US09915855B1
The spring loaded mount adapter couples with a camera system to affix the position of the camera system. The spring loaded mount adapter includes multiple raised members that, at a resting configuration, are designed to couple with extensions of the camera frame and prevent the camera system from displacing. A user may decouple the camera system from the spring loaded mount adapter by providing a user input to multiple input mechanisms of the spring loaded mount adapter. In doing so, the applied force movably displaces the multiple raised members, thereby eliminating their coupling with the camera system. The camera system may be conveniently removed in response to the user provided input.
US09915851B1
A laser system may include a laser source configured to generate a first laser light beam, a beamsplitter configured to split the first laser light beam into a plurality of second laser light beams, and a multi-channel acousto-optic modulator (AOM). The multi-channel AOM may include a common acousto-optic medium configured to receive the plurality of second laser light beams, and a respective phased array transducer comprising a plurality of electrodes coupled to the acousto-optic medium for each of the second laser light beams. The laser system may further include a plurality of radio frequency (RF) drivers configured to generate respective RF drive signals for the phased array transducer electrodes.
US09915848B2
A display device having fewer alignment defects is provided. A display device having a high aperture ratio and including a capacitor with increased charge capacity is provided. A display device having a high aperture ratio, including a capacitor with large charge capacity, and having fewer alignment defects is provided. The display device includes a pixel electrode, a transistor including a light-transmitting semiconductor layer connected to the pixel electrode, and a capacitor, a scan line, and a data line connected to the transistor. The transistor is arranged to overlap with the scan line. One of electrodes of the capacitor is formed on the same surface where the semiconductor layer is formed, and is formed in a region divided by the scan lines and the data lines. The other of the electrodes of the capacitor is a pixel electrode. The pixel electrode extends so as to intersect with the scan line.
US09915844B2
A liquid crystal display device includes first and second substrates facing each other; a liquid crystal layer between the first and second substrates; a thin-film transistor (“TFT”) on the first substrate and including a semiconductor layer and a gate, source and drain electrodes; an organic layer on the TFT and defining a contact hole therein which exposes a portion of the drain electrode; a conductive layer on the organic layer and contacting the exposed portion of the drain electrode at the contact hole; a common electrode which is on the organic layer and isolated from the conductive layer; a passivation layer on the conductive layer and the common electrode and defining an opening therein which exposes a portion of the conductive layer; and a pixel electrode on the passivation layer and the conductive layer and contacting the exposed portion of the conductive layer at the opening.
US09915838B2
The present invention is related to display technology. Embodiments of the present invention provide a display panel and a method for fabricating the same which can prevent light leakage of the display panel. The display panel comprises a central area and a peripheral area surrounding the central area, wherein the central area is applied with horizontal electric field or multi-dimensional electric field, the peripheral area is applied with vertical electric field.
US09915826B2
Disclosed is an improved diffraction structure for 3D display systems. The improved diffraction structure includes an intermediate layer that resides between a waveguide substrate and a top grating surface. The top grating surface comprises a first material that corresponds to a first refractive index value, the underlayer comprises a second material that corresponds to a second refractive index value, and the substrate comprises a third material that corresponds to a third refractive index value.
US09915813B2
The invention relates to a system and a method for determination of a value for at least one parameter describing microbial activity of individual biological organisms in a liquid sample. Images, wherein individual biological organisms may be identified, are combined to provide optical sectionings of the biological organisms and the optical sectionings are analyzed to determine the value for said at least one parameter describing microbial activity of said individual biological organisms in each sample container.
US09915811B2
A zoom lens system includes a negative first lens group, a positive second lens group, a negative third lens group and a positive fourth lens group, in that order from the object side. Upon zooming from the short to long focal length extremities, at least the first lens group, the second lens group and the fourth lens group are moved in the optical axis direction. The third lens group includes a negative first sub-lens group and a negative second sub-lens group, in that order from the object side. The second sub-lens group is provided with a negative single lens element and a positive single lens element, wherein an air lens is formed between the negative single lens element and the positive single lens element.
US09915794B2
An optical device includes a semiconductor laser light source, a grating element and an optical transmission element. The grating element includes a ridge-type optical waveguide having an incident surface to which a semiconductor laser light is incident and an emitting surface from which an outgoing light having a desired wavelength is emitted, and a Bragg grating formed in the ridge-type optical waveguide. The light transmission element includes an optical transmission part having an incident surface to which the outgoing light from the ridge-type optical waveguide is incident. A near-field diameter in a horizontal direction at the incident surface of the optical transmission part is greater than a near-field diameter in the horizontal direction at the emitting surface of said ridge-type optical waveguide.
US09915790B2
Fiber inspection microscope and power measurement system, fiber inspection tip and method using same
The fiber inspection microscope and power measurement system for inspecting an endface of an optical fiber at an angle-polished connector generally has: a mating interface for receiving the angle-polished connector, the endface causing a mean propagation direction of light exiting the optical fiber at endface to be tilted relative to an imaging path of the system; a converging element to be optically coupled to the endface and being configured to receive the tilted light and to redirect the tilted light toward the imaging path of the fiber inspection microscope system; and a power detection assembly optically coupled to the converging element, the power detection assembly being configured to detect an optical power associated with the tilted light redirected by the converging element.
US09915787B2
According to embodiments of the present invention, an optical coupling device is provided. The optical coupling device includes a substrate, and a grating arrangement including a plurality of grating elements, the plurality of grating elements being defined on one surface of the substrate, wherein the plurality of grating elements are arranged to have a first period along a first direction, and a second period along a second direction orthogonal to the first direction, the first period being different from the second period. According to further embodiments of the present invention, a photonic integrated circuit and a method of forming an optical coupling device are also provided.
US09915784B2
Aspects of the invention are directed to a method for forming an optical waveguide structure. Initially, a base film stack is received with an optical waveguide feature covered by a lower dielectric layer. An etch stop feature is then formed on the lower dielectric layer, and an upper dielectric layer is formed over the etch stop feature. Subsequently, a trench is patterned in the upper dielectric layer and the etch stop feature at least in part by utilizing the etch stop feature as an etch stop. Lastly, a waveguide coupler feature is formed in the trench, at least a portion of the waveguide coupler feature having a refractive index higher than the lower dielectric layer and the upper dielectric layer. The waveguide coupler feature is positioned over at least a portion of the optical waveguide feature but is separated from the optical waveguide feature by a portion of the lower dielectric layer.
US09915783B2
A spot size converter may include a tapered periodic segmented waveguide (PSW). The tapered PSW may include a plurality of waveguide segments defined by a plurality of gaps between the plurality of waveguide segments. The plurality of gaps may be at one or more angles that are not substantially parallel to a direction of a width of the tapered PSW. The direction of the width of the tapered PSW may be substantially perpendicular to a direction in which light passes through the tapered PSW.
US09915774B2
Disclosed is an indicator including: light guide members; light emitting elements arranged around the light guide members; and diffusion sheets laminated on one or more surfaces of the light guide members and configured such that light irradiated from the light emitting elements is uniformly spread out to upper and lower surfaces of the light guide members after being guided to the light guide members, and an electronic device including the same. The light diffused by the diffusion sheets is simultaneously emitted on two or more different surfaces outside of an electronic device. Because the electronic device can improve convenience of use of the electronic device by allowing the user to easily recognize information output from the electronic device regardless of the positioning state of the electronic device because the indicator is arranged such that information may be output on at least two surfaces at the same time.
US09915766B2
The present invention relates to a method of manufacturing a thin polarizer, including: forming a film laminate by attaching a polyvinyl alcohol-based film to at least one surface of a polymer film by using attraction force or an adhesive; swelling the film laminate so that a degree of swelling of the polyvinyl alcohol-based film is 0.36 to 0.44; dyeing at least one of iodine and a dichromatic dye on the film laminate; and stretching the film laminate.
US09915765B2
By a composition for color filter containing a near-infrared transmitting black coloring agent, a composition for color filter capable of forming an infrared transmission filter which is able to transmit an infrared ray (particularly, a near infrared ray) in the state of low noise derived from the visible light component even when it has a very thin thickness (for example, thickness of 0.5 μm), and an infrared transmission filter and a production method of an infrared transmission filter using the same, and an infrared sensor can be provided.
US09915754B2
A method and apparatus for detecting an energetic material on a surface. Electromagnetic radiation is generated. A beam of the electromagnetic radiation is transmitted from a handheld device towards the surface. Reflected electromagnetic radiation from the beam reflecting off of the surface is detected at the handheld device to generate test data. The test data is analyzed at a base unit that is separate from the handheld device to determine whether the energetic material is present on the surface.
US09915746B2
A method of measuring seismic signals generated by marine acoustic sources includes deploying at least one seismic sensor unit to a location on a floor of a body of water within a survey area, and recording seismic signals that include a real measured far field signature generated by a seismic source during a marine seismic survey. The method further includes automatically actuating a retrieval device to cause the at least one seismic sensor unit to rise to the surface, in response to expiration of the selected time period or an actuation signal from the surface, retrieving the at least one seismic sensor unit from the surface, and processing seismic data collected from the return signal. Processing including identifying a far field signature of the seismic source based on the signals detected by the seismic sensor, and designaturing the seismic data based on the far field signature.
US09915745B2
At least some embodiments are directed to a system. The system includes a processor and a memory coupled to the processor. The memory stores a program that, when executed by the processor, causes the processor to calculate a pressure response of a first sensor, and correct pressure wavefield data obtained from the first sensor responsive to a first acoustic wavefield. The correction is based on the calculated pressure response of the first sensor. The pressure response of the first sensor is responsive to a second acoustic wavefield having a propagation path between a source of the second acoustic wavefield and the first sensor, in which the propagation path includes no reflection from a subsurface formation.
US09915743B2
A method and marine seismic processing system including an interface for receiving recorded data, wherein the recorded data includes seismic data and bio-acoustic data; a seismic data processor for estimating a source signature from the recorded data, wherein the source signature is associated with a seismic source that emits seismic waves in water during a seismic survey; and a bio-acoustic processor that estimates a presence of a mammal generating the bio-acoustic data, based on a processed signal obtained by removing the source signature from the recorded data.
US09915735B2
A method for positioning a vehicle includes deriving an estimated position of the vehicle by way of a satellite signal received from the vehicle, receiving a correction signal from a second vehicle, and correcting the estimated position by way of the correction signal.
US09915720B2
An electrical panel meter system may include a plurality of meter modules housed in an electrical panel enclosure. Each meter module may be configured to sample electrical readings related to electrical power provided to a respective branch circuit of the electrical panel meter system. To field test the metering accuracy of each meter module, a field tester may be coupled to the electrical panel enclosure. The field tester may inject an electrical signal via a test conductor provided in the electrical panel enclosure. The test conductor may be coupled to each meter module. The field tester may measure an electrical parameter of the injected electrical signal and compare it to electrical readings sampled by the meter modules. A pass/fail result for each meter module may be indicated. Methods of field testing meter modules in an electrical panel meter system are also provided, as are other aspects.
US09915717B2
A method for acquiring image data from a plurality of slice locations in a subject with a magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) system is provided. The method includes directing the MRI system to perform a pulse sequence that includes performing a contrast preparation module configured to generate contrast-encoded longitudinal magnetization and an image encoding module configured to acquire image data from multiple slice locations substantially simultaneously. The contrast preparation module generally includes tipping longitudinal magnetization into the transverse plane to produce transverse magnetization, generating contrast-prepared transverse magnetization by establishing an image contrast in the transverse magnetization, and tipping the contrast-prepared magnetization back along the longitudinal axis to produce the contrast-encoded longitudinal magnetization.
US09915714B2
Systems and methods employing spin editing techniques to improve magnetic resonance spectroscopy (MRS) and magnetic resonance spectroscopic imaging (MRSI) are discussed. Using these spin editing techniques, magnetic resonance signals of one or more unwanted chemicals (that is, chemicals whose signals are to be filtered out or suppressed) chemicals can be suppressed, so that the signal(s) of a first set of chemicals can be obtained without signals from the one or more unwanted chemicals. Information about and differences between the molecular topologies of the first set of chemicals and the one or more unwanted chemicals can be used to design a sequence that suppresses the one or more unwanted chemicals while allowing acquisition of signal(s) from the first set of chemicals.
US09915711B2
A compact, high-sensitivity magnetometer, including: an optical interface to accept a linearly polarized first light; a pump light source to produce a circularly polarized pump light; a vapor cell having a sealed vessel containing an alkali-metal gas, a first input port to receive the first light, a second input port to accept the pump light from a direction perpendicular to the first light, and an output port to produce a second light; an electromagnetic source to apply a modulated electromagnetic field to the vapor cell at a direction perpendicular to the first light and the pump light, without using a modulator external to the vapor cell; a second linear polarizer, polarized perpendicular to the first light, the second polarizer to receive the second light and to produce a third light; and a photodetector to receive the third light, to produce an intensity measurement of the third light.
US09915708B2
An assembly of Hall sensors provides the following: the three averaged values for the magnetic field components are assigned to the same point in space, at the center of the Hall sensor assembly. This allows for the instantaneous measurement of the full field vector. With the appropriate electrical connections of the Hall elements from opposing surfaces of each pair, undesired planar Hall effect is practically cancelled out.
US09915707B2
Embodiments relate to xMR sensors having very high shape anisotropy. Embodiments also relate to novel structuring processes of xMR stacks to achieve very high shape anisotropies without chemically affecting the performance relevant magnetic field sensitive layer system while also providing comparatively uniform structure widths over a wafer, down to about 100 nm in embodiments. Embodiments can also provide xMR stacks having side walls of the performance relevant free layer system that are smooth and/or of a defined lateral geometry which is important for achieving a homogeneous magnetic behavior over the wafer.
US09915696B1
Techniques for adaptively scaling power supply voltage of a programmable integrated circuit. Compact speed-testing ring oscillators are inserted into a pre-constructed circuit model to test the speed of speed-critical aspects of the interconnect fabric of the programmable integrated circuit. The speed-testing ring oscillators are compact due to including only two elements configured from lookup table elements (“LUTs”) of the programmable integrated circuit. The speed-testing ring oscillators are connected to a power management unit which receives speed values output from the speed-testing ring oscillators and adjusts the power supply voltage to maintain the speed-testing ring oscillators operating at or above a prescribed speed. If all speed-testing ring oscillators are operating too fast, then power management unit reduces voltage to reduce the total power consumed by the programmable integrated circuit while still maintaining operation above a desired speed.
US09915693B2
A system and method for diagnosing insulation-breakdown of a vehicle component including a system in a vehicle including high voltage components are provided. The system includes a battery pack that is configured to supply a high voltage to the vehicle and a high voltage relay that is connected to an output stage of the battery pack. Additionally, a high voltage component controller is connected to an output stage of the high voltage relay to turn the high voltage component on and off. A battery management system interlocks with the battery pack, the high voltage relay, and the high voltage component controller to diagnose whether the battery pack, an input stage of the high voltage component controller, and the high voltage component are insulated-breakdown.
US09915686B2
A voltage sensor housing includes a top portion including a conductive top portion composed of conductive material and non-conductive top portions composed of non-conductive material, a bottom portion composed of non-conductive material, side portions composed of non-conductive material, wherein the top portion the bottom portion and the side portions define an interior area structured to hold a voltage sensor, and conductive side portions composed of conductive material and being disposed adjacent to the side portions. The conductive top portion is electrically floating and the conductive side portions are electrically grounded.
US09915684B2
A sensor detects the rotation of a component (object) of a vehicle in a non-contact manner, and generates a differential signal according to the rotation. Two comparators have different hysteresis characteristics. At both edges of one signal that is an output of one of the comparators, if a signal of the other comparator is not at the same level, it is determined that a distance (gap) between an object and the sensor is within a predetermined range in which the differential signal is effective.
US09915683B2
Electrical connection device comprising at least one substrate and one or several first electrical connection elements located on a front face of the electrical connection device such that they can be coupled to contact pads of an electronic device to which the electrical connection device is intended to be connected, each first electrical connection element comprising: at least one support, of which at least one first end is anchored to the substrate such that part of the support is suspended above the front face, the support comprising at least a portion of piezoelectric material located between two electrodes and capable of moving said part of the support in two directions approximately perpendicular to the front face depending on a value of an electrical voltage intended to be applied onto the electrodes; at least one electrical conducting element located on said part of the support.
US09915679B2
A method of detecting whether a microelectromechanical system (MEMS) device is hermetic includes applying at least three voltage differences between a movable part and a sensor electrode of the MEMS device to measure at least three effective capacitances, calculating a capacitance-to-voltage curve and an offset voltage of the MEMS device according to the at least three effective capacitances; and determining whether the offset voltage is within a predetermined range to determine whether MEMS device is hermetic.
US09915678B2
A sensor device for an electronic apparatus is provided with: a sensing structure generating a first detection signal; and a dedicated integrated circuit, connected to the sensing structure, detecting, as a function of the first detection signal, a first event associated to the electronic apparatus and generating a first interrupt signal upon detection of the first event. The dedicated integrated circuit detects the first event as a function of a temporal evolution of the first detection signal, and in particular as a function of values assumed by the first detection signal within one or more successive time windows, and of a relation between these values.
US09915670B2
A method of detecting one or more analytes comprising or consisting of hydrogen peroxide using surface enhanced Raman spectroscopy (SERS) is provided. The method includes providing a SERS-active substrate having at least one metal carbonyl cluster compound attached thereon; contacting one or more analytes with the SERS-active substrate; and detecting changes in surface enhanced Raman signal from the at least one metal carbonyl cluster compound as an indication of the presence of one or more analytes comprising or consisting of hydrogen peroxide.
US09915650B2
The present invention relates to an in vitro method for detecting cAMP or cGMP comprising a) contacting a mixture with a complex of a tracer and a dequencher, wherein the tracer is a fluorophore covalently linked to a cAMP quencher, and b) measuring the change in fluorescence. Furthermore, the present invention relates to the use of said method for determining the cAMP or cGMP concentration in the mixture, for determining the activity of a receptor wherein the signal transduction of the receptor comprises cAMP or cGMP and for screening of a ligand for such a receptor.
US09915649B2
Provided herein are methods of diagnosing or monitoring the treatment of abnormal glycan accumulation or a disorder associated with abnormal glycan accumulation.
US09915644B2
A method and system for remotely monitoring intoxication of a user, comprising: prompting the user to provide a breath sample at a time point; at a breath sample acquisition device, generating a breath sample signal upon reception of the breath sample from the user, and broadcasting a unique signature proximal in time to the time point; using a sensor of a mobile computing device, generating an authentication signal derived from detection of the unique signature; at a processing system in communication with the mobile computing device and the sample acquisition device, receiving the breath sample signal and the authentication signal; generating a verification assessment that validates provision of the breath sample by the user; determining a value of an intoxication metric for the user based upon the breath sample signal; and transforming the verification assessment and the value of the intoxication metric into an analysis of intoxication of the user.
US09915642B2
A method of assessing a tissue sample includes the steps of: 1) splitting source electromagnetic radiation into: a) sample arm radiation directed in a Z direction toward a sample thereby illuminating the sample at a first selected XY coordinate pair of the sample, and b) reflector arm radiation directed toward a reflector so that the reflector arm radiation travels a path length; 2) interfering sample-scattered electromagnetic radiation with reflector-reflected electromagnetic radiation thereby establishing an interference pattern associated with the sample; 3) comparing the sample interference pattern to a reference interference pattern; and 4) reaching a conclusion about the sample based on the comparison.
US09915639B2
This agricultural device introduces an innovative approach to soil treatment that restores the fertility of depleted soils, which currently depend on chemical fertilizers to keep up with global food production needs. The new technology is based upon the concept of bioenergetics, whereby soil is conceived as the main factor that needs to be balanced in order to increase natural soil fertility, crop production, and food quality. This scientifically-based farming technology utilizes horizontal tillage—as opposed to conventional tillage—to reduce the entropy of the soil-plant-atmosphere system, helping regenerate biological memory and natural soil fertility. This new technology has been successfully tested on various kinds of terrains and crops, and its application progressively turns nature into the main factor of production equation, allowing us to reduce agrochemical dependency and production costs, and allowing us to overcome the apparent dichotomy that now exists between high food production needs and environmental care.
US09915632B2
A system for non-destructive inspection of a structure includes a magnetostrictive pulser coil and a ferromagnetic strip. The ferromagnetic strip is coupled to the structure adjacent to the pulser coil. A scanner receiver probe is located adjacent to the ferromagnetic strip. The probe includes a probe body, a position encoder, and a magnetostrictive partial loading receiver coil. A magnet applies a biasing magnetic field to the ferromagnetic strip. A pulser system generates a time-varying current in the pulser coil to induce a time-varying magnetization in the ferromagnetic strip to generate guided wave energy in the structure. The probe detects reflected guided wave energy as the probe is moved around the circumference of the structure. A processor controls the pulser system, records guided wave reflections, and process the guided wave and probe position data to generate a one-dimensional image or a two-dimensional image of anomalies in said structure.
US09915629B2
The purpose of the present invention is to measure pH of a sample with high accuracy in a pH sensor array, without the use of a glass reference electrode. Each time that a sample is measured, the potential Vrm of the sample is identified, and the identified potential Vrm is used to calculate the pH. The outputs Voi1 and Voi2 of a first element and a second element located near one another in a sensor array are represented as follows. Voi1=Si1×pHi1+Gi1×Vrm+Ci1, Voi2=Si2×pHi2+Gi2×Vrm+Ci2. Voi is the output of the element, Si and Gi are sensitivity coefficients, and Ci is a constant, these values having been derived in advance. Here, where the potential Vrm is constant, and the elements located near one another are presumed to be at equal pH (pHi1=pHi2), the potential Vrm is identified by solving a linear equation with two unknowns.
US09915626B2
Techniques, systems, and devices are disclosed for constructing a scattering and stopping relationship of cosmic-ray charged particles (including cosmic-ray electrons and/or cosmic-ray muons) over a range of low-atomic-mass materials, and to detect and identify content of a volume of interest (VOI) exposed to cosmic-ray charged particles based on the constructed scattering and stopping relationship. In one aspect, a process for constructing a scattering-stopping relationship for a range of low-density materials exposed to cosmic-ray charged particles is disclosed. This technique first determines a scattering parameter and a stopping parameter for each material within the range of low-density materials exposed to charged particles from cosmic ray. The technique then establishes a scattering-stopping relationship of cosmic ray charged particles for the range of low-density materials based on the determined pairs of scattering and stopping parameters associated with the range of low-density materials.
US09915625B2
Methods and systems for detecting defects on a wafer are provided. One system includes one or more computer subsystems configured for generating a rendered image based on information for a design printed on the wafer. The rendered image is a simulation of an image generated by an optical inspection subsystem for the design printed on the wafer. Generating the rendered image includes one or more steps, and the computer subsystem(s) are configured for performing at least one of the one or more steps by executing a generative model. The computer subsystem(s)) are also configured for comparing the rendered image to an optical image of the wafer generated by the optical inspection subsystem. The design is printed on the wafer using a reticle. In addition, the computer subsystem(s) are configured for detecting defects on the wafer based on results of the comparing.
US09915620B2
An abnormality detection system includes an optical fiber, a Raman scattered light detection unit, and a data processing unit. The detection unit is configured to detect Stokes light and anti-Stokes light which are generated in the optical fiber and to output data on the intensity distribution of the Stokes light in the optical fiber in the length direction thereof and data on the intensity distribution of the anti-Stokes light in the optical fiber in the length direction. The processing unit is configured to calculate the product of a value obtained by applying an FIR filter to the intensity distribution of the Stokes light, and a value obtained by applying the FIR filter to the intensity distribution of the anti-Stokes light for each of locations on the optical fiber in the length direction, and to determine whether or not abnormality is present based on the result of the calculation.
US09915610B2
In a sensor device for determining ambient conditions of a vehicle, in particular a motor vehicle, comprising at least one transmitter for emitting electromagnetic radiation, in particular infrared radiation, comprising at least three receivers for receiving electromagnetic radiation, in particular infrared radiation, wherein at least one transmitter is assigned to at least one receiver for determining precipitation on at least one glass surface, in particular the windscreen of the motor vehicle, and wherein at least three receivers are aligned for receiving electromagnetic radiation from different angular regions, it is provided as essential to the invention that the spatial receiving regions of at least one first and at least one second receiver are aligned substantially horizontally, that the spatial receiving region of at least one third receiver is aligned substantially upwards.
US09915607B2
An optical sensor system includes an optical sensor head having a light-emitting device and a detector which detects light emitted from the light-emitting device, and a calculator circuit. The light-emitting device includes a resonator which includes a first reflective surface, a second reflective surface facing the first reflective surface, and a waveguide provided between the first reflective surface and the second reflective surface. At least one metal microparticle capable of exciting surface plasmon is formed on the first reflective surface. The calculator circuit calculates an environment parameter at the first reflective surface on the basis of a detected value from the detector.
US09915604B2
A gas concentration measurement device includes a waveguide including an entrance and an exit, a rotating member, first and second band pass filters on the rotating member and on a pair of planes that intersect each other, and a rotational driver. The rotating member is rotated by the rotational driver so that the first and second band pass filters are selectively located at a transmitting position. When a portion of the rotating member, the first band pass filter, or the second band pass filter, the portion having a maximum radius of gyration around a rotating shaft, is defined as a maximum radius portion, and when a rotation locus obtained by imaginarily rotating the maximum radius portion around the rotating shaft in a view along the rotating shaft is defined as a reference circle, the exit is located in the reference circle.
US09915594B2
Herewith disclosed is a sample analyzer comprising: a measurement section configured to perform a measurement on a sample and generate a measurement value according to the concentration of an analyte in the sample; a memory storing a calibration curve; an analysis section; an output section; and an instruction receiver. When the instruction receiver receives an instruction to perform a diluting measurement on a calibration sample, the measurement section dilutes the calibration sample by a predetermined ratio and performs a measurement on the diluted calibration sample, and the analysis section determines the concentration of the analyte in the diluted calibration sample by applying a measurement value obtained from the diluted calibration sample to the calibration curve. Information generated based on the determined concentration and the known concentration is output.
US09915591B2
Methods for sampling reactor contents in parallel reactor systems are disclosed. The methods may be used to sample reactor contents in non-atmospheric (e.g., pressurized) reaction vessels.
US09915586B2
A method and device for processing a signal (CRK) provided by a bidirectional sensor, the method includes the following steps: generation of a first signal (CRK_CNT) utilizing all the slots of the signal provided by the sensor, generation of a second signal (CRK_DIR) utilizing the slots corresponding to a first direction of transit, connection of the first signal (CRK_CNT) to the input of the first electronic component, connection of the second signal (CRK_DIR) to a second component, detection by the second component of edges of the signals received, determination of the direction of transit as a function of the presence or otherwise of an edge on the second signal (CRK_DIR) when a rising and/or falling edge is detected on the first signal, change of the value of the predefined threshold (THMI) in the first component upon each detection of an edge.
US09915581B2
A seal detecting device and means for detecting a leakage on an outer case of an electronic device include providing a through hole on the outer case of the electronic device, an inner side of the electronic device is connected to an outer side of the electronic device; providing an airtight container, placing the outer case of the electronic device into the airtight container, one of the inner side and outer side of the outer case is defined as a gas supply side, and the other side is a detecting side; supplying compressed gas to the gas supply side; leading the detecting side to outside and detect a gas flow, so as to detect if there is a leakage on the outer case of the electronic device. The device and means have the advantages of high sensitivity, quick detecting speed, and high accuracy.
US09915580B2
A method of testing for leakage of a pulp chamber in a modified extracted tooth is provided, wherein the modified extracted tooth comprises enamel, dentine and a pulp chamber. The method comprises: (a) providing an extracted tooth which has been modified by removal of roots and dental pulp so as to create a pulp chamber, the pulp chamber having an opening at one end thereof, which opening is defined by a rim; (b) attaching a first end of a first tube to the rim of the pulp chamber so as to provide an air-tight seal between the first tube and the rim; (c) placing the modified extracted tooth into a liquid; (d) supplying a compressed gas into the pulp chamber via the first tube; and (e) determining visually whether or not bubbles of the gas are released into the liquid at the enamel of the tooth.
US09915577B2
An oil filled pressure sensor is provided. The sensor includes a drift-stabilized pressure sensing element mounted to and electrically isolated from a header body, the pressure sensing element immersed in an oil filled cavity and temperature stabilized for sensing pressure in the cavity without substantial signal drift. A method of fabrication is provided.
US09915574B2
A method and apparatus for measuring a preload of a fastener. The method, which may be practiced at least in part by the apparatus, includes establishing an initial value associated with an absence of the preload of the fastener and providing an adapter and a transducer rotatably coupled to the adapter. The transducer may be positioned in contact with the fastener. The transducer is caused to direct an incident ultrasonic wave to the fastener and to receive a reflected ultrasonic wave from the fastener. Data associated with the incident ultrasonic wave and the reflected sonic wave is used to generate a modified value associated with the preload of the fastener, and the preload of the fastener is calculated based on a difference between the initial value and the modified value.
US09915572B2
A force sensing compliant enclosure for an electronic device may include at least one deformable housing wall. At least one strain concentration portion may be located on the deformable housing wall where strain caused by application of a force that deforms the deformable housing wall is greater than at other portions of the deformable housing wall. The strain concentrating portion may have a second thickness that is thinner than other portions of the deformable housing wall. One or more sensors may be positioned in the strain concentration portion and may sense strain caused by the application of the force that deforms the deformable housing wall.
