Document	Document Title
US08448257B2	Method and system for controlling context-based wireless access to secured network resources Information on the identity of each user connecting via a wireless device is obtained using a prior process of authentication and context information and/or the status of the user; a characteristics vector is generated for each user, which comprises the context information and/or the user status and a user profile. Permissions are assigned to each user, determining the type of secured network resources each user is permitted to access, depending on their characteristics vector; and a secured-network-resource access check is performed, enabling the transfer of data only to/from resources permitted for each user, as a function of the permissions assigned.
US08448255B2	Secure file processing Apparatus, systems, and methods may operate to receive requests to securely process files on an untrusted client. Additional activity may include transparently redirecting file management operations associated with applications running on the untrusted client to file content associated with the files, where the file content is located in a sandbox on the untrusted client, where the sandbox is inaccessible to the applications. A data store, shared across the applications, may be used to share information associated with the file content. Additional apparatus, systems, and methods are disclosed.
US08448249B1	Methods and systems for using lambda transitions for processing regular expressions in intrusion-prevention systems Methods and systems are provided for using lambda transitions for processing regular expressions in intrusion-prevention systems. In an embodiment, a state-transition table is provided, said table being representative of a predetermined data pattern, and including states having egress events defining transitions to other states. A subject is received for evaluation for the presence of the predetermined data pattern. While using the state-transition table for said evaluation, a first state is transitioned into, the first state having an egress event defining a transition to a second state, a state count corresponding to a number of times the first state has been transitioned into, a state-count threshold, and a state-count condition. After transitioning into the first state, the state count is incremented. Responsive to determining that the state-count condition is satisfied by comparing the incremented state count with the state-count threshold, the transition to the second state is taken.
US08448242B2	Systems, methods, and media for outputting data based upon anomaly detection Systems, methods, and media for outputting data based on anomaly detection are provided. In some embodiments, methods for outputting data based on anomaly detection include: receiving a known-good dataset; storing distinct n-grams from the known-good dataset to form a binary anomaly detection model; receiving known-good new n-grams; computing a rate of receipt of distinct n-grams in the new n-grams; determining whether further training of the anomaly detection model is necessary based on the rate of receipt on distinct n-grams; using the binary anomaly detection model to determine whether an input dataset contains an anomaly; and outputting the input dataset based on whether the input dataset contains an anomaly.
US08448240B2	Role-based access control A user interface and a processor coupled to the user interface wherein the processor receives access requests through the user interface and authorizes access through the user interface. The processor associates a rights request with a role based policy to determine access rights, modifies the determined access rights in accordance with an exception list related to particular users and records, and authorizes access to a record based upon the modified determined access rights.
US08448232B1	System, method, and computer program product for preventing communication of unwanted network traffic by holding only a last portion of the network traffic A system, method, and computer program product are provided for preventing communication of unwanted network traffic by holding only a last portion of the network traffic. In use, network traffic associated with a file transfer is received. Additionally, only a last portion of the network traffic associated with the file transfer is held for determining whether the file is unwanted. Further, the last portion of the network traffic associated with the file transfer is conditionally forwarded to a destination device, based on the determination.
US08448231B2	Walled garden system for providing access to one or more websites that incorporate content from other websites and method thereof A cleared sites list includes one or more hostname descriptors. A firewall includes rules associated with a cleared IP list including cleared IP addresses, and permits transfer of a cleared HTTP request from a user device to a cleared destination IP address that matches one of the cleared IP addresses. A controller examines a non-cleared HTTP request from the user device to a non-cleared destination IP address that does not match one of the cleared IP addresses, and acts as a transparent proxy between the user device and the non-cleared destination IP address when a destination host header of the non-cleared HTTP request matches a hostname descriptor of the cleared sites list. The controller further acts as a transparent proxy between the user device and the non-cleared destination IP address when a referrer header of the non-cleared HTTP request matches a hostname descriptor of the cleared sites list.
US08448221B2	System, method, and computer program product for displaying network events in terms of objects managed by a security appliance and/or a routing device A system, method, and computer program product are provided for displaying network events in terms of objects managed by at least one of a security appliance and a routing device. In use, network events are received. Furthermore, the network events are displayed in terms of objects being managed by at least one of a security appliance and a routing device.
US08448217B2	Computer program, method, and system for access control A computer program, method, and system for access control, which are capable of keeping and guaranteeing consistency of access control settings. A collector collects access control information and resource information which are set for each unit of processing such as an application and a file system and are transmitted from a transmitter, and stores them in an access control information memory. A combiner combines the collected access control information to create and store combined access control information in a combined access control information memory. A consistency adjuster analyzes the policies defined in the combined access control information stored in the combined access control information memory to detect inconsistency, and if inconsistency is detected, resolves the inconsistency according to an inconsistency measure policy. Thus, consistent filtering master information for the entire system is created and stored in a filtering master information memory.
US08448214B2	Method and system for providing complete internet anywhere with partial server processing A method and/or system are described for providing complete Internet anywhere with partial server processing in which a request may be sent from a set-top-box (STB) to a server communicatively coupled with the STB to process a portion of a web page that is unsupported by a web browser running on the STB. The STB may receive a data stream from the server, wherein the server generates the data stream by processing the unsupported portion of the web page. The web page may be composited in the web browser based on the received data stream. The server may be located in a server computing cloud or may be a local server. The unsupported portion of the web page may comprise a binary plug-in. A supported portion of the web page may be rendered before or concurrently with the overlaying of the data stream during compositing.
US08448208B2	System and method for construction, delivery and display of iTV applications that blend programming information of on-demand and broadcast service offerings A user interface allows for blending of television program choices from which a viewer may select, the blending representing options for linear and non-linear programming presented together within a single hierarchy of a designated category. The blending may further include managed content relevant to the designated category, where desired. Such designated categories may include television programming categories and/or content categories. The options for linear and non-linear programming may be presented together within a single screen of the user interface.
US08448204B2	System and method for aggregating user data and targeting content Systems and methods for aggregating user data and targeting content to users are described. User data is collected through quizzes and users are associated with a particular fictional or nonfictional character profile based on the user-submitted information. The user data associated with each character profile is aggregated to identify and recommend content for the user, such as television shows, news feed, web pages, promotions, advertisements, and the like. The invention can be used in connection with fan sites or other topic-specific sites that are associated with the character of the character profile.
US08448198B2	Traverse module and optical disc drive utilizing the same A traverse module of an optical disc drive includes a base and a cover connected to the base that includes at least one spring tab integrally formed therewith. A pair of guide bars is connected to the base. A pickup head module is slidably connected to the guide bars. At least one adjusting member is movably connected to the base. The at least one adjusting member supports at least one of the guide bars and the at least one spring tab presses against the at least one of the guide bars, the at least one adjusting member is able to urge the at least one of the guide bars to move.
US08448193B2	Image forming device, information processing method, and information processing program In an image forming device which is capable of executing an application program, a plurality of interface providing units are arranged each providing the application program with an interface which enables the application program to use a function of the image forming device. A selecting unit selects at least one of the plurality of interface providing units as an object of use for the application program based on a result of comparison of information stored in a storage device and indicating an execution environment of each of the plurality of interface providing units with information stored in the storage device and indicating an execution environment of the image forming device.
US08448192B2	Computer readable medium storing a universal driver, method of controlling a device and apparatus A non-transitory computer readable medium has a universal driver executable on a computer. The universal driver includes instructions for: selecting a device for executing a function from connected devices according to an input from a user; sending a request to the operating system to set a communication port for communication with the selected device as a specified port; storing port identification information of a communication port for communication with the selected device and associated with the user in a memory; determining whether port identification information of the specified communication port matches the port identification information of the communication port associated with the user; sending a control command to the device to execute the function via the specified communication port according to a result of the determination indicating a match; and notifying the user of a different port being set as a specified port according to a result indicating a non-match.
US08448188B2	Web user interface component coordination Embodiments of the present invention provide a method, system and computer program product for Web user interface component coordination. In an embodiment of the invention, a method for Web user interface component coordination can include receiving an event indicating a state change in one of many user interface components in a user interface for a Web application and determining whether or not remaining ones of the components are active and able to receive a notification of the event. In the former circumstance, notice of the event can be transmitted to the remaining ones of the components. However, in the latter circumstance, transmission of the notice of the event to the remaining ones of the components can be delayed until the components are determined to have become active and able to receive a notification of the event.
US08448187B2	Conflict resolution apparatus A conflict resolution apparatus automatically updates an application conflict rule specifying a conflict condition among applications when a device is installed or uninstalled. An application conflict rule storage section stores the application conflict rule. An application executing section determines, based on the application conflict rule, conflicts among a plurality of applications and executes at least one application in accordance with a result of the determination. An application conflict rule updating section updates the application conflict rule in accordance with a change of the conflict condition among the plurality of applications when a resource of the conflict resolution apparatus is changed.
US08448186B2	Parallel event processing in a database system Techniques for processing events in parallel are provided. Multiple publishers publish events in parallel to a plurality of channels. Each channel is a queue that maintains a list of events that are awaiting to be processed by one or more slave processes. In one approach, all events that need to be persistent are published to a persistent channel, whereas all events that do not need to be persistent are published to one or more in-memory channels. In another approach, for each event, a publisher determines which channel of the plurality of channel to publish the event. The determination is based, at least in part, on the number of events in each channel and, optionally, the type of each event in each channel. In either approach, each event from a single publisher is published to the same channel.
US08448185B2	Method and system for dynamic discovery of services in a communication framework A system for dynamic discovery of services comprises a communication framework module comprising a local service registry having service information. The local service registry is operable to be updated by the communication framework module when a message is received with updated service information relating to at least one additional communication framework module. The service information comprises a plurality of service interfaces.
US08448171B2	Communications between virtual machines that have been migrated A method, apparatus, and computer program product for managing communications between a plurality of applications are presented. A determination is made as to whether an address in a message is a prior address for a second application in the plurality of applications in response to receiving a message from a first application in the plurality of applications. The message is sent onto a virtual network configured to handle prior addresses for the plurality of applications in response to the address in the message being the prior address for the second application being located on another virtual machine from the first application.
US08448168B2	Recording medium having virtual machine managing program recorded therein and managing server device A virtual machine managing program manages plural physical machines and makes a computer device execute processing through virtual machines developed on each physical machine. Virtual machines are assigned to physical machines on the basis of CPU usage rate and temperature, and are moved among the physical machines as needed, to maintain acceptable operating conditions.
US08448165B1	System and method for logging operations of virtual machines A system and method for logging operations of guest virtual machines are provided. An execution event is triggered, in response to a request to load a software module in a virtual machine. A processor sends an indication to a hypervisor that the software module is loaded in the virtual machine, in response to the triggering of the execution event. A security appliance accesses, using the hypervisor, a first memory location in the virtual machine, in response to the indication. A value is stored in the first memory location. The value identifies the software module. The security appliance returns the value to the hypervisor.
US08448164B2	SOA-registry, method and platform manager for automatic SOA application deployment A computing system includes a service-oriented architecture (SOA) registry that includes an SOA-application description, an abstract component description, a concrete component description, and a platform description. The SOA-application description is related to the abstract component description of a component of the SOA-application. The concrete component description includes a requirement of a respective component for a target platform. The platform descriptor describes a property of the target platform. The computing system is configured to deploy the SOA-application and its respective components to the target platform in accordance with the concrete descriptions.
US08448157B2	Eliminating redundant operations for common properties using shared real registers One embodiment of a method for eliminating redundant operations establishing common properties includes identifying a first virtual register storing a first value having a common property. The method may assign the first virtual register to use a real register. The method may further identify a second virtual register storing a second value also having the common property. The method may assign the second virtual register to use the same real register after the first value is no longer live. As a result of assigning the second virtual register to the first real register, the method may eliminate an operation configured to establish the common property for the second virtual register since this operation is redundant and is no longer needed.
US08448154B2	Method, apparatus and software for processing software for use in a multithreaded processing environment A method, apparatus and software for processing software code for use in a multithreaded processing environment in which lock verification mechanisms are automatically inserted in the software code and arranged to determine whether a respective shared storage element is locked prior to the use of the respective shared storage element by a given processing thread in a multithreaded processing environment.
US08448148B1	Detection of deadlocks or race conditions in physical systems using load testing A method and system for testing a physical system including a number of input channels for receiving physical inputs, using load testing, comprising: intercepting at least a portion of the input channels; replacing at least a portion of the physical inputs of the intercepted input channels with one or more emulation programs, wherein the emulation programs include parameters which allow to control outputs of the one or more emulation programs to the intercepted input channels; configuring a functional test in a load testing software tool to drive execution of the one or more emulation programs; randomly generating outputs simulating the physical inputs, from the one or more emulation programs, by executing the load testing software tool; collecting data from the execution of the one or more emulation programs as the load testing software tool executes; and analyzing the collected data for presence or absence of deadlocks or race conditions.
US08448140B2	Execution time estimation method and device An execution time estimation device includes a program partitioning section that extracts partial programs partitioned by a conditional branch instruction or a function call instruction from a target program, a partial program execution time estimation calculating section that calculates the execution time of each of the partial programs to associate the leading instruction and the end instruction of each of the partial programs, and the calculated execution time with one another, a branch history information generating section that generates a branch history bit sequence which is a sequence of the true-false of the conditional branch instruction of when the target program is executed, an execution trace reproducing section that generates the execution sequences of the partial programs based on the branch history bit sequence, and an execution time estimation calculating section that adds the execution time of the partial programs based on the execution sequences of the partial programs.
US08448139B2	Automatic correction of application based on runtime behavior A system and associated method for automatically correcting an application based on runtime behavior of the application. An incident indicates a performance of the application in which a problem object produces an outcome that had not been expected by a user or by a ticketing tool. An incident flow for the problem object is automatically analyzed. Actual run of the application renders a forward data flow and at least one backward data flow is simulated from an expected outcome of the problem object. The forward data flow and the backward data flow(s) are compared to create a candidate fault list for the problem object. A technical specification to correct the candidate fault list and a solution to replace the application are subsequently devised.
US08448135B2	Race structure for a graphical program System and method for executing a graphical program. A first structure in a graphical program is displayed on a display. The first structure includes two or more frames, each configured to contain a respective portion of the graphical program. The respective portions of the graphical program are included in the two or more frames. During execution of the graphical program, the first structure executes the respective portions of the graphical program in the two or more frames in parallel via respective execution processes. When a first portion of the respective portions completes execution prior to all others of the portions, execution of the other portions is terminated.
US08448130B1	Auto-generated code validation A technique for generating an executable document that includes information for validating generated code is provided. The technique can include mapping an assumption to a portion of generated code, the portion containing functional code that is related to implementing the assumption, the mapping allowing at least the portion to be validated with respect to the assumption. The technique can include generating the executable document, where the executable document includes the mapping, and where the generated document validates the at least the portion of the generated code, where validating the at least the portion of the generated code validates the generated code.
US08448124B2	Post timing layout modification for performance A mechanism is provided for post timing layout modification for performance. The mechanism selectively applies layout modification based on timing analysis at the path level. The mechanism applies stress only to transistors that are in a setup critical path without applying stress to transistors in hold critical paths. The mechanism may use a method to apply stress to improve performance of a transistor in a setup critical path, as long as the stress does not also improve performance of a neighboring transistor in a hold critical path. In some instances, the mechanism may apply stress to improve performance of a transistor in a setup critical path while simultaneously degrading performance of a transistor in a hold critical path.
US08448116B2	Analog/digital partitioning of circuit designs for simulation For increasing user control and insight into preparing a mixed-signal semiconductor design specification for simulation, there are provided methods responsive to commands that provide control over resolution of disciplines and partitioning of the design into analog and digital portions. In some aspects, the methods provide block-based assignment of disciplines, as well as design partitioning. In other aspects, the methods provide for resolving a discipline to apply in a block from among multiple possible disciplines. In some aspects, error flagging may be available for detecting disciplines different from what provided for assignment in a block. Assignments may be indicated based on instance, cell, terminal, or library names and may be specified with wild cards. In still other aspects, the methods may be embodied by instructions on computer readable media, and in systems comprising general and special purpose computer hardware that may communicate with various storage facilities and over various networks.
US08448105B2	Clustering and fanout optimizations of asynchronous circuits Techniques are described for generating asynchronous circuits from any arbitrary HDL representation of a synchronous circuit by automatically clustering the synthesized gates into pipeline stages that are then slack-matched to meet performance goals while minimizing area. Automatic pipelining can be provided in which the throughput of the overall design is not limited to the clock frequency or the level of pipelining in the original RTL specification. The techniques are applicable to many asynchronous design styles. A model and infrastructure can be designed that guides clustering to avoid the introduction of deadlocks and achieve a target circuit performance. Slack matching models can be used to take advantage of fanout optimizations of buffer trees that improve the quality of the results.
US08448102B2	Optimizing layout of irregular structures in regular layout context Within a dynamic array architecture, an irregular wire layout region within a portion of a chip level layout is bracketed by placing first and second regular wire layout shapes on a first and second sides, respectively, of the irregular wire layout region. One or more irregular wire layout shapes are placed within the irregular wire layout region. A first edge spacing is maintained between the first regular wire layout shape and a first outer irregular wire layout shape within the irregular wire layout region nearest to the first regular wire layout shape. A second edge spacing is maintained between the second regular wire layout shape and a second outer irregular wire layout shape within the irregular wire layout region nearest to the second regular wire layout shape. The first and second edge spacings are defined to optimize lithography of the regular and irregular wire layout shapes.
US08448099B2	Multivariable solver for optical proximity correction The method of the invention tracks how the collective movement of edge segments in a mask layout alters the resist image values at control points in the layout and simultaneously determines a correction amount for each edge segment in the layout. A multisolver matrix that represents the collective effect of movements of each edge segment in the mask layout is used to simultaneously determine the correction amount for each edge segment in the mask layout.
US08448094B2	Mapping a natural input device to a legacy system Systems and methods for mapping natural input devices to legacy system inputs are disclosed. One example system may include a computing device having an algorithmic preprocessing module configured to receive input data containing a natural user input and to identify the natural user input in the input data. The computing device may further include a gesture module coupled to the algorithmic preprocessing module, the gesture module being configured to associate the natural user input to a gesture in a gesture library. The computing device may also include a mapping module to map the gesture to a legacy controller input, and to send the legacy controller input to a legacy system in response to the natural user input.
US08448093B2	Hierarchical organization chart for mobile applications According to one embodiment, a computer-implemented method for creating and displaying a hierarchical organization chart in a mobile application is provided. The method includes obtaining information from a database. The information represents a first node, second node, and, optionally, at least one third node. The nodes are related to each other according to a hierarchy. The method also includes displaying the information representing the first, second, and third nodes, if any, in a graphical user interface of a mobile device. The graphical user interface may include, for example, a three-level row-based chart. The information representing the first node is displayed in a first level of the chart, the information representing the second node is displayed in a second level of the chart, and the information representing the at least one third node is displayed in a third level of the chart.
US08448091B2	Information processor and recording medium An icon processor acquires a first icon image from a recording medium. A menu screen creator creates on a default background image a menu screen in which the first icon and another icon image are arranged. When an input receiving unit receives operation information indicating an operation for selecting the first icon image is performed, a background image processor directs the menu screen creator to switch the default background image to a first background image acquired from the recording medium. When the input receiving unit receives operation information indicating an operation for determining the first icon image is performed, the background image processor directs the menu screen creator to switch the first background image to a second background image acquired from the recording medium.
US08448083B1	Gesture control of multimedia editing applications A multimedia editing application includes a plurality of gestures that are used to control transport and playback, timing, editing, view management, and other functions of the application. The gestures have shapes or characteristics that are visually mnemonic of their associated functions or the objects on which the functions operate, but which themselves are not linguistic forms such as letters or numbers which are derived from the names of the associated functions. The visual mnemonics may connote the motion or shape of a part of the human body.
US08448080B2	Target server identification in a virtualized data center A method for identifying target server computers for consolidating virtual machines in a virtualized data center includes measuring load constraints for different server computers in a virtualized data center. The method also include rendering in a load graph in a graphical user interface (GUI) for the target identification module different icons, each representative of a corresponding one of the different server computers, each icon in the load graph including a position in the load graph according to measured load constraints for a corresponding one of the different server computers. The method further includes selecting a server computer from amongst the different server computers. Finally, the method includes filtering the load graph in the GUI to exclude icons corresponding to server computers that are over-utilized, so that icons remaining visible in the load graph represent server computers that are suitable as a target server computer for server consolidation of virtual machines executing in the selected server computer.
US08448078B2	Method and apparatus for selection of default media based on media size in an image production device A method and apparatus for selection of default media based on media size in an image production device is disclosed. The method may include receiving a request to display a printer user interface, displaying the printer user interface, the printer user interface having selections to enable a user to select a default media type for each default media size, receiving one or more default media selections from the user using the printer user interface, receiving a request to print a print job, and printing the print job with media designated by at least one of the one or more default media selections.
US08448070B2	Grapical user interface method and apparatus for communication assets and information in a dispatch environment The invention pertains to methods and apparatus for displaying information and presenting user interface controls for interfacing with a communication network and controlling communication assets on the network. The invention is particularly suited to a dispatch environment and specifically to providing an interface that permits a dispatcher to efficiently organize assets and information around individual incidents.
US08448067B2	Graphics command management tool and methods for analyzing performance for command changes before application modification Methods, systems, graphical computer interfaces, and computer readable media are disclosed to enable optimizing video frame rendering characteristics for an application. The method includes rendering a video frame and capturing push buffer settings representing the rendering of the video frame. The method also includes modifying an aspect of the push buffer settings while bypassing the application, and re-rendering the frame with the modified aspect. The method further enables comparing the rendering with the re-rendering, and presenting comparison results. Graphical user interfaces are provided to enable the functionality, without having to modify code of the application to appreciate what potential changes to the application can present in terms of performance rendering and processing efficiencies.
US08448062B2	System and method for simultaneous display of multiple tables In a system and method for displaying hierarchically related data, a processor may display in a single display window of a display device respective representations of a plurality of hierarchically related data records in accordance with the hierarchical relationship, where each of at least two of the representations includes a respective table including a plurality of data columns, and where the display of some of the columns of the tables is in accordance with display settings set based on a determination that columns of different tables correspond to each other for alignment.
US08448055B2	Methods and apparatuses for performing error detection and error correction for synchronization frame According to methods and apparatuses for performing error detection and error correction for a synchronization frame in embodiments of the present invention, a transmitter acquires a transmitter check sequence according to contents of a synchronization frame sequence; and a receiver acquires a receiver information sequence related to the check sequence. When performing error detection, the receiver acquires a receiver check sequence according to the receiver information sequence and a generator polynomial and determines whether the synchronization frame transmission is valid according to the receiver check sequence and the transmitter check sequence; when performing error correction, the receiver acquires a syndrome sequence according to the receiver information sequence, acquires an error pattern according to the syndrome sequence and acquires a result of error correction according to the error pattern and the receiver information sequence.
US08448050B2	Memory system and control method for the same A memory system having a memory card configured to store frame data composed of a plurality of pieces of sector data and a host configured to send and receive the frame data to and from the memory card, the memory card includes: an ECC1 decoder configured to perform BCH decoding processing with a hard decision code on a sector data basis; an ECC2 decoder configured to perform LDPC decoding processing with an LDPC code on a frame data basis; a sector error flag section configured to store information about presence or absence of error data in the BCH decoding processing; and an ECC control section configured to perform, in the LDPC decoding processing, control of increasing a reliability of sector data containing no error data based on the information in the sector error flag section.
US08448048B2	Flash memory device and related programming method A nonvolatile memory device comprises a memory cell array configured to store one or more bits per memory cell, a read and write circuit configured to access the memory cell array, a control logic component configured to control the read and write circuit to sequentially execute read operations of a selected memory cell at least twice to output a read data symbol, and an error correcting unit configured to correct an error in the read data symbol based on a pattern of the read data symbol to output an error-corrected symbol.
US08448046B2	Memory access method capable of reducing usage rate of problematic memory blocks Methods and devices capable of erasing a flash memory evenly are provided, in which a flash memory comprises a data region with a plurality of data blocks and a spare region with a plurality of spare blocks, and a controller retrieves a corresponding data with a check code from a first data block of the flash memory according to a read command from a host, performs a predetermined check to the corresponding data by the check code, determines whether an error is correctable when a check result of the predetermined check represents that the error has occurred, and increases an erase count of the first data block by a predetermined value when the error is correctable.
US08448044B2	Retrieving data from a dispersed storage network in accordance with a retrieval threshold A method begins by a processing module determining a retrieval threshold for retrieving a set of encoded data slices from a dispersed storage network (DSN), wherein the set of encoded data slices represents data encoded using a dispersed storage error encoding function having a pillar width of “n”, a decode threshold of “k”, and an encoding ratio of n−k>k and wherein the retrieval threshold is in accordance with the encoding ratio. The method continues with the processing module issuing data retrieval requests to the DSN for the set of encoded data slices and receiving encoded data slices of the set of encoded data slices to produce received encoded data slices. The method continues with the processing module decoding the received encoded data slices to recapture the data when a number of received encoded data slices compares favorably to the retrieval threshold.
US08448042B2	Data processing device and a method for error detection and error correction A data processing device and a method for error detection and error correction. The data processing device includes an error detection arrangement and an error correction arrangement. The error detection arrangement is able to detect correctable error and uncorrectable error in the data stored in a memory cell of the memory. The error detection arrangement then determines the neighboring memory cells or memory cells that are physically adjacent to the memory cell for which the correctable error was detected and generates a signal indicating a fault depending on the correctable errors detected in the neighboring physically adjacent memory cells. If a signal indicating a fault is not generated, then an error correction arrangement is used to correct the correctable error detected by the error detection arrangement.
US08448037B2	Prescheduled retransmission for initial establishment A method for a wireless communications network for data packet including a user equipment (UE) and a transceiver node (eNodeB). The user equipment (UE) and the node (eNodeB) intercommunicate over an air interface communication link. The user equipment (UE) transmits a first message (MSG3) in a first scheduled transmission in a random access procedure during setup of the communication link. The first message is transmitted in a first sub frame (TTI=3) and in a second sub frame (TTI=4; TTI=5) within a first roundtrip time (RTT) in a first HARQ- process triggered by the transmission of the first message in the first sub frame (TTI=3).
US08448034B2	Semiconductor memory device According to one embodiment, a semiconductor memory device includes semiconductor memory chips in which data requested to be written. The data has one or more pieces of first data in a predetermined unit. The device includes a write controller that writes the first data and redundancy information calculated by using a predetermined number of pieces of the first data and used for correcting an error in the predetermined number of pieces of the first data into different semiconductor memory chips; and a storage unit that stores identification information and region specifying information so as to be associated with each other. The identification information associates the first data and the redundancy information, and the region specifying information specifies a plurality of storage regions in the semiconductor memory chips to which the pieces of the first data and the redundancy information associated with each other are written.
US08448029B2	Multiprocessor system having multiple watchdog timers and method of operation A multiprocessor system with multiple watchdog timers, the timers causing all the processors in the system to concurrently process a common interrupt signal asserted by any of the watchdog timers timing out. The processors, in response to the common interrupt signal, store data residing in their local memories into a memory common to all the processors. The stored data is then stored in a permanent storage device for later analysis. Thereafter, all of the processors are reset.
US08448024B2	Firmware assisted error handling scheme A firmware assisted error handling scheme in a computer system has been disclosed. In one embodiment, firmware is used to access one or more hardware-specific error registers within the computer system in response to a system management interrupt (SMI) trap. Using the firmware, an error record in a common error record format is constructed. The error record is made available to an operating system (OS) within the computer system.
US08448018B2	Stripe-based memory operation The present disclosure includes methods and devices for stripe-based memory operation. One method embodiment includes writing data in a first stripe across a storage volume of a plurality of memory devices. A portion of the first stripe is updated by writing updated data in a portion of a second stripe across the storage volume of the plurality of memory devices. The portion of the first stripe is invalidated. The invalid portion of the first stripe and a remainder of the first stripe are maintained until the first stripe is reclaimed. Other methods and devices are also disclosed.
US08448016B2	Computing core application access utilizing dispersed storage A computing core application access method begins by a processing module detecting selection of an application. The method continues with at least one of a memory controller and the processing module addressing a distributed application memory to retrieve a plurality of error coded program data slices and a plurality of error coded configuration data slices. The method continues with the at least one of a memory controller and the processing module reconstructing a data segment of a program from the plurality of error coded program data slices using an error coding dispersal function. The method continues with the at least one of a memory controller and the processing module reconstructing a data segment of a configuration information from the plurality of error coded configuration data slices using a second error coding dispersal function. The method continues with the at least one of a memory controller and the processing module storing the data segment of the program and the data segment of the configuration information in a main memory of the computing core.
US08448015B2	Remote computer diagnostic system and method The system enables a call center to manage requests from remote computing clients for service. The system provides a number of software tools that allow technicians to perform routine maintenance and correct problems remotely. At the front-end, the system enables requests to be submitted by customers via various mediums, accesses a calendar to determine technician availability, determines the urgency of the request, and schedules an appropriate technician to address the reported problem. The system further includes tools that enable a technician to access a remote computing client to perform a number computer maintenance and diagnostics. Other tools enable the technician to correct problems that are detected through diagnostics. Calls to the call center are recorded and maintained in order to track pending issues and identify potential areas of improvement.
US08448009B2	Method and memory device for generating a time estimate A method and memory device for generating a time estimate are provided. In one embodiment, a memory device generates a time estimate from time stamps in file system metadata for a plurality of files stored in the memory device and uses the time estimate to perform a time-based activity in the memory device. In another embodiment, a memory device generates a time estimate from time stamps stored in a plurality of files stored in the memory device and uses the time estimate to perform a time-based activity in the memory device. In yet another embodiment, a memory device obtains a plurality of time stamps, selects one or more of the plurality of time stamps based on validity rankings, generates a time estimate from the selected time stamp(s), and uses the time estimate to perform a time-based activity in the memory device.
US08448000B2	Methods and apparatuses for operating a data processing system Methods and apparatuses to manage working states of a data processing system. At least one embodiment of the present invention includes a data processing system with one or more sensors (e.g., physical sensors such as tachometer and thermistors, and logical sensors such as CPU load) for fine grain control of one or more components (e.g., processor, fan, hard drive, optical drive) of the system for working conditions that balance various goals (e.g., user preferences, performance, power consumption, thermal constraints, acoustic noise). In one example, the clock frequency and core voltage for a processor are actively managed to balance performance and power consumption (heat generation) without a significant latency. In one example, the speed of a cooling fan is actively managed to balance cooling effort and noise (and/or power consumption).
US08447998B2	Reducing current draw of a plurality of solid state drives at computer startup Reducing current draw of solid state drives from a shared power supply of a computer at computer startup, each SSD including computer memory, a capacitor, a disk controller, and a charge controller, the disk controller configured to enable the charge controller to charge the capacitor upon receiving a charge command, the SSDs organized into startup groups characterized by a position in a predefined startup order. Upon startup of the computer, beginning with a first startup group in the predefined startup order and until the last startup group in the predefined startup order has received a charge command, embodiments include, sending, by a storage device initiator, a charge command to a startup group to initiate charging of the capacitor of each solid state drive in the startup group and waiting a predefined period of time before sending another charge command to a next startup group in the predefined startup order.
US08447997B2	Method for managing storage, program and system for the same A system including plural storage devices provides a technique for controlling storage devices in which files are located by a file system, and turning on or off the storage devices based on prediction of the start or end of access to the files. A program that manages power to the storage devices and data access to the storage devices via the files includes means or functions for allocating a storage device as an area in which a file is located, for selecting a storage device in which a file is located, for predicting that access to a file is started for commanding turning on power to a storage device based on the prediction that access to a file is started, for predicting that access to a file terminates, and for commanding turning off power to a storage device based on the prediction that access to a file terminates.
US08447988B2	Hash processing using a processor In certain embodiments, a digital signal processor (DSP) has multiple arithmetic logic units and a register module. The DSP is adapted to generate a message digest H from a message M in accordance with the SHA-1 standard, where M includes N blocks M(i), i=1, . . . , N, and the processing of each block M(i) includes t iterations of processing words of message schedule {Wt}. In each iteration possible, the DSP uses free operations to precalculate Wt and working variable values for use in the next iteration. In addition, in each iteration possible, the DSP rotates the registers associated with particular working variables to reduce operations that merely copy unchanged values from one register to another.
US08447982B2	System and method for operating end-to-end security channel between server and IC card The present invention relates to a system and method for operating an end-to-end security channel between an IC card and a server on a communication network. A method for connecting an end-to-end security channel between an IC card and a server on a communication network includes the steps of: generating, by the server, a random number Rs for transmission to the IC card, generating an E(Rs) by encrypting the random number Rs by a user public key, and transmitting the E(Rs) to the IC card through the communication network; receiving, by the IC card, the E(Rs) through the communication network and extracting the random number Rs by decrypting the E(Rs) by a user private key; generating, by the IC card, a random number Rc to be transmitted to the server, generating a session key K′ by the random number Rs and the random number Rc, and generating a first card verifier MAC by encrypting the random number Rs by the session key K′; transmitting, by the IC card, the random number Rc and the first card verifier MAC to the server through the communication network; receiving, by the server, the random number Rc and the first card verifier MAC through the communication network, generating a session key K by the random number Rs and the random number Rc, and generating a first server verifier MAC by encrypting the random number Rs by the session key K; and comparing, by the server, the first card verifier MAC and the first server verifier MAC to certify the session key K.
US08447980B2	System and method for processing encoded messages for exchange with a mobile data communication device A system and method are provided for pre-processing encrypted and/or signed messages at a host system before the message is transmitted to a wireless mobile communication device. The message is received at the host system from a message sender. There is a determination as to whether any of the message receivers has a corresponding wireless mobile communication device. For each message receiver that has a corresponding wireless mobile communication device, the message is processed so as to modify the message with respect to one or more encryption and/or authentication aspects. The processed message is transmitted to a wireless mobile communication device that corresponds to the first message receiver. The system and method may include post-processing messages sent from a wireless mobile communications device to a host system. Authentication and/or encryption message processing is performed upon the message. The processed message may then be sent through the host system to one or more receivers.
US08447969B2	Transfer device for sensitive material such as a cryptographic key Mechanisms are provided for transferring sensitive information, such as cryptographic keys, between entities. Particularly, a device is provided with a user input connected directly to a secure element. The device enables a user to enter sensitive information in the user input which is then passed directly to the secure element without traversing any other element such that the secure element can encode and/or encrypt the sensitive information. Once the sensitive information has been encoded and/or encrypted by the secure element, the now secure sensitive information can be shared with other entities using familiar and popular, yet relatively unsecure, transfer methods.
