Document	Document Title
US09300165B2	Systems, methods and media for location reporting at a charging area level granularity Systems, methods, and media for location reporting at a charging area level granularity are provided. The method includes detecting at a mobility management entity (MME) a transition of a user equipment (UE) from a first cell to a second cell to obtain at least a cell identifier. The method also includes determining at the MME whether the UE transition constitutes a transition from a first charging area to a second charging area using the cell identifier by comparing the cell identifier to a charging area configuration, wherein the second charging area includes a plurality of cells that are served by at least one eNodeB. The method further includes providing to a policy server a report of the UE transition, if it is determined that the UE transition constitutes a transition from the first charging area to the second charging area.
US09300164B2	Apparatus and method for non-contact recharging and near field communication in a portable electronic device Apparatus and methods in a near field communication capable electronic device are disclosed. An antenna receives a near field signal from a recharging pad or a reader to provide a reception signal. A detector coupled to the antenna receives the reception signal and detects therefrom a voltage, current or power value representing a power level of the near field signal. A switch is coupled to the detector, and switches the reception signal corresponding to the recharging pad or the reader to a recharging transceiver to recharge a battery, or to a near field communication transceiver, respectively, on the basis of the detected voltage. A Hall-effect type magnetic sensor may be used as an alternative to the detector.
US09300160B1	Elimination of power consumption when charger/adaptor is not in use A plug-and-socket arrangement connects an appliance to a mains-powered battery charger/power supply. To avoid unwanted power consumption when the appliance is disconnected from the charger/power supply, the plug-and-socket arrangement disconnects the mains power from the battery charger/power supply when the appliance plug is disconnected from the appliance socket.
US09300159B2	Charging method for a rechargeable battery and charging architecture therewith A charging method for a rechargeable battery and a related charging architecture are provided. The provided charging method includes following steps. A characteristic curve of the rechargeable battery related to charge cycle vs. a residual capacity of a non-constant voltage charging stage under a warranty life limitation is provided. An expected residual capacity corresponding to a condition when a terminal voltage of the rechargeable battery reaches a limited charge voltage is found from the characteristic curve related to the charge cycle vs. the residual capacity of the non-constant voltage charging stage by using a current charge cycle count of the rechargeable battery. A real residual capacity corresponding to a condition when the terminal voltage of the rechargeable battery reaches the limited charge voltage approaches to the expected residual capacity by adjusting a charging current of the rechargeable battery.
US09300156B2	Charge/discharge instructing apparatus and non-transitory computer readable medium In one embodiment, there is provided a charge-discharge instructing apparatus. The apparatus includes: an acquiring module configured to acquire specific information and location information for each of a plurality of battery energy storage systems, wherein the specific information represents an electrical characteristic of a battery of each of the battery energy storage systems, and the location information represents an installation position of each of the battery energy storage systems; a group determining module configured to select some of the battery energy storage systems from among the plurality of battery energy storage systems to make a group composed of the selected battery energy storage systems, based on the specific information and the location information; and a managing module configured to send a charge-discharge control instruction to the battery energy storage systems belonging to the group.
US09300144B2	Integrated drive motor power interface An integrated drive motor (IDM) power distribution architecture utilizes an IDM power interface module (IPIM) to create a control voltage that is distributed to all the IDMs in a network. This power distribution may be accomplished along a hybrid cable, for example, that includes both signal conductors and power conductors. The IPIM is capable of detecting short circuits and/or overload conditions and disabling the power supply to the IDMs. Additionally, a second power supply may be utilized in the IPIM such that when the power supply to the IDMs is deactivated, the IPIM may remain functional, for example, to report one or more fault conditions to the user. Additionally, this reporting of fault status may be accomplished via a user display integrated with or coupled to the IPIM.
US09300143B2	High bandwidth data transport system for use in a smartgrid A method for controlling electricity usage in at least one building through a jack device to a power consuming device includes passing electric power from a powerline and through the jack device to the power consuming device, sensing characteristics of electricity being consumed by the power consuming device using the jack device, sending messages from the jack device about the characteristics of the electricity being consumed, and receiving messages to control the passing of the electric power through the jack device to the power consuming device. The jack device may use a pulse based protocol in sending the messages and receiving the messages through the powerline.
US09300142B2	Method for emulation of synchronous machine The present invention relates to electric energy sources, such as a single wind power turbine or wind power plant, that are interfaced with the utility grid through power electronic converters. In particular, the present invention relates to specific techniques and methodologies for power electronic converters for stabilizing the utility grid during transient conditions and for providing similar stability mechanisms that are inherently present in electric synchronous generators while maintaining the possibility for fast and decoupled following of set points for generated active and/or reactive powers.
US09300139B2	Method and apparatus for integrated electric power generation, storage and supply distributed and networked at the same time An electric power retention distribution cell supplies stored electrical power as the primary electric supply to an end user at predetermined times. The cell has a rechargeable battery assembly, a bi-directional inverter and a switch control, and is connected to an electric utility grid, to one or more end users and to alternate power generation sources, such as wind or solar. The battery assembly is charged from the alternate power generation source and from grid power, and the cell is switched at selected times to provide the primary electric supply from stored electric power in the cell to the end user. A circuit of the battery assembly gives an extended electric power storage time by controlling storage parameters. Networks using the electric cell are also described for a utility hub network formed using two or more cells, and for a regional utility hub network formed using multiple utility hubs.
US09300137B2	Dynamic distributed power grid control system A control system for a distributed power grid includes a simulation module operative to directly interface with operational control of distributed energy resources (DER) to develop and when necessary dynamically modify control inputs of the distributed power grid. By conducting a decentralized and distributed simulation of DER topology (components and their surrounding infrastructure) each distributed control module can simulate control response characteristics of a plurality of DER to determine a control methodology necessary to achieve a desired target. Once developed the same control inputs can be directly applied to physical DER and thereafter monitored to validate performance. Once validated, operational control of the DER is established while ongoing modifications of the control inputs continues in parallel to maintain desired performance.
US09300130B2	Switching module including switching element controlled to be turned off when conduction failure is detected A switching module includes a switching element having a control terminal, electrically connected to a first conduction path including a reference terminal, to be opened and closed by controlling the switching element to be ON and OFF. The switching element is controlled in response to a voltage difference between the reference terminal and the control terminal. Moreover, the switching module includes determining unit that determines whether or not a conduction failure has been occurred between the control terminal and an outside the switching module; and reducing unit that reduces an absolute value of the voltage difference when the determining unit determines that the conduction failure has occurred, so as to forcibly turn OFF the switching element.
US09300123B2	Mechanism for charging an electronic device with a retractable cord reel An mechanism for charging an electronic device with a retractable cord reel. The device maintains a substantially continuous converted power source connection during operation, including operations adjusting the length of the retractable cord.
US09300121B2	Magnetic wall cover system A magnetic wall cover system that includes an inner cover made at least partially of a ferrous material. The inner cover has an outer alignment surface. The magnetic wall cover system also has an outer cover that has an inner alignment surface. The outer cover is adapted to be removably mounted on the inner cover such that the inner alignment surface is in engaging relationship to the outer alignment surface when the outer cover is mounted over the inner cover. The magnetic wall cover system also includes at least one magnet disposed on the outer cover. The magnet is adapted to form a magnetic attraction between the magnet and the ferrous material of the inner cover.
US09300119B2	Universal mounting bracket for electrical boxes in concrete block walls An electrical box support bracket is provided for coupling to the side wall of an electrical box to support the electrical box in an opening formed in a hollow core building block. The support bracket has a flange at the front edge and coupling tab at a front edge that clips onto the side wall of the electrical box. The coupling tab at the front edge of the support bracket has a hook for engaging an inner edge of the electrical box to couple the support bracket to the electrical box and to prevent sliding of the support bracket on the electrical box. A leg extends substantially perpendicular from one end of the body of the bracket to contact the top or bottom surface of the building block during construction of a wall. The flange forms a positioning tab that contacts the front face of the building block to prevent the electrical box from being pushed into the hollow core of the building block until the wall is completed.
US09300109B2	Serial servo system and method for controlling an optical path length and a repetition frequency of a mode-locked laser A servo system includes multiple servo channels being driven by a common error signal. Each channel has a controller that receives an error signal and provides a drive signal to a driver. The servo channels are arranged serially, with a drive signal from one controller forming the error signal for a downstream controller. As a result, the downstream controller does not attempt to correct for phase error directly, but instead attempts to keep the upstream driver at or near its operational midpoint. The servo channels can be arranged in order of decreasing controller bandwidth, from fastest to slowest. In contrast with a parallel configuration, in which servo channels all simultaneously receive a common error signal, the serial configuration can allow each controller to use its full bandwidth, can eliminate crosstalk between servo channels, and can prevent saturation of upstream drive signals.
US09300108B2	High power fiber pump source with high brightness, low-noise output in about 974-1030 nm wavelength A high power pump ultra bright low-noise source is configured with a multimode (“MM”) seed source outputting a MM smooth, low-noise signal light at a desired wavelength in a wavelength range between about 974 and 1030 nm, a MM Yb fiber wavelength converter operative to convert emission of a plurality of high power (“HP”) semiconductor laser diodes at a sub-pump wavelength λsp to a pump output at the desired wavelength λρ, wherein Δλ=λρ−λsp<0/1λsp. The Yb-doped MM wavelength converter is configured with noise levels substantially identical to those of the low-noise signal light, brightness (“B”) substantially equal to Π×B, wherein n is a number HP semiconductor laser diodes, and B is brightness of each HP laser diode, and output power (“Po”) substantially equal to nPd, wherein Pd is a power of each HP laser diode, and n is the number thereof.
US09300091B2	Connector with interposed ground plate A connector is mateable with a mating connector along a mating direction. The connector comprises a housing, a plurality of first contacts, a plurality of second contacts and a ground plate. The housing has a plate-like portion extending in a predetermined plane which is defined by the mating direction and a pitch direction perpendicular to the mating direction. The plate-like portion has a first principal surface and a second principal surface which is opposite to the first principal surface in a predetermined direction perpendicular to both the mating direction and the pitch direction. The first contacts are held by the housing. The first contacts have first contact portions, respectively. The second contacts are held by the housing. The second contacts have second contact portions, respectively. The ground plate includes a main portion. The main portion is formed with a plurality of openings. Each of the openings pierces the main portion in the predetermined direction and has a closed periphery in the predetermined plane. The main portion is embedded in the plate-like portion by insert molding. The main portion is positioned between the first contact portions and the second contact portions in the predetermine direction.
US09300090B2	Receptacle connector A receptacle connector, for being inserted by a plug connector and contacted with a casing of the plug connector, includes a housing, a plurality of elastic pieces and a plurality of auxiliary fastening members. The housing includes a plurality of first surfaces and a plurality of second surfaces. The second surfaces are connected to two ends of the first surfaces so as to form an inserting window. The elastic pieces are disposed on the first surfaces. The auxiliary fastening members are disposed on the first surfaces. Each auxiliary fastening member includes a contacting portion formed extendedly at an inner side of the inserting window. When the contacting portions connected with the casing, the contact area between the casing and the auxiliary fastening members can be increased by the contacting portions so as to reduce the contact impedance or resistance between the plug connector and the receptacle connector.
US09300085B2	Electrical wiring assembly and vibration resistant electrical connector for same An electrical connector including a connector body that defines a terminal cavity within the connector body and an electrical terminal at least partially disposed within the terminal cavity. A first cavity wall within the terminal cavity defines a longitudinally oriented wedge feature. A biasing feature within the terminal cavity is configured to urge the wedge feature into intimate contact with surfaces of the terminal, such as those defined by a longitudinally oriented slot, thereby limiting a freedom of motion of the terminal within the terminal cavity. The wedge feature may be defined by the biasing feature or it may be defined by another cavity wall opposite the biasing feature within the terminal cavity.
US09300074B2	High speed, high density electrical connector An electrical connector with electrically lossy materials bridging ground members. The lossy conductive members may be formed by filling a settable binder with conductive particles, allowing the partially conductive members to be formed through an insert molding process. Connectors assembled from wafers that contain signal conductors held within an insulative housing may incorporate lossy conductive members by having filled thermal plastic molded onto the insulative housing. The lossy conductive members may be used in conjunction with magnetically lossy materials. The lossy conductive members reduce ground system do resonance within the connector, thereby increasing the high frequency performance of the connector.
US09300060B2	Terminal A terminal strip comprising an insulating housing and three busbar sections and comprising a disconnecting blade opening and a plug-type receptacle for a component plug connector is described.The insulating housing has a channel, which leads from the first busbar section to the second busbar section, for receiving an electrically conductive bridging element. The bridging element is electrically conductively connectable or connected to the first and second busbar sections.
US09300059B2	Press-fit type connector terminal and method of fabricating the same A press-fit type connector terminal includes a contact section inserted into a through-hole of a printed circuit board, the press-fit connector terminal being formed of a single elastic metal sheet, the contact section including a plurality of contact pieces surrounding a longitudinal center line of the press-fit type connector terminal, and a pair of binders binding the plurality of contact pieces at opposite ends thereof, the pair of binders having a thickness that is smaller than a maximum thickness of the plurality of contact pieces.
US09300047B2	Antenna for reception of circularly polarized satellite radio signals An antenna for receiving circularly polarized satellite radio signals has a conductive base surface and at least one a conductor loop oriented horizontally above the base surface by a height h. The conductor loop is configured as a polygonal or circular closed ring line radiator. The ring line radiator forms a resonant structure that is electrically excited so that the current distribution of a running line wave in a single rotation direction occurs on the ring line, wherein the phase difference of which, over one revolution, amounts to essentially 2π. A vertical radiator extends between the conductive base surface and the circumference of the ring line radiator. The height h is smaller than ⅕ of the free-space wavelength λ.
US09300043B2	Multiple frequency range antenna A multiple frequency range antenna may include a plurality of printed conductive arrays and a plurality of printed layers alternately placed together in a printed circuit board sandwich. A connection component may be attached to the printed an exposed section of the printed circuit board sandwich. A first end of an electrical cable may be attached to the connection component. The electrical cable may attach to the printed circuit board sandwich. In certain embodiments, an electrical connector component may be attached to a second end of the electrical cable. The multiple frequency range antenna may be used with an RF device.
US09300042B2	Matching and pattern control for dual band concentric antenna feed A dual band concentric antenna feed is provided. The dual band concentric antenna feed includes an outer conductive tube and an inner conductive tube. The inner conductive tube is positioned inside the outer conductive tube and is coaxially aligned to a shared axis. A coaxial waveguide formed between the inner surface of the outer conductive tube and the outer surface of the inner conductive tube supports a first frequency band. A circular waveguide formed within of the inner conductive tube supports a second frequency band. The dual band concentric antenna feed also includes at least one transformer, a filter, and a plug in the coaxial waveguide. An impedance locus associated with the filter is high-frequency capacitive within the first frequency band and low-frequency inductive within the first frequency band. The plug is positioned near an aperture end of the concentric antenna feed.
US09300040B2	Phased array antenna and a method of operating a phased array antenna An element of a phased array antenna is provided. The element comprises a phase tracking circuit configured to multiply the in-phase component (In) of a local output signal by the quadrature phase component (Qout) of an external output signal to generate a phase control signal (535) and/or to multiply the quadrature component (Qn) of a local output signal by the in-phase component (lout) of an external output signal to generate a phase control signal (535).
US09300039B2	Triaxial positioner for an antenna A positioner for an antenna intended to be placed in a given or restricted volume comprises: a first axis Aα ensuring the movement of the antenna in azimuth, a third axis Aγ ensuring the movement of the antenna in elevation, said third axis Aγ being orthogonal and coplanar to the first axis Aα, and a second axis of rotation Aβ or cross-elevation axis positioned so as to intersect said first axis Aα and said third axis Aγ at one and the same virtual point O, said virtual point O of intersection of the three axes Aα, Aβ, Aγ constituting the pivot point of the movements of said antenna mounted on the positioner.
US09300038B2	Method, system, and apparatus for resonator circuits and modulating resonators Embodiments of resonator circuits and modulating resonators and are described generally herein. One or more acoustic wave resonators may be coupled in series or parallel to generate tunable filters. One or more acoustic wave resonances may be modulated by one or more capacitors or tunable capacitors. One or more acoustic wave modules may also be switchable in a filter. Other embodiments may be described and claimed.
US09300037B2	Antenna device and antenna mounting method An antenna device (10) includes: an antenna (100) including a radiating element (101) and an internal ground (103); a coaxial cable (200) whose internal conductor (204) is connected with the radiating element (101) and whose external conductor (203) is connected with the internal ground (103); and an external ground (500) capacitive-coupled with the external conductor (203) of the coaxial cable (200).
US09300036B2	Radio-frequency transparent window A patch for a device in an electronic housing including an aluminum layer having a threshold thickness, a non-conductive layer on a first side of the aluminum layer, and a radio-frequency (RF) transparent layer on a second side of the aluminum layer is provided. A method for manufacturing an antenna window including a patch as above is also provided, the method including determining a thickness of the aluminum layer adjacent to an anodized aluminum layer. A method for manufacturing an antenna window including coating an aluminum layer having a threshold thickness on a radio-frequency (RF) transparent layer to form an RF transparent laminate is also provided. A method for manufacturing an antenna window including removing a thickness of aluminum is also provided. A method for manufacturing an antenna window including disposing a mask on an aluminum substrate and anodizing the aluminum substrate to a selected thickness is also provided.
US09300028B2	Frequency selective limiter A selective frequency limiter having a magnetic material and a slow wave structure disposed to magnetically couple a magnetic field, produced by electromagnetic energy propagating through the slow wave structure, into the magnetic material.
US09300026B2	Nondirectional RF power divider An improved nondirectional radiofrequency power divider is characterized by the following features: —having an outer conductor (1) and/or outer conductor housing (1′), with a first inner conductor (11), wherein the first inner conductor (11) runs in the outer conductor (1) or in the outer conductor housing (1′), —with a second inner conductor (13), wherein the second inner conductor (13) runs in the space (15) which is formed between the first inner conductor (11) and the outer conductor (1) or the outer conductor housing (1′), —the second inner conductor (13) is electrically connected to a branch line running away therefrom or is provided therewith, the second inner conductor (13) is relatively adjustable and/or positionable in terms of the distance of said second inner conductor from the first inner conductor (11) and/or in terms of the distance of said inner conductor from the outer conductor (1) or from the outer conductor housing (1′) so as to effect a variable power distribution.
US09300017B2	Detecting blockage of air flow through vehicle traction battery Air is supplied from a passenger cabin of a vehicle to an intake passage between the passenger cabin and a battery of the vehicle. The vehicle may be an electric vehicle such as a hybrid electric vehicle (HEV) or a battery-only electric vehicle (BEV). A signal indicating a blockage of air flow through the battery is generated in response to a difference in temperature exceeding a predetermined magnitude. The difference in temperature is between (i) the intake passage and (ii) the passenger cabin.
US09300016B2	Battery system and energy storage system A battery system includes a master rack that has a first battery pack and a master battery management system, which master battery management system controls the first battery pack, and includes a slave rack that has a second battery pack and a slave battery management system, which the slave battery management system controls the second battery pack in response to a command from the master battery management system. The slave battery management system reports information as to a state of the second battery pack, and the master battery management system controls the first battery pack after the master battery management system receives the information from the slave battery management system.
US09300014B2	Rechargeable battery pack A rechargeable battery pack may be used with a protection circuit module in common for serial or parallel connection of unit cells. The rechargeable battery pack may include a plurality of unit cells for forming a rechargeable battery by providing an electrode assembly to a pouch, a protection circuit module electrically connected to the unit cells, and a connector connected to the protection circuit module. The protection circuit module may include a serial protection circuit for electrically connecting the unit cells in series and a parallel protection circuit for electrically connecting the unit cells in parallel.
US09300007B1	Ultrasonic welding of lithium onto a current collector An ultrasonic welding process for joining a current collector to an anode or cathode material of electrochemical cells is described. The ultrasonic welding process utilizes an ultrasonic welding frequency which may be combined with an applied force to bond dissimilar metals comprising the electrode material and the current collector. Preferably, the method is used to bond the anode material to the anode current collector. This method of attachment is suitable for either primary or secondary cells, particularly those powering implantable biomedical devices.
US09300000B2	Organic non-aqueous cation-based redox flow batteries The present invention provides a non-aqueous redox flow battery comprising a negative electrode immersed in a non-aqueous liquid negative electrolyte, a positive electrode immersed in a non-aqueous liquid positive electrolyte, and a cation-permeable separator (e.g., a porous membrane, film, sheet, or panel) between the negative electrolyte from the positive electrolyte. During charging and discharging, the electrolytes are circulated over their respective electrodes. The electrolytes each comprise an electrolyte salt (e.g., a lithium or sodium salt), a transition-metal free redox reactant, and optionally an electrochemically stable organic solvent. Each redox reactant is selected from an organic compound comprising a conjugated unsaturated moiety, a boron cluster compound, and a combination thereof. The organic redox reactant of the positive electrolyte is selected to have a higher redox potential than the redox reactant of the negative electrolyte.
US09299997B2	Fuel cell system and method for controlling fuel cell system To improve an output of a fuel cell and power generation efficiency by enhancing drainage of the fuel cell upon actuation below freezing temperature. In a fuel cell system that generates power by supplying fuel gas and oxidant gas, the output of the fuel cell is measured when a temperature of the fuel cell after the actuation below freezing temperature exceeds 0 degree, and if a value of the output is equal to or less than a reference output value, pressure pulsation is applied to a cathode electrode to drain water built up in the fuel cell.
US09299990B2	Fuel cell Through enhancement of productivity in a gas flow-path formation member, rising of production cost and deterioration of productivity of a cell that contains the gas flow-path formation member in cell components of the cell are prevented.A porous board 32 as a gas flow-path formation member that is individually formed from a separator is a molded piece containing carbon powder as raw materials, whereby possibilities of corrosion in an inner cell environment are naturally lower than the metallic-made. Further, since necessary conductivities are securable by carbon itself, additional treatments such as gilding for improvement of conductivity are not required. Moreover, because a plurality of openings of the porous board 32 are regularly arranged, forming either a tortoise-shell formed mesh 22 or lozenge-formed mesh 26, the porous board 32 can be easily molded with a mold 30 and can be accurately formed with high precision even in mass production. Still further, removal of burrs 34 and expansion of surface roughness are performable to the porous board 32 through an identical process following molding.
US09299989B2	Cable-type secondary battery The present disclosure provides a cable-type secondary battery, comprising: an inner electrode; a separation layer surrounding the outer surface of the inner electrode to prevent a short circuit between electrodes; and a sheet-form outer electrode spirally wound to surround the separation layer or the inner electrode.
US09299984B2	Lithium secondary battery having positive electrode active material including lithium transition metal composite oxide with particles of rare earth compound adhered thereto A lithium secondary battery has a positive electrode (1) containing a positive electrode active material having particles of lithium cobalt oxide, a negative electrode (2) containing a negative electrode active material having silicon particles, a separator interposed between the positive electrode (1) and the negative electrode (2), and a non-aqueous electrolyte. Particles of erbium hydroxide or erbium oxyhydroxide are adhered to a surface of the lithium cobalt oxide particles in a dispersed form.
US09299974B2	Rechargeable battery A rechargeable battery including: an electrode assembly; a case accommodating the electrode assembly; a cap plate covering an opening of the case; an electrode terminal on the cap plate; and a lead tab connecting the electrode assembly to the electrode terminal, and including a fuse, the fuse including a plurality of sub-fuses defined along a width of the lead tab by a plurality of through holes formed in the lead tab.
US09299968B2	Wire arranging device A wire arranging device includes bus bars each interconnecting a plus and a minus terminal, in a first and a second terminal row, a first and a second row of bus bar containing rooms in which the bus bars are individually contained, a first and a second tray part respectively connected to the first and the second row of the bus bar containing rooms stacked on each other, first wires of which one ends are connected to the bus bars of the first row and placed on the first tray part, while the other ends are connected to a first connector at a second terminal row side, and second wires of which one ends are connected to the bus bars of the second row and placed on the second tray part, while the other ends are connected to a second connector at a first terminal row side.
US09299967B2	Secondary battery comprising insulator Disclosed is a secondary battery having a structure in which a jelly-roll having a cathode/separator/anode structure is mounted in a cylindrical battery case, wherein a plate-shaped insulator mounted on top of the jelly-roll includes a perforated inlet enabling gas discharge and penetration of electrode terminals, a plurality of fine pores having a size that allows permeation of an electrolyte solution, but does not allow permeation of foreign materials, and a plurality of strip or bead shaped protrusions disposed in transverse and/or longitudinal directions on one or both surfaces of the insulator.
US09299965B2	Production device for packaged electrode and manufacturing method of packaged electrode A production device 100 for a packaged electrode 20 includes a conveyance unit 200 superimposing an electrode 40 and a pair of separators 30 from a front end 51 side of a conveying direction while conveying them, first joining units 300 joining lateral edges 31 of the separators to each other, and second joining units 400 joining at least either front edges 32 or rear edges 33 of the separators to each other. The lateral edges of the separators, superimposed while being conveyed by the conveyance unit, are joined to each other by the first joining units from the front end side of a conveying direction. At least either the front edges or the rear edges of the separators are joined to each other by the second joining units in a state where conveyance is stopped.
US09299963B2	Case for valve-regulated lead-acid batteries A case for valve-regulated lead-acid battery comprising an olefin polymer composition comprising: A) From 60 wt % to 95 wt %, of a propylene homopolymer, or a copolymer of propylene containing 3% or less of ethylene, said homopolymer or copolymer having a Polydispersity Index (P.I.) value of from 4.6 to 10 and a fraction insoluble in xylene at 25° C., higher than 98 molar %; and B) from 5 wt % to 40 wt %, of a copolymer of propylene and ethylene containing from 30 wt % to 65 wt % of ethylene derived units; the sum A)+B) being 100.
US09299962B2	Battery encasement An encasement for an electrochemical cell and method of making such encasement is discloses. The design of the encasement results in an encasement having an area of high stress located away from the weld zone area of the encasement, where the cover and the case are welded together.
US09299958B2	Device for detecting evaporation source and method for applying the same The present disclosure relates to a process for manufacturing Organic Light-Emitting Diode (OLED) display panel, and in particular to a device and a method for detecting evaporation source. Through installing a mobile detector above a linear evaporation source, the vapor-deposition rate of the whole linear can be timely and effectively detected. The feedback of uniformity of vapor-deposition can be effectively given, and at the same time the abnormity of the vapor-deposition can be found. Meanwhile, in order to increase the yield and quality of product as well as prevent the evaporation source pollution caused by the dropping of some defects such as organic material or dust, the mobile detector is locked in one side of the evaporation source when it does not work.
US09299953B2	Flat panel display device having a sealing structure and manufacturing method thereof A flat panel display device and a manufacturing method thereof are provided. The flat panel display device includes: a display unit on a substrate; and a sealing structure on the substrate covering the display unit to seal the display unit, the sealing structure including at least one first layer including an inorganic material and at least one second layer including an organic material. The sealing structure includes at least one micro gap, and the micro gap includes an identification material including a fluorescent substance or a dye.
US09299952B2	Organic light emitting diode device fabrication method and organic light emitting diode device fabricated thereby Disclosed is an organic light emitting diode device fabrication method that includes: preparing a substrate which is defined into a display area and a non-display area; forming a light emission portion, which includes a thin film transistor and an organic light emission layer in the display area, and a pad portion in a part of the non-display area; sequentially forming a sacrificial layer and an encapsulation passivation film throughout the display and non-display areas; and separating the sacrificial layer and the encapsulation passivation film from the pad portion through an irradiation of laser light.
US09299944B2	Light-emitting element, light-emitting device, electronic device, and lighting device A light-emitting layer, which is a stack of a first light-emitting layer and a second light-emitting layer, is provided between an anode and a cathode. The first light-emitting layer is formed on the anode side and contains a first light-emitting substance converting triplet excitation energy into light emission, a first organic compound having an electron-transport property, and a second organic compound having a hole-transport property. The second light-emitting layer contains a second light-emitting substance converting triplet excitation energy into light emission, the second organic compound, and a third organic compound having an electron-transport property. The first organic compound has a higher LUMO level than the third organic compound. The first light-emitting substance emits light with a wavelength shorter than that of light emitted from the second light-emitting substance. The first and the second organic compounds form an exciplex. The second and the third organic compounds form an exciplex.
US09299943B2	Glass pattern and method for forming the same, sealed body and method for manufacturing the same, and light-emitting device A glass pattern that can be used for a substrate provided with a material having low heat resistance and has increased productivity is provided. Further, a sealed body having high hermeticity and increased productivity is provided. Furthermore, a light-emitting device with high reliability including such a sealed body is provided. A glass sheet is used for a main portion of a glass pattern such as a straight line portion and a curved portion. In a joint portion of two glass sheets arranged in the corner portion, the straight line portion, or the like of the glass pattern, a frit paste is provided in contact with the glass sheets and is locally heated to remove the binder from the frit paste and to form a glass layer; thus, the glass sheets are fused to each other without any space provided therebetween.
US09299940B2	Carbon nanotube network thin-film transistors on flexible/stretchable substrates This disclosure provides systems, methods, and apparatus for flexible thin-film transistors. In one aspect, a device includes a polymer substrate, a gate electrode disposed on the polymer substrate, a dielectric layer disposed on the gate electrode and on exposed portions of the polymer substrate, a carbon nanotube network disposed on the dielectric layer, and a source electrode and a drain electrode disposed on the carbon nanotube network.
US09299936B2	Organic light-emitting diode including multi-layered hole transporting layer, and flat display device including the organic light-emitting diode An organic light-emitting diode including: a first mixed layer between an emission layer and a first electrode and including first and second compounds; a second mixed layer between the emission layer and the first mixed layer and including third and fourth compounds; a first charge generation layer between the first mixed layer and the first electrode and including the first and second compounds and a first charge generation material; a second charge generation layer between the first mixed layer and the second mixed layer and including the third and fourth compounds and a second charge generation material; and a buffer layer between the emission layer and the second mixed layer, the first and the third compounds are each independently a compound represented by Formula 1 below, and the second compound and fourth compounds are each independently a compound represented by Formula 2 below:
US09299931B2	Organic light emitting diode array The disclosure relates to an organic light emitting diode array. The organic light emitting diode array includes a base defining a number of convexities spaced from each other, a number of first electrodes located on the convexities, a number of electroluminescent layers located on the first electrodes, a patterned second insulative layer located among the convexities to cover part of the base and expose the electroluminescent layers, and a number of second electrodes electrically connected to the electroluminescent layers. The first electrodes are parallel with each other and extend along a first direction. The second electrodes are parallel with each other and extend along a second direction different from the first direction.
US09299926B2	Nonvolatile memory device using a tunnel oxide layer and oxygen blocking layer as a current limiter element Embodiments of the invention include a method of forming a nonvolatile memory device that contains a resistive switching memory element with improved device switching performance and lifetime, due to the addition of a current limiting component. In one embodiment, the current limiting component comprises a resistive material configured to improve the switching performance and lifetime of the resistive switching memory element. The electrical properties of the current limiting layer are configured to lower the current flow through the variable resistance layer during the logic state programming steps by adding a fixed series resistance in the resistive switching memory element found in the nonvolatile memory device. In one embodiment, the current limiting component comprises a tunnel oxide layer that is a current limiting material and an oxygen barrier layer that is an oxygen deficient material disposed within a resistive switching memory element in a nonvolatile resistive switching memory device.
US09299924B1	Injection pillar definition for line MRAM by a self-aligned sidewall transfer A technique relates to an MRAM system. A conformal film covers trenches formed in an upper material. The upper material covers conductive islands in a substrate. The conformal film is selectively etched to leave sidewalls on the trenches. The sidewalls are etched into vertical columns self-aligned to and directly on top of the conductive islands below. A filling material is deposited and planarized to leave exposed tops of the vertical columns. An MTJ element is formed on top of the filling material and exposed tops of the vertical columns. The MTJ element is patterned into lines corresponding to the vertical columns, and each of the lines has a line MTJ element self-aligned to one of the vertical columns. Line MRAM devices are formed by patterning the MTJ element into the lines. Each of line MRAM devices respectively include the line MTJ element self-aligned to the one of the vertical columns.
US09299909B2	Piezoelectric multilayer component and method for producing the same The piezoelectric multilayer component includes a piezo stack having an alternating sequence of piezoelectric ceramic layers and inner electrodes, and a passivation on an outer side. The passivation is produced from a piezoelectric ceramic material which is different from the material of the ceramic layers. In the production method, the passivation is polarized together with the ceramic layers.
US09299908B2	Piezoelectric actuator and drive device A piezoelectric actuator that includes a piezoelectric substrate, first and second electrodes, and a conductive layer. The first and second electrodes are configured to apply a voltage to the piezoelectric substrate. The conductive layer is formed on the first electrode. The conductive layer is made of a metal or an alloy different in color from the second electrode.
US09299907B2	Thin-film thermo-electric generator and fabrication method thereof For the thin-film thermo-electric generator and fabrication method of this invention, a P-type thermo-electric thin-film layer, an insulating thin-film layer and a N-type thermo-electric thin-film layer is deposited on a substrate to form a three-layer PN junction, multiple three-layer PN junctions in series are available, an insulating thin-film layer is provided between every to serial three-layer PN junctions, and electrodes are extracted from the substrate and the outermost thin-film layer of the last three-layer thin-film PN junctions. The present invention applies the deposition of P-type thermo-electric thin-film layer, an insulating thin-film layer and a N-type thereto-electric thin-film layer to form a three-layer PN junction, thus a thermo-electric generator is formed, during the deposition of the insulating thin-film layer, intentionally sheltering the substrate and one end of the deposited thin-film layer and depositing the P-type or N-type materials on the substrate and one end of the deposited thin-film layer directly, to form a connection of PN junction or a serial connection between two PN junction, the separate connection of the P-type or N-type materials is not required, simplifying the fabrication processes of the thin-film thermo-electric generator, owning to the function of the thin-film thermo-electric materials and serial connection structure of multiple three-layer PN junctions, the performance of the thin-film thermo-electric generator is greatly improved.