US09915570B1
Accurate measurement and monitoring of a computer room air conditioning unit's cooling production, distribution, and consumption is necessary to optimize effectiveness and efficiency and minimize redundancy. A mass air flow monitoring device comprises an array of sensor modules and a controller module with display, user interface, and I/O for third party connectivity. The device monitors temperature, pressure, water content, and quantity of airflow in a CRAC's supply air stream and return air stream and compares the two measurements to determine the amount of energy, or enthalpy, put into or taken out of the air. The result, displayed in watts, allows for the efficient control of production, distribution, and usage of supply air from the CRAC unit. Over or under provisioning can be quickly identified and corrected and, when used in conjunction with power consumption monitoring, a “watts of cooling for watts of power consumption” efficiency metric can be provided.
US09915567B2
An unreleased thermopile IR sensor and method of fabrication is provided which includes a new thermally isolating material and an ultra-thin material based sensor which, in combination, provide excellent sensitivity without requiring a released membrane structure. The sensor is fabricated using a wafer transfer technique in which a substrate assembly comprising the substrate and new thermally isolating material is bonded to a carrier substrate assembly comprising a carrier substrate and the ultra-thin material, followed by removal of the carrier substrate. As such, temperature restrictions of the various materials are overcome.
US09915557B2
An ultrasonic wave sensing module includes a housing, an ultrasonic wave sensor, an adapter, and a circuit board. The housing has a first containing space and a second containing space being separated from each other by a blocking wall. The ultrasonic wave sensor is disposed within the first containing space and has a first connecting pin. The adapter includes a first connecting portion and a second connecting pin, and is integrally formed with the blocking wall by means of insert molding. The circuit board is provided within the second containing space, and has a second connecting portion. The first connecting pin of the ultrasonic wave sensor is coupled to the first connecting portion of the adapter, and the second connecting pin of the adapter is coupled to the second connecting portion of the circuit board, so that the ultrasonic wave sensor and the circuit board are electrically connected.
US09915546B2
A method of operation of a navigation system includes: generating a route for navigating to a destination; determining a travel deviation based on a current location and the route; determining an error prone scenario based on the current location, the travel deviation, and the route; and updating an error-prone-scenario switch based on the error prone scenario for displaying on a device.
US09915543B2
Systems and methods are disclosed for generating a display of one or more multi-dimensional navigation scores. The data source device may comprise a data source computer and a database storing historical data or real time data associated with a plurality of segments of road. A map data processing device may have a map data processing computer and memory storing computer-executable instructions. The map data processing device may determine a geographical location based on a location determining device, determine a segment of road associated with the geographical location, and/or receive, from the data source device, one or more of the historical data or real time data for the segment of road. The map data processing device may determine a threshold navigation score for the segment of road, determine, using the one or more of the historical data or real time data, a multi-dimensional navigation score for the segment of road, and/or determine whether the multi-dimensional navigation score for the segment of road exceeds the threshold navigation score. Based on the determination of whether the multi-dimensional navigation score for the segment of road exceeds the threshold navigation score, the map data processing device may generate a display of the multi-dimensional navigation score.
US09915542B2
A system for reconstructing vehicle itinerary include a processor and a memory storing instructions, implemented by the processor, to cluster historical trip records into a plurality of clusters, each of the plurality of clusters including a set of historical trip records that describe events occurring within a predetermined time range at one location; identify a sequence of clusters that includes a cluster at each location; and estimate an itinerary for a vehicle based on the sequence of clusters and constraint data describing physical constraints, the itinerary for the vehicle describing a sequence of arrival and departure times at a sequence of locations for the vehicle.
US09915539B2
A method of vehicle navigation guidance includes: receiving at least three satellite positioning data; receiving road marking data from a driver assistance device; calculating a first position of a vehicle according to the at least three satellite positioning data and according to the road marking data; determining a turning action of the vehicle according to the road marking data; determining an acceleration force of the vehicle according to the road marking data; and calculating a second position of the vehicle according to the first position, according to the turning action, and according to the acceleration force.
US09915538B2
In a method for operating a vehicle, a location assigned to a driving route of the vehicle is transmitted from the vehicle to an external server, and the server checks whether a zone is assigned to the transmitted location for which navigation data exist for at least partially automated vehicle driving within the zone. The navigation data are transmitted from the server to the vehicle when such a zone is assigned to the transmitted location.
US09915534B2
A method and apparatus for providing an enhanced navigation solution for cycling applications is described herein. The navigation solution is about a device within a platform, which is a cycling platform such as for example a bicycle, a tricycle, or a unicycle amongst others. The device can be in any orientation with respect to the platform (such as for example in any location or orientation on the body of the cyclist). The device includes a sensor assembly. The sensors in the device may be for example, accelerometers, gyroscopes, magnetometers, barometer among others. The present method and apparatus can work whether in the presence or in the absence of navigational information updates (such as, for example, Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) or WiFi positioning).
US09915531B2
A rotation rate sensor includes a substrate having a main extension plane and a Coriolis element, in which the rotation rate sensor is configured so that the Coriolis element is excitable with the aid of an excitation arrangement to carry out an excitation oscillation along a first direction and in parallel to the main extension plane, the rotation rate sensor including a compensation element for exerting a compensation force, the compensation force having a non-linear dependence on the excitation oscillation.
US09915529B2
Disclosed is a tidal current meter that measures the velocity of a tidal current. The tidal current meter includes an oscillator, a calculation section, a depression angle setup section, and a drive section. The oscillator is capable of transmitting an ultrasonic wave into water and receiving the reflection of the transmitted ultrasonic wave. The calculation section calculates the velocity in accordance with the Doppler shift frequency of the reflection received by the oscillator. The depression angle setup section sets a depression angle, that is, the angle formed by the transmission direction of the ultrasonic wave and a horizontal plane. The drive section drives the oscillator in such a manner as to transmit the ultrasonic wave and receive the reflection of the transmitted ultrasonic wave at the depression angle set by the depression angle setup section.
US09915524B2
Methods and systems are presented to reduce the illumination spot size projected onto a measurement target and associated spillover onto area surrounding a measurement target. In one aspect, a spatial light modulator (SLM) is located in the illumination path between the illumination light source and the measurement sample. The SLM is configured to modulate amplitude, phase, or both, across the path of the illumination light to reduce wavefront errors. In some embodiments, the desired state of the SLM is based on wavefront measurements performed in an optical path of the metrology system. In another aspect, an illumination aperture having an image plane tilted at an oblique angle with respect to a beam of illumination light is employed to overcome defocusing effects in metrology systems that employ oblique illumination of the measurement sample. In some embodiments, the illumination aperture, objective lens, and specimen are aligned to satisfy the Scheimpflug condition.
US09915521B2
A method for scanning and obtaining three-dimensional (3D) coordinates is provided. The method includes providing a 3D measuring device having a projector, a first camera and a second camera. The method records images of a light pattern emitted by the projector onto an object. The 3D measuring device is moved from a first position and a second position along a second path. A gesture and a corresponding control function are determined based at least in part on the first position and the second position.
US09915514B1
A blasting system with automated detonator logging eliminates on-the-field manual logging of each detonator. Detonators are connected in sequence in an auto-logging circuit, and the blast machine initiates a logging operation in which each detonator receives and confirms an assigned sequence number along with assigned delay data. Elimination of manual logging by individuals increases safety in the blast zone and facilitates the blasting operation. The operation is simplified, likelihood of human error is reduced, and the cost of a separate logger device is eliminated. An auto-logging protocol may be incorporated into the control module of the electronic detonator. Alternately, an auto-logging module may be connected externally to each detonator similar to the conventional surface plus down-the-hole delay systems. The inventive system may include an IDC connector that facilitates the serial connection of the detonators for the logging circuit while allowing parallel connections of the blast control circuit.
US09915513B1
The present disclosure describes an electronic ignition circuit (“EIC”) for controlling at least one detonator. The EIC may include a protection circuit, an input circuit coupled to the protection circuit, a logical circuit electrically coupled to the input circuit, and an ignition circuit electrically coupled to the logical circuit. The protection circuit may include at least one of a fuse, a circuit breaker and an automatic switch. The logical circuit may include an answer back circuit, and a switching circuit adapted to switch to the next detonator or igniter. The ignition circuit may include a capacitor charging circuit, a capacitor discharge circuit to discharge a firing capacitor through a fuse head, and a shot detection circuit adapted to measure a voltage across the firing capacitor before discharging through the fuse head and to measure a voltage after discharging through the fuse head.
US09915503B2
A scope may include an adjustment dial, which may be moved among a plurality of positions to configure the scope to compensate for projectile drops. The adjustment dial may be labeled with dial-calibration data, which may include one or more distance indicators and/or one or more windage hold-off indicators. The scope may be attached to a gun and the dial-calibration data may be at least partially generated using ballistics performance data based on shots fired by the gun. The dial-calibration data may be at least partially generated using shooting conditions. An electronic device may include a derived distance calculation module, which may be configured to use a distance to a target and actual shooting conditions to calculate a derived distance. The derived distance may be used in connection with an adjustment dial labeled with dial-calibration data at least partially generated using shooting conditions different from the actual shooting conditions.
US09915499B2
Provided is a sling for coupling a weapon to a user of the weapon. The sling includes a strap, and a weapon connector that cooperates with a fastening feature provided to the weapon to releasably couple the weapon to the strap. A first connector is coupled to the strap, as is a second connector, which is coupled to a different portion of the strap. The second connector is separated from the first connector along the sling by at least a portion of the strap. The first and second connectors cooperate to establish a connection and form a loop that extends about a portion of the user of the weapon. The sling also includes a rapid sizing adjuster coupled to the strap. The rapid sizing adjuster is adjustable by the user of the weapon to quickly establish a desired length of the sling in a single motion while the sling is coupling the weapon to the user.
US09915495B2
Among other things, methods and apparatus regarding collection, dissemination and display of information concerning paintball loaders and markers are disclosed. A loader includes a heads-up display, electronic devices for gathering, storing and disseminating information, and an antenna for sending and receiving data. Wireless voice communications among paintball players is possible via associated headsets. There is also disclosed paintball equipment and methods for controlling both the firing and loading mechanism of paintball equipment. Current systems or mechanisms have individual and discrete electronic control systems for firing operations, e.g. located in the paintball gun itself, and loading operations, e.g. located inside the paintball loader. The present disclosure unifies the electronic control of said firing and loader operations into a single electronic circuit board located on either the paintball gun or paintball loader.
US09915479B2
A heat storage type combustion system equipped with a disk type distributor having improved sealing according to the present invention, the system includes: the distributor having a rotary distribution unit, a lower distribution unit located on the underside of the rotary distribution unit, an upper distribution unit located on the top of the rotary distribution unit, and a plurality of dumb buckles disposed equally spaced apart from each other along outer circumferential rims of the lower distribution unit and the upper distribution unit to fix the lower distribution unit and the upper distribution unit to each other. Each dumb buckle includes a left-handed screw and a right-handed screw formed on both end portions around the body thereof in such a manner as to be tightened or loosened repeatedly if necessary, and the number of dumb buckles is 4 to 12 in accordance with the sizes of the distributor. The state of the operating distributor is checked by naked eyes, and if the distributor is inclined or a given portion of the distributor is worn out, the distributor is returned to its normal state by means of the manipulations of the dumb buckles at the outside.
US09915476B2
An electrode seal for use in a metallurgical furnace, the furnace comprising a furnace space heated by electrodes extending through an aperture into the furnace space. The electrode seal comprises at least three sets of shoes in consecutive lateral contact, each shoe having a biasing member for biasing a surface of the shoe toward one of the electrodes thereby allowing the one electrode to longitudinally move within the electrode seal while providing electrical insulation between the electrode and the aperture.
US09915474B2
A grain dryer has a grain column configured to receive grain to be dried and ducts extending from a first wall of the grain column to a second wall of the grain column. The grain dryer is configured so that different numbers of the ducts are selectable for handling cooling air used for cooling the grain.
US09915464B2
A refrigerator includes a main body having a refrigerating compartment and a freezing compartment, a door for opening or closing the refrigerating compartment or the freezing compartment, a filter unit disposed within the refrigerating compartment for purifying water supplied from a water supply source outside the main body, water tank for receiving the purified water from the filter unit and to cool the received water by using cool air within the refrigerating compartment, and a dispenser disposed in the door to dispense the cooled water stored in the tube tank assembly. The tube tank assembly includes a tube defining a cold water passage that can allow the cooled water to flow therethrough, and a tube support around which the tube is wound multiple times.
US09915451B2
A heating, ventilation and air-conditioning (HVAC) a falling film evaporator in flow communication with a condenser. The falling film evaporator includes a separator to separate vapor from liquid refrigerant and a plurality of evaporator tubes through which a volume of thermal energy transfer medium is flowed. A distribution system is operably connected to the separator to distribute a flow of liquid refrigerant over the plurality of evaporator tubes. A primary feed conduit delivers a flow of refrigerant to the separator, and at least one secondary feed conduit is in flow communication with the primary feed conduit. At least one auxiliary valve is located at the secondary feed conduit to regulate flow into the separator from the primary feed conduit. At least one sensor senses a level of a refrigerant pool in the evaporator. The sensor is operably connected to the at least one auxiliary valve to control operation thereof.
US09915450B2
A multi-split air or ground source heat pump system designed to provide a residential application with space heating and cooling, along with supplemental hydronic heating and potable water preheating. The supplemental hydronic heating supports applications like radiant floor heating and heating swimming pools. Commercially, the multi-split air or ground source heat pump system expands on this technology to incorporate comfort and/or process heating, cooling, and hydronic heating applications utilizing multiple types of energy sources.
US09915448B2
A heat pump includes a magnet assembly which creates a magnetic field, and a regenerator housing which includes a body defining a plurality of chambers, each of the plurality of chambers extending along a transverse direction orthogonal to the vertical direction. The heat pump further includes a plurality of stages, each of the plurality of stages including a magnetocaloric material disposed within one of the plurality of chambers and extending along the transverse direction between a first end and a second end.
US09915444B2
Our invention consists of two separate and discrete families of polymers, e.g. thermosetting Fiberglass Reinforced Plastics (“FRP”) and thermoplastics. Both are used as the materials of construction to fabricate solar thermal collectors. These families have the same general configuration and are based upon the same principles. Both families are used in a form that some of the walls of the collector are translucent. Both families incorporate a passage through which the thermal fluid flows. Both families make use of dyes to absorb energy from the sun in the fluid and the collector walls. Each of the families makes use of improved collector configurations and designs and special operating approaches. Each family can serve different markets for different solar thermal collectors. In particular, FRP stands alone as an emerging new category of materials for a broad range of applications including everything from novel solar thermal collectors to exotic airplanes.
US09915437B2
The present invention relates to a refrigeration appliance having a compressor for effecting the refrigeration cycle, a heat exchanger (1) for condensing the refrigerant fluid through refrigerant flow tubes (2) in serpentine form where the refrigerant flow is provided, said heat exchanger (1) being disposed against a fan (3) that is structurally integrally provided to effect forced heat convection for cooling said heat exchanger (1) by blowing air thereon.
US09915435B2
This patent specification relates to methods and systems that can detect over cycling conditions that exist in an HVAC system. The over cycling condition can be caused by overheating of a forced air heating system or furnace of the HVAC system control. When the furnace overheats, a thermally actuated limit switch within the furnace may cut off power to a heat generation apparatus. The limit switch can reconnect the power to the heat generation apparatus after it has cooled down, at which point the thermostat control system may issue another heating call to continue heating the enclosure so that it reaches the desired temperature. If the overheat condition persist, then the thermally actuated switch will cut power, resulting in repeated power cycling. The detection system and methods can monitor these power loss events and use them as data points for determining whether an alert condition exists within the HVAC system.
US09915434B2
An air temperature regulating assembly is provided having a packed rock bed through which air may flow between outer and inner spaces by way of interstices between rock units in order to transfer heat to or from the rock bed, in use. Dampers control the flow of air between the outer space, the inner space, an enclosed air space the temperature of which is to be regulated by raising or lowering it and the surrounding atmosphere. A fan moves air within the assembly. The rock bed is in the form of a pile of rocks having an upper surface that is inclined and directed in the general direction of the sun to directly absorb solar energy. The outer space is defined between the upper inclined surface of the rock bed and a transparent cover spaced upwardly from the surface of the rock bed.
US09915425B2
A burner assembly includes a burner housing having a fuel inlet; a burner for emitting ignited fuel to a heat exchanger; and an igniter and flame sensor assembly mounted to the burner housing, the igniter and flame sensor assembly including an opening therein providing an air path from an exterior of the burner housing to an interior of the burner housing, the opening sized to provide a predetermined drop of carbon dioxide at an outlet of the heat exchanger.
US09915417B1
A circular edge-lit lighting device includes a light emitting panel (LEP) and a first light emitting diode (LED) light source positioned proximal to a first location on a narrow outer perimeter edge of the LEP. The first LED light source is configured to emit a first light into the LEP through the narrow outer perimeter edge. The first light has a first intensity level. The circular edge-lit lighting device also includes a second LED light source positioned proximal to a second location on the narrow outer perimeter edge the LEP. The second LED light source is configured to emit a second light into the LEP through the narrow outer perimeter edge. The second light has a second intensity level. The first location and the second location are different locations.
US09915410B2
A variety of light-emitting devices are disclosed that are configured to output light provided by a light-emitting element (LEE). In general, embodiments of the light-emitting devices feature two or more light-emitting elements, a scattering element that is spaced apart from the light-emitting elements, an extractor element coupled to the scattering element, and a reflective element that is configured and arranged to reflect light emitted from the light-emitting elements.
US09915405B2
The invention relates to a lighting device (500) for a motor vehicle headlight, wherein the lighting device comprises at least one optical body (1) and at least one mounting device (100) for the at least one optical body (1), wherein the at least one optical body (1) has a number of adjacently arranged ancillary optics (11, 12, 13, 14, 15), wherein each ancillary optics (11-15) is formed from a light-guiding material and each ancillary optics (11-15) has a light-coupling face (11a-15a) and a light-decoupling face (11b-15b), wherein the at least one mounting device (100) has at least one receptacle (111, 112, 113, 114, 115) for each ancillary optics (11-15), and wherein receptacles (111-115) are delimited by delimiting walls (111′, 112′, 113′, 114′, 115′), wherein the delimiting walls (111′, 112′, 113′, 114′, 115′) have boundary edges (111a′, 112a′, 113a′, 114a′, 115a′) on the light exit side, which boundary edges (111a′, 112a′, 113a′, 114a′, 115a′) are imaged, in a light distribution produced by means of the at least one optical body (1), as light-dark edges between the partial light distributions produced by the individual ancillary optics (11-15), and wherein a projection arrangement, preferably a projection lens (501), is arranged downstream of the at least one optical body (1) in the light exit direction, and wherein the ancillary optics (11-15) are arranged and/or configured in such a way that the light-decoupling faces (11b-15b) of the ancillary optics (11-15) protrude in the light exit direction beyond the boundary edges (111a′, 112a′, 113a′, 114a′, 115a′) of the delimiting walls (111′, 112′, 113′, 114′, 115′).
US09915404B1
An optical element includes a light entrance surface, a light exit surface, and a reflective surface. The light entrance surface has a first entrance sub-surface, a second entrance sub-surface, and a third entrance sub-surface which form a cavity for containing a light source. The light exit surface is opposite to the light entrance surface and has a first exit sub-surface, a second exit sub-surface, and a third exit sub-surface. The reflective surface connects the light entrance surface with the light exit surface. The reflective surface has a first reflective sub-surface connecting the first entrance sub-surface with the first exit sub-surface and a second reflective sub-surface connecting the third entrance sub-surface with the third exit sub-surface. The first reflective sub-surface has a step laterally extending from a side adjacent to the light entrance surface to another side adjacent to the light exit surface.
US09915399B1
Controlling flow of gas in a gas pipeline network, wherein flow of gas within each pipeline segment is associated with a direction (positive or negative). Minimum and maximum delivery rates to each gas receipt facility are determined. Lower and upper flow bounds of gas delivery rate are created by bounding minimum and maximum signed flow rates using minimum and maximum delivery rates, respectively, for each pipe segment. A pressure drop relationship for each pipeline segment within the lower and upper flow bounds is linearized to create a linear pressure drop model for each pipeline segment. A network flow solution is calculated, which includes flow rates for each pipeline segment and pressures for each network nodes to satisfy the lower and upper flow bounds on the gas delivery rate. The network flow solution is associated with control element setpoints used by a controller to control one or more control elements.
US09915397B2
An apparatus for storing and transporting a cryogenic fluid. The apparatus is carried onboard a ship. The apparatus including a sealed and thermally insulating tank intended for the storage of the cryogenic fluid in a state of liquid-vapor diphasic equilibrium, the apparatus including at least two sealed pipes passing through the tank in such a way as to define a passage for the removal of the vapor phase of the cryogenic fluid from inside to outside the tank, the two sealed pipes each including a collection end opening inside the tank at the level of the sealing membrane of the top wall. The collecting ends of two sealed pipes open to the inside of the tank at the level of two zones of the top wall which are situated at two opposite ends of the top wall.
US09915393B2
A mobile device support is provided herein. The support may include a support element having a support surface having first and second longitudinal ends, the support surfacing supporting a mobile device that operably rests thereon. The support may include a base connected to the support element. The base may be operable to rest on an underlying surface defining a contact plane. The base stably positions the support element holding the mobile device. The support surface defines a gap that interrupts the support surface between the longitudinal ends. The gap opens laterally with respect to the support surface, while providing a clearance above the base that is sufficiently large to enable a user to insert at least a finger into the gap between the longitudinal ends and between the base and the mobile device. The gap allows the user to directly grasp the mobile device from both a face up side and a face down side when the mobile device rests on the support surface.
US09915384B2
A fitting for a pipe is disclosed. It includes a main body for internally accommodating the pipe, fastening means able to be tightened to the main body, a deformable annular sealing gasket and a blocking ring nut which can be positioned within the fitting between the main body and the fastening means, respectively, to ensure the sealing of, and block in firm position, the pipe, at least when the fastening means are tightened to the main body, the blocking ring nut being elastically deformable in radial direction. The fitting also has means for retaining in a widened position at least the mouth section of the annular sealing gasket, with an inner diameter greater than the outer diameter of the pipe.
US09915375B1
Methods, apparatus, and articles of manufacture to monitor health information of a valve are disclosed. An example apparatus includes a parameter calculator to calculate an operational value for a health parameter of a valve, a difference calculator to calculate a difference between the operational value for the health parameter and a baseline value for the health parameter, and an alert generator to generate an alert to identify a condition of the valve based on the difference.
US09915374B2
Example valve stem and plug connections and example staking tools are described herein. An example apparatus includes a valve plug having a first side, a second side opposite the first side and a bore extending from the first side to the second side. A first portion of the bore is tapered from a first diameter to a second diameter smaller than the first diameter. A valve stem is disposed within the bore of the valve plug. The valve stem includes a first section, a second section and a third section between the first and second sections. The third section is tapered from a third diameter to a fourth diameter smaller than the third diameter. The tapers of the first portion of the valve plug and the third section of the valve stem, when engaged, create a frictional force that resists movement of the valve stem out of the bore.
US09915373B2
A pressure relief comprises a valve body which includes an inlet bore that is connectable to a flow line, an outlet bore that is connectable to a vent line and a valve bore that extends to between the inlet and outlet bores. A valve member is slidably supported in the valve bore and is moveable between a closed position in which the fluid in the flow line is prevented from flowing from the inlet bore to the outlet bore and an open position in which the fluid in the flow line is permitted to flow from the inlet bore to the outlet bore. A solenoid operated pilot valve is connected to the valve body over the valve bore, and a fluid chamber is located in the pilot valve above the valve member. The fluid chamber is filled with a hydraulic fluid, and the hydraulic fluid in the fluid chamber is operatively engaged with the valve member. In a closed position of the pilot valve the hydraulic fluid is trapped in the fluid chamber to thereby prevent the valve member from moving from its closed position to its open position, and in an open position of the pilot valve the hydraulic fluid is released from the fluid chamber to thereby allow the valve member to move from its closed position to its open position.
US09915368B2
A pilot actuator is disclosed for use with a valve. The pilot actuator may have a cage with a base end and a tip end, and a pilot bore formed in the cage. The pilot actuator may also have a supply port, a drain port, a first end port, and a second end port each formed in the cage and intersecting with the pilot bore. The pilot actuator may further have a pilot spool slidingly disposed in the pilot bore and movable to selectively connect the supply port and the drain port with the first and second end ports, a follower separate from the cage and disposed at the tip end of the cage, and at least one spring operatively connecting the follower to the cage and to the pilot spool.
US09915350B2
A mechanical seal includes an elastomeric member, a spring biasing member, a longitudinally floating first member, a longitudinally non-floating second member, a longitudinally floating third member and a longitudinally floating seal face. The elastomeric member is in sealing engagement with the seal face and the first and second members and the spring biasing member is longitudinally pointed between the seal face and the third member. The first and second members are longitudinally restrained and rotationally coupled by male longitudinally protruding portions engaging with female portions.
US09915343B2
A road surface friction coefficient calculator is to detect a coefficient of friction on a road surface. A braking force calculator is to detect the braking force of a vehicle. A decelerating calculator is to determine whether the vehicle transitions to a decelerating travel mode. The pulley pressure controller is to control pulley pressure in a belt-driven continuously variable transmission. The pulley pressure controller is to increase the pulley pressure by an additional amount when the decelerating calculator determines the vehicle transitions to the decelerating travel mode while the coefficient of friction detected by the road surface friction coefficient calculator is equal to or lower than a reference value. The pulley pressure controller is to reduce the additional amount when the braking force calculator detects an increase in the braking force in the decelerating travel mode.
US09915335B2
A method of manufacturing a mechanical component made of steel including a surface-hardening phase. The method includes creating a rough form of the component with regions to be hardened, then successive case hardening with cooling without quenching, heating to an austenitizing temperature of the steel by induction heating the zones, and quenching.
US09915323B2
To provide a tensioner which can circulate a sufficient amount of oil even if there is a long time lag until pressurized oil starts to be supplied, and which exhibits a lower level of leak of oil stored therein, and which is structured simply without increasing the number of components therefore. The tensioner includes: a tensioner body having a plunger bore; a cylindrical plunger slidably inserted into the plunger bore; and biasing means for urging the plunger outward. When the tensioner is fixed to a wall surface, a body hole that extends from the wall surface up to a circumferential surface of the plunger bore is located lower than an oil discharge hole in the wall surface.
US09915315B2
A valve component includes a first disk-shaped joining part and a second disk-shaped joining part. The first disk-shaped joining part has a first opening and has an elevation in a first region of the first disk-shaped joining part which runs at least partially peripherally around the first opening. The second disk-shaped joining part is joined to the first disk-shaped joining part and has a second opening which together with the first opening defines a channel for flow of a fluid medium therethrough. The second disk-shaped joining part further has a depression in a second region of the second disk-shaped joining part which runs at least partially peripherally around the second opening and which opposes the first region of the first disk-shaped joining part. The elevation interacts with the depression in sealing fashion.
US09915296B2
A return spring common structure of an automatic transmission may include a second plate set and a third plate set provided to be transversely movable in a retainer connected to a first rotating element, a second disc set and a third disc set configured to be rubbed against each plate set to connect between the first rotating element and a second rotating element, a second piston and a third piston configured to press each plate set to be rubbed against each disc set, and a common return spring configured to separate the second piston or the third piston from the second plate set or the third plate set.
US09915287B2
A method for determining at least one preloading force (K) acting between a carrying body (7) and a rolling-element bearing (2) of a bearing assembly (1), which rolling-element bearing is mounted on the carrying body, and the bearing assembly includes the rolling-element bearing and the at least one sensor device (3). The sensor device is arranged in or on the rolling-element bearing in an installation position (E1) and is coupled to an evaluating device (10) in a signaling manner. The sensor device senses the preloading force, produces at least one signal (S) in accordance with the preloading force, and transmits the signal to the evaluating device, and the evaluating device evaluates the signal in order to measure the preloading force and the sensor device is permanently decoupled from the evaluating device after the evaluation of the signal.
US09915284B2
A terminal supporting apparatus is provided with: a hub that is attached to an end of the outer cable and is provided with a flange on an outer periphery; a cushion member that is provided to surround the outer periphery of the hub and abuts on the flange at both a front surface and a back surface of the flange; and a housing that houses the cushion member. The cushion member includes a large-diameter portion that abuts on the flange. At least within a range contacting with the hub, at least a part of an outer peripheral surface of the large-diameter portion is fixed to an inner surface of the housing, while a clearance is formed between the cushion member and the inner surface of the housing over an entire region of an end surface of the large-diameter portion in a cable axis direction.
US09915281B2
Aspects of the present invention provide a theft-resistant cable clamp that increases the time and effort required to remove the cable from the irrigation equipment, thereby deterring thieves As the extensions that protrude from the cable-reception loop are forced together, the walls of the cable-reception loop compress against the cable. Openings in the extensions on the cable clamp allow the cable clamp to fit over a component of the irrigation equipment. A plurality of teeth can protrude from the perimeter of an opening to grip the exterior of the component. A coupler or other component may have a groove into which the teeth engage when the cable clamp is in a final location on the component.
