US09672670B2

A control system for providing Cloud based commands to a garage door includes one or more Cloud servers for receiving commands from at least one mobile web enabled user device. A load balancer is used for receiving communication from a server for distributing commands from at least one web enabled device to the Cloud. A server based garage door opener is used for receiving commands and controlling operation of a garage door from the server. The status of the garage door is determined by measuring a distance of the garage door to the garage floor using a distance measuring device such that distance measuring information is communicated to the server for determining the open or closed status of the garage door before movement.
US09672659B2

An approach is provided for providing perspective-based content placement. A content placement platform processes and/or facilitates a processing of one or more models of one or more objects associated with a geographical area to cause, at least in part, a decomposition of the one or more models into one or more simplified surfaces. The content placement platform further causes, at least in part, a selection of one or more portions of the one or more simplified surfaces as one or more content placement layers based, at least in part, on one or more viewpoints, with the one or more content placement layers supporting a perspective-based rendering of one or more content items associated with the one or more objects.
US09672658B2

Portable globes may be provided for viewing regions of interest in a Geographical Information System (GIS). A method for providing a portable globe for a GIS may include determining one or more selected regions corresponding to a geographical region of a master globe. The method may further include organizing geospatial data from the master globe based on the selected region and creating the portable globe based on the geospatial data. The portable globe may be smaller in data size than the master globe. The method may include transmitting the portable globe to a local device that may render the selected region at a higher resolution than the remainder of the portable globe in the GIS. A system for providing a portable globe may include a selection module, a fusion module and a transmitter. A system for updating a portable globe may include a packet bundler and a globe cutter.
US09672655B2

The present disclosure provides, in certain embodiments, a system and method for generating a 3D model of a biopsy specimen. The 3D model may greatly enhance the capability to identify insufficient margins surrounding neoplastic tissue obtained through an excisional biopsy, and improve communication from a pathologist back to a surgeon and/or patient. The model provides a 3D representation of the neoplastic tissue within the specimen, thereby allowing the surgeon (or other medical personnel) to rotate and orient the model at any desired angle to identify insufficient margins and relate the location of the insufficient margins to the removal site to more accurately identify the location at which additional tissue needs to be excised. By identifying the exact location at which additional tissue needs to be excised, the surgeon is able to minimize the amount of additional tissue removed from the patient in order to achieve sufficient margins.
US09672650B2

An image processing apparatus includes: a digital processing unit that performs digital processing on accepted one or at least two images, thereby acquiring one or at least two processed images; a physical property information acquiring unit that acquires physical property information, which is information relating to a physical property that has been lost compared with one or more physical properties of a target contained in the images, in the one or at least two processed images; a physical property processing unit that performs physical property processing, which is processing for adding a physical property corresponding to the physical property information, using the one or at least two processed images; and an output unit that outputs a processed image subjected to the physical property processing. Accordingly, it is possible to reproduce lost physical properties of a target expressed in an image, to the fullest extent possible.
US09672648B2

In a computer-implemented method for augmented reality aided navigation to at least one physical device indicia corresponding to the at least one physical device supporting virtualization infrastructure is observed. Based on the observed indicia, navigational cues correlating to a location of the at least one physical device is generated. Navigational cues are displayed such that augmented reality aided navigation is provided to the at least one physical device.
US09672647B2

Techniques are disclosed for facilitating the sharing of digital imaging effects from an image originator to an image recipient. A digital imaging effect is the result of a processing technique that is applied to a digital image in a way that produces a particular visual effect. The processing techniques that underlie digital imaging effects such as these can be defined by parameters that establish how the individual pixels comprising the image are manipulated to achieve the desired visual effect. In certain embodiments such defining parameters can be incorporated into a digital image file that thus contains not only data defining the image itself, but also parameters that define one or more effects that may have been applied to the image. This advantageously allows a recipient of the digital image file to not only view the image, but also to use the incorporated parameters to apply the effect to other images.
US09672646B2

Systems, methods, and computer-readable storage media for performing a visual rewind operation in an image editing application may include capturing, compressing, and storing image data and interaction logs and correlations between them. The stored information may be used in a visual rewind operation, during which a sequence of frames (e.g., an animation) depicting changes in an image during image editing operations is displayed in reverse order. In response to navigating to a point in the animation, data representing the image state at that point may be reconstructed from the stored data and stored as a modified image or a variation thereof. The methods may be employed in an image editing application to provide a partial undo operation, image editing variation previewing, and/or visually-driven editing script creation. The methods may be implemented as stand-alone applications or as program instructions implementing components of a graphics application, executable by a CPU and/or GPU.
US09672638B2

An apparatus and method of reconstructing a computed tomography (CT) image using multiple datasets of projective measurements, wherein the method of image reconstruction favors spatial correlations among the images respectively reconstructed from each of the corresponding multiple datasets. The multiple data sets each contain projective measurements of the same object taken in close temporal proximity, but taken with different detector type or configurations (e.g., different spectral components in spectral CT or different detector types in hybrid 3rd- and 4th-generation CT scanners). Reconstructed images minimizing a vectorial total variation norm satisfies the criteria of favoring images exhibiting spatial correlations among the reconstructed images and favoring a sparse gradient-magnitude image (i.e., edge enhancing image) for each reconstructed image.
US09672634B2

A method for video object tracking using stereoscopic images with depth maps. The method comprises calculating a first axis histogram for each depth map and applying: a first object detection method to track objects based on at least one of: the contents of the images and the depth maps; and a second object detection method to track objects based on the contents of the histograms of the depth maps. The locations of tracked objects are determined based on comparison of the results of the first object detection method and the second object detection method.
US09672631B2

This invention relates generally to medical imaging and, in particular, to a method and system for reconstructing a model path through a branched tubular organ. Novel methodologies and systems segment and define accurate endoluminal surfaces in airway trees, including small peripheral bronchi. An automatic algorithm is described that searches the entire lung volume for airway branches and poses airway-tree segmentation as a global graph-theoretic optimization problem. A suite of interactive segmentation tools for cleaning and extending critical areas of the automatically segmented result is disclosed. A model path is reconstructed through the airway tree.
US09672629B2

A fluorescence image processing apparatus for enhancing a fluorescence image includes an image segmentation unit, a background determination unit a background reduction unit, and an image enhancement unit. The background and the area of interest of a glass slide are first segmented and then this segmentation is used to enhance the contrast between both areas.
US09672625B2

In a method and apparatus to automatically generate a selected image data set from an entirety of medical measurement data of an examination subject, the entirety of the measurement data of the examination subject is received as input data, and at least a portion of the measurement data is automatically analyzed with regard to a number of specific, topologically representative content feature parameter values of the examination subject selected measurement data from the entirety is made, with the selected data associated with defined, specific, topologically representative content feature parameter values. The selected measurement data are assembled into a selected image data set, as output data.
US09672619B2

An image sequence acquisition section acquires an image sequence including a plurality of images. A processing section performs an image summarization process that acquires a summary image sequence based on first and second deletion determination processes that delete some of the images included in the acquired image sequence. The processing section sets an attention image sequence including one at least one attention image included in the plurality of images, selects a first reference image from the attention image sequence, selects a first determination target image from the plurality of images, and performs the first deletion determination process that determines whether the first determination target image can be deleted based on first deformation information that represents deformation between the first reference image and the first determination target image. The processing section sets a partial image sequence from the image sequence, a plurality of images that have been determined to be allowed to remain by the first deletion determination process being consecutively arranged in the partial image sequence. The processing section selects a second reference image and a second determination target image from the partial image sequence, and performs the second deletion determination process that determines whether the second determination target image can be deleted based on second deformation information that represents deformation between the second reference image and the second determination target image.
US09672617B2

A computer implemented method for determining the 3-dimensional shape of an implant to be implanted into a subject includes obtaining a computer readable image including a defective portion and a non-defective portion of tissue in the subject, superimposing on the image a shape to span the defective portion, and determining the 3-dimensional shape of the implant based on the shape that spans the defective portion.
US09672610B2

An image processing apparatus processes an image obtained by capturing inside of a lumen of a living body. The image processing apparatus includes: a contour edge region extracting unit configured to extract a contour edge region of an examination target from the image; an examination region setting unit configured to set an examination region in the image so as not to include the contour edge region; and an abnormal structure identifying unit configured to identify whether a microstructure of a surface of the examination target is abnormal, based on texture information of the examination region.
US09672609B1

A method and apparatus for segmenting an image are provided. An image acquisition and segmentation apparatus may include a sensor, a lens having a variable distance to the sensor, and a processor for acquiring an image and segmenting one or more segments from the acquired image. The lens may be moved relative to the sensor in accordance with a microelectronic machine in order to provide a shallow depth of field and a resulting blurred background, therefore easing a segmentation of one or more foreground objects in an acquired image.
US09672605B2

To increase the processing speed when median processing in the time direction is performed on color images, pixel values of each channel (R, G and B values) are extracted from multiple temporally consecutive frame images; subsequently, identifiers (index numbers) corresponding to frame images from which the pixel values are extracted are assigned to the pixel values; subsequently, a sorting process is performed on a set of pixel values of one channel (G values) to obtain an identifier assigned to a median value thereof; subsequently, a pixel value to which an identifier identical with that assigned to the median value is assigned is selected as a median value of each channel; and subsequently, a median image is generated on the basis of the median value of each channel obtained for each pixel.
US09672599B2

An image processing device includes a guided image filtering circuit and an image summation circuit. The guided image filtering circuit is configured to receive an input image including a green channel, a red channel and a blue channel, and to generate a corrected red channel and a corrected blue channel by applying a guided filter with respect to the red channel and the blue channel based on the green channel. The image summation circuit is configured to generate an output image by summing the green channel, the corrected red channel, and the corrected blue channel.
US09672597B2

A method for reducing noise in flouroscopic images by detection of the traits in the curvelet domain, matching of the detected traits and time-domain filtering adapted to the type of coefficients associated with a trait. The method uses the discrete curvelet transforms of the images from a sequence. The denoised coefficients are detected, then transmitted to a step for locally matching the traits, the matched data subsequently undergo a step for time-domain filtering allowing the movement of the objects to be preserved in the image and a step for a 2D IDCT (Inverse Discrete Curvelet Transform) in order to produce the final image.
US09672593B2

Embodiments of the invention provide a system and circuit for image distortion correction. The system includes neurosynaptic core circuits that: receive a set of inputs comprising image dimensions and pixel distortion coefficients for one or more image frames via one or more input core circuits, map each distorted pixel to zero or more undistorted pixels by processing the set of inputs corresponding to each pixel of the one or more image frames by the one or more input core circuits, and route corresponding pixel intensity values of each distorted pixel to output undistorted pixels for each image frame via one or more output core circuits.
US09672589B2

In order to display a digital drawing on a display screen of a terminal device at a scale reduction compliant accurately to actual dimensions, a CPU of a tablet-type terminal device displays drawing data of a digital drawing on a display screen at a predetermined scale reduction. At this time, the CPU references attribute information of the data of the digital drawing, compares it with a display density of the tablet-type terminal device, and displays a design drawing on the display screen at a selected fixed scale reduction. In this configuration, the drawing data at a scale reduction compliant accurately to actual dimensions can be displayed on the display screen of the terminal device. Since the display compliant accurately to the actual dimensions is achieved, a user can measure distances and dimensions by directly using a triangle scale on the display screen.
US09672587B2

An image is modified for display on a rigid curved wearable display device. Positioning data is received from position sensors on the rigid curved wearable display device. The position sensors provide positioning data that describe, in real time, a physical three-dimensional orientation of the rigid curved wearable display device relative to a field of vision of a wearer of the rigid curved wearable display device. The position sensors further determine a present viewable area of the exterior display surface based on the physical three-dimensional orientation of the rigid curved wearable display device relative to the field of vision of the wearer. An image on the present viewable area is modified based on the physical three-dimensional orientation of the rigid curved wearable display device relative to the field of vision of the wearer, thus generating a modified image that is displayed on a predefined area of the exterior display surface.
US09672584B2

Aspects include a pixel source that produces data for a rendered surface divided into regions. A mapping identifies memory segments storing pixel data for each region of the surface. The mapping can identify memory segments storing pixel data from a prior rendered surface, for regions that were unchanged during rendering the rendering. Such changed/unchanged status is tracked on a region by region basis. A counter can be maintained for each memory segments to track how many surfaces use pixel data stored therein. A pool of free memory segments can be maintained. Reading a surface, such as to display a rendered surface by a display controller, includes identifying and reading the mapping to identify each memory segment storing pixel data for regions of the surface, reading such, and updating the counters for the memory segments that were read.
US09672583B2

In accordance with embodiments disclosed herein, there are provided methods, systems, mechanisms, techniques, and apparatuses for implementing GPU (Graphics Processing Unit) accelerated address translation for graphics virtualization. In one embodiment, such a system includes a main memory having a plurality of machine physical addresses; a graphics processor unit having graphics memory therein; an address translation service integrated with the graphics processor unit; a hypervisor to manage one or more guest machines; wherein the hypervisor is to configure a lookup table within the graphics memory of the graphics processor unit; and further wherein the address translation service of the graphics processor unit is to translate a guest physical address for one of the one or more guest machines to a corresponding machine physical address within the main memory. Such a graphics processor unit may be implemented separate from a system, for example, embodied within a silicon integrated circuit.
US09672582B2

Systems and methods for Gaussian filter standard deviation variation. One embodiment of a method includes receiving a load current and a drain voltage associated with a switching converter that includes a Silicon Carbide (SiC) Mosfet transistor, determining a derivative of the drain voltage with respect to time, and calculating a switching loss associated with the switching converter. Some embodiments include predicting electromagnetic interference (EMI), selecting a Gaussian standard deviation from the switching loss, and determining a Gaussian switching voltage reference. Still some embodiments include adjusting a component of the SiC Mosfet transistor, based on the Gaussian standard deviation, and the Gaussian switching voltage reference to provide a desired switching loss.
US09672577B2

A method for estimating component power usage using aggregate power usage data are provided in the illustrative embodiments. A power estimation model is received, the model correlating a factor of the component with an aggregate power consumption of a set of components during a period, the component being a member of the set of components, the component being a hardware device operating in the data processing environment and consuming electrical power, the factor being a characteristic of the component related to the consumption of the electrical power in the component. A value of the factor at a determined time is received. The value of the factor is applied to the power estimation model to generate an estimate of electrical power consumed by the component. The estimate is output as the estimated power usage of the component when the factor attains the value.
US09672558B2

Various embodiments herein each include at least one of systems, methods, and software for table-form presentation of hierarchical data. Some such embodiments include aggregating a hierarchical dataset as it may be stored in several rows of each of one to many tables or other similar data storage structures, grouping data according to the hierarchy, and writing the data in hierarchical groups to a table structure.
US09672557B2

One embodiment of the present invention provides a system for dynamically assigning vertices to processors to generate a recommendation for a customer. During operation, the system receives graph data with customer and product vertices and purchase edges. The system traverses the graph from a customer vertex to a set of product vertices. The system divides the set of product vertices among a set of processors. Subsequently, the system determines a set of product frontier vertices for each processor. The system traverses the graph from the set of product frontier vertices to a set of customer vertices. The system divides the set of customer vertices among a set of processors. Then, the system determines a set of customer frontier vertices for each processor. The system traverses the graph from the set of customer frontier vertices to a set of recommendable product vertices. The system generates one or more product recommendations for the customer.
US09672554B2

Methods and systems for analyzing, ordering and presenting item listings are described. In one example embodiment, a search query is processed to identify item listings satisfying the search query. Then, for each item listing that satisfies the search query, a ranking score is derived and assigned to the item listing. The ranking score is based in part on a relevance score, a listing quality score and a business rules score (or, adjustment factor). Finally, the item listings are ordered, based on their corresponding ranking score, and presented in order in a search results page.
US09672544B2

A computerized system and method for preparing at least one tax return, including, but not limited to: accepting tax information, by at least one accounting module, for the at least one tax return from at least one user; processing the tax information, at the at least accounting module, so that at least one third party tax software application can utilize the tax information to calculate the at least one tax return; and providing calculated results of the at least one tax return, from the at least one accounting module, to the at least one user; wherein third-party software is utilized to calculate the at least one tax return so that the at least one accounting module does not need to calculate the at least one tax return.
US09672542B2

Systems and methods for advertising, and, more particularly, systems and methods for managing ephemeral locations in a virtual universe. A method for managing ephemeral locations in a virtual universe (VU) includes causing a computer infrastructure to: render an ephemeral location upon a triggering in the VU; teleport a VU user avatar to the ephemeral location; permit the user avatar to interact in the ephemeral location; teleport the user avatar out of the ephemeral location; and un-render the ephemeral location.
US09672535B2

A system and method for effectively communicating information using at least one mode of communication is described, in which information recipients proximate to a communications device within a pre-determined space and during a pre-determined time period are identified, from whom physiological state information is obtained that, when coupled with other characteristics information, is used to select from a plurality of information elements at least one information element to better target the information elements. The information element is then provided to the communications device so that it may be provided to the information recipients in the pre-determined space in a manner that is sensed by the information recipients.
US09672533B1

An electronic service provides an electronic catalog to a user. The electronic catalog can include a plurality of descriptions of items. The electronic catalog can also include a plurality of prompts which allow the user to acquire the items described in the electronic catalog. The items in the electronic catalog can be determined by static and/or dynamic considerations.
US09672524B2

A system for organizing, managing, and reporting data relating to a corporate entity, comprising; at least one database configured to store a document record relating to a corporate action, the document record further comprising a core record reflecting human-readable information for incorporation into the generated document and stored with the document record, the document record further comprising a set of tags stored with the document record; a business logic module, coupled to the at least one database; and at least one document template stored in the at least one database and comprising instructions for generating, at the business logic module, a document based on the core record with an initial set of tags, wherein a first tag of the set of tags is in a text format and associates a human-readable document type with the document record, thereby providing namespaced tagging and retrieval of document records.
US09672521B1

A data system comprises a legacy system for storing work orders and process data; and a computer-based interface module for retrieving the work orders from the legacy system, reformatting the retrieved work orders to highlight words corresponding to process compliance and insert hyperlinks to process data referenced by the work orders, and presenting the reformatted work orders with the highlighted words and the hyperlinks.
US09672519B2

A computing device having a software radio (e.g., a mobile device where the software radio is substantially defined in software) transmits first information related to a financial transaction over the first radio network to the financial institution, and transmits second information related to the financial transaction over the second radio network to the financial institution. A server of the financial institution receives the first information and the second information to carry out the financial transaction.
US09672518B2

Techniques for improved Point of Sale (PoS) transactions are disclosed. The techniques include a PoS terminal that receives biometric data from a consumer, determines an encryption key based on the biometric data, and transmits the encryption key to a mobile device associated with the consumer to cause the mobile device to decrypt a consumer key and transmit an indication of a successful decryption. The PoS terminal further receives the indication of the successful decryption from the mobile device, and retrieves consumer account information responsive to receiving the indication of the successful decryption.
US09672517B2

Systems and methods are provided for online transaction verification. For example, a status of a commodity on flash sale is acquired; a verification code associated with the commodity on flash sale is acquired in response to the commodity on flash sale being purchasable; the verification code is output; an input voice password for flash sale is recorded; the voice password for flash sale is uploaded to a server for voice recognition, where order data is processed by the server in response to the uploaded voice password for flash sale matching with a predetermined verification code and a result related to the order data processing is returned; and the result is received and output.
US09672509B2

In a purchase transaction between a merchant and a customer, a merchant device sends transaction information to a payment gateway and sends a beacon signal containing a transaction identifier to a customer mobile device. The customer mobile device sends the transaction identifier and payment information corresponding to a customer payment account to the payment gateway. The payment gateway applies the transaction identifier to access the transaction information received from the merchant device and sends purchase information based on the transaction information to the customer mobile device. The customer mobile device displays the purchase information to the customer, obtains an indication of customer assent to pay for the item and sends a confirmation of customer assent to the payment gateway. Upon receiving the confirmation of customer assent from the customer mobile device, the payment gateway Processes the purchase transaction based on the payment account information.
US09672502B2

A device may receive order information that may identify a network service to be provided, via a service provider network, to a service location associated with a customer. The device may determine context information associated with providing the network service. The context information may be determined based on the order information and may include information associated with a virtual network function (VNF) that is to provide the network service to the service location. The device may determine provisioning details associated with the network service. The device may generate a service request that includes the context information and the provisioning details. The device may identify a cloud resource that is to host the VNF. The device may provide the service request to the cloud resource to cause the VNF to be created and inserted into the service provider network.
US09672495B2

The present disclosure describes methods, systems, and computer program products for improving frequent itemset mining. One computer-implemented method includes receiving, by operation of a computer system, a dataset of multiple transactions, each of the multiple transactions including one or more items; determining, by operation of the computer system, a ubiquitousness parameter of an item representing a frequency of occurrences of the item in the dataset; filtering, by operation of the computer system, out from the dataset one or more items that have ubiquitousness parameters larger than a ubiquitousness threshold; identifying, by operation of the computer system, one or more association rules that satisfy a confidence constraint based on the filtered dataset; and outputting, by operation of the computer system, the one or more association rules that satisfy the confidence constraint.
US09672494B2

In an example embodiment, a request for an enqueue lock for a first piece of data is received from a client application. At an enqueue server separate from an application server instance, a light-weight enqueue session is then created, including generating a light-weight enqueue session identification for the light-weight enqueue session. An enqueue lock for the first piece of data is stored in the light-weight enqueue session. The light-weight enqueue session identification is then sent to the client application. In response to a detection that a session between the client application and the application server instance has been terminated, all enqueue locks in the light-weight enqueue session are deleted and the light-weight enqueue session is deleted.
US09672489B1

A validator for an inventory management system is provided. The validator comprises at least one validation module, wherein the at least one validation module validates at least a portion of inventory information in the inventory management system by comparing the portion of inventory information to equivalent information in an information source that is one of a group of information sources comprising at least one of: a domain name system for converting a name of an alphanumerically labeled network component into an IP address, an automated monitoring system for monitoring a status of equipment for which the inventory management system maintains inventory information, a backup system capable of recording errors that occur in a data backup procedure, and a photograph system that maintains photographs of equipment for which the inventory management system maintains inventory information.
US09672487B1

Certain example embodiments relate to systems and/or methods for providing enhanced control over potentially sensitive data sharable among and/or between different parties. For example, certain example embodiments provide views into computer-enabled workflows managed by external parties, including views into what sensitive data has been accessed, who has accessed it, etc., e.g., throughout the lifecycle of a product granted on the basis of an analysis of such data. A computer-enabled system for automatically assessing received sensitive data in accordance with one or more digitized rule sets also is provided in certain example embodiments, as are computer-mediated tools for helping to automatically, semi-automatically, and/or manually resolve issues detected in the assessments, e.g., via enhanced communication and collaboration, among and/or between parties to a transaction, as well as third-parties who indirectly are involved in the transaction. The data remains secure and traceable, e.g., in accordance with its provider's specifications.
US09672486B1

Disclosed is a web-based tool for facilitating the inspection process for evaluating inspection items relating to assets at a site. A website is used to interface with the hand held devices used by inspectors in the field and create consistency in the way questions are posed, and recorded for inspection items. Unique identifiers are associated with each item so that they can be tracked. Also, a wireless camera arrangement is implemented where any photographs taken of a condition of a particular inspection item will automatically be incorporated into the form open regarding that item.
US09672483B2

A method of providing an activity notification is provided. The method includes registering, by the device, information about the activity notification according to a request for registering the activity notification, and transmitting, by the device, the registered information about the activity notification to a management device, wherein the management device performs a process of providing the activity notification.
US09672482B2

One embodiment of the present invention provides a system for automatically reporting progress in completing objectives and goals of a plan. During operation, the system receives data indicating user selection and/or configuration of a plan with one or more goals, objectives, and/or milestones. The system obtains data generated by sensors in a sensing device and/or a mobile device. The sensors generate physiological data or data from detecting activity or environment associated with the user. Next, the system analyzes the data to determine whether the user has completed an objective, milestone, or goal of the plan. If the system determines that the user has completed an objective, milestone, or goal of the plan, the system pushes an alert to the mobile device indicating that the user has completed the objective, milestone, or goal.
US09672481B1

A computer implemented method for monitoring an overall health of a software project. The method includes: providing a plurality of business process checkers; storing a plurality of criteria, wherein each of the plurality of criteria measures an aspect of the software project process; storing an upper bound parameter and a lower bound parameter for each business process checker; assimilating data from one or more data sources related to aspects of the software project process; calculating, by each business process checker, a score for each criterion responsive to said upper bound and lower bound parameters and said data from said one or more data sources; calculating an overall health score for the software project from each calculated score for each criterion; and displaying an indication of the overall health of the software project responsive to the calculated overall health score.
US09672476B1

Contextual adaptation of documents automatically replaces words for synonyms that appear within context or topic whey they are being used. A machine learned topic modeling, trained by a set of documents representative of a target user is executed to determine topics of an input document, and to determine words in the document to replace based on determining the relevance of the words to the topics in the documents. An output document is generated based on the input document with the replaced words.
US09672475B2

Techniques are disclosed to determine an expected or predicted opinion of a target individual. To do so, a deep question answer system may build a corpus which includes a first collection of documents attributable to a first person and a second collection of documents identified from content in the first collection of documents and evaluate the corpus to build a model representing opinions of the first person relative to topics, concepts, or subjects discussed in the first and second collections of documents. The deep question answer system may also receive a request to predict an opinion of the first person regarding a topic and generate a predicted opinion of the first person regarding the topic from the model.
US09672473B2

An information handling system includes a processing system including a first sensor, and a second sensor, and a management system including an anomaly table, a learned model table entry associated with the processing system and including a learned model and a first sensor data history, and a prediction module to implement a prediction algorithm. The management system is configured to: receive first sensor data and second sensor data, determine an estimate of a first value of the first sensor data using a second value of the second sensor data, determine a residual of the first value by a comparison of the estimate to the first value, determine a significance of the residual, where the significance having a significant value is associated with a predicted anomaly, determine that an anomaly table entry has a known anomaly class for the predicted anomaly, and perform a remediation plan to resolve the predicted anomaly.
US09672469B2

An apparatus and method to increase accuracy in individual attributes derived from anonymous aggregate data uses aggregation keys in order to retrieve distribution sets and generate best-effort results for individual attributes. Multiple aggregation keys may be utilized to which individual attributes may be cross-mapped. The aggregation keys may be divided into location-based aggregation keys and name-based aggregation keys. The resulting data may be of varying granularity depending upon the granularity of the aggregation key used for the distribution and to generate the attributes.
US09672468B2

A method and system that includes extracting event models from at least one personal planning source of a user, wherein a parameter of an event model includes event location; periodically receiving location information of at least one mobile device of the user; storing the location information in a location log; a pattern worker module maintaining user location patterns through the location log; generating a location prediction from the extracted event models and the user location patterns; a first content worker module checking if the location prediction meets a set of content requirements; if the set of content requirements is satisfied, initiating content retrieval from at least one service; and pushing the content to the mobile device.
US09672467B2

A system and associated methods for creating and implementing an artificially intelligent agent or system are disclosed. In at least one embodiment, a target personality is implemented in memory on an at least one computing device and configured for responding to an at least one conversational input received from an at least one communicating entity. An at least one conversational personality is configured for conversing with the target personality as needed in order to provide the target personality with appropriate knowledge and responses. For each conversational input received by the target personality, it is first processed to derive an at least one core meaning associated therewith. An appropriate raw response is determined then formatted before being transmitted to the communicating entity. Thus, the target personality is capable of carrying on a conversation, even if some responses provided by the target personality are obtained from the at least one conversational personality.
US09672464B2

Certain aspects of the present disclosure support efficient implementation of common neuron models. In an aspect, a first memory layout can be allocated for parameters and state variables of instances of a first neuron model, and a second memory layout different from the first memory layout can be allocated for parameters and state variables of instances of a second neuron model having a different complexity than the first neuron model.
US09672461B2

The invention relates to the technical field of smart cards with displays. Such a card comprises, embedded in a transparent core, a multi-component module supporting the display. The card comprises: at least one layer of ink printed on the surface of the transparent core, except in a zone facing the display, said at least one layer being opaque in at least one region; and a transparent film covering the at least one ink layer. The card is characterized in that the at least one layer is formed by a first opaque ink layer printed on the surface of the transparent core, except in a zone facing the display and a second ink layer forming a graphic design allowing customization printed on the first ink layer.
US09672454B2

An image processing apparatus for rendering objects group by group, which divides a plurality of objects in an application range of an original clip command into a first group and a second group, wherein the image processing apparatus applies, in the rendering of the first group, a clip process based on a first clip command corresponding to the original clip command to a part of the plurality of objects divided into the first group, and applies, in the rendering of the second group, a clip process based on a second clip command corresponding to the original clip command to a rest part of the plurality of objects divided into the second group.
US09672451B2

According to a print control apparatus and a method of controlling the same of the present invention, when the printing apparatus is in a power saving state, when an instruction for registering in the printing apparatus sheet information stored in a storage unit in association with a sheet feeder of the printing apparatus is received, the sheet information is registered in a list, and when the printing apparatus returns from the power saving state, control is performed so that sheet information registered in the list is transmitted to the printing apparatus.
US09672447B2

The present invention relates to a method for changing the appearance of an original image comprising N>1 classes of image elements, the method comprising the step of: for each pixel and for at least one subset of the original image: calculating N probability values, each probability value defining a probability for the pixel of belonging to a corresponding one of the N classes of image elements, transforming a color of the pixel by using predetermined color transforms for each of the N classes of image elements and the N probability values for the pixel.
US09672439B2

An object detection apparatus first sets a first partial region having a preset size and a second partial region in a given point (pixel) in an input image. In addition, the object detection apparatus calculates a first information amount in the second partial region, and sets a third partial region based on the size of the first information amount. Furthermore, the object detection apparatus calculates a score based on a salience degree that is based on a difference in statistical feature amount distribution between the first partial region and the second partial region, and based on an information amount of feature amount in the third partial region. Lastly, the object detection apparatus detects a main object by calculating scores on the respective points in the image and applying a predetermined statistical process to the scores.
US09672438B2

A method for parsing the text of a complex graphical image comprises obtaining a series of blocks of text from a complex graphical image. Those blocks of text are used to generate location scores, size scores and length scores. Each of the scores is weighted and linearly summed. The highest resulting sum is identified as the most likely to be a desired text block.
US09672429B2

This invention is provided with: a camera for capturing the image of a travel path; an edge point extraction unit for extracting edge points on the basis of the brightness of an image captured by the camera; a candidate line extraction unit for extracting, on the basis of the succession of the extracted edge points, a candidate line for a boundary line demarcating the travel path; a frequency calculation unit for calculating, on the basis of edge points belonging to the candidate line extracted by the candidate line extraction unit, the frequency distribution of the edge points for a parameter that specifies the width of the boundary line; a probability generation unit for calculating, on the basis of the frequency distribution calculated by the frequency calculation unit, the distribution for the probability that the candidate line at the parameter is the boundary line; and a boundary line recognition unit for recognizing the boundary line on the basis of the probability distribution calculated by the probability generation unit.
US09672421B2

A method and an apparatus for recording reading behavior are provided. A movement trajectory of a user's eye is tracked based on an eye-tracking procedure, so as to calculate reading time of a gazing part of an electronic document when it is detected that sight of an eye leaves the gazing part, or when it is detected that the eye keeps gazing the electronic document and reading of the gazing part is finished. And the reading time is recorded to a storage space corresponding to the gazing part.
US09672416B2