US08447968B2	Air-interface application layer security for wireless networks The present invention provides a method for encrypting data for transmission over a wireless link. The method includes encrypting at least one block of data, at an air-interface application layer, using an encryption algorithm that receives a cryptosynch as input. The value of the cryptosynch is based on an order of the at least one block of data relative to other blocks of data. The value of the cryptosynch is recoverable by a receiver based on the ordering of the ordering of the blocks of data. The at least one encrypted block of data is transmitted to a receiver that is operable to preserve the order of the at least one block of data relative to the other blocks of data.
US08447956B2	Running subtract and running divide instructions for processing vectors The described embodiments provide a processor for generating a result vector with subtracted or mathematically divided values from a first input vector. During operation, the processor receives the first input vector, a second input vector, and a control vector, and optionally receives a predicate vector. The processor then records a value from an element at a key element position in the second input vector into a base value. Next, the processor generates a result vector. When generating the result vector, for each active element in the result vector to the right of the key element position, the processor is configured to set the element in the result vector equal to the base value minus a total of the values in each relevant element of the first input vector or to set the element in the result vector equal to the result of dividing the base value by a value in each relevant element of the first input vector, wherein the relevant elements include relevant elements from an element at the key element position to and including a predetermined element in the first input vector.
US08447951B2	Method and apparatus for managing TLB An apparatus and method for managing a translation look-aside buffer (TLB). The TLB is shared by a plurality of jobs. The method including the steps of: obtaining at least one attribute of each job of the plurality of jobs; assigning a priority level to each job according to at least one attribute of each job; and managing the related TLB entries of each job according to the priority level of each job. The present invention also provides an apparatus for managing TLB corresponding to the above method. The method and apparatus according to the present invention provide an efficient use of the shared TLB.
US08447946B2	Storage apparatus and hierarchical data management method for storage apparatus Proposed are a storage apparatus and hierarchical data management method for promoting the effective usage of memory apparatuses while suppressing maintenance-related costs and work. The storage apparatus comprises a plurality of memory apparatuses of a plurality of types, and a control unit for executing required data migration by monitoring an access frequency to each of the unit areas of the virtual volume and by controlling the corresponding memory apparatuses so that the storage area provided by the memory apparatus with a superior response performance is allocated to unit areas for which the access frequency is higher. The control unit controls the corresponding memory apparatuses so that when data is migrated from a first storage area, provided by a first memory apparatus which can be rewritten a limited number of times, to a second storage area provided by another second memory apparatus, the data is migrated to the second storage area without being deleted from the first storage area, manages updated parts of the data migrated from the first storage area to the second storage area after the data is migrated to the second storage area, and controls the corresponding memory apparatuses so that, when data which has been migrated from the first storage area to the second storage area is restored from the second storage area to the first storage area, the corresponding data still remaining in the first storage area is overwritten with the updated parts of the data which are updated after being migrated to the second storage area.
US08447931B1	Processor with a register file that supports multiple-issue execution One embodiment of the present invention provides a processor that supports multiple-issue execution. This processor includes a register file, which contains an array of memory cells, wherein the memory cells contain bits for architectural registers of the processor. The register file also includes multiple read ports and multiple write ports to support multiple-issue execution. During operation, if multiple read ports simultaneously read from a given register, the register file is configured to: read each bit of the given register out of the array of memory cells through a single bitline associated with the bit; and to use a driver located outside of the array of memory cells to drive the bit to the multiple read ports. In this way, each memory cell only has to drive a single bitline (instead of multiple bitlines) during a multiple-port read operation, thereby allowing memory cells to use smaller and more power-efficient drivers for read operations.
US08447928B2	Electronic apparatus, server, and method for controlling electronic apparatus An electronic apparatus stores therein information that includes a first list, a second list, and a third list. The first list contains a list of memory devices usable with the electronic apparatus, the second list contains a list of memory devices for which it is not certain whether the memory devices are usable with the electronic apparatus, and the third list contains a list of memory devices unusable with the electronic apparatus. A determining unit determines, by using the information, whether a connected memory device is usable or unusable with the electronic apparatus or determines that it is not certain whether the connected memory device is usable with the electronic apparatus.
US08447927B2	Storage system, control device and storage device A storage system includes a storage device that includes a storage medium, and a control device that is connected to an upstream-side device, scans the storage device, writes the data in the storage device, and reads the data from the storage device, wherein the control device determines whether or not the data is being written in or read from the storage device, wherein when the data is being written or read, the control device scans the storage medium at intervals of a first time in a first direction that is either a direction in ascending order of logical block addresses of the storage medium or a direction in descending order of the logical block addresses of the storage medium, and wherein when the data is not written and read during the time period, the storage device scans the storage medium in a second direction.
US08447924B2	Computer system having an expansion device for virtualizing a migration source wherein the operation mode of the computer is set to a cache through or write after mode A migration destination storage creates an expansion device for virtualizing a migration source logical unit. A host computer accesses an external volume by way of an access path of a migration destination logical unit, a migration destination storage, a migration source storage, and an external volume. After destaging all dirty data accumulated in the disk cache of the migration source storage to the external volume, an expansion device for virtualizing the external volume is mapped to the migration destination logical unit.
US08447918B2	Garbage collection for failure prediction and repartitioning A method of formatting a data storage device that includes a plurality of flash memory chips includes monitoring a failure rate of memory blocks of one or more flash memory chips of a storage device that has a first usable size for user space applications, estimating a future usable size of the data storage device based on the monitored failure rate, and defining, via a host coupled to the data storage device, a second usable size of the data storage device for user space applications based on the monitored failure rate.
US08447916B2	Interfaces that facilitate solid state storage configuration Aspects of the subject matter described herein relate to storage configuration. In aspects, an interface is used to discover the existence, capacity, and characteristics of solid state storage. This information may be provided to a user or storage management process which may use the information to configure the solid state storage. When appropriate, bus bandwidth to the solid state storage as well as bandwidth to memory components of the solid state storage may be configured. Configuration and re-configuration may be performed automatically according to one or more policies maintained locally or remotely.
US08447912B2	Paging memory from random access memory to backing storage in a parallel computer Paging memory from random access memory (‘RAM’) to backing storage in a parallel computer that includes a plurality of compute nodes, including: executing a data processing application on a virtual machine operating system in a virtual machine on a first compute node; providing, by a second compute node, backing storage for the contents of RAM on the first compute node; and swapping, by the virtual machine operating system in the virtual machine on the first compute node, a page of memory from RAM on the first compute node to the backing storage on the second compute node.
US08447907B2	Constituting a control system with virtual and physical backplanes and modules as building blocks A custom control system created based on combinations of software applications and hardware control and communication modules overlaid in a virtual backplane. The user can select the modules of interest and map them together without the loss of communications between the modules while the control system is configured and overlaid. The user can then archive the system design and implement the system with a greater level of confidence in the ability of the design to meet the requirements of the application while reducing the costs of the implementation.
US08447896B2	Memory system having high data transfer efficiency and host controller According to one embodiment, the host controller includes a register set to issue command, and a direct memory access (DMA) unit and accesses a system memory and a device. First, second, third and fourth descriptors are stored in the system memory. The first descriptor includes a set of a plurality of pointers indicating a plurality of second descriptors. Each of the second descriptors comprises the third descriptor and fourth descriptor. The third descriptor includes a command number, etc. The fourth descriptor includes information indicating addresses and sizes of a plurality of data arranged in the system memory. The DMA unit sets, in the register set, the contents of the third descriptor forming the second descriptor, from the head of the first descriptor as a start point, and transfers data between the system memory and the host controller in accordance with the contents of the fourth descriptor.
US08447885B2	User terminal system, digital rights management system including the user terminal system, and method of managing digital rights Provided is a digital rights management system, in which a process of combining digital content created by the original author with first metadata indicated with rights information of the original author and a process of combining revised digital content with second metadata indicated with rights information of a secondary author, are respectively and separately performed at the server and terminal sides. Thus, the digital rights management system can reduce the load generated at the server side compared to a system in which the server side performs both of the above processes.
US08447884B1	Methods for mapping virtual addresses to physical addresses in a network device and systems thereof A method, computer readable medium, and system for handling network packets at an application delivery controller includes receiving a packet from a communication network at a network interface controller within the application delivery controller and associating the received packet with a logical interface selected from a plurality of logical interfaces in at least one processing system using a mapping engine at the network interface controller, where each of the plurality of logical interfaces associated with a different physical address. At the network interface controller a physical address is assigned to the received packet corresponding to the selected logical interface to which data in the received packet is to be sent and a virtual address associated with the physical address in the network interface controller is retrieved. Data in the received packet and the retrieved virtual address is transmitted to the at least one processing system.
US08447878B2	Receiving apparatus, transmitting apparatus, communication system, and method of detecting buffer setting of relay server A receiving apparatus of the present invention includes: a relayed dummy data receiving unit for receiving relayed dummy data including dummy data of n bytes (n≧1) and/or dummy data of N bytes (N≧n) sequentially and repetitively transmitted from a transmitting apparatus to a relay server from the relay server; and a buffer setting detecting unit for detecting a buffer setting of the relay server based on a first size value indicative of data size of relayed dummy data received for the first time by the relayed dummy data receiving unit and a second size value indicative of not larger data size of relayed dummy data received for the second time and relayed dummy data received for the third time.
US08447874B2	Web page data streaming A system generates a web page that includes a plurality of embedded data windows. The system receives a request for the web page from a browser and in response generates and displays a frame for the web page on the browser. The frame includes holes for the embedded data windows. The system also receives a data streaming request for each of the embedded data windows and determines if the data streaming requests are thread-safe. For all the data streaming requests that are thread-safe, the system generates a parallel thread to fetch the data for each corresponding data streaming requests. When the data has been fetched for a particular data streaming requests, the data is rendered and streamed to the browser where it is displayed in place of the hole by the browser.
US08447873B1	Managing object model communications A method and system are used in managing object model communications. In a Flex operating environment, an information set is received conforming to an object model representation. A client side normalization is performed in the flex operating environment on the information to derive another information set conforming to another object model representation. Based on the other object model representation, a dialog is generated that is sufficient for legacy and current object models of Flex and Java operating environments having network communications with data storage systems.
US08447870B2	Wireless mesh networking in wagering game environments Systems and methods for wireless mesh networking in a gaming environment are described herein. In one embodiment, the system includes a network interface unit to wirelessly receive gaming data from ones of a plurality of components of a wireless mesh network, the network interface unit to wirelessly transmit the gaming data to others of the plurality of components of the wireless mesh network. The system also includes a memory unit to store certain of the gaming data and to store instructions for conducting wagering games and a central processing unit to perform operations based in part on the certain of the gaming data and to perform operations based on the instructions.
US08447869B2	Feature set based content communications systems and methods An exemplary method includes an access device 1) transmitting a profile request signal to a profile management subsystem over a network, the profile request signal representing a request for profile data representative of a feature set corresponding to an additional access device, 2) receiving the profile data from the profile management subsystem in accordance with the profile request signal, 3) storing the profile data within a data store included within the access device, 4) using the stored profile data to display one or more graphics representing the feature set corresponding to the additional access device, and 5) establishing, based on the stored profile data and after the one or more graphics representing the feature set corresponding to the additional access device are displayed, a communications channel between the access device and the additional access device. Corresponding methods and systems are also disclosed.
US08447862B2	Global load balancing on a content delivery network The invention relates to systems and methods of global load balancing in a content delivery network having a plurality of edge servers which may be distributed across multiple geographic locations. According to one aspect of the invention, a global load balancing system includes a first load balancing server for receiving a packet requesting content to be delivered to a client, selecting one of the plurality of edge servers to deliver the requested content to the client, and forwarding the packet across a network connection to a second load balancing server, which forwards the packet to the selected edge server. The selected edge server, in response to receiving the packet, sends across a network connection the requested content with an address for direct delivery to the client, thereby allowing the requested content to be delivered to the client while bypassing a return path through the first load balancing server.
US08447860B2	Storage area network with target side recognition and routing table upload A network of data processors for providing access to a resource, such as implemented a Storage Area Network that uses iSCSI and Microsoft MPIO-based network communication protocols. In preferred embodiments, the system or method uses (a) target-side consideration of MPIO disk structures, such as by having iSCSI initiators in from iSCSI targets via an iSCSI session object that is settable by a service action; and/or (b) uploading of routing tables from iSCSI targets to iSCSI initiator(s), such as to a Device Specific Module (DSM). Implementations may also involve, in a preferred embodiment: (1) requesting that the contents of the routing table be provided from the iSCSI target side storage servers to the iSCSI initiators, and using this as one of the factors influencing path selection as performed in the MPIO DSM on the initiator side; and/or (2) transmitting information from the iSCSI initiator to the iSCSI target storage server identifying connections as belonging to the same MPIO disk, and then receiving back from the iSCSI target storage server, information about the connections that should be created, and further then having a connection load balancer on the storage server handle those connections as related connections that need to be assigned each to a different Network Interface (NIC) on the storage servers.
US08447853B2	Agent-less follow-me service for cloud-based applications Technologies are generally described herein for providing an agent-less follow-me service. An example web browser may be configured to receive a first link to a reference table from a portable token. The web browser may be configured to retrieve a second link to an on-going web application from the reference table. The second link may reflect a first state of the on-going web application. The web browser may be configured to open the on-going web application corresponding to the second link. As a user interacts with the on-going web application, the on-going web application may be configured to transition from the first state to a second state. The web browser may be configured to update the second link in the reference table to reflect the second state of the on-going web application.
US08447848B2	Preparing execution of systems management tasks of endpoints A mechanism is provided for automatically defining on a computer data for execution of systems management tasks on endpoints by a systems manager management said endpoints. The mechanism reads connection/disconnection information related to the endpoints collected by the systems management server during a same period of time for all the endpoints, computes the availability trends with the connection/disconnection information for said same period of time classifying endpoints according to the predefined classes of availability trends for endpoints and the computer availability trends, applies rules to create data defining execution of systems management tasks on endpoints according to the result of the classifying step, and makes these data available to the systems management server.
US08447846B2	Using unique local unicast addresses in a global domain name server by providing a centralized registry Mechanisms are provided for assigning addresses for use in communications between computing devices. With these mechanisms, a centralized domain name registrar server assigns a unique global identifier to a domain of a site such that the unique global identifier uniquely identifies the domain. The unique global identifier is received in a data processing system from the centralized domain name registrar server. The site is divided into a plurality of sub-domains and a unique sub-domain identifier is assigned to each sub-domain in the site such that the unique sub-domain identifier uniquely identifies a corresponding sub-domain in the site. The global identifier for the domain of the site and the sub-domain identifiers of the sub-domains in the plurality of sub-domains are provided by the data processing system to routers of the site for use in associating addresses with devices of the site.
US08447845B1	Setting a network device to default settings Systems, apparatus, and methods are disclosed herein to provide default settings for a network device. For example, a network device includes a memory, and a processor that is configured to: transmit an outgoing signal through a network connector; receive the outgoing signal via the network connector; and set the network device to default settings after receiving the outgoing signal.
US08447835B2	Method and apparatus for accessing data The present invention relates to accessing data on computer networks, and more particularly to accessing such data via remote terminals. The present invention provides that unsolicited information is received via a first communications network on a communications device. Based on that information, the user can request further information via a second communications network.
US08447829B1	System and method for controlling access to web services resources A system and method for controlling access to web services resources. A system may include a storage medium configured to store instructions and one or more processors configured to access the storage medium. The instructions may be executable by at least one of the processors to implement a web services access control system (ACS) configured to receive requests. Each request specifies an access operation to be performed with respect to a corresponding resource. Each of the requests is associated with a corresponding principal. For each received request, the ACS may be further configured to determine whether an access control entry exists that is associated with both the resource and principal associated with the request and that specifies an access type sufficient to perform the access operation. If no such entry exists, the ACS may deny the request.
US08447828B2	System and method for hosting images embedded in external websites A system and method are provided for hosting digital images embedded in an external website, wherein the digital images are modified to include additional content such as advertisements when served to a guest of the external website. In general, a host website including a web server and an image database operates to host digital images for external websites. When the web server associated with the host website receives a request for a digital image embedded within a webpage of the external website, the web server analyzes metadata associated with the digital image to produce selection criteria and selects additional content to add to the digital image based on the selection criteria. The web server then modifies the digital image to include the additional content, thereby generating a modified image, and provides the modified image to the requesting node.
US08447819B2	Methods, systems, and computer program products for processing a request for a resource in a communication Methods and systems are described for processing a request for a resource in a communication. In an aspect, a criterion is received, by a second node, for requesting a resource via a first communication addressed to a first node. The first communication is sent, to the first node, including an attachment request based on the criterion. A second communication is received, by the second node, including the resource as an attachment.In another aspect a first communication is received by a first node representing a first user. The first communication includes a first message addressed to the first user. An attachment request is detected in the first communication. A resource is located based on the attachment request. A second communication is sent, to a second node representing a second user. The second communication includes the resource, as an attachment, and a second message addressed to the second user.
US08447816B2	Communication terminal, mail push system and method thereof A communication system, mail push system and method of pushing mail are disclosed. The communication terminal may comprise a parameter acquisition unit for acquiring at least one parameter related to a user usage state; an information transmission unit for transmitting, to a data processing device at a network side, first information including the at least one parameter related to the user usage state, a mail reception unit for receiving a mail from a mail push device at the network side, wherein the mail is pushed by the mail push device according to a mail push indication message which is related to the first information and second information from a second communication terminal, and the second communication terminal is separated from the communication terminal. The communication terminal, the mail push system and the method thereof may automatically select the communication terminal to which the mail is pushed, according to a parameter related to the current user usage state.
US08447809B2	System and method for network conference The present invention provides at least an electronic system for network conference. The electronic system includes a user right module for storing and maintaining a plurality of user rights associated to each user of the electronic system, and a meeting right module for creating a meeting having a plurality of meeting rights according to associated user rights of a meeting creator. A participant right module is presented for determining a plurality of participant rights according to the plurality of meeting rights of the meeting and the associated user rights of a participant of the meeting. The system includes a plurality of participant client modules for receiving and sending media stream according to the plurality of participant rights of corresponding participant, and a matrix module for processing and distributing media stream to and from the plurality of participant client modules according to the plurality of participant rights.
US08447804B2	Information gathering system using multi-radio telematics devices The present disclosure relates to a method for intelligent procurement of data from a plurality of vehicles in a data-aggregation region using long-range communications, short-range communications, and group leader vehicles. The method includes a central server defining a plurality of data-aggregation areas and identifying at least one group leader vehicle in each data-aggregation area. The method also includes the group leader vehicle in each data-aggregation area collecting data from other vehicles in the data-aggregation area using short-range communications and the group leader vehicle in each data-aggregation area determining to cease collecting data from the other vehicles in the data-aggregation area. The method further includes the group leader vehicle in each data-aggregation area generating a consensus report using the data collected from the other vehicles in its data-aggregation area.
US08447799B2	Process for QR transformation using a CORDIC processor A CORDIC processor has a plurality of stages, each of the stages having a X input, Y input, a sign input, a sign output, an X output, a Y output, a mode control input having a ROTATE or VECTOR value, and a stage number k input, each CORDIC stage having a first shift generating an output by shifting the Y input k times, a second shift generating an output by shifting X input k times, a multiplexer having an output coupled to the sign input when the mode control input is ROTATE and to the sign of the Y input when the mode input is VECTOR, a first multiplier forming the product of the first shift output and the multiplexer output, a second multiplier forming the product of the second shift output and an inverted the multiplexer output, a first adder forming the X output from the sum of the first multiplier output and the X input, and a second adder forming the Y output from the sum of the second multiplier output and the Y input.
US08447786B2	Language extensions for creating, accessing, querying and updating RDF data A method for processing a graph structure includes providing a graph as a set of triples, each triple having a subject node, a predicate, and an object node, the predicate defining a relationship between a respective subject node and an object node. One of more triples in the set of triples are processed according to one or more attributes of each triple in the set of triples to permit accessing, querying, creating, and updating resource description framework (RDF) data structures in at least one of a script language and an object oriented language by providing a set of language extensions.
US08447781B2	Content-based file system security A method for enforcing computer-based file system security, the method comprising generating a content-based file system from files in a physical file system, and enforcing a user access right to any aspect of the content-based file system, where the user access right derives from a user access right to a file in the physical file system.
US08447780B1	Unified user identification with automatic mapping and database absence handling An identification system that may be used in heterogeneous computing environments provides a fail-free path to providing identifiers from a single canonical namespace. Objects or gateways requiring an identifier for access are accessed using an identifier for the canonical namespace. If an entity requests access using an identifier from another namespace, an external database is consulted to determine if a mapping exists for the identifier to another identifier the canonical namespace. If no mapping exists, or the external database is unavailable, then an identifier is automatically generated in the canonical namespace and is used for the access. An internal database is updated with the automatically generated identifier, providing a mechanism to add mappings without administrative intervention. To access resources requiring an identifier from another particular namespace, a canonical namespace identifier may be mapped to another identifier in the particular namespace, or a generic identifier may be used.
US08447774B1	Database-independent mechanism for retrieving relational data as XML Techniques are disclosed for retrieving both data stored in relational form and data stored in XML form responsive to a single XQuery query. The techniques allow applications to retrieve relational data residing in various relational database management systems by using XQuery and XQuery for Java. In one such embodiment, an embeddable serverless computer component implements the techniques, and includes a combination of one more relational adaptors and a mediator to access relational data and transform it into appropriate XML. The techniques are embeddable, and can be standards-based, database-independent, and operating-system independent. Optimized performance and scalability from desktop to enterprise applications are enabled as the number of users and/or database size increases.
US08447768B2	Techniques for generically accessing data Techniques for generic data access are provided. A middle-tier server agent uses data providers that can communicate with backend resources. A request received in a first format is used to identify a specific data provider by the middle-tier server agent; the data provider uses the first format to communicate with a specific backend resource in a second format. Results from the specific backend resource are returned from the data provider in the first format and passed to a client that initially made the request.
US08447767B2	System and method for multimedia information retrieval A system and method for information retrieval are disclosed. The method includes querying a multimedia collection with a first component of a multimedia query (e.g., a text-based part of the query) to generate first comparison measures between the first component of the query and respective objects in the collection for a first media type (e.g., text). The multimedia collection is queried with a second component of the multimedia query (e.g., an image-based part of the query) to generate second comparison measures between the second component of the query and respective objects in the collection for a second media type (e.g., visual). An aggregated score for each of a set of objects in the collection is computed, based on the first comparison measure and the second comparison measure for the object. This includes applying an aggregating function to the first and second comparison measures in which a first confidence weighting is applied to the first comparison measure and a second confidence weighting is applied to the second comparison measure. The first confidence weighting is independent of the second comparison measure. The second confidence weighting is dependent on the first comparison measure. Information based on the aggregated scores is output.
US08447757B1	Latency reduction techniques for partitioned processing Overall latency is reduced when processing tasks such as search queries by determining which tasks are “expensive,” or likely to exceed desired latency thresholds. For expensive queries processed according to partitions, the segments for each partition can be divided among various sub-queries, which allow each partition to be processed in parallel by multiple devices without the need for repartitioning. Further, the responses to the sub-queries can be monitored, and if one or more responses are not received within a specified amount of time then each sub-query for which a response is missing can be resent. The first response received will be consolidated with the results from the other queries, and the result returned.
US08447754B2	Methods and systems for optimizing queries in a multi-tenant store Methods and systems for optimizing queries in a multi-tenant store are described. In one embodiment, such a method includes retrieving data from a multi-tenant database system having a relational data store and a non-relational data store, receiving a request specifying data to be retrieved, retrieving one or more locations of the data to be retrieved, generating a database query based on the request, in which the database query specifies a plurality of data elements to be retrieved, the plurality of data elements including one or more data elements residing within the non-relational data store and one or more other data elements residing within the relational data store, generating an optimized database query having an optimized query syntax that is distinct from a query syntax of the database query, and executing the optimized database query against the multi-tenant database system to retrieve the data.
US08447749B2	Local results processor for use in a pattern matching accelerator A pattern matching accelerator (PMA) for assisting software threads to find the presence and location of strings in an input data stream that match a given pattern. The patterns are defined using regular expressions that are compiled into a data structure comprised of rules subsequently processed by the PMA. The patterns to be searched in the input stream are defined by the user as a set of regular expressions. The patterns to be searched are grouped in pattern context sets. The sets of regular expressions which define the pattern context sets are compiled to generate a rules structure used by the PMA hardware. The rules are compiled before search run time and stored in main memory, in rule cache memory within the PMA or a combination thereof. For each input character, the PMA executes the search and returns the search results.
US08447748B2	Processing digitally hosted volumes A content specification containing a data structure describing a digital volume to be incorporated into a digital library is received. A digital volume is a digital representation of human-readable content, such as a digitized book. Volume content of the digital volume is obtained based on references in the content specification to the locations of the volume content. The volume content is indexed based at least in part on information in the content specification, including volume metadata such as the title or author of the volume. The content specification includes markup language elements, each element specifying information about the digital volume. A plurality of tags are associated with the markup language elements. A structural tag specifies structural information associated with the digital volume, including the location of a portion of volume content of the digital volume. A metadata tag specifies metadata describing or identifying the digital volume.
US08447746B2	Methods and program product for enabling data records to be located In large medical facilities such as hospitals or group practices run by physicians individual patients are often examined and treated by a number of specialists in succession. In view of this it is important, in spite of great differences in the workflows of the individual medical facilities, to coordinate the work of said specialists by way of an operator control device having a uniform user interface. According to at least one embodiment of the invention, methods and a program product for enabling data records to be located are provided for that purpose. By way of the methods and/or the program product, in at least one embodiment a basic page and at least one content page are provided, wherein by use of the basic page at least one display field for presenting information extracted from a data record can be generated on a screen display and wherein by use of the content page, information extracted from a data record can be displayed in a display field.
US08447743B2	Techniques for processing database queries including user-defined functions A method, system and article of manufacture for query execution management in a data processing system and, more particularly, for managing execution of queries including user-defined functions. One embodiment includes an operation for managing execution of a query against data of a database. The operation includes receiving a query against the data of the database, the query having at least one query condition including a user-defined function. It is determined whether the user-defined function satisfies a predefined index applicability criterion. If the user-defined function satisfies the predefined index applicability criterion, an index over relevant data of the database is created for the user-defined function. The index is suitable for use in execution of the query against the data of the database to determine a corresponding query result.
US08447741B2	System and method for providing data driven de-duplication services Described are computer-based methods and apparatuses, including computer program products, for removing redundant data from a storage system. In one example, a data delineation process delineates data targeted for de-duplication into regions using a plurality of markers. The de-duplication system determines which of these regions should be subject to further de-duplication processing by comparing metadata representing the regions to metadata representing regions of a reference data set. The de-duplication system identifies an area of data that incorporates the regions that should be subject to further de-duplication processing and de-duplicates this area with reference to a corresponding area within the reference data set.
US08447740B1	Stream locality delta compression Stream locality delta compression is disclosed. A previous stream indicated locale of data segments is selected. A first data segment is then determined to be similar to a data segment in the stream indicated locale.
US08447734B2	HDAG backup system with variable retention A storage system efficiently allocates storage space for data backup. An illustrative storage system comprises a storage and backup logic that manages data backup in the storage and converts a file to a hash-based directed acyclic graph (HDAG) so that a hierarchy of nodes of the HDAGs contain a hash of child nodes. The backup logic creates multiple HDAGs for one or more of a plurality of retention policies and represents directories by a first node containing a payload of metadata and weak references to roots of child nodes, and a second node containing references to the first node and to any HDAGs corresponding to files and/or directories governed by an active policy of the plurality of retention policies.
US08447732B2	Deduplication in network storage with data residence compliance Deduplication in a network storage environment includes, for files stored in a network, determining a location constraint status specified by a compliance agreement for each of the files. Location constraint statuses include a location of persistent residency and no residency restriction. Deduplication also includes selecting a file from the files in the network and identifying corresponding redundant files, the selected file and the corresponding redundant files representing a set. Deduplication further includes determining the location constraint status for each of the files in the set. For the files in the set having a location constraint status specifying a location of persistent residency, the deduplication includes retaining a master copy at the respective location of persistent residency, and removing the corresponding redundant files from the network.
US08447729B1	Techniques for performing indication management Described are techniques for performing indication management. Registration criteria is received including information identifying a first set of data elements of a first data model about which a subscriber is registered to receive notifications. Operations are performed to a second set of data elements stored in a data store in accordance with a second data model. The second set of data elements in accordance with the second data model is mapped to a third set of data elements in accordance with the first data model. Using the first set and the third set, a first portion of the third set is determined which is identified in the first set. First processing is performed in accordance with the registration criteria and the first portion of the third set to determine notifications for a subscriber regarding data elements of the first set.
US08447723B2	Information processing apparatus and method thereof to generate a content list from content groups In an information processing apparatus including a first content group, to which an external device including a second content group is connected, a content list is created from a content group in which the first and second content groups have been integrated. Attribute information of the content is acquired in accordance with the type of the content included in the second content group, a control method for the content list is determined based on the acquired attribute information, and the content list is processes in accordance with the determined control method.
US08447720B1	Adaptive case-based reasoning system using dynamic method for knowledge acquisition A method includes receiving a user-specified context comprising one or more natural language contextual antecedents. Then, for each contextual antecedent, a modified contextual antecedent is created by converting each contextual antecedent to a sequence of integers using a word base. Each modified contextual antecedent is compared to each of a plurality of cases stored in a case base, where each case includes one or more case antecedents and one or more case consequents. The case antecedents and case consequents are stored in the case base as sequences of integers representing the respective case antecedents and case consequents. The case having the case antecedents that best match the contextual antecedents is then selected and the case consequents of the selected case are displayed to a user. The user then provides feedback regarding the displayed case consequents. The feedback may be integrated into the contextual antecedent for a new search of the case base. The method is computer-implementable and may be efficiently performed by a distributed processing system.
US08447713B1	Automated legal evaluation using a neural network over a communications network A method for legal knowledge modeling and automated legal evaluation, such as for online, questionnaire-based legal analysis, is provided. Information, such as facts and characteristics of a legal situation, as it relates to a legal conclusion, are modeled in an artificial neural network. The artificial neural network may comprise a plurality of nodes, wherein each node is associated with one or more weights and a function that calculates a legal conclusion based on one or more input values and the weights. The artificial neural network is automatically updated on a periodic basis to reflect new legislation or court decisions. Using the artificial neural network, a legal conclusion based on the user's answers to a questionnaire may be determined. The legal conclusion is modified upon the input of evidence, which is in the form of answers to a set of questions designed to identify a legal conclusion.
US08447707B2	Automated control of a power network using metadata and automated creation of predictive process models Automated control of a power network is provided by: providing multiple intelligent power controllers (IPCs) associated with multiple components of the power network, each IPC being associated with a different component; obtaining at least one raw data stream representative of at least one operational aspect of at least one component of the multiple components; and automatically associating, by at least one intelligent power controller associated with at least one component, metadata with the at least one raw data stream to produce at least one self-identifying data stream. The associated metadata describes one or more characteristics of the at least one raw data stream, and the at least one self-identifying data stream facilitates automated creation of predictive process models to assist in automated control of the power network by an IPC manager of the power network.
US08447702B2	Domain appraisal algorithm Systems and methods of the present invention provide for the spinning and appraisal of a domain name. A list of keywords may be extracted from a domain name entered into a user interface on a client. These keywords may be compared to potential matches in a database and a result set may be compiled and displayed to the user. The client may also display a certified domain name appraisal using a plurality of logical groupings within a domain name appraisal process. This appraisal process may also include a multiplier derived from comparisons of registration statistics for various top level domains.
US08447695B2	System and method for processing feedback entries received from software A method and system for processing feedback entries received from software provided by a vendor to an end user machine. The end user machine includes the software, a feedback module, and a database. The feedback module: generates a secret key k(0) and makes the key k(0) known to both the vendor and a user of the software; generates a secret key n(0) and makes the key n0) known to the vendor but not to but not to the user; generates a secret key s(0) and makes the key s(0) known to the user but not to the vendor; generates an encryption Ek0 of an identification tag using the key (k(0); generates a parameter Hn0 such that Hn0=Hash(n(0)∥Ek0); generates a parameter Hs0 such that Hs0=Hash(s(0)∥Ek0); sends Ek0, Hn0, and Hs0 to the database; and sends Ek0 and Hs0 to the vendor.
US08447691B2	Systems and methods for NACHA compliant ACH transfers using an automated voice response system Embodiments of the invention described a method for processing an ACH transfer in compliance with NACHA regulations. The method comprises receiving a request, through a phone call from a customer, to initiate an ACH transfer, the request including at least an account identifier and a payment amount. The method confirms the ACH transfer using speech recognition software and an interactive voice response unit, wherein the customer's identity, the date of transfer, the account identifier, the payment amount, a contact phone number, and the date of the confirmation, are confirmed by the customer using a verbal response recognized by the speech recognition software. This method also includes, recording, using a recording server, the verbal response of the customer in a sound file, tagging the sound file with at least the field of an account identifier, and storing the sound file for at least two years in a data repository.
US08447689B2	Calculating credit worthiness using transactional data Aspects of the invention provide for the use of transactional data in determining credit and product offerings. Further aspects of the invention provide for generating financial statements and indices using transactional data for use by users and/or financial institutions. The transactional based financial statements and indices may be used for making underwriting and financial planning decisions.
US08447685B2	Method and system for displaying and trading spreads A trading application can receive price and quantity information for tradable objects. The trading application can compute implied price and quantity information for spreads of the tradable objects. Direct and indirect price and quantity information for the spreads can be displayed in a manner that shows the relationship with each other and with the price and quantity information for the tradable objects.
US08447684B2	Method and system for optimal pricing and allocation for a set of contractual rights to be offered with canceling/modifying of indications of interest A method and system for the determination of optimal pricing and allocation of securities in an open, competitive environment. The method and system may also be used in developing pre-markets of other items that are difficult to price and allocate in a competitive manner, such as the underwriting/securitization of contracts for property; future revenue/earning streams from an asset and/or group of assets; underwritten insurance portfolios, intellectual property and other goods and services. The system of price optimization and allocation is accomplished by interactive feedback of information using a display and including competitive participation of individual members of the public (and/or their agents) or institutional buyers over a data network e.g., the Internet, uncovering the nature and identification of demand in a self-organizing fashion. Demand emerges through participants' interaction with the system and with each other, via a graphically-supported, interactive reservation process.