US09915273B2
A blower includes: centrifugal impeller disposed in inside of casing; and motor which is configured to drive centrifugal impeller. Annular projecting portion which projects in a direction toward the outside of the casing and is concentric with centrifugal impeller is provided around inflow port of casing which faces a fixing-member of centrifugal impeller. Projecting portion includes: raised wall which is raised so as to be away from centrifugal impeller parallel to a direction of the rotary shaft; and flat portion formed in an extending manner in a direction toward inflow port from raised wall. Projecting portion further includes inflow wall which falls toward the centrifugal impeller from an end surface of flat portion toward an inflow port. Flat portion is parallel to an upper end surface of centrifugal impeller.
US09915269B2
A device for connecting a front frame of a turbojet engine nacelle to a fan casing includes a locking pin connected to a first assembly flange and a retaining flange that is movably mounted and has at least one opening. In particular, the locking pin has a shank passing through an orifice of a second assembly flange secured to the fan casing. The opening is crossed through by the shank of the locking pin and interacts with an end groove of said locking pin. When the retaining flange is in the unlocking position, the opening has dimensions larger than those of the shank of the locking pin, and when the retaining flange is in the locking position, the opening has dimensions larger than a thickness of the locking pin at its groove but smaller than an overall thickness of the shank of the orifice of the second flange.
US09915266B2
Systems and methods for providing seals around the motor leads and other conductors in ESP's. In one embodiment, elastomeric boot seals are positioned within annular spaces around motor leads in an ESP motor. When the motor is filled with dielectric oil, the elastomeric material of the boot seals absorbs some of the oil and swells. High temperatures may also cause the material of the seals to expand. Retainers which are not subject to swelling are positioned around the boot seals, thereby preventing the boot seals from expanding away from the leads. The retainers thereby maintain the seal of the boot seals against the motor leads.
US09915264B2
A pump, particularly a vacuum pump for boosting braking power on a motor vehicle, including a housing, a rotor mounted in the housing so as to be rotatable, an oil riser groove arranged in the housing in the area of the rotor mounting, and a transverse bore arranged in the rotor transverse to the longitudinal axis of the rotor and which can be connected to the oil riser groove. The rotor mounting area is connected to an oil supply bore. The transverse bore interacts with an axial bore in the rotor which leads to a coupling section within the rotor, in which a coupling is arranged which can be engaged by a fastener having a central bore running parallel to the longitudinal axis of the rotor.
US09915261B2
Provided is a substrate treating apparatus. The substrate treating apparatus includes: a transfer chamber conveying a substrate; a process chamber disposed adjacent to the transfer chamber and performing a treating process o the substrate; and a drive assembly supplying a power by which a component of the transfer chamber or the process chamber operates, wherein the drive assembly includes: a cylinder connected to pipes; a piston disposed to be movable inside the cylinder and connected to the component by a drive shaft; and a pipe control unit automatically adjusting a moving speed of the piston.
US09915257B2
A well pump assembly has an upper plunger and a lower plunger. A working fluid conduit extends between the upper and lower plunger. An upper piston in the working fluid conduit is connected with the upper plunger. A lower piston in the working fluid conduit is connected with the lower plunger. A downstroke working fluid is located between the upper and lower pistons in the working fluid conduit. An upstroke conduit extends between an upper port in the working fluid conduit above the upper piston and a lower port in working fluid conduit below the lower piston. An upstroke working fluid fills the upstroke conduit and the working fluid conduit above the upper piston and below the lower piston.
US09915251B2
A pump system is disclosed for use with a fuel system of an engine. The pump system may have a first pump with a first end, a second end, a reservoir located at the second end, and at least one pump mechanism configured to receive fluid from the reservoir. The pump system may also have a second pump mounted to the first pump at the second end and having at least one pump mechanism configured to discharge fluid into the reservoir of the first pump. The pump system may further have a mechanical input operatively connected to the at least one pump mechanism of each of the first and second pumps.
US09915250B2
A drive system for a cryogenic pump is provided including a spool housing having a plurality of valves disposed therein about a pump axis and a tappet housing including a plurality of tappet bores, each tappet bore in communication with a respective one of the plurality of valves. A collection cavity collects hydraulic fluid from the tappet bores. A pump flange includes a fluid inlet and a fluid outlet. An inlet manifold directs hydraulic fluid received through the fluid inlet to each of the plurality of valves. An outlet manifold directs hydraulic fluid from each of the valves and the collection cavity to the fluid outlet.
US09915235B2
Low-reactivity fuel such as gasoline is provided to a diesel engine cylinder sufficiently early in the injection stroke that it will be premixed. High reactivity fuel such as diesel fuel is then injected during the compression stroke, preferably around 40-60° before Top Dead Center (TDC), to provide a stratified distribution of fuel reactivity within the cylinder, one which provides ignition (the start of main heat release) at or near TDC, preferably at 0-10° prior to TDC. At that time, the low-reactivity fuel is again injected and burns in a diffusion-controlled manner owing to its lower reactivity, thereby providing greater power output (and thus increased load) with little or no increase in peak heat release rate (PHRR) and combustion noise.
US09915223B2
A method of constructing a piston, piston formed thereby, and piston body portions are provided. The method includes providing an upper crown portion at least one annular upper rib depending from the upper combustion wall to a free end having a tapered peak. The method further includes providing a lower crown portion having at least one annular lower rib extending to a free end having a tapered peak. Then, moving the upper crown portion and the lower crown portion toward one another and initiating contact between the upper crown portion and the lower crown portion at their respective tapered peaks. Then, continuing moving the upper crown and the lower crown further toward one another after making initial contact at their respective tapered peaks and forming a friction weld joint between the free ends of the at least one upper rib and the at least one lower rib free end.
US09915222B2
A diesel engine includes a cylinder block having a cylinder cavity defined therein. A cylinder head is coupled to the cylinder block and includes a lower semi-hemispherical surface defined thereon that defines an upper boundary of a combustion chamber. The engine includes a piston slideably disposed within the cylinder cavity that includes a piston crown having an upper surface configured to define a first portion of a lower boundary of the combustion chamber. The upper surface of the piston crown includes an axi-symmetric semi-hemispherical shape configured to correspond to the lower semi-hemispherical surface of the cylinder head.
US09915211B2
The present invention provides an abnormality diagnosis device and an abnormality diagnosis method for a supercharger. In the abnormality diagnosis processing performed by an electronic control unit, a determination of having an abnormality of a turbo charger is made according to the fact that an actual supercharging pressure becomes equal to above the upper-limit supercharging pressure for preventing the over-speed rotation of the turbo charger. The throttle opening is reduced while the output torque of the internal combustion engine is decreased; on the other hand, the actual supercharging pressure is to be decreased by decreasing the rotation speed of the turbo charger. The electronic control unit prohibits the execution of the abnormality determination processing during the reduction of the throttle opening. Thus, a case of making a wrong determination of having the abnormality of the turbo charger through the abnormality diagnosis processing due to the temporary rising of the actual supercharging pressure is suppressed.
US09915207B2
An ignition unit for a turbojet engine, including: an electrical power supply, a single control channel to receive a control signal from a computer, a main sparkplug ignition channel to energize at least one main sparkplug of a main combustion chamber, and an afterburner sparkplug ignition channel to energize at least one afterburner sparkplug of an afterburner chamber. The ignition unit is configured, in response to pulsed controls on the single control channel, to selectively activate the main sparkplug ignition channel or the afterburner sparkplug ignition channel.
US09915201B2
A gas turbine engine is disclosed which includes a bypass passage that in some embodiments are capable of being configured to act as a resonance space. The resonance space can be used to attenuate/accentuate/etc a noise produced elsewhere. The bypass passage can be configured in a number of ways to form the resonance space. For example, the space can have any variety of geometries, configurations, etc. In one non-limiting form the resonance space can attenuate a noise forward of the bypass duct. In another non-limiting form the resonance space can attenuate a noise aft of the bypass duct. Any number of variations is possible.
US09915195B2
Exhaust gas from a first outlet port (5) of a cylinder (3) of a combustion engine (2) can flow through the first turbocharger (7), and exhaust gas from a second outlet port (6) of the cylinder (3) can flow through the second turbocharger (17). A first connecting duct (28) can supply the second turbine (19) with exhaust gas from the first turbine (9). The first connecting duct (28) is connected to a first bypass duct (29) that issues into a tailpipe line (32) downstream of the second turbine (19) to bypass the second turbine (19). The first bypass duct (29) has a second control valve (44) that can block the first bypass duct (29). The first connecting duct (28) has a first control valve (43) that can block the first connecting duct (28) to prevent exhaust gas from flowing through the first turbine (9) to the second turbine (19).
US09915193B2
A method for operating an internal combustion engine (10) that has at least one cylinder row (11a, 11b) with first and second exhaust-gas turbochargers (13a, 13b; 14a, 14b). Charge air is provided by the first exhaust-gas turbocharger (13a, 13b) in single-charger operation, but is provided by the first and second exhaust-gas turbocharger (13a, 13b; 14a, 14b) in two-charger operation. To switch from single-charger to two-charger operation above a load threshold value of the internal combustion engine (10), when a speed of the internal combustion engine (10) reaches or overshoots a threshold value, a charge pressure is increased to build up a torque reserve and a charge pressure reserve and to maintain a driver demand torque. When the charge pressure reaches or overshoots a threshold value, a switch is made from single-charger operation to two-charger operation, and subsequently, the torque reserve and the charge pressure reserve are eliminated.
US09915190B2
A ducted combustion system is disclosed. The ducted combustion system may include a combustion chamber, which is defined as an enclosure bound at a first end by a flame deck surface of a cylinder head of an internal combustion engine and bound at a second end by a piston top surface of a piston disposed within the internal combustion engine. The system may further include a fuel injector, having at least one orifice, injecting fuel into the combustion chamber as at least one fuel jet. The system may further include at least one Venturi duct disposed within the combustion chamber between the flame deck surface and the piston top surface, the at least one Venturi duct being disposed such that each of the at least one fuel jet, at least partially, enters the at least one Venturi duct structure upon being injected into the combustion chamber.
US09915183B2
A waste heat recovery system (100) for an engine (101), comprises a fluid supply (104); two or more evaporators (120, 121) adapted to receive waste heat from an engine (101); a valve module (114) including an inlet port (115) in fluid communication with the fluid supply (104), a first outlet port (116) in fluid communication with a first evaporator (120) of the two or more evaporators (120, 121), and a second outlet port (117) in fluid communication with a second evaporator (121) of the two or more evaporators (120, 21), the module being adapted to selectively provide a fluid communication path between the fluid supply (104) and one or more of the two or more evaporators (120, 21). A fluid control module (200, 400) for a waste heat recovery system (100) with a 10 working fluid is provided. The static seal fluid control module (200, 400) includes a module body (250, 430) at least partially enclosing a pump (220) and at least one valve (210, 230, 240, 410, 420) wherein no atmospheric dynamic seals retain the working fluid in the static seal fluid control module (200, 400).
US09915182B2
A continuous variable valve duration apparatus may include a camshaft, a first cam portion and a second cam portion of which a cam is formed thereto respectively, of which the camshaft is inserted thereto, of which relative phase angles with respect to the camshaft are variable, and the first and second cam portions disposed on one cylinder and the next cylinder respectively, a first inner bracket and a second inner bracket transmitting rotation of the camshaft to the first and second cam portions respectively, a slider housing of which the first and second inner brackets are rotatably inserted thereto and of which relative position with respect to the camshaft is variable and a control portion selectively changing the relative position of the slider housing.
US09915180B2
A novel latch seat for a switching rocker arm assembly used in variable valve actuation (VVA) systems for internal combustion engines. The seat is formed interactively in the assembled switching rocker arm using a novel fixture and press. The press interactively creates a curved dimple of the correct curvature, position and depth while measuring several lash dimensions. Since the latch seat is formed on the assembled rocker arm assembly, the latch seat depth is designed to account for the inaccuracies in the rocker arm assembly parts which create lash. Therefore all of the parts may be made with less precision since the latch seat is sized to compensate for the inaccuracies of all of the parts. The rocker arm assembly parts now may be manufactured to less stringent standards, but result in a rocker arm assembly with same accuracy of rocker arm assemblies manufactured to previous standards.
US09915178B2
A method of real-time optimization for a Combined Cooling, Heating and Power system, including determining a first operation sequence of a plurality of chillers and at least one thermal energy storage tank in the system over a time period (410) and determining a second operation sequence of the plurality of chillers and at least one thermal energy storage tank in the system over the time period by using the first operation sequence as input to a greedy algorithm (420).
US09915172B2
A turbocharger is provided that includes a turbine, a compressor and a bearing housing disposed and connected between the turbine and the compressor. A shaft is rotatably disposed within the bearing housing and extending into the turbine and the compressor. A bearing arrangement is disposed between the shaft and the bearing housing and includes a inner bearing race element and an outer bearing race element. The compressor wheel includes a hub having a collar portion with a bore therein for receiving an end of the shaft. An end portion of the inner bearing race element is arranged to engage an outer circumferential surface of the collar portion.
US09915171B2
A mid-turbine frame for a gas turbine engine includes an outer frame case and an inner frame case. At least one spoke connects the outer frame case to the inner frame case. The spoke includes a cooling airflow passage that extends in a radial direction and an axial direction, an elongated cylindrical portion, and a flange.
US09915166B2
A gas turbine includes an intake tract and a compressor having a compressor flow channel. The compressor further includes an inlet guide vane row positioned in the compressor flow channel having inlet guide vanes that can be adjusted. The gas turbine has an icing sensor unit having at least one sensor arranged between a first compressor blade row and a first compressor guide vane row. The first compressor blade row is thereby arranged in the compressor flow channel directly downstream of the inlet guide vane row, and the first compressor guide vane row is arranged directly downstream of the first compressor blade row. A method detects an imminent icing of the compressor, and the compressor is safeguarded therefrom such that at least inlet guide vanes of the inlet guide vane row are adjusted such that the acceleration of an intake air mass flow is reduced.
US09915162B2
An active clearance control system for a gas turbine engine includes an intersegment seal engaged with each pair of a multiple of air seal segments.
US09915156B2
An annular stator assembly includes a plurality of stator segments. Each stator segment includes a plurality of laminates having magnetic permeable properties; a plurality of thermally conductive laminates positioned between the permeable laminates; and a cooling pipe extending through the laminates for transferring heat from the laminates to coolant flowing through the cooling pipe. The stator segments are constructed independently. Coils are wound on each segment. The stator segments with the wound coils are subsequently arranged to form the annular stator assembly.
US09915149B2
A turbofan engine has a fan portion in fluid communication with a core stream and a bypass stream of air separated by splitters disposed both upstream and downstream of the fan portion. A fluid passage is defined between the splitters. The turbofan engine has a plurality of high pressure fluid jets originating from the low pressure side of the fan blades, the jets restricting the migration of the core stream into the bypass stream through the fluid passage.
US09915145B2
A downhole system usable with a well string is provided that can include a first resonator positioned on the well string. The system can also include a second resonator positioned to couple with the first resonator by an evanescent field. The second resonator can include a load. Further, the system can include a metamaterial positioned between the first resonator and the second resonator for amplifying or extending a range of the evanescent field.
US09915144B2
A logging tool for use downhole includes sensor modules that monitor fluid flow in a wellbore. The sensor modules are disposed on flexible arms that project radially outward from the logging tool, so that the modules are located at discrete radial positions in the wellbore. The sensor modules include a flow sensor, an optical sensor, and a fluid conductivity sensor. The rate and type of fluid flowing in the wellbore can be estimated due to employing the different sensor types. A location sensor estimates the radial location of the modules so that a flow profile of the flowing fluid can be obtained.
US09915131B2
A technique enables stimulation of a subterranean formation. A reactive fluid is delivered downhole into a wellbore. The reactive fluid is under sufficient pressure downhole to create a jet of the reactive fluid that is directed at a specific treatment section. The jet is maintained until a localized region of enhanced permeability is created. One or more jets can be created or moved to treat a plurality of low permeability zones.
US09915127B1
Aspects of a flow balanced frac tank farm are described herein. In one embodiment, the flow balanced frac tank farm includes at least one battery of frac tanks comprising a plurality of frac tank trailers, a header pipe arrangement, and at least one valve between one or more of the frac tank trailers and the header system. The header pipe arrangement may include a header supply pipe to supply water to individual ones of the plurality of frac tank trailers and a header discharge pipe to discharge water from individual ones of the plurality of frac tank trailers. The header pipe arrangement may be relied upon to help balance the flow of heated fluids among the frac tank trailers in frac tank farm.
US09915124B2
A valve includes a housing having a bore. The valve further includes a piston member movable between a first position permitting fluid passage through the bore and a second position obstructing the bore through the housing. Additionally, the valve includes a biasing member configured to bias the piston member toward the second position. A method of using a valve in a cementing operation is provided.
US09915123B2
A method of enhancing oil recovery by use of conformance control involves the provision of a plugging material which is designed to be formed within an area of high-permeability in preference to an area of low permeability in order that subsequent water, gas or chemical flooding can enhance oil recovery from the area/region of low permeability.
US09915122B2
Downhole tools, including downhole valves, may actuate via a pressure differential created across a shifting element having one or more pressure surfaces isolated from fluid, and fluid pressure, flowing through the interior flowpath. Embodiment downhole tools of the present disclosure may actuate in response to, among other signals, fluid pressure in the interior flowpath of the tool and fluid pressure communicated to a pressure surface of the shifting sleeve from the exterior of the tool. Certain embodiments may also have an outlet connector whereby fluid pressure from the downhole tool may be communicated to its exterior. Isolation of the shifting element from the interior flowpath may be accomplished using a frangible, shiftable, degradable or other members which may be moved from a closed state to an open state in response to fluid conditions in the interior flowpath.
US09915119B2
An apparatus for use in a fluid conduit comprises a plurality of segments arranged along a longitudinal axis, each segment comprising an extendable structure configured for extension in a lateral direction relative to the longitudinal axis, wherein the apparatus is configured for the sequential initiation of lateral extension of the extendable structures of at least two segments. At least two segments may be configured to define different maximum extended dimensions in the lateral direction and may include adjacent support surfaces which provide mutual support for one another when the at least two segments are laterally extended. The apparatus may be configured to form a seal, an anchor, a supporting structure and/or a flow restriction in a fluid conduit.
US09915118B2
The present invention relates to a horizontal Christmas tree comprising a central bore (72) and a horizontal outlet (70) extending laterally from the central bore. A tubing hanger (74) is locked into the central bore and connected to a production tubing (76) extending into the well. The tubing hanger comprises a first passage (78) axially aligned with the production tubing and a second passage (80) extending laterally from the first passage and aligned with the outlet. The first passage comprises means for releasable fastening of at least one plugging device (1a, 1b) for plugging the first passage above the second passage.
US09915113B2
Embodiments provide a well-drilling apparatus and a method of use.
US09915109B2
A system for pushing and pulling rod strings through the ground or an underground pipe. The apparatus has a downhole tool attached to the distal end of the rod string. The push/pull machine has a stationary frame that is placed against the ground to provide a reaction surface. The stationary frame has an opening for the rod string to pass through. A rod gripping assembly is supported on the machine frame and moveable relative to the stationary frame. The push/pull machine has a powered rod section spinner to add or remove rod string sections from the rod string. An actuator powers movement of jaws into a spinner bowl to cause a powered gripping of the rod string section. With the rod string section gripped a motor is activated to rotate the rod string section to connect it to a rod string or disconnect it from the rod string.
US09915098B2
Systems facilitate forming lateral wellbores by optionally eliminating one or more trips downhole. The systems provide for forming a lateral wellbore by enabling the milling of a casing window and/or the drilling of the desired lateral wellbore to a target depth during a single trip down hole. The systems also facilitate improved downhole dynamics control and overall bottom hole assembly functionality.
US09915096B2
A garage door ladder storage device includes at least one base structure and at least two ladder brackets. The base structure includes a brace and a plurality of garage panel detachable mounting devices connected to the brace. The two ladder brackets are spaced apart and secured to the at least one base structure. Each of the ladder brackets includes at least one first ladder support section and at least one second ladder support section. The first ladder support section is coupled to the base structure and provides a first surface to support a ladder in a first direction. The second ladder support section extends from the first ladder support section and provides a second surface to support the ladder in a second direction.
US09915085B2
Systems and methods that may be implemented to secure a bezel over a face of an information handling system chassis by using magnetic force to draw in and retain a ferromagnetic bezel latch pin in a latching position relative to complementary latch structure of the chassis. The disclosed systems and methods may be implemented in a manner that minimizes functional intrusions on the front (or other side) of a chassis enclosure to which a bezel is secured, that reduces the number and/or complexity of mechanical features that are conventionally employed, and/or that presents both an intuitive and pleasant user experience for the end user.
US09915076B2
A coupling member includes a hook-shaped coupling part arranged to be hooked into a gripping part of an upright and a locking arrangement switchable between a locking position and a release position. Further, the locking arrangement includes a pivotally attached first clamping part and a wedge-shaped locking part, which is slidable between a locking position and a release position. The wedge-shaped locking part is arranged to push the first clamping part towards the upright and the gripping part by means of wedge action. Moreover, the first clamping part comprises two transversally spaced apart side parts which jointly define a cavity there between. The first clamping part is arranged externally on the hook-shaped coupling part, and is arranged partly within the cavity. Further, each of the side parts includes fastening means for pivotal attachment of the first clamping part to the hook-shaped coupling part.
US09915067B2
Reinforced boards and/or walls, and methods of producing thereof. In some non-limiting examples, there is provided a reinforced gypsum board and a process for the production thereof. In one example, the reinforced board may include one or more reinforcing elements, e.g., to enhance the rigidity of the board and/or to provide support for the board.
US09915062B2
A movable enclosure is configured to selectively enclose an area. The enclosure includes at least one side wall and an end wall attached thereto. The side wall comprises a number of individual panels that are independently movable along a track secured to the ground. The panels are selectively collapsible such that they may travel along the track and overlap one another when in a collapsed or stowed position. The enclosure may be configured in any number of intermediate positions wherein the panels are partially collapsed. Roof panels may be attached to the side walls for movement therewith, or alternatively, the roof panels may operate independent of the side walls to extend and retract between an open and collapsed configuration.
US09915060B2
An rinsing seat for a rimless toilet is disclosed. In one embodiment, the rinsing seat includes a large annular cavity for the purpose of storing and dispensing rinse water. In another embodiment, the rinsing seat includes a smaller annular cavity for the purpose of dispensing rinse water from a pressurized line. Outlet nozzles arranged about the circumference of the rinsing seat and designed to dispense rinse water at varying angles relative to the rinsing seat are disclosed. Rinsing seat supports, hinge assemblies, and seat sensors which offer additional functionality to the rinsing seat are also disclosed and claimed herein.
US09915059B2
A vent cover is described herein which may be used with various flush valve assemblies, particularly those acceptable for high efficiency and high performance toilets, which vent cover has a wall that includes an upper portion, a lower portion configured to define a vent cover inlet opening for receiving air and/or liquid passing upwardly from within a valve body and/or from within a toilet through a toilet inlet when the vent cover is installed on a valve body, an exterior surface, and an interior surface defining a vent cover passage for air passing upwardly from the vent cover inlet opening. At least the upper portion of the vent cover wall is configured for contacting an interior surface of a valve body at a location above an inlet of an overflow or venting tube on a valve body when the vent cover is installed on a valve body and wherein the valve cover wall is configured to at least partially divert flow of fluid from entering an inlet of an overflow tube or a venting tube on a valve body when the vent cover is installed on a valve body.
US09915054B2
A shovel control method includes performing a plane position control or a height control of an end attachment by an operation of one lever. The plane position control is performed while maintaining a height of the end attachment. The height control is performed while maintaining a plane position of the end attachment.
US09915053B2
A dipper door trip assembly includes a dipper, a dipper door pivotally coupled to the dipper, a linkage assembly including a sliding latch bar disposed at least partially in the dipper door, and a latch keeper coupled to the dipper. The latch keeper includes a roller that engages and disengages the latch bar.
US09915051B2
An aggregate pier compacting system for forming a compacted aggregate pier (AP) at a target location includes a mandrel, a tamper device, and a finishing tamper device. The mandrel includes a casing for housing a drilling shaft (DS). An external vibratory hammer (EVH) repeatedly impacts a hammer element (HE) extending from the DS. The DS transfers the impact to a bore head to form a cavity at the target location. The DS is removed and the casing is filled with aggregate. The tamper device includes a compacting shaft. The EVH impacts a second HE extending from the compacting shaft and transfers the impact to a compaction head to form the compacted AP. The finishing tamper device includes a shaft. The EVH impacts a third HE extending from the shaft and transfers the impact to a finishing head compacting a top layer of the AP to form a finished AP.
US09915049B2
Armor units for rubble mound structures including breakwaters, revetments, groins, jetties, and the like. Embodiments are appropriate for ocean, river, lake and reservoir structure armoring, to prevent erosion from damaging hydrodynamic forces resulting from waves and water currents, and the like. An embodiment includes a central rectangular section, three “half H-shaped” appendages, optionally, one end frusta, and a flat bottom with two extrusions, nominally smaller than other appendages and frusta. An embodiment is symmetric about two perpendicularly intersecting vertical planes extending through the centroid of the unit. The three half H-shaped members are connected to outer parts of a side defined as the top and the two longitudinal sides of the central section. The three half H-shaped members comprise four-sided frusta that taper from a base at the central rectangular section to four-sided distal ends. For select embodiments, the frusta are generally symmetric.
US09915045B1
Folded plate girders can be connected end to end to form a cambered girder, wherein a connector system including a peripheral connecting flange secures adjacent girders in series at the desired camber arc or angle.
US09915044B2
A walkway installation comprising a base (1) intended to be fastened to a support construction, such as to the deck (5) of a ship (6), as well as a base bridge part (2) that is connected at one end so it can be rotated around an upright base axis of rotation (11) with the base. Furthermore, a main bridge part (4) is provided on the other end of the base bridge part (1) as well as a hinge construction between the base bridge part (1) and the main bridge part (2). The hinge construction has an upright main axis of rotation (12) and an auxiliary axis of rotation (13) aligned transversely to the upright main axis of rotation and transversely to the main bridge part. By rotating the gangplank parts, the installation may be adjusted in a reliable and quick way in relation to a fixed object or another vessel.
US09915040B2
Soil compactor including a compaction drum rotatably supported by a compaction roller frame, wherein the compaction drum frame comprises two longitudinal members arranged in a direction longitudinal to the compactor on both sides of the compaction roller and supporting said compaction roller, and, connecting the two longitudinal members together, two cross members arranged in a direction perpendicular to the compactor and along both sides of the compaction roller, wherein the compaction roller frame is connected to a compactor main frame via one of the two cross members, and wherein at least one sight opening is provided within the other of the two cross members.
US09915031B2
A method for producing antimicrobial paper pulp is provided. The method includes steps of obtaining paper pulp, reducing water content and temperature of the paper pulp, and refining the paper pulp having reduced water content and temperature to improve properties of the paper pulp. The refining may be performed using a refiner with rotating and stationary cutters. The nanocomposite suspension may be added to the refined paper pulp to produce antimicrobial paper pulp. The antimicrobial paper pulp may be drained and pressed to produce paper by applying oil to reduce moisture content of the paper. The paper may be dried without using vapor.
US09915030B2
According to one aspect of the present disclosure, a mechanism and method is provided to clean and remove or separate cellulose fibers from the source fibrous material without stressing and/or damaging the cellulose fibers. The mechanism includes an agitator that directs the washing fluid in a vertical direction into engagement with the fibrous material to effect maximum cleaning of the cellulose from the remainder of the fibrous material without damaging or stressing the cellulose, thereby providing cellulose that can enhance the strength and other beneficial characteristics of a biocomposite material formed using the cellulose.
US09915029B2
A cable 1 comprises a first thimble 2 and a second thimble 4, at least one yarn 6, and at least a first conductive fiber 8 for monitoring the cable 1. The yarn 6 extends from the first thimble 2 to the second thimble 4, turns around the second thimble 4, extends from the second thimble 4 to the first thimble 2, and turns around the first thimble 2. Each thimble holds a stack 9 of layers 10 of turns of the yarn 6. The first conductive fiber 8 is designed to signal the wear of the yarn 6 by breaking after a predetermined portion of the turns of the yarn 6 breaks. The first conductive fiber 8 is positioned at the first thimble 2 between the turns of the yarn 6 at less than 50% of the stack height h.
US09915028B1
A dye additive suitable for use in improving the dyeing of aramid fibers includes non-water components dissolved in water. The non-water components include about 20-25% (w/w) sodium or potassium nitrate; about 20-25% (w/w) ketone solvent; about 30-40% (w/w) aromatic solvent; about 1-5% (w/w) of each of glycol ether, biodegradable solvent, acetic acid 56% strength or equivalent or equivalent amount of formic acid, brine salt, sodium or potassium hydroxide, and phenylenediamine, about 1-10% (w/w) of each of a strong acid, hydroxycarboxylic acid, and lanolin; wherein the water makes up about 50-70% of the weight of the dye additive and the non-water components make up about 30-50% of the dye additive. The dye additive may be added to a dye bath at a w/w percentage of about 0.25% to about 6%.