US09299905B2	Thermoelectric device and thermoelectric module having the same, and method of manufacturing the same The present invention relates to a thermoelectric device using a bulk material of a nano type, a thermoelectric module having the thermoelectric device and a method of manufacturing thereof. According to the present invention, thin film of a nano thickness is formed on a bulk material formed as several nano types to be re-connected for prohibiting the phonon course.
US09299904B2	Light emitting device A light emitting device including; a base body having a base material that includes a first main face that has a lengthwise direction and a short-side direction that is perpendicular to the lengthwise direction, a second main face on the opposite side from the first main face, a first end face that extends in the lengthwise direction, and a second end face that extends in the short-side direction, and connection terminals that are provided on the first main face of the base material; and a light emitting element that is installed on the first main face and is connected to the connection terminals, the first end face of the base material has a recess that is contiguous with the first main face and the second end face and/or is contiguous with the second main face and the second end face, a length of the recess in a lengthwise direction is greater than a depth in a short-side direction, and the connection terminals are provided extending over the recess.
US09299894B2	Wavelength converting substance, wavelength converting gel and light emitting device A wavelength converting substance is made of semiconductor material. The wavelength converting substance is suitable for absorbing an exciting light with the wavelength range falling between 300 nanometers and 490 nanometers and converting the exciting light to an emitted light with wavelength range falling between 450 nanometers and 750 nanometers.
US09299893B2	Light-emitting device that provides efficient and bright luminescence A light-emitting device comprises: a light-emitting semiconductor stack comprising a recess and a mesa, wherein the recess comprises a bottom and the mesa comprises an upper surface; a first insulating layer in the recess and on a part of the upper surface of the mesa; and a first electrode comprising a first layer and a second layer, wherein the first layer comprises a first conductive material and is on another part of the upper surface of the mesa, and the second layer comprises a second conductive material and is on the first layer.
US09299887B2	Ultra-thin printed LED layer removed from substrate Ultra-thin flexible LED lamp layers are formed over a release layer on a substrate. The LED lamp layers include a first conductor layer overlying the release layer, an array of vertical light emitting diodes (VLEDs) printed over the first conductor layer, where the VLEDs have a bottom electrode electrically contacting the first conductor layer, and a second conductor layer overlying the VLEDs and contacting a top electrode of the VLEDs. Other layers may be formed, such as protective layers, reflective layers, and phosphor layers. The LED lamp layers are then peeled off the substrate, wherein the release layer provides a weak adherence between the substrate and the LED lamp layers to allow the LED lamp layers to be separated from the substrate without damage. The resulting LED lamp layers are extremely flexible, enabling the LED lamp layers to be adhered to flexible target surfaces including clothing.
US09299885B2	Light-emitting diode, light-emitting diode lamp, and illumination device The invention provides a light-emitting diode, a light-emitting diode lamp, and an illumination device which emit infrared light with both high-speed response and high output performance. The invention relates to a light-emitting diode including a light-emitting portion which has an active layer of a quantum well structure, in which a well layer made of a compound semiconductor having a composition formula (InX1Ga1-X1)As (0≦X1≦1) and a barrier layer made of a compound semiconductor having a composition formula (AlX2Ga1-X2)As (0≦X2≦1) are alternately laminated, and a first clad layer and a second clad layer sandwiching the active layer, an electric current diffusion layer which is formed on the light-emitting portion, and a functional substrate which is bonded to the electric current diffusion layer, a light-emitting diode lamp, and an illumination device. The first and second clad layers are made of a compound semiconductor having a composition formula (AlX3Ga1-X3)Y1In1-Y1P (0≦X3≦1, 0
US09299880B2	Pseudomorphic electronic and optoelectronic devices having planar contacts In various embodiments, light-emitting devices incorporate smooth contact layers and polarization doping (i.e., underlying layers substantially free of dopant impurities) and exhibit high photon extraction efficiencies.
US09299878B2	Luminescence conversion element, method for the manufacture thereof and optoelectronic component having a luminescence conversion element A method for manufacturing a ceramic luminescence conversion element includes providing a shaped body having a first main surface, a second main surface and a first lateral surface. The shaped body includes a ceramic material and a luminescence conversion substance. The first main surface and/or the second main surface of the shaped body is/are machined using a patterning method, so that at least one first machined area and at least one unmachined area are formed. The first machined area extends essentially parallel to the first lateral surface. Singularization is performed to produce a plurality of luminescence conversion elements by means of cuts that are made in the machined main surface of the machined shaped body essentially at right angles to the first lateral surface.
US09299876B2	Light emitting and lasing semiconductor methods and devices A method for producing light emission from a semiconductor structure, including the following steps: providing a semiconductor structure that includes a semiconductor base region of a first conductivity type and having a relatively long minority carrier diffusion length characteristic, between a semiconductor emitter region of a second conductivity type opposite to that of the first conductivity type, and a semiconductor drain region of the second conductivity type; providing, between the base region and the drain region, a semiconductor auxiliary region of the first conductivity type and having a relatively short minority carrier diffusion length characteristic; providing, within the base region, a region exhibiting quantum size effects; providing an emitter electrode coupled with the emitter region; providing a base/drain electrode coupled with the base region and the drain region; and applying signals with respect to the emitter and base/drain electrodes to obtain light emission from the semiconductor structure.
US09299873B2	Avalanche photodiode operating in geiger mode including a structure for electro-optical confinement for crosstalk reduction, and array of photodiodes An avalanche photodiode includes a cathode region and an anode region. A lateral insulating region including a barrier region and an insulating region surrounds the anode region. The cathode region forms a planar optical guide within a core of the cathode region, the guide being configured to guide photons generated during avalanche. The barrier region has a thickness extending through the planar optical guide to surround the core and prevent propagation of the photons beyond the barrier region. The core forms an electrical-confinement region for minority carriers generated within the core.
US09299870B2	Solar device and frame assembly thereof A frame assembly including a frame and a bracket is disclosed. The frame has a sliding groove and a first engaging groove, wherein the sliding groove is formed at one side of the frame and the first engaging groove is formed in the sliding groove. The bracket has a body and a first engaging part, wherein the first engaging part is extended from the body. When the body is disposed in the sliding groove, the first engaging part is engaged in the first engaging groove.
US09299867B2	Method of manufacturing solid-state imaging apparatus A solid-state imaging apparatus includes a transfer gate electrode formed on a semiconductor substrate; a photoelectric conversion unit including an electric charge storage area that is formed from a surface side of the semiconductor substrate in a depth direction, a transfer auxiliary area formed of a second conductive type impurity area that is formed in such a manner as to partially overlap the transfer gate electrode, and a dark current suppression area that is a first dark current suppression area formed in an upper layer of the transfer auxiliary and formed so as to have positional alignment in such a manner that the end portion of the transfer auxiliary area on the transfer gate electrode side is at the same position as the end portion of the transfer auxiliary area; and a signal processing circuit configured to process an output signal output from the solid-state imaging apparatus.
US09299863B2	Ultrathin film multi-crystalline photovoltaic device A solar cell photovoltaic device using ultrathin films of polycrystalline silicon and deep uneven surface structures is disclosed. According to one embodiment, the uneven structures include one or more pits having a depth of at least 10 microns. According to another embodiment, the uneven structures include one or more cones or columns having a height or at least 10 microns. Because the unevenness of the structures, the photovoltaic device is able to use a very thin layer of polycrystalline silicon to effectively trap and absorb light.
US09299862B2	Device packaging method and device package structure A device package method and structure thereof. The method includes steps of: providing a base and a cover, and placing a sensing device on the bottom of cavity base; placing sealant between the cover and edge part of the base, and then covering the cover on the base; irradiating a laser on the edge part for melting the sealant, so as to bond the cover and edge part; and enabling the sealed space formed between the cover and the cavity base to be in vacuum. Therefore, sensing element with high sensitivity can be packaged and manufactured efficiently.
US09299855B2	Semiconductor device having dual gate insulating layers A semiconductor device includes a semiconductor layer, a gate electrode overlapping with the semiconductor layer, a first gate insulating layer between the semiconductor layer and the gate electrode, and a second gate insulating layer between the first gate insulating layer and the gate electrode. The first gate insulating layer includes an oxide in which the nitrogen content is lower than or equal to 5 at. %, and the second gate insulating layer includes charge trap states.
US09299852B2	Semiconductor device and method for manufacturing the same A miniaturized semiconductor device in which an increase in power consumption is suppressed and a method for manufacturing the semiconductor device are provided. A highly reliable semiconductor device having stable electric characteristics and a method for manufacturing the semiconductor device are provided. An oxide semiconductor film is irradiated with ions accelerated by an electric field in order to reduce the average surface roughness of a surface of the oxide semiconductor film. Consequently, an increase in the leakage current and power consumption of a transistor can be suppressed. Moreover, by performing heat treatment so that the oxide semiconductor film includes a crystal having a c-axis substantially perpendicular to the surface of the oxide semiconductor film, a change in electric characteristics of the oxide semiconductor film due to irradiation with visible light or ultraviolet light can be suppressed.
US09299851B2	Semiconductor device and method for manufacturing the same An object is to provide a semiconductor device including an oxynitride semiconductor whose carrier density is controlled. By introducing controlled nitrogen into an oxide semiconductor layer, a transistor in which an oxynitride semiconductor having desired carrier density and on characteristics is used for a channel can be manufactured. Further, with the use of the oxynitride semiconductor, even when a low resistance layer or the like is not provided between an oxynitride semiconductor layer and a source electrode and between the oxynitride semiconductor layer and a drain electrode, favorable contact characteristics can be exhibited.
US09299848B2	Semiconductor device, RF tag, and electronic device A semiconductor device with a reduced area is provided. The semiconductor device includes a first transistor and a second transistor. The first transistor includes a first conductor and a second conductor arranged with a distance therebetween, a first insulator over the first conductor and the second conductor, a semiconductor over the first insulator, a second insulator over the semiconductor, a third conductor over the second insulator, and a fourth conductor and a fifth conductor that are in contact with the semiconductor. The first conductor includes a region not overlapping with the third conductor with the semiconductor therebetween, the first conductor includes a region overlapping with the second conductor with the semiconductor therebetween, and one of a source electrode and a drain electrode of the second transistor is electrically connected to the third conductor of the first transistor.
US09299840B2	FinFETs and methods for forming the same A FinFET includes a semiconductor fin including an inner region, and a germanium-doped layer on a top surface and sidewall surfaces of the inner region. The germanium-doped layer has a higher germanium concentration than the inner region. The FinFET further includes a gate dielectric over the germanium-doped layer, a gate electrode over the gate dielectric, a source region connected to a first end of the semiconductor fin, and a drain region connected to a second end of the semiconductor fin opposite the first end. Through the doping of germanium in the semiconductor fin, the threshold voltage may be tuned.
US09299838B2	MOSFETs with multiple dislocation planes A method includes forming a metal-oxide-semiconductor field-effect transistor (MOSFET). The Method includes performing an implantation to form a pre-amorphization implantation (PAI) region adjacent to a gate electrode of the MOSFET, forming a strained capping layer over the PAI region, and performing an annealing on the strained capping layer and the PAI region to form a dislocation plane. The dislocation plane is formed as a result of the annealing, with a tilt angle of the dislocation plane being smaller than about 65 degrees.
US09299834B2	Trench connection between a transistor and a further component A semiconductor component arrangement includes a semiconductor body, a transistor structure, a further component, and at least a first electrode structure. The semiconductor body has a first side and a second side. The transistor structure is integrated in the semiconductor body, and includes a source and a drain. The further component is also integrated in the semiconductor body. The first electrode structure is disposed in at least a first trench, and includes at least one electrode. The first electrode structure electrically connects at least one of the source and the drain to the further component.
US09299833B2	Lateral double diffused MOSFET device A semiconductor device according to the present invention includes: an insulating layer; a semiconductor layer of a first conductive type laminated on the insulating layer; an annular deep trench having a thickness reaching the insulating layer from a top surface of the semiconductor layer; a body region of a second conductive type formed across an entire thickness of the semiconductor layer along a side surface of the deep trench in an element forming region surrounded by the deep trench; a drift region of the first conductive type constituted of a remainder region besides the body region in the element forming region; a source region of the first conductive type formed in a top layer portion of the body region; a drain region of the first conductive type formed in a top layer portion of the drift region; and a first conductive type region formed in the drift region, having a deepest portion reaching a position deeper than the drain region, and having a first conductive type impurity concentration higher than the first conductive type impurity concentration of the semiconductor layer and lower than the first conductive type impurity concentration of the drain region.
US09299830B1	Multiple shielding trench gate fet A semiconductor device contains a vertical MOS transistor having a trench gate in trenches extending through a vertical drift region to a drain region. The trenches have field plates under the gate; the field plates are adjacent to the drift region and have a plurality of segments. A dielectric liner in the trenches separating the field plates from the drift region has a thickness great than a gate dielectric layer between the gate and the body. The dielectric liner is thicker on a lower segment of the field plate, at a bottom of the trenches, than an upper segment, immediately under the gate. The trench gate may be electrically isolated from the field plates, or may be connected to the upper segment. The segments of the field plates may be electrically isolated from each other or may be connected to each other in the trenches.
US09299825B2	Semiconductor device with surrounding gate transistor A method for producing a semiconductor device includes a first step of forming a fin-shaped silicon layer on a silicon substrate using a first resist and forming a first insulating film therearound; and a second step of forming a second insulating film around the fin-shaped silicon layer and etching the second insulating film so as to be left on a side wall of the fin-shaped silicon layer, depositing a third insulating film on the first and second insulating films and the fin-shaped silicon layer, depositing a polysilicon thereon, planarizing a surface thereof, and etching back the polysilicon to expose the third insulating film, forming a second resist, etching the second and third insulating films and then etching the fin-shaped silicon layer and the polysilicon, and removing the second insulating film to form a pillar-shaped silicon layer and a dummy gate formed of the polysilicon.
US09299819B2	Deep gate trench IGBT There are disclosed herein various implementations of an insulated-gate bipolar transistor (IGBT) with buried depletion electrode. Such an IGBT may include a collector at a bottom surface of a semiconductor substrate, a drift region having a first conductivity type situated over the collector, and a base layer having a second conductivity type opposite the first conductivity type situated over the drift region. The IGBT also includes a plurality of deep insulated trenches with a buried depletion electrode and at least one gate electrode disposed therein. In addition, the IGBT includes an active cell including an emitter adjacent the gate electrode, and an implant zone, situated between adjacent deep insulated trenches. The implant zone is formed below the base layer and has the first conductivity type. In one implementation, the IGBT may also include a dummy cell neighboring the active cell.
US09299817B2	Bipolar junction transistor and method of manufacturing the same A bipolar junction transistor (BJT) is provided. The BJT can include a semiconductor substrate, a first well disposed in the substrate and implanted with a first impurity, a second well disposed at one side of the first well and implanted with a second impurity, a first device isolation layer disposed in the first well and defining an emitter area, and a second device isolation layer disposed in the second well and defining a collector area, The BJT can also include an emitter having a second impurity, a base having a first impurity, a collector having a second impurity, and a high concentration doping area having a second impurity at high concentration. The high concentration doping area can be provided at one side of the collector in the second well.
US09299814B2	Manufacturing method of the semiconductor device The semiconductor device is manufactured through the following steps: after first heat treatment is performed on an oxide semiconductor film, the oxide semiconductor film is processed to form an oxide semiconductor layer; immediately after that, side walls of the oxide semiconductor layer are covered with an insulating oxide; and in second heat treatment, the side surfaces of the oxide semiconductor layer are prevented from being exposed to a vacuum and defects (oxygen deficiency) in the oxide semiconductor layer are reduced.
US09299805B2	Variable resistive memory device including vertical channel PMOS transistor A semiconductor device having a vertical channel, a variable resistive memory device including the same, and a method of manufacturing the same are provided. The semiconductor device having a vertical channel includes a vertical pillar formed on a semiconductor substrate and including an inner portion and an outer portion surrounding the inner portion, junction regions formed in the outer portion of the vertical pillar, and a gate formed to surround the vertical pillar. The inner portion of the vertical pillar has a lattice constant smaller than that of the outer portion of the vertical pillar.
US09299801B1	Method for fabricating a transistor device with a tuned dopant profile A transistor device with a tuned dopant profile is fabricated by implanting one or more dopant migrating mitigating material such as carbon. The process conditions for the carbon implant are selected to achieve a desired peak location and height of the dopant profile for each dopant implant, such as boron. Different transistor devices with similar boron implants may be fabricated with different peak locations and heights for their respective dopant profiles by tailoring the carbon implant energy to effect tuned dopant profiles for the boron.
US09299788B2	Multi-gate VDMOS transistor Various embodiments provide multi-gate VDMOS transistors. The transistor can include a substrate having a first surface and a second surface opposite to the first surface, a drift layer on the first surface of the substrate, and an epitaxial layer on the drift layer. The transistor can further include a plurality of trenches. Each trench can pass through the epitaxial layer and a thickness portion of the drift layer. The transistor can further include a plurality of gate structures. Each gate structure can fill the each trench. The transistor can further include a plurality of doped regions in the epitaxial layer. Each doped region can surround a sidewall of the each gate structure. The transistor can further include a source metal layer on the epitaxial layer to electrically connecting the plurality of doped regions, and a drain metal layer on the second surface of the substrate.
US09299774B2	Device structure and methods of forming superjunction lateral power MOSFET with surrounding LDD A semiconductor device has a substrate and a gate formed over the substrate. An LDD region is formed in the substrate adjacent to the gate. A superjunction is formed in the LDD region while a portion of the LDD region remains between the superjunction and gate. A mask is formed over the substrate. A first region is doped with a first type of dopant using the mask. A stripe is doped with a second type of dopant using a portion of the mask. A drain contact region is formed in the substrate. The first region extends to the drain contact region. The first region and stripe are formed using chain implants. A source field plate and drain field plate are formed over the substrate. A trench is formed in the substrate. A source contact region is formed in the trench.
US09299772B2	Semiconductor device A semiconductor device in which the concentration of an electric field is suppressed in a region overriding a drain region and a source region. A drain region is formed in a first region, a source region is formed in a second region. A field oxide film surrounds the first region in a plan view. A metal interconnect situated over a field oxide film. The metal interconnect formed of a metal having an electric resistivity at 25° C. of 40 μΩ·cm or more and 200 μΩ·cm or less. Further, the metal interconnect is repeatedly provided spirally in a direction along the edges of the first region. Further, the metal interconnect is electrically connected at the innermost circumference with the drain region, and is connected at the outermost circumference to the source region or a ground potential.
US09299771B2	Semiconductor device with an electric field reduction mechanism in an edge termination region surrounding the active region In a semiconductor device, an edge termination region which surrounds an active region includes an electric field reduction mechanism including guard rings, first field plates which come into contact with the guard rings, and second field plates which are provided on the first field plates, with an interlayer insulating film interposed therebetween. The second field plate is thicker than the first field plate. A gap between the second field plates is greater than a gap between the first field plates. A barrier metal film is provided between the second field plate and the interlayer insulating film so as come into conductive contact with the second field plate. A gap between the barrier metal films is equal to the gap between the first field plates.
US09299767B1	Source-channel interaction in 3D circuit A multilayer source provides charge carriers to a multitier channel connector. The source includes a metal silicide layer on a substrate and a metal nitride layer between the metal silicide layer and the channel. The metal silicide and the metal nitride are processed without an intervening oxide layer between them. In one embodiment, the source further includes a silicon layer between the metal nitride layer and the channel. The silicon layer can also be processed without an intervening oxide layer. Thus, the source does not have an intervening oxide layer from the substrate to the channel.
US09299757B2	Display device and method of fabricating the same A display device comprising one or more thin-film transistors (“TFTs”) each configured to include an active layer, a gate insulating layer, a gate electrode, a source electrode, and a drain electrode are formed on a substrate. A storage capacitor including a first storage electrode and a second storage electrode overlapping the first storage electrode with the gate insulating layer interposed there between is also formed on the substrate. A top surface of the first storage electrode may include hillocks and the gate insulating layer is formed between the first storage electrode and the second storage electrode to conform to the shape of the top surface of the first storage electrode with the hillocks.
US09299748B2	Organic optoelectronic component An organic optoelectronic component includes a substrate embodied in a light-transmissive fashion, an organic light-emitting element having an organic light-emitting layer between two electrodes, and an organic light-detecting element having an organic light-detecting layer. The organic light-emitting element and the organic light-detecting element are arranged on the substrate. Part of the light generated by the organic light-emitting element during operation enters into the substrate, emerges from the substrate and is detected by the organic light-detecting element.
US09299744B2	Magnetic sidewalls for write lines in field-induced MRAM and methods of manufacturing them In one embodiment, there is provided a non-volatile magnetic memory cell. The non-volatile magnetic memory cell comprises a switchable magnetic element; and a word line and a bit line to energize the switchable magnetic element; wherein at least one of the word line and the bit line comprises a magnetic sidewall that is discontinuous.
US09299742B2	High-voltage solid-state transducers and associated systems and methods High-voltage solid-state transducer (SST) devices and associated systems and methods are disclosed herein. An SST device in accordance with a particular embodiment of the present technology includes a carrier substrate, a first terminal, a second terminal and a plurality of SST dies connected in series between the first and second terminals. The individual SST dies can include a transducer structure having a p-n junction, a first contact and a second contact. The transducer structure forms a boundary between a first region and a second region with the carrier substrate being in the first region. The first and second terminals can be configured to receive an output voltage and each SST die can have a forward junction voltage less than the output voltage.
US09299732B2	Stacked chip SPAD image sensor An example imaging sensor system includes a Single-Photon Avalanche Diode (SPAD) imaging array formed in a first semiconductor layer of a first wafer. The SPAD imaging array includes an N number of pixels, each including a SPAD region formed in a front side of the first semiconductor layer. The first wafer is bonded to a second wafer at a bonding interface between a first interconnect layer of the first wafer and the second interconnect layer of the second wafer. An N number of digital counters are formed in a second semiconductor layer of the second wafer. Each of the digital counters are configured to count output pulses generated by a respective SPAD region.
US09299731B1	Systems and methods for selectable photodiode circuits Example systems and methods include a receiving circuit and selectable photodiode circuits. Each selectable photodiode circuit includes (i) a photodiode having a photodiode anode and a photodiode cathode, where the photodiode is configured to generate a selectable input, (ii) a bias voltage source connected to the photodiode cathode, (iii) a connecting resistor connected to the photodiode anode, (iv) a switchable power supply connected to the connecting resistor, where the switchable power supply is configured to operate in a high state and a low state, and (v) a PIN diode having a PIN anode and a PIN cathode, where the PIN cathode is connected to the photodiode anode and the connecting resistor, and the PIN anode is connected to the receiving circuit. The selectable photodiode circuit is configured to provide the selectable input to the receiving circuit only when the switchable power supply operates in the low state.
US09299729B2	Electro-optical device, projection-type display device, and electronic apparatus An electro-optical device includes a substrate; a translucent pixel electrode installed at one side of the substrate; and a storage capacitor which is installed between the pixel electrode and the substrate, and in which a translucent first electrode layer overlapping with the pixel electrode in a plane view, a translucent second electrode layer electrically connected to the pixel electrode, and a translucent dielectric layer interposed between the first electrode layer and the second electrode layer are laminated.
US09299726B2	Display device having an overlapping low reflection conductive line A display apparatus includes a first base substrate that includes an upper surface and a lower surface facing the upper surface and includes a transmission area and a light blocking area, a low reflection conductive line disposed on the lower surface of the first base substrate, in which a portion of the lower reflection conductive line is overlapped with the transmission area to transmit a portion of an incident light, a second base substrate facing the lower surface of the first base substrate, and a pixel disposed between the first and second base substrates, at least a portion of the pixel being overlapped with the transmission area.
US09299725B2	Fabrication process using circuit-on-wire A method is provided for forming a circuit-on-wire (CoW) assembly. The method forms a flexible line with a plurality of periodic alignment marks used as a guide to place CoW devices overlying a surface of the flexible line. The CoW devices may be LEDs, capacitors, diodes, photodiodes, resistors, thin-film transistors, or combinations of the above-listed elements. The flexible line may be a conductive material, such as a metal wire, and the periodic alignment marks may be vias formed through the wire. If the flexible line is electrically conductive, an electrically conductive adhesive may be applied to the electrically conductive line, so that an electrical connection is formed between the CoW devices and the electrically conductive line. Subsequent to placing the CON devices, processes may be formed on the flexible line and CoW devices such as lithographic etching and thin-film deposition. An active matrix array using CoW devices is also presented.
US09299724B2	Analog circuit and semiconductor device An object is to obtain a semiconductor device having a high sensitivity in detecting signals and a wide dynamic range, using a thin film transistor in which an oxide semiconductor layer is used. An analog circuit is formed with the use of a thin film transistor including an oxide semiconductor which has a function as a channel formation layer, has a hydrogen concentration of 5×1019 atoms/cm3 or lower, and substantially functions as an insulator in the state where no electric field is generated. Thus, a semiconductor device having a high sensitivity in detecting signals and a wide dynamic range can be obtained.
US09299720B2	Semiconductor device and manufacturing method thereof When VC inspection for a TEG is performed, it is easily detected whether any failure of a contact plug occurs or not by increasing an emission intensity of a contact plug, so that reliability of a semiconductor device is improved. An element structure of an SRAM is formed on an SOI substrate in a chip region. Also, in a TEG region, an element structure of an SRAM in which a contact plug is connected to a semiconductor substrate is formed on the semiconductor substrate exposed from an SOI layer and a BOX film as a TEG used for the VC inspection.
US09299716B2	Methods of manufacturing a semiconductor device A method of manufacturing a vertical type memory device includes stacking a first lower insulating layer, one layer of a lower sacrificial layer and a second lower insulating layer on a substrate, forming a stacking structure by stacking sacrificial layers and insulating layers, and etching an edge portion of the stacking structure to form a preliminary stepped shape pattern structure. The preliminary stepped shape pattern structure has a stepped shape edge portion. A pillar structure making contact with a surface of the substrate is formed. The preliminary stepped shape pattern structure, the lower sacrificial layer, and the first and second lower insulating layers are partially etched to form a first opening portion and a second opening portion to form a stepped shape pattern structure. The second opening portion cuts at least an edge portion of the lower sacrificial layer.
US09299713B2	Three-dimensional nonvolatile memory device A semiconductor device includes word lines stacked in a cell region of a substrate and each of the word lines includes a first conductive layer. At least one selection line is stacked on top of the word lines and includes a second conductive layer. At least one gate line is formed in a peripheral region of the substrate and includes the second conductive layer.
US09299705B2	Method of forming semiconductor fins and insulating fence fins on a same substrate A semiconductor structure may be formed by forming a first semiconductor fin and a second inactive semiconductor fin above a substrate; depositing a masking layer above the first semiconductor fin and the second semiconductor fin; etching a trench in the masking layer exposing the second semiconductor fin while the first semiconductor fin remains covered by the masking layer; removing the second semiconductor fin to form a fin recess beneath the trench; filling the fin recess with an insulating material to form an insulating fence fin; and removing the masking layer to expose the first semiconductor fin and the insulating fence fin. A third semiconductor fin separating the first semiconductor fin from the second semiconductor fin may also be formed prior to depositing the masking layer and covered by the masking layer. The first semiconductor fin may be a pFET fin and the third semiconductor fin may be an nFET fin.
US09299704B2	Semiconductor device and method for fabricating the same A method for fabricating a semiconductor device includes: forming a gate dielectric layer over a substrate; forming an etch stop layer over the gate dielectric layer; forming a first work function layer that covers a first portion of the etch stop layer and a sacrificial compound that covers a second portion of the etch stop layer; exposing the second portion of the etch stop layer by removing the sacrificial compound; and forming a second work function layer over the second portion of the etch stop layer and the first work function layer.
US09299703B2	CMOS transistors with identical active semiconductor region shapes A disposable semiconductor material is deposited to form disposable semiconductor material portions on semiconductor fins. A first dielectric liner is deposited and patterned to form openings above a first set of disposable semiconductor material portions on a first semiconductor fin. The first set of disposable semiconductor material portions is replaced with a first set of active semiconductor regions by a combination of an etch and a selective epitaxy process that deposits a first semiconductor material. A second dielectric liner is deposited and patterned to form openings above the second set of disposable semiconductor material portions. The second set of disposable semiconductor material portions is replaced with a second set of active semiconductor regions employing another epitaxy process that deposits a second semiconductor material. The active semiconductor regions can have the same faceting profile irrespective of the semiconductor materials therein.
US09299702B2	Transistor structure and method with an epitaxial layer over multiple halo implants A transistor structure having an epitaxial layer deposited over an implanted substrate in order to reduce process variability. The epitaxial layer is able to be deposited doped, un-doped or lightly doped via up-diffusion from the implanted substrate, and used to form the channel for the transistor structure. As a result, this use of un-doped epitaxial layer provides the benefit of reducing process variability (e.g. random dopant fluctuation) and thus the transistor performance variability despite the small physical size of the transistors.
US09299701B2	Method for producing semiconductor device and semiconductor device A semiconductor device includes first and second fin-shaped semiconductor layers on a substrate, where the first and second fin-shaped semiconductor layers correspond to the dimension of a sidewall pattern around a dummy pattern. First and second pillar-shaped semiconductor layers reside on the first and second fin-shaped semiconductor layers, respectively. A gate insulating film and metal gate electrode are around underlying gate insulating layers on each fin-shaped semiconductor layer. A metal gate line is connected to the metal gate electrodes and extends in a direction perpendicular to the first and second fin-shaped semiconductor layers. Contacts reside on the upper portion of diffusion layers in upper portions of the first and second pillar-shaped semiconductor layers and are directly connected to the diffusion layers.
US09299697B2	High breakdown voltage microelectronic device isolation structure with improved reliability A microelectronic device contains a high voltage component having a high voltage node and a low voltage node. The high voltage node is isolated from the low voltage node by a main dielectric between the high voltage node and low voltage elements at a surface of the substrate of the microelectronic device. A lower-bandgap dielectric layer is disposed between the high voltage node and the main dielectric. The lower-bandgap dielectric layer contains at least one sub-layer with a bandgap energy less than a bandgap energy of the main dielectric. The lower-bandgap dielectric layer extends beyond the high voltage node continuously around the high voltage node. The lower-bandgap dielectric layer has an isolation break surrounding the high voltage node at a distance of at least twice the thickness of the lower-bandgap dielectric layer from the high voltage node.
US09299693B2	Electrostatic discharge protection device An electrostatic discharge protection device may include a first conductivity type well, a second conductivity well; a first doping region and a second doping region which are formed in the first conductivity type well and have different conductivity types from each other; a third doping region and a fourth doping region which are formed in the second conductivity type well and have different conductivity types from each other; and a fifth doping region formed in the second conductivity type well between the first and second doping regions and the third and fourth doping regions.
US09299691B2	Semiconductor device including alternating source and drain regions, and respective source and drain metallic strips A semiconductor device and method of forming the same including, in one embodiment, a substrate and a plurality of source and drain regions formed as alternating pattern on the substrate. The semiconductor device also includes a plurality of gates formed over the substrate between and parallel to ones of the plurality of source and drain regions. The semiconductor device also includes a first plurality of alternating source and drain metallic strips formed in a first metallic layer above the substrate and parallel to and forming an electrical contact with respective ones of the plurality of source and drain regions.
US09299690B2	Method for fabricating a power semiconductor package including vertically stacked driver IC In one implementation, a semiconductor package includes a control conductive carrier having a die side and an opposite input/output (I/O) side connecting the semiconductor package to a mounting surface. The semiconductor package also includes a control FET of a power converter switching stage attached to the die side of the control conductive carrier, and a driver integrated circuit (IC) for driving the control FET. The driver IC is situated above the control FET and is electrically coupled to the control FET by at least one conductive buildup layer formed over the control conductive carrier.
US09299685B2	Multi-chip package having a logic chip disposed in a package substrate opening and connecting to an interposer A multi-chip package may include a package substrate, a connecting substrate, a plurality of semiconductor chips and a logic chip. The package substrate may have an opening. The connecting substrate may be arranged on an upper surface of the package substrate. The semiconductor chips may be stacked on an upper surface of the connecting substrate. The semiconductor chips may be electrically connected with the connecting substrate. The logic chip may be arranged in the opening. The logic chip may be electrically connected between the connecting substrate and the package substrate. Thus, the logic chip may not act as to increase a width of the multi-chip package.
US09299683B2	Abutment structure of semiconductor cell An abutment structure comprises a power rail, a ground rail parallel to the power rail, first cells and second cells. An area is defined between the power and the ground rails. A portion of each first and second cell overlaps the power and the ground rails, and another portion thereof is within the area. The first cells are within the abutment structure with original patterns thereof. The second cells respectively has an original pattern and a base pattern being a flip pattern of the original pattern, and are within the area with alternate of the original and the base patterns. The first and the second cells are within the area alternately without overlapping. Alternatively, the first and the second cells may also be within different areas, and the second cells are within different areas respectively with the base pattern and a flip pattern of the base pattern thereof.
US09299680B2	Integrated circuit structure having dies with connectors An embodiment is an integrated circuit structure including a first die having a bump structure, and a second die having a pad structure. The first die is attached to the second die by bonding the bump structure and the pad structure. The bump structure includes a metal pillar, a metal cap layer on the metal pillar, a metal insertion layer on the metal cap layer, and a solder layer on the metal insertion layer. The pad structure includes at least one of a nickel (Ni) layer, a palladium (Pd) layer or a gold (Au) layer.
US09299679B2	High reliability semiconductor package structure The present invention discloses a high reliability semiconductor package structure, which includes a lower heat sink, a die, an upper heat sink, a lead frame and a package body. The lead frame and the upper heat sink contain separately a first bending unit and a second bending unit that are electrically connected. The upper and lower heat sinks are attached to two opposite surfaces of the die and sink the high power transient heat generated at the die. The lower heat sink also has an indentation that circles the die and contains extra solder that might otherwise contaminate the die. Package body contains and protects the die, the upper and lower heat sinks and the lead frame. With the implementation of the invention, the reliability of the semiconductor package structure is promoted and the EMC durability together with the operable power is enhanced.