The description relates to facial tracking. One example can include an orientation structure configured to position the wearable device relative to a user's face. The example can also include a camera secured by the orientation structure parallel to or at a low angle to the user's face to capture images across the user's face. The example can further include a processor configured to receive the images and to map the images to parameters associated with an avatar model.
US09672411B2

An information processing apparatus may generate resource information used for playing back image content that can be divided into a plurality of zones. The information processing apparatus may include an image generator generating a still image from each of the plurality of zones, a face processor setting each of the plurality of zones to be a target zone and determining whether a face of a specific character which is determined to continuously appear in at least one zone before the target zone is contained in the still image generated from the target zone, and an information generator specifying, on the basis of a determination result obtained for each of the plurality of zones by the face processor, at least one zone in which the face of the specific character continuously appears as a face zone, and generating information concerning the face zone as one item of the resource information.
US09672408B2

A method, a device, and a non-transitory storage medium having instructions to invoke a setup of a fingerprint identification service of the user device, wherein the setup automatically sets up the fingerprint identification service without receiving a request from a user to set up the fingerprint identification service, capture, via the fingerprint reader, a fingerprint sample of the user of the user device; store the fingerprint sample; determine whether to generate a fingerprint template; generate the fingerprint template based on a determination to generate the fingerprint template; store the fingerprint template; provide a notification to the user that indicates that the fingerprint identification service can be activated; receive a request to activate the fingerprint identification service from the user; and activate the fingerprint identification service based on the request to activate the fingerprint identification service.
US09672406B2

This disclosure is of a biometric authentication system and method. The system includes a mobile device having a camera and a screen, and a database. The system is programmed to superimpose on the screen an overlay of a finger over a real-time image seen by the camera, capture an image of a fingerprint of a user with the camera, compare the captured image with an authenticated fingerprint image that is stored in the database, and return a positive result if the compared images match.
US09672404B2

The invention provides a method for frequent verifications of the identity of a user performed during a long session of client-server communication by secure exchange of keys between the client and the server. A user is represented at the server by a set of random numbers that have nothing to do with his biometric data. The server initiates authentication requests by sending encoded randomly generated permutation to the client. On each request, the client creates a dynamic response key built by using the decoded permutation and biometric data of the user so that this biometric data cannot be retrieved from the key. The key also includes the correlation coefficient between the sound of the user's breathing and the distance between the most outer sides of the wings of his nose and the correlation coefficient between the area of the user's pupil and the brightness of his computer screen.
US09672400B2

An image enhancer device for use with an associated mobile electronic device having a digital camera. The image enhancer device includes an image manipulator coupled to a first region of a housing and configured to modify an optical path of the digital camera; an aimer having an aiming element configured to direct at least one aiming light beam towards an object of interest; an illuminator having an illumination element configured to direct at least one illumination light beam from the housing towards the object of interest; and electronics allowing for communication between the image enhancer device and the associated mobile electronic device. The image enhancer device forms a scan angle relative to a field of view of the digital camera of the mobile electronic device and allows for bar code imaging and/or native image processing with the digital camera of the associated mobile electronic device.
US09672399B2

One aspect of the present disclosure is related to a barcode reader that includes a bright field illumination system, a dark field illumination system, and an additional illumination system that is better able to illuminate an area of the reader's field of view between the far zone (where bright field illumination is optimal) and the close zone (where dark field illumination is optimal). In this “center zone,” the dark field illumination may not be bright enough and the bright field illumination may not be diffuse enough for reading a barcode.
US09672398B2

A scanner system is operable for gathering graphic data from a scan target. The scanner system has a single illumination source component operable for generating light, for aiming the scanner system with a filtered beam of the generated light directed at the scan target, and for illuminating the scan target with the directed light. The scanner system also has a detector component operable for sensing a reflection from the scan target, the sensed reflection including a portion of the directed light with which the scan target is illuminated, and for detecting information in the sensed reflection, in which the information detected in sensed reflection corresponds to the graphic data gathered from the scan target.
US09672397B2

Apparatus and methods for identifying and counting objects having identifiers entering and exiting a surgical field are provided. In one embodiment, the apparatus has an entry scanner, a hand held scanner and an exit scanner for generating a detection field and for receiving data which identifies said objects. In another embodiment, the apparatus has a plurality of lower antennas and an upper antenna for generating a detection field and for receiving data which identifies said objects. Various surgical devices with identifiers and methods for preventing electromagnetic coupling between and protecting objects and identifier are also provided. The invention further provides apparatus and methods comprising a handheld scanner and a mat adapted to underlie a patient during a surgical procedure.
US09672390B2

According to one embodiment, an IC card includes a communication unit, a controller, a data storage unit, a command processor, and a response unit. The controller performs data communication of the communication unit by using a logical channel. The command processor performs access to data specified by a command on a logical channel specified by the command. The response unit outputs a response message in response to the command, with the response message added with information indicating that the specified data is inaccessible because the data is used on an other logical channel, if the data specified by the command is inaccessible because the data is used on a channel other than the logical channel of the command.
US09672389B1

A computing device may receive a request to create a link between a control mechanism of a human machine interface and an attribute of a model. The model, when executed, may simulate behavior of a system. The human machine interface may correspond to a physical object. The request may include information identifying the attribute and information identifying the control mechanism. The computing device may create a link between the control mechanism and the attribute based on receiving the request. The computing device may further observe the control mechanism in a spatial environment and detect that the control mechanism has changed based on observing the control mechanism. The computing device may modify a value, associated with the attribute, based on detecting that the control mechanism has changed and based on the link.
US09672381B1

A privacy preference editor enables a user to institute privacy preferences relative to user identity information on a card-based and category-based basis. An identity selector furnishes information cards representative of user identities. The editor allows the user to set a privacy preference for each information card. Any proposed disclosure of an information card invokes its corresponding privacy preference. In turn, an agent engine evaluates the invoked privacy preference against the privacy policy of a relying party seeking the card information. The editor also permits the user to create information categories, populate the categories with a group of relevant user identity attributes, and set a privacy preference to the category. In this way, a category-specific privacy preference can be invoked by using the attribute required by the security policy as an index to the appropriate categorized group where the required attribute resides.
US09672375B2

A physical, non-human readable representation of a digital key may be in a physical key article. The key article may enable a person to generate a signal representing the digital key from a user interface device in communication with a computer by physical manipulation of the key article. Access to digital content via the computer may be unlocked in response to receiving the signal. In addition, a key may be represented by a pattern of unreadable errors in a computer-readable medium.
US09672373B2

A method for preventing photographic capture of a displayed image on an electronically controlled screen using a photographic capture device is provided. The method includes intercepting an image for display; generating a plurality of subset frames based on the intercepted image; dividing the intercepted image into a plurality of subsections; generating a pseudo random number on each of the subsections within the plurality of subsections using a pseudo random number generator; mapping, on each of the subset frames within the plurality of subset frames, a group of subsections within the plurality of subsections that share a common generated pseudo random number; determining a frame rate value for displaying the plurality of subset frames, which enables human visualization of the plurality of subset frames as a single perceived frame; and displaying each subset frame consecutively on the electronically controlled screen based on the determined frame rate.
US09672370B1

Methods, systems, and apparatus, including computer programs encoded on computer storage media, for sharing digital media with a space. One of the methods includes receiving a request from a first user to provide digital media for presentation in a first physical space, the request identifying the digital media and a group of authorized users allowed to view the digital media. Sensors in the first space identify the authorized users located in the first physical space. That only authorized users can view the digital media is determined from the sensors. The digital media is provided for presentation in the first physical space while determining that only authorized users can view the digital media.
US09672356B2

Determining malware status of a file is disclosed. An apparatus obtains information about an unknown target file, obtains system context of the unknown target file, and determines the unknown target file as clean if the system context matches with one or more predetermined conditions indicative of cleanliness. The predetermined conditions of cleanliness include at least the target file being located in a directory which contains other clean files.
US09672355B2

The present system includes a computer-networked system that allows mobile subscribers, and others, to submit mobile applications to be analyzed for anomalous and malicious behavior using data acquired during the execution of the application within a highly instrumented and controlled environment for which the analysis relies on per-execution as well as comparative aggregate data across many such executions from one or more subscribers.
US09672353B2

A method of securing an app for execution on a device using an app security program with policy gates is described. First, Java class files are generated for the app security program, where the generating is dictated by a plurality of app security policies located in a plurality of policy gates. The plurality of policy gates are managed by a policy gate manager. Next, Java class files are replaced for the app with the Java class files for the app security program. Third, a security-wrapped app is created upon completion of replacing the Java class files for the app. Further, the security-wrapped app is prepared for execution on the device. Last, the security-wrapped app is re-signed with a new key.
US09672351B2

A method of producing a control stack includes: writing a plurality of control information entries into a control stack buffer that is internal to a processor in response to one or more function calls; and in response to the control stack buffer being full and receiving a further function call, writing: the plurality of control information entries to an external memory that is external to the processor; and a further control information entry, corresponding to the further function call, to the control stack buffer.
US09672348B2

Risk-based credential management is provided. A request to checkout credentials is received. The credentials are associated with at least one managed resource. A risk value of the request is determined. The determination of the risk value is based, at least in part, on risk information of the requesting device. A determination is made whether to deny the request based, at least in part, on the risk value and a first predetermined threshold of a checkout policy.
US09672339B2

Electro-biometric data obtained from a user of a processor-based device may be used to authenticate that user. In some cases, no special action may need to be taken to initiate authentication.
US09672337B2

A method, a device, and a non-transitory storage medium having instructions to randomly select a file that provides a mnemonic for a user input; present the file; receive a user input that is responsive to a presentment of the file; determine whether the user input is correct; and grant further access and use of a device based on a determination that the user input is correct, wherein when the user input is correct, the user is authenticated.
US09672336B1

A system is disclosed that enables network-based systems to confirm the identity of users and/or the authenticity of their credentials during their registration process by providing a database of verified users and various means for requesting and verifying user-provided information using the database. For example, the system may verify credentials and/or other aspects of the user and store such information in a database. The system may also generate badges that can be displayed on various content sites and that link to a summary of the user's verified information. The summaries may be customized for each content site at which the user has registered.
US09672324B1

A method of forming a metadatabase of minimal epitope profiles including: performing antibody activity profiling from an immunoglobulin fraction of a plurality of samples to form a data set of peptide profiles for each sample, comparing peptide profiles across different samples, assigning a diagnosis or disorder to differentially expressed meta-profiles, constructing a meta-database containing minimal epitope clusters, constructing a database of peptide frequencies, aligning peptides to define the sequence of minimal epitope, verifying the minimal epitope by harboring a connected identifier, providing an enriched affinity sample, and providing a source data for metadatabase a database underlying it.
US09672315B2

An embodiment of the present invention is a computer program product for providing an adjusted electronic representation of an integrated circuit layout. The computer program product has a medium with a computer program embodied thereon. Further, the computer program comprises computer program code for providing full node cells from a full node netlist, computer program code for scaling the full node cells to provide shrink node cells, computer program code for providing a timing performance of the full node cells and the shrink node cells, computer program code for comparing the timing performance of the full node cells to the timing performance of the shrink node cells, and computer program code for providing a first netlist.
US09672310B1

In an embodiment, the amount of supply voltage guardband to prevent incorrect operation due to aging effects may be modeled using an IC-specific age model generated early in the product life cycle of the IC. For example, high temperature operating life (HTOL) testing may be performed at multiple temperatures and/or voltages to develop the IC-specific age model. The IC-specific age model may be more accurate then the calculations used to develop guardband voltage as discussed previously, which rely on the aging of a single transistor. The IC-specific age model may be used along with monitoring of the aging effects during operation of the IC to predict an amount of increased guardband voltage that is currently desirable to apply to the IC. The predicted amount may vary from about zero when the IC is new to the full amount of guardband voltage when the IC is nearing end of life.
US09672303B2

The present invention provides a system and method of predicting the initial cooling of a superconducting magnet, which can predict the change in initial cooling temperature of a superconducting magnet when the superconducting magnet is cooled using an ultra-low refrigerator. In the system and method, the change in cooling temperature of a superconducting magnet can be accurately predicted by classifying influence factors related to the cooling of a superconducting magnet into a plurality of control volumes and inducing a governing equation with respect to each of the control volumes. Based on this system and method, the reliability of basic data required to design an apparatus for measuring a high magnetic field for forming an ultralow-temperature environment can be greatly improved.
US09672301B2

The present invention relates generally to methods and apparatuses for test pattern selection for computational lithography model calibration. According to some aspects, the pattern selection algorithms of the present invention can be applied to any existing pool of candidate test patterns. According to some aspects, the present invention automatically selects those test patterns that are most effective in determining the optimal model parameter values from an existing pool of candidate test patterns, as opposed to designing optimal patterns. According to additional aspects, the selected set of test patterns according to the invention is able to excite all the known physics and chemistry in the model formulation, making sure that the wafer data for the test patterns can drive the model calibration to the optimal parameter values that realize the upper bound of prediction accuracy imposed by the model formulation.
US09672297B1

Embodiments of the present invention provide methods, computer program products, and systems for suggesting uniform resource locators located at previously unknown hosts to users. Embodiments of the present invention can be used to record uniform resource locators (URLs) associated with web resources accessed by a user and usage details pertaining to the user's usage of the web resources. Responsive to receiving a request to access a hostname not stored in the recorded URLs, embodiments of the present invention can be used to receive URLs associated with web resources available at the hostname and assign weight values to the received URLs based, at least in part, on the usage details and a similarity between the received URLs and the recorded URLs. Embodiments of the present invention can then be used to generate a URL suggestion from the received URLs based, at least in part, on the assigned weight values.
US09672292B2

This document describes techniques and apparatuses enabling affinity-based page navigation. These techniques and apparatuses enable page navigation, such as page flipping, page searches, and other navigation based on affinities associated with various pages. These affinities can include a reference to a page, such as a link or quotation in a social networking service, an encyclopedia, a webpage, an article, a newspaper, or a blog. These affinities can also or instead include usage, such as how many users have read, highlighted, dog-eared, or bookmarked a page.
US09672290B2

A method for generating a search result includes: receiving, by an information search system, a search request; obtaining, by searching, a plurality of pieces of matching information that match the search request; obtaining a respective amount of user response associated with each of the plurality of pieces of matching information and further obtaining a total amount of user response associated with a respective categories to which each of the plurality of pieces of matching information belongs; and ranking the plurality of pieces of information to generate a search result based on the total amount of user response associated with the respective category to which each of the plurality of pieces of matching information belongs. By using the above technical scheme, a result of more rational ranking of matching information can be displayed to a user when the user performs a search, thus improving experience of the user.
US09672282B2

A method and system for providing a query using an image is disclosed. A search keyword is determined using an image and position information of a terminal that are received from the terminal. Search queries associated with the determined search keyword are provided to the terminal. Lower search queries may be provided to the terminal if one of the provided search queries is selected.
US09672280B2

Methods, systems, and media for searching for video content using integrated content sources are provided. In some embodiments, a system for searching for video content is provided, the system comprising: at least one hardware processor that is configured to: receive a search query including at least one search term; identify a plurality of video segments that match the search query, wherein each of the plurality of video segments is associated with a transcript that includes the search term; select a first set of video segments from the plurality of video segments; generate a first composite video by combining the first set of video segments; and cause the first composite video to be presented.
US09672274B1

Methods and systems for scalable message aggregation are described. A method may include receiving data to store in a message queue implemented on a partitioned distributed data store. The method may also include storing the data in one or more partitions of the message queue. The method may further include aggregating the stored data into a batch.
US09672271B2

A reorganization of genomic data into a simpler standard form leads to more transparent data analyses. The customary selection practice that focuses on high odds ratios loci is shown to be biased, reflecting quality of presently reported risk loci for T2D. A selection criterion, based on Shannon information theory, brings clarity to this issue and provides a rational and optimal basis for selecting potential risk loci. This is used to determine an optimal disease classifier. Within the framework of the FUSION database this leads to a relatively successful degree of T2D prediction and nearly an order of magnitude more effective in detecting T2D. Chromosome 7 is strongly associated with T2D. A hypothesis of this study is that the genomic disease signal is possibly weak, and instead of focusing on individual loci a collection of loci contribute to a composite Score, which functions as the determinant of disease or its absence.
US09672252B2

Information regarding a computing device can be gathered, such as device information and support information. A plurality of solutions can be identified from multiple data sources based on the gathered information. The identified solutions can be ranked based on the gathered information and based on other information.
US09672247B2

In order to facilitate the requesting of desired information from a graph database that stores a graph, a system may translate an initial query into a query that can be executed against the graph database. In particular, using primitives, the system may translate a query associated with a type of database (such as a relational database) into the query. The graph may include nodes, edges between the nodes, and predicates to represent and store data with index-free adjacency. Moreover, the primitives may include: a rule based on edges in the graph that expresses a relational schema in the type of database, and information associated with a compound key that specifies a relationship between nodes, edges and predicates in the graph corresponding to a table in the type of database. Then, the system may execute the query against the graph database, and may receive a result that includes a subset of the graph.
US09672245B2

A memory storage apparatus interworking with a database management system and a file system includes a flash translation layer (FTL) configured to guarantee atomicity of a transaction for the database management system by utilizing a copy-on-write (CoW) mechanism.
US09672243B2

A system and method for data deduplication includes a first computer device that determines duplicacy of a data item. If the data item is not a duplicate, the first computer device transmits a request to add an entry for the data item in a deduplication table of a deduplication database. The database adds the entry for the data item while enforcing uniqueness of data across one or more data fields of the deduplication table, where, in enforcing the uniqueness, the database denies an attempt by the second device to add an entry in the deduplication table for the same data item.
US09672237B2

A database system may maintain a plurality of log records at a distributed storage system. Each of the plurality of log records may be associated with a respective change to a data page. Upon detection of a coalesce event for a particular data page, log records linked to the particular data page may be applied to generate the particular data page in its current state. Detecting the coalesce event may be a determination that the number of log records linked to the particular data page exceeds a threshold.
US09672225B2

According to example configurations, a digital asset manager receives a digital asset. The digital asset manager generates multiple sets of thumbnail data based on the digital asset. Each of the multiple sets of thumbnail data can be encoded to support display of a different thumbnail resolution of the digital asset. The digital asset manager initiates storage of the multiple sets of thumbnail data in a unit of storage of a repository. The unit of storage can be pre-allocated for storing the multiple sets of thumbnail data associated with the digital asset. Accordingly, in lieu of storing data for each thumbnail in a different file as in conventional methods, configurations herein can include storing thumbnail data in the same unit of storage or file. Thus, multiple sets of thumbnail data for a corresponding digital asset can be stored in a single file.
US09672223B2

In an exemplary method, a request for images of a location is received. In response to the request, a set of images depicting different conditions at the location is identified. Each image of the set of images is associated with condition information defining the conditions depicted in that image. It may be determined when a user will be at the location at a future point in time. Information identifying current environmental conditions at the location for the future point in time may be received. The set of images are ranked based on the received environmental information and the condition information for each image. An image from the set of images is selected for display based on the selected image's rank relative to other images of the set of images. The selected image depicts current conditions at the location most closely matching environmental conditions expected at the future point in time.
US09672214B2

The present disclosure extends to incrementally updating a database in a production environment in a way that maintains data freshness and allows for high priority updates for critical changed values and regular updates for noncritical changed values in the database.
US09672208B2

A wireless device includes a processor, a memory, a wireless interface, and a voice interface. The processor is configured to select a language for the voice interface by detecting a second wireless device, establishing ongoing communications with the second wireless device, identifying a language used by a user interface of the second wireless device, and configuring the voice interface to use the same language as the user interface of the second wireless device.
US09672195B2

Disclosed is a method and system that generates a page construct structure associated with a sequentially-ordered set of pages, each being characterized by a set of page construct features. N-grams, i.e., a sequence of n features, are computed from a set of page construct features for n contiguous pages, and n-grams which are repetitive are selected. Pages matching the most frequent repetitive n-ram are grouped together under a new node, and a new sequence is created. The method is iteratively applied to this new sequence. The output is an ordered set of trees.
US09672193B2

Various embodiments are directed to techniques for selecting a subset of a set of simulated samples. A computer-program product including instructions to cause a computing device to order a plurality of UPDFs by UPDF value, wherein the plurality of UPDFs is associated with a chain of draws of a set of simulated samples, wherein each draw comprises multiple parameters and the UPDF values map to parameter values of the parameters; select a subset of the plurality of UPDFs based on the subset of the plurality of UPDFs having UPDF values within a range corresponding to a range of parameter values to include in a subset of the set of simulated samples; and transmit an indication of a draw comprising parameters having parameter values to include in the subset of the set of simulated samples, wherein the indication identifies the draw by associated UPDF. Other embodiments are described and claimed.
US09672187B2

A non-destructive testing system includes directing guided wave energy to regions of interest in waveguides. Knowing the propagation paths taken by guided wave energy in complex waveguides can be used to intentionally insonify regions of interest. Additionally, knowledge of the propagation direction and location of an energy mode in a waveguide allows the calculation of the path previously taken by the energy mode. This information can be used for signal processing of guided wave inspection systems. The test system can have various sensor configurations including: a single transducer configured to direct or receive guided wave energy along a particular direction, a one-dimensional array or a two dimensional array of transducers. The transducers can operate independently to provide mutual phasing and amplitude adjusting to steer guided wave energy in a waveguide or determine the directionality of guided wave energy received by the sensors.
US09672182B2

Methods and systems for transferring a high-speed data signal between more than two electronic devices within a system comprising a master device and a plurality of slave devices are presented. The master device and the plurality of slave devices are connected through high-speed links between high-speed interfaces, thereby forming a closed ring. The high-speed interfaces are comprised by the master device and each of the plurality of slave devices, respectively. A common low frequency clock signal is provided by the master device to each of the slave devices, and a high-speed interface communication method for communication between the master device and the plurality of slave devices through the high-speed links is used.
US09672178B1

In an embodiment of the invention, a method comprises: A method, comprising: issuing, by a Direct Memory Access (DMA) engine, an update request to a dependency table if the DMA engine has finished executing a first descriptor; and issuing, by the DMA engine, a monitoring request if the DMA engine is executing a second descriptor that depends on a completion of a data transfer so that the DMA engine can monitor a status of a selected subindex related to the data transfer, wherein the subindex is in the dependency table. In another embodiment of the invention, an apparatus comprises: a Direct Memory Access (DMA) engine configured to issue an update request to a dependency table if the DMA engine has finished executing a first descriptor, and configured to issue a monitoring request if the DMA engine is executing a second descriptor that depends on a completion of a data transfer so that the DMA engine can monitor a status of a selected subindex related to the data transfer, wherein the subindex is in the dependency table.
US09672172B2

A series of processing that includes a first control step for controlling an apparatus that executes predetermined processing and a second control step for controlling the apparatus based on a control result of the first control step is executed. An execution history of the first control step or the second control step is stored in a memory. The series of processing is interrupted in a case where a predetermined interruption factor occurs during execution of the series of processing. In a case where the interruption is executed, a start step for resuming the series of processing is set to the first control step or the second control step, based on the execution history stored in the memory.
US09672167B2

Embodiments of the present invention provide a solution for managing inter-domain resource allocation in a Peripheral Component Interconnect-Express (PCIe) network. One processor among a plurality of link processors is elected as a management processor. The management processor obtains information about available resources of PCIe network. When a resource request from a request processor is received, the management processor allocates a resource of the available resources to the requesting processor. The management processor instructs one or more link processors to program one or more inter-domain NTBs through which the traffic between the allocated resource and the requesting processor is going to flow according to the memory address information of the allocated resource, to allow cross-domain resource access between the requesting processor and the allocated resource.
US09672155B2

A plurality of sensors provide respective output data rates, with a first sensor that has a highest output data rate, while one or more other sensors have output data rates that are submultiples of the aforesaid highest output data rate. The data signals coming from the sensors are stored in a memory, e.g., a FIFO memory, by storing the data signals of the first sensor at the aforesaid highest output data rate, accompanying storage of the data signals coming from said first sensor with storage of the data signals coming from the sensors as supplied by said other sensors at the aforesaid submultiple output data rates, so that the data signals are stored in the memory according to a repeated pattern that is common to the various sensors.
US09672153B2

A memory interface apparatus 24 is provided with first interface circuitry 28, second interface circuitry 30 and transaction control circuitry 32. The first interface circuitry receives a first write request from a transaction master 20, 22 and issues a further transaction request associated with the memory address of the first write request via the second interface circuitry to a memory system. When an indication of the completion of the further transaction has been received at the second interface circuitry, then a second write request may be issued from the second interface circuitry to the memory system to write the target data associated with the first write request. After a write response signal in respect of the second write request is received at the second interface circuitry, then an acknowledge signal RACK indicating completion of the further transaction and that the write response signal has been received may be issued from the second interface circuitry. Between issue of the further transaction and issue of the acknowledge signal snoop requests to the memory addresses concerned that arise elsewhere within the memory system may be managed and blocked.
US09672150B2

To migrate data from a first storage system to a second storage system, the second storage system detects a migration of a persistent storage media from the first storage system to the second storage system. In response to detecting the migration of the persistent storage media, write information from a write cache in the first storage system is copied to a write cache in the second storage system, where the write caches in the first and second storage systems were not maintained synchronously before the write information from the write cache in the first storage system is copied to the write cache in the second storage system.
US09672147B2

A memory controller controls operation of a nonvolatile memory device comprising a memory area comprising a plurality of multi-level cells (MLCs). The memory controller receives an address of the memory area and data to be programmed to the memory area, analyzes access history information regarding the memory area based on the address, generates first mapping data corresponding to the data or second mapping data based on the data and previous mapping data that has been programmed to the MLCs according to a result of the analysis, and transmits a program command comprising one of the first mapping data and the second mapping data to the nonvolatile memory device.
US09672127B2

An example test system includes a bus interface to connect to a bus of a computer system; and test instruments to perform one or more test operations on a UUT, where the test instruments connect to the bus interface to enable communication between the computer system and the test instruments via the bus interface. At least one test instrument includes: ports to which the UUT is connectable, with each of the ports interfacing to a corresponding peripheral bus supported by the at least one test instrument; circuits to connect the bus interface to the peripheral buses, with each circuit being configured to convert between a bus interface protocol run on the bus interface and a peripheral bus protocol run on a peripheral bus; and a switch to identify a target circuit of the circuits, with the switch to direct communications between the computer system and the target circuit.
US09672125B2

A plurality of storage nodes in a single chassis is provided. The plurality of storage nodes includes a first plurality of storage nodes configured to communicate together as a first storage cluster and a second plurality of storage nodes configured to communicate together as a second storage cluster. Each of the first and second pluralities of storage nodes has nonvolatile solid-state memory for user data storage and each of the first and second pluralities of storage nodes is configured to distribute user data and metadata associated with the user data throughout a respective plurality of storage nodes such that a respective storage cluster maintains ability to read the user data, using erasure coding, despite a loss of one or more of the respective plurality of storage nodes.
US09672112B2

Example embodiments disclosed herein relate to backing up firmware. An operating system can be initialized. During the initialization process, memory can be set. The firmware can be backed up to storage based on the set memory.
US09672111B2

A load control backup signal generating circuit for supplying a backup control signal to a switch of a load connected to an output of a control processor in a case that abnormality occurs in the control processor, includes a first input terminal that receives a constant period signal that is output periodically from the control processor when the control processor is normal, a constant period signal monitoring section that monitors a state of the constant period signal for identifying whether a length of the time during which a high or low level state of the constant period signal continues is longer than a predetermined time, and that outputs the signal corresponding to a result of the identification, and a backup signal output section that outputs the backup control signal when the output of the constant period signal monitoring section satisfies a predetermined condition.
US09672109B2

A computing device includes an interface configured to interface and communicate with a dispersed storage network (DSN), a memory that stores operational instructions, and a processing module operably coupled to the interface and to the memory such that the processing module, when operable within the computing device based on the operational instructions, is configured to perform various operations. When additional unique pillar combinations of at least read threshold number of encoded data slices (EDSs) supported by EDSs may be needed, the computing device dispersed error encodes each data segment in accordance to generate additional pluralities of EDSs and distributedly stores the additional pluralities of EDSs associated respectively with the data object across the plurality of SUs within the DSN to support the additional unique pillar combinations of the at least read threshold number of EDSs.
US09672099B2

Aspects include receiving, at an operating system (OS) executing on a server, a notification that an error was detected during execution of a synchronous I/O operation issued by the OS to a persistent storage control unit (SCU). The notification is received from firmware executing on the server and it includes a command response block that includes error condition information about the error. The method can also include selecting, by the OS, a recovery operation for the synchronous I/O operation. The selecting is based on the error condition information about the error in the command response block. The selected recovery option is performed by the OS.
US09672095B2

An error response method for a mixed criticality system includes assigning a safety level to an application executed by a processor. Executing the application includes a transaction between the processor and a resource. The safety level is stored at the resource. The safety level and a fault indication are transmitted from the resource to a fault collection and control unit (FCCU). The fault indication is responsive to a fault from the resource. The FCCU responds to the fault indication with an action determined by the safety level.
US09672090B2

An information handling system includes a video interface and an error handler including a service profile. The error handler detects an error in an operation of the information handling system, generates an error report in response to detecting the error, generates a Quick Response (QR) code based on the error report, and sends the QR code to the video interface based upon the service profile.
US09672086B2

In one embodiment, a method for managing DDM failures includes analyzing, using a hardware processor, information stored in a data repository and relating to DDM failures to identify problems in an installed base of DDM, the analysis comprising analyzing comparative DDM failure data.
US09672084B2

A method of generating a code for a remote procedure call (RPC) includes obtaining a source code including information indicating a part where the RPC is to be performed, and generating a code for calling the RPC and a code for executing an RPC procedure, by analyzing the source code including information indicating the part where the RPC is to be performed.
US09672082B2

Systems and methods for guaranteeing the event order for multi-stage processing in distributed systems are disclosed. In some examples, a warm-up period is used to accurately determine a starting point for ordered events of an event stream. Skip-beats may be utilized as dummy events so that the event processor does not wait too long for events that were filtered out at earlier stages.
US09672081B1

In one respect, there is provided a system for loading managed applications. The system may include at least one processor and at least one memory. The memory may include program code which when executed by the at least one memory provides operations including: generating a single process, the generating comprising running a native code executable, the running of the native code execute loading a loader manager as part of the single process; loading, by the loader manager running within the single process, a runtime environment corresponding to a non-native code application; and loading, by the loader manager, the non-native code application, the non-native code application being loaded to run as part of the single process.
US09672079B2

Activating an extension includes opening a first compose application by a first computing device. A composed document is received, and an extension is activated in response to the document. The extension may be activated as the document is being composed.
US09672078B2

A system virtualizes applications on a managed endpoint using containers. A managed endpoint receives a virtualized container from an IT automation appliance. The virtualized container includes an application and a virtualization module. The virtualization module includes computer program instructions for virtualizing the application. An operating system API call made by the application during execution is intercepted, and a portion of the computer program instructions are executed based on the operating system API call. The computer program instructions modify the behavior of the application to effect the file and data virtualization of the application. A virtualized container can be deployed and updated from an IT automation appliance along with an agent to support the deployment and updating of the virtualized container.
US09672059B2

A virtualization system includes: a virtualizing means for activating a virtual machine to which identification information identifying the virtual machine is assigned and which is capable of executing a predetermined function; a plurality of virtual machines activated by the virtualizing means; and a correspondence table creating means for creating a function correspondence table in which the identification information assigned to each of the virtual machines is associated with a function to be executed by the virtual machine among functions that can be executed by the virtual machines. The virtual machine specifies an associated function in the function correspondence table on the basis of the identification information assigned to the virtual machine, and executes the specified function.
US09672053B2

