Document Document Title
US08402770B2 Turbine engine including an improved means for adjusting the flow rate of a cooling air flow sampled at the output of a high-pressure compressor using an annular air injection channel
A turbine engine including a channel for injecting a cooling air flow of a high-pressure turbine disk, opening into a cavity that is substantially isolated, upstream, from a cavity in which an air flow sampled at the output of a high-pressure compressor circulates, by a first labyrinth seal, and downstream, from a cavity communicating with the primary flow of the turbine engine, by a second labyrinth seal. The turbine engine includes channels communicating with the injection channel and opening through a static part of the first labyrinth seal between two lips of that seal, so as to allow an air flow coming from the injection channel to be injected between the lips.
US08402767B2 Enhanced starting of turbine engines under various ambient conditions using oxidizer
At least one solid mass of oxidizing-species-releasing material (ORM), selected as a solid oxidizer (SO), and/or as oxidizing-species-releasing burning substance (ORBS) is used as a device for enhancing the starting process of a turbine engine under various ambient conditions. The ORM is introduced into the combustion chamber of the turbine engine and the starting process of the turbine engine is initiated, by help of the igniter and in association with the ORM to enhance the starting process. In operation, an ORM selected as an SO releases gaseous oxygen when heated to decompose, while an ORM chosen as an ORBS discharges oxidizing species when ignited to burn. An ORM such as an SO or an ORBS may operate alone or in various combinations of both. The ORM is configured to release a predetermined mass flow rate of oxidizing species or of gaseous oxygen.
US08402762B2 Power generation plant and method of generating electric energy
A power generation plant and a method of generating electric energy from recovered heat during an industrial process that uses steam as a means of transferring energy. The method comprises: a) generating a first saturated steam in a first heat exchanger heated by a first source of recovered heat; b) feeding the first saturated steam into a first steam turbine generator, where the first steam turbine generator outputs exhaust steam; c) removing moisture from the exhaust steam with a moisture separator; d) superheating the moisture reduced exhaust steam from step c) in a main heat exchanger with a heat source; and e) feeding the superheated exhaust steam into a second steam turbine generator. The power generation plant comprises a first source of saturated steam, a first steam turbine generator, a moisture separator, a second source of saturated steam, a heat exchanger and a second steam turbine generator.
US08402760B2 Vibration-decoupling device for hydraulics
The invention concerns a vibration-decoupling device for a hydraulic circuit and in particular concerns a vibration-decoupling device for a hydraulic circuit used in an agricultural vehicle. The device has a fluid transfer element (3) able to be connected at one end (4) to a high pressure outlet of a hydraulic pump (1) and to transport fluid expelled from the pump. The another end (5) of the fluid transfer element (3) is moveably connected with a fixed element (11) such as a gear assembly housing so that the fluid can be passed to a hydraulic consumer. A support element (9) is moveably connected with the fixed element (11) and the fluid transfer element (3) and acts so that a force is exerted on the fluid transfer element (3) in one direction while the other end (5) of the fluid transfer element (3) and the fixed element (11) remain securely connected together.
US08402756B2 Equal length Y-collector
An exhaust system includes first and second exhaust pipes each of which has an upstream end communicating with an engine and a downstream end. The exhaust pipes are of different lengths. A length equalizer includes an outer pipe and an inner pipe disposed within the outer pipe. Once end of the inner pipe communicates with a space between the inner and outer pipes. The longer of the two exhaust pipes communicates with the space between the inner and outer pipes of the length equalizer. The shorter of the two exhaust pipes communicates directly with the inner pipe of the length equalizer. The distance between the downstream end of the longer exhaust pipe and the inner end of the inner pipe of the length equalizer is substantially equal to the difference in length between the longer and shorter exhaust pipes.
US08402746B2 Exhaust gas capture system for ocean going vessels
An exhaust gas capture system for capturing the exhaust gas emitted by auxiliary engines, auxiliary boilers, and other sources on an Ocean Going Vessel (OGV) while at berth or at anchor so that these gases may be carried to an emissions treatment system for removal of air pollutants and or greenhouse gases. The exhaust gas capture system includes a manifold and a family of parallel-flow flexible ducts for connecting directly to individual OGV exhaust pipes. The exhaust gas capture system further includes apparatus for connecting the parallel-flow flexible ducts to the OGV exhaust pipes.
US08402744B2 Valve system for a gas turbine engine
A valve system intermediate a secondary flow path and a primary flow path to selectively communicate secondary airflow into the primary gas flow path and control airflow injected from a higher pressure plenum into a lower pressure flowpath.
US08402741B1 Gas turbine engine shaft bearing configuration
A gas turbine engine includes a core housing providing a core flowpath. A shaft supports a compressor section arranged within the core flowpath. First and second bearings support the shaft relative to the core housing and are arranged radially inward of and axially overlapping with the compressor section.
US08402740B2 Aircraft propulsion unit in multi-fan design
An aircraft propulsion unit includes a gas-turbine core engine 10 having at least one compressor, one combustion chamber and one turbine driving a main shaft 11. The main shaft 11 of the gas-turbine core engine 10 is operationally connected to at least two separate fans 6-9 via a mechanical drive connection, each of them being arranged beside the gas-turbine core engine 10.
US08402731B2 Elevator rope
An elevator rope including a rope main body; and a covering resin layer that covers the periphery of the rope main body and comprises a molded product of a composition which composition is produced by mixing a thermoplastic polyurethane elastomer, a thermoplastic resin other than the thermoplastic polyurethane elastomer and an isocyanate compound having two or more isocyanate groups per molecule; a rope main body impregnated with an impregnating solution comprising a hydroxy compound having two or more hydroxy groups per molecule and an isocyanate compound having two or more isocyanate groups per molecule and having a lower viscosity than a melt viscosity of the composition for forming the covering resin layer is used as the rope main body; the elevator rope has a stable friction coefficient that does not depend on temperature or sliding velocity.
US08402728B2 Guide arrangement for the draper of a combine harvester pick-up
A draper assembly for a crop pick-up has an endless draper belt assembly wrapped around a smaller front roller and a larger rear drive roller where the endless draper belt assembly is formed by four endless belts connected side by side at spaced positions along their length for common movement around the rollers. A tracking guide device is defined by a plurality of plastic guide elements mounted in a row on an inside surface of one belt at longitudinally spaced positions along the belt length which cooperates with a groove in the drive roller so that there are least two guide elements in the groove at any point in time. The guide elements are wider than their length and can be fastened through the belt so as to connect to the mounting of some of the fingers on the exterior of the belt.
US08402726B2 Packaging machine and suction control apparatus
A suction control apparatus is adapted to be used in a packaging machine for conveying and packaging a belt-shaped film while the film is being suctioned by a suction-type film conveyor. The suction control apparatus includes a proper vacuum-degree determination section and a vacuum-degree control unit. The proper vacuum-degree determination section is configured and arranged to determine a proper degree of vacuum of the suction-type film conveyor, which is less than a reference value set in advance. The vacuum-degree control unit is configured to set the degree of vacuum to a first value corresponding to the proper degree of vacuum determined by the proper vacuum-degree determination section.
US08402724B2 Method and apparatus for product in seal deflection
A device for deflecting a loose fill product from the seal zone of a bag and sealing the bag is provided. The device includes a product stopper. The product stopper is adjacent to the sealing element of a bagging machine. The product stopper includes a mount that mounts the product stopper to a bagging machine and a pinching element that pinches a bag proximal to a sealing zone before the bag is sealed by the sealing element at the sealing zone. In one embodiment, the pincher includes a spring loaded mechanism for pinching the bag proximal to the sealing zone. In another embodiment, the pincher includes an air assist mechanism for pinching the bag proximal to the sealing zone.
US08402721B2 Beverage bottling or container filling plant having a beverage bottle or container labeling machine, and a beverage bottle or container labeling machine
A container labeling machine gluing apparatus which has a rotatable glue roller and a glue dispenser for dispensing glue onto the glue roller. The apparatus also has a glue thickness adjuster which adjusts the thickness of a glue layer on the glue roller. The glue thickness adjuster comprises a spring element and a glue contact element connected to the spring element, which spring element presses the glue contact element into contact with glue on the glue roller. The glue contact element is disposed upstream of remaining portions of its glue thickness adjuster in the direction of rotation of the glue roller.
US08402712B2 Method and apparatus for construction of buildings
A framework system for buildings and other structures having a plurality of structural columns each having a wall structure of generally circular cross-sectional configuration defining an internal chamber and having a number of pairs of elongate external undercut grooves extending the length of the column and defining internal elongate grooves also extending the length of the column. Structural framework members extend between adjacent ones of the structural columns and define opposed ends. Gripper members are mounted to the ends of each of the structural framework members and each have a pair of spaced hook-like lateral retainer flanges disposed in retaining engagement within the elongate external undercut grooves. A structural member extends the length of the internal chamber and has radially oriented structural flanges each being received within one of the internal elongate grooves.
US08402704B2 Solar power structure and kit for making the same
A strong, aesthetically pleasing solar power structure comprising a hollow-beam frame, a plurality of photovoltaic panels, a sub-assembly for holding the PV panels, and a plurality of columns is provided. Also provided is a kit for making such a structure.
US08402703B2 Mounting support for a photovoltaic module
A mounting support for a photovoltaic module is described. The mounting support includes a foundation having an integrated wire-way ledge portion. A photovoltaic module support mechanism is coupled with the foundation.
US08402700B2 Wall assembly comprising panels configured to reside in an overhead structure
In one aspect of the present invention, a wall assembly may be used to divide the area of a particular living space. The wall assembly may comprise a first and second panel. The first panel may reside within an internal cavity of the second panel. The first panel may also extend beyond the second panel such that both panels may collectively form a wall. A cable may connect the wall assembly to an overhead structure such that it may pull the wall into a storage space of the overhead structure.
US08402699B2 Sliding privacy door for partition systems
An office partition system including at least first and second panels and a sliding privacy door guidably supported against the first panel via an elongated horizontal guide. The elongated horizontal guide has a channel that receives the privacy door and a mounting structure for mounting the guide to a horizontal track of the first panel. The elongated horizontal guide has a width that is substantially equivalent to the width of the first panel. The privacy door includes wheels that may support the entire weight of the privacy door. The privacy door may move from a first, open position allowing access to an interior space of the office partition system via an opening to a second, closed position restricting access to the interior space via the opening.
US08402690B2 Bedbug trap
A bedbug trap having a base with an outer wall that may be formed as an angled ramp having a relatively shallow angle that leads to an entryway, and an inner wall extending from the outer wall that may be formed as an angled chute having a relatively steep angle. The ramp may be textured or otherwise skid-resistant, and the chute is smooth. A catch container attaches underneath the base and has a floor spaced away from the chute. A source of attractant, for example, an insulated container containing dry ice, rests on the base such that at least a portion of attractant from the container will flow toward the top of the ramp. A cover may attach to the base, enclosing the insulated container.
US08402685B1 Waterfowl decoy apparatus and method of making
A waterfowl decoy apparatus is disclosed for attracting a waterfowl. The waterfowl decoy apparatus comprises a blade having a generally sinusoidal cross-section for defining a first concave portion, a second concave portion and an inflection axis. A dark pigment is on a first side of the blade. A light pigment is on a second side of the blade. A first end of a hanger is secured to an object. A swivel couples a second end of the hanger to a top edge of the blade for rotating the blade relative to the hanger. The flow of air contacts the blade for rotating the blade. The dark pigment and the light pigment create an oscillating image upon rotating of the blade for attracting the waterfowl.
US08402683B2 Rifle accessory rail, communication, and power transfer system-battery pack
The present invention is related to weapons systems. In particular, the present invention is directed to accessory attachment systems for rifles and small arms weapons that enable attached accessory devices to draw power from a central power source and communicate with the user and/or other devices.
US08402680B2 Snow thrower impeller
A snow thrower impeller includes a layer of material comprising a blade support wall and blades extending from the blade support wall.
US08402677B2 Device for footwear
An ornamental device for footwear of the type having a plurality of eyelets for a shoelace. The ornamental device comprises a mini bungee cord to engage with two opposite eyelets of the footwear. A decorative component is provided. A mechanism is for removably retaining the decorative component to center of the mini bungee cord.
US08402665B2 Method, apparatus, and devices for projecting laser planes
An apparatus is disclosed, along with methods and constituent devices, for generating omnidirectional planar projections for an exemplary laser application to provide visual references for the construction field. The preferred embodiment utilizes a convex cone lens, the lateral surface of which provides for total internal reflection, to disperse the incident beam. The curvatures of the interior and exterior surfaces of a toroidal ring lens normalize and athermalize the dispersed beam such that the resulting projection is orthogonal to the incident beam throughout an operable temperature range. Alternate optical embodiments are also disclosed which utilize various means of dispersal and normalization such as a conical reflector, concave cone lens, double-prism ring and well-adapted spherical lenses. The preferred embodiment is adapted as a portable construction tool by additionally disclosed components including a path-compression prism assembly, an adjustable tripod support adapted to a structural base assembly, and various embodiments of a lens-shield concept.
US08402664B1 Electric control device
An electric control device is provided with a fixed member, a user operating member and a position sensing unit. The fixed member has a bicycle mounting part. The user operating member is movably mounted to the fixed member. The user operating member includes a first magnetic element. The position sensing unit has a rotating member and a position sensor. The position sensor senses a position of the rotating member. The rotating member includes a second magnetic element that rotates the rotating member as the user operating member is moved. At least one of the first and second magnetic elements is configured to generate a magnetic field.
US08402657B2 Method of making a flow shaper for a sprinkler assembly
A sprinkler assembly includes a body, a support, which extends from the body, and a closure device that releasably closes the discharge opening of the body. The sprinkler assembly further includes a trigger that releasably holds the closure device at the discharge opening. The support is adapted to allow the fluid flowing from the discharge opening, when the closure device is released, to pass through the support substantially unimpeded by the support and, further, is adapted to reshape the flow of fluid as it flows through the support.
US08402654B2 Method for cutting off nozzle plate and method for manufacturing nozzle plate
A nozzle plate cutting off method for cutting off the nozzle plate from a primary processing plate including a frame body, a nozzle plate which has multiple nozzle holes for ejecting droplets and is separately arranged inside the frame body, and a connection portion arranged at a clearance between the frame body and the nozzle plate to connect the frame body to the nozzle plate. In the nozzle plate cutting off method, a punching tool is used to punch out the nozzle plate at a connection region of the connection portion with the nozzle plate, there by cutting off the nozzle plate from the primary processing plate.
US08402652B2 Methods of making wind turbine rotor blades
A method of manufacturing a wind turbine rotor blade includes, in one embodiment, the steps of providing a core, and applying at least one reinforcing skin to the core to form a blade subassembly. Each reinforcing skin is formed from a mat of reinforcing fibers. The method also includes applying a micro-porous membrane over the at least one reinforcing skin, applying a vacuum film over the micro-porous membrane, introducing a polymeric resin to the core, infusing the resin through the core and through the at least one reinforcing skin by applying a vacuum to the blade assembly, and curing the resin to form the rotor blade.
US08402651B2 Method of manufacturing vane
A method is provided which manufactures a vane used for an oil-sealed rotary vacuum pump and having at least a part formed of a resin material, the method including: an oil impregnating process of immersing the vane into oil used for the oil-sealed rotary vacuum pump under a depressurized condition, the oil impregnating process being carried out before a finishing process of finishing the vane into a final shape.
US08402645B2 Method for producing an electric component-mounted substrate
A method of producing an electric component-mounted substrate having a cavity structure is provided. Because a supporting substrate and electric components and are connected together to a first face of a base substrate, the number of steps for the connection is reduced to shorten the producing time. When electric components are to be connected to a second face, the base substrate is supported by the supporting substrate, and the electric components and connected to the first face do not contact a processing table and therefore they undergo no damage. Thus, an electric component-mounted substrate having high reliability can be produced in a short time.
US08402638B1 Press system with embossing foil free to expand for nano-imprinting of recording media
Recording media press systems and methods of operating such press systems. Press system embodiments include a first die and a second die. The press system further includes a mandrel extending along a longitudinal mandrel axis through the first die. A rod portion of the mandrel to receive a magnetic recording disk to be pressed. The press system further includes a foil holder coupled to the first die. The foil holder to clamp a first portion of an embossing foil to the first die and allow the clamped foil portion to move in a radial direction relative to the foil holder.
US08402630B2 Barrier fence
The movement of small vertebrates, e.g. endangered or threatened species, into and/or out of defined areas, e.g. construction sites, is controlled by use of a barrier fence which includes an apertured polymeric sheet. The polymeric sheet includes an upper portion which extends upwards from the ground and a lower portion which is buried in the ground. The polymeric sheet is formed by first and second sets of polymeric strands which are bonded to each other and are spaced apart from each other, thus providing apertures. The height and depth of the barrier fence and the size of the apertures prevent the small vertebrates from crossing the fence, and the apertures permit wind and water flow through the barrier fence.
US08402622B2 Method for producing liquid transport apparatus including piezoelectric actuator and method for producing piezoelectric actuator
When a piezoelectric actuator, having a lower electrode, an intermediate electrode, and an upper electrode respectively on upper surfaces of a vibration plate, a lower piezoelectric layer, and an upper piezoelectric layer mutually stacked, is produced, a voltage of 30 V is applied to the upper and the intermediate electrodes, and −30 V is applied to the lower electrode so that a second active portion, which is included in portions of the piezoelectric layers interposed between the upper and the lower electrodes and from which a portion opposed to the intermediate electrode is excluded, is polarized downwardly. After that, 0 V is applied to the upper and lower electrodes, and 30 V is applied to the intermediate electrode so that a first active portion, which is included in the upper piezoelectric layer and which is interposed between the upper and the intermediate electrodes, is polarized upwardly.
US08402621B2 System and method for forming barbs on a suture
A station for cutting a barb suture is provided. The barb cutting station includes a suture transport assembly for supporting a first suture, a first knife assembly for forming barbs on the first suture, and a first clamp and position assembly for approximating the at least first suture towards the at least first knife assembly. The barb cutting station may further include at least a first suture cutting mechanism configured for severing the at least first suture when a defect is detected. The station may also include at least a first visual inspection assembly configured for detecting defective barbs.
US08402617B2 Sand-removing seat belt buckle
A sand-removing seat belt buckle has a housing and a latching assembly. The housing has a chamber, a first opening and a second opening formed through two ends of the housing, at least one sand cavity formed through a bottom of the housing and being adjacent to the second opening, and at least one support bump formed on an inner bottom of the housing. The latching assembly serves to latch and unlatch an insertion member, and is securely mounted in the housing and on top of the at least one support bump, so that a space is formed between the insertion member and the inner bottom of the housing and communicates with the first opening, the second opening and the sand cavity. Sand, mud and crushed pebbles entering from the first opening can be removed from the sand cavity and the second opening through the space without being deposited inside the seat belt buckle.
US08402614B2 Separable bottom end stop for slide fastener
A separable bottom end stop in which a box pin has a box pin body, a first notch portion for receiving the head end of a locking pawl of a reverse-opening slider, and a protrusion piece projecting toward a separable pin in the direction of the tape width from a separable pin facing surface opposed to the separable pin. A side wall surface of the first notch portion and that sectional surface of the protrusion piece which is provided to the front end side of the box pin are formed in one plane to constitute a locking plane with which the front end of the locking pawl makes contact to lock the reverse-opening slider. The box pin body and the protrusion piece have a slant surface declined from the position of the locking plane toward an element row.
US08402607B2 Hinge assembly for foldable electronic device
An exemplary hinge assembly includes a sleeve, a first member, a second member, and a resilient member. The sleeve includes a sleeve wall and an open end. The first member is received in the sleeve. The second member is located next to the first member. One of the first member and the second member have a cam, the other of the first member and second member have a cam follower interacting with the cam so that the first member rotates about an axis and the second member moves linearly along the axis when the cam follower follows the cam. The resilient member is fitted in the sleeve and provides an elastic force to bias the first member and the second member into contact with each other. At least one tab is formed adjacent to the open end and blocking a minor portion of the open end. The at least one tab retains the first, second, and resilient members in the sleeve for preventing them from escaping the sleeve through the open end.
US08402605B2 Fastener for fixing a mat to a carpet
A fastener for fixing a mat to a carpet includes a female element having a cap and a female eyelet to sandwich a mat therebetween. A base element is engageable with the female element and includes a carpet holding arrangement for holding a carpet. The base element includes an enlarged head provided with an annular groove. The female eyelet includes at least two studs projecting inward, and deformable arms each of which extends between two adjacent studs transversely to a direction of pushing the head of the base element into the female eyelet. Each arm has a central portion disposed in the annular groove when the female element is engaged with the base element.
US08402595B2 Windscreen wiper device comprising an elastic, elongated carrier element, as well as an elongated wiper blade of a flexible material, which can be placed in abutment with the windscreen to be wiped
A windscreen wiper device comprising an elastic, elongated carrier element, as well as an elongated wiper blade of a flexible material, which can be placed in abutment with a windscreen to be wiped, which wiper blade includes opposing longitudinal grooves on its longitudinal sides, in which grooves spaced-apart-longitudinal strips of the carrier element are disposed, wherein neighboring ends of the longitudinal strips are interconnected by a respective connecting piece, which windscreen wiper device comprises a connecting device for an oscillating wiper arm wherein the strips; and the connecting piece are slidably connected by means of a snap connection with the interposition of a joint part.
US08402593B2 Windscreen wiper device
A windscreen wiper device comprising an elastic, elongated carrier element, as well as an elongated wiper blade (2) of a flexible material, which can be placed in abutment with a windscreen to be wiped, which wiper blade includes opposing longitudinal grooves on its longitudinal sides, in which grooves spaced-apart longitudinal strips (4) of the carrier element are disposed, wherein neighboring ends of said longitudinal strips are interconnected by a respective connecting piece (G), which windscreen wiper device comprises a connecting device (7) for an oscillating wiper arm (8), with the special feature that said wiper blade is detachably connected to said longitudinal strips, wherein said wiper blade can freely slide along said longitudinal strips between a first position, wherein said wiper blade is retained onto said longitudinal strips, and a second position, wherein said wiper blade is disconnected from said longitudinal strips in order to be replaced or repaired.
US08402587B2 Optical connector cleaning tool
An optical connector cleaning tool includes a holder, cleaner, and cap. The holder includes, a cylindrical slider, a cylindrical body which is rotatable and movable in the axial direction with respect to the slider, and a slider return spring which biases the body forward to return the slider to the initial position. The slider has a pair of elastic pieces having guide projections. In the outer circumferential surface of the body, spiral grooves with which the guide projections engage are formed within the angular range of 360°. When the slider moves forward, the body rotates by the cam action of the guide projections and spiral grooves. The cleaner includes, a cleaning thread accommodated in a rotary pod, a supply reel, a take-up reel, and a cleaning pin, and is connected to the body.
US08402581B2 Method and apparatus for patient loading and unloading
A method and apparatus of a positioning system are described to position an upper-half of a body relative to a head-end of a couch. The positioning system may be a patient positioning system and may include a treatment couch, a leg rest coupled to the treatment couch, and a drive mechanism coupled to the leg rest. The patient positioning system may also include a treatment couch, having a base portion of a treatment couch and plurality of detachable portions of the treatment couch. The plurality of detachable portions to adjust a height of the treatment couch to accommodate differing heights of patients.
US08402578B2 Heating and sterilizing apparatus for bed mattress
Provided is a heating and sterilizing apparatus. The heating and sterilizing apparatus for a bed mattress having a surface sheet constituting a top surface, a built-in elastic member for elastically supporting the surface sheet, and walls forming a front surface, a rear surface, and both side surfaces includes a mattress body providing a inner space, the mattress body having an installation hole, in which a portion of either side surface thereof is cut, a partition disposed inside the mattress body to partition the inner space defined inside the mattress body, a case disposed on the installation hole defined in the mattress body, and a heating and sterilizing part disposed in the case to heat and sterilize the inner space of the mattress body partitioned by the partition and calculate air within the inner space of the mattress body.
US08402572B2 Toilet armrest support system
Toilet armrest support system comprises a removable armrest platform having a centrally disposed opening that conforms to the opening over an existing toilet bowl rim. The removable armrest platform supports detachable armrests configured to provide a wider area under the armrests for larger individuals requiring more space. The relatively thin and rigid platform slides underneath an existing toilet seat and engages a docking sub-system fastened to existing hinge openings with toilet seat fasteners on the rear of the toilet. The docking sub-system is of unitary construction comprising docking bar, docking ports at each end of the docking bar, and an anchor block between the docking ports. The removable platform easily slides into the docking ports and under the elevated anchor block. A locking mechanism on the anchor block locks the removable platform securely in place which can then be removed just as easily and quickly.
US08402569B2 Swim goggles
A pair of swim goggles include left and right frames respectively encircling lenses, position elements, and a pair of strap apparatuses assembled with the left and right frames, respectively. Each of the strap apparatuses includes a coupling element, a propping plate, a releasing plate, and a head strap having multiple retaining slots. The coupling element has a base defining an opening therein for receiving the head strap. The propping plate is mounted to the base with one end thereof, and the other end of the propping plate forms a propping wall in the opening and is spaced away from the base. The releasing plate is provided with a pair of guiding walls on opposite sides thereof with respect to two opposite sides of the opening. Each of the guiding walls has a hook portion. An engaging portion is disposed between the guiding walls with respect to the propping wall.
US08407805B2 Method and system for classifying and redacting segments of electronic documents
A method for classifying and redacting electronic documents, for example an email message, is described. The classification and redaction of segments of the email message are based on rules. Using the rules, multiple versions of the email message, each corresponding to recipients with specific clearance levels are generated. A selective redacting of certain segments of the email message concurrently with sending previously redacted segments of the same email message is described. A corresponding system for classifying and redacting electronic documents is also provided.
US08407803B2 Method, apparatus and computer program product for providing protected content to one or more devices by reacquiring the content from a service
An apparatus for providing protected content to a device(s) by reacquisition of the content from an entity of a service may include a processor and a memory storing executable computer program code that causes the apparatus to at least perform operations including determining one or more Digital Rights Management (DRM) formats that one or more devices support in response to receipt of an indication(s). The computer program code may cause the apparatus to arrange data identifying the devices based at least in part on the DRM formats that correspond to the devices. The computer program code may cause the apparatus to facilitate receipt of content in at least one DRM format that at least one of the devices supports in response to a determination that a first device was selected to provide the content to a device for rendering. Corresponding computer program products and methods are also provided.
US08407798B1 Method for simulation aided security event management
A method for simulation aided security event management, the method includes: generating attack simulation information that comprises multiple simulation data items of at least one data item type out of vulnerability instances data items, attack step data items and attack simulation scope data items; wherein the generating of attack simulation information is responsive to a network model, at least one attack starting point and attack action information; identifying security events in response to a correlation between simulation data items and event data; and prioritizing identified security events.
US08407793B2 Method and apparatus for providing mobile device malware defense
A method and apparatus for protecting a wireless communication network are disclosed. For example, the method identifies an infected mobile endpoint device via at least one audit by a mal-ware defense platform, and performs an anti-malware application update on the infected mobile endpoint device.
US08407787B1 Computer apparatus and method for non-intrusive inspection of program behavior
A computer-implemented method for malicious code detection. An emulator is initialized, and import dynamic link libraries are processed. Instructions of a target program are emulated using the emulator. Select application programming interface calls are intercepted using an intercept list during the program emulation.
US08407786B1 System, method, and computer program product for displaying the rating on an electronic mail message in a user-configurable manner
A system, method, and computer program product are provided for displaying an electronic mail message in a user-configurable manner. In use, an electronic mail message is identified. Additionally, a risk of the electronic mail message is rated based on predefined criteria. Furthermore, the electronic mail message is displayed in a user-configurable manner based on the rating.
US08407783B2 Computing system providing normal security and high security services
A computing system and method providing normal security services and high security services are disclosed. The computing system includes hardware resources, a processor core and an access right checker. The hardware resources are grouped into resource security levels. The processor, switching between a normal security and a high security state, assigns a user access right to a request. In comparison with the normal security state, user access right assigned in the high security state further allows the request to use the hardware resources of a higher resource security level. According to the assigned user access right and the resource security levels of required hardware resources of the request, the access right checker determines whether the request has the authority to use the hardware resources, and thereby, the access right checker executes the request or responds the issued request with an exception.
US08407782B2 Data copyright management
Embodiments of methods, apparatuses, devices, and/or systems for data copyright management are described. According to one embodiment of this disclosure, data copyright management may include displaying, storing, copying, editing, and/or transferring digital data. According to an embodiment, data copyright management may include protecting digital data copyrights. Various embodiments of this disclosure may use cryptographic keys to implement portions of the data copyright management disclosed.
US08407780B2 Method and system for messaging security
An e-mail firewall applies policies to e-mail messages transmitted between a first site and a plurality of second sites. The e-mail firewall includes a plurality of mail transfer relay modules for transferring e-mail messages between the first site and one of the second sites. Policy managers are used to enforce and administer selectable policies. The policies are used to determine security procedures for the transmission and reception of e-mail messages. The e-mail firewall employs signature verification processes to verify signatures in received encrypted e-mail messages. The e-mail firewall is further adapted to employ external servers for verifying signatures. External servers are also used to retrieve data that is employed to encrypt and decrypt e-mail messages received and transmitted by the e-mail firewall, respectively.
US08407758B2 Network security appliance
A network security appliance that provides security to devices in industrial environments by transparently bridging traffic to the endpoint device. The security 5 appliance securely communicates with a management server for receiving configuration data for operation of security modules in the appliance by encrypted communications. The security appliance utilizes the network address of the industrial device when communicating with a management server and is addressed by the management server using the address of one of the protected devices associated with the appliance. Learned device characteristics are provided by the appliance to the management server which tailors software and security rules to specific network vulnerabilities of the device and control protocol. The security appliance sends periodic heartbeat messages to the management server using the network address of the device. The heartbeat message can also report anomalous events which may required additional software being provided from the management server to the node.
US08407755B2 Control of IPTV using second device
An IPTV may be controlled in part by a second user consumer electronic (CE) device such as a personal digital assistant (PDA) or laptop computer. The IPTV obtains system credentials from a management server to access multiple content servers, and the second CE device can browse Internet content available to the IPTV by accessing a proxy server, which coordinates with the management server and content serves to obtain necessary credentials and information for the second CE device.
US08407753B2 Content list tailoring for capability of IPTV device
An Internet Protocol TV (IPTV) manufacturer and/or IPTV device user may configure and upload the profile of the IPTV into an IPTV server. The IPTV server filters the playable contents delivered to the IPTV as necessary to match downloaded playlists and links with the IPTV profile.
US08407749B2 Communication system and method
A television receiver system and corresponding method, the television receiver system comprising: a television receiver for receiving broadcast television signals, signal processing apparatus operable to process the received television signals for output to a television screen, and a control device allowing a user to select a viewing activity by controlling the output to the television screen. The television receiver further comprises a memory storing a communication client application; and communications processing apparatus operable to execute the communication client application. The client application is programmed so as when executed to allow the user to establish bidirectional communications with one or more other users via a packet-based communication network, and to provide notifications to the user of incoming communication events from other users. The client application is further programmed to control the notifications of incoming communication events in dependence on the selection of viewing activity.
US08407747B1 Adaptive trick play streaming
Methods and devices for controlling trick-play video streaming. Upon receipt of a request to play video at a fast-play (e.g., fast-forward or fast-reverse) speed that is some multiple of a normal playback speed, one of multiple possible frame-rate versions of a trick-play track may be selected based on the requested fast-play speed and an available network bandwidth, and a server may stream the selected frame-rate version of the trick-play track to a client for playout. The various frame-rate versions may differ from each other in terms of a rate at which they skip I-frames of the video.
US08407745B2 Wireless entertainment system
An entertainment delivery system including a delivery station configured for receiving an order for entertainment content from a telephone, the telephone being configured to receive entertainment content over a wireless network, the telephone also having a display device adapted to display said entertainment content, an entertainment database coupled to the delivery station, wherein the delivery station is configured for retrieving the entertainment content from the entertainment database when the order is received, the entertainment content including video content for display, and a billing database coupled to the delivery station, wherein the delivery station is configured for sending a billing record corresponding to a user account associated with the telephone to the billing database when the order is received.
US08407740B2 Signal processing apparatus, signal processing system including the same, and control method of the same
A signal processing apparatus is provided. The signal processing apparatus includes: a memory unit in which a plurality of channels and Internet addresses corresponding to the channels are stored; a network connecting unit which is connectable to the Internet; and a control unit which controls the network connecting unit to connect to an Internet address corresponding to a channel selected by a user and to receive content provided from the connected Internet address.
US08407739B2 Apparatus and method for displaying broadcasting program guide information
Provided are an apparatus and a method for displaying a broadcasting program guide information.This application is for displaying the broadcasting program guide information by enlarging an area of a screen corresponding to a predetermined identifier or a blank area on the screen, and thereby outputting the program guide information.
US08407735B2 Methods and apparatus for identifying segments of content in a presentation stream using signature data
Described herein are methods and apparatus for the identification of locations in a presentation stream based on metadata associated with the presentation stream. Locations within a presentation stream are identified using signature data associated with the presentation stream. The identified locations within a presentation stream may be utilized to identify boundaries of segments within the presentation stream, such as logical chapters, scenes or other sections of the content. The identified segments of the presentation stream may then be selectably viewed by a user.
US08407733B2 Method and apparatus for establishing individualized subscription plans in a switched digital video system
A content delivery system headend is provided which includes a Switched Digital Video (SDV) manager for coordinating SDV sessions requested by subscribers over an access network. The headend also includes an input for receiving content to be broadcast during the SDV sessions and a subscriber control unit. The subscriber control unit is configured to compare channel change requests received by the SDV manager from subscribers to a current subscription plan that specifies a pre-established set of channels to which the subscriber has previously subscribed. In this way tuning information for accessing channels specified in the channel change requests is only supplied if the channel change requests request channels included in the current subscription plan.
US08407716B2 Apparatus and methods to access information associated with a process control system
Example apparatus and methods to access information associated with a process control system are disclosed. A disclosed example method involves receiving a first user-defined parameter name to reference a first datum value in a first data source. The first one of a plurality of data source interfaces is enabled to access the first datum value in the first data source. The example method also involves enabling referencing the first datum value in the first data source based on the first user-defined parameter name. In addition, data source interface software is then generated to access the first datum value in the first data source in response to receiving a first data access request including the first user-defined parameter name.
US08407715B2 Live range sensitive context switch procedure comprising a plurality of register sets associated with usage frequencies and live set information of tasks
A method of optimizing multi-set context switch for embedded processors includes the steps of partitioning a plurality of registers into a plurality of register sets based on a live-range-sensitive context-switch procedure that is associated with a usage frequency of each of the registers, storing contents of first target registers according to live set information of a current task, wherein the first target registers are selected from the register sets, determining a next task by an operating system and updating the live set information according to the next task, and restoring contents of second target registers according to the updated live set information, wherein the second target registers are selected from the register sets.
