Document	Document Title
US09252811B2	Time-varying low-density parity-check convolutional codes The present disclosure is directed to communication systems and more specifically to communication devices having encoder and/or decoder blocks employing Low Density Parity Check Convolutional Codes (LDPC CCs). According to exemplary embodiments, improved LDPC CC techniques are disclosed to construct the syndrome former of an LDPC-CC code in a systematic way based on desired Rate (b/c), Memory (ms) and Period (T) while achieving specific Degree Distribution (dv and dc), Girth, and ACE constraints (nACE, dACE) for a desired configuration.
US09252806B2	Entropy encoding and decoding scheme Decomposing a value range of the respective syntax elements into a sequence of n partitions with coding the components of z laying within the respective partitions separately with at least one by VLC coding and with at least one by PIPE or entropy coding is used to greatly increase the compression efficiency at a moderate coding overhead since the coding scheme used may be better adapted to the syntax element statistics. Accordingly, syntax elements are decomposed into a respective number n of source symbols si with i=1 . . . n, the respective number n of source symbols depending on as to which of a sequence of n partitions into which a value range of the respective syntax elements is sub-divided, a value z of the respective syntax elements falls into, so that a sum of values of the respective number of source symbols si yields z, and, if n>1, for all i=1 . . . n−1, the value of si corresponds to a range of the ith partition.
US09252805B1	Parallel huffman decoder A main data input and a lookahead input are held in a holding register. Consecutive overlapping portions of the main data input and the lookahead input are provided to a plurality, M, of half-decoders, which include a subset of frequently-occurring code words of a Huffman code. When no code word not available in the half-decoders is encountered, the half-decoders decode, in parallel, in a single clock cycle, M of the frequently-occurring code words. When a code word not available in the half-decoders is encountered, input intended for a corresponding one of the half-decoders, which input includes the code word not available in the corresponding one of the half-decoders, is applied to an input of a full decoder implemented in ternary content-addressable memory. The full decoder includes all code words of the Huffman code.
US09252799B2	Receiver with orthogonal beam forming technique A receiver with orthogonal beam forming technique is achieved that is capable of differentiating different signal components within the received composite signal. An adaptive processor is used to eliminate the signal component whose phase information is known or can be calculated. The phase information of the major component of a signal can be easily acquired by using a limiter. The phase information of other signal components can be acquired by their direction information and other characteristics, such as modulation scheme, etc. Multiple orthogonal beams can be formed by eliminating one unwanted signal component each time by the adaptive processor until all unwanted signal is eliminated. Thus, a composite signal from multiple sources can be broken down into their component signals.
US09252782B2	Wireless chipset with a non-temperature compensated crystal reference An apparatus includes a temperature measuring device within a thermally conductive package. A crystal within the package is thermally coupled to the temperature measuring device and subjected to a same temperature as the temperature measuring device. A controller external to the package is configured to receive a signal from the crystal and a temperature measurement from the temperature measuring device. The controller is configured to estimate a frequency error of the crystal based on the temperature measurement and to provide a frequency error estimate to an external system.
US09252776B1	Self-configuring components on a device Methods and apparatus are provided for allowing components such as buffers, multiplexers, ingress cores, etc. on a device such as a programmable chip to configure themselves based on parameter information. In some examples, self-configuring components obtain parameter information from adjacent components. In other examples, self-configuring components obtain parameter information from a system environment or a processor register. Component self-configuration can occur at a variety of times including preprocessing, simulation, and run-time.
US09252774B2	Integrated circuit wake-up control system An integrated circuit (IC) that operates in high and low power modes includes high and low power regulators, first and second sets of circuits, a switch connecting the high power regulator and the second set of circuits, and a wake-up control system. The wake-up control system includes a state machine that enables the high power regulator when the IC is in the high power mode, and enables the low power regulator when the IC is in the low power mode. The switch is closed when the high power regulator reaches a first threshold voltage. The state machine operates on a low frequency clock signal when the IC is in the low power mode and during wake-up, and on a high frequency clock signal in the high power mode after the switch is closed.
US09252773B2	Application specific power controller configuration technique Configuring the operational behavior of an integrated circuit. The integrated circuit (IC) comprises a plurality of configuration inputs for configuring the IC. The IC also has a memory which stores a plurality of sets of parameter values. Each parameter value of the respective set corresponds to a different operational parameter of a plurality of operational parameters. The IC includes logic which determines a first plurality of configuration values corresponding to the first plurality of configuration inputs. The logic then selects a set of parameter values from the stored plurality of sets of parameter values. The selection of parameter values is based on the first plurality of configuration values. The IC is then configured for operation according to one or more operational parameter values in the selected set of parameter values.
US09252772B2	Multi direction switch having detecting mechanism A multi direction switch (100) includes a first cover (31) having a first static detecting mechanism (3132), a second cover (32) having a second static detecting mechanism (3232), a first moving body (51) having a first movable detecting mechanism (513), a second moving body (52) having a second movable detecting mechanism (523), and an actuating mechanism. The second movable detecting mechanism is movable relative to the second static detecting mechanism in response to a movement of the second moving body along a first direction. The first movable detecting mechanism is movable relative to the first static detecting mechanism in response to a movement of said first moving body along a second direction perpendicular to the first direction.
US09252767B1	Integrated switch module An integrated RF switch module including a package customized to include at least one trace. The trace includes one or more of at least one connection pad and at least one landing pad. At least one switching die is connected to the at least one connection pad. At least one device is connected to the at least one landing pad, the at least one device configured to enhance the performance of the switching die.
US09252764B1	Systems and methods for reducing spike voltages in a switched output stage In accordance with embodiments of the present disclosure, an apparatus may include an input for indicating a characteristic of an output load current of a switched output stage comprising at least one driver device and a predriver circuit coupled to the input and a gate terminal of the at least one driver device, the predriver circuit for driving an input voltage signal to the gate terminal and configured to select an effective impedance of the gate terminal based on the input for indicating the output load current. In accordance with these and other embodiments of the disclosure, a method may include receiving an input for indicating a characteristic of an output load current of a switched output stage comprising at least one driver device and selecting an effective impedance of a gate terminal of the at least one driver device based on the input for indicating the output load current.
US09252757B2	Oscillator circuit with output slope proportional to supply voltage A voltage-controlled oscillator (VCO) comprises a supply voltage node, configured to receive a supply voltage, a VCO output capacitor, configured to provide an oscillating output voltage across the capacitor, a discharge switch configured to discharge the capacitor according to an oscillation frequency of the oscillating output voltage, and a comparator circuit configured to provide, to a control terminal of the discharge switch, a control signal that is determined based on a comparison of the output voltage and a specified threshold voltage. The oscillating output voltage includes a pulse having a ramp slope that is determined as a function of a magnitude of the supply voltage, and is capable of being adjusted independently of the oscillation frequency.
US09252756B2	Random number generating device Provided is a random number generating device capable of generating highly irregular random numbers with a simple configuration. The random number generating device includes: a receiving unit including a receiving mechanism configured to receive, in a contactless manner, energy transmitted from a transmitting unit, the receiving unit being configured to convert the energy received by the receiving mechanism into a reception voltage; a voltage controlled oscillator configured to output an oscillating output signal based on the reception voltage; and a pseudorandom number generator configured to generate pseudorandom numbers varying in accordance with an oscillation frequency of the output signal from the voltage controlled oscillator.
US09252752B2	Clock generation circuit, processor system using same, and clock frequency control method A microcomputer includes a register that stores division ratio setting information, a frequency divider that determines first and second division ratios based on the division ratio setting information, frequency-divides a first clock having a first frequency at the first division ratio, and frequency-divides a second clock having a second frequency at the second division ratio, and a CPU. The first and second division ratios are determined in such a manner that a frequency of the first clock that is frequency-divided at the first division ratio and a frequency of the second clock that is frequency-divided at the second division ratio are made equal to each other.
US09252751B2	Apparatus and method for preventing multiple resets Multiple resets in a system-on-chip (SOC) during boot where on-board regulators and low voltage detector circuits have different trimmed and untrimmed values may be avoided by the inclusion of a series of latches that latch the trimmed values during boot and retain the trim values even during a SOC reset event. The SOC is prevented from entering into a reset loop during boot or when exiting reset for any reason other than boot. A power-on-reset comparator circuit that does not depend on any trim values enables the latches and only clears the latched trim values if its own supply voltage falls below a preset level.
US09252749B2	Clock generation device, electronic apparatus, moving object, and clock generation method A clock generation device measures a frequency ratio between a clock signal CK1 (32.768 kHz+α) and a reference frequency value based on a clock signal CK3 (25 MHz), generates a clock signal CK2 obtained by masking at least one clock pulse of the clock signal CK1 based on the measurement result of the frequency ratio, and controls the measurement interval of the frequency ratio based on the difference between the measurement result of the frequency ratio and an average value of N (N is a natural number) measurement results of the frequency ratio.
US09252747B2	Stage circuits and scan driver using the same There are provided stage circuits and a scan driver using the same, which can supply scan signals using a simultaneous method or an interlace method. Each of the stage circuits includes a progressive driver and a simultaneous driver. The progressive driver outputs a scan signal to an output terminal, corresponding to a plurality of clock signals supplied simultaneously or progressively, and the coupling between the progressive driver and the output terminal is blocked when a third control signal is supplied. The simultaneous driver outputs a scan signal to the output terminal, corresponding to first and second control signals which do not overlap each other, and the coupling between the simultaneous driver and the output terminal is blocked when a fourth control signal, which does not overlap the third control signal, is supplied.
US09252745B2	Whitening filter configuration method, program, and system A system is configured so that signals passed through an all-pass filter using warp parameter λ are whitening-filtered, and so that the frequency axis is restored by an all-pass filter using warp parameter λ. This optimizes the whitening filter by determining the optimum λ. First, the AR order p is automatically estimated using λ=0. A spectral distance dλ is computed using a discrete Fourier transform spectrum value passed through an all-pass filter using warp parameter λ and a discrete AR spectrum value passed through an all-pass filter using warp parameter λ. The λ which minimizes the spectral distance dλ is set as the warp parameter, and a whitening filter is configured in which the warp parameter has been optimized.
US09252743B2	Distributed polyphase filter In one embodiment, an apparatus includes a clock generator to generate differential clock signals. The apparatus also includes a distributed polyphase filter to obtain phase-corrected multi-phase clock signals based on the differential clock signals.
US09252742B2	Analog filter in wireless transmission/reception device and method for setting cut-off frequency using the same A method and an apparatus are provided for setting a cut-off frequency of an analog filter of a reception device for wireless communication. A deviation value is obtained that corresponds to an error between a first gain value based on an ideal transfer function curve and a second gain value based on a measured transfer function curve at an arbitrary frequency of a frequency band in which a constant interval is maintained between a slope of the ideal transfer function curve and a slope of the measured transfer function curve. A cut-off frequency that is used to measure the measured transfer function curve in a real environment, is corrected based on the obtained deviation value.
US09252726B2	Dual path operational amplifier An operational amplifier has two paths, a high frequency path and a low frequency path. In addition, it has three main sections of stages. A stage converts input voltage to an amplified output voltage, a stage converting an input voltage in to an output current and a final stage where the outputs of the two previous sections are supplied as inputs. Among them, the final stage acts as a voltage follower to a signal applied to its plus (+) input and as a transimpedance amplifier for a signal applied to its minus input (−). In this configuration, a path for low frequencies and a path for high frequencies are created in a single operational amplifier.
US09252719B2	Transmitter with predistorter A power amplifier circuit includes an amplifier MOSFET and a predistorter MOSFET. The predistorter MOSFET source and drain are connected together, and the predistorter MOSFET is connected between the gate of the amplifier MOSFET and a second bias voltage signal. This biasing of the predistorter MOSFET causes it to provide a nonlinear capacitance at the gate of the amplifier MOSFET. The combined non-linear capacitances of the amplifier MOSFET and predistorter MOSFET provide predistortion that promotes cancellation of the distortion or nonlinearity contributed by the amplifier MOSFET alone.
US09252707B2	MEMS mass bias to track changes in bias conditions and reduce effects of flicker noise A technique for tracking changes in bias conditions of a microelectromechanical system (MEMS) device includes applying an electrode bias signal to an electrode of the MEMS device. The technique includes applying a mass bias signal to a mass of the MEMS device suspended from a substrate of the MEMS device. The technique includes generating the mass bias signal based on a target mass-to-electrode bias signal level and a signal level of the electrode bias signal.
US09252705B2	Oscillator having dual topology An oscillator (200, 300, 350) comprises a tank circuit (100), a first transistor (M1c) and a second transistor (M1r), and the second transistor (M1r) occupies an area of silicon that is smaller than an area of silicon occupied by the first transistor (M1c). A switching apparatus (Sw1 . . . Sw14) selects either one of a first oscillator topology and a second oscillator topology, where in the first oscillator topology, the tank circuit (100) is coupled to the first transistor (M1c) in a first feedback configuration to provide feedback around the first transistor (M1c), and in the second oscillator topology, the tank circuit (100) is coupled to the second transistor (M1r) in a second feedback configuration that is different to the first feedback configuration to provide feedback around the second transistor (M1r).
US09252703B2	Method of diagnosing the failure of a photovoltaic generator Method of diagnosis for a photovoltaic generator characterized in that it implements a step of observing the evolution of its voltage when it passes from a short-circuit mode of operation to an open-circuit mode or vice versa.
US09252701B1	Ultimate renewable solar energy and storage system A system for integrating and co-generating renewable energies which achieves a combined powerful AC/DC electricity output, includes an enclosed volume chamber having an inner surface including a plurality of thermophotovoltaic cells located thereon and an opening for admitting a condensed high-temperature solar energy beam. A heat absorbing member located within the chamber for receiving a portion of the solar energy beam and acts as a thermal storage as well as a thermal emitter to supply thermal energy to the thermophotovoltaic cells to create DC electricity. Air is fed into the chamber to capture thermal energy from the emitter and any waste thermal energy, which is then converted into AC electricity. The system relies on the power of simplicity using a new twist in solar physics to allow for the highest conversion of sunlight energy to electricity at zero carbon emission while occupying significantly less space than typical solar energy systems.
US09252696B2	Driver circuit and method A drive signal generating unit generates a drive signal used to alternately deliver a positive current and a negative current to a coil. The drive signal is such that nonconducting periods are set before and after a positive current conducting period and the nonconducting periods are set before and after a negative current conducting period. A driver unit generates the drive current in response to the drive signal generated by the drive signal generating unit and then supplies the drive current to the coil. The drive signal generating unit sets the width of a nonconducting period such that, after the drive start of the linear vibration motor, the width of a nonconducting period to be set before at least the first conducting period of the drive signal is shorter than the width of a nonconducting period to be set before each conducting period during steady operation of the linear vibration motor.
US09252686B2	Drive control apparatus and drive control method for vibration wave driving apparatus Provided are a drive control apparatus and a drive control method for a vibration wave driving apparatus enabling a wider dynamic range and increased quietness. The drive control apparatus for a vibration wave driving apparatus of the present invention is a drive control apparatus for a vibration wave driving apparatus in which, by providing a drive signal to a vibrator provided with an electro-mechanical energy conversion device, a driven part in contact with the vibrator is relatively moved, wherein, when the driven part is activated by changing a frequency of the drive signal, a time throughout which the drive signal is made to be in an off state is provided every time the frequency is changed.
US09252676B2	Adaptive active clamp of flyback power converter with high efficiency for heavy load and light load A control circuit of a flyback power converter according to the present invention comprises a low-side transistor, an active-clamper, a high-side drive circuit, and a controller. The low-side transistor is coupled to switch a transformer. The active-clamper is coupled in parallel with the transformer. The high-side drive circuit is coupled to drive the active-clamper. The controller generates a switching signal and an active-clamp signal. The switching signal is coupled to drive the low-side transistor. The switching signal is generated in accordance with a feedback signal for regulating an output of the flyback power converter. The active-clamp signal is coupled to control the high-side drive circuit and the active-clamper. The active-clamp signal is generated in response to a demagnetizing time of the transformer. The pulse number of the active-clamp signal is less than the pulse number of the switching signal in a light load condition.
US09252666B2	Charging device A charging device is configured with a power supply device and a DC-DC converter that have constant current voltage drooping type overcurrent protection characteristics and that are connected in series. A constant current value in a voltage drooping state of the DC-DC converter is lower than a constant current value in a voltage drooping state of the power supply device. The DC-DC converter is shifted to an operation state to supply a charging current of the constant current value to a charging target when a voltage value of a direct current voltage that is output from the power supply device reaches a maximum output voltage value or an approximate value thereof. Therefore, the charging target can be charged to a higher voltage even though a charging voltage of the charging target is low.
US09252663B2	Method and system for converting a DC voltage An output voltage is compared to a reference voltage, comparison signals are generated, and control signals and mode signals are generated in response thereto. The output voltage is generated in response to the control signals. A speed of the comparing is increased in response to the mode signals indicating that the output voltage is being increased. The speed is reduced in response to the mode signals indicating that the output voltage is being reduced. For increasing the speed, a path is enabled to conduct current. While the path is enabled, at least one switched voltage is connected to vary an amount of the current conducted through the path. The switched voltage is at least one of the reference voltage and the output voltage. For reducing the speed, the path is disabled against conducting current. While the path is disabled, the switched voltage is disconnected from varying the amount.
US09252661B2	Methods and devices for power supply control Exemplary embodiments are directed to a power controller. A method may include comparing a summation voltage comprising a sum of an amplified error voltage and a reference voltage with an estimated voltage to generate a comparator output signal. The method may also include generating a gate drive signal from the comparator output signal and filtering a signal coupled to a power stage to generate the estimated voltage.
US09252660B2	System and method for generating a regulated boosted voltage using a controlled variable number of charge pump circuits A system, method, and computer program product for generating a regulated boosted load voltage. A comparator may use reduced versions of a reference voltage, a supply voltage, and a fed-back output load voltage to determine whether the output load voltage requires adjustment. If so, a controller may responsively vary the number of voltage boosting charge pumps connected in parallel to the load to best match a target voltage. The target voltage may be the reference voltage plus the supply voltage. A counter may track the number of active charge pumps, and may increment or decrement the number more slowly than the charge pumps operate. Loop gain may be limited by an integrating filter to prevent oscillation. The embodiments are of particular utility for signal conversion circuitry as they eliminate difficulties arising from gate-source voltage inadequacies and differences in switch transistors. A wider range of reference voltages may be accommodated.
US09252659B2	DC-DC converter with adaptive phase compensation controller A DC-DC converter for generating an output voltage from input voltage, includes: an output stage for outputting the output voltage; an error amplifier having an input and a reference input for receiving a feedback voltage at the input in accordance with the output voltage and for receiving a reference voltage at the reference input, the error amplifier generating an amplified voltage for driving the output stage, the amplifier voltage corresponding to the difference between the feedback voltage and the reference voltage; a phase compensation unit for generating a phase compensation component to the feedback voltage; and a phase compensation controller for controlling the phase of the phase compensation unit; wherein the feedback voltage determined by the output voltage plus said phase compensation component.
US09252652B2	Wide input voltage range power supply circuit A wide input voltage power supply circuit for a load includes a first stage and a second stage. The first stage includes a linear regulator circuit configured to maintain an output voltage at a predetermined output voltage level. The linear regulator includes an input for shutting the linear regulator off when an input voltage exceeds a predetermined shut off threshold. The second stage includes a high voltage detection circuit coupled to the input of the linear regulator. The high voltage detection circuit is configured to detect the level of the input voltage and to shut the linear regulator off when the input voltage exceeds the predetermined shut off threshold. An under voltage lockout circuit may be included, the under voltage lockout circuit configured to set a minimum turn-on voltage for the load.
US09252649B2	Linear actuator A linear actuator is provided with an outer tube and an inner tube inserted in the outer tube so as to be free to slide axially. A rod is erected at a central axis part of the inner tube, forming an annular space between the rod and the inner tube. Permanent magnets are retained along an axial direction in the rod, and a holder is fixed to the outer tube for retaining coils which are disposed face to face with the permanent magnets. The holder includes a cylindrical coil holding portion inserted in the annular space such that an extreme end of the cylindrical coil holding portion can move further into and backward from the annular space. The coil holding portion retains the coils within an inner peripheral surface, and a flange portion joined directly to a proximal end of the coil holding portion is fixed to the outer tube.
US09252646B2	Motor with diffusion stopper A motor includes a rotation shaft, a commutator, power supply brushes, and a brush holder. The brush holder includes an opposing portion that faces an end face of the commutator in an axial direction, a bearing holder, and a diffusion stopper. The diffusion stopper is arranged in a portion of the opposing portion located toward the outer side in the radial direction from the bearing holder and limits the diffusion of abrasion powder of the power supply brushes. The diffusion stopper is projected toward the commutator in the axial direction or recessed in the axial direction.
US09252642B2	Electrical machine The invention relates to an electric machine (100) comprising a stator (107) and a rotor (101), wherein the rotor (101) comprises a hollow shaft (102), wherein a closed hollow space (103) is formed by means of the hollow shaft (102), wherein the closed hollow space (103) is provided for receiving a cooling agent, wherein a three-dimensional transport structure (200) is provided in the closed hollow chamber (103) for transporting the cooling agent. The three-dimensional structure can, for example, be produced by means of applying an adaptive material.
US09252640B2	Generator set assembly with baffle An apparatus includes a housing having a ventilation opening. A component such as a generator set can be disposed within an interior space of the housing. A baffle can be disposed within the interior space of the housing at a location that obstructs an acoustic line of sight between the ventilation opening and the component to eliminate or otherwise reduce a sound signature of the component. The baffle can also be configured to accumulate water from the ventilation opening. A drain can also be provided to aid in the removal of water accumulated by the baffle and route the water outside the housing.
US09252637B2	Coil retainer for electric machine rotors A coil retainer for a rotor includes a flat body and a longitudinal spine. The flat body has a first thickness and the longitudinal spine has a second thickness greater than the first thickness. The coil retainer may also include a central rib, which has a third thickness. The central rib runs laterally relative to the flat body and the third thickness of the central rib is greater than the first thickness.
US09252634B2	Synchronous motor The synchronous motor includes a rotor including a rotor core constituted of segment poles disposed in a ring and a stator including a stator core disposed radially outward or inward of the rotor with a gap therebetween and a multiple-phase stator winding wound on the stator core. Each of the segment poles has a magnetic salient pole characteristic. The rotor is rotated in synchronization with a rotating magnetic field generated when the multiple-phase stator winding is applied with a multiple-phase AC voltage. The lamination thickness as an axial length of the stator core is shorter than the lamination thickness as an axial length of the rotor core.
US09252631B2	Data center battery enhancement method and system A method for increasing workable power output and run time duration of a battery backup system is disclosed. A plurality of battery groups is provided. A microprocessor electrically connects the power output of a first battery group and a second battery group to a UPS. The microprocessor monitors the output voltage of the first and second battery groups. When the monitored output voltage of the first and second battery group falls below a predetermined level, the microprocessor electrically disconnects from the UPS the first battery group and electrically connects to the UPS the power output of another of the plurality of battery groups. The first battery group is configured to be re-connectable to the UPS after a time period equal to or greater than necessary to permit the output voltage of the first battery group to recover to about its nominal voltage rating.
US09252627B2	Wireless energy transfer Apparatus and a method are provided. One example of the apparatus comprises: a housing, defining a through-hole, configured to retain an electronic device in the through-hole; at least one coil configured to receive energy wirelessly; and an electrical connector configured to provide energy received by the at least one coil to an electronic device retained in the through-hole.
US09252625B2	Method and device for charging a battery of an electrical drive using components of the electrical drive The invention relates to a multi-stage charging device for a battery of a battery operated electrical motor. The multistage charging device comprises a buck converter, an intermediate circuit and a boost converter in order to generate a suitable direct charging current from a (one or three-phase) alternating current provided by a power connection. According to the invention, components of the electrical drive are used for the boost converter and the intermediate circuit: the electrical motor functions as an intermediate circuit and the drive converter functions as a boost converter. According to the invention, the coupling of the electrical motor to the network-side buck converter occurs so that at least half the charging current flows through at least one of the at least three coils of the electrical drive. The invention further relates to a corresponding method and to a corresponding use of the drive components.
US09252624B2	Battery control device and battery system An object of the invention is to provide a battery control apparatus capable of accurately obtaining permissible charging or discharging power in keeping with variation of the internal resistance of a battery. The battery control apparatus of this invention includes an internal resistance table in which the internal resistance value of single cells corresponding to the temperature and state of charge thereof are described in association with each of charging or discharging duration time of the single cells. The battery control apparatus calculates a permissible charging current or a permissible discharging current by using the internal resistance value described in the internal resistance table and controls the charging or discharging of the single cells in accordance with the current value thus obtained.
US09252616B2	Zinc-air battery A zinc-air cell, a battery which is a low weight, low volume, or high energy system, or a combination thereof, and an apparatus for recharging the same are disclosed.
US09252615B2	Automatic mobile device detector Devices, methods and systems disclosed herein relate to a universal charger which provides a power supply for the charging of OMTP devices and non-OMTP devices based on whether an OMTP mobile communication device or a non-OMTP mobile communication device is connected. A power charging apparatus is provided for charging a mobile communication device. The power charging apparatus includes a connector for connecting to a charging port of the mobile communication device, and a controller coupled to the connector, the controller configured to determine whether the mobile communication device connected to the connector is a non-OMTP mobile communication device or an OMTP mobile communication device, the controller further configured to charge a non-OMTP mobile communication device when a non-OMTP mobile communication device is connected to the connector, and further configured to charge an OMTP mobile communication device when an OMTP mobile communication device is connected to the connector.
US09252609B2	Hanging folder device charging system A device charging system includes a base that has two opposing rim edges that are substantially parallel to each other and are spaced apart by a width corresponding to a hanging folder rail width. Several jacks are on a surface of the base, each is electrically connected to a source of power. Several hanging folders, each having integrated hanging folder rails, interface to the two opposing rim edges. The hanging folder rails are of a width corresponding to the hanging folder rail width. Several devices are physically held within a corresponding hanging folder and each device is electrically connected to one of the jacks by a charging cable, thereby providing power from the source of power to charge that device.
US09252605B1	Apparatus for charging multiple mobile devices A stackable, durable, portable apparatus for simultaneously charging multiple mobile electronic devices (including phones, tablets, game consoles, music players, flashlights, BLUETOOTH headsets and cameras) is disclosed herein. The apparatus is suitable for use in public social settings, easily removed or replaced for restoring the internal charge without requiring cable attachment, expertise or training.
US09252602B2	Electric storage cell control circuit To satisfactorily carry out balancing even when balancing control is suspended. It is selected according to a condition which of battery cell information (old state information) by the last balancing stored in a storage device and battery cell information (new state information) acquired during a start of this time is used, and the balancing control is performed.
US09252599B2	Method for controlling energy management system A method for controlling an energy management system, which includes a PV module for generating power and a battery for storing power and which is connected to a grid as an external power supplier and a power load as a power consumer, is provided to enable efficient energy management of the energy management system.
US09252590B2	Electric automobile, in-wheel motor drive device, and motor control method An electric vehicle is proposed which can achieve early detection of abnormal short-circuit of motor coils, thus avoiding various driving problems. The electric vehicle includes a motor unit configured to drive a wheel. The motor unit includes a synchronous motor with three-phase motor coils. The three-phase motor coils include a first motor coil, a second motor coil and a third motor coil of different phases. One end of the first motor coil, one end of the second motor coil and one end of the third motor coil are connected with each other at a neutral point in a star connection. The electric vehicle also includes an abnormal short-circuit monitor configured to detect an abnormal short-circuit of the motor coils, and also includes an abnormalities-responsive disconnection unit configured to electrically disconnect the motor coils from the neutral point.
US09252589B2	Transformer inrush current restraining control equipment There is provided with a transformer inrush current restraining control equipment that provide useful practice to effectively restrain transformer inrush current which would be inevitably caused whenever a transformer under out of service is going to be put into operation by the related breaker closing operation. The transformer inrush current restraining control equipment 10 includes a voltage measuring unit 1; a true residual fluxes timing calculating unit 2; a core-flux calculating unit 3; a true residual flux calculating unit 4; a breaker closing phase angular timing calculating unit 5; a breaker closing phase angular timing controlling unit 6.
US09252586B2	Method for forming a seal on conductors of an electrical cable The invention provides a method of forming a seal (62) between and around conductors (12A, 12B and 12C) of an electrical power cable (10), and has particular application as a safety measure in potentially explosive applications. The method includes passing the conductors (12A, 12B and 12C) through an opening in a body (26) so as to define a cavity within the body (26) between and around the conductors (12A, 12B and 12C); introducing an absorbent material (64) into the cavity; introducing a liquid settable material (66) into the cavity; and allowing the settable material (66) to be absorbed by the absorbent material (64) and to set thereby to seal the cavity between and around the conductors (12A, 12B and 12C).
US09252584B2	Apparatus and method for providing tethered electrical power to autonomous mobile robots An apparatus includes a robot arm, an electrical power cord, a motor-driven cable reel, an end effector, and at least one sensor. The robot arm has a proximal end and a distal end, and is configured to move in response to one or more electrical signals. The electrical power cord extends through the robot arm from the proximal end to the distal end and has an electrical plug at an end thereof. The motor-driven cable reel dispenses and retracts the electrical power cord so as to control a length thereof. The end effector is disposed at the distal end of the robot arm, and is configured to selectively grasp and release the electrical plug. The sensor is disposed at the distal end of the robot arm, and is configured to produce sensor data for controlling the robot arm to dock the electrical plug into an electrical receptacle.
US09252578B2	Cable connector and electrical box assembly A cable connector is provided for coupling to and mounted within the internal cavity of an electrical box for securing an electrical cable passing through an opening in the electrical box. The cable connector includes a body having a first end positioned next to or adjacent the cable opening in the electrical box and a second end spaced from the first end and the cable opening. At least one and typically two retaining members are spring biased from the first end of the body and extend into a cable passage of the body toward the second end. A front wall is provided at the second end of the body with an opening for receiving the wires and forming a stop member to prevent the armor sheathing from passing through the front wall.
US09252576B2	Corrugated tube with path-maintaining member and wire harness A corrugated tube assembly including a corrugated tube provided with a path-maintaining member. The corrugated tube has annular convex portions and annular concave portions alternately formed along a longitudinal direction. The path-maintaining member is a long member die-molded to maintain a shape at least a portion of which is bent in the longitudinal direction, and that is attached to the corrugated tube along the longitudinal direction thereof.
US09252568B2	Spark plug having ground electrode welded to metal shell A spark plug includes a center electrode, a ground electrode formed of a metal material containing 95% or more of nickel and a substantially cylindrical metal shell having a front end face to which one end of the ground electrode is welded. In the spark plug, the conditions: 0.15 mm≦BD≦0.40 mm; and (EW2−EW1)/EW1≧0.1 are satisfied where BD is a depth from the front end face of the metal shell to a portion of the ground electrode embedded most deeply in the metal shell; EW1 is a width of a portion of the ground electrode located closest to a portion of the ground electrode deformed by the welding; and EW2 is a width of the portion of the ground electrode deformed by the welding at the front end face of the metal shell.
US09252554B2	Compact, coherent, high brightness light sources for the mid and far IR Compact high brightness light sources for the mid and far IR spectral region, and exemplary applications are disclosed based on passively mode locked Tm fiber comb lasers. In at least one embodiment the coherence of the comb sources is increased in a system utilizing an amplified single-frequency laser to pump the Tm fiber comb laser. The optical bandwidth generated by the passively mode locked Tm fiber comb laser is further decreased by using simultaneous 2nd and 3rd order dispersion compensation using either appropriate chirped fiber Bragg gratings for dispersion compensation, or fibers with appropriately selected values of 2nd and 3rd order dispersion. Fibers with large anomalous values of third order dispersion, or fibers with large numerical apertures, for example fibers having air-holes formed in the fiber cladding may be utilized.
US09252551B2	Apparatus for manufacturing a connector A connector comprises a base insulator, a plurality of elongated plate shaped contacts arranged on the base insulator, and a cover insulator arranged to hold the contacts in cooperation with the base insulator and welded to the base insulator, the base insulator is provided with a pair of openings arranged to face each other across each of holders and to intersect with the direction in which the holders are arranged.
US09252547B2	Universal serial bus connector A universal serial bus connector includes an insulating housing, a tongue board assembly disposed to a front of the insulating housing, a plurality of first and second conductive terminals, and a shielding shell. Each of the first conductive terminals has a base strip, a fastening strip, a contact portion and a soldering strip. The fastening strips are integrally molded to the tongue board assembly with contact portions thereof projecting under a bottom of the tongue board assembly. Each of the second conductive terminals has a touching portion and a soldering slice. Each of the soldering slices is soldered to a top surface of a portion of one of the first conductive terminals facing to a bottom surface of the soldering slice. The second conductive terminals are integrally molded to the tongue board assembly with the touching portions thereof projecting beyond a top of the tongue board assembly.
US09252544B2	Plugging and unplugging module case A plugging and unplugging module case includes a body and a positioning element. The body has a plugging and unplugging opening. The positioning element has a positioning elastic body and a second engaging unit. The positioning element is disposed outside the body. The second engaging unit is a second engaging post for engaging with the first engaging hole. The body is of lower hardness than the positioning element. Hence, the positioning element quickly engages with the body, whereas the positioning elastic body is quickly positioned at a positioning hole so as to enhance the efficiency of the assembly of the plugging and unplugging module.
US09252532B2	Device for attaching an aircraft cabin module A device for attaching an aircraft cabin module, which device comprises a component with limbs for the releasable locking of a plug pin, fitted to the aircraft cabin module, and a plurality of electrical contacts. The component is configured in U shape as the rail component, the limbs thereof having locking points for the releasable locking of the plug pin fitted to the aircraft cabin module and the center portion thereof connecting the two limbs comprising the electrical contacts for the voltage supply and for the exchange of data with the aircraft cabin module.
US09252531B2	Electrical connector with magnetic element An electrical connector comprises an insulative housing, a plurality of conductive terminals secured in the insulative housing, a metal shell shielding around the insulative housing and a magnetic element retained in the metal shell. The metal shell forms an accommodating room for receiving the magnetic element. The magnetic element has an outer surface and a recess defined on the outer surface. The metal shell has a retaining arm corresponding to the recess. The design of the recess and the retaining arm make a better retaining effectivity for the electrical connector.