US08447680B2	Business transaction facilitation system Embodiments of the present disclosure are directed to methods, systems and computer program products for facilitating a business relationship between a customer and at least one provider. The methods, systems and computer program products allow for a system for conducting business transactions and/or facilitating business relationships wholly electronically via an e-vault system. The e-vault system provides at least one interface for one or more client systems to upload data to and from an storage system via a network.
US08447676B2	Billing support in a media exchange network A system providing billing support for the exchange of media is disclosed. An embodiment of the present invention may provide for the authorization of and billing for the delivery of media from a media server to local storage for consumption on a television display. The media may be audio, still pictures, video, or data. Other embodiments may provide for the authorization of and billing for the transfer of media from a media peripheral to a media server for media backup or distribution. A media peripheral may be, for example, a digital camera, digital camcorder, personal computer (PC), personal digital assistant (PDA), multi-media gateway, and MP3 player. An embodiment may support pre-payment, payment at time of use, and post-use billing for the media exchange. In an embodiment of the present invention, the storing or accessing of media may be performed without identifying the user to the media server.
US08447675B2	Methods and apparatus for recording legal tender decomposition of accounting system entries Methods and apparatus for recording decomposition of accounting system entries are disclosed. In one embodiment, one or more processors are employed to perform recording a legal tender value of an accounting system entry and recording a legal tender decomposition of the accounting system entry.
US08447672B2	Universal payment protection A system for and method of providing payment protection upon the occurrence of trigger events. The system and method include an account, which may be associated with a credit card or other financial product. An accountholder may select trigger events and associated benefits. Upon the occurrence of a trigger event, the issuing entity will evaluate whether the accountholder is entitled to receive an associated benefit. Each benefit is intended to address at least one payment obligation. For example, an account may include payment protection in the form of automatic payment of minimum monthly credit card fees should the accountholder involuntarily become unemployed.
US08447665B1	Removal of expiring items from inventory Systems and methods for the removal of expiring items from inventory are disclosed. In some embodiments, a method includes determining a breakeven holding time for an inventory item and calculating, based at least in part on a demand forecast for the inventory item and on the breakeven holding time, a first quantity of the inventory item to be removed from the inventory. The method also includes identifying an expiration time corresponding to the given inventory item and, in response to the expiration time being shorter than the breakeven holding time, calculating a second quantity of the inventory item, where a difference between the second and first quantities represents an additional quantity of the inventory item to be removed from the inventory. The method further includes causing at least one portion of the additional quantity of the inventory item to be removed from the inventory according to an inventory removal function.
US08447661B2	Query analysis for geographic-based listing service A unique system and method facilitates analyzes searches or queries that are geographic based. In particular, a user can submit a geo-tag based search for items posted on a listing service according to the item's location or geo-tag information. The geo-tag information for each item can be approximate such as the city, state, or zip code or more specific such as the street address where the item is located. The amount of geo-tag information disclosed to any other user can depend on the type of item being offered. Geo-tag information is analyzed to facilitate determining item matches. In addition, users that post items can employ query results to analyze the quality of their items such as from the buyer's perspective.
US08447655B2	Data processing apparatus A data processing apparatus capable of transmitting or receiving file data to or from a server, the apparatus comprises a memory which stores file data, a receiver which receives file name data transmitted from the server, a conversion unit which reads from the memory file data which is indicated by the received file name data, and converts the read file data to file data conforming to a format specified by the file name data, and a transmitter which transmits the converted file data to the server.
US08447651B1	Bidding on pending, query term-based advertising opportunities A facility for bidding on a pending advertising opportunity is described. The facility receives at an advertiser a notification from a publisher. The notification contains keywords relating to a content request received by the publisher, and is sent by the publisher between its receipt of the content request and its dispatch of a content response responsive to the content request. In response to receiving the notification, the facility sends to the publisher a dynamic bid. The dynamic bid specifies an advertising message and a bid amount that the advertiser is willing to pay to present the advertising message in connection with a content response responsive to the content request produced by the publisher.
US08447648B1	Method and system for eliciting consumer data by programming content within various media venues to function cooperatively Disclosed is an interactive venue individuals. At least one database stores trait information, preference information, and identification information that includes visual and/or audio information. The database also stores advertiser information that includes information representing at least one of goods and services of one or more advertisers. Video media is provided that features at least one participant. The participant is at least one of the plurality of persons. Further, a web site is provided that shows at least part of the video media and at least some of the electronic advertiser information. Some of the electronic advertiser information corresponds to at least one selected from the group consisting of the at least one participant and at least one user of the web site.
US08447646B2	System and method for rapid generation of minimum length pilot training schedules A system for rapidly generating minimum length pilot training schedules which uses a branch and bound, and a mixed integer programming model with constraints to produce student and resource schedules at a device period level for all pilots of an airline.
US08447636B2	Method and system for processing data relating to investment products having a payment guarantee A computer system for processing data relating to an investment arrangement having an account value dependent on investment performance and available for withdrawal by an account owner includes a data storage device storing data indicative of a present account value, a withdrawal factor value, a present payment base value, and a guarantee of payments available periodically for a term without reduction of the payment base value; and a processor. The processor is configured to, for periods after a first withdrawal, determine the present payment base value by comparing a present account value to a prior period account value, a periodic increase in the payment base value being limited to a maximum percentage; and determine an available maximum withdrawal without reduction of the payment base value based on the withdrawal factor value and a greater of the present account value and the present payment base value.
US08447635B2	System and method for managing investment risk in satellite operator companies In order to mitigate risk of satellite investment loss, a satellite loss event or failure event for a satellite that will be operated by a satellite operator company is identified. Financial investors in the satellite operator company are identified. Actuarial data corresponding to prior satellite loss events or failure events substantially corresponding to the satellite loss event or failure event are identified. An investment loss mitigation insurance policy based at least in part on the identified actuarial data is developed. The investment loss mitigation insurance policy is offered to the identified financial investors. Premiums are received from financial investors that subscribe to the investment loss mitigation insurance policy, and the investment loss mitigation insurance policy is placed with an underwriting pool in exchange for at least a portion of the received premiums.
US08447629B2	Method, apparatus and system for communicating heatlhcare information to and from a portable, hand-held device A method and an apparatus for communicating healthcare information utilize a set of codes to communicate healthcare data in a convenient manner. A set of codes each corresponding to respective healthcare data is generated. The set of codes is stored in a memory associated with a portable terminal. Selection of at least one code corresponding to healthcare data relevant to a patient is detected, where after the selected at least one code is wirelessly transmitted to a recipient.
US08447624B2	Methods for managing infection risk incident to surgical procedures in health care provider environments The invention provides methods and systems designed generally to managing the risk or occurrence of surgical site infection incident to a surgical procedure. The methods and systems employ perioperative process mapping tools that align, monitor and/or manage the operation of a plurality of health care delivery practices and thereby provide a desired level of infection risk management.
US08447622B2	Decoding method and device A decoding method and device are provided. The spectrum parameter of a current bad data frame is determined. Specifically, a number of continuous bad frames that occur currently is determined. A spectrum parameter of a good data frame before the current bad data frame is determined. And a constant mean value of a spectrum parameter is determined. Then, the spectrum parameter of the good data frame is adaptively shifted towards the constant mean value of the spectrum parameter according to the number of the continuous bad data frames to calculate and obtain spectrum parameter information of the current bad frame. When the continuous bad data frames occur, the relevance between the spectrum parameter of the nearest good frame and the spectrum parameter of the current bad frame is gradually reduced, so that more accurate spectrum parameter of the current bad data frame can be obtained, thereby obtaining a better speech quality under a same code rate and a same frame error rate.
US08447617B2	Method and system for speech bandwidth extension There is provided a method or a device for extending a bandwidth of a first band speech signal to generate a second band speech signal wider than the first band speech signal and including the first band speech signal. The method comprises receiving a segment of the first band speech signal having a low cut off frequency and a high cut off frequency; determining the high cut off frequency of the segment; determining whether the segment is voiced or unvoiced; if the segment is voiced, applying a first bandwidth extension function to the segment to generate a first bandwidth extension in high frequencies; if the segment is unvoiced, applying a second bandwidth extension function to the segment to generate a second bandwidth extension in the high frequencies; using the first bandwidth extension and the second bandwidth extension to extend the first band speech signal beyond the high cut off frequency.
US08447614B2	Method and system to authenticate a user and/or generate cryptographic data System and process for audio authentication of an individual or speaker including a processor for decomposing an audio signal received at the sensor into vectors representative of the speaker to be authenticated for transforming the super-vector V of the speaker resulting from the concatenation of the vectors associated with the said speaker into binary data 1001100 . . . 0 taking as an input the mean super-vector M resulting from the mean super-vector, and comparing the super-vector V of the speaker with the mean super-vector M, the said binary data thus obtained being transmitted to a module for extracting the speaker authentication taking as an input the public keys Kpub(l) in order to authenticate the speaker and/or to generate a cryptographic key associated with the speaker.
US08447609B2	Adjustment of temporal acoustical characteristics Embodiments may be a standalone module or part of mobile devices, desktop computers, servers, stereo systems, or any other systems that might benefit from condensed audio presentations of item structures such as lists or tables. Embodiments may comprise logic such as hardware and/or code to adjust the temporal characteristics of items comprising words. The items maybe included in a structure such as a text listing or table, an audio listing or table, or a combination thereof, or may be individual words or phrases. For instance, embodiments may comprise a keyword extractor to extract keywords from the items and an abbreviations generator to generate abbreviations based upon the keywords. Further embodiments may comprise a text-to-speech generator to generate audible items based upon the abbreviations to render to a user while traversing the item structure.
US08447601B2	Method and device for tracking background noise in communication system A method and a device for tracking background noise in a communication system are provided. The method includes: calculating a SNR of a current frame according to input audio signals; increasing a frame counter, and calculating tone features and signal steadiness features of the current frame if the SNR of the current frame is not less than a first threshold; determining the possibility of a time window including a noise interval according to the calculated tone feature values and signal steadiness feature values of each frame of the time window when the frame counter is increased to the length of the time window; and extracting noise features in the time window. Existence of background noise is analyzed continuously in a time window, so that background noise that changes frequently.
US08447586B2	Apparatus and method for supporting verification of software internationalization In a verification support apparatus, a content analysis section analyzes a content to divide the content into paragraphs, extract region/culture-specific data, and store the analysis results in an analysis result storage section. A first verification section verifies, based on the analysis results, the consistency between the content and locale of a paragraph and the consistency between the paragraph and locale of the region/culture-specific data. A second verification section verifies, based on the analysis results, the correspondence between a paragraph of language A and a paragraph of language B and the consistency between the region/culture-specific data of language A and the region/culture-specific data of language B. A content update section updates the content so that the results of verification by the first verification section or the second verification section can be displayed in a way a person in charge of verification can easily understand.
US08447585B2	System and method for characterizing, synthesizing, and/or canceling out acoustic signals from inanimate sound sources A system and method for characterizing, synthesizing, and/or canceling out acoustic signals from inanimate sound sources is disclosed. Propagating wave electromagnetic sensors monitor excitation sources in sound producing systems, such as machines, musical instruments, and various other structures. Acoustical output from these sound producing systems is also monitored. From such information, a transfer function characterizing the sound producing system is generated. From the transfer function, acoustical output from the sound producing system may be synthesized or canceled. The methods disclosed enable accurate calculation of matched transfer functions relating specific excitations to specific acoustical outputs. Knowledge of such signals and functions can be used to effect various sound replication, sound source identification, and sound cancellation applications.
US08447579B2	Method and system for pore pressure prediction A method for performing an oilfield operation at a wellsite having a drilling rig configured to advance a drilling tool into a subsurface formation. The method includes generating a borehole temperature model for an area of interest using water depth information and a vertical stress model, generating a formation temperature model using the borehole temperature model, generating a mud-weight pressure model using the formation temperature model and pressure coefficients, generating a formation pore pressure model using the mud-weight pressure model, and adjusting the oilfield operation based on the formation pore pressure model.
US08447571B2	Trimming of operative parameters in electronic devices based on corrections mappings An embodiment of an electronic device having a plurality of operative parameters is provided. The electronic device includes means for applying a plurality of trimming actions to each parameter for causing a corresponding correction of the parameter, for at least one reference parameter, means for measuring the reference parameter responsive to the application of at least part of the trimming actions, and means for forcing the application of the selected trimming action for the reference parameter. For each non-reference parameter different from the at least one reference parameter, the electronic device includes means for selecting one of the trimming actions for the non-reference parameter corresponding to the selected trimming action for the at least one reference parameter, and means for forcing the application of the selected trimming action for each non-reference parameter.
US08447570B2	Predictive sensor readout A predictive sensor readout is suitable for coupling to a sensor. The predictive sensor readout includes a sampling circuit, a predictor, and a preset circuit. The sampling circuit is configured to receive and over-sample previously digitized samples of signals previously input from the sensor. The predictor is coupled to the sampling circuit and is configured to receive the over-sampled digitized samples into a signal history and to generate a predicted input from the sensor based on the signal history. The preset circuit is coupled to the predictor and the sampling circuit and is configured to present the sampling circuit to receive the predicted input from the sensor prior to sampling an actual input from the sensor.
US08447566B2	Mounting condition determining method A mounting condition determining method including: obtaining mounting information including information related to component mounting operations scheduled to be performed by a mounter (S1); judging, using the mounting information obtained in the obtaining: which production mode between a synchronous mode and an asynchronous mode is suitable for the scheduled component mounting operations; or which production mode between an alternating mode and an independent mode is suitable for the scheduled component mounting operations (S2, S3); and selecting the production mode indicated by a result of the judgment in the judging, as the production mode to be executed by the mounter (S5, S6).
US08447562B2	Inspection apparatus and method using penetrating radiation A method of determining a parameter of an object using penetrating radiation such as X-rays. The parameter of the object could be weight or mass or volume. The method comprises the step of passing the penetrating radiation through the object; determining a first value derived from the total energy of penetrating radiation absorbed by the object; determining a second value related to the mean energy per unit area of penetrating radiation absorbed by the object and determining the parameter from the first and second values. An algorithm representing a proportionality relationship is derived from the first and second value. The parameter is determined by establishing an exponential relationship to an amount derived from the algorithm.
US08447561B2	Shape measurement method of synthetically combining partial measurements Coordinate transformation parameters are adopted at the time of synthetically combining partial measurement data so as to eliminate the setting error that can get in when a workpiece is set in position on a measuring machine. Then, a shape parameter is adopted to estimate the approximate error shape of the entire workpiece and the approximate error shape is removed from the measurement data. As a result, the residuals are reduced if the measurement data are those of three-dimensional sequences of points. Differences are small when small residuals are compared so that the mismatch is reduced. According to the present invention, the entire measurement data can be synthetically combined without using the conventional concept of overlap.
US08447555B2	Method for increasing the availability of displacement/position measuring systems on the basis of potentiometers with a slider tap The disclosure relates to a method for increasing the availability of displacement/position measuring systems on the basis of potentiometers with a slider tap in a closed control loop, the controller of which is formed by a microcontroller which is supplied with the position of the slider via an analog/digital converter. At least part of the sensor range of the potentiometer is scanned on request by presetting a sequence of manipulated variables and an available control loop variable which represents the position value at a high sampling rate outside process tasks is recorded, to determine the exact position of a defective slider position of the potentiometer by evaluating the variable. The reference variable of the control loop is overloaded in a defined manner within the process task such that the defective slider position is passed over during the displacement/position measurement and an intact slider position is reached.
US08447548B2	Method using time to digital converter for direct measurement of set pulse widths The disclosure provides for a method for identifying and measuring a signal pulse induced in a microcircuit due to ionizing radiation. The method comprises locating an ionizing radiation induced pulse across a microcircuit using a plurality of sensors on the microcircuit. The method further comprises radiating a radiation through the microcircuit to produce a pulse width. The method further comprises using a time to digital converter (TDC) to measure a duration of the pulse width to create a measured pulse width. The method further comprises using the TDC to convert the measured pulse width into a digital signal.
US08447542B2	Method and device for measuring the electric power of a universal electric motor powered by sinusoidal alternating voltage A method measures the electric power of a universal electric motor (4) connected to an electric power mains (6) by a Triac (7) and supplied by sinusoidal alternating voltage (V(t)). The method determines a first (ton) and a second (toff) instant at which the current (I(t)) supplied to the motor (4) passes from a zero value to a value other than zero. The current supplied to the motor (4) at a third instant between the first (ton) and second (toff) instant is measured. A fitting current time pattern (f(t)) approximating the real time pattern of the current (I(t)), and which has a zero current value at the first (ton) and second (toff) instant, and a current value equal to a sampled current at the third instant (tin), is determined. The mean electric power is calculated on the basis of the fitting current time pattern (f(t)).
US08447538B2	Apparatus and methods for monitoring quantities of fluid in a container The present technology relates to a volumetric measurement device and various methods for operation of the device. The device comprises at least one accelerometer for detecting the angle of tilt/tip of a container. The device also comprises at least one fluid property processor capable of providing at least one fluidic property value of a fluid, a flow-rate processor capable of continuously calculating the present flow rate of the fluid when poured from the container, and a volume processor capable of continuously calculating the present volume of the fluid within the container. The flow-rate processor calculates the rate of flow of the fluid poured from the container based on the angle of tilt/tip of the apparatus, the at least one fluid property value, and the present volume of fluid within the container.
US08447535B2	Wet gas measurement A multi-phase process fluid is passed through a vibratable flowtube. Motion is induced in the vibratable flowtube. A first apparent property of the multi-phase process fluid based on the motion of the vibratable flowtube is determined, and an apparent intermediate value associated with the multi-phase process fluid based on the first apparent property is determined. A corrected intermediate value is determined based on a mapping between the intermediate value and the corrected intermediate value. A phase-specific property of a phase of the multi-phase process fluid is determined based on the corrected intermediate value.
US08447534B2	Digital flowmeter A controller for a flowmeter includes an input module operable to receive a sensor signal from a sensor connected to a vibratable flowtube. The sensor signal is related to a fluid flow through the flowtube. The controller also includes a signal processing system operable to receive the sensor signal, determine sensor signal characteristics, and output drive signal characteristics for a drive signal applied to the flowtube. An output module is operable to output the drive signal to the flowtube and a control system is operable to modify the drive signal and thereby maintain oscillation of the flowtube during a transition of the flowtube from a substantially empty state to a substantially full state.
US08447522B2	Method for estimating the probability of collision between wells A method for drilling a well, the method including: identifying another well proximate to the well being drilled; collecting spatial information for at least a portion of the another well and the well being drilled; estimating a trajectory for at least a portion of the well being drilled and the another well; estimating an uncertainty in spatial information for each trajectory; estimating a probability of a collision with the another well during the drilling of the well by integrating a probability density function using the uncertainties and the trajectories; and performing the drilling in a manner that limits the probability of collision. A system and another method are provided.
US08447521B2	Subsurface electrical conductivity contrast reconstruction using narrow-band electromagnetic data and fullwave imaging Methods and related systems are described for analyzing electromagnetic survey data. Electromagnetic survey data of a subterranean formation is obtained using at least a downhole transceiver deployed in a borehole and a transceiver positioned on the surface or in another borehole. The electromagnetic survey data includes an incident wave component and a scattered wave component. The incident and scattered components are correlated so as to generate an image of the subterranean formation indicating spatial locations of one or more features, for example, electrical properties such as resistivity variations, in the formation. The image is based at least in part on one or more interference patterns of the incident and scattered wave components. The correlation preferably includes generating a simulation of the incident wave component propagated into the formation, and convolving the simulated propagated incident wave component with the scattered wave component. The simulation can be performed using an analytic continuation or a fullwave simulation.
US08447520B2	Device for aiding the navigation and guidance of an aircraft, and system comprising such a device Device for aiding the navigation and guidance of an aircraft, and system comprising such a device. The device (1) comprises at least three independent channels and it comprises at least one computer (2) which contains means (4) for storing and means (6, 7) for calculating positions and deviations.
US08447519B2	Method of augmenting GPS or GPS/sensor vehicle positioning using additional in-vehicle vision sensors A method is provided for augmenting GPS data using an in-vehicle vision-based module. A vehicle position is determined utilizing position-related data obtained from a position module. A position error is estimated on a periodic basis. A determination is made whether the position error estimate exceeds a first predetermined error threshold. Tracking data is generated for the vehicle over a course of travel utilizing captured images from the in-vehicle vision based module. The tracking data is integrated with the position-related data to estimate the vehicle position in response to the position error estimate exceeding the first predetermined error threshold. A determination is made whether the position error estimate decreases below a second predetermined error threshold. The vehicle position is re-determined using only the position-related data when the position error estimate decreases below the second predetermined error threshold.
US08447511B2	Method for controlling a hybrid vehicle and hybrid vehicle A method for controlling a hybrid vehicle having at least two propulsion engines. According to the specification of an operating controller, propulsion is provided via the first propulsion engine, in particular an internal combustion engine, and/or the second propulsion engine, in particular an electric motor. The percentage contribution of the propulsion of the second propulsion engine is controlled as a function of the data pertaining to the travel route communicated to the operating controller, taking into account a charge state of an energy accumulator. An optimized operating strategy is determined by specifying a geographic destination and/or a destination parameter of the operating strategy, the travel route being selected by taking into account the optimized operating strategy when alternate travel routes are available.
US08447507B2	Navigation system A navigation system comprising a receiver module that receives a stream for a broadcast content and a control unit in communication with the receiver module. The control unit determines whether the stream for the broadcast content contains information that matches to a keyword from a stored list of keywords, identifies a landmark that is associated with the keyword, determines whether a position information for the landmark resides with a map area to be displayed by the navigation system according to a detected position for the navigation system, and prompts a map area display of the map area having a landmark display for the landmark that is superimposed within the map area display.
US08447505B2	Method and system for extending an operating range of a motor vehicle A method and system are described for extending an operating range of a motor vehicle, the vehicle having an economy mode of operation. When the vehicle fuel level decreases below a first threshold, an indication is provided to a vehicle user that the vehicle will enter the economy mode of vehicle operation. The economy mode of vehicle operation is automatically entered a predetermined period of time after providing the indication to the vehicle user. The economy mode of vehicle operation is exited in response to a user command to exit the economy mode of vehicle operation.
US08447502B2	Method and system for pre-ignition control Methods and systems are provided for mitigating engine pre-ignition based on a feed-forward likelihood of pre-ignition and feedback from a pre-ignition event. In response to an indication of pre-ignition, a cylinder may be enriched while an engine load is limited. The enrichment may be followed by an enleanment to restore exhaust catalyst feed-gas oxygen levels. The mitigating steps may be adjusted based on engine operating conditions, a pre-ignition count, as well as the nature of the pre-ignition.
US08447499B2	Diesel engine having cams for controlling the intake valves, which have a main lobe and an additional lobe radiused to each other A supercharged diesel engine is equipped with an electronically controlled hydraulic system for variable actuation of the intake valves of the engine. The cam that controls each intake valve has an additional lobe for causing an additional opening of the intake valve, during the expansion and exhaust strokes, so as to provide an exhaust-gas recirculation directly inside the engine. The aforesaid additional lobe has its descending stretch radiused to the main lobe with a stretch corresponding to a non-zero lift of the valve in such a way that the profile of the lift of the valve has a portion corresponding to a substantially non-zero value of the lift that radiuses the descending stretch of the profile of the additional lift to the ascending stretch of the profile of the main lift.
US08447497B2	Apparatus for determining an air-fuel ratio imbalance among cylinders of an internal combustion engine An apparatus for determining an air-fuel ratio imbalance among cylinders based on an output value of an air-fuel ratio sensor, an imbalance determination parameter which becomes larger or smaller as a difference among air-fuel ratios becomes larger, and performs determining an air-fuel ratio imbalance among cylinders based on a result of a comparison between the imbalance determination parameter and a imbalance determination threshold. The determining apparatus calculates a purge correction coefficient which compensates for a change in the air-fuel ratio due to an evaporated fuel gas which is generated in a fuel tank, while the evaporated fuel gas is being introduced into an intake passage, and corrects a fuel injection amount with the purge correction coefficient FPG.
US08447484B2	Branch-lane entry judging system A branch-lane entry judging system includes a traffic-line detecting means for detecting traffic lines on right and left sides of a vehicle, a length and width detecting means for detecting lengths and widths of the traffic lines in a real space, a lane-type judging means for judging types of the traffic lines and a type of a lane in which the vehicle is running, a branch-lane detecting means for detecting a branch lane when one of the traffic lines changes from a solid line to a broken line having a predetermined length and a predetermined width, the branch lane existing near the changed traffic line, and a branch-lane entry judging means for judging that the vehicle will enter the branch lane when the vehicle moves toward the branch lane or a directional indicator is operated toward the branch lane while the branch lane is detected.
US08447481B2	Transmission A transmission, such as an automated manual transmission for a motor vehicle, with at least one shift group, such that the shift group or each shift group comprises a shift rail which actuates a shift fork that co-operates with a shift sleeve of the shift group concerned. Associated with the shift rail of the shift group or of each shift group there is a sensor that moves together with the respective shift rail relative to a corresponding measurement receiver such that in the area of at least one shift group, a first relative position between the measurement receiver and the sensor in the actuation direction and a second relative position between the measurement receiver and the sensor perpendicular to the actuation direction of the shift rail concerned can be detected, and from the second relative position, an evaluation device deduces system conditions of the shift group concerned.
US08447477B2	Forklift engine control device A control device of a forklift engine that secures operability by keeping down fuel consumption when the accelerator pedal is floored in an unloaded or lightly loaded state, and once a heavy cargo is loaded, by lifting the cargo at a maximum lifting speed and traveling with maximum travel performance without acceleration problems. At least two maximum torque curves of different magnitudes are set in advance on a torque curve diagram. Then, the weight the cargo loaded on an attachment is measured. A threshold value for selecting at least two maximum torque curves is determined. If the measured weight is less than the threshold value, the maximum torque curve with a smaller maximum torque value is selected. If the measured weight is not less than the threshold value, the maximum torque curve with a larger maximum torque value is selected. The engine is controlled using the selected maximum torque curve.
US08447476B2	Lubricating oil supply control device for construction machine A lubricating oil supply control device controls a lubricating oil supply amount to a transmission in a construction machine including a torque converter with a lock-up clutch. The lubricating oil supply control device includes a clutch state determining section, a lubricating oil amount detecting section and a lock-up clutch controlling section. The clutch state determining section determines whether or not the lock-up clutch is being coupled. The lubricating oil amount detecting section detects whether or not the lubricating oil supply amount to the transmission is short of a preliminarily set supply amount. The lock-up clutch controlling section decouples the lock-up clutch when the lock-up clutch is being coupled and the lubricating oil supply amount is short of the preliminarily set supply amount.
US08447470B2	Method for determining, in real time, the grip on a steering wheel of an electric power-assisted steering system for automobile The invention concerns a method which includes: filtering the torque signal using a low-pass filter of the first order at a variable cut-off frequency which takes on, respectively, a minimum value or a maximum value depending on whether the amplitude of the torque signal is, respectively, lower or higher than a predetermined threshold; then in producing a signal indicating, respectively, a steering wheel release or a steering wheel grip depending on whether the amplitude of the filtered torque signal is, respectively, lower or higher than a predetermined threshold.
US08447467B2	Method and system for automatically locking doors of vehicle An automatic locking system for vehicles includes an electronic control unit. If it is determined that an electronic key is not located in a communication area of an inside-cabin transmitter, the control unit determines whether or not the electronic key is located nearby. As a result, if the electronic key is determined as being located nearby, followed later by a determination that the electronic key is not located nearby, comparison history is stored in a memory. If it is determined that comparison history is stored in the memory and four entry-and-exit doors are closed, the four entry-and-exit doors are locked.
US08447462B2	Diagnosis management system and diagnosis management method for a valve-controlled hydrostatic displacement unit A diagnosis management system for a hydrostatic displacement unit, including a control unit for controlling a drive motor, a hybrid control unit for controlling the motor control unit on the basis of at least one desired acceleration signal and one desired deceleration signal for the drive motor, a gear control unit for controlling the motor control unit on the basis of at least signals derived from a continuously variable gear, and a control unit for a digital displacement unit, for controlling at least one pump motor as the digital displacement unit is disclosed. The control unit for a digital displacement unit has at least one diagnostic interface, which detects operating values and/or operating states in order to detect system errors in the pump motor, a sensor unit portion associated with the pump motor, and/or a power electronics portion associated with the pump motor; and at least one calculation portion, which preprocesses the operating values and/or operating states detected by the diagnostic interface. The at least one diagnostic interface and the at least one calculation portion are disposed for operating in a first system direction for diagnosis and for determining a correction of incident system errors, and in a second system direction for diagnosis and/or for performing the correction of incident system errors. A diagnosis management method can be performed by the diagnosis management system.
US08447460B2	Vehicle operation method presentation device and method, and vehicle control device A control state of the vehicle is switched upon operation of a control switch. Besides, a mode of travel for a travel of a vehicle is selected by operation of a travel mode selection portion. Then, it is determined whether the recommended control state recommended for the selected mode of travel and the actual control state are the same. If it is determined that they are not the same, that is, that there is a deviation between the recommended control state and the actual control state, an operation method for a control switch for realizing the control state recommended for the selected mode of travel is presented to a driver.
US08447459B2	Internet-based system for monitoring vehicles The invention provides a method for monitoring a vehicle that features the steps of: 1) generating a data packet including vehicle data retrieved from the vehicle using a wireless appliance; 2) transmitting the data packet over an airlink with the wireless appliance so that the data packet passes through a network and to a host computer system; 3) processing the data packet with the host computer system to generate a set of data; and 4) displaying the set of data on a web page hosted on the internet.
US08447452B2	Vehicle-use electricity management system, vehicle-use electricity information management apparatus and vehicle-use electrical load The vehicle-use electricity management system includes an electricity demand detection means to detect electricity consumed by electrical loads, and an electricity price information generation means to generate electricity price information indicative of a price of electricity supplied to the electrical loads based on the electricity demand. At least one of the electrical loads includes an electricity consumption ability determination means to determine whether electricity supplied to the own electrical load can be consumed unconditionally based on comparison between the electricity price information received from the electricity price information generation means and electricity consumption ability information stored in the own electrical load, and an electricity consumption control means to control an amount of electricity consumed by the own electrical load based on a determination result made by the electricity consumption ability determination means.
US08447442B2	Method for assisting in rejoining a vertical descent trajectory and associated device A method is provided for assisting in rejoining a vertical descent trajectory that an aircraft is assumed to have to follow, using a flight management system FMS embedded onboard the aircraft, and includes the following steps: calculation of a vertical deviation VDEV, in the vertical plane, between the aircraft and the vertical descent trajectory, and comparison between the vertical deviation VDEV and a predetermined deviation threshold SVDEV; when the vertical deviation VDEV reaches the deviation threshold SVDEV, a step during which the activation of an optimized mode for catching up on the vertical descent trajectory is authorized; if the optimized mode for catching up on the vertical descent trajectory is activated, piloting of the aircraft by the flight management system FMS in optimized catch-up mode, that is to say at minimum thrust with a target rejoining speed in level VCRP and a target rejoining speed in downward trajectory, the target rejoining speed in level VCRP being equal to the maximum L/D ratio speed of the aircraft uprated by a first value V1 of between 5 and 15 knots, and the target rejoining speed in downward trajectory VCRD being equal to the maximum operating speed VMO with which the aircraft is allowed to fly downrated by a second value V2 of between 3 and 10 knots, a knot being equal to 0.514 ms−1.
US08447428B2	Method for editing movements of a robot The invention relates to a method of editing movements of a robot on the basis of computer equipment able to communicate with the robot, the method comprising steps in which: —a plurality of reference positions of the robot are generated; —at least one time sequence of positions is generated, the time sequence of positions comprising the plurality of reference positions, and transitional movements between two successive reference positions; and the robot is made interdependent with the displacement means included in the computer equipment and causing the displacement of the robot. The robot is a real robot and/or a virtual robot displayed on a screen of the computer equipment.
US08447423B2	Method and apparatus for optimizing a performance index of a bulk product blending and packaging plant A method of generating capacity, production and inventory plans, over a designated planning horizon, which will optimize, with respect to a designated performance index, the operations of one or more bulk product blending and packaging plants and a specified number, ranging from zero to a certain count, of distribution centers while meeting key operating constraints. Also decision making tools and computer implemented programs for performing the method.
US08447418B2	Control system having electronic control units and electronic control unit for the system A control system has regular ECUs and a recovery ECU. Each regular ECU controls driving of current consumers, respectively, drivable by driving methods and connected through output channels. The recovery ECU has output drivers, respectively, producing driving currents based on the driving methods and channel changing blocks corresponding to the respective driving methods. When receiving information indicating failure of an output channel of one regular ECU, the recovery ECU specifies the driving method of the failed channel, controls the driver of the specified driving method to produce a driving current, and controls the changing block of the specified driving method to select one output channel, through which the current consumer connected with the failed ECU through the failed channel is also connected with the changing unit. The recovery ECU performs substitute driving instead of the failed ECU to supply the current to the consumer.
US08447410B2	Trans-retinal drug delivery device Applicant has proposed a combination of the subretinal and epiretinal methods by placing the electronics external to the eye, entering the eye through the pars plana and the piercing the retina (retinotomy) from inside the eye to stimulate subreintally.The present invention is an improved electrode array for subretinal stimulation. A hard polymer such as polyimide is biocompatible and strong for supporting an electrode array and supporting traces in a thin flex circuit array. In the present invention applicant takes advantage of the sharp nature of thin polyimide making a point on the end of the electrode array. This allows the flexible circuit electrode array to be both electrode array and surgical tool to cut the retinal and slide the array under the retina in a single action.
US08447407B2	Method and system for detecting epileptogenesis Neuronal excitation and inhibition of the brain is tracked in the hippocampal CA1 network during a latent period, wherein biomarkers are observed which include a sustained increase in the firing rate of the excitatory postsynaptic field activity, paired with a subsequent decrease in the firing rate of the inhibitory postsynaptic field activity; the mean amplitude profiles of both fEPSP and fEPSP field potential activity during the latent period have characteristic shapes; both excitatory and inhibitory CA1 field activity firing rates are observed to follow a circadian rhythm that drifts during epileptogenesis; the circadian rhythms described are in-phase in controls and anti-phase during epileptogenesis; and the fEPSP rate drifts from a circadian rhythm to a greater extent than the fEPSP rate. An additional biomarker is a change in a circadian rhythm of core body temperature. Therapeutic measures can include thermal, chemical, or electrical modulation, in an open or closed loop process.
