Document Document Title
US09546001B2 Outflow valve for an aircraft
The invention relates to a valve for controlling a fluid flow from a first environment to a second environment, having a frame for disposing a separating element in the region of an opening, said element separating the first environment from the second environment, and a first flap and a second flap for controlling the fluid flow through the opening between the first environment and the second environment, the flaps being movable in the frame. The flaps have protrusions designed to reduce noise generation in the fluid flow.
US09545994B2 Device for feeding fluid to a hydraulic actuator for controlling the pitch of the fan blades of a two-propeller turboprop
A device for feeding fluid to a hydraulic actuator for controlling a pitch of fan blades of a two-propeller turboprop, the device including: a fluid manifold secured to a rotor of the turboprop and including a cylindrical portion including at least two fluid-circulation grooves, each presenting an outlet orifice; a fluid-admission support secured to a stationary portion of the turboprop and including a cylindrical portion including at least two distinct fluid passages opening to fluid-admission tubes and each leading radially into one of the fluid-circulation grooves of the manifold; and a tub constrained to rotate with the fluid manifold and including a cylindrical portion including at least two fluid-flow channels, each fed with fluid by a respective one of the outlet orifices of the fluid dispenser, each fluid-flow channel leading to a respective chamber of a control actuator.
US09545987B1 Traction control systems and methods for marine vessels
A traction control system is for a marine vessel. The traction control system comprises a first internal combustion engine that causes rotation of a first propulsor to thereby propel the marine vessel in the water. A second internal combustion engine causes rotation of a second propulsor to thereby propel the marine vessel in water. A sensor senses a change in operation of the first internal combustion engine that is indicative of a loss of traction between the first propulsor and the water. A control circuit is programmed to temporarily slow rotation of the first propulsor when the sensor senses the change in operation of the first internal combustion engine, thereby allowing the first propulsor to regain traction with the water. When the control circuit slows rotation, the control circuit is further programmed to temporarily slow rotation of the second internal combustion engine, thereby preventing unintended movement of the marine vessel.
US09545983B2 Jet propelled watercraft
A jet propelled watercraft includes a watercraft body, an engine in the watercraft body, a jet pump configured to generate a jet thrust by a driving force of the engine, an intake pipe configured to supply air to the engine, an air intake box, and a filter. The air intake box includes a connecting port connected to the intake pipe and an inlet configured to take in ambient air. The filter is disposed in a space in an internal space of the air intake box. The filter divides the space into a lower region and an upper region. The lower region is connected to the inlet and the upper region is located higher than the lower region and connected to the connecting port. The filter is configured to clean air taken into the internal space from the inlet and directed to the connecting port.
US09545977B1 Surf tab
A wake-shaping system comprising a one or more surf tabs attached to a watercraft. The one or more surf tabs comprise at least a first surf tab. The first surf tab comprises an upper plate, a mounting hinge, a lower portion, a one or more mounting brackets comprising at least a first mounting bracket. A hydro-thruster assembly having a one or more hydro-thruster diversion fins. further, the first surf tab comprises a leading edge, a trailing edge, an interior side, an exterior side, a top side and a bottom side. The upper plate is rotatably attached to a portion of the watercraft with the mounting hinge. The watercraft travels through a water in a direction of travel. The leading edge comprises a forward portion of first surf tab relative to the direction of travel and the trailing edge comprises a rearward portion.
US09545976B2 Snowmobile with leaning capability
A snowmobile has a snowmobile body and an arm assembly pivotally coupled to the snowmobile body. The arm assembly is configured to pivot on an axis through the snowmobile body. A first hydraulic actuator has a first end coupled to the snowmobile body and a second end coupled to the arm assembly. A hydraulic system is coupled to the first hydraulic actuator. The hydraulic system includes a hydraulic pump in fluid communication with the first hydraulic actuator. A hydraulic valve is coupled between the hydraulic pump and first hydraulic actuator. An axle is disposed through the first end of the first hydraulic actuator. The axle includes a hydraulic pathway through the axle coupled between the hydraulic system and first hydraulic actuator. The hydraulic system is configured to operate the first hydraulic actuator. A second hydraulic actuator is coupled to the first hydraulic actuator.
US09545969B2 Conversion scooter
A conversion scooter is adapted for use as a sit to ride scooter in a first configuration and a stand to ride scooter in a second configuration. The conversion scooter has a frame, a steering assembly and a seat removably coupled to the frame. The steering assembly can be steered by a user in the first and second configurations. The frame has a first end portion and a second end portion, and a foot platform extending between the first end portion and the second end portion. In the first configuration a seat surface of the seat is generally parallel to a longitudinal axis of the frame, and in the second configuration the seat is coupled to a first end portion of the frame and the seat is generally transverse to the longitudinal axis of the frame. Seat securing members secure the seat in the first and second configurations.
US09545966B2 Inspection device of vehicle driver assistance systems
An inspection device for vehicle driver assistance systems (DASs) mounted on a vehicle may include: i) a frame unit including pillar frames, where vehicles forwardly enter and backwardly exit, at respective corners of a base frame, and an upper frame is coupled to upper end portions of the pillar frames; a correction unit installed at the upper frame such that it is movable in multi-axis directions so as to correct a camera measurement point of a lane departure warning system (LDWS) at a front side of the vehicle and configured to display a correction target with respect to the camera as an image; and an inspection unit installed at the upper frame such that it is movable in multi-axis directions so as to check a normal operation of the LDWS and configured to display a driving lane as an image.
US09545960B2 Rear-mounted aerodynamic structure for truck cargo bodies
This invention provides an aerodynamic structure attached to the rear cargo body, having doors that swing open, or a single, full-width door, which rolls upwardly. The embodiments provide an aerodynamic structure attached to the rear in a manner that would obscure access to the door(s) in a deployed position, in which the structure reduces drag, yet enables access to the door(s) in a folded position. The folded position allows access to the rear for loading and unloading, and in the case of swinging, hinged doors, allows the doors to be folded through a 270-degree arc, with a minimal sideways projection. The various embodiments also enable relatively rapid and easy transition between the folded position and the deployed position using actuators and/or linkages that tie the folding and deployment of panels of the structure together. This allows selective folding and deployment of the structure without undue effort or strength.
US09545950B2 Connection structure of a vehicle
A connection structure of a vehicle includes a fender apron upper extending in a length direction of the vehicle, a front side member extending in a length direction of the vehicle, a front reinforcement, a bumper, and a back beam mounted in an inner side of the bumper. A front end portion of the fender apron upper is connected to one end of the front reinforcement and a rear end portion of the fender apron upper is connected to at least one of a cowl and a front pillar. A front end portion of the front side member is connected to the back beam and a rear end portion of the front side member is connected to a lower portion of the vehicle body. The other end of the front reinforcement is coupled to a front side portion of the front side member in the length direction thereof.
US09545948B2 Hydraulically assisted power steering system
A power steering assist system includes a hydraulic assist power steering assembly configured to couple to a vehicle steering gear, and a hydraulic pump having an electric motor, the hydraulic pump configured to supply pressurized hydraulic fluid to the hydraulic assist power steering assembly.
US09545946B2 Steering systems and methods for supporting the straight running of a vehicle
A steering system is provided to support a straight running of a vehicle. The steering system included an active steering assistance system, a support torque section, and a correction section. The support torque section is configured to calculate a supporting torque based on a steering torque applied to a steering wheel of the vehicle. The correction section is configured to calculate a correcting torque on a basis of a progressively calculated supporting torque. The active steering assistance is configured to be controlled on the basis of a control torque based upon a superimposition of the supporting torque with the correcting torque.
US09545932B1 Cold-formed tank head for railroad tank car
A new method of manufacturing a railroad car tank head having the steps of providing a circular blank of steel plate material, cold-forming the circular blank to form an intermediate ellipsoidal dish, cold-forming a peripheral flange region of the intermediate ellipsoidal dish to form a flanged ellipsoidal dish, and heat treating the flanged ellipsoidal dish. The heat treatment may be either a thermal stress relieving heat treatment or a normalizing heat treatment. The two cold-forming steps may be carried out at room temperature. The present invention provides a method of making a railroad car tank head that is more efficient than prior methods, avoids the challenges of hot-forming and single-stage cold-forming, is easily adaptable to different tank head diameters using the same forming equipment, and yields a railroad car tank head that meets safety standards.
US09545912B2 Hybrid vehicle mode-switching control device
A hybrid vehicle mode-switching control device for a hybrid vehicle controls that an output of an engine and/or motor in response to a mode-switch request. In a case of a difference between an actual transmission gear ratio and a target transmission gear ratio, a deficit with respect to the requested drive power occurs that causes discomfort to the driver. The drive power surplus or deficit caused by the transmission gear ratio deviation can eliminated by correcting of the motor torque and/or the engine torque by a correction amount necessary to eliminate the surplus or deficit of drive power. In this way, the lack of drive power due to the transmission ratio deviation and the driver's sense of discomfort can be eliminated.
US09545909B2 Spark control systems and methods for engine torque estimation
A spark control module, for an engine speed and an engine load: for a first predetermined period, supplies spark to each cylinder of the engine at a predetermined spark timing set for the engine speed and the engine load. For a second period following the first predetermined period, the spark control module: provides spark to a first one of the cylinders at a first spark timing that is retarded relative to the predetermined spark timing; and supplies spark to all of the other cylinders of the engine at the predetermined spark timing. The storage module selectively stores in memory: a first torque output of the engine measured during the first predetermined period; and a second torque output of the engine measured during the second period.
US09545904B2 Braking control device for vehicle
The braking control device for a vehicle is adapted to be used for a vehicle brake device and it is an object of the present invention to prevent an operator of the vehicle from feeling of any an unpleasant feeling by reducing an ineffective operating amount by which no braking force increases in response to the increase of the brake operating amount. The braking control device includes a controlling portion for changing a servo performance to an ineffective operating amount reducing servo performance which is closer to the increase ratio of the hydraulic pressure braking force relative to the increase of the brake operating amount after the input piston has been in contact with the output piston when the brake operating amount reaches to the servo performance change operating amount which is smaller than the assisting limit operating amount.
US09545901B2 Method for optimizing the pressure setting accuracy
In a method for optimizing the pressure setting accuracy, a hydraulic pressure is built up according to a pressure requirement of a hydraulic pump, and overflow control is performed using an analog-controlling hydraulic valve and a known control characteristic curve of the analog-controlling hydraulic valve, which overflow control counteracts a pressure build-up produced by the hydraulic pump that exceeds the pressure requirement. In addition to the known control characteristic curve of the analog-controlling hydraulic valve, at least one additional valve characteristic is taken into account for the overflow control.
US09545895B2 Locking mechanism for pedestrian hood lifters
A hood lifting mechanism includes a housing and a piston assembly movably mounted in the housing. The piston assembly has a groove formed therealong. A retainer is coupled to the housing so as to form a cavity therebetween. A locking member is positioned in the cavity so as to be engageable by the groove, for preventing motion of the piston assembly with respect to the housing.
US09545894B2 Single stage dual chambered passenger airbag
An airbag includes at least one panel defining an interior of the airbag, and a divider positioned in the interior so as to divide the interior into a first chamber and a second chamber. A first valve assembly is operatively coupled to the divider for controlling the gas flow between the first chamber and the second chamber. A second valve assembly is fixed within the first chamber and fluidly communicates with an exterior of the airbag. The second valve assembly is operably dependent on the first valve assembly, thereby dynamically controlling the inflation profile of the airbag.
US09545881B2 Vehicle event recorder systems and networks having integrated cellular wireless communications systems
Vehicle event recorder systems are arranged to be in constant communication with remote servers and administrators via mobile wireless cellular networks. Vehicle event recorders equipped with video cameras capture video and other data records of important events relating to vehicle use. These data are then transmitted over special communications networks having very high coverage space but limited bandwidth. A vehicle may be operated over very large region while maintaining continuous communications connections with a remote fixed server. As such, systems of these inventions may be characterized as including a mobile unit having: a video camera; a microprocessor; memory; an event trigger; and mobile wireless transceivers, and a fixed network portion including: mobile wireless cellular network, a protocol translation gateway, the Internet and an application-specific server.
US09545880B2 Information processing device, information processing method, and non-transitory computer-readable recording medium for showing an indication of an obstacle
An information processing device includes a first calculation part configured to calculate a position of a first icon on a transparent screen, the transparent screen being viewed by a driver of a vehicle, the first icon indicating that an obstacle in a path of a vehicle is detected from an image captured by an imaging part provided in the vehicle, the first icon being viewed at a position of the obstacle on a two-dimensional coordinate plane arranged at a lower limit position of the transparent screen, the two-dimensional coordinate plane corresponding to an imaging area of the imaging part, and a second calculation part configured to calculate a position of an end point of an indication line on the transparent screen, the indication line being viewed as extending from a position of the first icon on the transparent screen toward the obstacle.
US09545871B2 In-vehicle lift mechanism
A lift mechanism for an RV holds the elevation of a lift mechanism for a period of time after the operator releases the switch to give the operator time to secure the elevation.
US09545867B2 Ramp wall operating arrangement
A storage container for bulk materials includes a rectangular bin containing a an open-ended chamber having a horizontal bottom wall, a pair of vertical side walls and a vertical rear wall, and a pair of parallel spaced centrally-arranged horizontal guide rails that extend longitudinally below the bin, which guide rails have forward end portions that extend outwardly beyond the bin front end. A ramp wall is pivotally connected with the forward end of the bin for displacement between a vertical first position closing the forward end of the chamber, and a downwardly inclined ramp position. A piston and cylinder motor arrangement is connected between the guide rail ends and the ramp wall for displacing the ramp wall between its vertical first and downwardly inclined second positions. The chamber side walls are spaced so that a front end loader can travel up the downwardly inclined ramp and into the chamber.
US09545866B2 Air bag system for lifting trailer platforms
The application discloses integrated air suspension and platform lifting systems that utilize an existing air supply for lifting one or more platforms installed in a trailer or hauling vehicle. An apparatus for lifting a rear gate or platform of a trailer or a hauling vehicle is disclosed that includes an actuating mechanism operable to pivot the platform between a lowered position (e.g., where the end of the platform is in contact with the ground) and a range of raised positions (e.g., where the platform is raised to meet an elevated platform such as a loading dock). The lifting mechanisms for raising and lowering the platform(s) may utilize a pressurized gas supply from a compressor. In some embodiments, the lifting mechanism may be supplied with pressurized air from a compressor of a brake system of a tractor. In some embodiments a separate locking mechanism is provided to hold the platform in place after the lifting system has moved it into a desired position.
US09545861B2 Method and device for producing a locking device and locking device for a longitudinal adjustment mechanism of a vehicle seat
A method for producing a locking device of a longitudinal adjustment mechanism of a vehicle seat, includes producing a locking device having a plurality of round locking pins which can be latched into position independently of one another and can be unlatched together, at least one guide part and a notched strip, wherein the guide part is assigned to a seat rail and has guide bores for the locking pins. The notched strip is assigned to a floor rail. The locking pins have an upper actuating end and a lower engagement region interacting with the notched strip. The locking pins are lubricated during the production step or subsequently thereto. During and/or after the lubrication step, each individual locking pin is rotationally driven by a rotary drive unit.
US09545857B2 Recliner hold-open mechanism for a vehicle seat
A vehicle seat includes a seat back is coupled to a seat base for movement between an upright position and a folded-forward position when a vehicle seat recliner is in an open configuration. The vehicle seat includes a recliner hold-open mechanism that locks the recliner in the open configuration even after a user releases a handle or otherwise disengages an actuator of the recliner. The seat back is thus free to move between the upright and folded-forward positions without the user being required to hold the actuator in any particular position during the movement. The hold-open mechanism may be configured to cooperate with a seat-base motion controller to free the vehicle seat for movement along a foundation frame while the seat back is between the upright and folded-forward positions.
US09545855B2 Bicycle control apparatus
A bicycle control apparatus is configured to control a drive unit having a motor that assist in manual driving. The bicycle control apparatus includes an operating unit and a control unit. The operating unit is configured to be operated in accordance with first and second operating methods that are different from each other. The control unit is configured to change a setting state of a function that is set in advance without driving the drive unit in response to the operating unit being operated in accordance with the first operating method. The control unit is configured to drive the drive unit in response to the operating unit being operated in accordance with the second operating method.
US09545854B2 System and method for controlling and powering a vehicle
A control system includes a controller and an energy management system. The controller is onboard a vehicle that includes motors and an onboard energy storage device that powers the motors. The energy management system calculates estimated electric loads of powering the motors over one or more segments of a trip according to designated operational settings of a trip plan. The energy management system also determines a demanded amount of electric energy for powering the vehicle based on the estimated electric loads. The demanded amount of electric energy is based on a stored amount of electric energy in the onboard storage device. The energy management system communicates the demanded amount of electric energy to one or more of plural wayside stations disposed along the route so that the wayside stations have sufficient electric energy to charge the onboard energy storage device with the electric energy to meet the estimated electric loads.
US09545842B2 Vehicle power transmission device
A power transmission apparatus for a vehicle is provided which is equipped with a power split device and a speed variator. The power transmission device is designed to set a speed ratio of speed of rotation of an output of a power source to speed of rotation of a driven wheel in a power circulation mode of a power split device to lie within one of a positive range in which a sign of the speed ratio is positive and a negative range in which a sign of the speed ratio is negative. This results in a decrease in degree of torque acting on the speed variator such as a continuously variable transmission, thus permitting a required degree of durability of the speed variator to be reduced.
US09545837B2 Automobile body protector
A device and method for protecting an automobile from dents and paint scratches caused by the opening of a door of an adjacent automobile. The protection device (cover) is formed from a plurality of rectangular pockets containing a high-density cushion material. An additional pocket includes a magnetic strip for securing the device to a metal car door or side panel. A suction cup and drawstring mechanism are attached to the top of the device for use on a window or non-metallic automobile body. The front surface of the cover is made of a ripstop material and the inner surface is made from a soft material that will not damage the automobile paint or finish.
US09545829B2 Dual-rate jounce bumper
A dual-rate jounce bumper limits jounce travel between a first component and a second component of a vehicle. The second component is spaced from and moveable toward the first component along a jounce axis. The dual-rate jounce bumper includes a bumper and an outer member. The bumper has a first end for coupling to the first component and a second end spaced from the first end for contacting the second component as the second component moves along the jounce axis toward the first component. The bumper is compressible between the first and second components for limiting jounce travel. The bumper is also radially expandable as the bumper is compressed. The outer member is disposed about the bumper and is capable of limiting the radial expansion of the bumper as the bumper is compressed for increasing a stiffness of the bumper.
