parallel paths of symbols provide the symbols, both the phase-offset symbols and the symbols that are not phase-offset, to an Alamouti encoder. As a result, the dynamic range of the transmitted RF signals is reduced due to the introduction of the phase offset between the symbols of the parallel paths applied to the Alamouti encoder.
US08644406B2
The present invention relates to a method of transmitting and receiving signals and a corresponding apparatus. One aspect of the present invention relates to a method of extracting PLP from data slices.
US08644401B2
Provided is a method for performing channel estimation in an Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiplexed (OFDM) signal. The method includes performing the channel estimation based upon use of reserved tone channel carriers.
US08644398B2
A digital broadcast transmitter comprising: a randomizer to receive a data stream of which stuff bytes are inserted into a specified position and to randomize the received data stream; a stuff-byte exchange unit to generate known data having a predefined pattern and to insert the known data into the specified position of the data stream into which the stuff bytes are inserted; an encoder to encode the data stream output from the stuff-byte exchange unit for an error correction; and a modulator and RF converter to modulate the encoded data stream, RF-convert the modulated data stream and transmit the RF-converted data.
US08644390B2
A method for transcoding from an H.264 format to a VC-1 format. The method generally comprises the steps of (A) decoding an input video stream in the H.264 format to generate a picture having a plurality of macroblock pairs that used an H.264 macroblock adaptive field/frame coding; (B) determining a mode indicator for each of the macroblock pairs; and (C) coding the macroblock pairs into an output video stream in the VC-1 format using one of (i) a VC-1 field motion compensation mode coding and (ii) a VC-1 frame motion compensation mode coding as determined from the mode indicator.
US08644384B2
A video coder includes a forward coder and a reconstruction module determining a motion compensated predicted picture from one or more previously decoded pictures in a multi-picture store. The reconstruction module includes a reference picture predictor that uses only previously decoded pictures to determine one or more predicted reference pictures. The predicted reference picture(s) are used for motion compensated prediction. The reference picture predictor may include optical flow analysis that uses a current decoded picture and that may use one or more previously decoded pictures together with affine motion analysis and image warping to determine at least a portion of at least one of the reference pictures.
US08644377B2
Apparatus and method for embedding data in initial content having synchronized video and audio, the method comprising defining at least one content segment in the initial content, and altering the video and audio synchronization in the at least one segment in accordance with the data to be embedded, wherein the altered content segment is viewable on a viewing device and the synchronization alteration is imperceptible to a casual viewer. Related apparatus and methods are also described.
US08644376B2
The present invention relates to an apparatus and method for generating compressive measurements of video using spatial-temporal integration. The apparatus includes a detector configured to detect luminance values of a temporal video structure over a period of time based on optical data. The temporal video structure has pixels with a horizontal dimension and a vertical dimension with corresponding luminance values over the period of time. The apparatus also includes a spatial-temporal integrator unit configured to receive a plurality of measurement bases. Also, the spatial-temporal integrator unit is configured to apply each measurement basis to the temporal video structure and to sum resulting values for each measurement basis over the period of time to obtain a set of measurements. The summed values for each measurement basis is the set of measurements.
US08644368B1
A method for beamforming in a multiple input, multiple output (MIMO) communication system includes receiving a non-sounding data unit, where the non-sounding data unit does not include an indication that the data unit is for estimating a MIMO communication channel, developing an estimate of a reverse channel in which the non-sounding data unit travels based on the non-sounding data unit, developing an estimate of a forward channel based on the estimate of the reverse channel, and developing a steering matrix to perform beamforming in the forward channel based on the estimate of the forward channel.
US08644364B2
A mobile device receives downlink transmissions comprising replicas of an original downlink transmitted signal over corresponding fingers of a RAKE receiver comprising arithmetic units. The RAKE receiver computes a cell normalization factor for each of active cells and neighbor cells associated with the RAKE receiver. The RAKE receiver uses the same arithmetic units comprising one adder, one multiplier, one divider and/or one square root unit to compute cell normalization factors. The received downlink transmitted signal is processed using the computed cell normalization factors. The RAKE receiver determines signal power from each of other cells, separately, to compute cell normalization factors to normalize fingers of the RAKE receiver. Interference over the normalized fingers are cancelled and used to process the received downlink transmitted signal, which are combined and Turbo decoded. Phase correction is performed over interference cancelled fingers for active cells, but need not be performed for neighbor cells.
US08644356B2
A femtosecond laser based laser processing system having a femtosecond laser, frequency conversion optics, beam manipulation optics, target motion control, processing chamber, diagnostic systems and system control modules. The femtosecond laser based laser processing system allows for the utilization of the unique heat control in micromachining, and the system has greater output beam stability, continuously variable repetition rate and unique temporal beam shaping capabilities.
US08644355B2
Methods, systems, and computer readable media for modifying a Diameter signaling message directed to a charging function node are disclosed. In one example, the method comprises receiving, at a Diameter routing node, a Diameter signaling message that is associated with a mobile subscriber and is directed to a destination charging function node. The method further includes accessing mobile subscriber related information that is associated with the Diameter signaling message. The method also includes modifying the Diameter signaling message to include the mobile subscriber related information and routing the modified Diameter message to the destination charging function node.
US08644354B2
An exemplary method includes a media content access device detecting a request provided by a mobile phone device to register the mobile phone device with the media content access device, registering the mobile phone device with the media content access device in response to the detected request, and automatically registering the mobile phone device with one or more additional media content access devices within the local area network. Corresponding methods and systems are also described.
US08644344B2
More customization and adaptation of coded data streams may be achieved by processing the information signal such that the various syntax structures obtained by pre-coding the information signal are placed into logical data packets, each of which being associated with a specific data packet type of a predetermined set of data packet types, and by defining a predetermined order of data packet types within one access unit of data packets. The consecutive access units in the data stream may, for example, correspond to different time portions of the information signal. By defining the predetermined order among the data packet types it is possible, at decoder's side, to detect the borders between successive access units even when removable data packets are removed from the data stream on the way from the data stream source to the decoder without incorporation of any hints into the reminder of the data stream.
US08644341B1
A MAC layer protocol that converts packets into a data stream is presented. The protocol layer accepts packets (like Ethernet packets) and converts them into blocks. The packets may be segmented into multiple hocks and multiple packets or packet fragments may be contained in a block. The blocks contain information for reassembling the data. All blocks may be exactly the same size and format, with the same coding. This allows blocks to be precisely recovered even when some of the bits on the stream have errors on them. The blocks may be interleaved and coded. Each block may be decoded independently of other blocks. The blocks may be numbered, so an ARQ mechanism may request that any missing blocks be resent without asking for a whole packet to be resent. The data stream may be passed to a physical layer like an OFDM or WOFDM stream of data.
US08644339B1
In one example, a serving gateway device includes one or more network interfaces configured to receive a packet fragment from a packet data network gateway (PGW) device, and a control unit configured to hash a source Internet protocol (IP) address, a destination IP address, and a fragment identifier value for the packet fragment to determine an entry of a hash table, wherein the entry of the hash table includes data defining a next expected offset, a next expected fragment identifier, and a reference to a fragment table comprising data for at least one previous packet fragment corresponding to the packet fragment, to compare a length of the packet fragment to the next expected offset and the fragment identifier value for the packet fragment to the next expected fragment identifier, and store the packet fragment using the fragment table based on the comparison.
US08644336B2
A diagnostic imaging apparatus includes a protocol alteration history recording unit, a protocol alteration information detecting unit and a protocol alteration information displaying unit. The protocol alteration history recording unit records alteration histories according to protocols as protocol alteration history data. The protocol alteration information detecting unit detects an alteration about a designated protocol as protocol alteration information in accordance with the protocol alteration history data. The protocol alteration information displaying unit displays the protocol alteration information.
US08644331B2
A method and apparatus for transmitting a ranging channel in a wireless communication system is provided. A mobile station (MS) receives frequency resource allocation information of a ranging channel and allocates the ranging channel to one ranging subband on a frequency domain determined based on the frequency resource allocation information of the ranging channel. The MS transmits the ranging channel. The frequency resource allocation information of the ranging channel includes a cell identifier (ID) of a cell and the number of allocated subbands or the number of allocated subband contiguous resource units (CRUs).
US08644317B1
A fiber channel switch element and method for routing fiber channel frames is provided. The switch element includes a receive segment that can add a virtual storage area network (“VSAN”) tagging header to frames that are received by the receive segment; and strip the VSAN tagging header before frames are sent to ports that do not support virtual fabric capability. The receive segment includes a table used for matching fabric extension parameters. An incoming frame's VSAN identity value is compared to a control word entry to generate a value used for routing the incoming frame. The table is used to determine if a frame is part of a virtual fabric. The routing table for each port is used to route frames and the routing table includes entries for supported virtual fabrics.
US08644315B2
In one embodiment, a device of a particular non-backbone routing domain in a computer network determines whether each of one or more routes is reachable within the particular non-backbone domain. The device may then generate a filtered set of label mappings having only those of the one or more routes reachable within the particular non-backbone domain. Accordingly, the device may advertise label mappings only of the filtered set to one or more neighboring devices.
US08644307B2
A communication transfer apparatus and a communication transfer method can transfer communications at low cost without the need of requesting a global IP network to switch any port number. The local internet protocol address of the origin terminal of transfer described in a record relating to a transfer out of the records of the masquerade table that is utilized for an internet protocol masquerade is rewritten as the local internal protocol address of the destination terminal of transfer, while maintaining the global port number of the record.
US08644305B2
Systems and methods for modeling a bus for a system design are provided. In an embodiment, the method operates by accepting a virtual bus model, wherein the model simulates behavior for a bus master and slave device, such that the model accurately simulates the timing and behavior of the transfer of data from master to slave, and, from slave to master devices. The method routes a transaction issued by the master device to the slave device. The transaction has storage for transaction data, or a pointer to transaction data, to be transferred through the transaction. The transaction data is transferred in one or more data payloads and the sender of data sets the length of data payloads to be returned. The data payloads are sent from the sender of data to the receiver of data and may contain one or more bus data beats. This method accurately models the bus timing and behavior of the delivery of one or more data beats as one data payload.
US08644292B2
Embodiments describe a varied transmission time interval in wireless communication system. According to some embodiments is a method for assigning a transmission time interval. The method can include measuring a channel condition and/or a data rate of packet communicated by at least one wireless device. Based in part on the data rate and/or channel condition information, a determination can be made whether to schedule a long transmission time interval or a short transmission time interval to the packet. A long transmission time interval can be scheduled if the channel condition is poor and/or there is a low data rate. A short transmission time interval can be scheduled if the channel condition is good and/or the data rate is high or fast. The method can be repeated for multiple wireless devices. Also included is an alternative interlacing structure that supports both long transmission time intervals and short transmission time intervals.
US08644290B2
In a coordination-free rendezvous method for a communication network, time is divided into superslots with each superslot being further divided into slots. At least one first-class slot and at least one second-class slot are selected out of the slots of each superslot. The relative position between the first-class slot and the second-class slot is changed every superslot, thereby the first-class slots or the second-class slots between or among devices of the communication network may overlap each other in a periodic manner.
US08644289B2
Embodiments of an enhanced Node B (eNB) and method for precoding with reduced quantization error are generally described herein. In some embodiments, first and second precoding-matrix indicator (PMI) reports may be received on an uplink channel and a single subband precoder matrix may be interpolated from precoding matrices indicated by both the PMI reports. Symbols for multiple-input multiple output (MIMO) beamforming may be precoded using the interpolated precoder matrix computed for single subband for a multiple user (MU)-MIMO downlink orthogonal frequency division multiple access (OFDMA) transmission. In some embodiments, each of the first and second PMI reports includes a PMI associated with a same subband that jointly describes a recommended precoder.
US08644287B2
A wireless communication system, an apparatus, and a method for transmitting information to describe network topology of the wireless communication system in a mobile multi-hop relay standard are disclosed. The system can either be a two-hop relay station system or a multi-hop relay station system. The apparatus can use a CDMA ranging code set to transmit information and manage other apparatuses of the wireless communication system under a mobile multi-hop relay standard. The CDMA ranging code set comprises a mobile station (MS) code set and a relay station (RS) code set. The MS code set is used to transmit information from the MS to the base station (BS). Likewise, the RS code set is used to transmit information from the RS and the BS.
US08644283B2
A femtocell Base Station (femto-BS), a network resource allocation method, and a non-transitory tangible machine-readable medium thereof are provided. There are a plurality of available network resource units. The femto-BS determines an expected value that is related to the available network resource units being used by the femto-BS and its neighboring femto-BSs without having interferences. The expected value is related to a number of the available network resource units and a number of the neighboring femto-BSs. Based on the expected value, the femto-BS calculates a plurality of strategy probability values that are related to different numbers of the available network resource units used by the femto-BS. The femto-BS calculates an assigned number according to the strategy probability values. Among the available network resource units, the femto-BS can use the assigned number of them.
US08644282B2
A system and method for transmitting LDPC parameters is provided. In the method, an initial number of OFDM symbols (Nsym_init) is determined for a packet that is based on the number of information bits to be delivered in the packet. An STBC value is also determined. A number of extra symbols (Nsym_ext) value is generated based on the Nsym_init value, wherein a Nsym value is based on said Nsym_init value and said Nsym_ext value. An Nldpc_ext value is determined based on the STBC value and the Nsym_ext value for purposes of determining LDPC parameters associated with the packet.
US08644278B2
Maintaining a simultaneous communication between a first wireless station and both an access point and a second wireless station includes the first wireless station gaining an instance of medium access by using applicable medium access protocols. Once the first wireless station gains an instance of medium access, it transmits frames to the access point on an infrastructure network and to the second wireless station on the same infrastructure network or an ad hoc network.
US08644272B2
A method of initiating router functions includes providing a router device having an integrated user interface having a user control and an indicator. From the router device, a first data link to a wide area network is established. From the router device, a second data link to enable a local area network is established. Via the indicator, state information regarding the first and second data links is communicated. It is determined if the user control has been activated. Upon detecting that the user control has been activated one or both of the first and second data links are modified. Information indicating the modification is communicated via the indicator.
US08644271B2
A wireless mesh communication protocol that dynamically assigns communication time-slots and frequencies to mesh nodes. A first node is established as a PC that sequentially polls other nodes. A second node responds at a predetermined time with information that includes database records, and then a third node responds similarly. The second node is then established as the PC and the first node is polled during dynamically allocated time-slots and on a frequency that depend on the second node's database records. The third node is then established as a PC and acts similarly. In both cases the first node responds by sending information and data records. The first node is then re-established as the PC. The first node then polls the second and third nodes at times and frequencies that depend on the first node's database records.
US08644268B2
Downlink (DL) subframes and DL hybrid automatic repeat request (HARQ) messages may be protected by time division multiplexing (TDM) partitioning. However, TDM partitioning may not be required for uplink (UL) subframes in general. For example, information carried over a physical uplink control channel (PUCCH), may be protected by frequency division multiplexing (FDM) partitioning. In fact, one UL subframe may correspond to eNBs of multiple power classes. Since TDM partitioning may be required for DL transmissions, one DL sub frame may not correspond to the eNBs of multiple power classes. For some embodiments, groups of subframes may be allocated to the different power classes. Therefore, subframes allocated to an eNB of a power class may observe reduced or no interference from eNBs of other power classes.
US08644265B2
Multipoint broadcasting requires that the downlink-channel information be available at collaborating base stations. Methods and apparatus for wideband analog channel feedback are described that provide downlink-channel information feedback from mobile users to base stations via uplink channels, and that use very few or no resources of the RAT of the wireless cellular network. Also described are methods and apparatus that perform channel-feedback signal cancellation at base stations to reduce its interference on the uplink-traffic signal. Wideband analog channel feedback is adaptable to the feedback bandwidth in uplink, and it offers frequency diversity to combat the deep fading in feedback channels. Wideband analog channel feedback is also applicable to uplink channel-information feedback. Applications of the described methods and apparatus include multipoint broadcasting in a wireless cellular network, and more generally, channel feedback between two communicating devices in a communications network.
US08644253B2
A methodology includes servicing a voice call between mobile User Equipment and an Enterprise Session Initiation Protocol (SIP) Services Environment using, at least in part, Voice over Internet Protocol Multimedia Subsystem (VoIMS), detecting that the User Equipment is moving out of range of Radio Access Point (RAP) infrastructure servicing the User Equipment, and in response to detecting, initiating a procedure to hand out the voice call and anchor the voice call in a Mobile Switching Center (MSC) of a macro service provider.
US08644241B1
A method in a mobile communication terminal includes intercepting a message in which the terminal indicates to a base station a fill level of a buffer holding data that is pending for transmission to the base station. A future processing power, which will be required by processing circuitry in the terminal for transmitting the data to the base station, is predicted based on the intercepted message. An operating point of the processing circuitry is set corresponding to the predicted future processing power, by configuring at least one parameter selected from among a supply voltage and a clock frequency of the processing circuitry. The processing circuitry is operated at the set operating point to process the data pending in the buffer.
US08644239B2
A method and apparatus for allocating and processing sequences in a communication system is disclosed. The method includes: dividing sequences in a sequence group into multiple sub-groups, each sub-group corresponding to its own mode of occupying time frequency resources; selecting sequences from a candidate sequence collection corresponding to each sub-group to form the sequences in the sub-group by: the sequences in a sub-group i in a sequence group k being composed of n sequences in the candidate sequence collection, the n sequences making a |ri/Ni−ck/NP1| or |(ri/Ni−ck/NP1) modu mk,i| function value the smallest, second smallest, till the nth smallest respectively; allocating the sequence group to cells, users or channels. It prevents the sequences highly correlated with the sequences of a specific length from appearing in other sequence groups, thus reducing interference, avoiding the trouble of storing the lists of massive sequence groups.
US08644224B2
In the mobile communication system according to the present invention, when the RSRP or RSRQ in a non-serving cell of SCC within “MeasObject” is larger than the sum of the RSRP or RSRQ in an Scell within the “MeasObject” and a predetermined offset value (Offset) for a predetermined period (Time-To-Trigger), the mobile station UE determines that “ReportConfig-A6” is satisfied.
US08644221B2
A method of operating a mobile wireless network, in which, when there is a relocation, the connection may be continued directly from the latest state before the relocation. User data is transmitted between a mobile station and a first base station, the user data being combined into data units. For transmission of data units, transmission-specific information describing an instantaneous state of the transmission is stored in the mobile station, as well as in a first network unit at a higher level than the first base station. With the relocation of the mobile station from the first base station to a second base station having a second higher-level network unit, the transmission-specific information stored in the first higher-level network unit is transmitted to the second higher-level network unit to continue the transmission after the relocation essentially directly from its latest state.
US08644212B2
This invention describes method and apparatus for automatic gain control (AGC) for a TD-LTE system, taking into consideration the TD-LTE frame structure. In one embodiment, an AGC method comprises: adjusting RF gain for subframe j (where 0<=j<=9) in a radio frame according to an average peak signal power of subframe j in previous radio frames when a terminal is lack of information in downlink timing and in uplink/downlink configuration; computing a first average signal power in one or more downlink subframes as received from at least one base station when the terminal has information in downlink timing but is lack of information in uplink/downlink configuration; and computing a second average signal power in one or more downlink subframes as received from at least one base station when the terminal has information in downlink timing and in uplink/downlink configuration.
US08644201B2
A transmitting system and a method of transmitting digital broadcast signal are disclosed. The method of transmitting digital broadcasting signal in a transmitter includes multiplexing mobile data and main data, transmitting a transmission frame including the multiplexed mobile and main data, wherein a parade of data group is transmitted during slots, wherein each slot includes specified number of mobile data packets, a first scalable number of mobile data packets, and a second scalable number of main data packets, wherein the data group including a plurality of regions and the fifth region of the plurality of regions includes the first scalable number of mobile data packets, wherein the data group is assigned to one of the slots in such a manner that slots of consecutive slot number carry data groups of inconsecutive group number.
US08644197B2
Architectures and implementations of a transceiver system for wireless communications are presented, the system including one or more antennas supporting a single frequency band or multiple frequency bands, a transmit circuit, a receive circuit, and an isolation circuit that is coupled to the one or more antennas and the transmit and receive circuits and provides adequate isolation between the transmit circuit and the receive circuit.
US08644191B2
A method and apparatus for providing planning of a plurality of base station controllers in a wireless network are disclosed. For example, the method obtains input data, and determines a limit for at least one base station controller parameter in accordance with the input data. The method determines if the limit for the at least one base station controller parameter is exceeded and determines an optimal output for an objective function, wherein the objective function is based on a plurality of penalty factors, if the limit for the at least one base station controller parameter is exceeded.
US08644184B1
A set of multiple training signals to be transmitted via multiple antennas over a communication channel are generated, and a different antenna weight vector (AWV) from a first set of AWVs is applied to each of the multiple training signals as the training signals are transmitted during a current iteration of a beamforming procedure. Feedback generated using the multiple training signals is received. A second set of AWVs to be used in a next iteration of the beamforming procedure is determined using the feedback.
US08644179B2
A control system and method thereof is provided. The control system includes switch devices that operate on supplied power, each switch device includes multiple switch-side ports and a communication processing unit for relaying data, input to any of the switch-side ports on a basis of destination information set for the data, a relay device that includes first ports coupled to corresponding switch-side ports of the switch devices and second ports selectively coupled to the first ports and that relays the data, input to any of the second ports, to any of the first ports, and a control device that controls the switch devices and the relay device, where the control device includes a port monitoring unit, a port-assignment control unit, and a power control unit.
US08644173B1
Systems, methods, and computer-readable media for managing location-based requests in a wireless system are provided. In embodiments, a request includes or is associated with a source identifier. A position determining entity (PDE) is configured to receive a request at a designated port based on the associated source identifier. A counting component counts the number of requests communicated for a particular source identifier while a timer times predetermined units of time. A usage policy determines the maximum threshold of requests that may be communicated for a source identifier in a predetermined time period. The request may be granted if the number of requests communicated is below the maximum threshold. The request may be denied or granted if the number of requests communicated is above the maximum threshold.
US08644172B2
The invention relates to a network comprising at least one host device having an interface card connected to a backplane of said host device, wherein said interface card comprises at least one cage for receiving a pluggable module which performs a traffic management of data transported via at least one optical fiber connected to said pluggable module.
US08644149B2
Method and apparatus for reducing forwarding table sizes in flow switches in a flow-based, split-architecture network is described. In an embodiment, a set of flow switches along a flow path is identified to form a switch pool. The forwarding table of only one of the flow switches in the switch pool is configured to have a flow entry that is associated with a particular flow. The flow entry includes a set of match fields for identifying packets belonging to that particular flow, and a set of actions to be performed on the packets belonging to that particular flow.
US08644146B1
A system is provided that receives a first change request from a first enterprise network device to a first configuration used by the first device, identifies components of the first configuration impacted by the first request, and receives a second change request from a second network device to a second configuration used by the second device. The system identifies second configuration components impacted by the second request, filters second device information from the second request and components impacted by the request, and analyzes the unimplemented first request impacting at least one component impacted by the second request. The system presents the as-built configuration of the second configuration, describes the first request impact to the component, approves all or some of the second request based on analysis of filtering results and a commitment regarding the first request, and processes the approved portion of the second request based on second device response.
US08644139B2
Systems and methods to communicate data frames are provided. A particular apparatus may include a first adapter having a first queue configured to store a data frame associated with a first priority. The adapter is configured to generate a first priority pause frame. A distributed virtual bridge may be coupled to the first adapter. The distributed virtual bridge may include an integrated switch router and a first transport layer module configured to provide a frame-based interface to the integrated switch router. The transport layer module may include a first buffer associated with the first priority. A first bridge element of the distributed virtual bridge may be coupled to the first adapter queue and to the first transport layer module. The first bridge element is configured to receive the first priority pause frame from the adapter and to communicate an interrupt signal to the first transport layer module to interrupt delivery of the data frame to the first queue.