US08447406B2	Medical method and device for monitoring a neural brain network Bioelectrical signals may be sensed within the brain by two or more electrodes to determine characteristics of a function of the brain. The signals obtained by the electrodes may be plotted over time to determine whether the brain function exhibits a normal or an abnormal pattern. If the brain function exhibits an abnormal pattern, an implantable medical device may dynamically determine based on the abnormal pattern and a previously-obtained plot associated with normal brain function, an appropriate electrical stimulation therapy. Application of the appropriate electrical stimulation therapy causes the brain function to shift from the abnormal pattern to the normal pattern.
US08447405B2	Non-regular electrical stimulation patterns for treating neurological disorders Systems and methods for stimulation of neurological tissue generate stimulation trains with temporal patterns of stimulation, in which the interval between electrical pulses (the inter-pulse intervals) changes or varies over time. Compared to conventional continuous, high rate pulse trains having regular (i.e., constant) inter-pulse intervals, the non-regular (i.e., not constant) pulse patterns or trains that embody features of the invention provide a lower average frequency.
US08447404B2	Device and implantation system for electrical stimulation of biological systems The present specification discloses devices and methodologies for the treatment of diurnal GERD. Individuals with GERD may be treated by implanting a stimulation device within the patient's lower esophageal sphincter and applying electrical stimulation to the patient's lower esophageal sphincter, in accordance with certain predefined protocols. The presently disclosed devices have a simplified design because they do not require sensing systems capable of sensing when a person is engaged in a wet swallow and have improved energy storage requirements.
US08447401B2	Collecting posture information to evaluate therapy A medical device delivers a therapy to a patient. Posture events are identified, e.g., a posture of the patient is periodically determined and/or posture transitions by the patient are identified, and each determined posture event is associated with a current therapy parameter set. A value of at least one posture metric is determined for each of a plurality of therapy parameter sets based on the posture events associated with that therapy parameter set. A list of the therapy parameter sets is presented to a user, such as a clinician, for evaluation of the relative efficacy of the therapy parameter sets. The list may be ordered according to the one or more posture metric values to aid in evaluation of the therapy parameter sets. Where values are determined for a plurality of posture metrics, the list may be ordered according to the one of the posture metrics selected by the user.
US08447397B2	Systems, devices and methods used in verifying neural stimulation capture Various system embodiments comprise a neural stimulator, a premature ventricular contraction (PVC) event detector, a heart rate detector, an analyzer, and a controller. The neural stimulator is adapted to generate a stimulation signal adapted to stimulate an autonomic neural target. The analyzer is adapted to, in response to a PVC event signal from the PVC event detector, generate an autonomic balance indicator (ABI) as a function of pre-PVC heart rate data and post-PVC heart rate data. Other aspects and embodiments are provided herein.
US08447394B2	Physical conditioning system, device and method Various system embodiments comprise a neural stimulator and a controller. The neural stimulator is adapted to generate a stimulation signal adapted to elicit sympathetic activity at a neural target. The controller is adapted to control the neural stimulator to provide a physical conditioning therapy. The controller is adapted to control the neural stimulator to intermittently elicit sympathetic activity at the neural target. Other aspects and embodiments are provided herein.
US08447380B2	Method for diagnosis of functional lung illnesses In a method for diagnosing functional lung illnesses, image exposures of the lungs are obtained at various phase points in time of the respiration of a subject, such as at maximum inhalation and maximum expiration, and the image exposures are segmented and at least two of the image exposures are compared on a segment-by-segment basis to identify a change in tissue density between the compared segments, as an indicator of lung functioning.
US08447372B2	Monitoring a vital parameter of a patient with “in-situ” modulation scheme to avoid interference The invention relates to a method of monitoring a vital parameter of a patient by measuring attenuation of light emitted onto tissue of the patient, comprising the following steps: modulating the light with a modulation frequency or/and a modulation code; emitting the modulated light onto the tissue of the patient; collecting light which is transmitted through the tissue or/and which is reflected from the tissue; demodulating the collected light; analyzing the demodulated collected light with regard to interference with ambient light; determining a modulation frequency or/and a modulation code for which interference with the ambient light is minimized or falls under a predefined threshold; and setting the modulation frequency or/and the modulation code for modulating the light according to the determined modulation frequency or/and a modulation code for which interference with the ambient light is minimized or falls under a predefined threshold. In this way a versatile and reliable possibility of monitoring a vital parameter of a patient with a high signal-to-interference ratio is provided.
US08447371B2	Mobile terminal device A mobile terminal device with a first case including a rotation base portion having a first axis of rotation parallel to a side of the first case, a second case openable and closable relative to the first case by rotating the second case about the first axis of rotation, and a supporting portion attached to the second case, wherein the supporting portion includes a rotation portion integral therewith and rotatable relative to the rotation base portion about the first axis of rotation and covers at least a part of the rotation base portion.
US08447369B2	Method and system for recovering from DRX timing de-synchronization in LTE—active A method for recovering from discontinuous reception (DRX) timing de-synchronization between the UE and the eNB in an LTE_ACTIVE state having the steps of: the eNB detecting DRX timing de-synchronization; transmitting an indicator to a User Equipment (UE) to resume continuous reception; and waiting for an indication from the UE of whether a Continuous Reception Response or Continuous Reception Notification was received.
US08447368B2	Base station, method of operating a base station and wireless communication system A base station for wireless communication comprises a receiver and a processor. The receiver has a first operating state and a second operating state with different power consumption levels. In the first operating state, the receiver is configured to receive a signal. The processor is coupled to the receiver to switch the receiver between the first and second operating states.
US08447364B2	Mobile terminal A mobile terminal including a terminal body having first and second regions on a front surface thereof, a touch screen part on the first region and configured to display visual information and perform an inputting operation in a tactile manner, and a touch pad part corresponding to the second region and configured to input information corresponding to a touch applied to a pre-set position on the second region.
US08447361B1	Dynamic interactive skin A system and method is described for providing a dynamic interactive skin to at least one communications device. The dynamic interactive skin can be used to select one or more items. The items may be selected to send a message to at least one contact, send a vote for at least one contestant in a media program, send a vote for at least one ending of a media program, purchase an item in a store, preorder a product such as a meal or preorder a service such as a movie ticket, and perform various other wireless commerce functions.
US08447350B2	Method, system, and apparatus for coexistence of plurality of communication technologies in communication device A method and system for enabling coexistence of a plurality of communication technologies in a communication device is provided. The method includes determining a time offset between a first communication event of a first communication technology of the plurality of communication technologies and a second communication event of a second communication technology of the plurality of communication technologies. The method further includes altering a first communication state of one or more of the first communication technology and the second communication technology to a second communication state based on one or more of the time offset and a plurality of parameters of one or more of the first communication technology and the second communication technology.
US08447345B2	Uplink power control for multiple component carriers A first method includes determining if a sum of the transmit powers of individual component carriers is less than a maximum user equipment transmit power, adjusting the transmit power of one or more of the component carriers if the sum of the transmit powers of the individual component carriers is not less than the maximum user equipment transmit power, and transmitting the component carriers to a network access node. A second method includes identifying a component carrier with minimum transmit power and a component carrier with a maximum transmit power, calculating a power difference, determining if the power difference is greater than a predetermined maximum power difference and, if it is, increasing the transmit power of the component carrier with minimum transmit power by a first amount and decreasing the transmit power of the component carrier with the maximum transmit power by a second amount.
US08447344B2	Uplink power control for channel aggregation in a communication network A system and method for uplink power control for aggregated channels in a communication network includes a step 300 of defining power scaling parameters to be used to derive power scaling factors to be applied to associated aggregated uplink channels. A next step 302 includes providing the power scaling parameters to user equipment. A next step 304 includes applying power scaling factors derived from the power scaling parameters to the associated aggregated uplink channels when the user equipment will exceed a maximum transmit power.
US08447340B2	Multicast push to talk groups, apparatus, and methods A terminal (such as that belonging to or carried by an emergency first responder, for example) participates in a push to talk multicast group in either of two modes or levels. In a first mode or first level of participation, the terminal can join a multicast address for the push to talk multicast group as a passive recipient of transmissions and can thereby listen to the multicast address. In a second mode or second level of participation, the terminal becomes an active participant in the push to talk session. As an active participant in the push to talk session, the terminal can, e.g., receive sender identification (e.g., identification of other participants who may be talking in the push to talk multicast group) and send media bursts to the multicast group.
US08447331B2	Systems and methods to deliver digital location-based content to a visitor at a physical business location In general, the invention relates to methods and systems that record the location of a user and transmit targeted content to a user based upon their current and past location information. A network includes a server programmed with a database of location information, a database of user information, and a wireless communication system capable of communicating with the user's mobile device. The location of the mobile device is ascertained and recorded. The system determines the businesses visited by the user. Managers of physical business locations provide content relating to their physical business locations to the system. The content is caused to be transmitted to the mobile devices on behalf of the managers when it is reported that the mobile device is located at the physical business location.
US08447328B2	Location estimation of a mobile device in a UMTS network The present disclosure provides devices, systems, and methods to utilize relative timing offset information reported by one or more mobile devices. When coupled with AGPS information reported by one or more mobile devices, the offset information is be used to calibrate calculations and subsequently to locate all 3G mobiles with GPS-like accuracy, whether or not a GPS receiver is available on said mobile device being located. A determination of a propagation delay between one or more cell sites and a mobile device is reported to a network and used to calibrate unknown information such as a timing offset, to improve the accuracy of a detected location. The relative timing offset can be applied to determine a location for all other mobile devices within the area served by the known base station. The present disclosure utilizes this method in conjunction with information crowd-sourced from a plurality of mobile devices.
US08447325B2	Mobile device communication system and method A computer-implemented mobile device calling method is provided. The method includes detecting initiation of a communication between a first mobile device and a second mobile device and determining a current location of the first mobile device in response to initiation of the communication between the first mobile device and the second mobile device. The method further includes transmitting the current location of the first mobile device to the second mobile device in response to initiation of the communication between the first mobile device and the second mobile device. A system for managing distribution of location information between mobile devices is further provided.
US08447324B2	System for multimedia tagging by a mobile user A system, method, and wireless communication device that provide a mobile user with selective access to information based on a predefined trigger such as a user's vicinity. In an embodiment, selected information from a first wireless communication device of a communication group may be associated with a geographic location and stored. A portion of the information may be selectively transmitted to a second wireless communication device of the communication group when the second wireless communication device is determined to be proximate to the geographic location associated with the information. In one embodiment, the second wireless communication device may receive the information automatically based on trigger settings.
US08447320B2	Location tracking framework A computer-implemented location tracking system includes an index comprising separate organizations of a) entity information and location based notifications for the entities, and b) independent location based notifications, and the index further comprising a spatial organization of references to the entity information, location based notifications for the entities, and independent location based notifications.
US08447315B2	Method and apparatus for facilitating device-to-device communication An apparatus for providing network assisted local communication offloading to unlicensed bands may include at least one processor and at least one memory including computer program code. The at least one memory and the computer program code may be configured, with the processor, to cause the apparatus to perform at least receiving information indicative of channel conditions associated with primary communication involving at least one primary mobile communication device and a network communication node, and determining, at a secondary mobile communication device, primary communication resources to be utilized for secondary communication by the secondary mobile communication device based on the information indicative of the channel conditions. A corresponding method is also provided.
US08447314B2	System and method for providing resource management in a network environment An example method includes receiving data from a femto access point; evaluating resources being used by a macro network in which the femto access point resides; determining whether the femto access point is operating in a constrained bandwidth mode; and reserving particular resources for the femto access point to use for its communications, where the particular resource is allocated from available resources within the macro network. In a more particular embodiment, where those resources refer to spectrum resources, the method includes allocating spectrum resources between femto and macrocellular systems. In other embodiments, the method includes identifying a total throughput associated with the femto access point and one or more macro network cells, where a change in reserving particular frequencies is executed based on determining the total throughput being higher than a current throughput. The data from the femto access point can include path loss data and geolocation data.
US08447313B2	Method of determining an access mode of cell in a wireless communication system The present invention relates to a wireless communication system and UE providing wireless communication services, and a method of determining the operation mode of a base station, that is, the connection mode (access mode) of a cell, based on which UE's connection is allowed by a base station in an evolved Universal Mobile Telecommunications System (UMTS) that has evolved from a Universal Mobile Telecommunications System (UMTS) or a Long Term Evolution (LTE) system, and it may be an object of the present invention to provide a process of determining the connection mode of a cell by checking the existence of a subscriber group identity if it is determined that the connection mode of a cell is not allowed for one or more UEs belonging to a particular subscriber group.
US08447310B2	Apparatus and method for interference cancellation in broadband wireless communication system An Apparatus and a method for interference cancellation in a wireless communication system are provided. When a resource of an Interference Cancellation (IC) zone is allocated to a terminal traveling in a service coverage, resource allocation information relating to an IC zone of neighbor cells is gathered. Resource allocation information is generated relating to the resource allocated to the terminal comprising resource allocation information of the IC zone of the neighbor cells. The resource allocation information relating to the resource allocated to the terminal is transmitted to the terminal. Accordingly, when the interference is present, the interference cancellation is carried out to reduce the load on the terminal and enhance the reception performance.
US08447288B2	Method and apparatus for dynamically updating an address book when a mobile device roams from one network to another A method and apparatus is disclosed for dynamically switching an operating address book upon registering a migrating radio with a visited network. Prior to migrating, the radio uses a first address book in a home network to identify calling radios in the home network, wherein the first address book includes information associated with radios in the home network. Upon roaming to a visited network, the radio registers with the visited network and the radio retrieves an additional network specific address book for the visited network. The radio automatically switches to the additional network specific address book, upon registering with the visited network. Subsequent calls received by the radio are thereafter identified according to information stored in the additional network specific address book.
US08447285B1	Methods and systems for managing telecommunications and for translating voice messages to text messages Systems and methods that can be utilized to convert a voice communication received over a telecommunication network to text are described. In an illustrative embodiment, a call processing system coupled to a telecommunications network receives a call from a caller intended for a first party, wherein the call is associated with call signaling information. At least a portion of the call signaling information is stored in a computer readable medium. A greeting is played the caller, and a voice communication from the caller is recorded. At least a portion of the voice communication is converted to text, which is analyzed to identify portions that are inferred to be relatively more important to communicate to the first party. A text communication is generated including at least some of the identified portions and including fewer words than the recorded voice communication. At least a portion of the text communication is made available to the first party over a data network.
US08447276B2	Mobile terminal and method of controlling operation of the same The present invention relates to a mobile terminal and a method of controlling an operation of the same. The method of controlling an operation of a mobile terminal includes driving a web browser and access a specific website, displaying a web page provided by the specific website, and when any one of numeric enter keys is pressed, displaying an entry window for inputting a website address. Accordingly, a user interface of an intuitive and natural control fashion can be provided to a user.
US08447273B1	Hand-held user-aware security device A device and method is described that can be used to provide for various levels of security authentication of a user based upon stored rules applied to results of a combination of biometric and other sensor-derived information.
US08447269B2	Systems and methods for joint analytics on user level and network level data of a communications network Systems and associated methods provide for joint analytics on user level data and network level data. Systems and methods provide for accessing telecommunication network user level data and network level data and integrating analysis on both data types to produce a common result. Embodiments utilize joint analytics to generate patterns and rules concerning the content and services accessed by a user, when they are accessed, and how they are accessed.
US08447268B2	System for billing rating and selection of accounts A method and system adapted for use in a mobile telecommunication network is described. The invention describes a rating and routing system which is adapted to enable an efficient rating and routing of data transactions being transmitted through a network. Based on a comparison of identifiers associatable with a subscriber to the network, with a set of parameters defined for data transactions, the system of the present invention is adapted to enable an accurate assessment and allocation of the correct rating tariff value to a specific transaction and the routing of that rated value to an appropriate destination defined for the user.
US08447254B2	Receiver and a method of receiving a signal A receiver comprising a plurality of antennas immobilized in relation to each other and positioned on a movable carrier, each antenna being adapted to receive a signal and output a corresponding, received signal; first means for generating, from the received signals, a sum signal; second means for generating, from the received signals, one or more difference signals; third means for deriving, from the sum signal, timing information; fourth means for receiving the sum signal, the difference signal(s) and the timing information and outputting information relating to an angle between a direction of the antennas and a direction of reception of the signal.
US08447253B2	Radio communication system In a radio communication system in which multiple bands or a plurality of different radio frequencies are used, a different radio transmission method is used in each band or at each radio frequency. For example, by transmitting data using radio formats which are different in each band or at each radio frequency, the radio transmission method is made different in each band or at each radio frequency. In order to vary the radio format, (1) the pilot length is varied at each radio frequency; or (2) the pilot interval is varied at each radio frequency; or (3) the guard interval length is varied in each band or at each radio frequency; or (4) when multicarrier modulation is used for radio communication in each band, the subcarrier interval for multicarrier transmission is varied in each band.
US08447241B2	Wireless communication apparatus A wireless communication apparatus is provided. The apparatus includes a wireless transceiver which conducts communication with another wireless communication apparatus using a channel belonging to a first band of a plurality of frequency bands, and a switching unit which switches the channel being used by the wireless transceiver to a different channel of a second band of the plurality of frequency bands other than the first band.
US08447239B1	System and method for mobile data expansion A data expansion system that provides continuum of discrete wireless small cell coverage areas for mobile terminals includes a set of roadway reflectors configured to provide wireless broadband data services to a mobile terminal. Each reflector includes processing circuitry configured to establish communications between the mobile terminal and a backhaul network. Each reflector includes a wireless transceiver configured to transmit and receive data. Each reflector includes a power source that converts solar energy into electricity. Each reflector includes a housing configured to contain the processing circuitry, the transceiver, and the power source. The housing has a raised reflective surface.
US08447235B2	Arbitration between multiple wireless protocols in a wireless device Arbitration between two wireless protocols in a wireless device. The wireless device may include first wireless protocol circuitry, configured to receive and process first signals according to a first wireless protocol and second wireless protocol circuitry, configured to receive and process second signals according to a second wireless protocol. The wireless device may also include coexistence circuitry. The coexistence circuitry may be configured to receive a request from the first wireless protocol circuitry to perform transmission or reception and arbitrate the requested transmission or reception between the first wireless protocol circuitry and the second wireless protocol circuitry. The decision may be based on current or future priority information, current configuration, or other factors. The coexistence circuitry (or other circuitry) may be configured to determine position of switches controlling antennas or transmission using shared or unshared antennas (or chains). The two wireless protocols may be WLAN and Bluetooth.
US08447233B2	Device with an EEPROM having both a near field communication interface and a second interface A peripheral device and a method for programming the read/writeable memory of the RFID circuitry by communications between either RF antenna or bus communications port controller interface or both. In the peripheral device, an EEPROM, bus communications controller interface, NFC interface, antenna, and logic controller operate to receive and transmit configuration and calibration data between a BLUETOOTH circuit and an external BLUETOOTH enabled device. The dual interfaced EEPROM is operable to share or partition its EEPROM between an NFC interface and a bus communications controller.
US08447230B2	Variable gain antenna for cellular repeater A cellular repeater and method of operating a cellular repeater are disclosed. The cellular repeater includes a variable-gain donor antenna adapted to communicate with a base station and a variable-gain server antenna adapted to communicate with a mobile device. A signal from a selected base station selected from one or more available base stations that are available to the cellular repeater is measured at the donor antenna. The gain of the donor antenna is adapted to maximize a signal level of the signal received at the donor antenna from the selected base station. A calibration signal from the server antenna is measured at the donor antenna to determine a radio frequency isolation between the donor antenna and the server antenna. The gain of the server antenna is adapted to maximize the radio frequency isolation between the donor antenna and server antenna.
US08447229B2	Radio communication system, base station apparatus and relay station apparatus In a radio communication system including a base station apparatus 10, a relay station apparatus 20 that receives a signal transmitted from base station apparatus 10 and re-transmits the signal to terminal apparatuses, a terminal apparatus 30 that directly receives the signal transmitted from the base station apparatus and a terminal apparatus 32 that receives the signal transmitted from base station apparatus 10 via relay station apparatus 20, base station apparatus 10 sets the transmission power of a signal addressed to terminal apparatus 30 high and the transmission power of a signal addressed to terminal apparatus 32 low, adds up the signals and transmits the resultant signal. With this, the signal addressed to the terminal apparatus that directly communicates with the base station apparatus and the signal addressed to the terminal apparatus that communicates with the base station apparatus via the relay station apparatus are multiplexed and transmitted simultaneously, whereby it is possible to provide a radio communication system and the like that enable efficient communication.
US08447220B2	Fixing device and image forming apparatus including same A fixing device includes a contact member provided inside a fixing member and pressed against a pressing member via the fixing member to form a nip between the pressing member and the fixing member through which a recording medium bearing atoner image passes. A sheet heat generator provided in the fixing member includes a flexible heat generation sheet contactable against the fixing member to heat the fixing member. A contact adjuster provided in the fixing member adjusts an area of contact of the heat generation sheet and the fixing member in the axial direction, supports the heat generation sheet at a first position at which the heat generation sheet contacts the fixing member, and bends a portion of the heat generation sheet at a second position to separate the heat generation sheet from the fixing member.
US08447219B2	Fixing device and image forming apparatus A fixing device has a regulating mechanism for maintaining a contact portion of a pressing member in a state in which the contact portion does not contact with a fixing roll through a fixing belt from a second area to a first area or a state in which a pressure is reduced so that the contact portion contacts with the fixing roll when switching from a state in which the contact portion is placed in the second area to a state in which the contact portion is placed in the first area is carried out by a switching mechanism, and making a transition for the contact portion of the pressing member into a contact state at a predetermined pressure when the first area is reached.
US08447216B2	Development unit, image forming apparatus, and gap adjusting method A development unit includes: a developing vessel in which a developing agent is received; a developing member as defined herein; a supply member which is supported in the developing vessel and disposed to be opposed to the developing member, the supply member rotating the developing agent in the developing vessel while holding the developing agent on a surface of the supply member to thereby supply the developing agent held on the surface to the developing member; and a thickness limiting member as defined herein, and the supply member is supported movably in a direction to expand or reduce a gap between the thickness limiting member and the supply member so that the gap between the thickness limiting member and the supply member can be adjusted.
US08447210B2	Reusable transfer assist blade assembly for electro-photographic marking devices As set forth herein, a reusable transfer assist blade (TAB) assembly includes a replaceable blade assembly that is locked into position between a clamp assembly and an extruded portion of the TAB assembly. When the blade assembly requires replacement, spring tables on the clam assembly are biased upward to release the clamp assembly from the extruded portion, and the clamp assembly is rotated about a clamp tab-clamp pocket interface at the top of the TAB assembly. The blade assembly is removed and replaced, the clamp assembly is rotated back into position against the extruded portion, and the spring tabs re-engage interlocking features on the extruded portion to lock the replacement blade in position. The expensive extruded portion and clamp assembly are thus reused and the inexpensive blade assembly is discarded or recycled.
US08447208B2	Image forming apparatus An image forming apparatus includes a main assembly; a cartridge for forming a toner image on a sheet material; a fixing unit for fixing the toner image on the sheet material; and an opening for exposing an inside of the main assembly. The fixing unit and the cartridge are mountable into the main assembly and are disposed side by side. When the fixing unit and the cartridge are mounted or demounted, the fixing unit passes through the opening, and the cartridge passes through a space in which the fixing unit is to be mounted and passes through the opening. When the fixing unit and the cartridge at the time of passing through the opening are projected onto a surface perpendicular to a mounting and demounting direction, a contour of a projected area of the cartridge is at least partly inside a contour of a projected area of the fixing device, and the cartridge passes through the inside of the contour of the projected area of the fixing device when passing through the opening.
US08447204B2	Simulated paper texture using clear toner on uniform substrate A system is adapted for simulating a textured pattern on a non-textured substrate. The system includes generating at least a first textured description in a controller unit operatively associated with at least one image forming apparatus. The first textured description is combined with at least one image of an original print job to generate a first print job. The first textured description is printed on at least one face of a substrate to provide a perceived first textured substrate. The at least one image is then printed on the perceived first textured substrate.
US08447200B2	Fusing device, image forming apparatus having the same, and control method thereof An induction heating type fusing device to reduce the size of an induction coil and an image forming apparatus having the same, and a control method thereof. The image forming apparatus includes a printing device to form an image on a recording medium, and a fusing device to fix the image to the recording medium. The fusing device includes a heating member arranged to transfer heat to the recording medium and having a main heater and a sub heater, and an induction coil having a width equal to or less than a width of the recording medium and arranged in an axial direction of the heating member to generate a magnetic field acting on the main heater. The sub heater is arranged inside the heating member to heat both ends of the main heater.
US08447191B2	Compensation of optical transmission impairments using digital backward propagation Systems and method of compensating for transmission impairment are disclosed. One such method comprises receiving a wavelength-division multiplexed optical signal. The received optical signal has been distorted in the physical domain by an optical transmission channel. The method further comprises propagating the distorted optical signal backward in the electronic domain in a corresponding virtual optical transmission channel. The backward propagation fully compensates for fiber dispersion, self-phase modulation, and cross-phase modulation (XPM) and partially compensates for four-wave mixing (FWM).
US08447189B2	Transmitter, receiver for visible light communication and method using the same A visible light wireless communication receiver includes: a source code recognizing unit that receives a source bit stream and recognizes the source bit stream as source codes of a unit of a first number of bits; and a line coding unit that encodes each of the source codes into an encoding code of a unit of a second number of bits, the second number being larger than the first number. In particular, in the encoding code, the number of bits corresponding to 1 is the same as the number of bits corresponding to 0. Therefore, the change in brightness of lighting may be minimized in the visible light wireless communication.
US08447185B2	Optical transmitter, optical receiver, and optically coupled insulating device According to one embodiment, an optically coupled insulating device includes an optical transmitter and an optical receiver. The optical transmitter includes an analog-to-digital converter, an encoder, a transmitting controller, and an electrooptical transducer. The encoder is configured to generate a transmitting signal by superimposing an output of the analog-to-digital converter onto a signal based on a clock signal. The transmitting signal is encoded to have an average duty ratio of more than zero and less than one. The transmitting controller is configured to output one of the transmitting signal and the output of the analog-to-digital converter depending on an input level of the analog signal. The electrooptical transducer is configured to convert an output of the transmitting controller into an optical signal. The optical receiver includes an optoelectrical transducer, a decoder, and a receiving controller.
US08447184B2	Method for the raman amplification of optical signals and transmission system A system and method for Raman amplification of optical signals in a wavelength division multiplexing (WDM) optical transmission system includes transmitting optical signals within a transmission band via an optical waveguide between a transmitter and a receiver, Raman-amplifying the optical signals with at least one pump so as to distort an amplification profile of the Raman amplification within the transmission band, and rectifying the distorted amplification profile so as to compensate for the distortion.
US08447182B2	Multi-wavelength transponder with wavelength division multiplexing modules According to one embodiment, a system for transmitting an optical signal comprises a traffic distribution circuit configured to distribute traffic to a plurality of wavelength division multiplexer (WDM) modules. The system further comprises a first WDM module and a second WDM module. The first and second WDM modules each comprise a plurality of tunable optical transmitters, with each transmitter associated with a different wavelength band of a plurality of wavelength bands. Each transmitter in the first and second WDM modules is also tuned to transmit optical signals in channels included within the associated wavelength band of the transmitter. The first and second WDM modules each comprise a multiplexer configured to combine the optical signals transmitted from the plurality of transmitters into optical signals. The system further comprises a cyclic multiplexer configured to combine the optical signals from the first and second WDM modules into an optical output signal.
US08447180B2	Imaging apparatus An imaging apparatus includes an image sensor, a display unit configured to display an image acquired from the image sensor, and a control unit configured to perform a live view display of an image of an object on the display unit for a user to observe the object and to perform photographing after a self-timer setting time elapses from when a photographing start operation is performed, wherein the control unit compares, when performing the live view display, time required for charging a flash and the self-timer setting time, and if the self-timer setting time is longer than the time required for charging the flash, the control unit does not cause a charging operation of the flash to be performed before starting to count the self-timer setting time and causes the charging operation of the flash to be performed after starting to count the self-timer setting time.
US08447175B2	Energy delivery system for a gas transport vessel containing low vapor pressure gas A system for delivering vapor phase fluid at an elevated pressure from a transport vessel containing liquefied or two-phase fluid is provided. The system includes: (a) a transport vessel positioned in a substantially horizontal position; (b) one or more energy delivery elements disposed on the lower portion of the transport vessel wherein the energy delivery devices include a heating means and a first insulation means, wherein the energy delivery devices are configured to the contour of the transport vessel; (c) one or more substantially rigid support devices disposed on the outer periphery of the energy delivery devices, wherein the support devices hold the energy delivery devices in thermal contact with a lower portion of the transport vessel; and (d) one or more attaching devices secure the rigid support devices onto the transport vessel and hold the energy delivery devices between the substantially rigid support device and a wall of the transport vessel.
US08447172B2	Recording medium having a data structure for managing reproduction of text subtitle data recorded thereon and recording and reproducing methods and apparatuses In the data structure for managing reproduction of text subtitle data, a text subtitle information area stores at least one text subtitle information segment. The text subtitle information segment is represented by a single PES packet of transport packets. In one embodiment, the text subtitle information segment includes an identifier identifying the text subtitle information segment as a text subtitle information segment.
US08447163B2	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.
US08447160B2	Information recording apparatus An information recording apparatus has a stop mode in which only recording means comprised of a rotatable drum on which a recording head is mounted and recording medium driving means comprised of a capstan/pinch roller are stopped, which stop mode can be changed from a record temporary stop mode. During the stop mode of the recording means and the recording medium driving means, a video signal photo-taken by a camera of the information recording apparatus can be outputted externally, and, change to the stop mode is made effective by a combination of user's selection and/or presence/absence of an external connection device.
US08447153B2	Low inductance optical transmitter submount assembly A low inductance structure for improving the integrity of data signals carried in an optical subassembly is disclosed. In one embodiment the optical subassembly comprises a housing containing a lens assembly and an optical isolator. The optical subassembly further includes an optoelectronic package having a base defining a mounting surface that cooperates with a cap to define a hermetic enclosure. First and second signal leads of the subassembly include ends that extend into the hermetic enclosure. A submount is disposed on the base mounting surface. A low inductance structure is integrally formed with the submount and includes a dielectric body interposed between the first and second leads. The body includes shaped edges and conductive pad structures in electrical communication with conductive traces disposed on the submount. Each pad structure is also in electrical communication with a respective one of the first and second signal leads via a plurality of wirebonds.
US08447148B1	Latching micro optical switch An optical switch reliably maintains its on or off state even when subjected to environments where the switch is bumped or otherwise moved. In addition, the optical switch maintains its on or off state indefinitely without requiring external power. External power is used only to transition the switch from one state to the other. The optical switch is configured with a fixed optical fiber and a movable optical fiber. The movable optical fiber is guided by various actuators in conjunction with a latching mechanism that configure the switch in one position that corresponds to the on state and in another position that corresponds to the off state.
US08447143B2	Image processing apparatus and storage medium storing image processing program An image processing apparatus that includes a character recognition component, a determining component and a generating component is provided. The determining component determines, when document data is generated that contains first data representing the document and representing the entity in which the characters are mixed and second data containing character code data of the characters recognized by the character recognition component and representing a character block displaying the characters represented by the character code data, whether to hide the character block represented by the second data behind the entity represented by the first data or to display the character block represented by the second data in front of the entity represented by the first data when the document represented by the document data is displayed, based on lightness or distribution of the lightness of a background region around the characters of the entity or the like.
US08447140B1	Method and apparatus for estimating rotation, focal lengths and radial distortion in panoramic image stitching Method and apparatus for estimating relative three-dimensional (3D) camera rotations, focal lengths, and radial (lens) distortions from point-correspondences in pairwise (two image) image alignment. A core estimator takes a minimal (three) number of point-correspondences and returns a rotation, lens (radial) distortion and two focal lengths. The core estimator solves relative 3D camera rotations, and lens distortions from 3-point-correspondences in two images in the presence of noise in point-correspondences. A robust estimator may be based on or may be “wrapped around” the core estimator to handle noise and errors in point-correspondences. The robust estimator may determine an alignment model for a pair of images from the rotation, distortion, and focal lengths.
US08447138B2	Image processor, image processing method and program An image processor performing super-resolution of converting an input image with first resolution to an output image with second resolution higher than the first resolution on consecutive input images includes a prediction unit predicting the output image with the second resolution of a current frame using the input image of the current frame and the output image obtained by the super-resolution on an input image of a previous frame; a generation unit generating a reduced image with the first resolution composed of pixels at different phases of the prediction image using a prediction image obtained by the prediction of the prediction unit; a difference calculation unit calculating a difference between the input image of the current frame and the reduced image; and an addition unit adding the difference up-sampled to the second resolution to the prediction image, thus generating the output image with the second resolution of the current frame.
US08447132B1	Dynamic range correction based on image content Disclosed are method and a corresponding apparatus, where the method according to one embodiment includes making a determination that a first portion of digital image data represents a physical object of a predetermined type, determining an amount of a parameter, such as a gain, to apply to the first portion of the digital image data, based on the determination that the first portion of the digital image data represents a physical object of the predetermined type, and applying the determined amount of the parameter to the first portion of the digital image data. The method may be part of a dynamic range correction operation.
US08447131B2	Image processing apparatus and image processing method A characteristic image detection interpolation unit performs interpolation processing for increasing the luminance value in low-luminance area which is partly present in an input image. A minimum value filter unit executes minimum value filter processing on an image subjected to the interpolation processing, and a low-pass filter performs low-pass filter processing on the image subjected to the minimum value filter processing, thereby generating a low-frequency component image. A subtracter generates a high-frequency component image by subtracting the low-frequency component image from the input image. A coefficient multiplier adds the luminance value of the high-frequency component image to the input image by a preset ratio K1, thereby generating a high-frequency component enhanced image. A selector alternately outputs the low-frequency component image and the high-frequency component enhanced image.
US08447129B2	High-speed diversity-based imaging method for parallel atmospheric turbulence compensation An imaging method providing atmospheric turbulence compensation includes capturing a subject image pair. Data corresponding to the captured subject image pair is loaded into memory associated with a parallel processing device. A 2-D Fast Fourier Transform is performed on the stored image data and the transformed image data is stored. An optical transfer function is developed for the transformed image data. The optical transfer function is inverted and applied to the transformed image data to generate corrected image spectrum data that is compensated for atmospheric aberrations. An Inverse Fast Fourier Transform is applied to the corrected image spectrum data to produce corrected image data. The corrected image data is stored.
