Document	Document Title
US08708707B2	Surgical simulator, simulated organs and method of making same A surgical simulator is disclosed herein. The surgical simulator includes an artificial organ and an enclosure substantially enclosing the artificial organ. The artificial organ is substantially formed of platinum cured room temperature vulcanization silicone rubber (“PCRTVS”).
US08708698B2	Ligating device for arch wires or orthodontic wires and respective method for the application of an arch wire or an orthodontic wire The present invention relates to a ligating device (1) for arch wires or orthodontic wires, having a bondable base (2), for coupling to a tooth, and a main body (3), where the main body (3) has a slot (4), suitable for receiving a metal arch wire (5). The slot (4) has its entrance on one of its gingival or occlusal sides. The invention relates also to a method for the application of an arch wire or an orthodontic wire (5), by insertion of the arch wire or orthodontic wire (5) in a plurality of ligating devices (1) for arch wires or orthodontic wires, along a gingival-occlusal, or occlusal-gingival direction of insertion.
US08708693B2	Industrial burner and related combustion process for heat treatment furnaces A high speed burner having very low polluting emissions, suitable for the process for heat treatment furnaces of a load in free atmosphere. The burner is capable of creating a compact and lean flame with the peculiarity of keeping the NOx emissions at very low levels at any chamber temperature and at any excess combustion air. The burner requires a single inlet for the comburent air and a single inlet for the combustible gas.
US08708688B2	Thermally insulated die plate assembly for underwater pelletizing and the like An insulated die plate assembly for use in underwater pelletizing and other granulation processes includes a thin, continuous air chamber formed across the plate assembly generally parallel to the die face such that the heated upstream portion of the die plate assembly is thermally insulated from the downstream portion. The air chamber is atmospherically equilibrated by venting the air chamber to the atmosphere. The plurality of extrusion orifices, either individually or in groups, are formed in extrusion orifice extensions that extend through the insulation chamber so that the process melt to be granulated can pass therethrough. The orifice extensions and the components forming the air chamber around the orifice extensions channel heat along said extensions to maintain the process melt therein at a desired temperature, to help rigidify the die plate assembly and to better seal the air chamber.
US08708678B2	Gear pump A nonmetallic pump with a gear pump assembly having an adapter spool mounted to an electric motor. The pump assembly is designed to reduce manufacturing costs and to provide access for many service and maintenance tasks to be performed without breaking any of the pipe connections. The pump assembly also includes a splined shaft system and a lubricating fluid circulation system with spiral grooves located inside a pair of bearings disposed on opposite sides of the gear flights. The assembly also includes a replaceable precision liner that surrounds the gear flights to maintain a tight tolerance for optimal performance of the pump. Also, an O-ring disposed inside the front cover of the assembly provides for operation of the pump over a wide temperature variation with relatively loose manufacturing tolerances.
US08708669B1	Fuel pumping system A fuel pump uses an expanding spring to pressurize liquid fuel and cause it to flow through a pump outlet port. A cam and cam follower cause a piston to move in a direction opposite to the pumping stroke in order to transfer fluid from a first chamber to a second chamber within the body of the pump. During the spring actuated pumping stroke, liquid fuel is drawn from a fuel reservoir into the first chamber of the pump for later transfer to the second chamber during the return stroke caused by the cam mechanism. A flexible shaft connects the cam to mechanism to a source of motive power to allow the pump to be displaced from the source of motive power and away from certain potential sources of heat.
US08708664B2	System to measure vibrations using fiber optic sensors A vibration monitoring system for an electrical submersible pump (ESP) that includes a fiber optic cable coupled with the ESP and an optical sensor coupled with the fiber optic cable. The optical sensor emits electromagnetic radiation into the fiber optic cable, some of which reflects back from optical discontinuities provided in the fiber optic cable. By receiving the reflected electromagnetic radiation, the optical sensor estimates the location of the optical discontinuities. Displacement and rate of displacement of the optical discontinuities can be estimated when the reflections are received over a period of time. Because the fiber optic cable, and the optical discontinuities, move with the ESP, displacement measurements of the optical discontinuities correlate to ESP movement, including ESP vibration.
US08708654B2	Horizontal axis wind turbine with ball-and-socket hub A horizontal axis wind turbine with a ball-and-socket hub is disclosed. The hub provides for a second vertical axis, the hub axis, intersecting the center of the hub that enables a change in orientation of the rotor axis without changing the orientation of the main shaft axis. The cause for the rotation around the hub axis is an imbalance in torque applied by the blades across a wind shear axis due to a gradient in wind velocity. Rotation around the hub axis will continue until back-and-forth rotation of the blades is such that the torque is balanced across a wind shear axis and the rotor axis is set at an optimal angle. As changes in wind direction occur, the torque will become imbalanced, and the hub will rotate until a new optimal angle is achieved. The present turbine design allows for the hub to freely rotate ±20° around the hub axis and continuously maintain orientation of the rotor axis at an optimal angle. When a control limit is reached, a computer signals the yaw axis motor to rotate the main shaft axis until it is aligned with the rotor axis. Laser measuring devices and linear actuators located in the front of the nacelle provide for monitoring and control of the hub movement.
US08708652B2	Cover plate for turbine rotor having enclosed pump for cooling air A cover plate for use with a rotor disk in a gas turbine engine includes an enclosed chamber associated with a web on the rotor disk. The enclosed chamber ensures that adequate cooling air is delivered by rotation of the cover plate.
US08708650B2	Fan assembly A fan assembly for creating an air current includes a nozzle mounted on a base. The base comprises an outer casing, an impeller housing located within the outer casing, the impeller housing having an air inlet and an air outlet, an impeller located within the impeller housing and a motor for driving the impeller to create an air flow through the impeller housing. The nozzle includes an interior passage for receiving the air flow from the air outlet of the impeller housing and a mouth through which the air flow is emitted from the fan assembly.
US08708649B2	Architecture of a compressor rectifier The present invention relates to a turbine engine rectifier stage comprising a plurality of fixed vanes connecting an inner ferrule support 19 to an outer ferrule support 14, said inner ferrule support and said outer ferrule support defining an aerodynamic vein and comprising a set of contiguously assembled sectors 20,15 respectively, the plurality of fixed vanes comprising so-called structural vanes 5 surrounding so-called non-structural or aero vanes 6 so as to form boxes 7, said structural vanes 5 being rigidly attached to the ends of the sectors of the inner ferrule support 20 by means of attachment elements 17 in order to impart increased stiffness to the boxes 7.
US08708647B2	Liner for a turbine section, a turbine section, a gas turbine engine and an aeroplane provided therewith A liner for a turbine section includes a first wall, a plurality of webs interconnected with and projecting from the first wall, and a plurality of cooling channels, each of the cooling channels being delimited by two adjacent webs and the first wall, wherein each cooling channel presents a height corresponding to the height of its delimiting webs, and a width corresponding to the distance between its delimiting webs. At least one of the cooling channels has a width/height ratio of below 5 or/and the material of the webs has a higher thermal conductivity than the material of the first wall. A turbine section, a gas turbine engine and an aeroplane provided with such a liner are also disclosed.
US08708642B2	Stable wind power turbine A new improved compact wind power turbine with multiple turbine blades and an isolated arrow point stationary nose is presented. Turbine blades (rotors) are connected to a circular cage, and at the center of the turbine, the isolated arrow point stationary nose points forward. Each turbine blade has a 90 degree right angle fin connected to its tip for capturing the force of the wind that applies to the blade tip, which otherwise spills over, reducing wind force and creating turbulence at the tip. The captured wind at the blade tip increases the rotational force on the turbine blades creating a greater rotational force than on other market-available wind turbines. Preferentially, the turbine is directed into the wind either manually, or by using a tail vane or other means for orientating turbine into a wind. A generator or alternator converts the mechanical power into electricity for use at industrial, commercial or home sites.
US08708632B2	Active choking funnel for a grain spreader A grain spreader with an active choking funnel is described. The grain spreader includes an upper funnel assembly to receive grain. A choking funnel assembly is in a spring loaded engagement with the upper funnel assembly. The upper funnel assembly directs the grain to the choking funnel assembly. A spreader pan or a grain distributor is positioned beneath the choking funnel assembly. The choking funnel assembly spreads the grain on the spreader pan or the grain distributor.
US08708631B2	Fastening element for hard constructional components A fastening element for hard constructional components such as concrete, masonry, and the like, includes a cylindrical base body (22; 42; 62) having an inwardly located engagement element (28; 48; 68) for the setting bit and formed as a through-opening (31; 51; 71) in the bottom section (23; 43; 63) which is provided at the first end of the base body, a receptacle (29) opening toward the second end (25), remote from the first end and adjoining the engagement element (28; 48; 68) in a direction toward the second end (25), and provided with load application means (30; 50); and a self-tapping thread (27) provided, at least regionwise, on an outer surface (26) of the base body (22, 42; 62).
US08708625B1	Wind turbine blade railroad transportation system and method A system for transporting an airfoil over a railroad utilizing a first railcar coupled to a second railcar. The system includes a root bracket that supports a root end of the airfoil on the first railcar, and is oriented to align a tip end of the airfoil toward the second railcar. A blade support is fixed to the second railcar and is disposed to support the airfoil along its midsection. A weight is hung from a tension member on the second railcar such that the force of gravity induces tension forces along the tension member. An urging member is disposed on the second railcar and oriented to engage the airfoil between the blade support and the tip end of the airfoil. The urging member is coupled to the tension member such that the tension forces are transferred to the urging member to induce lateral forces against the airfoil.
US08708624B1	Router chip guard A chip deflector repositionable as needed relative to a bottom work contacting surface of a hand-held power router. The chip deflector can be positioned in a shielding location below the bottom work contacting surface of the router. When the chip deflector is in the shielding position and the router is held so that the deflector is between the cutter and the worker it will deflect debris away from the operator. When not useful the chip deflector can instantly be repositioned to a non-shielding location flush with or above the bottom work contacting surface of the router. When in the non-shielding location no portion of the chip deflector protrudes beyond the bottom work contacting surface of the router thereby allowing the router to perform all basic routing without obstruction. Repositioning requires no tools or downtime plus safety and comfort are enhanced. Embodiments may be provided as original equipment or aftermarket retrofits.
US08708621B2	Spiral fluted tap and method for manufacturing the same A spiral fluted tap is provided which includes a threaded portion having an external thread corresponding to an internal thread to be cut and a cutting edge formed along a spiral flute formed to divide the external thread, and being screwed into a prepared hole that is provided on a workpiece to cut an internal thread by the cutting edge on an inner circumferential surface of the prepared hole with discharging chips toward a shank via the spiral flute, the spiral flute having a stepped portion at a rear end of a chamfer portion or in a portion on a shank side from the rear end of the chamfer portion in the threaded portion, and a flute bottom diameter on a distal end side of the spiral fluted tap from the stepped portion being smaller than a flute bottom diameter on a shank side from the stepped portion.
US08708618B2	Reamer A reamer for the precision machining of a drilled hole, having a plurality of cutting bars which are separated from one another by chip grooves and extend in the longitudinal direction of the tool, wherein a plurality of chip divider grooves which run in the transverse direction of the tool and divide each cutting bar into cutting segments are provided.
US08708617B2	Internal groove insert and tool holder therefor An internal groove insert includes a rectangular main body having a top surface, a lower surface, and first to fourth lateral surfaces; and first and second projections each projecting from the adjacent first and second lateral surfaces. The first projection has a first cutting edge at the side of the top surface of the main body, while the second projection has a second cutting edge at the side of the lower surface. The first and fourth lateral surfaces are inclined by an obtuse angle with respect to the top surface, while the second and third lateral surfaces are inclined by an acute angle with respect to the top surface. The central axis of the clamping hole is inclined to be parallel to the insert corner edge where the first and fourth lateral surfaces meet.
US08708612B2	Milling cutter having serrated cutting inserts spaced apart with varying axial offsets A milling cutter includes a cutter body and at least three circumferentially spaced insert pockets, axially offset one with respect to the other, each having a replaceable cutting insert secured thereto. Each cutting insert has at least two identical straight serrated cutting edges and all the cutting inserts are identical. A first insert pocket (30) is an axially forwardmost insert pocket. A second insert pocket is axially offset from the first insert pocket by a first offset distance that is smaller than an offset distance associated with any other pair of axially adjacent insert pockets.
US08708608B2	Stackable segmental retaining wall block A multi-component segmented retaining wall (SRW) block that may form a mortarless retaining wall. Each SRW block includes an interlocking face unit and an anchor unit that may be interlocked by complementary connector elements. The face units each have a front face that has one or more coplanar stacking surfaces to provide greater stability when the face units are stacked for shipping.
US08708606B2	Relating to pipe A pipeline 100 comprising an outer rigid conduit 30, which is formed of a composite material, the composite material being arranged such that thermal expansion in the longitudinal direction is an effective longitudinal CTE from zero to about −/+10×10−6° K−1.
US08708605B2	Structure for transport and offshore installation of at least one wind turbine or underwater generator, and methods for transport and offshore installation of at least one wind turbine or underwater generator A structure for transport and offshore installation of at least one wind turbine or underwater generator includes a U-shaped floating hull having lateral arms. Each lateral arm has at least one leg vertically movable by the hull in flotation, and at least one assembly for supporting a wind turbine or underwater generator. The assembly includes two shuttles opposite each other and each combined with a leg and each having higher and lower pairs of arms which are pivotably movable between a retracted position and an active position tilted against a mast of the wind turbine or underwater generator.
US08708579B2	Optoelectrical connector In an optoelectrical connector that is composed of a plug including an insertion fitting part and a receptacle including a housing space into which the insertion fitting part of the plug is inserted, the plug is provided with an optical connection part on a front end of the insertion fitting part and an electric connection part more rearward than the optical connection part. The receptacle is provided with an optical connection part on the deep side of the housing space and an electric connection part more frontward than the optical connection part. A shutter is formed on the immediate front of the optical connection part of the receptacle and the shutter opens in the optical connection. Deterioration of optical coupling efficiency caused by attachment of metal abrasion powder, which is generated in a slide between the electrical connection parts in the electrical connection, to the optical connection parts, is prevented.
US08708565B2	Bearing arrangement A bearing arrangement of a shaft (2) is provided with which an annular bearing sleeve (4) is applied onto the shaft (2). At least in the axial region in which the bearing sleeve (4) is arranged, the shaft (2) includes a profiling extending parallel to its longitudinal axis (X). A corresponding engagement element (12) on the inner periphery of the bearing element (4) engages the profiling with a positive fit. At least one engagement element (12) extends in the direction of the longitudinal axis (X) of the shaft (2) only over a part of the length of the bearing sleeve (4).
US08708564B2	Bearing elements, bearing apparatuses including same, and related methods Bearing apparatuses including contacting bearing surfaces comprising superhard materials are disclosed. In one embodiment, the present invention relates to bearings including polycrystalline diamond inserts or compacts defining a plurality of surfaces that move relative to one another and contact one another. For example, apparatuses may include radial bearings, or other bearings including arcuate bearing surfaces that more in relation to one another, without limitation. In one embodiment, a superhard bearing element may comprise a superhard table (e.g., polycrystalline diamond) forming an arcuate bearing surface. Further, such a superhard bearing element may comprise a chamfer formed about at least a portion of a periphery of the arcuate bearing surface. Bearing apparatuses including such bearing elements and various mechanical systems are disclosed.
US08708559B2	Pile sensing device and method of using the same A system for monitoring the forming of a solid object having a sensor string positionable in a forming structure before the curing process and a communication line extending along a string axis between a first and second end. The string further including a plurality of sensors joined to the communication line between the ends and each sensor being mounted at a set position on the line. Each sensor having a sensor body and a sensor housing and the sensor body including an electrical connecter to electrically join an electrical structure to the communication line at the set position. The electrical structure including a temperature sensor configured to monitor temperature near the set position and further including an electronic identification code corresponding to the set position of the sensor along the axis. The system further including a transmitting device for selectively communicating the temperature and identification code.
US08708555B2	Methods and systems for verifying sensor bond integrity and structures employing such systems Methods and systems are disclosed for determining an amount of bond between a structure and sensor. A method may include performing a process associated with a sensor bonded to a structure and generating measured data in response to the process. The method may further include comparing the measured data to known reference data to determine integrity of a bond between the sensor and the structure. A system may include a sensor system including at least one sensor bonded to a structure. The system may further include a sensing system configured to initiate an application of one or more stimuli to the at least one sensor and monitor a property associated with the at least one sensor. The sensing system may further be configured to determine an amount of bond between the at least one sensor and the structure based on the monitored property. Structures having one or more sensors bonded thereto and an associated sensing system for determining bond integrity between the one or more sensors and the structure are also disclosed.
US08708540B2	Backlight module with heat dissipation structure A backlight module includes a back plate, a light guide plate, a heat insulation layer, a heat dissipation member, and a light source device. The back plate has a first surface, a second surface opposite to the first surface, and an opening passing through the back plate. The light guide plate is disposed on the first surface, the heat insulation layer is disposed on the second surface, and the heat dissipation member is disposed on the heat insulation layer. The light source device is connected to the heat dissipation member and protrudes from the first surface to face the light guide plate through the opening.
US08708535B2	Illumination device with interlocked yoke shell parts The present invention relates to an illumination device comprising a base, a U-shaped yoke connected to and rotatable relative to the base and a head connected to and rotatable relative to the yoke. The U-shaped yoke comprise two upstanding arms and the head is mounted between the upstanding arms. The head comprises at least one light source generating a light and the yoke comprises two interlocked U-shaped yoke shell parts. The present invention relates also to a method of manufacturing such illumination device. The method comprises the steps of providing the base, providing the head and providing the yoke where the step of providing the yoke comprises the step of locking two yoke shell parts together across the entire width of said yoke.
US08708526B2	LED street lamp A LED street lamp comprises a connector, a power supply assembly and a light source assembly, the connector is provided with a structure of internal toothed rings, the light source assembly comprises two supporting aims and a plurality of light source modules, the assembling and disassembling of the street lamp are convenient and the maintenance cost is thereby decreased.
US08708520B2	Illumination device and electronic apparatus An illumination device includes a light emitting element chip and a plurality of lens array units. The light emitting element chip has a plurality of light emitting elements. Each light emitting element is a first light emitting portion provided in the light emitting element chip, or is a second light emitting portion provided at a position closer to the end portion of the light emitting element chip than the first light emitting portion. The lens array unit has a plurality of micro lenses each of which is opposed to each of the plurality of light emitting elements. Each micro lens is a first lens opposed to the first light emitting portion, or a second lens opposed to the second light emitting portion. The optical center of the first lens coincides with the geometric center thereof, and the optical center of the second lens is different from the geometric center thereof.
US08708516B2	Lighting apparatus having rechargeable battery, charger and LED bulb A low voltage LED bulb having a base that fits a standard light socket designed to receive a bulb operated at line voltage is installed in a conventional lamp, which is connected by a lamp cord to a rechargeable battery, the charge in which is maintained by a charging circuit. The rechargeable battery can be provided in a module equipped with a receptacle capable of receiving a standard plug designed for line voltage, and in this case, the lamp requires no modification other than the replacement of the standard bulb by the low voltage LED bulb. In another embodiment, the battery and charger are incorporated into the lamp.
US08708509B2	Strobe device Each of electrode terminals is provided with an electrode connection section connected to an electrode of an electric discharge tube. When an exterior member is mounted on a housing, a concave section of the exterior member abuts on the electrode connection section of the electrode terminal, to displace the electrode connection section in a direction in which the electrode of the electric discharge tube is held therein. Thus, the exterior member is mounted on the housing so that connection between the electrode of the electric discharge tube and the electrode connection section can be completed. Therefore, connection work can be significantly easily performed without requiring soldering and press fitting.
US08708503B2	Projector having foot unit with increased projection length and decreased size A projector includes: an external case which stores an optical unit; and a foot unit which projects from the external case, the foot unit includes: a first foot main body whose projection length from the external case is variable, a second foot main body whose projection length from the first foot main body in the same direction as the projection direction of the first foot main body is variable, a first adjusting unit configured to adjust the projection length of the first foot main body, and a second adjusting unit configured to adjust the projection length of the second foot main body.
US08708497B2	Three dimensional measurement apparatus and three dimensional measurement method A three dimensional measurement apparatus includes a projection unit that projects, to a measurement target object, a first pattern light including alternately arranged bright parts and dark parts and a second pattern light in which a phase of the first pattern light is shifted, and an imaging unit that images the measurement target object on which the first or second pattern light is projected. When a period of repetitions of the bright parts and the dark parts of the pattern light is one period, a range of imaging on the measurement target object by one pixel included in the imaging unit is an image distance, and the length of one period of the projected pattern light on the measurement target object surface is M times the image distance, the projection unit and the imaging unit are arranged to satisfy “2×N−0.2≦M≦2×N+0.2 (where N is not less than 2)”.
US08708487B2	Adjustable focus eyeglasses with eye-by-eye actuation Adjustable focus eyeglasses where the range of adjustment can be moved. That is, if a pair of adjustable focus eyeglasses have a range of 0 diopters to 2.75 diopters (to provide a 2.75 D ADD for reading for an emmetrope), this invention could, for example, permit the user to move the range from 0 D to 2.75 D to 2.00 D to 4.75 D so as to accommodate a short term change in the user's distance vision requirement. Each eye can be adjusted independently.
US08708484B2	Adjustable spectral transmittance eyewear Embodiments of the present invention relate to eyewear having an electrically switchable spectral transmittance lens(es). The eyewear includes a lens driver that controls the variable spectral transmittance lens(es). The lens driver is functional to alter a duration of a spectral transmittance state based on a desired frequency and/or duty cycle of the spectral transmittance state. A user may provide an input indicating the desired level of difficulty provided by the eyewear, wherein the input may indicate that the frequency, the duty cycle, or a combination of the two should be changed. As a result of changing a perceived level of difficulty presented by the eyewear, a wearer of the eyewear may train his or her visual abilities to provide a competitive advantage
US08708479B2	Method to reduce the curling of a printing substrate in a printer, and device to print to a printing substrate In a method or device to reduce curling of a printing substrate in a printer, at least one print region of the printing substrate is printed with ink. A moisture level of the printing substrate is increased in at least one unprinted partial region of the printing substrate that is arranged on a same side of the printing substrate as the print region.
US08708477B2	Liquid ejecting apparatus A liquid ejecting apparatus includes: a liquid ejecting head having a nozzle opening for ejecting a liquid; a heating unit disposed opposite a liquid ejecting surface of the liquid ejecting head; a transport unit that transports a liquid-ejection-target medium between the liquid ejecting head and the heating unit; a blower unit that blows air onto a liquid-ejection-target surface of the medium; and a blowing control unit. The blower unit is able to vary an amount of air blown in a plurality of regions disposed along a certain direction, the plurality of regions including a region of the liquid-ejection-target medium, and the blowing control unit controls an amount of the air blown from the blower unit in the plurality of the regions along the certain direction on the basis of a width of the medium in the certain direction.
US08708476B2	Recording apparatus A recording medium includes: a recording head ejecting fluid onto a recording medium; a transporting device transporting the recording medium along a supporting surface; and a heating device heating the recording medium on the supporting surface, in which a control device that protrudes the supporting surface upward toward the center portion from both ends in the width direction perpendicular to the transport direction which is direction the recording medium is transported, and controls the amount of protrusion at the center portion in accordance with the amount of thermal extension in the width direction of the recording medium due to heating of the heating device.
US08708468B2	Image forming apparatus including recording head for ejecting liquid droplets An image forming apparatus includes a recording head, head tanks, replaceable main tanks, liquid feed pumps, a first driving source, and a drive switching assembly. The feed pumps feed liquids from the main tanks to the head tanks and in reverse from the head tanks to the main tanks. The drive switching assembly selectively transmits a driving force of the first driving source to the feed pumps. The drive switching assembly includes a second driving source, a cam, a slider member, and a switching gear. The switching gear receives the driving force of the first driving source and is movable with the slider member between positions to engage driving gears of the feed pumps and a position to disengage from the driving gears. With movement of the switching gear, the driving force of the first driving source is selectively transmitted to the feed pumps.
US08708467B2	Liquid injecting apparatus Provided is a liquid injecting apparatus equipped with a liquid injecting head, which is mounted on a carriage and moved reciprocally in a widthwise direction of a target, and a valve unit, which is mounted on the carriage to be supplied with liquid via a supply passage from a liquid retainer and to supply liquid to the liquid injecting head. The valve unit has a pressure chamber connected to the liquid retainer via the supply passage; a valve, which opens or closes the supply passage to supply liquid to the pressure chamber; and a flexible film member, which is displaced based on a negative pressure generated as liquid in the pressure chamber decreases to thereby operate the valve.
US08708465B1	Method for protecting piezoelectric transducer Disclosed is a process for preparing an ink jet printhead which comprises: (a) providing a diaphragm plate having a plurality of piezoelectric transducers bonded thereto with an adhesive; (b) placing an encapsulant thin film on the piezoelectric transducers; and (c) applying heat, pressure, or a combination thereof to the encapsulant thin film to a degree sufficient to cause the encapsulant to encapsulate the adhesive.
US08708462B2	Nozzle assembly with elliptical nozzle opening and pressure-diffusing structure A nozzle assembly for an inkjet printhead includes: an ink chamber having an elliptical nozzle opening defined in a roof of the ink chamber and an ink inlet; a heater element positioned in the ink chamber, the heater element having an elongate linear beam for generating a vapor bubble in the ink chamber, the elongate linear beam having a longitudinal axis extending parallel with a major axis of the elliptical nozzle opening; and a pressure-diffusing structure positioned relative to the ink inlet. The pressure-diffusing structure is configured for diffusing pressure pulses in ink supplied to the ink chamber via the ink inlet.
US08708455B2	Capping device and liquid ejection apparatus A capping device including: (a) a cap structure is movable, relative to an object, in a contact direction toward a surface of the object so as to be brought into contact with the surface, for thereby covering the surface of the object; (b) a transmission mechanism configured to transmit, to the cap structure, a pressing force that causes the cap structure to be brought into contact with the surface; and (c) a support member supporting the transmission mechanism. The transmission mechanism is configured to restrain increase and reduction of the pressing force, such that the pressing force transmitted to the cap structure is held in a given amount range at least when a distance between the cap structure and the support member in the contact direction is in a given distance range while the cap structure is in contact with the surface.
US08708454B2	Fluid ejecting apparatus A fluid ejecting apparatus includes a fluid ejecting head and a fluid receiver. The fluid ejecting head has an ejection face in which a plurality of nozzles for ejecting fluid is formed. The ejection face is inclined with respect to a horizontal plane. The fluid receiver receives the fluid discharged from the fluid ejecting head. The fluid receiver includes a holding portion that holds an absorbing member. The absorbing member absorbs the fluid. A fluid reservoir is formed in the fluid receiver. The fluid reservoir can contain the fluid, thereby offering a fluid-retaining function that is different from the retention of the fluid due to absorption by the absorbing member.
US08708453B2	Cleaning method and fluid ejecting apparatus A method for cleaning a fluid ejecting apparatus is provided. The fluid ejecting apparatus includes a fluid ejecting head that has a plurality of nozzle openings through which fluid is ejected, a fluid supply passage through which the fluid is supplied toward the fluid ejecting head, an open/close valve that is provided on the fluid supply passage, and a pressure reduction mechanism that generates negative pressure in a space outside the nozzle openings. The cleaning method includes a valve-closing operation of putting the open/close valve into a closed state and a pressure reduction operation of generating negative pressure in the space by using the pressure reduction mechanism after the valve-closing operation to cause the fluid to bulge outward at the nozzle openings.
US08708446B2	Printing device and printing method To make it possible to easily provide printed matter with varying degrees of gloss, a printing device includes a head for ejecting a photo-curing ink to a medium, a photo-irradiation device for radiating light to the photo-curing ink ejected on the medium and curing the photo-curing ink, and a controller for causing an ejection and curing operation to be performed for ejecting the photo-curing ink and subsequently radiating the light to cure the photo-curing ink, the controller being configured so that when an image having a first degree of gloss is formed, the image is formed by a first number of ejection and curing operations, and when an image having a second degree of gloss lower than the first degree of gloss is formed, the image is formed by a second number of ejection and curing operations greater than the first number.
US08708444B2	Inkjet printer and ejection timing correction method A head includes first and second outlet rows, and records uniform images in check regions. In each uniform image, a combination of a first dot row formed with the first outlet row and a second dot row formed with the second outlet row while being spaced apart from the first dot row in a movement direction is repeatedly arranged with a repeat pitch in its direction. When recording the uniform image in each check region, a distance obtained by changing a reference distance, which is half the repeat pitch, by a set shift amount is assigned as a distance between each first dot row and each second dot row, the set shift amount being progressively changed for the check regions. A maximum density check region is specified, and ejection timing of the second outlet row is corrected based on the set shift amount corresponding to the maximum density check region.
US08708441B2	Ink jet printing In general, in one aspect, the invention features a method of driving an inkjet module having a plurality of ink jets. The method includes applying a voltage waveform to the inkjet module, the voltage waveform including a first pulse and a second pulse, activating one or more of the ink jets contemporaneously to applying the first pulse, wherein each activated ink jet ejects a fluid droplet in response to the first pulse, and activating all of the ink jets contemporaneously to applying the second pulse without ejecting a droplet.
US08708439B2	Language and method for measuring the viscosity of printing ink during the printing and ink correction process A method of operating a printing press includes transferring ink from an inlet point to a printing substrate, and measuring actual optical values of light, in which the actual optical values are from light of selected wavelength ranges and in which the light has interacted with at least parts of the printed image. The method includes providing a control and evaluation device with measured values from an optical measuring device and with measured values from an ink mass determination device so as to determine an optical deviation of actual optical values from optical reference values, and determining an amount of corrective ink that is to be fed to the printing press in order to approximate the actual optical values to the optical reference values.
US08708436B2	Arrangement of telescopic extensions The invention relates to two telescopic extensions that can be deployed in a refrigerating device to support thereon a goods carrier, such as a door-type goods carrier for refrigerated goods. Bridges are mounted on movable rails of the telescopic extensions and delimit, together with the movable rail, a gap for receiving a first carrier tab element of the goods carrier. The width of the gap is larger than the thickness of the first carrier tab element, and a first stabilizer tab element is inserted into the free space remaining after the first carrier tab element is inserted into the gap.
US08708423B2	Customizable modular brush system and method thereof A system and method that utilizes modular components to form a customizable brush for different applications with ease and at a low cost. The system and method utilizes three main components: a base, a plurality of rails, and a plurality of strip brush elements. The plurality of rails is fastened to the base and the plurality of rails holds the strip brush elements to the base to form a brush. All three components may be made of a thermoplastic or thermoset, non-metallic material which can be either rigid or flexible to allow the resulting brush to be easily recyclable.
US08708403B2	Front-section structure of a motor vehicle For the reinforcement of a front section of a motor vehicle, a transverse beam is arranged between longitudinal beams of the body structure at the front side. The transverse beam is situated above the longitudinal beams and is adjoined by in each case one lattice girder. Each lattice girder extends in the longitudinal direction of the longitudinal beams and is connected at one side to the transverse beam and at the other side to a suspension unit mount.
US08708392B2	Retractable vehicle seat A retractable vehicle seat in which a seat main body disposed on a vehicle floor is flipped up laterally, so as to be retracted in a vehicle interior side wall of which the upper portion is inwardly inclined, may include a connection mechanism that is configured to rotatably connect the seat main body to a support stand. The connection mechanism includes a four-link mechanism having a stationary link integral with the support stand, an intermediate link integral with the seat main body, and a first link and a second link that connect these two links. The second link is configured to increase an angle between the first link and the intermediate link as the seat main body is flipped up.
US08708389B2	Extendable support device utilized with a cargo bed The present invention is an extendable support device utilized with a pick-up truck that includes a cargo bed with a back that includes a trailer hitch, an adjustable horizontal member, an adjustable vertical member and an adjustable width member. There is also a pair of brake lights disposed on a pair of vertical members of the adjustable width member and a pair of signal lights disposed on a pair of vertical members of the adjustable width member.
US08708387B2	Console box A console box is made of resin, is elongate in the vehicle front-rear direction, and can be installed on a floor panel. An upper component forms a top face and a front wall on the vehicle front side, and has, in the top face near the front wall, a drink holder that is recessed downward. A lower component forms side walls and on both sides in the vehicle width direction and a rear wall on the vehicle rear side. The lower component has a link portion that extends between and links the inner faces of the side walls and below the drink holder. The link portion is fixed with bolts and to the floor panel, and a lower face at a bottom of the drink holder has a clip that connects the drink holder to the link portion.
US08708382B2	Electrically active hand-operable excavation apparatus A hand-operable excavation apparatus for detecting buried electrical cable. The hand-operable excavation apparatus comprises of a unitary structure having a handle and an electrically conductive portion. At least one electric field sensor is secured to the electrically conductive portion to monitor electrical fields in proximity to the end of the device during ground breaking for activation of an alerting system when the preset value is greater than a predetermined voltage for notifying the excavator of buried electrical cable.
US08708379B2	Vehicle bumper structure A rear bumper includes a bumper central part configured to cover a rear end portion of a vehicle, a pair of bumper side parts configured to extend from both ends of the bumper central part toward respective wheel housings, a wheel arch portion disposed at an end of each of the bumper side parts, a flange formed integrally with an inner surface of each of the bumper side parts, and a wheel arch bracket disposed on the flange and configured to support fender components. The wheel arch bracket includes a component supporting portion configured to support the fender components, a flange mount portion disposed opposite to the component supporting portion and attached to the flange, and a plurality of vertical walls configured to extend from the component supporting portion toward the flange mount portion.
US08708378B2	Gate latch A gate latch includes a bracket including a vertical backplate, a lower plate, and an upper plate. Each of the plates is attached to and extends in the same direction away from the backplate. Each of the plates includes first and second throughholes, in which the first throughhole of the lower plate is vertically aligned with the first throughhole of upper plate, and the second throughhole of lower plate is vertically aligned with the second throughhole of the upper plate. The latch includes a rigid bolt including first, second, and third elongate portions, with the first and third elongate portions being connected together, the second and third elongate portions being connected together, and the first and second elongate portions being parallel. The first elongate portion is movably positioned in the first throughholes of the upper and lower plates, and the second elongate portion is movably positioned in the second throughholes of the upper and lower plates.