An example method to perform service request processing may comprise receiving, from a client device, a request associated with a first version of a service, the service being accessible via the server. The method may further comprise, in response to determination that version conversion from the first version to a second version of the service is required, converting the request to be compatible with the second version of the service and processing the converted request to generate a response associated with the second version. In this case, the method may further comprise converting the response to be compatible with the first version of the service; and sending, to the client device, the converted response that is compatible with the first version.
US09672046B2

An intelligent power allocation architecture for a processor. For example, one embodiment of a processor comprises: a plurality of processor components for performing a corresponding plurality of processor functions; a plurality of power planes, each power plane associated with one of the processor components; and a power control unit (PCU) to dynamically adjust power to each of the power planes based on user experience metrics, workload characteristics, and power constraints for a current use of the processor.
US09672031B2

A repository control computer checks-out source code from a source code repository to a local memory of a developer's computer responsive to receiving a developer initiated check-out message. The control computer repetitively checks-in intermediate versions of the source code from the local memory of the developer's computer to the source code repository responsive to corresponding occurrences of a condition defined by a rule being satisfied. The control computer checks-in a final version of the source code from the local memory of the developer's computer to the source code repository responsive to receiving a developer initiated check-in message.
US09672022B2

An application on a device includes multiple experience modules that each implement a set of features when the application is running on the device. Each of the multiple experience modules includes a first component that includes code specific to a particular type of the device, and a second component that includes code that is common across multiple types of devices. Update packages changing individual ones of the multiple experience modules can be received from a deployment service and installed on the device.
US09672018B2

Embodiments of the invention relate to a method, system, and computer program product for validating a data structure, comprising: responsive to identifying a data structure in a first programming language, identifying an equivalent data structure in a second programming language; comparing a data definition of the data structure with a data definition of the equivalent data structure; determining an incompatibility between a compared data definition of the data structure and a compared data definition of the equivalent data structure; and responsive to determining an incompatibility, identifying a rule defining an action to be taken in order to correct the incompatibility.
US09672013B2

A request to invoke a text-list definition of a componentized application is received. The text-list definition of the componentized application identifies a collection of different listed independent application sub-components specified by a user to be executed as a set. A componentized user interface is created with a different user interface component associated with each of the different listed independent application sub-components within the text-list definition of the componentized application. The different listed independent application sub-components are independently accessed based upon user inputs received in association with the respective different user interface component associated with each of the different listed independent application components within the text-list definition of the componentized application.
US09672000B2

A method and apparatus for generating an audio notification file for a computing device are provided. A first audio file associated with a first mental state is selected as a first section of the audio notification file. The audio notification file enabled for storage in a memory. The audio notification file is further enabled for processing by a processing unit to control a speaker. A final state of the audio notification file is determined, the final state designated as a final section of the audio notification file, the final state associated with a second mental state. At least one intermediate section of the audio notification file is generated, between the first section and the second section, by morphing the first audio file to the final state by processing the first audio file using a digital signal processor.
US09671996B2

A mirror display system and a mirror display method are present. The mirror display system comprises a transporting device and a receiving device. The mirror display method comprises following steps of: establishing a network connection with a receiving device at the transporting device; loading a plurality of contents; transforming the plurality of contents into a plurality of display data; transporting the plurality of display data to the receiving device via network; merging the plurality of display data into an output display data at the receiving device; transporting the output display data to a display unit for displaying. This application allows user to watch current screens of execution of the contents of the transporting device via a single display unit.
US09671994B2

A method of updating a didactic information display includes providing information for display on a number of interactive information devices. The method includes receiving and aggregating data related to interactions from users of the number interactive information devices. The data includes a location and a timestamp associated with each of the interactions. Each of the interactions is related to a subset of the information displayed on one of the number of interactive information devices. The method includes determining a most relevant subset of the information for a plurality of sets of parameters and determining a current set of parameters from the plurality of sets of parameters. The method includes communicating a command to a passive display device located remotely from the number of interactive information devices. The command may cause the passive display device to display the most relevant subset of the information based on the current set of parameters.
US09671991B2

A printing apparatus that makes it possible to prevent the operation of an application from being interrupted against the intention of a user during Wi-Fi direct connection, and thereby smoothly perform processing intended by the user. A printing apparatus equipped with a Wi-Fi direct function performs wireless connection to an external apparatus, by Wi-Fi direct connection. The printing apparatus determines based on information acquired from the external apparatus whether or not the user is operating a print application on the external apparatus, and if it is determined that the user is operating the print application on the external apparatus, the Wi-Fi direct connection between the printing apparatus and the external apparatus is extended.
US09671989B2

A method for managing print workflow performed by a physical computing system includes, with an add-on application executed by the physical computing system, interfacing with a printing-capable application executed by the physical computing system; with the add-on application, interfacing with hardware components of a printing device; and with the add-on application, providing additional printing related functionality to the printing-capable application.
US09671986B2

Systems and methods are disclosed method for dynamic mobile printing based on scheduled events. One method includes receiving, from a device associated with a user, an identifier associated with the user and a print request, the print request including one or more print items to be printed; accessing, by a server, a calendar of the user based on the received identifier associated with the user; determining, by the server, whether an event of the calendar is scheduled for a time of interest; locating, by the server, a printer near a location of the event when the event is scheduled for the time of interest; and transmitting, by the server, the one or more print items to the printer near the location of the event.
US09671975B2

A method, system, and computer program product for managing a partial release for a unit of storage space in a storage facility is disclosed. The method, system, and computer program product include establishing an invocation threshold for initiating a partial release for a unit of storage space. The method, system, and computer program product include establishing a preservation threshold for releasing a fractional amount of the unit of storage space. The method, system, and computer program product include initiating the partial release in response to reaching the invocation threshold. The method, system, and computer program product include releasing the fractional amount based on the preservation threshold.
US09671968B2

A method includes, in a memory device, receiving a command that specifies a peak power consumption that is not to be exceeded by the memory device. A memory of the memory device is configured in accordance with the peak power consumption specified in the command. A data storage operation in the configured memory is performed, while complying with the specified peak power consumption.
US09671967B2

Disclosed is an improved approach for implementing a storage system having an operation log where data writes are initially performed to a fast operation log, rather than to its permanent storage location. A distributed operation log can be employed to replicate the data to multiple locations in the storage system.
US09671962B2

A method of operation of a storage control system includes: partitioning memory channels with memory devices; selecting a super device with one of the memory devices from one of the memory channels; selecting a super block associated with the super device; and determining a location of a parity within the super block when the super block is formed.
US09671955B2

In embodiments of the present invention, a virtual phone is provided which includes a touch screen mounted on an enclosure that includes a processor, memory, wireless communication port, and a power port. The virtual phone further includes a software application executing on the processor to control image display on the touch screen and emulate features of a handheld device presented in the image in response to a user touching a presented feature. The virtual phone further includes a configuration of a user-specific handheld device that is derived from the user-specific handheld device is stored in a memory that is accessible to the processor; wherein the virtual phone presents a visual representation of the user-specific handheld device on the touch screen based on the configuration.
US09671953B2

Systems and methods using drawings as security information are disclosed. According to an aspect, a computing device may include a touchscreen display configured to receive information for drawing a security picture. Further, the computing device may include a security manager configured to determine one or more characteristics associated with input of the gesture information. The security manager may also be configured to authenticate a user based on the drawn security picture and the one or more characteristics associated with input of the gesture information.
US09671950B2

In a method of computing sample data to render a graph element, first sample data is computed to render a first graph element type. A second indicator is received that indicates a second graph element type to present overlaid with the first graph element type. Second sample data is computed to render the second graph element type. Third sample data is computed to render a second instance of the first graph element type. The second instance of the first graph element type is rendered overlaid with the second graph element type using the computed second and third sample data. A first number of points computed for the second sample data is the same as a second number of points computed for the third sample data. A common axis is used, and the first number of points is determined based on a data type of the common axis.
US09671940B1

A method is disclosed for receiving a plurality of play events associated with a sporting event, wherein each play event of the plurality of play events comprises a timestamp; for each of the play events, associating the play event with a sports team of a plurality of sports teams; for each of the play events, associating with the play event a particular icon from among a plurality of different icons based, at least in part, on the sports team that is associated with the play event; causing to display a bar in a graphical user interface of a mobile computing device, wherein the bar represents at least a portion of a time duration of the sporting event; for each of the play events, causing to display the particular icon at a position in the bar, wherein the position is based, at least in part, on the timestamp of the event.
US09671932B2

A display control apparatus displays a selection screen, which displays a plurality of options as icons, on a display device, and when one of the plurality of options is selected, it controls to switch a display to a screen according to the selected option and to display a variable icon, a display form of which is changed according to a processing result, on that screen. The display control apparatus controls to transition the display in response to a predetermined user operation accepted when the screen according to the selected option is displayed, so that the display form of the variable icon is changed to a display form corresponding to the selected option on the selection screen, and the selection screen is displayed after the change.
US09671924B2

An electronic device includes an integrated scrollbar options menu, a display screen, and a graphical user interface for navigating the display screen. The graphical user interface includes a scrollbar that is operable to scroll display content in a first direction corresponding to an axis of the scrollbar in response to a first navigational movement of the scrollbar in the first direction corresponding to the axis. The scrollbar includes the integrated scrollbar options menu. The integrated scrollbar options menu is configured to be accessed by expanding the scrollbar using a second navigational movement of the scrollbar that is different from the first navigational movement.
US09671922B1

Some examples relate to facilitating multi-tasking in a computing environment. A focus area component defines a focus area within a display space—the focus area occupying a subset area of the display space area. A scaling component scales display objects as a function of proximity to the focus area, and a behavior modification component modifies respective behavior of the display objects as a function their location of the display space. Some implementations provide for interaction technique(s) and user interface(s) in connection with managing display objects on a display surface. Further, some examples define a central focus area, such that the display objects are displayed and behave as usual. Also included is a periphery outside the focus area where the display objects are reduced in size based on their location, getting smaller as the display objects near an edge of the display surface with many more objects visible.
US09671919B2

A display device includes: a plurality of pixel electrodes each of which is provided in each of a plurality of sub-pixels arranged in a display region; a driving electrode provided so as to overlap the plurality of pixel electrodes when seen in a plan view; a plurality of detecting electrodes provided so as to overlap the driving electrode when seen in a plan view; and a dummy electrode provided apart from the detecting electrodes. The detecting electrodes and the dummy electrode include a metal layer or an alloy layer. A ratio of total sum of areas of portions of the plurality sub-pixels which overlap any of the detecting electrodes and the dummy electrode when seen in a plan view to total sum of areas of the plurality of sub-pixels is 1 to 22%.
US09671918B2

To reduce an indication error at a peripheral part of an electromagnetic induction type coordinate detection device, sensor coils having a coil width of 21 pitches are arranged at a central part at intervals of 4 pitches. At a peripheral part, the coil width is shortened from sensor coil #5 to coil #1 sequentially so that the coil width of a sensor coil is shorter than a coil width of an inwardly adjacent sensor coil by 2 pitches. This enables the coil side pitch that is 1 all over the coil group 222, and an area enabling three-point supplementing can be enlarged from the conventional one. The sensor coils at the peripheral part have a coil pitch of 3, and so an indication error there can be reduced compared with the conventional case of coil pitch of 4 for two-point supplementing as well. Dummy wires required at the peripheral part conventionally can be eliminated.
US09671916B2

In one embodiment, a device comprises one or more memory units collectively storing logic configured to cause one or more processors to perform operations. The operations comprise: obtaining a first measurement associated with a first voltage output by a mutual-capacitance measurement circuit; obtaining a second measurement associated with a second voltage, the second voltage output by the mutual-capacitance measurement circuit in response to a first change in capacitance; obtaining a third measurement associated with a third voltage output by the mutual capacitance measurement circuit, the third voltage being different from the first voltage; and obtaining a fourth measurement associated with a fourth voltage, the fourth voltage output by the mutual-capacitance measurement circuit in response to a second change in capacitance. The operations further comprise calculating a differential measurement using a difference between the first measurement and the second measurement and a difference between the third measurement and the fourth measurement.
US09671911B2

A method for use in a device having a touch screen, includes: identifying touch information at a fringe area of the touch screen as fringe touch information; determining, according to a touch shape corresponding to the fringe touch information, whether the fringe touch information includes palm touch information generated from a palm touch by any part of a user's palm; and blocking the palm touch information if it is determined that the fringe touch information includes the palm touch information.
US09671907B2

A touch module and a touch panel comprising the same are provided. The touch panel comprises a substrate and a touch module disposed on the substrate. The touch module comprises a first conductive element, a second conductive element, and a dielectric element disposed between the first conductive element and the second conductive element, whereby the first conductive element are electrically insulated from the second conductive element. The dielectric element has a thickness equal to or less than 1 micrometer, and thereby it is beneficial to achieve miniaturization of the touch panel.
US09671903B1

An apparatus has a first ring of infrared emitters and a second ring of infrared detectors positioned adjacent to the first ring. A controller applies signals to the first ring and collects signals from the second ring.
US09671900B2

An optical touch-sensitive device has the capability to determine touch locations of multiple simultaneous touch events. The touch events disturb optical beams propagating across the touch sensitive surface. With multi-touch events, a single beam can be disturbed by more than one touch event. In one aspect, a non-linear transform is applied to measurements of the optical beams in order to linearize the effects of multiple touch events on a single optical beam. In another aspect, the effect of known touch events (i.e., reference touches) is modeled in advance, and then unknown touch events are determined with respect to the reference touches.
US09671897B2

An information processing apparatus including a detector that detects movement of a manipulation body in a vertical direction in relation to a display, and a processor that determines a speed of movement of the manipulation body based on an output of the detector, and determines a process to be executed based on the determined speed of movement.
US09671893B2

The present invention aims at being able to prevent unintentional operation and to improve operating characteristics even if the entirety of a touch panel can be effectively used as a touch operating surface. Specifically, a touch control table that is a table storing thresholds set in accordance with regions on the touch screen is provided, and this touch control table has “Region” and “Threshold” as respective columns. A CPU detects a contact position and area of contact as contact states at the time of touch operation on the screen (touch screen) of a touch input display unit. The CPU identifies the touched region on the basis of the contact position, and thereafter compares the detected area of contact to the threshold set in accordance with the region. The CPU interprets the touch operation on the basis of the comparisons of the region.
US09671887B2

According to one embodiment, a sensor-equipped display device includes a display panel, a first driver, and a second driver. The display panel includes a first electrode, a second electrode and a detection electrode. The first driver delivers a common driving signal to the first electrode and the second electrode at a time of display driving, and selectively writes a write signal to one of the first electrode and the second electrode at a time of sensing driving. The second driver reads, from the detection electrode, a read signal indicative of a variation of a sensor signal occurring between the one of the first electrode and the second electrode, on one hand, and the detection electrode, on the other hand, at the time of the sensing driving.
US09671885B2

A high-accuracy flat touch display panel structure includes an upper substrate, a lower substrate, a liquid crystal layer configured between the upper and lower substrates, a thin film transistor and wiring layer, and a sensing electrode layer. The thin film transistor and wiring layer is disposed at one side of the lower substrate facing the liquid crystal layer, and includes a plurality of gate lines, a plurality of source lines, and a plurality of wirings. The sensing electrode layer is disposed at one side of the thin film transistor and wiring layer facing the liquid crystal layer, and has a plurality of sensing conductor lines. The plurality of sensing conductor lines are disposed corresponding to positions of the plurality of gate lines and the plurality of source lines.
US09671873B2

Described is a system and technique for providing the ability for a user to interact with one or more devices by performing gestures that mimic real-world physical analogies. More specifically, the techniques described herein provide the ability for a user to interact with a device by limiting the conscious gesturing for a computer component by camouflaging computer-recognizable gestures within manipulations of a physical objects.
US09671868B2

A system and method is provided for analyzing the movement of an object. The system is comprised of a sensor that is coupled to a processor that is configured to generate a volume that corresponds to a predefined area and the location of the object. The sensor detects the movement of the object and determines if the object's movement is within the volume. If the movement is within the volume, then an information channel is created between the volume and the user defined algorithm. The movement is then compared with the requirements of the user defined algorithm and accepted if the movement meets the requirements. Otherwise, the object's movement is discarded if the movement is not within the volume or does not meet the requirements of the user defined algorithm.
US09671865B2

A haptic tape includes a composite piezoelectric layer connected between a first electrode layer and a second electrode layer. The composite piezoelectric layer has a plurality of piezoelectric rods arranged in a polymer matrix. The haptic tape is configured to be used as a sealant.
US09671864B2

Systems, methods and apparatus for presenting information using idle time slot. In an aspect, when a standby or idle device detects that a user gazes at it, it starts showing scheduled contents on its display automatically. In another aspect, when a standby or idle device detects that a user taps on it, it starts gaze sensing. If the user gazes at the device, it begins to show scheduled contents automatically. The contents may include advertisements.
US09671862B2

Systems and methods for recommending content to a user based on the user's interests are described herein. In one example, the method comprises receiving at least one image of the user, and analyzing the at least one image to determine one or more facial attributes of the user. The method further comprises processing the at least one image to determine the gaze parameters of the user, determining based on the gaze parameters, an object of interest of the user and retrieving the characteristics of the object of interest. The method further comprises ascertaining, based on the facial attributes, an emotional index associated with the user, and generating recommendations of the content for the user based in part on the emotional index and characteristics of the object of interest.
US09671859B2

There is provided an information processing device including a plurality of specifying devices used to respectively specify a plurality of types of parameter values representing music features; a music extraction portion that extracts, from a first database in which a plurality of pieces of music and the parameter values are associated with each other, pieces of music that match the parameter values specified using the specifying devices; and a list generation portion that generates a list of the pieces of music extracted by the music extraction portion.
US09671858B2

In one implementation, a method includes detecting, using a processor, user input through a camera lens. The method further includes determining, using the processor, that an identity of a user, selected from identities of at least two users, is associated with the user input. The method also includes tracking, using the processor, a local interaction between the at least two users based on at least the identity, the user input, and stored rules that govern the local interaction. The tracking can include determining whether the user has complied with the stored rules that govern the local interaction. Furthermore, the local interaction can include a multiplayer game.
US09671852B2

A system and process that incorporates teachings of the subject disclosure may include, for example, transitioning a processor from a high-power consumption state to a low-power consumption state, wherefrom return to the high-power consumption state includes a boot process. Future demand for operation of the processor in the high-power consumption state is predicted, while the processor is in the low-power consumption state. The processor is transitioned from the low-power consumption state to the high-power consumption state in response to predicting future demand for operation of the processor in the high-power consumption state. Such transition of the processor from the low-power consumption state to the high-power consumption state sufficiently precedes actual demand for operation of the processor in the high-power consumption state so as to avoid perceptible user delay. Other embodiments are disclosed.
US09671845B2

Exemplary embodiments of methods and apparatuses to provide a cooling arrangement for a system are described. The system includes a component coupled to a heat sink. A signal associated with a temperature control of the component is asserted. A target temperature of the heat sink is adjusted based on the signal. In one embodiment, a temperature control loop of the heat sink is operated. The temperature of the heat sink may be monitored using one or more sensors placed on the heat sink. An operation of the component, a cooling unit coupled to the heat sink, or both, may be adjusted based on a relationship between the temperature of the heat sink and an adjusted target temperature. Adjusting the target temperature of the heat sink based on the asserted signal increases efficiency of the system while decreasing cooling.
US09671835B2

A personal cloud contained in a case for a portable computing device such as a tablet personal computer (PC), mobile phones, portable media players, or the like. The personal cloud case may be fitted with memory, a network connection, two-way wireless charging, external memory slots, external connections and other components for portable personal cloud computing.
US09671824B2

A system for protecting a display screen of a display monitor is disclosed. The system includes a protective transparent panel, and a retention bezel. The protective transparent panel has an inner panel portion surrounded by an outer peripheral panel portion. The inner panel portion has a panel area equal to the screen viewing area, and an outer peripheral panel portion extending outwardly of the inner panel portion to overlay the monitor bezel. The retention bezel has a mounting portion and a front flange portion. The mounting portion is sized to encircle the protective transparent and the monitor housing, and the mounting portion extends rearwardly to overlay the monitor housing. The front flange portion overlays the outer peripheral panel portion, and has an inward width of between 0.1 mm and 5 mm. The mounting portion and the front flange portion have a material thickness of less than 5 mm.
US09671820B2

A slave device (20), which is a communication device, receives and analyzes commands, and returns the results to a master device (10). During the command analysis period, an IIC control unit (205) and a CPU (210), which form a control unit, control an SCL control unit (201) so as to stop an SCL signal. When the value of a timer (206) is equal to or less than a threshold value, transmit data are saved in a transmission FIFO (203), control for stopping the SCL signal is canceled, and in synchronization with the SCL signal, an SDA control unit (202) transmits the data saved in the transmission FIFO (203) to the master device (10). When the value of the timer (206) exceeds the threshold value, control for stopping the SCL signal is canceled, the clock control unit is placed in a state to receive the clock signal, and the SDA control unit (202) is placed in a state to receive a slave address indicating a communication device that operates in the slave mode.
US09671811B2

A low-power bandgap reference voltage generator using a leakage current may include: a medium voltage generation unit configured to generate a medium voltage based on the absolute temperature, using a leakage current; a low power amplifier configured to amplify the medium voltage and outputting an operational amplification voltage; and a reference voltage output unit configured to output a reference voltage based on the operational amplification voltage at a target level.
US09671809B2

In a reactive power compensation device, a control unit controls a magnitude of reactive power to be output by a reactive power output unit, based on a detected system voltage and one or more control parameters in a first operation mode. In a second operation mode, the control unit changes the magnitude of the reactive power to be output by the reactive power output unit to a power system in an output change period, calculates system impedances of the power system at a plurality of detection time points within the output change period, based on change amounts of the system voltage detected at the plurality of detection time points and corresponding change amounts of the reactive power, and, when a variation in the calculated system impedances is within an acceptable range, adjusts the one or more control parameters, based on the calculated system impedances.
US09671808B2

A circuit for controlling standby power consumption is disclosed. The circuit includes a main power supply, a transformer, a first switch transistor, a load, a low frequency divider circuit, and a signal generation unit. The transformer connects to one end of the signal generation unit and an input end of the low frequency divider circuit. The signal generation unit transmits the level signals to the low frequency divider circuit according to the operating mode and obtains the power supply voltage of the transformer. The second frequency of the low level signals is greater than the first frequency of the high level signals. The source of the first switch transistor connects to a load to obtain the frequency of the output signals to be operating frequency so as to control the turn-on duration of the transformer. So the power supply voltage in the standby mode and the power consumption are reduced.
US09671805B2

Amplifiers, notably multi-stage amplifiers, such as linear regulators (e.g. low-dropout regulators) configured to provide a constant output voltage subject to load transients are presented. An amplifier is described, which comprises a first amplification stage configured to provide an intermediate voltage, based on an outer feedback voltage and based on a reference voltage. Furthermore, the amplifier comprises an output stage configured to provide a load current at an output voltage based on the intermediate voltage. In addition, the amplifier comprises an outer feedback circuit configured to derive the outer feedback voltage from the output voltage. The output stage comprises a buffer configured to provide a drive voltage based on the intermediate voltage and based on an inner feedback voltage derived from the output voltage. The buffer comprises a pass device which is configured to provide the load current at the output voltage based on the drive voltage.
US09671798B2

Embodiments of the present invention are directed to a customizable bio-manufacturing system which includes a manufacturing space having a first air handling system for providing supply air and a second air handling system for handling exhaust air, the supply air system being optionally provided with at least one of filtration, heating, cooling and or humidity control and a plurality of portable modules provided within the manufacturing space. At least one module having an interior capable of being interconnected with another module interior and each module's interior includes one or more components to perform at least one specific task of a biological, chemical, and/or pharmaceutical manufacturing process. At least one module includes an on-board environmental control system for controlling an environment within the module and a connection means for interconnecting the module interior with another module interior. The system also includes a central controller operating to at least perform one or more of operation and information collection for the operation of at least one of the system and one or more modules.
US09671792B2

A method for positioning a rotor of a gas turbine automatically is provided that includes gathering data with a control unit, and processing this data to bring the rotor to a desired position which is set according a Human Machine Interface (HMI). The indication of the lay of the rotor to the control unit is done by a key phasor, which includes a sensor which gets a digital pulse for each revolution of a phasor cam wheel. This digital pulse is used to give the information of the lay of the rotor to the control unit.
US09671789B1

A method and system for anti-interference compound on-line guidance in the atmosphere-entering stage of a Mars lander is provided in the present invention. The method comprises steps of a) building a dynamics model for the atmosphere-entering phase of a Mars lander to incorporating the disturbance brought by the Mars atmosphere density uncertainty into the dynamics model for the atmosphere-entering stage of the Mars lander; b) constructing a disturbance observer to estimate the disturbance brought by the Mars atmosphere density uncertainty in the dynamics model for the atmosphere-entering phase of the Mars lander; c) building a prediction-correction guidance law, and guiding the heeling angle amplitude of the prediction-correction guidance law by continuously updating undetermined parameters; d) constructing an anti-disturbance composite guidance law to compensate the Mars atmosphere density uncertainty; and e) adjusting the deviation of the landing point of the Mars lander by compensating the Mars atmosphere uncertainty disturbance.
US09671778B2

A process control system for controlling an industrial process implemented at a plant, may include: a network provided in the plant; a network device comprising at least one of a first detector, which is configured to detect a connection state of the network device with the network, and a second detector, which is configured to detect a state of the network device, the network device being configured to output at least one of connection information, which indicates a first detection result detected by the first detector, and device state information, which indicates a second detection result detected by the second detector, to the network.
US09671774B2

An ultrasonic micron precision molding apparatus includes: an ultrasonic generating module, a tool and an amplitude transformer. The ultrasonic generating module provides ultrasonic frequency vibration. The tool is disposed below the ultrasonic generating module, and has a micron-level precision structure. The amplitude transformer is disposed between the ultrasonic generating module and the tool and has a first section and a second section, the first section is disposed at the junction of the amplitude transformer and the tool, and the distance between the second section and the tool is longer than the distance between the first section and the tool, wherein the width of the first section is greater than the width of the second section.
US09671761B2

Methods, time consumer systems, and computer program products for maintaining accurate time on an ideal clock of a timing device are disclosed. The method includes receiving time information from a local clock, a reference clock, and one or more secondary clocks. The method further includes calculating frequencies for the local clock, the reference clock, and the one or more secondary clocks. The method further includes comparing the calculated frequencies of the reference clock to the calculated frequencies of the one or more secondary clocks. The method further includes detecting a holdover and/or a compromise situation based on the comparison. The method further includes syntonizing the ideal clock to one or more of the calculated frequencies.
US09671758B2

A quartz watch movement includes a minute wheel connected to a handsetting wheel by an intermediate wheel, a shaft of a third wheel placed in a shaft hole in a main plate, elastic connection structures being rotated by a third-wheel shaft gear and a minute wheel piece gear which are engaged together and are arranged between a minute wheel tube and the minute wheel piece gear when a stem is pulled or the minute hand is adjusted through the handsetting wheel, the intermediate wheel and a minute wheel shaft gear, and a second-hand stop lever detachably connected to a second-hand stop electrode. The elastic connection structures are arranged between the minute wheel tube and the minute wheel piece gear, so that the quartz watch is accurate in travel time and has the function of efficiently adjusting the hour hand and the minute hand when omitting a handsetting middle wheel.
US09671749B2

An image forming apparatus includes a main body, a process cartridge, and a supporting frame. The process cartridge has a photosensitive drum defining a rotation axis extending in an axial direction, and an urging portion. The supporting frame is configured to support the process cartridge and be movable in a sliding direction between an inner position and an outer position of the main body. The urging portion is configured to exert urging force on the process cartridge in the state where the supporting frame supporting the process cartridge is in the inner position, such that the process cartridge is moved to the second position from the first position.
US09671748B2

An image bearing member unit includes an image bearing member for bearing a toner image; a bearing portion which rotatably supports the image bearing member and is coaxial with a rotational axis of the image bearing member and which includes an arcuate portion for forming a circumferential part of a circle larger than the image bearing member; a holding portion, capable of permitting insertion of the bearing portion in a rotational axis direction of the image bearing member, for holding the bearing portion; and a passing portion, provided in the holding portion, for permitting passage of the arcuate portion therethrough in the rotational axis direction. The passing portion is provided so that a phase of the arcuate portion when the bearing portion is mounted at a normal position and a phase of the passing portion are different from each other.
US09671734B2

A control device drives a main driving device among driving devices each used to discharge recording material from a recording material container. A malfunction detector detects malfunction of the main driving device. When the malfunction detector has detected the malfunction, a recording material amount setting unit sets information indicating an amount of the recording material in the recording material container connected to the main driving device to a first value. A main driving device switching unit stops, when an amount of the recording material in the recording material container connected to the main driving device is the first value, driving the main driving device and then, when the driving devices other than the main driving device include one driving device having a recording material container connected thereto that contains a recording material an amount of which exceeds the first value, switches the main driving device to the one driving device.
US09671727B2

According to one embodiment, a method for erasing an image includes erasing an image formed using a toner containing at least a binder resin, an electron donating color developable agent, and an electron accepting color developing agent by heating for 10 seconds or less. A color difference ΔE between a region where the image is erased and a paper is 5 or less.
US09671718B2

An image forming apparatus includes a light source, an optical deflector, an optical deflector casing, a bearing, and a sound absorption unit. The optical deflector reflects and deflects an optical beam emitted from the light source, having a rotational reflection member disposed on a rotation shaft to perform optical scanning. The optical deflector casing seals a space in which the optical deflector. The bearing rotatably supports the rotation shaft of the rotational reflection member with respect to the optical deflector casing, and includes at least portion exposed to an external space outside the sealed space of the optical deflector casing. The sound absorption unit is disposed opposite the exposed portion of the bearing with the external space therebetween.
US09671717B2

An optical scanning device includes a scanning member, a plurality of light sources, a first reflection mirror, and a second reflection mirror. The scanning member scans incident laser beams in a predetermined main scanning direction. The plurality of light sources emit the laser beams from positions that are different along a sub scanning direction that is perpendicular to an optical axis direction of the laser beams and the main scanning direction. The first reflection mirror is inclined around the main scanning direction as a rotation axis, is inclined around the sub scanning direction as another rotation axis, and reflects the laser beams emitted from the light sources. The second reflection mirror is inclined around the main scanning direction as a rotation axis, is inclined around the sub scanning direction as another rotation axis, and reflects the laser beams reflected by the first reflection mirror toward the scanning member.
US09671712B2

An image forming apparatus includes: a power source applying voltage to a charging roller to charge a photosensitive drum; a toner-image forming unit forming a toner image on the photosensitive drum; a detecting member which detects a DC current to be flowed from the charging roller to the photosensitive drum; a driving source driving the photosensitive drum at a predetermined speed; and an execution unit executing a detection mode to detect the DC current with the detecting member when the voltage is applied in a state in which the photosensitive drum is rotated, in a period except a period during which the toner image is formed on the photosensitive drum, the execution unit setting a speed of the driving source when the detection mode is executed at a second speed faster than a first speed that is fastest in the period during which the toner image is formed.
US09671709B2

A chemically prepared toner composition according to one example embodiment includes a core including a first polymer binder, a second polymer binder, a colorant and a release agent; a shell that is formed around the core and includes a third polymer binder; and a borax coupling agent between the core and the shell. The first and third polymer binders are different amorphous polyester resins. The second polymer binder is a crystalline polyester resin and acts as a plasticizing agent in the core. The borax coupling agent assists in adhering the shell to the outer surface of the core. Optionally, the toner of the present invention may be finished with a set of extra particulate additives.
US09671703B2