US08407708B2 Techniques for providing improved affinity scheduling in a multiprocessor computer system
Techniques for controlling a thread on a computerized system having multiple processors involve accessing state information of a blocked thread, and maintaining the state information of the blocked thread at current values when the state information indicates that less than a predetermined amount of time has elapsed since the blocked thread ran on the computerized system. Such techniques further involve setting the state information of the blocked thread to identify affinity for a particular processor of the multiple processors when the state information indicates that at least the predetermined amount of time has elapsed since the blocked thread ran on the computerized system. Such operation enables the system to place a cold blocked thread which shares data with another thread on the same processor of that other thread so that, when the blocked thread awakens and runs, that thread is closer to the shared data.
US08407702B2 Computer system for managing virtual machine migration
In a system including a plurality of physical machines to execute virtual machines (VM1, VM2), migration virtual machine information and definition information are saved in a physical machine executing a virtual machine (VM1) to be migrated and a storage of a physical machine as a migration destination. During the migration of the virtual machine, machine identification information of a migration partner, unique information assigned to the virtual machine, and information indicating whether the physical machine executing the processing is a migration-source or migration-destination physical machine are saved in a migration information storage area. A migration recovery section examines information stored in a definition information storage area and a migration information storage area to determine a recovery procedure to restore the virtual machine.
US08407698B2 Driver installation and diskless booting of virtual and physical machines based on machine characteristic
Methods and systems are described for provisioning a common virtual disk to both a physical and a virtual computing machine. These methods and systems can include creating a virtual disk that has binding information for both a paravirtual network interface card and a physical network interface card so that, either a virtual machine having a paravirtual network interface card, or a physical machine having a physical network interface card, may boot from the created virtual disk. Creation of the virtual disk can include exposing the paravirtual network interface card to a physical machine so that an installer program may bind to both the paravirtual network interface card and the physical network interface card.
US08407674B2 Detecting thread starvation
Thread starvation is indicated for a program under test while the program is running. Beginning with a least frequently used thread in a list of thread tracking structures, if recorded events are currently listed for the thread, thread starvation is detected based on a percentage of the recorded events that took place while other threads were waiting a synchronization object held by the thread. If no recorded events are listed for the thread, the percentage of recorded of events that take place while other threads were waiting for synchronization object held by the thread does not exceed the predetermined percentage, and there are timestamps currently listed for the thread and the thread is currently waiting for a synchronization object, thread starvation is detected based on a percentage of time the thread has been waiting for the synchronization object. Thread starvation detection is repeated for each of the remaining threads in the list of thread tracking structure, beginning with the next to least frequently active thread.
US08407671B2 Accessory validation system
Circuits, methods, and apparatus for testing media player accessories. One example includes an accessory validation system including hardware, firmware, and software. This example provides two test modes, referred to a sniff mode and an emulation mode. In the sniff mode, a test box may be inserted between an accessory and a media player. Traffic between the accessory and media player may be monitored and the presence of errors may be determined. In the emulation mode, the accessory validation system hardware emulates a media player. The emulator provides various types of responses to the accessory that would otherwise occur infrequently with an actual media player. The tests to be completed in these modes are compiled based on the category of functions that an accessory maker wishes to claim for the accessory. These category claims are then converted into a number of rules. From these rules, specific tests are generated.
US08407657B2 Flexible test fixture
A system for testing an electronic circuit board (ECB) having a plurality of test points in a pre-defined arrangement on a measurement device having a plurality of resources includes an interface fixture having a plurality of contact pads arranged in an array on a first surface. The contact pads can be electrically coupled to the plurality of resources of the measurement system according to a pre-defined pattern, where at least two of the contact pads are electrically coupled to one of the plurality of resources in a many-to-one relationship. The system also includes a test fixture removably attached to the first surface of the interface fixture. The test fixture includes an upper probe plate having a plurality of openings and a lower probe plate parallel to the upper probe plate. The lower probe plate includes a plurality of openings associated with the openings in the upper probe plate.
US08407656B2 Method and structure for a transistor having a relatively large threshold voltage variation range and for a random number generator incorporating multiple essentially identical transistors having such a large threshold voltage variation range
Disclosed are a design method and structure for a transistor having a relatively large threshold voltage (Vt) variation range due to exacerbated random dopant fluctuation (RDF). Exacerbated RDF and, thereby a relatively large Vt variation range, is achieved through the use of complementary doping in one or more transistor components and/or through lateral dopant non-uniformity between the channel region and any halo regions. Also disclosed are a design method and structure for a random number generator, which incorporates multiple pairs of essentially identical transistors having such a large Vt variation and which relies on Vt mismatch in pairs of those the transistors to generate a multi-bit output (e.g., a unique identifier for a chip or a secret key). By widening the Vt variation range of the transistors in the random number generator, detecting Vt mismatch between transistors becomes more likely and the resulting multi-bit output will be more stable.
US08407654B2 Glitch power reduction
A method comprises reducing power consumption of an electronic circuit, wherein the electronic circuit comprises at least one logic cone with at least one gate having a single output net, wherein representations of the at least one gate are instances of elements from a standard cell library. Reducing of the power consumption comprises determining an upper bound for dynamic power consumption by calculating transition metrics and power metrics for each gate. Reducing of the power consumption comprises selecting gates with an upper bound for power consumption greater than a predetermined threshold value. For each selected gate, performing operations comprising: testing multiple configurations from the standard cell library for the selected gate by calculating respective upper bound for power consumption for each of the multiple configurations; selecting gate configuration with minimum upper bound for power consumption; and modifying the gate-level design representation according to the selected gate configuration.
US08407645B1 Graphical block-based design exploration tool
A graphical block-based design exploration tool displays multiple views of a chip design. These views may include a logical view, physical view, hierarchy view, and a timing display view, displayed side-by-side or sequentially with or without animation. Various entities and their relationships to each other are displayed in these different view arrangements to allow a user to quickly grasp the entire design and to perform design techniques such as partitioning and floor planning. The display properties are user configurable to organize the information based on user preferences.
US08407644B2 Reducing crosstalk in the design of module nets
A method, a system and a computer program product for reducing coupling noise in low loss on-module wires used for connecting module components in electrical circuits/devices. During the design stage, an Enhanced Crosstalk Reduction (ECR) utility identifies interconnect wires as driven/aggressor traces or receiver traces. The ECR utility substantially avoids forward crosstalk in a victim trace by specially arranging driver traces adjacent to the receiver victim trace in order to provide a lower level and saturated level of backward crosstalk. In particular, the ECR utility provided a configuration of wire/trace layers based on one or more of: (a) the crosstalk impact of a trace when positioned in a particular location; (b) the crosstalk impact of the trace upon remaining components based on placement in the particular location; and (c) system component specifications. In addition, the ECR utility reduces crosstalk by providing a configuration of receiver wires and transmitter wires without the use of isolation layers.
US08407635B2 System and method for automatic extraction of power intent from custom analog/custom digital/mixed signal schematic designs
A method of producing a hierarchical power information structure for a circuit design, the method comprising traversing a circuit design hierarchy from a top design level to a bottom design level to identify any intermediate design levels, associating identified power nets with ground nets to produce one or more power domains, producing one or more power domains using the identified power nets and ground nets, identifying an instance of one or more special cells that are associated with a power related property and creating constructs for the special cells in the hierarchical power information structure, generating power rules for the intermediate level design using the special cell constructs, mapping higher design level power domains to lower design level power domains within the intermediate design level, and storing the power domains and power rules as power intent within an information structure associated with a schematic for the intermediate level design.
US08407634B1 Analysis of stress impact on transistor performance
Roughly described, a method for approximating stress-induced mobility enhancement in a channel region in an integrated circuit layout, including approximating the stress at each of a plurality of sample points in the channel, converting the stress approximation at each of the sample points to a respective mobility enhancement value, and averaging the mobility enhancement values at all the sample points. The method enables integrated circuit stress analysis that takes into account stresses contributed by multiple stress generation mechanisms, stresses having vector components other than along the length of the channel, and stress contributions (including mitigations) due to the presence of other structures in the neighborhood of the channel region under study, other than the nearest STI interfaces. The method also enables stress analysis of large layout regions and even full-chip layouts, without incurring the computation costs of a full TCAD simulation.
US08407630B1 Modeling and cross correlation of design predicted criticalities for optimization of semiconductor manufacturing
A method and apparatus for modeling and cross correlation of design predicted criticalities include a feedback loop where information from the manufacturing process is provided to cross correlation engine for optimization of semiconductor manufacturing. The information may include parametric information, functional information, and hot spots determination. The sharing of information allows for design intent to be reflected in manufacturing metrology space; thus, allowing for more intelligent metrology and reduces cycle time.
US08407627B2 Method and system for context-specific mask inspection
A method for inspecting lithography masks includes generating integrated circuit design data and using context information from the integrated circuit design data to inspect a mask.
US08407618B2 Displaying an operation key image to distinguish a correspondence between an operation key and a selected window
To enable a user to distinguish readily a correspondence between an operation key and a window to which the operation is assigned. An information-processing device according to the present invention, on obtaining an operation signal of a particular operation key (specifying key) (S1), determines whether a focused (or selected) window exists (S2). If such a window does not exist, the information-processing device displays a window of a particular application and a soft key image corresponding to a soft key so that they are located close to each other, and focuses the window of the particular application (S6 and S7).
US08407614B2 Setting control using edges of a user interface
A setting control may be mapped to an edge of a user interface to facilitate control of various settings and access thereto. The mapping may be implemented based on a number of setting values associated with the setting control and a size of a specified edge of the user interface. Additionally, multiple edges of a user interface may be mapped to a variety of setting controls. The edge-mapped setting controls may also be automatically reconfigured according to user preferences and interaction with the interface. Indicators are also generated to provide visual indications about the setting controls and/or a current setting. The appearance of indicators may be altered to convey a variety of information such as the current setting of a control or the type of setting control.
US08407609B2 System and method for providing and tracking the provision of audio and visual presentations via a computer network
A method for tracking digital media presentations: providing a corresponding web page for each digital media presentation to be delivered; providing identifier data to the user's computer; providing a timer applet to the user's computer; and, storing data indicative of received identifier data; wherein each provided webpage causes corresponding digital media presentation data to be streamed from a second computer system distinct from a first computer system directly to the user's computer independent of the first computer system; and stored data is indicative of an amount of time the digital media presentation data is streamed from the second computer system to the user's computer.
US08407603B2 Portable electronic device for instant messaging multiple recipients
A portable electronic device with a touch screen display displays a list of instant messaging conversations including a group conversation. The group conversation includes a first multi-recipient identifier and a group conversation indicia. In response to detecting a user selection of the group conversation, the device displays a set of outgoing messages from a user of the device to multiple recipients in a chronological order and a second multi-recipient identifier. The device receives a new outgoing message for the group conversation entered by the user of the device through the touch screen display, and responds to detecting a user request to send the new outgoing message to the multiple recipients by sending the new outgoing message to the multiple recipients in the group conversation. The new outgoing message is appended to the set of outgoing messages displayed on the touch screen display.
US08407595B1 Imaging service for automating the display of images
An imaging service creates a visual presentation. The imaging service accesses images of a location, arranges them such that they create a desired visual effect when displayed, and combines them in a visual presentation. The imaging service may employ a client/server system, in which case images and information are uploaded from a client, and the visual presentation is downloaded to the client. The imaging service may also receive compensation from a computer user for using the imaging service.
US08407593B2 Method, apparatus and computer program product to utilize context ontology in mobile device application personalization
A mobile terminal includes a user interface specified at least in part by a user. The mobile terminal includes a user interface specification unit that operates in accordance with a programmed data processor to select, in cooperation with the user, at least one trigger and an action, which together form a rule; to automatically generate a directory structure comprising a set of available events in accordance with a hierarchical information model; to select, in cooperation with the user, at least one trigger value from the available set of events and to define an action to be performed by the mobile terminal in responsive to the at least one trigger value being satisfied.
US08407590B1 On-screen user-interface graphic
Systems and methods to provide a user-interface graphic are implemented on a client system having one or more processors and memory to store programs. The method includes, while executing a browser application on the client system, displaying a page on a display of the client system; displaying the user-interface graphic over the page at a first position relative to the page. The method further includes receiving a request to scroll the page, responding to the request by scrolling the page, and in response to detecting an end of the scrolling, displaying the user-interface graphic at a second position relative to the page.
US08407589B2 Grouping writing regions of digital ink
A method for grouping writing regions of digital ink receives processed digital ink that comprises writing regions. A relationship can be generated between a plurality of the writing regions. A feature set can be determined that is associated with the plurality of the writing regions. The plurality of the writing regions can be grouped based on the feature set.
US08407581B2 Reverse mapping method and apparatus for form filling
In the presently preferred embodiment of the invention, every time a user submits a form the client software tries to match the submitted information with the stored profile of that user. If a match is discovered, the program tags the field of the recognized data with a corresponding type. The resulting profile can be used after that to help all subsequent users to fill the same form.
US08407578B2 Chemical web browser
The present invention relates to a system, method and program product for a chemical web browser. A chemical web browser including a document system for accessing a document containing at least one chemical name is provided. A chemical annotation system identifies the at least one chemical name within the document. A chemical formulae conversion system associates a chemical structure with the identified chemical name. The chemical structure is displayed.
US08407567B2 Reconfigurable adder
In one embodiment, a reconfigurable adder has first and second five-bit non-reconfigurable adders and is selectively configurable to operate in a five-bit mode or a ten-bit mode. In five-bit mode, the first non-reconfigurable adder adds first and second messages to generate a first sum, and the second non-reconfigurable adder adds third and fourth messages to generate a second sum. In ten-bit mode, the first non-reconfigurable adder adds a first half of a first ten-bit message and a first half of a second ten-bit message to generate a first partial sum and a carry-over bit. The second non-reconfigurable adder adds a second half of the first ten-bit message, a second half of the second ten-bit message, and the carry-over bit to generate a second partial sum. A ten-bit sum is then generated by combining the first and second partial sums.
US08407561B2 Formulaic flexible collision-free memory accessing for parallel turbo decoding with quadratic polynomial permutation (QPP) interleave
Formulaic flexible collision-free memory accessing for parallel turbo decoding with quadratic polynomial permutation (QPP) interleave. A means is presented by which any desired number of parallel implemented turbo decoding processors can be employed to perform turbo decoding that has been performed using a QPP interleave. This approach is presented to allow an arbitrarily selected number (M) of decoding processors (e.g., a plurality of parallel implemented turbo decoders) to perform decoding of a turbo coded signal while still using a selected embodiment of a QPP interleave. In addition, a collision-free memory mapping, (MOD,C,W) provides more freedom for selecting the particular quadratic polynomial permutation (QPP) interleave (π) that satisfies a parallel turbo decoding implementation with any desired number of parallel implemented turbo decoding processors. This memory mapping allows collision-free reading and writing of updated information (as updated using parallel implemented turbo decoder) into memory banks.
US08407557B2 System, method and computer readable medium for communication of encoded messages
A message encoding specification and implementation where a receiver of an encoded message determines if the message can be decoded. If the receiver can decode the message, it does so and continues processing the message. If the receiver cannot decode the message, it returns a distinguished failure message to the sender, expecting the sender to resend the message using a different encoding scheme. When a sender receives the distinguished failure message that the receiver cannot decode the message, the sender encodes the message using an alternate encoding scheme, if one is available, and resends the message. The process continues until the sender has tried all available encoding schemes. If a sender exhausts the collection of available encoding schemes without finding one the receiver can successfully decode, the sender treats the failure as an error.
US08407549B2 Method for operation of synchronous HARQ in a wireless communication system
A method for operating synchronous HARQ between a transmitting station and a receiving station in a TDD communication system, includes configuring a plurality of HARQ processes at the transmitting station, and transmitting a data burst in a first subframe to the receiving station via one of the plurality of HARQ processes and using a frame structure including a plurality of regions of subframes. The method also includes receiving a second subframe transmitted from the receiving station and containing a HARQ feedback indicative of whether the data burst was correctly received at the receiving station. Further, the method includes determining whether the HARQ feedback is an acknowledgement (ACK) or a negative acknowledgement (NACK), and retransmitting, via the one of the plurality of HARQ processes, the data burst in a third subframe to the receiving station if it is determined that the HARQ feedback is a NACK. A total number of plurality of HARQ processes is determined based on a total number of uplink subframes between the first subframe and the third subframe.
US08407547B2 Method for selecting PMI for non-adaptive HARQ operation in a MIMO wireless communication system
A method for transmitting an uplink signal at a User Equipment (UE) in a wireless communication system includes receiving, from a Base Station (BS), an uplink scheduling grant for multi-antenna transmission; transmitting the uplink signal precoded using precoding information included in the received uplink scheduling grant to the BS; and retransmitting the uplink signal to the BS according to Acknowledgment/Negative Acknowledgment (ACK/NACK) corresponding to the transmitted uplink signal. The retransmitted uplink signal is precoded using precoding information included in a most recent uplink scheduling grant or a predetermined precoding matrix if an uplink scheduling grant for the retransmission is not received from the BS.
US08407543B2 Boundary scan paths with shared scan cells and resynchronization memories
An integrated circuit or circuit board includes functional circuitry and a scan path. The scan path includes a test data input lead, a test data output lead, a multiplexer, and scan cells. A dedicated scan cell has a functional data output separate from a test data output. Shared scan cells each have a combined output for functional data and test data. The shared scan cells are coupled in series. The test data input of the first shared scan cell is connected to the test data output of the dedicated scan cell. The combined output of one shared scan cell is coupled to the test data input lead of another shared scan cell. The multiplexer has an input coupled to the test data output, an input connected to the combined output lead of the last shared scan cell in the series, and an output connected in the scan path.
US08407539B2 Semiconductor device test circuit, semiconductor device, and its manufacturing method
The test circuit can apply a stress to each node of each object combinational circuit in the semiconductor device and suppress the semiconductor circuit overhead when in burn-in or leak test operations for the semiconductor device while it has been impossible to apply such a stress to any of such nodes only with use of an F/F circuit in any conventional environments. The test circuit is disposed in the semiconductor and combined with first and second combinational circuits therein. In the semiconductor device, a transfer gate switch is connected between first and second nodes and a first transistor is connected between the second node and a power supply. The second transistor is connected between the second node and a ground. Each of the transfer gate switch and the first and second transistors operates according to at least one of the control signals supplied from outside the semiconductor device.
US08407528B2 Circuits, systems, apparatus and processes for monitoring activity in multi-processing systems
An electronic circuit includes a first processor (100) operable to perform processing operations, a first trace buffer (230) coupled to the first processor (100), a first triggering circuit (210) coupled to the first processor (100), the first triggering circuit (210) operable to detect a specified sequence of particular processing operations in the first processor (100); a second processor (101), a second trace buffer (231) coupled to the second processor (101), a second triggering circuit (211) coupled to the second processor (101), the second triggering circuit (211) operable to detect at least one other processing operation in the second processor (101); and a cross trace circuit (330) having a trace output and having inputs coupled to the first triggering circuit (210) and to the second triggering circuit (211), the cross trace circuit (330) configurably operable to respond to a sequence including both a detection of the sequence of particular processing operations of the first processor (100) by the first triggering circuit (210) and a detection of the at least one other processing operation of the second processor (101) by the second triggering circuit (211), to couple at least one of the first trace buffer (230) and the second trace buffer (231) to the trace output. Various circuits, devices, telecommunications products, wireless handsets, systems and processes of operation and manufacture are disclosed.
US08407524B2 Server throttled client debugging
Systems and methods of debugging client applications may provide for detecting a runtime error in a first version of a client application, and obtaining a second version of the client application server in response to the runtime error. The second version of the client application may be used to conduct a diagnosis of the runtime error.
US08407522B2 Test apparatus and recording medium
Provided is a test apparatus that tests a device under test, comprising a plurality of test modules that test the device under test; and a control section that controls the plurality of test modules. Each test module includes a test section that tests the device under test; and a self-diagnostic section that diagnoses operation of the test section based on diagnostic data supplied thereto. The control section supplies the diagnostic data in parallel to self-diagnostic sections for which the same type of diagnostic data is set, and supplies the diagnostic data sequentially to self-diagnostic sections for which a different type of diagnostic data is set.
US08407520B2 System and method for definition, creation, management, transmission, and monitoring of errors in SOA environment
A computer-implemented system and method for the definition, creation, management, transmission, and monitoring of errors in a SOA environment. An example embodiment includes: defining a common standard error data structure; automatically generating a unique identifier (ID) for each new error data instance; allowing customization of error data structure through extensions; creation and management of error instances that conform to this structure; ability to group errors across various dimensions; introducing the concept of an error library, the error library including a plurality of localizable error bundles, each of the error bundles including a plurality of error data instances for a particular domain, along with the associated metadata; automatically creating runtime artifacts for each error; ability to transmit errors either as faults or as part of the normal response payload; automatic error metric collection based on various error categories, and finally, tooling to help manage error libraries and reporting errors.
US08407518B2 Using virtual machine cloning to create a backup virtual machine in a fault tolerant system
Techniques for creating a fault tolerant system in a virtual machine environment utilize a primary VM and a backup VM. To initialize the fault tolerant system, the backup VM and primary VM start from the same state. To achieve this in one embodiment, the primary VM is suspended and the state of the primary VM is copied to the backup VM. Once the backup VM has received all the primary VM's state, the primary VM is resumed. Subsequent state changes of the primary VM are buffered until the backup VM resumes, connects to the primary VM, and starts consuming the buffered content. Thereafter, synchronization is maintained by the primary VM's writing relevant state changes to a log and the backup VM's reading such relevant state changes from the log.
US08407517B2 Methods and apparatus for managing error codes for storage systems coupled with external storage systems
A system comprising a plurality of storage systems, which uses storage devices of multiple levels of reliability. The reliability as a whole system is increased by keeping the error code for the relatively low reliability storage disks in the relatively high reliability storage system. The error code is calculated using hash functions and the value is used to compare with the hash value of the data read from the relatively low reliability storage disks.
US08407514B2 Method of achieving high reliability of network boot computer system
In a network computer system, recovery may be impossible from a fault when the fault occurs in a network switch in a network or a device such as an external disk device. Provided is a computer system that includes a plurality of servers, a plurality of network, a plurality of external disk devices, and a management computer, in which the management computer detects a fault which is occurred, retrieves an application stop server inaccessible to the used disk due to the fault, retrieves the disk for storing the same contents as contents stored in the disk used by the retrieved application stop server and the external disk device including the disk, retrieves an application resuming server capable of accessing the retrieved external disk device, and transmits an instruction to boot by using the retrieved disk to the retrieved application resuming server.
US08407506B2 Dynamic allocation of processor cores running an operating system
An apparatus and method for dynamic allocation of multiple processor cores in a computer running an operating system includes providing a program operable to halt a core from processing instructions from a respective ready queue. A next step includes establishing a maximum count of tokens available to allow the program execution, wherein the maximum count is less than a total number of cores. A next step includes obtaining tokens by the cores, wherein at least one core will not be able to obtain a token. If a token has been obtained by a core, executing the program by that core, or otherwise not executing the program by that core and remaining active to process instructions from the respective ready queue of that core.
US08407505B2 Power consumption control method in multicore CPU
A power consumption control method for a multicore CPU containing a plurality of cores each occupying a memory with partial array self refresh mode. The method includes making, when a core in the multicore CPU enters a power save mode, another core in the multicore CPU compress data in the memory occupied by the core entering the power save mode, store back compressed data in the memory, and control the memory to perform refresh operations to one or more banks retaining the compressed data.
US08407491B2 Semiconductor device for supplying power supply voltage to semiconductor device
A semiconductor device includes first, second and third power supply terminals respectively supplied with first, second and third power supply voltages. The semiconductor device also includes a first terminal connectable to a host device and a second terminal connectable to a peripheral device. The semiconductor device also includes a first circuit block connected to the first terminal and the first power supply terminal and receiving data output from the host device based on the first power supply voltage, a second circuit block connected to the second terminal and the third power supply terminal and receiving data output from the peripheral device based on the third power supply voltage, and a third circuit block connected to the second power supply terminal and controlling operation of the first circuit block and the second circuit block based on the second power supply voltage.
US08407490B2 Power supply having an auxiliary switch to control a relay switch connected in parallel to a main switch for continuing supply power when the main switch is off
There is provided a power supply device including: a main power switch; an auxiliary power switch; a power supplying switch; a relay having a relay contact and an excitation coil that, in an excited state, closes the relay contact, and, when the excited state is cancelled, opens the relay contact; a control section effecting control such that, when the main power switch is in an on position and the auxiliary power switch is in an on/off position, the power supplying switch is turned on/off; and a driving section that drives the relay such that, when the main power switch is in an on position and the auxiliary power switch is in an on position, the excitation coil is excited and maintain the excited state, and, when the auxiliary power switch is in an off position, cancels the excited state of the excitation coil.
US08407489B2 Method and apparatus for quick resumption
When transitioning from sleep mode to active mode, a processing system loads first stage resume content and second stage resume content into a volatile memory of the processing system. The first stage resume content may contain contextual data for a first program that was in use before the processing system transitioned to sleep mode. The second stage resume content may contain contextual data for another program that was in use before the processing system transitioned to sleep mode. The processing system may provide a user interface for the first program before all of the second stage resume content has been loaded into the volatile memory. Other embodiments are described and claimed.
US08407479B2 Data authentication and tamper detection
One embodiment includes a method that includes receiving an ephemeral value from a challenging device. The method also includes retrieving data whose content is presumed known to the challenging device. The method includes generating a digital signature of the data based on the ephemeral value. Additionally, the method includes transmitting the digital signature to the challenging device.
US08407478B2 Control message signature for device control
A method of controlling a peripheral device includes generating, in a host processor, a control message for transmission to the peripheral device, and calculating a signature for the control message. The control message and the signature are written to an address in a system memory of the host processor, and the peripheral device is notified of the address, so as to cause the device to read the control message and the signature from the system memory.
US08407475B2 Augmented single factor split key asymmetric cryptography-key generation and distributor
A system for authenticating communication network users includes a user-associated user station communicatively coupled to an authenticating station via the communication network. The authenticating station is configured to authenticate the user and receive a first value, representing a first user credential, from the user station. A first key portion is generated based on the first value and a second value that is unknown to the user. The first key portion, along with a second key portion, is used for authenticating credentials of the user for a predefined period of time or for authenticating user credentials for a predefined number of times. The second key portion is generated based on the first key portion. A cookie that includes the second value or a value derived from the second value is generated and transmitted to the user station and then the second value is destroyed.
US08407473B2 Information processing apparatus and method, recording medium and program
The present invention relates to an information processing apparatus allowing proper communication with a communication partner in accordance with a communication time of the communication partner.
US08407468B2 System and method for authenticating streamed data
One embodiment of a method of authenticating data comprises: receiving, at a device, data in a plurality of indexed packets transmitted by a data server, the data of the indexed packets being at least a portion of a larger data stream; receiving, at the device, from a data authentication server connected to the device by a network, a server-computed authentication value based on a subset of the data transmitted by the data server, the data authentication server having access to the data that was transmitted from the data server to the device; and comparing a device-computed authentication value based on a subset of the received data, corresponding to the subset of the data transmitted by the data server, with the server-computed authentication value in order to determine whether the subset of the data received at the device is authentic.
US08407460B1 System and method for a software application to determine if the storage device and the operating system is an internal drive or an external drive
Software program or application can determine if the storage device it was launched from is connected to the host computer system on an internal bus or an external bus. The ability of a software application to determine from where it and the operating system was launched allows it to perform a plurality of actions based on the launch location such as limiting the functionality of an application depending on its launch location. If a software company does not want its software to be installed or executed from an external drive or executed on multiple computers then it can limit the users ability to moved the software from one computer to another on a portable drive connected through a USB or IEEE-1394 port.
US08407455B2 Coexistence of advanced hardware synchronization and global locks
A computer-implemented method and article of manufacture is disclosed for enabling computer programs utilizing hardware transactional memory to safely interact with code utilizing traditional locks. A thread executing on a processor of a plurality of processors in a shared-memory system may initiate transactional execution of a section of code, which includes a plurality of access operations to the shared-memory, including one or more to locations protected by a lock. Before executing any operations accessing the location associated with the lock, the thread reads the value of the lock as part of the transaction, and only proceeds if the lock is not held. If the lock is acquired by another thread during transactional execution, the processor detects this acquisition, aborts the transaction, and attempts to re-execute it.
US08407453B2 Facilitating processing in a computing environment using an extended drain instruction
Processing within a computing environment is facilitated using an extended DRAIN instruction. An extended DRAIN instruction is used to stall processing within a computing environment. The instruction includes an indication of the one or more processing stages at which processing is to be stalled. It also includes a control that allows processing to be stalled for additional cycles, as desired.
US08407442B2 Preemptive in-pipeline store compare resolution
A computer-program product that includes a tangible storage medium readable by a processing circuit and storing instructions for execution by the processing circuit for performing a method. The method includes receiving a plurality of stores in a store queue, via a processor, comparing a fetch request against the store queue to search for a target store having a same memory address as the fetch request, determining whether the target store is ahead of the fetch request in a same pipeline, and processing the fetch request when it is determined that the target store is ahead of the fetch request.
US08407436B2 Methods and apparatus for migrating thin provisioning volumes between storage systems
Multiple storage systems have capability to provide thin provisioning volumes to host computers and capability to transfer (import/export) management information regarding thin provisioning between storage systems. Moreover, at least one of the storage systems posses capability to provide storage area of other storage system as own storage area virtually via connection to the other storage system (i.e. external storage). Target storage system achieves efficient migration and unifying storage resource pool by importing or referring the management information obtained from source storage system and by utilizing the source storage system as external storage. One implementation involves method and process for migration of thin provisioning volumes using chunks having same length between source storage system and destination storage system. In this implementation, storage resource pool is unified by importing management information from the source storage system, and automated page-based relocation is performed to adjust actual location of data.
US08407435B2 Efficiently creating a snapshot of a large consistency group using multiple commands including a snapshot preparation command
Preparation of a snapshot for data storage includes receiving a first command to prepare to create a snapshot of a set of data stored on at least one source storage volume in a data storage system. The data storage system is prepared to expedite creation of the snapshot in response to the first command. A second command to create the snapshot is received subsequent to the first command. The snapshot is created, in response to the second command, by copying the set of data onto at least one target storage volume at an event time. The set of data may comprise a consistency group comprising a set of data blocks, and preparing the system to create the snapshot may include reserving resources, throttling an incoming data rate, starting a timer after receiving the first command, and/or copying data from a plurality of storage volumes into a memory cache.
US08407430B2 Analysis technique of computer system
This invention is to provide a technique to obtain data concerning a proper transaction amount. An information processing method to achieve the object comprises: obtaining data concerning a transaction amount presumed as being processed in a system to be analyzed for a plurality of business items; calculating a first load amount from the data concerning said transaction amount, obtaining data concerning operating state of the system to be analyzed, calculating a second load amount from the data concerning the operating state; and judging whether or not data that is a basis of the first load amount calculation is appropriate by determining whether or not the first load amount and the second load amount are satisfied with a predetermined condition.
US08407421B2 Cache spill management techniques using cache spill prediction
An apparatus and method is described herein for intelligently spilling cache lines. Usefulness of cache lines previously spilled from a source cache is learned, such that later evictions of useful cache lines from a source cache are intelligently selected for spill. Furthermore, another learning mechanism—cache spill prediction—may be implemented separately or in conjunction with usefulness prediction. The cache spill prediction is capable of learning the effectiveness of remote caches at holding spilled cache lines for the source cache. As a result, cache lines are capable of being intelligently selected for spill and intelligently distributed among remote caches based on the effectiveness of each remote cache in holding spilled cache lines for the source cache.
US08407418B2 Information processing apparatus and driver
According to one embodiment, an information processing apparatus includes a memory includes a buffer area, a first storage, a second storage and a driver. The buffer area is reserved in order to transfer data between the driver and a host system that requests for data writing and data reading. The driver is configured to write data into the second storage and read data from the second storage using the first external storage as a cache for the second storage. The driver is further configured to reserve a cache area in the memory, between a buffer area and the first external storage, and between a buffer area and the second storage.
US08407416B2 Dynamic disk throttling in a wide area network optimization device
A network device may operate to increase application performance over a wide area network. In one particular implementation, the network device may monitor accesses to a disk drive from entities and determine whether an entity is accessing the disk drive in a manner that causes a disproportionate amount of performance degradation. If so, the network device may throttle access to the disk drive for the entity.
US08407408B2 Static wear leveling
Methods permitting erasures to be performed evenly over time in memory, thereby extending the service life of a data storage device, and devices operable to perform those methods. Erasures performed on a given physical block in memory are tracked by incrementing a corresponding erase count included in an entry associated with a logical block correlated with that physical block. Each of a plurality of physical blocks included in the memory is associated with logical zones such that each logical zone comprises a different portion of the physical blocks. An erase count indicator is determined for each logical zone. When the total number of erasures for the given physical block reaches a limit, the entry associated with the logical block correlated with that physical block is exchanged with another entry associated with a logical block correlated with a physical block in a logical zone having a lower count indicator.
US08407406B2 Semiconductor memory device and method of testing the same
According to one embodiment, a nonvolatile semiconductor memory device is disclosed. The semiconductor memory device can include a first memory cell array and a second memory cell array acting in parallel each other, the first memory cell array including a plurality of first blocks and the second memory cell array including a plurality of second blocks, and each of the blocks being an erase unit, a plurality of flag resistors configured to correspond to each of the first blocks and each of the second blocks, a flag data is capable of being written to the flag resistors by selecting block address, a control circuit reading out the flag data in the flag resistor corresponding to the first block and the flag data in the flag resistor corresponding to the second block in parallel fashion, a first counter resistor storing a counting value of the flag data in the flag resistors corresponding to the first blocks of the first memory cell array, and a second counter resistor storing a counting value of the flag data in the flag resistors corresponding to the second blocks of the second memory cell array.
US08407402B2 Memory system and data erasing method therefor
A memory system includes a management table group in which management information including storage positions of data stored in a first storing area and a second storing area is stored. The management table group is stored in the second storing area. A controller performs data transfer between a host apparatus and the second storing area via the first storing area and performs management of the data in the first and second storing areas based on the management table group while updating the management table group expanded in the first storing area. The second storing area can store data associated with a first logical address area accessible from the host apparatus and data associated with a second logical address area accessible from the host apparatus, and the controller receives an erasing command from the host apparatus, collects the data associated with the second logical address area in a predetermined area in the second storing area, and then initializes the management table group.
US08407400B2 Dynamic SLC/MLC blocks allocations for non-volatile memory
Apparatus and methods are disclosed, such as those that provide dynamic block allocations in NAND flash memory between single-level cells (SLC) and multi-level cells (MLC) based on characteristics. In one embodiment, a memory controller dynamically switches between programming and/or reprogramming blocks between SLC mode and MLC mode based on the amount of memory available for use. When memory usage is low, SLC mode is used. When memory usage is high, MLC mode is used. Dynamic block allocation allows a memory controller to obtain the performance and reliability benefits of SLC mode while retaining the space saving benefits of MLC mode.
