Document	Document Title
US07955584B2	Method of production of charcoal, conditioned fuel gas and potassium from biomass The invention provides a process for the production of charcoal, fuel gas, and potassium from a biomass gassifier.
US07955581B2	Method of producing silicon oxide, negative electrode active material for lithium ion secondary battery and lithium ion secondary battery using the same A method for producing a silicon oxide including the steps of supplying silicon atoms onto a substrate through an oxygen atmosphere to form a silicon oxide layer on the substrate, and separating the silicon oxide layer from the substrate and pulverizing the separated silicon oxide layer to obtain silicon oxide containing silicon and oxygen in predetermined proportions, and a negative electrode active material obtained by the production method.
US07955580B2	Isotopically-enriched boranes and methods of preparing them The invention provides new methods for synthesis of large boron hydride clusters e.g., boron hydride molecules of the formula BnHm where 5≦n≦96 and m≦n+8, wherein m and n satisfy the electron counting rules of macropolyhedral boranes. The invention is particularly useful for synthesis of octadecaborane (B18H22). Preferred methods of the invention include iteratively generating a conjugate acid from a salt of the [BaHb]c− or [Bn+2Hm−4]2− anion followed by degradation under conditions conducive to concentrating and drying of the conjugate acid to provide a borane BnHm and residual salt of the [BaHb]c− or [Bn+2Hm−4]2− anion which is reused in the method of synthesis. The invention further provides isotopically enriched boranes, particularly isotopically enriched 10B18H22 and 11B18H22.
US07955574B2	Porous thin film and process for analyte preconcentration and determination A porous thin film and a method are disclosed. The film has a generally uniform thickness and includes fused silica particles that provide multiple types of pores in the film. Particles are generally uniformly distributed on a surface and have a generally open structure that provides the film with an open interface readily accessible to fluids. The film provides for preconcentration of, e.g., heavy metals in fluid and gas samples that provides for direct determination of the analytes.
US07955569B2	Metal halide reactor for CVD and method A reaction vessel (reactor) is shown that, filled with metal and placed either within a CVD type furnace or in a housing in fluid communication with the CVD type furnace can produce commercial quantities of a metal halide gas over extended time periods and multiple furnace runs. The control of temperature and the simplicity of this reaction vessel allows temperature differentials between the metal halide gas produced and the CVD type reactor target thus providing differing deposits. The reactor is noteworthy in that no valves, flow restrictors or other equipment which could create corrosion problems is used in the heated/reactive area of the vessel thus producing very high quality metal halide gas.
US07955566B2	Fluid bed granulator In order to produce granules granulometrically polidispersed in a very little range, a fluid bed granulation process of the type comprising the steps of preparing a fluid bed of seeds (S1) of the substance to be granulated, having a free surface (P) substantially horizontal; and feeding a continuous flow (L) of a fluid comprising a growth liquid, provides in the fluid bed for a continuous vortex (V) with a substantially horizontal axis, in which an upper zone (Z1) of seeds wetting and evaporation of possible solvent contained in the flow (L) and a lower zone (Z2) of solidification/consolidation of the growth liquid are identified.
US07955565B2	Gas-phase fluidized-bed reactor, multivessel polymerization reactor and process for producing olefin polymer The gas-phase fluidized-bed reactor conducting reaction by feeding a gas, through a gas-distribution plate located at the lower part of a reaction vessel, into a fluidized bed formed on the gas-distribution plate, wherein the reaction vessel is made up so as to have a narrowed part at a specified position of the gas flow passage above the gas-distribution plate, and the fluidized bed is formed in the area from below the narrowed part to above the narrowed part. The gas-phase fluidized bed rector of the present invention allows manufacturing polymers having excellent homogeneity of polymer structure in gas-phase polymerization.
US07955562B2	Chemical sensor using thin-film sensing member Provided is a chemical sensor that may include a first electrode on a substrate, a sensing member covering the first electrode on the substrate, and a plurality of second electrodes on a surface of the sensing member exposing the surface of the sensing member. The chemical sensor may be configured to measure the change in electrical characteristics when a compound to be sensed is adsorbed on the sensing member. Provided also is a chemical sensor array including an array of chemical sensors.
US07955559B2	Nanoelectronic electrochemical test device Nanoelectronic devices for the detection and quantification of biomolecules are Provided. In certain embodiments, the devices are configured to detect and measure blood glucose levels. Also provided are methods of fabricating nanoelectronic devices for the detection of biomolecules.
US07955558B2	Device for testing a fluid A device for testing a fluid including an elongated carrier; two foam members for absorbing the fluid, which are arranged at an end of the carrier; a positioning member having a sleeve which is slidably arranged on the carrier; and a diagnostic device, which is arranged in the positioning member having a sensor die adapted to detecting at least one property of the fluid and means for supplying the fluid to a sensor surface of the sensor die. After the fluid has been supplied to the foam members, the positioning member is moved towards the end of the carrier where the foam members are located. When the diagnostic device comes into contact with one of the foam members, the fluid is squeezed from the foam member and supplied to the sensor surface of the sensor die through the fluid supplying means of the diagnostic device.
US07955554B2	Analytical tool The present invention relates to an analytical tool (1) comprising a substrate (10), a capillary (13) which is formed on the substrate (10) and into which a sample liquid is to be loaded by movement of the sample liquid in the capillary. The substrate (10) is provided with a liquid movement preventer for preventing the sample liquid loaded into the capillary (13) from moving further. Preferably, the liquid movement preventer includes a stepped portion (18B) projecting from the substrate or a recess provided at the substrate.
US07955550B2	Method of preparing a molded article The method includes providing a mold apparatus (1) that includes, a first mold portion (11) having an interior mold surface (14) having a plurality of perforations (26) and a perimeter edge (17). The mold apparatus (11) further includes at least one tubular sheet retainer (35) having an exterior surface (38) having a plurality of perforations (41) and a longitudinal axis (44) that is oriented along at least a portion of the perimeter edge (17) of the first mold portion (11). Each tubular sheet retainer (35) is reversibly and controllably: (i) positionable along an x-, y- and/or z-axis relative to the perimeter edge (17); and (ii) rotatable around its longitudinal axis (44), toward and/or away from the perimeter edge (17). A heated thermoplastic sheet (95) is formed and contacted (while at a thermoformable temperature) with the interior surface (14) of the first mold portion (11) and the exterior surfaces (38) of the tubular sheet retainers (35). Reduced pressure is drawn through the perforations (41) of the tubular sheet retainers (35) thereby retaining a portion of the heated thermoplastic sheet (95) thereon. The tubular sheet retainers (35) are rotated and/or moved along the x-, y- and/or z-axes with the sheet retained thereon, relative to the perimeter edge (17). Reduced pressure is drawn through the perforations (26) of the interior mold surface (14), thereby drawing the heated thermoplastic sheet (95) into intimate contour matching contact there-with.
US07955547B2	Method and device for forming articles from foaming polymers by using microwave radiation The inventive method for forming articles from foaming polymers and compositions based thereon consists in forming articles using a heat energy released by water exposed to the action of microwave radiation al n temperature equal to or less than 170° C., wherein said temperature is attained, controlled and limited by adjusting a vapor pressure in a forming chamber. The inventive device for carrying out said method comprises a forming chamber, which is made of a microwave transparent material, filled with the mixture of prefoamed or granulated foaming polymer or a composition based thereon with water and is placed in a microwave radiation producing channel, and a unit for equalizing a pressure in said forming chamber. The forming chamber and the body thereof made of a microwave non-transparent material are provided with air holes, which are also used for connecting the forming chamber to the pressure equalizing unit.
US07955546B2	Forming die and method for manufacturing formed body using forming die In the assembly-completed state, the Lower Mold, the Outer Mold, the Upper Mold, and the “inner mold (the integral body of the Pin-holder and the Pin)” are stacked and fixed in this order from the bottom, and the Pin is coaxially inserted into the First Hole of the Outer Mold and the Second Hole of the Upper Mold. In the assembly-completed state, the molding space for molding the ceramic molded body is formed between the surface of the Pin and the First Hole, and the annular minute gap is formed between the surface of the Pin and the Second Hole. The ceramic slurry poured into the Slurry Reservoir Pres formed on the upper surface of the Upper Mold falls and flows into the molding space through the annular minute gap by virtue of the action of gravity or the like.
US07955545B2	Nano-imprinting process A nano-imprinting process is described, comprising: providing a substrate including an imprinting material layer covering a surface of the substrate; providing a mold including protruding features set on a surface of the mold covered with an anti-adhesion layer; forming a transferring material layer on a top surface of each protruding feature; embedding the transferring material layer into a first portion of the imprinting material layer; removing the mold and separating the mold and the transferring material layer simultaneously to transfer the transferring material layer into the first portion of the imprinting material layer and to expose a second portion of the imprinting material layer; using the transferring material layer as a mask to remove the second portion of the imprinting material layer and a portion of the substrate; and removing the first portion of the imprinting material layer and the transferring material layer.
US07955544B2	Surface shaping of compressible cellular polymers with continuous rotary method Apparatus and methods for cutting compressible cellular polymers such as polyurethane foam, are characterized by a first die roller and a pressure roller, wherein both rollers define raised portions separated by recesses or depressions, and the raised portions on the first die roller register with the recesses of the pressure roller at a nip formed between the rollers. Portions of the polymer material extruded into the spaces between the raised portions of the first die roller are cut away, such that the cut product conforms substantially to the surface geometry of the first die roller, and the depth of cut is greater than with prior rotary cutting methods.
US07955532B2	High performance capsules for electrophoretic displays The present invention is directed to novel non-aqueous capsules suitable as display cells for an electrophoretic display and the encapsulation process for their manufacture. The present invention is also directed to an encapsulation process for the preparation of non-aqueous capsules suitable as display cells for an electrophoretic display. The process comprises emulsifying an internal phase comprising pigment particles or pigment-containing microparticles dispersed in a halogenated solvent and a halogenated shell-forming material into an external phase comprising a complementary chain extender or crosslinker in an organic solvent.
US07955531B1	Patterned light extraction sheet and method of making same A light extraction encapsulant sheet having a patterned encapsulant region is disclosed. A method of making that light extraction encapsulant sheet and of affixing that light extraction encapsulant sheet to a luminous stack surface of a multi-layer stack is also disclosed.
US07955528B2	Conductive inks and manufacturing method thereof The present invention relates to a variety of conductive ink compositions comprising a metal complex compound having a special structure and an additive and a method for preparing the same, more particularly to conductive ink compositions comprising a metal complex compound obtained by reacting a metal or metal compound with an ammonium carbamate- or ammonium carbonate-based compound and an additive and a method for preparing the same.
US07955523B2	Long afterglow luminescent material with compounded substrates and its preparation method The present invention provides a new ultra-long after-glow phosphorescent material and manufacturing method for the same. The materials include a phosphor including aMS.bM3(PO4)2.cMSiO3.dMO.fAl2O3.xRO.yTR2O3.zMnO, where the M is Ca, Mg, Ba, Sr, Zn or combinations thereof; The R is Eu, Sm, Yb or combinations thereof; the TR is La, Pr, Y, Nd, Dy, Er, Tm, Ce, Ho or combinations thereof: and a, b, c, d, f, x, y, z is the number of mol. The phosphorescent material has superior water resistance and temperature resistance.
US07955519B2	Composition and method for planarizing surfaces The invention provides compositions and methods for planarizing or polishing a surface. One composition comprises about 0.01 wt. % to about 20 wt. % α-alumina particles, wherein the α-alumina particles have an average diameter of 200 nm or less, and 80% of the α-alumina particles have a diameter of about 500 nm or less, an organic acid, a corrosion inhibitor, and water. Another composition comprises α-alumina particles, an organic acid, dual corrosion inhibitors of triazole and benzotriazole, wherein the wt. % ratio of the triazole to benzotriazole is about 0.1 to about 4.8, and water.
US07955514B2	Plasma processing apparatus and plasma processing method A plasma processing apparatus having a processing chamber and a sample base, and processing a sample by using plasma generated inside the processing chamber, the processing chamber being located inside a vacuum container, the sample base being located inside the processing chamber, the sample being mounted on the sample base, the plasma processing apparatus including a component member configuring inner-side wall surface of the processing chamber, and having a dielectric portion on the inner-side wall surface, an exhaustion unit for exhausting the inside of the processing chamber, and an electric-field supply unit for supplying an electric field to the component member in a state where the plasma will not be generated inside the processing chamber, wherein magnitude of the electric field supplied from the electric-field supply unit is changed rapidly while exhausting the inside of the processing chamber by the exhaustion unit.
US07955494B2	Gas sensor control apparatus The gas sensor control apparatus is for controlling a gas sensor including a sensor element having a solid electrolyte layer, and first and second electrodes located on opposite sides of the solid electrolyte layer, the first electrode serving as a gas detecting electrode, the second electrode serving as a reference electrode, the sensor element generating, as a sensor output, a current flowing between the first and second electrodes having a value depending on concentration of a specific gas component contained in a gas under measurement. The gas sensor control apparatus includes a determination function of determining whether or not it is time for the gas sensor to start operation, and a control function of forcibly supplying oxygen from a side of the second electrode to a side of the first electrode on a temporary basis when a determination result of the first function becomes affirmative.
US07955491B2	Methods, devices, and infrastructure systems for separating, removing, compressing, and generating hydrogen Hydrogen pumps include a proton conducting medium, and a nonporous hydrogen permeable anode electrode and/or nonporous hydrogen permeable cathode electrode. For example, the electrodes may be a solid thin metallic film such as palladium or a palladium alloy such as a palladium-copper alloy that allow for hydrogen permeation but not impurities, and thus, purifying a supply containing hydrogen. The proton conducting medium may be a solid anhydrous proton conducting medium disposed between the anode electrode and the cathode electrode. The anode electrode and the cathode electrode may be directly sealed to at least one of the proton conducting medium, a first member for distributing the supply containing hydrogen to the anode electrode, a second member for collecting a supply of purified hydrogen, and a gasket disposed around the proton conducting medium.
US07955488B2	Process of electrodeposition platinum and platinum-based alloy nano-particles with addition of ethylene glycol An electrodeposition process of platinum and platinum-based alloy nano-particles with addition of ethylene glycol is disclosed. An acidic solution which contains metal chloride includes at least one platinum-based chloride and the alloy thereof, and ethylene glycol are introduced into a reactor as an electrodeposition solution. By applying an external negative potential, platinum particles or platinum-based alloy particles are deposited on the substrate. The above acidic solution is able to provide ionic conductivity during electrodeposition. The added ethylene glycol effectively enhances the removal of chlorine from metal chlorides. Meanwhile, ethylene glycol is used as stabilizer to prevent the particles from aggregation onto the substrate, thereby increasing the dispersion of deposited particles.
US07955478B2	Solar distillation device A solar distillation apparatus utilizing a substantially vertical reactor assembly is disclosed. The reactor includes a tubular outer shell, a base, a cap, and a central tension member. The annular space between the outer tube and the central tension member forms the reactor chamber. Seawater or other feed liquid enters the reactor chamber through the base plate. Reflected or direct solar energy heats the feed liquid, generating low pressure vapor. The vapor exits the reactor through the cap structure or the base. The concentrate left behind settles by gravity to the bottom region of the reactor's liquid column. Extension tubes on the feed openings allow feed liquid to enter the liquid column above the concentrate layer and avoid excessive mixing of the feed liquid and the concentrate. The concentrate exits the reactor through one or more openings in the base.
US07955473B2	Process for the production of paper The present invention relates to a process for producing paper which comprises: (vii) providing an aqueous suspension comprising cellulosic fibres, (viii) adding to the suspension after all points of high shear: a first polymer being a cationic polymer having a charge density above 2.5 meq/g; a second polymer; and a third polymer being an organic or inorganic anionic polymer; and (ix) dewatering the obtained suspension to form paper.
US07955466B2	Method of and apparatus for manufacturing polarization plate When a polarization plate is manufactured by laminating and laminating at least two types of retarder films onto a polarizer film by a laminating apparatus, with the two films of at least the two types of retarder films and at least the polarizer films being laminated such that the difference in the angle between the feeding directions of the two films is within the range of 40° to 80°. With this arrangement, a good handling property can be obtained, improvement in yield ratio can be expected, and the installation area of the laminating apparatus can be reduced due to a reduction in size of the laminating apparatus.
US07955457B2	Elastic laminates and methods of manufacturing same A method for forming an elastic laminate comprising: bonding a first nonwoven to an elastic film to form a laminate; activating the laminate to form an activated laminate; and bonding a consolidated nonwoven to the elastic film of the activated laminate to form the elastic laminate.
US07955453B1	Gradient thermosetting plastic-bonded explosive composition, and method thereof A process for manufacturing gradient structures uses multiple jet-spraying mechanisms to form layers of distinct precursors into a gradient composition.
US07955443B2	Method for preparing rare earth permanent magnet material A permanent magnet material is prepared by covering an anisotropic sintered magnet body of formula: R1x(Fe1-yCoy)100-x-z-aBzMa wherein R1 is a rare earth element, M is Al, Cu or the like, with a powder comprising an oxide of R2, a fluoride of R3 or an oxyfluoride of R4 wherein R2, R3, and R4 are rare earth elements, and having an average particle size up to 100 μm, heat treating the powder-covered magnet body in a hydrogen gas-containing atmosphere for inducing disproportionation reaction on R12Fe14B compound, and continuing heat treatment at a reduced hydrogen gas partial pressure for inducing recombination reaction to said compound, thereby finely dividing said compound phase to a crystal grain size up to 1 μm, and for effecting absorption treatment, thereby causing R2, R3 or R4 to be absorbed in the magnet body.
US07955433B2	Method and system for forming a silicon ingot using a low-grade silicon feedstock Techniques for the formation of a silicon ingot using a low-grade silicon feedstock include forming within a crucible device a molten silicon from a low-grade silicon feedstock and performing a directional solidification of the molten silicon to form a silicon ingot within the crucible device. The directional solidification forms a generally solidified quantity of silicon and a generally molten quantity of silicon. The method and system include removing from the crucible device at least a portion of the generally molten quantity of silicon while retaining within the crucible device the generally solidified quantity of silicon. Controlling the directional solidification of the generally solidified quantity of silicon, while removing the more contaminated molten silicon, results in a silicon ingot possessing a generally higher grade of silicon than the low-grade silicon feedstock.
US07955429B2	Enhancing the properties of waxes by use of trans-4-tertbutyl-1-phenylcyclohexanol The use of an effective amount of trans-4-tertbutyl-1-phenylcyclohexanol in waxes to increase the melting point, softening temperature, as well of other properties.
US07955427B2	Inkjet aqueous ink and printed item An inkjet aqueous ink that prevents paper deformation and exhibits superior print quality and latency. The inkjet aqueous ink contains not less than 15% by mass and not more than 40% by mass of a polyglycerol having an average polymerization degree of 4 or greater, not less than 5% by mass and not more than 20% by mass of at least one of 1,3-propanediol and diethylene glycol monoethyl ether, and not less than 40% by mass and not more than 60% by mass of water.
US07955411B2	Low temperature bonding material comprising metal particles and bonding method A bonding material comprising metal particles coated with an organic substance having carbon atoms of 2 to 8, wherein the metal particles comprises first portion of 100 nm or less, and a second portion larger than 100 nm but not larger than 100 μm, each of the portions having at least peak of a particle distribution, based on a volumetric base. The disclosure is further concerned with a bonding method using the bonding material.
US07955409B2	Method of smelting copper A method of smelting copper includes: a generating step of generating blister and slag from copper matte by charging the copper matte into a smelting furnace and oxidizing the copper matte; a first refining step of refining another blister from the slag by reduction in an electrical furnace; and a charging step of charging the slag into one of the smelting furnace or another smelting furnace for treating copper concentrate and generating matte as repeating flux if copper grade of slag generated in the first refining step is higher than 0.8 weight %.
US07955404B2	Dust collector A dust collector includes a shell, an exit tube, an inner tube, a suction device, a first dust container, a bypass tube and a first dust bag. The shell defines a first receiving room therein. The exit tube defines an exit passage therein. The inner tube defines a connection passage which has a first opening and a second opening. The first opening communicates the first receiving room, and the second opening communicates the exit passage. The suction device provides the exit passage with a negative pressure. The first dust container defines a second receiving room therein. A mesh is disposed on a bottom surface of the first dust container to divide the second receiving room into a first chamber and a second chamber. The bypass tube defines a bypass passage therein, and it communicates the connection passage with the second chamber. The first dust bag is disposed in the first chamber.
US07955400B2	Two-part hair dye composition A two-part hair dye composition, including a first part containing an alkali agent, a second part containing hydrogen peroxide, and a non-aerosol type foamer container for discharging a liquid mixture of the first part and the second part as a foam, wherein the liquid mixture contains the following components (A) to (D): (A) 0.1 to 5% by mass of an alkyl sulfate or polyoxyalkylene alkyl sulfate; (B) 0.1 to 10% by mass of an alkyl polyglucoside; (C) 0.01 to 3% by mass of a dimethyldiallyl ammonium chloride-acrylamide copolymer or a dimethyldiallyl ammonium chloride-acrylamide-acrylic acid copolymer; and (D) 0.01 to 0.8% by mass of a higher alcohol.
US07955394B2	Artificial knee joint The artificial knee joint includes a femoral component, a tibial tray and an insert plate fixed onto the top surface of the tibial tray. The femoral component includes a femoral articular surface and a cam that is provided on the rear end of the femoral articular surface and protrudes from the femoral articular surface, the insert plate includes a tibial articular surface that makes contact with the femoral articular surface and a cam-receiving slide surface that makes contact with the cam. When the knee is extended, the joint takes a first sliding state in which the femoral articular surface slides against the tibial articular surface. When the knee is bent at an angle in a range from 90 to 160 degrees, the joint shifts from the first sliding state to a second sliding state in which the cam slides on the cam-receiving slide surface. When the knee is bent deeply with a bending angle of 180 degrees, the second sliding state is assumed in which a resection surface of the femoral component and the rear end of the insert plate are offset.
US07955386B2	Middle ear prosthesis A middle ear prosthesis comprises a body of deformable material capable of retaining different shapes. The body comprises a slotted wall defining a cavity for receiving a bone of the middle ear. The wall is deformable proximate slots in the wall between an open position for receiving the bone and a closed position wherein the body is reshaped to grasp the bone.
US07955385B2	Device, system, and method for aiding valve annuloplasty A device comprising a reference ring that may be temporarily disposed in abutment with the inferior perimeter surface of a heart valve to aid non-optical visualization of the valve annulus. The reference ring is elastically transformable between a straight delivery configuration and a generally circular or helical deployment configuration. The reference ring may include an inflatable portion that can be temporarily expanded on the inferior side of the valve annulus to deform the valve annulus into a temporary ledge or shelf for apposition with an annuloplasty ring. A system comprising a delivery catheter including a lumen with an exit port, the reference ring being slidably positionable within the lumen and being extendable from the exit port.
US07955371B2	System and method for stent deployment and infusion of a therapeutic agent into tissue adjacent to the stent ends The invention provides a system and method for deploying a stent and infusing a therapeutic agent into tissue adjacent to the ends of the stent. The system comprises a catheter, an inflatable balloon, a stent, and a plurality of infusion elements. The catheter has an inflation lumen and at least one therapeutic agent delivery lumen. The balloon is disposed on the catheter and is in fluid communication with the inflation lumen. The stent is disposed on the balloon. The infusion elements are positioned adjacent to distal and proximal ends of the stent and are in fluid communication with at least one therapeutic agent delivery lumen. The infusion elements are inserted into a wall of a target region of a vessel responsive to inflation of the balloon. Further inflation of the balloon deploys the stent within the target region.
US07955370B2	Stent delivery system A medical device includes a catheter having a catheter shaft, a sheath and a rolling membrane. The sheath is being disposed about the catheter shaft and is longitudinally moveable relative thereto. A distal portion of the sheath defines a stent retaining region. The sheath is moveable between an extended position and a retracted position, wherein in the extended position the retaining region is disposed about a stent receiving region of the catheter shaft, and in the retracted position the sheath is removed from the stent receiving region. End regions of the rolling membrane are respectively engaged to a distal end of the sheath and a portion of the shaft proximal to the stent receiving region respectively.
US07955367B2	Fluorescent handpiece A handpiece can treat biological tissue using electromagnetic radiation, which can be substantially fluorescent light. The handpiece includes a source of electromagnetic radiation and a nonlinear waveguide. The nonlinear waveguide is adjacent the source, receives electromagnetic radiation from the source, and delivers the electromagnetic radiation to the biological tissue. The handpiece also includes a system for circulating a fluorescent substance through the nonlinear waveguide. The fluorescent substance is capable of modulating at least one property of the electromagnetic radiation.
US07955359B2	Bone anchoring device A bone anchoring device includes an anchoring element having a head, a receiving portion having a first region adjacent to a second end for receiving the head and a recess which is open towards a first end to form two free legs for receiving a rod. The anchoring device further includes a pressure element configured to couple to the head, a first closure element and a second closure element. The first closure element cooperates with the legs to simultaneously fix the rod in the recess and fix the head in the receiving portion, and the second closure element cooperates with the legs, the second closure element acts on the pressure element and on the rod to independently fix the head in the receiving portion and fix the rod in the recess. The first closure element and the second closure element are interchangeable.
US07955356B2	Laterally insertable interspinous process implant A laterally insertable spine distraction implant alleviates pain associated with spinal stenosis and facet arthropathy and other spinal ailments by expanding the volume in the spine canal and/or neural foramen. The implant provides a deployable second arm that converts between a first position for insertion and a second position for retention of the implant between adjacent spinous processes.
US07955354B2	Occlusion device and surgical instrument and method for its implantation/explantation An occlusion device includes a braiding of thin wires or threads tapering to the diameter of a catheter used for an intravascular implantation/explantation procedure and having a proximal retention area, a distal retention area at which ends of the wires or threads converge into a holder, and a cylindrical crosspiece interposed between the proximal retention area and the distal retention area, whereby the two retention areas are positioned on two sides of a shunt to be occluded in a septum following implantation while the crosspiece transverses the shunt. The holder exhibits a head section at its free end having an eyelet as a cross-hole which can be gripped and held in form-fit fashion by an implantation/explantation instrument. A surgical instrument having such a holder includes gripper tongs with gripping jaws which open and close by a push/pull system, and which force-fit grips the head section of the holder.
US07955348B2	Lancing devices and methods Lancing devices for use with removable lancets having sharp tips are provided. Embodiments include an interlock within the housing that blocks insertion of the lancet when the device is already cocked.
US07955340B2	Apparatus and methods for forming and securing gastrointestinal tissue folds Apparatus and methods are provided for forming a gastrointestinal tissue fold by engaging tissue at a first tissue contact point and moving the first tissue contact point from a position initially distal to, or in line with, a second tissue contact point to a position proximal of the second contact point, thereby forming the tissue fold, and extending an anchor assembly through the tissue fold from a vicinity of the second tissue contact point. Adjustable anchor assemblies; as well as anchor delivery systems, shape-lockable guides and methods for endoluminally performing medical procedures, such as gastric reduction, treatment of gastroesophageal reflux disease, resection of lesions, and treatment of bleeding sites; are also provided.
US07955338B2	Apparatus and method for preparing bone for anti-rotational implantation of an orthopedic endoprosthesis An apparatus and method for reaming a bone, facilitating pre-implantation alignment of a prosthesis using trial components, and preparing a bone site for anti-rotational implantation of the prosthesis is provided. The apparatus includes a boring end, a mating end disposed opposite the boring end, and a keying aid disposed between the boring end and mating end. The method includes attaching a power tool to the mating end, reaming a bone canal with the boring end, detaching the power tool, attaching a trial component, conducting alignment trials, maintaining the apparatus in the desired position, detaching the trial component, cutting at least one keyway in the bone canal using a cutting device and the keying aid, removing the cutting device, removing the apparatus from the reamed bone canal, and inserting the prosthesis into anti-rotational engagement with reamed bone by aligning the key on the prosthesis with the keyway in the bone canal.
US07955335B2	Osteochondral plug graft trimming device and method A device for trimming an osteochondral plug graft to an implantable configuration includes a blade assembly terminating in a configured leading cutting blade and a plug grail housing comprising a substantially longitudinal holding sleeve having a bore and oriented complementarily to the longitudinal structure of the blade assembly to receive the longitudinal structure within the sleeve bore with the assembly cutting blade in close tolerance along an inner bore surface of the longitudinal housing structure.
US07955330B2	Multi-port side-fire coagulator An electrosurgical apparatus for coagulating tissue used in combination with an endoscope which includes an elongated flexible tube having a plurality of side-ports located therethrough. The tube extends through a working channel of the endoscope and an ionizable gas is supplied to the tube at or near the proximal end of the tube. A diffusing member directs the ionizable gas from the proximal end of the tube through each of the side-ports towards the tissue. An electrode is used for ionizing the gas prior to the gas exiting the side-ports.
US07955325B2	Surgical clamp having transmurality assessment capabilities A medical device is provided having a means for actuating a pair of opposing jaw members. The jaw members are movable relative to one another from a first position, wherein the jaw members are disposed in a spaced apart relation relative to one another, to a second position, wherein the jaw members cooperate to grasp tissue therebetween. An ablation mechanism is connected to at least one of the jaws members, such that the jaw members are capable of conducting ablation energy through the tissue grasped therebetween.
US07955306B2	Arrangement for introducing a liquid into the body of a patient An infusion set with a guiding needle, more particularly a laterally displaceable guiding needle.
US07955305B2	Needle inserter and method for infusion device An infusion media delivery device includes a housing having a base adapted to be secured to a user's skin. An infusion media reservoir is supported by the housing. A moveable hollow needle is selectively engageable with the reservoir to communicate infusion media from the reservoir. The needle is supported for movement relative to the housing base between a first position and a second position. The needle is spaced apart from a user's skin when in the first position and the base is secured to the user's skin, and the needle is arranged to pierce the user's skin when in the second position and the base is secured to the user's skin.
US07955304B2	Injector The present invention relates to a method of operating an injection device, which device comprises a medicament cartridge and a needle attached to said cartridge, means for automatic penetration of needle, injection of medicament and withdrawal of needle, comprising the steps of initiating a penetration sequence, followed by an injection sequence and followed by a withdrawal sequence, wherein a previous sequence triggers a subsequent sequence, and wherein the subsequent sequence is triggered before the previous sequence has ended.
US07955303B2	Injection device with a two-way slip coupling An injection device including casing with a reservoir for an injectable product, an operating button which can be moved relative to the casing in a dosing direction which increases the dosage and in a correcting direction to set a product dosage, a conveying member for delivering the dosage set, a slip coupling comprising a latching element and a co-operating latching element which latch to each other in a latching engagement and couple the operating button to the casing in a positive and non-positive fit in discrete latching positions during a movement in the dosing direction or the correcting direction, and a spring member which opposes the movement of the operating button in at least one of the directions with a spring force, wherein the latching element or co-operating latching element are shaped such that in the latching engagement they offer a lower resistance to the movement in the at least one of the directions than to the movement in the other direction.
US07955300B2	Disposable safety syringe with retractable needle A disposable safety syringe in one embodiment includes a stepped syringe barrel comprising two opposite mating members on an inner surface proximate a distal end; a plunger comprising a connection member and a breakable section behind the connection member; a first needle assembly comprising a needle and a needle hub secured to the distal end of the syringe barrel; and a hollow second needle assembly shaped to lockingly secure to the first needle assembly in the syringe barrel, the second needle assembly comprising two opposite corresponding mating members on an outer surface, the corresponding mating members being lockingly engaged with the mating members. After dispensing, the plunger may clockwise rotate about the syringe barrel until the mating members and the corresponding mating members are unlocked lengthwise each other. The plunger, the second needle assembly, and the first needle assembly may move rearward to retract the needle within the syringe barrel.
US07955292B2	Endosurgical extraction bag for collecting body tissue or body fluid The invention relates to an endosurgical extraction bag for collecting body tissue or body fluid, with a bag main part formed from a flexible envelope, and with a first admission opening for introducing tissue or fluid into the bag main part of the bag. Arranged in the bag main part, there is an inner envelope which is connected to the main part (bag) and opens toward the first admission opening, but adjoins the bag main part sealingly in respect of the first admission opening, and which has a second admission opening at its second end remote from the first admission opening and spaced apart from an end of the bag main part remote from the first admission opening, through which second admission opening the tissue or fluid can be introduced into the bag main part.
US07955291B2	Method and apparatus for detecting access recirculation A switch valve for use in an extracorporeal blood flow circuit comprises a valve housing having a chamber, four openings communicating with the chamber, and a valve member located in the valve chamber. A first opening is to be connected to a patient via an arterial cannula, a second opening is to be connected to a patient via an venous cannula, a third opening is to be connected to a first inlet/outlet of a blood treatment device, and a fourth opening is to be connected to a second inlet/outlet of a blood treatment device. The valve member is movable within the valve housing to fluidly connect the first opening to either the third or the fourth opening and to fluidly connect the second opening to either the third or the fourth opening. The width of the valve member is smaller than a peripheral dimension of the openings.
US07955289B2	Method and apparatus for blood withdrawal and infusion using a pressure controller A method and apparatus for controlling blood withdrawal and infusion flow rate with the use of a pressure controller. The pressure controller uses pressure targets based upon occlusion limits that are calculated as a function of flow. The controller has the ability to switch from controlling withdrawal pressure to controlling infusion pressure based upon the detection of an occlusion. The controller distinguishes between partial and total occlusions of the withdrawal vein providing blood access. Depending on the nature of occlusion, the controller limits or temporarily reverses blood flow and, thus, prevents withdrawal vessel collapse or reverses blood flow to quickly infuse blood into the vessel without participation from operator.
US07955285B2	Shoulder orthosis A shoulder orthosis is utilized to effect relative movement between bones in a body of a patient. The orthosis includes a base section which is connected with a trunk of a patient's body, an upper arm section which is connected with an upper portion of an arm of the patient, and a lower arm section which is connected with a lower portion of the arm of a patient. An interconnection between the base section and upper arm section of the orthosis is disposed beneath an axilla between the trunk and arm of the patient. A main drive assembly is operable to rotate the lower arm section of the orthosis relative to the upper arm section of the orthosis to pivot a humerus bone in the upper arm of the patient relative to a scapula bone in a shoulder of the patient. A secondary drive assembly is operable to move the lower arm section and upper arm section relative to the base section of the orthosis to move the upper arm of the patient into alignment with the shoulder of the patient.
US07955283B2	Safety mechanisms for belt cartridge used with chest compression devices with breakable link Safety mechanisms for compression belt cartridges used in chest compression devices. The safety mechanisms include a breakable link, liner socks, belt guards and a rapid-release connector. The breakable link ensures that unsafe belt tension will not occur. The liner socks protect the patient from friction and contain the breakable link. The belt guards protect foreign objects from entering the belt drive platform. The rapid-release connector allows the belt to be removed safely even during compressions.
US07955282B2	System and device to sculpt an individual's body A system and device to sculpt an individual's body. The system and device are capable of selectively burning adipose tissue located in a user's abdomen, waist, thigh, arms, etc., and of generating vibration to produce heat from friction such that blood circulation can be enhanced. The device to sculpt the body includes a body sculpture holder, attached to the user's body, to generate an ultrasonic frequency, an intermediate frequency, and a low frequency, a portable body electrically connected to the sculpture holder, and a fixed body on to which the portable body is fixed.
