Document Document Title
US08434083B2 Throttling an asynchronous remote copying system
A storage control system comprising: one or more I/O processors for receiving requests to write data; a batch controller for selecting one or more write requests to be placed in a first batch; a first server for transmitting the first batch to a second server in a remote copy pair system; one or more I/O handlers for writing the first batch to completion on a data storage medium, in response to receiving permission from the second server; and one or more clients for communicating with the I/O processors and the I/O handlers, wherein the permission is granted when the second server is notified by the I/O handlers that previous write requests have been completed, wherein the first server is responsive to the completion of the first batch.
US08434078B2 Quick deployment method
Provided is a deployment method for a server system that includes a storage system having logical disks where disk images are stored and plural servers connected to the storage system via a storage network, the method including the step of causing a deploy management module to copy the logical disks which store the disk images to a free area of the storage system before a deployment command is received. According to this invention, disk images are quickly deployed to servers.
US08434074B2 Register allocation with SIMD architecture using write masks
A single instruction multiple data processor may accomplish register allocation by identifying live ranges that have incompatible write masks during compilation. Then, edges are added in an interference graph between live ranges that have incompatible masks so that those live ranges will not be assigned to the same physical register.
US08434073B1 Systems and methods for preventing exploitation of byte sequences that violate compiler-generated alignment
An exemplary method for preventing exploitation of byte sequences that violate compiler-generated instruction alignment may comprise: 1) identifying instantiation of a process, 2) identifying an address space associated with the process, 3) identifying, within the address space associated with the process, at least one control-transfer instruction, 4) determining that at least one byte preceding the control-transfer instruction is capable of resulting in an out-of-alignment instruction, and then 5) preventing the control-transfer instruction from being executed. In one example, the system may prevent the control-transfer instruction from being executed by inserting a hook in place of the intended instruction that executes the intended instruction and then returns control flow back to the instantiated process. Corresponding systems and computer-readable media are also disclosed.
US08434070B2 Generating specifications of client-server applications for static analysis
Systems and methods are provided for creating a data structure associated with a software application that is based on at least one framework. According to the method, source code and at least one configuration file of the software application is analyzed by at least one framework-specific processor so as to determine entry point information indicating entry points in the source code, request attribute access information indicating where attributes attached to a request data structure are read and written, and forward information indicating forwards performed by the software application. A data structure for a static analysis engine is created based on this information. The data structure includes a list of synthetic methods that model framework-related behavior of the software application, and a list of entry points indicating the synthetic methods and/or application methods of the software application that can be invoked by the framework.
US08434065B2 Method for enhancing functionality of an automated testing tool
A method for enhancing functionality of an automated testing tool. Embodiments of the present invention provide for dynamically adjusting a date in an automated testing tool. System time in a system time format is adjusted according to a date offset. Embodiments of the present invention provide a method of formatting a date in an automated testing tool. System time in a system time format is accessed, wherein the system time comprises a current date and a current time. The date is formatted according to a predetermined date format. Embodiments of the present invention provide a method of regulating access to variables of an automated testing tool. An electronic document of the automated testing tool is populated with at least one variable and at least one value corresponding to the variable. In response to a request to access the variable, access to the variable and the value is provided.
US08434058B1 Integrated system and method for validating the functionality and performance of software applications
The system and method presented provides a multi-phase, end-to-end integrated process for testing application software using a standard software testing tool. The system and method involve integrating the functional, automated regression and performance phases of software application testing by leveraging deliverables at each phase so that the deliverables may be efficiently reused in subsequent test phases. Deliverables such as functional and technical test conditions and manual test scripts are used as inputs for each phase of the integrated tests. The use of leveraged requirements-based deliverables between test phases significantly reduces much of the repetitive testing typically associated with functionality and performance testing and minimizes repetition of testing errors discovered in earlier test phases. This integrated system and method for validating the functionality and performance of software applications by leveraging deliverables provides enhanced efficiencies, test procedure consistency throughout multiple test phases, consistent test results and high quality software applications.
US08434046B2 Method of fabricating an integrated circuit protected against reverse engineering
The disclosure relates to a method of fabricating an integrated circuit on a semiconductor chip, the method comprising: designing an architecture of the integrated circuit comprising at least first and second standard cells implementing a same basic function; designing for the standard cell at least first and second cell layouts presenting random differences; designing an integrated circuit layout corresponding to the integrated circuit architecture; fabricating the integrated circuit according to the integrated circuit layout; using the first cell layout to implement the first standard cell in the integrated circuit layout; and using the second cell layout to implement the second standard cell in the integrated circuit layout. The method can be used for protection of an integrated circuit against reverse engineering.
US08434038B2 Consistency check in device design and manufacturing
A method of forming a device is disclosed. The method includes providing at least one original artwork file having front end and back end information. The original artwork file includes an original artwork file format. A modified artwork file corresponding to the original artwork file is provided in a first modified artwork file format. The modified artwork file contains back end information. The method also includes checking to ensure that the original and modified artwork files are consistent.
US08434036B2 Arithmetic program conversion apparatus, arithmetic program conversion method, and program
An arithmetic-program conversion apparatus includes: a program storage section storing an arithmetic program describing a circuit by a logical expression including a plurality of input and output variables, and operators; if the expression has three input variables or more, an intermediate-variable generation section generating an intermediate variable for converting the expression into a plurality of binomials including input and output variables; if the intermediate variable is generated, an expression conversion section converting the logical expression into a plurality of binomials including a binomial for obtaining the intermediate variable and a binomial obtaining the output variable from the intermediate variable; if a plurality of binomials are generated, an expression update section updating the stored original expression; a bit-width determination section determining bit widths of the output, input, and intermediate variables of the expression; and a bit-width storage section storing the bit widths of the output, input, and intermediate variables.
US08434031B2 Inverse mask design and correction for electronic design
Various implementations of the invention provide for the generation of “smooth” mask contours by inverse mask transmission derivation and by subsequently “smoothing” the derived mask contours by proximity correction.
US08434026B2 System and method for time dimension management for a data analyzing
A time dimension management system is provided for managing time dimension of a data analyzing system for analyzing data stored in a data store based on a time data structure. The time dimension management system comprises a date selector controller and a calendar coordinator. The date selector controller is provided for controlling a date selector that presents to a user a standard calendar and a business calendar. The date selector controller has a standard calendar manager for managing presentation of the standard calendar for allowing the user to select a date on the standard calendar, and a business calendar manager for managing presentation of the business calendar to represent the time data structure that the data analyzing system uses, and allowing the user to select a date on the business calendar. The calendar coordinator is provided for coordinating the standard calendar manager and the business calendar manager to indicate a selected date on the standard calendar and the business calendar.
US08434022B2 System and method for photo-image local distribution
A system and method are provided for the local distribution of stored photo-images to wireless picture frames. The method interfaces a photo-image discovery device, having no dedicated display, to a display monitor presenting a menu of photo-image user prompt options originating from the photo discovery device. A photo-image from the storage site is selected, as well as a wireless picture frame destination. Then, the photo-image is wirelessly sent to the selected destination. In one aspect, the wireless picture frame is selected in response to discovery device movements.
US08434019B2 Apparatus and method for positioning windows on a display
A method for positioning a window on a user's display may include providing, in a window-based computing environment, an image representing a display area of a user's computer screen. This image may be divided into a plurality of regions. Each region may represent an area within the display area. The method may further include enabling a user to select a region from the plurality of regions, such as, for example, with a mouse click, keystroke, keystroke combination, or the like. The method may then include automatically moving a window, such as the active window, in the window-based computing environment to the area represented by the region.
US08434011B2 User interface and method for viewing short messages on a wireless device
A method is performed by an electronic communication device. The method includes storing electronic messages, and storing criteria for determining whether a stored message is related to a current message. A current electronic message is displayed to a user of the communication device, including the current message's outside address and message body. The relevance of each of the stored messages to the current message is assessed based on the previously-stored criteria. Those messages that meet the criteria are selected and displayed along with the current message.
US08434010B2 Standardized visual indicators in electronic media
Methods and systems for associating a standardized electronic icon with a user and displaying the icon with electronic communications of the user are disclosed. A computer implemented method includes: determining one or more icons to associate with an individual when the individual creates an electronic message; and at least one of selectively and automatically appending at least one of the one or more icons that are associated with the individual to the electronic message. The at least one of the one or more icons is subsequently displayed with the electronic message to a recipient to provide information about the individual to the recipient.
US08434009B2 Information processing apparatus and computer readable medium
An information processing apparatus includes: an image acquirement unit that acquires an image displayed on a first screen; a change determining unit that determines change of a first object displayed on the first screen; an object acquirement unit that acquires a second object displayed on a second screen superposed and displayed on the first screen; a change unit that changes, on the basis of the change of the first object determined by the change determining unit, the second object acquired by the object acquirement unit; and a transmission unit that transmits the image acquired by the image acquirement unit and the change result by the change unit to another information processing apparatus.
US08433993B2 Context aware image representation
Methods and system for rendering context aware multimedia content include identifying a plurality of multimedia content that is uploaded for rendering. The uploaded multimedia content is examined to determine metadata associated with each of the plurality of multimedia contents. Contextual information associated with the metadata is identified and a grouping of the multimedia content into a plurality of groups is performed based on the contextual information. Each of the plurality of groups is then integrated into one or more photo stories. The photo stories are defined and rendered as content rich documents.
US08433989B2 Error checking with data presence detection
The present invention relates to an apparatus and a method for detecting presence of data, wherein input data is decoded using a decoder metric to obtain decoded data, and an error check is performed for the decoded data. Furthermore, a threshold value is determined based on an obtained maximum value that the decoder metric can assume for the input data, and the threshold value is compared with an actual value of the decoder metric. Presence of the input data is then decided based on results of the error check and the comparison.
US08433986B2 Method and apparatus for low latency turbo code encoding
A method and apparatus for performing low latency Turbo Code encoding of a frame of data is described. The disclosure includes a method for performing Turbo Code encoding on frame of data using by encoding via subsections using multiple constituent encoders in parallel. The information gains during a first encoding pass of the subsections is used to determine the start state for a second pass during which parity bits are generated. Both the interleaved and natural order encoding may be performed in parallel.
US08433985B2 Error correction mechanisms for flash memories
Methods and apparatuses for Bose-Chaudhuri-Hocquenghem (BCH) decoding utilizing Berlekamp-Massey Algorithm (BMA) and Chien Search. The BMA may utilize one or more of a scalable semi-parallel shared multiplier array, a conditional q-ary inversionless BMA and/or a conditional binary Inversionless BMA. The Chien Search may be accomplished utilizing a non-rectangular multiplier array.
US08433972B2 Systems and methods for constructing the base matrix of quasi-cyclic low-density parity-check codes
Construction of base matrices for quasi-cyclic (QC)-low density parity-check codes (LDPC) using two novel metrics are described. Design constraints based on a local girth and a local minimum approximate cycle extrinsic message degree (ACE) of variable nodes in the base matrix are employed. In particular, various local girth and local minimum ACE constraints can be set for different lift sizes. Additionally, the base matrix can be configured as a universal base matrix from which different base matrices having different corresponding lift sizes that comply with the design constraints can be obtained and used to generate QC-LDPC codes.
US08433968B2 Method and system for HARQ combining in a telecommunication system
A receiver and method for HARQ combining of a received codeword in a receiver with a FEC decoder, the method including computing Log Likelihood Ratios (LLRs) of demodulated soft symbols of the received codeword and outputting the LLRs as a-priori soft bits; performing iterative decoding of the a-priori soft bits in a Forward Error Correction (FEC) decoder; outputting a posteriori soft bits of the a priori soft bits of the received codeword from the FEC decoder; and HARQ combining the a posteriori soft bits with a retransmission of the received codeword.
US08433958B2 Bit error rate checker receiving serial data signal from an eye viewer
An IC that includes an eye viewer and a BER checker coupled to the eye viewer, where the BER checker receives a serial data signal from the eye viewer, is provided. In one implementation, the BER checker receives the serial data signal from the eye viewer without the serial data signal passing through a deserializer. In one implementation, the BER checker compares the serial data signal against a reference data signal to determine the BER for the serial data signal. In one implementation, the IC includes an IC core coupled to the eye viewer and the BER checker, where the BER checker is outside the IC core. In one implementation, the BER checker is a dedicated BER checker. In one implementation, the BER checker includes an exclusive OR gate, a programmable delay circuit coupled to the exclusive OR gate, and an error counter coupled to the exclusive OR gate.
US08433956B2 Instruction sequence verification to protect secured data
Intended for an information security application, particularly in networked information systems, the present invention includes two methods and systems for verifying a current performance of a command by a controller. A first cyclic redundancy check (CRC) for the command is prestored in memory. A second CRC for the command is calculated after instructions of the command have been performed by the controller. The first CRC is compared with the second CRC. Preferably, the controller is reset if the first CRC does not match the second CRC. Also, an address of a first instruction of the command is compared with an address of a second instruction of the command to determine if there may be a discontinuity between the first and the second instructions. It is determined if the first instruction is a valid instruction from/to which an instruction sequence of the command can be redirected. Preferably, the controller is reset if the first instruction is not a valid instruction from/to which the instruction sequence can be redirected.
US08433953B1 Automatic configuration of a test environment
A test for testing at least one of hardware or software in a first environment is generated. A desired test configuration is selected based on information regarding respective hardware or software. Test elements are automatically generated based on the desired test configuration, the test elements adapted to test at least one of the hardware or software. At least one of the hardware or software is automatically tested using a subset of the test elements. A result of testing is produced.
US08433951B1 Method and system for providing high availability to distributed computer applications
Method, system, apparatus and/or computer program for achieving transparent integration of high-availability services for distributed application programs. Loss-less migration of sub-programs from their respective primary nodes to backup nodes is performed transparently to a client which is connected to the primary node. Migration is performed by high-availability services which are configured for injecting registration codes, registering distributed applications, detecting execution failures, executing from backup nodes in response to failure, and other services. High-availability application services can be utilized by distributed applications having any desired number of sub-programs without the need of modifying or recompiling the application program and without the need of a custom loader. In one example embodiment, a transport driver is responsible for receiving messages, halting and flushing of messages, and for issuing messages directing sub-programs to continue after checkpointing.
US08433950B2 System to determine fault tolerance in an integrated circuit and associated methods
A system to determine fault tolerance in an integrated circuit may include a programmable logic device carried by the integrated circuit. The system may also include a configurable memory carried by the programmable logic device to control the function and/or connection of a portion of the programmable logic device. The system may further include user logic carried by said programmable logic device and in communication with a user and/or the configurable memory. The user logic may identify corrupted data in the configurable memory based upon changing user requirements.
US08433949B2 Disk array apparatus and physical disk restoration method
The invention provides a disk array apparatus and a physical disk restoration method for managing a used area and an unused area of a faulty physical disk and shortening the time required for the physical disk to become usable by an external unit. The disk array apparatus includes: a unit for determining whether block areas of the physical disk are used areas or unused areas; a unit for recovering data in relation to block areas determined to be used areas and writing the recovered data to block areas of a spare disk corresponding to the used areas; a unit for transmitting a notification that the physical disk is usable to a host apparatus when data recovery is completed; and a unit for writing zero data to block areas of the spare disk corresponding to block areas determined to be unused areas after transmitting the notification.
US08433942B2 Storage apparatus and power consumption estimation method
Proposed are a storage apparatus and a power consumption estimation method capable of easily and accurately estimating the power consumption of a physical drive without having to use a wattmeter. Operational information concerning a seek amount and a data transfer amount in the relevant hard disk drive which are internally recorded and retained by the respective hard disk drives is collected from each of the hard disk drives, and power consumption of each of the hard disk drives is estimated based on the acquired operational information of each of the hard disk drives.
US08433941B2 Information preservation on a portable electronic device
A system and method for information preservation on a portable electronic device is disclosed. A signal indicating an energy capacity threshold remaining in the battery of a hand held device may be generated. Then, responsive to such a signal, information may be copied from a volatile memory into a non-volatile memory. The non-volatile memory may be configured to provide instructions for direct execution by a processor, or the non-volatile storage may be attached via an expansion interface. The non-volatile memory may be a removable card. The copy function is typically done in low power modes. Alternatively, the information is only copied provided sufficient battery capacity remains to perform the copy function.
US08433936B2 USB power conservation method and apparatus
Embodiments of a method and system for conserving power used in a central processing unit (CPU) are described. An embodiment uses direct memory access (DMA) fetch suspend logic to allow the CPU to stay in a sleep state indefinitely until a break event occurs. Embodiments include power management monitoring and Universal Serial Bus (USB) descriptor monitoring logic. Power management monitor logic monitors the CPU sleep state and sets a status flag to the USB descriptor monitoring logic whenever the CPU is in a predefined sleep state. The USB descriptor monitoring logic monitors the fetching of linked descriptor lists. When the CPU status flag is raised, it causes monitoring of the descriptor fetch by the USB descriptor monitoring logic. If the USB controller has completed all of the descriptor fetches while the CPU sleep flag is true, this logic sets a flag to cause the USB controller to suspend DMA fetch operations.
US08433926B2 Method and apparatus for storing and retrieving encrypted programming content using an asymmetric key arrangement
A set top box is provided that includes a receiver/tuner for receiving programming content over a broadband communications network, a secure memory configured to store at least a first cryptography key to be used to encrypt and decrypt the programming content, and a digital storage medium for storing encrypted programming content. The set top box also includes a multimedia processor operationally associated with the receiver/tuner, the secure memory, and the digital storage medium. The multimedia processor is configured to: encrypt programming content using the first cryptography key stored in the secure memory and uniquely associated with the set top box; store the encrypted content on the digital storage medium; encrypt the first cryptography key using an asymmetric public encryption key to form an encrypted first cryptography key; and store the encrypted first cryptography key on the digital storage medium.
US08433918B2 Methods and systems for improving the security of password-based authentication protocols for IEEE 802.11 networks
A password element is generated for a station running an Elliptic Curve Cryptography (ECC) or a Finite Field Cryptography (FFC) group based password authenticated protocol. A password element is multiplied by a cofactor to generate a modified password element for the ECC group. The station verifies that the modified password element is not equal to a point at infinity for the ECC group. A password element is generated by exponentiating a password value to a power t, where t=(p−1)/r, p and r are primes, and r has a bit length of at least 160 bits for the FFC group. A commit-element parameter is generated using a temporary secret value and the ECC modified password element or the FFC password element, and is then transmitted to another station in a commit message. The receiving station checks if the received commit-element parameter has desired properties before continuing with the protocol.
US08433917B2 Access control system, access control device, program and recording medium
Effective utilization of a database while protecting a data provider's privacy is accomplished by an access control system which controls access to a database in which open information and secret information about a data provider are stored while being related to each other has an output request acquisition section which obtains an output request for output of information generated by accessing the database, a plural-term output authorization section which prohibits output of information generated by combining the open information and the secret information in output information requested to be output according to the output request, and which permits output of information generated by using the secret information without using the open information, and an output section which outputs the information in the output information permitted by the plural-term output authorization section to be output.
US08433912B2 Authentication device, authentication method, program, and signature generation device
Provided is an authentication device including a key setting unit for setting a multi-order polynomial ui(t) (i=1 to n−1) to a secret key and setting a multi-order polynomial f that satisfies f(u1(t), . . . , un-1(t),t)=0 to a public key, a message transmission unit for transmitting a message c to a verifier, a verification pattern reception unit for receiving information on one verification pattern selected by the verifier from k (k≧3) verification patterns for one message c, and a response transmission unit for transmitting, to the verifier, response information, among k types of response information, corresponding to the information on the verification pattern received by the verification pattern reception unit. The response information is information that enables calculation of the secret key ui in a case all of the k verification patterns for the message c performed by using the k types of response information have been successful.
US08433894B2 Support of physical layer security in wireless local area networks
A method and an apparatus for performing physical layer security operation are disclosed. A physical layer performs measurements continuously, and reports the measurements to a medium access control (MAC) layer. The MAC layer processes the measurements, and sends a security alert to a security manager upon detection of an abnormal condition based on the measurements. The security manager implements a counter-measure upon receipt of the security alert. The measurements include channel impulse response (CIR), physical medium power measurement, automatic gain control (AGC) value and status, automatic frequency control (AFC) gain and status, analog-to-digital converter (ADC) gain, Doppler spread estimate, and/or short preamble matched filter output. The security manager may switch a channel, switch a channel hopping policy, change a back-off protocol, or change a beamforming vector upon reception of the security alert.
US08433890B2 Preparing and preserving a system configuration during a hot upgrade
A planned system configuration is stored to a volatile memory coupled to a processor executing a first operating system kernel. The planned system configuration is tagged. A boot of a second operating system kernel is initiated while preserving in the volatile memory contents stored therein, and following the boot of the second operating system kernel, a set of parameters referencing the tagged planned system configuration is retrieved from the volatile memory. The planned system configuration is then used, based on the retrieved set of parameters.
US08433889B2 Operating system context switching
A technique for quickly switching between a first operating system (OS) and a second OS involves deactivating the first OS and booting the second OS from memory. The technique can include inserting a context switching layer between the first OS and a hardware layer to facilitate context switching. It may be desirable to allocate memory for the second OS and preserve state of the first OS before deactivating the first OS and booting the second OS from memory.
US08433880B2 System and method for storing data in a virtualized high speed memory system
A system and method for providing high-speed memory operations is disclosed. The technique uses virtualization of memory space to map a virtual address space to a larger physical address space wherein no memory bank conflicts will occur. The larger physical address space is used to prevent memory bank conflicts from occurring by moving the virtualized memory addresses of data being written to memory to a different location in physical memory that will eliminate a memory bank conflict.
US08433877B2 Storage scalability management
Storage scalability management is provided by adding storage in a data processing environment. A new storage subsystem is added automatically to an available storage provider only if doing so will not reduce the performance of the storage provider to an unacceptable level. If no such storage provider is available, a new storage provider is added automatically. The new storage provider is added automatically to the server and operating system that is best able to handle the additional work. Thus, a new storage subsystem is added automatically in a data processing environment in a manner that provides for system scalability while minimizing any adverse impact on system performance.
US08433871B2 Data copy management for faster reads
Multiple copy sets of data are maintained on one or more storage devices. Each copy set includes at least some of the same data units as other sets. Different sets optionally have data units stored in different orders on the storage device(s). A particular one of the sets of data is selected as the set to be accessed in response to detecting a particular scenario.
US08433867B2 Using the change-recording feature for point-in-time-copy technology to perform more effective backups
A method for using a change-recording feature to perform more effective backups includes generating an initial point-in-time copy of source data residing in a storage device. The method may then perform an initial backup of the initial point-in-time copy. As changes are made to the source data, the method may record changes made to the source data after the initial point-in-time copy is generated. These changes may be stored as incremental change data. At some point, the initial point-in-time copy may be updated using the incremental change data. In order to perform an incremental backup of the updated point-in-time copy, the method may query the incremental change data to determine which changes were used to update the point-in-time copy. The method may then perform an incremental backup of the updated point-in-time copy by backing up the changes designated in the incremental change data.
US08433864B1 Method and apparatus for providing point-in-time backup images
A method and apparatus for providing point-in-time consistent backup images while reducing a computing overhead associated with copy-on-write operations for snapshot images is described. In one embodiment, the method comprises processing at least one data block that is inconsistent with a backup image; and updating the backup image with the at least one inconsistent data block from a snapshot image, wherein the snapshot image is created after a backup process, wherein the updated backup image is point in time consistent.
US08433859B2 Apparatus and method for buffer management for a memory operating
The invention provides a buffer management apparatus coupled between a memory and a plurality of circuit blocks accessing the memory. In one embodiment, the buffer management apparatus comprises an arbiter, a plurality of buffers, and a multiplexer. The arbiter selects a plurality of owners for the buffers from the circuit blocks, passes a plurality of access request signals generated by the owners to the corresponding buffers, and delivers a plurality of access response signals retrieved from the corresponding buffers to the owners in reply to the access request signals. The multiplexer alternately retrieves the access request signals from the buffers to generate a memory access signal delivered to a memory controller of the memory, receives a memory response signal generated by the memory controller in reply to the memory access signal, and distributes the memory response signal to the buffers as the access response signals.
US08433855B2 Serializing translation lookaside buffer access around address translation parameter modification
Embodiments of the invention include a method of synchronizing translation changes in a processor including a translation lookaside buffer, the method including setting a control bit to enable blocking of all fetch requests that miss the translation lookaside buffer without changing a translation state of the current process; if there is at least one pending translation, then waiting for completion of the at least one pending translation; and resetting the control bit. A processor and a computer program product are provided.
US08433845B2 Data storage device which serializes memory device ready/busy signals
A data storage device may include a command bus, a status bus, multiple memory devices that are operably coupled to the command bus and to the status bus, and a controller including multiple channel controllers, where the channel controllers are operably coupled to the command bus and to the status bus and each of the channel controllers is arranged and configured to control one or more of the memory devices. The data storage device may include multiple programmable logic devices that are operably coupled to the status bus, where each of the programmable logic devices is configured to retrieve a ready/busy signal from each of the memory devices under control of one of the channel controllers using the status bus, serialize the ready/busy signals and communicate the serialized ready/busy signals to the channel controllers.
US08433844B2 Method for managing a memory device having multiple channels and multiple ways, and associated memory device and controller thereof
A method for managing a memory device having multiple channels and multiple ways includes: with regard to a logical page, finding a Flash memory chip for being written from a plurality of Flash memory chips according to a predetermined order of the Flash memory chips, and during finding the Flash memory chip, omitting any Flash memory chip that is busy or not suitable for writing; and writing data belonging to the logical page and a serial number for indicating a writing order into a corresponding physical page within a block of the Flash memory chip that is found. An associated memory device and a controller thereof are also provided, where the controller includes: a ROM arranged to store a program code; and a microprocessor arranged to execute the program code to control the access to the Flash memory chips.
US08433832B2 Control equipment with communication apparatus
A control equipment with a built-in communication apparatus is provided which realizes a delay required for communication without a software intervention while at the same time reducing a load of the communication processing. The control equipment with a communication apparatus includes: a communication device to communicate with a plurality of destinations; and a decision device to determine a mode requiring a reception completion interrupt and a mode not requiring the reception completion interrupt. If the decision device decides that the reception completion interrupt is not necessary, the communication device transmits data to one or more destinations and also virtually transmits data to a second destination different from the first intended destination.
US08433828B2 Accessory protocol for touch screen device accessibility
Techniques for controlling a touch input device using an accessory communicatively coupled to the device are disclosed. In one aspect, an accessibility framework is launched on the device. An accessory coupled to the device is detected. Receipt of input from the accessory is enabled. An accessibility packet is received from the accessory. The accessibility packet includes an accessibility command and one or more parameters. The accessibility packet is processed to extract the first accessibility command and the one or more parameters. Input is generated for the accessibility framework based on the accessibility command and the one or more parameters. In some implementations, the device also sends accessibility commands to the accessory, either in response to accessibility commands received from the accessory or independent of any received accessibility commands.
US08433824B2 Thread timeout coordination method and system
An apparatus, program product and method associates a timeout used by a client computer sending a work request with a maximum amount of time that the server computer should spend processing the work request. The server computer dynamically reacts to diverse, incoming client load requirements without using a static processing timeout on the server computer side. Resources may be made available for other work.
US08433821B2 Communication system, terminal device and communication control device
A communication system including a communication control device connecting to an external network, a NAT device connecting to the external network, and a terminal device connecting to an internal network under control of the NAT device, the terminal device including a NAT information identification portion, a NAT information transmitting portion that transmits NAT type information to the communication control device, a type request transmitting portion, a type response receiving portion that receives the NAT type information transmitted from the communication control device in response to the type request signal, and a first communication portion that performs communication with another terminal device using the received NAT type information, the communication control device including a NAT information receiving portion, a storage control portion that stores the received NAT type information in a storage device, a type request receiving portion, and a type response transmitting portion that transmits the stored NAT type information.
US08433819B2 Facilitating download of requested data from server utilizing virtual network connections between client devices
A method of reducing server overhead in responding to requests for downloads from devices includes the steps of receiving, at a first device, a communication from a server regarding a request for download that the server has received from a second device; in response thereto, using virtualized network capabilities of a virtual machine of the second device, establishing a network connection with the first device using connection information received from the server; fulfilling the request for download by transferring data via the established network connection; and communicating an indication of fulfillment of such request to the server.
US08433810B2 Probing-based auto moding
A method for selecting a mode of operation for at least two modems is described. First, a handshake procedure is performed in order to determine a set of possible modes of operation supported by said modems. From said set of possible modes of operation, a set of favorable modes of operation is derived. In case there exist two or more favorable modes of operation, a probing-based selection is performed that comprises evaluating respective performances of said favorable modes of operation. The favorable mode of operation with the best performance is selected as a resultant mode of operation.
US08433809B2 Method and system for providing a session involving a plurality of software applications
A computer-implemented method for providing a user with a consistent view of user session. The method includes providing application servers with data storage means for storing part of the user context for that user session, defining for each user session a set of application servers having each an affinity with the user session. At a routing means, receiving a request and routing transactions of the user session toward the application servers, assigning to the user session a correlation record (DCX) arranged to comprise Affinity Keys, each Affinity Key indicating an application server that has an affinity with the user session for a given software application, and propagating the correlation record with transactions, allowing thereby the routing means to target the application servers that are linked to the user context of that user session and that process the software application relevant to process the transaction.
US08433806B2 Method for refusal of 1x page delivery in a high rate packet data system
A method for rejecting the 1× paging transferred in the High Rate Packet Data network is provided, in which the Secondary Color Code mechanism is applied so that the AN which a MS/AT registers transmits A13-paging request messages to the other neighboring ANs, these ANs page a cell phone together and some new messages are added to improve the rejection flow. When the SC/MM is in the AN of HRPD system, for the MS/AT on the multiple edges of AN, the invention can be ensured that the MS/AT in the idle or dormant state can effectively receive the service paging from 1× network in the multiple edge regions of AN in HRPD and can reject the 1× service according to selection of users, which ensures the ability of dual network operation.
US08433802B2 System and method for fair and economical resource partitioning using virtual hypervisor
A system and method for allocating resources in a cloud environment includes determining permitted usage of virtual machines and partitioning resources between network servers in accordance with a virtual hypervisor generated in accordance with an abstraction layer configured as an interface between a solution manager and an interface to a cloud network. Resource usage limits are determined for each virtual machine associated with the virtual hypervisor, and the servers are analyzed through the virtual hypervisors to determine if the virtual machines need to be migrated. If reallocation is needed, virtual machine migration requests are issued to migrate virtual machines into a new configuration at the virtual hypervisor abstraction level. The servers are reanalyzed to determine if migration of the new configuration is needed. Shares are computed to enforce balance requirements, and virtual machine shares and limits are adjusted for resources according to the computed shares.
US08433796B2 Botmaster traceback
Embodiments locate a botmaster on a network. A honeynet host is configured to join a botnet and generate a watermarked packet flow by applying a watermark to an outgoing packet flow in response to commands from the botmaster. The watermark is applied to the outgoing packet flow by: choosing distinct packets from the outgoing packet flow; forming packet pair(s) from the distinct packets, that include a reference packet and an encoding packet; and encoding bits in the watermark to the packet pair(s) by increasing the length of the encoding packet when watermark bits have a predetermined value. The cooperating node(s) are configured to: inspect passing packet flows for the watermarked packet flow and generate tracking information related to detection of the watermarked packet flow. The path determination processor is configured to analyze the tracking information to locate a path taken by the watermarked packet flow.
US08433793B2 Dispatching method, dispatching apparatus and dispatching system
A dispatching method, a dispatching apparatus and a dispatching system are disclosed according to embodiments of the present invention. The dispatching method includes receiving a request initiated by a user terminal, where the request carries address information of the user terminal; obtaining the address information carried in the request and obtaining key information of an access server associated with the address information; searching for a corresponding node based on the key information of the access server and treating the node as a redirected serving node. A dispatching apparatus and a dispatching system are also disclosed according to embodiments of the present invention. The technical solution of the embodiments of the present invention may well solve the dispatching issue and has a more flexible application.
US08433791B2 Apparatus and method for monitoring and auditing activity of a legacy environment
An apparatus and a method for monitoring and auditing activity of a legacy environment. The apparatus includes an analyzer and a mirror manager. The analyzer is operative to analyze intercepted packets conveyed by entities in a network and to generate analyzed data based on information associated with at least some of the packets. The analyzed data is indicative of sessions. The mirror manager is responsive to the analyzed data for generating data representative of mirror sessions, each mirror session corresponding to a session.
US08433787B2 System and method for directing clients to optimal servers in computer networks
A communication protocol includes one or more messages passed between Web routers over a reliable transmission protocol used for inter-Web router communication. These messages include information that allows the Web routers to dynamically update mappings of client addresses or address ranges to information object repository addresses based on client-to-server distance and server load. The mappings are preferably optimal mappings of the client addresses or address ranges to the information object repository addresses and the messages report updated distances from these information object repository addresses to the client addresses or address ranges. For example, the messages may report, for each updated distance, an associated client address or address range and/or an associated anchor address of a Web router co-located with an information object repository that is the subject of the message.
US08433785B2 System and method for detecting internet bots
Apparatuses, methods, and systems directed to detect Internet bots in communication networks. Some embodiments of the present invention allow an agent of a server to periodically record interaction events on a client system. The recorded interaction events are sent to a server and validated by a statistical test. Some embodiments of the present invention may be used to detect bots using server logs. In other embodiments, an agent of a server is able to detect and validate interaction events on a client system and the server periodically polls the agent to determine whether bots are detected on the client system.
US08433773B2 Methods, systems, and computer program products for providing intelligent monitoring services
Methods, systems, and computer program products for intelligent monitoring services are provided. A method includes sampling data for a subject over a defined time period and calculating a normative value for the defined time period based on the sampled data. The method also includes monitoring incoming data for the subject, comparing a monitored value for the incoming data to the normative value, and generating a responsive action when the monitored value deviates from the normative value.
US08433766B2 System and method for providing information on a received communication for an electronic communication device
The disclosure relates to a system, method and device for providing information relating to a received communication for a device. The method comprises generating and providing a message on a display of the device indicating receipt of an inbound communication, after determining that the device is to receive the inbound communication while the device is composing an outbound communication and after determining the inbound communication is related to the outbound communication by an analysis of information of the inbound communication against information of the outbound communication. The message provides options for processing the inbound communication depending on whether the outbound communication is initiated as either a reply to the inbound communication or a forwarding of the inbound communication.