US09545827B2 Wheel suspension for a rear wheel of a two-track motor vehicle
A wheel suspension for a rear wheel of a two-track motor vehicle, includes a five-link assembly which has five individual links which are coupled to the vehicle body via body-side bearings and to the wheel carrier of the rear wheel via wheel-carrier-side bearings, which five-link assembly, as viewed in the direction of travel, has a front pair of links and a rear pair of links, wherein the front pair of links has a lower, front link, with respect to the axis of rotation of the wheel, and an upper, front link, and the rear pair of links has a lower, rear link, in particular track rod, and an upper, rear link. A lower spring link, on which a spring arrangement having a vibration damper and a supporting spring is supported, is arranged in the direction of travel between the front and rear pairs of links. The front pair of links with respect to the spring link is of softer design in the transverse direction of the vehicle than the rear pair of links. As a result, a change in the toe-in at the rear wheel takes place under exertion of a lateral force or a longitudinal force.
US09545820B2 Wheel with aluminum foam for tire cavity noise suppression
A wheel assembly includes a wheel including a spoke portion radially supporting a rim portion about a central axis, wherein the rim portion presents a radial outer surface relative to the central axis. A tire is mounted to the wheel and cooperates with the wheel to define a tire cavity between the radial outer surface of the rim portion and the tire. A foamed aluminum portion is supported by the wheel, and includes a plurality of pores arranged to define an open-cell foam. The plurality of pores of the foamed aluminum portion is disposed in fluid communication with the tire cavity to absorb noise from within the tire cavity. The foamed aluminum portion may be integrally cast with the wheel, or otherwise affixed to the wheel.
US09545805B2 Printer head with airflow management system
A printing system includes a printer head with an airflow management system. The airflow management system includes an air splitter on the leading edge of the printer head and side members that extend the length of the printer head. The air splitter and members are positioned so that a gap is formed between the printer head and the air splitter and members. A vacuum fan positioned within a duct on top of the printer head can draw air through the gap at the leading edge of the printer head and return the air on the trailing side of the printer head. The airflow management system can permit increased printing distances.
US09545793B2 Processing method of silicon substrate, fabricating method of substrate for liquid ejection head, and fabricating method of liquid ejection head
An object of the present invention is to provide a processing method of a silicon substrate, capable of suppressing breakage of thin silicon or a thin film structure of an intermediate layer in etching first and second silicon substrates. According to the present invention, a first silicon substrate and a second silicon substrate are bonded to each other while holding an intermediate layer having an opening between both of the silicon substrates in a bonding step. A closed space defined by at least one of the first and second silicon substrates and the opening at least partly embedded with a filler in a filling step. Furthermore, a liquid supply port is formed in such a manner as to penetrate the filler in the opening and the second silicon substrate from the first silicon substrate in an etching step.
US09545787B2 Method of generating print data for inkjet printhead
A method of generating print data for an inkjet printhead having a plurality of ink planes. The method includes the steps of: receiving image data for a print job in a printer controller; retrieving keep-wet pattern data for each ink plane of the printhead, the retrieved keep-wet pattern data being determined using one or more input parameters; generating first print data for each ink plane in the printer controller based on the received image data; merging the first print data with the keep-wet pattern data to provide second print data for each ink plane; and sending the second print data from the printer controller to the printhead, thereby causing the printhead to print an image together with a keep-wet pattern. The keep-wet pattern is defined by a plurality of dots printed at a frequency sufficient to maintain hydration of each nozzle in the printhead.
US09545786B2 Advanced method for producing a roller-coating color steel plate with multicolored patterns
A method for producing color steel plate with multicolored patterns, the PLC control module of servo control system collects the process and rotation speed of each roller of the roller coating unit, calculates out and makes the theoretical roller surface linear velocity be consistent with the process rotation speed; conversely, the actual roller surface linear velocity of each roller of roller coating unit is collected by servo control module having an encoder, and the signal of actual roller surface linear velocity is input into the PLC control system, so that PLC control system can compare actual and theoretical roller surface linear velocity, and adjust current frequency until actual and theoretical roller surface linear velocity are consistent. Control method ensures actual roller surface linear velocity is consistent with process rotation speed, so there is no need to stop the line for adjusting in the production process, thus increasing the production efficiency.
US09545783B2 Handling of epoxy resins
Described herein is an apparatus and a method for removing an epoxy resin from a backing sheet at a temperature at or below the glass transition temperature of the epoxy resin. The apparatus (200) comprises a housing (210) in which is mounted a dispensing roll (220) comprising epoxy resin (230) on a backing sheet (240), a wind-up roll (250) comprising the backing sheet (240), a release element (260) over which the backing sheet (240) is directed, and a collection tray (270) for collecting pieces of resin (230a) removed from the backing sheet (240). The dispensing and wind-up rolls (220, 250) are mounted on respective drive shafts (225, 255) which are driven by a drive mechanism (285) controlled by a controller (280). A temperature controller (290) is also provided for controlling the temperature within the housing (210) so that it remains below or at the glass transition temperature of the epoxy resin. Angle (αa) is chosen to optimize the peel-back angle of the backing sheet (240) after is passes over the release element (260) in relation to the relative spacing between the dispensing and wind-up rolls (220, 250) and the release element (260).
US09545781B2 Chlorine analytical test element and a stabilized N, N-diethyl-p-phenylenediamine solution
A test element (10) used to determine concentration levels of free and total chlorine in a water sample comprises a test pad (12) adhered to a substrate (14), wherein the test pad (12) is impregnated with a stabilized DPD solution. The test pad (12) is color responsive to different concentration levels of chlorine in the water and compared to a color chart to determine the level of free chlorine and/or total chlorine in the water. The stabilized DPD solution may include N,N-diethyl-p-phenylenediamine oxalate salt, a polymeric anhydride such as a methyl-vinyl anhydride and an organo-sulfate such as dimethylsulfone.
US09545772B2 Array structures of containers
An array structure includes a plurality of containers arranged in a predetermined pattern. Each container of the plurality of containers has a maximum outer dimension that is less than about 1 cm, and each container of the plurality of containers has a substantially predetermined porosity.
US09545766B2 Method for manufacturing light-guide device
A method for manufacturing a light-guide device includes: obtaining a substrate having a flow passage; providing inkjet printing equipment having a liquid jetting head apparatus; and injecting an optical wave guide micro-droplet into the flow passage by using the liquid jetting head apparatus of the inkjet printing equipment, to form a light-guide device in the flow passage.
US09545763B2 Emergency repair kit for punctured tires
An emergency repair kit for tire punctures is disclosed, which generally includes a sealant dispenser and a box having a large bottom surface and accommodating therein compressor unit that can supply compressed air into a bottle of the sealant dispenser via an air input connection tube of the sealant dispenser to force the chemical sealant contained in the bottle to flow out of a sealant output connection tube of the sealant dispenser for inflating and repairing a punctured tire. A basket is used to detachably couple the sealant dispenser to the box, so that the sealant dispenser can stand on a surface more firmly. Therefore, the sealant dispenser can be prevent from displacement or overturn due to vibrations, so that the emergency repair kit can be operated more safely and conveniently.
US09545762B2 Composite coupling with a machining portion
A coupling made of composite material including a polymer matrix reinforced by a fiber structure is disclosed. The coupling includes a structural portion reinforced by a main fiber structure, and a first machining portion reinforced by a first fiber structure that is distinct from the main fiber structure. The matrices of the structural portion and of the first machining portion are identical. The first machining portion is situated on at least a fraction of the main face of the structural portion and is machined in a first machining surface. There is no intersection between the first machining surface and the fibers of the main fiber structure.
US09545757B1 Composite lay up and method of forming
A fiber reinforced composite structure includes multiple plies of pre-impregnated fiber reinforced material. Consecutive plies are layered such that the fibers of one ply are at 90 degrees relative to the fibers of a proximate ply, and such that the fibers of each ply are oriented at positive or negative 45 degrees with respect to a reference plane of the fiber reinforced composite structure. In a method for fabricating a fiber reinforced composite structure, pre-impregnated fiber reinforced composite plies are layered into a tool layup. Each ply is cut on the bias at either plus 45 degrees or minus 45 degrees. The bias angles of the layered plies alternate one relative to the next. The layered plies are cured after layering.
US09545745B1 Lip adjustment system
The invention comprises a die apparatus including a flexible lip for adjusting a gap between the flexible lip and a second lip. The apparatus includes linear moving members that are moved through pivoting pivot members. The pivoting members pivot by adjusting a slide bar. The apparatus may also include a cross-bar contacting the lip and extending substantially the length of the lip, where the cross-bar is connected to the linear moving members that are moved through the pivoting pivot members. As a result, the dimensions of the gap may be changed by moving the slide bar in a first direction or a second direction.
US09545744B2 Apparatus for making polymeric web exhibiting a soft and silky tactile impression
A method for making a polymeric web exhibiting a soft and silky tactile impression on at least one side thereof, the method comprising the steps of: providing a forming drum comprising at least one vacuum chamber; providing a forming structure, the forming structure being moveable upon the forming drum; extruding a precursor web directly onto the forming structure; moving the forming structure adjacent the vacuum chamber; applying vacuum at a sufficient level to induce a sufficient partial pressure to conform the precursor web to the forming structure; providing a source of heat; and annealing the precursor web by heating the precursor web; thereby forming the polymeric web exhibiting a soft and silky tactile impression on at least one side thereof, the polymeric web comprising hair-like fibrils having closed distal ends and an average aspect ratio of at least about 0.5.
US09545740B2 Composite of metal and resin and method for manufacturing the same
It is an object to manufacture a composite of a metal part and a resin composition part, which is improved so as to securely join and integrate stainless steel and a resin. A stainless steel part whose surface has been suitably roughened by chemical etching or the like can be used. An integrated product is obtained by inserting a stainless steel piece 1 with its surface treated into a cavity formed by a movable-side mold plate 2 and a fixed-side mold plate 3 of a metallic mold for injection molding 10 and injecting a specific resin. PBT, PPS or an aromatic polyamide resin can be used as the main resin component of a resin composition 4 that is used. High injection joining strength is obtained if the resin composition contains, as an auxiliary component, PET and/or a polyolefin resin in the case of PBT, a polyolefin resin in the case of PPS and an aliphatic polyamide resin in the case of an aromatic polyamide resin.
US09545739B2 Method for producing a composite body comprising a particle foam molded part connected to a hollow body in a force-closed manner
The invention relates to a process for producing a composite structure comprising a main structure and an external shell connected to the main structure, where the main structure comprises a molded foam obtainable from prefoamed foam particles and the external shell comprises a hollow structure open at one end or at two opposite ends, and where a frictional connection is formed between the molded foam and the hollow structure.
US09545736B2 Mold and die metallic material, air-permeable member for mold and die use, and method for manufacturing the same
A mold and die metallic material, an air-permeable member for mold and die use, and a method for making the same are provided. The mold and die metallic material is made by forming a mixed material containing stainless steel fibers with an equivalent diameter of 30-300 μm and a length of 0.4-5.0 mm, and stainless steel powder, heat sintering a green body of the mixed material, and heating the sintered body thus obtained in a nitrogen atmosphere and nitrided; wherein average open pore diameter thereof is 3-50 μm.
US09545734B2 Micro fence adjuster assembly
A clamp that is meant to act as a coordinate locator for any number of power tools, but most specifically for use with the Biesemeyer T-style table saw fences. The assembly is comprised of a C-frame which offers the ability to enact a clamping action and the ability to enact an indexing action. The design of the assembly allows not only for the clamping of an imprecise reference point along a table saw fence rail, but also the fine adjustment of indexing a screw against the table saw fence.
US09545722B2 Robot system, robot monitoring device, and robot monitoring method
A robot system, includes: a robot; a camera configured to capture an image of operation of the robot; and a circuit configured to: control the robot so as to perform work in accordance with work contents information preliminarily stored to indicate a series of work contents; save image information captured by the camera during work performance by the robot in association with time information; and display the saved image information together with the time information.
US09545720B1 Shutdown method by using local control board
The present application discloses implementations that involve shutdowns of a robotic system. An example may include controlling, by a robotic system, a plurality of motors of the robotic system with a central processing unit (CPU). The example may also include determining, by the robotic system, an error condition of the robotic system, where the error condition prevents the CPU from controlling at least one of the plurality of motors. The example may also include causing a plurality of motor driver boards to control the plurality of motors of the robotic system in response to determining the error condition of the robotic system. The example may also include receiving, by the plurality of motors, one or more commands from the plurality of motor driver boards to move the robotic system to a stationary position and park the robotic system in the stationary position.
US09545714B2 Rotary extension rod
A rotary extension rod includes an outer tube, an inner tube received in the outer tube, a rotatable assembly having a knob, a fixing seat and a link, and a positioning ring deposited on the fixing seat. The knob is rotatably deposited at one end of the outer tube. The fixing seat is received in the outer tube and fixed to one end of the inner tube. The link is between the knob and the fixing seat, and has two opposite first radially raised portions. The positioning ring has two opposite second radially raised portions. By rotating the knob, the first radially raised portions are posed to abut against or depart from the second radially raised portions, so that the positioning ring radially deforms to press against or release the outer tube, in turn allowing the length of the extension rod to be adjusted.
US09545713B2 Power tools with housings having integral resilient motor mounts
Power tool housing shells that matably attach to each other and define an interior cavity that is sized and configured to encase at least a motor associated with a power train for a power tool. Each housing shell is a substantially rigid molded shell body. Each housing shell inner surface includes at least one overmold motor mount member of a resilient material directly, integrally attached to an inner surface of the respective housing shell.
US09545706B2 Tool suspension device
A tool suspension device includes a suspension member, a first and a second receiving members. The suspension member is protrudedly formed with a first and a second pivot structures at two ends. The suspension member has a suspension portion for suspension. The first and the second receiving members are pivotably connected with the first and the second pivot structures respectively. Thus, the first receiving member and the second receiving member are able to be piled together for storing. Also, the first and the second receiving members are able to pivot to be unfolded for available of tools for a user.
US09545705B2 Reversible ratchet wrench
A reversible ratchet wrench includes a body rotatably receiving a driving member, slideably receiving a pawl, and pivotably receiving a switch button. A pressing member and an elastic element are received in a pressing member receptacle in the switch button. An end of the pressing member outside of the pressing member receptacle has a first spacing to a first side of the switch button. A protrusion is provided on the first side of the switch button and has a second spacing to the first side of the switch button. If the pawl slides in the compartment while the body rotates in a non-driving direction and if the pawl does not disengage from the driving member, the protrusion presses against the pawl to disengage the pawl from the driving member when the elastic element is compressed to an extent in which the first spacing is not larger than the second spacing.
US09545687B2 Spool gun adapter
The present disclosure provides a welding system having a welder, a welding gun, and a welding gun adapter, the welding gun being a spool gun with an attached motor. The welding gun adapter receives welding power from the welder, and converts it to output power suitable for driving the motor of the welding gun. The welding gun adapter also uses received welding power from the welder for control power. The present techniques allow for the use of welding guns requiring motor power to be used with any ordinary welder.
US09545679B2 Saw blade
A saw blade for an electric saw tool with a drive shaft making a reciprocating arcuate swing motion, the saw blade comprising a saw plate which has centrally a coupling part for connecting and fixing the saw plate to the drive shaft of the saw tool and has an appearance as being elliptic, and has cutting teeth on the outer periphery. Also, a saw blade for an electric saw tool with a drive shaft making a reciprocating arcuate swing motion, the saw blade having at one end a coupling part for connecting and fixing the saw blade to the drive shaft of the saw tool and having at the other end cutting teeth of the saw blade, and height of the cutting teeth being smaller in the order from near to at both ends of a line of the teeth.
US09545671B2 Cutting insert with scallops
A polygonal indexable cutting insert including a pair of faces, a plurality of peripheral side surfaces, a plurality of rounded corners, a plurality of cutting edges formed with an edge radius, a plurality of triangular-shaped areas proximate the rounded corners; and a plurality of chip breaking scallops positioned along the cutting edges. Each scallop has a bottom surface formed by a rake face and an arcuate back wall having a varying depth. The arcuate back wall of each scallop intersects the arcuate back wall of adjacent scallops at a point located at a distance from each cutting edge for providing a wedge effect that facilitates in dividing and breaking chips.
US09545667B2 Casting machine
A casting machine having a furnace body, a first heater, a first surface and pressure means. The furnace body has a melting portion and a holding portion, material being supplied and melted to form the molten metal in the melting portion, the holding portion holding the molten metal which has flowed out from the melting portion. The first heater heats the material supplied to the melting portion to melt it. The first surface is provided on a hearth surface of the melting portion and has concavities and convexities, the material to be heated being laid on the first surface.
US09545666B2 Method for casting cast parts from a molten metal
A casting mold is pivoted about a horizontal pivot axis for casting cast parts in a casting machine. The casting mold has a lid and a reference side wall. A main plane is placed into the reference side wall. A tundish is coupled to the casting mold and the casting mold is then pivoted into a pouring-in position. The tundish filled with a molten metal portion is pivoted with the casting mold about the pivot axis, so that the molten metal flows into the casting mold. An angle β1 enclosed between the main plane of the reference side wall and a bath level of the molten metal portion in the tundish is constantly <180° until the melt hits the bottom of the casting mold.
US09545665B2 Method of repairing defects in cast iron workpieces, and a method of connecting cast iron workpieces
A method of repairing defect in cast iron workpiece, including: machining the workpiece in the area of the defect to remove the defective material and form a chamber opening at a surface of the workpiece; anchoring a receptacle to the workpiece above the chamber (2), the receptacle is provided with an orifice in communication with the chamber; adding molten iron (4) into the receptacle so that it at least part of it flows into the chamber; adding slagging agent (5) into the receptacle; heating the slagging agent and the molten iron with an electrode (6); adding nodulizing agent into the molten iron so as to segregate graphite; and allowing the molten iron and the workpiece to cool down slowly. The above-described technique also has applicability for connecting two cast iron workpieces (11,12) together.
