US08764890B2

Disclosed is a dry CO2 capturing device using multi sorbents so as to maintain the sorption rate for exhaust gas containing CO2. The dry carbon dioxide (CO2) capturing device comprises at least two dry carbon dioxide (CO2) capturing parts comprising: a first and second recovery reactors 104 and 105 to recover CO2 by contacting a solid sorbent with exhaust gas; a first and second recovery cyclones 106 and 122 connected to the recovery reactors; a first and second regenerators 110 and 126 connected to the recovery cyclones; and a first and second pre-treatment reactors 116 and 132 connected to the regenerators through sorbent supply lines. The first and second dry carbon dioxide (CO2) capturing parts are connected to each other so as to feed an isolated gas, which is separated with the solid sorbent in the first recovery cyclone 106 of the first dry CO2 capturing part, to the second dry CO2 capturing part through the exhaust gas supply line, and different solid sorbents are used in the first and second CO2 capturing parts.
US08764878B2

Claimed methods do not rely on highly reactive reagents, highly corrosive solutions, high temperatures, or long reaction times. Nanowires produced from such methods are free of large attached nanoparticles that have accompanied previously disclosed copper nanowires. Such nanowires are useful for electronics applications.
US08764861B2

A process for refining oil-containing includes introducing the oil-containing solids to a reactor so as to expel an oil-containing vapor from the solids at a temperature of 300 to 1000° C. The oil-containing vapor expelled from the reactor is supplied to a cracker so as to crack heavy oil components of the oil-containing vapor. The cracked heavy oil components obtained in the cracker are separated and withdrawn from the cracker. The solids left in the reactor and an unevaporated fraction of heavy hydrocarbons are introduced into a furnace. The unevaporated fraction of heavy hydrocarbons in the furnace are burned at a temperature of 600 to 1500° C. The solids from the furnace are recirculated into the reactor. A conveying gas is supplied into a rising pipe, wherein the stream of solids withdrawn from the furnace is fluidized by the conveying gas and transported to the reactor through the rising pipe.
US08764848B2

Devices, delivery systems and delivery techniques for an occlusion device for the closure of physical anomalies, such as an atrial septal defect, a patent foramen ovale (PFO), and other septal and vascular defects are described. The devices, delivery systems and delivery techniques relate particularly to, but are not limited to, a patent foramen ovale (PFO) occluder made from a polymer tube. Specifically, a petal-shaped occluder with a catch system is provided within a delivery sheath. In certain embodiments, the delivery system includes a first securement system for securing a first end of the occluder and a second securement system for securing a second end of the occluder to a delivery catheter and a delivery wire contained in the delivery system. The securement enable the deployment (and retrieval) of the device. The securement systems enable pushing and pulling of respective ends of the occluder to expand and contract the device by varying its axial length. In one aspect, the first securement system employs a threaded connection and the second securement system employs a suture connection. In another aspect, the first securement system employs a threaded connection and the second securement system employs a collet finger connection. The securement systems are detached when the device has been properly positioned. The securement systems can be manipulated by control systems provided in the control portion of the delivery system.
US08764847B2

A stent is deployed within a body passageway. The stent is configured to curl a varying degree upon itself as the stent is inserted into the passageway depending on the size of the passageway. In this way a single size stent may be employed in different size passageways. The stent may have a generally rectangular shape or other shape. The stent may be made of one or more materials. For example, a spine of the stent may be made of a material different than a material used for the outer edges of the stent. The edges of the stent curl towards the spine during insertion into the passageway without any further manipulation of the stent or by application of any additional mechanical means. The stent may have a varying thickness and/or width along the longitudinal axis of the stent.
US08764839B2

A tibial insert includes a platform defining an upper bearing surface and a bottom surface. A keel of the tibial insert is coupled to the bottom surface of the platform and includes a bore extending along a width of the keel. The bore is formed to receive a fastener therein.
US08764837B2

A reinforced joint assembly includes a first implant portion secured to a sectioned end of a first bone. A second implant portion is likewise secured to a sectioned end of a second bone and in opposing fashion relative to the first implant to define a joint zone therebetween. The first implant exhibits a first surface profile, whereas the second implant exhibits a second and mating surface profile. A male projection extends from the first surface profile of the first implant and seats within a recess defined within the second implant.
US08764833B2

An intervertebral disc is provided having an upper plate, a lower plate, and a core. The upper and lower plates include outer vertebral body contacting surfaces which are provided with attachment enhancing features to ensure bone integration. The attachment enhancing features shown include one or more fins, serrations and teeth. An opposite surface of the plates from the vertebral body contacting surfaces is formed with a recess which serves as a bearing surface for the core. In order to form an intervertebral disc with a lower disc height, at least one of the recesses is provided opposite a corresponding dome shaped portion on the vertebral body contacting surfaces. This allows the plates to be formed with a thinner profile for a smaller overall disc height. In addition to providing a lower overall height to the artificial disc, the dome shaped portion of the plates also provides a more anatomically shaped outer vertebral body contacting surface.
US08764819B2

An arterial device, system and method are provided for use with a patient undergoing a cardiac procedure. The system is configured for enabling one or more arterial devices to be accommodated in the aorta of the patient in use of the system, and a perfusion lumen arrangement provides therethrough a target perfusion flow into the aorta having a target perfusion flow rate that is significantly greater than a nominal perfusion flow rate, by an excess perfusion flow rate. A suction lumen arrangement provides therethrough a suction flow out of the aorta at a suction flow rate. The target perfusion flow rate and the suction flow rate may be concurrently and selectively controlled to cause embolic debris that may be present in the aorta to be diverted to the suction inlet, while providing the nominal flow rate to the body circulation of the patient.
US08764812B2

A method for deploying an endoluminal vascular prosthesis using a deployment catheter that has at least a main graft portion and a first branch graft portion. The deployment catheter preferably comprises an elongate, flexible catheter body having a proximal end and a distal end, and an outer sheath and an inner core that is axially moveable with respect to the outer sheath. The catheter preferably comprises a main graft restraint that has a main graft release mechanism comprising a main graft sheath and a suture threaded through a plurality of the openings in the main graft sheath. The catheter further comprises at least one branch graft restraint comprising at least one branch graft release mechanism.
US08764809B2

The present disclosure relates to an implant for refixation of the greater trochanter on which an osteotomy has been performed or which is fractured. The implant comprises a plate that can be fixed on the proximal femur, and a device that can hold the greater trochanter with a form fit or force fit on the femur. This holding device preferably has bendable prongs located at a distance from each other, the first end portion of these prongs being attached to the upper edge of the base plate. The holding device also has flexible, elongate members, each of which is attached at one end to the free end portion of the respective prong. The other, free end portions of the longitudinal members are secured laterally on the base plate after these longitudinal members have crossed the medial aspect of the greater trochanter. This results in a tensioning band construction with at least two restraints based on a plate fixed securely on the proximal lateral femur.
US08764807B2

A calcaneus plate provided with two vertically-spaced plate sections, with corner-located screw holes. An intermediate wall connects the plate sections. An arcuate protrusion extends from the intermediate wall and contains an internal sliding mechanism for a compression screw. The sliding mechanism includes an arc-shaped compression hole with an elongated opening that includes a ridge upon with the compression screw head can slide.
US08764804B2

A bone fastener comprises a proximal portion including an inner surface that defines a cavity. A carrier is disposed in fixed engagement with the inner surface and includes at least one arm defining a proximal face. A pivoting member is disposed with the carrier. The pivoting member defines an implant cavity with the proximal portion. A distal portion defines a longitudinal axis and is configured to penetrate tissue. The bone fastener further includes a first coupling member. The proximal portion is rotatable relative to the distal portion in a first plane of a body and the pivoting member is rotatable relative to the proximal portion in a second plane. The first coupling member is engageable with the proximal face such that the carrier engages the distal portion to fix the bone fastener in an orientation. Methods of use are disclosed.
US08764795B2

A device having a plurality of anchors configured to be driven into a tissue, and a closure element extending between the anchors and configured to urge the anchors from a first configuration in which the anchors are a first distance from each other, toward a second configuration in which the anchors are a second distance from each other, the second distance being less than the first distance, wherein the device is configured to maintain the anchors in the first configuration during a surgical intervention and to subsequently allow the anchors to be moved by the closure element toward the second configuration.
US08764794B2

The present invention relates generally to a device and method for treating tissues of the central nervous system and more particularly, but not exclusively, to a device and method for treating the brain tissue.
US08764793B2

Systems and methods for occluding a left atrial appendage are disclosed. A left atrial appendage may be covered with a first occluder device to obstruct the passage of blood out of the left atrial appendage. The first occluder device may include an expandable member, a cover attached to and covering an end of the expandable member, and a one-way valve disposed in the cover. The cover may form a flexible pocket between the cover and the expandable member. The cover may be made of bioprosthetic material. A second occluder device may also be disposed within the left atrial appendage by inserting the second occluder device through the one-way valve in the cover of the first occluder device. The second occluder device may be used to stretch the left atrial appendage to obliterate the left atrial appendage.
US08764792B2

An elongated flexible base strip is constructed with a bottom surface coated with an adhesive material. The base strip is constructed with bridging links which are spaced along the inner edge of the base strip and extend outward therefrom. The base strip, is cut to a first length and aligned with the wound with the bridging links extending over the wound. A matching portion of base strip is cut to a second length and aligned with the wound with the bridging links opposing. The opposing links are drawn together to close the wound. Adhesive on the links holds the links to the opposite base strip.
US08764788B2

A vaso-occlusive device includes inner, intermediate, and outer elements arranged coaxially. The inner element is a filamentous element, preferably a microcoil. The intermediate element is made of a non-metallic material, preferably an expansile polymer. The outer element is substantially non-expansile and defines at least one gap or opening through which the intermediate element is exposed. In a preferred embodiment, when the intermediate element is expanded, it protrudes through the at least one gap or opening in the outer element and assumes a configuration with an undulating, convexly-curved outer surface defining a chain of arcuate segments, each having a diameter significantly greater than the diameter of the outer element. The expanded configuration of the intermediate element minimizes friction when the device is deployed through a microcatheter, thereby reducing the likelihood of buckling while maintaining excellent flexibility. The result is a device with enhanced pushability and trackability when deployed through a microcatheter.
US08764775B2

Described are methods and devices relating to reconnecting the urethra and bladder after a radical prostatectomy, wherein the devices incorporate tissue approximating structure to maintain contact between a severed bladder neck tissue and a severed urethral stump tissue, preferably without the use of sutures.
US08764771B2

A suturing instrument is configured for to apply sutures to approximate, ligate, or fixate tissue in, for example, open, mini-incision, trans-vaginal, or endoscopic surgical procedures. The suturing instrument includes an elongate body member, a needle exit port, a needle receiving port, and a needle deployment mechanism. The suturing instrument eliminates the need for a preassembled needle and suture and reduces or eliminates the possibility of needle loss during suturing.
US08764758B2

Orientation device for surgical use includes a frame and a level device attached to the frame. The feature may be oriented with a reference such as the Antero Superior Iliac Spine, the acetabulum or the operating table to position the pelvis or the device. The level device is adapted to define a reference plane. The device thus allows precise orientation with respect to the pelvis through use of a reference plane.
US08764757B1

MIS TLIF systems and related methods. Implementations of distractor devices may include a first portion and a second portion where the second portion is slidably coupled over the first portion. A position of the second portion relative to the first portion may be adjustable through contacting a distractor latch coupled to the second portion with a plurality of teeth on a side of the first portion. The first portion may include a first pedicle screw pin on an end of the first portion opposing the second portion. The second portion may include a second pedicle screw pin on an end of the second portion opposing the first portion. The first pedicle screw pin and the second pedicle screw pin may be both configured to couple with a pedicle screw head. A length of the distractor device may be configured to be adjustable through sliding of the first portion.
US08764755B2

A method for guiding a bone removal device to form a socket in the human spine and for inserting a cortical bone implant into the socket. The method includes placing a guard against the posterior aspect of the spine, the guard having a passage therethrough, inserting the bone removal device into the passage, removing a portion of a facet joint with the bone removal device to create the socket having a maximum height, and inserting the cortical bone implant into the socket. The cortical bone implant has a leading end, a trailing end, a mid-longitudinal axis through the ends, and a height transverse to the mid-longitudinal axis, the height of the cortical bone implant being greater than the maximum height of the socket.
US08764752B2

A system for inserting an intramedullary nail into a bone includes (a) a handle extending from a proximal end to a distal end configured to couple to an intramedullary nail only in a desired orientation and (b) an aiming device extending from a proximal end to a distal end configured for attachment to the proximal end of the handle. The aiming device includes a guide opening extending therethrough sized and shaped to accommodate a protective sleeve therein. The guide opening is located and oriented so that, when the aiming device and the handle are coupled to one another, a bone fixation receiving hole in an intramedullary nail coupled to the handle is aligned with the guide opening. The aiming device further includes a locking pin fixedly mounted thereto. The locking pin extends into the guide opening to engage a protective sleeve inserted therein.
US08764750B2

The present devices, systems and processes can simultaneously reduce a malady of the foot, ankle, and/or lower extremity and provide compression and stabilization through the use of a combined internal fixation device, external fixation device and a lower extremity stabilizing device. The various embodiments of the system are capable of providing adequate compression in the medial, central and/or lateral columns and/or sides of the foot, ankle, and/or lower extremity, as well as treating Charcot neuroarthropathy, fractures, revisional foot and combination of ankle surgeries. The external fixation device and/or lower extremity stabilizer can be removed after a certain period of time, leaving the internal fixation system within the body for prolonged stabilization and maintenance of the arthrodesis site(s).
US08764747B2

An electrosurgical surgical instrument can comprise a handle and an end effector, wherein the end effector can comprise first and second jaws which can be opened and closed to capture tissue therebetween. One or both of the first and second jaws can comprise a plurality of electrodes which can be sequentially activated. The electrodes can be activated in a predetermined order in connection with a cutting member being advanced through the tissue. In various embodiments, the electrodes can be deactivated in a predetermined order. In certain embodiments, the electrodes can be comprised of a positive temperature coefficient material which can allow the electrodes to be sequentially deactivated.
US08764742B2

A fluid delivery catheter configured to allow optimal fluid distribution through each electrode by varying the diameter of a catheter lumen is disclosed. Uniform or different fluid flow rates through longitudinally spaced apart elution holes may be achieved. Exemplary fluids for use with the catheter include a cooling fluid, a therapeutic fluid, and a medication.
US08764741B2

A high frequency electrosurgical power generator configured to produce electrical power at a frequency of about 1 to about 14 MHz and preferably having an essentially sinusoidal waveform with a voltage level up to 1,000 Vrms, and a current level up to 5 Amps. The output of the high frequency electrosurgical power generator is connected to an electrosurgical tool configured to receive the voltage and current produced by the electrosurgical power generator and deliver the voltage and current to an electrosurgical site. The output of the electrosurgical generator preferably is an essentially sinusoid waveform with a frequency between about 3 MHz and about 8 MHz, up to about 700 volts rms, up to about 2 amps, with a total power of up to 1,000 watts.
US08764736B2

Techniques, apparatus and systems for laser surgery are described to provide protection of sensitive tissues from surgical laser pulses. For example, an ophthalmic surgical method may include determining a surgical target region in an eye, selecting a protection region between the surgical target region and a photosensitive tissue, estimating a damage-threshold of the photosensitive tissue and a protection-threshold of the protection region, applying preliminary laser-pulses to the protection region with parameters between the damage-threshold and the protection threshold to form a protection barrier, and applying surgical laser pulses to the surgical target region.
US08764733B2

Embodiments of the invention provide swallowable devices, preparations and methods for delivering drugs and other therapeutic agents within the GI tract. Many embodiments provide a swallowable device for delivering the agents. Particular embodiments provide a swallowable device such as a capsule for delivering drugs into the intestinal wall or other GI lumen. Embodiments also provide various drug preparations that are configured to be contained within the capsule, advanced from the capsule into the intestinal wall and degrade to release the drug into the bloodstream to produce a therapeutic effect. The preparation can be operably coupled to delivery means having a first configuration where the preparation is contained in the capsule and a second configuration where the preparation is advanced out of the capsule into the intestinal wall. Embodiments of the invention are particularly useful for the delivery of drugs which are poorly absorbed, tolerated and/or degraded within the GI tract.
US08764721B2

A method of manufacturing an undergarment includes moving a web of body panel material in a machine direction and cutting the web of body panel material along the machine direction to form front and rear body panel webs each having a maximum rise and a minimum rise respectively. The method further includes shifting at least one of the rear and front body panel webs in the machine direction and thereby aligning the maximum rises of the rear and front body panel webs. The method further includes centering a crotch member with the maximum rises of the rear and front body panel webs and connecting the crotch member to a garment side surface of the front and rear body panel webs. The crotch member includes a base panel having opposite side edges and at least a pair of folds extending from the side edges of the base panel.
US08764716B2

A kit for collecting stool, comprising an adapter (1) for connecting the anus or a perianal stoma of a user to a peripheral device, said adapter comprises a flexible adhesive plate (2) having first through going hole, a flexible tube (3) extending from a first opening (11) to a second opening (12) and a first flexible coupling plate (4) having a second through going hole, wherein the flexible tube is attached to the flexible adhesive plate in an area surrounding the first opening and the flexible tube is attached to the first flexible coupling plate in an area encircling the second opening, allowing fluid communication from the first through going hole to the second through going hole through the flexible tube, and a peripheral device (20, 60) for coupling to the adapter.
US08764713B2

A method of repositioning an injection port comprises positioning the injection port at a first location in a patient's body and extending fasteners of the injection port to substantially secure the injection port at the first location. The fasteners are then retracted to substantially unsecure the injection port from the first location in the patient's body. The injection port is then moved to a second location in the patient's body. The fasteners are then re-extended to substantially secure the injection port at the second location in the patient's body. The injection port includes a port body. The fasteners are integral with the port body. The fasteners may be selectively extended and retracted relative to the port body. For instance, the fasteners may be pivoted relative to the port body to transition between extended and retracted positions. The extension and retraction of fasteners may be provided through a port applier.
US08764711B2

A needle guard assembly having a resilient arm extending from a base situated to slide along the shaft of a needle. In one implementation the needle guard has an elongate containment member that rides with the resilient arm and is co-operable with the resilient arm to effectuate a covering of the entire distal tip of the needle upon the needle being refracted into the needle guard.
US08764694B1

This invention is related to wound care in humans and animals, and they reduce the use of adhesives. Also allows the process of wound dressing to be faster, easier, and applicable even with one hand. In these models, a support unit and straps are used. These straps are stretchable and attach to a zone of the hook fastener on the support on a detachable, re-attachable basis. In some models the support unit will function as the stabilizer of the system or to make the functions simpler. The main idea is used in making multiple models for use in different areas of the body. In other models the unit allows guarding the skin and wound site or for the protection of the wound. All in all, the applicant has tried to introduce units for improving the humans and animals life.
US08764681B2

Carbon nanotube needles and needle arrays are described in which the precursor pillars are etched by oxygen plasma treatment to provide tapered and/or sharp-tip needles. Processes, products by process, and devices incorporating the sharp-tip needles are further described.
US08764676B2

The invention relates to systems and methods for estimating a response of at least a part of a physiological system to a first deterministic stimulus signal. The methods include separating a measured first signal into a plurality of segments, each segment representing a response of the physiological system to a corresponding portion of the first stimulus signal and generating a template signal representing the plurality of segments. The methods further include calculating a measure of similarity of each segment in the plurality of segments to the template signal to provide a set of scalar quantities, and determining a metric representing a characteristic of the response of at least a part of the physiological system to the first stimulus signal.
US08764675B2

An electrode for applying electric fields to a patient includes a plurality of ceramic elements (e.g., ceramic discs) that are designed to be positioned against the patient's skin. Electrical connections are made to the ceramic elements (e.g., using a flex circuit). Temperature sensors (e.g., thermistors) are preferably provided at at least some of the ceramic elements to sense the temperature at the skin beneath the ceramic elements, so that appropriate action can be taken if an overtemperature condition is detected.
US08764674B2

A medical device system and method that includes receiving an A2 heart sound signal from a first external acoustic sensor, receiving a P2 heart sound signal from a second external acoustic sensor, determining at least one A2 heart sound signal parameter from the A2 heart sound signal, determining at least one P2 heart sound signal parameter from the P2 heart sound signal, and based on the at least one P2 heart sound signal parameter, estimating pulmonary arterial pressure.
US08764670B2

During a period of servo control, an artery volume of a peripheral site is detected by an artery volume sensor arranged at a peripheral site (site on the peripheral side than a measurement site) of a person to be measured. If an amount of change in the artery volume of the peripheral site or a value of the artery volume is greater than or equal to a predetermined ratio of a reference value at the beginning of the measurement, the servo control and a blood pressure determination process are continued. When detected thereafter that the amount of change in the artery volume of the peripheral site or the value of the artery volume is smaller than the predetermined ratio of the reference value at the beginning of the measurement, the measurement is stopped at the relevant time point.
US08764664B2

A conformable medical data acquisition pad and configurable imaging system. The conformable pad may comprise a carrier base having a plurality of transceivers in operative association with an interconnection network that communicates with a computer system. The data acquisition pad may be constructed with a flex circuit and at least one ultrasound data collection device to carry out a variety of medical procedures. Different types of signal transmitting and receiving elements can be selected to provide ultrasound systems, including scalable capacitive micromachined ultrasound transducers arranged in a variety of configurations in combination with controlling electronics which interface with a translator board and software for signal processing. The resulting ultrasound data, such as a three-dimensional model, can be transmitted via an industry standard high speed bus to standard interfaces on various ultrasound systems.
US08764662B2

A temperature management system and a method of monitoring temperature in an ultrasound imaging system is provided. The system includes an ultrasound probe. The ultrasound probe includes at least one ultrasound transducer and a plurality of application specific integrated circuits. Further, the system includes at least one temperature sensing device disposed on at least one of the plurality of application specific integrated circuits. The temperature sensing devices are disposed in such a way that the sensing devices are in thermal contact with at least one heat producing region of the ultrasound probe.
US08764660B2

An acquisition component is provided that includes an audible sound sensor configured to receive audible sounds within a sensing area and a multi-element ultrasound transducer configured to emit ultrasound signals and to receive reflections of the ultrasound signals in the same sensing area. The audible sound sensor and the multi-element ultrasound transducer may be configured to be simultaneously operable.
US08764653B2

An apparatus for monitoring one or more than one biological parameter is provided. The apparatus comprises two or more than two layers, each layer comprising a flexible substrate, the two or more than two layers comprising two or more than two sensors for sensing the one or more than one biological parameter; a signal conditioning module in communication with one or more than one of the two or more than two sensors; a signal processor in communication with the signal conditioning module and producing a processed signal; a communication module in communication with the signal processor and transmitting the processed signal to a storage module, a display device, a host processing system, or a combination thereof; and a power module to provide power to the two or more than two sensors, the signal conditioning module, the signal processor, and the communication module.
US08764644B2

An endoscope light source unit comprising: a first light source section emitting a first illumination light composed of white light; a second light source section emitting a second illumination light orthogonally to a direction in which the first illumination light travels; a light combining member transmitting the first illumination light through a transmission section and, at the same time, reflecting the second illumination light by means of a reflection section to form a combined light so that a beam of the second illumination light may be located in a central part of a beam of the first illumination light; a shaping lens for modifying the beam of the second illumination light emitted; and a condenser lens for converging the combined light.
US08764640B2

An apparatus for accessing a bodily passageway includes: an endoscope including an insertion portion configured to inserted into the bodily passageway; a drive tube including a lumen configured to receive the endoscope; a helically-wound thread disposed on an outer wall of the drive tube and configured such that rotation of the drive tube causes the drive tube with the endoscope to move along the passageway; a flexible drive shaft configured to transfer rotary motion generated by a power supply; and a rotatable drive collar disposed on the endoscope and configured to rotate the drive tube relative to the endoscope, the rotatable drive collar including a stator, a rotor rotatable over the stator and detachably coupled to the drive tube, a rotary gear configured to transfer the rotary motion from the flexible drive shaft to the rotor to rotate the drive tube, and a watertight seal disposed between the stator and the rotor.
US08764631B2

A system of rotate-to-advance medical devices including catheters, dilators, occluders, stents, suprapubic catheters and camera introducers configured with external screw threads and depending substantially on rotation for means of advancement and emplacement in mammalian genitourinary and gastrointestinal passages and organs.
US08764629B2

A prosthetic device for supporting a flaccid penis during intercourse comprising an oval shaped base having a through-hole, an elongated support platform member having an upper side and a lower side, an adjustable waist-strap, a first adjustable leg strap, and a second adjustable leg strap. The upper side of the elongated support platform member has a concave surface so as to provide a bed for the flaccid penis and the lower side of the elongated support platform member has a convex shape. The adjustable waist-strap is affixed to the oval shaped base and is tightened around a waist of a user. The first and second adjustable leg straps are affixed to the oval-shaped base and are tightened around the thighs of the user so as to secure the prosthetic device against the groin area of the user. The prosthetic device is used in conjunction with a penis extension sleeve.
US08764619B2

A mechanism to facilitate the insertion of radioactive sources/source strands into soft tissue, such as breast tissue, and a method that utilizes this mechanism with the goal of improving the reproducibility of the procedure and ensuring that the sources are reliably and consistently inserted in an exact position per a patient prescription treatment plan from patient to patient as well as improve the ease-of-use of the device and procedure are provided.
US08764605B2

Variators that include a damped roller control part.
US08764591B2

A hunting arrow having an arrow shaft with a front end and a back end. The hunting arrow has at least one arrow blade attached to the arrow shaft, and has a closed position and at least one open position. The at least one arrow blade is substantially flush with the arrow shaft when in the closed position, and extends radially outward from the arrow shaft when in an open position. In addition, the hunting arrow has an arrow tip that is attached to the front end of the arrow shaft and is capable of moving longitudinally toward or away from the arrow shaft. The arrow tip is operatively engaged with the at least one arrow blade so that the arrow tip opens and closes the at least one arrow blade by moving relative to the arrow shaft.
US08764587B2

A multi-use golf device is able to be used as a golf tee and as a divot repair tool. The multi-use golf device includes two portions that move relative to one another to change a configuration of the multi-use golf device. In a first configuration the multi-use device is generally extended and can hold a golf ball above a ground level. In a second configuration two portions of the multi-use golf device can be positioned near each other to repair a divot in a golf course putting green.
US08764586B2

A golf ball core that includes a center point having a first hardness value and/or first specific gravity value, and a surface having a second hardness value and/or second specific gravity value. The first hardness value, or first specific gravity value, is different from the second hardness value, or second specific gravity value, respectively.
US08764583B2

A multi-piece solid golf ball having a core, an envelope layer formed of an inner envelope layer, an intermediate envelope layer and an outer envelope layer, an intermediate layer, and a cover having a plurality of dimples on a surface thereof, arranged in that order. The three envelope layers, intermediate layer and cover are each formed primarily of a resin material of the same or different types. The core is formed primarily of a rubber material, and has a material hardness same as or lower than the core center hardness. One of the inner layers has a material hardness higher than the cover material hardness and/or the average core hardness. The golf ball has excellent flight performance, excellent controllability in the short game, a good feel on impact and excellent scuff resistance.
US08764551B2

A gaming machine 1: variably displays a plurality of symbols on a lower image display panel 141 in response to an external input; randomly determining symbols 501 to be rearranged on the lower image display panel 141; determining one of game results based on the symbols 501 randomly determined; execute a common indication effect common to all the game results; and after common indication effect is executed, executes an individual indication effect according to the game result determined while the symbols are variably displayed.
US08764544B2

The present disclosure is directed to a gaming system and method providing a keno game including an additional number triggering event that causes at least one additional number to be added to a selected number set to form a modified number set. A player number set and a gaming system number set are selected from a plurality of numbers. Upon an occurrence of an additional number triggering event, the gaming system adds at least one of the numbers to one of: the player number set to form a modified player number set, and the gaming system number set to form a modified gaming system number set. The gaming system determines any awards based on a comparison of the player number set (or the modified player number set) with the gaming system number set (or the modified gaming system number set), and provides any determined awards.
US08764540B2

The present invention provides methods and devices for providing wagering games having aspects of card games, such as poker games. Some implementations of the present invention involve methods and devices for providing such wagering games on a network of gaming machines. In some implementations, players can view a first M playing cards from each of N hands of playing cards, then must select one (or more) of the hands. Thereafter, a playing card hand (e.g., a poker hand) is made up for the selected hand from the N cards and from additional cards that are revealed after the hand is selected. Some implementations provide a bingo game in which areas of each bingo card correspond with playing cards, wherein players may establish interim wins that correspond to poker hands. Some such implementations include displaying N bingo cards, each of which corresponds to one of the N hands of playing cards.
US08764532B1

A fall and/or concussion prediction system includes: (i) a measurement assembly configured to receive a subject having a surface for receiving at least one portion of a body of a subject and at least one measurement device, the at least one measurement device configured to sense one or more measured quantities and output one or more signals that are generated based upon the subject's contact with the surface; (ii) a visual display device, the visual display device configured to display a task, an interactive game, a virtual reality scenario, and/or an immersive graphic environment that is visible to the subject; and (iii) a data processing device operatively coupled to the at least one measurement device of the measurement assembly and the visual display device. In one embodiment, a dual-task protocol is used to assess a person's risk for falling and/or predict whether or not a person has sustained a concussion.
US08764530B2

A video game processing apparatus for controlling progress of a video game is provided. It is determined whether a predetermined command is effectively received for a predetermined number of times or more or not when a predetermined period of time is measured from a time when a time measuring start condition is satisfied. A specific process corresponding to the fact that the predetermined command is effectively received for the predetermined number of times is carried out in a case where the predetermined command is effectively received for the predetermined number of times. In this case, it is confirmed whether an effective reception number reaches the effective reception upper limit number or more when the predetermined command is received, and it is determined that the predetermined command is effectively received in a case where the effective reception number does not reach the effective reception upper limit number.
US08764524B2

The invention relates to a tenderizing machine for tenderizing pieces of meat, the machine comprising a first tenderizing roller (1) rotating about a first axis (3) supported in a fixed position in a structure (51), a second tenderizing roller (2) rotating about a second axis (4) parallel to said first axis (3) and movably supported in said structure (51) with the possibility of being separated from the first axis (3) against the force of antagonist means due to the effect of the passage of the pieces of meat between said first and second tenderizing rollers (1, 2), and drive means for rotating the first and second tenderizing rollers (1, 2) in opposite directions comprising a first motor (5) operatively connected by means of a first mechanical transmission (7) to rotate the first tenderizing roller (1), and a second motor (6) operatively connected by means of a second mechanical transmission (8) to rotate the second tenderizing roller (2).
US08764522B2

A one-piece hand-held sharpening device for dental instruments. The device is a sharpening stone having a continuous abrasive surface, with a uniform overall thickness, and generally corresponding flat longitudinally rectangular top face and bottom face surfaces. One side surface contains at least two longitudinal radius grooves and the opposite side face has rounded edges where it abuts the top and bottom surfaces. From either side view, it presents as an isosceles trapezoid with the top and bottom surfaces in parallel, both end surfaces with equal dimensions, and extending at equal angles from the end of the bottom surface to the end of the top surface. During sharpening, the upper end surface is aligned in parallel with a horizontal work surface. In other sharpening operations, each of the radius grooves allows proper sharpening of a different sized curette toe and the rounded edges permit sharpening of instruments with concave surfaces.
US08764519B2

A grinding wheel includes: a disc member; and an annular grindstone member fitted on an outer peripheral surface of the disc member, wherein the disc member has a fluid-supply hole formed therethrough from a first side surface to a second side surface thereof, wherein the fluid-supply hole has an outlet opening through an outer peripheral portion of the first side surface; and an inlet opening which is open through the second side surface and which is disposed at an inner position of the outlet opening in a radial direction of the disc member, and wherein the second side surface is formed with an outer peripheral wall which is disposed at an outer position of the inlet opening in a radial direction of the disc member and projects along an outer peripheral portion of the disc member.
US08764506B2

