Document	Document Title
US08353813B2	System and method for assisted partitioning of body conduits A treatment strategy for treatment of elevated pressure in a body conduit, such as a pulmonary vein, with a prosthetic partitioning device for placement in and/or about pulmonary veins is described, as well as delivery systems, and strategies for use thereof. A control device is configured to transmit signals to the prosthetic device to effectuate the repetitive transition between a first, less restricted flow configuration and a second, restricted flow configuration are described. A sensor device may be provided for monitoring physiological parameters of the patient, and can provide signals to the control device for effectuating the transition between the first and second configuration.
US08353808B1	Multi-directional rolling abdominal exercise device Exercise devices for exercising the abdominal muscles and other muscle groups are disclosed. Each of the exercise devices has a housing from which opposing interconnected ends of an axle extend and a support ball that is captured within and partially extends from the housing. The housing has a cavity defining a partial sphere for receiving the support ball. Each of the exercise devices also comprises a plurality of strips which are attached to the surface of the cavity. Each of the strips includes a plurality of bearings each of which is captured within a bearing race. The strips are positioned upon the cavity surface so as to engage the support ball surface and to provide free-rolling support of the housing on the support ball in any direction when the exercise device is in use. Methods of using the exercise devices are also disclosed.
US08353805B2	Hydraulic supply system for a hydraulically actuated automatic transmission A hydraulic supply system for a hydraulically actuated automatic transmission, in particular for a belt-driven conical-pulley transmission. The system includes a primary pump driven by a primary drive system to provide pressure in a supply line connected to a regulating valve. The supply line is connected through a pilot valve to a control line in which a control valve is situated, with which the pressure that determines the setting of a transmission ratio adjusting valve is set. An auxiliary pump driven by an auxiliary drive system that is separate from the primary drive system includes an outlet line connected to the control line through a first valve that opens in the direction of the control line, and is connected to the supply line through a second valve that opens in the direction of the supply line.
US08353801B2	Multi-speed transmission The present invention provides a multiple speed automatic transmission having an input member, an output member and four planetary gear assemblies each including a sun gear, a planet gear carrier with a plurality of planet gears and a ring gear. The transmission also includes four friction brakes and two friction clutches. The transmission further includes a plurality of fixed or rigid connections. A first connection couples the ring gear of the first planetary gear assembly to the sun gear of the second planetary gear assembly. A second connection couples the planet gear carrier of the first planetary gear assembly to the planet gear carrier of the second planetary gear assembly. A third connection couples the ring gear of the third planetary gear assembly to the sun gear of the fourth planetary gear assembly. A fourth connection couples the planet gear carrier of the third planetary gear assembly to the planet gear carrier of the fourth planetary gear assembly. A fifth connection couples the ring gear of the second planetary gear assembly to the sun gear of the third planetary gear assembly.
US08353792B2	Teardrop ring tossing game The present invention is a ring for a game of skill, generally comprising a single strip having first and second ends, wherein said first and second ends are attached to one another to form a single endless ring having a corner on one side of said ring and a teardrop-shaped opposing side opposite said corner. In some embodiments the ring is a single continuous piece. Alternative embodiments of the present invention call for the game piece to be flexible, and for utilizing attachment mechanisms and curvature retention mechanisms to further adjust and retain the curvature of the ring, all for the purpose of affecting the trajectory of the ring when thrown.
US08353779B2	Support structure for bolting components of drive shaft via mounting member A support structure for bolting components of a drive shaft via a mounting member that comprises at least are mounting member of the drive shaft having formed through a bolt hole, a female thread portion which is formed in the mounting member, the bolt having a male thread portion can be screwed into the female thread portion by inserting the bolt into the bolt hole, and a heat-shrinkable tube that is adapted to provide elastic contact at an inner surface of the bolt hole.
US08353776B2	Universal ball joint A universal ball joint includes a first pivotal body and a second pivotal body rotatably assembled with the first pivotal body. The first pivotal body includes a substantially elliptical ball head and a connecting portion extending out from the ball head. The ball head has a major axis and a minor axis substantially perpendicular to the major axis. The second pivotal body defines a substantially elliptical ball socket rotatably engaging with the ball head of the first pivotal body such that the ball head may rotate around the major axis or the minor axis of the ball head.
US08353775B2	Wheel support apparatus A wheel support apparatus including a hub wheel which includes a hub shaft and is to mount a wheel thereon, a first side surface spline being formed on an end surface of the hub shaft, and a constant velocity joint which includes an outer ring connected to the hub shaft in a torque-transmitting manner, a second side surface spline meshed with the first side surface spline being formed on an end surface of a side wall portion of the outer ring abutting against the end surface of the hub shaft. Each of the first and second side surface splines includes a number of spline teeth and bottom lands defined between the spline teeth. The tooth tops of the spline teeth of one of the two side splines and the bottom lands of the other side spline are formed into a tapering surface inclined relative to a plane perpendicular to a center axis of the hub shaft. The tapering tooth tops contact the corresponding tapering bottom lands so that the hub shaft and the outer ring can be aligned with each other.
US08353774B2	Sharing resources in wagering game systems Techniques for sharing resources in wagering game systems are described herein. In some embodiments, a method includes determining that remote resources are needed for processing video content associated with a wagering game, and locating the remote resources by wirelessly communicating with one or more wagering game machines in the wagering game network, wherein the wireless communications include queries about whether the wagering game machines can provide the needed processing resources. The method can also include receiving processed video content via wireless communications with certain of the one or more wagering game machines, and presenting the wagering game using the processed video content.
US08353753B2	Wagering game with randomly funded progressive amounts A gaming system that includes a gaming terminal with a wagering game. The wagering game includes a plurality of symbols that indicate a randomly selected outcome. The wagering game allows the player to be eligible for a plurality of progressive jackpots. A controller is operative to randomly increase the amount of one or more of the plurality of progressive jackpots by at least a portion of the wager input. Further, the percentages of the portion that are allocated to each progressive jackpot can be randomly selected as well. Thus, the progressive jackpots are randomly funded, instead of being funded by a predetermined percentage of each wager input.
US08353751B2	Gaming device and method for providing multiple-hand poker game A gaming device having a multi-player poker game includes a plurality of two-card hands dealt to a player and to a virtual opponent. First, the player has an option to place a wager on or fold each of the player hands. Then, the gaming device folds a number of dealer hands corresponding to the number of folded player hands and contributes a wager to the pot for each remaining virtual opponent hand in play. A primary award is provided if at least one of the active player hands outranks all of the non-folded virtual opponent hands. A bonus award is provided to the player if the rank of the player's winning hand is a predetermined rank.
US08353740B2	Conductive hydrocarbon fluid The disclosure is directed to a processing fluid including at least 50 wt % of an aliphatic hydrocarbon having an average chain length of 8 to 16 carbons, 0.005 wt % to 10.0 wt % of Lewis active components, and not greater than 1.0 wt % water. The Lewis active components includes a Lewis acid and a Lewis base. The processing fluid has a conductivity of at least 10 nS/m and a Cannon viscosity of about 0.5 cp to about 5 cp at 25° C.
US08353739B2	Method for detecting and/or preventing grind burn The present invention provides a method of detecting and preventing grind burn from developing on a gear. The method includes performing acoustic emission testing while the gear is being ground during a grinding operation. The grinding wheel is evaluated during an eddy current test to detect material buildup on the grinding wheel which could cause grind burn. In addition, the method includes collecting swarf from the gear during the grinding operation and inspecting the swarf for an indication of grind burn.
US08353735B2	Submerged buoy This invention relates to a submerged buoy (1) consisting of: a housing (2) containing a receiver (4) of a radioacoustic signal; a mooring rope (11) with one end attached to a mooring point; a mechanism for releasing said buoy, allowing it to return to the surface; and a flotation reserve; said buoy being noteworthy in that the release mechanism (7) is of electromechanical type and is enclosed in a hermetically sealed tank (5) which thus forms the flotation reserve; said mechanism (7) controlling a catch (8) which either prevents or allows the free rotation of a winding drum (10) around which the mooring rope (11) is wound. This buoy may be used particularly for marking submerged objects such as fishing equipment, nets, fish pots etc., for controlling mooring sites in pleasure ports or even to mark off a sensitive area (such as around an underwater mine).
US08353733B2	Electric current-generating and/or electric power-plant device on-board a sailing structure The object of the invention is an electric current-generating and/or electric power-plant device (50) in a sailing structure comprising at least one power plant and at least one battery pool, whereby said power plant comprises at least one heat engine (18), a reducer/inverter assembly, and particularly a shaft line (22) equipped with at least one propeller at its end, with the current-generating device (50) being inserted between the flange (66) of the engine cover (68) of said engine (18) and the flange (70) of the reducer/inverter assembly (20), where said device (50) is characterized in that it takes the form of a closed module (64) that can be inserted directly between the flange (66) of the engine cover (68) and the flange (70) of the reducer/inverter assembly without disassembly, total or partial, of its components.
US08353719B2	Joined cord connection protector with top and bottom conforming to top and bottom of two joined cord connectors A solid molded cord connection protector for robust protection of joined cord connectors is disclosed, which protects cord connections and cord connectors from being crushed by large external forces and/or high pressure. The cord connection protector includes a bottom and top robust solid mold, each mold custom-designed to conform to a substantially bottom or top side of joined portions of two cords joined together by cord connectors. A hinge connects the top and bottom molds via their respective back sides; and a fastener fastens the top and bottom molds together at their front sides. The cord connection protector completely encloses the solid molds firmly around the entire surface of the joined portions of the two cords, thereby providing robust protection of the joined cord connectors and robust protection of the cord connection. In some embodiments, the cord connection protector is capable of preventing separation and/or crushing of the cord connectors.
US08353716B2	Terminal structures for wiring devices Terminal structures for wiring devices, such as receptacle assemblies, are disclosed having first and second spring assemblies constructed of a first metal and each having at least one spring finger with the first and second spring assemblies being connected to respective first and second conductive contacts that are constructed of a second metal, wherein the terminal structures are configured for push-in termination of conductive stripped ends of respective first and second wires between the at least one spring finger of the respective first and second spring assemblies and the respective first and second conductive contacts, and wherein the first and second conductive contacts are configured to be connected to respective first and second separate conductive elements. Such a terminal structure is shown for example within a receptacle assembly in the form of a grounding duplex plug outlet.
US08353695B2	Die for forming honeycomb structure A joined article in which a first metal member made of a tungsten carbide base cemented carbide and a second metal member made of a martensitic stainless steel having a carbon equivalent of 2.5 to 3.5 and containing 0.030 mass % or less of sulfur are joined. The martensitic stainless steel having the carbon equivalent of 2.5 to 3.5 is preferably at least one selected from the group consisting of SUS431, SUS420J1, SUS420J2, SUS410, SUS410J1, S-STAR, PROVA-400, HPM38, STAVAX ESR, and SUS403 in the joined article. There is disclosed a joined article in which the lowering of the strength of a second metal member around a joining interface thereof is prevented.
US08353692B2	Scroll type compressor A scroll type compressor has a housing, a rotary shaft, a fixed scroll member, a movable scroll member and a rotation preventing mechanism. The rotation preventing mechanism has a movable pin that is provided on the surface of movable end plate and extends toward end surface of the housing in parallel with an axis of the rotary shaft, a fixed pin that is provided on the end surface of the housing and extends toward the surface of the movable end plate in parallel with the axis of the movable pin, a rolling element that is disposed between the movable and the fixed pins, being contactable with the movable and the fixed pins and a retainer retaining the rolling element between the movable and the fixed pins.
US08353686B2	Rotor stability of a rotary pump A rotary pump including an impeller rotatable within a housing. A load is imposed on the impeller as it rotates, in a direction that is substantially parallel to the axis of rotation and wherein the load stabilizes the motion of the impeller. The load may be achieved by magnetically biasing the impeller.
US08353684B2	Phase change compressor A method for compressing a gas by using energy produced from a heat source. A boiler is provided. The boiler is segregated into an upper chamber and a lower chamber by a barrier such as a piston, a bellows, or a diaphragm. The lower chamber is filled with a liquid having a suitable boiling point and other properties. The upper chamber is filled with a gas to be compressed. Heat from any suitable source is applied to the liquid in the lower chamber in order to bring the liquid to a boil, and thereby produce pressurized vapor in the lower chamber. The rising pressure in the lower chamber moves the barrier in the direction of the upper chamber, thereby compressing the gas in the upper chamber.
US08353679B2	Micropump device To provide a micropump device having good controllability over the amount of gas generated from the gas generating material and thus the amount of liquid fed by the micropump. The micropump device includes a micropump 10 and a controller 50. The micropump 10 includes: a microchannel 22 serving as a channel for liquid; a gas generating material 34 generating a gas upon exposure to light and supplying the gas to the microchannel 22; and a light source 42 for irradiating the gas generating material 34 with light 44. The controller 50 supplies to the light source 42 a control pulse signal CS that causes the light source 42 to blink on and off in a binary manner by repeating a pulse train pattern composed of a fixed number of bits each capable of having two states, one of which is a first level allowing the light source 42 to be turned on and the other of which is a second level allowing the light source 42 to be turned off.
US08353671B2	Fan with pressurizing structure A fan with pressurizing structure includes a rotor having a main body, blades spaced on the main body, a magnetic body annularly mounted in the main body, and a shaft axially connected to an inner side of the main body; a frame having a sleeve and at least one bearing rotatably received in the sleeve, and an opposing end of the shaft being inserted into the bearing; a stator assembly fitted around the sleeve and including silicon steel plates and a base plate; and a plurality of first pressurizing sections selectively provided on one of the base plate and an end face of the magnetic body. With the first pressurizing sections, deposition of moisture and salt fog in the sleeve and the rotor can be prevented to avoid corroded and damaged bearing and rotor shaft, and the service life of the whole fan is increased.
US08353665B1	Impeller for two-chamber extracting blower An impeller for use in a two-chamber extracting blower that separates liquid and solid contaminants from a supply of and provides a supply of clean air moving at high velocity air. The impeller includes a plurality of blades wherein each blade includes a first section perpendicular to and formed of the blade and a second section perpendicular to the first section, also formed of the blade and radiating outward. The height of each section and the construction of the main section of the blade create differing pressure zones during rotation of the impeller, segregating air contain the impurities and prompting separation of the impurities. The construction of the first and second sections promotes more efficient and quieter operation, strengthens the blade, and permits removal of the impeller.
US08353664B2	Turbocharger with annular rotary bypass valve for the turbine A turbocharger includes a turbine wheel mounted within a turbine housing and connected to a compressor wheel by a shaft. The turbine housing defines an exhaust gas inlet connected to a volute that surrounds the turbine wheel, and an axial bore through which exhaust gas that has passed through the turbine wheel is discharged from the turbine housing. The turbine housing further defines an annular bypass passage surrounding the bore and arranged to allow exhaust gas to bypass the turbine wheel. An annular bypass valve is disposed in the bypass passage. The bypass valve comprises a fixed annular valve seat and a rotary annular valve member arranged coaxially with the valve seat. The valve member is disposed against the valve seat and is rotatable about the axis for selectively varying a degree of alignment between respective orifices in the valve seat and valve member.
US08353663B2	Shroud seal segments arrangement in a gas turbine A gas turbine is provided that includes a rotor which is rotatable around an axis and equipped with rotor blades, and which is concentrically enclosed at a distance by a casing, which is equipped with stator blades, forming an annular hot gas passage. Rings with stator blades and rotor blades are arranged in a manner alternating in the axial direction. Between adjacent stator blades, heat shield segments are arranged, which delimit the hot gas passage on the outside in a region of the rotor blades and are cooled by impingement cooling where a cooling medium from an outer annular cavity flows into the heat shield segment.
US08353660B2	Charging device for distributing bulk material A charging device (1 10; 210; 310; 410; 510; 610, 710) for distributing bulk material in an enclosure, in particular in a shaft furnace comprises a stationary housing (12) that supports a rotatable structure (14) carrying adjustable distribution means (16). Distribution of bulk material in circumferential direction is achieved by rotation of the distribution means (16) together with the rotatable structure (14). Distribution of bulk material in radial direction is achieved by adjustment of the distribution means (16). For rotating the distribution means, usually about the central axis (A) of the charging device, the device (1 10; 210; 310; 410; 510; 610, 710) includes a first rolling bearing (122) with a first stationary race (124; 324) that bears a first rotary race (128). The first rotary race is coupled to a first gear ring (130; 430; 530; 730) that cooperates with a first drive (50) for rotating the rotatable structure and thereby the distribution means. For adjusting the distribution means, the device includes a second rolling bearing (132) having a second stationary race (134; 334) that bears a second rotary race (138). The second rotary race is coupled to a second gear ring (140) that cooperates with a second drive (60) for adjusting the distribution means. According to the invention, the first rotary race (128) is arranged radially inward with respect to the second rotary race (138), the first stationary race (124; 324) is arranged radially inward with respect to the second stationary race (134; 334) and the second rolling bearing (132) axially overlaps the first rolling bearing (122).
US08353659B2	Fastening method for a fastening bolt of a sub frame to car body and a sub frame rigid collar for car used for the fastening method The fastening is performed by using the fastening bolt of the conventional mass-produced car, the fastening method capable of obtaining “Resonance frequency” of the aimed body and the sub frame rigid collar for car used for the fastening method, are provided by the tightening work with the conventional specified torque, and only by simple work of interposing the sub frame rigid collar for car, without need the work of any special processing.
US08353657B2	Partially coated fastener assembly and method for coating A fastener assembly includes a row of fasteners having a head, a tip, and a portion of a shank coated with a polymer composition. The polymer composition includes a polymer material such as polyurethane and metal particles. The polymer composition is used to provide improved corrosion and ultraviolet radiation resistance when used with naturally corrosive or pressure preservative treated wood. The fastener assembly is coated with the polymer composition by vacuum coating a dispersion of the polymer composition in a solvent such as water and removing the solvent.
US08353656B2	Pushpin retaining device and method of retaining without object puncture In accordance with at least one exemplary embodiment, a pushpin retaining device is disclosed. An exemplary pushpin retaining device can include a resilient, elongated pin that can have a first end portion for puncturing and a second end portion. A grip foot can be operatively associated with the second end portion of the pin. Alternatively, a cut edge can be on the second end portion of the pin. A method of retaining objects without object puncture can include providing a pushpin retaining device. The method can also include puncturing a support surface with an end of the pin of the pushpin device and pressing a portion of an object against the support surface with the grip foot or cut edge, respectively.
US08353653B2	Anchor bolt providing for fall protection An anchor bolt providing for fall protection. The anchor bolt has an anchoring device that may be of any standard type, for making use of an aperture either in or through a structure as an anchoring point, an elongate flexible member connected to the anchoring device at one end of the elongate flexible member, and a handle connected to a second end of the flexible member. The handle member is pivotally attached to the second end, for pivoting about the elongate axis of the flexible member as it extends from the second end. Preferably, the anchoring device is a novel, toggling type in which a toggling member is pivotally attached to the flexible member at a ball joint.
US08353642B2	Screed for road finishing machine In a screed with a basic screed and at least one extendable screed movable relative to the basic screed with a hydraulic cylinder and an electro-hydraulic control comprising a magnet-actuated directional control valve for at least controlling the direction of the hydraulic cylinder, the directional control valve for changing the rate of motion of the hydraulic cylinder is guided by an operator or automatically and is a proportional directional control valve (W) with proportional-electric direct actuation or proportional-electric-hydraulic pilot control. The proportional directional control valve for the hydraulic cylinder is connected on the actuation side with an electro-hydraulic control of a hydraulic system of the road finishing machine.
US08353635B2	Blade drive device A blade drive device includes: a board that has an opening; a blade that opens and closes the opening; and a drive source that drives the blade. The drive source includes a rotor rotatably supported and a stator for applying a rotational force to the rotor. The stator, around which a coil for excitation is wound, has a fitting hole fitted with a projective portion formed on the board and has a rectangular shape.
US08353634B2	Mounting a planar light wave circuit in a housing A planar light circuit may be mounted in the housing a one-point mounting. The one-point mounting may reduce the tendency of thermal deformations in the housing to be transmitted to the planar light circuit.
US08353629B2	Sustainable self-attaching bag Present invention provides for self attachment of a sustainable fabric t-shirt bag to a usually stationary support frame by means of tabs that are secured across the midsection of the continuous integral looped handles that are laterally spaced and extending upward from the base. A hole is thereby created for the threading onto the rode supports of the check out frames.The four sides that project upwards from the base of said bag, form a front and back wall along with two sides created by a gusset, creating an open mouth between the bases of the pair of handles by which articles can be received, retained and carried within. This invention can replace the stacks of plastic grocery bags that are presently found on many store check out frames today and end up as liter all over our planet as garbage.
US08353628B1	Method and system for tomographic projection correction The position of the sample is measured and used to correct for any off-axis motion during tomography using x-ray projection microscope system with a rotation stage system. The position is sensed using a precision-machined, low-CTE gold-coated cylinder or disc and three to five capacitive distance sensors. The correction can then be performed purely as image processing in software, by applying an appropriate shift in X and Y of the captured x-ray projections. A calibration is often necessary for each system (gold disc plus sensors plus sample stage) to account for any machining errors of the gold disc or positioning errors of the capacitive sensors. This calibration should also be repeated whenever any maintenance is performed on the metrology setup.
US08353625B1	Heat detector tester This invention relates to a device for testing a heat detector. The device has a housing that is shaped to surround a heat detector and includes a heating element. A fan is located near the heating element and is adapted to activate the heat detector by increasing the temperature around the heat detector. The housing also includes a temperature device that measures the temperature near the heat detector. Furthermore, a display is attached to the housing to show the temperature around the heat detector during testing.
US08353610B2	Vehicle headlamps with flash duration limiting A vehicle headlamp system including at least one headlamp switchable between at least a high beam mode and a low beam mode by a biased actuator movable by a driver of the vehicle, a headlamp arranged to emit a flash when the biased actuator is moved to a temporary-on position, and means for limiting the maximum duration of the flash to less than 2 seconds.
US08353607B2	Lighting or signaling module with improved three-dimensional appearance A lighting or signaling device for emitting a lighting or signaling beam according to a main direction, of the type comprising a light source, a flux-recovering mirror comprising a set of reflecting tiles, the reflective surface of each reflecting tile being constituted by a first conical segment with two focal points, a first focal point of which is situated on the light source and a second focal point of which is situated, in relation to reflecting tile in a specific direction in relation to the main direction, each reflecting tile forming an image of the light source. A surface of at least one reflecting tile has at least one second conical segment with two focal points a first focal point of which is situated on the light source and a second focal point of which is situated at a distance from the second focal point of the first conical segment with two focal points.
US08353605B2	Wireless network apparatus capable of illumination A wireless network apparatus capable of illumination includes a casing, a motherboard, a prompting unit, and a light emitting unit. The casing has a light permeable portion. The motherboard is disposed in the casing for serving a networking function. The prompting unit is disposed at the motherboard and electrically connected thereto for generating a prompting signal in accordance with a status of the networking function being performed by the motherboard. The light emitting unit is disposed on the motherboard or in the casing and corresponds in position to the light permeable portion. The light emitting unit is powered by the motherboard and configured to emit light passing through the light permeable portion, thereby serving a lighting function. Accordingly, the wireless network apparatus provides home illumination, increases the value-added, and boosts consumers' willingness to buy and install the wireless network apparatus.
US08353603B2	Pet item storage unit A pet item storage unit including a body having first and second portions. The first portion includes a first storage compartment having a lid adapted to secure items inside the first storage compartment. The second portion includes a second storage compartment adapted to hold a plurality of disposable bags and includes an open slot for removal of at least one of the bags. An aperture extends completely through the pet item storage unit between the first and second portions and is adapted to receive a dog leash. A light source is disposed between the first and second portions.
US08353602B2	Compartment The present invention relates to a compartment provided a tufted textile (100) comprising: a backing (10), and yarns (40) forming tufts extending from a first side of the backing, the compartment further comprising a light source (50; 80) and a conductor arrangement (60) for the light source, wherein the light source, the conductor arrangement and the backing are arranged so as to radiate light from the light source at least partly through the backing, the backing being substantially permeable to light. The tufted textile (100) may be a carpet.
US08353597B2	Device and system which control a projector based on a digital multiplex protocol A device and system which control a projector based on the DMX protocol includes a DMX signal receiving and processing circuit, an MCU microprocessor circuit, a DSP image processing circuit, a projection module device circuit, a DMX signal input port, a storage equipment port, an analogue video input port and a digital video input port. The DMX signal receiving and processing circuit includes the DMX signal input port, the MCU microprocessor circuit is connected with the DSP image processing circuit and the projection module device circuit, the DSP image processing circuit is connected with the storage equipment port, whereas the projection module device circuit is connected with the analogue video input port and the digital video input port. The device and system which control the projector based on the DMX protocol use standard DMX ports and are compatible with DMX ports of lighting equipment.
US08353592B2	Wide format printer with media encoder in the platen A wide format printer that has a vacuum platen assembly, a printhead assembly spaced from the vacuum platen assembly, a media path extending between the vacuum platen assembly and the printhead assembly and a media encoder embedded within the vacuum platen assembly wherein, the media path is greater than 432 mm (17 inches) wide.
US08353588B2	Drawing device A drawing device includes a carriage, a base configured and arranged to mount a substrate, and a movement device configured and arranged to move the substrate and the carriage relative to each other in a first direction and a second direction intersecting the first direction. The carriage includes a plurality of types of droplet ejection head units and a plurality of ink-curing light irradiation sections. The droplet ejection head units are configured and arranged to respectively eject a plurality of types of photo-curing inks onto the substrate with the droplet ejection head units being aligned along a direction intersecting the second direction at a predetermined pitch. The ink-curing light irradiation sections are respectively disposed in positions adjacent to both sides of each of the droplet ejection head units in the second direction, and configured and arranged to cure the photo-curing inks.
US08353584B2	Liquid discharging apparatus A liquid discharging apparatus in which a liquid is flowed in one direction in a circulation flow path at the time of non-discharge, and the flow path is refilled with liquid from both directions at the time of discharge. The liquid discharging apparatus includes a pressure adjustment unit that satisfies a condition “Pu>Pd, Pn>−Pd”, where Pu denotes a fluid pressure at a predetermined position on the upstream side of a discharge port, Pd denotes a fluid pressure at a predetermined position on the downstream side thereof, and Pn denotes a pressure equivalent to a capillary force of the discharge port for absorbing the liquid from the flow path into the discharge port immediately after the liquid has been discharged therefrom.
US08353582B2	Ultraviolet curable inkjet recording ink and color image forming apparatus An ultraviolet curable inkjet recording ink of the present invention includes at least a colorant, a light-curable compound, a photopolymerization initiator, and at least one fluorine surfactant represented by the following formulae (1) or (2) as a surface tension regulator: where Rf is selected from CH2CF3 and CH2CF2CF3; n represents a value of 5 to 20; and each R1 represents a functional group capable of initiating an ultraviolet curing reaction and one of the two R1s in (1) may be hydrogen; where Rf is selected from CH2CF3 and CH2CF2CF3; l represents a value of 1 to 20; k and m each represent a value of 1 to 8; each R2 represents a functional group capable of initiating an ultraviolet curing reaction and one of the two R2s in (2) may be hydrogen; and R3 is selected from hydrogen and methyl.
US08353581B2	Inkjet recording apparatus An inkjet recording apparatus comprising: an ink tank that has an ink reservoir; a recording head that has an ink inlet connected to the ink reservoir; a box-shaped head holder on which the ink tank and the recording head are mounted; a discharge passage for discharging air separated from the ink, the discharge passage being opened through a valve element to the outside; and a manipulation member that is provided outside the head holder, wherein the head holder has a bottom wall portion and a side wall portion, wherein the recording head is fixed to the bottom wall portion, wherein the ink tank is fixed to the bottom wall portion, and wherein the inkjet recording apparatus further comprises a discharge case that has at least a part of the discharge passage therein and that is formed integrally with the head holder to constitute a part of the side wall portion.
US08353577B2	Method of controlling drop directionality from inkjet nozzle using multiple independently-actuable roof paddles A method of controlling a direction of droplet ejection from an inkjet nozzle having a plurality of moveable paddles, the method includes the steps of: (i) actuating a first thermal bend actuator via respective first drive circuitry such that a respective first paddle bends towards a floor of the nozzle chamber; (ii) actuating a second thermal bend actuator via respective second drive circuitry such that a respective second paddle bends towards a floor of the nozzle chamber; and (iii) thereby ejecting a droplet of ink. Actuation of the first and second thermal bend actuators is independently controlled via the first and second drive circuitry so as to control the direction of droplet ejection.
US08353575B2	Nozzle sheet and method for manufacturing the same Provided is a nozzle sheet manufacturing method by which highly fine manufacture and low cost are achieved. The method for manufacturing a nozzle sheet to be used for an inkjet head for an inkjet printer is provided with a step of forming a first resin sheet on a patterned liquid repellent film on a first dummy substrate, a step of forming a first nozzle which penetrates the first resin sheet, and a step of peeling the first dummy substrate.
US08353574B1	Ink jet faceplate coatings comprising structured organic films A coating for an ink jet printhead front face, wherein the coating comprises a structured organic film (SOF) comprising a plurality of segments, a plurality of linkers arranged as a covalent organic framework. Methods for preparing a coating for an ink jet printhead front face, wherein the coating comprises a SOF are also disclosed.
US08353573B2	Waste ink absorbent member, and waste ink container and ink jet recording apparatus equipped with waste ink absorbent member To provide a waste ink absorbing tank, capable, even in the case of utilizing an ink of a high coagulating property, of causing a waste ink absorbent member to efficiently absorb such ink. A waste ink absorbent member has a hole portion corresponding to an introducing position of the waste ink, and the hole portion is opened on a lateral face of the absorbent member. The waste ink, introduced into the hole portion moves in one direction toward the waste ink absorbent member and absorbed therein.
US08353566B2	Print bar lift In one embodiment, an assembly includes a lift and a print bar mounted to the lift. The lift includes first and second guide rods oriented parallel to one another and perpendicular to an axis of the print bar across the print zone. The first end of the print bar is slidably connected to the first guide rod, the second end of the print bar is slidably connected to the second guide rod, and the lift is configured to simultaneously move both ends of the print bar along the guide rods. In another embodiment, an assembly includes a chassis and a lift supported by the chassis. The lift is configured to loosely hold a print bar and to raise and lower the print bar over a print zone such that both ends of the print bar move simultaneously.
US08353564B2	Door assembly and refrigerator having the same The present invention relates to a door assembly and refrigerator having the same. The door assembly according to the present invention includes a door main body, a panel disposed on a front surface of the door main body, a handle having at least one end coupled to an upper end or a lower end of the door main body, and a cover provided with a handle receiving portion allowing an upper end or a lower end of the handle to be received therein and coupled to the upper end or the lower end of the door main body so as to support the panel. Accordingly, it is capable of replacing the cover without disassembling the handle.
US08353561B2	Operating lever structure for vehicle seat, and method of manufacturing operating lever structure In an operating lever structure for a vehicle seat in which an opening through which a seat belt extends is provided adjacent to a seat cushion lifting and lowering mechanism and a fixed end portion of the seat belt is connected to a seat cushion frame, a lifter lever includes a plate-like extending portion that is coupled to the lifting and lowering mechanism and a protrusion portion. The plate-like extending portion extends toward a front of the seat. The protrusion portion extends from the front end of the plate-like extending portion toward the outside in the seat width direction. The protrusion portion protrudes from an outer shield through a first exposing port of the outer shield, installed to a side portion of the seat cushion.
US08353559B2	Inclination adjustment mechanism for a base of safety seat An inclination adjustment mechanism for a base of safety seat includes a base, a heelpiece and a spring-loaded press button. The base has one end formed with a plurality of positioning indents, and a upper surface for supporting a safety seat. The heelpiece is pivoted to the base and formed with a protruded portion for selectively engaging with one of the positioning indents thereby to keep the base in a selected inclination position. The spring-loaded press button is operatively connected to one end of the heelpiece for releasing the protruded portion from the positioning indents, so as to change the selected inclination position of the base by pressing the spring-loaded press button and moving one end of the base relative to the heelpiece.
US08353550B1	Seating system with package tray A passenger vehicle is provided with a seating row oriented in a passenger compartment and adjacent to a storage compartment. The seating row has a seat back that is pivotally connected to a vehicle body. A battery is disposed within the storage compartment. A tray is provided with a forward end that is pivotally connected to the seat back, and a rearward end that is supported slidably on the vehicle body. The tray is movable in a fore-and-aft direction as the seat back pivots on the vehicle body between a collapsed position and an upright position. The tray is disposed over the seat back and the battery when the seat back is in the collapsed position for providing a raised platform that extends into the passenger compartment.
US08353545B1	Compact energy absorbing vehicle crash structure A crash structure is provided that is interposed between a vehicle's bumper and a vehicle side rail, the crash structure providing relatively level loading in a compact structure that is easily removed and replaced during post-collision repairs. The structure includes an actuator member coupled to the bumper, the actuator member passing into, and slidably disposed within, a hollow housing of the crash structure. The hollow housing contains a plurality of deformable members that at least partially surround a first portion of the actuator member. A second portion of the actuator member, which is between the bumper and the first portion of the actuator member, has a larger diameter than that of the first portion of the actuator member and may be coupled to the first portion via a chamfered transition region.
US08353540B2	Battery cover latching mechanism for portable electronic device A battery cover latching mechanism comprises a housing, a cover and a latch. The housing has at least one hook protruding therefrom. The cover has at least one latching hole defined therethrough and releasably latching with the hook. The latch is rotatably mounted to the cover and resisting the hook. When the latch is rotated relative to the cover, the latch pushes the hook to release the latching engagement of the hook and the latching hole.
US08353535B2	Skate with pivoting rocker and replaceable blade A replaceable blade ice skate (9) comprising a holder (2), a blade system having at least one blade engagement portion (11) and a blade (4, 52), at least one attachment device (5) mounted to the holder for movement between a blade securing position and a blade releasing position. The attachment device having an attachment engagement portion (6), wherein the blade system is retained in the holder via the blade engagement portion detachably mating with the attachment engagement portion when the attachment device is in the blade securing position. The blade system further comprising a downward facing rocker (3) and a flexible replaceable blade (4) which conforms to the first defined curvature of the rocker when mounted thereon.