US09252528B2	Printed circuit board, method of manufacturing same, and method of mounting the circuit board in a connector socket A circuit board that is to be mounted in a connector socket includes a plurality of electrical connectors located along a side edge of the circuit board. Retention bosses are formed on first and second opposite sides of the circuit board, each of the retention bosses protruding from a surface of the circuit board and extending parallel to and adjacent to the first edge of the circuit board. When the first edge of the circuit board is inserted into a slot of a connector socket, contact surfaces of the first and second retention bosses contact top surfaces of the connector socket to help immobilize the circuit board with respect to the connector socket. Adhesive layers on the contact surfaces of the first and second retention bosses may adhere to the top surfaces of the connector socket to help hold the circuit board immobile with respect to the connector socket.
US09252526B2	Waterproof connector for vehicle A waterproof connector for a vehicle includes a front holder mounted on a front side of a main housing via a front seal for watertight, and having terminal-connecting holes. The front seal and the front holder are disposed inside the first mounting hole sequentially. An inner housing with a terminal is mounted to a rear side of the main housing and has terminal insertion holes. A subcover is disposed at a rear side of the inner housing. Each terminal has a connector portion disposed inside a terminal-connecting hole of the front holder, and a wire-welding portion is disposed inside a terminal insertion hole of the inner housing. Watertight and vibration-absorbing materials are attached to a lower side of an upper cover and an upper side of a lower cover of the subcover to protect the wire-welding portions of the terminals.
US09252522B2	Locking mechanism for molded resin component A second wall (34) has an opening (48). When an engagement projection (64) has climbed the inclined surface (43a) of a lock projection (43) and is going to reach the top of the lock projection, the opening allows a pressing projection (65) to be slide contacted with its edge (48a) while pressing the edge, thereby giving a lock arm a pressing force opposite to the deflecting direction thereof.
US09252520B1	Stacked spring terminals A multi-wire electrical connector system is provided for electrical equipment, such as circuit breaker, contactor or electrical switches. The connector system includes a plurality of stacked spring-loaded connector modules, and a single actuator to simultaneously operate all of the stacked connector modules to an open position or a closed position. Each connector module includes a housing, an isolated terminal and a spring. The terminal has a fixed conductive member. The housing is movable relative to the fixed conductive member between the open and closed positions. In the open position, an electrical wire can be inserted into or removed from a housing of each connector module. In the closed position, an electrical wire is clamped against a respective terminal in each connector module.
US09252510B2	Soldering structure for mounting connector on flexible circuit board Disclosed is a soldering structure for mounting at least one connector on a flexible circuit board. The connector includes SMD pins and solder-dipping pins. The flexible circuit board has a connector mounting section having a component surface on which SMD soldering zones and solder-dipping pin holes are formed. A reinforcement plate is coupled to a reinforcement bonding surface of the flexible circuit board. The reinforcement plate has through holes corresponding to the solder-dipping pin holes of the flexible circuit board. The SMD pins of the connector are respectively soldered to the SMD soldering zones of the flexible circuit board, and the solder-dipping pins of the connector are respectively inserted through the solder-dipping pin holes of the flexible circuit board and the through holes of the reinforcement plate to the soldering surface of the reinforcement plate to be soldered with a solder material.
US09252508B2	Electric connector with deformable terminals An electric connector includes at least one terminal pin having, at opposite ends thereof, terminals to be inserted into through-holes formed through printed circuit boards spaced away from and facing each other, and an aligner for aligning the terminal pins in a row in such a condition that the terminal pins are movable relative to the aligner, the terminal pin including a movement-limiter which restricts movement of the terminal pin in a direction of an axis thereof.
US09252505B2	Terminal connector, electric wire with terminal connector, and method of connecting terminal connector and electric wire An object is to obtain a stable electric connection resistance under a mild crimping condition. The present invention is a terminal connector 12 that includes a crimp portion 30 to be crimped to an electric wire. The crimp portion 30 includes a base material, an aluminum layer or an aluminum alloy layer a surface on the base material, and a hard layer on a surface of the aluminum layer or the aluminum alloy layer. The hard layer is harder than the base material. The present invention may be an electric wire with a terminal connector 10 that includes the above terminal connector 12 and a covered electric wire 40 that includes a core wire 42 made of aluminum or aluminum alloy. The crimp portion 30 of the terminal connector 12 is crimped to the core wire 42.
US09252502B2	Inverted F-antennas at a wireless communication node The disclosure relates to a node in a wireless communication arrangement, the node comprising an antenna arrangement that comprises a first and second inverted F antenna. The inverted F antennas comprise a corresponding first and second feed connection, first and second ground connection and a corresponding first and second radiating element mainly extending from the respective ground connection along a corresponding first and second longitudinal extension. The inverted F antennas are arranged on, or in, a plane. Furthermore, the first and second radiating elements are extending in opposite directions along their respective longitudinal extensions from the respective ground connections, the first longitudinal extension and the second longitudinal extension being mutually parallel. The closest distance between the first radiating element and the second radiating element exceeds 0,4*λ0, where λ0 is the wavelength for the centre frequency of the frequency band for which the inverted F antennas are intended.
US09252498B2	N port feeding system using a slow wave structure feeding device included in the same A feeding system for feeding power using slow wave structure is disclosed. The feeding system includes a first substrate, a first pattern disposed on the first substrate, being a conductor, a second substrate separated from the first substrate, and a second pattern configured to locate on the second substrate, being a conductor. Here, the first pattern and the second pattern are connected electrically, and at least one of the first pattern and the second pattern has a slow wave structure.
US09252496B2	Methods and compositions for energy dissipation A composition for energy dissipation in at least a portion of the frequency range from about 1 GHz to about 20 GHz, the composition can comprise a dielectric and graphene mixed with at least a portion of the dielectric, wherein the percentage volume of the graphene relative to the total volume of the composition is configured such that dissipation of incident electromagnetic radiation is substantially optimized in at least a portion of the frequency range from about 1 GHz to about 20 GHz.
US09252489B2	Circuit board and circuit module A circuit board and a circuit module more accurately provide impedance matching between an antenna coil and an electronic component electrically connected to the antenna coil, and include a board body including board portions and a plurality of laminated insulating material layers made of a flexible material. An antenna coil includes coil conductors provided in the board portion. Wiring conductors are provided in the board portion and electrically connected to the antenna coil. The board portion has a structure that is less likely to deform than the board portion. An integrated circuit electrically connected to the wiring conductors is mounted on the board portion.
US09252481B2	Adjustable antenna structures for adjusting antenna performance in electronic devices Adjustable antenna structures may be used to compensate for manufacturing variations in electronic device antennas. An electronic device antenna may have an antenna feed and conductive structures such as portions of a peripheral conductive electronic device housing member and other conductive antenna structures. The adjustable antenna structures may have a movable dielectric support. Multiple conductive paths may be formed on the dielectric support. The movable dielectric support may be installed within an electronic device housing so that a selected one of the multiple conductive paths is coupled into use to convey antenna signals. Coupling the selected path into use adjusts the position of an antenna feed terminal for the antenna feed and compensates for manufacturing variations in the conductive antenna structures that could potentially lead to undesired variations in antenna performance.
US09252476B2	Circuit module including a splitter and a mounting substrate In a circuit module, even if a transmission signal output from a transmission electrode of a mounting substrate to a transmission terminal of a splitter leaks into a ground electrode, the transmission signal that has leaked into the ground electrode flows into via conductors that are connected along an edge portion of the ground electrode close to the transmission electrode and connected to a ground line of a motherboard. Therefore, the transmission signal that has been output from the transmission electrode and leaked into the ground electrode is prevented from traveling along an edge portion of the ground electrode toward a reception electrode side. Thus, characteristics of isolation between the transmission electrode and the reception electrode provided on the mounting substrate on which the splitter is mounted are improved.
US09252473B2	Electromagnetic wave propagation medium When a wavelength of an electromagnetic wave in an electromagnetic wave propagation space (4) is λ, and n is an integer, in a case where a first conductive layer (2) and a second conductive layer (3) are short-circuited in a first end surface (7b), the more distant an electromagnetic wave output interface (6) is from an electromagnetic wave input interface (5), the closer to a distance of λ/4+n·λ/2 from the first end surface (7b) which is short-circuited the electromagnetic wave output interface is installed, and, in a case where the first conductive layer (2) and the second conductive layer (3) are not short-circuited in the first end surface (7b), the more distant the electromagnetic wave output interface (6) is from the electromagnetic wave input interface (5), the closer to a distance of n·λ/2 from the first end surface (7b) which is not short-circuited the electromagnetic wave output interface is installed.
US09252469B2	Microwave circuit in strip line technology A microwave circuit in strip line technology contains metallic resonator strips on one side of a dielectric layer. Alternatively another end of consecutive resonator strips is connected by means of at least one via to a metallic surface on an opposite side of said dielectric layer. Said end of each resonator strip is connected to at least one via and is formed relative to said at least one via so that the effective electrical length of each resonator strip connected through the via is identical.
US09252468B1	Microwave signal connector A microwave signal connector can comprise a first portion of an inner conductor comprising a first diameter. A second portion of the inner conductor comprises a second diameter less than the first diameter and is in contact with the first portion of the inner conductor. An outer conductor is disposed around the first portion of the inner conductor and the second portion of the inner conductor with a first inner diameter disposed over the first diameter and a second inner diameter disposed over the second diameter. A dielectric material is disposed between the second portion of the inner conductor and the outer conductor that extends along a length of the second portion of the inner conductor. An adhesive is attached to the dielectric material, the second portion of the inner conductor, and the outer conductor.
US09252465B2	Battery recharge estimator using battery impedance response An exemplary embodiment includes a method for determining a time to recharge a rechargeable battery system including providing impedance data over a frequency range, said impedance data characterizing the operation of a rechargeable battery within a selected time window; analyzing said impedance data for predetermined behavior of said impedance data indicating an approaching state of discharge of said battery; and, determining from said predetermined behavior of said impedance data whether a recharge of said rechargeable battery is indicated.
US09252457B2	Non-aqueous liquid electrolyte and non-aqueous liquid electrolyte secondary battery A non-aqueous liquid electrolyte suitable for use in a non-aqueous liquid electrolyte secondary battery comprising a negative electrode and a positive electrode, capable of intercalating and deintercalating lithium ions, and the non-aqueous liquid electrolyte, the negative electrode containing a negative-electrode active material having at least one kind of atom selected from the group consisting of Si atom, Sn atom and Pb atom, wherein the non-aqueous liquid electrolyte comprises a carbonate having at least either an unsaturated bond or a halogen atom.
US09252453B2	Rechargeable battery A rechargeable battery includes a battery pack, a battery lid, and an electrode and an external terminal connected by an electricity connector. A laminated portion of the electrodes comprising a lump of wound electrodes is separated into two bundle electrode connecting portions from a center side of the wound electrodes in the thickness direction outward of the battery pack. The electricity collector is provided with a main plate joined to the bundles, a rib plate bent from the main plate and extending outward of the battery pack, a mounting plate extending along the inside of the battery lid, and a connecting plate bent from of the mounting plate and extending toward a bottom surface of the battery pack. A coupling plate is inclined from this bottom end of the connecting plate toward the bundles and is coupled to one end of a joint plate on the battery lid side.
US09252452B2	Electrode assembly and composite electrode assembly of stair-like structure Disclosed herein are an electrode assembly and a composite electrode assembly mounted in a battery case of a secondary battery. The electrode assembly and the composite electrode assembly have a stair-like structure. The stair-like structure is formed based on the curvature of a device to utilize a dead space of the device, thereby improving the capacity of the device per unit volume.
US09252449B2	SOFC stack with temperature adapted compression force means A fuel cell stack includes a stack body formed by stacking a plurality of solid oxide fuel cells in a stacking direction. The fuel cell stack includes wall plate members and fuel cell support members. The wall plate members are provided in the stacking direction of the stack body around the sides of the stack body. Each of the fuel cell support members includes a composite layer made of composite material of alumina fiber and vermiculite. The fuel cell support members are interposed between the wall plate members and the sides of the stack body, and apply a load to the sides of the stack body in directions of a separator surface.
US09252443B2	Hydrogen generation apparatus, fuel cell system, and hydrogen generation apparatus operation method A hydrogen generation apparatus (150) includes: a first desulfurizer (13) configured to remove, through adsorption, a sulfur compound in a raw material gas that is to be supplied to a reformer; a second desulfurizer (21) configured to hydrodesulfurize a sulfur compound in the raw material gas that is to be supplied to the reformer; a first passage (16) through which the raw material gas is supplied to the reformer through the first desulfurizer (13); a second passage (17) through which the raw material gas is supplied to the reformer through the second desulfurizer (21), without passing through the first desulfurizer (13); a switch configured to switch a passage through which the raw material gas flows between the first passage (16) and the second passage (17); and a controller. The controller controls the switch such that the raw material gas flows through the first passage (16) in at least one of a pressure compensation operation and a raw material gas purge operation, the pressure compensation operation being an operation of supplying the raw material gas in order to compensate for an internal pressure drop that occurs after an operation of generating a hydrogen-containing gas is stopped, and the raw material gas purge operation being an operation of purging the inside of the hydrogen generation apparatus with the raw material gas.
US09252441B2	Method for detecting the permeability state of the ion exchanger polymer membrane of a fuel cell Procedure for detecting the permeability state of the polymeric ion-exchange membrane of a fuel cell stack, in which, as soon as the pressure difference in the anode and cathode circuits drops to a value below a threshold value PS, the pressure variation in said circuits for a predetermined time period tC is measured and the pressure difference in these circuits at the end of a predetermined time period, called the control pressure PC, is calculated and a warning is given when the control pressure PC is below a warning threshold PA.
US09252434B2	Seal compositions, methods, and structures for planar solid oxide fuel cells A seal composition includes a first alkaline earth metal oxide, a second alkaline earth metal oxide which is different from the first alkaline earth metal oxide, aluminum oxide, and silica in an amount such that molar percent of silica in the composition is at least five molar percent greater than two times a combined molar percent of the first alkaline earth metal oxide and the second alkaline earth metal oxide. The composition is substantially free of boron oxide and phosphorus oxide. The seal composition forms a glass ceramic seal which includes silica containing glass cores located in a crystalline matrix comprising barium aluminosilicate, and calcium aluminosilicate crystals located in the glass cores.
US09252431B2	Fuel cell catalyst with metal oxide/phosphate support structure and method of manufacturing same A fuel cell supported catalyst includes an underlying support structure having at least one of a metal oxide and a metal phosphate. Catalyst particles are arranged onto and in engagement with the support structure. An intermediate conductive, corrosion-resistant layer, such as boron-doped-diamond, is arranged onto and in engagement with the support structure to surround the catalyst particles. The supported catalyst is produced by depositing the intermediate layer onto the support structure after the catalyst particles have been deposited on the underlying support structure, in one example. In another example, voids are provided in the intermediate layer, which has been deposited onto the underlying support structure, to subsequently receive the catalyst particles.
US09252424B2	Composite anode active material, method of preparing composite anode active material, and anode and lithium battery including composite anode active material A composite anode active material includes matrix particles including lithium titanate; and at least one nanoparticle dispersed in the matrix particles. The at least one nanoparticle includes at least one selected from the group a metal capable of forming alloys with lithium and a non-transition metal oxide.
US09252414B2	Electrical connecting member for secondary battery Disclosed herein is a connection member for secondary batteries to achieve the electrical connection in a battery pack including two or more cylindrical secondary batteries in a physical contact manner, the connection member including an outer circumferential contact part contacting an electrode terminal of a lower battery cell along the outer circumferential region of the electrode terminal of the lower battery cell, such that the outer circumferential contact part can be electrically connected to the electrode terminal of the lower battery cell in a surface contact manner and a central contact part contacting an electrode terminal of an upper battery cell or the central region of a sidewall of the battery pack for providing an elastic contact force to the entire connection member mounted between the electrode terminals of the respective battery cells or between the electrode terminals of the battery cells and the sidewall of the battery pack.
US09252412B2	Multilayer porous film, separator for nonaqueous electrolyte secondary batteries, and nonaqueous electrolyte secondary battery Provided is a multilayer porous film that has extremely high powder fall-off resistance and superior electrolyte solution adsorptivity and heat resistance and exhibits superior properties when used as a battery separator without decreasing the high air permeability of a porous film. The multilayer porous film includes a polyolefin-based resin porous film and a coating layer containing a filler and a resin binder on at least one surface of the polyolefin-based resin porous film. The amount of particles with particle sizes of less than 0.2 μm (D0.2) in the filler is 1% or more, and the specific surface area of the filler is 5 m2/g or more and less than 10 m2/g. The multilayer porous film satisfies a particular condition.
US09252406B2	Electric storage apparatus Provided is an electric storage that includes at least one electric storage device, a first external housing for housing the at least one electric storage device, and a second external housing for housing the first external housing, wherein the first external housing and the second external housing respectively include engaging portions, which are engaged with each other.
US09252405B2	Rechargeable secondary battery A secondary battery including a first electrode assembly, a second electrode assembly, a case accommodating the first and second electrode assemblies, a terminal part electrically connected to the first and second electrode assemblies, and exposed to an outside of the case, and a plurality of short circuit inducing members between the first electrode assembly and the case, between the second electrode assembly and the case, and between the first electrode assembly and the second electrode assembly.
US09252401B2	Secondary battery A secondary battery may include a secondary battery, including, a case having an upper opening and an internal cavity, an electrode assembly disposed within the internal cavity of the case, a cap plate coupled to the case and sealing the upper opening, a collector plate coupled to the electrode assembly, a collector terminal coupled to the collector plate, the collector terminal including a rivet portion and terminal portion above a top surface of the cap plate, and a terminal plate positioned above the cap plate and coupled to the rivet portion of the collector terminal.
US09252377B2	Inorganic hosts in OLEDs A novel electronic device is reported containing a host comprising an inorganic material with a band gap of less than 4 eV. The use of an inorganic material is advantageous due to its desirable physical properties, including increased stability and charge mobility.
US09252375B2	Method of fabricating a light emitting diode display with integrated defect detection test A display panel and method of manufacture are described. In an embodiment, a display substrate includes a pixel area and a non-pixel area. An array of subpixels and corresponding array of bottom electrodes are in the pixel area. An array of micro LED devices are bonded to the array of bottom electrodes. One or more top electrode layers are formed in electrical contact with the array of micro LED devices. In one embodiment a redundant pair of micro LED devices are bonded to the array of bottom electrodes. In one embodiment, the array of micro LED devices are imaged to detect irregularities.
US09252369B2	Metal complexes with organic ligands and use thereof in OLEDs The present invention relates, inter alia, to metal complexes having improved solubility, to processes for the preparation of the metal complexes, to devices comprising these metal complexes and to the use of the metal complexes. M(L)n(L′)m formula 1 where the compound contains a moiety M(L)n of the formula (2) W is equal to the formula (3).
US09252368B2	Cyclic azine compound having nitrogen-containing condensed aromatic group, method for producing same, and organic electroluminescent device comprising same as constituent component A cyclic azine compound of formula (1): wherein, Y is C—H or a nitrogen atom, Ar1 is a C6-18 aromatic hydrocarbon group, which may be substituted with an C1-4 alkyl group or a phenyl group, Ar2 is a hydrogen atom, or a C6-18 aromatic hydrocarbon group, which may be substituted with a phenyl group or a pyridyl group, or is a nitrogen-containing condensed ring C9-15 aromatic group, Ar3 is a nitrogen-containing condensed ring C9-15 aromatic group, X is a phenylene group, and n is an integer in the range of 0-3. The cyclic azine compound is useful as a constituent of an organic electroluminescent device.
US09252359B2	Resistive switching devices having a switching layer and an intermediate electrode layer and methods of formation thereof In one embodiment of the present invention, a resistive switching device includes a first electrode disposed over a substrate and coupled to a first potential node, a switching layer disposed over the first electrode, a conductive amorphous layer disposed over the switching layer, and a second electrode disposed on the conductive amorphous layer and coupled to a second potential node.
US09252357B2	Magnetoresistive element According to one embodiment, a magnetoresistive element comprises a storage layer having perpendicular magnetic anisotropy with respect to a film plane and having a variable direction of magnetization, a reference layer having perpendicular magnetic anisotropy with respect to the film plane and having an invariable direction of magnetization, a tunnel barrier layer formed between the storage layer and the reference layer and containing O, and an underlayer formed on a side of the storage layer opposite to the tunnel barrier layer. The reference layer comprises a first reference layer formed on the tunnel barrier layer side and a second reference layer formed opposite the tunnel barrier layer. The second reference layer has a higher standard electrode potential than the underlayer.
US09252343B2	LED package An LED package includes a package substrate, a first LED chip mounted on the package substrate, a first phosphor layer disposed on the first LED chip, a reflective layer configured to surround sides of the first LED chip and the first phosphor layer; and a mask disposed on the reflective layer and including a first opening portion which exposes a surface of the first phosphor layer.
US09252332B1	Light emitting diode structure and light emitting diode module A light emitting diode structure includes a first contact electrode, a first insulating layer, a second contact electrode, a second insulating layer, a first barrier layer, a second barrier layer, a first illuminant epitaxial structure, and a second illuminant epitaxial structure. The first contact electrode includes a first protruding portion. The first insulating layer covers the first contact electrode and exposes a top of the first protruding portion. The second contact electrode is located on the first insulating layer and includes a second protruding portion. The second insulating layer covers the second contact electrode and exposes a top of the second protruding portion. The first barrier layer is located on the second insulating layer and is electrically connected to the second contact electrode. The second barrier layer is located on the second insulating layer.
US09252317B2	Multi-pixel avalanche transistor Semiconductor avalanche photo transistors and methods of manufacturing the same, operable for internal amplification of a photo signal and for use in detection of weak light signals, gamma rays and nuclear particles. The multi-pixel avalanche photo transistor devices can comprise a semiconductor layer, a plurality of semiconductor areas (pixels) forming a p-n-junction with the semiconductor layer, a common conductive grid separated from the semiconductor layer by a dielectric layer and individual micro-resistors connected to said semiconductor areas with the common conductive grid. Systems and methods described can be operable to decrease optical crosstalk at high signal amplification and the special capacity of the multi-pixel avalanche photo transistor, as well as improve speed of its photo response.
US09252314B2	Device and method for solar power generation A photovoltaic device comprising an array of elongate reflector elements mounted substantially parallel to one another and transversely spaced in series, at least one of the reflector elements having an elongate concave reflective surface to reflect incident solar radiation towards a forward adjacent reflector element in the array. The at least one reflector element includes a photovoltaic receptor mounted on the reflector element by a mounting arrangement to receive reflected solar radiation from a rearward adjacent reflector element. The reflector element also includes a heat sink in heat transfer relationship with the photovoltaic receptor, thermally isolating the photovoltaic receptor, at least partially, from the reflector element.
US09252302B2	Photovoltaic back contact A method to preparing Cadmium telluride surface before forming metal back contact is disclosed. The method can include removing carbon from Cadmium telluride surface.
US09252296B2	Semiconductor device with compressive layers A semiconductor device includes a substrate having a first side and a second side opposite the first side. The substrate has a sensor region proximate the first side. The semiconductor device also includes a first compressive layer over the second side of the substrate. The semiconductor device further includes a light blocking element over the first compressive layer. The semiconductor device additionally includes a second compressive layer over the first compressive layer and covering a portion of the light blocking element. The semiconductor device also includes a third compressive layer between the second compressive layer and the portion of the light blocking element.
US09252294B2	Instantaneous solar array recombining technology An automatically re-configurable solar array apparatus is disclosed. The apparatus includes a solar array electrically connected to an inverter through a power switch controlled by a microprocessor. The solar array comprises a combination of solar panel strings wired in parallel. Each solar panel string comprises a plurality of solar panels wired in series. An output electrical parameter level of the combination of solar panel strings is capable of producing output power from the inverter. The output electrical parameter level of the combination of solar panel strings is equal to about a predetermined electrical parameter level under sunny conditions. The solar array is pre-wired to permit microprocessor-controlled switching to reconfigure the array into solar panel strings of varying lengths. The electrical parameter level is at least one of a voltage level, a current level, and a power level.
US09252293B2	Trench field effect diodes and methods of manufacturing those diodes Diodes and methods of manufacturing diodes are disclosed. The diodes may include a cathode assembly and an anode assembly having an anode electrode, a gate electrode layer under the anode electrode, a gate oxide layer under the gate electrode layer, at least one P− body region under the gate oxide layer, and at least one trench that extends through the gate electrode layer, the gate oxide layer, and the at least one P− body region to the cathode assembly. The at least one trench may include a lower portion having (1) a bottom and a plurality of sidewalls defining a bottom volume and having an insulating layer and (2) a conductive material that is disposed within the bottom volume and that is in electrical communication with the anode electrode. The anode electrode may contact extend through the at least one trench to the conductive material.
US09252290B2	Nonvolatile semiconductor memory element, nonvolatile semiconductor memory, and method for operating nonvolatile semiconductor memory element According to an aspect of the present invention, there is provided a nonvolatile semiconductor memory element including: a semiconductor substrate including: a source region; a drain region; and a channel region; a lower insulating film that is formed on the channel region; a charge storage film that is formed on the lower insulating film and that stores data; an upper insulating film that is formed on the charge storage film; and a control gate that is formed on the upper insulating film, wherein the upper insulating film includes: a first insulting film; and a second insulating film that is laminated with the first insulating film, and wherein the first insulating film is formed to have a trap level density larger than that of the second insulating film.
US09252284B2	Display substrate and method of manufacturing a display substrate A display substrate and a method for manufacturing a display substrate are disclosed. In the method, a gate electrode is formed on a base substrate. An active pattern is formed using an oxide semiconductor. The active pattern partially overlaps the gate electrode. A first insulation layer pattern and a second insulation layer pattern are sequentially formed on the active pattern. The first insulation layer pattern and the second insulation layer pattern overlap the gate electrode. A third insulation layer is formed to cover the active pattern, the first insulation layer pattern and the second insulation layer pattern. Either the first insulation layer pattern or the second insulation layer pattern includes aluminum oxide. Forming the first insulation layer pattern and the second insulation layer pattern includes performing a backside exposure process using the gate electrode as an exposure mask.
US09252254B2	Semiconductor device and method of manufacturing the same, and power supply apparatus A semiconductor device includes a substrate; a first nitride semiconductor layer provided over the substrate and having a nitride-polar surface; a gate electrode provided over the first nitride semiconductor layer; and a semiconductor layer provided on the first nitride semiconductor layer and only under the gate electrode, and exhibiting a polarization.
US09252252B2	Ambipolar silicon nanowire field effect transistor This invention describes a novel electronic device consisting of one—or more—vertically stacked gate-all-around silicon nanowire field effect transistor (SNWFET) with two independent gate electrodes. One of the two gate electrodes, acting on the central section of the transistor channel, controls on/off behavior of the channel. The second gate, acting on the regions in proximity to the source and the drain of the transistor, defines the polarity of the devices, i.e. p or n type. The electric field of the second gate acts either at the interface of the nanowire-to-source/drain region or anywhere in close proximity to the depleted region of the SiNW body, modulating the bending of the Schottky barriers at the contacts, eventually screening one type of charge carrier to pass through the channel of the transistor. This is achieved by controlling the majority carriers passing through the transistor channel by regulating the Schottky barrier thicknesses at the source and drain contacts.
US09252245B1	Spacer-last replacement metal gate flow and device A methodology for spacer-last replacement metal gate (RMG) flow that exhibits reduced variability, and the resulting device are disclosed. Embodiments may include forming a dummy gate stack comprising a dummy nitride portion on a dummy oxide portion on a substrate, forming source/drain regions in the substrate at opposite sides of the dummy gate stack, depositing an insulating material over the source/drain regions, coplanar with the dummy gate stack, and replacing the dummy gate stack with a metal gate stack and spacers.
US09252243B2	Gate structure integration scheme for fin field effect transistors In one embodiment, a semiconductor device is provided that includes a gate structure present on a channel portion of a fin structure. The gate structure includes a dielectric spacer contacting a sidewall of a gate dielectric and a gate conductor. Epitaxial source and drain regions are present on opposing sidewalls of the fin structure, wherein surfaces of the epitaxial source region and the epitaxial drain region that is in contact with the sidewalls of the fin structure are aligned with an outside surface of the dielectric spacer. In some embodiments, the dielectric spacer, the gate dielectric, and the gate conductor of the semiconductor device are formed using a single photoresist mask replacement gate sequence.
US09252241B2	Self-aligned thin film transistor and fabrication method thereof Disclosed are a self-aligned thin film transistor capable of simultaneously improving an operation speed and stability and minimizing a size thereof by forming source and drain electrodes so as to be self-aligned, and a fabrication method thereof. The method of fabricating a thin film transistor according to an exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure includes: forming an active layer, a gate insulator, and a gate layer on a substrate; forming a photoresist layer pattern for defining a shape of a gate electrode on the gate layer; etching the gate layer, the gate insulator, and the active layer by using the photoresist layer pattern; depositing a source and drain layer on the etched substrate by a deposition method having directionality; and forming a gate electrode and self-aligned source electrode and drain electrode by removing the photoresist layer pattern.
US09252234B2	Partially-blocked well implant to improve diode ideality with SiGe anode A method of manufacturing a semiconductor device is disclosed. A p-type substrate is doped to form an N-well in a selected portion of a p-type substrate adjacent an anode region of the substrate. A p-type doped region is formed in the anode region of the p-type substrate. The p-type doped region and the N-well form a p-n junction.
US09252230B2	Semiconductor device and method of manufacturing the same A semiconductor device and a method of manufacturing the same are provided. The device includes insulating patterns and conductive patterns stacked alternately, a channel layer formed through the insulating patterns and the conductive patterns, a tunnel insulating layer formed to surround sidewalls of the channel layer, and a charge storage layer formed to surround the tunnel insulating layer. An interfacial surface of the tunnel insulating layer in contact with the charge storage layer includes a thermal oxide layer.
US09252222B2	Transistor and method of fabricating the same Provided is a transistor. The transistor includes: a substrate; a semiconductor layer provided on the substrate and having one side vertical to the substrate and the other side facing the one side; a first electrode extending along the substrate and contacting the one side of the semiconductor layer; a second electrode extending along the substrate and contacting the other side of the semiconductor layer; a conductive wire disposed on the first electrode and spaced from the second electrode; a gate electrode provided on the semiconductor layer; and a gate insulating layer disposed between the semiconductor layer and the gate electrode, wherein the semiconductor layer, the first electrode, and the second electrode have a coplanar.
US09252219B2	Insulated gate bipolar transistor with a lateral gate structure and gallium nitride substrate The present invention discloses an insulated gate bipolar transistor (IGBT) and a manufacturing method thereof. The IGBT includes: a gallium nitride (GaN) substrate, a first GaN layer with a first conductive type, a second GaN layer with a first conductive type, a third GaN layer with a second conductive type or an intrinsic conductive type, and a gate formed on the GaN substrate. The first GaN layer is formed on the GaN substrate and has a side wall vertical to the GaN substrate. The second GaN layer is formed on the GaN substrate and is separated from the first GaN layer by the gate. The third GaN layer is formed on the first GaN layer and is separated from the GaN substrate by the first GaN layer. The gate has a side plate adjacent to the side wall in a lateral direction to control a channel.
US09252214B2	Apparatus, method and computer program product providing radial addressing of nanowires Disclosed is a method to construct a device that includes a plurality of nanowires (NWs) each having a core and at least one shell. The method includes providing a plurality of radially encoded NWs where each shell contains one of a plurality of different shell materials; and differentiating individual ones of the NWs from one another by selectively removing or not removing shell material within areas to be electrically coupled to individual ones of a plurality of mesowires (MWs). Also disclosed is a nanowire array that contains radially encoded NWs, and a computer program product useful in forming a nanowire array.
US09252212B2	Power semiconductor device A power semiconductor device may include: an active region in which a current flows through a channel formed when the device being turned on; a termination region disposed around the active region; a first semiconductor region of a first conductive type disposed in the termination region in a direction from the active region to the termination region; and a second semiconductor region of a second conductive type disposed in the termination region in the direction from the active region to the termination region, the first semiconductor region and the second semiconductor region being disposed alternately.
US09252209B2	Semiconductor device and method for manufacturing semiconductor device A p anode layer is formed on one main surface of an n− drift layer. N+ cathode layer having an impurity concentration more than that of the n− drift layer is formed on the other main surface. An anode electrode is formed on the surface of the p anode layer. A cathode electrode is formed on the surface of the n+ cathode layer. N-type broad buffer region having a net doping concentration more than the bulk impurity concentration of a wafer and less than the n+ cathode layer and p anode layer is formed in the n− drift layer. Resistivity ρ0 of the n− drift layer satisfies 0.12V0≦ρ0≦0.25V0 with respect to rated voltage V0. Total amount of net doping concentration of the broad buffer region is equal to or more than 4.8×1011 atoms/cm2 and equal to or less than 1.0×1012 atoms/cm2.
US09252204B2	Metal insulator metal (MIM) capacitor structure A MIM capacitor includes a dielectric cap that enhances performance and reduces damage to MIM insulators during manufacture. A cavity is formed in an insulative substrate, such as a back end of line dielectric layer, and a first metal layer and an insulator layer are conformally deposited. A second metal layer may be deposited conformally and/or to fill a remaining portion of the cavity. The dielectric cap may be an extra layer of insulative material deposited at ends of the insulator at an opening of the cavity and may also be formed as part of the insulator layer.
US09252192B2	Methods of manufacturing semiconductor devices including a cross point cell array A method of fabricating a semiconductor device is provided. The method includes an intermediate pattern structure on a substrate. The intermediate pattern structure includes a pair of first conductive lines extending in a first direction, a pair of first conductive connectors connecting end portions the pair of first conductive lines to each other, a pair of second conductive lines intersecting the pair of first conductive lines, and a pair of second conductive connectors connecting end portions of the pair of second conductive lines to each other. The first and second conductive connectors are selectively removed using a cut mask pattern to separate the pair of first conductive lines from each other and to separate the pair of second conductive lines from each other.