US08447128B2	Image processing system An image processing system capable of reducing an operation time required to generate a high image quality image, includes an image obtaining section that obtains an input image having been captured; a characteristic region information obtaining section that obtains information indicating a characteristic region in the input image; a model storage section that stores a model representing an object by a character parameter; an image generating section that converts an image of an object included in the characteristic region in the input image into a high image quality image having an image quality higher than an image quality of the input image, by adapting the image of the object included in the characteristic region in the input image to the model; and an output section that outputs an image including the high image quality image and an image other than the characteristic region.
US08447127B2	Film grain simulation method Briefly, in accordance with a preferred embodiment of the present principles, simulation of a block of film grain for addition to a block of an image occurs by first establishing at least one image parameter in accordance with at least one attribute of the block. Thereafter, a block of film grain is established in accordance with the image parameter. Deblocking filtering can be applied to the film grain block.
US08447123B2	Method and apparatus for selecting a scan path for the elements of a block in spatial domain picture encoding and decoding International image or video coding standards uses hybrid coding, wherein a picture is separated into pixel blocks on which predictive coding, transform coding and entropy coding is employed. The transform coding is effective because the prediction error samples are correlated in the frequency domain. However, when the prediction quality is getting better and better, spatial domain coding becomes more effective than transform coding. According to the invention, it is first determined in which corner of a current block the first non-zero amplitude value is located. Based on the related zeros run length value in that block, a pre-defined scan path is selected, i.e. a context-based adaptive scan mode is used.
US08447120B2	Incremental feature indexing for scalable location recognition Described is a technology in which an image retrieval system is updated incrementally as new image data becomes available. Updating is incrementally performed and only triggered when the new image data is large enough or diverse enough relative to the image data currently in use for image retrieval. Incremental updating updates the leaf nodes of a vocabulary tree based upon the new image data. Each leaf node's feature frequency is evaluated against upper and/or lower threshold values, to modify the nodes of the tree based on the feature frequency. Upon completion of the incremental updating, a server that performed the incremental updating is switched to an active state with respect to handling client queries for image retrieval, and another server that was actively handling client queries is switched to an inactive state, awaiting a subsequent incremental updating before switching back to active state.
US08447115B2	Method and installation for imaging (a) a measurement F0(x, y, δt) of the signals detected is provided; (b) on the one hand a first value F1(X, y, δt) is provided, termed the “integration” value and on the other hand a second value F2(x, y, δt) termed the “count” value is provided; (c) a value Fe(x0, y0, δt) of a number of signals is estimated from a combination of first F1(X0, y0, δt) and second F2(x0, y0, δt) values, on the basis of a criterion of detection in the neighborhood.
US08447107B1	Processing and comparing images Systems and methods are provided for calculating and using histogram descriptors to compare images and to identify visually similar content. According to at least one embodiment, multiple histograms descriptors are calculated for individual images of a collection of content. These histogram descriptors may be used to identify two or more visually similar images in the collection of content. For example, if a user identifies an image of an item of interest, then embodiments search across the collection of content to identify other images of items that are visually similar to the selected item of interest. To do so, embodiments search across the histogram descriptors of the images in the collection of content to identify one or more images that have histograms descriptors that are similar to the histograms descriptors of the image of the selected item of interest.
US08447105B2	Data driven interpolation using geodesic affinity Often, information regarding images and/or other data may be incomplete. For example, an image may have depth information associated with a portion of the image, but not the entire image. It may be advantageous to extrapolate the values from the known points to the entire image. Accordingly, a dimensional array representing an image (or other data) may be traversed one or more times to generate an interpolated table. The interpolated table may comprise pixels of unknown value, where a pixel of unknown value may be associated with a number of pixels with known values. In this way, values for pixels may be specified based upon values of pixels having known values.
US08447102B2	Vector embedded graphics coding A method of coding High Definition (HD) color pictures is described. The method divides the HD picture into individual bit planes of the three colors. The method then interleaves the bit planes such that bit planes of the three colors having the same significance are coded together. The method codes a block of the picture based on the bit distribution in corresponding groups of the corresponding bit planes of the three colors. The method performs a first level grouping of bits in a bit plane of an image and a second level grouping of the first level grouping bits of different color components within a group.
US08447098B1	Model-based stereo matching Model-based stereo matching from a stereo pair of images of a given object, such as a human face, may result in a high quality depth map. Integrated modeling may combine coarse stereo matching of an object with details from a known 3D model of a different object to create a smooth, high quality depth map that captures the characteristics of the object. A semi-automated process may align the features of the object and the 3D model. A fusion technique may employ a stereo matching confidence measure to assist in combining the stereo results and the roughly aligned 3D model. A normal map and a light direction may be computed. In one embodiment, the normal values and light direction may be used to iteratively perform the fusion technique. A shape-from-shading technique may be employed to refine the normals implied by the fusion output depth map and to bring out fine details. The normals may be used to re-light the object from different light positions.
US08447096B2	Method and device for processing a depth-map A device and apparatus for processing a depth-map including obtaining a depth-map based on a lossy compressed depth-map, the depth-map including depth information of a scene from a viewpoint, the scene includes an object; obtaining occlusion information for the scene from the viewpoint, the occlusion information including information occluded by the object in the depth-map; and processing at least part of the depth information using at least part of the occlusion information in order to reduce compression artifacts in the depth-map.
US08447089B2	Systems and methods for susceptibility tensor imaging The present disclosure provides a method and system for quantifying and making images of tissue anisotropy property based on magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). The systems and methods provided herein utilize orientation distribution of magnetic susceptibility to characterize magnetic susceptibility anisotropy (MSA) inside biological tissues. This MSA may be intrinsic property of the tissue or may be induced by the presence of external agents. In certain embodiments, the MSA is displayed as an orientation distribution function of susceptibility and/or may be described by mathematical quantities such as tensors (e.g., symmetric or asymmetric second order or higher order tensors) and spherical harmonics. In other embodiments, the MSA is characterized using a second order tensor named apparent susceptibility tensor (AST).
US08447088B2	X-ray imaging system, x-ray imaging method, and computer-readable medium storing x-ray imaging program An X-ray imaging system comprises: an imaging unit for irradiating a subject with X ray at different angles while moving an X-ray source in one direction in tomosynthesis imaging, detecting the X ray with which the subject has been irradiated with a flat panel detector to acquire projection data of X-ray images taken at different angles; and an image processor for reconstructing a first X-ray tomographic image using projection data acquired by the imaging unit, the image processor including: a correction decision unit for selecting, according to a given selection condition, one of previously provided different corrections to be performed on the projection data; a first image correction unit for performing correction based upon the correction selected by the correction decision unit on the projection data; and a first image reconstruction unit for reconstructing the first X-ray tomographic image using the corrected projection data.
US08447086B2	Lens capsule size estimation Methods of estimating the size of an ocular lens capsule.
US08447085B2	Method for segmenting an organ in volume data records from magnetic resonance imaging A method is disclosed for segmenting an organ, more particularly the liver, in n-channel volume data records from magnetic resonance imaging. In at least one embodiment of the method, probability distributions are generated on the basis of segmentation results from n-channel training data records, which probability distributions specify probabilities of positions of voxels and intensity values, which have been reduced from n-dimensions to one dimension with the aid of discriminant reduction, of voxels in the training data records belonging to the organ. At least one 3D probability data record is then generated from the n-channel volume data records on the basis of the probability distributions, in which 3D probability data record each voxel is assigned a probability of belonging to the organ. A maximum value of the 3D probability data record is set as the start point for the segmentation, and the organ is subsequently segmented on the basis of the 3D probability data record using a region-growing technique. The method allows very reliable fully-automatic segmentation of the organ.
US08447083B2	Method for detection of caries A method for forming an enhanced image of tooth tissue for caries detection obtains fluorescence and reflectance image data from a tooth. Each pixel in the fluorescence image data is combined with its corresponding pixel in the reflectance image data by subtracting an offset to the reflectance image data value to generate an offset reflectance image data value, and then computing an enhanced image data value according to the difference between the fluorescence image data value and the offset reflectance image data value, whereby the enhanced image is formed from the resulting pixel array of enhanced image data values.
US08447081B2	Pulmonary emboli detection with dynamic configuration based on blood contrast level A method for automatically detecting pulmonary embolism (PE) candidates within medical image data using an image processing device includes administering radiocontrast into a patient. A sequence of computed tomography (CT) images is acquired. A level of radiocontrast at a pulmonary artery trunk of the patient is determined. One or more PE candidates are detected within a pulmonary artery tree of the patient based on the determined level of radiocontrast at the pulmonary artery trunk. The one or more detected PE candidates are displayed.
US08447077B2	Method and apparatus for fingerprint motion tracking using an in-line array A fingerprint motion tracking method and system is provided for sensing features of a fingerprint along an axis of finger motion, where a linear sensor array has a plurality of substantially contiguous sensing elements configured to capture substantially contiguous overlapping segments of image data. A processing element is configured to receive segments of image data captured by the linear sensor array and to generate fingerprint motion data. Multiple sensor arrays may be included for generating directional data. The motion tracking data may be used in conjunction with a fingerprint image sensor to reconstruct a fingerprint image using the motion data either alone or together with the directional data.
US08447074B2	Image processing apparatus, image processing method, and program An image processing apparatus includes an outline distance estimating unit that acquires distance information on an outline portion of an area included in an image; an area dividing unit that divides an area included in an image on the basis of pixel attribute values; an area-plane estimating unit that estimates an area plane composing each area by using the distance information on the outline portion of each area resulting from the division to calculate an area-plane definitional equation; an abnormal data determining unit that compares the area plane with each coordinate position on a three-dimensional space indicated by the distance information to determine the distance information having a high degree of shift from the area plane to be abnormal data; and an area interpolating unit that estimates the distances inside the area by using the distance information resulting from removal of the abnormal data from the distance information.
US08447069B2	Apparatus and method for moving object detection An apparatus and method for moving object detection computes a corresponding frame difference for every two successive image frames of a moving object, and segments a current image frame of the two successive image frames into a plurality of homogeneous regions. At least a candidate region is further detected from the plurality of homogeneous regions. The system gradually merges the computed frame differences via a morphing-based technology and fuses the merged frame difference with the at least a candidate region, thereby obtaining the location and a complete outline of the moving object.
US08447063B2	Flat thin dynamic speaker A flat thin dynamic speaker which includes a motor unit, a suspension unit, a radiating unit and a frame arranged in such a manner that the motor unit and the suspension unit are at the same plane while the radiating unit is on top of the motor unit such that the thickness of the speaker assembly is reduced while the performance of the speaker assembly is maintained or even improved. Also, the speaker can be made into a quadrangular, polygon or a spherical structure. The speaker further has a surround at a level lower than the radiating unit without utilizing the radiating surface of the radiating unit such as a maximized radiating surface is provided, and includes a dual side voice-coil actuation to the radiator unit, thereby providing a slim and flat speaker assembly with high power output.
US08447062B2	Earphone assembly An exemplary earphone assembly includes an electrical connector, two earphones, and two cords electrically connecting the electrical connector with the earphones. Each of the cords includes two wires connecting the electrical connector with a corresponding earphone and a zip chain containing the wires. The zip chain of each cord includes an elongated main body, and a first latching part and a second latching part protruding from the main body towards the other cord. A receiving groove is defined between the first and second latching parts for receiving the second latching part of the other cord when the two cords are engaged with each other in such a manner that the first and second latching parts of one cord block the second latching part of the other cord from escaping from the receiving groove.
US08447061B2	Dual earphone using both bone conduction and air conduction Disclosed is an earphone set using both bone conduction and air conduction. The earphone set includes: a dual earphone which allows a user to selectively hear sounds from the front or rear side of the earphone set; a case cover provided at an end of the dual earphone; a cylindrical reinforcing frame assembled on one side of the case cover; a finishing ring mounted on the outer peripheral surface of the cylindrical reinforcing frame; a top cover assembled on one side of the cylindrical reinforcing frame and the finishing ring and having an extension projection at one side thereof; a rubber ear cap assembled at a front end of the extension projection to be inserted into an ear hole of a user; and a bone conduction vibrator provided inside the dual earphone.
US08447056B2	Dynamic microphone A dynamic microphone includes a vibration pickup that detects vibration of a dynamic microphone unit, and outputs a signal for cancelling vibration noise; and a microphone case that supports the microphone unit and the vibration pickup, wherein the vibration pickup includes a laminated ceramic piezoelectric element that detects vibration of a microphone unit case and outputs a signal corresponding to the detected vibration, the laminated ceramic piezoelectric element has a capacitance that defines a resonance circuit in conjunction with an inductance of an inductor, the resonance circuit producing a response signal to acceleration corresponding to that of the vibration noise, and the resonance circuit is connected such that the response signal is output in an opposite direction to the vibration noise signal.
US08447054B2	Microphone with variable low frequency cutoff A microphone system has a package with an interior, a MEMS microphone within the package interior and forming a backvolume between it and the package interior, and a MEMS valve coupled with at least one input aperture in the package. The package defines at least one input aperture (e.g., the prior noted aperture) for receiving an acoustic signal, and the MEMS microphone is mechanically coupled to at least a portion of one input aperture. The valve has a valve opening generally circumscribed by a valve seat. The valve is considered as having an open mode for permitting acoustic signal access into the package interior through the valve opening, and a closed mode for substantially preventing acoustic signal access into the package interior through the valve opening. The valve has a movable member configured to contact the valve seat when in the closed mode. This movable member is configured to move between the open mode and the closed mode in a direction that is generally perpendicular to the valve seat.
US08447047B2	Information processing apparatus and information processing method An information processing apparatus includes a jack, a noise-canceling adjustment section, a signal superposition section, an inter-device universal communication bus, and a control section. The jack is connectable with a plug of a headphone including a microphone, outputs a first signal to the headphone, and inputs a second signal from the microphone. The noise-canceling adjustment section generates and outputs, based on the second signal input from the jack, a third signal that cancels a noise component around the headphone. The signal superposition section superposes the third signal on the first signal output from the jack. The control section controls the noise-canceling adjustment section via the inter-device universal communication bus.
US08447046B2	Circuit with three-stage of power-on sequence used for suppressing the pop noise in audio system The present invention discloses a circuit with three-stage of power-on sequence used for suppressing the pop noise in audio system. It mainly comprises a first resistor (R1); a capacitor (Cout); a first switch (SW1); a second switch (SW2); a soft start device; a first feedback amplifier; and a second feedback amplifier. By using the three-stage of power-on sequence, the present invention can effectively suppress the pop noise when the audio driver is power on.
US08447044B2	Adaptive LPC noise reduction system A noise suppression system reduces low-frequency noise in a speech signal using linear predictive coefficients in an adaptive filter. A digital filter may update or adapt a limited set of linear predictive coefficients on a sample-by-sample basis. The linear predictive coefficients may be used to provide an error signal based on a difference between the speech signal and a delayed speech signal. The error signal represents an enhanced speech signal having attenuated and normalized low-frequency noise components.
US08447038B2	Method and systems using identifier tags and authenticity certificates for detecting counterfeited or stolen brand objects A method and system for generating data for generating an authenticity certificate to be stored on a media. The authenticity certificate authenticates an object. A request for a step certificate includes a media identifier, a media key block, an object identifier, a requester entity type, and a requester identity certificate. The object identifier is hashed. A created signature includes the hashed object identifier, the requester entity type, a certifier identity certificate, and the requester identity certificate. A generated hashing result is a concatenation of the object identifier, the requester entity type, the certifier entity certificate, the requester identity certificate, and the signature. The step certificate including the hashing result is generated and encrypted. The encrypted step certificate and an encrypted random key are sent to a requester of the step certificate. The object may be determined to be an authentic object, a counterfeited object, or a stolen object.
US08447027B2	System and method for language variation guided operator selection A system and method for language variation guided operator selection is disclosed. The method discloses: initiating a dialog between a contact and a call handling system; identifying a language variation spoken by the contact; determining a skill level with respect to the language variation for each operator within a set of operators; selecting an operator whose skill level in the language variation is above a predetermined value; and transferring the dialog with the contact to the operator. The system discloses means and embodiments for implementing the method.
US08447026B2	Data driven configuration of call management applications A call manager uses a call management application in conjunction with a live dial database to control routing of calls for managed devices. To generate the live dial database, the call management application accesses configured route patterns and enters these patterns into the live dial database. Upon identifying an expansion indicator in a configured route pattern, the call management application accesses dial plan data that includes multiple route pattern definitions that each define a pattern using one or more sub-strings and, for each sub-string, an associated tag. The call management application then enters patterns defined by the route pattern definitions into the live dial database based on various other criteria established for the configured route pattern having the expansion indicator.
US08447022B2	Method and system for providing to a second party, computer-network related information about a first party A method and system for providing computer-network related information about a second party. First, the second party receives a telephone number of a first party. The second party's customer premises equipment (CPE) or elements in a telephone network then use the telephone number to index a database, which contains combinations of telephone numbers and computer-network addresses. Once the first party's computer-network address is retrieved, computer network information present at the computer-network location specified by the computer-network address can be sent to and displayed on the second party's CPE. Also, the first party's telephone number can be sent to an application in the computer network, causing the first-party-customized information to be automatically displayed on the second party's CPE.
US08447019B2	Method and system for providing call screening in a packet-switched network Embodiments of the invention provide systems and methods for determining whether a call in a packet-switched network to a first destination is to be forwarded, forwarding the call to a second destination based on a determination that the call is to be forwarded, notifying the first destination that the call has been forwarded, receiving a request from the first destination to screen the call, and enabling the first destination to screen the call.
US08447018B2	Information provided to parent regarindg a called for child protection The present disclosure describes a system, method, and computer readable medium for providing information of a calling party to an alert party, wherein the calling party is in communication with the receiving party in a communications network. The method includes receiving a message from a calling party to a receiving party and performing a lookup of information relating to the calling party in a database, wherein the lookup is based on an identifier associated with the message, Thereafter, an alert is sent to the alert party if the calling party information is unavailable in a contact list of the receiving party.
US08447012B2	Radiation inspection apparatus A radiation inspection apparatus includes a radiation source, a measurement radiation detecting unit being a rectangle having a long side, and a reference radiation detecting unit that is disposed between the radiation source and an inspection target, the reference radiation detecting unit being disposed near a path of a radiation from the radiation source to the measurement radiation detecting unit not to interrupt the radiation from the radiation source to the measurement radiation detecting unit. An intensity of the radiation source are corrected by calculating a change value of the intensity and the intensity distribution from an output of the reference radiation detecting unit and by correcting the output of the measurement radiation detecting unit based on the change value.
US08447010B2	Device for data transfer, computed tomography apparatus and method for data transfer In a device and a method for data transfer between a rotatable part and stationary part of a gantry of a computed tomography apparatus a broadband transmission link is used for data between the rotatable part and the stationary part of the gantry, via which both measurement data and operating data of the computed tomography apparatus are transferred. An arrangement also is provided for narrowband transmission of data of the computed tomography apparatus via the broadband transmission link. The data of the computed tomography apparatus are transmitted using a frequency spread method via the broadband transmission link.
US08447009B2	Method and computed tomography scanner for carrying out an angiographic examination A method and a computed tomography scanner are disclosed for carrying out an angiographic examination of a patient, wherein the utilized computed tomography scanner includes at least one recording system mounted on a gantry such that it can rotate about a z-axis. Projection data is acquired from at least one prescribed angular position of the gantry for at least two different energies of X-ray radiation. The projection data is subsequently combined to form a resulting projection image by evaluating the projection data corresponding to the respective angular position, in which projection image at least one substance, which should be displayed selectively, is imaged with a high image contrast compared to the respective individual projection data. This procedure extends the field of application of the computed tomography scanner to projection-based angiography examinations, which were previously restricted to C-arm systems. 3D image reconstruction methods and projection methods can be carried out on opposite sides and with great flexibility during an examination, without the need for an additional modality. By using a multispectral technique, it is possible to contrast agent. The projection data at dispense with recording a native projection data record without the different energies are moreover acquired with no or little time offset, and so a computationally expensive and error-prone registration of the data records can be dispensed with.
US08447003B2	Clock synchronization method for use in communication system for transmitting at least one of video data and audio data A source device counts a clock CLKpixel for pixel data using a transmitting counter, adds a counted value Csource(t) of the transmitting counter at a timing of transmitting a video packet Pvideo to the sink device to a header part of the video packet Pvideo as a time stamp value Csource(t), and transmits the video packet Pvideo to the sink device. The sink device receives the video packet Pvideo, extracts the time stamp value Csource(t) from the header part of the video packet Pvideo, generates a fixed reference clock CLKref based on the counted value Csource(t) of the transmitting counter using a first PLL, circuit, and generates the clock CLKpixel for the pixel data of the source device based on the reference clock CLKref using a second PLL circuit.
US08447001B2	Apparatus for performing channel estimation in a receiving device An apparatus for performing channel estimation includes a time-domain estimating circuit to perform a channel estimation on a time-domain received signal to output a time-domain estimated signal, a second frequency-domain converting circuit to convert the time-domain estimated signal into a frequency-domain estimated signal, an error computing circuit to produce an error signal based on the frequency-domain estimated signal and a frequency-domain received signal, and a compensation circuit to compensate the frequency-domain estimated signal using the error signal so as to produce a final channel estimation signal. The apparatus is located in a receiving device that includes a first frequency-domain converting circuit to convert the time-domain received signal into the frequency-domain received signal, and an equalizer to generate a frequency-domain recovered signal based on the frequency-domain received signal and the final channel estimation signal.
US08446995B2	Method and device for correcting IQ imbalance of baseband signals in wireless communication receiver A method and a device for correcting In-phase/Quadrature (IQ) imbalance in baseband signals of a wireless communication receiver are disclosed. The method includes the following: the receiver receives Radio Frequency (RF) signals, and processes the signals to generate In-phase (I) signals and Quadrature (Q) signals; the receiver calculates to obtain an autocorrelation value E(\|I\|2) of the I signal, an autocorrelation value E(\|Q\|2) of a current Q signal, and a cross-correlation value E(IQ) of the I signal and the current Q signal; the receiver computes E(\|I\|2), (\|Q\|2) and E(IQ) through arithmetical operations to obtain an estimate value Ân of a current amplitude imbalance calibration factor and an estimate value {circumflex over (P)}n of a current phase imbalance calibration factor; and the receiver corrects the current Q signal according to Ân and {circumflex over (P)}n. The embodiments reduce operations.
US08446993B2	Receiving apparatus and method for receiving signals in a wireless communication system with improved equalization performance Described herein is a receiving apparatus and method for receiving signals in a wireless communication system, the signals including a dedicated channel estimation sequence, including a gain control means that controls the gain of a received signal, a channel estimation means that performs a channel estimation on the basis of a dedicated channel estimation sequence included in a received signal, a gain error correction means that corrects a gain error in the result of said channel estimation caused by said gain control means on the basis of the dedicated channel estimation sequence comprised in the received signal, and an equalizing means that performs an equalization on the received signal on the basis of the gain corrected channel estimation result.
US08446989B2	Signal separating device and signal separating method A signal demultiplexing method and apparatus are provided, for determining a likelihood of each bit included in a second signal, which is spatially multiplexed with and received with a first signal, based on a maximum likelihood detection (MLD) method using QR decomposition, wherein the first signal excludes the second signal to be calculated only in a final stage of the MLD method.
US08446988B2	System and method for selectively performing single-ended and differential signaling In a communication system, data is selectively transmitted using single-ended or differential signaling. The data is transmitted in relation to a plurality of clock signals having different relative phases. When the data is transmitted using single-ended signaling, data on adjacent signal lines undergo logic transitions at different times in relation to the plurality of clock signals.
US08446987B2	Downstream transmitter and cable modem receiver for 1024 QAM A headend transmitter that transmits 1024 QAM including a 256 QAM modulator which has been modified to have more aggressive forward error correction processing. The 256 QAM modulator outputs 256 QAM points to a summer. Another data modulator receives additional data to be transmitted in a separate, substantially less complex constellation. This modulator processes the additional data to do forward error correction thereon and then maps the encoded data into a less complex constellation such as QPSK, 16 QAM etc. The additional data constellation points are then amplified in a variable gain amplifier and fed to a summer where each additional data point is added by vector summation to one 256 QAM point. The output 1024 QAM point is filtered and shifted to the desired transmission frequency. Legacy cable modem receivers can still receive the 256 QAM point since the addition of the new data just appears to be noise which they can overcome using the parity bits encoded in the transmitted symbols. 1024 QAM cable modem receivers receive both the 256 QAM points and the new data points and output both.
US08446984B2	Method and system for identification of portable antenna modules Antenna identification data is transferred over a regular channel that is normally used for transferring navigation signals. Modulation of the received signal is used for transferring the portable antenna parameter data. Antenna identifications and parameters are written into a portable antenna module. The antenna module is attached to a radio receiver. The antenna module and the receiver are powered up. The portable antenna module receives radio signals that are amplified in a low-noise amplifier. Then, a level of the output signal is discretely modulated in the amplitude modulator and the signal is transferred to the radio receiver. The discrete fluctuations of the level of the signal are determined in the amplitude demodulator. The fluctuation of the level of the signal carries the information about the identification parameters of the portable antenna module. An analog-to-digital conversion of the determine signal fluctuation is performed in an analog-to-digital converter. The converted digital signal is used for receiving data related to the type and parameters of the portable antenna module.
US08446980B2	Distortion compensation circuit and a distortion compensation method A distortion compensation circuit is provided with an input level limitation unit that limits signal level of an input signal and outputs a signal before distortion compensation, a distortion compensation unit that performs distortion compensation processing to the signal before distortion compensation and outputs a signal after distortion compensation, an distortion compensation coefficient calculation unit that calculates a coefficient for compensating distortion of the output signal of an amplifier as a distortion compensation coefficient, a storage unit that stores the distortion compensation coefficient and a limit value calculation unit that calculates signal level of the signal before distortion compensation.
US08446975B2	Iterative interference suppressor for wireless multiple-access systems with multiple receive antennas This invention teaches to the details of an interference suppressing receiver for suppressing intra-cell and inter-cell interference in coded, multiple-access, spread spectrum transmissions that propagate through frequency selective communication channels to a multiplicity of receive antennas. The receiver is designed or adapted through the repeated use of symbol-estimate weighting, subtractive suppression with a stabilizing step-size, and mixed-decision symbol estimates. Receiver embodiments may be designed, adapted, and implemented explicitly in software or programmed hardware, or implicitly in standard RAKE-based hardware either within the RAKE (i.e., at the finger level) or outside the RAKE (i.e., at the user or subchannel symbol level). Embodiments may be employed in user equipment on the forward link or in a base station on the reverse link. It may be adapted to general signal processing applications where a signal is to be extracted from interference.
US08446972B2	Communication system, reception device, and communication method A reception device which communicates with a transmission device including multiple transmission antennas, the reception device including: at least one reception antenna which receives multiple transmission signals transmitted by the transmission device from the multiple transmission antennas; a propagation channel response estimation unit which estimates propagation channel responses among the multiple transmission antennas and the reception antenna; a block division unit which divides a reception signal of at least one of the reception antennas into multiple blocks based on a multipath; and a transmission signal detection unit which detects the transmission signals transmitted by the transmission device based on the reception signal divided by the block division unit into the multiple blocks and the propagation channel responses estimated by the propagation channel response estimation unit. The transmission signal detection unit includes: an interference cancellation unit and a signal separation unit.
US08446968B2	OFDM receiving apparatus and mode detecting method thereof Provided are an orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (OFDM) receiving apparatus and a mode detecting method thereof. The mode detecting method includes: detecting a first mode of a received signal by using first delay signals obtained by delaying the received signal, and first correlation values of the received signal; and detecting a second mode of the received signal by using second delay signals obtained by delaying a first correlation value corresponding to the first mode from among the first correlation values, and the first correlation value corresponding to the first mode. According to the OFDM receiving apparatus and the mode detecting method, a fast Fourier transform (FFT) mode is detected first and then a guard interval (GI) mode is detected based on a result of detecting the FFT mode from the same signal, and thus mode detection is accurately and quickly performed and the OFDM receiving apparatus has a reduced chip size.
US08446964B2	Method and system for noise reduction with a motion compensated temporal filter Described herein is a method and system for the reduction of noise in a video sequence. When motion is present in the video sequence, this system and method identifies motion data. With the motion data, a Motion Compensated Temporal Filter (MCTF) can apply motion compensation prior to filtering in the time domain. Temporal filtering can be performed to reduce visible noise and other detrimental artifacts.
US08446959B2	Method and apparatus for encoding video by motion prediction using arbitrary partition, and method and apparatus for decoding video by motion prediction using arbitrary partition Disclosed is a method and apparatus of encoding a video, the method including: splitting video data into a maximum coding unit; encoding the video data of the maximum coding unit based on deeper coding units of hierarchical structures in which a coding unit of an upper depth is split as a depth deepens, according to at least one split region of the maximum coding unit, and determining a coding depth at which an encoding result is to be output, including inter prediction using partitions obtained by splitting the coding unit according to arbitrary ratios; and outputting a bitstream including the encoded video data corresponding to a coding depth for the at least one split region according to maximum coding units and information regarding the coding depth and encoding modes.
US08446955B2	Speculative motion prediction cache A method and apparatus to improve motion prediction in video processing systems is introduced. When a motion prediction cache completes requesting data for a current macroblock and enters an into idle state, data comprising one or more reference frames is speculatively requested, with the hope that the requested data are will be needed in a subsequent macroblock. If the speculative data is needed, then it is consumed. However, if the speculative data is not needed, then the correct data must be requested and a price is paid for an extra memory read bandwidth. In case the speculative data is the correct data for the subsequent macroblock, the effective memory read latency is reduced and the decode performance increases. The video decoder becomes more immune to memory read latency.
US08446953B2	Method and apparatus for encoding video, and method and apparatus for decoding video Disclosed are method and apparatus for encoding and decoding an image which divides a current picture into blocks with various sizes and varies a number of intra prediction modes according to the sizes of the divided blocks.
US08446952B2	Method of effectively predicting multi-layer based video frame, and video coding method and apparatus using the same A method and apparatus are provided for effectively predicting a video frame that use all of the advantages of an intra mode and an intra BL mode in multi-layer structure based-video coding. The method includes reconstructing the intra block of a lower layer using the previously reconstructed first neighboring blocks of the intra block; subtracting the first neighboring blocks from previously stored the second neighboring blocks of an upper layer corresponding to the first neighboring blocks; creating a differential predicted block based on a predetermined intra prediction mode by performing intra prediction using virtual differential neighboring blocks that are created as a result of the subtraction; adding the differential predicted block and the reconstructed intra block; and subtracting a predicted block, which is created as a result of the addition, from a block of the upper layer corresponding to the intra block.
US08446950B2	Method of estimating the motion in image processing A method is described for selecting a motion vector for a first image block of an image of an image sequence from a number of test vectors, to which respectively a significance measurement is assigned, wherein at least one of these test vectors is a motion vector of a further image block that is arranged temporally and/or spatially adjacent to the first image block, or a vector formed by modification of this motion vector, and wherein the method covers: Determining a distance measurement for each test vector, Determining a modified distance measurement to each test vector depending on the distance measurement determined to this test vector and additionally at least on the significance measurement assigned to this test vector, Selecting one of the test vectors as motion vector depending on the modified distance measurements, Determining a new distance measurement of the test vector selected as motion vector depending on whether the selected motion vector meets at least one significance criterion, and assigning this new significance measurement as significance measurement to the motion vector for the selection of a motion vector for a third image block, in which the motion vector of the first image block or a vector formed by modification of this motion vector is selected as test vector.
US08446937B1	Technique for the measurement of I/Q impairments associated with a sampled complex signal Systems and methods for measuring transmitter and/or receiver I/Q impairments are disclosed, including iterative methods for measuring transmitter I/Q impairments using shared local oscillators, iterative methods for measuring transmitter I/Q impairments using intentionally-offset local oscillators, and methods for measuring receiver I/Q impairments. Also disclosed are methods for computing I/Q impairments from a sampled complex signal, methods for computing DC properties of a signal path between the transmitter and receiver, and methods for transforming I/Q impairments through a linear system.
US08446935B2	Method and circuit for fractional rate pulse shaping A method and system for fractionally converting sample rates. Fractional rate conversion for a transmit path of a transceiver is achieved by upsampling an input signal having a first sample rate by a first integer factor, removing aliasing resulting from the upconversion process, and then downsampling the intermediate signal by a second integer factor to provide a final signal having a second sample rate. The first factor and the second factor are selected to obtain a desired output sample rate that is a fraction of the sample rate of the input signal.
US08446934B2	Frequency diversity and phase rotation An integrated circuit includes logic configured to encode one or more first data symbols in one or more first sub-carriers as one or more second data symbols in one or more second sub-carriers of a smart-utility-network communication.
US08446933B2	Direct link relay in a wireless network Disclosed herein are exemplary techniques for power conservation in a wireless network. A wireless device identifies another wireless device suitable to act as a relay node. Uplink information is transmitted to the other wireless device, which is in turn relayed to an access point for transmission to its destination. Downlink information may be transmitted directly from the access point to the wireless device. The use of a relay node may reduce transmit power consumption as the relay node may be closer to, or support a higher transmit rate, than the access point with which the wireless device is associated.
US08446930B2	Impulse radio communication device An impulse radio communication device includes a short pulse generator configured to change a shape of an impulse to be output; a bandpass filter configured to receive the impulse and output the impulse as a wave packet; an amplifier configured to amplify an output from the bandpass filter; and an antenna configured to output the wave packet, output from the amplifier, as a wireless signal, the short pulse generator includes a control section configured to change the shape of the impulse to be output, in response to an environmental condition of a transmission path for wireless communication.
US08446929B2	Furnace refractory brick hearth system A brick hearth system includes a rigid containment shell in which a concave bottom is lined with a hearth refractory sub-layer and hearth brick working layer. The outer perimeter of the hearth refractory is ringed with thrust blocks to compress the whole toward the center and to thereby deny gaps from forming between the separate bricks. Many individual thrust rods penetrate the outer bottom of the containment shell, and such are used to transmit compression forces generated outside the shell to be applied against the thrust blocks in unison. Each thrust rod receives an adjustable amount of inward force from a spring, acting either directly or through a beam or rocker arm. These are anchored to and use the hoop strength of the containment shell as leverage. As the hearth brick working layer grows during its service life, the ring of thrust blocks grows in diameter as well inside the margins provided within the containment shell. The individual thrust rod springs are periodically adjusted to keep the pressures in the optimal range.
