Document	Document Title
US08215414B2	Rock drilling method and rock drilling machine A pulse drilling machine (1;1′) for the generating of shock wave pulses in a tool direction (R) has an impulse piston (4;4′) with a housing (2), and a device (8) for abruptly changing fluid pressure influencing the impulse piston to achieve a force resultant on the impulse piston in the tool direction to generate a shock wave pulse in a drill string (13; 13′) which is connected to the machine, a first fluid chamber (14;3′) inside the housing which in operation is arranged to exert a pressure in the tool direction on the impulse piston. The machine has a fluid flow channel (11; 18; 19), which includes a device for damping fluid flow flowing from the first fluid chamber through the fluid flow channel obtained when influencing the impulse piston (4; 4′) in a direction opposite to the tool direction (R) by rock reflexes in the drill string during drilling.
US08215409B2	Method and apparatus for expanded liner extension using uphole expansion An expansion assembly is run into the well as the expandable liner is made up. A work string is tagged into the expansion assembly and run to depth. Pressure drives the swage to initially expand and move uphole with the attached work string until the liner is expanded to set at least one external packer. The balance of the expansion in the uphole direction is continued until the string is expanded into sealing support of a higher string in the wellbore and the variable swage comes out of the hole with the work string. A shoe is milled out and the process can be repeated.
US08215406B2	Wellbore method and apparatus for completion, production and injection A method, system and apparatus associated with the production of hydrocarbons are described. One apparatus includes a swellable packer element around a primary and a secondary flow path, wherein the packer is configured to block flow in a portion of a wellbore annulus. One method includes disposing sand control devices having shunt tubes and a packer within a wellbore adjacent to a subsurface reservoir. The packer is then set within an interval, which may be an open-hole section of the wellbore. With the packer set, gravel packing of the sand control devices in different intervals may be performed. Then, hydrocarbons are produced from the wellbore by passing hydrocarbons through the sand control devices with the different intervals providing zonal isolation. In some embodiments, intervals may be alternatively packed and plugged, wherein the plugged intervals are not packed. In addition, the method may also include disposing the sand control devices and packer into the wellbore in conditioned drilling fluid. The conditioned drilling fluid may be displaced adjacent to the sand control devices by a carrier fluid. Again, once the packer is set, the gravel packing the intervals with the carrier fluid having gravel may be performed.
US08215405B1	Method to shut down a high pressure oil/gas well that is leaking under blowout conditions Year 2010 showed us that the oil/gas industry was not prepared to shut down in few days a high pressure oil/gas well. The Gulf of Mexico was polluted by thousands of barrels of oil that were leaking from a high pressure well. The environment damage was humongous as well as the economical loses. Here, I am presenting a method to shut down a high pressure oil/gas well in matter of days rather than in months. This method keeps the well integrity. This method is effective even if the well integrity was compromised.
US08215400B2	System and method for opening a window in a casing string for multilateral wellbore construction A system for opening a window in a casing string (42) positioned in a wellbore (32). The system includes a hydraulic pressure intensifier (116) having a housing and a piston assembly with a differential piston area. The piston assembly is longitudinally shiftable relative to the housing and is initially secured relative thereto to prevent longitudinal movement therebetween. An anchor assembly (114) is operable to longitudinally secure the hydraulic pressure intensifier (116) within the casing string (42). A window opening tool (118) operably associated with the hydraulic pressure intensifier (116) is operably engagable with the casing string (42) such that when the anchor assembly (114) is longitudinally secured within the casing string (42) and the piston assembly is unsecured relative to the housing under hydrostatic pressure, longitudinal movement of the piston assembly transmits a force to the window opening tool (118), thereby opening the window in the casing string (42).
US08215395B2	Fracturing and gravel packing tool with shifting ability between squeeze and circulate while supporting an inner string assembly in a single position A fracturing and gravel packing tool has features that prevent well swabbing when the tool is picked up with respect to a set isolation packer. An upper or jet valve allows switching between the squeeze and circulation positions without risk of closing the wash pipe valve. The wash pipe valve can only be closed with multiple movements in opposed direction that occur after a predetermined force is held for a finite time to allow movement that arms the wash pipe valve. The jet valve can prevent fluid loss to the formation when being set down whether the crossover tool is supported on the packer or on the smart collet.
US08215393B2	Method for treating well bore within a subterranean formation The invention discloses a method of creating a polymerized composition in a well bore: providing a polymerizable composition made of a polymerization initiator and a monomer polymerizable by frontal polymerization; introducing the polymerizable composition into the wellbore; exposing the polymerizable composition to a trigger to activate the frontal polymerization; and creating the polymerized composition.
US08215392B2	Gas-assisted gravity drainage (GAGD) process for improved oil recovery A rapid and inexpensive process for increasing the amount of hydrocarbons (e.g., oil) produced and the rate of production from subterranean hydrocarbon-bearing reservoirs by displacing oil downwards within the oil reservoir and into an oil recovery apparatus is disclosed. The process is referred to as “gas-assisted gravity drainage” and comprises the steps of placing one or more horizontal producer wells near the bottom of a payzone (i.e., rock in which oil and gas are found in exploitable quantities) of a subterranean hydrocarbon-bearing reservoir and injecting a fluid displacer (e.g., CO2) through one or more vertical wells or horizontal wells. Pre-existing vertical wells may be used to inject the fluid displacer into the reservoir. As the fluid displacer is injected into the top portion of the reservoir, it forms a gas zone, which displaces oil and water downward towards the horizontal producer well(s).
US08215389B2	Apparatus and method for formation evaluation A method for acquiring a sample of a virgin fluid from a subsurface formation penetrated by a wellbore surrounded by a layer of contaminated fluid is disclosed. The method includes abutting a first packer against a wall of the wellbore, and extending at least a portion of a second packer beyond the first packer, wherein the second packer is at least partially disposed in the first packer. An inlet to a first flowline is at least partially defined by the first packer, and an inlet to a second flowline is defined by the second packer. The method further includes drawing one of virgin fluid, contaminated fluid and combinations thereof into the first flowline; and drawing virgin fluid into the second flowline.
US08215383B2	Stress and torque reducing tool A stress and torque reducing tool has a plunger that reciprocates inside of a body. The tool is connected between the pump and the sucker rod string and reduces stress transmitted therebetween. The body and plunger have longitudinally extending surfaces located at the plunger upper end portion, which surfaces cooperate and limit rotation of the body with respect to the plunger. An upper fluid port is located in an upper end of the body, while one or more lower fluid ports are located in a lower end of the body.
US08215379B2	Feedwater debris trap A debris filter trap to prevent potentially damaging debris carried by the feedwater entering the pressure vessel of a once through steam generator from entering into the section of tubes which are positioned within the confines of an integrally contained economizer of the once through steam generator. The trap will remove foreign material, from the feedwater flow, that is larger than the space between the tubes, and thus prevent debris particles that are large enough to get lodged in the tube spacing from entering the economizer.
US08215377B1	Heat transfer device with flexible cooling layer A heat transfer device generally includes a flexible cooling layer for use in heat pipe technology for example. The flexible layer has outer and inner surfaces. A backing layer has an outer surface and an inner surface facing the inner surface of the flexible layer. A rigid separator portion is disposed between the inner surfaces of the flexible and backing layers, and has inner and outer surfaces. The inner surfaces of the flexible and backing layers and the rigid separator portion define a sealed chamber. An evaporable working liquid is contained within the sealed chamber. The working liquid expands when heated to expand a volume within the sealed chamber, such that the flexible layer extends away from the sealed chamber. The flexible layer, when extended transfers heat through the sealed chamber to a cooler area of the device.
US08215376B2	Continuous cast molten metal mold and casting system A continuous cast molten metal mold and casting system is disclosed, which may include a heat distribution or temperature management system for billet type molds, a mold assembly expansion system for continuous cast molds and/or an adjustable mold bore length mechanism.
US08215372B2	Method and apparatus for consumable-pattern casting A method of making a casting is disclosed. At least one support member has at least one first portion and a plurality of second portions connected to a mold core. The mold core is positioned at least in part in a sealed interior volume of a negative mold. The first portion is positioned outside the interior volume. The second portions are positioned at least in part inside the interior volume. A consumable pattern material is introduced into the negative mold to create a consumable pattern. The support member is disposed at least in part outside the consumable pattern. The consumable pattern is removed from the negative mold. A shell is formed around the consumable pattern. A casting material is introduced into an interior of the shell to create a final casting. The support member is disposed at least in part outside the final casting. A mold core is also described.
US08215370B2	Temporary window replacement apparatus and methods of use Devices and methods for temporarily replacing a window are disclosed herein. An exemplary temporary window replacement apparatus includes a plurality of angled frame members, a plurality of elongated frame members, and a plastic film. Typically, at least one of the angled frame members can change angles within a given plane. Additionally, at least one of the elongated frame members typically can adjusted lengthwise along a longitudinal axis to connect with the ends of two angled frame members. The end of each angled frame member typically can be connected and removed from the end of each elongated frame member. Moreover, some of the frame members have attached stability flange to aid in securing the temporary window apparatus to an automobile window frame. Methods of temporarily replacing a window include constructing a temporary window frame with a heat-shrinkable plastic film and then applying heat thereto.
US08215362B2	Manufacturing apparatus of absorbent article and manufacturing method of absorbent article An apparatus for manufacturing an absorbent article includes a guide mechanism having a feeding portion for feeding an elastic member. The feed portion is alternately movable in a first direction and a second direction, and the elastic member is brought into contact with a web conveyed in a machine direction and is ananged in a waveform. The first direction is from a center portion of the web to a first end portion in a cross direction crossing the machine direction. The second direction is from the center portion to a second end portion opposite to the first end portion. A distance between the feeding portion and a nip point at which the elastic member comes in contact with the web is largest when the nip point exceeds a position in the waveform where an angle between the machine direction and a tangent to the waveform is largest.
US08215353B2	Studs for a tire A tire includes a carcass, a tread band having a radially outer tread surface and a plurality of radially extending recesses, and an anti-slip structure disposed in one of the radially extending recesses. The anti-slip structure includes a first end portion, a second triangular middle portion, and a third triangular end portion. The third end portion includes three radially extending projections for providing traction over ice. The shape of the radially extending recess corresponds to the shape of the anti-slip structure such that the anti-slip structure is both radially and rotationally secured within the recess relative to the tread band of the tire.
US08215352B2	Pneumatic tire A pneumatic tire includes a wide cross belt having a width not smaller than 92% and not lager than 100% of a width of a tread; and a narrow cross belt having a width smaller than that of the wide cross belt and a tire width direction outer end positioned on a tire width direction outer side with respect to a tire width direction inner edge of an outermost land portion. The tread has open sipes penetrating through the outermost land portion in the tire width direction and formed along the tire circumferential direction, and lug grooves extending along the open sipes on a contact surface of the outermost land portion and having a tire width direction outer end positioned between a tire width direction outer end of the wide cross belt and the tire width direction outer end of the narrow cross belt.
US08215345B2	Fuel flow shaper A fuel dispensing nozzle system including a spout configured to dispense fuel flowing therethrough, and a flow shaper positioned in the spout such that fuel flowing through the spout passes through the flow shaper. The flow shaper includes a central cavity and a plurality of outer cavities positioned about the central cavity. The central cavity and the plurality of outer cavities each have a L/D ratio, wherein the L/D ratio of the central cavity is less than the L/D ratio of each of the outer cavities.
US08215342B2	Hydrogen supplies and related methods A hydrogen source comprises a first hydrogen reservoir for containing hydrogen in a first form and a second hydrogen reservoir for containing hydrogen in a second form different from the first form. The hydrogen source comprises a means for converting hydrogen from the first form to hydrogen gas and transferring the hydrogen gas from the first hydrogen reservoir to the second hydrogen reservoir. An interface is provided for transferring hydrogen from the second hydrogen reservoir to a hydrogen reservoir in a portable device. The interface comprises a fluidic coupling. The hydrogen source may be used to provide hydrogen fuel to a wide range of portable devices.
US08215341B2	Resin pipe with mouthpiece and method of manufacturing the same Disclosed is a resin pipe with a mouthpiece comprising: a mouthpiece; and a resin pipe of which one end is joined to the mouthpiece, wherein the one end is disposed in the mouthpiece, and an outer peripheral surface of the one end is joined to an inner peripheral surface of the mouthpiece by fusion.
US08215332B1	Zone indicator and vacuum breaker combination The object of the present invention is to provide a zone indicator and vacuum breaker combination. The zone indicator assembly includes a body having a funnel shaped interior providing a seal seat. A seal is provided upon a vacuum breaker flange of a shaft assembly. A lower end of the shaft assembly engages with a valve operating stem assembly of a rotating valve selecting disc. A zone indicator cap is assembled to an upper end of the shaft assembly. The cap adjusts vertically upon a body and cap interface disposed upon an upper end of the body.
US08215325B2	Calf, ankle, foot, or leg rest for cane and cane with device attached A calf, ankle, foot, or leg rest device which can be snapped onto a cane for use or snapped off when only the use of the cane is desired. The invention also encompasses the combination cane and rest device. Many people who either have a permanent leg, knee, or foot disability or are recovering from a leg, knee, or foot operation are required to keep their leg in a horizontal position while seated. The rest device is a J-shaped soft padded bracket that is rigidly attached to the cane. The height of the bracket along the cane is adjustable to provide comfort and ease of use. The cane may be positioned at a convenient horizontal distance from the user as desired. In this way, the user may rest his or her calf, ankle, or heel on the rest device. Once the rest device is engaged by the user's leg, the cane is perfectly balanced on the ground. A user can comfortably keep his leg in a horizontal position for hours.
US08215320B2	Cosmetic compact incorporating an applicator holder A cosmetic compact includes a base and a cap. The base includes a cosmetic well in which a cosmetic may be disposed. The cap is affixed to the base to form an enclosure, with the cosmetic well disposed therein. The cap includes a cosmetic applicator holder, also disposed within the enclosure, which is adapted to engage and secure a cosmetic applicator opposite the cosmetic well.
US08215318B2	Device, system, and method for applying hair color A system for coloring hair includes a specialized brush having a narrow tapered end and an elongated handle portion and an opposite bristle head consisting of at least three bristle grouping. Each bristle grouping is separated by a gap. The bristle groupings align with corresponding channels on a color tray. The color tray consists of at least three parallel and elongated channels, each channel can retain a separate color chemical.
US08215317B2	Self-lighting cigarette The present invention relates to a self striking cigarette comprising: cigarette paper, where said cigarette paper includes a phosphorous dipped edge; a tobacco product, where the tobacco product is rolled within the cigarette paper; and a filter, where said filter is attached to the rolled cigarette paper at the non-phosphorous end. In one exemplary embodiment, the cigarette paper is ribbed along the phosphorous edge to provide a reinforcement means. The self striking cigarettes according the present invention may be packaged as a plurality of phosphorous tipped cigarettes stored within a cigarette box, where said cigarette box includes at least one striking surface in the lower corner of the cigarette box. The present invention also contemplates a method of creating a self striking cigarette.
US08215313B1	Medical garment systems A medical garment system for comfortably restraining at least one limb of a gown wearer while permitting the wearer to receive medical treatment. The medical garment system is particularly useful for special needs patients, such as autistic children, who may become frightened when medical personnel are attempting to administer medication. Such patients may react by violently moving their arms, causing themselves or the medical personnel harm. When the arms of such a patient are comfortably subdued during such procedures, the patient is better protected from injury.
US08215312B2	Therapeutic mouthpiece for treating sleep disorders An upper tray adapted to receive a wearer's maxillary teeth. A lower tray adapted to receive the wearer's mandibular teeth. A first upper ridge is carried on a maxillary occlusal surface of the upper tray. A second upper ridge is carried on the maxillary occlusal surface of the upper tray posterior to and spaced from the first upper ridge. A lower ridge is carried on a mandibular occlusal surface of the lower tray received between the first upper ridge and the second upper ridge. The lower tray is movable to a forward position where the lower ridge abuts the first upper ridge to limit forward movement of the lower tray in relation to the upper tray, and the lower tray is movable to a rearward position where the lower ridge abuts the second upper ridge to limit rearward movement of the lower tray in relation to the upper tray.
US08215311B2	Medical displaceable contouring mechanism One aspect relates to reducing a pressure differential across one or more supporting surfaces of a body surface of an individual at least partially by displacing at least one displaceable contouring unit to at least partially conform to one or more contours of the body surface of the individual. Certain aspects can relate to stabilizing at least the one or more supporting surfaces of the body surface of the individual at least partially with at least one of the at least one displaceable contouring unit Other aspects can relate to relatively displacing at least one displaceable contouring unit with respect to a medical device portion based at least in part on a contour of an individual to support at least a portion of the individual while limiting pressure applied to the individual.
US08215300B2	Unit dose cartridge and dry powder inhaler A dry powder inhaler having improved aerodynamic properties for diluting, dispersing, and metering drug particles for increasing the efficiency of pulmonary drug delivery to a patient is described. The inhaler comprises, in general, a housing having an air intake, an air flow-control/check-valve, a mixing section and a mouthpiece. A cartridge loaded with a single dose of medicament can be installed in the mixing section.
US08215290B2	Marine carbon canister A fuel tank vent system includes a carbon canister and an engine fuel system coupled to the carbon canister. Fuel vapor discharged from a fuel tank included in the engine fuel system flows during certain conditions into the carbon canister to encounter charcoal stored in the carbon canister. Hydrocarbon material associated with the discharged fuel vapor is captured by the charcoal and a stream of cleaned vapor is discharged from the carbon canister to the atmosphere.
US08215283B2	Cooling system for variable cylinder engines A cooling system for variable cylinder engines is is designed to most efficiently cool engine during engine full displacement operation and to heat inactive cylinders and cool active cylinders during engine reduced displacement operation. By heating inactive cylinders, the fuel efficiency during reactivation is improved and the optimal operation of the catalytic converter may be maintained.
US08215280B2	Power linkage assembly for a high efficiency internal explosion engine A four-stroke, piston-powered internal explosion (“IE”) engine for providing power output through a rotating crankshaft. The IE engine includes an engine block having power cylinders formed therein for receiving working pistons, bearing means for supporting the crankshaft, and a crankshaft supported within the bearing means having an output end extending outside of the engine block and a plurality of offset power cranks. The IE engine further includes connecting rods operably coupled to the power cranks and configured to transfer power from the working pistons to rotate the crankshaft, and working pistons that are received into the power cylinders and operably coupled to the power cranks. Each working piston has a head end positioned adjacent to a cylinder head to form a compression chamber and is configured to receive power from an explosion of a compressed volume of air/fuel mixture located within the compression chamber, and to transfer the received power to the connecting rods. The IE engine is further configured so that the compressed volume of air/fuel mixture is substantially constant, and a peak compression ratio is maintained, from an angular position of the rotating crankshaft of at least 20 degrees prior to a TDC position of a compression stroke, to an angular position of at least 20 degrees after the TDC position of a power stroke, and prior to detonation.
US08215277B2	Spark plug A spark plug is provided capable of speedily burn off carbon adhered on an insulator. With this spark plug, in order to improve the temperature rise performance of a front end side of an insulator 10, an amount of protrusion H (mm) of the insulator 10, a front-end side volume Vi (mm3) of the insulator 10, and a front-end side volume Vc (mm3) of a center electrode 20 are respectively defined. In consequence, it is possible to improve the recovery property of carbon fouling while retaining the voltage resistance of the insulator 10 and the durability of the center electrode 20. In addition, since the recovery property of carbon fouling improves, it is possible to prevent the occurrence of side sparks generated from the center electrode 20 to a metal shell 50 along the insulator 10, thereby making it possible to stably ensure proper ignition of an air-fuel mixture.
US08215276B2	Compact switchable hydraulic lash adjuster with hydraulic lost motion assist An improved deactivation hydraulic lash adjuster wherein the prior art lost motion spring or springs formerly located within the body of the DHLA and below the pin housing are either omitted completely or are reduced in length, spring force, and/or number and are augmented hydraulically, allowing a shorter, more compact lifter body and reduced overall lifter length. The prior art lost motion spring chamber becomes a hydraulic chamber connected to a new pressurized oil supply gallery containing an accumulator in the engine. An embodiment having no lost motion spring and solely hydraulic lost motion return can be even shorter than a spring-hydraulic hybrid because the potential hydraulic pressure to be brought against the pin housing is not a function of the length of the lost motion chamber, which length is limited only by the required displacement of the pin housing.
US08215273B2	Camshaft adjuster for an internal combustion engine with integrated valve slide A camshaft adjuster (1) for an internal combustion engine, which is attached on the end to a camshaft (2) and which acts as a transmission element to a drive wheel (3) for the rotating drive of the camshaft (2), with an internal wheel (4) locked in rotation with the camshaft (2) and a coaxial external wheel (5) that can rotate relative to the internal wheel. A control valve with a valve slide (6) is provided for controlling a fluid for pressurizing pressure spaces (20) arranged between the internal wheel (4) and the external wheel (5), and is provided coaxial to the internal wheel (4), in order to create angular adjustment between the internal wheel (4) and the external wheel (5). The internal wheel (4) has a central valve slide space (24) extending in the axial direction toward the camshaft (2) in which the valve slide (6) is held so that it can move in the axial direction and the valve slide space (24) of the internal wheel (4) includes at least one control edge (7), with which the valve slide (6) interacts in a sealing manner.
US08215270B2	Reciprocating combustion engine Methods and apparatus are described for a reciprocating combustion engine. A method includes operating a dual-piston engine including introducing a gas into a pair of combustion chambers; introducing a fuel into the pair of combustion chambers; compressing the gas; combusting the gas and the fuel; and exhausting combusted gases. Each of the pistons drives a reciprocating crankshaft that protrudes through a cylinder wall and cooperatively rotate a pair of rotors by engaging substantially sinusoidal cam tracks on the rotors. An apparatus includes a cam driven, concentric drive rotary-valve dual-piston engine.
US08215265B2	Animal compartment assembly An animal compartment assembly that has a roof that is supported by a sidewall. The sidewall has a door therein that is slidably within the sidewall. A floor supports the sidewall to complete the structure. There is a storage chamber that is disposed within the sidewall and has a door that opens to provide access to the storage chamber from outside the sidewall wherein items for the animal can be stored.
US08215255B2	Ship rudder and ship provided therewith A twisted rudder blade for a ship having a twist that is adapted to the configuration of the flow of the water in the region of the rudder blade if no propeller in operation is disposed in front of the rudder blades in the direction of travel of the ship.
US08215252B1	System and method for dynamic stabilization and navigation in high sea states A system is disclosed for dynamically stabilizing a ship in high sea states. A six degree-of-freedom robotic arm is attached to the ship, and a thruster is located at the distal end of the manipulator. The manipulator is be used to orient the thruster to counteract wave forces that act against the ship's hull in real time. This active balancing technique can be used to keep the ship substantially erect in rough seas by making continual corrections to the ship's body attitude. The center of gravity and the center of buoyancy of the ship are utilized, along with a precisely oriented and controlled thrust at the end of the manipulator, to optimally control the ship's state against impending waves.
US08215251B2	Undergarments having finished edges and methods therefor An undergarment includes at least one piece of fabric that forms the undergarment. The undergarment has leg openings. The fabric includes edges that surround the leg openings, whereby at least one of the edges surrounding the leg openings has a plurality of fibers and at least some of the fibers have free ends terminating at the at least one of the edges surrounding the leg openings. A bead of a cured polymer is disposed over the at least one of the edges surrounding the leg openings. The cured polymer bead forms a finished edge that is stretchable for adjusting to movement of the fabric.
US08215246B2	Portable staging and leg bracket therefor A portable staging system adjustable for quick assembly and disassembly and inherent sturdiness. The portable staging system includes a bracket assembly for detachably coupling a support member to the platform of the portable stage. The bracket assembly includes a bracket sleeve adapted to receive the support member, a brace member shiftable within the bracket sleeve between a support member engaging position and a support member clearing position, and an actuator assembly for simultaneously shift first and second drivers of the brace member.
US08215234B2	Method for roller adjustment in a printing press and dampening unit of a printing press A method for roller adjustment in a printing press includes providing a first roller, a second roller and a third roller. The second roller bears both against the first roller and against the third roller and is oriented in an axially nonparallel manner relative to the third roller. The first roller is displaced into a position in which the first roller is oriented in an axially nonparallel manner relative to the third roller. A dampening unit for carrying out the method is also provided.
US08215232B2	Cooking apparatus and cleaning method for the same A cooking apparatus for assuring easier cleaning of contaminants, such as food residue, attached to the wall surface of a cavity in the cooking apparatus is disclosed. The cooking apparatus includes a body defining the outer appearance of the cooking apparatus, and a cavity defining a space for heating and cooking an object and having an inner surface to form an oil-repellent surface by being heated. In a cleaning method for the cooking apparatus, the inner surface of the cavity is heated prior to cooking food, to have an oil-repellency. The inner surface makes it difficult for the contaminants to be attached thereto. Even if the contaminants are attached, the contaminants have a very low adhesive power and thus are easy to clean.
US08215230B2	Collapsible salad spinner A collapsible salad spinner includes a bowl, basket, and lid. Each of the bowl and basket are formed such that they are collapsible, with the bowl and basket being collapsible while nested within one another.
US08215229B2	Machine for the preparation of coffee and the like A machine for preparing coffee or the like. The machine includes a pump supplying water; a unit for preparing and dispensing of coffee, with a dispensing seating, and an upstream electric heater for heating the water passing through the heater; a hydraulic circuit which connects the pump to the inlet of the heater and which includes solenoid valves assuming a rest configuration in which the heater is substantially emptied of water, and a working configuration in which the heater is enabled to receive and be traversed by a flow of water sent by the pumping devices for the preparation of the coffee; and a control unit (ECU) arranged for activating the heater and causing the solenoid valves to change to the working configuration only when a command is issued for the preparation and dispensing of coffee.
US08215225B1	Large caliber autoloader An air, land, or sea vehicle may include a gun and a rotatable turret ring. An autoloader may be disposed in a basket fixed to the turret ring. The autoloader may include a turntable that rotates independently of the turret ring. An elevator having a track may rotate with the turntable. A carriage may be linearly translatable on the track of the elevator in directions toward and away from the plane of the turntable. A transfer device may be rotatably fixed to a pivot of the carriage. The transfer device may include a rail and a gripper that is linearly translatable on the rail.
US08215222B1	System, method, and apparatus for improving the performance of ceramic armor materials with shape memory alloys Ring-shaped shape memory alloys put disk-shaped ceramic materials in a state of compression. The rings are radially deformed to introduce plastic strain into the rings. The rings are sized to closely receive the disk-shaped ceramic strike plates. When the assembly is heated, the rings attempt to regain their original shape and thereby put the ceramic strike plates into uniform, two-dimensional compression.
US08215220B2	Programming process for the fuse of a projectile and programming device enabling the implementation of such process The invention relates to a programming process and device for a fuse of a projectile using a programming coil transmitting by induction a programming signal to reception means integral with the fuse. This process is characterized in that the programming signal is transmitted from at least one second programming coil that is separate from the first one, each coil being linked individually to electronic control means and the two coils being arranged so as to be able to lie in proximity to the fuse of the projectile when the latter passes in the feed means of the weapon, the coils being arranged such that the projectile fuse passes successively in front of each coil, particularly adapted to the programming of medium caliber projectiles.
US08215219B2	Food product slicer with gauge plate based shutdown operation A food product slicer includes a carriage assembly is mounted to the base for reciprocal movement back and forth past a cutting edge of a knife. An adjustable gauge plate provides variable slice thickness for food product carried by the carriage assembly. During automatic slicing, when the gauge plate is moved from the open position to the closed position, a slicer controller automatically shuts down the carriage drive in a controlled manner that causes the carriage to stop at its most forward position.
US08215217B2	Apparatus for mounting a stop rule on the machine table of a table saw The invention relates to an apparatus for mounting a stop rule on a machine table of a table saw by means of an adapter. In one embodiment, the adapter includes on one side a clamping bar protruding from a plate for engagement into a longitudinal groove of the stop rule, and on the opposite side means for connection to a clamping element of a rule carrier attached to the machine table. The plate of the adapter carrying the clamping bar is supported between two columns that are fastenable on the rule carrier, and carries on its back side, facing the rule carrier, a vertically adjustable clamping plate for coupling the clamping element of the rule carrier fixedly against the back side of the plate. The clamping plate is connected to the adapter plate via two releasable screws that are vertically adjustable in two vertical elongated holes of the plate.
US08215216B2	Integrated blade lubrication controller A blade lubrication system for a sawmill having a blade, chain or band saw, and a control mechanism for activating said blade, chain or band. The blade lubrication system automatically activates cooling and cleaning of the blade, or band when the control mechanism is activated, and automatically deactivates the cooling and cleaning of the blade, chain or band when the control mechanism is deactivated.
US08215206B2	Damaged bolt and screw removing devices A bit for removing a broken fastener comprises a tip from which extend two or more notches separated by traction or biting surfaces formed from two-sided frusto-conically-shaped regions. The surfaces are bounded on one side by a nonlinear cutting edge and on the other side by a non-cutting edge and are configured to cut into the fastener when the bit is rotated in a direction opposite to the fastener's direction of engagement. Specific embodiments include configurations where the cutting edges extend at different angles with respect to the bit axis, where the biting surfaces comprise a plurality of serrations, and where the cutting edges are separated by flutes which spiral along a longitudinally extending periphery of the bit.
US08215203B1	Handlebar clamp to accommodate a multiplicity of handlebars for a bicycle having a handlebar post and a transverse clamping plate A handlebar clamp which can be removably affixed to the transverse clamping plate of any type of bicycle thereby allowing the bicycle to accommodate a multiplicity of handlebars. The handlebar clamp can be fitted to accommodate a multiplicity of different transverse clamping plates. The clamp is held in position by a quick-release attachment to the transverse clamping plate of a bicycle. The clamp has two jaws, the lower of which has at least two different sized partial openings, one each on its upper and lower sides, so that the lower jaw, upon rotation, accommodates different sized handlebars.
US08215200B2	Intermediate shaft with low sliding load for the steering column of a motor vehicle A low sliding load intermediate shaft comprising a female member slightly receiving a male member and a series of metal strips, such as three, fitted therebetween. The metal strips are retained in position since they are received into the cavities of a fastening cage clamped to the outer surface of the male member. They allow longitudinal movement friction of both members eliminating clearance and radial play with a total effectiveness in torque transmission at any time.
US08215198B2	Backlash eliminator A backlash eliminator includes an input shaft (15) coupled to a driving motor (20) and having a drive gear (52); an output shaft (14) fixing a gear (W), as an object to be cut, thereon, and having a driven gear (42); and a stationary intermediate shaft (16) and a moving intermediate shaft (17) disposed parallel to the input shaft and the output shaft, and having large intermediate gears (62, 72) meshing with the drive gear, and small intermediate gears (63, 73) meshing with the driven gear, and a switching regulating valve (31) for pressing the moving intermediate shaft in its axial direction so that an output-side backlash elimination torque (Ts) between the driven gear and the small intermediate gear (73) acts in the same direction as the direction of generation of a cutting load torque (Tw) generated in the circumferential direction of the gear during machining of the gear.
US08215181B1	Evaluation technique for bonded, dual wall static and rotating airfoil materials The present invention provides a test specimen configured for mechanical load life characterization testing of a dual wall bonded airfoil for use in a turbomachinery device. The dual wall bonded airfoil has a spar and a skin bonded to the spar. The test specimen includes a main stress body, which includes a test spar component configured to represent the spar of the dual wall bonded airfoil; a test skin component configured to represent the skin of the dual wall bonded airfoil; and a test bond joint bonding the skin component to the spar component. The test bond joint is configured to represent the actual bond joint between the spar and the skin of the dual wall bonded airfoil. The test specimen is structured to simulate the dual wall bonded airfoil for testing in a mechanical testing machine.
US08215177B2	Apparatus and methods for applying stress-induced offset compensation in sensor devices Apparatus and methods for applying stress-induced offset compensation and/or scale factor correction in sensor devices are provided. One sensor device (100, 300, 500, 700) includes an integrated circuit device (110, 310, 510, 710), a transducer (120, 320, 520, 720) coupled to the ASIC device, and a stress sensor (130, 330, 530, 730) coupled to the transducer or the integrated circuit device and configured to measure stress on the sensor device independent of the transducer. Another sensor device (900) includes a transducer, a sensor package (940) enclosing the transducer, and a stress sensor (930) coupled to the sensor device package and configured to measure stress on the sensor device independent of the transducer. A method includes detecting, via a stress sensor, an amount of stress being applied to the sensor device and adjusting, via the stress sensor and independent of the transducer, an output of the sensor device by the detected amount of stress.
US08215176B2	Pressure sensor for harsh media sensing and flexible packaging MEMS pressure sensing elements, the fabrication methods of the sensing elements, and the packaging methods using the new sensing elements are introduced to provide a way for a harsh media absolute pressure sensing and eliminating the negative effects caused by the gel used in the prior art. The invention uses vertical conductive vias to electrically connect the enclosed circuit to the outside, and uses a fusion bond method to attach a cap with the embedded conductive vias over a device die having a circuit for example a piezoresistive Wheatstone bridge to sense pressure. New packaging methods comprise a) a two-pocket housing structure and using a surface mounting method to attach a new sensing element into one pocket by a ball grid array (BGA), and b) a single pocket structure and using conventional die attach and wire bonding. Both methods can be used for harsh media pressure sensing but without the negative effects caused by the gel in prior art.
US08215175B2	Quantitative evaluation device of atomic vacancies existing in silicon wafer, method for the device, silicon wafer manufacturing method, and thin-film oscillator A quantitative evaluation device and method of an atomic vacancy, which are capable of efficiently and quantitatively evaluating an atomic vacancy existing in a silicon wafer. A quantitative evaluation device 1 is equipped with a detector 5 including an ultrasonic generator 27 and an ultrasonic receiver 28, a silicon sample 6 formed with the ultrasonic generator 27 and the ultrasonic receiver 28 on a silicon wafer 26 comprising perfect crystal silicon, a magnetic force generator 4 for applying an external magnetic field to the silicon sample 6, and a cooler 3 capable of cooling and controlling the silicon sample 6 to a range of temperatures lower than or equal to 50K. The ultrasonic generator 27 and the ultrasonic receiver 28 are each equipped with a transducer 30 including a thin film oscillator 31 formed from a high-polymer material with a physical property capable of following an expanding action of a silicon wafer 26 in association with a temperature drop in the above range of the temperatures and whose molecular axes are oriented in the direction of an electric field when decreasing temperature with the electric field applied thereto and further, including electrodes 32, 33 for applying an electric field to the thin film oscillator 31.
US08215171B1	Uniform mass sensitivity thickness shear mode quartz resonator A ring electrode design that produces a uniform mass sensitivity distribution across a TSM device is presented. A new technique and apparatus to measure this mass sensitivity distribution is also presented. Novel electrode geometries on thickness shear mode (TSM) quartz resonators achieve radial uniformity of mass sensitivity, how receptive the device is to mass loadings, and high frequency stability across the active sensing area of the sensor device. The device allows for absolute mass measurement down to the nanogram level. Fabricated devices utilizing model predictions were tested using this apparatus, and good agreement between theory and experiment is found.