US09915025B2
The present invention relates to monomers and polymers of Formula (I): where R3 is selected from H or a C1 to C4 alkyl group; Y is selected from O or a substituted or unsubstituted arylene group; A is a linear or branched C1 to C10 alkylene group; w is 0 or 1; v is 0 or 1; y is 0 or 1; X is the residue of a cyclic or acyclic sugar alcohol which is substituted with at least one —R1; —C(O)R1; —(CH2CH2O)n(CH(CH3)CH2O)mR2; —(CH2CH2O)n(CH(CH3)CH2O)mC(O)R1; each n is independently 0 to 20; each m is independently 0 to 20; each R1 is independently a linear or branched alkyl group having 9 to 29 carbons optionally comprising at least 1 unsaturated bond; and each R2 is independently —H, a linear or branched alkyl group having 6 to 30 carbons optionally comprising at least 1 unsaturated bond, or mixtures thereof.
US09915024B2
The present application relates to a hand-held steamer head for a fabric steamer. The hand-held steamer head has a body (2) with one or more steam vents (9) and a friction surface (23) for locating against a fabric to be steamed. The friction surface (23) is configured to act on the fabric to resist movement of the fabric relative to the body (2) as the body (2) is drawn over the fabric. The present invention also relates to a fabric steamer having a hand-held steamer head and a hand-held steamer head kit.
US09915015B2
Weaving machine, device and method for tucking a thread end (11, 12, 24, 25) of a weft thread (10) into a subsequent shed (15), which thread end (11,12,24,25) extends outside a shed (15), wherein thread ends (11, 12, 24, 25) are tucked into a subsequent shed (15) by a tucking device (13,14,28,29), wherein a thread end (11, 12, 24, 25) is selectively moved by a moveable arm (9, 19), and wherein the thread end (11,12,24,25) moved by the moveable arm (9, 19) beyond the separator element (8, 18) is separated by the separator element (8, 18) from the working area of the tucking device (13, 14, 28, 29).
US09915010B2
Provided is one embodiment which is a method for growing a β-Ga2O3-based single crystal which uses the EFG method and includes raising a Ga2O3 melt inside a crucible up to a die opening via a die slit such that a seed crystal is contacted with the Ga2O3-based melt in the opening of the die with a horizontal position of the seed crystal shifted in a width direction (W) from a center in the width direction (W) of the die, and pulling up the seed crystal contacting the Ga2O3-based melt so as to grown a β-Ga2O3 single crystal.
US09915005B2
An additive C capable of changing microvia-filling method by TSV copper plating, and electroplating solution containing same. The additive C contains by mass percentage: 5%-10%, one of polyethylene glycol or polyvinyl alcohol with the molecular weight of 200-100,000, or the mixture with different molecular weight thereof; 0.001%-0.5% isomer of the surfactant which including the alkylphenol polyoxyethylene ether or fatty alcohol-polyoxyethylene ether; and the solvent is water. The electroplating solution containing the additive C could be used for microvia-filling by TSV copper plating, the electroplating current distribution could be adjusted reasonably to realize the smooth transition between the conformal and bottom-up plating, so as to reduce the possibility of the seam or void in the coating, realize the high-speed electroplating, reduce the thickness of the copper layer, reduce the TSV plating duration and the cost of the chemical mechanical polishing (CMP), and significantly improve the production efficiency.
US09914999B2
Methods and apparatus for processing a substrate are provided herein. In some embodiments, a process chamber includes: a chamber body and a lid assembly defining a processing volume within the process chamber; a substrate support disposed within the processing volume to support a substrate; and a showerhead having a first surface including a plurality of gas distribution holes disposed opposite and parallel to the substrate support, wherein the showerhead is fabricated from aluminum and includes an aluminum oxide coating along the first surface, wherein the aluminum oxide coating has a thickness of about 0.0001 to about 0.002 inches. In some embodiments, the showerhead may further have at least one of a roughness of about 10 to about 300 μ-in Ra, or an emissivity (∈) of about 0.20 to about 0.80. The process chamber may be a thermal atomic layer deposition (ALD) chamber.
US09914994B2
Disclosed is a substrate processing system which enables combined static and pass-by processing. Also, a system architecture is provided, which reduces footprint size. The system is constructed such that the substrates are processed therein vertically, and each chamber has a processing source attached to one sidewall thereof, wherein the other sidewall backs to a complementary processing chamber. The chamber system can be milled from a single block of metal, e.g., aluminum, wherein the block is milled from both sides, such that a wall remains and separates each two complementary processing chambers.
US09914993B2
Provided is a compact thermal spray powder suitable for forming a ceramic thermal spray coating which is compact and excels in durability. The thermal spray powder disclosed herein includes ceramic particles formed of a ceramic material with a melting point equal to or lower than 2000° C. The thermal spray powder is configured such that the peak top of a main peak is in a range of 10 μm or less in a log differential pore volume distribution obtained by a mercury porosimetry, and when the peak top of a second peak is at a fine pore size less than that of the peak top of the main peak, the ratio (H2/H1) of the height H2 of the second peak to the height H1 of the main peak is 0.05 or less.
US09914991B2
A method of forming a metal matrix composite (MMC). The method comprises providing a fiber (26) comprising a ceramic material coated with a metal, providing a winding head (12) having a plurality of circumferentially spaced radially extending alternate first and second finger members (18, 20), the finger members each defining a winding surface (22, 24), the winding surface of each first finger member facing a first axial direction, and the winding surface of each second finger member facing a generally opposite axial direction, wherein adjacent winding surfaces (22, 24) of the first and second finger members (18, 20) are spaced in a circumferential direction, and define an axial spacing less than the diameter of the fiber (26), and winding the fiber around the winding head (12) between the winding surfaces (22, 24) of the first and second finger members (18, 20).
US09914990B2
The present invention is a steel for a mechanical structure for cold working, the steel characterized in containing C, Si, Mn, P, S, Al, N, and Cr, the remainder being iron and inevitable impurities; the metal composition having pearlite and pro-eutectoid ferrite; the combined area of the pearlite and pro-eutectoid ferrite being 90% or more of the total composition; the area percentage A of the pro-eutectoid ferrite having the relationship A>Ae, where Ae=(0.8−Ceq)×96.75 (Ceq=[C]+0.1×[Si]+0.06×[Mn]−0.11×[Cr], and “(element names)” indicates the element content (percent in mass); and the mean grain size of the pro-eutectoid ferrite and the ferrite in the pearlite being 15 to 25 μm.
US09914989B2
A process by which molten solder is purified in-situ, making the soldering process more efficient and yielding better results, particularly for lead-free soldering. Lead-free solder becomes practical for use since the temperature for reliable soldering is reduced. A layer of active additive is maintained on the surface of molten solder for scavenging metal oxide from the solder and assimilating metal oxide into a liquid layer. The active additive is an organic liquid having nucleophilic and/or electrophilic groups. As an example, a layer of dimer acid maintained on a wave soldering apparatus scavenges metal oxide from the bath, and assimilates dross that may form on the surface. Scavenging metal oxide cleanses the bath and lowers viscosity of the solder, and PC boards or the like soldered on the wave have reliable solder joints.
US09914986B2
A method for producing a wear-resistant and corrosion-resistant stainless steel part for a nuclear reactor is provided. This method includes steps of providing a tubular blank in austenitic stainless steel whose carbon content is equal to or lower than 0.03% by weight; shaping the blank; finishing the blank to form the cladding; hardening the outer surface of the cladding by diffusing one or more atomic species; the blank, before the providing step or during the shaping or finishing step, being subjected to at least one hyper quenching with sub-steps of: heating the blank to a sufficient temperature and for a sufficient time to solubilize any precipitates present; quenching the blank at a rate allowing the austenitic structure to be maintained in a metastable state at ambient temperature and free of precipitates.
US09914985B2
Systems and methods for ablating or processing a surface using a laser beam are provided. A method includes directing a laser beam at a surface to form a contact area. The method also includes moving the contact area to form a contact curve. The method includes tuning a wavelength and a power of the laser beam to process a material and/or ablate a coating. The wavelength and the power may be further tuned to not damage the surface beneath the coating. Moving the contact area may include forming a second contact curve by superimposing, at a same time, the second contact curve on the contact curve. A system includes a laser and a directing arrangement configured to direct a laser beam from the laser at a surface to form a contact area. A non-transitory processor-readable medium having instructions stored thereon is provided.
US09914984B2
The present invention relates to a composition for epimerization of a non-phosphorylated hexose, comprising sugar epimerases derived from thermophiles, and a method for preparing a non-phosphorylated hexose epimer using the composition. The sugar epimerases derived from thermophiles according to the present invention can effectively catalyze an epimerization reaction of a non-phosphorylated hexose and can easily produce an epimer form of the non-phosphorylated hexose, in particular a rare sugar hexose, and thus can be usefully utilized in the pharmaceutical and food industry.
US09914983B2
The purpose of the present invention is to provide a composition for effectively inducing apoptosis and/or proliferation inhibition in a cell, and a method using the same. An agent for inducing apoptosis that comprises as active ingredients a drug inhibiting GST-π and a drug inhibiting Akt; a medicinal composition comprising the same; a method for treating a disease caused by abnormality in apoptosis using the same, etc.
US09914981B2
Means and methods are provided to produce abiotic stress tolerant plants with improved yield based on the specific identification of a DNA methylation signature in the plants out of a population of the plants. The methods involve identification and utilization of epigenetic features of a plant with high energy use efficiency.
US09914970B2
Disclosed is a method of determining KIR genotypes for one or more individuals in parallel, the method comprising: for each individual, amplifying the polymorphic exon sequences of the KIR genes, pooling the KIR amplicons, performing emulsion PCR followed by pyrosequencing in parallel to determine all the amplicon sequences present in the individual to determine which KIR alleles are present in the individual.
US09914968B2
A honeycomb tube with a planar frame defining a fluidic path between a first planar surface and a second planar surface. A fluidic interface is located at one end of the planar frame. The fluidic interface has a fluidic inlet and fluidic outlet. The fluidic path further includes a well chamber having an well-substrate with a plurality of wells. The well chamber is arranged in the planar frame between the first or second surface and the well-substrate. The well chamber is in fluidic communication between the pre-amplification chamber and the fluidic outlet.
US09914965B2
The present invention provides compositions and methods for rapidly amplifying target nucleic acid (e.g., using whole genome amplification) that allows small amounts of starting nucleic acid to be employed. In certain embodiments, the methods employ compositions that comprise: phi29 polymerase, exo− Klenow polymerase and/or Klenow polymerase, dNTPs, primers, and a buffering agent. In some embodiments, the target nucleic acid is amplified at a rate that would result in at least 1000-fold amplification in thirty minutes.
US09914962B2
The present invention relates to a method for real-time monitoring and/or quantification of newly-synthesized complementary deoxyribonucleic acid (cDNA) during a reverse transcription reaction of an ribonucleic acid (RNA) template in a sample, the method using a fluorogenic dye binding to RNA:cDNA hybrids. The present invention also relates to the use of this method as well as to kits employing the fluorogenic dye.
US09914960B2
The present invention provides compositions and methods for colorimetric detection schemes for detecting a variety of biomolecules. The compositions and methods employ DNA hybridization chain reaction for catalytic aggregation of gold nanoparticles. In this catalytic aggregation scheme, a single target DNA strand triggers the formation of multiple inter-particle linkages in contrast to the single linkage formed in conventional direct aggregation schemes.
US09914955B2
The present invention relates to a genetically encoded FRET-based biosensor to monitor the activity of matrix metalloproteinase 9 (MMP-9). MMP-9 is an extracellular acting endopeptidase implicated in both physiological and pathological processes. A genetically encoded FRET biosensor anchored in the cellular membrane allows studying the proteolytic activity of MMP-9 with high spatiotemporal resolution at the exact region of MMP-9 action on the cell. Applicability of the biosensor, both in vitro and in vivo in living cells, has been demonstrated by ratiometric analysis of cleavage of the biosensor by a purified auto-activating mutant of MMP-9.
US09914948B2
The present disclosure relates to a process for extracting sugars from a pretreated lignocellulosic biomass. This process consists of contacting the pretreated lignocellulosic biomass with low charges of an aqueous peroxy acid (PA) solution to produce a liquid fraction (containing a small amount of lignin and hemicellulose degradation products) and a solid fraction containing cellulose, hemicellulose and lignin. The solid fraction can then be subjected to enzymatic hydrolysis with a variety of cell wall-degrading enzymes to produce a lignin-rich residue and a sugar solution that can be fermented to a variety of (bio)chemicals.
US09914947B2
Methods of producing ethylene oxide and ethylene glycol are disclosed herein. Ethylene produced by cyanobacteria engineered to express ethylene-forming enzymes may be converted to ethylene oxide by bacteria engineered to express a monooxygenase enzyme. Ethylene oxide may be converted to ethylene glycol by exposure to an acidic solution. The methods may be performed in a bioreactor.
US09914944B2
The present invention relates to a process for production of fermentation products, including bioethanol by non-pressurized pre-treatment, enzymatic hydrolysis and fermentation of waste fractions containing mono- and/or polysaccharides, having a relatively high dry matter content. The process in its entirety, i.e. from non-pressurized pre-treatment over enzymatic hydrolysis and fermentation to sorting of fermentable and non-fermentable solids can be processed at a relatively high dry matter content in a single vessel or similar device using free fall mixing for the mechanical processing of the waste fraction.
US09914942B2
An anaerobic digestion device includes a digester body with an opening through which organic waste is received and a digester drum removably inserted into the digester body for receiving the organic waste. The digester drum is movable relative to the digester body to advance a slurry of the organic waste along a length of the digester body. A set of ports spaced along the digester body and arranged to vent biogas from the organic waste contained in the digester drum. A storage vessel is configured to receive and store biogas received from the digester body via the ports, and a heating system configured to heat the digester body. The heating system is fuelled by the biogas vented from the digester body.
US09914940B2
Disclosed herein are methods and compositions for targeted integration of an exogenous sequence into the human PPP1R12C locus, for example, for expression of a polypeptide of interest.
US09914931B2
The present invention relates to the culture and manipulation of microorganisms for biotech applications, and is based on the discovery and characterization of spliced leader sequences identified in transcripts from Nannochloropsis species. In particular, the invention provides nucleic acid compositions comprising a SL sequence operably linked to a protein-encoding gene. Further provided are compositions and methods for enhanced gene expression in recombinant microorganisms as well as methods for identification and/or isolation of nucleic acid molecules tagged with a spliced leader sequence.
US09914913B2
Methods and compositions for modifying glycans (e.g., glycans expressed on the surface of live cells or cell particles) are provided herein.
US09914911B2
Disclosed herein are methods of producing induced pluripotent stem cells from chondrocytes, and further, methods of producing chondrocytes from said induced pluripotent stem cells. The invention further provides methods of regenerating cartilaginous tissue.
US09914910B2
Methods of preserving and/or protecting pancreatic beta cells by inhibiting NOX-1. In a further aspect, NOX-1 inhibitors are administered to a subject in order to preserve and/or protect beta cells in the prevention or treatment of diabetes. NOX-1 inhibitors are also disclosed.
US09914907B2
This disclosure describes modified photosynthetic microorganisms, including Cyanobacteria, that have a reduced amount of a light harvesting protein (LHP) and contain one or more introduced or overexpressed polynucleotides encoding one or more enzymes associated with lipid biosynthesis, and which are capable of producing increased amounts of fatty acids and/or synthesizing triglycerides.
US09914905B2
Reduced genome bacteria with improved genetic stability are provided. Also provided are methods of producing polypeptides using the reduced genome bacteria with improved genetic stability.
US09914903B2
An automatic device for inoculating a sample on a substrate with a dilution mechanism formed by a head that holds a stylus in cooperation with a first dilution tank and a second dilution tank to dilute an original sample in at least one sub-sample and for inoculating the sub-sample on a substrate.
US09914885B2
This present invention generally relates to a process for upgrading and desulfurizing crude oil using supercritical water. In general, the invention provides a process for removal of contaminants from a crude oil stream by mixing the crude oil stream with supercritical water and then filtering out the precipitated solid compounds that result from mixing the crude oil stream with supercritical water.
US09914878B2
The composite liquid crystal composition contains a liquid crystal compound and a polymerizable compound. The liquid crystal compound includes a compound having a biphenyl skeleton including two or three rings, and two or more compounds other than the compound having the biphenyl skeleton. The composition includes polymerizable compound. The ratio of the content (mass) of the one or more compounds selected from the compounds represented by General Formulas (II-a1) and (II-a2) to the compound represented by General Formula (II-b) is 70:30 to 30:70. The total content of the liquid crystal compounds is 65% to 85% by mass, and the total content of the polymerizable compounds is 15% to 35% by mass.
US09914875B2
The present invention relates to a phosphor, and particularly to an oxynitride phosphor, a manufacturing method therefor, and a light emitting device package using same. The present invention may provide an oxynitride phosphor which is represented by chemical formula 1 below, and which has a monoclinic crystalline structure. (Sr,Ca)1-ySi2N2O2:Euy Chemical formula 1:
US09914870B2
A composition includes an agent formed by grafting at least a first polymer with lignin and a component other than the agent, lignin or the at least a first polymer, wherein lignin has an affinity for the component. A method of dispersing a component in a matrix includes adding an agent to the matrix. The agent is formed by grafting at least a first polymer with lignin. The first polymer has an affinity for the matrix. Lignin has an affinity for the component. The component is other than the agent, lignin or the at least a first polymer. The method for includes contacting the matrix with the component.
US09914856B2
A phase-separated polymeric composition comprising a first phase including polyurethane domains; and a second phase including a butyl rubber matrix.
US09914851B2
A composition for a window film includes a siloxane resin represented by Formula 1, and an initiator. A flexible window film is manufactured using the same, and has a pencil hardness of about 7H or higher, a radius of curvature of about 5.0 mm or lower, and a difference in yellow index before and after irradiation (ΔY.I.) of about 5.0 or less. A flexible display includes the flexible window film. (R1SiO3/2)x(R2R3SiO2/2)y Formula 1
US09914832B2
The present invention relates to an item produced by thermoforming, comprising: i) from 45 to 59% by weight, based on the total weight of components i to iv, of a biodegradable polyester comprising: i-a) from 90 to 100 mol %, based on components i-a to i-b, of succinic acid; i-b) from 0 to 10 mol %, based on components i-a to i-b, of one or more C6-C20 dicarboxylic acids; i-c) from 98 to 102 mol %, based on components i-a to i-b, of 1,3-propanediol or 1,4-butanediol; i-d) from 0.05 to 1% by weight, based on components i-a to i-c, of a chain extender or branching agent; ii) from 5 to 14% by weight, based on the total weight of components i to iv, of an aliphatic-aromatic polyester comprising: ii-a) from 30 to 70 mol %, based on components ii-a to ii-b, of a C6-C18-dicarboxylic acid; ii-b) from 30 to 70 mol %, based on components ii-a to ii-b, of terephthalic acid; ii-c) from 98 to 100 mol %, based on components ii-a to ii-b, of 1,3-propanediol or 1,4-butanediol; ii-d) from 0.05 to 1% by weight, based on components ii-a to ii-c, of a chain extender or branching agent; iii) from 15 to 24% by weight, based on the total weight of components i to iv, of polylactic acid; iv) from 10 to 35% by weight, based on the total weight of components i to iv, of at least one mineral filler; where the following applies to the compounded material comprising components i to iv: the ratio of component i to component iii in the compounded material is from 2.2 to 3.2, and the MVR of the compounded material is from 1 to 10 cm3/10 min in accordance with DIN EN 1133-1 of Mar. 1, 2012 (190° C., 2.16 kg).
US09914828B2
A method of inerting pipelines, or buried tanks or wellbores consisting of preparing a composition including at least one superabsorbent (co)polymer partially or fully swollen in the presence of water, then injecting the composition directly into the pipelines or buried tank or well.
US09914823B2
A rubber composition includes an elastomer having an elongation at break (Eb) of about 50% or more according to ASTM-D 412 at 25° C., a water-insoluble keratin, and a reinforcing filler. A tire component including the composition and a method for making the composition are also disclosed.
US09914816B2
Provided is a method of depolymerizing polyesters from post-consumer products, such as beverage bottles, to produce a high purity reaction product. For the depolymerization reaction, the polyesters are reacted with an alcohol and an amine organocatalyst at a temperature of about 150° C. to about 250° C. In one application, the use of an organocatalyst with a boiling point significantly lower than the boiling point of the reactant alcohol allows for the ready recycling of the amine organocatalyst. In another application, performing the depolymerization reaction under pressure at a temperature above the boiling point of the alcohol allows for accelerated depolymerization rates and the recovery of the organocatalyst with no further heat input. In a further application, glycolytic depolymerization of poly(ethylene terephthalate) (PET) produces a reaction product of bis(2-hydroxyethyl)terephthalate (BHET), which may in turn be used to produce high purity beverage bottle grade PET, in a closed loop process with minimal waste.
US09914815B2
A blowing agent for thermosetting foams is disclosed. The blowing agent is a hydrofluoroolefin (HCFO), preferably HFCO-1234yf in combination with a hydrochlorofluoroolefin (HCFO) preferably one selected from HCFO-1233zd, HCFO-1223, HCFO-1233xf and mixtures thereof. The blowing agent is effective as a blowing agent in the manufacture of thermosetting foams.
US09914809B2
The present invention provides curable compositions comprising non-tin metal accelerators that accelerate the condensation curing of moisture-curable silicones/non-silicones. In particular, the present invention provides an accelerator comprising amino acid compounds that are suitable as replacements for organotin in sealant and RTV formulations.
US09914798B2
An oligoamide-modified elastomer includes an elastomer having oligoamide units grafted to the elastomer and forming a plurality of sheet-like structures through hydrogen bonding, the sheet-like structures interacting through non-covalent interactions to form crystalized domains within the elastomer.
US09914765B2
This invention relates to fusion proteins that include a whey acidic protein (WAP) domain-containing polypeptide and a second polypeptide. Additionally, the invention relates to fusion proteins that include a WAP domain-containing polypeptide a second polypeptide, and a third polypeptide. The second and/or third polypeptides of the fusion proteins of the invention are a Fe polypeptide; an albumin polypeptide; a cytokine targeting polypeptide; or a serpin polypeptide. This invention also relates to methods of using such molecules in a variety of therapeutic and diagnostic indications, as well as methods of producing such molecules.
US09914757B2
Provided is a methionyl tRNA synthase (MRS) for the biosynthesis of a photomethionine-labeled protein and a method for preparing a photoactivatable protein G variant using same and, more particularly, to an MRS variant in which alanine at the position of 12th is substituted with glycine, leucine at the position of 13th by serine, tyrosine at the position of 260th by phenylalanine, isoleucine at the position of 297th by valine, and histidine at the position of 301st by leucine from the N-terminal of the amino acid sequence of a wild-type Escherichia coli methionyl tRNA synthase. The MRS variant effectively confirms the biosynthesis of a photomethionine (pM)-labeled target protein and thus can be utilized for the biosynthesis of a pM-labeled target protein. In addition, a pM-introduced protein G variant, in which a plasmid encoding the MRS variant (MRS5m) and a PG-C3 plasmid, in which, in the third immunoglobulin G binding region of protein G, positions of 32nd, 35th, and 40th are substituted with a methionine (Met) residue and a position of 37th by an arginine (Arg) residue, are introduced into Escherichia coli and then refined, has a specific covalent bond with an antibody when subject to UV irradiation, and thus the pM-introduced protein G variant using the MRS variant can be utilized for producing a highly sensitive biochip, biosensor, or cell-capturing chip.
US09914751B2
The invention provides natural IgM antibody inhibitors that may be used to treat various inflammatory diseases or disorders.
US09914744B2
Carbamatoorganosilanes are produced in exceptionally high yield with a high degree of purity, by reacting an aminoorganosilane with a dialkylcarbonate in the presence of a basic catalyst, wherein a first reaction period proceeds at a temperature in the range of 35-65° C., followed by a later reaction period at a temperature at least 10° C. higher. A low level of catalyst allows its removal by simple exit filtration, without a separate filtration step.
US09914742B2
The present invention relates compounds comprising a tetra-heteroaryl indacenodithiophene-based structural unit, the synthesis of such compounds as well as their use in organic electronic devices. The invention further relates to organic electronic devices comprising such compounds.
US09914739B2
Compounds of Formula I, including their salts, as well as compositions and methods of using the compounds are set forth. The compounds have activity against hepatitis C virus (HCV) and may be useful in treating those infected with HCV.
US09914738B2
The invention relates to besylate salts of the compound of formula (I): Methods of preparing the salts, and their use as medicaments, in particular for sedative or hypnotic, anxiolytic, muscle relaxant, or anticonvulsant purposes is also described.
US09914735B2
The invention relates to new substituted heteroaryls of formula (1), wherein A is selected from the group consisting of N and CH, D is CH, E is selected from the group consisting of C and N, T is C, G is selected from the group consisting of C and N, and wherein each of the broken (dotted) double bonds in ring 1 are selected from either a single bond or a double bond under the proviso that all single and double bonds of ring 1 are arranged in such a way that they all form together with ring 2 an aromatic ring system, and wherein R1, M and R3 are defined according to claim 1, and to the above compounds for the treatment of a disease selected from the group consisting of asthma, COPD, allergic rhinitis, allergic dermatitis, lupus erythematodes, lupus nephritis and rheumatoid arthritis.
US09914732B2
The present invention relates to diazabicyclo[4.3.1]decane derivatives, pharmaceutically acceptable salts of these compounds and pharmaceutical compositions containing at least one of these compounds together with pharmaceutically acceptable carrier, excipient and/or diluents. Said diazabicyclo[4.3.1]decane derivatives can be used for prophylaxis and/or treatment of psychiatric disorders and neurodegenerative diseases, disorders and conditions.
US09914731B2
The invention is directed to pyrazolo[1,5-a]pyridine derivatives and their use as AXL and c-MET kinase inhibitors.
US09914725B2
The present invention relates to processes and intermediates for preparing compounds of formula (IA), wherein R1, R4, R5, R6, and L1 are as defined herein. Compounds of formula (IA) have been found useful as EP4 receptor agonists useful in the treatment of glaucoma, osteoporosis, neuropathic pain, and related disorders.
US09914721B2
The present invention relates to compounds of the formula (I) wherein Ar1 and Ar2 are as described in the description and to their use as pharmaceuticals for the treatment of sundown syndrome. The invention also relates to the preparation of such compounds and of pharmaceutically acceptable salts thereof.
US09914711B2
The invention relates to a compound of formula I, and a preparation method and use thereof. The compound has a bacterial quorum-sensing regulatory effect, and can be used for prevention and/or treatment of a disease caused by a bacterial infection.
US09914706B2
The invention provides pyrazolyl guanidine compounds that inhibit F1F0-ATPase, and methods of using pyrazolyl guanidine compounds as therapeutic agents to treat medical disorders, such as an immune disorder, inflammatory condition, or cancer.
US09914704B2
The present invention relates to a novel process for preparing 3,5-bis(haloalkyl)pyrazole derivatives of the formula (Ia) and (Ib), via acylation of ketimines.
US09914699B2
The present invention relates to the production of acrolein, acrylic acid or methacrylic acid by dehydration reaction of renewable raw material such as glycerin or hydroxycarboxylic acids, in the presence of a novel catalyst system supported on a carrier having a bimodal structure and a high pore volume and distribution. The dehydration reactions can be carried out for longer operation duration, so that acrolein, acrylic acid or methacrylic acid can be produced at higher productivity and for longer running time.
US09914687B2
A composition containing a novel vinyl-group-containing compound. This composition contains a vinyl-group-containing compound represented by general formula (1). In the formula: W1 and W2 represent a group represented by general formula (2) (where a ring (Z) is an aromatic hydrocarbon ring, X is a single bond or —S—, R1 is a single bond or a C1-4 alkylene group, R2 is a specific substituent group such as a monovalent hydrocarbon, and m is an integer equal to 0 or higher), a group represented by general formula (4) (where the ring (Z), X, R1, R2, and m are as previously stated), a hydroxyl group, or a (meth)acryloyloxy group; rings (Y1, Y2) are aromatic hydrocarbon rings; R represents a single bond or a specific divalent group; R3a and R3b represent a cyano group, a halogen atom, or a monovalent hydrocarbon group; and n1 and n2 are integers of 0-4.
US09914685B2
A system for, and method of, recovering salt from fluid stream in a recycle loop of a flash separator has a desanding hydrocyclone located in the hot recycle loop of the flash separator; a first solids fluidization device located at the bottom end of the flash separator's brine column; a second desanding hydrocyclone arranged to receive a salt slurry stream created by the first solids fluidization device; and an accumulator located downstream of the second desanding hydrocyclone and having a second solids fluidization device located at its bottom end. Each solids fluidization device causes a motive fluid to exit the device in a swirling motion to fluidize the salt components contained in the resident fluid. The overflow from the second desanding hydrocyclone is the motive fluid for the brine column and a produced water, condensate water, or seawater stream is the motive fluid for the accumulator.