US08446925B2	Reduction of timing jitter in a passive Q-switched solid state laser A method and device for reducing the timing jitter in a passive Q-switched Nd:YAG solid state laser by spatially selective bleaching a thin sheet of a saturable absorber of Cr+4:YAG from a direction orthogonal to the direction of laser emission where the Cr+4:YAG transmission increases 18% when the bleaching probe beam is a single laser diode bar. For steady state operation of a passive Q-switched laser, the pulse-to-pulse timing jitter showed a −12× reduction in standard deviation from 241 nsec for free running operation to 20 nsec with optical triggering.
US08446922B2	Method and device for multiplexing and mapping services to an OTU A method for multiplexing and mapping services to an Optical channel Transport Unit (OTU) includes: filling the service data into a container block covering an Optical channel Payload Unit (OPU) area container having at least one frame. The container block includes at least one OPU area container having a frame. The OPU area container is composed of at least one OPU area sub-timeslot, and is configured to fill the service clock information into the Optical Channel Payload Unit Overload (OPU OH) area. A device for multiplexing and mapping services to an OTU is provided in an embodiment of the present invention.
US08446920B2	Providing resilient digital telephony services for wireless device A system and method for providing resilient digital telephony services for wireless communication devices are disclosed. The system comprises a plurality of wireless communication devices and a border gateway serving a communications network that is configured to communicate with the wireless communication devices. At least two telephony servers are located in the communications network. The servers are configured to communicate with at least a portion of the wireless communication devices. A heartbeat module is configured to communicate heartbeat signals between the border gateway and the telephony servers and redirect service in the event of a server failure.
US08446911B2	System and method for managing communication for component applications An application gateway server is provided for managing communication between an application executing in a runtime environment on a device and at least one backend server. The application gateway server comprises a message listener, a connector subsystem, and a messaging subsystem. The message listener receives messages from the component applications. The connector subsystem comprises a plurality of connectors, each of the plurality of connectors for communicating with one or more associated backend servers. The messaging subsystem comprises a message broker for processing messages received from the message listener and transmitting them to an associated one of the plurality of connectors and a communication mapping for identifying which of the plurality of connectors is to be used for each message in accordance with an origin of the message.
US08446907B2	Medium access control method and apparatus in wireless distributed network A pair scheduling medium access control method used in a wireless network, comprises the steps of: checking, by a receiving node, whether a transmitting node has data packets to be subsequently sent, according to data packets received from the transmitting node; when the transmitting node has no data packets to be subsequently sent, checking whether the receiving node has data packets to be sent to the transmitting node or not; if the receiving node has data packets to be sent to the transmitting node, then adding a time period required for sending the data packets of the receiving node into an acknowledgement packet to be sent to the transmitting node; after the receiving node receives a Clear to Send packet sent from the transmitting node, sending the data packets in the receiving node to the transmitting node.
US08446888B2	Mobile communication systems and ranging methods thereof A mobile communication system, including: first and second nodes, wherein the first node includes: a first transmitter and a first receiver, and wherein the second node includes: a second receiver receiving a ranging signal from the first transmitter; a frequency synthesizer generating an internal signal in response to a sensing of the reception of the ranging signal; a digital circuit calculating a beat frequency by comparing the ranging signal to the internal signal and evaluating a time lapse from the reception of the ranging signal until the sensing of the reception of the ranging signal by using the beat frequency, wherein the time lapse is part of a response time of the second node; and a second transmitter providing the first receiver with the ranging signal that includes the response time of the second node.
US08446885B2	Method and apparatus of fast system selection in the TD-SCDMA and GSM multimode terminal Certain aspects of the present disclosure propose techniques and apparatus of fast system selection for a multimode terminal that can support both Time Division Synchronous Code Division Multiple Access (TD-SCDMA) technology and Global System for Mobile communications (GSM) technology.
US08446881B2	Base station device, and mobile station device Provided are a base station device and a mobile station device, which can lighten a cell-search processing. The base station device (100) includes a frame constitution unit (130) for forming a frame, in which a pilot symbol multiplied by a base station scrambling code assigned to that device and a plurality of sequences contained in the corresponding sequence set is arranged in at least the head or tail, and a radio transmission unit (155) for sending the formed frame. On the receiving side of the frame, the frame timing can be detected from the position of a pilot symbol contained in that frame. Since the base station scrambling code and the sequence set containing the sequences are made to correspond to each other, candidates can be narrowed to at most the base station scrambling codes of the number of the combinations of the sequences contained in the sequence set, by detecting the sequences multiplied by the pilot symbol, so that the cell search processing can be lightened.
US08446876B2	Maintaining point of presence at access switch for roaming clients in distributed wireless controller system Techniques are provided to enable support of roaming wireless devices in a network such that the wireless devices can keep their Internet Protocol (IP) addresses as they roam across mobility sub-domains. Traffic for a wireless device that roams is tunneled back to the access switch that serves the IP subnet which includes an IP address for the wireless device. Traffic is tunneled back to that access switch for the wireless device when the wireless device roams to another access switch which does not serve the IP subnet for the wireless device in the same mobility sub-domain and when the wireless device roams to a different mobility sub-domain, in which case the traffic is tunneled between tunneling endpoints in the respective mobility sub-domains.
US08446871B2	Method for transmitting and receiving data in wireless communication system The present invention relates to a method for transmitting and receiving data in a wireless communication system. The method for transmitting data in a wireless communication system, according to one aspect of the present invention, comprises a step in which a base station transmits downlink data to a first terminal which supports a first system via a first region of a frame, and transmits downlink data to a second terminal which supports a second system via a second region which follows the first region corresponding to a frame offset on a time axis, wherein the frame offset is an offset of the start point of the frame for the first system and the start point of the frame for the second system, and the first region includes 3+6 (the frame offset-1) OFDM symbols. Each independent claim uniquely identifies the distinct claimed features.
US08446867B2	Method of controlling uplink power in wireless communication system A method of controlling uplink power in a wireless communication system includes receiving a power control offset with respect to a data burst including user data from a base station, receiving a power control offset with respect to a control burst including control information from the base station, and controlling transmission power of the data burst and transmission power of the control burst according to the power control offset with respect to the data burst and the power control offset with respect to the control burst.
US08446859B2	Method for controlling uplink load in cell— FACH state A method for a user equipment (UE) to perform uplink re-access in a wireless communication system is provided. The method includes performing an uplink access procedure to establish a data transmission channel, checking whether or not the data transmission channel has been released, and delaying uplink re-access to the data transmission channel by a wait time when the data transmission channel has been released.
US08446855B2	Access point, wireless communication station, wireless communication system and wireless communication method An access point for establishing wireless connection with one or more wireless communication stations which can perform intermittent reception operation, based on a packet transmission system which allocates wireless bands by CSMA/CA, has: unit for describing, in a same packet or in respective packets, buffering information on a downlink packet addressed to a subordinate wireless communication station currently in an intermittent reception state, and transmission prohibition period information indicating a period where transmission from the subordinate wireless communication station is prohibited; unit for transmitting the instruction described packet, in which the description has been made, to the subordinate wireless communication station; unit for making a state of the access point transit to a Doze state immediately after the instruction described packet is transmitted, or when a predetermined number of downlink packets are transmitted; and unit for making a state of the access point transit to an Awake state when the transmission prohibition period elapses from the time of transmission of the packet in which the prohibition period information is described.
US08446853B2	Communication control apparatus, mobile terminal apparatus, and radio communication method Each mobile terminal apparatus measures receiving power or receiving quality of a signal received from a radio communication apparatus. If a plurality of mobile terminal apparatuses in which the receiving power or the receiving quality is lower than or equal to a determined threshold are detected, then a communication control apparatus selects a mobile terminal apparatus made to function as a relay station from the plurality of mobile terminal apparatuses detected on the basis of a result of measuring the receiving power or the receiving quality. The mobile terminal apparatus selected relays communication between the radio communication apparatus and a mobile terminal apparatus which does not function as a relay station.
US08446852B2	System and method for selecting an access link in a multi-hop relay network A method for selecting an access link in a multi-hop relay network includes determining a first effective spectrum efficiency value of a first connection between an endpoint and a base station. The first effective spectrum efficiency value is indicative of the spectrum efficiency from the endpoint to the base station when the first connection is used. The method also includes determining a second effective spectrum efficiency value of a second connection between the endpoint and the base station via a relay station. The second effective spectrum efficiency value is indicative of the spectrum efficiency from the endpoint to the base station when the second connection is used. The method also includes comparing the first and second effective spectrum efficiency values. The method further includes establishing a connection using one of the first or second connections based on the comparison of the first and second effective spectrum efficiency values.
US08446851B2	Method and device for transmitting a multimedia broadcast multicast service A method and a device for transmitting a multimedia broadcast multicast service are provided. The method includes one or more base stations encode and modulate the original multimedia broadcast multicast service data to be transmitted, and transmit the encoded and modulated multimedia broadcast multicast service data to one or more transparent relay stations belonging to the one or more base stations via a specified same time and frequency resource; the one or more transparent relay stations performs a relay process for the received multimedia broadcast multicast service data; then the one or more transparent relay stations and the one or more base stations transmit the multimedia broadcast multicast service data via the specified same time frequency resource simultaneously; and a terminal processes the received multimedia broadcast multicast service data to acquire the original multimedia broadcast multicast service data. The present invention can improve the MBMS service transmission performance in the next generation mobile communication system.
US08446849B2	Methods and apparatuses for power control Downlink power control commands are mapped to resources used for uplink communications within a wireless communication system. An eNode B receives communications from UEs and determines the resources used by the UEs for those transmissions on the uplink which are transmitted at non-optimum power levels. Power control messages are formulated wherein the location of the power control commands is mapped to particular resources used by the UEs for their uplink transmissions. This facilitates the eNode B to dynamically assign resources for the power control commands while permitting the UEs to decode the power control messages to adjust their power accordingly.
US08446839B2	Multi-dimensional rate adaptation in a communication system Performing wireless transmission of data over a wireless communication medium. A first data structure may be maintained which includes data rate information for transmission using a first number of streams. A second data structure may be maintained which includes data rate information for transmission using a second number of streams. Channel characteristics of the wireless communication medium may be determined. Channel characteristic information may be maintained based on the determined channel characteristics. Accordingly, a stream configuration and data rate may be determined based on the current channel characteristic information. Wireless transmission may be performed using the determined stream configuration and data rate. Determining channel characteristics, maintaining current channel characteristic information, determining a stream configuration and data rate, and performing wireless transmission may be dynamically performed a plurality of times during wireless data transmission.
US08446833B2	Measurement apparatus, displays and methods for indicating channel status The present invention is directed to a display for easily understanding time changes of communication conditions of channels using a plurality of sub-carriers. Layers corresponding to the plurality of channels are displayed along the time base in such a manner that width of each layer is determined in accordance with the number of sub-carriers used for each channel at any given time. Additionally, colors or patterns of each layer may be modified in accordance with modulation types or power levels of the corresponding layer. The relationship between colors or patterns of the layer and modulation types or power levels is displayed.
US08446828B2	Method and system for controlling communication network and router used in the network The present invention provides a communication network comprising a host network, a plurality of base stations, at least a mobile host capable of establishing links to the base stations, and a hierarchy-network of plural routers which are improved in transferring performances for ensuring continuous operations with a reduced load without packet loss.
US08446826B2	Congestion handling in a packet switched network domain A system and a method are described herein which provide for congestion handling in a packet switched network domain. In case of congestion, overload is measured by a core node, the data packets in proportion to the overload are marked and the signaled overload is stored. At least one egress node receives marked and not marked packets, decodes and counts the overload from the marked packets in a counting interval. Congestion report messages are sent to ingress nodes where flows are terminated.
US08446824B2	NUMA-aware scaling for network devices The present disclosure describes a method and apparatus for network traffic processing in a non-uniform memory access architecture system. The method includes allocating a Tx/Rx Queue pair for a node, the Tx/Rx Queue pair allocated in a local memory of the node. The method further includes routing network traffic to the allocated Tx/Rx Queue pair. The method may include designating a core in the node for network traffic processing. Of course, many alternatives, variations and modifications are possible without departing from this embodiment.
US08446821B2	Offering incentives under a flat rate charging system The invention describes a method of providing incentives to users via supporting mechanisms and algorithms for facilitating the move of DT traffic to off-peak hours. It proposes an efficient utilization of the network resources during peak hour under a flat-rate pricing scheme with the cooperation and blessing of the users and without adding complexity to billing.
US08446816B2	Control method for access gateway and communication system In order to provide a redundancy configuration to an access gateway apparatus in which a control plane and a user plane are separated, the access gateway apparatus includes: a control computer for receiving control signals from the networks to establish the communication path, thereby determining packet transfer information for the data; and a transfer computer for receiving the packet transfer information from the control computer to transfer the data through the communication path. The transfer computer includes: a plurality of first transfer computers for executing the transfer of the data; and a second transfer computer for taking over, when a fault occurs in any one of the plurality of first transfer computers. The control computer includes: a first control computer for processing the control signals received from the networks; and a second control computer for taking over, when a fault occurs in the first control computer.
US08446814B2	Radio communication system, radio communication device, radio communication method, and program A radio communication system according to the present invention has a plurality of radio communication devices that transmit and receive subframes one by one. Each of the plurality of radio communication devices includes a subframe generation unit that generates the subframe with a plurality of symbols and causes an effective symbol length of a last symbol of the subframe to be 1/X (where X is an integer equal to or greater than 2) and a transmission unit that transmits the subframe to another radio communication device.
US08446807B2	Optical information recording medium, reproducing device for optical information recording medium, control method and control program for the reproducing device, and medium with the control program recorded therein A super-resolution medium (1) has a medium identification information for specifying a type of medium recorded in a medium information area (3) by use of pre-pits having a length not shorter than a length of a resolution limit of an optical system in a reproducing device (10).
US08446801B2	Reading apparatus, reading method, program, and program recording medium A reading apparatus and method for reading data from a digital versatile disc includes a specification section configured to specify a predetermined position of content. A controller generates information indicating a predetermined portion from a position specified by the specification section. A storage section reads the predetermined portion from the digital versatile disc on the basis of the information generated by the generation section and stores the predetermined portion on a storage medium. A reading controller controls reading of data from the storage medium and the digital versatile disc.
US08446799B2	Container cap with a timer The invention is a container cap with a timer. The timer has a centralized activation pin or mechanism that activates the timer when the cap is secured to a container. The timer is used to determine how much time has passed since the cap was secured to the container. The timer cap of the present invention is streamlined, easier to use, more reliable, and has a lower manufacturing cost than currently available timer caps.
US08446798B2	Marine acoustic vibrator having enhanced low-frequency amplitude A seismic source includes a flextensional shell defining a longer axis and a shorter axis and at least one driver coupled to the flextensional shell proximate an end of the shorter axis. The seismic source may be a component of a marine seismic survey system. The marine seismic survey system may be utilized in a method of marine seismic surveying.
US08446797B2	Ocean bottom cable and sensor unit An underwater ocean bottom cable constructed of a series of axially aligned cable segments alternately arranged with sensor units. The sensor units include an outer housing with an interior cavity in which a sensor module is suspended by a cradle. Vanes on the sensor module protrude through axially elongated openings in the outer housing to dig into the seabed to provide good seismic coupling between the seabed and pressure sensors and motion sensors housed in the sensor module. The outer sensor housing is split into complementary portions that clamp firmly onto the ends of adjacent cable segments. Stress members, such as high modulus fiber ropes, extend out the ends of adjacent cable segments. Axial channels formed in the intervening outer sensor housing on opposite sides of the sensor module receive the stress members, which, along with the cradle, provide seismic isolation between the cable segments and the sensor modules.
US08446795B2	Device and method for protecting data in non-volatile memory Disclosed is a non-volatile memory data protecting device and method. The non-volatile memory data protecting device (200) that is used for protecting non-volatile memory data when a power is shut down in a system, may include a signal delay unit (230) to delay a drop in voltage of an input/output line, a power shutdown sensor (210) to sense power shutdown of a system, and a controller (220) to control the signal delay unit in response to whether the system is shut down.
US08446794B2	Refreshing data of memory cells with electrically floating body transistors A semiconductor device along with circuits including the same and methods of operating the same are described. The device comprises a memory cell including one transistor. The transistor comprises a gate, an electrically floating body region, and a source region and a drain region adjacent the body region. Data stored in memory cells of the device can be refreshed within a single clock cycle.
US08446793B2	Semiconductor memory device including clock control circuit and method for operating the same A clock control circuit includes a first clock buffer configured to toggle a first clock signal when a self-refresh exit command signal is inputted during a self-refresh operation; and a second clock buffer configured to toggle a second clock signal when the self-refresh operation is finished, the second clock being provided to internal circuits.
US08446786B2	Outputting a particular data quantization from memory The present disclosure includes methods, devices, and systems for outputting data particular quantization of data from memory devices and systems. Outputting data particular quantization of data can include enabling a particular one of a plurality of different quantizations of data. The particular one of the plurality of quantizations of data can then be output.
US08446785B2	Latency control circuit, latency control method thereof, and semiconductor memory device including the same A latency control circuit of a semiconductor device includes a phase detection unit configured to generate phase information regarding a phase difference between an external clock and an internal clock, a delay amount deciding unit configured to decide a latency delay amount based on path information of an input signal, a latency value of the input signal, and the phase information, and a latency delay unit configured to generate a latency signal by delaying the input signal according to the latency delay amount and the phase information to produce a delayed input signal and by synchronizing the delayed input signal with the internal clock.
US08446773B2	Memory system and programming method thereof Provided are a non-volatile memory system and a programming method thereof. The programming method of the non-volatile memory system includes adjusting a program-verify-voltage of a selected memory cell referring to program data to be written in an interfering cell configured to provide interference for the selected memory cell and programming the selected memory cell depending on the adjusted program-verify-voltage.
US08446771B2	NAND nonvolatile semiconductor memory device and write method for NAND nonvolatile semiconductor memory device According to one embodiment, a NAND nonvolatile semiconductor memory device comprises memory cell transistors and a write circuit. The memory cell transistors are arranged in a matrix in a column direction and in a row direction. Each of the memory cell transistors comprises a charge accumulation layer and a control gate electrode configured to control the charge accumulation state of the charge accumulation layer. The write circuit carries out write on the memory cell transistors. The memory cell transistors arranged in the same line include first memory cell transistors and second memory cell transistors that are smaller than the first memory cell transistors in the column direction. The write circuit carries out write on a predetermined first memory cell transistor and then on another first memory cell transistor. After the write on the another first memory cell transistor, the write circuit carries out write on the second memory cell transistor.
US08446767B2	Memories and their formation Memories and their formation are disclosed. One such memory has first and second memory cells at a first vertical level of the memory, first and second memory cells at a second vertical level of the memory, a first data line is selectively coupled to the first memory cells at the first and second vertical levels, and a second data line over the first data line is selectively coupled to the second memory cells at the first and second vertical levels.
US08446766B2	Nonvolatile memory device and related programming method A nonvolatile memory device comprises a memory cell array comprising a plurality of memory blocks each divided into a plurality of regions, and a control logic component. The control logic component selects a memory block to be programmed based on program/erase cycles of the memory blocks, and selects a program rule used to program the regions of the selected memory block.
US08446755B2	Multiple cycle memory write completion A memory system that reduces the memory cycle time of a memory cell by performing an incomplete write operation. The voltage on a storage node of the memory cell does not reach a full supply voltage during the incomplete write operation. The incomplete write operation is subsequently completed by one or more additional accesses, wherein the voltage on the storage node is pulled to a full supply voltage. The incomplete write operation may be completed by: subsequently writing the same data to the memory cell during an idle cycle; subsequently writing data to other memory cells in the same row as the memory cell; subsequently reading data from the row that includes the memory cell; or refreshing the row that includes the memory cell during an idle cycle. One or more idle cycles may be forced to cause the incomplete write operation to be completed in a timely manner.
US08446750B2	Memory module using optical signal Disclosed is a memory module which includes a memory chip; an external input/output terminal having an electrical signal input/output terminal and an optical signal input/output terminal; an optical signal processor configured to convert a first optical signal input through the optical signal input/output terminal into a first internal electrical signal and to convert a second internal electrical signal into a second optical signal; and a controller configured to provide a first data signal to the memory chip in response to a first external electrical signal input through the electrical signal input/output terminal or the first internal electrical signal and to transfer the second internal electrical signal to the optical signal processor or to output a second external electrical signal to the electrical signal input/output terminal in response to a second data signal output from the memory chip.
US08446746B2	Switch mode power supply controller with feedback signal decay sensing This invention relates to SMPS controllers employing primary side sensing. We describe a system for identifying a knee point in a sensing waveform, at which the output voltage of the SMPS may be sampled accurately on the primary side. The system identifies the knee point, broadly speaking, by tracking a portion of a power transformer voltage waveform, and samples the voltage waveform at the knee point to determine the SMPS output voltage. In preferred embodiments this technique is implemented using a circuit akin to a decaying peak detector, providing a timing signal indicating detection of the knee point. Sample/hold and error amplifier circuits may be employed to achieve output voltage regulation.
US08446741B1	Multiple driver power supply A power supply includes a power source having at least one power source output, and a plurality of drivers connected to the at least one power source output. At least one of the plurality of drivers includes a bridge network having a first switch, a second switch and a bridge network output. The first switch is connected between the at least one power source output and the bridge network output. The second switch is connected between the bridge network output and a ground. The bridge network further includes at least one control input connected to the second switch. The bridge network is adapted to change a state of the first switch based on a state of the second switch.
US08446740B2	Frame reinforcing structure and electronic apparatus including the structure Even in a location where, for example, a notch section is formed, sufficient rigidity is secured. For this purpose, in reinforcing structure of a front case, a horizontal hemming-bent section 18 formed by folding work is disposed not only in a notch section 9, but also in regions near neighborhood regions 15 and 16. As a result, in the neighborhood regions 15 and 16 of the notch section 9, there is formed a location in which the horizontal hemming-bent section 18 overlaps with a sidewall section 7 along a side end edge to thereby provide reinforcement. Hence, also in the notch section 9, sufficient rigidity is secured.
US08446733B2	Printed circuit board connection assembly In at least one embodiment, a vehicle power module comprises a first printed circuit board (PCB) including a first plurality of electrical components for providing a first voltage and a second voltage. The vehicle power module further comprises a second PCB including a second plurality of electrical components, the second PCB being spaced away from the first printed circuit board and a first connector assembly being coupled to the first PCB and to the second PCB for providing the first voltage to the second PCB. The vehicle power module further comprises a second connector assembly being coupled to the first PCB and to the second PCB for providing the second voltage to the second PCB. The first connector assembly provides the first voltage of up to 14V and the second connector assembly provides the second voltage of 200V or greater.
US08446726B2	Semiconductor module having an insert and method for producing a semiconductor module having an insert A power semiconductor module includes a module housing with a sealing ring on its top side. The sealing ring, in co-operation with the module housing and a printed circuit board attached to the power semiconductor module, hermetically seals feed-through locations at the top side of the module housing for feeding through electric terminals of the power semiconductor module. On the bottom side of the module housing a sealing ring hermetically seals the bottom side of the module housing.
US08446723B2	Wall mounted modular workstation system and method A wall mounted modular workstation system utilizes individually mountable modules, such as a keyboard/monitor module, a CPU module, and a medical supply module, that may be each be selectively positioned, mounted, rearranged, used or not used, and/or added or removed at a later time. The individually mountable modules are formed with mountings and vertically located openings for electrical lines and module to module ventilation, which reduce/prevent creation of dust during mounting or later modification of the system.
US08446719B2	Shock-absorbing device, storage medium holding device, and system for enclosing storage medium A shock-absorbing device is provided. The shock-absorbing device that absorbs shock to an object includes a shock-absorbing member that surrounds the object and is elastically deformable and a switching mechanism that switches the shock-absorbing member to a flat state where a gap between the shock-absorbing member and the object is small and the shock-absorbing member is flat, or a bent state where the shock-absorbing member is bent toward the outside of the object so that the gap increases.
US08446713B2	Waterproof button and electronic device using the same A button assembly applied on an electronic device is provided. An electronic device includes a housing and a button assembly. The housing defines two through holes and includes a first latching member. The button assembly includes a button body and a sealing frame. The button body includes two keycaps and a waterproof layer. Each of the keycaps extends through one of the through holes and is external to the housing. The waterproof layer is made of elastic waterproof material. The sealing frame includes a second latching member and is fixed to the housing. The waterproof layer corresponding to the first latching member and the second latching member is deformed, which creates waterproof seal.
US08446712B2	Portable electronic apparatus Disclosed is a portable electronic apparatus including a main body formed with an opening on a surface thereof; a plurality of connection ports disposed to be exposed through an opening of the main body; a door disposed on the opening to be rotated between a first configuration that covers the connection ports and a second configuration that opens the connection ports; a moving mechanism formed to move the connection ports in a direction to be protruded from the opening when the door is rotated to the second configuration, and configured to be operated in conjunction with being pressed of the door; and a locking mechanism formed such that the connection ports are locked in the second configuration in conjunction with the rotation of the door to limit the movement of the connection ports in a direction to be inserted into the opening.
US08446707B1	Circuitized substrate with low loss capacitive material and method of making same A low loss capacitance and low loss insulating dielectric material consisting of a thermosetting resin, thermoplastic resin, a cross-linker, and containing a quantity of ferroelectric ceramic nano-particles of barium titanate within. The combined low loss insulating dielectric layer and a low loss capacitive layer resulting from the material allows one continuous layer that can form internal capacitors and permit the modifying the dielectric thickness between signal layers for impedance matching within a layer of substrate. More significantly, the applied layer of low loss capacitive materials can simultaneously act as a capacitor as well as a dielectric for separation of signal layers.
US08446698B2	Magnetoresistive element, magnetic head assembly, and magnetic recording/reproducing apparatus A magnetoresistive element includes a lamination body and a pair of electrodes. The lamination body includes a first magnetic layer, a second magnetic layer, and a spacer layer. The spacer layer is provided between the first magnetic layer and the second magnetic layer and includes an oxide layer. The oxide layer includes at least one element selected from the group consisting of Zn, In, Sn, and Cd, and at least one element selected from the group consisting of Fe, Co, and Ni.
US08446684B2	Magnetic tape servo format allowing for increased linear tape density and systems thereof According to one embodiment, a magnetic recording tape includes a plurality of servo tracks, each servo track comprising a series of magnetically defined bars having an average height of between about 80 microns and about 120 microns, wherein an average stripe angle of the bars is between about 10° and about 25°. A stripe angle is measured between a longitudinal axis of each respective bar and a line oriented perpendicular to a direction of tape travel and parallel to a plane of the tape, wherein an average stripe width of the bars is between about 1.0 micron and about 2.2 microns and an average servo frame length of groups of the bars comprising a servo frame is between about 120 microns and about 180 microns. In more embodiments, a servo format and a system including a servo format are disclosed, along with other embodiments of magnetic tapes.
US08446683B2	Systems and methods for data pre-coding calibration Various embodiments of the present invention provide systems and methods for selecting between pre-coding and non-pre-coding. As an example, a data processing circuit is disclosed that includes: a first data detector circuit, a second data detector circuit, a first comparator circuit, a second comparator circuit, and a pre-code selection circuit. The first data detector circuit is selectably configurable to operate in a pre-coded state, and operable to apply a data detection algorithm on a data input to yield a first detected output. The second data detector circuit operable to apply the data detection algorithm to the data input to yield a second detected output without compensating for pre-coding. The first comparator circuit operable to compare the first detected output against a known input to yield a first comparison value, and the second comparator circuit operable to compare the second detected output against the known input to yield a second comparison value. The pre-code selection circuit is operable to determine a selectable configuration of the first data detector circuit based at least in part on the first comparison value and the second comparison value.
US08446672B2	Vibration reduction apparatus with a center of gravity adjusting member to reduce detection errors and optical apparatus A vibration reduction apparatus to stably control the driving of a vibration reduction optical system. A vibration reduction apparatus 30 has a fixed portion 31, a moving portion 25, 32, 34-1, 35-1 having a vibration reduction optical system 25 and moves in a plane perpendicular to an optical axis, relatively with respect to the fixed portion, a first detection portion 35 detects relative movement in a first direction D1 of the moving portion and the fixed portion, a second detection portion detects relative movement in a second direction D2 of the moving portion and the fixed portion, and a center of gravity adjusting member 36 disposed at the moving portion such that a center of gravity position G1 of the moving portion can be brought close to a crossing point C of each detection direction of the first detection portion and the second detection portion.
US08446667B2	Contact microscope using point source illumination An apparatus and a method of locating a specimen with a microscope, the microscope including two point light sources, a transparent specimen holder, a digital imaging device, a processor, and a display. The method includes sequentially illuminating the two point light sources through the specimen holder, across the specimen, and onto the digital imaging device to create shadows associated with each of the two point light sources. Optical images of the specimen are received on the digital imaging device associated with each shadow from the light sources, and a disparity signal is output containing a horizontal, vertical, and depth position of the specimen relative to the digital imaging device. Location of the specimen is determined based on the disparity signal. The specimen is allowed to move freely throughout the transparent specimen holder.
US08446660B2	Electrochromic display device Disclosed is an electrochromic display device, including, a first substrate, first electrodes provided on an upper surface of the first substrate, a second substrate provided to be opposed to the first substrate above the first substrate, the second substrate being formed of a transparent material, second electrodes provided on an undersurface of the second substrate, at least a part of the second electrodes being formed of a transparent electrode material, and an electrochromic composition layer provided between the first substrate and the second substrate. The electrochromic composition layer contains an electrochromic composition including a supporting electrolyte, a polar solvent, a leuco dye, a hydroquinone derivative and/or a catechol derivative, a ferrocene derivative, and a compound having a carbonyl group.
US08446659B2	Electrochromic device An electrochromic device includes a first electrode, a second electrode opposing the first electrode, a first electrochromic layer, a second electrochromic layer, and an electrolyte contacted with the first and second electrochromic layers. The first and second electrochromic layers are positioned between the first electrode and the second electrode and includes different electrochromic materials. The first and second electrochromic layers are simultaneously n-type or simultaneously p-type. The electrochromic device may display transparency and various colors in a single pixel without using plural sub-pixels.
US08446656B2	Method for generating two optical pulses with a variable, time pulse interval A method for generating two delayed pulses, in particular in terahertz spectroscopy and/or in pump-probe experiments, with the following method steps: generating a pulsed beam using a beam source, in particular a pulsed laser; dividing the pulsed beam, where a first partial beam contains a first pulse and a second partial beam contains a second pulse; directing the two pulses onto a respective target area, the first pulse directly reaching a first target area and the second pulse reaches a second target area after covering a delay path, and the two target areas may coincide; using the two pulses, in particular for a measuring method, where a time delay of the two pulses in the respective target area is adjustable by a pulse repetition rate of the pulsed beam.
US08446654B2	Holographic reconstruction system and method with an enlarged visibility region A holographic reconstruction system and a corresponding holographic reconstruction method are disclosed. The holographic reconstruction system comprises light source means for providing substantially coherent light, reconstruction means for holographically reconstructing a scene and for producing a visibility region from where the viewer can view the holographically reconstructed scene, and deflection means for positioning the visibility region. The aim of the invention is to improve the visibility region of a holographic reconstruction system. To achieve this aim, the holographic reconstruction system comprises deflection drive means for continuously rotating or pivoting the deflection means about a rotational axis at a rotary frequency, thereby displacing the visibility region. The invention allows one or more viewers to view the scene reconstructed by means of the holographic reconstruction system from different positions while facilitating the implementation of the holographic reconstruction system with conventional means.
US08446652B2	Image quality monitoring and tagging at scan time A method of processing a plurality of source documents into scanned images of the source documents includes evaluating the plurality of source documents to thereby assign one or more source document quality metrics indicative of source document image quality. The plurality of source documents are comprised by a project and the source documents of the project are from a common source document type. The source document types include, for example, book pages, paper documents, microfilm documents, machine-printed documents, handwritten documents, print media documents, public records, microfiche documents, and/or the like. The method also includes scanning each of the plurality of source documents to thereby create one or more electronic image files comprising the scanned images and coupling the source document quality metrics to the electronic image files such that the source document quality metrics are thereafter accessible for post-production activities.
US08446641B2	Image processing apparatus and image processing method An image processing apparatus includes a correcting unit that performs enlarging or reducing correction on an image to be processed by determining an arrangement of pixels that are to be added to or deleted from gradational image data of the image to be processed based on an angle at which the pixels are to be arranged with respect to a horizontal direction of the image to be processed or with respect to a vertical direction of the image to be processed, and a pixel array control unit that changes the angle at which the pixels are arranged based on a test image of the image data to be processed after being corrected by the correcting unit.
US08446639B2	Information processing method, information processing apparatus, and computer program Characteristic data representing the metallic luster characteristic of each of a plurality of kinds of printing materials to be used by a printing apparatus is acquired. On the basis of a stimulus value represented by the acquired characteristic data corresponding to each of the plurality of kinds of printing materials, an overlay order is determined to form an image on the printing medium by overlaying a printing material having a smaller stimulus value on a printing material having a large stimulus value. The print data is generated in accordance with the determined overlay order.
US08446637B2	Estimation of ink/toner coverage when printing In summary, the present invention provides a method, apparatus and program product for calculating an estimate of the amount of toner coverage required for printing print data defined in a compressed data stream. The estimate is obtained with reduced processing by obtaining coverage data from a partially decompressed formed of the data stream and using this to obtain the coverage estimate, thus removing the need to do a full de-compression of the data stream. For example the coverage data is a count of toned pixels for at least one intensity level.
US08446621B2	System, method and apparatus using a locked print job ticket A method, apparatus, and system for outputting a locked print job by a printing device connected to a client device over a network. The method includes transmitting, by the client device, a request to print the locked print job, which includes print data that is prohibited from being printed until authentication information is entered into the printing device. The printing device receives the request to print the locked print job. The locked print job and the authentication information are stored in a memory. A job ticket that provides the client device access to manage the locked print job stored in the memory is generated. The job ticket is transmitted to, and received by, the client device. The locked print job is output when the authentication information is entered into the printing device or the locked print job is remotely released by the client device using the job ticket.
US08446617B2	Image forming system, image forming apparatus, and job issuing method An image forming system including a plurality of image forming apparatuses installed in a plurality of areas and in communication with one another via a network includes a management unit configured to manage level information indicating a level related to information management with respect to each of the plurality of areas, and a job issuing unit configured to issue a job, including data for image formation, for causing at least one of the plurality of image forming apparatuses to perform image formation. The image forming system identifies at least one image forming apparatus that can be selected as a destination of the job issued by the job issuing unit based on the level information managed by the management unit.