The invention relates to an optical arrangement comprising: at least one optical element comprising an optical surface and a substrate, wherein the substrate is formed from a material whose temperature-dependent coefficient of thermal expansion at a zero crossing temperature ΔTZC=TZC−Tref related to a reference temperature Tref is equal to zero, wherein the optical surface has, during the operation of the optical arrangement, a location-dependent temperature distribution ΔT(x, y) that is dependent on a local irradiance (5a), is related to the reference temperature Tref and has an average temperature ΔTav, a minimum temperature ΔTmin and a maximum temperature ΔTmax, wherein the average temperature ΔTav is less than the average value 1/2 (ΔTmax+ΔTmin) formed from the minimum temperature ΔTmin and the maximum temperature ΔTmax, and wherein the zero crossing temperature ΔTZC is greater than the average temperature ΔTav.
US09671688B2

Disclosed are a monomer represented by the following Chemical Formula 1 for a hardmask composition, a hardmask composition including the monomer, and a method of forming patterns using the same. In the above Chemical Formula 1, A, A′, L, L′, X and n are the same as defined in the specification.
US09671687B2

Provided are a coloring composition which makes it possible to providing a color filter having surface unevenness relieved; and a cured film, a color filter, a method for manufacturing the color filter, a solid-state imaging device, and an image display device, each of which uses the coloring composition. The coloring composition includes a colorant compound represented by General Formula (1), a curable compound, and a solvent, in which one of Ar1 and Ar2 is a group represented by General Formula (2), and the other of Ar1 and Ar2 is a hydrogen atom, a group represented by the following General Formula (2), or the like, R5 and R6 each independently represent a hydrogen atom or the like, R7 represents a monovalent substituent, R8 represents a halogen atom or the like, and p represents an integer of 0 to 4, R1 and R2 each independently represent an alkyl group having 3 or more carbon atoms, or the like, and X1 to X3 each independently represent a hydrogen atom or the like. The colorant compound represented by General Formula (1) has a counter anion inside and/or outside the molecule.
US09671685B2

The present disclosure provides for many different embodiments. An exemplary method can include providing a mask fabricated according to a design pattern; extracting a mask pattern from the mask; converting the mask pattern into a rendered mask pattern, wherein the simulated design pattern includes the design pattern and any defects in the mask; simulating a lithography process using the rendered mask pattern to create a virtual wafer pattern; and determining whether any defects in the mask are critical based on the virtual wafer pattern. The critical defects in the mask can be repaired.
US09671684B2

The present invention relates to a theater parameter management apparatus including: a parameter creation unit for creating parameters showing a structure of a theater based on input information; a database for storing the parameters created by the parameter creation unit; and a data processing unit for performing a data processing using the parameters stored in the database.
US09671682B2

An excitation light source is configured to emit excitation light. A fluorescent substance plate is configured to be excited by the excitation light and to emit fluorescent substance light having a wavelength different from a wavelength of the excitation light. A condensing optical system is configured to condense the excitation light emitted from the excitation light source to an excitation light irradiation region that is smaller than the fluorescent substance plate, to apply the excitation light to the fluorescent substance plate, and to take in fluorescent substance emission light from the excitation light irradiation region. The excitation light is applied to the fluorescent substance plate such that the excitation light irradiation region is eccentric to the fluorescent substance plate.
US09671681B2

An image projection apparatus includes a light source, light from which is used to form an image to be projected, a first flow path, a control unit configured to control a light emission from the light source, an electrical power stabilizing unit configured to stabilize an electrical power to be supplied to the light source, and an electrical power source unit configured to supply the electrical power to at least one of the control unit and the electrical power stabilizing unit. One or both of the electrical power source unit and the electrical power stabilizing unit is/are divided into a plurality of boards. The light source is arranged on a normal line of a surface of any of the plurality of boards. The plurality of boards configure surfaces of the first flow path except a surface nearest to the light source.
US09671676B2

A shutter assembly comprises a plurality of shutter blades movable between an open position and a closed position, and a plurality of drive mechanisms arranged circumferentially about the plurality of shutter blades for moving the plurality of shutter blades, wherein each of said drive mechanisms is stable in at least a first position and a second position.
US09671665B2

This disclosure provides connectors for smart windows. A smart window may incorporate an optically switchable pane. In one aspect, a window unit includes an insulated glass unit including an optically switchable pane. A wire assembly may be attached to the edge of the insulated glass unit and may include wires in electrical communication with electrodes of the optically switchable pane. A floating connector may be attached to a distal end of the wire assembly. The floating connector may include a flange and a nose, with two holes in the flange for affixing the floating connector to a first frame. The nose may include a terminal face that present two exposed contacts of opposite polarity. Pre-wired spacers improve fabrication efficiency and seal integrity of insulated glass units. Electrical connection systems include those embedded in the secondary seal of the insulated glass unit.
US09671664B2

Conventional electrochromic devices frequently suffer from poor reliability and poor performance. Improvements are made using entirely solid and inorganic materials. Electrochromic devices are fabricated by forming an ion conducting electronically-insulating interfacial region that serves as an IC layer. In some methods, the interfacial region is formed after formation of an electrochromic and a counter electrode layer. The interfacial region contains an ion conducting electronically-insulating material along with components of the electrochromic and/or the counter electrode layer. Materials and microstructure of the electrochromic devices provide improvements in performance and reliability over conventional devices.
US09671661B2

A liquid crystal display includes a first substrate on which a plurality of gate lines and a plurality of data lines intersecting the gate lines are disposed, a second substrate facing the first substrate, a liquid crystal layer interposed between the first and second substrates, a linear electrode on the first substrate, a surface electrode on the first substrate, an insulating layer interposed between the linear electrode and the surface electrode, a thin film transistor electrically connected to the gate and data lines and electrically connected to the linear electrode, a black matrix disposed on any one of the first and second substrates and overlapping the gate and data lines, and a voltage storage electrode extending from one end portion of the linear electrode into the black matrix and overlapping the thin film transistor.
US09671644B2

A direct backlight module and LCD device are provided. The direct backlight module includes a back plate, a backlight source mounted on the back plate, and a plurality of double lens structures mounted on the back plate and over the backlight source, the backlight source includes a plurality of LED bars, wherein the double lens structures are axisymmetrical and correspond to the LED bars, respectively, and each of the double lens structure has an axis coincides with that of the corresponding LED bar. The backlight module according to the embodiments of the present invention can improve the light efficiency of the backlight module and reduce the number of the LEDs used, and a slim design for backlight module is obtained.
US09671643B2

The display device has a sensor system with at least one sensor for detecting the intensity or color of light emitted from at least one display area of the display device into the viewing angle of the display device. The sensor system further has in one embodiment an at least partially transparent sensor. The sensor system has in another embodiment at least one optical coupling device including a light guide member and a incoupling member for guiding or directing, e.g. deflecting, reflecting, bending, scattering, diffracting, at least one part of the light emitted from the display area to the corresponding sensor, where the sensor is located outside or at least partially outside the viewing angle of the display device.
US09671637B2

In a touch screen substrate and a method of manufacturing the same, the touch screen substrate includes a base substrate, a light blocking pattern, a first sensing element and a first switching element. The light blocking pattern includes an inorganic layer formed on the base substrate and a light blocking layer formed on the inorganic layer, the light blocking layer transmitting an infrared light and absorbing a visible light. The first sensing element is formed on the light blocking pattern and senses the infrared light. The first switching element is electrically connected to the first sensing element. Thus, an undercut may be prevented from being formed at a lower portion of the light blocking pattern, and an adhesive strength between the light blocking pattern and the base substrate may be enhanced.
US09671634B2

A display device substrate includes a transparent substrate arranged in parallel with a face on which an image is displayed and a light-shielding film partially formed on the transparent substrate for shielding light. The light-shielding film has, at a portion of the transparent substrate along an edge thereof on at least one side, a low light-shielding portion having a lower light-shielding capability. The low light-shielding portion is formed with a smaller thickness than that of the other portion in the light-shielding film. With this configuration, even when, in a gang printing display panel in which a plurality of display panels each having the display device substrate are arranged, the light-shielding films of the display panels adjacent to each other are formed continuously, cutting can be performed more easily at a position to be cut.
US09671628B2

Disclosed are designs and methods of fabrication of silicon carrier-depletion based electro-optical modulators having doping configurations that produce modulators exhibiting desirable modulation efficiency, optical absorption loss and bandwidth characteristics. The disclosed method of fabrication of a modulator having such doping configurations utilizes counter doping to create narrow regions of relatively high doping levels near a waveguide center.
US09671627B2

Disclosed are a transparent optical shutter which may be manufactured at the wafer level, and a method of manufacturing a transparent optical shutter at the wafer level. In the disclosed optical shutter, a polymer-based material is used as a transparent protective layer for ensuring the mechanical or chemical stability of the optical shutter, and thus, the shutter may be manufactured at the wafer level in large quantities. Also, a layer which is optically transparent and has excellent heat conductivity is disposed under the transparent protective layer.
US09671620B2

A variable focus optical apparatus including a rigid, curved, transparent optical component; two transparent, distensible membranes attached to a periphery of the rigid optical component to define two cavities, a first cavity between the rigid optical component and a first membrane and a second cavity between the first membrane and a second membrane; and a variable amount of fluid each of the cavities, and a reservoir containing additional fluid and in fluid communication with the cavity, wherein the reservoir is configured to provide injection of fluid into the cavity or withdrawal of fluid out of the cavity in response to a force or an impulse.
US09671617B2

A method for estimating an eye/spectacles distance (VG) includes the steps of: a) acquiring at least two images of the wearer (1), in which the head (10) of the wearer exhibits various angular positions; b) determining, for each image acquired, an angle of inclination (α301) of the head of the wearer with respect to the image sensor; c) acquiring at least two simulated values (VG1, VG2, VG3) of the eye/spectacles distance sought; d) calculating, for each image acquired and with each simulated value, a morphological distance (EG1301, EG2301, EG3301) between the eye of the wearer and a median plane of the head of the wearer, having regard to the angle of inclination; and e) selecting, from among the simulated values, the one closest to the eye/spectacles distance of the wearer, as a function of the head/plane distances calculated in step d).
US09671616B2

An imaging system may include a movable component that travels along a rail, the movable component being coupled to the rail by a carriage that includes a bearing and a magnetic portion configured to bias the bearing toward the rail. The imaging system may be suitable for use in a gimbal assembly.
US09671613B2

Aspects of the present invention relate to providing see-through computer display optics.
US09671612B2

A Head Mounted Display (“HMD”) includes a display module, an optical combiner, control circuitry, and a lens. The display module generates image light and the optical combiner is for combining the image light with external scene light. The lens is positioned to receive the image light. The lens is capable of dynamically changing at least one lens property of the lens. The control circuitry controls the lens to dynamically change at least one lens property of the lens.
US09671604B2

A microscope system (100) includes a microscope (10) and an observation unit (20) provided separately from the microscope. The microscope includes a microscope objective lens (3), an image pickup element (31) disposed at a position at which an image is formed through the microscope objective lens, and a first control apparatus (32) connected with the image pickup element. The observation unit includes a second control apparatus (21), a display device (22, 22a, 22b) connected with the second control apparatus, and a magnifier optical system (25a, 25b) arranged at a predetermined distance from the display device. The microscope system further includes a communication apparatus (21) for communication between the first control apparatus and the second control apparatus so that an image picked up by the image pickup apparatus is displayed on the display device.
US09671602B2

A method for optically measuring height profiles of surfaces, in which an image of the height profile is recorded using an optical recording system, is characterized in that the image is a differential interference contrast image and height gradients within the height profile are represented by intensity gradients, which are quantitatively or qualitatively evaluatable. The surfaces can have structures having a defined profile, in which intensity gradients in the differential interference contrast image, which assume, within a specified tolerance and within a specified range, a value which deviates from a predetermined value or assume a selected value from within a specified tolerance and within a specified range, indicate a defect.
US09671599B2

The film mirror includes a resin substrate; a metal reflective layer; and a surface coating layer, a ratio of a number of fluorine atoms to a number of carbon atoms in a surface layer portion of the surface coating layer as expressed by F/C is 0.21 to 1.00 and the surface coating layer has a surface hardness of more than 100 N/mm2 and an elastic recovery rate of 60% or more. The film mirror has stain-proof properties, and scratch resistance so that the surface is resistant to scratches in collision with sandy dust and is also resistant to scratches upon cleaning with a brush.
US09671597B2

A zoom lens unit includes, in order from an object side to an image side, a first lens group having positive refractive power and a focus function, a second lens group having negative refractive power, which moves when changing a magnification, a third lens group which moves when changing a magnification, and a fourth lens group having positive refractive power, which is fixed when changing a magnification, wherein the following condition (1) is fulfilled: |M2W·M3W·M4W|<0.14  (1) where M2W represents an imaging magnification of the second lens group at a wide-angle end, M3W represents an imaging magnification of the third lens group at the wide-angle end, and M4W represents an imaging magnification of the fourth lens group at the wide-angle end.
US09671594B2

An imaging lens is constituted by, in order from the object side to the image side, a positive first lens group, a negative second lens group, and a positive third lens group. During focusing operations, the first lens group and the third lens group are fixed, while the second lens group moves. The first lens group has a cemented lens formed by cementing a positive lens and a negative lens together. The second lens group is constituted by two or fewer lenses. The third lens group is constituted by three or more lenses. The surface toward the object side of at least one of the first and second lenses from the object side within the third lens group is concave. A negative lens having a concave surface toward the object side is provided most toward the image side. A predetermined conditional formula is satisfied.
US09671591B2

An optical lens assembly includes, in order from an object side to an image side, a first lens element, a second lens element, a third lens element, a fourth lens element, a fifth lens element, a sixth lens element and a seventh lens element. The first lens element with positive refractive power has an object-side surface being convex in a paraxial region thereof. The second lens element has refractive power. The third lens element has refractive power. The fourth lens element has refractive power. The fifth lens element with refractive power has an image-side surface being concave in a paraxial region thereof. The sixth lens element with refractive power has an object-side surface being concave in a paraxial region thereof. The seventh lens element with refractive power has an image-side surface being concave in a paraxial region thereof.
US09671588B2

This disclosure provides an image capturing optical lens assembly including, in order from an object side to an image side: a first lens element with refractive power having an object-side surface being convex in a paraxial region thereof; a second lens element having positive refractive power; a third lens element with refractive power having an image-side surface being concave in a paraxial region thereof; a fourth lens element with refractive power having an image-side surface being concave in a paraxial region thereof, wherein both surfaces thereof being aspheric; a fifth lens element with refractive power having an object-side surface being concave in a paraxial region thereof; and a sixth lens element with refractive power having an image-side surface being concave in a paraxial region thereof, wherein both surfaces thereof being aspheric, and the image-side surface having at least one convex shape in an off-axis region thereof.
US09671573B2

This light receptacle comprises: first optical surfaces on which light beams emitted from light emitting elements are respectively caused to be incident; second optical surfaces which emit the light beams incident on first optical surfaces respectively toward the end faces of light transmission bodies; a third optical surface which reflects the light beams incident on the first optical surfaces toward the second optical surfaces; and recesses which are formed in the surface on which second optical surfaces are arranged. The distance between the centers of two adjacent first optical surfaces before mold release and the distance between the centers of two adjacent second optical surfaces before mold release during injection molding are shorter than the distance between the optical axes of light beams emitted from two adjacent light emitting elements that are arranged so as to face each other.
US09671567B2

A plug part which has at least one plug part housing having at least one elongate plug region for establishing a plug connection with another plug part in a plug-in direction, wherein the plug region has at least one electrical and/or optical plug contact for establishing at least an electrical and/or optical connection with the other plug part, and at least one step is arranged between the plug region and the rest of the plug part housing, wherein the plug part housing is of integral design and the plug region has an outer contour, wherein the outer contour, apart from the ends thereof which are at the end faces as seen in the plug-in direction, is designed to be free of recesses over the entire longitudinal extent thereof in the plug-in direction, or, with at least one recess.
US09671566B2

A waveguide apparatus includes a planar waveguide and at least one optical diffraction element (DOE) that provides a plurality of optical paths between an exterior and interior of the planar waveguide. A phase profile of the DOE may combine a linear diffraction grating with a circular lens, to shape a wave front and produce beams with desired focus. Waveguide apparati may be assembled to create multiple focal planes. The DOE may have a low diffraction efficiency, and planar waveguides may be transparent when viewed normally, allowing passage of light from an ambient environment (e.g., real world) useful in AR systems. Light may be returned for temporally sequentially passes through the planar waveguide. The DOE(s) may be fixed or may have dynamically adjustable characteristics. An optical coupler system may couple images to the waveguide apparatus from a projector, for instance a biaxially scanning cantilevered optical fiber tip.
US09671564B2

A monolithic optical element and system is used for collimating or focusing laser light from or to optical fibers. The optical fiber terminates in a tip that directly abuts against the first surface of the optical element. The optical element may provide a collimation or focusing function depending upon whether the abutting fiber delivers light for collimation or receives focused light from a collimated beam. The optical element may be a standard or modified barrel or drum lens, with the first and second surfaces being convex curved surfaces having the same or different radii of curvature. The end of the optical element to which the fiber abuts may have a diameter to match the inner diameter of a ferrule for positioning the fiber. A pair of the elements may be used for collimation and focusing in a Raman probehead or other optical detection system.
US09671562B2

The disclosed embodiments show a fused fiber combiner with sensors that are strategically located at various locations, thereby permitting performance monitoring of the fused fiber combiner. Additionally, the disclosed embodiments show various processes for determining causes of any performance degradations.
US09671561B2

A coating is applied on a first end face of an optical component which includes a cladding and a core for guiding light. The first end face has a cladding front face and a core front face. The core front face is covered with a mask, the coating is applied onto the first end face, the coating s removed from the masked core front face, and for covering the core front face, a lacquer layer made of a photo resist is applied onto the first end face. The photo resist is exposed to light from the rear side only in the region of one of the front faces such that light is input on the second end face of the component only in one of the two regions, and the lacquer layer is subsequently selectively removed.
US09671557B1

A silicon photonics device of hybrid waveguides having a coupling interlayer with an accurately controlled thickness and a method of making the same. The device includes a first plurality of Si waveguides formed in a SOI substrate and a first layer of SiO2 overlying the first plurality of Si waveguides and a second plurality of Si3N4 waveguides formed on the first layer of SiO2. At least one Si3N4 waveguide is disposed partially overlapping with at least one of the first plurality Si waveguides in vertical direction separated by the first layer of SiO2 with a thickness controlled no greater than 90 nm. The device includes a second layer of SiO2 overlying the second plurality of Si3N4 waveguides. The method of accurately controlling the coupling interlayer SiO2 thickness includes a multilayer SiO2/Si3N4/SiO2 hard mask process for SiO2 etching and polishing as stopping and buffering layer as well as Si waveguide etching mask.
US09671554B2

An image compensating portion located on a display panel includes a light incident surface, a light emitting surface, and a plurality of light guiding channels parallel with each other. The display panel includes a main display region and a periphery display region. A projection of the light emitting surface on the light incident surface is larger than an area of the light incident surface. The light guiding channel guides lights from the light incident surface to be emitted from the light emitting surface for being extended.
US09671552B2

A few-mode fiber is described, having a graded-index core and a surrounding cladding comprising a ledge between the core and the trench, a down-doped trench abutting the ledge, and an undoped cladding region abutting the trench. The fiber's refractive index profile is configured to support 9 LP modes for transmission of a spatially-multiplexed optical signal and has optimized maximum differential group delay (MDGD) through a wide range of wavelengths.
US09671549B2

A backlight module includes a back frame, a light guide plate and a cushion disposed inside the back frame. The back frame includes a base and side walls perpendicular to the base. The cushion is arranged on an area between one of the side walls of the back frame and the LGP, used for fixing the LGP inside the back frame. Air chamber is disposed inside the flexible cushion. At least one exhaust vent is disposed on a non-contact outer wall of the cushion. The air chamber communicates with the outside air via the exhaust vent, and the cushion is fixed on one of the side walls of the back frame. The backlight module is capable of stabilizing an LGP on its position when bearing instantaneous impact forces. Besides, there is enough room for the LGP to swell without being intervened by the backlight module.
US09671545B2

A cover, a portable electronic device using the same and a method for manufacturing the same are provided. The cover comprises a transparent layer one surface of which is a textured surface. The cover also comprises a light guide formed in the transparent layer, one of interior surfaces of the light guide being the textured surface, wherein the light guide is for light guiding such that at least one beam of colored light is guided through the transparent layer and dispersed out of the transparent layer at a surface opposite to the textured surface as a result of being incident on the texture. With the cover according to embodiments of the present invention, a portable electronic device to which the cover is attached could be illuminated with different colored lights.
US09671530B2

A display device includes: a display panel curved in a direction; a lower frame in which the display panel is accommodated, the lower frame curved in the direction in which the display panel is curved; an optical member between the display panel and the lower frame, the optical member curved in the direction in which the display panel is curved; and an optical member supporter of which an upper end portion thereof is coupled to the optical member curved in the direction in which the display panel is curved and an opposing lower end portion thereof is coupled to the lower frame curved in the direction in which the display panel is curved.
US09671529B2

The present subject matter provides a transitional layer and related methods, used to increase the transmission or reflection of light between two mediums having different indices of refraction. The transitional layer is disposed between the two mediums and the transmission or reflection of light is increased by the interaction of light with the transitional layer. The transitional layer has light scattering particles dispersed therein, a single-layer gradient index-of-refraction, a multi-layer gradient index-of-refraction, alternating layers of high and low index-of-refraction, or a combination thereof, in order to increase the transmission or reflectance of light between the two mediums.
US09671524B2

Methods for managing an intelligent field, are provided. An exemplary method can include receiving real-time dynamic field data, analyzing validity of the dynamic field data, validating values of the field data, validating a state/condition of a well, and flagging well components, well conditions, and/or well state validation issues.
US09671516B2

Methods and related systems are described for estimating fluid or rock properties from NMR measurements. A modified pulse sequence is provided that can directly provide moments of relaxation-time or diffusion distributions. This pulse sequence can be adapted to the desired moment of relaxation-time or diffusion coefficient. The data from this pulse sequence provides direct estimates of fluid properties such as average chain length and viscosity of a hydrocarbon. In comparison to the uniformly-spaced pulse sequence, these pulse sequences are faster and have a lower error bar in computing the fluid properties.
US09671511B2

A method for de-ghosting marine seismic trace data is described. A reference seismic trace and a candidate seismic trace are selected from acquired seismic data. The acquired seismic data is gathered using a configuration wherein either a first streamer and a second streamer are disposed at different depths relative to one another and are laterally offset relative to one another, or using a configuration wherein a first source and a second source are disposed at different depths relative to one another and are laterally offset from one another. The reference seismic trace and the candidate seismic trace are processed, e.g., to perform normal moveout correction and/or vertical datum shifting, and the processed reference seismic trace is de-ghosted using the processed, candidate seismic trace.
US09671510B2

Oilfield and wellbore data may include geophone data (seismic) and airborne surveys such as microseep data, as well as fiber optic measurements collected utilizing a distributed sensing system. Continuous monitoring of various oilfield and wellbore properties, such as temperature, pressure, Bragg gradient, acoustic, and strain, and the like, may generate a large volume of data, possibly spanning into several terabytes. Embodiments of the present invention provide techniques for visualizing a large volume of such measurements taken in an oilfield or wellbore without down-sampling measurement data.
US09671509B2

Controller and method for generating a frequency sweep for a seismic survey that uses a seismic source. The method includes receiving specification data about the seismic source; receiving environmental data about an infrastructure affected by the seismic survey; receiving guideline data about the infrastructure; setting a target energy spectrum density to be emitted by the seismic source during the seismic survey; and calculating, in a processor, the frequency sweep based on the specification data, environmental data, guideline data and the target energy spectrum density.
US09671507B2

The structure and methods of fabricating a high efficiency compact solid state neutron detector based on III-Nitride semiconductor structures deposited on a substrate. The operation of the device is based on absorption of neutrons, which results in generation of free carriers.
US09671504B2

A system for detecting and locating sources of radiation emissions. A hand-held probe includes a detector configured to generate a low-level electrical signal relating to a radiation source proximate the detector, and a probe wireless link configured to transmit a message containing gamma data relating to the low-level electrical signal. An instrumentation console includes a housing, an integral console wireless link within the housing and configured to receive the message transmitted by the probe wireless link, a receiver electrically coupled to the console wireless link to convert the message to corresponding electrical display signals, and a visually perceivable display electrically coupled to the receiver to convert the electrical display signals to a visually perceivable display relating to the amount of radiation detected.
US09671485B2

A high resolution data acquisition (DAQ) system is initially calibrated with a reference source having a resolution higher than the DAQ system. Measurements over the operating range of the DAQ system are taken, and characteristic calibration coefficients are determined from the measurements. Software corrections based upon the calibration coefficients are made to DAQ system measurements. A digital to analog converter (DAC) on-board the DAQ system having a lower resolution than the DAQ system is calibrated by generating a look-up table of input digital codewords and output electrical signals measured by the calibrated DAQ system. This look-up table is used to field calibrate the DAQ system using only the DAC, rather than the high resolution reference source.
US09671484B2

Provided are a magnetic sensor test apparatus and a magnetic sensor test method. The magnetic sensor test apparatus includes a vertical coil and at least one periphery coil disposed peripherally about the vertical coil. Both the vertical coil and the periphery coil may be configured to generate a horizontal and/or a vertical magnetic field in a semiconductor wafer.
US09671481B2

A method is provided for substantially simultaneously manipulating spins in a plurality of slice locations using a magnetic resonance imaging (“MRI”) system that includes a radio frequency (“RF”) coil array composed of a plurality of RF coil elements, and in which power deposition, which may be measured as specific absorption rate (“SAR”), is reduce A plurality of slice locations to be substantially simultaneously manipulated with the MRI system are selected, and an RF transmission map (B1+map) is provided for each of the plurality of RF coil elements. A subset of slice locations to be manipulated by each of the RF coil elements is then selected using the provided RF transmission maps. Using the selected subsets of slice locations, an RF pulse to be transmitted by each of the RF coil elements is designed. The designed RF pulses are then substantially simultaneously transmitted by the MRI system to substantially simultaneously manipulate spins in each o the plurality of slice locations.
US09671471B2

A magnetic-field sensor, including: a die, a current generator in the die. The current generator generating a driving current. A Lorentz force transducer also in the die and being configured to obtain measurements of magnetic field based upon the Lorentz force is coupled to the current generator. The transducer having a resonance frequency. The current generator is such that the driving current has a non-zero frequency different from the resonance frequency.
US09671462B2

A device test architecture and interface is provided to enable efficient testing embedded cores within devices. The test architecture interfaces to standard IEEE 1500 core test wrappers and provides high test data bandwidth to the wrappers from an external tester. The test architecture includes compare circuits that allow for comparison of test response data to be performed within the device. The test architecture further includes a memory for storing the results of the test response comparisons. The test architecture includes a programmable test controller to allow for various test control operations by simply inputting an instruction to the programmable test controller from the external tester. The test architecture includes a selector circuit for selecting a core for testing. Additional features and embodiments of the device test architectures are also disclosed.
US09671453B2

A built-in test system includes a control circuit, a transient voltage suppressor circuit, and a test switch. The control circuit is configured to receive a signal, and the transient voltage suppressor circuit includes first and second transient voltage suppressors connected in series between the signal and ground. The test switch is connected to selectively conduct current between the signal and a node between the first and second transient voltage suppressors. The control circuit is configured to control the test switch to test the first and second transient voltage suppressors.
US09671448B2

In one embodiment of the invention, an apparatus for electrostatic discharges (ESD) events monitoring incorporating a charged device model event simulator (CDMES) unit comprises: at least one antenna positioned in a process area; an ESD detector coupled to said at least one antenna; said ESD detector wirelessly coupled to said CDMES unit; and said ESD detector calibrated for different discharge energies generated by said CDMES unit.
US09671447B2

In order to improve reliability of a system-on-chip (SoC) through fault tolerance verification, there is provided a method of analyzing an error rate in a system-on-chip (SoC) having at least one internal block obtained by interconnecting two or more gates, comprising: applying an input signal to an input terminal of a certain internal block; defining an input error rate of each gate of the internal block; and defining an output error rate of the internal block based on the input error rate of each gate and an error rate propagating to an output terminal. As a result, there is proposed a method of analyzing a change of the output error rate depending on the input error rate in a gate level in error model development necessary to design and verify a fault-tolerant SoC. Therefore, it is possible to analyze errors in each gate and formularize error rate information modeling including an input/output relationship between each gate of a digital circuit in a library form.
US09671445B2

A system and method to facilitate wireless testing of a radio frequency (RF) multiple-input, multiple-output (MIMO) signal transceiver device under test (DUT). With the DUT operating in a controlled electromagnetic environment, the tester transmits multiple test signals wirelessly to the DUT. Signal phases of the respective test signals transmitted by the tester are controlled in accordance with feedback signal data from the DUT. Magnitudes of the respective test signals can also be controlled in accordance with such feedback signal data, thereby enabling dynamic optimization of the wireless communication channel condition number k(H).
US09671442B2

A method for detecting a grid event is provided. The method includes sampling grid voltage and grid current over a fixed period of time; determining grid impedance at one or more frequencies using the sampled grid voltage and the sampled grid current; comparing the grid impedance at the one or more frequencies to a known expected grid impedance at the one or more frequencies; and detecting a grid event based on the comparison.
US09671438B2

In one embodiment, a method for measuring current is described herein. The method comprises shorting first and second inputs of an amplifying circuit to generate a first output signal, and converting the first output signal into an offset cancelation value. The method also comprises passing a current through a power switch, wherein the current generates a voltage drop across the power switch, applying the voltage drop across the first and second inputs of the amplifying circuit to generate a second output signal, and converting the second output signal into a current value. The method further comprises subtracting the offset cancelation value from the current value to generate an offset-compensated current value.
US09671431B2

There is provided a probe card in contact with pads formed on a plurality of semiconductor dies on a wafer to test the semiconductor dies. The probe card includes a printed circuit board on which a plurality of pads are formed; a block plate having a plurality of grooves and attached to the printed circuit board; a plurality of sub-probe units equipped with a plurality of probe tips in contact with the pads of the semiconductor dies and detachably coupled to the plurality of grooves; and a plurality of interposer/space transformer units interposed between the sub-probe units and the printed circuit board and configured to electrically connect the probe tips to the pads of the printed circuit board and transform a pitch of the pads formed on the printed circuit to a pitch of the plurality of probe tips.
US09671430B2

A tester includes a level controller for independently restricting the central deformation and the peripheral deformation of a probe card. The level controller includes a single upper plate, a single first lower plate and a plurality of second lower plates. A first elastic force is applied to a central portion of the probe card by the first lower plate to restrict the central deformation. Second elastic forces are independently applied to peripheral portions of the probe card by the individual second lower plates to locally restrict the peripheral deformations.
US09671422B2

A vibratory ring structure is described which comprises a ring body and at least one ring electrode secured thereto, the or each ring electrode extending over a first angular extent and: being attached to the ring body over second angular extent, wherein the first angular extent is greater than the second angular extent.
US09671419B2