US08215167B2	Scoop having a parking anchor for measuring and dispensing powdered or granular material A scoop for measuring and dispensing powdered or granular material has at least one projection, such as a fin, multiple intersecting fins, or a spike, which enable the scoop to be “parked” in the surface of a powdered or granular food product without the handle of the scoop coming in contact with the product. The projection is preferably molded unitary with the scoop and handle. Unless the container is vigorously shaken, dropped, or subjected to extreme accelerative or decelerative forces, the scoop will remain in its parked position until the container is reopened for a further dispensing of the powdered or granular food product. The scoop may be packaged as an assembly in combination with a discardable floating scoop retainer disk, that is placed on the surface of the granular or powdered product, and prevents the scoop from sinking below the surface during shipping and handling.
US08215166B2	Capacitive probes and sensors, and applications therefor, and multimode wireless devices Sensor includes electrodes on internal layer of multilayer printed circuit board, and sensing circuitry drives electrodes and reads signal having characteristic based upon capacitance between electrodes. Board may have first layer second layer, with electrodes between layers. One layer may be thicker than other layer such that capacitance external to board is primarily contributed from adjacent other layer. Electrodes may be on internal surface and sensing circuitry may be on opposing external surface. Components for sensing circuitry may be assembled to board such that board and components are multilayer printed circuit board assembly. Circuitry having wireless transmitter and wireless receiver, wherein circuitry has operating mode to transmit signals remotely through transmitter and ship mode wherein transmitter is silenced, and in operating mode circuitry listens for signals indicating transmitted signal has been received, and if receiver has not received acknowledgement one signal then circuitry enters ship mode.
US08215163B2	Coating rigidity testing device A coating rigidity testing device includes a abrading machine, a base, two racks, and a actuator. The abrading machine is disposed on the base. The abrading machine includes a receiving chamber, a supporting arm, a pressure adjusting structure, and a scratching stylus. The receiving chamber includes a front plate. The extending arm includes a supporting arm is extended outwards from the front plate. The pressure adjusting member is extended outwards from the front plate and disposed above the supporting arm. The scratching stylus is received in the supporting arm, and configured for scratching nicks on a workpiece. The base includes a supporting surface supporting the abrading machine and the workpiece, and two first sidewalls parallel to each other. The two racks are arranged on two first sidewalls. The actuator is configured for driving the receiving chamber to move along the racks on the base.
US08215160B2	Sensor structure The present invention utilizes self-heating of electronic components to improve a humidity sensing part with low environment resistance, such as a condensation problem and the like, and also to enhance the heat radiation efficiency of electronic components. The humidity sensing part is used in an intake tube of an automobile by integrating, for example, with a heating resister type mass air flow measurement device. A humidity sensing element is mounted on an electronic circuit board in a mass air flow measurement device with the temperature thereof starting to increase immediately after a sensor has been actuated. This urges the temperature of the humidity sensing element to start increasing (being heated) immediately after the sensor has been actuated. To urge the humidity sensing element to be further heated, a base plate is composed of two types of materials, resin and metal. A part of the base plate holding an area of the electronic circuit board generating a large quantity of heat is composed of the metal. A part of the base plate corresponding to the periphery of the humidity sensing part which is to be heated is composed of the resin.
US08215158B2	Procedure and device for determining the vapor pressure of a fuel A procedure for determining the vapor pressure of a fuel in a tank is provided, whereby the sound velocity and/or a variable representing the sound velocity are determined the in the gas-filled compartment of the tank and the vapor pressure is assumed from the sound velocity and/or from the variable representing the sound velocity at a familiar total pressure.
US08215156B2	Method for measuring viscosity and/or elasticity of liquid Viscosity and elasticity of a liquid are measured by immersing and vibrating a liquid tester in the liquid to be tested and measuring three frequency values that are a resonance frequency value on an amplitude characteristic curve obtained through vibration of the liquid tester in the liquid being tested, a low frequency value lower than the resonance frequency value on the amplitude characteristic curve at a phase angle smaller than a phase angle of 90 degrees at a resonance point on a phase angle characteristic curve obtained through the vibration in the liquid being tested, and a high frequency value higher than the resonance frequency value on the amplitude characteristic curve at a phase angle larger than the phase angle at the resonance point on the phase angle characteristic curve.
US08215154B2	Method for locating pressure losses in vacuum bags Method for locating pressure losses in vacuum bags used in the manufacturing of composite material parts, according to which the vacuum bag with a part in its interior coated by airweave at a pressure lower than atmospheric pressure, is exposed to contact with a gas dispersion at atmospheric pressure of solid suspended tracing particles, preferably tar, which in the event of there being pressure losses in the vacuum bag, are deposited in the airweave areas close to them. The contact between the vacuum bag and the gas dispersion is performed preferably through an applier of said gas dispersion over the vacuum bag through an application device, either in open surroundings or in closed surroundings such as an autoclave.
US08215151B2	MEMS stiction testing apparatus and method A MEMS stiction testing method applies a first electrical signal to a MEMS device having two opposing surfaces to cause the two opposing surfaces to make physical contact. The two opposing surfaces produce a second electrical signal when in physical contact. The method then substantially mitigates the first electrical signal after detecting that the second electrical signal has reached a prescribed maximum value.
US08215148B2	Shear punching die assemblies A shear punching die assembly having first and second die units in which a material is punched to form a work while the material is clamped between the first and second die units is taught that preferably include a main punch contained in the first die unit and having a cross-sectional shape corresponding to a shape of the work, an ejector contained in the second die unit and positioned axially opposite to the main punch, an ejector biasing member normally biasing the ejector toward the main punch, an ejector retaining device that is capable of acting on the ejector when the first and second die units are in a closed condition, thereby retaining the ejector in a predetermined position, and an ejector releasing device that is capable of acting on the ejector retaining device when the first and second die units are opened over a desired distance, thereby releasing the ejector.
US08215130B2	Spinner for fiberizing glass and method A spinner for fiberizing glass has fiberizing holes formed in the spinner sidewall by a process utilizing an electron beam perforating process. A backing material used in the process is deposited on the walls of the fiberizing holes for increasing the corrosion resistance of the fiberizing holes. With regard to the formation of each fiberizing hole, an interaction of the backing material with an electron beam during the electron beam perforating process creates a gaseous backing material that expands through a hole created by the electron beam in the spinner sidewall to eject molten alloy material of the spinner sidewall made molten by the electron beam from the hole and deposit a thin substantially uniform coating layer of the backing material on the wall of the hole to increase the corrosion resistance of the fiberizing hole thus formed.
US08215129B2	Method of drawing microstructured glass optical fibers from a preform, and a preform combined with a connector A method of manufacturing a microstructured fiber, includes: providing a preform having a plurality of elongate holes; mating at least one, but not all, of the holes with a connector to connect the hole(s) to an external pressure-controller; drawing the preform into the fiber while controlling gas pressure in the hole(s) connected to the pressure-controller.
US08215126B2	Setting for gemstones, particularly diamonds A novel setting for a gemstone including a girdle, a crown on one side of the girdle, and a pavilion on the opposite side of the girdle, characterized in that the setting mounts the gemstone in an inverted orientation by prongs received in grooves formed in the crown of the gemstone such that the pavilion faces outwardly of the setting and the crown faces inwardly of the setting. Such a mounting is particularly useful when mounting a plurality of gemstones contiguously, in which case the prongs mounting each gemstone are concealed by the girdles of the gemstones. One embodiment is described wherein a plurality of gemstones are all mounted in the inverted orientation with the pavilions facing outwardly, and another embodiment is described wherein alternate gemstones are mounted in the inverted orientation with the pavilions facing outwardly, and with the remaining gemstone being mounted in the normal orientation with the crowns facing outwardly.
US08215120B2	Process for cooling a storage container A process for cooling a storage container, in particular a mobile storage container for a cryogenic medium, is described.According to the invention, the following process steps and features are provided: a) Direct or indirect connection of the storage container (S) that is to be cooled to a refrigeration circuit (2-8, V, T, a, a′), b) Whereby a cold medium, which is identical to or different from the medium that is to be stored in the storage container that is to be cooled, circulates in the refrigeration circuit, c) Whereby the cold medium is compressed (V), cooled (E), and expanded (T) to produce cold, and d) At least a partial stream of the cold medium (5, 7) is used for the cooling of the storage container (S) that is to be cooled.
US08215114B2	Expander lubrication in vapour power systems A vapor power generating system for generating power by using heat from a source of heat. The system has a closed circuit for a working fluid, and includes a heat exchanger assembly (1) for heating the fluid under pressure with heat from the source, a separator (8) for separating the vapor phase of the heated fluid from the liquid phase thereof, an expander (14) for expanding the vapor to generate power, a condenser (17) for condensing the outlet fluid from the expander (14), a feed pump (F) for returning condensed fluid from the condenser (17) to the heater and a return path for returning the liquid phase from the separator to the heater. The liquid phase of the working fluid contains a lubricant which lubricant is soluble or miscible in the liquid phase and a bearing supply path (21) is arranged to deliver liquid phase pressurized by the feed pump (F) to at least one bearing for a rotary element of the expander.
US08215113B2	Pedestal mounted turbocharger system for internal combustion engine A turbocharger system for an internal combustion engine includes a turbocharger with a utility pedestal extending between the turbocharger and a mounting surface associated with the engine. The utility pedestal includes a mounting pad for attaching the combined turbocharger and pedestal assembly to the engine, as well as internal oil and coolant supply passages for supplying the turbocharger with coolant and lubricating oil under pressure.
US08215111B1	Electrical generation from explosives An electrical generator converts the high blast pressures of explosives into useful electricity by capturing the explosive gases and using the high gas pressures to alternately push water hydraulically between two tanks and through water turbines connected to DC electric generators. Water expelled through a water turbine from one tank is used to fill the other tank. Batteries can be used to store the electrical energy generated, and inverters followed by transformers convert the DC electric from the turbine-generators to 110-VAC, 220-VAC, and 440-VAC. A microcomputer controller connected to various sensors and solenoid valves coordinates the timing and routing of the detonation of explosives, tank pressures, venting, valving, and load control.
US08215106B2	Compressed air energy storage system utilizing two-phase flow to facilitate heat exchange A compressed-air energy storage system according to embodiments of the present invention comprises a reversible mechanism to compress and expand air, one or more compressed air storage tanks, a control system, one or more heat exchangers, and, in certain embodiments of the invention, a motor-generator. The reversible air compressor-expander uses mechanical power to compress air (when it is acting as a compressor) and converts the energy stored in compressed air to mechanical power (when it is acting as an expander). In certain embodiments, the compressor-expander comprises one or more stages, each stage consisting of pressure vessel (the “pressure cell”) partially filled with water or other liquid. In some embodiments, the pressure vessel communicates with one or more cylinder devices to exchange air and liquid with the cylinder chamber(s) thereof. Suitable valving allows air to enter and leave the pressure cell and cylinder device, if present, under electronic control.
US08215102B2	Particulate filter regeneration apparatus and method of operating the same The particulate filter regeneration apparatus includes a driving function for driving an exhaust pipe injector to inject fuel into an exhaust pipe of an internal combustion engine by energizing an actuator of the exhaust pipe injector in order to regenerate a particulate filter provided in the exhaust pipe for collecting particulate matter contained in exhaust gas of the engine, a shutoff function for shutting off fuel supply to the exhaust pipe injector, and a diagnosis function of performing a diagnostic process in which the fuel shutoff function is caused to shut off fuel supply to the exhaust pipe injector, and the driving function is caused to energize the actuator in a state of fuel supply to the exhaust pipe injector being shut off by the shutoff function in order to make a determination whether the actuator is energized normally by the driving function.
US08215101B2	Exhaust purification device of an internal combustion engine In an internal combustion engine, an NOX purification catalyst (14) is arranged in the engine exhaust passage and an intermediate product producing catalyst (12) able to store NOX contained in the exhaust gas is arranged at the upstream of the NOX purification catalyst (14). The intermediate product producing catalyst (12) is fed with mist fuel, and intermediate products (33) comprising bonded molecules comprised of an NOX and hydrocarbon molecules more than an equivalent ratio with respect to an NOX molecule are produced from the NOX trapped in the intermediate product producing catalyst (12) or the NOX contained in the exhaust gas and the fed fuel.
US08215095B2	Model-based coordinated air-fuel control for a gas turbine A fuel controller, and associated method, provides a fuel control output signal to a fuel control actuator to control operations. The fuel controller determines the fuel control output signal based on rotational speed error. A combustion air controller provides a combustion air control output signal to a combustion air control actuator to control operations. A cross channel controller is in communication with the fuel controller and the combustion air controller. The cross channel controller provides a combustion air control modification signal to the combustion air controller. The combustion air control modification signal is determined from the fuel control output signal using an air versus fuel model. The combustion air controller determines a preliminary combustion air control signal based on an exhaust temperature error, and further determines the combustion air control output signal based on both of the preliminary combustion air control signal and the combustion air control modification signal.
US08215078B2	Building panel with compressed edges and method of making same Floorboards comprising a core and a surface layer with curved edge portions, which are formed by a compression of the core.
US08215073B2	Weather protection system Weather protection systems, for use in protecting structures and structural elements during severe weather events, are disclosed. Also disclosed are methods of assembling and installing weather protection systems. Weather protection systems of this invention provide fabric to cover a structural element; the fabric is connected to the structure via a clip. A clip of is invention may include features such as fastening points, anchor points, and engaging members; a clip may also introduce a desirable point of flexibility into a system of the invention. Other features of weather protection systems of this invention may include resin and straps.
US08215066B2	Multi-layer, revolving stadium roof A revolving canopy roof for a stadium includes a fixed half dome and revolving half dome. The fixed half dome has an outer layer clad with a plurality of shading tents, the plurality of shading tents comprising a plurality of triangular shading panels, an inner layer clad with a plurality of triangular ethylene tetraflouroethylene panels, and a plurality of bracing elements connecting the outer layer to the inner layer. The revolving half dome includes an outer layer clad with a plurality of shading tents, the plurality of shading tents comprising a plurality of triangular shading panels, an inner layer clad with a plurality of triangular ethylene tetraflouroethylene panels, and a plurality of bracing elements connecting the outer layer to the inner layer.
US08215058B2	Drip emitter with seed packet A seed germination device for use in connection with a drip irrigation system, which includes a drip irrigation emitter having a water inlet tube for connection to a water source, an emitter housing having a base and a perimeter wall that define a partially enclosed interior space, an open end, and a water outlet, and a cellulosic seed packet disposed within the enclosed interior space and over said water outlet tube. When the emitter housing is disposed on or under soil and the water turned on, the seed packet dissolves and the germination commences.
US08215056B2	Device for preventing plant growth around posts A device for preventing plant growth around a post, comprising an opaque sheet, an opening in the sheet, and a slit extending entirely from the opening to the perimetric edge. A fastener structure is arranged to fasten one of the edge portions to an other of the edge portions in a relationship wherein the edge portions overlap thereby effecting a slope of the sheet downwardly from the opening to the perimetric edge and wherein the opening is shaped to have a first shape when the edge portions are not overlapping and to have a second shape to conform to the post when the edge portions are fastened in the overlapping relationship.
US08215053B1	Method for improving seed germination efficiency A method for improving seed germination efficiency by reducing seedling loss caused by desiccation, temperature extremes, wind and water displacement, and consumption by animal and insect predators. The method comprises covering the medium for the seed growth with a layer of material which allows light transmission and provides a thermal barrier, and in addition applies a compacting force which brings the seed in better contact with the growing medium. The material also provides a barrier to protect the seed from animal and insect predators. The layer of material used preferably consists of a clear plastic membrane supporting the presence of a sufficient amount of water to allow the transmission of light, provide a thermal barrier, compact the seeds to the growing medium, and deter access from animals and airborne insects. The technique is applicable to all forms and seed germination including grass and vegetable gardens.
US08215050B2	Optical sight An optical sight is provided and may include an optical element and a reticle displayed on the optical element. A housing of the optical sight may include a base, a first post extending from the base, a second post extending from the base, and a cross member extending between the first post and the second post to define an opening receiving the optical element therein. The first post and the second post may extend above the opening and away from the base a greater distance than a top surface of the cross member.
US08215042B1	Picture hanging device for corners A picture hanging device for hanging pictures in corners featuring an adjustable first panel comprising a first inner telescopic panel and a first outer telescopic panel; an adjustable second panel comprising a second inner telescopic panel and a second outer telescopic panel, the first end of the second panel is pivotally connected to the second end of the first panel via a first hinge; an adjustable third panel comprising a third inner telescopic panel and a third outer telescopic panel, the first end of the third panel is pivotally attached to the first end of the first panel via a second hinge and the second end of the third panel is pivotally attached to the second end of the second panel via a third hinge; and a sliding hanger disposed on the third panel, the sliding hanger functions to hold a picture being mounted by the picture hanging device.
US08215031B2	Sole structure for a shoe A sole structure 1 for a shoe comprises an upper sheet portion 2 disposed on the upper side of the sole structure, and a plurality of curved sheet portions 3 (31-35) that are provided on the lower surface of the upper sheet portion 2, that have downwardly convexedly curved portions 31-35, respectively, and that are disposed side by side and partially overlapped with each other in the longitudinal direction. Each of the curved sheet portions 31-35 has a first end A (A1-A5) and a second end B (B1-B5) on the opposite sides of each of the downwardly convexedly curved portions 31-35. The first end A of the curved sheet portion 3 is located on the front side of the sole structure 1 and fixed to the lower surface of the upper sheet portion 2. The second end B of the curved sheet portion 3 is located on the rear side of the sole structure 1 and fixed to the external surface of the adjacent curved sheet portion 3.
US08215025B2	Prism tripod A Prism Tripod includes a planar base including a supported portion and a cantilever portion. Preferably the base includes a cantilever axis, and a point axis, wherein the cantilever axis within the cantilever portion and the point axis within the supported portion. The prism tripod including at least three legs supporting the base and a laser holder for supporting a locating device and a laser. The base is adapted to demountably receive the laser holder along the cantilever axis, wherein the laser and locating device mounted along the cantilever axis.
US08215024B1	Sighting device for a weapon A sighting device for a weapon has a light gathering fiber optic that projects an image onto a partially reflective optical lens which reflects the image back to the shooter. The lens has a reticle to allow the shooter to align the image on the lens and sight the device onto the target.
US08215022B2	Lubrication system for a food product slicer A food product slicer includes a base and a knife mounted for rotation relative to the base. A slide rod extends in a direction past the knife. A carriage assembly is mounted for reciprocal movement back and forth past a cutting edge of the knife. At least one bearing arrangement connects the carriage assembly to the slide rod to facilitate the reciprocal movement of the carriage assembly. The bearing arrangement includes a lubricant reservoir. A bearing bracket holds a bearing that rides on the slide rod. The lubricant reservoir is fluidly connected to deliver lubricant to the slide rod in proximity to the bearing.
US08215007B2	Method of assembling a heated insulating glass panel with a fitting A heated insulating glass panel, with a fitting, is provided. The heated insulating glass panel is formed from two dielectric sheets that are separated by a spacer, which has a spacer layer at the spacer edge. The fitting, which is made of a fitting base portion and a fitting tubular portion, is attached to the spacer layer at the spacer edge by way of, for example, two screws. Thus, the fitting provides a pathway for routing wires into and away from the heated insulating glass panel. If necessary, an elbow may be provided which attaches to the fitting tubular portion for changing the direction of the routing of the wires. In addition, conduit may be attached to the fitting to route the wiring to and from the heated insulating glass panel.
US08215004B2	Fabrication line A fabrication line that utilizes a jig pallet that is commonly used in processing equipment to efficiently finish and assemble semifinished products of plural shapes. The jig pallet includes a holding member D for holding a semifinished product W and an opening/closing device G1 for opening and closing the holding member D, and allows the semifinished product W to be mounted and dismounted by opening and closing the holding member D with the opening/closing device G1. The jig pallet is transported to processing equipment M1, M2, and M3 to allow the semifinished product to be processed in the fabrication line. An opening/closing driving device G2 that engages the opening/closing device G1 to open and close the holding member is provided along the fabrication line.
US08215002B2	Method of making a lamp coil Traditional methods of making headlamp coils have left a portion of the coils with slightly irregular forms. These irregularities can result in defects in the ultimate beam pattern. Accommodating these defects in robust lamp and headlamp optical systems can reduce the performance that might otherwise be available. The preferred coil is therefore continuously coiled as a straight body, and carefully cut into segments. Subsequently, legs are welded to the coil segment ends. The coil is then left substantially undistorted by the manufacturing process that would otherwise normally leave a portion of the coils distorted. The method particularly enables a functional center leg coil.
US08214997B2	Anchor structure with bidirectionally deflectable bore gripping fingers A bore gripping anchor structure for attaching articles to the outer surfaces of masonry materials and other solids which is actuated by a blind rivet type installation tool. A basic embodiment has an anchor component with bidirectionally deflectable fingers (20) and a concentrically situated and slidably housed actuator device which has a stem (30) and a force applying portion, anvil (40). After insertion into a bore in a first direction, the actuator device is pulled in the opposite direction, so that said anvil (40) interacts with said fingers (20) in a manner which causes said fingers (20) to first be deflected outward and into substantial contact with the wall of the bore, and with continued pulling of said anvil (40) in the opposite direction causes the end portions of said fingers (20) to deflect inward and behind said anvil (40), to couple the anchor structure with the bore.
US08214989B1	Pitot tube cover installation tool A tool for installing a pitot tube cover on an elevated pitot tube of an aircraft includes an adjustable light weight support pole carrying a brace for carrying and guiding the cover during installation over the pitot tube, wherein the brace includes upwardly projecting pliable pins for engaging tabs on the cover and a cross shaft for guiding movement of the cover into alignment and registration with said pitot tube.
US08214987B1	Remote vacuum or pressure sealing device and method for critical isolated systems A remote vacuum or pressure sealing apparatus and method for making a radiation tolerant, remotely prepared seal that maintains a vacuum or pressure tight seal throughout a wide temperature range. The remote sealing apparatus includes a fixed threaded sealing surface on an isolated system, a gasket, and an insert consisting of a plug with a protruding sample holder. An insert coupling device, provided for inserting samples within the isolated system, includes a threaded fastener for cooperating with the fixed threaded sealing surface on the isolated system. The insert coupling device includes a locating pin for azimuthal orientation, coupling pins, a tooted coaxial socket wrench, and an insert coupling actuator for actuating the coupling pins. The remote aspect of the sealing apparatus maintains the isolation of the system from the user's environment, safely preserving the user and the system from detrimental effect from each respectively.
US08214983B2	Process for producing piezoelectric ceramic devices An improved process for producing a piezoelectric ceramic device is disclosed, wherein the process includes the following steps: securing a metal plate in a mold cavity body by maintaining a binding area on a top surface of the metal plate, and that the top surface other than the binding area is enveloped, confined and secured; coating a metal paste on the binding area; placing a piezoelectric ceramic powder on the metal paste; pressing a pressing pillar on the piezoelectric ceramic powder; securing the pressing pillar in position; heating the mold cavity body so as to sinter the piezoelectric ceramic powder as a sintered body, and heating the mold cavity body so as to treat the sintered body to become a not-yet polarized piezoelectric ceramic sheet. Therefore, the same mold is employed for the piezoelectric ceramic powder sintering, the heat treatment, and the positioning and binding to the metal plate.
US08214980B2	Methods of manufacture of secured aerogel composites Embodiments of the present invention describe secured fiber-reinforced aerogels and laminate structures formed therefrom. In one embodiment a laminate comprises at least one fiber-reinforced aerogel layer adjacent to at least one layer of fiber-containing material wherein fibers from said at least one fiber-reinforced aerogel layer are interlaced with fibers of said at least one fiber-containing material. In another embodiment a laminate comprises at least two adjacent fiber-reinforced aerogel layers wherein fibers from at least one fiber-reinforced aerogel layer are interlaced with fibers of an adjacent fiber-reinforced aerogel layer.
US08214967B2	Floor tool The present invention relates to a floor tool for a surface treating appliance including, a sole plate comprising a floor engaging surface having forward and rearward floor contacting edges and a suction opening, a head which is pivotable relative to the sole plate about an articulation axis between forward and rearward positions, the head having a front sole plate engaging edge and a back sole plate engaging edge, and a connecting arm comprising an outlet in communication with the suction opening, at least a portion of the floor engaging surface of the sole plate extends beyond the back sole plate engaging edge of the head when the head is in the rearward position.
US08214966B2	Vacuum cleaner nozzle height indicator A nozzle height indicator for a vacuum cleaner. The nozzle height indicator has a height display adapted to be viewed by a user, a light source adapted to emit light, and a blocking member. The blocking member is adapted to be positioned in a first position in which it allows the light to illuminate the height display and a second position in which it substantially prevents the light from illuminating at least a portion of the height display. The blocking member may indicate the height of an associated vacuum cleaner inlet nozzle relative to a surface being cleaned. A vacuum cleaner inlet nozzle is also provided.
US08214965B2	Windscreen wiper device The invention relates to a windscreen wiper device (10), in particular for a motor vehicle, screwed to a chassis (12). Conventional windscreen wiper devices do not yield on an impact with a pedestrian and hence represent a significant injury risk for pedestrians. According to the invention, the risk of injury may be reduced whereby the housing openings (30), provided for housing screws (11) in the chassis (12) comprise a slot (31) at the edge of the housing opening (30).
US08214964B1	Cleaning tool for removing undesirable marine growth from a support surface and associated method A scraping tool includes a first scraping head, a bracket affixed to the first scraping head, and an elongated pole removably coupled to the bracket access hard-to-reach target zones. In one embodiment, the bracket and the pole are freely articulated along a 360 degree circular path defined adjacent to the outer surface. In another embodiment, the bracket is statically affixed to the first scraping head and a connector is removably engaged with the bracket to quickly reconnect a variety of scraping heads. A rigid fastening member traverses through the connector as well as the second bore respectively. In another embodiment, a second scraping head is affixed to the connector for enabling the user to quickly toggle between the first and second scraping heads.
US08214962B2	Device for massaging the jaw or cleaning the teeth, and method for the production of the device A device for massaging the jaw or cleaning the teeth of a baby. The device has a handle and a plate-shaped bite part which is curbed in such a way that it essentially corresponds to the curbed shape of the jaw. The bite part has massage or cleaning projections on at least one broad side and is of a material which is softer than that of the handle. The handle and the bite part are interconnected in a nondetachable manner.
US08214951B1	Soft Surgical arm support A soft arm support and protection device for use during a medical procedure when a patient is lying supine or prone. The device may be made from a soft neoprene material which is positioned under the patient's body. Enveloping leaves of material wrap from above and below the arm to afford complete and even support. The mating surfaces of the leaves are fitted with wide fastening material to allow secure fixation of the arm without pressure points. The dimensions allow for protected and stable vascular access sites with the option of adding additional foam padding about such sites and to vulnerable nerves and bones. The device also allows for radiologic imaging and can be quickly undone in an emergency for rapid access. The device is made of material which is hypoallergenic and durable. It can be manufactured in either a disposable or reusable version.
US08214948B2	Adjustable bed skirt An adjustable bed skirt includes a deck with a peripheral edge around its perimeter, and a ruffle attached around the perimeter of the deck at the peripheral edge. The deck includes a releasable longitudinal fold and a releasable lateral fold, reversibly secured by closure members. The ruffle includes a plurality of releasably extendible pleats. Each of the longitudinal and lateral folds extends into an associated one of the pleats. When the longitudinal fold is released, the deck and the ruffle are changed from a first, folded width to a second, unfolded width. When the lateral fold is released, the deck and the ruffle are changed from a first, folded length to a second, unfolded length.
US08214946B2	Portable hammock and hammock frame In one embodiment, a frame has an expanded configuration and a collapsed configuration. The frame includes a support member that has a first end portion and a second end portion opposite the first end portion. The first end portion of the first elongate member is pivotally coupled to the second end portion of the support member. A second elongate member has a first end portion and a second end portion opposite the first end portion. The first end portion of the second elongate member is pivotally coupled to the support member. A third elongate member has a first end portion and a second end portion. The first end portion of the third elongate member is pivotally coupled to the second end portion of the second elongate member. The third elongate member is pivotally coupled to the second end portion of the first elongate member.
US08214943B2	Steering system for patient transfer device A table assembly for a patient transfer device has an upper table with side plates that are differentially extended at the ends, and valve control for pneumatic tubing integrated with retraction of the side plates. During patient delivery only the delivery side plate is raised, to avoid catching linens in the nip formed between upper and lower belts. A slide assembly supporting the table assembly includes a fixed plate, an intermediate plate, and a full-motion plate which extend by means of rack-and-pinion drives. Each plate is symmetrical, and pinions are symmetrically located on opposite sides of the fixed or intermediate plate to allow hyperextension to either the left or right. Improved steerage for the device is provided by two centerline wheels which counter-rotate from a straight position to a turning position and further to a lateral position wherein the wheels are orthogonal to the longitudinal centerline of the device.
US08214942B2	Removable pop-up drain control with catch basket A drain control assembly has a pop-up stopper controlled by a cammed actuating mechanism allowing the stopper to alternately seal and unseat from the drain opening by repetitively pressing down on the stopper. The seal seats against the structure housing the drain, such as a tub or sink basin and the like, so that a clean look and positive seal can be achieved. The assembly has integral catch basket that serves to both retain items fallen into the drain and removably mount the assembly to a support beneath the drain opening such that the assembly is firmed secured in place for controlling flow through the drain, but also can be dislodged so that the entire assembly can be removed and items in the catch basket can be retrieved. The assembly can then be reinstalled by simply inserting it down into the drain. A method of use is also disclosed.
US08214940B2	Quick sink One example embodiment includes a quick sink system. The quick sink system includes a sink. The sink includes a faucet, where the faucet includes a cold water input for receiving cold water and a hot water input for receiving hot water. The sink also includes a basin, where the basin is configured to retain water and a drain, where the drain is configured to remove water from the basin. The quick sink system also includes a first connector, where the first connector is configured to connect the cold water input to a cold water supply, and a second connector, where the second connector is configured to connect the hot water input to a hot water supply.
US08214938B2	Shower bar assembly A shower bar assembly that includes a pair of mounting brackets configured and arranged to be mounted to a wall of a shower stall is disclosed. Each of the mounting brackets has a base portion with a first shelf and a second shelf projecting from the base portion. The first and second shelves each have a retaining peg projecting from each shelf, respectively. A tubular shower bar is included and has two opposing ends. Each of the ends of the tubular shower bar has a pair of surfaces in which each defines an aperture through the tubular shower bar. Each end of the tubular shower bar is configured and arranged to slide onto the first and second shelves of the mounting brackets, with the apertures interlocking with each of the retaining pegs, respectively, to suspend the shower bar between the mounting brackets and to prevent the shower bar from rotating between the brackets.
US08214932B2	Automatic self-closing toilet seat assembly A self-closing toilet seat assembly includes a longitudinal hinge tube mounted in a cavity on the underside of a toilet lid in coaxial alignment with the hinge flanges thereof. The hinge tube is secured in hinged engagement with both the toilet lid and seat by means of a pair of slow-close hinge dampeners. A self-closing mechanism, in association with a mounting base attached to the bowl of a conventional toilet and to the underside of the hinge tube, is responsive to manual lifting of either the toilet lid itself or of both the toilet lid and the toilet seat to the open or vertical position for initiating closing rotation of the toilet lid and the toilet seat, if also upright, to the vertical tipping point, past which they continue to gravitationally rotate to the closed position, at a rate limited by the slow-close hinge dampeners. The self-closing mechanism is responsive to the weight of a user seated on the toilet seat for inhibiting closing rotation of the toilet lid until the user rises from the toilet seat.
US08214923B2	Multi-use garment A multi-purpose unisex garment that can be worn in a variety of configurations on different parts of the body and for a variety of occasions. The garment includes a first sheet of material and a second sheet of material, which is positioned opposite the first sheet of material. The first and second sheets of material are secured to one another at or near two opposite ends of the sheets of material. The two other opposite ends of the sheets of material are open to allow a part of the body to pass through at least one of the openings. At least one of the open ends has a securing device positioned along at least a portion of the opening that may securely close at least a portion of the respective opening to secure the garment about the person.
US08220053B1	Shadow copy-based malware scanning Scanning of the shadow copy instead of the hard disk of a computer (using an accessing interface instead of the file system interface or an API of the operating system) enables the scanning software to access any files that might have been locked by the malware on the hard disk and avoids root kits. Files cannot be locked because a disk parser is used instead of the operating system or normal file system interface. It is possible for malware to change or reinfect files during the scanning and cleaning process. Files on the hard disk in existence at the time a manual scan is begun are scanned and backed up to the cache if changed during scanning. Dropped malware is removed by reverting the hard disk to the shadow copy once scanning and cleaning has been performed. Even if a watchdog drops a file during the scanning and cleaning process (because it detects that other malware components are being affected) these dropped files will be removed.
US08220047B1	Anti-phishing system and method An anti-phishing system and method includes monitoring a user input data stream input to a computing device, identifying, in the user input data stream, one or more characters corresponding to a trigger event related to private information of a user, and taking an action to protect the private information based on identifying the one or more characters corresponding to the trigger event.
US08220041B2	Method and system for protecting a computer system during boot operation A method for protecting a computer system from malicious network traffic is provided using a driver which inspects network packets. A security profile comprising packet inspection rules is compiled and stored on the computer system. During the startup or boot operation of an operating system, the driver loads the compiled security profile and inspects network packets using the inspection rules.
US08220028B2	Content transmission apparatus, content reception apparatus, and content transmission/reception system Disclosed herein is a content transmission apparatus connected to a content reception apparatus at a remote place via a network, the content transmission apparatus including: a broadcast signal reception section configured to receive a broadcast content on one or more channels; a recording/reproducing section configured to compress and record data of at least 24 hours of broadcast content on each channel, and reproduce the recorded compressed data; a communication section configured to transmit the compressed data to the content reception apparatus via the network; and a delay control section configured to control the recording/reproducing section to control a delay time between a broadcasting time of the content and a time at which the compressed data is transmitted. The delay time is set in accordance with time difference information indicating a time difference between places where the content transmission apparatus and the content reception apparatus are placed.
US08220027B1	Method and system to convert conventional storage to an audio/video server A method and system to utilize an audio/video server in storing real time, previously recorded or otherwise obtained media data to one or more conventional storage device and making this stored media data available to media playback devices on a network. A first embodiment is a method to operate a video server including recording audio/video data to a storage module coupled to the a video server through at least one standardized port module, determining a need to provide a video file to the one or more playback devices; reading a video file from a storage module coupled to the video server through at least one standardized port module; and providing a version of the video file to one or more playback devices. The version of the video file can optionally be a trans-coded version of the video file, with a new video format, compression, bitrate, or combination of the preceding. A second embodiment is a system including a video server including a storage module having at least one standardized port module; a video server, coupled to the storage module through the at least one standardized port module; and one or more playback devices. These embodiments can be applied in several wired and wireless communication applications, or in combinations of such applications.
US08220026B2	Digital broadcasting system and data processing method A digital broadcasting system and method of processing data therein are disclosed. A receiving system of the digital broadcasting system includes a baseband processor unit receiving a broadcast signal including mobile service data and main service data, the mobile service data configuring an RS frame, the RS frame including the mobile service data and at least one signaling information data describing rating information of the mobile service data, a management processor unit obtaining the rating information of the mobile service data by parsing the signaling information data from the RS frame, the management processor unit determining a presence or non-presence of a viewing restriction by comparing the obtained rating information of the mobile service data to viewing restriction rating information set by a user, and a presentation processor unit blocking the mobile service data if the viewing restriction of the mobile service data is determined.