An embodiment of the invention includes a flying vehicle having a fuselage, a pair of wings, the ability to manually apply a force against a portion of the wings causing the leading edge of each wing to sweep outwardly, the ability to mechanically holding the wings in a predetermined swept position, and the ability to bias the wings towards an initial inwardly swept position. A launcher rod with a rubber band is used to launch the vehicle.
US08764502B2

A fin module for a surfboard having a bore extending through the core between the top deck and the underside, including: a fin comprising a core and extending base portion, and a cover forming a fin blade made of resilient material; and a fin box having a cavity for receiving the base portion and adapted to receive an engagement end of a connector having a head anchorable at the top deck and an elongate member extendable through the core of the surfboard to pull the fin box toward the connector head.
US08764500B2

In an apparatus for controlling operation of an outboard motor having an engine to power a propeller, a transmission being selectively changeable in gear position to establish speeds including a first speed and second speed and transmitting power of the engine to the propeller with a gear ratio determined by established speed, and a trim angle regulation mechanism regulating a trim angle through trim-up/down operation, the transmission is controlled to change the gear position from the second speed to the first speed when the second speed is selected and a throttle opening change amount is at or above a predetermined value; and the trim angle regulation mechanism is operated to start the trim-up operation based on engine speed. With this, the transmission can be appropriately controlled to suppress the decrease in boat speed caused by change of gear position, thereby mitigating an unnatural feel given to the operator.
US08764494B2

A power terminal block that accommodates busbars with various lengths and terminal positions is provided. The power terminal block includes a pair of insulators and a busbar. Each insulator includes a base, a shelf, and an insulating partition. The shelf is coupled to the base and is configured with a busbar mounting stud. The insulating partition is coupled to the base and the shelf. The busbar is configured to attach to the busbar mounting stud in each insulator. The insulators are spaced apart at a predetermined distance to receive a busbar of any length.
US08764486B2

A shielded connector includes an inner housing that has a plurality of terminal accommodating chambers into which terminals which are crimped to ends of a plurality of shielded wires of a shielded electric wire are inserted, and a shield shell that includes a shield part which covers the inner housing and a barrel part which fixes a sheath part of the shielded electric wire. The inner housing has divided constructions into which the terminals can be inserted for each of a plurality of terminal groups.
US08764484B2

An electrical connector includes an insulative housing (3), a number of contacts (4) retained in the insulative housing (3) and a metallic shell (1) enclosing the insulative housing (3). The metallic shell (1) includes a number of peripheral walls and a soldering tab (15) extending therefrom. Each of the soldering tab (15) and the peripheral walls includes an intermediate layer (20), a first plating layer (21), a second plating layer (22) and a third plating layer (23). The third plating layer (23) covers both inner and outer sides of the second plating layer (22) of the peripheral walls for enhancing anti-wear properties while leaving the second plating layer (22) of the soldering tab (15) uncoated for wetting. Besides, a method of surface treatment of the metallic shell (1) is also disclosed.
US08764483B2

An electrical connector includes a connector housing, a plurality of electrical contacts carried by the housing, including respective pluralities of signal contacts and ground contacts configured as crosstalk shields. Electrical characteristics exhibited by the electrical connector during operation can be tuned by modifying physical characteristics of one or more of the crosstalk shields, for instance by modifying the respective shield body of one or more of the plurality of crosstalk shields so as to alter a corresponding shield area defined by the shield body of each of the plurality of crosstalk shields.
US08764481B2

The present invention is to provide a direct mount connector terminal and a direct mount connector for improving reliability of connection thereof. The direct mount connector terminal is locked to a connector housing with a lance of the connector housing. The direct mount connector terminal includes an electrical connection portion extending toward a connection direction of a mating terminal, a bent portion connected to and bent with respect to the electrical connection portion, a parallel portion connected to the bent portion and parallel to the electrical connection portion, and a locking portion disposed on the parallel portion and to be locked to the lance of the connector housing.
US08764473B2

Provided is a ball-lock connector wherein a connector which has a relatively small diameter and which can be smoothly attached or detached, is realized at low cost. Ball storage holes (23) are formed in a tubular member (20), and engagement balls (11) are contained in the ball storage holes (23). An inner sleeve (30) and an outer sleeve (40) are disposed on the outside of the tubular member (20) so as to move in the axial direction. When a counterpart connector (70) is attached, each engagement ball (11) moves from a first position wherein a part of the engagement ball is projected from the inner peripheral surface (21) of the tubular member (20) to a second position which is close to a first inner peripheral surface (42) of an outer sleeve (40), wherein a part of the engagement ball is not projected from the inner peripheral surface (21), and thereafter, returns to the first position. When the counterpart connector (70) is detached, each engagement ball (11) moves from the first position to a third position which is close to a second inner peripheral surface (44) of the outer sleeve (40), wherein a part of the engagement ball is not projected from the inner peripheral surface (21), and thereafter, returns to the first position.
US08764472B2

A motor programming tool is disclosed for associating with a connection block of a motor and sending signals to a programmable controller of the motor, where the connection block includes a plurality of terminals coupled to the controller. The programming tool includes a tool body with an interface generally corresponding with the connection block of the motor, wiring operable to carry the signals, and a plurality of terminal connecting assemblies to associate with the motor terminals. The tool body includes a shiftable locking mechanism operable to selectively secure the tool body relative to the electrical connection block of the motor. The locking mechanism includes a pivotable latch moveable between an open position, wherein the connecting assemblies are freely moveable into and out of contact with the motor terminals, and a closed position, wherein at least a portion of the pivotable latch is in contact with the motor and the connecting assemblies are restricted from moving out of contact with the motor terminals.
US08764466B2

An electrical device comprising a housing for electrical circuitry, the housing defining a cavity opening to the exterior of the device. The cavity includes a first and second fixing arrangement capable of mechanically interlocking with a power connection insert to fix the power connection insert in position. The power connection insert provides a power cable or power connector that couples the electrical circuitry to an external electrical power supply for the device. The use of different power connection inserts allows a wide range of connector types to be provided using a single design of the housing.
US08764465B2

A connector mechanism includes a base, a cover and a resilient component. An opening is formed on the base, and an external plug can inset into the opening. The cover is pivotably disposed on the base. The cover includes a first portion, a second portion and an axle. The first portion rotates to a first position for covering the opening, and further rotates to a second position to hold a body of the external plug. The second portion includes a buckling structure for buckling a pin of the external plug when the first portion rotates to the second position, so as to constrain a movement of the external plug relative to the base. Two ends of the resilient component respectively contact against the base and the cover, and the cover can cover the opening via a resilient recovering force of the resilient component.
US08764459B2

A connector system includes a substrate having a front side and a rear side with an opening therethrough, and a connector assembly coupled to the substrate. The connector assembly includes a housing having a body at a bottom and a head at a top that extends along the front side with the body extending through the opening to the rear side. The housing has a contact channel extending therethrough. A poke-in contact is received in the contact channel through the top of the housing. The poke-in contact has a wire trap configured to receive a wire therein in a wire loading direction through the bottom of the housing. The poke-in contact has a mounting leg extending from the head and mounted to the front side of the substrate.
US08764441B2

A skeletal positioning method and apparatus includes a splint having a main body coupled to a skeletal structure of a patient and a positioning guide having a skeletal footplate, a splint footplate, and an arm coupling the skeletal footplate and the splint footplate, the skeletal footplate including at least one aperture formed therein and the splint footplate including connectors for releasably coupling the positioning guide to the splint, wherein a relative position and orientation of the skeletal footplate and the splint footplate is pre-determined to align a portion of the skeletal footplate with a pre-defined portion of the skeletal structure of the patient.
US08764439B2

A device for recovering heat of molten slag, having a simple structure and high heat recovery efficiency. The device includes: a fluidized bed (3) formed of a fluidized bed material (32) composed of a crushed solidified slag; a slag pool (4) for feeding a molten slag to the fluidized bed; heat transfer tubes (7) for recovering heat from the fluidized bed; and a solidified slag withdrawing device (21) for recovering a solidified slag (34), such solidified slag (34) being formed in the fluidized bed as the molten slag is solidified therein. Molten slag droplets (31) are dripped into the fluidized bed (3) from the slag pool (4) and solidified in the corresponding fluidized bed. The heat released at that time is transferred to the heat transfer tubes (7) through the bed material (32). Further, heat-transfer coefficient between the heat transfer tubes and the bed material is about 10 times larger than that between the heat transfer tubes and gas, thereby reducing heat-transfer area for required heat recovery amount, thus making it possible to reduce the size of the heat recovery device.
US08764438B2

In the method according to the invention for operating a cement plant, the raw meal is preheated in a preheating zone, the preheated material is precalcined in a calcining zone and the precalcined material is finally sintered in a sintering zone. The cement plant is operated in such a manner that the precalcined material which is supplied to the sintering zone has an SO3 concentration of at least 5.5% by mass and a CaSO4 proportion of at least 75%, preferably 90%, of the total salt content.
US08764427B2

An apparatus for forming a pattern using a laser is provided. The apparatus includes a pattern storing unit, a controller, a laser oscillating unit, an X-Y driver, a header unit, and a stage. The pattern storing unit stores data on light guide patterns of a discontinuous straight line shape. The controller transmits position signal of the light guide patterns to the X-Y driver and simultaneously, transmits a switching signal to the laser oscillating unit. The laser oscillating unit outputs a laser beam synchronized with a movement of the header unit. The X-Y driver moves the header unit and the stage. The header unit moves along a first guide rail. The stage moves along a fixed second guide rail in the front and rear direction of the light guide panel.
US08764425B2

Embodiments of the disclosure relate to a mold for making a membrane. A mold may include a cylindrical female portion having a diameter D. The female portion may include a concave face having substantially the same diameter D as the lower portion and a radius of curvature R. The mold may also include a cylindrical male portion having a diameter substantially equal to D. The male portion may have a central cylindrical portion with a height H extending from the lower terminus and a diameter of D-G, wherein G is the annular thickness of a spacing gap extending radially outward from the central portion. The male portion may also have a centered, convex lower face with a diameter of D-G and a radius of curvature R. The mold may also include a tubular body portion support member configured to receive a portion of the female and male portions.
US08764411B2

Methods and systems are provided for pressurizing a transmission hydraulic circuit including a transmission mechanical pump coupled to an engine though a gearbox. One example method comprises, during an engine start, adjusting a speed ratio between the transmission pump and the engine between a first speed ratio and a second speed ratio, the pump rotating faster relative to the engine at the first speed ratio as compared with the second speed ratio. In this way, the pump may be driven at different speed ratios relative to the engine to provide better pressurization in the transmission.
US08764410B2

In a method for conveying at least one heat exchange medium which includes at least one first fluid having a first permittivity and at least one second fluid which does not mix with the first fluid and has a second permittivity that differs from the first permittivity, at least one dielectric boundary surface is formed between the first and the second fluid, which boundary surface is exposed to a progressively excited electric displacement field which exerts a displacement force on the at least one dielectric boundary surface.
US08764406B2

A fluid level control mechanism comprising a float assembly, a flow line assembly, an upper centralizer, and a lower centralizer. The float assembly has a cylindrical outer float tube and a cylindrical inner float tube connected by upper and lower end plates to form a sealed cavity. The flow line assembly has a main flow line capable of passing a fluid, a diverter flow line, and a diverter valve. The diverter valve is connected to the lower end plate of the float assembly via a lever arm, such that the float assembly is capable of sliding along the length of the main flow line in response to a fluid level. Downward movement of the float assembly opens the diverter valve and upward movement of the float assembly closes the diverter valve. The upper and lower centralizers center the mechanism within a well bore.
US08764401B2

A wind turbine blade comprising an aerodynamic fairing supported along at least a portion of its axial length by a spar (12). The spar comprises at least two spar segments (12) joined end-to-end at an interface (9), each spar segment comprising a shear web (3) with a spar cap (4) on each side. The outer face (6) of each spar cap tapers inwardly towards the interface such that its depth is reduced towards the interface creating a recess on each side of the interface formed by the tapered faces of adjacent spar caps. A respective connection piece (8) is sized to fit into each recess. Each connection piece (8) is sized to fit into each recess. Each connection piece (8) being fixed to the tapered faces of adjacent spar caps to form a double scarf joint.
US08764399B1

The present invention provides systems, devices, and methods for transferring kinetic energy from a working fluid to mechanical energy. The claimed device comprises a housing, at least one fluid inlet, a rotor assembly with a plurality of closely related blades that are positioned to create at least one spiral pathway which is continuous for the length of the rotor assembly, a shaft connected to the rotor assembly, and at least one fluid outlet. The energy is transferred when a working fluid enters the fluid inlet, flows trough the spiral pathway in the rotor assembly's direction of rotation, and exits through the fluid outlet.
US08764382B2

A method for forming a pressure measurement hole in a component includes the step of forming a hole in a body of the component, the hole extending from a body surface of the component. An insert having a longitudinal passage is fitted into the hole such that the insert protrudes from the body surface. The protruding end of the insert is machined to define an insert surface profile matched to the body surface profile and displaced from the body surface by a distance substantially equal to a thickness of a covering layer that is to be bonded onto the body surface. A blocking pin is inserted into the insert passage. The covering layer is then bonded to the body surface in the region of the hole and insert after which the blocking pin is removed from the insert to open the pressure measurement hole.
US08764381B2

A propulsion system and method includes an annular exhaust nozzle about an axis radially outboard of the annular cooling flow nozzle and ejecting an exhaust flow through an annular exhaust nozzle about an axis radially outboard of the annular cooling flow nozzle.
US08764378B2

A centrifugal pump assembly with at least one impeller (8) and with a thrust bearing (44) which includes a rotating (50) and a stationary (48) bearing part. The rotating (50) as well as the stationary (48) bearing part are designed in a self-aligning manner.
US08764369B2

A folding bale spear system including a frame securable to a farm implement, particularly a tractor, left and right fork posts rotatable secured to the frame, left and right bale spears, one secured to the left fork post and one secured to the right fork post, and a system for rotation of the left and right fork posts about the frame such that in an open position, the bale spears are extended rearwardly from the frame, and in a closed position the bale spears cross each other and are rotated to a position substantially parallel to the frame.
US08764367B2

A separator separates sheets from a bundle. Slack in the strap used to raise and lower a clamp is used to determine when the clamp reaches the bundle. A non-horizontal conveyor tilts beneath the clamp to receive multiple articles, and then tilts over another bin to deposit the articles. The second bin includes an angled surface, which is straightened to shift the articles for clamping. The clamp is supported by, but not attached to, a support connected with the drive. When the clamp reaches the pile, the clamp stops but the support may continue to move. The clamp is tiltable. The article is transferred by an air jet onto a surface with a roller separated from the surface. Upon transfer, the roller forms a nip with the surface. The article is deposited on an exit conveyor having a flexible, raised portion.
US08764363B2

A riveting structure includes a first workpiece defining a first fixing hole, a second workpiece defining a second fixing hole, a first riveting member and a second riveting member. The first riveting member includes a first head portion and a first riveting portion, the first riveting member defines a riveting hole on the first riveting portion, the first riveting portion extends into the second fixing hole and the first fixing hole. The second riveting member includes a second head portion and a second riveting portion. The second riveting portion extends into the riveting hole of the first riveting member in an interference fit, such that the first workpiece and the second workpiece are fixed together, a receiving chamber is formed between the second head portion and the first riveting portion. The present invention further discloses a riveting method thereof.
US08764362B2

The invention provides for a retainer for stabilizing a threaded member. The retainer may include a base portion having an opening and an outer perimeter lying in a first plane, the opening having a plurality of elongated sections each extending toward the outer perimeter so as to define in the base portion one or more arms. Each of the aims may have a head section having at least one groove, the head sections being located in a second plane which is parallel to and spaced apart from the first plane. The elongated sections may be symmetrically arranged about an axis. The grooves may be arranged to define at least a portion of a helix. The outer perimeter of the retainer may be circular.
US08764352B2

A three-way indexable throwaway tip for deep-hole drilling can be used as a center cutting blade body for a drill head in either whole cutting type or uncut core break-off type applications. The throwaway tip for deep-hole drilling is of a thick plate body having a three-fold symmetry with three cutting sections that are rotationally spaced apart at a central angle of 120 degrees. When mounted on a drill head, one cutting section of the throwaway tip faces a drilling direction. The forward facing blade edge of that cutting section includes an inner blade edge shorter in blade length and an outer blade edge longer in blade length forming an apex. The outer blade edge is composed of two consecutive blade edge portions of a peak-side outer blade edge portion having a smaller outer blade edge angle and a corner-side outer blade edge portion having a larger outer blade edge angle.
US08764337B2

A distance device bridges a free space between a carrier part and a roof body for fastening a roof luggage rack, such as a roof rail, a roof strip or the like, on a vehicle roof by a threaded screw, with a support part and a counter support part. The support part and counter support part are held together by a threaded connection and can be adjusted relative to each other in order to set a bridging length. The support part or counter support part is carried along by a rotationally engaging connection with the threaded screw when it is screwed into a counter thread of the roof luggage rack or carrier part as far as a contact position with the carrier part or the roof body. The rotationally engaging connection has a plastic carrier into which the thread of the threaded screw is/has been screwed for carrying along with frictional resistance.
US08764335B2

A liquid applicator which, in its assembled state an applying part, joint, and front barrel are fixed to a barrel body front end portion, the step of an indented/projected engaging portion on the inner peripheral side of the applying part rear end portion is abutted from behind against and engaged with the step of an indented/projected engaging portion on the outer peripheral side of the forward part of the joint. At the same time, an indented/projected engaging portion on the outer peripheral side of the applying part rear end portion is abutted against and engaged with an indented/projected engaging portion on the inner peripheral side of the front barrel's forward part, and an indented/projected engaging portion on the inner peripheral side of the front barrel rearward part is engaged with an indented/projected engaging portion on the outer peripheral side in the rearward part of joint, whereby applying part, joint and front barrel are formed so as to fix the applying part to barrel body by means of the joint and the front barrel.
US08764329B2

An applicator includes a barrel portion, a nose portion, a pivoting joint, a threaded screw, a cup, and a flexible driveshaft. The nose portion is connected to the barrel portion at the pivoting joint. The threaded screw is disposed in the barrel portion and threadably engages a plurality of threads. The cup is disposed in the nose portion and is adapted to carry a mass or instrument. The cup is rotationally fixed to the nose portion and the threaded screw such that rotation of the nose portion relative to the barrel portion causes axial displacement of the cup and the screw relative to the barrel portion. The flexible driveshaft extends between and is rotationally fixed to the threaded screw and the cup. The flexible shaft extends across the pivoting joint disposed at the connection between the nose portion and the barrel portion.
US08764328B2

The PB Reader solves the problem that the e-reader presents: the e-reader has a non-paper screen and printed documents need assembly, binding, and page turning via hands.This is an electronic, mechanical device that can quickly search, review and print documents and that has text-to-speech and remote control functionality. The unit is rectangular in shape similar as a traditional book, including a viewing window for reading and printing. The unit is fed by two paper-belt rollers, across which images and printed text are displayed. The two paper-belt rolls, which are held by two square axles that are driven by the stepping motor through multiple reduction gears. A pattern of round dots is printed on the bottom side of the paper belt, which can be decoded by a photoelectric sensor to take action of reeling pages. The signals control the stepper motor, allowing the reader to reel the page forward or backward, or jump directly to a specific position.The second component of this invention is the designated printer. Its body shape is rectangular. The said printer can print any text files and photos from a computer directly onto the blank paper belt in the PB Reader by means of sensing the code on the paper belt. This way, electronic files are transformed into physical paper files that are readable by the invention to ensure quick search, review and as well as safe storage.The invention also has a wireless remote control function, which will allow people who are disabled (or users who for whatever reasons do not have free use of their hands) to make use of the reader.
US08764316B1

A fiber optic connector includes a ferrule having a mating end and an insertion end and a ferrule holder having a first end portion in which the ferrule is received and a second end portion opposite the first end portion. The first end portion defines a first bore having a first bore width for receiving the ferrule. Additionally, the first end portion defines a bore surface and at least one groove formed in the bore surface. The at least one groove extends from where the insertion end of the ferrule is located within the first bore to a front face of the ferrule holder. Ridges are formed around the first bore because the at least one groove also extends in a circumferential direction. The ridges contact the ferrule and are deflected by the ferrule in a direction toward the insertion end of the ferrule.
US08764315B2

A connector to connect a fiber bundle probe to a light injection module including a tightening cam having an opening of a specified shape adapted to receive the fiber bundle probe, a cam driving coupled to the tightening cam, wherein the tightening cam is configured to translate in response to rotation of the cam driving until the tightening cam is blocked, at least one spring extending between the tightening cam and the cam driving, wherein the at least one spring is configured to resist when the cam driving is actuated by rotation and the tightening cam is blocked, and a locking mechanism to lock the cam driving into a selected position.
US08764312B2

An optical connector assembly (1000) includes an optical connector plug (100) and an optical connector receptacle (600). The optical connector plug includes a base (3), a head portion (1) and a pair of springs (2) compressed between the base and the head portion. The base includes a body portion (30) and a pair of beam portions (31) formed at opposite sides of the body portion. Each beam portion has a guiding portion (310) extending from the body portion, a lever (312) and a latching portion (311). The head portion carries a number of fibers and includes a securing portion (10) defining a pair of guiding recesses (12). The guiding portions are slidably mounted to the guiding recesses. The latching portions retain the securing portion in position relative to the body portion against a restoring force of the springs.
US08764310B2

A method and apparatus for aligning optical transports in a ferrule. The transports are aliened in the ferrule by mounting the ferrule on a jig having grooves into which the ends of the optical transports are inserted for transversely aligning the fibers in the ferrule. A row of transports is placed in the ferrule cavity with the front ends of the transports extending past the ferrule and into the grooves of the jig, thereby laterally aligning the transports with the grooves. The fibers are affixed to the ferrule. The ferrule can then be removed from the jig and the front ends of the transports that extended into the grooves of the jig cleaved flush with the front face of the ferrule.
US08764307B2

A vibration isolator for use between a support structure and a roller thrust bearing including a first race, a second race, a bearing cage and at least one roller element. The vibration isolator includes a radially extending portion with a mating surface, a bearing surface, an inner peripheral edge and an outer peripheral edge, the radially extending portion being substantially disk-shaped. An annular flange extends axially from one of the inner peripheral edge and the outer peripheral edge of the radially extending portion, and at least one groove is defined by the mating surface of the radially extending portion. The bearing surface is configured to abut one of the first race and the second race and the mating surface is configured to abut the support structure such that a void is defined between the at least one groove and the support structure.
US08764304B2

A tapered roller bearing (31a) has a plurality of retainer segments (11a, 11d) each having a pocket to house a tapered roller (34a), and arranged so as to be continuously lined with each other in a circumferential direction between an outer ring (32a) and an inner ring (33a). The retainer segment (11a, 11d) is formed of a resin containing a filler material to lower a thermal linear expansion coefficient. In addition, a clearance (39a) is provided between the first retainer segment (11a) and the last retainer segment (11d) after the plurality of retainer segments (11a, 11d) have been arranged in the circumferential direction without providing any clearance. Here a circumferential range (R) of the clearance (39a) is larger than 0.075% of a circumference of a circle passing through a center of the retainer segment (11a, 11d) and smaller than 0.12% thereof at room temperature.
US08764302B2

A tape-shaped product and a belt for a ball chain are provided. A tape-shaped product of synthetic resin includes a tape of a thermoplastic resin, and a preliminarily stretched fibrous member of a thermoplastic resin contained therein along longitudinally parallel edges or in proximity thereto of the tape. A belt for a ball chain, includes a tape-shaped product of synthetic resin formed by injection molding, together with a fibrous member as an insert of a resin of the same kind as that of the fibrous member so that the fibrous member is disposed along the longitudinal edges or in proximity thereto, ball-insetting holes are disposed at equal intervals, and ball-retaining projections are disposed around the holes.
US08764293B2

A linear guide apparatus includes a set of two side seals disposed at each of both ends in the direction in which a slider moves. An inner seal disposed at the slider side and an outer seal are individually attached to the slider by bolts and, respectively. Accordingly, the two side seals can be attached easily and highly precisely to the slider.
US08764290B2

An apparatus for calibrating an x-ray computed tomography device has a plurality of objects formed from a material that is visible to x-rays, and a base at least in part fixedly supporting the plurality of objects so that each of the plurality of objects contacts at least one of the other objects. Each one of the plurality of objects: 1) is configured to receive x-rays without changing shape, 2) has substantially the same shape and size as the other objects, 3) has an attenuation value to x-rays (“object attenuation value”), and 4) is symmetrically shaped relative to its center point. Like the objects, the base also has an attenuation value to x-rays (the “base attenuation value”). The object attenuation value is greater than the base attenuation. Each of the plurality of objects is kinematically locked in place on the base.
US08764267B2

An edge type backlight unit and a method for manufacturing the same are disclosed. The edge type backlight unit includes light sources for providing light, a printed circuit board (PCB) on which the light sources are mounted, a metal bracket that contacts the printed circuit board and dissipates heat of the printed circuit board, and a thermal hardener formed between the printed circuit board and the metal bracket. The printed circuit board supplies an electrical signal for driving the light sources to the light sources.
US08764264B2

An edge lit luminaire includes a light source. A housing has an interior cavity for receiving the light source. The housing includes a heat sink for directing heat away from the light source. At least one optional end cap is secured to an end of the housing that covers the cavity. A lightguide is secured inside the housing and has an edge located in proximity to the light source. At least one of a reflector and a lens (e.g., lens optic) directs light from the light source to the edge of the lightguide. The lightguide includes a light extraction surface enabling light to be transmitted from the lightguide. The housing can also feature a channel and slot for mounting the luminaire to a support surface. The lens optic can be designed to have specific dimensions that facilitate efficient design and operation of the luminaire.
US08764262B2

A film sheet having a series of strips extending from an edge may have the film strips gathered and folded into a stacked array wherein the strips are in parallel abutment. The collected ends of the stacked strips are then suitable for receiving light for transmission into (and emission from) the body of the film sheet. A pair of frame members, when urged toward each other about the strips, may automatically collect and fold the strips into a parallel spaced array. This array may then be gathered by hand, or by a cover member translating adjacent the frame members, to generate the stacked array of parallel abutting strips. The resulting illumination device is particularly useful for illumination of display panels such as liquid crystal displays, organic light-emitting diode displays, or simply signs formed of paper, plastic, and/or other materials.
US08764256B2

A lighted exterior rearview mirror system of a vehicle includes an exterior rearview mirror assembly and a light module disposed at the exterior rearview mirror assembly. The light module includes a plurality of illumination sources operable to emit light. The illumination sources are individually controlled responsive to said the input to provide a customized illumination beam emanating from the exterior rearview mirror assembly. The system may include a control that is responsive to the user input to selectively individually energize the light emitting diodes, and the control may individually adjust a duty cycle of each of the light emitting diodes responsive to the user input. The light module may include a ground illumination light source, a backup light source and a turn signal indicator.
US08764250B2

The present invention relates to a framing system for delimiting a light beam. The framing system comprises a base support rotatable supporting a frame support. The frame support comprises: a number of shutter blades surrounding the light beam; a number of actuators adapted to moved the shutter blades in and out of said light beam. The framing system comprises further rotatable electric connecting means, the rotatable electric connecting enabling transferring of electric energy between said frame support and said base support during rotation of said frame support in relation to said base support. The present invention relates also to a light fixture comprising the framing system and a method of delimiting a light beam.
US08764241B2

A ring light source system for an interferometer with adjustable ring radius and ring radial width may comprise a laser light source, an expander and collimator optical system, an adjustable aperture, a binary phase grating, a variable-focus optical system, and a spatial filter. The expander and collimator optical system is configured to convert a light beam from the light source into a parallel light beam. The adjustable aperture is configured to adjust a diameter of the parallel light beam. The light beam with the diameter adjusted by the adjustable aperture is incident perpendicularly onto the binary phase grating, followed by the variable-focus optical system. The filter is positioned on a back focal plane of the variable-focus optical system, and is configured to receive a ring light source. The ring radius and radial width of the light source are adjustable by adjusting a focus length f1 of the variable-focus optical system.
US08764238B2

LED “Chip-on-Board” (COB) metal core printed circuit board (PCB) technology operates in conjunction with high efficiency compact imaging and non-imaging optics to provide a compact emergency light offering high performance luminance levels (higher brightness) and enhanced life, at low cost. Thermal impedance between the LED junction and the heat sink is significantly reduced for COB technology by placing the LED die directly on a high thermal conductivity material substrate thereby increasing temperature dependant life and thermally dependant output power. Additionally, there is no encapsulant or domed optic over the LED thus making it possible to get a much more compact and efficient substantially Etendue preserving collection optic directly over the die.
US08764237B2

A lighting and energy conservation system for low temperature applications includes LEDs as a light source. The LEDs are provided in a modular LED light fixture. The fixture includes a frame supporting a reflector having a plurality of elongated channels. Mounting strips are removably installed in each of the elongated channels, and LEDs are mounted on each of the mounting strips. Interchangeable lenses are provided over the LEDs and are removably coupled to the mounting strip by a quick-connect device. A separate multi-position power control device is associated with each of the mounting strips, so that a total light output intensity and profile of the fixture can be individually customized by any one or more of: interchanging lenses on the LEDs, interchanging mounting strips within the elongated channels, and selectively adjusting the multi-position power control device for each of the mounting strips.
US08764233B2

A lighting device for streets, having a housing for receiving at least one lighting module can be mounted easily if it comprises a plurality of lighting units having a light element and an optical element associated with the same and being fastened on a carrier. The module housing is covered by a sealing pane facing the lighting units and comprises fastening means for removably fastening same on the housing. Electrical contact means are provided on the module housing for electrically connecting the lighting units to an external voltage source, wherein the fastening and contact means are designed such that the lighting module can be brought from an assembled position, in which the lighting module is mechanically and electrically connected to the housing, to a disassembled position in which the lighting module is not mechanically or electrically connected to the housing, and vice versa, exclusively by means of a linear displacement.
US08764229B2

The present invention relates to lens assembly for an illumination device comprising a number of optical lenses and a lens holder comprising a mounting plate having a number of holes, said number of holes being adapted to accommodate said lenses. At least one of said holes is at least partially surrounded by a number of resilient fingers extending backward from the mounting plate, said resilient fingers being adapted to engage with one of said lenses and secure said lens in said holes. The present invention relates also to an illumination device comprising such lens assembly and a method of manufacturing the illumination device.
US08764224B2

A wide beam angle (diffuse) luminaire with an efficient multi-source radiative emitter array. Embodiments of the luminaire utilize one or more LEDs disposed around a perimeter of a protective casing. The LEDs are angled to emit into an internal cavity defined by the inner surface of the casing. The placement of the LEDs around the perimeter of the device reduces self-blocking and facilitates heat transfer from the LEDs through the casing or another heat sink and into the ambient. Light impinges on the inner surface and is redirected as useful emission. A diffuse reflective coating may be deposited on the inner surface to mix the light before it is emitted.
US08764223B2

A lighting device includes first and second light emission units. The first light emission unit emits light having a relatively low color temperature and a high feeling of contrast index. The second light emission unit emits light having a relatively high S/P ratio, which is the ratio of scotopic luminance to photopic luminance. The first light emission unit illuminates a region located at a vertical upper side of a region illuminated by the second light emission unit.
US08764222B2

A heat dissipating structure of an LED circuit board includes an LED circuit board having a plurality of soldering points. The soldering points of the LED circuit board are covered by a coating layer including Nanoparticles and a bonding agent. The coating layer has the characteristics of high emitting rate, temperature resistance, and conductivity insulation. On the other hand, the coating layer can increase the contacting areas of the soldering points with the air to enlarge the heat dissipation area of the LED circuit board. The LED circuit board covered by the coating layer is placed in an LED lamp tube to provide good heat dissipation effect.
US08764221B2

A connection mechanism is provided for connection to a lamp tube, including a male member and a female member. The female member has a wave-shaped structure on an inner surface thereof. The male member has a main body and several pins, wherein each pin has a curved slope and a curved surface connecting the main body with the curved slope. The male member is rotatable relative to the female member when in a first position, wherein the curved slope is slidable on the wave-shaped structure. The curved surface is engaged with the wave-shaped structure when the male member moves to a second position, so as to restrict rotation between the male and female members.
US08764219B2

