Document	Document Title
US09180743B2	Wheel localizer, wheel localization device, system, method and computer program for locating a position of a wheel Embodiments can provide a system, a wheel localizer, a wheel localization device, a method or a computer program for locating a position of wheel and/or for determining an acceleration of a wheel of a vehicle. The system for locating a position of at least one out of a plurality of wheels of a vehicle includes a detector configured to obtain information related to a tangential acceleration of the at least one wheel of the vehicle and a unit configured to obtain information related to angular rotations of the plurality of wheels. The system further includes a locator configured to determine the position of the at least one wheel based on the information related to the tangential acceleration of the at least one wheel and the information related to the angular rotations of the plurality of wheels.
US09180739B2	Pneumatic tire A plurality of blocks is provided in a tread portion and a plurality of sipes is provided in a tread surface of the blocks. In the sipes, protrusions are formed on a first sipe wall surface of mutually opposing sipe wall surfaces and recesses that engage with the protrusions are formed on a second sipe wall surface. Collapsing of the portions of the blocks sandwiched by the sipes is suppressed due to the engaging of the protrusions and the recesses. A height of the protrusions provided on the sipe wall surfaces of the sipes located at the edges in the tire circumferential direction is greater than a height of the protrusions provided on the sipe wall surfaces of the other sipes. Specifically, a force that works to suppress bending deformation increases and collapsing of the portions of the blocks located at the edges in the tire circumferential direction is suppressed.
US09180738B2	Pneumatic tire with tread having lateral grooves A pneumatic tire reduces the columnar resonance noise of the tire while controlling the lowering of wet performances, wherein four circumferential grooves continuously extending in the circumferential direction of the tire are disposed in a treading face and a plurality of lateral grooves each having one end opened to the circumferential groove and terminated in a land portion are formed with respect to two circumferential grooves among the four circumferential grooves, and these lateral grooves and the respective circumferential grooves have such a groove width that both groove walls of the groove do not contact with each other in a ground contact face and one or more lateral groove are always completely included in the ground contact face, and an extending length of a portion of each lateral groove in the ground contact face having a groove width of the lateral groove corresponding to not less than 30% of a groove width of the circumferential groove is made not less than 40% of an extending length of the circumferential groove in the ground contact face.
US09180728B2	Dimensional, patterned heat applied applique or transfer made from knit textile A stretchable knit appliqué is described. The appliqué is configured by a knitted textile material adhered to an elastomeric film by a first adhesive continuously distributed over elastomeric film. Moreover, the appliqué is configured to stretch with the elastomeric film. The appliqué can have a first and second knitted materials, with a printed design in registration with the first and second textile materials. The printed design can be a sublimation printed design.
US09180724B2	Dry-erase drawing sheet and apparatus Dry-erase drawing sheets, a drawing apparatus, and a dry-erase drawing kit are described. The drawing sheets have a non-lenticular or a lenticular lens arrangement on a top surface, material layers comprising a body of the sheet, and images printed on surfaces of one or more of the material layers. The images are configured to sufficiently interact with the lens arrangement to exhibit a three-dimensional visual and/or animated effect when viewed through the top surface. The drawing sheets also include a dry-erase compatible layer overlying the top surface. The drawing apparatus includes a frame that has a central opening and a backing member that releasably couples to the frame. Together the frame and backing member retain the drawing sheets within the central opening of the frame during use. The drawing sheets, drawing apparatus, and one or more dry-erase crayons or markers are provided in the kit.
US09180703B2	Recording device A recording device includes a head unit that ejects ink onto a target recording medium, and transport units that transport the target recording medium. The transport units are provided with driving rollers that are provided so as to come into contact with a first surface of the target recording medium, and that generate a delivery power in the target recording medium, and air delivery units that push the target recording medium against the driving rollers by applying air pressure to the driving rollers from a side of a second surface of the target recording medium.
US09180699B2	Image recording apparatus An image recording device, including: a first sheet conveying path; a recording portion to record an image on a sheet; a first roller pair to convey the sheet in a first direction; a second sheet conveying path; a path changing portion; a second roller pair to convey the sheet in a second direction; a third roller pair to convey, to the first path, the sheet that has been conveyed to the second conveying path; and a control portion to control a sheet conveyance rate by the second roller pair to be higher than that by the third roller pair, whereby a part of the sheet between the second and third roller pairs is slacked for separating, from the second roller pair, a trailing end of the sheet before a leading end thereof reaches a position where the leading end is opposed to the recording portion in the first conveying path.
US09180696B2	Recording apparatus including a substrate for mounting electronic components A main substrate which is arranged in one end section of a main apparatus body in the width direction is horizontally arranged using a free space in one end section of the mechanical component arrangement area in a main apparatus body in the width direction. A plurality of relay substrates are vertically provided in the upper-side position of the main substrate in the mechanical component arrangement area, and the main substrate is connected to the plurality of relay substrates through FFCs connected to respective connectors. A plurality of connectors are provided on the two relay substrates in order to connect to wirings from a printer mechanism section.
US09180695B2	System and method for dynamic measurement of dimension change for a sheet A method including: displacing a plurality of sheets through a defined portion of a process path; generating, using an encoder, a first number of encoder pulses associated with displacing a first sheet from the plurality of sheets along the defined portion; applying first indicia to a first side of the first sheet; displacing the first sheet through the defined portion; generating, using the encoder, a second number of encoder pulses associated with displacing the first sheet along the defined portion; calculating, using a processor, a ratio including the first and second numbers; applying second indicia to the respective second side of the first sheet or third indicia to the respective first side of a second sheet from the plurality of sheets, or fourth indicia to the respective second side of the second sheet; and adjusting, using the processor, application of the second, third, or fourth indicia according to the ratio.
US09180689B2	Recording apparatus A recording apparatus including: recording modules each having a first conveyance path; a first common tray having a support surface; and a second conveyance path connecting each first conveyance path and the first common tray, wherein the recording modules are disposed such that the first conveyance paths are parallel to and are spaced apart from each other in a direction orthogonal to the first conveyance paths, and wherein an angle formed by any continuous two path portions in the second conveyance path, an angle formed by the second conveyance path and the support surface of the first common tray, and an angle formed by the second conveyance path and each first conveyance path are made larger than 90° and are not larger than 180°, such that a maximum bending angle of a recording medium that is conveyed between the first common tray and each recording module is less than 90°.
US09180687B2	Filter manufacturing apparatus and filter manufacturing method A filter manufacturing apparatus includes a printing cell setting unit that sets, based on a predetermined filter pitch and a head resolution, printing cells having an equal number of dot areas in the direction perpendicular to the transport direction of the printing medium, a shift amount calculating unit that calculates shift amounts between the filter pitch and the printing cells in the direction perpendicular to the transport direction of the printing medium, a shift amount determining unit that determines whether shift amounts of the printing cells exceed a unit dot area; and a printing cell complementing unit that complements the shift amounts of the printing cells exceeding the unit dot area by adjusting the number of dot areas included in the printing cells.
US09180682B2	Printing apparatus, printing system, and printing method A printing apparatus includes a printing head that includes a nozzle array, and a discharging control unit. The nozzle array is divided into a plurality of nozzle groups that is configured by a predetermined number of nozzles. The discharge control unit, when an abnormal nozzle having abnormal function of discharging the ink is included in any of the plurality of nozzle groups in a case of discharging the ink to a band area from the nozzle of each of the plurality of nozzle groups by assigning halftone data to the nozzle of each of the plurality of nozzle groups, assigns the halftone data assigned to the abnormal nozzle to the nozzle that is included in other pluralities of nozzle groups which are not the nozzle group including the abnormal nozzle according to a ratio that is a preset assignment ratio for each of the other pluralities of nozzle groups.
US09180680B2	Water-based ink, ink jet recording method, ink cartridge, recording unit, ink jet recording apparatus, and image forming method A water-based ink of the present invention includes water, a plurality of different water-soluble organic solvents, and a water-insoluble coloring material, wherein the above water-soluble organic solvents consist of a good solvent to the above water-insoluble coloring material and a poor solvent to the above water-insoluble coloring material, and the total amount (% by mass) of the good solvents in the ink is represented by A and the total amount (% by mass) of the poor solvent in the ink is represented by B, the ratio of A to B ranges from 10:5 to 10:30 both inclusive, and when the respective Ka values of the above water-soluble organic solvents are determined by the Bristow method and compared with each other, a water-soluble organic solvent having the largest Ka value is the poor solvent. The pigment ink has a sufficiently large area factor even with a small amount of ink and provides an image of high OD.
US09180678B2	Recording head A recording head includes an ejection portion configured to eject ink, a first flow path forming member and a second flow path forming member joined to each other between which a flow path for supplying ink to the ejection portion, a buffer chamber for keeping gas, and a communication passage between the flow path and the buffer chamber are formed, a through-hole formed on the second flow path forming member configured to penetrate the second flow path forming member to open onto a surface on an opposite side of a joint surface facing the first flow path forming member, and a communication port formed at a position facing an interior of the buffer chamber, configured to communicate with the through-hole, wherein the communication port is arranged at a position higher than a wall of a top surface that constitutes a communication passage in a usage state of the recording head.
US09180676B2	Compact pinch valve An improved pinch valve includes a camshaft and associated cam(s) controlling the position of a pivotally-mounted first pinch arm and an opposed, pivotally-mounted second pinch arm. The respective pinch arms are provided symmetrically about a central plane which contains an axis of the camshaft. A spring extends across the central plane and interconnects the respective pinch arms so as to urge both pinch arms towards the central plane. A mechanical advantage lever is provided such that the pinching force is greater than the spring force.
US09180671B2	Liquid ejecting apparatus including a gap forming member having a locking member A liquid ejecting apparatus includes a main body in which an opening portion exposing at least a portion of a carriage moving area, a cover section displaceable with the main body, an ink tank that is located outside the main body, an ink supply tube for supplying ink from the ink tank to a head, and a spacer that forms a gap between the main body and the cover. An accommodation section is configured by a casing portion formed to protrude in a discharge direction of paper. An operation panel section is configured by a casing portion exhibiting an inclined surface. The spacer forms a gap having a size that does not shut off at least an ink flow path of the ink supply tube and passes the ink supply tube through the formed gap.
US09180660B2	Ink jet recording apparatus The present invention relates to an ink jet recording apparatus including a recording head including a plurality of energy generation elements configured to generate thermal energy. The ink jet recording apparatus includes a specification unit and a control unit. The specification unit specifies a pulse width upper limit value of a prepulse during a recording operation based on a minimum pulse width by which ink is discharged by applying a drive pulse to the energy generation elements and a temperature of the recording head during the recording operation. The control unit controls the energy generation elements to be driven using a drive pulse of a prepulse with a pulse width equal to or less than the pulse width upper limit value.
US09180642B2	Machine bed, method for the operation of a forming machine and forming installation The invention relates in particular to a machine bed for hydraulic presses. The machine bed has a bed body and at least one pretensioning unit. The pretensioning unit is realized in such a manner and cooperates with the bed body in such a manner that said bed body is acted upon by lateral pretensioning.
US09180635B2	Optical element, method of manufacturing optical element, illumination device, window member, and fitting An optical element includes a first surface, a second surface positioned to face the first surface, and a plurality of reflecting surfaces arrayed in a first region defined by the first surface and the second surface, wherein the reflecting surfaces have a first length in a first direction vertical to the first surface and are arrayed at a pitch in a second direction perpendicular to the first direction, light incident on one of the first surface and the second surface is reflected by the reflecting surfaces toward the other surface, and predetermined parameters satisfy predetermined relational formulae representing conditions for ensuring total reflection at the reflecting surfaces and for avoiding total reflection at a light emergent surface.
US09180634B2	Methods for formation of an ophthalmic lens precursor and lens This invention discloses methods for generating one or both of an ophthalmic lens precursor with at least a portion of one surface free-formed from a Reactive Mixture. In some embodiments, an ophthalmic lens precursor is formed on a substrate with an arcuate optical quality surface via a source of actinic radiation controllable to cure a definable portion of a volume of Reactive Mixture.
US09180628B2	Method and device for the production of tubular structural components A method for producing a tubular structural component and device for production thereof are disclosed. A tubular molding tool has an inner mold surface shaped corresponding to an outer surface of the structural component. A support surface of an expandable support, formed corresponding to the molding tool shape such that in an unexpanded state the support fills the molding tool while the support surface and the mold surface run parallel leaving an expansion spacing of the support surface to the mold surface, is covered with a tubular non-crimp fiber fabric, such that fibers of a fiber layer of the non-crimp fiber fabric run diagonally around the support. After the support has been arranged in the molding tool, the non-crimp fiber fabric is pressed against the mold surface by expanding the support with radial expansion of the non-crimp fiber fabric. The non-crimp fiber fabric is infiltrated by a curable matrix.
US09180611B2	Compression-forming system A compression-forming system comprising a molten resin mass-feeding device equipped with the holding portions for holding the molten resin masses, a compression-forming machine equipped with the metal molds, and a molten resin mass position detector, wherein said molten resin mass position detector is a temperature sensor, and said temperature sensor measures the temperature of a portion on the outer side of an allowable range in which the molten resin masses are fed to the metal molds, and judges the presence of the molten resin masses on said portion by the temperature of said portion of the metal molds to detect that the molten resin masses are defectively handed over.
US09180610B2	Devices and processes for fabricating multi-component optical systems The present disclosure relates to devices and processes for fabricating a multi-component optical system. A device is an integral mold comprising an attachment portion and a cup portion having a cavity, and the mold further comprises a first optical component. The cavity of the mold contains additional optical components to form a multi-component optical system blank. Another device is a multi-component optical system blank. A process for fabricating a multi-component optical system blank comprises providing an integral mold comprising a first optical component, adding at least a second optical component, shaping the mold after addition of an optical component, and shaping the resultant blank into an optical system. A further device is a multi-component optical system produced in a process disclosed herein.
US09180608B2	Stamp, method of manufacturing the same, and imprinting method using the stamp A stamp includes at least one protrusion on a protrusion pattern, and an end portion of the at least one protrusion may have a non-planarized surface. The end portion of the protrusion may have a concave structure, that is, the end portion includes a center region and an edge region, and the edge region is higher than the center region.
US09180603B2	Machine for the preparation of pieces of an oval or spherical fruit, such as a melon or watermelon Machine for the preparation of pieces of an oval or spherical fruit, such as a melon or watermelon, comprising: a first cutting station (10), predisposed to cut a fruit (100) into round portions (101) along parallel planes; a second cutting station (20), with two or more shaped blades (21a,b,c) predisposed to cut the round portions (101) into prismatic fragments; a sorting device (40), predisposed to detect a diameter of the round portions (101) and to assign each round portion (101) to a shaped blade (21a,b,c), selected on the basis of the diameter of the round portion.
US09180601B2	D-cut slicer Slicer apparatus of the type used for slicing in particular fish fillets, where the apparatus comprises a conveying path, and cutting means arranged in said conveying path, where the cutting means comprises a set of moveable reciprocating knives and a cutting land, where the cutting means further comprises means for moving the knives relative to the cutting land and the surface of the conveyor path, wherein the cutting means are arranged on a common member which member may be rotated through a predetermined arch about a horizontal axis, perpendicular to the conveyor path's transport direction.
US09180599B2	Method of deposition of a layer on a razor blade edge and razor blade A method for deposition of a layer on a razor blade edge of a razor blade, the layer including at least two components, in an enclosure comprising at least first and second sputter targets, each sputter target including at least one of the components to be deposited on the edge and being adapted, in operation, to release the component in the enclosure.
US09180598B2	Shaver with hinge between housing and shaver head The invention relates to a shaver including a housing and a shaver head. This head includes a bracket, holding a plurality of rotary cutter units, each rotatable around a respective rotation axis. The shaver head also includes a hinge, which is positioned such that during use the bracket can pivot freely with regard to the housing, around a pivot axis that extends substantially perpendicular to the axes of the cutter units.
US09180591B2	Adjustable tool hanger board assembly apparatus and method The invention relates to an adjustable hanger board assembly for mounting tools to a wall, the inside of a vehicle compartment, on a wall, on a ceiling on a floor or other flat surface. Each hanger board assembly has a plurality of horizontal slots and/or vertical slots and or angular slots and optionally a repeating pattern of mounting through-holes capable of accepting a wide variety of existing fastening hardware and tool brackets. The fastening hardware is adjustably fastened along the horizontal slots and/or vertical slots and or angular slots which serve as mounting tracks for hanging brackets and other tool securing devices. The fastening hardware is similarly adjustable in a plurality of through-holes in the hanger board assembly.
US09180586B2	Handle assembly for power tool A handle assembly for a power tool is disclosed. The handle assembly includes a base adapted to be mounted to a body of a power tool, and a handle having first and second mounting portions pivotably mounted to respective ends of the base. An elongate torsion spring has a first part mounted to the base and a respective second part mounted to each mounting portion such that pivoting of the handle relative to the base member causes twisting of the torsion member to resiliently oppose pivoting of the handle relative to the base portion.
US09180585B2	Actuation apparatus for power tool When the mode change knob of a multi-mode hammer drill is moved to the hammer only position, an electronic sensor sends a signal to a control logic circuit. When the user then depresses the trigger mechanically closing the ON/OFF switch, the control logic circuit applies a voltage either to a holding relay or to the gate of a triac which enables the relay or triac to conduct, thus providing a parallel circuit by-passing the ON/OFF switch. Consequently, when the user releases the trigger and opens the ON/OFF switch, the parallel relay or triac maintains current flow to the motor. It can be seen that in hammer only mode the user can activate the hammer drill by simply tapping the trigger to depress it and does not need to hold down trigger during use of the hammer in operation.
US09180573B2	Bonded abrasive wheel A bonded abrasive wheel comprises ceramic shaped abrasive particles retained in a binder. The ceramic shaped abrasive particles are bounded by a respective base, top and plurality of sides connecting the base and the top. Adjacent sides meet at respective side edges having an average radius of curvature of less than 50 micrometers.
US09180571B2	Grinder/polisher An improved grinder/polisher includes a base having a bowl, a rotating drive plate and a drive plate drive that is adapted to support a platen. The grinder/polisher includes a head configured to support a specimen holder. The head has a first drive for rotational drive of the specimen holder and a second drive for moving the specimen holder toward and away from the drive plate. The head includes a load cell operably connected to the first drive and a counter operably connected to the second drive. The counter is configured to determine movement and the extent of movement of the head toward and away from the drive plate. The grinder/polisher includes a control panel mounted within a housing and including a microprocessor controlled control system having a touch panel or screen.
US09180570B2	Grooved CMP pad CMP pads having novel groove configurations are described. For example, described herein are CMP pads comprising primary grooves, secondary grooves, a groove pattern center, and an optional terminal groove. The CMP pads may be made from polyurethane or poly (urethane-urea), and the grooves produced therein may be made by a method from the group consisting of molding, laser writing, water jet cutting, 3-D printing, thermoforming, vacuum forming, micro-contact printing, hot stamping, and mixtures thereof.
US09180565B2	Decorative trim assembly fixture and method of using same An assembly fixture allows for the incorporation of a decorative trim piece into an encapsulated window assembly. A method of utilizing the assembly fixture to incorporate the decorative trim piece into the vehicle window assembly is also provided.
US09180564B2	Device for securing a cap screw to an element that is to be attached to another element The cap screw (1) has a threaded portion (1b) having a nominal diameter (D1) that is greater than the diameter (D3) of its shank. The device comprises an anti-creep ring (4) designed to receive screw (1), one end of which has features (4a-4b-4c-4d) suitable for delineating, before ring (4) is engaged in a recess (2a) of element (2) that is to be screw fastened, a circular area having a diameter (D) that is greater than the nominal diameter (D1) of threaded portion (1b) and, after said ring (4) has been engaged in said recess (2a), a circular area (D) having a diameter (D2) that is less than the nominal diameter (D1) of threaded portion (1b), but greater than the diameter (D3) of shank (1a), so as to act as a stop for said threaded portion and trap screw (1) in ring (4) while permitting limited movement of the screw.
US09180559B2	Apparatus and method for measuring bearing dimension A method comprising: (a). providing a device comprising: a movable table having a movement gage; a gage for measuring a dimension of one or more bearing blanks; and a machining tool for machining the one or more bearing blanks; (b). prompting a user to input one or more process variables; (c). supplying the one or more bearing blank into the device; (d). moving the bearing blank to a table grinding position; and (e). measuring the dimension of the one or more bearing blanks using the gage; (f). measuring a distance moved by the movable table so that a reference measurement is provided; and (g). comparing the measurement of step (e) to the reference measurement of step (f).
US09180550B2	Heat treatment apparatus for heating substrate by light irradiation The temperature of a semiconductor wafer is raised by light irradiation heating performed by halogen lamps. An infrared ray emitted from the semiconductor wafer whose temperature has been raised transmits through an infrared-transparent window made of silicon, and then is detected by an infrared camera. The infrared camera two-dimensionally detects the temperature of an entire surface of the semiconductor wafer. Based on a result of the detection obtained by the infrared camera, a temperature drop region having a relatively low temperature among the region of the semiconductor wafer is irradiated with laser light emitted from a laser light emission part. Accordingly, without rotating the semiconductor wafer, a temperature distribution can be made uniform with a high accuracy throughout the entire surface of the semiconductor wafer.
US09180548B2	Method for one-sided, one step joining of a metal sheet stack A joining operation for a stack of three metal sheets performed using only a single welding step, with access to only one sheet side being required. An inner sheet of the stack has formed therein a pair of bifurcated projections, wherein at least one first apex faces in one direction and at least one second apex faces in the opposite direction. First and second outer metal sheets are assembled with the inner sheet, wherein the first outer sheet abuts the at least one first apex, and the second outer sheet abuts the at least one second apex. A projection welding apparatus welds the sheets, using only access to the first outer sheet superposed the bifurcated projections, wherein a majority of the current flows through the second outer sheet.
US09180542B2	Tractor unit drive gear engagement device A travel drive gear engagement mechanism for a tractor unit includes a clutch lever that has a cam portion. The clutch lever is configured to rotate between a first position and a second position at a point that is offset from a center of an elongated portion of the cam portion. The engagement mechanism also includes a connecting member that operatively connects the cam portion of the clutch lever to a drive gear of a tractor unit. The connecting member is operatively connected to the cam portion at the offset point. The clutch level and connecting member are configured such that the drive gear engages a track gear when the clutch lever is in the first position and disengages from the track gear when the clutch lever is in the second position.
US09180539B1	Method of and system for dressing RF shield pads A radio-frequency (RF) shield pad is “dressed” by automatically removing melted solder from the shield pad by traversing a pattern of the shield pad. After an RF shield has been removed from a shield pad of a printed circuit board (PCB), the PCB is pre-heated to a temperature sufficient to heat solder on the shield pad and to prevent thermally stressing the PCB during the dressing process. The solder is melted, such as by a heated tip of a desoldering tool, and the melted solder is vacuumed while the tip automatically traverses the pattern of the shield pad, until all or a threshold amount of the melted solder has been removed from the shield pad. After the PCB has been reworked, solder paste is automatically disposed on the RF-shield pad, the RF shield is temporarily mounted on the RF-shield pad, and the PCB is processed in a reflow oven, thereby securely attaching the RF shield to the PCB.
US09180538B2	Brazing process, braze assembly, and brazed article A brazing process, a braze assembly, and a brazed article are disclosed. The brazing process includes applying a braze material to an article within a vacuum chamber while the vacuum chamber is substantially evacuated. The braze assembly is capable of applying a braze material to an article within a vacuum chamber while the vacuum chamber is substantially evacuated. The brazed article is devoid of re-formed oxides.
US09180533B2	Round cutting insert with serrated topography A cutting insert with a serrated topography includes a top surface terminating in a circular cutting edge, a bottom surface and a frusto-conical sidewall interconnecting the top surface and the bottom surface, and a plurality of serrations on the top surface uniformly disposed around the circular cutting edge and extending radially inward from the cutting edge in such a way that a bisector through each serration passes through a central axis of the cutting insert. The plurality of serrations are positioned in a cutting tool in such a way so as to reduce regenerative chatter during a cutting operation. A method of reducing generative chatter by positioning the cutting inserts in a particular fashion in a cutting tool is also disclosed.
US09180521B2	Method for producing granular metallic iron The present invention provides a method for producing a granular metallic iron in which an adhesion inhibitor leveler, an agglomerate leveler, a discharger, and the physical state of materials present on the hearth are optimized to thereby enable agglomerate to be spread in a single layer. The agglomerate hence is evenly heat-treated to enable high-quality granular metallic iron to be produced in satisfactory yield.The present invention relates to a method for producing a granular metallic iron, which comprises leveling an adhesion inhibitor fed to the hearth of a moving-bed type hearth reducing melting furnace, feeding an agglomerate including an iron oxide-containing material and a carbonaceous reducing agent onto the adhesion inhibitor, leveling the agglomerate fed onto the adhesion inhibitor, subsequently heating the agglomerate to reduce and melt the iron oxide contained in the agglomerate to produce a granular metallic iron, and discharging the produced granular metallic iron using a screw type discharger, wherein the adhesion inhibitor fed to the hearth is evenly leveled using a screw type adhesion inhibitor leveler so that the leveled adhesion inhibitor has a flatness of 40% or less of an average particle diameter of the agglomerate, and the agglomerate fed onto the adhesion inhibitor is evenly laid using a screw type agglomerate leveler so that the agglomerate forms a single layer.
US09180518B2	Powder metal die filling The disclosed method provides a way to fabricate a powder metal compact implementing a top fill through one or more of the upper tool members. The top fill step allows for pre-compaction chamber, defined at least in part by at least one of the upper tool members, to be filled with a powder metal after the upper tool member is initially lowered, but before compaction of the powder metal. The manner in which the pre-compaction chamber is filled allows for the formation of complex geometries in powder metal compacts that are not obtainable using conventional lower tool powder transfer motions and further minimizes or avoids unacceptable variations in powder fill to final part ratios across the powder metal compact.
US09180506B2	Manufacturing methods and apparatus for targeted cooling in hot metal rolling A rolling mill apparatus and methods of hot rolling with targeted cooling. In one aspect, a mill having multiple roller stacks includes a cooling system that directs the bulk coolant flow to a heat exchanger having first and second heat exchangers in parallel. The first heat exchanger is adapted to cool the heated coolant to a first temperature for use in a first coolant stream discharged through a first set of nozzles during rolling, while the second heat exchanger is adapted to cool heated coolant to a lower temperature for use in a second coolant stream at a second temperature lower than the first for discharge through a second set of nozzles downstream to facilitate rolling or coiling of the rolled metal.
US09180504B2	Device for influencing the temperature distribution over a width The invention pertains to a device for influencing the temperature distribution over the width of a slab or a strip, particularly in hot strip rolling mill, wherein at least one cooling device is provided that features nozzles for applying a cooling medium, wherein the nozzles are arranged and/or actuated in such a way that the cooling medium is applied, in particular, at positions at which an elevated temperature is determined. The invention furthermore pertains to a device for influencing the state of the surface evenness of the strip by means of strip cooling, wherein the cooling device is controlled in dependence on the state of surface evenness of the strip in such a way that the surface unevenness is reduced or eliminated. In addition, this invention makes it possible to purposefully influence the strip contour, wherein the strip or the slab is cooled widthwise in such a way that the strip contour approximates a desired target contour more closely.
US09180490B2	Ultrasound transducer and method for manufacturing an ultrasound transducer An ultrasound transducer includes an array of acoustic elements, an integrated circuit, and an interposer. The interposer includes conductive elements for electrically connecting the acoustic elements to the integrated circuit. The conductive elements are electrically connected to the integrated circuit. Solder is engaged between the acoustic elements and the conductive elements of the interposer such that the conductive elements of the interposer are electrically connected to the acoustic elements through the solder.
US09180489B2	Electromechanical transducer When the initial displacement greatly varies among cells in an element, there is a need to reduce a bias voltage to be applied between electrodes. This decreases the sensitivity. An electromechanical transducer of the present invention includes an element having a plurality of cells. Each of the cells includes a first electrode and a second electrode that are provided with a cavity being disposed therebetween. A groove is provided at a position at a predetermined distance from the cavity of the cell on the outermost periphery of the element.
US09180480B1	Application of substance to protrusion A fluid applicator for applying a fluid to a surface protrusion. In one embodiment, an anticorrosion substance is applied to a structural fastener.
US09180474B2	Dispensing mechanism and a dispenser A dispensing mechanism for a liquid container is arranged in liquid communication with an outlet mechanism. The dispensing mechanism is adapted to translate a user force applied to a user operated portion into a transfer force applied from a user lever to an actuation part. A relationship between a first length and a second length forms a lever ratio. The first length extends from a first pivot axis to a user operated portion and the second length extends from the first pivot axis to a point of action of the transfer force on the actuation part. The lever ratio is adapted to increase from a non-actuated position over at least the first 50% of a dispensing stroke of the actuation part such that the transfer force increases over the at least first 50% of the dispensing stroke when a constant force is applied to the user operated portion.
US09180464B2	Sorting apparatus for arthropods and method of use thereof There is provided an apparatus for sorting arthropod larvae and pupae and in particular, although not necessarily, to sorting arthropod pupae on the basis of size, especially in mosquitoes. The apparatus can contain two parallel bars pivotally mounted in a frame such that the distance between the bars is adjustable. Insect larvae and pupae may be inserted into a chamber with one side formed by the grid of bars and inserted into water to separate the different forms.
US09180461B2	Condensation-reducing incubation cover A cover for covering an array of sample tubes during an incubation process. The cover has an upper panel and protrusions extending downward from the upper panel. Each protrusion has an upper seal and a lower seal. The upper seal includes a first conical section that tapers from a first diameter that is larger than the inside diameter of a corresponding sample tube to a second diameter that is smaller than the inside diameter of the corresponding sample tube. The lower seal includes a cylindrical section extending downward from the bottom of the first conical section. The cylindrical section has a diameter selected to create a capillary seal, in the presence of a liquid, between the cylindrical section and an adjacent portion of an inner wall of the corresponding sample tube.
US09180452B2	Microfluidic resistance network and microfluidic device A microfluidic resistance network (20) is disclosed that comprises a first microfluidic channel (112) in fluidic communication with a first fluid inlet (22); and a second microfluidic channel (114) in fluidic communication with a second fluid inlet (24); wherein the microfluidic resistance network (20) further comprises a cross-shaped dilution stage (100) having the first microfluidic channel (112) as a first dilution stage inlet and the second microfluidic channel (114) as a second dilution stage inlet, the dilution stage further comprising a first microfluidic outlet channel (122) for combining a portion of a first fluid from the first microfluidic channel with a second fluid from the second microfluidic channel (114) and a second microfluidic outlet channel (124) for receiving the remainder of first fluid. A microfluidic device (200) comprising such a microfluidic resistance network (20) is also disclosed.
US09180449B2	Mobile water analysis An embodiment provides a cuvette apparatus including: a lid and a body, the body including a fluid channel disposed therein; and the lid including at least one opening aligned with a portion of the fluid channel, thereby providing access to the fluid channel in the body. Other aspects are described and claimed.
US09180447B2	Pipetting device having a linear motor The invention relates to a pipetting device, comprising at least two pipetting channels (50, 50′), which extend along a channel axis (K) and which each can be adjusted along the channel axis (K), wherein the pipetting device (10) has a displacement drive, by means of which each pipetting channel (50, 50′) can be displaced independently of the other pipetting channel (50, 50′) along a displacement axis (V) orthogonal to the channel axis (K) regardless of an adjustment along the channel axis (K), wherein the displacement drive comprises a linear motor, the stator of which has at least two magnet arrangements (32, 42), which comprise a row of magnets (36) on a magnet carrier (34, 44), said magnets being consecutive along the displacement axis (V) and being arranged differently with regard to the polarity (P1, P2) thereof, and the armature of which (at 38, at 38′); has at least one conductor loop arrangement (38), which comprises at least one set of three conductor loops (72, 74, 76) that are consecutive along the displacement axis (V), each of which conductor loops is or can be associated with a different phase of a three-phase supply, wherein each pipetting channel (50, 50′) has at least one conductor loop arrangement (38, 38′), wherein the armatures (at 38, at 38′) of two pipetting channels (50, 50′) directly adjacent along the displacement axis (V) are associated with different magnet arrangements (32, 42) and interact therewith.
US09180445B2	Vacuum processing apparatus having a means for preventing counter-pressure between chambers Disclosed is a vacuum processing apparatus having a means for preventing counter-pressure between adjacent chambers, which comprises a process chamber, a transfer chamber, and a load lock chamber, comprising: a cassette chamber installed between the chambers, having slits formed at both opposite side surfaces to serve as a passage of a substrate; a vent detection part configured to detect a vent process in which a vent gas is injected into each chamber; a cassette chamber constant pressure inducing part comprising first and second bypass lines configured to connect each chamber and the cassette chamber and first and second intermittent valves respectively installed at the first and second bypass lines to control a gas flow through each bypass line; and a control part configured to determine whether the vent process or a vacuum process is performed in each chamber through a signal detected from the vent detection part.
US09180439B2	Process for obtaining modified molecular sieves The invention covers a process for obtaining an alkaline earth or rare earth metal-P-modified molecular sieve (M-P-modified molecular sieve) comprising the following steps: a). selecting at least one molecular sieve selected from one of: a P-modified molecular sieve which contains at least 0.3 wt % of P obtained by dealuminating a molecular sieve in a steaming step, followed by a leaching step using an acid solution containing a source of P a molecular sieve which is modified with P during step b) by dealuminating the molecular sieve in a steaming step, followed by a leaching step using an acid solution containing a source of P thereby introducing at least 0.3 wt % of P b). contacting said molecular sieve with an alkaline earth or rare earth metal-containing compound (M-containing compound) to introduce at least 0.05 wt % of the alkaline earth or rare earth metal to the molecular sieve. The invention also covers a catalyst composite comprising: a). at least 10 wt % of a M-P-modified molecular sieve comprising at least 0.05% by weight of an alkaline earth or rare earth metal (M) and at least 0.3 wt % of P, b). optionally metal phosphate, c). optionally matrix material, and d). optionally binder. The catalyst of the invention can also be used in a process for making an olefin product from an oxygen-containing, halogenide-containing or sulphur-containing organic feedstock wherein said oxygen-containing, halogenide-containing or sulphur-containing organic feedstock is contacted in the XTO reactor with the catalyst composite according to the invention under conditions effective to convert the oxygen-containing, halogenide-containing or sulphur-containing organic feedstock to olefin products (the XTO reactor effluent). The catalyst composite of the invention can also be used in addition or alternatively in an OCP process.