US09545657B2 Method of hydroforming an extruded aluminum tube with a flat nose corner radius
A method of hydroforming a vehicle rail from an extruded aluminum tube includes the steps of positioning the extruded aluminum tube into a hydroforming die and partially closing the hydroforming die. Next is the step of applying a liquid under a first level of pressure to the extruded aluminum tube in the hydroforming die. This is followed by engaging an inner radius of a bend in the extruded aluminum tube with the hydroforming die before completely closing the hydroforming die and increasing the level of liquid pressure in the workpiece to a second level to form and hydro-pierce a part from the extruded aluminum tube.
US09545645B2 Paint spray booth
A paint booth or paint booth system is presented having an upper and lower portion containing a flood plane panel located at the lower portion of the paint spray booth. An annular region is formed within the flood plane panel for receipt of a metal mesh filter removably fixed within the annular region and at least partially above the flood plane panel, for filtering of paint spray booth contents. The paint spray booth may also contain a perforated plate fixed over the filter for regulating the flow of air and bulk fluid through the filter.
US09545644B2 Fluid dispenser
A dispensing system includes a pump mechanism that has a liquid chamber, a liquid piston for delivering fluid to a mixing chamber, and a valve component biased to close the outlet from the liquid chamber. The pump mechanism also has an air chamber, and an air piston for delivering air to the mixing chamber. A bore allows passage of a mixture of the air and the liquid from the mixing chamber to a dispensing tube. A pump actuator moves the air piston and the liquid piston to propel a dose of the mixture of the air and the liquid through the bore and into the dispensing tube and to collapse a draw-back chamber. The draw-back chamber expands to draw the mixture of the air and the liquid from the dispensing tube into the draw-back chamber. The valve component is biased to close the first outlet before the draw-back chamber expands.
US09545637B2 Bearing for umbilicus of a fluid processing system
A fluid circuit for use with a fluid processing assembly, the fluid circuit comprising an umbilicus having a first end, a second end, an axis of rotation, and a cross-sectional circumference; a one-piece bearing secured to the umbilicus at a location between the first and second ends, the bearing having an axis of rotation and including an inner lumen which directly engages the umbilicus and includes a plurality of traction features, which bear against the umbilicus to prevent relative rotation of the bearing and the umbilicus; and the plurality of traction features comprising a first traction feature configured to engage the umbilicus at a first length between the first and second ends and a second traction feature configured to engage the umbilicus at a second length between the first and second ends.
US09545631B2 Cartridge, kit and method for processing biological samples and manipulating liquids having biological samples
Cartridge has a container with at least one well having a channel from a well opening to a container base side, protrusions on the container base side, and a flat polymer film with a hydrophobic upper surface kept at a distance from the base side by the protrusions. The container and film are reversibly attachable to a liquid droplet manipulation instrument so the lower surface of the film abuts at least one electrode array of the instrument. The container enables displacement of a liquid droplet from a well through the channel onto the hydrophobic upper surface and above the electrode array. The instrument has a control unit with a voltage control and an electrode selector for individually selecting each electrode of the electrode array and for providing the selected electrode with a voltage to controlling guided movement of a liquid droplet by electrowetting. A kit and method are also disclosed.
US09545630B2 Method for fabricating microchip for nucleic acid amplification reaction
Provided is a method for fabricating a microchip for nucleic acid amplification reaction that is capable of simple and highly accurate analysis. Provided is a method for fabricating a microchip for nucleic acid amplification reaction, the method including a solidification step of drying a reagent solution including at least a part of substances required for a nucleic acid amplification reaction, and a containment step of arranging the reagent solution including the solidified substance in wells that serve as a reaction site for a nucleic acid amplification reaction. In the microchip for nucleic acid amplification reaction fabricated by the fabrication method, since substances required for the nucleic acid amplification reaction are contained by being solidified, non-specific amplification is suppressed in a nucleic acid amplification reaction, which enables highly accurate analysis.
US09545627B2 Protein adsorbent
A method for producing a protein adsorbent comprising a substrate and a molecular chain fixed on the surface of the substrate is disclosed. The method comprises, in this order: a dry-heat treatment step of heating a pretreatment adsorbent comprising the substrate and the molecular chain fixed on the surface of the substrate, in which the molecular chain contains a weak electrolytic ion-exchange group; and a wet-heat treatment step of heating the pretreatment adsorbent in a moistened state with a liquid or steam to obtain the protein adsorbent.
US09545622B2 Activation and use of hydroalkylation catalysts
A hydroalkylation catalyst comprising a molecular sieve and a compound of a hydrogenation metal is activated by treating the catalyst at a temperature of less than about 250° C. in the presence of hydrogen.
US09545620B2 Catalyst and process for selective production of lower hydrocarbons C1-C5 from syngas with low methane and CO2 production
The present invention relates to a catalyst composition comprising cobalt manganese oxide which is modified with silicon in the form of a hydrophilic silica, the catalyst further comprises at least one of lanthanum, phosphorus, Fe, Zr, and Zn, and optionally one or more basic elements selected from the group consisting of alkali metal, alkaline earth metal, and transition metal. Furthermore, a method for preparing the catalyst composition and a process for producing aliphatic and aromatic hydrocarbons using the catalyst composition are provided.
US09545618B2 Method for preparing a catalyst composition suitable for removing sulfur from a catalytic reduction system
A method of preparing a catalyst composition suitable for removing sulfur from a catalytic reduction system and the catalyst composition prepared by the method are provided. The method of preparation of a catalyst composition, comprises: combining a metal oxide precursor, a catalyst metal precursor and an alkali metal precursor in the presence of a templating agent; hydrolyzing and condensing to form an intermediate product that comprises metal oxide, alkali metal oxide, and catalyst metal; and calcining to form a templated amorphous metal oxide substrate having a plurality of pores wherein the alkali metal oxide and catalyst metal are dispersed in an intermixed form in the metal oxide substrate.
US09545610B2 Complex comprising oxidative dehydrogenation unit
Oxidative dehydrogenation of paraffins to olefins provides a lower energy route to produce olefins. Oxidative dehydrogenation processes may be integrated with a number of processes in a chemical plant such as polymerization processes, manufacture of glycols, and carboxylic acids and esters. Additionally, oxidative dehydrogenation processes can be integrated with the back end separation process of a conventional steam cracker to increase capacity at reduced cost.
US09545609B2 Pyrolysis oil made with a microwave-transparent reaction chamber for production of fuel from an organic-carbon-containing feedstock
A pyrolysis oil composition by an oxygen-starved microwave process from an organic-carbon-containing feedstock is described. Feedstock is introduced into a substantially microwave-transparent reaction chamber. A microwave source emits microwaves which are directed through the microwave-transparent wall of the reaction chamber to impinge on the feedstock within the reaction chamber. The microwave source may be rotated relative to the reaction chamber. The feedstock is subjected to microwaves until the desired reaction occurs to produce a fuel. A catalyst can be mixed with the feedstock to enhance the reaction process.
US09545608B2 Dispersing device with temperature sensor
A dispersing device (1) has a dispersing tool (3), which has a shaft tube (2), and a drive (4). A dispersing rotor is provided at the free shaft tube (2) end (5) remote from the drive (4), the dispersing rotor being connected to the drive (4) via a shaft which can be coupled to the drive (4) and which is arranged within the shaft tube (2). In order to monitor the temperature of the medium to be dispersed, a temperature sensor (7) with a corresponding electric input and output line (8) is provided on the shaft tube (2), which is stationary relative to the dispersing rotor and the rotatable shaft, the input and output lines (8) connecting the temperature sensor (7) to the drive (4) and/or analyzing electronics and/or a control or regulating device.
US09545606B2 Solubilizing surfactants into supercritical carbon dioxide for enhanced oil recovery
Embodiments of the present disclosure include a process and a system for solubilizing a surfactant in supercritical carbon dioxide that include providing a turbulent flow of the supercritical carbon dioxide into which the surfactant solubilizes and injecting the surfactant into the turbulent flow of the supercritical carbon dioxide to achieve a Jet Mixing Number of 0.01 to 1.0. In one or more embodiments, a pump provides turbulent flow to supercritical carbon dioxide moving through at least a portion of piping, and an injector associated with the piping conveys the surfactant through surfaces defining a port in the injector to inject the surfactant into the turbulent flow of the supercritical carbon dioxide so as to achieve the Jet Mixing Number of 0.01 to 1.0.
US09545600B2 Accelerating transport through graphene membranes
Technologies are generally described for a membrane that may incorporate a graphene layer perforated by a plurality of nanoscale pores. The membrane may also include a gas sorbent that may be configured to contact a surface of the graphene layer. The gas sorbent may be configured to direct at least one gas adsorbed at the gas sorbent into the nanoscale pores. The nanoscale pores may have a diameter that selectively facilitates passage of a first gas compared to a second gas to separate the first gas from a fluid mixture of the two gases. The gas sorbent may increase the surface concentration of the first gas at the graphene layer. Such membranes may exhibit improved properties compared to conventional graphene and polymeric membranes for gas separations, e.g., greater selectivity, greater gas permeation rates, or the like.
US09545596B2 Gas separation by vaporized compound
An improved process for deacidizing a gaseous mixture with reduced overall energy costs is described. The process involves contacting the gaseous mixture with at least one of a vaporizing compound, a vaporized compound, a vaporizing solution of compound and a vaporized solution of compound, and forming a liquid or solid reaction product that can be easily separated from the gaseous mixture.
US09545591B2 Rotating separator with housing preventing separated liquid carryover
A rotating separator has a housing preventing separated liquid carryover. A plenum between the annular rotating separating filter element and the housing sidewall has one or more flow path separating guides minimizing the flow of separated liquid to the outlet. The flow path guides may include one or more fins and/or swirl flow dampers and/or a configured surface.
US09545587B2 Spin-on filter with external threads and methods
A filter arrangement for threadably securing to a filter head includes a housing having a surrounding wall defining an interior volume, an open mouth providing access to the interior volume and an end opposite of the open mouth. The surrounding wall has an exterior and an interior. A filter media construction is operably held within the interior volume. A sleeve, distinct from the housing, is secured to the exterior of the surrounding wall adjacent to the housing mouth and extending partially along the surrounding wall. The sleeve has an exterior and an interior. The exterior of the sleeve defines mounting threads constructed and arranged to removably mount with the filter head, when the filter arrangement is secured to the filter head. The interior of the sleeve is against the exterior of the surrounding wall. A first seal member is oriented against the sleeve to create a seal with a filter head, when the filter arrangement is secured to the filter head. A filter assembly includes a filter arrangement and a filter head. The filter arrangement is removably secured to the filter head by a threaded connection between the sleeve and the filter head. A system includes an engine utilizing a liquid and a filter assembly in fluid communication with the engine to filter the liquid. Methods of making filter arrangements include utilizing structures characterized above.
US09545579B2 Medium, system, method and information processing device
An information processing device is configured to execute: performing game processing including movement of a plurality of characters in a virtual world; specifying one character as a specific character on the basis of predetermined conditions; judging whether there is commonality in movement of a plurality of non-specific characters other than the specific character; determining at least one of the characters for which it has been judged that there is commonality, as a preferential display character; and adjusting drawing related parameters so that the preferential display character is located in a predetermined area of a display image.
US09545578B2 Jukebox entertainment system having multiple choice games relating to music
Entertainment system based on multiple choice competition games, which includes at least one terminal with a connection to a dedicated remote server, the system also including a module for playing an extract of a recording with a configurable duration on at least one terminal that can reproduce the recording, interact with a user, connect with a dedicated remote server, ask a terminal user a question and suggest multiple choice answers, the question being related to information characteristic of the extract of the recording, and the recording being selected independent of the terminal user.
US09545577B2 Method and system for renewing screen using mechanics information
A screen update method and system is provided. The game server performs the steps of: receiving dynamics information from a first gamer's terminal; and transmitting the received dynamics information to at least one second gamer's terminal. The first gamer's terminal performs the steps of: performing dynamics computation by using the dynamics information; and updating a display screen displayed on a display unit of the first gamer's terminal provided by the game server by using result information of the dynamics computation. The second gamer's terminal performs the steps of: performing dynamics computation by using the received dynamics information; and updating a display screen displayed on a display unit of the second gamer's terminal provided by the game server by using result information of the dynamics computation performed in the second gamer's terminal.
US09545566B2 Game device, game system, game control method, and information storage medium
A display control unit of a game device displays an image expressing a contact subject on a game screen. A determination unit determines, based on a first position designated by a user and a second position designated by the user, which of a right hand or a right foot and a left hand or a left foot the contact subject is to be touched with in a game. A contact control unit executes predetermined processing for the contact subject based on a determination result from the determination unit.
US09545562B1 Free-standing tennis court partition
A method of blocking tennis balls from one tennis court at a tennis facility from entering an adjacent tennis court. The method includes providing a vertical frame defining a front and a back, installing a removable panel on the frame, the vertical frame and the removable panel defining a temporary, removable, portable partition, temporarily placing the partition between a first tennis court and a second court at a tennis facility, the first and second tennis courts being adjacent to each other, via the partition, blocking a tennis ball played on the first tennis court from entering the second tennis court, and after play has concluded on the first tennis court, removing the partition from between the first and second tennis courts. The partition includes a hollow base having a fill port to receive water, sand, or another pourable, fungible substance for weighting the base and partition down.
US09545560B2 Heel locking binding system
The disclosure herein provides methods, systems, and devices for hands-free binding that offer enhanced convenience, style, and performance. In an embodiment, the systems and devices disclosed herein comprise a binding system having an opening. In an embodiment, the binding system can be configured to change the size of the opening to allow for an item to be inserted, secured, released, and/or removed. In an embodiment, the binding system can be configured to be able to change its profile.
US09545556B2 Basketball training glove
A glove includes a glove body having a bottom, a top, a middle, and palmar and dorsal panels extending from the bottom to the middle. The glove also includes finger covers extending from the middle to the top, and a thumb stall. A wrist strap is carried on the bottom of the glove body, and a thumb strap is carried on the middle of the glove body. Finger straps are carried on the finger covers. Rigid elements are carried along each of the finger covers and prevent the fiver covers from flexing.
US09545552B1 Hoop mounting
A backboard and hoop device is assembled from a backboard section and a hoop section, using first and second curved tangs at the proximal end of the hoop section, and first and second hooked tangs at the proximal end of the hoop section. The backboard section includes spaced first and second apertures sized to permit rotation of the curved tangs therein, and third and fourth apertures sized to permit engagement of the hooked tangs when aligned by rotation of the curved tangs, permitting assembly of the backboard section. The device further incorporates a mounting post clamp comprising two pairs of first and second jaws, one of each pair of jaws being mountable in a vertical or horizontal orientation to the backboard member, and the other of each pair of jaws engaged to a vertical or horizontal mounting post.
US09545549B2 Golf bag with a docking station for an electronic device
The invention generally relates to golf bags. A golf bag of the invention may include a detachable and re-attachable storage compartments. A golf bag may include retractable straps. A golf bag of the invention may include power collection and power plug-in devices.
US09545538B2 Foldable recumbent stepper exercise device
A portable recumbent stepper device may comprise a frame which may have a main body in the form of a beam extending fore-to-aft. The frame may also include a front leg and a rear base both for providing vertical and lateral support. The device may include an upward frame element fixedly joined to the fore end of the main body. A pair of foot pedals may be hingedly joined to the upward frame element. A pair of upwardly extending handles may be hingedly joined to the upward frame element and to the foot pedals so that they move in unison with the foot pedals, and the handles may be swept rearward to accommodate a seated user. A pair of resistance elements may be joined to the frame at one end and to one of the pair of foot pedals at another end.
US09545536B2 Training apparatus, control segment for training, and control method
To provide a training apparatus for effective and safe performance of KAATSU training.A training apparatus is made up of a tight fitting band 100, a main device 200, a measuring segment 300, and a control segment 400. The tight fitting band 100 is wrapped around a predetermined region of a limb. The tight fitting band 100 has an air-tight inflatable bag. The compression force applied to the limb can be varied by supplying the air to and removing the air from the inflatable bag. The main device 200 controls the supply and removal of the air into and from the inflatable bag. The measuring segment 300 is attached to the limb around which the tight fitting band 100 is wrapped to measure the magnitude of a pulse wave. The control segment 400 determines, in preprocessing performed before the KAATSU training, the pulse wave component at a time point at which the magnitude of the pulse wave reaches the maximum, and chooses, as an appropriate gas pressure, the pressure within the inflatable bag that is produced at a time point at which such a pulse wave is generated that is obtained by means of multiplying the pulse wave component at a time point at which the magnitude of the pulse wave reaches the maximum with a numeral equal to or larger than 0.2 but smaller than 1.
US09545535B2 Exercise machine inclination device
An exercise machine inclination device for providing variable exercise intensity on an exercise machine by inclining the exercise machine. The exercise machine inclination device generally includes a base adapted for being positioned upon a floor, a support structure adapted for supporting an exercise machine, a hinge pivotally connecting the base and the support structure and an actuator connected between the base and the support structure, wherein the actuator adjusts an angle of the support structure.
US09545531B2 Fire suppression system including an integral time delay and output starter with attach and detach firing pin assembly
A two-part starter mechanism for a powder aerosol generator fire suppression system is provided. Generally, the starter mechanism includes a pyrotechnic igniter assembly and a removable mechanical trigger coupled thereto. The igniter assembly is integrally formed with and/or embedded within the powder aerosol generator and operable, upon activation by the mechanical trigger, initiates a chemical reaction leading to the discharge of the powder aerosol fire suppressant. By being detachable, the mechanical trigger may be transported and stored separate from the pyrotechnic igniter thereby improving the overall safety of the fire suppression system.
US09545523B2 Multi-modality treatment systems, methods and apparatus for altering subcutaneous lipid-rich tissue
Systems and methods that enable tissue cooling applications and delivery of electrical energy to adipose tissue for alteration and reduction of body fat are described herein. Aspects of the disclosure are directed to, for example, temperature-controlled electroporation of subcutaneous lipid-rich cells. Additional aspects of the disclosure are directed to treatment methods for treating a target region of a human subject's body to achieve an alteration of subcutaneous adipose tissue. The method can include, for example, removing heat from the target region of the human subject during a treatment process to cool subcutaneous lipid-rich cells in the target region to a temperature below normal body temperature. Furthermore, the method can include delivering energy to the target region to produce an electric field in an amount sufficient to create pores in membranes of the subcutaneous lipid-rich cells that have been cooled to the temperature below normal body temperature.