US08433764B2 Identification of message recipients
In general, the subject matter described in this specification can be embodied in methods, systems, and program products for identifying a recipient for an electronic post. An electronic post that was authored by an authoring user is received. The post is detected to include text that partially, but not fully, identifies a target recipient for the post. The text that partially identifies the target recipient is determined to be associated with a valid first user account for a first domain or a valid second user account for a second domain. The first user account or the second user account is selected as a selected user account for the target recipient based on the determining. The electronic post is transmitted to a different remote computing device that is associated with the selected user account.
US08433762B1 Generation of nickname dictionary based on analysis of user communications
Methods, apparatuses and systems for generating a nickname dictionary that includes associations between names of users and candidate nicknames based on statistical analysis of user communications observed at a network communications facility, such as a social network system, an email provider and the like.
US08433760B2 Inter-node communication scheme for node status sharing
A gossiping scheme for sharing node status in a cluster of nodes provides a robust mechanism for determining node status within the cluster. Nodes transmit gossip messages to each other nodes, the gossip messages listing other nodes in the cluster that are operational. When a node does not receive a gossip message from a particular node within a predetermined time period, then the node transmits messages to the other nodes indicating that the particular node is down. However, if another node has received a packet from the particular node within the predetermined time period and receives the node down message, then the other node responds with a node alive message.
US08433759B2 Direction-conscious information sharing
Direction-conscious information sharing is disclosed. User input specifying information to be shared and a direction relative to the sender device is received. A recipient device is identified as being located in a target area in the specified direction relative to the sender device. The specified information is sent to the identified recipient device, including data to allow the receiving device to generate a notification indicating a direction of the sender device relative to the recipient device.
US08433753B2 Providing meeting information from a meeting server to an email server to store in an email database
Provided are a method, system, and program for providing meeting information from a meeting server to an email server to store in an email database. A meeting database has information on scheduled meetings. A meeting server manages access to the meeting database. The meeting server calls an email server to provide information on meetings from the meeting database to an email database including email accounts and calendars of scheduled events for users. The email server manages access to the email database. The email server stores the provided information on the meetings in the email database in response to the call from the meeting server. The email server updates the calendar of scheduled events in the email database for one of the users to include information from the email database on at least one meeting.
US08433749B2 Method and system for client-side scaling of web server farm architectures in a cloud data center
A novel web server farm architecture is provided that combines various cloud components and innovatively maximizes their strengths to achieve a scalable, adaptable, load balanced computing architecture. In one embodiment, this architecture includes a storage host for static content hosting, a cluster of virtual machines (operating as web servers) for dynamic content hosting, and a dedicated application engine for monitoring the load of the virtual machines. A browser or end-application user of a web application is first routed to a static anchor page hosted on the storage host. The browser is subsequently presented with a list of virtual machines and data corresponding to their respective current loads. To access dynamic content, the browser is able to select from the virtual machines based in large part on the reported current loads of the virtual machines. Once a virtual machine is selected, the browser may communicate directly with the selected web server.
US08433740B2 M-sequence generator, providing method thereof, and random error generating device in which M-sequence generator is used
An M-sequence generator includes EXCLUSIVE-OR gates feeding back pieces of bit data from m number of series registers to the registers in response to a clock. A period of a cyclic group {(α1k), (α2k), (α3k), . . . } falls within a maximum period (2m−1), the group being produced as an element (αk) obtained by raising a root α of a polynomial to a specified power value k (k≧2), which have the terms in polynomials of a Galois field GF(2m). In a multiplying unit including the gates, pieces of bit data is fed into one end of the multiplying unit in response to the clock while the element (αk) is fed into the other end. The multiplying unit performs Galois field multiplication between each piece of bit data and the element (αk), the gate supplies the multiplication result as feedback bit data to the respective registers.
US08433739B2 Methods and systems for detecting repetitive synchronized signal events
Repetitive synchronized signal events may be detected in received raw signal data that contains a signal. The type of signal, element length (or minimum interval) and/or other characteristics of such repetitive synchronized signal events may also be optionally determined. The disclosed methods and systems may be implemented for processing signals in real time as part of a receiver or transceiver system, or may be implemented by one or more computer processing components that are configured to process stored raw signal data or signal data received from another source, such as across a computer network.
US08433734B2 Selecting a file path of a removable storage device based on a root directory size comparison with a host device
Systems and methods of identifying a file path of a removable storage device are disclosed. A method includes, at a host device that is coupled to the removable storage device, selecting a file path that is associated with the removable storage device by accessing a size associated with a root directory accessible to the host device, where the root directory corresponds to the removable storage device. The file path is selected based upon the size associated with the root directory. The selected file path is verified by initiating a memory access operation using the selected file path.
US08433732B2 System and method for storing data and accessing stored data
In one example of a method to access data, selected data stored in a virtual tape library (“VTL”) maintained in a selected format in a first non-tape storage medium is examined. One or more first directories and one more first files are identified within the selected data. One or more second directories, and one or more second files, comprising information identifying at least one of the one or more first files, are generated and stored in a second non-tape storage medium. A request specifying at least one of the one or more second files is received from a device, and information identifying at least one of the one or more first files is retrieved from the specified second file. The at least one first file is accessed based on the information, and data from the at least one first file is provided to the device. Systems are also disclosed.
US08433731B2 Systems and methods for generating markup-language based expressions from multi-modal and unimodal inputs
When using finite-state devices to perform various functions, it is beneficial to use finite state devices representing regular grammars with terminals having markup-language-based semantics. By using markup-language-based symbols in the finite state devices, it is possible to generate valid markup-language expressions by concatenating the symbols representing the result of the performed function. The markup-language expression can be used by other applications and/or devices. Finite-state devices are used to convert strings of words and gestures into valid markup-language, for example, XML, expressions that can be used, for example, to provide an application program interface to underlying system applications.
US08433727B2 Method and apparatus for restricting access to writable properties at runtime
A processing device executing an application receives a user command to update a specified writeable property of the application. The processing device determines whether the specified writeable property has metadata that distinguishes the specified writeable property as a user updateable property. In one embodiment, this is determined by using a reflection mechanism to examine metadata of the specified writeable property. In another embodiment, this is determined by examining a dynamic changeable properties list that was created and populated at runtime of the application. If the specified writeable property has the metadata that distinguishes the specified writeable property as a user updateable property, the processing device updates the specified writeable property in accordance with the user command.
US08433725B2 Scheduling for fast response multi-pattern matching over streaming events
A query pattern handler may be configured to determine at least one query pattern to be matched against a stream of events, and may be configured to determine a plurality of run-time patterns representing active instances of the at least one query pattern which are currently available for matching, and which each include a plurality of states. An event scheduler may be configured to receive an event of the stream of events, the event associated with a current event set of the stream of events. A run-time pattern scheduler may be configured to determine a ranked set of the run-time patterns based on a priority metric which characterizes, for each run-time pattern, an advancement of each run-time pattern from a current state thereof when matched against the current event set. A pattern match evaluator may be configured to evaluate each run-time pattern of the ranked set, in turn, against the current event set.
US08433723B2 Systems, methods, and apparatus for processing documents to identify structures
In various embodiments, multiple heterogeneous documents are processed to identify structures, such as chemical structures, contained therein, including non-embedded structures. Also described is a graphical user interface that permits a user to search for a structure or substructure within a set of electronic documents, then displays the matching structures as well as the actual pages of the documents on which the matching structures are found. Display of the actual pages allows the user to verify the matches and provides helpful context for the user.
US08433709B2 Modular system and method for managing chinese, japanese and korean linguistic data in electronic form
Systems and methods for categorizing lexical data, accurately describing the structure of hierarchical data, accommodating lexicons having disparate data structures, pooling data from separate lexicons into aggregate lists, gathering data from participating users, and specified interfaces for handwriting recognition, optical character recognition, and text-to-speech and speech-to-text conversion are described. Some implementations can include a linguistic services center that interfaces with various natural language processing modules such that users of one module can take advantage of linguistic information provided in the system.
US08433705B1 Facet suggestion for search query augmentation
A method searches a set of information using a computer. The method generates a set of search results based on a search query. Then, without further user input, the method generates a set of candidate facets, where each of the candidate facets can be used to select a subset of the search results. The method ranks the candidate facets in accordance with selectivity of the candidate facets and selects a plurality of facets from among the candidate facets for presentation to the user. The selection is in accordance with the rankings of the candidate facets. The method formats the presentation facets for display to the user. In response to user selection of a presentation facet, the method generates a revised search query comprising the original search query and the selected presentation facet, and generates a revised set of search results based on the revised search query.
US08433702B1 Horizon histogram optimizations
Values that occur above a threshold frequency for certain characteristic(s) of a data set are identified. A limited number of count buckets are allocated based on the threshold. Buckets store proxy counts for identifying candidate sets of values rather than actual counts. The data set is divided and each portion is analyzed separately, by iterating through each item in that portion. During each iteration, depending on an item's value(s), a bucket is incremented, all buckets are decremented, or a bucket is assigned or reassigned to count different value(s). A candidate set of values and associated counts is selected for a portion based on the buckets. The candidate sets for each portion are merged and, in some embodiments, filtered based on the associated counts. Actual frequencies are then determined for the values that remain in the merged candidate set.
US08433699B1 Object identity and addressability
Identifying a repository object is disclosed. An object identifying information usable to identify a repository object with respect to which an operation is desired to be performed is included in a request not specific to any one manner of identifying objects. The request is sent to a node associated with a repository in which the repository object is or will be stored. At the receiving end, e.g., a content server, the object identifying information included in the request is used to identify the repository object with respect to which the operation is desired to be performed, for example to retrieve the repository object.
US08433695B2 System architecture for integrated hierarchical query processing for key/value stores
A key/value store comprising a first tier storage device configured to store information about a plurality of keys for a plurality of values without the values, and a second tier storage device coupled to the first tier storage device and configured to store the values associated with the keys without the keys, wherein the first tier storage device has lower latency and higher throughput than the second tier storage device, and wherein the second tier storage device has higher capacity than the first tier storage device. Also disclosed is a method comprising receiving a key/value operation request at a first tier storage device, mapping a key in the key/value operation request to a locator stored in a second tier storage device if the key/value operation request is valid, and mapping the locator to a value in a third tier storage device if the key has a corresponding locator.
US08433682B2 Systems and methods for analyzing snapshots
This application describes techniques for creating a second snapshot of a first snapshot of a set of data, modifying the first snapshot, and reverting the modifications to the first snapshot. For example, portions of one or more transaction logs may be played into a database to put the database in a particular state a particular point in time. The second snapshot may then be used to revert to a prior state of the database such that additional transaction logs may be played into the database. These techniques enable the ability to put the database into multiple states as the database existed at multiple points in time. Therefore, data can be recovered from the database as the data existed at different points in time. Moreover, individual data objects in the database can be accessed and analyzed as the individual data objects existed at different points in time.
US08433657B2 Secure and mobile financial transaction
A portable device is configured to transmit a first encrypted message to an account database server. The first encrypted message may comprise a request to get information about a financial account. The portable device receives a second encrypted message comprising the financial account information. The portable device wirelessly receives a signal from a merchant machine and wirelessly transmits a response message to the merchant machine. The response message comprises account related information for the merchant machine to trigger a financial transaction.
US08433656B1 Group licenses for virtual objects in a distributed virtual world
A group licensing scheme for validating groups of virtual objects within a distributed virtual world is provided. Each of a number of distributed virtual world servers hosts a cell, or virtual space, of the virtual world. In operation, a first virtual world server categorizes virtual objects into a number of groups. Either before or after creating the groups, the first virtual world server validates each virtual object individually. Once the virtual objects are validated and the groups are formed, the first virtual world server generates a group license for each of the groups. When a group of virtual objects or an avatar associated with one or more groups of virtual objects moves to a virtual space hosted by a second virtual world server, the corresponding group licenses are provided to the second virtual world server, which validates the one or more groups of virtual objects based on the group licenses.
US08433653B2 Centralized transaction record storage
A system according to an embodiment comprises a plurality of searchable machine-readable transaction records associated with a plurality of user accounts, the searchable machine-readable transaction records comprising transaction information associated with a plurality of user-merchant transactions, wherein the transaction information is provided by merchant server(s) and is captured and passed by one or more users to the system in response to a determination performed at a respective client device of the user(s) that a webpage comprises transaction information such that an address of the webpage matches an address in a transaction webpage database; one or more processors; and one or more memories adapted to store a plurality of machine-readable instructions which when executed by the processor(s) are adapted to cause the system to provide: a transaction record processing application configured to store the captured transaction information in the searchable machine-readable transaction records associated with the user accounts on the system.
US08433649B2 Collateralized loans with periodic draws subject to a triggering event
This document describes techniques for implementing a collateralized loan with periodic draws subject to a triggering event. These techniques include receiving funds from a client and establishing a credit line collateralized by the funds. The techniques may further include periodically dispensing an amount from the credit line upon occurrence of a predetermined event (e.g., the client's attainment of a certain age) and until death of the client. At the death of the client, any remaining funds may then be released to, for example, the client's estate.
US08433645B1 Methods and systems related to securities trading
At least one exemplary aspect comprises a method comprising: (a) receiving electronic data describing a trading order for a market-traded security; (b) checking the data describing the trading order against one or more sets of conditions, and identifying one or more of the one or more sets of conditions that is satisfied; (c) based on the identified one or more of the one or more sets of conditions that is satisfied, identifying a class of trading algorithms appropriate for execution of the trading order; (d) selecting with a processing system one or more trading algorithms from the identified class of trading algorithms, for execution of the trading order; and (e) commencing with the processing system execution of the trading order via the selected one or more trading algorithms; wherein the processing system comprises one or more processors. Other aspects and embodiments comprise related computer systems and software.
US08433641B2 Financial data processing system and method
To process financial articles of trade, real time data is collected from a plurality of liquidity destinations in trading at least one of securities, commodities, options, futures and derivatives, the real time data including information on submitted transactions of financial articles of trade. The real time data collected from the plurality of liquidity destinations is aggregated. The real time data is streamed in a standardized form. User criteria are established to identify relevant portions of the streamed real time data. The streamed real time data is analyzed according to the user criteria. The analyzed real time data is consolidated into a computer data base.
US08433639B2 Process for comprehensive financial and estate planning with life insurance product
A process for generating a financial and liquidity estate plan for a client and a life insurance product for use therewith. The process includes determining the client's assets and defining a plurality of asset categories based on type and purpose of asset. The process also includes categorizing the client's assets in the defined categories. By performing liquidity analyzes of the categorized assets, the process determines current estate liquidity and projected future estate liquidity of the client. The process further includes generating a plan for re-allocating the client's assets among the defined categories based on the liquidity analyzes. The product defined by the process is a pre-paid, variable life insurance product having a death benefit that varies daily as a function of gains and losses on the invested cash value of the product.
US08433638B2 Systems and methods for providing investment performance data to investors
Systems and methods for generating a performance index are described. A rank score is generated for each investor relative to a group of investors of which the investor is a member. Generation of the rank score uses investment data of a portfolio of the investor, and the portfolio comprises at least one investment position. A set of investors is selected from the group of investors, and the selection is based on the rank score of each investor. The performance index is generated to provide a measure of performance of top individual investors over time relative to a market index. Generation of the performance index includes generating a composite portfolio comprising investment positions of each portfolio of each investor of the set of investors.
US08433634B1 Systems and methods for providing a benefit product with periodic guaranteed income
A computer implemented method and system that implements a benefit product that provides a guaranteed income amount for a participant, the benefit product generates the guaranteed income amount by participating in a plurality of guaranteed income products (GI products). The system may comprise: (1) an income aggregator portion; (2) a savings recordkeeper portion that maintains an investment account associated with the benefit product, the investment account into which the payments to the benefit product pass; and (3) at least one income recordkeeper portion, each income recordkeeper portion administering one or more GI products, each income recordkeeper portion: determining, based on an attributable allocation to a particular GI product, a guaranteed income associated with such particular GI product, each guaranteed income being an amount, attributable to the particular GI product, that is payable to a participant. The income aggregator performs allocation processing, the allocation processing being performed based on funds transfer data, the funds transfer data including (1) first funds transfer data that reflects activity of the investment account and benefit product associated therewith, and (2) second funds transfer data that reflects activity of a respective GI product.
US08433632B2 Interactive method and apparatus for real-time financial
A method and apparatus for financial planning and control are disclosed that are capable of real-time response to changing market conditions. The disclosed method provides financial management and control tools that allow an organization to rapidly (on weekly or monthly frequencies, for example) realign financial resources throughout the organization in response to changing market and business conditions. The method links critical external information directly to company decision-making activities to allow a business to better align resources to capitalize upon opportunities or minimize the impact of adverse business conditions. The disclosed embodiment of the invention comprises several modules, including the TopLine Planner™ module, BizPlan™ module, and SpendCap Manager™ module. The TopLine Planner™ module receives inputs from and provides information to sales, marketing and manufacturing, and is coupled to the BizPlan™ module. The TopLine Planner™ module dynamically revises topline forecast information by capturing current outlook information from front line sources. Revenue information is passed between the TopLine Planner™ module and the BizPlan™ module. The BizPlan™ module rapidly refreshes expense plan information by using business rules and constraints. The BizPlan™ module is coupled to the SpendCap Manager™ module, and expense information is passed between the modules. The SpendCap Manager™ module distributes resources to all business managers and receives requests for increases in the allocation of resources.
US08433623B2 Methods for creating a gift registry web page with recommendations and assistance
In one embodiment, a graphical user interface presents a gift registry having a number of registered products available to purchase through a retailer. The graphical user interface may present a view of information regarding registered products including an image, a description, and a price associated with each registered product. A recommended product may be presented in relation to a registered product, the recommended product selected as being complementary to the registered product. The recommended product information presented may include a product image, a product description and a product selection control.
US08433619B2 System and method for product review information generation and management
A computer-implemented system and method for product review information generation and management are disclosed. An example embodiment prompts a first user for entry of product review information associated with a product in a product category and with product attributes, stores the product review information, determines when a second user accesses product listings in the product category or with one or more of the product attributes, and presents the second user with the product review information.
US08433616B2 System and method for constructing and displaying active virtual reality cyber malls, show rooms, galleries, stores, museums, and objects within
A system and method for virtually displaying on-line a gallery, a showroom, a store, a mall or any other room or space and the objects contained in said room or space, wherein the data displayed is comprised of a virtual reality data packet. The system displays still photographs of virtual reality shots and textual materials, and plays virtual reality video clips and audio stories about the room and/or the objects contained therein. Links are associated with each object so that detailed information in graphical, video, audio and/or textual forms that are related to the object and are stored external to the virtual reality data packet can be retrieved on demand from an external database for presentation to the viewer. The system also provides on-line controls that enable the viewer to move around the space, and a feature that enables a viewer to view an object from 360° around the object.
US08433614B2 Electronic registration system for product transactions
An electronic registration system which facilitates authorized product returns and reduces the incidence of improper returns. A retailer sales associate is prompted to enter individual product identification information such as an individual serial number. This individual product identification information is then stored in a data base along with the date on which the product was sold and an appropriate UPC code, SKU number or manufacturer code. A check digit algorithm may be used to verify the serial number prior to storage. A sales receipt may be imprinted with at least the date of the transaction and the serial number. When a product is returned, the retailer may cross-reference the serial number on the product with that on the receipt to verify the sales receipt. Otherwise, the database may be searched for pertinent sales information.
US08433609B2 Geospatially constrained gastronomic bidding
A method includes determining, through one or more central server(s), that a bidding platform provided by a gastronomic bidding service provider has a number of requests for gastronomical offers within a residential location zip code and/or a daytime location zip code associated with a user thereof. The method also includes permitting the user to access the number of requests for gastronomical offers within the residential location zip code and/or the daytime location zip code, and denying the user access to a request within a zip code outside a geospatially constrained region around the residential location zip code and/or the daytime location zip code thereof. Further, the method includes permitting the user to create a series of standing bid amounts spread across a spectrum of time and crediting an account associated with the gastronomic bidding service provider on the one or more central server(s) with an appropriate amount.
US08433606B2 Methods and apparatus to determine when to deflect callers to websites
Methods and apparatus to determine when to deflect callers to websites are disclosed. An example method disclosed herein to deflect a caller to a webpage comprises receiving a call from the caller, determining a performance metric associated with processing the call, and determining whether to offer the caller an option to terminate the call and access the webpage based on the at least one performance metric.
US08433605B2 System for clinical trial subject compliance
The present invention is designed to develop research protocols for clinical trials. The invention also can track and enhance subject compliance with a research protocol. The invention further provides evaluability data related to subject performance in the clinical trial. According to an alternative embodiment of the invention, a portable electronic device is used to query and collect data from the subject.
US08433602B2 Modeling of business process data
In one embodiment, a business process meta-model is defined that represents a business process. The business process meta-model includes control flow elements pertaining to a control flow of the business process, and annotation elements providing details for the control flow elements.
US08433599B2 Method for determining and calculating work related incentives
A fair incentive calculating method with a reasonable amount of computation is performed by inputting a set of x jobs X={1, 2, . . . , x} and processing times of each worker {t(i)} (1≦i≦n) and providing a set of jobs W(A, X, t(i), t(−i)) assigned to each worker i, where A is a given scheduling algorithm; determining MaxInc(X, t(i)) by recursively solving MaxInc(X, t(i))=Σ_{wεX} t(i, Kind(w))+max_{s(i) εSlower(t(i))} MaxInc(X, s(i)); and using the step of determining MaxInc(X, t(i)) to calculate an incentive NewInc(A, X, t(i), t(−i)) for each worker i based on NewInc(A, X, t(i), t(−i))=Σ_{wεW(A, X, t(i), t(−i))} t(i, Kind(w))+max_{s(i) εSlower(t(i))} MaxInc(X, s(i)).
US08433585B2 Managing consistent interfaces for business objects across heterogeneous systems
A business object model, which reflects data that is used during a given business transaction, is utilized to generate interfaces. This business object model facilitates commercial transactions by providing consistent interfaces that are suitable for use across industries, across businesses, and across different departments within a business during a business transaction. In some operations, software creates, updates, or otherwise processes information related to a funds management center, an individual material, and/or a measuring device business object.
US08433582B2 Method and apparatus for estimating high-band energy in a bandwidth extension system
A method (100) includes receiving (101) an input digital audio signal comprising a narrow-band signal. The input digital audio signal is processed (102) to generate a processed digital audio signal. A high-band energy level corresponding to the input digital audio signal is estimated (103) based on a transition-band of the processed digital audio signal within a predetermined upper frequency range of a narrow-band bandwidth. A high-band digital audio signal is generated (104) based on the high-band energy level and an estimated high-band spectrum corresponding to the high-band energy level.
US08433581B2 Audio encoding device and audio encoding method
There is provided an audio encoding device capable of effectively encoding stereo audio in audio encoding having monaural-stereo scalable configuration. In this device, a correlation degree comparison unit (304) calculates correlation in a first channel (correlation degree between the past signal and the current signal in the first channel) from the first channel audio signal and calculates correlation in a second channel (correlation degree between the past signal and the current signal in the second channel) from the second channel audio signal. The correlation in the first channel is compared to the correlation in the second channel. A channel having the greater correlation is selected. According to the selection result of a correlation comparison unit (304), a selection unit (305) selects the first channel prediction signal outputted from a first channel prediction unit (307) or the first channel prediction signal outputted from a first channel signal generation unit (311) and outputs the selected signal to a subtractor (303) and a first channel prediction residual signal encoding unit (308).
US08433577B2 Detection of creative works on broadcast media
This disclosure relates to systems and methods for proactively determining identification information for a plurality of audio segments within a plurality of broadcast media streams, and providing identification information associated with specific audio portions of a broadcast media stream automatically or upon request.
US08433575B2 Augmenting an audio signal via extraction of musical features and obtaining of media fragments
A system and method is described in which a multimedia story is rendered to a consumer in dependence on features extracted from an audio signal representing for example a musical selection of the consumer. Features such as key changes and tempo of the music selection are related to dramatic parameters defined by and associated with story arcs, narrative story rules and film or story structure. In one example a selection of a few music tracks provides input audio signals (602) from which musical features are extracted (604), following which a dramatic parameter list and timeline are generated (606). Media fragments are then obtained (608), the fragments having story content associated with the dramatic parameters, and the fragments output (610) with the music selection.
US08433573B2 Prosody modification device, prosody modification method, and recording medium storing prosody modification program
A prosody modification device includes: a real voice prosody input part that receives real voice prosody information extracted from an utterance of a human; a regular prosody generating part that generates regular prosody information having a regular phoneme boundary that determines a boundary between phonemes and a regular phoneme length of a phoneme by using data representing a regular or statistical phoneme length in an utterance of a human with respect to a section including at least a phoneme or a phoneme string to be modified in the real voice prosody information; and a real voice prosody modification part that resets a real voice phoneme boundary by using the generated regular prosody information so that the real voice phoneme boundary and a real voice phoneme length of the phoneme or the phoneme string to be modified in the real voice prosody information are approximate to an actual phoneme boundary and an actual phoneme length of the utterance of the human, thereby modifying the real voice prosody information.
US08433572B2 Method and apparatus for multiple value confirmation and correction in spoken dialog system
A method for multiple value confirmation and correction in spoken dialog systems. A user is allowed to correct errors in values captured by the spoken dialog system, such that the interaction necessary for error correction between the system and the user is reduced. When the spoken dialog system collects a set of values from a user, the system provides a spoken confirmation of the set of values to the user. The spoken confirmation comprises the set of values and possibly pause associated with each value. Upon hearing an incorrect value, the user may react and barge-in the spoken confirmation and provide a corrected value. Responsive to detecting the user interruption during the pause or after the system speaking of a value, the system halts the spoken confirmation and collects the corrected value. The system then provides a new spoken confirmation to the user, wherein the new spoken confirmation includes the corrected value.
US08433550B2 Requirements driven feature development process
A method for developing features to be used in an automobile design. The features are developed and documented in an architecture-independent manner, so that they can be used on any vehicle platform where appropriate. The feature development process includes using requirements which have been defined using formal methods, thereby assuring the quality of the requirements. The feature development process also includes the documentation and standardized use of all technical terms and data elements, the development of computer simulation models and hardware-in-the-loop simulations to verify the requirements, and review of a feature and its requirements by peer groups at various stages of the process. The result is a Feature Technical Specification which can be used by any product development team, and which contains only clear, concise and accurate requirements.
US08433533B2 High resolution sensor with scalable sample rate
Apparatus and methods of providing a selected sample rate for sensor measurements are provided, which in one aspect may include a circuit configured to receive sensor signals as a first series of count rates corresponding to sensor the sensor measurements, each count rate representing a value of a parameter of interest, at least two accumulators configured to alternately accumulate the count rates in the series of count rates over a time period that corresponds to a selected sample rate and a controller configured to control the time periods for the at least two accumulators.
US08433531B2 Automated emergency power supply test featuring user selection of load percentage or exhaust temperature
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.
US08433530B2 System and method for monitoring and management of utility usage
A system and method is provided to enable consumers to intelligently manage their consumption of energy. In one embodiment, waveform data is collected for a plurality of appliances which may be found in a residential or commercial setting using a plurality of multi-port outlet monitoring devices. The collected waveform data is processed and analyzed to obtain power consumption profiles that indicate power consumption on a per-appliance and/or per-outlet basis and/or per user basis.
US08433520B2 Job monitoring methods and apparatus for logging-while-drilling equipment
Job monitoring methods and apparatus for logging-while-drilling equipment are disclosed. A disclosed example method includes obtaining a fluid associated with an underground geological formation, analyzing the fluid with one or more sensors to form respective ones of sensor outputs, identifying a downhole scenario associated with the fluid based on the sensor outputs, the identifying being performed while the sensors are within the underground geological formation, and selecting a telemetry frame type based on the identified downhole scenario.
US08433519B2 Downhole surveying utilizing multiple measurements
Certain embodiments described herein provide a measure of the misalignment of multiple acceleration sensors mounted in the downhole portion of a drill string. In certain embodiments, the measure of the misalignment corresponds to a measure of sag which can be used to provide an improved estimate of the inclination of the downhole portion of the drill string and/or the wellbore. Certain embodiments described herein provide an estimate of the magnetic interference incident upon a drilling system using multiple magnetic sensors mounted within a non-magnetic region of the downhole portion of the drilling system. Certain embodiments utilize the magnetic measurements to determine an axial interference resulting from one or more magnetic portions of the downhole portion and to provide an improved estimate of the azimuthal orientation of the downhole portion with respect to the magnetic field of the Earth.
US08433518B2 Multilevel workflow method to extract resistivity anisotropy data from 3D induction measurements
A method is provided for determining formation resistivity, anisotropy and dip from wellbore measurements includes moving a well logging instrument through subsurface formations. The instrument includes longitudinal magnetic dipoles and at least one of tilted and transverse magnetic dipoles. Formation layer boundaries and horizontal resistivities of the formation layers are determined from longitudinal magnetic dipole measurements. Vertical resistivities of the formation layers are determined by inversion of anisotropy sensitive measurements. Improved vertical resistivities of the formation layers and dips are determined by inverting symmetrized and anti-symmetrized measurements. Improved vertical resistivities, improved boundaries and improved dips are determined by inversion of the all dipole measurements. Improved horizontal resistivities, further improved layer boundaries and further improved dips are determined by inversion of all dipole measurements.
US08433517B2 System and method for measuring depth and velocity of instrumentation within a wellbore using a bendable tool
An apparatus and method for measuring depth, velocity, or both depth and velocity of instrumentation within a wellbore is provided. The apparatus includes a downhole portion movable within the wellbore in a direction generally parallel to the wellbore. The apparatus further includes a first acceleration sensor mounted at a first position within the downhole portion. The first acceleration sensor generates a first signal indicative of a first acceleration in a first direction generally parallel to the wellbore at the first position. The apparatus further includes a second acceleration sensor mounted at a second position within the downhole portion. The second acceleration sensor generates a second signal indicative of a second acceleration in a second direction generally parallel to the wellbore at the second position. The apparatus further includes a bend sensor generating a third signal indicative of an amount of bend of at least a portion of the downhole portion.
US08433515B2 Method for measuring precision of star sensor and system using the same
A method for measuring a precision of a star sensor and a system using the same may be provided. The method may comprise steps of: 1) fixing the star sensor on the Earth; 2) inputting a current time (T) of a measuring start time relative to a J2000.0 time; 3) determining a directional vector of the navigation star in a J2000.0 Cartesian coordinate system at the current time (T) according to a right ascension and a declination of the navigation star in the J2000.0 Cartesian coordinate system and visual movement parameters (α′, δ′) of the navigation star in the direction of the right ascension and the declination which are stored in the star sensor; 4) converting the directional vector of the navigation star in the J2000.0 Cartesian coordinate system into a directional vector of the navigation star in an ecliptic coordinate system; 5) converting the directional vector of the navigation star in the ecliptic coordinate system into a directional vector (vCRFT) of the navigation star in a celestial coordinate system; and 6) converting the directional vector (vCRFT) of the navigation star in the celestial coordinate system into a directional vector (vTRF) of the navigation star in a terrestrial coordinate system, and obtaining the precision of the star sensor based on the directional vector (vTRF) of the navigation star in the terrestrial coordinate system.
US08433511B2 Rush hour modeling for routing and scheduling
A rush hour modeling system that is configured for modifying existing travel time/distance data to reflect special traffic conditions, such as rush hour traffic conditions. The system is configured to receive information defining one or more time windows, geographic areas, and road segments in which special traffic conditions occur. The system is also configured to receive travel rules that reflect the special traffic conditions. The travel rules are used to modify a travel time/distance matrix to reflect the effect of the special traffic conditions on “normal” travel times and distances. Existing routing and scheduling systems can then use the modified travel matrix to plan and schedule routes for delivery vehicles more accurately. Additionally, the modified travel matrix can be used to model traffic conditions through a particular geographic area or on a particular road segment.
US08433509B2 Position determination apparatus and method
A method of determining a location of a User Equipment (UE) is provided. The method includes generating, by the UE, a database of location data for a plurality of locations; receiving at least one navigation signal at a particular area; determining an identity of a cell in which the UE is currently located at the particular area; and determining the location of the UE at the particular area using the at least one navigation signal, the identity of the current cell, and at least a portion of the data stored in the database.
US08433505B2 System and method for faster detection of traffic jams
Devices located with moving objects (e.g., people or cars) can function as probes of traffic conditions. One way that such probes can operate is by making sporadic reports (e.g., for example, after a given road segment is traversed, a report can be made). However, in such a reporting scheme, a traffic incident that prevents or delays completion of that road segment would go unreported until the probe finished the segment. Thus, these aspects provide methods and systems to detect unexpected conditions that prevent/delay completion of such road segments, and responsively generate an out-of-cycle report that can be used in alerting others of such condition. Progress on that segment can continue to be monitored, with periodic updates, when the segment ultimately is finished, the probe can send a final report for that segment. The report can contain data indicative of an average speed on the road segment (or the portion of it completed, when detecting an unexpected condition).
US08433501B2 Internal combustion engine fuel injection control method
In an internal combustion engine provided with a fuel injection valve for injecting fuel into an intake air flow path for each cylinder, there is performed a plurality of fuel injections during one cycle for each cylinder, one injection thereof being performed in synchronization with a period during which an intake valve is being opened and reverse flow of in-cylinder gas into the intake air flow path occurs. In accordance with a measurement quantity that changes as the temperatures of the surface, at the intake air flow path, of the intake valve and the inner wall face of the intake air flow path change, there is set the proportion of the amount of fuel injected in synchronization with the period during which reverse flow occurs to the total amount of fuel injected in one cycle for each cylinder.
US08433496B2 Control system and method for improving cold startability of spark ignition direct injection (SIDI) engines
A control system includes an engine enable module and a fuel control module. The engine enable module determines whether predetermined operating conditions of a spark ignition direct injection (SIDI) engine are satisfied and enables an engine prime mode when the predetermined operating conditions are satisfied. The fuel control module controls a fuel injector to deliver a prime pulse to a cylinder of the SIDI engine when the engine prime mode is enabled. The fuel injector delivers the prime pulse by opening for a pulse width to inject fuel directly into the cylinder when the SIDI engine is stopped.
US08433495B2 Systems and methods for determining blow-by gas species concentrations
In one embodiment, a method for determining a blow-by gas species concentration may include calculating one-dimensional engine performance data with a one-dimensional engine performance model. The one-dimensional engine performance data may be based at least in part upon an engine operating condition. The one-dimensional engine performance data may be transformed, automatically with a processor executing a two-dimensional ring dynamics model, into piston ring motion data. The two-dimensional ring dynamics model simulates geometrical changes to a piston-ring pack flow path. The blow-by gas species concentration may be determined with a network model including the one-dimensional engine performance model and a two-dimensional ring pack model. The two-dimensional ring pack model simulates species concentration change in the piston-ring pack flow path. The blow-by gas species concentration may be determined using the engine operating condition and the piston ring motion data.