US09180433B2	Catalysts for 2-chloro-1,1,1,2-tetrafluoropropane dehydrochlorination The present invention relates to a provides a catalyst comprising (a) a solid support comprising an alkaline earth metal oxide, fluoride, or oxyfluoride, and (b) at least one elemental metal disposed on or within said support, preferably wherein said elemental metal is present in an amount from about 0.01 to about 10 weight percent based upon the total weight of the metal and support. It also relates to the use of the catalyst for the dehydrochlorination of a hydrochlorofluorocarbon.
US09180430B2	Catalytic composition for production of olefins with decreased oxygenate byproducts Catalytic composition for production of olefins and methods of using same to decrease production of oxygenate byproducts. The catalytic composition includes an admixture of an alumina dehydration catalyst and at least one additional metal oxide.
US09180426B2	Scrubber for methanol production system An apparatus and method of producing methanol is provided that reacts a methane-containing gas and an oxygen-containing gas in a reactor to provide a product stream comprising methanol and formaldehyde. The product stream is scrubbed using a process component absorbent. After scrubbing the product stream, unprocessed methane gas is mixed with the methane-containing gas for reprocessing through the reactor while methanol and formaldehyde is sent to a rectification process for removal.
US09180424B2	Infrared assisted hydrogen generation This invention relates to a system and a method for achieving efficient production of hydrogen in a hydrogen generator, comprising at least a hydrogen generator, a liquid in said hydrogen generator to produce hydrogen from, and a ceramic that emits infrared at wavelengths covering at least a portion of 3-20 micrometers range so that said liquid can be excited with infrared at said wavelengths before or during the production of hydrogen for improved hydrogen production efficiency. The use of infrared-excited electrolyte solution in a hydrogen generator helps reduce the energy consumption, lower operating voltage, and thus reduce the cost of the production of hydrogen.
US09180416B2	System for use in bone cement preparation and delivery A system for use in combining two part preparations, such as bone cement, can include a chamber for intermixing liquid and powder components, a container, a vacuum channel, and a filter. The mixing chamber can be configured to hold a non-liquid, polymer powder component of a bone cement. The container can be configured to hold a liquid component of the bone cement. The vacuum channel can direct a partial vacuum to draw the liquid component from the container into the non-liquid component in the mixing chamber to intermix the components and to thereby provide a settable bone cement.
US09180409B2	Method for monitoring the pollutant coversion capacity in an exhaust gas after-treatment system A method for monitoring a pollutant conversion capacity of a catalytically coated, oxidizing exhaust gas after-treatment component in an exhaust gas system of an internal combustion engine, wherein a capacity of the catalytic coating of the exhaust gas after-treatment component for oxidizing NO to NO2 is ascertained from the degree of efficiency of a downstream SCR catalytic converter, characterized in that operating conditions for said exhaust gas after-treatment component are set such that the effects on the SCR catalytic converter are maximized.
US09180399B2	Air filter arrangement An air cleaner arrangement is shown. The air cleaner arrangement includes a serviceable filter cartridge comprising strips of media arranged in a stacked configuration. The strips of media each comprise a corrugated sheet secured to a facing sheet. A preferred filter cartridge positioned within the air cleaner arrangement, is depicted.
US09180396B2	Air cleaner An air cleaner includes a filter element, which includes a sheet-like filter material having pleats, a housing accommodating the filter element, and an inlet and an outlet, which are provided on the wall of the housing. The wall of the housing includes a first wall portion and a second wall portion, which face each other and are each arranged on one of the ends of the filter element in the direction in which ridges of the pleats extend. A guide piece, which extends along the ridges, is provided in the housing between the inlet and the filter element. The guide piece forms a clearance between the guide piece and the second wall portion, and guides the air that has passed through the clearance toward the first wall portion.
US09180395B2	Porous thin films Compositions of porous thin films and methods of making are provided. The methods involve self-assembly of a cyclic peptide in the presence of a block copolymer.
US09180393B2	Liquid filtration media A liquid filter with a composite medium that has a nanoweb adjacent to and optionally bonded to a microporous membrane. The membrane is characterized by an LRV value of 3.7 at a rated particle size, and the nanoweb has a fractional filtration efficiency of greater than 0.1 at the rated particle size of the membrane. The nanoweb also has a thickness efficiency ratio of greater than 0.0002 at that efficiency. The nanoweb acts to provide depth filtration to the membrane, prefilters particles and extends the lifetime of the membrane.
US09180390B2	Filter cartridge for liquid filtration; assembly; and, methods A liquid filter cartridge is provided. Preferred seal arrangements are provided, to provide for preferred axial load conditions, with respect to one or more of the end caps of the cartridge. Some cartridge configurations provided include no core structure or outer liner structure therein, to support axial load. Assemblies using the cartridge, and methods of assembly and use, are provided. The liquid filter cartridge can be a serviceable cartridge, or it can be retained permanently in a housing.
US09180388B2	Filter device for fluids A filter device for fluids, in particular for low viscosity fluids such as water, includes a filter housing (1) in which element holders (31) are provided for a plurality of filter elements (21). Filter medium (35) of each filter element in the filter housing (1) separates an unfiltered side (5) from a clean side (7). The filter housing (1) can be opened for inserting and removing the filter elements (21). A carrier in the form of a basket (19) is provided for the filter elements (21). The basket can be inserted into and removed from the filter housing (1). The filter elements (21) can be releasably secured at the basket.
US09180377B2	System, program, and method for generating image of virtual space A computer program according to an embodiment of the present invention comprises: a grouping module configured to group the plurality of objects into a plurality of groups; a reference point determination module configured to determine a reference point and a group fixation point in the virtual space for each of the plurality of groups; a viewpoint control module configured to control positions of the viewpoint and the fixation point in the virtual space; and a display control module configured to display, on the display device, the view of the virtual space as viewed from the viewpoint toward the fixation point. While events are generated in the particular group among the plurality of groups, the viewpoint control module according to an embodiment of the present invention fixes the viewpoint at the reference point of the particular group and the fixation point at a group fixation point of the particular group.
US09180374B1	Method and apparatus for playing computer-based video games on television Techniques for providing a hybrid platform for video games are disclosed. To enjoy the video and audio quality a TV could provide, all game actions with a video game are provided via a TV. However, the video game itself is running on a generic personal computer (PC). In one embodiment, a device is provided to receive various game actions by a game player with the video game. The game hub provides an (wired or wireless) interface for transferring signals representing the game actions to the PC, in return the PC provides digital streams to the TV for display.
US09180369B2	Method and system supporting audited reporting of advertising impressions from video games A variety of processes for certifying the reporting of advertising impressions provided via video games are described. These certification processes optionally take advantage of automated techniques for verifying that when advertising data is provided a corresponding advertisement is provided within the video game. In addition, as software patches are often provided for video games, a recommended process for certifying patched software is also described. Reporting data associated with advertising impressions provided from uncertified video games is considered suspect and optionally discarded.
US09180367B2	Operating device for game machine An operating device used in a game machine for playing a television game includes a main body and first and second finger-manipulatable operating units positioned symmetrically on the main body. The operating device may include first and second grips projecting at spaced positions from the main body, with the first and second operating units being positioned adjacent the first and second grips. The operating device may further include vibration-imparting units for imparting vibrations to the user's hands.
US09180359B2	Rotatable binding system A rotatable snowboard binding system allows the front binding to rotate from the riding mode to the skating mode freely, so that a rider can skate and rotate back to the riding mode. When in the skating mode, a fin member protrudes beneath the bottom of the snowboard. This acts on the snow to maintain the rider's direction of travel. The system allows both goofy foot and regular foot riders to safely and easily negotiate lifts and lift lines, and traverse flats by allowing the front binding to rotate between 0° (riding) and 90° (skating) positions. While in the riding mode, bindings and board will function as normal. When the system is utilized in the skating mode, the front binding rotates, allowing the rider to operate the snowboard much like a skateboard. In this rotated position, the fin member protrudes from the bottom of the board.
US09180358B2	Snow glide board The invention relates to a snow glide board, especially a ski, having a glide board body with one forward and one rear glide board body end and with a middle glide board section forming a binding section for fastening at least one binding and/or binding plate. The glide board body being designed at least in a partial section on its top side facing away from one glide surface three-dimensionally with a raised section extending in a first axis direction (X axis) corresponding to a glide board longitudinal direction, the raised section is adjoined in a second axis direction (Y axis) toward the longitudinal side of the glide board body by lateral sections, which in a third axis direction (Z axis) perpendicular to the first and second axis direction (X axis, Y axis) and perpendicular to the glide surface have a reduced thickness, the glide board body width in the second axis direction (Y axis) being defined by the sum of the widths of the raised section and the lateral sections.
US09180356B2	Batter's eye apparatus and system A batter's eye or backdrop apparatus and system, and to a free-standing deployable batter's eye apparatus and system, including a panel which may be raised, lowered and/or removed, as desired. The apparatus and system are easy to install and maintain, designed to tolerate design wind loads by changing orientation, shape and/or area presented to winds in response to the winds and/or wind pressures. The batter's eye apparatus is flexible and allows for movement in instantaneous wind modes, thereby reducing the complexity and cost of a support structure for the batter's eye and the batter's eye system. The batter's eye also includes a panel, screen or sheet that may be raised, and lowered closer to the ground to provide further protection against damage due to winds and/or weather.
US09180355B1	System and method to pitch balls with fine adjustment A system and method to pitch balls with a fine adjustment subsystem. The system and method allow an operator to make fine adjustments to the horizontal trajectory of a ball as it passes in front of the hitter. The system includes a throwing head with at least one wheel powered by a motor and a control panel with an adjustment for each motor so that speed and spin imparted to the ball can be changed. This invention further includes a method for pitching practice balls wherein the balls are delivered to a person in need of hitting practice. The fine adjustment subsystem permits an operator to quickly and easily change the horizontal positioning of the balls that are thrown to vary the pitches as a batter practices.
US09180350B2	Pace of play monitoring system The monitoring system employs a sensor to detect the replacement or removal and replacement of the flagstick in a golf hole liner. The sensor may be incorporated into the flagstick, the hole liner or any combination of the two. A central receiver remote from the sensors receives the two signals from respective sensor and has a timing device for recording the time of arrival of each signal from each sensor.
US09180349B1	Golf club head with adjustable center of gravity A golf club head comprising a plurality of center of gravity adjustment assemblies is disclosed herein. In some embodiments, the golf club head comprises a plurality of weight ports and a vertical center of gravity adjustment assembly. In other embodiments, the golf club head comprises two vertical center of gravity adjustment assemblies and one horizontal center of gravity adjustment assembly that allows weight to be shifted in a direction perpendicular to a face of the golf club head. In some embodiments, the horizontal center of gravity adjustment assembly may include a slidable weight, while in others it may include a flippable weight cartridge.
US09180346B2	Golf balls having foam center containing clay particulate Multi-piece golf balls having a solid core made of a foamed composition and a cover are provided. Preferably, the core is dual-layered having has a foam inner core (center) and surrounding thermoset or thermoplastic outer core layer. Preferably, a polyurethane foam composition containing mineral filler particulate, for example, nanoclay particles, is used to form the foam center. The surrounding outer core layer may be made from non-foamed or foamed compositions. For example, polybutadiene rubber or highly neutralized olefin acid copolymers may be used in the outer core layer. The core layers have different hardness gradients and specific gravity values.
US09180344B2	Multi-arm dimple and dimple patterns including same A golf ball dimple having a plurality of arms wherein each arm includes a leading edge, a trailing edge, side walls, and a sloped floor. The dimples of the invention may be included in a dimple pattern that may also include other types of dimples.
US09180342B2	Swimming goggles Swimming goggles include left and right frame bodies installed with lenses, a connecting element, and protective pads and head strap bases. The left and right frame bodies each has inner and outer peripheral faces. The protective pads each has a connecting portion having a connecting face and an abutting face. Lip portions are respectively formed along the inner peripheral faces of the left and right frame bodies. The connecting faces integrally encompass the lip portions. The abutting faces are inclined with respect to face portions corresponding to an area above the eye socket and adjacent to an eyebrow, a side portion of a nose bridge adjacent to lacrimal gland at an inner side portion of the eye socket, an area adjacent to an under-eye bag below the eye socket, and an outer eye corner with respect to an outer side portion of the eye socket adjacent to a temple.
US09180340B2	Respiratory training assembly A respiratory training assembly has a main body, an expiratory training device mounted in the main body and a handle formed on the main body. The main body has a volume barrel, an inspiratory training device, an air channel and an output-input entrance. The inspiratory training device is mounted movably in the volume barrel and has a floating element. The air channel is formed on the main body, communicates with the volume barrel, and has a check valve. The output-input entrance is formed in the main body and communicates with the air channel. In use, the inspiratory flow path and the expiratory flow path of the respiratory training assembly are separated to prevent pollution from the patient's saliva. Additionally, the expiratory training device can be adjusted according to the patient's requirement to improve the training result.
US09180339B2	Method of providing resistance for use with a resistance training device A method of using a resistance training device including mounting a mounting device onto a game table, wherein a placement of the mounting device onto the game table corresponds to an opening on a sidewall of the game table, and utilizing a resistance article with a game table rod that extends into a game space of the game table, the resistance article coacting with the game table rod to gradually increase a resistance during rotation of game table rod is provided.
US09180335B1	Exercise wheel An exercise wheel includes two wheel assemblies rotatably mounted to two ends of an axle. Each wheel assembly is rotatable about a longitudinal axis. A plurality of first grooves and a plurality of second grooves are defined in an outer periphery of each wheel assembly. Each second groove is located between two adjacent first grooves. A first roller is rotatably mounted in each first groove of each wheel assembly. Each first roller is rotatable relative to a corresponding wheel assembly about a first rotating axis. A second roller is rotatably mounted in each second groove of each wheel assembly. Each second roller is rotatable relative to a corresponding wheel assembly about a second rotating axis. The second rotating axis of each second roller is parallel to and spaced from the longitudinal axis and is at a non-parallel angle to the first rotating axis of an adjacent first roller.
US09180334B2	Exercise device and method An exercise device of the present invention includes a beam; rods affixed and extending from ends of the beam; wheels rotatably mounted on the rods; handles positioned on outer ends of the rods; and a body-part engagement device for engaging a user's hands, feet, or knees with the device. Multiple exercises that exercise various muscle groups of the human body may be performed with the exercise device.
US09180327B2	Compositions and methods for remediation of chlorinated polyaromatic compounds The present invention relates to compositions and methods that are effective in the remediation of contaminants found in natural sources such as groundwater, surface water, soil and manufactured products. The disclosed compositions and methods provide a method for remediating chlorinated polyaromatic compounds by treating them under pressure and heat with concentrated acids and chloride salts. After decomposition has occurred, the resulting acid that is produced is made dermal and non-corrosive. The compositions and methods claimed herein make the product safe to be in contact with humans and animal tissue without causing injury.
US09180314B2	Apparatus and methods for the destruction of adipose tissue Methods and apparatus are described for modifying unwanted tissue for cosmetic reasons. The methods provide a non-invasive manner to perform body contouring by destroying adipose tissue while simultaneously causing collagen contraction in a single procedure so that as destroyed tissue is removed from a treatment volume, the volume shrinks gradually to maintain the skin tone of the treatment area. The procedure may involve multiple treatments to the same treatment area or location.
US09180309B2	Retina prosthesis This disclosure provides a retinal prosthetic method and device that mimics the responses of the retina to a broad range of stimuli, including natural stimuli. Ganglion cell firing patterns are generated in response to a stimulus using a set of encoders, interfaces, and transducers, where each transducer targets a single cell or a small number of cells. The conversion occurs on the same time scale as that carried out by the normal retina. In addition, aspects of the invention may be used with robotic or other mechanical devices, where processing of visual information is required. The encoders may be adjusted over time with aging or the progression of a disease.
US09180302B2	Touch screen finger position indicator for a spinal cord stimulation programming device A method of visualizing a user interaction with a clinician programmer is disclosed. A user engagement with respect to a screen of the clinician programmer is detected via one or more sensors associated with the screen of the clinician programmer. One or more locations on the screen of the clinician programmer corresponding to the user engagement is determined. An external monitor is communicatively coupled to the clinician programmer. The external monitor displays one or more cursors that graphically represent the one or more locations on the screen of the clinician programmer corresponding to the user engagement, respectively.
US09180286B2	Iontophoretic electrode An electrode for an iontophoretic drug delivery system includes a retainer having a malleable characteristic. The retainer and a conductor are connected to a platform. The conductor and a dose controller are electrically coupled to the iontophoretic drug delivery system. A drug delivery matrix is operably connected to the platform and proximate the conductor wherein the conductor, the drug delivery matrix, and the dose controller cooperate to deliver a drug to a user when the electrode is affixed to the user and operably connected to the iontophoretic drug delivery system.
US09180285B2	Implantable wireless accoustic stimulators with high energy conversion efficiencies Receiver-stimulator with folded or rolled up assembly of piezoelectric components, causing the receiver-stimulator to operate with a high degree of isotropy are disclosed. The receiver-stimulator comprises piezoelectric components, rectifier circuitry, and at least two stimulation electrodes. Isotropy allows the receiver-stimulator to be implanted with less concern regarding the orientation relative the transmitted acoustic field from an acoustic energy source.
US09180284B2	Device and method for measuring and treating the rigidity and erection of a penis and arterial-venous flows The invention relates to a method for measuring the strength of the ischiocavernous muscles of a patient, the method being performed during an erection of the penis and providing a measuring and/or rehabilitation device configured to determine the strength of the ischiocavernous muscles and comprising at least one sensor, placing the sensor around the penis of the patient, measuring the variation of the intracavernous pressure, contracting the ischiocavernous muscles, and checking that the contraction causes elevation in intracarvernous pressure so as to ensure that the accurate muscles are contracted, where if the intracavernous pressure is elevated, ischiocavernous muscles are contracted during the contraction. The invention relates also to a method for treating and rehabilitating the ischiocavernous muscles comprising a step of implementing the method for measuring the strength of the ischiocavernous muscles and a step of voluntarily contracting the ischiocavernous muscles.
US09180283B2	System for transporting fluid across or into a biological barrier, device and capsule as part of the system The invention relates to a system (1) for transporting fluid across or into a biological barrier, the system comprises a device (10) having a housing with at least one abutment surface for abutting the biological barrier. A capsule is to be received in the housing comprising a substrate (21) from which a plurality of hollow micro needles (22) project and a fluid reservoir (26) which can be brought into fluid communication with the micro needles. According to the invention the capsule comprises a fluid dose and the device comprises a ram (12) arranged movably in the housing for pushing the capsule from a first position to a second position. The ram subsequently proceeds to a third ram position thereby deforming the reservoir for raising the pressure inside the reservoir such that the fluid dose will be transported through the hollow micro needles across or into the biological barrier.
US09180249B2	Method and device The invention relates to a method and device for treating or preventing or suppressing a disease or condition in a non-human animal. The method comprises the steps of providing a single delivery device containing two components for sequential delivery from the delivery device. A first component is delivered from the single delivery device into a teat canal of a non-human animal and subsequently the second component is delivered from the single delivery device into the teat canal. The components are delivered without substantial mixing of the components.
US09180244B2	Wearable automatic injection device for controlled delivery of therapeutic agents Exemplary embodiments provide wearable automatic injection devices for subcutaneously injecting a therapeutic agent into a patient's body at controlled rates, for example, in a single bolus. Exemplary embodiments provide methods for assembling wearable automatic injection devices for subcutaneously injecting a therapeutic agent into a patient's body at controlled rates. Exemplary embodiments provide methods for using wearable automatic injection devices for subcutaneously injecting a therapeutic agent into a patient's body at controlled rates.
US09180235B2	Heart help pump, system and method The present invention relates to a heart pump apparatus comprising a turbine pump for assisting the heart of a human patient. The invention is based on the realization that a turbine without a center axis would improve the capacity of the heart help pump apparatus. The present invention also relates to a turbine pump system for assisting the heart of a human patient. The present invention also relates to operation methods and methods for surgically placing a rotating body of a turbine pump and a stator of a turbine pump in a patient.
US09180227B2	Coating layers for medical devices and method of making the same Methods are disclosed for controlling the morphology and the release-rate of active agent from coating layers for medical devices comprising a polymer matrix and one or more active agents. The methods comprise fixing the morphology or phase distribution of the active agent prior to removing solvent from the coating composition. The coating layers can be used for controlled the delivery of an active agent or a combination of active agents.
US09180226B1	Compositions and devices incorporating water-insoluble therapeutic agents and methods of the use thereof Various aspects of the present invention provide compositions and implantable devices including a water-insoluble therapeutic agent solubilized in a matrix of a gallate-containing compound. Other aspects provide methods of manufacturing and using such compositions and devices.
US09180222B2	Polymeric tissue sealant Methods for making biomaterials for use as a tissue sealant, kits containing precursors for forming the biomaterials, and the resulting biomaterials are described herein. The biomaterials are formed from a composition comprising at least a first and a second precursor molecule, wherein: i) the first precursor molecule is a poly(ethylene glycol) based polymer having x nucleophilic groups selected from the group consisting of thiol or amino groups, wherein x is greater than or equal to 2 ii) the second precursor molecule is of the general formula: A-[(C3H6O)n—(C2H4O)m—B]i wherein m and n are integers from 1 to 200 i is greater than 2 A is a branch point B is a conjugated unsaturated group The precursors are selected based on the desired properties of the biomaterial. Optionally, the biomaterials contain additives, such as thixotropic agents, radiopaque agents, or bioactive agents. In the preferred embodiment, the biomaterials are used to reduce, inhibit, or contain loss of a biological fluid or gas in a patient.
US09180206B2	Pharmaceutical preparation and manufacturing method thereof This invention provides a pharmaceutical preparation for DDS containing a pharmaceutical agent fixed by bonding to a monomolecular layer that is covalently bonded to a magnetic particle surface, (a) by reacting an alkoxysilane compound with the magnetic microparticle surface by dispersing a magnetic microparticle in a liquid mixture including an epoxy-containing alkoxysilane compound, a silanol condensation catalyst, and a non-aqueous organic solvent; (b) by washing the microparticle surface with an organic solvent to remove remaining surplus alkoxysilane compound for producing an epoxy-containing monomolecular layer that is covalently bonded to the microparticle surface; and (c) by fixing an imino-containing pharmaceutical agent such as a protein, amino acid, enzyme, antibody, antibiotic, antimicrobial, or contrast medium by reaction with the epoxy group.
US09180197B2	Sustained delivery formulations of risperidone compounds The present invention relates to a risperidone sustained release delivery system for treatment of medical conditions relating delusional psychosis, schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, psychotic depression, obsessive-compulsion disorder, Tourette syndrome, and autistic spectrum disorders. The sustained release delivery system includes a flowable composition containing risperidone, a metabolite, or a prodrug thereof and an implant containing risperidone, a metabolite, or a prodrug thereof. The flowable composition may be injected into tissue whereupon it coagulates to become the solid or gel, monolithic implant. The flowable composition includes a biodegradable, thermoplastic polymer, an organic liquid, and risperidone, a metabolite, or a prodrug thereof.
US09180195B2	Controlled release gels Described are gel-based delivery systems for a compound of interest, like a drug or cosmetic agent. Described is a gel comprising at least one non-polymeric gelator and at least one polymer, wherein the polymer content of the gel is more than 5 weight percent (wt %), preferably at least 10 wt %, and more preferably at least 20 wt %. Also provided are a method for preparing the gel and a method of using the gel in a controlled delivery system, for example, a pH-sensitive drug delivery system.
US09180192B2	mGluR4 allosteric potentiators, compositions, and methods of treating neurological dysfunction Pyrazole compounds useful as allosteric potentiators/positive allosteric modulators of the metabotropic glutamate receptor subtype 4 (mGluR4); synthetic methods for making the compounds; pharmaceutical compositions comprising the compounds; and methods of using the compounds, for example, in treating neurological and psychiatric disorders or other disease state associated with glutamate dysfunction.
US09180190B2	Methods and compositions for wound treatment The present disclosure relates to methods for identifying proteins or peptide motifs of intracellular, extracellular, or extracellular matrix proteins specifically exposed in wound sites, as well as compositions for treating wounds, and methods for their use.
US09180189B2	Treating a mammal with a formulation comprising an antibody which binds IgE A method of treating a mammal with a formulation comprising an antibody which binds IgE as described.
US09180186B2	Biomarkers of immunomodulatory effects in humans treated with anti-CD200 antibodies The present disclosure relates to anti-CD200 antibodies (e.g., variant anti-CD200 antibodies having decreased or no effector function) and to biomarkers for use in a variety of diagnostic and therapeutic methods, e.g., determining whether a human has been administered one or more of the antibodies at a dose sufficient to induce a desired immunomodulatory effect in the human and/or selecting an appropriate dosing schedule for a patient.
US09180172B2	Treatment of Peyronies disease The invention relates to systems and therapeutic methods to reduce plaque causing Peyronie's disease. One approach uses high pressure injection of collagenase-containing composition into a penile plaque. Plaque disruption is enhanced by the mechanical force of the high pressure, followed by the enzymatic action of collagenase. Another approach uses collagenase as a pretreatment, followed by addition of adipose-derived stem cells ADSCs. The initial collagenase injection breaks down collagen (often more type III than type I in Peyronie's) to provide short term benefit. The longer-term benefit is provided by introduction of ADSCs to the plaque, which can produce cytokines and other signals for revascularization and restoration of normal penile tissue. The resulting combination advantageously reduces the bulk of the plaque early on with ongoing reduction through the revascularization of the tissue. In addition, the treatment provides an advantageous shift of elastin and collagen ratios.
US09180171B2	Method of regulating fertilizing ability using cyclic ADP-ribose and CD38 The present invention relates to a pharmaceutical composition for promoting fertilization comprising cyclic ADP-ribose or its derivative, CD38 and to a method of promoting fertilization by promoting the synthesis of cyclic ADP-ribose to increase sperm motility. Also, the present invention relates to a pharmaceutical composition for contraception and a method for inhibiting fertilization, which can inhibit the expression or function of cyclic ADP-ribose to reduce sperm motility, thereby inhibiting fertilization.
US09180165B2	Use of EPO receptor activation or stimulation for the improvement of the EDSS score in patients with multiple sclerosis The invention provides a method of improving the expanded disability status scale (EDSS) score achieved by mammals affected by multiple sclerosis, in which a substance effecting increased and/or prolonged activation and/or stimulation of the erythropoietin (EPO) receptor is administered to the mammal. In certain embodiments, the substance is administered in intervals which are interrupted by application-free periods of time in which said substance is not administered.
US09180162B2	Codon-optimized polynucleotide-based vaccines against human cytomegalovirus infection The invention is related to polynucleotide-based cytomegalovirus vaccines. In particular, the invention is plasmids operably encoding HCMV antigens, in which the naturally-occurring coding regions for the HCMV antigens have been modified for improved translation in human or other mammalian cells through codon optimization. HCMV antigens which are useful in the invention include, but are not limited to pp65, glycoprotein B (gB), IE1, and fragments, variants or derivatives of either of these antigens. In certain embodiments, sequences have been deleted, e.g., the Arg435-Lys438 putative kinase in pp65 and the membrane anchor and endocellular domains in gB. The invention is further directed to methods to induce an immune response to HCMV in a mammal, for example, a human, comprising delivering a plasmid encoding a codon-optimized HCMV antigen as described above. The invention is also directed to pharmaceutical compositions comprising plasmids encoding a codon-optimized HCMV antigen as described above, and further comprising adjuvants, excipients, or immune modulators.
US09180152B2	Method for treating psoriasis The invention is a method for treating psoriasis in a subject suffering from psoriasis. The method includes orally administering to the subject a pharmaceutically-effective amount of crude Dunaliella powder.
US09180151B2	Oncolytic vaccinia virus combination cancer therapy Embodiments of the invention are directed methods that include a thymidine kinase deficient vaccinia virus. The methods include evaluating a tumor for reperfusion after treatment with vaccinia virus and administering an anti-angiogenic agent if reperfusion is detected.
US09180147B2	Compositions and methods Disclosed herein are therapeutic compositions containing non-pathogenic, germination-competent bacterial spores, for the prevention, control, and treatment of gastrointestinal diseases, disorders and conditions and for general nutritional health.
US09180137B2	Preparation of bone cement compositions A method for the preparation of injectable ready-to-use paste bone cement compositions by mixing a dry inorganic bone cement powder comprising a particulate calcium sulfate hemihydrate capable of hardening in vivo by hydration of the calcium sulfate hemihydrate forming calcium sulfate dihydrate, an aqueous liquid and an additive that normally retards the setting process, said method comprising a) providing a bone cement powder comprising calcium sulfate hemihydrate, an accelerator for the hardening of the calcium sulfate hemihydrate by hydration, said accelerator being selected from the group consisting of saline and calcium sulfate dihydrate, and a powdered calcium phosphate component b) mixing the bone cement powder with the aqueous liquid for a period of time c) leaving the mixture for the time needed for allowing the hydration reaction of the calcium sulfate hemihydrate to proceed and allowing calcium sulfate dihydrate crystals to form and grow, and d) admixing the additive by means of a short-duration mixing using a minimum of energy surprisingly shortens the setting times for the cement comprising the additive that retard the setting process to the level observed in the absence of the additive and enables a complete hydration of calcium sulfate hemihydrate to calcium sulfate dihydrate, even when using additives else preventing the hardening.
US09180133B2	Method for treating uterine fibroids The invention relates to a method for treating uterine fibroids, which method comprises administering to a patient in need thereof, an effective amount of 17α-acetoxy-11β-[4-N,N-dimethylamino-phenyl)-19-norpregna-4,9-diene-3,20-dione (ulipristal) or any metabolite thereof. More particularly, the method is useful for reducing or stopping bleeding in a patient afflicted with uterine fibroids, and/or for reducing the size of uterine fibroids.
US09180130B2	Tafluprost and analogs thereof for reducing fat Provided are methods of reducing body fat in a subject, comprising locally (e.g., topically) administering one or more compounds of the Formula (I) and/or (V): or a pharmaceutically acceptable salt, hydrate, solvate, stereoisomer, polymorph, tautomer, isotopically enriched derivative, or prodrug thereof, wherein X is —OR1, —SR2, or —NR3R4, and R1, R2, R3, R4, R5, R6, R7, R7′, Z, Y, n, y, and x, are as defined herein.
US09180122B2	5- or 6-substituted 3-hydroxy-2 (1 H)-pyridinones as D-amino acid oxidase (DAAO) inhibitors in therapy of diseases such as schizophrenia, cognitive disorder and pain The present invention provides compounds of formula (I) and pharmaceutically acceptable salts thereof, wherein R1 is hydrogen or fluorine, one of A and B is R2, the other is a group —X—Y—R3. R3 represents a carbocyclic or heterocyclic ring. Further variables are as defined in the specification. Also claimed are—processes for their preparation, pharmaceutical compositions containing them and their use in therapy of diseases such as schizophrenia, cognitive disorders and pain by modulating the D-amino acid oxidase enzyme (DAAO).
US09180119B2	Pyrrole inhibitors of S-nitrosoglutathione reductase as therapeutic agents The present invention is directed to inhibitors of S-nitrosoglutathione reductase (GSNOR), pharmaceutical compositions comprising such GSNOR inhibitors, and methods of making and using the same.
US09180115B2	Cyclohexylamines The present application provides novel compounds and methods for preparing and using these compounds. These compounds are useful in treating pain, itch, overactive bladder and/or interstitial cystitis in patients by administering one or more of the compounds to a patient. The methods include administering a compound of formula (I) and a TRPV1 receptor activator. In one embodiment, the TRPV1 receptor activator is lidocaine.
US09180108B2	Baclofen formulations and methods for making same Methods for preparing sterilized baclofen solutions include adjusting the pH to below a desired pH, and steam sterilizing the solution with adjusted pH, which results in the solution having the desired pH. Such solutions may also have low concentrations of 4-CPP. Injectable baclofen solutions having greater than 2 mg/mL baclofen include between 5 mM and 25 mM of a phosphate or sulfate species. The solution has an ionic strength equivalent of about 1.5 M NaCl. The present application also provides baclofen formulations for use in treating spasticity, brain injury, cerebral palsy, spinal cord injury, cervical injury, multiple sclerosis, thoracic injury, or withdrawal symptoms.
US09180105B2	CDC7 kinase inhibitors and uses thereof The invention provides compounds, methods, pharmaceutical compositions, and kits for the treatment of proliferative disorders such as cancer. In one aspect, the methods comprise compounds that inhibit the activity of protein kinases, such as cell division cycle (Cdc) kinase. In another aspect, the methods comprise compounds that inhibit Cdc7 and/or Dbf4 activity. In another aspect, the methods comprise compounds that exhibit anti-proliferative properties useful in treating diseases such as cancer. Compounds useful for any of the methods include compounds of the Formula (A) or (B) or pharmaceutically acceptable salts thereof. Exemplary compounds of Formula (A) or (B) include granaticin A, granaticin B, dihydrogranaticin A, dihydrogranaticin B, medermycin, and actinorhodin.
US09180081B2	Compositions and methods for topical application and transdermal delivery of botulinum toxins Improved formulations for transdermal delivery of botulinum toxin are disclosed. The formulations include, for example, botulinum toxin non-covalently associated with a positively charged backbone having branching or efficiency groups. The formulations also include a partitioning agent, oligo-bridge, or polyanion bridge, and may optionally contain a viscosity modifying agent. The formulations are designed for topical application onto the skin of a patient and may be used to treat wrinkles, hyperhidrosis, and other health-related problems. Kits for administration are also described.