US08407389B2 Atomic operations with page migration in PCIe
A method and data processing system enables scheduling of atomic operations within a Peripheral Component Interconnect Express (PCIe) architecture during page migration. In at least one embodiment, firmware detects the activation of a page migration operation. The firmware notifies the I/O host bridge, which responds by setting an atomic operation stall (AOS) bit to a pre-established value that indicates that there is an ongoing migration within the memory subsystem of a memory page that is mapped to that I/O host bridge. When the AOS bit is set to the pre-established value, the I/O host bridge prevents/stalls any received atomic operations from completing. The I/O host bridge responds to receipt of receipt of an atomic operation by preventing the atomic operation from being initiated within the memory subsystem, when the AOS bit is set to the pre-established value. The AOS bit is reset when the migration operation has completed.
US08407387B2 Multi-thread processor and the multi-thread processor's interrupt processing method having interrupt processing that is processed by an associated hardware thread
A first exemplary aspect of an embodiment of the present invention is a multi-thread processor including a plurality of hardware threads each of which generates an independent instruction flow, and an interrupt controller that determines whether or not an input interrupt request signal is associated with one or more than one of the plurality of hardware threads, and when the input interrupt request signal is associated, assigns the interrupt request to an associated hardware thread.
US08407382B2 Commonality factoring for removable media
Systems and methods for commonality factoring for storing data on removable storage media are described. The systems and methods allow for highly compressed data, e.g., data compressed using archiving or backup methods including de-duplication, to be stored in an efficient manner on portable memory devices such as removable storage cartridges. The methods include breaking data, e.g., data files for backup, into unique chunks and calculating identifiers, e.g., hash identifiers, based on the unique chunks. Redundant chunks can be identified by calculating identifiers and comparing identifiers of other chunks to the identifiers of unique chunks previously calculated. When a redundant chunk is identified, a reference to the existing unique chunk is generated such that the chunk can be reconstituted in relation to other chunks in order to recreate the original data. The method further includes storing one or more of the unique chunks, the identifiers and/or the references on the removable storage medium.
US08407378B2 High-speed inline data compression inline with an eight byte data path
Several methods and a system to implement data compression inline with an eight byte data path are disclosed. In one embodiment, a method includes acquiring a data from a host. In addition, the method includes applying an eight byte data path to the data. The method also includes compressing the data inline. The method may further include writing the data in a memory through a memory controller using a RAID engine. The method may also include manipulating the data through the RAID engine. In addition, the method may include reading the data through a Serial Attached SCSI (SAS) core. The method may further include writing the data to a non-volatile storage. The method may include applying a compression technique based on a data history. The method may also include maintaining a consistent order of a sequence of the data during a data compression operation and a decompression operation.
US08407374B2 Intelligent resource state memory recall
Intelligent resource state memory recall techniques, and associated apparatus and methods, are disclosed. States of one or more video switcher resources in a resource state memory may be recalled to the same or different resources, depending on resource availability at the time of memory recall. A memory recall need not affect an on air signal. The memory may be recalled to recreate a desired program output, as defined in the memory, on a preview output of the video switcher, which leaves a current program output of the video switcher undisturbed when the memory is recalled.
US08407368B2 Tracking network socket usage in a data communication network
A method, apparatus and computer readable medium is provided for tracking processes using a socket object. The processes are utilized to execute an application program. Initially, a process list for the socket object is created, such that the process list contains a process identifier for a first process using the socket object. If a second process is using the socket object, the process list is updated to include the process identifier for the second process.
US08407367B2 Unified connector architecture
A system, device, and method are disclosed. In one embodiment the system includes a first host controller that utilizes a first protocol. The system also includes a second host controller that utilizes a second protocol. The system also includes a unified connector port. Finally, the system includes a router that is coupled to the first host controller, the second host controller, and the unified connector port. The router is functionally capable of encapsulating a physical layer packet from the first host controller into a first unified connector protocol frame and then transmits the new first frame to the unified connector port. The router is also capable of encapsulating a physical layer packet that it receives from the second host controller into a second unified connector protocol frame and then transmits the second frame to the unified connector port. The first and second protocols are not the same protocol.
US08407364B2 Apparatus and method for providing a congestion measurement in a network
Example embodiments of a system and method for providing a congestion measurement in a network are disclosed. In an example embodiment information is received at an information transfer rate, from a source network device. A sample of the information may be taken before the information is transmitted to a destination network device. In an example embodiment, a congestion measurement value is computed that corresponds to the sample and represented with at least two bits. A multi-bit indicator of the congestion measurement value is then transmitted to control the information transfer rate of information arriving in the future.
US08407354B2 System and method for determining trust for SIP messages
A method for performing registration is provided. The method includes receiving a server timeout message, the server timeout message including at least a field set to a value equal to a value received during a first registration. The method further includes initiating restoration procedures by performing a second registration in response to receiving the server timeout message.
US08407347B2 Method of operating multiple input and output devices through a single computer
A system for operating multiple independent terminals of grouped, locally connected input and output devices through a single graphical user interface layer running on a computer comprising an event queue module for receiving each input command from each input device; an event handler module for receiving the input commands from the event queue module and directing input commands from specific input devices via corresponding socket/listeners of the single graphical user interface layer to corresponding ones of multiple pointers, focuses and client applications based on predetermined associations between grouped devices and respective ones of the socket/listeners; and an output module for directing output commands from each socket/listener to respective ones of the output devices based on the predetermined associations. A system for creating multiple independent terminals of grouped input and output devices connected to and for operation by a single computer comprising a configuration module for simultaneously providing unique output commands to ungrouped output devices to cause the output devices to respectively provide a unique input directive to a user; the configuration module also for receiving unique input commands from individual ungrouped input devices, each unique input command corresponding to a respective one of the unique output directives; and an association module for, in response to the receiving, commonly associating with a unique group identifier each of corresponding input and output devices and respective ones of multiple pointers and focuses.
US08407346B2 Service facade design and implementation
In one embodiment, a computer system receives registration information for available services provided by a service provider. The registration information includes information identifying functionality provided by the available services, and the registration information is used to register the available services with the intermediary service. The computer system receives a service request from a client computer system identifying a function that is to be performed by at least one of the available services registered at the intermediary service. The computer system determines which of the registered available services is configured to provide the functionality requested by the client and processes the received service request using various system functionality components, so that the service request is configured for service-specific processing provided by a registered available service. The computer system also sends the processed service request to the registered service determined to be configured to provide the functionality requested by the client.
US08407339B2 Star network and method for preventing a repeated transmission of a control symbol in such a star network
A star network (1) having a star coupler (14) and at least a first and second network branch (112, 122), wherein each network branch (112, 122) comprises at least one network node (110, 120) and a bus driver (11, 12) connected between the star coupler (14) and the at least one network node (110, 120). A first bus driver (11) of the first network branch (112) is adapted to detect a symbol pattern comprising at least two predetermined equal control symbols, which are transmitted from the first network node (110) to the second network node (120), wherein a control symbol is part of a control pattern. The control pattern is used to force at least the second network node (120) to switch into a predetermined state. The first bus driver (11) is disabling the first network branch (112) from the star network (1) based on whether the transmitted symbol pattern is detected. By using the protection mechanism a reliable detection of babbling idiots is provided. Moreover, in case of detecting such babbling idiots the remaining network nodes are separated and the network can operate without being influenced by the faulty network node.
US08407333B2 Method and apparatus for inexpensively monitoring and controlling remotely distributed appliances
A method and associated apparatus are described that enables unattended, remotely distributed appliances, such as vending machines, utility meters, thermostats and kitchen appliances (ovens, washing machines, refrigerators, etc.) to be connected inexpensively to each other and to a centrally located server. The apparatus 1) uses relatively simple “personality” modules to adapt the apparatus to the application in combination with a sophisticated core module that provides the intelligence needed to process data locally, to format that data and to transfer it to a remote server and 2) uses existing Internet-based communication links, thereby avoiding the costly proprietary links used with current state-of-the-art solutions.
US08407330B2 Method and apparatus for the addition and removal of nodes from a common interconnect
An electronic system interconnect. The interconnect comprises a first node and a second node coupled to the first node. The interconnect is initially configured to include the first and second nodes. A third node is added to the interconnect after the interconnect is initially configured, and the first node responds to the addition of the third node by initiating a new connect handshake with the third node. The first node begins by transmitting a first signal to the third node. The first node signals that the third node has been added to the interconnect if the third node responds to the first signal by transmitting a second signal. The first node causes the interconnect to be reconfigured if the third node transmits a third signal in response to receiving the first signal.
US08407327B1 Network management using visual identifiers
This disclosure relates to network management using visual identifiers. In one of many possible embodiments, a network management system includes a visual identifier device located visibly proximate to a network device. The visual identifier device includes a set of visual identifiers and a selector mechanism configured to be manipulated to select at least one of the visual identifiers to be assigned to the network device. The network management system also includes a display device configured to display a visual representation of said selected visual identifier.
US08407315B2 Method for horizontal scale delta encoding
Data can be transferred between computers at remote sites by transferring the data itself, or by transferring files showing how data at an originating site can be recreated from data already present at a receiving site. As part of the data transfer, a determination can be made as to what is the most appropriate way for the transfer to take place. Further, in cases where data is not transferred directly between originating and receiving sites, it is possible that some preparatory steps might be performed to improve the efficiency of the transfers to the receiving sites when they do take place. Additional efficiencies can be obtained in some cases by using the parallel processing capabilities provided by a cloud based architecture.
US08407313B2 Obtaining customized content using a pilot packet
A system is configured to receive a request to register a user device with a network; perform an operation that registers the user device and enables the user device to obtain content from another network; generate a packet that includes information associated with the user device and information associated with the operation; output the packet to a device, where the packet enables the device to obtain information associated with usage habits corresponding to the user device; receive, from the user device, a query to obtain the content from the other network; output, to the device, a content request based on the query; receive, from the device and based on the content request, the content that is customized for the user device based on the information associated with the usage habits; and output the customized content to the user device.
US08407310B2 Method for data communication, data communication system and mobile communication terminal
A cellular phone 10 transmits a request for management information including size information of object data which is desired to be downloaded, and determines whether a size of the object data exceeds a predetermined value or not, based on the size information. If the size of the object data does not exceed the predetermined value, the cellular phone 10 stores the object data, received in response to the download request, in a temporary storage area. If the size of the object data does exceed the predetermined value, the cellular phone 10 determines whether a free area for storing the object data in a permanent storage area exists or not. If a free area exists, the object data received in response to the download request is stored in the permanent storage area. As a result, the temporary storage area to be used for storing history is not used for storing a large amount of content data, and the history of a number of operations can be held in the temporary storage area without providing a large temporary storage area.
US08407307B1 Flight information sending system and method
A method of providing flight information to a receiving node in data communication with a server. A server receives from a sending node data (1) permitting identification of a flight of interest and (2) permitting identification of the receiving node. The data received at the server causes delivery to the receiving node of a message that includes a logon key that grants access by the receiving node to a data source that provides real-time dynamic information as to position of the flight of interest.
US08407306B1 Systems and methods for managing message delivery based on message priority
The disclosed technology covers messaging systems and methods. An example messaging system may include a messaging server, a plurality of predetermined conditions, and a communication interface. The messaging server may receive one or more messages directed to a first computing device, and may assign a priority level to each of the messages. The plurality of predetermined conditions may determine when to transmit the one or more messages to the first computing device, and a first predetermined condition may be deemed met when at least one message directed toward the first computing device is assigned high priority. The communication interface may transmit the one or more messages to the first computing device if at least one of the predetermined conditions is met. The messaging server may repeatedly evaluate the predetermined conditions and may hold the one or more messages until at least one of the predetermined conditions is met.
US08407304B2 Method and system for email notification
A method of configuring a system for providing notification of a new email received at a user's mailbox stored by a first mail storage system for retrieval by a second mail storage system. The method comprises configuring a mail sender to send a notification email to the second mail storage system comprising data to notify the second mail storage system of the new email, receive a rejection message from the second mail storage system, and interrupt the sending of further data of the notification email in response to the rejection message, wherein the receipt by the second mail storage system of the notification email triggers the second mail storage system to retrieve the new email from the first mail storage system.
US08407298B2 Direct access electronic mail (email) distribution and synchronization system with out-of-coverage notification
A communications system includes a network engine that communicates with a plurality of user subscribed mobile wireless communications devices and operative for determining when a mobile wireless communications device is out-of-coverage or turned off and unable to communicate with the network engine. A direct access server is operative with the network engine and polls electronic mailboxes of the users and retrieves electronic messages from the electronic mailboxes and pushes any electronic messages through the network engine to selected user subscribed mobile wireless communications devices. The direct access server suspends polling of those electronic mailboxes of a user when a mobile wireless communications device associated with a user has been determined to be out-of-coverage or turned off and unable to communicate so as to preserve polling resources within the direct access server.
US08407297B2 Systems and methods to receive information from a groupware client
A system may include reception of an internet electronic mail message associated with a standards-compliant groupware object, and conversion of the internet electronic mail message to a message associated with the standards-compliant groupware object and compliant with a Web service message interface.
US08407291B1 System and method for dispensing e-Care
An e-Care dispenser is disclosed herein which configures a set of devices to cooperatively process care requests by utilizing functional aspects distributed throughout those devices. The devices can be end user devices with varying capabilities, some of which might not possess resources to process the care request independently. The functional aspects can be distributed throughout the devices in such a manner as to efficiently utilize the devices in providing care.
US08407289B2 Methods and apparatuses for dynamically suggesting an application based on a collaboration session
In one embodiment, the methods and apparatuses detect shared content during a collaboration session; detect a content type based on the shared content; suggest an application based on the content type; and initiate the application during the collaboration session.
US08407288B2 Efficient network routing to reduce bandwidth usage and latency
A method (and corresponding system and computer program product) for efficiently routing a multi-person conference to reduce bandwidth usage and latency is described. Computing devices used by the participants to participate in the conference are separated into proximity pools based on direct accessibility. For each proximity pool, a computing device is selected as the key node. Only the key node communicates directly with a server, and redistributes data received from the server to its pool peers. Communications between computing devices within a same pool are routed directed to one another. Proximity pools can be refined to factor in distances among the computing devices. Multiple servers may be used to reduce latency. Proximity pools are assigned to nearby servers. Communications between computing devices in different proximity pools are routed through the server(s) associated with the different proximity pool.
US08407278B2 Link-based registry federation
Some embodiments of a system and a method to implement a link-based registry federation have been presented. For instance, a registry federation having a set of registries may be stored in some storage devices. The registries may include Universal Description, Discovery, and Integration (UDDI) registries. Each registry includes one or more records. In response to a request to promote a record of a first registry of the registry federation into a second registry of the registry federation, a delegation link can be inserted into the second registry to refer to the record in the first registry, without fully replicating the record in the second registry.
US08407273B2 Processing with compact arithmetic processing element
A processor or other device, such as a programmable and/or massively parallel processor or other device, includes processing elements designed to perform arithmetic operations (possibly but not necessarily including, for example, one or more of addition, multiplication, subtraction, and division) on numerical values of low precision but high dynamic range (“LPHDR arithmetic”). Such a processor or other device may, for example, be implemented on a single chip. Whether or not implemented on a single chip, the number of LPHDR arithmetic elements in the processor or other device in certain embodiments of the present invention significantly exceeds (e.g., by at least 20 more than three times) the number of arithmetic elements, if any, in the processor or other device which are designed to perform high dynamic range arithmetic of traditional precision (such as 32 bit or 64 bit floating point arithmetic).
US08407271B2 Method for floating point round to integer operation
An apparatus and method for computing a rounded floating point number. A floating point unit (FPU) receives an instruction to round a floating point number to a nearest integral value and retrieves a binary source operand having an exponent of a fixed first number of bits and a mantissa of a fixed second number of bits. If the unbiased exponent value is greater than or equal to zero and less than the fixed second number, the FPU generates a mask having N consecutive ‘1’ bits beginning with the least significant bit and whose remaining bits have a value of ‘0’, where N is equal to the fixed second number minus the unbiased exponent value. The FPU computes a bitwise OR of the source operand with the mask, increments the result if the instruction is to round up, and computes a bitwise AND of the result with the inverse of the mask.
US08407269B2 System and method to compute narrow bounds on a modal interval spherical projection
A computer executable method of processing a representation of a modal interval spherical projection is provided. A representation of a vector comprised of modal intervals X, Y, and Z is provided wherein each modal interval of the modal intervals are delimited by first and second marks of a digital scale. An analytical expression of an azimuthal spherical projection is partitioned into terms of a pair of independent functions wherein a function of the pair exhibits a monotonicity over piecewise domains of the function. A modal interval analysis is performed upon the function wherein arguments of said piecewise domains are modal intervals.
US08407266B1 Method and system for automatically saving a document to multiple file formats
A method and system for automatically saving a document in multiple file formats. A first file for the document is modified and saved on a persistent storage device using a primary file format. A second file for the document is saved on the persistent storage device using a secondary file format. The method further involves re-saving the first file as modified using the primary file format. When the first file is saved using the primary file format, the method further involves deleting the second file from the persistent storage device. A first mapping associating the second file with the first file is deleted. A third file for the document is created using the secondary file format and saved to the persistent storage device using the secondary file format. A second mapping associating the third file with the first file is created.
US08407263B2 Collaboration portal—COPO—a scaleable method, system and apparatus for providing computer-accessible benefits to communities of users
The present invention, known as The Collaboration Portal (COPO), relates generally to the field of automated entity, data processing, system control, and data communications, and more specifically to an integrated method, system, and apparatus for providing computer-accessible benefits for communities of users. It provides a framework for provisioning computer-accessible benefits for communities of users, and can efficiently and robustly distribute the processing in behalf of those users over a decentralized network of computers. The field of the invention generally encompasses enabling appropriate and desired communication among communities of users and organizations, and providing information, goods, services, a works, opportunities, and connections among users and organizations.
US08407260B2 Method and apparatus for caching broadcasting information
A method of controlling the storage of web objects in a storage media, the web objects forming a closed web site and being adapted for delivery to a user, the web objects being stored on the basis of predictive determinations of which web object has the highest probability of being selected from the closed web site by the user.
US08407259B2 System and method for storing and retrieving data from storage
A system and method are provided which avoid the storage of multiple objects for a single entry in memory, in particular where the entry needs to be stored at least once anyway, a reusable data structure can be implemented which allows both easy and efficient use/reuse of Patricia tree components that are already in use. The data structure can be an integer built from a combination (e.g. concatenation) of a location where the corresponding string has been stored in memory, an offset for finding the word within the string, and a length for extracting all characters from the string that make up the word. Another data component can also be added, which can encode any other feature associated with the word such as a bias level for sorting multiple search results.
US08407250B2 Distribution of content document to varying users with security customization and scalability
A system and method for receiving a request for a container document, determining whether the request is for a container document associated with a user group, determining whether a requestor of the request is associated with a level of status within the user group among a plurality of levels of status within the user group, determining the level of status of the requestor based on a determination that the requestor is associated with a level of status within the user group, requesting configuration information based on a determination that the container document is associated with a user group and the level of status, receiving the configuration information, and serving the container document using the configuration information.
US08407241B2 Content mesh searching
Described is a technology by which private content maintained behind a firewall (e.g., in a “mesh”) may be searched, browsed, and accessed via an index that exists outside of the firewall. Searching of the index may include checking permissions of a user against permissions associated with metadata in the index, e.g., per watch folder into which file content is added. When content is selected, e.g., by clicking on a search result, a request is made. An application polls for such requests, and when detected, pushes a copy of the content through the firewall to the requester. The search may be performed over more than one index, with aggregated search results returned.
US08407230B2 System and method for identifying similar media objects
The systems and methods described create a mathematical representation of each of the media objects for which user ratings are known. The mathematical representations take into account the subjective rating value assigned by a user to the respective media object and the user that assigned the rating value. The media object with the mathematical representation closest to that of the seed media object is then selected as the most similar media object to the seed media object. In an embodiment, the mathematical representation is a vector representation in which each user is a different dimension and each user's rating value is the magnitude of the vector in that dimension. Similarity between two songs is determined by identifying the closest vectors to that of the seed song. Closeness may be determined by subtracting or by calculating the dot product of each of the vectors with that of the seed media object.
US08407229B2 Systems and methods for aggregating search results
Systems and methods for aggregating search results are disclosed herein. The systems and methods include receiving a user search query, analyzing the user search query to identify a plurality of properties of the user search query, identifying a plurality of search results that match the user search query, each search result being based on a different scheme, and aggregating the search results to produce a search results list. The search results list may be a combined and selected results list. Feedback-based optimization is also disclosed.
US08407221B2 Generalized notion of similarities between uncertain time series
Embodiments of the invention related to a method and system for finding a distance between a plurality of time series, wherein each individual time series in the plurality of time series including a data, wherein the data is uncertain, and using such distance computed in business applications.
US08407215B2 Text analysis to identify relevant entities
A system includes a data structure comprising a plurality of mesh entities, the data structure associating each of the plurality of mesh entities with a respective name and a respective one or more attribute values, and associating each of the plurality of mesh entities with one or more relations to one or more other ones of the plurality of mesh entities. Some aspects include reception of a file comprising text, identification of text entities from the text, identification of first mesh entities from the plurality of mesh entities based on the identified text entities, determination, for each of the first mesh entities, of a name and one or more attribute values, and determination of a relevance associated with each identified text entity based on the determined name and one or more attribute values.
US08407209B2 Utilizing path IDs for name and namespace searches
In a database system, names and namespace of XML nodes are computed from path ids. The path ids are constructed from tokens, each of which represents a particular name or namespace-name pair.
US08407200B2 Search and retrieval of objects in a social networking system
A social networking system receives a query associated with a user and, in response, provides a combined result set comprising objects stored by a social networking system that match the query. The combined result set comprises multiple result sets obtained from different search algorithms. The various objects stored by the social networking system may be of different types representing different concepts, such as user objects, application objects, event objects, location objects, group objects, and hub/page objects, any of which may be included in the result set. The objects of the result set may be further filtered, ordered, and/or grouped based at least in part on known relationships of the user with the objects, such as geographic distances between locations associated with the user and the objects.
US08407199B2 Graphic query suggestion apparatus and program product
An apparatus and a program product which generates at a user's computer system a display which graphically shows the relationships among a core query and one or more suggested related queries in a search conducted through an online search engine. The display preferably is a set of partially overlapping geometric figures such as circles, with the size of each circle indicating the number of resources found by the search queries and the overlap indicating commonality between a core query and a suggested related query.
US08407192B2 Detecting a file fragmentation point for reconstructing fragmented files using sequential hypothesis testing
File carving is a technique whereby data files are extracted from a digital device without the assistance of file tables or other disk meta-data, and can therefore be used to recover files that are fragmented. Sequential hypothesis testing procedures are used to detect a fragmentation point of a file by sequentially comparing adjacent pairs of blocks from the starting block of a file until the fragmentation point is reached. The detected fragmentation point can be used to help recover the fragmented file. Such a serial analysis helps to minimize errors and improve performance.
US08407190B2 Performing data storage operations with a cloud environment, including containerized deduplication, data pruning, and data transfer
Various systems and methods may be used for performing data storage operations, including content-indexing, containerized deduplication, and policy-driven storage, within a cloud environment. The systems support a variety of clients and cloud storage sites that may connect to the system in a cloud environment that requires data transfer over wide area networks, such as the Internet, which may have appreciable latency and/or packet loss, using various network protocols, including HTTP and FTP. Methods for content indexing data stored within a cloud environment may facilitate later searching, including collaborative searching. Methods for performing containerized deduplication may reduce the strain on a system namespace, effectuate cost savings, etc. Methods may identify suitable storage locations, including suitable cloud storage sites, for data files subject to a storage policy. Further, the systems and methods may be used for providing a cloud gateway and a scalable data object store within a cloud environment.
US08407183B2 Business intelligence data extraction on demand
Methods and apparatus, including computer program products, for business intelligence data extraction on demand. In general, a first request is sent from a first system to a second system for a query of a data structure to include indications of updates at the second system to data at both the first and second systems. An indication of an update at the second system is received in response to the first request, where the indication includes an identification of updated data. A second request is sent to a database data structure of the second system for data corresponding to the updated data. The updated data is received at the first system in response to the second request. Data is updated at the first system in accordance with the updated data in response to the receiving the updated data.
US08407172B1 Method, apparatus, and article of manufacture for performing a pivot-in-place operation for a linear programming problem
In accordance with one embodiment, a method of processing a linear programming problem can be implemented by utilizing a unique operation known as a pivot-in-place operation to reduce computer error.
US08407144B2 Vehicular-based transactions, systems and methods
Various systems and methods are described for conducting and staging money transfer transactions from a vehicle. The systems and methods may include using a wireless transmitter on board the vehicle for wirelessly communicating with a money transfer system. Also, a user-input device integrated with the vehicle's navigation system, entertainment system, and/or climate system may be used. Using the wireless transmitter, the user-input device may interface with the money transfer system. Also, one or more identity authentication devices may be integrated with the vehicle that collect information to authenticate a user's identity.
US08407137B2 Pay yourself first with user guidance
The system encourages users to not only pay themselves first, but to pay themselves first in the largest amounts possible, even if they are not able to fully pay outstanding debts. The system obtains information related to the user's income, income sources, user's debts (e.g., bills) and user's goals. The system provides recommendations related to the prioritization of paying certain bills and the amount to pay for each bill based upon, for example, savings goals, minimizing penalties/fees associated with user's debts, minimum amounts due, due dates and available income. The system and/or the user may then determine a payment hierarchy which includes transferring funds to the user's savings account prior to paying all or a portion of certain bills, wherein the transfer of funds may include different funds transfer systems and methods.
US08407127B2 Fair value model based system, method, and computer program product for valuing foreign-based securities in a mutual fund
A system for determining fair value prices of financial securities of international markets includes selecting a universe of securities of a particular international market, computing overnight returns of each security in the selected universe over a predetermined past period of time, selecting at least one return factor of a domestic financial market from a plurality of return factors, computing, for each selected return factor, the return factor's daily return over said predetermined past period of time, calculating, for each selected return factor, a return factor coefficient for each security in the selected universe by performing a time series regression to obtain the contribution of each return factor's return to the security's overnight return, and producing each calculated return factor coefficient in a data stream.
US08407113B1 Inference-based tax preparation
A method for operating a tax inference engine involves receiving tax data items, assigning confidence ratings to the tax data items using inference rules, and assigning relevance ratings to tax questions using the inference rules. The method further involves determining tax questions having ratings that exceed a threshold amount, and ordering the tax questions by the relevance ratings, personalizing a tax question using the inference rules, tax data items, and confidence ratings by altering a wording of the tax question, and determining tax advice using the inference rules, the tax data items, and the confidence ratings.
US08407107B2 Method to create a customized e-commerce store
An electronic commerce system includes a host with two-way communication to a plurality of distributors. Each of these distributors offers an addressable inventory of merchandise that consists of discrete items. The host sorts the discrete items according to a class designation such that members of a same class are assigned a unique tag. A store builder may electronically request at least one of the unique tags. The host then creates a customized store with a unique name, look and feel, and product selection for the store builder. This store provides a consumer with access, via said distributor, to items assigned that unique tag.
US08407103B2 Systems for accessing information related to an order of commodity
A commodity inspection method, including gathering inspection information from a commodity lot; collecting grower, field, and packing information associated with the commodity lot; recording purchase orders associated with the commodity lot; assigning a trace code to each of the purchase orders; entering the inspection information, the grower, field, and packing information, the purchase orders, and the trace codes into a central database; updating a content of a web-based application with the inspection information, the grower, field, and packing information, the purchase orders, and the trace codes within the central database; and allowing the customer to access the inspection information, and the grower, field, and packing information, by entering one of the trace codes into the web-based application; wherein each of the purchase orders associated with the commodity lot is linked within the web-based application; and wherein the method incorporates Global Standards One (GS1) standards.
US08407095B2 Method of delivering a pharmaceutical product via a medium
One or more embodiments include a method of delivering a pharmaceutical product via a medium. The pharmaceutical product is associated with the medium and the medium assumes different values based on predetermined business rules. The method includes generating data in a database associated with a central computing station where the data identifies the medium and the product associated with the medium. The database is provisioned with the rules that determine the value of the medium. In response to the holder presenting the medium to a provider of the product for purposes of obtaining the product, a communication from the provider is received identifying the medium. A value for the medium is established based on the rules provisioned in the database. The value of the medium is updated, and that updated value is recorded in the database in response to the provider providing the product to the holder of the medium.
US08407094B1 Providing links to related advertisements
A document, such as a Web page, includes content and a set of related ad links. When a user selects one of the related ad links, they are brought to a linked document including a set of one or more ads. Unless there is an agreement to the contrary (such as a pay per impression agreement), the advertisers do not compensate the document owner for the selection of a related ad link. However, when a user selects one of the ads on the linked document, they are brought to a corresponding ad landing page linked from the ad. The advertisers may compensate the Web page owner for such selections. The related ad links may be automatically generated using document content information, the number, performances, and/or compensation offers of ads corresponding to the related ad link, etc.
US08407091B2 Optimizing placement and delivery of advertisements
The efficient allocation of advertisements, also known as creatives, on one or more web sites is provided for while ensuring that guarantees to advertisers are honored. In one embodiment, a linear program solver allocates creatives to advertising slots according to an optimizing function designed to maximize revenue for the site. The linear program solver takes as input a set of creatives, creative performance data, constraints, and slot identifiers. The output of the linear program solver is an optimized schedule not violative of any of the input constraints.
US08407090B2 Dynamic reassignment of advertisement placements to maximize impression count
A method for dynamically reassigning in-game advertisements within a video game in order to maximize impression counts for the advertisements includes the steps of: determining when an advertisement at a first view location qualifies as on screen and incrementing an elapsed time for the advertisement while it qualifies as on screen. The method also includes the steps of calculating a current impression count for the advertisement and determining whether a maximum impression count for the advertisement has been reached or is within a prescribed value of being reached. If so, another advertisement is dynamically assigned to the first view location by removing the initial advertisement therefrom in order to maximize the cumulative impression counts for the advertisements.
US08407088B2 Rebate card system
A method and system for using a rebate card are disclosed. The method may comprise initiating a purchase transaction for one or more products at a point of sale, determining whether the purchase transaction qualifies for a rebate, determining a rebate value based on the purchase transaction and the rebate, activating a rebate value in a rebate card account associated with a rebate card based on the determining action, and delivering the rebate card to a customer of the one or more products during the purchase transaction.
US08407086B2 System and method for consumer-selected advertising and branding in interactive media
A user of an interactive medium may select advertising for display on the user's avatar, property, or other user-associated environment. The invention presents one or more advertisements to the user and allows the user to select at least one advertisement to display. The user may also choose a location for displaying the selected advertisement. The invention presents the selected advertisement to other users of the interactive medium. The invention tracks these presentations or displays and rewards the original user based on the presentation. The tracking data may also be used to bill the advertiser or optimize the process of selecting and displaying advertisements.
US08407079B2 Method and system using an enterprise framework
A system and method of modeling an enterprise and its objectives and its information technology system into a single enterprise framework so that the effect of changes in one can be seen as impacting the other. In its preferred embodiment, a generic framework is customized to reflect changes for the industry and the enterprise and its objectives and uses a LOTUS NOTES database with a front-end navigator to make modifications. The enterprise framework includes a section on governance which provides an architectural framework and a management process for the enterprise framework.
US08407077B2 System and method for manufacturing system design and shop scheduling using network flow modeling
A method and tool is provided to obtain an optimistic estimate or exact optimal value of an operational parameter for a realistic system model under investigation. The model includes components and paths arranged to process continuous or discrete commodities. The system could be a model of a manufacturing system with different machines processing multiple job types, with different sequences of operations at different stages. Constraints are applied to the abstracted network flow model, and a plurality of steady state network flows are performed. and combined to captures the transformation of the commodities from a first state to a final output state. The optimistic estimate of the realistic system model under investigation is then returned through use of a general purpose or custom solver. The method can be used to perform tradeoff studies between machine allocations, job mixes, operating costs, reliability and throughput, or to speed up scheduling and machine control.
US08407076B2 Accommodating preparatory work for electronically scheduled meetings
Method, apparatus, and computer program products for scheduling and tracking preparatory work associated with electronic meeting invitations. When a meeting invitation is received and tentatively accepted, the user is prompted to enter the expected duration of the associated work. A floating block of time is created, subject to the constraint that it must be completed before the meeting convenes. If both the meeting and the floating block can be scheduled without irresolvable conflicts, they are added to the calendar, and a to-do associated with the floating block may be added to the to-do list. When an invitation for a second meeting conflicts with a first floating block associated with a first meeting, the first floating block may be rescheduled, within its completion-time constraint, to accommodate the second meeting.
US08407067B2 Method and apparatus for manufacturing an implant
An orthopedic device includes a femoral implant having a non-custom internal bone engagement surface. The femoral implant includes at least nine parameters adjusted preoperatively to correspond to a specific patient. The parameters can include patient-specific lengths, such as, for example, medial and lateral condyle widths and notch height, and patient-specific medial and lateral angles.
US08407056B2 Global speech user interface
A global speech user interface (GSUI) comprises an input system to receive a user's spoken command, a feedback system along with a set of feedback overlays to give the user information on the progress of his spoken requests, a set of visual cues on the television screen to help the user understand what he can say, a help system, and a model for navigation among applications. The interface is extensible to make it easy to add new applications.
US08407050B2 Method and system for automatic transcription prioritization
A visual toolkit for prioritizing speech transcription is provided. The toolkit can include a logger (102) for capturing information from a speech recognition system, a processor (104) for determining an accuracy rating of the information, and a visual display (106) for categorizing the information and prioritizing a transcription of the information based on the accuracy rating. The prioritizing identifies spoken utterances having a transcription priority in view of the recognized result. The visual display can include a transcription category (156) having a modifiable textbox entry with a text entry initially corresponding to a text of the recognized result, and an accept button (157) for validating a transcription of the recognized result. The categories can be automatically ranked by the accuracy rating in an ordered priority for increasing an efficiency of transcription.
US08407047B2 Guidance information display device, guidance information display method and recording medium
A guidance information display device includes: a voice input unit; a display unit for displaying guidance information; an operation unit for accepting an operation; and a processor capable of executing the following processes of: a voice recognition process operation of performing voice recognition based on inputted voice; a calculation operation of calculating an evaluation value for a recognition result of voice recognition by the voice recognition process operation; a display operation of reading out guidance information corresponding to the recognition result from a storage unit, which stores the guidance information, and displaying the guidance information at a display unit; and a decision operation of deciding a display mode of the guidance information at the display unit based on a variable value, which varies with an operation from the operation unit for the guidance information displayed by the display operation, and the evaluation value calculated by the calculation operation.
US08407045B2 Enhancing the intelligibility of received speech in a noisy environment
A level of ambient noise at a local device is determined. A dynamic range compression (DRC) gain is computed based on the level of ambient noise at the local device. An additional gain factor is computed. A total gain is computed based on an adding of the DRC gain and the additional gain factor. An amplitude of an audio signal is adjusted based on the total gain, wherein the audio signal was transmitted from a remote device and received by the local device.