US08433480B2 Method and device for triggering personal protection means during a rollover accident
A device and a method for triggering personal protection devices, characterized in that a roll rate sensor generates a roll rate while an acceleration sensor detects the transverse acceleration and the vertical acceleration. An integrator is provided to integrate the roll rate to yield an angle. The integrator starts integrating the roll rate when the roll rate exceeds a first threshold value and it stops the integration when the roll rate falls below a second threshold value. In addition, a threshold value controller is provided, adjusting the first and/or second threshold value according to the transverse and/or vertical acceleration. A processor triggers personal protection devices according to the angle and other criteria.
US08433476B2 Apparatus and method for determining seat occupancy
An apparatus for determining a seat occupancy includes a load detecting portion, a seatbelt detecting portion, and a seat occupancy determining portion determining that an adult is seated on the seat in a case where a seating load equal to or greater than a predetermined first load is detected and determining a child seat placed state where a child seat is placed on the seat and fastened by the seatbelt in a case where the seating load smaller than the first load is detected and the engagement of the buckle of the seatbelt is detected. The seat occupancy determining portion maintains a determination result of the child seat placed state even when the seating load becomes equal to or greater than the first load in a case where a predetermined determination result retention condition is satisfied after the child seat placed state is determined.
US08433464B2 Method for simplifying torque distribution in multiple drive systems
A method is provided for monitoring the torque distribution in multiple drive systems, e.g., in hybrid drives. The hybrid drive includes at least two individual drives which are controlled via an engine control unit, in which a torque distribution of a setpoint torque MSETPOINT to the at least two individual drives takes place. After the torque distribution, the formation of a resulting torque MRES takes place which is compared continuously with a torque before the torque distribution.
US08433460B1 Onboard sensor suite for determining projectile velocity
An onboard sensor suite generally includes two main components: a proximity sensor suite for measuring the projectile muzzle velocity; and a pressure sensor suite for measuring the projectile airspeed. The flight velocity of the projectile can then be estimated with a high degree of accuracy using either the muzzle velocity by itself or the airspeed by itself, or, in a preferred embodiment, by using both the muzzle velocity and the airspeed. The proximity sensor suite includes proximity sensors that are mounted along a projectile body; a wire harness; and an onboard computer or CPU. The pressure sensor suite includes a Pitot pressure transducer and two static pressure transducers that are mounted within the projectile body; a wire harness; and a CPU.
US08433457B2 Environmental condition detecting system using geospatial images and associated methods
An environmental condition detecting system may include an image processor cooperating with a database for generating a reference geospatial image corresponding to the collected geospatial image, a change detector cooperating with the image processor for detecting a change between the collected geospatial image and the reference geospatial image, and an environmental condition detector. The environmental condition detector may cooperate with the change detector for detecting the at least one environmental condition associated with the collected geospatial image based upon the change between the collected geospatial image and the reference geospatial image. The at least one environmental condition may include at least one weather condition, such as, for example, at least one of image obscuration and surface reflectivity. The at least one environmental condition may additionally or alternatively include at least one of a time of day and a time of year.
US08433452B2 Method for load control using temporal measurements of energy for individual pieces of equipment
A method for load control in an electrical distribution system using energy usage profiles based on temporal measurements. A load control unit (10) installed at a customer site profiles equipment (E1-En) directly connected to the load control unit and remotely located equipment (RE1-REn) wirelessly connected to the load control unit using measurements of time rather than energy usage. This reduces the cost and complexity of the load control unit. Profiling is done for individual pieces of load controlled equipment rather than for the site as a whole. This improves data resolution. The load control unit controls the load only when the equipment is powered, and adaptively synchronizes load shedding during this time, so to improve local load control performance. Termination of a load control event results in gradual reduction in load shedding so to control the inrush of demand seen by the distribution system. Performance metrics related to the load control are provided to the utility such that complexity of the system is reduced through decreased computations.
US08433442B2 Methods for repurposing temporal-spatial information collected by service robots
Robots and methods implemented therein implement an active repurposing of temporal-spatial information. A robot can be configured to analyze the information to improve the effectiveness and efficiency of the primary service function that generated the information originally. A robot can be configured to use the information to create a three dimensional (3D) model of the facility, which can be used for a number of functions such as creating virtual tours of the environment, or porting the environment into video games. A robot can be configured to use the information to recognize and classify objects in the facility so that the ensuing catalog can be used to locate selected objects later, or to provide a global catalog of all items, such as is needed for insurance documentation of facility effects.
US08433436B2 Substrate processing system, substrate placing position adjusting method and storage medium
A substrate placing position adjusting method which acquires data on a substrate placing position where a substrate carrying unit is required to place a substrate on a substrate holding device capable of rotating about a vertical axis and included in a processing unit for processing a substrate substantially horizontally held by the substrate holding device, said substrate placing position adjusting method comprising the steps of: transferring a jig from the substrate carrying unit to the substrate holding device; measuring centrifugal acceleration imparted to a measuring position in the jig when the substrate holding device holding the jig is rotated at a fixed angular velocity; and calculating an eccentricity of the measuring position from a rotation center of the substrate holding device on the basis of a centrifugal acceleration.
US08433430B2 Cellular wireless telephone and audio codec therefor
The present invention provides an audio codec for converting digital audio signals to analogue audio signals, the audio codec comprising: two digital audio bus interfaces for coupling to respective digital audio buses; a digital-only signal path between the two digital audio bus interfaces, such that no analogue processing of the audio signals occurs in the digital-only signal path.
US08433425B2 Method, system and computer program product for dynamic rule engine for a wind turbine farm
In one aspect, embodiments of a method of configuring rules for SCADA data of a wind farm are described. One embodiment comprises receiving supervisory control and data acquisition (SCADA) data for a wind farm comprised of one or more wind turbines. The SCADA data includes parameters for the wind farm. At least a portion of the SCADA data for a selected group of the wind farm parameters is dynamically configured using a graphical user interface (GUI) that interfaces with a rules engine. The SCADA data is configured using one or more operators. At least a portion of the dynamically configured data is output.
US08433424B2 Implantable retention system and method
An implantable anchor for anchoring a lead or catheter relative to biological tissue, implantable system including such an anchor and a lead or catheter, and a method of use of such anchor. The anchor comprises a body having a channel adapted to receive a catheter or lead, and a cover mounted on the body for pivoting motion along a lateral axis, that is an axis that extends generally in the lateral direction perpendicular to the catheter or lead, between an open position in which the anchor is adapted to allow a lead or catheter to be placed in or moved along the channel, and a locked position in which the anchor is adapted to retain a lead or catheter within the channel.
US08433396B2 Methods and apparatus for atrioventricular search
In general, the invention provides for commencing an atrioventricular (AV) search in response to an indicator of an autonomic nervous system (ANS) activity. An implantable medical device (IMD) may be configured to apply this technique, and also to apply rate adaptive ventricular pacing. In response to ANS activity such as an abrupt increase in cardiac sympathetic nervous activity, the IMD performs an AV search to find the intrinsic AV interval of the patient. The invention includes selection of a maximum AV delay so that the AV search will not adversely affect hemodynamic function.
US08433394B2 Cardiac mapping
A non-contact cardiac mapping method is disclosed that includes: (i) inserting a catheter into a heart cavity having an endocardium surface, the catheter including multiple, spatially distributed electrodes; (ii) measuring signals at the catheter electrodes in response to electrical activity in the heart cavity with the catheter spaced from the endocardium surface; and (iii) determining physiological information at multiple locations of the endocardium surface based on the measured signals and positions of the electrodes with respect to the endocardium surface. Related systems and computer programs are also disclosed.
US08433385B2 Implantable medical device
An analyte measuring system has an implantable medical device having a signal source arranged for generating a current signal and electrodes for applying the current signal to a surrounding tissue in a subject body. The device measures a resulting voltage signal with the electrodes and calculates an impedance signal therefrom. The system comprises a signal processor arranged for generating an estimate of a concentration of an analyte in the tissue based on a spectrum analysis of the determined impedance signal.
US08433383B2 Stacked adhesive optical sensor
An optical sensor having a cover layer, an emitter disposed on a first side of the cover, a detector disposed on the first side of said cover, and a plurality of stacked independent adhesive layers disposed on the same first side of the cover, wherein the top most exposed adhesive layer is attached to a patient's skin. Thus, when the sensor is removed to perform a site check of the tissue location, one of the adhesive layers may also be removed and discarded, exposing a fresh adhesive surface below for reattachment to a patient's skin. The independent pieces of the adhesive layers can be serially used to extend the useful life of the product.
US08433377B1 Expendable and collapsible sound amplifying cellular phone case
A case is for a mobile device. The mobile device case comprises a body, a pop-up plate, an outer support plate, an inner support plate, wedge-shape bellow sound amplifier, first magnets, and a spring device. The pop-up plate has an edge hinged to a portion of the body so as to cover the cut-out opening of the body. The inner support plate is provided on an inner surface of the base groove so as to cover the cut-out opening, and the inner support plate comprises sound-guiding holes for guiding sound from the mobile device into a gap inside. The wedge-shape bellow sound amplifier is provided between the outer support plate and the inner support plate configured for amplifying the sound through the one or more sound-guiding holes from the mobile device.
US08433371B2 System and method for enabling DTMF detection in a VoIP network
A method, mobile terminal, and system for selectively establishing an outgoing caller ID on a mobile terminal served by a wireless network, for identifying a line called on a mobile terminal, and for directing a call from a mobile terminal to a network subscriber based on accessed information of the subscriber in the subscriber's network.
US08433369B2 Mobile terminal and method of using text data obtained as result of voice recognition
A mobile terminal has a sound obtaining unit configured to obtain a sound signal; a voice recognition unit configured to recognize the sound signal and convert the sound signal into a text data; a display unit configured to display the text data divided in a plurality of units; a selection unit configured to receive a selection of one of the units from the text data divided in the plurality of the units displayed on the display unit; and a control unit configured to perform a predetermined process corresponding to each of the units selected by the selection unit.
US08433368B2 Active link cable mesh
An active link wireless cable mesh network and a method for transmitting data in a wireless cable mesh network are provided. A plurality of end devices are connected in a mesh configuration. A data message is transmitted to a first end device via one of a plurality of antennas radiating elements which form a phased array antenna. If the message is not successfully received, the antenna radiating elements is steered to another transceiver in the mesh network to complete the transmission.
US08433364B1 Communication device
The communication device which includes a TV phone pausing visual data selecting implementer, a TV phone implementer, a TV phone pausing visual data transferring implementer, and a caller's information displaying implementer.
US08433360B2 Transmission power control method, and mobile communication system
A transmission power control method for controlling a transmission power of an E-HICH for uplink user data transmitted from a cell controlled by a radio base station to a mobile station, includes: notifying, from a radio network controller to at least one radio base station controlling a first cell and a second cell, offsets between the transmission power of the E-HICH and a transmission power of a DPCH, when a mobile station is performing a soft-handover with the first and second cell; determining, at the first cell, a transmission power of a first E-HICH based on a notified offset, and transmitting the first E-HICH to the mobile station using the determined transmission power; and determining, at the second cell, transmission power of a second E-HICH based on a notified offset, and transmitting the second E-HICH to the mobile station using the determined transmission power.
US08433350B2 Method for controlling inter-cell interference in a mobile communication system
A method for controlling inter-cell interference (ICI) in a mobile communication system by transmitting uplink control information from a base station in a home cell to a terminal of a neighboring cell based on ICI amount information measured at the base station. The ICI control method includes receiving an uplink signal at a base station and extracting inter-cell interference amount information from the uplink signal, generating uplink control information based on the extracted inter-cell interference amount information, and transmitting the uplink control information to a terminal in a neighboring cell. The terminal schedules an uplink resource including selecting frequency bands for an uplink signal by referring to the uplink control information.
US08433340B2 Method and apparatus in a CDMA communication system
A novel and improved method and apparatus, in a WCDMA communication system, for informing a mobile station of a downlink data frame time offset by determining the downlink data frame time offset, and transmitting the downlink data frame time offset via an Active Set Update message transmitted from a cell to mobile station. Once an Active Set Update message is received, the data frame time offset information is provided to a timing block which may determine data frame boundary of each downlink signal. Timing block may then adjust the PN sequence timing corresponding to the downlink signal associated with the data frame time offset such that corresponding data symbols in each data frame are correctly soft combined in a combiner.
US08433339B2 Method of and system for signal analysis in a wireless communications system
A method of and system for calibrating a repeater in a wireless communications system are provided. The one or more calibration parameters for the repeater are derived from (a) time measurements derived from one or more signals relayed by the repeater and received at a plurality of different measurement positions, and (b) the positions of the measurement locations. In one application, the one or more parameters are used in determining the positions of subscriber stations in the wireless communications system.
US08433336B2 Method for guiding route using augmented reality and mobile terminal using the same
Disclosed are a method for guiding a route by using augmented reality and a mobile terminal using the same. The method for guiding a route by a mobile terminal includes: receiving route source information from a first terminal; displaying a surrounding image of the first terminal including augmented reality (AR) information by a second terminal based on the received route source information; and providing, by the second terminal, a real time route guidance to the first terminal according to a user input with respect to the displayed surrounding image.
US08433325B2 Access class based picocell
Systems and methods for managing radio access point infrastructure such as picocells. A user equipment registration request is received at a node that manages a plurality of radio access points and enables connectivity with macro mobile communication services supplied by a service provide. In response to the user equipment request, a user equipment policy request is generated and sent to a policy database. A user equipment policy associated with the user equipment is received from the policy database, and thereafter user equipment traffic is treated in accordance with the user equipment policy.
US08433323B2 Communication terminal, base station controller and mobile communication method
A communication terminal according to the present invention includes a determination unit configured to determine whether or not each channel should be set as a handoff candidate on the basis of receiving quality of a pilot signal, and a channel information report transmitter configured to transmit a channel information report for setting a specific channel as a handoff candidate if the number of channels set as handoff candidates in the same sector reaches a predetermined number or more by setting the specific channel as a handoff candidate.
US08433321B2 Method and apparatus for intelligently reporting neighbor information to facilitate automatic neighbor relations
A method, apparatus and computer program product are provided for supplying information regarding a neighbor cell following cell reselection in a manner that reduces the signaling load on the network and conserves battery consumption by a mobile terminal. In this regard, the method, apparatus and computer program product do not blindly provide information regarding a neighbor cell that the current cell has already collected, but, instead, first determines if the neighbor information regarding a prior cell is different than and therefore will add to the information regarding neighbor cells that is already maintained by the current cell. Only after making such a determination may a mobile terminal signal the current cell as to the availability of neighbor information regarding a prior cell.
US08433317B2 Method of controlling home cell selection for a wireless communication system and related device
A method for saving power of a user equipment corresponding to home cell selection for a wireless communication system is disclosed. The user equipment includes a whitelist capable of providing a list of accessible home cells. The method includes clearing the whitelist of the user equipment when the user equipment roams to a visited network.
US08433308B2 Apparatuses and methods for updating configurations of radio resources with system information
A mobile communication device with a wireless module and a controller module is provided. The wireless module performs wireless transceiving to and from a service network. The controller module, configured in a connected mode according to configurations of at least one dedicated radio resource, receives a broadcast system information indicating configurations of common radio resources from the service network via the wireless module, and determines whether the common radio resources comprise at least one of the dedicated radio resource. Also, the controller module applies the configurations of the common radio resources, except for the dedicated radio resource comprised in the common radio resources, in response to the common radio resources comprising at least one of the dedicated radio resource.
US08433303B2 Systems and methods for user sessions with dynamic service selection
Under one aspect, a system generates dynamic call models within a network, allowing different user entities (UEs) to have different service experiences. The network includes application servers (ASs) and a switch that receives and then forwards UE service requests. The system includes storage media storing hierarchically organized data, which defines potential call models that map potential UE service requests onto ASs. At least two potential call models map a specified potential UE service request onto different ASs that can provide different service experiences. The system includes control logic for providing session control, which receives UE service requests from the switch, receives the hierarchically organized data from the storage media, generates a call model for each UE based on potential call models defined by the hierarchically organized data and on the requested service, and invokes a specified AS based on the generated call model.
US08433299B2 System for providing interactive media to user of mobile device
A system for mobile devices that facilitates the creation and dissemination of interactive media to a plurality of mobile devices. A computer or PC comprising an interactive media generator is used to generate interactive media and communicate it to a distribution server. Mobile devices have an interactive media client component to receive and present interactive media to a user.
US08433298B2 Enabling mid-call services to be added to a communication session by a wireless device
Mid-call services may be added to a communication session such as a telephone call (call session) by a wireless device on a mobile telephone network by causing the wireless device associated with the communication session to invoke a second call session directed to a vertical service code. The second call session is established on the wireless communication network and terminated on the PSTN to an application server associated with the vertical service code. The application server on the PSTN instantiates the service and matches the service associated with the vertical service code on the second call session with the first call session. The application server then applies the mid-call service associated with the vertical service code to the first call session to thus enable mid-call services to be applied to the first call session by the wireless device.
US08433296B2 Exclusive delivery of content within geographic areas
Application developers can request to have their applications registered for use with a content delivery platform. The operator of the content delivery platform establishes perimeters defining geographic areas, and maintains records reserving particular areas for delivery of content associated with particular sponsors. Registered applications running on mobile devices can request content from the content delivery platform. Based at least in part on the request, the content delivery platform can identify a target location, which may be the location of the mobile device, or some other location indicated in the request. A mobile device can be provided content based on the relationship of the target location to the geographic areas, so that a registered application running on a mobile device with a target location contained within a geographic area assigned to a particular sponsor will receive content related to that sponsor.
US08433288B2 Multilevel authentication
In an exemplary embodiment, a system includes a memory operable to store a user account identifier associated with a user account and store a mobile device identifier associated with a mobile device. The memory is also operable to store a first user credential and store a second user credential, the second user credential, wherein the second user credential comprises a peripheral device identifier. The system includes a network interface operable to receive a request to authenticate a requesting user. The system also includes a processor operable to determine information included in the request to facilitate authentication of the requesting user and whether the information included in the request matches the information associated with the user account. The processor is further operable to authenticate the requesting user if the request is associated with the user account and information included in the request matches the information associated with the user account.
US08433287B2 Femtocell authentication system and authentication method employing the same
A femtocell authentication system includes a femtocell in communication with an Internet protocol multimedia subsystem (IMS) network. The IMS network includes a gateway and a first server. The femtocell includes a global positioning system (GPS) module to obtain geolocation information of the femtocell and transmit the geolocation information to the first server. The first server includes a storage unit and a signal processing unit, the signal processing unit compares the geolocation information with a predetermined geolocation range value in the storage unit and allows the femtocell access to the IMS network according to a determination by the signal processing unit that the femtocell is within the predetermined geolocation range of the IMS network.
US08433285B2 Method and device for increasing complexity of password of communication terminal by setting character password through pictures
A method and apparatus for setting a graph password of a communication terminal are disclosed to solve the problem that the security of the traditional character password is lower. The method includes the following steps: in a case when a setting graph password instruction of a user is received and it is judged that no character password is set before, generating a graph interface with a plurality of loaded pictures, wherein, each loaded picture is randomly filled in a corresponding grid of a two-dimensional lattice of the graph interface; obtaining a picture identification (ID) and a coordinate value for setting a graph password by selecting at least one loaded picture in the graph interface as the picture corresponding to the graph password; converting the picture ID and the coordinate value for setting the graph password into a character password and storing the character password, finishing setting the graph password.
US08433284B1 Landline-mobile sharing device and method
A call processing system and respective method receives inbound calls having a first reference identification, generates a forwarding call to a subsequent, preprogrammed device using a second reference identification, and connects the inbound call with the forwarding call. The forwarding call connects the call processing system with the end user's cellular telephone. The end user establishes a service agreement with their service provider, wherein all calls between the subscriber's cellular telephone and the reference identification associated with the call processing system are considered as unaccountable or free airtime. The call processing system can offer the inbound caller options, including accessing a dial tone, call forwarding, continuing the dialed call, or terminating the call. The call processing system can include a series of telephony connections, Ethernet connections, Universal Serial Bus connections, etc. The call processing system can include common router and network switching capabilities for added versatility.
US08433282B2 Emergency service handover method
The present invention discloses an emergency service handover method which is applied in a single radio voice service system. A UE has established an emergency session between an IMS domain and an emergency call center via LTE/SAE network, wherein the emergency session is anchored to a service centralization and continuity application server, SCC AS, at a visited location. When MSC obtains information that the UE having established the emergency session needs to be switched to a CS domain, an enhanced MSC initiates a session establishment request to the visited SCC AS for performing a handover from the IMS domain to the CS domain on a service layer.
US08433279B2 Method of sending and receiving call with specific request
A specific code indicative of a specific request is used to provide a communication device with an ability to send specific calls, such as emergency calls and silent calls, and the ability to distinguish the specific calls from the received calls. A method of sending a call includes generating a specific code indicative of a specific request, adding the specific code to a call, and then sending the call to a receiver for notifying the receiver of the specific request. A method of receiving a call includes determining whether a received call comprises a specific code indicative of a specific request, and generating an indication in response to the specific request when the received call is determined to comprise the specific code.
US08433273B2 Increasing sensitivity of radio receiver
A direct-conversion radio receiver is provided. The receiver includes a first measurement unit configured to measure a signal level of a received signal at an input of the receiver. The receiver also includes a gain controller configured to stepwise adjust at least a front-end gain and a baseband gain of the receiver when the signal level of the received signal at the input of the receiver exceeds a given sensitivity level, and adjust the front-end gain with at least one further gain step when the input signal level is below the given sensitivity level.
US08433261B2 RF communications device with inverse function for coupler therein and related methods
A radio frequency (RF) communications device may include a power amplifier, an antenna, a tunable coupler between the power amplifier and the antenna, a processor, and an exciter module coupled between the processor and the power amplifier and generating an RF signal based upon a baseband signal. The processor may be configured to set the tunable coupler to a desired tuning and thereby defining a transfer function for the tunable coupler, and to generate an inverse transfer function of the transfer function of the tunable coupler. The processor may be configured to perform digital filtering upstream of the power amplifier based upon the inverse transfer function.
US08433254B2 System and method for frequency offsetting of information communicated in MIMO-based wireless networks
A communications system includes a multiple-input/multiple-output (MIMO) architecture for high capacity switched mesh networks. The MIMO architecture has a plurality of radio frequency chains. One of the plurality of radio frequency chains is configured to apply a first frequency offset to a base frequency of an output signal to generate a first transmitting frequency; and another of the plurality of radio frequency chains being configured to apply a second frequency offset to the base frequency to generate a second transmitting frequency. The system uses the carrier frequency offset to lock the clock of the master subsystem to the clock of the slave subsystem, thereby enabling bandwidth expansion to be employed on the MIMO data streams.
US08433250B2 Estimating whether a wireless terminal is indoors using pattern classification
A method and apparatus for estimating whether or not a wireless terminal is indoors are disclosed. The illustrative embodiment employs a pattern classifier that is trained on a plurality of input/output mappings, where each mapping corresponds to a respective location, the output of the mapping is a Boolean value that indicates whether the location is indoors, and the input of the mapping is based on empirical and predicted signal data for the location. In accordance with the illustrative embodiment, a computer-executable program is generated based on the trained pattern classifier. The computer-executable program estimates whether or not a wireless terminal is indoors based on empirical data reported by the terminal, and on a location estimate for the terminal that might be crude or inaccurate (e.g., based on Cell Identifier [Cell-ID], GPS, etc.).
US08433235B2 Fixing device and image forming apparatus
A fixing device, in which an unfixed image carried by a recording medium is passed through a fixing nip part being pressed by a fixing rotative body and a pressuring rotative body, and is fixed to the recording medium, is disclosed, including: a pressing part, and control part. The pressing part applies a pressure to the fixing nip part. The control part controls the pressure to be applied to the fixing nip part by the pressing part, to be lower than a case in which the recording medium passes through a curl correcting part for correcting a curl of the recording medium, when the recording medium does not pass through the curl correcting part.
US08433229B2 Fixing device, image forming apparatus and fixing method
A fixing device including: a fixing member that is heated; a pressure member to form a nip portion between the pressure member and the fixing member; first blowing unit and second blowing unit both located close to an outlet of the nip portion and separate the recording medium from the fixing member by blowing air to the recording medium, a velocity of the air discharged from the first unit is higher than that of the air discharged from the second unit, whereas a volume of the air discharged from the first unit is smaller than that of the air discharged from the second unit; and the first unit starts discharging air before a leading edge of the recording medium reaches the outlet of the nip portion, whereas the second unit starts discharging air after the leading edge of the recording medium has passed through the outlet of the nip portion.
US08433226B2 Image forming apparatus and transfer device including image carrier belt and driver roller
An image forming apparatus including: a belt-shaped image carrier configured to carry an image; a first imaging unit configured to transfer a first image to the image carrier; a second imaging unit configured to transfer a second image to the image carrier on which the first image is transferred by the first imaging unit; a drive roller configured to circulate the image carrier by winding the image carrier thereon; a roller on which the image carrier is wound; a transfer roller having a concaved portion on part of a circumferential surface thereof which comes into abutment with the image carrier wound around the roller via a recording material; a drive unit configured to drive the transfer roller; and a gripping portion disposed in the concaved portion and configured to grip the recording material.
US08433216B2 Image forming apparatus
An image forming apparatus that has a monochrome mode and a full color mode as image forming modes, includes: a power supply unit configured to supply power thereto; a main power switch configured to turn on and off the power supply unit; a mode switching unit configured to selectively and manually be switched between the monochrome mode and the full color mode, wherein the main power switch and the mode switching unit are integrally formed as one mode switch; a power supply interrupting unit configured to interrupt power supply to a part that is necessary to form an image in a mode other than the monochrome mode, when the mode switch is set to the monochrome mode.
US08433212B2 Image forming apparatus setting different target temperatures of an image heating device depending on the image forming modes
An image forming apparatus includes: a device for forming a toner image on a sheet; a heater contacting and heating the toner image on the sheet; a detector for detecting a temperature of the heater a controller for controlling the heater to maintain the temperature of the heater at a target temperature based on an output of the detector; a selector for selecting a first mode continuously forming images on thin sheets, a second mode continuously forming images on thick sheets, and a third mode continuously forming images on the thin sheet and the thick sheet; and a setter for setting the target temperature based on the selected mode, wherein the target temperature in the second mode is higher than the target temperature in the first mode, and the target temperature in the third mode is higher than the target temperature in the second mode.
US08433209B2 Inspection apparatus, control method of inspection apparatus, and storage medium
If a print misregistration amount on a sheet is larger than a predetermined threshold before determining whether a printed image is appropriate or not, an abnormal status of the image printed on the sheet is detected without correcting image data for inspection. A control method for controlling a detecting apparatus for inspecting a print status of an image printed on a sheet by a printing apparatus includes detecting, in a case where it is determined that a print misregistration amount of the image printed on the sheet with respect to the sheet is larger than a predetermined threshold, an abnormality of the print status of the image read by a reading unit without performing correction.
US08433207B2 Optical signal concentrator and optical receiver using the same
Disclosed are an optical signal concentrator and an optical receiver for wireless optical communication. The concentrator includes a diffusion sheet and a light guide plate positioned below the diffusion sheet for guiding diffused optical signals perpendicularly to the incident direction the diffused optical signals, the light guide plate being formed with at least one concentric circle pattern facing the diffusion sheet. The receiver includes an optical signal concentrator including a diffusion sheet, a light guide plate positioned below the diffusion sheet for guiding the optical signals perpendicularly to the incident direction the diffused optical signals, one or more optical detectors for detecting light projected to the side of the light guide plate, and a reflection plate for reflecting light incident to the light guide plate.
US08433201B2 Dynamic gain equalizer-monitor
A dynamic gain equalizer-monitor (DGEM) includes a light modulator operable to modulate one or more component wavelengths of an input optical signal. The DGEM also includes a grating operable to receive one or more modulated component wavelengths from the light modulator. The grating is also operable to combine a first portion of each of the one or more modulated component wavelengths and transmit that first portion into an output optical signal. The DGEM may also include a detector array operable to receive, from the grating, a second portion of modulated component wavelengths that are separated from the first portion by the grating. The detector array is operable to generate an electrical signal proportional to an optical characteristic associated with each of the modulated component wavelengths of the second portion.
US08433193B2 Systems and methods for channel power offsets for multi data rate DWDM transmission over optical add drop multiplexers
The present disclosure provides systems and methods for channel power offsets for multi-rate dense wave division multiplexed (DWDM) transmission over optical add-drop multiplexers (OADMs). The present invention includes algorithms to set power levels of each type of channel in different sections of a fiber system to optimize the performance of that type of channel at the receiver. For example, the present invention can optimize power levels based on different channel modulation formats, bit rates, channel spacings, and the like. Advantageously, the present invention improves the total capacity (bit rate) and reach that channels of a given bit rate can achieve, and maximizes the reach of channels without sacrificing capacity.
US08433181B2 Apparatus and method for recording digital multimedia broadcasting
A broadcasting recording apparatus including a broadcasting communication unit configured to request and receive a broadcast from a broadcasting system, and a recording unit configured to record the broadcast received by the broadcasting communication unit at an image quality set at the broadcasting communication unit.
US08433180B2 Search tool
A method of selecting a starting image at which to start displaying an image stream comprises the iterative steps of displaying a plurality of candidate images from within the image stream for selection by a user of the closest candidate image, and displaying a plurality of candidate images from within a time range of the image stream close to the candidate image selected by the user in response to the first step. This allows very fast and effective selection of a starting image. It can be used to quickly skip advertisement break within a recorded television program.
US08433176B2 Information recording method, information recording medium, and information reproducing method, wherein information is stored on a data recording portion and a management information recording portion
With this invention, at least one of a video file containing video information, a still picture file containing still picture information, and an audio file containing audio information and a management file having management information on a control method of reproducing the information in the file are recorded on an information storage medium. This realizes a data structure that causes the recording and deleting places on the information storage medium to correspond spuriously to places on a single tape, such as a VTR tape. Use of the data structure provides users with an easy-to-use interface.
US08433174B2 Adjusting video processing in a system having a video source device and a video sink device
One of a video source device and a video sink device may: (a) deactivate a video processing function at the one device and send a command for causing the other of the video source device and the video sink device to activate the video processing function; (b) activate the video processing function at the one device and send a command for causing the other device to deactivate the video processing function; and (c) based on user input indicating whether (a) or (b) resulted in a preferred video image, effect (a) or (b). The one device may receive an indication of video processing functions of which the other device is capable, such that (a), (b) and (c) may be performed for each indicated video processing function of which the one device is also capable. A user interface including at least one selectable control for indicating whether a video image resulting from (a) or (b) is preferred may be displayed.
US08433171B2 High fiber optic cable packing density apparatus
A fiber optic apparatus comprising a fiber optic equipment and a routing region at the fiber optic equipment is disclosed. At least 98 optical fibers, at least 434 optical fibers, at least 866 optical fibers, and at least 1152 optical fibers route in the routing region per 1-U shelf space, wherein a maximum 10−12 bit-error-rate and 0.75 dB attenuation is maintained per duplex optical signal carried by the optical fibers. Additionally, the routing region may be configured such that one or more of the optical fibers make a maximum of one bend in the routing region and route generally horizontally in the routing region. One or more of the optical fibers may be terminated simplex, duplex fiber or multiple fiber optic connectors.
US08433146B2 Method for encoding image using color space estimation
An image encoding method using color space estimation is provided. The image encoding method of the present invention selects an estimation mode of a current pixel to a color space estimation mode, a space estimation mode, or a combination mode of the color space estimation and the space estimation based on directionality of neighbor pixels and a size of a residual component. Using information between color spaces in the image encoding process, the image compression efficiency can be raised and the lossless image compression can be achieved by ruling out similarity of pixel values.
US08433137B2 Image retrieval apparatus
This invention discloses an image retrieval apparatus. The image retrieval apparatus comprises an unlabelled image selector for selecting one or more unlabelled image(s) from an image database; and a main learner for training in each feedback round of the image retrieval, estimating relevance of images in the image database and a user's intention, and determining retrieval results, wherein the main learner makes use of the unlabelled image(s) selected by the unlabelled image selector in the estimation. In addition, the image retrieval apparatus may also include an active selector for selecting, in each feedback round and according to estimation results of the main learner, one or more unlabelled image(s) from the image database for the user to label.
US08433127B1 Systems and methods for real-time validation of check image quality
Systems and methods for real-time validation of check image quality and readability of MICR line data are provided. A check image received by a financial institution can be assessed during a customer on-line session, so that the customer is informed in real-time whether the image is acceptable. Received check images are used to produce images in another format, which are then analyzed for specified requirements.
US08433118B2 Medical image-processing apparatus and method, and magnetic resonance imaging apparatus
A medical image-processing apparatus includes a display unit configured to display a plurality of medical images obtained at different imaging positions, a setting unit configured to set a point of interest on each of the medical images in accordance with an operation of an operator, an alignment unit configured to align the medical images on the display unit, with the points of interest on the medical images made to coincide with each other, and a post-processing unit configured to perform post processing concerning the medical images aligned by the alignment unit.
US08433116B2 Showing skin lesion information
Among other things, on a two-dimensional electronic display, a representation is shown of a scanned image of a lesion on the skin of a real human. On the two-dimensional electronic display, a recommendation is indicated of a next diagnostic or treatment step to be taken, based on a computer-implemented analysis of the scanned image.
US08433102B2 Surface roughness inspection system
[Problem] To provide a surface roughness inspection system enabling suitable inspection even when the surface of the object being inspected is curved.[Means for Solution] A system having an imaging unit 20 having a line sensor 22 and scanning the surface of an object being inspected 101 in a direction perpendicular to the direction of extension of the line sensor 22 and outputting a density signal for each pixel from the line sensor 22 and a processing unit 50 processing the density signal from the line sensor 22 of the imaging unit 20, the processing unit 50 having a means for acquiring a pixel density value based on a density signal from the line sensor 22 (S2) and a density state generating means for generating a density state information Pf showing the density state in the scan direction of the object surface based on all of the pixel density values acquired for the object surface 101 being inspected (S7).