US09252185B2	Back side illuminated image sensors with back side charge storage A back side illuminated image sensor may be provided with an array of image sensor pixels. Each image sensor pixel may include a substrate having a front surface and a back surface. The image sensor pixels may have a charge storage region formed at the back surface and a charge readout node formed at the front surface of the substrate. The image sensor pixels may receive image light at the back surface of the substrate. Photo-generated charge may be accumulated at the charge storage region during a charge integration cycle. Upon completion of the charge integration cycle, a transfer gate formed at the front surface may be pulsed high to move the charge from the charge storage region to the charge readout node. The charge may be converted to a voltage at the charge readout node and may be read out using a rolling shutter readout mode.
US09252177B2	Solid state imaging device According to one embodiment, a solid state image sensor has a photoelectric conversion element array, a light collecting optical element array, wavelength-selective elements and a reflecting unit. Wavelength-selective elements pass light of the color which is to be detected, and reflect other colors. The reflecting unit further reflects the light that has been reflected by the wavelength-selective elements. The cell includes photoelectric conversion elements for three different light colors. A microlens serving as a light collecting optical element is arranged corresponding to the cell. The reflecting unit includes at least a first reflecting surface and a second reflecting surface. The first reflecting surface faces the wavelength-selective elements. In every cell, the second reflecting surface is enclosed between wavelength-selective elements and the first reflecting surface.
US09252173B2	Solid-state imaging device and manufacturing method of the same, and imaging unit A solid-state imaging device includes a light sensing unit generating a signal charge by performing a photoelectric conversion of an incident light; a conductive material in the vicinity of the light sensing unit; a first light-shielding film formed to cover at least a portion of the conductive material; and a second light-shielding film formed on a part of or all of a surface of the first light-shielding film.
US09252170B2	Solid-state imaging device and line sensor Certain embodiments provide a solid-state imaging device including a pixel portion, a charge storage portion, a first transfer gate portion, a charge detecting portion, a second transfer gate portion, and an offset gate portion. The charge storage portion stores the electrical charges generated in the pixel portion. The first transfer gate portion transfers electrical charges from the pixel portion to the charge storage portion, and the second transfer gate portion transfers the electrical charges from the charge storage portion to the charge detecting portion. The offset gate portion is provided between the second transfer gate portion and the charge detecting portion and is applied with a predetermined constant voltage. This offset gate portion includes an offset gate layer that has a plurality of projections formed at positions adjacent to the second transfer gate portion and an offset gate electrode.
US09252160B2	Thin film transistor array panel and method of manufacturing the same An exemplary embodiment provides a thin film transistor array panel including: a substrate; a gate line; a semiconductor layer; a data wire layer; a first passivation layer; and a second passivation layer. The gate line is disposed on the substrate and includes a gate electrode. The semiconductor layer is disposed on the substrate. The data wire layer is configured to include a data line disposed on the substrate to cross the gate line, a source electrode connected to the data line, and a drain electrode disposed to face the source electrode. The first passivation layer is disposed on a channel region between the source electrode and the drain electrode. The second passivation layer is disposed on the first passivation layer, the source electrode, and the drain electrode. A width of the first passivation layer disposed on the channel region is equal to or smaller than a distance between the source electrode and the drain electrode.
US09252159B2	Array substrate and fabrication method thereof, and display device The present invention discloses an array substrate comprising a plurality of common electrode lines, a plurality of gate lines, and a plurality of data lines formed on a substrate, and a plurality of pixel units formed among the gate lines, the data lines and the common electrode lines, each pixel unit comprises: a pixel electrode, a first TFT, and a common electrode, the gate line and the data line drive the pixel electrode through the first TFT, the common electrode line is connected to the common electrode, the common electrode line and the data line do not overlap with each other, and an insulating layer is disposed between the common electrode line and the date line. The present invention further discloses a fabrication method of the array substrate and a display device comprising the array substrate.
US09252147B2	Methods and apparatuses for forming multiple radio frequency (RF) components associated with different RF bands on a chip A method includes forming a first gate oxide in a first region and in a second region of a wafer. The method further includes performing first processing to form a second gate oxide in the second region. The second gate oxide has a different thickness than the first gate oxide. The method also includes forming first gate material of a first device in the first region and forming second gate material of a second device in the second region. The first device corresponds to a first radio frequency (RF) band and the second device corresponds to a second RF band that is different from the first RF band.
US09252141B2	Semiconductor integrated circuit, method for fabricating the same, and semiconductor package A semiconductor integrated circuit device includes a TSV (Through Silicon Via) extending through a substrate, a first well in the substrate adjacent a first surface of the substrate, a gate of an active device on the first well, a charging protection well, and a charging protection gate on the charging protection well. The charging protection well is disposed in the substrate adjacent the first surface of the substrate, is interposed between the TSV hole and the first well, and surrounds the TSV hole. The charging protection gate prevents the gate of the active device from being damaged when the TSV is formed especially when using a plasma etch process to form a TSV hole in the substrate.
US09252140B2	Semiconductor chip and semiconductor arrangement One aspect of the invention relates to a semiconductor chip with a semiconductor body. The semiconductor body has an inner region and a ring-shaped outer region. An electronic structure is monolithically integrated in the inner region and has a controllable first semiconductor component with a first load path and a first control input for controlling the first load path. Further, a ring-shaped second electronic component is monolithically integrated in the outer region and surrounds the inner region. Moreover, the second electronic component has a second load path that is electrically not connected in parallel to the first load path.
US09252138B2	Interconnect devices for electronic packaging assemblies An electronic packaging assembly having a semiconductor integrated circuit and a plurality of interconnect components is provided. The plurality of interconnect components is operatively coupled to the semiconductor integrated circuit. Further, one or more interconnect components include one or more support elements having a first surface and a second surface, and one or more spring elements having a first end and a second end, and wherein first ends of the one or more spring elements are coupled to the first surface or the second surface of a respective support element.
US09252132B2	Semiconductor device and semiconductor module A semiconductor device includes an analog integrated circuit and a digital integrated circuit provided on a major surface of a substrate. An analog ground terminal is provided for the analog integrated circuit, and digital ground terminals are provided for the digital integrated circuit. An analog ground layer is stacked on the substrate so as to face the analog integrated circuit, and digital ground layers are stacked on the substrate so as to face the digital integrated circuit. The analog ground terminal is connected to the analog ground layer, and the digital ground terminals are connected to the digital ground layers, respectively.
US09252129B2	Semiconductor apparatus A semiconductor apparatus includes: a slave chip including a signal transfer unit configured to determine whether or not to transfer an input signal in response to a chip select signal; a master chip including a replica circuit unit having the same configuration as the signal transfer unit and a signal output unit configured to receive an output signal of the signal transfer unit and an output signal of the replica circuit unit and generate an output signal in response to the control signal; a first through-chip via vertically formed through the slave chip, and having one end connected to the master chip to receive the input signal and the other end connected to the signal transfer unit; and a second through-chip via vertically formed through the slave chip, and having one end connected to the signal transfer unit and the other end connected to the signal output unit.
US09252111B2	Method for handling very thin device wafers A structure and method of handling a device wafer during through-silicon via (TSV) processing are described in which a device wafer is bonded to a temporary support substrate with a permanent thermosetting material. Upon removal of the temporary support substrate a planar frontside bonding surface including a reflowed solder bump and the permanent thermosetting material is exposed.
US09252110B2	Interconnect structure and method of forming same An apparatus comprises a dielectric layer formed on a first side of a substrate, a first side interconnect structure comprising a first metal line and a pad formed in the dielectric layer, wherein the pad comprises a bottom portion formed of a first conductive metal and an upper portion formed of a second conductive metal, and wherein sidewalls of the upper portion are surrounded by the bottom portion and a top surface of the pad is coplanar with a top surface of the first metal line and a passivation layer formed over the dielectric layer, wherein the first metal line is embedded in the passivation layer.
US09252109B2	Method of making bond pad A method of making a bonding pad for a semiconductor device which includes forming a first region over a buffer layer, where the first region includes aluminum and having a first average grain size. The method further includes forming a second region over the first region, where the second region includes aluminum, and where the second region has a second average grain size different from the first average grain size. Additionally, the method includes forming a first passivation layer surrounding the first region and the second region. Furthermore, the method includes forming a second passivation layer partially covering the second region, where the first region and the second region extend along a top surface of the first passivation layer.
US09252108B2	Semiconductor device having magnetic shield layer surrounding MRAM chip According to one embodiment, a semiconductor device includes a MRAM chip including a semiconductor substrate and a memory cell array area includes magnetoresistive elements which are provided on the semiconductor substrate, and a magnetic shield layer surrounding the memory cell array area in a circumferential direction of the MRAM chip, and having a closed magnetic path.
US09252107B2	Semiconductor package having a metal paint layer Disclosed are devices and methods related to a conductive paint layer configured to provide radio-frequency (RF) shielding for a packaged semiconductor module. Such a module can include a packaging substrate, one or more RF components mounted on the packaging substrate, a ground plane disposed within the packaging substrate, and a plurality of RF-shielding wirebonds disposed on the packaging substrate and electrically connected to the ground plane. The module can further include an overmold structure formed over the packaging substrate and dimensioned to substantially encapsulate the RF component(s) and the RF-shielding wirebonds. The overmold structure can define an upper surface that exposes upper portions of the RF-shielding wirebonds. The module can further include a conductive paint layer having silver flakes disposed on the upper surface of the overmold structure so that the conductive paint layer, the RF-shielding wirebonds, and the ground plane form an RF-shield for the RF component(s).
US09252095B2	Semiconductor package and method of fabricating the same Provided are a semiconductor package and a method of fabricating the same. The package substrate includes a hole, which may be used to form a mold layer without any void. The mold layer may be partially removed to expose a lower conductive pattern. Accordingly, it is possible to improve routability of solder balls.
US09252088B2	Semiconductor device and method of manufacturing the same A semiconductor device is inhibited from being degraded in reliability. The semiconductor device has a tab including a top surface, a bottom surface, and a plurality of side surfaces. Each of the side surfaces of the tab has a first portion continued to the bottom surface of the tab, a second portion located outwardly of the first portion and continued to the top surface of the tab, and a third portion located outwardly of the second portion and continued to the top surface of the tab to face the same direction as each of the first and second portions. In planar view, the outer edge of the semiconductor chip is located between the third portion and the second portion of the tab, and the outer edge of an adhesive material fixing the semiconductor chip to the tab is located between the semiconductor chip and the second portion.
US09252084B2	Semiconductor device and method of manufacturing semiconductor device A semiconductor device including: a base material portion that includes a semiconductor substrate and an insulating film that is formed on one face of the semiconductor substrate and on which a vertical hole is formed along the thickness direction of the semiconductor substrate; a vertical hole wiring portion that includes a vertical hole electrode formed on a side wall of the base material portion that forms the vertical hole; a metallic film that is formed within the insulating film and that is electrically connected to the vertical hole wiring portion; and a conductive protective film that is formed to be in contact with the metallic film within the insulating film and that is formed in a region that includes a contact region of a probe during a probe test that is performed in the middle of manufacture on a film face of the metallic film.
US09252079B2	Substrate, method of fabricating the same, and application the same Provided is a substrate, including a substrate material, two conductive structures, and at least one diode. The two conductive structures extend from a first surface of the substrate material to a second surface of the substrate material via two through holes penetrating through the substrate material. The at least one diode is embedded in the substrate material at a sidewall of one of the through holes.
US09252078B2	Semiconductor device A semiconductor device includes a first electrode formed on a substrate, the first electrode being a first electrical potential; and a second electrode formed on the first electrode, the second electrode including a signal wiring that transmits a signal and a planar electrode part with a prescribed area. A shape of the first electrode corresponding to the planar electrode part is made into a slit shape such that a longitudinal direction of a slit is parallel to a direction in which the signal proceeds in the planar electrode part.
US09252075B2	Semiconductor device and method of forming a conductive via-in-via structure A semiconductor device is made from a semiconductor wafer containing semiconductor die separated by a peripheral region. A conductive via-in-via structure is formed in the peripheral region or through an active region of the device to provide additional tensile strength. The conductive via-in-via structure includes an inner conductive via and outer conductive via separated by insulating material. A middle conductive via can be formed between the inner and outer conductive vias. The inner conductive via has a first cross-sectional area adjacent to a first surface of the semiconductor device and a second cross-sectional area adjacent to a second surface of the semiconductor device. The outer conductive via has a first cross-sectional area adjacent to the first surface of the semiconductor device and a second cross-sectional area adjacent to the second surface of the semiconductor device. The first cross-sectional area is different from the second cross-sectional area.
US09252066B2	Semiconductor device and method of forming interconnect structure for encapsulated die having pre-applied protective layer A semiconductor device has a protective layer formed over an active surface of a semiconductor wafer. The semiconductor die with pre-applied protective layer are moved from the semiconductor wafer and mounted on a carrier. The semiconductor die and contact pads on the carrier are encapsulated. The carrier is removed. A first insulating layer is formed over the pre-applied protective layer and contact pads. Vias are formed in the first insulating layer and pre-applied protective layer to expose interconnect sites on the semiconductor die. An interconnect structure is formed over the first insulating layer in electrical contact with the interconnect sites on the semiconductor die and contact pads. The interconnect structure has a redistribution layer formed on the first insulating layer, a second insulating layer formed on the redistribution layer, and an under bump metallization layer formed over the second dielectric in electrical contact with the redistribution layer.
US09252057B2	Laser and plasma etch wafer dicing with partial pre-curing of UV release dicing tape for film frame wafer application Methods and systems of laser and plasma etch wafer dicing using UV-curable adhesive films. A method includes forming a mask covering ICs formed on the wafer. The semiconductor wafer is coupled to a film frame by a UV-curable adhesive film. A pre-cure of the UV-curable adhesive film cures a peripheral portion of the adhesive extending beyond an edge of the wafer to improve the exposed adhesive material's resistance to plasma etch and reduce hydrocarbon redeposition within the etch chamber. The mask is patterned by laser scribing to provide a patterned mask with gaps. The patterning exposes regions of the semiconductor wafer, below thin film layers from which the ICs are formed. The semiconductor wafer is plasma etched through the gaps in the patterned mask to singulate the ICs. A center portion of the UV-curable adhesive is then cured and the singulated ICs detached from the film.
US09252056B2	Substrate dividing method A substrate dividing method which can thin and divide a substrate while preventing chipping and cracking from occurring. This substrate dividing method comprises the steps of irradiating a semiconductor substrate 1 having a front face 3 formed with functional devices 19 with laser light while positioning a light-converging point within the substrate, so as to form a modified region including a molten processed region due to multiphoton absorption within the semiconductor substrate 1, and causing the modified region including the molten processed region to form a starting point region for cutting; and grinding a rear face 21 of the semiconductor substrate 1 after the step of forming the starting point region for cutting such that the semiconductor substrate 1 attains a predetermined thickness.
US09252054B2	Thinned integrated circuit device and manufacturing process for the same A thinned integrated circuit device and manufacturing process for the same are disclosed. The manufacturing process includes forming a through-silicon via (TSV) on a substrate, a first terminal of the TSV is exposed on a first surface of the substrate, disposing a bump on the first surface of the substrate to make the bump electrically connected with the TSV, disposing an integrated circuit chip (IC) on the bump so that a first side of the IC is connected to the bump, disposing a thermal interface material (TIM) layer on a second side of the IC opposite to the first side of the IC, attaching a heat-spreader cap on the IC by the TIM layer, and backgrinding a second surface of the substrate to expose the TSV to the second surface of the substrate while carrying the heat-spreader cap.
US09252053B2	Self-aligned contact structure Embodiments of present invention provide a method of forming a semiconductor structure. The method includes forming a semiconductor structure having a first metal layer and a plurality of dielectric layers on top of the first metal layer; creating one or more openings through the plurality of dielectric layers to expose the first metal layer underneath the plurality of dielectric layers; causing the one or more openings to expand downward into the first metal layer and expand horizontally into areas underneath the plurality of dielectric layers; applying a layer of lining material in lining sidewalls of the one or more openings inside the plurality of dielectric layers; and filling the expanded one or more openings with a conductive material.
US09252051B1	Method for top oxide rounding with protection of patterned features After completely etching through a material stack comprising an oxide hard mask layer and an underlying interlevel dielectric (ILD) layer formed on a substrate to provide at least one opening, top corners of the at least one opening are rounded by performing a plasma etch employing a combination of an etching gas and a deposition gas comprising a hydrofluorocarbon compound. The hydrofluorocarbon compound forms a hydrofluorocarbon polymer layer on sidewalls of the at least one opening and helps to preserve the profile of the at least one opening.
US09252044B2	Shallow trench isolation for end fin variation control A method of fabricating a fin field effect transistor (FinFET) device and the device are described. The method includes forming a deep STI region adjacent to a first side of an end fin among a plurality of fins and lining the deep STI region, including the first side of the end fin, with a passivation layer. The method also includes depositing an STI oxide into the deep STI region, the passivation layer separating the STI oxide and the first side of the end fin, etching back the passivation layer separating the STI oxide and the first side of the end fin to a specified depth to create a gap, and depositing gate material, the gate material covering the gap.
US09252042B2	Method for permanent bonding of wafers A method for bonding of a first contact surface of a first substrate to a second contact surface of a second substrate according to the following steps: forming a reservoir in a surface layer on the first contact surface, at least partially filling the reservoir with a first educt or a first group of educts, contacting the first contact surface with the second contact surface for formation of a prebond connection, and forming a permanent bond between the first and second contact surface, at least partially strengthened by the reaction of the first educt with a second educt contained in a reaction layer of the second substrate.
US09252041B2	Electrostatic chuck To provide an electrostatic chuck, including: a ceramic dielectric substrate having a first major surface on which an object to be processed is mounted, and a second major surface on a side opposite the first major surface, the ceramic dielectric substrate being a polycrystalline ceramic sintered body; and an electrode layer interposed between the first major surface and the second major surface of the ceramic dielectric substrate, the electrode layer being integrally sintered with the ceramic dielectric substrate, and the electrode layer includes a first portion having conductivity, and a second portion that bonds the first dielectric layer and the second dielectric layer, and the mean grain size of crystals included in the second portion is smaller than the mean grain size of crystals included in the ceramic dielectric substrate.
US09252033B2	Installation device and electronic apparatus An automatic installation device for automatic procuring and fixing an object to a product is mounted on a base. The automatic installation device comprises an elevating mechanism, a loading mechanism for procuring the object, and a flexing mechanism connected between the elevating mechanism and the loading mechanism. The flexing mechanism is capable of driving the loading mechanism moving between the object and the product for aligning the object with the product in a first orientation. The elevating mechanism is capable of driving the loading mechanism to move in a second orientation perpendicular to the first orientation to drive the loading mechanism moving adjacent to the product and fixing the object to the product.
US09252032B2	Semiconductor device and method of stacking semiconductor die in mold laser package interconnected by bumps and conductive vias A semiconductor wafer contains a plurality of first semiconductor die. The semiconductor wafer is mounted to a carrier. A channel is formed through the semiconductor wafer to separate the first semiconductor die. A second semiconductor die is mounted to the first semiconductor die. An encapsulant is deposited over the carrier and first semiconductor die and into the channel while a side portion and surface portion of the second semiconductor die remain exposed from the encapsulant. A first conductive via is formed through the encapsulant in the channel. A second conductive via is formed through the encapsulant over a contact pad of the first semiconductor die. A conductive layer is formed over the encapsulant between the first and second conductive vias. An insulating layer is formed over the conductive layer and encapsulant. The carrier is removed. An interconnect structure is formed over the first conductive via.
US09252030B1	System-in-packages and methods for forming same One or more embodiments are directed to a system-in-package (SiP) that includes a plurality of semiconductor chips and an interposer that that are molded in an encapsulation layer together. That is, a single processing step may be used to encapsulate the semiconductor chips and the interposer in the encapsulation layer. Furthermore, prior to setting or curing, the encapsulation layer is able to flow between the semiconductor chips and the interposer to provide further mechanical support for the semiconductor chips. Thus, the process for forming the SiP is reduced, resulting in a faster processing time and a lower cost. Additionally, one or more embodiments described herein reduce or eliminate warpage of the interposer.
US09252028B2	Power semiconductor module and method of manufacturing the same A power semiconductor module has a first frame portion, a power semiconductor element, a second frame portion, a control integrated circuit, a wire, and an insulator portion. The power semiconductor element is mounted on a first surface of the first frame portion. The control integrated circuit is mounted on a third surface of the second frame portion for controlling the power semiconductor element. A wire has one end connected to the power semiconductor element and the other end connected to the control integrated circuit. The first surface of the first frame portion and the third surface of the second frame portion are located at the same height in a direction vertical to the first surface of the first frame portion.
US09252025B2	Method for manufacturing silicon single crystal wafer and electronic device According to the present invention, there is provided a method for manufacturing a silicon single crystal wafer, wherein a first heat treatment for holding a silicon single crystal wafer in an oxygen containing atmosphere at a first heat treatment temperature for 1 to 60 seconds and cooling it to 800° C. or less at a temperature falling rate of 1 to 100° C./second by using a rapid heating/rapid cooling apparatus is performed to inwardly diffuse oxygen and form an oxygen concentration peak region near a surface of the silicon single crystal wafer, and then a second heat treatment is performed to agglomerate oxygen in the silicon single crystal wafer into the oxygen concentration peak region. As a result, it is possible to provide the method for manufacturing a silicon single crystal wafer that enables forming an excellent gettering layer close to a device forming region.
US09252019B2	Semiconductor device and method for forming the same A system and method for forming and using a liner is provided. An embodiment comprises forming an opening in an inter-layer dielectric over a substrate and forming the liner along the sidewalls of the opening. A portion of the liner is removed from a bottom of the opening, and a cleaning process may be performed through the liner. By using the liner, damage to the sidewalls of the opening from the cleaning process may be reduced or eliminated. Additionally, the liner may be used to help implantation of ions within the substrate.
US09252016B2	Stacked nanowire A method of fabricating stacked nanowire for a transistor gate and a stacked nanowire device are described. The method includes etching a fin as a vertical structure from a substrate and forming two or more pairs of spacers at vertically separated positions of the fin. The method also includes oxidizing to form the nanowires at the vertically separated positions of the fin.
US09252010B2	Method for processing structure in manufacturing semiconductor device A method used for processing a structure in manufacturing of a semiconductor device may include polishing the structure to form a polished structure. The polished structure may include a metal member, a dielectric layer that contacts the metal member, and a particle that contacts at least one of the metal member and the dielectric layer. The method may further include applying an organic acid to the polished structure to remove at least a portion of the particle. The particle may be substantially removed, such that satisfactory quality of the semiconductor may be provided.
US09252005B2	Miniature charged particle trap with elongated trapping region for mass spectrometry A miniature electrode apparatus is disclosed for trapping charged particles, the apparatus including, along a longitudinal direction: a first end cap electrode; a central electrode having an aperture; and a second end cap electrode. The aperture is elongated in the lateral plane and extends through the central electrode along the longitudinal direction and the central electrode surrounds the aperture in a lateral plane perpendicular to the longitudinal direction to define a transverse cavity for trapping charged particles.
US09251999B2	Capacitively-coupled plasma processing system having a plasma processing chamber for processing a substrate A capacitively-coupled plasma processing system having a plasma processing chamber for processing a substrate is provided. The plasma processing system includes at least an upper electrode and a lower electrode for processing the substrate, the substrate being disposed on the lower electrode during plasma processing. The plasma processing system further includes means for providing at least a first RF signal to the lower electrode, the first RF signal having a first RF frequency. The first RF signal couples with a plasma in the plasma processing chamber, thereby inducing an induced RF signal on the upper electrode. The plasma processing system further includes means for rectifying the induced RF signal to generate a rectified RF signal such that the rectified RF signal is more positively biased than negatively biased, wherein the substrate is configured to be processed while the rectified RF signal is provided to the upper electrode.
US09251997B2	Method for processing and/or for observing an object, and particle beam device for carrying out the method A method is provided for processing and/or observing an object using at least one particle beam that is scanned over the object. A scan region on the object is determined, the scan region having scan lines, and the particle beam is moved in a first scanning direction along one of the scan lines. The first scanning direction is changed to a second scanning direction at a change-of-direction time. Changing from the first scanning direction to the second scanning direction comprises setting of a point of rotation in that scan line of the scan region in which the particle beam is situated at the change-of-direction time, with an axis of rotation extending through the point of rotation. The first scanning direction is changed into the second scanning direction by rotating the scan region about the axis of rotation, with the point of rotation being selected dependent on the direction of rotation.
US09251996B2	Charged particle beam device, position adjusting method for diaphragm, and diaphragm position adjusting jig In a charged particle beam device that performs observation of a sample under a gas environment in atmospheric pressure or pressure substantially equal to the atmospheric pressure, a diaphragm that separates an atmospheric pressure space, in which the sample is placed, and a vacuum space in an interior of an electron optical lens barrel is made very thin in order to allow an electron beam to transmit therethrough and damaged with a high possibility. Although at the time of replacing the diaphragm, it is necessary to adjust a position of a diaphragm, it is impossible to easily perform the adjustment of the position of the diaphragm by a conventional method. In a charged particle beam device with a configuration in which a thin film that separates a vacuum environment and an atmospheric environment or a gas environment is employed, a detachable diaphragm that partitions a space, in which a sample is placed, in such a manner that pressure in the space in which the sample is placed is maintained at a level larger than pressure in an interior of a housing, and that allows transmission or passage of a primary charged particle beam therethrough, and a movable member that can move the diaphragm in a state where the pressure in the space, in which the sample is placed, and the pressure in the interior of the housing are maintained as they are, are provided.
US09251994B2	X-ray tube assembly and X-ray computerized tomography scanner According to one embodiment, an X-ray tube assembly includes a housing, an X-ray tube, a coolant to which at least a part of heat generated by the X-ray tube is transferred, a circulation channel through which the coolant is circulated, a circulation pump, a radiator, an air filter and a fan unit. The air filter is formed of a three-dimensional nonwoven fabric that is formed of irregularly tangled resin fibers and provides a three-dimensional structure having a spatial volume ratio of not less than 93%. The air filter permits air to pass therethrough to eliminate dust from the air.
US09251987B2	Emission surface for an X-ray device Embodiments of the disclosure relate to electron emitters for use in conjunction with X-ray devices. In one embodiment, the emitter features a round emission area capable of emitting electrons when heated, wherein the round emission area comprises at least one of a gap, a channel, or a combination thereof that separates a first portion of the round emission area from a second portion of the round emission area and permits thermal expansion of the first portion and the second portion within the at least one gap or channel without permitting the first portion and the second portion to touch one another. The two electrically conductive legs coupled to the surface at respective locations outside the round emission area and that are capable of supplying current to the round emission area.
US09251979B2	Techniques for fabricating Janus sensors Electromechanical sensors that employ Janus micro/nano-components and techniques for the fabrication thereof are provided. In one aspect, a method of fabricating an electromechanical sensor includes the following steps. A back gate is formed on a substrate. A gate dielectric is deposited over the back gate. An intermediate layer is formed on the back gate having a micro-fluidic channel formed therein. Top electrodes are formed above the micro-fluidic channel. One or more Janus components are placed in the micro-fluidic channel, wherein each of the Janus components has a first portion having an electrically conductive material and a second portion having an electrically insulating material. The micro-fluidic channel is filled with a fluid. The electrically insulating material has a negative surface charge at a pH of the fluid and an isoelectric point at a pH less than the pH of the fluid.
US09251977B2	Electronic apparatus An electronic apparatus of the present invention includes an operating portion formed by a non-conductive material, a rotating plate configured to rotate in accordance with a rotational operation of the operating portion, a substrate including a first sensing electrode whose capacitance changes by a touch operation to the operating portion and a plurality of second sensing electrodes whose potential changes by a rotation of the rotating plate on a surface different from a surface on which the first sensing electrode is disposed, and a detector configured to detect the capacitance of the first sensing electrode and the rotational operation of the operating portion based on an output from the plurality of second sensing electrodes. A protruding portion that protrudes toward the first sensing electrode is formed on the operating portion, and the protruding portion is formed on a lightening portion on a back side of the operating portion.
US09251973B2	Push button switch and electronic apparatus using same A switch includes a switch main body having a movable section displaceable downward by pressure to bring a movable contact into contact with a fixed contact, the movable section being displaced upward to open each contact by a release of pressure; a button section that presses the movable section in response to a downward pressing operation; and a support arm having one end portion supporting the button section. An end of the support arm not coupled to the button section is turnable and held at a location in a support surface arranged vertically. The button section bottom surface is inclined and separated from the movable section when the button section is not pressed. When the button section is pressed and is lowered to a position at which the fixed contact and the movable contact are closed, the bottom surface is in an approximately horizontal state and presses the movable section.
US09251969B2	Process for the manufacture of carbon sheet for an electrode A method of making a single carbon sheet for an electrode includes mixing activated carbon; adding a dispersion comprising a PTFE binder and water to the activated carbon to form a mixture; adding the mixture to a jet mill, and fibrillating the PTFE binder; and feeding the mixture with fibrillated PTFE to a roll mill to form a single carbon sheet in a single pass.
US09251963B2	Dye sensitized solar cell and method for manufacture A method for producing a Dye-Sensitized Solar cell (DSC) comprising a substrate, a working electrode, a back contact for extracting photo-generated electrons, an electrolyte, and a counter electrode where the back contact and/or the counter electrode is formed by a porous conductive powder layer, PCPL. The PCPL is prepared by the following steps: a. powder preparation; b. powder ink preparation; c. powder ink deposition; d. powder layer heating; e. powder layer compaction; and f. powder layer after treatment.
US09251949B2	Magnetic element A magnetic element is provided, including a magnetic core set, a bobbin, at least a wire, and an insulating base. The bobbin has a channel and a plurality of conductive pins, wherein the channel penetrates through the bobbin, and the magnetic core set is coupled with the channel. The wire is wound around the bobbin and connected to the conductive pins. The insulating base is connected to a bottom surface of the magnetic core set after the wire is wound around the bobbin and connected to the conductive pins, wherein the insulating base includes a plurality of protrusions adjacent to the conductive pins, respectively.
US09251948B2	High efficiency on-chip 3D transformer structure A transformer structure includes a first coil having two sections of spiral, with a top section including a plurality of metal layers occupying top X metal layers and a bottom section including a plurality of metal layers occupying bottom Z metal layers, where X and Z represent a number of metal layers having a specific number selected to provide a particular performance of the first coil. A second coil of the transformer is disposed between the two sections of the first coil and includes a plurality of metal layers where Y represents a number of vertically adjacent metal layers, with the specific number chosen to provide the particular performance, such that a sum X+Y+Z represents a total number of vertical metal layers for the transformer structure.
US09251947B2	Liquid cooling arrangement of an inductive component and a method for manufacturing an inductive component The object of the invention is a liquid cooling arrangement of an inductive component and a method for manufacturing the inductive component. The inductive component comprises at least a core (1) assembled from separate structural elements (7, 7a, 7b) as well as liquid cooling ducts (8a) integrated into the core (1) for the purpose of liquid cooling and a winding structure (3) around the core (1). The core (1) is assembled from subassemblies formed from structural elements (7, 7a, 7b), which subassemblies are separately composed of e.g. vertical pillars (35), a top horizontal beam (36) and a bottom horizontal beam (37), and cooling liquid ducts (8a) or cooling liquid pipes (10) are placed in at least a part of the subassemblies before final assembly of the core (1).
US09251936B2	Resistor and method for making same A metal strip resistor is provided. The metal strip resistor includes a metal strip forming a resistive element and providing support for the metal strip resistor without use of a separate substrate. There are first and second opposite terminations overlaying the metal strip. There is plating on each of the first and second opposite terminations. There is also an insulating material overlaying the metal strip between the first and second opposite terminations. A method for forming a metal strip resistor wherein a metal strip provides support for the metal strip resistor without use of a separate substrate is provided. The method includes coating an insulative material to the metal strip, applying a lithographic process to form a conductive pattern overlaying the resistive material wherein the conductive pattern includes first and second opposite terminations, electroplating the conductive pattern, and adjusting resistance of the metal strip.
US09251935B2	Method of making a transparent metal oxide electrode The present invention relates to a method for enhancing the conductivity of an undoped transparent metal oxide to obtain a transparent conductive oxide (TCO) electrode. More in particular it relates to such a method comprising the steps of providing a transparent metal oxide, applying a UV transparent barrier layer on the transparent metal oxide, and irradiating the transparent metal oxide with UV radiation after applying the barrier layer.
US09251932B2	Terminal connecting part of superconducting cable A terminal connecting part has: a low temperature container filled with a cooling medium; a conductor current lead which has one end immersed in the cooling medium and the other end led to a normal temperature part; and a conductor movable connecting terminal which electrically connects a superconductive conductor layer and the conductor current lead of a superconducting cable. The superconductive conductor layer of the superconducting cable stripped stepwise from a front end is connected to the conductor current lead through the conductor movable connecting terminal. The cable core of the superconducting cable is movable in a longitudinal direction and is rotatable in a circumferential direction while maintaining electrical connection between the superconductive conductor layer and the conductor current lead. The cable core is horizontally supported in the low temperature container.
US09251930B1	Segmented shields for use in communication cables Cables incorporating discontinuous shields are described. A cable may include at least one twisted pair of individually insulated conductors, and a shield may be formed around the at least one twisted pair. The shield may include a plurality of segments positioned along a longitudinal direction of the cable. Each segment may include electrically conductive material, and each segment electrically isolated from the other segments. Additionally, a respective overlap may be formed between adjacent segments along a shared longitudinal edge. A jacket may be formed around the at least one twisted pair and the shield.
US09251922B2	Preparation of nanoparticle material A process for producing nanoparticles incorporating ions selected from groups 13, 16, and 11 or 12 of the periodic table is described. The process comprises effecting conversion of a nanoparticle precursor composition comprising said group 13, 16, and 11 or 12 ions to the material of the nanoparticles in the presence of a selenol compound. A process for fabricating a thin film comprising nanoparticles incorporating ions selected from groups 13, 16, and 11 or 12 of the periodic table is also described, as well as a process for producing a printable ink formulation comprising said nanoparticles.