A liquid collection device is configured to determine a difference between a liquid level after suction operation determined by calculation based on the liquid level detected at the time of previous probe lowering operation and a liquid level that is actually detected at the time of current probe lowering operation, to detect presence of foam if the difference is greater than a first threshold set as a maximum value of an allowable error set in advance in the device and is equal to or smaller than a second threshold that is set greater than the first threshold, and moreover, to display a warning to an operator when presence of foam is detected.
US09671414B2

Described herein are assays directed to determining the level of bioavailable or free vitamin D in a blood sample in a subject. The values determined for bioavailable or free vitamin D indicate whether the subject suffers from insufficient levels of vitamin D. Also described herein are methods of treatment for vitamin D insufficiency.
US09671413B2

The invention relates to point of care diagnostic disposables, devices, methods, and systems for diagnosing or predicting prostate cancer. The present invention employs biomarker specific reagents in disposable cassettes or lab cards for use as analyzers, as well as software to evaluate and report test results. The system promises to improve point of care in vitro diagnostics.
US09671384B2

Disclosed herein is a method involving the steps of method for determining asphaltene stability in a hydrocarbon-containing sample having solvated asphaltenes therein, the method comprising the steps of: (a) precipitating an amount of asphaltenes from a liquid sample of the hydrocarbon-containing sample having solvated asphaltenes therein with one or more first solvents and capturing the precipitated asphaltenes in one or more low volume filters comprising a porous filter element comprising an area through which a fluid may flow; (b) determining one or more solubility characteristics of the precipitated asphaltenes; and (c) analyzing the one or more solubility characteristics of the precipitated asphaltenes.
US09671378B2

A sensing device for determining the presence of hydrogen peroxide is disclosed. The sensing device comprises a light guide having a distal portion terminating at a light guide tip and a proximal portion, wherein the light guide tip is proximal to a layer of Prussian blue (PB), which is pure (or essentially free of contaminants). The sensing device produces a fast linear response and is durable, due to the robustness and purity of the PB. The PB is chemically deposited proximal to, or on, the light guide tip using a single-source precursor technique. Methods of making and using the device also are disclosed herein.
US09671372B2

The invention relates to a method and device for ascertaining an edge layer characteristic of a component (12), in particular a component (12) for an aircraft engine. In the method, a reference body (22) with a known edge layer characteristic is arranged on the surface of the component (12). An ultrasonic wave (18) is introduced into the surfaces of the component (12) and the reference object (22) by an ultrasonic transmitter (16). An ultrasonic wave (18) resulting from the exchange between the component (12) and the reference body (22) is detected by an ultrasonic detector (20), and an edge layer characteristic of the component (12) is ascertained by an ascertaining device (28) using a difference between the generated ultrasonic wave (18) and the resulting ultrasonic wave (18).
US09671371B2

A technique facilitates anomaly recognition and tracking in a variety of components, such as tubular components. The technique comprises sensing for anomalies in the component, and storing detected anomalies in a storage medium. The detected anomalies are matched with stored digital descriptions of anomalies. The stored digital descriptions may be anomalies of similar types and/or anomalies detected on the specific component being tested. The detected anomalies are ranked according to similarities with respect to the stored digital descriptions.
US09671368B2

Microfluidic devices and methods for using the same are provided. Embodiments include microfluidic devices that have a first separation region configured to separate a sample along a first directional axis based on a first property, and a second separation region in fluid communication with the first separation region and configured to separate the sample along a second directional axis based on a second property. Also provided are methods of using the devices as well as systems and kits that include the devices. The devices, systems and methods find use in a variety of different applications, including diagnostic and validation assays.
US09671364B2

An array of micro-chambers (220) with individual ion sensitive field effect transistors (ISFETs) (300) disposed therein for monitoring single cell activity in the microarray to determine the presence or absence of microorganisms in a sample (390). In addition to the presence or absence of a single cell, certain further embodiments contemplate monitoring cell behavior. Cell behavior includes the entire range of cell activity as well as cell response to changes in environmental conditions of changes in response due to the addition of sample constituents.
US09671361B2

The present invention relates to a biochip comprising an electrode having a titania coating layer on its surface; an organic coupler comprising two or more carboxylic acid groups and capable of transporting electrons; and bioactive molecules, wherein the organic coupler is covalently bonded to a hydroxyl group of titania on the electrode surface through one carboxylic acid group, and to the bioactive molecules through other one or more carboxylic acid groups, a method for analyzing target molecules using the biochip, a method for diagnosing the development of diseases using the biochip, an electrode provided with a titania coating layer on its surface to which an organic coupler, comprising 2 or more carboxylic acid groups and capable of transporting electrons, is bound, wherein the organic coupler is covalently bonded to a hydroxyl group of titania on the electrode surface through one carboxylic acid group, and a method for preparing the electrode provided with a mesoporous titania coating layer, the method comprising coating a mixed solution of a titania precursor and a template polymer on the top of the electrode, and calcinating the coated electrode under an air flow condition.
US09671357B2

A system and method are disclosed for monitoring hot glass containers at the hot end as they stream from an I.S. machine manufacturing them to enable their quality to be monitored, enhanced, and controlled. The system monitors radiation from the hot glass containers, extracts images of each hot glass container, analyzes the images of the hot glass containers, and provides the images of the hot glass containers together with information indicative of the quality thereof to a display screen viewable by an operator to enable the quick identification of glass forming process deviations and to occasion continuous improvements in glass container quality. The system and method are independent of conditions and parameters that have hampered previously known attempts to monitor hot glass containers, and make possible the production of glass containers of both high quality and substantially increased consistency.
US09671350B2

The present disclosure provides methods and mechanisms for measuring small masses attached to a substrate within a microcantilever. Specifically, the disclosure describes the measurement of small particles accumulated at a substrate that cannot be flowed through a microchannel within a microcantilever. A resonance measurement is acquired at a first time. A pair resonance measurements is then acquired at a second point in time—one with the test mass at a first position off or along the microcantilever, the second with the test mass at a second position along the microcantilever. Comparing the resonance frequencies determined for the two test mass positions allows for disambiguation of changes in the mass of the particles from changes in the resonant behavior of the microcantilever itself.
US09671347B2

Present disclosure relates to a method of diagnosing malaria infection in a patient by Surface Enhanced Raman Spectroscopy (SERS). The method includes obtaining a sample from said patient, mixing the sample with a suspension of magnetic nanoparticles, wherein said magnetic nanoparticles adsorb hemozoin present in the sample onto their surface, obtaining the SERS spectra of the sample, and correlating the obtained SERS spectra to the presence or amount of hemozoin in the sample, wherein the presence of hemozoin is indicative of malaria infection.
US09671346B2

A particle detecting device includes: a storing device that stores first boundary information wherein the third light intensity is recorded in a first range at a discriminating boundary for particles of first and second classifications, second boundary information wherein the third light intensity is recorded in a second range at a discriminating boundary for particles of first and second classifications, and discriminating information wherein identifiers for particles of the first and second classifications are recorded in cells bounded and not bounded by the discriminating boundary, respectively; and a particle identifying portion that evaluates a particle being measured as a particle of the first classification when the identifier for a particle of the first classification is acquired based on the measured values for the first and second light intensities and the measured value for the third light intensity falls between the first and second boundary values.
US09671344B2

An array chip useful for biochemical assays is provided wherein the chip includes a field region arranged with attachment sites according to a first pitch and at least one track region having a one-dimensional spot pattern arranged according to a second pitch that is less dense and is a non-integer multiple of the first pitch so that one-dimensional Moiré averaging may be applied in the track region, thereby to attain alignment of the chip to the optical instrumentation with a higher density of attachment sites.
US09671340B2

The invention relates to a method for acquiring data in order to determine organ function, in particular the liver or kidney function, comprising one or more polymethine fluorescent dyes having a fluorescence emission maximum, measured in ethanol, of less than or equal to 820 nm, and to the use of dyes as markers for acquiring data in order to determine the organ function. The invention further relates to a kit for determining an organ function with a marker dye, and to a device for acquiring data in the method.
US09671334B2

An analyte-detection system has an optical waveguide with first and second cladding layers adjacent a core; a light source coupled to provide light to the waveguide; a photodetector such as a metal-semiconductor-metal, vertical PIN, or horizontal PIN photodetectors, the photodetector having an absorber configured to detect light escaping from the waveguide through the first cladding layer; multiple, separate, photocurrent collectors, where each photocurrent collector collects current from a separate portion of the photodetector absorber; and at least one current-sensing amplifier for receiving photocurrent. The photodetector absorber is an undivided absorber region for multiple photocurrent collectors. Either separate amplifiers are provided for each of the multiple photocurrent collection lines, or multiplexing logic couples selected photocurrent collectors to amplifiers, while coupling unselected photocurrent collectors to a bias generator.
US09671327B2

Systems and methods biochemically sense a concentration of a ligand using a sensor having a substrate having a metallic nanoparticle array formed onto a surface of the substrate. A light source is incident on the surface. A matrix is deposited over the nanoparticle array and contains a protein adapted to binding the ligand. A detector detects s-polarized and p-polarized light from the reflective surface. Spacing of nanoparticles in the array and wavelength of light are selected such that plasmon resonance occurs with an isotropic point such that −s and −p polarizations of the incident light result in substantially identical surface Plasmon resonance, wherein binding of the ligand to the protein shifts the resonance such that differences between the −S and −P polarizations give in a signal indicative of presence of the ligand.
US09671324B2

An apparatus and method are presented for the analysis of materials. The apparatus includes two or more similar analyzers, with the output of the analyzers combined to provide improved measurements. The apparatus may be, for example, a differential photometric analyzer, such as the AETHALOMETER®. The apparatus includes a processor programmed to accept an instrument constant determined at low filter loadings and use the constant to compensate for non-linear instrument responses. A method is also presented for conditioning filters before use.
US09671319B1

A fats, oils, and grease waste materials water sampling apparatus includes a housing having an inlet, an outlet, a floor to accommodate a sampling jar below the inlet and an open top. The floor in the housing includes a recessed bottom, the recessed bottom extending between the inlet and the outlet to facilitate receipt of a sample jar for fats, oils, and grease waste materials sampling. Systems and methods for the invention are also described.
US09671314B2

The different advantageous embodiments provide an apparatus comprising a number of landing gear components for a vehicle, a number of systems, and a number of processor units. The number of systems is configured to generate data about the number of landing gear components and the vehicle. The number of processor units is configured to monitor the data and manage health of the number of landing gear components.
US09671300B2

An electronic device may include one or more low-noise pressure sensors for measuring air pressure. The electronic device may include wireless communications circuitry for communicating with external devices also having pressure sensors. Pressure data gathered by an external device may be used as reference pressure data for the electronic device. For example, if both devices are located in the same building, both pressure sensors will detect similar pressure fluctuations due to doors opening and closing and temperature-control systems turning on and off. By subtracting the reference pressure data from the pressure data gathered by the electronic device, calibrated pressure data may be obtained and may be used to reliably detect vertical displacement changes of the electronic device. In other scenarios, the pressure data may be compared with the reference pressure data to determine whether the two devices are in the same room.
US09671292B2

The present techniques generally relate to a system and methods for remotely monitoring the interior of a closed electrical enclosure for localized heating (e.g., hot spots). In general, the monitoring system includes features designed to detect one or more hot spots within a dim or dark environment, determine the location of the hot spot within the enclosure, determine a temperature range of the hot spot, and/or notify (e.g., alarm or alert) an operator upon detection of the hot spot. The monitoring system may include one or more temperature sensitive elements configured to determine the heating of potential hot spots within the electrical enclosure. Further, the foregoing features may be designed to allow one or more electrical enclosures to remotely communicate with computer equipment (e.g., workstation or general purpose computers) over a wireless network.
US09671287B2

Described herein is a hyperspectral imaging system in which a polarizing beam splitter, a Wollaston prism, an optical system, and a plane mirror are arranged on an optical axis of the imaging system. An imaging detector is provided on which radiation is focused by an imaging lens. The Wollaston prism is imaged on itself by the optical system and the plane mirror so that translation of the Wollaston prism in a direction parallel to a virtual split plane of the prism effectively provides an optical path length difference that is the same for all points in the object field.
US09671277B2

A light imaging system for an acoustic imaging system uses polarized light to illuminate a birefringent detector through a partially transparent mirror, a lens through which light reflected from the detector passes and a light imager views the mirror through a linear polarizer with the position of the light imager being adjusted to image the full detector and to minimize effects due to the non-linear behavior of the detector.
US09671275B2

A minibar weighing machine for weighing a minibar refrigerator includes a receiving portion for receiving an underside of a minibar which is directed towards the minibar weighing machine where at least part of the minibar weighing machine and at least part of the minibar are arranged in a common, horizontal plane when the minibar is positioned in a weighing position.
US09671274B1

An apparatus including a computer processor, a robotic device, and a weight scale device, having a plurality of independent weight scales. The computer processor may be programmed to control the robotic device to cause a material located on the weight scale device to be evenly distributed over the plurality of independent weight scales so that each of the plurality of independent weight scales indicates the same weight within a tolerance. The robotic device may include a rake appendage having a plurality of tines, which may be controlled by the computer processor to move the material to cause the material to be evenly distributed over the plurality of independent weight scales. The robotic device may include a roller device having a roller which may be controlled by the computer processor to run over the material located on the weight scale device to thereby compress the material.
US09671268B2

A method for determining a lateral mode stiffness of one or more fluid tubes (103A, 103B) in a vibrating meter (5) is provided. The method comprises a step of vibrating at least one of the one or more fluid tubes (103A, 103B) in a drive mode vibration. Drive mode sensor signals (310) are received based on a vibrational response to the drive mode vibration. At least one of the one or more fluid tubes (103A, 103B) is vibrated in a lateral mode vibration, wherein the lateral mode is approximately perpendicular to the drive mode. Lateral mode sensor signals (317) are received based on a vibrational response to the lateral mode vibrations. The method further comprises determining a lateral mode stiffness (318) based on the lateral mode sensor signals (317).
US09671266B2

A method for determining mass flow of a gas by means of a mass flow meter, which has a first and a second temperature sensor, which can be flowed around by the gas. The first temperature sensor is heated with a heating power Q, wherein the mass flow of the medium is determined by means of a power coefficient PC=Q/ΔT as a function of a heating power Q and a temperature difference ΔTm=T1−T2 between the measured values of the temperature sensor. A corrected power coefficient PCcorr is determined, wherein at least one correction occurs by means of at least one recovery correction term Ki, wherein the recovery correction term Ki has the form Ki=Δx·u2/(2·cp), wherein u is the flow velocity and cp the heat capacity of the medium, Δx is an element of the set {Δ1; Δ2; Δ12}, Δ1:=e1−cr, Δ2:=e2−cr and Δ12:=e1−e2=Δ1−Δ2, e1 and e2 are the recovery factors of the first, respectively second, temperature sensors, and wherein cr is a constant reference value, for which holds cr≦1, especially cr=1.
US09671264B2

Provided is an ultrasonic flow switch which can be stably mounted on pipes. A casing part which integrally or independently holds the ultrasonic wave elements is mounted on an outer surface of the pipe by a clamp part. An acoustic couplant which is formed of a soft elastic body is pressed to an outer surface of the pipe such that at least one of the first and second ultrasonic wave elements is acoustically coupled to the pipe. A collapsing amount of the acoustic couplant at a portion where the collapsing amount of the acoustic couplant caused by the pipe is the largest is restricted by a collapsing amount restricting part.
US09671263B2

Provided is an ultrasonic flow switch which can be stably mounted on pipe. A clamp part is mounted on an outer surface of the pipe. A casing part which integrally or independently holds the first and second ultrasonic wave elements is fixed to the clamp part by a sensor fixing screw. The clamp part is configured to restrict displacement of the casing part in an axial direction of the pipe and in a circumferential direction of the pipe and to allow displacement of the casing part in a radial direction of the pipe in a state where the casing part is not fixed.
US09671261B2

To provide an ultrasonic flowmeter that prevents reduction in S/N ratio by suppressing the movement of a damping material applied to the pipe of the ultrasonic flowmeter, an ultrasonic flowmeter is provided. The ultrasonic flowmeter includes a first ultrasonic transceiver provided on a part of an outer periphery on an upstream side of a pipe in which gas flows, the first ultrasonic transceiver transmitting and receiving an ultrasonic wave, a second ultrasonic transceiver provided on a part of the outer periphery on a downstream side of the pipe, the second ultrasonic transceiver transmitting and receiving an ultrasonic wave, a main unit measuring a flow quantity of the gas, an ultrasonic absorber provided on the outer periphery of the pipe, the ultrasonic absorber including a first rubber layer formed on the outer periphery of the pipe and a second rubber layer formed on the first rubber layer.
US09671259B2

Disclosed is a conduit (4) comprising a conduit wall defining a flow channel through which a fluid may flow and a plurality of further channels (24) through at least part of the conduit wall. Each further channel (24) comprises a first end (20) and a second end (22). The first ends (20) of the further channels (24) are spaced apart along a length of the conduit (4) and comprise openings in fluid communication with the flow channel of the conduit (4). The second ends (22) of the further channels (24) are located proximate to one another (e.g. substantially collocated) such that the distance between the second ends (22) of any two further channels (24) is smaller than the distance between the first ends (20) of those two further channels (24). Pressure sensors (26) may be coupled to the second ends (22) of the further channels, which may be closed.
US09671257B2

An arrangement measures coordinates of a workpiece and/or machines the workpiece. The arrangement has a first part and a second part that can be moved relative to the first part. The relative mobility of the first and second parts is specified in addition to a possible mobility of a probe that is optionally additionally fixed to the arrangement. The mobility of the probe is specified by a deflection of the probe from a neutral position during a mechanical probing of the workpiece for the purpose of measuring the coordinates. A measuring body is arranged on the first or second part, and at least one sensor is arranged on the other part, i.e. on the second or first part. The sensor generates a measurement signal corresponding to a position of the measuring body and thus corresponding to the relative position of the first and second part.
US09671255B2

A sensor probe comprises a tube, a sensor element and an absorber mass. The tube is for placement in a process fluid flow within a fluid conduit and comprises a first end for coupling to the fluid conduit and a second end for insertion into the process fluid flow. The sensor element is in communication with the tube. The absorber mass is coupled to the tube and is configured to dampen vibration of the tube when inserted in the process fluid flow.
US09671253B2

The present invention concerns an electronic measurement circuit for measuring a physical parameter. The circuit comprises: a measurement sensor comprising two differential mounted capacitors each comprising a fixed electrode, and a common electrode, common to the two capacitors which is arranged to be movable relative to each fixed electrode of the two capacitors in order to alter the capacitive value of each capacitor when the physical parameter is measured. The circuit further comprises a first integrator unit connected to the common electrode for integrating charge received from the measurement sensor, and comprising two integrators arranged to be connected alternately to the common electrode; a second integrator unit connected to the first integrator unit for integrating charge received from the first integrator unit; a comparator for comparing analogue output values from the second integrator unit; a switch circuit connected to the measurement sensor for switching different voltage values across the two capacitors; and a feedback circuit for feeding a digital output signal of the comparator to the switch circuit for controlling the operation of the switch circuit.
US09671242B2

Methods, systems, and automotive vehicles are provided for providing routing for an automotive vehicle from a first location to a second location. The automotive vehicle is configured to operate using a primary energy source and a secondary energy source. An energy indicator is configured to provide a measure of available energy from the primary energy source onboard the automotive vehicle. A processor is coupled to the energy indicator, and is configured to ascertain characteristics of a plurality of segments connecting the first location and the second location, and to select an optimized route between the first location and the second location using the measure of available energy and the characteristics of the plurality of segments.
US09671238B2

A navigation system includes: a control unit configured to calculate a non-terrestrial navigation route for guiding a multimodal vehicle during a non-terrestrial travel segment; calculate a ground navigation route for guiding the multimodal vehicle during a ground travel segment beyond a mode-transition point; generate a composite navigation route based on the non-terrestrial navigation route and the ground navigation route for continuously guiding the multimodal vehicle over the non-terrestrial travel segment and the ground travel segment; and an interface unit, coupled to the control unit, configured to communicate the composite navigation route.
US09671237B1

A number of parking segments is defined as a plurality of areas for street parking. A request for parking within the plurality of parking segments is received that defines parking constraints. The request is for optimize navigation to search for a free parking spot. Parking segments that comply with the parking constraints are determined. Current values for probabilities to park for the parking segments are determined based on evaluation of collected data for parking events. The data may include both traffic data and data related to defined features that are associated with determining of probability values. A route for traversing the parking segments is determined. The route defines an optimized order for traversing according to the determined current value for the probabilities to park. Navigation instructions are provided for the determined optimized route in response to the received request.
US09671235B2

A method for operating a navigation device. The navigation device carries out a position determination on the basis of received signals. In parallel, another position determination is carried out on the basis of signals from inertial sensors. These two determined positions are compared. If these two determined positions differ by more than a predetermined amount, which has been defined by a predetermined limit value, an error value is recognized. If an impermissible deviation is recognized, then especially the direction of movement, the speed differences and the position changes are taken into account. When the error value is recognized, shaded areas in the surroundings of the vehicle are determined and associated with the determined momentary position, as a result of which an association with a lane level is carried out.
US09671231B2

The present disclosure provides a system and method of monitoring a mooring system for a floating vessel using the time of the natural period independent of environmental conditions. The natural period can be calculated and/or established experientially over time by measuring movement of the vessel to establish the natural period at given geographical positions of a secure and intact mooring system. The natural period can be monitored based on the time to complete a natural period. A change in a mooring line stiffness, whether by a failure, stretching, a degradation of the mooring line integrity, or a significant displacement of the anchoring point, will be translated into a different natural period with a different time. By monitoring the natural period for a given geographical position (and corresponding heading) to be compared to the theoretical values (and/or previous recorded values) it is then possible to assess that at least a portion of the mooring system has failed or that a significant damage has occurred.
US09671226B2

A method of magnetic sensor calibration for aircraft comprises obtaining attitude data, heading angle data, position data, and date information; inputting the position data and date into an earth magnetic field (EMF) model and into an EMF model correction map; inputting the attitude and heading angle data into a NOLL to body frame transformation module; outputting an EMF model vector from the EMF model; outputting an EMF correction vector from the EMF model correction map; compensating the EMF model vector with the EMF correction vector to produce a corrected EMF model vector; inputting the corrected EMF model vector into the transformation module; inputting magnetic field measurements data into a calibration processing unit; inputting true earth magnetic field data from the transformation module into the processing unit; computing compensation coefficients in the processing unit based on the magnetic field measurements and the true earth magnetic field; and storing the compensation coefficients.
US09671212B2

A position sensor that detects operation positions of an operation member includes an element array having three stages, each including one or more detection elements. A detected subject is detected by each detection element in two adjacent upstream and downstream stages to determine an operation position of the operation member. Whenever the operation member is shifted by one operation position, the detected subject is moved relative to the element array by one stage. Each detection element outputs a detection result of the detected subject. The element array includes at least three detection elements of which the detection results change whenever the operation member is shifted by one operation position. A detection element in the upstream side stage detects the detected subject before the operation position shifting, and a detection element in the downstream side stage detects the detected subject after the operation position shifting.
US09671209B2

A physical measuring tool comprising one or more members for determining the correct length of stock of various shapes of a given thickness and width range required to form various enclosed shapes with predetermined internal dimensions. One embodiment is an easy to use enclosed shape measuring tool that allows jewelers to fabricate rings of various widths from stock with great precision and fit without costly revision, as the measurements it makes are calibrated to the proportional relation among the thickness, length, width of material, and finished fit of ring. Each measuring element includes a raised fence for bracing material against to maximize measurement accuracy, and other convenient elements such as a thickness-measuring member. Such a tool replaces mathematical calculations and charts for determining the ratio among length and thickness of stock, and width and interior dimensions of enclosed shapes representing a significant time and resource saver for fabricators.
US09671185B2

An improved door assembly for a delinking feeder of a minigun includes an access door mounted to a delinking feeder housing and movable between a closed position and an open position. The access door has an enclosed recess for receiving a tongue that is rotationally coupled to the access door and is movable between a retracted position and a deployed position. When the access door is in the open position, the tongue is in the deployed position and a tongue first contact surface can contact and secure a linked cartridge positioned in the delinking feeder. When the access door is in the closed position, the tongue is in the retracted position and a tongue second contact surface can contact and guide a cartridge positioned in the delinking feeder.
US09671175B2

A system for reversibly storing electrical energy as thermal energy. The system can include a reversible subcritical vapor-liquid cycle energy storage system with a single hot storage fluid tank and cold storage fluid tank that are inter connected by an inter storage tank flow path. The inter storage tank flow path includes an inter storage heat exchanger in the vapor-liquid cycle that enables sensible heat transfer between the working fluid and storage fluid as the storage fluid passes between the hot storage fluid tank and the cold storage fluid tank. This supplements latent heat transfer between the working fluid and the hot storage fluid tank and the cold storage fluid tank.
US09671171B2

Systems, methods, and computer-implemented embodiments consistent with the inventions herein are directed to storing and/or transferring heat. In one exemplary implementation, there is provided a system for transferring/storing heat comprised of a heat exchange/storage apparatus including a chamber, and a heat input device adapted to heat/provide a vapor into the chamber. Other exemplary implementations may include one or more features consistent with a heat output device through which a working medium/fluid passes, a thermal storage medium located within the chamber, and/or a heat exchange system that delivers a heat exchange medium/fluid to the thermal storage medium.
US09671165B1

A weighted towel with handles manufactured from an absorbent material having weights near or at one end which allows a person with limited mobility, dexterity or range of motion to have the ability to dry himself; the end having hook and loop fasteners which attach and allow the end to wrap around a body extremity to dry areas of a limb which are difficult to reach or touch, where the weights are heavy material enclosed in a tough, flexible bag that allows the weight to conform to the limb, or the foot and toes when pressed against.
US09671143B2

The disclosure provides a heat source tower heat pump realizing solution regeneration and heat reutilization based on vacuum boiling. It comprises a refrigerant circuit, a solution circuit, a vacuum maintenance circuit, an air circuit, a regenerative solution heating circuit and a cold/hot water circuit. The unit provided by the disclosure regenerates a solution by taking full advantage of the characteristic that the boiling point of a solution will be reduced in vacuum, uses the heat released from the cooling of overheated refrigerant as the heat of solution regeneration and also uses the heat to produce heat supply hot water. While significantly raising the speed of solution regeneration, it also realizes efficient reutilization of solution regeneration heat, thoroughly solves the problem of solution regeneration of the heat pump of heat source tower system, improves the safety and reliability of the heat pump of heat source tower system in various operating conditions and realizes high overall efficiency of the system.
US09671137B2

The invention concerns a multilayer material comprising at least: a support having a reflectance R higher than 80% for radiations of wavelengths higher than 5 μm, a selective layer comprising a combination of Vanadium oxides VO2 and VO2O2n+/−1, with n>1, said selective layer having an absorbance higher than 75% for radiations of wavelengths comprised between 0.4 and 2.5 μm, regardless of the temperature T, and having, for radiations of wavelengths comprised between 6 and 10 μm, a transmittance Tr such that: Tr>85% for TTc. Application to the production of thermal solar panels having a low stagnation temperature and high performance.
US09671136B2

In various representative aspects, a clamp assembly that secures a solar panel module to a rail support structure that utilizes a generally c-shaped clamp in combination with a t-bolt and a binding bolt such that the t-bolt and binding bolt fit through a pair of apertures in the c-shaped clamp. This enables the foot of the t-bolt to be inserted into a guide on the top of the rail support structure so that the clamp can subsequently secure the solar panel module to the rail support structure by rotating the binding bolt, which in turn locks the t-bolt within the guide and the top of the clamp is then tightened with continuous rotation of the binding bolt, which also enables raised portions on the foot of the t-bolt and top of the clamp to create an electrical bonding path between the solar panel module and the rail support structure.
US09671131B2

A hydronic air heater includes a frame assembly defining an enclosure, an inlet air damper formed in a wall of the enclosure and providing a means of ingress for ambient air, a closed heat transfer loop disposed within the enclosure, and a blower assembly disposed within the enclosure. The heat transfer loop includes a boiler for heating a fluid, a pump for circulating the fluid within the loop and a heating coil for receiving the heated fluid from the boiler. The blower assembly is configured to draw air into the enclosure through the inlet air damper and through the heating coil whereby heat from the fluid within the heating coil is transferred to the air.
US09671128B2

An air conditioner including a frame, a fan operable to generate an airflow that moves in an airflow direction, and a first heat exchanger including a first end adjacent the air inlet, a second end adjacent the air outlet, an air inlet face that extends between the first end and the second end, an air outlet face that extends between the first end and the second end and faces opposite the air inlet face, and a longitudinal axis that extends through the first end and the second end between the air inlet face and the air outlet face. The heat exchanger is configured to transfer heat between the airflow and a cooling medium. A first heat exchanger angle is defined between the longitudinal axis of the heat exchanger and the airflow direction, and the first heat exchanger angle can be between about 3 degrees and about 20 degrees.
US09671126B2

A system for maintaining thermal separation between first and second adjacent rooms or spaces. The system includes a vestibule with at least a first compartment, and other embodiments may include two or more compartments, such that the vestibule provides a passageway between the first and second rooms. At least one blower draws air from the first room through an air intake, and back into the first room through an exhaust. The system further includes an exhaust port from the first compartment in fluid communication with the exhaust, to exhaust air from the first compartment into the first room. During operation, a vacuum is formed within the first compartment that provides thermal separation between the first and second adjacent rooms.
US09671123B2

An air conditioner having an indoor unit and an outdoor unit, at least one of which includes a communication unit, a switching unit turned on when communication lines are connected to the communication unit, turned off in a standby mode, and turned on when the standby mode is released, a voltage distribution unit distributing voltage applied to the communication unit when the switching unit is turned off, a voltage adjustment unit adjusting the voltage applied to the communication unit and transmitting the adjusted voltage to the communication unit, and a control unit turning the switching unit on when driving voltage is input to the control unit, turning the switching unit off when the at least one of the indoor unit and the outdoor unit enters the standby mode, and turning the switching unit on based on the voltage distributed by the voltage distribution unit in the standby mode.
US09671120B2

A thermal source instrument controlling device includes a setting value calculating portion, a change magnitude calculating portion, and a feed water temperature setting portion that corrects, based on change magnitudes for feed water temperatures calculated by the change magnitude calculating portion, setting values for the feed water temperatures for respective thermal source instruments, calculated by the setting value calculating portion, and sets corrected values in the respective thermal source instruments. The change magnitude calculating portion calculates the change magnitudes for the feed water temperatures for the respective thermal source instruments based on temperature change magnitude information included in instruction data, the setting values for the feed water temperatures set for the respective thermal source instruments, flow rates of the cooling/heating water that flows out from the respective thermal source instruments, and weighting coefficients set for individual thermal source instruments.
US09671119B2

An air-conditioning apparatus includes a refrigerant circuit including a low-pressure shell structure compressor into which a refrigerant flowing through an injection pipe flows, a first heat exchanger, a second heat exchanger, a first expansion device, a refrigerant flow switching device, and a second expansion device configured to allow the refrigerant which has passed through the first expansion device and flows from the second heat exchanger to the first heat exchanger to have an intermediate pressure, the compressor, the first heat exchanger, the second heat exchanger, the first expansion device, the refrigerant flow switching device, and the second expansion device being connected by pipes to constitute the refrigerant circuit, and further includes a controller that controls an amount of refrigerant flowing through the injection pipe into a compression chamber. A part of a high-pressure refrigerant flowing from the first heat exchanger to the second heat exchanger flows through the injection pipe.
US09671114B2