US09545512B2 Method and apparatus for retaining medical implants within body vessels
The present application describes a retention device for anchoring a medical device within the vasculature. The device may include expandable member coupled to an intravascular medical device and proportioned for receipt within a vessel. At least a portion of the expandable member is expandable to radially engage a vessel wall and to thereby retain the medical device within the vessel. The system is suitable for a variety of intravascular devices, including but not limited to ICD's, pacemakers, and intravascular drug delivery systems.
US09545507B2 Injection molded microneedle array and method for forming the microneedle array
Disclosed are injection molded devices including microneedles on a substrate base. The microneedles may include a plurality of nano-sized structures fabricated thereon. The molds used to form the microneedles are assembled from a plurality of mold segments, each defining portions of the microneedles. Upon assembly of the multiple mold segments, microneedle negative cavities are formed. The molds may be used in an injection molding process to form microneedle arrays. Devices may be utilized for interacting with a component of the dermal connective tissue.
US09545504B2 Guidewire insertion aid
A guidewire insertion aid is is configured to feed out a guidewire inserted in a housing in order to insert said guidewire into the lumen of a piece of medical equipment. In some examples, the insertion aid comprises: a main body, a housing support part and a guidewire support part. A sliding contact part is disposed between the housing support part and the guidewire support part. The sliding contact part extends in the lengthwise direction of the main body and has a sliding contact surface for the guidewire. A feed-out member is provided on the main body and has a water-retentive water-retention member. The feed-out member is disposed with the water-retention member side thereof facing towards the sliding contact surface. The feed-out member can be displaced while the guidewire is held between said feed-out member and the sliding contact part.
US09545500B2 Control handle with device advancing mechanism
A catheter having an internal advancing mechanism that can advance stiffening wires or other devices, has a catheter with a catheter body, a tip section distal the catheter body, a device extending through at least the catheter body, and a control handle proximal the catheter body, where the control handle has an advancing mechanism with a threaded member, an adjustment member, and a guided member to which the device is connected, and the advancing mechanism is configured to advance and retract the device along the catheter body as controlled by a user. Each of the threaded member and the adjustment member has a generally cylindrical configuration. The threaded member has an outer surface configured with a helical guide channel. The adjustment member is configured to guide the guided member to move within the helical guide channel to advance and retract the device. The adjustment member can be rotatable over the threaded member by the user to control advancement and retraction of the device. The device may be a stiffener wire, a needle or any other device suitable for advancement and retraction in a catheter.
US09545497B2 Remote catheter procedure system
A catheter procedure system including a bedside system and a remote workstation is provided. The bedside system includes a catheter including an expandable percutaneous intervention device, a robotic catheter system configured to move the catheter, and an inflation device configured to cause expansion of the expandable percutaneous intervention device. The remote workstation includes a user interface configured to receive a at least first user input and a second user input and a control system operatively coupled to the user interface for remotely controlling both the robotic catheter system and the inflation device. The remote workstation includes a monitor configured to display information related to the expandable percutaneous intervention device. The control system controls the robotic catheter system to move the catheter based upon at least the first user input and controls the inflation device to cause expansion of the expandable percutaneous intervention device based upon at least the second user input.
US09545495B2 Catheter assembly with seal member
A catheter assembly includes a catheter hub defining an interior cavity and a catheter tube extending distally thereof. A rigid actuator extends proximally in the interior cavity and supports a seal member thereon. The seal member includes a central membrane, a distal portion, and a proximal portion. An hourglass shaped actuator cavity is formed in the distal portion and receives a barbed end of the actuator. The outer surface of the seal member is in partial circumferential engagement with the catheter hub to define an air path that allows fluid communication between areas of the interior cavity distal and proximal of the seal member. A punch tool is provided to form a tri-slit in the membrane of the seal member.
US09545492B2 Humidifier with liquid ingress protection
A pressure support device includes a humidification system (10) to control the humidity of a pressurized flow of breathable gas generated by the pressure support device. The humidification system includes a liquid storage chamber (32) and a humidification chamber (34). When in an operational orientation, liquid travels from the liquid storage chamber to the humidification chamber through a serpentine feed path (38) due to gravity. The serpentine shape of feed path halts the flow of liquid responsive to the device being tilted out of an operational orientation.
US09545488B2 Preservative-free single dose inhaler systems
An aerosolization system includes a container that is configured to deliver a unit dosage of a liquid when squeezed a single time. The system also includes an aerosolizer that is constructed of a housing defining a mouthpiece, and an aerosol generator disposed in the housing. The aerosol generator includes a vibratable membrane having a front face and a rear face, and a vibratable element used to vibrate the membrane. Further, the housing includes an opening that is adapted to receive a unit dosage of the liquid from the container. The opening provides a liquid path to the rear face of the vibratable membrane.
US09545484B2 Needle shield arrangement
A needle shield arrangement for a syringe (10), having a generally cylindrical body with a needle (16) at its forward end, includes a shield portion (20) adapted for shielding the needle (16); a syringe engaging portion (22) for engagement with the syringe body, and a frangible connecting portion (24) connecting the shield portion and the syringe engagement portion.
US09545481B1 Pre-loaded syringe with metered dosing and methods of use
Methods and devices for metering and delivering a desired dose of medication from a syringe are described. The devices may include a dosage limiting sleeve adjustably disposed around a syringe body, wherein the alignment of the dosage limiting sleeve relative to the syringe body indicates the dose to be administered by depressing a plunger until the dosage limiting sleeve is engaged.
US09545471B2 Extracorporeal fluidic device for collecting circulating tumor cells and method of use thereof
A device can be used to retain circulating tumor cells (CTCs). The device can include a cross-flow module with a retentate channel and a permeate channel. A filter in the cross-flow module can separate the retentate channel from the permeate channel. The filter can be constructed such that CTCs are retained in the retentate channel while other cells can pass through the filter into the permeate channel. A recirculation channel can direct a flow from an outlet of the retentate channel back to an inlet of the retentate channel to thereby concentrate CTCs in the retentate flow.
US09545464B2 Syringe with ratcheting operating rod and lockable plunger head
A syringe for medical applications includes a syringe body having an inner wall, a first stop, located along the inner wall, to leave at least one first blank surface on the inner wall; and a plunger sliding along the inner wall of along a longitudinal axis of the syringe, the plunger including a plunger head and an operating rod, connected to the plunger head, including, on its outer surface, at least one first rack arranged longitudinally along the operating rod, the first rack including protruding teeth. The first stop and the protruding teeth are also shaped and constituted so as to prevent the plunger from lowering again due to pressure on the operating rod, unless the first rack is disengaged by rotating the plunger within the syringe body around the longitudinal axis so that the first rack faces the first blank surface of the inner wall of the syringe body.
US09545462B2 Chest tube drainage system with analyzer
A system includes a chest tube drainage system comprising a first chamber in fluid communication with a port connectable to a chest tube, a second chamber in fluid communication with a port connectable to a suction device, and a fluid seal connected to and disposed between the first chamber and the second chamber. The system also includes one or more gas sensors attached to the chest tube drainage system, the one or more gas sensors configured to detect at least one of gaseous carbon dioxide and gaseous oxygen, a controller connected to the one or more gas sensors, and at least one indicator coupled to the controller. The controller is configured to determine if a threshold level of carbon dioxide is exceeded, and to activate the at least one indicator if the threshold level of carbon dioxide is not exceeded.
US09545458B2 Waste remediation
A system including a steam generation system and a chamber. The steam generation system includes a complex and the steam generation system is configured to receive water, concentrate electromagnetic (EM) radiation received from an EM radiation source, apply the EM radiation to the complex, where the complex absorbs the EM radiation to generate heat, and transform, using the heat generated by the complex, the water to steam. The chamber is configured to receive the steam and an object, wherein the object is of medical waste, medical equipment, fabric, and fecal matter.
US09545456B2 Optoacoustic-ultrasonic contrast agents with enhanced efficiency
Provided herein are dual contrast agents or nanocomposite particles designed to enhance optoacoustic-ultrasonic imaging. The contrast agents or particles have a core designed to enhance response to incident transient ultrasonic pressure waves and at least two layers disposed around the core. The inner first layer is designed to effectively absorb incident transient optical waves, convert absorbed optical energy into heat and demonstrates significant thermal expansion and/or conversion of thermal energy into acoustic pressure. The outer second layer thermally insulates the inner layer from the surrounding aqueous environment and enhances the generation of transient ultrasonic pressure waves during optoacoustic-ultrasonic imaging and sensing. Also provided are methods of enhancing contrast in a tissue optoacoustic-ultrasonic imaging and producing enhanced optoacoustic images by contacting the tissue with the dual contrast agent or nanocomposite particles.
US09545448B2 Tamper resistant pharmaceutical formulations
Disclosed in certain embodiments is a solid oral dosage form comprising a heat-labile gelling agent; a thermal stabilizer; and a drug susceptible to abuse.
US09545447B2 Polymer-drug systems
The present disclosure generally relates to polymer-drug systems, and more particularly to nanoscopic particles comprising amphiphilic block copolymers conjugated, physically encapsulated, or otherwise combined with chemotherapeutic agents along a selective region or regions of the backbone of the copolymer, so as to package the chemotherapeutic agent in selective domains within each nanoscopic particle, as well as to methods for making such particles, and applications and methods for using such particles, including in the formation of polymer micelles.
US09545444B2 Anti-tumor T cell immunity induced by high dose radiation
Cancer treatment is provided, by irradiating an individual with a localized, high single dose or short course of doses at a primary tumor site; collecting T cells from the individual after a period of time sufficient activation of an anti-tumor response; treating the individual with an effective dose of dose of chemotherapy; and reintroducing the T cell population back to the individual.
US09545441B2 Treatment of diabetes
Glycated hemoglobin (HbA1c) levels and other characteristics of diabetes are reduced by administering to a human subject a pharmaceutical composition that includes a pharmaceutically acceptable carrier and a therapeutically effective amount of an agent that selectively binds IL-1α.
US09545439B2 Emulsion vaccine compositions comprising antigen and adjuvant in the aqueous phase
Emulsion vaccine formulations containing an antigen and an adjuvant in the aqueous phase are used for the vaccination of animals wherein the adjuvant is an acrylic polymer and/or dimethyl dioctadecyl ammonium bromide (DDA). These formulations can be prepared by mixing an aqueous phase containing the antigen and adjuvant with an oil phase in the presence of an emulsifier.
US09545437B2 Peptide vaccines for cancers expressing MPHOSPH1 or DEPDC1 polypeptides
The present invention provides peptides having an amino acid sequence as set forth in SEQ ID NO: 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 192, 195, 197, 209, 225, 226, 228, 230, 240, 241, 243, 244, 249, 253, 254 or 255, as well as peptides having the above-mentioned amino acid sequences in which 1, 2, or several amino acids are substituted, deleted, or added, wherein the peptides possess cytotoxic T cell inducibility. The present invention also provides drugs for treating or preventing a disease associated with the over-expression of MPHOSPH1 and/or DEPDC1, e.g. cancers, containing these peptides as an active ingredient. The peptides of the present invention can also be used as vaccines.
US09545431B1 Isolated recombinant cDNA
The routine use of antibiotics to battle Streptococcal pathogens has produced a new class of superbug—multi-drug resistant streptococci resulting in a need for new antimicrobials. The LambdaSa2 prophage endolysin gene harbors an amidase-5 (endopeptidase), an amidase-4 (glycosidase) domain and two Cpl-7 cell wall-binding domains. This endolysin can digest the cell walls of Streptococcus agalactiae, Streptococcus pneumoniae and Staphylococcus aureus. Turbidity reduction and plate lysis assays indicate that this peptidoglycan hydrolase also shows strong lytic activity toward Streptococcus pyogenes, Streptococcus dysgalactiae, Streptococcus uberis, Streptococcus equi, GES, and GGS. Deletion analysis on the His-tagged version of this gene further indicates that the N-terminal endopeptidase domain is minimally active in the absence of a Cpl-7 domain when lysing cells from without; however, with both Cpl-7 domains, it achieves a higher specific activity than the full length protein (on some strains) and shows weak activity against two Coagulase Negative Staphylococci, Staphylococcus hyicus and Staphylococcus xyloses.
US09545430B2 Siraitiae fructus product and preparation method thereof
This invention relates to a Siraitiae fructus product and a method for preparing the same. The product uses a Siraitiae fructus seed as a carrier, and Siraitiae fructus flesh is coated on the carrier. The flesh may the original flesh tissue, or flesh pulp prepared through a physical method. The product is convenient for eating, and has a distinct flavor and a high amount of active ingredients. The preparation method is simple and practical, and significantly reduces energy consumption.
US09545421B2 Nucleic acid delivery vehicle and uses thereof
A nucleic acid-delivery vehicle for delivering nucleic acids to target cells is provided. The nucleic acid-delivery vehicle comprises a plurality of nanoparticles; and a plurality of nucleic acids. The nanoparticles and the nucleic acids are agglomerated to form a nucleic acid-granulation particle having a dimension of at least 5 nm. Methods of making the nucleic acid-delivery vehicle and kits comprising nucleic acid-delivery vehicle are also provided.
US09545420B2 Method of promoting wound healing
Disclosed is a method of promoting wound healing or wound closure. The method comprises administration of a miR-198 inhibitor and/or a follistatin-like-1 (FSTL1) polypeptide. Also disclosed are method of treating chronic cutaneous wounds, method of identifying a non-healing wound, use and a pharmaceutical composition comprising a miR-198 inhibitor and/or a follistatin-like-1 (FSTL1) polypeptide.
US09545417B2 Methods of inhibiting cancer stem cells with HMGA1 inhibitors
The presently disclosed subject matter relates to methods of inhibiting cancer stem cells and growth of aggressive and/or poorly differentiated metastatic tumors comprising the cancer stem cells with HMGA1 inhibitors. The presently disclosed subject matter also provides methods of selecting and treating a subject with aggressive and/or poorly differentiated metastatic cancer using HMGA1 inhibitors.
US09545409B2 Use of 1-adamantylethyloxy-3-morpholino-2-propanol or pharmaceutically acceptable salts thereof in pharmaceutical compositions as a neuroretinal protector
The use of 1-adamantylethyloxy-3-morpholino-2-propanol, or pharmaceutically acceptable salts thereof, in a concentration range of from 3 to 100 mg/ml in pharmaceutical compositions for parenteral administration in the treatment of degenerative neuroretinal diseases of various geneses.
US09545402B2 Pharmaceutical compositions comprising 4-amino-5-fluoro-3-[6-(4-methylpiperazin-1-y1)-1H-benzimidazol-2-y1]-1H-quinolin-2-one lactate monohydrate
A pharmaceutical composition for oral administration comprising 4-amino-5-fluoro-3-[6-(4-methylpiperazin-1-yl)-1H-benzimidazol-2-yl]-1H-quinolin-2-one monolactate monohydrate, a filler in an amount of 15 to 70% by weight, a disintegrant in an amount of less than 15% by weight, a glidant and/or a lubricant in an amount of 0.1 to 10% by weight wherein the amounts by weight are based on the total weight of the composition.
US09545397B2 Method to predict response to pharmacological chaperone treatment of diseases
The present invention provides methods to determine whether a patient with a lysosomal storage disorder will benefit from treatment with a specific pharmacological chaperone. The present invention exemplifies an in vitro method for determining α-galactosidase A responsiveness to a pharmacological chaperone such as 1-deoxygalactonojirimycin in a cell line expressing a mutant from of α-galactosidase A. The invention also provides a method for diagnosing Fabry disease in patients suspected of having Fabry disease.
US09545377B2 Platelet-derived growth factor compositions and methods of use thereof
A method for promoting growth of bone, periodontium, ligament, or cartilage in a mammal by applying to the bone, periodontium, ligament, or cartilage a composition comprising platelet-derived growth factor at a concentration in the range of about 0.1 mg/mL to about 1.0 mg/mL in a pharmaceutically acceptable liquid carrier and a pharmaceutically-acceptable solid carrier.
US09545376B2 Production of unit dose constructs
Dissolvable unit dose constructs and their method of manufacture are disclosed in which the unit dose constructs are formed of a composition including a polymer matrix that includes a water soluble polymer, active ingredient, and a liquid carrier. The composition is deposited directly, such as by stenciling, to form individual unit doses without the need to cut and convert long, continuous rolls of film.
US09545374B1 Method, composition for the preparation and cleaning of photo chromic dyes resulting in a product suitable for use on human skin
A method and composition of a photo chromic dye suitable to be applied directly to human skin, and which dye is configured to indicate exposure to UV rays. The composition is configured to change color upon exposure to UVA, UVB and/or UVC rays. The composition can be used with other compositions, such as sunscreen, and be applied to human skin prior to application of the sunscreen, or, formulated with the sunscreen such that when the active ingredients of the sunscreen diminish, the photo chromic dye will change color to generate a visual indicator of this condition.
US09545367B2 Cosmetic use of N-heteroarylbisamide analogs and related compounds
Cosmetic and dermatological compositions comprising N-heteroarylbisamide analogs and methods of using such compositions to impart anti-aging benefits to the skin and/or improve skin conditions resulting from reduced collagen and hyaluronic acid production are disclosed. The N-heteroarylbisamides are believed to stimulate collagen and hyaluronic acid production and restore or maintain homeostasis for these compounds.
US09545361B1 Multiple speed process for preserving heat sensitive portions of a thermokinetically melt blended batch
The present disclosure is directed to compositions and methods for making a pharmaceutical composition by thermokinetic compounding, wherein the compositions include one or more thermolabile components, for example one or more active pharmaceutical ingredients (API) with one or more pharmaceutically acceptable excipients. The methods comprise thermokinetic processing of the thermolabile components into a composite by blending certain thermolabile components in a thermokinetic mixer using multiple speeds during a single, rotationally continuous operation. The composite can be further processed into pharmaceutical compositions by conventional methods known in the art, such as hot melt extrusion, melt granulation, compression molding, tablet compression, capsule filling, film-coating, or injection molding.
US09545360B2 Saccharide protective coating for pharmaceutical package
A method for providing a saccharide based lubricating or protective coating or layer on a substrate surface is provided. In particular, a lubricity and/or protective coating or layer made by said method is provided. Pharmaceutical packages or other vessels coated by said method and the use of such pharmaceutical packages or other vessels protecting a compound or composition contained or received in said vessel with a protective coating against mechanical and/or chemical effects of the surface of the vessel without a protective coating material are also provided.