US08407041B2 Integrative and discriminative technique for spoken utterance translation
Architecture that provides the integration of automatic speech recognition (ASR) and machine translation (MT) components of a full speech translation system. The architecture is an integrative and discriminative approach that employs an end-to-end objective function (the conditional probability of the translated sentence (target) given the source language's acoustic signal, as well as the associated BLEU score in the translation, as a goal in the integrated system. This goal defines the theoretically correct variables to determine the speech translation system output using a Bayesian decision rule. These theoretically correct variables are modified in practical use due to known imperfections of the various models used in building the full speech translation system. The disclosed approach also employs automatic training of these variables using minimum classification error (MCE) criterion. The measurable BLEU scores are used to facilitate the implementation of the MCE training procedure in a step that defines the class-specific discriminant function.
US08407033B2 System for modeling dynamic response changes in an anthropomorphic dummy
A system and method for designing a crashworthiness system is taught. The system utilizes computer models of anthropomorphic dummies having material properties which change as a function of time.
US08407028B2 Indirect monitoring of device usage and activities
Signal characteristics, or signatures, defined by one or more forms of energy being transferred during the commission of an activity are captured in dimensionally-reduced numerical sequences. Dimensionality reduction is achieved such that reduced data acquired during a detection phase can be directly compared with such reduced data produced during system training. Activities, events, human identities and so on can be identified through such direct comparison. Dimensionality reduction, such as through sparse approximation or simultaneous sparse approximation, may produce combinations of scaled prototype functions. Such combinations or their parametric representations compactly describe the signal characteristics for purposes of discovering new activity signatures, of extracting test signals from a set of measurements and of comparing sets for purposes of detection and classification.
US08407027B2 Online diagnostic method and online diagnostic system for geothermal generation facility
An online diagnostic system for a geothermal generation facility is discloses that includes an automatic steam measurement device for measuring a characteristic of steam to be supplied to a steam turbine from a steam-water separator at the geothermal generation facility that outputs analysis data. A monitor-control device controls an operation of the geothermal generation facility while monitoring the geothermal generation facility. A diagnostic device performs at least one of an evaluation of a steam characteristic at the geothermal generation facility, an evaluation of the steam-water separator, and an evaluation of pulsation and confluence of a production well based on the analysis data from the automatic steam measurement device and performance data of the geothermal generation facility from the monitor-control device. An operating status of the geothermal generation facility is diagnosed.
US08407017B2 Automated emergency power supply test with variable, priority-based transfer times
An automated emergency power supply system (EPSS) and testing solution that records generator load values and engine exhaust temperature values to evaluate whether an EPSS test satisfies legislated test criteria. The EPSS test is carried out under software control, which initiates a test by instructing an automatic transfer switch (ATS) to change its status to a test status, causing the essential loads to be powered by a generator instead of a main utility power source. Power monitors record the ATS and generator status during the test as well as electrical parameter data from the ATS and generator and exhaust temperature data and other engine parameter data from the generator. When the test is concluded, the ATS is instructed to return the status to normal so that power delivery is resumed from the main power source. The electrical and engine parameter data is analyzed and compared against legislated test criteria to determine a pass/fail result of the EPSS test.
US08407015B2 Method and apparatus for monitoring and controlling an electrical boiler
The invention relates to a method for determining the amount of warm water in a water tank of domestic water heating system, which includes: (a) Pre-determining various situation graphs, each graph describes the variation of the water temperature in said water tank as a function of time, in one specific operational situation of the system; (b) Dividing each of said graphs to plurality of sections, each graph section describes the variation of the water temperature in the water tank as a function of time, during a sectional period of time; (c) Determining for each graph section the percentage of warm water in the tank at the end of said section; (d) Storing in a memory storage said plurality of graph sections, and the corresponding percentage of warm water in the tank at the end of said section, as determined; (e) During the operation of the heating system, sampling periodically the temperature in the tank; (f) For each present sequence of samples, finding in said memory storage the most similar graph section, and further finding in said memory storage the percentage of warm water that corresponds to said graph section, said found percentage define the present percentage of warm water in the tank; and (g) Displaying to the user said present percentage of warm water in the tank, as found.
US08407011B2 Mobile sampling of target substances
Implementations for sampling one or more target substances using a mobile device configured to sample multiple substances at various locations, analyze the substances and map the substances to the sampling locations are generally disclosed.
US08407002B2 Information provision apparatus
A main computer includes an arrival determination section which determines, on the basis of present location information of a vehicle, destination information, and electric energy remaining amount information, whether the vehicle can reach the destination from the present location without charging an electricity storage unit of the vehicle, a rental car information acquisition section which acquires information regarding a rental car which the driver can change from the vehicle directly, and an information provision section which provides the rental car information to the driver of the vehicle, when the arrival determination section determines that the vehicle cannot reach the destination from the present location. On the basis of the rental car information, the driver of the vehicle can go to a rental car shop and rent a car. By changing from the vehicle to the rental car, the driver can quickly reach the destination by use of the rental car.
US08406998B2 Traffic predictive directions
A method includes receiving a request to determine a route between a starting location and a destination location. The method also includes determining a first route between the starting location and the destination location using predictive traffic data for at least one location between the starting location and the destination location. The method further includes providing the first route.
US08406989B1 Method for adaptive obstacle avoidance for articulated redundant robot arm
A method for adaptive obstacle avoidance for articulated redundant robots is disclosed. The method comprises acts of calculating an obstacle avoidance vector for each of a set of limbs in a robot arm, and then applying the obstacle avoidance vector to constrain the inverse model in a robot controller. The obstacle avoidance vector incorporates factors including: (1) a distance and direction of each of a set of obstacles to the limb; and (2) when the limb is part of a kinematic chain of limbs, contributions from the obstacle avoidance vectors of all peripheral limbs in the kinematic chain. The method of the present invention was designed for use with the DIRECT model robot controller, but the method is generally applicable to any of a variety of robot controllers known in the art.
US08406986B2 Emergency routing within a controllable transit system
Embodiments of the present invention provide a solution for an orderly and well-considered evacuation of a Personal Rapid Transit (PRT) system in the event of declared emergency. It describes the mapping of evacuation points and subsequent routing of PRT vehicles according to both the nature/location of the emergency and outflow capacity at each evacuation point. A PRT is defined as an automatic method by which personal transport vehicles (a/k/a “pods”) can be used to efficiently and rapidly move people between various points within a closed area (for example, a city center). In an ideal world, these pods can be thought of as intelligent automated vehicles (similar to driverless taxis) that can adapt to changing demand to optimize the movement of people. For example, an emergency may be declared within a PRT system which does not cause widespread power loss, but which does require an orderly evacuation (e.g., smoke or flooding). In such events, PRT vehicles will be routed through the means described here to an evacuation point capable of handling such outflow in an orderly manner.
US08406984B2 Method and system for pre-ignition control
Methods and systems are provided for addressing cylinder-to-cylinder imbalances in the incidence of pre-ignition and/or knock. Engine cylinders are fueled based on each cylinder's pre-ignition count to balance the incidence of pre-ignition in each cylinder. The fueling is adjusted to maintain engine exhaust at stoichiometry.
US08406980B2 Air-fuel ratio control device and air-fuel ratio control method for internal combustion engine
An air-fuel ratio control device includes an air-fuel ratio sensor provided upstream from a three-way catalyst, and an oxygen sensor provided downstream from the three-way catalyst. The air-fuel ratio control device controls the fuel supply amount based on the output from the air-fuel ratio sensor, and compensates for errors in the air-fuel ratio sensor by correcting the fuel supply amount based on the output from the oxygen sensor. The fuel supply correction amount is calculated based on an integral term that integrates the deviation between the output from the downstream air-fuel ratio sensor and the target air-fuel ratio. When a fuel supply adjustment control is executed, the value of the integral term in the sub-feedback control is not updated for a predetermined period after the fuel supply adjustment control ends. The actual air-fuel ratio is thus brought to the target air-fuel ratio in an appropriate manner.
US08406971B2 Speed control management systems and methods
Systems and methods are provided for controlling an amount of torque generated by an engine of a vehicle. The amount of torque may be controlled by limiting an amount of fuel or air or a combination thereof being provided to the engine. In some situations, controlling the amount of torque generated by the engine may be utilized to gradually limit the vehicle's acceleration, which in turn, may influence driver shifting strategies.
US08406967B2 Control apparatus and method for automatic transmission system
A control apparatus for an automatic transmission system having a serial arrangement of a stepwise variable automatic transmission mechanism and a continuously variable automatic transmission mechanism, the control apparatus being disposed in the automatic transmission system and performing a shift control of the continuously variable automatic transmission mechanism in accordance with variation in transmission ratio of the stepwise variable automatic transmission mechanism, the control apparatus including a control section configured to execute a retardation processing upon shift control of one of the continuously variable transmission mechanism and the stepwise variable transmission mechanism which has a smaller response delay of an actual transmission ratio from a target transmission ratio than that of the other transmission mechanism.
US08406966B2 Draft control method for operating an earth moving machine
The hitch on a vehicle is moved by a hydraulic actuator. A method for controlling the hydraulic actuator defines a draft force setpoint in response to separately averaging two forces acting on lateral sides of the hitch, while operating in a configuration mode. During regular operation, a draft load is calculated from sensing those two forces and deriving a draft force error from difference between the draft load and the draft force setpoint. The draft force error is used to control fluid flow to and from the hydraulic actuator. One aspect of the control method derates the draft force error as the hitch moves beyond a predefined threshold position.
US08406962B2 Method for determining operating state of element of transmission
A method for determining an operating state of elements of a transmission may include acquiring rotational speeds of both members constituting the elements, determining whether the rotational speeds of the members may be the same, and determining that the elements may be directly connected when the rotational speeds of the members may be the same, and that the elements may be disconnected or slip when the rotational speeds of the members may be different.
US08406959B2 Method and apparatus for controlling an actuatable restraint device using a side pressure sensor
An apparatus for controlling an actuatable occupant restraint device of a vehicle comprises a central crash accelerometer that senses crash acceleration at a vehicle location and that provides a first crash acceleration signal indicative thereof. A side pressure sensor senses pressure in a chamber disposed at a side of the vehicle and provides a side pressure signal indicative thereof. A controller actuates the actuatable occupant restraint device in response to the first crash acceleration signal and the side pressure signal. The controller determines a first moving average of acceleration value comprising a moving average of acceleration in a direction generally perpendicular to a longitudinal axis of the vehicle determined from the first crash acceleration signal. The controller determines a change in pressure value comprising a change in pressure in the chamber determined from the side pressure signal. The controller actuates the actuatable occupant restraint device when both the first moving average of acceleration value exceeds a first threshold and the change in pressure value exceeds a second threshold.
US08406956B2 Device and method for controlling a steering system in a vehicle
A method for controlling a vehicle steering system having a plurality of subsystems that generate steering requests for the steering system comprising the steps of receiving a plurality of steering requests at an electronic control unit, receiving a plurality of vehicle parameter signals at the electronic control unit, the vehicle parameter signals being representative of a driving situation for each subsystem in the plurality of subsystems, setting an order of priority for application of the steering requests by the electronic control unit as a function of the driving situation for each subsystem, and controlling the application of the steering requests to the vehicle steering system in the set order of priority and within a predetermined overall torque limit.
US08406955B2 Hydraulic suspension system for work vehicle
The hydraulic suspension system comprises a suspension mechanism (100) for a traveling vehicle body, a suspension reference position variation mechanism (18) for varying a reference position of a suspension stroke of the suspension mechanism, and a stopped state detector (58) for detecting a state in which operation of the suspension mechanism (100) has stopped. The control management unit (60) controls the suspension reference position variation mechanism (18) so that when operation of the suspension mechanism (100) is detected by the stopped state detector (58) to be in a stopped state, the operation of the suspension mechanism (100) moves toward a target range, in preference to control based on a suspension stroke position obtained from a suspension stroke position sensor (37).
US08406952B2 Electric parking brake control system and electric parking brake control method
In an electric parking brake control apparatus for controlling an electric actuator for driving parking brakes, a dynamically estimated road surface inclination is estimated based on a running state of a vehicle while the vehicle is running, and a statically estimated road surface inclination is estimated based on an acceleration acting on the vehicle after the vehicle is stopped. In the event that the statically estimated road surface inclination is larger than the dynamically estimated road surface inclination after the vehicle is stopped, a braking force of the parking brakes is increased to be larger than a braking force that is set based on the dynamically estimated road surface inclination.
US08406951B2 Electronic control system for vehicles
In an electronic control system for a vehicle, an ECU performs diagnosis, and attaches a flag to abnormality data DTC upon detection of abnormality. The flag value is 0 or 1, when a specified condition is not satisfied and satisfied, respectively. When an ignition switch is turned off, the DTC with the attached flag is stored in an EEPROM. The flag value is switched in response to a specified condition that arises between completion of assembly of the ECU to a vehicle and use of the vehicle by a user. The specified condition is set to correspond to start of telematics service to the vehicle.
US08406947B2 Vehicle body speed calculation device
A vehicle body speed calculation device includes a wheel speed derivation mechanism deriving wheel speeds based on detection signals from wheel speed sensors which detect the speeds of wheels of a vehicle; a rotational speed derivation mechanism deriving a rotational speed based on a detection signal from a rotational speed detection sensor which detects the rotational speed of an energy conversion device, the energy conversion device being connected to the wheels and being capable of mutual conversion between electric energy and rotational energy; and a body speed calculation mechanism calculating a body speed by using the rotational speed of the energy conversion device derived by the rotational speed derivation mechanism when the vehicle is travelling in a predetermined low speed range but for calculating the body speed by using the wheel speeds derived by the wheel speed derivation mechanism when the vehicle is travelling in a predetermined high speed range.
US08406945B2 Method and apparatus to control logic valves for hydraulic flow control in an electro-mechanical transmission
A method for controlling an electromechanical transmission includes monitoring a current hydraulic circuit oil temperature, monitoring a current state of flow management valves, monitoring a command for cooling of electric machines, monitoring a desired transmission operating range state, utilizing a state machine to determine a sequence for controlling positions of the flow management valves to achieve the desired transmission operating range state based upon the monitored properties.
US08406944B2 Control system and method for starting and stopping marine engines
The present invention relates to a start-protection system for an engine of a marine vessel. The engine has gears and a shift actuator for operatively shifting the gears. The system includes a first position sensor disposed to operatively sense whether the engine is in a forward, neutral or a reverse gear position. The first position sensor generates a signal representative of the gear position. The system includes a second position sensor adjacent to a shift control which controls shift functions of the engine. The second position sensor generates a signal representative of the position of the shift control. The system includes processing means. The processing means are configured to receive the signals of the position sensors, determine the gear position and the position of the shift control and enable the engine to start upon determining that both the shift control and the engine are in neutral positions.
US08406942B2 Control of throttle and braking actions at individual distributed power locomotives in a railroad train
A method for controlling first and second locomotives of a railroad train, the first and the second locomotives separated by at least one railcar. The method comprises determining a location of the first locomotive and a location of the second locomotive, determining an operating condition of the first locomotive and an operating condition of the second locomotive, determining a first control aspect of the first locomotive responsive to the operating condition and the location of the first locomotive, determining a second control aspect of the second locomotive responsive to the operating condition and the location of the second locomotive, and controlling the first and the second locomotives according to the first control aspect and the second control aspect, respectively.
US08406935B2 Load forecasting analysis system for calculating customer baseline load
A load forecasting analysis system for calculating a customer baseline load (CBL). The load forecasting analysis system includes a CBL forecaster for receiving a load profile and providing a CBL forecasting method, a period selector for selecting conditions used to calculate the CBL using the load profile, a CBL processor for calculating a forecasting value by forecasting the CBL using the CBL forecasting method according to the load profile and the conditions, and a CBL determiner for calculating an error value by comparing the load profile with the forecasting value.
US08406929B2 Optimized control system for cooling systems
A cooling system for providing conditioned air to a facility includes a chiller or other cooling subsystem, a cooling tower subsystem and one or more air handling units or process cooling units. The cooling subsystem may advantageously include one or more chillers (e.g., variable speed chillers, constant speed chillers, absorption chillers, etc.) and chilled fluid pumps. The cooling tower subsystem includes one or more cooling tower units and condenser fluid pumps. In some implementations, the air handling unit has a cooling coil and a variable volume fan. In some implementations, direct expansion (DX) cooling systems comprise compressors, evaporators and air-cooled, water-cooled or evaporatively-cooled condensing systems. Such systems can be controlled to reduce energy waste, improve occupant comfort and/or improve the thermal characteristics of the process cooling unit. The cooling system further comprises a control system which is configured to evaluate a cooling load value at the air handling unit and use the cooling load value to calculate at least one operational setpoint. The operational setpoint may advantageously be selected to improve the energy efficiency of the overall cooling system.
US08406923B2 Apparatus for determining pickup pose of robot arm with camera
In an apparatus, a coordinate obtaining unit drives a robot to move a camera opposing a workpiece in a first direction such that the workpiece is captured in an FOV of the camera. The coordinate obtaining unit obtains second and third coordinates of a preset point of the robot arm in respective second and third axes of a three-dimensional coordinate system with the workpiece being captured in the FOV. The first, second, and third coordinates are defined as coordinates of a temporally defined reference point of the workpiece in the three-dimensional coordinate system. A pose determining unit drives, at a given timing, the robot arm to determine a pose of the preset point based on a positional relationship between the first, second, and third coordinates of the temporally defined reference point of the workpiece and actual coordinates of the preset point of the robot arm.
US08406910B2 Management device, production management device, production management system
A design management device for managing data has a unit design storage section for storing unit design data with corresponding part design data, a product design storage unit for storing product design data together with the corresponding unit design data, a data transmission unit for sending the product design data to the production management device together with the unit design data and the part design data, a transmission determination unit for determining whether or not the unit design data was transmitted in the past, and a transmission control unit that does not transmit corresponding part design data when the unit design data determined to have been transmitted in the past is sent.
US08406904B2 Two-dimensional multi-products multi-tools advanced process control
The present disclosure provides a method. The method includes gathering advanced process control (APC) data from a subset of available wafers and a subset of available processing chambers. The method includes establishing a matrix that contains a plurality of cells. The cells each correspond to one of the available wafers and one of the available processing chambers. The matrix is partially filled by populating cells for which the APC data has been gathered. The method includes determining a plurality of chamber-coverage-rate (CCR) parameters associated with the matrix. The method includes optimizing the CCR parameters through an iteration process to obtain optimized CCR parameters. The method includes predicting an APC data value for a designated cell of the matrix based on the optimized CCR parameters. The designated cell is an empty cell before the predicting and is populated by the predicting.
US08406902B2 Intrapericardial lead with precurved distal end portion
The intrapericardial lead includes a lead body having a proximal portion and a flexible, pre-curved distal end portion. The distal end portion carries at least one electrode assembly containing an electrode adapted to engage pericardial tissue. The distal end portion further carries a pre-curved flexible wire member having ends attached to spaced apart points along the distal end portion of the lead body, the flexible wire member having a normally expanded state wherein an intermediate portion of the wire member is spaced apart from the distal end portion, and a generally straightened state wherein the wire member and the distal end portion are disposed in a more parallel, adjacent relationship so as to present a small frontal area to facilitate delivery into the pericardial space. The wire member re-expands to its normal state after delivery into the pericardial space to anchor the distal end portion of the lead body relative to the pericardial tissue.
US08406901B2 Sutureless implantable medical device fixation
A device comprises a medical implant and an actively deployable clip attached to the medical implant that operates to restrict movement of the medical implant once the actively deployable clip is deployed within a body of a patient. In some embodiments, the medical implant is an electrical lead for electrical stimulation. The actively deployable clip is operable to fixate the medical implant to a body tissue once deployed, such that the actively deployable clip performs a similar function to a suture. In this manner, embodiments of the invention may provide a medical implant that requires few or even no sutures to properly fixate the implant within the patient.
US08406899B2 Bundle of his stimulation system
A system for therapeutically stimulating a His bundle includes an implantable pulse generator and a multi-polar medical electrical lead. The generator is configured for subcutaneous implantation and to generate a pacing stimulus. The lead includes a connector assembly, a flexible tubular body, a distal tip assembly and coil conductors. The body extends intravascularly from the generator to a location proximate the His bundle and includes a proximal end, a distal end, and a longitudinal lumen. The tip assembly includes an electrode, a fixation helix, and a shank portion. The helix extends to a location proximate the His bundle and is operable as an electrically isolated electrode. The shank portion extends within the lumen and includes a receptacle for receiving a stylet tip. The conductors extend longitudinally through the lumen and are coupled to the electrode and the helix. One or both of the conductors defines a stylet lumen.
US08406896B2 Multi-element contact assemblies for electrical stimulation systems and systems and methods of making and using
An implantable lead includes a lead body having a plurality of electrodes disposed on a distal end of the lead body, a plurality of terminals disposed on a proximal end of the lead body, and a plurality of conductors disposed along the lead body such that each conductor electrically couples at least one of the electrodes to at least one of the terminals. At least one of the electrodes or terminals includes a multi-element contact assembly. The multi-element contact assembly includes at least one conductive inner element and at least one conductive outer element disposed over the inner element. At least one of the plurality of conductors is electrically coupled to one of the multi-element contact assemblies such that the conductor is positioned against the at least one inner element. The at least one outer element includes a region that is in contact with the at least one inner element.
US08406880B2 Template-based capture verification for multi-site pacing
An apparatus and method for verifying capture by first and second pacing pulses in which an evoked response waveform recorded during a pacing event is compared with template waveforms representing capture by the first, second, and both pacing pulses. The evoked response is then classified as representing a type of capture represented by a template waveform if the evoked response waveform highly correlates with one template waveform and has correlation values with the other template waveforms within specified bounds.
US08406877B2 Selective nerve stimulation with optionally closed-loop capabilities
Systems and methods for steering one or more stimulation fields to a selected nerve target, thereby optimizing one or a combination of low stimulation thresholds, desired therapy outcomes, or a minimization of adverse stimulation side-effects. An array of electrodes disposed, at least in part, on two or more neural stimulation leads are used for steering the stimulation fields to the selected nerve target and are positioned adjacent the selected target. The stimulation may be titrated based on, among other things, a detected physiologic response to the applied stimulation.
US08406874B2 Defibrillator with a normalized electrode interface and defibrillating electrode
A defibrillator includes a defibrillator mainframe and a defibrillating electrode. The defibrillator mainframe includes a main control unit and a master device electrically connected to the main control unit. The defibrillating electrode comprises a slave device supporting a bus protocol, the master device and slave device being interconnected through a bus.
US08406871B2 Methods and systems for treating cardiac arrhythmias
The disclosure includes methods and systems for treating cardiac arrhythmias. Some methods for treating an abnormal heart rhythm include determining a change in a sinus node cycle length of a heart of a patient between a time prior to the abnormal heart rhythm and a time during the abnormal heart rhythm; when the change is within a first range, delivering a first therapy to the patient for treating the abnormal heart rhythm; and when the change is within a second range, delivering a second therapy to the patient for treating the abnormal heart rhythm, wherein the first therapy is different from the second therapy. In some embodiments, the first therapy may include shock therapy and the second therapy may include anti-tachycardia pacing.
US08406866B2 System and method for assessing coupling between an electrode and tissue
A system and method for assessing a degree of coupling between an electrode and tissue in a body is provided. Values for first and second components of a complex impedance (e.g., resistance and reactance or impedance magnitude and phase angle) between the electrode and the tissue are obtained. These values are used together with a standardization value indicative of a deviation from a reference standard by a parameter associated with at least one of the body, the electrode and another component of the system to calculate a coupling index that is indicative of a degree of coupling between the electrode and the tissue. The coupling index may be displayed to a clinician in a variety of ways to indicate the degree of coupling to the clinician. The system and method find particular application in ablation of tissue by permitting a clinician to create lesions in the tissue more effectively and safely.
US08406860B2 Method for evaluating blush in myocardial tissue
Vessel perfusion and myocardial blush are determined by analyzing fluorescence signals obtained in a static region-of-interest (ROI) in a collection of fluorescence images of myocardial tissue. The blush value is determined from the total intensity of the intensity values of image elements located within the smallest contiguous range of image intensity values containing a predefined fraction of a total measured image intensity of all image elements within the ROI. Vessel (arterial) peak intensity is determined from image elements located within the ROI that have the smallest contiguous range of highest measured image intensity values and contain a predefined fraction of a total measured image intensity of all image elements within the ROI. Cardiac function can be established by comparing the time differential between the time of peak intensity in a blood vessel and that in a region of neighboring myocardial tissue both pre and post procedure.
US08406851B2 Patient tracking using a virtual image
An apparatus and method of tracking a patient using a virtual image.
US08406850B2 Method for estimating the physiological parameters defining the edema induced upon infusion of fluid from an intraparenchymally placed catheter
A method for estimating the physiological parameters defining the edema induced upon infusion of fluid from an intraparenchymally placed catheter including; a) acquisition of patient-specific medical data; b) estimation of pertinent tissue microstructure based on the patient-specific medical data and/or generalized information derived or drawn from one or more of the following: experience, literature, modeling, studies, research, analysis; c) acquisition of information about delivery parameters, and/or delivery device geometry, and/or fluid properties; and d) computing a field of values of predicted extracellular volume fraction over the tissue region using the information obtained in (b) and (c). According to a further aspect, a method of infusing or planning and/or monitoring an infusion of a contrast agent such that the distribution of such agent can be detected and observing and/or measuring the backflow length along the catheter track.
US08406847B2 Biological observation apparatus and method
A biological observation apparatus according to an aspect of the present invention includes a sound wave radiating unit that radiates a sound wave into an object to be examined, a light radiating unit that radiates first light having a predetermined wavelength and second light different from the first light into a portion of the object influenced by the sound wave, a detector that detects reflected light of the first light and reflected light of the second light, and a calculation unit that calculates characteristic information of the object based on the reflected light of the first light and the reflected light of the second light.
US08406846B2 Mammographic apparatus
The mammographic apparatus of this invention maintains peripheral portions of the breast area Ma of the sternal plate of a patient M in contact with a sternal plate contact box 3 during radiography for RI distribution images of the breast area Ma of the patient M. Since the body motion accompanying respiration of the patient M shifts from the breast side to the back side, the motion of the breast area Ma of the patient M accompanying respiration of the patient M is suppressed easily. In addition, since radiography for RI distribution images is carried out with the patient M in a seated position seated on a seating unit 2, the apparatus is compact and can installed in a limited area, compared with an apparatus that carries out radiography for RI distribution images with a patient in a sleeping position lying on her back or on a side on a top board.
US08406840B2 Spatially resolved oxymetry
In optical tomography, a calibration of the data may be necessary for image reconstruction. According to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention, the object of interest is used for calibration, wherein the image data is acquired during a highly oxygenated phase of the object of interest and wherein the calibration data is acquired during a low oxygenated phase of the object of interest. This may provide for an improved calibration, resulting in improved image quality.
US08406836B2 Optical sensor for medical device
An optical sensor for a medical device includes a fixed lens spacing between emit and receive modules to achieve target sensor sensitivity, while varying other sensor parameters in order to increase signal amplitude without increasing power demand. The arrangement of an opto-electronic component within an optical sensor receive module is improved by masking the receive module lens with an opaque member to create a masked lens leading edge that is aligned with a leading edge of the opto-electronic component.
US08406835B2 Probe head for spectroscopic analysis of a fluid
A spectroscopic system for determining a property of a fluid flowing through a volume of interest underneath the surface of the skin of a patient is described. The spectroscopic system comprises: a probe head having an objective for directing an excitation beam into the volume of interest and for collecting return radiation from the volume of interest; a base station having a spectroscopic analysis unit and a power supply; and a cable connecting the probe head and the base station for transmission of the return radiation from the probe head to the base station and for providing the probe head with power from the power supply of the base station.
US08406833B2 Cryostat having a magnet coil system, which comprises an LTS section and a heatable HTS section
A cryostat (1) with a magnet coil system including superconductors for the production of a magnet field B0 in a measuring volume (3) has a plurality of radically nested solenoid-shaped coil sections (4, 5, 6) and which are electrically connected in series, at least one of which being an LTS section (5, 6) with a conventional low temperature superconductor (LTS) and at least one of which being an HTS section (4) including a high temperature superconductor (HTS), wherein the magnet coil system is located in a helium tank (9) of the cryostat (1) along with liquid helium at a helium temperature TL<4 K. The apparatus is characterized in that heating means are provided which always keep the HTS at an increased temperature TH>TL and TH>2.2 K. The cryostat in accordance with the invention can maintain the HTS section over a long period of time in a reliable manner.
US08406831B2 Adjustment of electromagnetic fields produced by wireless communications devices
Methods and apparatus are provided for adjusting the electromagnetic fields produced by telephones or other mobile devices capable of wireless communication. A wireless communication device includes a substrate having a ground plane. An antenna is coupled to the ground plane, and electrical currents are produced in the ground plane during operation of the antenna. A switchable counterpoise circuit that includes a conducting element and an inductor in series is provided on the substrate. The switchable counterpoise is selectively coupled to the ground plane based upon an operating mode of the wireless communications device, thereby adjusting the electrical currents flowing in the ground plane when the counterpoise is active. The changes in the ground plane currents can produce adjustments in the electromagnetic fields produced by the device, thereby improving hearing aid compatibility (HAC) of the device.
US08406820B2 Radio transmission signal detection circuit
A detection circuit has a detector unit for detecting a transmitted signal from a mobile radio terminal. The detection circuit forms a part of a circuit arrangement for processing or influencing received signals and transmitted signals associated with the mobile radio terminal (accessory circuit). It is involved in the accessory circuit via a switching means, which is arranged in a transmission path upstream of at least one transmission power amplifier which can be activated upon detection of a transmitted signal, and is coupled to the transmission path via a coupling element which is arranged downstream of the transmission power amplifier. At the start of the transmission burst, the whole power of the transmitted signal is first of all supplied to the detector unit before said detector unit changes over the transmitted signal to the transmission power amplifier by operating the switching means. The detection circuit has a self-hold function, so that the detector unit leaves the accessory circuit in its operating state which is provided for the presence of a transmitted signal, even after the switching means has been changed over, at least until the transmission power amplifier has completed the circuit and the component of the amplified transmitted signal which is coupled out by means of the coupling element is applied to the detector unit.
US08406816B2 Method and apparatus for implementing a virtual rotary dial pad on a portable electronic device
A portable electronic device that allows a user to dial a telephone number using a virtual rotary dial pad configuration. The device includes a physically depressible touch screen display. Speed dialing is enabled by touching and dragging a selected numeric or non-numeric symbol to a predetermined location on the touch screen display and by holding the selected symbol at the predetermined location for a predetermined duration of time. Successful dialing of a symbol results in tactile, audio or visual feedback. Touching and dragging selected symbols may be replaced by touching the selected symbol and physically depressing the touch screen. Both numeric and non-numeric symbols may be dialed.
US08406814B2 Low radiation wireless communicator
A wireless communicator, including a modem operable to transmit and receive voice communication phone calls, a power amplifier coupled with the modem operable to dynamically apply a variable gain factor to voice communications transmitted by the modem, to produce an appropriate power output, and a controller coupled with the modem including a radiation monitor operable to monitor the power output of the power amplifier, the controller being operable to restrict operation of the modem, based on data provided by the radiation monitor, when the cumulative power output produced by the power amplifier exceeds a pre-designated daily cumulative power limit.
US08406806B2 Mobile telephone capable of automatically switching antenna according to user's hand position
A mobile communication device includes a first antenna configured to transmit and receive RF signals, a first capacitive sensor adjacent to the first antenna, a second antenna configured to transmit and receive RF signals, a second capacitive sensor adjacent to the second antenna, a sensing circuit in communication with the first capacitive sensor and the second capacitive sensor, the sensing circuit being that can determine the position of a user's hand adjacent to the first antenna or the second antenna in response to sensing signals received from the first capacitive sensor and the second capacitive sensor, and an antenna switching circuit that can select the first antenna or the second antenna to transmit and receive RF signals to enable wireless communications in response to the position of the user' hand relative to the first antenna and the second antenna as determined by the sensing circuit.
US08406805B2 Expedited communication graphical user interface system and method
A method for managing expedited communication functions for a mobile device having a processing subsystem, a memory subsystem, a display subsystem, a communication subsystem, and a keyboard subsystem includes displaying a graphical key representation of mobile device keyboard subsystem keys, arranging the graphical keys in similar disposition to the mobile device keyboard subsystem keys, and displaying visual indicia to indicate mobile device keyboard subsystem keys associated with expedited communication functions.
US08406802B2 Methods and apparatuses for fast power control of signals transmitted on a multiple access channel
A method and apparatus for controlling the transmission of signals from one or more of a plurality of mobile stations to a base station on a plurality of M multiple access channels is described. A power control information packet formed from a plurality of power control bits is transmitted from the base station to the one or more mobile stations. Each of the power control bits in the power control information packet has a position that is mapped to a selected access channel and to a time offset within the selected access channel. The power control information packet is received at a first mobile station. A message is then transmitted from the first mobile station to the base station on a first access channel and at a first time offset associated with the first access channel.
US08406798B2 Method and apparatus for bridging calls between two disparate push-to-talk systems
A PTT bridging gateway between a first PTT system and a second disparate PTT system: receives an invitation to a first client to join a first group call for a first group comprising multiple member clients on the first PTT system, wherein the first client is one of the member clients of the first group; determines that the first client is mapped to a second group comprising multiple member clients on the second PTT system; and initiates a second group call to the multiple member clients on the second PTT system.
US08406792B2 Message modification system and method
A method of, and system for, performing message modification on the basis of group membership of the sender and/or recipient of the message. The system includes a device which modifies a message for transmission through a data communications network. The message includes transmission data which identifies a sending party and a recipient of the message and a message body identifying content thereof, at least part of which is specified by the sending party. The system includes a data processor device arranged to identify membership of a group in relation to a sending party and a recipient of a the message, identify an action in dependence on concordance between respective group memberships, modify the message on the basis of the identified action; and transmit the modified message to the recipient in accordance with the transmission data.
US08406758B2 Subscriber identification management broker for fixed/mobile networks
There present invention relates to a method for managing the automatic provision of a subscriber network identifier from a central network server to a subscribed communication device, the method comprising receiving notification at the central server relating to a change in the current location for the subscribed device, and determining from the notification whether a new subscriber network identifier is to be provisioned from the central server. The method further comprises selecting a subscriber network identifier on the basis of the current location, if the determining step has determined that a new subscriber network identifier is to be provisioned, and outputting the selected subscriber network identifier for transmission to the subscribed device. The present invention also relates to managing the automatic connection of a subscribed communication device to a network, where a preferred network and preferred subscriber network identifier may be used.
US08406755B2 Method for testing wireless connection function of mobile phone
A method is capable of testing wireless connection function of a mobile phone. Firstly, a wireless module of the mobile phone is turned on. The wireless module then searches for access points. In succession, the wireless module is connected to a first pre-set access point in the searched access points. Finally, the mobile phone accesses a first pre-set website via the wireless module and the pre-set access point.