US09914666B2
A nanoheterostructure includes a first inorganic component and a second inorganic component one of which is a matrix, and the other of which is three-dimensionally and periodically arranged in the matrix, and has a three-dimensional periodic structure whose average value of one unit length of a repeated structure is 1 nm to 100 nm.
US09914665B2
A method for producing granulates, particularly for use as thermal insulation for a metal melt may include mixing a powdery mineral with a binder, and the mixture may be granulated in order to produce a semi-finished product. The granulate mixture or the semi-finished product may be heated rapidly to a temperature above the melting temperature or decomposition temperature of the binder, which may be in the form of a salt, so that the binder decomposes, whereby gas is released and the volume increases. The apparent density of the granulate mixture may decrease, and therefore the apparent density of the finished product may decrease with respect to the semi-finished product.
US09914662B2
A prepreg having low water absorption, and having remarkably suppressed deterioration in insulation resistance over time, and further having excellent heat resistance, a metal foil-clad laminate using the prepreg, and a printed wiring board using the metal foil-clad laminate are provided. A prepreg of the present invention is obtained by impregnating or coating a base material (D) with a resin composition comprising: a naphthol-modified dimethylnaphthalene formaldehyde resin (A); an epoxy resin (B) having an epoxy equivalent of 200 to 400 g/eq.; and an inorganic filler (C).
US09914652B2
Provided are a water treatment system and a water treatment process, which are capable of reproducing water containing salts with high water recovery. In the water treatment system (400) and the water treatment process of the present invention, after a calcium scale inhibitor and a silica scale inhibitor are supplied to water to be treated containing Ca ions, SO4 ions, carbonate ions, and silica, and the water to be treated is separated in a second demineralizing section (210) into second concentrated water in which the Ca ions, the SO4 ions, the carbonate ions, and the silica are concentrated and treated water. In a second crystallizing section (220), seed crystals of gypsum are supplied to the second concentrated water, whereby gypsum is crystallized and removed from the second concentrated water.
US09914636B2
A MEMS microphone component including at least one sound-pressure-sensitive diaphragm element is formed in the layer structure of the MEMS component, which spans an opening in the layer structure. The diaphragm element is attached via at least one column element in the central area of the opening to the layer structure of the component. The deflections of the diaphragm element are detected with the aid of at least one piezosensitive circuit element, which is implemented in the layer structure of the diaphragm element and is situated in the area of the attachment of the diaphragm element to the column element.
US09914631B2
A beverage container includes a flexible inside container and a rigid outside container. The flexible container can retain a liquid and seal the liquid from environmental air, while the surrounding rigid container facilitates handling and pouring in a form factor that reproduces the look and feel of a conventional wine bottle. A one-way valve permits pouring from the flexible container while preventing ingress of atmospheric oxygen or other contaminants. In particular, the one-way valve can be configured to retain a beverage within the flexible container until an exit path for the beverage through the valve is filled with liquid to seal the exit path and effectively eliminate any return path for ingress of air. To create a bottle-like pouring experience, the valve may automatically open to allow for the pouring of fluid when the bottle is tilted, and the valve may automatically close at the end of a pour.
US09914615B2
A magnetic band that is made of elastomeric resin material with magnets deposed therein is disclosed. The magnetic band optionally contains wires and also optionally contains holes at each end that may have grommets inserted into the holes. The magnetic band is used for a plurality of purposes including its ability to hold metallic magnetic items.
US09914613B2
In a sheet discharge mechanism for enabling a wide range of sheets stored on a sheet discharge tray from a processing section, a brake lever for reducing a velocity of a sheet fed from a sheet discharge outlet is held detachably relative to an attachment frame above the sheet discharge tray, and it is possible to select whether brake action is made corresponding to sheet discharge conditions. A sheet discharge mechanism includes a sheet discharge path having a sheet discharge outlet, a sheet discharge tray disposed on the downstream side of the sheet discharge outlet with a level difference, and a brake section of a sheet carried out at the sheet discharge outlet, wherein the brake section includes a lever member in which its base end portion is axially supported by an attachment frame, and its front end portion moves up and down corresponding to a load amount of sheets.
US09914610B2
The present disclosure provides a tension control device including a turn bar which is disposed between an upstream device delivering a belt-shaped web and a downstream device receiving the web and of which a pressing member presses the web and a control unit which feedforward-controls a pressing force applied from the turn bar to the web on the basis of a schedule relating to a conveying speed of the web of any one of the upstream device and the downstream device.
US09914602B2
A method of delivering proppant to a well site has the steps of transporting a load of proppant in a vessel to a desired location, moving the load of proppant from the vessel into a container so as to create a proppant-loaded container, unloading the proppant-loaded container into a pneumatic bulk trailer, and transporting the unloaded proppant in the pneumatic bulk trailer to well site. The container is placed onto a bed of a truck and moved in proximity to the vessel. The proppant-loaded container is placed onto a tilting mechanism and then tilted so that the proppant is discharged through a flow gate of a container into a hopper. The proppant in the hopper can then be conveyed to the pneumatic bulk trailer.
US09914596B2
A conveying device for transport of workpiece carriers from and to one or more machining stations, has a stationary conveyor track having at least one guide rail, with at least one stopping device provided for stopping the workpiece carrier. This stopping device is formed as a pivot lever that is integrated in the at least one guide rail and pivotable for stopping the workpiece carrier from a neutral position in which it is aligned with the guide rail, to a position pivoted outwardly out of the guide rail. A method of stopping a workpiece carrier is also provided.
US09914590B2
Provided is a workpiece conveyance method for conveying a workpiece (1) in a predetermined direction by applying a conveying force (F) to the workpiece (1) while supporting the workpiece (1) through use of free rollers (11), and the workpiece conveyance method includes: applying flows of a fluid to the free rollers (11) to apply a rotation auxiliary force (f) to the free rollers (11) in a rotation direction of the free rollers (11) during conveyance of the workpiece (1).
US09914587B2
Position-indexed storage device comprising a support and a basket installed on the support, the basket comprising a plurality of compartments distributed around a longitudinal axis, the basket comprising a central passage with a longitudinal axis, the support comprising a shaft with a longitudinal axis, the shaft being housed in the passage such that relative displacement is possible between the basket and the support along the longitudinal axis, and mechanical means for displacement of the basket relative to the support by a given angle about the longitudinal axis are supported by the internal surface of the passage and the external surface of the shaft, said mechanical displacement means being actuated in each cycle, each cycle comprising a relative separation or approach displacement along the longitudinal axis of the basket and the support.
US09914585B1
The debris catcher is a waste receptacle that is adapted for use with a drill. The debris catcher is further adapted for use with a wall. The debris catcher captures and removes the waste generated by a drill when the drill is used to drill a hole in a wall. The debris catcher is a collection bag that is attached to the wall underneath drill site such that debris generated from the drill site will fall into the debris catcher. The debris catcher comprises a collection bag, a first adhesive, a second adhesive, and a plurality of spring loaded clips.
US09914582B2
A packaging for a window comprising a folded sheet member and at least one fastener or bonder for interconnecting different sections of the sheet member for the formation of a box, where two lid sections are each connected to a side section of the sheet member. The sum of the widths of the lid sections is substantially equal to the width of a receiving section intended for carrying the window and the lid sections have different widths. The width of each lid section corresponds to at least ¼ of the width of the receiving section. Preferably, the packaging comprises an indication that it should be opened at the joint between the two lid sections and one of the lid sections preferably has a standard width regardless of the size of the packaging, preferably approximately 40 cm. A packed window and a method for packing a window is also part of the invention.
US09914578B2
A packaging for multi-component adhesives comprises (1) a first section which contains at least three individual components of the multi-component adhesive and (2) a second section which contains at least two individual components of the multi-component adhesive. The individual components of the multi-component adhesive are distributed to the two sections in such a way that a reaction between the individual components is prevented and hardening of the adhesive takes place only after complete mixture of the individual components. This makes stable storage of the components possible.
US09914577B2
The present subject matter provides a packaging assembly. The packaging assembly includes an inner protection layer which fits and is in contact with a surface of an object to be packaged, and an outer protection layer which covers the inner protection layer. The materials of the outer protection layer and the inner protection layer have different elastic coefficients.
US09914575B2
Flexible containers having with inflated elements with puckered corners.
US09914574B2
Disclosed herein is a temperature condition indicator disposed upon the top surface of a lid or cap for a container or on the container or vial for a perishable product, such as a food or a drug composition. The indicator can change appearance when exposed to a temperature condition, such as a freezing event.
US09914573B2
Aspects and techniques of the present disclosure relate to an internal cover/vent handle arrangement, in association with a container, such as a 5 gallon bucket with a slanted sidewall for evacuating air volume above stored material. The disclosure relates to a squeeze-actuated vent valve arrangement arranged and configured to be easily operated even while deeply recessed in the bucket. The disclosure also relates to a deflectable outer seal arrangement configured to seal against a slanted sidewall of a bucket.
US09914567B2
The present invention relates to a dispensing closure being attachable to a container for dispensing a flowable medium from the container, having a closure body having an outer skirt and a dispensing element being attached to the closure body and being pivotable relative to the closure body between a closed position and a dispensing position. The outer skirt of the closure body has an upper rim with a recess region, and the dispensing closure has a tamper evident band being positioned in the recess region and being attached to the upper rim via at least one frangible connection, wherein the tamper evident band is positioned in the recess region such that it is positioned at least partly between the upper rim and the extension portion of the dispensing element, so that the dispensing element cannot be moved into its dispensing position, before the tamper evident band is removed.
US09914566B2
A closure capsule comprising a base for fitting on an opening of a container, having an upper surface provided with a dispensing orifice; a cover comprising a device for closing off said dispensing orifice, said cover being able to move with respect to the base between a closed position and an open position in which said closing-off device frees said dispensing orifice, said closing-off device comprising a rolling element arranged so as to rotate in the cover and designed to close off the dispensing orifice when the cover is in the closed position and to roll on the upper surface of the base when said cover is moved between its open and closed positions.
US09914565B2
By providing a synthetic closure which comprises at least one thermoplastic polymer and, as an additive, at least one fatty acid derivative, in particular a fatty acid ester or a fatty acid amide such as a stearamide, a synthetic closure is attained which achieved substantially enhanced properties. In particular, it has been found that the oxygen transfer rate of the closure is reduced substantially, thus reducing unwanted oxidation of wine. Furthermore, the use of a fatty acid derivative additive improves the performance characteristics of synthetic corks, such as extraction force, ovality control, diameter control and length control.
US09914562B2
An embodiment includes a bag comprising mesh and film side walls and a reinforcing strip of film; wherein (a) the mesh side wall is sealed to opposing side edges of the film side wall; (b) the reinforcing strip of film is sealed to an upper portion of the mesh side wall and to the opposing side edges of the film side wall; (c) the film side wall has a bottom extension, which is monolithic with the film side wall, extending upwardly and sealed along a lateral extent of a bottom portion of the mesh side wall; (d) the film side wall is non-coplanar with a portion of the bottom extension; (e) another portion of the bottom extension is non-coplanar with the mesh side wall; and (f) a horizontal axis intersects the bottom portion of the film side wall and three portions of the bottom extension.
US09914548B1
A power management system includes a power management and load distribution (PMLD) circuit within an airplane coupled to an AC power source, at least one AC/DC conversion circuit operable to convert the AC power into a DC power, and at least one programmable output capability outlet (PPCO) circuit operable to receive the DC power. The PMLD circuit stores a predetermined maximum power limit, continuously measures a power output, and increases or decreases a power capability setting based on a comparison of the measured power output to the predetermined maximum power limit. The PPCO circuit includes a USB connector couplable to a personal electronic device (PED) of a passenger for charging the PED at an amount of DC power indicated by the power capability setting. The PPCO circuit is also operable to negotiate a power contract with the PED.
US09914546B2
An emergency vision apparatus for providing an operator visual access to information during a smoke emergency, comprises an enclosure made of airtight material having spaced apart front and rear panels, the front panel being transparent, the front panel including fasteners for attachment to an instrument panel; an image capture device attached to said rear panel, the image capture device being oriented to view the instrument panel through the transparent front panel; an image viewing device for being disposed in front of one of the operator's eyes, the image viewing device being operably associated with the image capture device; and a support structure to support said viewing lens in front of one of the operator's eyes.
US09914541B2
Dynamic support systems (10) include a plurality of support members (12), a base material (14), and a support layer (18). Each support member (12) has an upper support surface (20) extending from a first end of a stud (22), and a spherical member (28) extending from a second end of the stud. The base material (14) includes a plurality of receptacles (40) having a socket (42) with a recessed area (52) for positioning a spring (56). The support layer (18) also includes a plurality of apertures (64) that are positioned over the receptacles (40) and allow the studs (22) to extend there through.
US09914532B2
An aircraft landing gear shock absorber having an inner housing portion slidably coupled within an outer housing portion, and a chamber which defines a sealed fluid volume for containing shock absorber fluid within the shock absorber. The chamber includes a moveable wall portion arranged to move between a first position and a second position, and in the second position the effective volume of the chamber is decreased such that the shock absorber fluid pressure increases, to provide a bump to the shock absorber.
US09914513B2
An inspection device for use in a fluid container includes at least one thrust device, at least one ballast device and a cage which carries the at least one thrust device and the at least one ballast device. The cage includes at least two bars. Each bar provides an opening, the openings forming a cage cavity to carry the at least one thrust device and the at least one ballast device.
US09914512B2
Thermal warming suits for a human occupant of a wet submersible vehicle are described. The thermal warming suits provide a dedicated envelope configured to encase at least a portion of the human occupant in a deformable suit that can be assembled around or donned, as well as be removed, by the occupant or others before or after entry and seating in or on the wet submersible vehicle, while underwater or surfaced. The suits provide a deformable, weight and space (i.e. volume) conscious, collapsible loose fitting perimeter around the occupant. The suits can be used to create a pneumatic barrier around at least a portion of the occupant by using a gas such as air provided from a gas reservoir to force water from the interior of the suit.
US09914511B2
An infant recreational floatation device is provided. In some embodiments, a floatation device for an infant is provided, the floatation device comprising an inflatable ring having a top surface and a bottom surface, wherein the inflatable ring includes: an air chamber having an upper chamber portion and a lower chamber portion that are divided by a layer; a cut through the air chamber of the inflatable ring that forms a first end of the inflatable ring and a second end of the inflatable ring, wherein the first end and the second end of the inflatable ring are displaced to insert a neck of the infant into an interior space; a plurality of cut-out portions adjacent to the interior space; and a plurality of fasteners placed on the top surface and the bottom surface of the inflatable ring that detachably connect the first end and the second end of the inflatable ring.
US09914495B2
An electronic docking vehicle includes a vehicle body including a docking subject mechanism that docks with a first surrounding vehicle and a docking object mechanism with which a docking subject mechanism of second surrounding vehicle docks. A vehicle manipulating mechanism is provided in the vehicle body and includes a driving force generator providing a driving force to driving wheels. A steering manipulator controls a steering angle of the driving wheels. A braking manipulator generates a braking force in the driving wheels. A controller is configured to allow one vehicle to combine with the surrounding vehicle through the docking subject mechanism or the docking object mechanism.
US09914492B1
System, methods, and other embodiments described herein relate to a low-profile vehicle. In one embodiment, the low-profile vehicle includes a vehicle body having a profile that is substantially continuous around an outer perimeter of the vehicle. The profile is comprised of a fin extending outward from a lower edge of the vehicle body and meeting a ramp of the vehicle body at a concave curve. The ramp continues from the concave curve into a convex curve where the ramp transitions into a top surface of the vehicle body. The profile has an exaggerated s-shape. The low-profile vehicle includes a hatch disposed within the top surface. The vehicle includes a passenger compartment disposed within the vehicle body and accessible through the hatch. The passenger compartment is shaped to provide for a passenger to occupy the vehicle in a substantially lying down position.
US09914490B2
A frame structure for a motor vehicle body includes at least two profile components and a connecting node, which connects the profile components with each other. At least one of the profile components has at least one console which is made of fiber reinforced plastic and on which other components can be fastened or supported.
US09914483B2
A header beam couples between A-pillars of a vehicle frame. The header beam is formed from a generally straight beam segment that is extruded to have a hollow body portion with supportive legs extending within the hollow interior along the length of the beam segment, defining uninterrupted forward and rearward box sections for supporting continuous load paths on the header beam. The end portions of the beam segment are clamped and the beam segment is stretch bent to form a curvature between the end portions that remain generally straight. A front flange extends forward along the body portion and is struck proximate the end portions to form an edge that is parallel to the curvature formed between the end portions. The end portions are attached to the A-pillars and the edge of the front flange is attached to a windshield.
US09914481B2
A reinforcement member disposed at a front portion of a floor panel is disposed angled toward a vehicle width direction inside on progression from a position (input portion on a vehicle width direction outside and vehicle front-rear direction front side of the floor panel toward the vehicle front-rear direction rear side. An outer end portion of the reinforcement member is joined to a rocker, and an inner end portion of the reinforcement member is joined to a floor tunnel portion. When the vehicle is involved in a frontal collision, collision load is input in an oblique direction to the position on the vehicle width direction outside and the vehicle front-rear direction front side of the floor panel.
US09914478B2
A steerable caddy trailer is provided that has an improved structure including a main frame assembly, spindle assemblies attached to each end of the main frame for attachment of a wheel, a pair of swinging arms forwardly extending from the main frame and pivotally attached to the main frame, and tie rods connecting the swinging arms with the spindle assembly such that pivoting of the swinging arms steers the wheels.
US09914475B2
A humanized steering system for an automated vehicle includes one or more steering-wheels operable to steer a vehicle, an angle-sensor configured to determine a steering-angle of the steering-wheels, a hand-wheel used by an operator of the vehicle to influence the steering-angle and thereby manually steer the vehicle, a steering-actuator operable to influence the steering-angle thereby steer the vehicle when the operator does not manually steer the vehicle, a position-sensor operable to indicate a relative-position an object proximate to the vehicle, and a controller. The controller is configured to receive the steering-angle and the relative-position, determine, using deep-learning techniques, a steering-model based on the steering-angle and the relative-position, and operate the steering-actuator when the operator does not manually steer the vehicle to steer the vehicle in accordance with the steering-model, whereby the vehicle is steered in a manner similar to how the operator manually steers the vehicle.
US09914473B2
Provided is an electric power steering system that achieves a more appropriate steering feel. An ECU of the electric power steering system calculates a basic assist component and a target pinion angle based on at least steering torque. The ECU calculates a correction component for the basic assist component through feedback control in which an actual pinion angle is caused to match the target pinion angle. The ECU calculates an assist command value by adding the correction component to the basic assist component. The ECU corrects a hysteresis controlled variable and a viscosity component according to the rate of change (gradient) in a spring component with respect to a change in absolute value of the target pinion angle. Specifically, the ECU multiplies the hysteresis controlled variable and the viscosity component by gains that have a larger value as the rate of change in spring component increases.
US09914471B2
A securing arrangement for a steering gear housing is provided. The securing arrangement includes at least one steering gear securing portion formed on the steering gear housing and at least one bodywork securing portion formed on a bodywork component of a vehicle. Each steering gear securing portion has a steering gear bearing surface and each bodywork securing portion has a bodywork bearing surface configured to support a respective steering gear bearing surface so as to form a respective pair of bearing surfaces when the steering gear housing is arranged on the bodywork component. Each pair of bearing surfaces includes a convex bearing surface and a substantially planar bearing surface.
US09914470B2
A vehicle tracking system includes a wheel assembly containing sensor circuitry capable of sensing one or more types of conditions, such as wheel rotation, wheel vibration caused by skidding, and specific electromagnetic and/or magnetic signals indicative of particular wheel locations. The wheel assembly may also include a brake mechanism. The wheel assemblies may be mounted on shopping carts and used to collect and monitor shopping cart status and location data via a wireless network. In one embodiment, the wheel assembly communicates via a wired or wireless connection with a handlebar mounted display unit of the cart.
US09914468B2
A collapsible cart. The collapsible cart includes a frame with a first end and a second end, and the frame secures to a bracket and a base. The collapsible cart further includes a basket that can hold large and small items, and wheels located on the underside of the base provide for easy movement of the cart. A handle, the bracket, and the base are each affixed to the frame via a pivot and can fold towards the frame forming a collapsed configuration. In this way, the collapsible cart can be easily transported and deployed at various locations typically inaccessible to vehicles.
US09914466B1
A reverser handle comprising a key component integrally associated with a light component. In an exemplary embodiment, the light component comprises a cap which houses a light source, such as, e.g., a plurality of light emitting diodes, a light bulb, or a photoluminescent material which allows the cap to glow in the dark. The key component comprises a body having extending therefrom a flange which is configured to actuate a control stand. The light component preferably comprises a blue light emitting light source to comply with a blue flag safety procedure.
US09914461B2
A device that can stably and accurately estimate the roll angle of a vehicle body during various states of movement of the vehicle body. A roll angle estimated value calculation portion calculates an estimated value of the roll angle by integrating a value obtained by correcting an estimated value of roll angle velocity of a vehicle body by use of a correction value, or by correcting a value obtained by integrating an estimated value of roll angle velocity by use of a correction value. The correction value is calculated by use of a detection value of speed of the vehicle body in the traveling direction, detection values of angular velocity and acceleration detected by sensors mounted on the vehicle body, a previous estimated value of the roll angle, and a previous estimated value of the pitch angle of the vehicle body.
US09914460B2
In an example, there is disclosed a computing apparatus, including: a driver identity detector to detect the identity of a driver; and one or more logic elements providing a driver competency engine, operable to: detect the identity of the driver; evaluate the driver's operation of a vehicle; and build a driver competency profile based at least in part on the evaluating. The driver competency engine may further be operable to detect a context of the operation, such as environmental factors. There is also described a method of providing a driver competency engine, and one or more computer readable mediums having stored thereon executable instructions for providing a driver competency engine.
US09914458B2
At the time of automated driving, a plurality of vehicle running paths which show changes along with time of a speed and advancing direction of the vehicle are generated based on the information on the surroundings of the vehicle which is detected by an external sensor. At the time of a manual driving mode, the running paths of the vehicle at the different driving scenes are stored as specific vehicle running paths which show the driving characteristics of the driver. At the time of automated driving, when the driving scene becomes a driving scene for which the specific vehicle running path is stored, a vehicle running path close to the stored specific vehicle running path is selected from among the plurality of generated vehicle running paths, and the vehicle is automatically driven along this selected vehicle running path.
US09914456B2
A rotation state of each rotating element of a four-wheel drive vehicle and an operating state of each engagement element of a disconnect mechanism, corresponding to an operating state of the disconnect mechanism, are displayed on or near a vehicle model image on a vehicle display. Thus, it is possible to inform a driver of the operating state of the disconnect mechanism at any time. Thus, the driver is able to recognize the operating state of the disconnect mechanism at any time, so the driver is able to carry out driving based on the operating state.
US09914442B2
The present disclosure provides a system, method, and apparatus for distributing energy amongst at least one forward brake and at least one aft brake for a vehicle. The method involves determining, with at least one processor, an energy for at least one first brake and an energy for at least one second brake. Further, the method involves comparing, with at least one processor, the energy for at least one first brake with the energy for at least one second brake. Also, releasing at least one first brake, when at least one processor determines the energy of at least one first brake is greater than the energy for at least one second brake. Further, releasing at least one second brake, when at least one processor determines the energy of at least one second brake is greater than the energy for at least one first brake.
US09914439B2
A hydraulic booster brake system is provided. The system includes a pedal simulator capable of achieving an enhancement in backup braking performance and in design freedom of the pedal simulator. The system includes a main master cylinder that is connected to a brake pedal while being connected to the pedal simulator via the pedal-side hydraulic line, and a sub master cylinder that is connected to the brake pedal while being connected to the pedal simulator and a fluid reservoir via the pedal-side hydraulic line. A first simulator valve is installed at a portion of the pedal-side hydraulic line between the main master cylinder and the pedal simulator. A second simulator valve is installed at a portion of the pedal-side hydraulic line between the sub master cylinder and the fluid reservoir.
US09914432B2
A safety device that would be installed within the fuel lines of motor vehicles including cars and trucks, with the device remotely activated by police and other law enforcement personnel to block the flow of fuel to the vehicle engine, thus disabling the vehicle to provide law enforcement officials a practical way in which to safely disable a motor vehicle in the event of a police chase, thus protecting both parties, as well as other motorists, innocent bystanders and property from the dangers that can easily occur as a result of high speed chases.
US09914429B2
A forward-facing child restraint and a child restraint system providing superior collision protection. The restraint and the system are for use in a vehicle having a lap belt and a shoulder belt. The child restraint system comprises a restraint which may be used with a booster seat, independently of a booster seat or associated with a booster seat.
US09914418B2
Zones may be associated with respective seating positions of a vehicle. In-vehicle components may also be associated with at least one of the zones of the vehicle. A processor may locate a personal device as being within one of the zones; identify notification settings of the personal device; and invoke notification devices of the in-vehicle components associated with the zone when the notification settings indicate that the personal device has not been previously located in the zone. Invoking the notification devices may include invoking at least one of backlights of the in-vehicle components or existing lighting elements of the in-vehicle component.
US09914414B2
A system and method are provided for estimating a fluid level in a reservoir disposed in a vehicle compartment having a compartment cover. The method includes monitoring at least one operational parameter relating to the reservoir, monitoring a state of the compartment cover using a sensing device, detecting a triggering event based on the at least one operational parameter, the state of the compartment cover, or both, and in response to the triggering event, determining an estimate for an amount of fluid in the reservoir based on data related to the triggering event, and initiating a notification to a vehicle occupant when the estimated amount of fluid in the reservoir is less than or equal to a low level threshold.
US09914411B2
An automobile license plate attachment device includes a wheel part that includes a slot located between two ridges at an outer circumference of the wheel part. A fastener attaches the wheel part over a license plate. An externally threaded structure is shaped to fit over and cover the wheel part when the wheel part is attached over the license plate. The externally threaded structure includes at least one screw hole into which a headless socket screw can be attached to extend into the slot of the wheel part. The headless socket screw holds the externally threaded structure to the license plate. An internally threaded structure with threads matched allows screwing the internally threaded structure on the externally threaded structure. The externally threaded structure includes a slot into which a tool may be placed to prevent the externally threaded structure from spinning around the wheel part when the internally threaded structure is screwed on and off the externally threaded structure.
US09914408B2
A fastener clip system including a carrier and a fastener clip configured to fit over the carrier. The fastener clip includes at least one wing, where the at least one wing is configured to engage a slot in a surface, and one or more barbs that are configured to secure the fastener clip to the carrier. The barbs may include gussets that are configured to increase a bending resistance of the barbs.
US09914400B1
A cargo loader including a base suitable to attach to a roof of a vehicle is disclosed. The cargo loader may include a linear guide having a first end and a second end. The first end of the linear guide is attached to the first portion of the base via a first rotational device. The second end of the linear guide is releasably attached to the second portion of the base. The cargo loader may include a cargo mount having first end and a second end. The first end of the cargo mount is unattached to the linear guide and the second end of the cargo mount is attached to the linear guide via a second rotational device. The cargo loader may include an energy transfer device attached to the second portion of the base and the cargo mount.
US09914398B1
A vehicle storage compartment includes a frame, a drawer within the frame, a pivoting door, and a linkage system interconnecting the frame, the drawer and the door such that pivot of the door causes sliding of the drawer. The linkage system can include a link having a door post and a drawer post respectively engageable with the door and a guide track on the drawer. The linkage system can also include a projection on the drawer engaging a rail. The door post of the link can be disengaged from the door for movement of the door to a fully-lowered position defined by a stop. The drawer post can be disengaged from the drawer for separation of the drawer from the frame. The link can pivot on a hinge pin and can be translated on the pin for engagement and disengagement of the door and drawer posts.
US09914389B2
A theft-deterrent lamp system for use with a vehicle includes a grommet and a cover. The lamp system is configured to mount with the vehicle and receive a lamp to couple the lamp with the vehicle. The lamp system is arranged to block the lamp from being separated from the vehicle without removing a portion of the lamp system from the vehicle.
US09914380B2
A foam part (5, 105, 205, 305), in particular for a vehicle seat, includes a first foam layer (11, 111, 211, 311) facing a user and a second foam layer (21, 221) facing away from the user. The first foam layer has a hardness and/or density that is different from the hardness or density of the second foam layer (21, 221). The first foam layer includes several comfort tubes (50, 150, 250, 350) facing the user. A method for producing such a foam part (5, 105, 205, 305) includes a first step in which the first foam layer, having the comfort tubes (50, 150, 250, 350), is foamed and a second step in which the second foam layer (21, 221) is foamed. A tool (500) for producing a foam part (5, 105, 205, 305) includes a bottom part (510), a frame (520), and a top part (530).
US09914378B1
A decorative closeout assembly includes a gap hider. A U-shaped body portion is constructed from a fabric and includes a plurality of peripheral tabs. First and second inwardly-extending flaps extend inwardly and are operably coupled with a laterally-extending flexible tensioner extending between the first and second inwardly-extending flaps and configured to maintain the body portion taut. A plurality of hooked barbs extend from a bottom side of the U-shaped body portion. An upper back support includes a U-shaped peripheral channel for receiving the plurality of hooked barbs.