US08708375B2	Plug connection A plug connector for media-bearing lines has a plug body for connecting to an opening. At least one rib is provided on the plug body, the rib being retained in the opening in the assembly position of the plug body by a retaining clip adjustable on the plug body. An assembly force acts on the retaining clip, the clip being supported on at least one rib of the plug body, thereby displacing the plug body into the opening, and locking therein in an undercut.
US08708370B1	Safety enhancement for a safety belt A safety enhancement for a safety belt comprises an actuator housing mechanically coupled to a first end plate, a rotor blade, an orifice plate, a second end plate, a coil, and a spring cover by an actuator axel. The orifice plate comprises an orifice that allows hydraulic fluid to pass from a first side of the rotor blade to a second side of the rotor blade in order to increase or decrease tension on a safety belt to reduce user movement.
US08708368B2	Gas generator The present invention provides a gas generator including a housing provided with a diffuser shell and a closure shell, an ignition device, the diffuser shell being in a substantially cup-like shape and having an annular bent portion obtained by bending a circumferential wall portion at an opening inwardly, the closure shell being in a substantially annular shape having a annular plate portion that includes a annular curved portion projecting toward the inside of the housing, the ignition device being fixed to a central hole in the annular plate portion with a resin, an inner circumferential part of the annular plate portion in the closure shell abutting against the resin, an outer circumferential part of the annular plate portion abutting against and being fixed to the annular bent portion of the diffuser shell.
US08708365B2	Side curtain airbag assembly In at least one embodiment, a side curtain airbag assembly for protecting an occupant of a vehicle is provided. The side curtain airbag assembly comprises an inflatable cushion configured to be installed between a roof rail and an upper vehicle trim of the vehicle. The inflatable cushion is deployable from an uninflated state to an inflated state by gas from a gas generator. The inflatable cushion includes a side protection panel having an upper perimeter portion and one or more sub chambers. The sub chambers inflate downward from the upper perimeter portion. An upward deploying chamber is in fluid communication with the side protection panel and inflates upward between the roof rail and the upper vehicle trim.
US08708363B1	Folding walker A folding walker includes a first frame of two parallel main supports separated by a horizontal cross bar. An inverted U-shaped second frame has one leg pivotally affixed to each main support of the first frame and pivotal between an extended operable position and a folded storage position. At least one brace extends from an intermediate portion of a leg of the second frame and is pivotally affixed thereto, and an upper end of the brace is slidably attached to an upper portion of one of the main supports of the first frame. At least one tension brace extends between a lower portion of one of the main supports of the first frame and one of the legs of the inverted U-shaped second frame. The tension brace is intermediately hinged wherein a first segment of the tension brace is pivotal with respect to a second segment of the tension brace.
US08708362B2	Automatic lock system for vehicle hitch assembly A hitch coupler includes a frame having vertically spaced apart plates extending outwardly therefrom. Each plate includes a pin receiving aperture adapted to receive a pin member therethrough. The pin member is moveable between extended and retracted positions. The pin member includes a pin housing having a vertical guide slot disposed thereon. A lock mechanism is pivotally coupled to the frame member and includes a locking flange which is adapted to engage the guide slot when the pin member is in the extended position. The lock mechanism is biased towards a lock position such that the locking flange of the lock mechanism is adapted to automatically engage the guide slot disposed on the pin housing of the pin member when the guide slot is aligned with the locking flange of the lock mechanism. In the locked position, the locking mechanism acts to retain the pin member in the extended position.
US08708361B1	Bicycle outrigger support assembly An outrigger support assembly is for use with a frame of a bicycle. Front and rear wheels are coupled to the frame. Handle bars are coupled to and extend upwardly from the frame. Pedals are secured to and extend laterally from the frame adjacent to the forward end of the frame. A drive chain operatively couples the pedals and the rear wheel. A seat is mounted on the frame between the front and rear wheels. The support assembly includes two outrigger wheels positionable on opposite sides of the frame and on opposite sides of the front and rear wheels. Support structures on each side of the frame, each have an interior end couplable to the frame and an exterior end with an outrigger wheel rotatably supported on an associated exterior end. Hinges on each support structure move between lowered and raised orientations.
US08708353B1	Toe or camber adjustment mechanism A toe/camber adjustment mechanism comprising: a first ear section having an aperture; a second ear section having an aperture; at least one cam plate positioned on at least one aperture in the ear sections, the cam plate comprising: a rod aperture offset from a center of the cam plate; a plurality of positioning apertures; and a torque application point; at least one locking insert member aligning and fixing at least one of the positioning apertures in the cam plate with at least one aperture in the ear sections; and a pivot rod extending through the apertures in the ear sections and the rod aperture. A method of adjusting a toe/camber comprising the steps of: providing a member having an aperture; providing a cam plate positioned on the aperture in the first member, the cam plate comprising: a rod aperture; and a plurality of positioning apertures; removing a fastener from a one of the positioning apertures and the aperture in the member; rotating the cam plate; and inserting the fastener into one of the positioning apertures and the aperture in the member.
US08708340B1	Action figure game piece and method of playing action figure game An action figure game piece is disclosed. The game piece comprises a game figure character adapted for movement a distance over a surface and a mechanism for indicating the distance of movement over the surface. A method of playing an action figure game on the surface is also disclosed. The method comprises providing for each player a plurality of the game pieces, each game piece having an indicium indicating a point value, a mechanism for indicating a distance the game piece has moved over the surface, and a mechanism for attacking an opponent player's game pieces. The method also comprises selecting for each player a group of the game pieces having point values summing to a predetermined value and selecting a number of actions each player can take per player's turn. An action comprises either a move, comprising moving a game piece a distance up to the particular game piece's point value, or an attack, comprising actuation of the particular game piece's attacking mechanism. Players alternate taking turns, selectively making a move or an attack, until the game is determined to have ended.
US08708334B2	Recording medium supply device and recording apparatus A recording medium supply device includes a cassette attachable to and detachable from a main body and capable of stacking recording medium thereon, a feeding roller which feeds the uppermost recording medium to the main body from a leading end of the recording medium, a regulating member which is arranged forward in the direction in which the cassette is removed from the main body as seen from the feeding roller, and a projection preventing member attached adjacent to the tip portion of the cassette facing the leading end of the recording medium. The position of the lower end of the regulating member is higher than the cassette attached to the main body, and lower than the lower end of the feeding roller, and the position of the upper end of the projection preventing member is higher than the position of the lower end of the regulating member.
US08708332B2	Automatic feeding apparatus with sheet-input assisting mechanism An automatic feeding apparatus includes a body and a sheet passage, a sheet-separation mechanism and a sheet-input assisting mechanism in the body. The sheet-separation mechanism is configured to separate sheets. The sheet-input assisting mechanism includes a frame, a presser, a clutch gear and a driving device. The clutch gear, driven by the driving device, is displaceable on a guide groove of the frame between a first position and a second position. The clutch gear is rotated rearward to be engaged with a gear rack of the presser at the first position and thereby drive the presser to move in a first direction. The clutch gear is rotated forward to move to the second position and disengaged from the gear rack of the presser. After being released, the presser moves in a second direction to press a sheet in front of a nip portion of the sheet-separation mechanism.
US08708310B2	Flooring installation tool with adjustable shoe A flooring installation tool includes a base having a bottom surface configured to engage a top surface of a flooring material, and a shoe having a connection portion and a vertical surface engaging portion. The connection portion is movably connected to a gear housing supported by the base, and the vertical surface engaging portion is configured to engage a vertical surface of the flooring material. An adjuster is configured to selectively hold the shoe relative to the base in a first position or in a second position that is different from the first position.
US08708308B2	Sealing arrangement for a diaphragm valve A diaphragm valve is disclosed. The diaphragm valve includes a valve body including a housing defining a fluid flow passageway and a valve seat. A bonnet assembly including a housing is mounted to the valve body. A diaphragm, a backing cushion and a resilient member are positioned between the bonnet assembly and the valve body. The resilient member is sandwiched between the housing of the bonnet assembly and the backing cushion for urging the backing cushion toward the diaphragm, thereby urging the diaphragm against the valve body.
US08708297B2	Variable composite support structure for supporting an electronic product A support structure for an electronic product includes a base (20), a support block (21), at least one connecting block (22), and an extension block (23). The base has a first guide channel (201) and a second guide channel (202). The support block has a first guide rail (210), a first connecting channel (211) and a side rail (212). The connecting block has a second guide rail (220), a first connecting rail (221) and a second connecting channel (222). The extension block has a third guide rail (230) and a second connecting rail (231). Thus, the base, the support block, the connecting block and the extension block are combined in different manners so that the inclined angle, space and height of the support structure can be adjusted arbitrarily so as to support the electronic product of different specifications and sizes.
US08708294B2	Mounting bracket An improved mounting bracket that provides an indication to an installer when a mount is not correctly aligned. The mounting bracket comprises a mounting contact portion and at least one side portion integrally connected to the mounting contact portion, with the at least one side portion defining a receiving region for accepting one or more retaining portions of a mount. The at least one side portion includes a first ramped surface at least partially outside of the receiving region. The first ramped surface configured to contact a retaining portion when the retaining portion is misaligned with the receiving region, thereby informing an installer of the misalignment.
US08708278B2	Method and apparatus for retrieving a hovering aircraft For retrieval of a hovering aircraft, a cable, bar, or similar fixture is suspended in an approximately horizontal orientation across the retrieval area between two well-separated supports. The aircraft slowly flies into this fixture, which then slides along the aircraft in a direction approximately parallel with the aircraft's thrust line. This leads to the aircraft becoming fastened to the fixture by an interceptor or aircraft capturer, which in alternative embodiments are respectively on the aircraft or the fixture or both. Thrust is then reduced, and the aircraft comes to rest hanging from the fixture for subsequent removal. Retrieval is thus accomplished with simple and economical apparatus, light and unobtrusive elements on the aircraft, low risk of damage, and only moderate piloting accuracy.
US08708271B2	Mandrel used for digital printing on can members There is proposed a clamping mandrel for a rotationally symmetrical hollow body in the form of a beverage can integrally comprising a body portion and a bottom. Accurate coupling and precise control of the movement of the mandrel is to be transmitted to the hollow body. For that purpose there are provided a plurality of clamping segments forming an outwardly facing cylindrical clamping surface for engaging an inside surface of the hollow body. The clamping segments are radially movably guided. A force-transmission device arranged in the interior of the clamping mandrel is provided for synchronous control of the radial movement of the clamping segments. That provides for controlled precision movement of a hollow body clamped by the clamping device.
US08708262B2	Portable food blender This utility patent is a portable food blender. It includes a food container, a blade set with cutting blades that is set in the said container and can spin, and a container cover set that is on top of the said container and cannot rotate relative to the container. The said container cover set has an upper surface and a lower surface. It also includes a pivot and driving unit. The said pivot intrudes out from the said container cover set's upper side. When the pivot rotates against the said container cover set, it drives the driving unit to make the said blade set spin. The said pivot is inside in the side of the said container cover set and is mounted to the upper surface. The said driving unit is mounted on the said container cover set's lower surface. The portable food container of this utility patent has the following benefits: The structure of the item is relatively simple. It is easy to manufacture. It is easy to use. And it can achieve better result when processing food.
US08708251B2	Tank sprayer assembly including tank component and sprayer package subassembly A tank sprayer assembly includes a tank component and a subassembly, the tank component having a neck that defines a first access opening. The subassembly includes a sprayer component and a packaging container, the packaging container defining a cavity and having a lower wall defining a second access opening. The sprayer component includes a cap and a pump attached to the cap, the cap and the neck being configured to threadingly engage each other. The tank sprayer is positionable in an assembled configuration and disassembled configuration. In the assembled configuration, the cap is aligned with the second access opening, the neck is extended through the second access opening into the cavity, and the neck and the cap are threadingly engaged to secure the sprayer component to the tank component. In the disassembled configuration, the cap is aligned with the second access opening and the neck is spaced apart from the cavity.
US08708250B2	Fuel injection device A fuel injection device includes a cylinder that defines a pressure chamber at an end portion of a nozzle needle. A floating plate as a control member is placed in the cylinder. A cutout portion and multiple grooves are formed in the floating plate. The cutout portion and the grooves causes a gap between a large-diameter inner circumferential surface and an outer circumferential surface to communicate with the pressure chamber. The cutout portion and the grooves reduce a contact surface portion between the cylinder and the floating plate and divide the contact surface portion into multiple island portions. As a result, it is possible to reduce the contact surface portion.
US08708247B2	Method and device for injecting fuel into the combustion chamber of an internal combustion engine In a method for injecting fuel into the combustion chamber of an internal combustion engine, the fuel is fed by at least one prefeed pump from a tank to at least one high-pressure pump and the high-pressure fuel fed by the high-pressure pump is supplied to the injector, wherein the injector has an injection nozzle with an axially movable nozzle needle protruding into a control chamber which can be fed with fuel under pressure and whose pressure is controlled by a control valve which opens or closes at least one inflow or outflow duct for fuel. Between the prefeed pump and the high-pressure pump, a partial volume of the fuel is branched off as a flushing volume and supplied to a flushing channel of the injector, wherein the flushing volume is directly supplied to the control valve such that the flushing volume flows at least partially through the control valve and preferably mixes with the fuel from the inflow or outflow duct, respectively.
US08708244B2	Control of a system with a large thermal capacity The invention provides a method and a system for controlling floor heating or climate regulating systems with long time constants. According to the invention, a flow of a fluid is provided through the floor or through a similar medium with large thermal inertia. An induced heat is determined by adding up a plurality of differences between an inlet temperature of the fluid when it enters the medium and an outlet temperature of the fluid when it leaves the medium. The temperatures are sampled with a fixed sampling time and within a fixed period of time, and a corresponding change in temperature of the medium over the fixed period of time is determined. In the future, the temperature of that medium is controlled by use of a ratio between the induced heat and the change in temperature.
US08708243B2	Thermal valve A valve includes a housing and a valve seat and a structure fixedly disposed remote from the valve seat, a valve head to open and close the valve seat, fluid being permitted to flow when the valve seat is open and an elastic system anchored on the structure and coupled to the valve head, the elastic system including a biasing element and an elastic element formed of memory metal alloy disposed to contact fluid permitted to flow, the biasing element and the elastic element being configured to cooperatively move the valve head toward a valve seat open position when a fluid temperature is below a lower limit, and the biasing element and the elastic element being further configured to cooperatively move the valve head toward a valve seat closed position in opposition to the biasing element when the fluid temperature is above an upper limit.
US08708242B2	Thermostat system with software-repurposable wiring terminals adaptable for HVAC systems of different ranges of complexity An auxiliary hardware box is described that can be installed at or near the HVAC system. The auxiliary box includes a large number of wiring terminals, for example 16 or more, for connecting to a relatively large number of HVAC control wires. The auxiliary box can include a “train map” type graphic display that is visible to the installer and provides a graphical indication as to which relays or switches are currently open and which are currently closed. A small sleek visually pleasing thermostat is also described that can be connected either directly to an HVAC system or to the auxiliary box, and can automatically detect an purpose the connected wires according to which it is connected to.
US08708236B2	Encoded information reading terminal with user-configurable multi-protocol wireless communication interface An encoded information reading (EIR) terminal can comprise a microprocessor, a memory, an (EIR) device, and a wireless communication interface. The EIR device can be provided by a bar code reading device, an RFID reading device, and/or a card reading device. The EIR device can be configured to perform outputting raw message data containing an encoded message and/or outputting decoded message data corresponding to an encoded message. The wireless communication interface can comprise a radio frequency front end configured to perform receiving a first radio signal and/or transmitting a second radio signal. The radio frequency front end can be electrically coupled to an analog-to-digital converter (ADC) which can be electrically coupled to the system bus and/or to a digital-to-analog converter (DAC) which can be electrically coupled to the system bus. The microprocessor can be configured to execute a base-band encoder software program and/or a base-band decoder software program.
US08708231B2	Automated transaction machine An automated retail terminal in which a plurality of goods and/or services are provided in an integrated system. The integrated system generally avoids duplicating hardware or functions in the course of delivering the goods or services offered, so for example in a combination ATM and Internet kiosk the same credit card or smart card reader is used for both the ATM and the Internet kiosk functions, the same control screen activates the ATM functions and the Internet functions, and etc.
US08708217B2	Carton and carton blank A carton for packaging a plurality of articles includes top (214, 314) and bottom (218/220, 318/320) panels connected together by spaced side wall panels thereby forming a tubular structure and a set of end panels for at least partially closing each end of the tubular structure. Each set of end panels includes a pair of upper end closure panels (232a, 232b, 332a, 332b), a pair of lower end closure panels (226a, 226b, 326a, 326b) hinged to respective lower portions of the side wall panels respectively and a pair of securing panels (224a, 224b, 324a, 324b) hingedly connected to respective upper portions of the side wall panels respectively. The upper end closure panels (232a, 232b, 332a, 332b) are hingedly connected respectively to the securing panels by respective connecting panels (230a, 230b, 340a, 340b). The upper end closure panels are coupled to the lower end closure panels respectively.
US08708210B2	Method and force-limiting handle mechanism for a surgical instrument A safety handle assembly for use with a surgical instrument having an operative distal end portion is disclosed. The handle assembly includes a handle housing and a drive element movably mounted within the handle housing and connected to an associated operative distal end portion. A drive assembly is positioned within the handle housing and is engageable with the drive element to move the drive element within the handle housing. An actuator is movably mounted on the handle housing and an adjustable force-limiting mechanism is interposed between the drive assembly and the actuator. A force-limiting mechanism releasably connects the actuator to the drive assembly. The force-limiting mechanism is adjustable to preset the force at which the actuator separates or breaks away from the drive assembly.
US08708208B2	Apparatus and method for separating dunnage from a pallet An apparatus for separating dunnage from a pallet including a base plate for placement on a floor, a shearing surface positioned at a predetermined distance above the base plate, and means for securing the shearing surface to the base plate. The shearing surface includes a bottom edge which is substantially planar with the base plate. The base plate, bottom edge of the shearing surface, and the means for securing define an opening for passing a pallet therethrough. In a second aspect, a method is provided for separating dunnage from a pallet which includes providing the apparatus, and forcing the pallet through the opening, whereby the shearing surface separates the dunnage from the pallet when the pallet passes through the opening.
US08708206B2	Bag that distributes weight over the back of a person An apparatus includes a bag to carry one or more objects on the back of a person, and a cushion for connection to a surface of the bag. The cushion is used for making substantially continuous contact with the back when the bag is carried on the back. The apparatus may be a backpack or any other type of bag.
US08708205B2	Handlebar mount for motorcycle meter or the like The handlebar mount that employs a single clamp to secure a meter to a handlebar in a manner that supports the meter in cantilever fashion, adjacent to the center of the handlebar and recessed relative to the handlebar.
US08708200B2	Disposable pump with suck-back mechanism A disposable pump for liquid dispensing includes a chamber in which pressure may be varied for pumping liquid from a compressible container to the chamber to a dispensing opening. The chamber encloses an inner valve that regulates liquid flow between the container and the chamber, and an outer valve regulates flow of liquid between the chamber and the dispensing opening. The pump has a closed position where liquid is drawn from the container to the chamber by negative pressure in the chamber. To dispense, a volume of liquid is drawn from the chamber to the dispensing opening. The inner valve is a one-way valve openable to flow liquid in the dispensing direction when inner valve opening pressure acts in the dispensing direction, and closes for pressure acting in the opposite direction. The outer two-way valve opens to flow liquid in the dispensing or opposite direction.
US08708196B2	Ampoule protector and method of construction thereof A fluid delivery device includes a compressible sleeve configured to hold a fluid-holding container such as an ampoule or capsule. The sleeve is compressible so as to be able to shatter the container under user-applied force to release the contents of the container for application to a desired location. The sleeve is constructed from at least two independent and separate walls. The independence of the walls improves the resistance of the sleeve to accidental puncturing by the frangible container while not significantly impacting the force required to shatter the container.
US08708187B2	Container with an annular ridge locking feature A container having a cup and a lid, which in turn includes locking features, wherein the lid engages in a secure relation to the cup, is disclosed. In other embodiments, the invention is directed to a container having a lid that fits over an open end of a cup and a lid that fits inversely and inside the open end of a cup. The lid of the invention comprises at least one protruding annular ridge, allowing for secure placement on the cup when the cup is in motion. The lid fits in a complementary (positive/negative) relation to the protruding ridge(s) on the cup. This container is designed for the purpose of being in motion: while walking, driving, and all aspects of travel and carrying. Additional embodiments include novel spout designs for the cup portion and lid portion.
US08708183B2	Lid-lift hole liner and containment box for utility vault lids A lid-lift hole assembly for an underground utility vault lid comprises a liner positioned in an open-ended lid-lift hole, and a receptacle positioned below the liner. Opposite side walls of the receptacle contain thru-holes aligned with fastener holes in opposite side walls of the liner, Fasteners extending through the thru-holes and into the fastener holes (from the underside of the lid) are tightened (to apply pressure to the juncture between the receptacle and the liner) to lock the liner in the lid-lift hole. The receptacle forms an enlarged-volume, box-like enclosure rigidly (but releasably) held beneath an open passage through the liner. The space inside the receptacle can contain debris kept from entering the working area of the vault. The space inside the receptacle is shaped to receive a tool for removing the lid.
US08708173B2	Moving body separating device The moving body separating device includes a separating device main body, which separates an upstream-side moving body disposed on a base plate to be movable in a straight-line direction and a downstream-side moving body connected to the upstream-side moving body on the base plate at a prescribed separating point when moving to a downstream side. The separating device main body includes a rotary body for pushing out the downstream-side moving body towards the downstream side through a rotary action, a supporting shaft held by the upstream-side moving body for supporting the rotary body to be freely rotatable, and an original-position returning spring held by the supporting shaft for returning the rotary body to an original position. A protrusion member which applies a rotary pressure force to the rotary body is fixed at a prescribed separating point on the base plate by corresponding to one end part of the rotary body.
US08708168B2	Tool stand A tool stand includes a base, a post rotationally supported on the base, at least two trays rotationally supported on the post above the base, small wheels connected to the base, and large wheels connected to the lowermost one of trays so that the large wheels do not interfere with the rotation of the base relative to the post.
US08708161B2	Polyvinylidene fluoride hollow fiber microporous membrane and process for production of the same This disclosure relates to an anisotropic polyvinylidene fluoride hollow fiber microporous membrane containing a polyvinylidene fluoride resin. The hollow fiber microporous membrane does not include macrovoids, and has mainly a net-like structure. In addition, the hollow fiber microporous membrane has a dense outer layer on an outer surface, and a homogeneous bulk layer that is internally adjacent to the outer layer and has a coarser structure than the outer layer. The porosity of the bulk layer is at least 1.5 times the membrane surface porosity of the outer layer. The dense structure of the outer layer changes substantially discontinuously into the coarse structure of the bulk layer.
US08708149B2	Flip container for blister card medication holders There is shown in three embodiments a pill blister pack container for holding a pill blister pack. The container having a first portion highedly attached to a second portion. The first portion being sized to fit within the second portion when the container is closed. Both the first and second portions have defined side walls and a front wall. In addition, the first portion includes flanges in the side walls that engage apertures in the second portion to lock the two portions. Furthermore, a least one support post extends between the two portions.
US08708136B2	Drive transmission method in a longwall shearer loader A longwall shearer loader is provided. The longwall shearer loader includes a shearer body located outside of an armored face conveyor. Additionally, the longwall shearer loader includes a motor and a transmission unit that propel a drive shaft located in a part of the shearer body, which is above the armored face conveyor. The drive shaft transmits power to a drive wheel installed in the shearer body on a goaf side, which is outside of a line pan of the chain conveyor and which moves along a ladder.
US08708135B2	Vacuum transport belts Provided are media vacuum transport systems including media vacuum transport members, methods of making media vacuum transport members, and method of transporting media. In accordance with various embodiments, there is a media vacuum transport system including a vacuum plenum one or more transport members configured to rotate around the vacuum plenum and wherein at least one of the one or more transport members can include a substrate, the substrate comprising a plurality of holes extending from a first side proximate to the vacuum plenum to a second side proximate to the media, and a top coat layer disposed over the substrate, wherein the top coat layer can include a plurality of particles dispersed in a resin to provide an average surface roughness Ra of about 2 μm to about 100 μm.
US08708130B2	Start-up sensor with entrance way monitoring for escalators or moving walkways A moving device including a driven conveyor, a control device for controlling the speed of the conveyor and a start-up sensor, which monitors a monitoring region in front of the moving device and outputs a start-up signal to the control device upon detecting an object, wherein, upon a provided start-up signal, the control device sets into motion or accelerates the moving device. The start-up sensor is a TOF sensor having (i) a light source for emitting modulated light, (ii) at least one receiving sensor for receiving light from the light source that is reflected at the object, and (iii) an evaluation electronic system configured for detecting, from the comparison of emitted and received light, the distance of the object from the TOF sensor and the position of the object in the space in front of the moving device.
US08708127B2	Document handling apparatus A document handling apparatus (10) is disclosed. The apparatus (10) comprises a safe (20) housing a storage assembly (30), a note handling module (30) mounted on top of the safe (20) and a door cover (60) which conceals a safe door (22) providing access to the interior of the safe. The note handling module (30) has an input module (41), a NHM transport (42) for conveying documents, an output module (46), a document analysis assembly (43) and a first diverter (44) controlled by a main control unit. The door cover (60) further conceals a cassette module (50) located between the door cover (60) and the door safe (22) and which houses a removable cassette (110) for storing documents.
US08708122B2	Clutch actuation system A multiple-disk clutch has inner and outer clutch members, and a plurality of driving and driven friction disks. The driven and driving friction disks are arranged alternately. A first axially movable pressure member is biased to urge the driving and driven friction disks together in a compression direction. A first actuation system is connected to the first pressure member. The first actuation system is adapted release the compression force exerted by the first pressure member on the driving and driven friction disks. A second actuation system includes a second pressure member and is axially movable to compress the driving and driven friction disks together. The driving and driven friction disks are disposed between the first and second pressure members. The second actuation system is a centrifugal actuation system. The first actuation system is connected to and is axially movable with the second pressure member.
US08708117B2	Damper unit and force-transmitting device comprising such a damper unit A damper unit having at least two series-connected damper units arranged offset from each other in a radial direction, each including two damper parts that are coupled to each other by means of spring units and a speed-adaptive absorber which is at least indirectly coupled to the connection between the two dampers, wherein the speed-adaptive absorber is arranged between the spring units of both dampers in a radial direction.
US08708114B2	Active vibration damping support device A solenoid driving device with excellent electric power efficiency which drives and controls an actuator including a solenoid and an active vibration damping support device with excellent electric power efficiency which includes the solenoid driving device are disclosed. The solenoid driving device includes a booster circuit 120 which boosts a battery voltage, and driving circuits 121A, 121B which an actuator with the electric power supplied and boosted by the booster circuit 120. ACM_ECU200A including a micro computer 200b calculates the magnitude of the vibration of the engine, an engine vibration cycle and a phase lag to obtain the drive frequency fDV of the actuator in the vibration state estimating unit 234 and the phase detecting unit 235. A booster circuit controlling unit 237 of the micro computer 200b determines the target voltage V based on the drive frequency fDV. The target voltage V is input to the booster circuit 120, and the booster circuit 120 supplies the required electric power to the driving circuits 121A, 121B at the target voltage V*.
US08708113B2	Brake system and method for producing friction material A brake system includes a pad having a frictional surface, and a disc having a frictional surface sliding on the frictional surface. The frictional surface includes hard particles supported elastically and a plurality of protrusions arranged along a direction in which the frictional surface slides on the frictional surface, and when the frictional surface slides on the frictional surface, hard particles abut respective protrusions continuously while being displaced in the direction perpendicular to the frictional surface. Thus, wear resistance can be improved Since only the vicinities of the peaks of the hard particles and the vicinities of the peaks of the protrusions abut, the hard particles do not follow irregularities of the frictional surface, and thereby the hard particles and the protrusions repeat point contact. Thus, since the distance between the hard particles and the protrusions is stabilized and the adhesion frictional force is stabilized, a stable frictional force can be obtained.
US08708112B2	Inertial braking system for a trailer An inertial braking system for a trailer has an elongated casing member defining an axis along its elongated length, and having an opening at one end of the elongated length. A movable plate housed within the casing and including at least one opening adapted to allow light to pass therethrough. A piston member including a pad member at a distal end thereof and placed inside of the one end of the casing member with the pad member facing outwards from the interior of the casing member and adapted to move along the axis, and rigidly connected at an opposite end to an adjacent end of the movable plate.
US08708110B2	Brake device The invention relates to a brake device for braking a moving brake body (2) by means of pressing a brake element (3, 4) onto the brake body (2), wherein a conversion device (7) is provided for converting a rotational movement of a brake drive shaft (9) into a translational movement of the brake element (4) in the direction of the brake body (2), wherein a rotary percussion mechanism (8) is connected between the brake drive shaft (9) and the conversion device (7).
US08708105B2	Transmission with splash lubrication system A transmission is provided with a transmission case partially defining a cavity containing unpressurized fluid. The transmission case has a first feature configured to collect splashed fluid and a second feature configured to direct the collected fluid to a chamber at least partially formed by the transmission case. A cap connected to the transmission case has an opening and an orifice offset from the opening. Fluid flows from the chamber through the orifice to a component when fluid reaches a first level in the chamber and flows through the central opening through an axial passage in the shaft to other components when fluid reaches a second level in the chamber. Fluid flow is provided to components through an axial passage from both ends of a rotatable shaft, such as an input shaft. The axial passage may have a threaded end to pump oil away from the end and prevent backflow.
US08708091B2	Corded hearing protective device and method of manufacturing the same A hearing protective device is provided including a first sound attenuating element, a second sound attenuating element, a flexible elongated member connecting the first sound attenuating element and the second sound attenuating element, and a knot formed in the flexible elongated member, the knot is untied by moving the first sound attenuating element in a direction away from second sound attenuating element.
US08708086B2	Saddle-ride type vehicle A saddle-ride type vehicle in which the body frame can be reinforced without using a special reinforcing member includes left and right rear frame portions extending rearward and upward from a down frame. The right and left rear frame portions each include a rear frame front half portion and a rear frame rear half portion that are joined together at a joint. The left and right rear frame front half portions are connected to each other by a cross frame. The rear frame rear half portions extend further forward from its joint with the rear frame front half portion and are also joined together by the cross frame, which supports a seat through a storage box.
US08708075B2	Front end structure for vehicle A front end structure for a vehicle includes a facia member defining a forward end of an engine compartment of the vehicle and a radiator disposed in the engine compartment rearwardly spaced from the facia member. A duct member is interposed between the facia member and the radiator. The duct member at least partially blocks the radiator and defines a duct passage extending from an underside opening of the vehicle to the radiator. At least one duct opening is defined in the duct member for supplementing air flow to the radiator from the underside opening.
US08708074B1	Selectable four-wheel drive system A drive system for a vehicle having a pair of front wheels and a pair of rear wheels is disclosed having a rear drive assembly having a first pair of axles extending from opposite sides of the vehicle, each axle of the first pair of axles drivingly engaged to one of the pair of rear wheels, a prime mover drivingly engaged to the rear drive assembly, a power source disposed on the vehicle, a front drive assembly in selective electrical communication with the power source and having a second pair of axles extending from opposite sides of the vehicle, each axle of the second pair of axles is drivingly engaged to one of the pair of front wheels and has a pivotable segment along its length, a steering mechanism in communication with the pivotable segment of each of the second pair of axles, an accelerator mechanism in communication with the rear drive assembly and the front drive assembly, a selector switch having a first position which prevents electrical communication between the front drive assembly and the power source and a second position which places the front drive assembly in electrical communication with the power source, where the rear drive assembly can power the vehicle when the selector switch is in the first position, and both the rear drive assembly and the front drive assembly can power the vehicle when the selector switch is in the second position.
US08708070B2	Power transmitting apparatus and power transmitting apparatus assembly method A power transmitting apparatus is provided with an electric motor shaft that is connected to a rotor of an electric motor, an input shaft arranged parallel to the electric motor shaft and transmits power to and from an internal combustion engine positioned on one side in the axial direction, an input shaft rotating member provided on an end portion of the input shaft that is on the side opposite the internal combustion engine side and transmitting at least one of the power from the input shaft or the power from the electric motor shaft to a drive shaft of a vehicle, and a pump driven by the power from the internal combustion engine and pumps lubrication oil, and the electric motor is arranged on the opposite side of the input shaft rotating member from the internal combustion engine in the axial direction. The input shaft rotating member is rotatably supported by the case via a bearing, and at least part of the pump is arranged radially inward of the bearing.
US08708055B2	Apparatus and methods for wedge lock prevention In one embodiment, a tubular handling apparatus is provided with a wedge lock release mechanism that creates a clearance to allow movement by the mandrel having mating wedge surfaces relative to the tubular to release the wedge slips. In another embodiment, a tubular handling apparatus for handling a tubular includes a mandrel; a carrier coupled to the mandrel; a gripping element for engaging the tubular; an engagement member coupled to the carrier for engaging an upper portion of the tubular; and an abutment device adapted to engage the engagement member, wherein a length of the abutment device is adjustable to allow movement of the engagement member.
US08708053B2	Riser installation from offshore floating production unit A method for installing risers so they extend from a FPU (floating production unit) to multiple subsea hydrocarbon wells of an oil field, which avoids damage to the pipe sections and that is economical. As pipe sections are connected to a near end (56) of a pipe string portion (68B-68D) that lies at the FPU, a tug boat (30) pulls the far end (65) of the pipe string toward a well head. Initially, a long pull line (34) extends from a winch (32) on the tug boat, in a double catenary curve to the far end of the pipe string. The winch is operated to shorten the pull line until the pipe string extends in a double catenary curve (60). Tension in the pipe string is maintained at a proper level during installation by maintaining the near end portion of the pipe string so it extends at a near end angle (70) to the vertical that continually lies within a predetermined range, such as from 3° to 12°.