US08644130B2
The present disclosure relates generally to a system and method for use in a communications network. In one example, the method includes dividing a total available frequency band of a first node into a multiple subcarriers using orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (OFDM). A first portion of subcarriers is allocated to a first link coupling the first node with a second node and a second portion of the subcarriers is allocated to a second link coupling the first node to a third node.
US08644128B2
In a method for generating a data unit for transmission via a communication channel, a first preamble portion of the data unit is generated based on whether a physical layer (PHY) mode is a first PHY mode or a second PHY mode. An OFDM portion of the data unit is generated. The OFDM portion follows the first preamble portion, includes a second preamble portion including one or more long training fields, is clocked at a first clock rate when the PHY mode is the first PHY mode, and is clocked at a second clock rate lower than the first clock rate when the PHY mode is the second PHY mode.
US08644127B2
Systems and methods for partial self-FEXT (far-end crosstalk) are described. One method, among others, comprises determining one or more instantaneous characteristics of an input signal, wherein the one or more instantaneous characteristics comprise one or more of amplitude of the input signal and an energy level of the input signal. The method further comprises selecting one or more disturbers to cancel according to the one or more instantaneous characteristics, wherein selecting one or more disturbers is performed on a per-DMT (discrete multi-tone) symbol basis.
US08644116B2
Calendar mechanism for a timepiece, includes: at least one mobile (22; 23) for driving an indicator, a wheel (1) which, during normal operation of the timepiece, is driven in a first direction (S1), a lever (16) for actuating the mobile (22; 23), and first and second cams (2, 3) driven by the wheel (1) and controlling the movements of the actuating lever (16), these first and second cams (2, 3) being arranged so that their relative angular position differs depending on the direction of rotation of the wheel (1) so that the movements of the actuating lever (16) cause the mobile (22; 23) to advance periodically during normal operation of the timepiece and do not permit the mobile to advance during backwards time setting of the timepiece causing the wheel to rotate in a second direction (S2) opposite to the first direction (S1).
US08644113B2
A receiving device captures sounds signals (e.g., ultrasonic) from multiple sound signal sources, selects the sound signals satisfying a reliability condition for use in determining an initial position of the receiving device relative to the corresponding sound signal sources, determines the initial position of the receiving device using multilateration of the selected sound signals, and updates the current position of the receiving device as the reliability of individual sound signals varies in the presence of dynamically changing environmental interference, multipathing, and movement between the receiving device and the sound signal sources.
US08644107B2
According to the system of the present invention, data (DQ) signals are outputted/received between a controller 100 and a memory 200 based on a data strobe signal sent out from the controller 100. The data strobe signal is independently and completely separated from a clock signal. The data strobe signal has a frequency different from a clock signal. Therefore, the memory 200 is not required to generate a read data strobe signal from the clock signal nor to send the read data strobe signal in synchronization with the clock signal.
US08644101B2
A local sense amplifier circuit in a semiconductor memory device, the local sense amplifier circuit including a local data sensing unit configured to amplify a voltage difference between a local input/output (I/O) line pair based on a local sensing enable signal to provide the amplified voltage difference to a global I/O line pair, the local I/O line pair including a first local I/O line and a second local I/O line, and a local I/O line control unit including a first capacitor and a second capacitor, the first capacitor increasing a voltage level of the first local I/O line based on the local sensing enable signal, the second capacitor increasing a voltage level of the second local I/O line based on the local sensing enable signal.
US08644100B2
An integrated circuit having a logic element that includes an array of storage elements convertibly functioning as either a configuration random access memory (CRAM) or a static random access memory (SRAM) is provided. The logic element includes first and second pairs of data paths having dedicated multiplexers. In one embodiment, the first and second pairs of data paths are multiplexed into bit lines of a row of the array. The logic element also includes a data path control block generating control signals for each of the dedicated multiplexers. The control signals determine whether the storage elements function as a CRAM or a SRAM. A method for selectively configuring a memory array between a CRAM mode and SRAM mode are provided.
US08644099B2
Apparatus and method for determining a read level of a flash memory after an inactive period of time
Disclosed is an apparatus and method for determining a dwell time in a non-volatile memory circuit after a shutdown of the memory circuit. A voltage shift is calculated by comparing a first read level voltage required to read a test block stored before the shutdown and a second read level voltage required to read a second test block stored after the shutdown. A shutdown time is determined from a look up table indexed by the voltage shift and a number of program/erase cycles. The dwell time is calculated as a function of the drive temperature, a clock, and a block time stamp. Once the dwell time is calculated, a controller calculates a new read level voltage based, in part, on the dwell time and provides one or more programming commands representative of the new read level voltage to the memory circuit to read the memory circuit.
US08644096B2
Command paths, apparatuses, memories, and methods for providing an internal command to a data path are disclosed. In an example method, a command is received and propagated through a command path to provide an internal command. Further included in the method is determining a difference between a latency value and a path delay difference, the path delay difference representing a modeled path delay difference between the command path and the data path measured in terms of a number of clock periods. The propagation of the command through the command path to the data path is delayed by a delay based at least in part on the difference between the latency value and the path delay difference. The internal command is provided to the data path responsive to an internal clock signal.
US08644093B2
A writing circuit includes storage to store writing data to be written to an OTP macro; a controller to apply a first signal that causes the OTP macro to execute writing of the writing data, and apply a second signal that causes the OTP macro to execute reading of data the OTP macro stores; and a comparator to compare the data read from the OTP macro in response to the second signal with the data stored in the storage and output a comparison result, wherein the controller ends a process associated with the writing data if the comparison result indicates a match, and applies the first and second signals again if the comparison result indicates a mismatch.
US08644091B2
A low voltage sensing scheme reduces active power down standby leakage current in a memory device. A clamping device or diode is used between a Psense amplifier control line (e.g. ACT) and Vcc and/or between an Nsense amplifier control line (e.g. RNL*) and Vss (ground potential). The clamping diode is not enabled during normal memory operations, but is turned on during active power down mode to reduce leakage current through ACT and/or RNL* nodes. The clamping device connected to the ACT node may reduce the voltage on the ACT line during power down mode, whereas the clamping device connected to the RNL* node may increase the voltage on the RNL* line during power down mode to reduce sense amplifier leakage current through these nodes. Because of the rules governing abstracts, this abstract should not be used to construe the claims.
US08644089B2
A semiconductor memory device selecting a half page based on a particular bit of a row address includes: an input unit for receiving the particular bit; a control signal generation unit for outputting a mode control signal in response to a signal related to a mode for selecting a whole page; first and second mode control units for transferring first and second output signals of the input unit corresponding to the particular bit and its inverse signal; a row precharge pulse generation unit for generating a row precharge pulse enabled in an initial period of a precharge duration; a first driving unit for pull-up/pull-down driving an output terminal corresponding to a first pre-decoding signal; a second driving unit for pull-up/pull-down driving an output terminal corresponding to a second pre-decoding signal; and first and second latch units for latching output signals of the first and second driving units.
US08644088B2
A semiconductor memory device includes a memory block configured to store a data inputted/outputted through a data transfer line, a data output block configured to output the data loaded on the data transfer line in response to a source clock, wherein the data output block is controlled to be coupled with the data transfer line in response to a write operation signal, a write operation signal generation block configured to generate the write operation signal in response to an operation selection signal and a reference clock lagging behind the source clock by a set time, and a data input block configured to load the data on the data transfer line in response to the write operation signal.
US08644082B2
An erase operation of a memory apparatus is controlled by, inter alia, selecting one or more memory cell blocks to be erased among a plurality of memory cell blocks, performing an erase operation on the selected one or more memory cell blocks in response to an erase command, performing a first soft program operation on the selected one or more memory cell blocks if the erase operation is determined as passed, and performing a second soft program operation on the selected one or more memory cell blocks if the first soft program operation is determined as passed.
US08644081B2
A flash memory device including a memory array, a row decoder and M page buffers is provided, wherein M is a positive integer. The memory array includes a plurality of memory cells and is electrically connected to a plurality of word lines and a plurality of bit lines. The row decoder drives a specific word line among the word lines during an enabling period. The M page buffers divide the enabling period into N sub-periods, wherein N is an integer greater than 2. Furthermore, the ith, (i+N)th, (i+2N)th, . . . , (i+(M−1)*N)th bit lines are driven by the M page buffers during the ith sub-period, so as to program the memory cells electrically connected to the specific word line, wherein i is an integer and 1≦i≦N.
US08644078B2
A nonvolatile memory device that uses pulsed control and rest periods to mitigate the formation of defect precursors. A first embodiment uses pulsed bitline control, where the coupling between a memory cell channel and a reference voltage is pulsed when it is desired to change state in the associated memory cell. Each pulse may be chosen to be less than about 20 nanoseconds, while a “rest period” between pulses can be on the order of about a hundred nanoseconds or greater. Because bitline control is used, very short rise times can be enabled, enabling generation of pulse durations of 50 nanoseconds or less. In other embodiments, these methods may also be more generally applied to other conductors (e.g., wordline or substrate well, for program or erase operations); segmented wordlines or bitlines may also be used, to minimize RC loading and enable sufficiently short rise times to make pulses robust.
US08644076B2
A programmable memory device includes a plurality of one-time programmable (OTP) memory units, a search unit, a writing unit, and a reading unit. Each OTP memory unit is assigned an address. The search unit searches for the first writable OTP memory unit from the plurality of OTP memory units in a writing operation, or searches for the last programmed OTP memory unit from the plurality of OTP memory units in a reading operation. The writing unit writes data to be written and the bit length of the data to the first writable OTP memory unit. The reading unit sequentially reads data from the last programmed OTP memory unit.
US08644073B2
A non-volatile memory device includes a plurality of memory cells, with each memory cell for storing a bit having a first logic value or a second logic value. An input is for receiving a word defined by bits to be stored in the plurality of memory cells. Programming circuitry is for programming a corresponding memory cell for each bit having the first logic value. Forming circuitry is for receiving the word from the input and for providing to the programming circuitry at least one additional word defined by bits to also be stored in the plurality of memory cells. The forming circuitry includes processing circuitry for calculating a current maximum number of simultaneously programmable bits, and logic circuitry for generating the additional word, with the additional word having a number of bits having the first logic value equal to the current maximum number.
US08644072B2
There is provided a semiconductor memory device having a plurality of memory cell layers which can be used even if part of the memory cell layers is determined as defective. The semiconductor memory device includes a stacked memory cell array having a laminated plurality of memory cell layers, each of which has a plurality of blocks; a layer quality information storing circuit (10) which can store layer quality information indicating whether the individual memory cell layer is a normal memory cell layer or a defective memory cell layer so as to identify a memory cell layer in which the number of defective blocks found is equal to or greater than a predetermined number as a defective memory cell layer and the other memory cell layers as normal memory cell layers; and address converting circuit (11) in which if an externally input address input from outside corresponds to the block in the defective memory cell layer, the externally input address is address-converted so as to correspond to the block of the normal memory cell layer.
US08644070B2
Memory devices and methods adapted to process and generate analog data signals representative of data values of two or more bits of information facilitate increases in data transfer rates relative to devices processing and generating only binary data signals indicative of individual bits. Programming of such memory devices includes programming to a target threshold voltage range representative of the desired bit pattern. Reading such memory devices includes generating an analog data signal indicative of a threshold voltage of a target memory cell. Warning of cell deterioration can be performed using reference cells programmed in accordance with a known pattern such as to approximate deterioration of non-volatile memory cells of the device.
US08644067B2
A method includes reading a representation of a codeword stored in a multi-level-cell (MLC) memory by comparing cell threshold voltages in the MLC memory to hard bit thresholds to generate hard bit values and to soft bit thresholds to generate soft bit values. The hard bit values and the soft bit values are provided to a non-binary decoder that uses probabilistic decoding to obtain decoded data.
US08644059B2
A memory includes MTJ elements. Active areas are separated to correspond to cell transistors, respectively, and extend in a first direction substantially orthogonal to an extending direction of gates of the cell transistors. The active areas are arranged in the first direction and constitute a plurality of active area columns. Two active area columns adjacent in a second direction are arranged to be half-pitch staggered in the first direction. As viewed from above surfaces of the active areas, each MTJ element is arranged to overlap with one end of each of the active areas. The first and second wirings extend while being folded back in a direction inclined with respect to the first and second directions in order to overlap with the MTJ elements alternately in the adjacent active area columns.
US08644050B2
For a probe based data storage (PDS) device a ferroelectric film stack may be used as a media to store data bits by polarizing areas of the film as either an up domain or a down domain to represent bits. However a built-in-bias field (BBF) may create domain retention problems. By growing the ferroelectric films with stress and composition gradients this may generate polarization gradients which reduce the bias field. Thus, the retention (or imprint) may be improved with minimized BBF.
US08644044B2
A system for using an IGBT module, electrically rated for use in a traction inverter used with a powered system, in an auxiliary inverter used with the powered system which requires a different electrically rated IGBT module than the traction inverter, the system including an IGBT module, including plurality of IGBTs as part of the IGBT module, electrically rated for use with a traction inverter, and a plurality of gate drives each configured to singularly connect to a respective one of the plurality of IGBTs within the IGBT module. All three phases of three-phase electrical power of the auxiliary inverter are associated with the IGBT module.
US08644035B2
Systems, methods, and circuits for providing zero voltage switching conditions across all load conditions in a full-bridge DC/DC converter. An asymmetric auxiliary circuit is provided and the reactive current due to the auxiliary circuit is controlled across various load conditions. This is done by adaptively adjusting the switching frequency of the converter as well as the phase shift of the rising edges of the waveforms for activating the gates in the leading and lagging legs of the full bridge converter.
US08644025B2
An integrated circuit (IC) film for a smart card is provided. The IC film includes a flexible printed circuit (FPC) board, first electrical contacts, second electrical contacts, and an IC chip. The first electrical contacts are disposed on a first side of the FPC board, and the second electrical contacts are disposed on a second side of the FPC board. The IC chip is disposed on the FPC board and bonded to the leads of the FPC board to thereby form electrical connection. The total thickness of the FPC board and the chip is not larger than 0.5 mm.
US08644022B2
An internal device arrangement for a passenger cabin, for example of an aircraft, is provided. The device has an internal device element which is selected from a group including wall paneling, window panel, side panel, ceiling paneling and luggage compartment. The device has an electrical apparatus fitted in or on the internal device element; and at least one line for supplying power to the electrical apparatus. Furthermore, a heat dissipation device in the form of an integral component part of the internal device element, the electrical apparatus and/or the at least one line is provided. Such a heat dissipation device makes it possible to dispense with an additional heat sink for temperature management and thus save installation space and weight.
US08644018B2
The disclosure provides a hinge device for installing a tablet computer and disposed at a base having a fixing hole. The hinge device includes a casing, an elastic element, a fixing pin, and a lifting pin. The casing is pivotally connected with the base thus to be capable of rotating relative to the base, and it has a through hole corresponding to the fixing hole. The elastic element and the fixing pin are disposed in the casing. The fixing pin has a first inclined surface. One end of the fixing pin is connected with the elastic element, and the other end corresponds to the through hole. The lifting pin is moveably disposed through and protrudes from the casing, and the lifting pin has a second inclined surface against the first inclined surface. A docking station using the aforementioned hinge device is also disclosed.
US08644009B2
A thermostat includes a housing having a generally rectangular frame-shaped surface that extends around a display device, and first and second side walls on opposing sides of the housing. The first and second side walls of the housing each include at least one recessed notch therein. The various thermostat embodiments further include a colored insert having a generally rectangular frame-shaped configuration, which matches the generally rectangular frame-shaped surface of the housing. The colored insert is disposed over the housing so as to substantially cover the generally rectangular frame-shaped surface of the housing. The various thermostat embodiments further include a single translucent faceplate having an aperture therein, a generally rectangular frame-shaped surface extending around the aperture, and first and second side walls on opposing sides of the single translucent faceplate that include at least one engaging clip configured to engage the recessed notches in the housing.
US08643997B2
A lightning current transfer assembly (2) for a wind turbine (1) is arranged to transfer lightning current from a wind-turbine part (8) to another part (8) rotatable relative to it. The assembly comprises at least one electric contact arrangement (11′, 11″) comprising complementary contact members (12a′, 12b′, 12a″, 12b″) which provide electric connection by mechanically contacting each other while being movable relative to each; a spark gap (4) connected in series with the movement-enabling contact arrangement (11′, 11″); and a spark-gap-bridging resistance (6) connected parallel to the spark gap (4). Thereby, the assembly provides at least two alternative current paths: (i) a lightning current path across the at least one electric contact arrangement and the spark gap, and (ii) a permanent-discharge current path across the at least one electric contact arrangement and through the spark-gap-bridging resistance.
US08643990B2
A protection circuit includes a controllable discharge element having a load path coupled between a first second circuit nodes. The discharge element provides a discharge path between the first and the second circuit nodes when in an on state. A trigger circuit has a first connection coupled to the first circuit node and a second connections coupled to the second circuit node. The trigger circuit is configured to produce a drive signal that switches the discharge element to its on state when the voltage between the first and the second circuit nodes reaches a trigger value. A setting circuit coupled to the trigger circuit is configured to change the trigger value from a first trigger value to a second trigger value depending on a voltage between the first and the second circuit nodes and/or on the drive signal.
US08643980B1
A magnetic recording device comprises a slider body having a slider interface surface and a magnetic transducer having a lower surface coplanar with an air bearing surface of the magnetic recording device. The magnetic transducer has a transducer interface surface perpendicular to the air bearing surface The magnetic recording device further comprises a piezoelectric actuator operably connecting the slider interface surface and the transducer interface surface. The piezoelectric actuator is configured to translate the magnetic transducer with respect to the slider body in a direction substantially parallel to the slider and transducer interface surfaces. The piezoelectric actuator comprises a plurality of elongate flexures disposed in parallel planes within a body of the piezoelectric actuator.
US08643976B1
A method is disclosed for adaptive learning of fundamental-frequency repeatable runout (1FRRO) compensation information in a disk drive. The disk drive includes a transducer head, a magnetic disk having a plurality of concentric data tracks defined by embedded servo wedges that provide position information, and a control system. In the method, 1FRRO compensation information is learned over a predetermined minimum number of disk revolutions. After the predetermined minimum number of disk revolutions, the 1FRRO compensation information is monitored for convergence while learning of the 1FRRO compensation information continues. Learning is terminated upon detection of convergence of the 1FRRO compensation information.
US08643974B1
Systems and methods that sense or obtain environmental conditions of a tape drive and dynamically apply voltage biases to tape head assembly elements based on the sensed/obtained environmental conditions to reduce tape stain accumulation and prolong tape head performance. Detection of different first and second sets of environmental conditions (e.g., in relation to temperatures, humidity levels, tape movement directions, etc.) may result in respective first and second voltage bias level sets being applied to respective first and second head assembly element sets. For instance, different first and second voltage bias level sets may be applied to the same head assembly elements (e.g., the first and second head assembly element sets may be the same), or the first and second voltage bias level sets may be applied to different head assembly elements (e.g., the first and second head assembly element sets may be at least partially different).
US08643973B2
A method for calibrating a reflection compensator is provided. A delay is initially set to a predetermined minimum, and an input pulse is transmitted across a transmission line. A compensation current is then applied after the delay. The reflection from the transmission line is digitized to generate a measurement, and a determination is made as to whether the compensation current substantially compensates for the reflection. If the compensation current does not substantially compensate for the reflection, then the delay is adjusted, and the process is repeated until the compensation current substantially compensates for the reflection.
US08643972B2
A magnetic storage apparatus includes a magnetic recording medium, a microwave assisted magnetic recording head at least equipped with a magnetic recording pole that generates a recording magnetic field for writing to the magnetic recording medium and a high-frequency oscillator that generates a high-frequency field, a magnetic reproducing head that reads information from the magnetic recording medium, a signal processing unit that processes a signal written by the magnetic recording head and a signal read by the magnetic reproducing head and a unit that controls clearance between the high-frequency oscillator and the magnetic recording medium. The magnetic storage apparatus has a characteristic that the high-frequency oscillator is not operated except in recording.
US08643971B1
In one general embodiment, a method includes detecting a format in which data on a tape is written; using a module configured for writing and/or reading data to and from the tape in a first format when the format detected is the first format; and using a supplemental module coupled to the module for reading data from the tape in a second format when the format detected is the second format, wherein the first format has a higher data density than the second format. Additional products and processes are also presented.
US08643956B2
A lens apparatus includes a fixed lens barrel, a cam ring provided inside the barrel, lens units, and a holder for holding the lens units movable in optical-axis direction, the holder including a driver for driving at least one of the lens units in the optical-axis direction, the holder supported movably in the optical-axis direction inside the cam ring, in which the holder includes cam followers, and the cam followers slidably engage with a cam groove of the cam ring and a straight groove of the barrel to determine a position of the holder in the optical-axis direction by rotation of the cam ring about optical axis, the holder includes a slide connector for electrically connecting to a contact provided slidably on the barrel through an opening penetrating the cam ring radially, and the driver is fed with power from the barrel side through the slide connector.
US08643954B2
A zoom lens and a photographing apparatus including the same. The zoom lens includes a first lens group having a positive refractive power, a second lens group having a negative refractive power, and an additional lens grouping having a positive refractive power, which are sequentially arranged from an object side, wherein the additional lens grouping comprises a third lens group having a positive refractive power.
US08643948B2
There is provided a light-guide, compact collimating optical device, including a light-guide having a light-waves entrance surface, a light-waves exit surface and a plurality of external surfaces, a light-waves reflecting surface carried by the light-guide at one of the external surfaces, two retardation plates carried by light-guides on a portion of the external surfaces, a light-waves polarizing beamsplitter disposed at an angle to one of the light-waves entrance or exit surfaces, and a light-waves collimating component covering a portion of one of the retardation plates. A system including the optical device and a substrate, is also provided.
US08643946B2
A microscope including an objective, which images a sample along a microscope beam path, and an autofocus device, which is coupled into the microscope beam path via a beam splitter at a location behind the objective. A light modulator for generating a two-dimensional, intensity-modulated modulation object, is located in the autofocus beam path in a plane conjugated to the focal plane of the objective or intersects the latter and is imaged into the focal plane of the objective. A camera records a two-dimensional image onto which the modulation object's image is imaged. The image plane of the camera intersects a plane that is conjugated to the modulation object or is located in the plane and the camera detecting the contrast of the modulation object's image located in the sample.
US08643930B2
Thin-film lithium-based batteries and electrochromic devices (10) are fabricated with positive electrodes (12) comprising a nanocomposite material composed of lithiated metal oxide nanoparticles (40) dispersed in a matrix composed of lithium tungsten oxide.
US08643920B2
A computer-implemented method for gray balance calibration in an image printing system is provided. The method includes printing, using a print engine, a reference test pattern consisting essentially of black marking medium; sensing, using a sensor, the reference test pattern to obtain a reference image data, the reference image data being a function of the black marking medium; printing, using the print engine, a second test pattern comprising a combination of marking mediums of different colors, other than the color black, available on the image printing system to simulate the black marking medium; sensing, using the sensor, the second test pattern to obtain a second image data, the second image data being a function of the combination of marking mediums; and determining a difference between the reference image data and the second image data to obtain a correction offset for gray balance calibration in the image printing system.
US08643918B2
An image reading device, which has an image sensor having a plurality of sensor chips therein and being capable of outputting data in parallel through a plurality of output channels, includes an image reading section configured to perform reading of images in either of two outputting modes, one being a parallel outputting mode in which start signals are simultaneously inputted to the plurality of sensor chips so that pieces of data in the plurality of the sensor chips are outputted in parallel through the plurality of output channels, respectively, the other one being an interval outputting mode in which start signals are sequentially inputted to the plurality of sensor chips at intervals of time between any two successive inputs of the start signals, respectively, so that respective pieces of data in the plurality of sensor chips are sequentially outputted through any one of the plurality of output channels, and a mode selection section configured to select either of the two outputting modes in accordance with a set resolution.