US07955280B2	Leg alignment for surgical parameter measurement in hip replacement surgery A CAS system and method comprises a first reference in fixed relation with the pelvis and a registration tool. A sensor apparatus tracks the first reference and tool. A controller unit receives tracking data for the first reference and tool. A calculator tracks the pelvic frame of reference, and the tool to produce a femoral frame of reference at two sequential operative steps. A reference orientation adjustor receives tracking data for the pelvic frame of reference to orient the femoral frame of reference in a reference orientation with respect to the pelvic frame of reference, and to produce a reference adjustment value as a function of the reference orientation. A surgical parameter calculator receives tracking data from the tool to calculate surgical parameters as a function of the reference adjustment value.
US07955265B2	Method and apparatus for measuring anatomic structures Methods, apparatus and systems for measuring a thickness of a portion of a multi-layer vessel based on at least one medical diagnostic image frame using an integrated ultrasound device is provided. The method includes for each x-coordinate determining a y-coordinate along an interface between each layer of the vessel including determining a Y coordinate of a center of an intima-media center (IMC) determining the adventitia-media interface Y coordinate, determining the intima-lumen interface Y coordinate, determining for each X coordinate the lumen-intima interface Y coordinate, determining media-adventitia interface Y coordinate, determining a thickness of at least one vessel layer using X and Y coordinates of respective layer interfaces, and outputting the thickness to a display.
US07955261B2	System and methods for processing analyte sensor data Systems and methods for processing sensor analyte data, including initiating calibration, updating calibration, evaluating clinical acceptability of reference and sensor analyte data, and evaluating the quality of sensor calibration. During initial calibration, the analyte sensor data is evaluated over a period of time to determine stability of the sensor. The sensor may be calibrated using a calibration set of one or more matched sensor and reference analyte data pairs. The calibration may be updated after evaluating the calibration set for best calibration based on inclusion criteria with newly received reference analyte data. Fail-safe mechanisms are provided based on clinical acceptability of reference and analyte data and quality of sensor calibration. Algorithms provide for optimized prospective and retrospective analysis of estimated blood analyte data from an analyte sensor.
US07955260B2	Method for rating severity of psoriasis Methods for rating the severity of psoriasis in a patient are provided. Such methods comprise assessing the percent of the patient's body surface exhibiting signs of psoriasis, assessing the overall elevation, erythema, and scale of the patient's psoriasis plaques, and classifying the severity of the patient's psoriasis into at least four classes based upon the percent of the patient's body surface exhibiting signs of psoriasis adjusted by the overall elevation, erythema and scale of the patient's psoriasis plaques. In the present methods the weight given to one or more of the overall qualities of elevation, erythema or scale of the patient's psoriasis plaques in classifying the severity of the patient's psoriasis into a higher class is greater than the weight given to other of the overall qualities. A computer readable medium and system for practicing the present methods are also provided.
US07955249B2	Output transducers for hearing systems Apparatus for directly stimulating a tympanic membrane or other acoustic member comprising a support with a plurality of activatable elements. The support can be mounted on the tympanic membrane and the activatable elements are distributed on the support to provide a distributed vibration to the tympanic membrane.
US07955241B2	Multi-mode pelvic exercise probe A perineometer exercise probe for home or clinical use assesses the strength of pelvic floor muscles and provides audible, visual and tactile biofeedback signals as training aids during pelvic exercises. The exercise probe is selectively operable in a passive reaction mode, in which audible, visual and tactile biofeedback signals proportional to pelvic muscle contractions are generated, and in an active vibrating mode in which therapeutic vibrations are applied directly to internal pelvic musculature with or without co-generation of biofeedback signals proportional to the strength of pelvic muscle contractions; and in a combination of both modes simultaneously. The probe reacts the pelvic contraction forces and thus provides passive tactile feedback signals that are experienced simultaneously with audible, visual and vibration-induced tactile biofeedback signals for improving the endurance and strength of pelvic floor muscles. Biofeedback signaling is facilitated by wireless two-way communication between the probe and a portable monitor.
US07955239B2	Portable exercise apparatus An apparatus for treating or training individuals while doing exercises permits a large range of motion while at the same time providing resistance. A hollow spherical housing having a spool and a cord inside is mounted within a support frame which permits the housing to rotate 360 degrees about a central z-axis and further about 120 degrees about the x-axis and the y-axis when the cord contacts the frame. A tension dial permits adjusting the tension applied to the spool to provide resistance as a user pulls the cord from the housing. When the user releases the force on the cord the cord is retracted onto the spool. The base of the support frame has opposing locking lugs which engage keyways in a co-operating socket which can be mounted on a variety of surfaces such as walls, doors and straps for attachment to a wrist or ankle or other body part.
US07955233B1	Abdomen exercising device that is operated safely An abdomen exercising device includes a soft cushion, a base combined with the cushion, a sliding unit slidably mounted on the base, an elastic cord biased between the base and the sliding unit to provide a damping force to the sliding unit and a top cover mounted on the base to cover the elastic cord and to partially cover the sliding unit. Thus, the parts of the abdomen exercising device are almost hidden between and covered by the base and the top cover to prevent the user from being clamped or scratched by the elastic cord or the sliding unit during the exercising process so as to protect the user's safety.
US07955231B1	Physical exercising machine A physical exercising machine includes a carrier having a platform to support a user, a lever attached to the carrier and inclined relative to the carrier and the base, a pivotal coupling mechanism pivotally coupled between the base and the carrier for horizontally moving the carrier and the user up and down relative to the base, a follower slidably engaged with the base and the lever for moving the platform and the user up and down relative to the base when the follower is moved along the inclined lever, and a cable coupled to the follower and having two end portions engaged through two openings of the platform for being pulled by the user and for actuating the follower to move the platform and the user up and down relative to the base.
US07955228B2	Bicycle trainer with variable magnetic resistance to pedaling A bicycle trainer provides variable resistance to pedaling and allows for a rider to simulate a real-world bicycle course. The trainer engages both the front tire and the back tire of the bicycle and adjusts each according to the rider's preferences during a training session. The front tire lifts up and down as the bicycle moves forward and backward on the trainer. The back tire is adjusted by incorporating magnets thereon in the form of magnetic elements on a sleeve or a clip that engages the back tire and/or the back tire rim. The magnets on the back tire may also be attached to the spokes. The trainer includes magnets as well, usually of opposite polarity, and adds resistance to pedaling when the magnetic fields of the magnets interact to resist back tire revolution.
US07955221B2	Face lift exercise device A facial exercise device includes a handle, ring, tongue arm and flexible cheek arms. The device is inserted into a person's mouth and the person's cheeks are tightened against the resistance provided by the flexible cheek arms. An optional eyepiece includes connected flexible right and left eye portions and two or more protrusions extending outwardly.
US07955215B2	Control device for vehicular drive system A vehicular drive system is disclosed as including an electrically operated differential portion (16) disposed in a power transmitting path between an engine (8) and drive wheels (38) for controlling an operating state of an electric motor (M), connected to a rotary element of a differential portion (11), for controlling a differential state between an input-shaft rotation speed and an output-shaft rotation speed, and a shifting portion (20) forming a part of the power transmitting path and functioning as a step-variable automatic shifting portion. A control device (40) performs a control of output torque of the electric motor during a downshift of the step-variable shifting portion so as to suppress a variation in the engine rotation speed. The control of output torque is performed so as to increase the output torque by inertia torque of the electric motor, thereby achieving a reduction in shifting shock.
US07955214B2	Automatic transmission An automatic transmission is provided having appropriately spaced gear ratios for eight forward speeds to be capable of obtaining a shift feeling in all of the eight speeds, and is reduced in size and weight. Rotation of an input shaft is transmitted to an output shaft at a speed selected from a plurality of shift speeds by first and second clutches selectively transmitting the rotation of the input shaft to first and second compound planetary gears, and by first to fourth brakes selectively fixing each element of the first and second compound planetary gears, the first compound planetary gear includes first and second sun gears, a common carrier rotatably supporting a long pinion and a pinion, and a common ring gear that meshes with the first sun gear through the long pinion or the pinion and also meshes with the second sun gear through the long pinion and the pinion.
US07955201B2	Spin element for arrow or bolt An arrow element, such as an insert and/or sleeve, mounted with respect to a shaft with at least one airflow resistor projecting outward from the insert to impart rotational spin about a longitudinal axis or spin axis arrow during flight, to increase aerodynamic performance and stability of the arrow shaft, and to improve arrow flight accuracy.
US07955199B2	Lacrosse head having a grooved frame member and independent stop The present invention provides a lacrosse stick head having at least one of a grooved frame member and an independent stop. The lacrosse stick head has grooved construction in the entirety or portions of its frame to provide lightness while retaining the strength and durability of the prior art lacrosse stick heads. The lacrosse stick head may include a double wall scoop (e.g., upper and lower rails) to provide lightness while retaining strength and durability without altering the effectiveness of picking up a ground ball. The independent ball stop is separated from the sidewalls in order to reduce weight.
US07955192B2	Multi-layer core golf ball Golf balls comprising a multi-layer core and a cover are disclosed. The multi-layer core comprises a thermoset rubber inner core, a thermoset rubber first intermediate core layer, a thermoplastic second intermediate core layer, and a thermoset rubber outer core layer. The inner core is preferably formed from a harder rubber than the first intermediate core layer.
US07955183B2	Temporary golf club shaft-component connection A temporary shaft-component connection for assembling a selected golf club shaft with a club head and/or hand grip segment, to facilitate custom club design and fitting to suit the needs and preferences of an individual golfer. The temporary shaft-component connection is particularly designed for use with nonmetallic club shafts formed from a graphite-based composite material or the like having a range of different lengths and stiffness (whip) characteristics. In a shaft-head connection, a metal adapter insert is mounted onto a lower end of the club shaft and includes one or more flat surfaces for reception into a matingly shaped socket in the hosel of a selected club head to prevent relative rotation between the club shaft and head. A compression nut carried on the shaft is threaded onto the hosel to axially engage and retain a thrust flange on the shaft or adapter or adapter insert, to prevent axial separation of the club head and shaft.
US07955172B2	Apparatus, systems and methods for facilitating a negative credit balance of a gaming device Disclosed herein are apparatus, systems and methods for a gaming device operable to support a negative credit balance. For example, in some embodiments, a gaming device may be configured to: (i) determine a current credit balance, (ii) determine a wager amount, (iii) determine whether the wager amount would result in a negative balance of credits, (iv) determine if it is permissible to allow a negative balance of credits, and if so (v) adjust a current balance such that is equal to the negative balance, and (vi) display an indication of the negative credit balance.
US07955171B2	System and method for automatically initiating game play on an electronic gaming device An electronic gaming device, such as a slot machine, is provided which initiates a game without input from a player. After initiating the game, the device may present one or more active game elements, such as rotating slot reels, to the player. The device determines an outcome of the game corresponding to a final position of the active game elements. The device further provides an interval to the player to make payment before the final outcome of the game is displayed. Payouts to the player are based on the final outcome and whether the player has made payment. Payouts may be increased based on a measurement of the player's participation rate in a series of games and the frequency of the games played, as measured by the device.
US07955166B2	Method and apparatus for treating sausage casing A method and apparatus for treating processed food casing in preparation for stuffing. The method includes extending the casing, applying (e.g., spraying) an organic acid (e.g., a citric acid solution) to the exterior surface of the casing to produce a treated casing, and mounting the treated casing onto a stuffer. In one embodiment, extending includes removing the casing from a brine solution and laying the casing onto a support surface (e.g., attaching to a movable conveyor). The casing in the brine solution is commonly attached to a ring, and preferably attaching includes hooking the ring onto an engagement member on the conveyor. If desired, the method can also include rinsing the casing (e.g., spraying a water solution onto an exterior surface of the casing) after extending the casing and before and/or after applying the organic acid.
US07955162B2	Guard anti-rotation lock device The invention relates to a protective hood anti-rotation lock for a portable power tool (12a-k), especially for an angle grinder, for providing anti-rotational locking between the portable power tool (12a-k) and a protective hood unit (14a-k). According to the invention, the protective hood anti-rotation lock has a form-fit unit (16a-k) which is provided for anti-rotational locking of the protective hood unit (14a-k) in relation to the portable power tool (12a-k) in the event of a tool (18a-k) breakage.
US07955153B2	Compound body and a process for the production of a mechanical connection A compound body has a first body part (15) made of glass and a mechanical connection (20, 60) which is melted on the first body part (15) and contains aluminum.
US07955145B2	In-line connector Connectors are provided herein for connecting two elongated members that are positioned in-line to one another. Advantageously, the connectors not only allow for connection of the two members to permit for mechanical, electrical, EMI, and/or grounding applications, the connectors have provisions for accommodating thermal expansion and offset, which may include angular and/or axial offset. In certain embodiments, one or more collapsible housing pins or collars are provided to permit assembly and disassembly by either extending the housing pin or collapsing the housing pin.
US07955137B2	Lower profile cable assembly A cable assembly includes an insulative housing, a number of contacts retained in the insulative housing and a metal shell covering the housing to form a receiving space with the tongue portion for receiving an electrical plug. The housing has a base portion and a tongue portion extending forwardly from the base portion. The contacts consist of two pairs of differential signal contacts and a pair of grounding contacts between the two pairs of differential signal contacts. Each contact has a contact portion. All contact portions are arranged in a row on one side of the tongue portion.
US07955136B1	Electrical connector and a fabricating method thereof An electrical connector includes a shell, an insulating housing, a plurality of contacts and a pair of strengthening plates. The insulating housing is formed with a contact tongue plate. If the electrical connector is assembled, the contacts are inserted into the insulating housing. The strengthening plates are inserted in the contact tongue plate. The contact tongue plate with the contacts and the strengthening plates are received in the shell. The strengthening plates will improve the structure of the contact tongue plate of the electrical connector to resist an external force such as a pressing force of a mating connector. The strengthening plates can prevent the contact tongue plate of the electrical connector from deformation and damage.
US07955129B2	Camera socket having fold-back contact terminals arranged in high density A camera socket (100) includes a metallic housing (40) defining a receiving space (101), a contact terminal insert disposed within the metallic housing (40) and including a plurality of contact terminals (30) integrally formed with an insulative housing (20) and arranged in an array. Each contact terminal (30) includes a fold-back contact engaging arm (34) extending backwardly and offset from a main portion (33) of the contact terminal (30) in a way such that a free end (341) of each of the contact engaging arm is located adjacent to a sidewall (41) of the metallic housing (40) for engaging with a camera module (100a).
US07955119B2	Lamp assembly having self-retaining means A lamp assembly (100) includes a lamp base (3) defining a socket, with a mounting portion (33) arranged therein; a pair of cables (4) inserted into the socket via a cable passage defined in a rear portion of the lamp base, with conductors of the cables extending through passageways in the mounting portion and configured to hook thereon; a lamp holder (2) having a body portion inserted into the socket of the lamp base together with the mounting portion to sandwich the conductors; and a lamp bulb (1) held by the lamp holder, with a pair of legs thereof inserted into the socket and contacting conductors of the cables.
US07955118B2	Terminal plate circuit using a pressing member A terminal plate circuit including a terminal plate, a rectangular wire, and a pressing member, characterized in that a hole through which the rectangular wire penetrates is provided in the terminal plate; the rectangular wire is inserted into this hole so as to establish an electrical contact between the terminal plate and the rectangular wire; and the contact state is maintained by a pressing force of the pressing member to the part of the surface of the rectangular wire on the side opposite to the part of the surface of the rectangular wire that is in contact with the terminal plate, and that the pressing member has a sandwiching part that can sandwich the end of the terminal plate, and the pressing force of the pressing member to the rectangular wire is generated by sandwiching the end of the terminal plate with this sandwiching part.
US07955110B1	Connector with a connecting member pressing insulators of terminals of two mating terminal housings A connector has a first terminal housing with first connecting terminals and a second terminal housing with second connecting terminals. When the first terminal housing and the second terminal housing are mated, one side of the first connecting terminals and one side of the second connecting terminals form pairs and provide contacts, respectively. Each of the contacts is sandwiched by an insulator. The insulator has a first isolating member configured to be fixed to other side of an adjacent first connecting terminal and to cover one surface of the adjacent first connecting terminal, and a second isolating member configured to be fixed to the other side of an adjacent second connecting terminal and to cover one surface of the adjacent second connecting terminal. The insulator is formed by overlapping the first insolating member and the second isolating member when the first terminal housing and the second terminal housing are mated.
US07955109B2	Quick disconnect hermaphroditic electrical connector with sharp angle interlocking side hooks on each half A number of improved interlock structures on a quick disconnect hermaphroditic electrical connector that specifically improve the keyed alignment of the two connector ends when joined together as well as the security of the connection. The combination of a “top closed” interlock insert depression and a pair of interlock disc projections provides for better keyed alignment and a more secure connection. The use of sharp angle interlock side hooks further provides for a more secure connection.
US07955105B2	Connector arrangement with penetrator in a submersible electrical assembly A connector arrangement in a submersible electrical assembly including an electric equipment or electrical power consumer housed in an enclosure filled with conductive fluid. Power is supplied to the power consumer in a connecting area defined through a dielectric containment located inside the enclosure, and to a penetrator comprising power cable termination components enclosed in a penetrator housing extending from a rear end to a forward end of the penetrator. The rear end is arranged to seal about a power cable receivable in the housing from the rear end. The forward end exposes a connector arranged for electrically connecting the power consumer to the penetrator. The penetrator housing in the forward end is extended beyond the connector through a housing section projecting into the power consumer enclosure and terminated in a forward end by an end wall. The end wall has a passage sealable about a power consumer conductor mateable with the connector of the penetrator in a connecting mode.
US07955104B1	Shorting clip terminal connector assembly including protrusion shield A shorting clip terminal connector assembly electrically shorts together terminals in a first connector body dependent on connection status of a first and a second connector body. A shorting clip terminal disposed in a shorting clip terminal cavity in the first connector body receives a protrusion disposed on the second connector body. When the second connector body is mated with the first connector body, the protrusion engages a lift element of the shorting clip terminal in the shorting clip terminal cavity thereon and urges the lift element to lift contact elements of the shorting clip terminal away from the terminals in the shorting clip terminal cavity enabling insertion of protrusion side walls intermediate the contact elements and the terminals in the shorting clip terminal cavity. The contact elements of the shorting clip terminal do not make electrical contact with the terminals and the protrusion side walls further shield the contact elements from making electrical contact with the terminals.
US07955103B2	Connector A connector adequately detects a state of an electronic component such as a memory card which is fitted in the connector by way of insertion, even when scrapes of a housing of the electronic component are produced due to insertion and removal of the electronic component which is fitted. In this connector (100), detecting parts (160A and 160B), which detect that a memory card (20) is fitted completely in an accommodating part (102) or detect whether or not data can be written in the memory card (20), have fixed terminals (162) and movable terminals (161). In the movable terminal (161), a card contacting part (163a) placed in the accommodating part (102) is pressed by the memory card (20), so that a movable contact part (164a) contacts and conducts with the fixed terminal (162). An isolating wall part (190) is provided between the contacting part (163a) and the movable contact part (164a) to isolate a contact area between the movable contact part (164a) and the fixed terminal (162), from the contacting area between the contacting part (163a) and the memory card (20).
US07955097B2	Plug-in outlet (PIO) with floating fingerguard A plug-in outlet for a busway system has a base mounted to a busway housing, wherein the base has an opening into which an electrical stab extends from a busbar of the busway system. A fingerguard is mounted to the base into the opening and has self-aligning features achieved by built-in tolerances. The fingerguard includes a central barrier for shielding a leading end of the electrical stab, the central barrier extending from side walls of the fingerguard and being separated by respective gaps from a top wall and a bottom wall of the fingerguard. The fingerguard further includes a top back latch and a bottom back latch for attaching the fingerguard to the stab, the top back latch and the bottom back latch extending from respective ones of the top wall and the bottom wall toward the stab and retaining the stab toward the fingerguard.
US07955090B2	Optical transceiver, connector, substrate unit, optical transmitter, optical receiver, and semiconductor device One ends of a plurality of interface pins are attached to a substrate in a line. Optical semiconductor device and an electric circuit are mounted on this substrate. The other ends of the interface pins are fit into holes in an another substrate. Signals are exchanged between the two substrates via the interface pins. The interface pins are embedded in a dielectric material. A plurality of ground pins and/or ground through holes may be provided in the dielectric material around the interface pins. The dielectric constant of the dielectric material is less than the dielectric constants of the two substrates.
US07955088B2	Axially compliant microelectronic contactor One embodiment is an axially compliant electrical contactor for interconnecting microelectronic devices, the contactor including: an insulative sleeve having a hole therethrough; and a metal tube having a cylindrical wall being slidably disposed in the hole; wherein: (a) two or more elongated slots through the cylindrical wall extend from a first circumferential collar of the tube to a second circumferential collar of the tube; (b) the two or more slots form two or more elongated resilient legs connecting the first collar and the second collar; and (c) a portion of each elongated leg is disposed in the hole.
US07955084B2	Wireless transmitter with securely adjustable pivotal plug for connecting to musical instrument A battery-powered wireless transmitter for connecting to a musical instrument comprising an antenna; a cover comprising a well at one end and a first gear on one side of the well; a T-shaped plug having a horizontal section pivotably disposed in the well and a vertical section projecting out of the well, the plug comprising a spring member at one end of the horizontal section, a second gear on the other end of the horizontal section being urged by the spring member to mesh with the first gear, and an electrically conductive rod projecting out of the vertical section; and an adapter comprising an end socket. Pivoting the rod about the horizontal section by rotating the second gear about the fixed first gear will adjust an angle of the plug with respect to the cover and fix the angle after stopping the pivoting.
US07955083B2	System and method for modeling atomic structures A system and method of an atomic tile including an elemental symbol for a corresponding element and a dot representation of at least one valance electron of the corresponding element. The dot representation are proximate to corresponding edges of the octagonal shape.
US07955074B2	Apparatus and method for thermally treating semiconductor device capable of preventing wafer from warping A thermal treatment apparatus and method for processing a wafer are provided. The thermal treatment apparatus includes a process chamber for thermally treating the wafer, a heating unit for heating the wafer in the process chamber, and a gas supply unit for supplying a gas and controlling a gas pressure differently by sections of the wafer. The heating unit is provided in at least one of the upper side and the lower side of the process chamber. The heating unit includes a plurality of heater blocks capable of controlling a temperature for sections of the wafer.
US07955071B1	Apparatus for injection molding A nozzle assembly for selectably conveying material in a flowable condition to a cavity of a mold assembly comprises a nozzle body, a removable nozzle tip, a valve pin member extending through the nozzle body and having a tip end for selectably forming a seal with a valve seat to selectably prevent passage of material into the mold cavity and a pin guide for guiding the valve pin member, the pin guide being partially received within the nozzle tip and partially received within the nozzle body and having at least one alignment surface on the exterior thereof and cooperating with an aligning surface of the nozzle body to align the pin guide relative to the nozzle body and with an aligning surface of the nozzle tip to align the nozzle tip relative to the pin guide whereby the nozzle tip is aligned relative to the nozzle body.
US07955061B2	Priming pump for a circuit subjecting said pump to an outlet pressure greater than an inlet pressure The invention provides a priming pump comprising a deformable envelope associated with an inlet endpiece and an outlet endpiece each fitted with a moving valve member, the endpieces being arranged in such a manner that when the valve members are in the closed position, the outlet endpiece presents a leakage rate that is greater than the leakage rate of the inlet endpiece.
US07955060B2	Peristaltic pump A pumping apparatus has a peristaltic drive device for pumping a medium through a line that has a compressible portion. The pump contains a one-piece shaft with offset cam segments and lamellae. The shaft may or may not include a core shaft or a continuous core region for an increase in stability. The continuous core region has cam segments offset with respect to one another and contiguous to one another. The ratio between the height and stroke of the lamellae is about 4:1 or less.
US07955058B1	Reciprocating piston to piston energy pump This invention is a reciprocating piston to piston device that can function 1) to increase or decrease pressure in a hydraulic or pneumatic system with minimal energy loss or 2) as a hydraulic or pneumatic pump or motor. The input and output fluids may be the same or different. The energy transferred or pumped depends on the size of the input piston, the pressure of the input fluid, and rate of reciprocation.
US07955047B2	Variable geometry turbine Variable geometry turbine, in particular a gas turbine, comprising a housing (2, 22), a turbine rotor (4), a fluid inlet scroll (1) that surrounds the turbine rotor, a vaned nozzle interposed between the inlet scroll and the turbine rotor conceived to accelerate the flow of fluid, the nozzle comprising an axially adjustable ring (5, 25) conceived to vary the nozzle gap (3, 23) and having a wall (19) delimiting the nozzle gap, the wall having balance holes (6, 26, 26′) connecting the nozzle gap with a chamber (12) delimited by the housing and the ring, characterised in that the edges (16), formed by the holes with the surface (18) of the wall facing the nozzle gap, are rounded in the portion (17, 17′) located downstream the holes with respect to the fluid flow. Turbocharger and supercharged engine comprising the engine.
US07955032B2	Cutting insert with coolant delivery and method of making the cutting insert An assembly of components for forming upon consolidation of the components a cutting insert for use in chipforming and material removal from a workpiece wherein the cutting insert receives coolant from a coolant source. The assembly comprises a cavity member that presents opposite first and second rake surfaces and a flank surface. The cavity member further presents a first cutting edge at the juncture of the first rake surface and the flank surface. The cavity member further has a first depression in the first rake surface that is generally adjacent to the first cutting edge. The cavity member has a first cavity channel in communication with the first depression.
US07955030B2	Controlling sediment Sediment control devices (SCDs) include an apertured threshold member and an apertured outflow member, and optionally a filter member between the threshold and outflow members. In some SCDs1 the outflow member has a smaller aperture size than the threshold member, or vice versa. In some SCDs, a filter is placed in front of the threshold member. In some SCDs, there is a substantially hollow sediment control chamber (SCC) between the threshold and outflow members; in others, there is little or no hollow space between the threshold and outflow members. The SCDs can be constructed so that they are resistant to damage by wheeled traffic. The SCDs can be used to control sediment in run-off from a construction site, as drain covers, or as retaining members for lawns or planting areas. A number of SCDs can be joined together to form assemblies which are useful for stabilizing a land mass, for example a gully or river bank.
US07955029B2	Connection element and a sheet pile wall with connection element therefor A connection element (10), having a constant cross-section for sheet pile wall components such as sheet piles, features a claw profile (12) for engaging a head strip (44) of a sheet pile wall component (42). The claw profile (12) exhibits a claw-shaped lock (22) formed by two hook strips (18, 20) as well as an attachment profile (14) for engaging in a claw-shaped lock (46) of a sheet pile wall component (42). The attachment profile (14) exhibits a straight neck strip (32) and a head strip (34) of a greater cross-section at its free end. An additional head strip (38) for securing a claw-shaped lock (46) of a sheet pile wall component (42) is formed at the free end section (28) of at least one of the hook strips (20) of the claw profile (12).
US07955026B2	Method for rehabilitating a manhole To line an inner circumferential surface of side walls of a manhole, a rehabilitating sheet made of a sheet material resistant to water and corrosion is provided in the form of a bag having a shape corresponding to the inner circumferential surface to be lined. The rehabilitating sheet is inserted into the manhole to be lined. Block and plate frames are coupled inside the bag of the rehabilitating sheet to support it so as to have the shape corresponding to the inner circumferential surface to be lined. A gap between the rehabilitating sheet and the inner circumferential surface of the side walls of the manhole is filled with a filler, which is then hardened to line the side walls of the manhole. Pairs of plate frames having different diameters are coupled to each other to provide ring plates having different diameters. The ring plates are stacked one by one from the maximum one to support the rehabilitating sheet so as to have a shape of the inner circumferential surface of the inclined side wall portion of the manhole.
US07955021B2	Collets for use with valves Collets for coupling rotary actuators to valves are disclosed. An example shaft coupling assembly includes an elongated member having a first end and a second end, in which the first end includes a coupling portion having a first opening configured to receive a rectangular shaft. The coupling portion includes at least one flexible member having an arcuate outer surface and a first inner surface adjacent a second inner surface that at least partially define the first opening. At least a portion of the first inner surface is to engage a first side of the rectangular shaft and at least a portion of the second inner surface is to engage a second side of the rectangular shaft. The shaft coupling assembly further includes a sleeve having a second opening to receive the elongated member and a tapered third opening configured to receive the coupling portion.
US07955020B2	Grooved profile for a hub shaft connection A grooved profile for a form fitting hub-shaft connection in which a groove profile for a hub and a shaft include flanks which are structured and arranged as opposing flanks. The groove profile includes a groove profile height in at least one of the hub and the shaft, a wall thickness in at least one of the hub and the shaft smaller than the groove profile height, and at least one of the opposing flanks is one of curved and arc-shaped in cross section.
US07955012B2	Printer with force transmitting path selecting mechanism A printer has a carriage being movable between a first end and a second end of a reciprocating path; and a driving force transmitting path selecting mechanism provided at the second end of the reciprocating path. The selecting mechanism has: a common driving force outputting member; a plurality of force receiving members; a selecting member; and a position retainer for keeping the position of the selecting member. The selecting member connects the force outputting member to one of the plurality of force receiving members, and moves in association with the carriage when the carriage moves in a vicinity of the second end in a first direction extending from the first end to the second end. The position retainer keeps the position of the selecting member when the carriage moves in a second direction extending from the second end to the first end. The force receiving member connected to the force outputting member via the selecting member is selected in accordance with a movement of the carriage along the reciprocating path.
US07955009B2	Sector blade driving apparatus A sector blade driving apparatus includes: a board having an opening; a blade supported for linear movement, adjusting an opening amount of the opening, and having first and second engagement holes; a drive member rotating to drive the blade; and an arm transmitting an drive force of the drive member to the blade, and provided in the drive member. The arm is provided with first and second drive pins respectively engaging the first and second engagement holes.
US07955003B2	Bail release mechanism for communications module In one example, a bail release mechanism includes a bail and a de-latching member. The bail is configured to be attached to the shell of a module that includes a latch pin configured to engage a structure of a host device receptacle to secure the module within the receptacle. The bail is further configured to rotate about a first axis between a latched position and an unlatched position. The first axis is in a fixed position relative to the shell. The de-latching member is attached to the bail at a second axis that is offset from the first axis and is configured to rotate about the second axis. The second axis is movable relative to the shell. The de-latching member includes a first end configured to displace the structure of the receptacle during rotation of the de-latching member to disengage the latch pin from the structure.
US07955001B2	Tapered roller bearing with improved cage A bearing assembly is provided having a roller bearing with an inner race fitted around the journal portion of an axle. An outer raceway combines with the inner raceway to receive roller elements. A backing ring is centered to the shaft fillet. Tapered roller elements are located between and contact the inner and outer raceways. A cage is comprised of an inner ring, and outer ring, and a plurality of pocket bars and support pocket bars extending between the inner and outer rings. The support pocket bars have an overall greater thickness than the pocket bars. The cage is a generally unitary structure comprised of a nylon resin material with a fiber fill.
US07954995B2	Sensor arrangement and method for using same A sensor arrangement includes, in some embodiments, a magnetostrictive element configured to output magnetic signals in response to a magnetic field. A sensor is configured to sense a value of a property of a selected object, and to provide an electrical resistance that varies in response to variations in the sensed value. The sensor cooperates with the magnetostrictive element to vary the frequency of the signals output by the magnetostrictive element based on variations of the electrical resistance provided by the sensor. A transmitter provides an alternating magnetic field to the magnetostrictive element, and a receiver picks up the magnetic signals generated by the magnetostrictive element. The frequency of the signals received is correlated with the sensor resistance, and the resistance is correlated to a value of the property sensed.
US07954989B2	Backlight module with diffusing particles and prism refractive structure A backlight module includes a frame, a diffuser, a first light source, and a light guiding plate. The diffuser is disposed in the frame. A plurality of diffusing particles is doped into the diffuser. The refractive index of the plurality of diffusing particles is less than that of the diffuser. Furthermore, the diffuser has a first light entrance surface and a light exit surface. The first light source is disposed in a long-axial direction of the diffuser and is located at a side of the first light entrance surface. The light guide plate is disposed at a side of the light exit surface.
US07954985B2	Rearview mirror assembly including optical fiber signaling A rearview mirror assembly for use on a vehicle, comprises a housing configured to be coupled to the vehicle, a mirror coupled within the housing, and a first optical fiber coupled to the housing and visible from the exterior thereof for providing a warning that indicates that the vehicle is turning, braking, and the like.
US07954981B2	Light source module for a light fixture A method for generating an air stream for cooling a light source, and a light source module for a light fixture with a blower for cooling the light source and the light source base. To achieve highly effective cooling of a lamp in a light fixture or a projector at least one forced air stream is generated by a blower system which blower system can be placed at a distance from the light source module and can be connected from the blower through a tube to a duct which directs an air stream towards the light source. By using a tube for the connection between the blowing unit and the actual place where air stream is to be used for cooling, it is possible to operate the blower in a place where the suction inlet for air into the blowing unit is a relatively cool place.
US07954974B2	Fire rated downlights A casing for a downlight having a tubular body from which the light of a lamp when installed in the body is emitted from the front of the body and having a rear end wall closing the body from the rear, wherein intumescent material is placed within the tubular body lining the tubular wall of the tubular body.
US07954964B2	Projector having a position adjusting device that moves the projection optical device A projector includes: a projection position adjusting device that adjusts a projection position of a projection optical device. The projection position adjusting device includes: adjusting and driving units that move a first moving plate and a second moving plate. The adjusting and driving unit include: a pair of worms that have a columnar shape and have threads on outer circumferences thereof; and a pair of sliders that are screwed in the pair of worms, respectively. The pair of worms are disposed to extend along the first direction or the second direction. One of the sliders engages with one of moving plates. Engaging structures including inclining engaging holes that extend in a direction crossing the direction in the plane orthogonal to the projecting direction and engaging projections inserted through the inclining engaging holes are provided in the other slider and the other moving plate.
US07954954B2	System and method of projecting an image using a plurality of projectors A device and method is provided for projecting an image within a defined content area using a plurality of projectors configured to each project a portion of an image. The device comprises a defined content area into which the image is projected by the plurality of projectors. A first group of projectors can be selected from the plurality of projectors and set at a first zoom level, then aligned and superpositioned with respect to one another to increase the pixel resolution and brightness of the projected image. The projectors can project a majority of projector light within the content area. A second group of projectors can be selected from the plurality of projectors, set at a second zoom level, aligned and superpositioned adjacent each other to project a majority of projector light within the content area. The first group of projectors can be superimposed with the second group of projectors to fill the content area and increase the pixel resolution and brightness of the projected image.
US07954952B2	System for combined security and display of publicly viewable information A secure display system comprises one or more closure devices having non-transparent polycarbonate projection panels, one or more projectors, and a PC for providing both security and advertising capabilities. The secure display system can display publicly viewable information by projecting images containing, for example, text, graphics, and video from the inside through the projection panels, thus creating an externally viewable display while securing the premises. In some embodiments, the closure device can include a plurality of projection panels in the form of a security roll down shutter. Transparent viewing panels can also be included adjacent the projection panels to provide both viewing and projecting capabilities.
US07954938B2	Apparatus and process for ink-jet printing A process carried out by an ink-jet printing apparatus (1) comprises the steps of placing articles (3a) to be printed on a support (12) of an apparatus (1) further provided with a carriage (6) carrying at least one main print head (8) and at least one auxiliary head (11), and moving the support (12) and the carriage (6) relative to each other in at least one first ink-laying direction (X). The process is put into practice by carrying out the following steps in succession: laying the ink emitted from the auxiliary print head (11) to carry out printing of the articles (3a, 3b) with a background layer, drying the ink just laid by the auxiliary head (11) through a first drying device (14) disposed alongside the main head (8) and laying the ink emitted from the main head (8) to carry out decorations on the background layer.