US08220011B2	Protection cover of pick-up head The invention provides a protection cover of a pick-up head provided on a traverse of an optical drive. A plate flatly is positioned on an upper surface of the traverse, and the plate has a slot, with one end of the slot fastened to a spindle motor to clamp a disc and the other end of the slot forming a staying part for the pick-up head to stay in a stand-by mode. The pick-up head is disposed in the slot and has an objective lens. When the objective lens stays in the staying part out of a periphery of a 12-cm disc, the protection cover crosses over the staying part to protect the objective lens.
US08220010B2	Disc drive with clearance adjustment member There is provided a disc drive by which the fluid loss of a disc is reduced and the electric power consumption of a spindle motor can be decreased. In the disc drive according to the present invention, a rotation load reducing member is provided between a top cover and the disc. The rotation load reducing member is movably supported by a clearance adjustment member. While the disc is rotating, the rotation load reducing member is moved in the direction approaching the disc. Thereby, the thickness of an air layer on the upper surface of the disc is decreased.
US08219983B1	Systems and methods for providing guidance on the potential impact of application and operating-system changes on a computing system A computer-implemented method for determining the impact of a software change on the health of a computing system or an application installed on the computing system may comprise identifying the software change, performing a first health evaluation, allowing the software change to occur, performing a second health evaluation, and then determining the impact of the new application by comparing the results of the second health evaluation with the results of the first health evaluation. Exemplary methods for providing guidance on the potential impact of a software change and for determining the health impact of a software change based on information obtained from a plurality of computing systems are also disclosed. Corresponding systems and computer-readable media are also disclosed.
US08219982B2	Method for organizing the software of a fluid management system A method and device for organizing the software of a fluid management system is disclosed. The processor system of a machine for the treatment of a patient is provided with an interface for connection to an external data storage device. The software of the processor system is divided into a treatment software for controlling and monitoring the treatment of a patient and a tool software for controlling and monitoring the service and/or production activities. In the processor system, the treatment software being stored in the processor system as resident software and the tool software being stored in the processor system as non-resident software. Moreover, updates can be performed with the external data storage device.
US08219970B2	XML push and remote execution of a wireless applications A method is provided for facilitating generation of a server-side application capable of calling a function of a wireless application on a mobile device. A structured data file defining the wireless application is retrieved. The structured data file is parsed for identifying exposed functions. Code stubs are generated for each of the exposed functions. The code stubs are configured to be included as part of the server-side application and to define a message to be transmitted to the wireless application upon execution of the code stub.
US08219964B2	Method for creating electrically testable patterns The present invention provides a method and computer program product for designing an electrically testable pattern that is based on patterns derived from the desired chip layout to be printed. Such electrical test patterns are based on the features within a region of influence around critical sites. The critical sites may be identified, for example, by processing the chip layout through an OPC verification tool that flags potential failure sites. The electrical test pattern is formed from features within an region of influence (ROI) around the critical site, and also include electrical feed lines at terminal ends of one or more features having an electrical characteristic that is sensitive to changes in the printed environment of the critical site. The feed lines may be locate on the same or a different layer than the critical site, depending on the chip design. The electrical pattern is further defined by retaining features within a second trim region such that the printed features within the ROI are not substantially modified by the absence of features outside the second trim region.
US08219957B1	Global placement legalization for complex packing rules A method performed by a system comprising a processor and a memory can include performing a global placement of a circuit design for a target programmable integrated circuit (IC) and clustering the circuit design using a selected size of cluster regions according to control sets identified within the circuit design. The method further can include determining a legalized placement of the clustered circuit design by solving a minimum cost network flow problem for the selected size of the cluster regions and the target programmable IC and assigning components to sites of the target programmable IC according to the legalized placement. The circuit design specifying the legalized placement can be stored within the memory.
US08219953B2	Budgeting electromigration-related reliability among metal paths in the design of a circuit Apportioning unequally contributions of different metal paths of a circuit to electromigration (EM) reliability. In an embodiment, a corresponding parameter value representing a magnitude of excess current flowing in a single direction in each metal path is determined. A desired reliability measure for electromigration (EM) is apportioned among the metal paths based on computed parameter values for the corresponding metal path. A reliability analysis for the circuit is performed based on the apportioning. In an embodiment, metal paths which predominantly carry currents with an average value less than a threshold are excluded from being considered as contributors to EM degradation.
US08219949B2	Nonsequential hardware design synthesis verification Methods and apparatuses for verifying a concurrent logical design and a corresponding non-sequential algorithmic description are provided. In some implementations, verification of a non-sequential algorithmic description for a device design is facilitated by monitoring a simulation of the non-sequential algorithmic description and synchronizing the timing of selected events with timing from an already completed simulation of a corresponding logical design. With various implementations, the hierarchical blocks in the logical design are monitored during the prior simulation to record selected event information. Subsequently, the recorded event information may be used to synchronize the simulation of the non-sequential algorithmic description.
US08219945B2	Computer-aided design system to automate scan synthesis at register-transfer level A method and system to automate scan synthesis at register-transfer level (RTL). The method and system will produce scan HDL code modeled at RTL for an integrated circuit modeled at RTL. The method and system comprise computer-implemented steps of performing RTL testability analysis, clock-domain minimization, scan selection, test point selection, scan repair and test point insertion, scan replacement and scan stitching, scan extraction, interactive scan debug, interactive scan repair, and flush/random test bench generation. In addition, the present invention further comprises a method and system for hierarchical scan synthesis by performing scan synthesis module-by-module and then stitching these scanned modules together at top-level. The present invention further comprises integrating and verifying the scan HDL code with other design-for-test (DFT) HDL code, including boundary-scan and logic BIST (built-in self-test).
US08219942B2	Pattern verification-test method, optical image intensity distribution acquisition method, and computer program A pattern verification-test method according to an embodiment of the present invention includes: deriving an illumination condition at a verification-test subject position in a photomask surface of a mask pattern as a verification or a test subject based on the verification-test subject position and illumination condition information about a distribution of an illumination condition in a photomask surface of exposure light incident on the mask pattern, performing lithography simulation on the mask pattern based on the derived illumination condition and the mask pattern, and verifying or testing the mask pattern based on a result of the lithography simulation.
US08219938B2	Semiconductor inter-field dose correction A method and apparatus are provided for adapting a semiconductor inter-field dose correction map from a first photolithography mask to a second photolithography mask using the same manufacturing stack and reactive ion etching processes, the method including: obtaining a first dose correction map for the first photolithography mask as a function of first chip or die identities; determining a first transformation matrix from the first chip or die identities of the first photolithography mask into an orthogonal coordinate system; determining a second transformation matrix from second chip or die identities of the second photolithography mask into the orthogonal coordinate system; and transforming the first dose correction map for the first photolithography mask into a second dose correction map for the second photolithography mask in correspondence with each of the first and second transformation matrices.
US08219934B2	Method and code module for facilitating navigation between webpages A method (104), operable on a processor platform (24), and a code module (38) facilitate navigation between webpages (34) of a website (32). The code module (38) is incorporated into the webpages (34), and is executed at the processor platform (24) when one of the webpages (34) is downloaded to the processor platform (24). Upon execution of the code module (38), a destination address (36) for the downloaded webpage (34) is obtained. When one or more keywords are detected in the destination address (36), a thread of navigation links (124) related to the keywords is generated and displayed within the current website. The navigation links (124) reference other webpages (34) of the website (32) pertinent to the current webpage (34), and these other webpages (34) can be downloaded when their associated navigation links (124) are activated.
US08219933B2	File system for a stage lighting array system A file system for a stage lighting system that maintains the different files associated with the stage lighting system. Each of the files that can represent an effect are maintained within the system within a configuration file. The configuration file can be updated on each start of the system so that the system can maintain information indicative of current configuration files. A test mode can also be entered in which a pre-formed show can be tested against the current state of the configuration files.
US08219924B2	Color and symbol coded visual cues for relating screen items to each other Described is a method for visually delineating a relationship between diverse, but related graphical objects in a graphical user interface. An icon that has specified color scheme is associated with the diverse, but related but graphical objects. When one of the related graphical objects is displayed, the icon is displayed within the displayed graphical object. The persistence of the icon with the specified color scheme in the displayed graphical objects allows them to be recognized as related.
US08219922B2	Dynamic point and extend user interface A computer-implemented method of extending a user interface of an executing application can include placing the user interface in a configure mode that allows functionality of the user interface to be extended and visually distinguishing an element of the user interface that is extendable. Responsive to a user input requesting extension of the functionality of the element, an editing window can be displayed within the user interface. The method can include receiving, within the editing window, computer-usable program code specifying extended functionality for the element and storing the computer-usable program code as part of an extension to the element. The extension can be bound to an extension point exposed for the element of the user interface.
US08219921B2	Providing an ad-hoc 3D GUI within a virtual world to a non-virtual world application A method for receiving input from a user of a virtual world, the method including: interacting with an object displayed in the virtual world; displaying another object in the virtual world in response to the interacting, the another object adapted to interact with the user; displaying at least one of a user specific label and a service specific label in place of a generic label associated with the another object; selecting the another object; and receiving the generic label and the at least one of the user specific label and the service specific label as the input in response to the selecting.
US08219912B2	System and method for producing video map Disclosed is a system and method for providing a moving picture map, the system including: a moving picture upload part for uploading moving pictures for one or more objects; and a map provision part for forming a moving picture map showing relations to other moving pictures according to subject matters, based on indexes corresponding to the moving pictures, and providing the moving picture map to a user interface for a moving picture search. Therefore, a user can be allowed to easily retrieve a number of moving pictures, and a manual and a review about a predetermined product can be made in a moving picture format for provision of the moving picture containing the manual and the review to consumers.
US08219911B2	System and method for displaying contextual advertisements with media Systems and methods have been developed for displaying contextually relevant advertisements to users as media objects are being rendered. One or more data sources with contextual information for different portions of each media object are maintained. From this contextual information, keywords may be generated and used to locate contextually-related advertisements. The advertisements are selected based on contextual information about the media object in order to match or otherwise be contextually relevant with the media content being rendered. As the subject matter of the media object changes during rendering, different advertisements related to the new context are provided that replace the prior advertisement. The advertisements are displayed in an area that could be used for other purposes when the rendering device is not rendering media objects.
US08219905B2	Automatically detecting keyboard layout in order to improve the quality of spelling suggestions A method, system and computer program product for keyboard layout detection resulting in improving the quality of the spelling suggestions, and in another aspect, recognizing a keyboard mapping mismatch between a computer and a given remote user based on a defined finite dictionary. There is no extra Application Programming Interfaces (API) required to pass information between the text editor and a spellchecking engine in order to perform keyboard layout detection.
US08219903B2	Display information verification program, method and apparatus A display information verification method, when display data of financial data is generated from the financial data and scripts for the financial data, includes: searching the scripts for an arithmetic instruction to process a numeric value in the financial data or a conversion instruction to convert a character string included in the financial data; and judging whether or not the arithmetic instruction or the conversion instruction detected in the searching is an instruction considered to manipulate the financial data. Thus, it is possible to detect the instruction considered to manipulate data from the scripts, and to avoid display including the manipulation of the data. In addition, for example, by using information of the instruction, which is stored inside in advance and is allowed to be used, it is possible to detect only the arithmetic instruction or the conversion instruction, which is not allowed to be used.
US08219899B2	Verbal description method and system A verbal description method and system. A computing system broadcasts first audio data and video data associated with the first audio data. The computing system determines that the video data comprises a graphic without a description in the first audio data. The computing system receives audible description data associated with the graphic. The computing system generates second audio data comprising the first audio data and the audible description data. The computing system synchronizes portions of the second audio data with associated portions of the video data. The computing system generates synchronized audio/video data comprising the portions of said second audio data aligned with the associated portions of said video data. The computing system broadcasts the synchronized audio/video data.
US08219898B2	Document registration system, information processing apparatus, and computer usable medium therefor A document registration system for registering a plurality of electronic documents is provided. The document registration system includes an information processing apparatus having a display unit and a storage unit. The information processing apparatus is provided with a registration unit, which can be operated to perform a registration process to register the electronic documents in an interactive processing mode, wherein the electronic documents are registered manually, and in a batch processing mode, wherein the electronic documents are registered automatically in a batch, and a first switching unit to mutually switch activation of the interactive processing mode and the batch processing mode.
US08219887B2	Parallel Reed-Solomon RAID (RS-RAID) architecture, device, and method The parallel RS-RAID data storage architecture can aggregate that data and checksums within each cluster into intermediate or partial sums that are transferred or distributed to other clusters. The use of intermediate data symbols, intermediate checksum symbols, cluster configuration information on the assignment of data storage devices to clusters and the operational status of data storage devices, and the like, can reduce the computational burden and latency for the error correction calculations while increasing the scalability and throughput of the parallel RS-RAID distributed data storage architecture.
US08219881B2	Memory controlling method, program and device An interleave control which accesses a plurality of memory elements. A logical address is converted into a real address composed of a memory element selection address and a memory element address. The logical address of a CPU that has a logical address space divided into N area is converted into the real address decided in a way number W, and the memory elements are accessed by the interleave control. A real address area utilization information is prepared that is common to all the way numbers by dividing the real address space formed of a plurality of memory elements into areas (N×Wmax) based upon multiplying the area number N of the logical address space and the maximum way number Wmax, and utilization prohibition information is recorded in the area including the abnormal portion of the real address area utilization information when the abnormality of the memory element is detected.
US08219877B2	Method and apparatus for transmitting uplink data in a wireless access system A method of transmitting data in a wireless access system is disclosed. The method includes various processes of obtaining the number of code blocks in consideration of an error detection code which is to be attached to each code block, calculating the size of the code blocks, segmenting input data, and channel-coding the code blocks, thereby efficiently transmitting data.
US08219876B2	Method, apparatus, computer program product and device providing semi-parallel low density parity check decoding using a block structured parity check matrix The invention relates to low density parity check decoding. A method for decoding an encoded data block is described. Encoded data block comprising data sub-blocks are stored. Decoding is performed in a pipelined manner using an irregular, block-structured parity check matrix, where at least two data sub-block matrices of the parity check matrix are read from and written in each of a plurality of clock cycles. The reading and writing of the data sub-blocks is evenly distributed between at least two area of a memory. The decoding is performed with shift values which eliminate cycles at or below a predetermined threshold length. An apparatus, computer program product and device are also described.
US08219874B2	Multi-dimensional LDPC coded modulation for high-speed optical transmission systems Arbitrarily high data transmission rates may be achieved by the use of N-dimensional, LDPC-coded modulation. N orthonormal basis functions are employed using coherent reception, resulting in a proportional increase in transmission rate with only a modest increase in bit-error ratio.
US08219870B2	Equipment and a method for bit collection in hybrid automatic repetition request To achieve a greater system throughput and be compatible with the legacy HSDPA by support of 64QAM and the higher modulation in the HARQ bit collection, an equipment and a method are disclosed. After applying this method and equipment, the new HSDPA system can perform better in system throughput and can be upgraded smoothly.
US08219861B2	Semiconductor storage device As a semiconductor storage device that can efficiently perform a refresh operation, provided is a semiconductor storage device comprising a non-volatile semiconductor memory storing data in blocks, the block being a unit of data erasing, and a controlling unit monitoring an error count of data stored in a monitored block selected from the blocks and refreshing data in the monitored block in which the error count is equal to or larger than a threshold value.
US08219852B2	Java virtual machine having integrated transaction management system A computing system is configured to deploy a JAVA application for execution in a distributed manner. The computing system includes a plurality of computing nodes including a domain manager node, the plurality of computing nodes forming a computing domain configured as an administrative grouping of the nodes administered by the domain manager node. The domain manager node is configured to provide, to each of the computing nodes, a main portion of the JAVA application. The main portion defines, for each computing node, a portion of the behavior of the JAVA application to be accomplished by that computing node. Furthermore, each computing node is configured to receive at least one class file having classes appropriate for the portion of the behavior of the JAVA application defined, by the main portion, to be accomplished by that computing node.
US08219851B2	System RAS protection for UMA style memory In some embodiments, the invention involves a system and method relating to system recovery in a fault resilient manner by isolating errors associated with the management engine (ME) UMA memory. BIOS logs errors occurring on memory within the system. The ME UMA is invisible to the host OS, so the OS will not be notified about the errors occurring in the ME UMA range. When an error threshold has been reached for a memory unit in which ME UMA resides, ME UMA data is migrated to a previously reserved backup region of memory and the ME is notified of the new ME UMA location. The faulty memory is flagged for replacement at a next maintenance cycle. Embodiments may be applied to workstations that utilize ECC memory protection which utilize AMT (Active Management Technology) and ME UMA. Other embodiments are described and claimed.
US08219848B2	Mechanism for recovery from site failure in a stream processing system A failure recovery framework to be used in cooperative data stream processing is provided that can be used in a large-scale stream data analysis environment. Failure recovery supports a plurality of independent distributed sites, each having its own local administration and goals. The distributed sites cooperate in an inter-site back-up mechanism to provide for system recovery from a variety of failures within the system. Failure recovery is both automatic and timely through cooperation among sites. Back-up sites associated with a given primary site are identified. These sites are used to identify failures within the primary site including failures of applications running on the nodes of the primary site. The failed applications are reinstated on one or more nodes within the back-up sites using job management instances local to the back-up sites in combination with previously stored state information and data values for the failed applications. In additions to inter-site mechanisms, each one of the plurality of sites employs an intra-site back-up mechanism to handle failure recoveries within the site.
US08219839B2	Power distribution system and method thereof in which redundant power is collected only when power pool is below or equal to pool threshold A power distribution system is adapted to a management module connected to a plurality of servers, each of which is varied in power consumption in response to a power mode and performance thereof, via a power allocation request line and a power allocation response line. The management module records the upper-limit power setting, the power allocations, and the power pool with regard to the servers. The server records the power mode, the power allocation, the upper mode request threshold, and the redundant power which is calculated based on the difference between the power allocation and the actual power consumption. The management module recovers the redundant power from the server so as to update the power pool. Upon receiving a power allocation request, the management module distributes at least a part of the power pool to the server, thus allowing the server to shift the power mode to the upper mode.
US08219833B2	Two-level guarded predictive power gating A mechanism is provided for two-level guarded predictive power gating of a set of units within the data processing system. A success determines whether a unit within the set of units is power gated during a monitoring interval. If the unit is power gated, the success monitor determines whether a count of idle cycles for the unit is below a breakeven point. If the count is above the breakeven point, the success monitor increments a success efficiency counter. If the count is below the breakeven point, the success monitor determines whether the unit needs to be woke up. If the unit needs to be woke up, the success monitor increments a harmful efficiency counter. If the value of the harmful efficiency counter is less than the value from the success efficiency counter, the success monitor enables power gating for the unit via a first-level power-gating mechanism.
US08219826B2	Secure pin character retrieval and setting Disclosing a secure personal identification number (“PIN”) associated with a financial account to an account holder. A PIN reveal application can interact with a hardware security module (“HSM”) to decrypt and disclose the PIN to the account holder one or more PIN character(s) at a time. The account holder also can set a new PIN in a secure manner. A PIN set application can interact with the HSM to encrypt PIN characters received by the PIN set application from the account holder. The HSM provides a secure platform to encrypt and decrypt the secure PIN.
US08219819B2	Public key encryption with digital signature scheme An improved encryption and digital signature system and method in accordance with the invention reuses an encryption ephemeral key pair from an encryption process in a digital signature process. The reuse of the encryption ephemeral key pair in the digital signature process advantageously results in reduced byte size of the digital signature and reduction of costly computation overhead. In a preferred embodiment, the invention is based on the El Gamal encryption scheme and the Nyberg-Rueppel signature scheme. The present invention is particularly useful for operation in conjunction with small communication devices having limited processing and storage, wherein such devices may communicate via bandwidth sensitive RF links.
US08219817B2	System and method for authentication of transformed documents A document verification system and method verifies that a content of two documents match based on comparison of an authentication signature generated from each of the documents. The documents may be electronic text documents and may be transformed representations of each other through imaging, printing or image processing. Authentication signatures can be encrypted to enhance security and identify document sources. An authentication signature can be generated for an entirety or portions of the document. Multiple authentication signatures may be generated for each document for selected document regions. The authentication signature can be stored electronically or in hard copy and can be machine-readable to be automatically interpreted by a machine.
US08219816B2	IVR call routing using encrypted data A token representing encrypted data is used to initiate a call routing strategy based on receipt of the token. The call routing strategy is configured to initiate a query. Decrypted data associated with the encrypted data may be accessed to determine a data relationship based on the query.
US08219812B2	Methods and a device for associating a first device with a second device A method and device for device association. A user enters login and password on a first device that searches for reachable devices. The first device asks the reachable devices if they know the login, preferably by sending a salted hash of the login. The devices that know the login respond positively and the first device lists the responding devices. The first device then successively performs Secure Remote Authentication (SRP) with each device on the list until an authentication succeeds or there are no further devices on the list. The SRP authentication makes sure that the first device knows the login and that the other device knows a password verifier without transmitting any knowledge that allows recuperation of this info by an eavesdropper. The authenticated devices then establish a secure channel over which a community secret key is transferred, and the first device also calculates and stores the password verifier.
US08219799B1	Secure communication system A secure communication system that includes a communication processor, an internet protocol converter that converts data to and from its original protocol to internet protocol, an encryptor/decryptor to provide additional security for communications that are routed through the secure communication system, and a cryptography module and other logic that identifies the security classification of data and verifies the cryptographic keys of the source, in the communication, and of the destination. An additional security processor may be provided as required by secure communication standards. The secure communication system may also include an a internet router that routes the data through the secure communication system. The communication processor provides real-time control and can change a source or destination, an encryption key, a security level, the protocol of a communication in response to sensor data received from a communicating entity or from command signals from a connected or remote control system.
US08219791B2	BIOS field mapping BIOS field mapping includes generating basic input/output system (BIOS) information by defining property identifications using a visual form code language and determining that a proprietary set-up service is accessible. The BIOS field mapping then includes converting the visual form code language to a binary format and storing the property identifications in binary format on a setup database as data hidden from an operating system. A BIOS driver may then request the property identifications causing a transfer of the property identifications to the BIOS driver.
US08219788B1	Virtual core management A virtual core management system including a first physical core having a first utilization constraint, a second physical core having a second utilization constraint, and a virtual core including a collection of logical states associated with execution of a program. The virtual core management system further includes a utilization indicator configured to measure a utilization of the first physical core with respect to the first utilization constraint and measure a utilization of the second physical core with respect to the second utilization constraint, and a virtual core management component configured to map the virtual core to one of the first physical core and the second physical core based on at least one of the utilization of the first physical core and the utilization of the second physical core.
US08219785B1	Adapter allowing unaligned access to memory Methods and apparatus are provided for allowing a master component such as a processor on a programmable chip to access memory using unaligned addresses. An adapter connected to a master component determines if a master component memory access request is aligned. If the access request is aligned, the request is forwarded to memory and a response is provided to the master component. If the access request is unaligned, the adapter sends multiple access requests to memory and processes the responses in order to provide a correct response to the master component.
US08219783B2	SIMD type microprocessor having processing elements that have plural determining units An SIMD type microprocessor is disclosed. The SIMD type microprocessor includes plural PEs (processor elements) each of which provides an ALU (arithmetic and logic unit) for lower-order bits, an ALU for upper-order bits, a control circuit for lower-order bits, a control circuit for upper-order bits, a range determining circuit for lower-order bits, and a range determining circuit for upper-order bits. The SIMD type microprocessor further includes a global processor, a range designation bus for lower-order bits which connects the global processor to the range determining circuit for lower-order bits, and a range designation bus for upper-order bits which connects the global processor to the range determining circuit for upper-order bits. The global processor instructs the range determining circuits to designate corresponding ranges to be operated on by the corresponding ALUs via the corresponding range designation buses so that the ALU for lower-order bits and the ALU for upper-order bits can be operated separately.
US08219778B2	Virtual memory interface The embodiments that are described herein provide random access to individual data storage locations of a group of buffers, which may be scattered in the memory. These embodiments provide a virtual memory interface that applies virtual addresses in a flat memory linear addressing space as indices into the physical memory addresses that are ordered into a sequence in accordance with the group of buffers. In this way, these embodiments enable a device (e.g., a processor) to directly and sequentially access all of the scattered physical memory locations of a fragmented data item, such as a packet, without having to perform any memory segmentation or paging processes. In some embodiments, these accesses include both read and write accesses to the scattered data storage locations.
US08219775B2	Nonvolatile memory system A memory system including a nonvolatile memory, and a memory control module. The nonvolatile memory includes a plurality of memory cells arranged among a plurality of physical memory blocks, wherein each physical memory block is of a predetermined size. The memory control module includes a write path module and a read path module. In response to the memory control module receiving data in a first format such that the data is evenly distributable among the plurality of physical memory blocks, the write path module modifies the first format of the data into a second format prior to writing the data to the plurality of physical memory blocks. The second format of the data is such that the data is no longer evenly distributable among the plurality of physical memory blocks. The read path module is configured to read the data from the nonvolatile memory in accordance with the second format.
US08219773B2	Interpreting the data value stored by memory cell using a performance characteristic value A method and system for storing and retrieving data using flash memory devices. One example system includes an apparatus within a flash memory configuration. The flash memory configuration includes a plurality of memory cells, where each memory cell has a charge storage capacity for use in implementing digital storage. The apparatus includes a processing arrangement configured to access each of the memory cells in a write operation and a read operation. The apparatus also includes an instruction set for instructing the processor to impose target charge levels for defining a plurality of data values for each of the memory cells. The target charge levels are programmably movable with respect to the charge storage capacity.
US08219765B2	Data network and a method of regeneration of the recording state of digital data in a data network A method of regeneration of a recording state of digital data stored in a node of a data network, the method including the steps of classifying files stored in the node, periodically writing a digital file from the node to a temporary memory, the temporary memory being a component of said node, and writing the digital file from the temporary memory to the same node.
US08219753B2	Resource management cache to manage renditions A resource management cache of a computing device receives a request for an item. The item may include any type of content, such as an image or a video. A rendition for the item is determined. The item may be stored in a plurality of renditions for retrieval. The resource management cache can send one or more requests to one or more sources for the rendition. The sources may include remote sources and also a local source. If a source responds with an indication the rendition is available, the rendition is sent to and received at the computing device. If no sources respond with an indication the rendition is available, the resource management cache may send a message asking if a source can generate the rendition from another rendition of the item. The rendition may be generated and it is sent to and received at the resource management cache.
US08219749B2	System and method for efficient updates of sequential block storage A system and method enhances performance of updates to sequential block storage of a storage system. According to an aspect of the invention, a disk array of the storage system is utilized to extend write buffers of the system, thereby rendering a portion of the disk array a disk-based log. To that end, one portion of the disk array is organized into a home location array having a set of sequential home locations for disk blocks. Another portion of the disk array is organized into the disk-based log having a set of log buffers configured to store versions of disk blocks that have yet to be returned to their home locations in the home location array. In addition, non-volatile memory of the storage system is organized as an index configured to provide efficient mappings of disk blocks not yet returned to their home locations. In accordance with another aspect of the invention, a novel disk-based multi-level sort procedure is provided to establish locality among updates (write data) held in the disk-based log, thereby enabling the write data to be efficiently written to home locations on the disk array.
US08219747B2	Storage system and communications method In a storage system including a host computer, and a disk control device connected to the host computer for communications therewith, and performs control over a disk device that stores therein data requested for writing from the host computer, for data transmission from a host interface section or a disk interface section to a memory section, when the data asked by a transmission source for storage is stored in a transmission destination, the transmission destination is put in a first mode for communications of forwarding a response back to the transmission source. With such a configuration, favorably provided is the storage system that offers a guarantee of reliability with the improved processing capabilities thereof.
US08219738B2	Direct interconnection between processor and memory component Conventional processor and memory configurations place holes into silicon or use expensive multi-layer-laminates/substrates to connect the processor with memory. Using a direct contact between the memory and processor allows for signaling between the two units. By judicious arrangement of the contact areas as well as employing other structures such as carriers and redistributors, adequate power and ground supply can be maintained for the processor. Therefore, there is little-to-no damage done to the silicon and expensive multi-layer-laminates/substrates can be avoided. Furthermore, there can be faster processing speeds since the memory and processor are close together.
US08219731B2	Data processor and control system Provided are a data processor, and a control system, in which an interrupt controller and an event link controller are adopted. The event link controller responds to a generated event signal to output a start control signal for controlling start of an operation of a circuit module. The circuit module is able to generate an event signal. The event link controller generates the start control signal according to the correspondences between event signals and start control signals which are defined by event control information. The links between the event signals and start control signals can be prescribed by the event control information. Therefore, operations of circuit modules prescribed by such links can be controlled sequentially. The control neither involves save and return processes by CPU as in the interrupt processing, nor needs priority level control as executed on competing interrupt requests.
US08219729B1	Enumeration circuits, structures and methods for host connected devices An apparatus may include a first connector having at least a first host communication path for connection to a host device, a second connector that physically alters at least a first signal path in response to a physical connection at the second connector, and a controller section that communicates a first set of configuration information over the first host communication path when the first signal path is in an unaltered state, and a second set of configuration information when the first signal path is in an altered state.
US08219705B2	Silent acknowledgement of routing in a mesh network In embodiments of the present invention improved capabilities are described for sending a single cast frame from a first node to a second node in a mesh network; sending the single cast frame from the second node to a third node in a mesh network; using the first node to detect the single cast frame sent from the second node to the third node; and interpreting this detection within the first node as an acknowledgement of success in sending the single cast frame from the first node to the second node. An additional method described herein may send a second single cast from the second node to a third node in a mesh network, interpret detection of the second single class frame within the first node as an acknowledgement of success in sending the first single cast frame from the first node to the second node.
US08219704B2	Selection of content in response to communication environment A content transfer service manager node of a computer network manages the transfer of content over the network from a content provider node to a user node. The characteristics of the configuration of the user node are determined, including the user nodes capabilities with respect to downloading content and processing downloaded content. The service manager arranges a content transfer that is particularly suited for the hardware, software, and communication capabilities of the user node.
US08219692B2	Method and apparatus for storing and restoring state information of remote user interface An apparatus and method are provided for restoring a remote user interface (RUI) in a Universal Plug and Play (UPnP) environment. In the method, a client receiving an RUI from a server, requests that the state information of the RUI be saved. The method includes obtaining state information generated when the RUI is used, and requesting that the obtained state information be saved. Accordingly, it is possible to apply a method of storing and restoring state information of a remote user interface, in a UPnP environment, to an HTTP-based remote protocol model having stateless characteristics which do not allow state information of a remote user interface to be stored.
US08219680B1	System using a lockbox device for releasing information from an information embargo setting Information is electronically transmitted from an information embargo setting. The latency and/or lag in releasing information from the information embargo setting is reduced to facilitate dissemination of the embargoed information faster than other entities. The entity controlling the release of information in the information embargo setting may include one or more of a governmental agency (e.g., associated with the United States government, associated with the Canadian government, associated with the European Union and/or one or more states included therein, and/or other agencies associated with other governments), and/or other entities.
US08219678B2	Application verification for hosted services In a client-server environment providing hosted services, an application service server receives from a client a first request for hosted services associated with a user-specified domain name. If the server does not provide hosted services for that domain name, the server designates the first request as pending and provides a limited set of the hosted services in association with the first request. The server provides a complete set of the hosted services requested in the first request if it can be established that a first user associated with the first request has appropriate authority to make administrative changes for the network domain designated by the domain-name. In some embodiments, the server denies the first request and cancels the limited services if it is not shown within a predetermined period of time that the first user has the appropriate authority.
US08219672B2	Method and apparatus for distributed backup of computer data A data server computer ring including first and second data server computers, and any number of further data server computers. The data server computer “ring” can include any configuration in which the data server computers are connected together by communications links. The first and second data server computers are programmed by a computer program so that when one of the first and second data server computers is not operating, so that it is a non operating data server computer, the other of the first and second data server computers takes over one or more functions normally performed by the non operating data server computer.
US08219670B2	System and method for adaptive context aware interaction of user with entity of interest A multifunctional interaction system which is capable of spatio-temporal context localization of users and of communication of audio/video streams to an entity of interest defined by the user, includes a communication domain supporting a predefined localization service, a server associated with the communication domain, client devices, and a dynamically changing context database which is customized in accord with the dynamics of interaction sessions of client devices with the server. The client communicates with the system to either request services therefrom or to send a message to the entity of interest. The system is provided with a panic alert mechanism which, upon actuation, transmits an audio/video data stream along with the client location tag, time stamp, and client ID, to a police precinct for prompt action.
US08219666B2	Generating an update status alert in a device A method for generating an update status alert at a receiving device, the receiving device operating in a network of participating devices, each participating device broadcasting status information about a monitored entity associated with a respective participating device, the method comprising the steps of: receiving broadcast status information from each of the participating devices; aggregating the received status information to derive a consensus of the status information received from each of the participating devices; comparing the derived consensus with the status of the monitored entity of the receiving device; detecting a difference between the derived consensus and the status of the monitored entity; and in dependence of a difference being determined, generating an update status alert at the receiving device.
US08219662B2	Redirecting data generated by network devices A system and method for efficiently and easily capturing data dumps generated by a network device is disclosed. In one embodiment, a storage management device is disposed between a network device and a storage device. The network device is programmed with a virtual address that is associated with the storage management device. Upon generating a data dump, the network device writes the data dump to the virtual address where the storage management device receives the data dump and redirects it to a long-term storage location. Additionally, the storage management device can generate a record of each data dump that indicates the network device that generated the data dump and where the data dump was stored.
US08219659B2	Systems for distributing data over a computer network and methods for arranging nodes for distribution of data over a computer network Various embodiments of the present invention relate to a super-node formed from a plurality of nodes in a binary tree topology network. The super-node includes a multitasking computing system having a memory, and nodes running the computing system. Each of the nodes are adapted to be docked downtree of and with another node, and are adapted to be docked uptree of and with two other nodes. A first node in the plurality of nodes is docked downtree of and with a parent node running on a first separate computing system. Each node of the plurality of nodes except the first node is docked downtree of and with another one of the plurality of nodes. In this manner, a super-node is formed having more than two sockets available for connection with nodes not running on the multitasking computing system.
US08219658B2	Network system A network system suitable for remote monitoring or remote control of equipments is provided. When an execution of a server-side object is requested from a client terminal device to a server, the server requests an execution of an equipment-side object to the equipment(s). The execution request of the server-side object from the client terminal device is performed by use of a first identifier assigned to the server-side object, and the execution request of the equipment-side object is performed by use of a second identifier assigned to the equipment-side object. Since the server has an identifier setting function of setting a correspondence relation between the first identifier and the second identifier, it is possible to reduce burden on the client terminal device, and flexibly cope with cases of exchanging and increasing the equipment(s) in the network system without considering specific identification information of the equipments such as IP address.
US08219647B2	Content delivery network cache grouping One or more content delivery networks (CDNs) that deliver content objects for others is disclosed. Content is propagated to edge servers through hosting and/or caching. End user computers are directed to an edge server for delivery of a requested content object by a universal resource indicator (URI). When a particular edge server does not have a copy of the content object from the URI, information is passed along a hierarchy (to a parent server, grandparent server, and, eventually, an origin server) until the content object is found. The origin server may be hosted in the CDN or at a content provider across the Internet. Once the content object is located in the hierarchical chain, the content object is passed back down the chain to the edge server for delivery. Optionally, the various servers in the chain may cache or host the content object as it is relayed.