US08708052B2	Riser lifecycle management system, computer readable medium and program code Systems, computer readable medium, program code, and methods for monitoring and managing a plurality of marine riser assets are provided. An example of a system includes a computer and a computer readable medium containing a program code of instructions that when executed by the computer, cause the computer to perform operations for tracking the subsea deployment and retrieval of each of a plurality of riser joints. The operations can include receiving riser joint identification data from a riser joint identification indicator connected to the respective riser joint during the operational deployment thereof, and identifying the respective riser joint being operationally deployed to thereby track the deployment thereof. The operations can also include receiving riser joint identification data from the riser identification indicator of the respective riser joint during retrieval thereof, and identifying the respective one or more riser joints being retrieved to thereby track the retrieval thereof.
US08708051B2	Isolation valve with debris control and flow tube protection The present invention generally relates to an isolation valve with debris control. In one aspect, an isolation valve for use as part of a casing string is provided. The isolation valve includes a housing having a bore and a valve cavity. The isolation valve further includes a valve member movable between a first position in which the valve member obstructs the bore of the housing and a second position in which the valve member is disposed in the valve cavity. Further, the isolation valve includes a flow tube configured to allow movement of the valve member between the first and second positions. Additionally, the isolation valve includes an engagement assembly adapted to engage the flow tube to substantially prevent debris from entering the valve cavity when the valve member is in the second position. In another aspect, a method of operating an isolation valve in a wellbore is provided.
US08708045B2	Multifunctional boronic acid crosslinking agents and associated methods Treatment of a subterranean formation can be conducted with viscosified treatment fluids that comprise a multifunctional boronic acid crosslinking agent. Methods for treating a subterranean formation can comprise providing a treatment fluid that comprises an aqueous base fluid, a gelling agent, and a multifunctional boronic acid crosslinking agent that comprises a copolymer comprising at least one boronic acid monomer unit and at least one water-soluble monomer unit; and introducing the treatment fluid into a subterranean formation.
US08708044B2	Process for consolidating sand Method of treating a subterranean hydrocarbon-bearing formation comprising unconsolidated or poorly consolidated particulates, by contacting the formation with a solution or a dispersion of an organosilane which is a silylated polymer of formula (I): (RO)3-nRnSi-A-B-A-Si(OR)3-nRns (I) wherein each R is independently a substituted or unsubstituted, alkyl group having from 1 to 6 carbon atoms, or a —C(O)R group where R is as hereinbefore defined; n is 0, 1 or 2; each A is a divalent organic radical; and B is a poly(oxyalkylene) linking group, a polyurethane linking group, or a poly(meth)acrylate linking group wherein the poly(oxyalkylene) linking group or the polyurethane linking group has a number average molar mass in the range of 600 to 20,000 g mol−1. The poly(meth)acrylate linking group has a number average molar mass in the range of 600 to 40,000 g mol−1.
US08708038B2	Pipe grapple A grapple for controlling, monitoring and stopping the flow of oil, natural gas and the like from a broken, flanged pipe. A housing encloses a ring of material that is more ductile than the broken pipe flange. The force applied by a weight, presses a driving device against the broken pipe flange periphery, the force so applied distorts the ductile ring, thereby establishing a fluid-tight seal between the flange and the housing.
US08708037B2	Condenser A condenser has, at one end, a first header tank to which first heat exchange tubes of third and fourth heat exchange paths are connected and a second header tank to which second heat exchange tubes of first and second heat exchange paths are connected. The upper end of the first header tank is located above the lower end of the second header tank. The first header tank has a branching control section promoting a flow of liquid-phase refrigerant from the first header tank into the first heat exchange tubes of the fourth heat exchange path. The branching control section includes a space forming member which forms a closed refrigerant inflow space communicating with the first heat exchange tubes, and a liquid accumulation space. The space forming member has a communication portion for communication between a lower portion of the refrigerant inflow space and the liquid accumulation space.
US08708033B2	Calcium titanate containing mold compositions and methods for casting titanium and titanium aluminide alloys The disclosure relates generally to mold compositions comprising calcium aluminate and calcium titanate. The disclosure also relates to methods of molding and the articles so molded using the mold compositions. More specifically, the disclosure relates to calcium aluminate/calcium titanate mold compositions and methods for casting titanium-containing articles, and the titanium-containing articles so molded.
US08708026B2	Telescopic traversing system for retractable window treatments A variable length support rod apparatus for translational support of a window treatment, such as draperies, comprised of a support member formed of a plurality of transnationally engaged segments, the support member is infinitely configurable from a minimum contracted length to a maximum extended length through a translation of the plurality of segments toward or away from each other. A continuous flexible member is positioned along a pathway running between a first end and a second end of the support member. The support rod may be configured to any length between the minimum and maximum lengths and may be fixed to a support surface without an adjustment of the fixed length of the continuous flexible member.
US08708018B2	Arrangements and methods for applying a label to a moving object The present application describes an arrangement for applying a label to the periphery of a moving object. The arrangement may include an initial label dispensing an application station, a label tacking station, and a label wrapping station. Associated methods are also described.
US08708014B2	Method and apparatus for detecting leak in a VARTM process A method for producing a composite structure comprising fiber reinforced material by means of vacuum assisted resin transfer molding is described. The fiber material is impregnated with liquid resin, and the method comprising the steps of: a) providing a forming structure comprising a rigid mold part and a second mold part, b) placing the fiber material in the rigid mold part, c) sealing the second mold part against the rigid mold part to form a mold cavity, d) connecting a source of uncured fluid resin to at least one resin inlet communicating with the mold cavity, e) connecting at least one vacuum outlet communicating with the mold cavity, f) evacuating the interior of the forming structure through the at least one vacuum outlet, g) supplying uncured resin from the source of uncured resin to the mold cavity through the at least one resin inlet so as to fill the mold cavity with resin, and h) curing the resin in order to form the composite structure. During the evacuation process of step f), an airflow level through the at least one vacuum outlet is measured.
US08708012B2	Anti-skid device for a tire of a vehicle wheel An anti-skid device for a tire of a vehicle wheel includes an anti-skid raceway designed to be placed on the circumferential tread of the tire. An elongate element extends in sliding manner through rear attachment means arranged along the periphery of the rear edge of the raceway. Means for tightening the raceway include at least one guide member passing through the raceway to let a part of the elongate element slide freely transversely to the raceway, in front of the front edge of the raceway, elastically extensible means arranged along the elongate element, and securing means to connect at least one end of the elongate element to the front element.
US08708011B2	Pneumatic tire with tread having sipes The present invention has an object to provide a pneumatic tire having a sipe, which can increase ice braking performance without reducing anti-wear performance. The pneumatic tire includes: a plurality of land portions 4 partitioned by grooves 2 and 3 and formed in a tread surface 1a; and at least one sipe 5 formed in each of the land portions 4, wherein the sipe 5 is formed so that sipe inner wall surfaces 6 and 6 are formed perpendicularly to the tread surface 1a, one or more recesses 7 exposed on the tread surface 1a are formed in at least one of the sipe inner wall surfaces 6 and 6 opposed to each other, the recess 7 has a sectional area gradually decreasing from an opening end of the sipe 5 toward a sipe bottom 8 and converges on the sipe inner wall surface 6 before reaching the sipe bottom 8.
US08708006B2	Liquid container refilling system and method A system for and method of refilling a liquid in a container. The system includes a one-way valve attachable to a liquid storage container. In a particular embodiment, the system is operable to refill a container for a liquid soap dispenser via the one-way valve and a hose connected to a refilling reservoir, through the operation of a pump. A method of refilling a liquid storage container using the inventive system is also described.
US08708004B2	System and method for delivering fuel to an aircraft from a vehicle A fueling control system for providing fuel from a vehicle to an aircraft, and a method of providing fuel from a fuel vehicle to an aircraft are disclosed herein. The fueling control system includes a pressure transducer for sensing back pressure in a fluid path to a fuel tank of an aircraft, and a digital controller coupled to the pressure transducer for receiving the back pressure in the fluid path and controlling fuel flow in the fluid path to the aircraft. The method includes the steps of sensing back pressure in a fluid path from the aircraft; receiving the sensed back pressure by a digital controller; and controlling fuel flow to the aircraft in the fluid path based on the sensed back pressure.
US08708002B2	Method and apparatus for volumetric metering and depositing A method and apparatus are provided for the volumetric metering and depositing of a food product comprising a plurality of particles or flowable particles. The plurality of food particles are transported upon a discharge conveyor having a first rate of speed, the plurality of particles arranged uniformly from passing beneath a product leveling device. When the plurality of particles reach the end of the discharge conveyor, the particles fall from the end of the conveyor under the operation of gravity and are deposited in a shuttle while the shuttle travels at a second rate of speed from a position at least partially below the conveyor to collect the falling particles in cells or receiving receptacles. The relationship between the first rate of speed of the conveyor and the second rate of speed of the shuttle define a metered amount of particles collected in each of the receiving receptacles.
US08707997B2	Fluid device unit structure Provided is a fluid device unit structure in which a chemical solution stagnation portion that is formed between a valve of a main fluid flow path and a branching point of a return flow path is minimized to cause hardly any solidification of a chemical solution. In the fluid device unit structure in which a plurality of fluid devices that are connected via flow paths are integrated on a base member (10) to form a single unit, and the main fluid flow path (11) and the return flow path (12) formed in the base member (10) are respectively provided with a first valve (20) and a second valve (40) for switching the flow paths, the branching inlet (12a) at which the return flow path (12) branches from the main fluid flow path (11) is close to the upstream side of the first valve (20).
US08707995B2	Constant temperature control device A constant temperature control device contains a base including a central wall and a peripheral wall to define a chamber; the peripheral wall including a tunnel and hooks; the central wall including a first and a second holes and two grooves; a pressure balanced valve engaged in the chamber and including a first and a second inflow orifices and a first and a second outflow orifices; a controlling assembly including an operating shaft and a stainless steel piece; two plug sets, each including two springs and two stoppers, and each stopper including an aperture; a covering member including projections and a pore; between the covering member and the disk being defined with a second cavity; an outlet member fixed in the tunnel of the base and including a twisted passageway arranged therein so that the mixed water flows vertically from the tunnel and then is guided to jet horizontally.
US08707994B2	Solenoid valve and oil pressure control device A solenoid valve has a linear solenoid, a common cylindrical sleeve, one axial end of which is fixed to the linear solenoid, and a common spool movably accommodated in the sleeve, and a return spring. The solenoid valve further has a first three-way valve formed by a first portion of the sleeve and a first portion of the spool for operating as a normally-closed type valve, and a second three-way valve formed by a second portion of the sleeve and a second portion of the spool for operating as a normally-opened type valve.
US08707989B2	Mounting system for fluid discharge devices A fluid discharge device having a main body with first and second ends may be mounted to one or more components of a system. The first end may include an inlet for receiving a fluid flow. A mounting system may include a first mounting plate having an opening with a diameter that is greater than the inlet diameter. An insert may include an outside wall configured to be fitted to the opening of the first mounting plate and may include an inside wall that defines another opening through which the inlet of the fluid discharge device may be fitted. The opening defined by the inside wall of the insert may provide a radial clearance for the inlet that compensates for distortions and/or deviations from an expected inlet and/or main body shape, wherein such distortions may be caused at least partially by stresses experienced during manufacturing.
US08707986B2	Pressure reducing valve A flow control device is disclosed. The flow control device comprises a pressure reducing valve. The pressure reducing valve comprises a valve body having at least an inlet port on a high side and an outlet port on a low side and having walls defining a regulating chamber, the outlet port in fluid communication with the regulating chamber. A diaphragm assembly is provided having a diaphragm and a stem for engaging the diaphragm. The stem has a base and a connecting arm. The diaphragm engages the main valve at a perimeter thereof so as to partially enclose the regulating chamber. A valve controlled opening cooperating with the connecting arm of the stem is located between the inlet port and the regulating chamber. The valve controlled opening is adapted to adjustably restrict flow of gas between the inlet port and the regulating chamber responsive to movement of the connecting arm.
US08707983B1	Push type water tap with automatic closing functions A push type water tap with automatic closing functions wherein a through valve tube and a protruding bottom tube are set separately into the chambers of the main body. A lifting valve lever is assembled into the valve tube and bottom tube. A stop ring can be abutted onto the water stop ring flange for stopping water supply. A restoring spring is set between the top of the valve lever and the lock-joining seat, and supports the valve lever and the push button. A single-way check ring is sleeved on the bottom of the valve lever to keep contact with the wall of the bottom tube. A resettable regulating space is formed by the gap between the bottom of the valve lever and the sealing surface. A resettable regulating water channel is set on the bottom of the valve lever to guide water into the regulating space.
US08707976B2	Portable painting apparatus A portable painting apparatus comprises a combination of a portable paint booth for holding an object to be painted, removable handles for moving objects coated with wet paint, an optional drying rack for wet painted objects, and accessory hangers adapted for suspending objects inside the portable paint booth or from the drying rack. The portable paint booth includes a support frame with a rotatable hub assembly for painting all sides of an object and a replaceable tent for providing a paint overspray and splatter barrier. The tent may optionally include exhaust ports for withdrawing paint vapor and airborne paint droplets from within the tent. The support frame, removable handles, and drying rack are adapted to hold painted objects coated with wet paint on all sides and edges without damaging the coating of wet paint.
US08707974B2	Wafer cleaning device A wafer cleaning device comprising a wafer stage for holding a wafer having a surface to be washed, a first nozzle positioned above the wafer, a second nozzle positioned above the wafer. A first height is between the first nozzle and the surface and a second height is between the second nozzle and the surface, wherein the first height is shorter than the second height.
US08707973B2	Dishwasher A dishwasher is provided that prevents foreign materials from remaining lodged in a filter. The dishwasher may include a sump in which washing fluid is collected, a filter provided in the sump so as to separate foreign materials from the washing fluid, and a cleaning device including at least one blade that scrapes foreign materials from the filter as the cleaning device moves, either in a rotating direction or a linear direction.
US08707956B2	Endotracheal tube having outer and inner cannulae A tracheal tube apparatus includes a cannula having first and second ends. An inflatable cuff is formed on the cannula between the first and second ends. A conduit extends from the cuff for introducing an inflating fluid into the cuff when it is desired to inflate the cuff and removing inflating fluid from the cuff when it is desired to deflate the cuff. A gauge for indicating the inflation pressure of the cuff is coupled in the conduit.
US08707944B2	Saw wire A saw wire includes a steel wire (11) having a steel strand (11a) with predetermined composition, an abrasive (13) fixed to the steel wire (11) by a fixing part (12), and an intermetallic compound (15) on an interface between the abrasive (13) and the fixing part (12). Tensile strength of the steel strand (11) is 3500 MPa or more, and the fixing part (12) includes a Sn-based solder containing Zn or Ag.
US08707937B2	Fuel systems and methods for controlling fuel systems in a vehicle with multiple fuel tanks Fuel systems and methods for controlling fuel systems in a vehicle with multiple fuel tanks are provided. An exemplary vehicle fuel system includes a first fuel tank including a first pressure sensor, and a second fuel tank. The system may further include a fuel tank isolation valve positioned to selectively decouple the first fuel tank and the second fuel tank. The system may further include an electronic controller configured to identify which of the first fuel tank and second fuel tank includes a fuel system leak by selectively decoupling the first fuel tank and the second fuel tank via the fuel tank isolation valve, responsive to an identification of the fuel system leak.
US08707932B1	Fuel transfer pump system A Fuel transfer pump system comprising a multi-mode control process for transferring fuel. The multi-mode control process comprising a closed loop pressure control mode for maintaining fuel pressure at an outlet of a fuel transfer pump at a substantially constant target pressure and having a soft start mode for bidirectionally ramping up to the target pressure by utilizing an open loop control in combination with the closed loop pressure control mode; a current control mode dynamically switchable from the closed loop pressure control mode for controlling a motor driving the fuel transfer pump as a function of a predetermined current threshold; a DC-bus voltage compensation mode operable with either the closed loop pressure control mode or the current control mode for compensating DC bus voltage sag; and an open loop ramp down mode for ramping open loop motor RPMs to zero from any other mode for shutting down system operation.
US08707930B2	Hold-down device for a fuel injection device The hold-down device for a fuel injection device has a design which is simple in particular, which nonetheless enables a fuel injector (1) to be held down very effectively. The fuel injection device includes at least one fuel injector (1), a receptacle bore for the fuel injector (1) and a connecting fitting (6) of a fuel distributor line (4), the hold-down device (10) being clamped between a shoulder (12) of the fuel injector (1) and an end surface (14) of the connecting fitting (6). The hold-down device (10) has a base element (11) in the shape of a partial ring, from which an axially flexible hold-down clip (13) extends in a bent-away fashion, the clip having at least two webs (21), two oblique segments (22), and two contact segments (23). The fuel injector (1) is suitable in particular for use in fuel injection systems of mixture-compressing, externally ignited internal combustion engines.
US08707929B2	Multi-rotor rotary engine architecture A multi-rotor internal combustion engine has a plurality of rotary internal combustion units axially distributed along an engine axis. Each unit has a rotor mounted on an eccentric portion of the shaft inside a housing. The housings of adjacent rotary internal combustion units have different angular positions about the engine axis so as to angularly offset the housing from adjacent housings, which may provide for a more uniform temperature distribution around the housings and may also or instead allow optimising of the balancing of pressure induced side loads on the shaft of the rotors.
US08707920B2	Valve timing control apparatus for internal combustion engine In an intake valve timing control apparatus, a lock member is arranged to lock a vane rotor with respect to a housing when the vane rotor is in a most retarded position within which rotation of the vane rotor is restricted by a stopper mechanism. In an exhaust valve timing control apparatus, a lock member is arranged to lock a vane rotor with respect to a housing when the vane rotor is in a most advanced position within which rotation of the vane rotor is restricted by a stopper mechanism. The exhaust valve timing control apparatus further includes a biasing member arranged to bias the vane rotor with respect to the housing in a direction toward the most advanced position. In each valve timing control apparatus, a housing body of the housing and a vane rotor are formed by extruding an aluminum-based metal.
US08707917B2	Device for adjusting a camshaft of an internal combustion engine A device for adjusting the camshaft of an internal combustion engine, having a lift profile element (12) which is provided on an axially movable mounted camshaft for conjoint rotation therewith and which provides a control groove, and having a control unit for generating a predetermined axial movement of the camshaft, wherein the control unit has a tappet unit (17) which is movable radially with respect to the camshaft along a movement direction and which is designed for controllable engagement into the lift profile element, and wherein the lift profile element forms a first control groove (16) which is designed to interact with the tappet unit at a first penetration depth so as to describe a first axial movement of the camshaft, and the lift profile element forms a second control groove (18, 22) which is designed to interact with the tappet unit at a second penetration depth, which differs from the first penetration depth, so as to describe a second axial movement, which differs from the first axial movement, of the camshaft.
US08707916B2	Lost-motion variable valve actuation system with valve deactivation Devices and related methods are disclosed that generally involve the selective deactivation of one or more engine valves. In one embodiment, a split-cycle internal combustion engine is provided in which a high-speed trigger valve is used to fill and drain a hydraulic tappet that forms part of a lost-motion system of an engine valve. A spool valve can be used to selectively disconnect the tappet from the trigger valve, thereby deactivating the associated engine valve (i.e., preventing the engine valve from opening). The devices and methods disclosed herein also have application in conventional internal combustion engines and can be used with inwardly-opening and/or outwardly-opening valves.
US08707914B2	Engine having integrated waste heat recovery A waste heat recovery system connects a working fluid into passages formed within an internal combustion engine. The fluid passages transport the working fluid to high temperature areas of the engine, raising the temperature of the working fluid near the phase change point or above the phase change point. The heated working fluid drives an energy conversion portion located downstream from the engine. The heat absorbed by the working fluid decreases the load on an engine cooling system as well as driving an energy conversion portion, improving fuel efficiency.
US08707901B2	System toilet for dogs Disclosed is a system toilet for dogs that can reduce wetting of dog feet and that dogs can appropriately use for excretion. The system toilet for dogs is provided with: an excretion receptacle having an excrement containing section that can contain excrement and at which an absorbent sheet can be disposed; and a water-absorbent, disposable, liquid-permeable panel that is disposed in a manner so as to cover the top of the excrement containing section. The thickness of the liquid-permeable panel is 3-25 mm, and the height from the bottom end of the excretion receptacle to the top surface of the liquid-permeable panel is no greater than 65 mm. Also, the system toilet for dogs is further provided with a support section that is disposed between the excrement containing section and the liquid-permeable panel, and that supports the liquid-permeable panel.
US08707894B2	Mask frame assembly for thin film deposition and method of assembling the same A mask frame assembly for thin film deposition, the mask frame assembly including a frame having an opening; a plurality of masks having deposition patterns, the masks being fixed to the frame such that the deposition patterns extend over the opening; and a balance stick being fixed to the frame such that the balance stick is between two of the plurality of masks, the balance stick made from an elastically tensile material.
US08707891B2	Spreading head particularly for spreading one or more adhesives or mixtures of adhesives A spreading head particularly for spreading one or more adhesives or mixtures of adhesives, of the hot-melt or cold type, comprising a body which has two or more ducts, which are all separate or of which two or more converge, each duct being connected to one or more feed channels for conveying the one or more adhesives or mixtures of adhesives to one or more extrusion chambers formed on the upper surface of the body; an abutment element for the one or more adhesives or mixtures of adhesives which exit from the one or more mixing chambers is associable in an upper region with the body.
US08707889B2	Patterning slit sheet assembly, organic layer deposition apparatus, method of manufacturing organic light-emitting display apparatus, and the organic light-emitting display apparatus A patterning slit sheet assembly for performing a deposition process to form a thin film on a substrate in a desired fine pattern. The patterning slit sheet assembly includes a patterning slit sheet having a plurality of slits, a frame combined with the patterning slit sheet to support the patterning slit sheet, and a support unit including an upper member that is allowed to be moved or fixed to support the patterning slit sheet when a gravitational force is applied to the patterning slit sheet and a lower member disposed more apart from the patterning slit sheet than the upper member, wherein the upper member is fixed on the lower member.
US08707884B2	Trim tab A trim tab assembly for a watercraft includes a enclosure. A support structure is positioned in the enclosure. At least one trim tab is disposed in the enclosure. The trim tab includes a generally planar top, bottom, side and front surfaces linked by a curved surface defining a wedge shaped body. An actuator is linked to the trim tab pivotally moving the trim tab relative to the enclosure.
US08707883B2	Modular floating bar with optional canopy mounts The modular floating bar with optional canopy mounts is a floatation device with optional canopy mounts therefor. The device includes a plurality of modular segments that can be assembled and arranged in a various patterns to create a floating structure that is usable in pools, lakes and ponds or in any water that is relatively calm and devoid of strong current pulls. The modular segments are provided with a hinge and pin arrangement that permits easy assembly. The segments incorporate structure for retaining cups and beverage coolers therein. Support structure is also provided for mounting a canopy on the assembled segments.
US08707882B2	Offshore platform with outset columns A hull, suitable for use as a tension leg platform (TLP) or as a semi-submersible vessel, comprises four columns arranged in a rectangular planform with each column having a generally polygonal transverse cross section at least one axis of which is generally disposed at a 45-degree angle to a line between the center points of adjacent columns. Buoyant, subsurface pontoons interconnect adjacent columns. The pontoons are generally rectangular in cross section and the outboard, generally vertical surface of each pontoon is connected to a side surface of an adjoining column at a location which is substantially inboard of the outermost face of the column. In certain embodiments of the invention, tendon porches (configured to receive the upper tendon connectors of a TLP) are mounted to the outboard surface of one or more pontoons.
US08707873B2	Bodyshell structure of railcar A bodyshell of a railcar includes side outside plates and end bodyshells. The side outside plates are respectively provided at both end portions of an underframe in a vehicle width direction. The end bodyshell includes end outside plates and corner posts. The end outside plates are respectively provided at front and rear end portions of the underframe. The corner posts are respectively provided at four corners of the underframe and are joined to the end outside plates and the side outside plates. Moreover, the corner post includes a side plate joining portion. The side plate joining portion overlaps a front end portion of the side outside plates from an outer side in the vehicle width direction and is joined to the side outside plate.
US08707871B2	Self-steering device for railway vehicle The present invention relates to a self-steering device for a railway vehicle, which includes axles installed on a truck supporting a vehicle body of the railway vehicle, wheels, each of which is connected to the axle and has a wheel tread moving on a top surface of a rail and supporting a vertical load of the railway vehicle, and a wheel flange protruding from the wheel tread to prevent the railway vehicle from derailing and being in contact with a lateral surface of the rail during straight movement of the railway vehicle to form an interference section, and guide rollers, each of which is in rolling contact with a top surface edge or a lateral surface of the rail in front or to the rear of the wheel when the railway vehicle enters curved rails and supports a greater transverse load than the interference section. The guide rollers can be directly installed on the railway vehicle or at least one of the vehicle body, the truck, and the axle.
US08707856B2	Coffee/espresso machine comprising a milk foam generating device for cappuccino A coffee/espresso machine having a milk froth generating device for cappuccino and including at least one outflow tube fluid-conductively connected with an espresso supply. The espresso supply is connected to an outlet of an espresso brewing unit, and at least one milk froth tube is connected to the milk froth generating device. At least one milk froth tube leads into an upper end of the outflow tube.
US08707853B1	Reciprocating pump assembly A reciprocating pump assembly having a power end housing and a fluid end housing and a cylinder having at least a portion within the power end. A plunger assembly reciprocates between the power end housing and the fluid end housing of the pump assembly, the plunger assembly having a crosshead, a first section limited to movement within the power end and a second section moveable within the fluid end housing. The pump assembly also includes a seal housing disposed within the cylinder, the seal housing having a proximal end adjacent an entrance to the cylinder, and a distal end disposed within the cylinder. A power end seal is secured to the seal housing proximate the distal end and a fluid end seal is disposed within the fluid end housing. The power end seal sealingly engages an outer surface of the first section and the fluid end seal sealingly engages an outer surface of the second section such that during the reciprocating movement of the plunger assembly, fluid end proppant is deterred from contaminating the outer surface of the first section and thus, contaminating the power end seal.
US08707845B2	Case activation bullet feeder A bullet feeding device has an expandable collet insertable into a die body. The die body receives bullets from a source and directs the bullets to the expandable collet. The expandable collet restricts the passage of the bullet through the die body until the mouth of a cartridge case is inserted into the die body opposite the bullet. The mouth of the cartridge case causes the expandable collet to expand and allow the single bullet to pass through the expandable collet and be placed in the mouth of the cartridge case. As the completed cartridge is drawn from the die body, the expandable collet and prevents the passage of additional bullets until a new cartridge case is inserted. The bullet feeding device may accept bullets of different lengths and shapes. The collet is interchangeable with expandable collets of other sizes to be compatible with bullets of different sizes.
US08707844B2	Case annealer A portion of a work-hardened essentially tubular work piece such as a metallic firearm cartridge case is annealed by contact with solid or granular tooling material which has been heated to a temperature approximately that of the appropriate annealing temperature, thereby reducing the possibility of overheating the work piece, and also thereby permitting the annealing of only that portion of the work piece contacted or in close proximity to the point(s) of contact.
US08707842B2	Cutter wheel, manufacturing method for same, manual scribing tool and scribing device A cutter wheel for scribing a brittle material substrate having excellent biting in the surface of the brittle material substrate when the brittle material substrate used for a liquid crystal display panel or the like is cut and a method for manufacturing the cutter wheel with high productivity are provided. The cutter wheel made of a hard metal or sintered diamond is formed in such a manner that a V-shaped ridge line part is formed as an edge along the circumferential part of a disk-like wheel, and at least one notch is engraved in the above described ridge line part and notches as that described above are formed in the entirety of the periphery of the above described ridge line part at a pitch of more than 200 μm.
US08707840B2	Apparatus for slicing food products An apparatus for slicing food products includes a product feed, at least one cutting blade which rotates about a blade axis and/or revolves about a center axis and to which at least one product to be sliced can be fed in a product feed direction and a blade holder to which the cutting blade can be attached. An adjustment device is configured to deform the cutting blade.
US08707835B2	Device for turning a brake disc on a vehicle A device for holding a movable tool holder at right angles to a shaft for turning a brake disc on a vehicle, has a coupling section, which is formed by a plate that is fastened against a hub on the shaft, and securing devices, in the form of a disc, for securing the tool holder. The device also has devices for holding the tool holder at right angles to the shaft. These devices are formed by a hinge construction, which is built up of a sphere, which is fastened on an ancillary shaft that is fastened in the plate, and two scale-shaped parts. The scale-shaped parts can be pressed towards each other by turning a hollow nut, so that they can be clamped onto the sphere and block the hinge construction.
US08707828B2	Combined corked bottle opener and fluid aerator An apparatus used for a corked bottle opening and fluid aeration device. It is comprised of a vertical holder with features to receive and guide the bottle and with features to permit and direct fluid flow for aeration; a cork-engaging member with a handle and corkscrew; a fluid receiving section; and a means for connecting the apparatus to the atmosphere. Preferably the features divide the sections by a stop, by a cone shape, and by a shoulder. The apparatus engages the corkscrew to the holder when used as a bottle opener and the apparatus restricts fluid flow enabling a venturi effect when used as an aerator. The apparatus allows a full hand grip on holder and bottle to ease removal of a cork from the bottle.
US08707821B2	Containment reinforced flywheel An inertial energy storage rotor having a reinforcement harness encompassing its outer circumference and sides, and having improved adjustable tensioning spoke elements extending from said harness and attaches to flywheel hub. The adjustable tensioning spokes allow the harness to be evenly torqued around the perimeter and sides of the rotor to provide additional reinforcement allowing the rotor to withstand centrifugal forces higher than otherwise able.
US08707819B2	Parking brake A park brake includes a brake lever that is movable about a pivot. A release mechanism is associated with the brake lever. The release mechanism is actuable for allowing selective movement of the brake lever. A cable is connected to the release mechanism. The cable is isolated from movement of the brake lever.
US08707816B2	Right angle drive with center support A right angle drive is provided. The right angle drive includes an input shaft, an output shaft, a housing a pair of input shaft bearings and a pair of output shaft bearings. The input shaft carries an input gear for rotation about an input axis. The output shaft carries an output gear for rotation about an output axis. The input and output gears are coupled to transfer rotational motion therebetween. The input and output axis being non-parallel to one another. The pair of input shaft bearings carry the input shaft within the housing for rotation about the input axis. One bearing is on either side of the input gear. The pair of output shaft bearings carry the output shaft within the housing for rotation about the output axis. One bearing is on either side of the input gear. The bearings may interlock with one another.
US08707803B1	Torque measurement device An apparatus for measuring torque in a rotary encoder between the encoder body and encoder shaft. The apparatus includes a rotary stage for mounting and rotating the body of the rotary encoder, a probe arm having a first end for engaging the shaft of the rotary encoder in a stationary position, and a force sensor mourned on an adjustable assembly. The adjustable assembly enables the force sensor to be placed in contact with a second end of the probe arm, such that the plane of the force sensor is parallel to a plane defined by the vertical center plane of the probe arm passing through an axis of rotation of the shaft of the rotary encoder. By rotating the encoder body at a constant speed in clockwise and counterclockwise directions and measuring torque at regular time intervals, the range of torque, torque grittiness, and torque hysteresis may be determined.
US08707801B2	Two-phase flow exciting force evaluation method and device acting on a plurality of tube bodies arranged to intersect with the flow In a two-phase flow exciting force evaluation method of the present invention, the surface of one of a plurality of tube bodies (3) is at least partially formed from a conductive material, displacement or stress of the tube body (3) is measured in a state of being vibrated by a shaking device (4), and a void fraction of a two-phase flow (F) flowing in the vicinity of the tube body (3) is measured based on the potential difference between an electric potential at a predetermined position on the surface of the tube body (3), and a reference electric potential.
US08707800B2	Electromagnetic flow meter having liner reinforcing plate with spiral ring An electromagnetic flow meter has a lining locking frame provided in a measuring pipe composed of a cylindrical plate with openings and a belt shaped spiral plate, and a resin lining portion embedded in the lining locking frame. The belt shaped spiral plate is spirally around the outer circumference of the cylindrical plate with openings. A first gap is set between the inner face of the measuring pipe and the outer circumference face of the cylindrical plate with openings, and the belt shaped plate forming the belt-shaped spiral plate is wound around the cylindrical plate with openings in the pipe axis direction of the measuring pipe with a prescribed interval so as to provide a spiral third gap. When pressure molding the resin lining portion, the resin can be filled in gaps between the measuring pipe and the lining locking frame via the first gap and the third gap.
US08707791B2	Tunable pressure transducer assembly A tunable pressure transducer assembly that comprises a sensing element disposed within a housing, wherein the sensing element is adapted to output a signal substantially indicative of an applied pressure, and a filter assembly also disposed within the housing. The filter assembly comprises a cap and a tube, wherein the cap is spaced from the sensing element within the housing such that it encloses a set volume around the sensing element, and wherein the tube controls access of the applied pressure to the set volume. The filter assembly is operative to substantially reduce high frequency pressure ripples and allow static and quasi-static pressures to pass through to the sensing element, and may be manipulated to tune the pressure transducer assembly to achieve a desired dampening frequency. The filter assembly therefore enables one pressure transducer assembly outline to accurately measure pressure in various systems.
US08707788B2	Sound wave testing device and method for testing solar panel A sound wave testing device is provided. The sound wave testing device comprises at least one sound output unit for providing at least one first sound signal, at least one sound-collecting element disposed above the at least one sound output unit, at least one sound-receiving unit disposed at one end of the at least one sound-collecting element, and an isolating element disposed between the at least one sound output unit and the at least one sound-collecting element, in which the solar panel is disposed on the isolating element. The at least one first sound signal is transformed into at least one second sound signal while passing through the solar panel. The at least one second sound signal is received and transmitted to at least one sound-receiving unit, and the at least one second sound signal is transformed into at least one digital signal for output.