US09545359B2 Method and apparatus for enhancement of chest compressions during CPR
An apparatus for assisting a rescuer in performing chest compressions during CPR on a victim, the apparatus comprising a pad or other structure configured to be applied to the chest near or at the location at which the rescuer applies force to produce the chest compressions, at least one sensor connected to the pad, the sensor being configured to sense movement of the chest or force applied to the chest, processing circuitry for processing the output of the sensor to determine whether the rescuer is substantially releasing the chest following chest compressions, and at least one prompting element connected to the processing circuitry for providing the rescuer with information as to whether the chest is being substantially released following chest compressions.
US09545351B2 Modular operating table
A modular operating table comprises a support (10) and a base part (20) attached to the support (10), the base part (20) providing a first region of a support surface for a patient's body during surgery, the base part (20) comprising side bars (21) extending parallel to a longitudinal axis of the support surface in lateral edge regions of the support surface. A seat element (30) is attached to the base part (20), the seat element (30) providing a second region of the support surface, a width of the second region decreasing in a distal direction, symmetric to a central longitudinal axis of the support surface, the seat element (30) having at least two first connection elements for the distal attachment of functional components, the at least two first connection elements being arranged along main axes of the side bars. A first functional component (40.1, 40.2) comprising a generally triangular plate (42.1, 42.2) provides a third region of the support surface. The first functional component (40.1, 40.2) is attachable to one of the at least two first connection elements of the seat element, the attachment of two of said first functional components (40.1, 40.2) complementing a generally rectangular support area in a distal region of the seat element (30). The first functional component (40.1, 40.2) has a second connection element for the distal attachment of functional components, the second connection element being arranged along the main axis of the corresponding side bar when the first functional component (40.1, 40.2) is attached to the seat element (30).
US09545337B2 Acoustic streaming glaucoma drainage device
An acoustic streaming valve arrangement induces flow in a glaucoma drainage device. The arrangement may include a selectively vibrating flow generator having a sharp edge and a driving device configured to selectively vibrate the flow generator to create a streaming fluid flow in a direction away from the sharp edge.
US09545334B2 System and method for modulated surgical procedure irrigation and aspiration
A method and apparatus for performing modulated fluid delivery and aspiration during a surgical procedure such as phacoemulsification is provided. The method and apparatus include delivering fluid and/or aspirating fluid in a modulated or pulsed manner during a surgical procedure, including applying fluid and/or aspirating fluid in connection with ultrasonic energy at a level and for a time period sufficient to induce transient cavitation. Fluid may be applied and/or aspirated at a timing sequence and duty cycle similar to or different from application of ultrasonic energy delivery.
US09545320B2 Standalone interbody implants
Stand-alone interbody fusion devices for engagement between adjacent vertebrae. The stand-alone interbody fusion devices may include a spacer and one or more inserts or members coupled to the spacer. The inserts or members may be configured and designed to provide the apertures which are designed to retain bone fasteners, such as screws, and secure the implant to the adjacent vertebrae.
US09545317B2 Implant interface system and device
In various embodiments, an implant for interfacing with a bone structure includes a web structure including a space truss. The space truss includes two or more planar truss units having a plurality of struts joined at nodes and the web structure is configured to interface with human bone tissue. In some embodiments, a method is provided that includes accessing an intersomatic space and inserting an implant into the intersomatic space. The implant includes a web structure including a space truss. The space truss includes two or more planar truss units having a plurality of struts joined at nodes and the web structure is configured to interface with human bone tissue.
US09545316B2 Adjustable distraction cage with linked locking mechanisms
A spinal implant which is configured to be deployed between adjacent vertebral bodies. The implant has at least one extendable support element with a retracted configuration to facilitate deployment of the implant and an extended configuration so as to expand the implant and effectively distract the disc space, stabilize the motion segments and eliminate pathologic spine motion. The implant has a minimal dimension in its unexpanded state that is smaller than the dimensions of the neuroforamen through which it typically passes to be deployed within the intervertebral space. The implant is provided with a locking system having a plurality of linked locking elements that work in unison to lock the implant in an extended configuration. Bone engaging anchors also may be provided to ensure secure positioning.
US09545310B2 Multi-component non-biodegradable implant, a method of making and a method of implantation
An implant having at least three components, namely, a solid hydrogel, a porous hydrogel adjacent to or surrounding the solid hydrogel (together considered “the hydrogel”), and a porous rigid base. The solid hydrogel and porous rigid base carry joint load, and the porous hydrogel layer and the porous rigid base allow for cellular migration into and around the implant. The invention is also a novel method of manufacturing the implant, a novel method of implanting the implant, and a method of treating, repairing or replacing biological tissue, more preferably musculoskeletal tissue, with the implant.
US09545292B2 Dental implant devices, kits, and methods
Dental implant devices, kits, and methods for implantation or use in a bone cavity, are disclosed. A dental implant can include a body portion, extending from a proximal end to a distal end along a longitudinal axis, including a central bore extending from the proximal end to a termination point, located proximal of the distal end. The dental implant can further include and one or more channels extending between the central bore and an exterior surface of the body portion. A kit can include a set of different sized dental implants, a set of slugs including a resorbable material, and optionally, an injection tool. A method can include inserting the dental implant into a bone cavity, introducing a resorbable material into the central bore of the body portion, and permitting the resorbable material to flow from the central bore, through the one or more channels, and into the bone cavity.
US09545288B2 Systems and devices for a counter balanced surgical robot
Described herein are systems and devices for counterbalancing a surgical robotic system using a counterbalanced Z-axis drive. The counterbalanced Z-axis drive includes a self-centering ball screw assembly having a linear actuator and a counter weight. The counter weight is configured to substantially support a load associated with an arm of the robotic system when the driving portion is engaged or disengaged. In some embodiments, the counterbalanced Z-axis drive controls the arm and a movable effector mounted on the arm. Also disclosed herein are systems and devices for direct drive actuation of rotary axes of the arm which reduce the size and weight of the arm.
US09545286B2 Thermotherapy application and control system
Apparatus for applying thermotherapy to a part of the human or animal body comprising an applicator having a flexible enclosure in which thermal energy transfer fluid can circulate, a connector for connecting the applicator to a control system, an interface layer for providing a thermally conductive interface between the flexible enclosure and a treatment site and, an electrically conductive supporting layer for supporting the interface layer and capable of being energized by an electrical signal from the control system to improve the thermal conductivity of the interface layer. The apparatus also includes a valve unit for connecting the applicator to a control system, a heat exchanger for cooling a thermal energy transfer fluid and a control system for controlling the application of thermotherapy. The apparatus permits manipulation and control of the molecules of the interface layer and a thermal energy transfer fluid to improve the thermal energy transfer efficiency between the applicator and a treatment site.
US09545283B2 Devices and methods for preparation of vertebral members
Devices and methods for preparing a surgical site, and in particular vertebral members, which may include a retractable tool and an actuator. The tool may include distal and proximal members. A distal side of the distal member may be fixed in a longitudinal direction and pivotable at a point of rotation. A proximal side of the proximal member may be pivotably connected to the actuator. In a retracted position, the distal member may be pivotably connected to the proximal member longitudinally in between the point of rotation and the proximal side of the proximal member. Moving the actuator in a distal direction may push the proximal member and the distal member such that the proximal member pivots with respect to the actuator and distal member, the distal member pivots with respect to the proximal member and point of rotation, and the proximal member and distal member move laterally outward.
US09545277B2 Bone plate
A bone plate having a first, bone-facing surface and an opposing second surface has an elongate shaft portion and a head portion that is shorter and wider in comparison thereto, with at least one through hole extending through the bone plate from the first surface to the second surface in the shaft portion. The through hole comprises a variable-angle portion with a hole axis configured to receive a threaded head of a locking screw therein at a desired angle within a permitted range of angulation relative to the hole axis. The second surface has at least one depression which extends therein along a portion of the second surface between the side wall and the through hole, the depression extending about a periphery of the through hole.
US09545266B2 Adjustable fixation clamp and method
An adjustable fixation clamp having first and second clamp assemblies positioned about a shaft. The clamp assemblies may each have a pair of vise plates. Each pair of vise plates may define at least two receiving portions and insertion portions intersecting the receiving portions. The receiving portions of one clamp assembly may receive at least two fixation components such as screws, pins or wires. The receiving portions of the other clamp assembly may receive at least one connector such as a rod, bar and/or ring. A biasing structure may be positioned between the first and second clamp assemblies and may allow for the fixation components to be snapped into the receiving portions through the insertion portions. Two or more adjustable fixation clamps may be used to form an external fixation system. At least two screws, pins or wires may be inserted into bone and one of the clamp assemblies may be attached thereto. A guide may be used for insertion of screws, pins or wires into bone. The other clamp assembly may be connected to a rod, bar or ring. Thereafter, the clamp assemblies may be oriented relative to each other and locked in place.
US09545263B2 Devices and methods for treating lower extremity vasculature
A method of diverting fluid flow from a first vessel including an occlusion to a second vessel includes deploying a prosthesis at least partially in a fistula and making valves in the second vessel incompetent. Making the valves in the second vessel incompetent includes at least one of using a reverse valvulotome to cut the valves, inflating a balloon, expanding a stent, and lining the second vessel with a stent.
US09545262B2 Apparatus for performing an electrosurgical procedure
An endoscopic forceps is provided and includes a housing having a shaft. An end effector assembly operatively connects to a distal end of the shaft and has a pair of first and second jaw members. One of the first and second jaw members is movable relative to the other jaw member from an open position, to a clamping position. One of the first and second jaw members includes one or more cam slots defined therein and configured to receive a cam member that upon movement thereof rotates the movable jaw member from the open position to the clamping position. A resilient member is operably coupled to the jaw member that includes the one or more cam slots. The resilient member is configured to provide a camming force to the cam slot and to bias the first and second jaw members in the clamping position.
US09545261B2 Instrument guide
A guide for a flexible member includes a stationary member, an articulating member, and an actuating member. The articulating member defines a first lumen. The stationary member, the articulating member, and the actuating member are coupled to one another by one or more arcuate grooves or flanges such that the articulating member pivots relative to the stationary member when the actuating member is moved relative to the stationary member. The stationary member and the actuating member form a second lumen arranged to accommodate the flexible member coextensively in the first lumen and the second lumen.
US09545251B2 Apparatus for tissue repair
An apparatus for tissue repair, comprising first and second fixation members, a flexible coupling member coupling the first and second fixation members, the flexible coupling member having two terminal ends, one of the two terminal ends terminating adjacent one of the first and second fixation members, the flexible coupling member slidably coupled to at least one of the first and second fixation members such that when the other of the two terminal ends of the flexible coupling member is pulled, a length of the flexible coupling member between the first and second fixation members is shortened, and a Chinese trap formed in the flexible coupling member through which a portion of the flexible coupling member slides when the flexible coupling member is pulled.
US09545246B2 Adjustable stop for elongate medical device deflection mechanism
A deflection mechanism for an elongate medical device may comprise an actuator. The actuator may comprise a rotatable body comprising a channel, the channel comprising a plurality of recesses. The deflection mechanism may further comprises an activation wire having a proximal end and a distal end, and a wire lock attached to the proximal end of the activation wire. The wire lock may be disposed within the channel and configured to ride therein when the actuator body is rotated. An adjustable stop may be placed in one or more of the recesses of the channel so as to apply a force to the wire lock as the actuator is rotated so as to increase tension on the activation wire.
US09545245B2 Articulating surgical apparatus
An endoscopic instrument includes a housing having shaft extending therefrom that defines a longitudinal axis therethrough. The shaft includes an articulating section disposed thereon. The articulating section has a central annulus extending therealong and first and second pluralities of bores. The first plurality of bores configured to receive corresponding tendons therethrough and the second plurality of bores configured to receive corresponding conductive leads therethrough. An end effector assembly operatively connected to a distal end of the shaft including a pair of first and second jaw members. The corresponding conductive leads transition from a first state for enabling articulation of the shaft about the articulating section, to a second state for disabling articulation of the shaft about the articulating section.
US09545244B2 Mechanical tissue sample holder indexing device
A biopsy device comprises a probe assembly, a holster assembly, a tissue sample holder, and a manually operated rotation mechanism configured to rotate the tissue sample holder. The probe assembly comprises a cutter configured to sever a tissue sample. The tissue sample holder includes a plurality of tissue chambers configured to receive discrete severed tissue samples. The holster assembly comprises the non-motorized, manually operated rotation mechanism configured to allow a user to align consecutive chambers to successively collect discrete severed tissue samples. The tissue sample holder rotation mechanism may comprise a first button, a first lever, a first pawl, a first ratchet, an indexing shaft, and a first gear, which are all configured to, ultimately, rotate a tissue sample holder. The tissue sample holder rotation mechanism may alternately include thumbwheels, a worm gear, or a ratcheting lever, among other things.
US09545223B2 Functional near infrared spectroscopy imaging system and method
Disclosed is a functional NIRS imaging system including an elastomeric cap, a set of transmit optical fibers and a set of receive optical fibers terminating on the inside surface of the elastomeric cap. A pair of light sources combines to produce a collimated light beam at two wavelengths. An optical modulation system, converts the light beam into a plurality of probe light beams, modulates the plurality of probe light beams and directs each probe light beam into a transmit fiber. An optical detection system accepts scattered photons from subcutaneous tissue underneath the elastomeric cap as a plurality of collected light beams and converts them into a time series of electronic images, stores the electronic images into the memory and processes the electronic images using. The system displays the resulting image on a display as a hemoglobin oxygen saturation map.
US09545221B2 Electronic system with dynamic localization mechanism and method of operation thereof
An electronic system includes a storage interface configured to access a kinematic model for representing one or more motions of a carrier; a control unit, coupled to the storage interface, configured to determine an attachment location of an attachable device based on the kinematic model; and generate a device setting based on the attachment location for provisioning the attachable device.
US09545211B2 System and method for electrocardiogram analysis and optimization of cardiopulmonary resuscitation and therapy delivery
The system and method provide for electrocardiogram analysis and optimization of patient-customized cardiopulmonary resuscitation and therapy delivery. An external medical device includes a housing and a processor within the housing. The processor can be configured to receive an input signal for a patient receiving chest compressions and to select at least one filter mechanism and to apply the filter mechanism to the signal to at least substantially remove chest compression artifacts from the signal. A real time dynamic analysis of a cardiac rhythm is applied to adjust and integrate CPR prompting of a medical device. Real-time cardiac rhythm quality is facilitated using a rhythm assessment meter.
US09545209B2 VCG vector loop bifurcation
A system for determining T wave bifurcation that includes three or more ECG leads configured to receive an ECG signal and a first computing device including a processor coupled to a memory, the processor and the memory configured to perform operations including: generating at least two orthogonal ECG vectors based on the ECG signal of a patient, processing the at least two orthogonal ECG vectors to determine a loop trajectory of at least a portion of the ECG signal, identifying a trajectory bifurcation by comparing the loop trajectory to a control loop trajectory for a plurality of cardiac cycles, and determining an indicator of a cardiac event based on the trajectory bifurcation.
US09545207B2 Temporary implantable medical electrical stimulation lead
A temporary implantable medical device lead includes a connector configured to connect the lead to an external control module. A helically coiled conductor includes a proximal end that is mechanically and electrically connected to the connector. The conductor includes a plurality of insulated filars. An insulative layer is removed from an uninsulated portion of each of the filars near a distal end of the conductor. The uninsulated portion of each of the filars is exposed at an outer surface of the conductor such that the exposed uninsulated portions of the filars define a plurality of electrodes at longitudinally spaced sections near the distal end of the conductor.
US09545205B2 Dozing prevention method, and dozing prevention device
A method for preventing dozing off, comprising the steps of: a measurement step measuring human heartbeats; a decision step (S4 to S8) generating a trigger, hereinafter referred to as a “drowsiness trigger”, for indicating occurrence of drowsiness when a state in which a time interval between adjacent heartbeats, hereinafter referred to as a “heartbeat interval”, is longer than the previous heartbeat interval consecutively occurs; and a warning step (S9) giving a warning to prevent dozing off when the drowsiness trigger is generated.
US09545202B2 Device and method for measuring objective ocular refraction and at least one geometric-morphological parameter of an individual
Disclosed is a device for measuring ocular refraction and a geometric-morphological parameter of an individual, including: a gaze-stimulating target placed so as to stimulate the gaze of the individual in a posture associated with a proximity value and a sight axis; an illuminating system able to generate at least one illuminating beam in the direction of the eyes of the individual; an image-capturing system; and a computer able to receive at least one first image captured by the image-capturing system. According to the invention, the image-capturing system is able to acquire an image of part of the face surrounding the eyes of the individual, and the computer is able to extract, from the acquired image, a first measurement of a glazing parameter and a first measurement of objective ocular refraction by refraction of the illuminating beam on the eyes of the individual in the given posture.
US09545196B2 Automated assessment of glaucoma loss from optical coherence tomography
Systems and methods for assessing glaucoma loss using optical coherence topography. One method according to an aspect comprises receiving optical coherence image data and assessing functional glaucoma damage from retinal optical coherence image data. In an aspect, the systems and methods can map regions and layers of the eye to determine structural characteristics to compare to functional characteristics.
US09545193B2 Endoscope apparatus
An endoscope apparatus has an illuminating unit that performs illumination with a first light once and performs illumination with a second light a plurality of times within a predetermined time period, an image pickup unit that outputs a first image pickup signal based on the illumination with the first light and a second image pickup signal based on the illumination with the second light, a clipping processing unit that clips the first and the second image pickup signals, a brightness calculating unit that calculates a first brightness, a composite ratio calculating unit that calculates a composite ratio according to a brightness target value and the first brightness, a composite processing unit that combines the first and the second image pickup signals according to the composite ratio, and a setting unit that sets a clip level according to the composite ratio.
US09545175B2 Food processor with attachment
A blending apparatus is provided which includes a container defining a cavity having a center axis and a substantially rectangular cross section through the center axis. The blending apparatus further includes a lid to cover the cavity defined by the container, and an attachment to fit within the cavity and rotate about the center axis of the cavity. In some arrangements, a set of sides of the container defines (i) a substantially octagonal interior cross section through the center axis at a location adjacent a bottom of the container to prevent lodging of food products at the bottom of the container when the attachment rotates within the cavity; and (ii) a substantially square interior cross section through the center axis at a location further from the bottom of the container.