A household cooking appliance including a housing having an oven chamber accessible through an opening, the opening having a seal surrounding a perimeter of the opening, and a door covering the opening and moveable about a hinge between an open position and a closed position. The door includes a full glass inner panel having an inner surface that abuts the seal when the door is in a closed position and shock-absorbing means for absorbing and distributing a shock or an impact on the full glass inner panel.
US09671108B2

Provided is a combustion burner including: a fuel nozzle (51) that is able to blow a fuel gas obtained by mixing pulverized coal with primary air; a secondary air nozzle (52) that is able to blow secondary air from the outside of the fuel nozzle (51); a flame stabilizer (54) that is provided at a front end portion of the fuel nozzle (51) so as to be near the axis center; and a rectification member (55) that is provided between the inner wall surface of the fuel nozzle (51) and the flame stabilizer (54), wherein an appropriate flow of a fuel gas obtained by mixing solid fuel with air may be realized.
US09671105B2

A continuous flow steam generator includes a combustion chamber, having substantially rectangular cross-section and a lower and upper combustion chamber region, and has a horizontal gas pass connected downstream of the combustion chamber on the flue-gas side. Gas-tight and gas-permeable peripheral walls of the generator are completely or partly made of steam generator pipes welded together and through which a flow medium can flow, and collectors are arranged and connected to the steam generator pipes such that groups of steam generator pipes connected in parallel form heating surface segments of the peripheral walls. First passage collectors are arranged and connected such that the flow medium from first heating surface segments of two parallel first peripheral walls of the lower combustion chamber region are mixed with the fluid medium from second heating surface segments of second peripheral walls, standing perpendicular to the first peripheral walls, of the upper combustion chamber region.
US09671100B2

A light system includes a main body defining an internal chamber, a lighting assembly secured to the main body, and an airflow circuit extending around a periphery of the lighting assembly. The lighting assembly includes at least one light unit configured to emit light. The airflow circuit is configured to direct airflow out of the main body underneath the lighting assembly.
US09671096B2

A system for focused lighting on a remote control including: a bracket, where the bracket includes a cradle and a release clip, where the release clip enables the placement of the bracket onto the remote control; a first set of clamps extending from a first side of the cradle, where the first set of clamps extend around a first side of the remote control; a second set of clamps extending from a second side of the cradle, where the second set of clamps extend around a second side of the remote control; a stem extending from the cradle; and a LED light at a distal end of the stem, where the LED light illuminates a control panel of the remote control. Preferably, the cradle and release clip abut an underside of the remote control. Also preferably, the stem extends from the underside of the remote control to the control panel side and the direction of the LED light is adjustable.
US09671088B2

Various embodiments may relate to a lens for an illumination device, including an incident surface, an emergent surface, and a reflective surface connected between the incident surface and the emergent surface. The lens includes a first axis as an optical axis of the lens, a second axis perpendicular to the first axis and extending in a longitudinal direction of the lens, the first axis and the second axis defining a symmetrical surface of the lens, and a third axis perpendicular to the symmetrical surface, a first portion of light from a light source is incident upon the incident surface, refracted by the emergent surface, and then emerges to form a first light beam, and a second portion of light from the light source is incident upon the incident surface, reflected by the reflective surface, refracted by the emergent surface, and then emerges to form a second light beam.
US09671083B2

In various embodiments, there is provided a luminaire optical system that includes a first optical module and a second optical module. The first optical module includes a first reflective surface configured to output light vectors in a first direction. The second optical module includes a second reflective surface configured to reflect light vectors from the second optical module in a second direction. The first reflective surface and the second reflective surfaces are surfaces of one reflector.
US09671082B2

A warning lamp assembly includes a housing having an upper chamber and a bottom chamber; a driving unit; a gear mechanism including a rotary disk disposed within the upper chamber, and formed with an inwardly and radially extending retention flange, a bearing unit disposed on the retention flange so as to permit rotation of the disk relative to the upper chamber, a toothed wheel having outer peripheral teeth meshed with an axle of the driving unit and an inner periphery formed with downward projections slidably contacting the bearing unit and hence covering the same from above to prevent disengagement of the wheel from the rotary disk; a light source fixed within the upper chamber; and a parabolic reflector disposed on the wheel and covering the light source from above to reflect light rays emitted from the light source in a horizontal plane while simultaneously rotating together with the wheel.
US09671078B2

A lighting unit including devices for emitting a luminous flux in the direction of a reflector featuring devices for optical deflection of the flux toward the outlet of the unit, the reflector including a support wall that is fastened to the optical deflection devices and is disposed across the optical deflection devices so as to be disposed between the optical deflection devices and the emission devices.The support wall includes a masking portion that is disposed facing the emission devices and a so-called cut-off edge of which is cut away so as to form a mask integral with the support wall adapted to allow to pass only a portion of the rays emitted by the emission devices. The invention also concerns a motor vehicle headlamp, notably in that it includes two lighting units disposed transversely side by side.
US09671076B2

A recessed wall wash light fixture includes a light source and a hollow light guide. The hollow light guide has a reflective internal surface and forms upper and lower apertures along its upper and lower boundaries; the lower aperture is slanted upwardly in the forward direction. The hollow light guide includes a forward section and a rear section having respective wall surfaces. The forward and rear wall surfaces substantially meet one another at midlines that extend downwardly from the upper aperture to the lower aperture.
US09671071B1

An improved LED lighting system is provided for overhead ceiling lighting, as well as for other uses. The LED lighting system comprises elongated linear lamps having an LED luminary as a source of illumination and configured to operate as a node of an automated networked lighting system. The linear LED lamps have associated modular network connectors and control components so that they can receive control data and power signals over a single network cable according to a standardized power and data network communications architecture such as Ethernet. The system includes connector assemblies designed to securely mount the networkable linear LED lamps to conventional tube lamp lighting fixtures or to another support housing and to provide integrated power and data connectivity to internal components of the lamps. In one form, the disclosed system includes a network enabled snap-fit connector assembly mounted to a lighting fixture and configured to provide Ethernet power and data connectivity to the lamp. The LED lamps have first and second mechanical connectors at opposite ends of the lamp body, and the snap-fit connectors are configured to secure the lamps to an overhead lighting fixture or other support structure as an incident of the lamp ends moving relative to the mounting connectors in a substantially straight path that is transverse to the length of the body into an engaged position. The snap-fit connectors are also configured to form a network connection with an internal modular network connector associated with the lamp with the lamp mounted in its operative state on a support. In another form, a clipping mechanism is provided for mounting linear networkable LED lamps to an overhead grid ceiling system.
US09671066B2

A tank assembly having a gas impermeable liner having a neck for storing a compressed gas is provided. The neck has a threaded bore. An annular collar having a generally circular opening is disposed around the neck. A structural layer substantially envelopes the liner and secures the collar to the neck.
US09671065B2

Apparatus and method for supplying lubricant to a plurality of lubrication sites. The apparatus includes a controller that diagnoses piston wear by driving the pump to achieve a predetermined pressure, stopping the pump with the piston in a home position, and measuring pressure at a preselected time interval after the step of stopping the pump. The amount of piston wear is approximated based on a difference between the predetermined pressure and the measured pressure at the predetermined time interval.
US09671062B2

Adjusting group (1) for adjusting the position of a user-interface (2) of a gymnastic machine (100) relative to a respective frame (102) thereof; a sliding coupling unit (120) being associated with the user-interface (2) to define a first path (L) for adjusting the position of the user-interface (2) with respect to the frame (102); a blocking device (130) being provided in combination with the coupling unit (120) to fix the user-interface (2) in any position along the first path (L); the coupling unit (120) comprising a guide (122) associated with the frame (102) and a slide (124) associated with the user-interface (2) and coupled to the guide (122) in a sliding fashion along respective first coupling surface (1220) and second coupling surface (1240).
US09671056B2

Insulation (10) for vehicle components, for example, exhaust systems such as particle filters and SCR systems. The insulation has a plate-like component (12). The insulation can be fasted in an especially cost-effective manner by welding. The insulation (10) has at least one separate support (16).
US09671055B2

To provide a vacuum heat insulating material having good heat insulating characteristics and capable of forming a corner part with high reliability. The vacuum heat insulating material includes a core material including an inorganic fiber assembly, and an outer covering member covering at least one surface of the core material, the inside of which is decompressed and sealed, in which the outer covering member includes an outermost resin layer and radiation prevention layers positioned inside the resin layer, in which the radiation prevention layers have an overlapping part where at least two or more radiation prevention layers are stacked at apart thereof.
US09671049B1

A fitting device includes a fitting body having an interior surface defining an interior, a packing assembly maintained within the fitting body interior, a retaining nut, and a shoe member maintained between the retaining nut and the axially outer rim of the fitting body, whereupon inserted tubes or pipes can be securely inserted into the fitting interior and maintained therein.
US09671040B2

A continuous magnetic motion position indicator detects the position of a clapper valve. The clapper valve comprises a valve body and, disposed within the valve body, a clapper and a valve stem. The continuous magnetic motion position indicator comprises: (a) a magnetic joint assembly comprising a first set of magnets disposed inside the valve body and a second set of magnets located outside the valve body that operatively interface with the first set of magnets, and (b) a remote position transmitter and/or a local visual indicator. In operation, the magnetic joint assembly transmits rotary movement of the clapper from the valve stem to the remote position transmitter and/or local visual indicator, without the presence of a dynamic seal interface.
US09671034B2

Piston actuators and methods of its operation are described. The piston actuators include a housing defining a chamber having a piston therein and a spring seated against the piston to bias it into a starting position. The piston includes a ferromagnetic material, a magnet or both and a secondary magnet or ferromagnetic material, forming a first magnetic/ferromagnetic pair with the piston, is positioned to maintain the piston in a secondary position. A tertiary magnet or ferromagnetic material, forming a second magnetic/ferromagnetic pair with the piston, may assist the spring in maintaining the piston in the starting position. During operation, introduction into or removal from the chamber of an amount of fluid sufficient to overcome the force of the spring (and the tertiary magnet or ferromagnetic material) enables the attraction between the members of the first magnetic/ferromagnetic pair to move the piston to the secondary position as a snap movement.
US09671029B2

A lid of gas pressure regulator has a top segment, a surrounding wall, a pressing segment, and a gap. The surrounding wall protrudes downward and annularly from an annular edge of the top segment. The pressing segment protrudes transversely, outward and annularly from a bottom edge of the surrounding wall, and extends upward. The gap is formed between the surrounding wall and the pressing segment. Because the pressing segment is thinned and the gap is formed between the pressing segment and the surrounding wall, the overall volume and the weight can be reduced, and the pressing segment has sufficient height to prevent an opening edge of the seat from being bent at a large angle and fracture.
US09671025B2

A ring seal apparatus for high temperature sealing includes a first ring including a pair of radial faces and a second ring including a second pair of radial faces, the second ring adapted to coact with the first ring. The first and second rings together define a pair of coacting mating faces. The mating faces are obliquely angled relative to the radial faces, such that each of the coacting mating faces is adapted to seal an interface of the two rings at an angle relative to their substantially parallel radial faces. The pair of coacting rings is adapted to seal a circumferential gap between a pair of components.
US09671016B2

When a second member of a power plant is in a first position with respect to a first member, a first communication port communicates with a fluid pressure supply source and second and third communication ports communicate with first and second pressure chambers of a fluid pressure motor. The second and third communication ports are shut off from a fourth communication port connected to a reservoir. Different positions of the second member result different communication and shut off relationships among the first to fourth ports. The first to fourth communication ports are provided in a plurality of communication port groups each formed by the first to fourth communication ports.
US09671014B2

A control apparatus controlling a motor for driving an object to switch a shift range of a transmission includes: switching devices for energization to windings of the motor; a controller for the switching devices; a current detecting circuit for a current in the windings and the switching device; a current limit circuit keeping an average of the current within a predetermined range; a standard position learning device of the motor at a learning range such that the current limit circuit limits the current, and the motor rotates until the object stops at a limit position of a movable range; a shift range determination device; and an error determination device determining that the current detecting circuit or the current limit circuit malfunctions when the object does not reach the limit position, the shift range is in a non-learning range, and the standard position learning device starts to learn the standard position.
US09671012B2

A vehicle shift lever apparatus may include a support bracket configured to be coupled to a vehicle body, an actuating bar disposed at the support bracket so as to elastically move axially and rotate axially, a shift lever coupled to the actuating bar to move the actuating bar axially or rotate the actuating bar axially depending on an operation thereof, and a cable interlocked with the actuating bar to longitudinally guide the axial movement or the axial rotation of the actuating bar.
US09670995B2

A tensioning and damping element for endless chain drives, especially for roller chain drives, can be used for endless chain drives, which are to be tensioned diametrically. The material is an elastic plastic. All told, the known tensioning and damping elements, in conjunction with the wear of the chain, the load changing phases, as well as the reversing according to the degree of deformation, have the disadvantage of a phased running irregularity, an increased running noise and of wear-intensive areas in the toothed rim. An element with a ring part and a toothed rim of arc-shaped teeth with, in each case, axially opposite bulges in the roller-seating and, between these, roller-seating depressions, grooves, which are disposed peripherally between the ring part and the bulges, an extended pitch and extended roller-seatings with the advantageous profile shape similar to a semielliptical curve lying on the root circle.
US09670993B2

A multi-stage transmission for vehicle may an input shaft, an output shafts, first to fourth planetary gear devices transmitting rotary force between the input and output shafts, each of them having three rotary elements, and at least six shifting elements connected to the rotary elements of the planetary gear devices, wherein first rotary element of the first planetary gear device is permanently connected to the input shaft, second rotary element is installed to be fixable by any one of the shifting elements, and third rotary element is permanently connected to second rotary element of the second planetary gear device.
US09670979B1

A resilient expandable pressure vessel configured to function like a spring. The resilient expandable pressure vessel includes a body portion, a cavity defined within the body portion, and at least one port in communication with the cavity defined in the body portion. The at least one port is configured to receive a fluid into the cavity and discharge the fluid from the cavity. The resilient expandable pressure vessel has a predetermined expansibility across a range of operating pressures of the fluid in the cavity. The range is at least 200 psi.
US09670975B1

The present disclosure provides a torque tube comprising a barrel portion disposed between a flange and a back leg, the flange extending radially inward towards an axis of rotation and the back leg extending radially outward from the barrel portion. The torque tube further comprises a channel defined by a channel wall and disposed in at least one of the barrel portion and the flange, the channel being configured to receive a sacrificial member.
US09670963B2

A constant velocity joint has an inner race and a sleeve. The sleeve connects with the inner race. In addition, the sleeve connects with a pinion shaft via splines. A nut attaches to the sleeve and also the shaft. The nut/shaft attachment is through threads.
US09670960B2

A radial rolling bearing assembly is provided which includes first and second radial rolling bearings having respective bearing cups that include respective bearing races, respective radially extending flanges at first axial ends and respective bearing axial flanges with respective connector elements at the second axial ends. Respective cages hold rolling elements in the bearing cups that contact the races and define respective bearing support surfaces that can support, for example, a shaft or housing. A connector sleeve connects the first and second radial rolling bearings. The connector sleeve includes a first axial end with a first complementary connector that engages the first connector element, and a second axial end with a second complementary connector that engages the second connector element.
US09670955B2

An anti-friction bearing including a mechanical bearing (2) for transmitting mechanical loads and a potential equalization bearing (3), each rolling element (7) of which has two identical side surfaces. The potential equalization bearing is particularly a ball roller bearing or a cylindrical roller bearing. The potential equalization bearing (3) preferably includes resilient rolling elements (7) in the form of hollow rollers.
US09670948B1

A latch assembly and telescoping mast having a plurality of telescoping tube sections including the same wherein the latch assembly includes a first latch member mounted to an associated first tube section, a second latch member mounted to an associated second tube section and configured to selectively engage the first latch member to interlock the first and second associated tubes when the associated first tube section is at least partially extended from the associated second tube section, and a trigger member mounted to an associated third tube section. The second latch member includes a latch housing having an opening configured to receive the trigger post when the second associated tube section is retracted into the third associated tube section.
US09670934B2

A sealless magnetic drive pump features in improving the stiffness of a stationary shaft. More particularly, the metal magnetic drive pump has an anti-corrosion casing liner. The magnetic drive pump is used in manufacture processes related to corrosive fluid. The pump is especially used in a highly corrosive and high-temperature (up to 200° C.) condition to improve the stiffness of a front support. The stationary shaft includes a metal front support integrated with the pump casing at a pump inlet and encapsulated with a resin enclosure made of a fluoropolymer; a rear shaft seat positioned on a sealed bottom side of a containment shell for offering auxiliary support for the stationary shaft; an impeller including a channel for reducing an inlet flow velocity to offer a low NPSHr.
US09670931B2

A rotary vacuum pump includes a first set of pumping stages having rotor discs with a first diameter and a second set of pumping stages having rotor discs with a second different diameter and further comprising an intermediate pumping stage that is particularly adapted for matching the change in the diameter of the pump rotor discs. According to the invention, the intermediate pumping stage comprises a rotor disc having an outer portion in the radial direction that is axially tapered from its inner diameter to its outer diameter and a corresponding stator stage including a spacer ring that is axially tapered from its periphery toward its center.
US09670928B2

A vacuum pump for a motor vehicle engine which has a stator and a chamber, has a side wall, and the side wall has a transversal section with a predetermined shape. The rotor mounted in the chamber is capable of rotating around a rotation axis parallel to the side wall. The vane mounted on the rotor is free to slide in a direction at right angles with respect to the rotation axis of the rotor, and the vane has a predetermined length and two opposite end portions that substantially slide along the side wall of the chamber. At least one of the end portions of the vane has at least one part that has a bend radius substantially equal to that of a part of the side wall, when the one vane is at a reference operating position.
US09670920B2

A compressor assembly having a compressed gas tank having a tank dampening device in the form of a vibration absorption member. The vibration absorption member can provide a pressure to a portion of the compressed gas tank. A method of controlling sound emitted from a compressor assembly, by using a vibration absorber which exerts a force upon the compressed gas tank. A means for controlling the sound level of a compressed gas tank by using a means for absorbing vibration from the compressed gas tank which exerts a pressure on a portion of the compressed gas tank.
US09670908B2

The invention relates to the field of methods and floating platforms for exploiting wind energy offshore. In particular, the invention provides a floating platform (1) anchored to at least one anchor point (7, 7′), including a wind turbine (2), and a shift device for shifting the wind turbine (2), which device is configured to shift the wind turbine (2) as a function of a set of parameters, including wind direction (V), in order to minimize the aerodynamic wake effects, and the invention also provides a method of exploiting wind energy by means of a set of floating platforms (1), each of which includes at least one wind turbine (2) and is anchored to at least one anchor point (7,7′). In this method, at least one wind turbine (2) of said set of floating platforms is shifted as a function of a set of parameters, including wind direction (V) in order to minimize the aerodynamic wake effects and in order to maximize the power generation of the set of wind turbines.
US09670907B2

The present invention relates to a fault-tolerant control system for a wind turbine comprising a plurality of controllable wind turbine components, the control system comprising control means for generating a replica of essentially concurrent set-point values, a data communication network for transmitting the replica of essentially concurrent set-point values to the plurality of wind turbine components, and a plurality of decentralized voting means being arranged so that a decentralized voting means is assigned to each wind turbine component, each decentralized voting means being adapted to select one set-point value out of the replica of set-point values. The present invention further relates to a wind turbine and to an associated method.
US09670904B2

A hydraulic actuation device (1) for a brake device of a wind turbine including a hydraulic control line (10), which runs from a hydraulic system circuit (P) of a wind turbine to at least one brake cylinder (2) of a brake device. At least one restrictor (13) is arranged in the control line (10). At least one branch line (14) includes a pressure regulating member (15) that branches off from the control line (10) upstream of the restrictor (13) in the pressure build-up direction, bypassing the restrictor (13), and leads back into the control line (10) downstream of the restrictor (13). The pressure regulating member (15) open when the pressure present on the output side is low, but closes when the pressure at the pressure regulating member (15) on the output side of the pressure regulating member (15) exceeds a preset closing pressure (PS).
US09670900B2

Rotor blade assemblies for wind turbines are provided. In one embodiment, a rotor blade assembly includes a rotor blade having exterior surfaces defining a pressure side, a suction side, a leading edge, and a trailing edge each extending between a tip and a root. The rotor blade further defines a span and a chord. A span-wise portion of the pressure side includes along a chord-wise cross-section a plurality of inflection points. The plurality of inflection points include a first inflection point and a second inflection point, the first and second inflections points positioned within approximately 50% of the chord from the leading edge.
US09670899B2

A wind turbine is disclosed which uses energy in air moving relatively toward the turbine to focus and increase the velocity of air entering a turbine inlet air flow passage. The inlet flow passage discharges focused and accelerated air to blades of a rotor where the blades interact with that air to turn the rotor. Rotor motion can be used to operate an electrical generator. The plane of rotation of the rotor can be at substantially right angles to the plane of the passage inlet opening. Baffles in the flow passage and stator vanes adjacent the rotor blades cause the mass flow of the accelerated air to be substantially uniform, and desirably directed, throughout the rotor's blade area. The turbine is compact and operates quietly.
US09670898B2

A wind turbine for generating electrical energy may include a tower, a nacelle at the top of the tower, and a rotor coupled to a generator within the nacelle. The wind turbine further includes a cooler including a spoiler and at least one cooler panel projecting above a roof of the nacelle. A heliplatform includes a support structure extending from the nacelle and at least partially integrated with the cooler. The wind turbine may also include a crane coupled to the nacelle and configured to move between a first stowed position underneath the nacelle roof and a second operational position. In the operational position, the crane is selectively positionable over the heliplatform. A method of using the wind turbine and crane is also disclosed.
US09670897B2

A control system for controlling an operation of a hydroelectric turbine. The control system comprises a converter system to convert AC power, supplied by a generator connected to the turbine, and having a voltage and frequency that is a function of a rotational speed of the turbine, to AC power having a voltage and frequency of a transmission system for transmitting the AC power to a receiving station. The system further comprises a control unit that is arranged to co-operate with the converter system to adjust the AC voltage supplied by the generator in response to a water flow speed through the turbine to thereby control rotation of the turbine. The converter system comprises a first-stage converter and a second-stage converter, with a DC link provided between the first and second-stage converters. The first-stage converter is arranged to convert the AC power supplied by the generator to DC power. The second-stage converter is arranged to convert the DC power to the AC Power for transmission to the receiving station and the second-stage converter is of a voltage-source inverter type.
US09670892B2

An engine startup device is provided having a helical-spline-engaging part where an output shaft (5) and a moving body (3) are coupled with each other, wherein a notch (37b, 38b) is formed on a power-transmitting-side tooth surface (37a, 38a) of at least either one of the output shaft and the moving body, and an angle formed by the notch with respect to a shaft direction is made smaller than the lead angle of a helical spline.
US09670891B2

There is provided a power supply for a vehicle, including a generator, a lead battery, an electric storage device that is connected in parallel to the lead battery and to the generator, a starter circuit that has a capacitor and a starter and is connected in parallel to the lead battery and to the generator, and at least two switches of a first switch connected in series to the lead battery, a second switch connected in series to the power supply, and a third switch connected in series to the starter circuit.
US09670886B2

An integrated exhaust gas recirculation (EGR) cooler includes a cooling core allowing an exhaust manifold and an intake manifold to be in communication with each other and an integrated housing having the cooling core inserted thereinto. The integrated housing is provided with a first exhaust port exhausting a coolant introduced thereinto only when a thermo-sensitive device mounted in the integrated housing is operated and a second exhaust port always exhausting the coolant introduced thereinto. An amount of the coolant introduced into an EGR cooler is maximized. Therefore, cooling efficiency may be maximized, and a size of the cooling core may be decreased.
US09670875B2

Thrust reversers and methods to provide reverse thrust are disclosed. An example thrust reverser includes a cascade to direct air from an interior volume of an engine nacelle to generate reverse thrust with respect to a direction of travel, and an air extractor to extract a portion of air approaching the cascade from within the interior volume.
US09670862B2

A method for correcting injection behavior of a fuel injector includes calculating a nominal value of a fuel injector family characteristic for an average fuel injector from a family of fuel injectors as a multi-variable function of engine operating conditions, calculating a corrected value of the fuel injector family characteristic as a function of the nominal value, and employing the corrected value when actuating the fuel injector to inject fuel.
US09670856B2

When a stop position of a piston resulting from the automatic stop is in a range that is on an advance side of a threshold in terms of crank angle, fuel injection is performed at beginning of the automatic restart-up in the cylinder that is in the intake stroke and an ignition is performed in a subsequent initial compression stroke in the same cylinder. When the stop position of the piston resulting is in a range that is on a retard side of the threshold in terms of crank angle, initial fuel injection is performed in the cylinder that next enters an intake stroke among the cylinders of the internal combustion engine after the beginning of automatic restart-up and initial ignition is performed in a subsequent compression stroke in the same cylinder. The threshold is determined in accordance with an amount of deviation of a crank angle.
US09670851B2

A control system for an internal combustion engine comprises pressure sensing means, memory means, processing means, and fuel injection control means. Pressure sensing means generate in-cylinder pressure data used to calculate total heat generated during combustion cycle. Memory means store predetermined crank angle data, such as CA50 crank angle data, for variety of engine operating conditions. A CA50 crank angle is a crank angle position where fifty percent of total heat is generated. Memory means additionally stores allowable start of injection crank angle data. Processing means determine an observed CA50 crank angle. Processing means conducts comparison of at least one of the predetermined CA50 crank angle data against the observed CA50 crank angle to generate a start of fuel injection crank angle which impacts the observed CA50 crank angle during subsequent combustion cycle. Fuel injection control means controls start of fuel injection crank angle generated by the processing means.
US09670850B2

A combustion-noise controlling method for a diesel engine includes: setting a target value for a vibration peak using one or more control variables needed for driving a vehicle, diagnosing a combustion noise of the engine based on the target value, and checking whether the diagnostic value for the combustion noise is higher than a reference value previously input to a controller. Combustion is performed depending on a result of the checking. A vibration signal of the engine is measured, and a vibration peak value depending on the measured vibration signal is obtained. A feedback control step includes obtaining a correction value by performing an arithmetic operation using the target value and the vibration peak value. A pilot fuel quantity is controlled according to the correction value.
US09670835B2

Methods are provided for controlling an engine. One method may include boosting engine intake air to a cylinder; and injecting an amount of a scavenging fluid into the cylinder based on an amount of cylinder residual exhaust gas. A scavenging fluid, such as water or windshield washer fluid evaporates on contact with the hot exhaust gases and hot metal components and the expanded volume of the vapor displaces the residual exhaust gas, thereby improving engine scavenging.
US09670829B2

An engine block of an internal combustion engine is disclosed. The engine block may have a piston and at least one gas exchange valve. The piston may have a piston skirt having a first center axis. The piston may also have a piston head delimiting the piston skirt at the top with a diameter D. The piston head may have a piston head edge and a piston head recess with a piston recess wall having a height H. At least one valve pocket may be formed into the piston head edge. The at least one valve pocket may have a valve pocket depth T with respect to the piston head edge. The valve pocket depth T may fulfill the following condition with respect to the wall height H: 0.05 H<=T<=0.5H.
US09670828B2

A mixture-charged gas engine includes at least one cylinder. A combustion chamber delimited by a cylinder head, a cylinder wall, and a piston, which can be moved in the cylinder, is arranged in the at least one cylinder, and the combustion chamber is divided into a main combustion chamber and at least one pre-chamber fluidically connected to the main combustion chamber via at least one firing channel. An air-/combustion gas mixture can be supplied to the main combustion chamber via an inlet valve during an intake stroke of the piston. The mixture-charged gas engine is characterized in that a separate combustion gas supply is provided for the at least one pre-chamber.
US09670825B2

In a cylindrical valve body 3, a first opening portion M1 for a heater heat exchanger and a second opening portion M2 for an oil cooler are arranged parallel in an axial direction of the valve body 3. A third opening portion M3 for a radiator is arranged in a different circumferential direction position from the first or second opening portion M1 or M2 on an outer peripheral surface of the valve body 3 so that at least a part of the third opening portion M3 overlaps with the first or second opening portion M1 or M2 in the axial direction.
US09670821B2

An exhaust assembly that includes an exhaust pipe extending rearward from a vehicle; and a bezel in close proximity with, or coupled to, a vehicle fascia, the bezel comprising rearmost surfaces and inner surfaces. The exhaust assembly further includes a sleeve substantially aligned with the pipe, tangentially aligned with the inner surfaces. The sleeve extends rearward, flush with, sub-flush with, or past an exhaust plane tangent to the rearmost surfaces of the bezel.
US09670814B2

A mounting member that can sufficiently suppress scattering of inorganic fiber material when a pollution control element is assembled in a casing, and that can maintain sufficiently high contact pressure between the inner surface of the casing and the pollution control element, even after the organic binder has combusted. The mounting member of the present invention is for wrapping and mounting a pollution control element (30) in a casing (20), and provides a mat (1) made from inorganic fiber material, and an aggregated substance (5) containing an organic binder and inorganic fine particles that is impregnated throughout most of the mat (1).
US09670804B2

An oil passage of an internal combustion engine including a crankcase, a cylinder block integrally connected to the crankcase, a piston operatively mounted within the cylinder block, a piston jet for providing oil to the piston within the cylinder block and a breather device integrally formed on the cylinder block wherein the breather device is in communication with the inside of the crankcase. An elevation of temperature of the oil which flows in an oil supply path is prevented thus allowing oil in the oil supply path to maintain a low temperature wherein the oil in the supply path is supplied to a piston jet formed on the internal combustion engine. An oil supply path through which oil is supplied to the piston jet is integrally formed on a wall body exposed to ambient air on a peripheral wall which forms the breather device.
US09670800B2

A control apparatus and method for a variable valve mechanism operated by an oil pressure by a variable displacement pump that is capable of varying its capacity. A control apparatus and a control method for a variable valve mechanism, by which deterioration of fuel efficiency and deterioration of operability can be suppressed, is provided. When controlling the variable valve mechanism that is operated by the oil pressure by a variable displacement pump, the control gain of the variable valve mechanism is changed, according to the capacity switching condition or the capacity switching operation of the variable valve mechanism. Driving the variable valve mechanism dependent on an actual hydraulic pressure state is enabled by changing the control gain of the variable valve mechanism in response to switching of the variable displacement pump, so that deterioration of fuel efficiency and operability can be inhibited while suppressing overshoot and response lag.
US09670796B2

The present application thus provides a compressor wash system for use about a bellmouth of a compressor of a gas turbine engine. The compressor wash system may include a bellmouth wash nozzle positioned about the bellmouth of the compressor and a wash door assembly positioned about a lower half of the bellmouth such that the wash door assembly may be closed when the bellmouth wash nozzle is activated.
US09670795B2

Turbine engine rotor corresponding thru-bolts and disc cavities are inspected with a camera inspection system that includes one or both of a thru-bolt male threads inspection apparatus and a rotor disc cavity inspection apparatus. The disc cavity inspection scope apparatus is insertable in one or more of the desired rotor disc cavities and orients an attached inspection camera field of view generally transverse to the circumferential wall in the rotor disc that defines the cavity. Preferably inspection scope apparatus insertion into the disc cavities is performed with a motion control system that monitors spatial position of the camera field of view relative to the recess circumferential wall. The plural camera cavity circumferential wall images are desirably combined to form a composite image of a desired portion of or the entire disc cavity circumferential surface, which aids their inspection evaluation and provides an archived composite image of the surface.
US09670792B2