US09180077B2	Green tea extracts of improved bioavailability The present invention relates to a green tea formulation stabilized by natural antioxidants such as OPC together with vitamin C or vitamin C analogs. The invention also relates to the use of a mixture of OPC and ascorbic acid to increase bioavailability of green tea catechins. It also relates to a food, pharmaceutical or cosmetic composition that contains the stabilized green tea formulation.
US09180076B2	Hair colouring composition A hair coloring composition comprises an N-PEG amide of a fatty acid and an N-ethoxylated alkyl amine. Also provided are a kit comprising the hair coloring composition and an activator, and an activated hair coloring composition obtainable by mixing the hair coloring composition in a 1:1 ratio by weight with an activator comprising from 2% to 15% by weight hydrogen peroxide.
US09180072B2	Sealbio: a novel non-obturation regenerative technique of endodontic treatment This invention relates to a novel non-obturation, regenerative technique “SealBio” of endodontic treatment involving regenerative potential of stem cells and signaling molecules, locally available in the peri-radicular region of teeth, wherein they are stimulated to induce healing and deposition of a natural barrier (seal) at the root apex.
US09180050B2	Implantable intraocular pressure drain An implanted parylene tube shunt relieves intra-ocular pressure. The device is implanted with an open end in the anterior chamber of the eye, allowing excess fluid to be drained through the tube out of the eye. In one embodiment, only a first end of the tube implanted into the anterior chamber of the eye is open. Intra-ocular pressure (IOP) is then monitored, for example utilizing an implanted sensor. When IOP exceeds a critical valve, a practitioner intervenes, puncturing with a laser a thinned region of the tube lying outside the eye, thereby initiating drainage of fluid and relieving pressure. In accordance with alternative embodiments, the both ends of the tube are open, and the tube includes a one-way valve configured to permit drainage where IOP exceeds the critical value. The tube may include projecting barbs to anchor the tube in the eye without the need for sutures.
US09180044B2	Eye injection device An injection device for injecting a product into an eye, said device comprising an injection needle and a support on which the injection needle is fixed, said device being characterized in that it comprises a locating mark disposed in such a way that the latter can be placed in contact with a defined bearing region of the surface of the eye, before any contact of the injection needle with said surface, and can then be kept in contact with said bearing region during a stage of penetration of said injection needle through said surface of the eye.
US09180042B2	Method and apparatus for spinal cooling A method for exchanging heat with a patient's spinal column incident to spinal surgery or to relieve a patient for a hypoxia condition of the spine. A closed loop heat exchange catheter is percutaneously advanced into the retroperitoneal space of the patient or into the vasculature, and then heat exchange fluid is circulated through the catheter to cool the spinal column.
US09180036B2	Methods for implanting medical devices Described herein is a positioning tool having an elongate portion for carrying a medical implant. Also described is a method of positioning a medical implant using an elongate positioning tool. One form of the method includes positioning a medical implant on a distal portion of an elongate positioning tool, inserting the positioning tool with the implant thereon into a body cavity manipulating the positioning tool to position the implant into contact with tissue at an attachment location, attaching the implant to surrounding tissue at the attachment location, separating the implant from the positioning tool, and withdrawing the positioning tool from the body. In a preferred embodiment, the position of the implant is visually confirmed using an endoscope before the implant is attached to surrounding tissue. In one embodiment, the implant is a satiation device and the body cavity is the esophagus and/or stomach. In an alternative embodiment, an expansion structure on the distal end of the elongate portion expands and/or contracts the medical implant to facilitate positioning.
US09180034B1	Device for assisting weight control Devices and methods for assisting weight control where the device is inserted into the mouth of a patient between opposing rear molar teeth. The inserted devices cause an increase in resistance to chewing, which then slows eating by the person. The devices can include elastic bands, magnets, shock absorbers, combinations, thereof and sensors for detecting strength and frequency of chewing.
US09180024B2	Systems and methods for spinal surgery Disclosed herein are methods and devices for distracting adjacent vertebrae during surgical procedures for implanting spinal prostheses. In an exemplary embodiment, a distractor is disclosed that maintains the empty space between adjacent vertebrae following a discectomy, and that can removably mate with other surgical instruments, such as, for example, a filler bar, an implanting tool, or a funnel. In other embodiments of the present invention a distractor is disclosed having various features to assist in implanting a spinal prosthesis, such as, for example, an angled distal end and/or an expandable paddle. In another embodiment of the present invention, an articulating inserter is disclosed. Moreover, various implants and funnels are also disclosed herein.
US09180023B2	Instrument for use in minimally invasive surgery An instrument for use in minimally invasive hip surgery, the instrument being for use in forming and using a portal incision in a hip arthroplasty procedure to implant an acetabular implant. In particular, the instrument is useful for both alignment and insertion/impaction of an acetabular shell. Furthermore, the instrument is suitable for assuring the shell is impacted with the proper abduction and version in left or right hips.
US09180013B2	Deflection resistant acetabular cup An acetabular shell for use in hip arthroplasty. The shell includes a first wall having an outer surface, an inner surface, and a rim. The shell further includes a second wall extending from the outer surface of the first wall. The second wall has an outer surface, an inner surface, and a rim. The rim of the second wall is spaced outwardly from the rim of the first wall.
US09180010B2	Surface modified unit cell lattice structures for optimized secure freeform fabrication Aspects of the present disclosure relate generally to preparing models of three-dimensional structures. In particular, a model of a three-dimensional structure constructed of porous geometries is prepared. A component file including a porous CAD volume having a boundary is prepared. A space including the porous CAD volume is populated with unit cells. The unit cells are populated with porous geometries having a plurality of struts having nodes on each end. The space is populated with at least one elongated fixation element extending beyond the boundary to produce an interlocking feature enabling assembly or engagement with a mating structure.
US09180009B2	Droop tester apparatus and method The invention relates to a system for testing heart valve leaflets. The system includes a leaflet support assembly with a support post for receiving and supporting a leaflet to be tested, the post being disposed in a target region of the support assembly. The system also has a transmitter assembly that includes a light source and is configured and arranged to direct light from the light source onto the target region. The system further includes a receiver assembly that has an image sensor configured and arranged to sense an image of the target region and generate image information indicative of the sensed image, such as leaflet droop.
US09180006B2	Devices and a kit for improving the function of a heart valve A device for improving the function of a heart valve comprises a first loop-shaped support, which is configured to abut a first side of the heart valve, and a second loop-shaped support, which is configured to abut a second side of the heart valve opposite to said first side, whereby a portion of the valve tissue is trapped between the first and second supports. An outer boundary of the second support is greater than an outer boundary of the first support.
US09180003B2	Intravascular cuff An intravascular cuff acts as a lining between a native vessel and an intravascular prosthetic device. During deployment, the ends of the cuff curl back upon themselves and are capable of trapping native tissue, such as valve leaflet tissue, between the ends. The cuff creates a seal between the vessel and the prosthetic, thereby preventing leakage around the prosthetic. The cuff also traps any embolic material dislodged from the vessel during expansion of the prosthetic.
US09179999B2	Apparatus and method for installing a stent A method for installing a stent graft in therapeutic relation to an abdominal artery aneurysm includes the steps of advancing the stent graft over a guide wire and an introducer sheath, followed by advancing a main catheter over the guide wire and the introducer sheath. An inner catheter in the lumen of the main catheter is pulled to cause a magnet-carrying extended arm to encounter a kick plate in the main catheter lumen and to exit that lumen through an exit opening formed in the main catheter. A mating catheter having a magnetic tip is advanced over a contralateral guide wire and manipulated until the respective magnets engage. After specific positioning of the contralateral guide wire, the magnets are decoupled, the mating catheter is retracted, the inner catheter is pushed to return the extended arm into the main catheter lumen through the exit opening and the main catheter is withdrawn.
US09179993B2	Male urethral prosthesis with tensioning member The present invention provides a urethral prosthesis including a first and a second arm that join to form a junction, and a stem that is also joined to the junction. The junction is adapted to exert sufficient pressure on a portion of a patient's urethra to prevent unintentional voiding of the patient's bladder. However, upon exerting a tension force on the stem, the pressure exerted by the junction is reduced such that the patient's bladder may be intentionally voided.
US09179984B2	Multi-configuration tracking array and related method A navigation system generally determines a location of a portion of a first medical instrument relative to a patient. The navigation system generally includes a multi-configuration tracking array that extends from the first medical instrument. A plurality of tracking devices can be positioned on the multi-configuration tracking array. At least one of the tracking devices changes to define at least a first condition and a second condition. A tracking system detects the tracking devices and relates a change between the first condition and the second condition with a change between at least a first instrument configuration and a second instrument configuration.
US09179978B1	Organizer for surgical tools and items used during surgery An organizer for holding surgical instruments includes a tray that has instrument wells extending from the top surface of the tray. The shape of each instrument well corresponds to particular surgical instrument's shapes. Each instrument well's depth corresponds to the height of a particular stack of surgical instruments. Pivoting locking bars extend over each instrument well to a locked position. In that position, instruments cannot be added to or removed from the instrument well. When the bar extends over the instrument well, the bar rests against the top instrument in the instrument well if the instrument well is full. If one or more instruments are missing from their instrument well, the locking bar's intersection with the structure of the tray adjacent the instrument well is such that an end of the locking bar projects about the tray's surface. Thus, one can notice quickly whether all instrument wells are full.
US09179976B2	Methods of making collagen fiber medical constructs and related medical constructs, including tubes The disclosure describes methods of winding collagen fiber to make medical constructs and related collagen fiber tube and patch devices.
US09179972B2	System and method for controlling delivery of ablation energy to tissue A system for controlling delivery of ablation energy by an ablation catheter to tissue in a body is provided. The system includes an electronic control unit configured to determine, responsive to a measurement signal from the ablation catheter, a value for a characteristic associated with the delivery of ablation energy to the tissue. In one embodiment, the characteristic is the degree of contact between the ablation catheter and the tissue. The unit is further configured to generate a control signal, responsive to the determined value of the characteristic, to control an amount of energy delivered from an ablation delivery element on the ablation catheter to the tissue. The amount of energy varies in response to the determined value of the characteristic when the determined value of the characteristic meets a predetermined condition relative to a threshold value for the characteristic.
US09179959B2	Systems and methods for treating conditions and diseases of the spine Systems and methods for treating conditions and diseases of the spine are disclosed herein. A device includes a balloon catheter comprising at least one inner lumen incorporated within an elongated shaft; a distal end having an inner balloon positioned inside and completely surrounded by an outer balloon; and a proximal end having an adapter for passage of at least one of an inflation fluid or a medical instrument; and an optical fiber comprising an outer diameter sized to pass through the inner lumen of the elongated shaft; a nonlinear light-emitting portion of a given length, wherein a portion of a cladding material from the nonlinear light-emitting portion has been removed so that light energy may be emitted along the length of the nonlinear light-emitting portion; and a linear elongated portion for guiding light towards the nonlinear light-emitting portion.
US09179958B2	Dispensing instrument A delivery device for semi-solid implantable material such as synthetic bone graft substitutes. The device includes a handle, a cylinder extending from the handle and having an outlet at its distal end. A piston is operated by a trigger and is slidable within the cylinder to displace the material from the cylinder. The cylinder has a substantially constant inner diameter along its entire length such that the outlet has substantially the same inner diameter as the rest of the cylinder. When the trigger is fully depressed, a ratchet mechanism is disengaged allowing the piston to be pulled back to a starting position.
US09179940B2	System and method for replacement of spinal motion segment A system for flexibly stabilizing a vertebral motion segment of the facet joint by connecting a first vertebra and a second vertebra is disclosed. The system includes an elongate connection element with end portions interconnected by a flexible coupling member. The system includes first and second attachment portions for connecting the connection element to the vertebrae. A first resilient member is positioned between the first end portion and the first attachment portion, and a second resilient member is positioned between the first attachment portion and the second attachment portion.
US09179938B2	Distraction devices and method of assembling the same A method of assembling a system for manipulating the skeletal system includes obtaining a monolithic member having opposing ends, one end including a housing having an axially extending cavity. A distraction rod is obtained that has opposing ends, a first end having an inner threaded cavity. A rotatable, radially poled magnet is rotationally coupled to a lead screw having threads. The threads of the lead screw are engaged with the threaded cavity of the distraction rod. The magnet and at least a portion of the first end of the distraction rod are inserted into the axially extending cavity such that the distraction rod and the monolithic member are in coaxial relation to one another. The magnet is axially locked in relation to the monolithic member, wherein the axially locked magnet is capable of rotation. The distraction rod is rotationally locked in relation to the monolithic member.
US09179932B2	Cardiac electrosurgery Devices and methods are disclosed for providing access to the pericardial cavity while reducing risk of myocardial damage. One method includes advancing a puncture device towards a heart, the puncture device including an energy delivery device; measuring an electrical impedance at the energy delivery device; delivering energy from the energy delivery device to at least partially puncture a pericardium; and repeating one or more of the above steps, if necessary, until the energy delivery device is located at least partially within the pericardial cavity. Some embodiments of the method include using supplemental means of monitoring, including measuring voltage to plot an ECG, medical imaging and using contrast fluid, using tactile feedback, and aspirating fluid.
US09179929B2	Laparoscopic scissors A laparoscopic scissor instrument can include a scissor assembly pivotally coupled to an elongate shaft. The scissor assembly can be formed of scissor blades having pivot posts thereon. The pivot posts can engage apertures on the elongate shaft, thus eliminating the need for a through-pinned pivot connection of the scissor blades. The scissor blades can also include actuation posts thereon. An actuation mechanism can include a slot to engage the actuation posts and open or close the blades of the scissor assembly. The scissor assemblies described herein can have a relatively low operational height such that they do not extend beyond a diameter of the elongate shaft during opening and closing of the scissor assembly.
US09179925B2	Anterior prosthetic spinal disc replacement The present invention relates generally to a prosthetic spinal disc for replacing a damaged disc between two vertebrae of a spine. The present invention also relates to a method for implanting a prosthetic spinal disc via anterior or anterior lateral implantation. Other surgical approaches for implanting the prosthetic disc may also be used.
US09179919B2	Flexible low compliance extension tubing for balloon inflation A controlled volume inflation-deflation device to inflate a balloon to occlude a blood vessel by dialing a knob that locks at rotational positions to locate a plunger at equally spaced locations within a syringe of the inflation-deflation device. The inflation-deflation device includes a releasable latch to lock the proximal and distal housings together to hold the plunger forward for occlusion, and to separate and hold the proximal and distal housings to retract the plunger for perfusion. When the inflation-deflation device is returned to the latched position, the balloon is re-inflated to its previous occlusive diameter. Also, an extension tube made of a lower modulus outer material co-extruded over and miscible with a higher modulus inner material may be used to produce a suitably low compliance extension tube for the inflation-deflation device. The balloon may have tapered ends and a cylindrical center portion so that it increases by more equal increments in outer diameter in response to incremental equal increases in inflation volume.
US09179911B2	End effector for use with a surgical fastening instrument An end effector comprising a first jaw, a second jaw, and a firing member is disclose. The firing member, in various embodiments, further comprises a first portion configured to contact one of the first jaw and the second jaw, and a second portion configured to contact one of the first jaw and the second jaw. The first portion can be comprised of a first material. The firing member can further comprise an annex engaged with the first portion comprised of an annex material which is different than the first material. In various instances, the first portion and the second portion are configured to co-operatively set a tissue gap distance between the first jaw and the second jaw.
US09179908B2	Surgical filament snare assemblies A surgical filament snare assembly including an anchor capable of being fixated in bone and having a filament engagement feature. A first filament has a noose with first and second noose limbs connected, preferably slidably connected, to the filament engagement feature of the anchor. The first and second noose limbs emerge from the anchor as first and second free filament limbs which are capable of being passed through tissue to be repaired and then passable through the noose. The noose, such as one or more half-hitches, is capable of receiving the free filament limbs and strangulating them when tension is applied to at least one of the free filament limbs and the noose to enable incremental tensioning of the tissue after the anchor is fixated. Preferably, the snare assembly further includes a flexible sleeve joining at least some portion of the first and second free filament limbs to facilitate passing of the free filament limbs at least through the tissue as a single unit.
US09179906B2	System and method for percutaneous palate remodeling Methods and devices are disclosed for manipulating the palatal tissue. An implant is positioned within at least a portion of the soft palate and may be secured to other surrounding, less mobile structures such as the hard palate or the mucosa overlying the hard palate. The implant may be manipulated to displace at least a portion of the soft palate in an anterior or lateral direction, or to alter the tissue tension or compliance of the soft palate.
US09179901B2	Vascular access ports and related methods Ports for accessing vessels within a patient include passageways that can guide needles or other access devices directly into the vessels. The ports can be implanted subcutaneously within a patient. Some ports may be used in the creation and use of vascular access buttonholes.
US09179899B2	Implantable device In an implantable device (1) for use in the human and/or animal body for closure or partial closure of defect openings (2), cavities, organ passages etc or for providing a defined communicating opening between walls, organs, cavities etc comprising a carrier structure (17) which in a primary form has a large ratio of length to transverse extent along an axis (x) and in a secondary form has a smaller ratio of length to transverse extent along the axis (x), wherein the carrier structure (17) has a proximal and a distal portion (10, 11) and is formed in the manner of a weft and/or mesh and/or layered cloth and/or gauze, at least the one portion (11) in the secondary form has a first part (14) facing outwardly away from the other portion (10) or towards same and a second part (13) which deploys first from the primary form into the secondary form and which is folded back in a direction towards the other portion (10) or inwardly on to the first part (14).
US09179896B2	Devices, systems, and methods for reshaping a heart valve annulus, including the use of a bridge implant having an adjustable bridge stop Implants or systems of implants and methods apply a selected force vector or a selected combination of force vectors within or across the left atrium, which allow mitral valve leaflets to better coapt. The implants or systems of implants and methods make possible rapid deployment, facile endovascular delivery, and full intra-atrial adjustability and retrievability years after implant. The implants or systems of implants and methods also make use of strong fluoroscopic landmarks. The implants or systems of implants and methods make use of an adjustable implant and a fixed length implant. The implants or systems of implants and methods may also utilize an adjustable bridge stop to secure the implant, and the methods of implantation employ various tools.
US09179887B2	Systems and methods for predicting gastrointestinal impairment Predicting gastrointestinal impairment may involve obtaining intestinal sounds of a patient to generate audio data, identifying predefined spectral events in the audio data that are predictive of subsequent gastrointestinal impairment, the spectral events being defined by predefined parameters, and predicting the likelihood of subsequent gastrointestinal impairment relative to the identified spectral events.
US09179882B2	Imaging diagnostics by combining contrast agents The present invention relates to the use of a combination of several contrast agents having different properties with respect to imaging representation.
US09179876B2	Systems and methods for identifying portions of a physiological signal usable for determining physiological information A patient monitoring system may determine portions of a PPG signal that correspond to artifacts, to a baseline shift that exceeds a threshold, or to a pulse-to-pulse variability that exceeds a threshold. The patient monitoring system may identify a contiguous portion of the PPG signal that does not include the determined portions. The contiguous portion of the PPG signal may be used to determine physiological information.
US09179866B2	Self-contained cardiac response unit An apparatus includes a housing including a first side and a second side; a chest compression sensor coupled with the second side of the housing; at least one compartment partially formed by one of the first side and the second side of the housing; and at least one removable defibrillator electrode pad contained in the at least one compartment partially formed by one of the first side and the second side of the housing.
US09179859B2	Compartmental analsys system, compartmental analysis method, compartment analyzer, program, and recording medium One object of the present invention is to perform compartmental analysis of the dynamics of a tracer in the brain, and the present invention provides a compartmental analysis system including a measurement apparatus that measures the strength of an electromagnetic wave from a tracer and a compartmental analyzer that performs compartmental analysis of the dynamics of the tracer in the brain on the basis of the strength of the electromagnetic wave, wherein the compartmental analyzer includes a rate constant calculation unit that calculates a rate constant when the tracer moves between compartments on the basis of the strength of an electromagnetic wave in a first compartment corresponding to the cerebral blood vessel in the brain or an input function in the first compartment, the strength of an electromagnetic wave in a second compartment corresponding to the brain tissue in the brain, and the strength of an electromagnetic wave in a third compartment corresponding to the cerebral sulcus or cerebral ventricle in the brain.
US09179858B2	Computer-accessible medium, system and method for assessing effect of a stimulus using intersubject correlation Exemplary embodiments of a system and method can be provided for measuring a level and/or details of how engaging, effective or memorable a stimulus that may be based on information associated with one or more subjects' neuronal, physiological and/or behavioral responses to the stimulus. In addition, an exemplary embodiment of a computer-accessible medium containing executable instructions thereon can also be provided which can be executed by a processing arrangement. For example, when the processing arrangement executes the instructions, the processing arrangement can be configured to, e.g., receive neuronal, physiological and/or behavioral data one or more subjects being presented with stimuli, determine further data associated with a measure of inter-subject similarity of the neuronal, physiological and/or behavioral data, and identify particular portions of the stimuli that meet a pre-determined criteria relating to the further data associated with the measure of inter-subject similarity. In addition, the processing arrangement can be further configured to display and/or store identifiers of the particular portions of the stimuli in a storage arrangement in a user-accessible format and/or a user-readable format.
US09179854B2	Three-dimensional localization, display, recording, and analysis of electrical activity in the cerebral cortex The present invention describes a method and apparatus to localize the electrical signals measured from a subject's scalp surface, preferably in near-real time, and to generate dynamic three-dimensional information of the electrical activity occurring within the cerebral cortex of the brain. In the preferred embodiment, it can produce images that can be immediately inspected and analyzed by an operator in near-real time, resulting in a powerful new cortical imaging modality, which we denote as Dynamic Electrocortical Imaging (DECI). The present invention involves the use of a computer, an electroencephalographic (EEG) amplifier, EEG electrodes, and custom software. It can measure healthy and diseased cortical events and states in both conscious and unconscious subjects. This is useful, as it allows for the diagnosis, monitoring and treatment of cortical disorders, while also furthering the understanding of the human brain and lending use to additional non-medical applications such as in entertainment, education, lie-detection and industry. The invention in one embodiment is implemented using software in conjunction with readily available EEG hardware. Furthermore, this same method can be applied to pre-existing data and when doing so, EEG hardware is not required. Having a practical near-real time 3D imaging system brings a far more accessible technology to doctors, researchers, individuals, and private clinics to better diagnose, monitor, treat and understand many of the conditions and abnormalities of the brain.
US09179850B2	Systems, methods and devices for a skull/brain interface A form of neuromodulation is conveyed from an external source to an interior of the skull to modulate neural activity. One or more apertures are formed through or partially through the skull to provide an interface for neuromodulation delivery. Parameters of one or more states of the brain may be sensed through an interface formed with one or more apertures extending all or part of the way through the skull. A device provides an interface between the exterior of the skull and the brain that includes a channel of a length sufficient to traverse the entire thickness of the skull or at least a part of the thickness of the skull. The channels may be configured for ion conduction of electrical signals, enabling DC or near DC stimulation of target neurons.
US09179842B2	Optical tomography device An optical tomography device 1 is provided as one capable of obtaining tomographic information of a measuring object with higher accuracy. In the optical tomography device 1, numerical apertures of reception fibers 12, 13 are different from each other. Therefore, the device has a configuration wherein the reception fibers 12, 13 receive two kinds of respective light beams with different solid angle distributions, whereby the device can also obtain angular information, in addition to intensity information of light emerging from a measuring object 100. As a result, the accuracy is enhanced for an analysis about the tomographic information of the measuring object.
US09179841B2	Adaptive optics ophthalmic imager without wavefront sensor or wavefront corrector The invention utilizes a digital holographic adaptive optics (DHAO) system to replace hardware components in a conventional AO system with numerical processing for wavefront measurement and compensation of aberration by the principles of digital holography. Wavefront sensing and correction by DHAO have almost the full resolution of a CCD camera. The approach is inherently faster than conventional AO because it does not involve feedback and iteration, and the dynamic range of deformation measurement is essentially unlimited. The new aberration correction system can be incorporated into a conventional fundus camera with minor modification and achieve high resolution imaging of a retinal cone mosaic. It can generate profiles of the retinal vasculature and measure blood flow. It can also provide real-time profiles of ocular aberration during refractive (Lasik) surgery and generate three-dimensional maps of intraocular debris.
US09179838B2	Eye/gaze tracker and method of tracking the position of an eye and/or a gaze point of a subject An eye/gaze tracker with first and second light sources each configured to illuminate an eye of a subject and controlled to selectively emit light towards the eye in such a manner that within an operation sequence the eye is illuminated by the first light source during at least one first interval and by the second light source during at least one second interval. An image sensor has a plurality of photodiodes each of which is associated with first and second charge storages configured to store electric charges based on an amount of light reaching the photodiode. At least one switch of the image sensor is controlled such that the electric charges are stored in the first charge storage as a result of the illumination during the at least one first interval and in the second charge storage as a result of the illumination during the at least one second interval.
US09179833B2	Systems and methods for improved ease and accuracy of gaze tracking Methods for improving gaze tracking are presented. These methods eliminate the need for a separate initial calibration step to determine whether the subject is properly centrally fixated during testing. In one embodiment, whether the subject is centrally fixated is determined by identifying inlier and outlier gaze descriptors; the inliers are assumed to be associated with central fixation. This reduces the total time required for testing. These methods also improve the accuracy of gaze tracking during testing without the need for individual subject calibration. Instead, a database of reference eyes is used. The subject's eye can be compared to the reference eyes, and the mapping function for one or more reference matches can be used to estimate the subject's gaze direction. In another embodiment, previous calibration data from the same subject can be used to determine whether the subject is properly centrally fixated and/or the direction of the subject's gaze.
US09179825B2	Positioning system for manipulating a channel within a medical device Embodiments of the invention include a medical device for accessing a patient's body portion and used for diagnosis and treatment of medical conditions. Embodiments of the invention may include a particular endoscopic positioning mechanism for placing an endoscope and an additional treatment device within desired body portions in order to assist in diagnosis and treatment of anatomical diseases and disorders. In particular, a medical device according to an embodiment of the invention includes a positioning mechanism configured for movement through at least two degrees of freedom.
US09179818B2	Spray arm assembly for a dishwasher appliance A dishwasher appliance is provided with a spray arm assembly. The spray arm assembly defines an orifice for directing liquid out of the spray arm assembly. The orifice can selectively receive a nozzle with a particular outlet geometry. By selectively receiving the nozzle, a spray pattern of liquid exiting the orifice can be changed by replacing or modifying the nozzle without remanufacturing or replacing the spray arm assembly.
US09179801B1	Liquid level detection and autonomous calibration for self-serve blending apparatus and method A self-serve drink blending device includes a blend chamber, at least one product source, a water source, an ice source, a liquid level sensor, a controller and a dispenser. The blend chamber includes a blending blade. The at least one product source is configured to deliver a volume of product to the blend chamber. The water source is configured to deliver a volume of water to the blend chamber. The ice source is configured to deliver a volume of ice to the blend chamber. The liquid level sensor is mounted to the blend chamber and configured to create a liquid level signal when contents in the blend chamber reach a predetermined level. The controller is configured to automatically calibrate the at least one product source, the water source, and the ice source based on the liquid level signal. The dispenser is arranged to dispense contents from the blend chamber.
US09179800B2	Household appliance having a deployable warming drawer module A household appliance includes a warming drawer housing having an interior chamber and a warming drawer module having a warming area for placing items to be warmed and a heating device that heats the area. The warming drawer module is movable between a first position in which the warming drawer module is in the interior chamber of the warming drawer housing and the warming area is concealed from an outside of the warming drawer housing by the warming drawer housing, and a second position in which a part of the warming drawer module is outside the warming drawer housing and a portion of the warming area is exposed to the outside of the warming drawer housing. The heating device is coupled to and movable with the warming drawer module between the first position and the second position.
US09179798B2	Method and apparatus for brewing coffee and the like A method and apparatus for brewing coffee or the like uses a cartridge having filters on two opposed sides that is filled with ground coffee and then pressed through a container of heated liquid. The pressing forces the liquid into one filter, through the ground coffee, and out the other filter to produce the brewed beverage.
US09179797B2	Disposable single serving beverage pod adapter A disposable pod adaptor assembly for use in a single serve beverage brewer. The assembly is designed for use in brewers configured for cup-shaped beverage extract cartridges. The assembly includes a receptacle and a cover configured to engage with the receptacle. The receptacle includes a raised portion in it's interior, which raised portion is adapted to push a beverage pod residing inside the receptacle upward against the cover to create a tamping effect. In some implementations, the receptacle and raised portion are molded as a single piece to provide a low cost disposable pod adapter.
US09179794B2	Supporting an object at a window of a building by applying opposing forces to an interior surface and an exterior surface of the building An apparatus for supporting an object at a window of a building comprises a first member, a second member, and a third member. The first member extends along at least a partial width of the window and abuts an interior surface of the building. The first member is configured to support the object by exerting an outward force on the interior surface of the building in response to a downward force exerted by the object. The first member also comprises at least two sections extending from the interior of the building to the exterior of the building. These sections may extend from the interior of the building to the exterior of the building about respective distal ends of the first member. The sum of the forces applied on the surfaces of the building are sufficient to secure the object to the building.
US09179789B1	Collapsible and wall mountable personal transportation vehicle storage system A collapsible wall mountable personal transportation vehicle storage system for conveniently storing a plurality of personal transportation vehicles of different types features a personal transportation vehicle. The system features a rigid planar base mounted to a vertical surface via hardware through recessed mounting apertures. The system features a u-shaped upper bracket and a u-shaped lower bracket pivotally mounted to a base front surface. The bracket features a first leg extension and a second leg extension perpendicularly located on opposing ends of a leg crossbeam. The system features a linear peg stand located on both the first leg extension and the second leg extension. The peg stand is designed to interface with the base front surface to support the bracket. The bracket is designed to pivot upwardly to a position flush with the base front surface and downwardly to a position perpendicular with the base front surface.
US09179788B2	Product management display system An adjustable tray for a merchandise display system may include a retainer for limiting the movement of products loaded in the adjustable tray, a pusher mechanism configured to bias product toward the retainer, a first divider extending from a first panel and second divider extending from a second panel. The spacing between the first divider and the second divider can be configured to be adjusted. The first panel and the second panel can be configured to move to provide additional surface area for the adjustable tray to accommodate different sized products.
US09179786B1	Collapsible napper for a playard bassinet A foldable napper accessory for a child's playard positions an infant to minimize the risk of falls. The napper frame is foldable from a generally planar deplyed orientation about one or more generally longitudinally extending frame folding axes. The ends of an elongate support leg are pivotally connected to opposing side rail members of the napper frame and configured to be foldable about a leg folding axis generally transverse to the frame. Pivoting about the leg folding axis angles the support leg from the plane of the deployed napper frame or aligns the leg with the plane of the napper frame for stowage. An intermediate folding joint is provided in the support leg which includes intermediate axis generally perpendicular to the leg folding axis that allows folding of the leg only when the leg is folded into a specific orientation.
US09179782B2	Perimeter-wrapped mattress and method of manufacture A mattress (22) having a core structure (8) wherein side walls (15) are compressed inward and held in place using a preferably non-woven strip of fabric (21) or similar non-elastic or non-stretchable material that is wrapped around the side walls.
US09179779B2	Furniture stabilizing device The present disclosure is generally directed to a system that may be coupled to and is compatible with various sizes and types of furniture including chairs and stools with individual legs, to help stabilize such furniture by outwardly expanding at least a portion of the footprint of the furniture to which the system is coupled, by separating the tipping axes of the furniture and the system coupled to the furniture, and/or by increasing the tip resistance of the chair by coupling it to the system.
US09179774B2	Adjustable shelving system A shelving system having a top, bottom and intermediate shelves mounted on vertical supports. The intermediate shelves are mounted on adjustable brackets that permit individual removal of the intermediate shelves without disturbing the top and bottom shelves. The adjustable brackets comprise at one end a pin that is adapted to be inserted into a series of apertures formed along the length of each support. Opposite the pin, a mounting member is sized and shaped to receive a corner of each shelf. A stop is formed on the bracket between the pins and mounting member.
US09179771B2	Coupling device for drawers A coupling device for removably coupling a drawer to an extendable rail of a pull-out guide includes an adjusting device, by which a position of a drawer that is connected to the rail can be adjusted relative to the rail in the lateral direction and/or in the longitudinal direction (L) of the pull-out guide. The coupling device has a fixing part to be fixed to the drawer, and a coupling part to be coupled to the rail. The fixing part can be moved relative to the coupling part by the adjusting device in a linear manner. The adjusting device has an adjusting wheel rotatably mounted on the coupling part or on the fixing part. An actuating region is provided on the adjusting wheel in order to rotate the adjusting wheel, and the adjusting device includes a transmission device. A movement of the actuating region of the adjusting wheel can be converted by the transmission device into a linear movement of the fixing part relative to the coupling part such that the position of the drawer is adjusted relative to the furniture body in the same direction in which the actuating region is moved.
US09179762B2	Phone retractor carrying case An apparatus is provided for detachably tethering a phone to a user's person, such as a belt or strap worn by the user. In one embodiment, the apparatus comprises a case configured to receive the phone, a holster configured to detachably receive the case, a retractable tether having a distal end and a proximal end opposite the distal end, the proximal end connected to the holster, and the distal end detachably connected to the case, wherein a portion of the tether is housed in the holster, the tether configured to move between a retracted position and an extended position, and a spring coupled to the tether, the spring configured to bias the tether into the retracted position.
US09179759B1	Convertible hammock for a vehicle or ground stand The present invention is directed to a hammock system and particularly to a convertible hammock for use on a ground stand, on the bed of truck or similar vehicle and attached to a standard vehicle trailer hitch. The hammock includes a support structure at the head and the foot of the hammock which comprises a vertically directed post. The base stand includes a receptacle for receiving the post. In addition, the post can be equally adapted for slidable reception into utility slots which are already positioned within the side walls of the bed of most pickup trucks or similar vehicles. In addition, the present invention can be directed for use with a trailer hitch component on a typical vehicle.