US08353532B2	Airbag and airbag apparatus [Subject] To provide an airbag and an airbag apparatus which are able to absorb an impact of an occupant even when a gas inflator is downsized and to fulfill demands such as downsizing, cost reduction, weight reduction, and the like of the airbag apparatus.[Solving Means] A airbag apparatus in the present invention includes an inflator (gas generator) 1 configured to generate gas under predetermined conditions, an airbag 2 being connected to the inflator 1 and configured to be inflated and deployed, and a retainer (not shown) configured to store the airbag 2, the airbag 2 includes a vent hole 3 formed on an outer shell of the airbag 2 and opening and closing means 4 configured to open and close the vent hole 3, the opening and closing means 4 is configured to maintain the vent hole 3 in a substantially closed state until inflation and deployment of the airbag 2 are completed and bring the vent hole 3 into a fully-opened state before a flattening amount of the airbag 2 reaches a predetermined reference value.
US08353531B2	Passenger protection apparatus of vehicle A passenger protection apparatus comprises an airbag having a concaved receiving portion at its specified position which corresponds to a face of a small-sized passenger seated in a passenger's seat when the airbag inflates in a vehicle collision, an inflator supplying gas to the airbag in a collision of a vehicle to inflate the airbag before the passenger's seat, a position sensor detecting a longitudinal sitting position of the passenger seated in the passenger's seat, and a seatbelt device, an airbag unit for pop-up seat, and a knee airbag unit which adjust a restraint position of the passenger in accordance with the longitudinal sitting position of the passenger so that the face f the small-sized passenger is received at said receiving portion of the airbag in the vehicle collision.
US08353521B1	Trailer caddy A trailer caddy is provided for enabling a user to tow or otherwise maneuver trailers or agricultural equipment with a light-duty pickup truck that would otherwise have too great of a tongue weight for towing behind a pickup truck. The caddy includes a trailer chassis with at least one axle having wheels mounted thereon. A fifth-wheel hitch having a frame is configured so that the frame is affixed to the chassis such that the frame faces opposite the chassis. The caddy also includes a hitch assembly configured to connect to various hitch styles.
US08353519B2	Sealing device A sealing device includes a stationary side installation ring fixed to a stationary side member, a rotation side installation ring fixed to a rotation side member, a stationary side lip integrally provided on the stationary side installation ring and slidably contacting the rotation side installation ring, rotation side lips integrally formed on the rotation side installation ring and slidably contacting the stationary side installation ring, and a pulsar ring for a rotary encoder integrally formed on the rotation side installation ring, and magnetized to be multipolar. The rotation side installation ring includes first and second rotation side installation rings which are attached to each other. The rotation side lips are provided on the first rotation side installation ring at a relatively inner side. The pulsar ring is provided on the second rotation side installation ring at a relatively outer side.
US08353512B2	Sheet feeder A switch back path is connected to a sheet feed path through a branch portion. A plurality of pairs of forward and backward rotating rollers are disposed along the switch back path from the branch portion. A driving portion selectively supplies rotation of a forward rotation direction or of a backward rotation direction to a plurality of pairs of forward and backward rotating rollers. A separation mechanism separates a first pair of forward and backward rotating rollers from each other. A control portion controls operation of the driving portion and the separation mechanism so that a sheet to be fed into the switch back path and a sheet to be fed out of the switch back path pass each other in the switch back path.
US08353508B2	Image forming apparatus Provided is an image forming apparatus, which includes: a pressing lever and a pressing arm for pushing up a sheet stacking plate so that sheets stacked on the sheet stacking plate are brought into pressure contact with a sheet feeding portion; a lifter driving mechanism for driving the pressing lever and the pressing arm; and a setting mechanism disposed between the pressing lever and the pressing arm, and the lifter driving mechanism. The setting mechanism is capable of setting a pressure contact force for bringing the sheets stacked on the sheet stacking plate into pressure contact with the sheet feeding portion, to be appropriate for a size of the sheets to be stacked and an amount of the sheets to be stacked.
US08353505B2	Apparatus for making a booklet-like product An apparatus for making a booklet-like product comprises a paper feeding part; a superposing part for superposing a plurality of continuous webs of paper fed to travel from the paper feeding part, whereby a layered continuous sheet of paper is prepared; a cutting part for cutting the layered continuous sheet into successive separate layered sheets of paper; a conveyance passage; and a stacking and ejection part for causing the separate layered sheets traveling along the conveyance passage to be piled every predetermined number thereof and to be ejected in the form of piles of sheets, each to form the booklet-like product. The superposing part is provided with a paste nozzle for applying paste to one of two adjacent such continuous webs of paper on its one side and a further paste nozzle for applying paste to the upper surface of the layered continuous sheet.
US08353501B2	Foam spring for pillows, cushions, mattresses or the like and a method for manufacturing such a foam spring A foam spring for use in pillows, cushions, mattresses or the like, the foam spring having a tubular resilient body (2) made of foam and forming an outer wall, with holes (3) extending inwardly from an outside surface (4) to an inside surface (5), those holes (3) being arranged in a staggered symmetry and mainly being diamond shaped, characterized in that the tubular body (2) displays said holes (3) only over a limited part (16) of its surface (4), and that this limited part (16) is regularly alternating with a limited part (18) of the surface (4) that is not provided with said holes (3) and which forms longitudinal reinforcement ribs (7) in the wall of the tubular body (2) of the spring (1).
US08353498B2	Manual switching valve In a manual switching valve, which enables a valve plug to be opened and closed manually, a piston is threadedly engaged with a shaft that is inserted through a housing, wherein a handle having a switching mechanism therein is installed on an upper end of the shaft. After a valve plug is seated on a valve seat, any further turning force applied to the handle is interrupted without being transmitted to the shaft owing to the fact that balls disengage from tooth portions of the shaft.
US08353494B2	Mounting appratus for slide rail A mounting apparatus is provided for mounting a slide rail to a rack post defining a plurality of through holes. The mounting apparatus includes a supporting bracket slidably mounted to the slide rail, and a resilient latch member. The supporting bracket includes an end plate at the front end with two inserting pins extending from a front surface of the end plate and engaged in corresponding through holes of the rack post. The latch member includes a middle plate retained to the supporting bracket, and a latch arm extending forwards. The latch member is operable to be deformed to make the latch arm abut a front surface of the rack post, to prevent the inserting pin from retracting from corresponding through holes.
US08353490B2	Device for attaching electronic components to flat-screen television Bracket for attachment to a flat-screen television having a support platform for positioning electronic components below the television. The caddy comprises top support brackets which hook over the top of the television or over the television wall mount bracket and has a horizontal member abutting the top of the television, and front vertical extension member that extends down in front of the television. Extending down from the top support brackets are side vertical bars in back of the television. Attached to the bottom of the side vertical bars are horizontal bottom support brackets upon which the television sits. The electronic component support platform is attached to the bottom of the two vertical bottom side bars which includes lateral and perpendicular support bars which function to support the electronic components. Many of the bars telescope allowing its use with a variety of sized televisions and electronic components of varying sizes.
US08353489B2	Mounting kit An embodiment of a mounting kit has first and second rails connectable to a frame and first and second spacers respectively connectable to the first and second rails. The first and second spacers are configured to engage an object therebetween when the first and second rails are connected to the frame. The first and second rails each comprise a portion configured to extend under the object when the object is between the first and second spacers. A distance from the first spacer to an end of the first rail and a distance from the second spacer to an end of the second rail are based on a length of the object.
US08353488B2	Bicycle parking structure A bicycle parking structure that is adapted to be mounted on and affixed to a vertical post wherein the mechanism for affixing the parking structure to the post includes a security rod that is hidden and inaccessible.
US08353484B2	Cockpit rudder control mechanism for an aircraft A cockpit rudder control mechanism is described for accepting aircraft control input utilizing rudder pedals depending from a movable carriage to rotate a shaft. The mechanism may be removed from the aircraft for maintenance and the position of the mechanism within the aircraft may be adjusted for a particular user. Movement of the rudder pedals is conveyed by linkages to a collar which rotates a shaft. The rotation of the shaft is measured for control input to the aircraft or is transferred to the mechanical control systems for the aircraft.
US08353482B2	System for global flow field management using distributed, surface-embedded, nano-scale boundary layer actuation Systems to provide distributed flow control actuation to manage the behavior of a global flow field, are provided. An example of a system can include an aerodynamic structure having an outer surface, and an array of a plurality of nano-scale effectors connected to the outer surface of the aerodynamic structure to be in fluid contact with a flowing fluid when operationally flowing, to induce controlled, globally distributed disturbances at a viscous wall sublayer of a turbulent boundary layer of the flowing fluid when operationally flowing and to manipulate fluid behavior of the flowing fluid to thereby substantially reduce pressure loss associated with incipient separation of the fluid flow from portions of the aerodynamic structure.
US08353476B2	Truss-shaped engine pylon and method of making same An aircraft engine pylon comprises a top wall, a bottom wall, a left side wall, and a right side wall. The left side wall includes a left truss structure along with a left upper ledge and a left lower ledge. The right side wall includes a right truss structure along with a right upper ledge and a right lower ledge. The top wall is joined with the left upper ledge and the right upper ledge and an upper truss structure is formed in the left upper ledge, the right upper ledge, and the top wall. The bottom wall is joined with the left lower ledge and the right lower ledge and a lower truss structure is formed in the left lower ledge, the right lower ledge, and the bottom wall.
US08353472B2	Raw silicon crusher The raw silicon crusher comprises a pair of beds; and a pair of crushing surfaces on the beds crushing the quenched pure raw silicon by applying pressure; wherein each of the beds comprises a case; pure silicon members arranged inside of the case and protruding from the opening; a block of pure ice fixing the pure silicon members to the case, and each of the crushing surfaces comprises surfaces of ends of protrusions; and surface of the block of ice.
US08353470B2	Power-assisted docking station for mobile irrigation apparatus A mobile irrigation apparatus includes a frame assembly supporting at least one sprinkler and adapted for movement in a first direction along a path in a field to be irrigated; a docking station suspended from the frame assembly and adapted to engage and open one or more supply valves in a hydrant located in or adjacent the path for movement in a second direction substantially transverse to the first direction, and at least one power actuator arranged to move the docking station in the second direction in response to at least one sensor to thereby facilitate lateral alignment of the docking station with the hydrant.
US08353452B2	Virtual retail assistant Embodiments of the present invention are directed to systems and methods for facilitating communication between a customer at a retail store and a specialized agent at a remote location. The customer uses an in-store smart client kiosk to initiate a communication session with the agent. The agent can instruct the smart client kiosk to display information relevant to the customer's questions. In embodiments, the messages are XML messages transmitted between the agent's device and the smart client kiosk. The XML information contains information to retrieve content, rather than the content itself, which allows the communication to take place over a small bandwidth connection. Communication takes place in an environment that does not require co-browsing, which allows the agent to analyze large amounts of information but send only helpful information to the client.
US08353448B1	Method and system for using machine-readable codes to perform automated teller machine transactions through a mobile communications device The present disclosure provides a number of systems and associated processes for using machine-readable codes to perform a transaction. Embodiments of the present disclosure provide a system and associated processes for consolidating and replacing various forms of payment (e.g. credit cards, debit cards, and cash) with a single payment system. Further, embodiments of the present disclosure provide a system and associated processes for reordering a product provided by a product provider. Moreover, embodiments of the present disclosure provide a system and associated processes for accepting a gift, or gift transaction, associated with a gift card. In addition, embodiments of the present disclosure provide a system and associated processes for performing an Automatic Teller Machine (ATM) transaction using a machine-readable code.
US08353444B2	Low temperature diffusion braze repair of single crystal components The present invention is directed to a process for repairing cracks in a turbine engine component. The process comprises the steps of providing a component, preferably formed from a single crystal nickel based material, with at least one crack, applying a repair alloy composition containing a single crystal nickel based alloy, a first nickel based braze alloy and a second nickel based braze alloy to the crack(s), and subjecting the component with the applied repair alloy composition to a thermal cycle to diffuse the repair alloy composition into the crack(s).
US08353437B2	Surgical stapling instrument with a geared return mechanism A surgical instrument including a firing drive configured to selectively advance a firing member and/or cutting member relative to an end effector and, in addition, a reversing drive configured to selectively retract the firing member and/or cutting member relative to the end effector. The firing drive can include a pawl which can be selectively engaged with the firing member in order to advance the firing member, wherein the pawl can be disengaged from the firing member when the reversing drive is engaged with the firing member. The reversing drive can include a gear train having a first gear operably engaged with the firing member and, in addition, a second gear operably engaged with the first gear, wherein the second gear can be selectively operable with the trigger such that an actuation of the trigger can retract the firing member and/or cutting element via the first and second gears.
US08353435B2	Multistage solenoid fastening tool with decreased energy consumption and increased driving force A fastening device that drives one or more fasteners into a workpiece generally includes a tool housing and a multistage solenoid contained in the tool housing. The multistage solenoid includes an armature member that travels through at least a first stage, a second stage, and a sense coil disposed therebetween. A driver blade assembly includes a blade member connected to the armature member. The driver blade assembly is operable between an extended condition and a retracted condition. A control module determines a position of the armature member relative to at least one of the first stage and the second stage based on a signal from the sense coil. The control module adjusts a force imparted on the armature by at least one of the first stage, the second stage, and a combination thereof based on the signal from the sense coil.
US08353426B2	Gas generation dispenser method for on-demand fluid delivery A method of dispensing a fluid comprising generating a gas from a liquid, directing the gas to an expandable gas chamber to expand a volume of the expandable gas chamber, reducing a volume of a fluid chamber in response to expansion of the expandable gas chamber to dispense an amount of the fluid from the fluid chamber, and removing the gas from the expandable gas chamber to collapse the expandable gas chamber.
US08353424B2	Component feeder A component feeder capable of enhancing productivity is provided by that the component feeder includes a tape feeding device intermittently feeding a component housing tape constituted of a carrier tape having component housing parts formed with predetermined interval to contain respective electronic components, and a cover tape covering the component housing parts to prevent the components from jumping out from the component housing parts while the component housing tape wound on a housing tape reel is sequentially fed to a component extracting position, and an electronic component exposing device exposing the electronic components in the component housing parts to be allowed to be extracted, wherein the tape feeding device is constituted of a first feeding device and a second feeding device, and the electronic component exposing device is provided between the first feeding device and the second feeding device.
US08353419B2	Lockable cap A lockable cap assembly including a handle having at least one protrusion, and a flip cap defining an internal chamber surrounded by a flip cap edge. The flip cap including at least one locking groove configured to engage the at least one protrusion, and an engagement surface. The lockable cap also including a collar having a release mechanism for engaging with the engagement surface. The flip cap being moveable between an open configuration in which a portion of the flip cap edge is not in contact with a surface of the collar and a closed configuration in which the flip cap edge is in full contact with the collar.
US08353412B2	Insert for a dish basket for an automatic dishwasher An insert having insert compartments separated from one another by separating walls with at least two insert compartments provided with compartment floors, arranged in different heights, for loading different silverware pieces and/or small dishes. The silverware pieces and/or the small dishes may, depending on their respective length/size/shape, be loaded into the insert compartment having the corresponding compartment floor positioned in a suitable height, so that they stand on the compartment floor and are no longer required to be hung.
US08353410B2	Polymeric films made from polyhedral oligomeric silsesquioxane (POSS) and a hydrophilic comonomer A composite membrane includes a filtration membrane and a layer on a surface of the filtration membrane. The layer includes a polymer including a polyhedral oligomeric silsesquioxane (POSS) derivative with a hydrophilic moiety attached to at least one vertex thereof. A method for making a composite membrane includes applying to a surface of a filtration membrane a photopolymerizable composition including a POSS compound, a hydrophilic comonomer, and a photoinitiator. The composition is cured to form a hydrophilic layer on the filtration membrane.
US08353408B2	Centrifugal air classifier A centrifugal air classifier, in which a relation between an area S1 of a side surface of a cylinder or a truncated cone circumscribed about the rotor blades, an axis of the cylinder or a truncated cone being the rotor rotational shaft, and a calculation average value D of a diameter of a circle orthogonal to the rotor rotational shaft and circumscribed about the rotor blades is S1/D2=0.9 to 1.6, and with the S1, a relation between a cross sectional area S2 of inflow of the air for classification and the D is S2/D2=0.8 to 1.4.
US08353406B2	System, method, and computer readable medium for creating a video clip A system, method, and computer readable medium for creating a video clip comprises receiving still image files by a first module, creating a copy of a still image from the still image files with reduced dimensions by the first module, creating a new still image from a selected area of the still image, storing the new still image and the copy of the still image with a unified file name, ordering the stored images, creating an audio file by at least one of a second module and a third module, creating a timeline, by the first module, related to the ordered images and the created audio, and rendering the timeline into the video clip by a fourth module.
US08353405B2	Reverse froth flotation of calcite ore The invention relates to a reverse froth flotation process for treating a calcium carbonate ore containing silicates. The process comprises the use of two collectors selected from the group consisting of fatty tri-lower-alkyl quaternary ammonium compounds, fatty di-lower-alkyl benzyl quaternary ammonium compounds, fatty lower-alkyl di-benzyl quaternary ammonium compounds, di-fatty di-lower-alkyl quats, di-fatty lower-alkyl benzyl quats, and fatty bis-imidazoline quats. The use of a combination of different quats was found to result in a synergetic performance of the collectors.
US08353403B2	Cup retaining apparatus and methods Cup retaining apparatus and methods are described herein. Retaining a cup or glass within or along a plate assembly allows for the user to hold both the plate and cup or glass with a single hand. Generally, a cup or glass retaining plate assembly may comprise a platform defining an opening which is sized to support a cup or glass extending at least partially through the platform. A retaining clip or arm may be pivotably attached to the platform and movable between a retaining position and a releasing position, wherein the opening opens along a portion of a periphery of the platform such that the cup or glass is secured within the opening when the retaining clip or arm is in the retaining position and wherein the cup or glass is removable when the retaining clip or arm is in the releasing position.
US08353396B2	Door conveying apparatus A door conveying apparatus for a work area has a door conveying traveling body with door hanger supporting portions on both left and right sides thereof supporting two door hangers, a space is formed between the two door hangers and the topside thereof is closed by the door conveying traveling body and both left and right sides thereof are closed by the door hangers, and the downside thereof and traveling-direction both front and rear sides of the door conveying traveling body are open, and each door hanger is provided with door supports supporting doors on a side of the door hanger opposite to a side adjoining the space.
US08353392B2	Internally vented brake disk with improved heat dissipation A vented brake disk has improved heat dissipation by cooling channels that extend from an inner circumference to an outer circumference and the channel walls of which are formed with flow obstructions in the form of a female thread.
US08353391B2	Floating type brake disc A floating type brake disc is provided which is capable of limiting the heat escape from a rotor to a hub to the extent possible and which can be made smaller in weight. In a plurality of circumferential positions of the hub, there are formed pin-receiving portions in a manner to enclose a connecting pin from three directions of a radially inward, one of circumferentially both sides and a radially outward of the brake disc. A tongue-shaped pin-receiving portion is formed on each of a plurality of inner circumferential positions of the rotor 1 so as to be elongated radially inward to pinch the connecting pin between the tongue-shaped pin-receiving portion and the pin-receiving portion that is formed in the hub.
US08353390B2	Splash shield for brake corner assembly A brake corner assembly includes a steering knuckle fixed against rotation, a rotary member including a outer surface, and a shield secured to the steering knuckle and including a ring including a sealing surface located adjacent to the outer surface, the sealing surface having a first diameter that is substantially equal to a second diameter of a portion of the outer surface that is adjacent to the sealing surface.
US08353381B2	Transmission cross-member A transmission cross-member for supporting a vehicle's transmission includes a center portion, a pair of outer portions extending from the center portion and a pair of mounting flanges extending from the respective outer portions and connecting to the rails of the frame of the vehicle, wherein at least one of the mounting flanges is pivotally connected to one of the outer portions.
US08353371B2	Polycrystalline diamond compact including a substrate having a raised interfacial surface bonded to a leached polycrystalline diamond table, and applications therefor In various embodiments, a polycrystalline diamond compact (“PDC”) comprises a substrate including an interfacial surface having a raised region. The PDC comprises a polycrystalline diamond (“PCD”) table bonded to the interfacial surface of the substrate. The PCD table defines an upper surface and exhibits a thickness over the raised region. The PCD table includes a plurality of bonded diamond grains defining a plurality of interstitial regions. A first region of the PCD table adjacent to the substrate includes metal-solvent catalyst disposed interstitially between the bonded diamond grains thereof, and a leached second region of the PCD table extends inwardly from the upper surface. The interstitial regions of the leached second region are depleted of metal-solvent catalyst. The geometry of the PCD table and raised region may be selected so that residual compressive stresses therein are retained to a sufficient level after leaching to provide a damage tolerant/thermally-stable PCD table.
US08353370B2	Polycrystalline diamond cutting element structure A cutting element includes a substrate having an interface surface; and an ultrahard material layer disposed on the interface surface. An interface surface includes a plurality of surface features, wherein at least one of the plurality of surface features intersects a neighboring surface feature at a height that is intermediate an extremity of the at least one of the plurality of surface features and a base of the at least one of the plurality of surface features.
US08353369B2	Percussion assisted rotary earth bit and method of operating the same A method of boring through a formation includes providing a drilling machine and drill string and operatively coupling an earth bit to the drilling machine through the drill string. An air flow is provided through the drill string at an air pressure less than about one-hundred pounds per square inch (100 psi) and an overstrike force is applied to the earth bit, wherein the overstrike force is less than about five foot-pounds per square inch (5 ft-lb/in2).
US08353367B2	Methods of using a particle impact drilling system for removing near-borehole damage, milling objects in a wellbore, under reaming, coring perforating, assisting annular flow, and associated methods A particle impact drilling system and method are described. In several exemplary embodiments, the system and method may be a part of, and/or used with, an apparatus or system, methods, to excavate a subterranean formation. The system can including, for example, removing near-borehole damage, casing, window milling, fishing, drilling with casing, under reaming, coring, perforating, effective circulatory density management, assisted annular flow, and directional control. Embodiments of associated systems and methods are also included.
US08353364B2	Handle portion of hand-held electric tool Three battery cells can be arranged such that one battery cell is situated on the front side of a handle portion and that the remaining two battery cells are situated on the rear side thereof while being arranged laterally side by side. Also, a handle portion can be generally of a triangular cross-sectional configuration whose apex portion is situated on the front side of the handle portion and whose base portion is situated on the rear side thereof; and the handle portion is grasped by bringing fingertips into contact with the apex portion (11a) on the front side.
US08353360B2	Pile driver A pile driver provided with a housing and at least one body connected with the housing so as to be moved back and forth over a predetermined path, the pile driver being further provided with a drive for moving the body back and forth over the path for the purpose of pile-driving, the pile driver comprising at least two parts movable relative to each other, respectively having at least a first type of sliding surface and at least a second type of sliding surface which during pile-driving slide along each other and between which there is a lubricant, wherein the first type of sliding surface is provided with polyether ether ketone.
US08353358B2	Arrangement for reducing harmful effects from fire and explosion Arrangement for reducing harmful effects from fire and/or explosion comprising wall elements that are placed in adjacent relationship to one another to form a continuous wall. The element are adapted, when an explosion occurs, to open the area towards the surroundings until the pressure in the area is balanced in relation to the surroundings. Thereafter the elements return to their closed state to enclose the area in relation to the surroundings, preventing air from the surroundings from entering the enclosed area and prevent fire extinguishing fluids from exiting the enclosed area. Preferably, the elements comprises an elastically deformable material so that when the element is forced open, elastic energy is stored in the element to rapidly return the element to the closed state.
US08353357B2	Fire protection sprinkler with highly sensitive trigger A heat responsive trigger assembly for a fire protection sprinkler may include a first plate having a bottom face; a second plate including a top face engaging the bottom face; a thermally conductive member disposed between the top and bottom faces and extending beyond a perimeter of at least one of the first and second plates; and a heat fusible material securing the first and second plates in an engaged position. The first and second plates may disengage in response to the heat fusible material reaching a predetermined temperature, thereby allowing a fire suppressant to discharge from the sprinkler.
US08353344B2	Fiber aggregate Fiber aggregate comprising organic polymeric fibers, wherein the organic polymeric fibers have an average length in a range from 2 to 20 millimeters, an average diameter up to 100 micrometer, and comprise at least 75 percent by solid volume of the fiber aggregate, wherein the fiber aggregate has an unrestrained bulk density of at least 0.05 g/cm3, and wherein at least 85% by volume of the fiber aggregate disassociates to provide dispersed fibers. The fiber aggregates are useful, for example, for flowback control in wellbores and reservoirs.
US08353343B2	Hydrocarbon production process Methods and apparatus relate to producing hydrocarbons. Injecting a fluid mixture of steam and carbon dioxide into a hydrocarbon bearing formation facilitates recovery of the hydrocarbons. Further, limiting amounts of non-condensable gases in the mixture may promote dissolving of the carbon dioxide into the hydrocarbons upon contact of the mixture with the hydrocarbons.
US08353338B2	Well bore control valve The well bore control valve comprises a housing (12) defining a throughbore (14), the throughbore adapted to receive a first tubular. The valve further comprises first (18) and second gates (20) located within the housing, the gates being movable in different directions transverse to the throughbore between the throughbore open position and the throughbore closed position. Movement of the gates from the throughbore open position to the throughbore closed position, in use, shares a tubular located between the gates. The valve also comprises a first seal seat (22) performing a seal of one of the gates in the throughbore closed position to seal the throughbore. In one embodiment, the gates are axially movable with respect to the throughbore.
US08353325B2	Retractable shielding apparatus A retractable shielding apparatus includes an adjusting base, a fixing base, two retractable shields, a shuttle, and a cable. The two retractable shields are assembled to two ends of the shuttle respectively with one corresponding end thereof. The adjusting base and the fixing base are respectively fixed to the opposite other end of the corresponding two retractable shields. The cable adjustably connects the adjusting base, the two retractable shields, the shuttle and the fixing base together. The shuttle is slidably located between the adjusting base and the fixing base and is configured to slide along the path formed by the cable, such that the two retractable shields can be extended or retracted together with the shuttle.
US08353321B2	Method and system for short-range ultrasonic location sensing A system and method for short-range ultrasonic detecting of a target is proposed herein to be used for example in a liquid-dispensing system such as those provided in home refrigerators. The system comprises a sensor assembly including a transmitter and a receiver positioned side by side so as to yield respective transmitting and receiving beams which overlap to define an asymmetrical shaped detection area, a controller coupled to both the transmitter and receiver to activate the transmitter and for receiving echoes indicative of the target from the receiver and to the dispensing system for opening a valve of the dispensing system when a target is detected. Noises and false alarm rate minimization methods are implemented, including variable relevance zones and requiring a void of signal before excitation.
US08353319B2	Liquid delivery system for supplying liquid from a portable container to at least one selected remote destination and removing vapour from the at least one selected remote destination A liquid delivery system for supplying liquid from a portable container to a destination and removing vapor from the destination comprises a portable container, an elongate flexible liquid delivery hose, and an elongate flexible vapor recovery hose. The liquid delivery hose receives liquid from the portable container, and delivers the received liquid to a remote destination. The vapor recovery hose receives vapor from the remote destination, and delivers the received vapor to the substantially hollow interior of the portable container. The liquid delivery hose and the vapor recovery hose permit the movement of the liquid outlet of the liquid delivery hose to more than one selected remote destination while the container remains substantially stationary. Reduced air pressure in the portable container resulting from the removal of the liquid therefrom, causes vapor to be suctioned via the vapor recovery hose into the portable container.
US08353312B2	Piezoelectric valve A motorized valve has a housing having an inlet and an outlet to be connected to a pipeline, a saddle connected with the housing, a turn plug having a rod, the turn plug cooperating with the saddle, and a drive for turning the valve body and formed as a piezoelectric drive, the piezoelectric drive including a piezoelectric generator of radially directed standing acoustic waves, which is connected with the housing and is connectable with a pulse current source, and a rotor operatively connected with the piezoelectric generator and kinematically connected with the rod of the turn plug so as to turn the turn plug when the rotor is actuated by the piezoelectric generator.
US08353304B2	Hair treatment applicator for improved hair strand effects The present invention relates to an applicator (1) which allows for precise, non-messy and even application of a hair treatment composition to a hair strand. The applicator (1) comprises a plate (10) movably joined by a connection (30) to a well (20), a hair orientation means on the internal surface (101) of the plate (10) which extends towards the well (20) and a fluid metering means comprising a lower metering means (50) on the rim (222) of the well (20) and an upper metering means (60) on the internal surface of said plate (10), wherein said upper metering means (60) and lower metering means (50) independently comprise at least one resilient strip (13). When said applicator (1) is in a closed state, the lower metering means (50) and the upper metering means (60) are substantially juxtaposed to provide said fluid metering means.
US08353299B2	Tobacco flavor applicator A system of applying liquid flavor to cut tobacco material includes a first tank of concentrated liquid flavor and a second tank of water. A venturi device is constructed and arranged to receive and meter concentrated liquid flavor and water from the first and second tanks and to discharge mixed flavor and water from an outlet end. A first line is connected between the first tank and a suction port on the venturi device, and a second line is connected between the second tank and an intake port on the venturi device. A spray assembly is in fluid communication with the discharge outlet of the venturi device for applying mixed flavor and water to cut tobacco.
US08353285B2	Solar collector and method An apparatus and method for collecting solar energy are provided. The apparatus is a trough-type solar collector having one or more mirrors and lenses for directing solar radiation toward a receiver configured to receive a heat transfer fluid therein. The amount of solar radiation directed toward the receiver can be controlled by adjusting one or more of the mirrors and/or lenses or by adjusting a shade. Thus, the collector can direct different amounts or solar radiation toward the receiver, thereby selectively heating the receiver at different rates, e.g., to preheat the receiver, to heat fluid in the receiver for power generation, or to thaw solidified fluid in the receiver. Subsequently, the heated fluid can be used to generate steam and/or electricity.
US08353282B1	Disposable stove top cover The present invention discloses a disposable stove top covering that is used to protect the surface of the stove top during cooking. The stove top covering is comprised of a substantially planar sheet of material that may have decorative indicia or graphic thereon, such indicia may include recipes, instructions and/or information, etc. The cover is designed to protect the stove top as well as absorb fluids, such as oil, sauce and water. A bottom fluid impervious layer protects the stove top while an absorbent layer retains any spills with the top layer having micro holes for fluids to pass through and retained thereby. Also provided is a lip passing around the periphery of the cover and each heating element to contain fluids and food particle on the disposable cover.
US08353274B2	Exhaust gas recirculation system An exhaust gas recirculation system having at least one cooler with a housing and at least one valve with a pivotably actuated valve member on an inlet side is characterized in that an actuator for the valve is mounted to the housing of the cooler, which is connected to the valve via at least one lever and at least one connection member such as a coupling rod, a ball-and-socket joint being provided between at least one lever and at least one connection member such as a coupling rod.
US08353266B2	Engine throttle control with brake booster Methods and systems are provided for reducing variability in air-fuel control due to variations in brake booster vacuum levels at an engine start. A throttle position is adjusted during an engine start based on the vacuum availability in the brake booster to control a rate of intake aircharge flow. By allowing aircharge to enter the intake manifold at a more consistent rate, air-fuel control is improved and exhaust emissions are reduced.
US08353262B2	Two-stroke internal combustion engine A reverse scavenged two-stroke internal combustion engine is capable of effectively suppressing the short-circuiting of fresh charge (unburnt air-fuel mixture), while at the same time being capable of further improving scavenging efficiency, combustion efficiency, etc. The horizontal sectional shape of at least one pair of scavenging passages is closer to a triangle than a parallelogram along substantially the entire lengths of the at least one pair of scavenging passages, where a cylinder outer circumferential side of the horizontal sectional shape is narrowest and a cylinder bore wall surface side of the horizontal sectional shape is wide. Further, horizontal scavenging angles, which are angles of intersection formed between lines extended towards an intake port from guide wall surfaces that define the scavenging passages, are acute.
US08353254B2	Mounting structure of an indicating needle for an instrument system An instrument system includes a speedometer as an indicating instrument. The speedometer includes a disk-like dial, a movement element, and an indicating needle. The dial includes an indication element indicative of vehicle's speed. The movement element has an output shaft connected to a measurement device measuring the vehicle's speed and configured to rotate based on measurements obtained by the measurement device. The needle is attached to the output shaft by a mounting structure. The needle includes a skirt attached to the output shaft of the movement element, and a pointer extending radially from the skirt, so as to be rotated by the output shaft and indicate a value of interest of the indication element of the dial. The skirt includes a hole into which the output shaft is press-fit. The hole has an elliptical cross section.
US08353253B2	Fasteners, cover systems, and related methods Fasteners, cover systems, and related methods are provided. A fastener for fastening an item in place on an object can include a bottom member having a first cross-sectional shape and a top member having a second cross-sectional shape that is securable to the bottom member. The top member can be rotatable relative to the bottom member once the top member is secured to the bottom member. The fastener can also include a securement device for fastening the bottom member to an object. The fasteners can be part of a cover system that also includes a cover. The cover system can be used in conjunction with a window, such as a boat hatch.
US08353246B2	Quality inspection apparatus for sheet-shaped matter Provided is a quality inspection apparatus including: gripper units provided to each delivery chain, each gripper unit configured to hold an end portion of a sheet; an arc-shaped track portion provided in a part of a movement track of the gripper units and formed by the movement track; an inspection unit installed at an opposite side of the arc-shaped track portion from an arc center of the arc-shaped track portion; and a vacuum cylinder installed at the same side of the arc-shaped track portion as the arc center. In the apparatus, while running along the arc-shaped track portion, the sheet is inspected by the inspection unit under a guidance of the vacuum cylinder.
US08353245B2	Line art transfer freehand colouring In a line art transfer free hand colouring printing technique, a design outline is first generated on a transfer substrate using a glutinous ink and is then applied to a surface, for example the front of a T-shirt. A user then applies colouring and/or texturing in and/or around the design in accordance with personal choice to create an image and thereafter a finishing is applied. The finishing comprises a sheet releasably carrying decorative transfer elements which upon application to the image highlights the outline only, the remainder of the image remaining unaffected by the finishing.
US08353244B2	Integrated cleaning and cutting device An integrated cleaning and cutting device includes a case, a cover sealed the case, a basket received in the case, and a basket shelter mounted on the basket. A plurality of palings is formed on the basket. A drive mechanism is accumulated in the cover for driving the basket to rotate in the case. A cutting mechanism is fitted in the cover for cutting salad material. The cutting mechanism includes a blanking hole communicating with the basket in the case. The salad material is cleaned in the basket by the rotating of the basket in the case. On the other hand, the salad material can be cut and stored in the device, in which the basket and the cutting mechanism are equipped. Since the device has multiple functions such as cleaning, cutting and storage, it is utilitarian in use.