US09251920B2	In-situ and external nuclear reactor severe accident temperature and water level probes A system for monitoring a state of a reactor core in a nuclear reactor may include an internal monitoring device located inside the reactor core, the internal monitoring device including one or more internal sensor arrays configured to take measurements of conditions of the reactor core at different vertical regions within the reactor core to generate internal measurement data; an external monitoring device located in the reactor structure outside the reactor core, the external monitoring device including one or more external sensor arrays configured to take measurements of conditions of the reactor core at positions outside the reactor core corresponding the plurality of different vertical regions within the reactor core to generate external measurement data, and a transmitter configured to wirelessly transmit the external measurement data; and a receiver station configured to determine a state of the reactor core based on the external and internal measurement data.
US09251916B2	Integrated clock architecture for improved testing A computer system includes a first on-chip controller and a second on-chip controller, both connected to a control element. In normal operation, the first and second on-chip controllers operate in different clock domains. During testing, the control element causes each on-chip controller to generate a substantially similar clock signal. The substantially similar clock signals are used to test substantially similar test circuitry connected to each on-chip controller, thereby reducing overhead associated with testing. A delay may be incorporated into the path of the clock signal of one of the on-chip controllers to reduce instantaneous power draw during testing.
US09251909B1	Background threshold voltage shifting using base and delta threshold voltage shift values in flash memory In one embodiment, a method for managing threshold voltage shifts in Flash memory includes determining, by a processor after writing data to a Flash memory block, base threshold voltage shift (TVSBASE) value(s) configured to track permanent changes in underlying threshold voltage distributions due to cycling of the Flash memory block, determining, after the writing of data to the Flash memory block, delta threshold voltage shift (TVSΔ) value(s) configured to track temporary changes, with respect to changes in the underlying threshold voltage distributions due to retention and/or read disturb errors, calculating an overall threshold voltage shift (TVS) value for the data written to the Flash memory block, the overall TVS value being a function of the TVSBASE and TVSΔ value(s) to be used when writing data to the Flash memory block, and applying the overall TVS value to a read operation of the data stored to the Flash memory block.
US09251906B1	Data strobe signal generation for flash memory A method and circuit for generating a shifted strobe signal for sampling data read from a memory device includes generating an instantiation of a shifted strobe signal by applying both a coarse adjustment delay value and a fine adjustment delay value to a clock. Data read from a predetermined, programmed memory location or locations of the memory device is sampled using the shifted strobe signal. At least one of the applying steps is repeated and the read data is sampled again using the current instantiation of the shifted strobe signal. The process is repeated until the current instantiation of the shifted strobe signal is aligned with a valid data window of the memory device. The method can be used in both single data rate and double data rate applications.
US09251901B2	Semiconductor memory device with high threshold voltage distribution reliability method A semiconductor memory device includes: a memory array including a plurality of memory cells; and a peripheral circuit configured to change a voltage level of a bit line connected to a program target cell according to a threshold voltage of the program target cell among the memory cells during a program operation.
US09251899B2	Methods for upgrading main memory in computer systems to two-dimensional memory modules and master memory controllers In one embodiment of the invention, a method of upgrading main memory in a computer system is disclosed. The method includes plugging a plurality of two dimensional memory modules into a plurality of memory module sockets and coupling a master memory controller between one or more processors and the plurality of memory modules. Each of the two dimensional memory modules includes memory in a plurality of memory slices and a plurality of slave memory controllers respectively coupled to the memory in the plurality of memory slices. According, the upgrading method further includes buffering and transposing data between a column by column format for the one or more processors and a row by row format for the memory in the plurality of memory slices.
US09251897B2	Methods for a phase-change memory array Methods of operating phase-change memory arrays are described. A method includes determining a pattern to be written to a phase-change memory array and executing, according to the pattern, two or more proper reset sequences on the phase-change memory array to write the pattern to the phase-change memory array. Another method includes executing a set sequence on a phase-change memory array and performing a proper read of the phase-change memory array to obtain a pattern derived from executing the set sequence.
US09251891B1	Devices and methods to conditionally send parameter values to non-volatile memory A data storage device that includes a controller and a non-volatile memory may perform a method that includes comparing, in the controller, first parameter values of a first group of parameter values to second parameter values of a second group of parameter values. The second parameter values of the second group of parameter values are associated with a scheduled non-volatile memory operation. The first parameter values correspond to parameter values that are in the non-volatile memory. The method includes sending, from the controller to the non-volatile memory, a parameter value of the second group in response to determining that the parameter value differs from a corresponding parameter value of the first group.
US09251885B2	Throttling support for row-hammer counters Throttling of memory access commands. Accesses to rows of a memory device are monitored for a timeframe. The timeframe is divided into at least two sub-frames. If the number of accesses for any of the rows during a first sub-frame exceeds a first threshold throttling accesses to the accessed row at a first rate. Not throttling accesses to the accessed row if the number of accesses to the accessed row does not exceed the first threshold. The first threshold is associated with risk of data corruption on a row physically adjacent to the accessed row. If a number of accesses for the accessed row during a second sub-frame exceeds a second threshold, throttling accesses to the accessed row at a second rate. Not throttling accesses to the accessed row if the number of accesses to the accessed row does not exceed the second threshold. The second threshold is greater than the first threshold. The second throttling rate is greater than the first throttling rate.
US09251882B2	Magnetic random access memory with dynamic random access memory (DRAM)-like interface A memory device includes a magnetic memory unit for storing a burst of data during burst write operations, each burst of data includes, sequential data units with each data unit being received at a clock cycle, and written during a burst write operation, wherein the burst write operation is performed during multiple clock cycles. Further, the memory device includes a mask register coupled to the magnetic memory unit that generates a write mask during the burst write operation to inhibit or enable data units of write data, furthermore the memory device allowing burst write operation to begin while receiving data units of the next burst of data to be written or providing read data.
US09251873B1	Methods and systems for pin-efficient memory controller interface using vector signaling codes for chip-to-chip communications Systems and methods are described for transmitting data over physical channels to provide a high speed, low latency interface such as between a memory controller and memory devices. Controller-side and memory-side embodiments of such channel interfaces are disclosed which require a low pin count and have low power utilization. In some embodiments of the invention, different voltage, current, etc. levels are used for signaling and more than two levels may be used, such as a vector signaling code wherein each wire signal may take on one of four signal values.
US09251872B2	Electronic device and control method for electronic device The disclosure provides an electronic device and a control method for the electronic device. The electronic device comprises: a memory unit, a metal pad, and a control unit. The metal pad is coupled to the memory unit, and utilized for receiving a first signal and a second signal. The control unit is coupled to the metal pad, and utilized for generating a control signal during a specific time period to control the first signal and the second signal received by the metal pad, to pull up a level of the first signal and to pull down a level of the second signal during the specific time period, so as to make the first signal and the second signal have a voltage difference. The disclosure can eliminate a glitch and avoid problems caused by inputting the glitch.
US09251867B2	Voltage generators having reduced or eliminated cross current Embodiments described include voltage generators having reduced or eliminated cross current. Dynamic adjustment of a low or high threshold voltage used in a voltage generator is described. Use of a folded cascade amplifier in a voltage generator is also described.
US09251863B2	Multi channel semiconductor memory device and semiconductor device including the same Disclosed is a semiconductor memory device that includes a plurality of channel memories mounted within a package and is capable of minimizing or reducing the number of through-silicon vias. With the semiconductor memory device, a row command or a row address on two or more channels is applied through a shared bus. The semiconductor memory device is capable of reducing an overhead of a die size by reducing the number of through-silicon vias. A method of driving a multi-channel semiconductor memory device including a plurality of memories, using a shared bus, is also provided.
US09251851B2	Editing apparatus and control method therefor An editing apparatus comprises a selection unit configured to select one file included from a group of a plurality of files of predetermined continuity; a first instruction detection unit configured to detect a first instruction for deleting an anterior portion of time-series data in the file selected by the selection unit, the anterior portion preceding a designated position in time-series; and a processing unit configured to, if the first instruction is detected by the first instruction detection unit, perform processing for deleting a file preceding the selected file from the group of the plurality of files.
US09251850B2	Nonlinear proxy-based editing system and method having improved audio level controls A proxy-based, nonlinear editing system and method with improved audio level controls is provided. The system includes a proxy file generator, an audio summary file generator that assigns a single audio level for each proxy file video frame, a web user interface having a visual display, and a digital controller. Whenever a proxy file selected for display on the visual display, the digital processor simultaneously provides a graph of the associated audio summary file. The digital processor serially connects, on the same axes, the audio graphs of proxy files being assembled into an edited product, marks the location of audio “spikes”, and provides the web user interface with controls for adjusting the audio level of all or a portion of the audio graphs.
US09251849B2	Multimedia processing apparatus, method, and non-transitory tangible computer readable medium thereof A multimedia processing apparatus, method, and non-transitory tangible computer readable medium thereof are provided. The multimedia processing apparatus of the present invention includes an interface and a processing unit. The interface receives an audio stream continuously, wherein the audio stream is defined with a time line. The processing unit performs the following operations every a predetermined time interval: (a) deciding a first portion of the audio stream with reference to a time instant of the time line, (b) calculating an energy of the first portion of the audio stream, and (c) calculating a difference between the energy and a previous energy. The processing unit decides a plurality of second portions of the audio stream and decides a beat point for each of the second portions by selecting the time instant that corresponds to the maximum difference within the second portion.
US09251846B2	Tape header protection scheme for use in a tape storage subsystem In one embodiment, a system for integrating data and header protection includes a processor and logic integrated with and/or executable by the processor, the logic being configured to receive a data array organized in rows and columns, each row of the data array comprising two or more interleaved C1 codewords (CWI), and modify one or more rows of the data array to include a header and error correction code (ECC) parity to form one or more modified rows, wherein each modified row includes two or more interleaved codewords, at least one codeword being a C1′ codeword which includes ECC parity, wherein each header comprises a CWI Designation (CWID) which indicates a location of the CWI within the data array, and wherein none of the CWIDs are split across multiple C1′ codewords in a single modified row. Other systems, methods, and computer program products are presented in additional embodiments.
US09251844B1	Waterfall method and apparatus for a data storage device read system A waterfall manufacturing process and apparatus are described for a data storage device. In an aspect, a determination is made during manufacturing of a magnetic storage medium reader system whether a first reader system provides less than a predetermined performance or is nonfunctioning. The reader system includes at least the first reader system and a second reader system with reader elements on the same head. When the first reader system is determined to provide less than the predetermined performance or is nonfunctioning, the reader system is reconfigured during the manufacturing to utilize the second reader system, but not utilize the first reader system, to read the magnetic storage medium. Alternatively, the reader system is reconfigured during manufacturing to read the magnetic storage medium at less than the predetermined performance, or the reader system is situated with a different data storage device configured to function with less than the predetermined performance.
US09251840B2	Dynamically controlling tape velocity A maximum velocity is dynamically determined during a tape drive operation to obtain a statistical standard deviation of a position error signal (PES) that yields an amount of stopwrite (SW) operations that avoids backhitching. The tape velocity is adjusted to the maximum velocity.
US09251839B1	Data storage device with overvoltage protection A data storage device coupled to a host power supply is disclosed and includes a spindle motor and Voice Coil Motor (VCM) circuitry, a power device coupled to the host power supply via a first host supply line and coupled to the spindle motor and VCM circuitry, wherein the power device comprises a first voltage rail, a first isolation circuit, and control circuitry, wherein the power device receives a first supply voltage on the first voltage rail via the first host supply line and provides the first supply voltage to the spindle motor and VCM circuitry via the first isolation circuit, and wherein the control circuitry is operable to monitor the first voltage rail for an overvoltage event and, when the overvoltage event is detected, control the first isolation circuit to disconnect the spindle motor and VCM circuitry from the first voltage rail.
US09251838B2	Apparatus and method for controlling transportation of tape medium An apparatus, computer readable medium device, and method for controlling transportation of a tape medium. A determination is made whether to execute a backhitch operation in response to writing a data set to tape from the buffer. If not, a determination is made whether a transaction size at which data is transferred from the buffer to the tape is less than a buffer size. If so, then a determination is made of a a new speed and whether a current speed is different from the determined new speed. If so, then a backhitch is initiated.
US09251831B2	Recording medium and method of forming the same In various embodiments, a recording medium may be provided. The recording medium may include a servo layer. The recording medium may further include a data recording layer. The recording medium may additionally include a crystal-like soft underlayer (SUL). The data recording layer and the servo layer may be on a same side of the crystal-like soft underlayer.
US09251826B1	Utilizing stored write environment conditions for read error recovery Described herein are embodiments for utilizing stored write environment conditions for read error recovery. A tape drive measures read environment conditions as a result of receiving a read command to read data from a portion of tape and compares the read environment conditions to the write environment conditions stored for that portion of tape. If the read environment conditions are not within the predetermined range of the write environment conditions, then the handling of the tape is altered to improve read element placement on the tape by accounting for expansion and contraction of the tape based on the stored write environment conditions. The handling of the tape is altered by at least one of increasing or decreasing the tension of the tape, offsetting the tape head up or down laterally with respect to the tape, and slowing down the movement of tape across the tape head.
US09251822B2	Assembly formed of nanotube arrays containing magnetic nanoparticles A magnetic storage medium is formed of magnetic nanoparticles that are encapsulated within nanotubes (e.g., carbon nanotubes), which are arranged in a substrate to facilitate the reading and writing of information by a read/write head. The substrate may be flexible or rigid. Information is stored on the magnetic nanoparticles via the read/write head of a storage device. These magnetic nanoparticles are arranged into data tracks to store information through encapsulation within the carbon nanotubes. As carbon nanotubes are bendable, the carbon nanotubes may be arranged on flexible or rigid substrates, such as a polymer tape or disk for flexible media, or a glass substrate for rigid disk. A polymer may assist holding the nanoparticle-filled carbon tubes to the substrate.
US09251815B2	Magnetoresistive sensor with AFM-stabilized bottom shield An apparatus disclosed herein includes a sensor stack including a first layer and an AFM stabilized bottom shield in proximity to the first layer, wherein the AFM stabilized bottom shield is magnetically coupled to the first layer. The apparatus reduces shield-to-shield spacing. The pinned layer of the bottom shield and a pinned layer of the sensor stack are stabilized using the AFM layer in the bottom shield. In one implementation, the bottom shield is made of the SAF structure, with the top layer of the structure adjacent to a pinned layer in the sensor stack.
US09251812B2	Magnetic head for perpendicular magnetic recording including angled side shield surfaces A first side shield has a first sidewall and a second sidewall. A second side shield has a third sidewall and a fourth sidewall. The distance between the first sidewall and the third sidewall decreases with increasing proximity to the top surface of a substrate. The second and fourth sidewalls are close to perpendicular to the top surface of the substrate. Each of the second and fourth sidewalls has an edge farthest from the top surface of the substrate, the edge being parallel to the medium facing surface. The main pole has a first, a second, a third and a fourth side surface. The first side surface is opposed to the first sidewall. A portion of the second side surface is opposed to the second sidewall. The third side surface is opposed to the third sidewall. A portion of the fourth side surface is opposed to the fourth sidewall.
US09251806B2	Mobile phone with variable energy consuming speech recognition module Apparatus, computer-readable storage medium, and method associated with speech recognition are described. In embodiments, a mobile phone may include a processor; and a speech recognition module coupled with the processor. The voice recognition module may be configured to recognize one or more voice commands and may include first echo cancellation logic and second echo cancellation logic to be selectively employed during recognition of voice commands. Employment of the first and second echo cancellation logic respectively may cause the mobile phone to variably consume a first and second amount of energy, with the second amount of energy being less than the first amount energy.
US09251801B2	Method for rendering a music signal compatible with a discontinuous transmission codec; and a device for implementing that method In one embodiment, the method for rendering a music signal compatible with a discontinuous transmission codec includes detecting a period of silence within an initial music signal, producing an auxiliary audio signal whose amplitude is less than that of the initial signal outside of the period of silence, but sufficient to not be detectable as silence by a discontinuous transmission codec, and replacing the initial music signal with the auxiliary signal during the period of silence.
US09251787B1	Altering audio to improve automatic speech recognition Techniques for altering audio being output by a voice-controlled device, or another device, to enable more accurate automatic speech recognition (ASR) by the voice-controlled device. For instance, a voice-controlled device may output audio within an environment using a speaker of the device. While outputting the audio, a microphone of the device may capture sound within the environment and may generate an audio signal based on the captured sound. The device may then analyze the audio signal to identify speech of a user within the signal, with the speech indicating that the user is going to provide a subsequent command to the device. Thereafter, the device may alter the output of the audio (e.g., attenuate the audio, pause the audio, switch from stereo to mono, etc.) to facilitate speech recognition of the user's subsequent command.
US09251781B1	Pulser logic method and system for an ultrasound beamformer The pulser logic method and system for an ultrasound beamformer is based on using memory blocks instead of ordinary binary counters to accomplish transmit focusing of an ultrasound beam. This method reduces the use count of logic blocks (cost reduction) and facilitates the FPGA floor planner routing, increasing the design overall speed (performance enhancement). The exemplary design disclosed herein is for sixteen channels, but can be adjusted for any number of beamformer channels. The design may use, for example, a Xilinx Spartan-3 field programmable gate array (FPGA).
US09251769B1	Mechanical mute for selectively muting a brass instrument A mute for a musical brass instrument comprises an external body and an adjustable muting device coupled to the external body. The adjustable muting device selectively mutes sound from the musical brass instrument. The adjustable muting device is a mechanical device, which is selectably activated and/or adjusted using mechanical and/or electronic controls, thus permitting a musician to mute/unmute the musical brass instrument without removing the mute.
US09251767B1	Balanced stringed-instrument pinky slide A stringed-instrument slide (100) which is a truncated conical shell with the narrower end at the top (110) and with a roughly semi-circular cut-away (150) along the base (130), so a substantial portion of the mass is below the level of the finger-palm joint. The mass of the slide (100) is predominantly born by the region of contact of the slide (100) with the palm (98) rather than along the pinky (99) so the slide (100) has the sensation of being “balanced” and relatively “weightless” on the pinky (99) and the pressure applied by the pinky (90) corresponds closely to the actual pressure of the slide (100) on the strings, and the forces and torques required to move the slide (100) onto and off of the strings is reduced, thereby facilitating play, particularly rapid and/or nuanced play.
US09251766B2	Composing stereo 3D windowed content A technique for generating content for a stereo 3D display buffer having both stereo 3D graphic objects and non-stereo 3D graphic objects that may be utilized to render stereo 3D content onto one or more windows of a display. The technique incorporates content from stereo 3D application frame buffers into a composition tree that represents the graphic objects in each window displayed on a computing device. At each refresh cycle, the composition tree is traversed to generate content for a stereo 3D display buffer that is then used to draw one or more windows onto a display.
US09251761B2	Gray-scale correction method for display device, and method of producing display device A gray scale correction method for a display device includes a step of setting a target value including a target luminance and a target chromaticity of a color display pixel (S22), a step of measuring tristimulus values of each of a plurality of reference colors and each of a plurality of comparative colors in accordance with a prescribed gamma characteristic (S24), a step of finding a reference value and a comparative value from the measured tristimulus values (S26), and a step of correcting a gray scale based on the target value, the reference value and the comparative value (S28).
US09251755B2	Gate driver and liquid crystal display including the same A gate driver includes a gate integrated circuit (“IC”) chip which receives at least two scanning start signals and at least four clock control signals, and outputs a plurality of gate-on voltages, where at least two clock control signals of the at least four clock control signals are generated based on one scanning start signal of the at least two scanning start signals, timings of the at least two scanning start signals are independent of each other, and timings of the at least two clock control signals based on the one scanning start signal are independent of each other.
US09251746B2	Liquid crystal display apparatus The liquid crystal display apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention has a plurality of pixels including a red pixel, a green pixel and a blue pixel. In at least one example embodiment, each of the plurality of pixels has a plurality of subpixels including a first subpixel and a second subpixel. When the grayscale levels of input signals corresponding to the red, green and blue pixels are equal to one another at a given level, the ratio of the difference in luminance between the first and second subpixels of one of the red, green and blue pixels to the maximum luminance of that one of the red, green and blue pixels is greater than the ratio of the difference in luminance between the first and second subpixels of each one of the other two pixels to the maximum luminance of the respective one of the other two pixels.
US09251744B2	Display device, related control method, and related controller A display device may include a data driver, a data line, a display panel that includes a first sub-pixel and a second sub-pixel both connected to the data line and respectively positioned in a first region and a second region of the display panel, and a timing controller that may receive first-type image signals and second-type image signals. The first-type image signals may correspond to a first gray-scale and may correspond to the first region. The second-type image signals may correspond to a second gray-scale and may correspond to the second region. The timing controller may use the first gray-scale to generate a compensated gray-scale if a difference between the first gray-scale and the second gray-scale is greater than a reference value. The data driver may generate a gray-scale voltage according to the compensated gray-scale and may provide the gray-scale voltage through the data line to the first sub-pixel.
US09251731B2	Multi-sampling anti-aliasing compression by use of unreachable bit combinations Techniques related to graphics rendering including techniques for improved multi-sampling anti-aliasing compression by use of unreachable bit combinations as described.
US09251726B2	Unitary form for mailing a mailpiece via a special service and method of using same A form for mailing a mailpiece using a special service has a sheet and a label removably attached to the sheet. The label has information related to the delivery of the article by the special service on the front side. The back side of the label attaches to the article. An electronic return receipt information section and a special services designation section including information indicative of the special service are located on the label. The mailpiece is prepared for delivery by the special service by printing information on the form necessary to comply with the special service delivery requirements. The information has data concerning electronic return receipt of the mailpiece and a machine-readable code section with machine-readable information associated with the mailpiece. The form is removed from the sheet and attached to the mailpiece.
US09251723B2	Systems and methods of multidimensional encrypted data transfer Example embodiments of the systems and methods of multidimensional encrypted data transfer disclosed herein also introduce novel and unobvious methods to store and access information. In example embodiments of the systems and methods of multidimensional encrypted data transfer disclosed herein, a multidimensional data structure is developed. For example, at least one additional dimension is added to a 2D data structure. Data may be encoded within multiple facets. Example embodiments of the multidimensional encoding include non-limiting examples of stacking or providing images or tiles in a very short period of time and moving a 3-dimensional object in space. In one example application, a number of distinct 2D data structures are presented over a time period in a .gif file.
US09251708B2	Forward collision warning trap and pedestrian advanced warning system A method for providing a forward collision warning using a camera mountable in a motor vehicle. The method acquires multiple image frames at known time intervals. A patch may be selected in at least one of the image frames. Optical flow may be tracked between the image frames of multiple image points of the patch. Based on the fit of the image points to a model, a time-to collision (TTC) may be determined if a collision is expected. The image points may be fit to a road surface model and a portion of the image points is modeled to be imaged from a road surface. A collision is not expected based on the fir of the image points to the road surface model.
US09251706B2	Proximity sensor The invention discloses a proximity sensor (1) comprising at least one detecting unit (10) of at least one obstacle (40) and a control unit comprising receiving means (22) of first and second parameters (P1, P2) representative of the detecting unit and of features of the obstacle (40). The control unit (20) is further responsible for generation of detection signals (S, S1, Si, Sj) of the obstacle (40), as a function of the first and second representative parameters (P1, P2) and of third representative parameters (P3) of the detected obstacle (40).
US09251703B1	Methods of providing traffic information and supporting apparatus, readable medium, and memory A technique of providing traffic information to a navigation system that obtains (704) current traffic data having a current traffic condition associated with a location description on a road network. Historic traffic data associated with the location description are then obtained (708) from a historic traffic database to be compared (710) with the current traffic data. From the comparison, a traffic delta between the current traffic data and the historic traffic data is then provided (710), which is used to determine (714) whether this traffic delta corresponds in a predetermined way with a threshold. And if so, a traffic message is generated (716) with the current traffic condition associated with the location description.
US09251697B2	Means for pairing a hermetically sealed wireless device A refrigerated container system is described that includes a wireless personal area network (WPAN) including a plurality of wireless sensor nodes and a coordinator node through which the sensors provide sensor data to a controller for the refrigerated container system. The wireless sensors and the coordinator incorporate a variety of features that ensure efficient utilization of battery life by preventing unintended pairing of sensors with other WPANs and excessive sensor signal processing arising from door chatter. Finally, pairing is performed without pressing a button on the wireless door sensor. Instead, the sensor's magnetic reed switch is enlisted to detect swiping of a magnet by a user to enter a pairing mode.
US09251696B2	Smart-home hazard detector providing location-specific pre-alarm configuration A particular smart hazard detector may itself function as a guide during a process of installation of the same at an installation location. Additionally, the installation location of the particular smart hazard detector may play a central role in how various settings of the smart hazard detector are defined and adjusted over time.
US09251687B2	Global positioning system equipped hazard detector and a system for providing hazard alerts thereby The present invention relates to detectors of hazardous environmental conditions (e.g., smoke, gas, motion). Specifically, the invention relates to a hazard detector configured to transmit and/or receive information related to hazardous environmental conditions based at least in part on the location of the hazard detector as identified through one or more location based service means (e.g., global positioning systems (GPS), cellular triangulation, Internet IP geolocation).
US09251675B2	Multiple LED omni-directional visual alarm device A visual alarm indicating output device includes a plurality of light sources arranged in a circular pattern about a centerline. Each of the sources is oriented so that respective light output is directed to a common, cylindrical Fresnel lens. The lens is symmetrical about the centerline. The sources are pulsed from a common current supply.
US09251670B2	Wagering game including multiple arrays of reel symbols A gaming system displays a first array of symbols and a second array of symbols for a wagering game. The second array of symbols includes at least one second-array reel. The at least one second-array reel includes a predetermined sequence of symbols. The at least one second-array reel rotates the predetermined sequence of symbols to determine at least partially the second array of symbols. The second array is divided into at least two sub-arrays, the at least one second-array reel extending into the at least two sub-arrays. A controller selects at least one symbol from the first array and copies the at least one selected symbol into one or more positions in each of the at least two sub-arrays. The at least two sub-arrays is displayed with combinations of symbols including the at least one selected symbol. The controller evaluates the combinations to determine an outcome to the wagering game.
US09251664B2	Casino slot wagering system A method and apparatus for casino slot games in which at least two and preferably three games are linked together by displaying the two or three games on one video display device. The games are linked through the initial cards displayed for each game, and their bets and their outcomes. A computer calculates the probabilities of all bets and outcomes during the betting rounds in real time. As a result of the so chained games the player makes decisions in multiple betting rounds in insufficient information about the game outcomes. At any time during the game play the player can evaluate the game outcomes as presented to him by the computer and either play the next successive game or simply finish the game with no penalty.
US09251661B2	Remote live game A method and apparatus for enabling a player Io participate in a live online card game. After a card is drawn, and before all players can see it, it is optionally squeezed, i.e. slowly revealed to one or more players, such as the players who placed the highest bet for a particular side. The gradual revealing of the cards is performed by capturing and broadcasting a representative of the particular side showing the cards to a capturing device, by broadcasting pre-recorded image streams, or by broadcasting an image stream generated by a computing platform after a card was scanned by a scanning device. The player can choose the part of the card being revealed, and its orientation.
US09251655B2	Gaming device having a selectively accessible bonus scheme A gaming device having a bonus scheme, wherein the player may choose when to play a bonus scheme, so long as the player is qualified to do so. The method of qualifying the player to enter the bonus round connects or links the base game operation of the gaming device with the bonus scheme. The reels of the base game contain symbols which alone or in combination with other symbols yield one or more bonus awards to a player. The bonus awards are escrowed and displayed a bonus award escrow display. Once the player obtains a single bonus award, the player becomes eligible or qualified to play the bonus round and the player may choose to do so at any time. The player can accumulate bonus awards and use multiple bonus awards at one time.
US09251648B2	Messaging to and from wagering game machines A method includes receiving, at a host gaming server, notifications of account logins from a number of wagering game machines from at least one wagering game establishment. The method includes receiving, at the host gaming server, messages from multiple messaging sources that comprise at least one of a social networking website, a microblogging website, and at least some of the number of wagering game machines, wherein the messages comprise messages related to activity at the at least one wagering game establishment that include game play at the number of wagering game machines and messages related to activity external to the at least one wagering game establishment. The method includes aggregating, by the host gaming server, the messages from the multiple messaging sources. The method includes filtering, by the host gaming server, the messages for each of the account logins to create filtered messages.
US09251646B2	Integrating chat and wagering games A wagering game system and its operations are described herein. In some embodiments, the operations can include providing a social communications interface (e.g., a chat interface) for presentation via a wagering game session. The wagering game session is associated with a wagering game player account. The operations can further include selecting, in response to user input via the social communications interface, a representation of a social contact of the wagering game player account. The user input indicates a request to follow social communications made by the social contact, which social communications are not directly addressed to the wagering game player account. The operations can further include providing, for presentation via the social communications interface, the social communications made by the social contact.
US09251642B2	System and method of managing casino patron money balances A system and method of managing casino patron money balances which stores patron money balances in electronic form. The system includes an interrogator, and a self-service computer coupled to the interrogator for interrogating a wireless communicator associated with a casino patron to determine a money balance associated with the wireless communicator and for processing a selection by the casino patron to produce a change in the money balance.
US09251639B2	Product selection system and method for vending machine A product selection system for a vending machine is provided which is immune to human misbehavior or uncertainty. The system includes a main controller and a plurality of product selection panels connected to the main controller. Each product selection panel includes a plurality of keys, each of which is associated with a type of product stored in the vending machine. When a product selection panel detects a first key-down event, the main controller broadcasts a suspending command to the product selection panels so each product selection panel suspends the detection of any further key-down event in response to receiving the suspending command, until after a product-dispensing routine has been completed or the expiry of a predetermined period of time. A product selection method for a vending machine is also provided.
US09251633B2	Monitoring access to a location Devices, methods, and systems for monitoring access to a location are described herein. One or more method embodiments include determining data associated with an access event associated with a location, determining whether the access event is an anomalous access event using the data associated with the access event and a statistical model of data associated with a number of non-anomalous access events associated with the location, and assessing, if the access event is determined to be an anomalous access event, the anomalous access event. In various embodiments, assessing the anomalous access event includes at least one of determining an anomaly type associated with the anomalous access event, determining an anomaly classification confidence associated with the anomalous access event, determining an anomaly severity associated with the anomalous access event, and determining a reliability associated with the statistical model.
US09251632B2	Vehicle diagnostic system A vehicle diagnostic system capable of diagnosing ECUs for partial networking includes a communication bus mounted on a vehicle, a plurality of controllers for controlling vehicle operations, and a diagnostic equipment to collect diagnostic information from the controllers through the communication bus and to diagnose the vehicle operations. The controllers are connected with each other through the communication bus. Each of controllers operates in a normal mode and in a sleep mode, the sleep mode being an operation mode in which all of or a part of the functions excluding at least a function for receiving an wake-up instruction to return to the normal mode through the communication bus are suspended. At least one of the controllers is configured to send the wake-up instruction to all the other controllers in response to receiving a predetermined signal from the diagnostic equipment.
US09251631B2	Vehicle communications A method and apparatus 10 for interacting remotely with a vehicle 12 comprising data transfer means 22 for wirelessly communicating messages between a mobile communications device 18 operable by a user and a vehicle databus 24 located within the vehicle 12. Optionally, the data transfer means 22 is arranged to wirelessly communicate with the mobile communications device 18 via a web server 14, a web portal or other internet-connected host system. The data transfer means 22 may be arranged to wirelessly communicate with the web portal via a GSM or other cellular communications network 13. After the vehicle engine has stopped, communication of messages may continue on an intermittent basis, or may be suspended after a predetermined time has elapsed or when the vehicle battery voltage reaches a predetermined threshold. High priority messages may be communicated at any time after the vehicle engine has stopped.
US09251623B2	Glancing angle exclusion The glancing angle exclusion technique described herein selectively limits projective texturing near depth map discontinuities. A depth discontinuity is defined by a jump between a near-depth surface and a far-depth surface. The claimed technique can limit projective texturing on near and far surfaces to a different degree—for example, the technique can limit far-depth projective texturing within a certain distance to a depth discontinuity but not near-depth projective texturing.
US09251617B2	Method and apparatus for creating a computer simulation of an actor A method for creating a computer simulation of an actor having a first foot, a second foot and a body including the steps of planting the first foot as a support foot along a space time-varying path. There is the step of stopping time regarding placement of the first foot. There is the step of changing posture of the first foot while the first foot is planted. There is the step of moving time into the future for the second foot as a lifted foot and changing posture for the lifted foot. An apparatus for creating a computer simulation of an actor having a first foot, a second foot and a body. A software program for creating a computer simulation of an actor having a first foot, a second foot and a body that performs the steps of planting the first foot as a support foot along a space time-varying path.
US09251612B2	Optimal dynamic seam adjustment system and method for image stitching An optimal dynamic seam adjustment system for image stitching includes an image obtaining module, a feature difference calculation module and a dynamic seam module. The image obtaining module obtains at least two images to be stitched, which have at least one overlapping area divided into a plurality of pixels arranged in a plurality of pixel columns and a plurality of pixel rows. The feature difference calculation module calculates a feature difference value for each pixel within the overlapping area. The dynamic seam module establishes a plurality of dynamic seam routes started from a top end of the overlapping area, so as to find an optimal dynamic seam route based on the feature difference value, wherein each dynamic seam route is composed of a plurality of pixels.
US09251608B2	Data visualization of a datacenter Methods and systems for data visualization in a datacenter are described herein. At least some illustrative embodiments comprise a method for monitoring a datacenter, comprising collecting a plurality of real-time data samples from a plurality of data sensors, generating a plurality of processed data values based at least in part on the plurality of real-time data samples, mapping each of the plurality of processed data values to one of a plurality of colors, and displaying the plurality of processed data values as regions of color on one or more two-dimensional (2-D) planes within a three-dimensional (3-D) space representing a datacenter.
US09251606B2	Computerized image reconstruction method and apparatus Provided herein is a computerized image reconstruction apparatus and method that includes recording projection path information and energy loss information of a plurality of particles traversing an object being imaged and determining an estimated image of the object based on the projection path information and the energy loss information sampled into a projection format. The estimated image includes an active volume defined by an enclosure border. Cost function minimization uses an Adaptive-weighted Total Variation cost function, a Penalized Weighted Least-Squares cost function, or an Alpha-Divergence cost function to update the estimated image. An iterative updating algorithm corresponding to the cost function updates the estimated image and produces a final image based on the estimated image according to a predetermined threshold.