US07954930B2	Liquid droplet ejecting head and liquid droplet ejecting apparatus A liquid droplet ejecting head according to an aspect of the present invention includes a liquid droplet ejecting element for ejecting liquid droplets a liquid supply path having two or more flow ports, through which a liquid can flow, and supplying the liquid flowing in from the flow ports to the liquid droplet ejecting element, and a flow path cross-sectional area variable unit for changing the flow path cross-sectional area of the liquid supply path.
US07954929B2	Micro-fluid ejecting device having embedded memory in communication with an external controller A micro-fluid ejecting head for use in a micro-fluid ejecting apparatus includes a plurality of micro-fluid ejection devices, a plurality of driver devices for driving the plurality of micro-fluid ejection devices, and a nonvolatile programmable memory matrix. The memory matrix contains embedded programmable memory devices for storing information related to operation of the micro-fluid ejecting head. The memory matrix is configured to communicate with a controller which is external of the micro-fluid ejecting head. The information stored in the memory matrix may include identification information for the micro-fluid ejecting head, alignment characteristics of the micro-fluid ejecting head, information regarding properties of fluid used by the micro-fluid ejecting head, fluid level information, and fluid use information. The external controller accesses the information stored in the memory matrix and controls the plurality of driver devices based on the information accessed from the memory matrix.
US07954928B2	Printhead assembly having angled nested structure A printhead assembly includes an elongate ink distribution assembly defining elongate ink ducts from which ink transfer ports extend. The ink distribution assembly further defines a recess in which a laminated stack structure is received in fluid communication with the ink transfer ports. The laminated stack structure has layers between which ink channels in fluid communication with the ports are interleaved. The laminated stack defines at least one cavity in which respective ink ejection print head integrated circuits (ICs) can be received in fluid communication with the ink channels. The cavity is formed in the laminated stack structure so that the ICs can be disposed at a slight angle to the longitudinal axis of the ink distribution assembly.
US07954919B2	Printer including dot data generator with stochastically ramped print data A printer including a print media transport path, a plurality of printhead modules located across the print media transport path, each printhead module having an elongate printhead, said printheads being slanted and nozzles of respective printheads overlap with nozzles of printheads of neighboring printhead modules, and a dot data generator for providing print data to nozzles such that print data is stochastically ramped from one neighbouring printhead module to a next neighbouring printhead module.
US07954914B2	Retractable hanging element A household consumer product comprises a cabinet having a peripheral wall that partially defines an interior space for the cabinet and includes an opening that provides access to the interior space. A hanging element having a proximal end is mounted to the cabinet for movement through the opening between an extended position, where the proximal end extends beyond the peripheral wall, and a retracted position, where the proximal end does not extend beyond the peripheral wall. The hanging element can include a biasing device that biases the hanging element from the retracted position toward the extended position.
US07954912B1	Double door release A cabinet comprises a cabinet frame having a first side and a second side, a pair of doors coupled to the frame on the first side, wherein one of the pair of doors includes a locking rod positioned along a portion of the length of the door, a latch coupled to the frame on the first side and positioned to receive the locking rod, an actuator positioned on the second side of the cabinet frame and coupled to the latch, and an access door, positioned on the second side of the cabinet frame, the access door restricting access to the actuator. Opening the access door allows activation of the actuator to release the locking rod.
US07954911B2	Housing having a frame around the housing opening and accessories which can be attached thereto A housing with a housing opening at a front, which is closed off by a frame put together from frame legs, wherein the frame opening is and/or can be closed off by a front and/or a cover plate. Accessories, such as handles, storage elements, support arms, pedestals, keyboards and the like are and/or can be connected with the frame legs of the frame. Continuous receiving grooves, open toward the outside, are formed on the outsides of the frame legs. Fastening opportunities are created at all frame locations by fastening devices which can be introduced into the receiving grooves, and thus it is possible to attach any desired accessories at any desired locations of the frame legs of the housing.
US07954907B1	Supplemental brake system of zero turn vehicle A supplemental brake system of a zero turn vehicle has a prime mover, a brake pedal, a pair of axles, and a pair of transaxles driven by the prime mover so as to drive the respective axles. The transaxles include respective brakes for braking the respective axles according to depression of the brake pedal. Also included are supplemental braking means for stopping transmission of power from the prime mover to the pair of transaxles according to depression of the brake pedal.
US07954899B2	Seat back assembly with an adjustable headrest A seat back assembly including a frame molded from material having low density such as expanded polypropylene. The seat back assembly further includes an adjustable head rest assembly including a guide bracket encapsulated in a frame. Encapsulating the guide bracket within the frame provides the headrest assembly with a rigid support, while simultaneously reducing the mass of the seat back assembly with respect to seat back assemblies having a metal seat frame. The headrest assembly includes a headrest body and a pair of legs extending outwardly from the headrests. The guide bracket is fully encapsulated within the frame during the molding process, and is configured so as to slidingly receive each of the legs and secure the headrest assembly to the seat back assembly.
US07954896B2	Chair seat with mutually moveable parts The present invention concerns a chair seat (11) with mutually moveable seat parts (1, 5, 6). The seat parts (1, 5, 6) are mutually shiftable in substantially one and the same first plane. The chair seat is particularly adapted to be used as a chair for surgeons.
US07954895B2	Child safety seat The present invention provides a child seat (1) comprising a seat back (3), a headrest (4) which is moveable relative to the seat back (3), and a removable harness which may be installed for use in securing an occupant to the seat (1), wherein the headrest (4) is coupled to the seat back (3) such that the headrest (4) may undergo a first extent of movement relative to the seat back (3) when the harness is installed and may only undergo a second further extent of movement relative to the seat back (3) when the harness is removed. In this regard, only when the harness is removed from an operative position, namely one where it is installed such that it can be used to restrain a child, can the headrest (4) undergo its second further extent of movement relative to the seat back (3). This ensures that the headrest (4) is not inappropriately positioned for the group of child being restrained thereby.
US07954893B2	Headrest for vehicle seat A headrest for vehicle seat includes: a generally inverted-U-shaped frame having a pair of headrest stays defined therein; and an impact absorption bar fixedly connected between those two headrest stays. The impact absorption bar is located in a predetermined spaced relation with an upper horizontal frame portion of the generally inverted-U-shaped frame. When a rear-end collision or the like occurs, a head of seat occupant is stably received by those impact absorption bar and upper horizontal frame portion, while the impact absorption bar being readily deformed by backward excessive great load applied thereto from the seat occupant's head to thereby absorb and reduce a corresponding impact energy to be imparted to the head.
US07954892B2	Adjustable workstation with hideaway seat and method An adjustable workstation with a hideaway seat and method are disclosed. The table may be adjustable in height so that the workstation may be used as a sitting desk or a standing workstation. The chair is pivotably coupled to the table so that it may be extended and used for sitting or stowed away under the desk while the user stands. The workstation may also have wheels for mobility.
US07954891B2	Foldable chair with retractable armrests A foldable chair has an armrest retracting structure that includes two plate elements placed below each armrest, each plate element having a guide slot with a linear section and a reverse turn section. A first pivotal axle passes through the plate elements and connects with the front leg frame. A support beam has an end through which a second pivotal axle is mounted, the second pivotal axle being connected with the front leg frame. An opposite end of the support beam is secured in the slots through a bolt. By moving the support beam, the armrest can be deployed or retracted. When the bolt is lodged in the reverse turn section, the armrest can be locked in the deployed position.
US07954887B2	Rear structure of vehicle A rear structure (10) of a vehicle is provided in which a lower back reinforcement (16) is provided longitudinally forward of a lower back panel (12). A gusset (34) connects the lower back reinforcement (16) and a rear floor side member (20) in a longitudinally and laterally oblique direction. Accordingly, when a collision load is applied to the vehicle from an oblique rear direction of the vehicle, the change in the angle formed by the lower back reinforcement (16) and the rear floor side member (20) is suppressed and the rigidity against such a collision load is thus improved.
US07954886B2	Front structure of vehicle A vehicular front structure is configured so that stresses do not concentrate in the upper joint part and the lower joint part of a front pillar, and even if the front pillar is made thin, the joint strength of the upper and lower parts of the front pillar is improved.The upper part of a front pillar (17) is joined to the side end part of a roof header member (41) and the front end part of a roof side member (42) via an upper joint panel (43). The front pillar is provided between the side edge of a windshield glass and the front edge of a side door and is formed in a tubular shape by the joint of a pillar inner panel (31) and a pillar outer panel (32), and the roof header member is provided along the upper edge of the windshield glass and is formed into a substantially tubular shape by the joint of a header inner panel (44) and a roof panel (45). Also, the roof side member is provided along the upper edge of the side door and is formed into a tubular shape by the joint of a side inner panel (46) and a roof-forming member (45). Further, the upper joint panel is provided on the cab inside of the pillar inner panel.
US07954884B2	Structure of vehicle end section An object of the present invention is to provide a vehicle end structure capable of more reliably receiving a load upon a collision in a vehicle body of the frame construction. The vehicle end structure of the present invention is one constructed near a front end (or rear end) of a framework of a vehicle and is characterized by comprising a pair of body frame members 1 extending in an anteroposterior direction of the vehicle body; a bumper reinforce 3 hung at ends of the pair of frame members 1; a pair of brackets 4 located on the center side of the vehicle with respect to the ends of the pair of frame members 1 and projecting outwardly and laterally from the respective frame members; a pair of outer pillar members 5 extending downward from the respective brackets 4; a cross member 6 hung between the pair of outer pillar members 5; and a pair of inner pillar members 7 joining an upper surface of the cross member 6 to the respective frame members 1.
US07954879B2	Vehicle door system There is provided a vehicle door system for a door of a road vehicle, for example an open-top or convertible vehicle. The door includes a first hinged region thereof and a second openable region thereof. Moreover, the assembly comprises a reinforcement member for inclusion within the door substantially from the hinged region thereof to the second openable region thereof. Furthermore, the assembly further includes a first retention mechanism at the first region and a second retention mechanism at the second region, the mechanisms being resilient in operation to impact or crash forces applied to the door to resist lateral movement of the door when the door is in a closed state.
US07954878B1	Arch-based vehicle element The invention is an arch-based structural element designed to offer the resistance of the apex curvature of the arch to present to and intercept a force (an automobile collision). The resistance of the arch and its construction using strong lightweight materials give auto passengers the maximum degree of safety as well as lower consumption of fuel associated with weigh reduction.
US07954875B2	Sun visor for a motor vehicle The present invention relates to a sun visor for a motor vehicle, with a planar, elongate main visor body which is mounted rotatably on a rotary spindle running approximately perpendicularly to the longitudinal extent of the main visor body, the rotary spindle being coupled to a main swivel spindle for swiveling the main visor body from a not-in-use position into a use position and vice versa, the main swivel spindle, in the not-in-use position, being integrated in the roof (6) of the motor vehicle parallel to the longitudinal extent of the main visor body and at a distance from the same.
US07954870B2	Tweezers with magnetically pivotal illumination device A tweezers includes two joined metal legs comprising a forward gripping end and a force exertion portion extending from a rear end of the leg to the gripping end wherein a projection is formed on an inner surface of a head part joining the legs; a battery powered light source having a forward portion pivotably secured to the legs and comprising an on/off switch; a magnet disposed in a rear end of the light source and adapted to attach to the projection; and a plastic member covered the head part and the force exertion portions of the legs. An angle of light emitted from the light source can be adjusted to illuminate an area being worked therewith.
US07954868B1	Portable animal excrement collector and associated method A portable animal excrement collecting apparatus for effectively discarding animal excrement in a sanitary manner includes an elongated shaft. A handle is fixedly attached to a proximal end of the shaft. The apparatus further includes a trigger and a trigger actuating mechanism that is operably coupled to the shaft and the handle respectively for resiliently biasing the trigger along an arcuate path defined proximate to the handle. A collection bag is positioned at a distal end of the shaft. The collection bag has an open top end for allowing a user to scoop up and collect the animal excrement. The apparatus also includes a mechanism for automatically detaching the collection bag from the distal end of the shaft by selectively adapting the trigger to a tensed position via the trigger actuating mechanism.
US07954867B1	Pick up device A pick up device comprises a container defining an interior space, the container having a front wall movable between an open position and a closed position and a rear wall movable between an open position and a closed position. A reciprocating arm is associated with the container and attached to the front wall for moving the front wall between the open position and the closed position. An activator is provided for activating movement of the front wall from the open position to the closed position. Further, a connector means is formed between the rear wall and the container allowing the rear wall to move between the open position and the closed position, the connector means permitting movement from the closed to the open position when the container is oriented at a suitable angle.
US07954866B2	Bumper beam with gussets to prevent underride A bumper beam with gussets is disclosed. The gussets increase engagement with a barrier and prevent underride during a collision. The gussets can be attached to a front and top surface of the bumper beam. The gussets may be offset from the center of the bumper beam and overhang the edge of the beam.
US07954856B2	Flareless pipe coupling structure, flareless pipe coupling method, and on-site pipe coupling method A guide tapered surface 17 of a pipe coupling port 16 has a small diameter portion 17a guiding to a distal end portion 3a of a bite type sleeve 3 to bite into a coupling pipe 5 and a large diameter portion 17b sealing a tapered outer circumferential surface 33 of the bite type sleeve 3 by making close contact with the tapered outer circumferential surface 33 of the bite type sleeve 3. A tilt angle α1 of the small diameter portion 17a relative to a central axis of the guide tapered surface 17 is greater than a tilt angle α2 of the large diameter portion 17b relative to the central axis. Therefore, even when a distal end portion of the coupling pipe 5 is not inserted up to an innermost portion of the pipe coupling port 16, excellent sealing performance is obtained in a portion coupled to the coupling pipe.
US07954851B2	Instrument panel and shield member An instrument panel is provided with: a steering column having a column cover; and an instrument panel body having an opening into which the steering column is inserted and a shield part which is disposed on an edge of the opening so as to shield a gap between the opening and the column cover, wherein the shield part protrudes from an upper edge of the opening so as to enter the column cover at a position lower than an upper portion of the column cover, and a gap between the column cover and the opening is shielded in such a manner that lower portions of side surfaces of the column cover are inserted into the opening and are disposed on the front side of the shield part in a vehicle longitudinal direction rather than a rear end thereof.
US07954840B2	Coupler assembly with guided ball clamp A coupler assembly for coupling a trailer to a towing vehicle hitch ball has a housing with an interior that defines a coupler socket adapted to receive a hitch ball. A ball clamp is disposed within the interior of the coupler housing and is movable toward and away from the coupler socket. The ball clamp has a clamping portion that retains the hitch ball within the coupler socket with the ball clamp positioned toward the coupler socket in a hitch ball retention position. A guide ramp is disposed within the coupler housing rearward of the coupler socket. The guide ramp projects toward the ball clamp and slopes upward and forward toward the coupler socket. A lateral guide member is disposed on the ball clamp rearward of the guide ramp. The lateral guide member cooperates with the guide ramp surface to limit forward movement of the ball clamp into the coupler socket.
US07954839B2	Temporary single arm adjustable goose neck hitch system An attachment having an interchangeable means for converting a traditionally manufactured tow behind, A frame or straight tongue trailer into a functioning single arm goose neck style trailer. This hitch systems forward end can be temporarily attached to, and towed by a variety of independent self propelled utility vehicles, that are equipped with a 5th wheel coupling device. The rearward end of this hitch system temporarily attaches to the most forward end of a trailer frame hitch tongue, with the use of a quick change coupler device, and is secured within the coupler by using a temporary fastener.
US07954838B1	User propelled golf cart A user propelled golf cart includes a frame having front and rear ends. A seat, pedal, and front wheel are operatively coupled to the frame. A plurality of rear wheels are rotatably coupled to the frame rear end to rotate about a common imaginary axis. The pedals operatively rotate at least one wheel about an imaginary axis. A tub is configured to receive a golf bag. A storage rack includes a first section configured to be removably coupled to the frame rear end, a second section configured to be removably coupled to the frame between the front and rear ends, and a support leg. The front wheel is raised above the rear wheels when the first section is coupled to the frame rear end, the second section is coupled to the frame, and the support leg contacts a ground surface or a receiving member.
US07954828B2	Caster locking system for medical transport cart A transport cart for attaching to a patient care apparatus having a locking system that converts the forward caster of the transport cart from an omni-directional pivotable caster to a fixed directional device by restraining its pivoting about a vertical axis. The forward caster is located at about the center of the footprint of the combined transport cart/patient care apparatus and the fixed directional movement of the forward caster provides stability in moving the combined apparatus. The locking mechanism may be internal to the caster or may have a pair of pivotable lock arms that contact the patient care apparatus as the two are brought together and the pivotable lock arms pivot to a locked position where they sandwich the caster therebetween to restrain its ability to pivot. The locking mechanism automatically or manually releases the forward caster to again freely pivot when the transport cart/patient care apparatus are separated.
US07954827B2	Steering system A steering controller for an electric power steering device 110 includes a base signal computing part 51 for computing a base signal DT in accordance with at least the steering torque; a damper compensation signal computing part 52 for computing a damper compensation signal in accordance with an angular velocity of an electric motor 4 or a speed of steering wheel turn; and an inertia compensation signal computing part 53 for compensating inertia and viscosity in the steering unit. The electric motor is driven by a target signal IM1 obtained by compensating the base signal with a damper compensation signal and an inertia compensation signal, to provide a steering auxiliary force. The target signal of the auxiliary torque is compensated so that a difference between a reference self-aligning torque of front wheel in a front wheel steering vehicle and a self-aligning torque of front wheel in an all-wheel steering vehicle is provided to a driver as a responsive feeling from the steering torque.
US07954826B2	Damper actuated active roll control A roll control system is provided that includes first and second dampers each having fluid. A pump fluidly interconnects the first and second dampers. A motor is connected to the pump. A controller is in communication with the motor. The controller is configured to command the motor to drive the pump and transfer fluid between the first and second actuators in a desired direction in response to a roll signal. The pump provides fluid from one of the first and second dampers to the other of the first and second dampers in response to being driven by the motor. The roll control system can be used on front and rear axles to provide improved overall stability for the vehicle. In one example, a common motor is used to drive first and second pumps, which are respectively associated with the front and rear axles.
US07954825B2	Quick-release jaws with single-piece bearing chuck A workholding chuck can use actuating members that pivot within a non-split unitary front bearing. The non-split unitary front bearing can include pockets in its central bore that can allow a spherical section of an actuator arm to be inserted into the bearing. The spherical section can include radially recessed areas to facilitate the insertion into the bearing. The jaws can be retained to the actuator arms through the use of a quick-release assembly. The quick-release assembly allows the jaws to easily and quickly be changed to allow the chuck to grasp different workpieces.
US07954821B2	World cup of blackjack A method of playing a casino table wagering game of blackjack has the steps of: at least one player and preferably at least two players placing individual wagers on an underlying blackjack game; an initial 2-card common player hand is dealt; an initial 2-card dealer hand is dealt, with rank of one card of the initial 2-card dealer hand exposed to view; each player making independent decisions on the play of the player's hand to complete of the common hand for each individual player's hand using only community cards; completing the dealer's hand; and resolving all wagers. A series of player count identifying areas may be provided and individual player identifiers are placed in the areas. The player count areas comprise six areas separately representing player counts of a) 16 or less, b) 17; c) 18; d) 19; e) 20; and f) 21. The method may include at least two separate common player hands being dealt and individual players may elect to place a separate wager on either of the at least two hands or both of the at least two hands. The method may be used in a blackjack tournament and the tournament includes multiple tables and multiple rounds of play.
US07954807B2	Sheet-feeding device and image forming apparatus provided with the same A sheet-feeding device includes a sheet-feeding cassette with a sheet holding surface for holding a sheet. A side wall extends up from the sheet holding surface. A sheet-restricting plate is in the cassette on a downstream side in the sheet-feeding direction for setting a position of the sheet in a width direction perpendicular to the sheet-feeding direction. A cassette accommodating section accommodates the sheet-feeding cassette drawably in a direction parallel to the sheet-feeding direction. A projection is on an upstream side in the sheet-feeding direction from the position of the sheet-restricting plate. The projection is formed by partially projecting the side wall of the cassette upward. A height of the projection exceeds a maximum height of a sheet stack that can be accommodated in the cassette, and a height of parts of the side wall other than the projection is lower than the maximum height of the sheet stack.
US07954804B2	Recording apparatus A recording apparatus includes moving rollers and a feeding roller. The moving rollers move a set first sheet in a direction intersecting a conveying direction. The feeding roller conveys sheets at a sheet stacking portion. After the first sheet is shifted to a parallel position by the moving roller, a second sheet at a setting position and the first sheet at the parallel position are conveyed by the feeding roller.
US07954803B2	Image reading apparatus An image reading apparatus includes pairs of rollers, each including a driving roller and a driven roller. The pairs of rollers are arranged along the rotation axis direction of the driving roller and constitute a first roller group and a second roller group for conveying a first medium and a second medium thicker than the first medium, respectively. The center of the first roller group is identical in the rotation axis direction to that of a first conveying area where the first medium is conveyed. The center of the second roller group is identical in the rotation axis direction to that of a second conveying area where the second medium is conveyed. At least one pair of rollers in the second roller group is arranged outside the first roller group within the first conveying area.
US07954802B2	Sheet post-processing apparatus having excellent sheet stacking capability A sheet post-processing apparatus discharges and conveys a sheet from a process tray to a storage tray, and decelerates a bundle hook and a paper discharge roller when the bundle hook reaches a discharge start position of a bundle of sheets. At this time, a tangential speed of the paper discharge roller is faster than a movement speed of the bundle hook. Subsequently, the sheet post-processing apparatus stops the paper discharge roller in accordance with a rotation position of the bundle hook, and then decelerates the movement speed of the bundle hook. After the sheets are stacked on the storage tray, the bundle hook accelerates to return to a home position. Additionally, the sheet post-processing apparatus includes a spool 17 having a sheet pressing guide member 16 with a bent portion 16A. When the sheets are conveyed to a process tray 13, the spool 17 is rotated forward to longitudinally align the sheets and then is backwardly rotated to press the sheets using elastic force of the sheet pressing guide member 16, thereby preventing a gap from occurring between the sheets or preventing the sheets from being misaligned.
US07954788B2	Methods and apparatus to align a seat ring in a valve Methods and apparatus to align a seat ring in a valve are described. An example fluid valve includes a valve body having a curved internal surface to receive a seat ring and a seat ring having a sealing surface to receive a movable control member and a curved surface opposite the sealing surface to engage the curved internal surface of the valve body.
US07954784B2	Shock absorber A shock absorber (20) includes a fastener (10) and a resilient gasket (30) for receiving the fastener. The fastener includes a shaft (15). The gasket includes an axial portion (31) surrounding the shaft of the fastener and a plurality of resilient tabs (35) extending from the axial portion. Each resilient tab includes an extending portion (351) extending from the axial portion, a bent portion (353) extending outward from the extending portion, and a resilient contacting portion (355) further extending backward from the bent portion and keeping a distance from the extending portion in a direction vertical to the axial direction of the fastener.
US07954767B2	Laminar flow surfaces with selected roughness distributions, and associated methods Laminar flow surfaces with selected roughness distributions, and associated methods are disclosed. A representative method for designing an airfoil includes selecting a parameter that includes a flow behavior distribution and/or a surface shape for an airflow surface. Based at least in part on the selected parameter, the method can include (a) selecting a target roughness value and determining a chordwise location forward of which surface roughness is at or below the target roughness value and/or (b) selecting a target chordwise location and determining a roughness value for a region forward of the chordwise location, with the surface roughness at or below the roughness value. In particular embodiments, a percentage of a local chord length of the airfoil over which the roughness is below a target value decreases in a spanwise direction. In another embodiment, the roughness at a particular spanwise location can increase over at least three values, continuously, in a step manner, or otherwise.
US07954757B2	Landing gear noise attenuation A landing gear noise attenuator mitigates noise generated by airframe deployable landing gear. The noise attenuator can have a first position when the landing gear is in its deployed or down position, and a second position when the landing gear is in its up or stowed position. The noise attenuator may be an inflatable fairing that does not compromise limited space constraints associated with landing gear retraction and stowage. A truck fairing mounted under a truck beam can have a compliant edge to allow for non-destructive impingement of a deflected fire during certain conditions.
US07954754B2	Mechanical acoustic noise generator system for scramjet engine A noise generator system is provided with each noise generator being pivotally mounted to a mounting surface associated with the air intake of a turbineless jet engine. Each noise generator is positioned so as to convert a laminar or transitional air stream into a turbulent air stream such that a turbulent air-fuel mixture is realized in the combustion section of the engine to achieve more efficient operation.
US07954744B2	Rolling food processor A rolling food processor includes a body forming a chamber, a blade assembly, and a roller assembly. The blade assembly may include a hub and a plurality of blades mounted about the hub and positioned within the chamber, the blade assembly being rotatably coupled to the roller assembly. The roller assembly includes at least one rolling member such that when a user rolls or reciprocates the rolling member on a surface, the hub and the blades rotate to process a food item selectively positioned in the chamber.
US07954729B2	Metering servovalve and fuel injector for an internal combustion engine A metering servovalve for a fuel injector of an internal combustion engine has an electro-actuator and a fixed valve body, which defines a control chamber communicating with an inlet and with an outlet channel. The outlet channel has at least one calibrated restriction and exits through the lateral surface of an axial stem, on which a sleeve slides, in a substantially fluid-tight manner, to open/close the outlet channel and so vary the pressure in the control chamber. The outlet channel is closed by an end portion of the sleeve that is elastically deformable in a radially outward direction, under the thrust of the fuel pressure, to increase the diameter at which the seal against the valve body is formed, with respect to a non-deformed state, and to generate an axial unbalancing force on the sleeve upon opening when the outlet channel is closed.
US07954725B2	Secure payment card with static and variable data In a first aspect of the subject invention, a secure payment card is provided, including: a flat body, the flat body having a patterned channel in proximity to a first face of the flat body; an elongated magnetic stripe disposed on the first face of the flat body, the magnetic stripe extending along a longitudinal axis, wherein at least a portion of the channel being located under the longitudinal axis; and a magnetic fluid disposed in the channel, the magnetic fluid configured to define a readable magnetic pattern.
US07954722B2	IC tag and inlet for IC tag An IC tag mounting at least two IC chips operating in different frequency bands. The IC tag having a first inlet including a first antenna having a relatively long operation wavelength and a first IC chip mounted on the first antenna, and a second inlet including a second antenna having an operation wavelength shorter than the first antenna and disposed crossing at a predetermined angle over a line of the first antenna without positioning both opposite ends of the second antenna upon the first antenna and a second IC chip mounted on the second antenna. The second antenna has a matching circuit for impedance matching between the second antenna and the second IC chip. The matching circuit is a slit formed in the second antenna and positioned upon terminals of the second IC chip. Thus, the second antenna is made compact using the first antenna as an auxiliary antenna.
US07954721B2	Promotional assembly A promotional sheet assembly assembleable from components of a single material web processed in a multi-station press is provided. The assembly includes opposing surfaces bearing printed information and/or indicia thereon, and a consumer premium delimited by one or more of visible, revealable, and/or machine readable information.
US07954717B2	Provisioning electronic transaction card in mobile device An electronic transaction card communicates with an add-on slot of an intelligent electronic device. The add-on slot may be a memory card slot. The intelligent electronic device may be a mobile phone or other device with or without network connectivity. The electronic transaction card may have magnetic field producing circuitry compatible with magnetic card readers, smartcard circuitry, other point-of-sale interfaces, or any combination thereof.
US07954714B2	Inline coatings process for xerographically prepared MICR checks A process of MICR and non-MICR electrostatic magnetic imaging of two independent electrostatic latent images including (a) forming a first electrostatic latent image in a MICR printing apparatus; (b) developing the first electrostatic latent image by contacting the first electrostatic latent image with a MICR toner to produce a developed MICR toner image; (c) transferring the developed MICR toner image onto a check; (d) forming a second electrostatic latent image in a non-MICR printing apparatus; (e) developing the second electrostatic latent image by contacting the second electrostatic latent image with a non-MICR toner to produce a developed non-MICR image; (f) transferring the developed non-MICR toner image to the check; (g) fusing the MICR toner image and the non-MICR toner image to the check, wherein a fuser oil is supplied to the check during fusing; (h) coating the check having fused developed MICR toner image and non-MICR toner image with an aqueous coating comprising a polymer and a surfactant.
US07954708B2	Selectable multi-purpose card A selectable, multi-purpose card comprising a plurality of features stored in memory means operatively mounted on the card and selection means for allowing a user to select a feature in a few simple steps, preferably in a single step. In one embodiment the card includes a plurality of magnetic strips positioned on the card in a manner to allow swiping each magnetic strip separately using conventional reading devices. Each magnetic strip activates a different feature of the card. In another embodiment the card includes a programmable magnetic strip, a plurality of features stored in memory means mounted on the card, a plurality of buttons or contacts, and means for programming the magnetic strip with a different card feature. The card may also include a thin, flexible display.
US07954694B2	File folder File folders are provided having bent hangers from which a receptacle is suspended so that the top of the receptacle is beneath a rail-engaging portion of the hangers and/or beneath a top of the rail or other supporting structure of office storage equipment. The hangers of the file folder may also be collapsible for use outside the office storage equipment. The hangers may also have a grip, or handle, for removal of the file folder from the office storage equipment.
US07954689B2	Vacuum wire tensioner for wire bonder A wire tensioner is provided for a wire bonder, the wire tensioner comprising a tubular body having a bore through which bonding wire is receivable and a bore outlet at an end of the tubular body from which the bonding wire is extendable towards a bonding tool. A chamber is formed next to the bore outlet that substantially encloses the bore outlet, the chamber including an air inlet connected to it that is operative to introduce clean air into the chamber. A vacuum outlet is connected to a side of the tubular body and is in fluid communication with the chamber via the bore, the vacuum outlet being operative to draw air from the bore outlet through the bore whereby to pull the wire.
US07954688B2	Endovascular stapling apparatus and methods of use An endovascular stapling apparatus for delivering a staple to a vessel of a patient, including a plurality of clips, a housing, and a rod. Each of the clips includes a bridge and legs that self-transition from a biased state to a natural state in which the legs each form a loop. The housing defines a channel and a window open to the channel. The clips are retained within the channel in the biased state. The rod is slidably disposed within the channel, selectively moves the clips toward and away from the window, and releases the clips from the window.
US07954686B2	Surgical stapler with apparatus for adjusting staple height A surgical stapling instrument including a staple sled which can be advanced and/or retracted relative to first and second jaw members, wherein the staple sled can be configured to deploy staples from a staple cartridge in one of the first and second jaw members. In at least one embodiment, the other of the first and second jaw members can include an anvil having at least one forming surface which can be configured to deform the staples as they are deployed from the staple cartridge. In at least one form of the invention, the anvil can be movably adjustable relative to the staple cartridge in order to adjust the distance in which the staples are deformed. In various embodiments, the anvil can be adjusted by a slidable adjusting plate and/or a rotatable cam.
US07954679B2	Retention system for a spare tire A retention system for a vehicular spare tire includes a chamber having a bottom portion. A tray is configured for movement in a first direction relative to the bottom portion between an extended position and a stored position. At least one removable interconnecting member is configured to selectively interface with both the tray and the chamber for substantially preventing movement of the tray relative in the first direction. At least one guide member is configured to selectively interface with a back portion of the tray for substantially preventing movement of the back portion of the tray in a second direction relative to the bottom portion while the tray is in the stored position. The second direction is generally perpendicular to the first direction.
US07954677B2	Pump for dispensing a dose of a fluid product and range comprising such pumps Pump for dispensing a dose of a fluid product, comprising a tubular body including an intake orifice; an end member associated with the body and including a rest abutment and an end-of-stroke abutment; a compression member mounted so as to move inside the body between a rest position in which said compression member is in abutment against the rest abutment, and an end-of-stroke position in which said compression member is in abutment against the end-of-stroke abutment, said compression member being elastically returned toward the rest position and including an exhaust orifice; a metering chamber; and an intake valve and an exhaust valve adapted to selectively close off the intake orifice and the exhaust orifice, respectively.
US07954674B2	Pump for delivering a fluid product A pump comprising a tubular body delimiting internally a metering chamber and comprising an inlet orifice, an inlet valve, a stem mounted so as to be able to move inside the body and comprising an actuation tube delimiting an outlet duct, an insert assembled to the actuation tube and comprising a base placed inside the metering chamber and facing the inlet orifice, and a discharge orifice, an annular piston mounted so as to slide inside the body and on the stem, the piston and the base comprising annular surfaces suitable for forming a discharge valve, a ball-and-socket joint being arranged between the insert and the actuation tube.
US07954673B2	Two-component spray gun with solvent flush/blend A dispensing system for a plural component mixture including a first operator held container and separate flexible containers placed within the first container. Conduits coupled between the second containers and a dispensing device. The dispensing device includes a passageway and a valve for each respective component. An actuator controls the valves. A second valve is coupled in the conduits between the components' sources and the dispensing device. The second valve includes an inlet port for each component, an equal number of outlet ports, and an inlet port for flushing the plural components from at least portions of their respective conduits. The second valve has a first state where each inlet port is coupled to an outlet port and a second state where the inlet port for flushing material from the conduits and the mixed plural components is coupled to the outlet ports.
US07954667B2	Compact spray device A method of operating a dispensing unit includes the step of providing a power source to a dispensing unit that includes a housing having an aerosol container disposed therein and an actuator arm. Other steps include activating the dispensing unit in response to a minimum threshold of light being sensed by a light sensor and selecting a sleep period interval between spray operations. Yet another step includes moving the actuator arm after completion of a startup delay period from a pre-actuation position to a discharge position along a path substantially parallel to an axial length of the container to actuate a nozzle of the container to discharge a fluid from the container. The method also includes the step of alternating automatically between the sleep period having a duration commensurate with the selected sleep period interval and a discharge period during which the fluid is dispensed from the container.
US07954665B2	Wipes being formed into a non-planar form and dispenses for storing said wipes A wipe includes a generally flat piece of material (10) made of paper, cloth or the like. The generally flat piece of material (10) is formed into a non-planar form having a three-dimensional shape, for example conical, for storage and dispensing.
US07954658B2	Procedure for descent of equipment to bottom of sea The present invention refers to a process to permit descent to sea bottom, with the use of two conventional tug boats, of equipment used in submarine field oil field exploration, especially descent of equipment of large size and mass in deep water fields.Equipment is being suspended by a sling, attached to an auxiliary component. This, on its turn, is attached to two cables, each one activated by one of the two tug boats. Connection of the auxiliary component to cables is being made by means of connectors, which are trespassed thru cable openings and attached to auxiliary component by screws, forming a connection, in which connectors may carry out a pivotal movement around holes of auxiliary component. This movement of said connectors almost entirely absorbs oscillations of tug boats caused by waves, without transmitting same to equipment. In this way, both tug boats may lower equipment and cross the so-called resonance area without risk of its occurrence.
US07954657B2	Connection system for crane boom segments The boom includes at least a first and second boom segment each with a longitudinal axis and a first and second end, the second end of the first segment being coupled to the first end of the second segment, and at least one first connector on the second end of the first segment respectively mating with at least one second connector on the first end of the second segment. The first connector includes a first alignment surface and the second connector includes a second alignment surface that engages with the first alignment surface such that when the first and second alignment surfaces are fully engaged, the apertures through the extensions in the connectors are aligned such that a main pin can be inserted through the apertures of all extensions in the first and second mating connectors even if the boom segments are not axially aligned. In another aspect of the invention, the connectors include stop surfaces, and the placement of the stop surfaces on the connectors is such that, when identical boom segments are positioned such that a main pin can be inserted through the apertures in the extensions of the connectors on some chords of the boom segments, the stop surfaces cooperate to align the apertures in the extensions of the connectors on other chords when the stop surfaces contact one another.