US09179758B2	Child carriers and methods for operating the same Child carriers and methods for operating the same are disclosed. An example child carrier includes a child support pouch to receive a child in a substantially upright position and a harness to support the child support pouch on an adult. The harness includes first and second support straps, first and second waist straps, and first and second support strap connector pairs. The first support strap connector pair is located to releasably connect the first support strap to the first waist strap in a first orientation with the first support strap across a shoulder of the adult and to releasably connect the first support strap to the first waist strap in a second orientation with the first support strap around a waist of the adult. The second support strap connector pair is located to releasably connect the second support strap to the second waist strap.
US09179754B2	Artificial nail or tip arrangement and method of making same In some aspects, an artificial nail or tip arrangement can include a body having a concave lower surface with a shape corresponding to a natural nail; an adhesive layer having a first surface to adhere to a portion of the lower surface of the body and a second surface to adhere to a portion of the natural nail; and a removable layer that covers a portion of the second surface of the adhesive layer, the removable layer having at least one slit formed therethrough and disposed along a planar surface of the removable layer, wherein the at least one slit is configured to facilitate conformance of the planar surface of the removable layer to the concave lower surface of the body without wrinkling the removable layer.
US09179744B2	Fastener and article provided with fastener Provided is a fastener that can be recycled as paper. The fastener includes a tape member and an engaging element attached to the tape member, and the total weight of the cellulose fibers included in the tape member and the engaging element is 51 to 100 wt % of the total weight of the tape member and the engaging element.
US09179740B2	Protective member for an article of footwear A protective system for articles of footwear includes a protective member that may be used to protect a sole structure from components of a graphic transfer assembly. The protective member can include adjustment members for adjusting the effective depth of different portions of the protective member. The protective member can also include adjustable covering portions for protecting portions of an upper.
US09179739B2	Footwear incorporating looped tensile strand elements A tensile strand element for an article of footwear is disclosed. The tensile strand element includes one or more tensile strands secured at their endpoints between the sole and upper of an article of footwear, creating one or more looped portions. The unsecured looped portions may extend into the fastening region of the footwear and engage with a fastening system to tighten the footwear upper snugly against a wearer's foot to provide added support.
US09179738B2	Golf shoes Disclosed golf shoes can include an upper and an outsole, and an oblique internal toe box region defined between a forward portion of the upper and a forward portion of the outsole. The toe box region can have a shape that corresponds to an anatomical shape of a forward portion of a person's foot. The forward portion of the outsole can have five discrete toe traction zones each being configured to be positioned below a respective one of a person's toes. The toe box region can be sufficiently wide to allow a wearer's toes to have a full anatomical range of motion in medial and lateral directions. The toe box region can be sufficiently wide such that the ratio of a maximum width of the toe box region divided by a maximum heel-to-toe length of an internal open region of the golf shoe is greater than about 0.35.
US09179718B2	Medical/dental/utility glove with anti-fatigue and ergonomic improvement An improved glove is provided having both anatomically correlating stress relief zones and/or reinforced zones to add support in areas opposite the stress relief zones to keep bunching or slipping of the glove from interfering with the bending of the user's joints. The glove may have corrugated relief zones over some or all of the joints and knuckles of the hand, wherein the relief zones are formed of peaks and valleys. A relief zone can also be provided over the webbing between the thumb and the palm.
US09179706B2	Filter tip, tubes, and cones A filter strip is provided for rolling sheets to construct custom cigars and/or cigarettes. The filter strip may be made of a deformable material which can be positioned on one end of the rolling sheet. The filter strip can be folded in a zig zag or spiral filter section with open section located longitudinally below to form a filter tip. The filter tip can assist the user in rolling by hand a substantially cylindrical or conical cigar or cigarette. The filter tip prevents tobacco filler material from being drawn through the cigar or cigarette and into a user's mouth, and permits the entire amount of tobacco filler to be consumed/smoked without risking burned hands and/or lips.
US09179705B2	Tabletop automatic cigarette-making machine A cigarette-making machine of the tobacco-injecting type including a housing with an aperture and a compacting chamber in communication with the aperture for receiving loose tobacco, a compacting member mounted for reciprocal up and down motion from an initial position adjacent the top of the compacting chamber toward the bottom of the compacting chamber, an injection spoon mounted for reciprocal lateral movement from a rest position within the compacting chamber across the compacting chamber to transport rod-like compacted tobacco shapes past the ejection side of the compacting chamber, through the nipple and into a hollow cigarette tube, an electrically powered motor, and a dual purpose control disk adapted to be rotated about its axis by the motor to initially move the compacting member up and down in the compacting chamber and then to move the injection spoon across the compacting chamber as the control disk is rotated by the motor.
US09179701B2	2-mercapto-5-methyl-4-heptanone and its use in flavor and fragrance compositions The present invention is directed to a novel compound, 2-mercapto-5-methyl-4-heptanone, a process of augmenting, enhancing or imparting taste to a material selected from the group consisting of a foodstuff, a chewing gum, a medicinal product, and toothpaste comprising the step of incorporating an olfactory acceptable amount of 2-mercapto-5-methyl-4-heptanone, and a process of improving, enhancing or modifying a fragrance formulation through the addition of an olfactory acceptable amount of 2-mercapto-5-methyl-4-heptanone.
US09179698B2	Soybean variety 01045742 The invention relates to the soybean variety designated 01045742. Provided by the invention are the seeds, plants and derivatives of the soybean variety 01045742. Also provided by the invention are tissue cultures of the soybean variety 01045742 and the plants regenerated therefrom. Still further provided by the invention are methods for producing soybean plants by crossing the soybean variety 01045742 with itself or another soybean variety and plants produced by such methods.
US09179690B2	Edible product with masked bitter, sour and/or astringent taste The present invention relates to edible products with masked bitter, sour and/or astringent taste. The new products comprise a sweetening agent and from 0.2 to 25% by weight plant sterol ester, wherein the amount of sweetening agent is reduced as compared to a regular product.
US09179689B2	Cotton variety 10R047B2R2 The invention relates to the novel cotton variety designated 10R047B2R2. Provided by the invention are the seeds, plants, plant parts and derivatives of the cotton variety 10R047B2R2. Also provided by the invention are methods of using cotton variety 10R047B2R2 and products derived therefrom. Still further provided by the invention are methods for producing cotton plants by crossing the cotton variety 10R047B2R2 with itself or another cotton variety and plants and seeds produced by such methods.
US09179686B2	Paw cutter system and method A paw cutting system for removing a poultry paw from a shackle conveyed along a shackle conveyor line and then cutting the leg of the paw to remove the knuckle is provided. The paw cutter has a guide bar substantially aligned with the shackle conveyor line that urges the paw to a central cavity of the shackle. The paw is discharged from the central cavity into a lateral notch formed in two opposed discs positioned adjacent to an end of the guide bar. The two opposed discs are rotatable and move the paw from the guide bar to a blade. As the paw is moved to the blade, the two discs stretch the paw so that the blade can cleanly cut the paw. The cut paw product can be placed onto a belt or other device in an ordered manner.
US09179675B2	Use of sarmentine and its analogs for controlling plant pests Methods and compositions for controlling plant pests, particularly weeds and/or plant phytopathogens using sarmentine and/or analogs thereof are disclosed.
US09179673B2	Auxin herbicide composition An aqueous liquid herbicide composition comprising a solution of at least one of 2,4-D and dicamba in the form of the monomethylamine salt and at least one of 2,4-D and dicamba in the form of the dimethylamine salt wherein the molar ratio of monomethylamine to dimethylamine is in the range of from 1:20 to 4:6.
US09179670B2	Deuterium-enriched aldehydes The present invention generally relates to deuterium-enriched aldehydes, compositions comprising deuterium-enriched aldehydes, and methods for slowing the rate of aldehyde autoxidation. In one aspect, the present invention provides a composition comprising a compound of structure 1: wherein: there are at least 6×1018 molecules of the aldehyde and Rx is hydrogen, wherein the deuterium isotope in Rx is in an amount greater than 0.10 percent of the hydrogen atoms present in Rx.
US09179661B2	Horseshoe with splaying, and stabilizer feature A horseshoe with a stabilizer-feature and splaying has a U shaped metallic unitary body with left-right wings and an integral compliant leaf-spring disposed proximate to or in the horseshoe toe area. The leaf-spring may be crescent-shaped or chord-shaped and resiliently deforms upwards, exerting sideways-pressure causing splaying of the left-right wings. The leaf-spring may have a groove on either side to assist preparation before horseshoe installation. The crescent-shaped leaf-spring forms a cavity with the hoof underside in use, which cavity is optionally filled with a resilient material, e.g., silicone, obviating accumulation of dirt/debris. Stabilizers comprising a plurality of rows of beads formed integrally with the horseshoe bottom form a negative camber on the horseshoe-underside. The stabilizer rows may be staggered and assist in the stability of the horse during racing, especially at track-curves. The horseshoe may be cast/forged, blanked, or welded and can be mass-produced. Preferably, the horseshoe comprises hardened spring steel.
US09179648B1	Combination pet collar or strap and bottle opener A combination dog collar and bottle opener device includes a two-ply strap and combination D-ring and bottle opener. The strap includes a first ply of rubber, preferably recycled from an inner tube. The second ply is mechanically stitched using an interwoven thread to the first ply. A plastic quick-release coupling device acts as a clasp system for selectively and releasably coupling a strap first end to a strap second end. The combination D-ring and bottle opener comprises a generally flat frame body having a first arm and a second arm, a first linking member connecting the first and second arms at a first end of the frame body and a second linking member at a second end of the frame body. An intermediate linking member arranged generally parallel to the first and second linking members and being located at an intermediate position includes a radius bottle pry and offset grooves.
US09179647B2	Animal collar An animal collar includes a neck strap with magnetic elements on the neck strap's two opposite ends. The magnetic elements are configured to self align during installation and hold an encircling neck strap around an animal's neck. In one embodiment, the magnetic elements are one or more pairs of magnets attached to the opposite ends of the neck strap. The poles of each magnet pair are aligned so the magnets in each pair attract. The neck strap also includes two perpendicularly and transversely aligned closed eyelets mounted on the opposite ends. When the opposite ends are placed side-by-side, the magnetic elements are aligned and forced together and the two eyelets are side by side and parallel. A leash clip can then be attached to the two eyelets to hold them together when walking. When the leash clip is disconnected, the magnetic elements are configured to separate when a light force is exerted on the neck strap. An optional connector is provided that holds the two eyelets together when the leash clip is not used.
US09179641B2	Loose-house barn with floor heating A barn in which dairy animals can freely move about, lie down and eat includes a floor, a light-transmitting roof construction, and a wall construction. The floor consists for the greater part of a moisture absorbing, pourable layer which is able to collect moisture from manure and urine. This moisture is removed by means of solar heat and wind drying, and if this is not sufficient, by means of a floor heating. There is thus only required a very limited stationary sub-floor with a manure collecting device, i.e. only below the milking implement.
US09179638B2	Lettuce variety ‘E01L30144’ A new lettuce variety designated ‘E01L30144’ is described. ‘E01L30144’ is a cutting lettuce variety exhibiting stability and uniformity.
US09179631B2	Soybean variety A1037431 The invention relates to the soybean variety designated A1037431. Provided by the invention are the seeds, plants and derivatives of the soybean variety A1037431. Also provided by the invention are tissue cultures of the soybean variety A1037431 and the plants regenerated therefrom. Still further provided by the invention are methods for producing soybean plants by crossing the soybean variety A1037431 with itself or another soybean variety and plants produced by such methods.
US09179630B2	Soybean variety A1037404 The invention relates to the soybean variety designated A1037404. Provided by the invention are the seeds, plants and derivatives of the soybean variety A1037404. Also provided by the invention are tissue cultures of the soybean variety A1037404 and the plants regenerated therefrom. Still further provided by the invention are methods for producing soybean plants by crossing the soybean variety A1037404 with itself or another soybean variety and plants produced by such methods.
US09179629B2	Soybean variety A1035330 The invention relates to the soybean variety designated A1035330. Provided by the invention are the seeds, plants and derivatives of the soybean variety A1035330. Also provided by the invention are tissue cultures of the soybean variety A1035330 and the plants regenerated therefrom. Still further provided by the invention are methods for producing soybean plants by crossing the soybean variety A1035330 with itself or another soybean variety and plants produced by such methods.
US09179621B1	Maize hybrid X08D489 A novel maize variety designated X08D489 and seed, plants and plant parts thereof, produced by crossing Pioneer Hi-Bred International, Inc. proprietary inbred maize varieties. Methods for producing a maize plant that comprises crossing hybrid maize variety X08D489 with another maize plant. Methods for producing a maize plant containing in its genetic material one or more traits introgressed into X08D489 through backcross conversion and/or transformation, and to the maize seed, plant and plant part produced thereby. This invention relates to the maize variety X08D489, the seed, the plant produced from the seed, and variants, mutants, and minor modifications of maize variety X08D489. This invention further relates to methods for producing maize varieties derived from maize variety X08D489.
US09179612B2	Area-programmable sprinkler A center pivot sprinkler system includes a sprinkler arm to be mounted at a pivot point at a first end of the sprinkler arm, the sprinkler arm defining a water conduit. A motive source can move the sprinkler arm in a circular motion about the pivot point. An end nozzle is supported at a second end of the sprinkler arm, and in fluid communication with the water conduit. A control valve is positioned between the water conduit and the end nozzle, and a control valve positioner can position the control valve. A position determining device determines the position of the end nozzle in a circular arc about the pivot point. A processor polls the position determining device to determine a then-current position of the end nozzle and determines a flow of water to be issued from the end nozzle as a function of the then-current position of the end nozzle.
US09179611B2	Hose pull apparatus and method A hose-fed lateral move irrigation system and method that utilizes a pipe with a plurality of sprinklers attached to a wheeled cart that pulls a flexible-hose assembly therebehind using at least one onboard winch and travels laterally with the pipe and sprinklers relative to a field so that a sufficient amount of hose may be used to enable total automation of the system.
US09179605B2	Electric pruner with a quick-release mechanism An electric pruner includes a housing, a motor accommodated within the housing, a transmission mechanism, a movable blade, and a fixed blade extending from the front end of the housing. The fixed blade is fixedly mounted on the housing, and the movable blade is rotatably connected to the fixed blade via a shaft and driven by the motor via the transmission mechanism. A locking device manually operable by the user is arranged on the shaft for locking the movable blade, the locking device being switchable between a first position where the movable blade is locked to stay connected with the transmission mechanism and a second position where the movable blade is releasable from the transmission mechanism. Thus, the replacement of the movable blade is very simple and convenient.
US09179604B2	Cutting tool and method of cutting A whip and tongue grafting device may include a slanting cut tool including a guide to position stem for receiving a slanting cut, and including a cutting device for making the slanting cut. The device may also include a whip cut tool including a guide to position a stem for receiving a tongue cut, and including a cutting device for making the whip cut. The device may also include other guides for producing other required cuts to the stem.
US09179602B2	Stripper plate bias force adjustment mechanism A row unit (10) for a cornhead comprises a frame (12), a pair of stalk rolls (14) and a pair of stripper plates (16) forming a stripper gap (20). At least one of the stripper plates (16) is a shiftable stripper plate (16) that is shiftable in a horizontal direction transversely to the longitudinal extent of the stripper gap (20). A spring (32, 32′) has a central helical part (34) winding around a pin (40) connected to the shiftable stripper plate (16) and outer end parts (36) abutting a respective one of two members (44, 54) connected to the frame (12) on opposite sides of the pin (40).
US09179598B2	Twine retaining device for a baler A twine retaining device for a baler includes a retaining disk, which can rotate about a shaft, and a retaining plate, which jointly delimit a retaining gap. The retaining gap is defined by a plurality of constrictions distributed along a twine strand extending through the retaining gap.
US09185827B2	Energy conversion device, notably for a system for electrically driving an underwater compression and pumping station The energy conversion device (10) includes a power module (14), elements (16) for cooling the power module (14), and a sealed enclosure (12) for housing the power module (14) and at least one portion of the cooling elements (16). The cooling elements (16) include a cooling circuit 18, in which a heat transfer fluid circulates, a first heat exchange (20) with the power module (14), through which passes the heat transfer fluid of the cooling circuit (18) and at least one pump (24) for driving the heat transfer fluid circulating in the circuit (18). The enclosure (12) includes an area (26) for receiving heat transfer fluid, filled with heat transfer fluid, and the cooling circuit (18) includes an inlet orifice (28) in the circuit (18) made upstream from the driving pump (24) and opening into the heat transfer fluid of the receiving area (26).
US09185825B2	Connection apparatus for electronic device A connection apparatus includes a back plate, a circuit board having two first connectors and two second connectors, and two connection lines. Each of the two connection lines includes a first signal transmission line and a second signal transmission line. A third connector is formed on the first signal transmission line. Two first bent portions extend from the first signal transmission line. A fourth connector is formed on each of the two first bent portions. A fifth connector is formed on the second signal transmission line. Two second bent portions extend from the second signal transmission line. A sixth connector is formed on each of the two second bent portions. The fourth connector is inserted into each of the two first connectors. The sixth connector is inserted into each of the two second connectors. Each of the third connector and the fifth connector is electrically connected to the back plate.
US09185824B2	Cable pathway system for network architecture A cable management system for a network cabinet has first and second server equipment rails, first and second air dams, and a front cable support. The server equipment rails are mounted to a base frame of the network cabinet such that the server equipment rails extend from the base frame towards a front of the network cabinet. The air dams are mounted to the base frame of the network cabinet such that the air dams extend from the base frame towards opposing sides of the network cabinet. The front cable support has a generally U-shaped tray that is connected to the first and second server equipment rails such that the tray extends across a front of the network cabinet, transverse to the server equipment rails.
US09185816B2	Portable electronic device housing with outer glass surfaces Improved housings for electronic devices are disclosed. In one embodiment, an electronic device housing can have one or more outer members (e.g., exposed major surfaces), such as front or back surfaces, that are formed of glass. The one or more glass surfaces can be part of outer member assemblies that can be secured to other portions of the electronic device housing. In other embodiments, apparatus, systems and methods for robustly attaching a cover portion of an electronic device to a bottom portion, e.g., a housing portion, of the electronic device are described. The electronic device can be portable and in some cases handheld.
US09185798B2	Device components with surface-embedded additives and related manufacturing methods Active or functional additives are embedded into surfaces of host materials for use as components in a variety of electronic or optoelectronic devices, including solar devices, smart windows, displays, and so forth. Resulting surface-embedded device components provide improved performance, as well as cost benefits arising from their compositions and manufacturing processes.
US09185795B2	High-frequency signal transmission line Unwanted radiation is reduced in a high-frequency signal transmission line that includes a ground conductor provided with an opening that overlaps a signal line. A dielectric element assembly has a relative dielectric constant ∈1 and has a first principal surface and a second principal surface. A signal line is provided in the dielectric element assembly. A ground conductor is provided in the dielectric element assembly and on the first principal surface side with respect to the signal line, faces the signal line, and is provided with an opening that overlaps the signal line. A high dielectric constant layer has a relative dielectric constant ∈2 higher than the relative dielectric constant ∈1 and is provided on the first principal surface so as to overlap the opening.
US09185785B2	Electrostatic protection component An electrostatic protection component includes: a body in which a plurality of ceramic substrates is laminated; and a pair of discharge electrodes which are formed within the body and which are spaced to face each other. The discharge electrodes include main body portions extending along a longitudinal direction, and the main body portions include tips in the longitudinal direction and side edges extending along the longitudinal direction. The pair of discharge electrodes are arranged such that both the main body portions are adjacent to each other in a short direction. The discharge electrodes face each other in the short direction between the side edges, and discharge occurs only between the side edges, between the discharge electrodes.
US09185782B2	Light controller with locked split handle The present invention relates to a light controller for controlling a lightning system, where the lightning system comprises a number of light emitting devices such as controllable light fixtures, controllable light emitting visual devices and/or controllable display devices adapted to emit video content. The light controller comprises a first slide controller, a second slide controller, and a locking mechanism adapted to fix the first slide controller and the second slide controller in relation to each other, such that movement of at least one of the slide controllers forces the other slide controller to perform a corresponding movement.
US09185781B2	Lighting apparatus having complex sensor and interworking type lighting system Disclosed is a lighting apparatus having a complex sensor. The apparatus includes a short distance motion sensor to sense an object at a short distance, a long distance motion sensor to sense an object at a long distance, a signal amplifier to amplify signals from the sensors, a lamp to be adjustable in brightness in multiple stages, a timer to count a dark adaptation time, and a controller. The controller controls the lamp to a first brightness upon receiving a signal from the long distance motion sensor and to a second brightness higher than the first brightness upon receiving a signal from the short distance motion sensor and controls the timer to count the dark adaptation time at the second brightness, thereby reducing the brightness of the lamp by an illuminance within a dark adaptation threshold value set in the controller whenever the timer generates a counting signal.
US09185772B2	Light-emitting element and display device A light-emitting element and a display device having a resonator structure which has a small luminance fluctuation, even if a film thickness is deviated from a designed value, thereby resulting in a variation in resonator optical path length. There are included: a first reflective member; a second reflective member; and a light-emitting layer provided therebetween, and there is provided a resonator structure that transmits part of light by the first reflective member or the second reflective member, the light being resonated between the first reflective member and the second reflective member. The resonator structure has at least two or more resonance spectral peaks at respective wavelengths in a visible light range with a wavelength of a maximum value relative luminosity being a border line and an emission output spectrum has at least two or more peaks at respective wavelengths based on the resonance spectral peaks.
US09185768B2	Short circuit protection A measured voltage drop across a power-line transistor is used as a sensing element to measure the current and detect an over-current condition for an LED backlight system. An over-current or short condition is detected when the measured voltage drop exceeds a threshold. Accurate detection of the over-current condition is achieved by calibrating the RDS-ON (i.e., internal resistance between drain and source, when transistor is on) of the power-line transistor. In one embodiment, the calibration of RDS-ON is performed by ramping down the threshold from an initial value and using the tripped threshold to determine the actual value for RDS-ON. In another embodiment, the calibration of RDS-ON is performed by using two thresholds, a first threshold to calibrate RDS-ON and a second threshold to detect the over-current condition.
US09185767B2	Self-oscillating resonant converter-based light emitting diode (LED) driver A self-oscillating resonator (SOR) may be used to control current through light emitting diodes (LEDs). The SOR may be started and stopped by a controller coupled to a transistor switch in the SOR. The controller may output a control signal that starts and stops the SOR by coupling a supply voltage or a ground to a base of the transistor switch in the SOR. Additional control over the current output to the LEDs may be gained through a resistive DAC coupled to the SOR and duty cycling the SOR.
US09185765B2	Arrangement having at least one metameric illuminating device, and passenger cabin The invention relates to an arrangement having at least one metameric illuminating device (4) which comprises at least a first, second, third and fourth LED (6) and an internal controller (5) for changing the color rendering index of a light produced by additive color mixing of the first, second, third and fourth LED (6) with the aid of a prescribed color, having an external controller (8) for setting a parameter (K) influencing the color rendering index, and having a data transmitting device (7) for transmitting the parameter (K) to the internal controller (5) of the at least one metameric illuminating device (4).
US09185757B2	Multi-channel LED driver arrangements LED driver arrangements are disclosed comprising: an input; a plurality of switched mode boost converters, each connected to the input; and a plurality of outputs, each output having a different voltage and being for driving at least one LED string; wherein each of the plurality of switched mode boost converters is configurable to output of any one of the plurality of outputs. Controllers for such arrangements are also disclosed.
US09185748B2	Electrical panel heating device and method and building materials for the protection thereof The invention relates to an electrical panel heating device and to a method and a material for the production thereof; the panel heating device is produced by curing a liquid or pasty material, comprising at least one inorganic binding agent, for example cement and/or gypsum, at least one electrically non-conductive additive, for example sand and/or rock flour, and at least one further additive composed of electrically conductive particles, for example carbon fibers and/or trips; after mixing this material in the liquid or pasty state, it is processed to form a product in the form of a panel which is provided with low-impedance contacts for feeding in a current distributed over an panel.
US09185746B2	Dual-mode mobile terminal Provided in the disclosure is a dual-mode mobile terminal. The dual-mode mobile terminal includes: a CMMB antenna embedded in the dual-mode mobile terminal; a CMMB protection network connected to the CMMB antenna, comprising multiple stages of circuits connected successively, wherein each stage of circuit in the multiple stages of circuits is an LC series circuit or an LC parallel circuit, two ends of the LC parallel circuit are connected between the stages of circuits before and after the LC parallel circuit, and one end of the LC series circuit is connected between the stages of circuits before and after the LC series circuit, and the other end of the LC series circuit is grounded. According to the technical solution provided by the disclosure, the interference problem among multiple antennas in the CMMB antenna embedding solution in the related art is solved, thus being able to reduce the interference to CMMB signals by multi-mode radio frequency signals.
US09185733B2	Method of device-to-device communication in wireless mobile communication system A device-to-device (D2D) communication method in a wireless mobile communication system is provided. A channel state measurement method for adaptive transmission of cellular network-based D2D communication, a data transmission/reception method of D2D communication, and a power control method for transmission power control of a D2D link in the D2D communication are provided. Specifically, cellular network-based D2D communication methods optimized for a Third Generation Partnership Project (3GPP) Long Term Evolution (LTE) system are provided. The above-described methods are also applicable to various cellular mobile communication systems as well as the 3GPP LTE system.
US09185723B2	Method and apparatus for transmitting and receiving downlink control information in a mobile communication system supporting uplink packet data service A method and apparatus for transmitting and receiving downlink control information in a mobile communication system supporting an uplink packet data service are provided. To transmit packet data in an HARQ mobile communication system, a second transceiver receives an RG as rate control information from a first transceiver. The second transceiver sets the allowed maximum data rate of an HARQ process to which the RG is applied to the allowed maximum data rate of an HARQ process previous to the HARQ process, if the RG indicates hold. The second transceiver transmits packet data within the set allowed maximum data rate to the first transceiver.
US09185714B2	Method and system for dynamically assigning channels across multiple radios in a wireless LAN According to one embodiment, a method includes monitoring, at one or more wireless network access elements, signal strength of signals transmitted by respective neighboring wireless network access elements. Information is collected from said wireless network access elements and converted into reportable data about signal strength observed during the monitoring. The method further includes identifying, based at least in part on interference associated with concurrent signal transmissions of the wireless network access elements, a combination of channel assignments for the one or more wireless network access elements from a plurality of possible combinations of channel assignments and assigning channels for concurrent, respective use by said wireless network access elements based on the identified combination of channel assignments.
US09185707B2	Method and apparatus of transmitting a white space map information in a wireless local area network system A method of transmitting a White Space Map information in a wireless local area network system (WLAN) is disclosed. A method of transmitting a white space map information from a first station to a second station in a regulatory domain where a licensed device and an unlicensed device are permitted to operate together in a wireless local area network (WLAN) comprises acquiring a first list of available channels at each location of a plurality of locations from a regulatory database; determining a second list of available channels at a white space zone (WSZ) using the first list of available channels at each location of a plurality of locations; and transmitting, to the second station, one of a beacon frame, a probe response frame and a white space map announcement frame comprising a white space map (WSM) element, the WSM element including information of the WSZ and the second list of available channels, wherein the WSZ is a geographical area in which commonavailable channels are set.
US09185698B2	Radio communication system, radio communication apparatus, radio communication method, and computer program An autonomously dispersed type wireless network is suitably formed with communication stations avoiding collision of beacons transmitted one to another. In the event that the range of reach of airwaves change and a receivable state is created and beacons collide, a communication station changes the beacon transmission position of itself in response to receiving a beacon from another station at a timing immediately prior to transmission to its own beacon. Also, in the event that beacon collision is exposed due to emergence of a new communication which can perform reception from two systems out of airwave range of each other, the newly-participating station requests one of the communication stations of which the beacons are colliding to change the beacon transmission timing.
US09185696B2	Adaptive scheme for lowering uplink control overhead The present invention is related to methods, apparatuses, systems and computer software for determining an amount of physical resources for downlink transmission, and allocating uplink physical resources for transmission of data-non-associated control signaling based at least on the amount of physical resources for downlink transmission. The amount of physical resources for downlink transmission comprises an amount of downlink control signaling. The present invention further relates to a framework for mapping the dedicated uplink control channels directly to single physical resource blocks. The framework is able to efficiently shift physical resources to and from the uplink control channel for ACK/NACK reports, in a data-non-associated control signaling scheme and on a per subframe basis. The present invention is also concerned with scheduler, for example an eNodeB scheduler, which uses its scheduling history and knowledge of user equipment capabilities to increase utilization of uplink resources.
US09185688B1	Providing improved scheduling request signaling with ACK/NACK or CQI In accordance with the exemplary embodiments of the invention there is a method, executable computer program, and apparatus for determining that an acknowledgment is to be sent, and for the case where there is also a scheduling request to be sent, combining the acknowledgment with the scheduling request on a scheduling resource, else placing the acknowledgment in another resource. In accordance with another exemplary embodiment of the invention there is a method, executable computer program, and apparatus for receiving information on a scheduling resource, and determining that the information received on the scheduling resource includes an acknowledgment. Further, in accordance with the exemplary embodiments of the invention there is a method, executable computer program, and apparatus for determining that a scheduling request resource and at least one other resource are reserved for a user equipment in a same sub-frame, and based on whether a scheduling request is desired to be transmitted by the user equipment, placing at least one of an acknowledgment/negative acknowledgement and a channel quality indicator that is desired to be transmitted by the user equipment in one of the resources and leaving at least one other resource unused.
US09185681B2	Method and apparatus for transmitting paging message in wireless communication system A method and apparatus for transmitting a paging message in a cloud radio access network (RAN) system is provided. A baseband unit (BBU) or a mobility management entity (MME) determines a location update range of a user equipment (UE) based on moving speed and a moving direction of the UE, and transmits information this to the UE. The UE transmits information on moving information of the UE, which is determined based on the received information and a measurement result with respect to at least one accessible remote radio frequency (RF) unit (RRU) of the UE, and the measurement result to the BBU or the MME; and The BBU or MME updates the location update range of the UE based on the received measurement result and the moving information of the UE, and transmits a paging message to the UE through at least one RRU included in the updated location update range of the UE.
US09185674B2	Apparatuses, systems, and methods for determining location of a mobile device(s) in a distributed antenna system(s) Distributed antenna systems provide location information for client devices communicating with remote antenna units. The location information can be used to determine the location of the client devices relative to the remote antenna unit(s) with which the client devices are communicating. A location processing unit (LPU) includes a control system configured to receive uplink radio frequency (RF) signals communicated by client devices and determines the signal strengths of the uplink RF signals. The control system also determines which antenna unit is receiving uplink RF signals from the device having the greatest signal strength.
US09185672B2	Satellite radio-controlled wristwatch Power consumption when reception is carried out in response to a reception instruction by a user is reduced in a satellite radio-controlled wristwatch. A satellite radio-controlled wristwatch according to the present invention includes: a satellite radio wave reception unit including an antenna, a high frequency circuit, and a decoder circuit; a clock circuit; an operating member; and a controller for controlling timings of at least: an activation operation; an acquisition and tracking operation; and a time information acquisition operation, the controller being configured to: detect a reception instruction by a user; immediately start the activation operation when a delay time period from when the reception instruction is issued to an earliest time information receivable time point is longer than a first threshold value and shorter than a second threshold value; wait for arrival of an activation time point inversely calculated from the earliest time information receivable time point to start the activation operation when the delay time period is longer than the second threshold value; and wait for arrival of an activation time point inversely calculated from a next earliest time information receivable time point to start the activation operation when the delay time period is shorter than the first threshold value.
US09185670B2	Method and apparatus for configuring enhanced timing measurements involving multifarious radio links In its various aspects, the present invention addresses the many challenges associated with making timing measurements involving multifarious radio links. Such measurements are referred to herein as “enhanced” to connote that such timing determinations are being made across multifarious radio links. Here, a radio link will be understood as connecting two radio nodes, and two radio links are considered to be multifarious with respect to each other if they are opposite in terms of uplink and downlink transmit directions, and further if they are associated with different cell identifiers and/or if the two links are between different pairs of radio nodes. In this context, the teachings herein disclose the sharing of “enhanced timing measurement” capability information, e.g., between radio nodes and positioning nodes. Such information indicates the enhanced timing measurement capability of a radio node. Sharing such information enables another node, e.g., a positioning node, to determine an enhanced timing measurement configuration to be used by a radio node. Further, additional teachings herein disclose advantageous configurations for making enhanced timing measurements, and techniques for compensating timing measurements determined from multifarious radio links, e.g., compensating for frequency-dependent propagation time differences.
US09185648B2	Intelligent beaconing by software-enabled access point Methods and systems according to embodiments of the present disclosure provide intelligent transmission of beacons by a SoftAP-enabled user device for minimizing power consumption. In an embodiment, a method comprises transmitting a first beacon from the SoftAP to a station connected to the SoftAP. The method also comprises determining a beacon interval between the first beacon and a second beacon. The method further comprises dynamically changing the beacon interval. And the method also comprises transmitting the second beacon upon the changed beacon interval passing since the transmitting of the first beacon.
US09185647B2	HNB gateway device, femtocell system, and method of operating HNB-GW used for same with reduced electric power Provided is an HNB gateway device capable of, while in an operation in a sleep mode, deactivating function units other than functions units associated with a mode check message and a sleep mode release request message from another HNB-GW, and thereby enabling a power saving operation. An HNB gateway device (2) includes a function to obtain a usage rate of the HNB gateway device, relays signals between a switching center and an HNB, and transits to a sleep mode when the usage rate reaches or falls below a predetermined value. The HNB gateway device includes means (HNB-GW list management unit 23) for changing, upon transition to the sleep mode, an HNB gateway list in the HNB performing HNB registration on the HNB gateway device using RPC:SetParameterValues from an HMS.
US09185645B2	Mobile communication system, method of controlling the same, and radio base station apparatus A mobile communication system according to the present invention that can provide a mobile communication system capable of reducing power consumption by a radio base station apparatus includes a radio base station apparatus (1) that communicates with a mobile terminal (4), a location information management apparatus (3) that acquires location information of the mobile terminal (4), and a processing apparatus (2) that changes an operation state so that the radio base station apparatus (1) does not emit radio waves based on changes in the location information of the mobile terminal (4) acquired by the location information management apparatus (3). When the mobile terminal (4) moves from a position within a service area of the radio base station apparatus (1) to a position outside the service area, for example, the processing apparatus (2) changes the operation state so that the radio base station apparatus (1) does not emit radio waves.