US09914360B2
A combined vehicle-speed and engine-speed indicating device that replaces or supplements the function of a manufactured vehicle's existing radial-dial tachometer and radial-dial speedometer with a single coordinate field and two translating indicators that follow paths set to a vehicle's set of overall-gear ratios correlating with each of its transmission's driver-selectable gears to give a vehicle's driver a tool by which to optimize selection of gear ratio, engine speed, and vehicle speed for smooth and efficient progress in a vehicle.
US09914356B2
A center section/motor sub-assembly for use in a hydrostatic transmission includes a center section having a pump running face for interfacing with a pump and a motor running face for interfacing with a motor, and a bore extending laterally through the center section from the motor running face. A spool valve is received in the bore and includes a fluid pathway for providing fluid communication between the pump running face and the motor running face. The sub-assembly further includes a motor having a rotor and a motor stator secured to the center section adjacent to the motor running face in a manner that permits rotation of the rotor. The center section is configured for the hydraulic separating forces of the motor to be reacted only into the center section. A hydrostatic transmission includes the sub-assembly enclosed by a housing, in combination with a pump and output shaft.
US09914353B2
A valve configured for use with a fuel tank can have a floating main valve housed within a valve body. The valve body can define a first port fluidly connected to the fuel tank, a second port fluidly connected to a tank venting system of the fuel tank and a third port fluidly connected to the filler neck. The solenoid can be configured on the check valve. The solenoid can have a pin configured to extend into the valve body and engage the floating main valve in a locked position.
US09914349B2
Provided is an in-wheel motor drive device, including a casing configured to hold a motor part, a speed reduction part, and a wheel bearing part, the motor part including; a stator, which is fixed to the casing; a rotation shaft of a motor, which is rotatably supported on the casing through intermediation of rolling bearings; and a rotor, which is mounted to the rotation shaft of the motor. The rolling bearing has a radial internal clearance of from 8 μm to 25 μm before being mounted into the motor part. The rotation shaft of the motor is rotatably supported on the casing through intermediation of a plurality of rolling bearings. The rotation shaft of the motor and the rolling bearings configured to support the rotation shaft of the motor are fitted to each other by transition fit or interference fit.
US09914346B1
A vehicle includes: a power equipment; a floor panel having a recessed power equipment containing portion that houses the power equipment; and a frame member that suspends and holds the power equipment, wherein the frame member is fixed to the floor panel through a holding member so that a part of the power equipment protrudes from the floor panel, the holding member has an upper end surface, a lower end surface, and a vertical wall that connects the upper end surface and the lower end surface to each other. The frame member is fastened to the upper end surface of the holding member, and the floor panel is fastened to the lower end surface of the holding member.
US09914334B2
A motor vehicle rear structure includes an underframe component for supporting a motor vehicle floor, an axle component including a central part and two lateral parts that define, with the central part, a space to accommodate a component of the vehicle, and a pivot member including a first pivot element and a second pivot element which are able to pivot relative to one another. The rear structure is arranged such that the first and second pivot elements pivot relative to one another about an axis that is substantially horizontal and substantially perpendicular to a direction of travel of the vehicle in a frame of reference of the motor vehicle, when the first and second pivot elements are thus fixed to the central part of the axle component and to the underframe component of the motor vehicle, respectively.
US09914333B2
A vehicle trailer connect system and automated parking system for use with a motor vehicle. Apparatus of the system has an input for obtaining information from a vehicle communication bus; an output for sending information to a vehicle communications bus; a control circuit for controlling the position and movement of a motor vehicle; an image gathering system to obtain visual or spatial data between a motor vehicle hitch and a hitch receiver attached to the trailer. A system controller guides vehicle steering as the vehicle is backed through a field of view of the image gathering system.
US09914326B2
A wheel end assembly for a heavy-duty vehicle includes an axle spindle and a hub rotatably mounted on the axle spindle. A main seal extends radially between the axle spindle and the hub. The seal includes a dynamic portion that seats in a bore formed in the wheel hub, and a static portion that seats on the axle spindle. The static portion includes a rigid carrier that in turn includes a first member, and a second member that is rigidly attached to the first member. An elastomer is bonded to the carrier member and forms a first external lip. The first external lip extends generally parallel to a chamfer formed in an inboard end of the hub. The first external lip, other external features, and internal features prevent contaminants from entering the wheel end assembly, retain lubricant in the assembly, and provide a dynamic expulsion surface to expel contaminants.
US09914321B2
A ring binder mechanism that includes a housing, first and second hinge boards positioned in the housing that cooperate to define a slot having a closing edge and an opening edge. The hinge boards are pivotable between open and closed positions. A plurality of pairs of semi-rings include first and second ring members mounted on the first and second hinge boards, respectively. A travel bar is positioned below the hinge boards and moveable with respect to the housing and the hinge boards between an open position and a closed position. The travel bar includes at least one top bar extending from a top surface thereof that includes inclined opening and closing surfaces. The top bar extends through the slot in the hinge boards and is biased toward the open position. The inclined opening surface of the top bar contacts the opening edge of the slot to pivot the first and second hinge boards to the open position.
US09914320B1
Systems and methods which provide secure value bearing indicia using clear media are shown. Embodiments of the invention provide value bearing indicia on clear media having security features to discourage reuse and/or copying. Embodiments provide value bearing indicia on clear media having controlled cuts in the surface of the clear media to facilitate the destruction of the value bearing indicia when removal is attempted after affixing to a host object. Patterns in which controlled cuts are provided in the clear media are preferably adapted to facilitate desired destruction of the value bearing indicia on clear media. Embodiments may utilize adhesive patterning to facilitate destruction or otherwise disabling the clear fungible postage indicia when removal from a host object is attempted. Embodiments of the invention may additionally or alternatively use adhesive adaption, such as adhesive colorization and/or adhesive characteristic variation, to provide security with respect to clear fungible postage indicia.
US09914317B2
There is provided a heat-sensitive transfer recording medium which is able to better suppress the occurrence of abnormal transfer during high-speed printing using a high-speed printer of sublimation transfer type and is able to improve transfer sensitivity in high-speed printing. The heat-sensitive transfer recording medium includes a base (10), a heat-resistant lubricating layer (20) formed on one surface of the base (10), an underlying layer (30) formed on the other surface of the base (10), and a dye layer (40) formed on a surface of the underlying layer (30), which is on the other side of a surface facing the base (10). In the heat-sensitive transfer recording medium, the underlying layer (30) has a major component that is a copolymer of polyester having a sulfonic group on a side chain and acrylic having at least one of a glycidyl group and a carboxyl group.
US09914316B2
An intermediate transfer member (ITM) for use in a printing system to transport an ink image from an image forming station to an impression station for transfer of the ink image from the ITM onto a printing substrate, wherein the ITM is an endless flexible belt of substantially uniform width which, during use, passes over drive and guide rollers and is guided through at least the image forming station by means of guide channels that receive formations provided on both lateral edges of the belt, wherein the formations on a first edge differ from the formations on the second edge by being configured for providing the elasticity desired to maintain the belt taut when the belt is guided through their respective lateral channels.
US09914315B2
A tape cartridge which contains a tape-shaped printing medium and is to be mounted on a mounting section of a tape printer includes a tape roll around which the printing medium is wound and a core shaft portion that rotatably supports the tape roll. An inner circumferential portion of the core shaft includes a shape forming a first fitting portion which is fitted to a pedestal portion erectly disposed on the mounting section when the tape cartridge is mounted on the mounting section, and a second fitting portion which is fitted to a first convex portion erectly disposed on the pedestal portion when the tape cartridge is mounted on the mounting section.
US09914314B2
In accordance with an embodiment, a printer comprises a housing section and a printer section. The housing section houses a roll-like image receiving medium. The printer section comprises a print head, a platen and a discharge section. The print head prints information on the image receiving medium fed from the housing section. The platen is arranged opposite to the print head and rotates around a rotating shaft. The discharge section discharges the image receiving medium passing through a space between the print head and the platen. The printer section rotates around the rotating shaft independent of the platen.
US09914297B2
A fluid ejection device is described. In an example, a device includes a substrate having a chamber formed thereon to contain a fluid. A metal layer includes a resistor under the chamber having a surface thermally coupled to the chamber. At least one layer is deposited on the metal layer. A polysilicon layer is under the metal layer comprising a polysilicon structure under the resistor to change topography of the resistor such that the surface is uneven.
US09914295B2
A method for manufacturing a structure having a substrate in which holes are formed and a photosensitive resin layer provided on the substrate in such a manner as to cover at least a part of the holes includes a process of preparing a substrate in which holes formed by a surface in which a wavelike shape is formed and a photosensitive resin layer provided on the substrate in such a manner as to cover at least a part of the holes and an exposure process of exposing the photosensitive resin layer on the substrate.
US09914293B2
The invention describes a system for preparing and producing a stamp plate, comprising at least one input device, a control device, and a processing device, with a processing insert and apertures arranged therein. The processing device, in particular a laser plotter, comprises a processing table, which is designed to accommodate and position the processing insert, in particular a tray or jig for at least one stamp plate blank, wherein a removal aid is allocated to at least one aperture of the processing insert, and/or this aperture preferably comprises means for guiding and positioning the insert. In particular the stamp plate blank and/or the workpiece. In order to attain an even surface of a base material of the stamp plate blank, for further processing the base material is positioned on a base plate in a removable manner.
US09914292B2
Disclosed is an additive manufacturing device that facilitates the manufacturing of relatively large 3D objects at a short time. The device uses radiation-curable resin and radiation curing system. Layer shaping members are disclosed to provide both for shorter manufacturing time of an object, minimizing waste of resin and reduction of weight. Curing radiation sources are also designed to minimizing waste of resin and manufacturing time.
US09914289B2
A system for laminating an optical film according to an exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure includes a panel transfer unit to transfer a panel, a first laminating unit to laminate an optical film full-cut into a predetermined length on a first surface of the panel along a first direction parallel to a transfer direction of the panel, and a second laminating unit to laminate an optical film full-cut into a predetermined length on a second surface of the panel along a second direction equal or opposite to the first direction, the second laminating unit rotating the optical film supplied in a full-cut state along the second direction in a horizontal direction and laminating the optical film.
US09914285B2
A decorative sheet which comprises, on a base film layer, a second picture layer that is partially provided and a surface protective layer that is present on and in contact with the second picture layer and covers the entire surface of the base film layer including the region where the second picture layer is formed and the region where the second picture layer is not formed. The decorative sheet is characterized in that: a binder resin for a second picture ink that constitutes the second picture layer is a thermoplastic resin; the surface protective layer is formed of a crosslinking-cured product of an ionizing radiation curable resin composition that contains a polycarbonate (meth)acrylate and/or an acrylic silicone (meth)acrylate; and a low gloss pattern layer that has a low luster region is formed in the surface protective layer right above the second picture layer by the interaction between the ionizing radiation curable resin and the thermoplastic resin. A decorative resin molded article which is obtained using the decorative sheet.
US09914283B2
A thin diamond film bonded to a diamond substrate made by the process of heating a diamond substrate inside a vacuum chamber to about 500° C., cooling the diamond substrate, coating a first surface of the diamond substrate with chromium, depositing an initial layer of palladium, heating the diamond substrate, allowing the chromium and the diamond substrate to form a chemical bond, inter-diffusing the adhesion layer of chromium and the initial layer of palladium, cooling, depositing palladium, placing a shadow mask, degassing the vacuum, depositing a tin layer, assembling the tin layer, heating the tin layer, melting the tin layer, and bonding the thin diamond film to the diamond substrate. A thin diamond film bonded to a diamond substrate comprising a thin diamond film, a layer of chromium, palladium, tin, and a diamond substrate.
US09914276B2
A machine for assembling boxes comprising five independent parts including two head walls, two side walls and a base with peripheral flanges that engage with grooves in a lower portion of the side walls and the head walls. Ends of the head walls have end tongues that are inserted into notches adjacent to ends of the side walls. The machine includes a central assembly station comprising a base ring inside which a stationary forming die is disposed. A base of a box to be formed is positioned on a lower face of the stationary forming die such that while the base of the box is held in position, horizontal push devices are activated which move the head walls and the side walls towards the base of the box which is locked in position against the lower face of the stationary forming die.
US09914269B2
A processing apparatus such as a heating and/or debulking apparatus that may be used to debulk a plurality of uncured composite layers to form an article such as an aircraft component may include a plurality of interconnected smart susceptor heater blankets. The plurality of smart susceptor heater blankets may be connected in series or in parallel, and may be controlled to uniformly heat the component during formation.
US09914262B2
A print method for printing three dimensional (3D) objects that are difficult to copy by use of a 3D scanner and 3D printer. The printer includes a print head with an extrusion nozzle with a heated portion and a print bed with a surface for receiving material extruded from the extrusion nozzle. The printer includes a print material supply spool loaded with an anti-scanning filament. The method includes operating the print head to draw the anti-scanning filament into the heated portion for heating and to extrude the heated filament from the extrusion nozzle to form a 3D object. The printed 3D object includes one or more scan protected exterior surfaces on at least one element of the 3D object. The scan protected exterior surfaces are either light absorbing or reflect light in unconventional directions. The anti-scanning filament is a plastic mixed with an anti-scanning additive such as a retroreflective material.
US09914256B2
A composite material having thermoplastic properties and comprising organic matter and optionally one or both of inorganic matter and plastic with unique characteristics is provided. Such a composite material may be prepared from waste such as domestic waste. For preparation of the composite material, waste is dried, optionally particulated. The dried and optionally particulated waste material is then heated, while mixing under shear forces. The composite material is processed to obtain useful articles.
US09914247B2
A method for infusing gas into a thermoplastic material includes positioning a sheet of a thermoplastic material into a vertical or substantially vertical position; positioning a sheet of a gas-permeable material into a vertical or substantially vertical position; and winding together the positioned sheet of thermoplastic material sheet and the positioned sheet of gas-permeable material to form a roll of the thermoplastic material interleaved with the gas-permeable material, the interleaved roll having a longitudinal axis oriented in a vertical or substantially vertical position. The method also includes exposing the interleaved roll to an atmosphere of a gas pressurized to infuse the thermoplastic material with the gas, while the longitudinal axis of the interleaved roll is oriented in a vertical or substantially vertical position; and then unwinding the gas-infused interleaved roll, while the longitudinal axis of the interleaved roll remains in a vertical or substantially vertical position.
US09914242B2
A production process includes introducing the material to be moulded into a mould, placing the mould in an envelope comprising a vacuum port; creating a low pressure in the envelope by formation of a gas flow through the vacuum port; deforming the mould; stopping the gas flow; and applying pressure on at least a portion of the mould, optionally with interposition of the envelope, at least after the gas flow is stopped.
US09914236B2
A method for cutting a moving source material including: rotating a cutting cylinder including a blade; positioning a structural member in spaced relation from the cutting cylinder, wherein the space between the cutting cylinder and the structural member receives the source material; and positioning an anvil in the space. The anvil engages the source material when it is displaced between the cutting cylinder and the structural member. The method also includes: directing the blade into contact with the source material, whereupon the source material is pressed against the anvil and is severed by the blade, and the anvil is displaced by the cutting blade from a first retracted position to a second activated position; and applying an increasing biasing force to the moving anvil as it is displaced toward the second activated position so as to direct the anvil back to its first retracted position.
US09914229B2
Produce slicers for slicing produce include a frame. A blade assembly is removably and interchangeably received within the frame. A pusher head is removably and interchangeably received within the frame. The produce slicer includes a cover, at least one target ring in the cover defines a first target area. The blade assembly includes at least one blade set with a first frame bar and a second frame bar and a plurality of blades extend therebetween. The pusher head includes a pusher head body and at least one produce pusher with a plurality of fins extending in a direction away from the pusher head body.
US09914227B2
The device has two arms connected together at a first end. At the second end of the first arm the device has a gripping member. At the second end of the second arm is a slitting member. The gripping member and slitting member meet together in order to puncture and tear open a snack bag. A gripping surface on the interior surface of each arm are able to grip the cap of a bottle or jar to assist in opening.
US09914223B2
An apparatus is provided for assembling a pizza, including a pizza sauce spreading station, a cheese spreading station and a pepperoni applying station. A robot including a stationary base and an articulating arm having a gripper attached to the end is operable to grip a pizza pan having pizza dough therein to allow said robot to move the pan throughout the pizza sauce spreading station, and to a rotary dial system including the cheese spreading station and the pepperoni applying station. The robot arm manipulates the pizza pan in the sauce spreading station and the rotary dial system manipulates the pizza pan in the cheese station and the pepperoni applying station to properly distribute the cheese and pepperoni on the pizza.
US09914220B2
A method and computer program product for controlling data transfer between a client device and auxiliary robot cell functions of a robot cell as well as to an interface arrangement for the robot cell. The arrangement includes a reverse proxy providing connectivity for a client device to auxiliary robot cell functions accessible via a local addressing space, where the reverse proxy receives, in a first message having a destination address belonging to the interface device and being a first global address in a global addressing space, a request intended for an auxiliary robot cell function, converts the first address to a first local address of the auxiliary robot cell function in the local addressing space and sends the request to a web server associated with the auxiliary robot cell function using the first local address.
US09914218B2
In one embodiment, a method for responding to a detected event by a robot is provided. The method includes using a sensor to detect an event within an operational space of a robot. The event includes a movement of an object or a person within the operational space. The method also includes using a processor to predict an action to occur within the operational space of the robot based upon the detected event. The method also identifies at least one correlated robot action to be taken in response to the detected event and compares the predicted action to a movement plan of the robot. The method further selects at least one of the correlated robot actions and modifies a movement plan of a robot to include at least one of the identified correlated robot actions in response to the detected event.
US09914215B2
In order to set control with a high degree of freedom while taking into account a time response waveform, a robot control apparatus includes a control section that acquires a driving position of a driving section that drives a robot and a detection value of an operation force operating on the robot detected by a force detector, and controls the driving section based on the detection value, a first setting value, and a second setting value; a first display section that displays a detection waveform that is a time response waveform of the detection value; a second display section that displays a storage waveform that is a time response waveform of the operation force stored in a storage medium in advance; and a receiving section that receives setting of at least the second setting value.
US09914213B2
Deep machine learning methods and apparatus related to manipulation of an object by an end effector of a robot. Some implementations relate to training a semantic grasping model to predict a measure that indicates whether motion data for an end effector of a robot will result in a successful grasp of an object; and to predict an additional measure that indicates whether the object has desired semantic feature(s). Some implementations are directed to utilization of the trained semantic grasping model to servo a grasping end effector of a robot to achieve a successful grasp of an object having desired semantic feature(s).
US09914200B2
According to one embodiment, a magazine apparatus may include a plurality of dividing straps positioned substantially parallel with one another and a plurality of support straps positioned substantially parallel with one another. The plurality of support straps may intersect with the plurality of dividing straps to form a plurality of ware receiving channels. An upper end and a lower end of each ware receiving channel may be at least partially open. The magazine apparatus may also include a plurality of ware seats. Each ware seat may extend at least partially across a corresponding ware receiving channel proximate a lower end of the corresponding ware receiving channel. Each ware seat may provide a seat for glassware positioned in the corresponding ware receiving channel. A plurality of ware spacers may be positioned below and spaced apart from a corresponding ware seat and extending at least partially across the corresponding ware receiving channel.
US09914192B2
A tooling system that includes a drive unit configured to provide rotational force to a tool member. The tool member is attached at a mount on the drive unit. A camera associated with the drive unit is aligned to capture a target on the tool member. The data is sent to a controller that identifies the tool member based on the target. The controller determines whether the tool member is correct for performing an operation on a work piece. If the tool member is correct, the controller may set one or more operating parameters on the drive unit. If the controller determines that the tool member is not correct, the drive unit is disabled. Further, a signal may be sent to inform an operator of the issue.
US09914185B2
An aluminum alloy brazing sheet makes it possible to inexpensively braze aluminum in a nitrogen gas furnace without using flux and a toxic element. The aluminum alloy brazing sheet is used for brazing aluminum in an inert gas atmosphere without using flux, and includes a core material and a filler metal, one side or each side of the core material being clad with the filler metal, the core material being formed of an aluminum alloy that includes 0.2 to 1.3 mass % of Mg, and the filler metal including 6 to 13 mass % of Si and 0.004 to 0.1 mass % of Li, with the balance being aluminum and unavoidable impurities.
US09914184B2
A method of manufacturing a 3D LDS liner includes providing an LDS sheet, forming 3D contoured liners in the LDS sheet, laser structuring circuit patterns on the 3D contoured liners to provide a laser structured circuit pattern, selectively plating the laser structured circuit patterns to form circuits on the 3D contoured liners, and removing the 3D contoured liners from the LDS sheet. A formed LDS liner includes a thin LDS film having a 3D contoured surface vacuum formed from an LDS sheet. The LDS film includes an inner surface and an outer surface. A laser structured circuit pattern is etched into the LDS film, and a conductive layer is selectively plated on the laser structured circuit pattern forming a circuit on the LDS film. The circuit may have a non-planar region.
US09914182B2
A method for transient liquid phase bonding two metallic substrate segments together including the steps of forming a joined component by bringing together the two substrate segments along a bond line with a brazing alloy comprising a melting point depressant disposed between the two segments at the bond line and performing a first thermal treatment including heating the joined component at a brazing temperature of the brazing alloy for a first period of time. The method further includes performing a second thermal treatment including heating the joined component at an intermediate temperature that is above the brazing temperature but below a gamma prime solvus temperature of the substrate segments for a second period of time and performing a third thermal treatment including heating the joined component at a super-solvus temperature that is above the gamma prime solvus temperature of the two metallic substrate segments for a third period of time.
US09914178B2
The present invention relates to a drilling tool and method for modifying a blind hole in a blade root insert of a wind turbine. The invention further relates to an apparatus and method for cleaning a blind hole. The method for modifying a blind hole comprises: removing a blade screw located in the blind hole, inserting a drilling tool into the blind hole, fixing the drilling tool in a drill, recessing the blind hole by a predetermined depth, with a maximum diameter of the end section and of the hole bottom after recessing being smaller than or equal to a diameter of the end section prior to recessing and a transition from the end section to the hole bottom being round after recessing, removing the drilling tool and the drill, mounting the blade screw in the modified blind hole.
US09914176B2
A rotary tool for driving drill bits or screw bits. The rotary tool includes a main body, a main shaft, a chuck, and a locking assembly for locking the chuck at a fixed position relative to the main shaft in the axial direction. The locking assembly is arranged fixedly relative to the main body in the circumferential direction of the main shaft and it has a portion that contacted with the chuck when locking the chuck.
US09914172B2
A method of joining two components using additive manufacturing is provided. The method includes forming a first component made of a first material; forming an interlocking transition zone from the first material and a second material; and forming a second component made of the second material. The interlocking transition zone includes a plurality of projections alternately extending from the first component and the second component, respectively, to undetachably couple the first component and the second component.
US09914169B2
The present invention relates to a method for producing three-dimensional objects based on computer-provided data, whereby a material is deposited in layers in a process chamber and the material is selectively solidified and/or bonded using a bonding apparatus and/or a solidifying apparatus in the process chamber, these steps being repeated. A conveyance of the material proceeds during the build process and proceeds continuously, sequentially and evenly up to an unpacking position.
US09914168B2
A nozzle sand and method of use and operation, utilizes as a constituent component a granulated material that will break down to lose structural integrity and strength when subjected to temperatures and weight of molten ferrous materials, to compact to form at least a partial barrier to penetration of the molten ferrous material while remaining at least substantially in a granulated state. When the nozzle is opened, the loose nozzle sand will freely flow from the nozzle and the barrier will break under the weight of the ferrous material, such that the ferrous material will flow from the vessel through the nozzle. As a representative formulation, the nozzle sand can include between about 50 percent and about 60 percent by weight raw dolomitic lime; between about 20 percent and about 30 percent by weight forsterite; and between about 15 percent and about 20 percent by weight tabular alumina.
US09914166B2
Provided are a manufacturing method and manufacturing device that allow the depth of rack teeth to be adequately maintained across the axial direction. A stepped surface (47) is provided on one surface in the axial direction of a pressure punch (46) that moves together with a teeth-forming punch (32). The teeth-forming punch (32) is displaced downward and rack teeth are formed on the upper surface of an intermediate material (23). At the same time, the surface on the end in the axial direction of the intermediate material (23) is pressed in the axial direction by a movable die (41a) due to the engagement between the stepped surface (47) and the surface on the other side in the axial direction of the movable die (41a).
US09914163B2
A method of sheet forming manufactures a sheet-formed part that is formed in an L-shape as viewed in a plan view and includes a top portion, side wall portions formed on the respective both sides of the top portion, and flange portions contiguously formed with the respective side wall portions, by sheet-forming a metal sheet with the a sheet forming tool. The method includes: a first sheet forming process in which the metal sheet is arranged on a first sheet forming tool including a first punch, a first die, a first blank holder, and a pad; and a second sheet forming process in which the first sheet-formed part formed is sheet-formed into a second sheet-formed part having a top portion and a side wall portion whose shapes are identical with those of the sheet-formed part, with a second sheet forming tool having a second punch and a second die.
US09914162B2
An assembly for press forming a deformable material including: a first die array including a plurality of dies, the first die array defining a first die profile; a second die array that is complementary with the first die array and including a plurality of dies, the second die array defining a second die profile that is complementary with the first die profile; and a drive for driving at least one of the first die array and the second die array; wherein in use the plurality of dies of the first die array and the plurality of dies of the second die array sequentially engage the deformable material along a processing length to deform the deformable material to a predetermined profile.
US09914158B2
Systems for treating contaminated soil are described herein. One system includes a soil chamber that includes one or more walls and at least one floor; at least one heater attached to or inside of at least one of the walls; and at least one heater coupled to or in the floor. Two or more of the walls enclose an interior of the soil chamber. At least one of the walls is configured to move between a closed position during heating of the soil chamber, and an open position that allows a soil moving vehicle to access an interior of the soil chamber to provide or remove soil to and from the soil chamber. At least one wall heater and at least one floor heater provide heat that transfers from the heaters to the contaminated soil in the soil chamber.
US09914151B2
An apparatus is provided for applying adhesive to a compressor liner having a longitudinal central axis. A first roller has a longitudinal central axis and has an outer circumferential surface which is immersed in adhesive in an adhesive sink. A second roller has a longitudinal central axis and is radially spaced apart from the first roller. The second roller has same outer diameter as the first roller and has an outer circumferential surface which is not immersed in adhesive in the adhesive sink. The first and second rollers cooperate to support the compressor liner for rotation about its longitudinal central axis. A drive mechanism includes a constant speed drive for rotating the first and second rollers about their longitudinal central axes at a constant rotational speed to allow a consistent weight and uniform layer of adhesive to be transferred from the first roller to the compressor liner.
US09914139B2
1. A hydrocyclone for separating a fiber suspension into a heavy fraction and including a distribution head for supplying a fluid to the separation chamber, which distribution head is situated centrally in the separation chamber relatively close to the other end. The distribution head has at least one outlet passage designed for spraying a fluid jet, the fluid jet having a flow component in the direction towards the other end of the separation chamber, and the fluid jet having another flow component directed towards the one end.
US09914134B2
An air cleaning system has a field charger comprising a plurality of bars comprising a conductive inner core and a non-conductive overmold, and a plurality of pins attached to the bars and extending out of the non-conductive overmold. The conductive inner core is molded over the plurality of pins, conductively connecting the pins, and the non-conductive overmold is molded over the conductive inner core. A method of manufacturing the field charger includes placing a plurality of metal pins in a mold, placing contact points in the mold, molding a conductive resin over at least a portion of the plurality of pins and contact points, molding an insulating resin over the inner core, plurality of pins, and contact points, wherein at least a portion of the pins and contact points extend from the non-conductive overmold, and mounting an earthplate to the conductive overmold.
US09914130B2
Disclosed herein is a method and system for grinding fragmentary starting material, in particular ores, with a dry grinding system. An embodiment of the method includes the steps of determining the moisture of starting material for a certain period of time, preparing at least one screening stage, the cut point of which is selected depending on the determined moisture in such a manner that the moisture of a screen oversize does not exceed a predetermined moisture limit value when starting material having the determined moisture is fed to the screening stage, feeding starting material to the screening stage, transferring a screen oversize arising in the screening stage to the dry grinding system, and grinding the screen oversize in the dry grinding system.
US09914127B2
A hydraulic system for controlling the position of a movable jaw of a jaw crusher includes a hydraulic cylinder having a piston with a piston rod for positioning the movable jaw. The hydraulic cylinder has a bore side space for containing a hydraulic fluid taking up crushing forces exerted by the movable jaw on the piston rod, and an annular side space containing a hydraulic fluid pressing the piston against hydraulic fluid of the bore side space. The hydraulic system further includes an annular side space accumulator having a fluid compartment, which is in fluid contact with the annular side space, and a gas compartment containing a pressurized gas applying a pressure on the hydraulic fluid in the annular side space.
US09914120B2
A device for use in imaging a liquid sample comprises an inlet for accepting the sample, a connection conduit and a detection chamber for detection of the sample, preferably optical detection of the sample. The connection conduit connects the inlet to the detection chamber and contains one or more dry reagents for reaction with the sample as the sample passes through the connection conduit. Specific embodiments include devices arranged for treating a blood sample, in particular lysing and staining the sample. The liquid flow may be driven by capillary effect. The device may further include liquid handling structures arranged for centrifugally driven liquid flow, for example to meter a volume of sample and separate the sample into phases by centrifugation.