A light fixture having a “U”-shaped frame inside a sealed cylindrical housing. Mounted along the center of the face of the frame are one or more LED lamp panels, which include a number of LEDs, some of which may be powered by a back-up source such as an optionally supplied battery for emergency egress lighting. The lamp panels are mounted using a thermal interface material to promote heat transfer from the LED lamp panels to the frame, which in turn radiates the heat into the volume of the housing to enhance cooling. To each side of the LED lamp panels, a highly polished reflector is attached to the frame to focus and concentrate the light while simultaneously shielding the LEDs from heat radiated from the frame. Attached to the obverse side of the frame is a “U”-shaped back cover that forms an electrical enclosure. An optional diffuser may be supplied.
US08764218B2

The present invention provides an illumination alert apparatus structure having a cap for use in switch control. The illumination alert apparatus which is illumination-oriented comprises a body, a power unit, and a lightbulb having an illumination unit coupled thereto. The power unit is coupled to an end of the body. The lightbulb is screwed to an external thread formed on an outward side of the body and coupled to the power unit, so as to assemble the illumination alert apparatus. The illumination alert apparatus structure dispenses with other switch-related components which might otherwise compromise the overall esthetical appearance of the illumination alert apparatus, such that the illumination alert apparatus manifests simplicity, beauty, and novelty.
US08764215B2

A solar-powered light includes a body having an opening formed through the center from an upper side of the body to a bottom side of the body, at least one solar panel on the upper side of the body, and at least one light source on the bottom side of the body.
US08764206B2

Accessories for portable electronic devices that offer a screen for displaying the contents of a display of the portable electronic devices. For an electronic device, the accessory includes a reflective screen with a material such as a beam splitter to re-display the device display and a mechanism to hold the screen above a horizontal surface at an angle.
US08764202B1

Disclosed is a retro-reflective article that can comprise at least one fiber having a first component with a first surface, where the first surface can be shaped to define at least one retro-reflective feature, and wherein the retro-reflective feature can be configured to provide more than one reflection of light incident thereon.
US08764201B2

A vibration member driving circuit causes vibrations in a vibration member at least including an electro-mechanical energy conversion element and an elastic body by applying alternating voltage to the electro-mechanical energy conversion element fixed to the elastic body. The vibration member driving circuit includes an inductor and capacitor serially connected to the electro-mechanical energy conversion element. 0.73*fm
US08764192B2

An opthalmological measuring instrument, e.g. for determining the corneal curvature, anterior chamber depth, axial length, or the like, including measuring systems for determining measurement of the mentioned physical parameters. The measuring systems are connected to an evaluation unit which verifies whether quality parameters regarding the measurements are satisfied and generates a corresponding signal that indicates to the medical professional user that a proper measurement can be taken.
US08764189B2

Various methods are disclosed for mapping optical coherence tomography (OCT) data to facilitate review and diagnosis. In one aspect, high resolution 2D line scans are obtained along with lower density 3D cube scans and displayed in a manner to provide context to the clinician. In another aspect, OCT data is analyzed to provide information about non-uniformities of the tissue. Binary image maps of maps useful for determining tautness of membranes are also disclosed.
US08764187B2

An ophthalmic method for determining a relationship between aphakic ocular power and estimated effective lens position (ELP) of an intraocular lens (IOL) to be implanted in a patient's eye. The method can be used to determine an estimate of the ELP of an IOL given the aphakic ocular power of the patient's eye, for example, without measurement of the corneal curvature or axial length of the patient's eye. The estimate of ELP can then be used to determine a suitable value of optical power for the IOL to be implanted in the patient's eye.
US08764179B2

A UV curable gel ink leveling method for digital direct-to-substrate UV curable gel ink printing includes jetting UV curable gel ink directly onto a substrate, irradiating the gel ink to increase a viscosity of the gel ink, adding sacrificial release fluid to a hydrophilic contact roll, and leveling the ink at a leveling nip formed by the contact roll and a pressure roll. The pressure roll comprises an elastomeric material and a surface that is hydrophobic.
US08764177B2

A process for printing an image on a substrate comprising the steps of: (a) applying an ink comprising polymer-encapsulated pigment particles and an aqueous medium to a substrate by means of an ink jet printer, wherein (i) the said particles are dispersed in the aqueous medium, and (ii) the said particles comprise a carboxy-functional dispersant crosslinked around a pigment core by a first crosslinking agent; and (b) crosslinking the polymer-encapsulated pigment particles with a second crosslinking agent. The process is particularly useful for printing polymeric substrates which come into contact with rubbing and/or moisture.
US08764176B2

A liquid ejecting apparatus includes a liquid ejecting head, an ink supply tube that supplies ink to the liquid ejecting head, a pressure control valve that opens as a result of depressurization on the liquid ejecting head side, a check valve provided upstream from the pressure control valve, an ink circulation tube that is connected at both ends to the ink supply tube between the pressure control valve and the check valve, and a tube pump provided in the ink circulation tube; in this configuration, by providing at least one of an ink return tube and a liquid reservoir portion that is capable of holding liquid in a liquid flow channel in a pressurized state, a rise in pressure within a circulating flow channel caused by pump operations can be suppressed.
US08764168B2

A continuous printer system includes a jet control element, associated with each nozzle bore of an array of nozzle bores, which is selectively actuated to form or steer or form and steer print drops from a liquid stream emitted from the associated nozzle bore. A memory element associated with the inkjet printer is selectively loaded during a printing operation with data that modifies the subsequent actuation of each of the jet control elements to form or steer or form and steer print drops that print pixels on a receiver in a second regularly spaced pixel grid, the second regularly spaced pixel grid having a second spatial density of pixels extending in a direction perpendicular to a travel path of the receiver that is different when compared to a first spatial density of a first regularly spaced pixel grid.
US08764156B1

An aqueous inkjet printer includes a print zone with a relative humidity sensor and a temperature sensor. A controller identifies a dew point of air between a printhead and an intermediate imaging member with reference to the air temperature and the moisture in the air of the print zone, and identifies a target dew point with reference to the image data used to operate the printhead. The controller operates a heater and an air mover to adjust the dew point of the air between the printhead and the intermediate imaging member to the target dew point.
US08764154B2

A printing apparatus includes a conveyance unit, a printing unit, a detection unit, and a control unit. The conveyance unit conveys a sheet that is a continuous sheet. The printing unit prints an image onto the conveyed sheet. The detection unit detects a splice of the conveyed sheet. A following sheet area follows and is continuous from the splice. The control unit adjusts, in response to the detection unit detecting a splice of the conveyed sheet, the conveyance by the conveyance unit of the following sheet area depending on conveyance characteristics of the following sheet area.
US08764151B2

A method for image correction preserves edges in image data stored in a printing system. The method identifies edge image data values within a plurality of image data values and excludes the identified edge image data values from the dithering of the image data values.
US08764138B2

A computer network system and method for printing purchase transaction receipts includes a novel printer physical structure, data structure, and control logic for printing on both sides of a register receipt, business rules designed to facilitate the two sided printing, and print paper designed to facilitate two sided printing.
US08764131B2

An undercabinet secretary provides organization and storage for items as well as concealed or hidden storage for items. The undercabinet secretary prevents concealed items from being accessed while allowing authorized persons or those who are aware of the hidden storage to conveniently retrieve the items. The undercabinet secretary may have one or more dividers to provide compartments for organization and storage of items, and may have a hidden compartment assembly having the same outward appearance to conceal items. In one or more embodiments, the hidden compartment assembly may have its own divider which may be used as a handle to access the hidden compartment assembly and which allows the hidden compartment assembly to blend in with the other dividers.
US08764116B2

An item of seating furniture contains a seat providing a seat surface, a generally circular foot panel positioning the item of seating furniture on a floor, and a central part, which connects the seat to the foot panel and of which a vertical center axis runs centrally through the foot panel. The foot panel is of at least partially convex configuration and that side of the foot panel which is directed toward the floor is configured, at least in part, as a non-slip surface. This creates an ergonomic item of seating furniture which stands in a stable state.
US08764108B2

A child restraint includes a juvenile seat and a child-restraint harness coupled to the juvenile seat. The child restraint also includes a headrest mounted for up-and-down movement relative to a seat back included in the juvenile seat.
US08764093B2

The invention concerns a fixture, for example a sun visor used in a vehicle, comprising a covering element provided with a latch member and a basic body rotatably carried on a spindle element. The spindle element includes a positioning member. When the covering element and basic body are counter-rotated on the spindle element, the positioning member moves the latch member from a mounting position to a fitted position. The fixture when installed can be locked by means of the latch member on a fitted body which, for example, may be an interior trim piece of the vehicle.
US08764085B2

A clamping device comprising: a distal end side stationary blocks which are provided on a side of a distal end of a workpiece retaining base, and in which stationary tilt faces tilting downwardly to a central direction of the workpiece are formed; a proximal end side stationary blocks which are provided on a side of a proximal end of the workpiece retaining base, and in which upward stationary tilt faces tilting downward toward the central direction of the workpiece are formed; and a movable block which is arranged at a position proximal to the proximal end side stationary blocks, and is capable of advancing to or retracting from a side of the distal end side stationary blocks with the workpiece being held between the blocks, and in which a downward movable tilt face tilting upwardly toward the central direction of the workpiece is formed.
US08764078B1

An apparatus for increasing the fuel efficiency of a vehicle is disclosed. The apparatus comprises a bladder forming a deflector to attach to a front bumper of the vehicle to divert air around the vehicle. The deflector works to reduce the drag forces on the vehicle's front bumper by promoting more streamline or laminar air flow around the body of the vehicle. Such drag force reduction translates into greater vehicle fuel efficiency.
US08764075B2

A vehicle latch including a ratchet (18), a first pawl (20), a cam (22), a second pawl (24) and a drive mechanism (50,52,54,56,58). The ratchet is movable between a striker (12) release position wherein the ratchet is positioned to receive a striker, and a striker holding position wherein the ratchet is positioned to retain the striker. The ratchet is biased to the striker release position. The first pawl is movable between a ratchet locking position wherein the first pawl is positioned to hold the ratchet in the striker holding position, and a ratchet release position wherein the first pawl permits the movement of the ratchet out of the striker holding position. The first pawl is biased towards the ratchet locking position. The cam is operatively connected to the first pawl, wherein the cam is movable between an first pawl enabling position in which the first pawl is enabled to move to the ratchet locking position, and a first pawl disabling position in which the cam positions the first pawl in the ratchet release position. The cam is biased towards the first pawl disabling position. The second pawl is movable between a cam locking position in which the second pawl is positioned to hold the cam in the first pawl enabling position, and a cam release position wherein the second pawl is positioned to permit the movement of the cam to the first pawl disabling position. The second pawl is biased towards the cam locking position. The drive mechanism is configured for moving the second pawl into the cam release position.
US08764070B2

A tube-socket assembly and a method of manufacturing the same are provided. The tube-socket assembly includes: a tube in which first and second beads are formed; and a socket fastened to the tube and including a penetration opening portion in which a penetration opening is formed by a predetermined length and a guide portion separated by a predetermined distance from the tube, wherein a first taper portion having an inclined surface is formed at one side of the first bead and forms a beadlock by line-contacting with an inner vertical end portion of the penetration opening portion positioned within the socket. Thereby, by reinforcing seal between the socket and the inner bead of the tube, coupling between the tube and the socket can be more securely performed.
US08764062B2

An external airbag cushion including: an outer cover that inflates to cover the front of a bumper of a vehicle; a plurality of separation walls that are disposed inside outer cover to divide the inside into a plurality of chambers in the transverse direction of the vehicle; and low-pressure variable vents and high-pressure variable vents that are disposed for the chambers, respectively, and selectively open, depending on the internal pressure of the chambers.
US08764061B2

A stand assembly (1) to be attached to a personal transport device (100). The device (100) including a base and at least one axle (104). The axle (104) being adapted to support at least one wheel (108). The wheel being adapted to assist movement of said device along a surface. The assembly to be located in use adjacent a centre of mass (XX) of said device and including a pair of arms (5) extending generally parallel to each other and longitudinally towards a bridging member (7) to define a “U” shape. Each arm (5) includes a hole (10) at a free end to engage the axle in use to permit movement of the arms about the axle between a use position and a stored position.
US08764059B2

A self-moving operating machine with an integrated lateral movement and leveling device, including a chassis having a front part and a rear part, to which a fore axle and a rear axle, both provided with wheels, are constrained, respectively, and including an operating arm having one of its ends constrained to the rear part. The front part and the rear part are articulated to each other by a spherical coupling including two linear actuators, consisting of hydraulic cylinders aimed at operating in mostly vertical directions. A third actuator is rod-wise connected to the front and rear parts, and is aimed at operating according to mostly horizontal directions. The actuators are operated independently. There are provided means designed to measure loads weighing on at least one of the two wheels and to control locking of the rear axle to the rear part upon reaching predetermined limits.
US08764058B2

An apparatus (10) for helping to protect an occupant (20) of a vehicle (12) includes an inflatable vehicle occupant protection device (14) having a deflated condition and an inflated condition. Tear stitching (200a) interconnects portions (220a, 230a) of the protection device (14). The tear stitching (200a) includes first and second stitch lines (300, 320) positioned next to each other. The first stitch line (300) is adapted to rupture in response to tension of a first magnitude exerted on the interconnected portions (220a, 230a) while inflating to an initially deployed condition. The second stitch line (320) is adapted to remain intact and being capable itself of maintaining the protection device in the initially deployed condition subsequent to rupture of the first stitch line (300) and throughout inflation and deployment of the protection device (14).
US08764053B1

A vehicle includes a driver airbag and a curtain airbag. The driver airbag has a primary driver airbag portion that defines an occupant-facing surface and a secondary driver airbag portion that, when inflated, extends outward from the occupant-facing surface of the primary driver airbag portion. The curtain airbag has a primary curtain portion that defines an occupant-facing surface and a secondary curtain portion that, when inflated, extends outward from the occupant-facing surface of the primary curtain portion, wherein the secondary driver airbag portion and the secondary curtain portion are positioned with respect to one another such that, when inflated, the secondary driver airbag portion and the secondary curtain portion are engageable with each other.
US08764051B2

The invention relates to a fastening device (16) for a preferably tubular inflator (14) on a vehicle part (18), including a holder component (20) to which the inflator (14) can be fastened. The holder component (20) includes a first fastening element (22) and a second fastening element (24) offset in the axial direction (A) for fastening on the vehicle part (18). The holder component (20) includes a lever support (30) adapted to be in contact with the vehicle part (18) and being arranged in the axial direction (A) between the first and second fastening elements (22, 24) and separating the holder component (20) into a first lever arm (32) and a second lever arm (34). The invention further includes a fastening assembly (38) including an inflator (14) and a fastening device (16), the first fastening element (22) includes a hook (26) formed by a nut (50) screwed onto a threaded bolt (48) of the inflator (14) having a head portion (52) and a tapered neck portion (54) allowing a positive connection to the vehicle part (18).
US08764049B2

A side airbag module assembly for a vehicle seat back rest features a molded plastic cover (22) with a Class A surface constituting the outside of the cover visible after installation in the backrest (60). A base plate (32) of an airbag holder (24) made of metal or plastic is rigidly connected to the cover (22) by insert-molding or a different method of attachment. A fastening bracket (34) is integrally formed onto the base plate (32). An airbag (15) including a gas generator (14) is prepackaged in a soft pack (12) with fasteners (20) protruding from the soft pack (12). The fasteners (20) and the fastening bracket (34) are configured to attach the soft pack (12) to the airbag holder (24). Upon deployment of the airbag, the fastening bracket (34) will bend and thereby open the cover (22), which allows the airbag (15) to inflate in a forward direction.
US08764042B2

A pull-type agricultural implement has a beam with drawbar hitch pivotable relative to the beam about a vertical axis and a horizontal axis extending in the travel direction. The drawbar hitch has a receptacle for a tractor drawbar. The receptacle enables pivoting of the drawbar about an axis that is horizontal and transverse to the travel direction relative to the drawbar hitch in a locked position. Guiding and adjusting plates in the receptacle allow adjustment of the receiving width of the receptacle to different drawbar dimensions. From a first position, in which the plates limit lateral play of a drawbar with large cross-section relative to the travel and working direction to a minimum, the guiding and adjusting plates are transferrable and lockable in a second position, in which the plates limit lateral play of a drawbar with small cross-section relative to the travel direction to a minimum.
US08764039B2

A suspension system for a vehicle includes two trailing arms and three lateral links to maintain a wheel in or nearly in a vertical position throughout a relatively large travel distance. The trailing arms can be an upper and a lower trailing arm that form a linkage to limit the caster movement of the wheel throughout the travel distance. The three lateral links form two linkages that maintain proper orientation of the wheel: a first linkage to limit the camber movement of the wheel, and a second linkage to limit the tracking, or toe, movement of the wheel. The trailing arms and lateral links provide a relatively large travel distance.
US08764037B2

A wheel axle suspension having on both sides of a vehicle a trailing arm which extends in the longitudinal direction of the vehicle, a thin walled tubular axle body, which has attachment regions where the axle body is attached to the trailing arms. Each trailing arm is hingedly connected at the front, viewed in the direction of travel of the vehicle, to a bearing bracket which is arranged on the vehicle chassis. The suspension also comprises a pneumatic spring operational between each of the trailing arms and the chassis, and clamp bodies for clamping the axle body at the attachment regions thereof so as to attach the axle body to the trailing arms, as well as tensioning elements for providing the clamp force for the clamp bodies.
US08764025B1

An internal adapter for use in handles for interchangeable orthopedic tools contains a collar assembly, house assembly, retaining ring, spring and driver assembly. A plurality of securing ball mechanisms releasably secure an orthopedic tool in the adapter, while a configuration of chamfered surfaces centrally stabilize the tool. A plurality of guiding chamfers located in a shaft driver assembly rotationally secures the orthopedic tool.
US08764019B2

A gasket for a valve in an internal combustion engine is provided with a first elastically deformable portion adapted to cooperate with a rod of the valve. A second elastically deformable portion is adapted to cooperate with an outer surface of a guide element of the valve, and a third elastically deformable portion is interposed between the first and the second elastically deformable portions and bearing a cantilevered gas tight seal lip is adapted to cooperate with the rod of the valve. The lip displays a frustoconical configuration with a section decreasing in opposite direction to the pressure forces directed towards the first elastically deformable portion and is connected to the third elastically deformable portion at its greater section part. The lip is further connected on the side exposed to the pressure forces, to the third elastically deformable portion by a surface bearing one or more waves.
US08764014B2

The conventional manner of play of Twenty-One is modified by having the two initial dealer cards comprising the dealer's initial hand dealt to the dealer position before any cards are dealt to any of the player positions. After the two initial dealer cards are dealt, a fifty card depleted deck is established comprising the original fifty-two card standard deck less the two cards dealt to the dealer position. The cards for each player position are then dealt from the fifty card depleted deck. After the player has received his final Twenty-One hand, the dealer's final hand is completed, also using the depleted fifty card deck. Winning and losing hands are determined according to the conventional manner of play of Twenty-One.
US08764005B2

A recording medium feeding device includes a first support member that supports a feed roller and is configured to be swingable about a pivot shaft so that the first support member swings to displace the feed roller in directions to and away from the recording medium, a first engagement section that includes a gear that swings with the first support member, and a second engagement section that is engageable with the first engagement section when the first support member swings to move the feed roller away from the recording medium, wherein engagement of the first engagement section and the second engagement section is maintained in a state where a power in a swing direction is not transmitted to the first support member, and engagement of the first engagement section and the second engagement section is released when the power in the swing direction is transmitted to the first support member.
US08764002B2

An image forming apparatus includes a punching time measuring unit, a stapling time estimating unit, and a sheet-bundle interval time setting unit. The punching time measuring unit measures a punching processing time to perform punching processing. The stapling time estimating unit calculates an estimated stapling processing time to perform stapling processing by using the punching processing time measured by the punching time measuring unit. The sheet-bundle interval time setting unit sets a sheet-bundle interval time, which is a time from when the last sheet forming a sheet bundle subjected to the punching processing is fed until when the first sheet forming a subsequent sheet bundle subjected to the punching processing is fed.
US08763990B2

A lift truck includes systems and methods for improved stability control while turning, including a rotatable drive unit having a steerable drive tire. A first slide mechanism is coupled to the rotatable drive unit, and a second slide mechanism is mounted to a caster plate. A steering mechanism coupled to the rotatable drive unit is moved to steer the steerable drive tire, causing the first slide mechanism to interact with the second slide mechanism and to produce a downward pressure and/or reduce the downward pressure on a caster mounted to the caster plate.
US08763984B2

An electromechanical valve (1) comprises in a housing (2), a core (3) of magnetic material surrounded by a coil (5) to be supplied with excitation current, a valve seat (6) attached to the housing (2) with a space to said core (3), at least one centrally located outlet port (7) in said valve seat (6) and at least one inlet port (8) communicating via said space, and a valve washer (9) of magnetic material suspended in said to close said outlet port (7) in absence of excitation current to said coil (5), said valve washer (9) cooperating with said core (3) to open said outlet port (7) when excitation current is supplied to said coil (5).
US08763975B2

A set of slides for vehicle seats including two slide locks actuated by a cross-bar assembly pivotally mounted on the two slides by means of bearings. The bearings each include an indentation and the ends of the cross-bar assembly each include a tooth enabling nesting of the cross-bar assembly in the bearing parallel to the pivot axis. The tooth retains the end of the cross-bar assembly in the bearing.
US08763963B1

A panel supporting device with elevating function includes a supporting frame, a supporting sleeve, a guiding cover member, a driving block, a lead screw and a positioning liner. The supporting frame includes a plurality of guiding posts. The supporting sleeve is disposed between the guiding posts and connected to the panel. The guiding cover member fixedly covers an outside of the supporting sleeve and has a plurality of guiding holes in which the guiding posts penetrate. The driving block is fixed inside the supporting sleeve and has a screw hole and an inserting slot. The lead screw is accommodated inside the supporting sleeve and screwed in the screw hole. The positioning liner is accommodated inside the supporting sleeve and penetrates the inserting slot, thereby preventing the supporting sleeve from tilting or vibrating during up and down movement.
US08763951B2

A cargo-adapted aircraft, in particular a personal aircraft, comprising a canard having two (and preferably only two) significant horizontal lifting surfaces, the smaller (canard surface) in front of the larger (wing), and having an opening at the rear of the fuselage through which objects can be loaded.
US08763950B2

A method and apparatus for reconfiguring flight control of an aircraft during a failure while the aircraft is flying. The method and apparatus provide a control law that is software-implemented and configured to automatically send flight control data to a mixing/mapping matrix. The method and apparatus also provide a reconfiguration management tool configured to communicate with the mixing/mapping matrix in order to safely transfer authority from a failed actuator to a back-up actuator. The method and apparatus also provide a sensor management tool for providing input to the reconfiguration management tool in order to smooth any transient conditions that may occur during reconfiguration. The method and apparatus provide for a way of smoothing any possible transient situation that might otherwise occur by employment of a fader, the fader being used to gradually convert positioning of failed actuators and positioning of reconfigured actuators. An exemplary aircraft for using the method and apparatus of a reconfigurable flight control system is a quad tilt rotor. The quad tilt rotor provides a variety of redundant and back-actuators, as such, having a robust and highly qualified reconfigurable flight control system is very desirable.
US08763938B2

A method of preparing lignocellulosic fiber aggregates from a densified mass of lignocellulosic fiber, such as densified bales, for use in manufacturing high performance, recyclable and moldable lignocellulosic fiber and thermoplastic composites, or articles made of the high performance, recyclable and moldable lignocellulosic fiber and thermoplastic composites is provided. The method includes: (a) feeding densified forms of lignocellulosic fiber into a size reduction device; and size reducing the lignocellulosic fibers so as to produce dense lignocellulosic fiber aggregates having an average size profile suitable for use in manufacturing high performance, recyclable and moldable lignocellulosic fiber and thermoplastic composites, or articles made of the high performance, recyclable and moldable lignocellulosic fiber and thermoplastic composites. The density of the lignocellulosic fiber is generally maintained throughout the method. A system for preparing lignocellulosic fiber in accordance with the method is also provided.
US08763936B2

Embodiments of the invention relate to a nozzle assembly for electrostatic deposition comprising a single point nozzle, the single point nozzle being conically shaped and including an apex and a circular base, the circular base including a smaller diameter cylindrical protrusion including a counter bore which connects to a passage leading to the apex; and a nozzle body, in contact with the single point nozzle and including a first through bore, a larger second through bore and a cross drilled port into the first through bore; and a cylindrical electrode, at least partially inserted within the first through bore of the nozzle body and in contact with the counter bore of the single point nozzle, the electrode including a bore mating aligned with the cross drilled port of the nozzle body, and inlets positioned at either end.
US08763935B2

A nozzle of a valve includes a nozzle edge limiting a nozzle opening with a sealing surface that can be sealed or released by a nipple. Spaced apart from the nozzle edge at least one supporting surface for the nipple is provided on the nozzle. The supporting surface is spaced apart from the nozzle edge by a distance area.
US08763929B2

A riding rotary pressure washer comprising of a four wheeled powered vehicle, a circular cover that houses a balance spray bar assembly, the circular cover is adjustably attached to the four wheeled vehicle and is positioned between the wheels of the vehicle, a first L-shaped hose guide, the first L-shaped hose guide is attached to the rear of the four wheeled vehicle, a hose, the hose is attached to the balance spray bar assembly and guided through the first L-shaped hose guide, and a remote pressure washer system, the remote pressure washer system attaches to the hose of the riding rotary pressure washer.
US08763928B2

This invention provides a vaporizer that prevents deterioration of a precursor while reducing a residue, that can expect reduction in risk of clogging, and that can increase vaporization flow easily. The vaporizer comprises an inlet port for introducing a precursor in a liquid phase or a gas-liquid mixture phase, a vaporizing section for vaporizing the precursor arranged on the downstream side of the inlet port, and an outlet port for delivering the precursor vaporized at the vaporizing section, wherein the vaporizing section is of a flow channel type comprising a nozzle for spraying the precursor and a heating channel arranged on the downstream side of the nozzle continuously thereto. A plurality of vaporizing sections are arranged in parallel between the inlet port and the outlet port, and arranged such that each vaporizing section can distribute the precursor independently of each other.
US08763918B2

A container for use in a system and method for dispensing a beverage is provided. The system includes a liquid dispensing machine having a dispensing area capable of receiving a container, and a scanner adjacent to the dispensing area for use with the container. The container is capable of being placed in the dispensing area and includes barcode indicia extending around an exterior surface of the container. The scanner can read the barcode indicia when the container is placed in the dispensing area at any rotational orientation relative to the scanner.
US08763917B2

A variety of forms of machine-readable symbols are disclosed, as well as methods and systems of constructing machine-readable symbols, methods and systems of acquiring machine-readable symbols, and methods and systems of decoding machine-readable symbols.
US08763916B1

An electronic card uses a magnetic stripe communication device in which either a horizontal magnetic field generator or a vertical magnetic field generator is selectively activated on a transaction specific basis as determined by the electronic card to transmit data to a magnetic reader to emulate a magnetic stripe.
US08763914B2

A contactless bi-directional device including first and second generally mutually electromagnetically decoupled contactless loop antennas which are arranged in at least partially mutually overlapping orientation, first and second contactless communication chips, each of the first and second communications chips being connected to a corresponding one of the generally mutually electromagnetically decoupled contactless loop antennas, thereby providing bi-directional communication.
US08763911B2

An RFID tag is disclosed that includes a first sheet having flexibility and elasticity; an antenna having flexibility and elasticity and configured to be formed on a surface of the first sheet; an IC chip configured to be electrically connected to the antenna; a second sheet having flexibility and elasticity and configured to be attached to the first sheet and to cover the antenna and the IC chip with the first sheet; and a reinforcing member having flexibility and elasticity and configured to cover the IC chip and a connecting portion of the IC chip and the antenna.
US08763900B2

A card reader for use with a mobile device includes a rotatable face that can be rotated over a portion of the mobile device so that when the user slides a card through the card reader, the overlapping portion of the rotatable face prevents the card reader from spinning or rotating. A foot and/or a housing for a jack on the bottom of the card reader prevents the card reader from accidently turning off the mobile device during use.
US08763897B1

An automated banking machine is operable to cause financial transfers responsive to data read from data bearing records, such as user cards. The machine includes a reader device operative to read data usable to identify a financial account authorized for use in conducting a transaction through the machine. An authorized machine user can use the machine to perform financial transactions, including dispensing cash and making deposits. The machine can receive a deposit in the form of a stack of sheets that includes both currency notes and checks. The machine includes a check/cash discriminator module that includes a magnetic read head, an imager, sensors, and at least one validation device. The module can determine whether the type of sheet removed from a received stack corresponds to a currency note or to a financial check. The module can then analyze the sheet for validity according to its determined sheet type.
US08763884B2

The present invention relates to a joint (10) that includes a first member (11) to be jointed, a second member (12) to be jointed and a jointing layer (13) located between the first member (11) and the second member (12). The jointing layer (13) is made of Sn metal and a metallic material with a melting point higher than the melting point of the Sn metal. The present invention relates also to a method of joining this first member (11) to the second member (12).
US08763877B2

A surgical instrument having a handle assembly and an elongated shaft assembly protruding therefrom. Various embodiments of the elongated shaft assemblies include reconfigurable shaft segments that have portions that may be selectively arranged in coaxial alignment with each other and in other configurations wherein at least some portions thereof are not in coaxial alignment with each other. Various locking arrangements are disclosed for releasably locking the reconfigurable shaft segments in desired orientations. A movable closure tube is supported on the elongated shaft segment and is oriented to provide actuation motions to an end effector coupled to the distal end of the elongated shaft.
US08763871B2

A passenger vehicle is provided with a seating row that is oriented in a passenger compartment forward of a storage compartment. The seating row has a seat back that is pivotally connected to the vehicle body for providing access to the storage compartment when the seat back is in a collapsed position. A battery having a top surface is mounted within the storage compartment. A receptacle is provided with a back surface that is connected to the top surface of the battery by a panel. The receptacle moves in a fore-and-aft direction relative to the battery between a rearward position within the storage compartment and a forward position within the passenger compartment. A face of the receptacle engages the seat back, and the panel extends from the receptacle to the battery in the forward position for providing a raised platform extending to the passenger compartment.
US08763869B2

A wrist-wearable device uses a loop keeper to securely keep the wristband at place. The loop keeper includes a first protrusion extending from a first inner surface for engaging with one of a plurality of first eyelets of a first wristband and avoiding the first wristband from falling out of the loop keeper to flap around. The loop keeper also includes a second protrusion extending from a second inner surface for engaging with one of a plurality of second eyelets of a second wristband, which the loop keeper is slidably disposed on, so as to provide ease experience for the user from readjust the keeper every time.
US08763859B2

A tube is configured to store and discharge fluid materials. The tube includes a container and a closure formed to include a fluid-discharge port and coupled to the container to place the fluid-discharge port in communication with any fluid stored in an interior region formed in the container. In illustrative embodiments, the closure includes a base coupled to the container and formed to include the fluid-discharge port, a flip-top cap, and a hinge arranged to interconnect the base and the flip-top cap.
US08763853B2

A device for providing connection elements, such as rivets and the like has a storage unit with at least one outlet, two stacked, replaceable cartridges each having at least one output flange for dispensing connection elements, and a cartridge guide and a detachable cartridge lock assigned to each cartridge which for its installation is slideable via the cartridge guide to an operating position and fixable by the cartridge lock assigned to the cartridge guide and engaged with the cartridge for locking.
US08763850B2

A manway cover-manway flange separating kit and method for use with a manway cover handling device includes at least one extended length cover supporting rod having end stops at each end of the cover supporting rod wherein at least one of the end stops is removable and wherein the cover supporting rod is adapted for positioning within one of a plurality of manway cover bolt openings exposed by the removal of a plurality of manway cover bolts and for maintaining alignment of the manway cover and the manway flange when the manway cover is a predefined distance away from the manway flange, and a flange separator including a separator component having a threaded rod and a pair of elongated flange plates, the pair of elongated flange plates rotatably connectable on a first flange plate end to the threaded rod wherein at least one of the pair of elongated flange plates has a threaded opening at the first flange plate end transverse to the flange plate that receives the threaded rod to provide translational movement of the flange plate along the threaded rod.
US08763847B2