US09299676B2	Through silicon via structure A system and method for manufacturing a through silicon via is disclosed. An embodiment comprises forming a through silicon via with a liner protruding from a substrate. A passivation layer is formed over the substrate and the through silicon via, and the passivation layer and liner are recessed from the sidewalls of the through silicon via. Conductive material may then be formed in contact with both the sidewalls and a top surface of the through silicon via.
US09299663B2	Semiconductor devices and methods for backside photo alignment Various embodiments of microelectronic devices and methods of manufacturing are described herein. In one embodiment, a method for aligning an electronic feature to a through-substrate via includes forming a self-aligned alignment feature having a wall around at least a portion of the TSV and aligning a photolithography tool to the self-aligned alignment feature. In some embodiments, the self-aligned alignment feature is defined by the topography of a seed material at a backside of the device.
US09299652B2	Device and method of manufacturing the same A device includes a substrate having a base member and an insulation film formed on a surface of the base member, a first semiconductor chip mounted over a surface of the substrate on which the insulation film are formed, a second semiconductor chip stacked over the first semiconductor chip so that an overhang portion is formed, and a sealing member formed on the substrate so that the first semiconductor chip and the second semiconductor chip are covered with the sealing member. The insulation film has a first opening portion in a first area of the substrate that overlaps the overhang portion. The base member has an air passage communicating with the first opening portion.
US09299632B2	Semiconductor device Even when a thermal stress is applied to an electrode pad, the electrode pad is prevented from being moved. A substrate of a semiconductor chip has a rectangular planar shape. The semiconductor chip has a plurality of electrode pads. The center of a first electrode pad is positioned closer to the end of a first side in the direction along the first side of the substrate as compared to the center of a first opening. Thus, in a part of the first electrode pad covered with an insulating film, a width of the part closer to the end of the first side in the direction along the first side is larger than another width of the part opposite to the above-mentioned width.
US09299627B2	Semiconductor package having a cap unit with concave portion and method of manufacturing the same A semiconductor package of an embodiment includes: a semiconductor chip having a signal input terminal and a signal output terminal; and a cap unit that is formed on the semiconductor chip. The cap unit includes a concave portion forming a hollow structure between the semiconductor chip and the cap unit, a first through electrode electrically connected to the signal input terminal, and a second through electrode electrically connected to the signal output terminal. Of the inner side surfaces of the concave portion, a first inner side surface and a second inner side surface facing each other are not parallel to each other.
US09299626B2	Die package structure A die packaged structure includes a pad on the central region of the die. A packaged substrate with an opening disposed in the central region, and a connecting terminal is passed through the packaged substrate and disposed around the opening. An external connecting terminal is disposed on the four sides of the packaged substrate. A first metal wire is electrically connected the connecting terminal with the external connecting terminal, and the back of the packaged substrate is fixed on the die, such that the pad is exposed on the opening. A second metal wire is electrically connected the pad with the connecting terminal. A packaged body is encapsulated the packaged substrate, the die and the second metal wire, and the external connecting terminal is exposed. A conductive component is electrically connected with the external connecting terminal and is arranged on the four sides of the die packaged structure.
US09299624B2	Stacked semiconductor structure and manufacturing method for the same A stacked semiconductor structure and a manufacturing method for the same are provided. The stacked semiconductor structure is provided, which comprises a first semiconductor substrate, a second semiconductor substrate, a dielectric layer, a trench, a via, and a conductive structure. The first semiconductor substrate comprises a first substrate portion and a first conductive layer on an active surface of the first substrate portion. The second semiconductor substrate comprises a second substrate portion and a second conductive layer on an active surface of the second substrate portion. The trench passes through the second substrate portion and exposing the second conductive layer. The via passes through the dielectric layer and exposes the first conductive layer. The conductive structure has an upper portion filling the trench and a lower portion filling the via. Opposing side surfaces of the upper portion are beyond opposing side surfaces of the lower portion.
US09299622B2	On-chip plasma charging sensor A device for monitoring charging effects includes a semiconductor substrate having a surface region. The device also includes first, second, and third doped regions spaced apart in the semiconductor substrate and a dielectric layer overlying the surface region. The device also includes a first gate overlying a first portion of the dielectric layer disposed between the first and the second doped regions, and a second gate overlying a second portion of the dielectric layer disposed between the second and the third doped regions, the second gate being characterized by a first surface area. Moreover, the device has a conductive layer electrically coupled to the second gate for collecting plasma charges. The conductive layer is characterized by a second surface area. The first gate is connected to a conductor that is coupled to a bias voltage, and the second gate is a floating gate that is not connected to any voltage.
US09299614B2	Method and carrier for dicing a wafer Methods of and carriers for dicing semiconductor wafers, each wafer having a plurality of integrated circuits, are described. In an example, a carrier for supporting a wafer or substrate in an etch process includes a frame having a perimeter surrounding an inner opening. The carrier also includes a tape coupled to the frame and disposed below the inner opening of the frame, the tape comprising an etch stop layer disposed above a support layer.
US09299611B2	Method of wafer dicing using hybrid laser scribing and plasma etch approach with mask plasma treatment for improved mask etch resistance Methods of dicing semiconductor wafers, each wafer having a plurality of integrated circuits, are described. In an example, a method of dicing a semiconductor wafer having a plurality of integrated circuits involves forming a mask above the semiconductor wafer, the mask including a layer covering and protecting the integrated circuits. The mask is exposed to a plasma treatment process to increase an etch resistance of the mask. The mask is patterned with a laser scribing process to provide gaps in the mask, the gaps exposing regions of the semiconductor wafer between the integrated circuits. Subsequent to exposing the mask to the plasma treatment process, the semiconductor wafer is plasma etched through the gaps in the mask to singulate the integrated circuits.
US09299605B2	Methods for forming passivation protection for an interconnection structure Methods for forming a passivation protection structure on a metal line layer formed in an insulating material in an interconnection structure are provided. In one embodiment, a method for forming passivation protection on a metal line in an interconnection structure for semiconductor devices includes selectively forming a metal capping layer on a metal line bounded by a dielectric bulk insulating layer in an interconnection structure formed on a substrate in a processing chamber incorporated in a multi-chamber processing system, in-situ forming a barrier layer on the substrate in the processing chamber; wherein the barrier layer is a metal dielectric layer, and forming a dielectric capping layer on the barrier layer in the multi-chamber processing system.
US09299602B2	Enabling package-on-package (PoP) pad surface finishes on bumpless build-up layer (BBUL) package A bumpless build-up layer (BBUL) integrated circuit package and method of manufacturing are presented. In some embodiments, the package-on-package (PoP) pads of the BBUL integrated circuit package has a surface finish that can be palladium, nickel-palladium, nickel-gold, nickel-palladium-gold, or palladium-nickel-palladium-gold. In some embodiments, the PoP pad surface finish can be formed using either an electroless or electrolytic process.
US09299599B2	Thermal processing apparatus for thermal processing substrate and positioning method of positioning substrate transfer position A substrate holder positioning method, capable of positioning a substrate holder without using any positioning jig, includes: measuring a first position of a substrate held on a substrate holder included in a substrate carrying mechanism; carrying the substrate held on the substrate holder to a substrate rotating unit for holding and rotating the substrate; turning the substrate held by the substrate rotating unit through a predetermined angle by the substrate rotating unit; transferring the substrate turned by the substrate rotating unit from the substrate rotating unit to the substrate holder; measuring a second position of the substrate transferred from the substrate rotating unit to the substrate holder; determining the position of the center of rotation of the substrate rotating unit on the basis of the first and the second position; and positioning the substrate holder on the basis of the position of the center of rotation.
US09299588B2	Method of manufacturing lead frame There is provided a method of manufacturing a lead frame, the method including: preparing a lead frame raw material; forming openings in the lead frame raw material so that the lead frame material includes: a die pad; a die pad supporting portion supporting the die pad; a rail portion supporting the die pad supporting portion; a lead supporting portion having both ends fixed to the die pad supporting portion; and a plurality of leads having a first end connected to the rail portion and a second end connected to the lead supporting portion; plating the lead frame raw material having the openings with a plating layer; and removing the lead supporting portion.
US09299587B2	Microwave anneal (MWA) for defect recovery The embodiments of processes and structures described above provide mechanisms for annealing defects by microwave anneal (MWA). MWA causes ionic/atomic (ionic and/or atomic) polarization, electronic polarization, and/or interfacial polarization in a substrate with dopants, damages, and interfaces in crystalline structures. The polarizations make the local temperatures higher than the substrate temperature. As a result, MWA can remove damages at a relatively low substrate temperature than other anneal mechanisms and is able to prevent undesirable dopant diffusion. The relatively low substrate temperature also makes MWA compatible with advanced processing technologies which demands lower substrate temperatures during front-end processing. MWA used in annealing defects (or damages) created in forming source and drain regions improves NMOS transistor performance.
US09299583B1	Aluminum oxide selective etch Methods of selectively etching aluminum oxide from the surface of a patterned substrate are described. The etch selectively removes aluminum oxide relative to other metal oxides and silicon-containing films such as silicon, polysilicon, silicon oxide, silicon germanium and/or silicon nitride. The methods include exposing aluminum oxide to plasma effluents formed in a remote plasma from a chlorine-containing precursor and a hydrocarbon. A remote plasma is used to excite the precursors and a local plasma is used to further excite the plasma effluents and accelerate ions toward the patterned substrate.
US09299553B2	Atmospheric pressure ion source for mass spectrometry A multiple function atmospheric pressure ion source interfaced to a mass spectrometer comprises multiple liquid inlet probes configured such that the sprays from two or more probes intersect in a mixing region. Gas phase sample ions or neutral species generated in the spray of one probe can react with reagent gas ions generated from one or more other probes by such ionization methods as Electrospray, photoionization, corona discharge and glow discharge ionization. Reagent ions may be optimally selected to promote such processes as Atmospheric Pressure Chemical Ionization of neutral sample molecules, or charge reduction or electron transfer dissociation of multiply charged sample ions. Selected neutral reagent species can also be introduced into the mixing region to promote charge reduction of multiply charged sample ions through ion-neutral reactions. Different operating modes can be performed alternately or simultaneously, and can be rapidly turned on and off under manual or software control.
US09299551B2	Mass spectrometer with soft ionizing glow discharge and conditioner An ion detection system including an ion source and at least one ion detector is disclosed. The ion source includes a source housing, a reactor, first and second ionizers and a sampling channel. The first ionizer is a glow discharge ionizer. The ion detector communicates with the sampling channel. A conditioner, which is sized to remove fast diffusing electrons, connects the first glow discharge ionizer to the reactor. A corresponding method of ionization is also disclosed. The method includes ionizing and conditioning an ionizer gas, receiving the ionizer gas and analyte molecule ions into a reactor, and delivering a flow from the reactor. The conditioning of the ionizer gas removes fast diffusing electrons from the gas flow.
US09299550B2	Multi-pole ion trap for mass spectrometry An ion trap includes a containment region for containing ions, and a plurality of electrodes positioned on a regular polyhedral structure encompassing the containment region. An electrode is positioned on each vertex of the encompassing structure and at least one of the polygonal surfaces includes additional electrodes configured to form a plurality of quadrupoles on the surface. Alternating RF voltage is applied to the plurality of electrodes, so that directly neighboring electrodes are of equal amplitude and opposite polarity at any point in time. This configuration on the polyhedral structure forms a potential barrier for repelling the ions from each of the regular polygonal surfaces and containing them in the trap. Mass selective filters can be formed from the quadrupoles for parallel mass analysis in different m/z windows. Application of a small DC potential to a plate electrode outside the quadrupoles preferentially depletes single charged ions for enhanced signal-to-noise analysis.
US09299547B2	Use of mass spectral difference networks for determining charge state, adduction, neutral loss and polymerization A mass spectrometric analysis method comprises: (1) processing a mass spectrum to reduce the signals to monoisotopic values; (2) creating a list of differences between the monoisotopic values; (3) creating one or more lists of theoretical mass-to-charge differences among known adducts, charge states and polymerization states whose formation may be expected from various analyte molecules; (4) comparing the theoretical differences (line or edge in the network) to the list of differences from the mass spectrum and, where applicable, make and tabulate tentative species assignments; (5) assigning the mass spectral peaks to respective ion species in accordance with the redundancy of each assignment based on multiple independent calculated mass-to-charge differences pertaining to each peak; (6) choosing an ion species for further fragmentation or reaction in the mass spectrometer, based on the assigning; and (7) performing the fragmentation or reaction on the chosen ion species in the mass spectrometer.
US09299542B2	Method of monitoring a manufacturing-process and manufacturing-process monitoring device A method of monitoring a manufacturing process includes generating a measurement data by analyzing emission intensity of plasma emission light using a measurement device, the plasma emission light being generated when a plasma gas of a manufacturing process device is changed from an energy level corresponding to a high energy state to an energy level corresponding to a low energy state, generating a compensated value based on the measurement data, the compensated value being generated by offsetting a sensitivity change that is caused due to pollution of the manufacturing process device and the measurement device or measurement locations of the measurement device, and monitoring the manufacturing process based on the compensated value.
US09299541B2	Methods and apparatuses for effectively reducing gas residence time in a plasma processing chamber Methods and apparatuses for controlling plasma generation in a plasma processing chamber to reduce an effective residence time of by-product gases or to control in real time the concentration of certain polymer pre-cursors or reaction by-products in the plasma processing chamber are disclosed. The gas residence time is “effectively” reduced by reducing the plasma reaction for at least a portion of the process time. Thresholds can be provided to control when the plasma reaction is permitted to proceed at the full rate and when the plasma reaction is permitted to proceed at the reduced rate. By reducing the rate of plasma by-product generation at least for a portion of the process time, the by-product gas residence time may be effectively reduced to improve process results.
US09299532B2	Low-interference sensor head for a radiation detector, as well as a radiation detector which contains this low-interference sensor head The invention relates to a low interference sensor head for a radiation detector and a radiation detector containing said low interference sensor head. Preferably, the radiation detector according to the invention is an X-ray detector. The invention further relates to the use of the low interference sensor head or the radiation detector, in particular of the X-ray detector for radiation analysis, in particular for (energy dispersive) X-ray analysis in microscopy using optics for charged particles.
US09299530B2	Electron tube In an electron tube, an atomic layer deposition method is used to form an electrical resistance film having a stacked structure of electrically insulating layers and electrically conductive layers or a mixed structure of an electrically insulating material and an electrically conductive material, so as to cover the whole of an inner wall surface and an outer wall surface of a second envelope. By use of the atomic layer deposition method, the firm and fine electrical resistance film with a desired resistance can be formed on an insulation surface, without containing a material such as a binder. When the electrical resistance film is provided with slight electrical conductivity, it can suppress occurrence of withstand voltage failure due to electrification of the insulation surface or the like and realize stability of withstand voltage characteristics.
US09299526B2	Method to fabricate portable electron source based on nitrogen incorporated ultrananocrystalline diamond (N-UNCD) A source cold cathode field emission array (FEA) source based on ultra-nanocrystalline diamond (UNCD) field emitters. This system was constructed as an alternative for detection of obscured objects and material. Depending on the geometry of the given situation a flat-panel source can be used in tomography, radiography, or tomosynthesis. Furthermore, the unit can be used as a portable electron or X-ray scanner or an integral part of an existing detection system. UNCD field emitters show great field emission output and can be deposited over large areas as the case with carbon nanotube “forest” (CNT) cathodes. Furthermore, UNCDs have better mechanical and thermal properties as compared to CNT tips which further extend the lifetime of UNCD based FEA.
US09299521B2	Protective device having a thin construction The present invention is directed to an electrical wiring device that includes a circuit interrupter assembly coupled to a solenoid actuator and configured to move along an assembly axis in a direction normal to a major surface of the electrical isolation member to provide electrical continuity between the plurality of line terminals, the plurality of load terminals and the plurality of receptacle contact structures in a reset state and to interrupt the electrical continuity to effect a tripped state. The circuit interrupter assembly including at least one portion configured to pivot relative to the assembly axis to effect the reset state or the tripped state.
US09299513B2	Thin keyboard A thin keyboard having multiple keys is disclosed. At least one of the keys includes a key magnet, and a holding magnet is mounted on a transverse slider. The key is located in a ready position by a magnetic attraction of the holding magnet to the key magnet. When the transverse slider is slid, a separating protrusion pushes a chamfer to widen the distance between the holding magnet and the key magnet. The distance between both magnets is also widened in a right and left direction, and when the magnetic attraction drops, the key is located by gravity in a release position.
US09299511B2	Key assembly and electronic device A key assembly and electronic device is provided. The key assembly is disposed at a housing of the electronic device. The key assembly includes a circuit board, a shaft, a limiting portion, a contact element and an elastic element. The circuit board disposed in the housing has a first contact and a second contact. The shaft penetrates through the housing and the circuit board and having a first end and a second end. The limiting portion is located at the second end of the shaft. The contact element is located between the housing and the circuit board. The elastic element is coupled between the shaft and the circuit board. When the shaft drives the contact element to move toward the circuit board for the contact element to contact the second contact, the second contact is electrically connected to the first contact through the contact element to generate an electrical signal.
US09299510B2	Key button apparatus A key button apparatus is provided. The key button apparatus includes a housing having an opening, a moveable key button, a sealing member configured to seal the opening of the housing, deformed by movement of the key button, and molded of a plurality of elastic bodies made of different materials, and a switch disposed inside of the housing and pressed by deformation of the sealing member.
US09299503B2	Recovering performance of degraded solar cells with electrical pulses A system and method for recovering performance of a degraded solar cell are provided. The system includes a solar cell having electrodes arranged on opposing sides of an electrolyte and defining a solar cell polarity therebetween and a power source connected to the electrodes. A controller controls the power source for applying a voltage pulse(s) across the solar cell. The voltage pulse may be applied at the solar cell polarity so as to define a forward electrical bias of the solar cell.
US09299499B2	Varactor and varactor system The invention relates to a varactor with an actuator, wherein the first actuator surface (2a) of the actuator is embodied on a substrate (1), and a second actuator surface (2b) is embodied on a first movable membrane (3a). In this context, the first movable membrane (3a) is arranged above an upper side (1a) of the substrate (1). A second movable membrane (2b) is arranged below a lower side (1b) of the substrate (1) facing away from the upper side (1a). The invention further relates to a varactor system made from two such varactors.
US09299495B2	Capacitor A capacitor includes a dielectric layer having a first plane, a second plane opposite to the first plane, and a plurality of through-holes communicated with the first and second planes; a first external electrode layer disposed on the first plane; a second external electrode layer disposed on the second plane; a first internal electrode having first and second electrode portions, the first and second electrode portions being formed of a first conductive material, and a second conductive material, respectively, the second electrode material connecting the first electrode portion with the first external electrode layer, the second conductive material having a smaller Young's modulus than the first conductive material, the first internal electrode being formed in a part of the plurality of through-holes; and a second internal electrode formed in another part of the plurality of through-holes, the second internal electrode being connected to the second external electrode layer.
US09299494B2	Graphene mounted on aerogel An apparatus having reduced phononic coupling between a graphene monolayer and a substrate is provided. The apparatus includes an aerogel substrate and a monolayer of graphene coupled to the aerogel substrate.
US09299486B2	Permanent magnet, and motor and power generator using the same In one embodiment, a permanent magnet includes a magnet main body and a surface portion provided on a surface of the magnet main body. The magnet main body has a composition expressed by a composition formula 1: R(Fep1Mq1Cur1Co1-p1-q1-r1)z1. The surface portion has a composition expressed by a composition formula 2: R(Fep2Mq2Cur2Co1-p2-q2-r2)z2. In the composition formulas 1 and 2, R is at least one element selected from rare earth elements, M is at least one element selected from Ti, Zr and Hf, p1 and p2 are 0.25 to 0.45, q1 and q2 are 0.01 to 0.05, r1 and r2 are 0.01 to 0.1, z1 is 6 to 9, and z2 satisfies 0.8≦z2/z1≦0.995.
US09299485B1	Micro and nanoscale magnetoelectric multiferroic lead iron tantalate-lead zirconate titanate The invention is a novel class of materials made by combining the best qualities of both lead iron tantalate (PFT) and lead iron titanate (PZT) to synthesize (PbZr0.53Ti0.47O3)(1-x)—(PbFe0.5Ta0.5O3)x (PZTFT) (0.1≦x≦0.9) compositions that have multiferroic (ferroelectric and ferromagnetic) and magnetoelectric properties.
US09299484B2	Resistive structure and resistive voltage divider arrangement A resistive structure has an improved electric field profile deposited on the surface of a cylindrical insulating substrate. At least one resistive path or trace is provided with a helix-looking shape and is directly printed on the surface of the insulating substrate. A resistive voltage divider includes first and second resistors electrically connected in series, where each resistor is made of one or more traces of electrically resistive film material applied onto a cylindrical insulating substrate. At least one of the traces is shaped like a helix and is applied onto the substrate by direct printing.
US09299482B2	Optical electrical hybrid cable A hybrid cable for telecommunications systems is disclosed. The hybrid cable may include a plurality of fiber-optic cables and power cables extending within an armor member and an outer jacket in a main body portion of the hybrid cable, and extending outside of the armor member and the outer jacket in a termination portion of the hybrid cable. Shielded tube assemblies may be attached to the power cables in the termination portion to provide electrical shielding to the power cables in the termination portion of the hybrid cable. The shielded tube assemblies may be attached to the armor member to electrically ground the shielded tube assemblies. A method of constructing a hybrid cable is also disclosed.
US09299457B2	Kernel masking of DRAM defects Systems, methods, and computer programs are disclosed for kernel masking dynamic random access memory (DRAM) defects. One such method comprises: detecting and correcting a single-bit error associated with a physical address in a dynamic random access memory (DRAM); receiving error data associated with the physical address from the DRAM; storing the received error data in a failed address table located in a non-volatile memory; and retiring a kernel page corresponding to the physical address if a number of errors associated with the physical address exceeds an error count threshold.
US09299451B2	Tamper resistant electronic system utilizing acceptable tamper threshold count A tamper resistant electronic device includes multiple eFuses that are individually blown in each instance the electronic device is tampered with. For example an eFuse is blown when the electronic device is subjected to a temperature that causes solder reflow. Since it is anticipated that the electronic device may be tampered with in an acceptable way and/or an acceptable number of instances, functionality of the electronic device is altered or disabled only after a threshold number of eFuses are blown. In certain implementations, the threshold number is the number of anticipated acceptable tamper events. Upon a tamper event an individual eFuse is blown. If the total number of blown eFuses is less than the threshold, a next eFuse is enabled so that it may be blown upon a next tamper event.
US09299446B2	Nonvolatile memory device and an erase method thereof A nonvolatile memory device includes: a plurality of cell strings disposed on a substrate, wherein at least one of the plurality of cell strings comprises a plurality of cell transistors and at least one ground select transistor stacked in a direction substantially perpendicular to the substrate, and the substrate and a channel region of the plurality of cell strings have a same conductivity type; a substrate bias circuit configured to provide an erase voltage to the substrate in an erase operation; and a ground select line voltage generator configured to provide a ground select line saturation voltage to the at least one ground select transistor in the erase operation.
US09299442B2	Dynamic data caches, decoders and decoding methods Examples described include dynamic data caches (DDCs), decoders and decoding methods that may fit into a smaller width area. The DDCs, decoders and decoding method may be used in flash memory devices. A single column select line may be provided to select a plurality of cached bytes, while a second select line selects a byte of the selected plurality. The column select line may be routed parallel to bit lines carrying data, while the second select line may be routed perpendicular to the bit lines.
US09299441B2	Programming and/or erasing a memory device in response to its program and/or erase history For one embodiment, a programming method includes programming one or more memory cells of a memory device during a programming operation, determining, internal to the memory device, a number of program pulses required to program a sample of the one or more memory cells of the memory device during the programming operation, and adjusting a program starting voltage level of one or more program pulses applied to the one or more memory cells during a subsequent programming operation in response, at least in part, to the number of program pulses required to program the sample of the one or more memory cells programed during the prior programming operation.
US09299439B2	Erasable block segmentation for memory Various embodiments comprise apparatuses such as those having a block of memory divided into sub-blocks that share a common data line. Each of the sub-blocks of the block of memory corresponds to a respective one of a number of segmented sources. Each of the segmented sources is electrically isolated from the other segmented sources of the block of memory. Additional apparatuses and methods of operation are described.
US09299432B2	Semiconductor device and driving method of semiconductor device To provide a semiconductor device including a volatile memory which achieves high speed operation and lower power consumption. For example, the semiconductor device includes an SRAM provided with first and second data holding portions and a non-volatile memory provided with third and fourth second data holding portions. The first data holding portion is electrically connected to the fourth data holding portion through a transistor. The second data holding portion is electrically connected to the third data holding portion through a transistor. While the SRAM holds data, the transistor is on so that both the SRAM and the non-volatile memory hold the data. Then, the transistor is turned off before supply of power is stopped, so that the data becomes non-volatile.
US09299427B2	Access signal adjustment circuits and methods for memory cells in a cross-point array Embodiments of the invention relate generally to semiconductors and memory technology, and more particularly, to systems, integrated circuits, and methods to generate access signals to facilitate memory operations in scaled arrays of memory elements, such as memory implemented in third dimensional memory technology formed BEOL directly on top of a FEOL substrate that includes data access circuitry. In at least some embodiments, a non-volatile memory device can include a cross-point array having resistive memory elements disposed among word lines and subsets of bit lines, and an access signal generator. The access signal generator can be configured to modify a magnitude of a signal to generate a modified magnitude for the signal to access a resistive memory element associated with a word line and a subset of bit lines. The modified magnitude can be a function of the position of the resistive memory element in the cross-point array.
US09299416B2	Semiconductor device having a reduced footprint of wires connecting a DLL circuit with an input/output buffer An apparatus includes a clock terminal configured to receive an external clock signal, a clock generator configured to generate an internal clock signal in response to the external clock signal, first and second output circuits each coupled to the clock generator, a first clock line coupled between the clock generator and the first output circuit, and the second clock line coupled between the clock generator and the second output circuit. The first clock line represents a first capacitance and a first resistance while the second clock line represents a second capacitance and a second resistance. A first value defined as the product of the first capacitance and the first resistance is substantially equal to a second value defined as the product of the second capacitance and the second resistance.
US09299402B2	Mobile personalized boot data A system and associated method of using may generally have at least a mobile data storage device with a controller directing data to first and second tiers of memory. The first tier of memory can have at least boot data pre-fetched from the second tier of memory with the boot data including at least metadata and personalized user data.
US09299392B2	Semiconductor memory devices Semiconductor memory devices include unit cells two-dimensionally arranged along rows and columns in one cell array block. The unit cells are classified into a plurality of cell subgroups, and each of the cell subgroups includes the unit cells constituting a plurality of the rows. Each of the unit cells includes a selection element and a data storage part. A word line is connected to gate electrodes of selection elements of the unit cells constituting each column. Bit lines are connected to data storage parts of the unit cells constituting the rows. A source line, parallel to the bit line, is electrically connected to source terminals of the selection elements of the unit cells in each cell subgroup. The source line is parallel to the bit line. A distance between the source line and the select bit line is equal to a distance between the bit lines adjacent to each other.
US09299387B2	Magnetic disk apparatus, controller and data processing method According to one embodiment, a magnetic disk apparatus includes an RW channel with an internal memory for processing data to be read/written from/to a magnetic disk, a transfer controller for controlling data transfer between a host apparatus and the RW channel, and a processor for controlling the RW channel and transfer controller. The processor reads, from the magnetic disk, predetermined area data including to-be-rewritten data, subjects the read predetermined area data to error correction processing in the RW channel, and stores resultant data in the internal memory. The processor rewrites, with rewrite data from the host apparatus, the to-be-rewritten data of the predetermined area data stored in the internal memory to update the predetermined area data, adds an error correction code to the updated data in the RW channel module, and writes resultant data to the magnetic disk.
US09299378B2	Magnetic recording medium having a recording layer with a diffraction peak of magnetic atoms A magnetic recording medium includes a base material which has flexibility, a lower coating layer, and a recording layer, in which, in X-ray diffraction peaks, a value of Δθ50 where a diffraction peak of magnetic atoms which are included in the recording layer is measured by a locking curve method is 5° or more to less than 10°.
US09299374B2	Dynamically optimizing read performance by adjusting servo-based head location In one embodiment, a method includes determining a reading performance based on one or more metrics, adjusting a commanded lateral reading location of a head relative to a medium, determining the reading performance after the adjusting, comparing the reading performance after the adjusting relative to the reading performance before the adjusting for determining whether the reading performance has improved, and selecting a commanded lateral reading location based on the comparing. In another embodiment, a controller is configured to perform the foregoing method. In yet another embodiment, a computer program product includes a computer readable storage medium having program instructions embodied therewith, the program instructions readable and/or executable by a controller configured to perform the foregoing method.
US09299365B2	Miniskirt tape head having quasi-statically tilted transducer arrays In one general embodiment, an apparatus includes a magnetic head. The magnetic head has a first portion and a second portion, the first portion and the second portion together providing a tape bearing surface. The first portion has two pieces flanking the second portion in an intended direction of tape travel thereacross. The second portion has at least one array of transducers. A longitudinal axis of each of the at least one array is defined between opposite ends thereof. The longitudinal axis of each of the at least one array of transducers is oriented at an angle relative to the line oriented orthogonally to the intended direction of tape travel thereacross, the angle being between 0.2° and about 10°.
US09299359B2	Method and an apparatus for voice quality enhancement (VQE) for detection of VQE in a receiving signal using a guassian mixture model A voice quality enhancement (VQE) detector for a network element receiving an audio signal from a previous network element of a network, wherein said voice quality enhancement detector is adapted: to perform a voice quality enhancement detection based on the received audio signal, wherein said voice quality enhancement detection comprises detecting that at least one voice quality enhancement function, VQEE comprising of a noise cancellation or an echo cancellation function using a Gaussian Mixture Model was applied to the received audio signal by at least one previous network element of the network; and to control a voice quality enhancement processing of the received audio signal depending on the detection result.
US09299357B2	Apparatus and method for decoding audio data An apparatus and method for decoding audio data. The apparatus for decoding the audio data may perform block data unpacking by preferring a channel order to a block order from a bitstream, and perform dithering through preferring a block order to a channel order. Complexity in decoding may be reduced through integrating bitstream searching and the bock data unpacking, and a dithering error may be prevented through processing the block data unpacking and the dithering separately.
US09299356B2	Watermark decoder and method for providing binary message data A watermark decoder includes a time-frequency-domain representation provider, a memory unit, a synchronization determiner and a watermark extractor. The time-frequency-domain representation provider provides a frequency-domain representation of the watermarked signal for a plurality of time blocks. The memory unit stores the frequency-domain representation of the watermarked signal for a plurality of time blocks. Further, the synchronization determiner identifies an alignment time block based on the frequency-domain representation of the watermarked signal of a plurality of time blocks. The watermark extractor provides binary message data based on stored frequency-domain representations of the watermarked signal of time blocks temporally preceding the identified alignment time block considering a distance to the identified alignment time block.
US09299355B2	FM stereo radio receiver by using parametric stereo The invention relates to an apparatus (1) for improving a stereo audio signal of an FM stereo radio receiver (10). It is suggested to employ components of a standard HE-ACC v2 decoder (40) in such apparatus (1) to efficiently recover the stereo audio signal (L\R′) while also exhibiting good signal quality. To that end, parametric stereo parameters (15) shall be quantized and submitted to such decoder (40) together with a mono-downmix signal (25). The decoder (25) can then easily recover the parametric stereo parameters (15) by de-quantizing them via a simple lookup table, and finally creating the stereo output signal (L′R′) from the de-quantized parametric stereo parameters and the mono-downmix signal (25). The apparatus (1) further includes a parameter estimation stage (5) which may again be embodied on the basis of components of a standard HE-ACC v2 encoder (65). After estimating the parametric stereo parameters (15) and generating the mono-downmix signal (25), the encoder (65) will not use further encoding other than the already performed PS-coding. An apparatus (1) according to the invention therefore advantageously includes decoder (40) and/or encoder (65) components of a standard HE-ACC v2 codec—utilizing its parametric stereo parameter processing capabilities.
US09299354B2	Audio encoding device and audio encoding method An audio encoding device includes a processor; and a memory which stores a plurality of instructions, which when executed by the processor, cause the processor to execute, calculating first phases indicating phases of a first channel signal and a second channel signal included in audio signals of a plurality of channels; and performing, on the basis of the first phases, either first predictive coding in which a third channel signal included in the audio signals of the plurality of channels is predicted using the first channel signal and the second channel signal or second predictive coding in which the second channel signal is predicted using the first channel signal.
US09299345B1	Bootstrapping language models for spoken dialog systems using the world wide web A system, method and computer readable medium that generates a language model from data from a web domain is disclosed. The method may include filtering web data to remove unwanted data from the web domain data, extracting predicate/argument pairs from the filtered web data, generating conversational utterances by merging the extracted predicate/argument pairs into conversational templates, and generating a web data language model using the generated conversational utterances.
US09299337B2	Vehicle engine sound enhancement An engine harmonic enhancement system. The EHE system uses multiple parameters, such as engine load, gear, number of cylinders operating, and transmission ratio, to determine EHE gains to determine EHE gain. The EHE system determines a separate EHE gain for each harmonic.
US09299332B2	Appliance having noise reduction device An appliance is provided including a noise reduction device to reduce noise generated within a main body of the appliance. The noise reduction device may include a sound absorbing plate having a plurality of sound absorbing holes and a resonance member, one side of which is open and having a hollow portion, so that noise generated by a drive of the appliance passes through the noise reduction device, in order to efficiently reduce noise in the appliance and achieve an increase of internal capacity, a decrease in weight, and a reduction in manufacturing costs for the appliance.