US09914118B2
A technique relates to a nanogap array. A substrate has been anisotropically etched with trenches that have tapered sidewalls. A sacrificial layer is on bottoms and the tapered sidewalls of the trenches. A filling material is formed on top of the sacrificial layer in the trenches. Nanogaps are formed where at least a portion of the sacrificial layer has been removed from the tapered sidewalls of the trenches while the sacrificial layer remains on the bottoms of the trenches. Each of the nanogaps is formed between one tapered sidewall of the substrate and a corresponding tapered sidewall of the filling material. The one tapered sidewall of the substrate opposes the corresponding tapered sidewall. A capping layer is disposed on top of the substrate and the filling material, such that the nanogaps are covered but not filled in.
US09914116B2
A microelement includes: a base being a body of the microelement, the base including a liquid inlet for a liquid to be introduced, a liquid outlet for the liquid to be discharged, and a groove for the liquid to flow from the liquid inlet toward the liquid outlet; a cover that covers the groove of the base; and a liquid flow controller film segment that is fixed to an inner surface of the cover so as to be opposite to the groove. The liquid flow controller film segment is arc-shaped curved-band-like extending in a direction crossing a flow direction of the liquid and has a radius about a center-corresponding position of the cover corresponding to a center of the liquid outlet of the groove. The liquid flow controller film segment is exposed in the groove and disposed on the downstream side to an exposed surface at the inner surface of the cover in the flow direction of the liquid in the groove. The liquid flow controller film segment has a contact angle that is greater than a contact angle of the exposed surface at the inner surface of the cover.
US09914109B2
The present invention relates to zeolitic adsorbents based on agglomerated crystals of FAU zeolite comprising barium and/or potassium, with large external surface area, combining optimum properties in terms of selectivity and mechanical strength.These adsorbents find applications in the separation of cuts of C8-aromatic isomers and notably of xylenes, in the separation of isomers of substituted toluene such as nitrotoluene, diethyltoluene, toluenediamine, in the separation of cresols, and polyhydric alcohols, such as sugars.
US09914106B2
A method of making silicone microspheres comprises nebulizing a silicone precursor solution comprising one or more oligomeric dimethylsiloxanes, a catalyst and a solvent into an aerosol comprising a plurality of droplets. Each droplet comprises the silicone precursor solution. The droplets are entrained in a gas which is flowed through a reaction zone comprising light energy and/or heat energy. Upon exposure of the droplets to the light energy and/or the heat energy, the solvent evaporates and the one or more oligomeric dimethylsiloxanes are polymerized. Thus, silicone microspheres are formed from the droplets of the aerosol.
US09914101B1
A mixing bit having an elongated shaft configured to fit into a chuck of a drill at a first end also has a second end is provided with a blade assembly having a plurality of specifically shaped and equally-spaced blades. The blades extend perpendicularly from the shaft and then converge onto the shaft at a distal end of the second end. The bit is provided with a rounded spinner feature enabling smooth sliding of the device across a floor portion of a container during mixing.
US09914098B2
The present disclosure describes an additive that may be used in the manufacture of thin-film polyamide composite membranes. Thin-film polyamide composite membranes are used in filtration processes, such as reverse osmosis and nanofiltration. The additive may be an amino-siloxane compound. The amino-siloxane compound includes repeated groups of silicon bonded to oxygen with at least one amine functional group. Optionally, the amino-siloxane compound may also include a hydrophilic group. The additive reacts with an aqueous phase and an organic phase to form a thin polyamide film on a porous substrate.
US09914097B2
In a first membrane filtration module comprises a membrane module comprising a plurality of permeable hollow membranes; a fluid distribution device adapted to removably surround at least a portion of the membranes of the membrane module, the fluid distribution device comprising a plurality of through-hole openings for distributing a fluid, and the fluid distribution device adapted to distribute a flow of fluid along a surface of the permeable hollow membranes. In a second membrane filtration device comprises a membrane module comprising a plurality of permeable hollow membranes, each of the permeable hollow membranes having a surface; and a gas distribution device: adapted to distribute gas bubbles to the surface of the permeable hollow membrane, adapted to removably surround at least a portion of the plurality of permeable hollow membranes, and defining a plurality of through openings for distributing the gas bubbles to the membranes.
US09914079B2
A filter system for filtering fluids has a housing, an inlet, and an outlet. A filter element is arranged inside the housing. A cover closes the housing and provides access to the filter element inside the housing. A securing device prevents the housing from being closed by the cover when the filter element is missing. The filter element has at least one filter element guide path section. The housing or the cover has a rim area with at least one rim guide path section. The filter element guide path section and the rim guide path section supplement one another to a guide path. The securing device comprises at least one securing element arranged on the cover or the housing. The securing element is guided on the guide path when a closing movement is carried out for closing the housing by the cover.
US09914073B2
A process train for a floating production storage and offloading installation includes a crude oil storage tank that is equipped with at least one set of electrostatic internals arranged to provide a treatment flow path isolated from a surrounding volume of the electrostatic separator section of the tank. An oil-and-water stream or mixture entering the set of electrostatic internals travels along the treatment flow path and is subjected to an electric field. The treatment flow path is in an upwardly direction toward the oil outlet section and in a downwardly opposite direction toward the water outlet section of the tank. Employing electrostatic internals within the tank permits an allowable inlet water content into the tank of up to 80%, significantly reducing the required topside processing equipment.
US09914063B1
A device designed to spin in a user's hands may include a body with a centrally mounted ball bearing positioned within a center orifice of the body, wherein an outer race of the ball bearing is attached to the frame; a button made of a pair of bearing caps attached to one another through the ball bearing and clamped against an inner race of the ball bearing, such that when the button is held between a user's thumb and finger, the body freely rotates about the ball bearing; and a plurality of weights distributed at opposite ends of the body, creating at least a bipolar weight distribution.
US09914057B2
Techniques for providing an immersive storytelling experience using a plurality of storytelling devices. Each of the storytelling devices may be configured to perform one or more actions based on a current context of a story and in response to a stimulus event. The actions include at least one of an auditory and a visual effect. Embodiments also provide a controller device configured to manage a playback of the story, by adjusting the stimulus event and the effect of each of the plurality of storytelling devices, based on the current context of the story, thereby creating an interactive and immersive storytelling experience.
US09914028B1
A golf club head including an elongate weight receptacle, the weight receptacle including: a first locking rail extending from the exterior surface of the body, the first locking rail running along a first side of the weight receptacle; a second locking rail extending from an exterior surface of the body, the second locking rail running along a second side of the weight receptacle, the first locking rail spaced from the second locking rail; a weight member located in the weight receptacle; wherein the weight member is configured to slide along the weight receptacle when the weight member is in an unlocked position and the weight member is configured to lock in place in the weight receptacle when the weight member is in a locked position; wherein the weight member at least partially resides between the first locking rail and the second locking rail.
US09914026B2
A ball striking device, such as a golf club head, has a face with a striking surface configured for striking a ball where the face has multiple thickness regions. The face has a center region, an upper region, a lower region, a toe region, and a heel region. The upper and lower regions have a ramped thickness extending from a center region to an upper and lower edge of the face. The heel and toe regions have a constant face thickness and have a thickness less than the other regions. Additionally, the club head body has a channel extending across a portion of the sole. The channel may be recessed from adjacent surfaces of the sole and have a depth of recession from the adjacent surfaces of the sole. The channel may have a cross-sectional profile that is asymmetric with a front wall and a rear wall where the front wall is longer than the rear wall. The channel may also have a center thickness that is different than a thickness at the heel and toe sides.
US09914021B2
An object of the present invention is to provide a golf ball traveling a great distance on driver shots. The present invention provides a golf ball comprising a spherical core including an inner layer and an outer layer, an intermediate layer and a cover, wherein a difference (HX+1−HX−1) between a hardness (HX+1) at a point outwardly away in a radial direction from a boundary between the inner layer and the outer layer of the spherical core by 1 mm and a hardness (HX−1) at a point inwardly away in the radial direction from the boundary between the inner layer and the outer layer of the spherical core by 1 mm is 0 or more in Shore C hardness, a surface hardness (HX+Y) of the spherical core is more than 65 in Shore C hardness, an angle α of a hardness gradient of the inner layer is 0° or more, a difference (α−β) between the angle α and an angle β of a hardness gradient of the outer layer is 0° or more, a total thickness of a thickness (Tm) of the intermediate layer and a thickness (Tc) of the cover is 3 mm or less, and the cover has a highest hardness among the constituent members of the golf ball.
US09914016B2
An elliptical climbing exercise apparatus includes a base frame, a swing unit including a pair of swing arms, a pedal unit including a pair of pedal shafts respectively pivotally connected to the swing arms, a damping unit including a rotating wheel with a spindle, a guiding unit including a pair of cranks respectively affixed to the two opposite ends of the spindle, a pair of rockers respectively pivotally connected to the cranks and a pair of links respectively pivotally connected to the rocker. Cooperation between the base frame, the swing unit, the pedal unit, the resistance unit and the guiding unit is used to achieve a training of the leg muscles.
US09914015B2
A motor-less leg-powered curved treadmill produced that allows people to walk, jog, run, and sprint without making any adjustments to the treadmill other than shifting the user's center of gravity forward and backwards. A closed loop treadmill belt running between front and rear pulley rollers is formed with a low friction running surface of transverse wooden, plastic or rubber slats attached to each other in a resilient fashion, wherein each transverse slat has at least one continuous fin descending downward therefrom.
US09914006B1
A dumbbell used as a weight training device during a weight training or exercise program. Ball bearing wheels are used to allow user to accomplish most chest workouts with pushup form flies, and acting as pushup stands, ILIFTS allow deeper pushups. The dumbbell includes a gripping handle and a pair housing to secure weight plates inside. The provided handle is capable in rotating and the main advantage of the invention, there is disassembly is not required to move from one to another workout without any difficulties. The whole device is made from stainless steel, ball bearing wheels, and rubber cushion grip.
US09913997B2
A device for monitoring gases present in a breathing mask. A gas sensing element carried by the breathing mask senses the partial pressure of a gas present in the breathing mask and outputs signals corresponding to the sensed gas partial pressure. The gas sensing element may comprise a gas-sensing material configured to emit, in response to light excitation, an optical signal at an intensity corresponding to the partial pressure of a sensed gas.
US09913996B2
According to a three-dimensional image capture system of the invention, it includes a three-dimensional measuring device that is placed on a top board and performs image-capturing of a patient to thereby generate three-dimensional-image data, and a three-dimensional-image processing device that generates from the three-dimensional-image data, a three-dimensional image associated with a reference coordinate system with reference to the top board or a floor of a room, and that displays the three-dimensional image. The three-dimensional-image processing device includes a position-information extraction unit that takes a correlation between the reference coordinate system and three-dimensional position information of the patient in the three-dimensional-image data to thereby generate reference-coordinate-system position information of the patient based on the reference coordinate system, and a display unit that displays the three-dimensional image, wherein the display unit displays a reference image and an observed image that are the three-dimensional images captured at different timings.
US09913992B2
An oral treatment device that emits light onto surfaces of a user's teeth. In one aspect, the oral treatment device includes an intraoral mouthpiece comprising: a lamp support surface; and a lamp. When the lamp is mounted to the lamp support surface, a first contact surface of the lamp contacts a first contact surface of a first electrical contact element of the lamp support surface; and (2) a second contact surface of the lamp contacts a second contact surface of a second electrical contact element of the lamp support surface.
US09913990B2
Systems and methods are disclosed in which an external device such as a consumer mobile device (e.g., smart phone) is used as an external controller to bi-directionally communicate with an Implantable Medical Device (IMD) using a dedicated patient remote control (RC) as an intermediary device to translate communications between the two. The dedicated RC contains a graphical user interface allowing for control and monitoring of the IMD even if the mobile device is not present in the system, which is useful as a back-up should the mobile device experience problems. Use of the dedicated RC as an intermediary device broadens the utility of other computing devices to operate as an external controller for an IMD even if the computing device and IMD do not have compliant communication means.
US09913985B2
In electrically stimulating neural tissue it is important to prevent over stimulation and unbalanced stimulation which would cause damage to the neural tissue, the electrode, or both. It is critical that neural tissue in not subjected to any direct current or alternating current above a safe threshold. Further, it is important to identify defective electrodes as continued use may result in neural and further electrode damage. The present invention presents system and stimulator control mechanisms to prevent damage to neural tissue.
US09913980B2
This application describes a miniature implantable neurostimulator system for sciatic nerves and their branches. The implanted miniature neurostimulator is implanted in the leg and stimulates these nerves for the treatment of urinary or bowel incontinence. The miniature implantable neurostimulator has a low duty cycle permitting a small size with medically-acceptable longevity. The system includes a wireless programmer and patient-activated key fob.
US09913978B2
The disclosure is directed to a device for electroporating and delivering one or more antigens and a method of electroporating and delivering one or more antigens to cells of epidermal tissues using the device. The device comprises a housing, a plurality of electrode arrays projecting from the housing, each electrode array including at least one electrode, a pulse generator electrically coupled to the electrodes, a programmable microcontroller electrically coupled to the pulse generator, and an electrical power source coupled to the pulse generator and the microcontroller. The electrode arrays define spatially separate sites.
US09913973B2
The present invention generally relates to the use of electrodes with human and animal subjects. More particularly, the present invention relates to electrical contacts which are applied to the surface of a subject for the purpose of delivering transranial direct current stimulation (TDCS).
US09913970B2
An applicator includes a piston plate, a non-linear coil spring, a casing, a lock means and a release means. The casing includes a tubular main body part that houses therein the piston plate and the non-linear coil spring, and a cover part that is arranged on one end side of the main body part. The cover part and the piston plate sandwich the non-linear coil spring there between. The lock means locks the piston plate with the casing such that the piston plate is held at a retraction position thereof on the cover part side in a state where the cover part and the piston plate compress the non-linear coil spring. The release means releases a locked state where the piston plate is locked with the casing by the lock means and where the cover part and the piston plate compress the non-linear coil spring.
US09913968B2
An implantable fluid management device, designed to drain excess fluid from a variety of locations in a living host into a second location within the host, such as the bladder of that host. The device may be used to treat ascites, chronic pericardial effusions, normopressure hydrocephalus, hydrocephalus, pulmonary edema, or any fluid collection within the body of a human, or a non-human mammal.
US09913961B2
The present disclosure provides a strong, flexible catheter shaft for use in a catheter system. The flexible catheter shaft includes a braided polyimide tube including one or more outer layers of material of varying flexibility. The flexible catheter shaft provides a shaft having sufficient stiffness and kink resistance to allow an operator to advance an electrode basket connected to the flexible catheter shaft through a guide catheter to a target ablation site without causing vessel trauma. The distal tip of the flexible catheter shaft is designed to have sufficient flexibility to reduce any risk of kicking out a guide catheter when tracking the electrode basket around turns into side branches or bifurcations in the vasculature of a patient and includes a distal spring coil.
US09913947B2
A titanium electrosurgical instrument, such as a scalpel (20), and electrosurgical devices, e.g., needle (40), and Bovie tips (40), are provided with a silane coating (30) directly against the solid titanium metal (26, 43, 73) of the body tissue-contacting distal ends (24, 47, 70) thereof whereby to impart advantageous non-stick properties thereto.
US09913938B2
A heating apparatus for heating a dialysis liquid includes a receiving section for receiving a heating bag through which dialysis liquid to be heated can flow, and a sensor system for determining or monitoring the deformation or the position of the heating bag in the receiving section of the heating apparatus or both. A dialysis liquid tube set, a set, a medical apparatus and a method are also described.
US09913933B2
In various embodiments of the present disclosure, a surgical catheter is provided. The present disclosure provides a catheter shaft that includes a distal portion and a proximal portion. The proximal portion comprises a handle operably connected to the distal portion of the elongated structure. The distal portion three radially positioned polymeric layers. At least two of the layers include chemically dissimilar polymers and at least one of the three layers includes functionalized polyvinylidene fluoride (PVDF).
US09913931B2
A calcium phosphate monetite cement-forming composition comprises a monetite-forming calcium-based precursor powder and from 3 to 30 wt %, based on the weight of the precursor powder, of dicalcium pyrophosphate powder. Monetite cements formed form such compositions may be used in implants for correcting bone defects. Methods for bone defect repair employ implants formed from such monetite cements and slow implant resorption and/or improve in vivo bone induction in a patient.
US09913926B2
Described herein is the synthesis of adhesive complex coacervates and their use thereof. The adhesive complex coacervates are composed of a mixture of one or more polycations and one or more polyanions. The polycations and polyanions in the adhesive complex coacervate are crosslinked with one another by covalent bonds upon curing. The adhesive complex coacervates have several desirable features when compared to conventional bioadhesives, which are effective in water-based applications. The adhesive complex coacervates described herein exhibit good interfacial tension in water when applied to a substrate (i.e., they spread over the interface rather than being beaded up). Additionally, the ability of the complex coacervate to crosslink intermolecularly increases the cohesive strength of the adhesive complex coacervate. They have numerous biological applications as bioadhesives and drug delivery devices and are particularly useful in underwater applications and situations where water is present such as, for example, physiological conditions.
US09913913B2
A method for preparing a polymeric reagent is provided, which method includes the optional step of forming an N-hydroxysuccinimdyl ester derivative. Related methods, preparations, and so forth are also provided.
US09913906B2
An embodiment of the present disclosure provides a composition that comprises hyaluronic acid, or its salt or derivative thereof, and an antimicrobial agent, such as zinc citrate, that does not degrade the hyaluronic acid molecule.
US09913899B2
Identification of candidates for treatment and treatment of subjects experiencing cerebral ischemia wherein the treatment employs a thrombolytic or thrombectomy agent and an inhibitor of vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) receptor-mediated signal transduction are determined by testing the blood of a patient for total S-100B or for S-100BB as a marker of blood brain barrier integrity.
US09913893B2
Provided herein are vaccine vectors including an antigenic polypeptide and an HMGB1 polypeptide present on the surface of the vaccine vector. Compositions comprising the vaccine vectors are also provided and include a pharmaceutically acceptable carrier, suitably a carrier for oral or nasal administration. Also provided are methods of enhancing immune responses, in particular antibody immune response and suitably an IgA response, by administering the vaccine vectors or compositions disclosed herein to a subject.
US09913882B2
The technology relates in part to methods for inducing partial apoptosis of cells that express an inducible caspase polypeptide. The technology further relates in part to methods for inducing partial apoptosis of cells that express an inducible modified caspase polypeptide, having a modified dose response curve to the multimeric ligand inducer. The technology also relates in part to methods for cell therapy using cells that express the inducible caspase polypeptide or the inducible modified caspase polypeptide, where the proportion of caspase polypeptide-expressing cells eliminated by apoptosis is related to the administered amount of the multimeric ligand inducer.
US09913880B2
The present invention relates to a composition containing an inducer of SIRT1 (silent mating type information regulation 2 homolog) expression for preventing or treating sepsis or septic shock. The inducer of SIRT1 expression can remarkably reduce the mortality caused by sepsis or septic shock by reducing pro-inflammatory cytokines and increasing anti-inflammatory cytokines. Therefore, the inducer of SIRT1 expression is useful for preventing or treating sepsis or septic shock.
US09913874B2
The present invention relates to a process for obtaining a juice of fresh plants, characterized in that said fresh plants, with the exclusion of the seeds only, are subjected to a thermomechanical treatment consisting in extruding the fresh plants in an extruder, combined with a heat treatment which makes it possible to inactivate the endogenous enzymes and to preserve the molecules of compounds of interest in the native form thereof, in the absence of solvent, followed by a juice recovery operation.
US09913873B2
The present disclosure provides a soft pastille containing turmeric extract as an active ingredient. The pastille is prepared using at least one gelling agent and at least one plasticizer in combination with pharmaceutically acceptable excipients, wherein the ratio of the gelling agent to the plasticizer is in a range of 1:2.5 to 1:3.3.
US09913868B1
A method of producing an imbibable cannabis extract from cannabis plant matter is disclosed. The imbibable cannabis extract may comprise a flavored liquid extract of cannabinoid compounds. The method includes preparing a primary cannabis extract of cannabinoid compounds from dried cannabis plant matter including preparing a cannabis mash of dried cannabis plant matter and 91% ice cold isopropyl alcohol, collecting a cannabis/isopropyl alcohol filtrate, performing a paper filtration of collected cannabis/isopropyl alcohol filtrate, fractionally distilling the cannabis/isopropyl alcohol filtrate to remove the isopropyl alcohol, performing a decarboxylation reaction on the primary cannabis extract. A cannabis syrup may be prepared from the primary cannabis extract and a sorbate compound or blend. The imbible cannabis extract of cannabis syrup and a pasteurized mixture of 1.8 fluid ounces of water, 2.5 g erylite 400, and 0.5 mL flavoring per 2 fluid ounce serving size is prepared and filtered through a 0.05 micron filter.
US09913864B2
The invention features compositions comprising agents having cardiac protective activity isolated from epicardial progenitor cells and derivatives thereof, and methods for the use of such compositions.
US09913859B1
An improved aqueous teat dip comprising iodine and chlorhexidine in an aqueous solution.
US09913836B2
The present invention relates to a pharmaceutical composition comprising propiverine, trospium or glycopyrrolate; and a non-anticholinergic antiemetic agent. It is also related to a pharmaceutical composition comprising a high dose of solifenacin or a pharmaceutically acceptable salts thereof; and a non-anticholinergic antiemetic agent. Pharmaceutical compositions containing high dose of nsPAChA for use for increasing the AChEI blood concentrations and for combating neurodegeneration are also described. The invention also relates to a method for inducing neuroprotection and combating neurodegeneration in a patient suffering from Alzheimer type dementia as well as to a method for increasing the blood levels of an acetyl choline esterase inhibitor (AChEI) in a human subject treated with an AChEI dose.
US09913831B2
Disclosed is a treatment of diabetes insipidus. Methods of treating diabetes insipidus disorders associated with P2Y receptors using the compounds and compositions are also disclosed.
US09913820B2
Provided are antimicrobial solutions comprising a glyceryl nitrate (e.g., glyeryl trinitrate) in combination with a chelator (e.g., citrate), a peroxide, a fatty acid, and/or an alcohol (e.g., ethanol). In various aspects these components may synergistically act to kill or reduce the growth of microbes, such as bacteria or fungi, present in a biofilm.
US09913818B2
The present disclosure relates generally to compositions that comprise citrulline and leucine or a metabolite thereof including, for example, a synergistic amount of citrulline and leucine. Such compositions may be used in methods for the treatment of metabolic syndrome, hyperglycemia, and/or hyperinsulinemia.
US09913813B2
Aqueous compositions suitable for topical administration to the human or animal eye contain at least one water-soluble polymeric ophthalmic lubricant, such as hyaluronate, carbomer gel or hypromellose, together with a water-soluble analgesic. The analgesic may be an opiod, particularly an opioid having an affinity for 5-HT receptors, such as tramadol. The aqueous compositions may for example be used as artificial tears, and as general ophthalmic lubricants for treating conditions such as dry eye or blepharitis. Further compositions combine ophthalmologicallyactive agents, such as pharmaceuticals, with opioids, such as tramadol in particular. These compositions may be used to treat the eye while reducing pain or discomfort that would normally be produced by administering these particular pharmaceuticals to the eye, and increasing the efficacy of the pharmaceuticals. Compositions are also disclosed, containing opioids with 5-HT receptor activity, which are of general use in alleviating pain in and around the eye.
US09913786B2
The present invention relates to a composition in the form of an oil-in-water emulsion, comprising, in a physiologically acceptable medium: a) at least one aqueous phase; and b) at least one oily phase comprising at least one apolar non-volatile hydrocarbon-based oil and at least one pasty apolar lipophilic hydrocarbon-based compound; and c) at least one hydrophilic gelling polysaccharide; and d) at least one mixture of emulsifying nonionic surfactants comprising (i) at least one fatty acid ester of polyol and (ii) at least one polyalkylene glycol ester. The present invention also relates to a cosmetic care process for moisturizing a human keratin material, in particular the skin, characterized in that it comprises the application to the surface of the said keratin material of a composition as defined previously.The present invention more particularly relates to a cosmetic care process for moisturizing a human keratin material, in particular the skin, on contact with water (for example under the shower or in the bath), characterized in that it comprises the application to the surface of the said human keratin material of a composition as defined previously, followed by rinsing with water and wiping.
US09913779B2
An infant bottle (10) method and kit, wherein the bottle comprising: a disposable bag (20), for containing a beverage (30, 44, 46); a foldable bag frame (16), for deploying therein the disposable bag (20) at a deployed state of the foldable bag frame (16), wherein a folded state thereof occupies less space than an unfolded state thereof; and a teat (14), for covering the disposable bag (20) in a sealed manner, thereby resulting in a compact infant bottle (10) at a folded state of the foldable bag frame (16), and sealable upon deployment.
US09913771B2
The present invention relates to a lifting and transporting device. The device of the invention is useful for lifting and moving any object which has a pair of spaced apart wheels but is particularly adapted for the lifting and transporting of hospital beds. The bed lifter includes an improved means of engaging a bed and supporting the load of the bed or bed/patient combination during lifting and transportation by engaging the bed wheels and not the bed frame.
US09913768B2
A wheelchair suspension assembly includes a frame, a drive assembly, an anti-tip linkage, a front anti-tip wheel, and a rear anti-tip wheel. The drive assembly includes a drive wheel. The front anti-tip wheel is positioned forward of the drive wheel by the anti-tip linkage. The rear anti-tip wheel is positioned rearward of the drive wheel the anti-tip linkage. The anti-tip linkage couples the front anti-tip wheel to the rear anti-tip wheel such that upward movement of the front anti-tip wheel relative to the frame causes upward movement of the rear anti-tip wheel relative to the frame. The anti-tip linkage includes a front anti-tip pivot arm that is pivotally coupled to the frame, a rear anti-tip pivot arm that is pivotally coupled to the frame, and a connecting link that couples the front anti-tip pivot arm and the rear anti-tip pivot arm.
US09913750B2
Injection devices for delivering pharmaceutical compositions into the eye are described. Some devices include a resistance component for controllably deploying an injection needle through the eye wall. The resistance component may be disposed on the injector device, or on a portion of the injection device housing, or on a drug reservoir. Some devices may be removably attached to a drug reservoir, for example, through a luer connector. Other devices may comprise internal luer seal for securely connecting a drug conduit of the device to the luer cavity of a drug reservoir. Yet other devices may comprise a priming-enabling element to facilitate the drug priming of a shielded needle. Related methods and systems comprising the devices are also described.
US09913747B2
A thin disposable insert for adherence onto the crotch portion of a female undergarment for reducing pressure otherwise transferred from the undergarment to the external genital organs of the female is referred to as a panty guard. An anatomically correctly shaped pelvic organ support included within or adhered to the panty guard provides three dimensional support to the pelvic floor of a female. The pelvic organ support and the thin disposable insert provide a barrier between the female pelvic organs and abrasive fabrics of the undergarment. The pelvic organ support provides a porous space between tight-fitting non-breathable undergarments and the genitalia of the wearer, allowing air to flow across the wearer's skin. The panty guard with a pelvic organ support to prevent infection, lacerations, pelvic floor prolapse, and incontinence.
US09913741B2
A delivery system is provided for a self-expanding medical device. The delivery system has a handle assembly with a housing. The housing has a slot with a deployment knob extending therethrough. The self-expanding medical device is deployed by restraining the housing of the handle assembly and pulling on the deployment knob. This causes an outer sheath to withdraw proximally from an inner catheter to release the self-expanding medical device from a space between the outer sheath and inner catheter.
US09913737B2
The invention relates to a mechanical finger comprising, a knuckle, a proximal element, a rod, a motor, a motor driven screw and a distal element. The knuckle has a first and second pivot. The proximal element knuckle end is coupled to the first pivot. The proximal element also has a third pivot at a variable longitudinal distance from the first pivot. The rod has a near end pivotally coupled to the second pivot and a far end pivotally coupled to the third pivot. A motor is coupled to and referenced to the proximal element. A screw is driven to change the distance between the third pivot and the first pivot in response to a command from a controller to the motor. A distal element is pivotally coupled to the proximal element. The distal element rotates with respect to the proximal element in response to a change in the variable distance between the third pivot and the first pivot.
US09913736B2
Systems and methods for distracting an intervertebral disc space are provided. The systems use a staged, bilaterally expandable trial. The systems and methods of distracting an intervertebral space are provided in a manner that addresses the problem of subsidence. The method includes inserting the trial into the intervertebral space in a collapsed state and, once inserted, the trial is then used for distracting the intervertebral space using an expansion that includes a first stage and a second stage. The first stage includes expanding the trial laterally toward the peripheral zones of the top vertebral plate and the bottom vertebral plate, and the second stage includes expanding the trial vertically to distract the intervertebral space.
US09913731B2
An apparatus and method is provided for interbody fusion including distracting, in a given direction, and supporting opposing vertebral bodies. A plurality of wafers are consecutively inserted between the vertebral bodies to create a column of wafers. The column of wafers is oriented between the vertebral bodies so as to expand in the given direction as the wafers are consecutively added to the column.