An insulation unit including an inner lining having an inner face and an outer face, in which the inner face is disposed to define a cavity of the insulation unit is provided. An insulating foam is disposed on the outer face of the inner lining, and the insulating foam includes an inner face and an outer face, and the inner face of the insulating foam is adhered to the outer face of the inner lining. An outer lining is disposed on the outer face of the insulating foam. The outer lining includes a non self-supporting flexible skin which is adapted to define at least parts of an outer surface of the insulation unit and is adhered to the outer face of the insulating foam.
US08763838B2

A locking utility pull box lid device is provided. The device includes a lid and two locking members that are rotatably coupled to a bottom surface of the lid. An actuator bolt extends through each lid aperture and each bolt engages an engagement plate of one locking member. The rotation of the bolt moves the bolt axially and in response, the locking member is rotated between a locked and unlocked position.
US08763836B2

A container includes a sealing system coupled to an interior surface of the container's lid or cover. The sealing system includes a rotatable latch that, when rotated, cooperates with a number of gears to and a cam assembly formed in the lid to actuate a number of arms or links. In one embodiment, some of the arms extend approximately radially from a driven gear and operate to move an engagement member of the sealing assembly into contact with a complementary engagement member coupled to a base portion of the container. This engagement, in turn, compresses a seal or gasket located between the lid portion and the base portion of the container.
US08763834B2

A modular enclosure that can be used as a stand-alone unit or can be ganged together in a multiple unit configuration. The enclosure system consisting of a base frame and front door with open sides which can accommodate various side covers or attachments all using the same common mounting. The common mounting used to attach the various covers or attachments provides a unique design for attaching and sealing the side covers or attachments while providing a water-tight and dust tight seal between the interior of the enclosure and the exterior of the enclosure. A variety of attachments are available which give the modular enclosure flexibility to be configured in a wide variety of ways.
US08763830B2

A tamper-indicating plastic closure, and tamper-evident package includes a closure wherein the closure includes a pilfer band having a substantially continuous tamper-ring. The tamper-ring extends generally angularly upwardly and inwardly of the closure in a tamper-indicating orientation of the tamper-ring for engagement with a relatively enlarged annular locking ring of the associated container. The tamper-ring includes a plurality of circumferentially spaced projections, which comprise relatively thick regions or shoulders, which act to limit lateral movement of the pilfer band with respect to the container by engagement of at least one shoulder with the associated container generally beneath the container locking ring.
US08763822B2

An adjustable shelf assembly including an elongated frame and a first shelf and a second shelf attached to the frame. The frame has a first end and a second end, and generally extends in a first plane. At least a portion of the first and second shelves extends in a second plane generally perpendicular to the first plane. The first and second shelves are separately transversely movable in the second plane relative to the frame. The shelf assembly is in an open position when the first and second shelves are transversely moved away and spaced apart from each other in the second plane, a generally vacant space is formed between the first and second shelves. The shelf assembly is in a closed position when the first and second shelves are positioned proximate to each other.
US08763821B2

A shelving system can include can include an elongated support member and a plurality of shelves, each of which can be supported by a clamping mechanism. The support member can have a telescoping configuration so that upper and lower ends of the support member can be pressed against upper and lower stationary objects.
US08763818B1

A kitchen sink organizer is disclosed that provides for a housing with a sloping dish washing detergent reservoir in a bottom base area, a reservoir insert that rests inside the reservoir that allows for degrees of penetration of dish washing implements such as sponges, soap pads and the like, and a plurality of reservoir covers that are formed with open channels through which liquid can drip back into the reservoir when the washing implements are placed on the covers, and where the housing also provides for an upper storage area for sponges, scrub pads, brushes dish towels, a bar of soap, and a ring or wrist watch, and also for a plurality of swinging hanging rods and rod sleeves that are molded onto the outer walls of the housing and which a user can swing outwardly for placement of a damp dish towel or rubber cleaning gloves.
US08763815B2

A sorting table with grading rolls supported by end supports and positioned to form a sorting plane. The rolls are rotated in the same direction and configured to create at least one opening between adjacent rolls to permit the pass-through of only the products to be sorted or calibrated. Larger products remain at the surface and are evacuated downstream. The gap between rolls can be modified. Elastic elements are interposed between said end supports and means of actuation for are provided bringing said end supports and the rolls supported by the latter closer together or moving them farther apart, in opposition to the antagonistic action exerted by said elastic elements, to decrease or increase the cross section of the openings, displacements in the opposite direction of said end supports and of the grading rolls being achieved by the action of extension or compression of said elastic elements.
US08763809B2

A tray includes a base and a plurality of walls extending upward from the base. In one feature, a first wall of the plurality of walls may include a projection outward from the first wall. The projection is aligned with an upper edge of the first wall, such that the projection is outward of a portion of the upper edge of the first wall. The projection of an identical upper tray stacked on the tray would interlock with the upper edge of the first wall to resist outward deflection of the upper edge of the first wall of the tray. In another feature, a platform may extend inward from at least one of the walls to support smaller trays stacked thereon. In another feature, an exterior of each of the side walls may include an interlocking recess for receiving automated handling equipment for supporting the tray.
US08763806B2

A container comprises a plastic blister or cover component with a first peripheral edge and a formed, first open-sided volume extending from the peripheral edge joined with a paperboard tray or tray component with a second peripheral edge, the paperboard tray or tray component having a plurality of panels forming a second open-sided volume. The container has means for joining the first peripheral edge of the plastic blister or cover component and the second peripheral edge of the paperboard tray or tray component so that the first and second volumes form a combined container volume.
US08763801B2

A disk storage system for disks having a central opening includes a set of hingedly connectable disk trays, a pair of axle members for attachment to one of the trays on an axle axis thereof, and a storage container having hinge pedestals for engagement by the axle members. Hinged connections between adjacent trays is by tabs that are pivotable on respective hinge axes of the different trays, the tabs being engagable with respective tab cavities of adjacent trays.
US08763800B2

The invention relates to a packet for smoking products comprising a front area, a rear area and two opposing lateral areas, wherein a hollow space is formed on at least one lateral area in the interior space of the packet bounded by these areas and extends between the lateral area and the smoking product accommodating space.
US08763797B2

A tubular container, closed at its top part by a closure means of the stopper type including with a hinge, for packaging unit products stacked axially or in bulk such as pallets, tablets, cachets or pills, and provided with a compensation device, positioned at the bottom of the container. The container optionally includes a desiccating means and the compensation device includes a compensation means and a fastening means. The fastening means is secured to the compensation means and has a shape memory.
US08763795B1

A dual support flap case comprises a receptacle configured to receive a portable electronic device, a first support flap configured to support the case at a first angle relative to a supporting surface, and a second support flap configured to support the case at a second angle relative to the supporting surface. The first support flap may be a different length than the second support flap. The first and second angles of may allow for a user to select a preferred angle for a current task, such as reading, watching video, typing using a virtual keyboard, typing using a separate physical keyboard, or other task.
US08763784B2

In an apparatus for transporting containers, a first transport unit including a first drive unit transports the containers along a first transport section, and a second transport unit including a second drive unit transports the containers along a second transport section. First and second sensor units detect a condition of the containers transported by the first and second transport units. At least one control unit controls at least one of the first and second drive units in response to at least one of the first and second conditions detected by the corresponding first or second sensor units. At least one of the first and second sensor units includes a signal transmission unit that wirelessly emits a signal characteristic of the respective at least one first or at least one second condition to a receiving unit of the control unit.
US08763782B2

A device for production of tubes, includes a plurality of mandrel assemblies, each comprising multiple mandrels on which the tubes can be produced in steps at a plurality of work stations, wherein the mandrel assemblies can be transported from work station to work station using transport means. The mandrels of at least one of the mandrel assemblies are distributed into a first and at least a second mandrel group, and in at least one of the work stations the first mandrel group can be moved from a processing position associated with the work station, in which the work station can interact with the first mandrel group to a park position associated with the work station, and the second mandrel group can be moved from a park position associated with the work station to a processing position associated with the work station.
US08763775B2

A torque converter, including: a turbine; a cover; a lock-up clutch engageable with the cover; and a first damper assembly including: a first flange connected to the lock-up clutch so as to rotate in unison with the clutch; at least one side plate; a second flange for connection to an input shaft for a transmission; a first plurality of springs engaged with the first flange and with the at least one side plate; and a second plurality of springs, at least partially circumferentially aligned with the first plurality of springs, and engaged with the at least one side plate and the second flange. The torque converter includes a second damper assembly connected to the first damper assembly and including: a third side plate fixed to the turbine; and a third plurality of springs, radially outside of the first and second pluralities of springs, and engaged with the third side plate.
US08763766B2

A wear adjuster for a brake caliper of a disk brake of a rail vehicle, having a) a helical gearing which has a threaded spindle and a nut to be screwed thereon as the screw connection elements, one of the screw connection elements and an adjusting element being rotatable in a first wear adjuster housing to rotatingly drive the screw connection element in the wear adjusting direction and the other screw connection element being non-rotatably mounted in a second wear adjuster housing, b) a wrap spring freewheeling mechanism which is blocked in a direction of rotation of the rotatable screw connection element against a wear adjustment and which is freewheeling in the opposite direction of rotation, the wrap spring freewheeling mechanism coupling the rotatable screw connection element to a rotationally fixed element. The rotationally fixed element is formed directly by the first wear adjuster housing.
US08763751B2

A silencer for an auxiliary power unit of an aircraft comprises an inlet, an outlet, a housing and a flow channel with a porous wall material that is arranged in the housing. An intermediate space is formed between the housing and the flow channel and divided into outer cells that are arranged around the flow channel by means of one or more partitions. This makes it possible to realize a very compact silencer with very good sound insulation properties. The sound dampening can be additionally improved by dividing the outer cells into outer regions and inner regions, by adapting the shape of the silencer to a tail section of an aircraft and by arranging an annular channel on the outlet.
US08763749B2

An operating mechanism (178) for disengaging a cruise control lever (176) operatively engaged with a hydrostatic transmission of an off-road vehicle, the cruise control lever (176) rotatably mounted over a cruise shaft bracket (188) and capable of being acted upon by biasing and counter-biasing forces along a rotational axis of the cruise control lever (176), the operating mechanism (178) comprising, a first cable (226) and a second cable (228), the first and second cables (226, 228) coupled to LH and RH brake pedals (222, 224), respectively, via their one end and extending to be operatively coupled to a brake actuation linkage assembly (230) via their opposite end, a cable holding member (232) formed to have equilateral triangular ends and coplanarly arranged between the first and second cables (226, 228).
US08763746B2

A mounting structure of a handle switch device with which a panel can be replaced by manipulating fasteners for fastening two outer casings of the handle switch device together. A rear casing is temporarily mounted to an inner casing that is mounted to a handle pipe, engagement pieces of a design panel are inserted through through holes of a front casing, and the front and rear casings are fastened together by mounting screws, thereby completing assemblage of the handle switch device. To replace the design panel, the mounting screws are loosened to bring them into a half-engagement state and the front casing is displaced toward a driver side to disengage projection ribs of the inner casing from the through holes. Next, the design panel is dismounted from the front casing, a new design panel is mounted to the front casing, and the mounting screws are tightened.
US08763744B2

There is provided a vehicle hood moving device for a vehicle having a hood movably supported at a vehicle body front. The hood moving device includes a first magnet disposed in the hood, a second magnet provided to the inside of an engine room and disposed so as to face the first magnet, a collision detecting sensor to detect that a pedestrian collides with the vehicle, and a collision predicting device to detect whether or not a pedestrian has a danger of colliding with the vehicle. When detection is made with these sensors and predicting device that a pedestrian has collided with the vehicle or has a danger of colliding with the vehicle, the hood is moved as to the vehicle body by magnetic force of the first magnet and second magnet. The second magnet is an electromagnet, and the first magnet is a permanent magnet.
US08763741B2

A vehicle body rear portion structure which can improve the operability of a coupling operation between a flange which extends downward from a peripheral portion of a parcel shelf and an upper end portion of a battery cover is provided. A battery 1 is mounted on a rear side of a seatback, a battery cover 5 which covers at least a rear surface of the battery 1 is provided, a parcel shelf 6 which extends to a vehicle rear side Rr from an upper end portion side of the seatback to cover an upper side of the above battery 1 is provided, a flange 16 which extends downward from a peripheral portion of the parcel shelf 6 and an upper end portion of the above battery cover 5 are coupled together by a coupling member, a retainer is mounted on the flange 16 of the parcel shelf 6 at an interval from a flange surface of the flange 16, and the flange 16, the upper end portion of the battery cover 5, and the retainer are coupled together by the coupling member 23 while the upper end portion of the battery cover is inserted between the flange 16 and the retainer.
US08763740B2

An interior body trim assembly includes a trim panel and a closure member. The trim panel has an indented panel portion with an outline of part of an outer boundary of a passage. The closure member meets the trim panel with a portion of the closure member extending over the indented panel portion. The portion of the closure member and the indented panel portion complete the outer boundary of the passage and thereby form the passage.
US08763735B2

A cooling system for an electric vehicle is provided, wherein an exhaust air duct extending into a box is disposed in an air outlet of the box disposed in a lower portion of the vehicle interior; an air discharge port of the fan case coupled to the air outlet portion of the cooling duct faces an air inlet of the exhaust air duct with a predetermined gap therebetween in a direction of air flow; and when the air discharge port of the fan case is projected on a plane including the air inlet of the exhaust air duct, the air discharge port of the fan case is opened inside the air inlet of the exhaust air duct and a predetermined gap is formed in a transverse direction to the air flow between the air discharge port of the fan case and the air inlet of the exhaust air duct.
US08763729B2

A hammer bit for drilling a borehole in earthen formations includes a bit body having a bit axis and a bit face, a plurality of gage cutter elements mounted to the bit face in a circumferential gage row, and a plurality of adjacent to gage cutter elements mounted to the bit face in a circumferential row that is radially adjacent the gage row. The ratio of the radial overlap distance to the radial span distance between radially overlapping gage cutter elements and adjacent to gage cutter elements is greater than 0.25. The ratio of the radial overlap distances to the diameter of the gage cutter element is greater than 0.25. An average cutting area of the gage cutter elements per gage cutter element is less than an average surface area of an entire cutting surface of each of the gage cutter elements.
US08763718B2

A ripper assembly includes a ripper frame, which has at least one slot disposed in each of two opposing sidewalls. The ripper frame accommodates a ripper shank in a channel within the ripper frame. A pin is provided to pass through the at least one slot and through a through-way in the ripper shank to constrain the ripper shank within the ripper frame. At least one pressure source supplies pressure to the ripper shank to engage the ripper shank in a position.
US08763716B2

A vehicle wheel assembly is provided which includes a vehicle frame having a first axle, a wheel assembly having a housing with an aperture engaging the first axle and enabling the wheel assembly to pivot in a first plane about a first axis formed by the first axle. A cylindrical member is carried by the housing of the wheel assembly, the cylindrical member and housing are arranged perpendicular to the first axle. A first wheel is pivotably connected to a first portion of the cylindrical member and a second wheel is pivotably connected to a second portion of the cylindrical member. The first wheel and second wheel independently pivot in a second plane about a second axis formed by the cylindrical member. The first axis is arranged perpendicular to the second axis and the first plane is arranged perpendicular to the second plane.
US08763714B2

An agricultural traction system having a) two agricultural machineries, respectively one left-handed machinery and one right-handed machinery, each machinery having a rectilinear frame having four corners, four wheels, each attached to one of the four corners of the rectilinear frame, a driving and reversible control unit mounted on the frame between two adjacent wheels of the four wheels, a hoist connected to the frame and provided with a safety clutch, jacks arranged on one side of the frame and configured to steady the machinery, counterweights, arranged on another side of the frame, opposite to the side of the frame on which the jacks are arranged, and means, provided inside the control unit, for independent and remote automatic driving, b) a cable configured to wind and unwind around respective hoists of the two machineries, c) an agricultural tool that moves along the cable as the cable winds and unwinds around the hoists; and d) a telescopic arm attached to the agricultural tool and configured to extend the cable during movement of the agricultural tool along the cable.
US08763702B2

A device for dissipating heat away from a heat sensitive component includes a heat dissipation member thermally coupled to a heat sensitive component. The heat dissipation member may be formed of a composite material. In aspects, the device may be include an enclosure coupled to a conveyance device; a heat sensitive component disposed in the enclosure; and a composite heat dissipation member thermally coupled to the heat sensitive component. The composite heat dissipation member may include a metal and a non-metal. The apparatus may also include an encapsulation substantially encapsulating the heat dissipation member and the heat sensitive component.
US08763693B2

An apparatus that includes a chemical injection management system. The chemical injection management system may include an interface configured to couple the chemical injection management system to a mineral extraction system. In addition, the chemical injection management system may include an ultrasonic flow meter.
US08763691B2

An apparatus for heating a hydrocarbon deposit that is susceptible to RF heating by coupling a linear conductive element that extends into the material to a source of RF power. The apparatus includes a source of RF power connected to driving winding that extends around a magnetic core loop and the magnetic core loop extends around the RF conductive linear element. One or more apparatus may be used to couple RF energy to conductive elements that extend into a hydrocarbon deposit to achieve a desired RF current within the element. RF energy may be coupled to conductive elements that are adjacent to each other within a hydrocarbon deposit to create a desired region of heating within the hydrocarbon deposit. The magnetic core loop may start and stop the RF energy to position heating.
US08763690B2

A bow-spring centralizer (6) includes bow springs (5), moving collars (11) secured to each end of each bow spring, and interlocked stop collars (10). Extendable collars (8) may each be formed of a moving collar (11) movably interlocked with a stop collar (10). The centralizer (6) may optionally be formed from a tube cut using a laser to create two extendable collars coupled by bow springs. Each extendable collar may include heads integrally formed on extensions protruding from a collar (stop collar or moving collar). The heads may be generally rectangular, arrow, or teardrop-shaped head or some other shape. Each head may be slidably captured within a chamber on the interlocked collar (moving collar or stop collar). The extensions of each interlocked tubular member define the outer walls of the chamber in which a head of the interlocked tubular member is slidably captured. The stop collars may include or cooperate with one or more fingers extending along a casing to be secured by a sleeve that forms an interference fit about the casing.
US08763683B2

A control circuit for a coiled tubing injector includes a circuit controller (14). One or more counterbalance vales (3) may be responsive to the circuit controller to prevent the tubing string from descending into the wellbore during rate of penetration movement. In one embodiment, a control valve (4) allows fluid to flow through a bypass line around the counterbalance valves when drilling in a weight-on-bit mode. Other hydraulic control circuits allow for the release of fluid pressure to control the injector hydraulic motor. In yet another embodiment, the control circuit regulates power to an electric motor of the injector.
US08763682B2

A multi-layer antimicrobial hydrophilic coating is applied to a substrate of anodized aluminum, although other materials may form the substrate. A silver layer is sputtered onto a thoroughly clean anodized surface of the aluminum to about 400 nm thickness. A layer of crosslinked, silicon-based macromolecular structure about 10 nm thickness overlies the silver layer, and the outermost surface of the layer of crosslinked, silicon-based macromolecular structure is hydroxide terminated to produce a hydrophilic surface with a water drop contact angle of less than 10°. The coated substrate may be one of multiple fins in a condensing heat exchanger for use in the microgravity of space, which has narrow channels defined between angled fins such that the surface tension of condensed water moves water by capillary flow to a central location where it is pumped to storage. The antimicrobial coating prevents obstruction of the capillary passages.
US08763681B2

An evaporator for a cooling circuit is provided, for cooling at least one heat emitting device by evaporation of a cooling fluid. The evaporator includes a top collector, a bottom collector, and an evaporator body. The evaporator body includes at least one thermoconducting wall that is thermally connectable to the at least one heat emitting device, a plurality of evaporation channels, and a plurality of return channels.
US08763679B2

A casting roll for a two-roll casting device for the casting of metallic strip from a metal melt, in particular a steel melt, includes a roll body, on a casing surface of which a coating consisting of a coating material is applied by thermal spraying, which has a higher degree of hardness than the roll body. The casting roll according to the invention and the two-roll casting device, while easy to manufacture, has not only a long service life, but also allows for the manufacture of cast strips of optimum quality. This is achieved by the fact that the free surface of the coating, after thermal spraying, has a peak number RPc of at least 10 cm−1.
US08763678B2

A mold for producing a part, such as a turbomachine blade model, by injecting wax into a cavity, the cavity including at least two cavity elements, each of which is supported in a cavity block. The two cavity blocks are mobile relative to one another between a closed position for injecting the wax and an open position for removing the part following the injection of the wax. The two cavity blocks are mobile in a horizontal plane.
US08763677B2

A method for producing articles in a mold includes bringing a material into a free-flowing state, introducing the material into the mold via a bottom-casting principle, and solidifying being carried out according to a top-casting principle. The material, viewed in a flow direction of the material, is first introduced into a pouring basin of a runner, then flows through the runner, thereafter through a storage space that is located upstream from a cavity and that is arranged underneath the cavity, and from there into the cavity. Thereafter the mold including the sub-parts of the mold is pivoted so that the storage space takes over the function of a feeder or riser.
US08763668B2

A product sheet of composite material can be made by disposing composite materials of composite material in adjacent (side-by-side) relation with each other. The composite materials comprise fibers in a thermoplastic matrix material. The adjacent composite materials are bonded together to provide a product sheet of composite material. Preferably, a cross ply of composite material is disposed on the composite materials. The cross ply may be a unidirectional sheet and the fibers in the cross ply may be disposed in transverse relation to the fibers in the composite materials.
US08763662B2

Composite reinforcement (R-2) capable of adhering directly to a diene rubber matrix, which can be used as reinforcing element for a tire, comprising: one or more reinforcing thread(s) (20), for example a carbon steel cord; a first layer (21) of a thermoplastic polymer, the glass transition temperature of which is positive, for example 6,6 polyamide, covering said thread or said threads; a second layer (22) of a composition comprising an unsaturated thermoplastic stirene (“TPS”) elastomer, the glass transition temperature of which is negative, for example an SB (stirene/butadiene) or SBS (stirene/butadiene/stirene) block copolymer, as well as a poly(p-phenylene ether) (“PPE”), covering the first layer (21). Process for manufacturing such a composite reinforcement and rubber article or semi-finished product, especially a tire, incorporating such a composite reinforcement.
US08763659B2

Five land portions on tread surface are demarcated by four main grooves that extend in a tire circumferential direction TC. The five land portions include a center land portion between the first main grooves, two middle land portions between the first main grooves and the second main grooves, and two shoulder land portions located toward the outside of the second main grooves in the tire width direction, and sub-grooves and sipes are formed on the land portions. The total groove surface area ratios of the sub-grooves and the sipes in the land portions are different in the center land portion and the shoulder land portion as compared to the middle land portion, with the total groove surface area ratio being lower in the center land portion and the shoulder land portion and being higher in the middle land portion.
US08763654B2

Filling system for filling bottles or similar containers with a liquid consisting of a main component and at least one additional component, said system comprising a plurality of filling elements in which the additional component(s) is/are supplied in controlled quantities via at least one mixing line per filling element in order to be mixed with the main component in the filling element.
US08763651B2

A dosage dispenser according to the invention is intended to provide a solution for measuring and dilution of liquid medications and issuing marked and ready for use. The dosage dispenser device carries out actions required for the preparation of a required dose of medication, including identifying ampoules, breaking them, filling a syringe, diluting the medication in a solution, marking the syringe, disposing of waste and documenting the process, all at the patient bedside. The dosage dispenser is aimed at reducing the number of errors in the dosage, which is a problem, menacing medical services throughout the world. The problem is made acute by considerable pressure on the medical teams while carrying out many and complex procedures under pressure in a situation of uncertainty and with variable data.
US08763641B2

Plastic microfluidic structures having a substantially rigid diaphragm that actuates between a relaxed state wherein the diaphragm sits against the surface of a substrate and an actuated state wherein the diaphragm is moved away from the substrate. As will be seen from the following description, the microfluidic structures formed with this diaphragm provide easy to manufacture and robust systems, as well readily made components such as valves and pumps.
US08763638B2

A check valve comprising a valve housing, which comprises an inlet, an outlet, and a valve channel. The valve channel connects the inlet to the outlet and has a valve seat. The check valve further comprises a closure part, which cooperates with the valve seat, and a tappet bearing the closure part. An end of the tappet which is remote from the closure part bears a control piston, which together with a cylinder wall defines a control chamber, which is connected a control connection. The control chamber is connected to the valve channel by means of a connection channel.
US08763637B2

A rotary valve position indicator utilizes a magnet keyed to a shaft, and a magnetic field sensor mounted beside the magnet, to indicate the angular position of the shaft. A magnetic pole sensor detects the initial polarity of the magnet during setup to determine how to correlate the output readings of the magnetic field sensor with the position of the valve. The sensors are located so they permit the shaft to extend through to a mechanical visual indicator.
US08763632B2

The invention relates to a valve combination for regulating the rate of flow or the differential pressure in liquid-conveying heating and cooling systems, consisting of a housing (2) provided with a feed pipe (10), a discharge pipe (11) and a connection pipes (6) arranged between them and a regulator (3) which is arranged axially in the connection pipe (6), wherein the regulator (3) keeps the differential pressure constant at a preset value by means of a first flow regulator (4) also arranged axially in the connection pipe (6) and can be adjusted by an actuating part (8) which projects from the housing (2) and acts on a second seat (24), and by means of a presettable second flow regulator (5) which is arranged axially or coaxially thereto, wherein the flow cross section (9) is adjustable, which is characterized in that, when an actuator (29) that acts on the actuating part (8) is installed, the flow cross section (9) is adjustable by means of a handle (7) not covered by the actuator and that, when the actuator (29) is installed, the position of the handle (7) on a display unit (19) which is not covered by the actuator can be read, and the display unit (19) shows the presetting of the flow cross section (9).
US08763627B2

A fastener has a metallic member and a nonmetallic cap member. The metallic member has a head and a shaft. The shaft has a first end at the head, a distal second end, and an externally threaded portion. The metallic member further has a projection extending from the head opposite the shaft. The cap member is mated to the head opposite the shaft and retained by the projection.
US08763622B2

An interlock monitoring system includes a magnetic proximity sensor within a poppet valve type coupler to detect whether the poppet valve is opened or closed. An open poppet valve indicates a proper connection. The sensor consists of dedicated electronics that prevent cheating, or bypassing, by either shorting out or opening the contacts to the sensor. In addition, a ferrous metal proximity switch is used to provide a redundant confirmation of proper connection of the coupler. The ferrous magnetic proximity switch will indicate whether or not the coupler is actually in contact with an appropriate connection. Each of the magnetic proximity sensor and the ferrous magnetic proximity switch must indicate a respective proper condition in order to determine a valid interlock condition.
US08763610B2

The processing of gas mixtures, in particular, of respiration gases for ventilated patients. The processing according to the invention relates, in particular, to the use of selective gas separation membranes for the retention of noble gases in the exhaled air of ventilated patients. The gas separation membrane is an active separator which is integrated in a ventilator. The separation membrane separates the noble gases from the remainder of the residual of the exhaled air by selectively retaining the noble gases. Thus, it is possible to provide a ventilator which enables the application of noble gases, in particular xenon, as an anesthetic preferably with low loss and as simple as possible.
US08763607B2

An inhaler for delivery of a powder-form inhalation formulation from a blister strip with a plurality of blister pockets containing the inhalation formulation in doses. The inhaler comprises a metallic piercing member with two piercing elements extending parallel to each other and inclined to the lid of a blister pocket to be punctured. To operate the inhaler, an air stream of ambient air can be sucked or delivered in order to discharge the respective dose from an opened blister pocket and to deliver the dose with the ambient air as an aerosol cloud.
US08763605B2

The present invention provides for the integration of drug dispersion methods into a drug or medicine delivery system. The drug dispersion methods used include shear (e.g., air across a drug, with or without a gas assist), capillary flow or a venturi effect, mechanical means such as spinning, vibration, or impaction, and turbulence (e.g., using mesh screens, or restrictions in the air path). These methods of drug dispersion allow for all of the drug in the system to be released, allowing control of the dosage size. These methods also provide for drug metering, fluidization, entrainment, deaggragation and deagglomeration. The present invention also provides for the integration of a drug sealing system into the device. The drug sealing system provides a way of blocking the migration of drug from one area of the package to another. The drug seal system can also provide a method of tightly containing the drug until the package is opened, of directing airflow through the package and of managing and containing the drug during the package/device manufacturing process.
US08763598B1

A crossbow setting device which assists with efficiently setting a crossbow into an armed position. The crossbow setting device generally includes a platform which includes a receiver aperture leading to a pathway extending inwardly from its front end. A locking member is slidably positioned within the receiver aperture so that it may traverse the pathway. A receiver opening comprised of a pair of slots is formed in an upper surface of the platform tangentially with respect to the pathway. By retracting the locking member, positioning the stirrup of a crossbow through the receiver opening and re-inserting the locking member, the crossbow may be locked into an upright position for use on-the-fly or to aid in setting the crossbow into an armed position.
US08763597B2

It is made possible to use a toy gun that fires bullets by compressed gas without the replacement of a gas cartridge for a long time and the portability of the gas cartridge is enhanced. The air chamber body placed in the toy gun forms an air chamber. Compressed gas in the air chamber body passes through a gas discharge portion and shoots a bullet held by a bullet holding portion out of a muzzle. A valve establishes or breaks communication between the air chamber body and the gas discharge portion according to operation with an operation portion. The toy gun includes multiple gas cartridge attachment portions. A gas bomb is attached to each of the gas cartridge attachment portions. Each gas cartridge attachment portion is provided with a first valve portion. Compressed gas in the gas bomb attached to each gas cartridge attachment portion is guided into the air chamber by way of a gas introduction portion.
US08763585B2

A fuel injection apparatus includes: an adsorbent disposed in an internal space of a leading end portion of a fuel injector, the adsorbent being capable of selectively adsorbing an alcohol component in the blended fuel of gasoline and alcohol; fuel pressure controller capable of achieving states in which a pressure of fuel to be supplied to the fuel injector is set to a low or high pressure range having a small or large adsorbed amount of alcohol on the adsorbent; and split injection controller that makes the fuel injector inject fuel for one cycle in a plurality of times, when the pressure of fuel to be supplied to the fuel injector is set to the high pressure range.
US08763584B2

A connecting rod assembly is disclosed for use with an engine. The connecting rod assembly may include a first connecting rod having a first end configured to pivotally connect to a first piston and a second can with a circular opening configured to receive a throw of a crankshaft. The connecting rod assembly may also include a second connecting rod having a first end configured to pivotally connect to a second piston and a second end with a circular opening configured to receive the throw of the crankshaft. The second connecting rod may have a running surface defining at least two outer lands and at least one inner land disposed between the at least two outer lands that alternately support a load of the second piston. Both the at least one inner and the at least two outer lands may simultaneously support the load of the second piston at a point of highest load on the second piston.
US08763572B1

The mechanically operable variable timing device for use with a rocker arm pivot point that is able to adjust the valve timing and lift on a valve stem by adjusting the pivot point of the rocker arm. The mechanically operated variable timing device includes a cam that rotates independent of engine RPM in order to adjust the pivot point of the rocker arm, which in turn adjusts the lift and valve timing of the engine at any RPM. The mechanically operated variable timing device places the cam above a plunger, which is positioned over the respective rocker arm. The plunger is biased upwardly via a spring positioned between the ball fulcrum of the rocker arm and a bottom portion of the plunger. A pivot shaft is threadably engaged to a threaded hole located on a top surface of the engine block.
US08763567B2

An engine for a portable working machine includes: a crankshaft to which the working machine is coupled; an air-cooling fan coupled to one end side of the crankshaft; a fan casing enclosing the air-cooling fan; and a bottom cover located in a bottom surface side of the engine and connected to the fan casing. Air suction ports and guide parts are provided in one side of the bottom cover, the air suction ports sucking in air supplied from the air-cooling fan, and the guide parts extending from the air suction ports to the impeller blades of the air-cooling fan.
US08763566B1