US08219645B2	Content delivery network cache grouping One or more content delivery networks (CDNs) that deliver content objects for others is disclosed. Content is propagated to edge servers through hosting and/or caching. End user computers are directed to an edge server for delivery of a requested content object by a universal resource indicator (URI). When a particular edge server does not have a copy of the content object from the URI, information is passed to another server, the ancestor or parent server to find the content object. There can be different parents servers designated for different URIs. The parent server looks for the content object and if not found, will go to another server, the grandparent server, and so on up a hierarchy within the group. Eventually, the topmost server in the hierarchy goes to the origin server to find the content object. The origin server may be hosted in the CDN or at a content provider across the Internet. Once the content object is located in the hierarchical chain, the content object is passed back down the chain to the edge server for delivery. Optionally, the various servers in the chain may cache or host the content object as it is relayed.
US08219637B2	Storage management for renderfarm Systems and methods for storing assets in storage systems external to asset management systems while still allowing the asset management systems to track the stored assets are disclosed. One method begins by first receiving an asset to be stored in an asset management system. Next, a first location on a storage managed by the asset management system is determined. A second location on a storage system external to the asset management system is then determined. The external storage system has been configured to store the asset. The asset is then stored at the second location. A logical link is then determined to the second location. Finally, the logical link is stored at the first location. The disclosed systems and methods allow for an administrator to separate the storage methods used by asset management systems from the asset tracking and logging capabilities of asset management systems.
US08219632B2	Efficient use of peer cache space in large scale file distributions A mechanism for providing efficient use of peer cache space in large scale file distributions. A peer computer receives a download plan for a requested file. The download plan specifies a number of peer servers where the file is stored, a minimum number of peer servers required to store the file, and a saturation level for the file in the zone. When the peer computer downloads the file from one or more peer servers listed in the download plan, the peer computer determines whether the file is required to be cached at the peer computer by comparing the minimum number of peer servers in the plan required to store the file against the number of peer servers listed in the plan. If the minimum number required to store the file is greater the number of peer servers listed in the plan, the peer computer caches the file.
US08219626B2	Body-less email for asynchronous chat-like communications and email-chat integration A system and method integrate synchronous electronic (e.g., chat) communications with asynchronous electronic communications in the form of body-less electronic mail messages (emails). Body-less emails have a subject line but lack a message body capable of receiving message content. When converting a synchronous electronic communication into a body-less email, a processor places each text message of the synchronous electronic communication into the subject line of the body-less email. When converting a received body-less email into a synchronous electronic communication, the processor places each text message in the subject line of the body-less email into a chat format. A user can readily transition between asynchronous and synchronous communications.
US08219616B2	Use of information channels to provide communications in a virtual environment The invention generally relates to virtual environments, and more particularly to systems and methods for communicating in virtual environments. A method of providing communication in a virtual universe (VU) includes instantiating and assigning an information channel to a first client of the VU, associating at least one additional client of the VU to the information channel, and conveying data placed on the information channel to the first client and the at least one additional client.
US08219613B2	System and method for associating a client identity between servers A client identity is associated between servers by establishing an identity for the client at a first sever, storing information about the client at the first server, identifying the client at a second server using a second ID transmitted by the client to the second server, linking the first ID and the second ID, and associating the information about the client with the second ID.
US08219609B1	Establishing a stateful environment for a stateless environment Provided is a method and an apparatus for maintaining state information between a stateless environment and a stateful environment. Specifically, a front-end process operates a stateless environment, such as providing web services via the HyperText Transfer Protocol. Because HTTP is inherently stateless, a back-end process operates a stateful environment by managing multiple modules. Some of the modules can be login modules that request login information for an authentication process. The authentication process can be the Java Authentication and Authorization Service (JAAS). The back-end process accumulates state information and transmits the state information to the front-end process when modules request further information. By managing the authentication process from the back-end process, the stateful environment is established for the stateless environment.
US08219605B2	Decimal floating-pointing quantum exception detection A system and method for detecting decimal floating point data processing exceptions. A processor accepts at least one decimal floating point operand and performs a decimal floating point operation on the at least one decimal floating point operand to produce a decimal floating point result. A determination is made as to whether the decimal floating point result fails to maintain a preferred quantum. The preferred quantum indicates a value represented by a least significant digit of a significand of the decimal floating point result. An output is provided, in response to the determining that the decimal floating point result fails to maintain the preferred quantum, indicating an occurrence of a quantum exception. A maskable exception can be generated that is immediately trapped or later detected to control conditional processing.
US08219599B2	Knowledge storage and retrieval system and method A system and method for representing, storing and retrieving real-world knowledge on a computer or network of computers is disclosed. Knowledge is broken down into permanent atomic “facts” which can be stored in a standard relational database and processed very efficiently. It also provides for the efficient querying of a knowledge base, efficient inference of new knowledge and translation into and out of natural language. Queries can also be processed with full natural language explanations of where the answers came from. The method can also be used in a distributed fashion enabling the system to be a large network of computers and the technology can be integrated into a web browser adding to the browser's functionality.
US08219598B1	Cross-domain communicating using data files In one implementation, a computer-implemented method includes receiving at a data server computer hosted at a first internet domain a request from a client computer for data to be used by an application SWF file received from a web server hosted at a second internet domain and executed by the client computer, the request includes the second internet domain and information specifying the requested data. The method further includes generating at least a portion of a data SWF file including the requested data and a domain identifier corresponding to the second internet domain, the domain identifier configured to specify that SWF formatted files associated with the second internet domain are permitted to access the requested data within the data SWF file. The method also includes transmitting the data SWF file from the data server computer to the client computer.
US08219592B2	Method and system for using overlay manifests to encode differences between virtual machine images A method for creating a virtual machine image, includes: storing a first image manifest for a first virtual machine image, the first image manifest including a mapping from file names of the first virtual machine image to content descriptors; storing a second image manifest for a second virtual machine image, the second image manifest including a mapping from file names of the second virtual machine image to content descriptors; creating a first overlay mapping by: placing a file name and its content descriptor both from the second image manifest in the first overlay mapping; and placing a file name and its content descriptor both from the first image manifest in the first overlay mapping if the file name and its content descriptor are not mapped in the second image manifest; and constructing a third virtual machine image having an image manifest whose mapping is the first overlay mapping.
US08219590B2	Media validation system A media validation system including a plurality of media storage devices which contain a quantity of content thereon, a user computer processor assembly structured to operatively access a select media storage device, a verification module, and a communicative link between the verification module and the user computer processor assembly. Each of the media storage devices includes a unique unit identifier, the verification module identifying the unique unit identifier of the select media storage device and receiving user information associated therewith. The verification module is also structured to apply a reward credit in association with only a first user whose user information is associated with the unique unit identifier for the select media storage device.
US08219589B2	Method for communicating data in xDSL using data retransmission In one embodiment, a method for communicating data is provided. The method includes, defining a data transmission unit (DTU) to be sent in an xDSL data stream, defining a retransmit container as a time slot that corresponds to the DTU, maintaining a copy of the DTU and an index corresponding to the retransmit container in a retransmission buffer, transmitting the DTU in the xDSL data stream, determining whether the DTU should be retransmitted, and if the DTU should be retransmitted: identifying the DTU by the retransmit container and retransmitting a copy of the DTU as identified by the retransmit container before the DTU leaves the retransmission buffer.
US08219584B2	User access to item information Included is a user device for communicating product information. The user device might include a data storage device and a product identifier input device configured to receive a product identifier. Also included in the user device is logic configured to retrieve at least one user preference, logic configured to retrieve information regarding a product related to the product identifier from a data network, and logic configured to compare the at least one user preference with at least a portion of the information related to the product.
US08219577B2	Apparatus and method product for presenting recommended information A recommended information presentation apparatus, including a display unit which displays text data, an extraction unit which extracts keyword candidates from the text data, a storage unit which stores semantic attributes of the keyword candidates, semantic attribute rules which contain scoring criteria for semantic attributes, descriptive phrases describing the keyword candidates and descriptive phrase rules which contain scoring criteria for descriptive phrases. The scores of the keyword candidates are calculated by a selection unit based on the semantic attribute rules and descriptive phrase rules and the highest scoring keyword candidates are selected as keywords. The selected keyword is used to search an information database by a search unit which also receives the search results which are displayed on the display unit by a control unit as recommended information with regards to the text information.
US08219572B2	System and method for searching enterprise application data A search modeling tool is provided that can communicate with multiple enterprise applications to create object definitions describing searchable data stored in each application. The object definitions may be used to extract searchable data from the applications, thus allowing for manipulation of the data in formats usable for text searching, user presentation, and other applications. The search modeler may interface with each application using common protocols, allowing for generalization of object definitions and subsequent crawling across a variety of enterprise applications.
US08219554B2	Generating receptivity scores for cohorts A computer implemented method, apparatus, and computer program product for generating receptivity cohorts. A receptivity cohort is identified. The receptivity cohort includes a set of members and conduct attributes for the set of members. Each conduct attribute in the set of conduct attributes describes at least one of a facial expression, vocalization, body language, and social interactions of a member in the set of members. Each conduct attribute is an indicator of receptiveness to a proposed future change in a set of circumstances associated with the set of members. Events metadata is received. The events metadata describes the set of circumstances associated with the set of members. The set of conduct attributes and the events metadata is analyzed to generate a receptivity score for the receptivity cohort. The receptivity score indicates a level of receptiveness of the set of members to the proposed future change in the set of circumstances. The set of members of the receptivity cohort are identified as receptive to the proposed future change based on the result of a comparison of the receptivity score to a threshold score.
US08219552B2	Information theory based result merging for searching hierarchical entities across heterogeneous data sources A method, system, and computer program product are disclosed for merging search results. In one embodiment, the method comprises identifying a query, splitting the query into sub-queries, and calculating information content for each of the sub-queries. This method also comprises executing each of the sub-queries to obtain a plurality of search results, and combining the search results based on the information content calculated for the sub-queries. In an embodiment, the execution of each of the sub-queries includes identifying a multitude of search results for at least one of the sub-queries; and the combining includes grouping said multitude of search results into a plurality of clusters, and computing a relevance score for each of said clusters. In the embodiment the combining further includes merging the clusters based on the relevance scores computed for the clusters as well as the information content calculated for the sub-queries.
US08219551B2	Decoding a hierarchical multi-layer data package A hierarchical decoder is operable to decode a hierarchical multi-layer data package. The hierarchical multi-layer data package includes a plurality of layers and one or more subpackages in each layer. To decode the data package, an objective function is created based on parameters for identifying data in the data package most relevant to information of interest. Subpackages in one or more layers are evaluated using the objective function and a subpackage is selected. Information for the selected subpackage, which may include a summary and metadata, is used to determine whether the subpackage satisfies an information need. If the information need is not satisfied, a drill down procedure is performed to evaluate subpackages in a next lower layer of the data package.
US08219544B2	Method and a computer program product for indexing files and searching files A method and a computer program product for indexing files, the method includes: generating, by a remote indexing entity, user consolidated files indexing information representative of content of user files that are stored in either one of a user machine and in at least one server.
US08219542B2	Systems and methods to provide access control via mobile phones Systems and methods are provided to allow parental control via mobile communications. In one aspect, a system includes a data storage facility to store data associating a phone number with information indicative of an age of a user of the phone number; and an interchange coupled with the data storage facility. The interchange includes a common format processor and a plurality of converters to interface with a plurality of controllers. The converters are configured to communicate with the controllers in different formats and to communicate with the common format processor in a common format. The common format processor is to use one converter of the converters to communicate with a telephonic apparatus at the phone number to obtain parental consent, in response to a request from a third party website, such as a social networking website.
US08219541B2	System and method for automatically detecting, reporting, and tracking conflicts in a change management system A system and method for automatically detecting, reporting, and tracking conflicts in a change management system is provided. In particular, the system and method described herein may be used to identify potential conflicts associated with resources and schedules involved in a proposed change to an information technology infrastructure. A conflict analysis engine may analyze a change order that includes planned changes to an information technology infrastructure to identify potential conflicts associated with the change order that includes the planned changes to the information technology infrastructure. The potential conflicts may then be added to a conflicts list for the change order and a workflow may be created to manage resolving the potential conflicts. Thus, in response to resolving the potential conflicts, the planned changes may be deployed within the information technology infrastructure.
US08219537B1	Identifying skewed queries in an MMP system Apparatus and methods for determination of unacceptable skew for query in a massively parallel processing system. The apparatus and methods may use data associated with processing the query that has been stored in computer logs. The processing data may be used to determine the actual level of skew for the query. The apparatus and methods may calculate an acceptable level of skew. If the actual skew exceeds the acceptable skew, the query may be considered unacceptably skewed and may be flagged for tuning.
US08219524B2	Application-aware and remote single instance data management A method and system for reducing storage requirements and speeding up storage operations by reducing the storage of redundant data includes receiving a request that identifies one or more files or data objects to which to apply a storage operation. For each file or data object, the storage system determines if the file or data object contains data that matches another file or data object to which the storage operation was previously applied, based on awareness of the application that created the data object. If the data objects do not match, then the storage system performs the storage operation in a usual manner. However, if the data objects do match, then the storage system may avoid performing the storage operation with respect to the particular file or data object.
US08219521B2	Methods and apparatus for improving data warehouse performance Methods and apparatus for improving data warehouse performance are disclosed. An example method to transform a first database into a second database includes analyzing a structure of the first database, generating a hierarchical file path structure reflecting the structure of the first database, and associating a mapping file with a fact table, the mapping file stored in a first hierarchical directory file path of the hierarchical file path structure. The example method also includes copying data from the first database to form the second database, the copied data being accessible from the second database via the mapping file and the fact table, receiving a request to access data in the first database, using the mapping file and the fact table to retrieve the data responsive to the analysis instruction from the second database, and outputting the retrieved data.
US08219516B2	Interactive intelligent searching with executable suggestions A method, system, and computer program product for interactive searching with executable suggestions provides a search engine and data management technology that determine what a user is looking for, analyze the data in a database, and present immediately useful suggestions for finding the right information. Executable suggestions are presented that enable a user to further narrow or broaden a search intelligently and adaptively in real-time. Each executable suggestion describes a search and corresponding search criteria and provides information on the actual search results a user will obtain according to this search criteria. In one embodiment of the present invention, a system has a suggestion engine and one or more suggestion spaces.
US08219513B2	System and method for generating a context enhanced work of communication A system for selecting, managing, sharing and displaying narrative data files in a manner that takes into the account the contextual significance of said narrative data files to a narrative, an author(s) and an audience. A system that is able to place an absolute and relative value upon the significance of a media object is able to assist in stimulating the recollection of the author and audience, thus making every aspect more memorable and enhancing by improving the ease of use and the quality of the final result of the use of the system of this invention.
US08219511B2	Unbiased active learning Techniques described herein create an accurate active-learning model that takes into account a sample selection bias of elements, such as images, selected for labeling by a user. These techniques select a first set of elements for labeling. Once a user labels these elements, the techniques calculate a sample selection bias of the selected elements and train a model that takes into account the sample selection bias. The techniques then select a second set of elements based, in part, on a sample selection bias of the elements. Again, once a user labels the second set of elements the techniques train the model while taking into account the calculated sample selection bias. Once the trained model satisfies a predefined stop condition, the techniques use the trained model to predict labels for the remaining unlabeled elements.
US08219497B2	System and method for anonymously servicing lottery players A system and method for servicing at least one lottery player while protecting an identity of the at least one lottery player. The system includes a server platform of a third party organization that facilitates the method. The method includes receiving a client request at the server platform via a communications network. The method further includes the third party organization obtaining at least one lottery ticket in response to the client request, and securely holding the at least one lottery ticket for the at least one lottery player specified in the client request. The method also includes the third party organization determining a status of the at least one lottery ticket via the server platform and the communications network. The method further includes the third party organization transforming the at least one lottery ticket into a monetary amount if a status of the at least one lottery ticket is or changes to a winning status. The method also includes the third party organization securely transferring at least a first portion of the monetary amount to at least one account or trust.
US08219484B2	Methods and systems for facilitating bids on products and services Methods and systems for bidding on items include a predetermined price or range associated with an item, the price not disclosed to bidders. Successful bids conform to a predetermined success rule(s) determined independently of the amounts of other bids. Successful bids can be immediately communicated to the successful bidders. Price adjustments, typically discounts, can be determined and communicated prior to fulfillment.
US08219480B2	Systems and methods for protecting against erroneous price entries in the electronic trading of financial and other instruments The invention relates to systems and methods that provide a user interface for use with an electronic trading system. The interface notifies the user that the price at which he or she may have attempted to trade has changed and presents the user with the opportunity to submit, modify or cancel the trade command. The user may configure the trading system to enable such a notification based on the time span for the price change, the number of increments of the price change, a combination thereof or any other appropriate consideration for protecting against the occurrence of erroneous price entries. Subsequent trade commands, such as those entered by third parties, may be used to validate prices and execute trades at these prices.
US08219479B1	Website and computer program for transfer of return on investment on a real time basis for OiBiTDA Methods and systems for calculating performance of equity investments, such as but not limited to public stocks, portfolios of those stocks, portfolios, mutual funds, hedge funds of publicly traded companies. Performance is calculated so an investor can make informed decisions on acquiring and/or divesting of these equity investments. The calculations can be done via a database with a computer by calculating OiBiTDA (operating income before interest, tax, depreciation and amortization) of each equity investment which takes into account variables that include sales data per week, number of salary people and number of hours of hourly people. The calculated performance data can be disseminated through media such as but not limited to a subscribed based website and other digital online media, and the like. The return on investment (ROI) for the entire public company as well as for each operating facility of the public company can also be determined by the invention. The website can be subscriber based where-by investors get real time comparative data for individual stocks as well as those stocks that comprise a portfolio and/or a mutual fund after having Public Corporations submit Hours Paid, a scorekeeper for information under OiBiTDA.
US08219469B2	Method of providing transaction data, terminal, transaction method, method of enhancing bank statements, server, signals and computer program products corresponding thereto A method is provided for supplying data representative of transactions between a client and at least one merchant, via a banking institution. The banking institution issues a statement to the client which, for each transaction, includes a statement line containing at least one reference for said transaction and/or the merchant, and an amount corresponding thereto. The method includes a transaction phase, including: storing data representative of said transaction, in a statement server; acquiring and storing, in an illustrative data server, at least one information representative of a photograph and/or illustration representative of said merchant, called illustrative information. A supplying phase includes: creating the statement, associating to at least one of the statement lines the data representative of the transaction and at least some of the illustrative information, and/or at least one information pointing via one hyperlink to at least some of said illustrative information, called access information.
US08219468B2	Device, system, and method of project planning and management Device, system, and method of project planning and management. For example, a method of project planning and management includes: publishing a representation of a project specification comprising one or more discrete objects; publishing a collaborative comment to one or more of the discrete objects; and receiving a supplier proposal to fulfill one or more of the discrete objects.
US08219467B2	System and method for dispatching field technicians based on locations of virtual warehouses A method is disclosed for determining a technician to dispatch to a customer site requiring a service call. A first plurality of technicians assigned to a customer site requiring a service call is determined. A location of each of the technicians is also determined. A first plurality of distances is determined between each of the technicians and a plurality of locations at which is disposed equipment needed for the service call. A second plurality of distances is determined between each of the technicians and a plurality of service vehicles at which is disposed the equipment needed for the service call. One of the technicians is dispatched to the customer site based on the location of each of the technicians, on the first plurality of distances, and on the second plurality of distances. A system for implementing the method is also disclosed.
US08219465B2	Online ordering for a consumer Systems and methods for facilitating an on-line purchase of at least one item on behalf of a consumer are disclosed. A consumer may shop and purchase at least one item on a consolidated shopping (CS) website displaying one or more items available for purchase on one or more different merchant websites. The CS website provides consumers with advanced searching that takes into consideration a personal profile of the consumer, the consumer's previous shopping history, transactional data relating to a group of similar consumers, and the like. A host computer providing the CS website may access a merchant website selling the requested item, and order the requested item on behalf of the consumer, and charging a transaction fee, listing fee, receiving a rebate and/or offering a rebate for performing such. One embodiment allows a consumer to purchase/order multiple items from multiple websites in a single purchase request to the CS website.
US08219435B2	Determining task status based upon identifying milestone indicators in project-related files Various technologies and techniques are disclosed for generating project milestones. A method for programmatically determining a status of a particular task is described. Project management data for a particular task is retrieved from a data store. Milestone indicators are retrieved from a key word data store. An analysis is performed of the project-related files to determine an actual status of the particular task, using the milestone indicators and project management data as part of the analysis. When the analysis reveals that the project-related files reflect a different status for the project than the project management data reflects, one or more notifications are raised.
US08219433B2	Methods for analyzing job functions and job candidates and for determining their co-suitability A method and system for conducting an elemental analysis of a job's functions and requirements, conducting a medical diagnosis of a worker to determine the physical capabilities and limitations of the worker, and comparing the elemental analysis and the medical diagnosis to determine whether the worker can function in a particular job be it the current job, another existing job or a modification of either.
US08219431B2	Workflow management system, method and device for managing a workflow including plural hierarchically-classified tasks A workflow management system is disclosed that is suitable to manage a workflow including plural hierarchically-classified tasks and especially for cooperative work spread over different organizations. The workflow management system includes a task receiving unit to receive designation of a task to be delegated, a delegatee receiving unit to receive designation of a delegatee, an acceptance receiving unit to receive acceptance of a delegation from the delegatee, a first processor that allows a delegator to hide a delegated task and a subordinate task, and allows the delegator to confirm status of the designated task, and a second processor that allows the delegator and the delegatee to refer to other tasks relevant to the delegated task.
US08219429B2	Organization health analysis using real-time communications monitoring The present invention provides a communication monitoring and analysis method and system. More specifically, the present invention provides a method for determining the health and overall satisfaction of employees in an organization. The determination may be made by monitoring communications generated by employees for their tone and other parameters related to their satisfaction with various decisions made within the organization.
US08219428B2	System and method for determining a franchisee commitment fee based on a determined cost standard A cost standard determination system and a cost standard calculation module are provided. The system enables the operational effort of a store operation by a store operator to be reflected in a commitment fee, thereby promoting the independence support of employees. A cost standard is a value serving as a basis for the calculation of a commitment fee paid by a store owner who owns the store to the store operator to whom the store operation is committed and is used as a reference value for evaluating the operation of the store by the store operator. The cost standard calculation module has five cost standard calculation processing functions corresponding to five cost attributes (controllable attribute, permittable attribute, controllable & permittable attribute, uncontrollable attribute, and uncontrollable-based-charge attribute) and calculates a proper cost standard for each of a plurality of accounts on the cost by selectively using the five cost standard calculation processing functions.
US08219422B2	Tricare payment process An apparatus, a system, and a method are provided to pay a dispensing fee to a pharmacy and configured to replenish a pharmacy's inventory with prescription drugs by a wholesaler at no cost. Rather than being replenished for any prescription drug dispensed to a patient, a pharmacy would be paid a dispensing fee. To compensate for the wholesaler for replenishing the pharmacy at no cost, the wholesaler would receive an administrative fee. Furthermore, order rights are maintained for each participating pharmacy and wholesaler and monitor and record the transfer of order rights from a pharmacy to a wholesaler and the execute or the use by the wholesaler of the order rights. The order rights may include, in the alternative, a right assigned to the pharmacy to replenish the prescription drug dispensed or a different prescription drug for credit.
US08219421B2	Method and apparatus for bundling insurance coverages in order to gain a pricing advantage A method for reducing the lapse rate of a first insurance policy comprises the step of offering to sell a rider to said first insurance policy, said rider comprising benefit features, said benefit features configured such that the combination of said rider and said first insurance policy has a higher switching cost than the switching cost of said first insurance policy alone and said rider is constructively attached to said first insurance policy, whereby said step of offering to sell is at least in part performed by technological means. The first insurance policy may be a homeowner's policy. The rider may be a pet health insurance rider.
US08219419B1	System and method for reducing the placebo effect in controlled clinical trials A method and system for performing a clinical trial having a reduced placebo effect is disclosed. The method includes randomizing study participants into three or more treatment groups and performing a first phase of testing on the groups. In a typical embodiment, the first phase of testing includes administering an active treatment to a first group, and administering a placebo to a second group and to a third group. Responders and non-responders are determined for each group. A second phase of testing is then performed. The second phase of testing includes administering the placebo to non-responders in the first group, administering the active treatment to non-responders in the second group, and administering the placebo to non-responders in the third group. The data from the first phase of testing and from the second phase of testing is pooled and analyzed to determine response rates to active treatment and placebo.
US08219417B2	Front end Systems and methods are provided including a system for managing patient data. The system includes a computing system including a processing unit and a storage. The processing unit executes one or more programs for managing patient data. Managing patient data includes enrolling patients in a centralized care network including presenting each patient with an electronic enrollment interface, assigning each patient a patient identifier, and receiving an electronic consent to collect data. Managing patient data further includes providing patient data to the centralized care network including patient data relating to disease progression, clinical trials and treatments rendered.
US08219408B2	Audio signal decoder and method for producing a scaled reconstructed audio signal During operation a multiple channel audio input signal is received and coded to generate a coded audio signal. A balance factor having balance factor components each associated with an audio signal of the multiple channel audio signal is generated. A gain value to be applied to the coded audio signal to generate an estimate of the multiple channel audio signal based on the balance factor and the multiple channel audio signal is determined, with the gain value configured to minimize a distortion value between the multiple channel audio signal and the estimate of the multiple channel audio signal. The representation of the gain value may be output for transmission and/or storage.
US08219405B1	Automated third party verification system Methods and computer readable medium for providing third party verification data files to entities authorized to access the data files using a third party verification system. In an exemplary embodiment, the method includes obtaining a data file identifier and retrieving a data file of the data files corresponding to the data file identifier. The data file may be stored in a verification system and contain a digitally stored voice recording of at least one response by an individual to at least one question. From there, the retrieved data file may be transmitted to the authorized entity.
US08219403B2	Device and method for the creation of a voice browser functionality In the case of an incoming call, at least attempting to select and allocate one of a plurality of different types of hardware platforms to the incoming call based on initial signaling information and load criteria and performing the allocation if the allocation can be provided. If such an allocation cannot be provided, at least attempting to provide the allocation based on other signaling information following the initial signaling information. If such an allocation cannot be provided based on the other signaling information, then a relevant voice page is requested from a storage device and a pre-analysis is performed, during which the requests included therein are determined and the browser function is at least attempted to be allocated based on the determination, and if still no allocation can be achieved, then a universally usable browser functionality is allocated.
US08219402B2	Asynchronous receipt of information from a user Methods, systems, and computer program products are provided for asynchronous receipt of information from a user. Embodiments include receiving in a library management system a media file containing a speech response recorded on a hand held device in response to the playing of a media file containing one or more audio prompts for information; converting the speech response stored in the media file to text; and storing the text in association with an identification of the user.
US08219397B2	Data processing system for autonomously building speech identification and tagging data A method, system, and computer program product for autonomously transcribing and building tagging data of a conversation. A corpus processing agent monitors a conversation and utilizes a speech recognition agent to identify the spoken languages, speakers, and emotional patterns of speakers of the conversation. While monitoring the conversation, the corpus processing agent determines emotional patterns by monitoring voice modulation of the speakers and evaluating the context of the conversation. When the conversation is complete, the corpus processing agent determines synonyms and paraphrases of spoken words and phrases of the conversation taking into consideration any localized dialect of the speakers. Additionally, metadata of the conversation is created and stored in a link database, for comparison with other processed conversations. A corpus, a transcription of the conversation containing metadata links, is then created. The corpus processing agent also determines the frequency of spoken keywords and phrases and compiles a popularity index.
US08219394B2	Adaptive ambient sound suppression and speech tracking A device for suppressing ambient sounds from speech received by a microphone array is provided. One embodiment of the device comprises a microphone array, a processor, an analog-to-digital converter, and memory comprising instructions stored therein that are executable by the processor. The instructions stored in the memory are configured to receive a plurality of digital sound signals, each digital sound signal based on an analog sound signal originating at the microphone array, receive a multi-channel speaker signal, generate a monophonic approximation signal of the multi-channel speaker signal, apply a linear acoustic echo canceller to suppress a first ambient sound portion of each digital sound signal, generate a combined directionally-adaptive sound signal from a combination of each digital sound signal by a combination of time-invariant and adaptive beamforming techniques, and apply one or more nonlinear noise suppression techniques to suppress a second ambient sound portion of the combined directionally-adaptive sound signal.
US08219391B2	Speech analyzing system with speech codebook Presented herein are systems and methods for processing sound signals for use with electronic speech systems. Sound signals are temporally parsed into frames, and the speech system includes a speech codebook having entries corresponding to frame sequences. The system identifies speech sounds in an audio signal using the speech codebook.
US08219389B2	System for improving speech intelligibility through high frequency compression A speech enhancement system that improves the intelligibility and the perceived quality of processed speech includes a frequency transformer and a spectral compressor. The frequency transformer converts speech signals from the time domain to the frequency domain. The spectral compressor compresses a pre-selected portion of the high frequency band and maps the compressed high frequency band to a lower band limited frequency range.
US08219368B1	Capacity modeling system Embodiments of the present invention provide apparatuses and methods for a capacity model run-time estimator that determines the transactional capacity of an application. The capacity model run-time estimator is based on a model that includes at least one job with various steps within a run-time window. One or more windows make up shifts and one or more shifts make up a day. Historical data is used to estimate various run-times for each of the steps in a window. If the steps are dependent on transaction characteristics a statistical analysis is used to determine a run-time window estimator model that is dependent on the transaction characteristics. Constraints are placed on the run-time and transaction capacity of the windows, intra-windows, and shifts. The capacity model uses the run-time window estimators and constraints to determine the transaction capacity for an application across various periods and compares the results to forecasted capacity.
US08219365B2	Method of designing a motor vehicle A method of designing a motor vehicle is disclosed. The method includes simulating a collision of a motor vehicle using a computer model that corresponds to the motor vehicle. Collision data is collected from the simulation and used to determine calibration information for an air bag system.
US08219358B2	Platform matching systems and methods Pursuant to some embodiments, a platform matching system, method, apparatus and means are provided which include identifying at least a first benchmark test procedure to evaluate at least a first and a second target platform for use with an application, the at least first benchmark test procedure including at least a first unit test; receiving test result data from tests performed on the at least first and second target platform using the at least first benchmark test procedure; and performing a matching analysis to determine which of the at least first and second target platform is a best fit for the application.
US08219357B2	Dynamic display systems and methods thereof A method and system for displaying asset health information includes determining a status of at least one asset in a monitored system based on operational information obtained about the at least one asset. The obtained operational information about the at least one asset is compared against other operational information obtained about the monitored system. A review of the determined status of the at least one asset is conducted based on the comparison. At least one of textual information and numeric information is displayed based on the conducted review of the determined status of the at least one asset. Additionally, at least one of three or more indicator lights is displayed based on the conducted review of the determined status of the at least one asset.
US08219351B2	Methods and systems to align wafer signatures One embodiment relates to a computer method for aligning wafers processed in a semiconductor fabrication facility. In the method, a first arrangement of dies having a common functionality level is identified on a first wafer. A first alignment signature is assigned to the first wafer based on the first arrangement. A second arrangement of dies having the common functionality level is identified on a second wafer. A second alignment signature is assigned to the second wafer based on the second arrangement. The first alignment signature is compared to the second alignment signature, and the first and second wafers are selectively aligned based on a result of the comparison. Other systems and methods are also disclosed.
US08219348B2	Method for calibrating and/or correcting a display device having a needle, the needle being able to move in rotation about an axis of rotation The present invention relates to a method for calibrating and/or correcting a display device having a needle, the needle being able to move in rotation about an axis of rotation and the needle being driven by means of a stepping motor, the calibration method including several measurements of differences between a value displayed and a value to be displayed, and a computation of a correction value as a function of the differences.
US08219345B2	Methods of calibrating a clock using multiple clock periods with a single counter and related devices and methods A method of calibrating a first clock signal using a second clock signal and a plurality of calibration periods may include generating incremented counter values at a counter responsive to edges of the second clock signal. For at least two of the plurality of calibration periods, an initial incremented counter value from the counter may be stored in memory at an initial edge of the first clock signal for the respective calibration period, a final incremented counter value may be stored in memory at a final edge of the clock signal for the respective calibration period, and the at least two of the plurality of calibration periods may be overlapping with different initial and final edges of the first clock signal. For each of the plurality of calibration periods, a number of edges of the second clock signal occurring during the respective calibration period may be determined using the initial and final incremented counter values stored in memory. A relationship between the first and second clock signals may be determined using a sum of a number of edges of the second clock signal occurring during each of the plurality of calibration periods and using a sum of a number of first clock signal cycles occurring during each of the plurality of calibration periods.
US08219344B2	Method and apparatus for digital VCDL startup Methods and apparatus are provided for improved startup of a voltage controlled delay loop that has an injection clock and a return clock. A control signal is determined for a plurality of delay elements in a voltage controlled delay loop by obtaining a histogram count of a number of occurrences of at least one predefined logic value for a plurality of delay settings of the voltage controlled delay loop; determining a histogram count that approximately corresponds to an alignment of at least one edge in the injection and return clocks; and determining the control signal based on the determined histogram count that approximately corresponds to the alignment. The voltage controlled delay loop can be started using the determined control signal. The histogram count can be obtained for a plurality of PVT combinations and the control signal can then be determined for each PVT combination.
US08219343B2	Method and apparatus for calibrating a delay chain Apparatus and methods are provided for calibration within a delay chain. In various embodiments, such apparatus and techniques can be used to address delay mismatch, but are not limited to such applications. Additional apparatus, systems, and methods are disclosed.
US08219327B2	Multiplexed assay using encoded solid support matrices In a multiplexed assay, each molecule of a plurality of molecules is attached to a support matrix with a substrate adapted for attachment and/or synthesis of molecules and an integrally-formed memory device with an optically-encoded identifier to uniquely identify the molecule attached to the substrate. The molecules are exposed to one or more processing conditions then placed within the path of an optical detector adapted to read the optically-encoded identifier and measure biochemical processes on each support matrix. The support matrices may besingulated to be read by the optical detector one at a time.
US08219326B2	Determination of melting temperatures of DNA Numerical determinations of the first derivatives of a melt curve data set are made. A baseline is determined for the first derivative values and the baseline is subtracted from the first derivative values to produce modified first derivative values. A first maximum value of the modified first derivative values is determined and said first maximum value represents a melting temperature Tm of a DNA sample. A model function, such as a Gaussian Mixture Model (GMM) function, with parameters determined using a Levenberg-Marquardt (LM) regression process can also be used to find an approximation to the first derivative curve. The maximum values of the numerically determined first derivative values are used as initial conditions for parameters of the model function. The determined parameters provide one or more fractional melting temperature values, which can be returned, for example, displayed or otherwise used for further processing.
US08219319B2	Workflow for petrophysical and geophysical formation evaluation of wireline and LWD log data A computer-implemented method of characterizing elastic properties of a subsurface formation at various fluid saturation conditions is disclosed. The method includes the features of estimating densities and bulk moduli of fluids and surrounding rock matrix material present in an invaded zone around a wellbore and beyond the invaded zone to record a set of log curves of density and bulk modulus of the fluids and the surrounding rock matrix material present in the invaded zones and beyond the invaded zone versus depth; recording a set of shale trend compaction curves in each wellbore; solving a set of response equations for rock and fluid volumes based on the recorded set of log curves and shale trend compaction curves to compute lithology, porosity and hydrocarbon saturation to build computer models to estimate hydrocarbon saturation for the rock matrix material penetrated in the wellbore; and using the estimated densities and the bulk moduli of the fluids and the rock matrix material near the wellbore, the shale trend compaction curves and the computed lithology, porosity and hydrocarbon saturation near the wellbore to characterize elastic properties of a subsurface formation at various fluid saturation conditions.