US09299315B2	Source driving circuit and data transmission method thereof A source driving circuit is disclosed. The source driving circuit includes a first integrated source driver and a second integrated source driver. The first integrated source driver includes a first receiving unit, a timing controller, a first source-driving-unit and a first transmission unit. The first receiving unit receives an original image data through a displayport (DP) interface, and decodes the original image data to a first display data and a second display data. The timing controller transmits a first control signal and a second signal. The first source-driving-unit receives the first control signal and the first display data. The first transmission unit receives the second display data, and the second integrated source driver receives the second control signal and the second display data, so as to elevate the compatibility between the source driver and the DP interface.
US09299314B2	Display device and method for controlling display image A flexible display device and a method for controlling a display image are disclosed. In one aspect, the flexible display device includes a first display which has a flat shape and a second display which is disposed on either side of the first display and has a curved surface bent at a boundary between the first and second displays. The display further includes a controller which controls a screen of at least one of the first and second displays according to a user touch and/or a battery capacity.
US09299312B2	Method and apparatus for generating images using a color field sequential display One embodiment of the present invention sets forth a technique for generating and transmitting video frame data from a graphics processing unit (GPU) to a color field sequential display device capable of displaying an auto-stereoscopic image. A frame buffer image comprising per-pixel packed color channels is transformed to a frame buffer image comprising regions corresponding to the color channels with vertical blanking regions inserted between color sub-field regions. Each region of the transformed frame buffer image is sequentially transmitted to the color field sequential display device for display of the corresponding color channel. Backlight illumination for each color channel is controlled by the GPU for temporal alignment with display of each color channel during the vertical blanking interval. The technique is compatible with lenticular and parallax barrier displays.
US09299311B2	Disabling a display refresh process A method performed by a physical computing system, the method includes disabling a display refresh process of a video controller (202) of the physical computing system if no active display device is connected to the physical computing system. A physical computing system includes a video controller (202) comprising a rendering engine (204) and a display refresh controller (206); a memory controller (212) connected to a memory (214); and a display controller (310) to determine whether an active display device is connected to the physical computing system; in which a display refresh process performed by the display refresh controller (206) is disabled when no active display device is connected to the physical computing system.
US09299305B2	Display device and drive method therefor A polarity inversion control section (9) supplies a polarity designation signal, which designates a polarity of a data signal, to a data line drive circuit (5) while reversing a polarity of the polarity designation signal every frame. Even in a case where a pause driving control section (8) receives a designation signal that designates a sum of the number of frames constituting a scanning period and the number of frames constituting a pause period to be an even number, the pause driving control section (8) maintains the sum of the number of frames constituting a scanning period and the number of frames constituting a pause period to be an odd number.
US09299302B2	Display device A normal display portion, in which image display is performed by typical active-matrix drive, and a memory display portion, in which image display is performed by memory drive are provided on a substrate which defines a liquid crystal panel. Each pixel in the memory display portion is shaped so as to include a curve or a side not parallel to either gate bus lines or source bus lines. A plurality of pixel memory units, each including a flip-flop, are provided so as to correspond to their respective pixels in the memory display portion. Display data is provided to the pixel memory unit that corresponds to the first stage of a shift register which is constituted by connecting the flip-flops in the plurality of pixel memory units in series.
US09299301B2	Display device and method for driving the display device A display device includes a display panel for displaying a still image and for displaying a motion picture. The display panel includes a gate line, a data line, a storage electrode line, a first switching element connected to the gate line and the date line, a storage connected to the switching element and the storage electrode line. The display device further includes a signal controller for providing controlling signals to drive the display panel. The display panel is driven at a first frequency when the motion picture is displayed. The display panel is driven at a second frequency lower than the first frequency when the still image is displayed. When the display panel is driven at the second frequency, a common voltage inputted to the storage electrode line changes.
US09299293B2	Methods and apparatus for backlighting dual modulation display devices Methods and apparatus are provided for backlighting a dual modulation display device. Each type of light source comprises a multi-primary light source having two or more primary color light emitters having different primary color characteristics from corresponding primary color emitters of other types of light source. Methods may comprise receiving illumination target values for a plurality of locations on the front modulator corresponding to the plurality of light sources, each of the locations on the front modulator configured to be illuminated by two or more of the plurality of light sources, determining primary color drive values source based on the primary color characteristics for that primary color and the illumination target value for the location corresponding to that light source, and driving the primary color light emitters or each type of light source based on the primary color drive values.
US09299284B2	System and method for dark noise reduction in pulse width modulated (PWM) displays In accordance with the present invention, there is provided a system and method for dark noise reduction in pulse width modulated (PWM) displays. The system includes means for determining bright corrected pixel values for dark portions of an image corresponding to a first subframe and means for determining dark corrected pixel values for dark image portions of an image corresponding to a second sub frame of the image frame.
US09299280B2	Substrate of electronic device, electronic device including the same, and measuring method of resistance at connection portion A substrate of an electronic device may include a first test region and a second test region to measure resistance at a connection portion. The first test region and the second test region each includes a plurality of measuring pad portions, a protective layer disposed on the plurality of measuring pad portions, and a contact assistance member disposed on the protective layer. The protective layer in the first test region includes a first contact hole exposing the plurality of measuring pad portions. The contact assistance member in the first test region contacts the measuring pad portion exposed through the first contact hole. The protective layer in the second test region includes two second contact holes exposing one measuring pad portion, and the contact assistance member in the second test region contacts the one measuring pad portion through the two second contact holes.
US09299269B2	System for evaluating driving competency of a subject A system for testing and evaluating driving competency of a subject is disclosed. The system includes a first test unit for providing a simple driving reaction test sequence, a complex driving reaction test sequence and a depth perception test sequence, a second test unit for providing a low illumination vision test sequence and a glare recovery test sequence, a third test unit for providing a side vision test sequence, a first switching module for enabling the subject to undergo the simple driving reaction test sequence and the complex driving reaction test sequence, a second switching module for enabling the subject to undergo the depth perception test sequence, the low illumination vision test sequence, and the glare recovery test sequence, a master control unit for interacting and controlling the first test unit, the second test unit, the third test unit, the first switching module, and the second switching module.
US09299258B1	Systems and methods for providing navigational assistance to a parking facility A computer-implemented method that includes receiving a request for navigational assistance to a location, identifying a parking facility at or near the location, identifying a first section of the parking facility having parking availability, identifying a first entrance of the parking facility that corresponds to the first section of the parking facility, providing, via a mobile communications device, navigational assistance to the first entrance of the parking facility, monitoring parking availability at the parking facility, and, prior to receiving an indication that a vehicle associated with the mobile communications device has arrived at the first entrance of the parking facility, determining that a second section of the parking facility currently has a parking availability that exceeds the parking availability of the first section of the parking facility, and providing navigational assistance to a second entrance of the parking facility that corresponds to the second section of the parking facility.
US09299255B2	Method and system for providing location information of a vehicle to a user device A user device application transmits the device's location and unique identifier with a message requesting location information that corresponds to a vehicle associated with the user device's unique identifier. The application sends the request message over a communication network to a central computer. The central computer obtains location information corresponding to the vehicle from a device proximate the vehicle. The central computer compares the locations of the user device and telematics device and generates a location differential value corresponding to the distance between them. If the differential value meets predetermined criteria, the central computer causes an action, for example forwarding the location information corresponding to the vehicle to the requesting user device. Or, the central computer sends the requesting device a request denied message. The central computer may also deny the request when the vehicle is moving, or if the user device has requested the vehicle's location too frequently.
US09299247B2	System and method for adjusting machine parameters A system for adjusting machine parameters based on a skill level of an operator comprises a personal area network (PAN)-compatible electronic control module (ECM) located on a machine. The system also includes a PAN-compatible communication device associated with an operator of the machine. The PAN-compatible communication device is configured to receive information indicative of the skill level of the operator. The PAN-compatible communication device is also configured to establish a wireless communication link with the PAN-compatible ECM and transmit the information indicative of the skill level of the operator to the PAN-compatible ECM. The PAN-compatible ECM is configured to adjust an operational aspect of the machine based on the information indicative of the skill level of the operator of the machine.
US09299230B2	Modular exoskeletal force feedback controller Portable force feedback controllers (PFFCs) designed to be worn on a user's limb, track the movement of the user's limb, and provide force feedback capability. In some embodiments, the PFFCs may include interchangeable modules that can be quickly and easily connected and disconnected so that the PFFC may be easily modified for a particular application. In yet other embodiments, various PFFC modules are moveably coupled and have at least one degree of freedom so that the PFFC can accurately follow the natural movements of a user's limb.
US09299225B2	Value media dispenser recognition systems Value media is driven along a media path through a value media dispenser. While traversing the path, the media is imaged and a denomination and serial number for the media extracted from media image. The media image, denomination, and serial number are recorded for tracking and monitoring of the value media being dispensed from the value media dispenser.
US09299217B2	Gaming terminal with rotatable lever handle To provide a gaming terminal capable of effectively preventing breakage of a support mechanism of a lever-type operation device or the like and a method of providing notification, when a lever 6100 is rotated by a player during the running of a game, the angle of inclination is detected by an inclination detection mechanism 600a, and history information is updated based on the detected angle of inclination. Then whether the updated history information satisfies a predetermined warning condition is determined. A warning is issued to the player and the number of warnings is updated if the predetermined warning condition is satisfied, and the game being run is invalidated when the number of warnings reaches a predetermined value.
US09299215B2	Using non-wagering-game state for wagering games A wagering game system and its operations are described herein. In some embodiments, the operations can include initiating a wagering game session and accessing a non-wagering game (e.g., a simulation social network game) during the wagering game session. The non-wagering game and wagering game can be associated with the same user. The operations can further include detecting a state (e.g., one or more virtual assets) of the non-wagering game. The operations can further include presenting the wagering game based on the state of the non-wagering game. For instance, the operations can select a type of wagering game content to present or modify a volatility of the wagering game based on the state of the non-wagering game.
US09299208B2	Method, control unit for a device, and device provided with a control unit A control unit for an automatic device for preparing a beverage is provided with an input which enables the user to choose from a plurality of formulations a formulation for the beverage to be prepared. The control unit is provided with an operating unit for controlling a preparation unit of the automatic device. The input comprises an image input for visually observing the user and for generating image signals which are representative of the visual observation. The operating unit is arranged for generating control signals for the preparation unit of the automatic device as a reaction to the image signals.
US09299206B2	Apparatus and method for currency tracking A currency container, method of managing a currency container and a cash management system are disclosed. The currency container includes a container body such as a rigid cassette or flexible bag for storing currency notes. The container includes at least one near field communication (NFC) tag for indicating information associated with the container such as an ID of the container and/or a value of currency stored in the container.
US09299199B2	Synchronization of records of duty status between a vehicle and a stationary unit A system for synchronizing records of duty status (RODS) information of a vehicle with a stationary unit includes: at least one mobile unit, and a stationary unit configured to store RODS transmitted by the mobile unit. The mobile unit is configured to generate RODS, store the generated RODS, and transmit RODS to the stationary unit. The mobile unit is further configured to transmit a newly generated first RODS to the stationary unit in an initial synchronization step of a synchronization process of the RODS stored on the mobile unit and the RODS stored on the stationary unit. The mobile unit is further configured to generate a checksum of the first RODS after transmission of the first RODS to the stationary unit and to transmit only the checksum of the first RODS to the stationary unit in a subsequent synchronization step.
US09299198B2	Fleet vehicle aftermarket equipment monitoring A processor of a server may receive, from a plurality of vehicles, fleet alerts indicative of vehicle locations and status of aftermarket equipment installed to the vehicles, identify fleet alerts associated with vehicles of a fleet, and generate, based on the fleet alerts, fleet data providing the vehicle locations and status of the aftermarket equipment of the vehicles of the fleet. A processor of a vehicle may receive vehicle data including vehicle location and aftermarket data including a status of aftermarket equipment installed to the vehicle, determine a condition of an alert rule indicative of a status of aftermarket equipment installed to the vehicles is satisfied, and send an fleet alert to a remote service indicative of the status of the aftermarket equipment.
US09299195B2	Scanning and tracking dynamic objects with depth cameras A video conference server receives a plurality of video frames including a current frame and at least one previous frame. Each of the video frames includes a corresponding image and a corresponding depth map. The server produces a directional distance function (DDF) field that represents an area surrounding a target surface of the object captured in the current frame. A forward transformation is generated that modifies the reference surface to align with the target surface. Using at least a portion of the forward transformation, a backward transformation is calculated that modifies the target surface of the current frame to align with the reference surface. The backward transformation is then applied to the DDF to generate a transformed DDF. The server updates the reference model with the transformed DDF and transmits data for the updated reference model to enable a representation of the object to be produced at a remote location.
US09299190B2	Dental computed tomography apparatus The invention relates to a dental computed tomography apparatus which includes an x-ray imaging means and at least one color camera for photographing the face of a patient positioned at the imaging station of the apparatus from different directions and at least one laser or a corresponding lighting arrangement, which is fitted to direct a light pattern at different locations on the face of a patient positioned at the imaging station, and a means arranged into functional connection with said at least one color camera for creating a virtual three-dimensional surface model from the light-pattern information directed at different locations on the face of the patient positioned at the imaging station, and a means for combining said face image information detected by said at least color camera to said surface model of the patient's face to create a virtual three-dimensional texture model of the patient's face.
US09299178B2	Generation of animated gesture responses in a virtual world Responding to gestures made by third parties in a virtual world by receiving a gesture from a first avatar directed to at least one second avatar. For at least one second avatar, a reply gesture may be selected that corresponds to the received gesture. The reply gesture may be output for communication to the first avatar.
US09299177B2	Apparatus, method and non-transitory computer-readable medium using layout similarity An apparatus comprises a generation unit configured to generate a plurality of layouts by arranging at least one image on a template; a decision unit configured to decide a display order of the plurality of layouts generated by the generation unit such that a similarity between two layouts that are successive in the display order becomes not more than a predetermined similarity; and a display control unit configured to cause a display device to display the plurality of layouts in accordance with the display order decided by the decision unit.
US09299175B2	Graph display control device, graph display control method and graph display control program A test data obtaining unit for obtaining pieces of medical test data used to generate a plurality of graphs; a reference test data specifying unit for specifying reference test data from among the pieces of medical test data; a similarity calculation unit for calculating similarity of variation of each of pieces of non-reference test data other than the reference test data to variation of the reference test data; and a display control unit for selecting pieces of non-reference test data to be separately displayed from the pieces of non-reference test data based on the similarity of each non-reference test data, displaying non-reference graphs based on the pieces of non-reference test data to be separately displayed respectively on independent coordinate axes, and displaying non-reference graphs based on the pieces of non-reference test data that are not selected to be separately displayed together on the same coordinate axes are provided.
US09299171B2	Adaptive calibration for tomographic imaging systems A method comprises: acquiring imaging data using a tomographic radiological imaging apparatus (10); updating a calibration (42, 52) based on current information about the imaging apparatus; calibrating the imaging data using the up-to-date calibration; and reconstructing the calibrated imaging data to generate an image. The updating may be based on a current state of an idle or parked imaging modality that is not used in acquiring the imaging data, or on a measurement acquired together with the imaging data, or on the imaging data itself. For cone-beam computed tomography (CBCT) imaging data, the updating may comprise determining an intensity scale based upon intensity of at least one air pixel measured during the acquiring of the CBCT imaging data and updating an air scan template (60) by the intensity scale.
US09299168B2	Context aware user interface for image editing A non-transitory machine readable medium that has a computer program for adjusting color values of an image represented in a color space. The image includes several pixels. Each pixel includes a set of color values. The computer program receives a selection of a location on the image. The computer program determines a type of content that is associated with the selected location on the image. From several different image editing operations, the computer program selects a set of image editing operations based on the determined type of content. The computer program displays a set of user interface controls that is associated with the selected set of image editing operations.
US09299154B2	Method and device for filtering a disparity map The invention relates to a method for filtering a disparity map associated with one of the views of a stereoscopic image comprising the steps of identifying the pixels (xn) with which is associated an erroneous disparity value (d(xn)) by comparison with the disparity values of the neighbouring pixels (xn−1, xn+1) and correcting the disparity values of the identified pixels.
US09299140B2	Method for reconstructing CT image data with weighted backprojection, including computation unit and CT system for the method A method, a computation unit and a CT system are disclosed for reconstructing CT image data, which includes a plurality of image voxels, by way of a weighted filtered back-projection. To weight the projection data during the filtered back-projection, a weight function is used, which weights the projection data from central beams which strike a detector row relatively close to the edge of the row relatively less, and which weights the projection data of central beams, which strike a detector row more relatively centrally, relatively more.
US09299139B2	Volumetric analysis of pathologies Systems and methods are provided for volumetric analysis of pathologies. A segmentation component is configured to determine, for each of a series of images of a region of interest containing a pathological feature, a set of segmentation boundaries within the image representing a cross-section of the pathological feature. A mesh generation component is configured to link the sets of segmentation boundaries from adjacent images in the series of images to generate a polygonal mesh representing a volumetric reconstruction of the pathological feature. A volumetric measurement component is configured to calculate volumetric parameters from the volumetric reconstruction representing the pathological feature. A user interface is configured to provide the calculated volumetric parameters to an associated display.
US09299124B2	Padding for multi-channel memory Techniques described in the disclosure are generally related to reserving padding bytes in system memory when storing data in the system memory. The reserving of padding bytes may allow a memory interface to efficiently utilize the channels to the system memory when storing or subsequently retrieving the data.
US09299121B2	Preemptive context switching Methods, systems, and computer readable media embodiments are disclosed for preemptive context-switching of processes running on a accelerated processing device. Embodiments include, detecting by an accelerated processing device a memory exception, and preempting a process from running on the accelerated processing device based upon the detected exception.
US09299117B2	Method and system for managing inventories of orthopaedic implants A system and method for managing inventories of orthopaedic implants includes receiving a medical image of a bone of a patient from a healthcare provider, performing a digital templating procedure on the medical image to determine an orthopaedic implant for use with the bone of the patient; transmitting the digital templated medical image to the healthcare provider, and shipping the orthopaedic implant to the healthcare provider in response to an electronic approval of the digital templated medical image received from the healthcare provider. Implant constraint data may also be received from the healthcare provider and used in determining the orthopaedic implant. In addition, a number of orthopaedic implants having a range of different sizes based on the size of the determined orthopaedic implant may be shipped to the healthcare provider. In some embodiments, the healthcare provider may perform the digital templating procedure on the medical image.
US09299115B2	Optimizing user selection for performing tasks in social networks Embodiments relate to optimizing user response rate in social media. One embodiment includes generating a model for modeling a likelihood of social media user response from data collected from social media based on social media user filtering criteria and historical information. Modeling the likelihood includes estimating ability of social media users to perform a particular task based on social media user information including tracking of the social media users, evaluating previous task responses and personality features. Social media users are selected based on estimated ability to perform the particular task for maximizing a response rate.
US09299105B2	Correcting errors in mortgage applications Methods, systems, and products determine a cost to correct mortgage applications. When electronic data is submitted in an electronic mortgage application form, the electronic data is checked for errors. If an error is determined, a cost to resolve the error is also determined.
US09299103B1	Techniques for image browsing A set of images may be obtained by a computing system of a user device. A display may be provided on the user device including a first image of the set of images. An indication may be received that indicates a tilt action of the user device. Based at least in part on the tilt action being within a particular tilt threshold, a partial view of the first image and a partial view of the second image may be provided to the user.
US09299102B1	Presence and proximity driven filtering of applications and media content Access to certain application programs and/or media content items at or from an online storefront are granted or denied for a requesting computing device based on whether a subject computing device is present at or within a threshold proximity to a reference computing device or a reference location. The requesting computing device may include the reference computing device or another computing device.
US09299099B1	Providing recommendations in a social shopping trip A system and machine-implemented method for providing one or more participants of a social shopping trip with recommendations, including analyzing context information regarding a social shopping trip, wherein the context information includes information regarding the types of items related to the social shopping trip as identified by one or more of the participants, analyzing one or more items posted to the social shopping trip by one or more participants of the social shopping trip, including analyzing the characteristics of the one or more items and feedback data relating to the one or more items provided by the one or more participants, determining one or more item characteristics corresponding to the social shopping trip based on results of analyzing the context information and the one or more items and providing a listing of one or more recommended items based on the one or more item characteristics.
US09299098B2	Systems for generating a global product taxonomy Techniques for generating a globally applicable taxonomy of e-commerce goods are described. According to various exemplary embodiments described herein, a taxonomy management system is configured to analyze item listing titles and user search queries in order to identify a set of globally applicable product types that serve as universal descriptors of the underlying things or objects that are the subject of an item listing or the likely user intended subject of a user search query. Such globally applicable product types are agnostic as to any specific product inventory or product category structure of an e-commerce website. After the taxonomy management system identifies product types, the taxonomy management system may incorporate the identified product types into a global product taxonomy that identifies the globally applicable product types.
US09299096B2	Systems, methods, and computer program products for on-line gifting A method includes receiving an identification of a first item to be purchased, entering the first item into an electronic shopping cart facilitating an on-line transaction, providing a method of payment for a value of the first item to the shopping cart, and sending the value of the first item and a description of the item to a recipient with at least the following electronic options from which the recipient may choose: accepting the first item with payment made and modifying the transaction in accordance with the value of the first item.
US09299091B1	Audience Segment Selection A user interface for selecting an audience segment from a pool of tracked entities based on an aggregate similarity of the audience segment to an archetypical audience. A graphical representation illustrating a relationship between a composite index for the audience segment and an audience segment size are displayed to the user. User input indicating the archetypical audience and the audience segment is received by a system and the audience segment is assembled. The composite index and the audience segment size associated with the audience segment, are determined and displayed.
US09299086B2	Information processing apparatus, information processing method, and computer-readable recording medium which controls the displaying of content from a server An information processing apparatus according to the present invention includes an acquisition unit, a first control unit, and a second control unit. The acquisition unit acquires a plurality of contents from a server. The first control unit provides control to display the contents on a display unit during execution of predetermined processing. The second control unit provides control to switch the contents being displayed in response to a user operation.
US09299082B2	Fast streams and substreams Various embodiments provide data structures and algorithms for efficiently computing a time ordered stream that is the combination of a time ordered substream for individual persons of interest. In addition, various embodiments provide an approach for identifying how many changes of interest have happened to a particular stream since it was last viewed.
US09299067B2	Method of obtaining payment information using an imaging barcode scanner A method of obtaining payment information using an imaging barcode scanner. An example method includes activating, by a processor, an imaging barcode scanner to scan a payment medium, such as a payment card, to obtain payment information from the payment medium. The processor may activate the imaging barcode scanner after failing to receive the payment information from a default payment peripheral, such as a card reader.
US09299064B1	Scoreboards for electronic games Game scores are obtained and associated with tiers based at least in part on game scores. Also, social networking contacts who are also players of the game are identified. A scoreboard is generated that shows the tiers, rankings of a respective one of the players, and the social networking contacts who were identified.
US09299062B2	Online wizard for facilitating methodology implementation Embodiments of a method for creating a methodology implementation that supplements a business application are described. In one embodiment, a comprehensive customer engagement methodology is maintained on a server and defines processes and disciplines related to the business application. A series of requests is received from a collaborative computing environment. The series of requests collectively represent a request for a collection of documents and related metadata included in the comprehensive customer engagement methodology. The series of requests are then responded to by providing a copy of the collection of documents and related metadata.
US09299061B2	Augmented screen sharing in an electronic meeting Described are methods for providing contextually relevant data to participants of an electronic communication. A screen sharing session is established between a plurality of participants of the electronic communication. A set of contextual relevance data is determined between contents of the screen sharing session, at least one of the participants, and external data related to the at least one of the participants. The screen sharing session is changed to include the contextual relevance data.
US09299057B2	Message search method and electronic device An example method includes displaying information associated with a first message of a first type on a display of an electronic device, detecting initiation of a search associated with the first message, identifying, by the electronic device, a search request determined from an element of the first message, searching, by the electronic device, for a second message of the first type and a third message of a second type, wherein the second message and the third message correspond to the search request, and displaying information associated with the second message and information associated with the third message.
US09299052B2	Device movement detection when powered down Systems and methods detect a power supply device of an apparatus being disconnected from an external AC power source and control a DC power storage element of the apparatus to supply power to a processor and directional force sensor of the apparatus. Such systems and methods record directional force measurements output by the directional force sensor and a measure of time output by a clock device of the apparatus while the processor detects that the power supply is disconnected from the external AC power source to store directions, magnitudes, and time durations of the directional force measurements in a non-transitory computer-readable storage medium of the apparatus. These systems and methods calculate and output a path of movement of the apparatus that occurred while the apparatus was disconnected from the external AC power source based on the directions, magnitudes, and time durations of the directional force measurements using the processor.
US09299045B2	Determining software complexity Methods, apparatus, and computer program products for determining software complexity. A plurality of versions of a software module whose complexity is to be determined are compressed. Lengths of the compressed versions are compared, one with another, to provide complexity metrics.
US09299033B2	Method and apparatus for detecting abnormal transition pattern A method for detecting an abnormal transition pattern from a transition pattern includes: first extracting an episode pattern with an appearance frequency greater than or equal to a first frequency from an episode pattern represented with a description form so as to include a first transition pattern and a second transition pattern differing in an order of a part of items from the first transition pattern to have a complementary relation thereto; second extracting a third transition pattern with an appearance frequency greater than or equal to a second frequency from the transition pattern; and specifying a transition pattern other than the third transition pattern from transition patterns included in the extracted episode pattern, and determining an abnormal transition pattern based on the transition pattern specified in the specifying when the third transition pattern includes a fourth transition pattern corresponding to the extracted episode pattern in the first extracting.
US09299030B1	Predictive page loading based on navigation Disclosed are various embodiments for predictive network page loading. Content corresponding to a network request is obtained. A next network page associated with the obtained page content is predicted. If the prediction is confident relative to a predetermined confidence threshold, then a first network page is generated. The first network page includes the page content corresponding to the network request and a portion of content for the predicted network page. The generated first network page is provided to a client. A request for another network page is received. If the another network page in the request corresponds to the predicted next network page, a second network page is generated. The second network page includes the remainder of the content for the predicted page content.
US09299025B1	Case-based reasoning system using case generalization method A method includes comparing a user-specified context having natural language contextual antecedents to cases stored in a case base. Each stored case includes case antecedents and case consequents. A matching case exists and is selected if the case antecedents exactly match the contextual antecedents. If no match exists, a best-matching case is determined and selected. The best-matching case may be determined by generalizing the situational part of a rule and comparing the user-specified context to the stored (generalized) cases. The best-matching case is the case having the highest ratio of matching generalized case antecedents to contextual antecedents and having a matching error ratio that does not exceed an error ratio threshold. The case consequents of the selected matching case or best matching case are then displayed to a user, with case base adjustment performed based upon feedback provided by the user in response to the displayed case consequents.
US09299007B2	Methods and apparatus for item identification using brightness compensation Methods and apparatus are provided for low resolution item identification using brightness compensated images. An image of an unknown item is captured in digital RGB image format and converted to HSV image format. Then the HSV formatted image is quantized which greatly reduces the resolution of the image. The quantized HSV image data of the unknown item is compared to a plurality of quantized HSV image data for known items. The comparison includes using a signal-to-noise ratio calculated using the quantized HSV image data for both the unknown and known items. A match is found when the calculated signal-to-noise ratio is above a predetermined threshold value.
US09299005B2	Image processing apparatus and method An image processing apparatus and method include a receiver configured to receive an image, a display configured to display the received image, an extractor configured to extract a first object contour by applying a preset algorithm to an area of the displayed image designated by a user and extract a second object contour based on the designated area, an image analyzer configured to analyze the displayed image, and a controller configured to determine weight values for the first and second object contours based on an analysis result of the image analyzer and extract an object contour based on the first and second object contours to which the determined weight values are applied. The image processing apparatus extracts an object intended by a user even in a heavily noisy image.
US09299004B2	Image foreground detection In techniques for image foreground detection, a foreground detection module is implemented to generate varying levels of saliency thresholds from a saliency map of an image that includes foreground regions. The saliency thresholds can be generated based on an adaptive thresholding technique applied to the saliency map of the image and/or based on multi-level segmentation of the saliency map. The foreground detection module applies one or more constraints that distinguish the foreground regions in the image, and detects the foreground regions of the image based on the saliency thresholds and the constraints. Additionally, different ones of the constraints can be applied to detect different ones of the foreground regions, as well as to detect multi-level foreground regions based on the saliency thresholds and the constraints.
US09299001B2	Object identification using sparse spectral components One or more systems and/or techniques are provided to identify and/or classify objects of interest (e.g., potential granular objects) from a radiographic examination of the object. Image data of the object is transformed using a spectral transformation, such as a Fourier transformation, to generate image data in a spectral domain. Using the image data in the spectral domain, one or more one-dimensional spectral signatures can be generated and features of the signatures can be extracted and compared to features of one or more known objects. If one or more features of the signatures correspond (e.g., within a predetermined tolerance) to the features of a known object to which the feature(s) is compared, the object of interest may be identified and/or classified based upon the correspondence.
US09298993B2	On-street vehicle parking occupancy estimation via curb detection A method and system for on-street vehicle parking occupancy estimation via curb detection comprises training a computer system to identify a curb, evaluating image data of the region of interest to determine a region wherein a curb is visible in said region of interest, and estimating a parking occupancy of said region of interest according to said region where said curb is visible.
US09298992B2	Geographic feature-based localization with feature weighting A system, device, and methods for autonomous navigation using geographic feature-based localization. An example method includes identifying one or more geographic features based on information received from one or more sensors disposed on a vehicle as the vehicle traverses a route and associating one of a horizontal space and a vertical space with each of the one or more geographic features. The example method further includes comparing the one or more geographic features to a geographic feature map and generating a localized vehicle position based on the comparison between the one or more geographic features and the geographic feature map. Comparing the one or more geographic features to the geographic feature map can include applying weights to the one or more geographic features based in part on the space association for each of the one or more geographic features.
US09298991B2	GPS-based machine vision roadway mark locator, inspection apparatus, and marker An apparatus for locating, inspecting, or placing marks on a roadway. The apparatus includes a GPS-based machine vision locator for sampling discrete geographical location data of a pre-existing roadway mark evident on the roadway. A computer may determine a continuous smooth geographical location function fitted to the sampled geographical location data. And a marker is responsive to the GPS-based locator and geographical location function for replicating automatically the pre-existing roadway mark onto the roadway. The apparatus is typically part of a moving vehicle. A related method is disclosed for locating, inspecting, and placing marks on a resurfaced roadway. A similar apparatus can be used to guide a vehicle having a snow plow along a snow-covered roadway, or a paving machine along an unpaved roadway surface.
US09298982B2	System and method for computing the visual profile of a place A system and method for computing a place profile are disclosed. The method includes providing a geographical definition of a place, retrieving a set of images based on the geographical place definition. With a classifier, image-level statistics for the retrieved images are generated. The classifier has been trained to generate image-level statistics for a finite set of classes, such as different activities. The image-level statistics are aggregated to generate a place profile for the defined place which may be displayed to a user who has provided information for generating the geographical definition or used in an application such as a recommender system or to generate a personal profile for the user.
US09298978B1	Optical fish recognition Example techniques are disclosed for performing optical recognition of fish. For example, image features can be extracted from an image of a fish and used in conjunction with location or time information to determine a species of the fish. The classification can be performed with one or more trained classifiers that are trained using training images of fish having labels indicating species of the fish.
US09298976B2	Method, apparatus and computer readable recording medium for managing a reference face database to improve face recognition performance under a restricted memory environment Various embodiments of the present disclosure presents a method for managing a reference face database to improve face recognition performance under a restricted memory environment, said method comprising: acquiring a new input face image; determining a classification condition corresponding to the input face image with reference to classification conditions of existing registered face images of a reference face database used for face recognition; and if the classification condition corresponding to the input face image is a specific classification condition and the value of the face image corresponding to the specific classification condition in the reference face database is less than a preset threshold value, selecting the input face image as an image that can be additionally registered to the reference face database.
US09298973B2	Face impression analyzing method, aesthetic counseling method, and face image generating method The face impression analyzing device (100) includes a facial form acquiring unit (10), a face component analyzing unit (50), a face impression determining unit (60), and a storage unit (70). The facial form acquiring unit (10) acquires facial form information representing a form of a face surface of a subject. The storage unit (70) stores one or more feature values obtained by applying multivariate analysis to target population face information representing three-dimensional forms of facial surfaces of a target population formed by a plurality of persons, and tendency information indicating an impression tendency of a facial shape associated with each of the one or more feature values. The face component analyzing unit (50) calculates an amount of revelation of each of the one or more feature values of the face of the subject on the basis of the facial form information of the subject, and the feature value extracted from the target population face information. The face impression determining unit (60) refers to the storage unit (70), and acquires the impression tendency of the face of the subject or the degree of the impression tendency on the basis of the feature value of the face of the subject and the amount of revelation of the feature value.
US09298972B2	Image processing apparatus and image processing method In a case where detecting a face contained in an image, the face is detected in all directions of the image by combining the rotation of a detector in the face detecting direction, and the rotation of the image itself. If the angle made by the image direction and the detecting direction of the detector is an angle at which image deterioration readily occurs, the detection range of the detector is made narrower than that for an angle at which image deterioration hardly occurs.
US09298965B2	Biometric authentication device and biometric authentication method A biometric authentication device includes a sensor which generates illumination images in which an object carrying biometric information is photographed while a light source is turned on, and a non-illumination image in which the object is photographed while the light source is turned off. The biometric authentication device generates difference images by subtracting from a luminance value of each pixel of each illumination image a luminance value of a corresponding pixel of the non-illumination image and determines an integration number, based on a statistical value of luminance values of a first difference image, so that the integration number increases as an influence of luminance values of pixels included in at least one region of the first difference image due to the noise superimposed on the first difference image increases, and generates the biometric image based on the integration number of the difference images.
US09298964B2	Imaging terminal, imaging sensor to determine document orientation based on bar code orientation and methods for operating the same Embodiments of an image reader and/or methods of operating an image reader can capture an image, identify a bar code or IBI form within the captured image, and, store or display the captured image responsive to the an orientation of the bar code.