US08433100B2 Lane recognition device
The lane mark recognition device is equipped with a lane mark detecting unit which executes a lane mark detection process in each predetermined control cycle, and adds a detection presence/absence data to a ring buffer, a detection presence/absence data addition inhibiting unit which inhibits addition of the detection presence/absence data to the ring buffer when the vehicle is traveling in the intersection, and a lane mark position recognizing unit which recognizes a relative position of the vehicle and the lane mark, when the lane mark is detected in the situation where a lane mark detection rate calculated from the data of the ring buffer is higher than a reliability threshold value.
US08433097B2 Subject tracking device, subject tracking method, subject tracking program product and optical device
A subject tracking device includes: a tracking zone setting unit that sets an area where a main subject is present within a captured image as a tracking zone; a tracking unit that tracks the main subject based upon an image output corresponding to the tracking zone; and an arithmetic operation unit that determines through arithmetic operation image-capturing conditions based upon an image output corresponding to a central area within the tracking zone.
US08433096B2 Operation control map, display unit, and white line detection apparatus
An operation control map of a white line detection apparatus, including a white line detection portion that detects a white line on a road based on a captured image of the road surface, that references the operation control map to determine whether to allow operation of the white line detection portion. The operation control map includes a region in which operation of the white line detection is allowed, and a region in which operation is not allowed, based on the gain of a road surface image signal and the temperature of a road surface imaging portion. The allowed region is set if the reduced accuracy of white line detection, due to the thermal noise generated in the solid-state imaging sensor, falls within an acceptable range, and the disallowed region is set if the reduced accuracy of white line detection falls outside of the acceptable range.
US08433090B1 Ribbon microphone with rounded magnet motor assembly, backwave chamber, and phantom powered JFET circuit
A novel ribbon microphone incorporates rounded-edge magnet motor assembly, a backwave chamber, and a phantom-powered JFET circuit. In one embodiment of the invention, one or more novel rounded-edge magnets may be placed close to a ribbon of the ribbon microphone, wherein the one or more novel rounded-edge magnets reduce or minimize reflected sound wave interferences with the vibration of the ribbon during an operation of the ribbon microphone. Furthermore, in one embodiment of the invention, a novel backwave chamber operatively connected to a backside of the ribbon can minimize acoustic pressure, anomalies in frequency responses, and undesirable phase cancellation and doubling effects. Moreover, in one embodiment of the invention, a novel phantom-powered JFET preamplifier gain circuit can minimize undesirable sound distortions and reduce the cost of producing a conventional preamplifier gain circuit.
US08433083B2 Dental bone conduction hearing appliance
An intra-oral hearing appliance includes an actuator to provide bone conduction sound transmission; a transceiver coupled to the actuator to cause the actuator to generate sound; and a first chamber containing the actuator and the transceiver, said first chamber adapted to be coupled to one or more teeth.
US08433079B1 Modified limiter for providing consistent loudness across one or more input tracks
A modified limiter of the present invention produces a consistent loudness level across one or more input tracks. The modified limiter has a target threshold, wherein signal levels below the target threshold are adjusted. The signal levels below the target threshold are adjusted by using an upward expander, which is not a time-based parameter but, instead, is based on signal levels only. A release target of the modified limiter is a highest peak within a look-ahead delay. The modified limiter is highly optimized as compared to other look-ahead limiters. As such, its processing footprint on an application such as audio management software like iTunes™, or a consumer music playback device like an iPod™, is minimal. The modified limiter is also able to be used in other technologies, such as but not limited to cell phones like an iPhone™ and set-top boxes like an Apple TV™.
US08433076B2 Electronic apparatus for generating beamformed audio signals with steerable nulls
An electronic apparatus is provided having a front side and a rear side oriented in opposite directions along a first axis, and a right-side and a left-side oriented in opposite directions along a second axis that is perpendicular to the first axis. A null control signal is generated based on an imaging signal. A first microphone located near the right-side of an electronic apparatus generates a first signal and a second microphone located near the left-side of the electronic apparatus generates a second signal. The first and second signals are processed, based on the null control signal, to generate a right beamformed audio signal having a first directional pattern having at least one first null, and a left beamformed audio signal having a second directional pattern having at least one second null. A first angular location (α) of the at least one first null and a second angular location (β) of the at least one second null are steered based on the null control signal.
US08433071B2 In situ measurement
In-situ measurement comprises two consecutive measurements (open ear gain and in-situ gain), from which a result is formed by forming a difference. For the two measurements, it is important that the in-situ tube is positioned in the same place in the auditory canal. Otherwise there are different level and phase ratios, such that the result obtained from the formation of a difference is not meaningful. Thus, the in-situ tube is permanently connected to the ear plug, as a result of which the positioning of the in-situ tube remains the same for both measurements.
US08433063B2 Horizontal copper patching assembly
Assemblies and methods are provided for facilitating copper-wire patching. More particularly, the assemblies and methods involve mounting patch ports arranged along a horizontal plane (horizontally-aligned) with respect to a tray. The tray is movably mounted with respect to a cabinet enclosure, e.g., via a pivotal or translational (sliding) relationship, thereby providing easy access to the ports. The horizontally-aligned configuration advantageously increases patching density within a cabinet structure while maintaining port accessibility.
US08433061B2 Reducing echo
Far-end audio signal data generated by a far-end device during voice cross-talk between the far-end device and a near-end device is received via a network. Energy levels of frequency components of the received far-end audio signal data are determined. Near-end audio signal data produced by a microphone array is received, the near-end audio signal data including components contributed by a loudspeaker playing at least some of the far-end audio signal data. Which frequency components of the near-end audio signal data to use to compute likely near-end sound source directions is controlled dynamically, where the controlling is based on the determined energy levels of the frequency components of the received far-end audio signal data.
US08433060B2 Method and system for stereo echo cancellation for VoIP communication systems
An exemplary embodiment of the present invention is directed toward a method and system for cancelling line echo in the presence of a known secondary audio signal. Filter adaption is enabled in the presence of a known secondary audio source such as the sound of a computer game, a music signal or other secondary audio sources that would otherwise prevent echo cancellation due to an apparent double talk condition. It is emphasized that this abstract is provided to comply with the rules requiring an abstract which will allow a searcher or other reader to quickly ascertain the subject matter of the technical disclosure. It is submitted with the understanding that it will not be used to interpret or limit the scope or the meaning of the claims.
US08433056B2 Validated signal resumption in DSL systems
An apparatus includes a DSL transceiver configured to transit to a DSL wait state in which a power transmitted from the DSL transceiver to a local-end line is substantially reduced in response to an interruption or substantial stop at the DSL transceiver of reception of DSL communications from the local-end line. The DSL transceiver is configured to transmit to the local-end line a DSL acknowledge signal in response to receiving from the local-end line a DSL wait signal. The DSL transceiver is configured to resume to transmit DSL communications to the local-end line at a power substantially higher than the power transmitted thereto in the DSL wait state in response either to receiving from the local-end line DSL transmissions at a substantially higher power than received there from in the DSL wait state or to receiving from the local-end line a second DSL acknowledge signal.
US08433055B2 Services and transactions in a telephony network
A telecommunication method and system are described. A request in a telephony network is received for a communication connection between a caller and a call recipient. A call connect command is received from the caller. In response to the call connect command and before conventional routing to connect the communication, the caller is notified of at least one offering. The communication connection is routed between the caller and the call recipient after the caller is notified of the at least one offering.
US08433052B2 System and method for requesting additional telephone numbering information for reporting
A system for determining whether to request additional telephone number resources for a telecommunications carrier. The system includes a first database operated by a telecommunications carrier and configured to store data indicative of telephone number usage and ENUM usage of telephone numbers assigned to the telecommunications carrier. The system further includes a computing device in communication with a multiple databases via a network, the multiple databases may contain telephone number usage information associated with multiple telecommunications carriers. The computing device executes software to query the first and multiple databases to retrieve information associated with the telecommunications carrier (i) to determine current utilization of telephone numbers of a rate center and (ii) to determine months to exhaust of telephone numbers and automatically generate a report utilizing the current utilization and months to exhaust in response to determining the current utilization and months to exhaust.
US08433049B2 Communication device and communication method thereof
A communication device provides a face detection module and a face recognition module. The face detection module detects faces in a photo input by a user. The face recognition module searches the detected faces in a storage system of the communication device. If the detected faces do not exist in the storage system, the communication device prompts the user to edit communication information of the detected faces. If the user wants to dial a phone number, the communication device searches the storage system for the phone number of a selected face in a photo and dials the phone number. If a phone number is calling in, the communication device displays a photo corresponding to the phone number, and highlights a face corresponding to the phone number.
US08433048B2 System and method to direct telephone calls to advertisers
A system and method for highlighting telephone numbers that are sponsored by advertisers on electronic content, and directing voice calls to those numbers to the corresponding advertiser. The call advertising system receives parameters of an advertising campaign from an advertiser, including telephone numbers in the campaign and an amount per call that the advertiser is willing to pay. The call advertising system transmits an indication of the advertised telephone numbers to a voice communication system. The voice communication system, upon determining that a campaign number is contained in electronic content, can to indicate to users that a call can be made at a rate reduced from what a user would normally pay in order. When the user calls the number, the voice communications system directs the call to the advertiser. The call advertising system tracks the call so that the advertiser can be charged the per-call amount.
US08433034B2 Localization of an element of interest by XRF analysis of different inspection volumes
An apparatus and method are disclosed for localizing an element of interest in a sample by comparing XRF spectra acquired from at least two distinct but overlapping inspection volumes. The inspection volumes are varied by changing the geometry of the exciting x-ray and/or fluoresced x-ray beam(s), which may be accomplished by repositioning multi-apertured collimators. Comparison of the XRF spectra acquired from different inspection volumes provides an indication as to whether the element of interest (e.g., lead) is present in a coating layer, in the underlying bulk material, or in both.
US08433031B2 X-ray CT apparatus
An X-ray CT apparatus includes a first setting device configured to set on a scout image of a subject, a reconstruction range of a tilt image based on a desired tilt angle such that the tilt image includes a region of interest of the subject, a second setting device configured to set on the scout image a range as a scan range for a non-tilt scan, the range being placed on an inner side of a scan range necessary to reconstruct the tilt image with respect to all scan spaces in the reconstruction range, wherein the range includes the region of interest, a scan execution device configured to execute the non-tilt scan on the scan range, and a reconstruction device configured to reconstruct the tilt image including at least the region of interest with respect to the reconstruction range based on projection data acquired during the non-tilt scan.
US08433026B2 Multi-rate digital phase locked loop
A Digital Phase-Locked Loop (DPLL) involves a Time-to-Digital Converter (TDC) that receives a Digitally Controlled Oscillator (DCO) output signal and a reference clock and outputs a first stream of digital values. The TDC is clocked at a high rate. Downsampling circuitry converts the first stream into a second stream. The second stream is supplied to a phase detecting summer of the DPLL such that a control portion of the DPLL can switch at a lower rate to reduce power consumption. The DPLL is therefore referred to as a multi-rate DPLL. A third stream of digital tuning words output by the control portion is upsampled before being supplied to the DCO so that the DCO can be clocked at the higher rate. In a receiver application, no upsampling is performed and the DCO is clocked at the lower rate.
US08433025B2 Digital phase-locked loop with gated time-to-digital converter
A digital PLL (DPLL) includes a time-to-digital converter (TDC) and a control unit. The TDC is periodically enabled for a short duration to quantize phase information and disabled for the remaining time to reduce power consumption. The TDC receives a first clock signal and a first reference signal and provides a TDC output indicative of the phase difference between the first clock signal and the first reference signal. The control unit generates an enable signal based on a main reference signal and enables and disables the TDC with the enable signal. In one design, the control unit delays the main reference signal to obtain the first reference signal and a second reference signal, generates the enable signal based on the main reference signal and the second reference signal, and gates a main clock signal with the enable signal to obtain the first clock signal for the TDC.
US08433019B2 System and apparatus for synchronization between heterogeneous periodic clock domains, circuit for detecting synchronization failure and data receiving method
The present invention relates to a system and an apparatus for synchronization between heterogeneous periodic clock domains, a synchronization failure detecting circuit, and a data receiving method. The synchronization system between heterogeneous periodic clock domains including a sender and a receiver operated according to heterogeneous periodic first clock and second clock, respectively, includes: a sender that outputs a prediction clock obtained by delaying the first clock for a first time; and a receiver that predicts success and failure of synchronization between the first clock and the second clock by using the prediction clock and selectively delays the second clock for a second time according to the predicted results to synchronize the second clock with the first clock.
US08433013B2 Receiver and electronic device using the same
A receiver includes an oscillator for generating a local oscillator signal, a frequency converter for heterodyning a received signal of one frequency band or a plurality of frequency bands into an intermediate frequency (IF) signals with using the local oscillator signal, a filter connected to an output of the frequency converter and having a cut-off frequency changeable, an analog-digital (AD) converter connected to an output of the filter to convert an analog signal of one frequency band or a plurality of frequency bands into a digital signal, a pre-stage detector connected to an output of the AD converter or connected between the filter and the AD converter to detect a signal level, and a controller for controlling the cut-off frequency of the filter based on the signal level detected by the pre-stage detector.
US08433010B2 Reception device, integrated circuit, digital television receiver, reception method, and reception program
An orthogonal transform subunit 14 separates a reception signal into carriers on a per-symbol basis. In a channel characteristics estimation subunit 15, (i) an SP channel characteristics estimation part 20 calculates channel characteristics at carriers to which SPs are allocated, by using signals output from the orthogonal transform subunit 14, (ii) a symbol direction interpolation part 30 interpolates, in the symbol (time) direction, signals output from the SP channel characteristics estimation part 20, (iii) a TMCC channel characteristics estimation part 40 calculates channel characteristics at carriers to which TMCCs are allocated, by using signals output from the orthogonal transfer subunit 14, and (iv) an adaptive interpolation part 50 calculates filter coefficients by using signals output from the symbol direction interpolation part 30 and the TMCC channel characteristics estimation part 40, and adaptively interpolates signals output from the symbol direction interpolation part 30 by using values of the calculated filter coefficients.
US08432996B2 Transmitter
A transmitter includes an OFDM symbol generator for generating an effective symbol including a plurality of sub-carriers orthogonal to each other in frequency and sequentially generating an OFDM symbol in which a signal in a first period from a first end of the effective symbol is added to a second end of the effective symbol as a guard interval, and a convolution filter for performing an convolution operation on data strings at a plurality of sampling points of the OFDM symbol, wherein when the convolution filter performs a convolution operation on the first data strings including a data string at the first end of the effective symbol, the convolution filter performs the convolution operation on the first data strings in which a data string at the second end of the effective symbol is cyclically added to a data string at the first end.
US08432993B2 Using spatial properties of MIMO channels for enhanced channel estimation in MIMO systems
An apparatus for estimating a channel response associated with a multiple input/multiple output (MIMO) system includes an antenna that receives multiple pilot symbols, each of the multiple pilot symbols transmitted from a different one of multiple transmit antennas of a transmitter in the MIMO system. The apparatus further includes a channel estimator that determines spatial, time and frequency correlations of channels of the MIMO system among the multiple transmit antennas when estimating a channel response associated with the MIMO system based on multiple ones of the received plurality of pilot symbols.
US08432989B2 Max-log stack decoder
A method for demodulating signals in a multi-input multi-output (MIMO) receiver includes obtaining a transformed vector by a coordinate transformation of a received observation vector using a unitary matrix determined through QR decomposition of an estimated channel matrix; maintaining a list containing nodes along with a cost metric for each node; using the list to generate soft-outputs in the form of log-likelihood ratios (LLRs) for selected symbols of interest, based on the transformed vector and a lower triangular matrix determined through QR decomposition of the estimated channel matrix and the constellations to which the input symbols belong.
US08432988B2 System and method for quantization of channel state information
A system and method for quantization of channel state information is provided. A method for operating in a wireless communications system includes estimating a communications channel between a controller and a mobile device, thereby producing a channel estimate, parameterizing the channel estimate with principal angle vectors Θ and Φ, quantizing the principal angle vectors, thereby producing quantized values, and transmitting the quantized values to the controller.
US08432987B2 Method and apparatus for multiple antenna communications, and related systems and computer program
An embodiment of an arrangement detects sequences of digitally modulated symbols from multiple sources. The arrangement identifies a suitable set of candidate values for at least one transmitted sequence of symbols and determines for each candidate value a set of sequences of transmitted symbols. The arrangement estimates at least one further set of sequences of transmitted symbols, calculates a metric for each sequence of transmitted symbols, and selects the sequence that maximizes the metric. At the end, a-posteriori bit soft output information for the selected sequence is calculated from the metrics for said sequences. Generally, these calculations are based on the information coming from a channel-state-information matrix and a-priori information on the modulated symbols from a second module, such as a forward error-correction-code (ECC) decoder.
US08432977B2 Information processing apparatus and signal transmission method
There is provided an information processing apparatus including an encoding unit that represents input data containing mutually different first and second bit values by a plurality of first amplitude values for the first bit value and a second amplitude value that is different from the first amplitude values for the second bit value, does not take an identical value consecutively, and perform encoding so that polarity of the amplitude value is reversed for each cycle, and a transmission unit that transmits a signal encoded by the encoding unit through a predetermined transmission line.
US08432976B2 System and method for detecting field order of video sequences
The invention provides a method, system and computer program product for detecting field order of a video sequence. The method includes processing a top and bottom field picture of a first frame and a second frame, in which the first and second frames are consecutive frames of a video sequence. Difference frames are obtained by calculating the difference of the top and bottom field pictures of the first and second frames. Thereafter, field order is detected using the difference frames.
US08432966B2 Communication apparatus and control method for communication apparatus
A signaling unit of a display terminal establishes communication with a content server, video communication terminal, and PC server through a communication unit, and transmits/receives image data compressed by MPEG2, MPEG4, and JPEG. A media control unit switches compression schemes for decoding in a media processing unit on the basis of the received image data. The media processing unit performs decoding processing including inverse orthogonal transformation processing and dequantization processing in accordance with the switched compression scheme. At this time, a single processing circuit performs inverse orthogonal transformation processing and dequantization processing.
US08432965B2 Efficient method for assembling key video snippets to form a video summary
A method for forming a video summary for a digital video sequence. The method includes capturing a digital video sequence with a digital video capture device, wherein the digital video sequence includes a plurality of video frames. At least one of the video frames in the digital video sequence is analyzed at the time the digital video sequence is captured to determine one or more feature values. The digital video sequence; is compressed and stored in a processor-accessible memory. The feature values are analyzed, without decompressing the stored compressed digital video sequence, to identify one or more key video snippets, each key video snippet corresponding to a set of video frames from the digital video sequence. The key video snippets are assembled to form a video summary which is stored in a processor-accessible memory.
US08432964B2 Image processing device, method, and program
The present invention relates to an image processing apparatus and a method and a program that enable an amount of code to be suppressed below a desired value with more reliability. An emergency mode determining section 142 determines that the amount of code of a next picture is likely to exceed an upper limit if a target bit calculated by a rate controlling section 118 exceeds a predetermined upper limit. If it is determined that the amount of code of the next picture is likely to exceed the upper limit, the code amount controlling section 142 controls an orthogonal transducing section 114 to replace a transform coefficient of a predetermined frequency component with zero, controls an intra predicting section 125 to restrict intra prediction modes to be applied, and controls a mode determining section 127 to restrict inter prediction modes to be applied. The prevent invention can be applied to an encoding apparatus.
US08432963B2 Method for encoding signals, related system and program product
A system for encoding digital signals for transmission over a channel by allocating redundant channel encoding bits, includes at least one encoder configured for: subjecting the digital signals to multiple description coding to produce therefrom multiple description encoded signals, and allocating at least part of the redundant channel encoding bits to the multiple description encoded signals.
US08432961B2 Transmitting/receiving system and method of processing broadcast signal in transmitting/receiving system
A transmitting system, a receiving system, and a method of processing broadcast signals are disclosed. The receiving system includes a tuner, a channel equalizer, a storage unit, an inner decoder, a deinterleaver, an outer decoder, and an interleaver. The tuner receives a broadcast signal including a data group. The channel equalizer channel-equalizes the broadcast signal. The storage unit stores mobile service data included in the channel-equalized broadcast signal, and repeatedly outputs the stored mobile service data for a predetermined number of turbo decoding iterations. The inner decoder matches the mobile service data being outputted from the storage unit with mobile service data being outer-decoded and fed-back and inner-decodes the matched mobile service data. The deinterleaver deinterleaves the inner-decoded mobile service data in block units. The outer decoder outer-decodes the deinterleaved mobile service data. The interleaver interleaves the outer-decoded mobile service data in block units and feeding-back the interleaved mobile service data to the inner decoder.
US08432958B2 Apparatus for measuring jitter transfer characteristic
An apparatus for rapidly measuring jitter transfer characteristics is provided. A modulation signal generator generates a modulation signal M including a plurality of sinusoidal components having known amplitudes m1 to mn and different frequencies f1 to fn, and outputs the modulation signal M to a jitter generator. A clock signal C phase-modulated by the modulation signal M is input to a data signal generator, a data signal D synchronized with the clock signal C is provided to a measurement object, a data signal D′ output from the measurement object is input to a clock recovery unit to recover a clock signal component C′, and the clock signal component C′ is phase-detected by a phase detector. A signal amplitude detector detects the amplitudes of the plurality of sinusoidal components included in the modulation signal M from an output signal M′ of the phase detector, and an operation processor calculates a ratio of the detected amplitudes and the known amplitudes for each of the sinusoidal components, respectively.
US08432956B2 Multicarrier modulation messaging for power level per subchannel information
Upon detection of a trigger, such as the exceeding of an error threshold or the direction of a user, a diagnostic link system enters a diagnostic information transmission mode. This diagnostic information transmission mode allows for two modems to exchange diagnostic and/or test information that may not otherwise be exchangeable during normal communication. The diagnostic information transmission mode is initiated by transmitting an initiate diagnostic link mode message to a receiving modem accompanied by a cyclic redundancy check (CRC). The receiving modem determines, based on the CRC, if a robust communications channel is present. If a robust communications channel is present, the two modems can initiate exchange of the diagnostic and/or test information. Otherwise, the transmission power of the transmitting modem is increased and the initiate diagnostic link mode message re-transmitted to the receiving modem until the CRC is determined to be correct.
US08432955B2 Method for robust crosstalk precoder training in channels with impulse noise
An apparatus comprising a first transceiver at a central office (CO) coupled to a second transceiver at a customer premise equipment (CPE) via a digital subscriber line (DSL), a crosstalk precoder coupled to the first transceiver at the CO, and a vectoring control entity (VCE) coupled to the transceiver via a feedback channel and to the crosstalk precoder, wherein the second transceiver comprises a noise monitor configured to detect non-crosstalk noise in a downstream signal from the CO to the CPE, and wherein the first transceiver is configured to receive a predefined special feedback signal from the second transceiver that indicates whether non-crosstalk noise is detected in the downstream signal instead of a measured error value.
US08432948B2 Semiconductor laser device
According to one embodiment, a semiconductor laser device includes stacked layers and a light output layer. The stacked layers include an active layer. The light output layer is provided in contact with a light output end face of an optical cavity made of the stacked layers. The light output layer includes a dielectric layer having a non-amorphous film, and a conductor portion provided at least one of on a surface of the dielectric layer and inside the dielectric layer.
US08432947B2 Semiconductor light emitting device
A semiconductor light emitting device includes: a stacked body including a first and a second semiconductor layers of a first and second conductivity types respectively, and a light emitting layer provided between thereof; a first and a second electrodes in contact with the first and second semiconductor layers respectively. Light emitted is resonated between first and second end surfaces of the stacked body opposed in a first direction. The second semiconductor layer includes a ridge portion and a wide portion. A width of the ridge portion along a second direction perpendicular to the first and the stacking directions is narrower on the second electrode side than on the light emitting layer side. A width of the wide portion along the second direction is wider than the ridge portion. A width of the narrow part of the second electrode along the second direction is narrower than that on the ridge portion
US08432944B2 Extending the lifetime of a deep UV laser in a wafer inspection tool
Disclosed herein is a method and apparatus for automatic correction of beam waist position drift in real time, using wafer inspection data taken during normal tool operation. Also disclosed herein is an improved laser astigmatism corrector for use either internal or external to the laser.
US08432941B2 Method and apparatus for selective caching of burst stream transmission
Embodiments relate to systems and methods for the selective caching of burst stream transmissions. A digital video (e.g., DVB-H) or other transport stream can be received on a cellular telephone or other device. The transport stream can be divided into bursts in a sequence of cyclical time slots, each slot carrying one service such as a video channel. The bursts contained in the time slots most distant in time from a currently received time slot can be stored to an onboard cache. When a user wishes to change the service being played, they can select the new desired service. If the user chooses to switch or “zap” to one of the cached services, the media decoder on the device can immediately begin decoding and playing the service encoded in that burst back, rather than waiting for the arrival of the next time slot of the subsequent burst for that service.
US08432937B2 System and method for recovering the decoding order of layered media in packet-based communication
The present invention relates to the packet-based transmission of media that are coded using a layered representation. In particular, it relates to mechanisms for recovering the decoding order of the media packets when such media is transmitted with arbitrary ordering over one or more packet streams.
US08432934B2 Multi-rate multi-receiver multi-response aggregation
A method for sending a multi-rate multi-receiver message containing a multi-receiver multi-response aggregate. The multi-rate multi-receiver aggregate is transmitted until a multi-receiver multi-response aggregate embedded within the multi-rate multi-receiver aggregate is encountered. Transmission of the multi-rate multi-receiver aggregate is suspended for a predetermined time period. After the expiration of the predetermined time period, transmission of the multi-rate multi-receiver aggregate resumes.
US08432931B2 System and method for information handling system wireless audio driven antenna
Audio information coexists with best efforts data on a wireless network, such as a wireless local area network, by defining a backoff dedicated to communicate of audio information and using undedicated resources to communicate best efforts data. The backoff has a periodic interval that corresponds to the sample rate of the audio information so that a set of audio frame slots communicated at the start of a backoff interval has a length of time to complete communication. The set of audio frame slots has, for instance, an audio frame slot for each audio endpoint interfaced with the network. Periodic backoffs ensures synchronized audio playback by dedicating an antenna to communication of audio frames at the sample rate of the audio information, while supporting best efforts network communication when audio information is not being communicated.
US08432930B2 Transmission band determination method for bandwidth aggregation system
A bandwidth aggregation system for providing wideband communication services by aggregating multiple bandwidths and a transmission band determination method for the bandwidth aggregation system are disclosed. T bandwidth determination method includes computing weights of the multiple bandwidths based on resource allocation distributions of the individual bandwidths, and selecting one of the multiple bandwidths for establishing a connection between a base station and a mobile station based on the weights of the multiple bandwidths.
US08432918B2 System, method, and computer-readable medium for processing call originations by a femtocell system
A system, method, and computer readable medium comprises receiving, by a femtocell system, a call origination from a user equipment performing a calling operation to a called telephone device generating a configuration management service request message and transmitting the configuration management service request message to a session initiation protocol to Internet operating system adapter (SIA), generating a channel assignment request by the SIA and transmitting the channel assignment request to the femtocell system, allocating a channel for the user equipment and transmitting the allocated channel to the user equipment, receiving an acknowledgement from the user equipment in receipt of the transmitted channel assignment, performing a service connection with the user equipment, creating a connection for an Internet Protocol Multimedia Subsystem, completing a call setup between the user equipment and the called telephone device via the allocated channel.
US08432915B2 Reducing overheads of a protocol data unit in a wireless communication system
The present invention relates to transmitting data units of a radio protocol layer, wherein one logical channel identifier is added to one or more data units belonging to one logical channel. Because only one logical channel identifier is added to the data units belonging to one logical channel in constructing a MAC-e PDU, overheads of the MAC-e PDU are reduced. Such reduction of the PDU overheads increases data throughput, which is advantageous for a high-speed data communication system, such as the HSUPA.
US08432908B2 Efficient packet replication
Methods, systems, and computer program products are provided for efficient packet replication. In an embodiment, a packet is stored as a linked list of at least one page. Replicating the packet comprises creating a new header page and linking it to the first page of the linked list. Each replica packet may be transmitted independently and concurrently. In an embodiment where packets are stored in queues, each replica packet may be dequeued for transmission independently and concurrently. After all references to a page have been transmitted (or dequeued), the page may be freed.
US08432903B2 Communications methods, system and apparatus
Various methods and apparatus are directed to providing enhanced functionality and fault tolerance in a system which distributes home agent functionality between a home agent control node and a tunneling node, referred to herein as a home agent tunneling node, which performs packet forwarding under direction of the home agent control node. The distributed home agent approach is enhanced in some embodiments to provide redundancy of home agent control nodes and/or home agent tunneling nodes. Thus, in accordance with some embodiments if a home agent control node fails, the secondary home agent control node can take over the home agent control function. Various embodiments describe various methods, apparatus, and/or messages in addition to system configurations, which can be used to maintain primary and secondary home agent control and facilitate a rapid transfer of functions between primary and secondary nodes.
US08432901B2 Circuit service tunneling methods and user equipment thereof
A user equipment is provided with connection to a first mobile service network providing circuit-switched services. A first protocol module communicates with the first mobile service network. A circuit-switch tunneling control protocol module establishes a circuit-service tunnel to a second mobile service network providing packet-switched services. A circuit-switch tunneling data protocol module transmits a circuit-service tunneling message from the first protocol module to the second mobile service network via the circuit-service tunnel.
US08432896B2 System and method for optimizing communications between session border controllers and endpoints in a network environment
An apparatus for optimizing communications between session border controllers in a network environment is provided that includes a session border controller (SBC) operable to communicate with a first endpoint and a second endpoint. The SBC is also operable to communicate with a data path border element (DBE) and a signaling path border element (SBE). The DBE is operable to provide a media relay for a communication session involving the endpoints, the media relay being invoked by either of the endpoints using a traversal using relay network address translation (TURN) protocol, which allows the SBC to operate in either of two modes depending on protocol support present in the endpoints.
US08432888B2 Wireless communication system, wireless communication device and wireless communication method, and computer program
Access control based on CSMA is favorably carried out with the RTS/CTS method used together.If the RTS/CTS procedure is used together, CTS information is transmitted in response to the reception of RTS information, and data is transmitted in response to the reception of CTS. The CTS transmitting station measures the quality of RTS receive signal, and thereby determines a transmission rate at which it can receive and notifies a station as the destination of CTS. The station as the destination of CTS transmits data in response to CTS information. As the transmission rate for this data, the transmission rate indicated in the RATE field in CTS is applied.
US08432885B2 System and method for channel status information feedback in a wireless communications system
A system and method for channel status information feedback in a wireless communications system is provided. A method includes receiving a transmission containing feedback information from a mobile station (MS) having N total antennas, M receive/transmit antennas, N−M receive-only antennas, wherein N and M are integers and N>M, decoding the received transmission, computing estimates of CSI for channel elements of N−M receive-only antennas using the decoded transmission, computing estimates of CSI for channel elements of M receive/transmit antennas using channel reciprocity, and computing a precoding matrix from the channel elements for the N−M receive-only antennas and the M receive/transmit antennas.
US08432883B2 Base station apparatus and communication control method
A base station apparatus capable of communicating with user equipment terminals using an uplink shared channel includes a selection unit configured to select a user equipment terminal to which the base station apparatus allocates the shared channel among the user equipment terminals other than a user equipment terminal where a time frame in which a control channel for the shared channel is transmitted in downlink, a time frame in which the shared channel is received, or a time frame in which acknowledgement information for the shared channel is transmitted overlaps a time interval for measuring a cell with a different frequency; and an allocation unit configured to allocate the shared channel to the user equipment terminal selected by the selection unit.
US08432881B2 Apparatus for transmitting and receiving a signal and method of transmitting and receiving a signal
A method of transmitting and receiving a signal and an apparatus for transmitting and receiving a signal are disclosed. The method includes receiving the signal of a first frequency band, obtaining layer-1 information from a preamble of the first time-frequency slicing (TFS) signal frame of the received signal, said layer-1 information including an index of a current radio frequency (RF) channel within a time-frequency slicing (TFS) signal frame, and an identifier of a starting radio frequency (RF) channel which can receive a physical layer pipe (PLP) in the TFS signal frame, parsing the TFS signal frame using the layer-1 information and obtaining a physical layer pipe (PLP) of the TFS signal frame, and converting the PLP to a service stream.
US08432865B2 Method for transmitting and receiving signals in consideration of time alignment timer and user equipment for the same
A method for transmitting and receiving signals in consideration of a time alignment timer and user equipment (UE) for the same are provided. In this method, a UE performs initial transmission or retransmission of an uplink signal using wireless resources corresponding to an uplink grant signal received from a base station only when a time alignment timer of the UE is running. The UE does not transmit a HARQ feedback signal for a downlink signal received from the base station to the base station when the time alignment timer of the UE is not running.
US08432862B2 Method for transmitting and receiving data using pilot structure
A method for efficiently transmitting and receiving data in a wireless access system and a pilot allocation structure for the same are provided. In one aspect of the present invention, a method for transmitting and receiving data in a wireless access system, the method including transmitting data using a resource block constructed taking into consideration channel estimation capabilities and data transfer rate, and receiving data using the resource block. Here, the resource block may have a 6×6 structure constructed with 6 OFDM symbols and 6 subcarriers, and one or more first pilot symbols may be allocated to prescribed OFDM symbols of a first subcarrier and a fifth subcarrier of the resource block. Moreover, the first pilot symbols may be allocated to the resource block at a predetermined allocation rate taking into consideration a number of transmit antennas.
US08432860B2 Method and apparatus for mapping resource unit in wireless communication system
A method and an apparatus for mapping a resource unit in a wireless communication system is provided. The method includes obtaining LCRU,FPi indicating the number of contiguous resource units (CRUs) of an ith frequency partition (FPi) and LDRU,FPi indicating the number of distributed resource units (DRUs) of the FPi and mapping physical resource units (PRU) of the FPi to CRUs of the FPi by the LCRU,FPi and after allocating the PRUFPi to the CRU, maps the remaining part of the PRUFPi to DRUs of the FPi. A frequency selective scheduling gain and a frequency diversity gain can be obtained.
US08432857B2 Wireless access device and method of transmitting packets
A wireless access device communicates with a plurality of customer premised equipments (CPEs) via a network. The wireless access device establishes a plurality of queues and distributes intervals for each of the CPEs. The wireless access device receives packets from the network, obtains one of the intervals corresponding to one of the CPEs with a MAC address being a destination MAC address of one of the received packets, and stores each of the received packets to one of the queues with sequence number being in the obtained interval. The wireless access device transmits the received packets stored in the plurality of queues in the way of one row by one row.