US08353239B1	Apparatus and method for directing the launch of a projectile An apparatus for directing the launch of a projectile from a canister includes a pusher plate disposed in the canister, the pusher plate having a sliding, sealing engagement with the canister to define a closed volume, the projectile being disposed in the canister and resting on the pusher plate; and means for generating exhaust gas into the closed volume to urge the pusher plate and the projectile toward an opening of the canister. The apparatus further includes means for directing exhaust gas to affect the trajectory of the projectile.
US08353232B2	Device and method for braking a shaft of a microtome The present invention relates to a device for braking or locking a shaft (6) of a microtome (1). The microtome (1) comprises the shaft (6), an actuating element (2), a movement mechanism (37) and a housing (38). With the movement mechanism (37) an object to be cut can be moved relative to a knife blade. The actuating element (2) can be manually actuated by an operator. As a result thereof, the shaft (6) can be rotated. Via the shaft (6), the movement mechanism (37) for performing the relative motion between the object and the knife blade can be driven. Further, the present invention relates to a method for operating a device for braking a shaft (6) of a microtome (1). So that the device can be used in a mechanically formed movement mechanism (37), the inventive device is characterized by an actuator and a braking unit (25). The braking unit (25) is connected in a rotatably fixed manner to the shaft (6). With the actuator, the braking unit (25) can be automatically placed in a brake position in which the shaft (6) can be connected in a rotatably fixed manner to the housing (11).
US08353228B2	Lockable or releasable bicycle with bidirectional input and one-way output The present invention relates to a lockable or releasable transmission with bidirectional input and one-way output, which is forward or reversely driven by human's foot for achieving the output at constant rotation direction to drive the load wheel group, and has the anti-locking function, through releasing the lockable or releasable mechanism, when reverse drive caused by back move occurs at output terminal.
US08353225B2	Actuator An actuator has a frame and a slider body which are both made of extruded shapes of light-metal alloy. A first rail member is fastened to the frame by means of a simple construction. An upper sealing member is placed between the frame and the slider body. With the actuator constructed as stated earlier, the frame is an elongated extrusion of U-shape in transverse section whose side walls have first recesses of dovetail configuration to fit over first rail members and flanges. A slider has therein the slider body having second recesses of rectangular shape to fit over second rail members. There is further provided a driving unit to force the slider with respect to the frame. The first rail members each have the wedged configuration including tapered contours and dents, while the second rail members each have the rectangular shape.
US08353224B1	Electrical substation and animal mitigation system therefor An electrical substation is shown and described. The electrical substation has a plurality of substation components selected from a group consisting of circuit breakers, transformers, voltage regulators, switchgear, control houses, and structural members. Each of the plurality of substation components is supported above ground-level. An animal mitigation system surrounds each of the plurality of substation components. The animal mitigation system is a shroud constructed around a substation component or a portion of a substation component to provide a barrier to entry to an internal volume of the shroud in which the component or portion of the component is housed.
US08353206B2	Resin weathervane system A resin weathervane having a weathervane tube mounted within a resin weathervane figurine with a stabilizing support structure coupled to an exterior portion of the weathervane tube and a belt of flexible material wrapped at least partially around the tube and the stabilizing support structure wherein a resin mixture poured into a mold forms a resin weathervane of a desired configuration with the resin bonding the tube, the stabilizing support structure and the flexible wrap.
US08353194B2	Indirect determination of the waste gas rate for metallurgical process A method for the indirect determination of the waste gas rate in metallurgical processes. A reference gas such as helium is first added to the waste gas, specifically at a time which, with respect to flow, sufficiently precedes the taking of a sample such that a thorough mixing of the reference gas and waste gas is carried out, i.e., a virtually homogeneous distribution is achieved, and a quantitative helium analysis and nitrogen analysis of the waste gas, measured by a mass spectrometer, is carried out while taking into account the added amount of helium.
US08353190B2	Method and device for winding metal strips onto a coiling mandrel A method and a device for winding metal strip onto a mandrel to which the metal strip is fed by a driver encompassing a bottom and a top drive roller in a driver frame. In order to regulate the driver in such a way by measuring the strip tension, the longitudinal tensile strength applied to the metal strip by the driver to control the strip run through the driver is determined by means of a strip tension measuring device which is mounted on the driver frame, in a pivot located shortly behind the bottom drive roller, and can be swiveled into the metal strip from below. The strip tension measuring device is composed of a first lever arm and a second lever arm which is hingedly mounted at the front of the first lever arm and the forward end of which is provided with a roller.
US08353187B2	Padlock device using an electromagnetic switch actuated system with fingerprint identification system A keyless padlock system includes an electromagnetic switch system and a fingerprint process system. The electromagnetic switch system operates the padlock with a mechanical actuated mechanism. The system also secures the padlock against the force and vibration. The fingerprint process system provides the padlock device an easy operation as the key system. The buttons and LED's manage using both fingerprint and the combination code. A changeable battery system without losing the memory provides the padlock device a reliable and easy application.
US08353175B2	Roof top air conditioning units having a centralized refrigeration system A system comprising a plurality of rooftop HVAC units having a centralized refrigeration unit is described along with a method for retrofitting existing independent HVAC units into the described system. The resulting multi-unit system offers increased efficiency and reliability over independently operating HVAC units.
US08353174B1	Control method for vapor compression system A chiller system is provided with a compressor, a condenser, and an evaporator connected in a closed refrigerant loop. A motor is connected to the compressor to power the compressor. A variable speed drive is connected to the motor. The variable speed drive is arranged to receive an input AC power at a fixed input AC voltage and a fixed input frequency and provide an output power at a variable voltage and variable frequency to the motor. The variable voltage has a maximum voltage greater in magnitude than the fixed input AC voltage and the variable frequency has a maximum frequency greater than the fixed input frequency. The variable speed drive includes a converter connected to an AC power source providing the input AC voltage, the converter is arranged to convert the input AC voltage to a DC voltage. A DC link is connected to the converter. The DC link is arranged to filter and store the DC voltage from the converter. An inverter is connected to the DC link. A controller is arranged to reference a first operating map associated with the compressor, a second operating map associated with the motor, and a third operating map associated with the variable speed drive. The controller further is arranged to analyze the first operating map second operating map and third operating map concurrently to select an operating point for the chiller system.
US08353162B2	Recoverable heat exchanger A modular heat exchanger that can be submerged to great depths and then easily recovered in order to reduce the costs and disadvantages of the prior art. Because the heat exchanger is submergible and recoverable, it can be more easily maintained. This ease of maintenance allows the heat exchangers to be deployed at greater depths. This, in turn, allows for greater differences in temperatures, greater efficiency for the heat engine, and a more effective ocean thermal energy conversion system.
US08353161B2	High diffusion turbine wheel with hub bulb A turbocharger including a turbine wheel having a hub-to-tip ratio of no more than 60% and blades with a high turning angle, a turbine housing forming an inwardly spiraling primary-scroll passageway that significantly converges to produce highly accelerated airflow into the turbine at high circumferential angles, and a two-sided parallel compressor. The compressor and turbine each produce substantially no axial force, allowing the use of minimal axial thrust bearings.
US08353160B2	Thermo-electric engine A thermo-electric engine with a working fluid operative in a closed Rankine cycle to enable a harvesting energy from an external source of thermodynamic energy comprising an internal combustion engine or solar energy. The thermo-electric engine comprising an evaporator; a turbine fluidically coupled to the evaporator; a heat exchanger comprising a condenser for receiving working fluid from the turbine; a hot liquid input for coupling to a source of heated liquid coolant from an internal combustion engine to the evaporator; a liquid return for returning liquid coolant to the internal combustion engine; a cooling liquid input to the condenser for receiving cooling liquid from a radiator; and a cooling liquid return for returning the cooling liquid to the radiator. Alternatively, a solar energy collector can power a turbine fluidically coupled to the solar energy collector for receiving working fluid.
US08353151B2	Exhaust gas control apparatus for internal combustion engine An exhaust gas control apparatus includes an oxidation catalyst, a compact oxidation catalyst having a smaller cross section than that of an engine exhaust passage, a fuel supply valve, a glow plug, and an electronic control unit. The control modes for the exhaust gas control apparatus include a first control mode where the fuel is supplied from the fuel supply valve, heated by the glow plug, and ignited, a second control mode where the fuel is supplied from the fuel supply valve, and heated by the glow plug but is not ignited, and a third control mode where the fuel is supplied from the fuel supply valve and the glow plug does not provide heating. The electronic control unit selects the first or third control mode in the operation region where ignition is possible, and selects the second or third control mode in the operation region where ignition is not possible.
US08353147B2	Apparatus and method for manufacture of a top opening reclosable bag having a tape formed reclosable seal A vertical form, fill and seal machine in conjunction with a product supply apparatus provides a continuous, heat sealable plastic film and zipper tape and provides separate, product filled, reclosable, top opening sealed bags. The apparatus includes a means for supplying the continuous plastic film, a means for supplying zipper tape, a means for sealing the zipper tape sections to the film, a vertical fill tube assembly, a feeding means including a film drive roll upstream, film pull belts adjacent the vertical fill tube, a vertical sealing means for sealing the edges of the continuous film to the edges of the continuous zippered cap strip, a horizontal sealing, perforating, and severing means for severing the plastic tube between the first and second horizontal seals, and a tensioning means for horizontally elongating the flexible plastic tube transverse to its length prior to formation of the horizontal seals.
US08353141B2	Method and service for assembling a modular structure such as a wind power plant A method and a device for assembling a structure that is formed from several modules that are disposed on top of each other, e.g. a wind power plant. An auxiliary mast of modular construction is erected parallel to and laterally of the structure to be erected, wherein the length of an auxiliary mast module approximately corresponds to the length of a structural module. A respective auxiliary mast module is previously detachably connected to a respective structural module to form an overall module, such that the auxiliary mast module can accept the weight of the structural module. The overall modules that are each formed from one auxiliary mast module and one structural module are moved by means of the lifting gondola in an upward direction along the auxiliary mast of previously erected structural modules to the level of the assembly position.
US08353139B2	Wall gap fire block device, system and method Fire block devices for application to a wall component. The fire block device can be a strip that includes a fire-resistant material strip comprised of a material that expands in response to sufficient heat to create a fire-resistant barrier. An optional foam strip comprised of a foam material can be placed side-by-side with the fire-resistant material strip. A cover layer covers the fire-resistant material strip and the optional foam strip, if present. The cover layer includes opposing side portions positioned on opposing sides of the fire-resistant material strip and foam strip, if present. The cover layer is comprised of a tape having an adhesive on an underneath surface thereof such that adhesive on the side portions are capable of securing the fire block strip to a wall component. The fire block strip can be applied to a header track, footer track or wall stud, among other possible components.
US08353128B2	Wrapper with decorative extension and method A wrapper for wrapping a flower pot and/or floral grouping is disclosed. The wrapper is constructed of a sheet of material having an extension attached to a portion of the sheet of material. When the wrapper is formed about a flower pot to form a decorative cover, upper edges of the sheet of material and extension cooperate to form a skirt portion preferably having at least two separate edges providing a “two-sheet” effect in the decorative cover. The wrapper may have extensions on opposing ends of the sheet of material and may have one or more additional overlapping extensions.
US08353118B2	Peat moss harvesting apparatus and method A peat moss harvesting apparatus includes a conveyor mechanism and a cutting mechanism. The cutting mechanism is guided through a peat moss bed to cut a section of peat moss. The section of peat moss is progressively loaded onto the conveyor mechanism as the section of peat moss is being cut.
US08353109B2	Knife A knife has a housing, a blade carrier supported in the housing and adapted to hold a blade, and an actuating element coupled to the blade carrier. A handle can move between a nonactuated position and an actuated position and is coupled to the actuating element such that on movement from the nonactuated position to the actuated position the actuating element displaces the blade carrier from a safety position in which blade mounted on the blade carrier is retracted into a seat of the housing in a first cutting position in which the blade projects out of the housing. A pivot joint connects the actuating element with the blade carrier. A guide supports the blade carrier in a translatory and a rotatable manner on the housing.
US08353100B2	Disassembly apparatus of rotating electric machine A disassembly apparatus of a power generator installed in a nacelle has an I-shaped beam, a pressing plate, anchor bolts, a trolley and a chain block. The I-shaped beam extends horizontally above the frame of the power generator. The pressing plate is disposed on the I-shaped beam. The anchor bolts extend along both sides of the I-shaped beam to pierce the pressing plate and are screwed into threaded holes extending downward of the frame. The trolley is provided movably to roll on the upper surface of the lower flange. The chain block is hung from the trolley. The flange removed from the frame is hung and moved vertically by the chain block, and is moved horizontally by the trolley.
US08353097B2	Method for fabricating antenna device of mobile communication terminal A method for fabricating an antenna device of a mobile communication terminal, the method including selecting radiation patterns according to a usable frequency band, selecting and fabricating magneto dielectric modules for adjusting resonance frequencies of the selected radiation patterns, selecting and fabricating dielectric modules for adjusting resonance frequency of the selected radiation patterns, selecting and fabricating a radiation pattern having a number of resonance frequencies required for the terminal from among the radiation patterns selected in the pattern selection step, and selecting at least one of the magneto dielectric modules and the dielectric modules and installing it in the radiation pattern to tune a resonance frequency of the radiation pattern to the resonance frequency required for the terminal.
US08353082B2	Method and apparatus for a hinge In accordance with an example embodiment of the present invention, there is provided an apparatus including a first body, a second body, and a joint member, the joint member having supported therein a first shaft and a second shaft , the first shaft connected to the first body and the second shaft connected to the second body, wherein the joint member is configured to cause or to allow a change in a separation distance between the first shaft and the second shaft upon a rotational movement of the first body relative to the second body.
US08353077B2	Attachment for a vacuum cleaning appliance A grooming device includes a head and a handle. A first end of the handle is connected to the head, and a second end of the handle is connectable to a vacuum cleaning appliance. The head includes a bristle carrier having a plurality of bristles, and a bristle cover having a plurality of apertures. The device includes an actuator manually operable by a user to effect relative movement between the bristle carrier and the bristle cover from a stowed configuration in which the bristles are retracted relative to the bristle cover to a deployed configuration in which the bristles protrude from the bristle cover through the apertures. The handle includes a conduit for conveying an air flow from the head to the second end of the handle. Resilient members are provided for returning the head to the stowed configuration automatically when the actuator is released by the user. In addition to enabling hair or other matter collected between the bristles of the bristle carrier to be readily dislodged from the device, the automatic retraction of the bristles can ensure that the bristles are not exposed when the device is not in use.
US08356359B2	Licensing rights for media content that follows a subscriber Various embodiments of the present invention relate to systems, methods, and computer-readable medium providing licensing rights for media content that follows a subscriber so that the subscriber may experience the media content on various content distribution platforms. In particular embodiments, the systems, methods, and computer-readable medium transfer licensing rights for a user for particular media content that is associated with a first device on a first distribution platform so that the rights are associated with a second device on a second distribution platform. As a result, in various embodiments, the user is able to experience the particular media content with the use of the second device on the second distribution platform.
US08356349B2	Method and system for intrusion prevention and deflection A method of preventing intrusion in communication traffic with a set of machines in a network is provided, the traffic including communication entities, including the steps of: providing a test system comprising test facilities replicating at least one of the machines in the set; directing at least part of the communication entities in the traffic toward the test system; running the communication entities directed toward the test system on the test facilities to detect possibly adverse effects on the test system, and i) in the presence of an adverse effect, blocking, by the test system, the communication entities leading to the adverse effect, and ii) in the absence of an adverse effect, allowing, by the test system, the communication entities not having the adverse effect to communicate with the set of machines.
US08356348B2	Computer system with electronic lock A computer system with an electronic lock includes an end-user unit and a mobile unit. The end-user unit has a communication port and an identification database coupling with the communication port and storing at least one identification code. The mobile unit has an identifying module with a logging code, with the mobile unit able to connect with the end-user unit through the communication port to connect the identifying module with the identification database of the end-user unit. When the mobile unit is coupled with the end-user unit, the end-user unit catches the logging code and executes an identifying process to determine whether the logging code is one of the at least one identification code in the identification database.
US08356345B2	Constructing a secure internet transaction A method for constructing a secure Internet transaction, the method includes: receiving a user identification (userid) and user password on a client device for filling out a form generated by a secure web site; concatenating the user's Internet Protocol (IP) address with a separate password that is maintained on the secure web site that the user is authenticating to; encrypting the concatenated user IP and separate password to form an Internet Protocol password (IPPW); wherein the encrypting is carried out with asymmetric public-key cryptography using a public key; building a transaction consisting of the IPPW and userid; transmitting the transaction and form via a network towards the secure web site; wherein in response the secure website performs the following: decrypts the IPPW, and determines if the IP portion of the decrypted IPPW is equal to the user's IP address.
US08356344B2	Portable ice proxy and method thereof This invention is to provide a method applied to a network system comprising Internet and at least two private networks each having at least one NAT router and at least one network terminal device. Each network terminal device can link to Internet through an ICE proxy and the NAT router in the corresponding private network. The method allows an ICE proxy in a private network to hijack connection signals sent from a network terminal device, to write a plurality of candidate access points provided by an ICE protocol standard into a SDP packet containing the connection signals, and to transmit the SDP packet to a remote ICE proxy in another private network via Internet. As a result, the ICE proxies of two private networks can selectively use the candidate access points provided by the ICE protocol standard in order to pass through the respective NAT routers and firewalls thereof.
US08356341B2	Life cycle management of authentication rules for service provisioning Described are methods, systems, and apparatus, including computer program products for providing authentication for service provisioning. At least a first and a second executable authentication rule are provided. One or both of the first and second executable authentications are for determining access by a user to a service. The first executable authentication rule is selected when a lifecycle state associated with the user is in a first state. The second executable authentication rule is selected when the lifecycle state is in a second state. A rules credential is generated. The rules credential includes the selected executable authentication rule.
US08356338B1	Wireless drive file peering A configuration message is received from a first computer system. In response to the configuration message, a first wireless device is enumerated on the first computer system as locally attached mass storage. A registration message is sent to a wireless network. File information about a shared file is received from a second wireless device. The second wireless device is enumerated on a second computer system as locally attached mass storage. A shared block of data is received from the second wireless device. The shared block of data is sent to the first computer system as data that is stored on a locally attached mass storage device.
US08356330B2	Channel entry system and method An exemplary channel entry device comprises a SUBCHANNEL button. The exemplary channel entry device further comprises an OK button, and wherein the channel entry device is adapted to receive a subchannel selection after the SUBCHANNEL button is pressed and to thereafter transmit the subchannel selection to an associated electronic device when either the OK button or the SUBCHANNEL button is pressed.
US08356314B2	Object and resource security system A method for securing a plaintext object within a content receiver is described. In one step, a secure portion of a secure object and a plaintext remainder of the secure object are received. Which portion of the secure object is the secure portion is determined. The secure portion is decrypted to provide a plaintext portion. The plaintext object that comprises the plaintext portion and the plaintext remainder is formed. The plaintext object is stored including authentication and authorization.
US08356311B2	Detecting method for limit switch of optical disc drive by sampling voltage of limit switch predetermined times A method is disclosed to detect the voltage of a limit switch in an optical disc drive. The method includes following steps: loading an optical disc when the voltage of the limit switch is at a high level, completing the disc loading process when the voltage is changed to a low level, sampling the voltage of the limit switch predetermined times when the voltage is changed to the high level again, detecting the sampling voltages, completing the disc ejecting process when the sampling voltages are all at the high level, and determining a voltage bouncing to maintain the disc loaded status to avoid disc ejection misjudgment of the optical disc drive when the sampling voltages are not all at the high level.
US08356308B2	Blocking and bounding wrapper for thread-safe data collections A membership interface provides procedure headings to add and remove elements of a data collection, without specifying the organizational structure of the data collection. A membership implementation associated with the membership interface provides thread-safe operations to implement the interface procedures. A blocking-bounding wrapper on the membership implementation provides blocking and bounding support separately from the thread-safety mechanism.
US08356307B2	Information processing method, apparatus, and system for controlling computer resources, control method therefor, storage medium, and program An operation request from a process or OS for computer resource(s) managed by the OS, such as a file, network, storage device, display screen, or external device, is trapped before access to the computer resource. It is determined whether an access right for the computer resource designated by the trapped operation request is present. If the access right is present, the operation request is transferred to the operating system, and a result from the OS is returned to the request source process. If no access right is present, the operation request is denied, or the request is granted by charging in accordance with the contents of the computer resource.
US08356304B2	Method and system for job scheduling Logical processors/hardware contexts are assigned to different jobs/threads in a multithreaded/multicore environment. There are provided a number of different sorting algorithms, from which one is periodically selected on the basis of whether the present algorithm is giving satisfactory results or not. The period is preferably a super-context interval. The different sorting algorithms preferably include a software/OS priority. A second sorting algorithm may include sorting according to hardware performance measurements. The judgement of satisfactory performance is preferably based on the difference between a desired number of time quantum attributed per super-context switch interval to each job/thread and a real number of time quantum attributed per super-context switch interval to each job/thread.
US08356301B2	Optimization of queued events by deletion/integration based on CPU load calculation An event processing apparatus has a central processing unit (CPU) and an event queue that temporarily accumulates a plurality of events when occurring. The CPU executes an event queue optimization module for executing filtering processes to delete one or more events based on optimization definition information, and/or for executing chunking processes to integrate a plurality of events into an event, for a plurality of events accumulated in the event queue, based on a CPU load calculation involving the sum of mean CPU-execution-times for unexecuted tasks corresponding to the queued events.
US08356292B2	Method for updating control program of physical storage device in storage virtualization system and storage virtualization controller and system thereof Method for updating control program of physical storage devices including the steps of: selecting PSD(s) to be updated with the control program; making the PSD(s) in an off-line state; and updating the control program of the PSD(s), wherein if it needs to issue a write request to the selected PSD(s) before completion of updating the control program, unmodified data segment(s) corresponding to the write request is marked as modified data segment(s). the selected PSD(s) performs partial rebuilding after completion of updating the control program, and if it needs to read out from or write to an unmodified data segment of the selected PSD(s) before completion of the partial rebuilding, a R/W request can be issued to the PSD directly without waiting for completion of the partial rebuilding of the PSD. Multipe parity data chunks can also be provided in the same data stripe in another embodiment.
US08356285B2	Facilitated introspection of virtualized environments Some embodiments provide a system that manages the execution of a software component in a virtualized environment. During operation, the system monitors the execution of the software component from an external location to the virtualized environment. Next, the system assesses an integrity of the software component by comparing the monitored execution to an expected operation of the software component, wherein the expected operation is determined based on source code for the software component. Finally, the system uses the assessed integrity of the software component to facilitate the execution of the software component.
US08356280B2	Infrastructure service architecture for applications A mechanism is disclosed for operating local version-independent service program code for infrastructure services, wherein the mechanism is automatically and optionally linked to a central, remote service infrastructure, and wherein both an online and an offline processing mode is included and automatically supported, and wherein the mechanism is embedded in a generic runtime environment. In at least one embodiment, it contains service program code implemented in the runtime environment for calling by way of the application program code with standardized interfaces, wherein the service program code is intended for the provision of functionalities for predetermined services that an application program code can use.
US08356277B1	System and method for freezing operation of dynamic code of a run-time web page Systems and methods are provided for freezing operation of dynamic code of a run-time web page, such as freezing JavaScript code of a web page. A software application that is being employed for analyzing a web page includes functionality to enable a user to freeze operation of dynamic code, such as JavaScript code, of the run-time page, thereby allowing the user to view, analyze, and/or modify the page's output presentation and/or underlying source files at the given state at which the page was frozen. Such software application may comprise a web page authoring tool or a client-side analysis tool (e.g., testing tool), as examples.
US08356274B2	System and methods to create a multi-tenancy software as a service application A method for providing multi-tenant services includes receiving a request from a user, establishing tenancy information for the user, wherein the tenancy information is selected which corresponds to a tenant of the user from among multiple tenants, customizing the request according to the tenancy information established for the user, forwarding the request to an application that is not multi-tenant aware, receiving results of the request from the application, customizing the results according to the tenancy information established for the user and corresponding to the tenant of the user, and returning customized results to the user.
US08356269B2	Dummy-metal-layout evaluating device and dummy-metal-layout evaluating method A dummy-mesh-information creating unit separates a group of dummy metal blocks that are arranged in a pattern regularly staggered with respect to a direction of a wire object into meshes so that each mesh has the same layout of dummy metal blocks. An overlap determining unit determines whether a dummy metal block within a dummy mesh overlaps with the wire object. A dummy-information calculating unit calculates dummy information after any dummy metal block that is determined to be overlapped with the wire object is removed. An information integrating unit integrates the dummy information with information about the wire object, thereby generating a dummy-fill circuit layout. An evaluating unit evaluates whether the dummy-fill circuit layout satisfies the design criteria.
US08356267B2	Statistical method for hierarchically routing layout utilizing flat route information An integrated circuit design is routed by first creating temporary routes in a flattened layout, generating blockage information for sub-blocks in the layout based on the temporary routes, and establishing a routing order for cells using a depth-first search. Cells in the original layout are then routed according to the routing order using the blockage information. The temporary routes are sorted into internal routes, terminal routes, and spanning routes. Blockage information for each sub-block includes a first cellview equal to the internal routes, a second cellview equal to the terminal routes plus the spanning routes, and a third cellview equal to the total tracks in the sub-block minus the first and second cellviews. The invention is particularly suited for routing a hierarchical integrated circuit design. By examining the complete hierarchy, the invention ensures that enough metal will be remaining at upper level sub-blocks to complete the routing automatically.
US08356263B1	Yield based flop hold time and setup time definition Systems and method for defining a timing parameter for a circuit element based on process variation, including, determining a point of failure parameter associated with the timing parameter, the point of failure parameter correlated with a specific value of the process variation. A standard deviation associated with the point of failure parameter is determined. The process variation per the standard deviation is calculated and the timing parameter for the circuit element is defined as a function of the failure parameter, the standard deviation, and the process variation per the standard deviation. A margin factor, which varies with the standard deviation, is optionally applied to the timing parameter. The timing parameter may be one of a setup time or hold time.
US08356257B2	Method and system for generating a control system user interface A method for providing navigation in a user interface for an industrial control system including a computer, a display device, a plurality of process graphics, and at least one user interface. A plurality of software objects are displayed for use in controlling and/or monitoring of real world objects controlled by the control system. One or more designated views are generated providing navigation between members of a group of context-related process graphics. Each process graphic with a designated view is a member of a predetermined group of process graphics, where each designated view includes one or more tabs directly linked to other members of the predetermined group in the industrial control system. A system and computer program for carrying out the method are described.
US08356250B2	Mobile terminal and equalizer controlling method thereof A mobile terminal including an output unit configured to output sound, an equalizer configured to adjust parameters of the sound output by the output unit, a display unit including a touch screen and configured to display a Graphic User Interface (GUI) including a graphical guide that can be touched and moved to adjust the parameters of the sound output by the output unit, and a controller configured to control the equalizer to adjust the parameters of the sound output by the output unit in accordance with a shape of the graphical guide that is touched and moved.
US08356249B2	Intelligent video tours Intelligently crafting a dynamic video tour using a plurality of video devices selected in real time is provided. A list of attributes is received, the list of attributes describing at least one characteristic of a video device. A list of factors is continuously received, the list of factors describing one or more events, an event occurring at a point in time. A subset of the plurality of video devices is selected, based upon the received list of attributes and the received list of factors. The subset changes over time due to one or more changes in the list of factors. Video is displayed from the selected subset of the plurality of video devices as a tour, the displayed video changing over time as the selected subset changes over time.
US08356245B2	System and method of automatically mapping a given annotator to an aggregate of given annotators A document corpus is annotated by given annotators and aggregates of the given annotators to generate a corpus of pre-annotated documents with given annotations. The same document corpus is annotated by a subject annotator to have subject annotations. The subject annotations are decomposed into superpositions of the given annotations. The decomposed subject annotations are mapped to a most representative superposition of the given annotations. The subject annotator may be mapped to the aggregate of given annotators corresponding to the most representative compatible superposition, resulting in a meaningful new aggregate annotator.
US08356232B2	Method and apparatus for encoding and decoding data A method and apparatus for turbo coding and decoding is provided herein. During operation, a concatenated transport block (CTB) of length X is received and a forward error correction (FEC) block size KI is determined from a group of available non-contiguous FEC block sizes between Kmin and Kmax, and wherein Kmin≦KI
US08356230B2	Apparatus to manage data stability and methods of storing and recovering data An apparatus to manage data stability, including a plurality of storage units and a control unit to determine when protected data is stored in a particular address row of at least one of the plurality of storage units, to select another storage unit of the plurality of storage units to store the protected data, and to store relevance data related to the protected data in the same address row of the selected storage unit. Methods of storing and recover data also included.
US08356224B2	Communication method and system using two or more coding schemes A communication method includes causing a transmitter to apply error correcting or detecting code systems to multiple frames or packets and to transmit the multiple frames or packets in succession, causing a receiver to receive the transmitted frames or packets and to decode each of the frames or packets received, and causing the receiver to send an acknowledgment signal to the transmitter on the basis of the results of decoding of the frames or packets. The transmitter applies two or more error correcting or detecting code systems to the frames or packets.
US08356221B2	Transition delay test function logic A method and apparatus for conducting transition testing using scan elements are disclosed. In one embodiment, an integrated circuit (IC) includes a scan chain having first and second subsets of scannable flops, the first subset having respective data inputs coupled to a memory array. The scannable flops of the second subset may each have a respective data input coupled to circuitry other than the memory array (e.g., to a logic circuit). The scannable flops of the first subset may be enabled for scan shifting during a transition test mode. The scannable flops of the second subset are inhibited from scanning during the transition test mode. The transition test mode may include at least two functional clock cycles in which the scannable flops of the first subset provide complementary first and second logic values to logic circuits coupled to respective data outputs.
US08356220B2	Memory coupling scan input to first of scan path segments Scan and Scan-BIST architectures are commonly used to test digital circuitry in integrated circuits. The present disclosure improves upon low power Scan and Scan-BIST methods. The improvement allows the low power Scan and Scan-BIST architectures to achieve a delay test capability equally as effective as the delay test capabilities used in conventional scan and Scan-BIST architectures.
US08356218B2	Fault location estimation device, fault location estimation method, and program A fault location estimation device includes: a faulty scan chain identification unit that identifies a faulty scan chain and its fault type based on result of operation verification test; a faulty scan FF narrowing unit that compares test result of the faulty scan chain with simulation result for determining a faulty scan FF range beginning at the location of a scan FF where both results differ; and a path trace narrowing unit that references logic circuit configuration information, signal line expected value, a failure-observed scan FF, and test result of a defective circuit to extract a scan FF on the faulty scan chain, which may be reached from a failure-observed scan FF observed on a normal scan chain by tracing back a failure propagation path while performing implication procedure for an input side, and thereby further narrows the faulty scan FF range determined by the faulty scan FF narrowing unit.
US08356215B2	Testing apparatus and method for analyzing a memory module operating within an application system A testing apparatus for analyzing a memory module under test operating within an application system, wherein the memory module under test is coupled to a processor of the application system, is disclosed herein. In at least one embodiment, the testing apparatus comprises a first interface for coupling to the application system, a second interface for coupling to a reference memory module, a controller coupled to the first and second interfaces, at least one comparator, and a data logging unit. The data logging unit is configured to receive logging data from the controller and at least one test result from the at least one comparator, and to record, in a memory, at least a subset of the logging data, such that more specific details of memory errors revealed during behavioral testing of memory modules may be identified, examined, and stored for subsequent analysis.
US08356213B2	Operations management apparatus, operations management system, data processing method, and operations management program An operations management apparatus which acquires performance information for each of a plurality of performance items from a plurality of controlled units and manages operation of the controlled units includes a correlation model generation unit which derives a correlation function between a first element and a second element of the performance information, generates a correlation model between the first element and the second element based on the correlation function, and obtains the correlation model for each element pair of the performance information, and a model searching unit which searches for the correlation model for each element between an input element and an output element among elements of the performance information in series, and predicts a value of the output element from a value of the input element based on the searched correlation model.
US08356201B2	Method, CAN bus driver and CAN bus system for the recovery of a clock frequency of a CAN bus A method, a CAN bus driver and a CAN bus system for the recovery of a clock frequency of a CAN bus, which couples a master device, that has a clock generator for providing the clock frequency, to at least one slave device. A phase-locked loop is used in the slave device, in this context, which utilizes a predetermined bit pattern, that is extracted from a frame sent by the master device via the bus system, as reference signal.
US08356200B2	Negotiation between multiple processing units for switch mitigation A method for maintaining data and clock line synchronization, which may include a clock line that may be driven high after a clock line falling edge to mitigate a clock error. Additionally, the clock error may be mitigated by maintaining a saturated state of a device. Furthermore, a register may be connected to a microcontroller and/or a graphical processing unit to negotiate control of a switch and a bus.
US08356198B2	Performing power management based on information regarding zones of devices in a system One or more target components of a system that are not associated with an active initiator are identified, where the identifying is based on information regarding zones of devices in the system. The devices in each of the zones include at least one initiator and at least one target component accessible by the initiator. The information describes accessibility of devices between the zones. A power management procedure is performed with respect to the identified one or more target components that are not associated with an active initiator to place the identified one or more target components in a reduced power state.
US08356196B2	Display apparatus and method for saving power thereof A display apparatus includes: a command receiver configured to receive power on or off command from an exterior, a power supply unit configured to supply power to the display apparatus and a control unit coupled to the command receiver and the power supply unit, determining whether auxiliary power exists when the power off command is received, wherein the control unit is configured for two power saving modes.
US08356195B2	Architecture verifying apparatus, method for verifying architecture, and computer readable medium comprising computer program code for verifying architecture An architecture verifying apparatus includes an input unit receiving a time limit of a semiconductor integrated circuit including modules and buses, and performance specifications of the modules, a bus monitor acquiring bus transactions issued to the buses by the modules, a module monitor acquiring input transactions used when the module inputs data, processing information indicating processing contents and processing time used when the module processes the data, and output transactions used when the module outputs the processed data, a first architecture generator associating the processing information with the bus transaction, the input transaction, the processing information, and the output transaction, to generate a first architecture fulfilling the time limit, a second architecture generator changing the processing time of the first architecture, to generate a second architecture fulfilling the time limit and having power consumption lower than power consumption of the first architecture, and an output unit outputting the second architecture.