US09545166B2 Color changing container apparatus
A color changing container apparatus is disclosed. The color changing container apparatus includes a container having an open top, a bottom and a side, and constructed from a material such that at least a part of the container transmits light there-through; and at least one light emitting device attachable to the container to direct light through the container when the container is connected to the at least one light emitting device and providing at least one light color to illuminate the container.
US09545165B2 Food storage system
A food storage system including a secondary bowl that is adapted to be positioned at least partially on and/or in a main lid. The secondary bowl is adapted to be detachable from the main lid.
US09545162B2 Method for manufacturing image display
An image display including an image substrate and a support structure. The image substrate has an image printed on a first surface. The support structure can include a front sheet and a plurality of side strips extending from the front sheet. The image substrate can be adhered to an external surface of the front sheet so that the front sheet forms a rigid backing for the image substrate. A variety of image substrates are provided.
US09545160B2 Restaurant system and method for operating a restaurant system
The invention relates to a restaurant system, and a method relating thereto, including a first transport section, and a second transport section. The second transport section is located upstream of the first transport section in a provided transport direction of the food and/or drinks. The second transport section has an elevator, which is designed to transport the food and/or drinks into a position, which is located at a higher point as compared to the guest area.
US09545154B2 Pivoting shelf
A shelf assembly includes a shelf and a mounting structure for mounting the shelf on a substantially vertical surface. The shelf is pivotably mounted on the mounting bracket proximate the rear end and pivots from an open position to a closed position and from the closed position to the open position. An engagement structure on the shelf, which may optionally be positioned proximate the rear end of the shelf, is configured so that a force applied to the engagement structure when the shelf is in the closed position will urge the shelf toward the open position. The shelf assembly is particularly useful in hospital settings where hospital staff need to open and close the shelf without the use of their hands.
US09545149B1 Hygienic toothbrush maintenance system
A hygienic toothbrush maintenance system helps maintain a toothbrush in a hygienic state through use of at least one detachable head that can be interchanged, and ultraviolet light that immerses bristles to kill bacteria. A pair of tensioned wires on the detachable head slides in and out of a head end of the toothbrush to enable secure and easy detachable attachment of the detachable head from the toothbrush. A release switch enables detachment of the detachable head from the toothbrush, and is operable with one hand so as to minimize contact with the toothbrush. A docking platform retains the toothbrush in an upright position and stores the removed detachable heads. An ultraviolet portion includes a telescopically extendable stand and a hood that emits ultraviolet light. The hood pivots to substantially cover the detachable heads, while they are attached to the toothbrush, and while stored in a head reception portion.
US09545145B2 Ultra light adjustable thermal system for hammocks
A hammock system according to one example embodiment includes an upper hammock bed with a length, a lower hammock bed with a length greater than the length of the upper hammock bed, a thermal insulating blanket configured to connect to the lower hammock bed, a gap between the upper hammock bed and the thermal insulating blanket, and an adjuster for altering the size of the gap between the upper hammock bed and the thermal insulating blanket. The lower hammock bed is configured to connect to the upper hammock bed.
US09545138B2 Portective case for portable electronic device with lens cover and storage compartments
A protective case for a portable electronic device. The protective case including a plurality of storage compartments for retaining a series of items. The protective case includes a removable upper portion allowing unobstructed access to the portable electronic device camera and includes a plurality of corner accessories disposed within and forming the corners of the protective case.
US09545135B2 Badge
A badge is provided having a lower part (1) including a fixing device (2), for example for fixing on an article of clothing, a support part (3) on which an information carrier (40) can be applied or placed, and a transparent cover part (41). The lower part (1) and support part (3) are connected to each other along the periphery of the parts. At least two of the lower part (1), the support part (3), the cover part (41), and the information carrier (40) are made of a material that is completely biodegradable.
US09545133B1 Safety belt buckle for race car
A safety belt buckle includes a base unit, a cover covering and combined with the base unit, a locking device mounted in the cover, a torsion spring mounted on the cover, and a driving unit mounted on the cover. When in use, a latch plate of a safety belt is inserted into one of the insertion slots of the base unit. Thus, the user has to apply a determined force to overcome the elastic force of the torsion spring and to drive the driving unit so as to release the latch plate of the safety belt, thereby preventing the driving unit from being driven freely by an external force due to an unintentional touch or hit, and thereby preventing the latch plate of the safety belt from being unlatched easily.
US09545131B1 Footwear with interchangeable sole structure elements
A shoe may comprise an upper and a sole structure that includes a plurality of support elements located in a plantar region. Each of the support elements may be non-destructively removable from and replaceable into the sole structure. The shoe may comprise a plurality of sensors configured to measure force exerted in a footbed region of the article of footwear, as well as a processor communicatively coupled to the sensors. The processor may be configured to receive input indicative of forces measured by the sensors and to transmit data based on that input. Methods utilizing the article may include removing a support element and replacing the removed support element with a replacement support element.
US09545123B2 Food topping dispenser with application roller for dusting food products
A food topping dispenser includes a hopper having a pair of sidewalls, a back wall and a front wall defining an open unobstructed interior sized to receive a supply of food topping. An application roller is positioned in a discharge opening of the hopper and is rotatably mounted in and between the sidewalls. The application roller has an exterior surface configured to receive and retain the food topping from the discharge opening. A wiper element is mounted on a lower end of the back wall outside the open interior in the discharge opening, and is positioned above the application roller for engagement with the food topping received from the discharge opening. A stripping brush element is mounted on a lower end of the front wall outside the open interior in the discharge opening for engagement with the exterior surface of the application roller for removing food topping retained therein.
US09545120B2 Method of lowering glycemic index of foods
A method of delaying digestion by an animal or a human of carbohydrates in food, comprising administering an effective amount of one or more flavonoids to the animal or human in conjunction with the food, wherein the flavonoids are selected from luteolin, apigenin, tricin and their pharmaceutically acceptable analogs and derivatives.
US09545111B2 Fungal endophytes for improved crop yields and protection from pests
The invention provides a synthetic combination of a crop and at least one fungal endophyte, wherein the crop is a host plant of the endophyte. Provided are also methods and compositions for producing such synthetic combinations. The endophyte reproduces and enhances the agronomic characteristics of the crop. Methods for inoculating the host plant with the endophyte, for propagating the host-endophyte combination, and for detecting the presence of the endophyte and of its metabolites within a host plant are also described.
US09545093B2 Animal trap
An animal trap for capturing a small-weight animal. The animal trap includes a capturing enclosure 12 provided with a first entrance 11, a swing plate 13, provided in an approach 15 of an animal entered from the first entrance 11, for plugging up the first entrance 11 by swinging forward, and a locking mechanism 14 for temporarily locking the swing plate 13 so that the swing plate 13 swung to plug up the first entrance 11 does not swing back. The temporary locking mechanism 14 includes a first lock part 21A and a second lock part 21B that are disposed in a front end part of the swing plate 13. The lock parts are constructed to have mutually different heights at which the swing plate 13 is temporarily locked. When an animal enters, the swing plate 13 swings to plug up the first entrance 11, and it is temporarily locked. The swing plate 13 can be swung by a small weight.
US09545090B2 Fish hook system
Systems directed to the art of setting a hook in a fish mouth. The systems have a sleeve substantially housing a plunger assembly and a biasing member, and an activation member assembly with a rotatable finger. The biasing member applies force between the plunger assembly engages and the activation member assembly when the system is engaged. A fish hook is attached via fishing lines to both the activation member assembly and the plunger assembly. Pulling the hook releases the plunger assembly from the activation member assembly and pulls the line attached to the plunger assembly, setting the hook in the fish's mouth.
US09545089B2 Dual-bearing reel spool braking device and a dual-bearing reel
A dual-bearing reel spool braking device for applying a braking force to a spool rotatably mounted on a reel body, the dual-bearing reel spool braking device includes a brake drum, a rotating member, and a brake shoe. The brake drum is configured to be non-rotatably attached to the reel body. The rotating member is configured to rotate in conjunction with the rotation of the spool. The brake shoe is detachably attached to the rotating member and configured to contact the brake drum. The rotating member comprises a main body section, a swinging shaft section indisposed on the main body section and swingably supporting the brake shoe, and a main body section configured to guide the brake shoe when mounting the brake shoe to the swinging shaft section.
US09545086B2 BAFF, inhibitors thereof and their use in the modulation of B-cell response and treatment of autoimmune disorders
The invention provides methods for treating or preventing disorders associated with expression of BAFF comprising BAFF and fragments thereof, antibodies, agonists and antagonists.
US09545082B1 Pet toy launching system and method for use with mobile devices
A pet toy launching system for use with mobile devices includes a ball launcher, a dog-wearable sensing apparatus, a ball or other projectile, a mobile device, and one or more sensors. Each of the ball launcher, the dog-wearable sensing apparatus, and the ball or other projectile includes a transmitter. Each sensor is disposed in, and is electrically connected to the transmitter in, one of the ball launcher, the dog-wearable sensing apparatus, and/or the ball. The mobile device communicates with at least one of the ball launcher, the dog-wearable sensing apparatus, and/or the ball. The application software program presents a user interface, to a user, such that a game may be carried out, via the application software program, when the dog-wearable sensing apparatus is worn by a dog and the ball launcher is utilized to launch the ball or other projectile for the dog to retrieve.
US09545081B2 Scent training device
A device for training animals such as rats, dogs, etc. to recognize and associate target odors/scents with food. The training device, sometimes referred to herein as an odor or scent training device, includes a feeding dish/pan that is configured to have food positioned therein. The scent training device creates a scent curtain of a target scent above the food so that the animal's nose and head first penetrate the scent curtain before the animal can eat the food. As such, each time the animal reaches for more food in the feeding dish, an association between the reward of food and the target scent is strengthened.
US09545075B2 Spearmint plant denominated KI-MsEM0110
A new and distinct cultivar of Mentha spicata L. named KI-MsEM0110 and characterized by elevated levels of rosmarinic acid and vigorous growth.
US09545072B2 Maize inbred PH2DVF
A novel maize variety designated PH2DVF and seed, plants and plant parts thereof. Methods for producing a maize plant that comprise crossing maize variety PH2DVF with another maize plant. Methods for producing a maize plant containing in its genetic material one or more traits introgressed into PH2DVF through backcross conversion and/or transformation, and to the maize seed, plant and plant part produced thereby. Hybrid maize seed, plant or plant part produced by crossing the variety PH2DVF or a locus conversion of PH2DVF with another maize variety.
US09545069B1 Maize inbred PH25HB
A novel maize variety designated PH25HB and seed, plants and plant parts thereof. Methods for producing a maize plant that comprise crossing maize variety PH25HB with another maize plant. Methods for producing a maize plant containing in its genetic material one or more traits introgressed into PH25HB through backcross conversion and/or transformation, and to the maize seed, plant and plant part produced thereby. Hybrid maize seed, plant or plant part produced by crossing the variety PH25HB or a locus conversion of PH25HB with another maize variety.
US09545066B2 Variety corn line HID4869
The present invention provides an inbred corn line designated HID4869, methods for producing a corn plant by crossing plants of the inbred line HID4869 with plants of another corn plant. The invention further encompasses all parts of inbred corn line HID4869, including culturable cells. Additionally provided herein are methods for introducing transgenes into inbred corn line HID4869, and plants produced according to these methods.
US09545059B2 Environmentally controlled greenhouse with integrated organic and self-sustainable capable grow system
An environmentally controlled greenhouse and integrated automated grow system that is designed to utilize self-sustainable sources of nutrient/fertilizers or any water-soluble fertilizer/nutrient and capable of producing a wide variety of organic crops concurrently.
US09545055B2 Oscillating spreading arrangement in a combine harvester
Example embodiments relate to a combine harvester including a straw chopper having an inlet for unchopped straw, an outlet for chopped straw in an essentially horizontal direction, and a spreader fan, connected downstream of the outlet of the straw chopper and having an essentially horizontal plane of rotation, for spreading the chopped straw over a ground surface. The combine harvester further includes a guide member, which is arranged to deflect at least a part of the stream of chopped straw material to an axial intake of the spreader fan such that a part of chopped straw material meets the blades of the spreader fan in the direction of transport of the chopped straw material through the spreader fan at an acute angle (α) relative to the plane of rotation of the spreader fan.
US09545052B2 Cam driven low profile sickle drive
The drive has an input rotatable about an upstanding rotational axis and carries a cam followed by a pivot arm pivotable about an upstanding pivotal axis. A power source is connected in rotatably driving relation to the input. The pivot arm connects to a knife assembly of a sickle. The input, cam and pivot arm are generally flat, and the power source is vertically coextensive therewith for incorporation in or below the floor of a header of a plant cutting machine. Rotation of the input causes offset movement of the cam about the rotational axis, resulting in sideward pivoting of the pivot arm and sickle knife. A second cam drive can oppositely drive a second sickle knife, such that opposite forces generated by operation of the drives will be largely canceled.
US09545051B2 Slot driven low profile sickle drive
A slot driven low profile sickle drive has an input rotatable about an upstanding rotational axis and carries an eccentric captured in a slot in one end of a pivot arm pivotable about an upstanding pivotal axis. A power source is connected in rotatably driving relation to the input. The opposite end of the pivot arm connects to a knife assembly of a sickle. The input, eccentric and pivot arm are generally flat, and the power source is vertically coextensive therewith for incorporation in or below the floor of a header of a plant cutting machine. Rotation of the input causes epicyclical orbiting of the eccentric, resulting in sideward pivoting of the opposite end of the pivot arm and sickle knife. A second drive can oppositely drive a second sickle knife, such that opposite forces generated by operation of the drives will be largely canceled.
US09545048B2 System for automated unloading of an agricultural material
A system for managing the transfer of agricultural material from a material-transferring vehicle to a material-receiving vehicle. An unloading chute is adapted to transfer material from a first storage container of the material-transferring vehicle to a material-receiving vehicle alongside the material-transferring vehicle. A location-determining receiver is adapted to estimate position data for guiding the material-transferring vehicle. An image sensor is mounted on the material-transferring vehicle or the first storage container for estimating a lateral separation distance between the first storage container and the material-receiving vehicle for receiving the material. An electronic data processing system guides the material-transferring vehicle based on the estimated position data and the estimated lateral separation distance, to maintain a generally constant target lateral separation distance between the material-transferring vehicle and the material-receiving vehicle during the transfer of the material.
US09549492B2 Correction mechanism for pin and correction device
A correction mechanism includes a mounting board, a first correction assembly, and a second correction assembly. The first correction assembly includes a plurality of first limiting members and a plurality of first correction members alternating arranged with the plurality of first limiting members. The first limiting members are securely fixedly mounted on the mounting board. The first correction members are movably mounted on the mounting board and capable of moving toward the plurality of first limiting members along a first direction. The second correction assembly has a structure similar to the first correction assembly. The plurality of second limiting members and the plurality of second correction members are substantially perpendicular to and above the plurality of first limiting members and the plurality of first correction members
US09549483B2 Engine control unit
An engine control unit including a substantially rectangular printed circuit board in which a microcontroller is mounted. The printed circuit board includes a connector portion in which connection terminals are provided to be arranged in one side edge portion along the longitudinal direction thereof. The connection terminals of the connector portion include connection terminals for input on one side in the longitudinal direction and connection terminals for output on the other side with respect to a setting position. A microcontroller is disposed at substantially the center portion of the printed circuit board in the longitudinal direction thereof. An electronic component as an input interface circuit is disposed on the one side in the longitudinal direction, and an electronic component as an output interface circuit is disposed on the other side.
US09549465B2 Printed circuit board and method of manufacturing the same
Provided are a printed circuit board and a method of manufacturing the same, the printed circuit board according to the present invention, the printed circuit board, including: an insulating substrate having a plurality of circuit pattern grooves formed on a surface thereof; and a plurality of circuit patterns formed by burying the circuit pattern grooves, wherein the circuit patterns protrude as much as a predetermined thickness from an upper surface of the insulating substrate.
US09549461B2 Electronic device
To improve electric characteristics of an electronic device. An electronic device includes a semiconductor device and a three-terminal capacitor mounted on the upper surface of a mounting substrate, the semiconductor device includes a power supply pad and a ground pad, the power supply pad and the ground pad are electrically connected with a power supply land and a ground land, respectively, and the power supply land and the ground land are allocated to a land line in an outermost periphery of the semiconductor device, Then, the power supply land and the ground land are electrically connected to the three-terminal capacitor by wirings formed on the upper surface of the mounting substrate.
US09549459B2 Multilayer printed circuit board
A multilayer PCB comprises vias for power-supply connected to power-supply wiring, vias for ground connected to ground wiring, ball pads for power-supply connected to balls for power-supply connected to power-supply wiring, and ball pads for ground connected to balls for ground connected to ground wiring. The vias for power-supply and the vias for ground are alternately arranged in a first direction. The vias for power-supply and the vias for ground are not alternately arranged in a second direction perpendicular to the first direction. The ball pads for power-supply and the ball pads for ground are alternately arranged in at least one of the first and second directions. Areas where the ball pads for power-supply and the ball pads for ground are provided are arranged on both sides in the second direction of an area where the vias for power-supply and the vias for ground are provided.
US09549454B2 Portable lighting devices
A flashlight stores a user selection of a desired mode of operation in a temporary storage medium so that it can be retrieved by a controller when an electrical circuit is interrupted for less than a preselected period of time.
US09549449B2 Fault detection apparatus and fault detection method thereof
A fault detection apparatus coupling with a lamp module includes a current detector and a controlling module. The controlling module is coupled with the current detector. A fault detection method of a fault detection apparatus is also provided in the present disclose. The method includes providing a current detector to detect a current variation of one lamp of a lamp module in a period, and provide a controlling module to compare the current variation with a reference value stored in the controlling module to determine a state of the lamp module.
US09549448B2 Wall controller controlling CCT
A wall controller that is used for controlling CCT is disclosed. A user input interface allows a user to provide a CCT parameter by pressing a button, entering a value, or the like. The user output interface can provide the user with an indication of a CCT level, which may represent an actual or current CCT level, a maximum or minimum CCT level setting, or the like for an associated lighting fixture. The communication interface facilitates communications with the associated lighting fixture. The control circuitry is configured to receive user input via the user interface; send a signal based on the user input toward the lighting fixture via the communication interface; and control the user output interface to provide the indication of the CCT level. The signal based on the user input may be indicative of an increase or decrease in CCT level, a specific CCT level, or the like.