US09185627B2	Low cost mesh network capability A wireless device that utilizes a single network interface to simultaneously connect to an infrastructure network and a mesh network. The device has a driver layer with a media access control module for each network type. A multiplexing module and transceiver module within the driver can direct received information associated with one of the networks to an appropriate media access control and then to an appropriate network adapter. For transmitted data, the multiplexing module can receive data from the application layer through an appropriate network adapter and route it to an appropriate media access control module for processing. The processed data can be interleaved by the transceiver for transmission.
US09185625B2	Method and apparatus for processing control messages in a wireless communications system There is described a method of processing control messages received by a wireless communication network from a wireless communication device. The method comprises: monitoring received control messages sent by the wireless communication device to identify control messages conveying information indicating whether or not the wireless communication device has a handover capability associated with performing a handover between the packet-switched and circuit-switched domains; for any such identified control message which indicates that the corresponding wireless communication device does not have said handover capability, modifying the control message to indicate that said corresponding wireless communication device does have said handover capability and forwarding the modified control message to the core network; and storing data indicative of whether or not the wireless communication device has said handover capability.
US09185612B2	Method and apparatus for performing membership verification or access control in wireless communication system A method and apparatus for performing a membership verification or an access control in a wireless communication system is provided. A mobility management entity (MME) performs the membership verification or the access control of a user equipment (UE), and transmits verified UE membership information to a target HeNB.
US09185607B2	High rate packet data (HRPD) idle state handout from femto access point to macro access network Systems and methods for identifying an address of a femto node during handoff of an access terminal from a femto node to a macro node. In one embodiment, the femto node assigns a unique identifier to the access terminal. The access terminal passes the unique identifier to the macro node. The macro node partitions the unique identifier to determine the address of the femto node. In another embodiment, the femto node registers its address with a domain name system. The macro node queries the domain name system to obtain the address of the femto node. In another embodiment, the macro node sends the unique identifier to a proxy. The proxy partitions the unique identifier to determine the address of the femto node.
US09185606B1	Assignment of wireless network resources A RAN may be configured to receive a first call setup request relating to a first WCD, and a second call setup request relating to a second WCD. The first WCD may communicate using a first air-interface or a second air-interface, and the second WCD my communicate using the second air-interface and not the first air-interface. The RAN may determine that the first WCD and the second WCD are contending for a resource of a wireless coverage area defined using the second air-interface. Based on the first WCD and the second WCD contending for the resource, the first WCD communicating using the first air-interface or the second air-interface, and the second WCD communicating using the second air-interface and not the first air-interface, the RAN may assign the resource to the second WCD.
US09185597B2	Optimizing capacity during network congestion A device receives, from mobile devices, scheduling requests for voice packets, and assigns grants to the scheduling requests. The device further determines whether there is network congestion in a network associated with the device. The device also selects a grant, from the grants, when there is network congestion, and drops a voice packets associated with the selected grant. The device assigns physical resource blocks (PRBs) to one or more of the grants that are associated with one or more of the voice packets that are not dropped.
US09185595B2	Method, apparatus and system for moving wireless terminals in mobility management serving node pool The invention discloses a method for moving a wireless terminal in a mobility management serving node pool comprising at least a source mobility management serving node and a target mobility management serving node, comprising: initiating, from the source mobility management serving node, a first subscriber context procedure to inform the target mobility management serving node of a move action for the wireless terminal; launching, from the target mobility management serving node, a second subscriber context procedure to obtain a subscriber context for the wireless terminal from the source mobility management serving node, in response to the informing; and establishing a connection between a radio access node for the wireless terminal and a session management gateway node via the target mobility management serving node. An apparatus and a system are also disclosed for the same. With the solution, control plane and user plane traffic for the wireless terminal may be moved with a minimum of payload loss.
US09185592B2	MDT information-reporting format in a wireless communication system, and time-stamp configuring method and apparatus A method for configuring a Minimization of Drive Test (MDT) information reporting format and a time-stamp is provided that supports MDT in a 3rd Generation Partnership Project (3GPP) system. The method defines a reporting format needed in a process where UE transmits MDT measurements to a serving base station, and sets the number of bits required to log time stamp and the unit of logging time.
US09185591B2	Systems, methods, and devices for electronic spectrum management with remote access to data in a virtual computing network Systems, methods, and apparatus are provided for automated identification of baseline data and changes in state in a wireless communications spectrum, by identifying sources of signal emission in the spectrum by automatically detecting signals, analyzing signals, comparing signal data to historical and reference data, creating corresponding signal profiles, and determining information about the baseline data and changes in state based upon the measured and analyzed data in near real time, which is stored on each apparatus or device units and/or on a remote server computer that aggregates data from each of the units, wherein the data is accessible via remote computer devices.
US09185590B2	Method of performing cell measurement and method of providing information for cell measurement A method of providing information for cell measurements. A first cell configures a subframe for performing a first measurement with respect to a first cell. A first position performing the first measurement is different from a second position performing a second measurement with respect to a second cell. The method includes transmitting, from the first cell to a user equipment (UE), first pattern information indicating the first position and second pattern information indicating the second position. A first subframe corresponding to the first pattern information is included in non-Almost Blank Subframe (ABS) subframes of the first cell, and a second subframe corresponding to the second pattern information is included in ABS subframes of the first cell. The ABS subframes of the first cell are configured as a first subframe at each of 8 subframes of the first cell.
US09185588B2	Method and device for sending and receiving a broadcast control channel in a mobile communication system The present invention relates to a method and device for automatically optimizing the send parameters in a mobile communication system wherein, in order to optimize the BCCH reception performance, a terminal stores information relating to BCCH reception failure reasons or the number of instances of packet combination for BCCH reception, and this information is reported to a base station.
US09185587B2	Load estimation in 3GPP networks Loading estimation of 3GPP networks. One or more metrics relating to a cell of a 3GPP network may be measured. Loading of the cell may be estimated based on the one or more metrics. The metrics may include metrics measured, estimated, or derived at multiple layers, possibly including one or more of physical layer, radio link control layer, radio resource control layer, or application layer metrics.
US09185584B1	Dual controller functionality in a wireless communication system In normal operation, a primary signaling controller in a first RAN manages bearer connectivity and tracking area updates for a UE and further interfaces with a second RAN over a primary signaling interface to facilitate inter-RAN signaling related to transition of the UE from being served by the first RAN to being served by the second RAN, such as circuit-switched fallback signaling. Upon detecting failure of the primary signaling interface, the first RAN is dynamically reconfigured to have such inter-RAN signaling for the UE pass over a secondary signaling interface between the second RAN and a secondary signaling controller of the first RAN, while the primary signaling controller continues to manage bearer connectivity and tracking area updates for the UE.
US09185572B2	Closed user groups An arrangement for providing, on an ad hoc basis, a closed user group (CUG) among a collection of pre-defined IP network users. A set of intelligent access devices, dispersed through the IP network, constantly transmit a set of pings associated with the defines CUGs to discover those devices within its communication range. The discovered IP addresses for each device is thus constantly updated, allowing group members to remain in constant contact (emulating an “always on” connection). The users feels they are always connected with group members and thus have instant access to voice/data/video sessions—much like hot lines or “always on” connections.
US09185568B2	Communication device, program and communication control method There is provided a communication device comprising: a detection unit that detects presence or absence of communication connection with a server storing data related to a communication environment of a communication area where a first communication service is provided; a data acquisition unit that acquires data related to a surrounding communication environment; and a determination unit that determines availability of usage of a second communication service using a part or whole of a spectrum assigned to the first communication service based on the data acquired by the data acquisition unit, wherein when communication connection with the server is not detected by the detection unit, the data acquisition unit senses a communication environment surrounding the communication device or receives data related to a communication environment from another communication device located near the communication device.
US09185566B2	Cell cancellation list and an adaptive radio link failure trigger for improved spectrum sharing A cell cancellation method for improved spectrum sharing is provided. The cell cancellation method includes detecting interference from a cell. The method also includes cancelling a signal from the cell when a physical cell identifier corresponding to the cell is indicated in a cancellation list. An adaptive radio link failure (RLF) trigger method for improved spectrum sharing is disclosed. The RLF trigger method includes detecting interference from a cell. The RLF trigger method also includes adjusting a radio link failure trigger according to a cell identity of an interferer associated with the cell.
US09185551B2	Mobile communications An identification module (such as a SIM card) for securely providing a mobile identity to a mobile data network for use in identifying mobile equipment in which that identification module is installed comprises a mobile identity memory which securely stores data defining two or more different mobile identities; a selector for selecting a mobile identity from the two or more mobile identities; a network interface for generating data derived from the selected mobile identity for transmission to a mobile network during a network authorization procedure, and for receiving acknowledgement data back from the mobile network indicating whether authorization was successful based on that selected mobile identity; and a detector for detecting whether the acknowledgement data indicates an unsuccessful authorization with the mobile network and, if so, for initiating a further network authorization procedure in which the selector selects a different one of the two or more mobile identities.
US09185548B2	User terminal, operator server, remote support method and user terminal program Mutual remote support between users is easily facilitated without troublesome complicated user registration. For user terminals between which remote support is performed, a user can use an appropriate supporter user terminal to enable the supporter user terminal to access a supportee user terminal to thereby facilitate setting manipulation and check device (or terminal) status with regard to not only the supportee user terminal but also a supportee device that is communicably connected to the supportee user terminal, by merely selecting the supportee device (or terminal) from an address book stored in the corresponding user terminal. Further, when a necessary application is not installed in a counterpart user terminal, it is possible to transmit information for installing the application through an SMS or the like.
US09185544B2	Apparatuses and methods for reducing location update signaling between network nodes of a mobile communication network This disclosure describes apparatuses, methods and computer program products for reducing location update signaling in a mobile communications network. In some embodiments, a method is provided in which a mobility management and control (MMC) rule is provided to a location aware network node (LANN) (e.g., an MME). The MMC rule includes location information that specifies a location and an action associated with the location. In response to receiving mobility information pertaining to a mobile communication device (MCD), the LANN uses the mobility information and the location information to determine whether or not to perform the action associated with the location information.
US09185541B1	Data usage measurement over multiple networks Systems and methods of determining wireless data usage are provided. Wireless data usage of a wireless device on a first network of a first network operator is determined. A message indicating a performance of a handover of the wireless device from the first network to a second network of a second network operator is received and the wireless data usage of the wireless device on the second network is determined based on the message received.
US09185531B2	Method of handling service group ownership transfer in a communication system and related communication device A method of transferring ownership of a service group (SG) for a communication system comprising a converged personal network service (CPNS) server is disclosed. The service group comprises a first plurality of personal network elements (PNEs), and the method comprises the CPNS server receiving an owner transfer request from a first PNE of the service group; and the CPNS server selecting a second PNE from the first plurality of PNEs of the service group, to transfer the ownership of the service group from the first PNE to the second PNE.
US09185530B2	Group procedures for machine type communication devices Systems, methods, and instrumentalities to optimize procedures relating to machine type communication devices. Individual UEs may be grouped together in order to optimize procedures relating to members of the group. For example, a group of UE devices may be predefined or a group may be configured by a network associated with the UEs. One or more of the members of the group may be designated as a special UE or a master UE. The special UE or master UE may perform an action on behalf of one or more members of the group.
US09185521B2	Method and apparatus for providing a collaborative reply over an ad-hoc mesh network An approach is provided for providing a collaborative reply to a flooding message over an ad-hoc mesh network. A reply message to a flooding message is received by a wireless node within the ad-hoc network. The wireless node monitors for an acknowledgement of receipt of the reply message according to a routing table and initiates a scheduled transmission of the reply message based on the monitoring.
US09185519B2	System and method for geography-based correlation of cellular and WLAN identifiers Methods and systems for tracking mobile communication terminals based on their identifiers. The disclosed techniques identify cellular terminals and Wireless Local Area Network (WLAN) terminals that are likely to be carried by the same individual, or cellular and WLAN identifiers that belong to the same multi-mode terminal. A correlation system is connected to a cellular network and to a WLAN. The system receives location coordinates of cellular identifiers used by mobile terminals in the cellular network, and location coordinates of WLAN identifiers used by mobile terminals in the WLAN. Based on the location coordinates, the system is able to construct routes that are traversed by the terminals having the various cellular and WLAN identifiers. The system attempts to find correlations in time and space between the routes.
US09185513B1	Method and system for compilation with profiling feedback from client A computer-implemented method for compilation of applications includes storing, at a server, a plurality of variants, wherein each of the plurality of variants describes a distinct client architecture. A plurality of optimized binaries for an application are maintained at the server, wherein the plurality of optimized binaries correspond to different variants in the plurality of variants. The server receives a request from a client to download the application, wherein the request includes a reference to a first variant that describes the client's architecture. A determination is made that the first variant corresponds to a first optimized binary of the plurality of optimized binaries, and the server provides the first optimized binary to the client.
US09185512B2	Information processing apparatus, information processing method, and program There is provided an information processing apparatus including a transmission section which transmits, to an external device that has collected an index pertaining to a feature of an output of a sensor for each classification, classification information for specifying the classification, and a reception section which receives information about the index corresponding to the classification information.
US09185504B2	Dynamic pressure vent for canal hearing devices A seal assembly for canal hearing devices including a dynamic pressure vent formed and defined by diaphragmatic flaps configured to open in response to a pressure gradient across the diaphragm. The seal assembly comprises a compliant seal element configured to be positioned generally concentrically around the canal hearing device for providing comfortable contact with the ear canal and for acoustically sealing the residual volume of the ear canal. The seal assembly is preferably made of an elastomeric material. The dynamic pressure vent is substantially closed in the normal position to minimize feedback, while momentarily opening inside the ear canal during insertion or removal of the canal hearing device into or from the ear canal.
US09185501B2	Container-located information transfer module Techniques are described herein that transfer information using a container-located module. The module is coupled to sensor(s) that are configured to detect characteristic(s) pertaining to a medical substance that is included in a medical container. The module wirelessly transfers information that is based on the characteristic(s) to a requesting device in response to a request from the requesting device.
US09185496B1	Piezo element stethoscope A stethoscope chest piece has a chest piece housing containing a piezoelectric (piezo) element mounted within a housing. The piezo element converts body signals to an electrical representation that is processed by circuitry on a circuit board. A back stop is affixed to the circuit board to prevent excess excursion by the piezo element and may be one of the circuit elements on the circuit board. The circuitry includes a USB interface for passing the electrical representation to a receiving device such as a personal computer. This abstract is not to be considered limiting, since other embodiments may deviate from the features described in this abstract.
US09185495B2	Oscillation device and electronic apparatus An oscillation device includes: a piezoelectric vibrator (110) in which electrode layers (112, 113) are formed over top and bottom surfaces of a piezoelectric layer (111); a vibrating member (120) having at least atop surface to which the piezoelectric vibrator (110) is bonded; and a resin member (130) formed continuously in a circumferential direction over at least the outer side surface of the piezoelectric vibrator (110). Therefore, since it is possible to increase the working area of the piezoelectric vibrator, it is possible to realize both an increase in the sound pressure level of the output and miniaturization of the apparatus.
US09185484B2	Hydrodynamic modulator A hydraulic modulator provides a rectangular outlet from which water can be discharged across an outlet mouth. Spaced from the rectangular outlet across the outlet mouth is a rigid blade. Because water is effectively incompressible at the frequencies of interest a compliance chamber is provided along an interior side of the rigid blade. Mechanical compliance elements are provided within or adjacent to the compliance chamber which may be displaced to absorb and discharge mechanical energy from the flow of water. Water flow shifts back and forth relative to the interior and exterior sides of the rigid blade.
US09185479B2	Microphone module and microphone system having the microphone module Microphone systems having wireless microphones are often used in events such as discussions, concerts, plays, etc. and normally have a plurality of wireless microphones which are worn by users, such as actors, musicians, singers, etc, and one or more receiving stations which receive the audio signals of the wireless microphones and forward said signals to mixing consoles, amplification systems, recording devices, etc. In addition to the basic functionality of transmitting audio signals, microphone systems have become known which implement additional functions. The invention relates to a microphone module 2 having a transmitting unit 6 wherein the transmitting unit 6 is designed for the wireless transmission of audio information to a base station 3, having a receiving unit 8, wherein the receiving unit 8 is designed to receive wirelessly transmitted status information and/or messages from a transmitter 4, 12 and having an output device 13, 14 for the output of the status information and/or messages to a user of the microphone module 2.
US09185478B2	Ruggedized sound system A sound system configured to play audio files in a variety of indoor and outdoor environments is disclosed. The system includes a housing, a speaker, a power supply, and a mounting attachment that provides protection for sensitive system components and allow the system to be securely attached to a variety of surfaces and objects.
US09185473B2	Network node for an optical transport network A network node for an optical transport network is disclosed, which has a signal input for receiving a multiplexed transport signal carrying a number of n timeslots of a fixed size data capacity, a demultiplexer for demultiplexing the received signal into a number of m>1 sub-signals, each sub-signal carrying a fraction of n/m of said timeslots, one or more space switch modules for configurably switching said sub-signals, and a multiplexer receiving sub-signals from said one or more space switch modules; for multiplexing timeslots from said sub-signals into an outgoing multiplexed transport signal carrying n of said timeslots. The multiplexer is connected to the one or more switch modules over a number of l>m interconnections and receives from said one or more switch modules up to l sub-signals. Moreover, the multiplexer can be configured to select the n timeslots for the outgoing multiplexed transport signal from the up to l sub-signals.
US09185468B2	MP4 container file formats and methods of processing MP4 container files A file that is compatible with a media player application that reads media files compliant with MP4, is created by including in the file a parent container containing child containers. The child containers include a metadata container containing metadata relating to the media presentation and a media data container containing media samples for multiple tracks of the media presentation. The metadata container contains multiple child containers containing metadata for the multiple tracks respectively. The metadata container contains at least one additional child container that reserves free space in the metadata container but does not contain metadata, whereby in the event of adding a track to the presentation the free space in the additional child container may be overwritten with metadata for the added track without affecting the size of the metadata container.
US09185462B2	Method and system for implementation of an interactive television application The present invention provides a method and system for implementation of an interactive television application. Particularly, the invention provides method and system for designing and implementation of synchronized interactive television applications using quick response (QR) code, wherein the quick response (QR) code is used to tag the broadcasted television content. More particularly, the invention provides method and system for decoding the quick response (QR) code at the receiver side to provide a universal resource locator (URL) which hosts augmented services for the content on the interactive television as well as on the secondary communication device.
US09185457B2	Methods, systems and apparatus for multi-purpose metering Methods and apparatus for multi-purpose metering are disclosed. An example method includes determining whether a portable device is within a vicinity of a household monitoring system based on detecting an identifier via a first radio frequency (RF) signal, when the identifier from the first RF signal is associated with the portable device, determining whether a second acoustic signal includes the identifier associated with the portable device, deactivating a media detection circuit of the portable device when the identifier is detected via both the first RF signal and the second acoustic signal, and activating the media detection circuit of the portable device when the identifier is detected from the first RF signal and the second acoustic signal is absent.
US09185456B2	Hybrid active and passive people metering for audience measurement Hybrid active and passive people metering for audience measurement is disclosed. An example method disclosed herein to perform people metering for audience measurement comprises obtaining an image sequence depicting a scene in which an audience is expected to be present, comparing an image sequence signature representative of the image sequence with a set of reference signatures to determine a comparison result, and controlling audience prompting performed by a people meter based on the comparison result.
US09185455B2	Method and apparatus for using 802.11 WLANs in TV white space A method and apparatus for using 802.11 Wireless LANs in TV white space are provided that additionally allows coexistence with non-802.11 devices in the same spectrum space. The method and apparatus extend concepts used in traditional 802.11 applications in the MAC and PHY layers so that WLANs can function over TV white space channels. The method and apparatus also facilitates coexistence of non 802.11 devices and existence with other 802.11 applications by extending the Enhanced Distributed Channel Access mechanism used to provide quality of service. An OFDM system with fixed subcarrier spacing is suggested to accommodate spectrum characteristics (variable center frequency and channel bandwidth) of the TVWS.
US09185450B2	Managing common content on a distributed storage system A method and apparatus for managing content on a distributed storage system are described including receiving a request to schedule recording of the managed content from at least one of a plurality of networked recording device, the request including a reference for the managed content, determining a replication factor, selecting a number and selecting which of the plurality of networked recording devices are to record the managed content, determining actual program start time and one of starting content ingest and instructing the selected plurality of networked recording devices to start content ingest, fragmenting the requested content and distributing the fragmented content to the selected plurality of networked recording devices and transmitting at least unique content playback reference required to access the content on the distributed storage system.
US09185443B1	Method and system for determining a channel service A method and system for identifying a service includes a service locator module and a customer service device communicating a channel signal to a service locator module from a customer service module. The service locator module generates a service signal associated with the channel signal and communicates the service signal to the customer service device.
US09185437B2	Video data Computer program products and a mobile terminal for transmitting and receiving video data. Image data of first and second frames of a video signal captured by a camera is used to determine encoded first spatial units of the first frame and encoded second spatial units of the second frame at lower spatial resolution, which are transmitted to the receiver terminal. The second spatial units are unaligned with the first spatial units due to rotation of the camera between the first and second frames, such that each of the second spatial units partially overlaps with at least one first spatial unit. An indication of the angle of rotation of the camera between the first and second frames is detected using a rotational motion sensor and transmitted to the receiver terminal. The receiver terminal combines the first and second spatial units using the indication to reconstruct an image of higher spatial resolution.
US09185422B2	Variable localized bit-depth increase for fixed-point transforms in video coding This disclosure describes techniques for mitigating rounding errors in a fixed-point transform associated with video coding by applying a variable localized bit-depth increase at the transform. More specifically, the techniques include selecting a constant value based on a size of a fixed-point transform in a video coding device and applying a variable localized bit-depth increase at the transform with a value equal to the constant value. Applying the variable localized bit-depth increase includes left-shifting a transform input signal by a number of bits equal to the constant value before the fixed-point transform, and right-shifting a transform output signal by a number of bits equal to the constant value after the fixed-point transform. The constant value is selected from a plurality of constant values stored on the video coding device. Each of the constant values is pre-calculated for one of a plurality of different transform sizes supported by the video coding.
US09185418B2	Adaptive quantization for enhancement layer video coding Techniques and tools for encoding enhancement layer video with quantization that varies spatially and/or between color channels are presented, along with corresponding decoding techniques and tools. For example, an encoding tool determines whether quantization varies spatially over a picture, and the tool also determines whether quantization varies between color channels in the picture. The tool signals quantization parameters for macroblocks in the picture in an encoded bit stream. In some implementations, to signal the quantization parameters, the tool predicts the quantization parameters, and the quantization parameters are signaled with reference to the predicted quantization parameters. A decoding tool receives the encoded bit stream, predicts the quantization parameters, and uses the signaled information to determine the quantization parameters for the macroblocks of the enhancement layer video. The decoding tool performs inverse quantization that can vary spatially and/or between color channels.
US09185402B2	Traffic camera calibration update utilizing scene analysis Methods and systems are disclosed for updating camera geometric calibration utilizing scene analysis. Geometric calibration parameters can be derived with respect to one or more cameras and selected reference points of interest identified from a scene acquired by one or more of such cameras. The camera geometric calibration parameters can be applied to image coordinates of the selected reference points of interest to provide real-world coordinates at a time of initial calibration of the camera(s). A subset of a video stream from the camera(s) can then be analyzed to identify features of a current scene captured by the camera(s) that match the selected reference points of interest and provide a current update of the camera geometric calibration parameters with respect to the current scene.
US09185399B2	Stereoscopic video receiver To provide a stereoscopic video receiver that generates a stereoscopic video with a sense of stereoscopy and a powerful impression even when a left-eye screen and a right-eye screen are displayed on a small-sized display, a left-eye screen and a right-eye screen shot by a stereo camera to be displayed on a display having a width narrower than that of a virtual display are displayed so as to be displaced in a direction of separating these screens away from each other, and left and right fields of vision are matched with each other at a position away from the display and a distance between left and right corresponding points of an infinite distance subject image is set to be shorter than an interpupillary distance of a viewer.
US09185390B2	Camera system and camera control method A camera system and method are suitable for use in applications in which three dimensional images are generated without using complicated procedures. A camera system includes: a first camera and a second camera; a camera adaptor box; and a camera control unit. The camera adaptor box controls the operations of the first and second cameras and transmits the images from the first and second cameras to the camera control unit. The camera control unit outputs a control signal, received from a control panel to control the cameras, to the camera adaptor box. The camera control unit outputs a video signal received from the camera adaptor box to a display apparatus and a recording apparatus.
US09185387B2	Image blur based on 3D depth information Blurring is simulated in post-processing for captured images. A 3D image is received from a 3D camera, and depth information in the 3D image is used to determine the relative distances of objects in the image. One object is chosen as the subject of the image, and an additional object in the image is identified. Image blur is applied to the identified additional object based on the distance between the 3D camera and the subject object, the distance between the subject object and the additional object, and a virtual focal length and virtual f-number.
US09185383B2	System and method for providing optimal display of video content Video display capabilities for use in the home continue to evolve. A method is described including receiving a video signal in a first format, determining at least one parameter associated with the signal and a display device, converting the signal to a signal in a second format based on the signal and display device parameters, and converting the second signal to a display signal based on the display device parameter. An apparatus is described including an input stream processor that decodes and separates a received signal, a controller that determines at least one characteristic of the signal and a display device, a video signal processor circuit that converts the signal to a second signal based on the characteristics and further converts the second signal to an output signal based on a characteristic of the display device, and an interface circuit that provides the output signal to the display device.
US09185381B2	Backward-compatible stereo image processing system and method of generating a backward-compatible stereo image A backward-compatible stereo image processing system and a method of generating a backward-compatible stereo image. One embodiment of the backward-compatible stereo image processing system includes: (1) first and second viewpoints for an image, (2) an intermediate viewpoint for the image, and (3) first and second output channels configured to provide respective images composed of high spatial frequency content of the intermediate viewpoint and respective low spatial frequency content of the first and second viewpoints.
US09185379B2	Medium and method for interactive seamless branching and/or telescopic advertising A method is described for playing stored continuous play content having a temporal flow. At least one segment of the continuous play content is associated with a plurality of links to other segments. The method includes playing at least one segment with temporal flow, determining whether a content expansion is desired, linking to and playing the expansion, if desired, or linking to and playing a continuing segment if the expansion is not desired. The method includes an additional link from the expansion to the continuing segment of the first segment such that the continuing segment is played after the expansion segment has been played. Other teachings include methods for playing stored content, for capturing and playing content, for capturing segment and linkage descriptions, storage mechanisms referencing the continuous play content and linkages and apparatuses for capturing and playing such content.
US09185374B2	Method and system for producing full motion media to display on a spherical surface A method and system for producing full motion media for display on a spherical surface is described. The method may include selecting a subject of full motion media for display on a spherical surface. The method may the include capturing the selected subject as full motion media (e.g., full motion video) in a rectilinear domain. The method may then include processing the full motion media in the rectilinear domain for display on a spherical surface, such as by orienting the full motion media, adding rotation to the full motion media, processing edges of the full motion media, and/or distorting the full motion media in the rectilinear domain for instance. After processing the full motion media, the method may additionally include providing the processed full motion media to a spherical projection system, such as a Science on a Sphere system.
US09185361B2	Camera-based tracking and position determination for sporting events using event information and intelligence data extracted in real-time from position information Position information of equipment at an event, such as a ball, one or more players, or other items in a game or sporting event, is used in selecting camera, camera shot type, camera angle, audio signals, and/or other output data for providing a multimedia presentation of the event to a viewer. The position information is used to determine the desired viewer perspective. A network of feedback robotically controlled Pan-Tilt-Zoom (PTZ), manually controlled cameras and stationary cameras work together with interpolation techniques to create a 2D video signal. The position information may also be used to access gaming rules and assist officiating of the event. The position information may be obtained through a transceiver(s), accelerometer(s), transponder(s), and/or RADAR detectable element(s) fitted into the ball, apparel or equipment of players, the players themselves, or other playing equipment associated with the game or sporting event. Other positioning methods that can be used include infrared video-based tracking systems, SONAR positioning system(s), LIDAR positioning systems, and digital signal processing (DSP) image processing techniques such as triangulation.
US09185358B2	Imaging apparatus An imaging apparatus includes: an imaging optical system that obtains an optical image of a photographic subject; a plurality of image sensor elements that output image data based on the optical image of the photographic subject obtained by the imaging optical system; an electric power supply controller that controls electric power supply to the plurality of image sensor elements; and a distance metering device that includes the plurality of image sensor elements and the electric power supply controller, and measures a distance to the photographic subject based on an output of the image sensor elements, wherein the plurality of image sensor elements are aligned in line and formed on one semiconductor wafer, and the electric power supply controller performs electric power supply to the plurality of image sensor elements in accordance with operating conditions set to the imaging apparatus.
US09185353B2	Removing environment factors from signals generated from video images captured for biomedical measurements What is disclosed is a system and method for automatically removing undesirable periodic or random background noise from heart rate measurement signals obtained from a video camera, ambient illuminator and other unknown electromagnetic sources to improve the overall reliability of biomedical measurements. In one embodiment, a time varying video image acquired over at least one imaging channel of a subject of interest is received. The video images are then segmented into a first region comprising a localized area where plethysmographic signals of the subject can be registered and a second region comprising a localized area of the environment where the plethysmographic signals cannot be registered. Both of the regions are exposed to the same environmental factors. The segmented video signals are pre-processed and the processed signals are subtracted from each other to generate an environmentally compensated signal. The environmentally compensated signal is then communicated to a computer system.
US09185341B2	Digital domain content processing and distribution apparatus and methods Methods and apparatus for distributing content using a spectrum generation device. In one embodiment, digital content is received via a time-multiplexed network transport (such as Gigabit Ethernet), and converted to frequency channels suitable for transmission over a content distribution (e.g., Hybrid Fiber Coaxial (HFC)) network. In one variant, the conversion is performed using digital domain processing performed by a full spectrum generation device. Additionally, methods and apparatus for selectively adding, removing, and/or changing digital content from the full spectrum device are also disclosed. Various aspects of the present invention enable physical (infrastructure) consolidation, and software-implemented remote management of content distribution.
US09185338B2	System and method for fingerprinting video Disclosed are various embodiments of generating video fingerprints. Scene changes can be detected in a video and a video fingerprint generated based upon a time at which the scene change occurs as well as time intervals between the scene changes relative to adjacent scene changes. A video can be captured and analyzed by comparing scene changes detected in the video to those described by the video fingerprint.
US09185329B2	Display apparatus, power supply apparatus and power supply method to minimize wasteful power consumption A display apparatus, a power supply apparatus and a power supply method are provided. The display apparatus display apparatus includes: a signal receiving unit which receives an image signal; a signal processing unit which processes the image signal; a display unit which displays an image based on the image signal processed by the signal processing unit; and a power supply unit which receives AC power and supplies operation power to the display unit. The power supply unit includes a discharging circuit part which includes a discharging element which discharges the power supply unit to remove a residual voltage from the power supply unit when the AC power is suspended, the discharging circuit part preventing the discharging element from consuming power when the AC power is input. It is possible to minimize wasteful power consumption caused by a discharging element provided to guarantee user's safety against a residual voltage.
US09185322B2	Digital video broadcast receiver A digital video broadcast receiver including a frequency synthesizer, a plurality of frequency dividing-phase shifting circuits, an antenna and a plurality of signal processing modules is provided. The frequency synthesizer synthesizes a first frequency signal. The frequency dividing-phase shifting circuits individually perform a frequency dividing-phase shifting operation on the first frequency signal to generate a plurality of first signals having different frequencies and a plurality of second signals corresponding to the first signals, where each of the first signals is orthogonal to the corresponding second signal. The antenna receives a radio frequency signal. The signal processing modules respectively obtain a plurality of signal components belonging to different sub-bands from the radio frequency signal according to the first signals and the second signals.
US09185318B2	Solid-state imaging device, signal processing method of solid-state imaging device, and electronic apparatus A solid-state imaging device includes a pixel array section and a signal processing section. The pixel array section is configured to include a plurality of arranged rectangular pixels, each of which has different sizes in the vertical and horizontal directions, and a plurality of adjacent ones of which are combined to form a square pixel having the same size in the vertical and horizontal directions. The signal processing section is configured to perform a process of outputting, as a single signal, a plurality of signals read out from the combined plurality of rectangular pixels.
US09185317B2	Image capturing apparatus capable of storing focus detection data An image capturing apparatus includes an image sensor having a first pixel group that photoelectrically converts an object image from a first exit pupil region, a second pixel group that photoelectrically converts an object image from a second exit pupil region, and a third pixel group for capturing that photoelectrically converts an object image from overall exit pupil region; a focus detection unit that detects focus information by performing a defocus calculation with use of a first image signal obtained from the first pixel group and a second image signal obtained from the second pixel group; an image processing unit that converts captured image data into an image file for recording and saving; and a data recording unit that records, in association with the image file, signals obtained from the first pixel group and the second pixel group such that the defocus calculation can be performed.
US09185305B2	Photography system, camera, and photography illumination device A photography system includes: a camera containing a first communication unit; and a photography illumination device containing a second communication unit, wherein: the camera wirelessly transmits from the first communication unit to the second communication unit a first signal that commands, from the camera side to the photography illumination device side, a preparatory flash emission that precedes a main flash emission during photography; the photography illumination device wirelessly transmits from the second communication unit to the first communication unit a second signal that includes flash emission timing information of the preparatory flash emission, and that carries information, from the photography illumination device side to the camera side, as to the effect that the first signal has been received; and the camera starts photometric processing during the preparatory flash emission based upon the flash emission timing information.
US09185283B2	Apparatus and method for automatically adjusting focus in image capturing device An apparatus and a method for automatically adjusting a focus in an image capturing device are provided. The method includes generating an image by capturing a subject through a lens when a flash unit is enabled, dividing the image into a plurality of windows, determining a brightest window from among the plurality of windows, and setting an Auto Focus (AF) detection area for performing an AF function centering on the determined window.