US08356186B1	Decryption system and method for reducing processing latency of stored, encrypted instructions A present novel and non-trivial decryption system and methods are disclosed for reducing latency associated with the decryption and execution of stored, encrypted instructions. The system comprises a storage device, a processor, a controller, a key generator, a plurality of memory banks, a plurality of bus switches, and a combiner. Upon receiving a processor command, the controller changes the switch positions of a plurality of switches, where a first switch is operatively coupled to a key generator, a second switch to a combiner for performing a combinatory decryption process, and both switches to plurality of memory banks. When a partition is switched, the processor executes data of an instruction immediately upon completion of the combinatory decryption process using at least one character retrieved from one memory bank while the next decryption key is generated and loaded into another memory bank at the same time.
US08356184B1	Data storage device comprising a secure processor for maintaining plaintext access to an LBA table A data storage device is disclosed comprising a non-volatile memory, a logical block address (LBA) table for storing plaintext data used to access the non-volatile memory, and control circuitry including a secure processor and a device processor. The secure processor is operable to initialize the LBA table with at least one authentication code over the plaintext data, and verify the authentication code over the plaintext data. The device processor is operable to receive an access command from a host, evaluate the plaintext data in the LBA table to determine whether to allow the access command, and when the access command is allowed, execute the access command.
US08356183B2	Biometric authentication method and computer system A biometric authentication method for a computer system, the computer system comprising: a computer; and an authentication server, the biometric authentication method including steps of: extracting a first feature from the captured biometric information; generating a template polynomial for enrollment; extracting a second feature from the captured biometric information; generating a template polynomial for authentication; generating a correlation function for calculating a correlation between the template polynomial for authentication and the enrolled template polynomial; calculating a correlation value between the template polynomial for authentication and the enrolled template polynomial by using the generated correlation function, and determining based on the calculated correlation value whether or not the biometric information at the time of authentication coincides with the biometric information enrolled.
US08356181B2	Apparatus and method for a direct anonymous attestation scheme from short-group signatures An apparatus and method is provided for a direct anonymous attestation scheme from short-group signatures. The method may include the creation of a group public/private key pair for a trusted membership group defined by an issuer; and assigning a cryptographic pair that is combined with a unique private member value to form a private membership key. A trusted member device generates the unique private member value during a join procedure of a trusted membership group. In one embodiment, the private member value of the private membership key is unknown to the issuer. A member may sign a message with the private membership key to form a short-group digital signature that is verified using a public key of the trusted membership group to maintain anonymity of trusted member devices. A size of the private membership key may be reduced to enable storage within a trusted platform module. Other embodiments are described and claimed.
US08356169B2	Encryption communication system, apparatus and method for allowing direct encryption communication with a plurality of nodes If the communication partner of a client node (A1a) is an encryption communication target node (C1), a DNS Proxy unit (A12a) in the client node rewrites a response to a name resolution request for the communication partner node of an application from the actual IP address of the communication partner node to a loopback address that changes depending on the communication partner. On the basis of the destination loopback address of a data packet transmitted from the application, a communication encryption module (A13a) in the client node identifies the communication partner and the encryption communication path to be used for communication with the communication partner. Hence, encryption communication can simultaneously be executed directly with a plurality of communication partner nodes by using the communication encryption module that operates as an independent process.
US08356159B2	Break, pre-break, and remaining instructions for processing vectors The described embodiments provide a system that sets elements in a result vector based on an input vector. During operation, the system determines a location of a key element within the input vector. Next, the system generates a result vector. When generating the result vector, the system sets one or more elements of the result vector based on the location of the key element in the input vector.
US08356155B2	Dynamic RAM Phy interface with configurable power states A physical memory interface (Phy) and method of operating is disclosed. The Phy interface includes command and status registers (CSRs) configured to receive a first power context and second power context. Selection circuitry is configured to switch between the first and second power contexts. A plurality of adjustable delay elements are provided, each having a delay time responsive to the selected power context. A first set of CSRs configured may store the first power context and a second set of CSRs configured may store the second power context. The Phy interface may also include a plurality of drivers each having a selectable drive strength responsive to the selected power context. The Phy interface may also include a plurality of receivers each having a selectable termination impedance responsive to the selected power context. Switching between power contexts may result in adjusting of the delay elements, drive strength and/or termination impedance of one or more drivers/receivers.
US08356154B2	Storage system, data relocation method thereof, and recording medium that records data relocation program There is a need to improve access speed for a file in a storage system that is provided with multiple storage units having different access speeds.The storage system (10) includes an access frequency acquiring part (14) that divides a past constant accessed data acquisition period into multiple unit periods, and obtains an access frequency for file stored in any of the multiple storage units (30 and 31), a similarity degree calculating part (16) that obtains, for each file, a similarity degree between the access frequency to the file for each unit period, and the access frequency to every other file for each unit period, a grouping process part (17) that groups one or more other files having a similarity degree equal to or higher than a predetermined value, in an identical group, and a file relocation part (18) that places a file belonging to the identical group into a storage unit (30) having a high access speed, when the file stored in the storage units (30 and 31) is accessed and there exists any other file within the identical group to which the file belongs.
US08356152B2	Initiative wear leveling for non-volatile memory A method and apparatus for initiative wear leveling for non-volatile memory. An embodiment of a method includes counting erase cycles for each of a set of multiple memory blocks of a non-volatile memory, the counting of erase cycles for each memory block including incrementing a first count for a physical block address of the memory block, and if the memory block is not a spare memory block, incrementing a second count for a logical block address of the memory block. The method also includes determining whether the non-volatile memory has uneven wear of memory blocks based at least in part on the counting of the erase cycles of the plurality of memory blocks.
US08356149B2	Memory migration A source system comprises memory and a processor executing code to cause at least some of the memory to be migrated over a network to a target system. The processor causes the memory to be migrated by migrating some of the memory while a guest continues to write the memory, halts execution of the guest, and completes a remainder of the memory migration.
US08356142B1	Memory controller for non-sequentially prefetching data for a processor of a computer system A memory controller for non-sequentially prefetching data for a processor of a computer system. The memory controller performs a method including the step of storing a plurality of address pairs in a table data structure, wherein the address pairs include a first address and a second address. The first address and the second address are non-sequential as fetched by a processor of a computer system. The address pairs are prioritized in accordance with a frequency of use for each of the address pairs. A system memory of the computer system is accessed and a plurality of cache lines corresponding to the address pairs are stored in a prefetch cache. Upon a cache hit during a subsequent access by the processor, data is transferred from the cache lines stored in the prefetch cache to the processor.
US08356137B2	Data storage scheme for non-volatile memories based on data priority Systems and methods are disclosed for partitioning data for storage in a non-volatile memory (“NVM”), such as flash memory. In some embodiments, a priority may be assigned to data being stored, and the data may be logically partitioned based on the priority. For example, a file system may identify a logical address within a first predetermined range for higher priority data and within a second predetermined range for lower priority data, such using a union file system. Using the logical address, a NVM driver can determine the priority of data being stored and can process (e.g., encode) the data based on the priority. The NVM driver can store an identifier in the NVM along with the data, and the identifier can indicate the processing techniques used on the associated data.
US08356129B2	Request arbitration apparatus and request arbitration method There is provided a request arbitration apparatus for arbitrating a plurality of request holding sections which hold requests having priorities when the requests are output from the plurality of request holding sections to the output device. The request arbitration apparatus includes: a setting section that sets the request holding section, which holds the highest priority request among all the requests held by the plurality of request holding sections, as a highest priority request holding section; and a control section that controls the highest priority request holding section so that the request held first among all the requests held by the highest priority request holding section is output to the output device.
US08356128B2	Method and system of reducing latencies associated with resource allocation by using multiple arbiters A digital processing system employing multiple arbiters, all designed to allocate a resource to a same entity in response to a same condition. In an embodiment, the entities needing the resource may send a request to all the arbiters, and the specific entity to which the resource is allocated, receives indication of the allocation from a closest one of the arbiters. As a result, the latency in receipt of indication of allocation may be reduced. The features are described in the context of a bus as a resource.
US08356123B2	Apparatus and method for storing context information on an electronic device An electronic device includes a storage slot for storing context information for a storage device. The electronic device is configured to apply settings related to the context information to the storage device upon detecting connection of the storage device to the electronic device. A method of operating the electronic device may include acquiring context information from the storage device, storing the context information within a storage slot of the electronic device, and applying settings to the storage device. The settings may be related to the context information and may be applied upon detecting a reconnection of the storage device to the electronic device.
US08356120B2	Mechanism for memory state restoration of virtual machine (VM)-controlled peripherals at a destination host machine during migration of the VM A mechanism for memory change tracking during migration of a virtual machine (VM) with VM-controlled assigned peripherals is disclosed. A method of the invention includes receiving a state of a VM-controlled peripheral device running on a destination host machine from an origin host machine, wherein the VM is executed by a hypervisor of the destination host machine, providing the received state of the peripheral device to at least one of the VM, a memory of the VM, or the peripheral device in order to cause the peripheral device to be restored to that state on the destination host machine, and interacting with the VM in order to cause the VM to start the peripheral device in the restored state.
US08356115B2	System and method for preserving consumer choice Methods and systems for preserving user attribute data by way of managing and synchronizing redundant storage locations.
US08356106B2	Cache validating SCIT DNS server A cache validating SCIT-DNS Server including a server cluster, a cache copy, a controller and a validation module. Each of the servers in the server cluster uses a DNS mapping cache which maps DNS name(s) to record entry(ies). The cache copy maintains an image of DNS mapping cache(s). The controller manages the state of servers. States include a live spare state; an exposed state; a quiescent state; and a self-cleansing state. The validation module validates DNS entry(s) using a retriever module and a comparisons module. Retriever module retrieves an independent record entry associated with a selected DNS name from an external DNS resolver. The comparison module compares the independent record entry retrieved by the retriever module with the record entry associated with the selected DNS name residing in the cache copy. The validation module may cause server(s) to take an affirmative action in response to detected validation error(s).
US08356105B2	Enterprise device policy management Methods and systems for managing policies of portable data storage devices in conjunction with a third-party service are disclosed. One or more candidates of a plurality of members in an enterprise may be identifying via the third-party service. Each of the plurality of members may be associated with a respective portable data storage device. An indication provided by the third-party service of one or more candidate devices may be obtained. The one or more candidate devices may each be a portable data storage device associated with a respective candidate. Policies of the one or more candidate devices may be modified.
US08356103B2	NAT traversal for media conferencing Methods for establishing a direct peer-to-peer (“P2P”) connection between two computers are disclosed. In particular, the methods are designed to work in cases where one or both of the computers are connected to a private network, such private networks being interconnected via a public network, such as the Internet. The connections between the private network and the public network are facilitated by network address translation (“NAT”).
US08356087B1	Automatically configuring virtual private networks Disclosed are various embodiments for configuring virtual private networks (VPNs). A request is made, through a service call, for creation of a VPN through a client VPN gateway and a server VPN gateway. In response to the service call, a generic gateway configuration document is received. The generic gateway configuration document is applicable to the client VPN gateway. The generic gateway configuration document is translated to a device-specific gateway configuration document.
US08356085B2	Automated transformation of specifications for devices into executable modules A number of configuration elements are associated with a number of devices. Information about input configuration elements is accessed. An input configuration element is associated with one or more input rules. It is determined which of the configuration elements could be accessed by the input rules and any call chains emanating from the rules. Output rules are determined by using the accessed configuration elements, the input rules, and the way the input rule manipulates its accessed configuration elements. Each output rule may be derived from an input rule and corresponds to the same input configuration element associated with that input rule. An executable module is generated that is adapted to access at least a given one of the input configuration elements and to trigger one or more of the output rules corresponding to the given input configuration element. Read and write sets for rules are determined, and the triggered output rules ensure that restrictions associated with a configuration element are not violated.
US08356072B1	Systems and methods for scalable heterogeneous and homogeneous unified enterprise storage clusters The techniques introduced here include systems and methods for scalable heterogeneous or homogeneous unified enterprise cluster storage systems that include a first cluster-compliant server, a second cluster compliant server, and optionally a non-cluster-compliant server. The first cluster-compliant server can be configured for operation as a member of a cluster with the second cluster-compliant server, and further configured to service a client request from a client of the cluster storage system by utilizing the client request to send a server request to the second cluster-compliant server or the non-cluster-compliant server. The second cluster-compliant server and the non-cluster-compliant server are configured to service the server request from the first cluster-compliant server by retrieving data and sending the data to the first cluster-compliant server. The second cluster-compliant server can transition from clustering operations with the first cluster-compliant server to data serving operations with the optional non-cluster-compliant server.
US08356069B2	Communication apparatus and storage medium storing program A communication apparatus which obtains a content on the basis of a content URL associated with image data displayed on a display portion, including: a feed information obtaining section which obtains feed information including content informations each including a title, an image URL, and the content URL and which stores the obtained feed information into a storage device; an image data obtaining section which obtains the image data on the basis of the image URL; a display controller which displays the obtained image data in association with the content URL; an obtainment judging section which judges whether the image data has been obtained on the basis of the image URL or not, wherein the display controller displays, where the obtainment judging section has judged that the image data has not been obtained on the basis of the image URL, alternative image data in association with the content URL.
US08356067B2	Servicing device aggregates A constellation is determined in reference to a particular combination of devices and/or software, some or all of which may be coupled with a network. A constellation addresses aggregate capabilities provided by a combination of devices and/or software available on the network. The network may define multiple constellations. Services are written for constellations, and the services may be pulled from external sources for use on the network. A server on the network, such as a service host, may coordinate and manage obtaining services from the external sources, and removing or disabling services for constellations no longer valid.
US08356060B2	Compression analyzer Techniques are described herein for automatically selecting the compression techniques to be used on tabular data. A compression analyzer gives users high-level control over the selection process without requiring the user to know details about the specific compression techniques that are available to the compression analyzer. Users are able to specify, for a given set of data, a “balance point” along the spectrum between “maximum performance” and “maximum compression”. The point thus selected is used by the compression analyzer in a variety of ways. For example, in one embodiment, the compression analyzer uses the user-specified balance point to determine which of the available compression techniques qualify as “candidate techniques” for the given set of data. The compression analyzer selects the compression technique to use on a set of data by actually testing the candidate compression techniques against samples from the set of data. After testing the candidate compression techniques against the samples, the resulting compression ratios are compared. The compression technique to use on the set of data is then selected based, in part, on the compression ratios achieved during the compression tests performed on the sample data.
US08356045B2	Method to identify common structures in formatted text documents A computer implemented method, computer program product and data processing system, for identifying common structures shared across a plurality of formatted text documents. The common structure is presented as a sequence of landmarks, each of which has a starting and ending marker to describe the borders of text. The common structure is identified by counting the occurrences of repeating text segments across documents. Frequently co-occurred adjacent segments become candidates for markers of landmarks. In addition, styling information of textual content within a landmark is extracted and mapped to rules. The rules are used to merge and summarize content from multiple documents, which gives an advantage over current practice of content concatenation.
US08356044B2	System and method for providing default hierarchical training for social indexing A system and method for providing default hierarchical training for social indexing is provided. Articles of digital information for social indexing are maintained. A hierarchically-structured tree of topics is specified. Each topic includes a label that includes one or more words. Constraints inherent in the literal structure of the topic tree are identified. For each topic in the topic tree, a topic model that includes at least one term derived from the words in at least one of the labels is created. The topic models for the topic tree are evaluated against the constraints. Those of the topic models, which best satisfy the constraints are identified.
US08356038B2	User to user recommender Disclosed are embodiments of systems and methods for recommending relevant users to other users in a user community. In one implementation of such a method, two different sets of data are considered: a) music (or other items) that users have been listening to (or otherwise engaging), and b) music (or other items) recommendations that users have been given. In some embodiments, pre-computation methods allow the system to efficiently compare item sets and recommended item sets among the users in the community. Such comparisons may also comprise metrics that the system can use to figure out which users should be recommended for a given target user.
US08356036B2	Knowledge discovery tool extraction and integration A method for integrating a data item into a knowledge model is provided. The method may include retrieving the data item from a data source, determining if the data item has been previously integrated into the knowledge model, and integrating the data element into the knowledge model if the data item has not been previously integrated.
US08356033B2	Album system, photographing device, and server A photographing device is arranged to communicate with a server via a network. In the photographing device, an information uploading unit transmits a user identifier and image data to the server. An image information storing unit receives a data identifier from the server, associates the image data with the data identifier, and stores the image data in a non-volatile memory or a removable non-volatile memory of the photographing device. A URL information generating unit generates URL information of a web page containing the data identifier and requesting the server to manipulate management information of the image data. An encoding unit encodes the URL information into a bar code. A display unit displays an image of the bar code on a display.
US08356029B2	Method and system for reconstruction of object model data in a relational database Methods, systems and articles of manufacture are provided to facilitate efficient searching and reconstruction of entity relationship data in a relational database. The entity relationship data in the relational database is migrated from an object oriented program environment.
US08356027B2	Hybrid query execution plan generation and cost model evaluation A procedural pattern in a received query execution plan can be matched to a stored pattern for which an equivalent declarative operator has been pre-defined. The query execution plan can describe a query for accessing data. A hybrid execution plan can be generated by replacing the procedural pattern with the equivalent declarative operator. A hybrid execution plan processing cost can be assigned to execution of the hybrid execution plan and a query execution plan processing cost can be assigned to execution of the query execution plan. The assigning can include evaluating a cost model for the hybrid execution plan and the query execution plan. The query can be executed using the hybrid execution plan if the hybrid execution plan processing cost is less than the query execution plan processing cost or the query execution plan if the hybrid execution plan processing cost is greater than the query execution plan processing cost. Related systems, methods, and articles of manufacture are disclosed.
US08356017B2	Replication of deduplicated data Various embodiments for replicating deduplicated data using a processor device are provided. A block of the deduplicated data, created in a source repository, is assigned a global block identification (id) unique in a grid set inclusive of the source repository. The global block id is generated using at least one unique identification value of the block, a containing grid of the grid set, and the source repository. The global block id is transmitted from the source repository to a target repository. If the target repository determines the global block id is associated with an existing block of the deduplicated data located within the target repository, the block is not received by the target repository during a subsequent replication process.
US08356015B1	File system quiescing driver A technique for quiescing a file system is described. The technique includes holding a change request, flushing the file system, and releasing the change request. Flushing may include sending a flush request, determining whether a cache associated with the file system is flushed, and in the event that the cache is not flushed, resending the flush request and determining whether the cache is flushed.
US08356013B2	Systems and methods for a snapshot of data In one embodiment, a user or client device is connected to a distributed file system comprised of one or more physical nodes. The data on each of the physical nodes store metadata about files and directories within the file system. Some of the embodiments permit a user to take a snapshot of data stored on the file system. The snapshot may include a single file, a single directory, a plurality of files within a directory, a plurality of directories, a path on the file system that includes nested files and subdirectories, or more than one path on the file system that each includes nested files and directories. In an embodiment, a snapshot tracking data structure is maintained for efficient creation and deletion of the snapshot.
US08356009B2	Implementation defined segments for relational database systems Embodiments disclosed herein provide an implementation defined segments (IDS) subsystem which allows new data segments to be added to an identity hub after deployment. A set of metadata tables are utilized to describe IDS, each of which is a data structure encapsulating a single row from a master data record residing in the identity hub. Once a segment (an object) is described, the identity hub can use the information to define persistent storage for the object in the database for any relational database management system, create internal structures to hold the data and process business rules and demographic comparisons against the data object, describe the data object to remote clients, and allow the clients to query the identity hub at runtime about what data objects exist, what fields and data types they contain, and additionally how they might be displayed or formatted on various clients.
US08356006B2	Method of effectively managing database system for mobile number portability A method of effectively managing a database system for mobile number portability (MNP) including constructing a database associated with the MNP of a neutral organization including a first database connected to number portability management systems of a plurality of wired or wireless telecommunications service providers and a second database connected to subscriber managements systems of the wireless telecommunications service providers; transmitting data required for number portability call processing to the first database after the number portability processing for the wired telecommunications service providers has been completed by the second database; and allocating associated information to the wired or wireless telecommunications service providers requiring the number portability call processing by the first database based on the data. Accordingly, a conventional database management system can be modified, and a specific packet structure can be employed to detect errors that occur during transmission and reception of customer information for the number portability processing. Therefore, it is possible to construct effective subscriber management systems for mobile number portability.
US08355997B2	Method and system for developing a classification tool An exemplary embodiment of the present invention provides a computer implemented method of developing a classifier. The method includes receiving input for a case, the case comprising a plurality of instances and an example, the example comprising a plurality of data fields each corresponding to one of the plurality of instances, wherein the input indicates which, if any, of the instances includes a data field belonging to a target class. The method also includes training the classifier based, at least in part, on the input from the trainer.
US08355991B2	Method and apparatus for executing cryptographically-enabled letters of credit A method and apparatus for executing electronic transactions using cryptographically-enabled accounts stores cryptographically-enabled account information and instructions, receives a cryptographically-encoded permission certificate, and processes the received permission certificate to execute the transactions.
US08355990B2	Sharing and monetization of content Embodiments of the invention provide a method, comprising hosting content on behalf of content owners who own the content; enabling content sharers to share the content through the creation of links to the content; generating revenue through the use of the content; and sharing said revenue with the content owners and the content sharers.
US08355987B2	Systems and methods to manage information Systems and methods are provided to facilitate online transactions via mobile communications. In one aspect, a system includes a data storage facility and an interchange coupled with the data storage facility that stores purchase receipts in association with phone numbers. The interchange includes a common format processor and a plurality of converters to interface with a plurality of different controllers of mobile communications. The converters are configured to communicate with the controllers in different formats and with the common format processor in a common format, to obtain a confirmation of a payment request that identifies a phone number, a merchant and a purchase from the merchant. After a confirmation is received, the interchange is to use funds associated with the phone number to pay the merchant for the purchase and to receive and store a receipt for the purchase from the merchant.
US08355986B2	Methods and systems for managing government issued entitlements A method for designating accounts for funds from a check to be deposited is described. The method includes receiving, at a processing center having a processor, a direct deposit government entitlement check from a government entity to be deposited. The check may include an identifier. The method further includes comparing the identifier with a customer database to determine that funds from the check have been designated to be divided into sub-amounts and deposited into a plurality of accounts. Each of the plurality of accounts has account type and an associated expenditure designation. The method then receives a report of a total amount deposited from the check for each type of associated expenditure designation and each account type.
US08355980B2	Out of band credit control Systems and method for mediating risks associated with orders in an electronic trading system are provided. A front end component includes a plurality of trading engines that receive orders from traders. A back-end component includes a match system. The system includes a credit control module, which may be located at the back-end (e.g., clearinghouse), front end, a combination thereof, or other location that communicates with the plurality of trading engines. The credit control may monitor aggregate risk parameters for the trading engines and requests credits from trading engines.
US08355970B2	Intelligent trust management method and system Intelligent Trust Management provides a centralized security facility that gives system components a flexible mechanism for implementing security policies. System components such as applications create a request describing an action that needs to be checked against an appropriate security policy. The request is given to a trust system that determines which policy object applies to the request, and may pass request arguments to the policy. The policy objects include executable code that uses any arguments along with dynamically obtained variable information to make a decision. The decision is returned to the system component, which then operates accordingly. Policy objects may maintain state and interface with the user independent of the system component in order to obtain information to make their decisions. Policy objects may call other policy objects and/or mathematically combine the results of other policy objects to make a decision.
US08355964B2	Auditor's toolbox A system and method for managing and providing selective access to automated data regarding daily valued defined contribution plans. More particularly, the present invention relates to systems and methods for managing accounting data between one or more clients and one or more administrators and one or more users (e.g., auditors, vendors, sub-vendors, etc.) and preferably presented to a third party via an interface which collects the information in a first format and displays the information in second format. The data is thus available to auditors using a template, different from the normal order in which the data is collected or used, which arranges the data and customizable reports in an order and fashion according to standard accounting plans or a comparable order in which the auditor will need the data and reports while auditing a defined contribution plan to prepare, for example, a form 5500 report.
US08355954B1	Generating and updating recommendations for merchants Disclosed are various embodiments for generating and updating recommendations for merchants. A plurality of recommendations for a plurality of merchants in an electronic marketplace are evaluated in at least one computing device for validity. An indication of which of the recommendations are valid is stored in a data store. It may be determined that one of the merchants has potentially invalidated one or more of the recommendations. The potentially invalidated recommendations for the merchant are evaluated for validity in response to a recommendation query for the merchant. A list of valid ones of the recommendations for the merchant is generated.
US08355950B2	Generating customer-specific vehicle proposals for vehicle service customers Methods, systems and computer program products for generating customer-specific vehicle proposals based on ongoing vehicle finance pay-off information received from a third party entity. The embodiments of the invention herein disclosed provide for efficient identification of potential customers based on their current vehicle and the ongoing financial obligation related to the current vehicle. A replacement vehicle is identified and a vehicle proposal, such as a sales or lease proposal, is generated for one or more of the identified potential customers.
US08355942B2	Software/hardware ranking A ranking method and system. The method includes receiving by a computing system, business requirements and associated weighting factors. The computing system receives a list of software/hardware products and associated assessment data. The business requirements are associated with product features of the software/hardware products. The computing system calculates total requirement weighting factors for the product features. The computing system stores the total requirement weighting factors.
US08355941B2	Optimal planning of building retrofit for a portfolio of buildings Generating an optimal planning of building retrofit for a portfolio of buildings may include providing a plurality of objective functions that may be selected for maximizing cost reduction, maximizing green house gas emission reduction, or maximizing energy reduction, or combinations thereof. The objective function may be solved based on information including at least a retrofit cost for retrofitting a building, payback period specifying the length of time needed to recover the retrofit cost, a budget available for retrofitting the building, expected price of energy, estimated energy savings from retrofitting and estimated green house gas emission from retrofitting. The planning of building retrofit may be generated based on the solutions of one or more of the objective functions, which may provide for an optimal plan of building retrofit.
US08355940B2	Capability and maturity-based SOA governance Methods, including service methods, articles of manufacture, systems, articles and programmable devices are provided for a service-oriented architecture governance model. Each of a plurality of governance dimension attributes of a service-oriented architecture are calibrated and mapped to each of a plurality of governance evolution element attributes. A maturity and capability assessment is performed for the service-oriented architecture as a function of the mapping, and a maturity-based and capability-based governance model is generated for the service-oriented architecture as a function of the maturity and capability assessment. In one aspect a programmable device is configured to perform at least one of the calibrating, the mapping, the performing the maturity and capability assessment and the generating the maturity-based and capability-based governance model.
US08355938B2	Capacity management index system and method A system and method is provided that generates an index, providing predictive and actionable intelligence to ensure that a Technology Infrastructure Group (TIG) makes tactical and strategic decisions in support of needs of customers. The invention measures overall health of an infrastructure, specifically with respect to how efficiently various services meet demand placed upon capacity by various Lines of Business. The invention provides an overall assessment of infrastructure capacity management and drills down to various services, components, subcomponents, etc. The invention provides a forecasting tool in which estimates made are not based only upon business forecasts provided by each Line of Business, but also upon forecasts developed by correlating external indicators with historical business volumes. Historical forecasts are compared to actual values to derive a confidence factor used for weighting future Line of Business forecasts. The combined, weighted forecasts obtained are more robust than any individual forecasts on their own.
US08355933B2	Method and apparatus for increasing liquid assets available to at least partially fund living expenses at an assisted living facility A liquid asset enhancement system includes computing apparatus operated on behalf of an underwriter and a purchase coordinator. The underwriter's apparatus receives an individual's personal, medical history, and life insurance policy information via a communication network. The underwriter's apparatus determines (i) a mortality rating based at least on the individual's medical history, (ii) a life expectancy from a mortality table based on the mortality rating and the individual's personal information, and (iii) a proposed sale value for the policy based at least on the life expectancy and the policy information. If the individual elects to sell the policy, the underwriter's apparatus communicates at least the policy information, the individual's medical history, and the proposed sale value to the purchase coordinator's apparatus via a communication network for sale completion and delivery of proceeds therefrom to a party bound to use the proceeds to pay the insured's assisted living expenses.
US08355932B2	System and method for managing intellectual property-based risks Presented herein are methods and systems for managing an entity's risks of patent coverage. More specifically, the present invention is directed to methods and system for insuring an entity against damage awards in patent litigation. The presented methods and systems allow a manufacturer to minimize their exposure to damage awards in patent litigation by conducting pre-emptive analyses and properly allocating funds for royalty payments and/or damage awards. An insurance captive is also established as a risk management tool to insure the manufacturer against excessive damage awards.
US08355931B1	Mortality progression methods and systems Methods and systems for preparing improved mortality tables for use with life insurance and other financial products are described herein. The improved mortality tables described herein account for progression over time of insureds from one underwriting class to another, e.g., based on deteriorating health over time. An insured who is in a “preferred” class at the time of initial underwriting might not still qualify for “preferred” status in 5 years, or even the next year. By creating a system of linear equations that predict the composition of a group n years after underwriting, insurance (and other financial products) providers can calculate more definite costs for pricing financial products based on the estimated or expected transition from one underwriting class to another.
US08355929B2	Methods and systems for storing medical supplies Storing of medical supplies is performed according to rules promoting safety and ergonomics. The physical arrangement of medical supplies within a storage unit is analyzed. An inventory of medical supplies to be stored in the storage unit is established. A new physical arrangement of medical supplies within the storage unit is determined based on the rules for storing medical supplies and the inventory. The storage unit is configured according to the new physical arrangement. The physical locations within the storage unit where each of the medical supplies is to be stored are indicated. The medical supplies are stored in the indicated locations.
US08355923B2	Systems and methods for de-identification of personal data According to some embodiments, supplemental data may be retrieved from a supplemental data source. It may be automatically detected that a first personal insurance information value in the supplemental data source is correlated with a first personal insurance information value in the original insurance claim records source. A second personal insurance information value that was previously used to replace the first personal insurance information value in the original insurance claim records source may then be retrieved, and the first personal insurance information value in the supplemental data source may be automatically replaced with that same second personal insurance information value to provide referential integrity.
US08355918B2	Method and arrangement for managing grammar options in a graphical callflow builder A method (10) in a speech recognition application callflow can include the steps of assigning (11) an individual option and a pre-built grammar to a same prompt, treating (15) the individual option as a valid output of the pre-built grammar if the individual option is a potential valid match to a recognition phrase (12) or an annotation (13) in the pre-built grammar, and treating (14) the individual option as an independent grammar from the pre-built grammar if the individual option fails to be a potential valid match to the recognition phrase or the annotation in the pre-built grammar.
US08355916B2	Systems and methods for extracting meaning from multimodal inputs using finite-state devices Multimodal utterances contain a number of different modes. These modes can include speech, gestures, and pen, haptic, and gaze inputs, and the like. This invention use recognition results from one or more of these modes to provide compensation to the recognition process of one or more other ones of these modes. In various exemplary embodiments, a multimodal recognition system inputs one or more recognition lattices from one or more of these modes, and generates one or more models to be used by one or more mode recognizers to recognize the one or more other modes. In one exemplary embodiment, a gesture recognizer inputs a gesture input and outputs a gesture recognition lattice to a multimodal parser. The multimodal parser generates a language model and outputs it to an automatic speech recognition system, which uses the received language model to recognize the speech input that corresponds to the recognized gesture input.
US08355910B2	Methods and apparatus for audio watermarking a substantially silent media content presentation Methods and apparatus for audio watermarking a substantially silent media content presentation are disclosed. An example method to audio watermark a media content presentation disclosed herein comprises obtaining a watermarked noise signal comprising a watermark and a noise signal having energy substantially concentrated in an audible frequency band, the watermarked noise signal attenuated to be substantially inaudible without combining with a separate audio signal, associating the watermarked noise signal with a substantially silent content component of the media content presentation, the media content presentation comprising one or more media content components, and outputting the watermarked noise signal during presentation of the substantially silent content component.
US08355907B2	Method and apparatus for phase matching frames in vocoders In one embodiment, the present invention comprises a vocoder having at least one input and at least one output, an encoder comprising a filter having at least one input operably connected to the input of the vocoder and at least one output, a decoder comprising a synthesizer having at least one input operably connected to the at least one output of the encoder, and at least one output operably connected to the at least one output of the vocoder, wherein the decoder comprises a memory and the decoder is adapted to execute instructions stored in the memory comprising phase matching and time-warping a speech frame.
US08355906B2	Method and apparatus for extending the bandwidth of a speech signal A bandwidth extension module, and an associated method and computer-readable medium, suitable for use in artificially extending the bandwidth of a lowband speech signal. The bandwidth extension module comprises a band-pass filter configured to produce a band-pass signal from the lowband speech signal; at least one carrier frequency modulator, each carrier frequency modulator configured to pitch-synchronously modulate the band-pass signal about a respective carrier frequency, the at least one carrier frequency modulator collectively producing a highband speech signal component; a synthesis filter configured to determine a highband speech signal based on the highband speech signal component; and a summation module configured to combine the lowband speech signal with the highband speech signal to obtain a bandwidth-extended speech signal.
US08355905B2	Mapping of relationship entities between ontologies Methods, apparatus and systems, including computer program products, for reducing an error rate when mapping entities between a first ontology and a second ontology. One or more of a general language dictionary and an industry-specific dictionary are provided. Natural language processing of the first ontology is performed to identify one or more candidate relationship entities in the first ontology. Each candidate relationship entity includes a compound name having two or more semantic labels, and each candidate relationship entity has a name that neither exists in the general language dictionary or the industry-specific dictionary. Each of the one or more candidate relationship entities in the first ontology is mapped to one or more entities in the second ontology using one or more configurable computer-implemented mapping algorithms.
US08355894B2	Method for simulating casting defects and microstructures of castings Systems for predicting casting defects and microstructure in suppliers/vendors' castings for part/system durability analysis without knowing the details of the casting layout and casting gating and riser design as well as casting process parameters are provided. The systems involve the use of an integrated pore growth and interdendritic flow model. Methods of predicting casting defects and microstructures of a part without knowing the details of the casting layout and casting gating and riser design as well as casting process parameters and articles of manufacture are also provided.
US08355891B2	Method of replacing the catalyst tubes of a hydrocarbon reformer A method for the maintenance of a furnace for the catalytic reforming of a hydrocarbon reaction mixture, equipped with tubes filled with catalyst and for which one portion of the tubes is provided with thermocouples, the method comprising a monitoring of the temperature of the tubes is provided.