US09298962B1	Compact mirror arrangement for and method of capturing light and illuminating targets through a horizontal window of a point-of-transaction workstation A pair of overhead mirror portions splits a field of view of an imager into first and second subfields of view. An illuminating assembly is energized to illuminate a target. A first part of the imager is exposed to capture return illumination light from the target passing through a horizontal window of a workstation over the first subfield of view, and a second part of the imager is alternately and subsequently exposed to capture return illumination light from the target passing through the horizontal window over the second subfield of view.
US09298961B2	Optical code reader An apparatus for presentation reading of optical information with removable reader includes an optical information reader and a cradle or stand having a seat for seating the reader facing a predetermined optical information reading zone. The reader has an illuminator and the stand has an illuminator. A processor is configured to control a capture of an image of at least one portion of the reading zone, to analyze the image and, based on the analysis, to drive the switching on of either of the illuminator of the reader and/or the illuminator of the stand. The stand includes an optical component at the illuminator of the reader and/or at an aimer of the reader when seated in the seat, to define an aiming pattern and/or to modify the features of the illuminating beam of the reader.
US09298960B2	Method and apparatus for providing omnidirectional lighting in a scanning device Systems and methods are provided for selectively controlling the illumination, and particularly dark field illumination, applied to a symbol to be decoded, and for determining a suitable or optimized level of lighting for decoding the symbol. A method includes providing a light source comprising a plurality of individually-controllable lighting elements for providing low angle dark field illumination; activating an image sensor for detecting image data reflected from an encoded data symbol when the encoded data symbol is illuminated by the light source; and providing a controller connected to each of the individually-controllable lighting elements, the controller being programmed for: selectively activating the individually-controllable lighting elements to vary the direction of the low angle dark field illumination provided by the light source; and processing the image data detected by the image.
US09298954B1	Tag security systems and methods for articles of merchandise A tag security system has a plurality of hubs positioned within a store. A security tag is attached to an article of merchandise and tracked, via the hubs, to determine when the security tag is moved to a predefined area, such as close to a store exit. An alarm is provided when the security tag is determined to be within the predefined area. In addition to providing merchandise security, the security tag is used for other purposes, such as taking inventory and marketing analysis. As an example, during a store-wide inventory, the approximate location of the article of merchandise may be determined via wireless communication with the security tag. Also, the security tag may be used to sense when consumers are handling the article of merchandise thereby providing marketing information indicative of consumer interest in such article. Further, unlocking of the security tag from the article of merchandise may be automatically controlled based on a message confirming that the article has been purchased thereby frustrating attempts to defeat the security provided by the system.
US09298952B2	CMOS logarithmic current generator and method for generating a logarithmic current A CMOS logarithmic current generator includes current mode circuitry having a design principle based on a Taylor's series expansion that approximates an exponential function. A MOSFET circuit provides a function generator core cell having a biasing current Ib. The FETs of the circuit are matched and are biased in the weak inversion region. Additional transistors are used to convert a pair of input currents to a pair of voltages to provide an output current based upon a current mode logarithmic function. The biasing current Ib can be varied to provide a variable gain in the circuit.
US09298950B2	Undiscoverable physical chip identification Methods and circuits for undiscoverable physical chip identification are disclosed. Embodiments of the present invention provide an intrinsic bit element that comprises two transistors. The two transistors form a pair in which one transistor has a wide variability in threshold voltage and the other transistor has a narrow variability in threshold voltage. The wide variability is achieved by making a transistor with a smaller width and length than the other transistor in the pair. The variation of the threshold voltage of the wide variability transistor means that in the case of copies of intrinsic bit elements being made, some of the “copied” wide variability transistors will have significantly different threshold voltages, causing some of the intrinsic bit elements of a copied chip to read differently than in the original chip from which they were copied.
US09298944B2	Confidential information delivery in a multi-device environment An automated technique for delivering confidential information in a multi-device environment may include receiving confidential information at a first computing device associated with a first user from a second computing device associated with a second user, masking the confidential information on the first computing device while displaying non-confidential information received from the second computing device (if any), and forwarding the confidential information for display on a third computing device that is capable of displaying the confidential information more securely than the first computing device, the third computing device being associated with the first user or a third party authorized to view the confidential information.
US09298941B2	Secure data copying A method, computer program product, and system for the anonymization of sensitive data from a plurality of selected business objects or tables stored in a plurality of data fields in at least one primary database included in an enterprise database system when copying portions of the at least one primary database to a secondary database or updating an existing database with anonymized values for the sensitive fields therein. A plurality of data fields is specified for copying from the at least one primary database. At least one integrity map is generated and populated for each data field in the primary database requiring anonymization before copying to the secondary database. The at least one integrity map is stored in a table associated with the primary database. An anonymized value is generated for each data field in the primary database requiring anonymization. Each data field in the primary database requiring anonymization is substituted with the anonymized value. The portions of the at least one primary database including anonymized values are copied to a secondary database.
US09298940B1	Secure storage for shared documents Embodiments are directed towards managing data storage for secure storage of shared documents. A user or an application may provide data destined for encryption and a public key. Instruction set information that references at least a seed file that may be installed on the network computer may be generated. An encryption key based on the instruction set information may be generated. Header information that includes the instruction set may be generated. And, the header information may be encrypted using the public key. A secure bundle that includes the public key, the encrypted header information, and the encrypted data may be generated and provided to the user that provided the data and the public key or the application that provided the data and the public key. Decrypting the data included in the secure bundle the above actions are generally performed in reverse.
US09298938B2	System and method for general purpose encryption of data Systems and methods for reducing problems and disadvantages associated with traditional approaches to encryption and decryption of data are provided. An information handling system may include a processor, a memory communicatively coupled to the processor, and an encryption accelerator communicatively coupled to the processor. The encryption accelerator may be configured to encrypt and decrypt information in accordance with a plurality of cryptographic functions, receive a command from the processor to perform an encryption or decryption task upon data associated with an input/output operation, and in response to receiving the command, encrypt or decrypt the data associated with the input/output operation based on a particular one of the plurality of cryptographic functions.
US09298936B2	Issuing security commands to a client device Disclosed are various embodiments for issuing security commands, such as a wipe command, to a client device. An application executed by the client device can include a mail proxy that can act as a proxy to a remote mail server and determine compliance with compliance rules. Should the client device violate a compliance rule, the mail proxy executed by the client device may issue a security command to a mail client executed by the client device.
US09298915B2	Intelligent heuristics for file systems and file system operations A data system may detect and halt unauthorized bulk data copy operations without interfering with or degrading authorized data copy operations. Characteristics of a request for access to a file system may be analyzed to determine whether a bulk data copy operation has been requested by a user. The bulk data copy operation may be allowed if the operation is below a particular permitted copy threshold or if the requesting user is authorized to execute a bulk data copy operation exhibiting certain characteristics.
US09298914B1	Enterprise data access anomaly detection and flow tracking Anomalous access activity is detected and managed. Access of enterprise data on multiple client computers is monitored and logged. The resulting log information identifies accessed units of enterprise data and corresponding access context. Log information concerning access of specific units of data on multiple client computers is received over a period of time and amalgamated. Statistical analysis is performed on amalgamated log information, thereby determining access baselines for data over the time period. Received log information concerning access of a specific unit of data on a specific client computer is compared to corresponding access baseline(s). Responsive to the comparison indicating that the access deviates from a baseline in excess of a threshold, the access is classified as being anomalous. Alerts are automatically output in response to detecting anomalous data access. Reports documenting data access activity on multiple client computers over time are generated, based on amalgamated log information.
US09298913B2	Method of detecting intrusion based on improved support vector machine A method of detecting network intrusion based on improved support vector machine is disclosed. The method comprises the steps of identifying a plurality of features; computing information gain of each of the features; selecting a pre-determined number of features based on the computed information gain and augmenting that set of pre-determined number of features with special features to form a set of selected features; and classifying a network connection based on the selected features using support vector machine. In order to achieve better detection accuracy, cross-validation and grid-search are applied to select the radial basis function for the support vector machine.
US09298902B2	System, method and program product for recording creation of a cancelable biometric reference template in a biometric event journal record A system, method and program product for recording the creation of a cancelable biometric reference template in a biometric event journal record. The method includes providing a base biometric reference template having a unique base reference template identifier that uniquely identifies base biometric data collected for an individual, applying a data transform function having a first function key value to the base biometric reference template to create one cancelable biometric reference template and recording the one cancelable biometric reference template in a biometric event journal record. The method further includes creating additional cancelable biometric reference templates using different function key values of the data transform function. The method further includes encrypting the data transform function and the function key value applied to the base biometric reference template. The method further includes signing the cancelable biometric reference template and signing the biometric event journal with a digital signature.
US09298897B2	Method of and systems for privacy preserving mobile demographic measurement of individuals, groups and locations over time and space Disclosed are techniques for privacy preserving mobile demographic measurement of individuals, groups, and locations over time and space. A method of estimating demographic information associated with a user of a mobile device and/or a location while preserving the privacy of the user based at least in part on a location estimate of the mobile device of the user includes receiving an estimated geographical location of the mobile device of the user and receiving a time at which the mobile device was at the estimated geographical location. The method includes assigning substitute identifiers for the geographical location and the time at which the mobile device was at the estimated geographical location. The method includes associating the geographical areas substitute identifiers with demographic information and estimating demographic information associated with the user of the mobile device based on the substitute identifiers and based on the demographic information associated with substitute identifiers.
US09298887B2	Medication management system A medication management system (100) for controlling access to medication. The system (100) comprises of a portable, electronically locking cassette (102) and a docking station (104). The cassette (102) comprises at least one internal compartment (110) adapted for storing patient-specific medication, a cover (114) adapted for restricting access to said compartment (110), a locking mechanism (112) for securing said cover (114), and means for storing a cassette identifier associated with said cassette. The docking station (104) comprises means for storing at least one authorized cassette identifier and at least one authorized user identifier, an input device (140) for receiving a user identifier, a cassette identifier, and a function identifier, and a controller (500B) for coupling said cassette (102) dependent upon said cassette identifier and said at least one authorized cassette identifier, validating a received user identifier and a received cassette identifier based upon said at least one authorized user identifier and said at least one authorized cassette identifier, operating said locking mechanism (112) based upon a received function identifier and said validation, and uncoupling said cassette (102) dependent upon said validation.
US09298874B2	Time-variant temperature-based 2-D and 3-D wire routing Various features pertain to circuit design schemes that route wires based on temperature. In one aspect, time-variant temperature conditions along a prospective route are taken into account when determining whether to use the route for a wire. For example, a route can be selected from among a set of prospective two-dimensional (2-D) or three-dimensional (3-D) routes based on which route is associated with the “smoothest” temperature gradient. Other aspects of the disclosure pertain to determining or exploiting adjustable search windows, layer wiring densities, worst-case skew values and resistance-capacitance (RC) coupling characteristics, particularly for use with 3-D routing within the layers of a stacked multi-layer substrate.
US09298870B1	Method for designing topographic patterns for directing the formation of self-assembled domains at specified locations on substrates Methods and computer program products for designing topographic patterns for directing the formation of self-assembled domains at specified locations on substrates. The methods include generating mathematical models that operate on mathematical descriptions of the number and locations of cylindrical self-assembled domains in a mathematical description of a guiding pattern.
US09298867B2	Modular system and method for simulating performance of an electrical device A system for simulating operation of an electrical device includes a printed circuit board assembly (PCBA) and a host machine. The PCBA includes a communications module, modular power switching modules (PSMs), and modular cells. Using an associated method, each PSM applies a predetermined pulse width modulation (PWM) duty cycle to AC input power to generate a calibrated DC output voltage. The cells, which are connected to a respective PSM, include a microcontroller. The host machine transmits a controller area network (CAN) cell state message to the communications module. The communications module converts the cell state messages into corresponding serial messages, and transmits the serial messages to the microprocessors of the cells to cause the cells to set their states to the desired simulation state. The cells generate the desired simulation state using PWM and transmit a cell status message back to the host machine via the communications module.
US09298864B2	System including network simulation for mobile application development A system, method and software product emulate and profile an application playing on a mobile device. The mobile device is emulated using a model based upon characteristics related to performance of the mobile device. The application is played and monitored within the model to determine resource utilization of the application for the mobile device.
US09298850B2	System and method for exclusion of irrelevant data from a DOM equivalence A computer-implemented process, computer program product, and apparatus for computing excluded data. A web page of interest is identified to form an identified page. The identified page is loaded a first time to form a first load, and responsive to a determination that a delta has not been computed for the identified web page, the identified page is loaded a second time to form a second load. Whether portions of the first load differ from portions of the second load is determined. Responsive to a determination portions of the first load differ from portions of the second load, the portions that differ to form a delta are identified. The delta is stored to form stored delta and the stored delta is excluded from a document object model associated with the identified page to form a modified document object model.
US09298848B2	Managing a template in an operator graph Embodiments of the disclosure provide a method, system, and computer program product for managing a template on an operator graph. The method for managing a template on an operator graph can include receiving the template for processing a stream of tuples. The template can have a plurality of template elements operating on one or more computer processors. The method can include calculating a resource requirement of a template element from the template. The method can include calculating a resource availability of a virtual machine. The method can include allocating the template onto the operator graph. The operator graph can have a plurality of processing elements operating on one or more computer processors. The method can also include mapping the template element from the template onto the virtual machine as a function of the resource requirement of the template element and the resource availability of the virtual machine.
US09298835B2	Social static ranking for search In one embodiment, one or more computing devices receive, from a client device of a first user, a query from the first user. The computer devices search a social graph to identify one or more nodes of the social graph that are relevant to the query. The computer devices obtain a static rank for each identified node. The static rank is based at least in part on a number of edges of a particular edge type that are connected to the node in the graph or attributes of edges connected to the node in the graph. The computer devices send to the client device of the first user for display, a search-results page responsive to the received query. The search-results page includes reference to one or more nodes having a static rank greater than a threshold rank.
US09298831B1	Approximating a user location Systems and methods for approximating a user location are provided. For instance, historical location data and internet protocol address data can be analyzed to identify a plurality of locations. A confidence score for each of the plurality of locations can be determined. Two or more locations of the plurality of locations that form a cluster can be identified and the confidence scores for each of the two or more locations that form a cluster can be modified by adjusting each confidence score by a weight associated with the cluster.
US09298829B2	Performing a function on rows of data determined from transitive relationships between columns In an embodiment, a request is received that specifies a function and a specified key value. Rows from all tables that are accessible from the specified key value are transitively searched, wherein the transitively searching further comprises finding values in a plurality of pairs of columns, wherein found rows that are found by the transitively searching comprise values in a respective first column of the plurality of pairs of columns that satisfy a dependency relationship with values in a respective second column of the plurality of pairs of columns. The function is executed against only the found rows.
US09298828B1	Supplementing search results with historically selected search results of related queries A computer-implemented method for identifying search results satisfying a search query received from a user includes obtaining a set of ranked search results that satisfies the search query, and identifying, using historical search query data, a search result that was selected by users who issued the search query and that corresponds to at least one related search query in at least one chain of related search queries that are related to the search query. The method further includes determining, using the historical search query data, a frequency that the search query led to a selection of the identified search result; inserting the identified search result into the set of ranked search results based on the frequency that the search query led to the selection of the identified search result; and returning the set of ranked search results to the user.
US09298827B2	Media recorder Systems and methods enabling the recording of a wide variety of online media for storage and later consumption are disclosed. The media can include audio, video, images, text and multi-media. The stored recordings can be played on internet-enabled devise such as televisions, mobile phones, personal computers, tablets, game systems, or the like. Recording is optionally accomplished using distributed recorders each making use of a virtualized browser.
US09298822B2	Determining missing media control information based on previous media transmissions A processor receives a media rating associated with a first media program and metadata associated with the first media program. The processor stores the metadata and the media rating associated with the first media program in a local database. The processor receives a second media program absent a media rating. The processor determines metadata associated with the second media program absent the media rating. The processor searches the local database based on the metadata associated with the second media program absent the parental control rating. The processor matches the metadata associated with the second media program absent the media rating to the metadata of the first media program including the media rating, and the processor applies the media rating of the first media program to the second media program.
US09298821B2	Determining missing media control information based on previous media transmissions A processor receives a media rating associated with a first media program and metadata associated with the first media program. The processor stores the metadata and the media rating associated with the first media program in a local database. The processor receives a second media program absent a media rating. The processor determines metadata associated with the second media program absent the media rating. The processor searches the local database based on the metadata associated with the second media program absent the parental control rating. The processor matches the metadata associated with the second media program absent the media rating to the metadata of the first media program including the media rating, and the processor applies the media rating of the first media program to the second media program.
US09298820B2	Digest video generation apparatus A terminal device includes circuitry configured to acquire designated image data stored in a memory. The circuitry may sort the designated image data based on a time at which the designated image data was captured. The circuitry may divide the sorted image data into a plurality of time slots and calculate, based on features of the designated image data corresponding to each time slot of the plurality of time slots, a time slot score for each of the plurality of time slots. The circuitry may allocate, based on the time slot score, a portion of a digest video to each of the plurality of time slots. The circuitry may generate, for each time slot, a local digest video by assigning an amount of the designated image data to the local digest video corresponding to the time slot, and generate the digest video by connecting the generated local digest videos.
US09298819B2	Method and control unit for determining an identification code for an audio data packet A method for determining an identification code for an audio data packet. The method includes receiving an audio data stream and a temporally audio metadata stream. The audio data stream includes an audio data packet and partial identification data. The audio metadata stream includes an identification code. The audio data stream is stored in the buffer, and the audio data packet is output, the audio metadata stream temporally no longer corresponding to the audio data stream when the audio data packet is output. A recording signal is read when outputting a buffer-stored audio data packet to be selected, and the partial identification data of the selected buffer-stored audio data packet is stored. A portion of the audio metadata stream currently received is analyzed to determine the identification code for the audio data packet if the stored partial identification data match the data from the audio metadata stream.
US09298808B2	Encrypted search acceleration Techniques are disclosed for using a false positive-prone data structure to store normalization data for use in an encrypted search context. A file host server in a cloud provider network may provide search functionality for a user's encrypted data by use of a search index. In updating the search index, the server consolidates common identities of the user on different web services (e.g., an e-mail service or a social media service) into a normalized identifier. These normalization values are stored in the false positive-prone data structure (e.g., a colliding hash table, a Bloomier filter, etc.). Consequently, the data structure may return false positives after a search operation. The server may filter out these false positives before returning search results.
US09298802B2	Recommendation engine using inferred deep similarities for works of literature A recommendation engine for works of literature uses patterns of flow and element similarities for scoring a first user-rated work of literature against one or more recommendation candidate works of literature. Cluster models are created using meta-data modeling the works of literature, the meta-data having literary element categories and instances within each category. Each instance is described by an index value (position in the literature) and significance value (e.g. weight or significance). Cluster finding process(es) invoked for each instance in each category find Similarity Concept clusters and Consistency Trend clusters, which are recorded into the cluster models representing each work of literature. The cluster model can be printed or displayed so that a user can visually understand the ebb and flow of each literary element in the literature, and may be digitally compared to other cluster models of other works of literature for potential recommendation to a user.
US09298799B1	Method and apparatus for utilizing patterns in data to reduce file size A method for managing records in an object-oriented database is disclosed. Modified representations of data in fields of records is generated in response to patterns in the data. The modified representations of the data is compressed utilizing similarities in the modified representations of the data.
US09298792B2	Database synchronization Synchronization of data items between parties A and B. A maintains copies of data items and an A change count and a B change count for each data item. The A change count indicates the number of changes made by A, and the B change count indicates the number of changes made by B and known to A. After a synchronization trigger, A sends to B each data item that A has changed, plus the A change count and the B. change count for each sent data item. A receives from B each data item that B has changed, plus the A change count and the B change count for each received data item. A detects a conflict if the received A change count differs from the maintained A change count.
US09298788B1	Checkpointing in distributed streaming platform for real-time applications Software for a distributed streaming platform receives a data stream for an application running on a distributed streaming platform over a networked cluster of servers. The software converts the data into a plurality of data tuples structured according to a schema. And the software repeatedly emits a specified number of the data tuples as a streaming window, which is separated from other streaming windows by a leading control tuple associated with an ordinal identifier for the streaming window and by a trailing control tuple associated with the same ordinal identifier. Then the software emits a checkpointing tuple following the trailing control tuple after a specified number of streaming windows. The checkpointing tuple causes checkpointing of an instance of an operator for the application when the checkpointing tuple is received by the instance.
US09298779B1	Combining content with a search result Methods, systems, and apparatus include computer programs encoded on a computer-readable storage medium, including a method for providing content. Search results responsive to a query are identified including a first search result in a top set of search results, the first search result associated with a first entity. A first eligible content item is identified for presentation along with the search results, the first eligible content item associated with the first entity. A combined content item is identified that is a combination of the first search result and first eligible content item and is to be presented as a search result responsive to the query. The combined content item is augmented including: identifying entities related to the first entity, identifying content items that are associated with the related entities, selecting at least one identified content item, and using content from the selected content items to augment the combined content item.
US09298777B2	Personalization of web search results using term, category, and link-based user profiles A system and method for creating a user profile and for using the user profile to order search results returned by a search engine. The user profile is based on search queries submitted by a user, the user's specific interaction with the documents identified by the search engine and personal information provided by the user. Terms for the user profile may be selected from the documents accessed by the user by performing paragraph sampling or context analysis. Generic scores associated with the search results are modulated by the user profile to measure their relevance to a user's preference and interest. The search results are re-ordered accordingly so that the most relevant results appear on the top of the list. User profiles can be created and/or stored on the client side or server side of a client-server network environment.
US09298773B2	Nested complex sequence pattern queries over event streams A method of evaluating nested complex sequence pattern queries includes obtaining events from an event stream and evaluating the events within a first window using an outer query to produce outer partial results. The method also includes determining a more stringent window constraint, the more stringent window constraint comprising a subset of the window constraint corresponding to events that produces the outer partial results and passing the more stringent window constraint to an inner query nested within the outer query. A complex event processing system is also provided.
US09298766B2	Empathy injection for question-answering systems Exemplary methods and devices herein receive an inquiry and automatically analyze words used in the inquiry, potential answers, and data maintained by evidence sources using the computerized device to determine the sensitivity level associated with the inquiry. The sensitivity level associated with the inquiry represents an emotional and cognitive state of the user. Such methods and devices automatically generate at least one follow-up question based on the sensitivity level associated with the inquiry and receive a follow-up response into the computerized device in response to the follow-up question(s). The methods and devices also automatically produce scores for the potential answers using the computerized device based on the inquiry, the follow-up responses, and ratings of the evidence sources. Following this, these methods and devices automatically generate output answers to the inquiry based on the sensitivity level associated with the inquiry using the computerized device.
US09298764B2	Partial source verification of EDC data Systems, methods, and other embodiments associated with partial source verification are described. In one embodiment, a method includes selecting, from a corpus of records, a set of records that includes fewer records than the corpus, where each record corresponds to an instance of an electronic form that records information about a given subject. The set of records is provided for source verification.
US09298761B2	Adaptive merging in database indexes A method for implementing adaptive merging in database indexes includes selecting a key range from a database query having a range predicate and searching a database for data matching the key range. The data matching the key range is merged to form a collected dataset which is stored for future retrieval. A method for optimizing B-tree representation of a database using actual queries is also provided.
US09298759B2	Smart containers Smart containers are disclosed. A system for managing content comprises an interface to receive an operation associated with an instance of a smart container. The smart container comprises a logical structure configure using a definition to manage associated content. The system for managing content comprises a processor configured to determine whether the operation is allowable based at least in part on a policy; and in the event that the operation is allowable, perform the operation. A memory is coupled to the processor and is configured to provide the processor with instructions.
US09298756B1	Read/write RFID system for animals A method for maintaining identification and records relating to animals comprising the steps of obtaining information about an animal electronically and using RFID technology with a read/write functionality for storage of information; and implanting a RFID microchip implant having the read/write functionality within the animal which may be utilized for animals such as equine.
US09298753B2	Resolving pairwise links to groups The present invention extends to methods, systems, and computer program products for resolving pairwise links to groups. Embodiments of the invention use an iterative algorithm to transform a collection of pairwise links to groups of records that correspond to the same entity. The algorithm can be stopped after any number of iterations for an increasing accurate approximation result. The algorithm essentially guarantees a correct solution for groups of size up to the number of iterations. This algorithm scales linearly on the size of the record set, with little impact from the number of links.
US09298749B2	Universal data management interface A universal data management interface (UDMI) system includes a processing system generates a visual interface through which a user can access, manage, and manipulate data on plural different types of remote databases. The UDMI connects to multiple standard database management systems and to allow multiple users to access, manage, and manipulate data within each of the multiple standard database management systems. The UDMI also allows multiple virtual databases that reside in a single database to be available as a network service.
US09298748B2	Apparatus and method providing content service A method and apparatus for providing contents services. The method of using a contents service includes the operations of receiving a list of available contents services from a first server and displaying the list, transmitting, to the first server, a list of contents services selected from the displayed available contents service list, and updating service subscription data with reference to the selected contents service list. Accordingly, the subscription of contents services, such as a channel service that provides each user with different information according to subscription information, can be managed at any time and at any place without being dependent on a specific PC or a specific PC program. Even while moving without being connected with a PC, a mobile device can automatically update its contents.
US09298742B2	Information processing apparatus and control method thereof An information processing apparatus which searches for a plurality of image files shot in succession from among a plurality of files, comprises a search unit which searches for the image files based on file attributes; an obtaining unit which obtains associated information added to each of the found image files; a determination unit which determines whether continuity exists between a plurality of image files having the same attribute based on the associated information; and a setting unit which sets the plurality of image files determined to have continuity as belonging to the same group, wherein the associated information added to each image file includes identification information indicating a file of an image shot after that file, and identification information indicating a file of an image shot before that file.
US09298740B2	System and method for enhancing the normalization of parcel data System and methods are disclosed that attempt to verify data related to a parcel against mapping and addressing data. If the data cannot be verified, then an enhanced normalization process may be performed. The enhanced normalization process may attempt to group the parcel with some other parcels based on parcel characteristics. If the grouping is successful, then normalization may be performed on the grouping. Normalization may involve checking whether the grouping satisfies a set of grouping criteria.
US09298730B2	System and method for viewing medical images A method facilitates viewing of DICOM medical images by providing a 16-bit DICOM image on a computer readable storage medium, text-converted metadata of the DICOM image and an html-compatible conversion of the DICOM pixel data on a computer readable storage medium. Pixel data of the DICOM image is converted by dividing the 16-bit image into two 8-bit color channels stored in an image referenced by a web page using a uniform resource locator. The two 8-bit color channels are later reassembled within a portable web browser according to instructions set forth in computer readable program code associated with the web page.
US09298729B2	Plural architecture master data management According to one embodiment of the present invention, a system for managing data within a plurality of data management architectures comprises at least one processor. The system persists an entity managed by a first data management architecture to a second data management architecture. The first data management architecture manages entity data within one or more data sources, while the second data management architecture manages persisted entities with data from the one or more data sources within a common repository. A modification to data of the persisted entity is detected within the one or more data sources, and the modified data is synchronized with the persisted entity in the repository of the second data management architecture. Embodiments of the present invention further include a method and computer program product for managing data within a plurality of data management architectures in substantially the same manner described above.
US09298727B2	Plural architecture master data management According to one embodiment of the present invention, a system for managing data within a plurality of data management architectures comprises at least one processor. The system persists an entity managed by a first data management architecture to a second data management architecture. The first data management architecture manages entity data within one or more data sources, while the second data management architecture manages persisted entities with data from the one or more data sources within a common repository. A modification to data of the persisted entity is detected within the one or more data sources, and the modified data is synchronized with the persisted entity in the repository of the second data management architecture. Embodiments of the present invention further include a method and computer program product for managing data within a plurality of data management architectures in substantially the same manner described above.
US09298726B1	Techniques for using a bloom filter in a duplication operation Techniques for using a bloom filter in deduplication are described herein. A change log comprising a plurality of data blocks may be received. Values associated with the data blocks may be hashed and compared with a bloom filter. The comparison with the bloom filter identifies data blocks from the change log as unique data blocks or potential duplicate data blocks. A bit by bit comparison of the potential duplicate data blocks and previous data blocks may be performed to determine if any of the potential duplicate data blocks are identical to any of previous data blocks. Such data blocks of the change log that are identified as being identical may be deduplicated.
US09298724B1	Systems and methods for preserving deduplication efforts after backup-job failures A computer-implemented method for preserving deduplication efforts after backup-job failures may include (1) identifying a deduplicated data system that reduces redundant data storage by storing and referencing a plurality of deduplicated data segments and reclaims storage space by deleting unreferenced data segments from the deduplicated data system, (2) identifying a backup job that backs up data to the deduplicated data system, causes the deduplicated data system to store at least one new data segment available to be referenced within the deduplicated data system, and fails after the deduplicated data system stores the new data segment within the deduplicated data system causing the new data segment to be unreferenced within the deduplicated data system, and (3) causing the deduplicated data system to retain the new data segment until the backup job is retried despite the new data segment being unreferenced. Various other methods, systems, and computer-readable media are also disclosed.
US09298720B2	Systems and methods for fragmented data recovery Systems and method relating generally to data processing, and more particularly to systems and methods for fragmenting a data set and recovering the fragmented data set. As one example, a data processing system is discussed that includes: a fragmenting circuit operable to separate a data set into at least a first fragment and a second fragment; and a transfer packet formation circuit operable to: append identification information to the front of the first fragment, and at least a first M+N bits of the second fragment to the end of the first fragment to yield a first transfer fragment, and aggregate the first transfer fragment with other transfer fragments to yield an aggregate output.
US09298708B2	Business card information exchange method combining character recognition and image matching Provided in the present invention is a method for exchanging business card information by combining character recognition and image matching, and the method is applicable in a network system composed of a website server, a first client, and a second client. The method comprises at least: the first client uploading to the website server character information and an image feature acquired from a business card image of a second client user; the website server retrieving all the prestored business cards matched with the character information from a business card database, performing an image feature matching, then selecting a candidate business card on the basis of the similarity of the image feature, and determining if the candidate business card belongs to the second client user; if so, then after obtaining the second client' permission, the website server transmitting the business card information of the second client user to the first client, while also transmitting the business card information of the first client to the second client; and if not, then ending the procedure. This ensures the accuracy and recognition speed of exchanging business card information, and further protects the privacy of the business card owners.
US09298702B1	Systems and methods for pairing of a semantic network and a natural language processing information extraction system Systems and methods for coupling a semantic network editing tool and a natural language processing (NLP) system are disclosed. In one embodiment, a network editing tool includes or is connected to an application module configured to facilitate queries to the NLP system and extraction of data from a collection of document by the NLP system for integration of contents with the semantic network.
US09298701B2	Machine translation device, machine translation method, and recording medium storing machine translation program A machine translation device that translates a first language sentence into a second language sentence, the machine translation device includes: a translation unit configured to translate the first language sentence or the second language sentence into a third language sentence; and a second language translated sentence output unit configured to output a second language sentence corresponding to the first language sentence using a search result obtained by searching a database that stores more example sentences of a third language than example sentences of a first language and a second language using the translated third language sentence as a search key.
US09298700B1	Determining similar phrases Techniques for determining phrases that are related or similar to a source phrase are described herein. These techniques may include analyzing a corpus of text to locate a first set of phrases that differ from a received source phrase by one word. The techniques may then combine these words of the first set of phrases that differ from the source phrase to create a second set of phrases. The techniques may then filter out a portion of the second set of phrases before outputting another portion for use as an identifier, for association with a user account or for any other use.
US09298699B2	Presentation of written works based on character identities and attributes A method is provided for presenting a written work. A character identity is recognized within a written work. Presentation information for the written work, such as a graphical scheme or an electronic voice, is determined based on the character identity. The presentation information is provided to a user computing device. The user computing device renders the written work or a portion thereof using the presentation information.
US09298698B2	Language detection based upon a social graph Techniques for determining one or more preferred languages for a user are provided. The preferred languages may be determined based upon a set of language indicators. The language indicators are analyzed using, for example, rules-based techniques, clustering, language classifiers, and the like, or combinations thereof. Language indicators can include or be derived from information about the user's behavior, location, preferences, social connections, or other data related to the user.
US09298692B2	Real time data tagging in text-based documents An aspect provides a method, including: receiving user input to an input component of an information handling device; generating a machine based representation of the user input; analyzing, using a processor, the representation of the user input; forming, using a processor, a tag based on contextual user data related to the user input; and providing, using a processor, an indication of the tag. Other aspects are described and claimed.
US09298686B2	System and method for simulating discrete financial forecast calculations A method is provided for creating a simulated spreadsheet. The method includes receiving information from a simulated spreadsheet template, separating the simulated spreadsheet template from information within the simulated spreadsheet template, storing the simulated spreadsheet template and the corresponding information separately, calculating any calculable information within the information by using spreadsheet formula syntax, and presenting a simulated spreadsheet that includes the calculated information.
US09298684B2	Implementing custom user interface forms in a personal information manager Technologies are described herein for incorporating custom user interface (UI) forms into a personal information manager (PIM) application using a declarative form markup specification. A native PIM form specification is generated from a file containing the declarative form markup describing the custom UI form. When a request to display the custom UI form is received, a PIM native form renderer invokes a forms runtime engine that loads the original declarative form markup to process data bindings and event subscriptions contained therein. The custom UI form is then rendered to the display by the PIM native form renderer in conjunction with the forms runtime engine.
US09298682B2	Annotating images Methods, systems, and apparatus, including computer program products, for generating data for annotating images automatically. In one aspect, a method includes receiving an input image, identifying one or more nearest neighbor images of the input image from among a collection of images, in which each of the one or more nearest neighbor images is associated with a respective one or more image labels, assigning a plurality of image labels to the input image, in which the plurality of image labels are selected from the image labels associated with the one or more nearest neighbor images, and storing in a data repository the input image having the assigned plurality of image labels. In another aspect, a method includes assigning a single image label to the input image, in which the single image label is selected from labels associated with multiple ranked nearest neighbor images.
US09298673B2	Electronic device and information processing method The present disclosure provides an electronic device and an information processing method. The electronic device comprises: a processor which comprises N processing units to process data and perform data input and output; a data processing interface coupled to Q processing units among the N processing units, which compresses raw data received from the Q processing units to obtain compressed data; and a memory coupled to the data processing interface, which receives and stores the compressed data, where N≧1 and 1≦Q≦N.