US09185281B2	Camera platform system A camera platform system 1 has a camera 11 that takes an image of an object to generate a shot image, camera platforms 12 and 13 that rotate the camera around a pan axis and a tilt axis, and image processors 4, 5, and 6 that generate a display image based on the shot image. When the camera passes a predetermined angle position to rotate around the tilt axis, the image processor generates a first display image corresponding to an image formed by rotating the shot image by an angle larger than 0 degree and smaller than 180 degrees around the pan axis at the predetermined angle position before generating a second display image corresponding to an image formed by rotating the shot image by 180 degrees around the pan axis.
US09185277B2	Panel camera, and optical touch screen and display apparatus employing the panel camera A panel camera, and an optical touch screen and a display apparatus employing the panel camera. The panel camera includes a lens panel comprising a plurality of narrow-angle lenses arranged in a two-dimensional (2D) array and a light-detection panel comprising a plurality of light detectors which are arranged in a 2D array to respectively correspond to the plurality of narrow-angle lenses to receive lights passing through the plurality of narrow-angle lenses from outside and obtain a remote image.
US09185274B2	Portable waterproof pack with air bladder The present invention relates to a portable waterproof pack, and more particularly, to a portable waterproof pack with an air bladder pack, which includes an air bladder pack, into which an air is injected, formed in a rear surface of a pack main body, and thus, can float on the water to reduce a risk of losing a portable terminal, such as a smart phone, without a buoyancy means when the portable terminal falls into water.
US09185273B2	Imaging pixels with improved dynamic range An imager may include hybrid pixels that can be operated in first and second configurations. A hybrid pixel may include a floating diffusion region and first and second photodiodes that are coupled to the floating diffusion region. The second photodiode may be coupled to the floating diffusion region by a transfer gate. The first photodiode may accumulate charge during a first integration period, whereas the second photodiode may accumulate charge during a second integration period. The imager may operate the hybrid pixel for improved dynamic range by controlling the configuration of the hybrid pixel.
US09185265B2	Image processing method and image processing apparatus for performing a tone correction to acquire a combined image According to the present invention, there is provided an image processing method that performs a tone correction to obtain a combined image with suitable brightness and contrast when a plurality of image data pieces is combined, and an image processing apparatus that can execute the method. The image processing method includes detecting brightness distribution for each of the plurality of image data pieces, calculating a characteristic amount of each brightness distribution from the brightness distribution, and acquiring a correction amount for a tone correction executed to the combined image data based on the obtained characteristic amount of the brightness distribution.
US09185261B2	Input device and image processing method thereof Provided are an input device and an image processing method thereof. The image processing method of the input device having a scan function includes acquiring a first image frame and a second image frame to detect coordinates of the acquired first image frame and coordinates of the acquired second image frame; dividing an overlap region between the first image frame and the second image frame into a plurality of sub overlap regions by using the detected coordinates of the first and second image frames; dividing each of the sub overlap regions into unit regions; setting a reference feature point of a plurality of feature points within the divided unit regions; and extracting corresponding points by using the set reference feature point.
US09185253B2	Image reading apparatus A reading unit of an image reading apparatus has a configuration in which a plurality of line sensors, including a first line sensor and a second line sensor that are arranged apart, are regularly arranged. The relation 0.95≦L/(n×D)≦1.05 (n=integer from 1 to 5) is satisfied where L is a distance between the first line sensor and the second line sensor in a sub scan direction. Before reading a document, the image reading apparatus detects an edge of the document, from which an image is to be actually read, using the first line sensor and the second line sensor to acquire correction information about document reading.
US09185244B2	Image forming apparatus, image forming method, and non-transitory computer readable medium An image forming apparatus includes an accepting unit, and a controller. The accepting unit accepts an instruction to execute an image forming process. The controller controls the accepting unit so as to prohibit the accepting unit from accepting an instruction to collectively execute multiple image forming processes when a billing device is usable which bills a user for execution of an image forming process and which is incapable of acquiring user identification information for identifying a user.
US09185243B2	Controlling re-execution of facsimile tranmission A facsimile apparatus having a first interface that connects to an IP network and a second interface that connects to an analog network control, in the case where facsimile transmission using the first interface has failed, to execute re-transmission using the second interface when a communication mode used in that facsimile transmission is an automatically-selected communication mode, and not to execute re-transmission using the second interface when the communication mode used in the facsimile transmission is a manually-selected communication mode.
US09185240B2	Image test apparatus, image test system, and image test method An image test apparatus includes an image generating unit acquiring an output target image with which an image is formed and output by an image forming apparatus, and generating a test image for testing the read image, an image test unit determining a defect of the read image based on a difference between the test image and the read image, a defect number determining unit determining number of defects contained in the read image based on a determination result of the defect of the read image, a frequency distribution generating unit accumulating defect numbers of multiple read images, each of the defect numbers being the number of defects detected in one read image, and generating a frequency distribution of the defect numbers, and an abnormality determination unit determining an abnormality of the image forming apparatus based on a change in the frequency distribution generated for each predetermined period.
US09185234B2	Automated account mapping in a wireless subscriber billing system Systems and methods for automated account mapping in a wireless subscriber billing system are disclosed. An external ID associated with a wireless client device is captured from a billable event communicated between a wireless client device and a wireless subscriber billing system. Then, the external ID is associated with a Subscriber ID (SID) used to communicate a billing request to an operator billing system.
US09185230B1	System for integrating VoIP client for audio conferencing Aspects of the present disclosure disclose system, apparatus and methods for providing an integrated web conferencing. In various aspects, the disclosure is directed to integrating a VoIP client for audio conferencing with a web client. In particular, the system provides for integrating a web portion of a web conference with an audio portion of the web conference. More specifically, the system, apparatus and methods provide for connecting a VoIP client to an audio conferencing portion of the system to facilitate communications between client and server.
US09185227B2	Sender driven call completion system A method and a system for completing an incomplete call made by a calling party to a called party, provide a call completion application on a calling party device. The call completion application detects an incomplete call, which is a call that is not connected to a called party device or a short duration call that does not enable an intended communication to occur between the calling party and the called party. The call completion application determines one or more call completion actions, for example, setting a reminder, transmitting media data, etc., to be performed to complete the incomplete call, for example, based on user selections, a duration of the incomplete call, user configuration of the call completion application on the calling party device, etc. The call completion application triggers execution of the determined call completion actions based on one or more action execution criteria for completing the incomplete call.
US09185201B2	Communication system and mobile communication device, and server for communication system According to an aspect, communication system includes a server and a first mobile communication device. The server is configured to transmit, when acquiring a search request of a mobile communication device, search information related to the search request to the first mobile communication device. The first mobile communication device includes: a first communication unit for communicating with the server, a second communication unit for communicating with a mobile communication device by short-range wireless communication to acquire device information related to the mobile communication device including at least identification information thereof, and a storage unit for storing the device information, and configured to transmit, when receiving the search information, the device information related to a target of the search request to the server.
US09185197B2	Accessory for mobile devices The disclosure of the present application includes accessories for securing mobile devices. In an exemplary embodiment of an accessory for securing a mobile device of the present disclosure, the accessory includes a socket having a receiver portion opposite an attachment surface, where the attachment surface is capable of attaching to a mobile device, and a connector including a connecting member disposed on a base, where the receiver portion is configured to engage and retain the connecting member. In at least one embodiment, the accessory further includes a sleeve having a tubular wall defining an opening through the sleeve, where the sleeve is adapted to accept and retain a digit of a user and is mechanically connected to the connecting member.
US09185193B2	Gasket structure for a terminal apparatus A gasket structure including a gasket that is disposed at a connecting portion between a first case and a second case, has a large-width portion at a certain portion of the first case where a key or a terminal is disposed, and is made of a flexible material; and a core member that is attached to at least the large-width portion of the gasket.
US09185174B2	Maintaining mobile device operations Systems, methods, and computer program products are provided for synchronizing device settings at a mobile device with settings held at a database in a synchronization server. This settings exchange mechanism is further extended to provide versioning information used in an auto upgrade process, in which the synchronization server is configured to push updates to the mobile device. Additional systems, methods, and computer program products are provided for configuring logging preferences on the mobile device from a server, and further for silently retrieving logs generated on the mobile device to the server.
US09185167B2	Associating broadcasting device data with user account A device can include at least one processor, and a telemetry module operable by the at least one processor to receive remote sensor data transmitted by a broadcasting device, wherein the remote sensor data is captured by a sensor of the broadcasting device. The system additionally can include a local sensor operable to capture local sensor data, and a sensor analysis module automatically operable by the at least one processor to associate, based at least in part on analysis of the remote sensor data and the local sensor data, the remote sensor data with a user account associated with the computing device.
US09185162B2	System using server to synchronize document displayed on mobile devices Embodiments of the present invention disclose an information transmission method, apparatus, and system, and a terminal, and a server. The information transmission method may include: sending, by a first mobile terminal, an information transmission instruction to a plug-in associated with the first mobile terminal; acquiring, by the plug-in, according to the information transmission instruction, link information of a current webpage in a browser where the plug-in is located, and sending the link information to a server; and acquiring, by the server, webpage information of the current webpage according to the link information, and sending the webpage information of the current webpage to the first mobile terminal. The present invention can implement information transmission, and improve the convenience of information transmission.
US09185158B2	Content delivery in a network An embodiment of a method includes receiving a request for the content from a requester, retrieving the content from a media access server, and while retrieving the content from the media access server, simultaneously streaming the content to the requester. An embodiment of a system includes an edge server having a media streaming server configured to receive the request and stream the specified content to a requester from a local memory, and a stream caching server configured to retrieve the requested content from a media access server while the media streaming server is streaming at least a specified portion of the content, and wherein the stream caching server is further configured to store the retrieved content in a local cache and notify the media streaming server that content is stored in local cache.
US09185155B2	Internet presence for a home network In one embodiment, a first interface of a switch interconnects with a broadband modem within a wide area network (WAN), while a second interface of the switch interconnects with a WAN interface of a router, where the router provides a gateway between the WAN and a local area network (LAN). Additionally, a web server is provided at the switch, where the web server is reachable to the WAN on the first interface and to the LAN on the second interface. The switch may then inspect traffic received at the first and second interfaces, and determines, based on inspecting, whether to transparently forward the traffic between the first and second interfaces or to redirect the traffic to the web server.
US09185151B2	Device, method and system for media packet distribution There is provided a method device and system for streaming media content to a media presentation appliance. There may be provided an appliance specific media stream generator adapted to derive an appliance specific stream from a multicast media stream. The generator may convert a multicast media stream addressed to a set of media presentation appliances into either (1) one or more unicast media streams, wherein each unicast media stream is addressed to a separate media presentation appliance; or (2) a multicast media stream addressed to a subset of the set of media presentation appliances. In both cases, the media content within the derived media stream may be substantially identical to the media content of the original multicast media stream. The generator may also introduce content (e.g. advertising) into the derived media stream(s).
US09185150B2	System and method for monitoring and selectively sharing an image in an image library Systems and methods for sharing an image in a communication session are disclosed. In some aspects, a software application is run on a first computing device, while a communication application is run on the first computing device. The first computing device is associated with a presenter in a communication session implemented via the communication application. That one or more images were added to an image library of the first computing device since a time when the communication application started running on the first computing device is determined, using the communication application. The communication application facilitates transmission of at least one of the one or more images to one or more second computing devices. The one or more second computing devices are associated with one or more audience members in the communication session.
US09185141B2	Managing roaming agreements between IMS networks A technique for managing an automatically established roaming agreement between two IMS networks (102, 104) is described, wherein one IMS network (102) supports multiple proxy nodes (302, 106) at the network edge towards the other IMS network (104). A method embodiment of the technique is performed in an I-CSCF (302) of the first IMS network (102) and comprises the steps of receiving (316) a registration request of an UE (306) via a second IMS network (104); sending (324) a roaming information request indicating the second IMS network (104) to a HSS (110) associated with the first IMS network (102); receiving (326) from the HSS (110) a roaming information answer indicating information related to the roaming agreement, and forwarding (328), based on the roaming information answer, the registration request to a second I-CSCF (106) of the first IMS network (102) managing the roaming agreement.
US09185130B2	Transmission apparatus, reception apparatus, communication system, transmission method, and reception method Provided is a transmission apparatus capable of avoiding unnecessary decryption and preventing a denial-of-service attack. The transmission apparatus that establishes a secure communications channel (SA) between the transmission apparatus and a reception apparatus includes a creation section that creates a packet, an encryption section that, based on a ratio of a redundant packet to the packets created by the packet creation section and on an instruction from the reception apparatus, determines an encryption coverage in the created packet and encrypts data in the encryption coverage, and a transmission section that transmits the encrypted packet through SA.
US09185129B2	Method and apparatus for preventing DOS attacks on trunk interfaces A method of protecting a data network from denial of service (DOS) attacks is described. The method may use various network tools to selectively block or disable portions of a data trunk experiencing a DOS attack, thereby preventing the DOS attack from reaching at least some resources on the network. In one embodiment, a network switch identifies a virtual LAN (VLAN) carrying suspect data on a data trunk. The network switch then adjusts a spanning tree for the network so that one or more ports on the compromised VLAN are blocked or disabled, while non-compromised VLANs are allowed to continue carrying data. Other approaches are also presented for avoiding the loss of valid data when a network blocks one or more VLANs or other portions of a network in response to a DOS attack or other intrusion.
US09185124B2	Cyber defense systems and methods Cyber defense systems and methods protect an enterprise system formed of a plurality of networked components. Connectivity and relationship information indicative of connectivity and behavior of the components are collected. A relationship graph is created based upon the connectivity data and the relationship data, wherein nodes of the relationship graph represent the components and edges of the graph represent connectivity and relationships. At least part of the relationship graph is stored to form a chronology. The relationship graph and the chronology are analyzed to predict connectivity and relationship changes within the enterprise system, and a first anomaly is identified when the current connectivity and relationships do not match the prediction.
US09185116B2	Methods and systems for use in providing access through a secondary device to services intended for a primary device Some embodiments provide methods of providing access to services comprise: receiving, from over a distributed network, a request from a secondary device to access an account; confirming authorization to access the account; identifying one or more primary devices registered with and corresponding to the account in response to confirming authorization to access to the account, where the one or more primary devices are multimedia playback devices; receiving, from the secondary device, a selection of a first primary device of the one or more primary devices, where the first primary device is separate and distinct from the secondary device; identifying services available to the first primary device and configured to be utilized through the first primary device; and providing access, through the secondary device, to the identified services.
US09185105B2	System and method for single sign-on session management without central server A method and system for single sign-on session management. Functions of session management and client log-in, normally handled by separate system servers, are incorporated as plug-in modules on individual web content servers. In this manner, network traffic to grant and validate client user credentials is reduced or minimized.
US09185102B2	Server system and control method There is provided a method of a server system including identifying a first token and a second token based on an identifier received from a first external information processing apparatus, acquiring data from the first external information processing apparatus with use of the first token, generating a document from the acquired data, transmitting the second token to an authentication processing apparatus, acquiring a verification result of the second token from the authentication processing apparatus, and transmitting the generated document to a second external information processing apparatus with use of the second token.
US09185098B2	Method for user authentication A method for verifying an identity of a user includes (a) receiving a request for an identification phrase from a user associated with a user account; (b) selecting the phrase from a pool of phrases and associating the phrase with the user account; (c) sending the phrase to the user; (d) receiving a video recording showing a person reading one or more phrases aloud, and (e) verifying that a phrase read by the person in the video recording corresponds to the selected phrase. A third party may desire verification of the user's identity. The method confirms to the third party the user's identity based on whether or not the phrase read aloud in the video recording matches the randomly selected phrase associated with the user account.
US09185091B2	Extensible access control architecture Software for managing access control functions in a network. The software includes a host that receives access control commands or information and calls one or more methods. The methods perform access control functions and communicate access control results or messages to be transmitted. The host may be installed in a network peer seeking access to the network or in a server controlling access to the network. When installed in a peer, the host receives commands and exchanges information with a supplicant. When installed in an access control server, the host receives commands and exchanges information with an authenticator. The host has a flexible architecture that enables multiple features, such as allowing the same methods to be used for authentication by multiple supplicants, providing ready integration of third party access control software, simplifying network maintenance by facilitating upgrades of authenticator software and enabling access control functions other than peer authentication.
US09185089B2	System and method for key management for issuer security domain using global platform specifications Disclosed herein are systems, methods, and non-transitory computer-readable storage media for key management for Issuer Security Domain (ISD) using GlobalPlatform Specifications. A client receives from a server an authorization to update a first ISD keyset. The client encrypts, via a client-side secure element, a second ISD keyset with a server public key. The client sends the encrypted second ISD keyset to the server for updating the first ISD keyset with the encrypted second ISD keyset. Prior to updating, the client generates the first ISD keyset at a vendor and sends the first ISD keyset to the client-side secure element and sends the first ISD keyset encrypted with the server public key to the server. The disclosed method allows for updating of an ISD keyset of which only the client-side secure element and a server have knowledge.
US09185088B1	Secure and efficient communication through an intermediary Techniques are disclosed for secure and efficient communication from a source to a destination through an intermediary. The disclosed techniques employ a source-to-intermediary encryption algorithm to encrypt the communication from the source to the intermediary. The disclosed techniques also employ an intermediary-to-destination encryption algorithm to encrypt the communication from the intermediary to the destination. Thus, a more optimal encryption algorithm may be employed for communication between the intermediary and the destination, even if the more optimal encryption algorithm is not supported by the source. Also, a more optimal encryption algorithm may be employed for communication between the source and the intermediary, even if the more optimal encryption algorithm is not supported by the destination.
US09185085B2	Systems for provisioning universal integrated circuit cards A system that incorporates the subject disclosure may include, for example, a system for receiving a request to modify a universal integrated circuit card, generating a package comprising configuration data for modifying the universal integrated circuit card, encrypting the package with a transport key to generate an encrypted package, transmitting the encrypted package to a communication device communicatively coupled to the universal integrated circuit card to provision the universal integrated circuit card, and providing a mobile network operator trusted service manager system information relating to the configuration data to enable the mobile network operator trusted service manager system to manage content and memory allocation of the universal integrated circuit card. Other embodiments are disclosed.
US09185083B1	Concealing data within encoded audio signals A method and apparatus for concealing data to be transmitted within an environment. A sound frequency map is identified based on sounds detected within the environment. A number of audio symbols for use in representing a number of data blocks in the data to be transmitted within the environment are selected using the sound frequency map. An encrypted audio signal is formed using the number of audio symbols.
US09185077B2	Isolation proxy server system An isolation proxy server system separates a typical proxy server or reverse proxy server into two physical computing platforms. A first physical platform, a front end proxy server, receives requests from clients on an external network, but is unable to relay requests by originating corresponding requests on an internal network. A second physical platform, a back end proxy client, originates distinct work requests to the front end proxy server. The front end proxy server forwards client requests to the back end proxy client in responses to the distinct work requests it receives from the back proxy client. The back end proxy client relays the client requests to a target server. Thus, the front end proxy server may not originate new requests to the server(s) in the protected zone, and the back end proxy client may not receive new requests from clients or from the front end proxy server.
US09185072B2	Stateless NAT44 An apparatus comprising a memory, and a processor coupled to the memory and configured to receive a mapping rule that associates a downstream internal Internet Protocol version four (IPv4) address prefix to an upstream external IPv4 address prefix, receive a first IPv4 packet from an upstream network node with a destination address field comprising an external IPv4 address comprising the external prefix, and perform a first network address translation IPv4 to IPv4 (NAT44) process by replacing the external IPv4 address in the first IPv4 packet's destination address field with an internal IPv4 address based on the mapping rule, wherein the internal IPv4 address comprises the internal prefix and a port set identifier (ID) associated with set of destination ports at a downstream node assigned to receive the first IPv4 packet.
US09185071B2	Methods and systems for seamless network communications between devices running internet protocol version 6 and internet protocol version 4 Systems are provided including at least one identifier locator network protocol (ILNP) enabled mobile node running Internet protocol version 6 (IPv6). The mobile node is attached to an IPv6 network in an IPv6 domain. The system includes a virtual root server configured to receive a binding identifiers create (BIC) message from a domain name system 64 (DNS64) server associated with the IPv6 network. The BIC message includes an ILNP address of the mobile node running IPv6, a fake ILNP address of a destination device running IPv4 assigned by the DNS64 server and an ILNP address of the DNS64 server. The fake ILNP address includes a full real address of the destination device. The virtual root server is further configures to create a binding between the ILNP address of the mobile node and the fake ILNP address of the destination device; store the binding; and send a binding identifier acknowledgement (BIA) message to the DNS64 server.
US09185070B2	MANET with DNS database resource management and related methods A network includes a first MANET subnet including a first collector node and first client nodes sending first resource status messages to the first collector node. The first collector node maintains a first DNS database based upon the first resource status messages. The network includes a second MANET subnet including a second collector node and second client nodes sending second resource status messages to the second collector node. The second collector node maintains a second DNS database based upon the second resource status messages. The network includes a transit router node sending updates from the first DNS database to the second collector node, and sending updates from the second DNS database to the first collector node. The first and second collector nodes each maintain and synchronize a combined DNS database from the first and second DNS databases, providing resource availability and status throughout the combined network to their respective clients.
US09185060B1	Initiating instant messaging (IM) chat sessions from email messages Systems and methods for integrating instant messaging (IM) services and email services are described. In one embodiment, email messages and IM chat session transcripts are threaded to each other so that an email thread history may be traced back to an IM chat session transcript and, conversely, an IM thread history may be traced back to an email message.
US09185057B2	Smart memory Systems and methods to process packets of information using an on-chip processing system include a memory bank, an interconnect module, a controller, and one or more processing engines. The packets of information include a packet header and a packet payload. The packet header includes one or more operator codes. The transfer of individual packets is guided to a processing engine through the interconnect module and through the controller by operator codes included in the packets.
US09185055B2	Communicating network path and status information in multi-homed networks An example network system includes a layer two (L2) device and a layer three (L3) device. The L2 device includes a control unit is configured to determine a preferred network path from a first L2 network in which the L2 device resides to an intermediate L3 network in which the L3 device resides that couples the first L2 network to a second L2 network having a second L2 device. The control unit includes a management endpoint (MEP) module. The MEP module executes an operations, administration, and management (OAM) protocol to monitor the first L2 network and output an L2 frame in accordance with the OAM protocol to the L3 device to notify the L3 device that it is within the preferred network path. A MEP module of the L3 device executes an OAM protocol that outputs L2 frames to the L2 device indicating the status of the L3 network.
US09185054B2	System and method for providing zero buffer copying in a middleware machine environment A system and method for providing a middleware machine or similar platform. In accordance with an embodiment the system (referred to herein in some implementations as “Exalogic”) comprises a combination of high performance hardware, together with an application server or middleware environment, to provide a complete Java EE application server complex which includes a massively parallel in-memory grid, can be provisioned quickly, and can scale on demand. In accordance with an embodiment, the system can be deployed as a full, half, or quarter rack, or other configuration, that provides an application server grid, storage area network, and InfiniBand network, which support the execution of an application server, middleware or other functionality such as, for example, WebLogic Server, JRockit or Hotspot JVM, Oracle Linux or Solaris, and Oracle VM. Additional features of the system can include, e.g. Zero Buffer Copies, Scatter/Gather I/O, T3 Connections, and Lazy Deserialization.
US09185036B2	Method and apparatus for flow control of data in a network A method of controlling data flow in a network includes detecting a congestion condition in the network, sending a congestion message to one or more nodes upstream of the congestion condition, learning address information of one or more nodes pertaining to the congestion condition, sending another congestion message containing these learned MAC addresses and, via the nodes receiving the congestion message with the MAC addresses, controlling a flow of data associated with the learned address information from the congestion message. The learned address information may be the MAC address of a destination node to which the data is flowing towards or a MAC address pair of the nodes between which the data is flowing.
US09185035B2	Apparatus and method for processing packet in MPLS-TP network An apparatus and method for processing a packet in a multi-protocol label switching-transport profile (MPLS-TP) network are provided. In the method of processing a packet, a packet transport layer (PTL) index and a layer stack (LS) or multiple label pop (MPOP) loopback header are used, and it is possible to remove a size limitation on lookup results of a lookup table when multiple labels are stacked, and solve the problem of having to extract all labels as label keys regardless of label operations upon an incoming label map (ILM) table lookup.
US09185025B2	Internetworking and failure recovery in unified MPLS and IP networks A primary border node (BN) and a standby BN are provided for internetworking two network domains, such that connectivity between the two network domains is maintained when a failure occurs in one of the network domains. The two network domains include an access network that implements MPLS-TP and a core network that implements IP, MPLS, or a combination of both. The primary BN establishes a tunnel from itself to the standby BN, and re-directs network data traffic from itself to the standby BN via the tunnel when it detects that an access node has switched connection from the primary VN to the standby BN. The primary BN also monitors its connections to the core network, and signals access nodes to switch to the standby BN if a failure is detected in these connections.
US09185024B2	Path selection in streaming video over multi-overlay application layer multicast A method and a tool based on achievable bandwidth as a metric are provided for selecting paths for overlay construction in an application layer multicast system. An in-band bandwidth probing tool according to the invention can estimate achievable bandwidth, i.e., the data throughput that can be realized between two peers over the transport protocol employed. The tool can determine the amount of extra bandwidth available in the target network path so that excess data traffic can be diverted from congested path without causing new congestion in the target path.
US09185023B2	Heterogeneous SoC IP core placement in an interconnect to optimize latency and interconnect performance Systems and methods described herein are directed to solutions for Network on Chip (NoC) interconnects that automatically and dynamically determines the position of hosts of various size and shape in a NoC topology based on the connectivity, bandwidth and latency requirements of the system traffic flows and certain performance optimization metrics such as system interconnect latency and interconnect cost. The example embodiments selects hosts for relocation consideration and determines a new possible position for them in the NoC based on the system traffic specification, shape and size of the hosts and by using probabilistic function to decide if the relocation is carried out or not. The procedure is repeated over new sets of hosts until certain optimization targets are satisfied or repetition count is exceeded.
US09185021B1	Content based routing architecture system and method The present general inventive concept relates to systems and method for routing electronic messages depending on message content.
US09185016B2	System and method for monitoring and analyzing internet traffic Systems, methods and apparatus for analyzing Internet traffic. In an aspect, a method receives at a server from a client device a report request for a report related to web site traffic; in response to the report request, sends from the server web site traffic data and application code to the client device. The application code has instructions that cause the client device to: generate a report to display the web site traffic data, time the display of the web site traffic data, periodically request updated web site traffic data according to the time of the display, and update the report with the updated web site traffic data; and the method sends from the server to the client device the updated web site traffic data in response to the request for updated web site traffic data.
US09185006B2	Exchange of server health and client information through headers for request management Server health and client information are exchanged through headers for request management. Headers in standardized or proprietary protocol communication between servers and a request management module and/or clients and the request management module may be used to exchange server health and client information. The exchanged server health and/or client information may be employed in throttling, routing, and/or load balancing the incoming requests. Rules specified by the client through the header exchange may also be used for throttling, routing, and/or load balancing decisions.
US09184998B2	Distributed path update in hybrid networks A network condition prompts a hybrid device to select a new path for a packet stream. A path update may occur in response to a change in network topology or a traffic loading condition (e.g., congestion or saturation of a link in the current path). Path selections may be made at each hybrid device in the path from a source hybrid device to a destination hybrid device. A path update procedure may be dependent upon path selection procedures that are optimized for a hybrid network in which multiple hybrid devices may be utilized for a particular path. Path update for load balancing may be dependent upon whether a packet stream is elastic or non-elastic.
US09184997B2	Selective network merging Subsets of isolated communications networks are selectively merged without merging the entire isolated communications networks, and devices are imported across isolated communications networks without merging the isolated communications networks. The presently disclosed technology provides for improved scalability, performance, and security in logical networks spanning two or more physical communications networks.
US09184995B2	Traffic visibility in an open networking environment A method of monitoring network traffic includes accessing a network that includes a controller and a switch device having a flow table, wherein the controller is communicatively coupled to the switch device, and is configured to program a behavior of the switch device through an openflow protocol, and obtaining information regarding the programmed behavior of the switch device, wherein the act of obtaining the information is performed by a network appliance that is communicatively coupled to the network. An apparatus communicatively coupled to a network, includes a processor configured for accessing the network that includes a controller and a switch device having a flow table, wherein the controller is communicatively coupled to the switch device, and is configured to program a behavior of the switch device through an openflow protocol, and obtaining information regarding the programmed behavior of the switch device.
US09184992B2	Registration of nodes at remote sites Systems and methods for providing registration at a remote site that may include, for example, a monitoring module that may communicate with a remote site. A registration protocol may be used by the monitoring module and the remote site in generating the messages communicated during the registration process. The monitoring module may gather and generate various identification information to be included in the registration protocol messages. The registration information provided by the monitoring module maybe stored at the remote site in a database server having a database. A confirmation message may be communicated from the remote site to the monitoring module that may either acknowledge successful registration or report that an error occurred during the registration process.
US09184987B2	System and method for automatic configuration of master/slave devices on a network A people counting system and method for the automatic reconfiguration of a failed people counting sensor device in a people counting system. The system includes a plurality of addressable people counting sensor devices defining a cluster having a master device in communication with at least one slave device, each of the master device and the slave devices having a corresponding Media Access Control (“MAC”) address. The master device is adapted to sequentially transmit power-on commands to each of the slave devices, assign a different node address to each of the slave devices, receive an association of the MAC address of the master device to the node address and MAC address of each of the slave devices to form a cluster configuration, store the cluster configuration as a cluster configuration table, and replicate the cluster configuration table to the slave devices. A dynamic host configuration protocol (DHCP) server assigns an IP public address to the master device.
US09184986B2	Method and apparatus for optimizing and scaling control plane traffic in carrier ethernet transport networks Methods and apparatuses for merging continuity check messages (CCMs) are described. Some embodiments determine multiplexer and de-multiplexer nodes in a network for multiplexing and de-multiplexing CCM traffic. One embodiment creates an optimization problem which when solved identifies nodes in the network that should be configured as multiplexer nodes to multiplex multiple CCMs into a group CCM and/or as de-multiplexer nodes to de-multiplex a group CCM into multiple CCMs. This embodiment uses the solution of the optimization problem to configure nodes in the network as multiplexer nodes and/or as de-multiplexer nodes. Another embodiment determines weights for different paths in the network that can be used for merging CCM traffic, and then merges the CCM traffic based on these weights.
US09184985B2	Investigating a communication aspect of a data flow The invention relates to a method, device (24) in a network node of a communication network (N), a computer program and a computer program product for investigating the correctness of a communication aspect of a data flow (DF1) passing through the network, where the data flow is provided in relation to a user terminal (10) connected to the network. The device (24) obtains at least one network generated event data record (EDR1; EDR3) of a first type and a network generated event data record (EDR2; EDR4) of a second type, compares the event data records of the first type with the event data record of the second type, determines the correctness of the communication aspect based on the comparison and sends alarm messages (AMI, AM2) in relation to the communication aspect if the two types of event data records indicate differences in the communication aspect.
US09184984B2	Network module A home network, in one embodiment including a home wiring system; a demarcation point unit in electrical communication with the home wiring system; and a home network module in electrical communication with the home wiring system. The home network module is adapted for connection to a home electronic device. The demarcation point unit passes data to and receives data from the home electronic device through the home network module.
US09184981B2	System and apparatus for distributed mobility management based network layer virtual machine mobility protocol A network element (NE) comprising a hypervisor configured to receive a first virtual machine (VM) from a source hypervisor, and send a first VM mobility registration request to a management node, wherein the first VM mobility registration request comprises a VM identifier associated with the first VM and an internet protocol (IP) address associated with the hypervisor. Also disclosed is a management node comprising a binding cache, and a processor, wherein the processor is configured to receive a first VM mobility registration request from a first hypervisor, wherein the first VM mobility registration is associated with a VM, and record VM information from the first VM mobility registration request in an entry of the binding cache.
US09184976B2	Method and system for I/Q mismatch calibration and compensation for wideband communication receivers Methods and systems for I/Q mismatch calibration and compensation for wideband communication receivers may include receiving a radio frequency (RF) signal in a receiver of a communication device, down-sampling the received RF signal to generate a channel k and its image channel −k at baseband frequencies, and determining average in-phase (I) and quadrature (Q) gain and phase mismatch of the channel k and the image channel −k. A curvature of gain mismatch for the channel k and the image channel −k may be estimate utilizing a blind source separation (BSS) estimation algorithm. The average I and Q gain and phase mismatch of the channel k and the image channel −k may be removed. A residual phase tilt and a residual amplitude tilt of the channel k and the image channel −k (with removed average I and Q gain and phase mismatch) may be determined.
US09184971B2	Apparatus for and method of robust packet detection and frequency offset estimation A novel and useful apparatus for and method of packet detection and carrier frequency offset estimation. The packet detection mechanism is robust to channels and sustains reasonable miss-detect (and false alarm) rates at low SNR values. The mechanism uses a modified combined cross correlation and delay and correlate scheme. A delay and correlate scheme is used in order to handle the effects of multipath while swapping integration and multiplication to increase cross-correlation factors resulting in improved sensitivity in low SNR conditions. Correlation is divided into multiple chains to generate a plurality of partial correlations to observe short patterns in the spread sequence resulting in improved performance in long multipath channels.
US09184948B2	Decision feedback equalizer (‘DFE’) with a plurality of independently-controlled isolated power domains A Decision Feedback Equalizer (‘DFE’) that includes: a plurality of input signal lines comprising at least one data signal line and a plurality of power control signal lines; at least one output signal line; and a plurality of independently-controlled isolated power domains, where each independently-controlled isolated power domain is coupled to a corresponding one of the power control signal lines, each of the power control signal lines configured to transmit a power control signal to the independently-controlled isolated power domain dynamically, and each independently-controlled isolated power domain selectively consumes power in response to the power control signal, each independently-controlled isolated power domain configured to be dynamically powered up or powered down without impacting signal processing operations.