A cooling system for a marine engine is provided with various cooling channels which allow the advantageous removal of heat at different rates from different portions of the engine. A split flow of water is conducted through the cylinder head, in opposite directions, to individually cool the exhaust port and intake ports at different rates. This increases the velocity of coolant flow in the downward direction through the cylinder head to avoid the accumulation of air bubbles and the formation of air pockets that could otherwise cause hot spots within the cylinder head. A parallel coolant path is provided so that a certain quantity of water can bypass the engine block and avoid overcooling the cylinder walls.
US08763563B2

A leash held at one end by a trainer and attached at the other end to a coupler which attaches to either a harness or collar secured to the body of an animal, the coupler having therein an RF transmitter that transmits a signal consisting of one or more pulsed sequences dependent on the actuation of a switch that activates upon sensing a pulling force exerted between the animal and the trainer, said magnitude of force dependent on a spring, housed within the coupler and having an associated preset tension, wherein the RF transmitted signal is received by a receiver and a transducer located in an independent correction collar that transforms the received signal to a corresponding one or more applied electrical or mechanical pulsed forces to the bodily part of the of the animal secured by the correction collar.
US08763558B2

A top-fill hummingbird feeder is provided having a liquid container with a liquid flow opening at a lower end and a removable cap at an upper end, a feeding basin positioned below the liquid container, and a valve or sealing mechanism associated with the liquid flow opening and the feeding basin. The feeding basin includes an upwardly extending cylindrical well that receives the lower end of the liquid container, and the valve or sealing mechanism includes a float valve associated with the well. The feeding basin is filled by gravity feed of the liquid in the container through the liquid flow opening when the sealing mechanism is open. When the feeding basin reaches a full position, the liquid nectar raises the float valve which, in turn, acts to close the liquid flow opening.
US08763552B2

An improved tennis scoring system using dual purpose flipping cards showing either game counts or alternatively tie break scores, which include a mounting bracket placeholder to maintain accurate positioning as the cards are flipped, an indicator showing when the dual purpose cards reflect tie breaker scoring, and coding indicating the players or doubles teams associated with the scores displayed by the flipping cards.
US08763533B2

An active body (1) is proposed that has, as active mass (5), multiple flares (2, 3) arranged behind each other or stacked, in particular for the generation of decoys, wherein the flares (2, 3) are NC (nitrocellulose) and RP (red phosphorus) single flares. The single flares (2, 3) are evenly or unevenly stacked in succession such that one RP single flare (3) lies on an NC single flare (2), or multiple NC single flares (2) or multiple RP single flares (3) follow each other, so that it is possible to vary the percentage of NC and RP in the active body (1) from about 0% to about 100%. A container (4) houses the active mass (5), and can in turn have predetermined breaking points (7) to facilitate the break up of the active body (1).
US08763526B2

Apparatuses are disclosed that include forming selected perforation designs and patterns. The perforation designs and patterns can be formed in linear or nonlinear fashion, can extend in the cross direction or the machine direction and can be formed to complement or match an embossed or printed design on the web. The perforation designs and patterns can be formed utilizing various mechanical perforating techniques.
US08763522B1

This disclosure relates to the field of kitchen implements, specifically a kitchen implement for separating the solid portion of gravy from the liquid portion and then dispersing the liquid portion of the gravy through an opening in the bottom of the implement. A handle, release lever, and valve are provided to allow distribution and portion control of the gravy while the implement is in an upright and vertical orientation.
US08763519B2

A food cooking grill assembly has a housing that supports a lower platen which has a cooking surface, and an upper platen having a cooking surface. A handle assembly connects to the upper platen. Handle assembly connects to a guidance assembly and to a hinged and pivotal counterbalance assembly to control the orientation and position of the upper platen relative to the lower platen. The counterbalance assembly interacts between the upper platen and the housing to counter the weight of the upper platen and to react to force exerted through the handle assembly.
US08763516B2

A device for feeding milk from a storage container (8) to a dispensing device (3), containing a feeding line (9), whose intake end (9a) is detachably connected to the storage container (8), and with a cleaning possibility for at least a portion of the exterior of the feeding line (9). In order to enhance a device of this type such that the cleaning is simplified, a cleaning mechanism (11) be provided for the exterior of the feeding line (9), which comprises a rinsing area (12) for holding the portion of the feeding line (9) that is to be cleaned. The rinsing area (12) contains a hot water intake opening, a steam intake opening, a cleaning agent intake opening, or cold water intake opening (17), and also a connection opening (14) for the detachable introduction of the portion to be cleaned.
US08763500B2

A multi-scale mechanism comprising a rotatable driving shaft; a first scale mounted along the axis of said rotatable driving shaft, said scale including first and second sets of coarse scale divisions for indicating a coarse range of magnitude in two different systems of units as a function of the position of said first scale with respect to said rotatable driving shaft; a second scale for indicating a fine scale range of magnitude in one of said systems of units; a third scale for indicating a fine scale range of magnitude in the other of said systems of units; said third scale operatively connected to said rotatable driving shaft; and a gear assembly coupled to said rotatable driving shaft and connected to said second scale and said third scale, said gear assembly having a predetermined gear ratio such that said second scale and said third scale are each caused to move at the same time but at a different rate that is a function of their respective system of units.
US08763499B2

Screw driver-holder apparatuses, systems and methods are provided and can include a screw and a screwdriver. The screw can include a threaded screw body and a screw head, and the screw head can include a socket and a screw head surface surrounding the socket. The screwdriver can include a hollow sleeve with a longitudinal bore and a first end defining a screw engagement surface and a driving shaft positioned within the longitudinal bore of the hollow sleeve and rotatable relative to the hollow sleeve. The driving shaft can further include a first end extending beyond the first end of the hollow sleeve, a second end opposite the first end, and a stop restricting axial movement of the sleeve towards the second end of the driving shaft. The first end can include a protruding tip adapted for engaging the socket of the screw head.
US08763492B2

In one embodiment there is provided a multiple piece shifter cable system. The cable pieces may each have a core section with a connector and a conduit section with a connector. The core connectors may be coupled together to connect the core sections of the cable pieces and the conduit connectors may be coupled together to connect the conduit sections of the cable pieces. When the conduit connectors are mated together the core connectors may automatically be mated together, and the core connectors may automatically be locked together as well. In at least some implementations, the conduit connectors may permit adjustment of the total length of the conduit during assembly, and a clamp may be provided to maintain the conduit connectors in a desired assembled position.
US08763488B2

The invention relates to an industrial robot, having a multiple-axis robot arm, with a base, a carousel that is rotatably supported relative to the base in reference to an axis and a mechanical stop device provided to limit a rotary motion of the carousel relative to the base. The stop device has a slider situated on the base, with stops situated at its ends, a trailing stop situated in the slider and a drive dog situated on the carousel. The drive dog and the slider are designed so that the drive dog is introduced into the slider by a corresponding rotary motion of the carousel relative to the axis and pushes the trailing stop against the relative stop. The trailing stop includes a plastically deformable damping element, which is provided to brake the carousel due to a plastic deformation caused by the trailing stop being pushed against the relevant stop by the drive dog.
US08763487B1

An engagement mechanism amplifies an applied force to a lever by torque conversion about a rotation point to a higher reaction force that is applied to a master cylinder assembly for operation of a hydraulic clutch or brake system.
US08763478B2

An environmental testing and monitoring system uses a sampler to hold resin or other adsorbent for contaminants and pollutants uptake from water or air, and preferably includes remote real-time sensors that detect and transmit physical and/or chemical data by wireless or wired telemetry and GPS systems. The sampler and sensors may be attached to a fixed or floating buoy system that is capable of solar charging or may be affixed to other supports to allow precise placement in, and easy retrieval from, various structures and environments including fresh and saltwater, soil and sediment, water and sludge pipes and vessels, air, and gaseous streams and emissions. Time-measured, mass-balanced data sets may be achieved from the extended-time-accumulated values from the resin/adsorbent sampler left in place for an extended time, and preferably from the real-time sensors that transmit a steady stream of information throughout said extended time.
US08763465B2

A method is described for producing a pressure sensor assembly, the pressure sensor assembly having a sensor housing element having a pressure sensor and a base housing element, which have a continuous recess accommodating the pressure sensor and are welded to each other. It is provided that, after the welding, in the area of the welding connection, the recess of the base housing element and/or the sensor housing element is enlarged by material removal. A pressure sensor assembly is also described.
US08763462B1

A probe is used to inspect the health of a corner radius within an elongate internal cavity of a structure. The probe is transported through the cavity on a carriage that maintains the probe a substantially constant distance from the corner radius as the carriage traverses changes in the cross sectional shape of the cavity.
US08763461B2

To provide an acceleration sensor and a sensor network system having a construction in which the consumption of power to be consumed can be reduced and the sensor itself can be miniaturized without using any piezoelectric sensor or piezoelectric bimorph.An acceleration sensor device provided with an acceleration sensor which is an electrostatic induction conversion device for conversion between electric energy and kinetic energy, which comprises a conductor and an electret moving relatively to the conductor, said acceleration sensor device having: an acceleration detection unit to detect a signal corresponding to acceleration, from an AC voltage output by the acceleration sensor; a rectification unit to rectify the AC voltage; and a power supply circuit having a battery to power circuits in the device to work, to charge the battery with the rectified voltage as electric energy.
US08763456B2

A liquid level detection apparatus includes a rotation member axially supported by a fixed member. The rotation member includes the following. A contact portion press contacts an end surface making connection between both side surfaces of a magnet member. A pair of elastic deformation portions are protruded from the contact portion; each elastic deformation portion engages with a side surface of the magnet member in an elastically deformed state resulting from press to the magnet. A pair of pawl portions are protruded respectively from the elastic deformation portions while enabling the magnet member to be sandwiched between the contact portion and the pawl portions. A pair of plastic deformation portions are protruded from the elastic deformation portions, respectively; each of the plastic deformation portions engages with the side surface of the magnet member in a plastically deformed state resulting from the press to the magnet.
US08763455B1

A resistive liquid level/temperature sensor and transmitter including low voltage impedance measurement circuitry to convert three impedance values into indications of the temperature and the levels of two different liquids (e.g., oil and water) located within a storage tank. A resistive chain network including a plurality of series connected resistors and a corresponding plurality of reed switches extend longitudinally through a liquid level sensing probe that is dipped into the liquids in the tank. A pair of magnetic floats having different specific gravities surround the probe and rise to the two fluid levels. The magnetic floats close adjacent reed switches which create first and second current paths through the resistive chain network. The impedances of the first and second current paths are measured to provide an indication of the liquid levels. A resistive temperature device carried by the probe provides an indication of temperature.
US08763453B2

An arrangement for measuring fill level of a fill substance in a container, comprising: a fill level measuring device, wherein the device includes measuring device electronics and an antenna connected to the measuring device electronics; and at least one feedthrough installed in a signal path of the microwave signals or the reflection signals; the feedthrough. The feedthrough comprises a hollow conductor, into which a microwave transparent window is inserted gas tightly. The window comprises: a disk, whose thickness corresponds approximately to a half wavelength or a small integer multiple of the half wavelength of a first, hollow conductor propagation capable, signal mode of the microwave signals at a predetermined signal frequency in the disk; and two matching layers located on oppositely lying, outer surfaces of the disk. The thickness of each matching layer corresponds approximately to a fourth of the wavelength of the first, hollow conductor propagation capable, signal mode of the microwave signals at the predetermined signal frequency in the matching layers.
US08763451B2

In a borehole logging tool, the flow of conductive fluid into or out of a wellbore at the wellbore wall is detected and measured with a sensor loop proximate the borehole inner wall. The sensor loop includes a series of contiguous sensors that act as electromagnetic flowmeters and provide fluid measurements covering the entire circumference of the sensor loop. The sensor loop includes an elastic element that forces the sensor loop outward to maintain pressure along the sensor loop circumference against the interior borehole wall. The sensor loop is designed to lie at a non-perpendicular angle to the wellbore axis, and mechanical arms press the top and bottom of the loop against the borehole inner wall.
US08763450B2

A locking fastening device for fastening a first component to a second component, an adjustable fastening device for adjustably fastening a first component to a second component, and a component system including at least one first component that is fastened to a second component are described. Also described are a main wing of a wind tunnel model aircraft having an adjusting and fastening system which includes at least one locking fastening device and at least two adjustable fastening devices for adjusting and fastening an aerodynamic additional body that is adjustable relative to the main wing by means of a plurality of retaining devices, as well as a wind tunnel model aircraft having such a main wing.
US08763448B2

A fan coupling device 1 connecting an internal combustion engine 31 to a cooling fan 21 comprises an input shaft 3 driven to rotate by the engine 31, a fluid coupling 12 that transmits torque from the input shaft 3 to the cooling fan 21 via a fluid, and a solenoid valve 13 having a valve main body 18 that adjusts a fluid amount in the fluid coupling 12. A determination as to whether or not the valve main body 18 is stuck in a lifted position on the basis of a rotation speed of the cooling fan 21, is started after the elapse of a predetermined time following output of a signal for returning the valve main body 18 to a closed position, The sticking determination can be performed with a high degree of precision without being affected by variation in the rotation speed of the input shaft 3.
US08763438B2

The present invention has its object to provide an efficient, general use shaping technique for forming high strength sheet metal into a three-dimensionally complicated shape. Further, the present invention provides a working apparatus for shaping sheet metal comprising a die (also called a “punch”) which has a shape suitable for a shape of shaped sheet metal, a plurality of rolls which grip sheet metal (H) with the die to shape the sheet metal, roll movement mechanisms which makes the rolls independently move in a horizontal direction and make them independently ascend or descend in a vertical direction, and a roll angle setting mechanism which can change an angle by which the rolls are pressed against the die.
US08763432B2

A laundry device is provided in which a control panel may be mounted/dismounted conveniently according to an arrangement of the laundry device. The laundry device may include a body case which forms an exterior of the laundry device, a panel frame mounted to an upper end or a lower end of a front of the body case, a control panel selectively mounted to a front of the panel frame, and a falling off preventive portion for preventing the control panel from being inadvertently separated from the panel frame.
US08763427B2

Certain example embodiments of this invention relate to vacuum insulating glass (VIG) units including infrared meltable glass frits, and/or methods of making the same. More particularly, certain example embodiments relate to increasing the amount of ferrous oxide in glass frits (e.g., lead-free glass frits) used to form edge seals such that the glass frits absorb an increased amount of IR energy. The techniques of certain example embodiments make it possible to expose some or all of the VIG intermediate assembly to infrared source(s), since the glass frit will heat up faster than the substrates thereby reducing the likelihood of the first and/or second substrate melting and losing heat treatment strength. In certain example embodiments, the frit's glass redox (FeO/Fe2O3) preferably is at least about 0.02 higher than either (or the higher) of the substrates' glass redox (FeO/Fe2O3), more preferably at least about 0.04 higher, and most preferably at least about 0.06 higher.
US08763426B2

A system and method for separating at least a part of the solids from brine having an initial temperature T1, the system comprising a crystallizer comprising a crystallizer inlet for receiving therein said brine, a crystallizer first outlet for discharging vapor having a first pressure P1, evaporated from at least a part of said brine, and a crystallizer second outlet for discharging a slurry having a final temperature T2 lower than said initial temperature T1; a separator comprising a separator inlet for receiving therein said slurry, a separator first outlet for discharging therefrom said part of the solids separated from said slurry, and a separator second outlet for discharging therefrom a remaining liquid having a temperature substantially equal to T2; a compressor comprising a compressor inlet for receiving therein said vapor, and a compressor outlet for discharging therefrom a compressed vapor having a second pressure P2 higher than said pressure P1; and a condenser comprising a condenser first inlet for receiving therein said compressed vapor, a condenser second inlet for receiving therein said remaining liquid discharged from said separator, for absorbing a latent heat released from said compressed vapor, condensing thereby said compressed vapor, and a condenser outlet for discharging therefrom an outlet liquid having a temperature substantially equal to T1.
US08763420B2

The present invention concerns a freezer segment for a freezer of the type used for casting confectionery in molds which are cooled for freezing and subsequently supplied with heat for a short period, whereafter stripping occurs. Cooling of the molds is effected by using direct evaporation of CO2. The advantage of such a freezer segment is that there is no use for both a primary and a secondary cooling circuit. Another advantage in using a system according to the invention is that working with temperatures down to about minus 50° C. is enabled, compared to about minus 40° C. with brine systems. The low freezing temperature entails that the capacity of a given system is increased by about 40%.
US08763417B2

The refrigeration system of this invention utilizes a water cooled condenser which is made of multiple water pans with refrigeration coil soldered underneath for multi-stages cooling. The water pans are stacked on top of each other with the hottest coil located at the bottom. The bottom water pan dries up water faster than the other water pans since it has the hottest coil soldered underneath. Once the water level of the bottom water pan is low enough to be refilled, the supply water fills in from the top water pan and propagating downward to the water pan down below until it reaches the water pan at the bottom. The water refilling ceases once the bottom water pan is full. The unwanted heat from a refrigeration system is transferred from the refrigerant to the water, and then from the water to the air by evaporation.
US08763414B2

A data center cooling system includes a floor structure defining a below-floor warm-air plenum and an above-floor cool air plenum, a plurality of above-floor computer assemblies arranged to exhaust warmed air into the warm-air plenum, and one or more fan-coil arrangements to draw air from the warm-air plenum, cool the air, and provide the air to the cool air plenum. The volume of the above-floor cool air plenum and the below-floor warm air plenum may both be substantial so as to minimize changes in temperature from the failure of components in the system.
US08763413B2

In a storage type air conditioning system having plural storage type air conditioners, each air conditioner includes a storage battery in which external power from an external power source can be stored, an air conditioning unit that is supplied with stored power from the storage battery and perform an air conditioning operation, a residual amount detector for detecting a storage residual amount of the storage battery, and a stored power transmission/reception switching unit for switching transmission/reception of the stored power stored in the storage battery to/from the other storage type air conditioners. Information concerning the storage residual amounts of the storage batteries of the air conditioners are communicated with one another, and the stored power of the storage battery of some air conditioner having surplus stored power is supplied to another air conditioner having short stored power.
US08763404B2

One embodiment according to the present invention is a unique system for harnessing thermal energy of a gas turbine engine. Other embodiments include unique apparatuses, systems, devices, and methods relating to gas turbine engines. Further embodiments, forms, objects, features, advantages, aspects, and benefits of the present invention shall become apparent from the following description and drawings.
US08763398B1

A optimized organic thermodynamic cycle system and method include temperature sensors measuring an initial temperature of a coolant medium and a final temperature of a heat source stream to computer control valves to continuously adjust a pressure and a flow rate of a working fluid stream to be vaporized so that a heat utilization of the system is about 99% increasing output by approximately 3% to 6% on a sustained and permanent yearly basis.
US08763393B2

A turbocharger includes a variable-nozzle assembly that includes an insert having a tubular portion received into a stepped bore of a turbine housing and having a nozzle portion extending radially out from one end of the tubular portion, and a generally annular nozzle ring axially spaced from the nozzle portion and an array of vanes rotatably mounted to the nozzle ring. Sealing of the interface between the tubular portion of the insert and the turbine housing is provided by a sealing ring formed as a generally annular body having a U- or V-shaped cross-section oriented such that an open side of the U- or V-shaped cross-section faces in a radial direction. The U- or V-shaped cross-section defines two opposing legs, one of the legs being engaged against an end face of the tubular portion of the insert and the other leg being engaged against an upstream-facing step surface of the turbine housing bore.
US08763388B2

A hydraulic system for a machine is disclosed. The hydraulic system has a source of pressurized fluid, a fluid actuator, and a tank. The hydraulic system utilizes a directional control valve to direct flow between the source, the actuator, and the tank. The hydraulic further utilizes a variable backpressure control valve to control the system backpressure.
US08763383B2

An exhaust flow divider is interposed between a head and an exhaust manifold of an internal combustion engine. The exhaust flow divider may be configured to maintain separation between two exhaust streams flowing from a cylinder of the engine through the head until, e.g., the exhaust exits the head and flows into the exhaust manifold.
US08763378B2

An exhaust system that processes exhaust generated by an engine is provided. The system generally includes a particulate filter (PF) that filters particulates from the exhaust wherein an upstream end of the PF receives exhaust from the engine and wherein an upstream surface of the particulate filter includes machined grooves. A grid of electrically resistive material is inserted into the machined grooves of the exterior upstream surface of the PF and selectively heats exhaust passing through the grid to initiate combustion of particulates within the PF.
US08763376B2

A vehicle includes a coolant circuit that circulates a flow of an engine coolant therethrough. The coolant circuit includes an Exhaust Gas Heat Recover (EGHR) system for transferring heat from a flow of exhaust gas from an internal combustion engine to the flow of the engine coolant. A control valve is disposed downstream of the EGHR system, and directs the flow of the engine coolant along either a first fluid flow path back to the internal combustion engine to heat the internal combustion engine, or a second fluid flow path including a transmission fluid warming system to heat a supply of transmission fluid to reduce transmission spin loss.
US08763374B2

An exhaust gas treatment device for a diesel engine capable of starting the generation of a combustible gas is provided. The device includes a combustible gas generator. A core member is fitted in the center portion of an annular wall to form an air-fuel mixing chamber between the inner peripheral surface of the annular wall and the outer peripheral surface of the core member. An air-fuel mixture gas in the air-fuel mixing chamber is adapted to be supplied from the end of the air-fuel mixing chamber to a combustible gas generating catalyst to a portion near the center thereof. A heater is used as the core member. The heat dissipating outer peripheral surface of the heater is exposed to the air-fuel mixing chamber. Heat is dissipated directly from the heat dissipating outer peripheral surface of the heater to the air-fuel mixing chamber when starting the generation of the combustible gas.
US08763369B2

An exhaust gas treatment system for an internal combustion engine comprises an exhaust gas conduit in fluid communication with the internal combustion engine to conduct the exhaust gas between a plurality of exhaust treatment devices. A hydrocarbon injector in fluid communication with the exhaust gas delivers hydrocarbon thereto. A selective catalyst reduction device is disposed downstream of the hydrocarbon injector and is configured to receive and mix the hydrocarbon and exhaust gas and to reduce components of NOx therein. An oxidation catalyst device is disposed in fluid communication with the exhaust gas conduit downstream of the selective catalyst reduction device and is configured to oxidize exhaust gas and hydrocarbon mixture to raise the temperature of the exhaust gas. A particulate filter assembly is located downstream of the oxidation catalyst device for receipt of the heated exhaust gas, and combustion of carbon and particulates collected in the exhaust gas filter.
US08763365B2

An exhaust emission control device includes a first detection unit for detecting a NOx adsorption amount and an oxygen storage amount of a three-way catalyst and a NOx purification catalyst during rich spike, a second detection unit for detecting the oxygen storage amount of the three-way catalyst and the NOx purification catalyst until the output of a second air-fuel sensor becomes lean after the rich spike, and a deterioration determination unit for determining deterioration of the NOx purification catalyst based on a detected value of the first detection unit and that of the second detection unit.
US08763364B2

A method of treating a cold-start engine exhaust gas stream comprising hydrocarbons and other pollutants, the method comprising: flowing the exhaust gas stream over a molecular sieve bed, the molecular sieve bed comprising an alkali metal cation-exchanged molecular sieve having intersecting 10- and 12-membered ring pore channels, to provide a first exhaust stream; flowing the first exhaust gas stream over a catalyst to convert any residual hydrocarbons and other pollutants contained in the first exhaust gas stream to innocuous products to provide a treated exhaust stream; and discharging the treated exhaust stream into the atmosphere.
US08763359B2

A system for a gas turbine engine includes a combustor assembly coupled to a plurality of first nozzles having outlet passageways coupled to a first fuel source and first passageways coupled to a second fuel source. The system also includes the combustor assembly coupled to a second nozzle that has second passageways coupled to the second fuel source. An associated control system, coupled to the combustor assembly, is configured to channel a first fuel from the first fuel source through the outlet passageways, and channel a second fuel from the second fuel source through the second passageways when the engine attains a predetermined load. The control system is further configured to channel the second fuel from the second fuel source through the first passageways and to reduce a flow of the first fuel entering the first nozzles when the engine is at a load greater than a first predetermined load.
US08763352B2

An ice bagging system is described.
US08763348B2

Packing unit (1) with a packing machine (2) for filling bulk materials (3) in open sacks with a sack suspension device (7), for suspending the open sacks at a filling nozzle (8-10) of a product supply device (11, 13) and filling the same with at least one bulk material. The sack suspension device is provided with at least two selectable product supply devices. The at least two product supply devices and the sack suspension device are movable relative to each other in order to select a product supply device and to suspend a sack by means of the sack suspension device at the filling nozzle of the selected product supply device and to fill bulk material in the open sack by means of the corresponding filling nozzle.
US08763340B2

Building panels, especially floor panels are shown, which are provided with a locking system including several separate strip parts connected to the panel edge.
US08763330B2

Insulation spacer devices, methods and related construction techniques are provided. An exemplary device may include a body having a plurality of openings defining an openwork, to allow the passage of air therethrough when placed in contact with insulation material. The device may further include a plurality of spacer struts and/or spacing depressions fixedly attached to the body. The struts may be configured to maintain a predetermined distance between a first side of the insulation material and a building surface. The body and struts act together to define and maintain a space between the first side of the insulation material and the building surface, for example, for ventilation. The building surface can be the bottom face of a roof, an insulated attic floor, wall sheathing or a soundproofed demising wall, for example. The spacer device can be capable of being transported and stored together with, or as a separate item from, the insulation material, and can also be stored in nested layers. The device can also be stored in rolled form. The openwork of the device can additionally or alternatively include a sheet of Entangled net filaments or other similar material.
US08763329B2

A frame for precise casting of concrete comprises a first fascia plate having a score line in a first predetermined location, a second fascia plate having a score line at a second predetermined location a third fascia plate having a score line at a third predetermined location and a fourth fascia plate having a score line at a fourth predetermined location. A precise concrete screed is disposed in a position relative to an upper margin of the fascia plates and allows for formation of a foundation within 2 millimeters in terms of height, position, and levelness.
US08763321B1

A roof-based system for suspending photovoltaic modules, such as solar panels, relative to a roof surface without penetration of the roof surface. Cables under tension span the roof surface, with opposed ends of the cables securely mounted to generally C-shaped cable arm assemblies that wrap around the roof edge for connection via pivot joint assemblies to the underside of an overhanging eave, the immediate side wall of the structure below the roof, or directly to roof edge fascia. The system is completely contained to the roof area with no penetration of any parts through the roof surface. Vertical and horizontal rails set upon the roof surface, but not attached to the roof surface, support the weight of the photovoltaic modules attached thereto, while the cables, under tension, hold down the rails in position relative to the roof surface.
US08763317B2

A concrete roof panel for constructing a peaked concrete roof on a building has a first planar member coupled to a second planar member at an angle other than 180 degrees. The roof panel includes at least one rib member coupled to the inside surface of the roof panel. The roof panel includes a flattened attachment portion at either end thereof for connecting the roof panel to a side wall of a building.
US08763309B2

A deployable and inflatable roof, wall, or other structure has first and second covers made of flexible panels and cables arranged from edge to edge along the covers. Couplings along the edges of the covers connect the structure to supports, such as rails on which the structure can deploy and other supports of a building. Air from blowers blow air in between the covers to inflate the structure like an air cushion. In addition to cables, lateral support for the structure can use struts disposed edge to edge along the covers. Traction or rack and pinion drive mechanisms or cable drive systems can be used to deploy and retract the structure along the rails to cover or open a rooftop or other opening or area of the building.
US08763307B2

The present inventive concept(s) relates, in general, to articles that are packaged in a compressed state relative to an uncompressed fully articulated state and methods of making and using same. In a specific embodiment, but not to be considered as limiting, the articles so packaged in a compressed state are plant covers that are either substantially rigid and/or substantially flexible.
US08763302B2

Described herein are several embodiments of a handling apparatus for plant growth substrates and associated methods of use. For example, in one embodiment, an apparatus for separately and automatically dispensing plant growth media includes a media guide and a media guide regulator. The media guide can define a channel through which media is movable. The media regulator can include a media penetrating member that is positionable within the channel at a first location and a media stopping member that is positionable within the channel at a second location spaced-apart from the first location. The media regulator can be operable to reciprocate between a media penetrating position in which the media penetrating member is positioned within the channel to penetrate media and a media stopping position in which the media stopping member is positioned within the channel to restrict media from movement in at least one direction along the channel.
US08763301B2

A spinnerbait has deviations on its upper arm. The deviations project in directions other than that in which the lure moves through the water, thus providing enhanced shimmer and vibration at minimal cost.
US08763297B2

Disclosed herein is a stabilizing shooting rest that includes a base attachable to the belt of a wearer. The stabilizing shooting rest further includes a telescopic elongated member having a proximate end attached to the base and extending to a distal end, the telescopic elongated member attaching to the base such that the telescopic elongated member is movable about the base with at least two rotational degrees of freedom. The stabilizing shooting rest further includes an arm rest at the distal end of the telescopic elongated member, the arm rest configured to stabilize a desired portion of a rear arm of the wearer while the wearer is shooting.
US08763294B1

An ammunition system for a firearm includes a cartridge for a firearm, a muzzle-loaded cartridge attachment, a magnet, and a magnetic material. The muzzle-loaded cartridge attachment is loaded into the barrel after the cartridge is loaded in the usual manner. The two are adhered together by magnetic attraction. The cartridge has the magnet, the muzzle-loaded cartridge attachment has the magnet, or both have magnets aligned to draw the two together. When one magnet is present between the two, then the other must have a magnetic material to be drawn to the magnet. To enable more than one muzzle-loaded cartridge attachment to be added, a third magnet may be used within the muzzle-loaded cartridge attachment at the end opposite the cartridge to exert a magnetic field extending toward the muzzle, which will hold the next muzzle-loaded cartridge attachment added to the barrel.
US08763284B1

A garment ironing assembly includes a panel that has a top side, a bottom side and a perimeter edge. The perimeter edge includes a front edge, a back edge, a first lateral edge and a second lateral edge. A pair of first extensions each is hingedly coupled to the bottom side. Each of the first extensions is selectively positionable and releasably retained in an extended position. One of the first extensions is extendable outwardly from the first lateral edge and one of the first extensions is extendable outwardly from the second lateral edge. Each of the first extensions is positioned adjacent to the front edge. Each of the first extensions is angled away from the front end when the first extensions are in the extended position. A support structure is attached to and extends downwardly from the bottom side of the panel to support the panel above a support surface.
US08763279B2

The invention provides bicycling shoes and bicycling shoe components that offer improved comfort, fit, increased efficiency and reduced incidence of injury. The invention includes an athletic shoe having a sole, an upper attached to the sole to form a toe box, a vamp, a quarter, a throat and an interior cavity, a tongue attached to the upper proximate the toe box, and a closure system adapted to close and secure the tongue on a foot of a user. The closure system comprises at least two straps and two loops that are secured by drawing one end of a strap across the top of the upper, through a loop, and back over the upper, to connect with an opposing end of the strap, and, at least two straps are positioned on the upper to intersect a toe-to-heel line at a strap angle between about 95 degrees and about 120 degrees.
US08763270B1

A device for measuring the depth of concrete comprising an elongated spine, a stepped blade attached at the distal end of the spine and having a plurality of bi-lateral steps having a predetermined width and height tapering toward the distal end of the spine, a depth probe slidably attached longitudinally along the spine and including an indicator; and a scale aligned with the indicator. The depth probe may have a pointed or beveled distal tip which is useful for penetrating concrete or other aggregate materials. The stepped blade is provided into concrete and comes in contact with the top of the rebar grid, with the steps measuring the depth of the concrete cover over the rebar. The depth probe is plunged into the concrete until the tip reaches the bottom. The scale measures the distance between a distal tip of the depth probe and the leading edge of the blade.
US08763267B2

An articulated arm CMM comprises a plurality of transfer members, a plurality of articulation members connecting at least two transfer members to each other, a coordinate acquisition member at a distal end, and a base at a proximal end. The articulated arm CMM also comprises (1) a ratchet lock for restricting the motion of at least one transfer member in at least one direction of rotation and (2) a clutch mechanism for allowing limited rotation of the at least one transfer member upon application of a high amount of force upon at least one transfer member.
US08763261B1