US08219315B2	Customizable audio alerts in a personal navigation device A method of creating and playing customizable audio alerts in a personal navigation device is disclosed. The method includes adding a user-customizable text message to a message field of a point of interest (POI) data structure for a POI to create an updated POI data structure, storing the updated POI data structure in a memory of the personal navigation device, receiving current position information of the personal navigation device, comparing the current position information of the personal navigation device with position coordinates associated with the updated POI data structure, and converting the text message of the updated POI data structure to speech and playing the speech through a speaker of the personal navigation device when the position comparison indicates that the personal navigation device is within a predetermined radius of the POI.
US08219310B2	GPS device for displaying traffic conditions and method thereof This present disclosure provides a GPS device for displaying traffic conditions and method thereof. The GPS device defines turn distance ranges according to GPS navigation information. When running into the defined turn distance range, the vehicle turns on a video device and turn signal lamps automatically, and displays the video feed provided by the video device. When passing by the defined turn distance range, the vehicle turns off the video device and the turn signal lamps automatically.
US08219308B2	Monowheel type vehicle An engine-propelled monowheel vehicle comprises two wheels, close together, that circumscribe the remainder of the vehicle. When the vehicle is moving forward, the closely spaced wheels act as a single wheel, and the vehicle turns by leaning the wheels. A single propulsion system provides a drive torque that is shared by the two wheels. A separate steering torque, provided by a steering motor, is added to one wheel while being subtracted from the other wheel, enabling the wheels to rotate in opposite directions for turning the vehicle at zero forward velocity. The vehicle employs attitude sensors, for sensing roll, pitch, and yaw, and an automatic balancing system. A flywheel in the vehicle spins at a high rate around a spin axis, wherein the spin axis is rotatable with respect to the vehicle's frame. The axis angle and flywheel spin speed are continually adjustable to generate torques for automatic balancing.
US08219306B2	Apparatus and method for providing traffic jam information, and apparatus for receiving traffic jam information for automobile The present invention includes a traffic information collection unit for collecting weight information of a vehicle running on a road and vibration and noise information generated on the road; a traffic jam determination unit for determining a traffic jam and traffic jam type based on the collected weight information, the vibration and noise information; a traffic jam information transceiving unit for transmitting the traffic jam information or the received traffic jam information of a front road to a vehicle on a rear road by receiving the traffic jam information of a front road from another apparatus for providing traffic jam information installed on the front road; and a display unit for displaying the determination result of the traffic jam determination unit, or a traffic condition of the front road.
US08219290B2	Control apparatus for transmission When a gear change has been decided, the coil resistance value of a motor which manipulates the transmission is measured. The coil temperature of the motor is estimated from the measured coil resistance value of the motor. In a case where the estimated coil temperature of the motor has been decided to be a predetermined temperature or above, the speed change inhibition time period of the transmission is calculated, and the speed change of the transmission is inhibited during the calculated speed change inhibition time period.
US08219281B2	Controlling vehicle operations based on object presence A system, method, and program product controls an operation of a vehicle based on the presence of one or more foreign objects within one or more monitored zones about the vehicle. One or more transceivers receive information about the one or more foreign objects. Based on the received information and the one or more corresponding zones, one or more controllers identify a response, which may include notifying the user about the foreign object and/or generating a signal that inhibits the ignition from turning on. The system, method, and program product also control an operation of a vehicle based on the absence of an object of the vehicle. Likewise, the one or more controllers identify a response, which may include notifying the user about the missing object and/or generating a signal that inhibits the ignition from turning on.
US08219278B2	NOx sensor malfunction diagnostic device and malfunction diagnostic method The NOx sensor malfunction diagnostic device includes a control section. The control section performs the supplying of an excess amount of reducing agent, which is more than an amount required to reduce adsorbed NOx in a NOx reduction catalyst when a predetermined amount of NOx has been adsorbed in the NOx catalyst, and detects malfunctions of the NOx sensor based on NOx sensor output signal when the excess amount of reduction agent is supplied.
US08219275B2	Fault diagnosis Status of an entity having a plurality of components is determined from a listing of enhanced diagnostic expressions. For each combination of diagnostic expressions, a current joint diagnostic expression is generated representing a conjunction of first and second diagnostic expressions from respective first and second received listings. This expression is compared with each diagnostic expression in a generated listing of enhanced diagnostic expressions, and is discarded if: there exists a previous expression in the listing that implies the previous expression or there exists either a first or second diagnostic expression in the respective first or second listing that has not yet been included in a joint diagnostic expression and the current joint diagnostic expression implies either the first or second diagnostic expression. Any other joint diagnostic expressions are stored in the listing of enhanced diagnostic expressions. A status report is generated based on the listing of enhanced diagnostic expressions.
US08219272B2	Method for monitoring multi-motor drive A method for controlling a vehicle drive unit, which comprises at least two individual drives, at least one of which is able to provide a negative torque. A vehicle control unit is provided, within which a continuous torque comparison is performed within a monitoring level. A permissible torque is ascertained therein. Using a torque range checker it is established whether ascertained setpoint torques lie within torque ranges of the at least two individual drives.
US08219257B2	Power control protocol for a hydrokinetic device including an array thereof A method is disclosed for controlling a hydrokinetic device that includes an energy transducer. The method comprises setting a target condition for the hydrokinetic device, monitoring an actual condition of the hydrokinetic device, comparing the target condition to the actual condition to determine an error signal, and invoking a power control protocol with depth change protocol based on the error signal to maintain the hydrokinetic device at the target condition.
US08219249B2	Indoor air quality controllers and user interfaces Controllers for controlling heating, ventilating, air conditioning, and cooling (HVAC) systems are provided. The controllers include graphical user interfaces for user adjustment of system settings. The controllers also include communication interfaces for receiving climate data. In certain embodiments, the controllers govern operation of the HVAC systems based at least in part on the climate data. Further, the controllers may display information and alerts related to the climate data. The controllers also may govern operation of air treatment devices within the HVAC systems.
US08219248B2	Control device and control method for cooling fan A hybrid ECU executes a program including the steps of: setting a fan driving level F for a cooling fan, as based on a high voltage battery's temperature TB, SOC and input and output currents, and a vehicular cabin's internal temperature and background noise; detecting from a signal transmitted from a voltage sensor the voltage of an auxiliary battery serving as a power supply for the cooling fan; and setting a duty command value for the cooling fan from fan driving level F and the auxiliary battery's voltage so that the duty command value is smaller as a voltage of the auxiliary battery is higher.
US08219244B2	Surrogate-based control system A system for surrogate control of a space that incurs an ineffective sensor connection with its controller for running environmental conditioning equipment to maintain the space at one or more certain environmental parameters such as temperature. A selection of a surrogate space from which the surrogate control is obtained, may be made by correlation of data over time and specifications of other spaces in a building complex. The surrogate control may be from the controller of the space selected for control of the space having the ineffective sensor connection. The surrogate space may be a construct of one or more spaces. It may be based on a virtual space that combines behaviors of other spaces for a good match. Diagnostics may be effected from information about spaces in the system.
US08219231B2	Quality control system, quality control apparatus, quality control method and computer readable medium A quality control method includes: extracting, from a time series distribution of troubles that have occurred in electronic equipments, a first characteristics of states of occurrence of the troubles; specifying one or more parts included in the electronic equipments, the parts being involved with the troubles; extracting, from another time series distribution of a rate of use corresponding to each of suppliers which supply the specified parts, a second characteristics of the parts; and specifying one or more of the suppliers supplying the parts correlated to the troubles based on a correlation between the extracted first characteristics and the extracted second characteristics.
US08219228B2	Parametric configurator for product design: system and method The present invention is a system and method for parametric configuration of a complex product. The system includes a parametric configurator, a parametric configuration language, and a parametric data management system. The parametric configuration language facilitates the solution of a design using constraints on geometric, physical, technological, operational, or business parameters. The parametric configurator includes a hierarchical solver that partitions a design into a plurality of subdesigns; provides the choice to collectively or independently optimize sets of subdesigns; and rolls back the solution process to an earlier subdesign when a given subdesign is determined to not be viable. The parametric data management system accesses data on a tangible digital medium, the data including constraints, product models, and product model instances. The method transforms the physical and geometrical constraints into a concrete product design. The completed design can be used to generate a parts and features list from a manufacturer, to generate a quote, or to assemble, manufacture, or fabricate the product.
US08219226B2	Systems and methods for overriding hardwired responses in an HDA codec Systems and methods for overriding hardwired responses of a codec to High Definition Audio (HDA) verbs that are received from an HDA controller. In one embodiment, an HDA codec is configured to store one or more overriding responses, each of which is associated with a corresponding HDA verb. When an HDA verb is received by the codec, the codec determines whether the verb is associated with one of the overriding responses. If the verb is associated with one of the overriding responses, the overriding response is returned to the HDA controller. If the first HDA verb is not associated with one of the stored overriding responses, provide a hardwired response associated with the first HDA verb to the HDA bus. Overriding responses can be returned for unsupported verbs only, or for any verbs that prompt responses.
US08219206B2	Dwell time adjustments for posture state-responsive therapy A medical device detects a patient posture state and adjusts therapy based on the detected posture state. A patient posture state may be transient. To avoid adjusting therapy in response to transient posture states, a dwell time may be imposed. Using the dwell time, only those posture states that are assumed by a patient for a minimum length of time will result in therapy adjustment. To help ensure that the dwell time is set to an appropriate length of time, patient therapy adjustment data may be analyzed. Therapy adjustments made during the dwell time may indicate that the dwell time is too long. Therapy adjustments made prior to the initiation of the dwell time may also indicate that the dwell time is too long. Therapy adjustments made by the patient after expiration of the dwell time may indicate that the dwell time is too short. Based on analysis of the therapy adjustment data, the dwell time can be adjusted to a length that is appropriate for the patient and/or posture state.
US08219204B2	Telemetry antenna for an implantable medical device A telemetry antenna for an implantable medical device includes one or more segments having a non-linear configuration. In some embodiments, the non-linear configuration provides an antenna having a greater antenna length than the linear lengthwise dimension of the antenna structure. In some embodiments, the non-linear configuration includes a plurality of trapezoidal unit structures.
US08219191B1	Recumbent stepping exercise device with stimulation and related methods In one aspect, a device facilitates performance of a recumbent stepping exercise using stimulation. The device may include a seat for receiving a human exercise subject and foot receivers for alternately translating to and fro relative to a stationary base along a path of travel between a first position in which the legs are at least partially bent and a second position in which the legs are less bent than in the first position. An electrical stimulator is provided for facilitating the performance of the exercise by the subject moving the foot receivers alternately along the path of travel. In another aspect, adaptive feed-forward control may also be used to enhance the stepping exercise performed using the device. Related methods of performing stepping exercises are also provided.
US08219179B2	Systems and methods for navigation within a branched structure of a body A system and method for navigating a medical instrument in a branched structure of a body employs a tracking system, for collecting positional information for the medical instrument, and data, which defines a geometrical model of the branched structure, in particular, coordinates for predetermined points defining a pathway extending along branches of the model. Coordinates are identified for each Euclidean distance of the instrument, from an anchor point of a coordinate system for the tracking system, that corresponds to a Euclidean distance of a designated point, of the predetermined points, from a reference point of a coordinate system for the model, wherein the anchor point of the tracking coordinate system has been established to correspond to the reference point of the model coordinate system. The two coordinate systems are registered to one another using the identified coordinates of the instrument and the corresponding coordinates of each designated point.
US08219175B2	Method of calibrating an analyte-measurement device, and associated methods, devices and systems The invention relates to a method for calibrating an analyte-measurement device that is used to evaluate a concentration of analyte in bodily fluid at or from a measurement site in a body. The method involves measuring a concentration, or calibration concentration, of an analyte in blood from an “off-finger” calibration site, and calibrating the analyte-measurement device based on that calibration concentration. The invention also relates to a device, system, or kit for measuring a concentration of an analyte in a body, which employs a calibration device for adjusting analyte concentration measured in bodily fluid based on an analyte concentration measured in blood from an “off-finger” calibration site.
US08219169B2	Apparatus and method using light retro-reflected from a retina to non-invasively measure the blood concentration of a substance A method determines the concentration of a substance in a subject's blood. The method includes noninvasively irradiating an eye with a measurement light beam having a first wavelength and a first power and with a reference light beam having a second wavelength and a second power. The second wavelength is different from the first wavelength. The method further includes measuring at least one of a body temperature of the subject and an ambient temperature of the subject. The method further includes detecting a power of the measurement retro-reflected light beam and detecting a power of the reference retro-reflected light beam. The method further includes calculating a measurement ratio of the detected power of the measurement retro-reflected light beam and the first power and calculating a reference ratio of the detected power of the reference retro-reflected light beam and the second power. The method further includes calculating a parameter dependent on the measurement ratio and the reference ratio and determining a concentration of the substance in the subject's blood in response to the calculated parameter and to the at least one of the body temperature and the ambient temperature.
US08219164B2	Apparatus and method for supporting multiple antenna service in a wireless communication system An apparatus and method for supporting a multiple antenna service in a wireless communication system are provided. The apparatus includes at least one antenna, a form determining unit for determining a form of an MS, and an antenna constructing unit for constructing an antenna structure according to the form of the MS using the at least one antenna.
US08219154B2	Power transmission device, power transmission method, program, power receiving device and power transfer system There is provided a power transmission device including a communication part that performs communication with an external power transmission device that transmits power, a power transmission part that transmits power to a power receiving device that receives the transmitted power in a non-contact manner, a determination part that determines whether power can be transmitted, based on external power transmission information received by the communication part indicating a start of power transmission by the external power transmission device, and a power transmission control part that controls the power transmission part to selectively transmit power based on a determination result from the determination part.
US08219147B2	Mobile terminal and method of indentifying SIM card thereof A method of indentifying SIM card of a mobile terminal supports at least two SIM cards and comprises a power supply module and a power management module, wherein the power management module has different preset reference voltages and supplies power to the SIM cards respectively according to a comparison result of the reference voltages and operating voltages of the SIM cards. Via the preset reference voltages to the power management module, when the SIM card is inserted into the mobile terminal, the mobile terminal control the power supply module to supply power to the SIM cards, and the power management module determines whether the reference voltage matches the operating voltage of the SIM card, according to the comparison of the reference voltage and the operating voltage of the SIM card, so as to determine whether the SIM card can be indentified.
US08219146B2	Audio-only user interface mobile phone pairing Address book content information and an input command set are synchronized by an audio-only user interface mobile phone with a mobile device pairing server, such that the address book content information and the input command set of the audio-only user interface mobile phone are synchronized with a display-based mobile phone and the audio-only user interface mobile phone is synchronized with the display-based mobile phone via a shared unified single telephone number. The synchronized address book content information and the synchronized input command set are stored. Audio voice input information is detected. A command associated with the stored input command set is identified within the detected audio voice input information, and the identified command is processed. Audio output is generated confirming that processing associated with the identified command is in process. This abstract is not to be considered limiting, since other embodiments may deviate from the features described in this abstract.
US08219137B2	Method for controlling interference generated by a mobile station on neighbor base stations The present invention concerns a method for controlling the interference level generated by a mobile station comprising at least steps: selecting at least one neighbor base station; estimating a first attenuation value between the mobile station and a current base station, and at least a second attenuation value between the mobile station (MS) and the neighbor base station; estimating an interference level: I_level=BS0_RSS+L0−L wherein BS0_RSS is a first received signal strength at the base station, from the mobile station, L0 is the first attenuation value, and L is one second attenuation value estimated in preceding step, comparing the interference level to a reference interference level, and according to the result of the comparison, sending to the mobile station at least information relative to a maximum transmitted signal strength.
US08219135B2	Method for building spontaneous virtual communities based on common interests using wireless equipment The present invention refers to a method for establishing a communication network that connects a group or community of users using wireless equipments according to their defined interests. These equipments are preferentially portable, low cost, and user-friendly, where each equipment must be configurable using its user's profile, which contains a small amount of the user's personal data, namely the miniprofile. The method uses a collection of such miniprofiles to transparently set a communication network among the associate users to establish a virtual community. In addition, each profile will contain further information on user's interests, which the method will propagate across the communication network to the established virtual community in a way that their members will be able to form groups based on common interests while allowing for interaction among their members. The user profile can be set identifiable or anonymous, may or not be shareable in relation to the other members of a group. The method is distributed, and supports spontaneous and volatile communication networks, preferentially.
US08219133B2	Implicit group formation around feed content for mobile devices A unique system and method that facilitates group-based mobile communication around external feed content is provided. The system and method involve adding external feed content to content generated within a group. Both types of content can be viewed on the mobile devices of the group. Updates to the feed content can be obtained and communicated to the group. When multiple feeds are subscribed to by a group, one or more group members can display such feed content in a selective manner. For example, splinter groups can be formed off of the original group for members who wish to receive a subset of feeds (feed content) to assist them in focusing on a topic of interest. Group members can also employ display filters to restrict feed content displayed on their mobile devices. Users can also search for available feeds and form new groups around such content or join an existing group.
US08219118B2	Method and apparatus for decoding paging message in wireless communication system A method and mobile device for decoding a paging message transmitted as multiple bursts in a wireless communication system are provided. In the method, only the first burst among four bursts of a transmitted paging message is received and equalized. The equalized first burst is compared (e.g., by computing correlation) with a reference paging message. The first comparison result value obtained from the first comparison is compared with a threshold value. If the first comparison result value is greater than the threshold value, second through fourth bursts of the paging message are not received, and a previous decoded paging message is output and a sleep state is entered. If the comparison result value is not greater than the threshold value, the second through fourth bursts are received and decoded, the decoded paging message is encoded, and a first burst of the encoded paging message is stored as the reference paging message.
US08219116B1	Wireless base station location estimation A wireless base station allows a mobile device to communicate with a wireless network. An estimate of the location of the wireless base station may allow a location based service to determine the location of a mobile device. In an embodiment, location may be estimated using a collection of data samples obtained from a mobile device. These data samples may contain carrier related timing information, for example GSM (Global System for Mobile Communications) timing information and received signal strength indication (RSSI). Data from the GSM timing information and RSSI may be analyzed to estimate a distance of a mobile device from a wireless base station. In another embodiment, a centroid of the data samples is computed. The centroid may then be used to estimate the direction of a cell phone tower relative to the centroid. In this way, using an estimate of distance and direction, location of wireless base station may be estimated.
US08219105B2	Radio resource allocation to reduce uplink interference A network node (28) of a radio access network (20) comprises a scheduler (40) configured to provide an allocation of an uplink resource to an indoor wireless terminal (30) in communication over an air interface with the radio access network. The allocation of the network node is made in coordinated manner with resource allocation of another network node whereby any interference by reason of allocation of same uplink resource must be with another indoor wireless terminal served by the another network node. Preferably the another network node is a network node which serves a neighboring or adjacent cell.
US08219104B2	Radio resource allocation which optimizes system throughput using a small amount of computation A radio resource allocation method is provided wherein one of a plurality of mobile stations is allocated to one or each of a plurality of frequency blocks. The method comprises: (a) calculating allocation index representing transmission quality of each of said mobile stations in said each of frequency blocks; extracting for said each of frequency blocks, a mobile station having a largest allocation index as a candidate mobile station; (c) extracting a mobile station having a largest allocation index in all of said frequency blocks, as a target mobile station for allocation; and (d) extracting, from among said frequency blocks, frequency block(s) for which said candidate mobile station matches said target mobile station, as candidate frequency block(s).
US08219100B2	Active service redirection for a private femto cell A femto cell at a customer premises, such as an IP-based femto Base Transceiver System (IP-BTS), can be configured as a “private access” node intended to service a limited set of mobile stations. However, mobile stations not associated with the private femto cell may acquire and lock onto the femto BTS. To avoid service blockages in such cases, the private femto BTS will allow call access attempts by, and call deliveries to, a non-associated mobile station, despite the “private access” configuration. However, upon completion of call set-up, the non-associated mobile station is directed to initiate handoff, from the private femto cell coverage provided by the femto BTS into a cell coverage of a base station of the macro network, to conserve femto cell resources for use in servicing calls of the associated mobile station(s).
US08219099B2	Methods and apparatus for subscriber station-based admission selection in a wireless communication system A subscriber station may identify base stations that have sufficiently strong signal strength so that the base stations are candidates to be used for network entry. The subscriber station may determine which of the candidate base stations is least utilized. The subscriber station may select the least utilized base station for network entry.
US08219097B2	Method of transmitting and receiving radio access information in a wireless mobile communications system In a wireless mobile communications system, a method of transmitting and receiving radio access information that allows a faster and an efficient way of establishing a radio connection between a terminal and a target base station while performing a handover for the terminal to a cell of the target base station. The network transmits in advance, the radio access information and the like, to the terminal so that the terminal can be connected with the target cell in a faster manner which minimizes the total time for the handover process.
US08219092B2	User equipment frequency allocation methods and apparatus In an embodiment, a wireless communication system (100, FIG. 1) includes one or more nodes (102-108) and one or more user equipments (UE) (130-134). A node may service a cell (110-116). A UE may be classified (802, FIG. 8) into a cell-edge UE group when the UE is within in a cell-edge region (504, 506, 508, FIG. 5) of a cell. The cell-edge UE group may be allocated at least one first frequency range within an available bandwidth (600, 700, FIGS. 6 and 7). A UE may be reclassified (808, FIG. 8) into a cell-center UE group based on at least one indicator of UE performance. The cell-center UE group may be allocated at least one second frequency range within the available bandwidth.
US08219071B2	Portable terminal, information recommendation method and program An information acquisition section acquires application halfway information, user preference, updated date and time, real-timeness, usage frequency, usage history, radio wave state, remaining battery level, billing information or other information. A controller calculates recommendation values indicating recommended degrees to recommend the use to a user for each of a plurality of applications and for each of the contents of each of the applications, using the information that the information acquisition section acquired. Then, for example, when a specific button is pressed, the controller gives priorities to the plurality of applications and contents based on the recommendation values, causing the applications and contents to be displayed on a display of a display section 15 in the order of priority. Thus, of the various applications and contents, it makes it possible to select one that is more matched to the user preference and suitable for the terminal usage pattern.
US08219068B2	Speech to message processing Voice message processors are configured to produce text representations of voice messages. The text representations can be compacted based on one or more abbreviation libraries or rule libraries. Abbreviation processing can be applied to produce a compact text representation based on display properties of a destination device or to enhance user perception. Text representation length can be reduced based on abbreviations in a standard abbreviation list, a user specific abbreviation list, or a combination of standard and custom lists. In some examples, text length is shortened based on stored rules. Mobile stations are configured to receive text representations of voice messages and request delivery of the associated voice messages based on message identifiers or message availability indicators that are presented on mobile station display. Network elements comprise a voice message processor and are configured to produce text representations and deliver text representation or voice messages based as requested by message recipients.
US08219064B2	Method, system, and apparatus for preventing bidding down attacks during motion of user equipment A method for preventing bidding down attacks during motion of a User Equipment (UE) is provided. The method includes the UE sends a Tracking Area Update (TAU) Request message to a new MME, the TAU Request carries UE's security capabilities, the UE receives UE's security capabilities sent by the MME, and the UE checks whether the received UE's security capabilities are consistent with the stored UE's security capabilities. A system, an MME, and a UE for preventing bidding down attacks during motion of the UE are also provided. When the UE performs security capability negotiation with the MME, the UE can check whether the received security capabilities are consistent with the stored security capabilities, and determine whether a bidding down attack exists, and therefore may prevent bidding down attacks.
US08219044B2	Feedback compensation detector for a direct conversion transmitter A feedback compensation detector for a direct conversion transmitter includes a baseband processor, a direct up-converter, an antenna, and an impairment detection and compensation feedback circuit. The baseband processor generates an in-phase (I) baseband signal and a quadrature-phase (Q) baseband signal. The direct up-converter is coupled to the baseband processor, and combines the I and Q baseband signals with an RF carrier signal to generate an RF output signal. The antenna is coupled to the direct up-converter, and transmits the RF output signal. The impairment detection and compensation feedback circuit is coupled to the RF output signal and the I and Q baseband signals. The impairment detection and compensation feedback circuit down-converts the RF output signal to generate an intermediate frequency (IF) signal, measures at least one signal impairment in the IF signal, and pre-distorts the I and Q baseband signals to compensate for the measured signal impairment.
US08219043B2	Radio transmission apparatus and radio transmission method A radio transmission apparatus according to the present invention detects an output current of a power supply section that varies in response to a variation of the output impedance of an amplification section, and corrects a distortion of the input/output characteristic of the amplification section by using an LUT corresponding to the detected output current. In addition, a threshold used for switching an LUT is caused to be different depending on a switching direction between LUTs, thereby suppressing frequent occurrence of switching of the LUT.
US08219040B2	Transmitter bandwidth optimization circuit A method is provided for operating a transmitter integrated in a microelectronic element. In a calibration phase, a plurality of operational parameters are stored for controlling a frequency response of the transmitter under each of a plurality of corresponding operating conditions. Upon detecting an operating condition such as a temperature or power supply voltage level, the corresponding stored operational parameter is applied to the transmitter to control the frequency response.
US08219039B2	Radio communication device and radio communication method A radio communication device according to the present invention adaptively controls directivity of a transmission radio signal by using a plurality of element antennas on the basis of a received radio signal received from a communication target counterpart radio communication device. The radio communication device includes a transmission controller configured to process the transmission radio signal according to a first control method for adaptively controlling the directivity, a propagation path state detector configured to detect fluctuation state of a propagation path to a counterpart radio communication device, and a judgment unit configured to judge whether or not to change the directivity on the basis of the fluctuation state of the propagation path. If it is judged that the directivity is to be changed, the transmission controller switches to a second control method that is different from the first control method, and processes the transmission radio signal according to the second control method.
US08219035B2	Enhanced calibration for multiple signal processing paths in a wireless network Calibrating signal processing paths for a plurality of transmission devices by obtaining calibration data for at least one of the signal processing paths for each of the transmission devices and determining a plurality of calibration weights from the calibration data for each of the transmission devices. A calibration variance is calculated between the plurality of calibration weights and it is determined if the calibration variance is below a calibration variance threshold. Additionally, a phase variation and a magnitude variation are calculated from the calibration data for each of the transmission devices with respect to a reference transmission signal obtained from a reference transmission device and it is determined for each of the transmission devices if the phase variation is below a phase variation threshold and if the magnitude variation is below a magnitude variation threshold. Further, if the calibration variance is below the calibration variance threshold, and the phase variation is below the phase variation threshold and the magnitude variation is below the magnitude variation threshold for each of the transmission devices, then the plurality of calibration weights are applied to the at least one of the signal processing paths of each of the transmission devices.
US08219029B2	Wireless communication device, program, method, and system for communicating operation instruction information A wireless communication device includes: a generation portion that generates management information for forming a wireless network with wireless communication devices in the vicinity, and operation instruction information that instructs operation of at least one of the wireless communication devices in the vicinity; and a communication portion that periodically transmits, to the wireless communication devices in the vicinity, management information to which the operation instruction information has been added.
US08219027B2	Proximity based smart collaboration A first device detects one or more devices within communication proximity of the first device, determines one or more actions to perform when said one or more devices are within communication proximity, learns behavior of the first device when said one or more devices are detected to be within communication proximity of the first device and performs said one or more actions.
US08219025B2	Stand alone sensor apparatus for continuous web machines A stand alone sensor apparatus includes a moveable chassis and, mounted to the chassis, a wireless power receiver, a sensor, and a wireless transceiver. The wireless power receiver receives power wirelessly, converts the wireless power to electrical power, and provides the electrical power to the sensor and the wireless transceiver. The sensor measures a characteristic of a continuous web material. The wireless transceiver is coupled to the sensor and wirelessly sends a signal that is based upon the measured characteristic. An air source and/or a temperature control device may be mounted to the moveable chassis and receive electrical power from the wireless power receiver.
US08219023B1	Remotely operated illumination device A system includes a substrate having a first side and a second side, more than one optical sources, wherein at least one optical source is coupled to the first side and at least one optical source is coupled to the second side, a power source operatively connected to the optical sources, a switch connected to the power source, and an RF receiver connected to the switch. The optical sources may be LEDs and may operate within the visible or infrared spectrum. The system may include an enclosure that is configured to be attached to antenna masts of a radio relay device. The enclosure may have windows to allow light from the optical sources to pass unobstructed through the enclosure. In some embodiments, the system is contained within the radio relay device. The system may be remotely controlled to illuminate a distant object or structure.
US08219021B2	System and method for proctoring a test by acting on universal controls affecting all test takers An aspect of the present invention relates to an online test platform adapted to facilitate the development, delivery, and management of educational tests with interactive participation by students, teachers, proctors, and administrators even when some or all of them are remotely located. The platform may include administrator interfaces, test proctor interfaces, and test taker (e.g. student) interfaces to allow each participant to view, navigate, and interact with aspects of the online test platform that are intended to meet their needs.
US08219011B2	Intermediate transfer member and image formation apparatus The invention provides an intermediate transfer member which is excellent in transferability and adhesion property and exhibits superior durability (releasability, resistance to lack of line images and cracking resistance) even after being used or aged under a severe environment over a long period of time and an image forming apparatus provided therewith. The intermediate transfer member comprises a substrate having thereon from the substrate side a first inorganic compound layer and a second inorganic compound layer, wherein a layer thickness ratio of the second inorganic compound layer to the first inorganic compound layer is not less than 1.0 and not more than 5.0, a carbon content of the first inorganic compound layer is not less than 0.5% by number of atoms and not more than 10% by number of atoms, and a carbon content of the second inorganic compound layer is less than 0.1% by number of atoms.
US08219010B2	Image forming apparatus, image forming method, intermediate transfer belt, and method of evaluating the same In an image forming apparatus which transfers a toner image formed on a photoconductive member primarily onto the intermediate transfer belt and then transfers the same secondarily onto an image bearing medium, a relation; 40
US08219007B2	Developing apparatus and image forming apparatus provided with the same A housing of a developing apparatus is provided with a conveying member and two agitating members. A guide is provided in an inner bottom surface of the housing between two agitating members. A guide is formed into a mountain shape with wide foot portion in a cross sectional shape which is orthogonal to an axial direction of rotating shafts of the agitating members. The guide is arranged in such a manner that a gap between respective outermost portions of two agitating members, and an inner bottom surface of the housing and the guide becomes equal to or more than 1.5 mm and less than 3 mm. Further, each of two agitating members rotates in a direction from the below to the above at a position of the guide.
US08219003B2	Drive control device of a rotation member, method for drive control of a rotation member, and image forming apparatus including the drive control device A drive control apparatus including a drive motor that transmits a rotation drive force to a rotation member in order to rotate the rotation member, a pulse signal outputting unit that outputs a pulse signal for each predetermined angle of rotation or a position for rotation of the rotation member, while the rotation member is rotating, a pulse cycle measuring unit that measures a pulse cycle of the pulse signal, where the pulse cycle is a cycle of a rising or falling edge, a computation processing unit that computes an angular error or a position error of the rotation member based on the pulse cycle and a desired pulse cycle, where the desired pulse cycle corresponds to a desired velocity of the rotation member and a drive control unit that controls the drive motor based on the angular error or the position error.
US08218999B2	Winding member, cartridge, and cartridge assembling method A winding member winds a seal member that seals an opening of a developer storage unit. The winding member includes a first holding portion having a first engaging portion, and a second holding portion having a second engaging portion to be engaged with the first engaging portion, configured to hold the sealing member between the first and second holding portions, wherein an end of the first holding portion and an end of the second holding portion are connected, so that the first holding portion and the second holding portion are relatively movable, and wherein the first engaging portion is engaged with the second engaging portion while the sealing member is held between the first holding portion and the second holding portion.
US08218990B2	Image formation system, image formation method, and image quality improvement method twice heating and pressing a toner image on a recording material An image formation system includes an image forming apparatus for forming different color toner images on a recording material having a toner reception layer, a first heater for heating and pressing the toner image on the recording material, and a heater for heating and pressing the toner image on the recording material having been heated and pressed by the first heater. The first heater is operable so as to provide a granularity R of the toner image satisfying 0.5≦R≦4.0 and a glossiness G of the toner image satisfying 5≦G≦40, the second heater being operable so as to provide a granularity R of the toner image that is not more than 4.0 and a glossiness G of the toner image that is not less than 60.
US08218989B2	Image forming apparatus that transfers toner image carried by image carrier onto sheet, density control method therefor, and storage medium An image forming apparatus capable of identifying the amount of reflected light from any portion of an image carrier in a short time. A sensor detects reflected light from an intermediate transfer belt. A CPU performs pattern matching between the amount of reflected light from the belt corresponding to one rotation thereof and the amount of reflected light from a specific portion of the belt to thereby identify a first circumferential location of the specific portion and a second circumferential location of a toner patch formed on the belt. The CPU calculates toner patch density based on the amount of reflected light from the toner patch and the amount of reflected light from the belt in the second circumferential location. The density of a toner image to be formed on the belt is controlled according to the calculated toner patch density.
US08218988B2	Image forming apparatus with transfer belt cleaning function To provide an image forming apparatus which can prevent malfunction of the open/close control of a shutter due to erroneous detection of the toner on the transfer belt when the opening and closing of the shutter is detected from the output from an optical sensor. The separation/contact assembly for moving a cleaning member into and out of contact includes an arm rotationally supported on a pivot, an abutment part fixed to the body frame so as to limit the rotation of the arm and a spring for pressing the arm in the clockwise direction. The cleaning member is attached at the distal end of the arm. The cleaning member cleans the transfer belt surface when the shutter is closed, so that the cleaned transfer belt surface can be always detected when the shutter is open.
US08218987B2	Systems and methods for tandem printing and print job scheduling According to aspects of the embodiments, there is provided a printing system that includes first and second marking devices for applying images to print media. A first fusing module associated with the first marking device for applying a primary fusing treatment to the images applied to print media by the first marking device. A second fusing module which receives printed media from the first and second marking devices, the secondary fusing module including a fusing device that applies a fusing treatment to the images applied to the printed media. A printing controller having a scheduler for processing print jobs in the first and second marking devices based on fusing requirements of the print media.
US08218986B2	Image forming apparatus capable of controlling a moisture content quantity of a paper The image forming apparatus transfers a toner image onto a print paper via a transfer roller having an electrode configured to apply a bias electric potential upon the print paper. The image forming apparatus includes a humidity detection sensor to detect a humidity of the print paper, a retention electrode to preserve the toner image transferred to the print paper by applying a bias electric potential upon the print paper and a control device configured to control the bias electric potential of each of the electrode of the transfer roller and the retention electrode. The control device measures moisture content quantity of the print paper based on an interval from commencement of variation in the humidity to a maximum quantity of variation of the humidity and controls the bias electric potential of the electrode of the transfer roller and the retention electrode according to the moisture content quantity thus measured.
US08218983B2	Image formation apparatus including hot-roll type fixing device and method for determining malfunction of temperature sensor in the same A control portion determines whether a malfunction occurs or not in a roller temperature sensor and an ambient temperature sensor by comparing a trajectory (temporal behavior) actually created by two-dimensional data on a temperature table with a target trajectory. In other words, the control portion successively integrates a prescribed weight for each transition from one element to the adjacent element corresponding to a trajectory of two-dimensional data on the temperature table, and determines whether or not a malfunction occurs in the roller temperature sensor and the ambient temperature sensor, based on the integrated weight.