US08707782B2	Prosthetic component for monitoring synovial fluid and method A prosthetic component suitable for long-term implantation is provided. The prosthetic component includes electronic circuitry and sensors to measure a parameter of the muscular-skeletal system. The prosthetic component comprises a first structure having at least one support surface, a second structure having at least one feature configured to couple to bone, and at least one sensor. The electronic circuitry and sensors are hermetically sealed within the prosthetic component. One or more sensors can be used to monitor synovial fluid in proximity to the joint to determine joint health. The prosthetic component includes a transmissive region. One or more optical sensors are mounted in proximity to the transmissive region. Periodic measurements of the synovial fluid are measured through the transmissive region. The measurements can include color and turbidity of the synovial fluid. The color and turbidity data can be compared against known data to determine joint status.
US08707780B2	Fluid mixture metering device including an arcuate path on the periphery of the impeller wheel The device for metering fluid mixtures, in particular liquids containing a gas such as carbon dioxide, includes a flow sensor, a metering valve, and a controller that drives the metering valve as a function of a set point and of the flow rate measured. The flow sensor has an impeller wheel having a horizontal axis, the fluid mixture being guided on an arcuate path on the periphery of the impeller wheel, the path being directed from bottom to top. Despite the presence of gas, a precise metering is achieved.
US08707777B2	Position detection apparatus for tire pressure monitoring system (TPMS) sensors and method thereof Position detection apparatuses of TPMS sensors and a method thereof are provided. One aspect of the invention provides a position detection apparatus for tire pressure monitoring system (TPMS) sensors mounted on each wheel of a vehicle. The apparatus includes: a receiver programmed to receive TPMS signals from each TPMS sensor; and a controller programmed to (i) sequentially arrest rotation of each wheel of the vehicle and (ii) detect a position of each TPMS sensor by associating a TPMS signal that is not received at the time of arresting a specific wheel with a position of the specific wheel that is arrested at that time.
US08707767B2	Combined hydrogen and pressure sensor assembly A housing sensor having a semiconductor element for measuring hydrogen concentration in an insulating fluid in equipment having a mounting flange on the equipment providing access to the interior of the equipment provided with a plurality of bolt receiving openings arranged on the mounting flange in a first pattern which includes a first flange having at least one or more openings and an outer periphery. The sensor also includes a tubular housing support member having one end received in one of the openings, a plurality of bolt receiving apertures arranged in a pattern corresponding to the first pattern within the outer periphery of the first flange. The sensor further includes at least one wire receiving opening extending through the housing body, a cover closing an end of the housing body distal from the one end, a first seal disposed between the first flange and the tubular housing support member, a second seal disposed on the first flange for engaging the mounting flange.
US08707764B1	Assembly and method for standardized insensitive munitions testing A test assembly for building a safety profile and a sensitivity profile of an explosive, by impacting the test assembly with a projectile. The safety profile of the explosive is built by determining a detonation threshold of the explosive in reaction to the projectile. The sensitivity profile is built by measuring a pressure difference between pressures acquired by the top sensor and the bottom sensor, resulting from a shock wave that travels through the explosive.
US08707763B2	Method for the accurate measurement of the density of a sample A method for the accurate measurement of the density of a sample using a densimeter equipped with a measurement cell, a sample-containing U-tube including a ferromagnetic member, an insulated conductive reading plate maintained at a different potential relative to the U-tube, and an electromagnetic excitation winding. The method includes the steps of transmitting a synchronised rectangular excitation signal continuously to the U-tube to cause the U-tube to vibrate at resonance frequency, the vibration being represented by a sinusoidal resonance signal; determining the resonance frequency from the variations in the voltage at the terminals of the capacitor and deducing an approximate value of the density of the sample; controlling the pulse width of the rectangular excitation signal to maintain a predefined constant amplitude of the resonance signal; and deducing a correction factor dependent on the viscosity of the sample.
US08707762B2	Low cost humidity and mold indicator for buildings A low-cost, easily manufactured humidity and mold indicator for buildings that incorporates a one-piece transparent plastic injection-molded body. Appearance of a warning icon or a change in color alerts the owners or occupants of a building to a hidden leak and thereby prevents costly structural damage, cosmetic damage and mold damage to building components. The indicator is easily inserted and secured into a drilled hole in panel such as a wall or soffit. In one embodiment, the indicator snaps into place after being fully inserted into the panel. In another embodiment, a retainer inserted into the hole holds the indicator enabling easier removal of the indicator for replacement or for inspection of the area behind the panel. An optional removable cap can be painted the same color as the wall. An optional mask covers the integral viewing window during painting of the device.
US08707756B2	Device and method for estimating frictional condition of ground surface with which vehicle is in contact Apparatus (or method) for estimating a gripping characteristic of a vehicle wheel of a vehicle on a ground contact surface includes first input section (or step), a second input section (or step) and an output section (or step). The first input section sets a first input which is a ratio of a first wheel force acting on the vehicle wheel in the ground contact surface in a first direction, and a first wheel slip degree. The second input section sets a second input which is a ratio of a second wheel force acting on the vehicle wheel in the ground contact surface in a second direction, and a second wheel slip degree of the vehicle wheel. The output section determines, from the first and second inputs, an output which is a grip characteristic parameter indicative of the gripping characteristic of the vehicle wheel.
US08707754B2	Methods and apparatus for calibrating flow controllers in substrate processing systems Methods and apparatus for calibrating a plurality of gas flows in a substrate processing system are provided herein. In some embodiments, a substrate processing system may include a cluster tool comprising a first process chamber and a second process chamber coupled to a central vacuum transfer chamber; a first flow controller to provide a process gas to the first process chamber; a second flow controller to provide the process gas to the second process chamber; a mass flow verifier to verify a flow rate from each of the first and second flow controllers; a first conduit to selectively couple the first flow controller to the mass flow verifier; and a second conduit to selectively couple the second flow controller to the mass flow verifier.
US08707751B2	Method and apparatus for producing hardened formed parts In a method of producing a hardened formed part, in particular for a structure or body part of a motor vehicle, a metal blank is heated and then hot formed in a cavity of a thermoforming mold to produce a formed part. The formed part is hardened in the cavity of the thermoforming mold through contact with a coolant fed into the cavity via feed channels, whereby a state of aggregation of the coolant is adjusted or the coolant is maintained at a pressure above the steam pressure.
US08707749B2	Roll forming system and roll forming method A roll forming system and a roll forming method are disclosed. The roll forming system according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention includes a bending unit provided with synchronizing means moving a synchronizing table in keeping pace with a forming speed of a shaped beam along a process line, clamping means clamping both sides of the shaped beam, position conversion means converting a position of the shaped beam between a cutting position and a bending position, cutting means cutting one side of the shaped beam by a cutting wheel, and a bending means stretch-bending the shaped beam to have a predetermined curvature.
US08707744B2	Lock having simplified structure A lock includes a movable unit and a lock core structure including a restriction unit and a lock core. The restriction unit has a passage penetrating therethrough to form a first opening and a second opening on two opposite sides of the restriction unit. An extension wall is formed in the passage to face the second opening. The lock core is disposed in the passage to couple with the restriction unit and is selectively movable relative to the restriction unit in an axial direction. The lock core has an end face facing the extension wall and an extension portion disposed on one side of the lock core close to the first opening and selectively protruding outside the first opening. The movable unit selectively contacts the lock core and is able to reciprocally rotate, wherein rotation of the movable unit is linked to axial movement of the lock core.
US08707742B2	Laundry treatment machine and control method thereof A laundry treatment machine includes a device driving unit configured to control a lock device including a lock element, and a lead, which moves along with the lock element. If the lock element is moved to a lock position, a device controller determines whether the lead is moved from its initial position to a predetermined position and outputs a first detection signal as the result of the determination. The device controller outputs lock information if the first detection signal is received, and determines that the lid assembly and the top cover are not locked and outputs lock error information if the first detection signal is not received. Therefore, it is possible to easily determine whether laundry is stuck between the lid assembly and the top cover and whether the motor is broken by locking or unlocking the lid assembly and the top cover with the use of the lock element.
US08707739B2	Apparatus, systems and methods for conditioning molten glass Channel apparatus for use with submerged combustion systems and methods of use to produce glass. One channel apparatus includes a flow channel defined by a floor, a roof, and a wall structure connecting the floor and roof, the flow channel divided into sections by a series of skimmers. Channel apparatus include both high and low momentum combustion burners, with one or more high momentum combustion burners positioned immediately upstream of each skimmer in either the roof or sidewall structure, or both, and one or more low momentum combustion burners positioned immediately downstream of each skimmer in either the roof, the sidewall structure, or both, and positioned to transfer heat to the molten mass of glass without substantial interference from foamed material. Certain embodiments include increased height of glass-contact refractory, in particular immediately upstream of the skimmers.
US08707737B2	Method and apparatus for pressure control of glass-making thickness-control zone Managing pressure within a thickness-control-zone (muffle door) housing (20) relative to pressures in a glass-making machine enclosure (60) and an upper chamber (40)—that is disposed outside the enclosure—so as to minimize or control undesired airflows that would adversely affect thickness (9) of glass ribbon (8). According to one pressure-management technique, the pressure at a location (25) in the housing (20) is managed so as to be less than the pressure at a location (65) that is within the enclosure (60) as well as both outside and adjacent to the housing. In the event of a leak, as by a crack or unintended opening in the housing, for example, this pressure difference reduces or prevents airflow toward the ribbon and, thereby, undesired thickness variation in the ribbon. According to a second pressure-management technique, the pressure at location (25) is managed so as to be greater than the pressure in the upper chamber.
US08707736B2	Method and apparatus for manufacturing solar concentrators using glass process A method for manufacturing a glass concentrator for a solar module. The method includes providing a glass material in a molten state and processing the glass material in the molten state to form a ribbon glass including a first surface and a second surface. Additionally, the method includes subjecting the first surface to one or more drum members to form a plurality of concentrating structures while continuously passing the ribbon glass via the second surface over a plurality of rollers. Each of the concentrating structures includes an aperture region, an exit region, and one or more reflection regions. The aperture region is configured to receive incoming light and the one or more reflection regions are configured to concentrate the received incoming light to the exit region. The method further includes cutting the ribbon glass into one or more sheets of glasses including a predetermined number of the plurality of concentrating structures.
US08707733B2	Cut gemstone providing a specific optical pattern A gemstone cut with a table facet, where the gemstone receives existing light from around the viewer and the facets on the bottom of the diamond effectively reflect the existing light back into the eyes of the beholder in such a manner as to maximize light performance, and to produce a unique and distinct look of light in the form of a Maltese cross under the table facet which can be observed in natural ambient light.
US08707723B2	Multiple refrigerant thermal energy storage and cooling system with secondary refrigerant isolation Disclosed are a method and device for a refrigerant-based thermal storage system wherein a condensing unit and an ice-tank heat exchanger can be isolated through a second heat exchanger. The disclosed embodiments provide a refrigerant-based ice storage system with increased reliability, lower cost components, and reduced power consumption compared to a single phase system such as a glycol system.
US08707722B2	Heat exchanger A heat exchanger, having a unit for draining condensed water collected in a lower portion of a heat exchanger core, is provided. The heat exchanger includes an upper header tank and a lower header tank; a plurality of tubes communicating with both the upper header tank and the lower header tank; a plurality of fins provided between neighboring tubes; and a plurality of condensed water drain units provided with respective fitting parts closely fitted onto ends of the tubes, wherein the condensed water drain units drain condensed water, collected in a space defined by the lower header tank, the tubes and the fins.
US08707712B2	Gas turbine engine turbine vane airfoil profile A turbine vane for a gas turbine engine includes inner and outer platforms joined by a radially extending airfoil. The airfoil includes leading and trailing edges joined by spaced apart pressure and suction sides to provide an exterior airfoil surface. The inner and outer platforms respectively include inner and outer sets of film cooling holes. One of the inner and outer sets of film cooling holes are formed in substantial conformance with platform cooling hole locations described by one of the sets of Cartesian coordinates set forth in Tables 1 and 2. The Cartesian coordinates are provided by an axial coordinate, a circumferential coordinate, and a radial coordinate, relative to a zero-coordinate. The cooling holes with Cartesian coordinates in Tables 1 and 2 have a diametrical surface tolerance relative to the specified coordinates of 0.200 inches (5.08 mm).
US08707711B2	Sealing apparatus with multistage brush seal An apparatus is provided for sealing a channel fluidly connecting between a high pressure zone and a low pressure zone. The apparatus has at least two brush seal elements provided in the channel in series in a direction from the high pressure zone toward the low pressure zone to define an intermediate zone between the brush seal elements. The intermediate zone is fluidly connected to the low pressure zone through a bypass or passage, allowing a fluid in the intermediate zone to flow in part through the bypass to the low pressure zone.
US08707709B2	Systems and methods for controlling compressor extraction cooling Embodiments of methods and apparatus for providing compressor extraction cooling are provided. According to one example embodiment, a method is disclosed for controlling compressor extraction cooling. The method can include providing a cooling medium. The method can include extracting air from a compressor associated with a gas turbine. The method can also include introducing the cooling medium to the compressor extraction air, wherein the compressor extraction air is cooled by the cooling medium prior to or during introduction to the turbine section. Furthermore, method can include selectively controlling at least one of the compressor extraction air or the cooling medium based at least in part on a characteristic associated with the gas turbine.
US08707707B2	Late lean injection fuel staging configurations A gas turbine engine is provided and includes a combustor having a first interior in which a first fuel supplied thereto is combustible, a turbine, including rotating turbine blades, into which products of at least the combustion of the first fuel are receivable to power a rotation of the turbine blades, a transition zone, including a second interior in which a second fuel supplied thereto and the products of the combustion of the first fuel are combustible, the transition zone being disposed to fluidly couple the combustor and the turbine to one another, and a plurality of fuel injectors, which are supported by the transition zone and coupled to a fuel circuit, and which are configured to supply the second fuel to the second interior in any one or more of a single axial stage, multiple axial stages, a single axial circumferential stage and multiple axial circumferential stages.
US08707700B2	Carbon dioxide recovery method and carbon-dioxide-recovery-type steam power generation system According to one embodiment, a carbon-dioxide-recovery-type steam power generation system comprises a boiler that generates steam and an exhaust gas, an absorption tower that allows carbon dioxide contained in the exhaust gas to be absorbed in an absorption liquid, a regeneration tower that discharges a carbon dioxide gas from the absorption liquid supplied from the absorption tower, a reboiler that heats the absorption liquid of the regeneration tower, a turbine that is rotationally driven by the steam, a first condenser, a second condenser, and a desuperheater. The first condenser generates condensate by cooling steam exhausted from the turbine. The second condenser condenses the carbon dioxide gas while using a part of the condensate as cooling water, and generates hot water.The desuperheater lowers the temperature of the steam exhausted from the turbine by spraying the hot water, and supplies the steam at lowered temperature to the reboiler.
US08707699B2	Apparatus and method for a natural draft air cooled condenser cooling tower The present invention relates to a natural draft cooling tower that employs an air cooled condenser. The aforementioned cooling tower operates by natural draft and achieves the exchange of heat between two fluids such as atmospheric air, ordinarily, and another fluid which is usually steam. The aforementioned cooling tower utilizes a central steam duct riser supplying steam to perimeter ducting via radial ducting.
US08707692B1	Two piece center section for a drive apparatus A center section or other mounting member for mounting and hydraulically connecting a pump and motor, includes a first piece having a running surface for the pump and connected to hydraulic porting and a second separable piece having a running surface for the motor and connected to the hydraulic porting. A spacer is disposed between the first piece and the second piece for hydraulically connecting the first piece and the second piece and for modifying the distance between the pump running surface and the motor running surface, whereby the first piece is physically separated from the second piece. Two such mounting members may be used at opposite ends of a main housing with a drive device having two pumps and two motors.
US08707680B2	Exhaust purification system of internal combustion engine In an internal combustion engine, inside of an engine exhaust passage, air-fuel ratio sensors each of which has a solid electrolyte, electrodes which respectively cover the two side surfaces of the solid electrolyte, and a diffusion resistance layer which covers one of electrodes are arranged. In operation, the greater the amounts of deposition of sulfur ingredients at the air-fuel ratio sensors, the smaller the amounts of change of the air-fuel ratios detected by the air-fuel ratio sensor and the longer the time period of change of the air-fuel ratios. The amounts of sulfur poisoning of the air-fuel ratio sensors are detected from the changes of the air-fuel ratios detected by the air-fuel ratio sensors.
US08707675B2	Pressure assisted direct drive proportional hot-gas thruster A hot-gas thruster is actuated using a relatively small electric motor. The hot-gas thruster includes a pressure assisted pilot shaft to keep electric power demand to only a few hundred watts peak and only tens of watts on average, while exhibiting relatively fast response times.
US08707651B2	System of at least two panels The invention concerns a system comprising at least two panels, particularly floor panels for forming a covering. The panels have first and second lateral edges, which can be connected by a movement substantially perpendicular to the covering. The first lateral edge has a locking member coupled to a spring so that an inner position exerts a restoring force on the locking member in the direction of the outer position. The second lateral edge has a locking element that cooperates with the locking member. The locking member and locking element each have a locking face. To withstand higher vertical extraction forces, the first and second lateral edges are designed to connect by a movement directed from top to bottom of the second lateral edge, and the locking faces, when connected, lock the second lateral edge against upward lifting, while the locking member is supported with respect to the panel.
US08707646B2	Low reflected-sound-pressure-level, low moisture-vapor-transmission-rate flooring system A flooring system having a top floor layer, a sub-floor, and an underlayment material disposed between the sub-floor and the top floor layer is disclosed. The underlayment material may include a cross-linked, polyolefin foam having a moisture vapor transmission rate of less than about 3.0 lb/1000 ft2/24 hr, and an average sound pressure level of less than about 15 dB over a range of about 300 Hz to about 1000 Hz. Foam density, gel fraction, and resin blend may combine to provide an underlayment material having such reflective sound and moisture vapor barrier properties.
US08707645B1	Form system for poured concrete A method and apparatus using foam forms for poured concrete roof and floor decks for on-site concrete structural joists is shown that may be integrated into the concrete deck formed by the forms or otherwise used as structural supports. Greater joist strength results from providing a communication channel in the forms between an opening in C channel metal studs used in such panel forms and a space between piers that forms the main concrete beam portion of a finished concrete structural joist. By providing such flow of concrete, when the joist is completed, the concrete structural joint is stronger because the concrete is disposed inside of the C channel studs and continuously between the inside of the C channel studs and the main concrete beam portion. The concrete thereby interlocks the C channels to the main concrete portion of beam.
US08707643B1	Roofing element and roof covering comprised thereof Roofing elements of the shingle, tile or panel types are applied for mounting onto a roof of a building, as well as a roof covering comprised of such elements. The roofing elements include at least one heat-sensitive weatherproof, protective layer for protecting the building from weather-related intrusions. The roofing elements have one or more continuous venting channels disposed below the heat-sensitive weatherproof, protective layers to form one or more airflow channels beneath the protective layers, with the airflow channels disposed between a lower roof deck of a building and upper heat-sensitive, weatherproof, protective layers of the roofing elements in the installed condition on a roof.
US08707632B2	Structure having convertible roof and walls A movable building structure is configured to selectively enclose an area. The structure includes at least one side wall and an end wall attached thereto. The side wall comprises a number of individual panels that are independently movable along a track secured to the ground. The panels are selectively collapsible such that they may travel along the track and overlap one another when in a collapsed or stowed position. The structure may be configured in any number of intermediate positions wherein the panels are partially collapsed. Roof panels may be attached to the side walls for movement therewith, or alternatively, the roof panels may operate independent of the side walls to extend and retract between an open and collapsed configuration.
US08707615B2	Modular bed bug trap system A segmented, floor-based trap system, which may be configured to delineate a floor area of arbitrary rectilinear geometry that is infested with crawling arthropods, particularly bed bugs, or an area to be protected from such infestation, thereby to intercept egress of such insects from such an area, or their ingress into it.The trap system comprises a plurality of trough-like linear segments containing a layer of mechanical insecticide, such as diatomaceous earth, and serving as an insect pitfall, and a plurality of linear and right-angled connectors, by which the linear segments may be connected continuously in fluid communication. A roughened, obtusely inclined flange extends from the top of each of the side walls of each linear segment to the floor, serving as a ramp leading insects to the smooth-walled pitfall. Foreshortened linear segments fitted to corner connectors in concave corners of the trap assembly preserve rectilinear alignment.
US08707609B2	Firearm sight tool Firearm sight tools for removing and installing a firearm sight are presented, the firearm sight tool including: a tool frame having a top wall, a bottom wall, and sidewalls, the sidewalls connecting the top wall and the bottom wall; a firearm clamping assembly including, a stationary jaw, a clamping spindle, a clamping jaw, and a clamping spindle handle; a bottom spacer removably attached with the bottom wall, the bottom spacer selected to provide vertical alignment; and a sight press assembly including, a carriage, a carriage spindle, and a sight carriage where the sight carriage includes a sight blade aligned along the carriage spindle.
US08707607B2	Gun cleaning tool kit A gun cleaning tool kit, comprising an openable case, at least one mount for receiving a removable tool insert, a portable miniature gun cleaning tool kit disposable in the openable case, a foldable work surface apron. The kit may further comprise at least one removable tool insert, a plurality of gun cleaning tools disposed on the removable tool insert, and an exterior pocket formed in the openable case for storing the portable miniature gun cleaning tool kit. Preferably, the foldable work surface apron is removably attached to, and stored within, the openable case. Preferably, both the openable case and the portable miniature gun cleaning tool kit are closable by zippers.
US08707606B2	Rail adaptive platform system A detachable rail platform adaptable for selective and secure mounting to a weapon's rear iron sight assembly, the rear iron sight assembly having a sight base and a sight guard. The detachable rail platform includes a body having forward and rearward portions. The body further includes a rail portion and is positionable to envelop the rear iron sight assembly. A first clamp assembly is selectively engageable with the sight base at a predetermined position. A second clamp assembly is selectively engageable with the sight guard. Upon engagement of the first and second clamp assemblies to the sight base and the sight guard respectively, the rail platform is selectively and securely mounted to the weapon.
US08707600B2	In-store marketing sign A marketing sign is constructed of a sheet material and includes at least one break-away section coupled to a main section by at least one score. The main section includes a free portion, a base portion and connecting portion. The free portion includes a price piece and a balloon piece coupled to the price piece at a fold. The base portion is configured to couple with a product display structure after the main section is detached from the break-away section at the at least one score. The connecting bend line couples the free portion to the base portion and has a first end located a space distance from a right side edge of the sheet material.
US08707587B2	Sole and article of footwear Articles of footwear and soles are disclosed. The article of footwear may include an upper; an outer midsole having a base coupled to the upper, and a rim portion extending from the periphery of the base, wherein the rim portion defines a plurality of spaced apart gaps; and an inner midsole disposed interiorly to the rim portion, wherein a portion of the inner midsole is disposed in at least one gap.
US08707579B2	Method for operating an adsorption dryer and dryer for implementing the method In a method for operating an adsorption dryer, a process air flow, generated by at least one blower, is routed at least at times through an adsorption apparatus and over a textile goods in care during a textile care process in a “dry” operating mode to thereby charge a reversibly dehydratable adsorbent of the adsorption apparatus with moisture. A charge state of the adsorbent with water is detected and is displayed at least after the end of the “drying” textile care process. The absorbent is desorbed at least in part during a subsequent, selected and started textile care process in a “refresh” operating mode, and the desorbed moisture is routed as a moist process air flow into a receptacle for refreshing textile goods which are stored or hung in a stationary manner.
US08707578B2	Sheet processing machine, in particular sheet-fed printing press and method of drying sheets A sheet processing machine, in particular a sheet-fed printing press, includes a varnishing unit and at least one combination drier for applying radiation energy and heated air to a newly varnished sheet. The at least one combination drier includes a plurality of circular or polygonal air nozzles and narrow-band high-power infrared light sources disposed between the air nozzles. The infrared light sources apply radiation at a radiation density of at least 25 kW/m2 in total to the varnished sheet. The temperature of the heated air passing through the nozzles is below 100° C., preferably below 80° C. A method of drying sheets is also provided.
US08707573B2	Low clearance machined part mating system A device, system, and method for generating low clearance slidably mated parts. In an exemplary embodiment, the system includes a measurement device having a non-contact micrometer capable of coincidentally indicating opposing edge data, rotational and linear air bearing slides, and a holding device. The non-contact micrometer allows for measurement of a plurality of parameters of a first part including the diameter and the difference between an edge of the first part and a reference point. The coincidental measurements are used to determine the size and geometric errors associated with the first part after suitable error elimination. In an exemplary system, a processing machine may be instructed by the measurement device to remove material from a second part so that the first part and the second part when mated together have a very low clearance tolerance level, e.g., as little as 0.00005 inches or less.
US08707572B2	Systems and methods for control and calibration of a CMM A method of operating an articulated arm CMM is provided. Instructions for the CMM can be inputted to the CMM arm by an action chosen from the group consisting of placing the arm in a predefined position and moving the arm in a predefined manner.
US08707570B2	Alignment apparatus An alignment apparatus for adjusting an image sensor is provided. The alignment apparatus includes a first stage, a second stage, a positioning aligned unit, and an adjustment unit. The second stage is floatingly disposed on the first stage. The image sensor is adapted to be disposed on the second stage. The positioning aligned unit connected between the first stage and the second stage constrains the second stage on a datum surface above the first stage. The positioning aligned unit coupled to the second stage drives the second stage to rotate along the datum surface.
US08707566B2	Utility knife A knife has a blade holder in a housing adapted to hold a blade and shiftable between a first cutting position with the blade projecting a little from the housing and a second position projecting somewhat more from the housing. An actuating element shiftable in the housing between a starting position and an actuating position is effective on a connecting linkage such that in a first orientation force is transmitted to the blade holder to retain the blade holder against moving into its retracted safety position from its first cutting position and in the second orientation the linkage does not prevent the blade holder from moving into its safety position from its second cutting position.
US08707565B2	Blade holder Specific embodiments of the present invention are directed to blade holders, which provide an easier method to cut by way of including a guide incorporated into the handle. This guide rests upon the surface to be cut, leading the cutting blade. Furthermore, the leading end of the tool is blunt, which is safer than leading with a sharp edge. In specific embodiments, the handle is of such a shape that the user can pull the tool straight back to cut, allowing the hand to rest in a more neutral and ergonomic position.
US08707561B1	Shaving device with a pad The present invention provides a shaving device that includes a handle for better control, and a stand that has a pad with sufficient surface area to comfortably compress and frictionally grip to tighten skin in relation to the working plane of one or more blades of the shaving device for smoother shave. The stand tightens the skin for closer shave, and compresses it below a level of existing hair growth, causing the hair follicles to protrude for even a better and closer shave. The stand further pushes the skin away from in-between the razor heads to diminish cuts and nicks, all for a closer shave.
US08707559B1	Material dispense tips and methods for manufacturing the same A material dispense tip includes an elongated hole in an elongated neck that extends from an input end of the neck to an output end of the neck. The hole at the output end of the neck has a first diameter. The output end of the neck is positioned against a die surface. A punch is inserted into the hole at the input end of the neck. An external force is applied to the neck to cause the output end of the neck to be deformed under compression by the die surface, to reduce the diameter of the hole at the output end of the neck from the first diameter to a second diameter that is less than the first diameter.
US08707557B1	Method and apparatus to improve performance of power plant steam surface condensers The invention apparatus and method is practiced in large steam surface condensers and in one aspect comprises relatively narrow horizontal trays installed between the vertical tube bundles to drain the condensate from the upper bundle around the lower ones and thereby improve the heat transfer coefficient of the lower bundle(s). A second aspect of the invention apparatus comprises relatively narrow horizontal trays installed slightly below the lowest bundle to improve reheating of falling condensate up toward the saturation temperature of the condenser thereby reducing subcooling and the level of dissolved oxygen in that condensate. A third aspect of the invention apparatus comprises a partial hood retrofitted at the top of the central tube sheet air off-take entrance which is a unique element of the starburst/core pipe condenser design to thereby improve the air removal capability and consequently the performance of the condenser.
US08707533B2	Single brake spring tool and method of removal of drum brake spring A brake drum spring release tool includes a straight elongate rod member with a laterally projecting lever arm extending from one side and an extended hook member from the end of the rod member. The lever arm acts as a fulcrum when positioned on a drum brake spring simultaneously engaged by a hook member. Placing a generally lateral force on the grip end of the tool will cause rotational force imparted by the hook member on the spring typically with a mechanical advantage associated with the fulcrum of the lever arm to thereby release the spring from a drum brake shoe.
US08707524B2	Double sided nylon sandwich mesh fabric zipper and slider assembly A double sided nylon sandwich mesh fabric zipper and slider assembly includes coil strips being left handed and right handed plastic coils each having a center cord and a series of interlocking teeth, each tooth having a tooth head and a tooth body so configured that the tooth heads are respectively interlockable with the tooth heads of the teeth of the coil strips at the other zipper tape. The slider has C-shaped guide grooves to guide locking and unlocking positions horizontal movement of the teeth of the upper and lower coil strips, and a balance guide block configured to match with the configuration of the tooth heads, facilitating accurate alignment between the left and right teeth of the upper and lower coil strips and assuring smooth engagement and disengagement of the interlocking teeth.
US08707521B1	Adjustable door jamb lock After traditional door hinges are used to mount a door, a door jamb lock is installed between the door edge and the door jamb. An upper wing is affixed to the door jamb. A lower wing is affixed to the door edge. An upper collar holds the upper wing and a central wing pivot pin. This central wing pivot pin can be pushed down to engage a female receiver in the lower collar and lower wing assembly. When this central wing pivot pin engages a key into the female receiver, the door is locked at a desired angle open. Various embodiments include a spring central wing pivot pin, a simple rod type central pivot pin, and a fine tuning set screw model for angle adjustment.
US08707520B2	Deceleration device A deceleration device comprises a cylindrical container (14) housing at least one friction disc (16) against at least an internal wall of the cylindrical container (14), and a movable cursor (18), actuated by an external element, for the actuation of the friction disc (16), the friction disc (16) being bound to the cylindrical container (14) through constraint means which permit a roto-translational motion in order to acquire a further sliding contact surface in addition to the internal wall of the cylindrical container (14) at the end of the initial translation phase of the cursor (18) in which the friction disc (16) is subjected to a mainly or completely translational motion.
US08707519B2	Domestic appliance hinge assembly with universal hinge body design A hinge assembly is provided for pivotably attaching a door to a domestic appliance. The hinge assembly includes a hinge body having two mounting areas; a damper; a foot pivotably attached to the damper, the foot being configured to engage a foot receiving portion of the appliance body such that the hinge body and the door pivot relative to the appliance body; and a first mounting spacer attached to the hinge body at a first one of the mounting areas, the first mounting spacer being configured to attach to the door such that the hinge body is fixed relative to the door. Each of the two mounting areas is configured to receive a first fastener to attach the first mounting spacer to the hinge body, and each of the two mounting areas is configured to receive a second fastener to attach the door to the hinge body.
US08707514B2	Cleaner head A cleaner head for a cleaning appliance includes a housing, a suction opening through which dirt-bearing air enters the cleaner head, and a plurality of floor engaging support members connected to the housing. Each support member includes a curved lower surface and a rolling element located within a recessed portion of the lower surface of the support member. The outer surface of the rolling element is substantially coincident with a locus, or virtual surface, described by the lower surface of the support member.
US08707509B2	Surface treating appliance A surface treating appliance includes a surface treating head, a hose, and a fan unit for generating a flow of fluid. A flexible duct assembly has a first end and a second end moveable relative to the first end between a first position allowing fluid flow between the hose and the fan unit, and a second position allowing fluid flow between the surface treating head and the fan unit. The duct assembly is connected to a first support which is pivotable about a first axis, and to a second support which is pivotable about a second axis spaced from the first axis. A drive mechanism effects the pivoting movement of the supports about their axes to move the second end of the duct assembly between the first and second positions.
US08707508B2	Cleaning appliance A cleaning appliance of the canister type includes separating apparatus for separating dirt from a dirt-bearing fluid flow, a chassis for supporting the separating apparatus, and a substantially spherical rolling assembly comprising a fluid inlet for receiving a fluid flow from the separating apparatus and a device for acting on the fluid flow received through the inlet.
US08707505B2	Cleaning device comprising a strip mop with strips covered with microfiber for cleaning floors A cleaning device connectable to a handle includes a head (100) with a substantially circular profile formed by a plurality (200) of flexible strips in non-woven fabric overlapped and arranged to cover the circumference of the head (100) wherein the outermost strips (1) of the plurality of overlapped strips (200) have the outer surface formed by a microfiber layer (8) supported by a non-woven fabric layer (9), and the innermost strips (3) have a greater stiffness than the remaining strips.
US08707503B2	Swimming pool brush A pool brush includes a handle receiver; and a brush head attached to the handle receiver, the brush head having a body and a plurality of bristles extending from said body. The body includes a cylindrical portion having rounded top, bottom, front and rear sides, and opposite end portions, and the plurality of bristles includes bristles radially extending 360 degrees around the cylindrical portion of the body and from the end portions. In an embodiment, the plurality of bristles includes a plurality of bundles of relatively longer bristles and a plurality of bundles of relatively shorter bristles, wherein the bundles of relatively longer bristles are in arrays in an alternating arrangement with arrays of the bundles of shorter bristles. In an embodiment the body has angled portions.
US08707493B2	Method of customizing a linked article Linked articles and a method for customizing the linked articles are disclosed. The linked articles comprise a first link matrix and a second link matrix comprising a first portion of the article and a second portion of the article, respectively. The first link matrix consists essentially of links of a first material and the second link matrix consists essentially of links of a second material.
US08707487B2	Cane holder A cane holder comprising one or more horizontal perpendicular plates, optionally one or more horizontal parallel plates, and a pair of support members for holding a cane, wherein the distance between the support members can be adjusted to fit the length of the cane.