US08406748B2 Adaptive ambient services
A system configured to detect a requested access to an ambient service over a wireless network, the requested access being associated with a communications device communicatively coupled to the system over the wireless network, the ambient service providing sponsored access to a network destination, wherein the sponsored access comprises a usage of the wireless network associated with the ambient service that is sponsored by a sponsor entity; obtain, based on the requested access, a associated with the communications device or the wireless network; and determine, based on the traffic characteristic, whether the requested access is within an ambient service profile controlling access by the communications device to the ambient service over the wireless network. When the requested access is within the ambient service profile, the system allows the requested access, and when the requested access is not within the ambient service profile, the system prevents the requested access.
US08406744B2 Client management of visual voicemail data communications
Data communications sessions for visual voicemail data communications are terminated under the control of a wireless device's visual voicemail client. In one embodiment, a visual voicemail client can be configured to transmit a request or command to terminate a data communications session immediately upon sending an acknowledgement of receiving voicemail data from a voicemail server. In another embodiment, a visual voicemail client can be configured to transmit a request or command to terminate a data communications session following the expiration of a timer set by the visual voicemail client. Alternatively, a visual voicemail client can be configured to wait for a termination request for command from a voicemail server.
US08406739B2 Mediation router
A system and methodology that can dynamically select advertisement vendors in response to a request from a wireless communication device is provided. The system employ a mediation router to receive an ad request from a portal interfaced with a wireless device. Specifically, the mediation router analyzes the request and dynamically selects an ad vendor to service the request, based in part on the analysis. The selected ad vendor supplies the ad and the mediation router ensures that the portal receives the ad. The mediation router selects an ad vendor in a variety of ways including, but not limited to, business decision rules or artificial intelligence and/or a combination thereof. The mediation router further employs customer profiles that help vendors target advertisements to specific consumers and wireless devices.
US08406732B2 Rule based hierarchical account resource management system and method
A system and method for allocating system resources through a rule based account hierarchy is provided. An Account Manager attempts to apply a system charge to an account. In applying the charge to the account, the Account Manager examines balance selection rules associated with the account. If, after examining the balance selection rules the Account Manager determines that the balance selection rules are satisfied, then the Account Manager attempts to charge the account. If the balance is owned by a parent account, then the charge is routed to that parent account. If the balance is not owned by a parent account, then the balance is charged. If, after examining all the balance selection rules of an account the Account Manager cannot find a balance to charge, then the communication session is disallowed.
US08406726B2 Method of emergency communication in mobile communication system and mobile station supporting the same
The present invention relates to a method and apparatus for requesting a base station of emergency call connection within the shortest time regardless of location or channel status of a mobile station in a mobile communication system. When the mobile station requests an uplink to connect emergency call, the base station establishes a communication path of mobile station-relay station-base station if signal quality of the mobile station is not better than signal quality transmitted through the relay station, whereby ranging or transmission of emergency data is prevented from being repeated under poor channel status, so as to enable a prompt emergency rescue service.
US08406719B1 Apparatus and methods for detection of interface in radio-frequency devices
A receiver is provided and includes a first amplifier configured to amplify, based on a first gain, a radio frequency signal to generate a first amplified signal. The radio frequency signal is received by the receiver on a first channel. A second amplifier generates, based on the first amplified signal and a second gain, a second amplified signal. An output circuit generates a baseband signal based on the second amplified signal. A first detection circuit compares the baseband signal to (i) a first threshold in response to the first gain being at a first level, and (ii) a second threshold in response to the first gain being at a second level. The first detection circuit generates a first detection signal in response to the comparison. A controller, in response to the first detection signal, (i) adjusts the second gain, or (ii) changes the receiver from the first channel.
US08406718B2 Method for implementing continuous radio frequency (RF) alignment in advanced electronic warfare (EW) signal stimulation systems
A method for characterizing the effect of each step attenuator state, on phase and amplitude, which may include in an exemplary embodiment: activating each step attenuator state as the sole contributor to attenuation, and measuring at least one of a step attenuator amplitude contribution (SAAC) and/or a step attenuator phase contribution (SAPC).
US08406714B2 Method of determining station status of non-audible tuner in dual-tuner system
A system and method of visually providing the current status of selected frequencies of particular interest to the user of an entertainment system and in particular, of a vehicle entertainment system.
US08406712B2 Extended range voice over IP WiMAX device
A method implemented in a mobile station (“MS”). When the MS transmits, it generates radio frequency (“RF”) energy. To limit exposure to RF energy, regulatory agencies determined a maximum transmission power for mobile stations. The amount of RF energy considered safe is that generated when the MS is transmitting continuously at the maximum transmission power for a predetermined period. The method first determines whether the maximum transmission power is too low to effect communication between the MS and a base station. If it is, the transmission power is increased and if possible, the data transmission rate of outbound data is reduced to at or below a data rate threshold that reduces the RF energy generated by the mobile station to an amount considered safe. Then, any data having a data transmission rate less than or equal to the data rate threshold is transmitted at the increased transmission power.
US08406704B2 RF transmitter and integrated circuit with programmable baseband filtering and methods for use therewith
A radio frequency (RF) transmitter includes a transmitter processing module that generates a processed signal and a modulating signal based on outbound data. An up-conversion module up-converts the processed signal to generate an up-converted signal. A programmable filter module generates a first plurality of delayed signals from the up-converted signal and that generates a filtered up-converted signal by combining the up-converted signal and the first plurality of delayed signals, wherein a delayed signal of the first plurality of delayed signals is scaled based on one of a first plurality of coefficients, wherein the first plurality of coefficients are selected based on a control signal. A polar amplifier amplifies and amplitude modulates the filtered up-converted signal based on the modulating signal to generate a transmit signal. A processing module generates the control signal to attenuate at least one RF spur of the up-converted signal.
US08406700B2 Mobile station and radio base station
A mobile station includes a reception quality generating unit that generates the reception quality based on a reception quality measured for data transmitted after transmission of a preamble signal. The mobile station is in a mobile communication system in which, a radio base station transmits the data after transmission of the preamble signal and, after transmission of a signal and before transmission of a subsequent preamble signal from the radio base station, the mobile station transmits to the radio base station, reception quality of the signal transmitted from the radio base station, whereby a transmission parameter for data transmitted to the mobile station after transmission of the subsequent preamble signal can be changed.
US08406699B2 Method and apparatus for reducing the load of managing the power save state of a partner
In the power save mode of an IEEE 802.11 adhoc network, a packet loss occurs unless the power save state of a receiving side is detected, failing in communication. However, there is no explicit notification on joining/leaving in/from a network, and it is difficult to detect and manage the state of a partner, including the detection timing. To solve this problem, a terminal always transmits an information notification packet (ATIM packet) in a time during which all terminals can receive it, prior to data transmission regardless of the power save state of a partner. With this mechanism, the terminal also explicitly notifies the partner of a change in the power save state of the terminal.
US08406698B2 Techniques for determining a velocity of a sport object
A method for determining a velocity of an object (O), such as a ball, over a span length (SL) extending from a span start (SS) to a span end (SE). An audio signal (AS) is received by a mobile terminal's (MT) microphone (MP). An approximate travel time (TT) for a traversal of the span length (SL) by the object (O) is determined, which act time comprises processing the audio signal (AS) and detecting a first shape (210) and a second shape (212) which respectively correspond to an approximate start time (T1) and approximate end time (T2) of the traversal, and determining the approximate travel time (TT) based on the detected first shape (210) and second shape (212). The object's velocity is determined based on the span length (SL) and approximate travel time (TT). The velocity may be determined by the mobile terminal or by an external server.
US08406697B2 Wireless communications system for tool
A wireless communications system includes a tool having a first wireless communications unit and a transceiver having a second wireless communications unit to receive a signal transmitted from the first wireless communications unit. Further, the transceiver has a setting unit for setting wireless communications parameters for wireless communications between the first and the second wireless communications unit, and the tool has a tool control unit for setting in the wireless communications unit the wireless communications parameters set by the setting unit and transmitted to the tool by wireless communication.
US08406695B2 Joint interference cancellation of pilot, overhead and traffic channels
A method and system for interference cancellation (IC). One aspect relates to traffic interference cancellation. Another aspect relates to joint IC for pilot, overhead and data. Another aspect relates to improved channel estimation. Another aspect relates to adaptation of transmit subchannel gains.
US08406693B2 Apparatus and method for modulating an amplitude, phase or both of a periodic signal on a per cycle basis
An apparatus for wireless communications is disclosed including a signal generator adapted to generate a substantially periodic signal including a plurality of cycles, and a modulator adapted to modulate an amplitude, a phase or both the amplitude and the phase of the periodic signal on a per cycle basis. In one aspect, the modulator is adapted to modulate the amplitude, the phase, or both the amplitude and phase of the periodic signal with a defined modulation signal. In another aspect, the defined modulation signal includes a substantially root raised cosine signal. In yet another aspect, the defined modulation signal is configured to achieve a defined frequency spectrum for the modulated periodic signal.
US08406692B2 Polar transmitter amplifier with variable output power
Various embodiments are disclosed relating to wireless systems, and also relating to transmitter amplifiers, such as, for example, polar transmitter amplifiers with variable output power. According to an example embodiment, a circuit is provided including a plurality of selectable amplifier cells. Each amplifier cell may receive a phase or frequency modulated signal and an amplitude modulated signal. Each amplifier cell may output a signal based upon a combination of the received amplitude modulated signal and the received phase or frequency modulated signal if the amplifier cell is selected. The circuit may provide a variable output current or output power based upon the selection of one or more of the amplifier cells.
US08406691B2 Method and system for providing wireless communication between user equipments
A method of wireless communication between user equipments includes retrieving user data and a criterion via a software application on a first wireless user equipment having communication interfaces. One of the interfaces is selected based on the criterion. The interface is used to identify wireless user equipments in a proximity of the first user equipment. A total number of user equipments in the proximity of the first user equipment is determined, and, when the number is below a value, another interface is selected. The other interface is used to identify wireless user equipments in the proximity of the first user equipment. A match between the user data of the first user equipment and user data of a second user equipment, causes initiation of wireless communication between the first and the second user equipments by sending to any of the user equipments a message associated with the match.
US08406682B2 Virtual laboratory smart agent
A method for conducting a virtual training session with first and second training objectives having first and second validation paths, respectively. The method steps include configuring a virtual machine manipulated by a student to complete the first training objective, configuring a smart agent to execute on the virtual machine including a validator specified by the first validation path, generating a result by performing a first validation check of the virtual training session by at least the validator of the smart agent to identify an event of the virtual machine, identifying, using the smart agent, completion of the first training objective based on the result, and advancing the virtual training session from the first training objective to the second training objective in response to identifying completion of the first training objective.
US08406678B2 Cleaning roller for cleaning image bearing member
A cleaning roller has a core and a polyurethane foam layer covering the core to form a peripheral surface of the cleaning roller adapted to be in contact with a peripheral surface of the toner image bearing member. The polyurethane foam is designed so that the number of cell per inch thereof is 30 or more and 60 or less and an open ratio of cell walls thereof is 3% or more and 50% or less.
US08406672B2 Bending receiver using heat-shrinkable toner
Apparatus for bending a receiver having an image side and a non-image side in a bend area having a bend axis. Toner is deposited on the image side of the receiver in the bend area. A device compresses the deposited toner to form a toner film using a heated anvil and a selectively-cooled quencher that stretch and cooled the toner in the bend area below its Tg to form a toner film disposed over the surface of the receiver in the bend area. A heater reheats the bend area of the receiver so that temperature of the toner in the bend area rises above its Tg, so that the toner contracts and the receiver bends at the bend axis.
US08406671B2 Image forming apparatus and method of controlling minimum halftone dot size
An image forming apparatus includes a raster image data generating unit, a halftone image data generating unit, a size control unit, an image forming unit and a flash fixing unit. The raster image data generating unit generates raster image data of a plurality of color components from document data. The halftone image data generating unit generates halftone image data from the raster image data. The size control unit controls minimum halftone dot sizes of the halftone image data. The image forming unit forms color toner images to be fixed on a recording medium using color toners corresponding to the plurality of color components, based on the halftone image data whose minimum halftone dot sizes are controlled by the size control unit. The flash fixing unit emits flash light from a flash light source to the recording medium to fix the color toner images transferred onto the recording medium.
US08406668B2 Fixing device and image forming apparatus including the same
A fixing device is provided that suppresses loss in heat radiation from both ends in a longitudinal direction which is a direction corresponding to an axial direction of a fixing roller in a heating member so as to be able to uniform distribution of a temperature in the longitudinal direction of the heating member and to attain uniform fixing capability. A planar heat generating element provided in a heating member includes electrodes at both ends in a circumferential direction so that a flowing direction of current flowing through the planar heat generating element is a direction substantially orthogonal to a longitudinal direction as a direction extending along an axial direction of a fixing roller in the planar heat generating element. The planar heat generating element is constituted so that the both ends in the longitudinal direction thereof have larger thickness than that of a center part thereof.
US08406666B2 Image forming apparatus having a guide assembly between a fixing unit and conveyance unit, the guide assembly including first and second guide members
An image forming apparatus includes an electrophotographic imaging unit, a fixing unit, a conveyance unit, and a guide assembly. The electrophotographic imaging unit forms a toner image on a recording medium for forwarding to a media conveyance path. The fixing unit is disposed in the conveyance path to fix the toner image in place on the recording medium through a fixing nip. The conveyance unit is disposed downstream of the fixing unit along the conveyance path to forward the recording medium from the fixing nip. The guide assembly is disposed between the fixing unit and the conveyance unit along the conveyance path to guide the recording medium therethrough. The guide assembly includes a pair of first and second media guide members to form a tapered passageway therebetween to pass the recording medium from the fixing nip into the conveyance unit.
US08406665B2 Belt driving device and image forming apparatus using the same
A steering controller uses a photointerrupter that detects the position of a filler when a steering roller is in a predetermined reference inclined position. The steering controller drives a steering motor to bring the steering roller to the reference inclined position based on a detection result obtained by the photointerrupter every time predetermined adjustment timing arrives or every time the power is turned on. Using the rotation angle of the steering motor in this condition as a reference rotation angle, the steering controller controls the rotation of the steering motor.
US08406663B2 Developing roller for electrophotographic image forming apparatus, and manufacturing method of the same
The disclosure provides a developing roller for an electrophotographic image forming apparatus, and a method of manufacturing the same. The developing roller includes a shaft member and a resilient member provided on the shaft member. The resilient member includes a conductive resilient layer in contact with the shaft member and a conductive resin layer defining the outer surface of the resilient member. The conductive resin layer includes a resin and a surface-treated metal oxide. The developing roller is capable of an increased amount of toner charging while stably maintaining optical density.
US08406658B2 Image forming apparatus with movable secondary transfer unit
An image forming apparatus includes an image-forming unit, an intermediate transfer member, a backup member and a medium transfer member. The image-forming unit is configured to form a developed image, which is transferred to the intermediate transfer member. The intermediate transfer member is entrained about the backup member. The medium transfer member is opposed to the backup member and is configured to transfer the developed image on the intermediate transfer member to a medium. The medium transfer member is also at a first position where a rotational axis of the medium transfer member lies downstream of a rotational axis of the backup member in a medium transport direction.
US08406657B2 Color electrophotographic image forming apparatus
A color electrophotographic image forming apparatus for forming a color image on a recording material, the apparatus includes an image forming unit rotatable relative to a main assembly of the color electrophotographic image forming apparatus, the image forming unit including a plurality of mounting portions for demountably mounting cartridges each provided with a developing member for developing an electrostatic latent image formed on an electrophotographic photosensitive member drum with a developer, and a transfer member for transferring the developed image on the recording material, wherein the image forming unit is rotatable between a transfer position for transferring the developed image from the transfer member onto the recording material and a mounting and demounting position, different from the transfer position, for mounting and dismounting the cartridge relative to the mounting portion in a state in which cartridges containing different color developers are mounted to the mounting portion; and a grip portion usable for rotating the image forming unit between the transfer position and the mounting and demounting position.
US08406652B2 Removable member-holding device and image forming apparatus
A removable member-holding device is provided and includes: a pull-out member that is supported so as to be movable between an accommodation position and a pull-out position; a rotatable holder that is supported by the pull-out member so as to be rotatable around a rotation shaft and supported so as to be movable integrally with the pull-out member, and that holds a removable member which is attached to and detached from the image forming apparatus main body, the rotatable holder being movable between an insertion possible position where the pull-out member is movable from the pull-out position toward the accommodation position and an inclined position where the rotatable holder rotates downward in a direction of a gravity around the rotation shaft and is inclined with respect to the insertion possible position; and a regulating member that is disposed at the rotation shaft of the rotatable holder to lessen a movement speed of the rotatable holder when rotationally moving to the inclined position.
US08406650B2 Developing device and image forming apparatus
A developing device is disclosed which includes a developing tank, a developing roller, a carrying member, and a filter. Rotation of the developing roller causes a first airflow directed from the outside of the developing tank through an air path to the inside of the developing tank. Rotation of the carrying member causes a second airflow directed from below in an upward direction inside the developing tank. Collision between the first airflow and the second airflow causes a third airflow directed from the inside of the developing tank through the filter to the outside of the developing tank and further from the outside through the filter back to the inside of the developing tank. This arrangement prevents not only filter clogging but also a toner leak to the outside of the developing device.
US08406647B2 Fixing device including a radiation member to cool a fixing member and a heat conductive member
A fixing device includes an endless, flexible fixing member, a heat conductive member, a heater, a pressing member, a nip formation member, and a radiation member. The endless, flexible fixing member is formed into a loop. The heat conductive member is disposed within the loop formed by the fixing member to conduct heat to the fixing member. The heater is disposed near the heat conductive member to heat the heat conductive member. The pressing member is rotatably pressed against the fixing member to form a fixing nip between the fixing member and the pressing member. A recording medium is conveyed through the fixing nip. The radiation member is detachably pressable against an outer circumference of the fixing member to contact the fixing member with the heat conductive member to cool the fixing member and the heat conductive member.
US08406636B2 Method, system and device for passive optical network data transmission
A central office optical line terminal (S-OLT) and a local optical line terminal (L-OLT) are connected to through a transmission link form a transmission network. The S-OLT sends service data sent by a service network to the L-OLT through a transmission channel, receives the service data sent by the L-OLT from the transmission channel, and sends the service data to the service network. The L-OLT receives the service data sent by the S-OLT from the transmission channel and sends the service data to an optical network unit (ONU), and sends the service data sent by the ONU to the S-OLT through the transmission channel. Thus, the service data of the L-OLT is sent to the service network through the S-OLT, thereby solving a problem in the existing PON that the service data requires another transmission of the transmission network to reach the service network.
US08406635B2 Optical communication system and optical receiver
An optical receiver for receiving an optical signal that transmits a first data signal and a second data signal, including: an optical front-end configured to generate a digital signal that represents the optical signal; a detector configured to detect a state of the optical signal by using the digital signal and output state information that represents the state of the optical signal; a state controller configured to control the digital signal on the basis of the state information in order to recover the first data signal; and a data recovery configured to recover the second data signal on the basis of the state information.
US08406628B2 Method, equipment, and system for detecting and authenticating terminal in passive optical network
A method, equipment, and operation management system for detecting and authenticating a terminal in a passive optical network are provided. The method includes the following steps. The terminal has a logic registration code. A central office end receives the logic registration code sent by the terminal. The central office end judges whether the logic registration code of the terminal matches with the logic registration code stored at the central office end, and determines that the terminal is a valid terminal if the logic registration code sent by the terminal matches with the logic registration code stored at the central office end. The central office end records a terminal serial number from the valid terminal, and records a terminal identifier assigned to the valid terminal. By using the provided method, equipment, and operation management system, it is unnecessary to statically configure the terminal SN at the central office end, such that the maintenance cost of the central office end and the terminal is lowered, the flexibility of terminal detection and authentication is improved, and the maintainability of the central office end and the terminal is also enhanced.
US08406620B2 Passive optical network (PON) in-band optical time domain reflectometer (OTDR)
An in-band OTDR uses a network's communication protocols to perform OTDR testing on a link. Because the OTDR signal (probe pulse) is handled like a data signal, the time required for OTDR testing is typically about the same as the time required for other global network events, and is not considered an interruption of service to users. A network equipment includes an optical time domain reflectometry (OTDR) transmitter and receiver, each operationally connected to a link to transmit and receive, respectively, an OTDR signal. When an OTDR is to be performed, a network device operationally connected to the link actuates the OTDR transmitter to transmit the OTDR signal on the link during a determined test time based on a communications protocol of the link, during which data signals are not transmitted to the network equipment. A processing system processes the OTDR signal to provide OTDR test results.
US08406614B2 Recording device and method
Auxiliary AV data of a lower rate is formed in an auxiliary AV data converting unit on the basis of video and audio data of a main line system. The audio data of the main line system in which the number of channels is equal to 0 and 4 or 8 channels can exist mixedly. In the auxiliary AV data, the number of channels of the audio data is fixed to 8 channels. Audio data showing silence is outputted to the channels which do not correspond to the channels of the audio data of the main line system of the auxiliary AV data. Since the number of channels of the audio data of the auxiliary AV data is fixed irrespective of the number of channels of the audio data of the main line system, the editing or searching operation using the auxiliary AV data can be executed without paying attention to a change in the number of channels of the audio data of the main line system, or the like.
US08406612B2 Broadcast recording apparatus and broadcast recording method
According to one embodiment, there is provided broadcast recording apparatus having tuner unit which receives broadcast signal, demodulates the received signal, and outputs video image/audio signal, reservation setting unit which makes image recording reservation for specific program, and then, provides lock setting for preventing automatic deletion after image recording at the time of the image recording reservation, reserved image recording unit which, when time indicated by reservation information has come, records video image/audio signal of the broadcast signal in storage region together with the lock setting, and lock control unit which, if it is judged that free space of the storage region is insufficient when the reserved image recording unit performs reserved image recording in accordance with reservation information, deletes signal to which the lock setting is not provided, from among the video image/audio signals stored in the storage region.
US08406611B2 Integrated circuit for use in a playback apparatus
A machine readable disc in which a machine readable application program, a digital stream, and management information including plural pieces of play list information which define playback paths of the digital stream are recorded. The machine readable application program is readable by a virtual machine included in a machine. A life cycle during which the machine readable application program can be read and executed by the virtual machine is specified. The management information includes information that indicates a predetermined piece of play list information, among plural pieces of play list information, which defines a playback path of the digital stream that is played back by a playback control engine included in the machine during the life cycle, simultaneously with the execution of the machine readable application program.
US08406610B2 Systems and methods of editing media data
Systems and methods of editing media data are described. One such method includes displaying a representation of a first and second media data instances. Each media data instance is displayed along a corresponding one of a plurality of lines at a corresponding one of a plurality of positions. The corresponding position is chosen in accordance with a capture time associated with the media data instances, such that when the media data instances have overlapping capture times the media data instances with overlapping capture times are displayed on different ones of the lines. The method further includes determining an overlap region for the first media and second media data instances having overlapping capture times. The method further includes combining a plurality of frames within the overlap region of the first media data instance and the second media data instance according to an overlap style to produce an output media data.
US08406604B2 Playback apparatus, recording method, and playback method
A BD-ROM contains plurality of Titles which can be branched among and a Java application executable upon reproduction of each Title. Each Title has an AV Clip and an application management table. The application is a program described in a virtual-machine oriented programming language. The application management table correlates an application to an application run attribute in the corresponding Title. The run attribute may be a continuation attribute (Persistent) for continuing the application state in the branch origin or an AutoRun attribute for automatically running the application when the application is in a non-run state in the branch origin.
US08406601B2 Method and system for reproducing audio/video content and portable device
A method for reproducing audio and/or video content on a device is provided. A position of a user is determined. Audio and/or video content to be reproduced on the device is selected based on the position of the user and is reproduced on the device. If the determined position of the user is in a first region (1), at least one first audio and/or video 5 content is selected. If the determined position of the user is in a second area (2), at least one second audio and/or video content is selected. If the determined position of the user is in an overlap region of the first and second area or in a region between the first and second area, a third audio and/or video content is generated based on at least the first and/or second audio and/or video content and the third audio and/or video content is selected to be reproduced.
US08406598B2 Apparatus for shaping the end of an optical fiber
An apparatus is provided for shaping an end of an optical fiber. The apparatus may include a frame and a clamp constructed to hold the optical fiber in a fixed location relative to the frame. The apparatus may further include a tip shaper supported by the frame and movable in a first direction toward and away from the clamp, and moveable in a second direction that lies in a plane transverse to the first direction to shape the end of the optical fiber when the tip shaper is placed in contact with the optical fiber. The apparatus may include an abrasive substrate which abrades the end of the fiber.
US08406585B2 Optical waveguide, optical wiring member, and method of mounting optical device on optical wiring member
An optical wiring member according to the present invention includes: a substrate on which a light-emitting device and a light-receiving device are mounted; and an optical waveguide comprising a communication optical waveguide core and an optical waveguide clad that entirely covers the communication optical waveguide core, the optical waveguide being mounted on the substrate, in which the optical waveguide is equipped with a position-aligning light guiding portion for introducing position-aligning light into the communication optical waveguide core. By using, as a target light, the position-aligning light that is introduced into the communication optical waveguide core 3 and exits from the substrate, at least either the light-emitting device or the light-receiving device can be positioned.
US08406582B2 Optical switch and method for controlling optical switch
An optical switch includes a mirror to reflect an input light; a controller to generate a control signal representing a target rotation angle of the mirror; a generator to generate a low-frequency signal; an adder to superimpose the low-frequency signal on the control signal; a driver to drive the mirror with a drive voltage corresponding to the control signal on which the low-frequency signal is superimposed; a detector to detect a frequency component or a harmonic component of the low-frequency signal included in an output light reflected by the mirror; and a correction unit to correct the control signal based on the detection result by the detector. The generator determines an amplitude of the low-frequency signal according to the target rotation angle.
US08406567B2 Reconstruction of shapes of near symmetric and asymmetric objects
A system processes 2D images of 2D or 3D objects, creating a model of the object that is consistent with the image and as veridical as the perception of the 2D image by humans. Vertices of the object that are hidden in the image are recovered by using planarity and symmetry constraints. The 3D shape is recovered by maximizing 3D compactness of the recovered object and minimizing its surface area. In some embodiments, these two criteria are weighted by using the geometric mean.
US08406554B1 Image binarization based on grey membership parameters of pixels
Briefly, in accordance with one aspect, a method of binarizing an image is provided. The method includes partitioning the image into a plurality of image segments, each image segment having a plurality of image pixels and partitioning each of the image segments into subsegments, each image subsegment having a plurality of image pixels. The method also includes estimating a grey membership parameter for each image pixel for each of the plurality of image segments and subsegments, combining the grey membership parameter for each of the plurality of image pixels from each of the plurality of image segments and subsegments to estimate a net grey membership parameter for each image pixel and assigning black or white color to each of the plurality of image pixels based on the estimated net grey membership parameter of the respective pixel.
US08406548B2 Method and apparatus for performing a blur rendering process on an image
A method and apparatus for performing a blur rendering process on an image is disclosed. In one embodiment, the method of performing a blur rendering process includes accessing a filtered image and depth map information, determining a plurality of blending coefficients for computing a weighted sum for the image and filtered image, wherein the plurality of blending coefficients define a substantially smooth transition from at least one first depth class to at least one second depth class and a substantially sharp transition from the at least one second depth class and the at least one first depth class, wherein the at least one first depth class and the at least one second depth class form at least a portion of a plurality of depth classes and combining the image and the filtered image into a resulting image using the plurality of coefficients.
US08406547B2 Visual processing device, visual processing method, program, display device, and integrated circuit
A visual processing device inhibits artifacts, even when a special image is input. The visual processing device includes a spatial processing portion extracting surrounding image information from an input image signal, and a special image detection portion outputting a special image effect adjustment signal according to a degree of a statistical bias of the input image signal. The visual processing device also includes a continuous changing portion outputting an effect adjustment signal in which the special image effect adjustment signal is continuously changed between frames, an effect adjustment portion outputting a synthesized signal in which the effect of the visual processing differs depending on the effect adjustment signal, and a visual processing portion outputting a processed signal obtained by visually processing the image signal based on the image signal and the synthesized signal.
US08406543B2 Image decoding apparatus and image decoding method
An image decoding apparatus and method are capable of reducing block noise without difference in gradation being lost, wherein, an image is divided into a plurality of blocks containing a plurality of pixels and the pixels are encoded with label information corresponding to representative values which represent gradation of pixels in the block, and when the size in the dynamic range (distribution range of gradation) of a focused block is not less than a prescribed multiple times the size in the dynamic range in an adjacent block, a representative value, in the focused block, whose difference from the intermediate value of representative values of the adjacent block is not more than a threshold value, is assumed to be adjusted, and a variance is provided to the representative value in a decoding process.
US08406537B2 Computed tomography system with data compression and transfer
A computed tomography (CT) system that includes a rotational gantry and a stationary structure communicatively coupled to the rotational gantry is provided. The rotational gantry includes an X-ray source configured to emit an X-ray beam through a subject, an X-ray detector comprising one or more detector elements that receive incoming X-rays and to convert the incoming X-rays to image signals, and a data acquisition unit that processes the image signals to generate processed image data. The stationary structure is coupled to the rotational gantry via one or more slip rings that transfer the processed image data from the rotational gantry to stationary memory integral with the stationary structure via a bidirectional serial data exchange protocol.
US08406533B2 Image comparing apparatus and method therefor, image retrieving apparatus as well as program and recording medium
A coding parameter extracting unit extracts and supplies coding parameters of a code stream to an image characteristic amount output unit. A code stream characteristic amount extracting unit outputs a first vector calculated based on the number of zero bit planes for each code block extracted by analyzing the code stream. The image characteristic amount output unit uses the coding parameters other than a quantization step size of the code stream to output a second vector calculated based on the number of zero bit planes for each code block of a specific image. A comparing unit compares the first and second vectors for each code block and makes a matching decision between the code stream and the specific image.
US08406526B2 Two-dimensional code generation method, two-dimensional code, two-dimensional code recognition method, and image recognition device
A two-dimensional code in which given data is encoded as a two-dimensional image. The two-dimensional code includes as image elements: points each of which is placed at point placement reserved position in a two-dimensional region based on a binary data string uniquely associated with the given data according to a preset binary data string placement condition; and a line connecting each of the points and a connection target point according to a preset connection condition. The two-dimensional code is formed as a two-dimensional image by causing the line connecting the points to have a given width.
US08406518B2 Smoothed local histogram filters for computer graphics
Local histogram and local histogram-based functions can be determined by generating offset-kernel images based on domain-shifted tonal filter kernels. The offset-kernel images can be reused for multiple image locations and/or local neighborhood sizes, shapes, and weights. A neighborhood filter representing the desired local neighborhood size, shape, and frequency domain characteristics is applied to each of the offset-kernel images. Neighborhood filters may include a temporal dimension for evaluating neighborhoods in space and time. Neighborhood filtered offset-kernel images' values represent samples of local histogram or local histogram-based function corresponding with the domains of their associated domain-shifted tonal filter kernels. Arbitrary functions may be used as tonal filter kernels. A histogram kernel may be used to sample values of local histogram functions. A tonal filter kernel that is a derivative or integral of another tonal filter kernel may be used to sample a derivative or integral, respectively, of a function.
US08406513B2 Method of object location in airborne imagery using recursive quad space image processing
A method and computer workstation are disclosed which determine the location in the ground space of selected point in a digital image of the earth obtained by an airborne camera. The method includes the steps of: (a) performing independently and in parallel a recursive partitioning of the image space and the ground space into successively smaller quadrants until a pixel coordinate in the image assigned to the selected point is within a predetermined limit (Δ) of the center of a final recursively partitioned quadrant in the image space. The method further includes a step of (b) calculating a geo-location of the point in the ground space corresponding to the selected point in the image space from the final recursively partitioned quadrant in the ground space corresponding to the final recursively partitioned quadrant in the image space.
US08406509B2 Three-dimensional surface generation method
The present invention provides a three-dimensional surface generation method that directly and efficiently generates a three-dimensional surface of the object surface from multiple images capturing a target object.The three-dimensional surface generation method of the present invention sets one image as a basis image from multiple images obtained by capturing the target object from different viewpoint positions and sets other images as reference images, and then generates two-dimensional triangle meshes on the basis image. Next, the method of the present invention sets a distance between a vector whose elements are pixel values of an image obtained by deforming the reference image by a homography determined by an all-vertices depth parameter of meshes and camera parameters and a vector whose elements are pixel values of the basis image, as a term of a cost function, and computes the all-vertices depth parameter that a value of the cost function becomes smallest by iteratively performing the computation of the small variation of the all-vertices depth parameter and the update of the current value of the all-vertices depth parameter by using an optimization method that sets the multiple images, the camera parameters and the initial value of the all-vertices depth parameter as inputs till a predetermined condition is satisfied.
US08406501B2 Method and system for inspection of tube width of heat exchanger
A method and system for appearance inspection of a core of a heat exchanger provided with fins and tubes, performing averaging and dynamic binarization on the imaging data to extract an image of only a tube, then calculating, with respect to the extracted tube image, a center axis across a long direction of the tube comprised of the center coordinates of the tube width direction, comparing the discovered center axis with a reference value to find the maximum displacement across the long direction of the tube, and judging the tube is a defect when the maximum displacement is greater than a predetermined threshold.
US08406493B2 Multi-grayscale overlay window
A method is provided for separating diagnostic content of x-ray images from non-diagnostic content in order to achieve an optimum image reproduction and windowing. In particular, a method is provided for displaying a plurality of radiological density images in a single viewing window by overlaying gray scale images of each radiological density image in a single display window.
US08406478B2 Distributed processing in authentication
Identity authentication systems and techniques are disclosed which solves the problem associated with limited processing power and smart card technology in the handling of biometric authentication. By distributing the processing of an identity authenticating process between a smart card and a computer terminal, the complicated calculation involved in a biometrics matching process can be carried out to allow verification using biometric parameters stored on smart cards. There is disclosed a system and technique for user authentication, together with a system and technique for distributed processing. A registration method is also described.
US08406473B2 Information processing apparatus and information processing method
An information processing apparatus and method for processing an input image by comparing a stored background image with the input image to obtain a difference, collating a change in the difference and time of the change with conditions for the occurrence of a periodic event and information as to the time of occurrence of the periodic event, which are previously stored in a storage unit, to determine whether the change in state of the input image is the periodic or a non-periodic movement of an object, and selecting, according to a result of the determination, any one of operations according to the periodic or the non-periodic movement of an object.
US08406471B2 Method of detecting particles by detecting a variation in scattered radiation
A smoke detecting method which uses a beam of radiation such as a laser (16), to monitor a region, such as a room (12). A camera (14) is used to capture images of part of the room (12), including a path of the laser beam. Particles in the laser beam scatter light (30), and this is captured by the camera (14) for analysis. A processor (20) extracts data relating to the scattered light (30) to determine the density of particles in the beam, to determine the level of smoke in the region. The laser may have a modulated output (38) so that images captured without the laser tuned “on” can be used as a reference point and compared to images taken with the laser turned “on”, to assist in determining the level of scattered light (30) compared to ambient light. Filters (24, 26) may be used to decrease signals generated from background light.