US08446616B2	Image-forming apparatus, image-processing method, and control program for executing the same An image-processing method for an image-forming apparatus communicating with a peripheral device is disclosed. The method includes scanning a document; generating data corresponding to the scanned document; obtaining data held by the peripheral device; forming display data for displaying the generated data and the data obtained from the peripheral device in association with each other; and sending the formed display data to an external information-processing apparatus.
US08446607B2	Method and system for policy based monitoring and blocking of printing activities on local and network printers A method and system for data loss prevention controls and protects sensitive data from being printed in an unauthorized manner. A method for controlling printing activities implemented in a computer system comprises intercepting a print job comprising print data intended for a printer driver, delaying performance of the print job, analyzing content of the print data to determine whether to allow or cancel the print job based on a security policy, and resuming or canceling the print job based on the analysis of the content of the print data.
US08446604B2	Application management system, application management method, program, and storage medium In an application management system for managing a plurality of applications that are installed in an image processing device, in the case where an instruction of execution start is received, if an application execution unit has already executed an incompatible application that would cause an unintended operation of the application whose execution is to be started if concurrently executed with another application, and a warning screen about the application execution start is output.
US08446603B2	Systems and methods for optimizing function based object operations in interpreted page description languages Methods for optimizing the processing of function based object operations in interpreted page description languages are presented. In some embodiments, the method comprises parsing the PDL document to identify a function based operator in the PDL document; generating program code in a programming language, wherein the program code is functionally equivalent to the function based operator; compiling the program code to generate a shared object and dynamically linking the software that performs the document processing functions to the entry point of the shared object; and invoking the shared object associated with the function based operator when the function based operator is processed.
US08446589B2	Residual intensity modulation (RIM) control loop in a resonator fiber-optic gyroscope (RFOG) Systems and methods for reducing intensity modulation-induced rotation rate measurement error in a resonator optical gyroscope. The method includes tapping an intensity modulated light beam, directing a portion of the tapped light beam toward a photo detector, outputting from the photo detector a signal proportional to the amplitude variation of the light beam, amplifying the signal, and then providing the signal to the intensity modulator as a control input. Intensity modulation-induced error is reduced by an amount proportional to the gain of the feedback loop.
US08446587B2	Flash photolysis system A pump-probe LFP system is adapted to a substantially lower energy requirement of a pump light source and a probe light source. The LFP system includes a photonic crystal fiber based probe light source, a pump light source adapted to produce light pulses with nanojoule or higher energy, a main laser source to generate a first beam portion to the probe light source and a second beam portion to the pump light source, a delay generator, computer, an optical modulator, and a detector.
US08446583B2	Light focusing unit and spectrum measuring apparatus having the same A light focusing unit and a spectrum measuring apparatus having the same are provided. The light focusing unit includes a light source section configured to emit light, a light guiding section configured to guide the light emitted from the light source section along multiple parallel light incidence paths, and a light focusing section configured to direct the light from the guiding section to be incident on a test position of a sample at different incidence angles.
US08446580B2	System for generating Raman vibrational analysis signals A system for generating signals for Raman vibrational analysis, particularly for a CARS microscope or spectroscope of an external specimen, the system including a laser source capable of emitting at least one fundamental optical pulse in a first band of fundamental frequencies including at least one first and one second fundamental frequencies; a second-harmonic generating system including at least one nonlinear optical crystal for converting the at least one fundamental optical pulse into a first and a second-harmonic optical pulse; and a Raman vibrational analysis apparatus capable of receiving the first and second second-harmonic pulses and direct them toward the specimen.
US08446578B2	Defect inspection apparatus, defect inspection method and method of inspecting hole pattern A defect inspection apparatus for inspecting a defect of a substrate as an object to be inspected comprises an illumination optical system for illuminating the substrate, a receiving optical system for receiving diffracted light from the substrate and a polarizing element provided in either one of the illumination optical system or the receiving optical system.
US08446575B1	Imaging doppler velocimeter with downward heterodyning in the optical domain In a Doppler velocimeter, the incoming Doppler-shifted beams are heterodyned to reduce their frequencies into the bandwidth of a digital camera. This permits the digital camera to produce at every sampling interval a complete two-dimensional array of pixel values. This sequence of pixel value arrays provides a velocity image of the target.
US08446574B2	Velocity measuring device and method The velocity calculating device includes a semiconductor laser for emitting a laser beam at a web that is the subject to be measured; a photodiode for converting into an electric signal the optical power of the semiconductor laser; a lens for focusing and emitting the beam from the semiconductor laser and for focusing the return light from the web and injecting it into the semiconductor laser; a laser driver for driving the semiconductor laser; a current-voltage converting/amplifying portion for converting the output current from the photodiode into a voltage and then amplifying; a filter portion for removing the carrier wave from the output voltage of the current-voltage converting/amplifying portion; a signal extracting portion for counting the number of interference waveforms included in the output voltage of the filter portion; and a calculating portion for calculating the velocity of the web based on the counting result of the signal extracting portion.
US08446573B1	Focusing methods and optical systems and assemblies using the same A method for controlling focus of an optical system. The method includes providing a pair of incident light beams to a conjugate lens. The incident light beams are directed by the lens to converge toward a focal region. The method also includes reflecting the incident light beams with an object positioned proximate to the focal region. The reflected light beams return to and propagate through the lens. The method also includes detecting a phase of each of the reflected light beams and determining a degree-of-focus of the optical system with respect to the object by comparing the phases of the reflected light beams.
US08446568B2	Lithographic apparatus and device manufacturing method A lithographic projection apparatus includes a support structure configured to hold a patterning device, the patterning device configured to pattern a beam of radiation according to a desired pattern; a substrate table configured to hold a substrate; a projection system configured to project the patterned beam onto a target portion of the substrate; a liquid supply system configured to provide liquid to a space between the projection system and the substrate; and a shutter configured to isolate the space from the substrate or a space to be occupied by a substrate.
US08446563B2	Lithographic apparatus and device manufacturing method A porous member is used in a liquid removal system of an immersion lithographic projection apparatus to smooth uneven flows. A pressure differential across the porous member may be maintained at below the bubble point of the porous member so that a single-phase liquid flow is obtained. Alternatively, the porous member may be used to reduce unevenness in a two-phase flow.
US08446562B2	Actuator system using multiple piezoelectric actuators A positioning system adjusts a position of an optical element within an optical device, such as a variable-zoom lens system. A frame supports the optical element, and an elongated surface of each of one or more elongated support structures supports the frame. The frame also supports one or more piezoelectric actuators that, respectively, engage one of the elongated support structures. A controller supplies a control signal to activate each of the one or more actuator modules. Upon activation, a piezoelectric element of each of the activated actuator modules applies a combination of a first force and a second force to an elongated surface of the respective elongated support structures to position the frame along the elongated surface. The combination of forces applied by the piezoelectric element advances the piezoelectric actuator module along the elongated support structure.
US08446561B2	Lithographic apparatus and a method of measuring flow rate in a two phase flow A lithographic apparatus is disclosed that includes a conduit for two phase flow therethrough. A flow separator is provided to separate the two phase flow into a gas flow and a liquid flow. A flow meter measures the flow rate of fluid in the gas flow or the liquid flow.
US08446553B2	In-plane switching mode liquid crystal display device and method of manufacturing the same The present invention relates to an in-plane switching mode LCD, in which data electrodes and common electrodes in a unit pixel have the same light transmitting area to reduce the luminance difference according to positive or negative polarity of an applied DC voltage. The in-plane switching mode LCD comprises a first substrate; a plurality of data lines on the first substrate; data electrodes and common electrodes alternately formed in an unit pixel area, the data electrodes having a first transmittance area and the common electrodes having a second transmittance area, wherein the first transmittance area equals the second transmittance area; and a shielding layer formed under outer most ones of the common electrodes, and wherein at least one of the data electrodes has a first width, and at least one of the common electrodes has a second width, the second width being greater than the first width.
US08446550B2	Automatic darkening and glare reducing liquid crystal mirror An automatic darkening liquid crystal mirror for vehicles, the mirror having a transparent front substrate and a back substrate with a reflective or transflective mirrored coating. The front and back substrates are spaced apart to define a liquid crystal cell between the substrates that is filled with a liquid crystal fluid incorporating a dichroic dye. A conductive thin film is applied onto the interior surface of the front substrate, and the mirrored coating of the back substrate also is conductive. An alignment compound is deposited on opposite sides of and bounding the liquid crystal cell. An electronic control circuit is adapted to apply selectively a voltage signal to the conductive think film and the conductive mirrored coating to affect the transmittance of the liquid crystal fluid, and thereby the darkness of the mirror, in response to light intensity sensed by a headlight sensor coupled to the electronic control circuit.
US08446541B2	Portable computer Disclosed is a portable computer that includes: a receiving portion configured to receive a liquid crystal display panel, and a light guide plate; optical sheets; a screen case combined with edges of a liquid crystal display module which includes the liquid crystal display panel, the light guide plate, the optical sheets, and the receiving portion; and a camera disposed at the center of an edge of the screen case which is combined with the liquid crystal display module. The camera is inserted into a hole, which is formed to penetrate through the screen case and liquid crystal display module, and is combined with the screen case.
US08446537B2	Liquid crystal display device having resin layer contacts a transparent conductive film In an active matrix type liquid crystal display device, a plurality of pixels connected to thin film transistors (TFTs) are arranged in an active matrix form in a pixel portion, and driven by a driver circuit portion. The pixel portion and the driver circuit portion are formed on one of a pair of insulating substrates. A liquid crystal material is interposed between the insulating substrates. An black matrix material made of an organic resin is formed over the one insulating substrate in which the driver circuit portion has been formed. An flat film is formed on the black matrix material.
US08446536B2	Pixels having extra-planar fringe field amplifiers for multi-domain vertical alignment liquid crystal displays A multi-domain vertical alignment liquid crystal display that does not require physical features on the substrate (such as protrusions and ITO slits) is disclosed. Each pixel of the MVA LCD is subdivided into color components, which are further divided into color dots. Each pixel also contains extra-planar fringe field amplifiers that separate the color dots of a pixel. The voltage polarity of the color dots and extra-planar fringe field amplifiers are arranged so that fringe fields in each color dot causes multiple liquid crystal domains in each color dot. Specifically, the color dots and fringe field amplifying regions of the display are arranged so that neighboring polarized elements have opposite polarities.
US08446528B2	Display apparatus A display apparatus transmits a picture acquisition request for getting picture information to an external image apparatus connected through a predetermined interface to the display apparatus from the external image apparatus at predetermined intervals and gets a plurality of pieces of picture information from the external image apparatus to be displayed. The plurality of pictures may be switched at predetermined intervals, for example, to be displayed, so that the plurality of pictures may be displayed in a so-called slide show manner. A plurality of pictures for thumbnail may be produced from the plurality of pieces of picture information and be arranged together to be displayed in one picture screen of a display device.
US08446517B2	Imaging apparatus and method The present invention relates to an imaging apparatus and method capable of improving operability regarding a zooming operation and suppressing the photographing of an unstably focused image. A zoom information acquisition section 201 acquires the information specifying both a zoom direction of zoom-in or zoom-out and a zoom speed. A subject information acquisition section 202 acquires the information, which specifies the coordinate position of the upper left corner of an AF tracking frame and the area of the AF tracking frame, regarding a detected subject. A threshold value setting section 203 sets the value of a predetermined zoom speed as a threshold value for determining whether or not to release a subject tracking AF function. A switching determination section 204 determines whether or not to release the subject tracking AF function on the basis of the zoom speed acquired by the zoom information acquisition section 201 and the threshold value set by the threshold value setting section 203.
US08446516B2	Generating and outputting video data from refocusable light field video data Systems and methods are directed to acquiring, generating, manipulating and/or editing refocusable video data/frames. The refocusable video frames may be light field video frames that may be focused and/or refocused after acquisition or recording of such video frames. In one aspect, a method comprises: selecting a first key frame, wherein the first key frame corresponds to one of a plurality of refocusable light field video frames; selecting a second key frame, wherein the second key frame corresponds to one of the plurality of refocusable light field video frames which is temporally spaced apart from the first key frame such that a plurality of refocusable light field video frames are temporally disposed between the first and the second key frames; determining virtual focus parameters for the first key frame and the second key frame; and generating video data.
US08446509B2	Methods of creating a virtual window The systems and methods for real time transmission of an image from an image sensor having a field of view to a processor for selectively adjusting a resolution of the image as a function of a viewer's focus point.
US08446501B2	Image pickup apparatus with focus detection The image pickup apparatus includes an image pickup element 106 including image pickup pixels photoelectrically converting an object image formed by a light flux from an image pickup optical system 202 and focus detection pixels photoelectrically converting two images formed by two divided light fluxes of the light flux from the image pickup optical system. The apparatus further includes an image generator 112 generating an image based on first pixel signals, a focus controller 112 performing focus control for the image pickup optical system based on second pixel signals. A signal processor 112 outputs signals read out from the image pickup pixels after each charge accumulation operation of the image pickup pixels for a predetermined time period as the first pixel signals, and outputs signals obtained by plural charge accumulation operations of the focus detection pixels as the second pixel signals.
US08446500B2	Solid-state imaging device having photoelectric converting portions and first and second transfer portions A solid-state imaging device 1 is provided with a plurality of photoelectric converting portions 3 and first and second shift registers 9, 13. Each photoelectric converting portion 3 has a photosensitive region 15 which generates a charge according to incidence of light and which has a planar shape of a nearly rectangular shape composed of two long sides and two short sides, and a potential gradient forming region 17 which forms a potential gradient increasing along a predetermined direction parallel to the long sides forming the planar shape of the photosensitive region 15, in the photosensitive region, 15. The plurality of photoelectric converting portions 3 are juxtaposed along a direction intersecting with the predetermined direction. The first and second shift registers 9, 13 acquire charges transferred from the respective photoelectric converting portions 3 and transfer them in the direction intersecting with the predetermined direction to output them. This achieves the solid-state imaging device capable of quickly reading out the charge generated in the photosensitive region, without complicating image processing.
US08446496B2	Knee correction device and knee correction method According to one embodiment, a knee correction device includes a generator, a detector, a mixer, and a calculator. The generator generates a luminance signal from R, G, and B color signals. The detector detects a color signal having a maximum value among the R, G, and B color signals. The mixer mixes the luminance signal generated by the generator and the color signal detected by the detector, at a predetermined mixing ratio. The supply module supplies a coefficient for performing level compression on each of the R, G, and B color signals, based on an output of the mixer. The calculator performs level compression on the R, G, and B color signals by subjecting the coefficient supplied by the supply module and the R, G, and B color signals to a calculation.
US08446493B2	Image processing apparatus, imaging apparatus, computer readable storage medium storing image processing program, and image processing method for performing color processing on a raw image In order to effectively and efficiently perform noise reduction by smoothing, an image processing apparatus of the present invention includes an image inputting part inputting an image in which a first pixels and a second pixels indicating mutually different color components are included and at least the second pixels are arranged at discrete positions, a color estimating part estimating first color component data at the second pixels based on first color component data of the first pixels, a calculating part calculating color-difference data at the second pixels based on the first color component data at the second pixels and second color component data of the second pixels, a smoothing part performing smoothing processing on a discrete color-difference image formed of the color-difference data being calculated at the second pixels, and a color-difference estimating part estimating color-difference data at pixels other than the second pixels on the input image.
US08446492B2	Image capturing device, method of searching for occlusion region, and program An image capturing device is equipped with an external parameter estimating unit for estimating external parameters using a distance image obtained by a TOF camera and a luminance image obtained by a CCD camera, a corresponding pixel determining unit for determining a correspondence relationship between pixel positions in the distance image and pixel positions in the luminance image, using previously stored internal parameters of the TOF camera and the CCD camera or the CCD camera, and the external parameters, and an occlusion searching unit for searching for an occlusion region in the distance image, using the correspondence relationship between pixel positions in the distance image and pixel positions in the luminance image.
US08446491B2	Image capture device, method of controlling the same, and image capture system An image capture device of the present invention has an image shooting function, and is connectable to an external storage device. The image capture device includes: a memory in which image data obtained by image shooting is stored; a transmission unit for transmitting several pieces of image data stored in the memory at a time to the external storage device; and an allocation unit for allocating the several pieces of image data transmitted to the external storage device to one or a plurality of directories according to a certain index.
US08446488B2	Method and system for focal length-specific color enhancement A method of controlling a digital photographing device, the method including analyzing the color distribution of an input image, determining an enhancement color from the input image according to a predetermined criterion based on the analyzed color distribution, and enhancing the enhancement color in the input image. The predetermined criterion may be that a color distributed at a ratio higher than a predetermined ratio is determined as the enhancement color. The predetermined enhancement color may further depend on the focal length of the image.
US08446482B2	Image processing apparatus and method An image processing device including an encoder processor and a decoder circuit. The encoder processor receives image data from a sensor and encodes the data with padding data if a series of bytes indicative of command sequence occur within the image data. The decoder circuit receives the image data and the padding data, and removes the padding data from within the image data.
US08446481B1	Interleaved capture for high dynamic range image acquisition and synthesis A computing device may capture a first image using a first exposure length. It may be determined that x pixels in the captured first image are properly-exposed and that y pixels in the captured first image are improperly-exposed. Based on the y improperly-exposed pixels, a second exposure length may be determined. A second image may be captured using the second exposure length. The second image may include y′ pixels that correspond to the y improperly-exposed pixels in the first image. At least some of the x properly-exposed pixels from the first image may be combined with at least some of the y′ pixels from the second image to form a composite image.
US08446470B2	Combined RGB and IR imaging sensor An imaging system suitable for use in a vehicle includes an imaging sensor having a two-dimensional array of photosensing elements, an image processor for processing image data captured by the imaging sensor, and a display for displaying images responsive to the image processor. The array has a plurality of sub-arrays, with each of the sub-arrays having a first pixel sensing primarily a first color, a second pixel sensing primarily a second color, a third pixel sensing primarily a third color and a fourth pixel sensing primarily infrared radiation. The image processor processes the output of the fourth pixel to determine an infrared component of the imaged scene and subtracts the infrared component from the outputs of the first, second and third pixels to obtain a more accurate or true color response for the pixels and to limit or avoid infrared color wash-out.
US08446466B2	Component mounting method and component mounter A component mounting method includes: identifying, by image processing, a dark color region from image data obtained by imaging a two-dimensional region including a pickup face of a component to be picked up; deriving position data indicating a position of the identified dark color region; and deriving, based on the derived position data, a pickup position indicating a position at which a nozzle picks up the component. The imaging is performed by an imaging unit, and the dark color region indicates a dark color portion between electrodes of the component.
US08446459B2	Video communication method, device, and system A video communication method, device, and system are provided, which relate to the filed of video communications, so as to solve problems that currently scenes of two parties of communication need special arrangement to improve sense of reality and scene contents cannot be displayed in a 3D video mode. Therefore, scenes of two parties of communication do not need special arrangement to improve the sense of reality of users, and the scene contents can be displayed in a 3D video mode. The video communication method, device, and system are applicable to video communication such as common video chat, video telephony, and video conference.
US08446458B2	Miniaturized all-reflective holographic fourier transform imaging spectrometer based on a new all-reflective interferometer A miniaturized Holographic Fourier transform imaging spectrometer HFTIS, made from simple all-reflective components and with no moving parts, is provided. This HFTIS includes an all-reflective two beam interferometer, which provides two interfering beams; a two-dimensional detector array to detect the interference pattern created by the beams; a computing machine for correcting the distortions in the pattern and calculating the spectrum from the corrected interferogram. The same principle can be used to build spot spectrometers, line-scan imaging spectrometers (also called array spectrometers or line-scan hyperspectral cameras) as well as two-dimensional instantaneous imaging spectrometers (also called staring hyperspectral cameras). In all variants of HFTIS that can be built using this invention, the wave-signal collecting element can also be built of all-reflective components. Digital correction can be utilized to straighten the interference fringes and to compensate for the impact of used lenses and other refractive components, to produce correct spectra after Fourier Transformation.
US08446457B2	System for providing camera views A camera system having at least one self-contained, universally mountable camera module having a housing and a plurality of cameras disposed within the confines of the housing, each camera having a predetermined field of view to the exterior of the housing that when combined provide at least a 180 degree view about the housing. The system also includes communication elements within the housing to provide electrical communication between the plurality of cameras and a position external to the module and at least one receiver that receives the camera views from the module that is operable by a user to view one or more camera views at a time as individual views as well as a composite view of at least two or more camera views.
US08446452B2	Video rate adaptation for congestion control Exchanging of videoconference data between a first endpoint and a second endpoint via a network includes receiving, at the first endpoint, statistical data relating to transmission of first videoconference data. In particular, the first videoconference data is data that is transmitted previously from the first endpoint to the second endpoint via the network, and the statistical data relates to network performance characteristics during transmission of the first videoconference data. An approximately optimized data transmission rate for the network performance characteristics is determined, based on the statistical data. The output bit rate of a video encoder associated with the first endpoint is adjusted, such that second videoconference data, relating to the same videoconference at a time that is later than the first videoconference data, is encoded to provide output data at an adjusted output bit rate for being transmitted via the network at approximately the optimized data transmission rate.
US08446446B2	Optical device, optical scanning apparatus and image forming apparatus An optical device includes at least one surface emitting laser device having a dielectric film for causing a central portion of a light emitting region to have a comparatively higher reflectivity than a peripheral portion; a light receiving element disposed, with respect to a first direction, on one side to the surface emitting laser device; and a transparent member disposed in a path of light emitted from the surface emitting laser device and configured to reflect a portion of the light toward the light receiving element as monitoring light. The central portion has shape anisotropy in which a width measured on a line extending in the first direction and passing through the center of the light emitting region is smaller than a width measured on a line extending in a second direction, which is perpendicular to the first direction, and passing through the center of the light emitting region.
US08446440B2	Optical printers One aspect of this invention relates to an illumination device for an optical printer, the illumination device comprising: a first array of light sources comprising a plurality of light source elements that are each operable to emit light within a red band of the visible electromagnetic spectrum; a second array of light sources comprising a plurality of light source elements that are each operable to emit light within a blue band of the visible electromagnetic spectrum; and a third array of light sources comprising a plurality of light source elements that are each operable to emit light within a green band of the visible electromagnetic spectrum; wherein said first, second and third arrays of light sources are generally linearly arranged along respective substantially parallel notional lines on a substrate; and said plurality of light source elements of each said array are arranged such that respective adjacent light source elements of said plurality are offset from one another with respect to the associated notional line.
US08446438B2	Method, device and system for transmitting image data over serial signals Some demonstrative embodiments of the invention include methods, devices and/or systems to transfer data over serial signals, for example, a method of transferring over serial signals data representing an image to be reproduced, the method including generating a set of one or more data signals including image data received at an image data rate, and generating a transmission clock signal having a clock cycle during which the set of image data signals includes image data of more than one pixel of the image to be reproduced. Other embodiments are described and claimed.
US08446435B2	Display device A display device has an improved white balance in white display and excellent display quality, and includes a plurality of pixels each including four sub-pixels More specifically, the display device includes a plurality of pixels each including: a sub-pixel pair of a red (R) sub-pixel and a green (G) sub-pixel; and a sub-pixel pair of a blue (B) sub-pixel and a green (G) sub-pixel, wherein in most of the pixels, a product of an aperture area per sub-pixel and a light amount per unit aperture area, in each of the red (R) sub-pixel and the blue (B) sub-pixel, is approximately two times that of the green (G) sub-pixel.
US08446429B2	Layer structure providing method for converting and displaying background screen based on data storage information and background screen converting method therefor, and mobile terminal for the same Disclosed herein are a layer structure providing method for converting and displaying a background screen based on data storage information and a background screen converting method therefor, and a mobile terminal for the same. The providing method includes providing and configuring a background layer to match to one region on an application-by-application basis within the mobile terminal, and displaying and providing the data storage information on the application-by-application basis, as background, to the region; and providing and matching a visual item layer to each region provided from the background layer, and displaying and providing a value based on the data storage information of the region matching to each application.
US08446417B2	Discrete graphics system unit for housing a GPU A DGS (discrete graphics system) unit is disclosed. The DGS unit includes a system chassis configured to house a GPU, the GPU for executing 3-D graphics instructions, and a GPU mounting unit coupled to the system chassis and configured to receive the GPU. A serial bus connector is coupled to the chassis and is coupled to the GPU mounting unit, wherein the serial bus connector is configured removably connect the GPU to a computer system to enable the GPU to access the computer system via the serial bus connector and execute the 3-D graphics instructions for the computer system. A power supply coupled to the system chassis for supplying power to the GPU independent of the computer system.
US08446410B2	Apparatus for generating volumetric image and matching color textured external surface Embodiments of the invention provide systems and methods for generating combined image data representing a volumetric image of a subject and a color textured external surface of the subject. According to one embodiment, two-dimensional image data of a surface of the subject can be obtained from a two-dimensional imager. Volumetric data of the subject can be obtained from a volumetric scanner. The two-dimensional imager can have a known optical property and physical position relative to the volumetric scanner. External surface mesh data can be generated based on the volumetric data. The two-dimensional image data can be mapped to the external surface mesh data based on the known physical position of the two-dimensional imager and the volumetric scanner. Display image data including the two-dimensional image data mapped to the external surface map data combined with the volumetric data can be generated and displayed.
US08446409B2	Method and apparatus for rendering computer graphic images of translucent and opaque objects A method and an apparatus provided for rendering three-dimensional computer graphic images which include both translucent and opaque objects. A list of objects which may be visible in the images is determined and for each pixel in the list a determination is made as to whether or not the object in the list may be visible at that pixel. A data tag is stored for a transparent object determined to be visible at the pixel, and the data tag and object data are passed to a texturing and shading unit when the translucent object is determined to be overwriting the location in a tag buffer already occupied by another data tag.
US08446408B2	3D-2D adaptive shape model supported motion compensated reconstruction A method for generating or reconstruction of three-dimensional (3D) images corresponding to a structure of interest (60) including: acquiring a plurality of image projections corresponding to a structure of interest (60); applying a shape model (66) at a selected 3D seed point (64); and adapting the shape model (66) to represent the structure of interest (60), yielding an adapted shape model. A system for generation and reconstruction of three-dimensional (3D) images. The system (10) includes: an imaging system (12) configured to provide projection data corresponding to a structure of interest (60); and a controller (50) in operable communication with the imaging system (50). The controller (50) is configured to: receive the projection data, (64); apply a shape model (66) at a selected 3D seed point (64); and adapt the shape model (66) to represent the structure of interest (60), thereby yielding an adapted shape model.
US08446398B2	Power conservation for mobile device displays Power conservation for mobile device displays. An embodiment of a method includes generating display images for a display screen of a mobile device, and transitioning the mobile device to a reduced power consumption state. The reduced power consumption state includes reducing one or more illumination factors for the display screen; and reducing one or more animation factors for the display screen.
US08446382B2	Information processing apparatus and input control method An information processing apparatus includes a fingerprint sensor that detects movement of a finger, and a transforming unit that transforms the movement of the finger detected by the fingerprint sensor into an input event corresponding to an operational instruction to an application that runs on the information processing apparatus. When an amount of movement of the finger detected by the fingerprint sensor is greater than a threshold for the amount of movement, the transforming unit inhibits transformation of the movement of the finger detected by the fingerprint sensor into the input event.
US08446378B2	Athletic performance user interface for mobile device Systems and techniques for the collection and display of athletic information. Athletic data relating to a single person or group of people is collected at a central location, and subsequently displayed at a desired remote location or on a mobile device so that the person or people can review and critique their performance. In addition, athletic data for multiple persons can be collected at a central location, and subsequently displayed to a user at a desired remote location or on a mobile device, so that the user can compare his or her athletic activities to others.
US08446374B2	Detecting a palm touch on a surface The detection of a palm touch on a touch surface, such as a mouse surface, is disclosed. A palm touch can be determined as the touch on the touch surface that has a radius exceeding a predetermined palm touch radius. Alternatively, a palm touch can be determined as the touch on the touch surface located beyond the expected distance between finger touches.
US08446373B2	Method and apparatus for extended adjustment based on relative positioning of multiple objects contemporaneously in a sensing region A touch sensor device and method is provided that facilitates improved device usability. Specifically, the device and method provide improved user interface functionality by facilitating extended parameter adjustment using proximity sensor devices. The device includes a processing system and a sensor adapted to detect objects in a sensing region. The device is adapted to provide user interface functionality by determining a measurement descriptive of a location of a first object relative to a location of a second object, and applying a first rate for adjusting a visual parameter such that the visual parameter adjusts even if the first object is stationary relative to the second object, where the first rate is based on the measurement. By so providing a first rate for adjusting a parameter, the device facilitates extended user input.
US08446371B2	Method and apparatus for launching activities A handheld electronic device having a microprocessor housed within a body including a display area and a contact-sensitive area is disclosed. The contact-sensitive area detects contact engagement therewith and produces instruction data based thereupon. A microprocessor-run software program receives instruction data from the contact-sensitive area. The contact-sensitive area has a home zone area and a plurality of activity launch zone areas. The software program is programmed to process the instruction data and determine sweeping contact motion detected on the contact-sensitive area originating at the home zone area and terminating at one of the plurality of activity launch zone areas. The program responsively launches an operator-instructed activity corresponding to the activity launch zone area at which the sweeping contact motion terminated.
US08446370B2	Touch pad for handheld device A media device for storing and playing media such as audio, video or images, includes a memory device configured to store a plurality of media items in a digital format. The media device also includes a display configured to present a group of media items from the plurality of stored media items and to present a visual indicator that is capable of scrolling through the displayed group of media items in order to designate a specific media item from the group of media items. The media device further includes a touch pad configured to receive input from a sliding motion or a tapping motion of a finger. The sliding motion of the finger controls the movement of the visual indicator through the group of media items. The tapping motion of the finger selects the specific media item that is designated by the visual indicator.
US08446368B2	Input apparatus An input apparatus 10 includes an input unit 11, a display unit 12, an input mode determination unit 13 for determining whether an input is in a first input mode or a second input mode and an input control unit for controlling, when the input to a key is determined as the first input mode, so that a plurality of characters assigned to the key are changed and displayed in sequence as input character candidates in response to the input, and when the input to the is determined as the second input mode, for searching characters corresponding to the characters assigned to the key among the inputted character strings as correction character candidates and controlling, to the searched correction character candidates, movement of the cursor displayed on the display unit 12 in response to the input.
US08446354B2	Liquid crystal display capable of compensating common voltage signal thereof An exemplary liquid crystal display (200) includes a liquid crystal panel (201) having a plurality of pixel units (240), a scanning circuit (202) configured to activate the pixel units, a data circuit (203) configured to provide data voltage signals the pixel unit via a plurality of data lines (220), and a common voltage circuit (205) configured to generate a common voltage signal. Each pixel unit includes a pixel electrode (242), a common electrode (243), and a coupling member (245). The coupling member is connected between the pixel electrode and a corresponding one of the data lines, and is configured to transfer an electrical potential shift of the corresponding common electrode to the corresponding data line when one of the data voltage signals is applied to the pixel electrode. The common voltage circuit is configured to compensate the common voltage signal according to a feedback signal obtained from the data lines.
US08446346B2	Organic light emitting diode display An organic light emitting diode (OLED) display includes: a first substrate; an organic light emitting diode that is positioned on the first substrate and that emits light; a second substrate that is opposite to the first substrate with the organic light emitting diode interposed therebetween; a sealant that is positioned between the first substrate and the second substrate to cohere and seal the first substrate and the second substrate; and a refractive index change portion that is positioned on the second substrate to be opposite to the organic light emitting diode and that has a refractive index that sequentially reduces from the second substrate to the organic light emitting diode.
US08446345B2	Organic light emitting diode display An organic light emitting diode (OLED) display is disclosed. The OLED display includes a display panel including a plurality of pairs of data lines, a plurality of gate line groups crossing the pairs of data lines, and a plurality of pixels each having a drive thin film transistor (TFT) and an organic light emitting diode at each of crossings of the pairs of data lines and the gate line groups, a timing controller generating a non-overlap signal, and a sample and hold block that removes an overlap period between adjacently generated first holding clocks using the non-overlap signal to generate second holding clocks that do not overlap each other, applies sampled threshold voltages of the drive TFTs of the pixels to an output node in response to the second holding clocks, and discharges the output node in the overlap period in response to the non-overlap signal.
US08446343B2	Image display apparatus An image display apparatus capable of effecting displays high in both reliability and luminance. With the image display apparatus, a transistor switch is provided between a light emitting device and a drive transistor, and a voltage value expressed by formula (a gate voltage at an on-time of the transistor switch)—(the threshold voltage Vth of the drive transistor) is rendered smaller than a value of a voltage applied to a common electrode of the light emitting device.
US08446337B2	Method for operating object between terminals and terminal using the method A method for operating an object between a first terminal and a second terminal. The display space of one of the first and second terminals is extended to the other terminal. One of the first and second terminals intercepts an event associated with the object occurring in the terminal so as to obtain the position of the object, informs the other terminal of the position of the object, and redraws the object on the screen of the other terminal based on the received position.
US08446324B2	Antenna device Provided is an antenna device with which the degradation of characteristics arising from the fact that the antenna has been miniaturized and made thinner is reduced and in which it is possible to increase the gain and to widen the coverage area by improving the characteristics of the internal antenna. The device is equipped with a circuit board, a wireless circuit component which is mounted on the substrate, an internal antenna which is connected to the wireless circuit component which is mounted on the substrate, a circuit-side ground pattern which is connected to the wireless circuit component which is mounted on the substrate, and a dedicated antenna ground paten which is connected to the internal antenna which is mounted on the circuit board.
US08446323B2	Radar antenna array The invention is directed to a radar antenna array, preferably based on microstrip conductor technology, particularly for a medium to long range radar sensor, comprising at least one first antenna group having a plurality of individual, mutually coupled antenna elements and at least one second antenna group having a plurality of individual, mutually coupled antenna elements, wherein the antenna elements of different antenna groups are not galvanically connected to one another, but are arranged in a common, preferably planar area and in a mutually interlaced manner and can be operated simultaneously.
US08446320B2	Reliable location information for a mobile station using a non-GPS location technique A method and apparatus determines if a location fix received by a mobile station using a non-GPS location techniques is accurate. Location results obtained using the non-GPS location technique or techniques are treated as accurate if they are verified as being within an error margin obtained from a trusted source of location information such as a GPS positioning system. Non-GPS Location information may be obtained from a signal transmitted by the base station, which signal includes the base station location. The non-GPS location information may also be obtained from a backend service associated with the wireless network that includes the base station.