US09298667B2	Device management using virtual interfaces cross-reference to related applications Methods managing data communication between a peripheral device and host computer system are provided. A physical interface for communicating data between a peripheral device and the plurality of applications executing on the host computer system is opened and controlled by a software module. A first virtual interface and a second virtual interface of the software module are exposed to an operating system of the host computer system, and the operating system exposes the first virtual interface and the second virtual interface to the first application and the second application. The first virtual interface is used for communicating data between the peripheral device and the first application through the physical interface, and the second virtual interface is used for communicating data between the peripheral device and the second application through the physical interface.
US09298659B2	Input/output (I/O) expansion response processing in a peripheral component interconnect express (PCIE) environment Embodiments of the invention relate to non-standard input/output (I/O) adapters in a standardized I/O architecture. An aspect of the invention includes implementing non-standard I/O adapters in a standardized I/O architecture. A request is received at an I/O adapter from a requester to perform an operation on one of the I/O adapters. It is determined that the request is in a format other than a format supported by an I/O bus and that the requester requires a completion response for the request. The request is transformed into the format supported by the I/O bus, and is transmitted to the I/O adapter. The completion response is received from the I/O adapter, and includes an indicator that the request has been completed. The completion response is in the format supported by the I/O bus. The completion response is transmitted to the requester.
US09298657B2	Semiconductor device and data processing system There is provided a semiconductor device having a reduced number of external terminals allocated for address input to receive access from outside, while realizing a high-speed response to an access from outside.The semiconductor device employs, in order to allow other external devices to directly access resources it possesses in its own address space, in an external interface circuit, external terminals which input a part of the address signal required for access from outside, a supplementary register which supplements the upper portion of address information that has been input from the external terminals, a mode register accessible from outside, and an address control circuit which generates an address signal to access the address space in a form based on information input from the external terminals, required supplementary information, and mode information of the mode register.
US09298648B2	Method and system for I/O flow management using RAID controller with DMA capabilitiy to directly send data to PCI-E devices connected to PCI-E switch Disclosed is a system and method for generating IO in PCIe devices and flow management of the IO.
US09298646B2	Procedure for the preparation and performing of a post issuance process on a secure element The invention relates to a method for enabling post issuance operation on a secure element connectable to a communication device. The method allows an SE controlling party to perform remotely operations such as creation of new security domains for an external party, loading, and installation of applications of an external party and management functions including personalization and activation of applications loaded on the SE for an external party. The method includes the steps of: collecting data stored on the SE suitable for identification of the SE and data for contacting the SE controlling party; creating an initial data packet from the collected data, sending the data packet to a party which can be the external party, an agent of the external party, the SE controlling party, an agent of the SE controlling party. The invention further relates to a communication device and a software application for implementing the method.
US09298638B2	Dynamic caching module selection for optimized data deduplication Embodiments of the invention provide a method, system and computer program product for dynamic caching module selection for optimized data deduplication. In an embodiment of the invention, a method for dynamic caching module selection for optimized data deduplication is provided. The method includes receiving a request to retrieve data and classifying the request. The method also includes identifying from amongst multiple different caching modules each with a different configuration a particular caching module associated with the classification of the request. Finally, the method includes deduplicating the data in the identified caching module.
US09298637B2	Dynamic caching module selection for optimized data deduplication Embodiments of the invention provide a method, system and computer program product for dynamic caching module selection for optimized data deduplication. In an embodiment of the invention, a method for dynamic caching module selection for optimized data deduplication is provided. The method includes receiving a request to retrieve data and classifying the request. The method also includes identifying from amongst multiple different caching modules each with a different configuration a particular caching module associated with the classification of the request. Finally, the method includes deduplicating the data in the identified caching module.
US09298618B1	Managing cache memory in a parallel processing environment An apparatus comprises a plurality of processor cores, each comprising a computation unit and a memory. The apparatus further comprises an interconnection network to transmit data among the processor cores. At least some of the memories are configured as a cache for memory external to the processor cores, and at least some of the processor cores are configured to transmit a message over the interconnection network to access a cache of another processor core.
US09298616B2	Systems and methods for tracking working-set estimates with a limited resource budget Embodiments of the systems and techniques described here can leverage several insights into the nature of workload access patterns and the working-set behavior to reduce the memory overheads. As a result, various embodiments make it feasible to maintain running estimates of a workload's cacheability in current storage systems with limited resources. For example, some embodiments provide for a method comprising estimating cacheability of a workload based on a first working-set size estimate generated from the workload over a first monitoring interval. Then, based on the cacheability of the workload, a workload cache size can be determined. A cache then can be dynamically allocated (e.g., change, possibly frequently, the cache allocation for the workload when the current allocation and the desired workload cache size differ), within a storage system for example, in accordance with the workload cache size.
US09298614B2	Combined rank and linear address incrementing utility for computer memory test operations Embodiments include a combined rank and linear memory address incrementing utility. An aspect includes an address incrementing utility suitable for implementation within a memory controller as an integrated subsystem of a central processing unit (CPU) chip. In this type of on-chip embodiment, the address incrementing utility utilizes dedicated hardware, chip-resident firmware, and one or more memory address configuration maps to enhance processing speed, efficiency and accuracy. The combined rank and linear memory address incrementing utility is designed to efficiently increment through all of the individual bit addresses for a large logical memory space divided into a number of ranks on a rank-by-rank basis. The address incrementing utility sequentially generates all of the sequential memory addresses for a selected rank, and then moves to the next rank and sequentially generates all of the memory addresses for that rank, and so forth until of the ranks have been processed.
US09298597B2	Automated testing of websites based on mode Examples of techniques for testing websites are described herein. In one example, a method for testing a website includes receiving, via a processor, a website address of the website to be tested. The method can include determining, via the processor, whether the website is in a staging mode or a production mode. The method can also include configuring, via the processor, a testing application to test the website according to the determined mode.
US09298596B2	Test framework for computing jobs According to one embodiment of the present invention, a system tests jobs in a computing environment. The system creates a test case for one or more existing executable jobs without modifying the job design or recompiling the executable itself, wherein the test case includes one or more capture points in a job flow of the executable jobs and corresponding rules for capturing data, identification of data for testing the one or more executable jobs, and rules for comparing the captured data to expected results. The system captures the data at the one or more capture points in the job flow in accordance with the test case and generates a baseline of expected results. The system executes the test case to test the one or more executable jobs by capturing data at the one or more capture points generated from execution of the one or more executable jobs and compares result data from the one or more capture points to the baseline of expected results in accordance with the comparison rules to determine a result of the test. Embodiments of the present invention further include a method and computer program product for testing jobs in a computing environment in substantially the same manners described above.
US09298592B2	Testing a software interface for a streaming hardware device Embodiments of the disclosure relate to testing a software interface for a streaming hardware device through simulation. Methods include receiving, by a processor, a data manipulation request and a data segment associated with the data manipulation request and generating, by the software interface, an input data stream comprising control information and the data segment. The method also includes transmitting the input data stream to a simulation device and generating, by the simulation device, an output data stream in response to the input data stream, the output data stream including a delineator, control data, a manipulated data segment and a trailing delineator. The simulation device is configured to simulate the operation of the streaming hardware device by performing the data manipulation request.
US09298582B1	Method and apparatus for performance data transformation in a cloud computing system Methods and apparatus to provide performance data transformation in a cloud computing system. In one embodiment, the system performs data transformation with information from a configuration subsystem, to generate metrics for network layer, storage layer, compute layer, and logical components.
US09298580B2	Assessment of processor performance metrics by monitoring probes constructed using instruction sequences Monitoring probes constructed using instruction sequences are used to assess processor performance metrics. A probe comprising an instruction sequence is selected. The instruction sequence can be configured to measure at least one hardware metric. A first probe value is received. The first probe value can be based, at least in part, on the hardware metric. The first probe value can be determined from execution of the probe in a first execution environment. The probe can be executed a second time to determine a second probe value. The second probe value can be based, at least in part, on the hardware metric. The second probe value is determined in a second execution environment including at least one workload. The first probe value and the second probe value can be compared to produce a performance assessment of the second execution environment.
US09298576B2	Collecting processor usage statistics In accordance with some implementations, a method of collecting statistics about processor usage is disclosed. The method is performed on a data storage server having one or more processors and memory storing one or more programs for execution by the one or more processors. The server system executes one or more processes, wherein each of the one or more first processes is associated with an entity from a group of one or more entities. The server system then receives an interrupt signal at a first predetermined interval. In response to receiving the interrupt signal and for each processor of the one or more processors, the server system interrupts the process currently being executed on the processor. The server system increments the counter associated with the interrupted process. The server system then resumes the interrupted process.
US09298571B2	Method and apparatus for correlating input and output messages of system under test A method and apparatus for determining correlation between input and output messages in a system under test (SUT) is provided in the present invention. The SUT is provided with preset watch-points, and the running of the SUT is detected by triggering watch-points in a test platform at its run time. The method includes the steps of: upon detecting a message input operation, finding a variable that stores an input message, associating the variable with a tag of the input message, and adding a watch-point for the variable in the test platform; as well as, upon detecting network output operation, finding a variable that stores an output message of the SUT; and determining correlation between the output message and an input message according to a tag associated with the variable that stores the output message.
US09298556B2	Graphics processing watchdog active reset An advantageous watchdog function deduces faulty operation of a graphics processing unit from historical-indicating parameters while also accommodating more active testing performed by an application. When a GPU fault is detected, the example non-limiting technology rapidly resets the GPU during an interframe time so the GPU is ready to process new frame instructions or display lists and avoids missing or skipping further frames.
US09298549B2	Read buffer architecture supporting integrated XOR-reconstructed and read-retry for non-volatile random access memory (NVRAM) systems According to one embodiment, a system includes a read buffer memory configured to store data to support integrated XOR reconstructed data and read-retry data and logic configured to receive data units and read command parameters used to read the data units from a non-volatile random access memory (NVRAM) device, determine which read buffers from the read buffer memory to store the data units, determine an error status for each of the data units, wherein the error status indicates whether each data unit includes errored data or error-free data, store each error-free data unit and the read command parameters to a corresponding read buffer, reject each errored data unit without affecting a corresponding read buffer, and retry to read only errored data units from the NVRAM device until each of the data units is stored in the read buffer memory.
US09298548B2	Distributed computing in a distributed storage and task network A method begins by a dispersed storage (DS) processing module selecting a set of distributed storage and task (DST) execution units for executing a task and determining dispersed storage error coding parameters for data. The method continues with the DS processing module dispersed storage error encoding the data in accordance with the parameters to produce a plurality of encoded data blocks and grouping the plurality of encoded data blocks into a plurality of encoded data block groupings. The method continues with the DS processing module partitioning the task into a set of partial tasks, outputting at least some of the plurality of encoded data block groupings to the set of DST execution units, and outputting the set of partial tasks to the set of DST execution units for execution of the set of partial tasks on the at least some of plurality of encoded data block groupings.
US09298547B2	Detection/erasure of random write errors using converged hard decisions A low-density parity-check decoder in a system with multi-level cells identifies zones of reliability where write errors or stuck cells are identifiable. The system uses assumedly successfully decoded pages associated with bits in a cell to identify candidate write errors or stuck cells and erases a corresponding log-likelihood ratio even where such log-likelihood ratio is saturated, thereby breaking a potential trapping set without post-processing.
US09298543B2	Electrically erasable programmable memory device that generates error-detection information A controller includes a link interface that is to couple to a first link to communicate bi-directional data and a second link to transmit unidirectional error-detection information. An encoder is to dynamically add first error-detection information to at least a portion of write data. A transmitter, coupled to the link interface, is to transmit the write data. A delay element is coupled to an output from the encoder. A receiver, coupled to the link interface, is to receive second error-detection information corresponding to at least the portion of the write data. Error-detection logic is coupled to an output from the delay element and an output from the receiver. The error-detection logic is to determine errors in at least the portion of the write data by comparing the first error-detection information and the second error-detection information, and, if an error is detected, is to assert an error condition.
US09298538B2	Methods and systems for abnormality analysis of streamed log data This disclosure presents systems and methods for run-time analysis of streams of log data for abnormalities using a statistical structure of meta-data associated with the log data. The systems and methods convert a log data stream into meta-data and perform statistical analysis in order to reveal a dominant statistical pattern within the meta-data. The meta-data is represented as a graph with nodes that represent each of the different event types, which are detected in the stream along with event sources associated with the events. The systems and methods use real-time analysis to compare a portion of a current log data stream collected in an operational window with historically collected meta-data represented by a graph in order to determine the degree of abnormality of the current log data stream collected in the operational window.
US09298531B1	Watchdog timer with mode dependent time out A method and apparatus to operate a watchdog timer having a first time out period in a processing system. The watchdog timer receives an indication of a change in a mode of operation in the processing system. In response to the change in the mode of operation of the processing system, the watchdog timer changes the time out period to a second time out period corresponding to the new mode of operation.
US09298520B2	Generating a sequence of instructions on the basis of a dependency chart generated through application of at least one dependency rule The disclosure relates in particular to the processing of commands targeting at least one element of a cluster including a plurality of elements, the at least one element having a link of dependency according to the at least one command with at least one other element. After having identified the at least one element and at least one dependency rule from the at least one command, a dependency graph is generated from the at least one identified element, by applying the at least one identified dependency rule, the dependency graph including peaks representing at least the element and the at least one other element, an action linked with the at least one command being associated with the peaks of the dependency graph. A sequence of instructions is then generated from the dependency graph.
US09298510B1	Method and apparatus for job management A computer sequentially selects, when receiving a job execution request specifying the requested number of nodes, an axis from the n axes of n-dimensional space (n is an integer of two or greater) forming a network where nodes are connected by mesh or torus interconnect. The computer gradually extends the width of a temporary range of coordinates of the selected axis from a prescribed value, and determines, as a range for the selected axis, the temporary range where the number of available nodes whose coordinates on each defined axis having a determined range fall within the range and whose coordinates on the selected axis fall within the temporary range is greater than or equal to the requested number of nodes. After determining ranges for all the axes, the computer determines which nodes to assign to the job from available nodes whose coordinates on each axis fall within its range.
US09298507B2	Data processing resource management In accordance with one aspect of the present description execution of a particular command by a data processor such as a storage controller, may include obtaining priority over a resource which is also associated with execution of another command, setting a timer for the duration of a dynamically set timeout period, and detecting a potential deadlock condition as a function of expiration of the dynamically set timeout period before execution of the particular command is completed. In one embodiment, the particular command releases priority over the resource upon detection of the potential deadlock condition, and then reobtains priority over the resource in a retry of the command. It is believed that such an arrangement can relieve a potential deadlock condition, allowing execution of one or more commands including the particular command to proceed. Other features and aspects may be realized, depending upon the particular application.
US09298505B2	Time and space-deterministic task scheduling apparatus and method using multi-dimensional scheme A time and space-deterministic task scheduling apparatus and method using a multi-dimensional scheme are disclosed. The time and space-deterministic task scheduling apparatus includes a preparation list generation unit and a task insertion unit. The preparation list generation unit generates a preparation list, including a preparation table having an array structure configured to have each bit formed of a binary number indicative of a priority of a task, and also including a preparation group cluster configured to include a plurality of preparation groups, each including bits corresponding to the respective binary numbers of the preparation table, and to have an upper and lower dimension relationship between the plurality of preparation groups. The task insertion unit performs bit masking on the preparation group cluster and the preparation table corresponding to a task P having a specific priority and thus inserts the task into the preparation group cluster and the preparation table.
US09298503B2	Migrating processes operating on one platform to another platform in a multi-platform system Embodiments of the claimed subject matter are directed to methods and a system that allows the optimization of processes operating on a multi-platform system (such as a mainframe) by migrating certain processes operating on one platform to another platform in the system. In one embodiment, optimization is performed by evaluating the processes executing in a partition operating under a proprietary operating system, determining a collection of processes from the processes to be migrated, calculating a cost of migration for migrating the collection of processes, prioritizing the collection of processes in an order of migration and incrementally migrating the processes according to the order of migration to another partition in the mainframe executing a lower cost (e.g., open-source) operating system.
US09298502B2	Pausing virtual machines using API signaling Technologies are generally described for pausing virtual machines using API signaling. In some examples, active threads in a VM may be listed on a registered thread list. When the active threads in the VM perform external API calls, they may provide wait messages, which may then be compared with the registered thread list to determine if the VM should be paused. Subsequently, one or more replies to the external API calls may be received and used to determine if the VM should be reactivated.
US09298499B2	Identifier generation using named objects A candidate identifier for a process is generated and an attempt is made to have a named object created that has a name that is the candidate identifier. In response to the attempt succeeding and the named object being created, the candidate identifier is used as an identifier for the process. In response to the attempt not succeeding and the named object not being created, the generating and attempting are repeated.
US09298494B2	Collaborative learning for efficient behavioral analysis in networked mobile device Methods, systems and devices for classifying mobile device behaviors of a first mobile device may include the first mobile device monitoring mobile device behaviors to generate a behavior vector, and applying the behavior vector to a first classifier model to obtain a first determination of whether a mobile device behavior is benign or not benign. The first mobile device may also send the behavior vector to a second mobile device, which may receive and apply the behavior vector to a second classifier model to obtain a second determination of whether the mobile device behavior is benign or not benign. The second mobile device may send the second determination to the first mobile device, which may receive the second determination, collate the first determination and the second determination to generate collated results, and determine whether the mobile device behavior is benign or not benign based on the collated results.
US09298493B1	Managing system I/O load A method is used in managing system I/O load. When a background operation is available to be executed on a processor core, it is determined whether a credit value associated with the processor core satisfies a memory use criterion. The background operation has a memory use requirement and is executed on the processor core when the credit value associated with the processor core satisfies the memory use criterion. The credit value associated with the processor core is modified by an amount corresponding to the memory use requirement.
US09298492B2	System and method for modifying allocated resources Various embodiments illustrated and described herein include systems, methods, and computer program products to modify virtual machine resources. Some embodiments collect a wide variety of metrics and then analyze the metrics to determine whether a virtual machine is not being utilized. This determination may include an associated confidence level. When the confidence level reaches a designated threshold, action may be initiated. Such actions can include notifying users of the virtual machine and/or a user's supervisor that the virtual machine is not being utilized and that further action will be taken at a designated time. Further actions can include such things as archiving the virtual machine, reducing the resources allocated to the virtual machine, archiving user data, and deleting the virtual machine.
US09298484B2	Encapsulation of an application for virtualization Embodiments relate to a computer system comprising a service layer controller. The computer system comprises a ring interface unit configured to provide access to a host system that enables access to a plurality of virtual machines (VMs). The computer system comprises a hardware application configured to be encapsulated by the service layer controller such that the hardware application communicates to the host system via interfaces controlled by the ring interface unit and service layer controller.
US09298480B2	Programmatic editing of text files A file format corresponding to a text file is identified. The text file is parsed into a tree structure with the corresponding file format. The tree structure is modified with an Application Program Interface (API) module. The text file is bidirectionally updated to reflect the modified tree structure while preserving the file format of the text file. The file format includes instructions on how each entry in the text file is to be mapped into the tree structure.
US09298479B2	Systems and methods for configuring, updating, and booting an alternate operating system on a portable data reader Systems and methods are provided for updating configuration settings, updating an OS image, and booting an alternate OS on a portable data reader including a reading engine for reading data from an object. Configuration settings of a portable data reader may be updated by detecting whether a storage device having a set of updated configuration settings stored thereon has been coupled to the portable data reader and, if so, updating one or more configuration settings on the portable data reader with one or more of the updated configuration settings from the storage device.
US09298476B2	System and method for combining multiple software panes A user interface messaging system and method that determines whether the substance of a message relates to information contained in more than one pane, provides the user with an option to merge the panes containing the information related to the substance of the message, and merges the panes into one pane. The merged pane may be displayed on a display device, and it may comprise stages of a guided activity.
US09298457B2	SIMD instructions for data compression and decompression An execution unit configured for compression and decompression of numerical data utilizing single instruction, multiple data (SIMD) instructions is described. The numerical data includes integer and floating-point samples. Compression supports three encoding modes: lossless, fixed-rate, and fixed-quality. SIMD instructions for compression operations may include attenuation, derivative calculations, bit packing to form compressed packets, header generation for the packets, and packed array output operations. SIMD instructions for decompression may include packed array input operations, header recovery, decoder control, bit unpacking, integration, and amplification. Compression and decompression may be implemented in a microprocessor, digital signal processor, field-programmable gate array, application-specific integrated circuit, system-on-chip, or graphics processor, using SIMD instructions. Compression and decompression of numerical data can reduce memory, networking, and storage bottlenecks. This abstract does not limit the scope of the invention as described in the claims.
US09298456B2	Mechanism for performing speculative predicated instructions A mechanism for executing speculative predicated instructions may include execution of initiating execution of a vector instruction when one or more operands upon which the vector instruction depends are available for use, even if a predicate vector that the vector instruction also depends is not available. If the predicate vector was not available, the results of the execution of the vector instruction may be temporarily held until the predicate vector becomes available, at which time, a destination vector may be updated with the results.
US09298449B2	Composite program history A system and methods are disclosed for maintaining a composite history of changes to a program comprising two parallel histories. In accordance with one embodiment, a computer system identifies a first history of changes to a program, and generates a second history of changes to the program based on the first history, where the second history has a final version of the program that is identical to a final version of the program in the first history, and where the second history excludes changes to the program in the first history that introduce an error that is fixed in a subsequent change to the program in the first history, and where the second history includes all other changes to the program in the first history. The computer system then generates a third history of changes to the program that comprises the first history and the second history.
US09298440B2	Installing software using multiple metadata interfaces A method of installing software on a computer system may include storing software for installation on the computer system wherein the software defines elements of metadata required for the installation. A first set of the elements of the metadata required for the installation may be accepted using a first metadata interface, and a second set of the elements of the metadata required for the installation may be accepted using a second metadata interface. More particularly, the first and second sets of the elements of the metadata may be different. The software may be installed using the first and second sets of the metadata.
US09298439B2	System and method for installing a client application using a light installer A light installer can be utilized to improve the installation process of a client-side application. A light installer can be an installer containing only the necessary information to initiate the installation process, such as information necessary for prompting the user for required data and authorizations, communicating with the content management system, downloading additional resources, and installing the client-side application. The light installer can minimize user interaction time by obtaining all necessary user authorizations early in the installation process, thereby enabling the light installer to install all components of the client-side application without further authorization from the user. Further, the light installer can be tagged with data identifying a user account associated with the client device that can be used for reporting, pre-populating data during the installation process, customizing the installation process, pre-authorizing the client-side application, etc.
US09298436B2	Conditional branch instruction compaction for regional code size reduction In an approach for decreasing an execution time of a computer code, one or more processors receive a computer code and identify a frequently executed region of the computer code. One or more processors identify a long-form conditional branch in the frequently executed region of the computer code that is infrequently taken. One or more processors generate a long-form unconditional branch with a target that is a target of the long-form conditional branch. One or more processors modify the long-form conditional branch to be a short-form conditional branch. One or more processors insert the long-form unconditional branch in the computer code within a branch distance of the short-form conditional branch. One or more processors modify a target of the short-form conditional branch to be a location of the long-form unconditional branch in the computer code.
US09298433B2	Optimizing intermediate representation of script code for fast path execution Disclosed here are methods, systems, paradigms and structures for optimizing intermediate representation (IR) of a script code for fast path execution. A fast path is typically a path that handles most commonly occurring tasks more efficiently than less commonly occurring ones which are handled by slow paths. The less commonly occurring tasks may include uncommon cases, error handling, and other anomalies. The IR includes checkpoints which evaluate to two possible values resulting in either a fast path or slow path execution. The IR is optimized for fast path execution by regenerating a checkpoint as a labeled checkpoint. The code in the portion of the IR following the checkpoint is optimized assuming the checkpoint evaluates to a value resulting in fast path. The code for handling situations where the checkpoint evaluates to a value resulting in slow path is transferred to a portion of the IR identified by the label.
US09298430B2	Method of compiling program to be executed on multi-core processor, and task mapping method and task scheduling method of reconfigurable processor A method of compiling a program to be executed on a multicore processor is provided. The method may include generating an initial solution by mapping a task to a source processing element (PE) and a destination PE, and selecting a communication scheme for transmission of the task from the source PE to the destination PE, approximately optimizing the mapping and communication scheme included in the initial solution, and scheduling the task, wherein the communication scheme is designated in a compiling process.
US09298424B2	Random number generating device A random number generating device is provided. The random number generating device includes a first frequency generating circuit, a second frequency generating circuit and a flip-flop. The first frequency generating circuit generates a first frequency signal according to a signal inputted via an input end, and outputs the first frequency signal via an output end. The second frequency generation circuit generates and outputs a clock signal. The flip-flop includes a data input end, a clock input end and a data output end. The data input end and the clock input end are electrically connected to the first frequency generating circuit and the second frequency generating circuit respectively. The flip-flop outputs a random signal via the data output end according to the first frequency signal and the clock signal, and feedbacks the random signal to the first frequency generating circuit to change frequency of the first frequency signal.
US09298418B2	Electronic analysis of athletic performance The subject matter of this specification can be embodied in, among other things, a computer-implemented athletic performance analysis method that includes obtaining, at a computer system, first motion data reflecting motion of a sporting device during one or more drills performed by an athlete. The method also includes creating and storing action data by identifying a plurality of portions of the motion data, where each of the portions correspond to one or more actions by the athlete; comparing the action data for the athlete, with the computer system, to corresponding aggregated action data for a plurality of other athletes to determine a relative skill level for the athlete with respect to the one or more actions; and generating data for a report that reflects the relative development level of the athlete.
US09298416B2	Adding media to a locker A method for uploading content to a server may include associating an identifier and a trigger with a digital audio item uploaded to the server for inclusion into a digital multimedia store managed by the server. The identifier may identify the digital audio item from a plurality of other audio items available at the digital multimedia store. If the trigger is active, a first user interface may be displayed in the digital multimedia store. The first user interface may be associated with the uploaded digital audio item and may provide code for executing an embedding functionality. Upon execution, the embedding functionality may allow for automatic inclusion of the digital audio item into an individual media profile of a user. The media profile may be managed by the server and may be associated with the digital multimedia store.
US09298410B2	Exposing network printers to WI-FI clients In an embodiment, a processor-readable medium stores code representing instructions that when executed by a processor cause the processor to receive a printer discovery request from a WI-FI client. The instructions further cause the processor to forward the printer discovery request and an agent identification to an enterprise network server, and receive from the enterprise network server, a list of printers associated with the agent identification. The instructions also cause the processor to expose the list of printers to the WI-FI client.
US09298401B2	Configuring print jobs associated with unsupported document formats The disclosed embodiments provide a system that facilitates the execution of a print job. During operation, the system obtains print data and a set of job options for the print job, wherein the print data is associated with a document format that is not supported by a printing protocol used to perform the print job. Next, the system obtains a set of document-processing capabilities associated with the document format from a printer associated with the print job. Finally, the system configures the print job based on the job options and the document-processing capabilities without converting the print data into a different document format that is supported by the printing protocol.
US09298399B2	Print control apparatus and print control method with printing plural image portions generated by dividing an image There is provided a print control apparatus in which, when poster printing is performed using a printer for printing on continuous paper, a user only needs to specify a finish size (or a scaling factor) so as to perform printing processing with appropriate orientation and a minimum number of segments. To achieve this, based on a length of a short side of a finish size specified by the user and a length in a width direction of continuous paper, the number of segments is calculated to divide an enlarged image obtained by enlarging an original. Then, based on the number of segments, the enlarged image is divided in a short-side direction, and a plurality of image portions generated by the division are laid out in a size of an output sheet, whereby print data is generated.
US09298398B2	Fine-grained control of data placement Methods, apparatus and computer program products implement embodiments of the present invention that include defining, in a storage system including multiple storage devices, multiple redundant array of independent disks (RAID) configurations for data stored on the storage devices. A first one of the multiple RAID configurations is assigned to a first entry in a partition table having multiple entries, and a second one of the multiple RAID configurations is assigned to a second entry in the partition table, the second one of the multiple RAID configurations independent from the first one of the multiple RAID configurations.
US09298389B2	Operating a memory management controller A memory management controller operatively coupled to a plurality of memory modules, the memory management controller including processing logic configured to: identify a plurality of memory tiers in the plurality of memory modules, each memory tier characterized by different operational characteristics; allocate a spare block of memory in each memory tier; identify a data characteristic for each of the one or more blocks of data in a plurality of memory tiers; migrate, in dependence upon the operational characteristics of each memory tier and the data characteristic for each of the one or more data blocks in the plurality of memory tiers, data in a first memory tier to the spare block of memory in a second memory tier; and migrate data in the second memory tier to the spare block of memory in the first memory tier.
US09298379B2	Bi-directional data transfer within a single I/O operation A computer program product, apparatus, and a method for facilitating input/output (I/O) processing for an I/O operation at a host computer system configured for communication with a control unit. The method includes receiving, by a control unit, a command block configured to hold a plurality of commands including an input command and/or an output command, the plurality of commands specified by a transport command word (TCW) including a read indicator configured to indicate whether the I/O operation includes input data and a write indictor configured to indicate whether the I/O operation includes output data; based on the command block holding at least one output command, receiving the output data and executing the at least one output command; and based on the command block holding at least one input command, forwarding the input data to the channel subsystem for storage at a location specified by the TCW.
US09298364B2	Mobile electronic device, screen control method, and storage medium strong screen control program According to an aspect, a mobile electronic device includes a touch panel and a control unit. The touch panel displays a screen thereon and detects a gesture performed on a surface thereof. When a sweep gesture is detected by the touch panel, the control unit cause an object corresponding to a process, which is executable while the screen is displayed on the touch panel, to be displayed near a position where the sweep gesture is detected on the touch panel.
US09298353B2	Methods and electronic devices for selecting and displaying thumbnails According to one aspect, a method of previewing multimedia data, including selecting a first graphical representation in association with a multimedia object, displaying the first graphical representation, receiving an input in relation to the first graphical representation, in response to the input, determining whether to change the first graphical representation, and if so then selecting a second graphical representation from the multimedia object in a randomized manner, and displaying the second graphical representation.
US09298337B2	Mechanism to reduce accidental clicks on online content Display data is transmitted to a user interface. The display data includes an offer component for providing additional online content. The offer component includes a first region and a second region. A first user interaction is received from the user interface. It is determined whether the first user interaction occurred within one of the first region and the second region. When the first user interaction is determined to have occurred within the first region, the first user interaction is processed as a request for the additional online content associated with the offer component. When the first user interaction is determined to have occurred within the second region, a user prompt is presented for a confirmation of the request for the additional online content associated with the offer component.
US09298336B2	Rotation smoothing of a user interface This is directed to animating transitions in a user interface as the orientation of the user interface changes. An electronic device can display a user interface in any suitable orientation, including for example in portrait and landscape modes (e.g., based on the orientation of the display). To provide a resource efficient and aesthetically pleasing transition, the electronic device can pre-render the interface in the final orientation, and define an animation by cross-fading the interface between the initial and final interfaces. In some embodiments, the electronic device can identify distinct regions of the interface, and define separate animations for each region. The separate animations can be overlaid and displayed simultaneously to provide a uniform animated transition between the initial and final interfaces.
US09298331B2	Capacitive touch sensor, manufacturing method therefor, and display device Provided herein are a capacitive touch sensor capable of reducing pattern visibility, a manufacturing method therefor, and a display device with the touch sensor. In a capacitive touch sensor (1), a first layer (10) has first first-layer electrodes (3a); first-layer conductive portions (5) connecting the adjacent first first-layer electrodes (3a); second first-layer electrodes (4a); and first-layer insulating portions (7a) formed between the second first-layer electrodes (4a) and the first-layer conductive portions (5). An intermediate layer (12) has first intermediate-layer electrodes (3b) formed on the first first-layer electrodes (3a); second intermediate-layer electrodes (4b) formed on the second first-layer electrodes (4a); and intermediate-layer insulating portions (7b) formed between the first-layer conductive portions (5) and second-layer conductive portions (6). A second layer (15) has first second-layer electrodes (3c); second second-layer electrodes (4c); second-layer conductive portions (6) connecting the adjacent second second-layer electrodes (4c) in the Y-axis direction so as to intersect with the first-layer conductive portions (5); and second-layer insulating portions (7c) formed between the first second-layer electrodes (3c) and the second-layer conductive portions (6).
US09298327B2	Integrated shielding in touch sensors In certain embodiments, a touch sensor includes a plurality of first electrodes, and a plurality of second electrodes. The plurality of second electrodes are separated from the plurality of first electrodes by an insulator and are operable, when operated by a controller, to capacitively couple with one or more first electrodes across the insulator. The touch sensor also includes a touch panel, a plurality of proximity electrodes, and a plurality of shield electrodes. Each shield electrode is associated with a respective proximity electrode of the plurality of proximity electrodes such that each shield electrode substantially surrounds its respective proximity electrode from a perspective orthogonal to a surface of the touch panel.
US09298326B2	Bulk resistive glove Gloves are disclosed that are worn by a user while manipulating an electronic device equipped with a capacitive touchscreen. The gloves allow the wearer to manipulate the capacitive touchscreen device without removing the gloves, which is very advantageous in cold environments. The gloves enable full hand functionality allowing the user to type, swipe, squeeze, pinch, and select on the capacitive touchscreen device as if they were using their bare hand. The gloves are made with a low resistant yarn knit or woven into a comfortable fabric that connects the body's bioelectricity through the glove to a capacitive touchscreen. Ordinary gloves will not work with a capacitive touchscreen. In the manufacturing process, the low resistant yarn is first twisted around at least one other yarn having a specific performance property, such as thermal resistance. This twisting assists in uniform knitting and improves the consistent resistivity of the finished glove.