US08643916B2
A reading device includes a first illuminating section that illuminates a reading area with first illumination light of a first direction; a second illuminating section that illuminates the reading area with second illumination light of a second direction; a light-receiving section that receives reflection light of the first illumination light and reflection light of the second illumination light reflected from the reading area, the first illumination light being applied from the first illuminating section and the second illumination light being applied from the second illuminating section; and reflecting members that are disposed side by side in the reading area in a widthwise direction thereof, and that have first and second reflecting surfaces.
US08643910B2
An image forming apparatus includes an acquiring unit that acquires image data expressing an image region included in an image with a first value and a background region included in the image with a second value; a segmenting unit that segments the image region into multiple segments arranged in a fast scanning direction; a converting unit that converts a value of at least one of the segments into the second value; an output unit that generates an image signal on the basis of the image data and outputs the image signal; an exposure unit that exposes a charged image bearing member to light according to the output image signal by scanning the light thereto in the fast scanning direction so as to form a latent image; and a developing unit that forms the image by developing the latent image using an invisible toner that absorbs infrared light or ultraviolet light.
US08643896B2
The first processor element (PE) interprets a display list, generates pieces of edge information of objects contained in one line, sorts the pieces of edge information for each line, and transfers the level data containing link information linking to width information of between the edges of the objects, the pieces of edge information and overlapping information of the objects. When the level data corresponding to the pixel count in the sub-scanning direction is stored in a memory, a DMAC controls the readout order of the level data to read out the level data from the memory and transfers the readout level data to the second processor.
US08643891B2
An image processing device includes a multi-layer data acquiring part configured to acquire multi-layer data having a required-formation-amount-related value representing a value relating to a formation amount required to form an image, and an expanding part configured to expand, based on a correspondence relationship for expansion, the acquired multi-layer data into multiple sets of single-layer data. The correspondence relationship for expansion has a correspondence relationship between the required-formation-amount-related value in each of the sets of single-layer data and the required-formation-amount-related value in the multi-layer data. The required-formation-amount-related value in the multi-layer data is image data that exceeds a maximum-formation-amount-related value representing a value relating to a maximum formation amount of a color value of the single-layer data with which an image can be printed in a single printing process. The required-formation-amount-related value in the single-layer data is image data that is equal to or less than the maximum-formation-amount-related value.
US08643890B1
A system for formatting and printing wallet cards having the form factor of a standard ISO credit card or debit card, the printing format being calculated according to the aspect ratio and pixel density of mobile handheld devices that are capable of communicating with a printer wherein the handheld device preferably has an internal program that converts the pixilated display screen to a select content portion of the physical ISO card area wherein the remaining card area resulting from the mismatch of the aspect ratios of the display screen and the physical card form is programmed to contain data, graphics, coding, or if desired, left blank as part of the card margin.
US08643884B2
A region of a predetermined range including a location of the image forming device is determined based on location data representing a location of the image forming device stored in the print server. If the print server obtains positional data concerning the position of a mobile phone, the print server transmits data to the image forming device if, for example, the mobile phone is within the region, based on the positional data, the location data and the region, and the image forming device performs image forming based on the data.
US08643869B2
System, apparatus and method for printing color image print data selectably as a color image or as a black-and-white image are described.
US08643868B2
An image data transmission apparatus which are capable of improving reliability of log files by ensuring proper storing of log information about transferred image data. A preceding log, which includes information about the transmission of image data, is transmitted to a log file server connected with a scanner via a network. In the scanner, it is determined whether the log file server has succeeded in receiving or storing the preceding log. If the log file server has succeeded in receiving or storing the preceding log, the image data is transmitted to a designated destination of image data transmission.
US08643867B2
There is provided an image forming apparatus including an added image detecting section that detects added image data contained in image data by analyzing input image data to be printed; an added image determination section that, when added image data is detected by the added image detecting section, determines whether the detected added image data corresponds to any post-processing on a post-processing apparatus which applies post-processing to a printing medium which has been subjected to printing; an image forming section that forms a printed image with the added image data removed from image data to be printed if the added image determination section determines that the added image data corresponds to post-processing on the post-processing apparatus; and a post-processing controller that instructs the post-processing apparatus to apply the post-processing for the added image data if the added image determination section determines that the added image data corresponds to post-processing on the post-processing apparatus.
US08643853B2
An image forming apparatus includes a parsing part parsing printing data; plural rendering process parts carrying out a rendering process on the parsed printing data; a band memory to which each of the plural rendering process parts carries out the rendering; a rendering control part carrying out rendering control, based on a parsing result of the parsing part, to cause a predetermined one of the plural rendering process parts to generate intermediate data or carry out the rendering to the band memory; and a data memory storing the intermediate data generated by the predetermined one of the plural rendering process parts. Another of the plural rendering process parts carries out the rendering to the band memory using the intermediate data stored in the data memory.
US08643849B2
A measurement system comprising a light source unit, a projection unit and an optics unit is disclosed. The light source unit is configured to generate a plurality of modulated phase shifted light beams. The projection unit is configured to reflect the modulated phase shifted light beams onto an object surface. The optics unit is configured to capture the modulated phase shifted light beams from the object surface. The measurement system further comprises a photodetector and a processor. The photodetector is configured to receive the modulated phase shifted light beams from the optics unit to generate electrical signals. The processor is configured to retrieve position information of the object surface based on the electrical signals from the photodetector. A measurement method is also presented.
US08643847B1
A patterned sapphire substrate is measured from a fine phase map and a coarser height map of the sample. The boundaries of the PSS features are identified by finding the locations of minimum contrast in the modulation map of the substrate and are used to produce a height map of the substrate base and a phase map of center regions of the features. A fringe-order map of the features with respect to the base is used to identify the most prevalent fringe order of pixels in the center-regions of the features. That fringe order is adopted as the correct offset between corresponding pixels in the phase map of the center regions of the features and the base of the substrate. A complete map of the substrate is thus obtained by combining the phase map of the features with the height map of the substrate with an offset equal to the fringe order produced by the invention.
US08643842B2
A method and system are presented for use in characterizing properties of an article having a structure comprising a multiplicity of sites comprising different periodic patterns, where method includes providing a theoretical model of prediction indicative of optical properties of different stacks defined by geometrical and material parameters of corresponding sites, said sites being common in at least one of geometrical parameter and material parameter; performing optical measurements on at least two different stacks of the article and generating optical measured data indicative of the geometrical parameters and material composition parameters for each of the measured stacks; processing the optical measured data, said processing comprising simultaneously fitting said optical measured data for the multiple measured stacks with said theoretical model and extracting said at least one common parameter, thereby enabling to characterize the properties of the multi-layer structure within the single article.
US08643838B2
An emission spectrophotometer capable of inhibiting non-uniformity of spectral intensities of component elements is provided. The emission spectrophotometer generates pulse light emission by supplying an energy accumulated in an electricity accumulating and discharging unit to a gap between an electrode and a test material, and the emission spectrophotometer includes a detection unit, for detecting an energy charged to the electricity accumulating and discharging unit before the pulse light emission; and a detection unit, for detecting an energy remaining in the electricity accumulating and discharging unit after the pulse light emission. It is determined whether the detected light is emitted by fully using the energy accumulated in the electricity accumulating and discharging unit.
US08643825B2
The disclosure relates to microlithography systems, such as EUV micro-lithography illumination systems, as well as related components, systems and methods.
US08643824B2
A projection optics for microlithography, which images an object field in an object plane into an image field in an image plane, where the projection optics include at least one curved mirror and including at least one refractive subunit, as well as related systems, components, methods and products prepared by such methods, are disclosed.
US08643823B2
A stress-decoupling device and methods of using same in a cooled grazing-incidence collector (GIC) mirror system are disclosed. A method includes providing a cooled GIC shell, providing input and output primary cooling-fluid manifolds, and fluidly connecting the cooled GIC shell to the input and output primary cooling-fluid manifolds through respective stress-decoupling devices. An exemplary stress-decoupling device includes inner and outer bellows that define a sealed cavity filled with a gas. An expansion-limiting member within the sealed cavity limits the expansion of the inner bellows due to the pressure of the cooling fluid flowing therethrough. The stress-decoupling device reduces or prevents the communication of stress from parts of the GIC mirror system to the GIC shells. Stress-decoupling systems and methods for a cooled spider as used in a GIC mirror system are also disclosed.
US08643820B2
A display device of the present invention includes a thin film transistor in a pixel region formed over a substrate, the thin film transistor including an active layer and a gate electrode with a gate insulating film interposed between the active layer and the gate electrode, a silicon nitride film formed over the thin film transistor, a resin film formed over the silicon nitride film, an inorganic insulating film formed over the resin film; a metal layer formed over the substrate; and a sealing material formed over the metal layer, wherein the sealing material covers a region where the resin film is not formed over the silicon nitride film.
US08643815B2
An array substrate includes a substrate, a switching element, a pixel electrode, and a common electrode. The substrate includes a plurality of gate lines, data lines insulated from the gate lines, and the data lines extend in a direction crossing the gate lines. The switching element is connected to the gate lines and data lines. The pixel electrode is arranged in a pixel area which is defined on the substrate, and is connected to an output electrode of the switching element. The common electrode corresponds to the pixel area and is insulated from the pixel electrode, and the common electrode has at least one first slit corresponding to the data line.
US08643809B2
Disclosed is an azo compound represented by the general formula (1) or a salt thereof: wherein R1 and R2 independently represent a hydrogen atom, a lower alkyl group or a lower alkoxy group; and n represents 1 or 2. Also disclosed are a dye-containing polarizing film and a dye-containing polarizing plate, each of which comprises a polarizing film base material and the azo compound contained in the base material.
US08643805B2
A backlight includes a case having plural apertures in a main face thereof and a light source disposed in the case. A total area of the plural apertures is not less than 8% and not more than 15% of an area of the main face.
US08643803B2
The liquid crystal display device is a liquid crystal display device having: a light guide plate for converting light from a light source into backlight for illumination; a first frame for containing the light guide plate; and a liquid crystal display panel provided over said light guide plate, wherein the liquid crystal display device further has a photosensor that is placed so as to face a sidewall of the light guide plate and detect an amount of the backlight, and the photosensor is placed so as to face the sidewall of the light guide plate through a hole or a notch created in a sidewall portion of the first frame.
US08643801B2
A display device includes a substrate; a display element; a thin film transistor, and having a first semiconductor oxide film including a source region and a drain region, the first semiconductor oxide film having first low resistance areas each of whose oxygen concentration is lower than that of the channel region in parts of the source region and the drain region in a depth direction from upper surfaces thereof; a second semiconductor oxide film having a second low resistance area whose oxygen concentration is lower than that of the channel region in a part in the depth direction from the upper surface; and a high resistance film covering the thin film transistor, the second semiconductor oxide film, and the substrate, made of a metallic oxide, having a first translucent area in an area contacting the first low resistance area, and having a second translucent area.
US08643794B2
Disclosed herein is a heat-insulating film (window solar film) including an absorbing layer and a cholesteric liquid crystal layer. The absorbing layer is used to absorb ultraviolet light and infrared light. The pitch of the cholesteric liquid crystal layer is configured in a way such that the cholesteric liquid crystal layer reflects the infrared light.
US08643792B2
Rear projection imaging system with image warping distortion correction system and associated method
A rear projection imaging system with an image warping distortion correction system using a camera and processing unit to generate a warping map that corrects for image distortion. The warping map is generated in an iterative process by displaying a known pattern on a viewing screen and, through the use of a camera, having a microprocessor determine the location and shape of the pattern on the screen. The microprocessor then compares the displayed image to the original reference image, calculates the distortion effects present in the projection optics, and generates a warping map.
US08643787B2
A mechanism for memory reduction in picture-in-picture video generation is disclosed. A method of embodiments of the invention includes receiving, from a transmitting device, a plurality of video streams at a receiving device coupled to the transmitting device, wherein a first video stream of the plurality of video streams is designated to be displayed as a main video and one or more other video streams of the plurality of video streams are designated to be displayed as one or more sub videos to the main video. The method further includes transforming the one or more other video streams into the one or more sub videos, temporarily holding the one or more sub videos in a compressed frame buffer, and merging, via pixel replacement, the main video and the one or more sub videos into a final video image capable of being displayed on a single screen utilizing a display device, wherein pixel replacement is performed such that the one or more sub videos occupy one or more sections of pixels of screen space pixels occupied by the main video.
US08643776B2
An exemplary video processing method for processing a plurality of input frames includes storing the input frames successively, performing a frame rate conversion upon the successively stored input frames by utilizing a frame rate conversion circuit, and performing a predetermined data processing operation upon an output of the frame rate conversion. The step of performing the frame rate conversion includes generating and outputting a plurality of first output frames concurrently by referring to image data of at least one input frame. The step of performing the predetermined data processing operation includes receiving image data of the first output frames concurrently, wherein the first output frames contain image data of temporally adjacent output frames required by the predetermined data processing operation; and performing the predetermined data processing operation upon the image data of the concurrently received first output frames.
US08643770B2
Certain aspects of this disclosure relate to an image signal processing system that includes a flash controller that is configured to activate a flash device prior to the start of a target image frame by using a sensor timing signal. In one embodiment, the flash controller receives a delayed sensor timing signal and determines a flash activation start time by using the delayed sensor timing signal to identify a time corresponding to the end of the previous frame, increasing that time by a vertical blanking time, and then subtracting a first offset to compensate for delay between the sensor timing signal and the delayed sensor timing signal. Then, the flash controller subtracts a second offset to determine the flash activation time, thus ensuring that the flash is activated prior to receiving the first pixel of the target frame.
US08643765B2
An output level difference in the case of using a joint line as a boundary, a bright line, a black bar, or the like is suppressed. A solid-state image pick-up apparatus in which, on a substrate having a plurality of photoelectric converting areas (photodiodes), a solid-state image pick-up element provided with at least one pattern layer formed by divisional exposure and a lens for introducing light into the plurality of photoelectric converting areas of the solid-state image pick-up element are formed. By setting a center of an optical axis of the lens to an approximate joint position between the pattern layers where the pattern layers have been joined by the divisional exposure, the output level difference of a pixel output of the solid-state image pick-up element on the right and left sides of the joint position is suppressed.
US08643763B2
An image pickup apparatus arranged to detachably mount a lens unit including a focus lens, controls such that if the focus lens is movable by the amount of movement within a predetermined time, a next amount of movement of the focus lens is decided on the basis of a first focus signal extracted from an image signal corresponding to charges accumulated in a focus detection area at a first timing, and if the focus lens is not movable by the amount of movement amount within the predetermined time, a next amount of movement of the focus lens is decided after completion of the movement of the focus lens on the basis of a second focus signal extracted from the image signal corresponding to the charges accumulated in the focus detection area at a second timing at which the focus lens is stopped.
US08643757B2
A solid state imaging device improving and stabilizing imaging characteristic by optimizing a location of a positive hole accumulation layer to an electrode at the periphery of a light receiving portion, and having light receiving portions formed on a substrate and electrodes formed on the substrate at the periphery of the light receiving portion, each electrode including at least a first electrode to which a positive voltage is applied and a second electrode to which only 0 volt or a negative polarity voltage is applied, each light receiving portion having a signal charge accumulation region formed on the substrate and a positive hole accumulation region formed in a surface layer portion of the signal charge accumulation region, each positive hole accumulation region arranged at a distance from the first electrode and arranged so as to overlap the second electrode, and method of producing the same and a camera.
US08643750B2
A method of one aspect includes reading a reset level of an active pixel, and concurrently, reading a reset level of a reference pixel. The method also includes reading an image signal level of the active pixel, and concurrently, reading an image signal level of the reference pixel. A reduced noise image signal level of the active pixel is generated based on the reset levels and the image signal levels of the active and reference pixels. Other methods are disclosed as well as apparatus and systems.
US08643749B2
An imaging device includes an imaging unit that receives light coming from a subject and thus generates electronic image data; a display unit that displays an image corresponding to the image data; an angle-of-view setting unit that an angle of view to be changed for the image displayed by the display unit according to a first signal input from the outside; and a control unit that starts control of change to a predetermined angle of view set by the angle-of-view setting unit according to a second signal different from the first signal.
US08643735B2
A transmission apparatus includes: selection means for selecting transmission data to be transmitted to a destination apparatus; setting means for setting a transmission target period during which the selected transmission data is transmitted; control means for resizing the transmission data in such a way that the size thereof becomes smaller than or equal to a total transfer data size of the transmission data, the total transfer data size determined based on the transmission target period; display control means for controlling display of transmission information on the transmission data resized by the control means on a screen; and transmission means for transmitting the transmission data resized by the control means to the destination apparatus.
US08643734B2
An image stabilized digital image capture device, comprising an image sensor for capturing a digital image; an optical system for imaging a scene onto the image sensor; an image stabilization system; an exposure control system; a memory system; and a processor. The processor is used to perform the steps of determining exposure settings using the exposure control system; selectively engaging the image stabilization system responsive to whether the determined exposure settings satisfy a predefined condition; capturing a digital image of a scene using the image sensor and the selectively engaged image stabilization system; and storing the captured digital image in the memory system.
US08643730B2
An imaging device is provided which includes an imaging unit for converting light passing through a focus lens into an image signal to obtain an image, an arrangement unit for arranging an evaluation frame on the image obtained by the imaging unit, a determination unit for determining a focusing position of the focus lens based on pixel value evaluation in the evaluation frame arranged by the arrangement unit, and a driving unit for moving the focus lens to the focusing position determined by the determination unit, in which the arrangement unit re-arranges the evaluation frame by modifying the evaluation frame when a straight-line component appearing on the image overlaps with the evaluation frame.
US08643726B2
A test system for testing a camera module is provided. The camera module includes a voice coil motor and a lens received in the voice coil motor. The test system includes a first focus activating unit, a second focus activating unit, and a timing unit. The first focus activating unit controls the voice coil motor to drive the lens to move from the initial position to the focusing position for achieving a first time focus and obtains a control signal. The second focus activating unit controls the voice coil motor to drive the lens to replace to the initial position and then move the lens from the initial position to the focusing position again for achieving a second time focus. The timing unit records a first moment when the lens is replaced to the initial position and a second moment when the lens is at the focusing position again.
US08643724B2
A multi-camera vision system for a vehicle includes first, second and third image capture devices disposed at respective vehicle portions. The first image capture device field of view overlaps with the third image capture device field of view defining a first overlap zone, and the second image capture device field of view overlaps with the third image capture device field of view defining a second overlap zone. Responsive to processing by an image processor of received image data, a synthesized image is generated without duplication of objects present in the first overlap zone and in the second overlap zone. The synthesized image approximates a view as would be seen by a virtual camera at a single location exterior of the vehicle, and is displayed by a single display screen of a reconfigurable display device that is viewable by a driver of the vehicle when normally operating the vehicle.
US08643722B2
A display system for a bicycle is disclosed that comprises a camera selectively attachable to the bicycle and a display unit fixable to the handlebars of the bicycle. The camera includes a power source and a signaling means adapted for sending visual scene information from the camera, either wirelessly or through a plurality of conductive cables. The display unit includes a display means, a power source, and a signal receiving means. The signal receiving means is adapted for receiving the visual scene information of the signaling means so that the display unit may display the visual scene information on the display means.
US08643721B2
In a method and a device for traffic sign recognition, at least one significant feature for a traffic sign is determined which is standardized for a region. The region that corresponds to the determined feature is determined. At least one classification feature and/or at least one classification method is defined depending on the determined region for the recognition of the traffic sign and/or at least one further traffic sign. The recognition of the traffic sign and/or the at least one further traffic sign is performed by using the defined classification feature and/or the defined classification method.
US08643719B2
A method for monitoring a geographic area that using a plurality of unmanned mobile vehicles. Each unmanned mobile vehicle may be programmed with an operational plan to cover a specific subregion of said geographic area. Each unmanned mobile vehicle may be used to obtain visual images of its associated said subregion during operation. A surveillance system is also disclosed for monitoring a geographic area. The system includes a plurality of autonomously operated unmanned mobile vehicles. Each vehicle includes an onboard system that executes an operational plan to enable the vehicle to traverse a specific subregion of the geographic area. Each onboard system further includes a monitoring system to obtain visual images of its associated subregion.
US08643708B1
An image capture unit for use in a medical imaging system can be coupled to an endoscopic camera, an external monitor, and a network. The image capture unit includes a touch-screen display to generate a graphical user interface and to receive associated user inputs. The image capture unit receives live video generated by the endoscopic camera, displays the video on the external monitor and/or the display, and stores the live video. The image capture unit can also store the live video in a remote computer system via the network. The image capture unit further can capture and store still images based on the live video and can store the still images in the remote computer system. “One-touch” network login and storage allows these operations to be performed in response to a single touch by the user.
US08643704B2
A method for generating stereoscopic images with retinal rivalry effects. The method includes retrieving primary eye images and alternate eye images from memory. These images are filmed from horizontally offset cameras but include the same content. The method continues with processing the alternate eye images to introduce retinal rivalry such as by including a set of frames that have differing content from a corresponding set of frames from the primary eye images. The differing content, for example, may include an object rendered for the alternate eye that was not rendered in the primary eye images. The method may further include editing the primary eye images by inserting a transition and then editing the alternate eye images to perform the transition (e.g., a dissolve or cut) at a temporally offset transition point such as several frames later to introduce frames that differ in content from one eye stream to the other.
US08643697B2
Video processing apparatus and method including a process for switching a 2D program and a 3D video program. The method has the steps of, for example: inputting a 3D video signal and a 2D video signal; discriminating whether the video signal which is inputted is the 3D video signal or the 2D video signal; and converting a clock frequency of the video signal which is determined as a 2D video signal.
US08643687B2
A printing surface processing method includes first forming, second forming and applying. In the first forming, a substantially flat first image expressed with unevenness sense based on a touch and/or a stroke of a brush is formed on a first face of a thermal expansion sheet. In the second forming, a second image constituted of a grayscale image is formed on a second face of the sheet. The grayscale image includes a dark portion and a light portion with densities set to form a substantially uneven shape on the first face. The uneven shape corresponds to the unevenness sense of the first image and unevenness sense of fabric where the first image is supposed to be formed. In the applying, thermal energy is applied to the second image to expand the sheet to form the uneven shape on the first face.
US08643660B2
A technique to enable information sharing among agents within different cache coherency domains. In one embodiment, a graphics device may use one or more caches used by one or more processing cores to store or read information, which may be accessed by one or more processing cores in a manner that does not affect programming and coherency rules pertaining to the graphics device.
US08643657B2
One embodiment of a field changeable rendering system includes an output device interfaced to a motherboard, a fixed rendering device mounted to the motherboard for generating information to be output on said output device, a connector for attaching a field-changeable rendering card to the motherboard, said field-changeable rendering card capable of housing a discrete rendering device for generating information to be output on said output device and detection circuitry for detecting that a field-changeable rendering card housing a discrete rendering device is coupled to said connector and causing information from said field-changeable rendering card housing a discrete rendering device to be output on said output device. One advantage of the disclosed edge connector is that it is compatible with a plurality of graphics cards and systems, thereby enabling a computing device user to upgrade the existing device's graphics system. Thus, the user is not forced to purchase an entirely new computing device in order to take advantage of graphics innovations. A further advantage of the disclosed edge connector is that it enables upgrades to low voltage differential signaling (LVDS) features, without the need for additional costly devices capable of operating at LVDS data rates.
US08643648B2
Various aspects of the invention described herein provide systems and methods for context-linked importation of user information. One aspect of the invention provides a method for context-linked importation of user information. The method includes: providing an interactive environment that allows posting of content by a plurality of pre-identified users; receiving content for the interactive environment from a pre-identified user; selecting relevant data about the pre-identified user from a database, the relevant data selected based on information contained in the content; and displaying the relevant data along with the content on the interactive environment.
US08643645B2
A method and apparatus for generating an elemental image by an integral image technique are provided. The method includes normalizing coordinates of dots in a frustum formed in perspective projection by mapping the dots in the frustum into a cube; reversing a grade of depth of the cube viewed from a particular viewpoint; and generating a two-dimensional (2D) elemental image necessary for three-dimensional (3D) display from dots in the cube whose grade of depth is reversed.