US09251600B2	Method and apparatus for determining an alpha value A method for determining an alpha value for a candidate pixel of an image in an alpha matting process and an apparatus configured to perform the method are described. A selecting unit selects two or more pairs of foreground pixels and background pixels. A calculating unit calculates for each pair of foreground pixel and background pixel an associated alpha value based on a color of the foreground pixel and a color of the background pixel, as well as a probability function based on the associated alpha value. The probability function is modeled by assuming two or more characteristics of the pixels as statistically independent. A determining unit determines the pair of foreground pixel and background pixel with the highest value of the probability function. A setting unit then sets the alpha value for the candidate pixel to the associated alpha value of the determined pair of foreground pixel and background pixel.
US09251595B2	Method of shutterless non-uniformity correction for infrared imagers A method of correcting an infrared image is provided. The method includes receiving an image from a camera comprising a first pixel with a first pixel value and a neighbor pixel with a neighbor pixel value. The first pixel and the neighbor pixel can be assumed to view the same object. The method further includes storing the first and neighbor pixel values in an image table, generating a corrected image table by adding the first pixel value to a corrected pixel value in a correction table, determining that the camera is not moving, and masking edges in the corrected image table. The method further includes updating the correction table by: determining that the first pixel value and neighbor pixel value are not edges, computing the difference between the first and neighbor pixel values, and storing the difference in the correction table. The method further includes providing an output image table.
US09251576B2	Digital image subtraction A system for generating a digital subtraction image of at least two input images. The system comprises a registration subsystem (1) for generating a plurality of different registrations of the input images (7, 8), based on different values of a registration parameter (6). The system further comprises a subtraction subsystem (2) for generating a plurality of subtracted images by subtracting the input images in accordance with respective ones of the plurality of registrations. The system further comprises a combining subsystem (3) for combining the plurality of subtracted images into a combined subtracted image (9). The registration parameter (6) represents an assumed depth of an object which is visible in the input images (7, 8). The combining subsystem (3) is arranged for assigning a combined pixel value to a pixel position of the combined subtracted image, based on pixel values of or around corresponding pixel positions in the plurality of subtracted images.
US09251573B2	Device, method, and storage medium for high dynamic range imaging of a combined image having a moving object A device that combines a first image photographed with a first amount of exposure and a second image photographed with a second amount of exposure lower than the first amount of exposure, thereby generating a combined image having a wider dynamic range than a dynamic range for the amounts of exposure of the first and second images, the device includes a motion region extraction unit configured to extract at least one motion region in which an object moving between the first image and the second image is shown; a combining ratio determining unit configured to increase a combining ratio of the second image to the first image for a pixel in a background region outside of the at least one motion region such that the higher a luminance value of a pixel of the first image, the higher the combining ratio.
US09251572B2	System and method of correcting image artifacts Certain aspects relate to systems and techniques for correction of color artifacts including both color aberration and color spot artifacts using a unified framework. For example, both color aberration and color spot artifacts can be corrected using a post-processing method implementing directional median filtering on chroma channels. A pixel-by-pixel correction ratio map can be built by analyzing the luma and chroma components of the image to indicate a type of color artifact associated with each pixel in the image, and a directional median filter can be selected for each pixel based on the corresponding correction ratio map value.
US09251565B2	Hyper-resolution imaging Methods and a computer program product for deriving a super-resolution image of a physical object by fusing cameras of multiple resolutions (spatial, temporal, or spectral), the super-resolution image characterized by a resolution exceeding a “camera imaging resolution” associated with each of a sequence of lower-resolution images of the physical object. The sequence of images of the physical object is obtained at a plurality of relative displacements with respect to the object by a hybrid camera system comprising at least two imaging systems. The imaging systems are characterized by respective temporal and spatial resolution and by spectral sensitivity, and may be distinct from one another in one or more of the foregoing dimensions. The imaging systems are either fixed, or subject to know motion, relative to each other. Image sequences derived by each imaging system are coregistered and deconvolved to solve for a resultant sequence of images.
US09251562B1	Registration of low contrast images The registration of images captured at multiple locations, for purposes such as location mapping, can be improved by utilizing multiple image capture elements pointing in at least two different directions or having different viewable ranges. At least one primary image is captured at each location. If the primary image is not able to be correlated with at least one other image based on one or more matching features, image information captured by at least one other camera at substantially the same times as those images can be analyzed to attempt to determine a change in position and/or orientation of the device between those times, which can assist in correlating the primary images. In some embodiments, motion or orientation determining elements can assist in the determination of device movement, and in at least some embodiments can reduce the amount of image information to be processed for a match.
US09251525B2	Device for determining potential future interests to be introduced into profile(s) of user(s) of communication equipment(s) A device (D) is intended for determining potential interests of users (U1-U3) that are clients of at least one network operator, each user being associated to a profile defining at least his interests. This device (D) comprises i) a tracking means (TM) arranged for analyzing the profile of at least one user (U1) to determine new real interest(s) it contains and for storing an identifier representative of a determined new real interest of this user (U1) in correspondence with a first date at which it has been considered as a new real interest into his profile, and ii) a recommendation means (RM) arranged for analyzing the first dates of a user (U1) to determine a time ordered sequence of interests preceding a determined new real interest, and for comparing this determined user interest sequence to at least one other sequence of interests of at least one other user (U2) to predict at least one potential future interest for this user (U1), to be introduced into his profile.
US09251518B2	Centralized and device-aware ticket-transfer system and methods User accounts can allow respective users to access any their respectively owned ticket. Each ticket in a group of tickets provides its owner the right to redeem the ticket to attend a particular event. A first user initially owns a ticket in the group. Ownership of the ticket is transferred from the first user to a second user, such that, subsequent to the transfer, the second user has the right to redeem the ticket but the first user does not. A code is generated for the ticket, the code being based on a characteristic of a device associated with the second user. The code is unique across codes in the group of tickets. Redeeming the ticket to attend the particular event includes analyzing the code. A history for the ticket can be stored, the history including an indication of the transfer occurrence.
US09251517B2	Optimizing service factors for computing resources in a networked computing environment An approach is provided for optimizing service factors for computing resources in a networked computing environment. Specifically, under one approach, a cloud broker/aggregator, a cloud offering optimizer, and a user workload optimizer may be provided. The cloud aggregator may aggregate information/data pertaining to a set of service factors associated with a set of resources distributed among a set of deployment groups (e.g., cloud pods). The cloud offering optimizer may analyze this information and may determine a reallocation plan to optimize values of the service factors associated with the set of resources. The user workload optimizer may then receive the reallocation plan from the cloud offering optimizer and/or application event information, and modify the deployment topology accordingly.
US09251516B2	Systems and methods for electronic distribution of job listings Systems and methods are provided for electronically distributing job listings. In one implementation, a method is provided that includes receiving information for job listings from one or more employers, and associating one or more keyword tags with each job listing. The method also includes identifying a content web page for injecting at least one job listing; analyzing text of the identified content web page; and selecting a job listing for injection into the content web page, based on a comparison between the analyzed text and the one or more keyword tags.
US09251512B2	Method and apparatus for identification verification and purchase validation A computer implemented method includes receiving a request for payment-related information at a wireless device. The method also includes communicating between the wireless device and a paired vehicle computing system (VCS) to verify the presence of a known vehicle. Further, the method includes transmitting requested payment-related information, responsive to the verification of the presence of the known vehicle.
US09251511B2	Transfer account systems, computer program products, and associated computer-implemented methods Embodiments of the present invention include transfer account systems, computer program products, and associated computer-implemented methods of providing prioritized payments from the proceeds of automatic or direct deposits. Embodiments of the present invention include routing automatic deposit information to a financial institution computer managing a prioritized payment program and formulating an outgoing ACH file with both an entry for an automatic deposit destined for a customer account and an entry for a pre-authorized prioritized payment to a select creditor, so that the automatic deposit is credited to the customer account and relatively instantaneously any prioritized payment is debited from the customer account. According to embodiments of the present invention, the customer account can be a checking, deposit, savings, money market, or other account as understood by those skilled in the art, so that a customer has effective access through the customer account only to a net value of funds.
US09251510B2	Buyer routing arrangements and methods for disparate network systems Electronic transaction data sets are processed for a multitude of disparate transactions using a plurality of autonomous payment networks. A software-programmed computer circuit receives and processes electronic transaction data to identify a buyer using information provided in the transaction data, and uses the identification to access buyer profile information for selecting one of a plurality of networks. In this context, a buyer can be identified using one of a plurality of identification approaches (e.g., different account IDs), and such identification can be used for retrieving and using electronic profile data to select a payment network for the buyer, which may be completely independent from the identification. Payment data is accordingly configured so that the selected network can receive and process the data, such as by configuring the data into a network-specific format and/or communicating the data using network-specific protocols. The configured payment data is transmitted to the selected payment network, for use in effecting electronic payment for the transaction.
US09251500B2	Searching topics by highest ranked page in a social networking system Equivalent concepts expressed across multiple domains are matched and associated with a metapage generated by a social networking system. User preferences expressed on multiple domains, represented as pages in a social networking system, may be organized by concept and shared with advertisers, third-party developers, and other users of the social networking system using the metapages generated for the concepts. Aggregated social information may be presented to users of the social networking system viewing a page associated with a metapage. Information presented on external websites may be used to link pages across multiple domains with a metapage generated on the social networking system. A best page may be determined for a concept embodied in multiple pages on the social networking system using a hierarchy of rules. A best page may also be determined for a user based on information about the user.
US09251498B2	Facilitating deployment of customizations of enterprise applications A management system facilitating deployment of customizations of an enterprise application, with the enterprise application containing software modules pre-installed on a set of servers. In an embodiment, the management system first receives a set of deployment units each containing data defining a manner of configuration affecting the operation of at least some of the software modules to attain the desired customizations, and an enterprise profile indicating the specific subset of deployment units to be deployed in each of the servers. Management system then orchestrates the configuration of the software modules installed on the set of servers according to the data specified in the set of deployment units and the enterprise profile.
US09251493B2	Medication verification and dispensing Medication errors happen frequently in hospital, home, and pharmacy environments. A medication verification and dispensing system provides protection against such errors. The apparatus includes a guide tube that receives a medication and imaging device(s) adjacent to the guide tube that take image(s) of the medication. The imaging devices(s) and light source(s) are oriented for capturing images that reveal markings, color, size, shape, etc., of the medication. A verification system uses a signature of the image to identify the medication or compares the image(s) to reference images to identify the medication and to a prescription record of the patient to ensure it is a correct medication, dose, amount, timing, etc., for administration. If the medication is correct, it is dispensed into a dispensing vessel that locks the medication inside, but unlocks when it recognizes a unique patient identifier worn by a patient that is a correct recipient for the medication.
US09251489B2	Node-pair process scope definition adaptation A previously-computed scope definition represented as at least one begin-end node pair is obtained. The at least one begin-end node pair is usable to identify all nodes and interconnection path links that are reachable in a traversal from a begin node to an end node of each of the at least one begin-end node pair of a selection of a connected directed graphical representation of a process model. A change to the process model relative to the previously-computed scope definition is identified. A type of tooling environment used to change the process model is determined. The tooling environment includes one of a fully-integrated tooling environment and a componentized tool chain tooling environment. The previously-computed scope definition is adapted into an updated process scope definition based upon the identified at least one change to the process model relative to the previously-computed scope definition and the determined type of tooling environment.
US09251487B2	System and method for computing and overwriting the appearance of project tasks and milestones A computer-implemented system that transforms one or more project plans to create a graphical project view. The appearance of the project view is determined by a default style, one or more style rules applied to each task or milestone in the chart, or both. Once the project view has been created, users may alter its appearance by changing the default style settings, modifying the data-driven style rules, or by manually changing the appearance of selected tasks and milestones to deviate from the default style or style rules. As project plans are updated, the project view may be refreshed to create a new snapshot, or to replace an existing snapshot. As data is refreshed, the system will preserve manual style changes, and will also reapply style rules, which may result in a change to the project view's appearance. Snapshots may have different appearances, based on rules and manual changes.
US09251486B2	Service request orchestrator with smart meters A system for orchestrating the process of fulfilling service requests for utility services receives a first service request for utility services. The first service request references a first service point. The system evaluates conditions at the first service point. The system issues an electronic command message to fulfill the first service request based on the evaluation of conditions at the first service point. The system receives a second service request for utility services. The second service request references a second service point. The system evaluates conditions at the second service point. The system initiates a field activity to fulfill the second service request based on the evaluation of conditions at the second service point. The receiving the first service request, the evaluating conditions at the first service point, the issuing the electronic command message, the receiving the second service request, the evaluating conditions at the second service point, and the initiating the field activity are performed by a centralized orchestration engine.
US09251482B2	Chronically-problematic response alert system for service request and fulfillment between a service requester and a service performer An electronic alert system and a related method of operation for identifying, determining, and reporting chronically-problematic responses for service request and fulfillment between a service requester and a service performer are disclosed. In one embodiment, the electronic alert system identifies and determines a chronically-problematic response by analyzing two relational data sets. A first set of relational data set correlates time elapsed between a first service request bell press by a service requester from a service request device, and a confirmatory signal of successful service fulfillment from a service request reception device held by the service performer, or from the service request device. Furthermore, a second set of relational data set correlates a number of repeated service request bell presses by the service requester, a time interval between each bell press, and the confirmatory signal of successful service fulfillment from the service request device or the service request reception device.
US09251478B2	Processing information queries in a distributed information processing environment Methods, apparatus, and computer program products for handling or managing delayed answers to shopping requests directed to travel content provider platforms. A query processing server of a travel reservation system receives a multi-provider shopping request from an inquiring entity, such as a travel agency, and directs it to a content provider platform, such a platform of a rental car agency. If the content provider platform responds within a given time limit, the query processing server forwards the response to the inquiring entity and updates cache data based upon the response. If the content provider platform does not respond within the given time limit, the query processing server forwards a cache-based response to the inquiring entity. If the content provider platform responds after the given time limit has exceeded, the query processing server updates the cached data to reflect to the belated response from the content provider platform.
US09251475B2	Selecting strangers for information spreading on a social network A computer-implemented method, computer program product, and computer system for selecting strangers for information spreading on a social network. For the strangers who are users of the social network and not related to each other, information spreading probabilities based on features, information reach, and information spreading probabilities based on a wait time are computed. Fitness scores of the strangers are computed; the fitness scores are a function of the information spreading probabilities, the information reach, and the information spreading probabilities. The strangers are ranked, based on the fitness scores, in a sorted set. One or more of the strangers for the information spreading are selected from the sorted set. The one or more of the strangers for the information spreading are selected by determining an interval in the sorted set, and the interval satisfies an optimization objective of minimizing time for the information spreading within a confidence probability.
US09251474B2	Reward based ranker array for question answer system Mechanisms are provided for configuring a ranker array of a question and answer (QA) system. An initial configuration of a ranker array of the QA system is generated which comprises a plurality of rankers with each ranker applying a statistical classification function to candidate answers generated by the QA system. A training question is input to the QA system to generate a training candidate answer set and the ranker array is applied to the training candidate answer set to generate, for each ranker in the ranker array, a ranked listing of candidate answers. For each ranker in the ranker array, a correctness of a corresponding ranked listing of candidate answers is determined and the ranker array is reconfigured based on results of the determined correctness of the corresponding ranked listing of candidate answers for each ranker in the ranker array.
US09251470B2	Inferred identity Techniques for modifying search results associated with a search request based on a determination that a member profile attribute is inaccurate are described. According to various embodiments, an existing member profile attribute included in a member profile page of a particular member of an online social network service is identified. Member profile data and behavioral log data associated with a plurality of members of the online social network service is then accessed. Prediction modeling to verify the existing member profile attribute is performed using the accessed data. Additionally, a confidence score associated with the existing member profile attribute is generated based on the prediction modeling. Moreover, the existing member profile attribute is determined to be inaccurate based on the generated confidence score. Furthermore, the search results associated with a search request is modified based on the determination.
US09251458B2	Selective deposition of magnetic particles and using magnetic material as a carrier medium to deposit nanoparticles Selective deposition of magnetic material such as particles, and producing a pre-laminated stack of shielding layers for offsetting attenuation of RF caused by a metal face plate of a smart card (or tag) or a metallized layer near a passive transponder. Coated or uncoated magnetic particles of different sizes may be used to increase the packing density of the material after its deposition on a substrate. Magnetography-based techniques may be used to apply the particles, at high packing density, including different-sized particles to a substrate such as PVC. Magnetic particles may be used as a carrier medium to deposit other particles nanoparticles. A system for selective deposition is disclosed.
US09251455B2	Using unique identifiers to retrieve configuration data for tag devices Methods and systems for using unique identifiers to retrieve configuration data for tag devices are described herein. An example method may involve obtaining a unique identifier associated with a tag device. The tag device may include an antenna and a sensor configured to obtain sensor readings that can be wirelessly transmitted to a reader device via the antenna. The method may also involve determining configuration parameters associated with the tag device based on the unique identifier. The method may further involve storing, in at least one memory, at least a portion of the configuration parameters in association with the unique identifier.
US09251447B2	Image formation apparatus and method of forming image An image formation apparatus includes: a data generation unit configured to generate image data based on image formation data giving an instruction to print an image including image regions, the image data indicating pixel values of the image regions; and an image formation unit configured to form the image on a recording medium based on the image data generated by the data generation unit. The data generation unit generates the image data such that a boundary between one of the image regions and an image region adjacent to the one image region is highlighted, if the pixel value of the one image region and the pixel value of the adjacent image region are approximate to each other.
US09251444B2	Image forming apparatus, non-transitory computer-readable storage medium and print control method Provided are an image forming apparatus, a non-transitory computer-readable storage medium storing a control program, and a print control method. An image forming apparatus which can directly print printing data described in a page description language. The image forming apparatus includes a display section, a data receiving section, an analyzing section and a rasterizing section. The analyzing section is configured to analyze printing data to determine a file format of the printing data, and operate the display section to display a print setup screen thereon, where the print setup screen depends on the file format of the printing data. The analyzing section is further configured to define a layout of objects in each page to be printed and convert the printing data into descriptions of an intermediate language. The rasterizing section is configured to rasterize the descriptions of the intermediate language to create an image to be printed.
US09251435B2	Screenshot database for application verification A method may include receiving an image where the image may depict a screenshot of results of an application test. The method may also include comparing the image to a plurality of reference images and selecting a reference image that is the most similar to the image. The method may additionally include generating a delta image representing a difference between the reference image and the image. The method may further include storing the delta image with a reference to the reference image.
US09251424B2	Assisted video surveillance of persons-of-interest Methods, systems and media are described for computer-assisted video surveillance. Methods may support detection of moving persons in video frames, extraction of features of the detected moving persons and identification of which detected moving persons are likely matches to a person of interest. Identification of the likely matches may be determined using an attribute-based search, and/or using a specific person-based search. The method may include using likely matches confirmed as images of the person of interest to reconstruct a path of the person of interest.
US09251415B2	Method and apparatus for identifying symbol bearing gaming balls A method for identifying a selected playing ball from a prescribed number of playing balls, wherein each of the playing balls is provided with a different symbol, wherein: a) the selected playing ball is moved from a starting position past an image recording unit pickup, b) the mass center of the depiction of the selected playing ball in the image is kept unaltered for a prescribed, c) the image position and size of the depiction of the playing ball is ascertained, and a check is performed to determine whether portions of the depiction of the playing ball are situated outside a lateral of the image, and d) if portions of the depiction of the playing ball are situated outside said lateral edge, the playing ball is returned to the pickup area of the image recording unit and/or is repositioned and steps b) to d) are repeated.
US09251406B2	Method and system for detecting users' emotions when experiencing a media program A system and method for aggregating emotions of users for a media program. A server stores reference audio signal fingerprints, each associated with a reference audio signal of the program. For each user, the server computer: receives a first audio signal fingerprint from a client device operated by a user, the first audio signal fingerprint associated with a first audio signal comprising ambient sound associated with the user and an audio signal of the program; searches the stored reference audio signal fingerprints to determine one that is related to the first audio signal fingerprint; determines an ambient sound signal by obtaining a difference between the stored reference audio signal fingerprint and the first audio signal fingerprint; and determines, using the ambient sound signal, an emotion of the user for a program segment. The server computer aggregates the emotions to determine a representative emotion of the users for the segment.
US09251404B2	Name bubble handling Apparatus has at least one processor and at least one memory having computer-readable code stored therein which when executed controls the at least one processor: to determine a name relating to a face in an image; to calculate a first maximum length attribute for a name bubble for the face at a first zoom level; to select a part of the name for inclusion in the name bubble having regard to the first maximum length attribute; to calculate a second maximum length attribute for the name bubble for the face at a second zoom level, the first and second zoom levels being different and the first and second maximum length attributes being different; and to select a part of the name for inclusion in the name bubble for the face at the second zoom level having regard to the second maximum length attribute.
US09251392B2	Indicia reading apparatus There is set forth herein an indicia reading apparatus having an image sensor array including a plurality of pixels arranged in a plurality of rows and columns of pixels. The image sensor array can include a frame exposure period in which a certain subsequent and further subsequent row exposure periods have common exposure initiation times and each group of rows has sequential exposure termination times. An indicia reading apparatus can be controlled so that a light source bank of an illumination pattern assembly for projecting an illumination pattern is energized during an illumination period that overlaps a frame exposure period. The apparatus can be further controlled so that an illumination period terminates at or prior to an exposure termination time of the certain row.
US09251388B2	Method for deploying large numbers of waste containers in a waste collection system A method of redeploying waste containers in a waste collection system with an active or passive signal means requires a user to aim an optical character recognition reader at a waste container comprising a unique optical waste container identifier. The optical character recognition reader reads unique waste container optical identifier. The unique waste container optical identifier is converted to a unique electronically formatted waste container identifier. A unique radio frequency signal identifier is stored on a radio frequency emitting tag and associated with the unique electronically formatted waste container identifier. The radio frequency emitting tag is attached to the waste container.
US09251380B1	Method and storage device for isolating and preventing access to processor and memory used in decryption of text A storage drive includes a first memory that stores first text. A first processor generates a first instruction to decrypt the first text. A cryptographic module includes a second memory, a cryptographic device, a memory module, and a second processor. The second memory is inaccessible to the first processor and stores a cryptographic key. The cryptographic device accesses the second memory to obtain the cryptographic key and based on the first instruction, decrypts the first text. The memory module stores a status of execution of the first instruction by the cryptographic device. The second processor, prior to the cryptographic device decrypting the first text, forwards the first instruction to the cryptographic device and stores the status of execution of the first instruction in the memory module. The memory module is connected between the first and second processors and isolates the first processor from the second processor.
US09251379B2	Clock signal synchronization and disturbance detector An electronic circuit including two ring oscillators, wherein the output of each ring oscillator is looped back on the input of this same oscillator as well on the input of the other oscillator. The application of such a circuit to the detection of a dynamic disturbance.
US09251378B2	Security protection of software libraries in a data processing apparatus A processing apparatus 2 has a secure domain 90 and a less secure domain 80. Security protection hardware 40 performs security checking operations when the processing circuitry 2 calls between domains. A data store 6 stores several software libraries 100 and library management software 110. The library management software 110 selects at least one of the libraries 100 as an active library which is executable by the processing circuitry 4 and at least one other library 100 as inactive libraries which are not executable. In response to an access to an inactive library, the library management software 110 switches which library is active.
US09251376B2	Method and system to warn the user in the event of potential confidential document security violations A method and system to warn the user in the event of potential confidential document security violations. The method includes using a computer, electronically embedding a digital marker in an electronic document to create a marked document; storing the document on a non-removable non-transitory computer readable medium of the computer; upon a request for transmission of the marked document from the computer or for copying the marked document to a removable non-transitory computer readable medium, determining that the marked document contains the digital marker and displaying a warning on a display unit of the computer of the request based on the marked document containing the digital marker; and allowing the transmission or the copying only upon approval of release of the marked document by a human user of the computer.
US09251370B2	Personal content control on media device using mobile user device A method for controlling personal content on a media device includes establishing, at the media device, a wireless connection with a mobile user device using a wireless communication circuit of the media device; receiving, from the mobile user device, account information for an account associated with personal content, the personal content of the account accessible by the media device from a server computer over a communication network or from a memory of the media device; receiving, from the mobile user device, a usage term for accessing or using the personal content of the account; and controlling access to or usage of the personal content of the account by the media device based on the received account information and the usage term.
US09251359B2	Method and apparatus for managing crowd sourced content creation A method, apparatus, computer program product and system are provided for managing crowd sourced content creation. In this regard, a method is provided that includes receiving information regarding at least one content recording device and information regarding a recording subject. The method further includes determining whether the at least one content recording device is eligible to receive at least one permission indicator, based at least in part on the information regarding the at least one content recording device and the information regarding the recording subject. The method also includes causing the at least one permission indicator to be provided to the at least one content recording device in an instance in which it is determined that the at least one content recording device is eligible to receive the at least one permission indicator.
US09251357B2	Scalable precomputation system for host-opaque processing of encrypted databases A method, system, and computer program product to generate results for a query to an encrypted database stored on a host are described. The system includes a host comprising a storage device to store the encrypted database, and a a secure processor to generate indexes and index metadata from the encrypted database, each index identifying records of the encrypted database associated with a range of data for at least one field stored in the records of the encrypted database and the metadata indicating the range of data identified by the associated index. The system also includes an interface of the host to receive the query, and a host processor to generate a sub-query form the query for each field associated with the query. Based on sub-query results obtained through the index metadata, the secure processor searches a subspace of the encrypted database to generate the results of the query.
US09251354B2	Secure access supersession on shared workstations Transitions between users at shared workstations that permit access to private health information or other secure data may be handled, without incurring unnecessary delays due to shut-down of all applications used by the departing user, by selectively hiding applications with sensitive information on a shared desktop while allowing temporary system access for the interrupting user.
US09251350B2	Trusted operating environment for malware detection Described herein are techniques and apparatuses for scanning a computing device for malware and/or viruses. In various embodiments, a trusted operating environment, which may include a trusted operating system and/or a trusted antivirus tool, may be utilized with respect to a computing device. More particularly, the trusted operating system may be used to boot the computing device. Moreover, the trusted antivirus tool may search the computing device for malware definition updates (e.g., virus signature updates) and use the trusted operating system to scan the computing device for malware. In other embodiments, the trusted antivirus tool may scan the computing device and remove any viruses detected by the trusted antivirus tool. The trusted operating system may then reboot the computing device into a clean environment once any detected viruses are removed.
US09251347B2	Providing an immutable antivirus payload for internet ready compute nodes In one embodiment, a method includes initializing a portion of a computing system in a pre-boot environment using a basic input/output system (BIOS) stored in a non-volatile storage of the computing system, launching a boot manager to enable a launch of an operating system (OS) payload, and if the OS payload is not successfully launched, executing an OS payload portion and an antivirus stack stored in the non-volatile storage to restore an integrity of the mass storage. Other embodiments are described and claimed.
US09251340B2	Malicious activity detection of a processing thread A mechanism is provided for detecting malicious activity in a functional unit. For a current activity value associated with a functional unit, a determination is made as to whether a thermal level associated with the functional unit differs from a verified thermal level beyond a first predetermined threshold. Responsive to the thermal level associated with the functional unit differing from the verified thermal level beyond the first predetermined threshold, a determination is made as to whether there is a known profile of thread activity levels that substantially matches current thread activity levels. Responsive to identifying the known profile that substantially matches the current thread activity levels, thread activity levels are compared to the known profile of thread activity levels. Responsive to the thread activity levels differing from the known profile beyond a second predetermined threshold, an indication of suspected abnormal activity associated with the given functional unit is sent.
US09251329B2	Button depress wakeup and wakeup strategy Disclosed is a biometric authentication system. The system comprises a biometric image sensor in an operative position with respect to a mechanical switch on a host electronic device and configured to sense biometric characteristics of a biometric object while the biometric object is operating the mechanical switch, the operating of the mechanical switch providing at least one of input and control to the host electronic device; and wake on event logic cooperating with at least one of the biometric image sensor and the host electronic device and configured to at least delay any response by the biometric image sensor or the host electronic device that increases power consumption by either the biometric image sensor or the host electronic device, beyond that needed for the performance, by at least one of the biometric image sensor and the host electronic device, of a bona fides analysis of an object being sensed while operating the mechanical switch, until a positive completion of the bona fides analysis determines that the object being sensed is an object desired to be sensed to perform a user authentication.
US09251309B2	Cost-optimized model-based extension of system life A method includes recording a current performance signature for first and second components in a system, recording a calibrated baseline performance signature for the components, and processing the performance signatures through an aging model to determine a future performance signature for each component. The future performance signatures are processed through a system function model to determine the state of function of the system for each possible repair case. A cost-optimal repair case is then determined from among the possible repair cases, and recorded in memory. An apparatus includes first and second components of a system, and a host machine configured for processing the current and baseline performance signatures through the aging and system function models as noted above. The cost-optimal repair case is determined from among all possible repair cases, and then recorded in memory. An example system may be a cranking system with a starter motor and battery.
US09251306B2	Alignment net insertion for straightening the datapath in a force-directed placer An automated method for aligning a critical datapath in an integrated circuit design inserts an artificial alignment net in the netlist which interconnects all cells in the bit stack of the datapath. The cells are placed using a wirelength optimization which assigns weights to wire sections based on the alignment direction. The rate of change of the alignment weighting value can vary during different stages of global placement. The invention is particularly suited for a force-directed placer which uses a linear system solver to obtain a globally optimum solution for placement of the cells having some overlap among the cells, and thereafter spreads the cells to reduce the overlap. Pseudo nets are also inserted which interconnect a cell and an expected location of the cell after spreading for that iteration.
US09251303B2	Method and apparatus for use in design of a system A method is disclosed for use in design of a system, the system to include a plurality of sources contributing to a variable system effect. The method includes determining a plurality of functional units to form the system, obtaining a plurality of constant functional unit source informations, determining at least one variable quantity, associating each functional unit with one of the at least one variable quantity, obtaining variable functional unit source information by combining the constant functional unit source information with the variable quantity associated with the functional unit, and deriving the variable system effect based on combining the variable functional unit source informations. Further a device for use in design of a system is disclosed and also a tangible computer-readable medium storing instruction code thereon, that when executed causes one or more processors to perform steps for design of a system.
US09251301B2	Generating a collection of takeoff objects from a computer-aided design drawing Embodiments of the present invention include methods for semi-automatic quantity takeoff from computer aided design (CAD) drawings. For each drawing object a corresponding takeoff object is created. A takeoff object may include the dimension of geometry (e.g., numerical, lineal, area) to quantify, the object parameter to be quantified for all instances of the object, and the takeoff calculations to be performed. After a takeoff object is defined, the corresponding instances are automatically identified and quantified. The cost of each instance is then calculated and added to the project cost. Using automated methods, instead of manual techniques, reduces errors and increases the accuracy of the generated cost estimate. Advantageously, the takeoff objects may be saved in the system database and reused for different projects, thereby ensuring consistency between projects. Furthermore, reusing takeoff information, both between instances of an object and between projects, reduces the time required to perform cost estimates.
US09251298B2	Electrical network model synchronization Among other things, one or more techniques and/or systems are provided for maintaining an electrical network model describing an electrical network. A fault detection, fault isolation, and load restoration (FDIR) component, a voltage/var control (VVC) component, and/or other components may be provided with access to the electrical network model so that the components may have access to relatively up-to-date and/or accurate information describing the electrical network when executing functionality for the electrical network. For example, the FDIR component and the VVC component may be synchronized based upon the electrical network model so that the FDIR component may have notice of network changes by the VCC component, and/or the VCC component have may have notice of network changes by the FDIR component.
US09251292B2	Search result ranking using query clustering Systems and methods are disclosed herein for providing search results, particularly product records from a product database. Past queries are analyzed and grouped into clusters according to similarities, with each query including a highly relevant head query and a plurality of tail queries. Similarity of queries may be determined based on user response similarity to query results, co-occurrence, and textual similarity. One or more categories are identified for the clusters, such as based on click-through rates for search results of the head queries of the clusters. Upon receiving a query, a cluster for the query is identified, such as according to similarity to one or more queries of the cluster. The categories associated with the cluster are then used to one or both of augment the query and rank search results for the query.
US09251285B2	Method, a system and a computer program product for scoring a profile in social networking system A method, system and a computer program product for scoring a profile in a social networking system. The method comprises at least one Fan profile, at least one Talent profile and at least one Business profile, comprising a computer that has access to the social networking system. The computer is configured to receive information of the number of sharing actions the profile has introduced to the social networking system; receive information of the number of commercial actions the profile has executed in the social networking system; receive indication of interest from the profile, wherein each indication of interest is an action taken by the profile that shows that the profile has interest in the Talent profile or the Business profile; and calculate based upon the number of sharing actions and the number of commercial actions score metrics representing the profile's influence for the Talent profile or the Business profile.
US09251284B2	Mixing synchronous and asynchronous data streams A queue can store streams of data acquired from servers asynchronously based upon received data requests and subsequent subscription with respect to one or more data sources/servers. The queue can be managed for subsequent synchronous or asynchronous release of received streams of data, for example.
US09251282B2	Systems and methods for determining compliance of references in a website Systems and methods of determining compliance of content in a website or web application are disclosed. The systems and methods comprise a compliance tool to retrieve data associated with website or web application content. The compliance tool can scan the data to determine references to network locations. The compliance tool can compare the references to one or more approval rules to determine whether the references comply with the approval rules. A report can be compiled and outputted that indicates which references comply and which references do not comply with the approval rules. A user can have the option to add non-complying references to an approved list. The compliance tool can further remove non-complying references from the website or web application data and/or register non-complying references with a firewall.
US09251280B1	Method for bookmark detection and correction for a client device A method is disclosed for receiving at a network gateway a message generated in response to a content request, wherein the content request was generated by a client device in response to invocation of an invalid bookmarked link on a browser. The gateway may then modify the message by inserting bookmark-update data that instructs the client device to update the bookmarked link. Finally, the gateway may send the modified message to the client device, whereby the client device may update the bookmarked link.