A turbomachine is made by first providing a stepped shaft having a large-diameter cylindrical portion, an intermediate-diameter cylindrical portion, and a small-diameter cylindrical portion all centered on a common axis. A separately manufactured a one-piece and annular first impeller wheel is then permanently mounted on the large-diameter portion with a back face of the first wheel facing axially toward the intermediate-diameter portion and carrying a rotor bearing half of an axial magnetic bearing. A rotor ring of a radial bearing is then detachably mounted on the intermediate-diameter portion of the shaft, and finally a one-piece and annular second impeller wheel is detachably mounted on the small-diameter portion of the shaft with a back face of the second wheel facing axially toward the first wheel and carrying a rotor bearing half of another axial magnetic bearing.
US09670791B2

An assembly for a turbine engine includes a turbine engine first component, a turbine engine second component and a flexible seal that is attached to the first component. The flexible seal at least partially seals a gap between the first component and the second component. The flexible seal includes a mount and a finger seal that sealingly engages the second component. The mount includes a boss that sealingly engages the first component.
US09670788B2

A composite aerofoil vane for a gas turbine engine extends in use in a generally radial direction across an axially- and circumferentially-extending annular duct. The vane comprises a plurality of first reinforcing fibers extending in a generally radial direction and a plurality of second reinforcing fibers extending in generally axial and circumferential directions. The second fibers are interlaced with the first fibers so as to form a more unified and integrated structure, and to prevent the first reinforcing fibers from moving relative to one another.
US09670783B2

A blade of a turbomachine is disclosed. A contour variation is provided on the suction side of the blade, where the contour variation has a negative step as viewed in a direction of flow. The step has a stepped surface extending perpendicularly to a contour of the suction side and the contour variation has a tangential surface which leads upstream tangentially on the contour of the suction side starting from a step edge.
US09670768B2

A coiled tubing deployment system includes an offshore rig having a reel positioned thereon and coiled tubing wound on the reel. A guide arch is positioned on the offshore rig to receive the coiled tubing from the reel, and a tubing guide receives the coiled tubing from the guide arch and directs the coiled tubing into water. A depth counter measures a length of the coiled tubing deployed from the reel and generate one or more length measurement signals, and a set of bend sensors is positioned on the tubing guide to measure real-time strain assumed by the coiled tubing as deployed into the water and thereby generate one or more bend sensor signals. A data acquisition system receives the length measurement signals and the bend sensor signals and provides an output signal indicative of real-time bending fatigue of the coiled tubing at select locations along the coiled tubing.
US09670766B2

A steam-based method and system for recovering and processing a hydrocarbon mixture from a subterranean formation. Steam is injected into the subterranean formation to mobilize said hydrocarbon mixture, then the mobilized hydrocarbon mixture is recovered, a self-sufficient diluent is added, and the mixture is separated to produce separated water and separated hydrocarbon. The separated hydrocarbon is deasphalted to produce a deasphalted hydrocarbon and asphaltenes, which is combusted in an oxycombustion process to generate steam and/or energy and CO2, and said the steam is injected into the formation.
US09670765B2

A multiphase ejector including a housing space with a first inlet opening, connectable to a first fluid source, a second inlet opening, connectable to a second fluid source, and an outlet opening. A bush inside the housing space includes a channel having a first opening connected to the first inlet opening and a second opening connected to the second inlet opening and the outlet opening. A member inside the space mixes the fluids and demlimits a channel with a first opening connected to the second opening of the channel and to the second inlet opening, and a second opening connected to the outlet opening. A restriction associated with the bush adjusts the flow-rate of the first fluid in the second opening of the channel. The restriction can be moved between a position of an area having a maximum amplitude, and a position of the second opening being blocked.
US09670764B2

A method of heterogeneous proppant placement in a subterranean fracture is disclosed. The method comprises injecting well treatment fluid including proppant (16) wherein the proppant comprises from 1 to 100 percent in weight of stiff, low-elasticity and low-deformability elongated particles (34) and proppant-spacing filler material called a channelant (18) through a wellbore (10) into the fracture (20), heterogeneously placing the proppant in the fracture in a plurality of proppant clusters or islands (22) spaced apart by the channelant (24), and removing the channelant filler material (24) to form open channels (26) around the pillars (28) for fluid flow from the formation (14) through the fracture (20) toward the wellbore (10). The proppant and channelant can be segregated within the well treatment fluid, or segregated during placement in the fracture. The channelant can be dissolvable particles, initially acting as a filler material during placement of the proppant in the fracture, and later dissolving to leave the flow channels between the proppant pillars. The well treatment fluid can include fibers to provide reinforcement and consolidation of the proppant and, additionally or alternatively, to inhibit settling of the proppant in the treatment fluid.
US09670758B2

A centrifugal well fluid pump has a pump intake and a pump discharge conduit extending upward from the pump. A barrier between the motor and the pump intake seals to casing in a well. A bypass tube extends from below the barrier, alongside the pump and has an outlet at an upper end of the pump. A riser surrounds the pump discharge conduit, the riser having a riser inlet in fluid communication with the bypass tube outlet. Liquid portions of the well fluid flow upward through the riser to discharge from the riser outlet and flow down to the pump intake. Gaseous portions of the well fluid flow upward through the riser and continue flowing upward into the casing.
US09670755B1

A system for pumping a fluids from a subsea formation has a pipe extending into the formation, a first blowout preventer affixed to the pipe so as to be in fluid communication with the pipe, a flow diverter affixed to the first blowout preventer so as to have a diverter line in fluid communication with the flow passageway of the first blowout preventer, a pump module having a flow line affixed to the diverter line of the flow diverter so as to create a positive pressure to the fluid in the flow line, and an outline interconnected to the flow line of the pump module. The pump module is suitable for passing fluid from the flow line of the pump module through the outlet line. The pump produces a pressure to the fluid greater than the pressure of the formation. A second blowout preventer is affixed to the flow diverter.
US09670753B2

A system, computer program product, and computer implemented method are provided for determining an optimal acidizing placement design which would yield a prescribed profile of injection or production rate that accounts for the drawdown from heel to toe and reservoir heterogeneity and thereby improve hydrocarbon recovery.
US09670752B2

A system for conveying proppant includes a conveyor system having a conveyor belt, the conveyor belt receiving proppant from one or more containers having proppant stored therein distributed along the conveyor system and carrying the proppant away from the conveyors. The system also includes a conveyor assembly having one or more joints to enable expansion and collapse of the conveyor belt. The system further includes a proppant chute positioned at an end of the conveyor assembly, the proppant chute having an opening to direct the proppant from the conveyor belt into a blending hopper, the proppant chute being positioned at a higher elevation than an inlet of the blending hopper such that the proppant exits the proppant chute into the blending hopper via gravity feed.
US09670743B2

A rock drill machine with a feed leg. The feed leg is attached to the rock drill machine with one end and rests on a support with another end. The feed leg is configured to feed the rock drill machine in a drilling direction and to interrupt feeding of the rock drill machine in the drilling direction. A control regulates the feed leg and a starter activates the rock drill machine. The control is provided on a rear handle in close proximity to the starter such that the control and the starter can be reached at the same time with one hand. Hereby, it is possible, with one hand, to activate and interrupt activation of the rock drill machine respectively, and simultaneously regulate the feed leg to feed the rock drill machine in the drilling direction and interrupt the feeding of the rock drill machine in the drilling direction.
US09670734B2

Embodiments herein include a casing cutting tool comprising a top mandrel operatively coupled to a conveyance; a first retractable wedge operatively coupled to the top mandrel; a jetting tool operatively coupled to the retractable wedge, the retractable wedge thereby interposing the top mandrel and the jetting tool, wherein the jetting tool has one or more jetting nozzles arranged thereon; and a bottom terminal operatively coupled to the jetting tool, the jetting tool thereby interposing the retractable wedge and the bottom terminal.
US09670727B2

A drilling system includes a drillstring and a power section further including a stator having a stator axis and a rotor within the stator. The rotor rotates eccentrically within the stator in response to fluid flowing therebetween. Additionally, the system includes a coupling section including first, second, and third rotation members having a first, second, and third axes, respectively. The third rotation member is coupled to the first and second rotation members. The third rotation member is configured to move radially relative to the first and second rotation members as the first, second, and third rotation members rotate about the first, second, and third axes, respectively. Further, the system includes an input shaft coupled to the rotor and first rotation member. The input shaft and first rotation member rotate with the rotor eccentrically to the stator axis and the second rotation member rotates concentrically about the stator axis.
US09670723B2

A motor-operated drive system for a window covering system including a headrail, a mechanism associated with the headrail to spread and retract the window covering, and a continuous cord loop extending below the headrail for actuating the mechanism to spread and retract the window covering. The drive system includes a motor, a driven wheel that engages and advances the continuous cord loop, and a coupling mechanism for coupling the driven wheel to a rotating output shaft of the motor for rotation of the driven wheel. The drive system includes a channel system for redirecting the continuous cord loop engaged by the driven wheel, or other mechanism for configuring the drive system so that continuous cord loop extends in a substantially vertical orientation. The coupling mechanism includes an engaged configuration in which rotation of the output shaft of the motor causes rotation of the driven wheel, and a disengaged configuration.
US09670718B2

A pressure-mounted gate includes a first panel extending horizontally. A second panel is slidably coupled to the first panel. The second panel extends horizontally. A locking mechanism is coupled to the first panel and the second panel. The locking mechanism facilitates a widening of the gate by a ratcheting structure. The locking mechanism locks a position of the first panel and the second panel at a desired gate width.
US09670717B2

A flood vent includes a door pivotable within a frame between a closed position and an open position. A fluid trigger that is triggerable by a fluid to allow the door to pivot from the closed position to the open position includes a retainer and a fluid modifiable material. The fluid modifiable material is positioned between the door and the retainer thereby obstructing the door from pivoting from the closed position to the open position until the fluid modifiable material is modified by contact with the fluid.
US09670713B2

Certain example embodiments of this invention relate to composite pillar arrangements for VIG units that include both harder and softer materials. The softer materials are located on the outside or extremities of the central, harder pillar material. In certain example embodiments, a high aspect ratio mineral lamellae is separated by an organic “glue” or polymer. When provided around a high strength pillar, the combination of the pillar and such a nano-composite structure may advantageously result in superior strength compared to a monolithic system, e.g., where significant wind loads, thermal stresses, and/or the like are encountered.
US09670712B2

The disclosure relates to a multiple pane which includes a pair of glass panels spaced by the spacers and sealed at peripheries thereof. The objective is to provide a multiple pane in which the spacers are formed easily, and a method of preparing the multiple pane. The multiple pane includes: a pair of glass panels; a plurality of spacers interposed between the pair of glass panels; and a hermetic bond to hermetically bond peripheries of the pair of glass panels to each other. The multiple pane contains a space formed between the pair of glass panels, the space being to be sealed so as to be in a reduced pressure state. Each of the plurality of spacers being a porous member formed on one glass panel of the pair of glass panels.
US09670708B2

Provided is a power supply device for supplying power to a slide door via a wire harness, in which the wire harness is arranged invisible, which can improve bending durability of the wire harness with respect to sliding action of the slide door, and which can be used for the wire harness for multicircuit. In the power supply device, the wire harness is routed from a slide door arm through inside a slide door rail, through a roller and a guide plate and to a case. All the time during the operation of the slide door from a fully-opened state to a fully-closed state of the slide door, the wire harness is stored in a groove of the slide door rail or in the case.
US09670700B2

A door latch system for a vehicle includes: a latch interlocking mechanism arranged to be actuated in a release cancel direction from a neutral position to be interlocked with the pivot movement of the latch in a predetermined direction; and a release cancel mechanism arranged to be actuated from a connection state where an operation force transmitting path for transmitting the power of the electric driving mechanism to the ratchet is connected, to a disconnection state where the operation force transmitting path is disconnected, by the actuation of the latch interlocking mechanism in the release cancel direction from the neutral position, the release cancel mechanism being arranged to be actuated from the connection state to the disconnection state when the ratchet is in a release restriction state so as to enable the ratchet to return to the engagement position.
US09670691B2

A window assembly includes a first sash having a first rail having a longitudinal axis extending between a first end and an opposite second end. A continuous handle extends along the length of the first rail and is pivotally connected to the first rail between a lowered first position and a second raised position.
US09670688B2

A robotic pool or tank cleaner is propelled by water jets, the direction of which is controlled by the direction of rotation of a horizontally mounted pump motor within the pool cleaner housing, having a propeller attached to either end of the motor drive shaft which projects from opposing ends of the motor body, each of the propellers being positioned in a water jet discharge conduit that terminates in discharge ports in opposing ends of the housing. Each discharge conduit has a pressure-sensitive flap valve downstream of the respective propellers. When the propellers rotate in one direction, the water is drawn through one or more openings in the base plate, passes through one or more filter assemblies associated with the pool cleaner and is discharged through one of the discharge ports as a water jet of sufficient force to propel the pool cleaner along the surface being cleaned.
US09670679B2

A composite panel system for attaching to a wall system includes a layer of continuous insulation covering the wall system and a plurality of vertical girts affixed the wall system such that the continuous insulation lays between the wall system and the vertical girts. Composite panels are mounted to a perimeter frame of extrusions, generally two horizontal and two vertical. The panel frame horizontal extrusions are mounted to the vertical girts by fasteners. In some embodiments, gypsum and a membrane are used in lieu of continuous insulation.
US09670672B2

A roof panel system including a plurality of roof panels, a plurality of side edge bracket systems and a plurality of end edge bracket systems. The plurality of roof panels are joined end to end and side to side by way of the side edge bracket systems and the end edge bracket systems.
US09670667B2

A multi-story boxed wall frame system for reinforcement of multi-story structures includes first and second boxed wall frames disposed one on top of the other and connected together. Each boxed wall frame includes first and second columns, and first and second panel zones attached to the respective first and second columns at their top ends. Each of the panel zones includes yielding members and reinforcing structure at least partially bounding the yielding members. The reinforcing structure is configured to concentrate stresses to within the yielding member. A beam extends between the first and second panel zones in each of the boxed wall frames. The boxed wall frame is configured to resolve external forces into shear force in the yielding member such that the yielding members will yield prior to yielding of the beam and the columns.
US09670652B2

A remotely controlled hydrant system which may be quickly and efficiently connected to or disconnected from a hydrant to allow remote control of the hydrant by a remote controller such as a mobile phone. The remotely controlled hydrant system generally includes a frame which may be removably connected to a hydrant, such as a frost-free hydrant commonly used in agriculture. A pair of mount supports are removably secured against the shaft of the hydrant, such as via first and second connectors. An actuator is connected between the frame and the hydrant such that movement of the actuator in a first direction activates the hydrant and movement of the actuator in a second direction deactivates the hydrant. A control unit is adapted to receive activation or deactivation signals from a remote controller and direct operation of the actuator.
US09670647B2

A hydraulic excavator includes a hydraulic fluid tank cover that covers the side face of the body frame. A latching member is provided to the upper part on the rear face side of the hydraulic fluid tank cover in a state of being attached to the body frame. An insertion plate is provided to the lower part on the rear face side of the hydraulic fluid tank cover in a state of being attached to the body frame, and is disposed substantially along the vertical direction. A latched member is provided to the body frame and is latched by the latching member. A receiver is provided to the body frame, and the insertion plate is inserted therein. A fixing component is located more to the inside of the body than the upper end part of the exterior cover in top view in an attached state, and fixes the latching member to the latched member.
US09670641B2

A method of operating a digging machine, including operationally connecting a sensor to a bucket, operationally connecting an electronic controller to the sensor and to each respective hydraulic cylinder, operationally connecting a valve system to the hydraulic cylinder and to the electronic controller, inputting a desired post excavation landscape contour into the electronic controller, inputting locations of underground objects into the electronic controller, automatically actuating a bucket hydraulic cylinder operationally connected to the bucket, and automatically controlling the bucket hydraulic cylinder to dig within predetermined parameters.
US09670640B2

Disclosed is an economical and effective way of producing a modular retaining wall for a material to be retained, using backer blocks and facing blocks which are stacked into continuous front and back wall components connected by separate connectors in a back to back, spaced apart arrangement, thereby forming a hollow retaining wall. The hollow wall is filled with loose filler material to increase the mass and retaining capacity of the wall. None of the wall components is embedded in the material to be retained. The facing blocks, connectors and filler material are all separated from the material to be retained by the backer blocks. Further disclosed are wall components and a wall kit for a modular retaining wall. A double sided decorative wall is also disclosed. The modular wall system allows for the construction both straight and curved retaining walls.
US09670639B2

A pad is provided for supporting heavy loads and is capable of supporting loads of 100 tons or more. The pad has a core having a bi-directional grid formed from parallel fiberglass materials, with a first set of material at right angle to a second set of fiberglass materials and which grid surrounds a closed cell material, which is infused with resin to form a core. A fiberglass top surface, bottom surface and at least one sidewall is provided. The result is a pad able to distribute very heavy loads, is resistant to bending, durable and light weight.
US09670628B2

A ground preparation machine, in particular a compactor, comprises at least one roller (16) rotatable around an axis of rotation of the roller (A) and, attached to the at least one roller (16), at least one scraper device (36, 38) for scraping off material adhering to the outer peripheral region (26) of the roller (16), wherein the scraper device (36, 38) comprises a scraper bar (40) extending along the roller (16), the scraper bar (40) being designed to provide a first scraper region (58) for scraping off material from a roller having an essentially untextured outer peripheral region (26) and to provide a second scraper region (66) for scraping off material from a roller having a textured outer peripheral region (26).
US09670624B1

A double walled earth grabbing water permeable modular paver having a first group of outer cells, a second group of outer cells, a third group of outer cells, a fourth outer cell, a fifth outer cell, and a plurality of inner cells. Each of the plurality of outer cells and inner cells further include an outer wall; an inner wall; a top surface; a plurality of structural support ribs; a permeable bottom portion engaging each inner wall; and a plurality gripping members extending from the permeable bottom portion.
US09670615B2

A refining plate segment for a mechanical refiner of lignocellulosic material including: a convex conical refining surface on a convex conical substrate of the plate, wherein the refining surface is adapted to face a concave conical refining surface of an opposing refiner plate, the convex conical refining surface including bars and grooves formed between adjacent bars, wherein an angle of each bar with respect to a reference line parallel to a rotational axis of the refiner increases at least 15 degrees and the angle is a holdback angle is 10 to 45 degrees at a periphery of the refining surface, and wherein the bars each include a leading sidewall having an irregular surface having protrusions extending outwardly from the sidewall toward a sidewall on an adjacent bar.
US09670613B2

The present invention relates to a garment processing apparatus comprising: a hot-air supply unit having a circulation flow path for directing the air drawn out from the interior of a garment receiving unit into the interior of the garment receiving unit, a heat exchange unit provided to the circulation flow path, for condensing and heating the air introduced into the circulation flow path, and a blower for circulating the air in the interior of the garment receiving unit through the circulation flow path; and a dryness detection unit having a flow rate detection means for measuring the amount of condensate water formed in the heat exchange unit, and a control section for determining the amount of moisture contained in the laundry on the basis of the flow rate data provided by the flow rate detection means.
US09670606B2

A device having: (a) a housing structure; (b) a plurality of pegs in communication with the housing structure; (c) a plurality of weft guides, with each of the plurality of weft guides being in communication with one of the plurality of pegs; wherein each of the plurality of weft guides include a portion that extends at an angle relative to the plurality of pegs, the angle of some of the plurality of weft guides extends in a first direction, and some of the plurality of weft guides extend in a second direction.
US09670602B2

An open-end spinning rotor (1), comprising a rotor shaft (2), a rotor cup (3) and a coupling device (4) with a receiving element (5) connected to the rotor shaft (2) and an axle element (6) connected to the rotor cup (3). The coupling device (4) comprises three clamping bodies (7, 8, 9), arranged between a contour (10) of the receiving element and a contour (11) of the axle element. The contour of the receiving element, the contour of the axle element and the clamping bodies are configured such that by driving the rotor shaft, a relative rotational movement is produced between the receiving element and the clamping bodies and the axle element, in that owing to the relative rotational movement, the clamping bodies are clamped between the contour of the axle element and the contour of the receiving element to non-positively transmit a drive torque.
US09670601B2

A method for operating an air jet spinning machine having at least one spinning unit with one spinning nozzle for producing a yarn is provided. During the operation of the spinning unit, the spinning nozzle feeds a fiber composite through an inlet in a predefined transport direction. The fiber composite within a vortex chamber of the spinning nozzle receives a twist with the assistance of a vortex air flow, such that a yarn is formed from the fiber composite. With the assistance of at least one sensor system, the yarn leaving the outlet is monitored with regard to defined yarn flaws. The production of yarn is interrupted upon the detection of a corresponding yarn flaw. Between the detection of the specified yarn flaw and the interruption of the yarn production, a cleaning process is carried out during which an additive is fed to the spinning unit and is applied to the fiber composite and/or the yarn produced from the fiber composite and/or on parts of the spinning nozzle.
US09670592B2

An epitaxy base including a substrate and a nucleating layer disposed on the substrate. The nucleating layer is an AlN layer with a single crystal structure. A diffraction pattern of the nucleating layer includes a plurality of dot patterns. Each of the dot patterns is substantially circular, and a ratio between lengths of any two diameters perpendicular to each other on each of the dot patterns ranges from approximately 0.9 to approximately 1.1. A semiconductor light emitting device, a manufacturing method of the epitaxy base, and a manufacturing method of the light emitting semiconductor device are further provided.
US09670589B2

A method of synthesizing alkali uranium fluorophosphate crystals. The method includes combining a uranium-based feedstock with a mineralizer solution. The mineralizer solution includes an alkali nutrient, a phosphate, and a fluoride. The feedstock and mineralizer solution are pressurized and a thermal gradient applied thereto such that a first portion of the feedstock and the mineralizer solution is heated to a temperature that is greater than a temperature of a second portion of the feedstock and the mineralizer solution. Uranium nutrient enters the mineralizer solution from the feedstock in the first portion and uranium nutrient precipitates to spontaneously form crystals in the second portion.
US09670581B2

A method for producing an epitaxial silicon wafer by applying a vapor deposition on a silicon wafer is disclosed. A vapor deposition apparatus in which the vapor deposition is conducted at least includes a chamber and a hydrogen-chloride-gas supply apparatus that is in communication and connected with an inside of the chamber to supply hydrogen chloride gas into the chamber. A valve including a diaphragm that allows or blocks a flow of the hydrogen chloride gas from an inlet channel to an outlet channel is disposed in the hydrogen-chloride-gas supply apparatus. A W-free anticorrosion alloy material is used for the diaphragm. When a maintenance work is to be done inside the chamber, the hydrogen chloride gas is supplied from the hydrogen-chloride-gas supply apparatus into the chamber.
US09670576B2

A steel sheet is provided. The steel sheet includes a multilayer coating including at least one zinc-based layer being 0.1% to 20% magnesium by weight which is covered by a fine temporary protective layer of 5 to 100 nm. The fine temporary protective layer is composed of metal or metal oxide selected from the group consisting of aluminum, chromium, aluminum oxides AlOx, with x being strictly between 0.01 and 1.5 and chromium oxides CrOy, with y being strictly between 0.01 and 1.5. The at least one zinc-based layer is not alloyed with the temporary protective layer. Manufacturing methods for a sheet and part are also provided.
US09670575B2

The present invention is a laminated coating film such that at least one of each of the below mentioned coating film (Q) and coating film (R) are laminated in alternation on a substrate. [Coating film Q] At least one coating film selected from the group consisting of: a coating film having a compositional formula of Ti1-a-b-cBaCbNc and satisfying the atom ratios of each element being 0.2≦a≦0.7, 0≦b≦0.35, and 0≦c≦0.35; a coating film having a compositional formula of Si1-d-eCdNe and satisfying the atom ratios of each element being 0.2≦d≦0.50 and 0≦e≦0.3; and a coating film having a compositional formula of B1-f-gCfNg and satisfying the atom ratios of each element being 0.03≦f≦0.25 and 0≦g≦0.5. [Coating film R] A coating film having a compositional formula of L(BxCyN1-x-y) (where L is at least one element selected from the group consisting of W, Mo, and V) and satisfying the atom ratios of each element being 0≦x≦0.15 and 0≦y≦0.5.
US09670571B2

The invention relates to a method for manufacturing a component, especially of a gas turbine, made of a single crystal (SX) or directionally solidified (DS) nickelbase superalloy, including a heat treatment and a machining and/or mechanical treatment step. The ductility of the component is improved by doing the machining and/or mechanical treatment step prior to said heat treatment and a solution heat treatment of the component is done prior to the machining/mechanical treatment step.
US09670568B2

A method of stably preparing an aluminum composite with excellent mechanical properties while the temperature of molten aluminum is maintained at 950° C. or less, includes mixing aluminum powder, a source material for titanium, a source material for a nonmetallic element that is able to be combined with titanium to form a compound, and an active material to prepare a precursor; adding the precursor to molten aluminum; and casting the molten aluminum.
US09670567B2

The invention relates to a manufacturing method for making an unwrought semi-finished product having at mid thickness a density of micropores of size greater than 90 μm less than 50% and preferably less than 20% of the density of micropores of size greater than 90 μm obtained by a method according to prior art. The method according to the invention comprises in particular an ultrasound treatment step for the molten metal bath in a furnace and/or a vessel using an immersed device comprising at least one ultrasound transmitter. The semi-finished products obtained according to the method of the invention are particularly advantageous for manufacturing by rolling sheets designed for the aircraft industry to produce spars, ribs, upper and lower wing skins and for manufacturing by extrusion sections designed for the aircraft industry to produce stiffeners.
US09670557B2

Disclosed is a scraping wheel (1) for scraping the skin side (2) of an animal pelt (3). The scraping wheel (1) comprises a scraping roller (4) including a plurality of scraping teeth (5) arranged on the outer cylindrical roller surface (6) and the scraping roller (4) further comprises a centrally arranged axial roller hole (7). The scraping wheel (1) also comprises one or more hub parts (25, 26) arranged at least partly in the centrally arranged axial roller hole (7) and connected to the scraping roller (4) through a torque transmitting connection (9), wherein the one or more hub parts (25, 26) further comprise a centrally arranged axial hub hole (10) by which the scraping wheel (1) is mounted on a drive shaft (11) driving the rotation of the scraping wheel (1) during the scraping. Disclosed is also a scraping roller (4) for scraping of the skin side (2) of an animal pelt (3). The scraping roller (4) comprises a plurality of scraping teeth (5) arranged on the outer cylindrical roller surface (6) and the scraping roller (4) further comprises a centrally arranged axial roller hole (7), wherein the roller hole (7) is provided with a plurality of dovetail shaped splines (13). Use of a scraping wheel (1) is also disclosed.
US09670547B2

Methods and compositions are provided for the identification of a molecular diagnostic test for cancer. The test defines a novel DNA damage repair deficient molecular subtype and enables classification of a patient within this subtype. The present invention can be used to determine whether patients with cancer are clinically responsive or non-responsive to a therapeutic regimen prior to administration of any chemotherapy. This test may be used in different cancer types and with different drugs that directly or indirectly affect DNA damage or repair, such as many of the standard cytotoxic chemotherapeutic drugs currently in use. In particular, the present invention is directed to the use of certain combinations of predictive markers, wherein the expression of the predictive markers correlates with responsiveness or non-responsiveness to a therapeutic regimen.
US09670546B2

The invention provides methods, nucleic acids and kits for determining the prognosis of a subject having cell proliferative disorder, preferably cancer. The invention discloses genomic sequences the methylation patterns of which have utility for the improved detection of said disorder, thereby enabling the improved diagnosis and treatment of patients.
US09670544B2

The present invention provides a method of screening a subject for mutations in the CC2D2A gene that are associated with Joubert syndrome, an autosomal recessive form of mental retardation. The present invention also provides proteins that are associated with Joubert syndrome including proteins that includes an amino acid sequence that terminates in DHEGGSGMES (SEQ ID NO: 1). Also provided are nucleotide sequences encoding such proteins and methods of screening subjects to identify nucleotide sequences or proteins associated with Joubert syndrome.
US09670537B2

The testing for the Lyme disease pathogen, (Borrelia bergdorferi (Bb) and all other Lyme Borrelia), is notoriously difficult. Bb is not by nature a blood loving bacteria, and prefers the climate of avascular tissues such as cartilage. The Borrelia Provocation Procedure disclosed herein proposes to uniquely lure the Lyme Borrelia spirochetes into the blood through a simple procedure of sub-dermal injection of benign tick saliva and co-factors. Lyme Borrelia can then be tested accurately after the provocation injection (BPP), utilizing any Lyme Borrelia detection test ideally as a specific PCR (polymerase chain reaction) test for the most accurate results as there will be abundantly available DNA present in the blood if there is an existing infection. Treatment is more effective after provocation as well, due to the same action of the Bb. The provocation protocol taught herein makes accurate, non-invasive, active direct Lyme infection testing possible, and creates a platform for an effective treatment as well.
US09670533B2

Methods, reagents and kits are provided for the production and use in detection assays of labeled nucleic acid molecules wherein a labeling molecule is attached directly to the 3′ end of the nucleic acid molecules.
US09670532B2

A chemical sensor including a substrate, an on-chip lens layer, and a flattening layer. On the substrate, a plurality of photodiodes are formed and arranged in a planar form. The on-chip lens layer collects incident light to the photodiodes and is provided on the substrate. The flattening layer covers and planarizes the on-chip lens to form a probe holding surface for holding a probe material.
US09670530B2

Methods of determining a haplotype or partial haplotype of a DNA sample containing high molecular weight segments of genomic DNA are disclosed. Such methods may include sequencing DNA in an enriched DNA sample to produce a plurality of sequence reads, where some of the sequence reads contain a first allele of the first haplotype and other of the sequence reads contain a second allele of the first haplotype. Some methods align the sequence reads to a reference genome to produce aligned reads, where aligned reads from the first high molecular weight segment tend to cluster into islands on the reference genome. Some methods further determine distances separating adjacent aligned reads on the reference genome and select a first group of the aligned reads having separation distances to adjacent aligned reads that are smaller than a cutoff value. Using alleles from the first group of aligned reads, the method may define a first haplotype or first partial haplotype.
US09670516B2

A method of producing a sugar liquid from cellulose-containing biomass includes (1) to (4): (1) subjecting a cellulose-containing biomass to a dilute sulfuric acid treatment and thereafter separating the treated cellulose-containing biomass into a dilute sulfuric acid-treated liquid and a cellulose-containing solid content; (2) adding a cellulase to the cellulose-containing solid content to hydrolyze the cellulose and thereafter obtaining a sugar liquid; (3) filtering the dilute sulfuric acid-treated liquid through a nanofiltration membrane at pH 2.5 or lower to thereby separate a sugar concentrated liquid as a retentate and at the same time recover a sulfuric acid aqueous solution as a permeate; and (4) reusing the whole amount or a part of the sulfuric acid aqueous solution obtained in (3) in the dilute sulfuric acid treatment in (1).
US09670511B2

A method and system for efficiently producing a fermentative product alcohol such as butanol utilizing in situ product extraction are provided. The efficiency is obtained through separating undissolved solids after liquefying a given feedstock to create a feedstock and prior to fermentation, for example, through centrifugation. Removal of the undissolved solids avoids problems associated with having the undissolved solids present during in situ production extraction, and thereby increases the efficiency of the alcohol production.
US09670502B2

The present invention provides gene targets, constructs and methods for the genetic control of plant disease caused by multiple plant viruses. The present invention relates to achieving a plant protective effect through the identification of target coding sequences and the use of recombinant DNA technologies for post-transcriptionally repressing or inhibiting expression of the target coding sequences of plant-parasitic viruses. Protein-expression based approaches may also be utilized to augment phenotype resistance. Thus, transcription of a single transgenic event comprising one or more plant expression cassettes can allow for broad spectrum resistance of a plant to multiple plant viral strains and species among the geminiviruses, tospoviruses, and potexviruses.
US09670497B2