US08406464B2 System and method for tracking moving objects
A method for tracking an object that is embedded within images of a scene, including: in a sensor unit that includes movable sensor, generating, storing and transmitting over a communication link a succession of images of a scene. In a remote control unit, receiving the succession of images. Receiving a user command for selecting an object of interest in a given image of the received succession of images and determining object data associated with the object and transmitting through the link to the sensor unit the object data. In the sensor unit, identifying the given image of the stored succession of images and the object of interest using the object data, and tracking the object in other image of the stored succession of images. The other image being later than the given image. In the case that the object cannot be located in the latest image of the stored succession of images, using information of at images in which the object was located to predict estimated real-time location of the object and generating direction command to the movable sensor for generating realtime image of the scene and locking on the object.
US08406463B2 Method and system for dynamic speed control on a mail processing system
The present application relates to a mail processing system and related method containing dynamic speed control which uses real time and historical system parameters to dynamically control the cycle speed of an inserting or wrapping system to optimize system efficiency, and maximize throughput and performance. A document processing system with dynamic speed control analyzes system parameters. When the operational conditions are favorable the system will increase cycle speed of one or more of the mail processing components of the system in increments until an optimal speed is reached. Likewise, if conditions are unfavorable the system will decrease cycle speed of one or more of the mail processing components of the system in increments until an optimal speed is reached.
US08406458B2 Method and apparatus for indicating an analysis criteria
An apparatus, comprising a processor, memory including computer program code, the memory and the computer program code configured to, working with the processor, cause the apparatus to perform at least the following: receiving an indication that a first analysis chronicle has changed, the first analysis chronicle correlating to a first analysis criteria, and causing display of at least one indication of the first analysis criteria is disclosed.
US08406455B2 Digital watermark embedding device and digital watermark detecting device
A digital watermark embedding device and a digital watermark detecting device are obtained, which can realize stable digital watermark detection using fewer, and embed and detect a larger amount of digital watermark information with an identical number of pixels used for digital watermark embedding in a conventional technology. The digital watermark embedding device includes: an embedding-information converting unit (103) for converting inputted information to be embedded into a bit string formed of “0's” and “1's” and embedding respective bits of the converted bit string multiple times to output a digital watermark pattern having N −1's or N+1's as elements; an orthogonal-pattern generating unit (105) for generating orthogonal patterns each formed of a combination of elements of −1's and +1's and orthogonal to one another; an integrating unit (109) for integrating each of the orthogonal patterns from the orthogonal-pattern generating unit with each of the elements of the digital watermark pattern from the embedding-information converting unit to generate an embedding pattern; and a digital-watermark embedding unit (107) for embedding embedding pattern from the integrating unit in an input image and outputting an image after embedding information.
US08406453B2 Security system and method of in-flight entertainment device rentals having self-contained audiovisual presentations
A security method for in-flight entertainment device (IFED) rentals having self-contained audiovisual presentations is disclosed. A self-contained IFED has internal storage configured to contain current releases of movies and other audiovisual presentations. The method provides layers of security including a unique bit stream encoding format, watermarking, camera artifacts, file encryption, hard drive encryption, input-output encryption, physically unique connectors, and a tamper-resistant casing for the self-contained IFEDs.
US08406449B2 Portable audio amplifier with interchangeable housing and storage compartment
A portable audio amplifier for a portable audio device or musical instrument that includes an internal housing and an exchangeable external housing and exchangeable cover, as well as a storage compartment is described. The storage compartment, which is contained in the internal housing, may contain a cord and other audio accessories such as picks, batteries, adapters, or personal items. The storage compartment can be opened through various methods, including translation, swiveling, pivoting, or sliding of a cover. The amplifier's external housing and/or cover may be customized by the user after purchase using exchangeable elements. Exchangeable external housing options, which act like a skin for the amplifier, include both manufactured housings (designed specifically as an external housing for the audio amplifier) and repurposed housings (designed for a primary purpose other than audio amplification). An adaptive structure may be used to adapt the dimensions of the internal housing to a larger, external housing.
US08406445B1 Loudspeaker system with extended constant vertical beamwidth control
A loudspeaker system has a high frequency channel for driving a horn loaded high frequency transducer, and a low frequency channel for driving a low frequency transducer. A signal processing circuit is provided which has at least one first order and at least one second order cross-over circuit portion in the high channel and at least one first order and at least one second order cross-over circuit portion in the low frequency channel. These cross-over portions produce a cross-over frequency range for the loudspeaker system that is below the cut-off frequency of the horn. The signal processing circuit, including its cross-over circuit portions and in conjunction with the design of the expansion walls of the horn, extends vertical beamwidth control of the acoustic output of the loudspeaker system at the loudspeaker system's lower frequency range.
US08406440B2 Hearing aid and method of operating a hearing aid
A hearing aid is provided which has at least one input transducer for providing an input signal, at least one signal processing channel receiving at least a portion of said input signal, a hearing aid processor for processing said portion of said input signal to produce at least one output signal, an output transducer responsive to said output signal, and a data logger receiving said portion of said input signal for logging of input signal data. The data logger comprises a characterization unit for characterising and logging parameters of the input signal data, and a memory unit for storing said parameters.
US08406437B2 Miniature microphone assembly with solder sealing ring
The present invention relates to a miniature microphone assembly comprising a capacitive microphone transducer comprising a microphone electrical contact or terminal, a microphone carrier comprising a carrier electrical contact or terminal formed on a first surface thereof, and an integrated circuit die comprising a die electrical terminal operatively coupled to signal amplification or signal conditioning circuitry of the integrated circuit die. The first surface of the microphone carrier comprises a first electrically conductive path surrounding the carrier electrical contact or terminal.
US08406421B2 Method and system for multi-level secure personal profile management and access control to the enterprise multi-modal communication environment in heterogeneous convergent communication networks
A method and apparatus, in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention, is presented for securely accessing a voice-enabled communication terminal using Internet Protocol by performing physical authentication, performing biometric authentication, performing logical authentication, performing confirmation of a user and upon successful confirmation of the user, allowing access to the communication terminal.
US08406410B2 On-demand call blocking service
In a telecommunication system configured to provide a connection between a caller and a callee via a telephone network, wherein the telephone network is configured to connect the caller and the callee, a method for allowing the callee to prevent the caller from establishing the connection with the callee. The method includes receiving an instruction from the callee to prevent the caller from establishing the connection with the callee and identifying a first telephone number associated with the caller. The method also includes preventing one or more phone calls from the first telephone number from being forwarded to a second telephone number associated with the callee.
US08406394B2 Advertisement delivery system, call control apparatus, and advertisement delivery method
An advertisement delivery system by a telephone service utilizing IP telephone communication technology. The system comprises at least a call control apparatus controlling calling between a sending side terminal provided with a reproduction device and a receiving side terminal, and an advertisement delivery apparatus delivering advertisement video information to the terminal. The call control apparatus comprises a monitoring function unit monitoring the “voice media state” and “video media state” of the terminal and a delivery connection function unit delivering the advertisement video information based on the results of monitoring.
US08406389B2 Advanced voice and data operations in a mobile data communication device
A system and method for integrating voice and data operations into a single mobile device capable of simultaneously performing data and voice actions. The mobile device working in a network capable of exchanging both cell phone calls and data items to the mobile device. By wearing an earphone or an ear-bud device the user is capable of dealing with voice conversations while working with data centric information related to the current caller. By providing a data-centric device with voice capabilities there is a new range of features that allow incoming data events to trigger outgoing voice events.
US08406384B1 Universally tagged frequent call-routing user queries as a knowledge base for reuse across applications
A computer-implemented method is described for developing query tags for classification of user queries to a call routing application. Multiple user query corpuses are accessed that contain user queries from multiple call routing applications in multiple different vertical domains. A set of frequent user queries are selected which appear in multiple different query corpuses in multiple different vertical domains. From these are developed frequent query tags for semantic classification of the frequent user queries. The frequent query tags are then stored in a query tag database.
US08406377B2 Radiographic apparatus and method
A timing to acquire a still image signal is controlled such that a sum (Tst+Trd) of a storage period Tst and a readout period Trd for the still image signal is an integral multiple (Ts+Tr=Tck×n, where n is an integer of 2 or greater) of a cycle Tck of a moving image capturing mode, when a detector controller acquires the still image signal while acquiring a moving image signal from a radiation detector during the cycle Tck (Ts+Tr) of the moving image capturing mode.
US08406374B2 X-ray optical systems with adjustable convergence and focal spot size
An x-ray optical system includes a multiple corner optic assembly including an adjustable aperture assembly located in close proximity to the optic assembly. The adjustable aperture assembly enables a user to easily and effectively adjust the convergence of an incident beam of x-rays or the optic focal spot size. The adjustable aperture assembly may further enable a user to condition x-rays of one wavelength and block x-rays of another wavelength and thereby reduce the amount of background radiation exhibited from x-rays of more than one wavelength.
US08406363B2 Signal processing apparatus, signal transmitting system, and signal processing method
A signal processing apparatus, which executing a decoding process for a digital signal Manchester-encoded by assigning two bits of “10” to any one of binary digital signals “0 and “1”, and assigning two bits of “01” to the other binary digital signal, is provide with a decoding unit which executes the decoding process with a processing unit corresponding to a term of two bits of the Manchester-encoded digital signal so as to detect only any one of the first bit and the second bit of the Manchester-encoded digital signal.
US08406355B2 Method and apparatus for channel estimation in OFDM
The present invention relates to methods that can be used in a wireless communication system, and systems adapted to use such methods. In a preferred form the methods are useful in channel estimation in a wireless communication system using orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (OFDM). The system is provided with a control block to optimize channel estimation.
US08406354B2 Interference cancellation in a multi-user receiver
The delay associated with performing interference cancellation in a multi-user receiver is reduced by enabling partial decoding. According to an embodiment, interference is canceled from a received signal having signal contributions from multiple users by partially decoding a first codeword obtained from the received signal and transmitted by a first user via a first signal. The first signal is reconstructed based on the partial decoding of the first codeword and canceled from the received signal to yield a reduced-interference signal. A second codeword obtained from the reduced-interference signal and transmitted by the first user or a second user via a second signal is at least partially decoded. In one embodiment, the first codeword is partially decoded by puncturing one or more coded bits of the first codeword and decoding the first codeword based on the one or more punctured coded bits and estimates of the remaining coded bits.
US08406350B2 Joint demodulation using a viterbi equalizer having an adaptive total number of states
Systems and methods for performing joint demodulation using a Viterbi equalizer having an adaptive total number of states are disclosed. Generally, a method includes joint demodulating a desired signal and one or more interfering signals with a Viterbi equalizer having an adaptive total number of states based on channel impulse response (CIR) coefficients associated with a desired signal and the one or more interfering signals.
US08406348B2 CORDIC based complex tuner with exact frequency resolution
Systems and methods are disclosed that include selecting a sampling frequency and a tuning resolution frequency. These systems and methods may further include determining a wordlength of the phase accumulator, a numeric representation of the phase range, and a reduced representable value of a phase accumulator. In addition, these systems and methods may include operating the phase accumulator, where the phase accumulator creates an output phase accumulator signal. These systems and methods may further includes adjusting the angle of the output phase accumulator signal, where the output phase accumulator signal is adjusted based upon the operation of the phase accumulator, where adjusting the angle of the output phase accumulator signal creates an adjusted output phase accumulator signal and operating a CORDIC module, and where the CORDIC module performs operations upon the output phase accumulator signal based upon the parameters of the phase accumulator.
US08406347B2 Transport stream generating device, transmitting device, receiving device, and a digital broadcast system having the same, and method thereof
A transport stream (TS) generating apparatus, a transmitting apparatus, a receiving apparatus, a digital broadcast system having the above, and a method thereof are provided. The digital broadcast system includes a transport stream (TS) generating apparatus which generates a multi transport stream (TS) by multiplexing a normal stream and a turbo stream having a variable coding rate, a transmitting apparatus which re-constructs the multi TS by processing the turbo stream, and transmits the re-constructed multi TS, and a receiving apparatus which receives the re-constructed multi TS, and decodes the normal stream and the turbo stream respectively, to recover normal data and turbo data. Accordingly, a multi TS, which includes normal stream and a turbo stream of various coding rates, can be transmitted and received efficiently.
US08406330B2 Advanced LLR processor for wireless telecommunication system
A method and system for processing LLRs, in a receiver, of transmissions over a wireless telecommunication system, the method including receiving multiple soft symbols, selecting a set of appropriate instructions for LLR calculation for the soft symbols, arranging the soft symbols in a register of a processor according to the selected instructions, selecting an appropriate single instruction from the set of instructions to be implemented by the processor using the soft symbols in the register as operands, and calculating, by a computation unit, multiple LLR values for the multiple soft symbols, in parallel, by means of the selected instruction.
US08406323B2 Orthogonal frequency division multiplexing using subsymbol processing
In one embodiment, a transmitter converts digital input data into combined-OFDM signals and a receiver recovers data from the transmitted combined-OFDM signals. For transmission, digital data is mapped into data symbols using a commonly known modulation technique, such as QAM or DQPSK. The data symbols are subsequently divided into two or more groups according to a specified grouping pattern. Each group of data symbols is then converted into a separate OFDM subsymbol using IFFT processing. The OFDM subsymbols are then combined according to a specified combining pattern to create a combined-OFDM symbol. Combined-OFDM symbols are then prepared for transmission by affixing cyclic prefixes, converting the symbols to analog format, and performing spectral shaping of the analog signal. Upsampling may be employed to increase the signal bandwidth. In alternative embodiments, OFDM subsymbols may be combined using interleaving to create an interleaved-OFDM symbol.
US08406308B2 Encoding apparatus for encoding binary signals generated from binarized multivalued syntax elements and method for performing the same
An encoding device encoding binary signals using arithmetic-encoding. The encoding device includes a binarization unit binarizing multivalued syntax elements in order to generate the binary signals. The generated binary signals are stored on an intermediate buffer. Further, the encoding device includes an arithmetic-encoding unit performing the arithmetic-encoding on the binary signals stored on the intermediate buffer. Additionally, the generated binary signals are binary representations of values of the multivalued syntax elements.
US08406307B2 Entropy coding/decoding of hierarchically organized data
Techniques and tools for encoding and decoding data values that are hierarchically organized are presented. For example, an encoder encodes data as a set that has a hierarchy of subsets with set symbols. In the encoding, the encoder evaluates the data values of the set and selectively encodes a symbol combination code that indicates the set symbols of multiple subsets of the set. Then, for each of the multiple subsets considered as a new set, the encoder selectively repeats the evaluating, selective encoding and selective repetition for the new set. In corresponding decoding, a decoder decodes data encoded as a set that has a hierarchy of subsets with set symbols. In some implementations, the encoding and decoding are adaptive and use a symbol alphabet with nested elements.
US08406306B2 Image decoding apparatus and image decoding method
An image decoding apparatus that performs decoding using motion compensation includes: a reference area specifying unit that specifies, prior to decoding performed on a block-by-block basis, a reference area that is an existing range of reference pixels in a reference picture based on a block on which motion compensation is to be performed; a decoded pixel memory which stores decoded pixel data; a reference pixel buffer that holds reference pixel data; a reference-pixel-reading control unit that copies pixel data of an area including the reference area specified by said reference area specifying unit, from said decoded pixel memory into said reference pixel buffer; a motion compensation unit that generates interpolation pixel data by performing the motion compensation using reference pixel data copied into said reference pixel buffer; and a pixel value decoding unit that generates decoded pixel data using the interpolation pixel data.
US08406303B2 Motion estimation using prediction guided decimated search
A method and apparatus utilizing a prediction guided decimated search motion estimation algorithm are provided. The prediction guided decimated search motion estimation algorithm generates a motion vector used to encode a macroblock in a frame from a video sequence. The algorithm includes generating full-pixel seed vectors, performing a full-pixel search around the generated seed vectors, which is followed by a fractional pixel search. The full-pixel seed vectors generated are a predicted motion vector and a hierarchical motion vector. A fractional pixel search may be conducted around a final motion vector generated by the full-pixel search and may include a half-pixel search and a quarter-pixel search. The prediction guided decimated search motion estimation algorithm can be implemented in both software and hardware. The algorithm is characterized by improved efficiency, scalability, and decreased complexity.
US08406299B2 Directional transforms for intra-coding
Techniques for transforming the prediction error of intra-coded blocks using mode-dependent transform functions. In an embodiment, an encoder selects a set of transform functions to represent prediction error based on the spatial mode used for prediction. In an alternative embodiment, a decoder reconstructs an image block by using the signaled spatial mode to derive the corresponding set of transform functions. No additional signaling between encoder and decoder is required as compared to prior art implementations.
US08406298B2 Method and apparatus to transmit data on PLC network by aggregating data
A method and apparatus to efficiently transmit data. The method and apparatus effectively aggregate data and transmit the data in a high-speed power line communication (PLC) network. The method of transmitting the data includes combining each of at least one or more data units transferred from an upper layer, with a field to indicate attribute information of the data unit, dividing the combined data units and fields into frame blocks of an identical size, and aggregating the divided frame blocks and transferring the aggregated frame blocks as one frame to a PHY layer. In this way, data units of a variety of types and sizes transferred from the upper layer are aggregated and transmitted as the one frame.
US08406295B2 Image processing device and image processing method
The present invention provides an image processing method and device which can both quickly and easily execute a pseudo halftone process with a large number of output gray levels and which can always execute the pseudo halftone process in the same manner regardless of the number of output gray scales. The present invention provides an image processing device that executes a pseudo halftone process on multivalued image data comprising a plurality of planes, the device including a component executing quantization and outputting for each of the plurality of density components, a component determining a correction value on the basis of a sign of a quantization error in each plane and a comparison of a sum of the quantization errors with a predetermined threshold, and a component correcting a value of the quantization output using the correction value and diffusing the quantization value.
US08406294B2 Method of assigning priority for controlling bit rate of bitstream, method of controlling bit rate of bitstream, video decoding method, and apparatus using the same
A method of assigning a priority for controlling a bit rate of a bitstream having a plurality of quality layers is provided. The method includes composing first quality layers for a reference picture, composing second quality layers for a current picture that is encoded with reference to the reference picture, and assigning a priority each of the first and second quality layers, wherein a low priority is assigned to a quality layer having a small influence on a video quality reduction of the current picture when the quality layer is truncated.
US08406293B2 Multi-pass video encoding based on different quantization parameters
A novel multi-pass encoding method that encodes several images (e.g., several frames of a video sequence) is described. The method iteratively performs an encoding operation that encodes these images. The encoding operation is based on a nominal quantization parameter, which the method uses to compute quantization parameter for the images. During several different iterations of the encoding operation, the method uses several different nominal quantization parameters. The method stops its iterations when it reaches a terminating criterion (e.g., it identifies an acceptable encoding of the images).
US08406281B2 Apparatus, module, and method for implementing communications functions
A system acquisition module and corresponding method for facilitating PN code searching which has a PN sequence generator configurable to generate a plurality of PN sequences. The module and method also includes computational units configurable to correlate each received signal sample of a plurality of received signal samples with a corresponding PN sequence of the plurality of PN sequences, and further configurable to provide other hardware resources. A number of computational units from the plurality of computational units are selectively configured to correlate the received signal samples with the PN sequences—the number depending upon availability of the plurality of computational units from providing the other hardware resources. In another embodiment, a communication device having a system acquisition function is provided which includes the system acquisition module and a receiver configured to receive signals, where a plurality of configurable computational units are selectively configurable to implement the PN sequence generator.
US08406273B2 Radio communication device and semiconductor integrated circuit device used for the same
A semiconductor integrated circuit for a radio communication terminal sequentially uses a plurality of frequency channels by instructions from a hopping frequency decision unit to receive packet data by a reception unit. When the integrated circuit cannot detect the head of the packet data in reception operations, the integrated circuit cannot receive packet data should be received originally then assumes that the received packet data is a packet error. And the integrated circuit calculates packet error rates for each frequency channel on the basis of the number of times of reception operations performed for each frequency channel and of the number of times of packet errors to estimate channel qualities by using the packet error rates.
US08406272B2 Frequency hopping method for localization system
A frequency hopping method for localization system is aimed to overcome the degradation of location accuracy due to radio interference if there are some other radio devices using the same radio frequency as a localization system. A Packet Reception Rate (PRR) thresholding or a learning-based approach for the diagnostic test is proposed. In that, a PRR thresholding or a set of parameters trained by Hidden Markov Model (HMM) is used as a criterion to decide whether or not to hop. The proposed hopping mechanism provides an accurate and stable localization with a minimum delay.
US08406271B2 Spread spectrum clock generating circuit
A spread spectrum generating circuit comprises an external PLL and an internal PLL. The external PLL comprises a phase detector, a low-pass filter, a voltage-controlled oscillator and a frequency divider, each of them connecting successively. The frequency divider is connected to the phase detector in order to form an external loop. The internal PLL comprises the phase detector, the low-pass filter and the voltage-controlled oscillator of the external PLL, each of them connecting successively. An output terminal of the voltage-controlled oscillator connects with a counter, and the output terminal of the counter connects to an input of the oscillator in order to form an internal loop. The present invention is compatible with the conventional ones, and has lower design risk and higher circuit reliability; compared with the general circuit, it has drastically reduced the area and power consumption, which allows more flexible design and meets more demands.
US08406262B2 LD-driver improving falling edge of driving signal
An LD driver is disclosed, which improves the rising and falling times of the driving current for the LD. The LD driver includes an inverting amplifier, an emitter follower connected in down stream of the inverting amplifier, a driving transistor driven by the emitter follower, and a current-mirror circuit connected in series to the inverting amplifier. The mirror current generated from the current flowing in the inverting amplifier is provided to the output of the emitter follower served for discharging the input capacitance of the driving transistor.
US08406259B2 Time division multiplexing communication system with parallel structure and method for the same
Disclosed are a Time Division Multiplexing (TDM) communication system with a parallel structure and a method for the same. A transmission apparatus of the TDM communication system with the parallel structure includes a Time Division Demultiplexer (TDDM) to perform time division demultiplexing of inputted first serial signals to thereby output the demultiplexed serial signals as a plurality of parallel signals, a plurality of modulators to respectively modulate the outputted parallel signals; a Time Division Multiplexer (TDM) to adjust a multiplexing ratio according to channel-related information, and to perform time division multiplexing of each of the modulated parallel signals in the adjusted multiplexing ratio to thereby output the multiplexed parallel signals as second serial signals, and a transmission antenna to transmit the outputted second serial signals.
US08406258B1 Apparatus and methods for low-jitter transceiver clocking
One embodiment relates to an integrated circuit which includes multiple communication channels, a clock multiplexer in each channel, two low-jitter clock generator circuits, and clock distribution circuitry. Each channel includes circuitry arranged to communicate a serial data stream using a reference clock signal, and the clock multiplexer in each channel is configured to select the reference clock signal from a plurality of input clock signals. The first low-jitter clock generator circuit is arranged to generate a first clock signal using a first inductor-capacitor-based oscillator circuit, and the second low-jitter clock generator circuit is arranged to generate a second clock signal using a second inductor-capacitor-based oscillator circuit The first and second inductor-capacitor-based oscillator circuits have different tuning ranges. The clock distribution circuitry is arranged to input the first and second low-jitter clock signals to each said clock multiplexer. Other embodiments and features are also disclosed.
US08406256B2 Digital broadcasting system and method of processing data in the digital broadcasting system
A transmitting system and a method for processing data are disclosed herein. The transmitting system includes a service multiplexer and at least one transmitter located in a remote position from the service multiplexer. Herein, the service multiplexer generates an RS frame having the size of N (row)×187 (column) bytes including at least one type of mobile service data, packetizes the RS frame into a plurality of mobile service data packets, and multiplexes the packetized mobile service data packets with a main service data packet at a predetermined data rate, thereby transmitting the multiplexed data packets. Herein, each mobile service data packet is configured of a TS header and a data region, and the data region is configured of at least one of a payload region and an adaptation field region.
US08406250B2 Medium access control method and system
A medium access control method is provided in which a control station transmits one specific frame to terminal stations, thereby arranging a schedule of a data transmission time of the control station and each of the terminal stations and allowing a time zone unused by a station for data transmission to be allocated to another station. The control station transmits a schedule frame having defined therein a time occupied by each of the terminal stations, thereby reducing overhead. Also, the completion of the preceding communication performed by another station is detected, thereby effectively using an idle time of a medium and improving transmission efficiency.
US08406247B2 Multiple peer-to-peer signaling
A method, an apparatus, and a computer program product operable in a wireless communication system are provided in which a first signal is generated for transmission to a wireless node to enable the wireless node to determine a first preferred beam pattern. A second preferred beam pattern is determined from a second signal received from the wireless node. The apparatus communicates with the wireless node through at least one of the first or second preferred beam pattern.
US08406246B2 Rate-controlled optical burst switching
The invention provides a method and network communication equipment for low latency loss-free burst switching. Burst-transfer schedules are determined by controllers of bufferless core nodes according to specified bitrate allocations and distributed to respective edge nodes. In a composite-star network, burst schedules are initiated by any core node. Burst formation takes place at source edge nodes and a permissible burst size is determined according to an allocated bitrate of a burst stream to which the burst belongs. The permissible burst size is subject to constraints such as permissible burst-formation delay, a minimum guard-time requirement, and permissible delay jitter. A method of control-burst exchange between each edge node and each bufferless core node enables burst scheduling, time coordination, and loss-free burst switching. Both the payload bursts and control bursts are carried by optical channels connecting the edge nodes and the core nodes.
US08406243B2 Fast LSP alert mechanism
A method performed on a network element employing Multiprotocol Label Switching (MPLS) to promulgate an alert to each Label Switch Router (LSR) along a Label Switch Path (LSP) by forwarding a labeled packet serving as an alert packet generated by an LSR in the LSP, the method including receiving the labeled packet by the network element from another LSR in the LSP, determining whether the labeled packet is the alert packet by checking a time to live value in an MPLS label header of the labeled packet, determining whether the labeled packet is an operation, administration and maintenance (OAM) packet based on a presence of a generic associated channel label, copying the labeled packet including a label stack of the labeled packet and forwarding the labeled packet to a next LSR in the LSP, whereby the latency in promulgating the alert to each of the LSRs in the LSP is reduced.
US08406242B2 Communication system, terminal device, and communication method for performing communication based on the real-time transport protocol/RTP control protocol
A communication system for performing communication based on the Real-time Transport Protocol/RTP Control Protocol (RTP/RTCP) comprises a communication control device, a first NAT device and a second NAT device, a caller terminal device, and a callee terminal device. The caller terminal device transmits a first packet to the communication control device, receives a second packet that contains a second port number that is stored in the second NAT device, determines whether the second port number is one of an odd number and an even number; and transmits, in a case where it has been determined that the second port number is an odd number, an RTP packet to a port number that is computed by adding 2n−1 to the second port number, then transmits an RTCP packet to a port number that is computed by adding 2n to the second port number.
US08406241B2 Centralized broadband gateway for a wireless communication system
A system that incorporates teachings of the present disclosure may include, for example, a centralized broadband gateway for a wireless communication system, including: a router/gateway module which receives encoded compressed audio/video (A/V) streams and distributes the encoded compressed audio/video A/V streams; multiple audio/video decoders which receive the encoded compressed A/V streams from the a router/gateway module, decode the encoded compressed A/V streams, and output uncompressed A/V streams; and an integrated Wireless High Definition Multimedia Interface (WHDMI) which receives the uncompressed A/V streams from the multiple audio/video decoders and transmits the uncompressed A/V streams wirelessly to media devices, without deploying individual media processors at each media device. Other embodiments are disclosed.
US08406234B2 Method and apparatus for processing multiple incoming calls in a single device
A method is disclosed for processing multiple, simultaneous incoming calls directed to a single communication device. The method includes receiving, by a proxy server associated with a called communication device, an invitation for each incoming call directed to the called communication device. The method also includes determining, by the proxy server upon receipt of each invitation, the availability of the called communication device by suspending transmission of each invitation and by sending to the called communication device an associated call initiation message for each invitation. The associated call initiation message is free of a Session Description Payload (SDP). The method further includes receiving, by the proxy server, at least one answer message from the called communication device, each answer message being associated with a selected incoming call.
US08406231B2 Method and device for forwarding information
An information forwarding method includes obtaining data information to be forwarded which carries a route indicator indicating a destination edge network, obtaining route information to a border router in the destination edge network according to the route indicator, and sending the data information to the border router in the destination edge network for forwarding. An information forwarding device is also provided.
US08406227B2 Hybrid wired and wireless communication system and a communication method thereof
A communication method for a hybrid wired and wireless communication system includes registering an entry comprising a physical address of a source transmitting a received packet and an identifier indicating a wired or wireless network interface linked to the physical address in a predetermined management list; receiving a transmission packet from an upper layer and determining whether a physical address identical with a destination physical address of the transmission packet is present in the management list; and when the destination physical address is present in the management list, transmitting the transmission packet through either of the wired network interface and the wireless network interface according to the identifier.
US08406223B2 Mechanism for protecting H.323 networks for call set-up functions
In a network in which to set up a call to a called endpoint a calling endpoint sends (4) the called endpoint a call set-up message including a source information element identifying the calling endpoint and a destination information element identifying the called endpoint, the call is set up on condition that the call set-up message contains a first token value (J) that corresponds to a second token value given by an equation that includes said source information element, said destination information element, and a random information element generated by the network to be associated secretly with the first token value in the network.
US08406222B2 Control system of communication network
A smooth and seamless terminal switching guaranteeing continuity of communication at an application level is realized. A call control part for setting and managing a physical and logical transmission path between communication terminals, a session management part for managing establishment of data communication between the communication terminals, and a switching request processing unit for controlling interruption and resumption of a session are provided, wherein the switching request processing unit exercises a function to temporarily interrupt a session after receiving a session switching request signal from a communication terminal, a function to instruct the call control part to establish a call connection with a switch destination communication terminal, a function to establish a session with an application on the switch destination communication terminal, and a function to resume, after establishing the session, a session with a communication terminal of an opposite side.
US08406214B2 Communication apparatus, communication method, and communication system
A physical frame is constructed, the physical frame including a medium access control super-frame payload which in turn includes a plurality of medium access control frames. With respect to the constructed physical frame, virtual carrier sense information is set in the plurality of medium access control frame so that a result of carrier sense is identical to another by virtual carrier sense based on the plurality of medium access control frames in the medium access control super-frame payload. The physical frame in which the virtual carrier sense information has been set is transmitted to a destined communication apparatus.
US08406210B2 Apparatus and method for allocating radio network temporary identifier for random access in a mobile communication system
An apparatus and method for allocating Radio Network Temporary Identifiers (RNTIs) for random access in a mobile communication system are provided. An Evolved Node B (ENB) determines the number of RNTIs allocated to at least one User Equipment (UE) that transmitted a random access preamble, determines an average number of random access preambles received during a Transmission Time Interval (TTI), and sets a timer based on the number of allocated RNTIs and the average number of random access preambles. If a cell identifier corresponding to a first UE is not received from an upper layer before expiration of the timer, the ENB releases the RNTI allocated to the first UE, and allocates the released RNTI to a second UE different from the first UE.
US08406204B2 Transmission of wide bandwidth signals in a network having legacy devices
A method for generating a preamble of a frame for a wide-bandwidth channel wireless communication begins by generating a legacy carrier detect field. The method continues by generating a channel sounding field, wherein the channel sounding field includes a plurality of tones within the wide-bandwidth channel, wherein a first set of the plurality of tones corresponds to tones of a legacy channel sounding field. The method continues by generating a legacy signal field, wherein, in time, the legacy signal field follows the channel sounding field, which follows the legacy carrier detect field.
US08406201B2 Methods and procedures to allocate UE dedicated signatures
A mobile terminal random access procedure is provided for obtaining uplink time synchronization and access to a network by optimizing the allocation of cyclic shifted Zadoff-Chu sequences with Zero Correlation Zone (ZC-ZCZ) as part of dedicated signatures for contention-free uplink radio access channels (RACH).
US08406196B2 Wireless network system and wireless access point device thereof
A wireless network system and a wireless access point (AP) device thereof are provided. The wireless network system includes at least a wireless AP device and a plurality of wireless terminal devices. Each wireless AP device maintains a load list including load states of all wireless AP devices in the same area, and ranks load states of all wireless AP devices in the load list at least according to central processing unit utilization rates of the wireless AP devices. When a wireless terminal device transmits a connection request to one wireless AP device, the wireless AP determines whether it being in a low load state, and decides, depending upon whether it being in the low load state, to accept the connection request or to notify one or a plurality of wireless AP devices being in the low load states in the same area to accept the connection request.
US08406190B2 Method for transmitting response information in mobile communications system
A user equipment (UE) performing a random access in a mobile communication system includes a transmitter configured to transmit a random access preamble to a network; a receiver receiving a medium access control packet data unit (MAC PDU) including one or more random access responses and a MAC header consisting of one or more sub headers, each of the sub headers respectively corresponding to each of the random access responses; and a processor processing information on a specific random access response among the random access responses based on information on the MAC PDU, wherein all of the sub headers are in a first part of the MAC PDU and all of the random access responses are in a second part of the MAC PDU subsequent to the first part.
US08406189B2 Transmitting apparatus and communication method in a communication system wherein a plurality of system bandwidths are set
A receiver apparatus wherein the processing amount for CQI (Channel Quality Indicator) measurements in a communication system having a plurality of system bandwidths can be reduced. In this apparatus, a narrow band CQI measurement part (109) measures, as a narrow band CQI, the CQI in resource blocks the number of which is required for the CQI measurement from the start position of a narrow bandwidth transmitted from a transmitter apparatus; a wide band CQI measurement part (110) extracts, from a system bandwidth transmitted from the transmitter apparatus, resource blocks the number of which is required for the CQI measurement, and then measures, as a wide band CQI representative of the channel quality of the whole system bandwidth, an average CQI in the extracted resource blocks; and a feedback information generating part (111) generates feedback information including both the narrow band CQI and the wide band CQI.
US08406186B2 Terminal device and feedback method
A terminal device is provided for solving the problem of large overhead expended in the PMI calculation process. A reception quality measurement unit (14) measures, for each block frequency band, the reception quality of a signal received by a communication processing unit (13). A reception quality judgment unit (15) determines for each block frequency band whether the reception quality is greater than a first threshold value. A calculation unit (16a) individually computes the individual PMI for each frequency band for which the reception quality is equal to or less than the first threshold value, and further, computes for each frequency band for which the reception quality is greater than the first threshold value a common PMI that is common to these frequency bands. A report unit (16b) reports to the wireless base station the correspondence between the frequency bands and the individual PMI and common PMI that were computed.
US08406181B2 Communication system using multi-radio mode, monitor node apparatus, control node apparatus and base station apparatus
A communication system which includes plural radio systems, and which connects to a terminal apparatus corresponding to the plural radio systems, comprising: access points for the each radio system; gateways; an authentication apparatus; and a home agent. The authentication apparatus being shared by the plural radio systems: assigns an IP address to the terminal apparatus in a radio system which is initially connected among the plural radio systems according to an IP address assignment request from the terminal; judges whether an IP address assignment request for a radio system to be subsequently connected is from the same terminal apparatus by using an unique identifier of the terminal; and assigns the IP address assigned in the initially connected radio system to the terminal apparatus in the radio system to be subsequently connected in a case where the assignment request is determined to be from the same terminal apparatus.