US09184945B2	Method for compensating the frequency dependent phase imbalance A method for compensating the frequency dependent phase imbalance in a transmitter is provided. The transmitter processes a baseband signal. The method includes the following steps: (a) compensating the baseband signal with a predetermined delay amounts; (b) inputting the compensated baseband signal to an upconversion circuit to generate a radio frequency (RF) signal; (c) inputting the RF signal to a delay information extractor to obtain a correlation value related to the information of the predetermined delay amount; (d) changing the predetermined delay amount and compensating the baseband signal again with the changed predetermined delay amount, and performing steps (b) and (c) again to update the correlation value; and (e) selecting a candidate delay amount from the predetermined delay amount according to the correlation value, and compensating the transmitter by using the candidate delay amount.
US09184938B2	Communications system A method of providing services in a communication system. The method comprises: establishing a call instance from a caller terminal to a service provider terminal in the communication system; transmitting from the service provider terminal a service proposal in the form of an electronic document via the established call instance to the caller terminal; selectively accepting or rejecting the service proposal at the caller terminal; and in the case of acceptance of the service proposal, transmitting a request for money to a backend server in the communication system from the caller terminal; transmitting electronic cash tokens from the backend server to the caller terminal in response to the request to receive money; forwarding the electronic cash tokens from the caller terminal to the service provider terminal, whereafter the service provider provides services in accordance with the service proposal.
US09184936B2	Systems and methods for estimating processing workloads Systems and associated methods for estimating wireless workloads are described herein. Systems and methods provide for generating an estimate of a wireless workload's processing requirements from the combined knowledge of system specific values, such as system parameters, platform details, and implementation details. Systems and methods for estimating wireless workloads may be utilized in various wireless protocols, including, 3G, WiMax, LTE, WiFi, femtocells, and point-to-point wireless links. The estimated workloads may be used for scheduling wireless workloads in a shared computing environment.
US09184932B2	Connectivity fault management in a provider backbone bridge traffic engineering (PBB-TE) domain A system and method for providing Connectivity Fault Management, CFM, in a Provider Backbone Bridge Traffic Engineering, PBB-TE, telecommunication network utilizing Ethernet-based packet transport. PBB-TE point-to-point and point-to-multipoint services are identified, and PBB-TE maintenance points (31, 41) associated with the identified PBB-TE services are addressed. The addressed PBB-TE maintenance points are modified by adding a PBB-TE Service Demultiplexer (32, 42) to each PBB-TE maintenance point for identifying independent PBB-TE service instances. Basic CFM protocols are enhanced to duplicate the behavior of CFM protocols on virtual local area network, VLAN, based maintenance associations. The PBB-TE maintenance points may be Maintenance association End Points, MEPs, and Maintenance association Intermediate Points, MIPs.
US09184921B2	Input challenge based authentication Input challenge based authentication techniques are described in which data regarding a user's input signature is employed for authentication of the user to access resources. Different users have distinct input signatures that are indicative of the manner in which each individual user provides input including at least typing characteristics and timing data. Data regarding input signatures may be captured from user interaction with computing devices and associated with user accounts. Once sufficient data regarding a user's input signature is captured, access to a user account may be controlled at least in part based on the input signature. To do so, an input challenge that indicates a non-secret pattern of input is presented to the user in connection with an authentication sequence. The user reproduces the non-secret pattern of input and selective access to the user account is granted depending upon whether or not the reproduction matches the input signature.
US09184918B2	Trusted hardware for attesting to authenticity in a cloud environment Apparatuses, computer readable media, methods, and systems are described for storing a first measurement of a virtualization platform, storing a second measurement of a measured virtual machine, generating a quote using a key, wherein the quote is based on the first measurement and the second measurement, and providing the quote for attesting to authenticity of the virtualization platform and of the measured virtual machine. In a further example, the quote may be generated based on a third measurement of a secure tunnel.
US09184905B2	Phase compensation receiver A phase excursion compensation circuit of a phase modulation signal demodulator detects occurrence of a slip of a received signal from a change in a phase compensation amount that is formed into the received signal by a phase excursion compensation unit, and corrects the phase compensation amount of the received signal after the slip is generated.
US09184900B2	Method and apparatus for coordinating performance of multiple carriers The present invention relates to a wireless access system which supports multiple carriers, and disclosed is a method for coordinating the performance of the multiple carriers and an apparatus for supporting same. The method for coordinating the performance of the multiple carriers according to the present invention broadly consists of two steps. For example, the method comprises the steps of coordinating the basic performance of the multiple carriers in mobile user equipment and coordinating the extended performance of the multiple carriers in the mobile user equipment.
US09184897B2	Method of transmitting data and communication device A method of transmitting data is described comprising selecting a transmission mode from at least a first and a second transmission mode, wherein according to the first transmission mode data is transmitted in at least two first time periods using first communication resources wherein the at least two first time periods are separated by a first time interval, wherein according to the second transmission mode data is transmitted in at least two second time periods using second communication resources wherein the at least two second time periods are separated by a second time interval, and wherein the first time interval is longer than the second and the first communication resources allow the transmission of a higher amount of data than the second communication resources; and transmitting data according to the selected transmission mode.
US09184896B2	Terminal apparatus and transmission method The purpose of the present invention is to inhibit an increase in the amount of A/N resources, without changing the timing at which the error detection result of an SCell is notified when UL-DL configurations to be configured for each of the unit bands are different, from the timing at which the error detection result is notified when just a single unit band is configured. A control unit (208) transmits, using a first unit band, a response signal including error detection results about data received with both the first unit band and a second unit band. In a first composition pattern set for the first unit band, an uplink communication subframe is set to be the same timing as at least an uplink communication subframe of a second composition pattern set for the second unit band.
US09184895B2	Method and apparatus of interference alignment in cellular network Disclosed are a method and an apparatus of interference alignment in a cellular network. The method of interference alignment in the cellular network includes: receiving, by a base station, an improper signal from a terminal; and decoding, by the base station, the improper signal based on an improper decoding vector, wherein the improper signal is a signal generated by only a modulation symbol corresponding to a real number value, the improper decoding vector is determined based on an improper precoding vector, and the improper precoding vector has only the real value and separates a real number space and an imaginary number space of a received signal.
US09184891B2	Wireless base station apparatus, wireless terminal apparatus, frequency resource allocation method, and method of forming transmission signal A wireless base station apparatus and wireless terminal apparatus with a configuration which can prevent reductions in the accuracy of channel estimation when non-contiguous band transmission and SRS transmission are employed in an uplink line. In the base station apparatus (100), an allocation setting unit (106), which sets the reception band of an SRS at an SRS extraction unit (103) and sets the units of frequency allocation (RBG) at a CQI estimation unit (104) and allocation unit (105), matches the frequency position at the end of the SRS reception band to the frequency position at the end of any of the units of frequency allocation and sets the reception bandwidth of the reference signal to a natural number multiple of the bandwidth of the unit of frequency allocation. In the terminal apparatus (200), a band information setting unit (204), which sets the transmission band and units of frequency allocation (RBG), matches the frequency position at the end of the transmission band to the frequency position at the end of any of the units of frequency allocation and sets the transmission bandwidth of the SRS to a natural number multiple of the bandwidth of the unit of frequency allocation.
US09184887B2	Base station and terminal connection method for the base station The present invention relates to a base station, and to a terminal connection method for the base station. The terminal connection method for the base station according to one embodiment of the present invention comprises: a step of connecting to a terminal; an information extracting step of extracting information for determining a timeout value of the connection of the terminal when the connection to the terminal is completed; and a time-out setting step of setting a time-out value of the terminal according to the extracted information. According to the one embodiment of the present invention, the base station may efficiently utilize resources and overhead expenses for connection setup may be reduced.
US09184885B2	Data interaction method and data interaction device Disclosed are a method and device for data exchanging, and relates to communication technology. The embodiments of the present application includes: pre-allocating virtual resource to user terminals, and activating the virtual resource in case of need, so user terminals can use the pre-allocated resource to exchange data with network side. When inactive, the virtual resource can allocated to other users. For small data, irregular service, pre-allocation of virtual resource and activating it in case of need, can improve efficiency of use of resource. Meanwhile, dividing users into groups and scheduling by groups can reduce control overhead.
US09184860B2	Time synchronization method and system, and node device The present disclosure discloses a time synchronization method. In the method, a first node sends a first time packet at a first time over a first working wavelength; a second node receives the first time packet at a second time. The first node sends a second time packet at a third time over a second working wavelength. The second node receives the second time packet at a fourth time; calculates an absolute time deviation between the second node and the first node according to the first time, the second time, the third time, the fourth time, a first signal transmission rate corresponding to the first working wavelength, and a second signal transmission rate corresponding to the second working wavelength, and synchronizes the local time between the second node and the first node. Further, a time synchronization system and a node device are disclosed.
US09184844B2	Optical network system and method for controlling optical network system An optical network system for controlling a passive optical network (PON) in which at least one symmetric optical subscriber terminal and at least one asymmetric optical subscriber terminal coexist is provided.
US09184841B2	Multi-level decoder with skew correction An optical communication system, a transmitter, a receiver, and methods of operating the same are provided. In particular, a transmitter is disclosed as being configured to encode optical signals in accordance with a multi-level coding scheme. The receiver is configured to provide skew correction to the optical signals received from the transmitter by dividing a received signal into separate level-specific components and sampling each of the components with distinct sampling blocks.
US09184835B2	Multiple wireless connectivity hub A hub device detects, using a plurality of different wireless communication interfaces, the presence of a plurality of different wireless devices, wherein, initially, each of the plurality of different wireless devices implements an unknown type of wireless connectivity. The hub device detects a type of wireless connectivity, of a plurality of different types of wireless connectivity, for each of the plurality of different wireless devices whose presence is detected, and causes a connection to be established to the plurality of different wireless devices, via selected ones of the plurality of different wireless communication interfaces, based on the type of wireless connectivity detected for each of the plurality of different wireless devices. The hub device forwards data received from one of the plurality of different wireless devices to another of the plurality of different wireless devices using two different ones of the plurality of different types of wireless connectivity.
US09184831B2	Mobile communication method, radio base station, and relay node A mobile communication method according to the present invention comprising a step A in which, when a predetermined trigger is detected, the radio base station DeNB notifies the relay node RN of a transmission timing of an MBSFN subframe by a signal for changing the configuration of an RRC connection that is set between the radio base station DeNB and the relay node RN, a step B in which the radio base station DeNB performs scheduling such that a downlink signal is transmitted to the relay node RN at the transmission timing of the MBSFN subframe, and a step C in which the relay node RN performs scheduling such that a downlink signal is transmitted at a timing other than the transmission timing of the MBSFN subframe.
US09184828B2	Communication system, communication terminal, communication method, chip clock generation method, and orthogonal code generation method When multiple communication terminals access a base station in CDMA in which transmission signals are spread with orthogonal codes, the orthogonal codes in CDMA signals transmitted from the communication terminals are synchronized on the communication path. The communication terminals each include an information acquirer acquiring reference time information common to the multiple communication terminals, a transmission time generator generating a chip clock on the basis of the time information, an orthogonal code generator generating orthogonal codes in time with the timing of the chip clock, a CDMA spreader spreading transmission signals with the orthogonal codes to generate code division multiple access signals, a carrier wave generator generating a carrier wave, and a BPSK modulator modulating the carrier wave generated by the carrier wave generator with the code division multiple access signals and transmitting the carrier wave.
US09184820B2	Spatio-temporal processing for communication A space-time signal processing system with advantageously reduced complexity. The system may take advantage of multiple transmitter antenna elements and/or multiple receiver antenna elements, or multiple polarizations of a single transmitter antenna element and/or single receiver antenna element. The system is not restricted to wireless contexts and may exploit any channel having multiple inputs or multiple outputs and certain other characteristics. Multi-path effects in a transmission medium cause a multiplicative increase in capacity.
US09184816B2	Transmission method, transmitter apparatus, reception method and receiver apparatus Transmission quality is improved in an environment in which direct waves dominate in a transmission method for transmitting a plurality of modulated signals from a plurality of antennas at the same time. All data symbols used in data transmission of a modulated signal are precoded by hopping between precoding matrices so that the precoding matrix used to precode each data symbol and the precoding matrices used to precode data symbols that are adjacent to the data symbol in the frequency domain and the time domain all differ. A modulated signal with such data symbols arranged therein is transmitted.
US09184807B2	MIMO receiver having improved SIR estimation and corresponding method A method and corresponding receiver product, the method including: receiving a plurality of data streams over a wireless multiple-input-multiple-output data channel, whereby each data stream is received at all of a plurality of receive antennas from all of a plurality of transmit antennas with a respective weighting having been applied to each stream as transmitted from each different transmit antenna; receiving a common pilot signal over a common pilot channel; receiving an indication of the weightings; extracting the individual data streams from the plurality received at the receive antennas; and using the weightings and the common pilot signal together with information regarding the extracted data streams to calculate, for each of the streams, an estimate of signal power relative to interference from the one or more others of the data streams.
US09184798B2	Near field communications (NFC) device having adjustable gain A near field communications (NFC) device is disclosed that is capable of optimizing a gain for received signals. Measurements are made of signals received from an NFC environment and are compared to one or more threshold hold values. Based on the comparison, it is determined whether the measurements indicate underamplification or overamplification. Depending on the results of the analysis, one or more components within the NFC device is adjusted to increase or decrease the gain, respectively. The measurements may be taken during an unloaded baseline state or during loading, and may be compared to previous measurements to estimate their accuracy.
US09184797B1	Train or trailer communication system An apparatus that enables a train or trailer vehicle to communicate with other vehicles in the same train without using vehicle identifiers other than the relative positions of the two vehicles within the train. It uses short-range communication methodologies to communicate signals between a vehicle and the adjacent vehicle. Vehicles in the same train that are not adjacent intercommunicate via relay.
US09184796B2	Apparatus and method for operating antennas An apparatus and a method for operating antennas. A terminal includes a plurality of short range wireless communication antennas, each antenna disposed on different surface or in a vicinity of the different surface of the terminal, and a short range wireless communication control module configured to control to select at least one of the plurality of short range wireless communication antennas.
US09184793B2	Power line-communication adapter The present invention relates to a power-line-communication adapter including a main functional unit (PLTC) supplied with direct voltage by an internal voltage converter (AC/DC), characterized in that said adapter includes at least one switch (I1, I2) for interrupting the direct current supply to the main unit (PLTC) while the adapter is operating in standby mode.
US09184787B2	Preamble detection using vector processors In one embodiment, a programmable vector processor performs preamble detection in a wireless communication network. Implementation of preamble detection in the vector processor is made possible by a set of vector instructions that include (i) a circular load instruction for loading vectors of received data, (ii) a correlation instruction for correlating the vectors of received data with vectors of the scrambling code to concurrently generate a plurality of complex correlations, (iii) a partial-transpose instruction for arranging vectors of the complex correlations for use by a Fast Hadamard Transform (FHT) processor, and (iv) an FHT instruction for performing FHT processing on a vector of complex correlations. Implementing preamble detection in the vector processor allows more of the received data to be processed concurrently. As a result, preamble detectors of the disclosure may detect preambles using fewer clock cycles than that of comparable preamble detectors implemented using hardware accelerators.
US09184782B2	High-frequency module and communication device A high-frequency module includes first and second demultiplexers and a band elimination filter. The first and second demultiplexers include common terminals, transmission filters, and reception filters, respectively. In the band elimination filter, a demultiplexer-side terminal is connected to the common terminal of the first demultiplexer. The band elimination filter includes a first pass band, and a second pass band and a stop band that are located adjacent to each other within the first pass band. The band elimination filter is configured so that the second pass band includes the pass band of each of the transmission filter and the reception filter in the first demultiplexer and the stop band includes the pass band of the transmission filter in the second demultiplexer.
US09184777B2	Method and system for personalized dealership customer service A vehicle computing system enables one or more processers to communicate with a service center and present service instructions to an output device at the vehicle. The output device presenting information may include, but is not limited to, a vehicle occupant's cell phone device. The vehicle computing system may include a wireless transceiver for communicating wireless signals to and from the vehicle computing system. The vehicle computing system may establish wireless communication with a service center communication system through the transceiver and transmit vehicle identification to the service center communication system. The vehicle computing system may receive data from the service center communication system including service instructions in response to the vehicle identification transmission, and present the service instructions on the output device.
US09184757B2	Systems, devices, and methods for continuous-time digital signal processing and signal representation Systems, devices, and methods for continuous-time digital signal processing and signal representation are disclosed. This includes a continuous-time analog-to-digital converter that is configured to receive an analog signal and convert it to a continuous-time digital signal without using a clock or any type of sampling. This A/D conversion can include a per-level representation and a per-edge representation of the analog signal to produce a digital signal. The digital signal can then be processed in a continuous-time signal processor. The continuous time signal representation and processing can have benefits such a providing filters in high frequency applications where sampling is not practical.
US09184750B1	Digital circuits having improved transistors, and methods therefor Digital circuits are disclosed that may include multiple transistors having controllable current paths coupled between first and second logic nodes. One or more of the transistors may have a deeply depleted channel formed below its gate that includes a substantially undoped channel region formed over a relatively highly doped screen layer formed over a doped body region. Resulting reductions in threshold voltage variation may improve digital circuit performance. Logic circuit, static random access memory (SRAM) cell, and passgate embodiments are disclosed.
US09184747B2	Member for electrostatic capacitance-type sensor and electrostatic capacitance-type sensor using the same A member for an electrostatic capacitance-type sensor which suppresses a decrease in the variation amount of the electrostatic capacitance caused between an input body and the electrode through a proximate operation or a touch operation by the input body and has a metallic luster appearance which does not degrade with time, and is economical, and an electrostatic capacitance-type sensor using the same. The disclosed member includes a sheet member having an operation surface S on which a proximate operation or a touch operation by an input body is carried out and an electrode which is disposed on the opposite side of the operation surface of the sheet member, in which the sheet member includes a decorative layer having a metallic luster, and the decorative layer is a continuous film made of silicon or an alloy of silicon and a metal.
US09184746B2	Contactless switch and associated method A contactless switch provided by the present disclosure is coupled to a signal input device and receives a magnetic signal generated by a magnetic trigger mechanism. The contactless switch includes: a magnetic sensor, for sensing the magnetic signal and generating a corresponding trigger control signal; a controller, for generating a switch signal according to the trigger control signal; and a mode switch module, for processing the input signal to generate an output signal according to the switch signal.
US09184742B2	High side driver with power supply function The present document discloses a driver circuit for the high side switch of a half bridge at ultra-high voltage. The half bridge comprises the high side switch coupled to an input voltage Vin and to a midpoint of a low side switch. The driver circuit comprises a control signal generation unit generating a stream of control pulses and a control logic generating a gate voltage for the high side switch using a supply voltage Vcc based on the control pulses, a supply voltage capacitor generating the supply voltage Vcc, and a decoupling capacitor coupled on a first side to the control signal generation unit and on a second side to the control logic, to the midpoint of the half bridge via a first charging switch, and to the supply voltage capacitor via a second charging switch.
US09184740B2	Power circuit with short-circuit protection circuit A power circuit including a current-limiting semi-conductor switch and a control system connected to the current-limiting semi-conductor switch and configured to bias the semi-conductor switch into conduction and into cut-off. The control system further comprises a short-circuit protection circuit configured to detect and evaluate the voltage drop via the current-limiting semi-conductor switch.
US09184733B2	Low power architectures Systems and methods for operating transistors near or in the sub-threshold region to reduce power consumption are described herein. In one embodiment, a method for low power operation comprises sending a clock signal to a flop via a clock path comprising a plurality of transistors, wherein the clock signal has a high state corresponding to a high voltage that is above threshold voltages of the transistors in the clock path. The method also comprises sending a data signal to the flop via a data path comprising a plurality of transistors, wherein the data signal has a high state corresponding to a low voltage that is below threshold voltages of the transistors in the data path. The method further comprises latching the data signal at the flop using the clock signal.
US09184730B2	Dynamic feed-forward OPAMP-based circuit A dynamic feed-forward OPAMP-based circuit is provided. A first amplifying stage amplifies a pair of input differential signals to provide a pair of intermediate differential signals. A second amplifying stage amplifies the pair of intermediate differential signals to provide a pair of output differential signals. A first capacitor is coupled to a non-inverting input terminal of the first amplifying stage. A second capacitor is coupled to an inverting input terminal of the first amplifying stage. A feed-forward transconductance stage is coupled between the first and second capacitors and the second amplifying stage. The first and second capacitors and the feed-forward stage form a high-frequency path with a first gain curve, and the first amplifying stage and the second amplifying stage form a high-gain path with a second gain curve. The operational amplifier provides an open-loop gain according to the first and second gain curves.
US09184724B2	Bulk acoustic wave resonator Provided is a bulk acoustic wave resonator (BAWR). The BAWR may include a bulk acoustic wave resonance unit and an anti-resonant frequency modifying unit to modify an anti-resonant frequency generated from the bulk acoustic wave resonance unit.
US09184723B2	Electromagnetic resonance coupler An electromagnetic resonance coupler includes: a transmitting resonator provided on a transmission substrate and having an open loop shape having an opening, first wiring provided on the transmission substrate and connected to a first connection point on the transmitting resonator, a receiving resonator provided on a reception substrate, second wiring provided on the reception substrate and connected to a second connection point on the receiving resonator, and third wiring provided on the reception substrate and connected to a third connection point on the receiving resonator. When viewed in a direction perpendicular to a main surface of the transmission substrate, the transmission substrate and the reception substrate face each other so that the transmitting resonator and the receiving resonator are symmetric about a point and have matching contours.
US09184720B2	High-frequency laminated component and laminated high-frequency filter A laminate defining a high-frequency laminated component includes a ground electrode on a bottom surface of a lowermost insulating layer. A second insulating layer includes an inner-layer ground electrode arranged over substantially the entire surface thereof. A portion from a third insulating layer to a fifth insulating layer is provided with a capacitor electrode defining a series capacitor of a ground impedance adjustment circuit and capacitor electrodes defining a first parallel capacitor and a second parallel capacitor. A sixth insulating layer has an inner-layer ground electrode provided over substantially the entire surface thereof. The inner-layer ground electrodes are arranged in electrical continuity with the ground electrode by via holes.
US09184714B2	Musical instrument master volume amplifier A circuit and method for decoupling the perceived tone and volume of an amplified musical signal, such as a guitar amplifier, and allowing for the operator to achieve the desired sonic tone, texture and dynamic feel while separately controlling the overall perceived volume level of the amplifier device.
US09184710B2	Digital predistortion of a power amplifier for signals comprising widely spaced carriers Digital predistortion (“DPD”) of an RF power amplifier for signals comprising two widely spaced carrier clusters is proposed. The basis waveforms within the DPD are selected to allow for the use of a lower sampling rate. As one example, multi-carrier signals spanning 60 MHz of bandwidth may be linearized using a sample rate of 100 MHz for the DPD module and the observation path, as opposed to a sample rate exceeding 300 MHz (5 times Nyquist) used conventionally. A transmit (Tx) filter is located after the power amplifier to attenuate distortion modes exceeding the sampling rate used.
US09184709B2	Resonant pre-driver for switching amplifier An arrangement and a method for improving the efficiency of a multistage switching amplifier using a resonant circuit element is presented. The multistage amplifier comprises a pre-driver amplifier, a final stage amplifier and a series L-C arrangement coupled between the pre-driver amplifier and the final stage amplifier. The series L-C arrangement forms a parallel L-C resonant circuit with a gate to source capacitor of an input transistor of the final stage amplifier. An oscillation of energy takes place between the gate to source capacitor of the input transistor of the final stage amplifier and the series L-C arrangement. This oscillation of energy provides the final stage amplifier with driving current and improves efficiency of the overall multistage amplifier arrangement.
US09184707B2	Amplifier with switchable common gate gain buffer An amplifier having a switchable common gate gain buffer is disclosed. In an exemplary embodiment, an apparatus includes a plurality of selectable gain channels that provide constant input impedance at a common input to receive an input signal and generate an output signal having at least one of selected gain and current characteristics. At least two gain channels utilize transistors having different transconductance values. The apparatus also includes at least one impedance network coupled to at least one gain channel to provide the constant input impedance.
US09184705B2	Feedback mechanism for boost-on-demand amplifiers A method and an amplifier for amplifying audio signals include a signal processor for processing incoming audio samples in preparation for amplification by an electronic amplifier circuit. A voltage is received from a power supply. Before the signal processor completes processing the incoming audio samples, an input level is estimated based on the incoming audio samples. In response to a comparison between the estimated input level and a threshold value, it is determined whether to boost the voltage received from the power supply. After the signal processor completes processing the incoming audio samples, an output level is estimated based on the processed audio samples. A determination is made, in response to the estimated output level, whether to adjust the threshold value used to determine whether to boost the voltage received from the power supply.
US09184703B2	N-way doherty distributed power amplifier with power tracking A power amplifier using N-way Doherty structure with adaptive bias supply power tracking for extending the efficiency region over the high peak-to-average power:ratio of the multiplexing modulated signals such as wideband code division multiple access and orthogonal frequency division multiplexing is disclosed. In an embodiment, present invention uses a dual-feed distributed structure to an N-way Doherty amplifier to improve the isolation between at least one main amplifier and at least one peaking amplifier and, and also to improve both gain and efficiency performance at high output back-off power. Hybrid couplers can be used at either or both of the input and output. In at least some implementations, circuit space is also conserved due to the integration of amplification, power splitting and combining.
US09184702B2	Peak-to-average ratio detector An amplifier circuit with a peak-to-average ratio detector is described. Detection of the peak-to-average ratio value can be used to tune one or more parameters that affect linearity of one or more amplifiers in the amplifier circuit to improve amplifier performance.
US09184694B2	Solar array support methods and systems Systems and methods for disposing and supporting a solar panel array are disclosed. The embodiments comprise various combinations of cables, support columns, and pod constructions in which to support solar panels. The solar panels can incorporate single or dual tracking capabilities to enhance sunlight capture. The embodiments encourage dual land use in which installation of the systems minimizes disruption of the underlying ground. Supplemental power may be provided by vertical axis windmills integrated with the columns. Special installations of the system can include systems mounted over structures such as parking lots, roads and aqueducts. Simplified support systems with a minimum number of structural elements can be used to create effective support for solar panel arrays of varying size and shapes. These simplified systems minimize material requirements and labor for installation of the systems.
US09184689B2	Motor control device A motor control device which controls rotation of a motor to which an object to be controlled is connected through a link mechanism, the motor control device comprising: a parameter input means configured to input information about operation start and end positions of the object to be controlled and parameters necessary for controlling the motor including at least rotation speed information of the motor; a position detection means configured to detect a position of the object to be controlled; and a driving control means configured to calculate a deceleration start position from the information about the operation start and end positions to drive the motor, and to perform a subtraction operation on the target rotation speed when it is detected that the object to be controlled has reached the deceleration start position to drive the motor.
US09184686B2	Electric power generation control device and electric power generation control system An ECU in an electric power generation control system obtains a vehicle state containing a battery state and a driving state of a motor vehicle. The ECU calculates charging parameters necessary for maintaining a residual charge of a battery and vibration suppression parameters necessary for suppressing vibration of a vehicle. An exciting current setting section as a function of the ECU determines an exciting current flowing in an excitation winding of an alternator on the basis of the charging parameters and the vibration suppression parameters.
US09184684B2	Motor driving circuit and method thereof A motor driving circuit for driving a motor includes: a driving-stage circuit, for converting an input voltage into a first output voltage and a second output voltage, and comprising a first transistor, a second transistor, a third transistor and a fourth transistor; an output stage circuit, for converting the first output voltage or the second output voltage into a motor speed signal; and a control unit, coupled to the first, the second, the third and the fourth transistors and the output stage circuit, for generating first, second, third and fourth transistor control signals to control the first, the second, the third and the fourth transistors respectively.
US09184680B2	Motor drive control device and operating method thereof Motor Drive Control Device configured to properly start up various types of motors under operating conditions where motor operations are performed in a wide range of temperature and power supply voltage, includes output drive controllers that supply PWM drive output signals to an output pre-driver in such a manner as to minimize the error between a current instruction signal and a current detection digital signal. In response to a detected induced voltage generated from a voltage detector upon startup of a motor, an initial acceleration controller supplies initial acceleration output signals specifying a conducting phase for initial acceleration of the motor to the output drive controllers. The initial acceleration controller, the output drive controllers, and an output driver make a conducting phase change and perform a PWM drive to provide the initial acceleration of the motor.
US09184677B2	Driving device, lens barrel, and image capturing apparatus Provided is a lens barrel includes a vibration actuator that drives a focusing lens which brings a subject image into focus; an amplifying section that applies a pair of driving signals amplified to the vibration actuator; a phase shifting section that changes a phase difference between the pair of the driving signals; and a control section that, when a signal for giving an instruction to drive the vibration actuator is input, executes a first processing of causing the phase shifting section to perform an operation which periodically changes the phase difference of the pair of the driving signals.
US09184673B2	Pulse width modulation control for a multilevel converter A method for controlling a switching device of a multilevel converter includes dynamically selecting a carrier and generating a switching signal to effect a switching event of the switching device based on a comparison of the dynamically selected carrier with a reference signal. The carrier is dynamically selected from a multiple carriers, each corresponding to one of multiple contiguous bands into which range of a waveform of the reference signal is divided. The carriers corresponding to different bands have differing waveform shapes. The dynamically selected carrier corresponds to the band instantaneously occupied by the reference signal. The dynamic selection is executed whereby whenever there is a transition of the reference signal from a first band to a second band, the carriers for the first and second bands are selected dependent on a slope of the reference signal waveform at the transition.
US09184666B2	Active thermal protection for switches A system and method include a controller that reduces power dissipated by a switch, such as a source-controlled field effect transistor, when an estimated amount of power dissipated by the switch exceeds a predetermined threshold. Reducing the power dissipated by the switch prevents damage to the switch due to overheating. The controller determines the estimated amount of power dissipated by the switch using actual drain-to-source current and drain voltage data. In at least one embodiment, the controller includes a fail-safe, estimated power dissipation determination path that activates when the drain voltage data fails a reliability test. Additionally, in at least one embodiment, the controller includes a model of thermal characteristics of the switch. In at least one embodiment, the controller utilizes real-time estimated power dissipation by the switch and the model to determine when the estimated power dissipated by the switch exceeds a power dissipation protection threshold.
US09184664B2	Semiconductor device provided with switching power supply device with intermittent oscillation control A control circuit varies an intermittent oscillation frequency using a period signal. A period signal period signal frequency is set to a frequency lower than the intermittent oscillation frequency, or is set to be higher than the intermittent oscillation frequency and to a frequency other than integer multiples of the intermittent oscillation frequency. The phase difference of the period signal with respect to an intermittent oscillation control signal is set so that the distribution of the intermittent oscillation frequency is dispersed.
US09184660B2	Very high frequency switching cell-based power converter In an aspect, the present invention provides a high frequency switching power converter. The high frequency switching power converter may include a plurality of soft-switchable power cells flexibly connected to receive an input signal in series and provide an output. The high frequency switching power converter may further include a controller for configuring the flexible connection and for controlling the power cells to receive the input signal. In an embodiment, each of the plurality of power cells may be separately controllable by the controller. Further, a portion of the plurality of power cells may be arranged with parallel outputs. Additionally, at least one of the plurality of cells may include one or more switched capacitors. In another embodiment, the at least one of the plurality of cells may include at least one switched capacitor and a DC/DC regulating converter.
US09184656B2	Switching power supply Aspects of the invention provide a switching power supply in which frequency reduction control in a light load condition both in a power factor correction converter and a DC-DC converter restrains energy loss and achieves optimum efficiency. A switching power supply can include a power factor correction converter and a DC-DC converter. The DC-DC converter can include a load condition detecting means for detecting a condition of the load, and a frequency reducing means for reducing a switching frequency in the DC-DC converter when a light load condition is detected by the load condition detecting means. The power factor correction converter can include a frequency reducing means for reducing a switching frequency in the power factor correction converter corresponding to the load condition detected by the load condition detecting means of the DC-DC converter.
US09184655B2	Method and semiconductor device for a dedicated startup sequence in a resonant converter A method and semiconductor device for a resonant power converter includes logic circuitry that performs a dedicated startup sequence when power is first provided to the resonant converter. The logic circuitry can discharge the resonant capacitor, then iteratively pulse only an upper switch during a portion of the startup sequence, and measures the dead time between the half bridge signal starting to fall and the next time it finishes rising. If the dead time is greater that a startup exit value, which is based on the most recent upper switch on-time, then the upper switch on-time is incremented and the process is repeated until the dead time is less than the startup exit value, whereupon the startup logic transitions to conventional symmetric switching.
US09184652B2	Method and apparatus for inverter output current harmonic reduction Method and apparatus for reducing harmonic distortion. In one embodiment, the method comprises determining an inverter output current waveform; determining a plurality of harmonic components of the inverter output current waveform; determining, based on the plurality of harmonic components, a plurality of harmonic compensation components; and generating a compensating current comprising the plurality of harmonic compensation components.
US09184651B2	Current detection and emulation circuit, and method thereof A current detection circuit for detecting a current in a SMPS which has a first switch and a second switch; a current sensing circuit sensing a second switch current flowing through the second switch and providing a current sensing signal; and a current emulation circuit which generates a first current according to the current sensing signal and generate a second current according to the first current source, and the current emulation circuit further providing a current emulation signal based on the first current source and the second current source; wherein a current detection signal during a first period is proportional to the current emulation signal, and the current detection signal during a second period is proportional to the current sensing signal.
US09184637B2	Rotor of rotary electric machine having non-magnetic ring A rotor of a rotary electric machine according to the present invention includes: a rotor core arranged on the outer circumferential side of a rotor shaft; and a plurality of magnetic poles fixed to the rotor core and circumferentially arranged on the rotor core, the rotor including a non-magnetic ring attached by insertion to the outer circumference of the plurality of the magnetic poles and having a substantially polygonal shape in outer circumferential shape. The non-magnetic ring is configured such that the inner circumferential length L of the non-magnetic ring before assembly with respect to the length of an envelope L0 of tangent lines each between the outer circumferential surface of the magnetic pole and the outer circumferential surface of the adjacent magnetic pole is set to L≦L0. An object is to obtain the rotor of the rotary electric machine capable of achieving reduction in size and cost.