US08707481B1	Extremity warming blanket An insulated pocketed and sock or slippered blanket is provided. The blanket may be used to quickly warm hands, arms, legs and feet with ease requiring no wires or electricity as with electric blankets. The design of the blanket allows the user to place their legs, feet, arms and hands into insulated and padded pockets and thus ensure that extremities remain warm. The present invention includes a blanket for warming extremities comprising: an arm warmer; a leg pocket configured for receiving legs; and two foot warmers.
US08707480B2	Multilayer, paging, modular bed blanket system This invention is a modular blanket system for double beds essentially built like a ring binder where the rings, called straps, are made of a flexible material and are closed by means of detachable fasteners such as hook-and-loop, snaps or buttons. The use of straps as a binding means allows blanket leaves to be added, subtracted or paged from one side to the other depending on the sleepers' need for warmth or decorative taste.
US08707468B2	Protective garment with tourniquet A protective garment including a waist portion adapted to be donned proximate the waist of a wearer and first and second leg portions extending from a waist portion to at least proximate a knee portion of the wearer and a tourniquet member attached to an inner surface of at least one of said first and second leg portions.
US08707465B2	Yank and draw concealed carry garment A garment adapted for concealed carry weapons users wherein a pull grasp extends outside the garment from an opening in the garment front which leads to a passageway through the garment terminating at the forward collar of the garment and when the pull grasp is yanked downward, the lower section of the garment is raised and allows access to the weapon. The passageway comprises a tunnel adapted to receive the pull and is affixed to the lower seam of the garment.
US08707464B2	Surgical garment A surgical garment includes an undergarment and an outer garment configured to be worn over the undergarment. The undergarment includes a brassiere including a front panel, a back panel, a shoulder strap extending from a top portion of a first side of the front panel to a top portion of a first side of the back panel, a width of elastic material extending along a bottom of the front and back panels, and a releasable fastening system releasably coupling a side portion of the first side of the front panel with a side portion of the first side of the back panel. The outer garment includes a torso portion and removable shoulder portions extending from the torso portion.
US08713710B2	Cantilever of scanning probe microscope and method for manufacturing the same, method for inspecting thermal assist type magnetic head device and its apparatus To detect both of near-field light and magnetic field generated by a thermal assist type magnetic head and to perform inspection of the head, a cantilever of a scanning probe microscope has a lever in which a probe is formed, a thin magnetic film formed on a surface of the probe, and fine particles or thin film of noble metal or an alloy including noble metal formed on a surface of the magnetic film. An inspection apparatus has the cantilever, a displacement detection unit to detect vibration of the cantilever, a near-field light detection unit to detect scattered light caused by near-field light generated from a near-field light emitter and enhanced on the surface of the probe of the cantilever, and a processing unit to process signals obtained by detection with the displacement detection unit and the near-field light detection unit.
US08713706B2	Method and system for coordinating client and host security modules A system and methods for coordinating the operation of a client security module and a host security module on a mobile electronic device. The modules communicate with each other through a platform abstraction layer using application programming interfaces to coordinate their activities. In particular, the client security module instructs the host security module when to lock and unlock the device, and the host security module alerts the client security module to attempts by the user to lock or unlock the device.
US08713695B2	Processing data using information embedded in a data request A data transfer method performed at a proxy server includes intercepting a data request from a client computer that is directed to a target server, encrypting profile information, augmenting the data request by adding the encrypted profile information to the data request, and sending the augmented data request to the target server. A data transfer method that is performed at an information server includes receiving a data request from a proxy server, extracting profile information added to the data request by the proxy server, using the extracted profile information to generate a response, and sending the response to the proxy server.
US08713688B2	Automated security analysis for federated relationship A secure collaboration mechanism between two organizations may be created based on a set of security system definitions provided by a receiving organization to a providing organization. The providing organization may create a shared portal that has a federated access between both organizations and has access and other security functions. The data collection process may be automated using digitally signed forms or other documents to analyze the security practices of the receiving organization and create a shared portal that has increased or decreased security provisions compared to the providing organization's standard procedures. The collaboration mechanism may be implemented in a bilateral arrangement, a hub and spoke arrangement, and a multilateral arrangement.
US08713687B2	Methods and systems for enabling community-tested security features for legacy applications A computer-implemented method for enabling community-tested security features for legacy applications may include: 1) identifying a plurality of client systems, 2) identifying a legacy application on a client system within the plurality of client systems, 3) identifying a security-feature-enablement rule for the legacy application, 4) enabling at least one security feature for the legacy application by executing the security-feature-enablement rule, 5) determining the impact of the security-feature-enablement rule on the health of the legacy application, and then 6) relaying the impact of the security-feature-enablement rule on the health of the legacy application to a server. Various other methods, systems, and computer-readable media are also disclosed.
US08713686B2	System and method for reducing antivirus false positives A method for detecting a malicious program infection includes scanning data to determine whether the data exhibits one or more particular symptoms of being infected with a malicious program and, in response to determining that the scanned data exhibits the symptoms of being infected with a malicious program, comparing the scanned data to known-good data. The method also includes initiating remedial action in response to determining that the scanned data does not match the known-good data.
US08713668B2	System and method for redirected firewall discovery in a network environment A method is provided in one example embodiment that includes receiving metadata from a host over a metadata channel. The metadata may be correlated with a network flow and a network policy may be applied to the connection. In other embodiments, a network flow may be received from a host without metadata associated with the flow, and a discovery redirect may be sent to the host. Metadata may then be received and correlated with the flow to identify a network policy action to apply to the flow.
US08713667B2	Policy based cryptographic application programming interface in secure memory Systems, methods, and apparatus are provided for policy protected cryptographic Application Programming Interfaces (APIs) that are deployed in secure memory. One embodiment is a method of software execution. The method includes executing an application in a first secure memory partition; formatting a request to comply with a pre-defined secure communication protocol; transmitting the request from the application to a cryptographic application programming interface (API) of the application, the API being in a second secure memory partition that is separate and secure from the first secure memory partition; and verifying, in the second secure memory partition, that the request complies with a security policy before executing the request.
US08713664B2	Detecting the type of NAT firewall using messages A method, system, and computer program product for detecting the type of NAT firewall using messages provides the capability to determine the type of NAT in use without requiring special purpose hardware or software. A method for determining a type of a NAT firewall may comprise receiving a message from a device inside the NAT firewall, the message addressed to a first IP address and port of a device outside the NAT firewall, transmitting a plurality of messages to the device inside the NAT firewall, at least one of the plurality of messages addressed from the first IP address and port and at least one of the messages addressed from a second IP address and port, receiving responses to at least some of the plurality of messages transmitted to the device inside the NAT firewall and determining the type of the NAT firewall based on the received responses.
US08713663B2	Method for using extended security system, extended security system and devices Embodiments of the present invention disclose a method for using an extended security system, including: configuring one of security processing devices in the extended security system as a primary security processing device and configuring other security processing devices as at least one secondary security processing device connected with the primary security processing device; the method further includes: when the extended security system receives an external packet, selecting, by the primary security processing device, a security processing device to process the received external packet, the selected security processing device being the primary security processing device or the secondary security processing device. The embodiments of the present invention also disclose an extended security system and a primary security processing device and secondary security processing devices. By data interaction between the security processing devices, resource sharing between the security processing devices can be implemented, thereby improving the performance of the extended security system.
US08713650B2	Systems and methods for universal enhanced log-in, identity document verification and dedicated survey participation Systems and methods are provided for controlling access via a computer network to a subscriber server. A log-in server receives a query to connect through the computer network to the subscriber server, and the log-in server receives registrant identification data. A first session is established between the log-in server and the subscriber server to validate the registrant identification data, and to generate a session password. A second session is established between the log-in server and the subscriber server. The second session is configured to authorize, based in part on the registrant identification data, access to at least a portion of a website associated with the subscriber server.
US08713647B2	End-of-session authentication Techniques for facilitating an online transaction session with an end-of-session authentication are provided. The techniques include performing a start-of-session authentication to enable an online transaction session, and performing an end-of-session authentication to end the online transaction session, wherein the end-of-session authentication comprises a scope comprising each pre-defined critical transaction from the transaction session.
US08713640B2	System and method for logical separation of a server by using client virtualization A system for logically separating a server using client virtualization includes a client terminal including a virtual environment generation unit for generating a virtual environment, and a virtualized server including a local storage unit, an authentication server for performing authentication on the client terminal when a request for access to the local storage unit is received from a process executed in the virtual environment, and a virtualization filter drier for allowing or blocking the access request to the local storage unit based on the authentication result of the client terminal. The client terminal further includes a virtualization filter driver for transmitting the access request from the process executed in the virtual environment to the local storage unit, and blocking the access request from the process without being made through the virtual environment to the local storage unit.
US08713638B2	Managing personal information on a network Devices, systems, and methods for managing personal information by providing a centralized source or database for a user's information, and enabling the user to regulate privacy levels for each information item or category of information. Templates are provided as a table of hierarchies, or an onion layers model. Private information may be stored in an inner layer while public information may be stored in an outer layer, with the ability to define and customize multiple layers and categories within the template. A requesting entity requests information via a disseminating server that acts as a gateway for authenticating, authorizing, and providing access to the requesting entity. The user may therefore control and regulate their online presence simply by monitoring who requests their information and adjusting privacy levels accordingly.
US08713635B2	Information terminal, setting information distribution server, right information distribution server, network connection setting program and method When connecting a mobile information terminal to a communication network via a public access point, a user of the mobile information terminal is undesirably required to input detailed information for connection to the communication network via a poor input interface. In order to solve this problem, the information acquisition function receives network connection setting information from a setting information distribution server which distributes network connection setting information which is information indicative of settings of connections with communication networks. In accordance with the network connection setting information received by the information acquisition function, an NW connection function establishes a connection with a communication network via an access point.
US08713634B2	Systems, methods and computer program products supporting provision of web services using IMS A web service request from a device is received at a web service provider. The web service request is authenticated at the web service provider using the IMS network. A requested web service is provided to the device responsive to the authentication of the web service request. The web service request may be received via a path outside of the IMS network, e.g., over a network using HTTP or other non-IMS protocol. The requested web service may also be provided using a web service response communicated to the device via a path outside of the IMS network.
US08713630B2	Verifiable service policy implementation for intermediate networking devices A network system capable of communicating with a first end user device over a wireless access network, and a method performed by the network system. The method comprises receiving an instruction from the first end user device, the instruction being based on a user input obtained through a user interface of the first end user device, the user input requesting a change to a forwarding service, the forwarding service enabling the first end user device to forward traffic between the wireless access network and one or more other end user devices according to a forwarding policy; determining to change a setting associated with the forwarding policy based on the instruction; and initiating provisioning of one or more elements to change the setting associated with the forwarding policy.
US08713629B2	Method for accessing wireless network A wireless network accessing method adaptable to a portable electronic device is provided. The wireless network accessing method includes following steps. A wireless access point (WAP) is connected. An authentication webpage is received from the WAP. A layout of the authentication webpage is analyzed by using a database to find out an account field and a password field of the authentication webpage. An account and a password input by a user are received. The account field filled with the account and the password field filled with the password are sent to the WAP.
US08713626B2	Network client validation of network management frames Methods and systems for use in a wireless client that includes one or more wireless network interfaces for communicating with at least one access point wherein the method enables the wireless client to validate the authenticity and integrity of received management frames. The method includes receiving a protected wireless network management frame from an access point verifying a message integrity check (MIC) appended to the protected wireless network management frame. One or more security policies are then conditionally applied based on a failure to verify the MIC.
US08713625B2	Delivery of captions, content advisory and other data through digital interface In certain implementations, closed captioning data can be packaged in IP packets and transmitted over an HDMI interface to permit closed captioning data to be rendered at a television set or other HDMI sink closer to the TV set rather than at a source so as to more closely match the capabilities of the display device. This abstract is not to be considered limiting, since other embodiments may deviate from the features described in this abstract.
US08713616B2	Digital broadcasting system and method of processing data in digital broadcasting system A digital broadcasting system and a method for processing data in the same are disclosed. A method for controlling a digital television (DTV) located in one independent space among a plurality of independent spaces physically separated from one another is disclosed. The method includes receiving display type information from a compact wireless device, wherein the display type information is type information of data capable of being processed by the compact wireless device, transmitting the received display type information to a management server, receiving general additional information and additional information dependent on the display type information from the management server, and controlling the general additional information to be displayed on the DTV and transmitting the additional information dependent on the display type information to the compact wireless device.
US08713610B2	Differentiated PSIP table update interval technology An apparatus, method and data structure for generating at least one table in a broadcast environment, are provided. The apparatus includes a generator to generate an event information table (EIT) and an extended text table (ETT). The ETT has program guide information for an n-hour span and has a transmission interval. The ETT has a transmission interval and program description information according to the EIT. The transmission interval of the EIT is shorter than the transmission interval of the ETT.
US08713607B2	Multi-room user interface Multi-room user interface is described. In an embodiment, a viewing system includes television-based client devices that each receive a different data stream and render a viewing selection from the data stream. A multi-room user interface displayed at a first television-based client device can display a representation of a viewing selection being shown at any one or more of the other television-based client devices.
US08713596B2	Method and system for blocking hazardous information A method for blocking objectionable information on a terminal. The method includes receiving header information corresponding to a particular multimedia content, extracting grade information from the header, determining if the extracted grade information is an allowable grade indicating that the particular multimedia content can be received by the terminal, receiving the particular multimedia content if the determining step determines the extracted grade information is the allowable grade, comparing the received multimedia content with objectionable information determination data stored in the terminal to determine if the multimedia content is objectionable, and assigning an objectionable grade to the header of the multimedia content when the comparing step determines the received multimedia content is objectionable.
US08713589B2	Registration and network access control In embodiments of registration and network access control, an initially unconfigured network interface device can be registered and configured as an interface to a public network for a client device. In another embodiment, a network interface device can receive a network access request from a client device to access a secure network utilizing extensible authentication protocol (EAP), and the request is communicated to an authentication service to authenticate a user of the client device based on user credentials. In another embodiment, a network interface device can receive a network access request from a client device to access a Web site in a public network utilizing a universal access method (UAM), and the request is redirected to the authentication service to authenticate a user of the client device based on user credentials.
US08713588B2	Integrated disk driving module including a stepping motor integrally formed with a base unit An integrated disk driving module is disclosed, the module including a base unit including a stepping motor fixture bent from an upper plate toward an accommodation space, wherein the stepping motor fixture is integrally formed with the upper plate, and a stepping motor rotatably fixed to the stepping motor fixture.
US08713584B2	Event-triggered server-side macros A computer-implemented method of managing computer macros is disclosed. The method includes storing code for a computer macro at an internet-accessible hosted computer system and associating the stored code with a user account on the hosted computer system. The method also includes automatically identifying with the hosted computer system, independent of whether a user associated with the user account is currently active on the hosted computer system, a triggering event that is defined as being directed to the macro. Furthermore, the method includes executing the macro using an application running on the hosted computer system to generate macro results, and storing the macro results on the hosted computer system.
US08713571B2	Asynchronous task execution Techniques for asynchronous task execution are described. In an implementation, tasks may be initiated and executed asynchronously, thereby allowing a plurality of calls to be made in parallel. Each task may be associated with a respective timeout that triggers an end to execution of the task. If a timeout for a low priority task expires without completing both the low priority task and a relatively higher priority task, then the low priority task may use the relatively higher priority task to extend execution time of the low priority task in order to allow additional time to perform the low priority task.
US08713559B2	System and method for updating firmware A system and method for guiding a user through a procedure for updating firmware on an uninterruptible power supply. In one example, the system includes a computer system and a communication link to connect the computer system to the uninterruptible power supply. The computer system includes a discovery component, which is configured to detect a version of the firmware installed on the uninterruptible power supply and to detect a model type of the uninterruptible power supply. The computer system also includes a firmware update component, a preparation sequence and an instruction component corresponding to the model type of the uninterruptible power supply and the version of the firmware installed on the uninterruptible power supply. The preparation sequence is configured to prepare the uninterruptible power supply for the firmware update component. The instruction component is configured to display instructions that guide the user through the procedure for updating the firmware.
US08713558B2	Generating package profiles in software package repositories using selective subsets of packages Embodiments relate to systems and methods for generating package profiles in software package repositories using selective subsets of packages. A physical or virtual client machine can host a set of installed software packages, including operating system, application, and/or other software. A package manager tracks the set of installed packages and reports the inventory of those packages to one or more package servers. The package server(s) can build an aggregate package population record reflecting all packages installed on all machines in the managed network. The package server(s) can then generate arbitrarily selected package subsets from the aggregate package collection, and group or configure sets of machines based on common or compatible package subsets. Machine groups dedicated to different tasks or applications as reflected in their package subsets can then have updating, security, and/or other management tasks carried out on a collective basis.
US08713555B1	Security patch update processor A method, system, and program product are provided for updating software deployed on computers in an enterprise computer network wherein each computer has a software update agent installed to enable the computer to receive software patch updates. The method includes determining a required software component and updates based upon a location in a configuration file; determining a version of the agent and updating the agent if required; selecting a server from which required updates are to be downloaded; scanning a plurality of software components on a selected computer and comparing the components with updates available on the server to determine required updates; downloading the required patches from the server; and installing the patches on the selected computer. The system includes components that perform the method steps when operated on a computer in the network. A computer readable medium implements the method for updating software deployed on computers in a network.
US08713551B2	Apparatus, system, and method for non-interruptively updating firmware on a redundant hardware controller An apparatus, system, and method are disclosed for non-interruptively updating firmware on a redundant hardware controller. The apparatus includes a routing module, a receiving module, and a forwarding module. The routing module routes communications between a redundant hardware controller and a service processor associated with a flash update. The receiving module receives a flash command for the flash update from the service processor via a shared serial connection. The forwarding module forwards the flash command via a dedicated point to point connection to the redundant hardware controller configured to receive the flash command over the point to point connection. The apparatus, system, and method provide a non-interruptive overlay of the firmware image on a redundant hardware controller, minimizing system downtime and user intervention.
US08713548B2	Rewriting branch instructions using branch stubs Mechanisms are provided for rewriting branch instructions in a portion of code. The mechanisms receive a portion of source code having an original branch instruction. The mechanisms generate a branch stub for the original branch instruction. The branch stub stores information about the original branch instruction including an original target address of the original branch instruction. Moreover, the mechanisms rewrite the original branch instruction so that a target of the rewritten branch instruction references the branch stub. In addition, the mechanisms output compiled code including the rewritten branch instruction and the branch stub for execution by a computing device. The branch stub is utilized by the computing device at runtime to determine if execution of the rewritten branch instruction can be redirected directly to a target instruction corresponding to the original target address in an instruction cache of the computing device without intervention by an instruction cache runtime system.
US08713547B2	Generating compiled code that indicates register liveness Object code is generated from an internal representation that includes a plurality of source operands. The generating includes performing for each source operand in the internal representation determining whether a last use has occurred for the source operand. The determining includes accessing a data flow graph to determine whether all uses of a live range have been emitted. If it is determined that a last use has occurred for the source operand, an architected resource associated with the source operand is marked for last-use indication. A last-use indication is then generated for the architected resource. Instructions and the last-use indications are emitted into the object code.
US08713546B2	System and method for redundant array copy removal in a pointer-free language A system and method for redundant array copy removal in a virtual machine (VM), or other runtime environment, and particularly for use in a system that includes a Java Virtual Machine (JVM). In pointer free languages array copy operations are common and time consuming. Embodiments of the present invention enable the compiler to detect situations where the compiled code can safely use the source array as the destination array without performing any copy operation. By avoiding array copy operations, the performance of the application is improved.
US08713544B1	Universal data-driven computer proxy Methods, apparati, and computer-readable media for updating proxy executable code. An apparatus embodiment of the present invention comprises generic universal proxy executable code that can be instantiated multiple times, with each instance being driven by a different set of files comprising a protocol specification file and a proxy activity code file, to control protocol decomposition and proxy functions, respectively. In a method embodiment of the present invention, a protocol specification is created or updated; proxy activity code, separate from the protocol specification, is created or updated; and the proxy executable code is executed using the protocol specification and the proxy activity code.
US08713537B2	Monitoring heap in real-time by a mobile agent to assess performance of virtual machine A system and computer program product for monitoring a heap in real-time to assess the performance of a virtual machine. A mobile agent is created to be preloaded with boundary settings for each heap metric. Boundary settings are thresholds that are used to diagnose the effectiveness of operation of the heap. The mobile agent is deployed onto an application server to monitor the effectiveness of operation of the heap of a virtual machine within the application server. If a boundary setting for one of the heap metrics is exceeded, then the mobile agent determines whether a non-critical, a critical or a fatal error has occurred. An appropriate response is then performed. By monitoring the heap in real-time, undesirable behavior characteristics of the heap can be detected early thereby allowing remedial actions to be enacted to address such problems before those problems escalate into more serious problems.
US08713532B2	Debugging using code analysis Various technologies and techniques are disclosed for providing a code analysis debugger. A code analysis process is performed to identify possible program defects that are present in particular source code. The results of the code analysis are stored in a results file in a structured format. The structured format contains sections that describe details about the one or more portions of source code that have been identified as possibly having the program defects. The analysis results are retrieved for display. A debugger-like feature allows a user to review a representation of the program defects identified during the code analysis. The debugger-like feature has a graphical user interface that can display at least some of the possible program defects in a call stack for further review.
US08713531B1	Integrated bug tracking and testing A computer implemented software testing method includes receiving a bug report regarding software under test; storing the bug report in a computer readable data store upon receiving the bug report; setting an a status indicator for the bug report to an open condition upon storing the bug report; requesting execution of a test procedure corresponding to the bug report; executing the test procedure using a processor; receiving a test result from the processor indicating a pass state or a fail state for the test procedure; and setting the status indicator for the bug report to a closed condition if the pass state is determined for the test procedure.
US08713530B2	Test framework of visual components in a multitenant database environment Disclosed herein are techniques for compiling a procedure for testing a page. In some implementations, a component definition for a component instance referred to in computer programming language instructions defining a test procedure for testing a page may be received. The page may be defined by a page description implemented in a markup language. The page description may include a reference to a first portion of a component instance. Compiled wrapper code operable to simulate the presence of the component instance may be generated. The compiled wrapper code may represent the first portion of the component instance referenced in the page description. A compiled test procedure may be generated based on the computer programming language instructions. The compiled test procedure may include the compiled wrapper code. The compiled test procedure may be capable of being executed to perform the test procedure.
US08713525B2	Software management system for network data processing systems A method, data processing system, and computer program product are presented for planning upgrades to a network data processing system. A processor unit identifies configuration information for hardware and software programs for a plurality of computers in the network data processing system. The processor unit obtains end of life dates for the software programs, release dates for the replacement software programs, and prerequisites for replacement software programs for the software programs identified in the configuration information. The processor unit identifies at least one change to the plurality of computers based on the configuration information and a set of prerequisites in the prerequisites for each of a plurality of replacement software programs for a plurality of software programs in the software programs. The processor unit generates at least one upgrade plan to implement at least one change to the plurality of computers in which a number of overlaps between life cycles for the plurality of replacement software programs and life cycles for the plurality of software programs in the software programs is increased.
US08713524B2	Memory management configuration Dynamic memory management configuration enables certain behavior of an application to be controlled without touching or affecting any executable portion of the application.
US08713519B2	Method for improving the performance of browser-based, formula-driven parametric objects A computer-aided, design system and method generates procedural code from a plurality of spreadsheet formulas which define the behavior of a parametric object. These spreadsheet formulas drive function calls to an API of the design system when initially drawing the parametric object within a user interface, and these function calls may be cached as procedural code. In subsequent re-drawings of same object, the procedural code may be executed with updated or changed attributes received from an input dialog box. Rather than converting, translating, and parsing the spreadsheet formulas each time an entry is changed, the procedural code may be optimized for execution and also be concealed from the user so that any proprietary information in the formulas and functions is kept secret.
US08713510B2	Analysis of stress impact on transistor performance Roughly described, a method for approximating stress-induced mobility enhancement in a channel region in an integrated circuit layout, including approximating the stress at each of a plurality of sample points in the channel, converting the stress approximation at each of the sample points to a respective mobility enhancement value, and averaging the mobility enhancement values at all the sample points. The method enables integrated circuit stress analysis that takes into account stresses contributed by multiple stress generation mechanisms, stresses having vector components other than along the length of the channel, and stress contributions (including mitigations) due to the presence of other structures in the neighborhood of the channel region under study, other than the nearest STI interfaces. The method also enables stress analysis of large layout regions and even full-chip layouts, without incurring the computation costs of a full TCAD simulation.
US08713509B2	Circuit design approximation A circuit design, responsive the input signals, may be obtained and processed. The circuit design may define connections between combinational elements, memory elements, and input signals. Identification of cut-off points may be performed with respect to predetermined combinational logic input signals. The cut-off points may be connections whose values are not dependant on the value of the predetermined combinational logic input signals. An approximated circuit design may be synthesized by relaxing the logic associated with the cut-off points. Based on the approximated circuit design, processing may be performed. In some exemplary embodiments, a clock gating function of a memory element may be determined by approximating the circuit design with respect to the output signal of the memory element. The clock gating function may be determined based on the approximated circuit design and introduced to the circuit design, with or without additional refinement.
US08713508B2	Semiconductor device, semiconductor device design method, semiconductor design apparatus, and program A potential-supply connection interconnect is provided in a multilayer interconnect layer. The potential supply connection interconnect overlaps some cell of I/O cells in the outer peripheral cell column and some cell of I/O cells in the inner peripheral cell column in a plan view. The potential-supply connection interconnect connects a power potential supply interconnect located below the outer peripheral cell column to a power potential supply interconnect located below the inner peripheral cell column and also connects a ground potential supply interconnect located below the outer peripheral cell column to a ground potential supply interconnect located below the inner peripheral cell column.
US08713503B2	Assisting apparatus, method, and program for checking crosstalk noise between hierarchized modules in a semiconductor circuit A design assisting apparatus includes a memory configured to store routing information representing first wire line from wire lines of a module belonging to a first layer of a semiconductor circuit having a plurality of layers, the first wire line likely to become either one of an aggressor net and a victim net in a crosstalk noise check performed on wire lines of a module belonging to a second layer hierarchically higher than the first layer, and a processor configured to perform a wire line identifying operation identifying second wire line within the module belonging to the second layer, and likely to become either one of an aggressor net and a victim net in the crosstalk noise check performed on the first wire line represented by the routing information stored on the memory.
US08713495B2	Accelerator for a read-channel design and simulation tool A computer-aided design method for developing, simulating, and testing a read-channel architecture to be implemented in a VLSI circuit. The method uses a coset operating mode and nonzero-syndrome-based decoding to accelerate the simulation of the read-channel's error-rate characteristics corresponding to different parity-check matrices employed in the read-channel's turbo-decoder, such as a low-density parity-check decoder. The acceleration is achieved through recycling some previously generated log-likelihood-ratio values, which enables the method to sometimes bypass certain time-consuming processing steps therein.
US08713488B2	Layout design defect repair based on inverse lithography and traditional optical proximity correction Aspects of the invention relate to techniques for repairing layout design defects after layout data have been processed by resolution enhancement techniques. The repair process first determines a re-correction region that includes three portions: core, context and visible portions. An inverse lithography process is then performed on the core portion of the re-correction region while taking into account effects from the context portion of the re-correction region to generate a first modified re-correction region. A traditional OPC process is then performed on the core and context portions of the first modified re-correction region while taking into account effects from the visible portion of the first modified re-correction region to generate a second modified re-correction region.
US08713471B1	Method and system for providing an intelligent visual scrollbar position indicator A system and method for providing an intelligent visual data scrollbar position indicator whereby data is organized into a data table of two or more data entries with each data entry having one or more data fields. The data table is displayed to a user in a data table user interface display and a scrolling capability is provided whereby a user can scroll through the data entries in the data table via the data table user interface display and one or more user interface devices. At least one data field of the one or more data fields associated with the two or more data entries is selected as a “data display field” and a portion of the data in the selected data display field is selected as “display data” based, at least in part, on the data display field selected and the rate of change of the data in the selected data display field. Then as the data entries are being scrolled through, the selected display data for each data entry is displayed to the user as each data entry is scrolled through.
US08713462B2	Browsing or searching user interfaces and other aspects User interfaces for browsing and/or searching are described. In one embodiment, a method includes displaying a first display area for display representations of documents matching a search query, the first display area configured to display content of the documents which can have a plurality of different types of content including at least one of text-based content and a folder, and displaying a second display area for selecting a selected document to be displayed in the first display area. Other embodiments are also described, and computer readable media and apparatuses are also described.
US08713461B2	Detection of procedural deficiency across multiple business applications A method includes retrieving a plurality of data extractors to extract data across a plurality of business applications. The plurality data extractors are executed to generate a plurality of individual results sets. The plurality of individual results sets are combined into a combined result set. A rule is applied to the combined result set to detect a procedural deficiency across the plurality of business application.
US08713455B2	Techniques for generating and displaying a visual flow of user content through a social network A computer-implemented technique for generating a visual display illustrating the flow of user content in a social network is described. The technique can include determining a user content associated with a plurality of users. The technique can further include generating a visual display that includes a region for each user of the plurality of users. The technique can also include generating arranging the regions in the visual display according to a set of layout rules, and aligning a directional indicator in the visual display. The technique can include providing the visual display to a user via a display.
US08713453B2	Progressively discovering and integrating services Tools and techniques related to progressively discovering and integrating services are provided. These tools may receive electronic communications addressed to users of communications platform software. In turn, these tools may analyze the electronic communications, and generate upsells for presentation to the users. These upsells may relate to updating profile records associated with the users.
US08713450B2	Detecting patterns of abuse in a virtual environment Embodiments of the invention provide techniques for detecting patterns of abuse in users of a virtual world. The patterns of abuse may be detected by examining records of inappropriate interactions between users. Subsequently, preventative actions may be taken to prevent further abuse. The preventative actions may include blocking access to all or part of the virtual world, blocking interactions with other users, warning other users, or notifying authorities of the behavior of the other user.
US08713447B2	Apparatus and method for information display of portable device Provided is a method of displaying information of a portable device, which includes receiving a signal of booting or termination of the portable device; and displaying a valid information which is previously set while the booting or termination process is performing.
US08713442B2	Method and apparatus for information exchange over a web based environment Sharing and exchanging information via world wide web is a way of life in modern society. The dynamic workspace technology together with customized posting and removing operations provide people a much efficiently and flexibly communication platform for sharing and exchanging information across a global environment.
US08713441B2	Adding co-users to user definable co-user lists A real time notification system that tracks, for each user, the logon status of selected co-users of an on-line or network system and displays that information in real time to the tracking user in a unique graphical interface. The invention provides user definable on-line co-user lists, or “buddy lists”, that track specific co-users in real-time automatically. A user can create many separate buddy lists of co-users, either with intersecting or disjoint lists of users, and label these buddy lists according to the user's preference. The user can update a buddy list or create new buddy lists whenever necessary. When a user to logs on to a system, the user's set of buddy lists is presented to the buddy list system. The buddy list system attempts to match co-users currently logged into the system with the entries on the user's buddy list. Any matches are displayed to the user. As co-users logon and logoff, a user's buddy list is updated to reflect these changes. An indication can also be added to show that a co-user just logged on or just left the system.
US08713438B1	Gathering user feedback in web applications Methods and apparatus, including computer program products, implementing and using techniques for providing feedback with respect to a web page. A web page is displayed to a user in a web browser. The web page includes one or more page elements. An annotation mode is entered for the web page. The annotation mode enables the user to select and provide feedback pertaining to individual page elements on the web page. A user selection of one or more page elements on the web page is received. A marked-up web page is displayed to the user. The marked-up web page includes the one or more page elements selected by the user. Detailed information about the web page and a current state of the web page is automatically gathered. Feedback for the selected one or more page elements is received from the user. The user feedback and gathered detailed information is sent to one or more recipients.
US08713432B2	Device and method incorporating an improved text input mechanism A device and method for its operation comprising a display and input device, a processor to receive character input maintain an input context of words and a dictionary comprising a plurality of word occurrence indicators for selection of candidate words that may follow context words. A word occurrence indicator is associated with a kth order combination of a context word and a candidate word that indicates the frequency by which a respective candidate word follows the corresponding context word by k words in a text corpus. The processor is able to select a list of candidate words where the context word of at least one kth order combination matches the kth last word of input context. A score is determined depending on an associated word occurrence indicator for at least one relevant kth order combination.
US08713430B2	Document layout method Methods and apparatus for variable document printing are disclosed in which a graphical user interface is configured to allow user manipulation of layout rules associated with content containers within a template for variable document generation. One method involves laying out (626) container objects (407, 408) forming part of a template (624) intended for a variable data document. The objects each have a rectangular boundary in two-dimensional space, and the method comprises detecting an operation (628, 2800) to modify a position of at least one edge of at least one of the objects. Then, rules of association between edges of the objects having a corresponding orientation to the one edge are identified. A position of at least the one edge is then modified while observing the rules of association between all the correspondingly oriented edges. Finally an objective function derived from the rules of association between the correspondingly oriented edges is minimized (3009) to thereby balance a layout of the objects in at least the dimension of modification. Other methods involve maintaining the objective function for a group of edges, the addition and removal of constraints in respect of correspondingly oriented edges, the removal, addition and then removal of constraints in modifying the width of a container, the calculation of text container sizes, and the creation of tables, particularly for text containers.
US08713427B2	Apparatus and method for extracting cascading style sheet rules Provided are an apparatus and method for extracting cascading style sheet (CSS) rules. The apparatus includes a generation unit configured to generate an identification list that includes identification symbols that correspond to one or more selectors, for each document object model (DOM) node. The apparatus also includes a rule extraction unit configured to select a target DOM node and extract one or more CSS rules that are applicable to the target DOM node based on identification symbols that are included in an identification list that corresponds to the target DOM node.
US08713421B2	Scale information for drawing annotations The present disclosure includes, among other things, systems, methods and program products for identifying a drawing scale for a graphical view of a drawing, the drawing scale specifying a ratio of two units; selecting one or more annotations associated with the view that support the drawing scale, each of the selected annotations associated with context for the drawing scale, the context specifying one or more of: the annotation's position in the view, the annotation's style in the view, or the annotation's rotation in the view; adding a graphical representation of each of the selected annotations to the view according to the drawing scale and each annotation's respective context; and removing any one or more of the annotations from the view that does not support the drawing scale.