US08355890B2	System and method for predicting maximum cooler and rack capacities in a data center A system and method for evaluating equipment in a data center, the equipment including a plurality of equipment racks, and at least one cooling provider. In one aspect, a method includes receiving data regarding each of the plurality of equipment racks and the at least one cooling provider, the data including a layout of the equipment racks and the at least one cooling provider, a power draw value for each of the equipment racks, and a maximum cooler capacity value for the at least one cooling provider; storing the received data; determining cooling performance of at least one of the plurality of equipment racks based on the layout; determining a cooling load for the at least one cooler and a difference between the cooling load and the maximum cooler capacity value; for each equipment rack, determining a maximum rack capacity based on the layout and the difference between the cooling load and the maximum cooler capacity value; and displaying an indication of the maximum rack capacity for each equipment rack.
US08355882B2	Method for detecting high impedance faults by analyzing a local deviation from a regularization A method for detecting high impedance faults, including: receiving an input waveform from a circuit; computing a root mean square of the input waveform; fitting a regression line to the root mean squares; computing a deviation between the regression line and the root mean squares; determining whether the deviations are above a threshold; and outputting a value indicating that a fault has occurred in the circuit when the deviation is above the threshold and outputting a value indicating that a fault did not occur in the circuit when the deviation is below the threshold.
US08355878B2	Method and system for identifying partial order patterns in sequences of data A method and system are disclosed for identifying partial order patterns of a set of motifs in a data sequence. The method comprises the steps of obtaining the data sequence, identifying a set of motifs in the data sequence, identifying a plurality of partial orders of the motifs in the data sequence, and using the identified partial orders to identify functions of the motifs. In the preferred embodiment of the invention, the step of identifying the plurality of partial orders of the motifs includes the step of converting the identified motifs to an (n×m) incidence matrix, I, of expressions. Also, in this preferred embodiment, the step of identifying the plurality of partial orders of the motifs includes the steps of computing a partial order description of each of the expressions, and computing a redescription of each of the partial order descriptions.
US08355875B2	Food content detector A system may include utensil means for portioning a foodstuff into a first portion and a second portion, a means for detecting a first portion size for the first portion with the utensil means, a means for detecting a second portion size for the second portion with the utensil means, and a means for determining a cumulative amount of portioned foodstuff based upon the first portion size and the second portion size.
US08355873B2	Method of reservoir characterization and delineation based on observations of displacements at the earth's surface Reservoir characterization based on observations of displacements at the earth's surface. One method of characterizing a reservoir includes the steps of: detecting a response of the reservoir to a stimulus, the stimulus causing a pressure change in the reservoir; and determining a characteristic of the reservoir from the response to the stimulus. The response may be the pressure change which varies periodically over time, or a set of displacements of a surface of the earth. In another example, a method includes the steps of: detecting a set of displacements of the earth's surface corresponding to a pressure change in the reservoir; and determining a characteristic of the reservoir from the surface displacements. In yet another example, a method includes the steps of: detecting a set of displacements of the earth's surface corresponding to a change in volume of the reservoir; and determining a characteristic of the reservoir from the surface displacements.
US08355868B2	Method and system for spectral image celestial navigation A method and system for a multi-spectrum celestial navigation system includes a first sensor responsive to at least a first and a second wavelength band of electromagnetic radiation. The sensor is configured to generate a first output related to the first wavelength band of electromagnetic radiation and to generate a second output related to the second wavelength band of electromagnetic radiation. The system also includes a processor programmed to receive the first and second outputs, determine a position of the sensor with respect to one or more stars using a stored star catalog and the received first and second outputs, and output the determined position.
US08355865B2	Travel time information system A system is provided for providing travel time information for a plurality of positions on an electronic map. The system provides map data including information on road segments, determines a plurality of road segment travel times based on the map data, selects a plurality of positions for which travel time information is to provided, determines a travel time for each of these positions in dependence on the road segment travel times, and displays an optical indicator for the travel times on an electronic map.
US08355853B2	Control system for a hybrid vehicle A control system for a hybrid vehicle includes a control responsive to an indication of at least one of (a) a geographical location of the hybrid vehicle and (b) a programmed route of travel of the hybrid vehicle. The control, responsive to the indication, selects one of (a) electric-powered propulsion of the hybrid vehicle and (b) non-electric-powered propulsion of the hybrid vehicle.
US08355850B2	Method and device of calculating aircraft braking friction and other relating landing performance parameters based on the data received from aircraft's on board flight data management system This invention relates to a method and apparatus for the calculation of aircraft braking friction and other relating landing parameters, including but not limited to aircraft braking action, aircraft takeoff distance, aircraft landing distance, runway surface conditions and runway surface friction based on the data collected by and available in the aircraft Flight Data Recorder (FDR) or other flight data management system, for example, the Quick Access Recorder (QAR), to provide all involved personnel in the ground operations of an airport and airline operations, including but not limited to aircraft pilots, airline operation officers and airline managers as well as airport operators, managers and maintenance crews, with the most accurate and most recent information on the true aircraft landing performance parameters to help better and more accurate safety and economical decision making.
US08355846B2	Pedal lock control device for work vehicle A pedal lock control device for work vehicle includes: a motor driving device that drives a travel hydraulic motor according to an operation amount of a travel pedal; a locking device that locks the travel pedal in a state of being operated; an instruction device that instructs lock and unlock of the travel pedal by the locking device upon an operation by an operator; a lock intention detection device that detects an intention of an operator to permit lock of the travel pedal; and a lock control device that locks the travel pedal by the locking device when an intention of the operator to permit lock is detected by the lock intention detection device and lock of the travel pedal is instructed by the instruction device.
US08355843B2	Control method and device for a vehicle for signaling when the optimal working temperature of tires and brakes is reached An embodiment of a control method for a vehicle which is provided with a number of wheels, each of which comprises a tire and at least a disc brake of a braking system; the control method includes the step of sensing the current temperature of at least one component of a respective wheel by means of at least one sensor; determining, in a step of engineering and setting up, at least one first predetermined threshold value indicating the minimum temperature from which the component of wheel shows its maximum efficiency; comparing the current temperature of the component of wheel with the first predetermined threshold value; and signaling to the driver when the current temperature of the component of wheel is lower than the first predetermined threshold value.
US08355835B2	System for demarcating an area A system for demarcating an area comprises a first vehicle, an attachment point, a demarcating element, a motor and a vehicle control unit. The demarcating element extends from the first vehicle to the attachment point. The system furthermore comprises a camera, which camera is operatively connected to the vehicle control unit.
US08355834B2	Multi-sensor autonomous control of unmanned aerial vehicles Multi-sensor autonomous control of unmanned aerial vehicles systems and methods are disclosed herein. In one embodiment, a variable autonomy control system for an unmanned aerial vehicle include a variable autonomy processing unit. The variable autonomy processing unit illustratively receives inputs from multiple sensors. It utilizes the inputs to generate commands to control the unmanned aerial vehicle at variable autonomy levels.
US08355832B2	Controlling power supply to vehicles through a series of electrical outlets A system for supplying electrical power to a plurality of vehicles from a central power supply through a plurality of electrical outlets includes an outlet control unit for each of the outlets and a vehicle control unit for each of the vehicles. The outlet microprocessor switches the supply of power to the outlet to communicate data to the vehicle. The vehicle microprocessor communicates data by switching a load across the power supply to provide interaction between the microprocessors to manage requirement and availability of power. The data includes whether the power plant of the vehicle is gasoline powered, diesel powered, hybrid or electric battery powered. The microprocessor of the vehicle control unit is arranged to control switches which supply power to selected loads in the vehicle and includes an interface which is arranged to connect to a Canbus communication system of the vehicle.
US08355829B2	Wind-power generation system and operation control method therefor An object is to improve the accuracy of power factor adjustment. Power-factor command values corresponding to individual wind turbines are determined by correcting a predetermined power-factor command value for an interconnection node using power factor correction levels set for the individual wind turbines.
US08355822B2	Method of controlling a valve A proximity sensor may be incorporated as part of a water delivery device. A holder may align an optical source and sensor of the proximity sensor.
US08355817B2	Robot system A robot system including a robot arm driven by a servo motor; and a robot controller controlling an operation of the robot arm. The robot system further comprises a first detection section detecting a rotation amount of the servo motor; a second detection section attached to a tip portion of the robot arm, and detecting a velocity or acceleration of the tip portion of the robot arm; a computation section computing the velocity or acceleration of the tip portion of the robot arm based on values detected by the first detection section, and computing a deviation between this computed velocity or acceleration and the velocity or acceleration detected by the second detection section; and an emergency stop section for bringing the servo motor to an emergency stop when a magnitude of the deviation computed by the computation section is greater than a reference value.
US08355814B2	Media processing apparatus and controlling method of the same A medium is transferred and loaded to a media tray provided with a media processing unit which is operable to perform information processing on the medium, by using a transfer arm of a media transfer mechanism. A distance from a surface of the medium loaded on the media tray to a reference position of the transfer arm is acquired. A difference between the acquired distance and a predetermined distance from a reference surface of the media tray to the reference position of the transfer arm is calculated. It is determined that a double transfer of the medium to the media tray occurs when the calculated difference is larger than a predetermined threshold value.
US08355810B2	Method and system for estimating context offsets for run-to-run control in a semiconductor fabrication facility A method and system for estimating context offsets for run-to-run control in a semiconductor fabrication facility is described. In one embodiment, contexts associated with a process are identified. The process has one or more threads, and each thread involves one or more contexts. A set of input-output equations describing the process is defined. Each input-output equation corresponds to a thread and includes a thread offset expressed as a summation of individual context offsets. A state-space model is created that describes an evolution of the process using the set of input-output equations. The state-space model allows to estimate individual context offsets.
US08355803B2	Perfused core dielectrically loaded dipole microwave antenna probe A microwave surgical ablation probe having an arrangement of coolant channels in fluid communication with a cooling chamber disposed within the distal end of the probe is disclosed. A hypotube having one or more longitudinal ribs extending radially inward from an inner surface thereof is coaxially disposed around a coaxial feedline. The longitudinal ribs of the hypotube engage an outer sheath of the feedline to define a fluid inflow channel to deliver coolant to the cooling chamber, and a fluid outflow channel to receive fluid from the cooling chamber. The cooling chamber may be formed from porous ceramic or porous metallic material that provides structural support to the probe while permitting coolant to circulate therethrough. The probe includes dielectric and choke members that are adapted to control the microwave radiation pattern (e.g., ablation shape), and which may provide improved coupling of the probe to tissue.
US08355799B2	Systems and methods for limiting joint temperature Joint temperature monitoring and control systems and methods are described herein in which the temperature of a fluid within a body or joint space is determined and/or monitored despite the energy generated during treatment by an ablation probe. One or more temperature sensors are positioned along the probe proximally of the electrode assembly and measure the temperature of an electrically conductive fluid without being overly influenced by the surgical effect occurring proximate the electrode assembly. The controller coupled to the probe can also be configured to set temperature limits and treatment times as well as moderating joint temperature by altering the electrically conductive fluid flow.
US08355796B1	Secondary side load detection in an electrotherapy apparatus A load detecting circuit has a primary side and a secondary side with a secondary side patient load impedance input having a patient-side opto-isolator and a secondary side reference resistance load input having a reference-side opto-isolator coupled to the secondary side patient load impedance input. The circuit also includes at least one primary side output resistor, wherein the patient-side opto-isolator and the reference-side opto-isolator drive the at least one primary side output resistor and an integrator for operatively controlling the secondary side and conveying the patient load input and the reference load input to the primary side, where the patient load input and the reference load input are powered by a secondary side transformer winding.
US08355780B2	Surgical access system and related methods A surgical access system including a tissue distraction assembly and a tissue refraction assembly, both of which may be equipped with one or more electrodes for use in detecting the existence of (and optionally the distance and/or direction to) neural structures before, during, and after the establishment of an operative corridor to a surgical target site.
US08355779B2	Stimulation method for the sphenopalatine ganglia, sphenopalatine nerve, or vidian nerve for treatment of medical conditions A method is provided for the suppression or prevention of pain, movement disorders, epilepsy, cerebrovascular diseases, autoimmune diseases, sleep disorders, autonomic disorders, urinary bladder disorders, abnormal metabolic states, disorders of the muscular system, and neuropsychiatric disorders in a patient. The method comprises positioning at least one electrode on or proximate to at least one of the patient's sphenopalatine ganglia (“SPG”), sphenopalatine nerves (“SPN”), or vidian nerves (“VN”), and activating the at least one electrode to apply an electrical signal to at least one of the SPG, SPN, or VN. In a further embodiment of the invention used to treat the same conditions, the electrode used is capable of dispensing a medication solution or analgesic which is applied via an electrode to at least one of the SPG, SPN, or VN. A method is also provided for surgically implanting an electrode on or proximate to at least one of the SPG, SPN, or VN of a patient.
US08355774B2	System and method to evaluate electrode position and spacing A method and apparatus for tracking and illustrating the location of leads positioned within the volume is disclosed. For example, the lead electrodes can be positioned within a heart of a patient that can be tracked over time. The lead electrodes can be tracked with an electrode potential or bioimpedance tracking system to determine the position of the lead electrodes. A method and apparatus is disclosed to analyze the position information for analyzing the selected position of the lead electrodes.
US08355772B2	Cross-fiber diffusion MRI A method for processing MRI data in which a reference direction and a first voxel are selected. A first transverse orientation vector associated with the first voxel is determined. This first transverse orientation vector is normal to the reference direction. On the basis of the first transverse orientation vector, a second voxel is selected. A second transverse orientation vector associated with the second voxel is also selected. This second transverse orientation vector is likewise normal to the reference direction. The method also includes determining whether a relationship between the first and second transverse orientation vectors is consistent with a track normal to the reference direction and extending between the first and second voxels.
US08355769B2	System for the assessment of sleep quality in adults and children Systems and methods for assessment of sleep quality in adults and children are provided. These techniques include an apparatus worn above the forehead containing the circuitry for collecting and storing physiological signals. The apparatus integrates with a sensor strip and a nasal mask to obtain the physiological signals for the user. The form factor of this apparatus is comfortable, easy to self-apply, and results in less data artifacts than conventional techniques for capturing physiological data for analyzing sleep quality. Neuro-respiratory signals are analyzed using means to extract more accurate definitions of the frequency and severity of sleep discontinuity, sleep disordered breathing and patterns of sleep architecture. Biological biomarkers and questionnaire responses can also be compared to a database of healthy and chronically diseased patients to provide a more accurate differential diagnosis and to help determine the appropriate disease management recommendations.
US08355768B2	Micromachined neural probes A neural probe includes at least one shaft, at least one first electrode disposed on a first side of the at least one shaft, and at least one second electrode disposed on a second side of the at least one shaft. The at least one second electrode is separately addressable from the at least first electrode.
US08355766B2	Ceramic emitter substrate A ceramic emitter substrate has a substrate body with top and bottom sides and a cavity disposed on the top side. Bonding pads are disposed within the cavity and solder pads are disposed on the bottom side. Light emitting diodes (LEDs) are electrically connected to the bonding pads. Low-resistance conductors are disposed within the ceramic substrate body so as to interconnect the bonding pads and the solder pads. The interconnect is configured so that the LEDs can be individually activated as an array via row and column drive signals applied to the solder pads.
US08355760B2	Portable terminal having reinforcement member A portable terminal is provided. The terminal includes a reinforcement member mounted in a housing of the portable terminal, a plurality of coupling pieces, a removable cover member, and a plurality of coupling grooves corresponding to the plurality of coupling pieces, in which a battery pack mounted in the housing is interposed between the removable cover member and the reinforcement member. The width of a coupling structure required for securing a coupling force for the removable cover member can be reduced by at least about 10% when compared to a conventional coupling structure, thereby securing a strong coupling force and contributing to expansion of a battery capacity for a portable terminal having a specific size.
US08355757B2	System and method providing low power operation in a multimode communication device A system and method providing low-power operation in a multimode communication device. Various aspects of the present invention may, for example, include at least one radio module that is adapted to communicate in a plurality of communication modes. The at least one radio module may also be adapted to operate in at least a first power-save mode. At least one module may, for example, be adapted to analyze at least one non-informational aspect of a signal (e.g., a received radio signal) to determine whether a first communication network corresponding to a first communication mode of the plurality of communication modes might be available. The at least one module may then, for example, be adapted to determine, based at least in part on the determined availability of the first communication network, whether to operate the at least one radio module in a respective mode other than the first power-save mode.
US08355754B1	Operating a computing device with an operating system and a wireless data access on a mobile device A method, system, and medium are provided for operating a computing device using an operating system (OS) installed on a mobile device, or operating the computing device using the OS installed on the mobile device and accessing the Internet through the mobile device. An OS is pre-installed on a mobile device. A computing device that is connected to the mobile device may initialize and operate the OS installed on the mobile device. In another embodiment, the computing device may operate the OS and access the Internet through the mobile device.
US08355753B2	Medication injection site and data collection system A medication injection site is provided that includes a medication port and an identification sensor. The medication injection site, when coupled to a medication container, can wirelessly transmit data characterizing the contents of the medication container to a remote data collection system. The housing of the medication injection site has a shape and size enabling it to be held by a first hand of a user while the user administers medication from the medication container via the medication port using his or her second hand. The housing can include a disposable sub-housing and a reusable sub-housing such that the reusable sub-housing is used by many patients. In some implementations, the medication injection site can be placed on an IV drip line. Related apparatus, systems, and kits are also disclosed.
US08355750B2	Portable media processing unit in a media exchange network A method for communication includes performing by one or more circuits integrated within a single chip in a first communication device, functions that include storing media and meta-data corresponding to the stored media. The storing may occur at a first location of the first communication device. A channel guide including representations of the stored media that can be selected for presentation on a television in a second location, may be caused based on the meta-data corresponding to the stored media when the first communication device is communicatively coupled to a second communication device at the second location. In response to receiving a selection via the presented channel guide, at least one media file corresponding to the received selection may be displayed based on the meta-data corresponding to the stored media, on one or both of the television and/or a media player in the second location.
US08355749B2	Dual mode terminal, base station, and content controller, and content transmission method thereof, and terminal cradle Provided are a dual mode terminal, a base station, and a content controller, and a content transmission method thereof, and a terminal cradle. A cellular module of the dual mode terminal may receive a content from the base station through a cellular communication. A signal processor may release a compression of the received content and output the content. A short-range communication module may transmit the output content to a short-range terminal using a wideband.
US08355748B2	Multi-mode control station, radio communication system, radio station, and radio communication control method The overall throughput of the radio communication traffic in a radio communication area in a radio communication environment where a plurality of types of radio communication systems are mixedly used in a neighboring radio communication area is improved. When a multi-mode control station (101) performs communication with a terminal station in a network through a plurality of types of communication systems, a communication link parameter collecting section (10141) collects parameters indicating the states of the communication links. A resource allocation determining section (10143) determines communication resource allocation for which the throughput is the greatest for each resource allocation period according to the parameters. A communication control section (1015) controls a multi-mode communication unit (1012) according to the result of the determination.
US08355746B2	Method and apparatus for transmitting and receiving group resource deallocation information in a communication system A method and apparatus for transmitting and receiving group resource deallocation information in a communication system are provided. The method in a base station includes transmitting group resource deallocation information, which includes information indicating a group including a plurality of Mobile Stations (MSs) receiving the group resource deallocation information, and information indicating whether a resource is allocated to each of the MSs.
US08355739B1	Method and apparatus for locating a WLAN station based on a propagation delay of a signal An RF transceiver of a first network device respectively receives first, second, and third coordinates of second, third, and fourth network devices. A control module determines first, second, and third delay periods respectively corresponding to transmissions between first and second, first and third, and first and fourth network devices. The control module determines first, second, and third distances between the first and second, first and third, and first and fourth network devices respectively based on the first, second, and third delay periods. The control module determines a location of the first network device based on the first, second, and third distances and the first, second, and third coordinates.
US08355738B1	Location-based and group-based operations on a data processing device A system and method are described for location-based and group-based operations on a data processing device. For example, a computer-implemented method according to one embodiment of the invention comprises: establishing a buddy group containing identities of a plurality of users within the group and notification data indicating when other users are to be notified about current locations of the users in the group; determining whether wireless data processing devices of two or more users of the buddy group are at the same location or within a particular distance of the location; identifying the users and the location; and notifying other users in the group of the identity of the users and the location.
US08355733B2	Radio communication system A radio communication system, preventing communication disconnection when a communication failure occurs in a base station, is provided. The radio communication system includes a common base station (BTS-C) communicable with each communication area of the plurality of BTS (FIG. 1A), in addition to a plurality of base stations (BTS) each located in each communication area. In place of a base station BTS which becomes a communication impossible state with a terminal in the communication area, the BTS-C communicates with the terminal MS in the communication area concerned.
US08355726B2	Device for facilitating overlay network operation in an underlay network environment A wireless communication server device facilitates overlay network communications in an underlay network environment. A database portion is configured to store information regarding overlay network devices within the underlay network environment. An overlay device management portion is configured to communicate with overlay devices and to provide operation information to the overlay devices. An underlay network communication portion is configured to communicate with at least one underlay network device at least to facilitate communications between a mobile station and a selected overlay device.
US08355725B2	Method and node in a communications network The invention relates to a method in a node for ordering a handover process to handover a user equipment, being in active mode, from a first cell of a first frequency to second cell of a second frequency, being different than the first frequency, comprising the steps of: receiving (82, 92) data relating to a third cell of a third frequency, being the same as the first frequency, from the user equipment, determining (84, 94), based on the received data, that the third cell is a cell to which a soft handover cannot be performed, and, that being the case, ordering a handover process (86, 97) to handover the user equipment to the second cell in order to prevent interference with the third cell.
US08355713B1	Use of femtocell to control wireless communication device priorities Methods and systems are provided for determining relative priorities of wireless communication devices with respect to controlling controllable devices. A femtocell receiving a registration request and a device identifier from a first wireless communication device may responsively (i) provide the first wireless communication device with wireless service and (ii) use the device identifier to determine at least one respective relative priority of the first wireless communication device compared to a second wireless communication device with respect to controlling at least one controllable device. The femtocell may then transmit at least one message to at least one of (i) the first wireless communication device, (ii) the second wireless communication device, and (iii) at least one controllable device in accordance with the determination, the at least one message reflecting the determined at least one relative priority. In this way, conflicts between multiple controlling devices may be avoided.
US08355712B2	Method for remotely controlling a mobile terminal The invention relates to a method for controlling remotely a mobile terminal (30). The method envisages providing a command (COM) to be sent from a remote server (2) to the mobile terminal (30), and a voice signal (V) to be transmitted from a remote server (20) to the mobile terminal (30). The voice signal (V) is encoded in a voice data packet flow (VOICE_FLOW) and the command (COM) in command data packets (COMk) so as to generate a packet data flow (DATA_FLOW) comprising the voice data packet flow (VOICE_FLOW) and the command data packets (COMk). This packet data flow (DATA_FLOW) is thus sent from the remote server (20) to the mobile terminal (30).
US08355702B2	System and method for delivering information to a transmitting and receiving device The present invention provides systems and method for delivering information to a transmitting and receiving device. The device receives a notification alerting a user of the device that information is available to be obtained and, in some embodiments, providing a short description of the information. After receiving the notification at the device, the user can then use the device to obtain or otherwise act on the information at a time and at a place convenient to the user.
US08355700B2	Method and mobile terminal for rapidly searching for messages received from or sent to same phone number Disclosed are a method and a mobile terminal for easily and rapidly searching for messages received from or sent to the same phone number of a currently displayed message. The method includes a first step of detecting whether a user inputs a key to select a previous or next message received from or sent to the same phone number of a currently displayed message; a second step of searching for the previous or next message received from or sent to the same phone number upon detecting the user's key input; and a third step of displaying the detected message on a display unit of the mobile terminal.
US08355696B1	Automated device activation Computer-readable media, systems, and methods for automated device activation are described. In embodiments, an activation message is received from a non-provisioned mobile device identifying a user account. In various embodiments, it is determined whether activation is authorized and, if it is determined that activation is authorized, the non-provisioned mobile device is activated. In various other embodiments, it is determined whether activation is authorized by sending a confirmation message to a provisioned mobile device and receiving an authorization message from the provisioned mobile device.
US08355694B2	Obviating mobile airtime minutes for business telephone calls Systems and methods are described that provide a phantom mobile telephone number that is assigned by the mobile telephone service provider, for business customers and/or customers subscribing to the service. Upon receipt of the phantom mobile telephone number at the mobile service provider's internal call routing system, the call is associated with a preexisting landline number assigned to a business. The mobile telephone call is forwarded to the preexisting landline telephone number and is not charged airtime minutes.
US08355693B2	Determining application usage relative to a particular location A mobile device collects information about application usage and associates collected application information with a location of the mobile device and/or a time that the application is accessed. The application is stored on the mobile device or on an external device and accessed via a network. The application information, location of the mobile device and time the application is accessed are communicated to another device and stored in a storage device which may be operated or managed by a service provider or another entity. The application information may comprise identification of a website, a network device or URL, the application and/or data that is input and/or output from the application. The location of the mobile device and/or the time, are determined utilizing a GNSS receiver and/or utilizing information from a network device. The application information, the location of the mobile device and/or the time may be utilized for targeted advertizing.
US08355691B2	Land mobile radio dispatch console An exemplary land mobile radio dispatch console and method are provided. In one embodiment, the console has the capability to process and handle Requests To Talk (RTT) and emergencies. In another embodiment, the console has the capability to provide a history. In another embodiment, the console provides the capability for operators to configure and save patches of predefined groups for later use. In another embodiment, the console includes a telephone interconnect interface component, and combinations of features mentioned above.
US08355687B2	Receiver gain control A gain controller for controlling the gain of at least one amplifier in a receiver, the gain controller being arranged to, when the receiver is receiving a signal: for a first period of time, repeatedly determine an indication of the strength of the received signal and adjust the gain of the at least one amplifier in dependence on each indication of signal strength and following the expiry of the first period of time: determine a subsequent indication of the strength of the received signal and make a single adjustment of the gain of the at least one amplifier in dependence on the subsequent indication of signal strength.
US08355680B2	Radio wave propagation analysis result display system A radio wave propagation analysis result display system calculates an analysis result of radio wave propagation inside a building by subtracting a transmission loss caused by an external wall of the building from an analysis result of radio wave propagation outside the building, and displays a map capable of expressing the height, on which the calculated radio wave propagation analysis result is displayed and superimposed on the building, on a display device.
US08355678B2	System and method for controlling communications during an E-reader session A gatekeeper function is employed to control communications intended for a target user, who is associated with an electronic reader (e-reader) device. The gatekeeper function detects an attempt for an originating user to communicate with the target user. Upon detecting the attempt to communicate with the target user, the gatekeeper function determines a communication processing action that controls how to handle the communication attempt based on e-reader session information that is collected while the target user is engaged in an e-reader session. The gatekeeper function will then effect the communication processing action to control how the communication attempt is to be handled.
US08355675B2	Apparatus and method for controlling frequency in mobile communication system An apparatus and a method for mitigating interference between uplink signals of a user equipment in a mobile communication system are provided. The apparatus includes a frequency regulator for, when fast movement of a user equipment is confirmed, changing a transmit frequency by calculating a frequency offset compensation value which compensates for a frequency required for a transmit frequency band.
US08355672B2	Method for identification using bluetooth wireless key A Bluetooth host solves the aforementioned problems by evaluating a Bluetooth service provider server ID and by determining which of a plurality of access IDs map to the server ID and, correspondingly, providing a Bluetooth access ID that corresponds thereto. Accordingly, one Bluetooth host may readily gain access to any one of a plurality of different devices and different types of devices. Additionally, the Bluetooth host includes capacity to store and provide additional supporting information according to the type of device that is the Bluetooth service provider. Generally, the Bluetooth host stores a plurality of access or link IDs in relation to a plurality of master device IDs and, upon detecting a beacon, determines what access or link ID to provide and whether to provide additional stored information.
US08355665B2	Process for computerized grading of formula-based multi-step problems via a web-interface The method of computerized grading of formula-based multi-step problems includes the steps of providing a memory for storing problems and data to enable and facilitate assessment of correctness of problems, storing at least one formula-based multi-step problem in the memory, a complete solution to the problem requiring calculation of at least one intermediate answer and a subsequent calculation using said intermediate answer to arrive at said complete solution, providing a computer program that can grade submitted answers to the steps of said problem, providing a user interface with selective access to the memory and the computer program, and providing a global computer network with which the user interface can be connected to the memory and grading program.
US08355655B2	Development apparatus In a development apparatus including conveying screws which circulates and conveys developer in a developer container as being rotated, a developing sleeve which bears and conveys developer in the developer container as being rotated, and a restriction blade which restricts developer quantity at the developing sleeve, the developer container includes a supply chamber to supply developer to the developing sleeve and a retrieval chamber to retrieve developer from the developing sleeve, and rotation speed of the conveying screws or rotation speed of the developing sleeve is changed so that Vsc/Vsl during image forming is not performed is to be smaller than that during image forming is performed, as Vsc denotes the rotation speed of the conveying screws and Vsl denotes the rotation speed of the developing sleeve.
US08355652B2	Development cartridge and image forming apparatus An image forming apparatus includes an image bearing member, a plurality of development cartridges each having a developer bearing member bearing a developer for developing an electrostatic image and a developer container accommodating the developer, a rotary configured to rotate and move the attached development cartridges toward a development position, an opening defined in an apparatus main body and allowing the development cartridge to pass through for attachment and detachment to and from the rotary, and an indicator provided on a second development cartridge arranged adjacent to a first development cartridge passing through the opening and detached from the rotary being stopped, wherein the indicator indicates an attachment method usable to attach the first development cartridge to the rotary, and wherein the indicator is located at such a position on the second development cartridge as to be visible from outside of the apparatus main body via the opening.
US08355644B2	Toner-remaining-amount detection sensor and toner storage container provided therewith A toner-remaining-amount detection sensor includes a rubber member, an actuator, a transmission sensor, and a holder member which integrally holds the rubber member, the actuator, and the transmission sensor. The actuator is supported by the holder member so as to move to a first position at which the transmission sensor detects that a toner remaining amount in a toner storage container is a predetermined amount or more when a toner pressure in the toner storage container acts on the rubber member, and to move to a second position at which the transmission sensor detects that the toner remaining amount in the toner storage container falls below the predetermined amount when the toner pressure in the toner storage container does not act on the rubber member. When the actuator is at the second position, the actuator partially comes into contact with the holder member so that a gap is formed between the actuator and the rubber member.
US08355640B2	Document feeding device that performs an initial operation, image forming apparatus including the same, and method of controlling a document feeding device that performs an initial operation Provided is a document feeding device including: a document feeding portion for feeding a document; a document set detecting portion for detecting presence/absence of a set document; a determination portion for determining whether power supply to the device is started by turning-on of main power or by cancellation of a power saving mode; an initial operation portion for performing an initial operation of initializing the document feeding portion when the power supply to the document feeding device is started by the turning-on of the main power, and restricting execution of the initial operation when the power supply to the document feeding device is started by the cancellation of the power saving mode; and a display portion for displaying, when there is a set document at the start of the power supply, a request to reset the document.
US08355639B2	Method for color stability diagnostics based on correlation analysis A diagnostic method for color stability in an image printing system includes printing a test pattern onto output media; measuring, during the printing of the test pattern, an image of the test pattern on an image transfer surface using one or more image transfer surface sensors to obtain one or more image transfer surface signals; measuring a printed image of the test pattern on the output media using a printed image sensor to obtain a printed image signal; calculating correlation functions for the one or more image transfer surface signals and the printed image signal; and analyzing the correlation functions for the one or more image transfer surface signals and the printed image signal to identify a subsystem in the image printing system that causes variations in color within the plurality of prints of the test pattern.
US08355620B2	Method and device for recording The invention relates to a method and device for recording coded digital audio-visual data. On recording coded digital audio-visual data a problem occurred that predictions about the remaining available recording time on a mass storage medium being used were not possible because the applied coding causes the data rate of the digital audio-visual data to vary considerably. According to the invention, the problem may be avoided, by determining mean data rates for program sections which enables a prediction of the amount of data storage capacity to be expected for each program section.
US08355617B2	Recording apparatus A recording apparatus includes: a recording unit that records information data on a mounted recording medium; a detecting unit that detects first identification information for identifying a mounted first recording medium; and a generating unit that generates second identification information related to the first identification information detected by the detecting unit when a second recording medium is mounted instead of the first recording medium. The recording unit records the second identification information generated by the generating unit on the second recording medium.
US08355616B2	Optical fiber communication conversion device and installing method thereof An installing method of an optical fiber communication conversion device is provided. The installing method includes the following steps. Firstly, a housing is provided. An opto-electronic converting module with a first cable winding structure is selectively accommodated and installed within the housing. An optical fiber wiring process is performed. If the opto-electronic converting module is provided and installed within the housing, an optical fiber cable managing function is implemented by the first cable winding structure. If the opto-electronic converting module is not installed within the housing, the optical fiber cable managing function is implemented by a second cable winding structure within the housing. The optical fiber communication conversion device using the installing method is also provided.
US08355607B2	Fiber optic rotary joint mechanism A multi-channel fiber optic rotary joint mechanism has been invented in which optic signals can be transmitted simultaneously from a rotating fiber optic collimator bundle and a stationary fiber optic collimator bundle through an opto-mechanical de-rotating mechanism, which includes an optic de-rotating element, an internal gear and an flexure anti-backlash mechanism. The optic de-rotating element, is positioned in the path between said rotating fiber optic collimator bundle and said stationary fiber optic collimator bundle. The internal gear mechanism provides 2:1 speed ratio for the rotating fiber optic collimator bundle and the optic de-rotating element.
US08355586B2	Decoding apparatus, dequantizing method, distribution determining method, and program thereof A decoding apparatus includes a random number generating section and a decoding section. The random number generating section generates random numbers according to distribution of original data corresponding to respective quantization indexes. The decoding section generates decoded data on a basis of the random numbers generated by the random number generating section.
US08355580B2	Method and system for generating boundary in the process of rasterizing vector graphic as well as method for producing the system The invention discloses a method and a system for generating a boundary in the process of rasterizing a vector graphic as well as a method for producing the system and a method for clipping the vector graphic. The method for generating a boundary includes: segment-polylining the vector graphic and obtaining data of the line segments; obtaining data of the end pixels according to the data of the line segments; obtaining data of boundary pixels according to the data of the end pixels and the relationship between the data of the end pixels; obtaining bitmap data of the boundary pixels according to the data of the boundary pixels. The algorithm used in the invention is very simple and efficient; at the same time, the generation of the bitmap data of the boundary pixels can be carried out synchronously with the generation of bitmap data of the graphic itself. The invention can be used to be combined with a variety of scan line filling algorithms and the bitmap information of the boundary pixels can be obtained synchronously and efficiently in the process of rasterizing a vector graphic so that the quality of the output bitmap can be improved and controlled accurately.