US08432856B2 Heuristic algorithm for calculating target SINR for MMSE beamforming
Certain aspects of the present disclosure provide a heuristic algorithm for calculating accurate target SINR values for the minimum mean square error (MMSE) beamforming algorithm to decrease the complexity of the MMSE algorithm. The heuristic algorithm for calculating target SINR values considers practical system constraints, such as frequency selective channels, power amplifier distortion, imperfect channel state information as well as limited computing power at the access point.
US08432855B2 Method for transmitting data using HARQ
A method for transmitting data using a hybrid automatic repeat request (HARQ) is provided. The method includes receiving scheduling information, the scheduling information comprising information regarding a radio resource; transmitting data by using the radio resource; and retransmitting the data or transmitting new data by reusing the radio resource if a received scheduling change indicator indicates that the radio resource is reused. The scheduling change indicator is control information different from the scheduling information. Resources can be effectively used by decreasing an amount of radio resources required for scheduling information.
US08432854B2 Method and system of beacon transmission and reception
A system includes a first primary wireless system (120) that communicates over a first range, and a first beaconing device (130) associated with the first primary wireless system (120). The first beaconing device (130) communicates over at least at a second range, wherein the second range is greater than the first range. The first beaconing device listens for beacons (510) from other beaconing devices (130) associated with other primary wireless systems (120) on a plurality of channels over which the other primary systems may operate. After listening for beacons from the other beaconing devices (130) associated with other primary wireless systems, the first beaconing device transmits a first beacon (510) to a wireless device (114) of a secondary wireless system (110) that may communicate over the second range. The first beacon includes data indicating an occupation of a first one of the channels by the first primary wireless system (120).
US08432852B2 Uplink timing control signal
The claimed subject matter relates to systems and methodologies for synchronizing timing between a base station and a wireless terminal. For example, a set of non-contiguous tones may be assigned to the terminal, and may be equally spaced apart from each other across a spectrum of all available tones. A set of contiguous tones may also be assigned to the terminal, which may transmit a timing control signal during a specified transmit time. A base station may receive the signal, which comprises information related to the non-contiguous and contiguous tone sets, and may determine a distance of the terminal to the base station based on measured and anticipated arrival time of the signal. The base station may transmit a timing correction command signal to the terminal based on such information.
US08432851B2 Method, apparatus, and system for time synchronization
A method, apparatus, and system for time synchronization are disclosed. The method comprising: obtaining a master sending time stamp, a slave receiving time stamp, a slave sending time stamp, and a master receiving time stamp; and adjusting the time of the slave clock according to the offset calculated from the time stamps to synchronize with the clock time of the master clock. With the present invention, in passband transmission systems that transmit signals continuously in units of symbols, the time synchronization is implemented between the master clock and the slave clock.
US08432850B2 Method of synchronising nodes of a network, and system and device therefor
A method of and a system for synchronizing a plurality of spaced apart nodes of a network to a reference time of a control center, the method comprising receiving measurement data from each of the plurality of nodes; ranking the plurality of nodes with respect to one another according to the measurement data; selecting one or more master nodes from the plurality of nodes according to the ranking; assigning each of the plurality of nodes to a corresponding master node; determining a first time offset between the local time measured at each node and the local time measured at its corresponding master node and determining a second time offset between each of the master nodes and the reference time such that the time offset between the local time measured at each node and the reference time can be determined.
US08432844B2 Low-power method for media access control in semi-linear sensor network
A low-power method for media access control on a semi-linear sensor network with multiple sensor nodes, includes: sensing a channel after waking up from a sleep mode by an arbitrary transmission sensor node that has obtained data; and generating a long preamble including a number of element preambles and sending to a destination sensor node after said channel sensing. This method further includes: sending said data to said destination sensor node after completion of transmission of said long preamble; and identifying duty cycle information of said destination sensor node after completion of transmission of said data and adjusting the number of said element preambles according to said duty cycle information.
US08432839B2 Bidirectional wireless communication system, wireless communication apparatus, and bidirectional wireless communication method
A bidirectional wireless communication system includes: a first wireless communication apparatus for bidirectional communication configured to multiplex a modulated signal obtained by modulating an input signal by a reference carrier signal having a predetermined carrier frequency, and transmit a resultant transmission signal; and a second wireless communication apparatus, having an oscillator configured to oscillate a signal having a free-running oscillation frequency, configured to inject a reception signal received from the first wireless communication apparatus into the oscillator, receive the reception signal while variably controlling the free-running oscillation frequency of the oscillator of the second wireless communication apparatus, detect whether the free-running oscillation frequency of the signal of the oscillator of the second wireless communication apparatus has entered the frequency range up to the injection locking to be frequency-locked with a carrier frequency of the injected reception signal, and generate a communication enable signal.
US08432836B2 Wireless circuitry with simultaneous voice and data capabilities and reduced intermodulation distortion
An electronic device has wireless communications circuitry that includes transmitters and receivers. The transmitters and receivers may share an antenna. Transmitted signals from multiple transmitters may be merged using a combining circuit. Merged signals from the transmitter may be conveyed to the antenna through a circulator. The circulator may route incoming signals from the antenna to receivers. The receivers may be coupled to the circulator through a filter. An additional filter may be interposed between the circulator and the antenna. An additional transmitter may transmit signals through the antenna using the additional filter. An additional receiver may receive some of the incoming signals that are received by the antenna through the additional filter.
US08432832B2 Managing network devices
Methods, systems, and apparatus, including computer programs encoded on a computer storage medium, for configuring network devices. A central management system stores shared configuration objects in a central configuration database. A network device stores shared configuration objects and device-specific configuration objects in a local configuration database. The local configuration database's shared configuration objects correspond to shared configuration objects in the central configuration database. The central management system determines the network device has received a request to update a shared configuration object, where the request did not originate from the central management system, and updates the central configuration database.
US08432825B2 Switching communications between different networks based on device capabilities
Methods and systems provided herein allow a communication session to be established on an optimal communication network and subsequently transferred to alternative networks if conditions dictate that such a change is necessary or desirable. The types of conditions which may be considered when identifying the optimal communication network or the alternative network include conditions related to the operation of a user device, communication profiles of the user, resources available on other networks, and the like.
US08432822B2 Method, system and device of packet sampling
A method and a system for sampling a packet as well as a device are disclosed herein. The method includes the following steps: a notification node of an LSP sends obtained information about the protocol type of a packet to a specific netflow sampling entity; the netflow sampling entity determines the protocol type of the packet according to the information about the protocol type after receiving the packet, and samples the packet according to the determined protocol type. Through the embodiments of the present invention, the accuracy of netflow sampling is improved significantly.
US08432821B2 Method and apparatus for cooperation strategy selection in a wireless communication system
Systems and methodologies are described that facilitate cooperation strategy selection for a network multiple-in-multiple-out (N-MIMO) communication system. As described herein, one or more nodes in a communication system capable of N-MIMO communication can calculate marginal utilities, projected per-user rates, and/or other parameters corresponding to respective associated users. Based on these calculations, respective network nodes can perform user scheduling and selection, cell scheduling and selection, selection of a cooperation strategy (e.g., coordinated silencing, joint transmission, coordinated beamforming, etc.), and/or other operations to provide cooperative communication for respective users. As further described herein, projected rate calculation for a given user can be adjusted based on processing or channel implementation loss associated with the user, interference nulling capability of the user, or other factors. As additionally described herein, these and/or other parameters can be fed back by respective users to a serving network node and/or mandated via system performance requirements.
US08432813B2 Microwave radio communications device and related method of operation and network arrangement
The present invention provides for a microwave radio communications user device arranged for communication with a base station and for receiving and decoding an MPDU for use in initial ranging signalling with said base station, the device being further arranged to retrieve data in a downlink-sub-frame from the base station serving to discriminate between MPDUs intended for different user devices.
US08432811B2 Method of performing uplink time alignment in wireless communication system
A method of performing uplink time alignment in wireless communication system includes transmitting a random access preamble, receiving a random access response, the random access response comprising a random access preamble identifier corresponding to the random access preamble but no time alignment value, and restarting a time alignment timer according to receiving the random access response.
US08432809B2 Method for communication between processors
The invention provides a method and system for communication between processors. Rather than provide an external network connection solely for providing a communication link between CPUs, the present invention utilizes the network devices to transfer information between CPUs. A transmitting network device marks a control packet, which is intended as a communication between CPUs, as control traffic. The receiving network device will determine whether the received control packet is intended for its own CPU and provide the control packet to its CPU if that is the case.
US08432803B2 Method of providing a gap indication during a sticky assignment
A method and apparatus are provided to manage the assignment transmission resource of forward and reserve link that is assigned to transmitting entity for a period of time. An indication of a gap is provided whenever the transmitting entity is not transmitting actual data packets (e.g. whole or part of intended data or content), yet the transmitting entity is to maintain the assignment of the allocated resource. For example, an erasure signature packet comprising a first data pattern is transmitted on the assigned resource when there is no actual data to transmit on the assigned resource.
US08432799B1 Obtaining high availability using TCP proxy devices
The present invention relates to increasing performance of Wide Area Network (WAN) communications and in particular to a redundant proxy device associated with one end of a transport layer connection that monitors packet traffic and selectively reroutes packets to a proxy application.
US08432795B2 Radio communication system, radio communication method and base station
A base station according to the present invention includes: a detecting unit configured to detect a discard of the uplink user data received from a radio terminal; and a scheduling unit configured to transmit an AG or an RG instructing a decrease of an SG assigned to the radio terminal, when the discard of the uplink user data is detected by the detecting unit.
US08432789B2 Split multi-link trunking (SMLT) hold-down timer for internet protocol (IP) multicast
A method, apparatus and computer program product for providing mulitcast failover and recovery which minimizes lost packets is presented. A first network device returns to a fully active state and starts a multicast hold-down timer. A first message is sent to a second network device, the message indicating at least one Split Multi Link Trunk (SMLT) Virtual Local Area Network (VLAN) Identifier (ID) correlating to the multicast hold-down timer. The first network device receives an acknowledgment of said first message and Layer 2 forwards multicast data traffic to said second network device until the timer expires, whereupon the first device is capable of handling its own multicast data traffic, and then has Layer 2 bridging turned off and enables IP multicast routing. During the period of multicast hold-down timer, the second device will perform IP multicast forwarding on behalf of the first device.
US08432788B2 Intelligent failback in a load-balanced networking environment
One embodiment of the present invention sets forth a method for failing back network connections to a network interface card (NIC) within a computing device. The method includes the steps of monitoring a failed or unreliable NIC within the computing device, determining that the failed or unreliable NIC has recovered, determining that a functional NIC within the computing device is overloaded, selecting a first connection set communicating through the overloaded NIC, and transferring the first connection set to the recovered NIC. With this approach, intelligent decisions can be advantageously made regarding whether to fail back a network connection set to a recovered NIC based on the traffic loads on the overloaded NIC and the recovered NIC. Such an approach to balancing network traffic across the functional NICs within a computing device may substantially improve overall performance relative to prior art techniques.
US08432784B2 Information recording medium, and recording method and reproducing method thereof
An information recording medium in which bottoms of a guide groove and a pit array formed on a disc substrate are allocated on a same flat plane and shaped in flat. Further, in a transition area from a pit array to a guide groove or from a guide groove to a pit array, the information recording medium is provided with an intermediate area composed of a pit array of which height changes from a height between a bottom and a side of a groove to another height between the bottom and a side of the pit array.
US08432783B2 Optical pickup device and position adjusting method for light separating element
An astigmatism element converges laser light in a first direction for generating a first focal line, and converges the laser light in a second direction perpendicular to the first direction for generating a second focal line. A light separating element guides the laser light entered into two first areas and into two second areas to four respective positions different from each other, and guides the laser light entered into a third area to a position different from the four positions. When an intersection of two straight lines extending in parallel to the first direction and the second direction and intersecting with each other is aligned with an optical axis of the laser light, the third area is disposed at the intersection of the two straight lines.
US08432778B2 Optical disc having plurality of recording layers, and method and apparatus for recording data thereon
Provided are an optical disc having a plurality of recording layers, and a method and apparatus for recording data thereon. The optical disc has a plurality of recording layers, each recording layer including: a data area; a connecting area; and a remaining area. The data, connecting, and remaining areas are respectively disposed in a direction from an inner circumference of the optical disc to an outer circumference. An outer boundary of each of the data areas is determined according to an amount of data to be recorded. Locations of the connecting areas and the remaining areas are determined by a recording and/or reproducing apparatus according to the determination of the outer boundary of each of the data areas.
US08432776B2 Quick access to disc management information
The invention relates to a method and a recording device for easy and quick access to record carrier management information stored on the record carrier itself. The invention further relates to a record carrier for use in such a method and recording device.
US08432769B2 Semiconductor memory device and memory system having the same
A semiconductor memory device includes an internal clock signal generator configured to generate an internal clock signal by dividing a frequency of an external clock signal; a default latency determiner configured to determine a default latency in outputting a signal; and a latency reflector configured to, for each of consecutive commands, selectively add a half latency equal to a half cycle of the internal clock signal to the default latency in response to a half latency selection information signal.
US08432764B2 Boost cell supply write assist
A method of increasing a drain to source voltage measured at an access pass-gate to a SRAM circuit in a SRAM memory array, including increasing a low voltage from a low voltage source powering said SRAM circuit, and increasing a high voltage from a high voltage source powering the SRAM circuit.
US08432755B2 Random access memory devices having word line drivers therein that support variable-frequency clock signals
Integrated circuit memory devices include an array of memory cells electrically coupled to a plurality of word lines and a word line driver circuit. The word line driver circuit includes a variable-width pulse generator having a first delay unit therein. The word line driver circuit is configured to drive a selected one of the plurality of word lines with a first word line signal having a leading edge synchronized with a leading edge of a clock signal and a trailing edge synchronized with a trailing edge of the clock signal when a one-half period of the clock signal is greater than a length of delay provided by the first delay unit. The word line driver circuit is further configured to drive the selected one of the plurality of word lines with a second word line signal having a leading edge synchronized with the leading edge of a clock signal and a trailing edge synchronized with an edge of a signal generated by the first delay unit when the one-half period of the clock signal is less than the length of the delay provided by the first delay unit.
US08432743B2 Method and system for programming non-volatile memory cells based on programming of proximate memory cells
A multi-level non-volatile memory device programs cells in each row in a manner that takes into account the coupling from the programming of cells that are proximate the row to be programmed. In one example of the invention, after the row has been programmed, the proximate cells are verified by read, comparison, and, if necessary, reprogramming operations to compensate for charge added to proximate memory cells resulting from programming the row. In another example of the invention, a row of memory cells is programmed with charge levels that take into account the charge that will be added to the memory cells when proximate memory cells are subsequently programmed.
US08432737B2 Nonvolatile semiconductor memory device and method testing the same
When performing a word line leak test to determine a leak state of the word lines, the control circuit applies, from the voltage control circuit to the word lines connected to the memory cell array written with test pattern data, voltages corresponding to the test pattern data. Thereafter, it switches the transfer transistors to a nonconductive state, thereby setting the word lines in a floating state. After a lapse of a certain time from switching of the transfer transistors to a nonconductive state, it activates the sense amplifier circuit to perform a read operation in the memory cell array. Then it compares a result of the read operation with an expectation value corresponding to the test pattern data.
US08432733B2 Data retention of last word line of non-volatile memory arrays
Techniques for operating non-volatile storage compensate for differences in floating gate coupling effect experienced by non-volatile storage elements on different word lines. An erase of a group of non-volatile storage elements is performed. A set of the non-volatile storage elements are for storing data and at least one of the non-volatile storage elements is a dummy that is not for storing data. The dummy is a neighbor to one of the data non-volatile storage elements. The data non-volatile storage elements are programmed at some point after the erase. Then, a programming voltage is applied to the dummy non-volatile storage element to increase the threshold voltage of the dummy to cause floating gate coupling effect to the neighbor non-volatile storage element to compensate for lesser floating gate coupling effect that the neighbor experienced during programming.
US08432730B2 Semiconductor device and method for driving the same
A transistor includes first and second control gates, and a storage gate. The storage gate is made to be a conductor, supplied with a specific potential, and then made to be an insulator, thereby holding the potential. Data is written by making the storage gate a conductor, supplying a potential of data to be stored, and making the storage gate an insulator. Data is read by making the storage gate an insulator, supplying a potential to a read signal line connected to one of a source and a drain of the transistor, supplying a potential for reading data to the first control gate, and then detecting a potential of a bit line connected to the other of the source and the drain.
US08432727B2 Invalid write prevention for STT-MRAM array
In a Spin Transfer Torque Magnetoresistive Random Access Memory (STT-MRAM) a bit cell array can have a source line substantially parallel to a word line. The source line can be substantially perpendicular to bit lines. A source line control unit includes a common source line driver and a source line selector configured to select individual ones of the source lines. The source line driver and source line selector can be coupled in multiplexed relation. A bit line control unit includes a common bit line driver and a bit line selector in multiplexed relation. The bit line control unit includes a positive channel metal oxide semiconductor (PMOS) element coupled between the common source line driver and bit line select lines and bit lines.
US08432724B2 Memory elements with soft error upset immunity
Integrated circuits with memory cells are provided. A memory cell may have four inverter-like circuits connected in a ring configuration and four corresponding storage nodes. The four inverter-like circuits may form a storage portion of the memory cell. Some of the inverter-like circuits may have tri-state transistors in pull-up and pull-down paths. The tri-state transistors may be controlled by address signals. Address and access transistors may be coupled between some of the storages nodes and a data line. The address and access transistors may be used to read and write into the memory cell. During write operations, the address signals may be asserted to turn off the tri-state transistors and eliminate contention current from the cell. During read and normal operations, the address signals may be deasserted to allow the inverter-like circuits to hold the current state of the cell while providing soft error upset immunity.
US08432712B2 Single switch high efficiency power supply
Disclosed are apparatus and methodology for providing a capacitive voltage divider configured to reduce a relatively high level alternating current (AC) to a lower level direct current (DC). The apparatus provides a series of capacitors and diodes configured for series charging of the capacitors and parallel discharge thereof by way of a single switching element. In operation, the capacitor series is charged during the negative half cycle of the AC source and then discharged during the positive half cycle thereof.
US08432708B2 Motherboard assembly having serial advanced technology attachment dual in-line memory module
A motherboard assembly includes a motherboard having an expansion slot and a storage device interface, and a serial advanced technology attachment dual in-line memory module (SATA DIMM) with a circuit board. A control chip and a storage chip are arranged on the circuit board. Two voids are defined in a top side of the circuit board. A first extending board is formed on the top side of the circuit board between the voids. An edge connector is arranged on the first extending board and connected to a power supply. The edge connector includes power pins connected to the control chip and the storage chip. A second extending board is extended from an end edge of the circuit board and includes a connector connected to the storage device interface of the motherboard. A bottom side of the second extending board is in alignment with a bottom side of the circuit board.
US08432697B2 Circuit board
A circuit board provided with a control circuit and an optical module placed at a close distance and configured to be capable of effectively cooling the control circuit and the optical module is provided. A circuit board placed inside the housing of electronic equipment and provided with an optical module and a control circuit, which are mutually connected, has: a fan-assisted heat sink mounted on the control circuit and configured to ventilate the control circuit and cool the control circuit; and a fresh air feeding duct placed on the circuit board and configured to distribute fresh air taken in from outside the housing through the intake of the fan-assisted heat sink. The optical module is placed in a predetermined position along a site in which the fresh air feeding duct is formed.
US08432695B2 Cooling device
When the side of a surface of the board on which the device to be cooled is mounted is defined as the upper side while the side of the other surface is defined as the lower side in a substantially vertical direction to the board, a cooling device includes a heat receiving portion arranged on the upper side the device to be cooled for performing heat exchange with the device to be cooled; a columnar portion standing substantially perpendicularly on the board; a base having a through hole which the columnar portion passes through, and arranged on the upper side of the heat receiving portion; and biasing means for biasing the base along the columnar portion to thereby press the heat receiving portion against the device to be cooled.
US08432692B2 Server cabinet with liquid cooling system
An exemplary server cabinet includes an enclosure configured to house multiple servers therein, and a liquid cooling system. A heat conductive plate is positioned in the enclosure to be adjacent to the servers. The liquid cooling system includes a cooler located outside the enclosure, a conduit thermally connecting the cooler with the heat conductive plate, and a working liquid circulating in the conduit and the cooler. Heat generated by the servers is absorbed by the heat conductive plate and transferred to the cooler by the working liquid for dissipation.
US08432687B2 Answer bracelet
An answer bracelet with a circular bracelet band suitable for wearing an a person's wrist. A hollowed out area in the top of the bracelet band houses a digital display, a microprocessor, a printed circuit board, a start switch, a tilt switch, a battery power supply and an audio emitting device. A top cover panel covers the hollowed out portion and the embedded electronics. The battery can be accessed by removing a bottom cover located on the underside of the hollowed out area. When a user presses the start button and shakes the bracelet, the tilt switch sends a signal to the microprocessor whereupon the microprocessor causes the audio device to produce a short burst of sound and then randomly selects one of a plurality of messages stored in the microprocessor and displays the message on the digital display for a predetermined period of time. Then the message disappears making the bracelet display ready for the next use.
US08432685B2 Casing for sheltering electronic components and network element and air passage
A casing for sheltering electronic components (52, 83) is disclosed, comprising:—an air inlet (110) at a first position of the casing (11) and,—an air outlet at a second position of the casing (11). The air inlet (110) comprises a first plate (112) with at least one first aperture (190) therein. The inlet (110) also comprises a second plate (114) that is arranged between the first plate (112) and an inner part of the casing (11). The second plate comprises at least one second aperture (192).
US08432683B2 Computer enclosure
A computer enclosure includes an enclosure, a mounting board, a device mounted to the mounting board, and a latching member pivotably mounted to the mounting board. The enclosure includes a bottom plate, and a number of mounting tabs extend from the bottom plate. The mounting board is detachably mounted to the bottom plate. A number of clamping hooks extend from the mounting board, to fix the mounting tabs. The latching member includes an elastic hook. The latching member is rotated, with the elastic hook received in or withdrawing from the enclosure. When the hook engages with the enclosure, the latching member prevents the clamping hooks from disengaging from the mounting tabs.
US08432678B2 Component assembly
A portable computing device is disclosed. The portable computing device can take many forms such as a laptop computer, a tablet computer, and so on. The portable computing device can include at least a single piece housing. The single piece housing including a plurality of steps. The plurality of mounting steps are formed by at least removing a preselected amount of housing material at predetermined locations on the interior surface. At least some of the mounting steps are used to mount at least some of the plurality of internal operating components to the housing.
US08432660B2 Ion generating unit and lighting apparatus
In an ion generating unit configured to control driving of a plurality of ion generating elements for generating ions by a controller, the controller drives the ion generating elements upon start up, and is configured to keep driving for a predetermined time period; thereby, the ion concentration of a space upon start up is quickly raised to a predetermined concentration. Further, the controller is configured to drive the ion generating elements intermittently and one after another in order after the predetermined time period has elapsed; the product life is elongated while maintaining the predetermined ion concentration and shortening the driving time of the ion generating elements.
US08432657B2 Protection apparatus of load circuit
A protection apparatus of a load circuit sets a threshold temperature at a lower temperature than an allowed temperature of an electric wire for use in the load circuit, and estimates a temperature of the electric wire based on an ambient temperature, a load current and a time while the load current is flowing through the electric wire. Then, in the case where the estimated temperature has reached the threshold temperature, a semiconductor relay (S1) is broken. As a result, in the case where such an electric wire temperature has risen owing to an occurrence of an overcurrent, and the like, the circuit is surely protected at the point of time before the electric wire temperature reaches the allowed temperature. Therefore, a fuse used in a conventional load circuit becomes unnecessary.
US08432653B2 ESD protection device
An ESD protection device includes a ceramic multilayer substrate, at least one pair of discharge electrodes provided in the ceramic multilayer substrate and facing each other with a space formed therebetween, external electrodes provided on a surface of the ceramic multilayer substrate and connected to the discharge electrodes. The ESD protection device includes a supporting electrode obtained by dispersing a metal material and a semiconductor material and being arranged in a region that connects the pair of discharge electrodes to each other.
US08432649B2 Abnormal current detecting circuit for circuit breaker
Disclosed herein is an abnormal current detection circuit for circuit breaker, comprising a full-wave amplifier, a positive wave-period comparator for comparing a positive wave-period amplification voltage signal with a positive wave-period reference voltage signal to output a pulse signal, a negative wave-period comparator for comparing a negative wave-period amplification voltage signal with a negative wave-period reference voltage signal to output a pulse signal, a combining circuit for combining pulse signals outputted from the positive wave-period comparator and the negative wave-period comparator to output a full-wave combining signal, a reference voltage generator for generating a reference voltage signal, and a comparative driving circuit section for comparing the combining signal with the reference voltage signal to output a signal for controlling a circuit breaker to be driven to a circuit breaking position when the combining signal is greater or equal to the reference voltage signal.
US08432645B2 Magneto-resistive effect element, magnetic head, magnetic head slider, head gimbal assembly and hard disk drive apparatus
An MR element includes a stack, being a pillar or trapezoidal stack, including first and second magnetic layers in which a relative angle formed by magnetization directions changes according to an external magnetic field, and a spacer layer that is positioned between the first magnetic layer and the second magnetic layer, and that is provided with a main spacer layer that is composed of gallium oxide, zinc oxide or magnesium oxide as a primary component, wherein, one part of side surfaces of the stack forms a part of an air bearing surface; and a cover layer that covers at least another part of the side surfaces of the stack and that is composed of gallium oxide as a primary component.
US08432635B2 Servo write head gap width correction
A pulse mismatch is measured for servo stripes on magnetic tape written with a servo write head having servo head gaps with different physical sizes. The servo head gaps are separately energized to correct the pulse mismatch so servo stripes written on the magnetic tape are within a predefined tolerance.
US08432633B2 System, method and apparatus for storage architecture for bit patterned media using both erase band and shingled magnetic recording
Storage architecture for bit patterned media uses both erase band and shingled magnetic recording. A hard disk drive may comprise a disk having bit patterned media with a plurality of data tracks arrayed in architecture pages having at least one of erase band mode (EBM), shingled mode (SM) and unallocated space. An actuator has a head for writing data to the data tracks of the bit patterned media. A control system monitors, reallocates and reconfigures the architecture pages from EBM, SM or unallocated space to a different one of EBM, SM or unallocated space to enhance performance of the hard disk drive.
US08432628B2 Optical film
An optical film includes a light transmissive substrate having a first surface and a second surface opposite thereto, strip protrusions on the first surface, and protruding structures on crest lines of the strip protrusions. Each strip protrusion has two strip surfaces. Each protruding structure has a protruding end protruding from the crest line of the corresponding strip protrusion and two wing portions on the strip surfaces of the corresponding strip protrusion. Each wing portion extends from the protruding end to a place between the crest line and a valley line. A length of the protruding structure parallel to an extension direction of the crest line is L, a width of the protruding structure perpendicular to the crest line is W, and L/W≧1.2. At least one of a moiré phenomenon, a local adherence phenomenon, a scratching phenomenon, and a wearing phenomenon with other optical devices is effectively mitigated.
US08432617B2 Image forming optical system and electronic image pickup apparatus equipped with same
An image forming optical system includes in order from an object side to an image side, a first lens group having a positive refractive power, a second lens group having a negative refractive power, and an image-side lens group having a positive refractive power. A distance between the first lens group and the second lens group changes at the time of zooming. A refractive optical element A having a positive refractive power is positioned in the first lens group. The image forming optical system satisfies the following conditional expression (1-1), conditional expression (1-2), and conditional expression (2). νdA<30  (1-1) 0.54<θgFA<0.9  (1-2) |fG1/fG2|>6.4  (2).
US08432609B2 Photo-pumped semiconductor optical amplifier
An edge photo-pumped semiconductor slab amplifier including an undoped semiconductor slab. A first gain structure is formed on an upper surface of the slab and a second gain structure is formed on a lower surface of the slab. The gain structures can be resonant periodic gain structures including a plurality of stacked quantum well layers. Confining layers are coupled to the gain structures to confine a signal beam within the semiconductor slab. Heat sinks are thermally coupled to the confining layers. Optical pump sources are provided along the side edges or coupled to the end edges of the slab so that pump light is introduced into the slab through the edges to provide gain for the quantum well layers.
US08432583B2 Image forming apparatus
An image-data acquiring unit acquires image data of an image. An image processing unit performs a predetermined image processing on the image data. A signal generating unit generates a scanning signal for determining a section of the image data for performing the image processing. A signal control unit stores waveform information of a scanning signal in a normal operation as a control signal, compares the control signal with the scanning signal generated by the signal generating unit, and detects an abnormality of the scanning signal. A scan control unit determines whether the image processing is to be continued based on a result of detection by the signal control unit.
US08432581B2 Image processing apparatus and method
An image processing apparatus controls a formation of dots in a recording element configured to perform scanning on a sheet-like recording medium to form dots of different colors on a surface of the recording medium. The image processing apparatus makes a constraint according to cyan and magenta constraint information applied to a same scanning operation stronger than a constraint according to cyan and magenta constraint information applied to mutually adjacent scanning operations.
US08432579B2 Image forming apparatus
An image forming apparatus includes an image forming station for forming a pattern image on a recording material; an image reading station for reading a pattern image formed on a recording material by the image forming station; and a tone gradation corrector for calculating a halftone dot area property on the basis of the density of the pattern image read by the image reading station and for executing tone gradation correction in the image forming station on the basis of the calculated halftone dot area property.
US08432565B2 Job distribution among networked resources in a document processing environment
A method of assigning a job in a document processing environment may include receiving, by a first resource, an identifier and a job. The first resource may be in communication with a plurality of second resources in a document processing environment. The identifier may correspond to a profile corresponding to one or more users. The job may have a job type. A customized interface may be displayed on the resource. The customized interface may present one or more options based on the job type and the profile. A selected value may be received for the one or more options. The profile may be updated with the one or more selected values. The job may be performed using the one or more selected values.
US08432564B2 Printing request apparatus, printing system and printing request method
A printing request apparatus includes a first printing request generator, operable to generate a first printing request for printing information by a direct printing method; a second printing request generator, operable to generate a second printing request for printing information by an HTML-based printing method; and a printing controller, operable to select one of the first printing request generator and the second printing request generator and to cause the one of the first printing request generator and the second printing request generator to generate the corresponding printing request.
US08432561B2 Image forming system with image forming device prioritization function and method thereof
In a system in which a plurality of image forming devices are connected on one or more image processing devices through a network, efficiency of image formation is improved by assigning priority, or by ordering, the image forming devices according to power consumption and wait time. An image forming device is selected according to one of the power consumption and the wait time.
US08432560B2 Print processing system, printing processing method, printing processing program and storage medium
A terminal apparatus for preparing a print job based on a document file prepared using an application and transmitting the print job to a printing apparatus is devised. The terminal apparatus includes a verification-use information receiving unit, a storage destination control unit, an information retrieval and attachment unit, and a data transmission unit. The verification-use information receiving unit receives verification information to be attached to the print job. The storage destination control unit controls a storage destination of the verification information received by the verification-use information receiving unit. The information retrieval and attachment unit reads out the verification information from the storage destination and to attach the read-out verification information to the print job. The data transmission unit transmits the print job, to which the verification information is attached by the information retrieval and attachment unit, to the printing apparatus.
US08432556B2 Information processing apparatus, print setting method, and computer-readable medium
An information processing apparatus includes a determination unit determining whether a sheet set in a print condition is included in a list of printable sheets supported by a printing apparatus, an acquisition unit obtaining a sheet size supported by the printing apparatus if the determination unit determines that the sheet set in the print condition is not included in the list of printable sheets, and a print processing unit executing print processing based on the sheet size obtained by the acquisition unit.
US08432548B2 Alignment for edge field nano-imprinting
Systems and methods for alignment of template and substrate at the edge of substrate are described.
US08432541B2 Optical system for a flow cytometer with an interrogation zone
The optical system of the preferred embodiments includes a first light source that creates a first beam of a first wavelength, a first collimating element that collimates the first beam, a second light source 102 that creates a second beam of a second wavelength, a second collimating element that collimates the second beam, a beam combining element that combines the collimated beams, and a focusing element that focuses the combined collimated beam to a single point.
US08432536B1 Multi-functional optical links
The present invention relates to a system for determining distance between a first platform and a second platform. In one embodiment, the first platform includes a plurality of receivers which are positioned at different distances from the second platform. Each receiver receives a signal from the second platform. Each receiver includes multiple time slots for placing the received signal in a time slot that corresponds to an arrival interval of the received signal. The system also includes a processor for determining the distance between the first and second platforms based on examining the arrival interval of the received signal in each of the receivers.
US08432535B2 Optoelectronic range finder
A device for optoelectronic distance measurement includes an emitter having a first end for emitting a measuring beam to an object to be measured and a second end, a receiver for receiving the measuring beam reflected or dispersed back from the object to be measured and for converting it to a measurement signal, a signal processing device for filtering the measurement signal and a reference signal, and a control and analysis device for analyzing the information of the measurement signal and the reference signal so as to determine the distance from the object to be measured. The second end of the emitter is used to emit a reference beam which is received by the receiver and converted to form the reference signal.
US08432525B2 Backlight unit and liquid crystal display device having the same
A backlight unit that is easy to slim and simplify the configuration is disclosed. The backlight unit includes: a lower case with an opened upper surface; at least one light source unit disposed at an inner side surface of the lower case; and a modularized optical unit disposed parallel to the light source unit and configured to include a light guide plate and optical sheets which are accommodated into a reflection sheet.
US08432523B2 Display substrate, display panel having the display substrate, and display device having the display panel
A display substrate includes a base substrate, a gate line portion, a data line portion, and a pixel portion. The base substrate includes a display area divided into first to fourth divided display areas, and first to fourth peripheral areas. The gate line portion includes a plurality of first gate lines, and a plurality of second gate lines. The data line portion includes a plurality of first data lines, and a plurality of second data lines. The pixel portion is disposed in the display area to be electrically connected to the first and second gate lines and the first and second data lines, respectively.
US08432516B2 Resin composition and image display device
An image display device has an image display part and a protective part on the image display part. The image display device suppresses image unevenness and cured resin peeling caused by internal stress generated due to curing shrinkage of a cured resin between the protective part and the image display part or external stress applied on the image display part due to warping of the protective part. A cured resin layer is arranged between the image display part and the protective part. The cured resin layer has a light transmittance in the visible region of 90% or more, an elongation ratio of 700% or more at 25° C. and 400% or more at 80° C., and an adhesive force with respect to the protective part of 0.4 N/cm or more at 25° C. and 0.3 N/cm or more at 80° C.