A footwear measuring apparatus includes a body, a plurality of probes, one or more measurement devices and at least one calibration sensor. The plurality of probes are configured to extend from the body. The measurement devices are configured to measure distances that the plurality of probes extend from the body, wherein the distances indicate fit parameters of footwear. The at least one calibration sensor is configured to determine if the footwear measuring apparatus is properly positioned inside of the footwear for measuring.
US08763259B2

A powered hand tool includes a motor, a cutting member drivable to cut a workpiece, and a drive system interconnecting the motor and the cutting member and operable to drive the cutting member in response to operation of the motor. A housing at least partially encloses the cutting member and the motor and a debris removal system is movable between a first position and a second position. The debris removal system is operable to clean a portion of the drive system when in the second position. The debris removal system includes an abrasive member, an automatic actuator, and a sensor operable to selectively generate a signal. The automatic actuator is movable between an actuated position in which the abrasive member moves to the second position and a non-actuated position in which the abrasive member moves to the first position in response to the sensor.
US08763253B2

An apparatus comprises a composite elongate member, a channel, and a number of composite structures. The composite elongate member has a side configured for attachment to a surface of a structure. The channel is on the side and extends along a length of the composite elongate member. The number of composite structures is configured for placement in the channel and configured to attach a portion of the side of the composite elongate member to the structure. The number of composite structures has layers oriented substantially perpendicular to the surface of the structure. The number of composite structures is configured to increase a capacity of the composite elongate member to withstand forces that pull the composite elongate member away from the structure.
US08763248B2

A method of manufacturing turbine engine casings having at least one boss includes, in one exemplary embodiment, forming an engine casing having an outer wall, machining a tapered opening through the casing outer wall, and machining a tapered portion in a metal plug where the tapered portion is sized to mate with the tapered opening in the casing outer wall. The method also includes inserting the metal plug into the tapered opening in the casing outer wall, and welding the metal plug to the casing.
US08763231B2

Fasteners for producing double blind joints where the fastener is not visible or accessible are provided. The fasteners comprise a shape memory polymer that may be used to fasten workpieces by heating the fasteners, inducing recovery of the original, permanent shape of the fasteners.
US08763222B2

Described here are devices and methods for crimping self-expanding devices. The crimping devices may be useful for crimping a variety of different self-expanding devices (whether such devices are biodegradable or bio-durable). The crimping devices may have crimping members to engage the self-expanding device to reduce the device from an expanding configuration to an unexpanded configuration. The crimping member may comprise or include a suture, wire, ribbon, guiding hoop, pusher, prong, holding bar, balloon, jaws, combinations thereof, or the like. The crimping devices may also include or comprise a holding structure to hold the self-expanding device in an unexpanded or expanded configuration.
US08763216B2

Snap hooks, particularly snap hooks with a screw lock for mountaineering and climbing are provided. Such snap hooks may include a ring which has a straight side, interrupted by an opening defined by first and second ends, in which the opening is closed by a spring closing element which has an open position and a closed position, the snap hook having a separation lever dividing the space enclosed by the ring in two separate areas wherein the lever is independent from the closing element, and wherein the closing element and the separating lever are hinged to the same hinge.
US08763210B2

Disclosed is a locking device for a buckle. The device comprises a housing, a lever and an arm. The lever has a first strap engaging end and a locking portion. The lever is connected to the housing for movement relative to the housing. The locking portion is cooperable with the housing to be retained in it. The housing is configured to receive a strap. The arm is resiliently connected to the housing and has a second strap engaging end and a lifting end portion. The lifting end portion is disposed towards the first strap engaging end, such that in a locked position, when the locking portion cooperates with the housing, the second strap engaging end is urged into engagement with the strap. The lifting end portion contacts the first strap engaging end to lift it away from the strap.
US08763203B2

A tackless carpet strip for affixing carpet to a hard surface has a flat base with spikes extending from the base at an angle. A lower surface of the base is coated with protective sealant. A foam adhesive tape strip has two adhesive surfaces; the first surface is permanently adhered to the lower surface of the base. The second adhesive surface is covered with a removable protective film.
US08763195B2

A tool for cleaning a personal care applicator, particularly an applicator for a product that is subject to dry out. In some embodiments, the invention is implemented as a reusable cleaning tool. In other embodiments, the invention is implemented as a disposable, single-use or limited use cleaning tool. The tool comprises a relatively flat body having first and second exterior surfaces, and one or more cleaning regions that extend through the body. As an applicator is drawn through the cleaning region, dried out product is scraped off the applicator.
US08763186B2

A method of raising a wheelchair compartment from a non-horizontal ramp position to an approximately horizontal safe position comprises providing a lift mechanism comprising an elevator structure, a wheelchair compartment configured to hold a wheelchair and rotatable from the ramp position to the safe position, a cam connected to the compartment and comprising a cam contact surface, a cam arm connected to the elevator structure and rotatable about a pivot pin, an actuator connected between the elevator structure and the cam arm and configured to rotate the cam arm relative to the pivot pin, and a cam arm bearing connected to the cam arm and configured to press against the cam contact surface of the cam. The method includes operating the actuator when the wheelchair compartment is in the ramp position so as to cause the wheelchair compartment to rise to the safe position.
US08763176B2

There is disclosed a lift device including a base frame; a main frame comprising a fixing member longitudinally formed in an up and down direction, coupled to the base frame, and a movable member movably provided in an up and down direction; a bed unit connected to the movable member, positioned in front of the main frame; a operation unit having an end connected to the movable member or the bed unit and the other end extended forwardly, with a ring-shaped operation control part provided in the other end thereof to put a user's finger thereon; and a driving unit to move the movable member upwardly based on input of the operation control part, wherein the operation control part comprises an upper input means positioned in an inner top surface thereof to upwardly move the movable member based on an input signal and a lower input means position in an inner bottom surface thereof to downwardly move the movable member based on an input signal.
US08763165B2

The invention refers to a pair of male pants intended to be used preferably by sportsmen and by other active persons and comprising a waist portion (2) connected to back and front portions (3, 4), which at the crotch (5) of the wearer are interconnected or merge into each other, said front portion (4) on its inside (6) comprises a sewn on pocket (7) having an upper free edge portion (8) extending in a direction inwards to the pants, the height position of the edge portion (8) is adjustably fixable in relation to the waist portion (2) by aid of an adjustment means (9) extending from said waist portion (2) and having two end portions (15;16). Said end portions (15;16) of the adjustment means (9) are directly or indirectly adjustably fixable to the waist portion (2), at least one end portion (15; 16) of which is fixed to one end (22) of an adjustably fixable flexible strip (17; 18) constituting an extension of said end portion (15;16), which is fixable to said waist portion (2) with its other end (21), the extension degree of which is limited by a non extendable or rigid band (19; 20), which is extending over said flexible strip (17; 18) and is fastened to respective end (21;22) of the same in maintaining a desired smallest height position of the free edge portion (8).
US08769710B2

An atomic force microscope (AFM) system comprises a cantilever arm attached to a probe tip. The system controls a height of the cantilever arm to press the probe tip against a sample and then separate the probe tip from the sample, to detect a disturbance of the cantilever arm after the separation of the probe tip from the surface, and to engage active damping of the cantilever arm to suppress the disturbance.
US08769695B2

In general, embodiments of the invention relate to systems, methods, and computer program products for determining the probability that a given website is conducting or is related to fraudulent activity, including phishing activity. More particularly, embodiments of the invention relate to automatically monitoring and scoring URLs for fraudulent activity by parsing keywords, combinations of keywords, and other relevant data from an input communication, such as an email, and analyzing the data obtained against a database containing a plurality of grading factors.
US08769693B2

The trust reputation of the combination of an installation package and installer, as a pair, and the combination of a file and an installer, as a pair, is used to store the identity of a file in a persistent cache. An entry in the persistent cache indicates the trust worthiness of a file that does not contain malware thereby avoiding a scan of the file for malware. The trust worthiness of a file may be determined from known trust reputations of the installation package, installer, and file from a network of computing resources. By relying on the known trust reputation of the combination of the installation package and installer and the combination of the file and installer, the identity of the file may be stored in persistent cache quickly.
US08769686B2

A system and method for securing wireless transmissions is provided. A method for transmitting secure messages by a transmitter includes encoding a message with a secrecy code to produce L output codewords, where L is an integer value greater than one. The secrecy code includes a first security code and a second security code. The method also includes transmitting one of the L output codewords to a communications device when a channel quality of a channel between the transmitter and the communications device satisfies a criterion, and repeating the transmitting for any remaining L−1 output codewords.
US08769685B1

A computer-implemented method for using file paths to identify potentially malicious computer files may include: 1) identifying a file, 2) identifying a file path associated with the file, 3) determining, by applying a heuristic to the file, that at least a portion of the file path is likely to have been randomly generated, 4) determining, based at least in part on the determination that at least portion of the file path has likely been randomly generated, that the file is potentially malicious, and 5) performing a security operation on the file. Corresponding systems and computer-readable instructions embodied on computer-readable media are also disclosed.
US08769671B2

Various embodiments of the invention provide solutions, including systems, methods and software, for dealing with unethical uses of electronic mail, and in particular, with attempts to use email messages to facilitate online fraud. Some embodiments function to gather a set of at least one incoming email message, analyze that incoming message, categorize the message as a categorize the incoming email message as a fraudulent email message. Other embodiments can investigate the uniform resource locator included with the incoming email message to determine information about a server hosting the web site referenced by the uniform resource locator and pursue a response to a fraudulent attempt to collect personal information. In some cases, responses may be administrative and/or technical in nature.
US08769669B2

A user device comprising a processor configured to enable a mnemonic based digital signature scheme for user authentication that is based on a combination of one or more secrets and one or more actions implemented on the user device and associated with the secrets, and a device input system coupled to the processor and configured to detect the actions implemented on the user device. Also disclosed is an apparatus comprising a processor configured to implement a mnemonic based digital signature for authenticating a user, a device input system configured to enable the mnemonic based digital signature, and a memory unit configured to store input data that is used to recognize the mnemonic based digital signature, wherein the mnemonic based digital signature comprises a secret, an action associated with the secret and implemented using the device input system, and a cue associated with the action.
US08769668B2

A method of user authentication on a computing device is proposed, together with computing device on which the method is implemented. In the method a modified base image is overlaid with a modified overlay image on a display and movement of either the modified base image or modified overlay image is responsive to receiving an input starting outside a display area of a touchscreen. Positive authentication is indicated in response to the base image reference point on the modified base image being aligned with the overlay image reference point on the modified overlay image.
US08769657B2

Disclosed are systems, methods and computer program products for multi-level user authentication. In one example, method includes detecting a plug-in token connected to a device that controls user access to a protected resource; identifying one or more authorized users associated with the detected token who are authorized to access the protected resource; authenticating whether a first user requesting accessing the protected resource is associated with the detected token and authorized to access the protected resource; detecting presence of one or more wireless transponders of one or more authorized users associated with the token, including at least a transponder of the first user; and providing access to the protected resource to the first user when the first user is authenticated as an authorized user associated with the detected token and the transponder of at least the first user is detected.
US08769655B2

A system and method for more efficiently establishing a chain of trust from a registrant to a registry. A registrant credential is associated with a Shared Registration command and is sent by a registrar to a registry. Upon successful validation, a token is generated and bound to a registrant identifier. The token is included along with the registrant identifier in subsequent discrete Shared Registration commands submitted to the registry on behalf of the registrant. The registrant thus needs to submit its credential only once for changes that require several discrete commands. Also, it is more efficient for the Shared Registration System to validate a token for a set of commands than to validate different registrant credential for each discrete command.
US08769654B2

A method is provided, including (a) upon a standard small form-factor pluggable (SFP) module being inserted into an SFP jack on a network host device, determining if the SFP module is a legacy device or a smart device, (b) upon determining that the SFP module is a legacy device, receiving a magic code from the SFP module and determining if the magic code is a valid magic code, and (c) upon determining that the SFP module is a smart device, performing a smart authentication process with the SFP module. Associated apparatuses and additional methods are also provided.
US08769639B2

Some embodiments of the invention are directed to increasing security and lowering risk of attack in connecting automatically to networks by enabling client devices to verify the identity of the networks by, for example, confirming the identity of networks and network components such as wireless access points. In some embodiments, a client device may maintain a data store of characteristics of a network—including, for example, characteristics of a wireless access point or other portion of the network and/or characteristics of a connection previously established with the wireless access point and/or network. Stored characteristics may include characteristics other than those minimally necessary to identify a wireless access point and/or wireless network. The stored characteristics may be compared to known good characteristics of a network (including characteristics of a wireless access point or other portion of the wireless network) prior to connection to the network to determine whether the characteristics match.
US08769634B2

The subject matter disclosed herein relates to distribution of media content.
US08769625B2

This disclosure relates to remote control of dialysis machines. In certain aspects, a method includes receiving a request for a network connection from a dialysis machine and establishing the network connection with the dialysis machine. The method also includes receiving, from a client device, a request to access the dialysis machine, authorizing the client device to access the dialysis machine, receiving, from the dialysis machine, information pertaining to an operation of the dialysis machine, and providing, to the client device, the received information.
US08769622B2

An authentication and authorization plug-in model for a cloud computing environment enables cloud customers to retain control over their enterprise information when their applications are deployed in the cloud. The cloud service provider provides a pluggable interface for customer security modules. When a customer deploys an application, the cloud environment administrator allocates a resource group (e.g., processors, storage, and memory) for the customer's application and data. The customer registers its own authentication and authorization security module with the cloud security service, and that security module is then used to control what persons or entities can access information associated with the deployed application. The cloud environment administrator, however, typically is not registered (as a permitted user) within the customer's security module; thus, the cloud environment administrator is not able to access (or release to others, or to the cloud's general resource pool) the resources assigned to the cloud customer (even though the administrator itself assigned those resources) or the associated business information. To further balance the rights of the various parties, a third party notary service protects the privacy and the access right of the customer when its application and information are deployed in the cloud.
US08769618B2

A method for authorizing access to a first computing device is provided. The method comprises the first computing device forming a challenge, encoding the challenge into a symbol, and displaying the symbol. The first computing device receives a request for access from a user. Access to the first computing device is allowed in response to provision of an access code to the first computing device by the user. The access code is formed by a server in response to capturing the symbol, decoding the symbol into the challenge, forming a request from the challenge, and providing the request to the server. The server forms a decision to allow access by the user to the first computing device.
US08769614B1

Methods and apparatus for preventing unauthorized access to online content, including in particular streaming video and other media, are provided. In various embodiments, techniques are provided to authorize users and to authenticate clients (e.g., client media players) to a content delivery system. The content delivery system may comprise a content delivery network with one or more content or “edge” servers therein. The requesting client is sent a program at the time of content delivery. The program may be embedded in the content stream, or sent outside of the stream. The program contains instructions that are executed by the client and cause it to return identifying information to the content delivery system, which can then determine whether the client player is recognized and, if so, authorized to view the content. Unrecognized and/or altered players may be prevented from viewing the content.
US08769613B2

Methods and apparatus for providing data security, in particular for cloud computing environments, are described. In an embodiment, a software component monitors events at a node in a computing system and on detection of an event of a particular type, interrupts a message associated with the event. Before the message is allowed to continue towards its intended destination, a security template is selected based on the message (e.g. the data in the message and identifiers within the message) and this template is used to determine what data protection methods are applied to each data element in the message. A modified data packet is created by applying the security template and then this modified data packet is inserted into the message in place of the data packet in the interrupted message.
US08769612B2

A technique that enables a portable device to be automatically associated with a plurality of computers. Information that a computer can use to authenticate a portable device and establish a trusted relationship prior to creating an association with the portable device is created and stored in a data store that is accessible by a plurality of computers and is associated with a user of the portable device. When a computer discovers such a portable device with which it is not yet associated, the computer can identify a user logged into the computer and use information identifying the user to retrieve authentication information that is device independent and is expected to be presented by the portable device to authenticate it and allow automatic association.
US08769607B1

Systems, methods and articles of manufacture for evaluating a password policy are disclosed. The password evaluation system receives password policy data regarding a password policy, including a password constraint. The system analyzes the password policy data to determine a usability index and a password strength index for the password policy, and also determines a usability index and password strength index for a plurality of modified password policies having password constraints different from the password policy. The system then provides a graphical representation of the usability index and the password strength for the password policy and the modified password policies, thereby allowing a password designer to optimize the tradeoffs between usability and security of a password policy.
US08769603B2

The present invention generally relates to a method and device for handling of audio/video signals originating from a mix of analog and digital sources of audio/video signals. In particular, the present invention relates to optimization of hardware resources and of wiring needed for the interconnection of various analog and digital sources of audio/video signals.
US08769602B1

A system and method for providing an interactive, visual complement to one or more audio programs. In one aspect, the system comprises an audio subsystem for generating an audio signal corresponding to a sound recording. The system also comprises a video subsystem for generating a video image specification based, at least in part, on the sound recording. In one aspect, the audio signal and video image specification are transmitted to an audio/video signal transmission system. The transmission system receives the video image specification and generates a video signal that conforms to the video image specification. The video signal and the audio signal are transmitted to at least one consumer receiver. In this way, the system provides a visual complement to an audio program.
US08769600B2

An exemplary system stores data representative of a plurality of media content items related to a plurality of sporting events and data representative of information about a plurality of players involved in the plurality of sporting events, the information including an indication of one or more players of interest to a user that are included in the plurality of players, identifies a portion of a media content item as associated with an event related to one of the sporting events, determines an identity of a player involved in the event, generates metadata representative of the identity of the player involved in the event, determines, based on the metadata, that the player involved in the event is included in the one or more players of interest, and generates and sends a highlight message including the identified portion of the media content item to a user device associated with the user.
US08769597B2

The present invention helps eliminate ingress noise addition (i.e., the “noise funneling effect” for an HFC coaxial plant). A system according to various aspects of the present invention comprises a switch that includes: (i) a first state for allowing passage of a signal therethrough; and (ii) a second state for preventing passage of the signal therethrough. The system further includes a detection circuit in communication with the switch. The detection circuit is configured to: (i) detect whether the signal includes an amplitude of at least a predetermined level; (ii) operate the switch to the first state if the amplitude of the signal is at least the predetermined level; and (iii) operate the switch to the second state if the amplitude of the signal is less than the predetermined level, wherein operation of the switch to the second state is delayed by a predetermined period of time.
US08769595B2

A content transmission selection system is disclosed. The content transmission selection system receives requests from viewers for specific video content items. Using characteristics of the designated content item, the content transmission selection system determines whether to transmit the content item over a broadcast network or a broadband network.
US08769594B2

A system and method are described below for reducing the effects of packet loss in a video communication system. For example, one embodiment of a computer-implemented method comprises: logically subdividing each of a sequence of images of a video stream into a plurality of tiles, each of the tiles having a defined position within each of the sequence of images; and packing the tiles into a plurality of data packets to maximize the number of tiles which are aligned with boundaries of each of the data packets; and transmitting the data packets containing the tiles over a communication channel from a server to a client.
US08769592B2

The present invention provides a unified management method system for channel service as well as service on demand of stream media, which belong to the management technology of stream media service. The method comprises: receiving, by a service processing unit, an instruction of creating a channel, obtaining channel resource required by a channel service from a stream media service unit according to the instruction of creating a channel, and performing control interaction on the stream media service unit where the channel resource is located; receiving, by a service processing unit, an RTSP request, obtaining resource on demand required by a service on demand according to the RTSP request, and performing control interaction on a stream media service unit where the resource on demand is located, thereby realizing unified resource management of channel service and service on demand.
US08769589B2

A computer implemented method includes receiving, at a media server, a request from a first viewer to create a media content server including select segments of media content for display at a display device. The computer implemented method includes accessing a media content analyzer generated based on viewer annotation data associated with media content. The viewer annotation data is received from viewers other than the first viewer. The computer implemented method includes identifying segments of the media content using the media content analyzer. The computer implemented method includes selecting at least one segment of the identified segments of the media content for inclusion in a media content summary. The computer implemented method includes sending the media content summary including the at least one selected segment of the media content to the display device.
US08769587B2

A method and an apparatus for managing a broadcast for a portable terminal receiving supplementary information related to the broadcast are provided. The method includes tuning a broadcasting receiver of the portable terminal to a frequency from among a plurality of frequencies of a broadcasting channel, receiving, by the broadcasting receiver, a broadcasting signal on the tuned frequency, determining whether a moving speed of the portable terminal is equal to or more than a predetermined speed when a broadcasting receiver is tuned to the frequency and is receiving a broadcasting signal, measuring a field strength of the received broadcasting signal when the moving speed of the portable terminal is equal to or greater than the predetermined speed, and controlling the broadcasting receiver to be tuned to another frequency in order to receive the broadcasting signal of the broadcasting channel when the measured field strength is less than a predetermined threshold.
US08769586B2

Content used in creating an electronic program guide and/or channels for a television reception system is delivered to a local receiving device, such as a direct to home satellite receiver, as individual digital objects. Rules (i.e., conditional expressions) may be embedded in the digital objects to allow different actions in different situations. These rules can be used to determine whether an object should be stored, which objects should be included in an electronic program guide, and/or what content should be used to create a particular channel.
US08769581B2

A system and method for transmitting program guide information describing a second set of programs to subscribers is disclosed. In one embodiment, the method is implemented in a network broadcasting a first signal having a first set of programs and a second signal having a second set of programs. The method comprises the steps of broadcasting first program guide information describing the first set of programs to the subscribers on a first service channel on a first signal and broadcasting second program guide information describing the second set of programs to a subset of the subscribers on the first service channel on a second signal, wherein a fundamental signal characteristic of the second signal differs from the fundamental signal characteristic of the first signal. In another embodiment, the method comprises the steps of receiving first program guide information describing the first set of programs on a first service channel on a first signal; and receiving second program guide information describing the second set of programs on the first service channel on a second signal, wherein a fundamental signal characteristic of the second signal differs from the fundamental signal characteristic of the first signal.
US08769580B2

Meta-channels identify content entries and indicate an order with which to experience the content entries. The meta-channels may include a multi-source meta-channel that includes at least a first content entry that relates to first content broadcast by a first content provider at a specific time and a second content entry that relates to second content made available, over a network, by a second content provider in response to user requests. A selection of a meta-channel is received and the selection of the meta-channel is mapped to a content entry defined by the selected meta-channel. A media system is controlled to render content based on a content entry mapped to by the selected meta-channel.
US08769567B1

Intelligent selection of items encoded onto portable machine-readable entertainment media comprises receiving at least one request from at least one given viewer related to obtaining at least one instance media for viewing and identifying the given viewer based on the obtaining of the at least one instance media for viewing.
US08769560B2

Methods and systems to obtain content and generate modified content based on a time limited content consumption information is disclosed. In one embodiment, content may be obtained from a content source and modified based on the time limited content consumption information. In one embodiment, such modified content is stored in a memory of a content modification system and subsequently delivered to a target consumer.
US08769559B2

Systems and methods can include offering a user an incentive for viewing advertising content, delivering the advertising content to the user, monitoring the delivery of the advertising content to the user and awarding the user the offered incentive upon successful completion of delivery of the advertising content to the user. Systems and methods can further include maintaining a database of incentives awarded to the user for subsequent redemption by the user. Systems and methods can further include offering the user an opportunity to identify advertising content preferences, storing those advertising content preferences in a database and using the advertising content preferences to filter the advertising content identified to the user when the user is offered an incentive for viewing advertising content.
US08769551B2

In an electronic device, a method of enabling a first application to employ an action/data handler of a second application includes registering the handler of the second application, receiving an incoming request for the handler from the first application, matching the handler in the request to the handler registered by the second application, delivering the request to the second application for execution and returning a result of execution to the first application. An electronic device comprises an operating system supporting i) an application layer that includes one or more applications having action/data type handlers. The electronic device also includes ii) an exchange manager interfacing with the application layer to provide a central location for registry of the handlers of the one or more applications, and iii) transports coupled to the application layer and exchange manager and adapted to receive incoming requests to employ the handlers of the one or more applications.
US08769546B2

Method to selectively assign a reduced busy-wait time to threads is described. The method comprises determining whether at least one thread is spinning on a mutex lock associated with a condition variable and assigning, when the at least one thread is spinning on the mutex lock, a predetermined reduced busy-wait time for a subsequent thread spinning on the mutex lock.
US08769543B2

The invention enables dynamic, software application load adaptive optimization of data processing capacity allocation on a shared processing hardware among a set of application software programs sharing said hardware. The invented techniques allow multiple application software programs to execute in parallel on a shared CPU, with application ready-to-execute status adaptive scheduling of CPU cycles and context switching between applications done in hardware logic, without a need for system software involvement. The invented data processing system hardware dynamically optimizes allocation of its processing timeslots among a number of concurrently running processing software applications, in a manner adaptive to realtime processing loads of the applications, without using the CPU capacity for any non-user overhead tasks. The invention thereby achieves continuously maximized data processing throughput for variable-load processing applications, while ensuring that any given application gets at least its entitled share of the processing system capacity whenever so demanded.
US08769536B2

A batched unit of work is associated with a plurality of messages for use with a data store. A backout count, associated with a number of instances that work in association with the batched unit of work, is backed out. A backout threshold is associated with the backout count. A commit count is associated with committing the batched unit of work in response to successful commits for a predefined number of the plurality of messages. A checker checks whether the backout count is greater than zero and less than the backout threshold. An override component, responsive to the backout count being greater than zero and less than the backout threshold, overrides the commit count and commits the batched unit of work for a subset of the plurality of messages.
US08769532B2

Creation of a virtual machine in a hypervisor unusable by a license for use in creating a virtual machine is provided. At least one tenant including at least one tenant terminal, a management data base which stores resource information of the tenant, at least one data center on which a virtual machine to be used by the tenant operates, and a management server including a virtual machine creation management unit which selects a hypervisor in which the virtual machine can be created based on resource information of the tenant stored in the management data base and a virtual machine creation request including predetermined requirement information for creating the virtual machine which is received from the tenant terminal are provided.
US08769526B2

A method for updating an application on a mobile device includes accessing, at the mobile device, application management information. The application management information identifies a plurality of applications installed on the mobile device and one or more granted permission settings associated with each installed application. The method also includes sending, from the mobile device to a server, a request for update information regarding each installed application and receiving, at the mobile device from the server, the update information. The update information identifies an update package for a respective application of the plurality of installed applications. The method also includes installing the update package without user interaction from a user of the mobile device if one or more required permission settings associated with the update package are included in the one or more granted permission settings associated with the respective application of the plurality of installed applications.
US08769515B2

A computer-implemented technique for analysis of software, is carried out using a semantic intensity calculation module, a coupling calculation module, and a software decomposition module. Software elements are identified in a computer program code, and respective roles of the software elements established. With the semantic intensity calculation module respective semantic intensity metrics are calculated for the software elements according to the roles thereof. With the coupling calculation module semantic intensity metrics are calculated to determine coupling factors between different software elements. With the software decomposition module the software elements are organized into distinct software components according to the coupling factors therebetween. Then, an optimized computer program code is generated from the software components.
US08769512B2

A method apparatus and computer program product is disclosed for adding instrumentation to a body of code to enable generation of code coverage data for said body of code in which used instrumentation code is arranged to be optimized out by a compiler.
US08769500B2

A method for verifying software includes determining an initialization path condition of a received software verification job, determining a termination path condition of a computing node, and initializing the execution of the received software verification job on the computing node based on the initialization path condition and the termination path condition. The initialization path condition includes a sequence of program predicates for reaching a starting state of software to be verified. The received software verification job includes an indication of a portion of the software to be verified. The termination path condition includes an indication of the last state reached during the execution of a previous software verification job on the computing node. The computing node is assigned to execute the received software verification job.
US08769494B2

Datacenter configuration needs to be managed. A configuration engine (CE) manages configuration data of clusters and/or datacenters. The CE allows users to check out, edit, and check in configuration components. Versioned interfaces are placed between configuration components through data contracts. The CE supports the expression of constraints that ensure global consistency across configuration components and versions, isolates changes in the datacenter from structural changes in configuration components, and enables partial configuration branching to allow for active snapshots that enable configuration rollback. The CE ensures that types are consistent and constraints are satisfied at check-in time to eliminate unsound or inconsistent configuration in the first place. When the active configuration in the datacenter changes, multiple versions of configuration may be simultaneously deployed for a window of time. The managed set of configuration is permitted to have multiple active versions during these transitional windows to reflect the reality in the datacenter.
US08769486B2

Embodiments of the present application may simplify an integration of statically typed and dynamically typed languages by automatically generating an implementation of a statically typed native interface for a given set of dynamically typed functions. In an embodiment, functions in a dynamically typed language are automatically interconnected with functions in a statically typed language. Code that bridges and/or connects a statically typed interface and a dynamically typed interface embodied in the dynamically typed source code may be automatically generated. The statically typed interface may be provided by a user. Further, an extensible set of runtime rules that determine how to convert between statically typed and dynamically typed data may be provided.
US08769483B2

Modeling a governance process of optimizing a portfolio of services in a governed SOA and generating, in dependence upon the modeled governance process, one or more automation modules, each automation module including a module of computer program instructions that supports performance of one or more steps of the modeled governance process, where the modeled governance process includes determining whether a collection of service artifacts matches one or more service artifacts stored in a service registry; if no service artifacts stored in the service registry match the collection of service artifacts, initiating creation of a service in accordance with the collection of service artifacts; if one or more service artifacts stored in the service registry match the collection of service artifacts: selecting, in dependence upon predefined action selection criteria, a service administration action to perform; obtaining approval of the selected service administration action; and initiating the selected service administration action.
US08769479B2

A software system that performs the creation of compact discs (CDs) containing full product files (executables, binaries, etc.) is described. This system allows clients to produce, on demand, software CD's as required for purchases and avoid maintenance of stock of product. A method of providing software CD's also is described.
US08769473B1

A wiring design support apparatus includes: an input device with which input data about a wiring design content in a multilayered printed circuit board is input; a storage device includes a stab length limitation value table and a back drill application table stored therein, wherein the stab length limitation value table includes set data of a limitation value about a stab length of a through hole of the printed circuit board, and the back drill application table includes set data of information about whether a conductor of a stab of the printed circuit board can be removed or not; and a processor configured to determine, based on the stab length limitation value table and the back drill application table, whether a wiring design of the input data is appropriate.
US08769469B1

A system is provided for use with circuit layout design data having a set of differential pairs and a set of bond wire pairs. A layout portion can receive the circuit layout design data. A crosstalk calculating portion can determine a first amount of crosstalk in a circuit corresponding to the circuit layout design data. A modifier can modify the circuit layout design data into modified circuit layout design data such that one of the set of differential pairs and the set of bond wire pairs includes a crossover. The crosstalk calculating portion can further determine a second amount of crosstalk in a circuit corresponding to the modified circuit layout design data. An optimizer can compare the first amount of crosstalk with the second amount of crosstalk to generate optimized circuit layout design data. A layout designer can output the optimized circuit layout design data.
US08769463B2

Embodiments of the claimed subject matter are directed to methods and a system that use a standardized grid of clock buffers to automatically route clocks according to a uniform clock grid throughout an ASIC of a non-uniform arrangement of non-uniformly sized logic partitions. According to one embodiment, clock sources and sinks are mapped to grid point locations and a novel grid routing process is performed to link them together. A clock routing macro is assigned to a corresponding partition and associated with the corresponding partition or logic unit according to a partition hierarchy. The underlying routing structure and resources of a clock routing macro are automatically renamed to correspond to the local partition in a script or schedule of programmed instructions, or a routing map. The position of blockages within a partition may also be detected and alternate routes for traversing the blockage may be preemptively determined as well.
US08769458B2

A prototype verification system and method are provided for a high-end fault-tolerant computer. The system includes multiple single junction prototype verification systems and an interconnection router chipset. The single junction prototype verification systems are interconnected through the interconnection router chipset. Each single junction prototype verification system includes a computer board which is a four-path tightly-coupled computer board, and a chip verification board including two junction controller chipsets. Each junction controller chipset includes two field-programmable gate array (FGPA) chips which bear a logic of one junction controller together, and an interconnection board including two FGPA chips. Each FPGA chip provides a high speed interconnection port used to achieve protocol interconnection between two paths of the computer board and one of the junction controller chipsets.
US08769455B1