US08355576B2	Method and system for crowd segmentation Aspects of the disclosure provide a method for crowd segmentation that can globally optimize crowd segmentation of an input image based on local information of the input image. The method can include receiving an input image of a site, initializing a plurality of hypothesis based on the input image, dividing the input image into a plurality of patches, calculating an affinity measure of one or more patches to a hypothesis based on a partial response of the patches to a whole body classifier of the hypothesis that includes a combination of weak classifiers, and optimizing assignments of the plurality of patches to the plurality of hypothesis based on the affinity measures of the plurality of patches to the plurality of hypothesis.
US08355573B2	Method for matching colors by using human observer color matching functions A method for matching colors includes providing a first source of a first color and a second source of a second color; measuring a set of spectral values for first color stimuli associated with the first color; calculating a first set of tristimulus values; defining a first set of human observer color matching functions; calculating a first set of corrected tristimulus values from the first set of spectral values using the first set of human observer color matching functions; measuring a second set of spectral values for second color stimuli associated with the second color; calculating a second set of tristimulus values; defining a second set of human observer color matching functions; calculating a second set of corrected tristimulus values from the second set of spectral values; determining a difference between the first and second set of corrected tristimulus values; and adjusting one of the sources to reduce the difference.
US08355571B2	Apparatus and method for generating image for character region extraction Provided is an apparatus and method for generating an image for character region extraction. Upon input of an original image, a candidate character image is generated from the original image and a plurality of binarization maps for similar colors are generated from the generated candidate character image. A binarization map including a background region is selected from among the plurality of generated binarization maps, and the background region of the selected binarization map is expanded. The expanded background region is inverted to generate an image including a character region, thereby generating an image for accurately extracting the character region without missing a boundary portion of a character.
US08355566B2	Method and device for use in converting a colour image into a grayscale image A computerized device for converting a color image data, indicative of a plurality of color image regions defining a two-dimensional color image, into a grayscale image data indicative of a plurality of grayscale image regions defining a two-dimensional grayscale image, with each of the color image regions corresponding to one of the grayscale image regions. A luminance information and a two-dimensional chromatic information is associated with each of the color image regions. The device includes a processor and a memory store. The memory store is adapted to store a program executable by the processor so as to perform the following steps: determining a principal chromatic component of each of the color image regions; determining a first correlation value; and generating the grayscale image data by reference to the first correlation value.
US08355565B1	Producing high quality depth maps Producing high quality depth maps. A time of flight camera and stereo cameras of a stereo camera arrangement are mapped into a common coordinate system. A correspondence between an RGB image taken from the time of flight camera and an RGB image taken from a reference stereo camera of the stereo camera arrangement is established. Intensity values of the plurality of pixels of a stereo camera left of the reference stereo camera, a stereo camera right of the reference stereo camera and the reference stereo camera are determined. These intensity values of the stereo camera left of the reference stereo camera and the stereo camera right of the reference stereo camera are compared to the reference camera. Based on the comparing, matching intensity values are determined.
US08355561B2	Method for screening of multi-junction solar cells A method for screening of multi-junction solar cells to be operated in a high sun intensity and high temperature (HIHT) environment. An electroluminescence image of a homogeneous pn-junction at a predefined bias current is acquired for each of the solar cells. The spatial intensity distribution in the electroluminescence image is analyzed to determine whether there are local intensity variations that possibly dissipate power in a HIHT environment. The solar cells are sorted such that solar cells having no local intensity variations in their electroluminescence image are put into a first group and solar cells having at least one local intensity variation in their electroluminescence image are put into a second group cells for further screening. The solar cells of the first group are suitable for a HIHT environment and solar cells of the second group are assumed to be potentially critical in a HIHT environment.
US08355554B2	Systems and methods for adaptive volume imaging Systems and methods which provide volume imaging by implementing survey and target imaging modes are shown. According to embodiments, a survey imaging mode is implemented to provide a volume image of a relatively large survey area. A target of interest is preferably identified within the survey area for use in a target imaging mode. Embodiments implement a target imaging mode to provide a volume image of a relatively small target area corresponding to the identified target of interest. The target imaging mode preferably adapts the beamforming, volume field of view, and/or other signal and image processing algorithms to the target area. In operation according to embodiments, the target imaging mode provides a volume image of a target area with improved volume rate and image quality.
US08355539B2	Radar guided vision system for vehicle validation and vehicle motion characterization A method for determining whether a target vehicle in front of a host vehicle intends to change lanes using radar data and image data is disclosed, comprising the steps of processing the image data to detect the boundaries of the lane of the host vehicle; estimating a ground plane by determining a projected vanishing point of the detected lane boundaries; using a camera projection matrix to map the target vehicle from the radar data to image coordinates; and determining lane change intentions of the target vehicle based on a moving trajectory and an appearance change of the target vehicle. Determining lane change intentions based on a moving trajectory of the target vehicle is based on vehicle motion trajectory relative to the center of the lane such that the relative distance of the target vehicle from the center of the lane follows a predetermined trend. Determining lane change intentions based on an appearance change of the target vehicle is based on a template that tracks changes to the appearance of the rear part of the target vehicle due to rotation.
US08355537B2	Image processing apparatus and control method thereof In an image included in a moving image, a specific area is registered as a reference area, and a specific hue range of the reference area is set as a first feature amount based on the distribution of hues of pixels in the reference area. When the occupation ratio of pixels having hues included in a second feature amount, obtained by expanding the hue range of the first feature amount in a surrounding area larger than the reference area, is smaller than a predetermined ratio, an area having a high degree of correlation is identified from an image using the second feature amount in the subsequent matching process. When the occupation ratio is equal to or larger than the predetermined ratio, an area having a high degree of correlation is identified from an image using the first feature amount in the subsequent matching process.
US08355535B2	Method and apparatus for recording events in virtual worlds A method and an apparatus for recording an event in a virtual world. The method includes acquiring camera view regions of avatars joining the event; identifying one or more key avatars and/or key objects based on information about the targets in the camera view regions of the avatars; setting one or more recorders for the identified one or more key avatars and/or key objects for recording the event such that the one or more key avatars and/or key objects are located in the camera view regions of the one or more recorders. The apparatus includes devices configured to perform the steps of the method.
US08355519B2	Tool for fitting and removing a receiver of a hearing aid A tool is provided with which a receiver of a hearing aid can be easily fitted into an earpiece or an ear mold and removed therefrom. The tool has an elongate main body, a first tool part for removing the receiver from a first earpiece, a second tool part for removing the receiver from a second earpiece, and a third tool part for fitting the receiver into the first or second earpiece. The elongate main body is divided into a first subsidiary body and a second subsidiary body). The two subsidiary bodies can be plugged at least partially one inside the other in the direction of the longitudinal axis of the main body. In addition, two of the three tool parts are arranged on one of the two subsidiary bodies, and the remaining tool part is arranged on the other of the two subsidiary bodies.
US08355518B2	Hearing aid A hearing aid includes at least two components joined together via an injection molding process. The injection molding process mitigates the need for a separate fastening means to join the components.
US08355517B1	Hearing aid circuit with feedback transition adjustment A feedback transition threshold algorithm assesses and responds to feedback transition events in a hearing aid. The feedback transition threshold algorithm considers short duration trouble indicators, with the preferred primary short duration trouble indicators being the correlation witnessed between the incoming signal in a given frequency band and the same signal delayed by the estimated feedback loop time. If the short duration trouble indicators indicate that feedback squeal is likely and that the external feedback path is changing too quickly for accurate correction by the internal adaptive feedback reduction filter, when the signal level crosses the feedback transition threshold gain is reduced in that frequency band.
US08355515B2	Gaming headset and charging method An audio headset may comprise a case, near field microphone and far field microphone. A speaker, processor, memory, battery, charging interface and cradle detection circuit may be mounted to the case. Processor-executable instructions embodied in the memory, may be configured to implement a battery charging method. The headset may be shut off in response to placement of the headset in a charging cradle. The far-field microphone is turned on but not the near-field microphone. The battery may then be charged from the cradle. A headset having near-field and far-field microphones may be used to distinguish between user speech and competing sounds by generating signals from the sounds detected by each microphone and comparing the strengths of the signals. The signals may be processed as user speech if they are of comparable strength. Otherwise, the near-field signal may be processed as user speech and the far-field signal as competing sounds.
US08355511B2	System and method for envelope-based acoustic echo cancellation Systems and methods for envelope-based acoustic echo cancellation in a communication device are provided. In exemplary embodiments, a primary acoustic signal is received via a microphone of the communication device, and a far-end signal is received via a receiver. Frequency analysis is performed on the primary acoustic signal and the far-end acoustic signal to obtain frequency sub-bands. An echo gain mask based on magnitude envelopes of the primary and far-end acoustic signals for each frequency sub-band is generated. A noise gain mask based on at least the primary acoustic signal for each frequency sub-band may also be generated. A combination of the echo gain mask and noise gain mask may then be applied to the primary acoustic signal to generate a masked signal. The masked signal is then output.
US08355507B1	Optical switching and delay systems and methods for optical encryption and/or optical decryption An optical switching and delay system for optical encryption and/or optical decryption may comprise a switch bank, a set of optical delay lines, a combiner, and a processor. The switch bank may be configured to receive an optical signal in a first arrangement and route the optical signal to the set of optical delay lines according to a switching arrangement key. The set of optical delay lines may be configured to provide delays to the optical signal. The combiner may be configured to receive the optical signal with delays from the set of optical delay lines and combine the optical signal into a second arrangement. The processor may be configured to receive the switching arrangement key and control the switch bank according to the switching arrangement key. The switching arrangement key may comprise a set of instructions for routing the optical signal.
US08355506B2	Digital video recorder anti-skip system A method for producing scrambled content (FIG. 6A), the method including providing content (600) to be scrambled, identifying a first portion of the content (620), identifying a second portion of the content (630), computing a disguising function of at least part of the first portion (620) of the content and producing a result, and scrambling the second portion (630) of the content, the scrambling being based in part, on the result. Related apparatus and methods are also described.
US08355502B1	Evolved circuits for bitstream protection A security circuit for a reprogrammable logic IC includes an evolved circuit that ties the performance of the security circuit to the physical properties of that particular reprogrammable logic IC. The security circuit can be a decryption and/or encryption circuit that decrypts and/or encrypts, respectively, a configuration bitstream for the IC. Because of the link between the performance of the security circuit and the physical properties of the IC, the security circuit cannot be used in other ICs. For example, an encrypted bitstream that can be decrypted by the security circuit in a first IC will typically not be decrypted by the same security circuit in a second IC, since the physical properties of the two ICs will typically be different. The evolved circuit can comprise a portion of the security circuit, such as a security key generator, or it can comprise the full security circuit.
US08355493B2	Next generation auto-dialer A communications system for placing a plurality of calls with a common message to a plurality of subscribers via a public switched telephone network is provided. The communications system includes an end office switch disposed in an end office and in communication with the public switched telephone network. The communications system further includes an auto-dialer disposed in the end office and interconnected with the end office switch for placing the plurality of calls to the plurality of subscribers via the end office switch.
US08355485B2	System and method for reporting telecommunications utilization and forecasting A system and method for forecasting and reporting telecommunications usage by a telecommunications carrier. The method includes storing data indicative of telephone number usage of telephone numbers assigned to the telecommunications carrier in a first database. The first database may be queried to obtain a first set of data including telephone number information associated with the telecommunications carrier. A second database operating on a network may be queried to obtain a second set of data including telephone number information associated with the telecommunications carrier. Telephone number usage and forecast data may be generated from the first and second sets of data.
US08355477B1	Multi-lane communication with measurable latency Methods and structures are provided for multi-lane data communication with measurable latency. In a particular embodiment, part of a parallel data set is transmitted from a first device to a second device on a plurality of slave lanes and another part of the data set is transmitted from the first device to the second device on a master lane. A known master delay is applied to data in the master lane that is greater than or equal to the known maximum skew between the lanes. The slave lanes are delayed as needed to align their data with the master lane. In one embodiment, part of the known master lane delay is applied on the first device and another part is applied on the second device. In another embodiment, all of the known master lane delay is applied on the first device and none of it is applied on the second device. In another embodiment, all of the known master lane delay is applied on the second device and none of it is applied on the first device. In another embodiment, part or all of the master lane delay is applied on the link between devices.
US08355459B2	Method for transmitting and estimating symbols coded with a coding matrix, and corresponding receiver and transmitter An embodiment of a method for transmitting a sequence of symbols through at least a channel in a wireless communication system includes: forming a coding matrix with the sequence of symbols, each component of the coding matrix being a linear combination of two symbols among a first, a second, a third, and a fourth symbol (s1, s2, s3 , s4), transmitting a first component and a second component of a first column and of a second column of the coding matrix through a first transmit antenna and a second transmit antenna at a first and a second time slot wherein the coding matrix is defined as ( as 1 + bs 3 - cs 2 * - ds 4 * as 2 + bs 4 cs 1 * + ds 3 * ) , a, b, c, d being complex numbers of modulus 1.
US08355458B2	Apparatus, systems, methods and computer program products for producing a single frequency network for ATSC mobile / handheld services Producing coherent symbols from a plurality of digital RF transmitters is achieved by selecting data bytes corresponding to mobile-handheld encapsulation (MHE) packets and setting trellis coders to a predetermined state when a predetermined number of bits of the data bytes enter a corresponding trellis coder.
US08355454B2	Reception device, reception method and integrated circuit A reception device for receiving an OFDM signal whose level is maintained constant by performing an AGC control which adjusts an amplification gain by means of a discrete gain value includes an equalization section operable to execute an equalization process of detecting, respectively, distortions of a plurality of reference subcarriers regularly included in the OFDM signal on which the fast Fourier transform has been performed, and of estimating, by means of an interpolation using the detected distortions, a distortion of the OFDM signal, which distortion is caused by transmission path propagation so as to correct the estimated distortion of the OFDM signal, and the equalization section corrects, by using the AGC control signal, an estimated error of the distortion of the OFDM signal, which distortion is caused by a discrete amplification gain variation of the OFDM signal.
US08355451B2	Channel equalizer and method of processing broadcast signal in DTV receiving system A method of processing a digital broadcast signal includes Reed-Solomon (RS) encoding enhanced service data for each column of at least one RS frame payload and adding a Cyclic Redundancy Check (CRC) checksum byte at a right end of each row of the at least one RS frame payload to build at least one RS frame and forming data groups including the enhanced service data in the built RS frame and a plurality of known data sequences. Forming the data groups includes mapping the RS encoded enhanced service data into each of the data groups and inserting a place holder for a non-systematic RS parity into each of the data groups. The method further includes deinterleaving data in each of the data groups including the enhanced service data and the place holder and multiplexing the enhanced service data in each of the formed data groups with main service data.
US08355445B2	Method and apparatus for processing an image A method and apparatus for processing an image. The method and apparatus may each perform the operations of extracting motion information of an input signal calculating true motion information, which indicates whether an object of interest moves and an area where the object of interest moved, from the motion information, and deinterlacing the input signal by using the motion information with respect to an area that is determined to have true motion, such that the input signal is in a form before being compressed for transmission. The method and apparatus may further perform an operation of converting resolution of the deinterlaced input signal. In the converting of the resolution, the resolution may be converted by using the true motion information and the motion information.
US08355435B2	Transmission of packet data A method for transmitting encoded video data includes determining an available space for transmitting an encoded video data in a last remaining information block of a video packet. The method further includes if the available space is sufficient, based on a comparison of the an estimated size of the encoded video data with the available space, then transmitting the encoded video data using the last remaining information block of the video packet. The method further includes if the available space is insufficient, changing a coding scheme associated with the encoded video data to transform the encoded video data into reduced size video data and transmitting the reduced size video data using the last remaining information block of the video packet.
US08355403B2	Stale data removal using latency count in a WiMAX scheduler A system and method of removing items from a transmission scheduler queue includes assigning a latency count to each item indicating latency, i.e. time the item has remained in the system before being transmitted, adding a number of frames that have elapsed since a previous scheduler run to the latency count at each scheduler run to obtain a current latency count, comparing the current latency count to a removal period, which may be predetermined once or recalculated in each scheduler run, and removing the item if the comparison indicates that the current latency count exceeds the removal period before the item has been output from the queue.
US08355400B2	System and method for transmitting information over a plurality of communication links A system and method for transmitting information over a plurality of communication links. In one embodiment, the invention includes a method for transmitting information over a plurality of physical communication links. The method includes bonding the plurality of physical communication links to generate a logical link comprising the plurality of physical communication links. Control means are provided for controlling the logical link. The information is transmitted over the plurality of physical communication links belonging to the logical link under the control of the control means.
US08355398B2	Transporting real time video frames over an Ethernet network Systems and methods for real time data processing using a switching network and multiple digital signal processors (DSPs). In an embodiment, the system includes a first digital signal processor having a video port interface, a first interface disposed between the video port interface of the first digital signal processor and a switching network, a second digital signal processor having a video port interface, and a second interface disposed between the video port interface of the second digital processor and the switching network. The first interface is configured to parse a VSYNC line of a video frame that is output from the first digital signal processor via its video port interface to generate a multiplexing table based upon which scan lines of the video frame are broken up into packets compatible with the switching network such that the packets can be transmitted over the switching network and be received by the second interface and the second digital signal processor via its video port interface.
US08355397B2	Mobile body-mounted communication apparatus and address management apparatus A mobile body-mounted communication device mounted in a mobile body such as a vehicle and making difficult the long-time tracking of the moving path of the mobile body. The mobile body-mounted communication device mounted in a mobile body and used for transmitting/receiving packet information is characterized by comprising a borrowing address acquiring section for acquiring lending addresses as borrowed addresses from an address management device managing lending addresses, a borrowing time information acquiring section for acquiring information representing predetermined times during which the borrowing addresses can be used from the address management device, and a transmitting section for transmitting packet information including information on a borrowing address out of the borrowing addresses and the mobile body during the predetermined borrowing times determined for the borrowing addresses.
US08355390B2	Reduced interframe spacing in a wireless transmission system Providing wireless transmission, where in a first transmission mode, transmitting a plurality of frames using a first interframe spacing interval. When in a second transmission mode, transmitting the plurality of frames using a second interframe spacing interval, wherein the second interframe spacing is less than the first interframe spacing.
US08355387B2	System and method for bandwidth reservation protocol for spatial reuse in a wireless communication network A system and method for providing spatial reuse in a wireless network for communicating compressed and uncompressed audio/video is disclosed. A bandwidth reservation request for data communication with a receiver to a coordinator is transmitted. A first response indicating availability of the receiver for the data communication is received. A channel is listened to by a station for channel busy indication (CBI) messages transmitted by other stations in the wireless network. A local channel occupation report comprising data indicative of one or more time periods during which one or more other stations in the wireless network are scheduled to transmit data messages is transmitted to the coordinator. A second response comprising data indicative of one or more allocated channel time slots is received. Audio and/or video (A/V) data is transmitted to the receiver during the allocated channel time slots.
US08355382B2	Method and apparatus for providing WiMAX (worldwide interoperability for microwave access) anchor mode service on a system with distributed forwarding planes Transferring a mobile node from one ASN-GW (anchor access service network gateway) to another ASN-GW is referred to as a hand-over. To facilitate transfer of data for the hand-over, a GRE (generic routing encapsulation) tunnel is established between the two ASN-GWs. Traffic through the GRE tunnel arriving at a line card of an ASN-GW is redirected from the arrival line card to the one line card that contains information for the mobile node. The redirection is based on traversal of one or more tables on the line cards. These tables are indexed according to GRE keys corresponding to the mobile nodes. Therefore, the appropriate line card for the traffic can be identified quickly and efficiently using a distributed forwarding plane with minimal provisioning overhead, resulting in lower latency during the hand-over.
US08355378B2	Hierarchical cell deployment A hierarchical cell structure that may be applicable to any wireless communications network utilizing cells. One or more characteristics associated with a mobile device configured to communicate with the base stations via a wireless communications protocol are determined while the mobile device is communicating with a base station. The one or more characteristics are utilized to determine a subsequent base station to be the target of a handoff procedure.
US08355367B2	Method and apparatus for transmitting/receiving a reference signal in a wireless communication system A method and apparatus for transmitting/receiving reference signals in Long Term Evolution (LTE) and LTE-Advanced (LTE-A) systems includes determining whether a dedicated reference signal is detected in a current subframe; estimating, if a dedicated reference signal is detected in the current subframe, a data channel using the dedicated reference signal to receive data; and estimating, if no dedicated reference signal is detected in the current subframe, a data channel using a common reference signal detected in the current subframe to receive data. The transmission scheme uses a DeModulation Reference Signal (DM-RS) for channel response estimation. To secure backward compatibility of the LTE-A system, a Common Reference Signal is transmitted in normal subframes.
US08355366B2	Wireless communications node used in AD HOC network and method thereof A wireless communications node, being included in a multi-hop route starting from a source node and terminating at a destination node, has a receiving part configured to receive signals including transmission data prepared by the source node and transferring the received signals to a succeeding node, a preparing part configured to prepare source node data including at least identification data of the source node based on a predetermined portion of the transmission data, and a reporting part configured to report the source node data and relay data to a management node that manages cost data of plural nodes included in an ad hoc network. The relay data include the cost data and station data including at least identification data of the wireless communications node.
US08355363B2	Intelligent association of nodes with PAN coordinator According to one implementation of the present invention, a business logic application may function as a package tracking application to manage access to wireless access points in different WLANs along the route. A sensor node is initialized and configured with one or more connection parameter sets allowing it to associate with a given wireless network implemented by one or more access points. Before the sensor node disassociates with the wireless access point, the wireless access point transmits a new connection parameter set to the sensor node. This new connection parameter set may include a network ID for another wireless network. In one implementation, the sensor node re-initializes itself using the new connection parameter set information. This process may continue until the sensor node arrives at its final destination.
US08355358B2	Distributed MAC architecture for wireless repeater A method and apparatus for communicating between devices is described. In one embodiment, the method comprises running two or more instances of a switch MAC sublayer on a switch and managing the two or more instances of the switch MAC sublayer as multiple logical access points inside the switch.
US08355357B2	Apparatus and method for admission control for service flow in broadband wireless access communication system using multi-hop relay scheme An apparatus and method for an admission control for a service flow in a broadband wireless access communication system using a multi-hop relay scheme is provided. In a method for operating a relay station in a broadband wireless communication system using a multi-hope relay scheme, a request message requesting an admission control decision for a service flow is received from an upper node. It is determined whether a requested QoS parameter set included in the request message is supportable. If the requested QoS parameter set is supportable, the request message is forwarded to a subordinate relay station corresponding to a next hop in a data transmission path. If the requested QoS parameter set is unsupportable, a response message indicating the unsupportability of the requested QoS parameter set is transmitted to a base station.
US08355350B2	Method and apparatus for power control in a radio communication system Power control in a communication system (100) employing a Downlink Shared Control Channel (DSCH) and a Forward Access Control Channel (FACH) is described. The method includes, applying power control on the Downlink Shared Control Channel; deriving power control information from the power control on the Downlink Shared Control Channel; and applying to the Forward Access Control Channel the derived power control information from the power control on the Downlink Shared Control Channel in order to produce power control on the Forward Access Control Channel. The power control of the Forward Access Control Channel may be implemented by scheduling data in response to the derived power control information.
US08355346B2	Mobile communication method, mobile communication system and access entity An embodiment of the invention provides a communication system. The communication system includes a user equipment which is moving within a coverage of a first network and a second network and is configured to send a location update request to a third access entity of the second network; and the third access entity which is configured to receive the location update request from the user equipment, acquire information of a first access entity of the first network from the location update request and determine whether a predetermined condition is satisfied If the predetermined condition is not satisfied, the user equipment is paged through the first access entity, and if the predetermined condition is satisfied, the user equipment is not paged through the first access entity. As such, the situation that the UE is paged in an area where it is unlikely to appear can be avoided.
US08355343B2	Determining associations in a mesh network Determining associations in wireless mesh networks are provided. In a mesh network that includes a wired border node and multiple wireless nodes, each wireless node advertises a backhaul throughput approximating the throughput between that wireless node and the wired border node. Using the advertised backhaul throughput information and the stored local throughput information, a receiving node determines a node association from among various candidate nodes.
US08355336B2	Methods and apparatus for formatting headers in a communication frame Methods and apparatus for formatting headers for data packets within a communication frame for use in a wireless communication system are presented. Formatting headers includes determining the size of a wireless communication frame, and formatting the payloads and associated headers within the communication frame according to the determined size. This formatting includes placing headers at the beginning of the frame before the data packets corresponding to the headers to optimize processing of the headers at a receiver. Formatting may also include formatting the headers according to a first format within the frame when the determined frame size is below a predetermined size to optimize the size of the headers, and formatting according to a second format within the frame size of the data packet is equal to or greater than the predetermined size to optimize processing for frames having large data packets.
US08355327B2	Methods and devices for daisy chain CE device power save modes A daisy chain device including a first active mode of operation and a second low power mode of operation. In the first active mode of operation the daisy chain device supplies or receives multimedia data containing at least two types of data. In the second low power mode of operation the daisy chain device relays only predefined data types and consumes less power. Wherein the daisy chain connection includes wires and the transmissions in the different modes of operation are over the same wires.
US08355320B1	Systems and methods for providing presence information Systems and methods for communicating presence information are provided. A communication station establishes a persistent connection with a proxy server and a temporary connection with a presence server. The temporary connection is established independent of the proxy server. The communication station provides and obtains presence information directly from the presence server over the temporary connection. After providing or obtaining information, the communication station terminates the temporary connection, while still maintaining the persistent connection with the proxy server.
US08355318B2	Node apparatus interconnecting ring network There is provided a node apparatus having a plurality of interface units for interfacing to a transmission line, switch units of a work system and a protection system for switching signals of the transmission line, and a service selector used to relieve a network failure over ring networks interconnected by node apparatuses, the node apparatus including a first controller for controlling the service selector in the switch units, and a second controller for controlling setting information of alarm detection in case of using the service selector in the interface units.
US08355309B2	Optical pickup device An optical pickup device includes a first optical system and a second optical system. The first optical system and the second optical system each include a mirror member that reflects light from a light source to change a direction of propagation of the light to a direction substantially perpendicular to the information storage surface of an optical disc. The first optical system and the second optical system are arranged such that a direction in which light from a first light source enters a first mirror member is substantially perpendicular to a direction in which light from a second light source enters a second mirror member.
US08355308B2	Optical recording medium and recording and reading method of optical recording medium An optical recording and reading method capable of enhancing the design flexibility of recording layers of an optical recording medium and performing accurate optical recording and reading operations. A basic recording layer is arranged in a position that is in the range of 90 μm to 110 μm away from a light incident surface of an optical recording medium, and recording layers are arranged in parallel with the basic recording layer. At least the position information of the recording layers is recorded in one of the basic recording layer and the recording layers.
US08355307B2	Optical recording method, optical recording device, master medium exposure device, optical information recording medium, and reproducing method An optical recording method includes the steps of: encoding record data to generate encoded data which is a combination of marks and spaces; classifying the encoded data according to a combination of a mark length of the mark, a space length of a first space that immediately precedes the mark, and a space length of a second space that immediately succeeds the mark; generating a write pulse train for forming the mark, in which at least one of a leading end edge position, a trailing end edge position and a pulse width of the write pulse train is changed according to a classification result; and irradiating the optical disc medium with the write pulse train generated to form the plurality of marks on the optical disc medium.
US08355306B2	Optical recording medium, information recording method, and information reproducing method According to one embodiment, an optical recording medium is provided in which interlayer crosstalk is low and in which stable and high-quality recording characteristics can be obtained. To this end, an optical recording medium comprises a first recording part which includes a first recording layer and a first light reflecting layer and which is disposed on a side closer to a light receiving surface, and a second recording part which includes a second recording layer and a second light reflecting layer and which is disposed on a side farther from the light receiving surface, the first recording part and the second recording part being stacked, wherein the thickness of the second light reflecting layer is larger than the thickness of the first light reflecting layer.
US08355304B2	Optical information recording medium, reproducing device for optical information recording medium, control method and control program for the reproducing device, and medium with the control program recorded therein A super-resolution medium (1) has a medium identification information for specifying a type of medium recorded in a medium information area (3) by use of pre-pits having a length not shorter than a length of a resolution limit of an optical system in a reproducing device (10).
US08355293B2	Retention voltage generation An integrated circuit and method includes retention voltage generation circuitry which receives a supply voltage from a supply voltage node and provides a retention voltage. Functional circuitry is connected between the retention voltage node and a reference voltage node and is held in a data retention state when at least a minimum voltage is provided between the retention voltage node and the reference voltage node. Each of the circuits includes at least one p-type threshold device and at least one n-type threshold device, both having a characteristic threshold voltage. The p-type and n-type threshold devices are connected in parallel between the supply voltage node and the retention voltage node. A variation in the characteristic threshold voltage of either of the at least one p-type or the at least one n-type device maintains at least the minimum voltage between the retention voltage node and the reference voltage node.
US08355277B2	Biasing circuit and technique for SRAM data retention A SRAM system includes: a SRAM cell array coupled between high and low supply nodes, a difference therebetween defining a data retention voltage (VDR) for a low power data retention mode; a main power switch coupling one of high and low supply nodes to a main power supply and disconnecting the one high and low supply nodes from the main power supply during the low power data retention mode; a monitor cell including a SRAM cell preloaded with a data bit and configured for data destruction responsive to a reduction in VDR before data destruction occurs in the SRAM cell array; and a clamping power switch responsive to data destruction in the monitor cell to couple the one of the high and low supply nodes to the main power supply.
US08355275B2	Resistance change memory According to one embodiment, a resistance change memory includes a memory cell including a resistance change element and a stacked layer structure which are connected in series, a control circuit configured to control a first operation of changing the resistance change element from a first resistance value to a second resistance value lower than the first resistance value, and a voltage pulse generating circuit configured to generate a first voltage pulse to be applied to the memory cell in the first operation. The stacked layer structure includes two conductive layers and an insulating layer formed between the two conductive layers. Amplitude of the first voltage pulse is in a first voltage area in which the stacked layer structure functions as a capacitor. The first voltage pulse satisfies Ron×C
US08355274B2	Current steering element, storage element, storage device, and method for manufacturing current steering element A current steering element which can prevent occurrence of write disturb even when electric pulses having different polarities are applied and can cause large current to flow through a variable resistance element, and with which data can be written without problem. In a storage element (3) including: a variable resistance element (1) whose electric resistance value changes in response to application of electric pulses having a positive polarity and a negative polarity and which maintains the changed electric resistance value; and the current steering element (2) that steers current flowing through the variable resistance element (1) when the electric pulses are applied, the current steering element (2) includes: a first electrode (32); a second electrode (31); and a current steering layer (33) interposed between the first electrode (32) and the second electrode (31). When the current steering layer (33) includes SiNx (0
US08355271B2	Memory system with reversible resistivity-switching using pulses of alternate polarity A memory system includes a plurality of non-volatile storage elements that each comprise a diode (or other steering device) in series with reversible resistance-switching material. One or more circuits in the memory system program the non-volatile storage elements by changing the reversible resistance-switching material of one or more non-volatile storage elements to a first resistance state. The memory system can also change the reversible resistance-switching material of one or more of the non-volatile storage elements from the first resistance state to a second resistance state by applying one or more pairs of opposite polarity voltage conditions (e.g., pulses) to the respective diodes (or other steering devices) such that current flows in the diodes (or other steering devices) without operating the diodes (or other steering devices) in breakdown condition.
US08355264B2	Mounting plate for a notification appliance A mounting plate assembly for a notification appliance is disclosed. For example, a mounting plate is designed with at least one aperture for receiving a plurality of leads, e.g., from a backbox. In turn, these leads can be received by a plurality of contacts that are deployed on the mounting plate. In one embodiment, at least two of these contacts are in physical contact with each other at a juncture, thereby providing connectivity between these two contacts. However, the physical contact at the juncture is non-resettable, i.e., if a force is applied to the juncture, then the connectivity is severed and the physical contact between the two contacts cannot be easily re-established even if the force is removed.
US08355261B2	Systems and methods to secure a circuit board In some embodiments, a device includes a first element to couple the device to a first portion of a computer chassis; and a first pliant portion coupled to the first element and to inhibit disconnection of a circuit board. In some embodiments, a system includes a chassis having a circuit board slot coupled thereto; a circuit board coupled to the circuit board slot; and a device coupled to the chassis, the device having a first pliant portion to inhibit disconnection of the circuit board from the circuit board slot. In some embodiments, a system includes a chassis having a circuit board slot coupled thereto; a SONET interface card coupled to the circuit board slot; and a device coupled to the chassis, the device having a first pliant portion to inhibit disconnection of the SONET interface card from the circuit board slot.
US08355260B2	Portable terminal A portable terminal includes a main body unit having an opening at a side thereof, a port cover rotatably formed on the side of the main body unit to open or close the opening, and a port assembly formed within the main body unit configured to be projected out of the opening when the port cover opens the opening.
US08355256B2	Mounting apparatus for data storage device A mounting apparatus is provided for holding a data storage device. The mounting apparatus includes a bracket to receive the data storage device, and a latching unit. The bracket includes a first side plate. The latching unit includes a fixing tray fixed to the first side plate, a sliding member slidably mounted in the fixing tray, and a pushing member pivotably mounted to the fixing tray. The pushing member includes a pressed portion operable of resisting against the sliding member, and a moving portion to abut against the data storage device. When the sliding member is slid in the fixing tray to move the pressed portion, the pushing member is rotated. Therefore, the moving portion is rotated to eject the data storage device from the bracket.
US08355246B2	Modular air management devices The invention provides modular air management devices for directing or diverting air flow within an equipment cabinet or enclosure to provide adequate cooling for non-“front to back” breathing electronic devices, and include a scoop assembly, a tray assembly, a vertical mount assembly, and a shroud assembly. The air management devices are designed to direct air flow to and from “side to side” breathing and “side inlet, rear exhaust” electronic equipment. The assemblies may be mounted inside or outside enclosure rails and may be augmented with fan assemblies.
US08355245B2	Display device A display device includes a display part, a base part including a neck part projecting from a surface thereof to support the display part, a connecting bracket having a first end formed to be insertable into the neck part, and a guide bracket disposed in the display part to guide a second end of the connecting bracket to be connectable with the display part. Accordingly, the display device can have a slim external appearance and a base part with a simple structure.