US07954652B2	Tool rack A tool rack has a slide rack and multiple hangers. The slide rack has a baseboard and an elongated rail protruding from the baseboard. The multiple hangers are slidably mounted on the rail of the slide rack, and each has a hanging body and a hanging shaft. The hanging body is made by injection molding and slidably connected to the rail of the slide rack and has a protruding side and a connecting mount. The connecting mount protrudes from the protruding side of the hanging body and has an inserting hole formed in the connecting mount. The hanging shaft is metal and has an inserting end and a bent end. The inserting end has an engaging head mounted in the inserting hole and surrounded by the connecting mount. The bent end is opposite to the inserting end and bent upward for hanging a hand tool.
US07954651B2	Tool rack A tool rack has a slide rack and multiple hangers. The slide rack has a baseboard and an elongated rail protruding from the baseboard. The multiple hangers are slidably mounted on the rail of the slide rack, and each has a hanging body and a hanging shaft. The hanging body is made by injection molding and slidably connected to the rail of the slide rack and has a protruding side and a connecting mount. The connecting mount protrudes from the protruding side of the hanging body and has an inserting hole formed in the connecting mount. The hanging shaft is metal and has an inserting end and a bent end. The inserting end is mounted in the inserting hole and surrounded by the connecting mount. The bent end is opposite to the inserting end and is bent upward for hanging a hand tool.
US07954650B1	Wrench and socket organizing apparatus A wrench and socket organizing apparatus includes a base that has a top side and a bottom side. A post has a bottom end coupled to the top side. A plate has an upper surface and a lower surface. The plate is mounted on the post and the upper surface has a plurality of apertures therein positioned adjacent to a perimeter edge of the plate. A plurality of hook members is provided and each has a hook portion and a threaded portion. The threaded portion is removably extendable upwardly through one of the apertures to position a corresponding one of the hook portions between the plate and the base. A plurality of fasteners is provided. Each of the threaded portions receives one of the fasteners to releasably secure the threaded portions to the plate. Tools may be removably hung from the hook portions.
US07954649B1	Drill bit holding device A drill bit holding device for holding drill bits and attaching to a column of a drill press comprising a base attachable to the drill press column, a rotating plate rotatably attached to the base via a bolt assembly, and a removable drill bit holder having a plurality of drill bit holes for holding drill bits disposed atop the rotating plate.
US07954644B2	Separator system and method of separating materials A separator system may include a first trough having an inlet end, a downstream, outlet end and a trough floor, a first screen section supported in the trough spaced from the trough floor, the first screen section having a first end and a second downstream end, a material-retaining surface disposed at the downstream end of the first screen section, the material-retaining surface disposed at an angle relative to the first screen section to limit the movement of material across the first screen section, and a vibratory generator coupled to the trough. The separator system may alternatively or in addition include a gate disposed at the end of the screen section, the gate having a first position and a second position.
US07954640B2	Paper jar packaging with coated walls A biodegradable jar has an enclosure wall with a cap that form ajar that holds a semi-solid material. In order to prevent the biodegradable wall from being weakened by the semi-solid material in the jar, both an exterior surface and an interior surface of the wall and the cap include a permeation barrier material that substantially prevents the semi-solid material from seeping through the walls of the jar. The enclosure wall could have an inner wall that is shorter than the outer wall which forms a ledge that a separate cover for the semi-solid material could rest upon.
US07954636B2	Intraocular lens injector assembly An assembly comprising a packaging device (20) and an intraocular lens injector (10) comprising a body (11) that contains an intraocular lens, said packaging device (20) being for receiving and storing said injector (10) prior to use, said packaging device (20) being made of a material that is waterproof, and being filled with a storage solution for maintaining at least the body (11) of said injector (10) and the intraocular lens in total immersion throughout the duration of storage, said packaging device (20) comprising a substantially rigid container (21, 22) and an opening (25) for enabling said injector (10) to be installed and removed, said container (21, 22) including at least one internal shoulder (26, 27) co-operating with a portion of the injector (10) to center and maintain its lens ejector end (14) away from the walls of said container (21, 22).
US07954635B2	Package of cigarettes A package of cigarettes having a group (4) of cigarettes; an inner package (3) which encloses the group (4) of cigarettes, is defined by a sheet (22) of transparent, heat-seal plastic packing material folded directly about the group (4) of cigarettes and in direct contact with the cigarettes, and is stabilized by heat sealing; and a U-shaped stiffener (23) of rigid material located inside the inner package (3) and contacting the group (4) of cigarettes.
US07954627B2	Bin transporter system A bin transporter system is used for moving bins or trays from the exit end of a security checkpoint conveyor to the entrance end of the conveyor. The system includes one or more support stands and a roller assembly attached to the stands. The roller assembly includes an elongate bin guide and roller conveyors attached to the inside of the bin guide. The roller assembly is held in a longitudinally inclined orientation, for gravity-actuated movement of the bin along the bin guide, as facilitated by the roller conveyors. Additionally, when bins are placed in the bin guide against the roller conveyors for movement along the bin guide, the bins lie at a laterally tilted orientation, either generally horizontally or generally vertically. This prevents the bins from falling out the front of the roller assembly, in cases where the bin guide has an open front portion.
US07954625B2	Quick-change apparatus for transporting containers An apparatus for transporting containers may include a transport body having at least two segments. The transport body is arranged such that it can rotate about a predefined geometric axis of rotation. The transport body has a plurality of openings and, on its outer circumference, a plurality of recesses for receiving at least one region of the containers to be transported. The apparatus comprises a plurality of holding bodies for holding the transport body. An extension direction of the holding bodies extends at an angle other than 0° relative to a plane of the transport body. At least one engagement region of each of the holding bodies is arranged in each case in one of the openings. According to the disclosure, the cross section of at least some of these openings is larger than the cross section of the engagement region of the holding bodies which is arranged in these openings, so that the segments are movable at least at times relative to the holding bodies in a direction perpendicular to the axis of rotation.
US07954623B2	Method and device for the monitored conveying of sheet metal plates The invention relates to a method for the monitored conveying of sheet metal plates, particularly into a working or forming plant, in which a plate is taken up by a feeder from a first position and the plate and feeder are moved to a second position. According to the invention, during feeder movement to the second position a first sensor element located at the feeder, as well as a second sensor element located in the second position, are brought into a signal-based arrangement, and that on the basis of a measurement signal transmitted between the sensor elements the number of plates at the feeder and/or the second position is determined. The invention also relates to a device for the monitored conveying of plates, particularly into a forming plant.
US07954616B2	Fluid friction clutch A fluid friction clutch with improved fluid pumping system. A scraping member is provided adjacent the clutch plate and has a duct which communicates with the reservoir chamber.
US07954607B2	Method and arrangement for monitoring the safety of a transport system The invention relates to a method and an appliance for monitoring the safety of a transport system. The transport system includes a transport appliance and also a synchronous motor for moving the transport appliance. In the method, the motion information of the transport appliance is determined with two channels, and if the determined motion informations deviate from each other by more than the set limit value, an emergency stop is executed.
US07954606B2	Elevator system control responsive to hoistway access detection An elevator system (20) includes a sensor (30, 36) for detecting the presence of an individual within a hoistway (24). A controller (32) prevents movement of an elevator car (22) whenever an individual is in the hoistway (24). A pit override device (34) provides an override signal to the controller (32) permitting movement of the elevator car (22) if someone is in a pit (26). A car top override device (38) selectively provides an override signal to the controller (32) permitting movement of the car. A disclosed example includes controlling at least one light (40) within the hoistway (24) in conjunction with movement or attempted movement of the elevator car (22).
US07954604B2	Elevator speed control device, elevator speed controlling method and elevator speed controlling program An elevator speed governor for an elevator in which an elevator car (1) is attached to one end of a rope (2) having a counterweight (3) on the other end and driven by a motor (5) via the rope (2) comprises a motor current detector (15) that detects a motor current of the motor (5), a target speed determining section (11) that determines a target speed in accordance with the motor current detected by the motor current detector (15), and a motor control section (13) that controls the motor (5) so that the elevator car (1) moves at the target speed determined by the target speed determining section (11).
US07954600B2	Crankshaft lubrication system A crankshaft of an internal combustion engine has journals provided with shaft oil passages for carrying the oil to crankpins, and guide grooves having parts in which the shaft oil passages open, respectively, and opening in the cylindrical surfaces of the journals, respectively. The guide grooves has downstream end parts into which the shaft oil passages open, respectively, and extend in a circumferential direction in which the crankshaft rotates from the downstream end parts, respectively. First half bearing members of bearings are provided in their bearing surfaces with oil grooves through which the oil is supplied to the guide grooves, respectively. Each of the oil grooves are diametrically opposite to each of the guide grooves. The oil grooves have an axial width (W5) smaller than the axial width (W3) of the guide grooves. Thus oil leakage from gaps between each of the bearings and each of the journals of the crankshaft is reduced and hence an oil pump having a small capacity can be used.
US07954599B2	Gear mechanism with controlled device for generating a rarefied atmosphere A gear mechanism comprising at least two toothed parts accommodated in a casing, a storage tank that stores oil to be injected into each meshing zone of the at least two tooth parts, a first receptacle built into the casing for receiving oil, a second receptacle that communicates with the first receptacle into which the oil can flow from the first receptacle, the second receptacle in turn communicating with the storage tank. Oil is conveyed from the storage tank to each meshing zone at a pressure greater than the pressure prevailing in the casing, internal pressure in the casing is reduced, and oil is drained to the storage tank. The first and second receptacles have a substantially identical pressure, while the storage tank is generally maintained at atmospheric pressure. The gear mechanism operates at atmospheric pressure if the gear mechanism fails to reduce internal pressure in the casing.
US07954594B2	Vehicle steering apparatus A vehicle steering apparatus, which includes: a steering system connection member connecting a steering wheel and a tire; an electric generator installed in the steering system connection member so as to adjusting a steering force of the steering wheel; and a control unit for controlling a connection/disconnection of both terminals of an armature coil in the electric generator based on a vehicle speed.
US07954576B2	Vehicle drive line A vehicle includes a front axle and rear axle, where at least one of said axles is driven, an engine arranged in the vicinity of the rear or front end of said vehicle, the engine including an output shaft connected to the driven axle via a transmission system for transmitting driving power from the engine to the driven axle. The transmission system includes at least a multiple-speed gearbox for causing variable gear ratio between the engine and driven axle. The engine and at least a part of the gearbox are arranged on each side of the driven axle, and are connected only via a power transmitting device so that an engine block of the engine is separated from a gearbox housing of the gearbox.
US07954574B2	Offset drive system for utility vehicles A wheel driven utility vehicle includes a frame and two small volume high speed alternating current electric motors arranged side by side for driving the vehicle. Alternatively high speed direct current, hydraulic or pneumatic direct current motors may be used with suitable controls. Each motor has an output shaft which drives an offset planetary gear reducer. Each offset planetary gear reducer is affixed to the electric motor and includes an output carrier interconnected with an output shaft. Each output shaft includes first and second chain drive sprockets which drive chains interconnected with shafts driving the front and rear wheels respectively. Each offset planetary gear reducer enables use of space saving high speed relatively low-torque alternating current electric motors with attendant large speed reductions. Gear reduction enables the production of sufficient torque at the wheels of the vehicle. Applications in addition to utility vehicles are also specifically contemplated.
US07954573B2	Drive-steering control system and vehicles equipped therewith A drive-steering control system suitable for off-road land and amphibious vehicles. The system includes first and second steering input levers, each operable to rotate in forward and rearward pivotal directions. A coupling mechanism converts and transmits rotation of the first steering input lever in the forward pivotal direction into rotation of the second steering input lever in the rearward pivotal direction, and vice-versa. A reducing mechanism operates to selectively reduce the propulsion outputs of first and second propulsion devices, and a converting mechanism operates to convert the rotations of the steering input levers into inputs to the reducing mechanism. Depending on the directions the steering input levers are rotated, the reducing mechanism reduces the propulsion output of either the first or second propulsion device, which causes either the lefthand or righthand side of the vehicle to travel at a lower speed and thereby turn the vehicle either left or right.
US07954571B2	Cutting structures for casing component drillout and earth-boring drill bits including same A drill bit includes a bit body having a face on which two different types of cutters are disposed, the first type being cutting elements suitable for drilling at least one subterranean formation and the second type being at least one of an abrasive cutting structure and an abrasive cutting element suitable for drilling through a casing shoe, reamer shoe, casing bit, casing or liner string and cementing equipment or other components, as well as cement. Methods of forming earth-boring tools are also disclosed.
US07954566B2	Stabilizer for drill strings Apparatus and methods for using the drilling apparatus to increase the linear direction of the drilling action are described. The drilling apparatus contains a drill rod that is fitted with a reinforcing sleeve that is located on the drill rod as close as possible to the drill bit. The outer diameter of the sleeve is configured to be substantially the same as the bit diameter and, if necessary, just slightly smaller than the bit diameter. The sleeve reinforces the drill rod next to the drill bit and reduces and substantially eliminates the gap between the drill rod and the borehole in the vicinity of the drill bit. The sleeve, therefore, reduces the wobble of the drill bit in the borehole and reduces the drill bit from wavering from a straight linear drilling direction. The reinforcing sleeve can contain helical channels for moving material displaced by the drilling process away from the drill bit.
US07954561B2	Vertical direction adjustment tool for downhole drilling apparatus A direction adjustment tool for a downhole drilling apparatus is disclosed. The tool has a tubular housing adapted to be incorporated into a downhole drilling apparatus, and steering blades mounted to the housing. A drive shaft transmits drive to a drill bit of a drilling apparatus, wherein the shaft defines a passage for transmitting drilling fluid to the drill bit. A first pressure chamber is defined between the housing and the shaft and communicates with the passage, wherein the steering blades are moved from retracted positions to extended positions thereof as a result of increase of fluid pressure the first pressure chamber. A pendulum member is pivotably mounted to extend in a vertical orientation when the shaft is not rotating relative to the housing, and pistons prevent movement of at least one steering blade to the extended position thereof as a result of the angle between a longitudinal axis of the shaft and the longitudinal axis of the pendulum member exceeding a predetermined amount. This causes at least one steering blade to adjust the direction of drilling of the drilling apparatus towards a vertical direction and/or to resist movement of the direction of drilling away from a vertical direction.
US07954556B2	Using a can bus engine torque/speed message as load feedback for implement draft control A draft load control system for an agricultural tractor having electronic engine and draft load controllers interconnected by a digital communications bus over which parameters for engine load are made readily available to the draft load controller. The draft load control system is suitable for front-mounted, rear-mounted, or towed implements without requiring additional sensing equipment.
US07954554B2	Coiled tubing equipment lifting methods A method of lifting a coiled tubing reel is provided that includes providing a coiled tubing reel including a pair of flanges connected by a core around which a string of coiled tubing is wrapped, and a pair of hubs with each hub connected to a corresponding one of the flanges by a plurality of spokes. The method also includes providing a spreader beam including a pair of support members, and connecting each support member to a corresponding one of the reel hubs. The method further includes lifting the coiled tubing reel by applying a lift force to the spreader beam, such that the load of the lift force is carried by the spreader beam, the reel hubs and at least one of the plurality of spokes.
US07954553B2	Use of low impact expansion to reduce flow friction Systems and methods for increasing fluid flow characteristics within a hydrocarbon production tubing string within a wellbore. An expansion member is passed through the interior flowbore of one or more production tubing string members. The expansion member smoothes the interior surface of the flowbore and may radially expand the interior surface of the flowbore.
US07954545B2	Plunger lift system for well A plunger lift system has a bumper and a landing positioned in tubing below a safety valve of a well. A plunger moving between the bumper and landing lifts columns of liquid above the plunger when pushed by downhole pressure. A valve on the plunger's housing is movable between open and closed positions to either permit or prevent flow through the plunger. When the plunger engages the landing, a striker rod on the landing opens the valve permitting fluid communication through the plunger to a sales line at the surface. The valve is biased to the closed position to prevent fluid communication through the plunger. When the plunger is disengaged from the striker rod, the valve closes so that application of downhole pressure can again move the plunger uphole. A controller cycles the plunger between the bumper and the landing by controlling fluid flow in the well.
US07954543B2	Heat exchanger header with deformations The present invention has its object to provide a heat exchanger with plastic tanks type, wherein a seal member is regularly compressed and hooks or tabs of header core crimped in a uniform fashion.Deformations predominantly located in the large sides or sides adjacent to the tank foot of the header, are formed and distributed in the inner or outer wall. The deformations in the periphery, or more particular, on the outside of the header wall, are formed after the brazing process.
US07954540B2	HVAC assembly including temperature mixing valve A HVAC assembly includes a temperature mixing valve that comprises a shaft, an upper paddle, a lower paddle, and a yielding means. The upper paddle and the lower paddle attach to the shaft. The yielding means applies a force to keep the upper paddle sealed to prevent cold air in a cold air inlet from entering a mixing zone and the lower paddle moves away from a shared sealing boundary over a predetermined angle of rotation before the upper paddle initially moves to allow cold air to enter the mixing zone. Movement of the lower paddle away from the shared sealing boundary allows cold air to enter a hot air inlet and admix with hot air to mix in the mixing zone to produce non-stratified air.
US07954537B2	Folding door and shutter guide device The invention relates to a folding door and a shutter guide device. The inventive door comprises two vertical slides (2) and at least one flexible shutter (4) which can be folded in the upper part of the slides and which comprises at least one transverse stiffening bar (12). According to the invention, a guide device (14) is inserted into the extension of at least one stiffening bar (12), thereby forming a guide for the shutter (4) in at least one of the slides (2) in a plane that is offset in relation to the plane of the shutter (4), said shutter (4) being applied against a surface of the slide (2).
US07954520B2	Portable sand bag hopper A highly portable sand bag hopper has the shape of a cabinet with the front open. The flat, solid top of the cabinet has a loading opening for loading sand into a lower cone. A horizontal sliding door located near the lower, smaller tapered end of the cone opens and closes the lower discharge opening by pulling a spring-loaded lever arm. The upper part of the cone is loaded with sand at a predetermined level to discharge discreet amounts of sand. A seal may be located around the lower opening to sweep sand or debris from the top of the discharge door.
US07954519B2	Safe storage of volatiles Safe storage of volatile compounds or elements is provided by utilizing storage configurations that take advantage of the diffusibility and release characteristics of cell-based materials, such as foam materials. Such configurations may provide storage of hazardous, liquefied gases in closed-cell foam material. Release of gas/liquid from the foam is restricted by the need for the gas to diffuse through the closed cells. Because rapid release is prevented, storage safety is greatly improved.
US07954513B2	Spray application rate regulating valve A regulator valve includes an inlet coupled for receiving a spray solution delivered by a fixed displacement pump coupled to a solution tank. Located in the valve body so as to divide the solution received at the inlet between a bypass or tank port of the regulator valve, and a boom port is a ball valve in the form of a hollow sphere having a first circular opening in register with said inlet, a second circular opening in register with said boom port and an elongate, wedge-shaped opening in register with said bypass port. The ball valve is mounted for rotation about an axis which is coaxial with the first circular opening and includes a stem coupled to an electric motor for actuating the valve, the motor being coupled for receiving a control signal for causing the motor to position the ball for dividing the flow so as to achieve a desired solution application rate.
US07954508B2	Electronically controlled valve actuator in a plumbed water line within a water conditioning management system An electronically controlled actuator in a plumbed water line within a water conditioning management system, having an at least one valve with a valve stem in a plumbed water line within the water conditioning management system, an at least one actuator, an at least one actuator housing, an at least one electronic controller in communication with the actuator, an at least one shaft coupled to the actuator and said valve; an at least one shaft encoding device; and an at least one user interface with multiple indicator elements indicating the position of valve.
US07954507B2	Mixing eductor An eductor for mixing two liquids wherein the eductor includes a closed or non-air gap back flow prevention member. The vacuum profile of the eductor is altered by changing an opening in a passage portion to controllably divert water flow around the venturi tube or diverting the water without the opening. This affords the changing of the vacuum profile without redesigning the entire eductor.
US07954506B2	Automatic freeze protection system for domestic plumbing systems A plumbing system operable to automatically introduce antifreeze into the hot and cold water systems responsive to a signal from a controller. The controller activates the system automatically at a predetermined ambient temperature. The system can also be reconfigured manually.
US07954505B2	Mobile leakage containment box including a liquid impermeable membrane A mobile, emergency apparatus that can be used to minimize the flood damage to the property in rooms that experience ceiling or roof water leaks includes: (a) a container that has exterior and interior surfaces that include a bottom and sidewalls with free edges that form the rim of an opening to the container's interior surface which also includes an aperture, (b) a plurality of hinges that are attached proximate the container's rim, (c) a plurality of extendible leashes that are attached to the hinges and with each of these leashes having a free end to which is attached an anchor, and (d) a liquid impermeable membrane that has an outer edge and an opening, with this opening having an edge that is attached around the perimeter of the container's aperture, and wherein the container, membrane and hose are sized so that the membrane and hose are storable in the container when the apparatus is not in use.
US07954504B2	Fast-erecting portable structure In its preferred embodiment, the fast-erecting portable structure principally comprises two or more flexible framing rods and a flexible skin. The flexible framing rods essentially form inverted u-shapes and the flexible skin hangs from the flexible framing rods in substantially a dome shape. More specifically, the flexible skin can be supported from the flexible framing rods by sleeves sewn into the flexible skin. The sleeves allow the flexible skin to slide along the length of the flexible framing rods. The flexible skin is also fixed (or non-removably) connected to the ends of the flexible framing rods. The fast-erecting portable structure can be stored by coiling the flexible framing rods into a storage bag. The fast-erecting portable structure allows the structure to be immediately erected from the coiled position in the storage bag into the structure without any intermediate steps or the addition or removal of any parts.
US07954503B2	Dual purpose portable apparatus for carrying harvested game and providing shelter for a hunter A dual purpose portable apparatus is provided for carrying a harvested game animal or for providing a protective shelter for a person. The apparatus includes a housing formed of a flexible, foldable material defining a chamber therein, the chamber adapted to receive a body and head portion of the harvested game animal or the person seeking shelter therein. Openings are provided for receiving the hind and fore legs of the harvested game animal and a gap formed in a forward end of the housing allows for passage of the antlers. Edges of the housing are disposed above the openings when the housing is in a closed configuration so as to substantially retard leakage of fluid through the openings and between the edges of the housing.
US07954499B2	Tool for hair extension removal A hair extension removal tool is generally shaped like a pair of pliers with two jaws formed of two elongated members pivotally joined together. A body is attached to the first elongated member and houses a solvent container therein. A tubing extends from the container to an opening on an inside surface of one of the jaws. The container has a pump for ejecting an amount of the solvent through the tubing. A lever attached to the body is provided for activating the pump. In use, a strand of extension hair is placed within the jaws of the removal tool, the lever is pressed to eject an appropriate amount of the solvent through the tubing, and pressure is applied to the hair extension with the jaws of the tool to weaken the attachment, until the bonding material is sufficiently dissolved and the extension hair is detached and removed.
US07954487B2	Nebulizer apparatus and method A nebulizer for efficiently and reliably delivering aerosolized fluid to an inhaling patient is disclosed. The nebulizer, in one embodiment, includes a fluid channel air inlet and fluid channel air inlet valve responsive to either a manual force external of the nebulizer, or a patient's breathing, to begin the nebulization process. The nebulizer also includes a fluid return channel to a fluid source, such as a removable vial, containing fluid to be aerosolized.
US07954485B2	Method and apparatus for ventilating cooking appliances A cooling apparatus is provided for cooling a cabinet of a cooking appliance that includes an oven within exterior side panels. The cooling apparatus includes a side rail and a bottom panel coupled to the side rail. The bottom panel includes a slot therein. A cover is disposed over the bottom panel to form a channel. The slot opens into the channel. The cover is configured to direct cooling air from the slot into a space between the oven and the side panels.
US07954476B2	Fuel supply device A fuel supply device comprises a fuel pump, a set plate, a control circuit, and an electrical wiring member. The fuel pump is disposed within a fuel tank. The set plate closes an opening of the fuel tank. The set plate comprises a controller chamber isolated from the fuel tank. The control circuit is disposed within the controller chamber. The control circuit controls the fuel pump. The electrical wiring member connects the control circuit and the fuel pump. The electrical wiring member is arranged from an interior of the controller chamber to an interior of the fuel pump and is passed through the set plate. A part of the electrical wiring member is exposed to the atmosphere. Furthermore, the exposed part is disposed within a range from the interior of the fuel tank to the interior of the controller chamber.
US07954473B2	Vehicle, controller and control method therefor, and abnormality detection system for idle speed control device and abnormality determining method for idle speed control device A vehicle speed sensor detects a rotational speed of a rear wheel. A throttle valve is positioned downstream of an intake pipe. An idle speed control device controls the amount of air flowing through the intake pipe to perform an idle speed control. An electronic control unit (ECU) detects an abnormality of the idle speed control (ISC) device based on an intake pipe pressure. The ECU inhibits a rotational speed of the engine from increasing when an abnormality of the ISC device is determined. Precise detection of vehicle speed and suppression of increase of engine rotational speed resulting from an ISC abnormality is thereby achieved.
US07954466B2	Process for adjusting the angular position of the camshaft of a reciprocating internal combustion engine relative to the crankshaft In a method for setting the rotary angle position of the camshaft of a reciprocating piston internal combustion engine relative to the crankshaft, the crankshaft is connected to the camshaft by means of a triple-shaft gear mechanism. This triple-shaft gear mechanism has a drive shaft which is fixed to the crankshaft, an output shaft which is fixed to the camshaft, and an adjusting shaft which is driven by an electric motor.
US07954462B2	Split-cycle air hybrid engine A split-cycle air hybrid engine operatively connects an air reservoir to a split cycle engine. A power piston is received within a power cylinder and operatively connected to a crankshaft such that the power piston reciprocates through an expansion stroke and an exhaust stroke during a single revolution of the crankshaft. A compression piston is received within a compression cylinder and operatively connected to the crankshaft such that the compression piston reciprocates through an intake stroke and a compression stroke in a single rotation of the crankshaft. The compression cylinder is selectively controllable to place the compression piston in a compression mode or an idle mode. An air reservoir is operatively connected between the compression cylinder and the power cylinder and selectively operable to receive compressed air from the compression cylinder and to deliver compressed air to the power cylinder for use in transmitting power to the crankshaft during engine operation.
US07954460B2	Boiler apparatus A boiler apparatus for leading fluid from a plurality of upper walls (2) to (4) to a ceiling wall (7) through a ceiling wall inlet header (11), characterized in that a ceiling wall inlet mixing header (8) is installed between the plurality of upper walls (2) to (4) and the ceiling wall inlet header (11).
US07954450B2	Optical fiber coating apparatus for preventing generation of bubble in coating layer of optical fiber and method of coating optical fiber using the same Disclosed is an optical fiber coating apparatus for preventing generation of bubble in a coating layer of an optical fiber when the optical fiber is coated, which includes a coating unit for allowing an optical fiber to pass through and forming a coating layer on the optical fiber; a base coupled with a lower portion of the coating unit to draw the optical fiber; a cover installed to an upper portion of the coating unit to isolate the coating unit from an external air and having an optical fiber introduction hole; a gas supply line for supplying gas, having smaller kinetic viscosity than the air, into an inner space formed by the cover; and a coating agent discharge line for discharging a coating agent remained in the inner space of the cover. The inner space forms positive pressure circumstance by using the gas having smaller kinetic viscosity than the air.
US07954447B2	Method and apparatus for protecting innerliner splice of a green tire A method of creating an air barrier on both sides of an innerliner splice on the inside surface of a green tire when a bladder release lubricant is being applied thereto to prevent contamination of the splice. High pressure air is directed through air nozzles on both sides of the innerliner splice just prior to and during the application of the lubricant. A pressure sensor detects high or low air pressure during the creation of the air barriers to stop the spray of lubricant should either situation be detected.
US07954442B2	Towed array deployment system for unmanned surface vehicles A towed array deployment system is provided that uses the flow of fluid through the interior of a tube to deploy a towed line array. The system includes a small surface water craft such as an unmanned surface vehicle having a length between seven and eleven meters and a U-shaped tube mounted to the outside of the hull of the watercraft below the waterline. A towed array is fed from a winch aboard the surface craft, through one end of the tube, and the fluid is introduced through into the interior of the tube to force the towed array for deployment through the tube and out a second end of the tube near the stern of the watercraft.
US07954433B1	Explosive shaped charge device The shaped charge device consists of an outer casing that has a removable cap on one end and a sealing plate on the other as well as an interior liner; the liner defining a plurality of forwardly opening conical cavities. The shaped charge device uses a two-part binary explosive that consists of an inert fuel material and an inert powder material and thereby enjoys the legal freedoms of a binary explosive. The powder material is disposed in the space existing between the liner and the outer casing of the shaped charge device. The conical cavities serve to form and focus the resulting plasma jet when the shaped charge device is detonated. Without the fuel material added, the device can be stored for long periods of time. The cap removed and the fuel material added activates the device and an opening in the cap allows the device to be detonated.
US07954430B2	Underside curing of radiation curable inks An ink printing device is disclosed that incorporates a curing lamp located on the opposite side of a printed face of a printed substrate and partially cures a radiation curable ink by irradiating through the substrate. Additionally, this disclosure provides a method for partially curing radiation curable inks by exposing a radiation curable ink on a substrate to a curing lamp located opposite the printed face of the substrate.
US07954417B2	Ceramic armoring and method for the production of ceramic armoring A ceramic armoring is provided, comprising a first ceramic layer which has a plurality of segments that are functionally separated by crack stoppers, wherein the crack stoppers serve to prevent cracks propagating from one segment to another segment, at least one second ceramic layer which has a plurality of segments that are functionally separated by crack stoppers, and at least one bonding layer by means of which the first ceramic layer and the second ceramic layer are joined together, wherein the segments of the first ceramic layer are offset with respect to the segments of the second ceramic layer.
US07954415B2	Methods and apparatus for providing ballistic protection Methods and apparatus for providing ballistic protection and stopping high-velocity rounds or explosives and a secure trash can. These and other advantages may be provided by a secure trash can for containing explosions resulting from explosive devices deposited in the secure trash can. The secure trash can includes a curved wall, including an inner liner, a curved ballistic panel, including a three-dimensional core that defines spaces and acts as a truss for ballistic panel and a filler, the filler fills in spaces defined by the three-dimensional core, an outer layer, surrounding the curved ballistic panel, and a base, connected to the curved wall. The secure trash can may also include a lid, placed on the curved wall.
US07954411B2	Method and apparatus for protecting vehicles and personnel against incoming projectiles A projector of multiple skewed light planes or sheets is located adjacent a vehicle to be protected and detectors are arranged to detect the penetration of the light sheets by an incoming object, with the time intervals between the piercing of the planes defining the path of the incoming object and its expected impact time. An array of bullet-firing barrels is arranged to project bullets in an iron curtain under control of a fire control module that fires a round in a barrel above the projected flight path such that the round impacts the nose of the object and disables it. It is thus the piercing of the skewed light sheets that provides information as to the impact point of the object as well as its time of arrival so that a round can be fired to intercept the object as it arrives at the iron curtain.
US07954399B2	Steering control for self-propelled vehicles A steering control for vehicles, such as for automobiles or motorcycles in the form of a steering wheel or of a handlebar, with a gripping zone presenting an elastically variable geometry deformable under the action of the hand or the hands of the driver gripping the steering control fast and forcefully in case of danger. Thus, in the event of panic, an hydraulic or pneumatic sensor located inside the gripping zone is activated. The sensor extends over essentially the whole gripping zone of the steering control that can be gripped by at least one hand of the driver, and includes a tube of elastic material, filled with a liquid, and embedded entirely in a foamed plastic material. The steering control exhibits then high effectiveness and reliability of a safety device, in the elimination of potential danger caused by mistaken reactions of the driver, and in the economic feasibility of the inventive device.
US07954396B2	Rack and pinion steering gear with automatic adjustment of the thrust element A rack and pinion steering gear comprising a thrust element disposed in a housing for pressing a rack and pinion against one another. One side of the thrust element is supported against the rack, and another side is supported against a wedge-like part formed of two semi-circular annular elements, each of which is provided with at least one wedge surface that is disposed at an angle to a central plane of the wedge-like part. A side of the wedge-like part remote from the thrust element is supported against a set screw. The thrust element and/or the set screw is provided with an inclined surface that cooperates with the at least one wedge surface of the annular elements of the wedge-like part.
US07954395B2	Steering apparatus In the event that a moment in a bending direction is generated in a pinion shaft, for example, when a vehicle is involved in a collision or the like, since a bending facilitating portion which is a circumferential groove 111e bends, stress is concentrated hereon, and no large bending stress is generated in any case between a rolling bearing 102 and a support member 104. Consequently, an excessively large bending force is transmitted in no case to a four point contact type ball bearing 103.
US07954392B2	Coated substrate with properties of keratinous tissue Article of manufacture comprising a substrate and a coating layer. The coating layer comprises at least one coating material, and is stably affixed to the substrate to form a stable, coated surface. The coated surface has a texture that mimics the topography of mammalian keratinous tissue and demonstrates at least one physical property representative of mammalian keratinous tissue, selected from the group consisting of a total surface energy of from about 15 mJ/m2 to about 50 mJ/m2, a dispersive component of the surface energy of from about 15 mJ/m2 to about 50 mJ/m2, a polar component of the total surface energy of from about 1 mJ/m2 to about 14 mJ/m2, a zeta-potential at a pH of about 5.0 of from about −40 mV to about 30 mV, and combinations thereof.
US07954388B2	In-line measuring device An inline measuring device, includes a measuring transducer having: at least one measuring tube vibrating, during operation, and serving for conveying, at least at times, a two- or multiphase, flowable medium; an exciter mechanism for producing vibrations of the measuring tube; and a sensor arrangement for registering vibrations of the measuring tube and for delivering oscillation measurement signal representing oscillations of the measuring tube. Measuring device electronics electrically coupled with the measuring transducer. The measuring device electronics delivers, at least one exciter signal driving the exciter mechanism, and, ascertains a damping value of a first type, which represents, instantaneously, a damping of vibrations of the at least one measuring tube induced by medium conveyed in the at least one measuring tube and antisymmetric with reference to an imaginary central plane of the at least one measuring tube coplanar with a cross section of the measuring tube, and/or which represents, instantaneously, a damping of vibrations of the at least one measuring tube induced by medium conveyed in the at least one measuring tube.
US07954386B2	System and method for detecting pressure variations in fuel dispensers to more accurately measure fuel delivered A system and method for compensating a calculated or flow rate of fuel dispensed to a vehicle via a fuel flow path in response to a determination of a non-steady state condition based on data corresponding to a signal transmitted by a pressure sensor operatively coupled to the fuel flow path and configured to sense pressure therein, where the pressure sensor is adapted to transmit a signal representative of the sensed pressure.
US07954385B2	Method and system for using a sensor element for identifying an object A sensor element material web for selectively cutting an operable sensor from the web includes a sensor film. A first electrode film is disposed on a first side and includes metallic electrodes in a first repeating pattern. A second electrode film is disposed on a second side and includes a plurality of second metallic electrodes in a second repeating pattern. A dielectric film is disposed on the first or the second electrode films. The first and the second repeating patterns permit the sensor to be cut.