US09184633B2	Non-contact power supply control device, non-contact power supply system, and non-contact power charge system A non-contact power supply control device controls power supply to transmit power in a non-contact manner from a ground-side power supply section provided outside a vehicle traveling using stored power to a vehicle-side power receiving section provided to the vehicle. A detection unit detects a living body at the periphery of the ground-side power supply section. A control unit restricts the power supply in a case where the detection unit detects the living body at the periphery of the ground-side power supply section during the power supply operation to the vehicle-side power receiving section.
US09184630B2	Controlling power provided to an automated banking system In an example embodiment, an automated banking machine causes financial transfers related to financial accounts that correspond to data read from user cards. The automated banking machine also includes devices that control the supply of power to included devices to facilitate the completing a transaction when a decline or loss of power is encountered.
US09184625B1	System and method for solar keyboard power management A method for determining a power sustainability status of a device having one or more solar panels and a battery includes receiving a request to indicate the power sustainability status, measuring a voltage of the battery, and determining a usage level of the device and a low power sustainability threshold. The method further includes computing a remaining capacity of the battery using the voltage of the battery and usage level of the device and computing a light exposure level associated with the one or more solar panels. Additionally, the method includes determining a power sustainability index using at least one of the remaining capacity of the battery or the light exposure level and comparing the power sustainability index to the low power sustainability threshold.
US09184619B2	Accessory speaker with wireless charger for mobile device In accordance with the exemplary embodiments of the invention there are at least a method, apparatus, and executable computer program to perform operations including detecting by an accessory speaker that a mobile device is in proximity to the accessory speaker. In response to the detecting, visually displaying a charging surface on a surface of the accessory speaker, and directing with indicator lights of the charging surface a placement of the mobile device to a specific location of the charging surface to charge the device.
US09184618B2	Electric vehicle battery storage system According to one embodiment, a storage system includes storage devices configured to execute communication by using an identifier, a converter configured to convert the identifier of the storage devices, a controller configured to execute communication with the storage devices via the converter by using the identifier converted by the converter, convert a DC power output from the storage devices into a DC power of a predetermined magnitude and output the DC power, and charge the storage devices with the DC power of the predetermined magnitude, an AC/DC converter configured to convert the DC power output from the controller into an AC power, convert an AC power supplied from a distribution system into a DC power and supply the DC power to the controller, and a controller configured to control the controller and the AC/DC converter.
US09184608B2	Reducing current leakage and improving shelf life time of battery-based-devices An electronic device includes a rechargeable battery, an electrical circuit, a battery safety circuit, and a power down mode circuit. The electrical circuit is configured to generate a power mode control signal. The power down mode circuit receives the power mode control signal. If the power mode control signal has a first value, the power down mode circuit is configured to force a voltage at a first port of the battery safety circuit to a voltage value that is less than an under voltage lock out (UVLO) threshold value of the battery safety circuit to transition the electronic device from a normal operating mode to a low current power down mode. The electronic device may further include a wake up mode circuit.
US09184606B2	Battery charger A battery charger which includes an input supply terminal configured to receive a supply signal, a battery terminal configured to be connected to a battery, at least one output terminal and an electrical path between the battery terminal and the output terminal, at least one device for the detection of one alarm condition of the battery or the battery charger. The battery charger includes circuitry configured to enable the at least one detection device at timing intervals when the battery supplies the at least one output terminal.
US09184593B2	Method and apparatus for storing power from irregular and poorly controlled power sources Embodiments of the present invention feature storing excess energy from solar, wind, wave, tidal and geothermal energy sources and combinations thereof in the form of upgraded fossil fuels.
US09184589B2	Method for optimizing power flows in electric power networks Power flow in an electric power network is optimized during multiple time periods of operation of the electric power network by solving an optimization problem represented by an objective function by first initializing variables and constraints of a branch and bound (BB) tree, wherein nodes in the BB tree represent feasible regions of the optimization problem. Upper and lower bounds on the objective function are solved using the BB tree. A lowest upper bound and a lowest upper bound are updated. If difference between the lowest lower bound and the lowest upper bound is less than a threshold, the power flow is outputted based on the lowest lower bound and the lowest upper bound.
US09184585B2	Redundancy structures for static converters The invention relates to a static converter connected between an electrical voltage source and an electrical load, said converter including a main static conversion arm comprising an output electronic switching cell and a backup conversion arm having identical structures. The static converter includes a pair of fuses connected on either side of the main arm, and a switching circuit comprising a connection element connecting the backup arm to the connection points between the fuses and the input terminals of the main arm, such that, when a fault occurs on one of the switching cells forming the main arm, a stable conductive link is established between the two fuses, the main arm is isolated by the two fuses, and the backup arm is spontaneously connected to the output of the main arm via the conductive line and replaces the main arm.
US09184584B2	Device and system for reducing overvoltage damange A device includes a first thyristor element configured to be coupled to a first voltage line and a second voltage line, wherein the first voltage line is configured to transmit power in a first phase and the second voltage line is configured to transmit power in a second phase. The device includes a second thyristor element configured to be coupled to the second voltage line and a third voltage line, wherein the third voltage line is configured to transmit power in a third phase. The device includes a third thyristor element configured to be coupled to the first voltage line and the third voltage line.
US09184582B2	Fail operational power system with single energy storage Method for operating a fail operational power system for a vehicle includes monitoring a first voltage on a first power distribution path and a second voltage on a second power distribution path. An isolator switch controllably operative between open and closed states is monitored. The closed state connects the first and second power distribution paths and the open state opens the connection between the first and second power distribution paths. Each of the monitored first and second voltages is compared to a reference voltage. When a predetermined operating mode requiring fail operational power is enabled, the isolator switch is controlled to the open state when at least one of the monitored first and second voltages violates the reference voltage and the isolator switch is controlled to the closed state when neither one of the monitored first and second voltages violates the reference voltage.
US09184575B2	Entry tool and methods for use for tubes or cables Devices and methods are disclosed for gaining access to optical fibers contained within a fiber optic cable. Specifically, a cable entry tool can include a first jaw that can have a substantially V-shaped first channel formed therein, a first cutting element extending into the first channel and movable to any of a variety of depths, a second jaw positioned opposing the first jaw and that can have a substantially V-shaped second channel formed therein, and a second cutting element extending into the second channel and movable to any of a variety of depths. The first channel and the second channel can be movable with respect to each other for receiving therebetween a buffer tube having any of a variety of tube diameters.
US09184571B2	Automatic dead front disconnect and lockout An electrical enclosure that includes a dead front and a lockout switch is described herein. The lockout switch detects the position of the dead front. Based on the detected position of the dead front, the lockout switch actuates a power disconnection mechanism. In one embodiment, the disconnection mechanism is a shunt trip breaker that trips at least one circuit breaker when actuated by the lockout switch detecting removal of the dead front. The shunt trip breaker receives power from a main conductor to a coil that moves a solenoid.
US09184564B2	External resonator type light emitting system An external resonator type light emitting system includes a light source oscillating a semiconductor laser light and a grating device providing an external resonator with the light source. The light source includes an active layer oscillating the semiconductor laser light. The grating device includes an optical waveguide having an incident face to which the semiconductor laser is incident and an emitting face of emitting an emitting light of a desired wavelength, a Bragg grating formed in the optical waveguide, and a propagating portion provided between the incident face and the Bragg grating. Formulas (1) to (4) are satisfied.
US09184554B2	Reducing thermal dependence of amplifier gain Devices and methods for lessening a thermal dependence of gain profile of an optical amplifier are disclosed. An optical beam is split in two sub-beams with a thermally variable power splitting ratio. One sub-beam travels a longer optical path length than the other. When the two sub-beams are recombined, they interfere with each other, causing the throughput to be wavelength dependent. An amplitude of this wavelength dependence is thermally variable due to the thermally variable power splitting ratio. The thermally variable power splitting ratio and the optical path length difference are selected so as to offset a thermal variation of a spectral gain profile of an optical amplifier.
US09184551B2	Laser apparatus and extreme ultraviolet light generation system A laser apparatus may include a master oscillator, an optical unit provided in a beam path of a laser beam from the master oscillator, a beam adjusting unit provided upstream from the optical unit in a beam path of the laser beam and configured for adjusting at least one of a beam path and a wavefront of the laser beam, a first detection unit provided between the beam adjusting unit and the optical unit in a beam path of the laser beam and configured for detecting the laser beam, a second detection unit provided downstream from the optical unit in a beam path of the laser beam and configured for detecting the laser beam, and a controller configured for controlling the beam adjusting unit based on outputs from the first and second detection units.
US09184538B1	Replacement adaptor for broken clip on cable connector An improved electrical conduit is disclosed for conveying an electrical current between a male plug and a female receptacle. The electrical conduit comprises a substitute male plug for engaging with the female receptacle. A substitute locking clip is pivotably mounted to the substitute male plug engaging with the locking clip receiver for preventing inadvertent removal of the substitute male plug from the female receptacle. A substitute female clip engages with the male plug. A flexible electrical conduit couples the substitute male plug and the substitute female clip for transmitting the electrical current between the male plug and the female receptacle.
US09184535B2	Electrical connector An electrical connector includes an outer conductive member including a cylindrical member and an outer lid portion for covering the cylindrical member; an insulation member disposed in the outer conductive member; and a terminal disposed in the insulation member. The insulation member includes a main body portion retained in the cylindrical member, a middle lid portion for pressing a center conductive member of a coaxial cable and a cut portion formed between the main body portion and the middle lid portion. The terminal includes a contact portion for contacting with the center conductive member and an engaging portion for engaging with a mating connector, so that the middle lid portion is bent at the cut portion to press the center conductive member against the contact portion when the outer lid portion is bent to cover the cylindrical member and push the middle lid portion.
US09184531B2	Receptacle connector A receptacle connector is provided and includes an insulating case, a securing device and a cover. The insulating casing includes a plurality of terminal receiving passageways, a plug receiving space, a pair of protrusions on two sides of the plug receiving space. A securing device receiving space is disposed on one of the two sides. The securing device includes a horizontal portion, a first vertical portion and a second vertical portion extending downward from the horizontal portion, a first soldering portion extending horizontally from the first vertical portion, a second soldering portion extending horizontally from the second vertical portion. An engagement portion is positioned between the first vertical portion and the second vertical portion. The cover is pivotally connected to the insulating casing and includes a first protrusion receiving passageway and a second protrusion receiving passageway which communicate with each other and correspond in position with the pair of protrusions.
US09184527B2	Electrical connector insulator housing A socket housing and method of making the socket housing. A plurality of dielectric layers are printed with a plurality of recesses on a substrate. The dielectric layers include at least two different dielectric materials. A sacrificial material is printed in the recesses. The assembly is removed from the substrate and the sacrificial material is removed from the recesses. At least one contact member is located in a plurality of the recesses. Distal ends of the contact members are adapted to electrically couple with circuit members.
US09184518B2	Electrical connector header for an LED-based light An LED-based light configured for replacing a conventional fluorescent light in a fluorescent light fixture comprises: an LED circuit board including at least one LED; a power supply circuit board configured to supply power to the at least one LED; an end cap carrying at least one pin configured for connection to the fixture; a pin connector header including a first body retentively supporting at least one pin connecting lead and configured to engage the power supply circuit board such that the pin connecting lead is positioned to electrically connect the power supply circuit board and the pin; and a circuit connector header including a second body retentively supporting at least one circuit connecting lead and configured to engage the power supply circuit board such that the circuit connecting lead is positioned to electrically connect the power supply circuit board and the LED circuit board.
US09184517B1	Crimpable insulated electrical connector An electrical connector electrically connects two or more conductors in end to end orientation such that a bared end of each conductor is positioned within a hollow crimp barrel and crimped therein. The crimp barrel is held within a heat shrinkable sleeve that is crystal clear. Openings on either side of a stop within the crimp barrel allow for visual access into the central channel within the crimp barrel to assure proper placement and subsequent crimping of the conductors.
US09184510B2	Antenna structure for a vehicle An antenna structure for a vehicle may include an electrically conductive structure arranged on two insulating substrate plates that are arranged perpendicularly to each other and intersect each other. A dipole is provided on each electrically conductive structure. The dipoles form a first U-shaped dipole structure on each of the two substrate plates. On an upper edge region of each of the substrate plates, the dipole structure has a line element, and on the lateral regions of the substrate plate, the dipole structure has electrically conductive limbs. The electrically conductive structure has a monopole arranged asymmetrically to the dipole structure for respectively feeding the dipole.
US09184503B2	Compact circular polarization antenna system with reduced cross-polarization component Patch antennas for signals of global navigation satellite systems (GNSS) are described. A compact antenna system reduces directional diagram level in the rear hemisphere primarily for cross-polarized (left hand circularly-polarized) component. It can be used for reducing multipath reception. The antenna receives GNSS signals and includes a patch circularly-polarized radiator consisting of a radiating patch, a ground plane under it and a loop radiator coaxially located around the patch radiator. The loop radiator is excited by a separate power circuit or by a passive method where LHCP waves of MP and loop radiators in the rear hemisphere would be anti-phase added. A dual-band antenna system includes an active HF radiator, under which there is an active LF radiator under which there is a passive LF radiator, a loop HF radiator being coaxially located around the active HF radiator.
US09184501B2	Multiband antenna The reconfigurable multiband antenna includes the main antenna element connected to a feeding point to receive and transmit a radio signal, the at least one parasitic antenna element being placed on the side of the main antenna element. The at least one parasitic antenna is connected to the main antenna element or they are connected to each other by at least one RF switch. By changing the ON-OFF combination of the RF switches, the connection between the main antenna element and the parasitic antenna element is changed, thereby changing the resonance frequencies of the entire antenna. By this technique, the entire antenna functions as a reconfigurable multiband antenna.
US09184500B2	Communication device and antenna element therein A communication device including a ground element and an antenna element is provided. The antenna element is adjacent to an edge of the ground element. The antenna element has a projection on the edge of the ground element. The antenna element includes a radiation element, a feeding element, and a shorting element. The radiation element has a first end and a second end, and the second end is open. The radiation element has plural bends such that the second end is adjacent to the first end. One end of the feeding element is coupled through a capacitive element to a connection point on the radiation element, and the connection point is adjacent to or at the first end. Another end of the feeding element is coupled to a signal source. The feeding element includes a first segment which is substantially parallel to the edge of the ground element.
US09184499B2	Hybrid beamforming for a wireless communication device The present disclosure relates a method for performing hybrid beamforming in a wireless communication device or any device that uses signal phase shifting for transmission and/or reception. The method comprises performing phase shifting in at least two different domains (or paths), each characterized by an operational frequency, in the communication device. More in particular, the disclosure relates in a first aspect to a method for performing at a receiver beamforming on a beam of incoming signals received via plurality of antenna paths. In another aspect, the present disclosure relates a method for performing hybrid beamforming at a transmitter device, wherein also phase shifting in at least two different domains is performed. More in particular, the disclosure also relates to a method for performing at a transmitter device beamforming on a beam of outgoing signals via a plurality of antenna paths.
US09184489B2	Antenna fixing structure An antenna fixing structure includes an antenna box and a fixing frame. The antenna box includes a casing with a first circumference defined by a first center and a first radius, and the casing has equidistant first connecting portions disposed along the first circumference. The fixing frame includes a carrying board with a second circumference defined by a second center and a second radius, and the carrying board has equidistant second connecting portions disposed along the second circumference, so that the first connecting portions and the second connecting portions can be rotably installed with respect to the first and second centers and coupled to each other. Therefore, the antenna box can be rotated to a predetermined position and then fixed to the fixing frame, and the antenna fixing structure has the effect of adjusting the direction, position or angle of an antenna.
US09184486B2	Millimeter waveband filter and method of varying resonant frequency thereof The millimeter waveband filter includes: a transmission line that is formed by a waveguide which propagates electromagnetic waves with a predetermined frequency range of a millimeter waveband from one end to the other end in a TE10 mode; and a pair of radio-wave half mirrors that are disposed opposite each other with a space interposed therebetween so as to block the inside of the transmission line and have planar shapes and a characteristic of transmitting a part of the electromagnetic waves with the predetermined frequency range and reflecting a part thereof. In the electromagnetic waves incident from the one end side of the transmission line, a frequency component centered on a resonant frequency of a resonator, which is formed between the pair of radio-wave half mirrors, is selectively output from the other end of the transmission line.
US09184483B2	Directional coupler A directional coupler, comprising a first high-frequency line for feeding a first high-frequency signal, a second high-frequency line for feeding a second high-frequency signal, and a coupling line for outputting signals from the first and the second high-frequency lines, wherein the coupling line comprises resistive segments, each comprising a predetermined impedance. Coupling properties and resistive damping and adapting properties can be integrated in the coupling line. A compact and low-cost construction of the directional coupler is thus made possible.
US09184478B2	Metal-air cell with performance enhancing additive Systems and methods drawn to an electrochemical cell comprising a low temperature ionic liquid comprising positive ions and negative ions and a performance enhancing additive added to the low temperature ionic liquid. The additive dissolves in the ionic liquid to form cations, which are coordinated with one or more negative ions forming ion complexes. The electrochemical cell also includes an air electrode configured to absorb and reduce oxygen. The ion complexes improve oxygen reduction thermodynamics and/or kinetics relative to the ionic liquid without the additive.
US09184463B2	Nitric acid regeneration fuel cell systems The present invention disclosed herein is directed to nitric acid regeneration fuel cell systems that comprise: an anode; a cathode confronting and spaced apart from the anode; an anolyte flowstream configured to flowingly contact the anode, wherein the anolyte flowstream includes a fuel, preferably methanol, for reacting at the anode; a catholyte flowstream configured to flowingly contact the cathode, wherein the catholyte flowstream includes nitric acid for reacting at the cathode to thereby yield cathode reaction products that include nitric oxide and water in a catholyte effluent flowstream; and a hydrogen peroxide flowstream configured to contact and react hydrogen peroxide with the nitric oxide of the catholyte effluent flowstream at a hydrogen peroxide oxidation zone to thereby yield a regenerated nitric acid flowstream. The regenerated nitric acid flowstream is preferably reused in the catholyte flowstream.
US09184461B2	Controlled radical copolymerization of fluorinated monomers by xanthate or trithiocarbonate The invention relates to a method of preparing a fluorinated copolymer, comprising a step of copolymerization of a fluorinated monomer (of the vinylidene fluoride type) with an α-trifluoromethacrylic acid monomer or derivative of α-trifluoromethacrylic acid, in the presence of a xanthate or trithiocarbonate compound. The invention also relates to copolymers obtained by this method as well as block copolymers comprising a copolymer block prepared according to this method.
US09184456B2	Fuel cell system and method for limiting current thereof In a fuel cell system comprising a fuel cell with plural cells and performing processing for limiting a supply current to a load by performing a compensation computation with respect to a system-request current corresponding to a system-request power requested by the system based on the lowest cell voltage in the cells, the compensation computation being performed for limiting the supply current through a PI compensation using, as a reference value, a current value of the system-request current as of the time when the lowest cell voltage falls below a predetermined lowest-cell-voltage acceptable value, values for gains in the PI compensation for limiting the supply current are different from values for gains in the PI compensation for restoring the supply current. The system-request current can be securely limited in any operation statuses, and in addition, the supply current can be made rapidly responsive during the limitation of the current, while the supply current can be stably converged during the current restoration.
US09184454B1	Mixing arrangement for a flow cell of an energy storage system An energy storage system according to the present disclosure includes a cell and an electrolyte supply arrangement for supplying an electrolyte to the cell. The cell has a flow chamber, an electrode and a mixing arrangement positioned in the flow chamber proximate the electrode. The mixing arrangement includes a plurality of ramps that each extend at an angle with respect to the electrode, and each respective ramp defines a void space between the respective ramp and the electrode. Furthermore, the ramps and the void spaces are configured to facilitate mixing of the electrolyte in the flow chamber.
US09184442B2	Secondary battery A secondary battery 100 includes a positive electrode current collector 221 and a positive electrode mixture layer 223 coated on the positive electrode current collector 221. The positive electrode mixture layer 223 includes a positive electrode active material 610 and an electrically conductive material 620. A ratio (Vb/Va) of a volume Vb of holes formed inside the positive electrode mixture layer 223 to an apparent volume Va of the positive electrode mixture layer 223 satisfies 0.30≦(Vb/Va). In addition, in a micropore distribution of differential micropore volume with respect to a micropore diameter as measured by the mercury intrusion method, the positive electrode mixture layer 223 has a first peak at which a micropore diameter D1 satisfies D1≦0.25 μm and a second peak at which a micropore diameter D2 is greater than the first peak micropore diameter D1.
US09184430B2	Battery pack for integrating multiple single batteries A battery integration module or pack includes a first positioning plate for positioning the multiple single batteries in formation for integration at one end of the battery formation, a second positioning plate for positioning the multiple single batteries in formation for integration at the opposite end of the battery formation, the first and second plates aligned together over the formation of batteries to form a battery holder frame, a first printed circuit board (PCB) mounted to the outside surface of the first positioning plate, and a second printed circuit board (PCB) mounted to the outside surface of the second positioning plate. The first and or second printed circuit boards include conductive contact surfaces accessible to the battery terminals of the multiple single batteries in formation wherein contact between the contact surfaces of the printed circuit boards and the battery terminals is mitigated by intermediate conductive components.
US09184422B2	Rechargeable battery A rechargeable battery including: an electrode assembly that includes a positive electrode, a negative electrode, and a separator interposed therebetween; a case to house the electrode assembly; a cap assembly that is coupled to an opening of the case and electrically connected with the electrode assembly; and an insulating member that is installed between the case and the electrode assembly. The insulating member includes a body disposed on the electrode assembly and a rib that extends from the body and contacts the case.
US09184414B2	Organic electroluminescent element and lighting device An organic EL device comprises: a light-transmissive substrate; a transparent electrode; an organic emitting layer; and an opposing electrode. A light-extraction layer provided by layering a high refractive index layer adjoining the transparent electrode and a low refractive index layer adjoining the light-transmissive substrate includes recess-protrusion units each provided by a protrusion and a recess at an interface between the high refractive index layer and the low refractive index layer. In at least one of the recess-protrusion units, a distance from the interface between the high refractive index layer and the low refractive index layer to an interface between the transparent electrode and the high refractive index layer is equal to or more than an optical coherence length and a height of the protrusion, a width of the protrusion and a gap between the protrusion and another protrusion adjoining the protrusion across the recess is 1 μm or more.
US09184413B2	Flat panel display device and manufacturing method thereof A flat panel display device provides a sealing structure for comprising and sealing a display unit disposed in a first region on a substrate. The display unit includes the first region and a second region, and a barrier is disposed in the first region on the substrate, on an outer side of the display unit, and adjacent to the second region. The sealing structure contacts the barrier, and includes at least one first layer of an inorganic material and at least one second layer of an organic material. A method of manufacturing the flat panel display device is also disclosed.
US09184409B2	Flexible organic light emitting display and method in an in-cell structure having a touch electrode array for manufacturing the same Disclosed are an organic light emitting display that enables realization of a thin film shape and flexibility, and exhibits superior contact properties in touch pads based on an improved structure, and a method for manufacturing the same, wherein a distance between the outermost surface of the touch pad portion and the outermost surface of the dummy pad portion in the touch pad portion is smaller than the distance in a neighboring portion adjacent to the touch pad portion.
US09184399B2	Asymmetric hosts with triaryl silane side chains Novel asymmetric host compounds containing an electron-transport moiety, a hole-transport moiety, an aromatic spacer, and a triaryl silane group are provided. These compounds are useful materials that can be incorporated into OLED devices.
US09184396B2	6H-indeno[2,1-B]quinoline derivative and organic light emitting diode using the same A 6H-indeno[2,1-b]quinoline derivative has a structure of formula (I). Each of Ar1 and Ar2 is a member selected from the group consisting of a substituted or non-substituted aryl group and a substituted or non-substituted heteroaryl group and R1 to R9 are substituents. The 6H-indeno[2,1-b]quinoline derivative of the present invention is provided with thermal stability. Chemical compounds of the present invention are adequate for the materials of the light-emitting layer of an OLED device with high device performance.
US09184386B2	Variable resistance memory device and method of manufacturing the same A variable resistance memory device and a method of manufacturing the same are provided. The variable resistance memory device includes a first insulating layer formed on a semiconductor substrate, the first insulating layer having a first hole formed therein. A switching device is formed in the first hole. A second insulating layer is formed over the first insulating layer and the second insulating layer includes a second hole. A lower electrode is formed along a surface of the second insulating layer that defines the second hole. A spacer is formed on the lower electrode and exposes a portion of the surface of the lower electrode. A variable resistance material layer is formed in the second hole, and an upper electrode is formed on the variable resistance material layer.
US09184383B2	Nonvolatile memory device having an electrode interface coupling region Embodiments of the invention generally relate to a resistive switching nonvolatile memory device having an interface layer structure disposed between at least one of the electrodes and a variable resistance layer formed in the nonvolatile memory device, and a method of forming the same. Typically, resistive switching memory elements may be formed as part of a high-capacity nonvolatile memory integrated circuit, which can be used in various electronic devices, such as digital cameras, mobile telephones, handheld computers, and music players. In one configuration of the resistive switching nonvolatile memory device, the interface layer structure comprises a passivation region, an interface coupling region, and/or a variable resistance layer interface region that are configured to adjust the nonvolatile memory device's performance, such as lowering the formed device's switching currents and reducing the device's forming voltage, and reducing the performance variation from one formed device to another.
US09184375B1	Magnetic junctions using asymmetric free layers and suitable for use in spin transfer torque memories A magnetic junction usable in a magnetic device is described. The magnetic junction includes a pinned layer, a nonmagnetic spacer layer, an asymmetric free layer and a perpendicular magnetic anisotropy (PMA) inducing layer. The nonmagnetic spacer layer is between the pinned layer and the free layer. The free layer is between the nonmagnetic spacer layer and the PMA inducing layer. The asymmetric free layer includes a first ferromagnetic layer having a first boron content and a second ferromagnetic layer having a second boron content. The second boron content is less than the first boron content. The first boron content and the second boron content are each greater than zero atomic percent. The magnetic junction is configured such that the asymmetric free layer is switchable between stable magnetic states when a write current is passed through the magnetic junction.
US09184370B2	Ultrasonic transducer device, ultrasonic measurement apparatus, head unit, probe, and ultrasonic imaging apparatus An ultrasonic transducer device includes an ultrasonic element array and a common electrode wiring. The ultrasonic element array has three ultrasonic element rows with each of the three ultrasonic element rows including a plurality of ultrasonic elements arranged along a first direction and electrically connected to each other. The three ultrasonic element rows are arranged along a second direction intersecting with the first direction. The common electrode wiring is configured and arranged to supply a common voltage to at least one of the three ultrasonic element rows. The common electrode wiring extends in the first direction and is arranged between two of the three ultrasonic element rows positioned on outer sides among the three ultrasonic element rows with respect to the second direction.
US09184369B2	Methods for manufacturing ultrasound transducers and other components The disclosed technology features methods for the manufacture of electrical components such as ultrasound transducers. In particular, the disclosed technology provides methods of creating an ultrasonic transducer by connecting one or more multi-layer printed circuits to an array of ultrasound transducer elements. In one embodiment, the printed circuits have traces in a single layer that are spaced by a distance that is greater than a pitch of the transducer elements to which the multi-layer printed circuit is to be connected. However the traces from all the layers in the multi-layer printed circuit are interleaved to have a pitch that is equal to the pitch of the transducer elements. The disclosed technology also features ultrasound transducers produced by the methods described herein.
US09184368B2	Film-type piezoelectric/electrostrictive element A film-type piezoelectric/electrostrictive element which is a fired object includes a body part, a pair of side-surface electrodes and an electrode exposed surface. The body part has n+1 layered piezoelectric/electrostrictive films and n layered internal electrode layer(s). The piezoelectric/electrostrictive films are composed of ceramic. The piezoelectric/electrostrictive films and the internal electrode layer(s) are stacked in an alternating manner. The n is an integer equal to 1 or more. The pair of side-surface electrodes is positioned on two opposing side surfaces of the body part. The two opposing side surfaces extend in a stacking direction of the body part. The internal electrode layer(s) is/are exposed on an electrode exposed surface of the body part. The electrode exposed surface extends in the stacking direction. An electrode exposure ratio of the internal electrode layer(s) on the electrode exposed surface as defined by Formula (1) being more than 0% and less than or equal to 10%. The electrode exposure ratio (%)=A1/(L1×L2)×100) (1) A1 denotes an exposed area of the internal electrode layer(s) exposed on an active portion of the electrode exposed surface. L1 denotes an average thickness of the internal electrode layer(s). L2 denotes a sum length of each of the internal electrode layer(s) in a lengthwise direction on the active portion of the electrode exposed surface. The lengthwise direction is perpendicular to the stacking direction.
US09184348B2	Light emitting diode structure An LED structure includes a substrate, an emitting multilayer structure, a plurality of microstructures and a transparent conductive layer. The emitting multilayer structure is formed on the substrate. The microstructures are spaced apart from each other on the light emitting multilayer structure, and an upper surface of each microstructure has a concave-convex surface. The transparent conductive layer is conformably covered over the light emitting multilayer structure and the microstructures. The transparent conductive layer has similar concave-convex surfaces due to the concave-convex surface of each microstructure. The light emitted from the emitting multilayer structure is changed due to the concave-convex surface of the transparent conductive layer, so that the phenomenon of total internal reflection can be reduced so as to increase the light transmittance.
US09184344B2	Lighting-emitting device with nanostructured layer and method for fabricating the same A light emitting device has a nanostructured layer with nanovoids. The nanostructured layer can be provided below and adjacent to active region or on a substrate or a template below an n-type layer for the active region, so as to reduce strain between epitaxial layers in the light emitting device. A method of manufacturing the same is provided.
US09184335B2	Semiconductor light emitting device and method of manufacturing the same There are provided a semiconductor light emitting device and a method of manufacturing the same. A method of manufacturing a plurality of light emitting nanostructures of a semiconductor light emitting device includes: forming a plurality of first conductivity type semiconductor cores on a first type semiconductor seed layer, each first conductivity type semiconductor core formed through an opening in an insulating film; forming an active layer on each first conductivity type semiconductor core; forming, using a mask pattern, a second conductivity type semiconductor layer on each active layer to cover the active layer, to form a plurality of light emitting nanostructures; and forming an electrode on the plurality of light emitting nanostructures.
US09184333B2	Contact and interconnect metallization for solar cells A fabrication line includes a texturizing module configured to texture a substrate, an emitter module configured to form an emitter region, a passivation layer module configured to form a passivation layer, a barrier contact module configured to form a barrier contact region, a firing module configured to anneal the barrier contact region, a top metal contact module configured to form a top metal contact region, and a soldering module configured to solder the barrier contact region to the top metal contact region. The modules are integrated by one or more automated substrate handlers into a single fabrication line. A method for fabricating a solar cell includes sequentially, in an automated fabrication line: doping a dopant in a substrate; disposing a passivation layer; disposing and annealing a barrier metal paste to form a barrier contact; and disposing and annealing a metal contact paste to form a top metal contact region.
US09184332B2	Inverted metamorphic multi-junction (IMM) solar cell and associated fabrication method An IMM solar cell and an associated method of fabricating an IMM solar cell are provided. In the context of a method, a first subcell may be formed upon a temporary substrate and a second subcell may be formed upon the first subcell. The second subcell may have a smaller band gap than the first subcell. The method may also bond the first and second subcells to a silicon subcell and then remove the temporary substrate. In the context of an IMM solar cell, the IMM solar cell includes first and second subcells with the first subcell disposed upon the second subcell and the second subcell having a smaller band gap than the first subcell. The IMM solar cell may also include a silicon subcell supporting the first and second subcells thereupon with a metal-to-metal bond between the silicon subcell and the second subcell.
US09184319B2	Multi-terminal multi-junction photovoltaic cells Methods and apparatuses are provided in connection with a transparent electrode on organic photovoltaic cells. A layer of dissolvable material is formed on a substrate. A solution having conductive nanowires suspended therein is deposited on the layer of dissolvable material. The solution is evaporated to form a nanowire mesh. The nanowire mesh is heated to sinter junctions between nanowires in the nanowire mesh. The nanowire mesh is affixed on a layer of one or more organic photovoltaic cells. The layer of dissolvable material is dissolved to deposit the nanowire mesh on the layer of one or more organic photovoltaic cells.
US09184317B2	Electrode containing a polymer and an additive Photovoltaic cells, as well as related systems, methods, modules, and components, are disclosed.
US09184315B2	Photoelectric materials and preparation thereof Receptor type oligothiopene compounds, methods of preparing the compounds, and use of the compounds in photoelectric materials.
US09184300B2	Transistor, method of manufacturing the same, and electronic device including transistor A transistor may include a hole blocking layer between a channel layer including oxynitride and an electrode electrically connected to the channel layer. The hole blocking layer may be disposed in a region between the channel layer and at least one of a source electrode and a drain electrode. The channel layer may include, for example, zinc oxynitride (ZnON). A valence band maximum energy level of the hole blocking layer may be lower than a valence band maximum energy level of the channel layer.
US09184293B2	Methods of fabricating semiconductor devices having punch-through stopping regions Methods of fabricating semiconductor devices are provided including providing a substrate having a first region and a second region, the substrate defining trenches in the first and second regions; forming active fins on the first and second regions, the active fins protruding from the trenches in the first and second regions; forming spacers on sidewalls of the active fins in the first and second regions; recessing floors of the trenches under the spacers to provide extensions of the active fins; implanting impurities of a first type in the extensions of the active fins in the first region; and implanting impurities of a second, type, different from the first type, in the extensions of the active fins in the second region.
US09184292B2	Semiconductor structure with different fins of FinFETs A semiconductor structure for forming FinFETs is described. The semiconductor structure includes a semiconductor substrate, a plurality of odd fins of the FinFETs on the substrate, and a plurality of even fins of the FinFETs on the substrate between the odd fins of the FinFETs. The odd fins of the FinFETs are defined from the substrate. The even fins of the FinFETs are different from the odd fins of the FinFETs in at least one of the width and the material, and may be further different from the odd fins of the FinFETs in the height.

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