US08355243B2	Closed door circuit breaker racking extension A closed door circuit breaker racking extension assembly is provided which enables a circuit breaker contained within a cell of a switchgear enclosure to be racked-in or racked-out without opening the cell door and without fear of explosive gases and debris being discharged from the cell through the extension assembly of this invention in the event of an arc-fault explosion.
US08355239B2	Predictive phase locked loop system A phase locked loop (PLL) circuit includes a first signal detector having a first input terminal configured to receive a varying first input signal, a second input terminal configured to receive a feedback signal that corresponds to the center of the input frequency, and an output terminal configured to provide an output signal corresponding to a phase difference between the first input and feedback signals. A delay estimator has an input terminal configured to receive the output signal from the first phase detector and in response thereto, output a phase difference estimation signal. A variable delay circuit has an input terminal configured to receive the phase difference estimation signal and in response thereto, phase shift the second input signal.
US08355237B2	Ion generator A maintenance operation of an ion generator can be easily performed. A device main body has an inner case and an outer case, and the inner case having a support block and an air supply pipe is inserted into the outer case. An opposite electrode is detachably mounted in the support block from a front side of the device main body, and a discharge needle unit is detachably mounted from a reversed direction thereto. The discharge needle unit has a holder, in which the discharge electrode is provided, and a sleeve, which forms an ion generating space between the opposite electrode and the sleeve, is detachably mounted in the holder. Air supplied from an outside is supplied to the ion generating space via a flow path in the air supply pipe.
US08355235B2	Driving apparatus and control method for electric actuator A plurality of reference signals output from a controller which computes an operation amount of an electric actuator is subjected to the logical operation, and the power supply to a drive circuit for the electric actuator is shut off based on an output by the logical operation.
US08355231B2	Apparatus and method for protecting battery pack by detecting destruction of sense resistor in battery pack An apparatus for protecting a battery pack includes a fuse and a sense resistor, connected on a circuit path along which a charging or discharging current flows, and a fuse control switch for controlling the fuse. Also, the apparatus further includes a Schottky diode having one end connected to the sense resistor and the other end connected to the fuse control switch. Thus, destruction of a sense resistor serving an important role in the battery pack protecting apparatus is detected to melt and cut the fuse, thereby preventing any element from being damaged due to overcurrent and thus improving the safety of a battery pack at a low cost.
US08355227B2	Electrostatic discharge circuitry with damping resistor An apparatus formed on a substrate includes a pad, electrostatic discharge circuitry, and a metal damping resistor connected between the pad and the electrostatic discharge circuitry.
US08355219B2	Tape cartridge formatted with predetermined error patterns for testing a tape head of a tape drive A tape drive assembly for data storage on a magnetic tape includes a tape head, a cartridge receiver and a controller. The cartridge receiver selectively receives a cartridge having a test tape formatted at a predetermined location with data errors with predetermined type, size and distribution representative of data errors in tape drives. The test tape is able to measure the quality of heads in suspect tape drives by comparing the ratio of the error count successfully recovered by the suspect head to that recovered by the reference drive while reading the same error distributions.
US08355210B2	Zoom camera module A zooming camera module includes a first lens group, a second lens group, and a third lens group. The first lens group is implemented on an optical axis at a fixed position, and has a negative total optical power. The second lens group is implemented on the optical axis and can be moved back and forth along the optical axis, to achieve zooming and focusing. The second lens group has a positive total optical power, and includes a liquid lens unit and at least one lens with non-zero optical power, wherein the at least one lens and the liquid lens are separately or integrally configured. The third lens group is implemented on the optical axis at a fixed position, and has a non-zero total optical power.
US08355208B1	Quick adjustment mechanism for head or helmet mounted displays A quick adjustment assembly for a head or helmet mounted display. The quick adjustment assembly includes an adjustment plate assembly securely attachable to the head of a user via a helmet or head gear. An eye relief assembly is mountable on the adjustment plate assembly. The eye relief assembly includes a main frame for supporting at least one image source assembly (ISA). A pair of opposing pressure plate assemblies are supported by the main frame. Each pressure plate assembly includes an eye relief adjustment release element engageable by the user; and at least one pressure plate friction pad assembly operatively engageable with the adjustment plate assembly. The pressure plate friction pad assembly provides selectable positioning of the eye relief assembly along a plane of movement relative to the adjustment plate assembly allowing three-degrees of freedom movement along the plane of movement. The eye relief assembly preferably includes an interpupillary (IPD) adjustment assembly securely mounted thereon.
US08355199B1	Optical RF filter wavelength locked to laser with fixed offset frequency An optical filter is disclosed, including a first optical filter adapted to receive a first optical signal including an optical carrier frequency and a plurality of interference signal components. The first filter produces an output signal at the optical carrier frequency and a reflection signal. The output signal is split into a peak detection path signal and a re-insertion path signal. An optical power detector converts the peak detection path signal into an electrical control signal and aligns the optical carrier frequency to a resonance frequency of the first filter to maximize the power of the optical carrier frequency. A second optical filter receives the reflection signal and selects at least one spectral component while rejecting other spectral components and outputs a filtered signal that carries the selected spectral component. A signal combiner receives and combines the filtered signal and the re-insertion path signal.
US08355192B2	Optical scanning apparatus The optical scanning apparatus including a light source unit having plurality laser light sources for emitting laser light and one lens in which the laser light emitted from the plurality laser light sources is transmitted, a deflect device that deflects and scans the laser light on an image bearing member, an optical member that images the laser light on the image bearing member, a housing that internally includes the deflect device and the optical member, the housing forms an opening portion that passes through the laser light emitted from the plurality of the laser light sources, and an elastic member that blocks a gap between the lens and the opening portion, the elastic member being pinched between the lens and the housing. It achieves sealing of the flow-in path and sealing of the gap between the light source unit and the housing with a simple configuration.
US08355188B2	Document guiding mechanism A document guiding mechanism includes a document supporting tray, a gearwheel coupled to the document supporting tray, a right guiding unit, a left guiding unit and a single-way latch means. The right guiding unit includes a right guiding wall positioned on the document supporting tray and a right linear gear extended from the right guiding wall and engaged with the gearwheel. The left guiding unit includes a left guiding wall positioned on the document supporting tray and opposite to and parallel to the right guiding wall, and a left linear gear extended from the left guiding wall and engaged with the gearwheel. The single-way latch means interconnects the document supporting tray and at least one of the right guiding unit and the left guiding unit. The right guiding wall and the left guiding wall can be kept at a suitable position by the single-way latch means.
US08355177B2	Image processing apparatus, image forming apparatus, image processing method, and computer-readable storage medium containing image processing program The image processing apparatus of the present invention includes: a bit number correction process section for converting tones of binary image data into a maximum tone and a minimum tone of multilevel image data; a spatial filter section for performing a smoothing process on image data resulting from the bit number conversion; and an enlarging/reducing section for performing an interpolation process on the image data subjected to the smoothing process so that smoothness of tones of the image data is maintained, the image data subjected to the interpolation process being supplied to the image display device.This allows an image display device for displaying multilevel image data to display a preview image of binary image data without deteriorating the quality of image data.
US08355171B2	Alignment compensation by printer driver A method of compensating for misalignment of a print engine of an image forming apparatus, which includes: (a) forwarding a request from a host computer having a printer driver to an image forming apparatus for reference data of a printable area of the print engine; (b) sending the reference data of the printable area of the print engine to the printer driver; (c) comparing the reference data of the printable area of the print engine to an ideal reference data of the printable area of a print job; and (d) if the reference data of the printable area of the print engine is different than the ideal reference data of the printable area of the print job, generating a new reference data of the printable area of the printable area to adjust for the difference in printable area between the ideal reference data of the printable area of the print job and the reference data of the printable area of the print engine.
US08355168B2	Processing apparatus, image reading processing apparatus, image forming apparatus, image processing method, and storage medium, all of which carry out automatic color selection (ACS) regardless of color setting of output image data In an image processing apparatus, a color/monochrome determination section determines whether color image data is image data indicative of a color document or image data indicative of a monochrome document, regardless of which color setting is selected to output image data, and a control section stores a determination result and the color image data in a storage device so that they are correlated with each other. Upon receiving a change instruction to change the color setting, the control section generates output image data, following a color setting that is changed according to the change instruction, on the basis of the determination result and the color image data each stored in the storage device. As a result, even if the color setting is desired to be changed, it is possible to carry out output processing without reading the document from an image reading apparatus again.
US08355165B2	Image processing apparatus and control method for restoring color image data An apparatus is capable of processing luminance data and color-difference data of color image data. The apparatus includes a generation unit configured to generate digital watermark image data based on the color-difference data of the color image data, and an output unit configured to output the luminance data and the digital watermark image data generated by the generation unit. Color image data can be generated based on the digital watermark image data and the luminance data output from the output unit.
US08355137B2	System and method for chirped pulse interferometry The device is based on a cross-correlator which measures the signal between a pair of oppositely chirped laser pulses. Two laser pulses, one with a positive chirp and one with a negative chirp, are mixed on a beamsplitter. The two resulting beams pass through a reference or a sample arm and are subsequently mixed on a non-linear crystal. The signal from the interferometer is the sum frequency generation produced in that crystal. The reference arm contains a moveable delay which is used to change the relative timing of the two beams in the interferometer. The sum frequency generation in the narrow band of frequencies is the signal from the device and is measured as a function of the delay. Alternatively, a pure dispersive phase shift could be used in place of the two laser pulses.
US08355131B2	Device and method for acquiring image data from a turbid medium A device and method of acquiring image data from a turbid medium using a diffuse optical tomography device including irradiating the turbid medium at a plurality of first spatial positions, collecting light emanating from the turbid medium at a plurality of second spatial positions, splitting the light collected from each second spatial position into at least two optical channels, measuring the intensity of the split light in each optical channel of the at least two optical channels using photo detectors, and reconstructing an image of the turbid medium from the measured intensities.
US08355123B2	Defect inspection apparatus and its method A defect inspection apparatus for inspecting defects on an inspecting object includes an illuminator which irradiates a beam of light on the inspecting object, a photo-detector which detects rays of light from the inspecting object due to the irradiation of the light beam by the illuminator, a defect detector which detects a defect by processing a signal obtained through detection by the photo-detector, a characteristic quantity calculator which calculates a characteristic quantity related to a size of the defect, and a defect size calculator which uses a relation between size and characteristic quantity which is calculated by an optical simulation and calculates a size of the detected defect.
US08355121B2	Device for measuring the diffusion and/or absorption and/or refraction of a sample Device for measuring at least one of diffusion, absorption and refraction of a sample, having a radiation source, at least one receiving element, an optical imaging element and a protection element, the radiation source and the receiving element being arranged on the sensor side of the optical imaging element, the protection element being arranged on the sample side of the imaging element and adjacent to the imaging element and the radiation source. A refraction radiation source and a refraction receiver are arranged on the sensor side of the imaging element and arranged relative to the imaging element so that the refraction radiation of the sample specularly reflected by the sample side interface of the protection element can essentially be received by the refraction receiver and the radiation specularly reflected by the imaging element side interface of the protection element essentially cannot be received by the refraction receiver.
US08355111B2	Load driving device, illumination device, display device A load driving device according to the present invention is provided with: an enabling control section generating an enabling signal from an externally inputted PWM signal; and a load driving section that is turned on/off according to the enabling signal, and that PWM-drives the load according to the PWM signal.
US08355099B2	Plasmonic device tuned using liquid crystal molecule dipole control A plasmonic display device is provided with liquid crystal dipole molecule control. The device is made from a first set of electrodes including at least one electrically conductive top electrode and at least one electrically conductive bottom electrode capable of generating a first electric field in a first direction. A second set of electrodes, including an electrically conductive right electrode and an electrically conductive left electrode, is capable of generating a second electric field in a second first direction. A dielectric layer overlies the bottom electrode, made from a liquid crystal material with molecules having dipoles responsive to an electric field. A plasmonic layer, including a plurality of discrete plasmonic particles, is interposed between the first and second set of electrodes and in contact with the dielectric layer. In one aspect, the plasmonic layer is embedded in the dielectric layer.
US08355088B2	Thin film transistor array panel for liquid crystal display having pixel electrode overlaping data and gate lines with different widths and areas A TFT array panel includes an insulating substrate, a gate line, a storage electrode line, a gate insulating layer, a semiconductor island formed on the gate insulating layer, and a data line and a drain electrode formed thereon. The data line and drain electrode are covered with a passivation layer. A pixel electrode is formed on the passivation layer and connected to the drain electrode through a contact hole. The TFT array panel is covered with an alignment layer rubbed approximately in a direction from the upper left corner to lower right corner of the TFT array panel or the pixel electrodes. The pixel electrode overlaps the gate line and data line and has an expansion located near the upper left corner of the pixel electrode to increase the width of the corresponding overlapping area between the pixel electrode and the gate line and/or data line.
US08355082B2	Method of controlling first information apparatus connectable to second information apparatus According to an aspect of an embodiment, a method of controlling a first information apparatus connectable to a second information apparatus having a display, the second information apparatus being capable of reproducing video image based on video information obtained from a remote source independently from the first information apparatus, the method has storing command code information of the second information apparatus in association with identification information of the second information apparatus, receiving a command indicating a power-on operation of the second information apparatus while the second information apparatus is connected to the first information apparatus, executing a software program upon confirmation of the command indicating the power-on operation of the second information apparatus in reference to the command code information and outputting image data produced by the software program to the second information apparatus so as to display an image corresponding to the image data on the display.
US08355081B2	Digital display control device and method thereof The invention discloses a display control device and method thereof. The display control device and method thereof utilize the phase deviation and the frequency deviation between the output signal and the input signal caused during channel switching to provide converting time acceptable by a display device and to achieve the objective of balancing the data stream transmission.
US08355080B2	Image reader for use in an image forming apparatus, and contamination check method of guide film for the same An image forming apparatus having an image reading table includes a document glass installed on an upper side of the image reading table, to support a document; an image reading sensor installed under the document glass, to perform an image reading operation; a cover to selectively cover the document glass; an automatic document feeder (ADF) to feed a document along an image reading path, past the image reading sensor; a document discharging plate to support a document discharged from the ADF; a first guide member; a guide film attached to the first guide member; and an image forming part to form the image on a printable medium. The guide film includes a first guide film portion and a second guide film portion, the first guide film portion is in planar contact with the document glass and the second guide film portion guides the document toward the ADF.
US08355074B2	Exposing pixel groups in producing digital images An imaging system and method for producing a digital image from pixel signals captured by a pixel array is disclosed. First pixel signals, generated during a first exposure period, are read out from a first group of pixels of the pixel array. The first group of pixels is reset after reading out the first pixel signals. Second pixel signals from the first group of pixel are read out after resetting the first group of pixels. The second pixel signals are generated during a second exposure period. Third pixel signals from a second group of pixels of the pixel array are read out. The third pixel signals are generated during a third exposure period that overlaps at least a portion of the first and second exposure periods. The first, second, and third pixel signals are used to produce the digital image.
US08355067B2	Solid state imaging device and imaging apparatus A solid state imaging device is provided and includes: a semiconductor substrate a photoelectric conversion element including a pair of electrodes and a photoelectric conversion layer sandwiched between the pair of electrodes; a signal output circuit including an MOS transistor for outputting a signal responsive to an electric charge generated by the photoelectric conversion layer; a first electric charge storage section which is provided in the semiconductor substrate and in which the electric charge generated by the photoelectric conversion layer is directly stored; a second electric charge storage section provided in the semiconductor substrate and connected to a gate of an output transistor in the signal output circuit; and an electric charge transfer section that transfers the electric charge, stored in the first electric charge storage section, to the second electric charge storage section.
US08355066B2	Solid-state imaging apparatus having decoders for resetting switches A solid-state imaging apparatus includes: a pixel region including a plurality of pixels, each including a photoelectric conversion element, arranged in matrix, and a reset switch for discharging electric charge of the photoelectric conversion element; and a first scanning circuit for supplying a reset control signal for controlling an operation of the reset switch, the pixel region and the first scanning circuit being formed on a semiconductor substrate, in which the pixel region includes a first pixel region and a second pixel region, and the first scanning circuit includes a first decoder for controlling the operation of the reset switch arranged in the first pixel region, and a second decoder for controlling the operation of the reset switch arranged in the second pixel region.
US08355063B2	Camera noise reduction for machine vision systems A method for reducing noise in an image from an image capture device includes filter the image using both an offset fixed pattern noise filter and a gain fixed pattern noise filter. Thereafter, the image is filtered using a remnant fixed pattern noise filter to reduce remnant fixed pattern noise.
US08355051B2	Anti-vibration actuator, and lens unit and camera equipped with same To provide an anti-vibration actuator capable of obtaining a large drive force while avoiding an increase in size. An anti-vibration actuator (10) for moving an image-stabilizing lens (16) within a plane perpendicular to the optical axis thereof, including a fixed portion (12); a movable portion (14) to which the image-stabilizing lens is attached; a movable portion support means (18) for supporting the movable portion to permit translational and rotational movement within a plane parallel to the fixed portion; and first drive means (20a, 22a), second drive means (20b, 22b), and third drive means (20c, 22c) respectively disposed around the image-stabilizing lens for driving the movable portion relative to the fixed portion; whereby the drive force which can be generated by the third drive means differs from the drive forces which can be generated by the first and second drive means.
US08355038B2	Systems for capturing images through a display Embodiments of the present invention are directed to a visual-collaborative system enabling geographically distributed groups to engage in face-to-face, interactive collaborative video conferences. In one aspect, a visual-collaborative system (400) comprises a display screen, a camera system, and a projector. The display screen (402) has a first surface (410) and a second surface (416), and the camera system is positioned to capture images of objects through the display screen. The projector (404,602,702) is positioned to project images onto the first surface that can be observed by viewing the second surface. The wavelengths of light used to produce the projected images are different from with the wavelengths of light used to capture images.
US08355034B2	Driving method for local dimming of liquid crystal display device and apparatus using the same A driving method for local dimming of a LCD device includes dividing a frame into a plurality of blocks corresponding to a plurality of dimming blocks of a backlight unit, calculating an average value of each color in a block by analyzing image data of the block and determining, for the block, a local dimming value of each color corresponding to the average value of the color, detecting a maximum value among the average values of respective colors in the block determining a luminance local dimming value corresponding to the maximum value in the block, driving a plurality of LEDs corresponding to the block in the backlight unit on a color basis according to the local dimming value of each color in the block, or a color basis using the same luminance local dimming value according to whether the block is a chromatic color area or an achromatic color area.
US08355031B2	Portable electronic devices with adjustable display orientation A portable electronic device is provided. The electronic device includes a device body having at least one accessory interface and at least one display device positioned on a surface of the device body. The electronic device also includes a display driver device communicatively coupled to the display device and configured for receiving data for presentation on the display device and generating signals for causing the data to be presented on the display device. In the electronic device, the display driver device selects one orientation from a plurality of pre-defined orientations for the data on the display device based at least on a current orientation of the device body and a status of the accessory interface.
US08355029B1	Systems for and methods of processing signals in a graphics format According to one aspect, the invention provides an apparatus for converting data encoded in a graphics signal to at least one output signal. The apparatus includes an input, a plurality of outputs, signal processing circuitry and a controller. The input is adapted to receive the graphics signal where the graphics signal includes a plurality of frames generated at least in part from original data. The signal processing circuitry is adapted to locate, in the graphics signal, data corresponding to the original data, convert the data corresponding to the original data to output data and communicate the output data to the plurality of outputs. The controller is adapted to monitor a capacity of the signal processing circuitry and generate a signal that results in at least one disposable frame being added to the plurality of frames. The signal processing circuitry is adapted to discard the at least one disposable frame.
US08355027B2	System and method for presenting visual information at plural display devices A dual transceiver architecture provides source and sink device capabilities for communicating visual information between information handling systems and displays. A detector determines whether a cable connected to a port provides visual information or receives digital information. If visual information is received at a port, the visual information is provided to an adjacent port through a dual transceiver architecture so that the visual information is available to forward to another display, information handling system or other device. A common connector configuration simplifies the connection of multiple displays or devices, such as in a daisy chain configuration.
US08355026B2	System, method, and program for displaying multiple windows having different resolutions To allow a resolution to be changed by a single drawing command for each window instead of using different drawing commands in an application program depending on resolutions, in order to display a plurality of windows having different resolutions on a single display screen by use of a drawing facility for drawing a window specified by a drawing command from an application program with a resolution selected from a plurality of resolutions, first, windows to be drawn are registered in a list. The list is accessed in response to a drawing command from an application program to determine the resolution of a window to be drawn. The drawing facility is instructed to draw the window with the determined resolution. The image of the window drawn by the drawing facility is written into a frame buffer. The image is read from the frame buffer and displayed on a screen.
US08355022B2	Method and apparatus for aggregating light sources per-vertex in computer graphics A method for use in computer graphics includes establishing a surface that is represented by at least one polygon that includes a plurality of vertices, establishing one or more light sources that are configured to illuminate the surface, and computing an aggregate light source position for each vertex of the polygon, wherein the computation for each vertex includes averaging directions from the vertex to the one or more light sources. A storage medium stores a computer program, and an apparatus includes a display and a processor based system.
US08355009B2	Method and apparatus for determining coordinates of simultaneous touches on a touch sensor pad Apparatuses and methods are provided for determining coordinates of simultaneous touches on a touch sensor pad. A touch sensor pad includes a first plurality of resistive sensor strips on a first resistive sheet and a second plurality of resistive sensor strips on a second resistive sheet. A user touches the touch sensor pad at multiple locations simultaneously. A controller of the touch sensor pad determines coordinates of each of the multiple locations of touch independently of other touches. To determine coordinates for a touch, the controller identifies a first strip of the first plurality of resistive sensor strips of the first resistive sheet making contact with a second strip of the second plurality of resistive sensor strips of the second resistive sheet in response to the touch. The controller measures voltages of the strips to determine coordinates of the touch and measures resistance shifts in the strips due to touches to determine contact area of the touch which correlates to the types of objects causing the touch and the pressure of the touch.
US08355005B2	Touch panel A touch panel includes a light guide including a first face for detecting the position of an object in contact therewith and a second face opposite the first face, and a line sensor for receiving light emitted from a side face of the light guide plate, wherein, of light irradiated from the second face side, the light guide guides toward the side face the portion of light reflected by the object.
US08355004B2	Keyboard device and electronic equipment using same There is provided a keyboard device with a lamination body, the lamination body comprising: a translucent touch panel; a symbol printing film on which arbitrary symbols are printed; a surface emission layer that illuminates the symbol printing film, wherein the touch panel is arranged on an upper surface side of the symbol printing film, the surface emission layer is arranged on a lower surface side of the symbol printing film, and an input operation surface that is placed on the outermost surface of the keyboard device is flat.
US08355003B2	Controller lighting activation by proximity and motion Mechanisms for controlling lighting activation by taking into account proximity and motion data are disclosed. Controllers can have cosmetic and/or functional lighting that can be controlled by proximity detectors and/or motion detectors, and such lighting can vary in color, intensity, and/or pattern. Proximity detectors can use capacitance, lighting, and/or sound data to determine the proximity of objects to the controllers, and motion detectors can use accelerometers and/or gyroscopes to determine the motion of such controllers. Additionally, controllers can start radio frequency communications with gaming consoles based on proximity and/or motion data. One benefit of such proximity and/or motion light control is battery conservation.
US08354995B2	Information storage system A system for storing information includes a computing device having a display and a processor for controlling the display. The system includes a portable storage device configured to communicate with the computing device. The portable storage device includes a PSD display, a PSD processor configured to control the PSD display, and a PSD memory. The system also includes an input mechanism configured to enable selection of information displayed on at least a portion of the display and to activate an information capture application. In addition, the information capture application is configured to assign a visual cue to the selected information. The information capture application is further configured to store the selected information and the assigned visual cue in the PSD memory in response to activation of the input mechanism.
US08354994B2	Electrophoretic display device that executes refresh operation at appropriate timing A dispersion medium is filled in a display section and is dispersed with charged particles that migrates in accordance with a direction of an electric field. An image forming section applies, upon receiving an image forming request, an electric voltage between a first electrode and a second electrode to generate the electric field in the dispersion medium, thereby performing an image forming operation. A refresh controlling section switches, before the image forming section performs the image forming operation, the direction of the electric field alternately at predetermined timing to uniformly disperse the charged particles in the dispersion medium, thereby performing a refresh operation. An image-formation-elapsed-time measuring section measures a first elapsed time from a previous image forming operation performed by the image forming section until the image forming request. A refresh determining section determines whether the refresh controlling section performs the refresh operation based on the first elapsed time.
US08354991B2	Active matrix liquid crystal device In one embodiment of the present invention, an active matrix liquid crystal device includes an active matrix substrate and a counter electrode substrate separated by a layer of liquid crystal material. A temperature sensing capacitor includes electrodes on the substrates separated by the liquid crystal layer, which thus forms the dielectric of the capacitor. A reference capacitor and a calibration capacitor are also provided and have nominally the same capacitance. These capacitors form part of charge-transfer capacitance measuring branches within a sample/hold circuit. During a calibration cycle, the sample/hold circuit provides a signal dependent on the difference between the capacitances of the calibration capacitor and the reference capacitor and this is supplied to an analog/digital converter, which forms a reference voltage. During subsequent parts of the measurement cycle, the converter converts the output of the sample/hold circuit using the reference voltage in order to improve the accuracy of measurement of the liquid crystal capacitor, and hence the temperature of the liquid crystal material. This temperature measurement may be used, for example, to compensate the AMLCD for the effects of temperature variation in the liquid crystal properties.
US08354989B2	Liquid crystal display panel and display apparatus having the same A liquid crystal display panel includes n-number of gate lines, (m+1)-number of data lines and (m×n)-number of pixels, wherein the ‘n’ and ‘m’ are natural numbers. The gate lines are extended in a first direction. The data lines are extended in a second direction that is substantially perpendicular to the first direction. The first and last data lines are electrically connected to each other. The pixels are arranged in a matrix shape. M-number of the pixels is arranged along the first direction, and n-number of the pixels is arranged along the second direction. A pixel electrode of the pixels arranged in the second direction are electrically connected to left and right data lines alternately to enhance a display quality and reduce power consumption.
US08354983B2	Display and compensation circuit therefor A display includes a scan line, a data line, a pixel circuit, a compensation circuit, a voltage controller, and a data line driver. The data line forms a junction with the scan line. The pixel circuit is disposed at the junction of the scan line and the data line. When the scan line and the data line are driven, the pixel circuit generates a driving current. The compensation circuit generates a comparing signal and a positioning signal based on the driving current. The voltage controller generates a reference voltage that corresponds to the positioning signal with reference to the comparing signal. The data line driver corrects an image signal based on the reference voltage, and drives the data line with the corrected image signal. A compensation circuit for the display is also disclosed.
US08354981B2	Active matrix type display apparatus and driving method thereof In an active matrix type display apparatus, during a first selection period, a second main conductive terminal of a drive transistor and a display element are isolated, and at the same time, a control terminal of the drive transistor and the second main conductive terminal and a signal line are connected, and the signal line is supplied with a first current capable of conducting the drive transistor. The first current does not correspond to a signal current corresponding to a current injected to the display element. During a second selection period, a connection of the second main conductive terminal of the drive transistor and the signal line is broken, and the signal line is supplied with a second current. The second current corresponds to a signal current corresponding to the current injected to the display element. During a non-selection period, the second main conductive terminal of the drive transistor and the display element are connected, and the drive current of the drive transistor corresponding to voltage between both terminals of a capacitive element is supplied to the display element.
US08354980B2	Organic light emitting display An organic light emitting display is capable of reducing or preventing IR drop in a cathode electrode. An organic light emitting display includes a first substrate and a second substrate. The first substrate has a plurality of pixels located thereon, each of the pixels comprising an organic light emitting diode, wherein a cathode electrode of the organic light emitting diode including a transparent material is located on substantially an entire area of the pixels. The second substrate has a mesh type auxiliary electrode located thereon at a side facing the pixels, the mesh-type auxiliary electrode corresponding to non-emission regions between the pixels and electrically connected to the cathode electrode.
US08354977B2	Driving method for solving problem of cross talk effect of display panel A method for driving a display panel includes generating data signals to drive pixels in the display panel. The pixels in the display panel are arranged in a matrix. In addition, the voltage values of the data signals are adjusted to render a sum of voltage values of the data signals in a unit area as zero.
US08354963B2	Low-profile three-dimensional antenna A multi-band antenna includes a grounding element having a side edge, a connecting element, and a radiating element. The radiating element is electrically connected to the grounding element via the connecting element, and includes a first radiating portion and a second radiating portion respectively extending from the connecting element. The connecting element includes a folded connecting arm extending along three dimensions. A slot is formed between the connecting arm and the grounding element.
US08354962B2	Antenna and manufacturing method thereof, semiconductor device including antenna and manufacturing method thereof, and radio communication system An antenna includes a first substrate, a first pattern, a second substrate, a second pattern, and an anisotropic conductive material. The first substrate has an insulating surface. The first pattern is formed over the insulating surface of the first substrate, and made of a conductive material. The second substrate is provided so as to face the surface over which the first pattern of the first substrate is formed and has an insulating surface. The second pattern is formed over the insulating surface facing the first substrate of the second substrate, and made of a conductive material. The anisotropic conductive material electrically connects the first pattern and the second pattern. The whole region of the first pattern overlaps with the second pattern with the anisotropic conductive material interposed therebetween.
US08354959B2	Control system for controlling the electrical tilt of an antenna An improved control system for controlling the electrical tilt, i.e. the electrically controlled inclination of a radiated beam, of a base station antenna (70) with a vertical row of antenna elements is disclosed. The antenna includes a phase shifting device (73) including a tilt adjusting mechanism with a displaceable mechanical element for adjusting an electrical tilt setting of the antenna lobe being radiated from the antenna. The control system is divided into two parts, namely a first part, including the entire tilt adjusting mechanism (73), an electrical motor (75) and a position sensor (74), these elements constituting internal components being arranged inside the antenna casing (70), and a second part, including the remaining components of the control system, including an electrical motor control circuit (51; 61), and a logic circuit (56; 66) determining the electrical tilt setting. The external components are disposed in a separate, external control unit (50; 60) located outside but in the vicinity of the antenna casing (70), and are adapted for operative coupling, by way of a direct electric wire connection or a capacitive coupling, to the internal components (73,74,75) located inside the antenna casing.
US08354952B2	System and method for phase retrieval for radio telescope and antenna control Disclosed herein are systems, methods, and non-transitory computer-readable storage media for radio phase retrieval. A system practicing the method gathers first data from radio waves associated with an object observed via a first aperture, gathers second data from radio waves associated with the object observed via an introduced second aperture associated with the first aperture, generates reduced noise data by incoherently subtracting the second data from the first data, and performs phase retrieval for the radio waves by modeling the reduced noise data using a single Fourier transform. The first and second apertures are at different positions, such as side by side. This approach can include determining a value Q which represents a ratio of wavelength times a focal ratio divided by pixel spacing. This information can be used to accurately measure and correct alignment errors or other optical system flaws in the apertures.
US08354950B2	Method for characterizing an atmospheric turbulence using representative parameters measured by radar The present invention relates to a method for characterizing an atmospheric turbulence by representative parameters measured by a radar. The emission beam of the radar carried by an aircraft scanning the zone of the turbulence, a measured parameter being the total variance of the velocity of the turbulence σU, this total variance at a point x0 inside the turbulence is the sum of the spatial variance of the spectral moment of order 1 of the signals received by the radar Var[M1({right arrow over (x)})] and of the spatial mean of the spectral moment of order 2 of the signals received Mean[M2({right arrow over (x)})], the moments being distributed as a vector {right arrow over (x)} sweeping an atmospheric domain around the point x0. The invention applies notably in respect of meteorological radars fitted to aircraft such as airliners for example.
US08354939B2	Wellbore casing mounted device for determination of fracture geometry and method for using same A logging system and method for measuring propped fractures and down-hole subterranean formation conditions including: a radar source; an optical source; an optical modulator for modulating an optical signal from the optical source according to a signal from the radar source; a photodiode for converting the modulated optical signal output from the optical modulator to the source radar signal. A transmitter and receiver unit receives the source radar signal from the photodiode and transmits the source radar signal via at least one antenna attached to the casing and in communication with at least one photodiode into the formation and receives a reflected radar signal. A mixer mixes the reflected radar signal with the source radar signal to provide an output. This can describe fractures connected to the wellbore and differentiate between the dimensions of the two vertical wings of a propped fracture.
US08354938B2	Safety warning system and method An appliance warning system comprises a floor pad which has a switch movable between an open position when no weight pressure is detected and a closed position when activated by weight pressure. A transmitter transmits a signal depending upon whether the switch is in the open or closed position. A remotely located module has a receiver for the signal from the transmitter. A control circuit is operational between a ready state before the switch is activated to the closed position and a monitoring state after the switch is activated. A warning device is activated by the control circuit when in the monitoring state when the switch has been in the open position for a preselected period of time after having been in the closed position. A reset switch resets the control circuit from the monitoring state to the ready state.
US08354936B2	Capacitive passenger detector for vehicle A capacitive passenger detector includes: a capacitive sensor having main, sub and guard electrodes; a sensor characteristic measurement unit for applying an alternating voltage signal to each electrode and for converting a current in each electrode to a voltage; and a controller. The controller defines a current in the guard electrode as a reference current when voltages of the main and guard electrodes have a same potential. The controller defines a current flowing direction of the guard electrode to be negative when the voltage of the main electrode is higher than the guard electrode. The controller defines the current flowing direction of the guard electrode to be positive when the voltage of the main electrode is lower than the guard electrode. The controller corrects the voltage of the main electrode based on the current of the guard electrode so that a corrected voltage is set to be a passenger determination data.
US08354935B2	Method for hushing a CO detector through power-on reset A method and apparatus is provided for activating a carbon monoxide detector. The method includes the steps of the carbon monoxide detector measuring a current carbon monoxide level, the carbon monoxide detector comparing the current carbon monoxide level with a first threshold value, determining whether the current carbon monoxide level exceeds the first threshold value, entering an alarm state upon detecting that the current carbon monoxide level exceeds the first threshold value after a first predetermined time period, determining from memory whether the carbon monoxide detector had previously been in an alarm state before activation and upon detecting that the current carbon dioxide level does not exceed the first threshold and the carbon monoxide detector was previously in the alarm state, resuming the alarm state after a second predetermined time period.
US08354928B2	Intruder detection system An intruder detection system comprises an illumination means for illuminating a field of view with a modulated optical signal, modulated by a modulation signal; an optical receiver for receiving a delayed reflected signal; a cross correlator for calculating a cross correlation function between the modulation signal and the received delayed reflected signal; and means for detecting changes in the cross correlation function, a change being used to provide intruder detection. This system uses optical sensing and cross correlation calculation to enable an intruder detection signal to be obtained. This can enable a solid state, low cost, and reliable sensor to be provided for detecting intruders.