US09913725B2
A method of performing percutaneous interbody spinal fusion on adjacent vertebrae in a patient including the steps of: creating a percutaneous access opening on the patient, using indirect visualization to establish a surgical path through the access opening via neural monitoring, creating a cavity in a disc space between the adjacent vertebra, without retraction, evaluating the created cavity, inserting a container sized and configured to fit through the access opening into the cavity and filling the container with fill material.
US09913722B2
The present invention provides for a variety of fracture fixation options should a fracture occur after total hip arthroplasty or total knee arthroplasty, and provides associated methods and apparatus for application of provided fixation. The ability to pre-engineer fracture fixation contingent solutions into femoral or tibial components provides for a distinct clinical advantage in the planning and execution for periprosthetic fracture fixation. Said methods and apparatus include targeting devices which allow for intimate association of fixed angle locking screws in pre-drilled holes in an existing prosthetic, femoral nail, or other components including additional fixation components. Use of pre-engineered fracture fixation contingent solutions into femoral or tibial components provides for a distinct clinical advantage in the planning and execution for periprosthetic fracture fixation. Such apparatus and methods further include the use of alignment devices and other components to allow for ease of repair of periprosthetic fractures utilizing the pre-engineered solutions. Such targeting devices are required in specific circumstances as the prosthetics may prevent x-ray imaging and consequently free hand alignment.
US09913717B2
In a representative embodiment, an implantable prosthetic heart valve device comprises an elongated body having first and second end portions, the body being configured to be implanted around a native leaflet of a heart valve such that the first end portion is on an atrial side of the leaflet and the second end portion is on a ventricular side of the leaflet and such that the body can coapt with and move away from an opposing native leaflet during operation of the heart valve. The device can further comprises a fastener configured to be mounted on a suture that extends from one of the first or second end portions, through the native leaflet and through the other of the first or second end portions such that the body is secured to the native leaflet.
US09913703B2
An oestrus detector includes a reservoir portion which contains a coloured liquid. The detector further includes a generally planar portion that is attached to and sealed from the reservoir portion, except for an open or closed passage in a seal line separating the reservoir portion and the generally planar portion. In use the liquid is squeezed from the reservoir portion, through the passage, and into the generally planar portion, when the reservoir portion receives pressure.
US09913698B2
Disclosed is a medicine ingestion state management method capable of objectively managing medicine ingestion states of patients. The medicine ingestion state management method involves an operation of prescribing medicine (10) encapsulating, together with a medicament, a medicine information transmitting unit (20) having a function of transmitting medicine information capable of specifying a type and a quantity of the medicament to each individual patient, and an operation of grasping the medicine ingestion state of each patient by collecting the medicine information from each medicine information transmitting unit (20) in each patient.
US09913691B2
The present disclosure relates to model-based surgical planning. One aspect of the present disclosure relates to a surgical planning tool that can be implemented on a computer to be used for model-based surgical planning. The surgical tool can determine a coordinate system related to gravity from a plurality of standing images of a joint of a patient. The coordinate system can be used to plan a patient-specific arthroplasty procedure. As such, the surgical planning can include orienting a model of an implant for the joint at an optimal location in the coordinate system based on a weighting between an edge loading value and an impingement value.
US09913688B1
A method of removing tattoos or pigmented lesions by generating at least two laser pulses having a pulse width in the picosecond range, where the peak power of each pulse is less than 15 GW/cm2 and where the spacing between the pulses is less than ten nanoseconds, and directing the pulses to the tattoo or pigmented lesion to be removed.
US09913685B2
An irrigated ablation catheter includes a tip electrode with a thin shell and a plug to provide a plenum chamber. The tip electrode has an inlet of a predetermined size and noncircular shape, and outlets in the form of fluid ports formed in the thin shell wall. The plurality of the fluid ports is predetermined, as is their diameter. Each fluid port has a tapered configuration, for example, a frustoconical configuration, with a smaller inlet diameter and a larger outlet diameter.
US09913681B2
An ablation device includes first and second electrodes and an absorbent medium. The ablation device may include a permeable spacer or other mechanisms to position the ablation device in the uterus. The absorbent medium configured to absorb a conductive fluid and optionally to distend. A current can be applied to the first and second electrodes to convert the conductive fluid to a vapor or steam for ablation of the uterus.
US09913680B2
A surgical system includes a module for compiling a plurality of operational parameters of the surgical system during a plurality of treatment cycles performed by the surgical system. The module includes a processor and a memory unit, the processor configured to store in the memory unit values of the plurality of operational parameters associated with each of the plurality of treatment cycles, wherein the processor is configured to identify a subset of the stored values of the plurality of operational parameters temporally proximate to an intervening event.
US09913679B2
The electrosurgical systems and methods of the present disclosure monitor power dosage delivered to tissue being treated with improved speed and accuracy. The electrosurgical systems include an output stage, sensors, analog all-pass filters, an analog multiplier, an average power calculation circuit, and a controller. The output stage generates electrosurgical energy to treat tissue. The plurality of sensors sense voltage and current waveforms of the generated electrosurgical energy. The plurality of analog all-pass filters filter the sensed voltage and current waveforms. The plurality of analog all-pass filter may have lagging or leading phase. The analog multiplier multiplies the filtered voltage and current waveforms to obtain a real power waveform. The average power calculation circuit calculates a real average power based on the real power waveform. The controller then generates a control signal to control the output stage based on the real average power.
US09913678B2
Embodiments include methods, apparatuses, and systems for reducing elevated intraocular pressure (IOP) in a patient to either prevent or treat open-angle glaucoma. Heat is applied to the trabecular meshwork in the patient's eye without damaging proteins in the trabecular meshwork. The application of heat to the trabecular meshwork has the effect of relaxing or loosening protein clogs or other inhibitors in the trabecular meshwork, which are either reducing or obstructing of the outflow of aqueous humor, thereby increasing the patient's IOP and causing ocular hypertension (OHT). By loosening or relaxing clogs or other inhibitors in the trabecular meshwork, the outflow path for aqueous humor is increased or restored, which can lower IOP and either prevent or treat glaucoma. Force may also be applied to the patient's eye to apply pressure to the trabecular meshwork to further assist in the loosening or relaxing of clogs or other inhibitors in the trabecular meshwork.
US09913667B2
The present invention relates to an interspinous implant (1), intended to be implanted between two adjacent dorsal spines (EI, ES), each including an upper edge (E2), a lower edge (E3) and two opposed lateral faces (E4, E5), wherein the implant (1) includes at least one body (10) with dimensions arranged so as to maintain or restore a distance between the adjacent edges (E2, E3) of the two spinous processes (EI, ES) and including at least two wings (11, 12) extending so that at least a part of each wing (11, 12) lies along at least a part of one lateral face (E4, E5) of one of the two spinous processes (EI, ES) and, additionally, at least one retainer (2, 3, 4, 7, 111, 121, 221, 24, 28, 29, L, 90) for the implant, designed to retain the body (10) of the implant between the two spinous processes and to be inserted from the same lateral face as the body (10).
US09913665B2
A receiving part of a bone anchoring device is provided, where the receiving part includes a first end, a second end opposite to the first end, a central axis extending through the first end and the second end, and a substantially U-shaped-recess adjacent to the first end for receiving a spinal fixation element. The substantially U-shaped recess forms two free legs. The receiving part also includes a bore extending from the first end towards the second end and in communication with the substantially U-shaped recess. A groove is provided in an outer surface of each of the legs, where the groove has a first end and a second end and extends in a circumferential direction in an arcuate shape between the first end of the groove and the second end of the groove. In a plane that includes the central axis and that extends through a center of each leg, a contour of a surface of the groove has at least a first arcuate portion and a second arcuate portion opposing the first arcuate portion, where the contour is substantially free from straight portions.
US09913662B2
A clamp for a linkage for linking first and second bone fasteners of a prosthesis assembly, the clamp comprising a clamp body having a first receiving portion for receiving a first component of a prosthesis assembly and a second receiving portion for receiving a second component of the prosthesis assembly, the clamp having a deflectable member which deflects from a first position to a second position when one of the first and second components is introduced to its corresponding receiving portion, wherein when the deflectable member is in the second position and the other one of the first and second components is received by the clamp, the deflectable member is engageable with said other one of the first and second components.
US09913658B2
In first and second embodiments the device comprises a generally cylindrically shaped body distal end and a proximal end, and is conformed to be received by a fingertip of a medical practitioner. A conical shaped cap is defined at the distal end with a plurality of metal protrusions for debridement scrapping formed on an outer surface, and along a bottom surface of the body. In the alternative second embodiment, a curette styled loop blade with a cutting edge is formed on the bottom surface. A third embodiment does not have the cap and has debridement scrapping protrusions defined along the bottom surface. Straps are attached to the body to secure the device to any finger of a medical practitioner.
US09913646B2
Devices and methods for forming an anastomosis between two body lumens are described herein. In one embodiment, an anastomosis can be formed by transecting a body lumen using a linear surgical stapler that delivers a plurality of sealing adjuncts in combination with a plurality of surgical staples along a staple line, where the plurality of sealing adjuncts are coupled to one another by a suture. A circular surgical stapler can be used to create an anastomosis with a second body lumen across the staple line. Before actuating the circular stapler, the proximal and distal ends of the staple line can be drawn into a central lumen of the circular stapler using the suture extending between the plurality of sealing adjuncts such that the staple line is resected when the circular stapler is actuated.
US09913636B2
The present disclosure relates to a guide assembly including a guide having a body and a joint including at least one through hole, wherein the joint is configured for sliding along a length of the body, and a first surgical device. The guide is coupled to the first surgical device and a longitudinal axis of the through hole is co-radial with an end of the first surgical device. Other guide assemblies and methods of creating multiple portals during surgery are also disclosed.
US09913634B2
In one illustrative example, a device for sealing an opening in a vessel wall and/or tissue tract may include an anchor, a filament, a plug, and a knot. The anchor may be configured to be disposed adjacent to an interior surface of the vessel wall adjacent the opening in the vessel wall. The filament may have a distal end coupled to the anchor and may be configured to extend proximally through the vessel opening and/or tissue tract. The plug may be disposed about at least a portion of the filament member. The knot may be disposed about the filament proximal of the plug and may be configured to move over the filament and secure the plug relative to the anchor. The knot may be independent of the filament member.
US09913633B2
An ablation catheter system is disclosed that comprises a channel and a tubular braided element having an outer circumferential surface and a lumen. The tubular braided element is sized and shaped to be placed in the channel when in a compressed configuration and to be expanded in a target area of a blood vessel in a manner that the outer circumferential surface touches the walls of the target blood vessel in the target area when in an expanded configuration. The system also includes a longitudinal maneuvering element which is mechanically connected to a distal end of the tubular braided element and set to pull the distal end into the lumen so as to curve radially and outwardly a plurality of annular segments of the expand tubular braided element in a sequential manner.
US09913630B2
A device for needle biopsy is presented. The device includes a handle member having proximal and distal portions. A proximal handle member is disposed to the proximal portion of the handle member and a distal handle member is disposed to the distal portion of the handle member. A sheath lumen is disposed within the handle member and extends from the distal portion of the handle member. A needle housing member is partially disposed to the proximal portion of the handle member and a needle is disposed within the sheath lumen. A plurality of protrusions is disposed upon the needle. A needle protection member is partially disposed to the distal portion of the needle housing member. The needle protection member includes a needle protection hub and a needle protection shaft.
US09913623B2
An exposure dose management system according to an embodiment includes an image storage device, a first recording device, a misalignment correction device, and a second recording device. The image storage device stores a human body three-dimensional image. The first recording device records an exposure dose and an exposure area of a subject in a first irradiation step on the human body three-dimensional image. The misalignment correction device corrects misalignment between a position of the subject in a second irradiation step, which follows the first irradiation step, and a position of the human body three-dimensional image. The second recording device further records an exposure dose and an exposure area in the second irradiation step on the human body three-dimensional image in which the misalignment was corrected.
US09913620B2
A tilting head support for use in medical imaging is described. The tilting head support allows a patient to receive the equivalent of a tilted gantry exam study even when using a scanner gantry that does not tilt. In certain embodiments, the tilted head support assembly has metallic or sharp edge components, if present, positioned outside the imaging area when in use. In addition, in certain embodiments, the tilted head support assembly allows for user selection of a tilt angle from among a continuous range of available angles.
US09913616B2
Embodiments include a system for determining cardiovascular information for a patient. The system may include at least one computer system configured to receive patient-specific data regarding a geometry of the patient's heart, and create a three-dimensional model representing at least a portion of the patient's heart based on the patient-specific data. The at least one computer system may be further configured to create a physics-based model relating to a blood flow characteristic of the patient's heart and determine a fractional flow reserve within the patient's heart based on the three-dimensional model and the physics-based model.
US09913611B2
A system for monitoring biometric signals of a user comprising: a set of wireless sensor interfaces coupled to a garment, each of the wireless sensor interfaces comprising: 1) an electrode layer comprising a receiving region, 2) a positional identifier, associated with a position on the garment, and 3) a retention subsystem; a set of wireless sensor modules, each of the set of wireless sensor modules comprising: a contact region electrically coupleable to the receiving region of the electrode layer, a set of sensors configured to detect a set of biometric signal types, and a positional interrogator configured to identify the position associated with the corresponding wireless sensor interface; and a control module, communicatively coupled to the set of wireless sensor modules, wherein the control module queries a subset of the set of biometric signal types for transmission from each of the set of wireless sensor modules based on their positions.
US09913608B2
A system for monitoring incontinence in one or more subjects comprises display means; input means operable by a user; one or more transmitters, each transmitter being associated with one or more subjects being monitored; the one or more transmitters being configured to transmit signals containing continence-related data for the one or more subjects, wherein the continence-related data has been obtained over time from a continence sensor associated with an absorbent article worn by each respective subject; a receiver unit configured to receive signals from the one or more transmitters; and processing means in communication with at least the receiver unit, the processing means including a display processor configured to process the received signals and communicate display information to the display means for display of a visual representation of continence-related information derived from continence sensors in the absorbent articles worn by the one or more subjects being monitored. The system may include a volume estimator and means for communicating to a carer a ‘risk of wetness leakage’ based on e.g. an estimated volume of wetness and e.g. a pad type. Pad type may be communicated to the system automatically by way of a pad type indicator associated with the pad and/or pad/sensor combination.
US09913607B2
A driver state detection unit detects a state of the driver of a host vehicle. For example, a drowsing state of the driver is detected. An outward warning device performs an outward warning operation pertaining to a warning directed at another vehicle traveling in the vicinity of the host vehicle. Then, an inward warning device performs an inward warning operation pertaining to a warning directed at the driver of the host vehicle.
US09913606B2
Embodiments of the present disclosure disclose a method and system for determining health condition of a subject. First step of the method comprises receiving, by a computing unit, a first oxygen saturation level and a second oxygen saturation level from at least two sensors placed on the subject. Second step of the method comprises determining cerebral extraction of oxygen using the first and second oxygen saturation levels. Third step of the method comprises comparing the cerebral extraction of oxygen with a threshold level. Fourth step of the method comprises identifying a mental fatigue level of the subject based on outcome of the comparison, wherein the mental fatigue level indicates the health condition of the subject.
US09913598B2
Systems and processes for measurement of the eyelid movements of a subject, which explores eyelids' electrical conductivity, namely the established fact that eyelids are acting as sliding electrodes moving over the cornea, is comprised of a system for generating a high frequency weak and harmless oscillating electromagnetic field in the proximity of the eyelid movement path without interference with the vision or activity of any such subject, therefore induces so-called Eddy Currents in the eyelid, which in its turn produce its own electromagnetic field with a value depended on the eyelid position; the interaction between the basic oscillating electromagnetic field and the field generated by the eyelid is changing electromagnetic field inductance, which will be measured with very high accuracy by means of resonance sensing electronics; such systems can transmit data from its detecting electronics to a remote monitor that compels no restrictions on operator activity.
US09913588B2
The present disclosure provides a description of various methods and systems associated with determining possible presence of Atrial Fibrillation (AF). In one example, a camera of a client device, such as a mobile phone, may acquire a series of images of a body part of a user. A plethysmographic waveform may be generated from the series of images. An autocorrelation function may be calculated from the waveform, and a number of features may be computed from the autocorrelation function. Based on an analysis of the features, a determination may be made about whether the user is experiencing AF. Such determined may be output to a display of the mobile phone for user review.
US09913583B2
A camera coupled to a processor is disclosed. The camera is configured to capture images of the subject. The processor is configured to amplify microscopic temporal variations between the images of the subject and generate a profile of at least one microscopic temporally detected physiological variation of the subject. The processor is further configured to compare the profile of the subject to a pre-existing first aggregate profile of a plurality of third-party subjects, said aggregate profile corresponding to the at least one microscopic temporally detected physiological variation of the third-party subjects, the aggregate third-party profile corresponding to a known state of the third-party subjects.
US09913576B2
A laparoscope comprises an elongated insertion tube having an open distal end. Optical means are provided for conducting an optical image of a target. The optical means includes an objective lens. A transparent sphere houses the lens. The sphere is rotatably disposed in the distal end of the tube such that a portion of the sphere protrudes from the tube. A ring-shaped wiper is fixed to the distal end of the tube for circumferentially engaging the sphere. Means are disposed in the tube for rotating the sphere, wherein the wiper removes debris and fluids from the surface of the sphere as the sphere rotates.
US09913572B2
Waypoints for a steerable medical device are stored as the steerable medical device is moved within a patient. The stored waypoints are an ordered sequence of locations. The ordered sequence of locations defines a safe path within the patient for moving an articulatable portion of the steerable medical device. The articulatable portion of the steerable medical device is constrained to follow the safe path as the articulatable portion moves within the patient. For example, the articulatable portion of the steerable medical device is constrained to remain within a boundary region enclosing the safe path as the articulatable portion of the steerable medical device follows the safe path.
US09913569B2
A display control device comprises an image acquiring unit which acquires observation image data, an image recording unit which records recorded image data, an image synthesizing unit which generates synthesized image data based on the observation image data and the recorded image data, a first selector, a second selector, and a selector interlock controller. The first selector outputs one of the observation image data and the synthesized image data to a first display device as first selected data. The second selector outputs one of the first selected data and the recorded image data to a second display device as second selected data. The selector interlock controller interlocks and controls the first selector 122 and the second selector 124.
US09913568B2
First RGB image signals are subjected to an input process. First color information is obtained from the first RGB image signals. Second color information is obtained by a selective expansion processing in which color ranges except a first color range are moved in a feature space formed by the first color information, the first color information that represents each object in a body cavity being distributed in the each color range. The second color information is converted to second RGB signals. A red display signal, a green display signal and a blue display signal are obtained by applying a pseudo-color display process to the second RGB signals.
US09913559B2
An improved hopper for a pellet grill that permits a first type of flavored pellet to be cleared from the hopper of a pellet grill so that a second type of flavored pellet may be loaded into the hopper for cooking and smoking. The disclosed hopper can also have a viewing window formed in its side for establishing how much, if any, of a pellet material is currently loaded into the hopper.
US09913557B2
An extraction unit (10) for extracting cartridges (1a;1b) of two different dimensions (da,ha;db,hb) comprises a seat (14,20) for receiving any of such cartridges (1a;1b) and for extraction thereof in the seat. The unit (10) further comprises a pair of slides (19a) for guiding any of such cartridges (1a;1b) towards the seat (14,20) in a sliding contact of each of these slides (19a) with a cartridge guide (5a;5b) of the cartridges (1a; 1b). The slides are relatively movable to be spaced selectively by a first and second distance (Da, Db) according to the size (da, db) of the cartridge.
US09913531B1
A collapsible table has first and second tabletop portions. A pair of first side rails is attached to the first tabletop portion, and a pair of second side rails is attached to the second tabletop portion. First and second leg assemblies are pivotally connected between the first and second side rails. A pair of hinges rotatably connect the first side rails to the second side rails along a hinge axis. A serpentine central support tube includes one or more first tubular portions disposed to one side of the hinge axis toward the first tabletop portion, and one or more second tubular portions disposed to an opposing side of the hinge axis toward the second tabletop portion. The one or more first tubular portions support the first tabletop portion at its inner edge, and the one or more second tubular portions support the second tabletop portion at its inner edge.
US09913524B2
Cosmetics packaging and applicators including a gel based tip are described. Gel applicators may or may not be provided with a through-hole. In various embodiments, the gel may be a stand-alone gel or may be encapsulated in a membrane. The gel applicator provides a soft feel and may have cooling effect as well. In some embodiments, the applicator is mounted to a platform or a hollow insert and coupled to a container housing the cosmetics product.
US09913518B2
Provided is an inner lining for backpacks or handbags. The inner lining has a receiving space constructed by folding and stitching at least one waterproof fabric. Multiple seam lines on the inner lining are covered by waterproof tapes. The inner lining may prevent the rainwater permeating into the receiving space through the seam lines. Items may be protected from the wet in the receiving space of the inner lining. Further provided is a waterproof bag having the inner lining. The inner lining is sewed in an outer bag to construct the waterproof bag. Multiple seam lines between the outer bag and the inner lining are also covered by waterproof tapes. The inner lining and the waterproof bag having the inner lining provide more convenience and safety for users in rainy days.
US09913509B2
Articles of footwear and footwear systems include modules, e.g., for sensing physical and/or physiological characteristics associated with use of the footwear or for performing other functions. Such systems and methods may use physical or other interaction(s) between the module and the article of footwear for activating and/or deactivating the module and/or sensing devices included with the module, for confirming whether the module and footwear are authorized for use with one another, and/or for automatic data algorithm selection methods. Additionally, such systems and methods also may use the activation and/or authentication systems for the module for data input to the module. Some examples of such systems and methods may utilize magnets and magnetic sensing systems and/or light (or other radiation) sources and sensing systems for activation, authentication, data input, and/or algorithm selection.
US09913508B2
A foot balancing device includes a shoe insert, a main balancing element, three auxiliary force-transferring elements, and three auxiliary balancing elements. The main balancing element is provided in an arch region of the shoe insert and serves as a fulcrum on the shoe insert for the front part of the sole of one of the user's feet and the heel of the foot. The auxiliary force-transferring elements are provided in the arch region of the shoe insert so that the pressure center of the sole will displace along an ideal line. The auxiliary balancing elements are located forward of and on two lateral sides of the main balancing element respectively to support a transverse arch, inner arch, and outer arch of the foot respectively. Thus, the user's body weight can distribute evenly over the sole while the user is standing or walking, thereby preventing injury resulting from improper posture.
US09913486B2
The present invention relates to water-based coatings for frozen confectioneries intended for animal consumption. In particular, it relates to the use of starch and protein in the preparation of a low fat water-based coating for a frozen confectionery.
US09913481B2
A portable tortilla press assembly for molding a food product into a flat disk with a removable, reversible molding plate that is inserted between a base and a push plate. The tortilla press assembly operates via lever, with a roller along the body of the lever. The lever attaches via a hinge, opposite to and elevated above another hinge connecting to the push plate. When the lever is in the downward position, the roller pushes down on the plates with a rolling motion, smoothly forming a uniform, even tortilla. The molding plate has two sides defining two different forming surfaces, each sized to mold a different-sized tortilla.
US09913479B2
A rodent repellent system for repelling rodents from an area is provided. The rodent repellent system comprises a dispersing mechanism and an amount of natural peppermint oil in fluid communication with the dispersing mechanism. The natural peppermint oil has a peppermint aroma with the dispersing mechanism releasing the peppermint aroma into the area.
US09913470B2
There is described a method of sterilizing surfaces using flavonoids, for example mixtures containing inter alia naringin and neohesperidin, by misting.
US09913469B2
Methods of reducing injury to crop foliage and achieving weed control using encapsulated acetamide herbicides in pre-plant or preemergence crop plant applications are described. A composition comprising a first population of a particulate microencapsulated acetamide herbicide and a second population of a particulate microencapsulated acetamide herbicide is described wherein the application mixture exhibits a bimodal acetamide release profile. The compositions provide reduced crop injury through controlled herbicide release.
US09913465B2
A wearable aromatic device that can be opened and closed, depending on whether the user wants the device to emit aromas. Aromatics include any substances that are dispersed into the air, regardless of whether they are detectable by humans. Placing an aromatic into a substantially airtight chamber allows the user to allow the device to emit aromas only when desired. A resealable lid can be placed in an open position when aromas are desired, or a close position when they are not. The device is wearable in that it can be worn with a wristband, a pet collar, a belt clip, or any other suitable wearable assembly.
US09913457B2
A light is disposed on a blade of a nail clipper and covered by a light housing. The housing is dimensioned and configured to the cutting edge of the blade of the nail clipper. The housing clears the cutting edge of the blade so as not to obstruct the cutting action of the blades in the clipper. Light emitted from the light housing is focused on a pet's nail intended to be cut due, in part, to the fact that the housing corresponds in shape to the cutting edge of the blade. The housing may be made of light diffusing material that also allows light to illuminate a pet's nail. The illuminated nail clipper allows a user to cut a pet's nail regardless of the position or angle of the nail and protects the users eyes from the direct exposure to the lighting source in the light housing.
US09913451B2
Compositions and methods for reducing the level of nornicotine and N′-nitrosonornicotine (NNN) in Nicotiana plants and plant parts thereof are provided. The compositions comprise isolated polynucleotides and polypeptides for cytochrome P450s that are involved in the metabolic conversion of nicotine to nornicotine in these plants. Expression cassettes, vectors, plants, and plant parts thereof comprising inhibitory sequences that target expression or function of the disclosed cytochrome P450 polypeptides are also provided. Methods for the use of these novel sequences to inhibit expression or function of cytochrome P450 polypeptides involved in this metabolic conversion are also provided. The methods find use in the production of tobacco products that have reduced levels of nornicotine and its carcinogenic metabolite, NNN, and thus reduced carcinogenic potential for individuals consuming these tobacco products or exposed to secondary smoke derived from these products.
US09913446B1
A novel maize variety designated PH2PVJ and seed, plants and plant parts thereof are provided. Methods for producing a maize plant comprise crossing maize variety PH2PVJ with another maize plant are provided. Methods for producing a maize plant containing in its genetic material one or more traits introgressed into PH2PVJ through backcross conversion and/or transformation, and to the maize seed, plant and plant part produced thereby are provided. Hybrid maize seed, plants or plant parts are produced by crossing the variety PH2PVJ or a locus conversion of PH2PVJ with another maize variety.
US09913443B2
According to the invention, there is provided seed and plants of the hybrid corn variety designated CH450193. The invention thus relates to the plants, seeds and tissue cultures of the variety CH450193, and to methods for producing a corn plant produced by crossing a corn plant of variety CH450193 with itself or with another corn plant, such as a plant of another variety. The invention further relates to genetic complements of plants of variety CH450193.
US09913442B2
A barley cultivar, designated Oreana, is disclosed. The disclosure relates to seeds, plants, and derivatives of barley cultivar Oreana, and methods for producing a barley plant by crossing Oreana with itself or another barley variety. The disclosure also relates to barley varieties or breeding varieties and plant parts derived from barley Oreana, to methods for producing other barley varieties, lines, or plant parts derived from barley Oreana, and to the barley plants, varieties, and their parts derived from the use of those methods. The disclosure further relates to hybrid barley seeds and plants produced by crossing barley cultivar Oreana with another barley cultivar. The disclosure relates to methods for developing other barley varieties or breeding lines derived from variety Oreana, including cell and tissue cultures and haploid systems.
US09913433B2
A cutting assembly is described that comprises two oppositely facing sidewalls and two loading systems, each loading system comprising a transverse member that extends between and through the sidewalls, and two trays of knives. Rotation of a transverse member causes the associated tray of knives to move between a loaded and an unloaded position, wherein the loaded position the knives protrude into a crop collection channel of a harvester for the cutting of crop material.
US09913431B2
An agricultural harvester including a chassis and a threshing and separating section for threshing and separating grain from gathered crop material. The threshing and separating section is carried by the chassis. The threshing and separating section includes at least one concave having a hooking feature, at least one sliding support, and a frame assembly for carrying and coupling the at least one concave thereto. The frame assembly includes a support bar allowing the hooking feature of the at least one concave to hook over the support bar to support one side of the at least one concave. Another side of the at least one concave is coupled to the frame assembly. The at least one sliding support supports the at least one concave as the at least one concave is moved toward or away from the support bar.
US09913429B1
The locations of flowers on a plant, rather than the locations of agricultural products produced from such flowers, are used to facilitate the performance of harvesting and other agricultural operations in robotic agricultural applications. In some implementations, the identified location of a fruit-producing flower may be used by a robotic device to apply an indicator tag to a flowering plant proximate the flower for later identification when performing various types of directed and automated agricultural operations. In other implementations, the identified location of a fruit-producing flower may be used by a robotic device to anchor a stem of a flowering plant to a predetermined location such that the location of the flower, and of any fruit(s) later produced by such flower, are controlled and/or known when performing subsequent agricultural operations.
US09913425B2
In one example embodiment, a seed sensor is disclosed adapted to fit a conventional mounting location in existing seed tubes that provides improved performance by providing a wide light source (more LEDS), a wide photodetector and a current profiling scheme for the LEDs that provides more light at the opposite ends of the LED array. A result of such an arrangement is to improve seed resolution and to reduce seed spatial variability within the seed tube.