US08713420B2	Synchronization of web applications and media A method to facilitate synchronizing web applications with media playing within a web browser while rendering a web page. The synchronization allowing web applications to be executed during play of IP transmitted media without the web browser having to pre-load the web applications or re-load the web page.
US08713417B2	Multi-channel memory system including error correction decoder architecture with efficient area utilization A memory system includes: a memory controller including an error correction decoder. The error correction decoder includes: a demultiplexer adapted to receive data and demultiplex the data into a first set of data and a second set of data; first and second buffer memories for storing the first and second sets of data, respectively; an error detector; an error corrector; and a multiplexer adapted to multiplex the first set of data and the second set of data and to provide the multiplexed data to the error corrector. While the error corrector corrects errors in the first set of data, the error detector detects errors in the second set of data stored in the second buffer memory.
US08713414B2	Method and apparatus for soft information transfer between constituent processor circuits in a soft-value processing apparatus In one or more aspects, the present invention improves the efficiency of soft information transfer within a soft-value processing apparatus, by reducing in some sense the “amount” of soft information transferred between constituent processor circuits within the apparatus, without forfeiting or otherwise compromising the transfer of “valuable” soft information. In one example, the soft values produced by a constituent processor circuit are identified as being reliable or unreliable according to a reliability threshold. Some or all of the unreliable values are omitted from a soft value information transfer to another constituent processor circuit, or they are quantized for such transfer. The reduction in memory requirements for soft information transfer advantageously allows the use of lower power, less complex, and less expensive circuitry than would otherwise be required in the apparatus, which may be, as a non-limiting example, a Turbo receiver in a wireless communication device.
US08713403B2	Method and apparatus for map transmission in wireless communication system An operating method of a base station for transmitting MAP information in a wireless communication system includes determining a seed value for randomizing MAP information bits, generating a Media Access Control (MAC) control message including the seed value and a Station IDentifier (STID), and transmitting the MAC control message to a mobile station. Hence, the assignment A-MAP IE can be transmitted more safely.
US08713402B2	Optical channel transport unit frames transmission having interleaved parity A transmission system carrying out sending and receiving of OTU frames has a first transmission device carrying out the sending of an OTU frame, and a second transmission device carrying out the receiving of the OTU frame. The first transmission device calculates BIP-8 for an objective calculation range preset in the OTU frame, inserts the calculation result into the OTU frame, and sends the same. The second transmission device calculates BIP-8 from the received OTU frame for the same objective calculation range as the first transmission device, compares the calculation result with the BIP-8 sent from the first transmission device, and detects any presence of transmission error. The calculation range is set in terms of one of an area including OPU only and an area at least including an arbitrary byte of OTU/ODU overhead.
US08713399B1	Reconfigurable barrel shifter and rotator The present invention is directed toward reconfigurable barrel shifters and rotators. A barrel shifter comprises an array of multiplexers, the array having a plurality of inputs and a plurality of outputs and wherein the array of multiplexers is configured to rotate a set of n input messages applied to the inputs by a selected number of positions at the outputs and wherein the number n of messages contained in the set is selectable from among a plurality of values, by changing only select control signal inputs to the array of multiplexers.
US08713396B2	Transmission apparatus, receiving apparatus, method, and storage medium In a transmission apparatus for transmitting periodical data transmitted at predetermined intervals and event data transmitted in response to occurrence of an event, an information generation unit generates identification information for a receiving apparatus to identify transmitted event data, and a control unit includes the generated identification information in the periodical data in response to generation of identification information by the identification information generation unit.
US08713388B2	Integrated circuit testing with power collapsed In examples, apparatus and methods are provided for an integrated circuit. The integrated circuit includes a first integrated circuit portion having a main power domain and a second integrated circuit portion having a collapsible power domain. The integrated circuit also has a level shifter having an input coupled to the second circuit portion and an output coupled to the first integrated circuit portion. The level shifter is configured to hold constant the level shifter output when power to the collapsible power domain is collapsed. A quiescent drain current measurement circuit can be coupled to test at least a part of the second integrated circuit portion. A boundary scan register can be coupled between the level shifter output and the first integrated circuit portion. The integrated circuit can also include a power management circuit.
US08713387B2	Channel marking for chip mark overflow and calibration errors Marking memory chips as faulty when a fault is detected in data from the memory chip. Upon detecting that a plurality of memory chips are faulty, determining which of a plurality of memory channels contains the faulty memory chips. Marking one of a plurality of memory channels as failing in response to determining that the number of failing memory chips has exceeded a threshold.
US08713383B2	Semiconductor memory device, test circuit, and test operation method thereof A semiconductor memory device includes a plurality of banks, each including a plurality of first memory cells and a plurality of second memory cells; a first input/output unit configured to transfer first data between the first memory cells and a plurality of first data pads; a second input/output unit configured to transfer second data between the second memory cells and a plurality of second data pads; a path selection unit configured to transfer the first data, which are input through the first data pads, to both the first and second memory cells during a test mode; and a test mode control unit configured to compare the first data of the first and second memory cells, and to control at least one of the first data pads to denote a fail status based on a comparison result, during the test mode.
US08713382B2	Control apparatus and control method A control apparatus controlling testing of a memory under test that includes one or more row repair memory blocks and column repair memory blocks. The control apparatus comprises a counting section that sequentially receives test results respectively indicating pass/fail of a plurality of test blocks of the memory under test, and sequentially counts, for each first-type memory block, which is a row-oriented memory block or a column-oriented memory block, a fail memory block number among second-type memory blocks; a selecting section that selects memory blocks first-type memory blocks for which the fail memory block number exceeds a reference value, such that the number of selected memory blocks is no greater than the number of first-type repair memory blocks of the memory under test; and a test control section that masks test blocks among the memory blocks selected by the selecting section and causes further testing of the memory under test.
US08713374B2	Memory device and method for repairing a semiconductor memory A block repair device is used in a Dynamic Random Access Memory (DRAM) having a primary array with a defective cell and a redundant array with a redundant row. The block repair device stores a block repair configuration that determines the dimensions (e.g., the number of rows and columns spanned) of a repair block. Routing circuitry is configured by the stored block repair configuration to output some row and column address bits from received row and column addresses in a selected ratio. Comparison circuitry compares the row and column address bits output by the routing circuitry with the address of the defective cell that defines the repair block. When a match occurs, the comparison circuitry implements a block repair by activating the redundant row and by causing data to be written to or read from the activated redundant row instead of the primary array.
US08713371B2	Controlling generation of debug exceptions A data processing apparatus for performing data processing operations in response to execution of program instructions and debug circuitry for performing operations. The data processing apparatus includes a data store for storing a current debug exception mask value. The data processing circuitry is configured to set the mask value to a first value in the data store in response to executing critical code and on termination of execution of the critical code to reset the mask value to not store the first value. The data processing circuitry is configured, in response to receipt of a control signal indicating a debug exception is to be taken, to allow the exception to be taken if the mask value is not set to the first value and not to allow said exception to be taken if the mask value is set to the first value.
US08713362B2	Obviation of recovery of data store consistency for application I/O errors Embodiments comprise a plurality of computing devices that dynamically intercept process application I/O errors. Various embodiments comprise two or more computing devices, such as two or more servers, each having access to a shared data storage system. An application may be executing on the first computing device and performing an I/O operation when an I/O error occurs. The first computing device may intercept the I/O error, rather than passing it back to the application, and prevent the error from affecting the application. The first computing device may complete the I/O operation, and any other pending I/O operations not written to disk, via an alternate path, perform a checkpoint operation to capture the state of the set of processes associated with the application, and transfer the checkpoint image to the second computing device. The second computing device may resume operation of the application from the checkpoint image.
US08713361B2	Error protection for pipeline resources At an instruction pipeline of a data processor, pipeline resource conflicts are detected by setting, for each executing instruction, one or more assignment indicators to indicate which pipeline resources are to be utilized for executing the instruction. The instruction pipeline detects a pipeline resource conflict if an instruction is assigned a pipeline resource for which the assignment indicator is set. In addition, for selected pipeline resources, such as registers in a register file, the instruction pipeline can detect a pipeline resource conflict if more than one instruction attempts to access the pipeline resource when the assignment indicator for the resource is set. In response to detecting a pipeline resource conflict, the instruction pipeline is flushed and returned to a checkpointed state, thereby protecting the instruction pipeline from architectural state errors.
US08713356B1	Error detection and recovery tool for logical volume management in a data storage system Errors arising in logical volume partitions are detected and corrected automatically well before the errors cause a failure to access data. A database is created of configuration information about the logical volume partitions defined in physical volume headers, and the database is stored in storage separate from the headers. Thereafter the errors are detected by capturing configuration information about the logical volume partitions from the headers, and comparing the captured configuration information to the configuration information in the database. The errors are automatically corrected in the corrupt headers. If requested, a report is generated of the volumes and disk partitions that are inaccessible or missing or have the wrong size. The configuration check is performed periodically as a background task and during a re-boot after a system crash or interruption of a configuration process or when invoked prior to a recovery install or database restore.
US08713341B2	Selecting from a plural of energy saving modes An image processing apparatus includes an energy saving mode entering process part configured to associate each of plural functions and a minimum necessary energy saving mode of plural energy saving modes to perform the function as first information; and a counting process part configured to count a usage period of time for a used function of the plural functions for each unit period of time. The energy saving mode entering process part is configured to determine which of the plural energy saving modes to enter based on the counted usage periods of time for a present unit period of time and cause the image processing apparatus to enter the determined energy saving mode.
US08713340B2	Method and apparatus for power management control of an embedded memory having sleep and shutdown features A power management controller controls a power mode associated with a memory device and includes a logic element operative to provide a power mode control signal. The logic element is responsive to first and second control signals, the second control signal being a delayed version of the first control signal. The first control signal is provided by a processing device, and the power mode control signal transitions (i) inactive before a chip select signal transitions active and/or (ii) active after the chip select signal transitions inactive. The chip select signal controls the memory device, and the power mode control signal controls the power mode associated with the memory device. A corresponding method, computer-readable medium, and electronic system are also disclosed. A method that selects a power control mode associated with the power management controller, which controls a power mode associated with the memory device, is also disclosed.
US08713331B2	Semiconductor device including a clock generating circuit for generating an internal signal having a coarse delay line, a fine delay line and a selector circuit A semiconductor device includes a data input/output circuit that has an ODT function and a DLL circuit that generates an internal clock for determining an operation timing of the data input/output circuit. The DLL circuit has a first mode for controlling a phase of the internal clock in a precise manner and a second mode for operating with low power consumption. When the data input/output circuit does not perform an ODT operation, the DLL circuit operates in the first mode, and when the data input/output circuit performs the ODT operation, the DLL circuit operates in the second mode. In this manner, the operation mode of the DLL circuit is switched over depending on the ODT operation, so that the power consumption in the CDT operation in which strict phase control is not required can be reduced.
US08713329B2	Authenticated secret sharing A method and system distributes N shares of a secret among cooperating entities by forming a mathematical construct that has an embedded internal structure to allow authentication of a reconstructed secret. The mathematical construct can be a splitting polynomial constructed using the secret, a key and a message authentication code (MAC) as coefficients. The splitting polynomial is evaluated at N random evaluation points to obtain N result values. N shares of the secret are generated and distributed among the cooperating entities for storage. A reconstructed secret can be authenticated by computing the MAC of the reconstructed secret and verifying a relationship among the coefficients of a reconstructed splitting polynomial using the MAC. If the coefficients do not satisfy the relationship, one or more additional shares of the secret can be used to reconstruct the splitting polynomial and the secret.
US08713326B2	Software self-checking systems and methods Software self-checking mechanisms are described for improving software tamper resistance and/or reliability. Redundant tests are performed to detect modifications to a program while it is running. Modifications are recorded or reported. Embodiments of the software self-checking mechanisms can be implemented such that they are relatively stealthy and robust, and so that it they are compatible with copy-specific static watermarking and other tamper-resistance techniques.
US08713316B2	System, apparatus and method for enabling/disabling display data channel access to enable/disable high-bandwidth digital content protection A switcher device comprises a multiplexer coupled in-between at least one input and output cards. The multiplexer detects the presence of an event signal from an activated sink. In response to the detection of the event signal, the switch dynamically switches to a closed position in order to enable the at least one source to authenticate with the input card and the output card to authenticate with the at least one sink for security protocol encryption. In response to the non-detection of the event signal, the switch switches dynamically to an open position in order to disable the at least one source from authenticating with the input card, therefore the output card also does not attempt to authenticate with the at least one sink for security protocol encryption.
US08713315B2	Content distribution system, mobile communication terminal device, and computer readable medium A content distribution system includes a management device and a viewing device. The management device manages encrypted content information. The viewing device acquires the encrypted content information from the management device, decodes the encrypted content information, and allows the decoded content information to be viewed. The management device includes a view control information issuing unit. Upon receipt of a request from the viewing device to issue view control information, the view control information issuing unit issues view control information including decryption key information corresponding to an (i)-th random number corresponding to an ordinal number (i) among plural random numbers and period-of-validity information about a period of validity. The plural random numbers are shared between the management device and the viewing device. The viewing device includes a storage unit, a counting unit, a holding unit, a request unit, a calculation unit, a display controller, an update unit, and a deletion unit.
US08713308B2	Gaming machine certificate creation and management Methods and systems for creating and managing certificates for gaming machines in a gaming network using a portable memory device. A gaming machine creates a certificate signing request which is stored on a portable memory device at the machine. Then, the memory device is coupled with an appropriate CA server. A certificate batch utility program on the server downloads and processes the CSRs. A certificate services program on the server issues gaming machine certificates according to the CSRs. In one embodiment, the certificates are uploaded onto the memory device, along with copies of certificate authority server certificates, including a root CA certificate. Then, the memory device is coupled with the gaming machine and software on the machine identifies and downloads its certificate based on the certificate file name.
US08713289B2	Efficiently emulating computer architecture condition code settings without executing branch instructions Emulation of source machine instructions is provided in which target machine CPU condition codes are employed to produce emulated condition code settings without the use, encoding or generation of branching instructions.
US08713288B2	Storage system comprising multiple microprocessors and method for sharing processing in this storage system The present invention provides a storage system in which each microprocessor is able to execute synchronous processing and asynchronous processing in accordance with the operating status of the storage system. Any one attribute, from among multiple attributes (operating modes) prepared beforehand, is set in each microprocessor in accordance with the operating status of the storage system. The attribute that is set in each microprocessor is regularly reviewed and changed.
US08713284B1	Methods and apparatus for address translation functions Techniques are described for efficient reordering of data and performing data exchanges within a register file or memory, or in general, any device storing data that is accessible through a set of addressable locations. An address translator is placed in the path of all or a selected set of address busses to a storage device to provide a programmable and selectable means of translating the storage device addresses. An effect of this translation is that the data stored in one pattern may be accessed and stored in another pattern or accessed, processed and stored in another pattern. The address translation operation may be carried out in a single cycle, does not involve the physical movement of data in swap operations, allows data to effectively be ordered more efficiently for algorithmic processing and therefore saves power.
US08713279B2	Storage system with LU-setting function In a storage system, an operator makes an input only of minimum-required information, and when an LU setting command including the information is accepted, in response to the LU setting command, any internal process is executed using configuration management information about an LU and a plurality of physical storage devices. After completion of the internal process, the processing result is forwarded back. Herein, the configuration management information is about the LU and the physical storage devices, including information about a free area and a free capacity in a storage space of each of the physical storage devices, and information about the LU based on the storage spaces. The free area is an address area occupied by the free space not used as the LU. The free capacity is the capacity of the free space. Accordingly, an LU setting technology with a reduced level of the operator's load of work can be favorably provided.
US08713271B2	Methods and systems for automated backups and recovery on multi-os platforms using controller-based snapshots A method for backing up and restoring data across multiple operating systems executed by a computing product executing computer implemented instructions, wherein each operating system includes a daemon. Embodiments may include receiving a backup initiation trigger from an initial daemon on an initial operating system. This method may include relaying the backup initiation trigger to other daemons on other operating systems. This method may also include receiving snapshot requests from the other daemons, wherein each of the snapshot requests are requests for snapshots of storage associated with an operating system of one of the other operating systems. This method may further include sending received snapshot requests from the other daemons to a storage controller.
US08713269B2	Distributed image acquisition, storage, and backup system A distributed image acquisition, storage, and backup system includes a digital camera and a plurality of functionally identical independent storage devices storing digital images. Each digital image is stored as a working copy and a corresponding backup copy on a storage device different from the storage device storing the working copy. One or more storage devices store both a working copy of a first digital image and a backup copy of a second digital image different from the first digital image. Each storage device automatically sends a working copy or backup copy to another of the plurality of storage devices, automatically receives a working copy or backup copy from another of the plurality of storage devices, and automatically stores a received working copy or backup copy.
US08713263B2	Out-of-order load/store queue structure The present invention provides a method and apparatus for supporting embodiments of an out-of-order load/store queue structure. One embodiment of the apparatus includes a first queue for storing memory operations adapted to be executed out-of-order with respect to other memory operations. The apparatus also includes one or more additional queues for storing memory operation in response to completion of a memory operation. The embodiment of the apparatus is configured to remove the memory operation from the first queue in response to the completion.
US08713258B1	Estimating stack distances Methods, systems, and apparatus, including computer programs encoded on a computer storage medium, for estimating the stack distance of an access to a cache. In one aspect, a method includes determining a current estimate value of the stack distance. For each of K buckets, a minimum value and a maximum value are initialized, wherein each bucket corresponds to a range of possible fingerprint values for accesses. A first access is processed, including: determining a first fingerprint value for the first access; identifying a first bucket for the first access based on the first fingerprint value; and determining that the first fingerprint value is between the minimum value and the maximum value for the first bucket, and in response, increasing the current estimate value and adjusting the minimum value or the maximum value for the first bucket.
US08713253B1	Modular storage system A modular storage system includes a modular storage system module, or “brick,” housing a disk drive array containing computer data. Each brick includes a backplane, fan(s) and a skin and has self-describing attributes that allow external control logic to auto-configure for each brick. The brick backplane includes a non-volatile memory device, such as a serial EEPROM, that can maintain and provide static and dynamic information regarding the brick and any disk drives in the disk drive array housed in the brick. The bricks can be attached to one or more base stations implementing and/or incorporating application-specific features and/or functions. Each base station also includes means for supplying power to the bricks and the disk drives contained in the bricks, RAID or other disk drive array control logic. Mounting apparatus ensures that a brick mounted to a base station, is immobilized, thus protecting the brick and electrical connection between the brick and the base station.
US08713251B2	Storage system, control method therefor, and program A disk array device that can detect the successful completion of data overwrite/update at high speed only by checking a UDT is provided. When a DIF is used as a verification code appended to data, check information that detects the successful completion of overwrite is defined in the UDT, in addition to address information that detects positional errors. Upon request of overwrite/update of data stored in a cache, a check bit of the data in the cache is changed to a value different from a check bit to be appended to new data by a host adapter. Then, data transfer is initiated. Upon completion of the data overwrite, the check bit is changed back to the original value, whereby it is possible to detect the successful completion of overwrite/update (FIG. 8).
US08713248B2	Memory device and method for dynamic random access memory having serial interface and integral instruction buffer A dynamic random access memory integrated circuit includes an interface to a serial interconnect, where the interface is configured to receive a plurality of memory access instructions over the serial interconnect, and a buffer configured to store the plurality of memory access instructions prior to execution of the buffered memory access instructions by the dynamic random access memory integrated circuit. The memory access instructions are received over at least one serial link that forms the serial interconnect, and the at least one serial link may be a shared bi-directional serial link or a uni-directional serial link.
US08713245B2	Secure Flash-based memory system with fast wipe feature A Flash-based storage system, card, and/or module comprises a Flash controller configured to encrypt the data pages of a page stripe by shuffling the data pages, including loading each data page into a data shuffling buffer in a sequential order relative to other data pages in the page stripe, and thereafter unloading each data page in a non-sequential order relative to other data pages in the page stripe. The Flash controller is also configured to scramble the data pages of the page stripe by performing a bitwise logical operation on the data pages that are unloaded from the data shuffling buffer. A user key and one or more system keys are used to perform the shuffling and scrambling. The Flash controller is further configured to flush the user key by bypassing the system's backup power supply and performing an emergency system shutdown without backing up system data.
US08713238B1	Recovery of a hot-pluggable serial communication link A communication circuit includes a communication port, a receiver an aligner, and a link recovery circuit. The communication port is configured to connect to a communication link and to disconnect from the communication link. The receiver is configured to generate, while the communication link is connected to the communication port, a serial sequence of received bits recovered from the communication link. The aligner is configured to decode a received sequence of blocks from the serial sequence of received bits. The blocks of the received sequence include data blocks and control blocks. The link recovery circuit is configured to reset the receiver in response to the blocks, in the received sequence after a first one of the control blocks and before a next one of the control blocks, numbering greater than a threshold number.
US08713236B2	Maintenance guidance display device, maintenance guidance display method, and maintenance guidance display program Maintenance guidance is provided so that maintenance work is carried out without distinguishing operating state replacement/non-operating state replacement, faulty component replacement/preventive maintenance replacement, or replacement/expansion, and that an operator can carry out maintenance work without operation errors. To achieve such maintenance guidance, there are included: a component selection screen display unit that displays a plurality of components which can be maintenance targets, to allow the operator to select a maintenance target component; a state determination unit that determines a power state or an installation state of the maintenance target component selected by the selection screen display unit; and an instruction screen display unit that gives an instruction to carry out maintenance work in accordance with the determination state determined by the state determination unit.
US08713223B2	Methods and systems to accomplish variable width data input Disclosed are methods and systems for variable width data input to a pattern-recognition processor. A variable width data input method may include receiving bytes over a data bus having a first width and receiving one or more signals indicating the validity of each of the one or more bytes. The valid bytes may be sequentially provided to a pattern-recognition processor in an 8-bit wide data stream. In an embodiment, a system may include one or more address lines configured to provide the one or more signals indicating the validity of the bytes transferred over the data bus. The system may include a buffer and control logic to sequentially process the valid bytes.
US08713218B2	Non-disruptive configuration of a virtualization controller in a data storage system Embodiments of the invention relate to configuring a virtualization controller in SAN data storage system without disrupting I/O operations. One aspect of the invention concerns a method that comprises establishing a first data path between a host and a storage controller in the same communication zone wherein the storage controller comprises disks for storing data; adding a virtualization controller to the zone wherein the virtualization controller maps the disks to virtual volumes and establishes a second data path between the host and the disks through the virtual volumes; removing the first data path in response to the host detecting the second data path; and performing I/O operations between the host and the disks through the second data path.
US08713213B1	Fast port switching in an audiovisual receiver by use of port pre-authentication by a partial PHY decoder core A partial HDMI physical layer (“phy”) decoder core is used in an audiovisual (A/V) sink device to perform HDCP pre-authentication on inactive HDMI ports, so as to enable fast switching between HDMI ports. Whenever a source device is connected to the any HDMI port of the A/V sink device, HDCP authentication is performed on that port immediately, even if A/V data on that port is not being output to a user. As a result, when the user switches between HDMI channels, the output is available to the user instantly, without any HDCP-related delay. The A/V sink includes the partial HDMI phy decoder core in addition to a full HDMI phy decoder core. The full HDMI phy decoder core is used to extract and decode signals received on the active port. The partial HDMI phy decoder core is used to extract and decode only those HDMI signals received on an inactive port that are needed for pre-authenticating the inactive port.
US08713209B2	System, apparatus, and method for fast startup of USB devices Exemplary embodiments are directed to fast enumeration of a device in a USB system including a USB device and a USB host. The USB device includes two device descriptors, a memory for holding firmware for operation of the USB device, and a controller for executing the firmware. A first device descriptor is for enumerating the USB device in a firmware-loading mode and a second device descriptor is for enumerating the USB device in an operational mode. The USB host controls a first enumeration of the USB device using the first device descriptor. After the first enumeration, the USB host receives a re-enumerate indicator from the USB device and controls a second enumeration of the USB device using the second device descriptor.
US08713207B2	Instrumenting configuration and system settings Described are systems and methods for instrumenting configuration and system settings based on targeting configuration settings at dynamically populated groups, groups with varied membership, and objects defined in a class. The systems and methods provide for attributing a configuration setting or policy to one or more objects and then targeting the object at one or more scopes.
US08713203B2	Statistical information collection from one or more device(s) in storage communication with a computing platform A method includes addressing, through a command generated by an application executing on a computing platform, one or more device(s) in storage communication with the computing platform based on an appropriate communication link. The method also includes accessing, based on the addressing, a physical register of the one or more device(s) through an appropriate interface therein. Further, the method includes obtaining statistical information associated with a performance of the one or more device(s) at the computing platform through the access of the physical register.
US08713194B2	Method and device for peer arrangement in single substream upload P2P overlay networks The present invention relates to a method of and a device for arranging a P2P overlay network comprising a streaming source and a plurality of peers arranged in distribution layers, the streaming source being arranged to divide data content to be streamed into a plurality of content sub-streams together forming the data content and to distribute the plurality of content sub-streams to the network peers.
US08713187B2	Mobile interactive kiosk method To regulate information exchanges, provide personal security and enhance personal privacy inside and outside a network and to regulate devices. Provided is a personal bio-data mining and pairing method of a human user to one or more communications devices capable of functioning in a network cloud environment and, where the rules governing cloud organization and communications are based in part upon a human user bio-data and real world information exchanges commonly occurring at specific geographical locations.
US08713185B2	Methods of establishing virtual circuits and of providing a virtual private network service through a shared network, and provider edge device for such network A virtual private network (VPN) service is provided through a shared network infrastructure comprising interconnected provider edge (PE) devices having customer edge (CE) interfaces. Some of the CE interfaces are allocated to a VPN supporting virtual LANs. A correspondence between a CE interface and a virtual LAN is learnt on the basis of tagged frames received at this CE interface and including an identifier of this virtual LAN. The learning process permits the detection of pairs of CE interfaces which correspond to a common virtual LAN. Upon such detection, a virtual circuit is established in the shared network infrastructure between the PE devices having these CE interfaces, and subsequently used for forwarding frames including the identifier of the common virtual VLAN.
US08713178B2	Tiered cost model for access to a computer network A home gateway accesses a host system that differentially routes messages over a communication network to a destination system. The selection of a communication pathway from multiple possible communication pathways through a communication network is based on a user experience type (e.g., gaming user experience, streaming user experience, or browsing user experience) that generally reflects network resource consumption preferences of the user of the access account for the home gateway. Examples of user experience types include a gaming user experience, a streaming user experience and a browsing user experience. The user experience type generally reflects the online experience desired by the user.
US08713169B2	Distributed IPv6 neighbor discovery for large datacenter switching systems A distributed neighbor discovery module is disclosed where all neighbor discovery operations and functionalities may be distributed to a switch device processor. Each neighbor discovery process on a switch device may run as an individual neighbor discovery router node. There may be no coordination between neighbor discovery processes occurring on different switch devices. All other traffic, including both IPv6 control traffic and data traffic destined to the router may be processed by the central controller processor.
US08713168B2	Methods and apparatus to determine impressions using distributed demographic information Methods and apparatus to determine media impressions using distributed demographic information are disclosed. An example method to monitor media exposure involves receiving, at a first internet domain, a first request from a client computer, the first request indicative of access to the media at the client computer, sending, from the first internet domain, a response to the client computer, the response to instruct the client computer to send a second request to an intermediary associated with a sub-domain of a second internet domain, the second request to be indicative of the access to the media at the client computer, the intermediary to transmit an indication of the second request to an entity of the second internet domain, and logging an impression of the media.
US08713146B2	Change management automation tool A change management system for an IT environment or other enterprise level environment may comprise a server comprising memory and a controller. A change management application comprising machine readable instructions may be stored in the memory. The change management application may be arranged to perform the following steps: receive a plurality of work orders via a network to be performed during a maintenance period, concatenate the plurality of work orders to generate a master plan for performing the work orders during the maintenance period, and receive status updates for the work orders during the maintenance period down to the individual step level. A display may display a view of the master plan during the maintenance period. The view may include information related to the work orders and a status of the work orders. The status may be updated automatically based on status updates received by the change management application.
US08713142B2	Profile-based user access to a network management system A system includes a relational database and processing logic. The relational database is configured to define a relationship between users and a group of device groups to which the users are permitted access. The processing logic is configured to receive identification information from a user, identify one or more device groups using the relational database and the user identification information, construct a first graphical user interface using the one or more device groups, and provide the first graphical user interface to the user.
US08713135B1	Managing imaging of computing devices Systems and methods for managing imaging of computing devices are provided. A device image manager enables selection of one or more device images on the basis of various computing device criteria. The device image manager may obtain hardware qualification information associated with one or more device images, and obtain device configuration information associated with a computing device. The device image manager may select a set of appropriate device images for the computing device based on the hardware qualification information, device configuration information, or various device image selection criteria.
US08713130B2	Peered proctoring Systems and methods described herein utilize a distributed server network to allow for the real-time distribution of copies of a data stream uploaded from a computing device. The uploaded data stream corresponds to an environment surrounding a user (exam taker) of the computing device during execution of a testing routine for an examination. Providing copies of the data stream in real-time allows proctors as well as other test assessment authorities to ‘peek in’ on the exam taker's environment during the exam. As a result, the environment surrounding the exam taker can be monitored in real-time to determine whether any visual or audio activity in the environment constitutes activity not in accordance with the exam protocol. Following an affirmative determination that the exam taker violated an exam taking protocol, a proctor or other test assessment authority can then make a final or early decision regarding disciplinary action.
US08713125B2	Method and system for scaling usage of a social based application on an online social network Method, system and computer program to provide transparent scalability to Online Social Networks and better performance of its back-end databases, by an efficient partitioning of the underlying community structure and replicating of user profiles, ensuring that every user has a master or slave replica of all his neighbors on the same partition where he is located.
US08713112B2	Managing and collaborating with digital content A universal digital content system provides a dynamic user interface having a viewing area, an action menu area, and an organizing area. A user can create, organize, send, receive, access, collaborate with and otherwise manage digital content through a single user interface. The universal digital content system provides multiple ways of viewing and organizing all of the digital content accessible through the dynamic user interface. In addition, a user can create a collaboration session with one or more contacts using one or more digital content files.
US08713109B1	Method and apparatus for storing email messages A method for saving an email to an electronic storage location is disclosed. A topic identifier located in the email is used to locate a storage location on the electronic storage device for saving the email message. Emails relating to the same topics of interest may be stored in the same storage location.
US08713108B2	Navigation system and navigation apparatus A communication control module of a navigation apparatus determines that a short message that a communication module has received is from a mobile telephone that corresponds to identification data stored in advance in a RAM, and outputs a remote operation signal to a power source module. The navigation module acquires the IP address of the navigation apparatus when switched from a sleep mode to a wake-up mode, and after generating a mail that contains this acquired IP address, sends this mail to the mobile telephone that sent the activation data by using the mail address of this mobile telephone. Therefore, even when a new IP address is assigned to the navigation apparatus each time the navigation apparatus is activated, it is possible to remotely control the navigation apparatus easily from a remote site.
US08713096B2	State control of remote hosts for management of distributed applications Configuring a node. A method includes determining a current state of a target node. The current state of the target node refers to objects currently deployed or running in the remote target node. It includes at least one of an operating system, one or more applications, or configuration setting at the target node. The method further includes determining a desired state for the target node to change the current state. The method further includes accessing a dependency graph based on the version of an agent running on the target node. The dependency graph is supplied to a state machine. The state machine is particular to the target node. The state machine using the current state of the target node, the desired state and the dependency graph, performs operations to drive the target node toward its goal.
US08713092B2	Method and system for distributing load by redirecting traffic Disclosed is a system for servers to redirect client requests to other servers in order to distribute client traffic among the servers. A client is assigned to a server although the client may be unaware of that assignment. When the client accesses a server, a server possibly identified to the client by a name service, the server checks the client's assignment. If the client is not assigned to this server, then in some scenarios this server redirects the client to its assigned server. The client responds by sending its request to the assigned server. In other scenarios, the first server accessed by the client proxies the client's traffic to the assigned server. A database is kept of client-to-server assignments. If the present load distribution is less than ideal (e.g., clients are assigned to an unavailable server), then the assignment database is updated to reflect how the load should be distributed.
US08713089B2	Dynamic lookup service in a distributed system An improved lookup service is provided that allows for the dynamic addition and deletion of services. This lookup service allows for the addition and deletion of services automatically, without user intervention. As a result, clients of the lookup service may continue using the lookup service and its associated services while the updates occur. Additionally, the lookup service provides a notification mechanism that can be used by clients to receive a notification when the lookup service is updated. By receiving such a notification, clients can avoid attempting to access a service that is no longer available and can make use of new services as soon as they are added to the lookup service.
US08713087B2	Communication system, authentication device, control server, communication method, and program A forwarding node processes a packet between a supplicant and a prescribed authentication device, in accordance with a processing rule that has been set. The authentication device performs a prescribed authentication procedure with the supplicant and notifies a result thereof to a control server. In a case where an authentication procedure with the authentication device succeeds, the control server creates a first forwarding path between the supplicant and a destination node, and transmits a processing rule for a packet received or transmitted between the supplicant and a destination node, following the first forwarding path, in at least one forwarding node in the first forwarding path.
US08713078B2	Method for building taxonomy of topics and categorizing videos A computer-implemented method for managing video contents includes collecting a plurality of keywords related to a topic, the keywords being collected using at least one dynamic data source. One or more sub-topics of the topic are identified using the keywords collected. A topic node in a taxonomy of topics is built, the topic node including a topic identifier for the topic, a child topic identifier for the sub-topics identified, and a keyword section for one or more of the keywords collected. A plurality of videos is organized using the topic node built to assist a user in locating a video of interest.