US07954380B2	Rotary drill bits and systems for inspecting rotary drill bits A method for conducting nondestructive internal inspection of a rotary drill bit used for drilling subterranean formations comprises communicating ultrasonic waves into a drill bit and detecting ultrasonic waves that are reflected by at least a portion of the drill bit. In some embodiments, the waves may be directed into the drill bit from within a longitudinal bore thereof. Reflected waves also may be detected from within the bore. The methods may be used to develop threshold acceptance criteria for classifying drill bits as acceptable or unacceptable to prevent catastrophic failures of drill bits during use. Systems and apparatuses are disclosed for conducting nondestructive ultrasonic inspection of a drill bit used for drilling subterranean formations. The systems and apparatuses may comprise an ultrasonic probe configured for insertion within an internal longitudinal bore of a drill bit. Drill bits are disclosed that are configured to facilitate nondestructive ultrasonic inspection thereof.
US07954375B2	Inclined axis gravity gradiometer Systems for and methods of detecting gravitational acceleration and gravity gradients are disclosed. The systems and methods include gravity gradiometers whose axes are substantially horizontal. In comparison with prior art systems, the systems presently disclosed provide one or both of more accurate measurements for the same amount of space, and smaller space requirements with the same or better accuracy.
US07954367B2	Tyre comprising a device for detecting at least a characteristic parameter of the tyre itself, and a manufacturing method thereof Fastened to a tire is a detecting device consisting of a detecting unit including a sensor associated with an annular antenna having an inner perimetral edge, and an anchoring body having a base portion with a fastening surface secured to the radially internal surface of the tire. The detecting unit is removably brought into engagement with the anchoring body by insertion of the inner perimetral edge of the antenna into a perimetral groove formed between the base portion and a retaining portion. The anchoring body has an overall height of about 0.2 to about 1.5 times a maximum distance measure between two mutually spaced apart points along the inner perimetral edge.
US07954365B2	Closed loop control with bias voltage toggle An oxygen sensor circuit comprises an oxygen sensor, a bias voltage module, and a switch module. The bias voltage module communicates with the oxygen sensor and generates a bias voltage. The switch module selectively connects the bias voltage module to the oxygen sensor.
US07954355B2	Device for automatically adjusting control cams in a forging machine In a device for automatically adjusting the control cams of a forging machine, with a releasing means for releasing the operating position of a cam, the cam supporting shaft swingably supports, with a controlled movement with respect to the shaft longitudinal axis, radially extending brackets, in turn supporting a bar extending through the overall length of the control cam supporting shaft, the brackets being moreover provided, at each control cam, with cylinder-piston units including movable pins which can be engaged with recesses formed in the cams.
US07954346B2	Cutting machine particulary for leather and similar materials A cutting machine, particularly for leather and similar materials, comprising a cutting area provided with one or more cutting heads and with an area for unloading the cut parts, the areas being arranged along a conveyor belt, material detection means being provided in order to detect the position of the material before cutting it, the machine further comprising a detection area, arranged upstream of the cutting area, the material detection means being arranged in the detection area in order to detect the position of references provided on the material to be cut.
US07954345B2	Washing machine with ornamental panel A washing machine to guarantee easy mounting or separation of an ornamental panel and prevent the coming off or distortion of door trims. The washing machine includes a body having a laundry opening, a door mounted to the body to open or close the laundry opening and having a rim, an ornamental panel mounted to an outer surface of the door, a plurality of door trims coupled to the rim of the door supporting the ornamental panel, and a coupling device coupling of the door trims. The coupling device includes a plurality of holding recesses formed in the rim of the door and spaced apart from one another, and a plurality of holding hooks protruding from an inner surface of the respective door trims to be introduced into and caught by the holding recesses.
US07954337B2	Integrated electric compressor The object is to provide an integrated compressor that enables a control board to be miniaturized while ensuring a layout in which the heat radiation of parts is considered. Diodes 43 and IGBTs 42 that correspond to each of the U-phase, V-phase and W-phase are arrayed in series for each phase. Rectangular chips are used for the diodes 43 and IGBTs 42. As a result of this, a power board 16 is substantially miniaturized, and the diode 43, the IGBT 42, a P-terminal electrode pattern 40, an N-terminal electrode pattern 41, a shunt resistor 44, output terminal patterns 48U, 48V, 48W, and a feed pattern 50 are disposed so as to lie in a region in contact with an outer surface of a housing.
US07954335B2	Atmospheric water harvesters with variable pre-cooling An atmospheric water harvester includes a cooling member over which humid air flows to condense moisture from the atmosphere. The cooling member may be the evaporator of a conventional, gas vapor-based refrigeration circuit. If a gas vapor-based refrigeration circuit is used, the compressor of the circuit may be variable speed. A fan or impeller used to move air through the system may also be variable speed. Preferred embodiments are reconfigurable between at least two operational configurations such that to varying degrees the incoming air may be pre-cooled, before it passes over the cooling member, by heat exchange with colder air that has already flowed over the cooling member.
US07954331B2	Thermally-balanced solid state cooling Apparatus, systems, and methods provide for the cooling of a system on an aircraft or other platform. According to embodiments described herein, a first coolant is routed through a heat-producing system to absorb heat and maintain the system at a desired temperature. The first coolant is routed through a thermoelectric chiller for cooling before returning to absorb further heat from the system. Thermoelectric cooler modules within the chiller transfer heat from cold plates containing the first coolant to hot plates containing a second coolant. The second coolant absorbs the transferred heat and is routed to a radiator, where the heat is discharged into an ambient air stream. The second coolant is routed back to the hot plates to absorb further heat.
US07954329B2	Statically-operating ejector ramjet The present invention provides a statically starting and operating ramjet engine system. The system includes a pumping ejector coupled to a ramjet engine upstream of the ramjet inlet. A subsonic converging nozzle is placed in fluid communication between the pumping ejector and ramjet inlet. The pumping ejector ejects a primary fluid into the ramjet inlet to entrain a secondary fluid and create a mixed flow with sufficient momentum and internal energy to achieve characteristic speed. The converging nozzle provides a characteristic cross section necessary for the mixed flow to achieve characteristic speed as it moves through the nozzle, thereby producing a standing shock wave at the point of maximum convergence of the nozzle and creating sonic conditions at the inlet of the ramjet engine.
US07954326B2	Systems and methods for cooling gas turbine engine transition liners A gas turbine engine assembly includes a combustor configured to combust an air-fuel mixture to produce combustion gases in a first direction; a transition liner coupled to the combustor and adapted to receive the combustion gases from the combustor and to redirect the combustion gases in a second direction; and a turbine coupled to the transition liner and adapted to receive the combustion gases from the transition liner. The transition liner has a plurality of effusion holes that include a first group that extend at least partially in a tangential direction.
US07954319B2	Method and control unit for setting a turbine flow cross-section A turbine flow cross-section of a turbocharger of an internal combustion engine, is set such that a lower limit (TSQ_dyn_min) of a range of settable values of the turbine flow cross-section is determined as a function of an operating parameter of the internal combustion engine in non-stationary operating states. A speed of the internal combustion engine can be used as the operating parameter.
US07954316B2	Hydrostatic stepless transmission A hydrostatic stepless transmission comprises: a hydraulic pump; a hydraulic motor, wherein at least one of the hydraulic pump and motor is variable in displacement, and is provided with a movable swash plate; a closed circuit connecting the hydraulic pump and motor to each other through a pair of main fluid passages, wherein one main fluid passage is higher-pressurized during forward traveling, and wherein the other main fluid passage is higher-pressurized during backward traveling; a hydraulic servomechanism for controlling a tilt angle of the movable swash plate of the at least one of the hydraulic pump and motor; a speed-controlling motive member attached to the hydraulic servomechanism, wherein the speed-controlling motive member interlocks with the movable swash plate and is moved by operating a speed control operation lever; and a load controlling system attached to the hydraulic servomechanism. The load controlling system includes an actuator for moving the speed-controlling motive member in a direction for deceleration, and a pair of check valves connected to the respective main fluid passages. Fluid is led from either of the main fluid passages to the actuator through the corresponding check valve so as to serve as an element for detecting load and as hydraulic pressure fluid for actuating the actuator.
US07954315B2	Hydraulic circuit structure of work vehicle A hydraulic circuit structure of a work vehicle capable of solving a problem in a conventional structure wherein, in a machine attitude control in back hoe operation, pressure oil is preferentially fed to light-loaded machines and some work machines are slowly moved or stopped and, accordingly, the attitudes of the machines cannot be rapidly controlled and work performance is affected. To solve this problem, the hydraulic circuit of the work vehicle comprises two valve groups for a loader and a back hoe having circuits to supply the pressure oil from one hydraulic pump to a valve group for back hoe control through a valve group for loader control and the pressure oil from the other hydraulic pump directly to the valve group for back hoe control. The pressure oil is independently supplied from the hydraulic pumps to valve sections for controlling right and left stabilizer cylinders installed in the valve group for back hoe control.
US07954309B2	Apparatus to improve modular cutterbar connecting shaft spline durability An improved modular disc cutterhead connecting drive shaft configuration having a means for laterally centering the shaft between adjacent cutterhead modules thereby equalizing engagement on each end of the shaft with the module connectors. Further durability improvement is realized by a structure to radially center the shaft in the shaft receptacles of each module to maintain uniform loading on the shaft/receptacle interface which improves the durability of the connecting drive shaft end connections. Additional connecting shaft durability is provided by a means to lubricate the drive shaft connector connecting interfaces using lubricant reservoirs disposed within the modules.
US07954308B2	Frequency of clip adjustment system and method for reel mower cutting unit A system and method for adjusting the frequency of clip for a reel mower cutting unit includes an operator interface outputting a voltage corresponding to a frequency of clip setting, and a reel motor controller calculating a travel speed of the reel mower cutting unit based on a voltage reading from a voltage bus and a scale factor applied to the voltage reading, and calculating a required reel speed based on the travel speed, the voltage corresponding to the frequency of clip setting, and the number of cutting blades of the reel mower cutting unit.
US07954304B2	Blank for packing substantially flat articles, a method and machine for making the blank The invention relates to a blank (1), a method and a machine (11) for realising the blank (1). The blank (1) is constituted by four lengths (5) which are consecutively joined to form a structure (2) or frame (6) which can be folded around one or more flat articles (4) or tiles to be packed. The machine (11) and the method for realising the blanks (1) include supplying identical panels of cardboard which are joined to constitute a continuous strip (10) and which are subsequently cut to correspond to lengths of sides of the tiles. Each length (5) is joined to a consecutive length (5) by deposits (7a) of glue.
US07954301B2	Integrated multilayer insulation A multilayer insulation with an array of rigid posts is provided. In particular, the posts are comprised of multiple post elements that are interconnected to radiation shields or sheets comprising the layers of the integrated multi-layer insulation structure. The post elements maintain spacing between adjacent sheets, thus maintaining a volume between the sheets. The post elements within a post can be attached to one another to form an integrated post structure. Moreover, neighboring posts can be interconnected to one another by beams. The post elements can also be configured so that, when the IMLI structure is not subjected to atmospheric pressure, the elements within a post are separated from one another to form gaps, thereby reducing heat transfer between layers.
US07954300B1	Tile alignment and leveling device A device for aligning and leveling tiles as they are laid in floors, walls, countertops, or the like. The device has a locking assembly and a bottom plate. The components are combined with a shaft that extends from the bottom plate through the locking assembly so that the locking assembly is movable along the length of the shaft. In use, the device is placed between adjacent tiles so that the locking assembly and bottom plate hold adjacent tiles at a desired height as the setting bed dries.
US07954297B1	Four ring spherical connecting hub for building space frame structures A spherical hub consisting of four interlocking and concentric rings 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 8, 9 and 10 and as many collar assembly pieces 12, 13, 14 as desired that can be used to receive tubular rod struts from a multiplicity of angles. The four rings are each uniquely grooved so that they fit and lock together in a specific order to hold a spherical form. The hubs can be used to assemble space frame and other structures in a wide variety of shapes and sizes 15.
US07954291B2	Composite article for constructing floors A composite for constructing concrete floors is completely factory assembled and comprises a body of expanded plastic having at least two parallel channels, open on the upper surface of the panel, extending the length of the article, adapted to be filled with concrete. A steel reinforcement bar fabric is installed into each channel, which may comprise at least two parallel steel bars connected by cross bars. At least some cross bars extend beyond a lowest reinforcement fabric bar to provide spikes long enough to pass through the plastic bottom and protrude therefrom. One or more sheet metal shrouds with at least one row of aligned holes matching those of the protruding spike ends are applied to the underside surface of the plastic body hung from the protruding ends of the spike by fasteners
US07954287B2	Cable management system for a raised floor grid system A cable management system for managing electrical cables in a raised floor grid system is provided. The cable management system includes a cable enclosure including side walls and a base together defining an enclosure cavity. Each of the side walls defines a cable opening and a plurality of bracket openings in communication with the enclosure cavity. The cable management system also includes a sealing assembly installed in each of the cable openings, and a plurality of equipment brackets mountable to the sidewalls via the bracket openings, which are configured to enable mounting of the equipment brackets in vertical and angled orientations. The cable management system further includes a plurality of support brackets connectable to support structure of the raised floor grid system for supporting the cable enclosure on the support structure. The cable enclosure can be installed in the raised floor grid system by removing only a single floor tile.
US07954286B2	Heat weldable pipe curb accessory A target piece for sealing mechanical penetrations in single ply roofing membranes is provided. The target piece comprises a left piece and a right piece, or a single unified piece. The left piece can be applied on one side of the one or more mechanical penetrations, and the right piece can be applied on an opposite side of the one or more mechanical penetrations. Alternatively, the unified piece can be applied on the one or more mechanical penetrations. Left and right curb elements are attached to a top of the left piece and right piece, respectively. Faces of the left and right pieces are sealed to each other and faces of the left and right curb elements are sealed to each other using an adhesive/heat seal, thus forming a pocket around the mechanical penetrations, and then sealant is poured into the pocket to seal the mechanical penetrations. Extensions are provided on ends of either the right or left pieces of the target piece to provide extra insurance against water leakage.
US07954283B1	Fibrous aerogel spacer assembly An insulating spacer for creating a thermally insulating bridge between spaced apart panes of a multiple pane window unit comprises in one embodiment, a solid profile of fiber-stabilized aerogel insulation material, treated to be non-porous along its exposed surface. The spacer defines a thermally insulated space between the panes. The result is higher thermal performance for insulated glass units and windows employing these insulated glass units.
US07954275B2	Rodent trap with removable trigger plate A rodent trap includes a pivotally mounted jaw which snaps to a closed position to enclose a rodent when activated by a rodent attempting to free itself from an adhesive coated removable trigger member. The trigger member and the rodent can be easily removed from the trap. The trigger member can be replaced with a new trigger member and the trap can be reset and reused.
US07954266B2	Card holder A card holder (100) includes a base (1) and a clamping means (20) to attach the card holder to garment. A card is grasped on the base. The base has a first face (13) and an opposite second face (15). The clamping means includes a clamp (2) and a slot (12) for locking the clamp. The slot is defined in the base. The clamp is rotatably mounted to the base with an end retractably moving outwards. The retractably moving end can be locked in or released from the slot, so that the card holder can be attached to or removed from the bearer's garment in an easy way.
US07954249B1	E-Z riser stair guide A template guide which performs and simplifies the task of layout for stair stringers. This accomplishment has previously been made by the use of multiple tools including the framing square, multipurpose square, and speed square as well as others. The said template of the present invention features an adjustable riser that can be secured for the exact dimension of any rise calculated to be between 6″ and 7¾″. The said template of the present invention also features an adjustable tread that can be secured for the exact dimension of any tread length, calculated to be between 9¼″ and 11⅛″. The said template is configured as such to accommodate the unskilled craftsman as well as the experienced tradesman.
US07954248B2	Arrangement for depicting a linear marking An arrangement for depicting a linear optical marking on a surface, including a radiation source emitting light, such as laser radiation, as well as a first lens arranged in the beam path having a first and a second surface penetrated by the radiation, of which one surface features a parabolic or elliptical trace at least partially in cross section, formed of curved sections of different radii, the trace extending symmetrically with respect to a plane of symmetry of the lens, along which runs the beam directed in parallel, preferably by means of a second lens. In order to achieve a uniform power distribution along the line, it is proposed that the first surface formed of sections with different radii faces the radiation.
US07954247B1	Self-orienting platform A self-orienting platform device is provided having a platform that is rotatably adjustably attached to a body. The device is provided with adjustable weights to ensure even rotation. The attachment between the platform and the body is such that when the body rotates, the platform rotates with it, but the attachment can be adjusted such that the user can rotate the platform relative to the body when desired. The device comprises a magnet with an attached magnetic north indicator, and can be set by rotating the platform relative to the body so that when the magnet points to magnetic north, the magnetic north indicator points to a selected marking or other feature on the platform. The platform can be rotated with respect to the body to account for the difference between magnetic and true north, so that the selected marker is aligned with true north. The device can be used as a self-orienting sundial to tell the time of day by the sun, and because it is portable and does not have to be reset for different locations (within the same general latitude and longitude and time period), the sundial can be moved from place to place and used as a teaching aid in classrooms, and an interactive decorative object in homes and gardens.
US07954246B2	Rotating laser transmitter The transmitter has a generally flat, circuit board stator, a rotor including a plurality of magnets mounted in a ring around a central opening, and a bearing, supporting the rotor for rotation about an axis that extends through the central opening, A pentaprism assembly including an optics holder is mounted on the rotor for rotation therewith. The pentaprism assembly receives a beam of laser light through the central opening and redirects at least a portion of the laser light outward in a direction normal to the rotation axis. A laser source, mounted on the stator, provides a beam of laser light through the central opening to the pentaprism assembly. The beam of laser light is aligned with the rotation axis. The laser source includes a collimating lens positioned within the rotor. A shield plate of magnetic material beneath the stator exerts a force on the rotor in conjunction with the magnets, taking play out of the bearing. The transmitter uses Hall effect sensors on the stator to control switching current to coils on the stator. The transmitter also uses the outputs of the Hall effect sensors and a timer output to control dithering of the laser beam.
US07954245B2	Hair thinning scissors A hair thinning scissors is provided. The hair thinning scissors includes a first cutting edge and a second cutting edge. The first cutting edge is configured with a plurality of arc shaped cutting teeth. A notch is configured between each two neighboring cutting teeth. Each of the arcuate cutting teeth has a radian by the pivotal axis of the first cutting edge and the second cutting edge as an arc center, and a distance from the pivotal axis to the tooth as an arc radius, so that when the first cutting edge and the second cutting edge are actuated to rotate one toward another, each of the cutting teeth moves along a tangent of the arc form of the cutting tooth, thus achieving a more smoothly shearing operation.
US07954236B2	Method of assembling a sealed thermal interface A sealed thermal interface component minimizes or eliminates the exudation of fluids, such as silicone oils, while preserving the excellent thermal conductivity of silicon-based thermal pad materials and enhancing the conformability of the component. In preferred embodiments, a foam frame surrounds a plurality of thermal pad portions formed of conformable thermal management material that may exude fluid under elevated temperatures or over time. Film encapsulates the foam-framed thermal pad portions, forming a sealed and partially evacuated thermal interface component. In one embodiment of the invention, the thermal pads are formed of an elastomeric matrix material containing silicone, the foam frame is made of urethane, and the film is made of polyurethane.
US07954235B2	Method of making a seal about a copper-based terminal A method of forming a seal about an electrically conductive core of a cable having an insulative outer cover and a terminal includes the steps of providing a lead of the core extending beyond an axial edge of the insulative outer cover; applying a conformal coating onto the lead; crimping the terminal onto the cable while the conformal coating is still wet to displace the conformal coating from between the lead and the abutting contact surfaces of the terminal and to cover and seal remaining portions of the lead not in direct contact with the terminal with the conformal coating and curing the conformal coating over the remaining portions of the lead.
US07954234B2	Method of manufacturing a wiring board In a method of manufacturing a wiring board, the method includes: (i) forming a plurality of conductive patterns to come into contact with a support plate; (ii) forming a resin layer to cover the plurality of conductive patterns and to come into contact with the support plate; (iii) forming another conductive pattern connected to at least one of the plurality of conductive patterns; and (iv) removing the support plate. A first area of the support plate coming into contact with at least one of the plurality of conductive patterns in step (i) is different in surface roughness from a second area of the support plate coming into contact with the resin layer in step (ii).
US07954229B1	Method of forming a titanium heating element A method of making a titanium heating element for electric water heaters includes heating commercially pure titanium tubing to a specified temperature for a predetermined period of time. A resistance wire and magnesium dioxide powder may be positioned in the tubing prior to the annealing process. The outer surfaces of the titanium tube are exposed to the air during at least a portion of the annealing process, such that a layer of titanium dioxide develops on the outer surface of the titanium. The heating element is then formed into a loop or other suitable shape, and it is positioned inside a housing. The housing may include fittings to connect the water heater to the tubing of a pool, jetted tub, spa, hot tub or the like.
US07954226B2	Method of manufacturing a gear unit of a motor In the present invention, driving torque outputted from a motor portion is transmitted to a worm from a motor shaft, further to a helical gear from the worm, and is taken out to the outside from an output shaft which rotates together with the helical gear with a fixed shaft fixed to a gear box as a center. This fixed shaft is constructed in a hollow and cylindrical shape having an opening in which one end portion thereof has been opened, and a ceiling surface in which the other end portion thereof has been closed, and one end portion of this fixed shaft is subjected to dislocation preventive work, and is fixed to a gear box made of resin by pressing-in or insert molding. The other end portion of the fixed shaft is formed with the dislocation preventive structure of the output shaft and the helical gear installed to the fixed shaft.
US07954222B2	Key, X-structure and manufacturing method thereof A X-structure of a key and a manufacturing method thereof are disclosed. The X-structure comprises a first frame and a second frame. The first frame comprises a bar. The first frame is connected and pivoted to the second frame via a fold located on the bar. The key comprises a keycap, a base and the X-structure installed between the keycap and the base. The manufacturing method of the X-structure comprises: providing the X-structure and pressing the bar to generate a fold until the first engaging portions are connected and pivoted to the second engaging portions.
US07954215B2	Method for manufacturing acceleration sensing unit A method for manufacturing an acceleration sensing unit includes: providing an element support substrate in which a plurality of element supporting members is arranged so as to form a plane, each of the element supporting members being coupled to the other element supporting member through a supporting part and having a fixed part and a movable part that is supported by the fixed part through a beam, the beam having a flexibility with which the movable part is displaced along an acceleration detection axis direction when an acceleration is applied to the movable part; providing an stress sensing element substrate in which a plurality of stress sensing elements is arranged so as to form a plane, each of the stress sensing elements being coupled to the other stress sensing element through an element supporting part and having a stress sensing part and fixed ends that are formed so as to have a single body with the stress sensing part at both ends of the stress sensing part; disposing the stress sensing element substrate on the element support substrate such that the fixed ends of each stress sensing element are situated on the fixed part and the movable part; fixing the fixed ends onto the fixed part and the movable part, and dividing the element supporting part and the supporting part.
US07954213B2	Nonwoven fabric, nonwoven fabric manufacturing method, and nonwoven fabric manufacturing apparatus The present invention provides a nonwoven fabric of which at least one of fiber orientation, fiber density, and basis weight is adjusted, and in which at least one of a predetermined groove portion, an opening, and a protrusion is formed, a manufacturing method for the nonwoven fabric, and a nonwoven fabric manufacturing apparatus. The nonwoven fabric manufacturing apparatus of the present invention manufactures a nonwoven fabric of which at least one of fiber orientation, fiber density, and basis weight is adjusted, or in which at least one of a predetermined groove portion, an opening, and a protrusion is formed by blowing fluid mainly containing gas onto a fiber web which is formed in a sheet shape, and which is in a state where at least a portion of the fibers constituting the fiber aggregate has a degree of freedom.
US07954211B2	Quick connect coupling assembly A quick connect coupling assembly has a first and second component, and a locking assembly structured to retain the components in an attached orientation with one another. The locking assembly includes a plurality of locking elements each having a locking arm with a locking member mounted to a distal end, wherein the locking members are maintained in an outwardly extending orientation by a biasing mechanism. The biasing mechanism comprises a spring mounted between oppositely disposed locking elements, wherein the spring is structured to maintain the locking members in an outwardly extending orientation. The quick connect coupling assembly also includes a release mechanism to permit the locking members to be temporarily disposed into a retracted orientation, thereby permitting the first and second components to be detached from one another.
US07954206B2	Pin and grommet fastener assembly A fastener assembly configured to secure a first panel to a second panel includes a pin and a grommet. The pin includes a shaft connected to a tip. The grommet is configured to snapably secure into a hole of a panel. The grommet includes a central passage. The shaft is adjustably secured within the central passage, such that the shaft is allowed to shift a fixed distance within the central passage in a first direction, but is locked in place in the central passage with respect to a second direction that is perpendicular to the first direction.
US07954198B2	Windshield wiper assembly with unitary arm and post A windshield wiper assembly is provided having a unitary wiper arm and post, and a mechanical linkage for receiving the post and moving the arm. The post has a breakaway feature for breaking the post in response to impact. The wiper includes a head partially containing a center post and a button biased with a spring and connected to the center post for releasing the post from the linkage. The post and linkage include a captive ball and mating groove that are mutually engageable for securing the post to the linkage. Alternately, the post has a quick-connect end having a groove and the linkage has a receiving portion with a retractable collar and captive ball bearings. A vehicle is also provided including a windshield, a windshield wiper having a post, a wiper motor, and a mechanical linkage having an opening for receiving the post and powering the wiper.
US07954194B2	Pig extracting device A portable device for extracting a pig from a pipeline which uses a lifting means to raise or lower the device and wheels or other suitable means to allow for the device to be easily and quickly moved into position with minimal man power improving the efficiency and safety of the pig extraction process.
US07954188B2	Furniture attachment system and methods of use A furniture attachment system is described. Embodiments of the furniture attachment system comprise a highly adjustable interface that is readily adapted to hold, store, or secure items of highly varied size and shape at a convenient location proximate a bed or other piece of furniture. In use, the present invention holds, stores, or secures items at beside, or beside other furniture, by securing the items to a bed or other furniture.
US07954185B2	Expandable sleeping bag An expandable sleeping bag or bunting bag includes features in which the size of the bag is adjustable to accommodate the growth of the child. To expand or contract the sleeping bag in width, one or more additional tapes of zipper teeth are sewn to the front of the garment adjacent to, and parallel to, the regular zipper. To expand or contract the sleeping bag in length, a pair of parallel zippers permits the removal or insertion of a length expansion strip extending around the circumference of the sleeping bag.
US07954172B2	Garment for retaining a child in a car-seat The present invention discloses a garment that is designed to prevent a child in a car-seat from removing his or her arms from the shoulder straps that are part of the modern 5-point harness system found in most car-seats. The garment is configured like a jacket, through the front of which the shoulder straps are threaded, allowing for access to the front closure hasp of the harness and ensuring the closure hasp is across the upper chest, while comfortably restricting the child's movement out of the straps by virtue of the sleeves of the garment which are now made part of the harness system itself.
US07954170B2	Anti-transpiration insert An anti-transpiration insert is disclosed. The anti-transpiration insert includes a target bending line extending from a first side to a second side of the anti-transpiration insert, wherein that the target bending line is configured in an arched manner.
US07958565B2	Scan type probe microscope and cantilever drive device A driving laser unit (11) irradiates a laser beam on a cantilever (5) to cause thermal expansion deformation. A driving-laser control unit (13) performs feedback control for the cantilever (5) by controlling intensity of the laser beam on the basis of displacement of the cantilever (5) detected by a sensor (9). A thermal-response compensating circuit (35) has a constitution equivalent to an inverse transfer function of a heat transfer function of the cantilever (5) and compensates for a delay in a thermal response of the cantilever (5) to the light irradiation. Moreover, the cantilever (5) may be excited by controlling the intensity of the laser beam. By controlling light intensity, a Q value of a lever resonance system is also controlled. It is possible to increase scanning speed of an atomic force microscope.
US07958564B2	Scanning measurement instrument A scanning measurement instrument is capable of simultaneously achieving both higher accuracy and higher speed in autonomous scanning measurement. The instrument includes a path information holding unit for holding information about the path of the center position of a tip of a scanning probe at past tip center positions with respect to the current tip center position during autonomous scanning measurement performed with the scanning probe; a path reference direction setting unit for setting an approximate straight line direction of the path as a path reference direction; a traveling direction setting unit for setting the path reference direction as a traveling direction; a movement control unit for controlling a moving unit such that the scanning probe is moved in the traveling direction; and a normal direction setting unit for setting the normal direction of a measurement surface according to the traveling direction.
US07958562B2	Document access management system In accordance with one embodiment, apparatus are provided including a document access arbiter, a guest access control mechanism, and a guest setup interface. The document access arbiter securely controls user access to a secured document repository. The guest access control mechanism provides, to guest users, selective access to respective select set of documents in the secure document repository. The guest users include users that do not have account holder access to the document repository. The guest setup interface presents, via a computer screen, guest parameter graphical tools to account holder users having account holder access to the repository.
US07958554B2	Secure method and system for computer protection Attacks by computer viruses, worm programs, and other hostile software (‘malware’), have become very serious problems for computer systems connected to large communication networks such as the Internet. One potential defence against such attacks is to employ diversity—that is, making each copy of the attacked software different. However, existing diversity techniques do not offer sufficient levels of protection. The invention provides an effective diversity solution by applying tamper resistant software (TRS) encoding techniques, to the communications that take place between software components, with corresponding changes to the code handling those communications. These communications may include, for example, data passed between software routines via parameters or mutually accessible variables, light-weight messages, signals and semaphores passed between threads, and messages passed between software processes. Effective TRS encoding techniques include data-flow encoding and mass-data encoding techniques.
US07958553B2	Information storage device, security system, access permission method, network access method and security process execution permission method An information storage device is provided which includes a password input section for inputting a password to be notified only to the information storage device without outputting it to external equipment connected to it by way of a predetermined interface, a password collation section for collating the password input by way of the password input section and an access permission section for permitting an access to the storage section of the device from the external equipment connected by way of the predetermined interface in response to the collation of the password by the password collation section.
US07958551B2	Information processing apparatus and a computer usable medium therefor An information processing apparatus, including a storage device a security list, wherein a security level of each of communication protocols installed in a network is listed, a status management list, which describes validity of each communication protocol, and a protocol setting system, which sets validity of each communication protocol, is provided. The protocol setting system includes a status detecting unit, which refers to the status management list and detects validity of each communication protocol, an unsecured protocol detecting unit, which refers to the security list when at least one of the communication protocols is validated and detects a communication protocol with a security level being lower than the validated communication protocol, and a status updating unit, which invalidates the communication protocol detected by the unsecured protocol detecting unit to have the lower security level and detected to be valid by the status detecting unit.
US07958550B2	Method and system for secure communication A method and system for secure communication is presented. A virtual private proxy is generated based on an agreement between a first entity and a second entity. A first virtual private proxy is associated with the first entity and a second virtual private proxy is associated with the second entity. Data associated with the first entity is monitored at the virtual private proxy. Whether the data violates the agreement is determined and communication of the data from the first virtual private proxy to the second virtual private proxy is disallowed when the data violates the agreement.
US07958544B2	Device authentication A computer-implemented method of assisting in establishing a secure communication is disclosed. The method includes obtaining an encryption key that is shared with a credentialing device, receiving from a client device an encrypted session identifier that encodes a password, decrypting the session identifier with the key to extract the password, and authenticating a communication session for the device using a challenge-response protocol.
US07958537B2	Method of providing initial pictures to digital TV A method of providing initial pictures to a digital TV is provided. The method includes recognizing a set-top box, which is connected to the network and is activated, when a digital TV is turned on, issuing a request for transmitting broadcast signals for displaying initial pictures on the screen of the digital TV to the set-top box, and decoding the broadcast signals received from the set-top box and displaying the decoded broadcast signals.
US07958533B2	Customer self service in interactive TV environment for TV programming packages Method and system for enabling users to perform self-service operations in interactive TV environments. In one embodiment, the method enables users to select and activate programming packages via a set-top box, thereby eliminating the need for the users to have to call a call center to activate the unit. Using a set of interactive screens, the user is enabled to view various programming package information, including comparative information. In one embodiment, the method assists users who are moving to activate/reactive broadcast services. For example, options are provided to enable the user to schedule service work, disconnect and activate services, and other activities connected with the move. In another embodiment, the method enables a user to select a programming package based on packages that are recommended by the system. Historic usage patterns, including viewing habits and attempts to access unavailable content are analyzed to determine which programming packages should be recommended for the user.
US07958527B1	Signal processing apparatus and methods A unified system of programming communication. The system encompasses the prior art (television, radio, broadcast hardcopy, computer communications, etc.) and new user specific mass media. Within the unified system, parallel processing computer systems, each having an input (e.g., 77) controlling a plurality of computers (e.g., 205), generate and output user information at receiver stations. Under broadcast control, local computers (73, 205), combine user information selectively into prior art communications to exhibit personalized mass media programming at video monitors (202), speakers (263), printers (221), etc. At intermediate transmission stations (e.g., cable television stations), signals in network broadcasts and from local inputs (74, 77, 97, 98) cause control processors (71) and computers (73) to selectively automate connection and operation of receivers (53), recorder/players (76), computers (73), generators (82), strippers (81), etc. At receiver stations, signals in received transmissions and from local inputs (225, 218, 22) cause control processors (200) and computers (205) to automate connection and operation of converters (201), tuners (215), decryptors (224), recorder/players (217), computers (205), furnaces (206), etc. Processors (71, 200) meter and monitor availability and usage of programming.
US07958517B2	Apparatus, system, and method for executing functions in an event driven environment from a co-routine environment An apparatus, system, and method are disclosed for executing functions in an event driven environment. A bridge module stores parameters and a proxy function pointer for a proxy function in a bridge structure for a co-routine context executing in a co-routine environment. The proxy function is configured to execute in an event driven environment. The bridge module also stores a bridge pointer for the bridge structure in a bridge pointer register of an event driven context structure. A swap context module swaps to the event driven context. An execute module retrieves the proxy function pointer from the bridge structure using the bridge pointer if the bridge pointer register is not null, executes the proxy function, and stores the results of the proxy function in the bridge structure.
US07958515B2	Publish/subscribe mechanism for web services A method for managing events in a web service environment is provided. A request for a subscription to desired events in an event class in an associated catalog namespace of a catalog repository is received from a subscribing application. The subscription request includes an event filter to select the desired events from a plurality of events described by the event class. An event which is received from a web evens source and described by the event class is processed through the event filter. If the received event matches the event filter, the received event is forwarded to the subscribing application through an event listener associated with the subscribing application.
US07958508B2	Method of power-aware job management and computer system Provided is a method used in a computer system which includes at least one host computer, the method including managing a job to be executed by the host computer and a power supply of the host computer, the method including the procedures of: receiving the job; storing the received job; scheduling an execution plan for the stored job; determining, based on the execution plan of the job, a timing to execute power control of the host computer; determining a host computer to execute the power control when the determined timing to execute the power control is reached; controlling the power supply of the determined host computer; and executing the scheduled job.
US07958498B1	Methods and systems for processing a geometry shader program developed in a high-level shading language Methods and systems for processing a geometry shader program developed in a high-level shading language are disclosed. Specifically, in one embodiment, after having received the geometry shader program configured to be executed by a first processing unit in a programmable execution environment, the high-level shading language instructions of the geometry shader program is converted into low-level programming language instructions. The low-level programming language instructions are then linked with the low-level programming language instructions of a domain-specific shader program, which is configured to be executed by a second processing unit also residing in the programmable execution environment. The linked instructions of the geometry shader program are directed to the first processing unit, and the linked instructions of the domain-specific shader program are directed to the second processing unit.