US09251278B2	Dynamic menus for multi-prefix interactive mobile searches The present invention includes systems and methods for retrieving information via a flexible and consistent targeted search model that employs interactive multi-prefix, multi-tier and dynamic menu information retrieval techniques that provide context-specific functionality tailored to particular information channels, as well as to records within or across such channels, and other known state information. Users are presented with a consistent search interface among multiple tiers across and within a large domain of information sources, and need not learn different or special search syntax. A thin-client server-controlled architecture enables users of resource-constrained mobile communications devices to locate targeted information more quickly by entering fewer keystrokes and performing fewer query iterations and web page refreshes, which in turn reduces required network bandwidth.
US09251275B2	Data clustering and user modeling for next-best-action decisions Embodiments herein provide data clustering and user modeling for next-best-action decisions. Specifically, a modeling tool is configured to: receive indicators within unstructured social data from a plurality of users; analyze the unstructured social data of each of the plurality of users to assign a set of feature vectors to each of the plurality of users, each feature vector corresponding to one or more personality characteristics of each of the plurality of users; and analyze the feature vectors to identify two or more users from the plurality of users sharing a set of similar feature vectors. The modeling tool is further configured to: group the two or more users from the plurality of users sharing the set of similar feature vectors to form a cluster; identify attributes of the cluster; and input the attributes of the cluster into a predictive model to determine an offer corresponding to the cluster.
US09251273B2	Delivering a filtered search result Delivering a filtered search result includes identifying a filtered search result in response to a search query from a user that is associated with at least one member of an augmented social group where the augmented social group including social network connections of the user and individuals other than the social network connections who share a common interest with the user and delivering the filtered search result to the user through a user interface.
US09251264B2	Systems and methods for enabling an electronic graphical search space of a database A computer-implemented method is provided for enabling Internet users to interact with a graphical search interface by: generating a multi-dimensional search space having a plurality of vertices, based on the initial and related search parameters, wherein each vertex is populated with and represents one of the initial or related search parameters; generating a matrix of hyperlinks within the multi-dimensional search space, each hyperlink having coordinates within the search space defining a relevance of the hyperlink to each of the initial and related search parameters; displaying a graphical interface projecting the multi-dimensional search space, along with user elements by which the user may adjust a relative weight of one or more of the initial and related search parameters by interacting with one or more of the hyperlinks; and displaying a plurality of search results automatically updated in real time based on the user-adjusted weights of the initial and related search parameters.
US09251259B2	Harmonizing webpage information A descriptive webpage about an entity is harmonized with other electronically published information about the entity. A descriptive webpage, which includes an entity profile about an entity, is located. Other electronically published information about the entity is retrieved. The descriptive webpage is harmonized with the other electronically published information by updating the entity profile with the other electronically published information about the entity.
US09251243B2	Computerized method for analyzing innovation interrelationships within and between large patent portfolios The method of the present invention provides a labor and time saving ability to determine interrelationships within patents determined by searching, via a computer system, through patent fields to see if one or more particular pieces of alphanumeric data are common to any of the patents in the database in which the field indicia are located. Such commonality is searchable in backward or forward direction, or both, from, for example, one patent of particular interest. The method allows for presentation of families of interrelated patents within minutes rather than hours, weeks or longer by utilizing computer based technology. Further, the methodology allows for determinations of interrelationships within desired degrees of separation by manipulation of the indicative data to be searched.
US09251235B1	Log-based synchronization A device may participate in a shared data state in which editing operations performed locally are distributed and synchronized with other devices participating in the shared data state. Data may be maintained in log-structured storage files on each device. Changes made locally may be conditionally appended to log-structured storage and committed or rolled back during synchronization. Sets of related change descriptors may be identified based on inferred user intent. Conflict resolution rules may be applied to sets of related change descriptors. Conflicts may be resolved through application of conflict resolution rules or through a user-involved process.
US09251233B2	Merging an out of synchronization indicator and a change recording indicator in response to a failure in consistency group formation A first data structure stores indications of storage locations that need to be copied for forming a consistency group. A second data structure stores indications of new host writes subsequent to starting a point in time copy operation to form the consistency group. Read access is secured to a metadata storage area and a determination is made as to whether the second data structure indicates that there are any new host writes. In response to determining that the second data structure indicates that there are new host writes, write access is secured to the metadata storage area, the first data structure is updated with contents of the second data structure to determine which additional storage locations need to be copied for formation of a next consistency group, and the second data structure is updated to indicate that that the second data structure is in an initialized state.
US09251229B2	Method, system, and computer program product for simulating an online session A method and system for conducting an offline session simulating an online session between a client and server in a network environment. The client imports data and functional logic from the server prior to going offline. The imported functional logic is embedded into a format or document that is capable of being interpreted and performed by the local interface at the client that is used to interact with server during an online session. Whether offline or online, the user utilizes the same local interface at the client to transmit instructions to the functional logic in order to manipulate the data. In an offline session, such instructions cause the imported and embedded functional logic to execute, thereby manipulating the data that is imported at the client. Known synchronization methods may also be used In order to maintain consistency and coherency between the imported data at the client and the database at the server.
US09251227B2	Intelligently provisioning cloud information services A computer-implemented method, computer program product, and computer system for intelligently provisioning cloud information services. The computer system determines a target computing zone based on location constraints defined in service processing rules, in response to receiving service request. The computer system determines whether a merger or a split is needed, based on a score for the resources, scores for the respective processing nodes, and operational metadata. The computer system determines whether request processing constraints defined in the service processing rules allow the merger or the split. The computer system processes, in the target computing zone, the service request with the merger or the split, in response to determining that the merger or the split is needed and in response to determining that the request processing rules allow the merger or the split.
US09251220B2	System and method for finding matches between users in a networked environment Finding a match for an end user on an online social platform is not a trivial task. To improve match making, various methods and systems are disclosed which are configured to compute heuristics for various end users, which help to predict the likelihood that two end users would ultimately engage in some form of communication with each other. The heuristics are used in an algorithm (i.e., a statistical/predictive model) for providing a set of matches to an end user. These heuristics may be computed based on varying forms of communication which indicate different levels of engagement between end users, and/or based on some other indication of how an end user may react to another end user.
US09251218B2	Tunable hardware sort engine for performing composite sorting algorithms Embodiments include methods, systems and computer program products for performing a composite sort on a tunable hardware sort engine includes determining desired sort performance parameters, configuring a composite sort engine based on the desired sort performance parameters, and receiving a plurality of keys having a payload associated with each of the plurality of keys. The method also includes reserving DRAM storage for each of the payloads, generating a tag for each of the plurality of keys, the tag identifying the DRAM storage reserved for each of the payloads, and storing the payloads in the portions of the DRAM storage. The method further includes generating a composite key for each of the plurality of keys, sorting the composite keys by the composite sort engine, and retrieving the payloads associated with the sorted composite keys from the DRAM storage. The method also includes outputting the payloads associated the sorted composite keys.
US09251215B2	Data staging for results of analytics Data staging for results of analytics according to an example method includes maintaining current results from the analytics in a first data structure, the first data structure having a label identifying first data structure as a target for queries. The method also includes maintaining prior results from the analytics in at least one other data structure. The method also includes changing the label of the first data structure after a predetermined time. The method also includes assigning the label to one of the other data structures, wherein the label identifies the one of the other data structures as the target for queries.
US09251202B1	Corpus specific queries for corpora from search query A system determines search hypotheses for a search query, each search hypothesis defining a search type and respectively corresponding to a resource corpus of a type that matches the search type; for each search hypothesis, generate a hypothesis search query based on the search query and the search type and submits the hypothesis search query to a search service to determine a search hypothesis score, and for each search hypothesis having a search hypothesis score meeting a search hypothesis threshold, providing search results for the search operation performed for the hypothesis search query determined for the search hypothesis; and for each search hypothesis not having a search hypothesis score meeting a search hypothesis threshold, not providing search results for the search operation performed for the hypothesis search query determined for the search hypothesis.
US09251201B2	Compatibly extending offload token size Aspects of the subject matter described herein relate to offload technology. In aspects, a mechanism is described that allows an offload provider to use larger tokens. The larger token may be physical or virtual. In response to an offload read command, a larger token may be created and data from the larger token may be split or injected into multiple tokens of a smaller size. In response to an offload write command, data from the multiple tokens may be combined into a larger token and/or extracted and used to obtain bulk data.
US09251196B2	Monitoring and auditing system An improved method and apparatus for auditing database queries, wherein comments are added by a server prior to the server forwarding the queries to the database system. The comments are then used to derive audit information, which is correlated with other audit information in a different server, to produce a more complete audit record.
US09251194B2	Automatic data request recovery after session failure Techniques for recovering from session failures between clients and database servers are described herein. A session may be established between a client and a first database server to handle a database query for the client. A command of the session may be received by the first database server from the client. Data requested by the command may be retrieved. Prior to responding to the command, the data is spooled to a session state stored in a repository of the first database server, and the session state is replicated to one or more additional database servers. The session state stored in the repository of the first database server enables the first database server and client to recover from a failure of the session. The replicated session state enables the additional database server(s) to reestablish the session and respond to the command, instead of the first database server, if the session fails.
US09251193B2	Extending user relationships A system and method for linking information of one user to other users via a data aggregation server is provided. Various security settings govern the linking of information. Various methodologies for initiating a link of PIM data are also provided including automatic linking, targeted linking and requested linking. Implementations utilizing group profiles are also provided.
US09251187B2	Metadata-driven version management service in pervasive environment Metadata driven version management service determines one or more version operations to perform based on the properties of a device, computing environment and metadata associated with a file being versioned. The version management service allows different devices to perform different version operations based on different device properties.
US09251185B2	Classifying results of search queries Computer-readable media, computer systems, and computing methods are provided for classifying search results as either of good quality or of poor quality. Initially, a portion of the search results, such as the highest ranked documents, are selected for evaluation. A level of quality for each of the selected search results is determined using a classification process that includes the following steps: targeting features demonstrated by the selected search results to be evaluated; evaluating the selected features to generate a level-of-quality score for each of the selected search results; comparing the score against a predefined threshold value; and, based on the comparison, assigning each of the selected search results an absolute measurement. The absolute measurement indicates poor quality when the score is less than the threshold value. Upon recognizing that the selected search results are of poor quality, automatically executing a corrective action that reformulates the issued search query.
US09251170B2	Method and system for item selection based on characteristic matching An approach for determining a representation of a physical object, the representation indicating at least one of a color, a texture, and a pattern associated with the object, comparing the representation to one or more reference representations on a basis of at least one of the color, the texture, and the pattern, selecting one of the plurality of reference representations based on the comparison; and determining one or more physical items associated with the one reference representation, is presented.
US09251167B2	Method and system for prediction of software data consumption patterns A method including downloading a streaming model file and at least one initial execution file from a server via a conventional download protocol without using a specialized streaming protocol. When executed, the initial execution file only partially implements an application. The model file stores information identifying additional portions of the application file to be downloaded from the server. Data is read from the initial execution file, and stored in a local copy of the application file. Then, the application is executed by executing the local copy. Until the entire application file has been downloaded and as the application is executing, the information is read from the model file to identify a next file to download, the next file is downloaded via the conventional download protocol without using a specialized streaming protocol, next data is read from the next file, and the next data is stored in the local copy.
US09251152B1	Efficient method for relocating shared memory The present invention provides for an efficient method, apparatus, and system for updating file system information when shared memory contents are moved from one physical location in memory to another. Traditional file systems manage such memory movement at the granularity of physical memory blocks. However, it will often be the case that multiple blocks will be moved, and the present invention takes advantage of the fact that it is more efficient to process the shared memory movement of memory contents at the granularity of an extent. The invention employs a data structure, where each record in the data structure contains information about the shared memory extents of the file system.
US09251140B2	Determining similarity of unfielded names using feature assignments Provided are techniques for comparing names. A first phrase score is obtained by comparing a name phrase in a first name to a name phrase in a second name. A second phrase score is obtained by comparing another name phrase in the first name to another name phrase in the second name. An overall score is generated based on the obtained first phrase score and the obtained second phrase score. The overall score is updated based on comparing features of the first name with features of the second name.
US09251133B2	Approximate named-entity extraction According to one embodiment, approximate named-entity extraction from a dictionary that includes entries is provided, where each of the entries includes one or more words. Words are read from the entries of the dictionary, and network resources are searched to determine a frequency of occurrence of the words on the network resources. In view of the frequency of occurrence of the words located on the network resources, domain relevancy of the words in the entries of the dictionary is determined. A domain repository is created using top-ranked words as determined by the domain relevancy of the words. In view of the domain repository, signatures for both the entries of the dictionary and strings of an input document are computed. The strings of the input document are filtered by comparing the signatures of the strings against the signatures of the entries to identify approximate-match entity names.
US09251131B2	Systems and methods for distributed electronic signature documents including version control Systems and methods for facilitating version control over an electronic document, the electronic document being subject to a distribution sequence among at least first and second reviewing parties over a network. The method includes receiving an instruction set from a source client. Based on the instruction set, at least one editable field populated with content is embedded in the electronic document. The progress of the electronic document through the distribution sequence is monitored over the network. The content of the editable field being edited by the first reviewing party is determined. In response to determining that the content has been edited by the first reviewing party, the edited electronic document is provided to the second reviewing party. The electronic document being electronically signed by the first and second reviewing parties is validated. The editable field is locked from further electronic editing.
US09251130B1	Tagging annotations of electronic books Architectures and techniques are described to tag annotations of electronic books and to manage the tags. In particular implementations, a client device may tag one or more annotations of an electronic book, where each of the annotations may be associated with a portion of the electronic book. The client device may request and obtain annotations associated with one or more tags and export the annotations to at least one destination, such as an additional client device, a file, an application, or a combination thereof. Additionally, annotation tags may be shared by members of a particular group. Thus, one member of the group can obtain and utilize tags used by other members of the group.
US09251127B2	Managing locally initiated electronic mail attached documents A method and system for managing documents attached to electronic mail messages. An electronic mail message at a destination location is received. It is determined that a document is attached to the received electronic mail message. It is ascertained whether or not the attached document was originated at the destination location and is stored at the destination location, from which it is ascertained that the attached document was originated at the destination location and is stored at the destination location. After it is ascertained that the attached document was originated at the destination location and is stored at the destination location, the document is deleted from the received electronic mail message, after which a link for connecting to the document stored at the destination location is created in the received electronic mail message.
US09251123B2	Systems and methods for converting a PDF file A method can comprise parsing a PDF file to collect a plurality of primitive objects. The method can also comprise iteratively joining a subset of the plurality of primitive objects to form editable design objects for a corresponding design file.
US09251121B2	Determining pushback direction Devices, methods, and systems for determining pushback direction are described herein. One method includes receiving a video image of an aircraft during a pushback of the aircraft, determining a motion flow map associated with the video image during the pushback, determining a motion orientation histogram associated with the video image during the pushback, and determining a direction of the pushback based on the motion flow map and the motion orientation histogram.
US09251118B2	Scheduling computation processes including all-to-all communications (A2A) for pipelined parallel processing among plurality of processor nodes constituting network of n-dimensional space Optimally scheduling a plurality of computation processes including all-to-all communications (A2A) among a plurality of nodes (processors) constituting an n-dimensional (a torus or a mesh) network.The plurality of nodes (processors) constituting the network are divided into a communication (computation process) phase (A2A-L) required for all-to-all communications only among a plurality of nodes included in a first subgroup and a communication (computation process) phase (A2A-P) required for all-to-all communications only among a plurality of nodes included in a second subgroup to perform parallel processing with the phases overlapped with each other across a plurality of threads (thread 1, thread 2, thread 3, and thread 4). It is also possible to perform the parallel processing with respect to a plurality of computation processes such as a fast Fourier transform (FFT) and a transpose (T) (internal transpose).
US09251100B2	Bitmap locking using a nodal lock In an embodiment, in response to a request from a producer thread to set a bit in a global bitmap, a nodal lock is obtained on a nodal bitmap at a node at which the producer thread executes. A determination is made whether a corresponding bit in a pending clear bitmap in the nodal bitmap indicates that a clear of the bit in the global bitmap is pending. If the corresponding bit in the pending clear bitmap in the nodal bitmap indicates that a clear of the bit in the global bitmap is pending, the corresponding bit in the pending clear bitmap is cleared. If the corresponding bit in the pending clear bitmap in the nodal bitmap indicates that the clear of the bit in the global bitmap is not pending, a corresponding bit in a pending set bitmap in the nodal bitmap is set.
US09251091B2	Translation look-aside table management A computer system includes a translation look-aside (TLB) buffer and a processing unit. The TLB is configured to store an entry that comprises virtual address information, real address information associated with the virtual address information, and additional information corresponding to at least one of the virtual address information and the real address information. The processing unit is configured to control the TLB to modify the additional information while maintaining the entry in a valid state accessible by the processing unit for a translation look-aside operation corresponding to the virtual address information and the real address information.
US09251089B2	System supporting multiple partitions with differing translation formats A system configuration is provided with multiple partitions that supports different types of address translation structure formats. The configuration may include partitions that use a single level of translation and those that use a nested level of translation. Further, differing types of translation structures may be used. The different partitions are supported by a single hypervisor.
US09251084B2	Arithmetic processing apparatus, and cache memory control device and cache memory control method An arithmetic processing apparatus includes a plurality of processors, each of the processors having an arithmetic unit and a cache memory. The processor includes an instruction port that holds a plurality of instructions accessing data of the cache memory, a first determination unit that validates a first flag when receiving an invalidation request for data in the cache memory, a cache index of a target address and a way ID of the received request match with a cache index of a designated address and a way ID of the load instruction, a second determination unit that validates a second flag when target data is transmitted due to a cache miss, and an instruction re-execution determination unit that instructs re-execution of an instruction subsequent to the load instruction when both the first flag and the second flag are validated at the time of completion of an instruction in the instruction port.
US09251081B2	Management of caches A system and method for efficiently powering down banks in a cache memory for reducing power consumption. A computing system includes a cache array and a corresponding cache controller. The cache array includes multiple banks, each comprising multiple cache sets. In response to a request to power down a first bank of the multiple banks in the cache array, the cache controller selects a cache line of a given type in the first bank and determines whether a respective locality of reference for the selected cache line exceeds a threshold. If the threshold is exceeded, then the selected cache line is migrated to a second bank in the cache array. If the threshold is not exceeded, then the selected cache line is written back to lower-level memory.
US09251074B2	Enabling hardware transactional memory to work more efficiently with readers that can tolerate stale data A technique for enabling hardware transactional memory (HTM) to work more efficiently with readers that can tolerate stale data. In an embodiment, a pre-transaction load request is received from one of the readers, the pre-transaction load request signifying that the reader can tolerate pre-transaction data. A determination is made whether the pre-transaction load request comprises data that has been designated for update by a concurrent HTM transaction. If so, a cache line containing the data is marked as pre-transaction data. The concurrent HTM transaction proceeds without aborting notwithstanding the pre-transaction load request.
US09251069B2	Mechanisms to bound the presence of cache blocks with specific properties in caches A system and method for efficiently limiting storage space for data with particular properties in a cache memory. A computing system includes a cache array and a corresponding cache controller. The cache array includes multiple banks, wherein a first bank is powered down. In response a write request to a second bank for data indicated to be stored in the powered down first bank, the cache controller determines a respective bypass condition for the data. If the bypass condition exceeds a threshold, then the cache controller invalidates any copy of the data stored in the second bank. If the bypass condition does not exceed the threshold, then the cache controller stores the data with a clean state in the second bank. The cache controller writes the data in a lower-level memory for both cases.
US09251065B2	Execute-in-place mode configuration for serial non-volatile memory Example embodiments for configuring a serial non-volatile memory device for an execute-in-place mode may comprise a non-volatile configuration register to store an execute-in-place mode value that may be read at least in part in response to power being applied to the memory device.
US09251063B2	Storage system including a plurality of flash memory devices A storage system including a storage device which includes media for storing data from a host computer, a medium controller for controlling the media, a plurality of channel controllers for connecting to the host computer through a channel and a cache memory for temporarily storing data from the host computer, wherein the media have a restriction on a number of writing times. The storage device includes a bus for directly transferring data from the medium controller to the channel controller.
US09251061B2	Methods for accessing memory in a two-dimensional main memory having a plurality of memory slices In one embodiment of the invention, a memory module is disclosed including a printed circuit board with an edge connector; an address controller coupled to the printed circuit board; and a plurality of memory slices. Each of the plurality of memory slices of the memory module includes one or more memory integrated circuits coupled to the printed circuit board, and a slave memory controller coupled to the printed circuit board and the one or more memory integrated circuits. The slave memory controller receives memory access requests for the memory module from the address controller. The slave memory controller selectively activates one or more of the one or more memory integrated circuits in the respective memory slice in response to the address received from the address controller to read data from or write data into selected memory locations in the memory integrated circuits.
US09251059B2	Storage system employing MRAM and redundant array of solid state disk A storage system includes one or more RAID groups, a RAID group comprising a number of physically addressed solid state disks (paSSD). Stripes are formed across a RAID group, data to be written is saved in a non-volatile buffer until enough data for a full strip is received (without any restriction about logical address of data), full stripes are sent and written to paSSDs comprising the RAID group, accordingly the partial stripe read-modify-write is avoided.
US09251048B2	Memory page management According to one embodiment, a method for operating a memory device includes receiving a first request from a requestor, wherein the first request includes accessing data at a first memory location in a memory bank, opening a first page in the memory bank, wherein opening the first page includes loading a row including the first memory location into a buffer, the row being loaded from a row location in the memory bank and transmitting the data from the first memory location to the requestor. The method also includes determining, by a memory controller, whether to close the first page following execution of the first request based on information relating to a likelihood that a subsequent request will access the first page.
US09251039B2	Remote debugging as a service Debugging capabilities for software running in a cloud-computing environment are disclosed. A controller identifies which machines in the cloud are running instances of software to be debugged. An agent is deployed onto the machines in the cloud to facilitate communication with the developer's machine. When the developer wants to debug software on the agent's machine, the agent downloads and installs a monitor onto the machine. The agent configures the machine for remote debugging via the monitor. A security mechanism ensures that only authenticated developers can access the monitor and the remote machine for debugging. A controller automatically determines which machines can be debugged, updates a list of processes available for debugging on the machines, and identifies how to connect a developer's debugging client to the machines. The controller permits remote debugging only upon request from an authenticated developer and only for those processes that the developer is permitted to debug.
US09251027B2	Information handling system performance optimization system A performance optimization system includes a plurality of system components. A monitoring plug-in and a configuration plug-in are coupled to each of the plurality of system components. A monitoring engine receives monitoring information for each of the plurality of system components from their respective monitoring plug-in. A configuration engine sends configuration setting information to each of the plurality of system components through their respective configuration plug-ins. A performance optimization engine receives the monitoring information from the monitoring engine, determines a policy associated with the monitoring information and, in response, retrieves configuration setting information that is associated with the policy and sends the configuration setting information to the configuration engine in order to change the configuration of at least one of the plurality of system components.
US09251018B2	Enhanced recovery of highly available computing systems Exemplary embodiments disclose a method and system for detecting a failure and resuming processing in a computing system encompassing at least two sites, a primary site and a secondary site. In a module, an exemplary embodiment generates a record of a logically consistent state and data of system components of the primary site periodically and transfers the record of a logically consistent state and data of system components of the primary site to the secondary site. In another module, an exemplary embodiment detects a failure in the primary site, halts the generation of the record of a logically consistent state and data of system components of the primary site periodically with a data freeze function, and resumes a processing of the primary site on the secondary site with secondary site components updated with a most recent logically consistent state and data of system components of the primary site.
US09251017B2	Handling failed cluster members when replicating a database between clusters Data integrity is maintained during failed communications between a member node of a primary cluster and a backup cluster by assigning an assisting member node to run an assisting process that transmits data entered into the member node to the backup cluster. In this way, a replicated database is maintained during a partial communication failure between the primary cluster and the backup cluster.
US09251014B2	Redundant transactions for detection of timing sensitive errors A method for detecting a software-race condition in a program includes copying a state of a transaction of the program from a first core of a multi-core processor to at least one additional core of the multi-core processor, running the transaction, redundantly, on the first core and the at least one additional core given the state, outputting a result of the first core and the at least one additional core, and detecting a difference in the results between the first core and the at least one additional core, wherein the difference indicates the software-race condition.
US09251012B2	Distributed backup and retrieval system A method is provided for performing distributed backup and retrieval of data. Data is sent by a plurality of client devices to be processed by a server and then stored in a database. A subset of the processed data stored in the database is backed up to each of the plurality of client devices. For the one or more particular client devices owned by a user, the subset of processed data stored on the one or more particular client devices is the subset of processed data that is associated with the user. The server and client device is updated to maintain the same state of processed data in the database and the backup. In the event of failure of either the database or a client device, processed data may be restored using the processed data stored on the database or the backup stored on the plurality of client devices.
US09251011B2	Backup of in-memory databases Various embodiments of systems and methods for performing backup operation in In-memory database systems are described herein. The method includes receiving a request to create a backup of a data set from a main memory of the system. In response to the request, the data set is configured as read-only and a data structure having meta-data information identifying the blocks of data in the main memory that form the data set is invoked. A snapshot of the data structure is created and the data set is enabled for manipulation. Further, the method involves receiving a request to modify a block of data and copying the requested data block to a free memory block in the main memory. The data structure is updated by replacing the meta-data identifying the requested original data block with meta-data identifying the free memory block which holds a copy of the requested data block.
US09250996B2	Multicore type error correction processing system and error correction processing apparatus In a multicore type error correction processing system which can simultaneously cope with a plurality of error correction methods and a plurality of code lengths, an interconnect part 11 has a barrel shifter which extends across a plurality of error correction processing parts 12a-12c. An error correction process can be selectively performed by collectively using a group of the plurality of the error correction processing parts 12a-12c or by individually using each of individual error correction processing parts 12a-12c in response to interconnection configuration information. With this structure, the plurality of the error correction processing parts 12a-12c are collectively used if computation resources are insufficient and an idling error correction processing part is assigned to another error correction process if computation resources are excessive.
US09250995B2	Protection of data in memory A method for protecting data in a memory is disclosed. The method generally includes steps (A) to (D). Step (A) converts a logical address of one of a plurality of logical units to a physical address of a corresponding one of a plurality of physical units. Each physical unit is configured to store (i) data from a corresponding one of the logical units, (ii) respective error correction information and (iii) respective verification information. Step (B) writes a particular one of the physical units to the memory. Step (C) reads a portion of the particular physical unit from the memory. The portion includes the respective verification information. The respective verification information includes an indication of the logical address. Step (D) verifies the writing according to the respective verification information in the portion.
US09250993B2	Automatic generation of actionable recommendations from problem reports Methods and arrangements for handling information technology tickets. A plurality of information technology tickets are received. The tickets are clustered into categories, and a problem area is identified with respect to at least one of the categories. At least one recommendation is automatically generated for addressing the problem area. Other variants and embodiments are broadly contemplated herein.
US09250990B2	Use of error correction pointers to handle errors in memory Methods, apparatuses, and systems related to use of error correction pointers (ECPs) to handle hard errors in memory are described herein. In embodiments, a read module of a memory controller may read a codeword stored in a memory. The read module may determine a number of hard errors in the codeword. Responsive to a determination that the number of hard errors exceeds a threshold, the read module may store ECP information associated with the hard errors. The read module may include an error correction code (ECC) module to perform an ECC process on the codeword. The read module may use the ECP information to decode the codeword to recover the data responsive to a determination that the ECC process failed. Other embodiments may be described and claimed.
US09250975B2	Elastic and scalable publish/subscribe service A system and method are disclosed for an elastic and scalable publish/subscribe scheme. Subscription information is received at a dispatcher node. A plurality of matching nodes are selected in an overlay network to store the subscription information on a computer readable storage medium. Upon receiving an event at a dispatching node, at least one of the matching nodes with the stored subscription information is selected to process the event.
US09250969B2	Tagging a copy of memory of a virtual machine with information for fetching of relevant portions of the memory Methods and apparatus are disclosed to provision virtual machine resources. An example method includes labeling a copy of memory associated with an established virtual machine with an execution status based on an architecture type associated with the copy, and constraining a fetch operation in response to a page fault to a labeled portion of the copy that matches an architecture type of a received processor instruction.
US09250967B2	Model-based planning with multi-capacity resources Systems and methods are described that facilitate performing model-based planning techniques for allocations of multi-capacity resources in a machine. The machine may be, for instance, a printing platform, such as a xerographic machine. According to various features, the multi-capacity resource may be a sheet buffer, and temporal constraints may be utilized to determine whether an insertion point for a new allocation of the sheet buffer is feasible. Multiple insertion points may be evaluated (e.g., serially or in parallel) to facilitate determining an optimal solution for a print job or the like.
US09250964B2	Concurrent computing with reduced locking requirements for shared data Where data are shared by multiple computer processing threads, modifying the data by determining whether modifying data associated with a first computer processing thread violates a constraint associated with the data, and responsive to determining that modifying the data associated with the computer processing thread violates the constraint associated with the data, using the data associated with the first computer processing thread to modify the data shared by the multiple computer processing threads that includes the first computer processing thread, where the constraint associated with the data associated with the first computer processing thread represents a portion of a tolerance value that is associated with the data shared by the multiple computer processing threads and that is divided among multiple constraints, where each of the constraints is associated with a different one of the multiple computer processing threads.
US09250961B2	Task execution in a SIMD processing unit A SIMD processing unit processes a plurality of tasks which each include up to a predetermined maximum number of work items. The work items of a task are arranged for executing a common sequence of instructions on respective data items. The data items are arranged into blocks, with some of the blocks including at least one invalid data item. Work items which relate to invalid data items are invalid work items. The SIMD processing unit comprises a group of processing lanes configured to execute instructions of work items of a particular task over a plurality of processing cycles. A control module assembles work items into the tasks based on the validity of the work items, so that invalid work items of the particular task are temporally aligned across the processing lanes. In this way the number of wasted processing slots due to invalid work items may be reduced.
US09250942B2	Hardware emulation using on-the-fly virtualization At least one anomaly associated with at least one actual hardware element in a computer system having a plurality of hardware elements is addressed. The anomaly is detected, and, responsive to the detection, a virtualization layer is inserted between (i) an operating system of the computer system, and (ii) the plurality of hardware elements. Hardware emulation and/or selective hardware activation/deactivation are performed on the at least one actual hardware element by the virtualization layer. The insertion of the virtualization layer is accomplished in an on-the-fly manner.
US09250934B2	Memory compatibility system and method An apparatus including a first connector configured to fit into a first socket in a processing system, the first connector and first socket conforming to a first standard, a second socket configured to accept a memory module therein, the second socket and the memory module conforming to a second standard, a memory buffer module communicatively coupled to the first connector and the second socket, the memory buffer module configured to receive signals associated with the first standard from the first connector and output signals associated with the second standard to the second socket, and a virtualization module communicatively coupled to the memory buffer module, the first connector, and the second socket, the virtualization module configured to receive first initialization data associated with the second standard from the second socket and output second initialization data associated with the first standard to the processing system.
US09250927B2	Digital receiver and method for controlling the same A method of controlling a digital apparatus, and which includes displaying, on a display of the digital apparatus, at least first and second display regions, the first display region configured to display a broadcast program and the second display region displaying social network contents; receiving, via an input unit of the digital apparatus, a selection signal indicating a selection of at least a part of the displayed social network contents; converting, via a controller of the digital apparatus, the selected part of the social network contents into image data; receiving, via the input unit, a moving signal indicating a movement of the converted image data on the display; and executing, via the controller, a predetermined application based on the movement of the image data.
US09250922B2	Method and apparatus for prefetching peripheral device drivers for smart phones and other connected devices prior to HLOS boot Apparatus and methods for booting a user equipment are described. A device boot of the user equipment may be performed. Peripherals and associated drivers for the user equipment may be configured. A high-level operating system (HLOS) may be booted. The configuring may occur before the booting of the HLOS. Apparatus and methods for loading peripheral device drivers for a user equipment are also described. Peripherals that can be associated with a user equipment may be determined. Drivers for the determined peripherals may be loaded. The loaded drivers may be associated with a high-level operating system (HLOS) architecture regardless of a type of user equipment on which the HLOS is provided.
US09250919B1	Multiple firmware image support in a single memory device A computing device is configured with a single memory device having multiple firmware images stored therein. At a boot time of the computing device, one of the firmware images is selected for use in booting the computing device. The selection of the firmware image to use for booting the computing device might be based upon the state of a hardware jumper, a board revision identifier, a silicon revision identifier, the results of a checksum operation, the presence or absence of one or more peripheral devices, user-specified settings, and/or one or more other factors. Firmware images might be stored in the single memory device in various combinations that include, but are not limited to, a fast-boot firmware, a full functionality firmware, a recovery firmware, a diagnostic firmware, a motherboard-specific firmware, an operating system-specific firmware, a pre-operating system operating environment firmware, an application-specific firmware, and/or a pre-operating system application firmware.
US09250917B2	Auto-cloudifying applications via runtime modifications An approach is provided in which a distributed runtime environment executes a software application that includes isolated runtime constructs corresponding to an isolated runtime environment. During the execution, the distributed runtime environment identifies isolated runtime constructs included in the software application and selects distributed runtime constructs corresponding to the isolated runtime constructs. In turn, the distributed runtime environment executes the distributed runtime constructs in lieu of executing the isolated runtime constructs.
US09250915B2	Operand fetching control as a function of branch confidence Data operand fetching control includes calculating a summation weight value for each instruction in a pipeline, the summation weight value calculated as a function of branch uncertainty and a pendency in which the instruction resides in the pipeline relative to other instructions in the pipeline. The data operand fetching control also includes mapping the summation weight value of a selected instruction that is attempting to access system memory to a memory access control. Each memory access control specifies a manner of handling data fetching operations. The data operand fetching control further includes performing a memory access operation for the selected instruction based upon the mapping.
US09250913B2	Collision-based alternate hashing Embodiments relate to collision-based alternate hashing. An aspect includes receiving an incoming instruction address. Another aspect includes determining whether an entry for the incoming instruction address exists in a history table based on a hash of the incoming instruction address. Another aspect includes based on determining that the entry for the incoming instruction address exists in the history table, determining whether the incoming instruction address matches an address tag in the determined entry. Another aspect includes based on determining that the incoming instruction address does not match the address tag in the determined entry, determining whether a collision exists for the incoming instruction address. Another aspect includes based on determining that the collision exists for the incoming instruction address, activating alternate hashing for the incoming instruction address using an alternate hash buffer.