Various embodiments use connectivity information or model(s), design attribute(s), and system intelligence layer(s) to make lower blocks at lower levels aware of changes made in other blocks at same or different levels to implement the design at different levels synchronously. Budgeting is performed for the design to distribute budgets to respective blocks in the design. The various budgets may be borrowed from one or more blocks and lent to a block in order for this block to meet closure requirements such that a total number of iterations of the reassembly process, which integrates lower level blocks into top level design, may be reduced or completely eliminated. The design attribute(s) or the connectivity model(s) or information is updated upon the identification of changes to provide the latest information or data for properly closing a design.
US08769443B2

Techniques for managing user interactions with items on a user interface are disclosed. In one aspect, a representation of an opening is presented in response to touch input. A display object is moved over the opening, and the display object is processed in response to the moving. In another aspect, touch input pinching two opposite corners of a display object followed by touch input flicking the display object is received and the display object is deleted in response to the inputs. In another aspect, touch input centered over a display object is received and the display object is deleted in response to the input. In another aspect, touch input corresponding to swiping gestures are received and a display object is securely deleted in response to the gestures.
US08769437B2

A method, apparatus and computer program product are provided for displaying first media content item with a second media content item inserted within the display of the first media content item. In particular, the second media content item can be displayed with the first media content item when location information associated with the second media content item describes a location with a capture zone of the first media content item.
US08769436B2

An adaptive region system can include an adaptive region module and a display module. The adaptive region module can include a mini region button panel module capable of generating a mini region button panel having multiple mini region buttons, a view panel module capable of generating a view panel having multiple view buttons, and a region panel module capable of generating a region panel having multiple mini regions. The display module can visually display the mini region button panel, the view panel, and the region panel.
US08769430B2

The present invention is directed to a method and system for scrolling in a document having multiple columns. A method for scrolling in a page of a document having multiple columns, includes: displaying a plurality of the columns in a display window; associating a different scrollbar with each of the plurality of displayed columns; and selectively enabling a synchronous or independent operation of each of the scrollbars; wherein in synchronous operation, a use of any of the scrollbars results in a corresponding scrolling of the page within the display window, and wherein in independent operation, a use of a selected one of the scrollbars results only in a corresponding scrolling of the column of the page associated with that scrollbar within the display window.
US08769428B2

The present disclosure features methods and systems for updating a taskbar, generated and displayed by a local computer, with a user interface element representative of a remote application executing on a remote computer and application output generated by the remote application. These methods and system include a local client receiving application output generated by a remote application and remote window configuration information, generating an application output window comprising local taskbar grouping configuration information, and updating a taskbar responsive to the local taskbar grouping configuration information.
US08769422B2

Techniques for facilitating social networking via a media device are described. Some embodiments provide a social networking facilitator (“SNF”) as part of a media device, such as a set-top box that is configured to receive media content events from a broadcast system, such as a satellite broadcast system. As the media device presents a media content event, a user can share, via the SNF, information about the presented media content event with members of his social network. In particular, the SNF prepares a message that includes information about or from the presented media content event, such as a title, a channel, a summary, rating, video clip, or the like. This message can then be edited by the user, such as by adding a comment or rating, before being transmitted by the SNF a social networking system, to be forwarded as a notification to members of the user's social network.
US08769402B2

Method for optimising the placement of at least two pieces of information in at least one display section of a display area managed by a system, wherein said system communicates with an Information Optimization Center through the sending and receiving of packets of instructions and/or requests, wherein said packets of instructions comprise data regarding a location of at least one piece of information and instructions regarding at least two pieces of information are sent in the same packet. The invention also relates to a system for optimising the placement of at least two pieces of information in at least one display section of a display area, comprising optimization means for selecting at least two pieces of information corresponding to at least one display section, wherein said system further comprises at least one packet of instructions regarding the selection of at least two pieces of information by said optimization means and said packet of instructions comprises data regarding a location of at least one piece of information and that instructions regarding at least two pieces of information are sent in the same packet of instructions.
US08769397B2

The present disclosure is directed to a system and method for embedding macros in Web pages with advertisements. In some implementations, a method includes receiving a snippet embedded in a remote Web page. Rules for embedding one or more macros in the snippet are identified. The one or more macros are associated with archiving user actions associated with an advertisement presented in the Web page. A format of the snippet is determined from a plurality of identifiable formats based, at least in part, on the rules. The one or more macros are automatically embedded in the snippet in accordance with rules associated with the snippet format.
US08769394B2

The invention can enable monitoring of the display of content by a computer system. Moreover, the invention can enable monitoring of the displayed content to produce monitoring information from which conclusions may be deduced regarding the observation of the displayed content by an observer. The invention can also enable monitoring of the display at a content display site of content that is provided by a content provider site over a network to the content display site. Additionally, the invention can enable the expeditious provision of updated and/or tailored content over a network from a content provider site to a content display site so that the content provider's current and appropriately tailored content is always displayed at the content display site. Aspects of the invention related to transfer of content over a network are generally applicable to any type of network. However, it is contemplated that the invention can be particularly useful with a computer network, including private computer networks (e.g., America Online™) and public computer networks (e.g., the Internet). In particular, the invention can be advantageously used with computer networks or portions of computer networks over which video and/or audio content are transferred from one network site to another network site for observation, such as the World Wide Web portion of the Internet.
US08769391B2

Methods, systems, and apparatus, including computer programs encoded on a computer storage medium, provide a broker for client applications. In one aspect, a method includes providing an electronic document that has a document format compatible with a document reader application. The electronic document includes a broker application and a client application. The broker application can be loaded into a virtual machine running in the document reader application on a client device. The loaded broker application loads the client application into the virtual machine, and the loaded client application provides a graphical user interface for display. In some instances, the loaded broker application receives data from the loaded client application and stores the received data as a data set in the electronic document. In some instances, the loaded broker application retrieves a data set from the electronic document and provides the retrieved data set to the loaded client application.
US08769388B2

A transport stream generating apparatus, a turbo packet demultiplexing apparatus, and methods thereof, the transport stream generating apparatus including: a Reed Solomon (RS) encoder to RS-encode turbo data, an interleaver to interleave the RS-encoded turbo data, a duplicator to add a parity insertion area to the interleaved turbo data, and a multiplexer to multiplex normal data and the turbo data processed by the duplicator to generate a transport stream. Accordingly, reception performance can be improved in an advanced vestigial sideband (AVSB) system.
US08769384B2

To derive a Hamming code to manage data errors a set of at least four parity bit positions is selected for parity bits which will protect a set of data bits (where each data bit has a data bit position in the data bit set). A syndrome is determined for each data bit position. This involves selecting a unique sub-set of at least three parity bit positions. The unique sub-set shares at least one parity bit position with at least one other unique sub-set of at least three parity bit positions. A parity bit value may then be calculated for each parity bit position based on the determined syndromes. The header of a packet may be provided with a word which defines the length of the packet and an error management code generated utilizing this word so that errors in the word may be detected and, possibly, corrected.
US08769380B1

Systems and methods for error recovery are presented. Data is decoded with an iterative decoding scheme having a first set of parameters. In response to a determination that the iterative decoding scheme has failed, the data is re-read. While the data is being re-read, the iterative decoding scheme is reconfigured with a second set of parameters, and the data is decoded with the reconfigured iterative decoding scheme. In response to determination that the reconfigured iterative decoding scheme has failed, an error type associated with the data is determined. An error recovery scheme is selected from a plurality of error recovery schemes for the data based on the determined error type.
US08769376B2

Described herein is an apparatus for adjusting a power supply level for a memory cell to improve stability of a memory unit. The apparatus comprises memory circuitry including memory cells, error detection circuitry to detect error in data stored by memory cells of the memory circuitry, and supply voltage control circuitry to increase supply voltage for one or more memory cells of the memory circuitry based at least in part on detected error.
US08769372B2

A system for, and method of, assigning code blocks to constituent decoding units in a turbo decoding system having parallel decoding units. In one embodiment, the method includes: (1) representing the turbo decoding system as a resource diagram rectangle, (2) representing the code blocks as code block rectangles, (3) mapping the code block rectangles into the resource diagram rectangle and (4) assigning the code blocks to the constituent decoding units based on the mapping.
US08769359B2

A method for providing ordered capture clocks to detect or locate faults within N clock domains and faults crossing any two clock domains in an integrated circuit or circuit assembly in scan-test or self-test mode, where N>1, each clock domain having one capture clock and a plurality of scan cells, each capture clock comprising a plurality of capture clock pulses; said method comprising: (a) generating and shifting-in N test stimuli to all said scan cells within said N clock domains in said integrated circuit or circuit assembly during a shift-in operation; (b) applying an ordered sequence of capture clocks to all said scan cells within said N clock domains, the ordered sequence of capture clocks comprising at least a plurality of capture clock pulses from two or more selected capture clocks placed in a sequential order such that all clock domains are never triggered simultaneously during a capture operation; and (c) analyzing output responses of all said scan cells to locate any faults therein.
US08769352B1

Systems and methods are provided for determining a successive interference cancellation (SIC) decoding ordering in a multiple input multiple output transmission (MIMO) system with retransmissions. A plurality of codewords is transmitted in a current transmission time. Some of the codewords may have been previously transmitted in previous transmission attempts according to a retransmission protocol. The plurality of codewords is received and an ordering metric is computed for a received codeword based on channels associated with multiple transmission attempts of the codeword. A decoding ordering of the codewords is determined based on the computed ordering metric. Performance parameters such as Packet Error Rate (PER), channel gain, and/or equalizer-output Signal-to-Interference and Noise Ratio (SINR) may be used to evaluate a channel quality for each one of the transmission attempts of the codeword. The ordering metric may be updated recursively with each transmission attempt.
US08769336B1

In traditional journal based replication environments, the journal is lost on failover. However, example embodiments of the present invention overcome this and other deficiencies by preserving a journal in a symmetric continuous data protection environment. Therefore, example embodiments of the present invention provide a method, an apparatus, and a computer program production for preserving a journal in a symmetric continuous data protection environment. The method comprises maintaining a journal in a journal-based replication environment comprising a production volume at a production site and a replication volume at a replication site and, after detecting a failover event, symmetrically preserving the journal after failover.
US08769334B1

Techniques for providing instant disaster recovery are disclosed. In one particular exemplary embodiment, the techniques may be realized as a method for providing instant disaster recovery comprising, maintaining, in a data store, data associated with a first host system, wherein the data comprises a first data portion and a second data portion, storing, in the first data portion, a disaster recovery agent, and exposing, to a second host system, the first data portion and the second data portion, wherein the disaster recovery agent is configured to initiate, on the second host system, a disaster recovery process, boot the second host system using the first data portion, and copy, from the data store, the second data portion in accordance with a first copy procedure and a second copy procedure.
US08769330B2

Methods and apparatuses are provided that allow for the synchronization of an operating point transition in an embedded system environment. Identification of an upcoming operating point transition, operating point transition constraints, and maximum parking latency parameters is provided. Then, an ordering of seizing bus activity as well as an ordering of resuming bus activity is determined. The operating point transition is then implemented using the determined ordering. Simulation and determination of change of successfully completing operating point transition prior to initiating and while the transition is pending are also provided.
US08769323B2

With the progress toward multi-core processors, each core is can not readily ascertain the status of the other dies with respect to an idle or active status. A proposal for utilizing an interface to transmit core status among multiple cores in a multi-die microprocessor is discussed. Consequently, this facilitates thermal management by allowing an optimal setting for setting performance and frequency based on utilizing each core status.
US08769318B2

Systems and methods are disclosed for asynchronous management of access requests to control power consumption. In some cases, by asynchronously managing power within a system, multiple dies of a NVM can simultaneously draw current in order to match the power demand. In particular, an arbiter of the system can receive multiple requests to draw current, where each request may be associated with a different die of the NVM. In some embodiments, the arbiter can determine the servicing order using the time of arrival of the request (e.g., a first-in, first-out scheme). In other embodiments, the arbiter can simultaneously service multiple requests so long as the servicing of the multiple requests does not exceed a power budget.
US08769312B2

Tampering monitoring system can detect whether protection control module is tampered with even if some of detection modules are tampered with. Tampering monitoring system includes protection control module detection modules, and management device. Protection control module includes: generation unit generating d pieces of distribution data from computer program, n and d being positive integers, d smaller than n; selection unit selecting d detection modules; and distribution unit distributing d pieces of distribution data to d detection modules. Each detection module judges whether received piece of distribution data is authentic to detect whether protection control module is tampered with, and transmits judgment result indicating whether protection control module is tampered with. Management device receives judgment results from d detection modules and manages protection control module with regard to tampering by using received judgment results.
US08769307B2

A data processing apparatus and a method of indicating operation of a data processor within a secure domain. The apparatus comprising a display for displaying data; a processor operable in a secure domain, said processor when operating in said secure domain having access to a user specific image; wherein said processor is operable to indicate operation within said secure domain by displaying said user specific image on at least a portion of said display when operating within said secure domain.
US08769305B2

An app is secured on a mobile device by being deconstructed or unbundled into multiple modules, where a module is a segment of app code that performs a particular function. It is then determined which modules from the multiple modules perform some type of security function, for example, a function dealing with confidential or security-related data. These modules, forming a group of modules, are loaded into a trusted execution environment. The app is then re-bundled so that it has the first plurality of modules and the second plurality of modules. The app executes in a manner where the high security functions execute so that break points cannot be inserted into the app code. The re-bundling is done automatically in an app security wrapping process. Security constraints are added to the app.
US08769296B2

A method for preventing unauthorized use of software may be achieved by executing computer-readable code with instructions for recording an indication of at least one selected file of a software application in a memory location accessible to a security component of the software application, in which software application the security component is configured to cause a hash signature of the at least one selected file to be generated in response to a signal arising from use of the software application, hashing the at least one selected file to generate a first file signature, transmitting the first file signature to a secure network-accessible computer memory for storage and subsequent comparison to at least one subsequent file signature generated via operation of the security component on a client device, comparing the first file signature to a second file signature generated by the security component in response to a signal arising from use of the software application on the client device, and disabling the software application on the client device, in response to determining that the first file signature does not match the second file signature.
US08769294B2

Digital signature generation apparatus, comprising an envelope generator operable to generate an envelope representation, of only one polarity, of a sampled data segment, and operable for each of successive portions comprising a predetermined plurality of samples to provide a portion sum value as the sum the values of the samples in the portion, thereby to provide said envelope representation; a threshold value generator operable to determine a threshold value for each portion of the envelope representation; an event detector operable to detect, as an event, a transition of a portion sum value across the threshold value for the portion concerned; and a signature generator operable in response a detected event to generate a digital signature characteristic of the sampled data segment.
US08769286B2

A method for generating e-mail messages with increased security includes receiving an e-mail message at a control system. The e-mail message has recipients, a security level, control attributes, and e-mail message contents. Moreover, the method includes verifying the recipients at the control system, and storing the recipients, security level, control attributes, and e-mail message contents in the control system when each of the recipients is verified. Furthermore, the method includes generating modified e-mail messages from the e-mail message, transmitting each of the modified e-mail messages to a respective recipient, and capturing authentication data from one of the recipients when the one recipient indicates a desire to view the e-mail message contents with a communications device operated by the one recipient. When the one recipient is successfully authenticated, the method includes permitting the one recipient to view the e-mail message contents in accordance with the control attributes.
US08769281B2

In accordance with the teachings of the present invention, a method and apparatus is presented for securely negotiating a session key between a mobile node and a network node, such as a first hop IP router. A session key is encoded using asymmetric encryption. The encrypted session key is then communicated to the first hop IP router for later use. In accordance with another teaching of the present invention, the session key is then used by the mobile node and a first hop IP router to authenticate a message. Lastly, in accordance with the third teaching of the present invention, a standardized protocol is used to securely negotiate the session key between the mobile node and the first hop IP router.
US08769270B2

Systems and methods are provided for creating and using a sharable file-level key to secure data files. The sharable file-level key is generated based on a workgroup key associated with the data file, as well as unique information associated with the data file. The sharable file-level key may be used to encrypt and split data using a Secure Parser. Systems and methods are also provided for sharing data without replicating the data on the machine of the end user. Data is encrypted and split across an external/consumer network and an enterprise/producer network. Access to the data is provided using a computing image generated by a server in the enterprise/producer network and then distributed to end users of the external/consumer network. This computing image may include preloaded files that provide pointers to the data that was encrypted and split. No access or replication of the data on the enterprise/producer network is needed in order for a user of the external/consumer network to access the data.
US08769265B1

A system and method for providing persistence in a secure network access by using a client certificate sent by a client device to maintain the identity of a target. A security handshake is performed with a client device to establish a secure session. A target is determined. A client certificate is associated with the target. During subsequent secure sessions, the client certificate is used to maintain persistent communications between the client and a target. A session ID can be used in combination with the client certificate, by identifying the target based on the session ID or the client certificate, depending on which one is available in a client message.
US08769264B2

A system that incorporates teachings of the present disclosure may include, for example, a set-top-box having a controller to transmit a request to a remote management server for status information associated with a x.509 certificate intended for the STB, and receive the status information associated with the x.509 certificate from the remote management server, where events associated with the status information are received by the remote management server from at least one of the STB, a certificates proxy, an external certificate web service, and a certificate authority, and where the status information comprises at least a portion of the received events. Other embodiments are disclosed.
US08769261B2

A method provides subscriber-specific activation of network-based mobility management using an authentication server. According to the method, network-based mobility management is enforced, even if the mobile terminal supports terminal-based mobility management. This gives a network provider complete control over mobility management in his network, preventing configuration problems during the configuration of mobile terminals. In the method, after the successful authentication of a subscriber, the authentication server transmits an authentication confirmation message to an authentication client in an access network. The received authentication confirmation message contains an activation attribute for activating network-based mobility management, if the authentication server does not provide a common mobile key for terminal-based mobility management.
US08769257B2

Embodiments of the invention relate to apparatus, system and method for security extensions to the IETF Transport Layer Protocol (TLS) and IPsec standards that enable wireless devices to perform power-efficient and streamlined security packet processing. Embodiments of the invention enable a processor to use its existing cryptographic processing engines (e.g., AES-CCM) to perform TLS and IPsec security processing. Packets processed for WLAN and TLS security are processed pipelined, eliminating the multi-loop processing that currently exists, and decreases power consumed to process each packet. In addition, the host/chipset complex is woken up after all security processing has been done in the WNIC.
US08769256B2

An operating system switching method is provided. The operating system switching method is for a computer system comprising a control unit, a memory unit, and a storage unit, wherein the storage unit comprises a first operating system and a second operating system. The steps of the method include: loading the first operating system and the second operating system into a first memory space and a second memory space of the memory unit, respectively, and setting the first memory space and the second memory space to a working state and a standby state, respectively; and performing a first switching of the operating systems, and setting the first memory space and the second memory space to the standby state and the working state.
US08769254B2

This invention relates to reprogramming of in-circuit programmable chips installed in video lottery terminals (VLTs) by downloading electronic information (software) to such chips. Encrypted electronic information is downloaded from a host device to a gaming terminal through a communications link. The terminal comprises a decryption component configured for decrypting the encrypted electronic information using at least two security keys, at least one said key being resident in the terminal and at least another said key being delivered to the terminal at the time of the downloading (the downloading facilitating a replacement of existing software in terminal with corresponding decrypted software obtained from decrypting the encrypted information). The encrypted information transmitted to the terminal comprises at least one next version key for later use by the decryption component in decrypting a next version of encrypted electronic information. The non-resident key may be provided to the terminal by means of an electronic plug-in security key or provided through a secure network.
US08769253B2

A method of performing an input/output (I/O) processing operation includes: generating an address control structure for each of a plurality of consecutive data transfer requests, each address control structure specifying a local channel memory location of a corresponding address control word (ACW); receiving a data transfer request from a network interface that includes addressing information specified by a corresponding address control structure; comparing, by a data router in the channel, an Offset field of an address control structure and an Expected Offset field of an ACW to determine whether the data transfer request has been received in the correct order; and based on determining that the data transfer request has been received in the correct order, accessing the ACW by the data router and routing the data transfer request to a host memory location specified in the ACW.
US08769252B2

A computer system and a method for resetting the same are provided. The computer system includes a basic input output system (BIOS) chip and a keyboard controller. In the method, the BIOS chip monitors the keyboard controller to determine whether a time that the keyboard controller remains in a hang up state reaches an idle time limit. Besides, the keyboard controller monitors the BIOS chip to determine whether a time that the BIOS chip remains in the hang up state reaches the idle time limit When it is determined that the time of one of the BIOS chip and the keyboard controller remaining in the hang up state reaches the idle time limit, the computer system is reset in accordance with a hardware reset signal trigger by the other one of the BIOS chip and the keyboard controller.
US08769249B2

Methods and apparatus relating to instructions with floating point control override are described. In an embodiment, a processor includes a first logic to receive an instruction having one or more bits corresponding to override control data. The override control data is to indicate one or more floating point operation settings that are to override one or more default settings. The processor also has a second logic to perform a floating point operation in response to the instruction and at least one of the one or more floating point operation settings.
US08769247B2

Methods and apparatuses are provided for increased efficiency in a processor via early instruction completion. An apparatus is provided for increased efficiency in a processor via early instruction completion. The apparatus comprises an execution unit for processing instructions and determining whether a later issued instruction is ready for completion or an earlier issued instruction is ready for completion and a retire unit for retiring the later issued instruction when the later instruction is ready for completion or to retire the earlier instruction when later instruction is not ready for completion and the earlier issued instruction has a known good completion status. A method is provided for increased efficiency in a processor via early instruction completion. The method comprises completing an earlier issued instruction having a known good completion status ahead of a later issued instruction when the later issued instruction is not ready for completion.
US08769235B2

Provided is a computer system capable equalizing the storage capacity immediately and reliably to multiple real logical areas dynamically providing storage capacity to virtual logical areas.This computer system is characterized by, during the course of executing an operation of dynamically allocating a storage area to a virtual volume in response to an access from a host system, detecting an occasion where balance of a storage capacity among a plurality of logical areas is disrupted; and subsequently moving the storage area among a plurality of logical areas to maintain balance of the storage capacity.
US08769233B2

In an embodiment, a plurality of stack depths of a stack are sampled from all stack depths of the stack. An average of the plurality of stack depths is calculated. If a number of the plurality of stack depths is greater than a maximum sample threshold and the average of the plurality of stack depths is greater than or equal to a current depth of the stack, then pages are deallocated from the stack that are above the average of the plurality of stack depths. If the number of the plurality of stack depths is greater than the maximum sample threshold and the average of the plurality of stack depths is less than the current depth of the stack, then pages are deallocated from the stack that are above the current depth of the stack.
US08769225B2

In one embodiment, pursuant to migrating the data from the first to the second storage medium, the data is allocated to the second storage medium while retaining an allocation of the data in the first storage medium. If the data is migrated from the second storage medium back to the first storage medium, the data is pointed to the allocation of the data in the first storage medium to alleviate data movement from the second storage medium to the first storage medium. If the allocation of the data in the first storage medium is determined to be needed for other data, the allocation of the data in the first storage medium is freed.
US08769223B2

Various embodiments of a system and method for performing a backup operation are disclosed. Backup operation information may be stored, where the backup operation information specifies a backup operation to be performed using at least a first device. Subsequent to storing the backup operation information, state information for the first device may be stored, where the state information indicates whether the first device is eligible for use in backup operations. Before the backup operation is performed, the state information for the first device may be accessed. If the state information for the first device indicates that the first device is eligible for use in backup operations then the backup operation may be performed using the first device (as well as possibly other devices). If the state information for the first device indicates that the first device is ineligible for use in backup operations then the backup operation may be prevented from using the first device.
US08769221B2

A method, system, and computer program product for preemptive page eviction in a computer system are provided. The method includes identifying a region in an input file for preemptive page eviction, where the identified region is infrequently accessed relative to other regions of the input file. The method also includes generating an output file from the input file, where the identified region is flagged as a page for preemptive page eviction in the output file. The method further includes loading the output file to a memory hierarchy including a faster level of memory and a slower level of memory, wherein the flagged page is preemptively written to the slower level of memory.
US08769220B1

A method and apparatus for mitigating the performance impact of background or idle time processing during interactive computing sessions. One embodiment of the present invention is a method for mitigating performance impact of background or idle time processing on interactive applications comprising identifying executable and data pages in physical memory that are associated with an interactive application that is temporarily unused and preventing any of the identified executable and data pages from paging out.
US08769198B1

A method and computer program product for receiving a data read request on a first array for requested data stored on a multi-array storage network that includes the first array and at least a second array. The data read request is processed to determine if the requested data is resident on the first array. If the requested data is resident on the first array, the requested data is obtained from a storage device included within the first array. If the requested data is not resident on the first array, the requested data is obtained from a storage device included within the at least a second array via an out-of-band cache control process.
US08769190B1

Embodiments of the invention are directed to enabling concurrent commands from command requesters in a non-volatile solid-state storage subsystem in a manner that reduces contentions among the commands. Embodiments group blocks of memory into multiple sets of superblocks and associate a command requester to each superblock set. In one embodiment, the superblock sets are dynamically associated with a requester. In one embodiment, the superblock sets are dynamically associated with requesters based in part on at least one of internal memory management needs and host command throughput. In one embodiment, an erase command is executed on a superblock within a set and a simultaneous write command is executed on a superblock within another set.
US08769189B2

Techniques are described herein for managing data in a block-based flash memory device which avoid the need to perform sector erase operations each time data stored in the flash memory device is updated. As a result, a large number of write operations can be performed before a sector erase operation is needed. In addition, the block-based flash memory can emulate both programming and erasing on a byte-by-byte basis, like that provided by an EEPROM.
US08769182B1

A virtual tape library management system provides multiple, simultaneous accesses to the content stored on a single virtual tape. The virtual tape library management system receives a first request to access the content of a virtual tape. Responsive to the first request, the virtual tape library management system provides access to the virtual tape. While the virtual tape is being accessed, the virtual tape library management system receives a second request to read the same virtual tape. In response, the virtual tape library management system creates a shadow virtual tape corresponding to the virtual tape, maps the shadow virtual tape to the content of the virtual tape, and provides access to the shadow virtual tape.
US08769170B2

Managing commands that have not been executed is simplified while maintaining a state in which real-time commands can be executed. A printer 2 has a write control unit 21A that writes received commands to a receive buffer 31, a command execution unit 21B that executes the written commands, and a real-time command execution unit 21C that executes written commands that are real-time commands. The printer 2 enters a full-buffer mode as needed by the capacity of available storage space in the receive buffer 31, and when in the full-buffer mode the write control unit 21A cyclically writes commands to an auxiliary space created in the receive buffer, and the real-time command execution unit 21C reads and executes real-time commands from the auxiliary space.
US08769168B2

Mechanisms for communicating with a network adapter using a queue data structure are provided. A device driver invokes device driver services for initializing address translation and protection table (ATPT) entries in a root complex for the queue data structure. The device driver services return untranslated addresses to the device driver which are in turn provided to the network adapter. In response to retrieving a queue element from the queue data structure, the network adapter may request a translation of an untranslated address specified in the queue element and store the translated address in the network adapter prior to receiving a data packet targeting a buffer associated with the queue element.
US08769167B2

A channel device equipped with a data buffer unit storing data transferred between a storage device and an input-output device, a transfer controller transferring continuous data between the storage device and the data buffer unit using channel startup information. The storage device transfer controller transfers first data between the storage device and the data buffer unit using first transfer information stored in the address list and transfers the second data using second transfer information and total transfer amount information stored in the address list after the first data is transferred and an input-output device transfer controller transfers the continuous data between the data buffer unit and the input-output device.
US08769164B2

In a first aspect, a first method is provided for self-adjusting allocation of memory bandwidth in a network processor system. The first method includes the steps of (1) determining an amount of memory bandwidth of a network processor used by each of a plurality of data types; and (2) dynamically adjusting the amount of memory bandwidth allocated to at least one of the plurality of data types based on the determination. Numerous other aspects are provided.
US08769163B2

The present invention provides a method and apparatus for controlling the operating condition of a peripheral device based on the mode of interconnection of the peripheral device of a host device. The apparatus includes a first connector for connecting the peripheral device, a second connector for connecting the host device and a coupling system operatively interconnecting contacts of the first connector and contacts of the second connector. The coupling system is further configured to provide a supply signal to the peripheral device via the first connector, wherein the supply signal is at least in part indicative of one or more characteristics of the power available to the peripheral device from the host device. The supply signal may provide a means for the peripheral device to control operation thereof in light of the characteristics of the power available.
US08769150B2

Methods and apparatuses for converting content are provided. A predetermined request signal from an external device. All or a portion of currently browsed content is converted into data that can be browsed on the external device, based on information about the external device contained in the predetermined request signal. The data is transmitted to the external device.
US08769147B2

System, apparatus, and methods for dynamically managing logical path resources are provided. The logical path resources are managed by adding, removing, and establishing logic paths based on specified priority schemes associated with the logical path resources. Information associated with the logical path resources is updated in a logical path resource table.
US08769142B2

A method of setting transfer rate for information processing apparatus having a plurality of processing apparatus including a processor outputting data and connected by one or a plurality of data transfer apparatuses for transferring the data outputted from the processor, the method includes obtaining a dividing information indicating a manner of dividing the information processing apparatus into a plurality of partitions including at least one of the plurality of processing apparatuses, and setting a transfer rate of each partition for broadcasting data to all of the processors included in the plurality of processing apparatuses in each partition based on the obtained dividing information.
US08769141B2

A method including providing pseudo-streaming media data to a terminal; receiving a transport control protocol (TCP) acknowledgement from the terminal; estimating one or more network conditions of a network based at least in part on the TCP acknowledgement; determining an optimal session bitrate based on the estimated one or more network conditions; and providing pseudo-streaming media data to the terminal based on the optimal session bitrate.
US08769123B2

Apparatus, and an associated method, for generating a bearer setup request in a mobile, or other, communication system. An application-level bearer setup request generator is positioned at the application level of the communication system. A request is forwarded to a transport level. And a bearer setup request signal generator, located at the transport level, generates a transport-level bearer setup request that is routed to the bearer manager. Bearer setup is performed by the bearer manager and a response is provided through the transport layer to the application level, and back to a communication node when the bearer setup is performed.
US08769115B2

In accordance with an embodiment of the invention, there is provided a method for splitting a load of monitoring a peer to peer network. The method has a first node in the peer to peer network receiving information reported by a second node in the peer to peer network, including information concerning which nodes are connected to the second node. The method further has the first node connecting to nodes different from the nodes that are connected to the second node using the received information. The method still further has the first node reporting information, including information concerning which nodes are connected to the first node, such that the second node also has access to the reported information, thereby splitting the load of monitoring the peer to peer network among the first and second nodes.
US08769114B2

A server can efficiently distribute images for a web page as groups of images. The server receives a request from a client for a group of images associated with a web page. The request encodes an image group identifier and a retrieving function. The server executes the retrieving function with the image group identifier to obtain the group of images. In response to the request, the group of images are transmitted over a number of data communication connections between the client and the server that are less than a number of images in the group of images.
US08769112B2

The disclosure discloses a method for Policy and Charging Control (PCC) based on a time period, which comprises: when a Policy and Charging Rule Function (PCRF) entity provides Quality of Service (QoS) rules to a Bearer Binding and Event Reporting Function (BBERF) entity, a time indication of activation and/or deactivation of the QoS rules is provided at the same time. The disclosure also discloses a system for PCC based on a time period, which comprises: a providing unit located in the PCRF entity and configured to provide QoS rules and a time indication of activation and/or deactivation of the QoS rules to the BBERF entity at the same time. The disclosure ensures the consistency between the time of activating the QoS rules by the BBERF entity and the time of activating the PCC rules by the Policy and Control Enforcement Function (PCEF) entity, and the technical scheme is simple and practical.
US08769098B2

Means and methodology for a Policy and Charging Rule Function, in a network visited by a roaming terminal, to determine its role and mode of operation in concurrence with a Policy and Charging Rule Function in the home network of that terminal. The role is determined base on the fact the terminal is roaming, a roaming agreement exists between both networks or can be established and visitor network's operator rules. Determining mode of operation comprises negotiation and possible rule transfer between visited network and home network Policy and Charging Rule Functions.
US08769079B1