US08643636B2
A driving circuit for driving a display panel includes a dynamic ratioless shift register which is operated in a stable manner and can expand the degree of freedom of design. In the dynamic ratioless shift register which is provided with thin film transistors having semiconductor layers made of p-Si on a substrate surface, a node which becomes the floating state is connected to a fixed potential through a capacitance element.
US08643635B2
A display device is driven through no wire cable such as an FPC, and a display image is continuously held for a certain period of time by storing an image signal received from a wireless communication device so that the display image can be held even when the display device is out of communication range with the wireless communication device. A display device includes at least a pixel circuit having an SRAM (static random access memory) circuit, a circuit which controls the pixel circuit, an antenna circuit, a circuit which generates a demodulation signal, a circuit which rectifies a wireless signal, a circuit which generates first voltage, a charge circuit which stores second voltage, a charge control circuit, a voltage supply control circuit, and a circuit which controls the charge control circuit and the voltage supply control circuit.
US08643628B1
An electronic device, including a housing, a display mounted in the housing, a plurality of proximity sensors mounted in the housing near the edges of the display and directed outward from the display, for detecting presence of an object outside the display and near the edges of the display, and a processor mounted in the housing and coupled with the display and with the proximity sensors, for operating the device responsive to user activation of elements of a graphical user interface (GUI), the GUI including a displayed portion that is rendered by the processor on the display, and a virtual non-displayed portion that extends beyond the edges of the display, wherein the processor operates the device responsive to user activation of elements of the virtual portion of the GUI, based on the proximity sensors detecting presence of an object in the non-displayed portion of the GUI.
US08643613B2
A method and device for dual-differential sensing is disclosed. The sensing information can be generated from signals provided by a sensing device with a plurality of sensors. Each value of the sensing information corresponds to signals of three sensors, respectively. The sensing device is flexible and configured on a display. The noise effect of the display on the signal of each sensor corresponds to the distance between the display and the sensor. Besides, the noise effect of the display on each value of the sensing information corresponds to the distances between the display and the three sensors, respectively.
US08643611B2
A mobile terminal including at least two display regions is provided. A moving image that is being reproduced on a first display region of the mobile terminal or a still image that is being displayed on the first display region can be enlarged and reproduced or displayed on a second display region. Accordingly, the user can easily check (or view) moving or still images included in a webpage screen displayed on the first display region.
US08643609B2
A multi-touch sensing includes a voltage-current converter converting an input voltage into a current. A touch sensing block senses touch of an object. An amplifier includes a first input terminal connected to an output terminal of the voltage-current converter and to a first terminal of the touch sensing block. A second input terminal of the amplifier is grounded. An output terminal of the amplifier is connected to a second terminal of the touch sensing block.
US08643604B2
A button array panel for a handheld communication device. The button array panel can include buttons and a continuous and seamless layer covering each button. Each button has an associated function and full recovery. A substrate layer can also be provided and can be interposed between the buttons and continuous and seamless layer. The button array panel can be a side button array panel or a keypad button array panel. The button array panel can prevent material, such as dust or liquid, from penetrating the handheld communication device.
US08643601B2
A retractable cable mouse includes a casing, a cable reel member, a connector, a sliding member, and an elastic element. The connector is coupled with the cable reel member and contacted with the sliding member. The elastic element is contacted with the sliding member and coupled with the casing. When the sliding member is moved to a first position, the connector is stored within the casing, and the sliding member is sustained against elastic element, so that the elastic element is compressed. When the sliding member is pulled out of the casing, the compressed elastic element provides an elastic force. In response to the elastic force, the sliding member is moved to a second position. Meanwhile, a perforation of the casing is blocked by sliding member, so that the external dust or foreign material fails to be introduced into the internal portion of the casing.
US08643600B2
A mouse includes a casing, a light, a switch, and a supporting device. The casing includes a base plate and a top cover covering the base plate. The top cover defines a receiving hole. The switch is electrically connected to the light and used to turn the light on and off. The supporting device is movably accommodated in the receiving hole and supports the light. The supporting device is capable of moving out of the receiving hole.
US08643597B2
A display apparatus including a communication port to communicate with an external source, an on screen display (OSD) generator to generate an OSD menu, and a display panel to display the OSD menu thereon, the display apparatus further including a pivot sensor to sense a pivoting angle of the display panel, and output data corresponding to the pivoting angle when the display panel is pivoted, and a controller to set an OSD displaying direction of the OSD generator according to the data about the pivoting angle from the pivot sensor, and transmit the data relating to the pivoting angle to the external source through the communication port.
US08643596B2
Disclosed are a method, a system and a navigation device for generating and controlling an interaction object, which is preferably in the form of a context menu, on a display unit. In at least one embodiment, the method includes presentation of the interaction object by way of at least one presentation signal from the navigation device and selection of at least one functional element from the presented interaction object by way of at least one selection signal from the navigation device, wherein the selection can be made independently of a movement by the navigation device and wherein the at least one functional element to be selected and/or the selected at least one functional element is presented at a constant location on the display unit by moving within the interaction object or by moving the interaction object.
US08643592B2
A light sensing circuit capable of enhancing a reliability by lowering a dependency on a temperature change without using a resistor, a backlight control apparatus having the same, and an LCD device having the same. The light sensing circuit includes a first MOS-transistor; and a second MOS-transistor serially connected to the first MOS-transistor between a first power terminal and a ground terminal, in which a second power terminal is connected to each gate terminal of the first MOS-transistor and the second MOS-transistor, and an optical amount detecting terminal is connected to a common connection point between a drain terminal of the first MOS-transistor and a source terminal of the second MOS-transistor.
US08643591B2
In the respect of an electrical characteristic of a transistor, a channel size W/L of a transistor is preferably designed small in order to decrease an effect of a variation in threshold voltage, while the channel size W/L is preferably designed large in order to widen a saturation region as an operation region of the transistor in the respect of characteristic of a light emitting element. Thus, decreasing an effect of a variation in threshold voltage and widening a saturation region in order not to reduce luminance due to a degradation of the light emitting element are in the relation of trade-off. According to the invention, a current capacity of a driving transistor is increased so as to operate in a wide saturation region. A lighting period control circuit is provided in each pixel for changing a lighting period of each pixel separately. Another configuration of the invention includes a plurality of transistors, for example a first driving transistor and a second driving transistor, and a lighting period control circuit for controlling a lighting period of the light emitting element in each pixel.
US08643584B2
A gate drive circuit includes a plurality of stages connected one after another to each other. Each of the stages includes a charging section, a driving section, a discharging section, a holding section and a holding control section. The driving section pulls up a high level of a first clock signal to output a gate signal. The discharging section discharges a voltage potential of a first node to a first off-voltage. The holding section holds a voltage potential of the first node to the first off-voltage. The holding control section receives the first clock signal and a second clock signal. The holding control section holds a voltage potential of the holding section to a second off-voltage through a second node in accordance with the second clock signal to prevent floating of the holding section.
US08643579B2
An array substrate includes a gate line, a data line, a pixel electrode, a first thin film transistor, and a second thin film transistor. The gate line includes a plurality of sub lines receiving a gate signal. The data line crosses the gate line. The pixel electrode is between adjacent sub lines. The first thin film transistor is electrically connected to a first sub line of the adjacent sub lines, the pixel electrode, and the data line. The second thin film transistor is electrically connected to a second sub line of the adjacent sub lines, the pixel electrode, and the data line. Therefore, an image display quality is improved.
US08643569B2
Tools for use within a 3D scene. The 3D scene may be presented by at least one display, which includes displaying at least one stereoscopic image of the 3D scene by the display(s). The 3D scene may be presented according to a first viewpoint. User input may be received to the 3D scene using one or more tools. The 3D scene may be updated in response to the use of the one or more tools.
US08643567B2
A display system suitable for controlling operations of a multifunction device, such as a printer, and a method which makes use of the display system are disclosed. The display system includes a front panel configured for selectively displaying a local user interface and being touch sensitive for controlling an associated device based on touch selectable graphic objects displayed on the local user interface. A rear panel is configured for selectively displaying the local user interface, which is viewable through the front panel. A switching component is configured for switching the display of the local user interface between the front panel and the rear panel.
US08643560B2
A feed network may include a cylindrical common waveguide terminating in a common port and an orthomode transducer having a first port for coupling a first linearly polarized mode to the cylindrical common waveguide and a second port for coupling a second linearly polarized mode to the cylindrical common waveguide, the second linearly polarized mode orthogonal to the first linearly polarized mode. A filter-polarizer element may be disposed within the cylindrical common waveguide. The filter-polarizer element may be rotatable about an axis of the cylindrical common waveguide. The filter-polarizer element may be configured to cause a predetermined relative phase shift between a first signal and a second signal propagating in the cylindrical common waveguide. The filter-polarizer element may be further configured to suppress propagation of at least one undesired mode in the cylindrical common waveguide.
US08643551B2
A wireless communication device and method includes an auxiliary antenna that can actively cancel at least a portion of a near-field component of an electric field generated by a main transmit antenna. The auxiliary antenna can help comply with specific absorption rate requirements and can reduce undesirable signal rectification in hearing aid components.
US08643548B2
A dual beam dual-selectable-polarization phased array antenna comprises an aperture unit, a printed wiring board, radiating elements, chip units, a pressure plate, and a rear housing unit. The printed wiring board has sub assemblies bonded to each other with a bonding material providing both mechanical and electrical connection. The printed wiring board is connected to the aperture unit. The radiating elements are formed on the printed wiring board. The chip units are mounted on the printed wiring board. The chip units include circuits capable of controlling radio frequency signals radiated by the radiating elements to form dual beams with independently selectable polarization. The pressure plate is connected to the aperture unit. The aperture unit is connected to the rear housing unit such that the aperture unit covers the rear housing unit.
US08643542B2
A method for self-calibration of frequency offsets in a measurement equipment of an interference monitoring system is provided. The method involves sampling I/Q data using the interference monitoring system measurement equipment and acquiring satellite navigation signals from the I/Q data. A carrier frequency of the satellite navigation signal is estimated and an expected carrier frequency of the satellite navigation signal is calculated. The expected carrier frequency of the satellite navigation signal is compared with the estimated carrier frequency of the satellite navigation signal and a frequency offset value is calculated as the difference between the expected and estimated carrier frequencies of the satellite navigation signal. The frequency offset value is stored in a memory and used to compensate the frequency offset of at least one subsequent measurement.
US08643540B2
Systems and methods are described for determining position of a receiver. The positioning system comprises a transmitter network including transmitters that broadcast positioning signals. The positioning system comprises a remote receiver that acquires and tracks the positioning signals and/or satellite signals. The satellite signals are signals of a satellite-based positioning system. A first mode of the remote receiver uses terminal-based positioning in which the remote receiver computes a position using the positioning signals and/or the satellite signals. The positioning system comprises a server coupled to the remote receiver. A second operating mode of the remote receiver comprises network-based positioning in which the server computes a position of the remote receiver from the positioning signals and/or satellite signals, where the remote receiver receives and transfers to the server the positioning signals and/or satellite signals.
US08643536B2
A positioning system for radio frequency devices includes a two-way radio antenna, for vehicles, having a transmitting and a receiving element. Reference antennas have retro-directive arrays which can shape the signal beams in elevation; polarize transmission and reception signals according to a circular or a linear polarization, the polarized transmission retro-directively reflecting signals having the same polarization as the incident ones in the case of circular polarization, or retro-directively reflecting signals having orthogonal polarization in the case of linear polarization. An encoder is included for transmitting an identification code of the reference antenna. A controller processes the spatial and temporal data resulting from communication through the radio waves transmitted and received by the vehicle antennas and reflected by the reference antennas. The controller calculates the distance of the vehicle from the reference antennas that have reflected the signal transmitted by the antennas.
US08643534B2
A system for sensing aircraft and other objects uses bistatic radar with spread-spectrum signals transmitted from remotely located sources such as aircraft flying at very high altitudes or from a satellite constellation. A bistatic spread spectrum radar system using a satellite constellation can be integrated with a communications system and/or with a system using long baseline radar interferometry to validate the digital terrain elevation database. The reliability and safety of TCAS and ADS-B are improved by using the signals transmitted from a TCAS or ADS-B unit as a radar transmitter with a receiver used to receive reflections. Aircraft and other objects using spread spectrum radar are detected by using two separate receiving systems. Cross-Correlation between the outputs of the two receiving systems reveals whether a noise signal is produced by the receiving systems themselves or is coming from the outside.
US08643531B2
An electromagnetic wave absorber includes a dielectric layer, a divided conductive film layer and an electromagnetic wave reflective layer, wherein a ratio of thickness ‘d’ and wavelength ‘λ’ satisfies a condition of [0.01≦d/λ0.03], weight per unit area of the electromagnetic wave absorber falls within a range of 1000 g/m2 and 3000 g/m2. The divided conductive film layer is configured such that each side's length of conductive films is dimensioned within a range of 0.5 mm and 4.8 mm and arrangement distance between adjoining conductive films is taken within a range of 0.01 mm and 3 mm.
US08643526B1
A data acquisition system for converting an analog input signal to a digital output signal includes a programmable gain amplifier (PGA), an analog to digital converter (ADC), and an averaging module. The PGA generates first and second amplified signals during respective first and second conversion cycles. The first and second amplified signals include respective first and second amplified input signals and first and second sets of offset and noise signals. The first and second amplified input signals have the same polarities, and the first and second sets of offset and noise signals have opposite polarities. The ADC generates first and second digital samples corresponding to the first and second amplified signals respectively and the averaging module averages the first and second digital samples to eliminate the first and second sets of offset and noise signals from the digital output signal.
US08643523B1
An apparatus for sharing embedded analog-to-digital conversion resources across multiple hardware and software sample conversation queues includes an analog front end, a least one FIFO buffer, a plurality of configuration registers and a sequencer. The sequencer admits a higher priority hardware stepping sequence until the higher priority stepping sequence is completed. After completion, the apparatus reverts to completing pending conversions.
US08643522B2
A system including a sample-and-hold circuit for receiving a plurality of analog input signals; an analog-to-digital converter for converting each of the analog inputs to a digital signal; and a processor configured for implementing fractional delay recovery for the analog-to-digital converter. In some embodiments, the fractional delay recovery includes converting each of the plurality of analog input signals to a digital version in the predetermined order; upsampling each digital version in the predetermined order; digitally filtering each upsampled value in the predetermined order; and downsampling each filtered value in the predetermined order.
US08643519B1
A system for the calibration of a programmable system-on-a-chip is described. More specifically, embodiments of the present invention relate to a system that calibrates a programmable analog block in a system-on-a-chip without the use of external components.
US08643518B2
A circuit for calibrating selective coefficients of a delta-sigma modulator is provided. The circuit includes a calibration logic module that is coupled to one of a plurality of stages of the delta-sigma modulator. The calibration logic module measures the oscillating frequency of a respective stage and compares it to a reference frequency. The calibration logic adjusts a selective circuit component associated with the respective stage so that the reference frequency and the oscillating frequency match.
US08643512B2
An electronic device and method for managing bus services includes a determination of a target bus route according to destination information input by a passenger, and a generation of riding information. A bus of the target bus route approaching a current bus stop where the passenger is located is determined to be a target bus. The riding information is sent to the target bus, and carrying information is received from the target bus. If the target bus has available passenger capacity to carry the passenger, a request message is sent to the target bus, to request a driver of the target bus to stop at the current bus stop. A notification is outputted to notify the passenger that the target bus is approaching the current bus stop.
US08643511B1
Remote mail delivery notification is disclosed. Example embodiments include: providing a radio frequency (RF) transmitter on a mail delivery vehicle, the RF transmitter being configured to transmit a signal on a pre-determined frequency within a pre-determined transmitter proximity region; providing an RF receiver for a recipient of mail delivered by the mail delivery vehicle, the RF receiver being configured to receive a signal on the pre-determined frequency within a pre-determined receiver proximity region, the RF receiver including a mechanism for rendering an alert when the signal is received, the RF receiver further including a reset button to clear the alert and reset the RF receiver to receive a new signal; positioning the RF receiver so a central mailbox associated with the mail recipient is located within the receiver proximity region; and automatically activating an alert on the RF receiver when the mail delivery vehicle is located at the central mailbox.
US08643507B2
A vehicle-based threat detection system (10) for detecting weapons in a vehicle includes at least one sensor (12) in a cargo holding area of the vehicle. The sensor (12) is connected to at least one detector (14) that detects presence of a weapon in the cargo holding area. A warning system (16) is capable of communicating detection of a weapon to a location remote from the cargo holding area.
US08643505B2
A host vehicle includes a cruise control system and an externally perceivable indicating device. The cruise control system is configured to selectively synchronize speed control of the host vehicle with at least one other vehicle. The cruise control system includes a relative position detecting device configured to determine position of the at least one second vehicle relative to the host vehicle, a vehicle speed control device, and a vehicle-to-vehicle communication device. The externally perceivable indicating device is configured to provide an indication of the operating status of the cruise control system.
US08643496B2
A contact is provided for a fluid level detection apparatus. The contact includes a contact support spring for rotating in response to a change in fluid level. The contact support spring includes a cantilevered spring arm having a proximal end to be fixed to a holder and a free end, and a contact support which is provided at the free end. First and second contacts are attached to the contact support in first and second positions, respectively, the first position being set at one end opposite to an end at which the second position is set. The joining position of the contact support and cantilevered spring arm is set so that a pressing load applied to the first and second contacts on the contact support by the flexure displacement of the contact support spring falls within a predetermined range.
US08643489B2
A history management apparatus includes: a storage unit that stores history information of image processing which contains set-membership information containing pieces of document identification information of an input document and an output document, and an image of at least one of the input document and the output document as history information; and a notification unit that, when history information in which a surveillance target element is contained in an image of an input document or an image of an output document is detected from the storage unit, notifies a notified party of such as the detected history information. When the surveillance target element is not contained in both of the images in the history information, and it is identified that at least one of ancestral documents of the input document has the surveillance target element, the notification unit notifies the notified party of the history information.
US08643480B2
An input device with a housing which includes a displaceable cover wall attached to a circuit board to which is affixed a displaceable magnetic part, at least one sensor and a microprocessor; a second magnetic part which is permanently fixed relative to the housing cooperates with the displaceable magnetic part and, upon displacement of the cover wall, generates a haptically perceptible force; the position of the cover wall relative to the housing is detected by the at least one sensor in the form of a coil which varies its inductance value in response to the detected magnetic field of the two magnetic parts, whereby the coil is a frequency-determining component of an oscillator.
US08643476B2
A patch panel for a communications patching system includes a plurality of connector ports. Each connector port is configured to detect insertion and removal of a patch cord. A controller is electrically coupled to the connector ports and monitors patch cord interconnections. An electronic display is positioned adjacent the connector ports and displays port identification information and real-time patch cord connection information for each respective connector port. The displayed patch cord connection information is dynamically updated by the controller as a patch cord is inserted or removed from a respective connector port.
US08643475B1
An approach for defending radio frequency identification (RFID) tags and other contactless cards against ghost-and-leech (a.k.a. proxying, relay, or man-in-the-middle) attacks incorporates gesture recognition techniques directly implemented with the RFID tags or contactless cards. These tags or cards will only engage in wireless communications when they internally detect “secret handshakes.” A secret handshake recognition system is implemented on a passive WISP RFID tag having a built-in accelerometer. This approach is backward compatible with existing deployments of RFID tag and contactless card readers and is also designed to minimize the changes to the existing usage model of certain classes of RFID and contactless cards, such as access cards that are kept in a wallet or purse, by enabling execution of secret handshakes without removing the card. This novel approach can also improve the security and privacy properties in other uses of RFID tags, e.g., contactless payment cards.
US08643471B2
A system including equipment, sensors for measuring the equipment's operating parameters, a signature generator for encoding data streams from the sensors into operating signatures for the equipment, a pattern repository for storing patterns including classified signatures and frequencies, and a signature analyzer for comparing operating signatures to patterns.
US08643468B1
An access control device for a closure such as a frame mounted door having a latch bolt. The device has a electric strike in a housing, the electric strike having a cavity cooperable with the latch bolt. A proximity reader is integrated into the electric strike housing and, when installed in the door frame, is located in a secure position at least partially shielded by the electric strike. The antenna for the proximity reader may be integrated into the electric strike housing or may be remotely installed in the frame or other convenient location proximate the reader.
US08643463B2
A method of forming a film is described. The method begins by forming a mixture including a polymer and a plurality of unordered nanomaterial. The film is dried and a plurality of pores is formed within the film. A sensitive film transducer capable of detecting changes in pressure and applied force can be made using this method.
US08643461B2
A device having a substrate and a dielectric layer disposed over the substrate is disclosed. The device includes a transformer layout disposed in the dielectric layer. The transformer layout includes an integrated transformer having primary and secondary coil elements. The first and second coil elements are configured to result in noise-self cancellation effect.
US08643458B2
A winding includes a wound electrical conductor having an electrical insulator. A method is also provided for producing a winding. The winding can be produced as a single piece by using a support on which the electrical conductor can be disposed and electrically insulated. The support is particularly implemented in the form of a cylindrical spiral as a coil, and thereby allows practically unlimited single-piece production of the winding. The cross section and/or the width of the electrical conductor can simultaneously be varied by location on the support.
US08643446B2
An electronic system that partially or perhaps even fully mitigates the effects of EMI by having a dedicated antenna circuit for carrying an antenna signal that is not used for signal processing in the functional circuit, but is instead used to emit electromagnetic radiation that at least partially offsets EMI emitted by the operation signal of a functional circuit. An antenna signal generation circuit generates the antenna signal and asserts the antenna signal on the antenna circuit. The ante a signal has the characteristic such that when the antenna signal is applied to the antenna circuit, the resultant emitted electromagnetic radiation at least partially offsets electromagnetic interference emitted by the functional circuit.
US08643444B2
One embodiment of communication system comprises a crystal oscillator configured to output a reference clock; cellular radio frequency (RF) and baseband phase locked loops configured to receive the reference clock within a cellular module and compensate for calculated frequency errors between a received cellular downlink signal and a cellular local oscillator signal during operation of the cellular module; global positioning system (GPS) frequency compensation circuitry configured to receive the reference clock within a GPS module and compensate for calculated frequency errors during operation of the GPS module; and a temperature sensing circuit which includes a plurality of sensing resistors and is configured to output a signal corresponding to a temperature of a reference crystal which is translated to a frequency deviation, wherein the (GPS) frequency compensation circuitry is configured to offset the frequency deviation and output a temperate compensated signal to meet GPS clock frequency requirements.
US08643441B2
A quantum interference device includes: gaseous alkali metal atoms; and a light source for causing a resonant light pair having different frequencies that keep a frequency difference equivalent to an energy difference between two ground states of the alkali metal atoms, the quantum interference device causing the alkali metal atoms and the resonant light pair to interact each other to cause an electromagnetically induced transparency phenomenon (EIT), wherein there are a plurality of the resonant light pairs, and center frequencies of the respective resonant light pairs are different from one another.
US08643440B2
An electric circuit includes: a reference signal generation circuit that generates a reference signal based on a first oscillation signal that is an oscillation signal of a first oscillation circuit that vibrates a first vibrator; and a counter circuit that counts a second oscillation signal that is an oscillation signal of a second oscillation circuit that vibrates a second vibrator based on the reference signal, and outputs a count signal, wherein the count signal is a change of the count value in the second oscillation signal.
US08643437B2
A multi-input differential amplifier with dynamic transconductance compensation is disclosed. The multi-input differential amplifier includes an input stage, an output stage and a transconductance compensation circuit. The input stage includes a plurality of differential input pairs, which includes a first differential input pair, a second differential input pair, a third differential input pair and a fourth differential input pair, for generating a pair of differential signals according to a first input signal, a second input signal, a third input signal, a fourth input signal, and an output signal. The output stage is utilized to generate the output signal in response to the pair of differential signals. The transconductance compensation circuit is coupled between the first and the second differential input pair, for compensating a first transconductance of the first differential input pair and a second transconductance of the second differential input pair.