US08218981B2	Image forming apparatus and image forming system An image forming apparatus is supplied that includes a storage section that previously stores apparatus structure of a self apparatus. A structure detecting section detects apparatus structure of the self apparatus. A setting information generating section generates a definition file and an overwriting program for overwriting the definition file on the basis of the apparatus structure detected by the structure detecting section, and generates apparatus structure change information containing the generated definition file and overwriting program. An information storing section in which a sending address of an image processing apparatus in which a printer driver is installed is stored. A sending section sends the apparatus structure change information to the image processing apparatus on the basis of the sending address. The image processing apparatus automatically updates a printer driver on the basis of the apparatus structure change information.
US08218975B2	Free-space DQPSK demodulator A demodulator comprises an input splitter, optical device sets, and couplers. The input splitter splits an input signal comprising symbols to yield a number of signals. A first optical device set directs a signal of along a first path. A second optical device set directs another signal along a second path to yield a delayed signal. At least a portion of the second path is in free space. A path length difference between the first path and the second path introduces a delay between the first signal and the second signal. A coupler receives a portion of the signal and a portion of the delayed signal to generate interference, where the interference indicates a phase shift between a phase corresponding to a symbol and a successive phase corresponding to a successive symbol.
US08218972B2	Wavelength division multiplexing system A wavelength division multiplexing system has an array of wavelength-tunable lasers with at least two wavelength-tunable lasers emitting laser light at mutually different wavelengths, a first diffraction grating, an optical fiber, a second diffraction grating, and an array of photodetectors. The laser light emitted by the different wavelength-tunable lasers wavelengths impinges upon the first diffraction grating where it is reflected so as to impinge on an input end of the optical fiber. The light then propagates in the optical fiber and comes out from an output end of the optical fiber. Then the laser light having at least two different wavelengths further impinges on a second diffraction grating, whereupon it is reflected such that laser light having a first wavelength impinges on a first photodetector, and laser light having a second wavelength impinges on a second photodetector, which is different from the first photodetector.
US08218971B2	Room association device conveying sector data for in-room position and facing determinations A processor can determine a relative position within a room of a person wearing a force-on-force device based exclusively upon sensed optical signals detected by optical sensors connected to the force-on-force device. Each of the sensed optical signals is geographically focused within a spatially constrained zone. Each sensed optical signal can further include digitally encoded data indicating an optical source that emitted the sensed optical signal and a spatially constrained zone of the sensed optical signal. The relative position can be determined based on determining a grid within the room within which the person is located. The grid can be defined by overlapping ones of the spatially constrained zones of the sensed optical signals.
US08218968B2	System and method for discovering neighboring nodes A method for discovering neighboring nodes includes establishing a first optical connection with a first node using a first link. The method also includes detecting a change in the first optical connection. The method further includes initiating a discovery process to detect whether the first node or a second node is using the first link. The method additionally includes, upon detecting a second node using the first link, disabling the first optical connection and establishing a second optical connection with the second node.
US08218965B1	Optical failover routing Apparatuses, systems, and methods of routing data through an optical network are disclosed. One such method includes transmitting optical data via a first fiber optic network from an originating node on a first level to a second level, receiving the optical data at a destination node on a third level from the second level via a second fiber optic network, wherein the second level, connected to the first fiber optic network and the second fiber optic network, includes a first intermediate node as a primary route on the second level for transmitting the optical data from the originating node to the destination node, and a second intermediate node as an alternate route on the second level for transmitting the optical data from the originating node to the destination node when the first intermediate node fails.
US08218954B2	Fragrant electronic device A fragrant electronic device includes a main body, a fragrant member and a resilient member received in the main body. The resilient member resists the fragrant member and ensures that the resilient member will not become loose and rattle around in the main body.
US08218951B2	Storage medium storing program management information, and reproducing method and apparatus A storage medium storing program applications to provide additional functions using moving-images and management information needed to manage the program applications. The storage medium includes reproduction mode data reproducing moving-image data, program data including a plurality of program applications providing additional functions using the moving-image data, system data controlling the execution of the reproduction mode data and the program data, and management information managing the execution of the program applications in unit of title. The program applications providing additional functions can be managed in unit of title and loaded to a system memory in advance to be executed.
US08218946B2	Method of storing data in mobile terminal having digital multimedia broadcasting function A mobile terminal and a method for storing data in the mobile terminal including a Digital Multimedia Broadcasting (DMB) function are provided. The method for storing data includes setting reservation information, when a reservation storage function is selected in a DMB mode, determining a program start time point and a channel according to the set reservation information through Electronic Program Guide (EPG) information and converting the DMB mode to a sleep mode, activating the DMB mode and identifying Event Information Table (EIT) information of currently received first data and a second data to be received, if a current time point is equal to the program start time point, storing the first data, if the EIT information of the first data is included in the reservation information, otherwise, determining whether the EIT information of the second data is included in the reservation information, and receiving and storing the second data.
US08218943B2	CV tag video image display device provided with layer generating and selection functions Under an internet environment, video images of actual roads, stores or the like are distributed, an arbitrary tag can be attached to the video images or information can be written in them and further a plurality of layers are set to the video images in the same area. An administrator device (200) stores a CV video image obtained by adding, to a video image of an arbitrary object area, a CV value indicating three-dimensional values of camera positions and attitudes during shooting, stores a CV tag which is displayed in a synthesized manner at an arbitrary designated position in the CV video image, generates a plurality of layers to be overlapped with the CV video image and having the same coordinate system as that of the CV video image, and stores the generated layers in association with the corresponding CV video images. A plurality of user devices (300) which are respectively connected with the administrator device (200) through an internet receive desired CV video images from the administrator device (200) for display, display a desired layer in the displayed CV video image in an overlapped manner, and synthesize and display the CV video image and the layer with a CV tag at a desirable position on a display (300a).
US08218942B2	Recording apparatus optical disk and computer-readable recording medium Data management information includes recording time zone information (REC_TM_ZONE) at a time of recoding the data, indicating a time difference between the world standard time (Greenwich Mean Time) and a standard time in a location where the data has been recorded; and data recording time information (REC_TM) indicating a recording time when the data has been recorded, in accordance with the standard time indicated by the time zone information (TM_ZONE) wherein the reproduction apparatus includes means for reproducing the data; and specifying means for specifying a local recording time in a location where the data has been recorded, and wherein the specifying means calculates the local recording time in the location where the data has been recorded, by (REC_TM)−(TM_ZONE)+(REC_TM_ZONE) where (REC_TM) is the data recording time information, (TM_ZONE) is the time zone information, and (REC_TM_ZONE) is the recording time zone information.
US08218933B2	Method of fabricating a planar substrate having optical waveguides A method of producing a planar substrate having waveguide channels, which method comprises: (i) providing a tube (6) of a substrate material; (ii) depositing silica layers (110) on the inside of the tube (6), the silica layers (110) being doped with a photosensitive material; (iii) drawing the tube (6) so that the cross-sectional size of the tube (109) is reduced; (iv) before or after the reducing of the cross-sectional size of the tube (6), causing the tube (6) to collapse into a flat shape by applying a low pressure to the tube, whereby the deposited silica layers together form a photosensitive silica layer (111); (v) cutting to required lengths the tube (6) which has been collapsed and reduced in cross-sectional size; and (vi) using laser writing to define waveguide channels in the cut lengths of the tube (6) and thereby to produce the planar substrate having the waveguide channels.
US08218930B2	High-reliability optical fiber having a nanocomposite coating An optical fiber is coated with a super-hydrophobic carbon nanotube film, or other film containing a nanocomposite material, to increase reliability. The film is formed from a carbon nanotube dispersion, which is in turn formed from a mixture of water, carbon nanotube gel, and a polymer such as single stranded DNA of a repeating sequence of the base pairs GT with a length of 20 base pairs, which is sonicated and then ultracentrifuged.
US08218913B1	Identifying a front page in media material The present invention relates to systems and methods for identifying front pages from images representing media. In an embodiment, a system for identifying at least one front page within an image representing media is provided. The system includes a matcher, an aggregator and a reviewer. In another embodiment, a method for identifying at least one front page within an image representing media is provided. The method includes comparing each page to matching criteria to produce a matching confidence score. The method also includes aggregating, as front page candidates, each page having a matching confidence score that exceeds a matching confidence score threshold. The method further includes receiving decision information and identifying front pages from front page candidates based upon the decision information. According to another embodiment, the matching criteria may comprise at least one local, affine invariant feature point.
US08218906B2	Image registration evaluation An apparatus for evaluating image registration is provided. The apparatus includes a graph generation unit configured to generate a graph based on a plurality of registered images and a plurality of transformation rules therebetween, the graph comprising a plurality of nodes respectively corresponding to the registered images and a plurality of edges respectively corresponding to at least part of the transformation rules; a general transition unit configured to identify one or more loops for at least one of the nodes within the graph and to transform the registered image corresponding to the at least one node along the one or more identified loops to provide one or more transformed images; and a general transition error unit configured to produce a similarity measure between the registered image corresponding to the at least one node and at least one of the transformed images, wherein the graphic generation unit is further configured to calculate an inverse consistency metric for at least one pair of the registered images and a pair of transformations rules between the at least one registered image pair, and to establish as the edges the pair of transformation rules with an inverse consistency metric within a prescribed range.
US08218902B1	Portable electronic device position sensing circuit An electronic device includes a position sensing circuit that receives a tone from an audio signal output, modifies the tone, and returns the modified tone to audio signal input. The device's processor implements instructions to compare one or more characteristics of the modified signal to those of one or more reference signals to determine a pan/tilt measurement or other angular position of the device.
US08218901B2	Robust mosaicing method, notably with correction of motion distortions and tissue deformations for a vivo fibered microscopy A method for mosaicing frames from a video sequence is disclosed. Each frame is constituted by a point cloud, and each point in the point cloud is potentially acquired at a different time. The method involves compensating for motion and motion distortion due to acquisition time differences in each frame, applying a global optimization of inter-frame registration to align consistently the frames, and applying a reconstruction algorithm on the registered frames to construct a mosaic.
US08218894B2	System and method of contrast enhancement A system and method of contrast enhancement is disclosed. A contrast enhancement unit processes an input pixel to generate a contrast-enhanced pixel, and a delta unit subtracts the input pixel from the contrast-enhanced pixel, thereby resulting in a difference value. Multiple delayed difference values generated by a delay unit are low-pass filtered to generate a refined difference value. An adding unit adds back the refined difference value to the input pixel, thereby resulting in an output pixel that is contrast-enhanced without noise boost.
US08218890B2	Method and apparatus for cropping images The boundaries of a scanned digital document are determined by identifying the largest connected component in the received digital document and assigning the boundaries of the largest connected component as the boundaries of the received digital document or by using a row by row and column by column analysis of the received digital document to identify horizontal and vertical bands in the digital image having pixels with a value opposite to the value of pixels of a background of the received digital document and assigning the horizontal and vertical bands to be the boundaries of the received digital document. These processes may be performed in series or parallel by a processor associated with a scanner that creates the digital document.
US08218885B2	Apparatus and method for image data compression There are provided an image processing section for carrying out processing to detect high frequency components of an image, a calculating section for calculating feature data representing distribution of frequency of appearances of high frequency components, a compression parameter setting section for setting compression parameters based on feature data, and a RAW compression processing section for carrying out RAW compression processing for image data based on compression parameters. Together with data size of lossless compression data, such as RAW data, not becoming large, the processing to do this is carried out in a short time.
US08218882B2	Image coding method, image coding apparatus, image coding circuit, information recording medium, and computer program An image coding method is disclosed by which plural code data sets each having a different code amount are generated from one image data set that includes a target code amount setting step for setting a different target code amount for each of the code data sets; an entropy code generation step for applying entropy coding processing to the image data set or data obtained by applying predetermined processing to the image data set so as to generate plural entropy codes; a code amount control step for specifying one of the entropy codes to be truncated so as to control a code amount for each different target code amount; and a code data generation step for truncating the one of the entropy codes specified in the code amount control step and generating the corresponding code data set.
US08218880B2	Linear laplacian discrimination for feature extraction An exemplary method for extracting discriminant feature of samples includes providing data for samples in a multidimensional space; based on the data, computing local similarities for the samples; mapping the local similarities to weights; based on the mapping, formulating an inter-class scatter matrix and an intra-class scatter matrix; and based on the matrices, maximizing the ratio of inter-class scatter to intra-class scatter for the samples to provide discriminate features of the samples. Such a method may be used for classifying samples, recognizing patterns, or other tasks. Various other methods, devices, system, etc., are also disclosed.
US08218877B2	Tracking vehicle method by using image processing The invention relates to a method for image processing. First, establish the initial image background information. And retrieve the instant image information. Then calculate the initial image background information and color intensity information of the instant image. Furthermore, adjust the instant image information. Then calculate the moving-object information. Finally, track the moving-object information. It can improve the accuracy rate of detection without the influence of erected height.
US08218865B2	Constructing a color transform using a neural network for colors outside the spectrum locus A color management module which provides color values in a destination color space by interpolation of a LUT that maps from color values in a source color space to corresponding color values in the destination color space. The LUT includes cells corresponding to color values within a spectrum locus and color values outside the spectrum locus. The LUT is populated differently for cells within the spectrum locus and for those outside the spectrum locus. For cells within the spectrum locus, color values are calculated using a color transform constructed based on device profiles for the source device and for the destination device, and corresponding cells of the LUT are populated based on the calculated values. For cells outside of the spectrum locus, an artificial neural network is trained using the calculated color values, and the corresponding cells are populated based on outputs of the trained neural network.
US08218857B2	Color-coded target, color code extracting device, and three-dimensional measuring system To provide a color-coded target having a color code of colors chosen not to cause code reading errors and technique for automatically detecting and processing the targets. The color-coded target CT1 of this invention includes, on its surface: a position detecting pattern P1 indicating a position to be measured; a reference color pattern P2 having a plurality of unit areas tinted in different colors for use as color references; and a color code pattern P3 having a plurality of unit areas tinted in different colors for discriminating the targets. The colors of the color code pattern P3 are chosen so that adjacent colors in the HSI color space are different in at least one of hue, saturation, and intensity by a specified value or greater.
US08218851B1	Identifying stored documents by evaluating image attributes Stored documents can be recognized and identified by evaluation of their attributes from an image file to obtain a document specification that can be compared to stored data about the document. The image file is analyzed using a processor in order to discern image attributes. The image attributes form a specification for the document in the image. This specification can then be compared to the stored criteria using the processor, and the result of the comparison can be stored. An embodiment of the invention can be used in a check processing system for a financial institution. In such a case, the corresponding data comprises MICR data and the image attributes can, for example, indicate whether the document is a check in a carrier, as opposed a paper check by itself.
US08218846B2	Automatic pathway and waypoint generation and navigation method A navigation system for use in a luminal network of a patient, such as the airways, that is able to analyze a three-dimensional model of the luminal network and automatically determine a pathway from an entry point to a designated target. The system further automatically assigns waypoints along the determined pathway in order to assist a physician in navigating a probe to the designated target.
US08218845B2	Dynamic pulmonary trunk modeling in computed tomography and magnetic resonance imaging based on the detection of bounding boxes, anatomical landmarks, and ribs of a pulmonary artery A method and system for modeling the pulmonary trunk in 4D image data, such as 4D CT and MRI data, is disclosed. Bounding boxes are detected in frames of the 4D image data. Anatomic landmarks are detected in the frames of the 4D image data based on the bounding boxes. Ribs or centerlines of the pulmonary artery are detected in the frames of the 4D image data based on the anatomic landmarks, and a physiological pulmonary trunk model is fit the frames of the 4D image data based on the detected ribs and anatomic landmarks. The boundary of the pulmonary trunk is detected in order to refine the boundary of the pulmonary trunk model in the frames of the 4D image data, resulting in a dynamic model of the pulmonary trunk. The pulmonary trunk can be quantitatively evaluated using the dynamic model.
US08218843B2	Method for registering two-dimensional image data, computer program product, navigation method for navigating a treatment apparatus in the medical field, and computational device for registering two-dimensional image data The present application relates to a method for registering two-dimensional image data, comprising the steps of: providing a registered three-dimensional image data set of an object under examination; providing a two-dimensional image data set of the object under examination which is to be registered; generating synthetic two-dimensional image data sets of the object under examination from the three-dimensional image data set, wherein the synthetic two-dimensional image data sets to be generated are parameterized with regard to parameters which describe the two-dimensional image data set to be registered; comparing the parameterized synthetic two-dimensional image data sets with the two-dimensional image data set to be registered, and finding the parameterized synthetic two-dimensional image data set having the greatest similarity to the two-dimensional image data set to be registered; on the basis of this, ascertaining the spatial relationship between the two-dimensional image data set to be registered and the registered three-dimensional image data set, and thus registering the two-dimensional image data set.
US08218831B2	Combined face detection and background registration Techniques are provided to analyze video frames of a video signal in order to distinguish regions containing a face (and body torso) from regions that contain a relatively static background. The region containing the face is referred to as a foreground region. A current video frame is divided into a plurality of elements and the foreground regions and background regions are detected. The background regions of a subsequent video frame are detected/registered using the foreground regions of the current video frame. The foreground regions of the subsequent video frame are determined using the background regions of the current video frame as a temporal reference.
US08218830B2	Image editing system and method An image editing system for use with a web-based video editing system is provided. The image editing system comprises: a detection system configured to receive image data; detect regions of the image representing faces; store the data representing the coordinates of the faces as points of interest; and receive user input adding additional points of interest, modifying the points of interest, or deleting the pre-selected points of interest; and a cropping subsystem configured to determine the portion of the image containing the maximum number of points of interest that will fit within the crop area; and crop the image.
US08218826B2	Integrated measurement based on an optical pattern-recognition A measurement system is provided that includes an integrated optics unit which measures at least one variable of the movement of a conveyance system relative to an oil well during an oil well operation, wherein the at least one variable is a direction of motion, a speed of movement, or a length of movement of the conveyance system.
US08218825B2	Capturing and processing facial motion data Capturing and processing facial motion data includes: coupling a plurality of sensors to target points on a facial surface of an actor; capturing frame by frame images of the plurality of sensors disposed on the facial surface of the actor using at least one motion capture camera disposed on a head-mounted system; performing, in the head-mounted system, a tracking function on the frame by frame images of the plurality of sensors to accurately map the plurality of sensors for each frame; and generating, in the head-mounted system, a modeled surface representing the facial surface of the actor.
US08218824B2	Spatial information database generating device and spatial information database generating program An orthographic projection creating unit creates an orthographic projection image from an optical image of an ground surface acquired by an optical camera, and a DSM generating unit generates a DSM from the orthographic projection image. A laser point group data generating unit generates three-dimensional point group data based on a laser measurement result of the ground surface by a laser measuring device. An object generating unit groups altitude data of the DSM and altitude data of the three-dimensional point group data for each of objects such as buildings. A synthesizing unit extracts the same objects from the grouped altitude data of the DSM and three-dimensional point group data, associates the objects with each other based on respective coordinate information thereof, and replaces altitude information of the optical image by high-accuracy altitude information of the three-dimensional point group data for each of the objects.
US08218823B2	Determining main objects using range information A system and method for identifying a main object in a digital image using range information includes receiving the digital image representing a scene; identifying range information associated with the digital image and including distances of pixels in the scene from a known reference location; identifying the main object in the digital image based at least upon an analysis of the range information and the digital image; and storing an indication of the identified main object in a processor-accessible memory system.
US08218818B2	Foreground object tracking Techniques are disclosed for detecting foreground objects in a scene captured by a surveillance system and tracking the detected foreground objects from frame to frame in real time. A motion flow field is used to validate foreground objects(s) that are extracted from the background model of a scene. Spurious foreground objects are filtered before the foreground objects are provided to the tracking stage. The motion flow field is also used by the tracking stage to improve the performance of the tracking as needed for real time surveillance applications.
US08218811B2	Method and system for video interaction based on motion swarms A system and method for generating a video display suitable for interaction with a public audience or group. The system comprises one or more video capture devices for capturing a scene, a module configured to extract one or parameters that describe a field of motion in the scene, and a module configured to generate a plurality of particles or a swarm of particles that are responsive or react to the motion field.
US08218803B2	Receiver facility with an elastically mounted receiver In the case of a receiver facility to be fixed in the auditory canal, particularly for hearing devices with an external receiver, the receiver is to be mounted in the earmold in an acoustically advantageous fashion which guards against contaminations and is also easily exchangeable. Provision is thus made for a receiver facility with a longish receiver and a earmold, which has a borehole, into which the receiver is inserted. A tubular connector, which is more elastic than the receiver and the earmold, is used to accommodate for the most part the longitudinal extension of the receiver in a friction-locking fashion. The connector is for its part force-fitted into a borehole of the earmold in a friction-locking fashion. The receiver is thus elastically mounted and can be easily removed from the earmold together with the connector with the aid of a pin-like tool for replacement purposes.
US08218801B2	Method and system for a headset H-field/E-field canceller Described are a device and a method for canceling a magnetic field and/or an electric field emitted from a device. The device includes a housing including an inner wall and an outer wall, a sense coil located within the inner wall of the housing in proximity to a user's ear, the sense coil sensing a magnitude, polarization and a polarity of an inbound magnetic field within the housing, and an induction coil located between the outer wall and the inner wall of the housing, the induction coil generating an outbound magnetic field having the same polarization and an opposing polarity to the polarity of the inbound magnetic field. The method includes sensing, by a sensing coil, a magnitude and a polarity of an inbound magnetic field, the sensing coil located within a housing of a device, and applying a current to an induction coil to generate an outbound magnetic field having an opposing polarity to the polarity of the inbound magnetic field, the induction coil located within the housing of the device.
US08218795B2	Methods for forming and using thin film ribbon microphone elements and the like A geometrically shaped acoustic polymer ribbon with shape memory, high conductivity, high toughness. A method of manufacturing the ribbon comprises: forming a sized, elongated, coated or coatable polymeric substrate film between a pair of opposed, geometrically shaped dies, pinching the dies about the polymeric substrate film to form an assembly, heating the dies and the pinched die and polymeric film assembly to a temperature of at about 300 degrees F. for a period of about 15 minutes to set the elongated film into a predetermined geometric pattern, cooling the assembly, removing the film from the dies; and if not already coated, coating the geometrically formed, set, elongated film with a conductive coating.
US08218789B2	Phase equalization for multi-channel loudspeaker-room responses A system and method for minimizing the complex phase interaction between non-coincident subwoofer and satellite speakers for improved magnitude response control in a cross-over region. An all-pass filter is cascaded with bass-management filters in at least one filter channel, a[1d preferably all-pass filters are cascaded in each satellite speaker channel. Pole angles and magnitudes for the all-pass filters are recursively calculated to minimize phase incoherence. A step of selecting an optimal cross-over frequency may be performed in conjunction with the all-pass filtering, and is preferably used to select an optimal cross-over frequency prior to determining all-pass filter coefficients.
US08218788B2	Anti-feedback device and anti-feedback method An anti-feedback device includes an anti-feedback filter provided in a closed loop. The anti-feedback device down-samples a signal of specific band selected from an output signal of an adaptive target signal transfer system and a signal of the same band selected from an input signal of the transfer system, and a filtering coefficient of the adaptive filter is updated by use of the down-sampled signals. The filter controller controls a filtering characteristic of the anti-feedback filter so that a peak gain of a frequency of an amplitude characteristic within a specific band of a closed loop determined from the filtering coefficient of the adaptive filter is suppressed. Moreover, the filter controller estimates a gain of the closed loop outside the specific band from the amplitude characteristic in the specific band and controls the amount of suppression of the anti-feedback filter outside the band in accordance with a result of estimation.
US08218786B2	Acoustic signal processing apparatus, acoustic signal processing method and computer readable medium Hough transform is performed on the point groups forming two dimensional data to generate a plurality of loci respectively corresponding to each of the point groups in a Hough voting space. When adding a voting value to a position in the Hough voting space through which the plurality of loci passes, addition is performed by varying the voting value based on a level difference between first and second signals respectively indicated by the two pieces of frequency decomposition information.
US08218781B1	Audible fan noise cancellation The present examples provide for the cancellation, or substantial reduction, of fan noise typically encountered in equipment cooling applications. Local audio nulls may be created by adjusting fan velocity and/or phase to cancel the fan noise near an operator. In a first example, phase and velocity of the fan may be controlled by feedback techniques. This technique utilizes feedback provided by a microphone located in the proximity of the operator to create an area of audio nulling of the fan noise. Local audio nulls may also be created by manipulating fan, phase and velocity by a controller that implements a process to create local audio nulls using the fixed position of equipment and the operator in the determination.
US08218771B2	Information processing apparatus and computer readable medium An information processing apparatus includes: an acceptance unit that accepts formed information to be formed on a medium and target information to be recorded as an information image together with an image based on the formed information; a specification acceptance unit that accepts specification of the accepted formed information or information concerning the formation result of information image on the medium; an encryption key acquisition unit that acquires an encryption key based on the specified information; an information image generation unit that encrypts the target information using the acquired encryption key, and that generates the information image based on the encrypted target information; and an output unit that outputs a command for forming the information image on the medium together with the image to be formed.
US08218768B2	Cryptosync design for a wireless communication system A cryptosync design comprising (1) a channel identifier indicative of a particular channel via which a data packet is sent, (2) an extended time stamp indicative of a time value associated with the data packet, and (3) a counter indicative of a packet count associated with the data packet. The lengths of the extended time stamp and counter fields and the time unit for the extended time stamp are parameters that may be configured for each channel. At the sender, the extended time stamp for the cryptosync may be obtained from the System Time maintained by the sender. The counter value for the cryptosync may be provided by a counter that is maintained for the channel by the sender. The sender may include a time stamp and/or the counter value, if they are needed to derive the cryptosync at the receiver, in a header of the data packet.
US08218763B2	Method for ensuring the validity of recovered electronic documents from remote storage A method for electronically storing and retrieving at a later date a true copy of a document stored on a remote storage device comprises: sending a document in electronic format from a document owner's computing device to a store entity for storing the document; generating a digest of the document while the document is at the store entity by applying a hash function to the document; signing the digest electronically with a key while said document is at the store entity; generating a receipt that includes the digest and the key; sending the receipt to the document owner; and verifying, at the document owner's computing device, that the received receipt corresponds to the document sent from the owner's computing device.
US08218753B2	Processing multi-party calls in a contact center A data processing apparatus is configured for receiving a call comprising multiple callers who are identified in a multi-party caller identification value that is received with the call; retrieving from a database, based on the multi-party caller identification value, information about each of the multiple callers; based on the retrieved information and a collective importance algorithm, determining or selecting one or more call treatment attributes for the call; and processing the call using the one or more call treatment attributes that are determined or selected. For example, a contact center or call center can provide differentiated services based on collective attributes or profiles, or a weighted average priority, of multiple people who are calling together, rather than only taking into account information about a single calling party. Call processing attributes such as priority, queuing, routing, and screen pop-up content, may be selected based on collective data about multiple callers.
US08218743B2	Method and apparatus for connecting a caller previously diverted to voicemail Disclosed is a method and apparatus for enabling communication between a first party and a second party. The method and apparatus determine that the second party is calling the first party while the first party is leaving a message on the voicemail of the second party. The message is then aborted and the first party is connected to the second party.
US08218722B2	Method for scanning the internal quality of wooden elements having a main direction of extension, such as logs or planks A method for scanning the internal quality of wooden elements (1) such as logs or planks comprises the operating steps of irradiating the wooden element (1) with at least one beam (3) of electromagnetic radiation according to one or more directions of irradiation which are transversal to the main axis of extension, at the same time creating a relative helicoidal movement between the wooden element (1) and the beam (3). During the movement, for a plurality of separate reciprocal positions of the wooden element (1) and the beam (3), the residual intensity of the electromagnetic radiation which passed through the wooden element (1) is detected for a detection length (L). The relative movement is created in such a way that the helix has a pitch P equal to Y times the sum of the detection length (L) of all of the detectors used, where Y≧5. Moreover, reconstruction of the internal structure of the wooden element (1), at a cross-section of it, is at least implicitly performed by dividing the volume of the wooden element (1), at the section to be reconstructed, into a plurality of basic volumes having a dimension along the main axis of extension which is equal to at least X times the detection length (L) of each detector used, where X≧5.
US08218719B2	Computerized method and processor for selecting acquisition configurations to obtain X-ray computed tomography data In a method to assist in the selection of an acquisition configuration from a set of adjustable acquisition configurations for the acquisition of x-ray projections of the heart of a patient with a computed tomography apparatus to examine the heart of the patient, the which method is based on an examination type to be specified. At least two acquisition configurations for the specified examination type (which acquisition configurations can be adjusted at the computed tomography apparatus) are considered for which at least one probability density function is respectively kept ready that was determined for the respective acquisition configuration for a specific variable pertaining to a person and/or for the x-ray dose to be applied to the person. Using the at least two probability density functions, the acquisition configuration that is best suited for the examination of the heart of the patient according to the specified examination type is determined from the at least two adjustable acquisition configurations under consideration, based on at least one determined variable to be specified and pertaining to the current patient to be examined and/or based on a value pertaining to the applied x-ray dose. The invention also concerns a computed tomography apparatus operable according to such a method and a storage medium encoded with programming instructions for implementing such a method.
US08218715B2	Methods and systems to facilitate correcting gain fluctuations in iterative image reconstruction Methods and systems for reconstructing an image are provided. The method includes performing a tomographic image reconstruction using a joint estimation of at least one of a gain parameter and an offset parameter, and an estimation of the reconstructed image.
US08218714B2	Neuron MOS transistor based multi-digit multi-valued counter The present invention discloses a neuron MOS based multi-valued counter unit. The counter unit includes a neuron MOS source follower and at least a control gate connected the neuron MOS source follower. The control gate includes a first dual-value D flip-flop, a second dual-value D flip-flop, an AND gate, and an OR gate. The present invention utilizes the neuron MOS to replace the complicated threshold value operations of the multi-value logic. The current invention implements the true multi-value logic and a multi-base multi-value counter by increasing the number of the dual-value D flip-flop, and connecting the dual-value D flip-flop to the input control gate of the neuron MOS follower. Comparing to the conventional multi-value counter, the present invention reduces the necessary components in constructing the counter, and it also reduces the cost and power consumption. The present invention applies the asynchronous carry-over concept to implement the multi-digit multi-value counter, and it also has been verified by the simulation of P Simulation Program with Integrated Circuit Emphasis (SPICE).
US08218711B2	Replaceable accessory for a small electrical appliance and method of monitoring the usage of the accessory An accessory for a small electrical appliance, such as a brush attachment for an electric toothbrush or a shaving component for an electric shaving apparatus, including a data memory and a transponder. The accessory includes an electronic circuit that modifies a value stored in the data memory each time the electronic circuit receives a corresponding signal. Also described is a method of determining the end of the period of use of the accessory.
US08218706B2	Communication system, receiving apparatus, and receiving method A communication system includes a transmission apparatus for transmitting a plurality of serial data signals that are synchronized in phase with one another and a clock signal that is synchronized in frequency with the serial data signals; and a receiving apparatus for receiving a plurality of serial data signals and the clock signal transmitted from the transmission apparatus. The receiving apparatus includes a phase synchronization circuit configured to roughly adjust the frequency in accordance with the received clock signal and then generate a reproduction clock that is synchronized in phase with one serial data signal among the plurality of serial data signals, and a phase shifter configured to shift the phase from the reproduction clock and lock the phase to another serial signal.
US08218691B2	Time information receiver, radio wave timepiece and storage medium having program stored therein A time information receiver including a reception unit for receiving and demodulating a standard radio wave containing a time code in which data pulses are arranged at a predetermined period; a determining section for determining rising and falling points of a demodulated signal; a first calculator for calculating first differences between respective time intervals of any pair of the rising points and a time period concerned with the predetermined period, and calculating a rising dispersion amount; a second calculator for calculating second differences between respective time intervals of any pair of the falling points and a time period concerned with the predetermined period, and calculating a falling dispersion amount; a comparison section for comparing the rising dispersion amount and the falling dispersion amount; and a judger for judging a code type of the received time code on the basis of a comparison result of the comparison section.
US08218686B1	Circuit and method for DC offset compensation An apparatus has front end circuitry to demodulate a radio frequency signal and to produce a baseband signal, the radio frequency signal being periodic and having a predetermined period. An analog-to-digital converter converts the baseband signal into a digital signal, the digital signal being periodic and having the predetermined period. A DC offset adjustment circuit includes a filter for estimating a DC offset contained in the digital signal based only on digital samples in a sample period having a length equal to the predetermined period. An adder removes the estimated DC offset from the digital signal. A method of operating such an apparatus is also disclosed.
US08218685B2	Data slicer threshold adjustment for disparity controlled signals A system and method are provided for using disparity measurements to control the adjustment of a data slicer threshold. The method receives a serial stream of pseudorandom digital data signals having an average DC value, and compares data signal amplitudes to a slicer threshold value. In response to the slicer threshold value comparison, data signal “1” and “0” values are determined. A first sum of determined “1” values is created, and a second sum of determined “0” values is created. The slicer threshold value is adjusted in response to the comparison of the first and second sums. More explicitly, the slicer threshold value is adjusted to make “1” values more likely in response to the second sum being larger than the first sum. Alternately, the slicer threshold value is adjusted to make “0” values more likely in response to the second sum being smaller than the first sum.
US08218679B2	Method and system for creating quadrature modulation signal constellations with arbitrary spectral efficiency Methods, systems, transmitters, and receivers implement and use Quadrature Amplitude Modulation QAM2N modulation types and constellations, where N is a real number, e.g., 1.5; 1.33; 2.5; 3.5. The methods, systems, transmitters, and receivers use constellations with the number of points on the circle not equal to a power of two, sending QAM signals of zero power together with other QAM signals, and/or sending sequences of QAM signals of different types.
US08218675B2	Digital broadcasting system and method of processing A method and apparatus is provided for processing broadcast data in a digital broadcast transmitter. The method includes performing Reed-Solomon (RS) encoding and Cyclic Redundancy Check (CRC) encoding on mobile service data to build an RS frame, dividing the RS frame into a plurality of portions, mapping one of the plurality of portions into a first data group that has a first region and a second region and adding known data sequences and place holders for MPEG header data to the first data group, deinterleaving data in the first data group to output a second data group, replacing the place holders for MPEG header data in the second data group with MPEG header data such that mobile service data packets are output and interleaving data in the mobile service data packets.
US08218674B2	OFDM transmitter with adaptive bit interleaver for adaptive bit loading and method for OFDM communications A multi-antenna transmitter includes an adaptive bit interleaver for orthogonal frequency division multiplexed (OFDM) communications. The adaptive bit interleaver permutes a variable number of coded bits per OFDM symbol (Ncbps). The variable number of coded bits is calculated based on individual subcarrier modulation assignments for orthogonal subcarriers. The interleaver matrix size may be based on the variable number of coded bits per OFDM symbol and the number of subchannels. The interleaver may add padding bits to the interleaver matrix to fill any remaining positions, and after performing an interleaving operation, the interleaver may prune the padding bits to provide a sequence of interleaved bits for subsequent modulation on the orthogonal subcarriers and transmission by more than one antenna. The transmitter may transmit the OFDM symbol in accordance with an IEEE 802.16 standard.