US07958496B2	Method of and system for application service exchange across different execution environments A method of application service exchange across different execution environments includes receiving a registration to handle a service from a server application operating in a first execution environment, receiving a request for the service from a client application operating in a second execution environment, requesting the service from the server application, receiving a result from the server application responsive to the requesting step, and delivering the result to the client application.
US07958495B2	Program test system An improved automated software testing system provides the ability to generate and reuse test cases over multiple platforms. Keywords and natural language are used in test case creation, simplifying the process for non-technical business users. Business users can write test cases without scripts. Test cases can be generated even before the application to be tested is available. Data substitution provides ability for test cases to adapt to changing data. Abstraction allows use of all third-party and custom software test tools to be incorporated. Persistent data handling allows capture of data generated during test execution for later use. Testing can be performed entirely automatically or can incorporate some manual interaction. Test results, screen captures of the system tested, along with environment and machine variables are saved in results logs for later review.
US07958490B2	System for automating the definition of application objects supporting undoing, redoing compressing and logging operations A configurable class system for an application author working in an application development environment that automates the handling of undo, redo and logging operations is discussed. The configurable class system removes the burden from the application author of having to custom manage undo, redo and logging information during application writing by providing the necessary mechanisms to every application object created. The configurable class system also allows the application author to handle exceptional state changes in an application by configuring the underlying base classes provided by the configurable class system. Additionally, the embodiments of the present invention enable the application author to customize the compression of a series of identified operations by selecting the type of operations that are to be compressed and the manner in which the compression is to occur.
US07958476B1	Method for multi-cycle path and false path clock gating A power optimization method of deriving gated circuitry in an integrated circuit (IC) is provided. A design description of the IC is received and analyzed. A state machine is identified based on the analysis. One or more candidate blocks are determined to be capable of being disabled. At least one of the candidate blocks is selected based on one or more states of the state machine. A gating circuit is inserted for gating the selected candidate block(s). In another embodiment of power optimization, one or more state machines are identified and a synthesized netlist is generated. One or more candidate blocks in the synthesized netlist are determined to be capable of being disabled. At least one of the candidate blocks is selected based on one or more states in the state machine, and a gating circuit is inserted for gating the selected candidate block(s).
US07958469B2	Design structure for a phase locked loop with stabilized dynamic response A design structure for a hybrid phase locked loop (PLL) circuit that obtains stabilized dynamic response and independent adjustment of damping factor and loop bandwidth is provided. The hybrid PLL circuit of the illustrative embodiments includes the resistance/capacitance (RC) filter elements of a conventional RC PLL and the feed-forward path from the output of the phase frequency detector to the voltage controlled oscillator (VCO). The hybrid PLL essentially enhances the performance of the conventional feed-forward PLL by providing the RC filter whose components can be weighted to provide a dynamic response that is significantly less sensitive to parameter variation and which allows loop bandwidth optimization without sacrificing damping.
US07958458B2	Method for supporting data linkage between applications A screen plug extracts screen image data of a display screen from a target application and acquired data to be linked from the screen image data. The acquired data is output to a linkage application. Thus the screen plug realizes data linkage between the linkage application and the target application.
US07958457B1	Method and apparatus for scheduling presentation of digital content on a personal communication device A method of presenting digital content to a user on a display of a computing device displaying a continuous stream of digital content in a stream portion of the display, obtaining a current context of the user and the computing device, providing contextual sensitivities for the digital content items, determining a value for the digital content item's relevance of being displayed, calculating a probability of displaying the digital content item based upon the value of the digital content item's relevance of being displayed, performing a random selection of the digital content item based upon the probability of displaying the digital content item, and presenting the digital content item in the stream of digital content being displayed.
US07958452B2	System and method for thin client development of a platform independent graphical user interface The subject application is directed to a system and method for thin client graphical user interface development. Primitive data is stored in associated memory corresponding to graphical user interface primitives. Each primitive corresponds to a display or a control of an associated document processing device. Selection data is received via a thin client, representing primitive data corresponding to at least one graphical user interface primitive. The primitive data is selectively communicated to a display associated with the thin client according to the received selection data resulting in the generation of visual indicia on the display. A data set is generated representing a graphical user interface display according to a selected set of indicia that is displayed on the thin client. Map data is generated representing the mapping of a generated data set to user interface data, corresponding to the display and the control of one or more document processing devices.
US07958449B2	Method and apparatus for displaying and processing input fields from a document A method, apparatus, and computer instructions for presenting input fields from a document. A selected indicator associated with a set of mandatory input fields in the document is identified. The set of mandatory input fields is presented. Further, the mandatory input fields may be pre-filled using data from a repository associated with a user.
US07958440B2	Bursting multiple elements in a single object in a content management system A content management system (CMS) allows defining multi-element burst rules that allow multiple elements to be bursted to a single object. A multi-element burst mechanism performs the bursting of multiple elements when a multi-element burst rule is processed. A multi-element burst policy allows a user to specify conditions that govern the function of the multi-element burst mechanism. The result is a CMS that includes multiple elements in a single object, thereby enhancing reusability of content in the CMS.
US07958428B2	LDPC (low density parity check) coded signal decoding using parallel and simultaneous bit node and check node processing LDPC (Low Density Parity Check) coded signal decoding using parallel and simultaneous bit node and check node processing. This novel approach to decoding of LDPC coded signals may be described as being LDPC bit-check parallel decoding. In some alternative embodiment, the approach to decoding LDPC coded signals may be modified to LDPC symbol-check parallel decoding or LDPC hybrid-check parallel decoding. A novel approach is presented by which the edge messages with respect to the bit nodes and the edge messages with respect to the check nodes may be updated simultaneously and in parallel to one another. Appropriately constructed executing orders direct the sequence of simultaneous operation of updating the edge messages at both nodes types (e.g., edge and check). For various types of LDPC coded signals, including parallel-block LDPC coded signals, this approach can perform decoding processing in almost half of the time as provided by previous decoding approaches.
US07958425B2	Method and apparatus for communications using turbo like codes The present invention relates to methods, apparatuses, and systems for performing data encoding involving encoding data bits according to an outer convolutional code to produce outer encoded bits processing the outer encoded bits using an interleaver and a logical unit to produce intermediate bits, wherein the logical unit receives a first number of input bits and produces a second number of corresponding output bits, the second number being less than the first number, and wherein the logical unit takes each of the first number of input bits into account in producing the second number of output bits, encoding the intermediate bits according to an inner convolutional code to produce inner encoded bits, wherein the inner convolutional code is characterized by at least two states, and combining the data bits and the inner encoded bits to produce encoded outputs.
US07958416B1	Programmable logic device with differential communications support Programmable logic device integrated circuits with differential communications circuitry are provided in which the differential communications circuitry is used to support programming, testing, and user mode operations. Programming operations may be performed on a programmable logic device integrated circuit by receiving configuration data with the differential communications circuitry and storing the received configuration data in nonvolatile memory. The nonvolatile memory may be located in an external integrated circuit such as a configuration device or may be part of the programmable logic device integrated circuit. The stored configuration data may be loaded into configuration memory in the programmable logic device to program the device to perform a desired custom logic function. The differential communications circuitry may be used to handle boundary scan tests and programmable scan chain tests. During user mode operations the differential communications circuitry carries user data traffic.
US07958407B2	Conversion of static diagnostic procedure to dynamic test plan method and apparatus A diagnostic information converter reads an existing static diagnostic procedure in the form of a tree graph and generates a diagnostic Failure Modes and Effects Analysis that can be used in the generation of a dynamic diagnostic test plan. The converter identifies the end nodes of the graph and associates a specific failure mode with each of the end nodes. In addition, the converter traces a unique path from each end node along successive branches through one or more intermediate nodes to the root node, and from each of the paths derives an initial failure mode test including the test steps corresponding to the root node, the intermediate nodes and the end node. The converter further identifies and annotates precondition nodes that correspond to a vehicle state or condition, rather than to an actual diagnostic test step and allows a user to edit the initial failure mode tests.
US07958406B2	Verifying a record as part of an operation to modify the record Provided are a method, system and article of manufacture for verifying a record as part of an operation to modify the record. A search request is received to determine whether a record matches a value. A first component executes the search request to determine if the record matches the value. The first component sends a verify request to a second component that did not execute the search request to execute the search request to determine whether the record matches the value. A result of the first and second components executing the search request is logged.
US07958405B1	Automatic testing system and method for judging whether universal serial bus device is configured to computer An automatic testing system and method for judging whether a universal serial bus device is configured to a computer are provided. The automatic testing system includes a computer and a testing device for testing the universal serial bus device. By judging whether the universal serial bus device is configured to the computer, the automatic testing system could determine the timing of performing an automatic testing procedure on the universal serial bus device.
US07958396B2	Watchdog processors in multicore systems Systems and methods are provided for securing a multicore computer chip with a watchdog processor. In a system with a watchdog process and any number of other processors and components, the watchdog processor monitors bus communications between the second processor and at least one third component. The watchdog processor may be further independently coupled to at least one of the other components so that it can monitor internal operations of such component, thereby acquiring detailed information about the specific operations of at least one component in the system. The watchdog processor can enforce an interaction policy on bus communications between components, as well as enforce an independent security policy on the monitored components.
US07958389B2	Recording/reproducing apparatus for performing RMW for low, recording/reproducing method therefor, and information storage medium therefor Replacement data for updating data recorded on an information storage medium is recorded in an area for logical overwrite (LOW) replacement; replacement data for replacing a defect generated on the medium is recorded in an area for defect replacement; and, if a defect is generated in an original block recorded in a predetermined area of the medium during a read-modify-write (RMW) process for a LOW for at least partial data of an original block, a replacement block replacing the original block is recorded in the area for LOW replacement and a defect list (DFL) entry including location information of the original block and location information of the replacement block is generated to indicate the replacement state.
US07958355B2	Keytote component Systems and methods that facilitate introducing devices having digital characteristics to one another, to mitigate a man-in-the-middle attack. A keytote component supplies initial session keys for communication between devices, and includes a plurality of interfaces that can facilitate such communication. The keytote component can receive a key from a first device via one of a plulrality of communication interfaces associated with the keytote component. The user can then physically carry the keytote component to the vicinity of a second device for transferring the key thereto. As such, a man-in-the-middle attack can be mitigated, as an encrypted channel can be established in an insecure environment.
US07958353B2	Information security device The present invention provides an apparatus for securely acquire a circuit configuration information set corresponding to a new cryptosystem without increasing the number of reconfigurable circuits. A content playback apparatus 100 includes an FPGA 122 that is reconfigurable. The content playback apparatus 100 stores a decryption circuit program that shows the structure of a decryption circuit that executes decryption in accordance with a prescribed cryptosystem. The FPGA is reconfigured in accordance with the program to configure the decryption circuit. The playback apparatus 100 acquires, from outside, an encrypted file that has been generated by encrypting a file including a decryption circuit program corresponding to the new cryptosystem in accordance with the prescribed cryptosystem, and decrypts the encrypted file by the decryption circuit.
US07958340B2	Monitoring software pipeline performance on a network on chip Software pipelining on a network on chip (‘NOC’), the NOC including integrated processor (‘IP’) blocks, routers, memory communications controllers, and network interface controllers, each IP block adapted to a router through a memory communications controller and a network interface controller, each memory communications controller controlling communication between an IP block and memory, and each network interface controller controlling inter-IP block communications through routers. Embodiments of the present invention include implementing a software pipeline on the NOC, including segmenting a computer software application into stages, each stage comprising a flexibly configurable module of computer program instructions identified by a stage ID; executing each stage of the software pipeline on a thread of execution on an IP block; monitoring software pipeline performance in real time; and reconfiguring the software pipeline, dynamically, in real time, and in dependence upon the monitored software pipeline performance.
US07958319B2	Hardware acceleration for a software transactional memory system A method and apparatus for accelerating transactional execution. Barriers associated with shared memory lines referenced by memory accesses within a transaction are only invoked/executed the first time the shared memory lines are accessed within a transaction. Hardware support, such as a transaction field/transaction bits, are provided to determine if an access is the first access to a shared memory line during a pendancy of a transaction. Additionally, in an aggressive operational mode version numbers representing versions of elements stored in shared memory lines are not stored and validated upon commitment to save on validation costs. Moreover, even in a cautious mode, that stores version numbers to enable validation, validation costs may not be incurred, if eviction of accessed shared memory lines do not occur during execution of the transaction.
US07958310B2	Apparatus, system, and method for selecting a space efficient repository An apparatus, system, and method are disclosed for selecting a space efficient repository. A cache receives write data. A destage module destages the data sequentially to a coarse grained repository such as a stride level repository and destages a directory entry for the data to a coarse grained directory such as a stride level directory if the data satisfies a repository policy. In addition, the destage module destages the data to a fine grained repository such as a track level repository overwriting an existing data instance and destages the directory entry to a fine grained directory such as a track level directory if the data does not satisfy the repository policy.
US07958302B2	System and method for communicating data in a storage network Systems and methods for communicating data in a storage network are disclosed. A method may include communicating, from a host to a storage array, a request for data having different portions stored in different storage nodes of the storage array. In response to the request, a first storage node of the storage array may communicate to the host a first portion of the requested data stored on the first storage node. The first storage node may communicate a message to the host indicating that a second portion of the requested data is stored on a second storage node of the storage array. The host may communicate a message to the second storage node indicating that the host is ready to receive the second portion of the requested data. The second storage node may communicate to the host a second portion of the requested data stored on the second storage node.
US07958298B2	System and method for providing address decode and virtual function (VF) migration support in a peripheral component interconnect express (PCIE) multi-root input/output virtualization (IOV) environment The present invention is a method for providing address decode and Virtual Function (VF) migration support in a Peripheral Component Interconnect Express (PCIE) multi-root Input/Output Virtualization (IOV) environment. The method may include receiving a Transaction Layer Packet (TLP) from the PCIE multi-root IOV environment. The method may further include comparing a destination address of the TLP with a plurality of base address values stored in a Content Addressable Memory (CAM), each base address value being associated with a Virtual Function (VF), each VF being associated with a Physical Function (PF). The method may further include when a base address value included in the plurality of base address values matches the destination address of the TLP, providing the matching base address value to the PCIE multi-root IOV environment by outputting from the CAM the matching base address value. The method may further include constructing a requestor ID for the VF associated with the matching base address value, the requestor ID being based upon the output matching base address value and a bus number for a PF which owns the CAM.
US07958294B1	Integrated circuit having data transceivers and method of positioning circuits on an integrated circuit An integrated circuit having a plurality of data transceivers positioned on opposite ends of the integrated circuit is disclosed. The integrated circuit comprises a first plurality of data transceivers positioned in a column on a first end of the integrated circuit and a second plurality of data transceivers positioned in a column on a second end. A circuit is preferably positioned between the first plurality of data transceivers and the second plurality of data transceivers. The circuit could comprise, for example, circuits for implementing a programmable logic device. The circuitry of the plurality of data transceivers is also preferably arranged such that analog circuitry is positioned closer to an end of the integrated circuit than the digital circuits to reduce interference with the analog circuits. According to another aspect of the invention, the data transceivers are formed on layers to reduce the amount of interference.
US07958287B2	Semiconductor storage device and method of controlling the same A semiconductor storage device includes a first nonvolatile memory to store user data of a file, a second nonvolatile memory to store management data of the file, the second nonvolatile memory being different in type from the first nonvolatile memory, and a controller to control read/write of data with respect to the first and second nonvolatile memories.
US07958284B2	Multi-channel fractional clock data transfer Methods and apparatus to transfer data between one or more clock domains are described. In one embodiment, a plurality of signals corresponding to write pointers of a buffer and a read pointer of the buffer are generated. The signals corresponding to the write pointers of the buffer are to be generated based on different data patterns for transmission over different channels. Other embodiments are also claimed and described.
US07958276B2	Automatic configuration of peripheral devices A method for automatically configuring peripheral devices performs a device assessment resulting in a list of available peripheral devices currently connected to the computer, calculates a configuration setting value from the list, and compares the configuration setting value to other values in a settings repository. If there is a match, then a prior selection of the peripheral devices is automatically restored. If there is no match, then devices are automatically selected from among the available peripheral devices in accordance with a predetermined devices database. The devices database includes possible devices and corresponding priority ranks for the possible devices. In addition, the computed configuration setting value is saved together with a current device selection in the settings repository.
US07958274B2	Heuristic status polling Methods, compute nodes, and computer program products are provided for heuristic status polling of a component in a computing system. Embodiments include receiving, by a polling module from a requesting application, a status request requesting status of a component; determining, by the polling module, whether an activity history for the component satisfies heuristic polling criteria; polling, by the polling module, the component for status if the activity history for the component satisfies the heuristic polling criteria; and not polling, by the polling module, the component for status if the activity history for the component does not satisfy the heuristic criteria.
US07958273B2	System and method for connecting SAS RAID controller device channels across redundant storage subsystems A system comprising a first expander device and a second expander device. The first expander device and the second expander device comprise a subtractive port and a table mapped port and are suitable for coupling a first serial attached SCSI controller to a second serial attached SCSI controller. The first and second expander devices are cross-coupled via a redundant physical connection.
US07958269B2	Network camera having network failure recovery A network camera 1 comprises a camera block 10 for taking an image, a signal processing unit 20 supplied with an imaging output of the camera block 10, a communication interface unit 30 which connects to an external network to establish communication, a backup memory unit 40 which temporarily stores data to be transmitted to an external device via the communication interface unit 30, a system control unit 50 which controls the above components, and the like. The system control unit 50 monitors the state of the network and stores temporarily the compressed image data to be transmitted to the server in the backup memory unit 40 when a failure occurs in the network, and controls transmission processing such that the compressed image data that has been stored in the backup memory unit 40 is transmitted to the server after the network has recovered.
US07958268B2	Data security system and method adjunct to a browser, telecom or encryption program Data security for processing data or securing browser-input data operates on security sensitive content which is extracted, then either encrypted or stored in remote extract stores, and processed separate from remainder data. Extracted data, in one system, is remotely stored. Other methods attach, append, add or insert an encrypted version of the extract content to the document. The browser system operates with an extract store. Remainder data is sent to the addressee or designated client by the web server. The addressee is permitted to retrieve the extracted data from said extract store only with a security clearance and hence, reconstruct the source input data with the extract data. In other systems, the addressee reconstructs the input by decryption and integration. The browser method extracts data, facilitates the storage, forwards the remainder data to a target. Financial data or credit card scrubber may use pop-up windows for enablement.
US07958266B1	Multiple URL identity syntaxes and identities Any arrangement of URLv identity syntax can now be used in a repository, once its second.top domain is known to have an identity syntax. The repository can extract, select, store, organize, prioritize, and consolidate URLvs of differing identity syntaxes. The correlation and association among different contact entities' containing the same individual's identities can yield accurate same individual's identity and URLvs. These increase the competition of the Internet by enabling users to transport their data easily to websites allowing for individuals' data-transport.
US07958265B2	Coding method of vector network address A coding method of vector network address (VNA), which encodes the VNA according to output port names (OPN) of one source device and the forwarding devices along the Data Transmission Path (DTP). Each OPN acts as a component address, and all component addresses compose a sequence in the order along the direction of the DTP. This sequence is the result of the coding method, i.e. the VNA. More specifically, the VNA is a finite sequence as follows: The first component address in the sequence is the OPN of the source device, the second that is the OPN of the first forwarding device in the DTP, the third that is the OPN of the second forwarding device in the DTP, and so on. The final OPN in the sequence is the OPN of the final forwarding device in the DTP.
US07958262B2	Allocating and reclaiming resources within a rendezvous federation The present invention extends to methods, systems, and computer program products for allocating and reclaiming resources within a rendezvous federation. Embodiments of the invention include formulating and routing messages in accordance with cached two-way agreements between adjacent nodes on a ring of nodes. Cached two-way agreements divide responsibility for at least unoccupied identifiers between the adjacent nodes on a ring. When a message is received at a node, the node can refer to a cached two-way agreement to determine if it or an adjacent node is responsible for the message. The node then sends the message to the next appropriate component in accordance with the cached two-way agreement.
US07958260B2	Method and apparatus for queuing data flows In a data system, such as a cable modem termination system, different-priority flows are scheduled to be routed to their logical destinations by factoring both the priority level and the time spent in queue. The time that each packet of each flow spends waiting for transmission is normalized such that the waiting times of all flows are equalized with respect to each other. A latency scaling parameter is calculated.
US07958251B2	Method and system for processing raw financial data streams to produce and distribute structured and validated product offering data to subscribing clients A method and system is disclosed for processing information provided from various content providers in the form objects having states subject to periodic updates. Formatted information indicating a current state of the objects are delivered to subscribing clients in substantially real-time. An information manager module is configured to receiving raw data objects from the content providers, format the information, and broadcast current state information on various broadcast data stream. A client manager module supports multiple client communication sessions and connects to at least one broadcast data stream. Current state information received on a broadcast data stream is processed and transmitted to specific clients in accordance with processing rules specified in the client profiles.
US07958247B2	HTTP push to simulate server-initiated sessions A mobile device apparatus uses an HyperText Transfer protocol (HTTP) push operation to simulate server-initiated sessions. The illustrative mobile device apparatus comprises a push server logic operable in a push server that sends a message to a mobile device over a network. The push server logic is configured to receive a GET command from a mobile device. The GET command includes a mobile device identifier parameter and a timeout parameter designating a maximum time interval for the push server to reply with a message. The push server logic holds a GET command session until expiration of a timeout designated by the timeout parameter in a condition that no message is targeted to the mobile device. The push server logic terminates the GET command session by sending a message immediately in a condition that the message is targeted to the mobile device.
US07958246B2	Establishing unique sessions for DNS subscribers A method and system for providing service over a communication network. The method includes establishing a plurality of virtual DNS servers that is supported by a DNS server. A plurality of target IP addresses is assigned for the plurality of virtual DNS servers. Each target IP address includes a first IP subaddress identifying the DNS server, and a second IP subaddress identifying a corresponding virtual DNS server. A plurality of network capable devices is uniquely assigned to the plurality of virtual DNS servers for domain name resolution. Each network capable device accesses the communication network through a corresponding network device associated with a corresponding source IP address. A service plan of a client is assigned to a first network capable device used by the client. The service plan is implemented through a DNS request under a session established between the first network capable device and its assigned first virtual DNS server. The session is uniquely identified by a combination of a first source IP address of a first network device used by the first network capable device to access the communication network, and a first target IP address of the first virtual DNS server.
US07958242B2	Establishment of media sessions with media adaptation The present invention relates to a method and terminal for reporting media format adaptation resources to convert a media format of a media stream of a media session to be established between terminals through a packet switched communications network towards a requesting terminal. The invention further relates to a method and NSIS router for reporting media format adaptation resources for converting a media format of a media stream of a media session to be established between terminals. To allow terminals to establish a media session utilizing media adaptation, the invention provides a NSIS (Next Step In Signaling) based signaling framework facilitating the detection and reservation of media adaptation resources on (and off) a media data path on which media data are transported utilizing a media transport protocol among terminals participating in the session.
US07958225B2	Method and apparatus for monitoring the transportation of medical images on a communication network A method and apparatus for monitoring the transportation of medical images on a communication network includes a medical image transport service (MITS) that may be used to notify clients of the status of scheduled requests. The MITS may be configured to provide numerous notifications, such as the scheduled time for delivery, changes in scheduled time for delivery, delays associated with delivery at the scheduled time, and likely resolutions to network or other delays attendant to the requested transaction. The notifications may be sent in-band on the network or out-of-band on a parallel network. Where the notification relates to a delayed transaction, the notification message may contain the reason for the delay, the source of the delay, its location, and if other images can still be retrieved. The notification may also include a likely resolution of the problem and an estimate of when the problem will be resolved.
US07958218B2	System for determining unreturned standby resource usage An apparatus, program product and method for determining unreturned standby resource usage. Unreturned standby resource data is monitored and stored separately from other standby resource data for billing and other accounting purposes.
US07958211B2	Automatic configuration of wireless device for router A user of a wireless device connects a cable to a router and is given the option of manually or automatically creating a user profile to configure the wireless device for subsequent wireless communication with the router when the user removes the cable.
US07958208B2	System and method for designing a customized switched metro Ethernet data network A method for automatically designing a switched metro Ethernet data is provided. During execution of the method, data network information, customer demand information, equipment information, and at least one design constraint is received. Based thereon, a potential topology design for the switched metro Ethernet data network is automatically established. The potential topology for the switched metro Ethernet data network can be a tree topology that is rooted at a predetermined hub node and that has a plurality of leaves. Each leaf is located at a customer location. In a particular embodiment, an aggregation node is placed at the hub node. Further, an aggregation node is placed at a predetermined redundant hub node. Additionally, an aggregation node is placed at another location in the tree topology.
US07958198B2	Redirection of notifications to a wireless user device Redirecting a notification to a wireless user device includes registering for notification of incoming messages for an account on a message server, the incoming messages being directed to an account on the message server. The redirecting also includes receiving at least one notification and redirecting the at least one notification through a firewall to a wireless user device associated with the account. The remote message server is in communication with a network protected by the firewall. According to one aspect, a cradle is configured to perform the redirection. According to another aspect, the cradle is associated with a remote desktop computer in communication with the network.
US07958197B2	Dynamic type-ahead for lists of prior specified addressees Embodiments of the present invention provide a method, system and computer program product for type-ahead processing for multiple different addressees. In an embodiment of the invention, a method for type-ahead processing for multiple different addressees can include detecting character input in an addressee field of a composition view of a messaging client executing in memory by a processor of a computer. The method also can include matching the detected character input to entries in a table of different lists in that each of the entries in the table includes multiple different addressees specified for a previously composed message. Finally, the method can include auto-completing the addressee field with a selected list of multiple different addressees matching the detected character input.
US07958187B2	Systems and methods for managing directory harvest attacks via electronic messages The present invention provides an electronic message management system (EMS) that includes a real-time feedback loop where data is collected from the electronic messages on incoming connection attempts, outgoing delivery attempts, and message content analysis, and written to a centralized data matrix. A separate process accesses the data matrix and analyzes trends in that data. The detected data patterns, trends or behavior is based on configuration parameters for the recipient. Based on these determinations, the process is able to instruct components in the EMS to accept, redirect, refuse, modify, defer, or otherwise dispose of the connection request, the delivery attempt, or the message. Associated methods for managing the transmission of electronic messages are also disclosed.
US07958185B2	Spatial data enabled engineering, construction, and operations computer-aided design (CAD) project system, method and computer program product A system and method of geo-spatially viewing project oriented data relating to engineering, construction, and operations (ECO) computer-aided design (CAD) services online using a browser-based viewer can include a three-tiered client/server architecture for accessing a database storing a plurality of files, each of which is stored as a series of components including spatial information. In an exemplary embodiment of the invention, a system, method and computer program product includes a browser-based project-oriented, collaboration system including a viewer operative to enable viewing of at least one of a business, a project, and a person, geospatially according to geospatial attributes associated with the business, project or person.
US07958178B2	Finite impulse response filter for a time-synchronized system A Finite Impulse Response (“FIR”) filter that uses an approximation of the time integral of the impulse response derived from data collected at non-uniform intervals and processes time-synchronized measurements taken at uneven intervals.
US07958146B2	Using a calculation expression to define and control access rights for records in a database Techniques for providing limited access to data stored in records of databases are disclosed. The techniques can be implemented in a database program operating on a computer system. The database program can provide a Graphical User Interface that can be used to conveniently define calculation expressions that limit operations on the records of the database. The calculation expression can be defined for a user or group of users with respect to a particular operation that can be requested to be performed on the records of the database. The calculation expression can be defined based on fields of the records, as well as other information, for example, various state variables of the database (e.g., date, time, number of records, etc.) The calculation expression can, in turn, be evaluated with respect to each record to determine whether a request to perform an operation on that particular record should be granted or denied.
US07958145B2	Creating multiple MBeans from a factory MBean Provided is a method for creating a unique class of Mbean in which a “parent” Mbean generates and manages multiple “child” Mbeans. When a user requests the functionality of a particular Mbean, a specific type of Mbean, or parent Mbean, is called. The parent Mbean is a factory method that, rather than executing the request, generates a child Mbean to execute the request. The child Mbean is assigned a name that distinguishes the child from other children of the same parent and the process that called the parent is provided with the name. In this manner, the calling process may use the assigned name to access the specific child Mbean for future requests and the child Mbean is employed to store client state information.
US07958140B2	Method of controlling user information and information processing apparatus A method of controlling user information for an information processing apparatus includes the steps of a process of an application program requesting user information controlling unit to obtain an item of said user information, and said user information controlling unit providing the obtained item of said user information to said process. The user information controlling unit obtains the user information requested by the process of the application program and provides the user information to the process. Accordingly, the user information can be shared by the application programs and centrally controlled.
US07958139B2	Related content storage and retrieval systems and methods In an exemplary method, content instances and metadata associated with the content instances are maintained, a request for content is received, one of the content instances is identified based on the request, at least one other of the content instances is identified as being related to the one content instance based on a predefined relationship heuristic and the metadata associated with the content instances, and data representative of the one content instance and the other content instance is provided in response to the request. In certain embodiments, the related content instance is identified by identifying a metadata value associated with the one content instance and a common metadata value associated with the other content instance. In certain embodiments, the common metadata value includes at least one of a common location data value, a common time data value, a common user identifier, and a common content type.
US07958137B2	Method to assist user in creation of highly inter-related models in complex databases A computer-implemented method is provided to facilitate creation of linked inter-related models in a database. The method comprises obtaining a search text and match criteria from a user, and determining whether a prequery exists. If not, a list of all destination items is obtained. If yes, a determination is made whether the prequery is enabled. If not, a list of all destination items is obtained. If enabled, a list of all destination items limited by the prequery is obtained. A determination is then made whether all match criteria is selected. If yes, all items in the destination list are returned to the user. If not, a word list is generated by parsing all words from the search text. All valid synonyms are added for each word in the word list. The items in the destination list are reduced to items that match at least one word in the word list. A determination is made whether one or more additional filters exist. If not, a reduced list filtered by the match criteria is returned to the user. If the additional filters exist, the filters are presented to the user. The matched item list is then reduced based on criteria of the filters. The reduced matched item list is then returned to the user.
US07958135B2	Information processing apparatus, information recording system, information recording method, and computer-readable medium storing program An information processing apparatus is disclosed that that acquires image/audio information in response to an operations command and generates predetermined electronic data from the acquired information. The information processing apparatus includes a user information storing unit that stores and manages information for identifying an operator issuing the operations command, a personal information storing unit that stores and manages personal information of the operator, a gathering information storing unit that stores or describes a personal information managing service managing personal information that is subject to processing, and an information extracting unit that analyzes the personal information managing service of the gathering information storing unit and extracts relevant personal information from the personal information of the operator stored in the personal information storing unit corresponding to the personal information managing service.
US07958130B2	Similarity-based content sampling and relevance feedback A method and a system may be provided to sample media content similar to media content enjoyed by a user. Feature vectors, which describe a number of characteristics, with respect to media content enjoyed by the user, may be employed to find similar media content from a media library, or a media service. The similar media content may be played, interleaved with requested media content. Relevance feedback, with respect to played media content, may be transparently or explicitly provided. The feature vectors may be updated based on the provided relevance feedback. Additional similar media content may be found from the media library, or the media service, based on the updated feature vectors, and may be played. An interface may be provided such that the user may purchase sampled, media content via a media device for playing the content.
US07958121B2	Information retrieval apparatus and information retrieval method A retrieval information that is a retrieval target, acquired from an information source, is arranged on a vector space. Data of a usage information and a content specifying manners of usage, used by the user in the past is acquired by a usage-information acquisition unit. A user's preference extraction unit extracts a preference of a user from the data, and notifies a number-of-effective-elements reduction unit of the extracted data. The number-of-effective-elements reduction unit evaluates each element of a vector of retrieval information by using the preference of the user, and reduces the number of effective elements by removing the elements smaller than a certain criteria. Thereafter, a statistic is acquired in the vector space of the vector of the retrieval information, and the cosine normalization is performed on the result that includes a large number of elements, and the normalization in which the variation of the statistic was compensated by the average weight is performed on the result that includes a small number of elements.
US07958116B2	System and method for trans-factor ranking of search results A system and method for trans-factor ranking of search results. Any number of attributes of items in a database being searched may be synthesized into a uniquely suitable ordering that brings relevant and authoritative results to the top of the list whenever such results exist in the database. The manner in which the attributes are used to create this ordering may be varied by users to tailor the ranking to their needs, and by database providers to take advantage of unique database contents. Attributes that are not in the database may be created dynamically and used to synthesize the order, based on the intersection between attributes that do exist in the database and attributes that are associated with the user or database manager. Attenuation and amplification factors are applied to attributes to control rankings. A multi-ranking interleaver determines a final ordering when more than one ranking strategy is used.
US07958113B2	Automatically and adaptively determining execution plans for queries with parameter markers A method and system for automatically and adaptively determining query execution plans for parametric queries. A first classifier trained by an initial set of training points is generated. A query workload and/or database statistics are dynamically updated. A new set of training points is collected off-line. Using the new set of training points, the first classifier is modified into a second classifier. A database query is received at a runtime subsequent to the off-line phase. The query includes predicates having parameter markers bound to actual values. The predicates are associated with selectivities. A mapping of the selectivities into a plan determines the query execution plan. The determined query execution plan is included in an augmented set of training points, where the augmented set includes the initial set and the new set.
US07958104B2	Context based data searching Systems, methods, and software are provided for facilitating data searching over a network. For example, in one implementation, a first component may be adapted to communicate with a user via a user device over the network. A second component may be adapted to receive a search request from the user via the user device over the network, process the search request by identifying zero or more contexts related to the user based on information that may be passed with the search request or via other sources, and provide zero or more search results in response to the search request. A database may be adapted to store information, including contextual information, related to the user. The second component may select information from the database related to zero or more contexts in order to provide zero or more search results to the user. Various other implementations are also provided.
US07958101B1	Methods and apparatus for mounting a file system One aspect involves mounting a file system stored on a CAS system. The file system has a directory structure that includes a plurality of directories arranged in a hierarchy and including a root directory at the top of the hierarchy. Each of the directories is represented by a content unit stored on the CAS system, the content unit having a content address that is computed based, at least in part, on at least a portion of the content of the content unit. The file system is mounted by specifying the content address of the content unit that represents the root directory and determining the file system to be mounted based on the content address of the content unit that represents the root directory.
US07958100B2	Medical image management system A method of managing medical information is disclosed. The method comprises receiving, at a first computer, requests for medical information from a second computer. The first computer responds by sending a set of instructions to the second computer. The instructions are sufficient to allow the second computer to automatically retrieve the requested medical information from a third computer.
US07958093B2	Optimizing a storage system to support short data lifetimes A system and method for optimizing a storage system to support short data object lifetimes and highly utilized storage space are provided. With the system and method, data objects are clustered based on when they are anticipated to be deleted. When an application stores data, the application provides an indicator of the expected lifetime of the data, which may be a retention value, a relative priority of the data object, or the like. Data objects having similar expected lifetimes are clustered together in common data structures so that clusters of objects may be deleted efficiently in a single operation. Expected lifetimes may be changed by applications automatically. The system automatically determines how to handle these changes in expected lifetime using one or more of copying the data object, reclassifying the container in which the data object is held, and ignoring the change in expected lifetime for a time to investigate further changes in expected lifetime of other data objects.