Tools and techniques for determining click values are described herein. A method for determining click values may include processing transaction history records. These records may be related to transactions that are conducted between visitors and a website. The method may also include computing respective click values associated with different visitors, based on the transaction history records involving those visitors. These click values indicate a likelihood that the visitors may transact for particular goods or services offered through the website.
US08769077B2

A digital data communications network that supports efficient, scalable routing of data and use of network resources by combining a recursive division of the network into hierarchical sub-networks with repeating parameterized general purpose link communication protocols and an addressing methodology that reflects the physical structure of the underlying network hardware. The sub-division of the network enhances security by reducing the amount of the network visible to an attack and by insulating the network hardware itself from attack. The fixed bandwidth range at each sub-network level allows quality of service to be assured and controlled. The routing of data is aided by a topological addressing scheme that allows data packets to be forwarded towards their destination based on only local knowledge of the network structure, with automatic support for mobility and multicasting. The repeating structures in the network greatly simplify network management and reduce the effort to engineer new network capabilities.
US08769072B2

Systems and methods for identifying Foundation Fieldbus linking devices are described. A pair of redundant Foundation Fieldbus linking devices may be identified by a gateway device that includes one or more computers. A single virtual address representative of the pair of redundant linking devices may then be determined by the gateway device, and information associated with operation of at least one of the pair of redundant linking devices may be provided by the gateway device to an external system. During the provision of information to the external system, the virtual address may be utilized to represent the at least one linking device.
US08769071B2

Some embodiments of a system and a method to dynamically create mappings between tenant-specific user identifiers (IDs) and global user IDs in a multi-tenant computing system have been presented. In response to a request to map a tenant user identifier (ID) pair comprising a tenant identifier (ID) and a tenant-specific user ID, a server in a networked system creates a mapping of the tenant user ID pair to a global user ID that is not yet used. The server is communicably coupled to other servers in the networked system, and the tenant ID is associated with a tenant in the networked system. The server may immediately makes the mapping of the tenant user ID pair to the global user ID available to the other servers in the networked system.
US08769069B2

A data collection apparatus includes an information storing unit which stores application information collected from a server providing a service by running an application and includes detail information indicating a detail of the application, an information collecting unit which collects the application information from the server, an information identifying unit which identifies application information in which an abnormality has occurred and application information, affected by the abnormality, a first comparing unit which compares, as to the application information identified by the information identifying unit, all application information including the detail information and all application information including the detail information collected in the previous point, and extracts application information different from the application information collected in a previous point, and an information sending unit which sends the application information, extracted by the first comparing unit, to a data management apparatus which manages the application information.
US08769065B1

A system receives identification of at least one data structure to contain the network management data associated with the managed resource. The system receives notification that at least one type adapter structure has been created. The type adapter is associated with the data structure. The system receives identification of at least one key common to the data structure, and the network management data. The system receives notification that methods within the at least one type adapter structure have been implemented to enable the network management data to be mapped from the at least one data structure to a managed object database.
US08769063B2

Improved techniques for managing enterprise applications on mobile devices are described herein. Each enterprise mobile application running on the mobile device has an associated policy through which it interacts with its environment. The policy selectively blocks or allows activities involving the enterprise application in accordance with rules established by the enterprise. Together, the enterprise applications running on the mobile device form a set of managed applications. Managed applications are typically allowed to exchange data with other managed applications, but are blocked from exchanging data with other applications, such as the user's own personal applications. Policies may be defined to manage data sharing, mobile resource management, application specific information, networking and data access solutions, device cloud and transfer, dual mode application software, enterprise app store access, and virtualized application and resources, among other things.
US08769062B2

A plurality of network addresses identify a source device in the network. A plurality of subscriptions for the source device to receive messages from the target devices each identify one of the target devices and one of the source network addresses the identified target device uses to communicate with the source device. Upon detecting a change to a changed network address, a determination is made of a subscription indicating the changed network address and the target device indicated in the determined subscription is determined. A selection is made of a selected network address, other than the changed network address is selected. If the selected network address can be used to communicate between the determined target device and the source device, then the selected network address is used and provided to the determined target device.
US08769059B1

Embodiments of the present disclosure are directed to, among other things, providing resource allocation advice, configuration recommendations, and/or migration advice regarding data storage, access, placement, and/or related web services. In some examples, a web service may utilize or otherwise control a client instance to control, access, or otherwise manage resources of a distributed system. Based at least in part on one or more resource usage checks and/or configuration checks, resource usage information and/or configuration information of an account utilizing a web service, and/or user preferences and/or settings, resource allocation advice, system configuration recommendations, and/or migration advice may be provided to a user of an account. Additionally, in some examples, one or more remediation operations may be performed automatically.
US08769054B2

A system for use in presenting media content includes a media server configured to provide media content and a media client configured to obtain the media content from the media server and to present the media content on a device. The media client is configured to generate a first code and to transmit information to the media server. The information identifies the media client and the information indicates that the media client is available for pairing. The media server is configured to reply to the information with a second code that corresponds to the first code in order to enable pairing between the media server and the media client.
US08769049B2

The claimed subject matter relates to systems and/or methodologies that facilitate intelligent distribution of backup information across storage locations in network-based backup architectures. A virtual layering of backup information across storage locations in the backup architecture can be implemented. Statistical models are utilized to dynamically re-allocate backup information among storage locations and/or layers to ensure availability of data, minimum latency upon restore, and minimum bandwidth utilization upon restore. In addition, heuristics or machine learning techniques can be applied to proactively detect failures or other changes in storage locations such that backup information can be reallocated accordingly prior to a failure.
US08769047B1

Systems and methods for content delivery control in a cooperative delivery system are disclosed. A rules repository stores control parameters. A content delivery network is configured to receive a request for a content object from an end-user system; receive from the rules repository a control parameter where the control parameter provides information about delivery and/or caching the content object; insert a string into a uniform resource identifier (URI) or response header for the content object; and transmit the response to or through a terminal network. The terminal network receives the response; identifies the string; identifies the control parameter; and processes delivery or storage of the content object based on the control parameter.
US08769044B2

Systems and methods for controlling, filtering, and monitoring mobile device access to the internet are disclosed. According to an embodiment a server is responsible for controlling, filtering and monitoring internet activity. For every request, the server interacts with back-end databases that categorize requests, and based on user/carrier/corporate settings, allow or disallow access to particular content.
US08769043B2

The discloses method and apparatus (“system”) enables users to: generate a map of computer servers visited while browsing, calculate the total distance travelled on the web, earn “Goosemiles” or travel points for the distance surfed on the web, earn bonus points for being the first member to access a specific site or web-page, leave an electronic flag or message for other users or specific users who visit the site later, set-up guided annotated tours of the web or “Goose hunts” for specific members or group of members where messages are left on a series of sites with each providing a clue to the next link in the chain until they reach the final site or prize. Also, phishing attacks are spotted by alerting them if a familiar site is located in a different location.
US08769042B2

A method and apparatus delivers a file from a content provider to a requesting client. A request from a client to access a file is received, a common file that is common to all requesting clients is identified in a first storage location, in a second storage location a personalized file that is unique to said client is identified, the common file and are personalized file are analyzed to find their differences, the shared data and the unique data are delivered to the client and the client is instructed to stitch the shared data and the unique data together.
US08769033B2

A method to expose information about a set of data objects to a master device is provided. A benchmark sequence indicator is used in connection with a set of sequence indicators that are each related to data objects (such as media files on a device) to satisfy multiple independent requests for information about certain objects that satisfy sequence criteria conveyed from multiple requesting applications. An embodied data structure includes a set of properties associated with a data object as well as a sequence-identification field that also corresponds to the data object and that is populated with an object sequence indicator that indicates when a change occurred to the data object.
US08769026B2

Techniques are provided for servicing requests that are issued in a protocol other than the protocol expected by the service. For example, many people want to use their mobile devices to interact with services, which require the ability to have multiple related messages in a session. However, their mobile devices do not have protocols that support interacting with such services. One technique provided herein is to interpose an intermediary between the mobile devices and the services to provide session capabilities on behalf of the mobile devices.
US08769020B2

The present invention provides an electronic message management system (EMS) that includes a real-time feedback loop where data is collected from the electronic messages on incoming connection attempts, outgoing delivery attempts, and message content analysis, and written to a centralized data matrix. A separate process accesses the data matrix and analyzes trends in that data. The detected data patterns, trends or behavior is based on configuration parameters for the recipient. Based on these determinations, the process is able to instruct components in the EMS to accept, redirect, refuse, modify, defer, or otherwise dispose of the connection request, the delivery attempt, or the message. Associated methods for managing the transmission of electronic messages are also disclosed.
US08769016B2

The present invention is directed towards to computerized social networks and e-commerce and facilitating ad-hoc screen sharing and co-browsing between users of a social network. The collaborative browsing method comprises a server computer having a Shopping With A Friend (SWAF) server engine coupled to a database, a SWAF client engine coupled to the SWAF server engine and a plurality of client computers each having a web browser program that runs the SWAF client engine. The web browser program does not include a collaboration plug-in.
US08769014B2

Various embodiments of systems and methods for a universal collaboration adapter for web editors are described herein. In one aspect, the method executed by one or more computers in a network of computers includes analyzing a document object model (DOM) representing a document in a tree structure and identifying an event or manipulation associated with the DOM. Typically, the DOM manipulations correspond to the document manipulations. An operation corresponding to the identified event is selected. The operation is sent to a generic collaboration engine for transmission to a server. The server transmits the operation to various participants for collaborative editing. The identification of the DOM manipulations (instead of editor-specific manipulations) provides a universal collaboration adapter for various editors. Further, recording or identifying local DOM manipulations and replaying remote DOM manipulations enable transforming a single-user web editor into the multi-user or collaborative web editor.
US08769012B1

A system and machine-implemented method for facilitating collaboration with one or more users including receiving a request from a first user to collaborate with a social group on a collaboration object, the social group including one or more users associated with the first user at a social networking site, generating a post providing access to the collaboration object in response to receiving the request, providing the post for display at the social networking site, receiving a request to access the collaboration object from a second user in response to the second user interacting with the post at the social networking site and providing the collaboration object for display to the second user at the social networking site in response to receiving the request from the second user, wherein the second user is able to modify the collaboration object at the social networking site.
US08769007B2

According to the present invention, a plurality of apparatuses can be synchronously controlled by a simpler operation. A synchronous control information management unit 87 stores synchronous control information including synchronous operation patterns and synchronous control conditions. In each of the synchronous operation patterns, a procedure for sequentially transmitting control commands to a plurality of apparatuses is defined using a single pattern name. In each of the synchronous control conditions, a condition for selecting one of the synchronous operation patterns is described. A control pattern analysis unit 89 analyzes a synchronous control pattern, sequentially generates control commands used to control apparatuses on the basis of the analysis result, and supplies the generated control commands to a network interface 81 or an infrared communication control unit 90. The present invention can be applied to a reproduction system for reproducing content.
US08769002B2

When continuous user biometric information is transmitted to a server device continuously from a handheld device used by a user, the server device can be caused to receive a required measurement value efficiently at a required time, select information desired by the user on the basis of the measurement value and user peripheral information, and provide the user with the information reliably, without imposing excessive communication charges and the like. A server device 140 is used together with a handheld device 110 that transmits the user peripheral information to the server device and receives the information transmitted from the server device. After determining that a fluctuation has occurred in the user peripheral information transmitted from the handheld device 110, the server device 140 performs either processing for calculating a predicted value of future user biometric information or processing for receiving the predicted value of the future user biometric information, selects information on the basis of the predicted value and the user peripheral information, and transmits the selected information to the handheld device 110.
US08769000B2

Adaptive network communication techniques are described. In one or more implementations, a determination is made by a client device that a request, which is to be communicated to a content provider via a network, is for content that is accessible via the content provider upon authentication of credentials transmitted to the content provider from the client device. Responsive to the determination, an initial communication is formed by the client device for receipt by the content provider that includes the credentials without waiting for the content provider to request the credentials from the client device.
US08768998B1

A system is provided to perform non-recursive signal processing using a sampled data technique and a parallel network of switched-capacitor filters. The input analog signal is sampled in a time sequence manner at regular time intervals to obtain analog-valued samples. These samples are collected into data blocks that are assembled into a set of data blocks. The successive data blocks belonging to a set of data blocks partially overlap with the first data block. The non-recursive signal processing is performed on all of the data blocks of the set substantially simultaneously, using the parallel network to produce a processed analog output signal. Each individual processing path of the parallel network processes a specific data block of the set of data blocks. The number of parallel processing paths is the same as one plus the degree of the polynomial representing the desired or overall input/output equation characterizing the non-recursive signal processing.
US08768980B2

A system includes a selection module, a file module, a storage cache, and an access module. The selection module organizes small files into groups according to a selection function, which organizes the small files based on at least one of related content of the small files, related filenames of the small files, and related access patterns of the small files. The file module uses a predetermined block size and stores, for each group, a large file containing all the small files of the group. The access module receives an access request for one of the small files from a client device and determines a large file corresponding to the one of the small files based on input from the selection module. The access module selectively reads the corresponding large file from the file module into the storage cache, and accesses the one of the small files from the large file.
US08768977B2

A method for managing data using writeable snapshots in a multi-versioned, distributed B-tree comprising nodes distributed over a plurality of servers, includes receiving a transaction request specifying a transaction type, the transaction having a transaction snapshot id, and determining the transaction type. If the transaction type is an update transaction, the method includes determining a node to update, which is defined by a node snapshot id, and if the transaction snapshot id is greater that the node snapshot id, the method copies the node and updates the copy to create a writeable snapshot, assigns the transaction snapshot id as a node snapshot id of the copy, and places a pointer from the node to the copy.
US08768969B2

A method for managing dialogue interaction includes generating a hierarchical tree representation of a set of hierarchical data entities, and identifying a leaf node in the hierarchical tree representation. A system for managing dialogue interaction includes a hierarchical data format having a plurality of hierarchical data entities, and a dialogue interaction manager that manages a dialogue with a user based upon the hierarchical data format.
US08768968B2

Systems and methods for automating and increasing the efficiency of access to data using inheritance of access rules within an organization based upon the relationship of positions within the organization and the roles associated with the positions. In one embodiment, a role structure is used in conjunction with a hierarchical organization structure to allow access rules to be inherited by some of the positions from other positions based upon the relationship of positions within the organization and the roles associated with the positions. Access rules can be applied across equivalent or similar positions, yet differentiated between distinct portions of the organization and the distinct roles associated with the positions. Consequently, particular access rules are not necessarily inherited by all of the positions subordinate to a particular position with which the rule originates, and are not necessarily inherited by all of the positions that are associated with a particular role.
US08768961B2

Systems and methods of processing database search queries are provided. A method of processing database search queries includes receiving a database query from a query source. The method also includes determining location information associated with the query source based at least partially on an Internet Protocol (IP) address associated with the database query. The method further includes determining, based at least partially on the location information, whether the query source satisfies a required source attribute. The method also includes withholding information requested by the database query when the required source attribute is not satisfied.
US08768955B2

A system and method for identifying a component, such as a sensor, for a Tire Pressure Monitoring System (TPMS) to be replaced for a vehicle of interest by performing a Quick Search or an Advanced Search of a TPMS Manager database. In the Quick Search, the user inputs year/make/model (Y/M/M) or Vehicle Identification Number (VIN). In the Advanced Search, the user inputs various physical attributes of the component to be replaced. All related superseded, alias or interchange parts with like communication or physical structure and relevant service components are determined and the results displayed to the user. A relearn procedure for the replacement TPMS component for the vehicle of interest identifies and validates scan tool compatibility. A report to the user of a cause/failure analysis of the component to be replaced can be displayed.
US08768942B2

Embodiments relate to systems and methods for generating interpolated data sets converging to optimized results using iterative overlapping inputs. A database can store sets of operational data, such as financial, medical, climate or other information. For given data, a portion of the input data can be known or predetermined, while for a second portion can be unknown and subject to interpolation. The interpolation engine can generate a conformal interpolation function and interpolated input sets that map to a set of target output data. In aspects, to attempt to drive the set of interpolated input data and/or other results to an optimized and/or steady-state value or values, the interpolation engine can generate a set of shifts or alterations to the set of combined input data as that data exists, to create a set of iterative overlapping input data. That iterative overlapping data can be used to execute successive interpolation runs, and determine whether the interpolation results converge to a set of steady-state and/or optimized results. When convergence is detected, the interpolation results can be assumed to represent optimized, steady-state, and/or best-available values for the conditions of the original combined input data.
US08768940B2

In a single-signature duplicate document system, a secondary set of attributes is used in addition to a primary set of attributes so as to improve the precision of the system. When the projection of a document onto the primary set of attributes is below a threshold, then a secondary set of attributes is used to supplement the primary lexicon so that the projection is above the threshold.
US08768939B2

A method for displaying on a user's device display and selecting categorized information elements, comprising: grouping said information elements into one or several categories among one or several groups of categories, displaying said categories together with a list of information elements of said categories, making said information elements selectable, wherein the selection of one information element initiates a computer code to carry out a process with said information element, wherein said categories are based on a predefined dictionary thesaurus.
US08768937B2

A method and system for retrieving and normalizing product information are described. The system retrieves product information from sources that are accessed over a network. Next, the system creates markup language based on the product information. The markup language includes a first attribute-value pair that includes a first attribute and a first value. Next, the system normalizes the markup language by translating the first attribute to a second attribute responsive to an identification of the first attribute in a list that includes a plurality of attributes that are associated with a first product and the second attribute. The second attribute is a canonical representation of the plurality of attributes respectively.
US08768934B2

A system and method for creating and utilizing content is described. Content is generated which includes a query and a response to the query. A primary query may be used to generate a plurality of variant queries which may be matched to a request. A content owner or curator may review a query, a response, and/or alternate queries, and may provide access to media which may be used to generate queries and responses.
US08768931B2

Techniques for generating hash values for instances of distinct data values. In the techniques, each distinct data value is mapped to hash value generation information which describes how to generate a unique hash value for instances of the distinct data value. The hash value generation information for a distinct data value is then used to generate the hash value for an instance of the distinct data value. The hash value generation information may indicate whether a collision has occurred in generating the hash values for instances of the distinct data values and if so, how the collision is to be resolved. The techniques are employed to normalize RDF triples by generating the UIDS employed in the normalization from the triples' lexical values.
US08768926B2

Web pages are efficiently categorized in a data processor without analyzing the content of the web pages. According to at least one embodiment, data is maintained that represents sample URLs grouped into a plurality of clusters. The sample URLs of a cluster are used to produce a URL regular expression pattern (“URL-regex”) that differentiates the sample URLs of the cluster from the sample URLs of other clusters and that covers at least a specified percentage of the sample URLs in the cluster. The process of producing a URL-regex is repeated for each of the clusters producing a URL-regex for each cluster. Web pages are then categorized into one of the clusters by determining which of the URL-regex patterns produced for the clusters match URLs that refer to the web pages. Thus, a web page may be categorized based on a URL that refers to the web page without having to obtain and analyze the content of the web page.
US08768925B2

Providing answers to questions based on any corpus of data implements a method that generates a number of candidate passages from the corpus that answer an input query, and finds the correct resulting answer by collecting supporting evidence from the multiple passages. By analyzing all retrieved passages and that passage's metadata in parallel, an output plurality of data structures is generated including candidate answers based upon the analyzing. Then, supporting passage retrieval operations are performed upon the set of candidate answers, and for each candidate answer, the data corpus is traversed to find those passages having candidate answer in addition to query terms. All candidate answers are automatically scored by a plurality of scoring modules, each producing a module score. The modules scores are processed to determine one or more query answers; and, a query response is generated based on the one or more query answers.
US08768920B1

The present disclosure is directed to a system and method for posting questions from search queries. In some implementations, a method includes identifying a plurality of different questions previously searched. The previously-searched questions each include a word indicating a question. The previously-searched questions are filtered to remove one or more specified words included with the question word. At least a subset of the plurality of previously-searched questions that can be used to generate a canonical form after removing the one or more specified words are determined. The subset of previously-searched questions are ranked based, at least in part, on a frequency of submission of each previously-submitted search query in the subset. A particular one of the previously-submitted search queries in the subset is identified as representative of the subset of previously-submitted search queries based on the ranking.
US08768916B1

Inputs are received. The inputs are a star schema data model comprising a non-partitioned fact table (F) comprising fields (f1, f2, . . . fn); a set of queries (Q=q1, q2, . . . qm); and a set of weights for each query in Q. Each weight defines the priority of a respective query in a workload. The inputs are pre-processed to produce a most-granular-partitioning. The most-granular-partitioning is processed to produce an initial multi-level partitioned primary index, the processing including determining the scan cost of one of the queries in Q. The initial multi-level partitioned primary index is processed to produce a final multi-level partitioned primary index, the processing including determining the query cost of one of the queries in Q. F is partitioned using the final multi-level partitioned primary index. A query from Q is run against F to produce a result. The result is stored.
US08768909B2

The present invention includes systems and methods for retrieving information via a flexible and consistent targeted search model that employs interactive multi-prefix, multi-tier and dynamic menu information retrieval techniques (including predictive text techniques to facilitate the generation of targeted ads) that provide context-specific functionality tailored to particular information channels, as well as to records within or across such channels, and other known state information. Users are presented with a consistent search interface among multiple tiers across and within a large domain of information sources, and need not learn different or special search syntax. A thin-client server-controlled architecture enables users of resource-constrained mobile communications devices to locate targeted information more quickly by entering fewer keystrokes and performing fewer query iterations and web page refreshes, which in turn reduces required network bandwidth.
US08768907B2

A method of determining search engine rank for digital content. The method may include performing a search for digital content on a network using a search term to obtain search results. The method may also include obtaining search engine optimization data from the search results and analyzing the search engine optimization data to determine a position of digital content related to an entity with respect to non-category specific search results and sub-links of non-category specific search results.
US08768900B2

A method for processing an XML document with a schema includes extracting structure content and data content of an XML document, determining path coding of a node in the structure content, and determining data content corresponding to the node according to a pre-stored preorder of the node, wherein the path coding of the node identifies a storage position of the node in the structure content through the node and other nodes in the structure content, and compressing respectively the node, the path coding of the node and the data content.
US08768889B1

One embodiment of the present invention provides a system that performs a lock-free update to one or more fields in an existing node in a linked list. To perform the update, the system first obtains a new node to be added to the linked list, wherein other processes do not possess references to the new node and therefore cannot initially access the new node. Next, the system copies a snapshot of the existing node to the new node, and then updates one or more fields in the new node that correspond to the one or more fields in the existing node. Next, in a single atomic operation the system modifies a next pointer of the existing node to point to the new node and also marks the next pointer to indicate that the existing node is deleted. In this way, the new node becomes part of the linked list and the existing node is deleted in a single atomic operation.
US08768888B2

A re-configurable logic device such as a field programmable gate array (FPGA) can be used to deploy a data processing pipeline, the pipeline comprising a plurality of pipelined data processing engines, the plurality of pipelined data processing engines being configured to perform processing operations, wherein the pipeline comprises a multi-functional pipeline, and wherein the re-configurable logic device is further configured to controllably activate or deactivate each of the pipelined data processing engines in the pipeline in response to control instructions and thereby define a function for the pipeline, each pipeline function being the combined functionality of each activated pipelined data processing engine in the pipeline.
US08768887B2

A system and method for creating notes for business object instances are described. In various embodiments, a system includes modules to receive note data and bind notes to business object instances. In various embodiments, the system saves notes to a database via a dedicated database connection in a dedicated transaction. In various embodiments, a user interface is provided for creating and modifying notes on business content. In various embodiments, a method for creating notes in a user interface and attaching the notes to one or more positions in a user interface screen displaying business content in an enterprise information system is presented.
US08768878B2

One or more embodiments characterize workloads in a data warehouse system. A set of accounting data associated with a data warehouse system comprising at least one database is collected. A set of query concurrency information associated with the database is determined determining based on the set of accounting data. The set of query concurrency information identifies a plurality of queries executed on the database simultaneously and a duration of this execution. A set of processor utilization distribution information associated with the plurality of queries is determined based on the set of accounting data. A set of data access information indicating a quantity of data accessed by each query in the plurality of queries is determined. A workload profile associated with the database is generated based on the set of query concurrency information, the set of processor utilization distribution information, and the set of data access information.
US08768872B2

An example system and process with some operations that include determining a plurality of constraint compliant values and determining that a candidate solution, which was created from two or more of a plurality of candidate solutions via a crossover operation, fails to comply with a constraint condition for an optimization problem, wherein the two or more of the plurality of candidate solutions comply with the constraint condition. In some examples, the operations further include assigning a value from the plurality of constraint compliant values to a constrained variable of the candidate solution in response to the determining that the candidate solution fails to comply with the constraint condition, wherein the value assigned from the plurality of constraint compliant values is randomly selected from the plurality of constraint compliant values, and wherein the at least one constrained variable is constrained to comply with the constraint condition.
US08768870B1

Methods, systems, and apparatus, including computer programs encoded on computer storage media, for training a model using parameter server shards. One of the methods includes receiving, at a parameter server shard configured to maintain values of a disjoint partition of the parameters of the model, a succession of respective requests for parameter values from each of a plurality of replicas of the model; in response to each request, downloading a current value of each requested parameter to the replica from which the request was received; receiving a succession of uploads, each upload including respective delta values for each of the parameters in the partition maintained by the shard; and updating values of the parameters in the partition maintained by the parameter server shard repeatedly based on the uploads of delta values to generate current parameter values.
US08768866B2

Systems and methods are provided for estimating a value for a target variable. A plurality of known entities are assigned to cells of a grid, where the known entities are assigned to the cells based upon attribute data. A determination is made as to whether each cell has at least a threshold number of assigned known entities. When one of the cells contains fewer than the threshold number of known entities, cells are combined to form a super cell. A model is generated for each cell and super cell based upon target variable values for known entities assigned to that cell or super cell. Data for a target entity is received, and the target entity is assigned to one the cells. One of the models is selected based upon the cell assignment, and an estimate is generated for the target variable for the target entity using the selected model.
US08768865B2

Example methods, apparatuses, or articles of manufacture are disclosed herein that may be utilized, in whole or in part, to facilitate or support one or more operations or techniques for machine learning of situations via pattern matching or recognition.
US08768858B1

Embodiments described herein provide a shipper a discount for each postal item that is mailed by a delivery service provider. A facilitator offers the shipper an immediate discount that is based on the shipper meeting certain requirements, e.g. purchasing a certain amount of postage value, shipping a certain number of mail items, and/or shipping a certain type of mail item such as a qualified mail piece. The facilitator will receive a rebate from the delivery service provider based on the shipper ability to meet the established requirements.
US08768856B2

A system and method for distributing information regarding a child abduction. More particularly, a system and method for distributing AMBER alert information via a computer system network to consumers at retail stores. AMBER alert distribution criteria is used to determine what retail stores to transmit the AMBER alert information to, and CID criteria is used to determine what consumers within those retail stores to transmit the information to. As time progresses the AMBER alert information is distributed to retail stores in a larger geographic scope.
US08768850B2

A method, system, and device for license-centric content use or distribution, including a pre-existing digital rights management (DRM) system having a unique interface to a repository of data thereof to govern use of content; a shared license repository configured to access the data to govern the use of the content and to communicate with the unique interface of the pre-existing DRM system; and a user interface configured to interact with the pre-existing DRM system, and configured to allow the user to send a license associated with the content from the shared license repository to the pre-existing DRM system or to another shared license repository.
US08768848B2

At or before time t2 when a kick-down switch was off, the higher speed a shift ratio selected by a driver is for, the smaller value a restriction rate K is set to. Consequently, driving force in a Mid-gear ratio is more restricted than driving force in a Lo-gear ratio. Further, driving force in a Hi-gear ratio is more restricted than driving force in the Mid-gear ratio. At time t2 when the kick-down switch changes from off to on, the restriction on driving force employing a restriction rate K is removed, whereupon an increment β in driving force in the Hi-gear ratio is, as it had a greater restricted amount during KD OFF, greater than an increment α in driving force in the Mid-gear ratio. A natural kick-down feeling responsive to the selected shift ratio is thus realized.
US08768847B2

The subject disclosure is directed towards a technology by which access to a protected entity's data is controlled by a data brokerage service. The service determines whether a requesting entity has appropriate access rights to requested information, and if so, the service returns a response corresponding to the protected data. In one aspect, the protected data may be location data of a protected entity that is maintained independent of a payment instrument. The location data is used to compute feasibility information as to whether the protected entity is authorized to perform a transaction using the payment instrument.
US08768835B2

A system and method for funding a collective account such as a charitable account includes issuing a plurality of financial instruments, linking the financial instruments to the collective account, aggregating individual financial instrument usage, calculating a bonus or other reward based on the aggregate financial instrument usage and funding or distributing the reward to the collective account. According to the invention, members of a civic, charitable, political or other entity may generate collective rewards or other benefits which may be attributed to the designated organization.
US08768824B2

A user interface and method are disclosed for providing trading between a plurality of semi-fungible and non-fungible goods. A plurality of book axes are displayed in a single interface, each book axis representing a market for a particular good. Orders for goods are displayed as marks on the axes to display the relative value of the orders. A value axis is provided that relates the value of the goods from each market to each other. Thus, a single interface provides the means to relate the values of different semi-fungible goods. The value axis may be displayed in units of price, or a custom value designated by a user or pre-defined by the interface. Quantity information is represented in the interface through the display of a dimension of an order icon. Precise information about each order is displayed either in a panel view or a pop-up window.
US08768823B2

The invention relates to financial products that provide a return that is a function of future sales/revenues, preferably gross sales/revenue, over a specified period of time. One embodiment of a method for creating such a financial product includes providing standard forms to an issuer and underwriter and standard terms to an issuer and investors. The terms to the issuer include providing capital to the issuer in exchange for a return that is a function of future sales over a specified period of time. The process further includes creating instruments representing investment in the financial product. The process creates the instruments in sufficient numbers and in appropriate denominations to facilitate trading in the financial product.
US08768819B2

Systems and methods for administering trade orders are described. An embodiment comprises receiving, from a first server operated by a first trader, a communication including a first trade order and one or more selection criteria, the first trade order including at least one of a specified instrument, a specified quantity, and a specified price; determining that a database of trade orders does not contain a trade order matching the first trade order; identifying a plurality of traders satisfying the selection criteria; sending, to a plurality of second servers, a query including at least one of the specified instrument, the specified quantity, and the specified price; receiving, from a one of the plurality of second servers operated on behalf of a second trader, a positive response to the query; and facilitating execution of a trade between the first trader and the second trader for the specified instrument at the specified price.
US08768818B2

Initially the amount of data is checked to determine whether a sufficient history is present for the method. Credit card accounts are classified as new, relatively new, and old cards, i.e. opened within six months, within twelve months, and over twelve months ago. The balances for each of the three categories are calculated for each month. The average balance percentages of cards opened within six months and twelve months for the last twenty-four months is calculated and teaser surfers are defined as either having average percentages within the last twenty-four months for all credit cards opened within six and twelve months are greater than predefined percentages.
US08768817B2

With respect to one order information piece in security transaction, processing of reception, transaction condition confirmation, transaction settlement and result transmission is executed serially. A transaction system is configured so as to divide a transaction including a plurality of transaction requests into predetermined units and execute resultant processing units in parallel. When such division is conducted, the sequential property is ensured. For example, the progress situation of processing is stored in a database every processing and every step. Issues, terminals, markets and servers are included as predetermined units.
US08768809B1

Methods and systems for managing financial data to measure the liquidity risk for a client involve, for example, implementing, using a computer having a processor coupled to memory, client-defined templates for a cash flow forecasting module. Also using the computer, forecast data for the client may be received via the client-defined templates by the cash flow forecasting module. Likewise using the computer, a real-time predictive aggregated measure of available cash flow for the client by currency by value date is generated by the cash flow forecasting module. In addition, a real time measure of forecast variance is computed by the cash flow forecasting module through pseudo logic matching of the actual cash flows at transaction level against the likely much higher level at which the forecasting process is operating.
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