US09298317B2	Stray-light-coupled biometrics sensing module and electronic apparatus using the same A stray-light-coupled biometrics sensing module includes a light-transparent body, a display unit and an optical module. The light-transparent body has a front side and a backside. The front side is configured to support an organic object thereon. The display unit attached to the backside of the light-transparent body displays a frame. The optical module is attached to the backside of the light-transparent body through an adhesive, and is disposed adjacent to the display unit. First light rays of the frame emitted from an eye-viewing screen couple into the organic object through the light-transparent body. After travelling a short distance in the organic object, the first light rays couple out of the organic object and re-enter the light-transparent body as second light rays entering the optical module. The optical module senses the second light rays to generate a biometrics image signal. An electronic apparatus is also disclosed.
US09298311B2	Trackpad sensitivity compensation A device compensating for a loss in sensitivity of a sensor, such as a trackpad. The device may be standalone, integrated with the trackpad itself, or within the associated integrated circuit designed to measure relative electrode capacitances. The embodiment generally employs a current source to negatively compensate for the current available to charge at least one capacitor (or other storage device) in the trackpad.
US09298305B2	Display control apparatus and method A display control apparatus comprises a setting unit which sets acceptance of a touch operation on a display unit to be valid or invalid; a display control unit which controls to display, when the acceptance of the touch operation is set to be invalid, option items and an icon superimposed over the option items, and when the acceptance of the touch operation is set to be valid, display the option items and the icon in an area where the icon is not superimposed over the option items; and a control unit which controls to select, when the acceptance of the touch operation is set to be valid, an option item displayed in accordance with a touch operation on the option item and select the icon displayed in accordance with a touch operation on the icon.
US09298301B2	Power management method for handheld mobile electronic device and handheld mobile electronic device using the same The present disclosure proposes a power management method for use by a handheld mobile electronic device having a display and a device using the same. The method may include when the display darkens as the result of not receiving input signal after a first predetermined period, the screen brightness would be restored back to the original brightness in response to receiving a sensor output generated by a specific movement of the handheld mobile electronic device. Otherwise, when the touch screen darkens as the result of activating a key of the handheld mobile electronic device, the display will not respond to sensor output generated by the specific movement of the handheld mobile electronic device.
US09298298B2	Wearable display input system Embodiments that relate to an input system for a wearable display device are disclosed. For example, in one disclosed embodiment the wearable display device comprises at least one temple arm extending from a display bridge of the device. A first touch-sensitive strip extends along a first axis on a top side of the arm. A second touch-sensitive strip extends parallel to the first touch-sensitive strip on a bottom side of the arm opposite to the top side. At least a portion of the first touch-sensitive strip and a portion of the second touch-sensitive strip overlap as viewed from a second axis. Both the first and second touch-sensitive strips are configured to generate linear contact input signals from one or more user digits sliding along the first axis, with the linear contact input signals provided to a user interface program.
US09298297B2	Method and apparatus for controlling flexible display panel A method for controlling a flexible display panel of an apparatus having an axis of rotation, the flexible display panel having one end which is attached to the axis of rotation, such that the flexible display panel is to be rolled to the axis of rotation and to be unrolled from the axis of rotation is provided. The method includes calculating an amount of rotation of the axis of rotation, calculating an unfolded area of the flexible display panel by using the amount of rotation, and controlling the flexible display panel so as to display image information on the unfolded area.
US09298286B2	Finger control device A finger control device for controlling an electronic device to switch an operating mode thereof includes a main body, a sensor unit and a control unit. The main body includes a first securing part to be disposed on a palm, and a second securing part to be disposed on a finger. The sensor unit includes a first sensor element disposed at a first section of the finger, and a second sensor element disposed at a second section of the finger. Interaction between the two sensor elements is controlled through bending of the finger. The control unit controls the electronic device to operate in a first mode when the first sensor element interacts with the second sensor element, and to operate in a second mode when the first sensor element does not interact with the second sensor element.
US09298280B2	Method and apparatus for controlling a computing system A handheld computing device is introduced comprising a motion detection sensor(s) and a motion control agent. The motion detection sensor(s) detect motion of the computing device in one or more of six (6) fields of motion and generate an indication of such motion. The motion control agent, responsive to the indications of motion received from the motion sensors, generate control signals to modify, one or more of the operating state and/or the displayed content of the computing device based, at least in part, on the received indications.
US09298277B1	Method for typing Arabic letters and associated diacritics The method for typing in Arabic includes using a keyboard having conventional key sets, such as, function keys, numeric keys, specialized command keys, a spacebar, left and right shift keys, a backspace key and a set of alphabet keys. Each of the alphabet keys includes indicia representing a first letter of a first alphabet and a second letter of a second alphabet. Actuation of a combination of the left shift key and an alt key switches functionality of each of the alphabet keys from displaying the first letter associated therewith, upon actuation of the respective key, to displaying the second letter associated therewith. A default function associated with each of the alphabet keys displays a first diacritic associated with the first alphabet in combination with the respective first letter. Subsequent actuation of the backspace key removes the display of the first diacritic from the respective first letter.
US09298270B2	Written character inputting device and method A character input apparatus comprises a display unit configured to display a graphic zone that displays multiple character groups including one or more characters and a touch zone that senses a touch of an input mean; a display control unit configured to select any one of the multiple character groups depending on a touch type of the input mean sensed by the touch zone and display the selected character at a predetermined position of the graphic zone; and an input unit configured to set the character displayed at the predetermined position of the graphic zone for a predetermined time as an input character. The display control unit selects a character moved to be closest to the predetermined position when the characters displayed on the graphic zone are moved in a sliding direction of the input mean and displays the selected character at the predetermined position of the graphic zone.
US09298263B2	Show body position A capture device may capture a user's motion and a display device may display a model that maps to the user's motion, including gestures that are applicable for control. A user may be unfamiliar with a system that maps the user's motions or not know what gestures are applicable for an executing application. A user may not understand or know how to perform gestures that are applicable for the executing application. Providing visual feedback representing instructional gesture data to the user can teach the user how to properly gesture. The visual feedback may be provided in any number of suitable ways. For example, visual feedback may be provided via ghosted images, player avatars, or skeletal representations. The system can process prerecorded or live content for displaying visual feedback representing instructional gesture data. The feedback can portray the deltas between the user's actual position and the ideal gesture position.
US09298249B2	Partition level power management using fully asynchronous cores with software that has limited asynchronous support A partition that is executed by multiple processing nodes. Each node includes multiple cores and each of the cores has a frequency that can be set. A first frequency range is provided to the cores. Each core, when executing the identified partition, sets its frequency within the first frequency range. Frequency metrics are gathered from the cores running the partition by the nodes. The gathered frequency metrics are received and analyzed by a hypervisor that determines a second frequency range to use for the partition, with the second frequency range being different from the first frequency range. The second frequency range is provided to the cores at the nodes executing the identified partition. When the cores execute the identified partition, they use a frequencies within the second frequency range.
US09298240B2	Memory device, control method for the memory device, and controller During normal power operation, an erased free block is prepared in nonvolatile memory so that at least one erased free block is continuously available as a standby block. If a power failure occurs, volatile data and its address conversion information are written into the standby block in the nonvolatile memory.
US09298236B2	Multi-stage power adapter configured to provide a first power level upon initial connection of the power adapter to the host device and a second power level thereafter upon notification from the host device to the power adapter Multi-stage power adapter techniques are described in which a power adapter for a device is configured to selectively switch between a relatively low power supply and a relatively high power supply. The low power supply may be employed upon initial connection of the adapter to a host device to ensure that the adapter is safe when disconnected and does not supply full power before the device is ready to receive the high power supply. The low power supply may supply enough power for the host device to detect the connection of the adapter and establish initial communication with the adapter. A switch to the high power supply by the adapter may then occur in response to a notification from the host device that indicates the host device is ready for the high power supply. The switch to high power supply enables normal operation of the host device.
US09298232B2	Electronic device According to one embodiment, an electronic device includes: a first housing including a first wall; a reinforcing member that is overlapped on an inner surface of the first wall and is bonded to the first wall; an electric component including a second wall located at a side opposite to the first wall with respect to the reinforcing member, a third wall located at a side opposite to the reinforcing member with respect to the second wall and spaced from the second wall, and a fourth wall connecting the second wall and the third wall, the electric component being accommodated in the first housing, and a first protrusion that is provided to the reinforcing member and projects toward the fourth wall.
US09298225B2	Tablet storage device A tablet storage device includes a frame having a plurality of slots, at least one of which is adapted to hold a tablet. A docking station can be disposed in at least one slot. In some cases the docking station is configured to align a tablet as the tablet is positioned in the slot such that a corresponding port in the tablet aligns with, and connects to, a connector. The frame also has a surface to attach the device to a vertical surface and can have a door that can be moved from an open to a closed position and adapted to retain at least one tablet held within at least one slot when the door is closed. A power supply system and/or a network connection system can be provided with the tablet storage device.
US09298221B2	Method of displaying folding information and foldable display apparatus using the method A method of displaying folding information includes evaluating a folded state of a foldable display apparatus, measuring a folding accumulation time that indicates an amount of time that the folded state is maintained, determining the folding information based on the folding accumulation time, and displaying the folding information on a display panel of the foldable display apparatus.
US09298216B1	Electronic device cover with device activating mechanism A cover for an electronic device includes back cover, such as a tray, to receive the electronic device. The cover may also include a foldable flap that is foldable into a stand to support an electronic device held by the cover at one or more viewing angles oblique to a surface on which the cover is placed. The back cover and/or the foldable flap may include one or more activation mechanisms that, when moved relative to the electronic device, activate one or more functions of the electronic device (e.g., camera functions, display of information, etc.).
US09298214B2	Display apparatus A display apparatus includes a display panel, a backlight, a pair of inverter circuit boards that are respectively arranged in vicinities of end portions in a longitudinal direction of a hack side of the display panel, and an expansion slot unit having an expansion slot, a case that includes a slit serving as an opening through which a expansion board to be inserted into the expansion slot is inserted and can guide and house the expansion hoard, and an expansion slot board, the expansion slot unit being arranged on the back side of the display panel to be adjacent to a side of one of the pair of the inverter circuit boards and the slit being provided in an open state at a position separated from the side edge of the display panel by more than a length in an insertion direction of the expansion board that is inserted.
US09298211B2	Time division multiplexed multiport memory implemented using single-port memory elements Integrated circuits having single-port memory elements may be provided. The single-port memory elements may be controlled using a control circuit to emulate multiport functionality. In one suitable embodiment, the control circuit may be an arbitration circuit configured to execute a memory request as soon as it is received by the arbitration circuit. Requests received while a current memory access is being performed may be put on hold until the current memory access has been completed. In another suitable embodiment, the control circuit may be a sequencing circuit configured to service memory access requests from a synchronous port and an asynchronous port. Memory access requests received at the synchronous port may be serviced immediately, whereas memory access requests received at the asynchronous port may be synchronized to an internal memory clock signal and may be serviced after a preceding memory access request associated with the synchronous port has been serviced.
US09298208B2	Apparatus for reducing clutch pedal effort An apparatus for reducing a clutch pedal effort may include a switching lever that is rotatably assembled to a pedal member and selectively engaged with a pedal arm and a reaction providing unit, a first end of which is engaged with the pedal member and a second end of which is engaged with the switching lever.
US09298199B2	Voltage generating circuit and polar transmitter A voltage generating circuit comprising: an output current generating circuit, generating an output current, such that an output voltage is generated at an output terminal, according to an output voltage control signal; a comparing device, comprising a first input terminal receiving a reference voltage, a second input terminal receiving a feedback voltage related with the output voltage, and an output terminal outputting the output voltage control signal according to the reference voltage and the feedback voltage; an adjustable voltage dropping circuit, comprising a first terminal coupled to the second input terminal, and a second terminal coupled to the output terminal; and a current source, for generating a predetermined current to the first terminal of the adjustable voltage dropping circuit, thereby the feedback voltage is generated at the first terminal of the adjustable voltage dropping circuit. The predetermined current flows through the adjustable voltage dropping circuit to the output terminal.
US09298194B2	Method to control medical equipment A method to control medical equipment that moves along at least one axis or performs joint movement is provided. While the medical equipment is passively moved as operated by the operator, the operation intention of the operator is determined using a force sensor, a torque sensor, or the like, and motor control is performed taking into consideration the determined operation intention to reduce load (or drive power) of the operator. To accomplish this, the method determines a direction and magnitude of force that an operator applies to the medical equipment to move the medical equipment and generates auxiliary force having a magnitude proportional to the force applied by the operator and having the same direction as the direction of the force applied by the operator such that the medical equipment may be moved.
US09298190B2	Automatic flow control system and apparatus A pilot valve assembly for use with a main valve apparatus coupled to a water pipe, includes a differential pilot valve, and first and second pilot valves. An inlet of the differential pilot valve is coupled to a junction and an outlet is coupled to the first pilot valve. The differential pilot valve is responsive to a pressure differential to open and close the differential pilot valve to control water flow therethrough to the first pilot. The first pilot valve is responsive to a first pressure to close the first pilot valve to reduce water flow therethrough. The second pilot valve is coupled to the junction to facilitate water flow through the second pilot valve when the differential valve member is open. The second pilot valve is responsive to a second pressure to close the second pilot valve to reduce water flow therethrough.
US09298189B2	Automatic flow control system and apparatus A pilot valve assembly for use with a main valve apparatus coupled to a water pipe, includes a differential pilot valve apparatus, and first and second pilot valve apparatuses. An inlet of the differential pilot valve is coupled to a junction and an outlet is coupled to the first pilot valve apparatus. The differential pilot valve is responsive to a pressure differential to open the differential pilot valve apparatus for water to flow to the first pilot valve apparatus and to close the differential pilot valve apparatus to inhibit water flow to the first pilot valve apparatus. The second pilot valve apparatus is coupled to the junction to facilitate water flow through the second pilot valve apparatus when the second differential valve member is open. Adjustment mechanisms facilitate adjustment of the pressures responsive to which the first pilot valve member and the second pilot valve member close.
US09298180B2	Fabrication and tracking A method of fabrication for a component to be installed in a facility, the facility being represented by an electronic design model, the method including extracting, at a computing device and from the model, details of the component and controlling a plurality of stations with the computing device to fabricate and track the component.
US09298179B2	Robot and robot controller A robot has an operation mode setting unit that sets an operation mode of the robot. The operation mode setting unit changes a correction factor multiplied by the maximum acceleration and the maximum deceleration of an arm and the servo gain of a servo circuit, and thereby selectively sets the operation mode to one of a first operation mode, a second operation mode in which the arm operates faster than in the first operation mode, and a third operation mode in which the arm vibrates less than in the first operation mode.
US09298178B2	Shape measuring apparatus A shape measuring apparatus includes: a probe having a stylus tip; a movable mechanism configured to move the stylus tip; an information acquiring unit configured to acquire design information of a workpiece; a path setting unit configured to set a path of the stylus tip; a path component calculating section configured to calculate a path velocity vector; a push direction component calculating section configured to detect a deflection, and calculate a push correction vector; a locus correction component calculating section configured to detect an amount and a direction of locus deviation of the probe from the path, and calculate a locus correction vector; a velocity synthesizing section configured to calculate a velocity synthesis vector by combining the path velocity vector, the push correction vector, and the locus correction vector; and a drive control unit configured to move the probe according to the velocity synthesis vector.
US09298165B2	Typesetting fixing method, display plate and timepiece A typesetting fixing method includes: disposing a typesetting member on a front surface of a dial plate, the dial plate being made of a transparent or semitransparent resin and the typesetting member being made of an opaque or semitransparent resin having a laser absorbing property; irradiating the dial plate with a laser beam from a rear side of the dial plate while the dial plate is uniformly applied a pressure by a heat-resistant jig; and welding the typesetting member on the dial plate by absorbing the laser beam at an interface of the typesetting member and by melting at least one of the typesetting member and the dial plate by heat.
US09298158B1	Image forming apparatus with guide mechanism for image writer An image forming apparatus includes an apparatus housing having an opening and closing door, an attaching body, an image writer, and a guide mechanism. The guide mechanism moves the image writer in conjunction with opening and closing of the opening and closing door, guides the image writer to a write position upon closing the opening and closing door, and guides the image writer to a retracted position upon opening the opening and closing door. The guide mechanism has a first guide mechanism that moves the image writer along a first guide portion provided in the attaching body while the opening and closing door moves from the close position to an intermediate position, and a second guide mechanism that guides the image writer along a second guide portion provided in the apparatus housing while the opening and closing door moves from the intermediate position to the open position.
US09298147B2	Image forming apparatus with separating mechanism to separate a roll sheet from a fixing member or a pressurizing member In an image forming apparatus, a roll sheet carrying an unfixed toner image is passed through a nip portion of a fixing portion including a fixing member heated to a predetermined temperature and a pressurizing member press-contacted with the fixing member so as to fix the toner image on the roll sheet. Then, the control portion performs winding prevention control of the roll sheet around the fixing member and the pressurizing member in accordance with a winding direction of the roll sheet and/or a roll radius of the remaining roll sheet.
US09298146B2	Fixing device and image forming apparatus A fixing device includes: a rotatable fixing member formed as an endless belt; a heat source to heat the fixing member; a nip-forming member being not rotatable and arranged inside the fixing member; and a pressure member arranged outside the fixing member and forming a nip between the pressure member and the fixing member. The nip-forming member is formed of a first heat transmission unit and a sliding sheet. The first heat transmission unit includes an abutting part abutting the fixing member with the sliding sheet therebetween, and a bent part or bent parts extending inside the fixing member at upstream or upstream and downstream of the nip in a transport direction of a recording medium. A retaining part to catch and retain the sliding sheet is provided at a tip of at least the bent part at upstream of the nip in the transport direction.
US09298136B2	Agitating mechanism, toner container, and image forming apparatus An agitating mechanism according to one aspect of the present disclosure is disposed in a toner container in which toner is stored. The agitating mechanism includes a rotation shaft member. The rotation shaft member is configured to support an agitating member that agitates the toner. The rotation shaft member is provided, together with the agitating member, in the toner container so as to be rotatable. The rotation shaft member has a through hole that passes through the rotation shaft member in a first direction orthogonal to a rotation axis direction.
US09298133B2	Developing device provided with seal configured to prevent developer leakage A developing device includes: a developing roller; a casing; and a seal. The developing roller has a rotational axis extending in an axial direction. The casing has a first wall, and a second wall extending from the first wall toward the developing roller in an extending direction. The seal is disposed on the first wall and in contact with a peripheral surface of the developing roller. The seal includes: a film contacting with the peripheral surface of the developing roller; and a substrate disposed between the film and the first wall. The second wall has a first surface facing in a first direction and a second surface facing in a second direction. The first surface extends in the extending direction and contacts with the substrate of the seal. The second surface faces away from the first surface.
US09298131B1	Image forming apparatus An image forming apparatus includes plural developing devices, plural developer containers, and plural developer transport devices. The plural developing devices are arranged side-by-side in a first direction. The plural developer containers contain developer and have discharge ports disposed between the plural developing devices in the first direction. The plural developer transport devices transport the developer from the plural developer containers to the plural developing devices. The plural developer transport devices include respective transport portions arranged side-by-side. Through at least one of the transport portions, the developer is transported from a corresponding one of the discharge ports in a direction opposite to a direction in which the developer is transported from the other discharge ports through the other transport portions.
US09298126B2	Developing device and image forming apparatus including the same A developing device includes a housing, a development roller, and a roller gear. The roller gear is disposed at one axial end of the development roller and transmits a rotational drive force to the development roller. The development roller includes a sleeve and a coating layer. The coating layer is formed by dipping the sleeve in a dipping bath with the sleeve directed axially vertically. The development roller is mounted to the housing such that a lower axial end of the development roller at the time of the dipping is an opposite axial end to the one axial end at which the roller gear is disposed.
US09298125B2	Image forming apparatus and image forming method An image forming apparatus includes a latent image bearing member, a charging unit, a charging power source, a latent image writing unit, a development unit, a transfer unit, a toner detector, and a controller. The controller causes a background fog pattern to be formed on a surface of the latent image bearing member. In addition to the background fog pattern, the controller causes a latent image to be developed to form a toner image used for position identification on the surface of the latent image bearing member. The controller identifies a time when the toner image used for position identification has entered a detection range of the toner detector based on a change in outputs of the toner detector to determine a time when each of sections of the background fog pattern enters the detection range based on the identified time.
US09298124B2	Image forming apparatus employing technique that reduces amount of coloring material consumed When an edge effect or sweeping occurs in a developing material, pixels, among a plurality of pixels that configure image data, will arise in which a developing material consumption amount rises beyond an original consumption amount. A CPU corrects the developing material consumption amount for the pixels, among the plurality of pixels that configure the image data, in which the developing material consumption amount will rise beyond the original consumption amount.
US09298122B2	Image forming apparatus, image forming method, and method of producing printed material for generating a parallel line pattern of uniform concentration An image forming apparatus includes: a pseudo-halftone processing unit that processes input image data to output image data of first resolution; a resolution converting unit that converts the image data of the first resolution into image data of second resolution that is higher than the first resolution; a modulation-signal generating unit that generates a modulation signal obtained by modulating the image data of the second resolution according to a clock signal; and a light-source driving unit that drives a light source according to the modulation signal. The pseudo-halftone processing unit converts a region of pixels having the same pixel value into a parallel line pattern that is formed with a plurality of parallel lines oblique relative to a direction of arrangement of pixels. The resolution converting unit generates the image data o in which each edge of the lines forming the parallel line pattern is smoothed.
US09298117B2	Process of producing polyester latex with buffer Methods herein include mixing at least one polyester resin with at least one solvent to form a resin mixture, adding water to cause phase inversion and form a polyester latex, adding at least one buffering agent to the phase inverted mixture to stabilize the phase inverted mixture, and subsequent to the buffering agent addition, substantially removing the at least one solvent from the phase inverted mixture.
US09298106B1	Wafer stage with reciprocating wafer stage actuation control A wafer stage system with reciprocating wafer stage actuation control may include a wafer stage, a motor configured to actuate the wafer stage in a first and/or second direction along an axis, a first reciprocating mechanism configured to decelerate the wafer stage after the wafer stage is actuated to a desired position in the first direction, the first reciprocating mechanism configured to store energy captured while decelerating the wafer stage in the first direction, the first reciprocating mechanism configured to accelerate the wafer stage in the second direction, and a second reciprocating mechanism configured to decelerate the wafer stage after the wafer stage is actuated to a desired position in the second direction, the second reciprocating mechanism configured to store energy captured while decelerating the wafer stage in the second direction, the second reciprocating mechanism further configured to accelerate the wafer stage in the first direction.
US09298100B2	Imaging optical system The disclosure generally relates to imaging optical systems that include a plurality of mirrors, which image an object field lying in an object plane in an image field lying in an image plane, where at least one of the mirrors has a through-hole for imaging light to pass through. The disclosure also generally relates to projection exposure installations that include such im-aging optical systems, methods of using such projection exposure installa-tions, and components made by such methods.
US09298098B2	Exposure apparatus and method of configuring exposure apparatus A light exposer according to an embodiment of the present invention includes an exposure beam generator generating an exposure beam, and a vacuum chamber passing the exposure beam generated by the exposure beam generator and including a first fly eye lens having a plurality of convex lens like fly eyes. The exposure beam generator includes an oscillator including an oscillator pumping chamber, a first prism and a second prism, and a first exposure beam diameter changing lens positioned before the first prism and enlarging a diameter of the exposure beam.
US09298094B2	Composition for forming fine pattern and method for forming fined pattern using same The present invention provides a resist pattern-forming composition capable of forming a resist pattern excellent in etching resistance. The invention also provides a resist pattern formation method using that composition. The composition comprises pure water and a water-soluble resin having aromatic group-containing substituents in its side chain. The composition also contains a free acid or an acid group combined with the water-soluble resin.
US09298093B2	Polymers, photoresist compositions and methods of forming photolithographic patterns Polymers containing a unit having a particular acetal moiety and photoresist compositions containing such a polymer. Substrates coated with the photoresist compositions and methods of forming photolithographic patterns. The polymers, photoresist compositions, methods and coated substrates find particular applicability in the manufacture of semiconductor devices.
US09298078B2	Method and apparatus for generating three-dimensional image information using a single imaging path A method and apparatus for generating three dimensional image information using a single imaging path having an associated field of view. Two images are selectively received through respective portions of the single imaging path, each portion having a perspective viewpoint within the field of view. The two images together are operable to represent three dimensional spatial attributes of objects within the field of view. To create a change in the representation of the three dimensional spatial attributes, an extent of the two portions of the imaging path are varied to cause the perspective viewpoints to change location. While varying the extent of the portions, compensating for changes in transmission allows an image intensity associated with each of the two images to be maintained at a generally uniform image intensity level.
US09298066B1	Multi-functional support assembly A multi-functional support assembly is provided, including a fixed base, a locking element, a support element and a plurality of leg elements. The support element penetrates through the fixed base and can slide linearly inside the fixed base for position adjustment. The locking element is disposed at the fixed base. In a locked state, the locking element can fasten the position of the support element with respect to the fixed base. The plurality of leg elements is coupled to the circumference of the fixed base, with each leg element having a side wall on both sides. When folded, the side walls of two adjacent leg elements are aligned side-by-side closely so that the leg elements form a hollow tube easy to hold. When expanded, the leg elements are rotated outwards around the coupling to form the legs of the support assembly in a standing position.
US09298060B2	Imaging using metamaterials A system for imaging an object is provided. The system includes a light source configured to emit light having a predetermined wavelength towards the object. The system further includes a metalens including a metallic film having a plurality of slits defined therethrough, the plurality of slits having a width a and a periodicity d that are both less than the predetermined wavelength, wherein the object is positioned between the light source and the metalens. The system further includes a detector configured to acquire measurements indicative of light transmitted through the metalens, and a computing device communicatively coupled to the detector and configured to reconstruct an image of the object based on the acquired measurements.
US09298057B2	Display device and electronic device including the display device The display device includes a first substrate provided with a driver circuit region that is located outside and adjacent to a pixel region and includes at least one second transistor which supplies a signal to the first transistor in each of the pixels in the pixel region, a second substrate facing the first substrate, a liquid crystal layer between the first substrate and the second substrate, a first interlayer insulating film including an inorganic insulating material over the first transistor and the second transistor, a second interlayer insulating film including an organic insulating material over the first interlayer insulating film, and a third interlayer insulating film including an inorganic insulating material over the second interlayer insulating film. The third interlayer insulating film is provided in part of an upper region of the pixel region, and has an edge portion on an inner side than the driver circuit region.
US09298054B2	Liquid crystal display device and method of manufacturing the same Disclosed are a liquid crystal display (LCD) device and a method of manufacturing the same, which can increase a transmittance of a high-resolution pixel. The LCD device includes a gate line formed to be shared by vertically adjacent first and second pixels, a data line formed to interest the gate line, first and second thin film transistors (TFTs) respectively formed in the first and second pixels, a passivation layer formed to cover the first and second TFTs, including a contact hole that exposes drains of the first and second TFTs, first and second pixel electrodes formed on the passivation layer and in the contact hole, and respectively connected to the drains of the first and second TFTs, and a common electrode formed under or on the first and second pixel electrodes.
US09298048B2	Liquid crystal display device A liquid crystal display device in which smear error is suppressed and transmittance is uniform is provided. In a liquid crystal display device which includes a plurality of pixels and uses comb-teeth-shaped transparent conductive films 110 as common wirings, the common wirings include mesh-shaped common metal wirings 101v and 101h extending in a vertical direction and a horizontal direction and the comb-teeth-shaped transparent conductive films 110 are connected between adjacent pixels.
US09298042B2	Liquid crystal display device An object of the present invention is to enhance transmissivity and the luminance of a screen in an IPS liquid crystal display device. To achieve the object, in the IPS liquid crystal display device according to the present invention, a counter electrode is formed flatly and solidly on an organic passivation film, a pixel electrode having a slit is formed on the counter electrode via an interlayer insulation film, and an alignment film the orientation of which is controlled by optical orientation is formed on the pixel electrode. The transmissivity is enhanced by also making the inside of the contact hole function as a transmissible area for image formation by applying optical orientation to the alignment film in the contact hole to result in enhancement of the luminance of the screen.
US09298040B2	Liquid crystal display device with wide-viewing angle An LCD device includes a liquid crystal panel; a first polarizer attached to a first surface of the liquid crystal panel and including a first polarizing film, first and second optical compensation films disposed on one surface of the first polarizing film, and a phase retardation film, a protective film and a functional film disposed on another surface of the first polarizing film; and a second polarizer attached to a second surface of the liquid crystal panel and including a second polarizing film, an inner protective film disposed on one surface of the second polarizing film, and an outer protective film disposed on another surface of the second polarizing film, wherein the first polarizing film is disposed between the phase retardation film and the liquid crystal panel, and the phase retardation film has a retardation value of λ/4.
US09298037B2	Sunlight collecting device and liquid crystal display using sunlight as a backlight source A sunlight collecting device provided in the present invention includes a lens substrate, a plurality of Fresnel lens, a connector substrate, a plurality of optical fiber connectors, and a light-tracking substrate. The lens substrate has a plurality of circular openings. The Fresnel lenses correspond to the circular opening and are disposed on the lens substrate. The connector substrate is disposed parallel to the lens substrate and away from the lens substrate with a focal length. The optical fiber connectors are adjustably disposed on the connector substrate. The light-tracking substrate is disposed between the lens substrate and the connector substrate for simultaneously rotating the lens substrate and the connector substrate such that the Fresnel lenses are directly opposite to the sunlight. An LCD using the sunlight as a backlight source is further provided in the present invention.
US09298032B2	Liquid crystal display Disclosed is a liquid crystal display including: a first substrate; a gate line disposed on the first substrate; a data line disposed on the gate line; and a thin film transistor connected to the gate line and the data line. A plurality of color filters is disposed on the thin film transistor and the data line. A capping layer is disposed on the plurality of color filters. A shielding electrode is disposed on the capping layer. An insulating layer is disposed on the capping layer and includes a first opening extending to a part of the shielding electrode. A light blocking member is disposed on the insulating layer and the shielding electrode. The shielding electrode is disposed in a part corresponding to the data line. Adjacent color filters among the plurality of color filters overlap with each other in the part corresponding to the data line. The first opening is disposed in a part corresponding to the region where the adjacent color filters overlap with each other.
US09298027B2	Liquid crystal display device A liquid crystal display device includes a liquid crystal panel, an adhesive member on a lower surface of the liquid crystal panel, a light guide plate below the adhesive member, an optical sheet between the light guide plate and the liquid crystal panel and a dummy film between the light guide plate and the adhesive member, wherein the adhesive member is discontinuous in an area adjacent to the dummy film.
US09298025B2	Electrode structure for an optical waveguide substrate An optical part 20A includes a supporting body 1, an optical material substrate 2, an electrode provided on the supporting body 1, and a resin adhesive layer 4 adhering the electrode 7 and optical material substrate 2. The electrode 7 includes a chromium film 7c contacting the resin adhesive layer 4 and a gold film 7b provided between the chromium film 7c and supporting body 1.
US09298016B2	Lens driving apparatus A lens driving apparatus comprises a lens portion having at least one lens (21), a first driving portion (39) to cause a movement of said lens portion relatively to a base portion (40) along a vertical direction of a light axis (L) of said lens portion, and a second driving portion (38) to cause a movement of said lens portion relatively to said base portion along said light axis.
US09298011B2	Wearable electronic eyewear display A wearable electronic eyewear display can include a head band member having two side portions which are connected together at rear portions thereof, for being worn in a generally horizontal orientation on a user's head. A display arm can extend forwardly from one of the side portions of the head band member and can have an active display device for positioning in front of one eye of the user for viewing. The two side portions of the head band member can have two pairs of ear capture structures on opposing top and bottom surfaces or edges of the head band member for engaging top portions of the user's ears with one of the two pairs of ear capture structures at a given time, and for allowing the head band member to be worn with the display arm extending in front of one eye or flipped over to be worn with the display arm extending in front of the other eye, while engaging the ears of the user in either orientation with a respective one pair of ear capture structures.
US09298009B2	Wearable display device and method of controlling therefor A method of controlling a wearable display device according to one embodiment of the present specification can provide an optimized display in a manner of evaluating a front visual field of a wearer and a visual field of the wearer for a reference display area. And, in evaluating the front visual field of the wearer, it may provide the wearable display device capable of providing much more information as well as safer information in consideration of the reference display area.
US09297998B2	Electrode of an electrowetting device An electrowetting display device including an electrowetting element with a first support plate, a second support plate, a first fluid and a second fluid immiscible with the first fluid. A voltage may be applied between a first electrode and a second electrode. At least one of the first electrode and the second electrode comprises a semiconducting material.
US09297992B2	Microscope illumination method and microscope The invention relates to a microscope illumination method, to a microscope illumination set, comprising a white light LED (4) and a correction filter (6), and to a corresponding microscope system (1) for analyzing a sample (10) alternately or simultaneously in transmitted light bright field illumination and in incident light fluorescence illumination, wherein a white light LED (4) is used for the transmitted light bright field illumination, and a correction filter (6) is activated at a location in the illumination beam path of the transmitted light bright field illumination both during transmitted light bright field illumination and during incident light fluorescence illumination, wherein the correction filter (6) has a spectral transmission profile which has a minimum in the wavelength range of at least one maximum of the spectrum of the white light LED (4).
US09297988B2	Zoom lens and device having zoom lens A zoom lens includes, in order from an object side toward an image side: a first lens unit having a positive refractive power and provided with a positive lens; a second lens unit having a negative refractive power; a third lens unit having a positive refractive power and provided with a diffraction plane of a diffraction optical element; a fourth lens unit having a positive refractive power to perform focusing; and an aperture stop between the second lens unit and the third lens unit. According to a change of magnification from a short focal end to a long focal end, the first lens unit is stationary, the second lens unit is moved to the image side, the third lens unit is moved to the object side, and the fourth lens unit is moved, and the positive lens satisfies the following condition formulas: 1.45
US09297983B2	Imaging lens, imaging device and information device An imaging lens including seven or fewer lenses which constitute an entire system of an optical system comprising, in order from an object side to an imaging side: a first lens group having a positive refractive power; a second lens group having a positive refractive power; and a third lens group having a negative refractive power, wherein the first lens group includes a lens having a negative refractive power and a lens having a positive refractive power, an aperture stop being disposed in the first lens group, the second lens group includes one lens having a negative refractive power and one lens having a positive refractive power, and the third lens group including one lens having a negative refractive power and a concave surface on the object side.