US08406178B2 Signal transmission processing method and apparatus and distributed base station
A signal transmission processing method and apparatus and a distributed base station are provided according to the embodiments of the present invention. The distributed base station includes a Base Band Unit (BBU) and a Remote Radio Unit (RRU). A transmitting end connected to one of the BBU and the RRU receives at least one of interface signals from the one connected thereto, performs optical transport network (OTN) electrical layer multiplexing to obtain OTN signal frames and transmit optical signals including the OTN frames to a receiving end connected to the other of the BBU and the RRU. The receiving end performs frame processing for the OTN frames received from the transmitting end to obtain the interface signals, and transmit the interface signals to the other connected thereto.
US08406170B2 Gateway selection mechanism
An arrangement and method in a Public Land Mobile Network (PLMN) for selecting a gateway to connect a User Equipment (UE) to a home PLMN when the UE is located in an access network connected to a visited PLMN. The arrangement receives a first Fully Qualified Domain Name (FQDN), which includes an identity of the UE user. Based on the identity of the user and knowledge of the visited PLMN, the arrangement selects whether the UE should establish a connection only to a gateway in the home PLMN, only to a gateway in the visited PLMN, or both. The arrangement transmits to the UE, an appropriate address for the home PLMN gateway, the visited PLMN gateway, or both depending on the selection.
US08406168B2 Asymmetric broadband data radio network
An asymmetric wireless network (100) includes a first base station (104) including a RF transceiver (208) having a first transmission range, a first transmit data rate, and a first coverage area. The wireless network also includes a second base station (106) comprising a RF transmitter (210) having a second transmission range, a second transmit data rate, and a second coverage area. In the wireless network, the second transmit data rate is greater than the first transmit data rate, the first and the second transmission ranges are substantially equal, and the first and the second coverage areas at least partially overlap. The wireless network also includes at least one computer network (108) communicatively coupling the base stations, configured for generating transmit data in response to a data request received at the first base station, and configured for routing the transmit data to the first or the second base station for transmission.
US08406156B2 Composite voice applications and services using single sign-on across heterogeneous voice servers
A framework is provided to offer composite voice applications and services. A composite application and service begins from the user dialing in via phone and ends by the user hanging up the phone. The composite interactive voice services architecture includes a session initiation protocol session service unit is in the loop of session signaling all the time starting from the time the user first dials in, during the user roaming across various voice servers, and until the end of the composite service when user hangs up the phone. This unit accepts a command and login instruction of the next interactive voice service from the previous interactive voice service. The unit has knowledge of DTMF sequences required for the user to login to next interactive voice service. The session service unit automatically accomplishes a roaming process such that composite applications and services can be achieved across various voice servers.
US08406151B2 Method and apparatus for packet data service discovery
A method and device for packet data service discovery are described. A mobile device memory stores a packet data services blacklist and a historical blacklist. The packet data services blacklist identifies wireless networks that do not provide packet data services to the mobile device. The packet data services blacklist is based on previous packet data service authentication rejections, is distinct from a voice services blacklist, and is updated in response to newly received packet data service authentication information. The historical blacklist is distinct from the packet data services blacklist and the voice services blacklist. The historical blacklist identifies wireless networks that are no longer in the packet data services blacklist and were once in the packet data services blacklist within a particular time period. No advance knowledge of data services roaming agreements is required, and unnecessary network access can be avoided, which in turn saves network resources and capacity.
US08406141B1 Network search methods and systems
Methods, systems, devices and computer program code products for enabling searches of digital communications network traffic to identify information transmitted by, received by, or exchanged with a given human or non-human entity, include, or include elements for, translating Pcap files or streams of IP network packets obtained from the network into a scalable form suitable for query by search engine functionality, thereby to enable scalable, text-based search of network information contained in the Pcap files, and providing scalable search engine functionality to enable a user to execute text-based searches on textual or human relationship-identifying information derived from the Pcap files or streams of IP network packets, thereby to identify information transmitted by, received by, or exchanged with the given human or non-human entity, wherein the scalable search engine functionality is capable of scaling to search massive quantities of Pcap file or IP network packet data.
US08406129B2 Technique for determining transport capacity required to achieve controllable worst case throughput
A link in a communications network is provisioned with a particular bandwidth capacity determined as a function of a “sub-par customer data fraction.” The sub-par data fraction is given by a) the amount of data transferred under sub-par condition divided by b) the total data transferred, where “sub-par condition” means that data is transferred below a given target bit rate.
US08406125B2 Synchronization of multicast information using incremental updates
Techniques that enable a network device such as a router to provide multicast routing services without interruption, even in the event of a switchover. An incremental updates technique is used to synchronize multicast information maintained by a first processor and multicast information maintained by a second processor. The first processor may be a management processor operating in active mode in a network device and the second processor may be a management processor operating in standby mode in the network device. The second processor may also be a processor on a linecard of the network device.
US08406117B2 Transmission circuit and method for transmitting a bit sequence to be transmitted
In certain embodiments, a circuitincludes a dividing device configured to divide a transmission bit sequence into a first bit sequence and a second bit sequence, bits adjacent to each other in the transmission bit sequence being separated by a bit time. The circuit includes a first device configured to generate first sampled values by sampling at a sampling rate a first fundamental wave that is based on the first bit sequence, and includes a second device configured to generate second sampled values by sampling at the sampling rate a second fundamental wave that is based on the second bit sequence, the second fundamental wave being shifted relative to the first fundamental wave by a time period. The circuit includes a summator configured to sum the first sampled values of the first fundamental wave and the second sampled values of the second fundamental wave to form an output value sequence.
US08406115B2 Systems and methods for orthogonal frequency division multiplexing
Systems and methods for orthogonal frequency division multiplexing are provided. In one embodiment, a multi-carrier modem comprises: a receiver configured to receive a waveform comprising spectrally overlapping carrier signals from at least two of a plurality of remotes, wherein the spectrally overlapping carrier signals are modulated using an inverse Fourier transform algorithm; a transmitter; a processor coupled to the transmitter, wherein the processor outputs data for transmission by the transmitter, wherein the processor applies an inverse Fourier transform algorithm to the data provided to the transmitter; a controller programmed to calculate an elapsed time for each of the two remotes, the elapsed time representing a time between transmitting a ranging signal to a remote and receiving a signal from the remote in response to the ranging signal; the controller further programmed to reducing any difference between at least two elapsed times by instructing at least one of the plurality of remotes to adjust a delay.
US08406113B2 Peak-to-average reduction of SC-FDMA signals with frequency mask
A wireless transmitter exhibits improved power de-rating reduction, which improves the power efficiency of non-constant envelop communication systems by mapping N first samples of a first discrete Fourier transform (DFT) of a group of coded symbols to M sub-carriers according to a first sub-carrier mapping rule (212), performing a first inverse DFT (IDFT) on the M sub-carriers to provide M second samples (214), clipping the M second samples according to a clipping rule to provide M third samples (216), performing a second DFT on the M third samples (218), and applying a frequency domain mask to generate M clipped samples (220) which may be mapped to O subcarriers according to a predetermined second subcarrier mapping rule. The transmitter may be advantageously implemented within a single carrier transmission scheme, such as a single carrier-frequency division multiple access (SC-FDMA) uplink transmission scheme.
US08406111B2 Objective lens and optical pickup device
Provided are an objective lens with enhanced transmittance and an optical pickup apparatus which can record and/or reproduce information properly for three kinds of discs with different recording densities, even if a single lens is used as the objective lens. When all the expressions (1) to (3) are satisfied, excellent aberration characteristics can be obtained for the three kinds of discs: −0.02≦m1≦0.02 (1); 0≦(WD1−WD2)≦1.57 m2+0.123 or 1.57 m2+0.24≦(WD1−WD2)≦0.7 (2); and 0≦(WD1−WD3)≦1.79 m3+0.333 or 1.66 m3+0.508≦(WD1−WD3)≦0.7 (3).
US08406107B2 Write-once information recording medium, information recording method, information recording apparatus, information reproducing method, information reproducing apparatus and manufacturing method of the information recording medium
In an information recording medium in which storage capacity per recording layer has increased so much that the size of an SBM varies with those of spare areas, there is mutual dependence between a DDS and an SBM and it is difficult to retrieve disc management information as intended. In an information recording medium according to the present invention, if the largest space is allocated to an user data area, the number of blocks to store a space bitmap is Ni (where Ni≧2). But if the smallest space is allocated to the user data area, the number of blocks to use is smaller than Ni. In such an information recording medium, if the number of blocks to store the space bitmap of a recording layer is Mi (where 1≦Mi≦Ni) and if Mi is equal to or greater than two, the space bitmap is divided into the 1st through Mith space bitmaps, each of which has a size that is still equal to or smaller than one block even when combined with a DDS, and each space bitmap is stored in an associated one of Mi blocks in a disc management area.
US08406102B1 Optical pickup and optical read/write apparatus
An optical pickup includes: a light source; a first diffractive element which diffracts light polarized in a particular direction; an objective lens; a lens actuator which shifts the objective lens so that the magnitude of shift from its initial position in a tracking direction has an upper limit of 0.3 mm to 0.6 mm; a wave plate; a second diffractive element which has two diffraction regions configured to diffract light polarized in a direction that intersects with the particular direction at right angles and which splits the write beam reflected from the optical storage medium through each diffraction region into a transmitted light beam and at least one diffracted light beam; and a photodetector which detects the transmitted light beam, the diffracted light beams that have left the two diffraction regions, and the read beam reflected from the optical storage medium.
US08406097B2 Reproduction device of recording medium and method for operating the same
A reproduction device of a recording medium and a method for operating the same are disclosed. The reproduction device of a recording medium comprises a recording medium loading unit loading the recording medium, and inputting and/or outputting data of the recording medium; a main board provided with a central processing unit implementing reproduction of the recording medium in accordance with an input signal or a previously set program; and a key operation unit directly connected with a loader of the recording medium loading unit. Accordingly, the sub application processing open and/or close of the recording medium loading unit is actuated after a power supply of the reproduction device is turned, whereby the time required to detach or insert the recording medium from or to the reproduction device can be reduced.
US08406096B1 Methods for predicting tape drive and media failures
A method for monitoring and predicting health of tape drives and media in a tape library. The method includes receiving exchange data associated with an exchange in the tape library. Then the method includes, with an analytics module, processing the exchange data to determine gain types for the exchange. Based on the gain type, a health gain value is assigned to a tape drive and media and current suspicion level values are independently assigned to the tape drive and the media. The method includes assigning a first health indicator to the media and a second health indicator to the tape drive based on these two suspicion level values. In some embodiments of the method, the current suspicion level value calculating step includes summing the health gain value with a number of health gain values assigned to the tape drive and the media for up to a predefined number of monitored exchanges.
US08406095B2 Media processing apparatus and controlling method of the same that prevents processing of the media from being stopped
A processor is provided in a main body and performs at least one of writing data on a plate-shaped medium, reading data from the medium and printing on the medium. A drawer tray is provided in the main body, includes a stacker portion which is configured to accommodate a plurality of plate-shaped media processed by the processor and is movable between an accommodated position where the stacker portion is capable of receiving the media and a drawn position where the drawer tray is pulled out from the main body to take out the media accommodated in the stacker portion.
US08406093B2 Thermal-assisted-magnetic-recording head having a high refractive index core and multiple thin film cores, and magnetic recording system using the thermal-assisted-magnetic-recording head
Provided is a thermal-assisted-magnetic-recording head capable of directing, to a magnetic recording medium, light in which the spot size is reduced to submicron order with high total optical propagation efficiency. A light coupling unit that guides light emitted from the light source into a magnetic head and a high-refractive-index core that couples with the light guided by the light coupling unit to lead the light to an air bearing surface are arranged in the magnetic head. The light coupling unit includes a plurality of thin-film-like cores that are separated from each other by a clad material. An upper part of the high-refractive-index core is placed between two thin-film-like cores.
US08406092B2 Thermally-assisted magnetic recording head
A thermally-assisted magnetic recording head that includes an air bearing surface facing a recording medium and that performs a magnetic recording while heating the recording medium includes a waveguide configured with a core through which light propagates and a cladding that surrounds a periphery of the core and that includes at least a portion extending to the air bearing surface; and a heat radiation layer that is embedded in the cladding that surrounds the periphery of the core on the air bearing surface, and that is made of a material having a higher thermal conductivity coefficient than the cladding.
US08406084B2 Transducer device having coupled resonant elements
A transducer device includes a coupling cavity, a first resonant element and a second resonant element. The first resonant element is coupled to the coupling cavity and configured to send or receive acoustic signals. The second resonant element is coupled to the coupling cavity and configured to modify a frequency response of the first resonant element via the coupling cavity.
US08406082B2 Determining enclosure breach ultrasonically
A structure intrusion may be determined. For example, a signal may be received corresponding to a wave propagating in the structure. Next, the received signal may be analyzed. Based on the analysis in a “passive mode”, a breach may be determined to have occurred in the structure when the received signal indicates that at least one aspect of the received signal crosses a predetermined threshold. Furthermore, based on the analysis in an “active mode”, a breach may be determined to have occurred in the structure when comparing the received signal to a baseline waveform indicates that at least one aspect of the received signal varies from the baseline waveform by a predetermined amount. The wave propagating in the structure may comprise an elastic wave and may be in an acoustic frequency range or in an ultrasonic frequency range.
US08406074B2 Semiconductor device
A semiconductor device includes a plurality of bank groups including at least two banks, respectively, and a plurality of address counters corresponding to the plurality of bank groups in a one-to-one manner. A refresh operation of a selected bank group is performed in response to a bank group refresh command.
US08406071B2 Strobe apparatus, systems, and methods
A strobe signal is received in a device and execution of an operation in the device is delayed when the strobe signal includes a preamble. Additional apparatus, systems, and methods are disclosed.
US08406067B2 Semiconductor memory device
The present invention provides a semiconductor memory device, the voltage divider circuit comprises a data line sense amplifier and an input output data sensing circuit. The data line sense amplifier receives a data line signal pair and senses the data line signal pair in a first timing period to generate a first output data and a second output data, wherein, the first output data and the second output data are complementary. The input output data sensing circuit receives at least one reference output data and one of the first and the second output data. The input output data sensing circuit generates a sensed data by comparing voltage levels of the reference output data and the one of the first and the second output data in a second timing period, wherein the voltage level of the reference output data is a pre-determined voltage level.
US08406061B2 Semiconductor memory apparatus
A semiconductor memory apparatus includes a voltage transfer unit configured to transfer a first word line control voltage among a plurality of word line control voltages to an assigned word line in a first operational period, and to transfer a second word line control voltage among the plurality of word line control voltages to the assigned word line in a second operational period; and a word line discharge unit configured to discharge the word line to a voltage level that is higher than a ground voltage and lower than the first and second word line control voltages in a discharge period between the first operational period and the second operational period.
US08406059B2 Nonvolatile semiconductor memory devices, data updating methods thereof, and nonvolatile semiconductor memory systems
Integrated circuit memory devices utilize techniques to improve the timing of data update operations within a non-volatile memory, by more efficiently combining memory cell programming operations with threshold voltage adjust operations on erased memory cells. These adjust operations operate to narrow a threshold voltage distribution between memory cells that remain in an erased state after the programming operation has been performed. An integrated circuit memory device may include at least a first block of non-volatile memory cells and a volatile memory device, which has a data storage capacity equivalent to at least a capacity of the at least a first block of non-volatile memory cells. A memory controller is also provided, which is electrically coupled to the at least a first block of non-volatile memory cells and the volatile memory device. The memory controller is configured to, among other things, control data update operations within a block of data stored within the first block of non-volatile memory cells.
US08406056B2 Semiconductor memory device capable of increasing writing speed
A memory cell array has a structure in which a plurality of memory cells connected with word lines and bit lines and connected in series are arranged in a matrix form. A selection transistor selects the word lines. A control circuit controls potentials of the word lines and the bit lines in accordance with input data, and controls write, read and erase operations of data with respect to the memory cell. The selection transistor is formed on a well, and a first negative voltage is supplied to a well, a first voltage (the first voltage the first negative voltage) is supplied to a selected word line and a second voltage is supplied to a non-selected word line in the read operation.
US08406049B2 Nonvolatile semiconductor memory device and writing method thereof
A control circuit is configured to execute a writing operation for giving a second threshold voltage distribution to a plurality of memory cells formed along one word line. In the writing operation, the control circuit performs a writing operation by executing a voltage applying operation in memory cells to be given the second threshold voltage distribution. While the control circuit executes a voltage applying operation in memory cells to be maintained in an erased state, thereby moving a first threshold voltage distribution to a positive direction to obtain a third threshold voltage distribution representing the erased state.
US08406034B2 Semiconductor memory device
A semiconductor memory device in accordance with an embodiment includes a plurality of first word lines, a plurality of bit lines, a resistance varying material, a plurality of second word lines and an insulating film. The bit lines intersect the first word lines. The resistance varying material is disposed at respective intersections of the first word lines and the bit lines. The second word lines intersect the bit lines. The insulating film is disposed at respective intersections of the second word lines and the bit lines. One of the first word lines and one of the second word lines are disposed so as to sandwich the bit lines. The second word lines, the bit lines, and the insulating film configure a field-effect transistor at respective intersections of the second word lines and the bit lines. The field-effect transistor and the resistance varying material configure one memory cell.
US08406025B1 Power conversion with added pseudo-phase
Methods and systems for power conversion. An energy storage capacitor is contained within an H-bridge subcircuit which allows the capacitor to be connected to the link inductor of a Universal Power Converter with reversible polarity. This provides a “pseudo-phase” drive capability which expands the capabilities of the converter to compensate for zero-crossings in a single-phase power supply.
US08406017B2 Resonant inverter
A resonant inverter includes inductive elements (L1, L2) that allow the number of magnetic components in the inverter to be reduced. The elements (L1, L2) may be designed with a leakage inductance to eliminate the need for a large DC inductor. They may also perform the function of a current splitting transformer. The inverter switches may also be driven directly from the inverter circuit without a separate controller being required.
US08406007B1 Magnetic circuit board connector component
A magnetic component includes a bobbin structure adapted for attachment to a circuit board. The magnetic component may include a magnetically permeable core and a conductive winding. The bobbin structure may include a gap for inserting the edge of a circuit board. Potential applications of the magnetic component include mechanically and electrically interconnecting two or more circuit boards in a substantially side-by-side configuration while providing increased heat dissipation from the magnetic component, improving power density of the electronic device, reducing electronic device profile, allowing magnetic isolation between high-voltage and low-voltage circuits and allowing single-sided and double-sided circuit boards to be used in a single circuit. Also, a circuit board assembly may have two or more circuit boards electrically and mechanically connected by at least one magnetic component.
US08405993B2 Electro-optical device and electronic apparatus
An electro-optical device includes: an element substrate and an opposing substrate disposed so as to oppose each other; liquid crystals encapsulated and sealed between the two substrates; a display region that displays an image by modulating incident light based on image information; a heat dissipation member disposed opposing a second surface of the element substrate, the second surface being on the opposite side as the opposing substrate; and a thermal conductive member disposed between the element substrate and the heat dissipation member. The dimension from the end portion of where the thermal conductive member and the element substrate make contact with each other to the end portion of the display region on the second surface of the element substrate is greater than the thickness of the element substrate.
US08405989B2 Mounting apparatus for fans
A mounting apparatus for a fan includes an accommodating member, a bracket rotatably received in the accommodating member, a latching tab contractively exposed through the bracket, and a torsion spring. The accommodating member defines a latching hole for the latching tab. The torsion spring is connected between the accommodating member and the bracket. The fan is mounted to and received in the bracket. When the bracket is rotated to a predetermined position in the accommodating member, the latching tab is latched in the latching hole, and the torsion spring is deformed, these two elements operate to absorb and nullify any vibration from the working fan.
US08405986B2 Motherboard with fan control circuit
A motherboard includes a first connector, a fan device comprising a fan and a second connector connected to the fan, and a fan control circuit. The fan control circuit includes a primary power terminal connected to a first power terminal of the motherboard, a standby power terminal connected to a second power terminal of the motherboard, a voltage output terminal, and a detection terminal connected to a power state signal terminal of the motherboard to receive a power state signal. When the motherboard is turned off, the fan control circuit is configured to output the voltage of the second power terminal of the motherboard to the power terminal of the fan for a predetermined time according to the power state signal, to make the standby power terminal supply a working voltage to the fan to maintain its rotation for the predetermined duration.
US08405980B2 Computer housing
A computer housing includes a front plate, a front panel and a fixing mechanism for the front panel. The front plate has at least two holes. The front panel has at least two engaging slots corresponding to the holes. The fixing mechanism includes two hooking plates and at least two springs. The hooking plates are slidably disposed on an inner side of the front plate. Each of the hooking plates has at least one hook passing through the hole to limit the hooking plate slidably between a first position and a second position. The spring connects the hooking plate and the front plate. The elasticity of the spring enforces the hooking plate and the hook abuts one edge of the hole to maintain the hooking plate on the first position.
US08405979B2 Cover latching system and electronic device using same
An electronic device includes a housing defining a latching hole, a cover, and an operating element slidably mounted to the cover. The operating element includes a latching body and a key protruding from the latching body. The latching body is latched in the latching hole to latch the cover to the housing. When the key is slid in a first direction, the latching body slides out of the latching hole and releases the cover from the housing.
US08405977B2 Container data center
A container data center includes a container, a group of server systems located in the container; a hot aisle and a cold aisle formed at two opposite sides of one group of server systems, a fan apparatus located at a top of the hot aisle, a heat exchanger located adjacent to the fan apparatus and opposite to the hot aisle; a cold airflow buffering area formed at a top of the cold aisle, and blades located below the cold airflow buffering area. Fan apparatus draws in hot airflow from hot aisle into the heat exchanger. The heat exchanger transforms the hot airflow into cold airflow and exhausts the cold airflow into the cold aisle through the cold airflow buffering area and the blades. Swinging angles of the blades are adjusted according to wind speeds of the cold airflow through the blades to obtain a uniform flow.
US08405976B2 Heat dissipation device and electronic device having same
A heat dissipation device includes a receiving body and a blower. The receiving body includes a recessed body. The recessed body includes a first sidewall, a second sidewall opposite to the first sidewall, and a bottom connecting the first sidewall to the second sidewall. The blower is arranged on the bottom. The blower includes a casing, an air supply pipeline communicating with the casing, and an air blocking plate between the casing and the air supply pipeline. Two opposite ends of the air blocking plate respectively contact with the first sidewall and the second sidewall, such that the recessed body is separated into a first recessed area and a second recessed area. The first recessed area receives the casing, and the second recessed area receives the air supply pipeline.
US08405969B2 Non-peripherals processing control module having improved heat dissipating properties
The present invention features a non-peripherals-based processing control unit having an encasement module that is very small and durable compared to conventional computer encasement structures. The process control unit is capable of being incorporated into various devices and/or environments, of accepting applied and impact loads, of functioning as a load bearing structure, as well as being able to be processed coupled together with one or more processing control units to provide scaled processing power. The processing control unit of the present invention further features a unique method of cooling using natural convection, as well as utilizing known cooling means, such as liquid or thermoelectric cooling.
US08405967B2 Electronic device with slot cover ejection mechanism
An electronic device includes a frame defining a slot and a through hole, a slot cover moveably received in the slot, an elastic piece rotatably connected to the frame, and a torsion spring. The elastic piece includes a main body, a side arm and an extended tab defined on opposite ends of the main body. When the elastic piece is at a normal position, the side arm faces the first through hole, and the tab faces the slot. The torsion spring includes a first arm fixed to the frame and a second arm fixed to the elastic piece. The elastic piece is rotatable by insertion of an elongated object into through the through hole to push the side arm, thereby causing the tab to push the slot cover to be deformed until the hook disengages from the slot.
US08405954B2 Monolithic ceramic electronic component and mounting structure thereof
A monolithic ceramic electronic component includes a first internal electrode including a first region extending to a first end surface and having a relatively large dimension in a width direction and a second region located at the side closer to a front end than is the first region and having a relatively small dimension in a width direction, wherein d1>c1+ng (n represents a constant based on the size of the monolithic ceramic electronic component) is satisfied, where the distance from a first end point which is closest in the first region to the first side surface and which is closest to the second end surface to the second end surface is d1, the distance between first and second wraparound portions is g, and the distance between a front end of the second wraparound portion and the second end surface is c1.
US08405949B2 Current sensor for measuring inhomogeneity of potential distribution of arrester
A current sensor for measuring the inhomogeneity of potential distribution of an arrester having a metal casing, a protection circuit of sampling resistor, a signal conditioning circuit, a signal acquisition circuit, an electro-optical conversion circuit, and a battery module. The signal acquisition circuit includes MSP430F149 micro controller unit having an A/D converter and a serial port. The current sensor is an active sensor, works in a high floating potential, and has a good real time response, high accuracy, low power consumption, good electromagnetic compatibility, and strong anti-interference capability even under harsh electromagnetic conditions.
US08405947B1 Thermally protected light emitting diode module
A recessed light fixture includes a thermally protected light emitting diode (“LED”) module. The thermally protected LED module includes a thermal protector positioned in series between a source of electrical power and an LED driver and is configured to open a circuit to prevent power from being supplied by the power source to the LED driver for an LED package when a thermal rating or activation temperature of the thermal protector is exceeded. For example, the maximum operating temperature of the LED driver may be 90 degrees Celsius, and the thermal rating of the thermal protector may be 80 degrees Celsius, and when the temperature of the driver or a mounting bracket upon which the driver is mounted reaches 80 degrees Celsius, the thermal protector opens a circuit and removes current flow from the power source to the driver, thereby removing power to the LED package.
US08405945B2 Power distribution unit branch protection
An apparatus and system are disclosed for protecting a power distribution unit from an electrical fault. A fuse interrupts a flow of electrical current in response to the electrical current rising above a current rating of the fuse. A current sensor measures the amplitude of the electrical current and outputs a current amplitude signal. A relay interrupts the flow of electrical current in response to an OFF signal. A fault module receives the current amplitude signal and sends the OFF signal to the relay in response to the amplitude of the electrical current exceeding a threshold value. The relay, the fuse, and the threshold value are selected so that a switching time of the relay is less than an opening time of the fuse for an amplitude of the electrical current between the threshold value and a maximum fault current value, so that the relay prevents the fuse from opening.
US08405942B2 Integrated circuit provided with a protection against electrostatic discharges
An integrated circuit protected against electrostatic discharges, having output pads coupled to amplification stages, each stage including, between first and second power supply rails, a P-channel MOS power transistor in series with an N-channel MOS power transistor, this integrated circuit further including protection circuitry for simultaneously turning on the two transistors when a positive overvoltage occurs between the first and second power supply rails.
US08405937B2 Controller for platform doors
A method and a system control platform doors that are disposed at a distance to each other corresponding to a train to be entered via the platform. In order to actuate platform doors in a simple manner such that the door system of a platform is highly available, the platform doors are divided into a plural number of groups, that adjacent platform doors are associated with different groups. Each group may be connected to at least two controllers via one respective transfer medium, that control signals of at least one controller are transferred to the platform doors via the transfer media, such that in case of failure of one controller, the functions of the failed controller are transferred to the at least second controller.
US08405923B2 Electron beam recording apparatus, controller for the same, and method for controlling same
The controller includes a deflection signal generator for generating a deflection signal for causing the electron beam to deflect and perform overwriting so that a beam spot of the electron beam follows the translation of the substrate over a period during which the substrate is rotated over a predetermined number of overwriting cycles; and a data output unit for outputting the drawing data, wherein, the deflection signal generator generates a deflection adjustment signal for irradiating the electron beam at a starting position for drawing a concentric circle to be subsequently overwritten after a predetermined deflection adjustment period has elapsed since overwriting of concentric circles based on the drawing data has completed.
US08405922B2 Lens barrel and imaging device and hand-held data terminal device including the same
A lens barrel includes a plurality of lens groups including first and second lens groups positioned closer to an imaging plane than the first lens group, a plurality of lens group frames including first and second lens group frames holding the first and second lens groups, respectively, a rotary cylinder to engage with the first lens group frame via a cam groove, surround the first lens group frame and be rotated around an optical axis to move the first lens group in the optical axis direction, a rotation transmission system to transmit a rotary force of the rotary cylinder, and a second frame driver provided inside of the first lens group frame and engaging with the second lens group frame via a cam groove to move the second lens group in the optical axis direction by the rotary force of the rotary cylinder transmitted via the rotation transmission system.
US08405920B2 Illumination lenses
Illumination lenses having surfaces shaped according to given differential equations in order to distribute light in a highly controlled manner with minimum reflection losses are provided. These lenses also have surfaces angled and arranged in such a way that they can be molded with relatively simple molds.
US08405916B2 Zoom lens and image pickup apparatus including the same
A zoom lens includes, in order from an object side to an image side, a first lens unit having a positive refractive power, a second lens unit having a negative refractive power, an aperture stop, a third lens unit having a positive refractive power, and a rear group including at least one lens unit. During zooming from a wide angle end to a telephoto end, the first and third lens units move to the object side, the second lens unit moves to the image side, and the aperture stop moves to the object side along a convex path. Radii of curvature of object- and image-side lens surfaces of a lens closest to the object side in the second lens unit, focal lengths of the entire zoom lens at the wide angle end and the telephoto end, and focal lengths of the first and second lens units are set properly.
US08405914B2 Zoom lens and image pickup apparatus
A zoom lens includes: a first lens group with a positive refractive power, including a reflection optical element; a second lens group with a negative refractive power; a third lens group with a positive refractive power; a fourth lens group with a positive refractive power; and a fifth lens group with a negative refractive power. A power of the zoom lens varies by moving the second lens group, the fourth lens group, and the fifth lens group along an optical axis. A negative lens in the first lens group or a positive lens in the second lens group satisfies the predetermined conditions relating to a refractive index and an Abbe number.
US08405911B2 In-vehicle information display apparatus
An in-vehicle information display apparatus including a virtual image generator that projects a virtual image on a windshield of a vehicle. The virtual image generator projects the virtual image on a windshield in at least one of the following projection modes: a first projection mode and a second projection mode. In the first projection mode, the virtual image is projected on the windshield in such a way that the virtual image gradually becomes darker from bottom to top. In the second projection mode, the virtual image is projected on the windshield in such a way that the virtual image gradually becomes more lightly grayed from bottom to top.
US08405909B2 Deposition donor substrate and deposition method using the same
A lens array is formed on one surface of a deposition donor substrate and a light absorption layer is formed on the other surface; a material layer is formed in contact with the light absorption layer; the surface of the deposition donor substrate on which the material layer is formed and a deposition target surface of a deposition target substrate are disposed to face each other; and at least part of the light absorption layer is selectively irradiated with light from the side of the deposition donor substrate, on which the lens array is provided, to heat the material layer in a region overlapped by the region irradiated with the light in the light absorption layer, thereby performing deposition to the deposition target surface of the deposition target substrate.
US08405907B2 Method for correcting optical proximity effects
A system and associated method employ a first projection objective including at least one optical proximity correction (OPC) filter with a filter function adapted to a particular pattern. The first projection objective has at least essentially the same imaging properties as a second projection objective in the system, for the particular pattern, to which the filter function of the optical proximity correction (OPC) filter is adapted. The first projection objective differs from the second projection objective with respect to optical imaging properties for the particular pattern when the optical proximity correction (OPC) filter is not present in the first projection objective.
US08405905B2 Screen
A screen on which an image according to light incident thereon is displayed includes a plurality of lens trains on a light-exiting surface from which the light exits, and the plurality of lens trains are provided along a plurality of virtual reference lines extending in respective predetermined directions. Each of the lens trains is formed of a plurality of lens elements from which the light exits. At least some of the plurality of lens elements that form any of the lens trains are so disposed that the lens elements are shifted from the reference line along which the lens train extends. The screen can suppress degradation of a displayed image.
US08405899B2 Photonic MEMS and structures
An optical device includes a non-transparent substrate. The optical device further includes a first optical layer which is at least partially transmissive and at least partially reflective to incident light. The optical device further includes a second optical layer which is at least partially reflective to incident light. The second optical layer is spaced from the first optical layer. At least one of the first optical layer and the second optical layer is movable between a first position at a first distance from the first optical layer and a second position at a second distance from the first optical layer. Movement of the at least one of the first optical layer and the second optical layer between the first and second positions modulates the reflectivity of the device.
US08405893B2 Device for producing a high-resolution reflection hologram
A device for producing a reflection hologram by means of a master, which is formed by a substrate on which a saw-toothed shaped structure is formed by molding, mechanical or lithographical methods. The structure has a reflective finish, such that the desired surface is produced on the structure. The light of a laser light source is expanded by means of an optical device, thus enabling a beam having a predetermined beam width to be obtained. The beam radiates the master and is reflected by the structure at an angle α in relation to the incident beam. Above the smooth surface arranged over the structure a photopolymer-film, containing a photo-sensitive layer that is disposed at a distance in relation to the structure, is arranged and the reflection hologram is produced in the photo-sensitive layer.
US08405888B2 Image reading apparatus and image forming apparatus
In regard to a secured original method, an image reading apparatus provided in an image forming apparatus reads a first original guide using an original reading portion and, based on a reading result thereof, changes a reading position of an adjustment sheet in a main scanning direction to enable detection of a difference between a brightness of the first original guide and a brightness of the adjustment sheet. In regard to a moving original method, the image reading apparatus reads a reading member using the original reading portion and, based on a reading result thereof, changes a reading position of an adjustment sheet in a main scanning direction to enable detection of a difference between a brightness of the reading member and a brightness of the adjustment sheet.
US08405886B2 Pixel interpolation apparatus, method for pixel interpolation, and image reading apparatus using the same
An embodiment has: weighting interpolation section for obtaining a pixel value for a missing pixel by a one-dimensional weighting interpolating method, using pixels in the vicinity of the missing pixel as reference pixels, and for generating a primarily interpolated image signal including the interpolated pixel value in place; frequency decomposition section for decomposing the primarily interpolated image signal into frequency components; halftone dot extraction sections for obtaining a halftone dot degree indicating a degree for the vicinity of the missing pixel to be in the halftone dot region, by using higher ones of these frequency components; correction value calculation section for calculating a correction value for the missing pixel, by using lower ones of these frequency components; and correction section for correcting the pixel value of the missing pixel in the primarily interpolated image signal using the correction value depending on the halftone dot degree.
US08405881B2 Image processing device with an additional image overlaying function
An image processing device includes an additional image formation unit configured to form an additional image having a first predetermined density. At least a part of the additional image is overlaid with a main image having a second predetermined density, the main image being formed on an image formation medium. A boundary image formation unit is configured to form a boundary image which is formed in an area defined in the vicinity of an overlaid area where the additional image is overlaid with the main image. A density of the boundary image is lower than both the first predetermined density and the second predetermined density. A synthesized image formation unit is configured to synthesize the main image, additional image and the boundary image to form a synthesized image.