The invention is directed to synthetic promoter constructs for enhanced transgene expression in plants and to expression cassettes comprising the synthetic promoter constructs. The expression cassettes may include various elements for improved expression, stability of the expressed protein or efficient purification of the expressed protein, including signal sequences, protease cleavage sites for release of the target protein, trafficking peptides for trafficking of the expressed protein to various plant compartments, and/or various tags. The invention further relates to methods of expression of transgenic proteins in plants with the use of the synthetic promoter constructs and expression cassettes.
US09670489B2

The present disclosure provides a method for treating and/or preventing myopia, including: administering an RNA interference (RNAi) to a subject, wherein the RNA interference is capable of counteracting another RNA interference, and the other RNA interference is an RNA interference capable of inhibiting an expression of PAX-6 gene, and the RNA interference capable of inhibiting an expression of PAX-6 gene comprises microRNA-328.
US09670486B2

In one aspect, the invention is directed to a method of characterizing a mechanism of action of a combination of agents. The method comprises contacting a plurality of populations of cells with a combination of agents to be assessed, wherein each population of cells have one gene of interest targeted by a small hairpin RNA (shRNA) and wherein the gene of interest regulates cell death and a plurality of genes that regulate cell death are targeted in the plurality of populations of cells. A responsiveness of each population of cells to the combination of agents is determined, thereby obtaining an shRNA signature of the combination of agents so as to identify one or more genes that mediate a response to the combination of agents, thereby characterizing the mechanism of action of the combination of agents. In another aspect, the invention is directed to a method of determining whether a patient population treated with a first agent would benefit from a treatment using the first agent in combination with one or more additional agents. In yet another aspect, the invention is directed to method of determining whether a formulation of one or more agents maintains a mechanism of action of the one or more agents when unformulated.
US09670485B2

Described herein is a method for isolating microbial DNA from a sample that comprises host DNA and microbial DNA. In some embodiments, the method may comprise: obtaining a tagged DNA sample, wherein the tagged DNA sample contains host DNA and microbial DNA, both comprising an appended universal adaptor; b) hybridizing the extracted DNA, in solution, with affinity-tagged RNA probes generated by in vitro transcribing, in the presence of an affinity-tagged ribonucleotide, a library of fragmented host DNA that has been ligated to an RNA promoter adaptor; c) binding the product of step b) with a capture agent that is tethered to a substrate, in the presence of RNA oligonucleotides that are complementary to or have the same sequence as one or more strands of the universal adaptor, thereby capturing the host DNA on the substrate; and d) collecting the unbound DNA, wherein the unbound DNA comprises the microbial DNA.
US09670483B2

Antigen-specific immunoglobulin V-regions are identified from a library of nucleic acids amplified using polymerase chain reaction using leader sequence-specific forward primers. The use of leader sequence primers allows all V-region sequences to be amplified (including those with extensive 5′ end mutations) without loss of the original 5′ V gene segment sequence. These libraries can be screened for antigen-specific V-regions using eukaryotic cells engineered to express the amplified V-region-encoding nucleic acids or using bacterial phage display techniques. In the latter, a second V-region library is made using a larger than conventional set of 5′ V-region primers. The sequence errors introduced into the amplification products by this method are corrected using sequence information obtained in the products amplified by the V-region primers to screen the library created using the leader sequence primers. Amino acid sequence information from fragments of donor immunoglobulins can be used to assist in the identification of nucleic acids encoding the heavy and light chains of donor antibodies as well as to design primers to amplify such nucleic acids.
US09670481B2

Disclosed are methods for identifying desired members from a display libraries, including bacteriophage display libraries. Display library members can be amplified in the presence of a target compound so that cycles of selection can be rapidly completed.
US09670475B2

The present invention provides methods of administering Factor IX; methods of administering chimeric and hybrid polypeptides comprising Factor IX; chimeric and hybrid polypeptides comprising Factor IX; polynucleotides encoding such chimeric and hybrid polypeptides; cells comprising such polynucleotides; and methods of producing such chimeric and hybrid polypeptides using such cells.
US09670467B2

Genetically modified proteins with uricolytic activity are described. Proteins comprising truncated urate oxidases and methods for producing them, including PEGylated proteins comprising truncated urate oxidase are described.
US09670453B2

Disclosed is a system for dissociating a sheet-shaped cell culture into individual cells. The system, so configured as to minimize the amount of damage to cells when dissociating a sheet-shaped cell culture into individual cells, in one form includes: (i) a reaction unit that dissociates the sheet-shaped cell culture; (ii) a sensor unit that acquires information relating to a particle size distribution of cells inside the reaction unit; and (iii) an analysis unit that computes the particle size distribution of the cells from the information acquired by the sensor unit and determines and outputs a dissociation state.
US09670444B1

An ethanol production facility is provided for processing a plurality of fermentable feedstock materials into an ethanol end product through fermentation and distillation. The facility includes a fermenting stage for converting the plurality of fermentable feedstocks into an alcohol mixture including ethanol and water, and a distillation stage. The distillation stage distills the low concentration alcohol mixture into a high concentration alcohol distillate. A kernel feedstock processing stage is receives and processes a kernel containing feedstock, and includes a receiving station for receiving the kernel containing feedstock. A storage station is provided for storing the kernel based feedstock, and a mill is provided for milling the kernel based feedstock into a flour based feedstock. A conveyor is provided for conveying the milled floor based feedstock to the fermenting stage. A flour feed stock processing stage is operable in parallel with the kernel feedstock processing stage for receiving and processing a flour predominant feedstock. The flour feedstock processing stage includes a storage station for storing the flour for predominant feedstock, and a pneumatic conveyor for conveying the flour to the fermenting stage.
US09670442B2

A method of treating an beverage, comprising exposing a beverage to an ion exchange matrix that includes a mixture of cation exchange beads and anion exchange beads each capable of binding to one or more cationic or anionic constituents present in the beverage and thereby reduce concentrations of the one or more cationic or anionic constituents in the beverage and capable of maintaining a pH of the beverage within ±0.5 pH units of the beverage's pretreatment pH value. The cationic or anionic constituents have a noxious effect on humans and the cation exchange beads include a cationic mineral form and the anion exchange beads include a chloride mineral form.
US09670435B2

The invention relates to copolymers which comprise, in copolymerized form, a1) 30 to 90% by weight of at least one monoethylenically unsaturated C3-C8-carboxylic acid or of an anhydride or water-soluble salt thereof, a2) 3 to 60% by weight of at least one monomer comprising sulfo groups, a3) 3 to 60% by weight of at least one nonionic monomer of the formula (I) H2C═C(R1)COO—[R2—O]o—R3  (I)  in which R1 is hydrogen or methyl, R2 are identical or different, linear or branched C2-C6-alkylene radicals which may be arranged in blocks or randomly, and R3 is hydrogen or a straight-chain or branched C1-C4-alkyl radical and o is a natural number from 3 to 50, a4) 0 to 30% by weight of one or more further ethylenically unsaturated monomers which are polymerizable with a1), a2) and a3), where the sum of a1), a2), a3) and a4) adds up to 100% by weight.
US09670434B2

Detergent compositions effective for controlling hard water scale accumulation are disclosed. Detergent compositions employing phosphinosuccinic acid and mono-, bis- and oligomeric phosphinosuccinic acid (PSO) derivatives with alkali metal carbonate and/or alkali metal hydroxide reduce had water scale accumulation on treated surfaces at alkaline conditions between about pH of 9 and 12.5. Methods employing the detergent compositions and preventing hard water scale accumulation are also provided.
US09670430B2

A synergistic mixture comprising from 1 to 99.9% by weight of compounds having structural elements (I) in which the free valencies on the oxygen atom and on the nitrogen atom may be combined to form a five-, six- or seven-membered ring and the benzene ring may also bear substituents at one or more of the free positions, and from 0.1 to 99% by weight of sulfur-containing organic compounds with antioxidant action. This synergistic mixture is suitable as a stabilizer for stabilizing inanimate organic material, especially mineral oil products and fuels, against the action of light, oxygen and heat.
US09670429B2

The present invention provides for methods and systems that effectively separate dispersed FOG from emulsions and/or free-floating FOG from a waste stream to provide dewatered emulsions and/or separated fats, oils and greases from emulsions thereby providing value added separated product while reducing disposal of solid or liquid waste matter into landfills or water treatment facilities.
US09670427B2

Methods and oil refinery apparatuses are provided for producing hydrocarbons. A method includes fractionating a crude oil feedstock to produce a crude saturated stream and a residual stream. The residual stream is cracked in a cracking device to produce an unsaturated stream, and the unsaturated stream and the crude saturated stream are combined to produce a combined stream. The combined stream is fractionated to produce a refinery fuel gas stream.
US09670417B2

A fluid coking unit for converting a heavy oil feed to lower boiling products by thermal has a centrally-apertured annular baffle at the top of the stripping zone below the coking zone to inhibit recirculation of solid particles from the stripping zone to the coking zone. By inhibiting recirculation of the particles from the stripping zone to the coking zone, the temperatures of the two zones are effectively decoupled, enabling the coking zone to be run at a lower temperature than the stripping zone to increase the yield of liquid products.
US09670416B2

This invention relates to a new process to directly produce transportation gasoline from synthesis gas containing principally carbon monoxide, carbon dioxide, and hydrogen. The process entails three sequential catalytic stages with intermediate heat exchange to provide the requisite temperature in each stage, but with no interstage separation. The recycle loop enhances the conversion of the synthesis gas to the desired products and also serves as heat sink for the highly exothermic reactions involved in each stage.
US09670414B2

The presently disclosed subject matter is directed to a method of processing plant oil to produce high grade fuel such as biodiesel and jet fuel. Particularly, a method is provided that includes treating an oil under hydrothermal conditions in the presence of i) an acid that acts as an in situ source of hydrogen and ii) an activated carbon essentially free of a metal catalyst, wherein the treating results in production of liquid hydrocarbons for use as a fuel.
US09670409B1

A method of reducing the swell potential of an expansive clayey soil comprising expansive clay mineral(s) at a proportion of the total weight of the expansive clayey soil (PECM). The method includes (a) calculating a first amount of a swelling reduction agent to be incorporated into the expansive clayey soil to form a first swelling reduction agent incorporated expansive clayey soil with a reduced swell potential no greater than a pre-set level T with a nano-level constitutive modeling based on the water content and the CEC of the expansive clayey soil and PECM. The swelling reduction agent is at least one selected from calcite, gypsum, potassium chloride, a composition comprising exchangeable K+, a composition comprising exchangeable Ca2−, and/or a composition comprising exchangeable Mg2+, and (b) incorporating the first amount of the swelling reduction agent into the expansive clayey soil to form the first swelling reduction agent incorporated expansive clayey soil.
US09670407B2

Provided is a rare earth phosphovanadate phosphor that is excellent in emission characteristics and preferred also from the viewpoint of industrial production, and a production method thereof. The rare earth phosphovanadate phosphor includes at least a primary particle in which a linear uneven pattern including a plurality of ridge lines parallel to each other is formed on the surface of the particle. Further, the method for producing a rare earth phosphovanadate phosphor involves generating a mixture of a rare earth phosphovanadate phosphor and an alkali metal vanadate, and removing the alkali metal vanadate.
US09670404B2

Compounds comprising the formula L1L2MX wherein L1, L2, and X are distinct bidentate ligands that form an octahedral complex on the metal M, wherein M is a metal with an atomic weight greater than 40. Compounds of this formula are sublimated more facilely than octahedral metal complexes where L1, L2, and X are not distinct bidentate ligands. Organic light emitting devices are also described wherein the emissive layer may comprise a host material containing an emissive molecule of formula L1L2MX, which molecule is adapted to luminesce when a voltage is applied across the heterostructure, and the emissive molecule is selected from the group of phosphorescent organometallic complexes, including iridium complexes of the formula L1L2IrX wherein L1, L2, and X are distinct bidentate ligands.
US09670395B2

The present invention relates to methods of treating a subterranean formation with a composition including a compound made by a microorganism or a microorganism that can make the compound. Various embodiments provide methods of using compositions for treatment of subterranean formations including exopolysaccharides or microorganisms that can make exopolysaccharides under downhole conditions. In various embodiments, the present invention provides a method of treating a subterranean formation, including providing at least one exopolysaccharide by subjecting an extremophilic or extremotolerant microorganism to conditions such that the microorganism forms the exopolysaccharide, or by subjecting a microorganism genetically modified using an extremophilic or extremotolerant microorganism to conditions such that the microorganism forms the exopolysaccharide. The method can also include contacting a composition including the exopolysaccharide with a subterranean material downhole.
US09670393B2

The present invention relates to compositions for use in refrigeration, air-conditioning, and heat pump systems wherein the composition comprises a fluoroolefin and at least one other component. The compositions of the present invention are useful in processes for producing cooling or heat, as heat transfer fluids, foam blowing agents, aerosol propellants, and fire suppression and fire extinguishing agents.
US09670392B2

A stable thermal radical curable silicone composition is provided that comprises (I) a clustered functional polyorganopolysiloxane having one or more radical curable groups selected from an acrylate group and a methacrylate group; (II) a reactive resin and polymer; (III) a radical initiator; (IV) a moisture cure initiator; and (V) a crosslinker. The reactive resin and polymer includes (a) an organopolysiloxane polymer and (b) an alkoxy-functional organopolysiloxane resin. The alkoxy-functional organopolysiloxane resin comprises the reaction product of a reaction of (i) an alkenyl-functional siloxane resin, (ii) an alkoxysilane-functional organosiloxane, and (iii) an endcapper in the presence of (iv) hydrosilylation catalyst. The stable thermal radical curable silicone composition can be utilized for electronics applications.
US09670388B2

A hot melt adhesive material and articles made using the hot melt adhesive to assemble structures in an article. The adhesive material typically is manufactured by blending amorphous polymer with a heterophase polymer having crystallinity into an adhesive composition.
US09670387B2

The present invention relates to an adhesive composition comprising at least one deacetylated chitosan, an acid and an additional compound.
US09670386B2

Biomimetic adhesive compositions can be used in various aspects of subterranean treatment operations. Methods for treating a subterranean formation can comprise: providing an adhesive composition that comprises a first polymer comprising a plurality of monomers that comprise a phenolic moiety, a biopolymer that is crosslinkable with the first polymer, a crosslinking agent, and an oxidizing agent; introducing the adhesive composition into a subterranean formation; and forming a coacervate-bound surface in the subterranean formation by crosslinking the first polymer.
US09670380B2

The invention relates to a chemical conversion process and to a process for removing particles from a reaction mixture. The chemical conversion process of the invention comprises plasmonic heating of a reaction mixture, which reaction mixture comprises at least a one component and plasmonic particles, by exposing said reaction mixture to light comprising one or more wavelengths which are absorbed by at least part of the plasmonic particles, thereby controlling the reaction rate of one or more chemical reactions.
US09670379B2

A composition comprises a copolymer made from a thiol terminated hydrocarbon monomer and at least one additional monomer chosen from the compounds of i) a terminally unsaturated hydrocarbon monomer, ii) an isocyanate functionalized hydrocarbon monomer and iii) a silane monomer substituted with two or more C2 to C8 terminally unsaturated alkenyl groups or C2 to C8 terminally unsaturated alkynyl groups. The composition also includes a particulate filler dispersed in the copolymer and a solvent. If the terminally unsaturated hydrocarbon monomer is polybutadiene, the polybutadiene contains from about 0 mol % to about 30 mol % of polymer units in a cis-1,4-butadiene form. Composites made from the composition and methods for making composite panels are also disclosed.
US09670376B1

Provided are hybrid sol-gel coating materials and method of synthesizing such materials. Also, provided are methods of forming hybrid sol-gel coatings from such coating materials. In some embodiments, a hybrid sol-gel coating material includes a hydrolyzed inorganic component and organic component. Functional groups of the inorganic component may react with each other in a sol-gel condensation reaction, while functional groups of the organic component may be subjected to free-radical induced polymerization thereby bonding the inorganic and organic components in a resulting hybrid organic-inorganic sol-gel coating. The coating material may also comprise nanoparticles, which may be bonded to other components in a resulting coating. The inorganic component may be a silane or, more specifically, tetraethoxysilane, while the organic component may be an acrylate or, more specifically, mercapto functionalized polyester acrylate, aromatic epoxy acrylate, and/or polyurethane acrylate. The hybrid sol-gel coating material may also include a coupling agent, catalyst, and/or diluent.
US09670374B2

The present invention provides a water-based ink for ink-jet printing which is excellent in ejection stability and storage stability, in particular, excellent in quick-drying fixing properties and image uniformity when printing characters or images on a low-water absorbing recording medium, and an image forming method using the water-based ink. The present invention relates to [1] a water-based ink for ink-jet printing, including a pigment, a water-insoluble polymer, an organic solvent (C) and water, in which the organic solvent (C) includes diethylene glycol isopropyl ether (DEGPE) and an organic solvent (c2) having a 1-octanol/water partition coefficient that is smaller than that of DEGPE; a total content of the pigment, the water-insoluble polymer and DEGPE in the water-based ink is not less than 5.0% by mass; and a value obtained by multiplying a total content of the pigment and the water-insoluble polymer in the water-based ink by a content of DEGPE in the water-based ink is from 10 and 300; and [2] an image forming method including the steps of mounting a container filled with the water-based ink to an ink-jet printing apparatus equipped with an ink ejecting means; and ejecting the ink onto a recording medium having a water absorption of from 0 to 10 g/m2 as measured by contacting with pure water for 100 ms to print characters or images thereon.
US09670371B2

A method of forming a digital print on a surface (2) by applying powder of dry ink (15) including colorants (7) on the surface, bonding a part of the dry ink (15) powder to the surface (2) by a digital heating print head (80) such that the digital print is formed by the bonded dry ink colorants (7) and removing non-bonded dry ink (15) from the surface (2).
US09670370B2

The present invention relates to a functional film and a method for manufacturing the same, the functional film being organically and inorganically laminated to have a desired function such as high gas barrier performance and having high adhesiveness between inorganic and organic layers. The organic layer on top of the inorganic layer contains an organic solvent; an organic compound formed of the organic layer; and a silane coupling agent with a concentration between 0.1 and 25 percentages by mass excluding the organic solvent, the organic layer uses a coating material not containing a pH controller, and the organic layer is formed through curing via a heating process after coating.
US09670369B2

A visible-light-responsive photocatalyst powder includes a tungsten oxide powder. The tungsten oxide powder has color whose a* is −5 or less, b* is −5 or more, and L* is 50 or more when the color of the powder is expressed by an L*a*b* color system. Further, the tungsten oxide powder has a BET specific surface area in a range of 11 to 820 m2/g.
US09670366B2

The invention relates to a process for preparing self-binding pigment particle suspensions, to a self-binding pigment particle suspension as well as to a paper product comprising self-binding pigment particles and to the use of the self-binding pigment particle suspension as filler material.
US09670363B2

The invention discloses new substituted anthraquinone dyes that may be useful as cellular stains. In some aspect of the invention, the nuclear stains are useful for staining the nuclei of dead or fixed cells. Another aspect of the invention relates to substituted anthraquinone dyes comprising an enzyme substrate moiety that is transformable or cleavable by an enzyme such that the transformation or cleavage of the substrate moiety causes a detectable change in the functionality or spectral properties of the dye.
US09670360B2

The invention relates to polymer compounds containing A) 0 to 98 parts by weight, based on the sum of A and B, of a thermoplastic polymer, or a mixture of a plurality of thermoplastic polymers differing from B, and B) 2 to 100 parts by weight, based on the sum of A and B, of B 1) at least one graft polymer produced by an emulsion polymerisation process, B2) optionally at least one graft polymer produced in a mass, suspension or solution polymerisation process, B3) optionally at least one rubber-free vinyl (co)polymer and (C) 0 to 30 parts by weight of at least one commercially available polymer additive, wherein the total of parts by weight A and B is 100.
US09670359B2

An object of the present invention is to provide a polycarbonate resin composition and a molded article, which are excellent in jet-blackness, image sharpness, impact resistance, scratch resistance owing to high hardness, flame retardancy and heat retention stability. The present invention provides a resin composition comprising a polycarbonate resin comprising a structural unit derived from a cyclic ether structure-containing dihydroxy compound and a coloring agent, which is a polycarbonate resin composition having an L* value of 6 or less as measured by the reflected light method of JIS K7105; and a molded article using the resin composition. The resin composition and the molded article of the present invention can be used over a wide range of fields allowing a product to be imparted with a high-grade appearance and a dignified impression.
US09670352B2

The present invention relates to a retardation film that comprises a blend resin of 1) an acryl-based copolymer resin that comprises an alkyl methacrylate-based monomer and a cycloalkyl methacrylate-based monomer, and 2) a resin that comprises an aromatic ring or aliphatic ring in a polymer main chain, a method for manufacturing the retardation film, and a liquid crystal display device that comprises the retardation film. The retardation film according to the present invention has excellent heat resistance, optical transparency, mechanical strength, and durability.
US09670351B2

A flexible tubing material includes a radiation crosslinked blend of a first elastomeric polymer including a styrenic thermoplastic elastomer, an ethylene vinyl acetate elastomer, a polylefin elastomer with a second elastomeric polymer including a polyolefin elastomer, a diene elastomer, or combination thereof, with the proviso that the first elastomeric polymer and the second elastomeric polymer are different. In an embodiment, a method of making a material includes providing the first elastomeric polymer, providing the second elastomeric polymer, blending the first elastomeric polymer and the second elastomeric polymer, extruding or injection molding the blend, and crosslinking the blend with radiation.
US09670350B2

The present invention relates to novel polymer dispersants in the form of comb polymers P and to a liquid composition containing solid fine particles, such as organic or inorganic pigments and fillers, and the polymer dispersants. The comb polymer P having at least 0.5 mol-%, e.g. 0.5 to 90 mol-%, based on the total amount of repeating units in the comb polymer, of repeating units A, selected from repeating units of the formulae la and lb: wherein R1 is selected from the group consisting of hydrogen, —S(═O)2Ra, C1-C20 alkyl, C3-C10 cycloalkyl, aryl, heteroaryl, aryl-C1-C4-alkyl and heteroaryl-C1-C4-alkyl; and X indicates a polymer group of the following formula X wherein Z indicates a polymer segment or a monovalent alkyl or alkenyl segment having from 10 to 100 carbon atoms; R1 is as defined above; k is 0, 1, 2, 3 or 4; n is 0, 1 or 2; A is a chemical bond or a divalent moiety selected from the group consisting of C1-C6 alkylene, —O—(C2-C6 alkylene) or —C(═O)—O—(C2-C6 alkylene), where the C2-C6 alkylene part is attached to Q; Q is a divalent moiety selected from the group consisting of —O—, —NH— and —S—; R2 is independently selected from the group consisting of —OH, —COOH, —COOCH3, —NH2, —NH(C1-C6 alkyl), —N(C1-C6 alkyl)2, —NO2, —S(═O)2Ra, C1-C20 alkyl, C1-C4 alkoxy, halogen, aryloxy, aryl, heteroaryl.
US09670345B2

Optical cable components fabricated from an extrudable polymeric blend of crystalline polypropylene modified with one or more impact-modifying polymers. The impact-modifying polymers are crosslinked and can be selected from a polyolefin elastomer, an olefin multi-block interpolymer, an olefin block composite, and combinations thereof. Optionally, the polymeric blend can further comprise a compatibilizer. The polymeric blend may also contain one or more additives. The optical fiber cable components can be selected from buffer tubes, core tubes, and slotted core tubes.
US09670343B2

The present invention relates to materials useful for lowering the pour point of wax-containing mixtures of liquid hydrocarbons, as well as compositions of and methods for preparing the same. More particularly, this invention relates to the use in liquid hydrocarbons of OLAC compositions containing units derived from (i) hydrocarbyl(meth)acrylic acid derivatives and (ii) ethylenically unsaturated aliphatic Nα-olefin monomers having up to 50 carbon atoms. The OLAC compositions are useful for modifying the fluidity and flow characteristics of liquid hydrocarbons, and more particularly, for improving the pipeline pumpability of liquid hydrocarbons.
US09670342B2

An injection stretch blow molded article may include a Ziegler-Natta catalyzed polyethylene resin having a multimodal molecular weight distribution and including at least two polyethylene fractions A and B. Fraction A may have a higher molecular weight and a lower density than fraction B. Each fraction may be prepared in different reactors of at least two reactors connected in series. Fraction A may have a melt index HL275 of at least 11 g/10 min and of at most 20 g/10 min, and a density of at least 941 kg/m3 and of at most 946 kg/m3. The polyethylene resin may have a melt index MI2 of at least 1.5 g/10 min and of at most 3.0 g/10 min, and a density of at least 950 kg/m3 and of at most 965 kg/m3.
US09670333B2

A composition for low density, ultrathin, and inorganic films, comprising a mixture of 70-82% of calcium carbonate by weight, 10-15% of linear polyethylene by weight, 1-5% of stearic acid by weight, 0.40-0.80% of aluminate by weight, 0.20-0.80% of titanic acid ester by weight, 0.4-3.0% of modified polyethoxylated silicone emulsion by weight, 0.05-0.5% of foaming agent by weight, and 0.01-0.1% of foaming agent accelerator by weight. The inorganic of the present invention is reduced in thickness, light in weight, easy to degrade, high tensile and high tear strength, toxicity-free, high temperature resistance, and low prices, so as to fulfill the requirement of producing the mulch, trash bags, shopping bags, and package bags.
US09670321B2

A curable resin including 1 part by weight of dianhydride, 0.8 to 1.5 parts by weight of diamine, and 1.5 to 5 parts by weight of vinyl monomer is disclosed. A blue photoresist, a color filter, and methods of preparing the same, and a color display device are also disclosed.
US09670309B2

A novolac epoxy compound having an alkoxysilyl group of which composite has low CTE and increase of glass transition temperature, and requiring no coupling agent, a production method thereof, an epoxy composition including the same and a cured article thereof, are provided. A novolac epoxy compound having an alkoxysilyl group of Formulae I-1 to I-4, a production method of the novolac epoxy compound having an alkoxysilyl group by the epoxidation, alkenylation and alkoxysilylation of a novolac epoxy compound, a production method of the novolac epoxy compound having an alkoxysilyl group by the epoxidation and alkoxysilylation of a novolac epoxy compound, an epoxy composition including the novolac epoxy compound having an alkoxysilyl group, and a cured article, are provided. The cured article, i.e., the composite of the epoxy composition has improved chemical bonding efficiency due to alkoxysilyl groups. Low CTE and high glass transition temperature are exhibited.
US09670308B2

A device, system and method for treatment of an opening in vascular and/or septal walls including patent foramen ovale. The device has wings/stops on either end, an axis core covered in a shape memory foam and is deliverable via a catheter to the affected opening, finally expanding into a vascular or septal opening where it is held in place by the expandable shape memory stops or wings.
US09670292B2

In an apparatus for producing the water-absorbent resin, gas heated by the polymerization heat accompanied by a polymerization reaction in a reactor main body flows through a first pipe into a heat exchanging structure, and a cooled fluid obtained by the cooling flows through a second pipe into the reactor main body. In the apparatus, a first pipe temperature adjusting portion adjusts a temperature of the first pipe to fall within a predetermined temperature range, and a polymerization reactor temperature adjusting portion adjusts a temperature of an upper portion of the reactor main body to fall within a predetermined temperature range.
US09670291B2

The present invention relates to a specific functionalized diene elastomer. This functionalized elastomer exhibits a reduced cold flow without, however, damaging the properties of a reinforced rubber composition in which it is present, in particular the processing properties and the hysteresis properties. This functionalized diene elastomer carries, at the chain end, a silanol functional group or a polysiloxane block having a silanol end and is partially coupled by or star-branched by tin.
US09670282B2

A method of treating multiple sclerosis (MS) in a subject in need thereof, the method comprising administering to said subject a therapeutically effective amount of an isolated polypeptide comprising an antigen recognition domain capable of specifically binding a human scavenger receptor, wherein said antigen recognition domain comprises CDR amino acid sequences as set forth in SEQ ID NO: 11, 15, 19, 23, 27 and 31, thereby treating MS in the subject.
US09670280B2

Novel anti-cancer agents, including, but not limited to, antibodies and immunoconjugates, that bind to human folate receptor 1 are provided. Methods of using the agents, antibodies, or immunoconjugates, such as methods of inhibiting tumor growth are further provided.
US09670278B2

Novel anti-cancer agents, including, but not limited to, antibodies and immunoconjugates, that bind to human folate receptor 1 are provided. Methods of using the agents, antibodies, or immunoconjugates, such as methods of inhibiting tumor growth are further provided.
US09670267B2

Factor VIII variants and methods of use thereof are disclosed.
US09670263B2

The present invention relates to methods for modulating the activity of one or more Vps10p-domain receptors selected from the group consisting of Sortilin, SorLA, SorCS1, SorCS2 and SorCS3, in an animal and methods for preparation of a medicament for the treatment of mental and behavioral disorders. The modulation is carried out by inhibiting or promoting the binding of ligands to the Vps10p-domain receptor. In vitro and in vivo methods for screening for agents capable of modulation of said Vps10p-domain receptor activity are also provided. The invention furthermore relates to methods of altering expression of said receptors in vivo.
US09670261B2

The present invention relates to exendin-4 derivatives and their medical use, for example in the treatment of disorders of the metabolic syndrome, including diabetes and obesity, as well as reduction of excess food intake.
US09670258B2

Compounds of the present invention of formula I and formula II are disclosed in the specification and wherein the compounds are modulators of Bone Morphogenic Protein activity. Compounds are synthetic peptides having a non-growth factor heparin binding region, a linker, and sequences that bind specifically to a receptor for Bone Morphogenic Protein. Uses of compounds of the present invention in the treatment of bone lesions, degenerative joint disease and to enhance bone formation are disclosed.
US09670245B2

Provided are several types of ginsenoside polymorphic substances and a method for preparing same. In particular, new crystal form A, crystal form B, crystal form C, crystal form E, crystal form F, crystal form I, crystal form K, crystal form L, crystal form M, crystal form N, and crystal form O are involved.
US09670243B2

Embodiments relate to methods of sequencing nucleic acids. Embodiments encompass the use of nucleotide analogs and a nucleic acid polymerase enzyme or enzyme complex comprising proofreading activity. The nucleotide analogs may become incorporated into a replicating strand and induce the proofreading activity of the polymerizing enzyme, thereby prolonging the duration of a signal associated with nucleotide incorporation, resulting in more observable sequencing events and increasing the accuracy of nucleic acid sequencing.
US09670240B2

Provided are novel cyclic phosphinate derivatives and a method of preparing the same, and more particularly, cyclic phosphinate derivatives including benzoxaphosphole oxide derivatives and benzoxaphosphorin oxide derivatives, and a method of preparing the same. The cyclic phosphinate derivative according to the present invention may have pharmacological and physiological activities, be used as the basic skeleton of the natural material, and be used in development of a new drug, and synthesis of various medicines. In addition, with the method of preparing a cyclic phosphinate derivative according to the present invention, various cyclic phosphinate derivatives may be prepared with high yield through a simple synthetic process by performing an intramolecular carbon-oxygen coupling reaction on the phosphinic acid derivative in the presence of a palladium (Pd) catalyst, an oxidant, and a base.
US09670239B2

Bisphosphites having an outer naphthyl-phenyl unit and a central 2,3′-biphenol unit and their preparation are described.
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