US09297980B2	Optical device for transmission-type scanning by moving scanning beam without moving observation sample For an optical device as a transmission-type scanning optical microscope having a pinhole or a slit for limiting the amount of a detected light beam, a method of moving a scanning beam without moving an observation sample to be scanned is realized. A scanning beam from a beam scanning mechanism that has passed through an observation sample is focused onto a reflection plate, and is then returned back again to the observation sample. A light beam that has returned back from the sample is further fed back to the beam scanning mechanism, and then, the light beam that has been limited through a fixed pinhole or a slit is detected with a photodetector.
US09297972B2	Advanced fiber-optic contact and method An opto-electronic contact, method and connection system can utilize an active opto-electronic converter configured for removable optical engagement with an opposing contact. A barrel housing defines an interior cavity to capture the converter in the interior cavity for external optical engagement to the opposing contact via the first barrel opening for relative movement of the converter axis along the elongation axis, transverse thereto, and oblique thereto to accommodate mating tolerances responsive to engaging the opposing contact. A flexible circuit board assembly can be used to externally electrically interface the converter.
US09297963B2	Optical connector ferrule An optical connector ferrule having a front end, a rear end, an upper surface, and a lower surface includes a window opening on the upper surface, a plurality of fiber holes passing through a portion between the front end and the window along a first direction and including small diameter portions on the front end side and large diameter portions on the window side, and fiber grooves extending from the large diameter portions along the first direction and having openings in a third direction, in which the plurality of fiber holes include a first fiber hole row arranged in a second direction on a lower surface side, and a second fiber hole row arranged in the second direction on the upper surface side, and the large diameter portion in the second fiber hole row is longer than the large diameter portion in the first fiber hole row.
US09297962B2	Mono-block type optical fiber adapter A mono-block type optical fiber adapter includes an adapter body including a partition wall between each two opposing accommodation chambers and a tubular coupling portion extended from each partition wall toward the inside of one respective front-sided accommodation chamber, a ferrule mounted in each tubular coupling portion and partially suspending in the respective rear-sided accommodation chamber, and a ferrule holder respectively mounted in each rear-sided accommodation chamber and attached to the suspended rear end of the respective ferrule. The one piece design of the adapter body facilitates mass production and effectively eliminates the dimensional tolerance and clearance problems of conventional designs. Further, the matching design between the adapter body and the ferrule holders facilitates quick and accurate installation of the mono-block type optical fiber adapter, saving much installation time and labor and enhancing structural stability and reliability.
US09297961B2	Optical module Even in the case of an optical module including a multi-chip integrated device, an optical module having a smaller size in consideration of the connection to optical fibers. An optical module having a package containing a multi-chip integrated device integrated with an optical functional element having both ends connected to planar lightwave circuits (PLCs) is provided. Each of the PLCs includes a folded waveguide for connecting a light waveguide formed in the optical functional element to optical fibers. The optical module comprises a connecting part connected to each of the PLCs for connecting the optical functional element to the optical fibers in the same face. The optical fibers are taken out from opposed surfaces of the package.
US09297957B2	Polarizing splitter and method for manufacturing same A polarizing splitter includes a base, an asymmetric Y-shaped waveguide, and a pair of strip-shaped electrodes. The Y-shaped waveguide protrudes from the upper surface and includes an input section for the passage of both transverse electric and transverse magnetic waves, a first branch for transmitting the transverse electric wave only, and a second branch for transmitting the transverse magnetic wave only. The first branch and the second branch branch from the input section. The electrodes are positioned on the surface, arranged at opposite sides of the input section, and are substantially parallel with a central axis of the input section.
US09297938B2	Methods and apparatuses for patterned low emissivity panels A method for making low emissivity panels, comprising forming a patterned layer on a transparent substrate. The patterned layers can offer different color schemes or different decorative appearance styles for the coated panels, or can offer gradable thermal efficiency through the patterned layers.
US09297936B2	Mirror with dielectric coating A mirror with a dielectric coating (2) on a substrate (3), wherein the dielectric coating (2) has exactly two layer stacks (4, 5), a first layer stack (4), on the substrate, of layers (41, 42) of high refractive index and low refractive index oxides in alternating arrangement and a second layer stack (5), arranged thereon, of layers of fluorides (52) and oxides (51) in alternating arrangement, and wherein the number of fluoride layers (52) as a proportion of the total number of layers of the dielectric coating (2) is less than 0.45.
US09297928B2	Ophthalmic compositions comprising polyether substituted polymers The present invention relates to ophthalmic solutions and devices comprising at least one water soluble polymer having a molecular weight of at least about 500,000 Daltons and linear or branched polyether pendant groups having a molecular weight of at least about 300.
US09297927B2	Photosensitive composition, colorant dispersion solution, light filter and light sensor A photosensitive composition, suitable for a hardened film capable of sufficiently blocking light in the visible range and sufficiently transmitting light in the near infrared region, is provided. The photosensitive composition contains a colorant, a compound having an ethylenic unsaturated group, a photopolymerization initiator and a solvent. The colorant contains (A1) to (A3); (A1) a colorant of the following formula (1): (A2) a blue colorant, a green colorant, or both, and (A3) a yellow colorant, a red colorant, or both. R1 and R2 is a hydrogen atom, a hydroxyl group, a methoxy group or an acetyl group. R3 and R4 is a phenylene group or a direct bond. R5 and R6 is a direct bond or an alkanediyl group having 1 to 10 carbon atoms, with the proviso that R3 and R5 are not simultaneously direct bonds, and R4 and R6 are not simultaneously direct bonds.
US09297921B2	DTEM with short spacing for deep, ahead of the drill bit measurements A transmitter on a bottomhole assembly (BHA) is used for generating a transient electromagnetic signal in an earth formation. A processor estimates the distance to a resistivity interface using a signal produced by a receiver on the BHA. The transmitter-receiver distance may be less than 1 m. The estimation of the distance is done in real time using a thin conductive sheet approximation.
US09297918B2	Seismic data analysis An approach for seismic data analysis is provided. In accordance with various embodiments, the active learning approaches are employed in conjunction with an analysis algorithm that is used to process the seismic data. Algorithms that may employ such active learning include, but are not limited to, ranking algorithms and classification algorithms.
US09297913B2	Imaging system and method overcoming obstructions using independently controllable detectors Imaging systems, methods, and computer readable mediums are provided. Image detectors are installed in a gantry to detect image information related to a subject. If obstructions are detected related to the field of view of an image detector, a system matrix can be updated accordingly. Thus, upon image reconstruction, artifacts related to obstructions can be minimized or altogether eliminated. This system can be a Nuclear Medicine (NM) imaging system to acquire Single Photon Emission Computed Tomography (SPECT) image information.
US09297908B2	Method and apparatus for probing nuclear material by photofission The invention relates to a method and a system for using photofission to probe an article containing potentially radiation-emitting elements. The article is bombarded by a beam of electrons of sufficient energy, and they are converted into photons by bremsstrahlung directly within the article to be probed, which article is likely to contain photofissile material. No target is added to the package to perform this conversion. Preferably, the article to be probed is a package of radioactive waste, in which the container is made of thick absorbent concrete.
US09297884B1	Systems and methods of frequency estimation for geolocation A method includes computing a cross-spectral surface of a signal. The method further includes determining initial frequency estimates to be points on the cross-spectral surface. The method further includes performing a polynomial interpolation to generate an initial frequency polynomial. The method further includes integrating the initial frequency polynomial to generate an initial phase polynomial. The method further includes processing the signal to generate a basebanded signal. The method further includes determining unwrapped phase values of the basebanded signal. The method further includes performing a second polynomial interpolation to generate a residual phase polynomial. The method further includes generating an updated phase polynomial based on the initial phase polynomial and the residual phase polynomial. The method further includes differentiating the updated phase polynomial to generate a polynomial approximation of the time-varying carrier frequency of the received signal.
US09297875B2	Magnetic resonance system and method for time synchronization of different components of a magnetic resonance system A method for time synchronization of various components of a magnetic resonance system includes generating a series of amplitude-modulated radio-frequency pulses and associated gradient fields to deflect the magnetization of a slice detecting at least two spin signals, determining a phase difference between two of the spin signals, processing the phase difference in order to determine at least one time shift between two of the following variables that are generated by different components of the magnetic resonance system, an envelope of the amplitude-modulated radio-frequency pulses, a radio-frequency portion of the amplitude-modulated radio-frequency pulses, and one or more gradient fields, and synchronizing the associated components of the magnetic resonance system depending on the at least one time shift.
US09297873B2	Method to select an undersampling scheme for magnetic resonance imaging, and magnetic resonance imaging method and system using such a selected undersampling scheme In a method to select an undersampling scheme of k-space and an associated set of reconstruction kernels to acquire reduced magnetic resonance (MR) data sets with multiple coils, a calibration data set is acquired for each of the respective coils, a noise covariance is determined from autocorrelations and correlations of the noise of the various coils. At least one set of reconstruction kernels is calculated for each of the multiple undersampling schemes from the calibration data sets of the various coils. For each set of reconstruction kernels, a characteristic value is calculated from the noise covariance and the respective reconstruction kernels of the coils, with the characteristic value being proportional to a spatial mean value of a signal noise of an MR image. A selected undersampling scheme and a selected set of reconstruction kernels are selected based on the calculated characteristic values.
US09297870B2	Magnetic resonance examination with instrument detection An magnetic resonance examination system for examination of an object comprises an RF system to generate an RF transmission field and gradient system to generate temporary magnet gradient fields. A control module includes a sequence controller to control the RF system and the gradient system to produce acquisition sequences including RF pulses and magnetic gradient pulses to generate magnetic resonance signals. The sequence controller is configured to produce an detection scan including a steady state gradient echo acquisition sequence to generate steady state gradient echo signals and an RF spoiled echo acquisition sequence to produce RF spoiled echo signals. The control module further including an analysis unit to compare the gradient echo signals to the RF spoiled echo signals and for detection of an instrument in the object from the comparison of the gradient echoes and the RF spoiled echoes.
US09297867B2	Radio frequncy (RF) body coil and method for tuning an RF body coil for magnetic resonance imaging A radio frequency (RF) body coil includes a first end ring, a second end ring, a plurality of rungs connected between the first and second end rings, at least one shim holder coupled to the first end ring, and a RF shim configured to be at least partially inserted within the shim holder, the RF shim being repositionable within the shim holder to vary an operational frequency of the RF body coil. A magnetic resonance imaging system and a method of tuning the RF body coil are also described.
US09297866B2	General inductive handpiece for active devices A handpiece defines a bore in which a proximal end of a catheter or other interventional instrument is received. An insulating support supports an interventional instrument which carries a transmission line winding in, but spaced from, the internal bore. A handpiece winding disposed along the bore interacts with the instrument transmission line winding to form an inductive coupling with the instrument transmission line winding. After the handpiece is slid axially to adjust the inductive coupling between the handpiece and windings, a locking mechanism functions in such a manner that the interventional instrument is inhibited from axial sliding motion relative to the handpiece while permitting rotation of the interventional instrument relative to the handpiece thus maintaining the inductive coupling while allowing optimal handling of the device.
US09297865B2	Hall effect measurement instrument with temperature compensation Disclosed is a Hall Effect instrument with the capability of compensating for temperature drift consistently, accurately and in real time of operation. The instrument embodies a four-point ohmmeter circuit measuring Hall Effect sensor resistance and tracking the effect of temperature on the Hall Effect sensor. The instrument takes into account a relationship between the temperature and a temperature compensation index on a per probe basis, which has exhibited a deterministic difference observed by the present inventor.
US09297864B2	Current metering and abnormal event monitoring system An MMS sensor assembly includes a U-shaped bottom housing that forms a recess in which is received a conductor whose current is to be sensed and a top housing arranged to be removably latched to the bottom housing. At least one magnetic field sensor is situated within the top housing, such the magnetic field sensor is positioned adjacent the conductor when the top housing is latched to the bottom housing, and is removable from the sensor assembly for repair or replacement. Circuitry connected to the magnetic field sensor includes a data storage device to store correction/compensation tables and/or equations for self-calibration or correction of the sensor.
US09297863B2	Planarized three-dimensional (3D) magnetic sensor chip A planarized 3-dimensional magnetic sensor chip includes a first magnetic sensing device, a second magnetic sensing device, a third magnetic sensing device and a magnetic flux bending concentrating structure on a circuit chip substrate, wherein the first magnetic sensing device and the second magnetic sensing device are used to measure the magnitude of flux in a first direction and a third direction together, and the third magnetic sensing device is used to measure the magnitude of flux in a second direction, the magnetic flux bending concentrating structure is used to bend the magnitude of flux in the third direction to the first direction, such that the magnitude of flux in the third direction can be measured by first magnetic sensing device and the second magnetic sensing device in the first direction.
US09297861B2	State of health determination without unnoticed battery shut down In one embodiment, a battery control system, comprising: a plurality of battery units comprising a battery system; and a controller coupled to the plurality of battery units, the controller configured to monitor, for each battery unit, a first voltage and a second voltage, the first voltage corresponding to an absolute value of a shut-off voltage and a second voltage corresponding to a warning voltage, the first voltage smaller than the second voltage, wherein responsive to one of the battery units reaching the second voltage, the controller is configured to provide a first alert before the any of the battery units reaches the first voltage.
US09297857B2	Membrane switch circuit testing system A membrane switch circuit testing system includes a testing module and a connection element. After the connection element is connected with a membrane switch circuit and the testing module, the testing module assigns an identification code to a key intersection of the membrane switch circuit. When the key intersection is depressed, an equivalent circuit is defined by the depressed key intersection and a corresponding fixed resistor of the testing module. Moreover, the testing module acquires an intersection resistance value of the depressed key intersection from the equivalent circuit. Consequently, the testing module judges whether the depressed key intersection is qualified according to the intersection resistance value.
US09297846B2	Continuous broken sense lead detection system Disclosed is a continuous broken sense lead detection system (“CBSLDS”) for use with a Kelvin-connected device under test (“DUT”), a power source, and detection system stimulus configured to provide a periodic stimulus voltage. The CBSLDS is configured to detect a discontinuity in a first sense lead, second sense lead, or both, that are in signal communication with the DUT. The CBSLDS includes a first transformer, second transformer, first DC-blocker, second DC-blocker, first detection module, and second detection module.
US09297844B2	Antenna mast detection methods and systems Methods and systems are provided for detecting whether at least one of an antenna mast and a detection mechanism is installed to an antenna. In one embodiment, a method includes monitoring at least one of amplitude modulation (AM) band data and direct current (DC) power data of the antenna; and selectively determining whether at least one of the antenna mast and the detection mechanism is installed based on the at least one of the AM band data and the DC power data.
US09297843B2	Fault diagnostic systems and methods using oxygen sensor impedance A diagnostic system of a vehicle includes an impedance module and a diagnostic module. The impedance module determines an impedance of a sensing element of an exhaust gas oxygen sensor based on a response of the sensing element to a change in current through the sensing element. The diagnostic module selectively diagnoses a fault associated with the exhaust gas oxygen sensor based on the impedance of the sensing element.
US09297841B2	Method and apparatus for managing electronic appliance A method and apparatus for managing an electronic appliance, which determines an abnormality of the electronic appliance, such as a malfunction or worn out of the electronic appliance, based on power consumption information measured in the electronic appliance while an operation requested by a user of the electronic appliance is performed by the electronic appliance, and past power consumption information about the same operation performed by the same electronic appliance, and a non-transitory computer-readable recording medium having recorded thereon a program to execute the method.
US09297838B2	Power supply monitoring circuit, AC/DC conversion apparatus and control method of power supply monitoring circuit There is provided a power supply monitoring circuit including a holding part holding, every time a local maximum value of a power supply voltage which fluctuates is detected, the local maximum value as a local maximum voltage value, a power stop detector detecting whether or not supply of the power supply voltage is stopped based on whether or not a state that a value of the power supply voltage is smaller than a first reference value according to the local maximum voltage value continues longer than a predetermined period, and a reference value controller decreasing the first reference value during a period in which the value of the power supply voltage exceeds a second reference value smaller than the first reference value and in which stop of the supply of the power supply voltage is detected.
US09297836B2	Method and sensor for sensing current in a conductor A sensor comprises primary ferrite members spaced apart from the magnetic field sensor on opposite sides of the magnetic field sensor concentrate or steer an orientation of a magnetic field of the observed signal toward a target area of the magnetic field sensor. A magnetic field sensor senses a direct current signal component or lower frequency component of the observed signal. A first filtering circuit has a high-pass filter response. The first filtering circuit is coupled to the inductor to provide a filtered alternating current signal component. A second filtering circuit has a low-pass filter response. The second filtering circuit coupled to the magnetic field sensor to provide a filtered direct current signal component. A sensor fusion circuit determines an aggregate sensed current based on the filtered alternating current signal component and the filtered direct current signal component.
US09297827B2	Quantitative measurements using multiple frequency atomic force microscopy The imaging mode presented here combines the features and benefits of amplitude modulated (AM) atomic force microscopy (AFM), sometimes called AC mode AFM, with frequency modulated (FM) AFM. In AM-FM imaging, the topographic feedback from the first resonant drive frequency operates in AM mode while the second resonant drive frequency operates in FM mode and is adjusted to keep the phase at 90 degrees, on resonance. With this approach, frequency feedback on the second resonant mode and topographic feedback on the first are decoupled, allowing much more stable, robust operation.
US09297826B2	System and method for monitoring an accelerometer Systems and methods are provided for monitoring operation of MEMS accelerometers (100). In these embodiments a control loop (112) having a forward path (114) is coupled a MEMS transducer (110), and a test signal generator (124) and test signal detector (126) is provided. The test signal generator (124) is configured to generate a test signal and apply the test signal to the forward path (114) of the control loop (112) during operation of the MEMS accelerometer transducer (110). The test signal detector (126) is configured to receive an output signal from the control loop and detect the effects of the test signal in the output signal. Finally, the test signal detector (126) is further configured to generate a monitor output indicative of the operation of the sensing device to provide for the continuous monitoring of the operation of the MEMS accelerometer (100).
US09297813B2	Targeting metabolic enzymes in human cancer Targeting metabolic enzymes in human cancer Abstract Lung cancer is a devastating disease and a major therapeutic burden with poor prognosis. The functional heterogeneity of lung cancer (different tumor formation ability in bulk of tumor) is highly related with clinical chemoresistance and relapse. Here we find that, glycine dehydrogenase (GLDC), one of the metabolic enzyme involved in glycine metabolism, is overexpressed in various subtypes of human lung cancer and possibly several other types of cancers. GLDC was found to be highly expressed in tumor-initiating subpopulation of human lung cancer cells compared with non-tumorigenic subpopulation. By array studies we showed that normal lung cells express low levels of GLDC compared to xenograft and primary tumor. Functional studies showed that RNAi inhibition of GLDC inhibits significantly the clonal growth of tumor-initiating cells in vitro and tumor formation in immunodeficient mice. Overexpression of GLDC in non-tumorigenic subpopulation convert the cells to become tumorigenic. Furthermore, over-expression of GLDC in NIH/3T3 cells and human primary lung fibroblasts can transform these cells, displaying anchorage-independent growth in soft agar and tumor-forming in mice. Not only is GLDC is expressed human lung cancer, it is also up-regulated in other types of cancer, such as colon cancer. RNAi knockdown of GLDC in colon cancer cell line, CACO-2 cells, can also inhibit the tumor formation in mice. Thus GLDC maybe a new metabolic target for treatment of lung cancer, and other cancers.
US09297811B2	Production of enteritis evoking causal factor by highly pathogenic oral bacteria and high sensitivity detection method therefor Disclosed is the construction of a system capable of quickly and easily identifying patients having a risk for worsening inflammatory digestive tract disease by identifying a causal factor for the worsening of the inflammatory digestive tract disease. Specifically disclosed is a method for detecting oral bacteria that cause worsening of inflammatory digestive tract disease and/or a screening that targets high risk for worsening of inflammatory digestive tract disease and/or determining the risk for worsening of the inflammatory digestive tract disease by PA not being detected and/or CBP being detected, inclusive of the detection of PA, which is an oral bacteria protein antigen, and/or CBP, which is collagen binding protein, in samples. Also disclosed are a detection reagent and kit used for this method.
US09297799B2	Method for measuring protozoan oocyst and detecting reagent The present invention provides a method for measuring oocyst of protozoa, such as Cryptosporidium, in an environment sample with high sensitivity at low cost within a short period of time; and a detecting reagent for use therein.Magnetic fine particles of 5 to 500 nm particle diameter having, immobilized thereto, binding factors for specific recognition of oocyst are added to an analyte containing a protozoan oocyst to form oocyst/binding factor/magnetic fine particle complexes by using a binding reaction to the oocyst, the formed complexes are recovered by a magnetic separation, and the protozoan oocysts contained in the complexes are assayed. Further, there is provided, for conducting the above method, a reagent for detecting protozoan oocysts comprising magnetic fine particles of 5 to 500 nm particle diameter having, immobilized thereto, antibodies against oocysts or binding factors for recognizing the antibodies.
US09297788B2	Determination assist system of ultrasonic testing, determination assist method of ultrasonic testing, determination assist program of ultrasonic testing, and computer-readable storage medium for storing determination assist program of ultrasonic testing A determination assist system including a first image generating section for generating a first planar image based on data of a first test index; a second image generating section for generating a second planar image based on data of a second test index; a differentiation section which differentiates the first planar image and the second planar image to generate a first differential image and a second differential image, respectively; a binarization section which binarizes the first differential image to generate a first binary image including a first region which is not less than a first threshold and a second region which is less than the first threshold, and binarizes the second differential image to generate a second binary image including a third region which is not less than a second threshold and a fourth region which is less than the second threshold; and a determination image generating section.
US09297787B2	Automatic sonic/ultrasonic data acquisition system for evaluating the condition and integrity of concrete structures such as railroad ties An automatic sonic/ultrasonic data acquisition system for collecting data from concrete railroad ties. The system has a frame, a wheel carried by the frame and constructed and arranged to rotate relative to the frame such that the wheel can roll along the top of a rail, an axle suspended from the frame and adapted to be rotated relative to the frame via rotation of the wheel, one or more sensors coupled to the axle and constructed and arranged to contact the ties as the frame is moved along the rails, and an energy source for initiating in the ties compressional and/or shear/Rayleigh waves that are sensed by the sensors.
US09297786B2	Apparatus and method for cross-flow ion mobility spectrometry A cross-flow ion mobility spectrometer consists of two parallel plates defining a volume between them. Analyte ions flow along an axis from an entrance end to an exit end through the volume. An RF confining field tends to guide ions along the axis. An analytical gas flow is established orthogonal to the axis. A DC electrostatic analytical field is oriented in opposition to the analytical gas flow such that the “drag force” on ions of the selected mobility due to the analytical gas flow is balanced by the force on the ions due to the electrostatic analytical field. The selected ions are thereby able to follow a stable path to the exit end of the cross-flow mobility analyzer. However, the force on ions of other than the selected mobility is unbalanced and these ions are deflected and lost.
US09297784B2	Device and method for extracting target objects from a sample The invention provides devices, systems, and methods for extracting target objects from a sample. In the method, a stream of sample containing a plurality of target and non-target objects is directed by first and second streams of buffer through a sample inlet channel into a fluid junction and through the fluid junction into a sample waste channel. In response to detecting a target object within the stream of sample, an actuator is energized to close a normally open valve, resulting in a transient burst of cross-flow into the fluid junction that briefly diverts the flow of sample within the fluid junction and results in an aliquot of sample being directed into an aliquot delivery channel. The combination of the valve and the actuator acts as a self-limiting pulse generator.
US09297781B2	Electrode system and method for calculating character values of solution using the same An electrode system for measuring properties of solutions using a porous platinum electrode. The electrode system includes a low porosity platinum working electrode in which platinum is deposited in a porous form on the surface of an electrode, and a high porosity platinum electrode having a higher roughness factor than the low porosity platinum electrode.
US09297778B2	Sensor control apparatus, sensor control system, and sensor control method A sensor control apparatus is disclosed, including a preliminary control for supplying a constant current to a second oxygen pump cell of a gas sensor for a constant period of time so as to control to a constant level the amount of oxygen pumped out from a second measurement chamber (S40 to S50). At the beginning of drive control (S55 to S80), oxygen is pumped back into the second measurement chamber. During the pumping back operation, an NOX concentration correspondence value has a large time course change and is not stable. The NOX concentration correspondence value is corrected using correction data common among gas sensors, wherein the timing for applying the correction data is adjusted by making use of an application time determined in accordance with individual differences of each gas sensor.
US09297771B2	Methods and systems for fabricating platelets of a monochromator for X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy Methods and systems for fabricating platelets of a monochromator for X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) are disclosed. For example, a method of fabricating a platelet of a monochromator for X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy involves placing a crystal on a stage of an X-ray measuring apparatus, the crystal having a top surface. The method also involves measuring, by X-ray reflection, an orientation of a crystal plane of the crystal, the crystal plane beneath the top surface of the crystal and having a primary axis. The method also involves measuring a surface angle of the top surface of the crystal by measuring a light beam reflected from the top surface of the crystal.
US09297769B1	Method for reducing aliasing in TDI based imaging The invention may be embodied in a time delay integration (TDI) based sensor wafer inspection system that introduces controlled blur into the sampled image to suppress high spectral frequencies and thereby mitigate the occurrence of aliasing in the sampled image. Image blur may be introduced in the scan direction by desynchronizing the image motion (scan rate) from the charge transfer rate within the TDI sensor (sample clock rate). The scan rate may be desynchronized from the TDI sample clock rate by altering the speed of wafer movement, the sample clock rate, or the magnification of the imaging optics. Image blur may be introduced in the cross-scan direction by imparting a small alignment difference between the direction of image motion (image scan direction) and the direction that charges transfer within the TDI sensor (sensor direction).
US09297758B2	Variable geometry optical gas detector An optical gas detector (20) in metal or other suitable material, comprising a cup-shaped body (1), with upper mouth (9) closed by a lid (2) the bottom of which (8) is flat and provided with a plurality of through holes (15) variously arranged, which place said detector (20) in communication with the outside environment, and inside which an IR source (10) and an IR analyser (11) are placed, borne by an overlying circuit board (12). The inner lateral surface of the body (1) forming a first reflector wall (6) having a regular or irregular annular extension and defining, in conjunction with a second convex or concave reflector wall (7, 7′) of a shaped appendage (5) and with one or more reflectors (3, 3′, 21, 22, 23,24,25) pre-inserted and positioned in the body (1), a multiplicity of geometrically alternative optical paths (4, 4′, 4″, 4′″) of the electromagnetic radiation emitted by the IR source (10) and detected by the IR analyser (11).
US09297755B2	Ice and supercooled water detection system A system for detecting ice or supercooled large droplets within an area of interest having a detection system measuring radiance or reflectance of the area of interest when exposed to shortwave infrared radiation having a wavelength in the range of about 2.05 μm to about 2.30 μm. The detection system measures the radiance or reflectance in a first band having a wavelength in the range of about 2.05 μm to about 2.15 μm and outputting a first band signal, and further measures the radiance or reflectance in a second band having a wavelength in the range of about 2.15 μm to about 2.30 μm and outputting a second band signal. A processing unit determines a ratio of the first band signal and the second band signal and compares the ratio to a predetermined critical ratio and outputs a determination signal indicating presence of ice or supercooled water droplets.
US09297751B2	Chemical characterization of surface features Provided herein is an apparatus, including an optical characterization device; a photon detector array configured to sequentially receive a first set of photons scattered from surface features of an article and a second set of photons scattered from surface features of the article and subsequently processed by the optical characterization device; and a chemical characterization means for chemically characterizing the surface features of the article, wherein the chemical characterization means is configured for processing the first set of photons received by the photon detector array and the second set of photons received by the photon detector array.
US09297749B2	Optical analyzer for identification of materials using transmission spectroscopy A device and method for identifying solid and liquid materials use near-infrared transmission spectroscopy combined with multivariate calibration methods for analysis of the spectral data. Near-infrared transmission spectroscopy is employed within either the 700-1100 nm or the 900-1700 nm wavelength range to identify solid or liquid materials and determine whether they match specific known materials. Uses include identifying solid (including powdered) and liquid materials with a fast measurement cycle time of about 2 to 15 seconds and with a method that requires no sample preparation, as well as quantitative analysis to determine the concentration of one or more chemical components in a solid or liquid sample that consists of a mixture of components. A primary application of such analysis includes detection of counterfeit drug tablets, capsules and liquid medications.
US09297748B2	Distributed sensor system with remote sensor nodes and centralized data processing A distributed sensor system includes a set of spatially distributed base units and a central server both in communication with a data network. Each base unit includes a controller and one or more sensor modules where each sensor module includes a sensor configured to measure an air quality parameter. Each base unit transmits raw sensor data associated with each of the sensor modules over the data network and the central server receives the raw sensor data from the base units and stores the raw sensor data in a database.
US09297732B2	Method and apparatus for testing superhard material performance A target cylinder and a method for fabricating the target cylinder. The target cylinder includes a first end, a second end, and a sidewall extending from the first end to the second end. At least one of the second end and the sidewall is an exposed portion that makes contact with a superhard component to determine at least one property of the superhard component. The exposed portion comprises at least one soft material and at least one hard material that is interveningly positioned between or within the soft material in a predetermined and repeatable pattern. In one embodiment, the differential of the unconfined compressive strength between the hard material and the soft material ranges from about 1,000 psi to about 60,000 psi.
US09297724B2	Sample collection and transport devices, methods, and kits Disclosed are collection devices, kits, and methods for collecting and transporting one or more samples. A collection device of the present invention includes a central panel including a detachable sample strip. The sample strip has a sampling area for applying a sample on each side of the sample strip. The collection device includes two flaps, each capable of covering a portion of the sample strip that includes a sampling area. Consequently, a user is not exposed to a first sample when applying a second sample. Additionally, the sample strip can be detached without uncovering the sample strip.
US09297721B2	Auto ID and fingerprint system and method thereof A diagnostic tool that can communicate with a computing device such as smart phone is provided. The diagnostic tool can include a power management system that allows the dynastic tool to enter lower power state in order to prevent the power drain of vehicle battery. The diagnostic tool can also AutoID a vehicle or use a “fingerprinting” process to identify the vehicle. A crediting system is provided that can be used to credit a 3rd party for software purchased for use by the diagnostic tool or smart phone.
US09297717B2	Venting system, in particular for a fuel tank In a venting system, in particular for a fuel tank of a motor vehicle, which has a sorption filter for temporarily storing fuel evaporating from the fuel tank and a fluid-conveying conveying device situated between the sorption filter and an air supply or an intake manifold of an internal combustion engine, according to the present system, the conveying device is a bidirectional conveying device which is switchable in a first conveying direction in the direction of the internal combustion engine for regenerating the sorption filter and in a second conveying direction in the direction of the sorption filter for carrying out a fuel tank leak diagnosis.
US09297709B2	System and method for analyzing athletic activity Various sensor systems are described herein, including inserts having sensors thereon, which are configured to be received in an article of footwear. The inserts may be connected to a sole member of the footwear, or may function as a sole member. The sensors may be bonded to an outer surface of the insert, or positioned within the insert, in some configurations. The system may also include an electronic module that is overmolded into the sole structure and includes a connector for external access.
US09297703B2	Temperature sensing device and method of driving thereof A temperature sensing device includes a first frequency generator for generating a first clock signal having a first frequency that is constant regardless of a temperature; a second frequency generator for generating a second clock signal having a second frequency that is changed according to the temperature; and a data holding unit for outputting a temperature code indicating a number of pulses of the second clock signal counted for a reference time at which a number of pulses of the first clock signal reaches a predetermined threshold. The temperature sensing device does not require a reference clock signal input from the outside and is insensitive to the change in the process, thereby being capable of improving the performance of the temperature sensing device.
US09297695B2	Motion sensing device and packaging method thereof A motion sensing device for sensing infrared rays, the motion sensing device includes a substrate; a sensing unit, configured on the substrate for sensing the infrared rays; a stabilizing layer, covering on the sensing unit for fixing and protecting the sensing unit, wherein the stabilizing layer has an opening; a protection layer, formed on the opening; and a coating layer, covering the stabilizing layer for absorbing infrared rays, wherein the coating layer does not cover the opening.
US09297694B2	Correction device and correction method for light reception power monitor The objective of the present invention is to quickly and precisely correct the measured value for light reception power to the actual value with few resources, by installing a correction device for a light reception power monitor for signal light in an optical module. The correction device is equipped with a correction table which is referenced when correcting the measured value for the light reception power of signal light, and in this correction table multiple correction values are stored in advance on the basis of the correspondence relationships between multiple reference values and multiple actual values. In the correction table, for segments wherein the change in the actual values with respect to the change in the measured values is small, the interval between the reference values is made smaller and more correction values are stored than for segments wherein the change in the actual values with respect to the change in the measured values is large. When an input value indicating the measured value for the light reception power of the signal light matches a reference value in the correction table, the correction device reads from the correction table the correction value corresponding to the reference value. When an input value does not match a reference value in the correction table, the correction device calculates a correction value in accordance with a prescribed calculation formula on the basis of the input value.
US09297680B2	Ultrasonic flow meter having deterioration suppression in flow rate accuracy An ultrasonic flow meter is equipped with a housing through which a liquid flows, and a pair of detection units disposed on opposite ends of the housing and including acoustic wave transmitting and receiving units capable of transmitting and receiving acoustic wave signals. Paired connecting plugs are connected respectively to both ends of the housing. In addition, a supply passage of one of the connecting plugs, a conduit of the housing, and a discharge passage of another of the connecting plugs are disposed on a straight line. A liquid supplied to the supply passage flows through a passage of the conduit and to the discharge passage. Consequently, a flow rate of the liquid is measured based on the propagation time of the acoustic wave signals, which are transmitted and received by the acoustic wave transmitting and receiving units.

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