US08643434B2
An adjustable gain audio power amplifying circuit includes an input unit, an audio amplifying unit connected to the input unit, a gain adjusting unit connected to the audio amplifying unit, a controlling unit connected to the gain adjusting unit, a comparing unit connected between the gain adjusting unit and the controlling unit and an output unit connected to the audio amplifying unit. The comparing unit compares an outputted signal of the output unit with a common-mode reference voltage, outputs a gain adjustment controlling signal and sends the gain adjustment controlling signal into the controlling unit. When the outputted signal equals the common-mode reference voltage, the gain adjustment controlling signal turns over and then the controlling unit detects the turnover and sends a received gain adjustment signal into the gain adjusting unit. Based on the received gain adjustment signal, the gain adjusting unit controls gains of the adjustable gain audio power amplifying circuit.
US08643433B2
Embodiments of a two-stage bypass power amplifier are provided. In general, the two-stage bypass power amplifier is configured to receive a RF signal that is to be transmitted to a remote device and provide gain to the RF signal prior to the RF signal being transmitted to the remote device. The two-stage bypass power amplifier is configured to operate efficiently (in terms of power) at two different gain or output power levels and can be extended to operate efficiently at additional gain or output power levels.
US08643432B1
A two-stage op amp has a transconductance cell in a second stage modified to match a transconductance cell in a first stage. A transconductance swap network is inserted between transconductance cells and trans-impedance cells, such as current-steering networks, current mirrors, or drivers connected to the transconductance cells. The transconductance swap network directly connects the first transconductance cell to the first stage trans-impedance cell during a second clock phase, but crosses-over the first transconductance cell to the second-stage trans-impedance cell during a first clock phase. A first switched-capacitor network drives the gates of differential transistors in the first transconductance cell by alternately sampling an input and feedback, and equalizing to reset inputs. A second first switched-capacitor network drives differential transistors in the second transconductance cell, but during opposite clock phases. Two independent inputs are sampled by the switched-capacitor networks and alternately amplified by swapping connections within the shared op amp.
US08643426B2
A voltage level shifter has an input circuit with an inverter coupled to an input node, a pull-down control transistor with a gate coupled to a first node of the inverter, and a pull-up control transistor with a gate coupled to a second node of the inverter. Sources of the pull-down and pull-up control transistors are coupled to a low voltage reference. A transient connectivity limiter (TCL) has pull-down and pull-up transistors. Two control inputs are coupled to respective first and second nodes of the inverter and path inputs are coupled to respective drains of the pull-down and pull-up control transistors. An output circuit has inputs coupled to pull-up and pull-down nodes of the TCL. During a voltage level transition at the input node, the TCL connects the pull-up node to the low voltage reference through the TCL pull-up transistor transitioning from a saturation to a sub-threshold region of operation.
US08643422B1
This description relates to a slicer including a first latch. The first latch includes an evaluating transistor configured to receive a first clock signal and a developing transistor configured to receive a second clock signal. The first clock signal is different from the second clock signal. The first latch includes first and second input transistors configured to receive first and second complementary inputs. The first latch includes at least one pre-charging transistor configured to receive a third clock signal. The first latch further at least one cross-latched pair of transistors, the at least one cross-latched transistor pair connected between the evaluating transistor and the first and second output nodes. The slicer includes a second latch connected to the first and second output nodes and to a third output node. The slicer includes a buffer connected to the third output node and configured to generate a final output signal.
US08643413B2
Disclosed herein is a device that includes a delay line that includes n delay circuits cascade-connected and delays an input clock signal by k cycles, and a routing circuit that generates multi-phase clock signals having different phases based on at least a part of n output clock signals output from the n delay circuits, respectively. The n and the k are both integers more than 1 and a greatest common divisor thereof is 1.
US08643409B2
A variable-frequency input clock signal and a reference clock signal are compared during a frequency-compare interval to generate a value that indicates a ratio of their frequencies. The frequency-ratio value is then applied to configure a wide-range frequency-locking oscillator for operation with a narrowed input frequency range. Because the narrowed input frequency range is targeted to the input clock frequency, the wide-range oscillator is able to rapidly lock to a frequency multiple of the input clock frequency. Because the frequency-compare interval is also brief, an extremely fast-locking, clock-multiplying operation may be effected over a relatively wide range of input clock frequencies.
US08643402B2
A phase frequency detector circuit includes an edge detector circuit, a plurality of phase frequency detector sub-circuits, and a decision circuit. The edge detector circuit is configured to receive a first input signal and a second input signal. The decision circuit is configured to detect whether a blind condition exits based on outputs of the edge detector circuit and outputs of the plurality of phase frequency detector sub-circuits. Responsive to a result of the decision circuit, a corresponding frequency detector sub-circuit of the plurality of phase frequency detector sub-circuit is configured to provide signals for use in determining a phase difference between the first input signal and the second input signal.
US08643399B1
A programmable logic device includes an array of functional blocks and input/output elements disposed at the periphery of the programmable logic device. The programmable logic device also includes conductors configured to conduct signals between the functional blocks and between the functional blocks and the routing channels. The number of conductors that propagate signals in a direction toward the periphery and out of the array is greater than the number of conductors that propagate signals into the array in a direction away from the periphery.
US08643395B2
An integrated circuit integrated on a semiconductor material die and adapted to be at least partly tested wirelessly, wherein circuitry for setting a selected radio communication frequencies to be used for the wireless test of the integrated circuit are integrated on the semiconductor material die.
US08643391B2
A method and apparatus for determining an RC (resistive-capacitive) time constant is disclosed. In one embodiment, a method comprises determining a first period of oscillation when an oscillator is operating in a first configuration. The method further comprises determining a second period of oscillation when the oscillator is operating in a second configuration. A measurement circuit is configured to determine a resistive-capacitive (RC) time constant of the oscillator by determining a mean of the first and second periods.
US08643388B2
A method for measuring fuel contamination in oil that uses a material in contact with oil whereby fuel intrusion into the oil will change the electrical, mechanical, and/or chemical properties of the material as compared to the same electrical, mechanical, and/or chemical properties of the material when in contact only with mineral or synthetic oil only.
US08643387B2
A novel and useful sensor and sensing system employs a transmission electrode which provides a length of transmission electrode that is greater than the physical length of the sensor, allowing for the effective and accurate determination of the moisture content of a volume of material using high-frequency measurement methods. The construction of the sensor allows the sensor to be directly inserted into the material, without requiring excavation or backfilling of the sensors in the material. The sensor can be employed as part of a sensing system, with one or more sensors preferably being managed by a field node, which in turn, interoperates with a system master node.
US08643380B1
It is known to insulate bus bars to reduce shock and arc-flash hazards. However, failed or damaged insulation may not be noticed, possibly presenting a greater hazard as it is unexpected and therefore not prepared for. A metal cladding at earth ground enhances the safety to personnel and reduces the likelihood of a more serious line to line arc-flash. Still better is the use of a guard conductor intermediate between the hot conductor and the earth ground insulated from both. Not only does it introduce an additional layer of insulation, it also provides a way to continuously monitor the integrity of the insulation. A resistor divider establishes the nominal voltage on the guard conductor. A departure from nominal voltage indicates a potential fault. The guard conductor can also be used as a node for connecting other sensors, or one of the insulation layers may be of thermally sensitive polymer, to detect hot spots.
US08643370B2
A cooling water measurement system for a gradient system of an imaging system, such as a magnetic resonance system, is provided. A volume of cooling water flowing through at least one gradient system cooling water tube of the gradient system per unit of time is determined. The gradient system cooling water measurement system includes a voltage measurement system for measuring a Hall voltage.
US08643367B2
A cryogenic system for a superconducting magnet comprises a closed-loop cooling path. The closed-loop cooling path comprises a magnet cooling tube thermally coupled to the superconducting magnet. The magnet cooling tube comprises a cryogen flow passage. The closed-loop cooling tube further comprises a re-condenser is fluidly coupled to the magnet cooling tube through tube sections and a liquid cryogen container fluidly coupled between the magnet cooling tube and the re-condenser. At least one gas tank is fluidly coupled to the magnet cooling tube through a connection tube.
US08643365B2
In a method to create magnetic resonance (MR) images of a predetermined volume segment within an examination subject by operation of an MR system with continuous table displacement, at least one slice with a respective, predetermined thickness is defined, and for each slice, a partial region of the slice is selected, the respective partial region being bounded in a direction perpendicular to the thickness direction of the corresponding slice, and measurement signals are acquired from the slice, the acquired measurement signals originating from only the respective partial region of the slice.
US08643362B2
According to one embodiment, a apparatus includes a coil, a clock generator, an echo transmitter, a carrier generator, a clock transmitter, a regenerator, an receiver, a reconstructor, a detector, and a controller. The echo transmitter generates and transmits an echo transmission signal synchronously with a clock signal generated by the clock generator to wirelessly transmit an echo signal output from the col. The carrier generator generates a carrier signal have a frequency within a variable range. The clock transmitter wirelessly transmits a clock transmission signal. The regenerator regenerates the clock signal based on the transmitted clock transmission signal. The receiver extracts the echo signal synchronously with the regenerated clock signal from the transmitted echo transmission signal. The detector detects a frequency of an interference wave. The controller controls the carrier generator to generate the carrier signal having a frequency which comparatively small interference with respect to the detected frequency.
US08643356B2
A voltage regulation and modulation circuit of a contactless device, including an adjustable impedance circuit configured to maintain an amplitude of an input voltage to be less than an amplitude of a reference voltage; a current buffer circuit coupled between the adjustable impedance circuit and a load, and configured to buffer a supply current, which is output from the adjustable impedance circuit, to the load; and a parallel regulator coupled to an output of the current buffer circuit, and configured to maintain a constant supply voltage at the load.
US08643346B2
A potential converter device with a first storage capacitor implemented to be supplied with energy from an energy source to acquire a first potential form at the first storage capacitor, and a second storage capacitor implemented to be supplied with energy from the first storage capacitor to acquire a second potential form at the second storage capacitor. The potential converter device further has a converter electrically connected between the first and second storage capacitors and implemented to execute an energy transmission from the first storage capacitor to the second storage capacitor if the first potential form reaches a first potential threshold value and until the first potential form reaches a second potential threshold value, wherein the first potential threshold value is greater regarding its magnitude than the second potential threshold value.
US08643336B2
The invention provides systems and methods for control of power charge/discharge from energy storage system. The invention also provides for power monitoring and management. A smart charge system may include a system sensor, one or more energy storage units, and a controller, which may receive information about the power demand, power provided by an electricity provider, and charge/discharge information from an energy storage unit. The information received may all be time synchronized in relation to a time based reference. The controller may provide instructions to an energy storage unit at a rapid rate.
US08643325B2
An integrated battery charger can be used as a charger for a plurality of AA or AAA batteries that can be charged independently and separately in a charging mode and taken out for use by electronic products or it can be used as a discharger switched into a combined serial connection discharging mode by a manual switch for outputting a stabilized DC power for charging a portable electronic product. The present invention is designed and integrated with the switching modes of the manual switch for constituting a circuit structure featuring an “independent separate charging and serially combined discharging mode” and a “synchronous switch control charging and discharging mode” so as to overcome the problems of conventional AA or AAA battery chargers and lithium batteries designed as a portable power and to enhance the effect and safety of the charger.
US08643319B2
A method of controlling a brushless motor that includes rectifying an alternating voltage to provide a rectified voltage, and exciting a winding of the motor with the rectified voltage. The winding is excited in advance of predetermined rotor positions by an advance period and is excited for a conduction period over each electrical half-cycle of the motor. The length the advance period and/or the conduction period is defined by a waveform that varies periodically with time. The method then includes adjusting the phase of the waveform relative to the alternating voltage in response to a change in one of motor speed and RMS value of the alternating voltage. Additionally, a control system that implements the method, and a motor system that incorporates the control system.
US08643311B2
A fluorescent or light emitting diode-based system for generating light flux. The system comprises a lamp comprising at least one light source for illuminating an area. At least one of the at least one light source is selected from the group comprising at least one of a fluorescent light source or an LED light source. The lamp also comprises a light source controller electrically coupled with the light source and arranged to control the spectral output of the light source. The lamp also comprises a power supply and a switch electrically coupled between the lamp and the power supply and arranged to control the supply of power from the power supply to the lamp.
US08643305B2
An illumination source for a camera includes one or more LEDs, and an electrical circuit that selectively applies power from the DC voltage source to the LEDs, wherein the illumination source is suitable for handheld portable operation. In some embodiments, the electrical circuit further includes a control circuit for driving the LEDs with electrical pulses at a frequency high enough that light produced has an appearance to a human user of being continuous rather than pulsed, the control circuit changing a pulse characteristic to adjust a proportion of light output having the first characteristic color spectrum output to that having the second characteristic color spectrum output. Some embodiments provide an illumination source including a housing including one or more LEDs; and a control circuit that selectively applies power from a source of electric power to the LEDs, thus controlling a light output color spectrum of the LEDs.
US08643300B1
A control system and method for automatically and seamlessly providing optimal power and/or voltage levels to an integrated, connected or other designated light fixture. In particular, the control system comprises corresponding boost, buck and feedback circuitry cooperatively utilized to intelligently increase, decrease or maintain the signal or power delivered to the light fixture at an optimal level, thereby increasing efficiency and productivity of the light fixture and allowing the light fixture to operate even in the event of a severely degraded signal due to resistance or impedance resulting from a lengthy power wire or other factors.
US08643287B2
The present invention relates to a lighting device with switchable day/night illumination mode, comprising: a main controlling unit, a driving unit, a lighting unit, a light filtering unit, an illumination mode switching unit, and a power management unit, wherein the lighting unit is coupled to the driving unit and has a plurality of light-emitting devices. Moreover, the main controlling unit is used for controlling the driving unit, so as to drive the lighting unit output a visible light. In addition, the illumination mode switching unit is used for controlling the light filtering unit to show and cover the light-emitting surface of the lighting unit, so as to filter the visible light and make the visible light become a visible light with a specific wavelength; wherein the visible light with specific wavelength causes the smallest excitation to human sympathetic. Thus, using the visible light with specific wavelength as illumination light at night can not only assist users in reading, but also avoid from exciting users' sympathetic and causing melatonin suppression.
US08643282B2
Disclosed is a driving device for driving a plurality of lighting fixtures, including a power converter for converting an input voltage into a DC output voltage; a plurality of lighting fixture bases connected in series with each other and each connected to a corresponding lighting fixture for outputting an operating voltage and an operating current to the lighting fixture. The operating voltage is derived by dividing the DC output voltage, and each operating current is identical with each other. The driving device further includes a plurality of output protection circuits respectively connected in parallel with a lighting fixture base for selectively bypass the lighting fixture base to stop the lighting fixture base from outputting current, and a control circuit connected to the output protection circuits for manipulating the output protection circuit to bypass the lighting fixture bases, thereby regulating the number of the lighting fixtures that illuminate.
US08643280B2
A method of establishing a DC bias in front of at least one electrode in a plasma operating apparatus by applying an RF voltage with at least two harmonic frequency components with a controlled relative phase between the components, where at least one of the higher frequency components is established as an even multiple of the lower frequency component.
US08643279B2
Determining a high frequency operating parameter in a plasma system including a plasma power supply device coupled to a plasma load using a hybrid coupler having four ports is accomplished by: generating two high frequency source signals of identical frequency, the signals phase shifted by 90° with respect to one another; generating a high frequency output signal by combining the high frequency source signals in the hybrid coupler; transmitting the high frequency output signal to the plasma load; detecting two or more signals, each signal corresponding to a respective port of the hybrid coupler and related to an amplitude of a high frequency signal present at the respective port; and based on an evaluation of the two or more signals, determining the high frequency operating parameter.
US08643277B2
A light source is powered by a magnetron and has a quartz crucible having a plasma void with an excitable fill, from which light radiates in use. Two aluminum attachment blocks are attached together and the block is attached to a casing of the magnetron by screws—not shown. The quartz crucible is attached to the block by a Faraday cage, in the form of a perforate metal enclosure secured at its rim to the block. An output formation of the magnetron has a conductive, copper cap fitted in electrical contact with it. The cap is extended by a copper rod. The rod extends through the blocks into a bore in the crucible for coupling microwaves from the magnetron into the crucible. An airspace is provided around the cap in the block. From the cap, the rod extends with negligible air gap in an alumina ceramic tube through the airspace and a boss of the block located in an aperture in an end wall of the block.
US08643267B2
In an organic electroluminescence display device which includes: a display region DR in which a plurality of pixels are arranged; and a power source part CC which is arranged outside the display region, each of the plurality of pixels includes: a lower electrode An; a light emitting layer stacked above the lower electrode; and an upper electrode which includes a thin silver film AG and is formed by a layer shared in common by other pixels above the light emitting layer, the upper electrode extends to the power source part for electrically connection, the thin silver film has a portion arranged between the display region and the power source part, and a background layer containing an electron pair donor is arranged as a background of at least a portion of the thin silver film between the display region and the power source part.
US08643257B2
A illumination source includes a LED assembly and an MR-16 form factor heat sink coupled to the LED assembly. The MR-16 form factor heat sink has an inner core region and an outer core region with the LED assembly disposed upon the inner core region, and the outer core region providing a heat sink.
US08643254B2
A piezoelectric device includes: a piezoelectric vibrating reed; and a package, wherein the piezoelectric vibrating reed has a vibrating part and first and second supporting arms extending from a base end part, the package has a base, a lid, a cavity defined by the base and the lid, a convex part projecting from the base or the lid into the cavity, a length of the first supporting arm is shorter than a length of the second supporting arm, and the convex part is provided in a range ahead of a leading end of the first vibrating arm in an extension direction of the first supporting arm and at least partially overlapping with the second supporting arm in a length direction of the piezoelectric vibrating reed so as not to overlap with the piezoelectric vibrating reed in a plan view.
US08643252B2
A vibration wave actuator includes a vibrator having at least an electro-mechanical energy conversion element and an elastic body to which the electro-mechanical energy conversion element is joined, with the elastic body including a contact portion formed therein, and a driven element that is in pressure contact with the contact portion of the vibrator and includes a magnetic substance. In addition, a vibrator holding portion holds the vibrator via a first elastic member having a stiffness lower than that of the vibrator, and a magnet is arranged on the vibrator holding portion such that the vibrator is placed between the driven element and the magnet.
US08643237B2
There is provided an actuator including a motor and a case adapted to house the motor. In the actuator, an output shaft of the motor is supported by a structured configured such that an elastic member is disposed between the case and at least one end of the output shaft, wherein the elastic member is in contact with a portion of the case in an engaging manner whereby the elastic member is prevented from shifting relative to the case in the rotation direction of the output shaft, and also wherein the elastic member is in contact with a portion of the motor in an engaging manner whereby a body of the motor is prevented from shifting relative to the elastic member in the rotation direction of the output shaft.
US08643207B2
A wind turbine having a tower and a nacelle mounted on top of the tower. The turbine further includes a bearing for a yaw motion of the nacelle in relation to the tower, and a drive assembly for the yaw motion. The device assembly includes at least one power unit fixedly connected to the nacelle. The power unit has a motor and a wheel adapted to be driven by the motor and in engagement with a ring fixedly connected to the tower for effecting the yaw motion, wherein a region of engagement of the ring with the wheel is located separate from the bearing, characterized in that the motor is located below the wheel. Preferably, the bearing is a friction bearing comprising an insert portion fixedly connected to the nacelle, and a clamp portion fixedly connected to the tower and in clamping engagement with the insert portion.
US08643204B2
In various embodiments, an apparatus for producing electricity includes a plurality of hydraulic-to-electric converters with each hydraulic-to-electric converters including a hydraulic motor coupled to a common high-pressure hydraulic line and a common low-pressure hydraulic line, a controllable hydraulic switch hydraulically coupled to each respective hydraulic motor, each controllable hydraulic switch being capable of controllably placing the respective hydraulic motor on-line by allowing flow of hydraulic fluid from the common high-pressure hydraulic line through its respective hydraulic motor or off-line by preventing flow of hydraulic fluid from the common high-pressure hydraulic line through its respective hydraulic motor, and an electric generator mechanically coupled to each respective hydraulic motor and configured to generate electricity when hydraulic fluid flows through the respective hydraulic motor. The apparatus further includes a control system coupled to each controllable hydraulic switch configured to place individual hydraulic motors on-line or off-line as a function of available energy provided by the high-pressure line.
US08643203B2
A two-stroke gasoline engine equipped with a self-powering generator is disclosed. The two-stroke gasoline engine includes a housing, an engine bearer, a crank and a self-powering generator. The housing is provided on a side of the two-stroke gasoline engine and formed with a central part. The engine bearer is fixed to the housing and formed on a side thereof with a receiving space for accommodating the self-powering generator. The crank is provided from the central part to pass through the engine bearer with one end protruding into the receiving space. The self-powering generator includes a stator and a rotor. The stator is fixed to the engine bearer, and the rotor is fixed to the crank through the central pivot part so that the self-powering generator is powered by the two-stroke gasoline engine and can generate power continuously.
US08643199B2
Dendrimer/hyperbranched materials are combined with polyimide to form a low CTE material for use as a dielectric substrate layer or an underfill. In the alternative, ruthenium carbene complexes are used to catalyze ROMP cross-linking reactions in polyimides to produce a class of cross-linkable, thermal and mechanical stable material for use as a dielectric substrate or underfill. In another alternative, dendrimers/hyperbranched materials are synthesized by different methods to produce low viscosity, high Tg, fast curing, mechanically and chemically stable materials for imprinting applications.
US08643197B1
A mold compound is provided for encapsulating a semiconductor device (101). The mold compound comprises at least approximately 70% by weight silica fillers, at least approximately 10% by weight epoxy resin system, and beneficial ions that are beneficial with respect to copper ball bond corrosion. A total level of the beneficial ions in the mold compound is at least approximately 100 ppm.
US08643196B2
The present disclosure provides an integrated circuit. The integrated circuit includes an interconnect structure formed on a substrate; a landing metal trace formed on the interconnect structure and coupled to the interconnect structure, wherein the landing metal trace includes a first width T defined in a first direction; and a metal bump post formed on and aligned with the landing metal trace, wherein the metal bump post includes a second width U defined in the first direction, and the second width U is greater than the first width T.
US08643179B2
Provided are a bump structure includes a first bump and a second bump, a semiconductor package including the same, and a method of manufacturing the same. The bump structure includes: first bump provided on a connection pad of a substrate, the first bump including a plurality of nano-wires extending from the connection pad and a body connecting end portions of the plurality of nano-wires; and a second bump provided on the body of the first bump.
US08643176B2
A semiconductor chip includes a power transistor circuit with a plurality of active transistor cells. A first load electrode and a control electrode are arranged on a first face of the semiconductor chip, wherein the first load electrode includes a first metal layer. A second load electrode is arranged on a second face of the semiconductor chip. A second metal layer is arranged over the first metal layer, wherein the second metal layer is electrically insulated from the power transistor circuit and the second metal layer is arranged over an area of the power transistor circuit that comprises at least one of the plurality of active transistor cells.
US08643173B1
Jet-impingement, two-phase cooling apparatuses and power electronics modules having a target surface with single- and two-phase surface enhancement features are disclosed. In one embodiment, a cooling apparatus includes a jet plate surface and a target layer. The jet plate surface includes a jet orifice having a jet orifice geometry, wherein the jet orifice is configured to generate an impingement jet of a coolant fluid. The target layer has a target surface, single-phase surface enhancement features, and two-phase surface enhancement features. The target surface is configured to receive the impingement jet, and the single-phase surface enhancement features and the two-phase enhancement features are arranged on the target surface according to the jet orifice geometry. The single-phase surface enhancement features are positioned on the target surface at regions associated with high fluid velocity, and the two-phase surface enhancement features are positioned on the target surface at regions associated with low fluid velocity.
US08643170B2
Semiconductor dies are mounted on a heat sink array frame structure. The heat sink array frame structure and the semiconductor dies are assembled together with an insulating substrate that has a corresponding array of apertures on an adhesive tape. The semiconductor dies are connected electrically with electrical contacts on the insulating substrate. The semiconductor dies, heat sinks and electrical connections to the contacts are encapsulated with a mold compound and then the encapsulated array is de-taped and singulated.