US08218667B2	Data transmission method using dirty paper coding in MIMO system A data transmission method for multiple users having multiple receive antennas is provided. The method includes selecting a receive antenna among the multiple receive antennas for each user, performing DPC (Dirty Paper Coding) from the multiple transmit antennas to the receive antenna and transmitting a transmission signal on which the DPC is performed. Since DPC is implemented through a receive antenna selected among multiple receive antennas, complexity is not much increased although the DPC is applied to a MIMO system.
US08218660B2	Receiver In a receiver to process a received signal including one or more carrier signals, an FFT processing section executes FFT processing on the received signal to obtain FFT processing results at, for example, four points. On the basis of the FFT processing results from the FFT processing section, a selecting section selects one point from a plurality of, e.g., four points. An FFT processing result corresponding to the point selected by the selecting section is used for demodulation processing.
US08218647B2	Method and system to improve the transport of compressed video data A method comprises determining a plurality of time intervals Tp and Tn within a variable bit rate (VBR) representation of an image sequence. The time intervals Tp are those in which a number of blocks of information per unit time is greater than a baseline value. The time intervals Tn are those in which a number of blocks of information per unit time is less than the baseline value. A second representation of the image sequence is created in which some blocks of information Bp are removed from the time intervals Tp and interlaced with blocks of information Bn in the time intervals Tn to reduce a variation in a number of blocks of information per unit time between the time intervals Tp and Tn.
US08218638B2	Method and system for optical flow based motion vector estimation for picture rate up-conversion Certain aspects of a method and system for optical flow based motion vector estimation for picture rate up-conversion (PRUC) may include generating one or more motion vectors based on extracted picture rate up-conversion (PRUC) data by minimizing a cost function. The cost function may be constrained by any combination of a block matching constraint, a smoothness constraint and a bias constraint. The PRUC data may be extracted from a compressed video data stream while the compressed video data stream is being decompressed by a video decompression engine. The PRUC data may comprise local block motion vectors, block coding modes, quantization levels, quantized residual data and decoded pictures. A plurality of interpolated pictures may be generated based on extracting the PRUC data.
US08218636B2	Motion refinement engine with a plurality of cost calculation methods for use in video encoding and methods for use therewith A motion compensation module can be used in a video encoder for encoding a video input signal that includes a sequence of images that are segmented into a plurality of macroblocks. The motion compensation module includes a motion search module, that generates a motion search motion vector for a plurality of subblocks for a plurality of partitionings of a macroblock of a plurality of macroblocks based on a sum of accumulated differences (SAD) cost. A motion refinement module, when enabled, generates a refined motion vector for the plurality of subblocks for the plurality of partitionings of the macroblock of the plurality of macroblocks, based on the motion search motion vector for each of the plurality of subblocks of the macroblock of the plurality of macroblocks and based on a sum of accumulated transform differences (SATD) cost. A mode decision module operates on either SAD costs or SATD costs, based on whether the refinement module is enabled or disabled.
US08218623B2	Moving picture coding method and moving picture decoding method A moving picture coding apparatus 1 includes: a quantization matrix holding unit (112) that holds a quantization matrix (WM) which has already been transmitted in a parameter set and a matrix ID for identifying the quantization matrix (WM), which are associated with each other; and a variable length coding unit (111) that obtains the matrix ID corresponding to the quantization matrix (WM) used for quantization from the quantization matrix holding unit (112) and places the matrix ID in a coded stream Str.
US08218621B2	Data-mapping method and cache system for use in a motion compensation system Frame data stored in an external memory is partitioned into a plurality of macroblocks, and a plurality of access units each comprising at least one macroblock are provided. A plurality of frames are fetched from the external memory by loading the plurality of access units in a predetermined sequence. A current data for decoding a macroblock of the first access unit and a reference data for decoding a macroblock of the second access unit are loaded from the first access unit, and respectively mapped to a first memory group and a second memory group of a circular cache according to the frame width.
US08218587B2	Automated bandwidth / wavelength adjustment systems and methods for short pulse lasers and optical amplifiers Embodiments are directed to systems and methods for adjusting a wavelength, bandwidth or both. Such systems and methods may be applicable to laser beams within a laser cavity or amplifier. For some embodiments, such systems and methods may be used to allow a user to set a desired wavelength and bandwidth of a short pulse laser system for operation at those parameters without further adjustment by the user.
US08218582B2	Method and apparatus for generating information signal to be recorded A compressively-encoding-resultant video signal resulting from compressively encoding a video signal, a first compressively-encoding-resultant audio signal resulting from compressively encoding a first audio signal having a synchronized relation with the video signal, a reference clock information signal relating to synchronization between the compressively-encoding-resultant video signal and the first compressively-encoding-resultant audio signal, and an indication timing information signal designating an indication timing of the video signal are multiplexed to get an AV multiplexing-resultant signal. A second audio signal is compressively encoded to get a second compressively-encoding-resultant audio signal. A sound-production-timing information signal is added to the second compressively-encoding-resultant audio signal to get a substitution playback audio signal. During playback, the substitution playback audio signal can be reproduced instead of the first audio signal while being synchronous with the video signal. The sound-production-timing information signal responds to the reference clock information signal, and relates to synchronization with the video signal.
US08218581B2	Method and apparatus for generating information signal to be recorded A compressively-encoding-resultant video signal resulting from compressively encoding a video signal, a first compressively-encoding-resultant audio signal resulting from compressively encoding a first audio signal having a synchronized relation with the video signal, a reference clock information signal relating to synchronization between the compressively-encoding-resultant video signal and the first compressively-encoding-resultant audio signal, and an indication timing information signal designating an indication timing of the video signal are multiplexed to get an AV multiplexing-resultant signal. A second audio signal is compressively encoded to get a second compressively-encoding-resultant audio signal. A sound-production-timing information signal is added to the second compressively-encoding-resultant audio signal to get a substitution playback audio signal. During playback, the substitution playback audio signal can be reproduced instead of the first audio signal while being synchronous with the video signal. The sound-production-timing information signal responds to the reference clock information signal, and relates to synchronization with the video signal.
US08218580B2	Managing timing of a protocol stack A method includes receiving a communication in a protocol stack coupled to a tunneling interconnect, determining whether a communication type is subject to altered timing to accommodate a delay associated with the tunneling interconnect, adjusting a timing of at least one stack logic to accommodate the delay, and handling the communication using the adjusted timing. Other embodiments are described and claimed.
US08218576B2	Method, a computer program product, and a carrier for indicating one-way latency in a data network Disclosed herein is a method, a computer program product, and a carrier for indicating one-way latency in a data network (N) between a first node (A) and a second node (B), wherein the data network (N) lacks continuous clock synchronization, comprising: a pre-synchronisation step, a measuring step, a post-synchronisation step, an interpolation step, and generating a latency profile. The present invention also relates to a computer program product incorporating the method, a carrier comprising the computer program product, and a method for indicating server functionality based on the first aspect.
US08218573B2	Power boosting in a wireless communication system Method and apparatus for power boosting a portion of installments in transmission of a packet of data. The power boosting incorporates a power boost factor for each installment. On receipt of a negative acknowledgement after the power boosted portion of installments, transmission of the subpacket is terminated, and processing passed to a higher layer.
US08218565B2	Alternating scheduling method for use in a mesh network An alternating scheduling algorithm is useful in a mesh network. Transmissions are scheduled along a branch in a tree structure such that simultaneous transmissions occur only in non-adjacent layers along the branch. In a disclosed example, every other layer is grouped into a set of layers such that the sets are mutually exclusive and the sets only include non-adjacent layers. One example includes designating one set of layers as the even layers and another set as odd layers. A scheduler schedules transmissions on the layers such that simultaneous transmissions along a branch occur only on layers within one of the sets while transmissions on the other set along the same branch are prevented. The sets of layers selected for transmission are alternated each subsequent scheduling window or frame.
US08218564B2	Method and apparatus for WiFi long range radio coordination A method and apparatus for WiFi long range radio coordination is described. In one embodiment, a method for facilitating radio coordination in order to prevent simultaneous exchanges of data includes processing status information associated with a first radio and a second radio within a node and scheduling signal communications of the first radio and second radio based on the status information to avoid interference between the first radio and the second radio.
US08218546B2	Interleaved processing of dropped packets in a network device A network device for processing packets includes at least one ingress module for performing switching functions on a packet, a memory management unit for storing the packet and at least one egress module for transmitting the packet to at least one port. The at least one egress module is configured to maintain multiple queues for the at least one port, including a purge queue, and to store the packet in the purge queue when an error condition is determined when the end of the packet is received by the at least one ingress module.
US08218544B2	Packet communicating apparatus Bandwidth control over users accommodated under ONU in PON is achieved. BAS sets user bandwidth information obtained during user authorization in OLT. The OLT achieves bandwidth control on a user basis, using bandwidth information set from the BAS. The present invention enables bandwidth control over users under the ONUs.
US08218542B2	Overhead reduction and address protection in communication stack Data is transmitted using a layered communication model. In a first layer of the model, a first communication fragment is generated. The first fragment includes a first address reference referring to a first entity. In a second layer of the model, below the first layer, a second communication fragment is generated based on the first communication fragment. The second communication fragment includes a second address reference referring to a second entity which is related to the first entity. The first address reference is at least partially removed from the data to be transmitted. Then the data including the second communication fragment is transmitted.
US08218539B2	Flexible packet field processor Various embodiments are disclosed relating to the processing of a flexible field packet. A technique may include determining a format of a packet, the packet including one or more variable fields and determining an offset value related to a location of at least one of the variable fields in the packet, wherein the offset value is variable and associated with the format of the packet.
US08218537B1	Dual signaling format switch fabric with multiplex capability A serial channel switch circuit and modular packet switch using the serial channel switch circuits are disclosed. The serial channel switch circuit has a reconfigurable table for internal logical-to-physical channel switch translation. Depending on the slot in which a card containing such a serial channel switch circuit is inserted in the modular packet switch, its serial channel switch circuit may receive a different set of reconfigurable table values that are specific to that location. A global set of logical channel values can be applied to each card, which performs logical-to-physical channel mapping according to its location in the modular packet switch. Other embodiments are also described and claimed.
US08218536B2	Routing protocol with packet network attributes for improved route selection A node for routing of calls in a network has an interface coupled to the network and at least one processor operable to route a packet-based call to a telephony destination in accordance with a protocol that includes a set of attributes that describe packet-network routing characteristics of one or more Internet Protocol (IP)-IP gateway devices in the network. The attributes are used by the at least one processor to specify a call route through an IP-IP gateway device for the packet-based call. The set of attributes include a first attribute that identifies a total administratively provisioned bandwidth capacity available on a given call route to accommodate application traffic, and a second attribute that identifies a current bandwidth that is available on the given call route to accommodate the application traffic at a given point in time. It is emphasized that this abstract is provided to comply with the rules requiring an abstract that will allow a searcher or other reader to quickly ascertain the subject matter of the technical disclosure. It is submitted with the understanding that it will not be used to interpret or limit the scope or meaning of the claims.
US08218533B2	Telephone recording and storing arbitrary keystrokes sequence with replay with a single stroke A telephone is described that allows any arbitrary combination of key strokes, including numerical keys, extension keys, as well as function keys such as TRANSFER, CONFERENCE, etc., to be programmed such that the entire sequence of key strokes can be recalled with the touch of a single button. The phone can be programmed directly by operation of the telephone user interface on the phone (i.e., the keys, phone display, and speaker prompting the user) and a program button dedicated to the feature of programming a separate programmable button to map to the specified key sequence. The feature can be implemented in advanced telephones capable of voice over Internet Protocol networks, and supporting the Session Initiation Protocol. In these more advanced phones, the programming can be done by a system administrator or by the user of the phone via a computer with internet access.
US08218525B2	Communication system A communication system includes: a base station; and a mobile terminal for sequentially sending a plurality of data packets at a designated data transfer rate and information of velocity of the mobile terminal to the base station; the base station including: a receiver for receiving the data packet and the velocity information; a transmitter for transmitting a request to the mobile terminal to resend a data packet upon detection of an error in the data packet previously received; and a reply controller for setting number of requests to be repetitively sent in accordance with the velocity information and, after the number of requests have been sent, sending command to change the designated data transfer rate to the mobile terminal.
US08218503B2	Call setup procedure in an evolved third generation radio access network A method and system for call setup in an evolved third generation (3G) radio access network are disclosed. A wireless transmit/receive unit (WTRU) sends its identity to a core network (CN) for call setup when the WTRU is in an RRC_disconnected state. The CN verifies the identity and sends an authentication vector to the WTRU. The WTRU sends a service access request message including an authentication response to the CN via a Node-B. The Node-B performs an admission control. The CN attaches the WTRU if the authentication response is same to an expected response. The Node-B then allocates radio resources to the WTRU. The Node-Bs may be directly connected, or may be connected to a control plane server which performs admission control. When the WTRU is transitioning from an RRC_idle state to an RRC_connected state, the WTRU may or may not need to re-authenticate again.
US08218501B2	Data forwarding controller, communication terminal apparatus, data communication system and method, and computer program for performing handover for a mobile node A communication terminal apparatus of a mobile type performs data transmission/reception via a network and changes access points based on data receiving conditions. The communication terminal apparatus is configured to acquire a MAC address of a next access point to which a communication terminal apparatus is scheduled to be connected next, broadcast a handover start message containing the acquired MAC address of the next access point, and perform a handover process on condition that the communication terminal apparatus receives a handover setting completion message from a data forwarding controller as a response to the handover start message.
US08218498B2	Method and system for lossless transmission of mobile IP packets in handover of a mobile terminal Provided are a method and a system for transmitting mobile IP packets without loss. The method includes the steps of storing, by an old radio access station, packets that are not transmitted to a mobile terminal when a handover indication message is received, and creating, by the old radio access station, a tunnel to a new radio access station, and transmitting the stored packets to the new radio access station via the tunnel when a link-layer handover procedure is completed. Thus, upon the handover of the mobile terminal, IP packets directed to the old access control router and the old radio access station are stored in the buffer and then transmitted via the tunnel after the handover, thereby preventing loss of packets during the handover. Thus, yield cannot be degraded upon the handover and seamless network connection service can be provided.
US08218496B2	Random access cyclic prefix dimensioning in wireless networks User equipment (UE)-initiated accesses within a cellular network include non-synchronized random access requests when the UE is not synchronized with a base station that is serving a cell occupied by the UE. The random access request is formed by generating a set of samples at a selected sample rate, such that the set of samples spans a specified duration period, wherein the sample rate is one of a plurality of different sample rates enabling different implementations of the random access transmission. The specified duration period is integrally divisible by each of the plurality of different sample periods.
US08218495B2	Apparatus and method for circuit mode resource allocation in broadband wireless access (BWA) system An apparatus and method for circuit mode resource allocation in a Broadband Wireless Access (BWA) system is disclosed. The method includes generating a first resource allocation message which comprises currently used slot bitmap information with respect to a circuit mode region in a frame; allocating resources to one or more terminals with respect to currently unused slots in the circuit mode region according to the currently used slot bitmap information; and generating a second resource allocation message which comprises information relating to the resource allocation. Thus, the effective circuit mode resource allocation can be achieved without holes in the circuit mode, while maintaining backward compatibility with the existing standards.
US08218493B2	System and method for interference mitigation in wireless networks A computer-implemented method for scheduling a packet for transmission in a wireless local area network can be used to account for hidden and/or exposed terminals. The method includes determining whether the packet is to be transmitted to a computing device through a wireless access point that is in conflict with at least one other computing device associated with a different access point. The method further includes determining whether there is a conflicting packet scheduled to be transmitted for any conflicting computing devices associated with a different access points and scheduling the packet for transmission based on any conflicting packets. The method yet further includes forwarding the packet to a wireless access point at the scheduled time.
US08218488B2	Managing uplink resources in a cellular radio communications system The technology in this application provides a method and apparatus for efficiently using common uplink radio resources, e.g. a common uplink enhanced-dedicated physical channel (E-DCH) resource. A UE releases a common E-DCH resource very quickly after a completed transmission. In addition or alternatively, a base station may release a common E-DCH resource configuration from the network side to free up common E-DCH resources for use by other UEs. A low overhead signaling scheme for quickly and effectively releasing of common E-DCH resources between a UE and a base station is also described. For example, existing signaling fields on protocol layer 2 (L2) or layer 1 (L1) may be used. In one preferred example embodiment, signaling fields already in use in a CELL_DCH service state are given a different meaning for UEs in a CELL_FACH service state so that common E-DCH resources are quickly and effectively released.
US08218487B2	System and method of adaptive frequency hopping with look ahead interference prediction A novel and useful adaptive frequency hopping scheme for wireless devices and networks operating in a congested environment of similar devices, where capacity maximization is desired. The hopping sequence of each wireless link is dynamically adapted such that the impact of the surrounding interference is minimized and the interference induced onto the coexisting systems is also minimized. The scheme detects the repetitive presence of interference on a particular channel and comprises a replacement mechanism for swapping the interfered frequency-channel with one that would be clear for that particular time-slot. The mechanism detects interference during a redundant portion of the transmission (i.e. header or trailer) without having to experience packet failures (i.e. data loss). If the interference impact (e.g. corrupted header bits) exceeds a predefined threshold, that frequency channel is declared temporarily unusable for that time slot and is replaced with another in accordance with a frequency replacement policy. Periodic interference at a particular frequency, originating from a coexisting system of similar operating parameters, may also be detected at instances that are distant from the timeslots for which that particular frequency is to be used, such that frequency replacement in the hopping sequence can be scheduled ahead of time and collisions would be avoided altogether.
US08218473B2	Web-bulk transfer preallocation of upstream resources in a satellite communication system In a data over satellite system, preallocation of upstream channel resources is provided by a scheduler at the gateway satellite modem termination system (SMTS) in response from the user terminal, wherein the user terminal detects web browser and/or bulk transfers involving large amounts of data transfer from users via the upstream channel. A type length value (TLV) field is included with data packets transmitted to the gateway SMTS, at which excess transfer capability is allocated to the user terminal in anticipation of load requirements.
US08218468B2	Method and system for multicast retry in a communication network Aspects of a method and system for multicast retry in a communication network may include an originator station device within a multicast group that enables transmission of one or more PDUs via a network utilizing a multicast address. The transmitted one or more PDUs may be associated with an identified multicast flow. Subsequent to transmission of the one or more PDUs, the originator station device may receive one or more acknowledgment PDUs. The received acknowledgment PDUs may enable the originator station device to determine whether the transmitted PDUs were successfully received by one or more destination terminal devices. One or more of the PDUs may be retransmitted based on the determination. The originator station device and one or more destination terminal devices may be members of a multicast group. The multicast group may be identified based on the multicast address.
US08218465B1	Selective demodulation of downlink traffic in wireless communication systems Techniques of selective demodulation of downlink frames using a subscriber description segment or activity descriptor to identify one or more subscriber stations to which at least a portion of data placed in the downlink frame is addressed in wireless communication systems such as frame-based point-to-multipoint wireless communication systems. The described techniques can be used to reduce power consumption at each subscriber station and to elongate the battery time of mobile devices, especially in the bursty Internet data transmission. The subscriber station can use information in the subscriber description segment or activity descriptor to decide whether to turn off receiver power for the remainder of a received downlink frame.
US08218456B2	Lawful call interception support Systems, methods and communication nodes according to exemplary embodiments provide for an IMS node to replicate call content for lawful call interception in packet cable networks. A CSCF node sends a command to an SBC node to perform call content replication for an identified call to be intercepted. The SBC node forwards the replicated call content to a delivery function, which in turn forwards the replicated call content to the appropriate law enforcement agency.
US08218441B2	Method for controlling resources in network elements of a telecommunication network The invention relates to a method for controlling resources in network elements of a communication network, in particular a data network or a mobile data network. The idea of the invention is the use of a data packet inspection for the Quality of Service (QoS) control in telecommunication networks. Based on information obtained from data packets, a network resource corresponding to the content of each data packet is provided in the network elements. A dynamic allowance for services and customer classes or quality and resource control is a novel possibility by means of the above application of packet inspection.
US08218439B2	Method and apparatus for adaptive buffering An adaptive buffering scheme allows more effective media transport and buffering. In one aspect of the adaptive buffering scheme, buffering parameters are adapted to different media characteristics, such as media play commands or the amount of encoding/transcoding required for the particular media stream. In another aspect of the adaptive buffering scheme, buffering is adapted to different transmission or memory conditions, such as transmission rate, packet jitter, or the amount of available buffer memory. In one example, the adaptive buffering is supported using Real Time Streaming Protocol (RTSP), and/or Real Time Transport Protocol (RTP) and associated Real Time Control Protocol (RTCP), and/or Session Description Protocol (SDP) messages.
US08218433B2	Monitoring connectivity in ring networks A system, method, and device for monitoring the connectivity of a network that has been configured in a ring topology, such as an Ethernet ring network. The ring network includes a plurality of nodes, each with first port and a second port for forwarding CC messages to respective neighbor nodes, and an MEP for forming and processing the CC messages. Of the plurality of network nodes, neighbor nodes are selected as CC forwarding nodes and, after a database on each node has been configured, the selected nodes begin sending CC messages to each other via the ring network, beginning with transmission to a non-selected node. If a selected node fails to receive an expected CC message, it transmits a fault notification and ceases sending CC messages. The network then reselects CC message forwarding nodes, which begin forwarding CC messages until another fault is detected or the network is otherwise reconfigured.
US08218432B2	Routing method in a label switching network A head router (2) can be used for routing packets in a label-switching network (1), the packets initially being intended for a primary destination router (5). A request is sent to set up a primary path (8) between this head router (2) and the primary destination router (5) in the network (1), this request including a request to activate a back-up path (9) to a back-up destination router (7).
US08218431B2	Gateway device A gateway device according to the present art includes a storage part that stores a list having identification information identifying another gateway device that is selectable as a move-destination gateway device; a receiving part that receives a call-out signal from a device located in a telephone network; a move-destination-gateway-device selecting part that selects a move-destination gateway device from the list; a re-direction notification generating part that generates a re-direction notification to be transmitted to the selected move-destination gateway device; a re-direction notification transmitting part that transmits the re-direction notification to the move-destination gateway device; a re-direction request signal generating part that generates a re-direction request signal including call identification information identifying the call-out signal; and a re-direction request signal transmitting part that transmits the re-direction request signal to the device located in the telephone network that transmits the call-out signal.
US08218428B2	Method and apparatus for implementing automatic protection switching functionality in a distributed processor data router An automated-protection-switching (APS) software suite for distribution over multiple processors of a distributed processor router has an APS server module running on a first one of the multiple processors for managing communication and distributing configuration and state information and APS client modules running on second ones of the multiple processors, the APS client modules for monitoring interface state information, reporting to the APS server application, and for negotiating with other APS client modules. The software is characterized in that APS interface relocation from a primary interface to a backup interface is performed through direct communication between the APS client modules running on the processors supporting the involved interfaces.
US08218424B2	Transmission of system configuration information in mobile networks An apparatus to communicate system configuration information of a wireless communication network is presented. In one embodiment, the apparatus uses orthogonal frequency division multiple access (OFDMA) techniques. The apparatus processes a super-frame containing a plurality of frames for communication using. The first frame of the plurality of frames comprises a primary super-frame header and a secondary super-frame header. The primary super-frame header comprises data indicative of whether each one or more sub-packets exist in the secondary super-frame header.
US08218423B2	Ranging apparatus and method for improving ranging performance in OFDMA system Disclosed herein is a ranging apparatus and method. The ranging apparatus includes a correlation unit for correlating OFDMA reception signals with inverse fast Fourier transformed ranging codes, and outputting correlation result values. A threshold determination unit determines a threshold value depending on characteristics of the reception signals. A comparison unit estimates a delay time by selecting a maximum value from among the correlation result values, and detects a ranging code by comparing the maximum value with the threshold value, and then outputs and feeds back the ranging code and the delay time when the maximum value is equal to or greater than the threshold value. A weight multiplication unit delays the ranging code by the delay time, multiplies a weight by the delayed ranging code, and outputs a resulting value. A calculation unit subtracts the resulting value from the reception signals, and provides adjusted reception signals.
US08218408B2	Information recording method and information reproducing method According to the present invention, when an apparatus performs reproduction from an optical disc of a format not compatible to the apparatus, the apparatus is prevented from obtaining an incorrect address and thus causing a malfunction. A recording method according to the present invention performs first conversion of bit-inverting m number (1≦m
US08218405B2	Head slider and disk drive Embodiments of the present invention provide a technique for projecting both a write element portion in writing and a read element portion in reading, and controlling a projecting distance of each write element and read element. According to one embodiment, a light absorbing member and a thermally expanding member are formed near a read element, and light is irradiated to the light absorbing member, thereby a read element is projected. Alternatively, light absorbing members, which absorb light having different wavelengths from each other, and thermally expanding members are formed near a write element and near the read element respectively, and a wavelength or intensity of light to be irradiated is changed, thereby a projecting distance of each of the write element and the read element is individually optionally controlled.
US08218404B2	Apparatus and method for recording content information which satisfies a predetermined standard A recording apparatus including: a receiving portion for receiving a content data sent using radio wave; a recording portion for recording the content data received by the receiving portion in a storage medium; a determining portion for determining whether or not a receiving status of the content data by the receiving portion satisfies a predetermined standard; and a control portion for when the determining portion determines that the standard is not satisfied, controlling the recording portion to stop recording of the content data to the storage medium.
US08218396B2	Torsional ultrasonic wave based level measurement system A level measurement system suitable for use in a high temperature and pressure environment to measure the level of coolant fluid within the environment, the system including a volume of coolant fluid located in a coolant region of the high temperature and pressure environment and having a level therein; an ultrasonic waveguide blade that is positioned within the desired coolant region of the high temperature and pressure environment; a magnetostrictive electrical assembly located within the high temperature and pressure environment and configured to operate in the environment and cooperate with the waveguide blade to launch and receive ultrasonic waves; and an external signal processing system located outside of the high temperature and pressure environment and configured for communicating with the electrical assembly located within the high temperature and pressure environment.
US08218382B2	Memory component having a write-timing calibration mode In memory component having a write-timing calibration mode, control information that specifies a write operation is received via a first external signal path and write data corresponding to the write operation is received via a second external signal path. The memory component receives multiple delayed versions of a timing signal used to indicate that the write data is valid write data, and outputs signals corresponding to the multiple delayed versions of the timing signal to enable determination, in a memory controller, of a delay interval between outputting the control information on the first external signal path and outputting the write data on the second external signal path.
US08218374B2	Semiconductor integrated circuit adapted to output pass/fail results of internal operations In a semiconductor integrated circuit, an internal circuit is capable of executing a first operation and a second operation concurrently, and an output circuit outputs to the outside of the semiconductor integrated circuit information indicating whether or not the first operation is being executed and information indicating whether or not the second operation is executable.
US08218372B2	Semiconductor storage device According to one embodiment, a first node is connected to a gate of a second PMOS and a gate of a second NMOS, a second node is connected to a gate of a first PMOS and a gate of a first NMOS, a gate of the first transistor is connected to a first signal line, a source of a first transistor is connected to the first node, and a drain of the first transistor is connected to the second node, a gate of a second transistor is connected to the second node, a source of the second transistor is connected to a third node, and a drain of the second transistor is connected to a second signal line, and a gate of a third transistor is connected to a third signal line, a source of the third transistor is connected to a fourth signal line, and a drain of the third transistor is connected to the third node.
US08218365B2	Flash memory device having dummy cells and method of operating the same Disclosed is a flash memory device having multiple strings, where each string includes first memory cells and second memory cells. One second memory cell of the second memory cells in each string is set to a programmed state, and remaining second memory cells are set to an erased state.
US08218363B2	Flash memory device and methods programming/reading flash memory device Multilevel flash memory and methods of programming/reading flash memory are disclosed. The multilevel flash memory device comprises a status detector configured to detect whether or not a target memory cell is programmed to an erase state, and a control logic unit controlling a program voltage applied to a neighboring memory cell adjacent to the target memory cell and to be programmed to one of a plurality of standard program states, such that the neighboring memory cell is programmed to a corresponding one of a plurality of correction program states different from the one of the plurality of standard program states.
US08218362B2	Magnetic random access memory devices, methods of driving the same and data writing and reading methods for the same A magnetic memory device includes a lower structure or an antiferromagnetic layer, a pinned layer, an information storage layer, and a free layer formed on the lower structure or the antiferromagnetic layer. In a method of operating a magnetic memory device, information from the storage information layer is read or stored after setting the magnetization of the free layer in a first magnetization direction. The information is stored when the first magnetization direction is opposite to a magnetization direction of the pinned layer, but is read when the first magnetization direction is the same as the magnetization direction of the pinned layer.
US08218357B2	Spin torque transfer cell structure utilizing field-induced antiferromagnetic or ferromagnetic coupling A magnetic memory cell including a soft magnetic layer and a coupling layer, and methods of operating the memory cell are provided. The memory cell includes a stack with a free ferromagnetic layer and a pinned ferromagnetic layer, and a soft magnetic layer and a coupling layer may also be formed as layers in the stack. The coupling layer may cause antiferromagnetic coupling to induce the free ferromagnetic layer to be magnetized in a direction antiparallel to the magnetization of the soft magnetic layer, or the coupling layer may cause ferromagnetic coupling to induce the free ferromagnetic layer to be magnetized in a direction parallel to the magnetization of the soft magnetic layer. The coupling layer, through a coupling effect, reduces the critical switching current of the memory cell.
US08218355B2	Magnetoresistive element and magnetic memory A magnetoresistive element includes an underlying layer having a cubic or tetragonal crystal structure oriented in a (001) plane, a first magnetic layer provided on the underlying layer, having perpendicular magnetic anisotropy, and having an fct structure oriented in a (001) plane, a non-magnetic layer provided on the first magnetic layer, and a second magnetic layer provided on the non-magnetic layer, and having perpendicular magnetic anisotropy. An in-plane lattice constant a1 of the underlying layer and an in-plane lattice constant a2 of the first magnetic layer satisfy the following equation in which b is a magnitude of Burgers vector of the first magnetic layer, ν is an elastic modulus of the first magnetic layer, and hc is a thickness of the first magnetic layer. \|√{square root over (2)}×a1/2−a2\|/a2
US08218350B2	Programmable metallization cell structure including an integrated diode, device including the structure, and method of forming same A microelectronic programmable structure suitable for storing information and array including the structure and methods of forming and programming the structure are disclosed. The programmable structure generally includes an ion conductor and a plurality of electrodes. Electrical properties of the structure may be altered by applying energy to the structure, and thus information may be stored using the structure.
US08218349B2	Non-volatile logic devices using magnetic tunnel junctions The present disclosures concerns a register cell comprising a differential amplifying portion containing a first inverter coupled to a second inverter such as to form an unbalanced flip-flop circuit; a first and second bit line connected to one end of the first and second inverter, respectively; and a first and second source line connected to the other end of the first and second inverter, respectively; characterized by the register cell further comprising a first and second magnetic tunnel junction electrically connected to the other end of the first and second inverter, respectively. The shift register disclosed herein can be made smaller than conventional shift registers and power consumption during the write and read operation of the shift registers can be low. The shift register disclosed herein can be made smaller than conventional shift registers and power consumption during the write and read operation of the shift registers can be low.
US08218347B1	Stacked memory device having a scalable bandwidth interface A memory device having a scalable bandwidth I/O data bus includes a semiconductor die having a substrate with a first and a second surface. The substrate includes contact pads arranged in rows across the first surface and across the second surface. The contact pads on one surface may be physically arranged in vertical alignment with a corresponding contact pad on the other surface and may be electrically coupled to the corresponding contact pad using a via. The substrate also includes a metallization layer formed on the second surface. The metallization layer includes external data contact pads each arranged in vertical alignment with a respective contact pad on the second surface. Each row of contact pads may be grouped, and the external contact pads within a group are electrically coupled to an adjacent contact pad on the second surface by effectively logically shifting to them to right one contact pad.
US08218334B2	Multi-chip module with multi-level interposer A multi-level interposer plate and a multi-chip module (MCM) that includes the multi-level interposer plate are described. First surfaces and second surfaces in different regions of the multi-level interposer plate have associated, different thicknesses. Moreover, first micro-spring connectors and second micro-spring connectors are respectively disposed on the first surfaces and the second surfaces. In the MCM, a given one of the first surfaces of the multi-level interposer plate faces a bridge chip in a first layer in an array of chips in the MCM so that first connectors, disposed on the bridge chip, mechanically and electrically couple to the first micro-spring connectors. Similarly, a given one of the second surfaces of the multi-level interposer plate faces an island chip in a second layer in the array of chips so that second connectors, disposed on the island chip, mechanically and electrically couple to the second micro-spring connectors.
US08218332B2	Placement method of an electronic module on a substrate and device produced by said method The aim the disclosed process is to ensure maximum precision both at the level of the manufacturing of an electronic assembly from a chip with small dimensions as well as the level of the placement of such an assembly on an insulating substrate. This aim is achieved by a placement process on a support, called substrate, of at least one electronic assembly consisting of a chip including at least one electric contact on one of its faces, said contact being connected to a segment of conductive track, and said placement being carried out by means of a placement device holding and positioning said assembly on the substrate, comprising the following steps: formation of a segment of conductive track having a predetermined outline, transfer of the track segment onto the placement device, seizing of the chip with the placement device carrying the track segment in such a way that said track segment is placed on at least one contact of the chip. placement of the electronic assembly consisting of the chip and the track segment at a predetermined position on the substrate, embedding of the chip and of the track segment into the substrate. A placement device used in the process and a portable object including an electronic assembly placed according to the process are also objects of the present invention.
US08218330B2	Reworkable passive element embedded printed circuit board A reworkable passive element embedded printed circuit board (PCB) including a board member, first and second fillings, and a first passive element. The board member has first and second through holes which are spaced apart from each other. The first and second fillings are buried in the first and second through holes, respectively, and formed of a reflowable conductive material. The first passive element includes first and second electrodes. A first insertion groove is formed in a portion of a surface of the board member between the first and second through holes and portions of the first and second fillings. The first passive element is mounted on the first insertion groove. The first electrode includes a bottom surface and a side contacting the first filling and an exposed upper surface. The second electrode comprises a bottom surface and a side contacting the second filling and an exposed upper surface.
US08218328B2	Semiconductor device To provide a technique that can improve the reliability of coupling between a package with a PA module and a mounting board in mounting the package over the mounting board. The width of a back conductor pattern is made smaller than the width of each of back terminals. Specifically, for example, the back terminals are arranged in the X direction. The back terminals arranged in parallel to the X direction are coupled together by the back conductor pattern. At this time, the coupling direction (coupling line direction) of the back conductor pattern is the X direction. Taking into consideration the Y direction orthogonal to (intersecting) the X direction, the width of the back conductor pattern in the Y direction is made smaller than the width of each of the back terminals in the Y direction.
US08218324B2	Module for housing electronic components and method of manufacturing the same A module includes an outer housing comprising an additive. A first holder is disposed so as to be in integral relationship the outer housing. A second holder is disposed so as to be in integral relationship with the outer housing. A first circuit board is in removable engagement with first holder and the first circuit board adapted to being held in place by the holder without the use of a fastener. A second circuit board is in removable engagement with the second holder, the second circuit board adapted to being held in place by the holder without the use of a fastener. At least one electrical trace element is disposed so as to be in integral relationship with the outer housing. A conductive portion of the trace element provides a first electrical pathway between the first circuit board and the second circuit board. The insulator material and the additive act to provide electromagnetic compatibility (EMC) shielding for electrical components disposed within the outer housing.