US09549438B2 Microwave oven with at least one wave choke system
The present invention relates to a microwave oven with at least one wave choke system. A front frame (12) encloses a front portion of a cavity wall (24) of an oven cavity (10) along a circumferential direction. An oven door (14) is provided to cover front sides of the oven cavity (10) and front sides of the cavity wall (24) completely and the front frame (12) at least partially in a closed state of said oven door (14). A first gap (16) is formed between the inner side of the oven door (14) on the one hand and front sides both of the front frame (12) and the cavity wall (24) on the other hand. A second gap (18) is formed between the front portions of the front frame (12) and the cavity wall (24). The cross-section of the second gap (18) extends perpendicularly to the cross-section of the first gap (16). A wave choke system is arranged within the second gap (18). The wave choke system comprises a plurality of choke members (26) and a counter part (28). There is no direct electric contact between the choke members (26) on the one hand and the counter part (28) on the other hand. Further, the present invention relates to a corresponding wave choke system for a microwave oven.
US09549433B2 Mobility management unit and wireless side network element, and method and device for releasing local IP access connection
A method for releasing a LIPA connection is provided, which includes that a MME executes a LIPA connection releasing check according to received LIPA connection releasing auxiliary information, and judges whether to release a LIPA connection of UE; or, a wireless-side network element executes a LIPA connection releasing check according to received LIPA connection releasing auxiliary information, and judges whether to release the LIPA connection of the UE. A device for releasing a LIPA connection, an MME and a wireless-side network element are also provided. According to the technical solutions of the present disclosure, under the condition that a mobile relay supports LIPA, continuity of the LIPA connection of the UE in an Mobile Relay Node (MRN) handover process is ensured, continuity of a LIPA service of the UE is further ensured, and the quality of service for a user and a user experience are improved.
US09549429B1 Wireless network interconnection
A method of connecting a first computing device and a wireless access point over a first wireless network using a second computing device, where the first and second computing devices are both enabled to communicate over the first wireless network and are both enabled to communicate over a second, different wireless network, and where there are first wireless network connection credentials for the wireless access point. The method includes establishing a wireless connection between the first and second computing devices over the second wireless network, sending the first wireless network connection credentials for the wireless access point from the second computing device to the first computing device over the second wireless network, and then establishing a connection between the first computing device and the wireless access point on the first network using the first wireless network connection credentials for the wireless access point.
US09549428B2 Method and system for communication between devices in proximity, network side device and user equipment
A method and a system for communication between devices in proximity, a network side device and a User Equipment (UE) are disclosed. The method includes that: a network side device determines whether UEs meet a direct Device to Device (D2D) communication condition; when the network side device determines that the UEs meet the direct D2D communication condition, the network side device informs the UEs of the result of the determination, and configures resources for direct D2D communication for the UEs according to requirements of the UEs; and when the network side device determines that the UEs do not meet the direct D2D communication condition, the network side device configures resources for architecture communication for the UEs according to the requirements of the UEs. The disclosure can implement D2D communication between devices in proximity, reduce network load and relieve the dependence of the D2D communication on a network.
US09549420B2 Method of remotely waking up wireless router equipment
A method is provided for controlling equipment provided with a function for controlling a bidirectional radio link in reception and in transmission. The equipment is configured for connecting with at least one terminal of a home network via said radio link. The method includes: inhibiting the radio link in transmission; listening to the radio link in reception; detecting a wakeup identifier on the radio link; verifying the validity of the terminal that sent the wakeup identifier; and as a function of the value of this identifier and of the validity of the terminal that sent it, activating the radio link in transmission. Also provided is equipment having a function for controlling a radio link.
US09549415B2 Radio station and method of processing user data with radio station
A radio station (1) includes a first part (1A) and at least one second part (1B). The second part (1B) can be arranged so as to be physically separated from the first part (1A) and is connected to the first part (1A) via a transmission line (40) so as to be able to communicate with the first part (1A). The first part (1A) includes a bearer termination unit (10) capable of terminating at least one bearer between an upper network and the radio station (1). The second part (1B) includes a physical layer signal processing unit (12) that performs physical layer signal processing. The physical layer signal processing includes channel coding and decoding for user data pertaining to a first mobile station connected to the second part (1B) among a plurality of mobile stations.
US09549408B2 Interference congestion control
The present disclosure concerns interference congestion control in radio communication networks. Disclosed herein are methods as well radio network nodes. A radio network node may, for example, estimate a neighboring cell interference. The radio network node may also detect a sudden significant increase in the estimated neighboring cell interference. In response to detecting a sudden significant in the estimated neighboring cell interference, the radio network node may also transmit a message to at least one other radio network node. This message may include an indicator indicating to said at least one radio network node to initiate an interference congestion control procedure. Hereby it is made possible to allow for interference congestion control in radio communication networks.
US09549402B2 Method and apparatus for utilizing multiple carriers in high speed packet access communications technical field
A method and an apparatus for utilizing multiple carriers are disclosed. A wireless transmit/receive unit (WTRU) capable of receiving on a single downlink carrier at a time may tune the receiver to one downlink carrier and switch the downlink carrier in accordance with a configured pattern. The WTRU may switch the carrier from an anchor carrier to a non-anchor carrier at a high speed shared control channel (HS-SCCH) sub-frame boundary, and switches back at an end of a subsequent high speed physical downlink shared channel (HS-PDSCH) subframe. The WTRU may switch the carrier at an HS-PDSCH sub-frame boundary. A WTRU capable of receiving on multiple downlink carriers simultaneously may tune the receiver to an anchor carrier and a supplementary carrier, and switch the supplementary carrier to another carrier based on a carrier switching order. The carrier switching order may be received via an HS-SCCH or via layer 2 signaling.
US09549400B2 Method and apparatus for receiving control information in wireless communication system
One embodiment of the present invention relates to a method for receiving control information through an enhanced physical downlink control channel (EPDCCH) in a wireless communication system, including the steps of: channel estimation in an EPDCCH related physical resource block (PRB) pair set; and, on the basis of the channel estimation, monitoring the EPDCCH in the PRB pair set, wherein, when the number of physical antennas of a transmission point transmitting the EPDCCH is 1, the terminal is assumed to identically precode allocated ports for the EPDCCH.
US09549397B2 Method and device for transmitting data
Embodiments of the present disclosure provide a method and a device for transmitting data. The method includes: a user equipment receives downlink data sent from a base station through downlink resources of a special subframe; the user equipment determines its corresponding guard period level, the guard period level corresponds to a round-trip time of the user equipment and indicates a length of an orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (OFDM) symbol in a guard period corresponding to the user equipment in the special subframe; the user equipment determines, according to its corresponding guard period level, a position of uplink resources corresponding to the user equipment in guard period resources of the special subframe; and the user equipment sends uplink data to the base station through the uplink resources corresponding to the user equipment in the guard period resources of the special subframe.
US09549396B2 Method and device for transmitting/receiving uplink control information in wireless communication system
A method and user equipment (UE) for transmitting Acknowledgement/Negative Acknowledgement (ACK/NACK) information in a wireless communication system. The UE determines a Physical Uplink Control Channel (PUCCH) format and a PUCCH resource through which ACK/NACK information for downlink transmission in a downlink subframe set including M (M>1) downlink subframes is to be transmitted. The UE transmits the ACK/NACK information using the PUCCH format and the PUCCH resource in one uplink subframe. More than one serving cell is configured for the UE and the more than one serving cell includes one Primary Cell (PCell) and at least one Secondary Cell (SCell). The ACK/NACK information is transmitted using a PUCCH format 1b, when the ACK/NACK information corresponds to one Physical Downlink Shared Channel (PDSCH) without a corresponding Physical Downlink Control Channel (PDCCH) received only on the PCell in the downlink subframe set.
US09549395B2 Method for dynamic allocation of radio resources in wireless communication system and device therefor
The present invention relates to a method for transmitting an uplink signal of a terminal using multiple component carriers in a wireless communication system and, more particularly, to a method for transmitting an uplink signal of a terminal using multiple component carriers in a wireless communication system which supports carrier aggregation, comprising the steps of: receiving setting information on a second-type component carrier from a base station through a first-type component carrier; and transmitting an uplink signal to the base station through the second-type component carrier, wherein the use of the second-type component carrier for a specific subframe is changed according to the setting information.
US09549391B2 Conditional paging
Embodiments herein relate to a method in a radio network node (12,13) for paging a user equipment (10) in a radio communications network (1), which radio network node (12, 13) serves a cell (11) in the radio communications network (1). The radio network node (12, 13) determines whether a condition is fulfilled, which condition is associated with the cell (11). The radio network node (12, 13), when the condition is fulfilled, pages the user equipment (10) in the cell (11).
US09549383B2 Clock synchronization system and method for base station
The present application discloses a system and a method for clock synchronization of base stations. In the system for clock synchronization of base stations, a Global Positioning System (GPS) receiver on a main control board of a base station is connected to a GPS antenna feeder; the GPS receiver connected to the GPS antenna feeder is connected to a Phase-Locked Loop (PLL) on the present main control board and a PLL on other main control board; the main control boards are connected through a judgment line.
US09549381B2 Controlling power consumption in a power amplifier in a communication device
A method and apparatus are disclosed for controlling the power consumption of a power amplifier included in a communication device. For at least some embodiments, the power consumption may be controlled by determining an order for the data packets to be transmitted, selecting a coding scheme used to encode the data packets, and/or determining an output power level of the power amplifier. The data packet transmission order, the coding scheme, and/or the output power level may be determined, at least in part, by the temperature of the power amplifier, a quality of service associated with the data packets, a data packet length, and/or a link budget. Adjustments to the data packet transmission order, the coding scheme, and/or the output power level may be made dynamically for each data packet.
US09549370B2 Home node identification, interference reduction, and energy savings
Systems and methods for reducing interference and saving power for home Node Bs are disclosed. Home Node Bs can be configured to remain in sleep mode until needed based on various criteria, periodically operating transmit and receive components in order to detect mobile devices that may need the services of the home Node B. Mobile devices can indicate one or several target home Node Bs using one or more node identifiers within a proximity indication message. Closed subscriber group identifiers and membership data may also be included in a proximity indication message. Node or cell identities, along with membership data, may be stored in a fingerprint database or white-list on a mobile device.
US09549364B2 Method and apparatus for providing optimized privacy in cognitive radio information sharing
An approach is provided for providing optimized privacy in cognitive radio information sharing. A cognitive radio privacy optimization platform determines cognitive radio connectivity information provided by at least one device. The cognitive radio privacy optimization platform also processes and/or facilitates a processing of the cognitive radio connectivity information to determine a quality, an amount, or a combination thereof of the cognitive radio connectivity information. The cognitive radio privacy optimization platform further determines at least one service class for providing cognitive radio connectivity to the at least one device based, at least in part, on the quality, the amount, or a combination thereof of the cognitive radio information.
US09549358B1 Coverage hole detection apparatus and method
A coverage hole detection apparatus and method are provided. The coverage hole detection apparatus decides two boundary locations of a coverage hole according to (a) a time length from a time point when a user equipment (UE) has detected a disconnection from a first base station to a time point when the UE determines that a Radio Link Failure (RLF) has happened, (b) a time length from a time point when the UE receives an RLF report request from a second base station to a time point when the UE transmits an RLF report response to the second base station, (c) a location that the UE determines that the RLF has happened, and (d) a location where the UE transmits the RLF report response. The coverage hole detection apparatus decides the coverage hole according to the two boundary locations and a sensitivity range of the UE.
US09549357B2 Promoting wireless local area network (WLAN) roaming
The present disclosure describes promoting roaming of a wireless terminal in a wireless local area network (WLAN). The AP obtains signal quality and/or data transmission quality of the wireless terminal periodically, and determines whether the obtained signal quality and/or data transmission quality of the wireless terminal satisfies a predetermined threshold. Upon determining that the predetermined threshold is not satisfied, the AP proactively sends a probe response frame to the wireless terminal. The probe response frame notifies the wireless terminal of a wireless signal strength of the AP to promote roaming to a neighboring AP.
US09549356B2 Method and device for shunting IP stream during 3GPP access switching
The present application relates to the technology of communications. Disclosed are a method and device for shunting IP streams during 3GPP access switching; after having received a command for 3GPP access switching transmitted by a source 3GPP access device, a user equipment (UE) determines the IP streams to be transferred, and then performs 3GPP access switching and IP stream transferring at the same time, thus improving IP stream transferring efficiency. In addition, the IP streams to be transferred contain an IP stream capable of being transmitted via WLAN access after a target 3GPP access device fails to allocate resources to a bearers for transmitting the IP stream, thereby avoiding service interruption due to bearer loss, and thus improving the QoS ensurance for the service.
US09549339B2 Radio network node, network control node and methods therein
Embodiments herein relate to a method in a radio network node (500,12,13,13) for informing a network control node (700,14) about a state of a connection between the radio network node (500,12,13,13) and a user equipment (10) served by the radio network node (500,12,13,13). The radio network node transmits to the network control node (700,14), an indication indicating a congestion or not a congestion of MAC-hs or MAC-ehs packets towards the user equipment (10).
US09549332B2 Spectrum-aware RF management and automatic conversion of access points to spectrum monitors and hybrid mode access points
Methods of operating devices on a wireless network as access points (AP) or spectrum monitors (SM). An adaptive radio management (ARM) process operating on the digital network senses network conditions based on data from APs and SMs on the network, and in response to conditions changes devices from AP operation to SM operation, and from SM operation back to AP operation. A method for providing wideband spectrum analysis functions on a radio operating as an AP on a channel proving client connectivity services. A method for scanning off-channel for shorter durations between transmissions to collect spectral data and a method for explicitly quieting IEEE 802.11 transmissions on a channel to collect spectral data.
US09549329B2 Remotely configurable mobile wireless access point device
Provided is an intelligent mobile wireless access point device that is set-up to allow for remote configuration of the access point device, via a mobile communication network, by a configuration server. A configuration file for a mobile wireless access point device is maintained by a service provider in a configuration server. The configuration file is delivered to the mobile wireless access point devices over the mobile communication network, which allows multiple mobile wireless access point devices to be configured substantially simultaneously and without the multiple mobile wireless access point devices being physically located at an enterprise location. In addition, the remote configuration examples of a mobile wireless access point device mitigate the opportunities for unauthorized use of the mobile wireless access point, and provide additional security features for authorized users.
US09549327B2 Method for receiving and transmitting ACK/NACK information, user equipment, and base station
The present invention provides a method and an apparatus for mitigating/eliminating interference between adjacent cells by configuring a subframe subset, in which the downlink transmission/reception of a specific cell to be user equipment-specific is limited. According to the present invention, the transmission/reception of a downlink signal for a specific user equipment in the subframe in which the downlink transmission/reception of the specific cell is limited, thereby mitigating/eliminating interference from an uplink of a different cell with the downlink of the specific cell from a base station to the specific user equipment.
US09549326B2 Methods and apparatuses for provision of a flexible time sharing scheme on an unlicensed band of a system
A method, apparatus and computer program product are provided facilitating flexible time sharing among systems. A method and apparatus may generate a secondary component carrier transmission plan including planned on and off durations. The planned on durations correspond to a time period for an apparatus and devices to communicate via an unlicensed band of the secondary component carrier. The planned off durations correspond to a time interval in which the devices may deactivate from the unlicensed band or remain disconnected from the unlicensed band. The method and apparatus may also enable provision of the plan to the devices via a licensed band of a primary component carrier and detecting a medium of the unlicensed band prior to the expiration of the time period to determine whether the medium is available in order to decide whether to turn on transmissions to the unlicensed band after one of the planned off durations.
US09549324B2 Coexistence of multiple radios in a medical device
A computer-implemented diabetes management system is provided that supports enhanced security between a diabetes care manager in data communication with a medical device. The diabetes care manager includes: a first application that operates to request access to a first security role supported by the medical device, where the first security role is associated with a first set of commands for accessing data on the medical device that are defined as a private extension of the communication protocol; and a second application that operates to request access to a second security role supported by the medical device, where the second security role is associated with a second set of commands for accessing data on the medical device that are defined as a private extension of the communication protocol. The second set of commands has one or more commands that are mutually exclusive from the first set of commands.
US09549319B1 Presence verification within a wireless environment
A first device wirelessly transmits beacon frames having distinct identifying contents within each. The first device issues a request to a second device to report what beacon frame contents the second device may have received. The second device sends a response to the first device. The first device analyzes the response in view of the beacon frame contents actually sent, the respective radio-frequency broadcast power of the beacon frames, and so on. Based on the analysis, the first device may determine proximity or other information regarding the responsive other device.
US09549318B2 System and method for delayed device registration on a network
Systems and methods for enabling a computing device to be registered and authorized for network access, while deferring device hardware address capture until a later time. Subsequently, when the computing device connects to a network location at which the hardware address can be detected registration and authorization can be fully completed. In some cases, the subsequent completion can be performed automatically and without user intervention.
US09549316B2 Host device coupled to a mobile phone and method of operating the same
Some embodiments relate to a host-side surrogate tool configured to service mobile phones from a host device that is coupled to one or more peripheral cell phones. The presently-disclosed host-side surrogate tool executes on the host device concurrently with one or more software components of a vendor-compliant phone maintenance tool. In some embodiments, the concurrently-executing host-side surrogate tool may cause the vendor-compliant phone maintenance tool to provide functionality for which it was not intended. In some embodiments, it may be said that the host-side surrogate tool provides a ‘semi-virtual’ environment under which host-side vendor-compliant phone maintenance tool operates. Related methods, devices and systems are disclosed herein.
US09549310B2 Lifecycle configuration of mobile subscriber
A cellular device 10 has a SIM 12 having a unique identifier 14, for example formatted as an IMSI. The cellular device is activated by a registration process which registers the SIM to a selected home network. In this way, the cellular device can be bundled with a SIM before it is known for which country, region or network the cellular device will be sold.
US09549304B2 Providing status of user devices during an adverse event
A method begins by an application server establishing information regarding a potentially adverse event and determining group constraints for a group regarding the potentially adverse event. The method continues with the application server selecting one or more user devices of a plurality of user devices affiliated with the group to produce selected user devices. The method continues with the application server obtaining, for each selected user device, a status associated with the selected user device and issuing a status response message to at least some of the user devices of the plurality of user devices affiliated with the group, where the status response message includes the status associated with each selected user device.