US08643166B2
A method of manufacture of an integrated circuit packaging system includes: forming a lead having a lead bottom body, a lead top body, and a lead top conductive layer directly on the lead top body, the lead top conductive layer having a top protrusion and a top non-vertical portion, the lead bottom body having a horizontally contiguous structure; connecting an integrated circuit to the top protrusion; and forming an encapsulation covering the integrated circuit and exposing a top non-vertical upper side of the top non-vertical portion.
US08643155B2
A chip on film (COF) is disclosed in the present disclosure, which comprises an adhesive base layer, a driving integrated circuit (IC), an adhesive layer and a copper layer. The driving IC is embedded on a surface of the adhesive base layer; the adhesive layer is located under the adhesive base layer; the copper layer is located under the adhesive layer. The adhesive base layer is formed with a heat and pressure spreading structure. A heat and pressure spreading structure is disposed on the adhesive base layer of the COF so that deformation or unevenness of the glass substrate in the bonded area can be avoided when the COF is thermally pressed to the glass substrate of the LCD. These guarantees the consistency between the bonded area and the unbounded area, the bonded area and the unbounded area of the glass substrate will have the same transmissivity and luminance.
US08643149B2
Stress barrier structures for semiconductor chips, and methods of fabrication thereof are described. In one embodiment, the semiconductor device includes a semiconductor substrate that includes active circuitry and an interconnect metallization structure over the active circuitry, wherein the interconnect metallization structure includes a layer of low-k insulating layer. A first metal bump is disposed over the semiconductor substrate and coupled to the active circuitry of the semiconductor substrate. A first stress barrier structure is disposed under the metal bump, and disposed over the low-k insulating layer, and a second substrate is disposed over the first metal bump.
US08643148B2
A package component includes a substrate, wherein the substrate has a front surface and a back surface over the front surface. A through-via penetrates through the substrate. A conductive feature is disposed over the back surface of the substrate and electrically coupled to the through-via. A first dielectric pattern forms a ring covering edge portions of the conductive feature. An Under-Bump-Metallurgy (UBM) is disposed over and in contact with a center portion of the conductive feature. A polymer contacts a sidewall of the substrate. A second dielectric pattern is disposed over and aligned to the polymer. The first and the second dielectric patterns are formed of a same dielectric material, and are disposed at substantially a same level.
US08643147B2
An integrated circuit structure includes a lower dielectric layer; an upper dielectric layer over the lower dielectric layer; and a seal ring. The seal ring includes an upper metal line in the upper dielectric layer; a continuous via bar underlying and abutting the upper metal line, wherein the continuous via bar has a width greater than about 70 percent of a width of the upper metal line; a lower metal line in the lower dielectric layer; and a via bar underlying and abutting the lower metal line. The via bar has a width substantially less than a half of a width of the lower metal line.
US08643143B2
Provided is a semiconductor device including a metal dummy pattern and a thin film resistor. In detail, a semiconductor device includes a semiconductor substrate, a thin film resistor, and a metal dummy pattern. The thin film resistor disposed over the semiconductor substrate and extending in a first direction relative to the semiconductor substrate. The metal dummy pattern disposed between the semiconductor substrate and the thin film resistor, the metal dummy pattern including a reflective pattern extending in the first direction semiconductor substrate and spatially corresponding to a periphery of the thin film resistor.
US08643136B2
The present invention discloses a high voltage device and a manufacturing method thereof. The high voltage device includes: a first conductive type substrate in which isolation regions are formed for defining a device region; a gate formed on the first conductive type substrate; a source and a drain formed in the device region and located at both sides of the gate respectively, and doped with second conductive type impurities; a second conductive type well, which is formed in the first conductive type substrate, and surrounds the drain from top view; and a first deep trench isolation structure, which is formed in the first conductive type substrate, and is located in the second conductive type well between the source and the drain from top view, wherein the depth of the first deep trench isolation structure is deeper than the second conductive type well from the cross-sectional view.
US08643133B2
A thermal detector includes a substrate, a thermal detection element and a support member. The substrate has a recess part with a bottom surface of the recess part being a curved light-reflecting surface. The thermal detection element has a light-absorbing film. The support member supports the thermal detection element. The substrate and the support member are arranged to form a hollow part therebetween. The support member includes a light-absorbing part in which impurities are dispersed in polycrystalline silicon with the light-absorbing part being arranged in at least a part of a surface of the support member facing toward the hollow part so that the light-absorbing part being irradiated by light.
US08643125B2
A structure and a process for a microelectromechanical system (MEMS)-based sensor are provided. The structure for a MEMS-based sensor includes a substrate chip. A first insulating layer covers a top surface of the substrate chip. A device layer is disposed on a top surface of the first insulating layer. The device layer includes a periphery region and a sensor component region. The periphery region and a sensor component region have an air trench therebetween. The component region includes an anchor component and a moveable component. A second insulating layer is disposed on a top surface of the device layer, bridging the periphery region and a portion of the anchor component. A conductive pattern is disposed on the second insulating layer, electrically connecting to the anchor component.
US08643119B2
A structure for a semiconductor device, according to an embodiment, includes: a substantially L-shaped silicide element including a base member and an extended member, wherein the base member extends at least partially into a shallow trench isolation (STI) region such that a substantially horizontal surface of the base member directly contacts a substantially horizontal surface of the STI region; and a contact contacting the substantially L-shaped silicide element.
US08643115B2
A complementary metal oxide semiconductor (CMOS) structure including a scaled n-channel field effect transistor (nFET) and a scaled p-channel field transistor (pFET) which do not exhibit an increased threshold voltage and reduced mobility during operation is provided Such a structure is provided by forming a plasma nitrided, nFET threshold voltage adjusted high k gate dielectric layer portion within an nFET gate stack, and forming at least a pFET threshold voltage adjusted high k gate dielectric layer portion within a pFET gate stack. In some embodiments, the pFET threshold voltage adjusted high k gate dielectric layer portion in the pFET gate stack is also plasma nitrided. The plasma nitrided, nFET threshold voltage adjusted high k gate dielectric layer portion includes up to 15 atomic % N2 and an nFET threshold voltage adjusted species located therein, while the plasma nitrided, pFET threshold voltage adjusted high k gate dielectric layer portion includes up to 15 atomic % N2 and a pFET threshold voltage adjusted species located therein.
US08643113B2
A process is disclosed of forming metal replacement gates for NMOS and PMOS transistors with oxygen in the PMOS metal gates and metal atom enrichment in the NMOS gates such that the PMOS gates have effective work functions above 4.85 eV and the NMOS gates have effective work functions below 4.25 eV. Metal work function layers in both the NMOS and PMOS gates are oxidized to increase their effective work functions to the desired PMOS range. An oxygen diffusion blocking layer is formed over the PMOS gate and an oxygen getter is formed over the NMOS gates. A getter anneal extracts the oxygen from the NMOS work function layers and adds metal atom enrichment to the NMOS work function layers, reducing their effective work functions to the desired NMOS range. Processes and materials for the metal work function layers, the oxidation process and oxygen gettering are disclosed.
US08643100B2
A FET includes a gate dielectric structure associated with a single gate electrode, the gate dielectric structure having at least two regions, each of those regions having a different effective oxide thickness, the FET further having a channel region with at least two portions each having a different doping profile. A semiconductor manufacturing process produces a FET including a gate dielectric structure associated with a single gate electrode, the gate dielectric structure having at least two regions, each of those regions having a different effective oxide thickness, the FET further having a channel region with at least two portions each having a different doping profile.
US08643098B2
A semiconductor device includes an active region having a side contact region in a sidewall thereof, wherein the side contact has a bulb shape, an ohmic contact region formed over a surface of the side contact region, and a bitline connected to the active region through the ohmic contact.
US08643095B2
According to one embodiment, a semiconductor device includes a drift layer. The device includes a base layer. The device includes a source layer selectively provided on a surface of the base layer. The device includes a gate electrode provided via a gate insulating film in a trench penetrating the source layer and the base layer to reach the drift layer. The device includes a field plate electrode provided under the gate electrode in the trench. The device includes a drain electrode electrically connected to the drift layer. The device includes a source electrode. The field plate electrode is electrically connected to the source electrode. An impurity concentration of a first conductivity type contained in the base layer is lower than an impurity concentration of the first conductivity type contained in the drift layer. And the impurity concentration of the first conductivity type contained in the drift layer is not less than 1×1016 (atoms/cm3).
US08643090B2
In various embodiments, a semiconductor device is provided. The semiconductor device may include a first source/drain region, a second source/drain region, an active region electrically coupled between the first source/drain region and the second source/drain region, a trench disposed between the second source/drain region and at least a portion of the active region, a first isolation layer disposed over the bottom and the sidewalls of the trench, electrically conductive material disposed over the isolation layer in the trench, a second isolation layer disposed over the active region, and a gate region disposed over the second isolation layer. The electrically conductive material may be coupled to an electrical contact.
US08643087B2
Methods and structures are described for reducing leakage currents in semiconductor memory storage cells. Vertically oriented nanorods may be used in the channel region of an access transistor. The nanorod diameter can be made small enough to cause an increase in the electronic band gap energy in the channel region of the access transistor, which may serve to limit channel leakage currents in its off-state. In various embodiments, the access transistor may be electrically coupled to a double-sided capacitor. Memory devices according to embodiments of the invention, and systems including such devices are also disclosed.
US08643085B2
A high-voltage-resistant semiconductor component (1) has vertically conductive semiconductor areas (17) and a trench structure (5). These vertically conductive semiconductor areas are formed from semiconductor body areas (10) of a first conductivity type and are surrounded by a trench structure (5) on the upper face (6) of the semiconductor component. For this purpose the trench structure has a base (7) and a wall area (8) and is filled with a material (9) with a relatively high dielectric constant (εr). The base area (7) of the trench structure (5) is provided with a heavily doped semiconductor material (11) of the same conductivity type as the lightly doped semiconductor body areas (17), and/or having a metallically conductive material (12).
US08643083B2
Devices and systems for insulating integrated circuits from ultraviolet (“UV”) light are described. The device includes a conductive feature, a first and second UV blocking layer, a first and second insulating laver, and a conductive structure. The first insulating layer overlays the first UV blocking layer. A via opening extends through the first insulating layer and the first UV blocking layer. The second UV blocking layer overlays the first insulating laver. The second insulating layer overlays the second UV blocking layer. An interconnect trench is defined in the second insulating layer and second UV blocking layer. The conductive structure is electrically connected to the conductive feature and extends into the via opening and along the interconnect trench.
US08643082B2
Methods and devices are disclosed, such as those involving memory cell devices with improved charge retention characteristics. In one or more embodiments, a memory cell is provided having an active area defined by sidewalls of neighboring trenches. A layer of dielectric material is blanket deposited over the memory cell, and etched to form spacers on sidewalls of the active area. Dielectric material is formed over the active area, a charge trapping structure is formed over the dielectric material over the active area, and a control gate is formed over the charge trapping structure. In some embodiments, the charge trapping structure includes nanodots. In some embodiments, the width of the spacers is between about 130% and about 170% of the thickness of the dielectric material separating the charge trapping material and an upper surface of the active area.
US08643079B2
Nanocrystal structures formed using atomic layer deposition (ALD) processes are useful in the formation of integrated circuits such as memory devices. Rather than continuing the ALD process until a continuous layer is formed, the ALD process is halted prematurely to leave a discontinuous formation of nanocrystals which are then capped by a different material, thus forming a layer with a discontinuous portion and a bulk portion. Such nanocrystals can serve as charge-storage sites within the bulk portion, and the resulting structure can serve as a floating gate of a floating-gate memory cell. A floating gate may contain one or more layers of such nanocrystal structures.
US08643073B2
A plurality of pixels PX include effective pixels and optical black pixels. Signal lines VL are provided corresponding to each column of the pixels PX and supplied with output signals of the pixels PX of the corresponding column. Clip transistors CL are provided corresponding to the respective signal lines VL and limit a potential of the corresponding vertical signal lines VL based on a gate potential. At least in a predetermined operating mode, a potential Vclip_dark is supplied to a gate of one of the clip transistors CL corresponding to at least one pixel column formed of the optical black pixels when reading a noise level from the pixels PX corresponding to the clip transistors CL and when reading a data level from the pixels PX corresponding to the clip transistors CL.
US08643072B1
A semiconductor structure and a method for forming the same are provided. The semiconductor structure includes a bulk, a gate, a source, a drain and a bulk contact region. The gate is on the bulk. The source and the drain are in the bulk on opposing sides of the gate respectively. The bulk contact region is only in a region of the bulk adjacent to the source. The bulk contact region is electrically connected to the bulk.
US08643067B2
Semiconductor devices are described that include a dual-gate configuration. In one or more implementations, the semiconductor devices include a substrate having a first surface and a second surface. The substrate includes a first and a second body region formed proximal to the first surface. Moreover, each body region includes a source region formed therein. The substrate further includes a drain region formed proximal to the second surface and an epitaxial region that is configured to function as a drift region between the drain region and the source regions. A dual-gate is formed over the first surface of the substrate. The dual-gate includes a first gate region and a second gate region that define a gap there between to reduce the gate to drain capacitance. A conductive layer may be formed over the first gate region and the second gate region to lower the effective resistance of the dual-gate.
US08643055B2
Semiconductor protection devices, and related methods and systems, especially devices for providing series current limiting. The device typically comprises two regenerative building blocks and/or MOSFETs connected back-to-back in series, where one of the MOSFETs/Regenerative Building Blocks has an extra voltage probe electrode that provides a regenerative signal with self-limited voltage to the other via coupling to its gate electrode.
US08643040B2
A light emitting device includes a light emitting structure including a second conduction type semiconductor layer, an active layer, and a first conduction type semiconductor layer, a second electrode layer arranged under the light emitting structure, a first electrode layer having at least portion extending to contact the first conduction type semiconductor layer passing the second conduction type semiconductor layer and the active layer, and an insulating layer arranged between the second electrode layer and the first electrode layer, between the second conduction type semiconductor layer and the first electrode layer, and between the active layer and the first electrode layer, wherein said at least one portion of the first electrode layer contacting the first conduction type semiconductor layer has a roughness.
US08643039B2
Light emitting diodes include a diode region having first and second opposing faces that include therein an n-type layer and a p-type layer, an anode contact that ohmically contacts the p-type layer and extends on the first face, and a cathode contact that ohmically contacts the n-type layer and also extends on the first face. The anode and cathode contacts extend on the first face to collectively cover substantially all of the first face. A small gap may be provided between the contacts.
US08643036B2
A semiconductor light-emitting diode, and method of fabricating same, wherein an indium (In)-containing light-emitting layer, as well as subsequent device layers, is deposited on a textured surface. The resulting device is a phosphor-free white light source.
US08643032B2
A light emitting diode (LED) package includes: an array substrate; a plurality of LEDs mounted on the array substrate and arranged in rows and columns; a plurality of wavelength conversion units disposed in a light path of light emitted from each of the plurality of LEDs to convert the wavelength thereof; a plurality of first inspection terminals formed on the array substrate and electrically connected to LEDs in the same rows, among the plurality of LEDs; and a plurality of second inspection terminals formed on the array substrate and electrically connected to LEDs in the same columns, among the plurality of LEDs.
US08643030B2
It is an object of the present invention is to provide a light-emitting device in which high luminance can be obtained with low power consumption by improving the extraction efficiency. A light-emitting device of the invention comprises an insulating film, a plurality of first electrodes being in contact with the insulating film and formed on the insulating film to be in parallel, an electroluminescent layer formed over the plurality of first electrodes, and a plurality of second electrodes intersecting with the plurality of first electrodes and formed over the electroluminescent layer in parallel, wherein the insulating film contains nitrogen and silicon and the first electrodes contain a conductive transparent oxide material and silicon oxide.
US08643021B2
A semiconductor display device is formed including an interlayer insulating. Specifically, a TFT is formed and then a nitrogen-containing inorganic insulating film that transmits less moisture compared to organic resin film is formed so as to cover the TFT. Next, organic resin including photosensitive acrylic resin is applied and an opening is formed by partially exposing the organic resin film to light. The organic resin film where the opening is formed, is then covered with a nitrogen-containing inorganic insulating film which transmits less moisture than organic resin film does. Thereafter, the gate insulating film and the two layers of the nitrogen-containing inorganic insulating films are partially etched away in the opening of the organic resin film to expose the active layer of the TFT.
US08643010B2
A semiconductor device includes an oxide semiconductor film in which a channel portion is formed and a gate portion arranged to be opposed to the channel portion. A drain portion in which the oxide semiconductor film has been subjected to resistance reduction process and an intermediate area which is provided between the drain portion and the channel portion and has not been subjected to resistance reduction process are formed in the oxide semiconductor film, and the semiconductor device includes a conductive film to block resistance reduction process to the intermediate area at least at a part.
US08643008B2
A semiconductor device which can operate at high speed and consumes a smaller amount of power is provided. In a semiconductor device including transistors each including an oxide semiconductor, the oxygen concentration of the oxide semiconductor film of the transistor having small current at negative gate voltage is different from that of the oxide semiconductor film of the transistor having high field-effect mobility and large on-state current. Typically, the oxygen concentration of the oxide semiconductor film of the transistor having high field-effect mobility and large on-state current is lower than that of the oxide semiconductor film of the transistor having small current at negative gate voltage.
US08643002B2
An organic light emitting diode display includes a substrate, a display unit that includes a common power line and a common electrode, an encapsulation substrate that is attached to the substrate by an adhering layer enclosing the display unit and includes a resin matrix and a plurality of carbon fiber. The display includes a first conductive portion and a second conductive portion. The first conductive portion is on a first inner surface region, a first side surface region, and a first outer surface region of the encapsulation substrate. The first conductive portion is adapted to supply a first electrical signal to the common power line. The second conductive portion is on a second inner surface region, a second side surface region, and a second outer surface region of the encapsulation substrate. The second conductive portion is adapted to supply a second electrical signal to the common electrode.
US08642994B2
A light emitting diode (LED) array includes a substrate with an array having a plurality of LED chips thereon, a dielectric layer, a plug, and a conductive connection layer. Each of the LED chips is isolated from another LED chip adjacent thereto by a trench. The dielectric layer covers a surface of the substrate exposed by the trench and sidewalls and partial surfaces of the LED chips adjacent to the trench. The plug fills the trench. The conductive connection layer is disposed over the plug and the dielectric layer to connect the LED chips with the LED chips adjacent thereto. Radiation emitted from one of the LED chips can be reflected by the dielectric layer and the plug, and finally reflected and output from a side of the LED chip not adjacent to the trench, thereby not affecting the adjacent LED chip and being absorbed by it.
US08642990B2
A method of forming a phase-change random access memory (PRAM) cell, and a structure of a phase-change random access memory (PRAM) cell are disclosed. The PRAM cell includes a bottom electrode, a heater resistor coupled to the bottom electrode, a phase change material (PCM) formed over and coupled to the heater resistor, and a top electrode coupled to the phase change material. The phase change material contacts a portion of a vertical surface of the heater resistor and a portion of a horizontal surface of the heater resistor to form an active region between the heater resistor and the phase change material.
US08642985B2
A memory cell includes a memory element, a current-limiting element electrically coupled to the memory element, and a high-selection-ratio element electrically coupled to the current-limiting element. The memory element is configured to store data as a resistance state. The current-limiting element is a voltage-controlled resistor (VCR) having a resistance that decreases when a voltage applied thereto increases. The high-selection-ratio element has a first resistance that is small when a voltage applied to the memory cell is approximately equal to a selection voltage of the memory cell, and has a second resistance that is substantially larger than the first resistance when the voltage applied to the memory cell is approximately equal to one-half of the selection voltage.
US08642983B2
An electromagnetic wave emission device includes a nonlinear crystal, a prism, and a cylindrical lens. The nonlinear crystal has an optical waveguide, receives exciting light having at least two wavelength components, and outputs an electromagnetic wave having a frequency equal to or more than 0.01 [THz] and equal to or less than 100 [THz] by means of the Cherenkov phase matching. The prism includes an electromagnetic wave input surface receiving the electromagnetic wave from the optical waveguide and an electromagnetic wave transmission surface through which the electromagnetic wave which has entered from the electromagnetic wave input surface passes. The cylindrical lens has two bottom surfaces opposed to each other, a flat surface intersecting with the two bottom surfaces, and a curved surface intersecting with the two bottom surfaces and the flat surface, wherein the flat surface is in contact with the electromagnetic wave transmission surface.
US08642982B2
A fast switching arbitrary frequency light source for broadband spectroscopic applications. The light source may operate near 1.6 um based on sideband tuning using an electro-optic modulator driven by an arbitrary waveform generator. A Fabry-Perot filter cavity selects a single sideband of the light source. The finesse (FSR/ΔνFWHM) of the filter cavity may be chosen to enable rapid frequency switching at rates up to 5 MHz over a frequency range of 40 GHz (1.3 cm−1). The bandwidth, speed and spectral purity are high enough for spectroscopic applications where rapid and discrete frequency scans are needed. Significant signal-to-noise advantages may be realized using the rapid and broadband scanning features of this system in many areas of spectroscopy, e.g., process monitoring and control, reaction dynamics, and remote sensing (e.g., greenhouse gas monitoring, biological/chemical agent screening).
US08642974B2
An inductively-coupled plasma source for a focused charged particle beam system includes a conductive shield that provides improved electrical isolation and reduced capacitive RF coupling and a dielectric fluid that insulates and cools the plasma chamber. The conductive shield may be enclosed in a solid dielectric media. The dielectric fluid may be circulated by a pump or not circulated by a pump. A heat tube can be used to cool the dielectric fluid.
US08642964B2
A terahertz generation system that emits pulsed THz radiation and incorporates a rapidly oscillating, high voltage bias across electrodes insulated from a photoconductive material. The system includes an ultrafast optical pulse source configured to generate an optical pulse having a duration between about ten picoseconds and ten femtoseconds, the pulse further having a repetition rate of about one megahertz or higher. The system further includes a photoconductor configured to receive the optical pulse from the ultrafast optical pulse source and to generate a terahertz frequency pulse, the photoconductor having insulated electrodes. The system still further includes a radio frequency generator configured to apply an electric field to the photoconductor via the insulated electrodes.
US08642961B2
The present embodiments provide methods, systems and apparatuses that detect, classify and locate flash events. In some implementations, some of the methods detect a flash event, trigger an imaging system in response to detecting the flash event to capture an image of an area that includes the flash event, and determines a location of the flash event.
US08642959B2
A method and electron microscope system of performing three-dimensional imaging using an electron microscope. At least some of the illustrative embodiments are methods comprising generating an electron beam, and creating a hollow-cone electron beam (by passing the electron beam through an annular aperture), focusing the hollow-cone electron beam to form a probe, scanning a specimen using the probe; and performing three-dimensional imaging based on the scanning.
US08642957B2
(1) part or all of the number, coordinates and size/shape and imaging sequence of imaging points each for observation, the imaging position change method and imaging conditions can be calculated automatically from CAD data, (2) a combination of input information and output information for imaging recipe creation can be set arbitrarily, and (3) decision is made of imaging or processing at an arbitrary imaging point as to whether to be successful/unsuccessful and in case a failure is determined, a relief process can be conducted in which the imaging point or imaging sequence is changed.
US08642952B2
The invention provides improved apparatus for, and methods of, ionizing analyte molecules in a flow of gas, typically at or around atmospheric pressure. The invention may be used to facilitate mass spectrometric analysis of analytes comprised in the effluent form a gas chromatograph. Ionization may be effected by atmospheric pressure chemical ionization or by atmospheric pressure photo ionization.
US08642940B2
A display device in which light leakage in a monitor element portion is prevented without increasing the number of steps and cost is provided. The display device includes a monitor element for suppressing influence on a light-emitting element due to temperature change and change over time and a TFT for driving the monitor element, in which the TFT for driving the monitor element is provided so as not to overlap the monitor element. Furthermore, the display device includes a first light shielding film and a second light shielding film, in which the first light shielding film is provided so as to overlap a first electrode of the monitor element and the second light shielding film is electrically connect to the first light shielding film through a contact hole formed in an interlayer insulating film. The contact hole is formed so as to surround the outer edge of the first electrode of the monitor element.