US08354927B2	Shipping container monitoring based on door status Remotely monitorable shipping container assembly including a shipping container including at least one door, a door status sensor for monitoring the open or closed status of the door(s) and a communications device mounted on the container and wirelessly transmitting information to one or more remote facilities including the status of the door(s) as monitored by the door status sensor. The remote facility may be for example, a facility interested in ensuring the integrity of the contents of the container, a facility which is charged with preventing theft of the contents of the containers, a law enforcement facility which is responsible for preventing transport of illegal cargo, and the like. A positioning system may be arranged on the container for determining a position thereof. The communications device is coupled to the positioning system and transmits the determined position of the container with the open or closed status of the door(s).
US08354923B2	Location mechanism for mobile device A location mechanism for a mobile device, in which an electronic communication including a code is received at the mobile device and the code is parsed from within the received electronic communication. The code parsed from within the electronic communication is used to determine whether to classify the received electronic communication as a coded electronic communication, and the received electronic communication is classified as a coded electronic communication based on results of the determination. In response to classification of the electronic communication as a coded electronic communication, a process is initiated that facilitates location of the mobile device. For instance, volume control settings at the mobile device may be overridden and an audible alert at the device may be invoked, and/or a response electronic communication that includes location information indicative of a current location of the communication device may be generated and sent.
US08354918B2	Light, sound, and motion receiver devices A method to elicit a behavior in response to a simplex communication signal comprises receiving, at a receiver device, an encoded simplex communication signal from a transmitter device, the simplex communication signal including an identifier. The method further comprises referencing a stored program in the receiver device to a stored program block corresponding to the identifier. The receiver device then initiates execution of the program block and renders a behavior in accordance with or corresponding to the program block corresponding to the simplex communication signal. The receiver device includes a program database, wherein the receiver is programmed to reference a stored program block of the program database corresponding to the identifier. The receiver device also includes mechanisms to enable a behavior in accordance with the program block to be audibly and visibly perceived.
US08354906B2	Electromagnetic relay An electromagnetic relay includes a case, a base, a magnet coil, a movable member driven by electromagnetic force of the coil, a moving contact, a fixed contact engaged with or disengaged from the moving contact, a fixed contact holding member fixed to the base with the holding member passing therethrough and having a load circuit terminal, and a magnet applying Lorentz force to arc generated between the fixed contact and the moving contact. The case includes a guide part on its region with which arc extended in a Lorentz force application direction collides. The guide part guides arc after the collision to extend arc in a different direction from the application direction. The case includes a case partition wall between the guide part and the base. The holding member has a guide part opposing portion opposed to the guide part. The opposing portion is covered with the case partition wall.
US08354897B2	Elastic wave filter and communication device An elastic wave filter includes at least a piezoelectric substrate and a longitudinally coupled resonator-type elastic wave filter unit provided on the piezoelectric substrate. The longitudinally coupled resonator-type elastic wave filter unit includes first to fifth IDTs and first and second reflectors arranged on either side of the first to fifth IDTs. The third IDT includes first and second divided comb-shaped electrodes. The second and fourth IDTs are connected to an unbalanced signal terminal, the first IDT and the first divided comb-shaped electrode of the third IDT are connected to a first balanced signal terminal, and the fifth IDT and the second divided comb-shaped electrode of the third IDT are connected to a second balanced signal terminal. The first and fifth IDTs each have a constant electrode finger pitch, and the electrode finger pitch of the first IDT is less than that of the fifth IDT.
US08354893B2	Impedance-matching transformers for RF driven CO2 gas discharge lasers In a CO2 gas discharge laser energized by a radio frequency (RF) power source a transformer having selectively variable output impedance is used to match output impedance of the power source to the impedance of discharge electrodes of the laser. A similar transformer can be used to impose a selective variable phase-shift on the RF power from the source. The variable impedance transformer can also be used for impedance matching between amplifier stages in the power source.
US08354879B2	Power switch for decreased ramp rate A power switch for an integrated circuit provides a stepped profile supply potential. A supply potential generation block generates the stepped profile output supply to control the ramp rate of the output in order to prevent a false trigger of electrostatic discharge at the pads of the integrated circuit.
US08354876B1	Chemical detection with MOSFET sensor Embodiments relate to a method including receiving a voltage potential at a gate of a first MOSFET based on a sensed chemical characteristic. The method includes receiving at a backgate of the first MOSFET an AC voltage signal and analyzing, with an analysis circuit connected to one of a first source and a first drain of the MOSFET, the sensed characteristic based on the receiving the voltage potential at the gate of the first MOSFET.
US08354865B1	Method and apparatus for sampling A sampling circuit can include a switch having a control terminal, a first channel terminal and a second channel terminal. The first channel terminal can be configured to receive an input signal, and the control terminal can be configured to have a control voltage that varies with regard to the input signal, such that a conducting channel can be formed between the first channel terminal and the second channel terminal to enable an output voltage on the second channel terminal to track the input signal. Further, the sampling circuit can include a bootstrap module coupled to the control terminal of the switch. The bootstrap module can be configured to change the control voltage by a substantially constant value to turn off the conducting channel between the first channel terminal and the second channel terminal in order to hold the output voltage as a sample of the input signal.
US08354859B2	System for testing power supply performance A system for testing a DC power supply performance includes a test apparatus for testing the DC power supply, and a control circuit electrically coupled to the DC power supply and test apparatus. The control circuit includes a microcontroller, a switch control circuit, and a switch circuit controlled by the switch control circuit. The microcontroller is configured for outputting control signals. The switch control circuit is configured for receiving the control signals, and is powered on according to the corresponding control signals. The switch circuit is capable of turning on when the switch control circuit is powered on. The DC power supply output terminals are coupled electrically to the test apparatus via the switch circuit. The test apparatus is configured for reading voltage values at the DC power supply corresponding output terminals, and outputting a feedback signal to the microcontroller when the testing is complete.
US08354858B2	Apparatus and method for hardening latches in SOI CMOS devices A method of determining one or more transistors within a particular circuit to be respectively replaced with a hardened transistor includes: identifying, as not requiring hardening, one or more transistors; identifying, as candidates for hardening, each transistor in the circuit not previously identified as not requiring hardening; and employing the hardened transistor in place of a transistor identified as a candidate for hardening. The circuit is a latch and the transistor is an SOI CMOS FET. The transistor is also an SOI transistor. The series transistor includes first and second series-connected transistors having a shared source/drain region whereby a drain of the first series-connected transistor is merged with a source of the second series-connected transistor.
US08354848B2	Obstacle detecting system and obstacle detecting device An obstacle detecting system having leakage coaxial cables laid on at both the sides of an obstacle monitoring district and an obstacle detecting device for emitting electrical waves from one of the leakage coaxial cables laid on at both the sides to the other leakage coaxial cable and detecting an obstacle in the obstacle monitoring district on the basis of the electrical waves incident to the other leakage coaxial cable is further equipped with an electrical wave transmitting unit for transmitting the electrical waves to the one leakage coaxial cable in the obstacle detecting device, an electrical wave receiving unit for receiving the electrical waves incident to the other leakage coaxial cable, and a connecting unit for connecting the electrical wave transmitting unit and the electrical wave receiving unit.
US08354841B2	Method for influencing and/or detecting magnetic particles in a region of action, magnetic particles and the use of magnetic particles A method for influencing and/or detecting magnetic particles in a region of action, magnetic particles and the use of magnetic particles is disclosed, which method comprises the steps of: —introducing magnetic particles into a region of action, —generating a magnetic selection field having a pattern in space of its magnetic field strength such that a first sub-zone having a low magnetic field strength and a second sub-zone having a higher magnetic field strength are formed in the region of action —changing the position in space of the two sub-zones in the region of action by means of a magnetic drive field so that the magnetization of the magnetic particles change locally, —acquiring signals, which signals depend on the magnetization in the region of action, which magnetization is influenced by the change in the position in space of the first and second sub-zone, wherein the magnetic particles comprise a core region and a shell region, the core region comprising a magnetic material, wherein the magnetic material of the core region is provided as a mainly metallic material of comparably high saturation magnetization, wherein the shell region comprises mainly a metal oxide material or a noble metal material.
US08354826B2	Integrated device with AC to DC conversion function and integrated circuit using same The present invention discloses an integrated device with AC to DC conversion function, and an integrated circuit using the device. The integrated circuit comprises: a circuit operating under low DC voltage; and an integrated device with AC to DC conversion function, the device including first, second, third and fourth diodes, wherein the first diode has a cathode coupled to an anode of the second diode at a first node which receives an input of an AC voltage; the third diode has a cathode coupled to an anode of the fourth diode at a second node which receives another input of the AC voltage; the first diode has an anode coupled to an anode of the third diode at a third node which provides a low level of a DC voltage; and the second diode has a cathode coupled to a cathode of the fourth diode at a fourth node which provides a high level of the DC voltage.
US08354817B2	Methods and systems for diagnosing stator windings in an electric motor Systems and methods are provided for diagnosing stator windings in an electric motor operating under control of a current-regulating control loop. The current-regulating control loop is configured to provide a command voltage to the electric motor. The command voltage comprises a current-regulated voltage based on a difference between a commanded current and a measured current through the stator windings. The method comprises determining a negative sequence component of the command voltage, and identifying a fault condition when a characteristic of the negative sequence component is greater than a threshold value.
US08354812B2	Motor There is provided a motor. The motor may include a rotor case including a driving magnet formed on an inner circumferential surface thereof and providing a driving force by interacting with a coil of a stator, a low-speed control magnet formed on an outer circumferential surface of the rotor case and generating a frequency allowing for low-speed rotation enabling label printing as the rotor case rotates at a low speed; and a sensing part sensing an analog signal generated from the low-speed control magnet.
US08354811B2	Switching circuit for series configuration of IGBT transistors A switching circuit includes two power transistors (22, 24) connected in series and a circuit (26, 28) for exciting each transistor suitable for simultaneously switching the two transistors. The circuit includes elements (30) for generating a corrective current (δi) for controlling a corrected-control transistor (22) among the two transistors (22, 24) according to the difference in temporal variation of the voltage at the conduction terminals of the two series-connected transistors (22, 24), and elements (37) for applying the current to the gate electrode of the corrected-control transistor (22).
US08354807B2	Anti-noise method for sensorless-brushless direct current motor system An anti-noise method for the Direct Current Brushless motor System, which includes a startup circuit, phase detective circuit, motor phase commutation circuit, driving circuit, BEMF detective circuit, and frequency detector, utilizes the BEMF detective circuit to detect the BEMF induced from the coils of the outer motor, and utilizes the sampled voltage phase to determine rotation speed and phase of the external motor by the phase detection circuit and frequency detector. Further, the sampling voltage of the BEMF detection circuit is feedback controlled by the frequency detector, utilized to keep good BEMF to noise ratio, and avoids the BEMF sampling error from the system.
US08354806B2	Scanning collimation of light via flat panel lamp Various embodiments are disclosed that relate to scanning the direction of light emitted from optical collimators. For example, one disclosed embodiment provides a system for scanning collimated light, the system comprising an optical wedge, a light injection system, and a controller. The optical wedge comprises a thin end, a thick end opposite the thin end, a viewing surface extending at least partially between the thick end and the thin end, and a back surface opposite the viewing surface. The thick end of the optical wedge further comprises an end reflector comprising a faceted lens structure. The light injection system is configured to inject light into the thin end of the optical wedge, and the controller is configured to control the location along the thin end of the optical wedge at which the light injection system injects light.
US08354804B2	Power supply device and lighting equipment In a power supply device according to one embodiment, a reference signal (Vref1), which changes from a value corresponding to a maximum current in a full lighting state to that corresponding to a minimum current in case of a deepest dimming depth, and a reference signal (Vref2), which changes from a value corresponding to a load voltage at the time of a maximum current in a full lighting state to that corresponding to a minimum current in case of the deepest dimming depth, are prepared in accordance with dimming depths of a dimming signal. In a shallow dimming depth region close to a full lighting state, the reference signal (Vref1) is selected to apply constant-current control to light-emitting diodes in a current control mode. In a deep dimming depth region, the reference signal (Vref2) is selected to apply constant-voltage control to the diodes in a voltage control mode.
US08354803B2	Hybrid light source A hybrid light source comprises a discrete-spectrum lamp (for example, a fluorescent lamp) and a continuous-spectrum lamp (for example, a halogen lamp). A control circuit individually controls the amount of power delivered to the discrete-spectrum lamp and the continuous-spectrum lamp in response to a phase-controlled voltage generated by a connected dimmer switch, such that a total light output of the hybrid light source ranges throughout a dimming range. The continuous-spectrum lamp is driven by a continuous-spectrum lamp drive circuit, which is operable to conduct a charging current of a power supply of the dimmer switch and to provide a path for enough current to flow through the hybrid light source, such that the magnitude of the current exceeds rated latching and holding currents of a thyristor of the dimmer.
US08354798B2	Compensation circuit for current peaking reduction in notification appliances A system and apparatus to reduce current peaking in notification appliances are described. The apparatus may include a current peaking compensation circuit comprising two or more transistors and one or more capacitors configured to reduce a start-up frequency of a pulse-width modulated signal during a first time period and to add a time constant decaying voltage across a resistor divider network to increase a reference voltage during the first time period. Other embodiments are described and claimed.
US08354794B2	Light emitting device and driving method thereof The light emitting device has a limiter transistor which is connected to a monitoring element, and an inverter an output terminal of which is connected to a gate electrode of the limiter transistor and an input terminal of which is connected to one electrode of the limiter transistor and the monitoring element. In the case where the monitoring element is short-circuited, the limiter transistor can be turned off by the inverter to correct a defect of the monitoring element.
US08354785B2	Nanocrystals including a group IIIA element and a group VA element, method, composition, device and other products A nanocrystal comprising a semiconductor material comprising one or more elements of Group IIIA of the Periodic Table of Elements and one or more elements of Group VA of the Periodic Table of Elements, wherein the nanocrystal is capable of emitting light having a photoluminescence quantum efficiency of at least about 30% upon excitation. Also disclosed is a nanocrystal including a core comprising a first semiconductor material comprising one or more elements of Group IIIA of the Periodic Table of Elements and one or more elements of Group VA of the Periodic Table of Elements, and a shell disposed over at least a portion of the core, the shell comprising a second semiconductor material, wherein the nanocrystal is capable of emitting light having a photoluminescence quantum efficiency of at least about 30% upon excitation. Also disclosed is a nanocrystal comprising a nanocrystal core and a shell comprising a semiconductor material disposed on at least a portion of the nanocrystal core, wherein the semiconductor material comprises at least three chemical elements and is obtainable by a process comprising adding a precursor for at least one of the chemical elements of the semiconductor material from a separate source to a nanocrystal core while simultaneously adding amounts of precursors for the other chemical elements of the semiconductor material. A population of nanocrystals, method for preparing nanocrystals, compositions, and devices including nanocrystals are also disclosed.
US08354784B2	Solid-state light emitting devices with photoluminescence wavelength conversion A light emitting device comprises at least one light emitter, typically an LED, operable to generate blue light and a wavelength conversion component. The wavelength conversion component can be light transmissive or light reflective and comprises at least two phosphor materials that are operable to absorb at least a portion of said blue light and emit light of different colors and wherein the emission product of the device comprises the combined light generated by the LED(s) and the phosphor materials. The phosphor materials are configured as a pattern of non-overlapping areas on a surface of the component.
US08354783B2	Light-emitting device.having a frame member surrounding light-emitting elements and illumination device utilizing light-emitting device According to one embodiment, a light-emitting device includes a substrate including power-supply conductors, a frame member, and a sealing member. The power-supply conductors are formed on the substrate. A plurality of light-emitting elements including electrodes are mounted on the substrate. The electrodes of the light-emitting elements adjacent to the power-supply conductors are electrically connected to the power-supply conductors by a plurality of bonding wires. The frame member is made of resin which is coated on the substrate so as to surround the light-emitting elements and the bonding wires. The sealing member is filled in an area surrounded by the frame member and seals the light-emitting elements and the bonding wires.
US08354780B2	Lamp device capable of heat dissipation A lamp device includes: a housing formed with heat-dissipating holes; a conductive connecting head mounted on a first side of the housing; a heat-conducting member mounted on a second side of the housing opposite to the first side, and having opposite first and second side surfaces; a lighting unit thermally contacting and mounted on the first side surface of the heat-conducting member, and covered by a transparent body; and a heat-dissipating layer made of an infrared radiating material. The heat-dissipating layer is disposed on and is in thermal contact with the second side surface of the heat-conducting member. Heat generated by the lighting unit is transmitted by the first heat-conducting member to the heat-dissipating layer, and is dissipated by the heat-dissipating layer through the heat-dissipating holes in the housing.
US08354779B2	Heat sink with helical fins and electrostatic augmentation A heat sink for an LED downlight utilizes tilted fins forming helical air passages that can enhance thermal performance by 30% over conventional fins. To overcome the thermal challenge of installation within the stagnant hot air of insulated ceiling cans, a heat sink has an integral electrostatic air pump on its exterior, to move hot air downwards and drain the stagnant air from the can by establishing a chimney-like circulation up through the heat sink and back down around the outside of the heat sink. The air mover can be powered by a compact high-voltage, low-current power supply similar to those of neon signs. An embodiment of the heat sink is also revealed that is suitable for cooling an LED replacement for standard screw-in or equivalent light bulbs. This device can perform well in variety of orientations (horizontal, vertical, etc.) and fixtures.
US08354776B2	Apparatus for generating electrical energy and method for manufacturing the same An apparatus for generating electrical energy may include; a first electrode, a second electrode spaced apart from the first electrode, the second electrode having a substantially planar flat plate shape, a conductor which electrically connects the first and second electrodes, and a nanowire disposed on the first electrode, the nanowire including a deformable piezoelectric material, wherein a Schottky contact is formed between the nanowire and the second electrode as the nanowires is deformed.
US08354768B2	Modular electromagnetic device with reversible generator-motor operation A modular electromagnetic device has a stator and a rotor rotating between facing surfaces of the stator and bearing a plurality of magnets distributed with alternate orientations in a substantially ring-shaped pattern, and the stator comprises at least one pair of magnetic yokes symmetrically located at both sides of the rotor. Each yoke has a pair of projecting arms extending towards the magnets and bearing a respective coil for collection of electric power from or supply of electric power to the device. Each yoke is individually mounted on an own support equipped with adjusting units arranged to adjust the yoke position relative to the confronting magnets, and forms, together with its coils, its support, the adjusting units thereof, and sensing and control means controlling the yoke adjustment, an elementary stator cell that can be replicated to form single-phase or multiphase modules.
US08354755B2	Cogeneration system In a cogeneration system having three generation units each equipped with a generator and an internal combustion engine, a single hot water tank is prepared for the three generation units to contain hot water heated by exhaust heat of the engine. The temperature of the hot water contained in the tank and a power demand of an electrical load are detected. Then, the number of the generation unit or units to be operated is determined based on the detected power demand when the detected hot water temperature is equal to or less than a first predetermined value, and operation of the generation unit or units determined to be operated is controlled, thereby reducing a space for the installment of the tank and heat loss from the tank.
US08354752B2	Semiconductor devices A method of forming a semiconductor device includes forming line patterns on a substrate, the line patterns defining narrow and wide gap regions, forming spacer patterns in the narrow and wide gap regions on sidewalls of the line patterns, spacer patterns in the wide gap regions exposing an upper surface of the substrate, and spacer patterns in the narrow gap regions contacting each other to fill the narrow gap regions, forming an insulating interlayer to cover the spacer patterns and the line patterns, forming at least one opening through the insulating interlayer, the opening including at least one contact hole selectively exposing the upper surface of the substrate in the wide gap region, the contact hole being formed by using the spacer patterns in the narrow gap region as an etching mask, and forming a conductive pattern to fill the opening.
US08354747B1	Conductive polymer lid for a sensor package and method therefor A semiconductor device has a base substrate having a plurality of metal traces. A conductive polymer cover is provided having an opening. The conductive polymer cover forms a cavity when attached to the base substrate. At least one die is attached to an interior surface of the conductive polymer cover and positioned over the opening. The conductive polymer cover and the at least one die are electrically coupled to metal traces on the first surface of the base substrate.
US08354740B2	Top-side cooled semiconductor package with stacked interconnection plates and method A top-side cooled semiconductor package with stacked interconnection plate is disclosed. The semiconductor package includes a circuit substrate with terminal leads, a semiconductor die atop the circuit substrate, a low thermal resistance intimate interconnection plate for bonding and interconnecting a top contact area of the semiconductor die with the circuit substrate, a low thermal resistance stacked interconnection plate atop the intimate interconnection plate for top-side cooling, a molding encapsulant for encapsulating the package except for exposing a top surface of the stacked interconnection plate to maintain effective top-side cooling. The top portion of the stacked interconnection plate can include a peripheral overhang above the intimate interconnection plate. The peripheral overhang allows for a maximized exposed top surface area for heat dissipation independent of otherwise areal constraints applicable to the intimate interconnection plate. The stacked interconnection plate can be partially etched or three dimensionally formed to create the peripheral overhang.
US08354734B2	Semiconductor device with crack prevention ring A crack prevention ring at the exterior edge of an integrated circuit prevents delamination and cracking during the separation of the integrated circuits into individual die. The crack prevention ring extends vertically into a semiconductor workpiece to at least a metallization layer of the integrated circuit. The crack prevention ring may be formed simultaneously with the formation of test pads of the integrated circuits. The crack prevention ring may be partially or completely filled with conductive material. An air pocket may be formed within the crack prevention ring beneath a passivation layer of the integrated circuit. The crack prevention ring may be removed during the singulation process.
US08354731B2	Semiconductor device The semiconductor device includes: a substrate; an electric fuse that includes a lower-layer wiring formed on the substrate, a first via provided on the lower-layer wiring and connected to the lower-layer wiring, and an upper-layer wiring provided on the first via and connected to the first via, a flowing-out portion of a conductive material constituting the electric fuse being formed in a cut-off state of the electric fuse; and a heat diffusion portion that includes a heat diffusion wiring that is formed in the same layer as one of the upper-layer wiring and the lower-layer wiring and is placed on a side of the one of the upper-layer wiring and the lower-layer wiring, the heat diffusion portion being electrically connected to the one of the upper-layer wiring and the lower-layer wiring.
US08354728B2	Semiconductor device A semiconductor device including: a semiconductor layer; a gate insulating layer; a gate electrode; a channel region; a source region and a drain region; a guard ring region; an offset insulating layer; a first interlayer dielectric; a first shield layer formed above the first interlayer dielectric and the guard ring region and electrically connected to the guard ring region; a second interlayer dielectric; and a second shield layer formed above the second interlayer dielectric, wherein the first shield layer is provided outside of both ends of the gate electrode in a channel width direction when viewed from the top side; and wherein the second shield layer is provided in at least part of a first region and/or at least part of a second region, the first region being a region between one edge of the gate electrode and an edge of the first shield layer opposite to the edge of the gate electrode in the channel width direction when viewed from the top side, and the second region being a region between the other edge of the gate electrode and an edge of the first shield layer opposite to the other edge of the gate electrode in the channel width direction when viewed from the top side.
US08354722B2	SCR/MOS clamp for ESD protection of integrated circuits An electrostatic discharge (ESD) protection circuit, methods of fabricating an ESD protection circuit, methods of providing ESD protection, and design structures for an ESD protection circuit. An NFET may be formed in a p-well and a PFET may be formed in an n-well. A butted p-n junction formed between the p-well and n-well results in an NPNP structure that forms an SCR integrated with the NFET and PFET. The NFET, PFET and SCR are configured to collectively protect a pad, such as a power pad, from ESD events. During normal operation, the NFET, PFET, and SCR are biased by an RC-trigger circuit so that the ESD protection circuit is in a high impedance state. During an ESD event while the chip is unpowered, the RC-trigger circuit outputs trigger signals that cause the SCR, NFET, and PFET to enter into conductive states and cooperatively to shunt ESD currents away from the protected pad.
US08354708B2	Methods of forming and operating semiconductor device Provided are a semiconductor device and a methods of forming and operating the semiconductor device. The semiconductor device may include active pillars extending from a semiconductor substrate and disposed two dimensionally disposed on the semiconductor substrate, upper interconnections connecting the active pillars along one direction, lower interconnections crossing the upper interconnections and disposed between the active pillars, word lines crossing the upper interconnections and disposed between the active pillars, and data storage patterns disposed between the word lines and the active pillars.
US08354705B2	Non-volatile NAND memory semiconductor integrated circuit A semiconductor integrated circuit device includes first, second gate electrodes, first, second diffusion layers, contact electrodes electrically connected to the first diffusion layers, a first insulating film which has concave portions between the first and second gate electrodes and does not contain nitrogen as a main component, a second insulating film which is formed on the first insulating film and does not contain nitrogen as a main component, and a third insulating film formed on the first diffusion layers, first gate electrodes, second diffusion layers and second gate electrodes with the second insulating film disposed therebetween in a partial region. The second insulating film is formed to fill the concave portions and a portion between the first and second gate electrodes has a multi-layered structure containing at least the first and second insulating films.
US08354704B2	Method for fabricating an enlarged oxide-nitride-oxide structure for NAND flash memory semiconductor devices A method of processing a flash memory device provides a semiconductor substrate including a surface region and forming a gate dielectric layer overlying the surface region. The method forms a floating gate layer having a thickness and including a first floating gate structure overlying a first portion of the gate dielectric layer and a second floating gate structure overlying a second portion of the gate dielectric layer. The method forms a trench region interposed between the first and second floating gate structures and extending through the entire thickness and through a portion of the surface region into a depth of the substrate. The method fills the entire depth of the trench region in the substrate and a portion of the trench region over the substrate using a dielectric fill material. The method forms an oxide on nitride on oxide (ONO) layer overlying the first and second floating gate structures and the dielectric material and a control gate overlying the ONO layer.
US08354701B2	Ferroelectric memory device and fabrication process thereof, fabrication process of a semiconductor device A method for fabricating a ferroelectric memory device, including terminating a surface of the interlayer insulation film and a surface of the contact plug with an OH group; forming a layer containing Si, oxygen and a CH group on the surface of the interlayer insulation film and the contact hole terminated with the OH group by coating a Si compound containing a Si atom and a CH group in a molecule thereof; converting the layer containing Si, oxygen and the CH group to a layer containing nitrogen at a surface thereof, by substituting the CH group in the layer containing Si, oxygen and the CH group at least at a surface part thereof with nitrogen atoms; and forming a layer showing self-orientation on the surface containing nitrogen.
US08354686B2	Light emitting device array A light emitting device array is provided comprising a printed circuit board on which a plurality of electrode patterns having the same width is formed, a light emitting device package disposed on a predetermined number of electrode patterns and a power supply line disposed on at least one of the remaining electrode pattern except for the predetermined number of electrode patterns.
US08354679B1	Microcavity light emitting diode method of manufacture A high efficiency microcavity light emitting diode comprises a stack of AlxInyGa1-x-yN layers, where 0≦x, y, x+y≦1, with each layer having a high crystalline quality. The stack has a uniform thickness less than 6λ/n, with an active layer centered approximately (2i+1)λ/(4n) from a reflective electrical contact, where λ is the peak emission wavelength, n is the index of refraction at the peak emission wavelength, i is an integer, and each layer within the stack has a dislocation density below about 105 cm−2.
US08354675B2	Enhanced capacitance deep trench capacitor for EDRAM A substrate including a stack of a handle substrate, an optional lower insulator layer, a doped polycrystalline semiconductor layer, an upper insulator layer, and a top semiconductor layer is provided. A deep trench is formed through the top semiconductor layer, the upper insulator layer, and the doped polycrystalline semiconductor layer. Exposed vertical surfaces of the polycrystalline semiconductor layer are crystallographically etched to form random facets in the deep trench, thereby increasing the total exposed surface area of the polycrystalline semiconductor layer in the deep trench. A node dielectric and at least one conductive material are deposited to fill the trench and to form a buried strap portion, which constitute a capacitor of an eDRAM. Access transistors and other logic devices can be formed.
US08354674B2	Semiconductor device wherein a property of a first semiconductor layer is different from a property of a second semiconductor layer It is an object to provide a semiconductor device which has a large size and operates at high speed. A top gate transistor which includes a semiconductor layer of single-crystal and a bottom gate transistor which includes a semiconductor layer of amorphous silicon (microcrystalline silicon) are formed over the same substrate. Then, gate electrodes of each transistor are formed with the same layer, and source and drain electrodes are also formed with the same layer. Thus, manufacturing steps are reduced. In other words, two types of transistors can be manufactured by adding only a few steps to the manufacturing process of a bottom gate transistor.
US08354673B2	Semiconductor component A semiconductor component is provided having a substrate and at least one semiconductor layer realized to be polycrystalline on one side of the substrate. The polycrystalline semiconductor layer contains the crystal nuclei.
US08354658B1	Lightweight radiation absorbing shield A flexible, lightweight radiation absorbing sheet or shield includes heavy metal particles in one layer and mid-atomic number particles in another layer, the layer that will be adjacent to the patient. The shield is particularly intended for protection of the wearer and others from radiation emanating from a therapeutic source positioned within the patient's body. With the disclosed multi-layer shield construction, backscattered radiation off the heavy metal particle layer, affecting the patient's adjacent tissue, is minimized.
US08354654B2	Apparatus and method for ion beam implantation using scanning and spot beams with improved high dose beam quality An ion implantation apparatus with multiple operating modes is disclosed. The ion implantation apparatus has an ion source and an ion extraction means for forming a converging beam on AMU-non-dispersive plane therefrom. The ion implantation apparatus includes magnetic scanner prior to a magnetic analyzer for scanning the beam on the non-dispersive plane, the magnetic analyzer for selecting ions with specific mass-to-charge ratio to pass through a mass slit to project onto a substrate. A rectangular quadruple magnet is provided to collimate the scanned ion beam and fine corrections of the beam incident angles onto a target. A deceleration or acceleration system incorporating energy filtering is at downstream of the beam collimator. A two-dimensional mechanical scanning system for scanning the target is disclosed, in which a beam diagnostic means is built in.
US08354649B2	Apparatus for the extension and retraction of a peripheral device The present invention provides an extendible support mechanism in which a counterbalance system allows extension and retraction of the arm to be carried out with the same level of mechanical effort. Embodiments of the present invention allow the system to be used in a plurality of orientations, and thus the invention has particular utility in the extension and retraction of peripheral devices for radiotherapy systems, where use of a rotatable gantry is common.
US08354631B2	Solid-state image device manufacturing method thereof, and image capturing apparatus with first and second stress liner films A solid-state image device is provided which includes: a photoelectric conversion portion which obtains a signal charge by photoelectric conversion of incident light; a pixel transistor portion which outputs a signal charge generated by the photoelectric conversion portion; a peripheral circuit portion which is provided at the periphery of a pixel portion including the photoelectric conversion portion and the pixel transistor portion and which has an NMOS transistor and a PMOS transistor; a first stress liner film which has a compressive stress and which is provided on the PMOS transistor; and a second stress liner film which has a tensile stress and which is provided on the NMOS transistor. In the solid-state image device described above, the photoelectric conversion portion, the pixel transistor portion, and the peripheral circuit portion are provided in and/or on a semiconductor substrate.
US08354629B2	Computer keyboard having illuminated keys with a sensed light condition An illuminated keyboard includes optical sensors and units each comprising an optically transmissive key member; a scissors-shaped structure having a top secured to the key member; a light guide diaphragm under the scissors-shaped structure; an insulating diaphragm under the light guide diaphragm and including a light source on a top surface, a positive conductor connected to a positive terminal of the light source and on the top surface, a negative conductor connected to a negative terminal of the light source and on a bottom surface, and a bus having one end interconnecting the positive and negative conductors, and the other end connected to the sensor; a film circuit board under the insulating diaphragm and including a holed rubber dome with the key member positioned therein; and a base board with the scissors-shaped structure retained thereon. Brightness is adjusted in response to light condition as sensed by the sensor.
US08354626B2	Optical system for a missile, and method for imaging an object An optical system for a missile has optics for imaging an object through a beam path on an imaging plane. The optics have external optics, rotatably mounted about a roll axis and a pitch axis of the missile, and internal optics, and one of the ends of the beam paths is fixed with respect to the structure in the missile. In order to prevent image disturbances caused by shadows which are caused at a high squint angle by an element which is fixed to the structure, the optical system includes a shutter, which can be introduced into the beam path during flight of the missile, in order to mask out a shadow, which is produced by an element of the missile, in the beam path in a viewing direction of the external optics which is tilted with respect to the roll axis.
US08354619B2	Method of fabricating an electric wire having a PTFE-based sheath, said electric wire, and a corresponding lubricant evaporation and sintering line An electric wire comprises a non-oxidized conductor of copper alloy having no outer coating and in direct contact with a PTFE-based sheath. It is fabricated as follows: providing a copper alloy conductor without an outer coating; forming a sheath of a PTFE-based material around the conductor; and heating the wire in order to evaporate the lubricant and sinter the sheath. In order to avoid oxidizing the copper during the heating step, the wire is heated mainly in an atmosphere having a low oxygen content. The lubricant evaporation and/or sintering line for stabilizing the sheath of the electric wire comprises one or more ovens, each having an enclosure in which an atmosphere having a low oxygen content is maintained.
US08354597B2	Wired circuit board and producing method thererof A wired circuit board includes a metal supporting board having at least one depressed portion, a conductive portion embedded in the at least one depressed portion and formed of a material having a higher conductivity than that of the metal supporting board, an insulating layer formed on the metal supporting board so as to cover the conductive portion, and a plurality of wires formed on the insulating layer in mutually spaced-apart relation so as to oppose to the conductive portion.
US08354596B2	Multilayer wiring board and method for manufacturing the same A wiring board including a main substrate including a base material and having an opening portion, and a flex-rigid printed wiring board connected to the main substrate in the opening portion of the main substrate and including a rigid substrate and a flexible substrate, the rigid substrate including a non-flexible base material, the flexible substrate including a flexible base material.
US08354594B2	Wire-printed circuit board or card comprising conductors with a rectangular or square cross section The invention relates to a wire-printed circuit board or card (1) comprising etched strip conductors (2) and wire conductors (6), which wire conductors run on and/or in the circuit board or card (1) between connection points (4). At least one of the wire conductors (6) has an essentially rectangular, for example, a square, cross-section.

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