US08432506B2 Liquid crystal display device and related repairing methods
The present invention provides a liquid crystal display device and methods for repairing defects in the same. The liquid crystal display includes a display driver, an active area of the display panel, and a first signal line. The first signal line, connected to the display driver and the active area, has a defect. A repair line is disposed above the first signal line between the display driver and the active area, wherein the repair line and the first signal line have at least two overlaps without electrical connection there between. The repair line is continuous between two overlaps which are located at the two sides of the defect. Then the repair line and the first signal line are shorted at the two overlaps. And the first signal line is cut at the locations between the defect and the two overlaps.
US08432503B2 Method of manufacturing an array substrate for LCD device having doubled-layered metal structure
A method of forming an array substrate for a LCD device includes patterning a first metal layer and a first barrier metal layer to form a gate electrode, a gate line and a gate pad; forming a gate insulation layer to cover the gate electrode, line and pad; forming an active layer, an ohmic contact layer, a second barrier metal layer and a second metal layer including a copper (Cu) layer on the gate insulation layer; patterning the second metal layer and the second barrier metal layer by a first etching process; patterning an exposed portion of the second metal layer and the second barrier metal layer and ohmic contact layer to form source and drain electrodes each having a double layered structure of the second barrier metal layer and the second metal layer; and forming a pixel electrode on a passivation layer formed on the source and drain electrodes.
US08432498B2 Automatic frequency selection for peaking
An automatic frequency selection circuit includes a base filter for receiving a video input, a peaking filter for receiving the video input, a first energy computation unit coupled to an output of the base filter, a second energy computation unit coupled to an output of the peaking filter, an automatic frequency control unit to compare relative measured energies of the first and second energy computation units and to output a temporarily stable selected frequency for a targeted attenuation, and a frame delay feedback unit for receiving the temporarily stable selected frequency coupled to the peaking filter.
US08432497B2 DTV receiving system and method of processing DTV signal
A method of processing broadcast data includes performing RS (Reed-Solomon) encoding and CRC (Cyclic Redundancy Check) encoding on mobile service data to output an RS frame; dividing the RS frame into a plurality of portions; block processing data in one portion of the plurality of portions; mapping the block processed data in the one portion into at least one region of a data group that comprises a plurality of regions, and adding a first known data sequence, a plurality of second known data sequences, and a transmission parameter to the data group; and transmitting a transmission frame including the data group, wherein the transmission parameter is positioned between the first known data sequence and one of the plurality of second known data sequences, and the first known data sequence and the one of the plurality of second known data sequences differ from each other in length.
US08432495B2 Video processor and video processing method
A motion compensator includes a video data selector, a video data editor, a vector reference data editor, a delay unit, a region data editor, and a delay unit. The video data editor outputs present frame video data and average video data. The vector reference data editor outputs previous compensation video data and present compensation video data. The region data editor outputs present frame region data, previous compensation region data, and present compensation region data. The video data selector selects one of four video data pieces based on the three pieces of region data and outputs the selected data to the video output unit.
US08432493B2 Method and apparatus for composition of subtitles
Embodiments of the invention include a subtitling format encompassing elements of enhanced syntax and semantic to provide improved animation capabilities. The disclosed elements improve subtitle performance without stressing the available subtitle bitrate. This will become essential for authoring content of high-end HDTV subtitles in pre-recorded format, which can be broadcast or stored on high capacity optical media, e.g. the Blue-ray Disc. Embodiments of the invention include abilities for improved authoring possibilities for the content production to animate subtitles. For subtitles that are separate from AV material, a method includes using one or more superimposed subtitle layers, and displaying only a selected part of the transferred subtitles at a time. Further, colors of a selected part of the displayed subtitles may be modified, e.g. highlighted.
US08432492B2 Method of adapting video images to small screen sizes
To improve a cropping system by obtaining coverage of a wide range of contents for smaller sized displays of handheld devices, a method starts from a metadata aggregation and corresponding video, e.g. in post-production, program exchange and archiving, wherein (a) video is passed to a video analysis to deliver video, e.g. by use of motion detection, morphology filters, edge detection, etc., (b) separated video and metadata are combined to extract important features in a context wherein important information from the metadata is categorized and used to initialize a dynamically fitted chain of feature extraction steps adapted to the delivered video content, (c) extracted important features are combined to define regions of interest (ROI) which are searched in consecutive video frames by object tracking, the object tracking identifies a new position and deformation of each initialized ROI in consecutive video frames and returns this information to the feature extraction thereby obtaining a permanent communication between the feature extraction and the object tracking, (d) one or plural ROIs are extracted and input video frame by video frame into a cropping step (e); based on weighting information a well composed image part is cropped by classifying the supplied ROIs by importance, and (f) the cropped image area(s) are scaled to the desired small screen size.
US08432491B2 Object-based system and method of directing visual attention by a subliminal cue
An object-based system and method of directing visual attention by a subliminal cue is disclosed. An object detector detects an object in an input image, thereby resulting in a cued object served as an object-based subliminal cue. An enhancement unit enhances saliency of the cued object in the input image by respectively and differently adjusting image characteristic of the cued object and an area other than the cued object, thereby generating a cue image. A mixer selects between the cue image and the input image, thereby resulting in a sequence of output images composed of the input images and the cue images, each of which is interposed between the adjacent input images.
US08432487B2 Motion image rendering systems and methods
Systems and methods of rendering a motion image. A television signal is modified through a sine wave motion judder component to introduce intentional motion judder which can replicate the appearance of cinematic projection. To present 24 frames per second film via a 60 Hz television system with the “look” of a 72 Hz cinematic projector, a judder oscillator is set to generate a 24 Hz sinewave having a peak amplitude equal to 38.5% of the time difference between 24 Hz frames. The motion-judder component may periodically reverse the apparent direction of motion.
US08432484B2 Camera modules
A camera module may include a mount and a barrel coupled to the mount. One of the barrel and the mount may include a polycarbonate material and the other of the barrel and the mount may include a liquid crystal polymer (LCP) material.
US08432480B2 Interchangeable lens, camera body and camera system
A camera body to which an interchangeable lens is mountable includes a receiving unit operable to receive speed information, a first controller unit operable to select a shooting mode from a moving image shooting mode and a still image shooting mode, a second controller unit capable of setting whether to operate in a silent mode provided for a situation where a drive sound of a drive unit in the interchangeable lens is desired to be at a low level during the moving image shooting mode, a third controller unit operable to generate a control signal for changing light amount which is changed by a diaphragm in the interchangeable lens, at a constant speed based on the speed information, when the moving image shooting mode is selected and the silent mode is not set, and a body transmitting unit operable to transmit the generated control signal to the interchangeable lens.
US08432479B2 Range measurement using a zoom camera
A method of using an image capture device to identify range information for objects in a scene, includes providing an image capture device having at least one image sensor, a lens and a coded aperture, storing in a memory a set of blur kernels derived from range calibration data for the coded aperture, capturing a first and second image of the scene having a plurality of objects, corresponding to first and second optical magnifications, respectively. The method further includes providing a set of deblurred images using the capture images from each magnification and each of the blur kernels from the stored set, and using the set of deblurred images to determine the range information for the objects in the scene.
US08432474B2 Image pickup apparatus
An image pickup apparatus is arranged such that in the case where at least either photographing settings at the time of image pickup or object information of the picked-up image coincides with one of a plurality of classification information providing conditions, classification information corresponding to the coincident classification information providing condition is provided to the picked-up image and the image is recorded onto a recording medium, and also such that the image recorded on the recording medium, the classification information thereof and the plurality of classification information providing conditions are displayed to a display unit, and among the plurality of displayed classification information providing conditions, the classification information providing condition which coincides when the classification information provided to the image is provided is recognizably displayed.
US08432469B2 Photoelectric conversion device
A photoelectric conversion device may include a plurality of A/D converters each of which receives a pixel signal from a pixel array that includes pixels arranged two-dimensionally. Each of the pixels may have a photoelectric conversion element. The pixel array may output the pixel signal in accordance with an incident light amount to the photoelectric conversion element. The plurality of A/D converters may convert the pixel signal to a digital value based on a reference voltage. The plurality of A/D converters may output the digital value. A reference voltage wire, which supplies the reference voltage to each of the plurality of A/D converters, may be branched into a plurality of branched reference voltage wires each of which is corresponding to one of the plurality of A/D converters. Each of the plurality of branched reference voltage wires may be connected only to constituent components in a corresponding A/D converter.
US08432468B2 Composite low frequency cutoff filter and imaging apparatus using the same
An imaging apparatus includes a composite low frequency cutoff filter. The composite low frequency cutoff filter includes a first low frequency cutoff filter, a second low frequency cutoff filter, and an adder-subtractor. The second low frequency cutoff filter receives an output of the first low frequency cutoff filter. The adder-subtractor subtracts an output of the second low frequency cutoff filter from an input to the composite low frequency cutoff filter, and outputs a result of the subtraction to the first low frequency cutoff filter. An output of the first low frequency cutoff filter is outputted as an output of the composite low frequency cutoff filter.
US08432467B2 Integrated detection and display imaging system and method
An imaging system for receiving data from a scene and displaying an image therefrom includes a detector and a display. The detector includes a plurality of detector pixels on a first side of the detector, readout circuitry on an opposing second side of the detector or between the detector and the detector pixels on the first side of the detector, and a plurality of detector vias configured to provide electrical connectivity for the plurality of detector pixels through the detector. The display includes a plurality of display pixels on one side of the display, read in circuitry on an opposing second side of the display or between the display and the display pixels on the first side of the display, and a plurality of display vias configured to provide electrical connectivity for the plurality of display pixels through the display. The read in circuitry is coupled with the readout circuitry.
US08432448B2 Stereo camera intrusion detection system
A system and method is provided for an intrusion detection system. The intrusion detection system comprises a first camera configured to acquire first visual images of a monitored area and a second camera configured to acquire second visual images of the monitored area. The intrusion detection system also comprises a detection device configured to compare the first images with a background image of the monitored area. The detection device can mark differences between the first images and the background image as a potential intruder. The intrusion detection system further comprises a tracking device configured to evaluate each of the first images relative to each of the second images to determine three-dimensional characteristics associated with the potential intruder.
US08432444B2 Method for monitoring surveillance area
A method of monitoring a surveillance area with sensors of a monitoring system has the steps of extracting from signals of the sensors elements of the surveillance area and attributes allocated to the elements, initially deriving text attributes from the attributes extracted from the sensor and allocating the same to the elements, and storing the elements and their attributes in a memory device.
US08432441B2 Method and system for measuring critical dimension and monitoring fabrication uniformity
A method for measuring critical dimension (CD) includes steps of: scanning at least one area of interest of a die to obtain at least one scanned image; aligning the scanned image to at least one designed layout pattern to identify a plurality of borders within the scanned image; and averaging distances each measured from the border or the plurality of borders of a pattern associated with a specific type of CD corresponding to the designed layout pattern to obtain a value of CD of the die. The value of critical dimensions of dies can be obtained from the scanned image with lower resolution which is obtained by relatively higher scanning speed, so the above-mentioned method can obtain value of CD for every die within entire wafer to monitor the uniformity of the semiconductor manufacturing process within an acceptable inspection time.
US08432438B2 Device for dimming a beacon light source used in a light based positioning system
In one aspect, the present disclosure relates to a dimmable beacon light source for a light based positioning system. In some embodiments, the light source includes a dimmer control switch configured to generate a dimmer signal having a desired light output level, a dimmable driver for controlling the light output of the light source, and a modulator for receiving the dimmer signal from the dimmer control switch, generating a digital pulse recognition signal by controlling the frequency of the dimmer signal to a desired frequency value, and transmitting the digital pulse recognition signal to the dimmable driver to drive the light output of the light source. In some embodiments, the digital pulse recognition signal is a pulse width modulated signal. In some embodiments, the digital pulse recognition signal has a duty cycle based on the dimmer signal.
US08432419B2 Driving apparatus for liquid crystal light modulator and variable optical attenuator employing driving apparatus
A liquid crystal light modulator 11 modulates a light according to an effective value of a supplied drive signal. A driving apparatus 21 changes the effective value of each frame of the drive signal supplied to the liquid crystal light modulator 11 according to modulation data. The driving apparatus 21 generates the drive signal containing plural pulses in each frame. The driving apparatus 21 supplies the generated drive signal to the liquid crystal light modulator 11, thereby enabling a high-frequency drive of the liquid crystal light modulator 11.
US08432418B2 Signal processing device, signal processing method, and display apparatus
A signal processing device for supplying a drive voltage signal to a display panel, includes a luminance detector, a memory to store a first correction factor for correcting the luminance level of the pixel to be changed by a voltage level difference between a drive voltage signal supplied to the display element and a drive voltage signal supplied to a first adjacent display element adjacent to the display element in the forward direction of the scanning line, and a second correction factor for correcting the luminance level of the pixel to be changed by a voltage level difference between a drive voltage signal supplied to the display element and a second adjacent display element adjacent to the display element in the reverse direction of the scanning line, a correction voltage level computing unit, and an adder to add the first correction voltage level and the second correction voltage level.
US08432414B2 Automated annotation of a view
In a view, e.g. of scenery, of a shopping or museum display, or of a meeting or conference, automated processing can be used to annotate objects which are visible from a viewer position. Annotation can be of objects selected by the viewer, and can be displayed visually, for example, with or without an image of the view.
US08432396B2 Reflections in a multidimensional user interface environment
A graphical user interface has a back surface disposed from a viewing surface to define a depth. A visualization object receptacle is disposed between the back surface and a viewing surface and contains a visualization object. A reflection surface is defined such that a reflection of the visualization object is displayed on the reflection surface.
US08432392B2 Display system with image conversion mechanism and method of operation thereof
A method of operation of a display system includes: receiving a current input image with current input pixels; identifying an input object, having input object pixels, based on differences in characteristics of the current input pixels; calculating an object pixel depth for the input object pixels from an image depth map of the current input image based on a weighted average of depth candidates; and generating a processed image, having a perceived depth, from the current input image with the image depth map and the object pixel depth for displaying on a device.
US08432391B2 Remote control device and remote control method
A remote control device remotely controls a digital mirror apparatus. The remote control device includes: a three-dimensional rendering unit that generates first and second user images from first and second three-dimensional models; a first operation determination unit that determines whether or not the menu image overlaps with the second user image; a second operation determination unit that determines coordinates of a position specified by a user on a display screen based on an amount of the movement of the second user image in a direction perpendicular to the display screen; and an operation information outputting unit that outputs operation information corresponding to the menu image, when it is determined that the menu image overlaps with the second user image and when the determined coordinates are included within a display area of the menu image. The amount of the movement is calculated with reference to data in the depth buffer.
US08432388B2 Organic light emitting display device
An organic light emitting display device includes: a scan driver for supplying scan signals to scan lines and an emission control signal to an emission control line during a scan period; a data driver for supplying data signals to data lines; a second power supply supplying a second power at a high voltage level during the scan period and at a low voltage level during an emission period; and a plurality of pixels located at crossing regions of the scan lines and the data lines, the pixels controlling the amount of current supplied through organic light emitting diodes (OLEDs), each of the pixels located in an i-th horizontal line including: a second transistor having a second electrode coupled with an OLED; and a first transistor coupled between the second transistor and a data line and turned on when a scan signal is supplied to the i-th scan line.
US08432387B2 Electrophoresis display and driving method thereof
An electrophoresis display and a driving method thereof are disclosed. An electrophoresis display includes a display panel comprising a plurality of pixel cells to display an image, a data driving unit supplying a pixel voltage to a plurality of data lines provided in the display panel, a common voltage generating unit generating a common voltage swinging to reverse electric potential and supplying the common voltage to a common electrode of the display panel, and a timing control unit generating a data control signal and a common voltage control signal and controlling a driving timing of the data driving unit and the common voltage generating unit.
US08432386B2 Switch device for source driver of liquid crystal display and operating method thereof
A switch device for source drivers of liquid crystal displays includes a first switch module; a first switch; a second switch; a second switch module; a third switch module; a fourth switch module; a third switch; and a fourth switch; wherein when a first driving signal with a voltage level between a first voltage level and a second voltage level through the second switch module is sent to a second output terminal and a second driving signal with a voltage level between a third voltage level and a fourth voltage level through the third switch module is sent to a first output terminal, the first switch is turned on such that a first node is connected to a first voltage source with the first voltage level and the fourth switch is turned on such that a second node is connected to a fourth voltage source with the fourth voltage level.
US08432382B2 Electronic module, methods of manufacturing and driving the same, and electronic instrument
An electronic module includes an EL section; a first substrate on which the EL section is formed; a second substrate attached to the first substrate; an integrated circuit chip mounted on the second substrate; a plurality of first power supply interconnects formed on the first substrate, extending through a pair of regions located on both sides of the EL section; and a plurality of second power supply interconnects formed on the second substrate, extending through a pair of regions located on both sides of the integrated circuit chip.
US08432381B2 Active matrix display
An active matrix display includes a substrate, a video signal line on the substrate, first and second power lines on the substrate, a self-emitting element having two display electrodes facing each other and connected to one of the first and second power lines, a drive transistor connected between the first power line and one of the display electrodes, a storage capacitor having a first electrode connected to a gate electrode of the drive transistor and a second electrode facing the first electrode with interposing an insulating layer, the storage capacitor and the gate electrode of the drive transistor being arranged under the display electrode, and a shield electrode arranged between the display electrode connected to the drive transistor and at least one of the first electrode of the storage capacitor and the gate electrode with interposing an insulating layer, and set at a constant potential.
US08432380B2 Display apparatus and information processing apparatus using the same
A display apparatus includes a plurality of luminescent devices aligned periodically in a row direction and in a column direction, a plurality of pixel circuits aligned periodically in a row direction and in a column direction for supplying an electric current to each of the luminescent devices, a plurality of data lines each connected commonly to the pixel circuits aligned periodically in the column direction for supplying signal currents to these pixel circuits, and a plurality of column-current generating circuits connected to the plurality of data lines respectively for supplying signal currents to corresponding data lines. Each of the column-current generating circuits have a plurality of transistor devices arranged in a distributed manner and including main electrodes respectively connected in parallel and control electrodes commonly connected. The plurality of transistor devices are arranged in the row direction at a pitch equal to or n times, with n being a natural number not smaller than two, of the alignment period in the row direction of the plurality of luminescent devices and arranged in the column direction at a constant pitch.
US08432372B2 User input using proximity sensing
A device is described which enables users to interact with software running on the device through gestures made in an area adjacent to the device. In an embodiment, a portable computing device has proximity sensors arranged on an area of its surface which is not a display, such as on the sides of the device. These proximity sensors define an area of interaction adjacent to the device. User gestures in this area of interaction are detected by creating sensing images from data received from each of the sensors and then analyzing sequences of these images to detect gestures. The detected gestures may be mapped to particular inputs to a software program running on the device and therefore a user can control the operation of the program through gestures.
US08432369B2 Terminal device with display function
A terminal device with a display function enables only an operation of a desired operation key valid, and easily perform the invalidation operation. In response to switching to a predetermined function mode by manipulating a jog dial, an image in the switched function mode is displayed in a display surface, based on an image signal from a display control section. A bar is located on a borderline between a contents area and an operation area in an initial state of displaying an image. When the jog dial is manipulated by the user to thereby move the bar from the borderline to a predetermined position within the operation area, a CPU determines that the position of the bar has been moved. Then, the CPU detects a new position of the bar, and makes an operation with respect to the operation key located between the bar and the borderline invalid.
US08432366B2 Touch discrimination
The claimed subject matter provides a system and/or a method that facilitates distinguishing input among one or more users in a surface computing environment. A variety of information can be obtained and analyzed to infer an association between a particular input and a particular user. Touch point information can be acquired from a surface wherein the touch point information relates to a touch point. In addition, one or more environmental sensors can monitor the surface computing environment and provide environmental information. The touch point information and the environmental information can be analyzed to determine direction of inputs, location of users, and movement of users and so on. Individual analysis results can be correlated and/or aggregated to generate a inference of association between a touch point and user.
US08432357B2 Tracking object selection apparatus, method, program and circuit
A tracking object selection apparatus which selects a tracking object. The tracking object selection apparatus includes a synthesis unit which synthesizes an input image and an image so that the image is disposed at a predetermined position, a display unit, and a selection unit which selects, as the tracking object in a predetermined process, a detected object when an operation is performed on the image displayed at the predetermined position.
US08432353B2 Information display device
An information display device (10) includes a light source (11), a light guide plate (13) to which light from the light source (11) enters from a side surface and from which the light exits from one principal surface, and a liquid crystal panel (16) disposed adjacently to the light guide plate (13). Outside light is injected into the light guide plate (13) from an opposing surface opposing the one principal surface. The light guide plate (13) includes a light control mirror (19) electrically switchable to transmit light and to reflect light. At least one of the light from the light source (11) and the outside light exits from the one principal surface of the light guide plate (13). The light passes through the liquid crystal panel (16) and a character or an image is displayed.
US08432348B2 Data signal loading circuit, display panel driving circuit, and image display apparatus
A data signal loading circuit (i) which includes: a comparator CMP1 receiving clock signal CKP and reverse-phase signal CKN of clock signal CKP, and outputting clock signal CLP1 which is in phase with clock signal CKP, and clock signal CLN 1 having a reverse phase of clock signal CKP; a comparator CMP 2 having a non-inverting input terminal receiving clock signal CLP1, and an inverting input terminal receiving clock signal CLN1; and a comparator CMP3 having an inverting input terminal receiving clock signal CLP 1, and a non-inverting input terminal receiving clock signal CLN 1, and (ii) which, by using output signals CL1 and CL2 of the comparator CMP2 and the comparator CMP3 as clock signals for latch circuits L1 and L2, equalizes delay times for the rise or fall of clock signals CL1 and CL2 inputted to the latch circuits L1 and L2, and (iii) has low power consumption.
US08432347B2 Driving method and drive control circuit of liquid crystal display device, and liquid crystal display device including the same
A drive control circuit includes a timing controller for detecting a change of a horizontal scanning frequency, a gate voltage generating circuit for generating two kinds of gate-on voltages Va and Vb (Va
US08432342B2 Pixel and organic light emitting display using the same
A pixel of an organic light emitting display in which the pixel includes: a first transistor including a first electrode coupled to a first power source, a second electrode, and a gate electrode coupled to a first node; a second transistor including a first electrode coupled to a third power source, a second electrode coupled to the first node, and a gate electrode coupled to a reset control line; a third transistor including a first electrode coupled to the first node, a second electrode coupled to a fourth power source, and a gate electrode; a fourth transistor including a first electrode coupled to the gate electrode of the third transistor, a second electrode coupled to a scan line, and a gate electrode coupled to a data line; and an organic light emitting diode (OLED) including an anode electrode coupled to the second electrode of the first transistor, and a cathode electrode coupled to a second power source.
US08432341B2 Color sequence control for video display apparatus
A video display apparatus is provided, comprising: a light source(s) controllable for emitting a plurality of reference colors; a color conversion circuit received an input video signal for generating the color data of at least one correction color for correcting a reference color emitted from a light source; an image processing unit receives the input video signal for generating an output video signal comprising a plurality of sub-frame signals; and a control circuit applies the color data generated by the color conversion circuit for controlling a light source to display color images.
US08432339B2 System and method for increasing bit-depth in a video display system using a pulsed lamp
In accordance with the teachings of the present invention, a system and method for increasing the bit-depth of a video display system using a pulse lamp are provided. In one embodiment, the method includes illuminating a digital micro-mirror device with a light source having a variable power supply, receiving a signal indicating the light output provided to the digital micro-mirror device by the light source should be reduced to a target level during a predetermined time period, reducing a power supplied to the light source by the variable power supply in response to the signal such that the light output of the light source is reduced to about a target level during the predetermined time period, displaying a least significant bit on the digital micro-mirror device during the predetermined time period, and decreasing a speed of a master clock controlling the digital micro-mirror device in response to the light output of the light source deviating below the target level during the predetermined time period.
US08432336B2 Pixel and organic light emitting display device using the same
A pixel for use in an organic light emitting display device capable of displaying an image of uniform brightness is provided. The pixel includes: an organic light emitting diode; a first transistor for controlling the amount of current supplied to the organic light emitting diode; a storage capacitor coupled between a gate electrode and a second electrode of the first transistor; a second transistor coupled between the gate electrode of the first transistor and a data line, and configured to turn on when a scan signal is supplied to a scan line; a fourth transistor coupled between the first electrode of the first transistor and a first power source, and configured to be off during a period when a voltage is charged to the storage capacitor; and a third transistor coupled between the gate electrode and the first electrode of the first transistor.
US08432327B2 Dual-band dipole antenna
A dual-band dipole antenna (100) includes a ground radiating portion (2), a signal radiating portion (3) and a feed wire (1). The feed wire (1) has a ground portion (12) connected to the ground radiating portion (2), and a core conduct (11) connected to the signal radiating portion (3). The signal radiating portion (3) has a first branch (31), a second branch (32) having a same length and a same width as the first branch (31), and a middle portion (33) connecting the first branch (31) and the second branch (32) at connecting points. Each of the first branch (31) and the second branch (32) has a first radiating length (D1) extending from the connecting point and a second radiating length (D2) extending from the connecting point.
US08432318B2 Capacitive antenna structure
A capacitive antenna structure comprises a substrate and a sheet-shaped capacitor. The substrate has a radiating metal layer and a grounding metal layer thereon. The radiating metal layer has a first groove to expose the front surface of the substrate, the first groove having a signal feeding hole therein and having a second groove on the edge. The grounding metal layer has a third groove on the edge to expose the substrate, the third groove being opposite to the second groove, the third groove having a first contact and a second contact on two sides respectively to electrically connect to the capacitor. The third groove may connect to a fourth groove to expose the substrate, the fourth groove having a signal transmission line therein, and the signal transmission line having the signal feeding hole to connect a cable.
US08432304B2 Error correction in thermometer codes
A thermometer coded line is configured to convert a time interval to a digital code for subsequent processing in order to output a value representative of said time interval. A digital peak detector is coupled to receive output from the thermometer coded line, the detector operating for correction of an undesired code of said digital code in order to ensure a valid output of said value. A majority logic circuit is coupled between the thermometer coded line and the digital peak detector, the logic circuit operating for correction of undesired code of said digital code in order to ensure the valid output of said value. The detector functions to correct any undesired code not corrected by, or introduced by, the logic circuit.
US08432301B2 Gesture-enabled keyboard and associated apparatus and computer-readable storage medium
A keyboard is provided that includes an arrangement of keys, circuitry and a first processor configured to generate a signal in response to a keystroke in which a respective key of the arrangement of keys is depressed, and determine how to interpret the keystroke. The keyboard also includes a plurality of proximity sensors and a second processor configured to measure the proximity of an object to the respective proximity sensors, determine a position and/or movement of the object relative to the proximity sensors based on the respective signal, and produce a gesture signal representative of the determined position and/or movement. This gesture signal is interpretable into one or more commands or instructions for directing performance of one or more operations of an apparatus or software operating on the apparatus. A related apparatus and computer-readable storage medium are also provided.
US08432297B2 Parking information collection system and method
An integrated parking information system is disclosed. The system includes a collection system and a means for collection of parking data, and an information provision system and a method for the provision of parking information, for instance, enabling a driver to know exactly which city parking rules and fines apply for any given street parking space, as well as other associated information. The system can notify members about available parking spots through a GPS application that is integrated with phones & in dash Navigation Systems. The system can provide alerts to protect members against parking violations.
US08432284B2 Methods and systems of attaching a radio transceiver to an antenna
Methods and systems of attaching a radio transceiver to an antenna. At least some of the illustrative embodiments are systems comprising an antenna and an integrated circuit configured to operate as a radio transceiver. The antenna comprises a ground plane having a first edge surface, and an active element having a second edge surface. The ground plane and the active element are retained together such that the first and second edge surfaces are substantially coplanar and form an antenna edge. The integrated circuit is configured to operate as a radio transceiver, and the integrated circuit is mechanically coupled to the edge of the antenna and electrically coupled to the active element.
US08432269B2 System and method for disabling a vehicle
Systems and methods are provided for disabling a vehicle. An exemplary system includes, but is not limited to an antenna that is adapted to be attached to the vehicle. The antenna is configured to transmit and receive communication transmissions. A telematics unit is communicatively connected to the antenna. The telematics unit is adapted for attachment to the vehicle and is configured to communicatively connect to a necessary sub-system of the vehicle, to receive telecommunications from a user through the antenna, and to disable the necessary sub-system in response to receiving an instruction from the user to disable the vehicle.
US08432266B2 Pull station
A pull station for an alarm includes a housing having an actuator mounted for movement with respect thereto. The actuator has a standby (i.e., normal) position and an alarm position. The actuator has a contoured actuation surface configured such that downward pressure on the actuation surface moves the actuator from the standby position to the alarm position. The actuator may be rotatably or slidably coupled to the housing. The actuation surface may extend beyond the front face of the housing when in the standby position. In some embodiments, the actuation surface is cup-shaped. In other embodiments, the actuation surface is v-shaped, with first and second angled portions forming oblique angles with respect to a lateral axis of the housing. Thus arranged, the actuator can be operated by a disabled who may not have complete hand or finger dexterity. Other embodiments are described and claimed.
US08432264B1 Motion-activated remote control backlight
An apparatus for performing remote control operations is provided. A remote control detects a particular movement, and performs operations based on the detected movement.
US08432261B2 Simplified device pairing employing near field communication tags
A system and method for simply and securely pairing two Bluetooth devices. A Near Field Communication (NFC) read-only tag is placed in a first Bluetooth device such that a user of a second Bluetooth device can pass the second device near the tag, which then transfers encryption key data for the first Bluetooth device to the second Bluetooth device. An algorithm is employed for initiating the pairing process with the first Bluetooth device, which can ordinarily remain in a silent mode for security reasons. Once the pairing process has been initiated, and the second Bluetooth device has been passed near the NFC tag, the pairing process is completed with no further action required by the users.
US08432258B2 Apparatus and method facilitating communication between components of a radio frequency identification system
Several embodiments provide methods and apparatus to improve communications between an RFID reader and one or more RFID tags. In one implementation, an apparatus comprises a first antenna configured to communicate with a radio frequency identification (RFID) reader; a second antenna separate from said first antenna, and configured to communicate with at least one RFID tag; and structure electrically coupling said first and second antennas.
US08432250B2 Process variation based microchip identification
An apparatus comprising a multiplexer circuit, a plurality of bit generation circuits, and a control circuit. The multiplexer circuit may be configured to generate an intermediate signal in response to (i) a plurality of input bits and (ii) a control signal. The plurality of bit generation circuits may each be configured to generate one of the plurality of input bits. The control circuit may be configured to generate the control signal.
US08432246B2 Electric circuit breaker apparatus for vehicle
An electric circuit breaker apparatus is used in a vehicle including an electric circuit having a converter and a storage battery. The electric circuit breaker apparatus interrupts power supply from the storage battery to the converter when a collision of the vehicle is detected. The electric circuit breaker apparatus includes a power supply circuit breaker driven by a low explosive type actuator, which is actuated when a collision of the vehicle is detected. Actuation of the power supply circuit breaker interrupts a power supply path connecting a positive terminal of the storage battery to the converter and grounds a portion of the power supply path closer to the converter than the interrupted portion.
US08432244B2 Power distribution transformer and tank therefor
Disclosed is a power distribution transformer having a body of the transformer, the body consisting of a coil and an iron core; a tank containing the body of the transformer and an insulation substance which fills an inner space of the tank; and an upper lid of the tank. The tank and/or the upper lid is made of a ferritic stainless steel.
US08432241B2 Contact arrangement having a bent cord, relay having a contact arrangement and method for assembling a relay
The present invention relates to a contact arrangement for a relay for switching high load currents. Furthermore, the invention relates to a relay for switching high load currents having a contact arrangement. Finally, the invention relates to a method for assembling a relay. In order to be able to assemble the contact arrangement in the relay in an at least partially automated manner, without additional retention devices being required for a cord, there is provision according to theinvention for the cord to be retained in an inherently stable manner owning to its shape as a self-supporting structure and for the method to have a method step in which the cord is shaped to form a self-supporting structure with a bent shape.
US08432238B2 Multiple-membrane flexible wall system for temperature-compensated technology filters and multiplexers
The present invention relates to a flexible cap system optimized for thermally-compensated technology microwave resonators. More specifically, this invention proposes a multiple-membrane flexible wall system for thermally-compensated filters and OMUX. The use of a multi-membrane flexible wall, in particular as sealing cap for a resonant cavity of an OMUX channel, makes it possible: to reduce the thermal resistance of the flexible wall, while maintaining an equivalent level of mechanical stresses exerted on said wall for a given displacement; or to reduce the mechanical stresses exerted on the flexible wall for a given displacement, while maintaining one and the same thermal resistance for said wall; or to increase the deformation of the flexible wall by maintaining an equivalent level of mechanical stresses and by maintaining an equivalent thermal resistance.
US08432237B2 Output circuit with integrated impedance matching, power combining and filtering for power amplifiers and other circuits
An output circuit with integrated impedance matching, power combining, and filtering and suitable for use with power amplifiers and other circuits is described. In an exemplary design, an apparatus may include first and second circuits (e.g., power amplifiers) and an output circuit. The first circuit may provide a first single-ended signal and may have a first output impedance. The second circuit may provide a second single-ended signal and may have a second output impedance. The output circuit may include (i) first and second matching circuits that perform output impedance matching and filtering for the first and second circuits, (ii) a combiner (e.g., a summing node) that combines the first and second single-ended signals to obtain a combined single-ended signal, (iii) a third matching circuit that performs impedance matching and filtering for the combined single-ended signal, and (iv) switches to route the single-ended signals to different outputs.
US08432233B2 Micro-electromechanical resonator geometry
A micro-electromechanical resonator suspended from an anchor. The resonator has: a length; a first width at a first distance from the anchor; and a second width at a second, greater distance from the anchor. The second width is greater than the first width, and the width of the resonator tapers gradually along at least part of its length from the second width to the first width.
US08432232B2 MEMS device and oscillator
A MEMS device includes a substrate, a cavity formed above the substrate, a first vibrator contained in the cavity, and a second vibrator contained in the cavity and having a natural frequency different from that of the first vibrator. The first vibrator and the second vibrator are preferably arranged along a long side of the cavity having a rectangular shape in plan view.