US08405876B2 Image processing apparatus and image processing method
When multi-pass printing is performed, the dot overlap rate (ratio of the number of dots that overlap and are to be printed in the same pixel area by the plurality of relative movements with respect to the total number of dots to be printed in a pixel area by the plurality of relative movements) in pixel areas having medium-density where density unevenness caused by density fluctuation easily stands out is made higher than the dot overlap rate in pixel areas having low-density and pixel areas having high-density. By doing so density unevenness caused by density fluctuation is suppressed. In addition, the dot overlap rate in pixel areas having low-density and pixel areas having high-density is low, so it is possible to reduce graininess in low-density areas and suppress a decrease in density in high-density areas.
US08405874B2 User defined associations of colors to cartridges for color printers
A printer status interface controller displays an interface at a client system with a first color from among a plurality of colors associated with a first print cartridge position associated, from among a plurality of print cartridge positions of a printer. The printer status interface controller receives a user selection within the interface to specify an association of a second color from among the plurality of colors with the first print cartridge position. Responsive to the user selection to associate the second color with the first print cartridge position, a printer color association controller adjusts a reference to the first color in a print document to print in the second color through a second print cartridge in a second print cartridge position from among the plurality of print cartridge positions.
US08405863B2 Image forming apparatus, image forming system, and method of private printing
There is provided an image forming apparatus includes: a list transmitting unit configured to transmit a handling user list to the first terminal device; an inquiring unit configured to make an inquiry, when notification indicating that a specified handling user is selected, to a second terminal device to which the selected specified handling user is logging in, the inquiry relating to the handling of the execution of the private print; and a job recording unit configured to record, when notification transmitted from the second terminal device and indicating that the handling of the execution of the private print is agreed to is accepted, identification information for identifying the specified handling user thus agreeing and job data that corresponds to the print request accompanied by the private print instruction in association with each other.
US08405861B2 Information processing apparatus, device operation setting method and recording medium
An information processing apparatus has a first device driver and a second device driver installed thereon to use a first device and a second device, respectively. When the first device driver is activated, an operation setting screen to perform operation setting for the first device is displayed on a display portion. If a user changes the target device from the first device to the second device while performs operation setting via the operation setting screen, the second device driver for the second device takes over a value set using the first device driver and recorded in a memory.
US08405860B2 Recording system and communication control method for a recording system
A host computer and recording device can be connected using an existing communication interface, and data can be transmitted between the host computer and recording device at high speed. A recording system 1 has a printer 4 with a plurality of serial interfaces 4A, 4B that can communicate independently, and a host computer 2 with a plurality of serial interfaces 2A, 2B that can communicate independently. The serial interfaces 4A, 4B and serial interfaces 2A, 2B are connected 1:1 to form communicate lines. A plurality of virtual communication channels are assigned to these communication lines and data is exchanged by packet communication over these communication channels. When the printer 4 and host computer 2 are connected through a plurality of communication lines 3A, 3B, only the data channel 31 is assigned to at least one communication line 3A.
US08405859B2 Output instruction apparatus and output instruction program
A computer readable recording medium storing an output instruction program for giving output instructions to multiple types of devices, wherein the output instruction program causes a computer to function as a control section which: displays an output setting screen divided into a common setting area for setting a common items common to the multiple types of devices, and an individual setting area for each device type for setting individual items set for each device type, when the output setting screen for setting an output conditions for the multiple types of devices is displayed on the display section; and, generates the output setting information which applies the output conditions set in the common setting area to all the device types, and applies the output conditions set in the individual setting area of each device type to the each device type.
US08405855B2 Image forming apparatus and initial screen display method
An image forming apparatus having functions pertaining to image formation includes: a display unit for displaying a screen corresponding to each function; a storage unit for storing the screens to be displayed on the display unit and start-up factor information, one of the screens stored as an initial screen related to the start-up factor information, the initial screen being displayed at a time of starting up the image forming apparatus; and a control unit for making the image forming apparatus start when the start-up factor information is input from an information obtaining unit in a state where the image forming apparatus is not in operation, for deciding the initial screen to be displayed on the display unit by comparing the input start-up factor information to the start-up factor information stored in the storage unit, and for making the display unit display the decided initial screen.
US08405853B2 Dynamic DEVMODE support
A method and apparatus is provided for printing to a Web services-enabled printing device. A print driver executing on a client device receives, from the printing device, printing device capability data that specifies a plurality of features and options currently supported by the printing device. The print driver generates a second version of a DEVMODE data structure from a first version. A portion of the DEVMODE data structure indicates, in XML, a particular print feature and one or more options for the particular print feature that are indicated in the printing device capability data. A user interface is generated based on the second version. A third version of the DEVMODE data structure is generated and indicates that an option of the particular print feature is selected. The print driver generates a print job ticket based the third version of the DEVMODE data structure.
US08405852B2 Image forming system using a management apparatus to manage software components
An image forming system includes a plurality of image forming apparatuses, a management apparatus configured to manage and operate the image forming system, and a plurality of communication control apparatuses each configured to control data communication between the management apparatus and a corresponding image forming apparatus, wherein the management apparatus includes a software component storing unit configured to store one or more software components in a predetermined storage area of a storage device of the management apparatus, the one or more software components being each configured to generate print data recognizable by a corresponding image forming apparatus and a selecting unit configured to select a software component from the one or more software components in response to the print request, the selected software component being used to generate print data corresponding to the image forming apparatus selected as a printing apparatus.
US08405836B2 System and method for measuring an optical fiber
Subject matter disclosed herein relates to measuring optical fibers or measuring devices comprising optical fibers and, in particular, to measuring a variation of refractive index of an optical fiber as a function of position and wavelength.
US08405835B2 Scanning microscope using heterodyne interferometer
The present invention relates to a scanning microscope using a heterodyne interferometer, which can be used for mapping or imaging complex optical parameters such as physical structures and material properties of a sample under test. The heterodyne interferometer is designed to provide in- and quadrature-phase interference signal which can be used for extracting the phase and amplitude change induced on the probe beam. The phase and the amplitude of the probe beam, which is reflected from or transmitted through the sample, are modified by the physical structures and material properties of the sample. Therefore, by scanning the probe beam, local variations of the phase and amplitude can be mapped, and, thereby, three-dimensional microscopic physical structures and material properties can be imaged by processing the phase and amplitude values.
US08405830B2 Device and method for taking spectroscopic polarimetric measurements in the visible and near-infrared ranges
A spectroscopic polarimetric system of broad spectral range, includes a light source suitable for emitting an incident light beam over a wavelength range, a polarization state generator (PSG), a polarization state analyzer (PSA), and a detector. The PSG and the PSA have respective elements for modulating the polarization of the light beam. The elements of the PSG for modulating polarization are suitable for generating a sequence of m polarization states with m>4 at each measurement wavelength, the elements of the PSA for modulating polarization are suitable for determining a sequence of n polarization states with n>4 for each measurement wavelength, and the detector elements are suitable for acquiring a sequence of N measurements with 16
US08405818B2 Position detection apparatus, exposure apparatus, and device fabrication method
The present invention provides a position detection apparatus including a sensor in which a plurality of regions where light from a mark formed on a substrate held by a stage is detected are arrayed in a first direction, a driving unit configured to drive the stage, a control unit configured to control the driving unit so as to drive the stage in a second direction perpendicular to a height direction of the substrate, so that the light guided from the mark to the sensor enters the plurality of regions while moving in the first direction, and to drive the stage in the height direction of the substrate, and a processing unit configured to process the signals from the sensor, wherein the processing unit determines a position of the substrate in the height direction, which exhibits a peak in a light intensity distribution in the first direction generated by the signals.
US08405816B2 Pattern formation method, pattern formation apparatus, exposure method, exposure apparatus, and device manufacturing method
A drive system determines a combination of basic patterns (type of basic patterns to be generated and the number of pulses of each basic pattern) based on design data of patterns and pattern combination information stored in a memory. Then, based on the determined result, each micro mirror of a variable molding mask is individually controlled such that a plurality of basic patterns are sequentially generated according to each of the number of pulses, and each basic pattern generated by the variable molding mask is sequentially image-formed on a plate via a projection optical system. Thus, a pattern with a desired line width corresponding to the design data is formed at a desired position on the object with a good accuracy.
US08405814B2 Liquid crystal display device and fabricating method thereof
A liquid crystal display device and fabricating method thereof are disclosed, by which insufficient or excessive filling of liquid crystals can be cured by adjusting a liquid crystal quantity in a liquid crystal display device having the insufficient or excessive filling of liquid crystals generated thereon. The present invention includes the steps of preparing a liquid crystal cell including a first substrate, a second substrate and a liquid crystal layer between the first and second substrates, checking a liquid crystal quantity within the liquid crystal cell, forming a hole in the liquid crystal cell, adjusting the liquid crystal quantity through the hole, and blocking the hole.
US08405812B2 Connecting structure of electronic apparatus and display device using the same
A connecting structure of the present invention includes a first substrate, a second substrate on which the first substrate is laminated, and a sheet like connection body having one end connected to one principal surface of the first substrate and another end connected to one principal surface of the second substrate, wherein a lengthwise direction of the sheet like connection body is parallel to a perimeter part of the first substrate, and the sheet like connection body has a slit part extending from one of end portions thereof to a part thereof along the lengthwise direction, and has a first end and a second end divided by the slit part at one of end portions, the first end is connected to a principal surface of the first substrate in vicinity of a peripheral part of the first substrate, and the second end is connected to a principal surface of the second substrate in vicinity of a peripheral part of the first substrate.
US08405806B2 Liquid crystal display device that includes both a transmissive portion and a reflective portion
A liquid crystal display device includes, in sequence, a first substrate, a liquid crystal layer, and a second substrate. The first substrate, the liquid crystal layer, and the second substrate are disposed in a subpixel having a transmissive portion for performing transmissive display and a reflective portion for performing reflective display. The first substrate includes a first electrode and a second electrode. The second substrate includes a third electrode. The first electrode and the second electrode are disposed in the transmissive portion and at least the first electrode and the third electrode are disposed in the reflective portion. Alignment of the liquid crystal layer is controlled by an electric field occurring between the first electrode and the second electrode in the transmissive portion and by an electric field occurring between the first electrode and the third electrode in the reflective portion.
US08405805B2 Liquid crystal display device
In a liquid crystal display device of a transflective type, each of pixels is provided with a transmissive part and a reflective part. The array substrate includes a switch element, an insulation layer which is disposed at least in the reflective part, a pixel electrode which includes a transmissive electrode disposed in the transmissive part of the pixel and a reflective electrode electrically connected to the transmissive electrode and disposed on the insulation layer in the reflective part, the pixel electrode being electrically connected to the switch element via a contact hole which is formed in the insulation layer by the reflective electrode, and a cover member which covers the reflective electrode in the contact hole and is formed of a material having a lower reflectance than the reflective electrode.
US08405801B2 Reflective liquid crystal panel
A reflective liquid crystal panel including a first substrate, a first alignment layer, a second substrate, a second alignment layer, a liquid crystal layer and a reflection layer is provided. The first alignment layer disposed on the first substrate has a first alignment direction. The second substrate is opposite to first substrate. The second alignment disposed on the second substrate has a second alignment direction, wherein an included angle between the first alignment direction and the second alignment direction is substantially between 68 degrees and 85 degrees. The liquid crystal layer is disposed between the first substrate and the second substrate. The first alignment layer and the second alignment layer align the liquid crystal so that the liquid crystal layer has a twisted angle, wherein the twisted angle and the included angle are substantially the same. The reflection layer is disposed between the second alignment layer and the second substrate.
US08405798B2 Backlight unit and liquid crystal display
Disclosed are a backlight unit capable of reducing heat and noise and a liquid crystal display using the same. The backlight unit comprises a light source unit comprising light sources for irradiating light; a cover bottom disposed under the light source unit; a vibration-absorbing member attached on the other surface of the cover bottom; and an inverter coupled to the cover bottom via the vibration absorbing member interposed therebetween.
US08405794B2 Light diffusing element, polarizing plate with light diffusing element, liquid crystal display apparatus using both, and manufacturing method for light diffusing element
A light diffusing element of the present invention includes: a matrix containing a resin component and an ultrafine particle component; and light diffusing fine particles dispersed in the matrix, wherein refractive indices of the resin component, the ultrafine particle component, and the light diffusing fine particles satisfy the below-indicated expression (1); and the light diffusing element comprises a concentration adjusted area, which is formed in an outer portion of a vicinity of a surface of each of the light diffusing fine particles, and in which a weight concentration of the resin component decreases and a weight concentration of the ultrafine particle component increases with increasing distance from the light diffusing fine particles: |np−nA|<|np−nB|  (1) where nA represents the refractive index of the resin component of the matrix, nB represents the refractive index of the ultrafine particle component of the matrix, and np represents the refractive index of the light diffusing fine particles.
US08405780B1 Generating a clean reference image
The present disclosure includes, among other things, systems, methods and program products for generating a clean reference frame image. A method includes obtaining a color census of a color image. A color profile is selected based on the color census. One or more foreground areas of the image are identified, the foreground areas comprising image areas containing colors that do not fit the color profile. For each identified foreground area, a color is applied to the identified foreground area based on one or more colors of one or more non-identified image areas to create a clean reference image.
US08405777B2 Video switching device configured to provide at least part of a first video component from a first video source and second video component to a target video destination
A high speed video switch in a KVM system using discrete Radio Frequency (RF) switch circuits. The RF switch circuits are configured into a multiplexed circuit to route video signals from a selected host computer to a target monitor. Voltage converters are used to provide control signals of the proper voltage to the RF switch circuits. Peaking operational amplifiers are used to compensate for the roll-off effect caused by the video connectors. An On Screen Display (OSD) switch using the RF switches is used to rapidly switch between the OSD data and host computer video for display to the target operator control center monitor.
US08405776B2 State detector of video device and state detection method thereof
A state detector of a video device and a state detection method thereof are provided. The state detector includes a first chroma detector, a second chroma detector, and a controller. The first chroma detector and the second chroma detector operate in a first state among a plurality of states. When the second chroma detector is not capable of processing an input signal normally, the controller controls the second chroma detector to switch between the states until the second chroma detector operates in a second state to process the input signal normally, and the first chroma detector is set to operating in the second state. As a result, the quality of a displayed image is improved.
US08405768B2 Moving image processing apparatus and method thereof
A distribution ratio Rt′ of sub-frames Pt and Qt that correspond to an input frame Ft is calculated based on motion of an image in an input frame. The calculated distribution ratio Rt′ is then corrected according to a distribution ratio Rt−1 between sub-frames Pt−1 and Qt−1 corresponding to an input frame Ft−1 which is to be reproduced before the input frame Ft. A distribution ratio Rt is thus acquired.
US08405757B2 Imaging device
An imaging device includes a light source; a prism having an imaging surface to be contacted with an object; and an image-forming optical system that forms an image of the object. The image-forming optical system includes a front lens group having a first optical axis tilted relative to the imaging surface; an image plane tilted from a surface perpendicular to the first optical axis of the front lens group; and a rear lens group having a second optical axis shifted in parallel to the first optical axis of the front lens group. The image-forming optical system is arranged to satisfy the following conditional expression: |Aim|/(90°−Ain)<0.5 Where Ain is an acute angle between the imaging surface and the first optical axis, and Aim is an angle between the image plane and a surface perpendicular to the first optical axis.
US08405754B2 Image processing apparatus and control method for image processing apparatus
An image analysis unit analysis information appended to an image and calculates the image capture time for each of the images. A time difference calculating unit calculates the image capture time difference between images arranged by an image managing unit by referring to the image capture time for each of the images calculated by the image analysis unit. A user instruction information managing unit sets a threshold that is used in the selection of images to be displayed in one screen and that serves as a determination reference for time differences based on input information of the user. The display determination unit compares an image capture time difference calculated by the time difference calculating unit and a threshold set by the user instruction information managing unit, and selects the images that satisfy this threshold as images to be display in the screen. A display processing unit displays thumbnails of images selected by the display determining unit in an index display in one screen in an image capture time sequence.
US08405746B2 Radiometric calibration from noise distributions
Technologies that enable correcting for the non-linear relationship between scene irradiance and digital pixel intensity values of an image of the scene produced by a camera. Imaging noise is used as a signal from which a corrective function is derived. Noise distributions from the image are evaluated to determine the radiometric response function of the camera, from which an inverse response function is computed and used for calibration.
US08405745B2 Image processing apparatus, image processing method, and program
An image processing apparatus comprising: a foreign substance information acquisition unit which acquires, from input moving image data, foreign substance information containing a position and size of a foreign substance adhering to an optical element arranged in front of an image sensor in an image capturing apparatus that captures the moving image data; a motion vector information acquisition unit which acquires, from the moving image data, a motion vector of a macroblock obtained by dividing the moving image data; a correction playback unit which corrects deterioration of image quality caused by the foreign substance, based on the foreign substance information, and plays back moving image data; and a determination unit which determines, based on a motion vector of a macroblock matching the position of the foreign substance in the moving image data to be played back, whether to perform foreign substance correction playback of the macroblock.
US08405734B2 Image capturing apparatus, image capturing method and program for the image capturing apparatus
An image capturing apparatus being capable of generating a frame for a moving image at a desired timing using a still image captured during capturing a moving image is provided. The image capturing apparatus according to the present invention includes: a still image capturing instruction reception section for receiving an instruction to capture a still image when a plurality of frame images are continuously captured; a still image capturing control section for causing the image capturing section to capture the still image instead of one frame image when the still image capturing instruction reception section receives the instruction to capture the still image; a still image capturing timing recording section for recording a still image capturing timing at which the still image is captured; frame image before/after image-capturing extracting section for extracting a frame image before image-capturing and a frame image after image-capturing captured respectively before/after the still image capturing timing; and a frame image generating section for generating an alternate frame image substituted for the frame image which could not be captured because the image capturing section captures the still image based on the frame image before image-capturing and the frame image after image-capturing.
US08405733B2 Camera control apparatus and camera control method
A camera control apparatus includes: an input section to which a plurality of cameras controlled by the apparatus are connected, each of the cameras including a first preset information storage section capable of storing up to n preset information on the state of the camera setting; a second preset information storage section capable of storing (n+1)-th to m-th preset information (n
US08405728B2 Terminal sharing arrangement for providing a diagnostic function
A terminal sharing arrangement allows output terminals of an apparatus such as a television signal receiver or other device to be used for both outputting signals such as audio signals, and providing a diagnostic function. According to an exemplary embodiment, the apparatus includes a first terminal operative to output a first output signal during a first mode, and to receive a first diagnostic signal during a second mode. A second terminal is operative to output a second output signal during the first mode, and to output a second diagnostic signal during the second mode.
US08405707B2 Dichroic cut filter for wide-angle imaging
An image device for wide-angle imaging may include an integrated optical system with a wide-angle dichroic cut filter. The dichroic cut filter may be an ultra-violet/infrared (UV/IR) cut filter to block UV and IR wavelengths of light and to transmit visible light. The dichroic cut filter is positioned adjacent to a surface of a lens in the optical system that receives rays of light at a substantially uniform angle of incidence along its surface. For example, the lens having the dichroic cut filter may receive all rays of light at an angle of incidence normal to the lens surface. The passband characteristics of the dichroic cut filter thus remain consistent for all rays of light. The dichroic cut filter may also be positioned near an aperture of the image device so as to direct retroreflected light away from the image sensor.
US08405705B2 Versatile conference adapter and method employing same
A conference adapter. In an illustrative embodiment, the conference adapter implements a method for interfacing one or more conference endpoints with one or more conference servers. The method includes registering an endpoint and a conference server to determine endpoint registration information associated with the endpoint and to determine conference-server registration information associated with the conference server. Next, the method includes receiving a connection from the endpoint and a connection from the conference server. Subsequently, the conference adapter establishes communications between the endpoint and the conference server as initiated by the endpoint and based on the endpoint registration information and the conference-server registration information. In a more specific embodiment, the method further includes receiving plural connections from conference servers of disparate types, and then selectively switching communications between the endpoint and a first conference server to communications between the endpoint and a second conference server. The method further includes selectively switching endpoints for a given conference session.
US08405704B2 TV conference apparatus
A TV conference apparatus includes a main body, a plurality of monitors, arms for connecting the monitors to the main body such that they are free to turn about a vertical axis, and a camera disposed to an upper portion of the main body to pick up an image of an entire circumference. The plurality of monitors and the camera are disposed integrally with the main body. The TV conference apparatus can switch a first state, in which the plurality of monitors are disposed forward of the main body in line with each other, with a second state, in which the plurality of monitors are disposed sideward of the main body.
US08405703B2 Television conference apparatus, method of controlling television conference, and computer-readable medium storing control program executable on television conference apparatus
A television conference apparatus that transmits display data to a plurality of terminals includes a first receiving device that receives terminal-specific data, a first display data creation device that creates first display data, a second receiving device that receives position information, a second display data creation device that creates second display data, a display data transmission device that transmits the second display data to the plurality of terminals, an edit authority storage device that stores edit authority information, a first determination device that determines whether each of the plurality of terminal-specific areas includes the position specified by the position information transmitted from a terminal that has the authority to edit the edit data displayed therein, and a command transmission device that transmits a first request information to a terminal corresponding to a first area and that transmits a second request information to a terminal corresponding to a second area.
US08405699B2 Light stabilizer, light stabilization method, and printer
A light stabilizer used for an electronic device including a plurality of electronic parts including a light source, a main power source for supplying a drive current to the electronic parts, and a start button for the light source, wherein the light stabilizer comprises, a heating power source that supplies a heating current to the light source to make the light source self-heat in a non-light emitting state, and a control section that executes control so that after the main power source is turned on, the heating current is supplied to the light source firstly out of the plurality of electronic parts to increase temperature of the light source to the degree higher than dew point temperature, and when the start button is pressed down, the drive current is supplied to make the light source emit light.
US08405695B2 Printing apparatus
Provided is a thermal transfer-system recording device which, by accurately conveying a medium between each of the thermal heads, eliminates image position displacement and image pitch variations between each of the thermal heads, thereby improving the overlay precision of each color and enabling printing on both sides of the medium. A pair of small pieces (300, 302) is provided between adjacent thermal heads and close to the conveying platen drum, and rollers (307, 308) are provided at both ends of the small pieces in the circumferential direction thereof. The rollers suppress separation of the recording paper from the platen drum by pressing the recording paper 100 against a flexible body 18A of the platen drum surface.
US08405683B2 Method for browsing through a list by continuous scrolling of a graphic feature and related terminal
The present invention relates to a navigation method on elements extracted from a determined list of elements. A part at least of the elements of the list is displayed and a navigation command enables the user to move a graphical characteristic on the displayed elements. The maximum speed of movement of the graphical characteristic depends on the total number of elements of the list. According to an improvement, the acceleration of the scrolling speed when the user maintains the navigation command also depends on the total number of elements of the list. The invention also relates to a terminal featuring a user interface implementing the method.
US08405670B2 Rolling texture context data structure for maintaining texture data in a multithreaded image processing pipeline
A multithreaded rendering software pipeline architecture utilizes a rolling texture context data structure to store multiple texture contexts that are associated with different textures that are being processed in the software pipeline. Each texture context stores state data for a particular texture, and facilitates the access to texture data by multiple, parallel stages in a software pipeline. In addition, texture contexts are capable of being “rolled”, or copied to enable different stages of a rendering pipeline that require different state data for a particular texture to separately access the texture data independently from one another, and without the necessity for stalling the pipeline to ensure synchronization of shared texture data among the stages of the pipeline.
US08405661B2 Method for modeling and animating object trajectories in three-dimensional space
A method for modeling and animating an object trajectory in three-dimensional (3D) space. The trajectory includes at least one course which represents a 3D model mesh. A course includes at least one segment which is a display unit of the 3D model mesh. A segment includes two 3D points. Multiple vertices are generated for a first 3D point of the segment to specify a plane such that a normal vector of the specified plane is parallel to a vector directed from the first 3D point of the segment to a second 3D point of the segment. The generated vertices are added to the 3D model mesh so that the generated vertices can be subsequently displayed as an extension of the 3D model mesh.
US08405658B2 Estimation of light color and direction for augmented reality applications
One embodiment of the invention sets forth a technique for shading a graphics object inserted into a video feed of a real-world scene based on lighting conditions in the real-world scene. The real-world scene includes a fiducial marker denotes the location in the video feed where the graphics object should be inserted. In order to shade the graphics object, the AR application computes light color values at multiple points on the fiducial marker. The color computation module also computes the direction of light cast on the fiducial marker by determining the direction of the shadow cast by a pyramid object on the fiducial marker. The AR application then shades the graphics object inserted into the video feed at the location of the fiducial marker based on the light color values and the direction of light.
US08405652B1 Three-dimensional visualization of a form
The embodiments described herein provide various techniques for visually representing a form. For example, objects associated with a form and the hierarchical relationships between the objects may be identified. Three-dimensional representations of the identified objects are then displayed. The positioning of the three-dimensional representations as displayed is based on the hierarchical relationships between the objects.
US08405651B2 Driving circuit and driving controller capable of adjusting internal impedance
A driving circuit includes a power supply, a plurality of conductive paths and a plurality of driving controller. The power supply is configured for providing a predetermined voltage. The conductive paths are connected to the power supply to receive the predetermined voltage. The driving controllers are connected to the conductive paths correspondingly. A first driving controller of the driving controllers has a first internal circuit configured for employing an internal voltage to perform functions provided by the first driving controller, and a resistance adjustment unit. The resistance adjustment unit is connected between a special conductive path and the first internal circuit. The second driving controller has a second internal circuit configured for employing a second internal voltage to perform functions provided by the second driving controller. A resistance value of the resistance adjustment unit is adjustable to make the first internal voltage same to the second internal voltage.
US08405648B2 Driver circuit for bistable display device and control method thereof
An exemplary driver circuit for bistable display device includes a plurality of pixel electrodes, a first power supply, a second power supply, a high-voltage gate control port selectively driven by the first power supply, a low-voltage gate control port selectively driven by the second power supply, a reference potential port, a first discharging circuit connecting the high-voltage gate control port to the ground, a second discharging circuit connecting the low-voltage gate control port to the ground, and a switch for deciding whether the reference potential port is electrically connected to a reference voltage source or not.
US08405642B2 Character input method and handheld electronic device
A character input method applicable to a handheld electronic device is provided. The character input method includes the following steps. Firstly, a motion path of the handheld electronic device is sensed. Next, the motion path is transformed into a stroke path. Afterward, an input character corresponding to the stroke path is recognized.
US08405641B2 Expansible stylus and fixing structure for fixing stylus thereof
A stylus includes an expansible structure. A chamber is formed inside the expansible structure. The stylus further includes an inner body installed inside the chamber in a movable manner relative to a first direction for pressing the expansible structure when moving in the first direction so that the expansible structure expands in a second direction.
US08405640B2 Control surface for a data processing system
The invention relates to an optical-signal based control surface for a data processing system, the surface being designed as a planar optical fiber, on which photoelectric sensors are provided, the measured signals of which are used to deduce the position of a light signal striking the control surface and the position being associated with a processing mark in the data processing system. A layer having photoluminescent properties is in contact with at least one layer of the planar optical fiber. The light of the light beam shining on the control surface is converted into longer-wave light by way of photoluminescence, the light being coupled into the waveguide, diffusing therein, and being measured by the photoelectric sensors.
US08405625B2 Method for detecting tracks of touch inputs on touch-sensitive panel and related computer program product and electronic apparatus using the same
A method for detecting tracks of touch inputs on touch-sensitive panel, which is applied for an electronic apparatus having a touch-sensitive panel, comprises: during a first period, detecting M touch positions of M touch inputs on the touch-sensitive panel; during a second period, detecting N touch positions of N touch inputs on the touch-sensitive panel, where M and N are positive integers and M is less than or equal to N; selecting a specific touch input from the M touch inputs, where the specific touch input corresponds to a specific touch position of the M touch positions; and determining a track of the specific touch input on the touch-sensitive panel according to N distances that are between the specific touch position and the N touch positions respectively.
US08405624B2 Security protection system and electronic device with same
The present disclosure provides a security protection system for an electronic device. The security protection system includes a magnetic stylus, at least one coil, a processor, and a memory. The coil is received in the electronic device and configured for inducing an induced current when the magnetic stylus moves relative to the coil. The processor is electronically connected to the at least one coil and includes a status module, a lock module, and an unlock module. The status module is configured for setting the security protection system in a lock or an unlock state. The lock module is configured for storing parameters of the induced current as a password in the lock state. The unlock module is configured for comparing parameters of the induced current with the password stored, and detecting whether an unlock operating being successful. The present invention also provides an electronic device having a security protection system.
US08405619B2 Input method for touch screen
The present invention discloses an input method for a touch screen comprising a first step of acquiring the coordinates of all current touch points on the touch screen, the method further comprises steps of: (a) comparing and determining whether the distance between any two of the uncompared touch points on the touch screen is greater than or equal to a preset distance, executing the right-key operation of a mouse at the current position of the pointer of the mouse and terminating the current processing flow if it is positive, otherwise proceeding to step (b) if it is negative; (b) determining whether comparison has been made to the distances of all the touch points on the touch screen, and calculating the average of the coordinates of all the current touch points if they have been compared, otherwise returning to step (a). The method of the present invention can implement the right-key function on the touch screen in a convenient, rapid and accurate manner.
US08405618B2 Haptic device with indirect haptic feedback
A haptic device provides indirect haptic feedback and virtual texture sensations to a user by modulation of friction of a touch surface of the device in response to one or more sensed parameters and/or time. The sensed parameters can include, but are not limited to, sensed position of the user's finger, derivatives of sensed finger position such as velocity and/or acceleration, sensed finger pressure, and/or sensed direction of motion of the finger. The touch surface is adapted to be touched by a user's bare finger, thumb or other appendage and/or by an instrument such as a stylus held by the user.
US08405606B2 Remote control systems and methods for activating buttons of digital electronic display devices
A method for controlling an e-book reader, set forth by way of example and not limitation, includes transmitting a digital packet including an address of a button actuator and a button control signal in response to a detection of a button press on a remote control device. The method further includes receiving the packet at the button actuator, decoding the packet in a digital processor to derive the button control signal, and controlling a motor to move a physical actuator between a neutral position and a button press position.
US08405602B2 Information processing apparatus and method of controlling the same
Notification is sent to an upper layer via a control device 2 (a device for managing operation buttons) provided between operation buttons “A-1”, “A-2” and the like and devices for operation input “Device A”, “Device B” and the like such as a pointing device for executing application processing. Function assignment and the like are put under management by the control device 2, so that any modification or change is not required in the OS, drivers, and applications in association with change in key assignment, which is advantageous and effective for reduction of cost and time for product development.
US08405594B2 EL display device, driving method thereof, and electronic equipment provided with the EL display device
An EL display device capable of performing clear multi-gradation color display and electronic equipment provided with the EL display device are provided, wherein gradation display is performed according to a time-division driving method in which the luminescence and non-luminescence of an EL element (109) disposed in a pixel (104) are controlled by time, and the influence by the characteristic variability of a current controlling TFT (108) is prevented. When this method is used, a data signal side driving circuit (102) and a gate signal side driving circuit (103) are formed with TFTs that use a silicon film having a peculiar crystal structure and exhibit an extremely high operation speed.
US08405590B2 Liquid crystal display and method of modifying image signal for shorter response time
A liquid crystal display with improved response time and a method of making such display are presented. The invention improves the quality of moving images. The display includes a plurality of pixels, an image signal modifier for generating a preliminary signal based on a previous image signal and a current image signal and generating a modified image signal based on the preliminary signal and a next image signal, and a data driver for changing the modified image signal from the image signal modifier into a data voltage and supplying it to the pixels. The value of the modified image signal is set according to the magnitude of the next image signal.
US08405589B2 Liquid crystal display data processing method and apparatus
The present invention relates to a Liquid Crystal Display data processing method and apparatus. The data processing method comprises receiving a (n+1)th row of actual data, reading a buffered nth row of actual data, and performing an exclusive-or operation on the (n+1)th row of actual data and the nth row of actual data to generate a (n+1)th row of exclusive-or data and transmit it to a data driver. The data processing apparatus comprises a signal receiver, a data path, a first data receiver, a first data buffer memory, an exclusive-or processor and a data transmitter, wherein the exclusive-or processor is connected to the first data receiver and the first data buffer memory respectively, and is used to generate a current row of exclusive-or data by performing an exclusive-or operation. The present invention removes redundant data, effectively reduces data variation amount in data transmission between a sequential controller and the data driver, and reduces Electro-Magnetic Interference of the Liquid Crystal Display to the largest extent.
US08405585B2 OLED display, information device, and method for displaying an image in OLED display
An OLED display including a display panel, a memory, and a processing circuit is provided. The display panel includes a plurality of sub-pixels. The memory stores a compensation table. The processing circuit includes a current sensor, and a processor. The current sensor sense a current of at least one sub-pixel among said plurality of sub-pixels, and the compensation table is updated according to the sensed current. The processor receives image data and generates compensated image data based on the image data and the updated compensation table. Then the display panel displays said compensated image data.
US08405583B2 Organic EL display device and control method thereof
An organic electroluminescent display includes pixels. Each pixel includes a driver, a capacitor between a gate and a source of the driver, a luminescent element connected to the source, and first and second switches. The first switch is between a data line and a first electrode of the capacitor. The second switch is between a power line and a second electrode of the capacitor. A drive circuit provides a bias voltage to a back gate electrode of the driver so that an absolute value of a threshold voltage of the driver is greater than a gate-source voltage of the driver to place the driver in a non-conducting state, and provides a signal voltage to the first electrode of the capacitor and sets a reference voltage to the second electrode of the capacitor.
US08405579B2 Data driver and light emitting diode display device including the same
A data driver and a light emitting diode display device including the circuit that cause a pixel current through the light emitting diode to be independent of the threshold voltage of a transistor driving the light emitting diode. The data driver includes a voltage digital-analog converter for generating a data voltage and a current digital-analog converter for generating a sensing current, both corresponding to input data, and a voltage control block for receiving the pixel current that corresponds to the data voltage and is fed back from the pixel to the voltage control block changing the amount of current charging a capacitor in the voltage control block and controlling the data voltage supplied to the pixel. Controlling and adjusting the data voltage helps uniformity in the display brightness regardless of non-uniformity of transistors in each pixel.
US08405577B2 White balance correction circuit and correction method for display apparatus that displays color image by controlling number of emissions or intensity thereof in accordance with plurality of primary color video signals
A display method of a plasma display apparatus to which primary color video signals are inputted and which carries out color display by letting phosphors for primary colors emit light is provided. The display method displays the primary color video signals by changing a gray level of an output primary color video signal in accordance with a gray level of an input primary color video signal. When each gray level of the inputted primary color video signals changes from a first value to a second value which is larger than the first value, a gray level of a primary color video signal for a phosphor having the largest influence of luminance saturation properties among the phosphors is increased relative to a gray level of the other primary color video signal.
US08405573B2 Distributed head-mounted display system
There is provided an electro-optical system, including at least two spaced-apart units, a head-mounted display (HMD) unit, having a video signal source, a display source for displaying video signals from the display source, an optical module for projecting video signals from the display source into a user's eye, a driving electronic module, a power supply, and a portable control unit. The two spaced-apart units communicate by a narrowband wireless channel.