US09250912B2	Fast index tree for accelerated branch prediction Embodiments relate to using a fast index tree for accelerated branch prediction. A system includes a branch target buffer, a FIT structure, and a processing circuit configured to perform a method. The method includes determining that searching of the branch target buffer is to be performed under FIT control. A current search address for searching of the branch target buffer is saved. The branch target buffer is searched at the saved current search address for a branch prediction. A FIT next-search address is determined based on reading branch taken and branch not taken paths for a next search level of predicted branches from the FIT structure. The searching of the branch target buffer is re-indexed based on the FIT next-search address. It is determined whether the searching at the saved current search address located the branch prediction.
US09250911B2	Major branch instructions with transactional memory Major branch instructions are provided that enable execution of a computer program to branch from one segment of code to another segment of code. These instructions also create a new stream of processing at the other segment of code enabling execution of the other segment of code to be performed in parallel with the segment of code from which the branch was taken. In one example, the other stream of processing starts a transaction for processing instructions of the other stream of processing.
US09250910B2	Current change mitigation policy for limiting voltage droop in graphics logic Methods and apparatus relating to a current change mitigation policy for limiting voltage droop in graphics logic are described. In an embodiment, logic inserts one or more bubbles in one or more Execution Unit (EU) logic pipelines or one or more sampler logic pipelines of a processor. The bubbles at least temporarily reduce execution of operations in one or more subsystems of the processor based at least partially on a comparison of a first value and one or more clamping threshold values. The first value is determined based at least partially on a summation of products of one or more event counts and dynamic capacitance weights for one or more subsystems of the processor. Other embodiments are also disclosed and claimed.
US09250901B2	Execution context swap between heterogeneous functional hardware units Remapping technologies for execution context swap between heterogeneous functional hardware units are described. A computing system includes multiple registers configured to store remote contexts of functional units. A mapping table maps the remote context to the functional units. An execution unit is configured to execute a remapping tool that intercepts an operation to access a remote context of a first functional unit of the plurality of functional units that is taken offline. The remapping tool determines that the first functional unit is remapped to a second functional unit using the mapping table. The operation is performed to access the remote context that is remapped to the second functional unit. The first functional unit and the second functional unit may be heterogeneous functional units.
US09250896B2	Automated shutdown methodology for a tiered system According to one embodiment, a method includes receiving, at a host, an instruction to execute a command that instructs at least one system at a site and in communication with the host via one or more fiber channels to each execute a script, the script being for automatically shutting down components of the at least one system in an order defined by the script, and issuing the command to the at least one system at the site via the one or more fiber channels.
US09250891B1	Optimized class loading A classloader executing in an execution environment, such as a JAVA virtual machine or a software container, may be configured to generate class usage data describing the historical usage of classes by applications in the execution environment. Based upon the class usage data, one or more classes may be pre-loaded into a cache prior to receiving a request from an application to load the classes. If an application subsequently requests a class, the request may be satisfied using the class stored in the cache rather than by loading the class at the time the request is received. A probabilistic data structure, such as a Bloom filter, might also be utilized to determine whether a classloader can possibly load a requested class. Only if the classloader can possibly load the requested class will a search be made for the requested class in a classpath associated with the classloader.
US09250877B2	Assisting parallelization of a computer program A parallelization assistant tool system to assist in parallelization of a computer program is disclosed. The system directs the execution of instrumented code of the computer program to collect performance statistics information relating to execution of loops within the computer program. The system provides a user interface for presenting to a programmer the performance statistics information collected for a loop within the computer program so that the programmer can prioritize efforts to parallelize the computer program. The system generates inlined source code of a loop by aggressively inlining functions substantially without regard to compilation performance, execution performance, or both. The system analyzes the inlined source code to determine the data-sharing attributes of the variables of the loop. The system may generate compiler directives to specify the data-sharing attributes of the variables.
US09250866B2	Systems and methods for incremental software deployment Methods and systems for facilitating incremental software deployment are disclosed. For example, a method can include receiving a command to deploy a second version of software to a computing system for execution on the computing system. In response to the command, differences between the second version of the software and a first version of the software being executed on the computing system are determined. Code changes to be made to the first version of the software to produce the second version of the software are determined based on the differences. The code changes to be made to the first version of the software are transmitted to the computing system.
US09250851B2	Foldable display and image processing method thereof A foldable display and an image processing method thereof are disclosed. The foldable display comprises a display module, a memory, a sensor module, and a processing unit. The sensor module senses a bending state of the display module. The processing unit generates adjusted images according to an image signal, and stores those adjusted images to a plurality of memory addresses of the memory. The processing unit selects a reading address from those memory addresses according the bending state. The processing unit selects a corresponding adjusted image from the memory according to the reading address and outputs the corresponding adjusted image to the display module.
US09250832B2	Confirmed divert bitmap to synchronize raid firmware operations with fast-path hardware I/O processing A storage controller system is provided for the monitoring of fast path processing of I/Os to a storage device where the storage controller system allows for processing of I/Os to be monitored through the use of counters in a storage controller based upon the type of I/O issued to the storage controller as well as the conditions associated with the I/O, while providing a bitmap and associated divert bits and counters to monitor the processing of the I/Os in the storage controller. Methods for monitoring the processing of I/Os issued to the storage controller are also provided where the processing of the I/Os is based upon the type fast path I/Os issued to the storage controller and the conditions associated with the issued I/Os while providing a bitmap and associated divert bits and counters to monitor the processing of the I/Os in the storage controller, are also disclosed.
US09250826B2	Enhanced performance monitoring method and apparatus A high-performance-computer system includes a statistics accumulation apparatus configured to efficiently accumulate system performance data from a variety of system components, and periodically write such data to processor local memory for efficient subsequent software processing of the thus acquired data, thereby reducing the system hardware and software overhead needed for collection of such data as compared to prior art systems.
US09250818B2	Transferring learning metadata between storage servers having clusters via copy services operations on a shared virtual logical unit that stores the learning metadata A virtual logical unit that stores learning metadata is allocated in a first storage server having a first plurality of clusters, wherein the learning metadata indicates a type of storage device in which selected data of the first plurality of clusters of the first storage server are stored. A copy services command is received to copy the selected data from the first storage server to a second storage server having a second plurality of clusters. The virtual logical unit that stores the learning metadata is copied, from the first storage server to the second storage server, via the copy services command. Selected logical units corresponding to the selected data are copied from the first storage server to the second storage server, and the learning metadata is used to place the selected data in the type of storage device indicated by the learning metadata.
US09250801B2	Unlocking method, portable electronic device and touch-sensitive device An unlocking method for a portable electronic device, and a portable electronic device and a touch-sensitive device employing the unlocking method are provided. The portable electronic device has a touch-sensitive display, and a user interface is displayed on the touch-sensitive display. The unlocking method includes respectively displaying at least one unlocking image on at least one unfixed point of the touch-sensitive display when the user interface is in a user interface locking state and sensing a touch signal of the touch-sensitive display. The unlocking method further includes switching the user interface to a user interface unlocking state when at least one click corresponding to the at least one unfixed point is detected on the touch-sensitive display.
US09250797B2	Touch gesture interface apparatuses, systems, and methods In certain embodiments, an object touch is detected on a touch screen display, a touch gesture interface is displayed on the touch screen display in response to the object touch, a touch gesture is detected on the touch screen display, and an action is performed based on the touch gesture. In certain embodiments, the touch gesture includes a directional touch gesture in a direction away from a position of the object touch on a surface of the touch screen display. In certain embodiments, the touch gesture interface includes a plurality of selectable options, and the action includes one of navigating through the selectable options and selecting one of the selectable options.
US09250793B2	Interface management systems and methods Example systems and methods of managing a user interface are described. In one implementation, a method displays a user interface for an application, the application has a plurality of fields is described. A user selection of a field of the plurality of fields is detected via a touch-sensitive screen. A user input indicating a new position of the selected field is received. The other fields affected by the new position are identified and repositioned based on the new position of the selected field. The plurality of fields has a set of data associated with them. A user activation of a field editing operation is detected. An editing command from the user is received via a touch-sensitive screen. The editing command is implemented with respect to at least one field, and the user interface is updated. The updated user interface is displayed with the set of data.
US09250785B2	Electronic device and method for providing extended user interface An electronic device and a method for providing an extended user interface in an electronic device are provided. The electronic device comprises a user interface and a display configured to display data objects. The device is configured to detect selection of a data object on the display, detect dragging of the selected data object to a border of the display and to detect an effort to drag the object over the border in a given direction outside the display. A predetermined action is performed in the device on the basis of the detected effort and the detected direction.
US09250784B2	Event visualization and control A computer-implemented method for event visualization and control performed by a software component executing on a processor, comprises: receiving as input one or more events currently executing on a computer, the one or more events comprising both applications and processes, and user-initiated background events performed by the applications and processes; displaying a graphical user interface (GUI) showing the one or more events along a percent completion timeline, and dynamically updating the GUI such that each of the one or more events move through the percent completion timeline as the one or more events process; and providing interface controls that enable a user to dynamically perform actions on the one or more events, wherein the actions include start, stop, delete, pause, and reorder.
US09250783B2	Toggle gesture during drag gesture Methods and systems for providing input to a computing device based on a toggle gesture performed during a drag gesture are provided. A drag gesture can be performed on a touch screen to manipulate a user interface object. For example, the drag gesture can move the user interface object or resize the user interface object. Such manipulation commands may have alternate modes or options. For example, a user may want to place a copy of the user interface object rather than simply moving it. Accordingly, a toggle gesture can be performed during the drag gesture to choose an alternate manipulation command. For example, a drag gesture can be performed to move an object, and a toggle gesture can be performed during the drag gesture to copy the object instead of moving it.
US09250767B2	Providing theme variations in a user interface A presentation program provides a graphical user interface that includes a theme gallery and a theme variation gallery. Users can apply a theme to a slide by selecting a theme thumbnail image. Once selected, a corresponding set of theme variations are indicated in the theme variation gallery using theme variation thumbnail images. Users can apply the desired theme variation by selecting the theme variation thumbnail image. Once selected, the theme variation is applied to the slide. A theme variation family identifier is stored in the slide file that allows subsequent identification of the theme, and allows a presentation program to subsequently identify theme variations for display on the theme variation gallery. A file structure is identified that allows backwards compatibility so that a presentation file of a slide with theme variations can be opened by an earlier version of a presentation program that does not implement theme variations.
US09250760B2	Customizing a dashboard responsive to usage activity Embodiments of the present invention disclose a method, computer program product, and system for user interface customization. A computer records activity of a first computer on a user interface. The computer determines one or more repetitive activities of the first computer utilizing the recorded activity of the first computer. The computer determines a customized user interface for the first computer corresponding to the one or more repetitive activities of the first computer. In another embodiment, the computer initiates display of the customized user interface to the first computer. In another embodiment, the recorded activity of the first computer includes navigation through links in the user interface, applying filters to data in the user interface, and accessing data on the user interface.
US09250751B2	Touch sensitive screen One embodiment provides a capacitive sensor for determining the presence of an object, such as a user's finger or a stylus. The sensor includes a substrate on which electrodes are deposited. A resistive drive electrode is arranged on one side of the substrate and a resistive sense electrode is arranged on the other side of the substrate. A shorting connection connects between two locations on one of the electrodes. The electrodes are connected to respective drive and sense channels.
US09250745B2	Determine the characteristics of an input relative to a projected image Embodiments disclosed herein relate to an input relative to an image projected onto a projection surface. In one embodiment, a processor may determine the characteristics of an input relative to an image projected onto a projection surface. The input characteristics may be determined based on information from an optical sensor.
US09250744B2	Edge to edge touch screen A method includes printing a colorant on a film to define an opaque border region and a transparent active display area portion, bonding the film to a waveguide, and assembling a touch screen. The touch screen includes a display assembly for displaying images, an emitter/detector assembly, the waveguide, and the film.
US09250743B2	Sensor device, method of driving sensor element, display device with input function, electronic unit and radiation image pickup device A sensor device includes sensor elements two-dimensionally arranged and a sensor driving section driving the sensor elements. Each of the sensor elements includes a photoelectric conversion element generating electric charge according to an amount of received light, a charge storage section connected to one end of the photoelectric conversion element and storing electric charge generated by the photoelectric conversion element, a readout section reading either a voltage value resulted from the electric charge in the charge storage section or the stored electric charge, to output the read voltage value or the read electric charge and a reset section resetting the electric charge in the charge storage section through supplying a predetermined reset voltage to the charge storage section. The sensor driving section controls the reset section so that the predetermined reset voltage is continuously or intermittently supplied to the charge storage section over a period exceeding one horizontal scan period.
US09250738B2	Method and system for assigning the position of a touchpad device Aspects of the invention are directed to a method and system for assigning the position of a touchpad device. A method for assigning a position of a touchpad according to an embodiment includes: selectively dividing, by a user, a touchpad into a first section and a second section, wherein the first section of the touchpad is distinct from the second section of the touchpad; and setting the first section of the touchpad as an active touchpad area; wherein a contact on the active touchpad area is recognized as a user input, and wherein a contact on the second section of the touchpad is not recognized as a user input.
US09250735B2	Touch sensor integrated display device A touch sensor integrated display device is provided comprising gate lines and data lines formed on a substrate to be intersected with each other, a plurality of pixel electrodes formed at intersections between the gate lines and the data lines, and a common electrode formed to overlap the plurality of pixel electrodes through an insulating film disposed between the common electrode and the plurality of pixel electrodes, wherein the common electrode includes at least two touch electrodes, each of which is connected to at least one of signal lines arranged in one of a first direction and a second direction crossing the first direction.
US09250732B2	Display apparatus and method for controlling the same A display apparatus and a method for controlling the same are provided. The method for controlling a display apparatus includes sensing a first touch input on a display screen; determining a first pattern based on the sensed first touch input; determining a second pattern based on a second touch input if the second touch input is sensed in a predetermined threshold time after the first pattern is determined; performing a zoom in or a zoom out of content that is displayed on the display screen based on the first and second patterns; and displaying the content that is zoomed in or zoomed out according to the performing.
US09250730B2	Target acquisition system for use in touch screen graphical interface The present invention is concerned is a target acquisition system for use in touch screen graphical user interface for selecting a desired target from a plurality of potential selectable targets, comprising means for defining a local region of interest (ROI) of predefined shape and area; means for, on contact of a finger of a user on the touch screen, allowing activation of the ROI; means for ordering the potential selectable targets within the ROI into a one-dimensional (1-D) ordered list; means for mapping movement of the finger on the touch screen; and means for selection of the desired target from the plurality of potential selectable targets. The system is configured to allow operation of the defining in step a), the activation in step b), the ordering in step c), the mapping in step d) and the selection in step e) in a single touch action.
US09250721B2	Wireless stylus device with interchangeable tips and eraser There is provided a method and system for a wireless stylus device with interchangeable tips and an eraser. The method comprises, detecting a tip connected to the stylus device from a plurality of tips, detecting a movement of the stylus device, determine a code representing a feature of an application of an interactive device based on the tip and the movement, and transmitting the code to an interactive device. The wireless stylus device may include an accelerometer, which may detect an inversion of the wireless stylus device and enable an erasing feature in the application. The wireless stylus device may provide the tip and the movement to the interactive device through a speaker using an audio code, including a frequency or series of sounds.
US09250709B2	Secure point of sale terminal A data entry device including a housing formed of at least two portions, data entry circuitry located within the housing, at least one case-open switch assembly operative to sense when the housing is opened and tamper indication circuitry operative to receive an input from the at least one case-open switch assembly and to provide an output indication of possible tampering with the data entry circuitry located within the housing, the at least one case-open switch assembly including an arrangement of electrical contacts including at least first, second and third contacts and a displaceable conductive element, the tamper indication circuitry and the third contact together being operative such that when the third contact is short circuited to at least one of the first contact, the second contact and another contact, an output indication of possible tampering is provided.
US09250702B2	Facilitating search for items in 3D simulations A method for facilitating a search for an object in a three-dimensional simulation can be provided. The method can include receiving from a user at least one search parameter corresponding to an object and executing a search for the object based on the at least one search parameter. The method can further include generating a list of search results, wherein each search result corresponds to an object in the three-dimensional simulation and receiving from the user a selection corresponding to a first object in the list of search results. The method can further include transporting an avatar of the user to a location of the first object and displaying a visual indicator of a position of the first object in the three-dimensional simulation, wherein the visual indicator is distinct from the first object and wherein the visual indicator is not viewed by other users.
US09250694B1	Method and apparatus for fast, efficient, low noise power supply A method and apparatus for fast, efficient, low noise power supply have been disclosed. In one implementation a switching power supply and a linear regulator provide efficiency and rapid response.
US09250690B2	Low-power modes of microcontroller operation with access to configurable input/output connectors A microcontroller includes I/O pins whose respective functions are configurable by an I/O controller in accordance with user-programmable input. The availability of such configurable I/O pins is extended to low-power or power savings modes of operation during which the I/O controller is powered off or deactivated.
US09250686B2	Method and apparatus for monitoring, assessing, and managing power source performance An approach is provided for monitoring, assessing, and managing power source performance. Depletion of a power source of a mobile device caused by executing a plurality of activities is determined. A duration value is determined for executing each of the activities. The duration values are attributed to the depletion. Statistical data corresponding to performance of the power source is generated.
US09250683B2	System, method, and computer program product for allowing a head to enter a reduced power mode A system, method, and computer program product are provided for allowing a head to enter a reduced power mode. A first processor having a first head is provided. Additionally, a second processor having a second head is provided. Furthermore, a link is provided, coupled between the first head of the first processor and the second head of the second processor for communicating first data therebetween. In operation, at least the second head of the second processor is capable of entering a reduced power mode.
US09250682B2	Distributed power management for multi-core processors A system and method for performing distributed power control in a processor comprising an array of cores enables each core to regulate power at least partially independently. Global power management settings are made accessible to all cores and communication between cores propagates power consumption information between nearest neighbors in the array. Each core attempts to best regulate its own power consumption in accordance with global power consumption information and/or specific instructions from a global power manager. In this manner local opportunistic load balancing may be achieved in a scalable manner suitable for a large array of cores.
US09250674B2	Methods and systems for restoring power based on forecasted loads A method for restoring power based on forecasted loads is described. The method includes identifying at least one zone within a power distribution network and predicting an energy demand of the at least one zone. The method also includes identifying at least one alternate source of power for the at least one zone, identifying at least one switch within the power distribution network capable of supplying power from the at least one alternate source to the at least one zone, and generating a restoration plan for restoring power to the at least one zone.
US09250668B2	Decoupled power and performance allocation in a multiprocessing system A maximum and a minimum performance operating limit is set for a plurality of processing units in accordance with a set of one or more rules enforced by the performance supervisor. Each of the plurality of processing units has logic configured to ensure a request for an operational setting complies with the maximum and minimum operating limits. Each of the plurality of processing units is configured to output a request for a limit compliant operational setting to a performance controller. The performance controller is configured to actuate the operational request.
US09250665B2	GPU with dynamic performance adjustment In one embodiment, a system includes a power management controller that controls a duty cycle of a processor to manage power. By frequently powering up and powering down the processor during a period of time, the power consumption of the processor may be controlled while providing the perception that the processor is continuously available. Additionally, in some cases, it may be a better power/performance tradeoff to run the processor at a higher power/performance state if the processor is executing for a significant portion of the execution interval (e.g. the frame time for a GPU). Executing at a higher power/performance state may permit a realization of a greater number of frames per second for a given workload, in an embodiment.
US09250663B2	System and method for dynamically modeling data center partitions A method implemented in a computer infrastructure having computer executable code tangibly embodied on a computer readable medium having programming instructions operable to perform a thermal analysis of a data center and overlay the thermal analysis on a map of the data center to provide an overlaid thermal analysis. Additionally, the programming instructions are operable to receive a user selection of at least one modeled partition location based on the overlaid thermal analysis and dynamically model a modeled partition for each of the at least one modeled partition location in the data center to create a modeled data center region.
US09250662B2	Holding frame and housing assembly for electronic device A holding frame and a housing assembly for an electronic device. The holding frame is used to hold a motherboard and at least one peripheral device. The holding frame includes a main holder, a linkage member, and a rotational holder. The motherboard is mounted onto the main holder via the linkage member. The peripheral device is mounted onto the rotational holder. The rotational holder is pivoted to the main holder to rotate on the main holder. The installation of the motherboard or the peripheral device will not be interfered by the structure of the holding frame. The housing assembly includes a case body and the holding frame. The holding frame is disposed within the case body. The installation of mounting the motherboard and the peripheral device onto the holding frame can be performed outside the case body without being interfered by the case body.
US09250659B2	Door assembly A door assembly for use with a computing device that includes a housing that defines an opening to an interior of the housing. The door assembly also includes a cover positionable over the opening in a secure closed position to help prohibit access to the interior of the housing and away from the opening in an open position to allow access to the interior of the housing. The door assembly also includes a flange assembly connected to the cover and coupled to the housing to translate within a cavity in the housing and create a hinge about which the cover moves from the closed position to the open position. The door assembly further includes an opening mechanism to release the cover from the secure closed position to the open position.
US09250658B2	Electronic apparatus Buffer materials 7 and a lower principal surface 6a of a hard disk case 6, and the buffer materials 7 and a hard disk drive 5, are adhesively fixed to each other by strong pressure-sensitive adhesive forces. Pressure-sensitive adhesive materials 8 are provided between the hard disk drive 5 and an upper principal surface 6b of the hard disk case 6. The pressure-sensitive adhesive force of each pressure-sensitive adhesive material 8 is weak to such a degree that the pressure-sensitive adhesive material 8 becomes detached by a contraction force of each buffer material 7. Thus, when external disturbance is applied to the hard disk drive 5, each pressure-sensitive adhesive material 8 becomes detached during contraction of each buffer material 7. The contraction of each buffer material 7 and the detachment of each pressure-sensitive adhesive material 8 allow improvement of the impact resistance of the hard disk drive 5.
US09250652B2	Electronic device case A handle for an electronic-device case includes a hand strap and a switch. The switch may be integrated into the hand strap such that when the user secures his or her hand to the electronic-device case with the hand strap, the switch is accessible to the secured hand, thereby enabling one-handed operation of the electronic device.
US09250648B2	Memory expansion assembly A memory expansion assembly includes a first plate having first electrical slots and a first electrically connecting portion, a second plate pivotally connected to the first plate and having second electrical slots and a second electrically connecting portion, a first engaging assembly, and a second engaging assembly. The first electrical slots are electrically connected to the first electrically connecting portion. The second electrical slots are electrically connected to the second electrically connecting portion. The second plate is adapted to pivot relative to the first plate to have a folded position when the two are close to each other and an unfolded position when the two are away from each other. The first engaging assembly is disposed on a side of the first plate. The second engaging assembly is disposed on a side of the second plate. The first engaging assembly is removably engaged with the second engaging assembly.
US09250647B2	Display screen apparatus, touch screen assembly, and method for making a display screen apparatus A display screen apparatus having a viewing region and a peripheral region surrounding the viewing region includes: a light transmissive substrate having inner and outer surfaces; and a light cured material layer disposed on the inner surface of the light transmissive substrate and having a peripheral portion corresponding in position to the peripheral region of the display screen apparatus. The peripheral portion is formed with a plurality of pores therein.
US09250635B2	Fan control system and fan control method In a fan control method, consecutive temperature values are acquired at a time interval. Whether a current temperature value is higher than a threshold is determined. A difference between the current temperature value and a previous temperature value is calculated when the current temperature value is higher than the threshold. A fan is speeded up and the time interval is greatly shortened when the temperature difference is higher than a first trigger value. Only the time interval is slightly shorten when the temperature difference falls between the first trigger value and a second trigger value less than the first trigger value. Nothing to do when the temperature difference falls between the second trigger value and a third trigger value less than the third trigger value. The fan is slowed down and the time interval is extended when the temperature difference is lower than the third trigger value.
US09250632B2	Valve positioning system with bleed prevention A valve positioner system with zero bleed at steady state is disclosed. The system has a pilot valve, the operation of which is controlled by an electronic circuit powered from a signaling and power connection of a positioner device. A plurality of pneumatic valves are activated and deactivated by the pilot valve to control a valve actuator. With varying configurations and arrangements of normally open or normally closed pilot valves and pneumatic valves, fail freeze and fail safe operations are contemplated. The activation and deactivation of the pilot valve is controlled by an electronic circuit that monitors a valve position signal.
US09250618B2	PWM based energy management with local distributed transformer constraints The present subject matter relates energy management systems and methodologies wherein control over local appliances is implemented to control stress on a local transformer to which a plurality of user locations may be connected. Some of the user locations are provided with home energy management (HEM) devices that control operation of certain appliance at their location based in part on constraints associated with the local transformer. The HEMs may negotiate among themselves how to meet the constraints of the local transformer and, in certain circumstances, take into consideration estimates of usage at user locations connected to the local transformer but that do not have their own HEM.
US09250607B2	Image forming apparatus and cartridge An image forming apparatus loadable with a cartridge includes a supporting member, carrying the cartridge, movable between an inside position and an outside position. The supporting member is provided with a first regulating portion to limit the cartridge in one of the longitudinal directions and a second regulating portion to limit movement of the cartridge in the other longitudinal directions. In addition, a third regulating portion limits the supporting member in the one longitudinal direction, and a fourth regulating portion limits the supporting member in the other longitudinal direction. The first, second, third and fourth regulating portions are all provided at the one longitudinal end portion side and outside an image forming region.
US09250588B1	Fixing device and image forming apparatus including this A fixing device (15) of the present invention includes a fixing roller (30) having a fixing belt (35) heated by a heat source (32) around an outer circumference of an elastic layer (34) provided around a core metal (33); and a pressuring roller (31) provided so as to pressure-contact with the fixing roller (30) and to form a fixing nip (N) passing a recording medium (P) having a toner image transferred through, wherein, in both end faces (S1) in an axial direction of the elastic layer (34), annular gaps (70) are recessed separate from the core metal (33) and fixing belt (35) along a circumference direction, bottom parts (71) of the annular gaps (70) are configured so as to be positioned inside both end faces (S3) in the axial direction of the pressuring roller (31).
US09250584B1	Fixer that forms a nip with an induction-heated belt and an image forming apparatus having the same A fixer includes a fixing belt configured to move around a center, a heating unit configured to induction-heat the fixing belt, a pressing member that presses an outer surface of the fixing belt, a resilient member disposed opposite to the pressing member across the fixing belt, and a heat generating member that is capable of being induction-heated and disposed along the inner surface of the fixing belt between a first position and a second position that is downstream with respect to the first position in a moving direction of the fixing belt. An upstream end portion of the resilient member in the moving direction is in contact with a third position of the fixing belt, and an angle formed with respect to the center by the second and third positions is equal to or smaller than 60°.
US09250579B2	Separator, fixing device, and image forming apparatus A separator is provided for a fixing device including a rotary fixing member that fixes a toner image on a recording medium and a rotary pressure member pressed against the rotary fixing member to form a fixing nip portion for nipping the recording medium. The separator includes a separation plate and plate-shaped spacers. The separation plate is disposed downstream of the fixing nip portion in a medium feeding direction, with an edge portion of the separation plate facing an outer circumferential surface of the rotary fixing member or the rotary pressure member. The spacers are disposed between portions of the edge portion of the separation plate and the outer circumferential surface of the rotary fixing member or the rotary pressure member to surround the portions of the edge portion in a direction intersecting with an extending direction of the edge portion.
US09250566B2	End seal with insert for chambered doctor blade assembly An end seal for removable attachment to a doctor blade assembly is provided. The end seal comprises a seal body having a bottom wall, opposite first and second sidewalls and a top edge configured to include a radius adapted to seal against a roller surface. At least one abrasion resistant insert is integrally secured within the seal body. The insert includes a bottom wall, opposite first and second sidewalls and a top edge configured to coincide with the body top edge so as to seal against the roller surface. The abrasion resistant insert may further include one or more holes wherein the seal body impregnates the holes. One or both of the opposite first and second insert sidewalls and/or the insert bottom wall may reside within and be encapsulated by the seal body. The abrasion resistant insert may be constructed of polytetrafluoroethylene, a perfluoroalkoxy alkane or fluorinated ethylene propylene.
US09250565B2	Developing device, process cartridge, and image forming apparatus A developing device includes a developer bearing member, a developer regulating member, and a space ensuring member. The space ensuring member includes a maintaining unit configured to maintain the space between the image bearing member and the developer bearing member, a rotation regulating portion configured to prevent the space ensuring member from moving, and a cover portion disposed to be not in contact with a surface of the developer bearing member and configured to cover a part of the developer bearing member. The cover portion is configured to cover at least part of an area in which the developer bearing member faces the image bearing member in a rotational direction of the developer bearing member, the area being on an outer side than an end portion of the developer regulating member in a longitudinal direction of the developer bearing member.
US09250562B2	Image forming apparatus An image forming apparatus causes a BD sensor to generate two BD signals based on laser beams emitted from first and second light-emitting portions and measures the generation timing difference therebetween. When measurement is to be executed, the image forming apparatus executes APC as light power control on the first light-emitting portion that emits a laser beam for causing the BD sensor 210 to generate the first BD signal. On the other hand, the image forming apparatus executes ACC, rather than APC, as light power control on the second light-emitting portion that emits a laser beam for causing the BD sensor to generate the second BD signal that follows the first BD signal.
US09250560B1	LED print bar imaging apparatus and systems useful for electrophotographic printing A print head system useful for xerographic printing includes an LED bar print head; a photoreceptor, the photoreceptor having a conductive surface; a sensor, the sensor being disposed on the LED bar, the LED bar being disposed a conjugate distance from the photoreceptor, wherein the sensor and the photoreceptor are configured to enable a measurement of the conjugate distance.
US09250546B2	Member for electrophotography, process cartridge, and electrophotographic apparatus A member for electrophotography having a multilayer structure or a single-layer structure, including an outermost layer which satisfies the following A, B and C: A: the outermost layer has perfluoropolyether and a binder resin, and in the outermost layer, the ratio of the number of fluorine atoms to the number of carbon atoms is 0.10 or more and 0.40 or less; B: in a 19F-NMR spectrum of the outermost layer, the relaxation time T2 of a peak derived from CF2 moieties of perfluoropolyether is 13 milliseconds or more at 22° C.; and C: the total sum of the contents of CF3 moieties, CF2 moieties, and CF moieties in the binder resin is 5% by mass or less.
US09250544B2	Particle counter and immersion exposure system including the same A particle counter may include a housing having an inlet, an outlet, and a window therebetween. The inlet and the outlet may be configured such that a fluid can be flowed therethrough. A plurality of light sources may be arranged outside the housing to provide lights of different wavelengths into the housing through the window. Sensors may be provided outside the housing to detect fractions of the lights scattered by a bubble and/or a particle in the fluid. A control part may be configured to monitor intensities of the lights detected by the sensors and to analyze a difference in intensity between the scattered lights, thereby distinguishing the particles from the bubbles in the fluid.
US09250540B2	Lithography method with combined optimization of radiated energy and design geometry A lithography method for a pattern to be etched on a support, notably to a method using electron radiation with direct writing on the support. Hitherto, the methods for correcting the proximity effects for dense network geometries (line spacings of 10 to 30 nm) have been reflected in a significant increase in the radiated doses and therefore in the exposure time. According to the invention, the patterns to be etched are modified as a function of the energy latitude of the process, which allows a reduction of the radiated doses.
US09250533B2	Method of fabricating multi-level metallic parts by the liga-UV technique The method of fabricating a multi-level, metallic microstructure includes the steps consisting in structuring a first layer of photosensitive resin so as to obtain a first level of a resin mould, the aperture in the first resin layer revealing a conductive surface of a substrate, structuring a second photosensitive resin layer over the first level of a resin mould so as to obtain a multi-level resin mould, the apertures in the multi-level mould revealing the conductive surface of the substrate, galvanically depositing a metal or alloy in the apertures of the multi-level resin mould and separating a multi-level metallic structure formed by the metal or alloy deposited in the apertures from the substrate and the multi-level resin mould.
US09250530B2	Pattern forming method, resist composition for multiple development used in the pattern forming method, developer for negative development used in the pattern forming method, and rinsing solution for negative development used in the pattern forming method A pattern forming method, including: (A) coating a substrate with a positive resist composition of which solubility in a positive developer increases and solubility in a negative developer decreases upon irradiation with actinic rays or radiation, so as to form a resist film; (B) exposing the resist film; and (D) developing the resist film with a negative developer; a positive resist composition for multiple development used in the method; a developer for use in the method; and a rinsing solution for negative development used in the method.
US09250528B2	Methods and compositions for providing spaced lithography features on a substrate by self-assembly of block copolymers A method is disclosed to form a row of mutually spaced elongate lithography features along an axis on a substrate, for instance for use as contact electrodes for a NAND device. The method involves directing alignment of self-assemblable block copolymer (BCP) composition in a trench in a resist layer on the substrate, having the substrate as base, with an epitaxy feature in the trench to cause the ordered BCP layer to have elongate domains stretching across the trench width, substantially parallel to each other and to the substrate. The ordered BCP layer is then used as a resist to pattern the substrate. A BCP composition adapted to assemble with spaced discontinuous elongate elliptical domains is disclosed. The method may allow for sub-resolution contact arrays to be formed using UV lithography.
US09250522B2	Positive resist composition and patterning process A positive resist composition is provided comprising a polymer comprising recurring units having a carboxyl or phenolic hydroxyl group substituted with an acid labile group and recurring units of 2-pyrone ester, and having a Mw of 1,000-500,000. The resist composition has a satisfactory effect of suppressing acid diffusion and a high resolution, and forms a pattern of good profile and minimal edge roughness after exposure.