US08642936B2
A solar energy collection system comprises a plurality of solar panels and a control device. The panel further comprises a plurality of solar modules, a supporting, pivoting and tilting mechanism, a controller and a short range communication unit. The control device comprises an orientation detector for determining the optimized orientation of a panel towards the sun for receiving maximum sun radiation. The control device further comprises a communication unit. The optimized orientation determined by the control device may be transmitted to the solar panels through an ad hoc communication network.
US08642928B2
A combination cooking appliance controls a radiant heating element provided in an oven cavity and a convection heating element provided in an air plenum with a regulating system which receives signals from multiple temperature sensors. More specifically, the appliance includes a first temperature sensor provided in an air return plenum portion for controlling the radiant heating element and a second temperature sensor arranged in a discharge air plenum portion, preferably downstream of a catalyst, for controlling the convection heating element. The heating elements are independently controlled based on the sensed temperatures to establish a desired oven cavity temperature, while accommodating for temperature fluctuations due to the incoming fresh air stream.
US08642926B2
An electric heating system, in particular an auxiliary heating system in automobiles, in which the heating system has several heating rods (1), arranged side-by-side; the heating rods (1) are connected to each other by means of alike metal plates (4) that are slid onto the heating rods (1); the heating rods (1) have for this purpose a series of slotted holes (3) that extend in the longitudinal direction (10) of the metal plates (4); the slotted holes (3) have longitudinal edges, facing each other, that clamp the heating rods (1) between them; and at least one part of the slotted holes (3) in each metal plate (4) is longer by more than the manufacturing tolerance, than the width of the heating rods (1) measured in the longitudinal direction (10) of the metal plates (4).
US08642919B2
A laser ablation nozzle including a main pressure chamber centered on an area of a substrate to be ablated and arranged to push a stream of gas through the main pressure chamber onto the substrate. A vacuum chamber surrounds the main pressure chamber and is arranged to vacuum away the process gas and ablation debris. To attempt to address uneven pressure and flow, flow restrictors can be provided at one or both of the process gas inlet and the vacuum chamber. The vacuum flow restrictor is intended to create constriction in a channel to generate a uniform vacuum induced flow around substantially the entire circumference of the nozzle opening. Similarly, the process gas flow restrictor is intended to generate substantially uniform gas flow into the main pressure chamber.
US08642915B2
An object is to enable highly accurate machining by correcting machining conditions by referring to a programmed trajectory to obtain a desired machining shape. A wire electric discharge machining apparatus includes a machining-condition correcting unit that corrects machining conditions in each machining stage corresponding to a circular arc radius of a portion corresponding to a corner portion of a programmed trajectory, in the corner portion formed by changing a direction of relatively moving a wire electrode, when the wire electrode is moved on a wire center trajectory, which is offset from the programmed trajectory prestored in order to obtain a desired machining shape to perform finish machining in each machining stage with an offset amount being changed.
US08642909B2
A touch panel includes a substrate, a first and a second patterned conductive layers respectively disposed on an upper surface of the substrate and a lower surface opposite to the upper surface. The substrate has a first sensing area and a first circuit bonding area located on the upper surface. The first patterned conductive layer includes a plurality of first sensing series and a plurality of first dummy patterns respectively located in the first sensing area and the first circuit bonding area. Each of the first sensing series is electrically insulated from each other and has a first terminal extending into the first circuit bonding area. The first dummy patterns surround each first terminal and are electrically insulated from each first terminal. A plurality of first dummy patterns intervenes between any two adjacent first terminals in the first circuit bonding area.
US08642907B2
An opening assembly is provided for an electrical switching apparatus having a housing, separable contacts enclosed by the housing, and an operating mechanism for opening and closing the separable contacts. The operating mechanism includes a poleshaft. The opening assembly includes a spring link comprising a first portion structured to be pivotably coupled to the poleshaft, and a second portion disposed generally opposite of the first portion. A number of opening springs each include a fixed end fixedly coupled to the housing, and a movable end coupled to the second portion of the spring link. The spring link is movable between an open position, wherein the opening springs bias the spring link and poleshaft to maintain full separation of the separable contacts, and a closed position, wherein the opening springs do not bias the poleshaft.
US08642906B2
Disclosed is a relay for an electric vehicle capable of guiding a precise assembly of a cover assembly and a supporting plate. The supporting plate comprises a position guiding portion protruding from an upper surface thereof so as to guide the cover assembly to be located on a predetermined position of the supporting plate when assembling the cover assembly and the supporting plate to each other.
US08642905B2
A charging assembly is provided for an electrical switching apparatus, such as a circuit breaker. The circuit breaker includes a housing, separable contacts, and an operating mechanism for opening and closing the separable contacts. The charging assembly includes a stored energy mechanism, such as a closing spring, which is movable between charged and discharged positions. A cast member is coupled to the closing spring and moves therewith. The cast member includes a projection. A cam shaft is pivotably coupled to the housing, and includes a number of cams. A catchment, which is also pivotably coupled to the housing, includes an impact surface and a protrusion. The impact surface cooperates with a corresponding one of the cams to resist over rotation of the cam shaft. The protrusion of the catchment cooperates with the projection of the cast member to maintain the desired relationship between the catchment and the cam.
US08642900B2
An electromagnetically shielded enclosure is disclosed. One such system includes a continuously welded shell having a top, a bottom, and a plurality of side walls cooperating to enclose an interior volume, the interior volume sized to receive electronic equipment and allow human entry. The enclosure is constructed from electromagnetically conductive materials and includes continuous welds along seams joining each material. The enclosure includes a sally port located within the enclosure. The sally port includes a first door in one of the plurality of side walls and constructed from electromagnetically conductive materials. The sally port also includes a second door constructed from electromagnetically conductive materials. The sally port defines a secondary interior volume within the enclosure sized to allow human entry through either the first or second door.
US08642896B2
A printed circuit board include: a printed circuit board main body having a mounting area on a first surface of the printed circuit board main body and a recess being provided at a recess area on a second surface that is a back side of the first surface of the printed circuit board main body, the electronic component being mounted on the mounting area, the recess area being provided to correspond to the mounting area; and a thermal expansion control element being placed in the recess and having a smaller thermal expansion coefficient than the printed circuit board main body.
US08642894B2
Provided is a circuit board including a resin base, and a resistance element formed above the resin base. The resistance element includes a resistance pattern including an electrode portion and an extending portion, and an electrode formed on the electrode portion of the resistance pattern and including a foot portion reduced in thickness toward the extending portion.
US08642893B2
A copper foil for a printed circuit having a roughened layer on a surface of a copper foil by way of copper-cobalt-nickel alloy plating, a cobalt-nickel alloy plated layer formed on the roughened layer, and a zinc-nickel alloy plated layer formed on the cobalt-nickel alloy plated layer, wherein the total amount of the zinc-nickel alloy plated layer is 150 to 500 pg/dm2, the lower limit of the nickel ratio in the alloy layer is 0.16, the upper limit thereof is 0.40, and the nickel content is 50 pg/dm2 or more.
US08642890B2
An apparatus for communicating between a cab and a chassis of a truck comprises a multi-conductor cable having a plurality of circuits. The multi-conductor cable is of a length to extend substantially the length of the chassis, to carry various communication functions between the cab and a distal end of the chassis.
US08642885B2
Electrical enclosure assemblies, electrical service enclosures, and methods of assembling an electrical enclosure assembly are presented herein. An electrical enclosure assembly for housing electrical components of an electrical distribution system is disclosed. The enclosure assembly includes a plurality of sidewalls interconnected to define therebetween a mounting space within which are mounted the electrical components, and define at one end thereof an open endface. An endwall guide extends from one or more of the sidewalls into the mounting space. The endwall guide includes a plurality of elongated slots, a plurality of projections, or both. The enclosure assembly also includes an endwall configured to at least partially close off the open endface. The endwall includes a plurality of elongated slots, a plurality of projections, or both. Each of the projections is configured to fit into and secure with a respective elongated slot to thereby removably mount the endwall to the sidewalls.
US08642881B2
A thin film solar cell and a method of manufacturing the same are discussed. The method of manufacturing the thin film solar cell includes forming a masking jig in a first region of a substrate, forming a first electrode in a second region of the substrate, forming a photoelectric conversion unit on the first electrode formed in the second region of the substrate to produce electricity using light incident on the photoelectric conversion unit, and forming a second electrode on the photoelectric conversion unit formed in the second region of the substrate.
US08642873B2
Embodiments are directed to a novel technique used to create electronic apparel that is powered by batteries and generates light, or sound in reaction to various sensors on the garment. The wearer through the use of various options or effects can further modify the output through the use of various options or effects. The electronic apparel includes an image of an instrument and a keypad that allows for user control of sounds generated by electronic circuits incorporated in the garment. Sound generation circuitry and speakers are coupled to the keypad in an electronic assembly that is detachably coupled to the garment in such a way as to allow regular washing of the garment without any damage to the electronic devices.
US08642868B1
Described is a bass drum foot pedal having a variable drive lever linkage with variable arc ratios connecting the foot pedal to a beater bracket. The beater bracket is formed with a mounting surface that tips a beater shaft forward to create a forward beater angle that maximizes the beater impact against a bass drum.
US08642866B1
A musical drum instrument with a hollow shell having one or more openings, each having the capability of forming a circumferential bearing edge, and a head member having a playing surface. Also provided is a single tapered coupling with the narrowest portion of the tapered coupling situated in near proximity to at least one of the hollow shell openings or mating tapered couplings integrated with the outside surface of the shell wall and inside surface of the wall of the head member, respectively. The head member with or without the integrated tapered coupling is mounted upon the end of the hollow shell its integrated tapered couple with the head member and the hollow shell converging in frictional engagement to establish an airtight fit sealing the juncture where the two are joined to enable the direct transfer of energy produced upon the striking of the playing surface to enhance the sound quality of the musical instrument.
US08642862B1
A mechanical pitch shifter for changing the pitch of a stringed musical instrument is disclosed. The mechanical pitch shifter engages the musical instrument string between the end of operational length and point of string termination. This device comprises a base clamp 1 and thumbscrew 2 to attach to the musical instrument. This devise comprises a top bar 6 and cam 8 to engage and disengage the musical instrument string. Reaction force of the string is opposed by the thumbscrew 2. Fine tuning of the string pitch is achieved by turning a thumbwheel 3 thus changing the displacement between top bar 6 and base clamp 1.
US08642853B2
According to the invention, there is provided seed and plants of the corn variety designated CV489341. The invention thus relates to the plants, seeds and tissue cultures of the variety CV489341, and to methods for producing a corn plant produced by crossing a corn plant of variety CV489341 with itself or with another corn plant, such as a plant of another variety. The invention further relates to corn seeds and plants produced by crossing plants of variety CV489341 with plants of another variety, such as another inbred line. The invention further relates to the inbred and hybrid genetic complements of plants of variety CV489341.
US08642852B2
According to the invention, there is provided seed and plants of the corn variety designated CV651587. The invention thus relates to the plants, seeds and tissue cultures of the variety CV651587, and to methods for producing a corn plant produced by crossing a corn plant of variety CV651587 with itself or with another corn plant, such as a plant of another variety. The invention further relates to corn seeds and plants produced by crossing plants of variety CV651587 with plants of another variety, such as another inbred line. The invention further relates to the inbred and hybrid genetic complements of plants of variety CV651587.
US08642845B2
The present invention relates to pepper plants resistant to powdery mildew disease as well as to infection by potyviruses, particularly potato virus Y (PVY). Specifically, the present invention relates to pepper plants comprising a viral resistance allele and a powdery mildew resistant allele in cis configuration on the same chromosome, such that the two resistance alleles are in coupling phase.
US08642844B2
The invention relates to the soybean variety designated D2011905. Provided by the invention are the seeds, plants and derivatives of the soybean variety D2011905. Also provided by the invention are tissue cultures of the soybean variety D2011905 and the plants regenerated therefrom. Still further provided by the invention are methods for producing soybean plants by crossing the soybean variety D2011905 with itself or another soybean variety and plants produced by such methods.
US08642842B2
The invention provides seed and plants of the lettuce line designated RS 16891364. The invention thus relates to the plants, seeds and tissue cultures of lettuce line RS 16891364, and to methods for producing a lettuce plant produced by crossing a plant of lettuce line RS 16891364 with itself or with another lettuce plant, such as a plant of another line. The invention further relates to seeds and plants produced by such crossing. The invention further relates to parts of a plant of lettuce line RS 16891364, including the gametes of such plants.
US08642837B2
The invention provides a method for enhancing resistance in plants by providing these plants with a gene construct comprising a DNA sequence coding for a receptor for a systemic signal compound, wherein such a systemic signal compound is one or more of the group consisting of salicylic acid, jasmonic acid and brassinosteroids. The resistance can the be induced by contacting said plants with said signal compound. Preferably, the receptor is an RKS receptor, salicylic acid receptor or jasmonic acid receptor. Also combinations and/or chimaeric receptors can be applied.
US08642836B2
A method of producing male or female sterile plants comprising the steps of transforming plant material with a polynucleotide which encodes at least one enzyme which reacts with a non-phytotoxic substance to produce a phytotoxic one, and regenerating the thus transformed material into a plant, wherein the said non-phytotoxic substance is applied to the plant up to the time of male or female gamete formation and/or maturation, so that the non-phytotoxic substance provides for the production of a phytotoxic one which selectively prevents the formation of or otherwise renders the said gametes non-functional, wherein the enzyme is expressed preferentially in either male or female reproductive structures, characterized in that (i) the non-phytotoxic substance is a D-alpha amino acid, and (ii) the enzyme is a D-amino acid oxidase.
US08642830B2
A drug deactivation system according to some embodiments includes at least one drug-retaining region of a drug delivery device and at least one energy source coupled to the at least one drug-retaining region. The at least one drug-retaining region may be configured to retain a drug. The at least one energy source may be configured to transmit energy to the drug. The drug is capable of being rendered ineffective in the presence of the transmitted energy.
US08642829B2
A container for confining nuclear waste, including a sleeve of longitudinal axis closed at a first longitudinal end by a base and a second longitudinal free end via which the container is designed to be loaded, a plug configured to close the second longitudinal free end tightly, a flange fixed on the inner face of the sleeve to the side of the second longitudinal free end, the plug having at least one external diameter substantially equal to at least one internal diameter of the flange, the plug configured to be welded on the flange such that the welding zone is offset radially towards an interior of the container, relative to an inner face of the sleeve.
US08642821B2
This invention relates to novel and useful toluene and styrene derived telomer distributions, such distributions being desirable substrates for the preparation of brominated flame retardants.
US08642819B2
The present invention provides a process for the manufacture of trans 1-chloro-3,3,3-trifluoropropene (E-1233zd). The first step of the process comprises the fluorination of 1,1,3,3-tetrachlororopropene (1230za, CCh═CH—CHCh) and/or 1,1,1,3,3-pentaachloropropane (240fa) to a mixture of cis 1233zd (Z-1233zd) and trans 1233zd (E-1233zd). The second step of the process comprises a separation of the mixture formed in the first step to isolate cis 1233zd (Z-1233zd) from the mixture. The third step of the process comprises isomerization of cis 1233zd (Z-1233zd) to trans 1233zd (E-1233zd).
US08642814B1
The invention describes methods and systems for making particular organic compounds from unsaturated fatty acids derived from biological materials. Particular embodiments describe synthesizing civetone and olefins from a mixture of palmitoleic and oleic unsaturated fatty acid esters. The inventive methods use reaction steps such as metathesis, cyclization, hydrolysis, and/or decarboxylation.
US08642810B2
Process for the direct amination of hydrocarbons to aminohydrocarbons by reaction of a feed stream E comprising at least one hydrocarbon and at least one aminating reagent to form a reaction mixture R comprising aminohydrocarbon and hydrogen in a reaction zone RZ and electrochemical separation of at least part of the hydrogen formed in the reaction from the reaction mixture R by means of a gastight membrane-electrode assembly having at least one selectively proton-conducting membrane and at least one electrode catalyst on each side of the membrane, where at least part of the hydrogen is oxidized to protons at the anode catalyst on the retentate side of the membrane and the protons pass through the membrane and on the permeate side are reacted with oxygen to form water, where the oxygen originates from an oxygen-comprising stream O which is brought into contact with the permeate side of the membrane, over the cathode catalyst.
US08642809B2
The present invention pertains to the general field of chemical synthesis, and more particularly to methods for the synthesis of certain hydroxamic acid compounds, and in particular, (E)-N-hydroxy-3-(3-phenylsulfamoyl-phenyl)-acrylamide, also known as PXD101 and Belinostat®, comprising, for example, the steps of: (SAF) sulfonamide formation; (PURC) optional purification; (AAA) alkenyl-acid addition, comprising: either (i): the steps of, in order: (ACAEA) alkenyl-carboxylic acid ester addition; (PURE) optional purification; and (CAD) carboxylic acid deprotection; or (ii): the step of: (ACAA) alkenyl-carboxylic acid addition; (PURF) optional purification; (HAF) hydroxamic acid formation; and (PURG) optional purification.
US08642808B2
Compounds are provided that act as potent antagonists of chemokine receptors. The compounds are generally aryl sulfonamide derivatives and are useful in pharmaceutical compositions, methods for the treatment of chemokine receptor-mediated diseases, and as controls in assays for the identification of chemokine antagonists.
US08642802B2
The present invention comprises a process for the preparation of 3-chloro-2-fluoro-5-trifluoromethyl benzoic acid of the formula or of a salt thereof 3-Chloro-2-fluoro-5-trifluoromethyl benzoic acid or salts thereof are versatile intermediates for the preparation of active pharmaceutical or agrochemical agents.
US08642798B2
The present invention relates to a diastereomeric mixture of Silacycle Compounds and methods for using the diastereomeric mixture of Silacycle Compounds for stereoselective synthesis.
US08642796B2
An object of the present invention is to provide an organoruthenium compound which has good film formation characteristics as an organoruthenium compound for chemical deposition, has a high vapor pressure, and can easily form a film even when hydrogen is used as a reactant gas. The present invention relates to an organoruthenium compound, dicarbonyl-bis(5-methyl-2,4-hexanediketonato)ruthenium (II) which can have isomers 1 to 3, wherein the content of the isomer 2 is 30% by mass or more, the content of the isomer 3 is 30% by mass or less, and the balance is the isomer 1.
US08642781B2
Aromatic compounds such as o-xylene are selectively nitrated by nitric acid in the presence of polyphosphoric acid and a large pore, acidic zeolite or a large pore, hydrophobic molecular sieve. This is an environmentally friendly, commercially viable, high conversion process for the selective nitration of aromatic compounds in the para position.
US08642780B2
The present invention relates to N-carbomethoxy-N-methoxy-(2-chloromethyl)-aniline compounds of the formula I, wherein: n is 0, 1, 2 or 3, each R1 is independently selected from halogen, C1-C4-alkyl, C1-C4-haloalkyl, C1-C4-alkoxy or C1-C4-haloalkoxy. The invention also relates to processes and intermediates for preparing such compounds of formula I. The invention furthermore relates to processes for preparing 2-(pyrazol-3′-yloxymethylene)-anilides in which compounds of formula I are applied as precursors.
US08642772B2
Piperidine compounds and pharmaceutically useful salts thereof, a pharmaceutical composition including an effective amount of the racemic or enantiomerically enriched piperidine compounds to treat gastrointestinal diseases, and a method of treating gastrointestinal diseases in a mammal are provided.
US08642751B2
The invention provides chemically modified oligonucleotides capable of inhibiting the expression (e.g., abundance) of miR-208 family miRNAs, including miR-208a, miR-208b, and/or miR-499. The invention provides in some embodiments, oligonucleotides capable of inhibiting, in a specific fashion, the expression or abundance of each of miR-208a, miR-208b, and miR-499. The invention further provides pharmaceutical compositions comprising the oligonucleotides, and methods of treating patients having conditions or disorders relating to or involving a miR-208 family miRNA, such as a cardiovascular condition. In various embodiments, the oligonucleotides provide advantages in one or more of potency, efficiency of delivery, target specificity, toxicity, and/or stability.
US08642749B2
A Zea mays regulatory region is shown, which provides improved seed preferred, and particularly embryo preferred expression in plants. Methods of use are also shown in preferentially expressing a heterologous protein to the embryo tissue of a plant. The sequence is particularly useful in expression of heterologous proteins to the embryo of monocotyledonous plants, particularly cereals, and maize.
US08642736B2
Complexes comprising resveratrol and a casein, a process for their manufacture, their uses and compositions comprising them.
US08642731B2
The present invention relates to isolated Porphyromonas gingivalis polypeptides and nucleotides. The polypeptides include an amino acid sequence selected from the group consisting of: SEQ. ID. NO. 110; SEQ. ID. NO. 111; SEQ. ID. NO. 112; SEQ. ID. NO. 113; SEQ ID NO: 120; SEQ. ID. NO. 123; SEQ. ID. NO. 124; SEQ. ID. NO. 125; SEQ. ID. NO. 130; SEQ. ID. NO. 131; SEQ. ID. NO. 132; SEQ. ID. NO. 133; SEQ. ID. NO. 135; SEQ. ID. NO. 136; SEQ. ID. NO. 137; SEQ. ID. NO. 138; SEQ. ID. NO. 143; SEQ. ID. NO. 144; SEQ. ID. NO. 145; SEQ. ID. NO. 146; SEQ. ID. NO. 147; SEQ. ID. NO. 148; and amino acid sequences at least 95% identical thereto.
US08642730B2
The present invention relates to enzyme preparations consisting essentially of an enzyme which has cellulytic activity and comprises a first amino acid sequence having the following sequence (SEQ ID NO: 79) Thr Arg Xaa Xaa Asp Cys Cys Xaa Xaa Xaa Cys Xaa 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 Trp Xaa 13 14 and a second amino acid sequence having the following sequence Trp Cys Cys Xaa Cys(SEQ ID NO: 80) 1 2 3 4 5 wherein, at position 3 of the first sequence, the amino acid is Trp, Tyr or Phe; at position 4 of the first sequence, the amino acid is Trp, Tyr or Phe; at position 8 of the first sequence, the amino acid is Arg, Lys or His; at positions 9, 10, 12 and 14, respectively, of the first sequence, and at position 4 of the second sequence, the amino acid is any of the 20 naturally occurring amino acid residues with the provisos that, in the first amino acid sequence, (i) when the amino residue at position 12 is Ser, then the amino acid residue at position 14 is not Ser, and (ii) when the amino residue at position 12 is Gly, then the amino acid residue at position 14 is not Ala, performs very well in industrial applications such as laundry compositions, for biopolishing of newly manufactured textiles, for providing an abraded look of cellulosic fabric or garment, and for treatment of paper pulp. Further, the invention relates to DNA constructs encoding such enzymes, a method for providing a gene encoding for such enzymes, a method of producing the enzymes, enzyme preparations containing such enzymes, and the use of these enzymes for a number of industrial applications.
US08642728B2
This invention relates to the finding that collagen peptides bind to the osteoclast-associated receptor (OSCAR) and stimulate the activation and/or differentiation of OSCAR expressing cells, such as osteoclasts and osteoclast precursor cells. Collagen peptides are described which may be useful in the modulation of the differentiation and/or activation of OSCAR expressing cells, for example in the treatment of bone defects and disorders characterized by altered differentiation and/or activation of OS-CAR expressing cells.
US08642725B2
A process for chemically converting a peptide chain into a peptide thioester includes, when a —C(═X)—R1 group is introduced to the thiol group of the cysteine residue and then the resulting peptide is reacted with a compound having a leaving group represented by the formula: —NH—C(═Y)NHR3 in an organic solvent, the —NH—C(═Y)NHR3 group binds via addition reaction to the carboxyl group of the N-terminal-side peptide bond of the cysteine residue, whereby the peptide bond is cleaved and the C-terminal-side peptide fragment is cut off. Further, when the resulting peptide chain having the —NH—C(═Y)NHR3 group is reacted with a thiol in a buffer solution, a thiol exchange reaction occurs, namely, the thiol group of the thiol binds to the carbonyl carbon to which the —NH—C(═Y)NHR3 group has bound, whereby the —NH—C(═Y)NHR3 group is eliminated.