US08713077B2	System and method for multi-tiered meta-data caching and distribution in a clustered computer environment A system and method caches and distributes meta-data for one or more data containers stored on a plurality of volumes configured as a striped volume set (SVS) and served by a plurality of nodes interconnected as a cluster. The SVS comprises one meta-data volume (MDV) configured to store a canonical copy of certain meta-data, including access control lists and directories, associated with all data containers stored on the SVS, and one or more data volumes (DV) configured to store, at least, data content of those containers. In addition, for each data container stored on the SVS, one volume is designated a container attribute volume (CAV) and, as such, is configured to store (“cache”) a canonical copy of certain, rapidly-changing attribute meta-data, including time stamps and container length, associated with that container.
US08713068B2	Media identification system with fingerprint database balanced according to search loads A media identification system generates reference fingerprints for known media samples and stores the reference fingerprints in a reference database. The media identification system uses the reference fingerprints to match a fingerprint generated from an unknown media sample to identify that unknown sample. When storing new reference fingerprints in the reference database, partitions of the database are selected to balance the search loads on the database when it is used by the media identification system. For example, the selected partitions may be determined based at least in part on the access rates of the partitions by the media identification system. New reference fingerprints will tend to be placed in partitions that have relatively lower access rates that the other partitions, which will tend to balance the search loads on the partitions by the media identification system.
US08713067B1	Stable file system One or more embodiments of the present invention include a memory and a processor. The memory includes a plurality of files, a master cluster record, and an operating system. The processor is configured to execute the operating system in order to locate and load each cluster of a file. Each file includes a plurality of clusters and each cluster includes a first pointer and a second pointer. The first pointer is linked to a previous cluster of a file and second pointer is linked to a subsequent cluster of the file using a double linked list data structure.
US08713063B2	Method and system for automatically hiding irrelevant parts of hierarchical structures in computer user interfaces The invention broadly and generally provides, in a computer-controlled display, a method of simplifying a graphical representation of a set of connected nodes comprising the steps of: (a) selecting a subset of the aforesaid set; and (b) under computer program control, hiding representations of all nodes except (i) nodes within the aforesaid subset and (ii) at least one node having a defined relationship to the aforesaid subset.
US08713062B2	Server system and method for discovering digital assets in enterprise information systems Member object(s) of a computer system part(s) in an Enterprise Information System (EIS) are identified (discovered) and topographical relationship(s) are established among them to create digital assets by traversing computer file system(s) to find member object(s). For each member object found, a digital asset identifier thereof is placed in an intermediate representation, such as a graph with nodes and edges. Each digital asset identifier corresponds to a node. The edges represent the topographical relationship. A digital asset is created by placing the member object in a logic/data section of the digital asset, attaching an extended environment data structure to the logic/data section and storing the digital asset in an asset inventory container object. This is repeated for each found member object until the intermediate representation fully describes the computer system part and the asset inventory container object is a complete inventory of the digital assets in the computer system part.
US08713050B2	Testing SQL query writing skills A system and a method described herein relate to testing SQL query writing skills of at least one participant. The system includes an authentication module that authenticates at least one participant for writing an SQL query. The system also includes an execution module that provide access to the at least one participant to an emulated database through a shared pool of configurable computing resources and execute the SQL query of the at least one participant against the emulated database. Further, a database scaling module is present in the system, to scale the emulated database based on inputs received from the at least one participant to tune performance of the SQL query, and an evaluation module is present in the system, to evaluate performance efficiency of the SQL query against the emulated database.
US08713048B2	Query processing with specialized query operators Queries targeting various data sources are processed in a query processing pipeline that parses the query into a set of operations (e.g., an expression tree or a translated SQL query) using a set of query operators, each handling a particular type of operation. The query operators are often designed in an unspecialized manner, such that each query operator handles one query operation in an atomic, generic manner (e.g., sorting generic data items for an ORDER BY clause.) More efficient queries may be devised by including specialized queries that operate in common but special cases, such as a sorting of a particular data type (e.g., a floating-point number sort) or a sequence of two or more operations that are often performed together (e.g., a WHERE test of an attribute followed by a SELECT of the same attribute.) The use of specialized operators may result in the formulation of more efficient queries.
US08713047B2	System and method for providing definitions A system and method for providing definitions is described. A phrase to be defined is received. One or more documents, which each contain at least one definition, are determined. The phrase is matched to at least one of the definitions. One or more definitions for the phrase are presented.
US08713046B2	Snapshot isolation support for distributed query processing in a shared disk database cluster System, method, computer program product embodiments and combinations and sub-combinations thereof for snapshot isolation support for distributed query processing in a shared disk database cluster are provided. The embodiments include the forming of object identification data in a leader node of query execution in the shared disk database cluster. At least one fragment of the query execution is distributed to at least one worker node in the shared disk database cluster, and the object identification data is utilized for multiversion concurrency control during query execution by the leader node and at least one worker node.
US08713041B2	Peer to peer (P2P) missing fields and field valuation feedback Methods, systems, and apparatus for processing data, and more specifically to retrieving results for a query from one or more devices coupled to a network. A first device may receive an abstract query including logical fields defined by a first data abstraction model and retrieve query results stored in the first device. The query may be sent to one or more other devices via the network. The one or more other devices may be configured to convert the abstract query to local abstract queries including logical fields defined in local data abstraction models. The local queries may be issued against local databases to retrieve additional results for the query. The local queries may not include all the fields of the abstract query.
US08713039B2	Co-map communication operator A high level programming language provides a co-map communication operator that maps an input indexable type to an output indexable type according to a function. The function maps an index space corresponding to the output indexable type to an index space corresponding to the input indexable type. By doing so, the co-map communication operator lifts a function on an index space to a function on an indexable type to allow composability with other communication operators.
US08713038B2	Integrating map-reduce into a distributed relational database A computer readable storage medium includes executable instructions to define a map-reduce document that coordinates processing of data in a distributed database. The map-reduce document complies with a map-reduce specification that integrates map-reduce functions with queries in a query language. The operations specified by the map-reduce document are executed in the distributed database.
US08713037B2	Translation system adapted for query translation via a reranking framework A system and method suited to translation of queries are disclosed. The method includes receiving an input query in a source language and outputting a target query, based on a translation of the input query into a target language, different from the source language. The translation is performed with a machine translation system which has been trained on representations of features of translated queries that have been generated by translation of an original query, in the source language, into the target language and a measure of information retrieval performance of each the translated queries, for each of a set of original queries.
US08713034B1	Systems and methods for identifying similar documents The present invention provides systems and methods for identifying similar documents. In an embodiment, the present invention identifies similar documents by (1) receiving document text for a current document that includes at least one word; (2) calculating a prominence score and a descriptiveness score for each word and each pair of consecutive words; (3) calculating a comparison metric for the current document; (4) finding at least one potential document, where document text for each potential document includes at least one of the words; and (5) analyzing each potential document to identify at least one similar document.
US08713032B2	Cross-platform cloud-based map creation Methods, systems and articles of manufacture for cross-platform cloud based map creation are described herein. A method embodiment includes receiving one or more GIS datasets in their respective source formats, each GIS dataset comprising one or more map assets, translating the GIS datasets into a platform independent format, and providing the translated GIS datasets and their respective map assets in the platform independent format to one or more client platforms. The embodiment further includes identifying missing map assets and metadata that comprise a GIS dataset, tracking map assets that comprise a single translated GIS dataset to maintain the translated GIS dataset as a single entity, and providing the translated GIS datasets to a serving system.
US08713031B1	Method and system for checking citations A method lexically analyzes and parses a citation. The method may identify errors in the citation. The method may optionally interpret and display semantic information. The method may optionally suggest corrections to errors.
US08713023B1	Systems and methods for classifying electronic information using advanced active learning techniques Systems and methods for classifying electronic information or documents into a number of classes and subclasses are provided through an active learning algorithm. Such document classification systems are easily scalable for large document collections, require less manpower and can be employed on a single computer, thus requiring fewer resources. Furthermore, the classification systems and methods described can be used for any pattern recognition or classification effort in a wide variety of fields, including electronic discovery in legal proceedings.
US08713012B2	Modular authoring and visualization of rules using trees The system and method in one aspect provide a set of extended Boolean operators and a tree visual paradigm that enable business users to modularize the construction of a rule and visualize it as the rules is being built.
US08713008B2	Apparatus and method for information processing, program, and recording medium An information processing apparatus includes the following elements. A feature amount extraction unit extracts feature amounts from a content block. An extraction unit extracts predetermined scenes from the content block using the feature amounts extracted by the feature amount extraction unit. An acquisition unit acquires information for retrieving the content block. A retrieval unit retrieves a scene that meets the information acquired by the acquisition unit from among the scenes extracted by the extraction unit. A presentation unit presents the content block including the scene retrieved by the retrieval unit as a result of retrieval.
US08713005B2	Assisted hybrid mobile browser A system and a method are disclosed for identifying video files on a webpage and streaming video files to a client device. A server receives browsing data including uniform resource locator for a webpage and identifies missing videos on the webpage. The server identifies a source file for the missing videos including identifying a location for each missing video. The server retrieves a thumbnail for each missing video and provides it to a client device. Additionally, the server transcodes the video file responsive to a user input provided by a user. The transcoded video is streamed to the client device.
US08713003B2	System and method for ranking content and applications through human assistance Embodiments of a system and method are provided for ranking the contents of one or more documents, applications, sound or visual media through human assistance. The system includes one or more search engines configured to provide one or more documents, applications, sound or visual media based on a search query sent by a user. Further, the system includes a client application configured to capture the query sent by the user and the keyword tags provided by the documents, applications, sound or visual media author. The client application monitors one or more interactions of the user with the one or more documents, applications, sound or visual media for one or more events and provides a relevance measure to the one or more documents, applications, sound or visual media based on the captured query or tags, and the one or more events.
US08712998B2	Deadline-driven parallel execution of queries A method includes receiving a query for data, the query including a deadline for completion. The method includes determining a plurality of access plans for the query. The method includes selecting an access plan from the plurality of access plans, wherein the access plan is selected according to an execution time for the access plan that indicates the query can be completed prior to the deadline for completion and wherein the access plan is selected to provide a lowest resource usage among access plans that can be completed prior to the deadline for completion.
US08712988B2	Owner-brokered knowledge sharing machine The invention discloses a system and method for promoting information or knowledge sharing among users registered to a computer network by allowing an information or knowledge owner to locate or directly access private information, to publish information for direct access by knowledge requestors, or to broker information or knowledge with an information or knowledge requestor. This invention also discloses a system and method which allow an organization to develop and manage a reward system based on the frequency of an information or knowledge owner's contribution to information or knowledge sharing and the frequency of an information or knowledge requestor's use of shared knowledge.
US08712984B2	Buffer pool extension for database server Aspects of the subject matter described herein relate to a buffer pool for a database system. In aspects, secondary memory such as solid state storage is used to extend the buffer pool of a database system. Thresholds such as hot, warm, and cold for classifying pages based on access history of the pages may be determined via a sampling algorithm. When a database system needs to free space in a buffer pool in main memory, a page may be evicted to the buffer pool in secondary memory or other storage based on how the page is classified and conditions of the secondary memory or other storage.
US08712965B2	Dynamic report mapping apparatus to physical data source when creating report definitions for information technology service management reporting for peruse of report definition transparency and reuse A computer implemented method, data processing system, and computer program product for dynamically creating report mapping relationships at runtime within an information technology infrastructure. When report definition comprising a generalized description of desired data without any database-specific properties is generated, a relationship mapping definition based on the generalized description in the report definition is created, wherein the relationship mapping definition comprises data connection information for accessing the data sources containing the desired data. The relationship mapping definition is then used to initiate a connection to the data sources. Once the desired data has been acquired from the data sources, a report may then be created using the acquired data.
US08712959B1	Collaborative data redundancy for configuration tracking systems In one embodiment, a method and apparatus for collaborative data redundancy for configuration management database is disclosed. The method includes requesting, by a server of a configuration tracking system, an agent of the configuration tracking system to retrieve asset data when a copy of the asset data located in the server becomes corrupted, retrieving by the agent the requested asset data from one or more assets, and transferring by the agent the asset data to the server without utilizing data redundancy services performed outside of the configuration tracking system. Other embodiments are also disclosed.
US08712957B2	Method, apparatus, and system for synchronizing contents A method, apparatus and system for synchronizing contents are provided. The method for synchronizing contents includes comparing contents stored in a first device with a content list stored in a second device, and deleting contents from the content list or adding contents to the content list. Therefore, is possible to prevent incorrect contents from being browsed even when contents are not completely synchronized.
US08712954B2	Image forming apparatus and information processing apparatus In an image forming apparatus, an operation result output part outputs a result of operation of a component. An operation result information creation part creates operation result information by giving information identification character information, which is determined by the component or the result of operation of the component, to the result of operation of the component. An identifier table stores the information identification character information and a unique identifier related to each other and the result of operation of the component and a unique identifier related to each other. An operation result information conversion part reads the identifier related to the information identification character information from the identifier table and converts the operation result information into after conversion operation result information in which at least the information identification character information is replaced by the identifier. An operation result information storage part stores the after conversion operation result information.
US08712944B1	Adaptive contact window wherein the probability that an answering user/expert will respond to a question corresponds to the answering users having response rates that are based on the time of day Methods, systems and apparatus, including computer programs encoded on a computer storage medium, for receiving aggregate user data, the aggregate user data corresponding to response rate of one or more answering users responding to requests, processing the aggregate user data to generate one or more analytical models, each of the one or more analytical models providing a plurality probabilities that an average answering user will respond to a request, each probability of the plurality of probabilities corresponding to a particular time period during a day, receiving a request, determining a time corresponding to the request, identifying a plurality of answering users, processing the one or more analytical models based on the time to identify a sub-set of answering users of the plurality of answering users, and transmitting the request to each answering user of the sub-set of answering users.
US08712940B2	Structural plasticity in spiking neural networks with symmetric dual of an electronic neuron A neural system comprises multiple neurons interconnected via synapse devices. Each neuron integrates input signals arriving on its dendrite, generates a spike in response to the integrated input signals exceeding a threshold, and sends the spike to the interconnected neurons via its axon. The system further includes multiple noruens, each noruen is interconnected via the interconnect network with those neurons that the noruen's corresponding neuron sends its axon to. Each noruen integrates input spikes from connected spiking neurons and generates a spike in response to the integrated input spikes exceeding a threshold. There can be one noruen for every corresponding neuron. For a first neuron connected via its axon via a synapse to dendrite of a second neuron, a noruen corresponding to the second neuron is connected via its axon through the same synapse to dendrite of the noruen corresponding to the first neuron.
US08712939B2	Tag-based apparatus and methods for neural networks Apparatus and methods for high-level neuromorphic network description (HLND) using tags. The framework may be used to define nodes types, define node-to-node connection types, instantiate node instances for different node types, and/or generate instances of connection types between these nodes. The HLND format may be used to define nodes types, define node-to-node connection types, instantiate node instances for different node types, dynamically identify and/or select network subsets using tags, and/or generate instances of one or more connections between these nodes using such subsets. To facilitate the HLND operation and disambiguation, individual elements of the network (e.g., nodes, extensions, connections, I/O ports) may be assigned at least one unique tag. The tags may be used to identify and/or refer to respective network elements. The HLND kernel may comprises an interface to Elementary Network Description.
US08712937B1	Predicting popularity of electronic publications A popularity prediction module receives an electronic media item and identifies a feature of the electronic media item. The popularity prediction module applies the feature of the electronic media item to a learned function, where the learned function is determined from a plurality of features from one or more other electronic media items that meet a popularity classification. The popularity prediction module predicts a popularity of the electronic media item based on the comparing, before providing the electronic media item to a user.
US08712934B2	Temporal document trainer and method An electronic document sorter is trained to classify documents based on their temporal qualities. The invention can be used in environments such as automated news aggregators, search engines and other electronic systems which compile information having temporal qualities.
US08712933B2	Systems and methods for determining muscle force through dynamic gain optimization of a muscle PID controller for designing a replacement prosthetic joint Systems and methods for determining muscle force are presented. Proportional, integral, and derivative control is used to simulate muscle forces for multiple muscles contributing to a kinematic profile. The simulated muscle forces are modified by dynamic gains that are calculated in order to achieve a muscle recruitment objective such as minimizing collective muscle effort while still achieving the kinematic motion.
US08712929B1	Dynamic data filtering system and method A computer-implemented dynamic data filtering system and method for selectively choosing operating data of a monitored asset that modifies or expands a learned scope of an empirical model of normal operation of the monitored asset while simultaneously rejecting operating data of the monitored asset that is indicative of excessive degradation or impending failure of the monitored asset, and utilizing the selectively chosen data for adaptively recalibrating the empirical model to more accurately monitor asset aging changes or operating condition changes of the monitored asset.
US08712925B2	Method and system for billing based on color component histograms Disclosed is a processor-implemented method for processing images. The processor receives image data of a color space defined by input provided to a system by a user, determines at least one color attribute of the pixels in the received image correlating to at least perceptual image characteristics, determines statistics using the attribute(s), and analyzes the statistics to classify the image into a category. Based on at least the category, a billing structure for the image is determined. For example, chroma and/or hue of pixels can be used to create histograms, whose data is used to determine a degree of color and/or content of an image, which is categorized. Color space components of received pixels can also be statistically analyzed. Such determinations consider billing based on human perception of use of color. Billing for color images in this manner satisfies the user and increases use of color output (e.g., printing).
US08712923B2	Computer system for routing package deliveries A shipping system for shipping packages involving the coordinated use of at least a first carrier and a second carrier. The shipping system includes physical delivery facilities for the physical delivery of packages, the physical delivery facilities including at least one transfer location at which the second carrier may take over delivery responsibilities for a package.
US08712919B1	Methods and systems for determining the reliability of transaction Systems and methods for determining a reliability of a transaction involving an account identifier identifying a chargeable account are disclosed. In accordance with an exemplary embodiment of the present invention, the system receives an account identifier and optionally at least one candidate personal detail. A reliability indicator provider provides at least one reliability indicator indicating an estimated likelihood that at least one stored personal detail associated with the chargeable account was submitted fraudulently. According to particular embodiments, fraudulently submitted stored personal details are indicative that a proposed transaction involving a buyer and a seller is fraudulent.
US08712918B2	Electronic currency, electronic wallet therefor and electronic payment systems employing them Electronic currency consists of data in a form suitable to be stored in a user's data storage medium, comprising information on the data value, identification of each specific set of data or data point, and authentication information suitable to verify that said data has been generated by a specific Currency Issuing Authority (CIA). A method and a system for effecting currency transactions between two users over the Internet or other communication network are also described.
US08712917B2	Software execution management apparatus, method, and computer-readable medium thereof Even if the process for permitting execution of software is enabled in accordance with first license information, upon transmitting an invalidation signal from the invalidation signal transmitter 116, the execution of the process for permitting execution of software is limited in accordance with second license information. Thus, the invalidation signal can limit the execution of the process for permitting execution of software in accordance with specific license information and the execution of the licensed software without fail.
US08712898B2	Computer-implemented method of constructing a stock index using index rotation Computer-implemented methods of creating and maintaining stock indexes are provided. Stock migration is controlled using a systematic stock migration process so that stocks are gradually added and deleted from an index.
US08712888B2	Methods and systems for assessing sales activity of a merchant A method for assessing sales activity of a merchant using a computer system coupled to a database is provided. The sales activity includes purchases made by a customer using a financial transaction card over a financial transaction card network. The method includes storing within the database a plurality of merchant profiles wherein each merchant profile describes a customer community of the corresponding merchant utilizing the financial transaction card network, determining a violator merchant profile based on a customer community associated with a violator merchant wherein the violator merchant uses the financial transaction card network to engage in at least one of illegal, potentially illegal and undesirable sales activities with at least a portion of the associated customer community, comparing the violator merchant profile to each merchant profile stored within the database, and identifying at least one potential violator merchant for further investigation based on the comparison.
US08712879B2	Data portal for concurrent assessment A method of concurrently assessing a closure status for multiple ledgers may comprise accessing a general ledger and a plurality of subledgers including a first subledger and a second subledger, having first and second close periods, respectively. The method may also include translating the second subledger such that the second subledger has the first close period, and determining a closure status for each subledger over the first period. The method may additionally include determining a status for the general ledger indicating a closure status over the first period, and concurrently displaying an indication for each of the plurality of subledgers and the general ledger. The method may further include displaying the status of each of the plurality of subledgers next to the indication for each, and displaying the status of the general ledger next to the indication for the general ledger.
US08712877B2	Philanthropy management apparatus, system, and methods of use and doing business A philanthropic donation management system and methods of use and doing business. The system includes a computing server in communication with a communications network, such as the Internet, a LAN, or a WAN. The computing server maintains information about charitable projects and provides remote users and others with management tools for inputting information about charitable projects, pre-approving or otherwise assessing them, and accessing and managing charitable project information, portfolios, user team member information and access. The system can provide a business based on, for example, providing system, access, charitable fund management, and charitable donation transaction fees.
US08712872B2	System and method for optimizing utilization of inventory space for dispensable articles A system and method for optimizing the utilization of inventory space for articles dispensable from an article dispensing machine is provided. A subset of articles in the article dispensing machine may be targeted for removal for various purposes. Based on a list of the subset of articles, the article dispensing machine may move the subset of articles from a storage unit to a predetermined area, such as a merchandising zone of the storage unit or a separate article removal bin. The subset of articles may be removed from the predetermined area, followed by loading of new articles to the predetermined area.
US08712869B2	Non-serialized electronic product registration system and method of operating same A non-serialized electronic product registration (ER) system and method which enables return qualification information to be provided upon request for non-serialized products. Retailer specific return policies are enforced by providing the ER system with retailer return policies for UPCs, SKUs, model numbers and/or other non-unique product identifiers. The retailer periodically provides information to the ER system that indicates the last date on which products having a particular non-unique identifier have been sold. The ER system then determine the last date on which such products can be returned and provides non-serialized return qualification information to the retailer upon request.
US08712858B2	Supplier capability methods, systems, and apparatuses for extended commerce A first file is received. The first file has a first format. The first file includes information associated with an item. The information is extracted from the first file. The extracted information is mapped to a capability profile.
US08712852B2	Systems, methods, and devices for selling transaction instruments via web-based tool The present invention generally relates to a system and method for distributing a transaction instrument. The system includes the steps of: offering for sale, in a retail environment, the transaction instrument; selling a selected transaction instrument; communicating with the issuer of the transaction instrument via an internet accessible web site, and enabling the use of the transaction instrument. The transaction instrument may be, for example, an open pre-paid card. The distribution of the transaction instrument may also include the step of sending a message, through the web site, in substantially real time, causing the pre-paid transaction instrument to be funded but not activated until later through an interactive voice response system, for example. In another example, an associated transaction account may be funded and activated at the time of distribution. Furthermore, an issuer system may be suitably configured to leverage existing Travelers Cheque infrastructure for inventory and related processes.
US08712849B2	System and method for providing advertising content using a group training system A method of providing advertising content using a group training system (GTS) includes transferring first advertising content from an advertiser system (AS) to a first GTS by an advertising content service provider system (ACSPS), transferring payment from the AS by the ACSPS as compensation for the first advertising content being displayed on a multi-user display associated with the first GTS, and transferring payment from the ACSPS to an entity associated with the first GTS as compensation for the first advertising content being displayed on the multi-user display associated with the first GTS. An advertising content service provider system (ACSPS) includes a processing device and a memory device. The processing device transfers first advertising content from an advertiser system (AS) to a first GTS for display on a multi-user display associated with the first GTS, payment is transferred by the processing device from the AS as compensation for the first advertising content being displayed on the multi-user display associated with the first GTS, and payment is transferred by the processing device to an entity associated with the first GTS as compensation for the first advertising content being displayed on the multi-user display associated with the first GTS. A computer-readable storage medium includes instructions in accordance with the disclosed method.
US08712848B2	Method for distributing advertisements to client devices using an obscured ad monitoring function Software for use on a client device that is configured for communications via a communications network instantiates a communications function that effects an advertisement download communication link between the client device and an advertisement distribution server system via the communications network, at selected advertisement download times, an advertisement download function that downloads advertisements identified in a playlist(s) generated by at least one playlist server, via the advertisement download communication link, at the selected advertisement download times, an advertisement storage function for storing the downloaded advertisements on a storage medium associated with the client device, and an advertisement display function that effects display of at least selected ones of the stored advertisements.
US08712841B1	Incentive based recommendation method for mobile station content An application store provides an incentive based recommendation method for recommending a mobile station content item. A user of a first mobile station recommends the mobile station content item to a second user. The application store distributes the recommendation through a mobile communication network to a mobile station of the second user. The application store stores information associated with the recommendation and detects access of the mobile station content item by the second user. In response to the detected access, the application store provides a reward to the first user based on the stored information.
US08712838B2	Dynamic web page construction based on determination of client device location A method for serving a web page begins by storing a set of location-specific page elements. In response to a request for the web page from a client browser, a control routine parses the request to locate a geographic location data string identifying a location of the client browser that has made the request. The geographic location data string may be generated at the client browser in a number of different ways, e.g., by a Global Positioning System (GPS) receiver coupled to the client computer. At the server, the web page is built dynamically using the geographic location data string to select a given one of the set of location-specific page elements and, preferably, an element having content associated with a physical location in proximity to the location of the client browser. The web page is then served in response to the request. In this way, targeted advertising or other page content is included in the web page as a function of the client browser location.
US08712833B2	System and method for advertising messages on distributed document processing devices The subject application is directed to a system and method for selective control of advertising messages on distributed document processing devices. Device identification data is first received corresponding to the identity of networked document processing devices available for display of selected advertising content. Device selection data representing a selected subset of the networked document processing devices is then received, with the selection made in accordance with the received identification data. Next, customization data is received corresponding to a selected display parameter associated with the selected advertising content. The selected advertising content and the received customization data are then communicated to each of the networked document processing devices in the selected subset. Each of the document processing devices then commences the display of the selected advertising content in accordance with the customization data.
US08712832B2	Bid optimization in search engine marketing Methods and apparatus are described for optimally allocating an online advertising budget for a search engine marketing (SEM) campaign among a fixed set of keywords.
US08712831B2	Method and system for quantifying viewer awareness of advertising images in a video source Methods and media are provided for quantifying viewer awareness of advertising images in a video source is provided. According to one embodiment, a media source is segmented into a set of frames, which are annotated with attributes based on the images that appear within each frame. The attribute data is analyzed to determine detections that meet provided criteria. The detections are indexed based on the attributes, which are then supplemented with additional attributes to create one or more valuation factors. The valuation factors can be used to derive a discount factor that can be applied against a benchmark, such as the 30-second spot rate, to determine a value associated with the video source.
US08712830B2	Method and system for electronic distribution of product redemption coupons Provided is a method and system for the electronic distribution of product redemption coupons to remote personal computers located at users' homes. A centrally located repository, such as an online service provider or web site on the Internet, stores packages of coupon data for downloading on demand to the user's computer. The user may view, select, sort and print desired coupons from the downloaded package. The user's demographic as well as coupon selection data is provided back to the online service and coupon distributor and issuers for subsequent marketing analysis. The online service can perform subsequent coupon processing on previously downloaded coupon packages such as variation of discount amounts. The online service provider can also determine how many times a particular coupon was viewed. When the printed coupons are presented at a retail store, the discount is provided to the user. Upon redemption by the store via a coupon redeeming center, transaction data is also supplied to the coupon issuers and distributor for integration into marketing analysis. The electronic coupon system is secure due to the inclusion of user-specific identification indicia printed thereon.
US08712825B1	Web-based royalty system and user interface Web-based royalty system and user interface is described. In one embodiment, for example, a Web-based royalty system of the present invention is described that comprises: an interface for receiving product information comprising products subject to royalties; an interface for receiving sales data comprising sales records for the products; an interface for receiving royalty terms for the products; a calculation engine for calculating royalties due for the sales data, by matching each sales record with a given product listed in the product information, and determining for each matched product royalties due based on royalty terms applicable to sales of that product; and a statement generator for generating royalty reports of the calculated royalties.
US08712824B1	System and method for self service marketing research A method and system is presented for the creation, delivery, processing, and overall management of surveys across and on sites and applications that display online and mobile content that is tracked using an audience validation system. Improvements on the functionality of an audience validation system include creating a marketplace for content and application publishers to make their audiences available for general market research surveys. In one embodiment, the system significantly reduces the overheads involved in market research for all parties concerned including publishers, the consumers of the publishers' content, and market researchers wishing to survey the consumers of the publishers' content. In one embodiment the invention affords both publishers and marketers access to self-service portals to make their audiences available and to survey them respectively. Other embodiments afford a number of optimizations that minimize survey fatigue among potential survey respondents and minimize the repetition of both surveys and individual questions being presented to individual users through the use of cached answers.
US08712820B2	Mobile application for calendar sharing and scheduling The embodiments discussed herein describe an application device and method for calendar sharing and scheduling over a communication network. When a meeting is to be scheduled between two or more participants, the organizing participant enters an identification of the participants and requests a time suggestion. In response to the request, information relating to the availability and/or preferences of each participant is gathered from one or more databases and processed centrally in a remote server to determine a block of time during which all the participants are commonly free. The block of time is pushed to a user interface for display. If the organizing user selects the block of time, a meeting request may be sent to the participants to confirm the meeting.
US08712816B2	Computerized apparatus for identifying industries for potential transfer of a job function Methods for identifying industries for potential transfer of a job function capability involve the use of a database that correlates, for a job function in a first industry, the first industry with a set of second industries with respect to which a job function capability of the job function is potentially transferable. The database can be accessed to identify the second set of industries. A symbolic representation of a job transfer between the first industry and a second industry or a symbolic representation that categorizes a subject of a user's job transferability query may be used to access the database.
US08712815B1	Method and system for dynamically representing distributed information Techniques for dynamically representing distributed information are disclosed. According to one embodiment, metrics for deployed resources in a predefined environment (e.g., an enterprise) is designed. The metrics includes at least various logic and data sources and is deployed as one or more Metrics Definition Packages (MDP), wherein data sources are used for calculating such metrics. The metrics is defined in terms of the data sources and their associated meta-data, but has no dependency upon specific external systems that are eventually used to populate the data sources when the Metrics Definition Package is executed. The metrics results from the execution of the Metrics Definition Package in accordance with the deployed resources (e.g., storage space, and security means) are represented in what is referred to as a Scorecard Definition Package (SDP) that is designed to represent the metrics results in a dynamic and comprehensible manner.
US08712812B2	Strategic planning management An information technology (IT) strategic management system (and corresponding methodology) that enhances efficiency and effectiveness of IT planning processes and projects is provided. In particular aspects, the systems commence with a review of current IT state and strategy influencers. The state is analyzed to establish (or alternatively, to update) a strategy summary. The strategy summary can be presented for leadership approval and subsequently communicated to stakeholders for deployment.
US08712808B2	Computer program, system, and method for mapping Social Security claiming strategies A non-transitory computer readable medium having a computer program stored thereon for directing operation of a processor. The computer program receives personal and financial data for a couple; accesses data for a plurality of Social Security claiming strategies for the couple based on the personal and financial data; and illustrates on a graphical display which of the Social Security claiming strategies would provide the maximum present value of benefits for multiple mortality combinations of the couple so that the couple or an advisor for the couple can quickly ascertain which claiming strategy would provide the maximum benefits for a particular mortality combination.
US08712805B1	Method and system for providing geohazard information to customers A method of displaying geohazard information to a user includes providing a computer having a processor and receiving a search query from the user. The method also includes accessing, using the processor, a real estate database, determining, using the processor, a plurality of homes in the real estate database matching the search query, and displaying information related to the plurality of homes to the user. The method further includes accessing, using the processor, a geohazard database, determining, using the processor, one or more geohazards for one or more of the plurality of homes, and displaying information related to the one or more geohazards to the user.
US08712804B2	Account and customer creation in an on-line banking model A system, method and article of manufacture are provided for account and customer creation in an online banking model. An application is received from a customer. The application includes information relating to the user and also documentation relating to the user. A first computer is utilized to create a profile for the customer based on the application received from the customer. The first computer is also utilized to create an account for the customer. Information relating to the created profile and account is transmitted from the first computer to a second computer where a notification is generated. The notification indicates that the account has been created. The notification is transmitted from the second computer to the customer utilizing a network.
US08712790B1	Multi-user remote health monitoring system with biometrics support The invention presents a networked system for identifying an individual, communicating information to the individual, and remotely monitoring the individual. The system includes a remotely programmable apparatus that occasionally connects to a server via a communication network such as the Internet. The remotely programmable apparatus interacts with the individual in accordance with a script program received from the server Among other capabilities, the script program may instruct the remotely programmable apparatus to identify the individual, to communicate information to the individual, to communicate queries to the individual, to receive responses to the queries, and to transmit information identifying the individual and the responses from the remotely programmable apparatus to the server. Information identifying the individual may be obtained via a biometrics sensor, a data card, a remote monitoring device, or the interception of data from a separate information system. The information identifying the individual may be used by either or both the server system and remotely programmable apparatus for security, customization and other purposes. As the present invention has multi-user capabilities, it can be used in a public place, such as a pharmacy or health care clinic. The multi-user capabilities also allow collection and tracking of user data for the healthcare industry.
US08712776B2	Systems and methods for selective text to speech synthesis Algorithms for synthesizing speech used to identify media assets are provided. Speech may be selectively synthesized form text strings associated with media assets. A text string may be normalized and its native language determined for obtaining a target phoneme for providing human-sounding speech in a language (e.g., dialect or accent) that is familiar to a user. The algorithms may be implemented on a system including several dedicated render engines. The system may be part of a back end coupled to a front end including storage for media assets and associated synthesized speech, and a request processor for receiving and processing requests that result in providing the synthesized speech. The front end may communicate media assets and associated synthesized speech content over a network to host devices coupled to portable electronic devices on which the media assets and synthesized speech are played back.
US08712764B2	Device and method for quantizing and inverse quantizing LPC filters in a super-frame A device and a method for quantizing, in a super-frame including a sequence of frames, LPC filters calculated during the frames of the sequence. The LPC filter quantizing device and method comprises: an absolute quantizer for first quantizing one of the LPC filters using absolute quantization; and at least one quantizer of the other LPC filters using a quantization mode selected from the group consisting of absolute quantization and differential quantization relative to at least one previously quantized filter amongst the LPC filters. For inverse quantizing, at least the first quantized LPC filter is received and an inverse quantizer inverse quantizes the first quantized LPC filter using absolute inverse quantization. If any quantized LPC filter other than the first quantized LPC filter is received, an inverse quantizer inverse quantizes this quantized LPC filter using one of absolute inverse quantization and differential inverse quantization relative to at least one previously received quantized LPC filter.