US08432226B1 Amplifier circuits and methods for cancelling Miller capacitance
An amplifier circuit has an input stage, a current mirror stage, and an output stage. The output stage has a transistor for which a non-linear and/or linear Miller capacitance exists across the transistor. A capacitive element, referred to herein as a “negative Miller capacitor,” is coupled between an input node of the current mirror stage and the transistor's collector or drain causing the current flowing through the negative Miller capacitor to be inverted, supplying the current taken by the usual Miller capacitance of the output stage. Thus, the negative Miller capacitor cancels the usual Miller capacitance across the transistor of the output stage, and such cancellation occurs without significantly increasing the amplifier's input power and costs. In some embodiments, both linear and non-linear components of the usual Miller capacitor are cancelled. Further, cancellation of the Miller capacitance generally enhances bandwidth and reduces distortion, thereby improving the performance of the operational amplifier.
US08432223B2 Differential amplifier circuit
A differential amplifier circuit can reduce consumption current and the circuit size while improving a power supply rejection ratio. The differential amplifier circuit includes a power supply line and an input part that includes an input circuit and an active load. The input circuit includes two differential input elements, and the active load includes two transistors connected to the two differential input elements. The input part generates a differential signal in response to an input signal given to the two differential input elements. The differential amplifier circuit also includes an amplifying part for generating an output voltage generating signal by amplifying the differential signal. The differential amplifier circuit also includes an output part for generating an output voltage based on the output voltage generating signal and a power supply voltage. The differential amplifier circuit includes a noise permitting part located between control terminals of the two transistors and the power supply line.
US08432197B2 Nonlinear and concurrent digital control for a highly digital phase-locked loop
A phase-locked loop circuitry includes an oscillator circuitry having an input and an output. A phase detector circuit is connected to the output of the oscillator circuitry and has outputs thereof. A digital loop filter circuit is connected to the outputs of the phase detector circuitry and has outputs thereof. The outputs of the digital loop filter circuit are coupled, through a summing circuit, to the input of the oscillator circuitry. Values associated with the outputs of the digital loop filter circuit are updated concurrently based upon values associated with the outputs of the phase detector circuitry. One output of the digital loop filter circuitry has a high-pass transfer function.
US08432194B2 Bias potential generating circuit
A bias potential generating circuit includes a clock supply circuit that generates a clock signal having a predetermined frequency; a rising sine wave generating circuit that generates a rising wave form signal having a wave form of a rising portion of a sine wave; a ΔΣ conversion circuit that generates a pulse width modulation signal by pulse width modulating the rising wave form signal; a first resistor, one end connected to a reference potential input terminal of an operational amplifier; a second resistor, one end connected to the first resistor and to the reference potential input terminal of the operational amplifier, and the other end being grounded; and a switch connected to a power supply and to the other end of the first resistor, the switch being turned ON and OFF by the pulse width modulation signal.
US08432192B2 2-phase threshold detector based circuits
A switched capacitor circuit includes a threshold detector to generate a threshold detection signal when a difference between first and second input signals crosses a predetermined level. A coarse current source produces a coarse ramp. A series sampling capacitor samples a coarse output voltage when the threshold detector indicates a first threshold crossing. The sampling capacitor is connected in series with a fine current source producing a fine ramp.
US08432189B1 Digital voltage level shifter
A dual supply bidirectional level shifter performs voltage level shifting in two directions, low to high and high to low. A feedback control branch and a control stage inverter are provided that reduce leakage power and allow for low delay time while also allowing for a small circuit footprint.
US08432188B2 Latch circuit, flip-flop having the same and data latching method
A latch circuit includes a first tri-state inverter configured to invert an input voltage in response to a pulse and to output the inverted voltage to a first node, a second tri-state inverter connected between the first node and a second node and to invert a voltage of the second node in response to an inverted pulse being an inverted version of the pulse, and a variable inversion unit connected between the first node and the second node. The variable inversion unit adjusts a logical threshold value according to a logical value corresponding to a voltage of the first node and inverts a voltage of the first node based upon the adjusted logical threshold value, the logical threshold value indicating a voltage for discriminating the logical value.
US08432183B2 Element substrate and printed wiring board
An element substrate includes a plurality of terminals, a first receiving circuit and a second receiving circuit each receiving a differential signal via one of the terminals included in the plurality of terminals, a driving circuit including a first input unit for inputting a first signal and a second input unit for inputting a second signal and driving a driving element based on the first signal and the second signal, and a setting circuit for setting a first connection state of connecting an output from the first receiving circuit to the first input unit and connecting an output from the second receiving circuit to the second input unit, and a second connection state of connecting an output from the first receiving circuit to the second input unit and connecting an output from the second receiving circuit to the first input unit based on an externally input signal.
US08432180B2 Process monitor for monitoring an integrated circuit chip
A system or apparatus for monitoring an Integrated Circuit (IC) chip includes: a sense circuit at least partially constructed on the IC chip and configured to produce one or more sense signals each indicative of a corresponding process-dependent circuit parameter of the IC chip; and a digitizer module configured to produce, responsive to the one or more sense signals, one or more digitized signals each representative of a corresponding one of the sense signals. A controller is configured to determine a value of one or more of the process-dependent circuit parameters based on one or more of the digitized signals.
US08432178B2 Testing device and method thereof
A testing device for testing a board managing controller (BMC) of a computer motherboard including a power supply, a BMC, and a warning unit, includes a storing module, a voltage adjusting module, and a voltage displaying module. The storing module stores a preset warning voltage and an upper limit voltage larger than the preset warning voltage. The voltage adjusting module is used for adjusting the voltage of the power supply. The voltage displaying module is used for displaying the output voltage of the voltage adjusting module. It indicates the BMC works properly if the warning unit provides warning when the output voltage of the voltage adjusting module is less than the preset warning voltage, or the warning unit is silent when the output voltage of the voltage adjusting module falls between the preset warning voltage and the upper limit voltage.
US08432177B2 High throughput current-voltage combinatorial characterization tool and method for combinatorial solar test substrates
Measuring current-voltage (I-V) characteristics of a solar cell using a lamp that emits light, a substrate that includes a plurality of solar cells, a positive electrode attached to the solar cells, and a negative electrode peripherally deposited around each of the solar cells and connected to a common ground, an articulation platform coupled to the substrate, a multi-probe switching matrix or a Z-stage device, a programmable switch box coupled to the multi-probe switching matrix or Z-stage device and selectively articulating the probes by raising the probes until in contact with at least one of the positive electrode and the negative electrode and lowering the probes until contact is lost with at least one of the positive electrode and the negative electrode, a source meter coupled to the programmable switch box and measuring the I-V characteristics of the substrate.
US08432176B2 Apparatus and method for testing semiconductor devices
A test apparatus for testing semiconductor integrated circuits includes a test head, a probe card holder for detachably holding a probe card that probes a semiconductor device, a heater for heating the probe card, and a heater holder that holds the heater in direct contact with the probe card when the probe card is held by the probe card holder. The test apparatus heats the probe card efficiently and thereby reduces test time and cost.
US08432174B2 Interrogation circuit for a nanowire sensor array and a method for interrogating a nanowire sensor array
An interrogation circuit for a nanowire sensor array and a method for interrogating a nanowire sensor array are provided. The circuit comprises a switch array connected to the nanowire sensor array for selectively connecting first ends of nanowire sensors of the nanowire sensor array to a reference voltage; an integration amplifier (IA) connected to second ends of the nanowire sensors at a first input of the IA and to the reference voltage at a second input of the IA, for generating an oscillating output signal clamped between first and second voltage values; wherein the switch array is further arranged for switching one of the nanowire sensors to be connected in a closed loop with the IA such that a current through said one nanowire sensor periodically charges and discharges an integration capacitor of the IA for determining a resistance of said one nanowire sensor from a frequency of the periodic charging and discharging.
US08432171B2 Method and apparatus for measuring the concentration of an analyte in a sample fluid
An analyte concentration, in a sample fluid, is determined by differential measurement. Two or more capacitive field effect sensors have an identical basic structure and are arranged in a shared measuring cell. One of the sensors forms a measuring sensor with an active transductor layer. Another sensor forms a reference sensor without an active transductor layer. The sensors are contacted with the sample fluid and the sensors, have an associated reference electrode, or have a shared reference electrode. A bias voltage composed of an electric DC voltage and a superimposed AC voltage is applied between each sensor and associated reference electrode(s) Capacitance changes due to the analyte are eliminated by controlling the bias voltage applied to the measuring sensor in a closed control loop. A measuring signal is obtained by calculating a difference between voltage values representative of DC voltage potentials applied to the measuring sensor and reference sensor, respectively.
US08432169B2 Proximity sensor
A proximity sensor has an oscillation circuit, an amplitude measurement circuit, a control circuit and a signal processing circuit. The oscillation circuit has an LC resonant circuit and an oscillation control circuit that is configured to supply an electric current to the LC resonant circuit to generate oscillating voltage across the LC resonant circuit. The amplitude measurement circuit is configured to produce an amplitude signal corresponding to the amplitude of the oscillating voltage. The control circuit is configured to set the negative conductance of the oscillation control circuit to a critical value by which the LC resonant circuit can oscillate based on the amplitude signal. The signal processing circuit is configured to produce a distance signal corresponding to the distance between an object and the sensing coil based on a parameter associated with the negative conductance.
US08432167B2 Method and apparatus of using magnetic material with residual magnetization in transient electromagnetic measurement
A transmitter antenna assembly for transient electromagnetic well logging instrument comprises an antenna coil coupled with a current source and a magnetic core having residual magnetization. Switching current in the antenna coil results in magnetization reversal in the magnetic core and change in magnetic dipole moment of the antenna. After the magnetization reversal is complete the current is removed and the new vector of magnetic dipole of the antenna maintains constant (steady-state phase of the antenna dipole) due to magnetic hysteresis of magnetic material employed for the magnetic core. No power expenditure during the steady-state phase of the magnetic dipole facilitates highly effective generation and fast switching of a large magnetic dipole. The magnetic core also serves as a shield between the antenna coil and any conductive part of the antenna assembly. Embodiments suitable for measurement-while-drilling or measurements through casing make use of residual magnetization of magnetic drill collar or magnetic casing respectively.
US08432166B2 Balanced steady-state free-precession transient imaging using variable flip angles for a predefined signal profile
A magnetic resonance imaging system or method is provided including a balanced steady-state free-precession transient imaging (transient bSSFP) device capable of increasing the overall signal during transient bSSFP acquisition by fully or better utilization of the magnetization through variable RF flip angles. The transient bSSFP device is capable of generating a series of echoes with a desired transverse magnetization profile MT. It is further capable of generating RF pulses each having a distinct RF flip angle for each of the echoes in the series of echoes. The transient bSSFP device is coupled to a computer capable of calculating the distinct RF flip angle for the nth echo in the series of echoes. The computer calculation utilizes a program encoding an analytical inversion of the Bloch equation. Once the RF flip angle is calculated, it is used by the transient bSSFP device in the generation of the nth echo.
US08432157B2 Inductive proximity sensor with active circuit to cancel stray fields
Systems and/or methods are provided for cancelling stray magnetic fields escaping out the back or sides of an inductive proximity sensor. The inductive proximity sensor includes a coil assembly with a sensing coil. The sensing coil detects magnetic flux escaping out the sides and/or back of the sensor. An active circuit couples to the sensing coil. The active circuit generates a canceling current based upon a current and/or electromotive force in the sensing coil due to the flux. The cancelling current drives a driven coil to generate a magnetic field which can reduce total flux through the sensing coil to zero.
US08432156B2 System and method for obtaining magnetometer readings for performing a magnetometer calibration
A system and method of obtaining magnetometer readings for performing a magnetometer calibration are provided. The method comprises detecting initiation of a magnetometer calibration; displaying a plurality of visual elements representing at least a pair of movements, each of the movements orienting a device comprising the magnetometer in substantially opposite positions along a respective axis; and obtaining at least one magnetometer reading during movement of the device. The visual elements may include one in an upright position, one in an upside down position, one facing a first direction and one illustrating the device facing in a second direction. A path may also be defined between the plurality of visual elements using one or more arrows.
US08432143B2 Electrically parallel connection of photovoltaic modules in a string to provide a DC voltage to a DC voltage bus
An arrangement comprising at least a first photovoltaic module and a second photovoltaic module in a string is disclosed. The first photovoltaic module and second photovoltaic module are electrically connected in parallel and arranged to provide a DC voltage to a voltage bus. Also, an electrical connecting device configured for connecting to a photovoltaic module is disclosed. The electrical connecting device comprises first and second contacts for receiving a first DC voltage from the photovoltaic module and third and fourth contacts configured for electrically parallel connection to a DC voltage bus for providing a second DC voltage, dependent on the first DC voltage, to the DC voltage bus.
US08432142B2 Power over ethernet controller integrated circuit architecture
Power over Ethernet (PoE) communication systems provide power and data communications over the same communications link, where a power source device (PSE) provides DC power (for example, 48 volts DC) to a powered device (PD). The DC power is transmitted simultaneously over the same communications medium with the high speed data from one node to the other node. The PSE typically includes a controller that controls the DC power provided to the PD at the second node of the communications link. The PSE controller measures the voltage, current, and temperature of the outgoing and incoming DC supply lines to characterize the power requirements of the PD. In addition, the PSE controller may detect and validate a compatible PD, determine a power classification signature for the validated PD, supply power to the PD, monitor the power, and reduce or remove the power from the PD when the power is no longer requested or required. During detection, if the PSE finds the PD to be non-compatible, the PSE can prevent the application of power to that PD device, protecting the PD from possible damage.
US08432141B2 Input voltage control circuit using two differential amplifiers to regulate operating voltage
A voltage control system is configured with a constant voltage circuit, a semiconductor package and a power supply package. A power supply chip of the power supply package is configured to control the constant voltage circuit based on an input voltage supplied to the semiconductor package and an operating voltage of a semiconductor device so that the input voltage decreases as the voltage difference between the input voltage and the operating voltage increases.
US08432140B1 Dual mode boost regulator
An integrated circuit boost regulator design providing selection of either a low power on-chip power component boost regulator circuit or a high power off-chip power component boost regulator circuit using the same integrated circuit device.
US08432125B2 Non-contact power transmission apparatus
A non-contact power transmission apparatus having an AC power source and a resonance system is disclosed. The resonance system has a primary coil connected to the AC power source, a primary side resonance coil, a secondary side resonance coil, a secondary coil, and a load connected to the secondary coil. The primary side resonance coil is separated from the primary coil in an axial direction by a first distance, and the secondary coil is separated from the secondary side resonance coil in the axial direction by a second distance. At least one of the first distance and the second distance is adjusted to be a distance that is determined in advance in accordance with the impedance of the load so that the power transmission efficiency is maintained at a proper value.
US08432119B2 Method and apparatus for characterizing and enhancing the functional performance of machine tools
Disclosed are various systems and methods for assessing and improving the capability of a machine tool. The disclosure applies to machine tools having at least one slide configured to move along a motion axis. Various patterns of dynamic excitation commands are employed to drive the one or more slides, typically involving repetitive short distance displacements. A quantification of a measurable merit of machine tool response to the one or more patterns of dynamic excitation commands is typically derived for the machine tool. Examples of measurable merits of machine tool performance include workpiece surface finish, and the ability to generate chips of the desired length.
US08432100B2 Organic light emitting display device and driving method for the same
An organic light emitting display device is provided. The device includes a photo sensor adapted to: sense a brightness of ambient light; output a pulse width of an emission control signal corresponding to a sensed brightness of the ambient light; and output a gamma compensation coefficient corresponding to the sensed brightness of the ambient light and a user selected brightness. The device also includes a gamma compensation circuit adapted to adjust a magnitude of a voltage between a plurality of gradation voltages according to the output gamma compensation coefficient. The device also includes a scan driver and a data driver. The device also includes a pixel portion including a pixel adapted to: emit light according to the data signal, the scan signal, and the emission control signal; and display an image corresponding to the user selected brightness.
US08432093B2 Ruggedized lamp construction, and method
An arc tube light source supported by a discontinuous two-part (top and bottom) frame inside a bulb of an HID lamp is ruggedized to reduce weld breakage under vibration and shock. Each of the top and bottom frames is substantially U-shaped, with the open end of the U-shape being attached by a strap to a pinch of the arc tube. For ruggedization a bracing strap is fixed to, and extends between, two sides of the frame and is welded to a lead wire extending from the pinch. Strength is enhanced if two lead wires extend from the pinch, and the bracing strap is welded to both. Advantageously the two lead wires are sides of a U-shaped wire such as a “U-pin”. Further stabilization may be achieved by using braces attached to both of the top and bottom frames and extended out against surrounding parts of the bulb.
US08432091B2 Corrosion suppressing spark plug
A spark plug including: a center electrode; an insulator; a metal shell; a ground electrode; and an electrode chip. The electrode chip is joined to the ground electrode in a state in which the electrode chip is engaged in a recess portion formed in the ground electrode. The electrode chip is formed by previously welding a chip body portion containing a noble metal and a chip holding portion containing Ni before the electrode chip is joined to the ground electrode. A first molten bond is formed by welding the chip body portion and the chip holding portion. The first molten bond is placed in the recess portion so as not to be exposed to an outside environment in a state in which the electrode chip is engaged in the recess portion and joined to the ground electrode.
US08432089B2 Light source module and backlight module
A light source module and a backlight module therewith are disclosed. The light source includes a circuit board and a light-emitting diode disposed on the circuit board. The light-emitting diode includes a package unit and a conductive support. The package unit includes an insulation housing, a heat-dissipating support embedded in the insulation housing, and a light-emitting diode chip disposed on the heat-dissipating support and encapsulated by the insulation housing. The light-emitting diode chip includes two electrodes, which are isolated form the heat-dissipating support. The insulation housing thereon defines a light-out surface. The conductive support is disposed on an exterior side surface of the insulation housing and connected to the heat-dissipating support to protrude out the light-out surface. Thereby, the protruding conductive support is also isolated from the two electrodes so as to perform ESD protection for avoiding unexpected damage to the light-emitting diode and extending service life thereof.
US08432088B2 Permanent conversion adapter for lighting fixtures
A permanent adapter for incandescent lighting fixtures can removably receive LEDs but cannot itself be removed from the fixture.
US08432083B2 Energy recovering device with a liquid electrode
An energy recovery device including: at least one capacitor with variable capacitance, the capacitor including a fixed electrode, a dielectric layer, and a liquid electrode; and a mechanism to inject an electric charge into the capacitor and to remove the electric charge therefrom, including a charge injection electrode forming a portion of the second face positioned upstream from the fixed electrode in the direction of displacement of the liquid electrode, and a charge removal electrode forming a portion of the second face positioned downstream from the fixed electrode in the direction of displacement of the liquid electrode.
US08432072B2 Three axis linear actuator
A mover (344) moving a stage (238) along a first axis, along a second axis and along a third axis includes a magnetic component (354), a conductor component (356), and a control system (324). The magnetic component (354) includes a plurality of magnets (354D) that are surrounded by a magnetic field. The conductor component (356) is positioned near the magnetic component (354) in the magnetic field. Further, the conductor component (356) interacts with the magnetic component (354) when current is directed to the conductor component (356) to generate a controllable force along the first axis, a controllable force along the second axis, and a controllable force along the third axis. The conductor component (356) can include a split coil design, having a first conductor array (356A) and a second conductor array (356B) that is positioned substantially adjacent to the first conductor array (356A). The conductor component (356) and the magnetic component (354) can be displaced relative to each other along the third axis. The control system (324) independently directs current to each of the conductor arrays (356A, 356B) to generate a controllable force along the first axis, along the second axis, and along the third axis. With this design, the same mover can be used to move the stage along three degrees of freedom (“DOF”).
US08432065B2 Power system having dual synchronization
A power system for use in a power facility is disclosed. The power system may have a first generator set with a first engine drivingly coupled to a first generator, and a second generator set with a second engine drivingly coupled to a second generator. The power system may also have a common bus, and a controller in communication with the first and second generator sets. The controller may be configured to direct power from the first generator to the common bus, and synchronize a power output from the second generator with a power output from the first generator. The controller may be further configured to postpone power from the second generator being directed to the common bus until the first and second engines are substantially mechanically synchronized.
US08432063B2 Multi-channel power controller with switching offset
A method of operating a power controller includes assigning switching offset times to a plurality of channels of a multi-channel power controller, and adjusting a state change time of a selected channel by the switching offset time associated with the selected channel such that the selected channel and another of the plurality of channels multiple channels do not undergo the state change simultaneously.
US08432055B2 Wind turbine having a high-voltage ride through (HVRT) mode
A wind turbine connected to a power grid is provided. The wind turbine is selectively activated to operate at a high-voltage ride through (HVRT) mode. The wind turbine includes a grid voltage circuit, a DC bus, a voltage source, and a dynamic brake. The grid voltage circuit monitors a fundamental voltage of the power grid and activates the HVRT mode if the fundamental voltage is at least about equal to a threshold voltage value. The DC bus has a DC bus voltage. The voltage source provides a DC bus rated voltage. The dynamic brake has a brake chopper and a resistive element. The dynamic brake is connected to the DC bus. The dynamic brake is connected to the voltage source if the HVRT mode is activated.
US08432052B2 Wind power converter system with grid side reactive power control
The present techniques include methods and systems for operating a wind power system to maintain a lifespan of the rotor side converter. In some embodiments, the current of the rotor side converter may be minimized to reduce the stress and/or junction temperature variation in the switching transistors and bond wires of the converter. More specifically, embodiments involve using a minimal current in the rotor side converter based on the rotor side and grid side reactive powers. If the grid side reactive power is greater than a maximum grid side reactive power, the grid side reactive power may be reduced. Further, if the total reactive power does not meet the grid reactive power requirements, the minimal current in the rotor side converter may be adjusted such that the system may sufficiently power the grid.
US08432049B2 Electrical generator
An electrical generator is provided. The electrical generator includes a support, a magnetic material configured to be coupled to the support, and at least one flexible conductive member configured to include an electrical conductor associated with the magnetic material and to move in response to a fluid flow.
US08432046B2 Semiconductor device
There is provided a semiconductor device with which stress can be prevented from locally concentrating on an external connecting terminal on a post and thus damages of the external connecting terminal can be prevented. The semiconductor device includes a semiconductor chip, a sealing resin layer stacked on a surface of the semiconductor chip, and the post which penetrates the sealing resin layer in a stacking direction of the semiconductor chip and the sealing resin layer, protrudes from the sealing resin layer, and has a periphery of the protruding portion opposedly in contact with a surface of the sealing resin layer in the stacking direction.
US08432026B2 Stackable multi-chip package system
A stackable multi-chip package system is provided including forming a first external interconnect having a first through hole and a second external interconnect having a second through hole, forming a first package subassembly having the first external interconnect and a first integrated circuit die, forming a second package subassembly having the second external interconnect and a second integrated circuit die, mounting the second package subassembly over the first package subassembly, and molding the first package subassembly and the second package subassembly.
US08432025B2 Semiconductor device and plurality of dams
The invention provides a semiconductor device including a rectangular chip provided on a mounting region of a substrate, a liquid resin layer provided under the rectangular chip and on a side surface of the chip, and a plurality of dams formed on the substrate so as to extend along the side surface of the rectangular chip. The configuration allows the semiconductor device to be provided with the substrate having a reduced size which is achieved by preventing a liquid resin from flowing out.
US08432015B2 Semiconductor device and wire bonding method
A semiconductor device (2) includes: a FLR (65) that is disposed on a semiconductor substrate so as to divide the semiconductor substrate into an inner region and an outer region; a first bonding pad (24a to 24d) that is disposed in the inner region and is connected to an external circuit by a wire (14a to 14d) whose one end is connected to the external circuit; and a second bonding pad (26a to 26d) that is disposed in the outer region and on which the other end of the wire is bonded.
US08432012B2 Semiconductor devices including schottky diodes having overlapping doped regions and methods of fabricating same
A semiconductor device includes a semiconductor layer having a first conductivity type and having a surface in which an active region of the semiconductor device is defined, and a plurality of spaced apart doped regions within the active region. The plurality of doped regions have a second conductivity type that is opposite the first conductivity type and define a plurality of exposed portions of the semiconductor layer within the active region. The plurality of doped regions include a plurality of rows extending in a longitudinal direction. Each of the rows includes a plurality of longitudinally extending segments, and the longitudinally extending segments in a first row at least partially overlap the longitudinally extending segments in an adjacent row in a lateral direction that is perpendicular to the longitudinal direction.
US08432011B1 Wire bond interposer package for CMOS image sensor and method of making same
An image sensor package that includes a handler assembly having a crystalline handler with a cavity formed into its first surface. The cavity has a stepped sidewall that defines at least one step surface extending inwardly inside the cavity. A plurality of conductive elements each extend from the step surface(s), through the crystalline handler and to its second surface. A sensor chip is disposed in the cavity and includes a substrate, a plurality of photo detectors formed at its front surface, and a plurality of contact pads formed at its front surface which are electrically coupled to the photo detectors. A plurality of wires each extend between and electrically connect one of the contact pads and one of the conductive elements. A substrate is disposed over the cavity and mounted to the crystalline handler. The substrate is optically transparent to at least one range of light wavelengths.
US08432009B2 Method and system for providing magnetic layers having insertion layers for use in spin transfer torque memories
A method and system for providing a magnetic junction usable in a magnetic device are described. The magnetic junction includes a pinned layer, a nonmagnetic spacer layer, and a free layer. The nonmagnetic spacer layer is between the pinned layer and the free layer. The magnetic junction is configured such that the free layer is switchable between a plurality of stable magnetic states when a write current is passed through the magnetic junction. At least one of the pinned layer and the free layer includes a magnetic substructure. The magnetic substructure includes at least two magnetic layers interleaved with at least one insertion layer. Each insertion layer includes at least one of Cr, Ta, Ti, W, Ru, V, Cu, Mg, aluminum oxide, and MgO. The magnetic layers are exchange coupled.
US08432004B2 Asymmetric segmented channel transistors
Structures, layouts and methods of forming integrated circuits are described. In various embodiments, the current invention includes an asymmetric segmented transistor. The asymmetric segmented transistor includes a source region and a drain region disposed within an active region, a floating source/drain region disposed within the active region, a first channel region disposed in the active region between the source region and the floating source/drain region, the first channel having a first length and a first width. A second channel region is disposed in the active region between the drain region and the floating source/drain region, the second channel having a second length and a second width. A first gate dielectric overlies the first channel region and a second gate dielectric overlies the second channel region. A gate line overlies the first gate dielectric and the second gate dielectric.
US08432003B2 Semiconductor device
To suppress stress variation on a channel forming region, a semiconductor device includes an element isolating region on the semiconductor substrate principal surface, and an element forming region on the principal surface to be surrounded by the element isolating region. The principal surface has orthogonal first and second directions. A circumferential shape of the element forming region has a first side extending along the first direction. The element forming region has a first transistor region (TR1), a second transistor region (TR2) arranged between the first side and TR1, and a dummy region on the first direction side of TR1. TR1 has a first channel forming region facing the first side. TR2 has a second channel forming region facing the first side. The first channel forming region has a non-facing region that is not facing the second channel forming region. The dummy region faces the non-facing region in the second direction.
US08432001B2 Electric field information reading head, electric field information writing/reading head and fabrication methods thereof and information storage device using the same
Provided is an electric field information reading head for reading information from a surface electric charge of an information storage medium, the electric field information reading head comprising a semiconductor substrate having a resistance region formed in a central part at one end of a surface facing a recording medium, the resistance region being lightly doped with impurities, and source and drain regions formed on both sides of the resistance region, the source region and the drain region being more highly doped with impurities than the resistance region. The source region and the drain region extend along the surface of the semiconductor substrate facing the recording medium, and electrodes are connected electrically with the source region and the drain region respectively. In addition, provided is a method of fabricating the electric field information reading head and a method of mass-producing the electric field information reading head on a wafer.
US08431998B2 Insulated gate semiconductor device
A two-layer electrode structure is provided. A protection diode is provided not to overlap a gate pad portion. Cells and a first one of source electrode layers can be provided below the gate pad portion, so that the differences in resistance among various points in the source electrode layers can be decreased. In addition, the protection diode is positioned adjacent to a device region and at an end portion, of a chip, outward of the device region in such a way as to be in the closest proximity to the gate pad portion. A larger device region with efficient transistor operation can thus be secured, and the resistance of the first source electrode layer below a wiring portion can be reduced.
US08431992B2 Semiconductor device including first and second semiconductor regions with increasing impurity concentrations from a substrate surface
A single crystal semiconductor layer of a first conduction type is disposed on a surface of a semiconductor substrate. A plurality of trenches are provided in the semiconductor layer to form a plurality of first semiconductor regions of the first conduction type at intervals in a direction parallel to the surface. An epitaxial layer is buried in the plurality of trenches to form a plurality of second semiconductor regions of a second conduction type. The plurality of second semiconductor regions each includes an outer portion with a high impurity concentration formed against an inner wall of the trench, and an inner portion with a low impurity concentration formed inner than the outer portion.
US08431983B2 Non-volatile memory device and method of fabricating the same
A non-volatile memory device and a method of fabricating the same are provided. The method can include disposing an isolation layer on a semiconductor substrate. The isolation layer may protrude from the main surface of the semiconductor substrate and define an active region. In a recess defined by the protrusion of the isolation layer and the active region, a diffusion-retarding poly pattern and a floating gate may be formed in sequence. A control gate may be disposed on the isolation layer to cover the diffusion-retarding poly pattern and the floating gate.
US08431982B2 Semiconductor devices and methods of fabricating the same
A semiconductor device includes capacitors connected in parallel. Electrode active portions and a discharge active portion are defined on a semiconductor substrate, and capping electrodes are disposed respectively on the electrode active portions. A capacitor-dielectric layer is disposed between each of the capping electrodes and each of the electrode active portions that overlap each other. A counter doped region is disposed in the discharge active portion. A lower interlayer dielectric covers the entire surface of the semiconductor substrate. Electrode contact plugs respectively contact the capping electrodes through the lower interlayer dielectric, and a discharge contact plug contacts the counter doped region through the lower interlayer dielectric. A lower interconnection is disposed on the lower interlayer dielectric and contacts the electrode contact plugs and the discharge contact plug.
US08431981B2 Semiconductor memory device having vertical transistor and buried bit line and method for fabricating the same
A semiconductor memory device includes an active region protruding upward from a substrate, wherein the active region is arranged next to a trench on the substrate, a first impurity region formed at an upper portion of the active region, a second impurity region formed at a lower portion of the active region, a gate dielectric layer formed along a side of the active region between the first impurity region and the second impurity region, a gate electrode layer formed on the gate dielectric layer, a buried bit line formed at a lower portion of the trench, and a polysilicon layer formed over the buried bit line, wherein the polysilicon layer electrically connects the buried bit line with the second impurity region.
US08431973B2 High frequency semiconductor device
A high frequency semiconductor device includes: a field effect transistor including gate terminal electrodes, source terminal electrodes, and a drain terminal electrode; an input circuit pattern and an output circuit pattern which are disposed adjoining of the field effect transistor; a plurality of input bonding wires configured to connect the plurality of the gate terminal electrodes and the input circuit pattern; and a plurality of output bonding wires configured to connect the drain terminal electrode and the output circuit pattern, which makes matching an input/output signal phase by adjusting an inductance distribution of a plurality of input/output bonding wires, and improves gain and output power, and suppresses an oscillation by unbalanced operation of each FET cell.
US08431968B2 Electromigration resistant standard cell device
A standard cell semiconductor integrated circuit device design provides a standard cell semiconductor device that includes first standard cells and user-defined target standard cells which consume more power or include other operational characteristics that differ from the operational characteristics of the first standard cells. The standard cells are routed to ground and power wires using one power rail and the target cells are routed to the ground and power lines using the first power rail and a second power rail to alleviate electromigration in either of the power rails. The two power rails include an upper power rail and a lower power rail. An intermediate conductive layer may be disposed between the upper and lower power rails to provide for signal routing by lateral interconnection between cells.
US08431966B2 Method of manufacturing a bipolar transistor semiconductor device and semiconductor devices obtained thereby
Methods for manufacturing a bipolar transistor semiconductor device are described, along with devices fabricated in accordance with the methods. The methods include the steps of forming a stack of layers over a semiconductor body comprising a window definition layer (18,38), a layer (20) of semiconductor material, a first insulating layer (22), and a second insulating layer (24) which is selectively etchable with respect to the first insulating layer. A trench (26) is then etched into the stack down to the window definition layer. The portion of the trench extending through the second insulating layer is widened to form a wider trench portion (28) therethrough. A window (36) is defined in the window definition layer which is aligned with the wider trench portion, and serves to define the base-collector or base-emitter junction in the finished device.
US08431965B2 Control circuit of transistor and method
A control circuit, which controls a transistor including a gate and a field plate, includes: a detecting circuit which detects a driving timing to drive the transistor; a timing controlling circuit which controls a first driving timing to drive the gate and a second driving timing to drive the field plate, in response to the driving timing; and a driving circuit which drives the gate in response to the first driving timing, and drives the field plate in response to the second driving timing.
US08431960B2 Dopant diffusion modulation in GaN buffer layers
An enhancement mode gallium nitride (GaN) transistor with a Mg doped layer and a Mg growth interruption (diffusion barrier) layer to trap excess or residual Mg dopant. The Mg growth interruption (diffusion barrier) layer is formed by growing GaN, stopping the supply of gallium while maintaining a supply of ammonia or other nitrogen containing source to form a layer of magnesium nitride (MgN), and then resuming the flow of gallium to form a GaN layer to seal in the layer of MgN.
US08431951B2 Optoelectronic devices with laminate leadless carrier packaging in side-looker or top-looker device orientation
A laminate leadless carrier package comprising an optoelectronic chip, a substrate supporting the chip, the substrate comprising a plurality of conductive and dielectric layers; a wire bond coupled to the optoelectronic chip and a wire bond pad positioned on the top surface of the substrate; an encapsulation covering the optoelectronic chip, the wire bond, and at least a portion of the top surface of the substrate, wherein the encapsulation is a molding compound; and wherein the package is arranged to be mounted as a side-looker. A process for manufacturing laminate leadless carrier packages, comprising preparing a substrate; applying epoxy adhesive to a die attach pad; mounting an optoelectronic chip on the die attach pad; wire-bonding the optoelectronic chip; molding a molding compound to form an encapsulation covering the optoelectronic chip, a wire bond, and the top surface of the substrate; and dicing the substrate into individual packages.
US08431950B2 Light emitting device package structure and fabricating method thereof
A light emitting device package structure is described. The light emitting device package structure includes a substrate serving as a carrier supporting a light emitting device chip. The substrate and the light emitting device chip have a chip side and a substrate side separately. A first electrode layer is disposed on a first surface of the light emitting device chip and a second electrode layer is disposed on a second surface of the light emitting device chip, in which the first surface and the second surface are not coplanar. A first conductive trace is electrically connected to the first electrode layer and a second conductive trace is electrically connected to the second electrode layer. At least the first conductive trace or the second conductive trace is formed along the chip side and the substrate side simultaneously.