US09250512B2	Exposure amount evaluation method and photomask According to the exposure amount evaluation method of the embodiment, a photomask including a long-wavelength light reflective film and a mask pattern is set in an EUV exposure apparatus. The long-wavelength light reflective film reflects long-wavelength light having a wavelength longer than that of EUV light and absorbs the EUV light. The mask pattern is formed by an absorption film which is arranged on the upper side of the long-wavelength light reflective film and absorbs the EUV light and the long-wavelength light. A substrate on which resist is coated are set in the EUV exposure apparatus. Exposure light reflected by the photomask is irradiated to the substrate, and a light amount distribution of the long-wavelength light irradiated to the substrate is measured on the basis of an exposure amount of the exposure light irradiated to the substrate.
US09250505B2	Light source unit including a laser as a light source and a light emitting wheel with a diffusion layer opposite to the laser A projector includes a light source unit, a light guiding device, a display device, a projection side optical system, and a projector control unit. The light source unit includes a light source which emits laser light in the wavelength band of blue, a light emitting wheel disposed on an optical axis of the light source, and a wheel motor for driving to rotate the light emitting wheel. The light emitting wheel is formed of a circular substrate having a diffusion layer on a predetermined surface thereof, the diffusion layer being made up of minute irregularities which are formed directly on a surface of the circular substrate.
US09250502B2	Projector having base and cover member forming cooling duct for cooling light modulators and method for manufacturing projector A projector includes: a spatial light modulator provided for each color light flux and configured to modulate the light flux in accordance with an image signal; a light combining system configured to combine the color light flux outputted from the spatial light modulator; a projection system configured to project the light combined by the light combining system; a fixing member configured to integrally fix the spatial light modulator, the light combining system, and the projection system; a base on which the spatial light modulators and the light combining system fixed to the fixing member are mounted; and a cover member configured to cover the spatial light modulator and the light combining system mounted on the base, wherein the base and the cover member form a cooling duct through which cooling air for sequentially cooling the spatial light modulator for the respective color light flux flows.
US09250499B2	TTL photographic wireless communication system and method with exposure compensation value transfer to a remote lighting device A system and method for synchronizing a remote lighting device to a camera using a hot shoe connection and an external device connected via the hot shoe connector. The external device receives TTL data and a synchronization signal from the camera via the hot shoe connector. The external device wirelessly communicates using a radio frequency transmitter an exposure compensation value from the external device to a remote lighting device. The external device also wirelessly communicates a synchronization signal and a TTL information to the remote lighting device for use in synchronizing the remote lighting device to image acquisition by the camera.
US09250495B2	TFT array substrate, E-paper display panel and method for manufacturing the same A TFT array substrate, an electronic paper display panel and method for manufacturing the same are disclosed. The electronic paper display panel includes: a first transparent substrate, and an array of storage capacitors located on an inner side of the first transparent substrate. Each of the storage capacitors includes a common electrode located on the first transparent substrate, a transparent capacitor medium layer located on the common electrode, and a pixel electrode (44) located on the transparent capacitor medium layer. The display panel also includes an electronic paper film located on the TFT array substrate, a transparent electrode located on the electronic paper film, and a second transparent substrate located on the transparent electrode. A double-sided display may be realized by the electronic paper display panel.
US09250488B2	Display device The flexible printed circuit board includes a base material with a connection terminal and a signal wiring formed thereon, a first cover layer disposed on a first side of the base material, and a second cover layer disposed on a second side different from the first side. The display panel is connected to the connection terminal. The first cover layer is spaced from an end portion of the display panel by a gap of a predetermined size thereby leaving at least one of the connection terminal and the signal wiring exposed. The second cover layer overlaps with the gap in a planar view. A second end portion of the second cover layer is disposed on an opposite side the display panel. A shape of the second end portion is formed to be wavy or concavo-convex including crests and troughs.
US09250484B2	Active device array substrate An active device array substrate includes a substrate, a first pixel electrode, and a first raised pattern. The first pixel electrode is disposed on or above the substrate, and the first pixel electrode includes a first truck electrode, a second truck electrode, and a plurality of first branch electrodes. The first truck electrode and the second truck electrode intersect to form a first node at the intersection of the first truck electrode and the second truck electrode. The first branch electrodes are connected to the first truck electrode and the second truck electrode to form a plurality of first domains, wherein the first branch electrodes are asymmetrical with respect to the second truck electrode. The first raised pattern is disposed at least between the first node and the substrate to form a first raised structure at least at the first node.
US09250472B2	Liquid crystal display device A backlight unit for a liquid crystal display device includes a light source element, a light guide plate for guiding the output light from the light source element, and a frame for housing the light guide plate. The light source element is mounted on a flexible wiring substrate fixed to the liquid crystal display panel at one end thereof, together with an electronic component. The light source element and the electronic component are attached to the frame in such a way that each of the light source element and the electronic component is placed in a housing concave portion formed on the back surface side of the frame, by bending the flexible wiring substrate. A case is fixedly attached to the flexible wiring substrate to cover the electronic component. Then, the case is fixed to the inside of the housing concave portion.
US09250471B2	Liquid crystal display device A liquid crystal display device includes a light source, a light source circuit board on which the light source is mounted, and which electrically controls the light source, a light guide plate optical system including a light guide plate having an incidence plane from which a light emitted from the light source is input, and outputting the light as a planar light, and a frame that holds the light guide plate optical system and the light source circuit board, and has a hole at a position of a light source arrangement plane which faces the incidence plane in which the light source is arranged. The light source circuit board is located at the frame so that the light source is arranged inside the hole from a rear surface side of the light source arrangement plane.
US09250470B2	Illumination system with remote phosphor layer and/or scattering layer The invention relates to an illumination system (10, 12), to a remote phosphor layer (30; 32, 34), to a scattering layer (32), to a luminaire (100), to a display device (300) and to a method of at least partially correcting a light emission characteristic of at least one light source (22) in the illumination system. The illumination system comprises an array of light sources (20) and a remote phosphor layer and/or a scattering layer arranged between the array of light sources and a light output window (40) for emitting the light from the light sources. At least one light source of the array of light sources comprises a light emission characteristic different from the other light sources of the array of light sources. The luminescent material (52, 54) is distributed across the remote phosphor layer and/or the scattering structures (52) and/or scattering material (52) are distributed across the scattering layer for compensating at least partially the difference in light emission characteristic of the at least one light source.The effect of the illumination system according to the invention is that the deviation of the at least one light source can be compensated, and as such, binning of light sources may be omitted.
US09250469B2	Polarizer and liquid-crystal display device A polarizer having at least one optical film and at least one polarizing film, wherein the absolute value of the photo-elastic coefficient C of the optical film is 2×10−12 Pa−1 or more, the optical film has an in-plane direction in which the sound propagation velocity is the maximum, and the angle between the in-plane direction in which the sound propagation velocity through the optical film is the maximum and the direction of the absorption axis of the polarizing film falls within a range of from 0° to less than 45°, is excellent in working aptitude and can prevent optical unevenness of the liquid-crystal display device accompanied by environmental changes.
US09250459B2	Spatial light modulator, and spatial light modulating method A spatial light modulation device includes a liquid crystal layer modulating a phase of incident light according to a level of an applied electric field, a temperature sensor generating a temperature signal corresponding to a temperature of the liquid crystal layer, a plurality of pixel electrodes provided for each of a plurality of pixels and applying a voltage to the liquid crystal layer, and a driving device providing a voltage to the plurality of pixel electrodes. The driving device has a nonvolatile storage element storing in advance a coefficient α included in a function expressing a correlation between a temperature change amount in the liquid crystal layer and a variation in phase modulation amount in the liquid crystal layer, and performs a calculation for correcting a level of voltage by use of a temperature indicated by the temperature signal and the coefficient α.
US09250451B2	Eyewear for reducing symptoms of computer vision syndrome Computer eyewear for reducing the effects of Computer Vision Syndrome (CVS). In one embodiment, the eyewear comprises a frame and two lenses. In some embodiments, the frame and lenses have a wrap-around design to reduce air flow in the vicinity of the eyes. The lenses can have optical power in the range of approximately +0.5 to +2.5 diopters for reducing accommodation demands on a user's eyes when using a computer. The lenses can also include prismatic power for reducing convergence demand on a user's eyes when sitting at a computer. The lenses can also include a partially transmissive mirror coating, tinting, and anti-reflective coatings. In one embodiment, a partially transmissive mirror coating or tinting spectrally filters light to remove spectral peaks in fluorescent or incandescent lighting.
US09250450B2	Article support device for applying to skin An article for temporarily affixing to the skin of a wearer about the wearer's nose to support eyeglasses worn by the wearer includes a flexible body having a back surface and a front surface, with the back surface including an adhesive for temporarily retaining the article on the skin of a wearer. The body includes a pair of edges that define the width of the body with the body being sized to be disposed on a wearer's nose. A protrusion is disposed on the front surface of the body, with the protrusion extending above a plane defined by the front surface. The protrusion is configured for engaging eyeglasses worn by a wearer when the article is affixed to the wearer's nose to thereby inhibit the eyeglasses from slipping down the wearer's nose.
US09250424B2	Zoom lens and image-pickup apparatus A zoom lens includes a lens unit Lv positioned at the most object side of a plurality of lens units having the negative refractive power, a lens unit Lp positioned at the most object side of lens units having a positive refractive power, the lens units being positioned at an image side of the lens unit Lv, and lens units Fp and Fn respectively having a positive and a negative refractive power positioned at an image side of the lens unit Lp, the lens units Fp and Fn being configured to move during focusing. During focusing from infinity to minimum object distance, the lens unit Fp and the lens unit Fn move in the same direction in a wide angle range, and the lens unit Fp moves to an object side and the lens unit Fn moves to an image side in a telephoto range.
US09250418B2	Fabry-perot interferometer with piezoelectric actuator contracting in radial direction on membrane The present invention relates to an actuator for moving a rigid element, e.g. an optical element such as mirror (1), the element being mechanically coupled to a frame (4) with a bendable coupling (2A), wherein actuator elements (3A, 3B) are mounted on said coupling between the frame and element, the coupling and actuator elements being adapted to provide a movement to the element when subject to signal from a signal generator.
US09250404B2	Multi-channel optical module and manufacturing method of the same Provided is a multi-channel optical module and a manufacturing method of the same. The optical module includes a base block having a cavity on one edge of the base block; a substrate arranged on the other side of the base block that faces the cavity; an integrated circuit (IC) chip mounted on the substrate; a platform arranged in the cavity; electrical contacts connected to the IC chip, wherein the electrical contacts are formed on the platform; an optical device array block arranged in the platform, wherein the optical device array block is connected to the electrical contacts; a plurality of optical fiber cores aligned with the optical device array block; and an optical fiber array block fixing the plurality of optical fiber cores, wherein the optical fiber array block is bonded to the platform and to the optical device array block and is fixed in the cavity.
US09250403B2	Hybrid-integrated photonic chip package with an interposer A chip package includes an optical integrated circuit (such as a hybrid integrated circuit) and an integrated circuit that are adjacent to each in the chip package. The integrated circuit includes electrical circuits, such as memory or a processor, and the optical integrated circuit communicates optical signals with very high bandwidth. Moreover, a front surface of the integrated circuit is electrically coupled to a front surface of the optical integrated circuit by a top surface of the interposer, where the top surface faces the front surface of the integrated circuit and the front surface of the optical integrated circuit. Furthermore, the integrated circuit and the optical integrated circuit may be on a same side of the interposer. By integrating the optical integrated circuit and the integrated circuit in close proximity, the chip package may facilitate improved performance compared to chip packages with electrical interconnects.
US09250385B1	Optical transmission medium and optical amplifier An optical transmission medium includes: a plurality of cores; a first cladding that covers each of the plurality of cores; a second cladding that covers a plurality of first claddings; and a reflection layer that covers the second cladding and has reflection characteristics with respect to a wavelength band of multimode light.
US09250381B2	Backlight device and liquid crystal display including the same A backlight device includes: a flat chassis member; a light guide plate stacked on the chassis member; and a light source member attached to the chassis member so as to face a light incident face that is located at a side face of the light guide plate. The light guide plate has, at at least one side face adjacent to the light incident face, a convex part protruding outwardly of the side face, the chassis member has a protruding part to sandwich the convex part, and at least a part of the protruding part is covered with an elastic member that presses the convex part toward the light source member.
US09250379B2	Backlight module A backlight module includes a reflector, a light guide plate and a film. The reflector includes a supporting plate and two extending portions, and the extending portions are located on two opposite sides of the supporting plate, respectively. The film includes a main body and two positioning portions, and the positioning portions are located on two opposite sides of the main body, respectively. The light guide plate is located between the supporting plate and the main body. The main body corresponds to the supporting plate, and the positioning portions correspond to the extending portions. The extending portions are bent toward the main body, and the positioning portions are bent toward the supporting plate. The positioning portions are at least partially overlapped with and are fixed to the extending portions, respectively.
US09250378B2	Lighting device including a light ray guide A lighting and/or signaling device and a light ray guide (N) formed by a guide plate comprising a light entry face, a light exit face and a reflection face having an elliptical profile toward the rear adapted to assure reflection of light rays entering the guide plate through the light entry face toward a focus point (F) located at the level of the light exit face of the guide plate.
US09250376B2	Transparent display device including a light guide plate having light sources at both lateral surfaces and formed with a plurality of concave patterns at the lower surface thereof Disclosed is a transparent display device including a light guide plate formed with a plurality of concave patterns at the lower surface thereof to totally reflect polarized light entered in a lateral direction while transmitting natural light entered from a lower direction therethrough; a light source disposed in a lateral direction of the light guide plate to emit visible light including first and second polarized lights; a first polarizing plate disposed at a lateral portion of the light guide plate to transmit either one of the first and second polarized lights through the light guide plate; a liquid crystal panel for driving liquid crystals to change the phase of the polarized light; and a second polarizing plate for controlling an amount of the polarized light according to the changed phase of the polarized light.
US09250375B2	Light guide bar and light emitting device A light guide bar includes a light guide member and a light scattering member. The light guide member defines a cutout. The light guide member includes a first end surface, a second end surface, and a circumferential surface interconnected between the first end surface and the second end surface. The cutout is defined in the circumferential surface and passes through the first end surface and the second end surface. The light scattering member is received in the cutout and scatters light back to the light guide member. The light scattering member and the light guide member cooperatively form a complete cylinder, and a thickness of the light scattering member is less than a radius of the light guide member.
US09250364B2	Optical imaging lens The present invention provides an optical imaging lens. The optical imaging lens comprises a lens barrel and several lens elements positioned therein. Each lens element has a lens portion and a peripheral portion formed around the lens portion and extending to the rim. The lens portion is formed with an object-side surface facing to the object side and an image-side surface facing to the image side for passing the light. One of the lens elements is an embedded lens element. The radius from the center to the rim of the embedded lens element is smaller than that of another lens element adjacent to the embedded lens element and thus the rim of the embedded lens element is embedded in the peripheral portion of the adjacent lens element.
US09250360B2	Method for producing zirconia colloids The present invention pertains to a method for producing a colloidal suspension of zirconia particles, including successively subjecting a mixture of zirconium oxychloride and an alkali metal halide in an aqueous solvent to hydrothermal treatment at a temperature above 150° C, separating the slurry obtained from the supernatant, and peptizing said slurry by adding a strong acid thereto, and desalting said slurry, for example by ultrafiltration, so as to form a colloidal suspension of zirconia. The present invention also pertains to the transparent colloidal suspension obtainable by this method, and to an optical article, such as an ophthalmic lens, comprising a transparent polymer substrate and at least one coating prepared from a composition comprising said colloidal suspension.
US09250359B2	Hard coat film, polarizing plate, method for producing hard coat film, and method for producing liquid crystal panel The object of the present invention is to prevent or suppress occurrences of uneven saponification and blocking, while improving cutting properties and dimensional stability. Specifically disclosed is a hard coat film (130) which comprises a protective film (114) for protecting a polarizer (112), and a hard coat layer (118) that is formed on the protective film (114). The sum of the thickness of the protective film (114) and the thickness of the hard coat layer (118) is less than 40 μm, and the mixed region of the protective film (114) and the hard coat layer (118) is 1-20% of the thickness of the hard coat layer (118).
US09250356B2	Photochromic polymers A photochromic polymer comprising at least two photochromic moieties linked by a straight or branched chain polymer selected from the group consisting of a homo-polyester, a co-polyester, and a co-polyester-polyether.
US09250353B2	Nuclear radiation cleanup and uranium prospecting Apparatus, systems, and methods for nuclear radiation cleanup and uranium prospecting include the steps of identifying an area; collecting samples; sample preparation; identification, assay, and analysis; and relating the samples to the area.
US09250352B2	Methods for producing a log of material properties A method for making a log of material properties in a plurality of beds from an instrument utilizes steps such as estimating material properties for said plurality of beds and/or estimating positions for a plurality of bed boundaries and/or estimating orientations for said plurality of bed boundaries wherein the bed boundary orientations are individually variable. The estimated positions, orientations, and/or material properties can be utilized to compute the log.
US09250348B2	Transmit signal of a metal detector controlled by feedback loops A metal detector has one or more feedback loops to control its repeating transmit signal cycle so that there is no reactive voltage drop across the transmit coil of the metal detector during at least one receive period of the metal detector.
US09250342B2	Seismic streamer formed of sections comprising a main sheath covered with an external sheath formed using a thermoplastic material loaded with a biocide material Described herein is a seismic streamer formed of sections including a main sheath covered with an external sheath, wherein said external sheath is formed using a thermoplastic material loaded with a biocide material.
US09250341B2	Device and method for extrapolating specular energy of reverse time migration three dimensional angle gathers Computer instructions, computing device and method for processing seismic data under-sampled in an angle domain, the seismic data corresponding to a reverse time migration, three-dimensional, angle domain common image gather (ADCIG). The method includes receiving the seismic data; calculating, based on the seismic data, shot and receiver wave-fields with an RTM wave propagation engine; applying a wave-fields decomposition algorithm to obtain a propagation direction for the shot and receiver wave-fields; forming the ADCIG by applying an image condition to the shot and receiver wave-fields; determining that specular energies of the ADCIG are under-sampled around a reflection angle; during the step of forming the ADCIG, extrapolating the specular energies to a neighborhood of the reflection angle; and generating an image of a subsurface that is being surveyed based on the extrapolated specular energies.
US09250336B2	Simultaneous conventional and phase-encoded seismic acquisition The invention relates to a process for two separate seismic crews to work in proximity to one another that would otherwise require expensive time sharing where one crew is a conventional seismic acquisition system and the other is a phase encoded seismic acquisition system. Typically, each recording system would receive seismic energy from the other that neither data set would be very useful. The invention primarily envisions some collaboration between the crews where each adjusts its sweeps to comprise a different time duration so that the energy the other crew's sources are distinguishable in the data set and easily eliminated therefrom. Distinctions may be further enhanced when the two crews use construct their sweeps so that each crew has a distinctly different start frequency and a distinctly different end frequency.
US09250333B2	Radiographic imaging device, radiographic imaging system, computer readable medium storing program for controlling radiographic imaging device, and method for controlling radiographic imaging device The present invention provides a radiographic imaging device, radiographic imaging system, a program for controlling the radiographic imaging device, and a method for controlling the radiographic imaging device that may accurately detect start of irradiation of radiation even noises are generated by interference or the like. When radiation is irradiated, electric signals outputted from radiation detection pixels in charge accumulation period are detected by signal detection circuit during detection period. Control section determines whether time variation of the electric signals feature pre-specified characteristics of noise. If not, the start of the irradiation of radiation has been properly detected, the charge accumulation period continues, and radiographic image is imaged. However, if the electric signals feature the pre-specified characteristics, it is determined that the start of the irradiation of radiation has been misdetected, the charge accumulation period is stopped, and is switched to radiation detection period.
US09250313B2	Electronically reconfigurable bandwidth and channel number analog-to-digital converter circuit for radar systems An analog-to-digital converter circuit for a radar apparatus, the analog-to-digital converter circuit including analog-to-digital converters that are electronically reconfigurable to operate in a multi-channel mode with a first bandwidth by clocking the ADCs in phase with one another, or a single-channel mode with a second bandwidth higher than the first bandwidth by clocking the ADCs out of phase with one another and optimizing the intermediate frequency for the respective mode.
US09250309B2	Method for the coordinated processing of signals transmitted by beacons A method is provided for demodulating a signal carrying a message transmitted by a terrestrial beacon, executed by a system comprising a constellation of satellites suitable for detecting said signal and for repeating it towards receiving stations on the ground, and an analysis module suitable for receiving signals from said stations. Each receiving station transmits the signals that it receives from the satellite to the analysis module, said module realigning said signals in frequency and/or in time relative to one another, combining the realigned signals to generate a synthetic signal having an enhanced signal-to-noise ratio, and determining the content of said message and/or the modulation parameters of said synthetic signal. The method applies notably to the accurate and reliable location of distress beacons by a satellite system.
US09250305B2	Adaptable sheet of coils An imaging system is presented. The imaging system includes a cradle, and a first sheet of coils disposed inside of the cradle such that a first end of the first sheet of coils protrudes out of the cradle and a second end of the first sheet of coils is coupled to a structure, wherein a requisite expanse of the first sheet of coils is flexibly pulled out from the cradle by pulling the first end.
US09250298B2	Stacked power supply monitor with sense-replica loop An apparatus includes a sense module configured to be coupled to at least one power supply, where the sense module has a first leg. The apparatus also includes a replica module having a second leg, where the first and second legs have a common structure. The apparatus further includes a feedback loop configured to cause an output voltage across terminals of the replica module to at least substantially equal an input voltage across terminals of the sense module based on sense currents in the first and second legs. At least one cascode stage coupled to the sense module can be configured to reduce a voltage at which one or more signals from the sense module are referenced. One or more trim units can be used to reduce a gain error and/or an offset error between the input voltage and the output voltage.
US09250295B2	High-voltage battery charging simulation system and operating method thereof The present invention relates to a high-voltage battery charging simulation system that includes a simulation high-voltage battery pack, a simulation battery management system, a multi-party communication device, and a charging station. The voltage of the simulation high-voltage battery pack can be calculated and updated immediately by the simulation battery management system to simulate the feature of real battery pack, so that it can detect the operation of the multi-party communication device and the charging station.
US09250287B2	On-chip comparison and response collection tools and techniques Disclosed herein are exemplary embodiments of a so-called “X-press” test response compactor. Certain embodiments of the disclosed compactor comprise an overdrive section and scan chain selection logic. Certain embodiments of the disclosed technology offer compaction ratios on the order of 1000×. Exemplary embodiments of the disclosed compactor can maintain about the same coverage and about the same diagnostic resolution as that of conventional scan-based test scenarios. Some embodiments of a scan chain selection scheme can significantly reduce or entirely eliminate unknown states occurring in test responses that enter the compactor. Also disclosed herein are embodiments of on-chip comparator circuits and methods for generating control circuitry for masking selection circuits.
US09250282B2	Fault parameter indicator device and related methods A method of determining a fault parameter of a fault on an AC transmission line 10 of a power distribution system 1 relative to a measurement location 12 of the transmission line 10 comprising: measuring a time-dependent current of the transmission line 10 at the measurement location 12; transmitting a current signal indicative of the measured current to a decision logic section 36, the current signal comprising a plurality of pre-fault current values and a plurality of post-fault current values; determining, by the decision logic section 36, a plurality of phase difference values indicative of respective phase differences between respective pre-fault current values and respective post-fault current values; accumulating the plurality of phase difference values into an accumulated phase difference parameter; obtaining the fault parameter by comparing the accumulated phase difference parameter to a threshold value; and outputting the determined fault parameter.
US09250281B2	Method and system for reducing self-interference in a handheld communication device A method and a system for a handheld communication device is provided. The method includes: a testing a printed circuit board PCB assembly; identifying an emission point in the PCB; allocating a frequency radio (RF) absorber over or close to the emission point where the emission point is a potential source of electromagnetic interference (EMI) other than electronic components mounted on the PCB. The system includes a PCB assembly; and an RF absorber planar plate secured over or close to the emission point, for reducing the EMI from the emission point. A handheld communication device includes an antenna system and the PCB assembly with the RF absorber for isolating the antenna system from self-interference in the device.
US09250270B2	Electricity meter having multiple hall devices Disclosed is a metrology assembly that utilizes a multi-Hall effect device configuration which eliminates the necessity of a magnetic concentrator. In some embodiments, the metrology assembly includes a substrate or support platform configured to support at least two Hall effect devices per phase of an electricity meter. The metrology assembly may further include one or more electrical conductors coupled to the substrate and configured to conduct electric current. The at least two Hall effect devices may be coupled to the substrate at opposing sides of an associated electrical conductor, each Hall effect device being configured to detect a magnetic field created by the electric current of the associated electrical conductor, and to generate an output.
US09250269B2	Apparatus having feedback loops between multiple pairs of instrumentation modules The apparatus includes a frame to accommodate more than two instrumentation modules; a multiplexed bus associated with the frame and including more than two connectors; and a sense instrumentation module and a source instrumentation module mounted in the frame, electrically connected to respective ones of the connectors, and collectively including a communication link, and a circuit path that includes, in series between a sense input and a source output, a sense circuit to generate a sense output signal representing a sensed parameter dependent on a source signal; a feedback controller to generate a control signal in response to the sense output signal; and a source circuit to generate the source signal in response to the control signal. The communication link is in the circuit path, and includes a bus transmitter and a bus receiver each configured to select a channel of the multiplexed bus via which to communicate.
US09250252B2	Intracellular pH sensor using nucleic acid assemblies Disclosed are nucleic acid-based sensors for measuring the pH of a sample, including cells, regions thereof, and whole organisms. The sensor includes an I-switch that is triggered by protons, and which functions as a FRET-based pH sensor inside living cells and organisms. Also disclosed are compositions and methods for measuring the pH of a specific region of a cell, such as vesicles, the nucleus, mitochondrial matrix, or the Golgi lumen.
US09250250B2	Methods for diagnosing and treating an LGI1 related autoimmune disease The invention provides methods of diagnosing or determining a cause of an autoimmune encephalitis or an epilepsy in a subject and of diagnosing a tumor in a subject, comprising the step of testing a biological sample of the subject for an antibody to LGI1. This invention further provides methods of treating an autoimmune encephalitis or an epilepsy, comprising the steps of detecting an antibody to LGI1 and treating a tumor associated with the disease.
US09250243B2	Drug selection for lung cancer therapy using antibody-based arrays The present invention provides compositions and methods for detecting the activation states of components of signal transduction pathways in tumor cells. Information on the activation states of components of signal transduction pathways derived from use of the invention can be used for cancer diagnosis, prognosis, and in the design of cancer treatments.
US09250238B2	Pathogen detection Pathogens are detected through the use of mutation-resistant ligands.
US09250233B2	Methods for detecting antibodies Methods for detection of any antibody utilizing a standardized approach applicable to any antibody which provides highly specific assays specific for individual or multiple antibodies. The methods enable improved pharmacokinetic analysis during development and clinical use of antibody-based therapies as well as determination of diagnostic and/or prognostic factors.
US09250228B2	Method and system for remotely monitoring intoxication A method and system for remotely monitoring intoxication of a user, comprising: prompting the user to provide a breath sample at a time point; at a breath sample acquisition device, generating a breath sample signal upon reception of the breath sample from the user, and broadcasting a unique signature proximal in time to the time point; using a sensor of a mobile computing device, generating an authentication signal derived from detection of the unique signature; at a processing system in communication with the mobile computing device and the sample acquisition device, receiving the breath sample signal and the authentication signal; generating a verification assessment that validates provision of the breath sample by the user; determining a value of an intoxication metric for the user based upon the breath sample signal; and transforming the verification assessment and the value of the intoxication metric into an analysis of intoxication of the user.
US09250218B2	Method and apparatus for inspecting a gas sample An apparatus for detecting a presence of at least one analyte in a gas sample. The apparatus comprises a pump for drawing a gas sample from an ambient air, a passage having first and second ends, a chamber connected to the first end and containing a concentrating element for collecting at least one analyte from the gas sample, a chromatographic separator connected to a second end of the passage, and a gas source for streaming a carrier gas via the chamber to transfer the at least one analyte toward at least one chemical detector, via the chromatographic separator, in a first direction. The pump draws the gas sample via the chamber in a second direction and the first and second directions are substantially opposing to one another.
US09250217B2	Method of measuring the electroosmotic transport coefficient of a proton exchange membrane and device for implementing such a method A method of determining the electroosmotic transport coefficient of a proton exchange membrane, the method including creating a stream of hydrated hydrogen on either side of the membrane which is permanently controlled so that the relative humidity is almost identical on each side of the membrane at any point, thereby making it possible to minimize any back diffusion into the membrane. Furthermore, the method includes estimating the back diffusion flux into the membrane from the rate of return to equilibrium of the relative humidity starting from the moment when the current is cut off.
US09250212B2	Automatic first element selection for phased array weld inspection A method of selecting one element among a plurality of elements of a phased-array ultrasonic weld inspection arrangement during inspection of a weld to obtain optimum weld inspection coverage. The weld connects portions of material having a known thickness. The elements extend along an ultrasonic transmission wedge of the arrangement that supports the extent of the elements at a wedge angle relative to the welded material. The method includes utilizing material thickness, offset distance of an edge of the wedge from a weld centerline and number of elements within calculation that yields the selection.
US09250194B1	Wide field illumination for wafer inspection A system and method for illuminating a surface, comprising: providing a reflective layer around said surface; directing an electromagnetic beam to be incident on said layer; aligning said layer, said beam, and said surface so that said beam undergoes a plurality of reflections on said layer for illuminating a predetermined region of said surface, whereby the size of said region is larger than the size of said beam, and the intensity of illumination on said region is higher than the value obtained by multiplying the intensity of said beam and the ratio of the size of said beam to the size of said region.
US09250185B2	Method and device for superresolution optical measurement using singular optics The invention proposes an optical method of measurement and an optical apparatus for determining the spatial position of at least one luminous nanoemitter of a sample, the method comprising: the projection of a sequence of at least two compact luminous distributions of different topological families onto the sample, the detection of the light reemitted by said at least one luminous nanoemitter of the sample; the generation of at least one optical image for each luminous distribution, on the basis of the light detected; and the algorithmic analysis of the optical images to obtain information regarding the location of said at least one luminous nanoemitter. The invention further relates to an optical method of measurement and an optical apparatus for determining the spatial position of a plurality of point light sources, the method comprising the detection of the light emitted by the plurality of point light sources; and the separation of the light emitted on a plurality of detectors for simultaneous or sequential detections; the proportion of the light emitted by a point light source, channeled to a specific detector, being dependent on the spatial position of said point light source; and the generation of the optical images on the basis of the light detected; and the algorithmic analysis of the optical images to obtain an item of information regarding the location of the plurality of point light sources.
US09250180B2	Raman spectrum measuring method for drug inspection A raman spectrum measuring method for drug inspection is provided, comprising: measuring raman spectrum of a sample to be inspected to acquire an original raman spectrum curve of the sample; determining whether the original raman spectrum curve has a characterizing portion, and if not, measuring a mixture of the sample and an enhancing agent to acquire an enhanced raman spectrum curve of the sample; and if the original raman spectrum curve of the sample to be inspected has a characterizing portion, comparing the original raman spectrum curve of the sample with data in an original raman spectrum database of a drug to determine whether the sample contains the drug, otherwise, comparing the enhanced raman spectrum curve of the sample with data in an enhanced raman spectrum database of the drug to determine whether the sample to be inspected contains the drug.
US09250179B2	Goniophotometric measurement method for the characterization of pigments and fillers The present invention relates to a method for the characterization of pigments and fillers in which the luminance of a pigmented transparent medium is determined against a dark background. This measurement method is particularly suitable for determining the optical properties of cosmetic fillers.
US09250174B2	Particle counting system A particle counting system includes a collector, a liquid input/output operation executing means, and a particle counter. The collector performs a collecting operation to introduce the surrounding air into a container storing a liquid to collect airborne particles in the liquid. The liquid input/output operation executing means executes a series of liquid input/output operations to supply an additional liquid for the collecting operation to the collector and discharge the liquid after the collecting operation from the collector. The particle counter measures the number of particles contained in the liquid discharged from the collector with the series of liquid input/output operations.
US09250169B2	Selective capture and release of analytes The described subject matter includes techniques and components for minimally invasive, selective capture and release of analytes. An aptamer is selected for its binding affinity with a particular analyte(s). The aptamer is functionalized on a solid phase, for example, microbeads, polymer monolith, microfabricated solid phase, etc. The analyte is allowed to bind to the aptamer, for example, in a microchamber. Once the analyte has been bound, a temperature control sets the temperature to an appropriate temperature at which the captured analyte is released.
US09250167B2	Mold and molding apparatus for embedding biological specimen in a block and related methods A mold for producing a biological tissue embedded in a block of an embedding material is provided. The mold comprises a compartment having a compartment floor and a depression extending downwards from the compartment floor. A molding apparatus, comprising a mold and a press for pressing a sample sheet onto the compartment floor of the mold is provided. The press comprises a foot configured to enter at least partially into the compartment and press a sample tissue, at least partially into the depression. A method of embedding a biological tissue in an embedding material using a mold as described herein is provided. A cleaning device configured for removing excess embedding materials from the press of the molding apparatus is provided.
US09250152B2	Method and device for calibrating load sensors A device and a method for calibrating load sensors which are provided at least one load cross-section of an aerofoil or control surface of an aircraft, the load sensors being calibrated on the basis of load coefficients (αi) of the load sensors, which load coefficients a calculation unit calculates by evaluating a linear system of equations formed by means of mechanical loading of the aerofoil or control surface.
US09250150B1	Turbocharger wheel balance-test jig A turbocharger wheel balance-test jig including a base, a clamp mechanism, and an arm. The arm extends along an axis of rotation. The clamp mechanism includes an actuator actuatable between a locked position and an unlocked position, the locked position rigidly holding the arm with respect to the base. The clamp mechanism includes a stop configured to restrict rotation of the arm around the axis of rotation. In a method for acceptance testing an imbalance level of a turbocharger wheel, an imbalance level of the balance-test jig is measured, and subtracted from a plurality of measurements of a combined imbalance level of the turbocharger wheel balance-test jig and the turbocharger wheel. An estimated indicator of turbocharger wheel imbalance is then formed, and the turbocharger wheel is accepted or rejected based upon whether the estimated indicator of the turbocharger wheel imbalance is within an acceptable indicator range.

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