US08218319B2	Electronic device with fixing members An electronic device includes a fan including a frame, an enclosure, and many fixing members engaged with the enclosure to fix the fan in the enclosure. The frame includes many mounting holes positioned in corners of the frame, respectively. The enclosure includes many sidewalls and many fixing members corresponding to the mounting holes. Each fixing member includes a base, a fixing portion extending from a top surface of the base, an angle shaped clasping portion extending from a sidewall of the base. Each base includes a locating block received in a corresponding locating member, and at least one fixing arms abuts against the corresponding locating member. Each fixing portion extends through the locating member and is received in a corresponding mounting hole. Each clasping portion extends through the corresponding locating member and clasps an inner wall of the corresponding mounting hole.
US08218317B2	Computer apparatus and method having dual air chambers A computer system is disclosed having an enclosure having a plurality of components. The computer system further includes a first chamber including a first set of cooling devices; and a second chamber including solely a set of components and a second set of cooling devices. The second chamber is located adjacent to the first chamber, and the set of components includes components not included in the first chamber. The set of components includes solely a plurality of storage components selected from the group consisting of a CD-ROM and a hard drive. Air flow is unidirectional from a front side of the enclosure to a rear side of the enclosure. Further, air flow is prevented from flowing between the first chamber and the second chamber by a solid separation mechanism there between. The first chamber has an air flow path independent of the air flow path of the second chamber.
US08218314B2	Cover mechanism and electronic device using same An electronic device using a cover mechanism to cover a hole is described. The cover mechanism includes a base member, a cover member and a retaining member. The cover member is fixed with the retaining member and moves between a closed position and an opened position. In the closed position, the cover member is elastically, partially deformed to lock to the base member. In the opened position, the cover member can be elastically bent to expose the hole while still being physically attached to the base member.
US08218312B2	Electronic apparatus According to one embodiment, an electronic apparatus includes a printed circuit board, a heat pipe, a fan unit and a fixing unit. The heat pipe has a first end physically fixed to and thermally connected to a first circuit component, and a second end opposite to the first end. The fan unit is provided in the vicinity of the second end of the heat pipe, and cools the second end. The fixing unit fixes the position of the heat pipe at a position different from the position of the first circuit component.
US08218305B2	Flat panel display device A flat panel display device includes a cabinet, a stand, a flat panel display component, and a universal cord holder. The flat panel display component is selectively connected to one of a non-detachable power supply cord and a detachable power supply cord. The universal cord holder includes a non-detachable power supply cord attachment structure and a detachable power supply cord attachment structure. The non-detachable power supply cord attachment structure of the universal cord holder engages with a first support member of the non-detachable power supply cord when the non-detachable power supply cord is connected to the flat panel display component. The detachable power supply cord attachment structure of the universal cord holder engages with a second support member of the detachable power supply cord when the detachable power supply cord is connected to the flat panel display component.
US08218302B2	Display unit, information apparatus with display unit, and method of assembling display unit A display unit has a display device; a first case with an opening, covering the front surface of the display device; and a second case covering the back surface of the display device. The first case has a frame part enclosing the opening, and a side wall extending from the frame part toward the second case over the entire circumference of the frame part. The display device is placed on the frame part so as to be enclosed by the side wall. At least two support rods are fixed to the side wall and press the display device. The number of parts, man-hours, and weight of the unit can be reduced.
US08218299B2	Electronic device with support An electronic device includes a body, two clamps, a remote control, a connecting member and two supports. The two clamps are oppositely fastened to two lateral sides of the body. The remote control is seated between the clamps on a rear side of the body. The connecting member is positioned under the remote control and slidingly connected to the clamps, and configured for carrying the remote control. Each of the supports includes a holder rotatablely connected to one of the two clamps and a bracket extending from the holder towards the body for holding the connecting member.
US08218298B2	Door mechanism with a retractable function and related electronic device A door mechanism includes a main body whereon an opening is formed. The main body is for shielding a slot on a casing of an electronic device. The door mechanism further includes a first resilient component. One end of the first resilient component is fixed inside the main body. The door mechanism further includes a shaft including a pivoting portion pivoted to the casing of the electronic device so that the main body is capable of rotating relative to the casing. The shaft further includes an extending portion. One end of the extending portion is connected to the pivoting portion, and the other end of the extending portion passes through the opening and is connected to the other end of the first resilient component. The main body is capable of moving relative to the pivoting portion due to deformation of the first resilient component.
US08218274B2	Direct current arc fault circuit interrupter, direct current arc fault detector, noise blanking circuit for a direct current arc fault circuit interrupter, and method of detecting arc faults A direct current arc fault circuit interrupter includes separable contacts and a trip circuit to trip open the contacts. The trip circuit includes a number of alternating current sensors structured to sense a current flowing through the separable contacts, a number of filter circuits cooperating with the AC current sensors to output a number of AC signals, a number of peak detectors cooperating with the filter circuits to output a number of peak current signals, and a processor cooperating with at least the peak detectors. The processor inputs the number of peak current signals as a plurality of peak current signals or inputs the number of peak current signals and determines the plurality of peak current signals. The processor also determines if the peak current signals exceed corresponding predetermined thresholds for a predetermined time, and responsively causes the contacts to trip open.
US08218266B2	Head slider Embodiments of the present invention provide a slider that may suppress contamination from being attached to the flying surface of the slider without influence on reduction of the flying height of the slider. Ions exerting an effect of decreasing surface energy are implanted in the whole surface of a flying surface of a magnetic head slider except for a front rail surface and a center rail surface. According to this, contamination is prevented from being attached to a front step bearing surface, a side step bearing surface, a center step bearing surface and a negative pressure groove where contamination is particularly liable to be attached in the flying surface of the magnetic head slider, so as to suppress destabilization in flying of the slider.
US08218264B1	Magnetic head for perpendicular magnetic recording having a main pole and two shields A magnetic head includes: a coil; a main pole; a first shield disposed backward of the main pole along a direction of travel of a recording medium; a first return path section connecting the first shield to the main pole; a second shield disposed forward of the main pole along the direction of travel of the recording medium; and a second return path section connecting the second shield to the main pole. An interface between the first return path section and the main pole has an end closest to a medium facing surface, and an interface between the second return path section and the main pole has an end closest to the medium facing surface, the latter being closer to the medium facing surface than the former. The second return path section includes a yoke layer located away from the medium facing surface and in contact with the main pole. The coil includes at least one coil element that passes between the second shield and the yoke layer.
US08218262B2	Method of manufacturing a limited use data storing device including structured data and primary and secondary read-support information Embodiments of methods and systems for controlling access to information stored on memory or data storage devices are disclosed. In various embodiments, methods of retrieving information from a data storage device previously deactivated by modification or degradation of at least a portion of the data storage device are disclosed.
US08218250B2	Lens barrel and optical apparatus A lens barrel includes a cam ring driving unit including a moving frame, a linear driving unit that includes a holding frame configured to hold an image pickup element, and a guide bar that is engaged with the holding frame, extends in the optical axis direction, and is configured to guide a linear movement of the holding frame in the optical axis direction, and an intermediate fixing lens unit configured still in the optical axis direction. The cam ring driving unit is arranged on an object side of the intermediate fixing lens unit, the linear driving unit is arranged on an image pickup element side of the intermediate fixing lens unit, and the lens barrel is configured dividable into the cam ring driving unit, the linear driving unit, and the intermediate fixing lens unit.
US08218248B2	Zoom lens and imaging optical device including the same A zoom lens and an imaging optical device having the same. The zoom lens includes: in order from an object side, a first lens group having negative refractive power; a second lens group having positive refractive power; and a third lens group having positive refractive power. A light adjusting unit is disposed between the second and third lens groups. The first lens group includes a negative lens having an aspherical surface at least on an image side, and a positive lens having large curvature on the object side. The second lens group includes a front group on the object side, and a rear group. The front group includes a positive lens having an aspherical surface at the object side, the front group having positive refractive power as a whole. The rear group includes a doublet lens including positive and negative lenses. The rear group has negative refractive power as a whole. The front and rear groups are spaced apart from each other by an air gap.
US08218245B2	Zoom lens A zoom lens includes, from an object side in the following order: a first lens group that has a positive refractive power; a second lens group that has a negative refractive power; a third lens group that has a positive refractive power; and a fourth lens group that has a positive refractive power, wherein: when magnification is changed from a wide angle end to a telephoto end, the lens groups each move so as to increase the distance between the first and second lens groups and to decrease the distance between the second and third lens groups and the distance between the third and fourth lens groups; and the following conditional expressions (1) and (2) are satisfied: 5.5
US08218235B2	Projection display surface providing artifact reduction A projection display surface for reducing speckle artifacts from a projector having at least one narrow band light source having an incident visible wavelength band, wherein the incident visible wavelength band has an incident peak wavelength and an incident bandwidth, comprising: a substrate having a reflective layer that reflects incident light over at least the incident visible wavelength band; and a fluorescent agent distributed over the reflective layer, wherein the fluorescent agent absorbs a fraction of the light in the incident visible wavelength band and emits light in an emissive visible wavelength band having an emissive peak wavelength and an emissive bandwidth; wherein return light from the projection display surface produced when incident light in the incident visible wavelength band is incident on the projection display surface contains light in both the incident visible wavelength band and emissive visible wavelength band, thereby reducing speckle artifacts.
US08218222B2	Controllable light modulator An individual, controllable light modulator is configured with a regular pixel structure, for realizing different types of modulation. The spatial light modulator can be realized transmissively and reflectively. The light modulator contains at least one addressable, transmissive layer with a pixel structure and at least one substrate layer with retro-reflecting elements, as well as modulation control means for controlling the modulation of the pixels. The modulation control means produce a number of macropixels from at least two adjacent pixels, to which a selected modulation characteristic is assigned. The retro-reflecting elements are disposed consecutively in such a manner in the substrate layer that, in each case, a retro-reflecting element covers two adjacent pixels of a macropixel of the addressable layer, in order to direct a light bundle, incident in each case on one pixel of a macropixel, sequentially, through further pixels of the macropixel to modulate the incident light bundle.
US08218220B1	Variable aperture optical device having a microshutter In certain embodiments, a detection device includes a structure having an entrance that permits radiation to enter the structure and a radiation detector operable to detect radiation that enters the structure. The device also includes a microshutter array coupled to the structure and aligned with the entrance, the array comprising a plurality of microshutter cells operable to move between a first position in which that microshutter cell prevents radiation of a first wavelength from passing through a portion of the entrance and a second position in which that microshutter cell permits the radiation of the first wavelength to pass through the portion of the entrance. The device further includes an actuating device operable to define a first entrance pupil having a first f-number by moving a plurality of microshutter cells associated with the first f-number.
US08218219B2	Micro-mirror array and optical switch A micro-mirror array including a plurality of micro-mirror elements and each of the micro-mirror elements includes a mirror rotating around two axes and a support unit connected to an outer frame and supporting the mirror. The support unit extends between the mirror of the micro-mirror elements including the support unit and one of two mirrors adjacent to the mirror, and both ends of the support unit are connected to the outer frame.
US08218217B2	Light scanning device and thrust-direction force canceling method At least a part of a first thrust-direction force generated by air resistance received by at least one surface of reflection surfaces arrayed in a rotating direction of a polygon mirror and tilted with respect to a rotation axis of the polygon mirror is canceled by a second thrust-direction force generated by air resistance received by a surface tilted with respect to the rotation axis in a direction opposite to the surface where the first thrust-direction force is generated.
US08218213B2	Narrow angle hologram device and method of manufacturing same A method of manufacturing a master for producing a hologram device. A first master is produced with a compensating angle. The second master is produced from the first master with an index matching material to reduce the interference pattern caused by internal reflections within the holographic plate of the master. The hologram device has a relatively narrow angle of reconstruction to provide visibility from a nearly perpendicular light source such as the headlight of an on-coming vehicle.
US08218207B1	Polychromatic encoding system, method and device Disclosed is a polychromatic barcode or portable data file symbology, image, system, method, and apparatus enabling virtually unlimited information density. In a preferred embodiment, ASCII characters are assigned to unique identifiers, which identifiers are in turn assigned to unique colors. Color blots are sequentially arranged in a symbol so as to match the sequence of corresponding identifiers to be encoded, and then the symbol is applied to a surface. To decode, the symbol is scanned, colors translated into identifiers, and identifiers translated into content. Also disclosed are blots dedicated to calibration. Information density is further enhanced through an external reference function achieved through commands included in the barcode itself, by which function infinitely high information density is achieved. Licensing information is available through www.inventerprise.com.
US08218203B2	Structure for holding optical component, and optical scanning device and image forming apparatus including the same A structure for holding an optical component, includes: first and second flat plate portions provided in a state where the portions stand on a base plate, opposed to each other in a state where the flat plate portions are coupled to each other, and constituting first and second hierarchies, respectively; first and second positioning portions that are provided at the first flat plate portion, and that determine positions of directions of first and second coordinate axes of first, second, and third coordinate axes that intersect with each other; a third positioning portion that is provided at the second flat plate portion, and that determines a position of a direction of the third coordinate axis of the first, second, and third coordinate axes that intersect with each other; and a holding portion coupled to the first flat plate portion or the second flat plate portion, and holding the optical component.
US08218199B2	Image forming apparatus capable of improving an image quality of a barcode while suppressing deterioration in a quality of an image An image forming apparatus includes an image formation portion forming an image onto a recording medium in an electro-photographic process. An acquisition portion acquires image data and a storage portion stores in advance first and second image formation conditions for the electro-photographic process. A condition setting portion sets the first image-formation condition for an image formation operation, if data indicating a bar code is not included in image data acquired by the acquisition portion, and sets the second image formation condition for an image formation operation if image data indicating a bar code is included in image data acquired by the acquisition portion. A control portion allows the image formation portion to execute an image formation operation based on image data acquired by the acquisition portion according to the image formation condition set by the condition setting portion.
US08218193B2	Image forming apparatus to resize image and method of resizing image An image forming apparatus capable of resizing an image, and a method of resizing the image of the image forming apparatus. A scanning unit scans a document to generate an image. A storage unit stores a target file size to be applied during storing of the generated image before the document is scanned. An image processor resizes an initial file size of the image generated by the scanning unit so that the initial file size approaches the target file size. A controller stores the image having the resized file size in at least one of an external memory connected to the image forming apparatus and the storage unit installed in the image forming apparatus. As a result, a scanned image can be resized to a size desired by a user and then stored in the external memory before the scanned image is stored.
US08218190B2	Document processing apparatus and method This invention relates to a document processing apparatus. The document processing apparatus capable of editing the output format of document data formed from a document page includes a page repeat layout setting save unit which saves page repeat layout setting information designated by the user, a document generator which, when a page repeat layout is set by the page repeat layout setting information, generates output document data containing a page repeat printing page prepared by laying out a basic page by a plurality of number of times on one print page in accordance with the page repeat layout setting information by defining as the basic page one print page used when no page repeat layout is set, and a display controller which displays the document data in a print form in a display window on the basis of the output document data.
US08218184B2	Image forming apparatus and image forming system An image forming apparatus includes: a radio communication portion that transmits and receives data over radio communication to and from a storage medium in which identification information for user identification is stored; a display input portion that displays a function setting screen and receives a function setting; and a control portion that controls operation of the apparatus and forces the display input portion to perform a display changeover depending on an exposure state of the storage medium if the radio communication portion obtains the identification information from the storage medium.
US08218181B2	Printing system A printing system includes a printing device, and a printing data processing device. A status data generating unit generates status data indicating a status of the printing device. A storing unit stores status image data that graphically indicates a content of the status data. A text data generating unit generates status text data that explanatorily indicates a content of the status image data with words. A data editing unit edits the window data to include the status text data and the status image data. A display unit displays the window by using window data such that the window displays an image corresponding to the status image data and a text corresponding to the status text data. A specifying unit specifies the text on the window. A voicing unit voices the specified text based on the corresponding status text data.
US08218173B2	Printing system, control method therefor, and program for providing end notifications related to merged jobs In a printing system having a plurality of process apparatuses for executing processes from printing to bookbinding, each process apparatus receives, from an upstream process apparatus, a merged job obtained by merging a plurality of jobs. The process apparatus processes the merged job on the basis of job management information representing the process contents of the received merged job. The process apparatus then transmits, to a designated destination, the end notification of the process by a processing unit for each of the jobs in the merged job.
US08218170B2	Multi-print stream processing module optimizer for document processing Multiple print streams destined for individual print stream processing modules are optimized prior to printing. The process of optimizing includes receiving an input representing a plurality of documents to be printed and determining an attribute of each document of the plurality of documents represented by the input. The attribute relates to processing of the respective document through the document processing system. Optimization involves balancing an operation time of a first print stream processing module with an operation time of a second print stream processing module, by assigning each document to one of the print stream processing modules based on its determined attribute.
US08218168B2	Image forming apparatus and information processing method An image forming apparatus includes a storage unit configured to store attribute information about a job executed on the image forming apparatus, a detection unit configured to detect a jam that has occurred on the image forming apparatus, and a generation unit configured to generate a test job in which a print setting is set based on a type of the jam detected by the detection unit and the job attribute information corresponding to the jam and stored on the storage unit.
US08218163B2	Operating apparatus, controlling operating apparatus, communication system, and managing communication system A communication system, and a method of managing the communication system are provided, each of which allows an apparatus in the communication system is replaced in a timely manner when an error is detected in the apparatus.
US08218162B2	Image processing device When transmitting a document file stored in a box of a device such as an information processing device to an image processing device via a network, reduction in transfer time of a document file is aimed at. The image processing device has a unit for reading a document and for generating original image data, and a unit for inputting transfer size information of a bitmap. The image processing device transmits the transfer size information in addition to a data transfer request of the document file to another device in accordance with document file information including data about the document from at least part of an area of the original image data. The image processing device extracts at least part of the original image data in accordance with metadata contained in the document file received, and converts the original image data extracted to vector data.
US08218159B2	Data processing apparatus for transmitting resources to an image processing apparatus A resource management method according to the present invention for managing a resource retained by an image forming apparatus that is capable of processing print data, which is based upon print languages of a plurality of types, using a specified resource, comprises a setting step of setting attributes, with regard to the resource, corresponding to each of the plurality of types of print languages processable by the image forming apparatus, and a storage step of storing the attributes, which have been set at said setting step, in the image forming apparatus in association with actual data of the resource retained by the image forming apparatus.
US08218157B2	Image forming apparatus An image forming apparatus includes a recording-medium stacking portion, a recording-medium ejection portion and a suctioning/exhausting unit. The recording-medium stacking portion is provided in a body portion or an upper portion of the image forming apparatus. The recording-medium stacking portion stacks recording media on which respective images are formed thereon. The recording-medium ejection portion ejects the recording medium in a recording-medium ejection direction to the recording-medium stacking portion. The suctioning/exhausting unit is located with respect to the recording-medium stacking portion in a direction, which is perpendicular to the recording-medium ejection direction and parallel to a surface of the recording medium stacked on the recording-medium stacking portion. The suctioning/exhausting unit suctions air emitted from the recording medium, which is ejected from the recording-medium ejection portion onto the recording-medium stacking portion. The suctioning/exhausting unit exhausts the suctioned air through a filter.
US08218152B1	Group refractive index reconstruction with broadband interferometric confocal microscopy A system and method for microscale measurement and imaging of the group refractive index of a sample. The method utilizes a broadband confocal high-numerical aperture microscope embedded into an interferometer and a spectrometric means, whereby spectral interferograms are analyzed to compute optical path delay of the beam traversing the sample as the sample is translated through the focus of an interrogating light beam. A determination of group refractive index may serve to disambiguate phase ambiguity in a measurement of refractive index at a specified wavelength. Spatial resolution of object characterization in three dimensions is achieved by imaging the object from multiple viewpoints.
US08218145B2	Particle monitor system and substrate processing apparatus A particle monitor system that can detect fine particles in a substrate processing apparatus. The substrate processing apparatus has a chamber in which a substrate is housed and subjected to processing, a dry pump that exhausts gas out of the chamber, and a bypass line that communicates the chamber and the dry pump together. The particle monitor system has a laser light oscillator that irradiates laser light toward a space in which the particles may be present, and a laser power measurement device that is disposed on an optical path of the laser light having passed through the space and measures the energy of the laser light.
US08218142B2	Fiber optic probe scatterometer for spectroscopy measurements A device for making spectroscopy measurements with reduced or eliminated surface reflections is provided, the device including an elongated member including an outermost opaque thin walled enclosure; an optically transparent thin-walled enclosure adjacent an inner surface of said outermost thin walled enclosure; one or more optical fibers centrally and axially disposed and spaced apart a distance B with respect to the optically transparent thin-walled enclosure; wherein the elongated member is adapted to be coupled to a spectrometer and an illumination source to provide a light signal from the illumination source along said optically transparent thin-walled enclosure and collect a scattered light signal from the sample by said one or more optical fibers to provide to the spectrometer.
US08218138B2	Apparatus and method for inspecting defects A defect inspection apparatus and method includes utilizing an irradiation optical system that focuses a beam flux emitted from a laser light source and formed into a slit-shaped beam so as to irradiate the beam onto the surface of the substrate to be inspected, utilizing a detection optical system that detects light from the substrate that has been irradiated with the slit-shaped beam, and utilizing a signal processor that processes a signal output from the detection optical system. The irradiation optical system includes a cylindrical lens for focusing the beam that has been emitted from the laser light source onto the substrate to be inspected, as the slit-shaped beam, wherein the cylindrical lens is disposed so as to obtain a distance between an incidence surface or emitting surface thereof and the slit-shaped beam upon the substrate to be inspected to be equal to a focal distance of the cylindrical lens.
US08218136B2	Apparatus and method for recognizing home position of rotatable body Provided are an apparatus and method for recognizing a home position of a rotatable body. The apparatus includes: a tray including a support surface on which the rotatable body can be seated; a rotatable body position alignment unit for controlling the position of the rotatable body so that the rotatable body is aligned to be in a predetermined position when the rotatable body is seated on the support surface of the tray; a motor including a motor shaft that rotates by power supply, and a turntable that can be coupled with the rotatable body and rotates the rotatable body; and an encoder that is connected to the motor shaft and generates signals for measuring a rotational angle and a rotational direction of the motor shaft.
US08218131B2	Position measuring system, position measuring method and position measuring program A position measuring system, comprising a distance measuring unit for projecting and scanning a pulsed beam for measurement to a measurement area and for measuring a distance based on a reflected light of the pulsed beam for measurement and for obtaining a position data group in the measurement area, a digital image pickup unit for acquiring an image data by taking an image of the measurement area, a storage unit for storing at least two sets of the position data groups and the image data acquired from at least two directions by interrelating and associating the position data groups with the image data, and an arithmetic unit for synthesizing the at least two position data groups through matching of the two images based on the two stored image data.
US08218126B2	Lithographic apparatus and device manufacturing method A liquid handling system is disclosed in which an extractor to contain liquid in a space between the projection system of a lithographic apparatus and a substrate has, in plan, a shape with a single corner. The extractor is provided in a rotatable part of a liquid handling system. The rotatable part is rotated under the control of a controller.
US08218124B2	Substrate processing apparatus with multi-speed drying having rinse liquid supplier that moves from center of rotated substrate to its periphery and stops temporarily so that a drying core can form After a substrate is cleaned, a liquid supply nozzle moves outward from above the center of the substrate while discharging a rinse liquid with the substrate rotated. In this case, a drying region where no rinse liquid exists expands on the substrate. When the liquid supply nozzle moves to above a peripheral portion of the substrate, the rotational speed of the substrate is reduced. The movement speed of the liquid supply nozzle is maintained as it is. Thereafter, the discharge of the rinse liquid is stopped while the liquid supply nozzle moves outward from the substrate. Thus, the drying region spreads over the whole substrate so that the substrate is dried.
US08218122B2	Method for forming wiring film, transistor and electronic device A wiring film having excellent adhesion and barrier property and a low resistance value is formed. An oxygen gas is introduced into a vacuum chamber in which an object to be film formed is disposed; a sputtering target is sputtered in a vacuum ambience containing oxygen; and a first metallic film is formed on a surface of the object to be film formed. The first sputtering target includes copper as a major component and at least one kind of additive elements selected from an additive element group consisting of Mg, Al, Si, Be, Ca, Sr, Ba, Ra, Sc, Y, La, Ce, Pr, Nd, Pm, Sm, Eu, Gd, Tb and Dy. Thereafter, a second metallic film is formed on a surface of the first metallic film by sputtering the sputtering target in a state in which the introduction of the oxygen gas into a vacuum ambience is stopped, and then a wiring film is formed by etching the first and second metallic films.
US08218120B2	Array substrate for in-plane switching liquid crystal display device and method of fabricating the same A fabricating method of an array substrate for an in-plane switching liquid crystal display device includes: forming a gate line and a common line on a substrate, the common line spaced apart from the gate line; forming a data line crossing the gate line to define a pixel region; forming a thin film transistor connected to the gate line and the data line; forming a pixel electrode and a common electrode in the pixel region, each of the pixel electrode and the common electrode including an opaque metal layer; and irradiating ultraviolet rays onto the opaque metal layer to form a metal oxide layer on the opaque metal layer.
US08218117B2	Liquid crystal display and method of manufacturing the same An LCD is manufactured to provide a wide viewing angle device and may reduce manufacturing costs according to an embodiment. The LCD includes a substrate, a gate line disposed on the substrate, a gate insulating layer disposed on the gate line, a semiconductor layer disposed on the gate insulating layer, a data line contacting the semiconductor layer, a drain electrode contacting the semiconductor layer and separated from the data line, a pixel electrode contacting the drain electrode, a passivation layer disposed on the pixel electrode, and a common electrode disposed on the passivation layer and including a branch electrode overlapping the pixel electrode. In one embodiment, the pixel electrode contacts an end portion of a thin film transistor. The LCD manufacturing process may be shortened and may save manufacturing costs because the LCD process need not make contact holes to connect the pixel electrode and the TFT.
US08218116B2	Liquid crystal display panel and manufacturing method thereof A mounting terminal portion 33A of an FFS mode liquid crystal display panel includes a gate insulator 14 and a passivation film 17 covering a surface of a wiring 34 for a mounting terminal, a contact hole 36a penetrating therethrough, a first transparent conductive film 38 electrically connected to the wiring 34 for a mounting terminal, an insulator 23 formed with an opening 36b having a smaller diameter than the diameter of the contact hole 36a in a central part of the first transparent conductive film 38, and a mounting terminal formed of a second transparent conductive film 41 electrically connected to the first transparent conductive film 38.
US08218110B2	Thin film transistor array panel and method of manufacturing the same After increasing the thickness of a gate line and forming a barrier rib that is made of an organic material, a gate insulating layer is formed and then a color filter is formed with an Inkjet method using the barrier rib. By increasing a thickness of the gate line, even if the size of a substrate increases, problems due to signal delay are reduced, and by forming a barrier rib with an organic material, the height of the barrier rib increases, and a taper angle increases and thus a color filter is stably formed.
US08218105B2	Liquid crystal display device and manufacturing method of liquid crystal display device To sophisticate a portable electronic appliance without hindering reduction of the weight and the size, more specifically, to sophisticate a liquid crystal display apparatus installed in a portable electronic appliance without hindering the mechanical strength, a liquid crystal display apparatus includes a first plastic substrate, a light-emitting device which is disposed over the first plastic substrate, resin which covers the light-emitting device, an insulating film which is in contact with the resin, a semiconductor device which is in contact with the insulating film, a liquid crystal cell which is electrically connected to the semiconductor device, and a second plastic substrate, wherein the semiconductor device and the liquid crystal cell are disposed between the first plastic substrate and the second plastic substrate.
US08218103B2	Display device having scanning function with camera modules A display device includes a housing, a liquid crystal panel member, numerous camera modules, a light emitting device and a processing unit. The housing defines a slot configured for allowing an display medium to enter the display device. The liquid crystal panel member is received in the housing. The camera modules are positioned in the reflective housing and each is configured for capturing a sub-images of a corresponding portion of the display medium. The light emitting device is configured for emitting light to the display medium. The processing unit is configured for obtaining an image of the display medium by synthesizing the sub-images of the corresponding portions of the display medium.
US08218098B2	Display panel with an electrostatic protection member for a liquid crystal display device A display panel of a liquid crystal display device includes a first substrate including a display area (DA) having a plurality of pixel portions, and a peripheral area (PA) surrounding the display area. A second substrate of the display panel comprises a common electrode and an electrostatic protection member electrically disconnected from the common electrode and surrounding the common electrode. The electrostatic protection member is electrically connected to a fixed-voltage terminal through the first substrate. A liquid crystal layer is provided between the first substrate and the second substrate.
US08218096B2	Method of controlling a 2D/3D switchable display apparatus including a scanning backlight and a plurality of light guide plates Provided are a 2D (2-dimensional)/3D (3-dimensional) display apparatus using a scanning backlight and a method of controlling the same. The apparatus sequentially includes a backlight which is capable of scanning and irradiating polarized light, a retarder which transmits light emitted from the backlight as phase-maintained light and phase-delayed light, a lenticular array which transmits light from the retarder as directional light, and a display panel which displays an inputted image and which is illuminated by light being transmitted through the lenticular array. The backlight includes a plurality of light guide plates which are independently disposed and arranged in parallel with one another, a plurality of light sources which are provided for the respective light guide plates and emit light, and a plurality of polarization filters which are arranged in front of the respective light guide plates. The scanning frequency of the backlight is synchronized with the input frequency of the input frames so that an illumination function and a scanning function are simultaneously performed using one backlight, a 2D image and a 3D image are efficiently displayed and crosstalk is reduced.
US08218095B2	Projector A projector includes: a liquid crystal panel having liquid crystal encapsulated between a pair of substrates; a liquid-cooling device adapted to cool the liquid crystal panel with a cooling liquid; and a first translucent substrate made of an optical crystal material having thermal conductivity in a direction parallel to an optical axis higher than thermal conductivity in a direction orthogonal to the optical axis disposed on an outer surface of one of the pair of substrates, wherein the liquid-cooling device includes a liquid circulation pipe having a pipe shape through the cooling liquid, and disposed along at least one of side end sections in the first translucent substrate, and the liquid circulation pipe is coupled to the first translucent substrate in a manner of enabling heat transfer so that a flow direction of at least a part of the cooling liquid is orthogonal to the optical axis.
US08218094B2	Television apparatus and electronic apparatus According to one embodiment, a television apparatus includes, a printed wiring board provided with a cutout portion, a plurality of first light emitting diodes provided on the printed wiring board and configured to emit light parallel to the printed wiring board, and a lens. The lens includes a plurality of light receiving parts fitted in the cutout portion in such a manner as to correspond to the first light emitting diodes, respectively, and a display part configured to display the light which has entered through the light receiving parts.
US08218092B1	Apparatus for receiving both analog and digital TV signals A television receiver includes a tuner, a bandpass filter, an intermediate frequency amplifier and a demodulator. The tuner has an input to receive radio frequency signals and an output to provide modulated analog and digital television signals at an intermediate frequency. The bandpass filter and the intermediate frequency amplifier provide a singular signal path to filter and amplify both the modulated analog and digital television signals at the intermediate frequency. The demodulator has a singular input coupled to the output of the intermediate frequency amplifier and a plurality of outputs. The plurality of outputs includes a first output to provide demodulated analog television signals in response to the output of the tuner providing modulated analog television signals at the intermediate frequency and a second output to provide demodulated digital television signals in response to the output of the tuner providing modulated digital television signals at the intermediate frequency.
US08218087B2	Method for adjusting image A method for adjusting image is applied to an image output device. According to the method, the image output device firstly obtains a current image frame including plural pixels, and analyzes an intensity of an input image signal value of each pixel. The image output device defines each pixel having the input image signal value being smaller than a critical value as a dark pixel, and counts a number of the dark pixels to obtain a ratio of the dark pixels among all the pixels to serve as a dark pixel ratio. The image output device determines an image adjusting curve equation according to the dark pixel ratio, substitutes the input image signal values to the image adjusting curve equation, and obtains output image signal values of the pixels. Finally, the image output device combines all the output image signal values to obtain a final output image frame.
US08218085B2	Signal separator A signal separator for separating luminance and color signals from a composite video signal includes: a first band pass element for passing a part of the composite video signal within a color signal band and within a predetermined frequency band; a second band pass element for passing a part of the first filtered signal within the color signal band and without the predetermined frequency band; and a first subtraction element for subtracting the first filtered signal from the composite video signal, wherein the predetermined frequency band is a frequency range in which the separation of the composite video signal into the color and the luminance signals is difficult.
US08218083B2	Noise reducer, noise reducing method, and video signal display apparatus that distinguishes between motion and noise A video noise reducer processes a frame difference signal equal to the difference between the video signal of the current frame and the video signal of the preceding frame or the difference between the video signal of the current frame and the noise-reduced video signal of the preceding frame to obtain a motion detection signal and a noise detection signal. The difference between the motion detection signal and the noise detection signal is then processed to obtain a recursion coefficient. The frame difference signal is multiplied by the recursion coefficient and the resulting product is additively combined with the video signal of the current frame to reduce noise without generating significant motion artifacts.
US08218069B2	Camera body with which various flash devices can be interchangeably used The camera body includes an imaging element, a hot shoe, an internal light source, and a camera controller. The imaging element is configured to convert an optical image of the subject into an electrical signal, and is configured to produce image data for the subject. The hot shoe allows the flash device to be mounted. The internal light source is arranged to shine light on the subject. The camera controller is configured to calculate an evaluation value on the basis of the image data produced by the imaging element, and is configured to perform video autofocusing on the basis of the evaluation value. The camera controller controls the imaging element and the internal light source so that when the camera controller decides that the auxiliary light is needed, and the camera controller decides that the flash device mounted to the hot shoe has an external auxiliary light source arranged to emit near infrared light, the internal light source emits light during the video autofocusing and the image data is acquired.
US08218061B2	Apparatus, method, and manufacture for iterative auto-focus using depth-from-defocus A camera with auto-focusing performs multiple iterations in which the distance from the camera to an object is estimated for the purpose of auto-focusing the camera. Each estimate is made using depth-from-defocus with at least two images used to make the estimate. When the two images are taken, the camera parameters are different. For example, the focus position, aperture, or zoom may be different between the two images. In each subsequent iteration, the previous estimate of distance from the camera to the object is used so that the parameter varied (focus position or zoom) is closer to that corresponding to the estimated distance from the camera to the object, so that the estimated distance is closer to the actual distance in each iteration.
US08218040B2	Image processing apparatus, image processing method and computer-readable storage medium An imaging apparatus includes a smear detection unit configured to detect the amount of smear from an image signal, a smear correction unit configured to execute smear correction based on the detected amount of smear, and an image processing unit configured to execute image processing based on the detected amount of smear.
US08218038B2	Multi-phase black level calibration method and system Multi-phase black level calibration (BLC) methods and systems are generally disclosed. According to one embodiment of the present invention, an image sensor comprises a pixel sensor array, a timing generator, and a front-end processing block. The front-end processing block also includes a first summing junction, a first BLC block, and a second BLC block. According to a first timing signal from the timing generator, the first BLC block is configured to iteratively generate a first calibration signal in a first phase based on a first set of adjusted black level signals associated with a first set of black pixels, a changing accumulator step, and a predetermined condition associated with a first target black level. According to a second timing signal from the timing generator, the second BLC block is configured to generate a second calibration signal for a second summing junction to apply to an image signal associated with one or more active pixels in the frame in a second phase.

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