US08431931B2 Reflective anode and wiring film for organic EL display device
To avoid a phenomenon of deterioration which is characteristic to an organic EL display device, such as a dark spot, without forming a pin hole in an organic material used for forming an organic EL layer. A reflective anode for an organic EL display device includes: an Ag-based alloy film (6) containing 0.01 to 1.5 atomic % of Nd and formed on a substrate (1); and an oxide conductive film (7) formed on the Ag-based alloy film (6) and in direct contact with the film (6).
US08431930B2 Display device
A display device includes: i) a substrate member having a transparent area and a plurality of pixel areas, the pixel areas being spaced apart from each other along a first direction and a second direction, the transparent area located between the pixel areas, the second direction being perpendicular to the first direction; and ii) an emission layer located at each of the pixel areas. Among the plurality of pixel areas, a width of the transparent area along the first direction between two pixel areas varies along the second direction. The first direction may be the horizontal direction of a screen realized by the substrate member, the second direction may be a vertical direction, and the emission layer may have a width along the horizontal direction that varies along the vertical direction.
US08431928B2 PIN structures including intrinsic gallium arsenide, devices incorporating the same, and related methods
Provided herein are PIN structures including a layer of amorphous n-type silicon, a layer of intrinsic GaAs disposed over the layer of amorphous n-type silicon, and a layer of amorphous p-type silicon disposed over the layer of intrinsic GaAs. The layer of intrinsic GaAs may be engineered by the disclosed methods to exhibit a variety of structural properties that enhance light absorption and charge carrier mobility, including oriented polycrystalline intrinsic GaAs, embedded particles of intrinsic GaAs, and textured surfaces. Also provided are devices incorporating the PIN structures, including photovoltaic devices.
US08431923B2 Semiconductor structure and semiconductor device including a diode structure and methods of forming same
Methods of forming diode structures for use in memory cells and memory arrays, such as resistive random access memory (RRAM). The methods include forming a first electrode by chemisorbing a graphite material (e.g., graphene) on a conductive material. A low-k dielectric material may be formed over surfaces of the first electrode exposed through an opening in a dielectric material overlying the first electrode, followed by formation of a high-k dielectric material over the low-k dielectric material. A remaining portion of the opening may be filled with another conductive material to form a second electrode. The first and second electrodes of the resulting diode structure have different work functions and, thus, provide a low thermal budget, a low contact resistance, a high forward-bias current and a low reverse-bias current. A memory cell and a memory array including such a diode structure are also disclosed.
US08431919B2 Resistive change non-volatile semiconductor memory device
According to one embodiment, a non-volatile semiconductor memory device includes: a semiconductor substrate; a plurality of first lines; a plurality of second lines; and a plurality of non-volatile memory cells arranged at positions where the plurality of first lines intersect with the plurality of second lines, wherein each of the plurality of non-volatile memory cells includes a resistance change element and a rectifying element connected in series to the resistance change element, and a resistance change film continuously extending over the plurality of second lines is arranged between the plurality of first lines and the plurality of second lines, and the resistance change element includes a portion where the first line intersect with the second line in the resistance change film.
US08431915B2 Charged particle beam apparatus permitting high resolution and high-contrast observation
A lower pole piece of an electromagnetic superposition type objective lens is divided into an upper magnetic path and a lower magnetic path. A voltage nearly equal to a retarding voltage is applied to the lower magnetic path. An objective lens capable of acquiring an image with a higher resolution and a higher contrast than a conventional image is provided. An electromagnetic superposition type objective lens includes a magnetic path that encloses a coil, a cylindrical or conical booster magnetic path that surrounds an electron beam, a control magnetic path that is interposed between the coil and sample, an accelerating electric field control unit that accelerates the electron beam using a booster power supply, a decelerating electric field control unit that decelerates the electron beam using a stage power supply, and a suppression unit that suppresses electric discharge of the sample using a control magnetic path power supply.
US08431910B1 Auto-sterilization of electronic and hand held devices
An arrangement is disclosed for automatically sterilizing hand-held electronic devices. The arrangement includes a source of Ultraviolet (UV) light, as well as one or more fiber-optic filaments for transmitting the UV light for output at one or more locations on the hand-held electronic device. Software is provided to enable a user to pre-program a desired sanitization schedule for one or more portions of the device. In one embodiment, a UV protective cover is provided to protect UV-sensitive portions of the hand-held electronic device.
US08431901B2 Method and device for controlling the resistance of the sensitive member of a bolometric sensor
The invention relates to a method for controlling the resistance of a bolometer in a bolometer matrix of a sensor, said sensor comprising a circuit for reading said matrix which is capable of addressing said bolometer.According to the invention, the method comprises a step (46) of adjusting the recurrence of addressing the bolometer using the read circuit.
US08431898B2 Infrared cut filter removable module control apparatus
An infrared cut filter removable (ICR) module control apparatus includes a photoresistor, first to sixth electronic switches, an ICR module, a comparator, and a central processing unit (CPU). A first terminal of the photoresistor is connected to a power supply through a resistor. A second terminal of the photoresistor is grounded, and connected to the second to fourth electronic switches and the CPU through the first electronic switch. The second electronic switch is connected to the fifth and sixth switches. A node between the third and fourth switches is connected to a first input terminal of the ICR module and the non-inverting terminal of the comparator. A node between the fifth and sixth switches is connected to a second input terminal of the ICR module and the inverting terminal of the comparator. The CPU is connected to the output terminal of the comparator and connected to the first electronic switch.
US08431895B2 Pattern measuring apparatus and pattern measuring method
A pattern measuring apparatus includes: an electron irradiating unit for radiating an electron beam onto a sample while scanning; an image data acquiring unit for acquiring an image of a pattern on the basis of secondary electrons generated from the sample; a measurement region setting unit for setting paired measurement regions each including a pattern edge in the image; and a controlling unit for calculating a distance between pattern edges in the paired measurement regions by detecting a shape of the pattern edge. The control unit calculates edge characteristic curves by finding moving averages of edge profiles and defines the positions of peak values of the edge characteristic curves as edge positions of the patterns in the measurement regions.
US08431893B2 Electron beam apparatus and electron beam inspection method
An electron beam apparatus which includes a sample stage on which a sample is placed, and an electron optical system. The electron optical system includes an electron gun that generates a primary electron beam, an immersion objective lens that converges the primary electron beam on the sample, an E×B deflector that separates a secondary particle, which is generated from irradiation of the primary beam to the sample, from an optical axis of the primary beam, a reflecting member to which the secondary particle collides, an assist electrode which is located under the reflecting member, a plurality of incidental particle detectors that selectively detect a velocity component and an azimuth component of a ternary particle which is generated by the secondary particle colliding to the reflecting member, and a center detector that is located above the reflecting member.
US08431889B2 Method and device for repetitive chemical analysis of a gas flow
The present invention relates to a method for repetitive chemical analysis of a gas flow, wherein said gas flow consists of a carrier gas and gaseous chemical compounds, comprising the following method steps: feeding said gas flow to a gas chromatographic separation column by means of a feeding device; collecting at least a part of said gaseous chemical compounds for a defined time period by means of a thermally based collecting device which is coupled to said gas chromatographic separation column and/or said feeding device; releasing said collected gaseous chemical compounds in a temporally focused manner by means of said thermally based collecting device; separating said released gaseous chemical compounds by means of said gas chromatographic separation column; and analyzing said separated gaseous chemical compounds by means of an analyzer. The present invention further relates to a device for performing such a method.
US08431888B2 Electrospray and nanospray ionization of discrete samples in droplet format
Droplets or plugs within multiphase microfluidic systems have rapidly gained interest as a way to manipulate samples and chemical reactions on the femtoliter to microliter scale. Chemical analysis of the plugs remains a challenge. It has been discovered that nanoliter plugs of sample separated by air or oil can be analyzed by electrospray ionization mass spectrometry when pumped directly into a fused silica nanospray emitter nozzle. Using leu-enkephalin in methanol and 1% acetic acid in water (50:50 v:v) as a model sample, we found carry-over between plugs was <0.1% and relative standard deviation of signal for a series of plugs was 3%. Detection limits were 1 nM. Sample analysis rates of 0.8 Hz were achieved by pumping 13 nL samples separated by 3 mm long air gaps in a 75 μm inner diameter tube. Analysis rates were limited by the scan time of the ion trap mass spectrometer. The system provides a robust, rapid, and information-rich method for chemical analysis of sample in segmented flow systems.
US08431879B2 Solid-state imaging device and drive control method for the same
A CMOS sensor has unit pixels each structured by a light receiving element and three transistors, to prevent against the phenomenon of saturation shading and the reduction of dynamic range. The transition time (fall time), in switching off the voltage on a drain line shared in all pixels, is given longer than the transition time in turning of any of the reset line and the transfer line. For this reason, the transistor constituting a DRN drive buffer is made proper in its W/L ratio. Meanwhile, a control resistance or current source is inserted on a line to the GND, to make proper the operation current during driving. This reduces saturation shading amount. By making a reset transistor in a depression type, the leak current to a floating diffusion is suppressed to broaden the dynamic range.
US08431875B2 Method for the synchronization of induction coils supplied by power converters of an induction cooking hob and induction heating system carrying out such method
A method for the synchronization of induction coils supplied by power converters and acting on a common heating zone or on adjacent heating zones of an induction heating system, particularly of an induction cooking hob, comprises the steps of activating a first power converter, detecting a parameter correlated to the magnetic field generated by the first power converter and activating a second power converter by using the parameter as synchronization signal, the parameter being induction coil voltage or induction coil current or a combination thereof.
US08431873B2 Vane type electric heater and vane structure thereof
A vane type electric heater includes a heat generator and a vane structure, and the heat generator includes a rod, and the vane structure includes a plate and at least one heat pipe attached on a surface of the plate, and the plate includes a through hole for passing the rod, and the heat pipe surrounds the periphery of the through hole for enhancing the speed of thermal conduction and the effect of uniform temperature, so as to improve the heat output performance of the invention.
US08431871B2 Transparent window pane provided with a resistive heating coating
A transparent glazing unit including a resistive heating coating that extends over a substantial part of the glazing unit, in particular over a main viewing field, and is electrically connected to at least two busbars such that, when an electrical supply voltage is applied between the busbars, a current flows, which heats a heating field in the coating. The heating field includes at least one semiresistive region in direct contact with at least one busbar.
US08431865B2 Stick electrode
A welding electrode comprising a metal core and a flux coating at least partially coated on an outer surface of said metal core, and also including a end coating material which at least partially inhibits porosity of a weld bead formed during the welding operation.
US08431860B2 Welding method and welding apparatus
A welding method includes sandwiching a first base material and a second base material between a first block and a second block, the first and second base materials being made of a light-transmitting resin, and welding the first and second base materials to each other by making a laser beam enter the second base material through a front surface of the second base material toward the first block from outside an outline of the second block at an acute entry angle with respect to the front surface of the second base material and by focusing the laser beam on the first and second base materials between the first and second blocks.
US08431852B2 Key switch device
A key switch device and a keyboard, capable of preventing key-entry noise from rebounding and having a drip-proof effect so as to avoid a contact fault and/or insulation failure. The key switch device includes a switch panel; a key top positioned above the switch panel; a pair of link members positioned between the key top and the switch panel and adapted to interlock with the key top so that the key top may be moved in a vertical direction while maintaining a horizontal posture; and an annular elastic wall member positioned between the switch panel and a membrane sheet and configured to contact opposing surfaces of the switch panel and the membrane sheet, wherein the elastic wall member is arranged along a contour of the key top.
US08431842B2 Sequential switching device with surrounding distinctive joint points structure
The present invention is an innovation about a sequential switching device with surrounding heterogeneous joint points structure, in which the exterior of a middle conductive joint point is surrounded by a heterogeneous external joint point structure, so that a time delay is generated between the two joint points during the sequential OF/OFF operations, so the service life of joint points of a mechanical joint point switch can be prolonged, and the voltage drop and thermal loss of joint point are reduced, especially characterized in that the engagement and stability of joint points are enhanced.
US08431839B2 Bearing element with weight measurement for lifting platforms
The invention relates to a bearing element for lifting platforms, which is a displaceable part of a bearing arm of a load receiving element of a lifting platform, with a vehicle bearing element resting on that end of said bearing element that protrudes from the carrier, wherein at least one annular recess, in particular an annular groove, is arranged on the upper side of said bearing element, in which at least one vertically displaceable transfer element is disposed that seals a pressure chamber that is filled with hydraulic fluid and is disposed below said transfer element, with the transfer element generating in the pressure chamber a pressure that is characteristic for the weight.
US08431837B2 Waterproof jacket assembly and communication device employing the same
A waterproof jacket assembly applied in a communication device is disclosed. The communication device includes an enclosure defining a first through hole for a transmission wire passing through. The waterproof jacket assembly is mounted on the enclosure corresponding to the first through hole, and includes a sleeve, an elastic waterproof element and a cover board. The sleeve defines a receiving cavity in communication with the first through hole. The elastic waterproof element is received in the receiving cavity and helically wrapped around the transmission wire. The transmission wire passes through the cover board and the cover board engages with the sleeve to drive the elastic waterproof element to fill in the receiving cavity.
US08431831B2 Bond strength and interconnection in a via
A via is provided on a printed circuit board with at least one additional depression encompassing the via, such that the via passes through a portion of the depression. Solder can pool in the depression, allowing for a stronger mechanical bond and eliminating many issues with respect to a lack of coplanarity between a lead and the printed circuit board. The depression can be provided with plugged and unplugged vias, and improves the mountings associated with both.
US08431829B2 Printed wiring board and method for manufacturing the same
A printed wiring board including a rigid multilayer board, a first substrate having multiple conductors, and a second substrate having multiple conductors electrically connected to the conductors of the first substrate. The conductors of the second substrate have an existing density which is set higher than an existing density of the conductors of the first substrate, and the first substrate and/or the second substrate is embedded in the rigid multilayer board.
US08431828B2 Composite substrate
A composite substrate is disclosed. In one aspect, the substrate has a stretchable and/or flexible material. The substrate may further have patterned features embedded in the stretchable and/or flexible material. The patterned features have one or more patterned conducting layers.
US08431827B2 Circuit modules and method of managing the same
Circuit modules including identification codes and a method of managing them are provided. A module substrate includes signal input output terminals and outer ground terminals provided at the peripheral portions of a surface which becomes a mounting surface when the circuit module is completed. An inner-ground-terminal formation area surrounded by the signal input output terminals and the outer ground terminals includes a plurality of inner ground terminals arranged in a matrix of rows and columns. One of the edge portions is a direction identification area. The inner ground terminal is not provided in the direction identification area, and a first identification code having information about the position of the module substrate is provided in the direction identification area.
US08431820B2 Hermetic sealing cap
A more thinnable hermetic sealing cap can be provided. This hermetic sealing cap (10) is employed for an electronic component housing package (100) housing an electronic component (40) and includes a cap body portion (1) mainly composed of Ti.
US08431819B2 Casing with channel discontinuity that resists capillary action
A casing (100, 200) for housing one or more electronic components for an electronic device in the casing interior, the casing comprising first (100) and second parts (200) having respective mateable surfaces having one or more mateable edges, the mating edges being arranged to define a channel (300) therebetween in the mated condition, the channel (300) extending from the exterior of the casing towards the interior of the casing, and wherein the channel (300) is arranged to comprise a discontinuity (303) arranged to resist capillary action.
US08431818B2 Solar cells and photodetectors with semiconducting nanostructures
Improved photovoltaic devices and methods are disclosed. In one embodiment, an exemplary photovoltaic device includes a semiconductor layer and a light-responsive layer (which can be made, for example, of a semiconductor material) which form a junction, such as a p-n junction. The light-responsive layer can include a plurality of carbon nanostructures, such as carbon nanotubes, located therein. In many cases, the carbon nanostructures can provide a conductive pathway within the light-responsive layer. In another embodiment, an exemplary photovoltaic device can include a light-responsive layer made of a semiconductor material in which is embedded a plurality of semiconducting carbon nanostructures (such as p-type single-wall carbon nanotubes). The interfaces between the semiconductor material and the semiconducting carbon nanostructures can form p-n junctions. In yet other embodiments, exemplary photovoltaic devices include semiconductor nanostructures, which can take a variety of forms, in addition to the carbon nanostructures. Further embodiments include a wide variety of other configurations and features. Methods of fabricating photovoltaic devices, as well as nanostructured photodetectors, as also disclosed.
US08431813B2 Percussion instrument and method with coupling devices
A percussion instrument may include a plurality of coupling device for operatively connecting a first hoop member, which may be configured to hold down a head arranged across a first end of a shell, with a second hoop member, which may be arranged on a second end of the shell. A sensor adjacent the head configured to detect vibration of the head may be operatively connected to the second hoop member.
US08431809B1 Electronic music display
An electronic music display and methods of using the same are disclosed. In one embodiment, the electronic music display includes a user interface configured to receive one or more music files, a memory device configured to store the one or more music files, a controller configured to program the electronic music display in accordance with user specified requirements with respect to order of the one or more music files to be displayed and with respect to tempos that corresponding different sections of the one or more music files to be performed, and a display configured to display a sequence of pages of the one or more music files as programmed.
US08431807B1 Magic key of learning
This invention is a self-contained, Blow and Draw harmonica-playing, music education device that displays for the student-user—immediately upon viewing the device's coverplates—the location and music symbols for 1./ all of the predetermined fixed music pitches which can be produced on the device (its primary scale—presenting the 1st level of instruction), 2./ one or more of the primary scale's related modal scales (its positions—the 2nd level of instruction) and, 3./ all of the additional non-fixed notes produced by the student-user through the playing techniques of bending & overblowing/overdrawing (the 3rd level of instruction)—with all three levels displayed by three separate sets of numeric music and air direction indicia located on the harmonica device's coverplates directly underneath or overtop their corresponding harmonica reed cavities. The totality of this invention is a harmonica device that is a self-contained, self-teaching educational tool—teaching musical structures & theory, the instrument's particular inner harmony structure, its modal relationships, and, displaying all of the notes playable on the instrument with their exact locations for the very first time.
US08431796B1 Soybean cultivar S110143
A soybean cultivar designated S110143 is disclosed. The invention relates to the seeds of soybean cultivar S110143, to the plants of soybean cultivar S110143, to the plant parts of soybean cultivar S110143, and to methods for producing progeny of soybean cultivar S110143. The invention also relates to methods for producing a soybean plant containing in its genetic material one or more transgenes and to the transgenic soybean plants and plant parts produced by those methods. The invention also relates to soybean cultivars or breeding cultivars, and plant parts derived from soybean cultivar S110143. The invention also relates to methods for producing other soybean cultivars, lines, or plant parts derived from soybean cultivar S110143, and to the soybean plants, varieties, and their parts derived from use of those methods. The invention further relates to hybrid soybean seeds, plants, and plant parts produced by crossing cultivar S110143 with another soybean cultivar.
US08431792B1 Soybean cultivar 18340601
A soybean cultivar designated 18340601 is disclosed. The invention relates to the seeds of soybean cultivar 18340601, to the plants of soybean cultivar 18340601, to the plant parts of soybean cultivar 18340601, and to methods for producing progeny of soybean cultivar 18340601. The invention also relates to methods for producing a soybean plant containing in its genetic material one or more transgenes and to the transgenic soybean plants and plant parts produced by those methods. The invention also relates to soybean cultivars or breeding cultivars, and plant parts derived from soybean cultivar 18340601. The invention also relates to methods for producing other soybean cultivars, lines, or plant parts derived from soybean cultivar 18340601, and to the soybean plants, varieties, and their parts derived from use of those methods. The invention further relates to hybrid soybean seeds, plants, and plant parts produced by crossing cultivar 18340601 with another soybean cultivar.
US08431789B1 Soybean cultivar 04184501
A soybean cultivar designated 04184501 is disclosed. The invention relates to the seeds of soybean cultivar 04184501, to the plants of soybean cultivar 04184501, to the plant parts of soybean cultivar 04184501, and to methods for producing progeny of soybean cultivar 04184501. The invention also relates to methods for producing a soybean plant containing in its genetic material one or more transgenes and to the transgenic soybean plants and plant parts produced by those methods. The invention also relates to soybean cultivars or breeding cultivars, and plant parts derived from soybean cultivar 04184501. The invention also relates to methods for producing other soybean cultivars, lines, or plant parts derived from soybean cultivar 04184501, and to the soybean plants, varieties, and their parts derived from use of those methods. The invention further relates to hybrid soybean seeds, plants, and plant parts produced by crossing cultivar 04184501 with another soybean cultivar.
US08431781B2 Soybean variety A1024666
The invention relates to the soybean variety designated A1024666. Provided by the invention are the seeds, plants and derivatives of the soybean variety A1024666. Also provided by the invention are tissue cultures of the soybean variety A1024666 and the plants regenerated therefrom. Still further provided by the invention are methods for producing soybean plants by crossing the soybean variety A1024666 with itself or another soybean variety and plants produced by such methods.
US08431779B2 Soybean variety A1024638
The invention relates to the soybean variety designated A1024638. Provided by the invention are the seeds, plants and derivatives of the soybean variety A1024638. Also provided by the invention are tissue cultures of the soybean variety A1024638 and the plants regenerated therefrom. Still further provided by the invention are methods for producing soybean plants by crossing the soybean variety A1024638 with itself or another soybean variety and plants produced by such methods.
US08431776B2 Soybean variety A1023535
The invention relates to the soybean variety designated A1023535. Provided by the invention are the seeds, plants and derivatives of the soybean variety A1023535. Also provided by the invention are tissue cultures of the soybean variety A1023535 and the plants regenerated therefrom. Still further provided by the invention are methods for producing soybean plants by crossing the soybean variety A1023535 with itself or another soybean variety and plants produced by such methods.
US08431767B2 Transgenic non-human animal and methods for stem cell engraftment
Transgenic immunodeficient non-human animals according to embodiments of the present invention are described which include in their genome a nucleic acid encoding xenogeneic Stem Cell Factor operably linked to a promoter. Administration of xenogeneic hematopoetic stem cells to the inventive transgenic animals results in engraftment of the xenogeneic hematopoetic stem cells and xenogeneic leukocytes are produced in the animals, without conditioning such as without conditioning by irradiation and without conditioning by a radiomimetic agent.
US08431766B1 Diaper with wetness detecting system
A diaper apparatus includes a diaper having absorbent material formed between inner surfaces of opposed inner and outer layers each having an outer surface. Two conductors are applied to the diaper, and a mounting plate is affixed to the outer surface of the outer layer of the diaper with fasteners formed with electrical connectors electrically connected to the two conductors, respectively. An alarm unit having two complementing electrical connectors, and an alarm electrically connected to the two complementing electrical connectors. The electrical connectors detachably secure the complementing electrical connectors detachably securing the alarm unit to the mounting plate and electrically connecting the electrical connectors to the complementing electrical connectors. The alarm of the alarm issues an alarm stimulus in response to wetness applied to the diaper electrically connecting the two conductors applied to the diaper.
US08431758B2 Processes for increasing the overall aromatics and xylenes yield in an aromatics complex
Processes for increasing overall aromatics and xylenes yield in an aromatics complex are provided. A C8+ aromatics stream from an aromatics-rich reformate is separated into a C8 aromatics fraction and a C9+ aromatics fraction comprising higher alkyl group-substituted C9 and C10 aromatics. The C9+ aromatics fraction is separated into a lighter boiling, higher alkyl group-substituted C9 or C9/C10 aromatics fraction and a heavier boiling, C10+ or C11+ aromatics fraction. The lighter boiling, higher alkyl group-substituted C9 or C9/C10 aromatics fraction is isomerized to convert a portion of the higher alkyl group-substituted C9 or C9/C10 aromatics therein into methyl-enriched C9 aromatics or methyl-enriched C9/C10 aromatics. The methyl-enriched C9+ aromatics stream comprising the methyl-enriched C9+ aromatics stream or the methyl-enriched C9/C10 aromatics is transalkylated with a toluene-containing stream.
US08431746B2 Method for producing diphenylmethane diamine
The invention relates to a process for preparing mixtures of diphenylmethanediamine and polyphenylenepolymethylenepolyamines, which comprises the steps a) reaction of aniline with formaldehyde in the presence of hydrochloric acid, b) neutralization of the reaction mixture formed in step a) c) separation of the organic phase from the aqueous phase, d) work-up of the organic phase, e) work-up of the aqueous phase, wherein step e) comprises at least the steps e1) extraction of the aqueous phase with an organic solvent, e2) stripping of the aqueous phase obtained in step e1), e3) absorption of the solution obtained from step e2).
US08431741B2 Process for the hydrogenation of ketoesters
The invention relaters to a process for the production of an (S)- or (R)-4-halo-3-hydroxybutyrate, comprising reacting a 4-haloacetoacetate with hydrogen in the presence ofa solvent, the solvent being a solvent mixture, which comprises a first solvent and a second solvent, wherein the first solvent is an aliphatic alcohol, preferably methanol, ethanol or propanol, and the second solvent is aprotic and comprises at least one oxygen atom; and a catalyst of the formula [RuXYZ]X, wherein X is halogen, preferably Cl or Br, or OAc, acetoacetate, allyl or ClO4, Y is a bidentate organic ligand having two phosphine groups, and Z is an arene, preferably cymene, benzene, xylene or toluene, or a polyene, preferably a diene, or an alkene.
US08431740B2 Controlling decanter phase separation of acetic acid production process
Disclosed is a method for controlling the decanter phase separation of an acetic acid production by methanol carbonylation. The method comprises measuring the methyl acetate concentration of the reactor mixture, calculating the density of the decanter heavy, organic phase according to the measured methyl acetate concentration, and adjusting the conditions in the reactor or in the decanter to ensure phase separation of the decanter.
US08431736B2 Crystalline forms of the di-sodium salt of N-(5-chlorosalicyloyl)-8-aminocaprylic acid
The present invention relates to crystalline polymorphic forms of the di-sodium salt of N-(5-chlorosalicyloyl)-8-aminocaprylic acid, pharmaceutical compositions containing the same, methods of preparing the same, and methods for facilitating the delivery of active agents with the same.
US08431733B2 Process for the preparation of (3S)-3-amino-N-cyclopropyl-2-hydroxyalkanamide derivatives
The present invention relates to a process for the preparation of (2S,3S)-3-amino-N-cyclopropyl-2-hydroxyalkanamides, and their use in the preparation of HCV inhibitors and cathepsin inhibitors.
US08431730B2 Sulfonate esters as latent acid catalysts
The present invention is directed towards novel sulfonic acid esters as catalysts for crosslinking of polymers having hydroxyl, carboxyl, and amide functional groups with a crosslinking agent and resin compositions containing the same. The present invention provides polymeric film coatings which have superior hardness, impact resistance, adhesion, improved blister resistance, salt spray characteristics and flexibility. These catalysts are especially effective in coil primer formulations containing calcium ion exchange anticorrosive pigments, where traditional blocked acid catalysts are ineffective.
US08431726B2 Preparation method of (3S,4S)-3-hexyl-4-((R)-2-hydroxytridecyl)-oxetan-2-one and the product of that method
The present invention relates to a method for the preparation of (3S,4S)-3-hexyl-4-((R)-2-hydroxytridecyl)-oxetan-2-one and a product of the method. The method includes the following steps: a) reducing a substance represented by formula (II) to obtain a substance represented by formula (III), and then oxidizing the substance represented by formula (III) to form a substance represented by formula (IV); b) acylating n-octanoic acid to obtain n-octanoyl chloride using thionyl dichloride, then condensing the obtained n-octanoyl chloride with 2-mercapto-pyridine under basic condition to form a substance represented by formula (V), and then converting the substance represented by formula (V) to a substance represented by formula (VI); c) reacting the substance obtained in the step a) with the substance obtained in the step b) under catalytic condition of Lewis acid to generate a substance represented by formula (VII), and then reacting with a Lewis acid. The meanings of the signs in these formulas are the same as those in the description.
US08431723B2 Radicals and their use as paramagnetic agents in a DNP process
The invention relates to new radicals, their use as paramagnetic agents in a method for the dynamic nuclear polarisation and a method for the dynamic nuclear polarisation of compounds comprising carboxyl groups.
US08431717B2 Process for the preparation of 5-(2-ethyl-dihydro-1H-inden-2-yl)-1H-imidazole and salts thereof
The invention provides an improved, highly efficient method for preparing 5-(2-ethyl-2,3-dihydro-1H-inden-2-yl)-1H-imidazole, and its salts, in particular its pharmaceutically acceptable salts.
US08431714B2 Synthesis of drug conjugates via reaction with epoxide-containing linkers
The present invention relates to drug derivatives and linkers. The invention specifically relates to compounds and methods of phosphonates and linkers, that are useful as carriers for imaging agents and useful in the treatment of various bone diseases.
US08431710B2 Process for the synthesis of halogenated cyclic compounds
A process for the manufacture of a cyclic compound of formula (I) which comprises (a) adding an acid halide of formula R1—C(O)—X, to a vinyl ether of formula (II): CH2═CH—OR2, to produce an addition product, and (b) reacting the addition product with a compound of formula (III): Y-A-Z; wherein R1 is a halogenated alkyl group; wherein X is fluorine, chlorine, or bromine; wherein R2 is an alkyl group, an aralkyl group, or an aryl group; wherein Z and Y designate independently carbon or a heteroatom; and wherein A is a linking group between Z and Y comprising 0, 1, 2 or 3 atoms in the cycle.
US08431709B2 Acylation reaction of hydroxyl group
Disclosed is a selective ester production process of an alcoholic hydroxyl group, which proceeds under chemically mild conditions, while having adequate environmental suitability, operability and economical efficiency. Specifically disclosed is a process for producing an ester compound, which is characterized in that an alcohol and a carboxylic acid ester compound are reacted in the presence of a compound containing zinc element, thereby selectively acylating a hydroxyl group of the alcohol.
US08431708B2 Fluorescent carbazole compounds for cancer diagnosis
A compound of formula (I): in which R1-R8, A, B, X, Y, m, and n are as defined herein. Also disclosed is a method for detecting a cancer cell using a compound of formula I.
US08431703B2 Pyrrolopyridine compounds and their use in treating disease
There are provided according to the invention compounds of formula (I) in free ors salt form, wherein R1, R2, R4, R5, R6, A, D, X, W, m and n are as described in the specification, process for preparing them, and their use as pharmaceuticals.
US08431700B2 Alkylsulfonyl-2,3-dihydrospiro[indene-1,4′-piperidine] analogs as GlyT1 inhibitors, methods for making same, and use of same in treating psychiatric disorders
In one aspect, the invention relates to compounds which are useful as inhibitors of glycine type 1 transporter (GlyT1) activity; synthetic methods for making the compounds; pharmaceutical compositions comprising the compounds; and methods of treating disorders associated with glycine type 1 transporter (GlyT1) activity using the compounds and compositions. This abstract is intended as a scanning tool for purposes of searching in the particular art and is not intended to be limiting of the present invention.
US08431699B2 Method for manufacture of 2-oxoimidazolidines
There is provided a method for manufacture of 2-oxoimidazolidines of Formula I comprising one or more of the steps of converting an amine to an acylation agent, condensation of the acylation agent with a bi-functional compound of structure L-C(R4)(R5)—C(R2)(R3)—NHR1, wherein L is a leaving group, and ring closure of the resulting urea. In this manner, certain 2-oxoimidazolidines may be manufactured that are useful intermediates for the production of Pramiconazole and structurally related compounds.
US08431698B2 Bioluminescent endoscopy methods and compounds
Bioluminescent endoscopy methods and compounds, wherein an anatomical object is examined by means of filling, perfusing, intubating, injecting, or otherwise administering a solution containing a bioluminescent substance or a mixture of luciferin and luciferase which produces bioluminescence, wherein a color or monochrome image of the object is constituted using the images and information based on bioluminescent emitted by the bioluminescent substance. Procedures are demonstrated which allow bioluminescent solutions to be perfused into certain tissue regions, such as but not limited to the common biliary duct, genitourinary tract, gastro-intestinal tract, cardiovascular system and lymphatic system wherein said structures may be conveniently visualized during surgery to avoid damage to these structures. Such images may also be combined with visual light images. Methods of detection of cancer cells using bioluminescence are provided. Preferred embodiments disclosed include membrane permeant coelenterazine analogs.
US08431693B2 Process for desilylation of oligonucleotides
The present invention relates to processes and reagents for oligonucleotide synthesis and purification. One aspect of the present invention relates to compounds useful for activating phosphoramidites in oligonucleotide synthesis. Another aspect of the present invention relates to a method of preparing oligonucleotides via the phosphoramidite method using an activator of the invention. Another aspect of the present invention relates to sulfur-transfer agents. In a preferred embodiment, the sulfur-transfer agent is a 3-amino-1,2,4-dithiazolidine-5-one. Another aspect of the present invention relates to a method of preparing a phosphorothioate by treating a phosphite with a sulfur-transfer reagent of the invention. In a preferred embodiment, the sulfur-transfer agent is a 3-amino-1,2,4-dithiazolidine-5-one. Another aspect of the present invention relates to compounds that scavenge acrylonitrile produced during the deprotection of phosphate groups bearing ethylnitrile protecting groups. In a preferred embodiment, the acrylonitrile scavenger is a polymer-bound thiol. Another aspect of the present invention relates to agents used to oxidize a phosphite to a phosphate. In a preferred embodiment, the oxidizing agent is sodium chlorite, chloroamine, or pyridine-N-oxide. Another aspect of the present invention relates to methods of purifying an oligonucleotide by annealing a first single-stranded oligonucleotide and second single-stranded oligonucleotide to form a double-stranded oligonucleotide; and subjecting the double-stranded oligonucleotide to chromatographic purification. In a preferred embodiment, the chromatographic purification is high-performance liquid chromatography.
US08431688B2 Synthetic peptide constructs for the diagnosis and treatment of Periodontitis associated with Porphyromonas gingivalis
The present invention relates to an oral composition and an immunogenic composition for the suppression of the pathogenic effects of the intra-oral bacterium Porphyromonas gingivalis associated with periodontal disease.
US08431677B2 Purification of a conventional polymer flow contaminated with PLA
Method for purifying a conventional polymer stream (PE, PP, PET, PVC, etc.) contaminated with not more than 50% PLA, comprising steps for the suspension of the polymer with solubilisation of the PLA fraction and the recovery of the purified polymer after separation.