US08642719B2
A method of making a polymer, including: heating, for a sufficient time and temperature, to polymerize a homogenous mixture including of at least one polymerizable monomer, and a solvent mixture comprised of at least a first liquid and a second liquid, the first liquid being a stronger solvent for the product polymer than the weaker second liquid, and the polymer product precipitates from the homogenous mixture during the heating, as defined herein. Also disclosed are semiconducting articles and printable inks prepared with the resulting narrow polydispersity polymers, as defined herein.
US08642713B2
Improved poly(aryletherketone)s with superior melt stability, lower gel content and lower color and a new process for their manufacture.
US08642712B2
The invention provide a class of actinically-crosslinkable silicone-containing prepolymers obtained by functionalizing an intermediary copolymer to have two or more thiol or ethylenically-unsaturated groups covalently attached thereto, wherein the intermediary copolymer is an atom-transfer radical polymerization (ATRP) product of a reactive mixture comprising a polysiloxane ATRP macroinitiator and at least one hydrophilic vinylic monomer. The present invention is also related to silicone hydrogel contact lenses made from a prepolymer of the invention and methods for making the contact lenses in a cost-effective way and with high consistency and high fidelity to the original lens design.
US08642705B2
A process for producing a conjugated diene-based polymer which comprises, in the first modification, modifying a conjugated diene-based polymer having active chain ends, which is obtained by polymerizing a diene-based monomer singly or with other monomers and has a content of a cis-1,4 unit of 75% by mole or greater in the conjugated diene portion of the main chain, by reacting the active chain ends with a hydrocarbyloxysilane compound and reacting the modified polymer with a specific compound such as a hydrocarbyloxysilane compound, and a rubber composition containing the polymer modified in accordance with the above process and, preferably, 10 to 100 parts by weight of silica and/or carbon black per 100 parts by weight of the rubber component containing the modified polymer, are provided. The rubber composition containing silica and/or carbon black exhibits improved fracture properties, abrasion resistance, low heat buildup property and excellent workability. A process for producing a conjugated diene-based polymer exhibiting improved cold flow, a polymer produced in accordance with the process, and a rubber composition and a tire using the polymer are also provided.
US08642702B2
The invention pertains to a thermoplastic VDF polymer composition comprising: at least one thermoplastic vinylidene fluoride (VDF) polymer comprising at least 85% by moles of recurring units derived from VDF; and at least one ethylene/chlorotrifluoroethylene (ECTFE) polymer, wherein said ECTFE polymer possesses a melting point of less than 210° C. and it is comprised in an amount of from 0.1 to 20% wt with respect to the total weight of VDF polymer and ECTFE polymer. The invention also pertains to a process for making the VDF polymer and to the uses thereof for manufacturing films, in particular transparent films.
US08642701B2
Injection stretch blow molded (ISBM) articles containing a bio-based polymers and methods of forming the same are described herein. The method generally includes providing a propylene-based polymer; contacting the propylene-based polymer with polylactic acid to form a polymeric blend; injection molding the blend into a preform; and stretch-blowing the preform into an article.
US08642699B2
A fluidity improver for a PC resin that improves the melt fluidity during molding without impairing the excellent properties of the PC resin, and also yields a molded product in which external appearance defects are unlikely. The fluidity improver for an aromatic polycarbonate resin according to the present invention is including a first polymer obtained by polymerizing 0.5 to 99.5 parts by mass of a monomer first mixture including 0.5 to 99.5% by mass of styrene and 0.5 to 99.5% by mass of phenyl (meth)acrylates, in the presence of a second polymer obtained by polymerizing 0.5 to 99.5 parts by mass of a second monomer mixture containing 0.5 to 50% by mass of α-methylstyrene, 0.5 to 99% by mass of styrene and 0.5 to 99% by mass of phenyl (meth)acrylates, wherein the combined total of both monomer mixtures is 100 parts by mass.
US08642697B2
A process for preparing a randomly branched copolymer, by reacting the components (a) 10-98.9 mol % of at least one acrylic ester of a straight-chain, branched or cyclic C1-C22-alkyl monoalcohol, (b) 0.1-10 mol % of at least one polyethylenically unsaturated monomer and (c) optionally one or more monoethylenically unsaturated monomers other than acrylic esters of straight-chain, branched or cyclic C1-C22-alkyl monoalcohols and other than compounds of the formula (I), in the presence of (d) 1-10 mol % of at least one compound of the formula (I) H3C—CRaRc—CH2—CRa—CH2 (I) where Ra, Rb are each independently aryl, CN or COOR1 where R1═H, alkyl, aryl or aralkyl, and Rc=alkyl, aryl or aralkyl, and is the presence of at least one initiator of free-radical polymerization in a free-radical polymerization, where the stated molar proportions of components (a), (b), (c) and (d) add up to 100 mol %, and where the molar proportion of component (b) does not exceed the molar proportion of component (d), Copolymers obtainable by the process and use thereof as levelling agents in coating substances.
US08642690B2
A bis[tri(hydroxypolyalkyleneoxy)silylalkyl] polysulfide, i.e., a polysulfide that contains bonded hydroxypolyalkyleneoxy groups instead of alkoxy groups in the bis(trialkoxysilylalkyl) polysulfide; a method of manufacturing of the aforementioned polysulfide by heating a bis(trialkoxysilylalkyl) polysulfide and a polyalkyleneglycol; a tire rubber additive to a tire rubber composition that comprises a bis[tri(hydroxypolyalkyleneoxy)silylalkyl] polysulfide alone or a mixture of bis[tri(hydroxypolyalkyleneoxy)silylalkyl] polysulfide and a polyalkyleneglycol; and a tire rubber composition that contains the aforementioned additive.
US08642681B2
A surface-coated metallic pigment according to the present invention includes base particles and a coating layer constituted of one layer, or two or more layers formed on a surface of the base particles, the coating layer having an outermost layer composed of a first compound obtained by polymerizing one monomer or oligomer, or two or more monomers or oligomers having one or more polymerizable double bonds, the outermost layer having a surface to which one surface modifier or two or more surface modifiers is/are bonded, and the surface modifier being a monomer or an oligomer having a bridged ring structure containing 9 to 12 carbon atoms and having one or more polymerizable double bonds.
US08642675B2
An actinic ray curable composition comprising a photo-polymerizable compound and a photo-polymerization initiator, wherein the photo-polymerizable compound is a cationic polymerizable compound and a terminal polyether-modified silicone surfactant is further incorporated in the actinic ray curable composition.
US08642674B2
A method for curing an addition curable organopolysiloxane composition is provided. This method uses a UV activatable platinum catalyst (complex), and this method has enabled consistent curing of the parts where UV exposure is impossible as well as consistent curing of a thick article. This method cures an addition curable organopolysiloxane composition comprising (A) an organopolysiloxane having at least 2 alkenyl groups bonded to silicon atoms per molecule, (B) an organohydrogenpolysiloxane having at least 2 hydrogen atoms bonded to silicon atoms per molecule, and (C) an effective amount of a photoactivatable platinum complex curing catalyst, and the method comprises the first step of exposing the composition to UV to increase catalytic activity of the component (C), and the second step of applying the composition obtained in the first step to a desired position and curing the composition.
US08642667B2
A process for increasing the hydrogen content of a synthesis gas containing one or more sulphur compounds is described, comprising the steps of (i) heating the synthesis gas and (ii) passing at least part of the heated synthesis gas and steam through a reactor containing a sour shift catalyst, wherein the synthesis gas is heated by passing it through a plurality of tubes disposed within said catalyst in a direction co-current to the flow of said synthesis gas through the catalyst. The resulting synthesis gas may be passed to one or more additional reactors containing sour shift catalyst to maximize the yield of hydrogen production, or used for methanol production, for the Fischer-Tropsch synthesis of liquid hydrocarbons or for the production of synthetic natural gas.
US08642664B2
Solubilizing compositions are provided. The compositions comprise at least one zwitterionic surfactant and at least one nonionic surfactant. In one embodiment, the compositions may be useful for solubilizing and remodeling and/or removing tissue on or beneath a patient's skin, optionally in conjunction with the application of energy to a region of interest on the skin. In one embodiment, at least one analyte may be collected and analyzed from the solubilized tissue.
US08642661B2
Pharmaceutical combinations comprising a beta-3 adrenergic receptor agonist and a muscarinic receptor antagonist, and methods for their use are disclosed. Disclosed combinations include solabegron and oxybutynin. Methods of using the pharmaceutical combinations for the treatment of one or more symptoms associated with overactive bladder, for example, frequency of urgency, nocturia, and urinary incontinence, are also disclosed.
US08642659B2
The invention relates to ether guanidines of the general formulae (I) and/or salts or hydrates thereof, in which R1=—CH2—CH2—CH2—O—R3 where R3 is, independently of the others, hydrocarbon radicals having greater than or equal to 10 carbon atoms, where part of the ether guanidines has radicals R3 which are branched and part of the ether guanidines has radicals R3 which are unbranched, and R2=independently of the others H or an optionally branched, optionally double-bond-containing hydrocarbon radical having 1 to 30 carbon atoms, and use thereof in hair treatment compositions and hair aftertreatment compositions, in particular for preventing damage by chemical treatment compositions and for repairing hair which is already damaged.
US08642658B2
Compounds, methods, uses, compositions, kits and packages for the prevention and/or treatment of neural injury or a neurodegenerative disease, based on the use of a retinoic acid derivative, such as fenretinide, and/or analogs, derivatives, pro-drugs, precursors thereof, and/or salts thereof, are described.
US08642650B2
The invention generally relates to methods of treating an overweight or obese subject, and treating overweight- or obesity-related conditions. In certain embodiments, the invention provides a method of treating an overweight or obese subject including administering a MetAP2 inhibitor in which the amount administered does not substantially modulate angiogenesis.
US08642649B2
The present invention provides a preparation with improved disintegration property, a preparation showing improved bioavailability of a medicament, production methods thereof and the like. A rapidly disintegrating preparation comprising granules comprising a medicament coated with a coating layer containing sugar or sugar alcohol; and a disintegrant. A production method of a rapidly disintegrating preparation including a step of producing granules comprising a medicament, a step of forming a coating layer containing sugar or sugar alcohol on the obtained granules and a step of mixing the coated granules with a disintegrant and molding the mixture.
US08642646B2
The present invention relates to a method and composition for treating acne using lignan compounds represented by Formula 1. More particularly, the invention relates to an antibacterial composition against acne-causing bacteria, containing lignan compounds represented by Formula 1, as well as a method for treating acne using the same. The lignan compounds represented by Formula 1 are excellent not only in the antibacterial activity of inhibiting the growth of acne-causing bacteria, but also in thermal stability. Accordingly, the lignan compounds may be useful as antibacterial agents against the acne-causing bacteria, and acne treatment agents.
US08642644B2
The present invention relates generally to ophthamological drugs. More specifically, the invention relates to a method of modifying (derivatizing) ophthamological drugs so as to increase their penetration through the cornea. The invention also relates to drugs modified (derivatized) in accordance with the instant method and to the use of same in treating conditions associated with elevated intraocular pressure, particularly, glaucoma.
US08642642B2
The invention relates to compounds of the formula (I) wherein the variables have meanings given in the claims and the description. The invention also relates to the use of a compound of the formula (I) or a pharmaceutically acceptable salt thereof for preparing a medicament for the treatment of a medical disorder susceptible to the treatment with a 5HT6 receptor ligand.
US08642641B2
The present invention relates to new co-crystals of pyrrolidinones having the formula (I) wherein R1 is a C-1-C6 alkyl group. R2 is a C-1-C6 alkyl group which is optionally substituted by 1 to 3 halogens or R2 is a C2-C6 alkenyl group.
US08642634B2
Disclosed are compounds of Formulae 1, 1A, 1B and 1C including all geometric and stereoisomers, N-oxides, and salts thereof, wherein R1, R2, R4a1, R4a2, A, Aa, G, M, W, Z1, Z3, X, J, J1 and n are as defined in the disclosure. Also disclosed are compositions containing the compounds of Formula 1 and methods for controlling plant disease caused by a fungal pathogen comprising applying an effective amount of a compound or a composition of the invention.
US08642633B2
This invention relates to compounds, pharmaceutical compositions and methods for use in the prevention and treatment of cerebral insufficiency, including enhancement of receptor functioning in synapses in brain networks responsible for basic and higher order behaviors. These brain networks, which are involved in regulation of breathing, and cognitive abilities related to memory impairment, such as is observed in a variety of dementias, in imbalances in neuronal activity between different brain regions, as is suggested in disorders such as Parkinson's disease, schizophrenia, respiratory depression, sleep apneas, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder and affective or mood disorders, and in disorders wherein a deficiency in neurotrophic factors is implicated, as well as in disorders of respiration such as overdose of an alcohol, an opiate, an opioid, a barbiturate, an anesthetic, or a nerve toxin, or where the respiratory depression results form a medical condition such as central sleep apnea, stroke-induced central sleep apnea, obstructive sleep apnea, congenital hypoventilation syndrome, obesity hypoventilation syndrome, sudden infant death syndrome, Rett syndrome, spinal cord injury, traumatic brain injury, Cheney-Stokes respiration, Ondines curse, Prader-Willi's syndrome and drowning. In a particular aspect, the invention relates to compounds useful for treatment of such conditions, and methods of using these compounds for such treatment.
US08642628B2
The present invention is directed to inhibitors of S-nitrosoglutathione reductase (GSNOR), pharmaceutical compositions comprising such GSNOR inhibitors, and methods of making and using the same.
US08642627B2
Provided are liquid pharmaceutical formulations comprising nicotine in any form for administration essentially to the lungs being acidified and/or alkalized by buffering and/or pH regulation providing for a tmax of nicotine in arterial blood of a subject within a short period of time after administration. The administration is preferably accomplished by spraying an aerosol into the oral cavity for further distribution essentially into the lungs. Methods for manufacturing the formulation is also disclosed, as are uses of the formulation in therapy, such as therapy for treating addiction to tobacco.
US08642626B2
Provided is a novel compound represented by formula [I] or a pharmaceutically acceptable salt thereof having antagonistic activity against group II metabolism-type glutamic acid (m-Glu) receptors. The compound or pharmaceutically acceptable salt thereof is useful as a prophylactic or therapeutic agent for diseases such as new mood disorders (depressive and bipolar disorders), anxiety disorders (generalized anxiety disorder, panic disorder, obsessive-compulsive disorder, social anxiety disorder, post-traumatic stress disorder, specific phobias, and acute stress disorder), schizophrenia, Alzheimer's disease, cognitive dysfunction, dementia, drug dependence, convulsions, tremors, pain, sleep disorders, and the like.
US08642624B2
Selected heterocyclic compounds are effective for prophylaxis and treatment of diseases, such as angiogenesis mediated diseases. The invention encompasses novel compounds, analogs, prodrugs and pharmaceutically acceptable derivatives thereof, pharmaceutical compositions and methods for prophylaxis and treatment of diseases and other maladies or conditions involving, cancer and the like.
US08642622B2
The present application describes the compound of formula (I): or stereoisomers or pharmaceutically acceptable salts thereof. In addition, methods of treating and preventing inflammatory diseases such as asthma and allergic diseases, as well as autoimmune pathologies such as rheumatoid arthritis and arthrosclerosis using the compound of the invention are disclosed.
US08642615B2
8-Substituted-2,6-methano-3-benzazocines of general structure I in which A is —CH2—OH, —CH2NH2, —NHSO2CH3, and Y is O, S or NOH are useful as analgesics, anti-diarrheal agents, anticonvulsants, antitussives and anti-addiction medications. 8-Carboxamides, thiocarboxamides, hydroxyamidines and formamides are preferred.
US08642611B2
The invention relates to alkynylpyrimidines according to the general formula (I): in which A, R1, R2, R3, R4, R5, and R6 are as defined in the claims, and salts, N-oxides, metabolites, solvates, tautomers and prodrugs thereof, to pharmaceutical compositions comprising said alkynylpyrimidines, to methods of preparing said alkynylpyrimidines, as well as to uses thereof for manufacturing a pharmaceutical composition for the treatment of diseases of dysregulated vascular growth or of diseases which are accompanied with dysregulated vascular growth, wherein the compounds effectively interfere with Tie2 and VEGFR2 signalling.
US08642609B2
The present invention relates to modulators of ATP-Binding Cassette (“ABC”) transporters or fragments thereof, including Cystic Fibrosis Transmembrane Conductance Regulator (“CFTR”), compositions thereof, and methods therewith. The present invention also relates to methods of treating ABC transporter mediated diseases using such modulators.
US08642596B2
Compounds, methods and pharmaceutical compositions for treating viral infections, by administering certain novel semicarbazides, sulfonyl carbazides, ureas and related compounds in therapeutically effective amounts are disclosed. Methods for preparing the compounds and methods of using the compounds and pharmaceutical compositions thereof are also disclosed. In particular, the treatment and prophylaxis of viral infections such as caused by hemorrhagic fever viruses is disclosed, i.e., including but not limited to Arenaviridae (Junin, Machupo, Guanavito, Sabia and Lassa), Filoviridae (ebola and Marburg viruses), Flaviviridae (yellow fever, omsk hemorrhagic fever and Kyasanur Forest disease viruses), and Bunyaviridae (Rift Valley fever).
US08642592B2
The present application relates to novel alkylcarboxylic acids having an oxo-substituted azaheterocyclic partial structure, to processes for their preparation, to their use for the treatment and/or prevention of diseases, and to their use for producing medicaments for the treatment and/or prevention of diseases, especially for the treatment and/or prevention of cardiovascular disorders.
US08642587B2
The present invention relates to heterocyclic compounds of the formula (I) or a physiologically tolerated salt thereof. The present invention also relates to pharmaceutical compositions comprising such heterocyclic compounds, and the use of such heterocyclic compounds for therapeutic purposes.
US08642583B2
The biphenyic compounds of formula (I) are serotonin modulators useful in the treatment of serotonin-mediated diseases.
US08642582B2
The present invention provides a compound of Formula (I) as described herein, or a pharmaceutically acceptable salt or a solvate thereof. The present invention also provides pharmaceutical compositions comprising one or more said compounds, and methods for using said compounds for treating or preventing a thromboses, embolisms, hypercoagulability or fibrotic changes.
US08642572B2
A method for administering ECyd to a patient that realizes a continuous therapy without expressing peripheral neurotoxicity caused by ECyd and that exhibits an excellent therapeutic effect and prolongs patient survival. An antitumor agent containing ECyd or a salt thereof and a method of administering it to a cancer patient through continuous intravenous administration at a dose of 1.30 to 8.56 mg/m2 in terms of ECyd, for each administration period of 2 to 336 hours.
US08642566B2
The present invention relates to novel compositions which can be used for the treatment of neuroinflammation, in particular in subjects having a neurodegenerative, autoimmune, infectious, toxic or traumatic disorder. More particularly, the invention relates to combined therapies for treating neuroinflammation. The invention also discloses new methods for treating neuroinflammation pathological conditions in a subject.
US08642564B2
A composition having at least one alkyl glycoside and at least one therapeutic agent, wherein the alkylglycoside has an alkyl chain length from about 10 to about 16 carbon atoms and wherein the therapeutic agent is an oligonucleotide.
US08642553B2
The invention relates to a composition containing an extract of seeds of Acacia macrostachya. Advantageously the composition is cosmetic, pharmaceutical, dermatological or nutraceutical. The invention also relates to a method for extracting a Acacia macrostachya seed extract, as well as to the resulting extract. The invention further relates to one such composition or one such extract for use in the prevention or treatment of disorders and diseases affecting the skin, mucosae or appendages, for use in the prevention or treatment of vascular disorders and for use in the prevention or treatment of adipose tissue alterations. Moreover, the invention relates to a method for cosmetic care of the Skin, appendages and mucosae in order to improve the condition or appearance thereof, comprising the administration of one such composition or one such extract.
US08642549B2
This invention relates to osteoclast-specific genes and proteins. Specifically, the invention relates to OCL-2A3 or Atp6v0d2, the gene encoding it and uses thereof in methods and treatment of bone disorders.
US08642535B2
The present invention relates to a polymyxin derivative wherein the derivative has a total of three positive charges at physiological pH and wherein the terminal moiety (D) of the derivative comprises a total of 1 to 5 carbon atoms. The invention also relates to a method of treating a subject for a gram-negative bacterial infection by administering a polymyxin derivative of the invention in combination with a second antibacterial agent. Finally, the invention relates to a process for preparing such polymyxin derivatives.
US08642530B2
The present invention is directed to rinse aid compositions and methods for making and using the rinse aid compositions. The compositions of the invention include a sheeting agent, a defoaming agent, and an association disruption agent. The rinse aid compositions of the present invention result in a faster draining/drying time on most substrates compared to conventional rinse aids. The rinse aid compositions of the present invention are especially suitable for use on plastic substrates.
US08642519B2
The present invention provides a composition for a power transmitting fluid that has improved fuel economy, aeration, and cold temperature performance. Additionally, the composition maintains viscosity at higher temperatures that are in line with the viscometrics of current known automatic transmission fluids. The composition preferably comprises an additive and a base stock having a polyalphaolefin blend.
US08642507B1
In one aspect the invention provides matrix based fertilizer formulations that reduce plant nutrient leaching into water sources. In another aspect, the invention provides matrix based formulations that reduce pesticide leaching into water sources. In still another aspect the invention provides matrix based fertilizer formulations comprising both fertilizers and pesticides wherein the formulation reduces pesticide and plant nutrient leaching into water sources. The invention also provides methods for the application of matrix based fertilizer formulations.
US08642500B2
Disclosed is a method for manufacturing an iron catalyst, the method including: a mixing stage where a mixture solution is manufactured by mixing iron nitrate (Fe(NO3)3) solution and copper nitrate (Cu(NO3)2) solution; a precipitation slurry-forming stage where a precipitation slurry is formed by adding at least one of sodium carbonate (Na2CO3) or sodium hydroxide (Na2CO3) solutions to the mixture solution; a washing stage where the precipitation slurry is filtered and washed with distilled water; a silica adding stage where fumed silica powder and potassium carbonate (K2CO3) solution are added to the precipitation slurry and then agitated; a drying stage where the precipitation slurry is passed through a sieve having a size of 30 μm to 100 μm and dried by a spry drying method to manufacture a powdered iron catalyst; and a heat treatment stage where the iron catalyst is dried at a temperature of 50° to 150° C., and then heat-treated at a temperature of 300° C. to 500° C.
US08642496B2
The present invention relates to a method for forming a catalyst comprising catalytic nanoparticles and a catalyst support, wherein the catalytic nanoparticles are embedded in the catalyst support, comprising forming the catalytic nanoparticles on carbon particle, dispersing the carbon particle in a solution comprising precursors of the catalyst support to form a suspension, heating the suspension to form a gel, subjecting the gel to incineration to form a powder, and sintering the powder to form the catalyst.
US08642481B2
A method of etching exposed silicon-and-nitrogen-containing material on patterned heterogeneous structures is described and includes a remote plasma etch formed from a fluorine-containing precursor and an oxygen-containing precursor. Plasma effluents from the remote plasma are flowed into a substrate processing region where the plasma effluents react with the exposed regions of silicon-and-nitrogen-containing material. The plasmas effluents react with the patterned heterogeneous structures to selectively remove silicon-and-nitrogen-containing material from the exposed silicon-and-nitrogen-containing material regions while very slowly removing other exposed materials. The silicon-and-nitrogen-containing material selectivity results partly from the presence of an ion suppression element positioned between the remote plasma and the substrate processing region. The ion suppression element reduces or substantially eliminates the number of ionically-charged species that reach the substrate. The methods may be used to selectively remove silicon-and-nitrogen-containing material at more than twenty times the rate of silicon oxide.