US08446315B2	Method for providing satellite orbit ephemeris, server, and positioning system A method for providing satellite orbit ephemeris includes: determining a positioning satellite in view of a reference position; and providing to a positioning device a satellite orbit ephemeris of the positioning satellite in view of the reference position, the satellite orbit ephemeris being valid for at least one day.
US08446311B2	Array of UHF radar bases for protecting sensitive zones against intrusions A system for protecting sensitive zones includes detection bases disposed in such a way that each base performs the monitoring of a part of the limit of the protected zone. To each base n is allocated a frequency channel of width B′ centered on a frequency Fn. Each base comprises a plurality of UHF radars emitting pulses of spectral width B, with a high repetition frequency Fr. Each radar processes a fraction b0 of the global Doppler band b1 concerned. The emission frequencies of the various radars constituting one and the same base are defined in such a way that the gap between the emission frequency Fi of a radar of the base and the frequency Fn is less than the repetition frequency Fr and that the gap between the emission frequencies Fi and Fj of two radars of one and the same base is greater than (b1+b0)/2. The channel allocated to a base n as well as the emission frequencies allocated to the radars of this base are defined in such a way that, having regard to the position of the base, none of the radars constituting the base concerned is liable to be disturbed from a radioelectric point of view by the radars of the other bases.
US08446307B2	Comparator noise reduction by means of a programmable bandwidth A comparator including a preamplifier amplifying a first signal and a second signal to produce a first amplified signal on a first output terminal and a second amplified signal on a second output terminal. The comparator also includes a capacitor, a clamp and a latch coupled in parallel to the first output terminal and the second output terminal of the preamplifier. A control circuit is coupled to the variable capacitor and the clamp and is configured to close the clamp during a first time period to cause the first amplified signal and the second amplified signal to bypass the capacitor and the latch, and open the clamp during a second time period following the first time period to cause the first amplified signal and the second amplified signal to be coupled to the capacitor and the latch. The capacitor filters the amplified signals, and the latch produces a digital output signal of the comparator based on the filtered signals.
US08446298B2	Quick record function in a smart pen computing system Embodiments of the invention present a system and method for controlling audio capture by a smart pen based computing system. An audio capture mechanism that is independent from a gesture capture system is included on the smart pen to control audio capture by one or more microphones included on the smart pen. In one embodiment, the audio capture mechanism comprises a shared function button, such as a power button. For example, a user interaction with the shared function button initiates audio capture by the one or more microphones on the smart pen and a second user interaction with the shared audio function stops audio capture. Alternatively, audio capture is stopped after completion of a predefined time interval after the user interaction with the shared function button.
US08446293B2	Traffic sign system that uses the national transportation communications for intelligent systems protocol The invention is directed to a traffic sign system that has a number of information centers. A communication network provides a communication path between the information centers. The communication network is National Transportation Communications for Intelligent Transportation Systems Protocol (NTCIP) compliant. A sign controller is in communication with the information centers through the communication network. A first sign has a first address with a local control link to the sign controller. The local control link is not National Transportation Communications for Intelligent Transportation Systems Protocol compliant. A second sign has a second address with a second local control link to the sign controller. The second local control link is not National Transportation Communications for Intelligent Transportation Systems Protocol compliant.
US08446292B2	Systems and methods for downhole instrument communication via power cable Systems and methods for reliably communicating data between surface and downhole equipment over a power cable, regardless of the length of the power cable, wherein a transmitter modulates a common data stream onto multiple high frequency carrier signals, each of which has a different frequency. Each of the different frequencies is best suited to communication over a different length of cable. The resulting modulated high frequency data signals are impressed on the power cable and are recovered from the cable by a receiver. The receiver is configured to recover signals at each of the different carrier frequencies, at least one of which should be transmitted with little enough attenuation and interference that the data stream can be accurately recovered from the corresponding modulated high frequency data signal.
US08446290B2	Self contained device for displaying electronic information A thin flexible electronic display includes a flexible membrane, control circuitry, and self-contained power source, which may be a thin flexible battery. A display may be affixed to an associated device for use in displaying dynamic information or video.
US08446283B2	Device for monitoring a beverage consumption level A device which detects or senses liquid level in a beverage containment vessel, and produces either light, audio or a data output based on the liquid level being equal to or less than a predetermined level. The device, in practice, preferably retains the shape of the beverage containment vessel (e.g., cylindrical), and have an outer housing of opaque or semi-translucent material. The device is either integrated into a new beverage containment vessel, or retrofitted to existing vessels. The device is powered by battery, and can be switched on, off, or into various operating modes by internal switching mechanism.
US08446278B2	Security monitor for doors A method and apparatus for monitoring the security of closures of the type used on large trucks, and shipping or other containers wherein one or more doors are provided on an end and/or the sides of the container and are secured by vertical rods having cam-like latches at their ends that are rotatable from a first disposition in which they engage keepers to lock the doors in a closed position, and a second disposition in which they disengage the keepers to unlock the doors and allow them to swing into an open position. More specifically, the present invention relates to a monitoring assembly that attaches between the locking rod handles of the containers, senses any movement of the locking handles or the opening of the doors, and provides visual signals and/or transmitted signals as an indication of tampering.
US08446277B2	Proximity warning system with silent zones Various proximity detection zones for work sites that require personnel to be in close proximity to various hazardous elements, such as machines, mobile equipment, remotely controlled machines, and operated vehicles can be shaped to fit specific equipment or work area configurations and may include one or more silent zones within the proximity warning zone in which an alarm is not sounded. The zones are determined by overlapping magnetic fields that expand and collapse at a selected operating frequency. Devices sense and measure the strength of the magnetic fields in which they are located and use the information to determine if they are in a silent or warning zone. Thus, it is possible to produce silent zones having desired shapes.
US08446275B2	General health and wellness management method and apparatus for a wellness application using data from a data-capable band General health and wellness management techniques and devices are configured for use with a data-capable personal worn or carried device. In one embodiment, a method receiving data representing a profile upon which a target score is established based on one or more health-related activities, and acquiring data representing one or more subsets of acquired parameters based on, for example, one or more sensors disposed in a wearable computing device. The method can include determining data representing values for the one or more subsets of the acquired parameters based on reference values for the parameters set forth in the profile and calculating at a first processor a score based on data representing the values. The score represents an attained portion of the one or more health-related activities. In some cases, the method includes causing presentation of a representation of the score relative to the target score.
US08446273B2	Environmental risk management system and method A system and method for directing and monitoring the whereabouts of persons within an environmentally hazardous area includes equipping each person with devices for monitoring personal physiological conditions (56), equipment conditions (64), topographical locations (34), environmental conditions (57) and other pertinent data. The data are individually encoded and uploaded to a processing center (36) where they are analyzed (58,60,61) in order to ensure compliance with health or environmental norms and safety regulations, generate hot-spot mapping (53) and to issue real-time risk avoidance behavior directives (62), worker, mechanism and material traffic directions, warnings (59), permissions or interdictions.
US08446252B2	Interactive product package that forms a node of a product-centric communications network A communications-enabled packaged product allows a consumer to partake of communications within a product-centric network. The packaged product performs the functions of a communications node in the network. The packaged product may include two portions, one portion being a reactive label which may be affixed to the packaging and a second part being a “smart communications card” that is separate from the packaging and portable. Each part includes a communications element and an information storage and retrieval element and may include various means for downloading and uploading information into the storage and retrieval elements. In one aspect of its use, the invention allows the consumer to transmit and receive information about the product. In another aspect of its use, the invention allows the consumer to carry information about other similarly enabled products in their possession for use in shopping trips.
US08446237B1	MEMS relay and method of forming the MEMS relay A micro-electromechanical systems (MEMS) relay includes a switch with a first contact region and a second contact region that are vertically separated from each other by a gap. The MEMS relay requires a small vertical movement to close the gap and therefore is mechanically robust. In addition, the MEMS relay has a small footprint and, therefore, can be formed on top of small integrated circuits.
US08446233B2	Waveguide, antenna and vehicular radar apparatus A waveguide, that is improved in size, costs, manufacturing and in durability, has a base having a mounting surface, and a plate member held on the mounting surface of the base for defining a waveguide in cooperation with the base. The mounting surface of the base is a curved surface defined by a sweep of a flexure curve of the plate member when it is loaded along a straight line. The plate member is attached to the base in such a manner that the plate member is pressed against and curved along the mounting surface, and that the plate member has a curvature direction edge portion extending in a curvature direction which is a general extension of the flexure curve and a sweep direction edge portion extending in a direction of the sweep of the curve.
US08446232B2	Ultra-wideband tunable filters based on multi-resolution band-selection Devices and methods for tunable RF filtering. Multiple bimodal filter stages are used within a filter device to provide for tunable frequency response of the filter device. The use of M sequential bimodal filter stages, each having different frequency resolutions, may allow for 2M possible modes of operation.
US08446229B2	System and method for reduced area tunable capacitors Embodiments of a capacitive tuning system implementing a tunable capacitive array are presented herein. The tunable capacitive array includes both scaled coarse capacitors and one or more fine capacitors. The one or more fine capacitors advantageously reduce a differential nonlinearity associated with the scaled coarse capacitors. The use of fine capacitors limits additional area requirements in an integrated circuit implementation, while improving the accuracy of the capacitive tuning system.
US08446220B2	Method and apparatus for increasing the effective resolution of a sensor Methods and devices for increasing a sensor resolution are disclosed. In one example, a two measurement process is used. A first measurement is used to effectively measure across a full range (e.g. 0 to 5 VDC) of the sensor. This first measurement may identify the current operating point of the sensor (e.g. 3.5 VDC). A second measurement may then be made to effectively measure across a sub-range of the sensor that encompasses the current operating point of the sensor (e.g. across a sub-range of 3.0 to 4.0 VDC for a current operating point of 3.5 VDC). The gain of the amplifier may be raised during the second measurement to produce a higher resolution measurement. In some cases, the first measurement may be used to determine an appropriate offset that may be applied so as to scale the amplifier to the desired sub-range of sensor that includes the current operating point of the sensor. In some cases, the two measurements may be used together to compute an effectively higher resolution measurement signal. In some cases, this may allow for a smaller and/or cheaper sensor to be used, while still achieving good results.
US08446208B2	Circuit arrangement with temperature compensation A circuit arrangement having at least one analog switch, which is operated by a supply voltage and which comprises a switching signal contact and a pair of switch contacts, whereby applied to the switching signal contact is an electrical switching signal depending on which an electrical connection can be switched between the switch contacts whose internal on-resistance is temperature dependent, whereby the circuit arrangement has in the vicinity of the at least one analog switch at least one additional similar reference analog switch, which is operated with the same common supply voltage and which is controlled such that the switch contacts thereof are/can be connected continuously via the internal temperature-dependent on-resistance thereof, whereby at least one comparison circuit is provided by means of which depending on the comparison of the internal on-resistance of the at least one reference analog switch with at least one external reference resistance or an otherwise setpoint setting of the reference analog switch(es), at least one control signal can be/is generated, by means of which the internal on-resistance of the at least one reference analog switch can be kept constant by changing the common supply voltage of all analog switches depending on the control signal, particularly can be adjusted to the at least one reference resistance, or the otherwise formed setpoint setting of the reference analog switch(es).
US08446207B2	Load driving circuit A load driving circuit in which the off-time Toff and the fall time Tf can be improved in turn-off operation of the N-channel type MOSFET used as a high side switch. The load driving circuit uses an N-channel type power MOSFET as a high side switch connected between a power supply and a load, including a comparator circuit for comparing a gate voltage of the power MOSFET with a power-supply voltage; and a shut-off circuit for discharging the gate terminal of the power MOSFET in turn-off operation of the power MOSFET, the rate of discharging the gate terminal of the power MOSFET performed with the shut-off circuit being set such that the discharge rate provided if the gate voltage Vg is lower than the power-supply voltage Vp is slower than the rate of discharging the same provided if the gate voltage Vg is higher than the power-supply voltage Vp.
US08446206B2	Current balancing of parallel connected semiconductor components A method and an arrangement are provided for balancing the switching transient behavior of parallel connected power semiconductor components. The method includes providing a switch signal to the parallel connected power semiconductor components for changing the state of the components, forming control signals for each of the parallel connected components from the switch signal, and determining, during the change of state of the power semiconductor component, the voltage induced to an inductance in the main current path of the component in each of the parallel connected components. The method also includes comparing each of the induced voltages with a predetermined threshold voltage, measuring time differences between the time instants at which the induced voltages crosses the threshold voltage, and modifying one or more of the control signals on the basis of the measured time differences in the respective following state change for balancing the switching transient behavior.
US08446185B2	Load driving device A load driving device includes a power supply terminal, a ground terminal, an output terminal coupled to a load, an output transistor coupled between the power supply and output terminals, a driver circuit supplying a first control signal to turn on the output transistor and a second control signal to turn off the output transistor, a discharge circuit coupled between the control terminal of the output transistor and the output terminal, a compensation circuit that turns on when a potential of the ground terminal is at least a predetermined value to maintain a non-conductive state of the output transistor when a polarity of a power supply coupled between the power supply and ground terminals is normal, and a reverse connection protection circuit coupled between the control terminal and the ground terminal, which brings the output transistor into a conductive state when a polarity of the power supply is reversed.
US08446184B2	Mode dependent driving of the center tap in ethernet communications An output stage comprising a current mode line driver, a voltage mode line driver, and a center-tapped transformer for coupling data provided by the line drivers to a transmission line is provided herein. The output stage is configured to operate in a backwards compatible Ethernet communication device. For example, the Ethernet communication device is configured to support 10G Ethernet and legacy Ethernet modes of 10BASE-T, 100BASE-T, and 1000BASE-T. The current mode line driver can be utilized while operating in the 10G Ethernet mode to provide high linearity. The voltage mode line driver can be utilized while operating in legacy mode to conserve power. In order to accommodate the use of two different line drivers, a switch and/or a voltage regulator is used to couple/decouple a dc voltage to a center-tap of the transformer based on which of the two different line drivers is currently active.
US08446183B2	High current emitter drive unit cell A unit cell for a Read-In Integrated Circuit employs a signal sampling circuit with a voltage input controlled by a first switch, a capacitor charged by the voltage input and a linear amplifier connected to the capacitor. An output through a second switch samples the capacitor as the input signal for a transistor cascade for emitter current supply incorporating a first transistor receiving the input signal and a second transistor serially connected to the first transistor with a parallel resistor. The second transistor is maintained in saturation for a first portion of the input signal range with the first transistor acting as a source follower for that range. Linear current flow through the resistor results allowing high resolution control in the low current range. The second transistor departs saturation in a second portion of the range for the input signal resulting in saturation mode square-law behavior dominating the first transistor which, in turn, causes a rapid increase in current through its channel in response to higher input signal level thereby allowing a lower resolution but higher current for emitter drive at higher temperatures.
US08446181B2	Sampling circuit and image signal amplifying circuit each including feedback clamp block and image sensor including the image signal amplifying circuit A sampling circuit samples an input signal by using at least one switch, at least one capacitor, an amplifier, and a clamp block connected between an output terminal and a negative input terminal of the amplifier. The clamp block prevents a difference between a voltage level of the output terminal of the amplifier and a voltage level of the negative input terminal of the amplifier during sampling from exceeding a maximum voltage difference.
US08446180B2	Semiconductor device A disclosed semiconductor device includes an input terminal, a power line, a pnp-bipolar transistor connected to the power line, a first resistor connecting an emitter of the transistor to the input terminal, a second resistor connecting a collector of the transistor to ground, an operation circuit operable when the input voltage is a predetermined voltage or higher, the predetermined voltage being set within a first voltage region in which the input voltage cannot turn on the transistor, a comparator comparing an internal voltage with a reference voltage, the internal voltage being changed from a voltage value in a non-conductive state in which the transistor is not turned on, and an output terminal configured to output an output voltage which changes in response to a result of comparing the internal voltage with the reference voltage.
US08446178B2	Comparator and analog-to-digital A comparator includes: a pre-amplification module, configured to generate two amplified differential signal reference currents according to an input voltage and a reference voltage; and a differential signal obtaining module, configured to obtain a differential signal according to the two amplified differential signal reference currents. The pre-amplification module includes a differential unit, an offset unit, and an amplification unit, where the differential unit is configured to generate two direct current bias currents according to the input voltage and the reference voltage; the offset unit is configured to generate an offset current of the two direct current bias currents according to the input voltage and the reference voltage, so as to reduce magnitude of the two direct current bias currents and obtain two differential signal reference currents; the amplification unit is configured to receive the two differential signal reference currents, and amplify the two differential signal reference currents.
US08446175B2	Logic-cell-compatible decoupling capacitor An integrated circuit containing CMOS logic gates and a logic-cell-compatible decoupling capacitor adjacent to the logic gates, in which the decoupling capacitor includes p+/n and n+/p capacitors, resistors between 1 and 1000 ohms connecting the capacitors to Vdd and Vss buses, and gate elements which have widths and spacings similar to the adjacent logic gates. A process of forming an integrated circuit containing CMOS logic gates and a logic-cell-compatible decoupling capacitor adjacent to the logic gates, in which the decoupling capacitor includes p+/n and n+/p capacitors, resistors between 1 and 1000 ohms connecting the capacitors to Vdd and Vss buses, and gate elements which have widths and spacings similar to the adjacent logic gates.
US08446165B2	Link analysis compliance and calibration verification for automated printed wiring board test systems A transmission line on a printed wiring board is tested and printed wiring board manufacturing variability is assessed. A response of the transmission line to a signal test pattern is measured. A network including a plurality of components connected by the transmission line is then simulated. The simulated network is based on the measured scattering parameters and virtual models representative of each of the components in the network. A system-level output response of the simulated network to a simulated input signal is analyzed, and the printed wiring board is characterized based on a comparison of the system-level output response to a printed wiring board performance metric threshold.
US08446161B2	Method of self monitoring and self repair for a semiconductor IC A method for self repair of a semiconductor IC is presented. An IC state is set to test/repair mode upon powering up the IC. Fuse data is loaded from an e-fuse module. Defects or faults are detected by employing a built in self test (BIST) module. The IC self repairs using redundant circuitry by employing a built in self repair (BISR) module to repair each fault using redundant circuitry. The fault locations and repair locations are stored in the e-fuse module. The semiconductor IC state is changed to mission mode.
US08446142B2	Capacity detector for detecting capacity of an energy storage unit A capacity detector for detecting capacity of an energy storage unit includes a first and a second buffers and a voltage divider. The first buffer is used for generating a first threshold reference according to a first adjustable reference which is predetermined based upon chemistry of the energy storage unit. The second buffer is used for generating a second threshold reference according to a second adjustable reference which is predetermined based upon chemistry of the energy storage unit. The voltage divider coupled to the first buffer and the second buffer is used for dividing a voltage across the first threshold reference and the second threshold reference and for generating capacity references indicating capacity percentages of the energy storage unit according to a voltage versus capacity characteristic of the energy storage unit.
US08446134B2	High efficiency AC/DC power supply A power supply for converting AC to a regulated DC output current, utilizing two serial switched mode power supplies, the first providing an intermediate DC output voltage with only moderate ripple properties, this output being input to the second, which operates as a DC/DC converter to provide the desired output with low ripple and good regulation. The diode rectifier assembly has no reservoir/smoothing capacitor, or one of much smaller capacitance than in prior art power supplies. The large resulting rectifier output ripple is overcome by use of the two power supply units, at least the first having a smoothing capacitor at its output. A majority of the energy stored in this capacitor is utilized during each AC half cycle. Such power supplies also provide improved hold-up times. The power supply is also constructed to have low standby power consumption, by use of a double burst configuration.
US08446127B2	Methods for thermodynamic evaluation of battery state of health Described are systems and methods for accurately characterizing thermodynamic and materials properties of electrodes and battery systems and for characterizing the state of health of electrodes and battery systems. Measurement of physical attributes of electrodes and batteries corresponding to thermodynamically stabilized electrode conditions permit determination of thermodynamic parameters, including state functions such as the Gibbs free energy, enthalpy and entropy of electrode/electrochemical cell reactions, that enable prediction of important performance attributes of electrode materials and battery systems, such as energy, power density, current rate, cycle life and state of health. Also provided are systems and methods for charging a battery according to its state of health.
US08446118B2	Rotary electric machine control device A rotary electric machine control device includes a positive/negative determination section that determines whether an output torque of the rotary electric machine is positive or negative; a correction parameter setting section that sets as a correction parameter a phase difference of a sinusoidal ripple correction wave for reducing torque ripple of the rotary electric machine with respect to a magnetic pole position of the rotary electric machine depending on whether the output torque is positive or negative; and a correction wave generation section that generates the ripple correction wave on the basis of the correction parameter.
US08446112B2	Magnetically powered reciprocating engine and electromagnet control system The instant invention provides a magnetically controlled reciprocating engine having a unique electromagnet control system. The engine is constructed and arranged to operate from a stored power source such as batteries to provide extended run times by controlling the power supplied to the electromagnets in a manner that controls heat generation within the electromagnetic coils, thereby increasing coil life. The control system is also capable of controlling engine speed and/or torque outputs to make the engine versatile for a wide variety of uses. The system is constructed and arranged to be utilized on new or pre-existing engines of various configurations and may be utilized in other industries or devices that benefit from the use of electromagnets.
US08446105B2	Display apparatus A display apparatus displays a character or a graphic formed by a first light-emitting element group (first group) and a background of the character or the graphic formed by a second light-emitting element group (second group) on a display unit. The ratio of the electric current flowing through the light-emitting elements (elements) in the second group to the elements in the first group with respect to the elements of a same color as the elements whose electric current per unit light-emitting area is the largest among the elements of different colors when the display unit displays white, is closer to 1 than the ratio of the electric current flowing through each of the elements in the second group to the elements in the first group with respect to the elements of different colors from the elements whose electric current per unit light-emitting area is the largest when the display unit displays white.
US08446102B2	Lighting control failsafe circuit A system may include a switch arranged to control a lighting load, a processor arranged to control the switch, and a failsafe circuit arranged to monitor the processor and actuate the switch if the processor fails. The failsafe circuit may have a time constant, and may be arranged to actuate the switch if the monitor signal does not include a pulse during a period of time equal to the time constant.
US08446099B2	Power conversion and control systems and methods for solid-state lighting A solid-state lighting system comprises a plurality of light-emitting devices (e.g., light-emitting diodes) and an alternating current to direct current (AC-DC) converter that converts AC power to DC power for powering the plurality of light-emitting devices. The AC-DC converter is configured to perform AC-DC conversion directly, without the need for or use of a bridge rectifier or step-down transformer. According to one aspect of the invention, the light-emitting devices of the solid-state lighting system are autonomous and individually powered by a plurality of DC power supplies generated from the DC power produced by the AC-DC converter. According to another aspect, a plurality of phase-offset dimmer control signals are generated based on waveform distortions in a dimming signal produced by a conventional dimmer switch. The phase-offset dimmer control signals are used to individually control the dimming of the light-emitting devices.
US08446096B1	Terahertz (THz) reverse micromagnetron A THz reverse micromagnetron includes a MEMS-based reverse magnetron configuration in which the anode is located at the center of the magnetron surrounded by a cathode ring. Electrons move radially inward in the combined electric and magnetic cross-fields and can reach orbiting angular frequencies in the THz region, even with a magnetic field of the order of 1 T or less. The THz reverse micromagnetron is portable, operates at room temperature, and can be bright.
US08446093B2	Organic electro-luminescent display device and manufacturing method thereof An OLED device and a manufacturing method thereof, which can secure the life span and reliability and can improve light efficiency, is disclosed.To this end, the device and method disposes organic light emission diode elements on a substrate. On the substrate with the organic light emission diode elements, a sealant layer having a micro-lens portion is disposed, thereby shielding the organic light emission diode elements from external moisture and/or oxygen.
US08446088B2	Field emission device for emitting white light A field emission device for emitting white light is provided. The device includes a cathode plate assembly (1), an anode plate assembly (2) which is opposite to and spaced from the cathode plate assembly (1), and a supporting body (3) for tight coupling the cathode plate assembly (1) with the anode plate assembly (2). The anode plate assembly (2) includes a transparent substrate (203) which can emit yellow light when excited by blue light. An anode (202) and a blue cathode ray luminescent material layer (201) are provided on the surface of the transparent substrate (203). The blue cathode ray luminescent material layer (201) contains blue cathode ray luminescent material.
US08446085B2	Fluorescent lamp with zinc silicate phosphor and protective phosphor layer A fluorescent lamp comprises a glass envelope that is light transmitting. Also included is means for providing a discharge inside the envelope. A discharge-sustaining fill includes mercury and an inert gas sealed inside the envelope. An underlying phosphor-containing layer is disposed inside the envelope. The underlying layer includes zinc silicate phosphor. A protective phosphor-containing layer is disposed over the underlying layer at a location that is more distal from the glass than the underlying layer. A ratio of a surface density of the protective layer to a surface density of the underlying layer is at least 0.4:1.
US08446083B2	Light emitting apparatus In a light emitting apparatus including a plane-shape light emitting area, a power supply area extending along the light emitting area, and a power supply voltage feeding part configured to feed a power supply voltage to the power supply area. The power supply area supplies a current to the light emitting area across an edge of the power supply area facing the light emitting area. The power supply voltage feeding part is connected to a power supply port provided on another edge of the power supply area opposite to the light emitting area. The power supply area includes a first non-conductive area surrounded by a conductive area located on a shortest path from the power supply port to the edge of the power supply area facing the light emitting area.
US08446081B2	Heat dissipation device for LED lamp The heat dissipation device for a LED lamp contains an upper piece, at least a lower piece, and a number of heat dissipation elements. The upper piece has a number of first, second, and third plug holes. The second plug holes are aligned with some first plug holes, and they are connected by conductive layers. The other first plug holes are connected by separate conductive layers. The third plug holes are configured on individual conductive layers. A number of LEDs have their leads threaded through the first plug holes, respectively. The heat dissipation elements have their two ends threaded through a second plug hole and a third plug hole, respectively. The leads and the heat dissipation elements are then soldered to their respective conductive layers. A number of tubular sleeves are sandwiched between the upper and lower pieces and the leads of the LEDs are threaded through the tubular sleeves.
US08446079B2	Piezoelectric resonator with vibration isolation Embodiments of the present disclosure are directed to a piezoelectric resonator. The resonator can have a base defining at least a first base portion and a second base portion and two or more vibrating arms projecting from the first base portion, the first vibrating arm being substantially parallel to the second vibrating arm. The resonator can define a generally planar first main surface and a generally planar second main surface defined by the base and the first and second vibrating arms wherein the first main surface is generally parallel to the second main surface. At least one groove can be formed in at least one of the first and second main surfaces of each of the first and second vibrating arms. The resonator can further have at least one vibration isolation arm projecting from the base, the vibration isolation arm being approximately perpendicular to the two or more vibrating arms.
US08446078B2	Mechanical resonating structures and methods Apparatus and methods of connecting mechanical resonating structures to a body are described. Multi-element anchors may include a flexible portion that flexes when the mechanical resonating structure vibrates. The flexible portion may have a length related to the resonance frequency of the mechanical resonating structures. Some of the multi-element anchors include elements that are oriented perpendicularly to each other. MEMS incorporating such structures are also described.
US08446074B2	Piezoelectric thin-film element and piezoelectric thin-film device There is provided a piezoelectric thin film element, comprising: a substrate 1; and a piezoelectric thin film 3 having an alkali niobium oxide-based perovskite structure represented by a composition formula (K1-xNax)yNbO3 provided on the substrate 1, wherein a carbon concentration of the piezoelectric thin film 3 is 2×1019/cm3 or less, or a hydrogen concentration of the piezoelectric thin film 3 is 4×1019/cm3 or less.
US08446072B2	High-efficiency compact miniaturized energy harvesting and storage device An energy harvesting and storage system includes an array of piezoelectric electrodes, in which the piezoelectric electrodes generate electrical energy from mechanical displacements of the piezoelectric electrodes; and an array of capacitor electrodes disposed in proximity to the piezoelectric electrodes, in which the array of capacitor electrodes stores a portion of the energy generated by the piezoelectric electrodes. An energy system includes a substrate including an array of micro-post electrodes connected to a cathode layer of the substrate; an isolation material covering the array of micro-post electrodes; and an anode layer including electrodes filling the remaining region between the isolation material-covered micro-post electrodes, in which the anode layer, electrodes, isolation material, micro-post electrodes, and substrate are monolithically coupled.
US08446049B2	Electronic apparatus and method for conditionally power supplying An electronic apparatus for conditionally power supplying is provided. In the electronic apparatus, an external connection port is embedded on a surface of a case for electrically connecting to an external device, and includes plural exposed terminals including one power pin. First and second detection electrodes are disposed on the surface of the case and normally maintain in broken-circuit. When the first and the second detection electrodes are in a wetting condition, the first and the second detection electrodes are in short-circuit. A switch is electrically connected to a power module and the power pin. A control module detects that the first and the second detection electrodes are in short-circuit or in broken-circuit, and drives the switch to make the power module output power to the power pin when the first detection electrode and the second detection electrode are in broken-circuit.
US08446048B2	Controller for a safety shut-off system A controller for a safety shut-off system is taught. The controller is for a system that interrupts a supply of electricity to an electrical appliance upon detecting a trigger. The controller includes a housing having a cover with an electrical socket, which is configured to receive an electrical plug electrically coupled to the appliance. The controller also includes interrupter circuitry contained within the housing, which is electrically coupled to a power supply and to the socket, and which is configured to decouple the power supply from the socket upon receiving a trigger signal. The trigger signal is generated in response to a safety hazard associated with the electrical appliance.
US08446043B1	Photovoltaic array systems, methods, and devices and improved diagnostics and monitoring Devices, systems and methods for operating, monitoring and diagnosing photovoltaic arrays used for solar energy collection. The system preferably includes capabilities for monitoring or diagnosing an array by automatically disconnecting portions of the array during normal service (when load is not maximum, and observing the resulting change in electrical characteristics. More intensive diagnostic procedures can be launched if needed. One embodiment provides for performing monitoring or diagnostic operations on the array in daylight or at night. Another embodiment allows monitoring or diagnostic operations to be performed on a portion of the array while other parts of the array continue to collect energy. Yet another embodiment provides a safety mode for an array for maintenance or during emergencies.
US08446039B2	Apparatus, system and method employing a UPS A method of installing a power distribution system in a facility includes acts of: obtaining a power distribution unit including at least one rack mounted power distribution unit, the power distribution unit including an electrical connection having an electrical bus configured to directly connect to a riser of a power busway; installing the power busway from a terminus located at the output of the UPS to the electrical connection at the power distribution unit; and directly connecting the power busway to the output of the UPS with a busbar-to-busbar connection between the output of the UPS and the terminus of the busway.
US08446034B1	Electric power generation using a wind chute This device will generate electric power using wind current as long as the wind is sufficient to inflate and move a chute to a predetermined point. The chute is then inverted and retrieved by the device to start the cycle of inflation over again. The device will enable the generation of power that is reusable and clean and environmentally friendly.
US08446028B2	Apparatus for generating electric power using wind energy An apparatus for generating electric power from wind energy includes a blade device rotatable relative to a base to convert wind energy into a mechanical rotary power output, and having an upright rod connected with upright blades and coupled to a generator in the base to convert the mechanical rotary power output into electric power. Each blade has spaced wind-collecting ribs extending vertically from a first side surface thereof, thereby defining a wind-collecting space between any two adjacent wind-collecting ribs. A wind-collecting unit includes upright plates mounted on the base, angularly equidistant and disposed around the blade device. Any two adjacent plates define an inwardly converging wind-guiding channel therebetween. The plates are non-flat so that wind is guided by the plates to blow onto the first side surfaces of the blades via the wind-guiding channels.
US08446014B2	Integrated circuit interconnect structure An integrated circuit (IC) interconnect structure that includes a first via positioned in a dielectric and coupled to a high current device at one end, and a buffer metal segment positioned in a dielectric and coupled to the first via at an opposite end thereof. The buffer metal segment includes a plurality of electrically insulating inter-dielectric (ILD) pads forming an ILD cheesing pattern thereon, to direct current. The IC interconnect structure further includes a second via positioned in a dielectric formed over the buffer metal segment and coupled to the buffer metal segment at one end and a metal power line formed in a dielectric and coupled to the second via at an opposite end thereof. The use of the ILD pads on the buffer metal segment enables a more even distribution of current along the metal power line.
US08446012B2	Interconnect structures A semiconductor structure includes a first dielectric layer over a substrate. At least one first conductive structure is within the first dielectric layer. The first conductive structure includes a cap portion extending above a top surface of the first dielectric layer. At least one first dielectric spacer is on at least one sidewall of the cap portion of the first conductive structure.
US08446011B2	Devices and memory arrays including bit lines and bit line contacts Each of the first bit lines of a device has an upper surface and a lower surface, with the upper surface being more outwardly located over a semiconductor surface than the lower surface. A second bit line of the device has an upper surface and a lower surface, with the upper surface thereof being more outwardly located over the semiconductor surface than the lower surface. The upper surface of the second bit line is more outwardly located over the semiconductor surface than the upper surfaces of the first bit lines. The first bit lines are each adjacent to the second bit line and the second bit line is configured to be selectively coupled to a memory cell other than memory cells to which the first bit lines are configured to be selectively coupled. The second bit line does not overlap any of the first bit lines.
US08446008B2	Semiconductor device bonding with stress relief connection pads An inventive semiconductor device includes: a semiconductor chip; an internal pad provided on a surface of the semiconductor chip for electrical connection; a surface protective film covering the surface of the semiconductor chip and having a pad opening from which the internal pad is exposed; a stress relief layer provided on the surface protective film and having an opening portion through which the internal pad exposed from the pad opening is exposed; a connection pad including an anchor buried in the pad opening and the opening portion and connected to the internal pad, and a projection provided integrally with the anchor as projecting on the stress relief layer, the projection having a width greater than an opening width of the opening portion; and a metal ball provided for external electrical connection as covering the projection of the connection pad.
US08446007B2	Non-uniform alignment of wafer bumps with substrate solders An integrated circuit structure includes a work piece selected from the group consisting of a semiconductor chip and a package substrate. The work piece includes a plurality of under bump metallurgies (UBMs) distributed on a major surface of the work piece; and a plurality of metal bumps, with each of the plurality of metal bumps directly over, and electrically connected to, one of the plurality of UBMs. The plurality of UBMs and the plurality of metal bumps are allocated with an overlay offset, with at least some of the plurality of UBMs being misaligned with the respective overlying ones of the plurality of metal bumps.

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