US07958089B2	Processing of a generalized directed object graph for storage in a relational database Creating transaction instructions is disclosed. A description of a set of objects is received. For each of at least a subset of objects in the set of objects, a description of one or more associated relationships is received. The description of the set of objects and the descriptions of the one or more associated relationships for each object in the at least a subset of the set of objects are processed to create an ordered list of transaction instructions for storing the set of objects and the one or more associated relationships for each object in the at least a subset of the set of objects.
US07958086B2	Systems and methods for managing location of media in a storage system A system and method for operating a storage library. The system comprises a management server, a media agent connected to the management server, a library connected to the media agent and a database connected to the management server. The management server controls the media agent to monitor for the addition or removal of a piece of media in the library. When the media agent determines that the piece of media has been added to the library or removed from the library, the media agent causes the library to read a media label stored as data on the piece of media, the media label including an identifier identifying the piece of media. When a backup or restore is performed, the system checks the media label to ensure that the correct media is being used. Inventory procedures are disclosed. Media labels are stored in a database along with an indication of the corresponding slot where the media is stored, a time when the label was put on the medium, and a confidence parameter indicating how confident the system is that the particular medium is stored in the respective slot.
US07958074B2	Method and structure for domain-independent modular reasoning and relation representation for entity-relation based information structures A method (and structure) for using reasoning heuristics in a network-based information system based on an entity/relation paradigm and characterized as being a self-similar hypergraph. The method includes packaging domain-independent reasoning heuristics so that they can be attached to data in a self-similar-hypergraph information system, thereby allowing self-describing knowledge capsules to be created from the data.
US07958070B2	Parameter learning method, parameter learning apparatus, pattern classification method, and pattern classification apparatus A plurality of pieces of learning data, each associated with a class to which the piece of the learning data belong, are input. In each piece of the learning data, a statistical amount of attribute values of elements in each of specific k parts, k being equal to or larger than 1, is calculated. Each piece of the learning data is mapped in a k-dimensional feature space as a vector having the calculated k statistics amounts as elements. Based on each piece of the mapped learning data and the classes to which the pieces of learning data belong, parameters for classifying input data into one of the plurality of classes are learned in the k-dimensional feature space. By using the parameters, pattern classification can be performed with high speed and high accuracy.
US07958069B2	Time modulated generative probabilistic models for automated causal discovery using a continuous time noisy-or (CT-NOR) models Dependencies between different channels or different services in a client or server may be determined from the observation of the times of the incoming and outgoing of the packets constituting those channels or services. A probabilistic model may be used to formally characterize these dependencies. The probabilistic model may be used to list the dependencies between input packets and output packets of various channels or services, and may be used to establish the expected strength of the causal relationship between the different events surrounding those channels or services. Parameters of the probabilistic model may be either based on prior knowledge, or may be fit using statistical techniques based on observations about the times of the events of interest. Expected times of occurrence between events may be observed, and dependencies may be determined in accordance with the probabilistic model.
US07958062B2	Method and system of creating health operating envelope for dynamic systems by unsupervised learning of a sequence of discrete event codes A method and system for creating healthy operating envelope from only data samples obtained during normal operation/behavior of dynamic systems is provided. This method determines healthy operating envelope by clustering a stream of discrete event code sequences from the underlying system under normal operation condition only. The method is unsupervised, that is, requiring no prior knowledge of event code patterns corresponding to different operation conditions. Such created envelope can be used for fault detection and health monitoring of dynamic systems.
US07958061B1	Dynamic determination of item returns during transit Techniques are described for automatically and dynamically determining how to handle items being returned from customers while the items are in transit. Various factors may be considered to determine appropriate item return handling, including by assessing current conditions at the time of the determination. In addition, the dynamic item return handling may include selecting one of various potential return destinations for each item being returned and one of various types of return routing for the return. In some situations, the item return handling is performed for an item being returned from a customer while the item is at an intermediate shipping location, such as a selected location to which the customer was directed to send the item. This abstract is provided to comply with rules requiring an abstract, and with the intention that it will not be used to interpret or limit the scope or meaning of the claims.
US07958056B2	Content data creating device, control method thereof, program for creating content data, and content data display device A contents data creating device is configured by equipping a computer with a contents creating software. In this contents creating software, a license information file stores license information containing information describing the permitted range of input data or output data. A GUI manager module displays a choice of options indicating the range of input data or output data unpermitted with the license information, in the mode different from that of the choice of options indicating the range of input data or output data permitted. The GUI manager module performs a conversion using the range of the input data or the output data inputted from the outside, as a parameter.
US07958049B2	System and method for obtaining customer bill information and facilitating bill payment at biller websites An integrated electronic bill presentment and payment (EBPP) system is disclosed which obtains bills for customers (which include individuals, businesses, and organizations) and allow payments including payments by credit card to be processed at the biller websites on behalf of customers. The integrated EBPP system obtains bills for customers from paper billers, electronic billers, and scrape-enabled biller websites, with customers providing access information for biller websites to the integrated EBPP system, which uses a software agent or bot to make scheduled scrapes of biller websites to obtain customer bills. The integrated EBPP system enables customers to automatically set up a user account at biller websites, with customers providing user access information and user financial account information, such as a credit card or debit card, for accessing biller websites and for initiating payments at biller websites.
US07958047B2	Virtual credit in simulated environments A method and system provides for the use of credit arrangements in simulated environments. A user can participate in credit transactions involving purchases of virtual products, virtual services, and virtual items of value. Feedback is provided to the user regarding results of the credit transactions. In some embodiments multiple users can make simulated purchases or incur simulated credit obligations that are posted to virtual accounts, and the multiple users can also make simulated compensation against balances due or obligations owed for said virtual accounts. The user is also provided with an opportunity of engaging in real-world financial transactions related to the virtual credit arrangement. In some implementations of the system and method, multiple players at different locations can use virtual charge accounts and/or real world financial accounts in connection with arranging or resolving a virtual credit transaction.
US07958046B2	Computer systems and methods for providing credit information data Computer systems and methods for providing credit information data are disclosed. In one embodiment, an exemplary method includes generating a first mark up language document in a requestor domain. The credit information query data may include provider identification data to enable identification of a provider of credit information data. The method further includes retrieving a first provider specific transformation document for transforming the first markup language document into a provider domain of the provider and sending the second mark up language document to the provider. The method further includes receiving a third mark up language document carrying the credit information data, where the third mark up language document is in the provider domain. The method further includes retrieving a second provider specific transformation document for transforming the third document into the requestor domain. The method further includes transforming the third mark up document by the second provider specific transformation document.
US07958038B2	Methods and systems for providing an anti-benchmark portfolio In one aspect, the invention comprises a method comprising: (a) acquiring data regarding a first group of securities in a first portfolio; (b) based on said data and on risk characteristics of said first group of securities, identifying a second group of securities to be included in a second portfolio; and (c) calculating holdings in said second portfolio based on one or more portfolio optimization procedures. In another aspect, the invention comprises software for performing the steps described above (as well as steps of other embodiments), and in another aspect, the invention comprises one or more computer systems operable to perform those steps.
US07958036B1	System and method for calculating a volatility carry metric Systems and methods of generating metrics for volatility products are disclosed. According to various embodiments, the metric may use a carry of the volatility product and a volatility of the implied volatility to determine the metric. Through the metric, or carry quotient, global interest rate volatility may be searched to identify trades with attractive rolldown and carry characteristics.
US07958034B2	Method of providing catastrophic loss protection through a mortgage A catastrophic hazard protection (CHP) mortgage may be provided on real property or structure(s) on the real property of a owner. The CHP mortgage may be structured to include financial protection in the event that one or more structures of the real property is damaged by a catastrophe such as a hurricane or earthquake. The owner may pay an increased interest rate on the CHP mortgage. If catastrophe damage occurs, the principal amount of the CHP mortgage may be reduced by the lesser of the value of the damage or the principal balance. Alternatively, the owner may receive a payment equivalent to the lesser of the value of the damage or the principal balance. A CHP mortgage may be implemented electronically. Additionally, catastrophic hazard protection may be added onto an existing mortgage.
US07958024B2	Method and apparatus for processing sales transaction data A system provides a way to manage agreements that institutions such as financial services companies have with distributors who sell their products. Each distributor has a plurality of sales representatives that earn commissions for selling such products. The commissions earned and any other constraints imposed on the sales representatives may be defined within a selling agreement. The system can generate each selling agreement utilizing a set of components representative of the type of agreement formed between the institutions and the distributor. The components of each selling agreement contain an associated rule set that enables a configuration engine to generate an appropriate document. The system also contains a set of regulatory conditions for each sale made by the sales representatives. The system may be utilized to process sales transaction data to ensure that selling agreement terms are followed and that regulations for each sale are satisfied.
US07958020B2	Efficient inventory management for providing distinct service qualities for multiple demand groups An inventory management method for managing an inventory of goods for a plurality of demand groups with each demand group having at least one service quality, the method includes determining a total safety stock level for the plurality of demand groups that satisfies the distinct service quality of each demand group, determining a shipment limit Zi for each demand group Gi, wherein goods are shipped for a demand group Gi only if the inventory of goods for the demand group Gi exceeds the shipment limit Zi. Also disclosed is a computer program product and a method for an inventory management service.
US07958016B2	Method and apparatus for specifying product characteristics by combining characteristics of products A computer-implemented method for specifying the characteristics of a desired item includes specifying a plurality of items, each of which possess at least one but not all characteristics of the desired item, selecting a subset of characteristics from each of said plurality of items, combining selected subsets of characteristics into a characterization of the desired item, and validating an availability of the desired item.
US07958012B2	System and method for enabling online research, publication, promotion and management of user goods A system and method for enabling online research, publication, promotion, and management of user goods is presented. An embodiment guiding the process of online selling across multiple platforms is presented. Information is gathered from various sources across the Internet to determine pricing and publication options. Data and user input are aggregated to create a listing. Listings are published and promoted across platforms and channels and feedback is presented to the user through an online interface.
US07958011B1	Obtaining community association data in a direct, efficient manner A method, computer program product and system for obtaining property owner or community association data. An order for a selection of products is directly received from a requestor. The order is built using a master questionnaire, which is stored on a database from which all sub-questionnaires (products) are created. As all “products” are created at the moment the order is placed, the information (community association data) in the master questionnaire is the information which will be incorporated into each sub-questionnaire. By receiving an order directly with the requestor and building the order using a master questionnaire which includes questions and answers that may be incorporated into the sub-questionnaires (products), the association data may be obtained by requestors in a direct, efficient manner without the use of a third party service provider.
US07958006B2	System to provide consumer preference information A system to determine preference information in which preference information associated with a consumer is determined, the preference information is validated, and the preference information is mixed with preference information associated with a plurality of consumers based on the validating step. The validating step may includes provision of trade-off questions to the consumer, reception of actual answers to the trade-off questions, prediction of consumer answers to the trade-off questions based on the preference information associated with the consumer and prediction of subgroup answers to the trade-off questions based on the preference information associated with the plurality of consumers. Moreover, the preference information may be mixed with the preference information associated with the plurality of consumers based on the actual answers, the predicted consumer answers and the predicted subgroup answers.
US07958002B2	Economic model for measuring the cost and value of a particular health insurance plan The present invention provides a system and method for measuring the relative economic benefits from services offered by health care plans. The present invention quantifies value of health care quality by indicating an economic return on the investment in health care quality, enabling organizations and businesses to view health care quality in a familiar paradigm that extends health plan differentiation beyond premium and benefits. Businesses may employ the present invention to compare different health care plans or classes of plans, such as accredited versus non-accredited plans. Specifically, a particular plan or class of plans may provide improved monitoring, treatment and control of various medical conditions, and the present invention quantifies the economic benefits to employers from the improved health care for employees. In one embodiment, the present invention looks to a set of specific medical conditions and is based on three key steps. First, the present invention identifies the overall level of employees at the organization affected by these conditions. Second, the present invention uses the reduction in absenteeism and low productivity days made possible by improved monitoring and control of the medical conditions. Third, the present invention calculates a monetary valuation to the firm of the reduction in absenteeism and low productivity days based on the firm's average revenue per employee, average daily wage, and other parameters.
US07958000B2	Method and system for analyzing the effectiveness of marketing strategies A method and system for analyzing a “detail” (the use of promotional materials in combination with a sales pitch), measures the effectiveness of a sales presentation and its ability to drive market share through a standardized, quantitative evaluation of the entire sale presentation and its related components. The method includes administering a two, different surveys. The first survey, the Detail Performance Monitor survey, comprises an “in the field” test of how respondents are responding to various marketing strategies by tracking subsequent behavioral data of the respondents and comparing the behavioral data to the survey results. The second survey, the Detail Assessment survey, comprises an “in the lab” test of how various marketing strategies affect respondent attitude towards a product by comparing respondent attitude before and after presentation of a simulated “detail” that represents the marketing strategy.
US07957999B2	Electronic acquisition system and method A system and method providing a centralized acquisition utility for facilitating event requests for multiple client products and/or services, where a dispatcher forwards event requests to one or more handlers to apply client business logic to process and fulfill said request. The handlers further employ task-specific workers for facilitating the individual steps required to complete the process.
US07957995B2	Method for project preparing a procurement and accounts payable system A method for coordinating a project for designing, implementing, and using a general procurement and accounts payable (GP/AP) system for a customer. A playbook database is created and includes templates of information relating to designing, implementing, and using the GP/AP system. The templates are particularized for the customer. A playbook summary view is generated from the playbook database. The playbook summary view displays a folders and views section, a task title display and selection area, a summary task creation button, and a detailed task creation button, which visually appear together in an undivided display area within the playbook summary view. Communication is between team members of a team and the playbook database via a server coupled to the playbook database and an intranet coupled to both the server and the team members. The team members have responsibility for the designing and implementing of the GP/AP system.
US07957994B2	Defining service funding for a service oriented architecture Methods and systems for defining service funding for a Service Oriented Architecture (‘SOA’) are described that include, in response to an event requiring a change in service funding, identifying a potential SOA funding model for a business's SOA, the potential SOA funding model governing funding of services implemented in the business's SOA; reviewing for approval the potential SOA funding model by relevant stakeholders of the business; and upon approval of the potential SOA funding model by relevant stakeholders of the business, implementing the approved SOA funding model.
US07957991B2	Technology sharing during demand and supply planning in a network-based supply chain environment A system, method, and article of manufacture are provided for technology sharing during demand and supply planning in a network-based supply chain environment. Steps included are providing locator and mapping capabilities utilizing the network. Technology that includes streaming audio, stereo audio and video data is also shared utilizing the network. Encryption capabilities for the technology are also included. Further, searching capabilities are provided utilizing the network in addition to logging events and passive user profiling. The event logging includes logging network operations. User profile data is automatically received and stored. User profile data includes user identity, state, preferences and interests. User profile data is also automatically exported to an active profile manager which automatically adds additional user profile data. Additional user profile data includes information related to whether the user is a service provider or a manufacturer and the location of user.
US07957986B1	System and method for managing account processing Systems and methods for managing subrogation and recovery of insurance claims with a computer including receiving data for a first insurance claim; determining from the data whether the first insurance claim has recovery potential; thereafter when it is determined that the first insurance claim has recovery potential, collecting information about the event from which the first insurance claim was derived; repeatedly seeking data, as necessary, for additional insurance claims associated with the event such that all insurance claims arising from the event are processed together.
US07957985B2	Personalized information discovery and presentation system A personalized health information discovery and presentation system is presented. The system has an input device, a subject-profile module, an information database, an alignment module, a solutions module, an integration engine, a plan module, a graphical user interface, and a processor. The input device allows a user to enter a personalized subject-profile, the subject-profile module receives the subject-profile and converts it into a recognized health profile. The health information database comprises a library of health information, and the alignment module aligns the recognized health profile with relevant health information. The solution's module parses the relevant information into information subsets, and the integration engine integrates the information; identifies conflicting health information, contraindications, or health warnings; creates notifications; and compiles data for presentation to the user. The plan module converts the integrated health information into a personalized health maintenance plan for display in a form selected by the user.
US07957974B2	Method and apparatus for controlling devices connected to home network A method and apparatus for controlling home electronic devices connected to a home network are provided. The method for controlling home electronic devices connected to a home network includes receiving a user voice command and converting the user voice command into a character command; extracting actions and objects from the character command and converting the character command into a logical command; extracting an action list containing a series of actions from the logical command by referring to an action library storing action data for controlling home electronic devices connected to the home network; and converting the series of actions included in the action list into a control signal and controlling the home electronic devices connected to the home network. According to the method and apparatus, user commands to home electronic devices connected to a complicated home network can be simplified such that home electronic devices are controlled conveniently and efficiently.
US07957965B2	Communication system noise cancellation power signal calculation techniques In order to enhance the quality of a communication signal derived from speech and noise, a filter divides the communication signal into a plurality of frequency band signals. A calculator generates a plurality of power band signals each having a power band value and corresponding to one of the frequency band signals. The power band values are based on estimating, over a time period, the power of one of the frequency band signals. The time period is different for different ones of the frequency band signals. The power band values are used to calculate weighting factors which are used to alter the frequency band signals that are combined to generate an improved communication signal.
US07957960B2	Audio time scale modification using decimation-based synchronized overlap-add algorithm A high-quality, low-complexity audio time scale modification (TSM) algorithm useful in speeding up or slowing down the playback of an encoded audio signal without changing the pitch or timbre of the audio signal. The TSM algorithm uses a modified synchronized overlap-add (SOLA) algorithm that maintains a roughly constant computational complexity regardless of the TSM speed factor and that performs most of the required SOLA computation using decimated signals, thereby reducing computational complexity by approximately two orders of magnitude.
US07957957B2	Method and apparatus for discovering and classifying polysemous word instances in web documents A method and apparatus for discovering polysemous words and classifying polysemous words found in web documents. All document corpi in any natural language have words that have multiple usage contexts or words that have multiple meanings. Semantic analysis is not feasible for classifying all word occurrences in all documents on the web, which contain trillions of words in total. In addition, semantic analysis typically cannot distinguish multiple usages of a given meaning of a given word. In one embodiment of this invention, polysemous words in natural languages can be discovered by analyzing the co-occurrence of other words with the polysemous word in web documents. In one embodiment, the multiple meanings and usages of a polysemous word can be determined by analyzing the co-occurrences of other words with the polysemous word. No semantic analysis is used in discovering or classifying polysemous words.
US07957953B2	Weighted linear bilingual word alignment model A weighted linear word alignment model linearly combines weighted features to score a word alignment for a bilingual, aligned pair of text fragments. The features are each weighted by a feature weight. One of the features is a word association metric, which may be generated from surface statistics.
US07957938B2	Method and apparatus for a high bandwidth oscilloscope utilizing multiple channel digital bandwidth interleaving A method of digitizing an analog signal is provided, comprising the steps of separating the analog signal spanning a frequency range into a plurality of frequency bands, and then translating at least one of the signals to a lower frequency band in accordance with a local oscillator and digitizing the at least one translated signal with digitizing elements having a frequency range less than the analog signal frequency range. A fixed relationship of the phase of the local oscillator and a repetitive signal generated in accordance with a writing to a circular buffer of the digitized representation of the at least one of the plurality of frequency bands is then defined. Signals corresponding to the other of the plurality of frequency bands are digitized and written to corresponding circular buffers. Finally, a digital representation of the analog signal is formed from the digitized signals.
US07957936B2	Presentation system for abnormal situation prevention in a process plant A system for visually presenting data receives signal processing data generated signal processing data collection blocks corresponding to devices associated with a process plant. The signal processing data collection blocks may generate data such as statistical data, frequency analysis data, auto regression data, wavelets data, etc. The system displays an image representative of the devices and representative of a context of the devices within the process plant. Additionally, data based on signal processing data corresponding to one or more devices is displayed. For example, the signal processing data for the device could be displayed. As another example, data may be generated based on the signal processing data and this generated data may be displayed.
US07957918B2	Member designing method and apparatus A computer performs press forming analysis based on a shape of a formed product or of a member, a blank holder force, a friction coefficient, a tensile strength of a material, a yield strength, a stress-strain relation, and a sheet thickness, as press forming conditions, to calculate sheet thickness distribution and post-formation strain distribution of the formed product. The computer also performs performance analysis based on the sheet thickness distribution, the post-formation strain distribution, and the shape of the formed product or of the member, as state amounts of the formed product. This calculate performance of the member. The computer repeats the calculations performed in the process from the first step through the second step a predetermined number of times, with at least one of the press forming conditions being changed, to output an optimum press forming condition that gives a maximum value or a target value of the performance
US07957917B2	Copper contamination detection method and system for monitoring copper contamination A computer system. The computer system including a processor and memory unit coupled to the processor, the memory unit containing instructions that when executed by the processor implement a method for monitoring a solution in a tank used to fabricate integrated circuits, the method comprising the computer implemented steps of: (a) collecting data indicating of an amount of copper in a region of a substrate of a monitor, the monitor comprising an N-type region in a silicon substrate, the region abutting a top surface of the substrate, the monitor having been submerged in the solution for a preset time; (b) comparing the data to a specification for copper content of the solution; (c) if the data indicates a copper content exceeds a limit of the specification for copper, indicating a corrective action is required to prevent copper contamination of the integrated circuits; and (d) repeating steps (a) through (c) periodically.
US07957916B2	Methods, systems, and computer program products for producing theoretical mass spectral fragmentation patterns of chemical structures Methods, systems, and computer program products for generating theoretical mass spectral fragmentation patterns of a chemical structure is provided. The method includes obtaining a description of a chemical structure and generating, from the description, a list of chemical structure information. A binary tree data structure is used to organize the list of chemical structure information. The binary tree data structure may be fragmented by determining, based on a set of predetermined rules, a fragmentation point between two nodes in the binary tree data structure thereby dividing the binary tree data structure into a fragment and a complement. The molecular formula and molecular weight of each fragment is determined. The binary tree data structure is traversed and appropriate fragmentation rules are applied to produce a plurality of theoretical molecular fragments.
US07957908B2	System, method and software arrangement utilizing a multi-strip procedure that can be applied to gene characterization using DNA-array data A system, method and software arrangement are provided that use a fast adaptive multiscale procedure to characterize a random set of points spanning a high dimensional Euclidean space, and concentrated around special lower dimensional subsets. The procedure can be adapted to analyze gene expression data from microarray experiments, and may be applied generally to existing datasets without regard to whether a particular model exists to otherwise describe the dataset. The procedure accordingly can be used for identifying and mathematically isolating stable sets of data points in a given dataset from those in the same dataset that deviate from a stable model under various conditions.
US07957904B2	True amplitude transient electromagnetic system response measurement A method for mapping sub-surface resistivity contrasts comprising making multi-channel transient electromagnetic (MTEM) measurements using at least one electric source with grounded input current electrodes or one magnetic source with current in a wire loop or multi loop and at least one electric field or magnetic field receiver, measuring the resultant earth response simultaneously at each receiver using a known recording system, measuring the system response by measuring directly the current in the wire at the source using effectively the same recording system, using the measured system response to recover the impulse response of the earth from each measured earth response, and creating from such impulse responses a sub-surface representation of resistivity contrasts.
US07957896B2	Vehicular display system and method A vehicular display system includes an in-vehicle navigation device and a vehicular meter device. The in-vehicle navigation device includes a display, a navigation data producing device for producing first data that is to be displayed on the display, and a transmitting device for transmitting intermediate data to the vehicular meter device. The vehicular meter device includes a receiving device for receiving the intermediate data from the in-vehicle navigation device and a navigation data display area for displaying second data. A display size changing device for changing the first data into the second data is included in at least one of the in-vehicle navigation device and the vehicular meter device. A display size of the first data is different from the display size of the second data.
US07957887B2	Engine controller In an engine controller capable of carrying out spark ignition type combustion and compressed self-ignition type combustion, in order to suppress operation performance deterioration and exhaust performance deterioration at the time of switching a combustion mode from the compressed self-ignition type combustion to the spark ignition type combustion, intake pipe pressure downstream a throttle is quickly reduced by making the throttle opening degree smaller than a target throttle opening degree of the spark ignition type combustion immediately after switching for a certain period during the combustion mode is switched from the compressed self-ignition type combustion to the spark ignition type combustion. As a result, responsiveness of an intake amount at the time of switching the combustion mode from the compressed self-ignition type combustion to the spark ignition type combustion is enhanced, and combustion switching without exhaust deterioration and torque variation is realized.
US07957878B2	Method and device of calculating aircraft braking friction and other relating landing performance parameters based on the data received from aircraft's on board flight data management system This invention relates to a method and apparatus for the calculation of aircraft braking friction and other relating landing parameters, including but not limited to aircraft braking action, aircraft takeoff distance, aircraft landing distance, runway surface conditions and runway surface friction based on the data collected by and available in the aircraft Flight Data Recorder (FDR) or other flight data management system, for example, the Quick Access Recorder (QAR), to provide all involved personnel in the ground operations of an airport and airline operations, including but not limited to aircraft pilots, airline operation officers and airline managers as well as airport operators, managers and maintenance crews, with the most accurate and most recent information on the true aircraft landing performance parameters to help better and more accurate safety and economical decision making.
US07957861B2	Tracking emissions data A system for use in transport vehicles includes an auxiliary power unit (APU) for a transport vehicle, the APU having a locator unit for use in a tracking and monitoring system 5 for communicating over a communication network. The locator unit can be attached to or installed within the APU or any other form of auxiliary provided power. Furthermore, the locator unit can have multiple sensor inputs that can read and store sensor data, including location information and emissions output. Then, the locator unit can transmit that information to a remote monitoring station or can use that information to calculate emission reduction data information for conversion to one or more emission reduction credits.
US07957836B2	Method used by robot for simultaneous localization and map-building A method used by a robot for simultaneous localization and map-building, including: initializing a pose of the robot and locations of landmarks; sampling a new pose of the robot during motion of the robot, and constructing chromosomes using the locations of the landmarks; observing the landmarks from a present location of the robot; generating offspring from the chromosomes; and selecting next-generation chromosomes from the chromosomes and the offspring using observation values of the landmarks.
US07957828B2	Temperature setting method for thermal processing plate, temperature setting apparatus for thermal processing plate, and computer-readable storage medium In the present invention, the line widths within a substrate of an etching pattern are measured for a substrate for which photolithography processing and an etching treatment thereafter have been finished. The line width measurement results are converted into the line widths of a resist pattern using relational expressions which have been obtained in advance. From the converted line widths of the resist pattern, coefficients of a polynomial function indicating variations within the substrate are calculated. Next, a function between line width correction amounts for the resist pattern and temperature correction values is used to calculate temperature correction values for the regions of the thermal plate to bring the coefficients of the polynomial function close to zero. Based on each of the calculated temperature correction values, the temperature for each of the regions is set.
US07957821B2	Systems and methods for statistical process control A system for performing statistical process control. A storage device stores a plurality of SPC charts, specifying data collected from a system during testing. A controller categorizes the SPC charts into a plurality of groups based on characteristics thereof. A detector determines whether the charts in any of the groups violate a preset rule. An alarm generator generates alarm information identifying the chart violating the rule.
US07957819B1	Disposable low profile transvenous electrode system for sequentially pacing the heart's right atrium and right ventricle (AV) A low profile transvenous electrode system for use in an emergency to sequentially pace both the atrium and ventricle of the heart in a dual chamber mode that includes a plurality of pre-formed, pre-shaped resilient insulated electrical wires bundled together in a tubular, flexible retaining sheath that is used as a guide and delivery system during insertion and removal of the electrode system. When the sheath is retracted, it allows the wires to escape from the sheath and because of their pre-formed shape, each wire having memory, the wires spread out and contact the endocardial surfaces inside the ventricle and atrium chambers. Each of the wires have ball tips to provide high current density and sensitivity.
US07957814B2	Shifting between electrode combinations in electrical stimulation device The disclosure is directed to techniques for shifting between two electrode combinations. An amplitude of a first electrode combination is incrementally decreased while an amplitude of a second, or subsequent, electrode combination is concurrently incrementally increased. Alternatively, an amplitude of the first electrode combination is maintained at a target amplitude level while the amplitude of the second electrode combination is incrementally increased. The stimulation pulses of the electrode combinations are delivered to the patient interleaved in time. In this manner, the invention provides for a smooth, gradual shift from a first electrode combination to a second electrode combination, allowing the patient to maintain a continual perception of stimulation. The shifting techniques described herein may be used during programming to shift between different electrode combinations to find an efficacious electrode combination. Additionally, the techniques may be used for shifting between different electrode combinations associated with different stimulation programs or program sets.
US07957807B2	Gastric electrical stimulation with therapy window anti-desensitization feature The disclosure is directed to gastric stimulation programmers, stimulators and methods for controlling delivery of gastric stimulation therapy to maintain the efficacy of the therapy over time. Maintaining the efficacy of gastric stimulation therapy may be possible by implementing one or more anti-desensitization features in a gastric stimulation controller or stimulator. As electrical stimulation therapy is continuously delivered to a patient, the stimulated tissue may become desensitized to the electrical stimulation therapy such that the beneficial effect of the electrical stimulation is diminished. Once desensitization occurs, the affected tissue may not respond favorably to electrical stimulation therapy. Application of one or more anti-desensitization features to control gastric stimulation therapy may reduce or prevent desensitization and effectively extend the efficacy of the therapy over time.
US07957804B2	Non-invasive battery recharger for electronic cardiac implants The present invention refers to a device used to recharge the battery of electronic cardiac implants, like implanted pacemakers and defibrillators. It can be used to recharge the battery after an emergency requirement, such as: defibrillation or in diagnosis and or reprogramming of implants, during which no energy is demanded from the internal battery, seeing that the energy feed becomes guaranteed (accepted) by the proposed device. The invention is composed by three essential components: a generator (A), a transmitter unit (B) and a receptor coil (C). The generator is destined to produce an energy signal with determined amplitude and frequency and that is carried across through a coaxial cable to the transmitter unit (B). The emitted magnetic field is captured by the receptor coil (C) that is implanted inside the human body, generating a voltage with the absence of the Gibbs phenomenon. Furthermore, the battery recharging device guarantees the energetic supply of a communication channel between the exterior for diagnosis and/or implant reprogramming. In this case, there will be no demand of energy from the internal battery.
US07957803B2	Atrial capture verification Methods and systems for classifying cardiac responses to pacing stimulation and/or preventing retrograde cardiac conduction are described. Following delivery of a pacing pulse to an atrium of the patient's heart during a cardiac cycle, the system senses in the atrium for a retrograde P-wave. The system classifies the atrial response to the pacing pulse based on detection of the retrograde P-wave. The system may also sense for an atrial evoked response and utilize the atrial evoked response in classifying the cardiac pacing response.
US07957792B2	Spatial resolution determination for cardiac mapping A non-contact cardiac mapping method is disclosed that includes: (i) inserting a catheter into a heart cavity having an endocardium surface, the catheter including multiple, spatially distributed electrodes; (ii) measuring signals at the catheter electrodes in response to electrical activity in the heart cavity with the catheter spaced from the endocardium surface; and (iii) determining physiological information at multiple locations of the endocardium surface based on the measured signals and positions of the electrodes with respect to the endocardium surface. Related systems and computer programs are also disclosed.
US07957786B2	Methods and apparatus for communicating signals between portions of an apparatus in relative movement to one another A data transmission system that includes a transmitter; a receiver; and a magnetically coupled rotary transformer having a first portion and a second portion in moveable relationship with one another. The transmitter is electrically and mechanically coupled to the first portion of the rotary transformer, and the receiver is electrically and mechanically coupled to the second portion of the rotary transformer. The transmitter and the receiver are configured to wirelessly communicate data across the rotary transformer while the first and the second portions of the rotary transformer are in relative rotary motion.
US07957773B2	System and method for enabling safe hands-free operation of a wireless telephone in a vehicle A system and method for using a wireless telephone in a vehicle in a hands-free mode. The wireless telephone and the vehicle have corresponding mating units. When a predetermined condition is satisfied while the mating units are not united, one of the wireless telephone and the vehicle is disabled. The predetermined condition can be one of several situations. For example, one condition may be that an attempt is being made to use the wireless telephone in the vehicle while the vehicle is moving. Another condition may be that an attempt is being made to move the vehicle while the wireless telephone is being used in a wireless communication session within the vehicle. When the mating units are united, the vehicle functions normally and the wireless telephone operates in a hands-free mode.
US07957767B2	Communication devices with integrated gyrators and methods for use therewith A device includes an on-chip gyrating circuit that generates a motion parameter based on motion of the device. An RF transceiver generates an outbound RF signal from an outbound symbol stream, transmits the outbound RF signal to a remote station of a wireless network, and generates an inbound symbol stream from an inbound RF signal received from the at least one remote station. A processing module is coupled to process the motion parameter to produce motion data, to convert outbound data into the outbound symbol stream, and to convert the inbound symbol stream into inbound data, wherein the outbound data includes the motion data.
US07957765B1	Mobile phone with integrated wireless camera A wireless mobile telecommunications device includes a detachable camera that wirelessly communicates data with the device body. The device is usable not only to make and receive telephone calls in the conventional manner but also to take photographs or video. When the camera portion is detached from the device body, the camera can be used in essentially the same manner as any digital photography or video camera. Images captured by the camera are wirelessly transmitted to the device body.
US07957757B2	Open loop power offset update Provided is an feedback mechanism to correct power control information in a broadcast signal that is determined to be incorrect by one or more devices that receive and rely on the broadcast information. A device that receives the incorrect broadcast information can determine a correction and to the information and provide a recommendation to the source of the broadcast information. The source can selectively determine whether to modify the broadcast information based on the recommendation from one or more devices. If the broadcast information is modified, subsequent devices that receive the broadcast information are provided with the modified information. If further changes are needed, the subsequent devices can provide further recommended changes.
US07957754B2	Method and system for authenticating short message calling party A method for authenticating a Short Message (SM) calling party, including: if a Signal Relay Function for support of Mobile Number Portability (MNP-SRF) module detects a calling party number carried in an SM belongs to its serving network after receiving a Mobile Originated (MO) SM, the MNP_SRF module adds an identifier of the MNP_SRF module's network to the calling party number. A Short Message Serving Center (SMSC) determines whether the SM passes calling party authentication according to the fact that whether the calling party number carries an identifier of the SMSC's network. The invention provides a system for authenticating an SM calling party, including: a Mobile Switching Center (MSC), a calling MNP_SRF module, a Number Portability Database (NPDB) and a Short Message Serving Center (SMSC). The invention may avoid a mobile number having subscribed to a new network from using resources of the SMSC of a network to which the subscription has been canceled.
US07957746B2	Power management and distributed scheduling for uplink transmissions in wireless systems To schedule uplink transmission time slots for a collection of mobile communication devices, a set of base station target interference patterns is associated with base stations. A time slot target interference pattern is assigned for each time slot and it repeats after several time slots. The time slot target interference pattern in a given time slot specifies the interference allowed by each time slot to a given base station by any single mobile. A priority index may be determined for each time slot for each mobile associated with the particular base station. The priority index may be based, in part, on a determined correlation between the time-slot target interference patterns and a potential interference profile of a mobile to which a time slot is to be allocated. A mobile's throughput requirement, the throughput already received over a specified past duration, the system fairness requirement, as well as the amount of data available for transmission are also used for evaluating the priority index.
US07957743B2	Self configuring and optimization of cell neighbors in wireless telecommunications networks The present invention relates to a cellular communications network and in particular to the problem of identifying cells for neighbor lists, or handover candidates when the cells are identified by a limited number of non-unique identities. The present invention includes a method for a radio base station, wherein the base station receives reports from one or more terminals in neighbor cells quality and non-unique identities. The match is sought in a neighbor cell list non-unique identity with a unique cell identity. If the match cannot be made without ambiguity, the base station causes the terminal to detect the unique cell identity. If the reason for the ambiguity is the particular cell is not included in the neighbor cell list it is included when its unique identity has been established. The uniquely identified cell is used if it is determined to perform a handover.