US08712763B2	Method for encoding signal, and method for decoding signal The present disclosure relates to a method, apparatus, and system for encoding and decoding signals. The encoding method includes: converting a first-domain signal into a second-domain signal; performing Linear Prediction (LP) processing and Long-Term Prediction (LTP) processing for the second-domain signal; obtaining a long-term flag value according to a decision criterion; obtaining a second-domain predictive signal according to the LP processing result and the LTP processing result when the long-term flag value is a first value; obtaining a second-domain predictive signal according to the LP processing result when the long-term flag value is a second value; converting the second-domain predictive signal into a first-domain predictive signal, and calculating a first-domain predictive residual signal; and outputting a bit stream that includes the first-domain predictive residual signal.
US08712759B2	Specializing disambiguation of a natural language expression Disambiguation of the meaning of a natural language expression proceeds by constructing a natural language expression, and then incrementally specializing the meaning representation to more specific meanings as more information and constraints are obtained, in accordance with one or more specialization hierarchies between semantic descriptors. The method is generalized to disjunctive sets of interpretations that can be specialized hierarchically.
US08712754B2	Requirements model comparative analysis method for effort estimation in customizing a network monitoring and control system A method, including: receiving, at a processing device, an input, wherein the input includes a first model of data flows between a proposed Network Monitoring and Control (NMC) unit and devices connected to the proposed NMC unit, wherein the first model is based on a Request for Proposal (RFP) and the data flows are defined by data types and primitives conforming to a modeling formalism; and comparing, by using the processing device, the first model with a second model, wherein the second model is a model of data flows between a previously developed NMC unit and devices connected to the previously developed NMC unit, wherein the second model is based on a prior RFP and the data flows are defined by data types and primitives conforming to the modeling formalism, wherein the comparison identifies differences between the data flows of the first and second models.
US08712753B1	Method for modeling and analyzing linear time invariant systems with time delays A method and apparatus are provided to model, analyze, and build linear time invariant systems with delays. The method and apparatus model a linear time invariant system as a linear fractional transformation of matrices of a delay free linear time invariant model with a bank of pure delays. The method and apparatus of the present invention can further accommodate input delays and output delays associated with the linear time invariant system with delays.
US08712750B2	Molten alloy solidification analyzing method and solidification analyzing program for performing the same A molten alloy solidification analyzing method of the invention is characterized in that the amount of change in fraction solid is calculated based on the solidification rate of molten alloy and the solidification rate parameter that is a parameter for evaluating the influence of the solidification rate on solidification of the molten alloy, according to the fraction solid. By conducting such a simulation that takes into consideration the supercooling, a highly accurate solidification analysis is relatively easily performed for various molten alloys.
US08712733B2	Adjusting dental prostheses based on soft tissue Herein are provided methods, systems, computer-readable media, techniques and processes for adjusting dental prostheses based on soft tissue. These include allowing an operator to define the surface of a dental prosthesis, such as an abutment, that is proximal to the patient's gum relative to a 3D scan of the patient's gums. The operator can define the offset of that surface as well as the limits of that surface.
US08712725B2	Monitoring activity of a user in locomotion on foot One disclosed method involves using at least one device supported by a user while the user is in locomotion on foot during an outing to automatically measure amounts of time taken by the user to complete respective distance intervals. During the outing, data representing the automatically measured amounts of time may be automatically stored in memory of the least one device. Another disclosed method involves using at least one device supported by a user while the user is in locomotion on foot during an outing to automatically identify occasions on which a user completes respective distance intervals. During the outing, the at least one device may display at least one of an average pace of the user since a most recently completed distance interval, an average speed of the user since the most recently completed distance interval, and a projected time to complete a current distance interval based on monitored performance since the most recently completed distance interval. Yet another disclosed method involves using at least one device supported by a user while the user is in locomotion on foot during an outing to monitor a distance traveled by the user. An input to the at least one device may be received that specifies a goal distance for the outing, and the at least one device may determine a remaining distance to be traveled to complete one of the specified goal distance for the outing and a calculated fraction of the specified goal distance for the outing.
US08712723B1	Human activity monitoring device A method for monitoring human activity using an inertial sensor includes continuously determining an orientation of the inertial sensor, assigning a dominant axis, updating the dominant axis as the orientation of the inertial sensor changes, and counting periodic human motions by monitoring accelerations relative to the dominant axis.
US08712722B2	360-degree angle decoder This disclosure is directed to techniques for decoding two or more signals that vary sinusoidally with respect to a parameter value to produce a decoded signal that varies linearly with respect to the parameter value. The techniques may include receiving a first signal and a second signal, the first signal varying with respect to a parameter value according to a first sinusoidal function having a period and a first phase, the second signal varying with respect to the parameter value according to a second sinusoidal function having the period and a second phase different from the first phase. The techniques may further include performing one or more arithmetic operations using the first signal, the second signal, and an offset value to generate a third signal that varies linearly with respect to the parameter value for at least one-half of the period of the first signal and the second signal.
US08712720B2	Filtering method for improving the data quality of geometric tire measurements A tire measurement system includes a computer with various memory/media elements for storing raw and transformed tire measurement data (e.g., a data set of measured radial or lateral run-out values) as well as software in the form of computer-executable instructions, which are executed by a processor to filter selected run-out values within the obtained data set that spike above adjacent measurements, identify selected ones of the filtered run-out values that lie on a convex hull surrounding the entire set of values, and perform interpolation of the identified selected ones of the run-out values that lie on the convex hull to obtain a final data set of filtered run-out measurements. Similar steps can be performed on an inverted data set to better detect sidewall deformation features such as sidewall depressions.
US08712716B2	Circuitry for measuring and compensating phase and amplitude differences in NDT/NDI operation Disclosed are a method and an NDT/NDI inspection device deploying digital circuitry to conduct detection and compensation of phase and amplitude shift in responding signals. A digital waveform generator, such as a direct digital synthesizer (DDS) is used to generate a digital sine-wave of a specific frequency and amplitude, mimicking the pulser frequency and amplitude. The sine-wave is converted to analog signal through a DAC and transmitted to the transducer. The received analog sine-wave from the transducer is converted back to a digital signal through an ADC. The transmitted and received digital signals are then compared for phase and amplitude differences. A null circuit involving another waveform generating component is employed to compensate the detected phase and amplitude differences. As a result the phase and amplitude differences are effectively eliminated before being further processed and analyzed for defects information.
US08712712B2	System and method for producing statistically valid assay means and ranges for quality control materials A method of establishing statistically valid assay means and ranges for quality control materials, used to qualify medical testing machines, utilizes tests on a new lot of quality control material to establish an assay mean, and uses data from a database of historical test results to establish an assay range. The system may estimate the variability of test results from prior lot data, and then compute the limits of the assay range such that a new test on a new lot of the quality control material will be expected to fall within the range with a specified probability. Because historical data is used to estimate the test variability, the number of new tests required to specify a statistically valid mean and range may be dramatically reduced, as compared with establishing the mean and range based only on tests of the new lot of material.
US08712707B2	Power collecting device, power measuring device, and power collecting method A power collecting device (101) according to the present invention includes: a polling interval determination unit configured to determine a polling interval (212) as a time interval at which measured data (220) is collected from an appliance (102); a band measurement unit configured to measure a communicable band (711) usable for communication between the power collecting device (101) and the appliance (102); a sampling interval determination unit (710) configured to determine a sampling interval (712) as an interval between measurement times of a plurality of measured values included in the measured data (220) so that a data volume of the measured data (220) becomes equal to or smaller than a data volume that can be communicated at the polling interval (212) by using the communicable band (711); and a data transmission request unit (204) configured to transmit, to the appliance (102) at the polling interval (212), a data transmission request message (213) requesting the appliance (102) for transmitting the measured data (220) including the measured value obtained through the measurement at the sampling interval (712).
US08712701B2	Potentiometric-sensor chip, potentiometric assay, and assay kit Provided is a potentiometric sensor chip in which the positional relationship among a reference electrode, a measurement electrode, and a sample inlet which enables measurement from the start of a reaction is defined, and further provided is a method for detecting the start time of the reaction. A very small amount of sample is measured with high accuracy. The very small quantity of sample is measured by a rate assay. When a reference electrode (103) is disposed between a sample inlet (102) and a measurement electrode (104), a sample solution arrives at the reference electrode (103) earlier than at the measurement electrode (104), whereby the surface potential of the measurement electrode (104) can be measured simultaneously when the sample solution arrives at the measurement electrode (104) and dissolves a reagent and thereby a reaction starts. The arrival of the sample solution at the measurement electrode (104) can be sensed by detecting the discontinuous change of the voltage observed by a voltmeter (106) at this time.
US08712693B2	Method for enhanced subsurface electromagnetic sensitivity A method for measuring an enhanced electromagnetic field response, especially in a submarine environment, for the purposes of subsurface data acquisition and processing. An electromagnetic field is applied to subterranean strata at two or more different frequencies, a response at each frequency is detected, and the responses at different frequencies are resolved. The differences in the phase and/or amplitude of the responses are analyzed and the nature of the strata is determined. The same method can be used to determine the hydrocarbon content of a reservoir via the use of a borehole.
US08712692B2	Method of measuring the flux of a soil gas A method for determining a flux of a gas contained in a medium through a boundary of the medium comprises 1) measuring at least twice with a probe a concentration C of the gas over a time interval Δt and 2) determining the flux of the gas using the following mathematical equation: (I) where F is the gas flux, D is the diffusivity value and ΔC is a variation in the gas concentration during the time interval Δt. The probe is placed proximate the boundary. The probe has a gas inlet, a cavity, a gas concentration sensor and a membrane. Each element is in fluid communication with each other so that the gas flows from the gas inlet through the membrane and contacts the gas concentration sensor. F = ( D ⁢ ∂ C ⁡ ( z , t ) ∂ z ) z = 0 = D ⁢ Δ ⁢ ⁢ C πΔ ⁢ ⁢ t ( I )
US08712687B2	Determining system for localization methods combination A determining system for localization methods combination which determines a combination of a plurality of localization methods used in a vehicle includes: a unit that stores therein a localization accuracy influence parameter which is determined for each position in a travel environment; a unit that stores therein a relation between the localization accuracy influence parameter and a localization accuracy of each of a plurality of the localization methods; a unit that stores therein correspondence information between the localization accuracy influence parameter and each of the localization methods; a unit that acquires the localization accuracy influence parameter in the travel environment; and a unit that acquires the correspondence information on the localization accuracy influence parameter, references the relation based on the correspondence information, and thereby predicts a localization accuracy of each of the localization methods at each position in the travel environment.
US08712685B2	Information processing apparatus, non-transitory computer-readable recording medium, and information processing method An information processing apparatus includes a position detecting unit detecting a position, an explanation information storage unit storing explanation position information and explanation information, a generation unit extracting the explanation information corresponding to a first explanation position from the explanation information storage unit and generating the extracted explanation information with a sound when the first explanation position is detected within a first distance from the detected position, and a group determining unit determining whether or not the first explanation position belongs to the same group as a second explanation position when the second explanation position is detected within the first distance from the detected position after the generation unit starts the generating of the explanation information corresponding to the first explanation position with a sound, wherein the generation unit continues to reproduce the explanation information with a sound when both explanation positions belong to the same group.
US08712679B1	System and methods for obstacle mapping and navigation A system and methods for building a map non-invasively (i.e. mapping of occluded and non-occluded obstacles) based on a small number of wireless channel measurements. Approaches for building an obstacle map are based on coordinated space, random space and frequency sampling, such that the sparse representation of the map in space, wavelet or spatial variations, are exploited in order to build the map with minimal sensing.
US08712673B2	Idle stop and go system and method for controlling thereof An ISG system prevents fuel consumption due to unnecessary idling, by controlling the start of an engine, in accordance with engine stop conditions and restart conditions of a vehicle equipped with an automatic transmission. A method includes determining whether prior conditions for engine stop in an engine controller when an engine is in operation is satisfied, determining whether the engine can be stopped, when the prior conditions for engine stop are satisfied, determining whether engine stop conditions is satisfied, when the engine can be stopped, stopping the engine that is in operation, when the engine stop conditions are satisfied, determining whether key start conditions are satisfied, when the engine is stopped, determining whether restart is possible, when the key start conditions are not satisfied, determining whether conditions for restart are satisfied, when restart is possible, and restarting the engine, when the restart conditions are satisfied.
US08712670B2	Controller for internal combustion engine When a driving region of an engine is in a specified self-ignited combustion region, a valve timing is controlled in such a manner as to establish a negative valve overlap period in which an exhaust valve and an intake valve are closed. During the negative valve overlap period, a direct injection is performed to reform a fuel. After the direct injection, a port injection is performed to control an output. Thereby, a self-ignited combustion control is performed. During the self-ignited combustion control, a fuel reform degree of the fuel injected by the direct fuel injection is detected, and a self-ignited combustion condition in a present combustion cycle is estimated based on the fuel reform degree detected in the present combustion cycle. A fuel injection quantity of the intake port fuel injection is corrected according to the estimated self-ignited combustion condition in order to stabilize the self-ignited combustion condition.
US08712667B2	Air-fuel ratio control apparatus for an internal combustion engine A air-fuel ratio control apparatus, applied to an internal combustion engine having a catalyst disposed in an exhaust passage of the engine, includes a downstream air-fuel ratio sensor (oxygen concentration cell type oxygen concentration sensor) disposed at a position downstream of the catalyst, and air-fuel ratio control means for controlling, based on an output value of the downstream air-fuel ratio sensor, an air-fuel ratio of a mixture supplied to the engine so as to change an air-fuel ratio of a catalyst inflow gas. Further, the air-fuel ratio control means controls the air-fuel ratio of the mixture supplied to the engine.
US08712665B2	Systems and methods for unchoked control of gas turbine fuel gas control valves Certain embodiments of the invention may include systems and methods for providing unchoked control of gas turbine fuel control valves. According to an exemplary embodiment of the invention, a method is provided for active control of a gas flow control valve. The method may include receiving a desired fuel command and an inlet pressure parameter, and determining a gas flow gain based at least in part on the inlet pressure parameter. The method may also include determining a valve flow coefficient based at least in part on the desired fuel command and the gas flow gain, and controlling the gas flow control valve based at least in part on the valve flow coefficient.
US08712664B2	Vehicle control apparatus In a vehicle control apparatus employing a first speed self-adjustment control system configured to control a speed of a host vehicle based on a first command value, in a manner so as to maintain a distance of the host vehicle from a preceding vehicle or to maintain a set speed, a second speed self-adjustment control system is provided for controlling the host vehicle's speed based on a second command value determined based on information about a lateral acceleration acting on the host vehicle. Also provided is a deceleration selector configured to select either one of the first and second command values, which selected command value produces a greater deceleration exerted on the host vehicle. A control unit is configured to control the host vehicle's speed by driving an actuator based on the selected command value.
US08712658B2	Method for adapting a contact point of a clutch in a drivetrain of a motor vehicle A method for adapting a contact point of a clutch in a drivetrain of a motor vehicle, wherein the clutch is moved by an actuator and the influence of the movement of the clutch on a rotating electric motor is evaluated. A method that is simple and quick to carry out, a clutch torque and/or an actuator path close to the contact point is obtained from a characteristic curve of the clutch representing the relationship of an actuator path to a clutch torque and is set at the clutch. Subsequently the associated actuator path and/or the clutch torque is measured from the clutch influenced by the actively operated electric motor, where the clutch torque read from the characteristic curve and the actuator path measured at the clutch and/or the actuator path obtained from the characteristic curve and the measured clutch torque form the current contact point position of the clutch.
US08712637B2	Method for determining an object class of an object, from which light is emitted and/or reflected to a vehicle A method is provided for determining an object class of an object, from which light is emitted and/or reflected to a vehicle. The method has a step of reading in a first brightness value at a first image position in a first image taken using a first vehicle camera and a second brightness value at a second image position in a second image taken using a second vehicle camera. The first and the second image positions represent an identical position associated with the object in the surroundings of the vehicle. The method further has a step of determining the object class of the object, based on a comparison while using the first brightness value and the second brightness value.
US08712636B2	Vehicle drive control system A vehicle drive control system includes a motor, a rotational speed detector, an accelerator opening degree detector, a vehicle speed detector, a torque instruction outputting device, an attenuation filtering device, and a controller. The attenuation filtering device is configured to perform attenuation filtering to a torque instruction to attenuate a natural oscillation frequency component of a torque transmission system of a vehicle and configured to output a filtered torque instruction after the attenuation filtering. The attenuation filtering device is configured to identify an attenuation characteristic of the attenuation filtering if the rotational speed of the motor is smaller than or equal to a predetermined rotational speed and the torque of the motor is higher than or equal to a predetermined torque. The controller is configured to cause the motor to generate a torque corresponding to the filtered torque instruction.
US08712634B2	System and method to assess and report the health of landing gear related components The different advantageous embodiments provide an apparatus comprising a number of landing gear components for a vehicle, a number of systems, and a number of processor units. The number of systems is configured to generate data about the number of landing gear components and the vehicle. The number of processor units is configured to monitor the data and manage health of the number of landing gear components.
US08712624B1	Positioning vehicles to improve quality of observations at intersections Disclosed herein are methods and apparatus for controlling autonomous vehicles utilizing maps that include visibility information. A map is stored at a computing device associated with a vehicle. The vehicle is configured to operate in an autonomous mode that supports a plurality of driving behaviors. The map includes information about a plurality of roads, a plurality of features, and visibility information for at least a first feature in the plurality of features. The computing device queries the map for visibility information for the first feature at a first position. The computing device, in response to querying the map, receives the visibility information for the first feature at the first position. The computing device selects a driving behavior for the vehicle based on the visibility information. The computing device controls the vehicle in accordance with the selected driving behavior.
US08712612B2	System for determining movement properties of a guided vehicle A system for determining the movement properties of a guided vehicle along a section adapted for a lane signaling control. The vehicle includes at least four onboard transponders that are arranged in pairs. The two transponders of each pair are aligned in parallel to the longitudinal axis of the vehicle, with at least one pair downstream and at least one pair upstream from the vehicle, and providing distinct identification means. At least one transponder reader is provided on the ground at each end of the section. A ground calculator communicates with the readers and determines, upon the passage of at least two transponders of a vehicle, a driving direction and a front/rear intrinsic orientation of the vehicle relative to the lane.
US08712611B2	Computerized on-board system for controlling a train A computerized on-board system for controlling a train or rail vehicle is provided. The computerized on-board system includes a train control and monitoring system (TCMS) having a main processor unit (MPU) for controlling the train and electronic control, command and monitoring equipment for providing control data for the train. The computerized on-board system also includes at least one display unit for making the control data of the train provided by the main processor unit (MPU) or by the electronic equipment available and a main data transfer network. The electronic equipment includes at least one additional item of equipment, the at least one additional item of equipment being electronic equipment for automatic train control (ATC) or video surveillance equipment (CCTV). The display unit processes the data and displays data produced by one of the at least one additional items of equipment.
US08712606B2	System and method for configuring a direct lift control system of a vehicle A system and methods for configuring a direct lift control system of a vehicle are presented. A plurality of fly-by-wire control surfaces is provided, and fly-by-wire control surface deflection commands of the fly-by-wire control surfaces are scheduled. The fly-by-wire control surfaces are symmetrically actuated based on the fly-by-wire control surface deflection commands such that a fluid dynamic lift of the vehicle is modulated without using a short-period pitch control.
US08712604B2	Method and device for accessing the documentation of an aircraft according to alarms generated therein A method and a device for accessing the documentation of an aircraft according to alarms generated therein, where the documentation includes at least one document that is modifiable independently of the manufacturer of the aircraft. After having received at least one indication relating to at least one alarm generated by the avionics of the aircraft, at least one datum relating to the at least one alarm, including a link to at least one element of the documentation, is extracted and displayed.
US08712600B2	Traveling vehicle system and self-diagnosis method for the traveling vehicle system Self-diagnosis of a system including a travel route and a plurality of traveling vehicles traveling along the travel route in accordance with instructions from a ground controller is performed. The ground controller provides an instruction to the traveling vehicle regarding a position designated for performing detection using an abnormal condition detection sensor based on an absolute coordinate for uniquely identifying a position on the travel route. The traveling vehicle performs detection at the designated position using the abnormal condition detection sensor, and reports detection data including a detection position and detection time to the ground controller.
US08712596B2	Malicious attack detection and analysis A system for characterizing malicious activity in an intelligent utility grid system includes a system storage in which to store a database including a plurality of rules. A collector is operable to collect and store in the system storage information-technology (IT) data including IT-related activity from the intelligent grid system. A complex event processing (CEP) bus is operable to receive non-IT data including location-specific event data from a plurality of electronic sources, the CEP bus further operable to disregard the non-IT data failing to meet a predetermined level of relevance to one of a plurality of risk-related events. A processor is operable to apply the plurality of rules to the relevant non-IT data to: associate an undesired event with reference to the IT-related activity; and determine a probability that the undesired event is indicative of malicious activity. The processor further applies a risk characterization to the undesired event based on the probability and the IT-related activity.
US08712595B2	Dynamic load profiling in a power network A method for dynamic load profiling in a power network can include receiving static load data in the power network, generating a load forecast from the static load data, generating dynamic load data from data related to distributed assets in the power network and modifying the load forecast based on the dynamic load data for profiling the dynamic load data.
US08712592B2	Controlling a resource demand system Methods of controlling a resource demand system are disclosed. One method includes obtaining weather data from at least one data source that collects weather data at a plurality of areas. A weather value for a target location is calculated from the weather data. A weather value is sensed for the target location. The calculated weather value is compared with the sensed weather value to validate at least one of the calculated weather value and the sensed weather value, and a control value is calculated based on at least one of the calculated weather value and the sensed weather value.
US08712586B2	Dispensing of restricted goods A method of dispensing restricted products includes providing: a dispenser containing an inventory of restricted goods and a communication link to an authorized vendor; means to enable the vendor to verify the purchaser as an approved purchaser; an inventory system including storage for products in rows and columns; an identification system that identifies the location of each product by row and column; a product section device enabling verification that the selected product is correct and moves the product to a printing location, a viewing location, and/or an issue tray; a visual viewing means for the vendor to view the product; a payment transaction system to verify payment for the product; at least two collection trays remaining locked until the vendor releases product to the purchaser; a product reject hopper to collect product not approved for collection; and reject system to securely remove product to the reject hopper.
US08712583B2	Automatic pill dispenser A pill dispensing device includes a base with a top surface and a bottom surface, a transfer tray assembly coupled to the top surface of the base, a controller, and a plurality of vibrating tray assemblies. Each vibrating tray assembly couples to the top surface of the base and includes a pill tray, at least one spring support, a pill tray electric motor, and at least one optical sensor. The pill tray has an open end which is positioned above the transfer tray assembly. The at least one spring support is coupled between the top surface of the base and the pill tray. The pill tray electric motor couples to the pill tray and an offset weight. Each pill tray electric motor electrically couples to the controller. An optical sensor couples to the pill tray.
US08712579B1	Optimization of packaging sizes Various systems, methods, and programs embodied in computer-readable mediums are provided for determining optimum sizes of packaging in a packaging suite employed in a materials handling facility. The packaging may be used, for example, in the shipping of items from the materials handling facility to various destinations. The sizes of the packaging in the packaging suite are determined based upon the shipping volumes associated with packages or shipments shipped from the materials handling facility.
US08712567B2	Manufactured product configuration One aspect related to design of systems and methods for manufacture of products is configuration. More particularly, this relates to verification of an existing configuration and to reconfiguration of a product following manufacturing. The present invention contemplates an approach to designing a station capable of configuration verification and reconfiguration and of preventing shipment of a product if an undesirable configuration is detected. A preferred approach also includes guiding the operator to take possible remedial action. The preferred approach further includes storing various types of data needed for the verification and reconfiguration in a server, thereby making such data substantially instantly accessible for verification and reconfiguration purposes. Such data preferably includes software capable of adapting the functions of the station itself, i.e., the tasks to be performed at the configuration verification and reconfiguration station. A system design using this approach is particularly useful in the manufacture of a microwave radio.
US08712551B2	Mono-body defibrillation probe A probe including at its distal extremity a tubular flexible sheath core supporting at least a winding forming a shock electrode and connected to an electrical conductor of connection extending in an internal lumen of the sheath core. In one embodiment of the invention, the sheath core extends axially without a solution of continuity in the area supporting the winding. In particular, the sheath core comprises cavities to receive and hold conducting inserts, of homologous size with cavities formed locally close to the ends of the winding, the insert being connected to the interior side to the electrical conductor, and on the external side to the corresponding extremity of winding. A longitudinal slit connects two cavities and allows, by elastic deformation of the sheath core, the introduction into the cavities and in the internal lumen of the unit formed by the final extremity of the electrical conductor beforehand equipped with its two inserts.
US08712550B2	Catheter with multiple electrode assemblies for use at or near tubular regions of the heart A catheter with ablation and potential sensing capabilities is adapted for outer circumferential contact with an opening of a tubular region and inner circumferential contact within the tubular region. The catheter has a proximal electrode assembly and a distal electrode assembly for ablation of an ostium and potential sensing inside the pulmonary vein so that it is possible to obtain ECG signals inside a pulmonary vein when ablating around the ostium. The distal electrode assembly has an elongated member defining a longitudinal axis and a plurality of spines surrounding the member and converging at their proximal and distal ends, where each spine has at least one electrode and a curvature so that the spine bows radially outwardly from the member. The proximal electrode assembly has a proximal electrode assembly has an elongated member configured with a generally radial portion and a generally circular portion generally transverse to the catheter axis, where the generally circular portion comprising a plurality of electrodes. The control handle advantageously allows a user to manipulate a tensile member for changing the curvature of the spine.
US08712545B2	Electrical stimulation lead, system, and method A paddle lead includes a plurality of electrodes configured in at least three rows of three electrodes with the second, intermediate row operable to provide anode guarding. The paddle lead further includes a plurality of grooves disposed on a surface opposite the electrodes to facilitate the insertion of the paddle lead within a patient by inhibiting the veering of the paddle lead to one side or the other of the dorsal column as the paddle lead is advanced along the dorsal column midline during implantation.
US08712533B2	Selective high frequency spinal cord modulation for inhibiting pain with reduced side effects, and associated systems and methods Selective high-frequency spinal cord modulation for inhibiting pain with reduced side effects and associated systems and methods are disclosed. In particular embodiments, high-frequency modulation in the range of from about 1.5 KHz to about 50 KHz may be applied to the patient's spinal cord region to address low back pain without creating unwanted sensory and/or motor side effects. In other embodiments, modulation in accordance with similar parameters can be applied to other spinal or peripheral locations to address other indications.
US08712530B2	Device and implantation system for electrical stimulation of biological systems The present specification discloses devices and methodologies for the treatment of transient lower esophageal sphincter relaxations (tLESRs). Individuals with tLESRs 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.
US08712529B2	Device and implantation system for electrical stimulation of biological systems The present specification discloses devices and methodologies for the treatment of 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.
US08712525B2	Method and apparatus for closed-loop control of anti-tachyarrhythmia pacing using hemodynamic sensor A cardiac rhythm management (CRM) system includes an implantable medical device that delivers anti-tachyarrhythmia therapies including anti-tachyarrhythmia pacing (ATP) and a hemodynamic sensor that senses a hemodynamic signal. The implantable medical device includes a hemodynamic sensor-controlled closed-loop ATP system that uses the hemodynamic signal for ATP capture verification. When ATP pulses are delivered according to a selected ATP protocol to terminate a tachyarrhythmia episode, the implantable medical device performs the ATP capture verification by detecting an effective cardiac contraction from the hemodynamic signal. The ATP protocol is adjusted using an outcome of the ATP capture verification.
US08712524B2	Self-diagnostic method and system for implantable cardiac device A self-diagnostic system for an implantable cardiac device such as a pacemaker, cardioverter, or resynchronization device which utilizes a subcutaneous ECG channel is described. The subcutaneous ECG channel allows the device to, in real time and independent of the standard pacing and sensing circuitry, verify the presence of pacing spikes, chamber senses, and other device outputs and hence establish and verify device integrity.
US08712523B2	Implantable defibrillator systems and methods with mitigations for saturation avoidance and accommodation Methods and implantable devices that address response to, or avoidance of, likely non-cardiac voltages including after potentials from external or internal stimulus. Also, methods of operation in implantable medical devices, the methods configured for identifying saturation of input circuitry and mitigating the effects of such saturation. Also, implantable cardiac stimulus or monitoring devices that include methods for identifying saturated conditions and mitigating the effects of such saturation.
US08712522B1	System for setting programmable parameters for an implantable hypertension treatment device A real time, heart rate monitor and a hemodynamic monitoring system are operably integrated with the programmer system for an implantable hypertension treatment device. A series of tests are automatically performed to set programmable parameters for the implantable hypertension treatment device without clinician intervention. In one embodiment, a predetermined level of a dose-response evaluation is initiated for each test in the series. Preferably, the programmer system monitors the heart rate to determine whether a hemodynamic measurement should be initiated at all for a given test, as well as whether the hemodynamic measurement should be initiated earlier or later than a predetermined settling period for assessing the sympathetic nervous response to the test dose. In one embodiment, this determination is based on heart rate stability/instability. Alternatively, other indicators of sympathetic/parasympathetic tone, such as heart rate variability, may be used to trigger/delay the timing of the hemodynamic measurement.
US08712514B2	Neurophysiological central auditory processing evaluation system and method A system and method of central auditory processing testing and evaluation provides for identifying clinically relevant neural synchrony in the auditory brainstem pathway. The system or method finds use as a tool to evaluate auditory processing disorders, and hence, potential auditory system and/or learning disabilities. The system or method may further find use in the selection and fitting of hearing corrective appliances such as hearing aid or cochlear implant devices and/or in the selection and implementation of auditory training regimens.
US08712508B2	State detection device, electronic apparatus, measurement system and program A state detection device includes an acquisition part that acquires an acceleration detection value from an acceleration sensor, and a judgment part that judges a running state or a walking state based on the acceleration detection value. The judgment part detects as to whether a positive/negative sign of the acceleration detection value in a first axis reversed in a predetermined judgment period, determines the running state when the sign reverses, and determines the walking state when the sign does not reverse.
US08712504B2	Hand-held optical probe based imaging system with 3D tracking facilities A method, apparatus, and system display image data for a three-dimensional object in real-time, co-registering the image data acquired from a probe with the location on the three-dimensional object from which the image data was acquired, by tracking the position and orientation of the probe as the probe acquires the image data.
US08712485B2	Proximity sensor arrangement in a mobile device A radiation passing layer has a top surface and a bottom surface below which a proximity sensor is positioned. A radiation shield is between the emitter and the detector, and extends to the bottom of the radiation passing layer. A radiation absorber being a separate piece and of a different material than the shield is positioned to provide a radiation seal between the top surface of the shield and the bottom surface of the radiation passing layer. Other embodiments are also described and claimed.
US08712484B2	System and method for controlling a wireless device A method is provided for controlling operation of a wireless device, including: receiving an initial incoming signal from a remote device in a first operational mode, the initial incoming signal including information related to an initial remaining battery power in the remote device; determining that a second operational mode will be a first possible mode if the initial remaining battery power in the remote device is within a first power range; determining that the second operational mode will be a second possible mode if the initial remaining battery power in the remote device is within a second power range; and transmitting instructions to the remote device in the first operational mode to transmit and receive in the second operational mode.
US08712483B2	Wake-up radio system Systems and methods may include a master device. The master device may include a wake-up transmitter to send a wake-up message to a slave device to wake-up the slave device. The master device may also include a short-range transmitter to communicate with the slave device once the slave device has been woken up. The master device may be a mobile phone that communicates with the slave device (e.g., Bluetooth accessory devices) over a Bluetooth network.
US08712482B2	Detachably integrated battery charger for mobile cell phones and like devices A cell phone charger comprises a main body having embedded therein a charging circuit configured to receive line AC voltage and to convert it to a DC voltage suitable for charging the mobile device. AC prongs fold into the body in a stowed position and a connection structure formed integrally with the main body grasps onto and holds the charger secured to the cell phone device. In a preferred embodiment, the AC prongs pivot independently and lie flat against an outside surface of the main body.
US08712478B2	Mobile electronic device A device and methods for operating a mobile electronic device are presented. A condition of the mobile electronic device is detected to provide a condition of use. Correspondence relation between inputs detected at a first input detector and a second input detector and the inputs to a first display surface and a second display surface are stored in association with the condition of use. The inputs detected by one of the first input detector and the second input detector are processed as the inputs to one of the first display surface and the second display surface based on the correspondence relation in association with the condition of use.
US08712472B1	Communication device The communication device comprising a voice communication implementer, a calculation implementer, a word processing implementer, a multiple language mode implementer, and a remote control implementer.
US08712469B2	Accessing a base station Method, base station and computer program product for controlling access to the base station, the base station being arranged to serve a zone, the zone comprising a first cell implementing an access mode as one of an open access mode, a hybrid access mode, and a closed access mode. Operating conditions of the zone served by the base station are determined and then the access mode of the first cell is controlled based on the determined operating conditions of the zone served by the base station.
US08712468B1	Mobile device mode control based on dual mapping of availability (presence) information An availability map may associate each of a plurality of different availability information indicators with one of a plurality of availability statuses. A user may set which availability status is associated with each of the availability information indicators. A mode map may associate each of a plurality of availability statuses with one or more operational modes of a communication system. A user may set which of the operational modes is associated with each of the availability statuses. A current availability status may be determined by equating a current availability information indicator with the availability status indicated in the availability map to be associated with this current availability information indicator. Current availability information indicators may come from sources including communication devices and external networked applications. Operational modes of the communication system may be set in accordance with the operational modes indicated in the mode map to be associated with the current availability status as determined.

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