US07957741B2	Token-based receiver diversity A token-based receiver diversity processing is described. In one embodiment, a receiver diversity comprises repeaters receiving wirelessly transmitted packets from a mobile station, and one of the repeaters forwarding packets of the wirelessly transmitted packets to a switch if the one repeater is currently assigned to forward packets from the mobile station based on an indicator assigned prior to the wirelessly transmitted packets being sent.
US07957740B2	Apparatus and method for performing handoff to reduce number of session transfers in a mobile communication system A handoff apparatus and a method for reducing the number of session transfers in a mobile communication system are provided, in which an ANC determines whether a target ANT is included in an active set of the mobile communication system, establishes a connection session between the mobile communication system and an AT through a path connecting a target ANC of a different vendor and the target ANT if the target ANT is not included in the active set, and establishes the connection session between the mobile communication system and the AT through a path connecting the ANC and the target ANT if the target ANT is included in the active set.
US07957739B2	Method and apparatus for transmitting/receiving network sharing information about neighbor cells in a network sharing system A method and apparatus is provided for signaling network sharing information about neighbor cells in an NS system where a RAN is shared among a plurality of CN operators. In the signaling method, it is determined whether each of neighbor cells of a current cell in which a UE is located, is shared by a CN operator other than a CN operator controlling the neighbor cell. System information without network sharing information is generated if at least one of the neighbor cells is shared by a CN operator other than a CN operator controlling the neighbor cell. System information including the network sharing information is generated if none of the neighbor cells are shared by any CN operator other than CN operators controlling the neighbor cells. The system information is then broadcast to the UE from the current cell.
US07957734B2	Push/pull information system for airborne networks A wireless communications system, and a corresponding method, for use with an aircraft, includes airborne base station equipment mounted on the aircraft, the base station equipment capable of communication with wireless devices used by subscribers on the aircraft and with one or more wireless communications networks, and switching/transaction processing equipment capable of communication with the base station equipment. The system further includes aircraft location equipment capable of communication with the base station equipment, where the aircraft's geographic location, including latitude, longitude, and altitude, is determined; and a push-pull wireless information system that receives the aircraft's geographic location information. The push-pull wireless information system includes an information service notification mechanism that provides notifications to one or more service providers, the service providers providing goods and services of possible interest to the subscribers, and an information delivery mechanism that provides information related to the goods and services to one or more of the subscribers.
US07957731B2	System and method for determining mobile telephone voice quality in a live network A system and method for determining the quality of communications provided by a plurality of mobile telephones is provided. The method may comprise, for example, receiving one or more telephone voice signals from each mobile telephone; storing the one or more telephone voice signals in a memory; concurrently with aid receiving telephone voice signals from a mobile telephone, receiving one or more reference device voice signals from a reference device substantially co-located with the mobile telephone; storing the one or more reference device voice signals in a memory; determining voice quality data for the telephone voice signals; determining voice quality data for the reference device voice signals concurrently received with the telephone voice signals; and normalizing the voice quality data of the telephone voice signals from each mobile telephone based on the voice quality data of the reference device voice signals concurrently received with the telephone voice signals.
US07957730B2	System and method for estimating weighting parameters for antenna elements A weighting parameter estimation system for estimating a weight parameter for the antenna elements of a mobile terminal is provided. The system includes a prohibited space forming part to which electromagnetic waves should not be directed when the mobile terminal transmits a signal in wireless communications, and a weighting parameter determination unit configured to determine the weighting parameter for each of the antenna elements of the mobile terminal such that the power level of a test wave transmitted from or received in the prohibited space becomes the minimum.
US07957726B2	System and method for porting a personalized indicium assigned to a mobile communications device In one embodiment, a scheme is provided for porting a personalized indicium, i.e., a Personal Information Number or PIN, from a first mobile communications device to a second mobile communications device. Upon receiving identity information from the first mobile communications device via a secure peer-to-peer communication session, the second mobile communications device is operable to negotiate with a network node using at least a portion of the received identity information for reassigning the PIN to an identifier associated therewith. Upon successfully porting the PIN to the second mobile communications device, a service provisioning database is accordingly updated.
US07957725B2	Methods for providing enhanced telecommunication services A first method for facilitating personal contacts among a plurality of subscribers to a location-based person contact service provided by a service provider; a second method for communicating information to a user of a wireless device by a server; and a third method for real-time monitoring of vital signs of a living being. In the first method, personal profiles are transmitted to subscribers. In the second method, a message specific to both an establishment and the user is transmitted to a wireless device or smart display proximal to the user in the establishment. In the third method, information relating to a violated vital sign parameter determined from the monitoring is communicated to a local communication node.
US07957722B2	Method and user device for reproducing a data file A method and a user device (1) for projecting a data file through a user device (1) are disclosed. The user device (1) has a reproducing device (1.7), means for identifying the user device (1) in a mobile radio network (5), and biometric recording means. The user is authenticated with the transmitted biometric data in a remote server (7) and downloads a data file to be projected or a key for decrypting a data file from the remote server (7) over the mobile radio network (5) in the user device (1). With the reproducing device (1.7) integrated in the user device (1), the data file or presentation is reproduced. The invention also concerns the disclosed user device (1).
US07957717B2	System and method for differentiating between incoming and outgoing messages and identifying correspondents in a TTY communication A method and system are provided that examine incoming and outgoing TTY transmissions to determine an identifier for distinguishing between correspondents in a TTY call. The system may utilize existing contact information associated wit an incoming call to provide context to a user for accepting incoming calls and during conversations and may apply various display settings. For TTY users, the additional context simplifies the ability to conduct critical reasoning, especially those with cognitive impairments. In particular, a picture from the user's address book is provided to assist in identifying the caller. The other display settings may include modified font styles, colors, multi-line display etc. to differentiate between incoming and outgoing messages.
US07957714B2	Radio-frequency tuner with differential converter A system for tuning a radio-frequency signal includes a first input path, a second input path, a common reference generator, a selector, a mixer, and a filter. The first input path and the second input path propagate a first single-ended input signal and a second single-ended input signal, respectively, to the selector. The selector converts the first single-ended input signal and the second single-ended input signal into a first differential input signal and a second differential input signal, respectively, using a reference signal generated by the common reference generator.The selector selectively couples one of the first and the second input path to an input of the mixer. The mixer downconverts a selected on of the differential input signals received from the selector. The filter attenuates a portion of the downconverted input signal outside a passband associated with the filter.
US07957705B1	System and method for reducing radio frequency interference caused by a carrier A base station (BS) and method to reduce RF interference by a carrier. The BS includes a first power amplifier (PA) that emits a first carrier, a second PA that emits a second carrier, a processor, and data storage containing program instructions. The BS is operable in a first state in which the first PA is on and the second PA is off and a second state in which the first and second PAs are on. Execution of the instructions while the BS operates in the first state cause the processor to determine that the BS receives a mobile station communication and cause the BS to operate in the second state, and while the BS operates in the second state, cause the processor to determine that no mobile stations are registered as being authorized to be served by the BS and cause the BS to operate in the first state.
US07957704B2	Method and system for reducing AM/PM distortion in a polar amplifier Methods and systems for reducing AM/PM distortion in a polar amplifier are disclosed and may comprise adding an offset signal to an amplitude signal in the digital domain and removing the offset signal in the analog domain during polar modulation. A sum of an amplitude signal and an offset signal may be mixed with a phase signal in a first differential amplifier to generate a first voltage signal, and the offset signal may be mixed with the phase signal in a second differential amplifier to generate a second voltage signal, which may be subtracted from the first voltage signal. The amplitude and offset signals may be mixed with the phase signal by modulating a current in the differential amplifiers, which may comprise cascode differential amplifiers. The modulated current may be generated using a current source and a current mirror circuit, which may comprise a cascode current mirror.
US07957693B2	Wireless relay amplification apparatus A wireless relay amplification apparatus includes an interference canceller which generates cancellation waves to cancel interference waves from a mobile station antenna, which are included in downlink signals received by the base station antenna, a downlink amplifier which amplifies downlink signals from which the interference waves have been canceled by the interference canceller, an uplink amplifier which amplifies uplink signals received by the mobile station antenna, a receiver which detects a level of received signals based on the downlink signals from which the cancellation waves have been canceled by the interference canceller, and outputs a propagation loss calculated based on a difference between the detected reception level and a transmission level of the base station included in notification information in the downlink signals, and a controller which controls gain of at least one of the downlink amplifier and the uplink amplifier based on the propagation loss output by the receiver.
US07957688B2	Image forming method and image forming apparatus In an image forming method, an electrostatic latent image formed on a surface of a photoreceptor is developed into a developer image with a developer, and a printing paper transported on a transfer belt is brought into contact with the surface of the photoreceptor so as to transfer the developer image onto the printing paper. The printing paper is transported in a proper transport direction, in which a projection generated in one direction on the printing paper as a result of cutting the printing paper in a printing paper manufacturing process does not face a surface of the transfer belt at a leading edge of the printing paper being transported on the transfer belt. In this way, even in the presence of the projection generated when the printing paper is cut, the printing paper naturally strips off from the surface of the photoreceptor, thereby preventing toner contamination caused by a striping claw in contact with the leading edge of the printing paper.
US07957685B2	Guide member, endless belt, method of producing endless belt, and image forming apparatus using endless belt An endless belt 300 includes an endless belt substrate 10, and a guide member 100 having a rib member 20 and an abutment that is abutted against an edge of the endless belt substrate 10, wherein the abutment of the guide member 100 is abutted against at least one edge surface of the endless belt substrate 10. Further, the guide member 100 may be provided on at least one edge surface of the endless belt substrate 10 with an adhesive layer 30 disposed therebetween. The abutment of the guide member 100 may include a contact surface 41 that contacts the edge surface of the endless belt substrate 10, an extended section 43 that extends beyond the edge of the endless belt substrate 100, and a support surface that contacts one side of the endless belt substrate 10. Moreover, a reinforcing tape 50 may be bonded across the other side of the endless belt substrate 10 and the short width surface of the extended section 43 of the guide member 100.
US07957673B2	Toner transfer systems with an adjustable transfer belt for use in an image forming device The present application is directed to toner transfer systems with an adjustable transfer belt. The transfer belt transfers toner images from a first location to a second location. Two or more support rolls position and drive the transfer belt. A tensioning device is operatively connected to one of the support rolls. The tensioning device moves the support roll between a first position that places a first amount of tension on the belt, and a second position that places a lesser second amount of tension on the belt. The support roll is in the first position during image formation, and in the second position during non-image formation such as storage and shipping.
US07957666B2	Image forming apparatus An image forming apparatus is described. The image forming apparatus may include a casing including an image forming section, an ejecting section above the image forming section and an image scanning section above the ejecting section, formed with an ejecting port communicating with the ejecting section; and an operating section. A side surface of the casing closer to the ejecting port includes a generally vertical surface and an upper surface of the casing includes a generally horizontal surface. The casing is provided with an inclined surface inclined along a direction intersecting with the generally vertical surface and the generally horizontal surface for connecting the generally vertical surface and the generally horizontal surface with each other. The ejecting port is formed on the inclined surface. The operating section is inclined along a direction approaching a horizontal surface than the inclined surface under the ejecting port on the inclined surface.
US07957661B2	Control of overheating in an image fixing assembly An image fixing assembly includes a heating unit having a heating element and a fusing member enclosing the heating element; a backup member; and a heat conducting member. The fusing member is configured to rotate around the heating element. Further, the fusing member is capable of being heated by the heating element. The backup member is abuttingly coupled to the fusing member for configuring a nip portion therebetween, and is capable of pressing media sheets against the fusing member, when the media sheets pass through the nip portion. The heat conducting member is capable of retractably coupling to one of the fusing member and the backup member for enabling flow of heat between the one of the fusing member and the backup member, and the heat conducting member, for reducing a thermal gradient. Further disclosed is a method for fixing images on the media sheets using the image fixing assembly.
US07957660B2	Image forming apparatus having fixing device that responds to request when using decolorable ink An image forming apparatus includes: a first image forming unit which forms a first image on a first recording medium with a first material which is not thermally decolorized; a second image forming unit which forms a second image on a second recording medium with a second material which is thermally decolorized; a fixing unit which is on a common carrying path shared by the first recording medium and the second recording medium and fixes the first image to the first recording medium; and a control unit which controls the fixing unit so that the temperature of the second recording medium passing through the fixing unit becomes lower than a decolorizing temperature of the second material.
US07957657B2	Universal module for enabling measurements on color printers A measurement module for a printer generally includes a page diverter mechanism configured to selectively divert a sheet of media from a main media path to a module media path; a rotating drum configured to receive the media from the module media path and to affix the media on an outer surface of the drum; a measuring device spaced adjacent to the drum and configured to measure as aspect of the media affixed to the surface of the drum; and a sheet transport configured to remove the media from the drum. According to one embodiment, the module may include a drum with an electrostatic hold-down mechanism that captures a sheet and an axially translating measuring device that is configured to read the entire surface as the drum rotates. The measurement module also allows the printed media to cool to eliminate problems with color measurements due to thermo chromaticity.
US07957653B2	Phase control optical FSK modulator There is provided an optical modulator capable of controlling the phase of a USB signal and the phase of an LSB signal of an optical FSK modulated signal. A modulation signal is applied to a main Mach-Zehnder electrode (or an electrode C) (11) of a main Mach-Zehnder waveguide (MZC) (8) to switch the USB signal and the LSB signal, and so FSK modulation can be made. In order to control the phase of the optical signal to be outputted from the main Mach-Zehnder waveguide (MZC) (8), bias voltage is applied to the main Mach-Zehnder electrode (11), and the phases of the USB signal and the LSB signal are controlled. By doing so, FSK modulation with adjusted phases can be performed.
US07957648B2	Electromagnetic device with integral non-linear component An optical antenna assembly including multiple optical antenna elements, each of the optical antenna elements are arranged in a regular pattern and carried by a supporting body. The regular pattern of the plurality of optical antenna elements is nonuniform. Certain ones of the optical antenna elements are configured to respond to the one or more waves of light.
US07957642B2	Efficient and simple bit error rate calculation on optical transport layer Transport network interfaces operate to transport for Optical Transport Unit frames over an Optical Transport Network. Besides FEC bits for the Optical Transport Unit frames, the transmitting transport network interface provides sequences of error-determining bits for the Optical Transport Unit frames sent on working and protection communications channels. There is at least one sequence for each Optical Transport Unit frame, the number of bits in the at least one sequence much smaller than the number of bits in the Optical Transport Unit frame. The receiving transport network interface determines the bit error rates for the working and protection channels from the sequences of error-determining bits without decoding said Forward Error Correction bits and can select the working and protection channels accordingly.
US07957633B2	Focus adjusting apparatus and focus adjusting method There are provided a focus adjusting apparatus and method in which judgment of an object area to be focused can be favorably performed when the judgment of the object area to be focused is executed at the time of image-taking preparation operation. In the focus adjusting apparatus and method, a first operation of determining the object area to be focused is performed prior to the image-taking preparation operation, and a second operation different from the first operation is performed to execute a focusing operation at the time of the image-taking preparation operation. Prior to the first operation, whether or not an object to be focused can be predicted is judged to change a manner of the first operation based on a result of a judgment.
US07957620B2	Two-dimensional photonic crystal resonator The present invention intends to provide a two-dimensional photonic crystal resonator having a high Q-value. The slab-shaped body 21 is provided with cyclically arranged holes 22. The body 21 is divided into three areas 31-33 with the holes 22 arranged with cycle distances of a1 in area 31 and a2 in areas 32 and 33, which is smaller than a1. A waveguide 23 passing through the three areas is formed by linearly eliminating the holes 22. The waveguide 23 thus formed can propagate rays of light within a wavelength band that depends on the cycle distance of the holes 22. The cycle distance of the holes in the area 31 differs from that of the areas 32 and 33, and the wavelength band of the light propagating through the waveguide accordingly differs. Therefore, a ray of light whose wavelength is within the waveguide transmission wavelength band of the area 31 but outside of the waveguide transmission wavelength band of the other areas 32 and 33 will be confined within the waveguide of the area 31 and resonate therein. Thus, the waveguide in the area 31 functions as a resonator.
US07957619B2	All-fiber module for femtosecond pulse compression and supercontinuum generation An all-fiber optical pulse compression arrangement comprises a concatenated arrangement of a section of input fiber (e.g., a single mode fiber), a graded-index (GRIN) fiber lens and a section of pulse-compressing fiber (e.g., LMA fiber). The GRIN fiber lens is used to provide mode matching between the input fiber (supporting the propagation of chirped optical pulses) and the pulse-compressing fiber, with efficient pulse compression occurring along the length of the LMA fiber. The dispersion and length of the LMA fiber section are selected to provide the desired degree of pulse compression; for example, capable of reconstituting a femtosecond pulse as is used in supercontinuum generation systems.
US07957614B2	Suspension board with circuit and producing method thereof A suspension board with circuit includes a circuit board containing a metal supporting board, an insulating pattern formed on the metal supporting board, and a conductive pattern formed on the insulating pattern; an optical waveguide disposed on the circuit board; and a positioning portion provided on the circuit board in order to position the optical waveguide with respect to the circuit board.
US07957613B2	Automatic original feeding device, and image reader and image forming apparatus using automatic original feeding device An automatic original feeding device includes an original paper feed tray that loads an original to read the image, the original paper feed tray being supported on an upper face of a platen glass for an image reader that reads an image of the original passing through an original reading position set along a straight line on the upper face of the platen glass disposed at an upper end; an original paper output tray, original feeding members feeding sequentially the original laid on the original paper feed tray to the original reading position and the original paper output tray and a strip sheet attaching part attaching detachably a strip colored sheet, the strip sheet attaching part provided in a back platen member disposed in a portion opposed to the original reading position under the condition that the sheet attaching part is supported on the upper face of the platen glass.
US07957608B2	Image correction across multiple spectral regimes Systems, including apparatus and methods, for obtaining and/or correcting images, particularly from atmospheric and/or other distortions. These corrections may involve, among others, determining corrective information in a first (e.g., visible) wavelength regime, and then applying the corrective information in a second (e.g., longer) wavelength regime, such as infrared (IR) or millimeter-wave (MMW) wavelengths, in real time or with post-processing. For example, these corrections may include scaling a phase diversity correction from one wavelength to another. These systems may be useful in any suitable imaging context, including navigation, targeting, search and rescue, law enforcement, and/or surveillance, among others.
US07957604B2	Moving image coding apparatus, moving image decoding apparatus, control method therefor, and computer-readable storage medium In this invention, even if final code data is to be generated by selectively discarding code data for each bitplane, errors due to bitplane rounding down operation can be suppressed from being gradually accumulated in predicted data such as P- and B-pictures, thereby preventing a deterioration in image quality. For this purpose, a block segmentation unit (31) segments an input frame into a plurality of blocks, and supplies the respective blocks to a difference computing unit (32). The difference computing unit (32) outputs the blocks to a DWT unit (33) without any change when the intra-frame coding mode is set. When the inter-frame coding mode is set, the difference computing unit (32) outputs the result obtained by computing a difference from predicted data from a motion compensation unit (42) to the DWT unit (33). The frequency component data obtained by the DWT unit (33) and a quantization unit (34) is entropy-coded by an entropy coding unit (35), and a bitplane formed by bit information at the bit position of each component value is coded. A bitplane round-down unit (36) rounds down the code data of bitplanes from the least significant position to an upper bit position such that the resultant code amount becomes equal to or less than a target code amount. A code forming unit then generates code data. Only when the intra-frame coding mode is set, a dequantization unit (39) and inverse DWT unit (40) are executed to update a frame memory (41).
US07957600B2	Methods and systems for rate-distortion optimized quantization of transform blocks in block transform video coding Provided are methods and systems for rate-distortion optimized quantization and for skipping transform blocks that can take into account the rate-distortion tradeoff as well as the perceptual quality of reconstructed video.
US07957598B2	Methods and systems for dynamic scan compression A method for compressing data includes transmitting a requested compression factor such as a quality factor known in JPEG compression, to a scanner or like peripheral device. The type of communication link between the scanner or like device and a host computer is identified, and based on the communication link type, the requested compression factor is altered to generate a new compression factor subsequently used to compress the data. The amount of buffer, such as scan buffer, used by the scanner or peripheral device may also be used to alter the compression factor prior to compression.
US07957597B2	Foreground/background segmentation in digital images An analysis and classification tool compares at least a portion of a captured image and a reference image of nominally the same scene. One of the captured and reference images is taken with flash and the other is taken without flash. The tool provides a measure of the difference in illumination between the captured image and the reference image. The tool compares the measure with a threshold and segments a foreground region from a background region based on the measure.
US07957589B2	Arbitrary power function using logarithm lookup table A display device performs the fractional part of gamma translation by using a logarithm lookup table. The logarithm of an image data value is found in a look-up table. The retrieved result is multiplied by the fractional portion of the power, and a search in the look up table for this product produces an index related to the desired result. In another embodiment, rather than a search of the first look up table, a second inverse logarithm look up table is used to produce the desired result by looking up the exponentiation of the product.
US07957583B2	System and method of three-dimensional pose estimation A system and method for identifying objects using a machine-vision based system are disclosed. Briefly described, one embodiment is a method that captures a first image of at least one object with an image capture device, processes the first captured image to find an object region based on a reference two-dimensional model and determines a three-dimensional pose estimation based on a reference three-dimensional model that corresponds to the reference two-dimensional model and a runtime three-dimensional representation of the object region where a point-to-point relationship between the reference three-dimensional models of the object and the runtime three-dimensional representation of the object region is not necessarily previously known. Thus, two-dimensional information or data is used to segment an image and three-dimensional information or data used to perform three-dimensional pose estimation on a segment of the image.
US07957578B2	Method for automatically inspecting polar directions of polar element A method for automatically inspecting positive and negative polar directions of a polar element on a substrate is provided. Firstly, an image of a standard substrate is retrieved to form a standard sample, and relevant data of the polar elements on a substrate to be inspected is obtained to form the inspected sample. Then, transforming the geometry coordinates to the pixel coordinates, using different shapes of frames to make each polar element be positioned within, and marking the positions, positive and negative polar directions of all the polar elements in the image of the standard substrate. A database is set up to record the relevant data of each polar element as the standard sample for inspecting. The standard sample is compared with all the samples to be inspected to inspect whether the polar directions of each polar element is correct or not.
US07957573B2	Dental image processing device A subtle color difference between a tooth and a color sample is made recognizable by accentuating the color difference therebetween. The invention provides a dental image processing device including a row-of-teeth image storing unit 21 in which a row-of-teeth image is stored; an area partitioning line provided movably on the row-of-teeth image; a selected color storing unit 29 in which color information for correcting the color of the row of teeth is stored; a color correction unit 30 that corrects the color of the row of teeth, using the color information stored in the color selection storing unit 29, at least in one area of the plurality of areas of the row-of-teeth image divided by the area partitioning line; and a display control unit 31 that displays the row-of-teeth image corrected by the color correction unit 30.
US07957572B2	Image processing device and method The present invention relates to an image processing device and a corresponding image processing method for processing a multi-dimensional data set of image data, in particular of three-dimensional medical volume image data, including a segmentation unit (6, 16, 26) for a segmentation of an image object in said data set. Further, the present invention relates to a computer program for implementing said image processing method on a computer. In order to allow for a segmentation which is robust in terms of vulnerability to image artifacts and accurate in terms of reflecting anatomical details, wherein the results of the segmentation are achieved within reasonable short processing time an image processing device is proposed which comprises—model-based segmentation means (61, 161, 261) for performing a model-based segmentation (32) of said data set for obtaining a multi-dimensional model representing a first approximation of said image object; data-driven segmentation means (62, 162, 262) for performing a data-driven segmentation (33) of said multi-dimensional data set for obtaining a multi-dimensional subset of said multi-dimensional data set representing a second approximation of said image object; optimizing means (63, 163, 263) for adapting said model and/or said subset for optimizing a similarity value between said first and said second approximation; and —selecting means (64, 164, 264) for selecting said adapted model or said adapted subset as a segmentation of said image object.
US07957570B2	System and method to generate an illustration of a cardiac region of interest A system and method to generate an illustration of a cardiac region of interest of an imaged subject is provided. The method includes generating a three-dimensional model from a series of acquired images of the cardiac region of interest; measuring a series of values of at least one functional parameter of the cardiac region of interest; generating a map of a spatial relation of the plurality of values of the functional parameter in spatial relation to the three-dimensional model of the cardiac region of interest; generating a three-dimensional model of a vessel structure leading to the cardiac region of interest; generating an output image that includes combining the three-dimensional model of the cardiac region of interest, the map of the series of values of the functional parameter, and the three-dimensional model of the vessel structure in spatial relation to one another relative to a common coordinate system.
US07957564B2	Authentication apparatus, authentication method and program An authentication apparatus is provided to improve efficiency in the use of memory while maintaining the accuracy of authentication.The authentication apparatus includes: extraction means that extracts a plurality of points on an authentication target from an image obtained by shooting the authentication target unique to a living body; connection means that connects the points extracted by the extraction means; storage means that stores information indicating a connection state of the points being connected by the connection means and information indicating the points as authentication information; and reproduction means that reproduces, based on the authentication information in the storage means, the authentication target to be compared with the other.
US07957558B2	System and method for optically tracking a mobile device A system and method for optically tracking a mobile device uses a first displacement value along a first direction and a second displacement value along a second direction, which are produced using frames of image data of a navigation surface, to compute first and second tracking values that indicate the current position of the mobile device. The first tracking value is computed using the second displacement value and the sine of a tracking angle value, while the second tracking value is computed using the second displacement value and the cosine of the tracking angle value. The tracking angle value is an angle value derived using at least one previous second displacement value.
US07957555B2	Method and apparatus for localizing an object part in digital image data by updating an initial position estimate based on a displacement of the object part A method and an apparatus localize an object part location in a digital image. The method according to one embodiment accesses digital image data containing an object part; obtains an initial position estimate for object part location of the object part; extracts a sub-image window around the initial position estimate of the object part location; calculates feature values based on pixel values within the sub-image window; and determines an updated position estimate for the object part location based on the calculated feature values.
US07957540B2	Automobile audio system The invention features a dual-mode audio system for an automobile which in one mode is configured for play while the doors to the automobile are closed, and in a second mode, is configured for play while a door, such as a tailgate, is opened. Additionally, the invention also features a battery monitor which monitors the operating condition of the battery and may estimate the energy capacity of the battery. The system may also take power conservation measures if the system determines that the engine is not running or the operating condition of the batter reaches a predetermined state. The invention also features a remote control integrated within a key fob for controlling the audio system. The invention features various orientations for mounting a pair of loudspeakers within an automobile which directly radiate sound out of a rear opening of the automobile.
US07957534B2	System and method for security association between communication devices within a wireless home network Embodiments of the application describe a method and system for discovering and authenticating communication devices and establishing a secure communication link within a wireless home network without requiring a secure channel. According to an embodiment, communication devices exchange public keys using multiple messages each including at least a portion of the public key of the sending device. The devices authenticate the receipt of the public key and establish a shared master key. The shared master key is used to further derive a session key for securing the application data between the communicating devices for a current session.
US07957529B2	Procurement and audit of digital rights management event data A method to procure and audit digital rights management (DRM) event data by collecting a first set of event data in a first event data format, converting the first set of event data to one or more standardized event data formats, and communicating the first set of event data to an event data collection server for storage. The method may also include collecting a second set of event data in a second event data format, converting the second set of event data to one or more standardized event data formats, and communicating the second set of event data to the event data collection server for storage. The method may also include storing the first and second sets of event data in a centralized repository, authorizing access to the event data, and performing an event data audit corresponding to the event data.
US07957521B2	Method and system for user prioritization within telecommunication services and in particular within call completion services A method and system for hierarchical prioritization and execution of call completion services are provided. When a caller applies for a call completion service, the caller is identified and assigned a priority from among different priorities such as high priority or regular priority. Thereafter, attempts to execute call completion services are performed hierarchically by launching call completion services for callers having a higher priority before similar attempts are performed for callers of a lower priority. Hence, call completion services are handled according to the priority assigned to the callers rather than the order in which each caller applied for a call completion service.
US07957517B2	Method and apparatus for providing internet protocol call transfer in communication networks A method and apparatus for enabling a network provider, in concert with IP technology and protocols, to provide the ability to offer a simple pre-answer or post-answer call redirection, such as call transfer, to customers with IP endpoints is disclosed. The present invention allows call transfers to be initiated from an IP endpoint but processed in the packet network, e.g., the VoIP network instead of being processed by the endpoint. When a redirecting party (RP) receives a call from a calling party (CP), the RP simply sends a VoIP signaling message to the network to initiate a call transfer to redirect the call from the CP to a TP instead and the network will complete the call transfer on behalf of the RP.
US07957516B2	System and method for selecting a destination number upon receiving a dialed number from a calling party A method, system and computer program for utilizing destination information stored in a database are disclosed. The database is queried for information about a service located at a destination, and location information of a requesting party is determined. Routing information is determined based upon the location information of the requesting party and the destination information of the service. The routing information is utilized to establish a route between the requesting party and the destination of the service.
US07957514B2	System, method and computer program product for conveying presence information via voice mail A system, method, and computer program product are provided for conveying availability information of a calling party to a called party. A PBX serving the telephones of the calling and called parties is connected to a presence server. In an embodiment of the invention, the presence server is also connected to a computer and/or other information device (such as a personal data assistant or telephone) of the calling party. After the calling party has left a voice mail message for the called party, the called party will subsequently retrieve the message. In an embodiment of the invention, the PBX then queries the presence server as to the availability of the calling party. The presence server senses whether the calling party has indicated his or her presence; if so, it is inferred that the calling party is probably present and available for a return call. If the presence server detects no such indication by the calling party, it is inferred that the calling party is likely to be absent. The presence server responds to the query of the PBX by indicating the calling party's likely availability (or absence) to the PBX. Based on this information, the PBX modifies the voice mail message to include a statement that the calling party is either available or unavailable.
US07957508B2	Dedicated breast radiation imaging/therapy system System, apparatus and methods specialized for breast and related tissue radiation therapy and imaging of a prone patient but also usable for supine patient if desired or needed. A special treatment radiation source such as a LINAC unit generates radiation of types and energy ranges specifically matched to breast tissue. Any one or more of several imaging technologies may be used to localize the tissue to be irradiated and to generate information for therapy planning, adjustment, and verification.
US07957505B1	X-ray radiography for container inspection Arrangements of X-ray inspection systems are described for inspecting high-z materials in voluminous objects such as containers. Inspection methods may involve generating a radiographic image based on detected attenuation corresponding to a pulsed beams of radiation transmitted through a voluminous object. The pulsed beams of radiation are generated by a high-energy source and transmitted substantially downward along an incident angle, of approximately 1° to 30°, to a vertical axis extending through the voluminous object. The generated radiographic image may be analyzed to detect on localized high attenuation representative of high-z materials and to discriminate high-z materials from lower and intermediate-z materials on the basis of the high density and greater attenuation of high-z material for higher energy (3-10 MeV) X-rays, and the compact nature of threatening masses of fissionable materials.
US07957504B2	Method and apparatus for measuring enrichment of UF6 A system and method are disclosed for determining the enrichment of 235U in Uranium Hexafluoride (UF6) utilizing synthesized X-rays which are directed at a container test zone containing a sample of UF6. A detector placed behind the container test zone then detects and counts the X-rays which pass through the container and the UF6. In order to determine the portion of the attenuation due to the UF6 gas alone, this count rate may then be compared to a calibration count rate of X-rays passing through a calibration test zone which contains a vacuum, the test zone having experienced substantially similar environmental conditions as the actual test zone. Alternatively, X-rays of two differing energy levels may be alternately directed at the container, where either the container or the UF6 has a high sensitivity to the difference in the energy levels, and the other having a low sensitivity.
US07957497B2	Clock and data recovery circuits using random edge sampling and recovery method therefor A clock and data recovery (CDR) circuit comprises a data sampling unit which latches serial data input in response to data clock signals, and outputs a plurality of sampling data, the data clock signals maintaining a constant phase difference and having mutually different phases, an edge sampling unit which outputs an edge sampling signal generated by sampling edge information of the serial data in response to a selection edge clock signal, the selection edge clock signal being randomly selected from among a plurality of edge clock signals, a data selection unit which selects at least two consecutive sampling data from among the plurality of sampling data, and a decoding unit which performs a logical operation of the sampling data selected by the data selection unit and the edge sampling signal.
US07957490B2	Insertion of repetitive PN sequences into DTV data fields An echo cancellation reference signal is generated within a DTV transmitter by approximating a pair of successive repetitive PN sequences with 8VSB symbols arranged in sequences that are capable of being generated by ⅔ trellis coding. The trellis coding is controlled so that the two sequences of 8VSB symbols can be linearly combined to generate a repetitive PN sequence doubled in amplitude and superposed on a constant-value pedestal. After this linear combining is performed by a comb filter in a DTV receiver, the resulting signal is convolved with the PN sequence as known a priori at the DTV receiver. This is a correlation procedure which generates the impulse response of the channel through which the DTV signal was received. The channel impulse response (CIR) provides a basis for computing the weighting coefficients of adaptive channel-equalization filtering in the DTV receiver.
US07957489B2	Digital amplifier and television receiving apparatus A digital amplifier including a clock generation unit configured to output a clock signal, a pulse width modulation unit configured to pulse width-modulate the clock signal based on an input signal, a driving unit configured to alternately drive at least two switching elements which convert the output of the pulse width modulation unit, an analysis unit configured to analyze characteristics of the input signal, and a control unit configured to control frequencies of the clock signal based on an output of the analysis unit.
US07957479B2	Apparatus and method for supporting distortionless vector perturbation in multiple antenna system An apparatus and method for supporting distortionless vector perturbation in a Multi-Input Multi-Output (MIMO) system are provided. The apparatus includes a transmitter for supporting distortionless vector perturbation in a MIMO system. The transmitter includes a label inserter for generating a label and for inserting the label into a user information bit, a scrambler for scrambling the user information bit inserted with the label and for generating N independent candidate sequences, a modulator for modulating the N independent candidate sequences according to a modulation scheme and a vector perturbation unit for adding a limited offset vector so that the modulated symbols are mapped to a constellation point in a feasible region. The apparatus and method provide vector perturbation with improved performance and reduced computational complexity.
US07957464B2	Digital signal receiver A digital signal receiver including: a signal edge detector configured to receive a signal including a code and detect an edge of the signal; a reference point detector configured to detect a reference point for pulse width detection from a rising time point or falling time point of the edge detected by the signal edge detector; a pulse width detector configured to detect a pulse width from the rising time point or falling time point of the edge and the reference point; a sampling point determination module configured to generate a histogram of the pulse width and determines a sampling point of the code based on an analysis result of the histogram; and a sampling module configured to perform a sampling of the code based on the sampling point determined by the sampling point determination module.
US07957461B2	Calibrating automatic test equipment Calibrating automatic test equipment (ATE) includes determining an offset between a reference timing event and a channel event, where the channel event is associated with a communication channel of the ATE, and adjusting signal transmission over the communication channel based on the offset. Determining the offset may include obtaining a first time at which a reference timing signal is received at a device associated with a reference timing source, obtaining a second time at which the reference timing signal is received at a device associated with the communication channel, obtaining a third time at which a channel signal is received at the device associated with the communication channel, obtaining a fourth time at which the channel signal is received at the device associated with the reference timing source, and calculating the offset using the first time, the second time, the third time, and the fourth time.

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