US09549303B2 Network directed cell broadcasts for emergency alert system
Systems and methods for providing alerts to end users of networked enabled portable devices are provided so that the end users are made aware when broadcast emergency alerts are issued. The systems and methods provide a way for a portable device to receive information about an emergency alert broadcast of which the user should be aware, e.g., from the EAS, and to notify the user of the emergency alert. A flag provides an indication the EAS should be on and the systems and method override the settings made by a user to a portable device to enable EAS reception. The user may then be automatically taken to the emergency alert information by having the portable device automatically tune to the emergency broadcast information, or the user may optionally retrieve the emergency information by tuning to the emergency broadcast channel, or the user may otherwise be presented with a reference to the emergency data (e.g., a link to the information).
US09549300B1 Providing data messaging support by intercepting and processing received short message service (SMS) messages at a customer support service
A message receiving, intercepting and processing method and corresponding application and device may provide receiving a message at a message processing server, the message being intended for a phone number associated with a customer service provider, identifying a telephone number of the sender of the message, parsing at least one word from the message, retrieving user account information of the sender, and generating an automated response to the message that includes contextual information that is based on at least one of the user account information and the parsed at least one word from the message.
US09549292B2 Method for detecting context of a mobile device and a mobile device with a context detection module
A method for detecting a context of a mobile device (100) equipped with sensors (111, 121, 122, 131) and a context detection module (109) in which the sensors (111, 121, 122, 131) are assigned to at least two groups (110, 120, 30), each of which comprises at least one sensor (111, 121, 122, 131), and each group (110, 120, 130) is allocated a group classifier (116, 126, 136) 10 adapted to detect, in a form of a classification result, currently identified, by means of a given classifier, context of the device (100) based on indications of the sensors (111, 121, 122, 131) belonging to the given group, characterized in that with a use of the context detection module, whereas the groups (110, 102, 130) of sensors are ordered hierarchically, and the device context is detected 1 by reading a classification result indicated by the classifier (116, 126, 136) of the currently active group, wherein in case of detection of an identified context in the active group, switching on power supply of the sensors and activating classification in a group (110, 120, 130) with a level higher by one level and reading the context indicated by said group's classifier, wherein based on the 20 results of the classification indicated by the higher groups' classifiers (116, 26, 136), executing adaptation of the configuration of lower groups' classifiers (116, 126, 136).
US09549290B2 Method and apparatus for determining direction information for a wireless device
A method performed by an apparatus includes scanning at least one of multiple radio frequencies using at least two beamforming antennas of a plurality of beamforming antennas coupled to the eyewear and detecting, on a first scanned radio frequency, first externally emitted radio energy. The method further includes identifying a first wireless device using the detected first externally emitted radio energy and determining a first direction of the first wireless device relative to the eyewear.
US09549264B2 Portable terminal for controlling hearing aid and method therefor
A method for controlling a hearing aid using a portable terminal is provided. The method includes taking a photo, generating a control signal to control a hearing mode of the hearing aid according to an analysis of a surrounding condition based on the photo, and transmitting the control signal to the hearing aid.
US09549263B2 Acoustic transducer and microphone
An acoustic transducer has a substrate having a cavity, a vibrating electrode plate disposed above the substrate and having a void portion that allows pressure to escape, a fixed electrode plate disposed above the substrate opposite the vibrating electrode plate, a plurality of sensing portions configured by the vibrating electrode plate and the fixed electrode plate, at least one of the vibrating electrode plate and the fixed electrode plate being divided into a plurality of regions, and a sensing portion being configured by the vibrating electrode plate and the fixed electrode plate in each of the divided regions, and a leak pressure regulation portion that hinders leakage of air pressure passing through the void portion when the vibrating electrode plate is not undergoing deformation.
US09549235B2 User interface apparatus using speaker and method thereof
A user interface apparatus using a speaker to control device operations by utilizing a speaker and a method thereof are provided. The user interface apparatus includes a user input pad that forms at least a portion of the exterior of a speaker and is configured to generate an impact sound wave based on an external impact An impact sound wave recognizer is configured to receive feedback of an output signal output via the speaker and separate a reverse current signal due to the impact sound wave included in the feedback signal. In addition, a controller is configured to analyze a waveform of the reverse current signal separated by the impact sound wave recognizer to recognize a user input pattern, and output a control signal that corresponds to the recognized user input pattern. The device operations of various devices may be controlled by tapping or flicking the exterior of a speaker.
US09549232B1 Configurable multi-rate format for communication system for silicon photonics
In an example, the present invention includes an integrated system on chip device. The device has a data input/output interface provided on the substrate member and configured for a predefined data rate and protocol. In an example, the data input/output interface is configured for number of lanes numbered from four to one hundred and fifty. In an example, the SerDes block is configured to convert a first data stream of N into a second data stream of M such that each of the first data stream having a first predefined data rate at a first clock rate and each of the second data stream having a second predefined data rate at a second clock rate.
US09549226B2 Method and apparatus for reducing and restoring the effectiveness of a commercial skip system
A method and apparatus is disclosed which reduces or removes the effectiveness of commercial skip systems such as presently found in VCRs, PVRs, etc. which are designed to delete commercials from signal material upon playback of a previously recorded version of the signal material. In an embodiment, the effectiveness of the commercial skip system is reduced or removed by adding a flat field of selected signal level to active line portions of video lines of the signal material. Other embodiments modify the normal fade to black signal indicative of a commercial to provide a fade to non-black signal. In further embodiments, a fade to non-black signal is inserted in an overscan area of the signal picture. Still further embodiments modify audio signals or selected signals in the horizontal blanking interval which may be used in commercial skip systems to detect the presence of commercials.
US09549223B2 Server, client apparatus, data distribution method, and data distribution system
A reception unit receives data whose bit rate varies. A signal processing section 118 converts the data received by the reception unit into data of a data format to be transmitted to a client apparatus and stores the data obtained by the conversion into a buffer 120. When data is stored by a given amount into the buffer 120, a transmission section streaming-distributes the data to the client apparatus. A control section 126 additionally stores, when data is not stored by the given amount into the buffer 120 in a given transmission period, dummy data into the buffer 120 until the given amount is reached, and controls the transmission section to transmit the resulting data.
US09549220B2 Systems and methods for scheduling interactive media and events
The user can respond to a media segment wherein the media segment may be associated with a schedulable event. Software on the device can then schedule the event into an electronic calendar system, and/or may use data associated with the media segment. At the appropriate time, the electronic calendar system may notify the user of the scheduled broadcast and/or event.
US09549200B1 Parallel motion estimation in video coding
Methods for improved parallel motion estimation are provided that decouple the merging candidate list derivation and motion estimation for merge mode and skip mode and the advanced motion vector predictor (AMVP) candidate list construction from regular motion estimation to increase the coding quality in parallel motion estimation while meeting throughput requirements. This decoupling may be accomplished by modifying the availability rules for spatial motion data (SMD) positions for construction of the candidate lists. As part of the decoupling, largest coding units (LCUs) of a picture may be divided into non-overlapping parallel motion estimation regions (PMER) of equal size. Within a PMER, motion estimation for merge mode, skip mode, and normal inter-prediction mode may be performed in parallel for all the prediction units (PUs) in the PMER.
US09549197B2 Visual dynamic range timestamp to enhance data coherency and potential of metadata using delay information
A system and method for enhancing data coherency and potential of at least one metadata associated with a video data configured to operate in a visual dynamic range (VDR) format are detailed. One system embodiment employs a metadata framing structure which includes a header start of frame bit set, a packet type bit set, a configuration bit set, a variable depth configuration/metadata bit set, a header end of frame bit set, a timestamp bit set for specifying a frame delay count to apply the at least one metadata to the video data and a checksum check bit set. The at least one metadata is designed to embed within a code word guard bit position of at least one color channel of the video data and adaptable to embed within the VDR pipeline to enhance the quality of the video data.
US09549185B2 Method and apparatus for hierarchical data unit-based video encoding and decoding comprising quantization parameter prediction
A method of decoding a video includes determining an initial value of a quantization parameter (QP) used to perform inverse quantization on coding units included in a slice segment, based on syntax obtained from a bitstream; determining a slice-level initial QP for predicting the QP used to perform inverse quantization on the coding units included in the slice segment, based on the initial value of the QP; and determining a predicted QP of a first quantization group of a parallel-decodable data unit included in the slice segment, based on the slice-level initial QP.
US09549181B2 Method and apparatus for building motion vector list for motion vector prediction
Relating to the field of video coding, a method and an apparatus for building a motion vector list for motion vector prediction, which solve a problem of building motion vector lists of at least two PUs in a same coding unit in a serial manner, and improve the parallel processing capability. The method includes: obtaining spatial neighboring blocks of a current prediction block, where the current prediction block is located inside a current coding unit; determining available neighboring blocks of the current prediction block according to a partition manner of the current coding unit, where the available neighboring blocks are located outside the current coding unit; and obtaining motion vector predictors from the available neighboring blocks in a preset sequence according to motion vector predictors of the available neighboring blocks, and adding the obtained motion vector predictors to the motion vector list.
US09549178B2 Segmenting and transcoding of video and/or audio data
In various embodiments, an encoder may be configured to divide received content in a first format into one or more segments and then to transcode the previously-divided segments into other formats and/or bitrates for presentation. In various embodiments, the encoder may include multiple segmenting computing devices configured to perform the dividing of the content into segments. The encoder may also include multiple transcoding computing devices configured to transcode the divided segments into a format for presentation. In various embodiments, the computing devices may be configured to communicate with each other via a network to determine which content has been divided into segments and which divided segments have been transcoded. The determination may be performed autonomously by the devices. Thus, in various embodiments, the devices included in the encoder may be configured to perform segmenting and transcoding on a distributed basis without necessarily requiring coordination by any one device.
US09549168B2 Hand held portable three dimensional scanner
Embodiments of the invention may include a scanning device to scan three dimensional objects. The scanning device may generate a three dimensional model. The scanning device may also generate a texture map for the three dimensional model. Techniques utilized to generate the model or texture map may include tracking scanner position, generating depth maps of the object and generation composite image of the surface of the object.
US09549164B2 Image processing apparatus and method, and related computer program
Externally-set mask patterns are corrected into corrected mask patterns in a variable correction degree. A depth map is processed for each of areas designated by the corrected mask patterns respectively. The depth map is for an input image. A different-viewpoint image is generated on the basis of the input image and the processed depth map. The different-viewpoint image relates to a viewpoint different from the viewpoint concerning the input image. A texture in the input image is analyzed to obtain an analyzation result. The correction of the externally-set mask patterns into the corrected mask patterns includes varying the correction degree in response to the obtained analyzation result.
US09549158B2 Controllable single pixel sensors
A single pixel sensor is provided, comprising a photo sensor configured to convert light into proportional signals; a charge storage configured to accumulate, repeatedly, a plurality of the signals converted by the photosensor; a first transistor coupled between a pixel voltage terminal and the photosensor; a second transistor coupled between the photosensor and the charge storage; and a readout circuit coupled between the charge storage and an output channel, wherein: the single pixel sensor is configured to carry out the repeated accumulations of signals multiple times per each readout by the readout circuit, the single pixel sensor is configured to synchronously convert reflections of light emitted by an associated illuminator or to convert light emitted by non-associated flickering light sources, and wherein the single pixel sensor is backside illuminated by the light.
US09549154B1 Multipoint communication system and method
A multipoint communication server for establishing multipoint communication between a plurality of endpoints, the multipoint communication server comprising: a data repository containing the set of endpoints identifiers wherein each endpoint identifier corresponds to a participating endpoint, a media processing unit configured to receive an upstream media stream from an emitting endpoint, the media processing unit being further configured to generate a plurality of downstream media streams for the participating endpoints, wherein the data repository further contains a replication inhibition set which consists of a subset of the set of endpoint identifiers and comprises at least the endpoint identifier of the emitting endpoint, wherein the media processing unit is configured to generate the downstream media stream for each participating endpoint whose endpoint identifier belongs to the replication inhibition set so that the downstream media stream does not replicate the upstream media stream.
US09549150B1 Communication device
The communication device which includes a TV phone pausing visual data selecting implementer, a TV phone implementer, a TV phone pausing visual data transferring implementer, and an audio playback implementer.
US09549145B2 Laser projection device and laser projection method for projecting laser beams onto a projection plane
A laser projection device is described for projecting laser beams onto a projection plane, including a controllable multibeam laser diode unit; including a controllable optical deflection unit, which is designed in such a way that laser beams generated by the multibeam laser diode unit are deflected with the aid of the deflection unit; and including a control unit, which is designed in such a way that it controls the deflection unit to move laser beams deflected by the deflection unit onto a projection plane along a scanning line in such a way that different deflected laser beams run in the projection plane on the same scanning line.
US09549144B2 Systems, methods, and apparatus for facilitating expansion of media device interface capabilities
System, methods, apparatus, and computer-readable media to facilitate expansion of media device interface capabilities are provided. A state change with respect to one or more media devices may be detected. The state change may correspond to a second media device being communicatively coupled to, or communicatively decoupled from, a first media device. Consequent to the detecting, a set of interface ports, which are configured to interface with multimedia devices, may be determined. Configuration information may be generated based at least in part on the set of interface ports. The configuration information may be transferred to a sink device to indicate interface options based at least in part on the set of interface ports. Content may be transferred to the sink device based at least in part on audio and/or visual data via at least one interface port of the set of interface ports.
US09549140B2 Image sensor having pixels each with a deep trench isolation region as a photo gate for outputting image signals in response to control signals from a row driver and method of operating the image sensor
An image sensor includes a row driver, a pixel array, an analog-to-digital converter, and an output compensating circuit. The row driver generates a photo-gate control signal, a storage control signal, a transfer control signal, a reset control signal and a row selecting signal. The pixel array includes a plurality of pixels, and each pixel uses a deep trench isolation (DTI) region as a photo gate. The pixel array receives optical signals, converts the optical signals to electric signals, and outputs the electric signals as image signals in response to the photo-gate control signal, the storage control signal, the transfer control signal, the reset control signal, and the row selecting signal. The analog-to-digital converter performs an analog-to-digital conversion on the image signals to generate first signals, and the output compensating circuit compensates the first signals.
US09549131B2 Imaging apparatus and imaging method using independently corrected color values
An imaging apparatus includes an image sensor, an AD conversion unit, a clamp processing unit, and a video signal correction unit. The clamp processing unit is configured to clamp to a black level, an image signal of an effective pixel region or an optical-black region of the image sensor after having been digitally converted by the AD conversion unit, by evaluating a difference from a signal of the optical-black region. The video signal correction unit is configured to calculate signal information of a part or whole of the optical-black region of an image signal of the image sensor; and, independently for each color of the video signal, to calculate correction amount of a video signal using the signal information, and to carry out correction by subtracting calculated correction amount from the image signal before clamping operation performed by the clamp processing unit.
US09549127B2 Image capture control methods and apparatus
Methods and apparatus for controlling the read out of rows of pixel values from sensors corresponding to different optical chains used to capture portions of the same image area are described. The readout is controlled based on user input and/or determinations with regard to the rate of motion in captured images or portions of captured images. For a low rate of motion i, the readout rate of a sensor corresponding to a small focal length is slowed down while the pixel row readout rate of one or more sensors corresponding to one or more optical chains have larger focal lengths are allowed to proceed at a normal rate. For a high rate of motion, the read out rate of the sensor corresponding to the optical chain having the smaller focal length is allowed to proceed at the normal rate.
US09549124B2 Day and night detection based on one or more of illuminant detection, lux level detection, and tiling
A method for controlling a camera mode is executed at a camera including a controller, a sensor array, an IR filter, and a lens assembly. The camera is operated in a night mode. While in the night mode the IR filter is not interposed between the lens assembly and the sensor array, the camera receives at the sensor array ambient light that is not filtered by the IR filter, determines whether the received ambient light is due to a light source other than an IR light source, and detects a light level of the received ambient light. The camera switches the operation of the camera from the night mode to a day mode when it is determined the received ambient light is due to a light source other than an IR light source and that the light level of the received ambient light exceeds a first threshold.
US09549122B2 Imaging apparatus, photographing guide displaying method for imaging apparatus, and non-transitory computer readable medium
A digital camera includes an image sensor unit, a display that displays an image photographed by the image sensor unit, and a photographing guide generating unit that displays a photographing guide on the display when the image sensor unit obtains a stereo image or a panoramic image. The photographing guide generating unit displays, on the display as the photographing guide, an aiming mark that displays a fixed point positioned substantially at the center of the display and a guide mark that is a fixed point in the image photographed by the image sensor unit and has a length necessary for the stereo image or the panoramic image in a moving direction of the digital camera on a screen. Then, it is possible to provide an imaging apparatus capable of stably moving the imaging apparatus upon photographing a panoramic picture.
US09549118B2 Blink and averted gaze avoidance in photographic images
A method of blink and averted gaze avoidance with a camera includes detecting an averted gaze of a subject and/or one or more closed eyes of the subject in response to receiving an input to actuate a camera shutter. The method also includes scheduling actuation of the camera shutter to a future estimated time period to capture an image of the subject when a gaze direction of the subject is centered on the camera and/or both eyes of the subject are open.
US09549115B1 Prism array depth sensing auto-focus
An depth sensing (AF) module including a depth sensing (DS) lens, DS image sensor, a prism array, and a DS controller is disclosed. The DS module may be configured to provide a control signal to an electromechanical device, such as a voice coil motor (VCM), of an image capture module to move a lens assembly to focus an image of an object to be imaged onto a primary image sensor. The DS module may direct the capture of an image for depth sensing by the DS image sensor and perform a depth sensing (DS) technique on the captured DS image to identify a focus point of the lens assembly. The DS technique may identify a magnitude of a split in segments of the DS image, where the segments correspond to light refracted through different prism elements of the array of prism elements. This determined focus point may be used to displace the lens assembly relative to the primary image sensor to achieve focus of the object onto the primary image sensor.
US09549106B2 Vehicular vision system with reduced camera connector points
A vehicular vision system includes a camera assembly having a first end connector electrically connected to circuitry disposed in a housing of the camera assembly, with the first end connector having no more than four connection points. A plurality of electrical conductors (such as conductors connected to a video display device) connect to the first end connector of the camera assembly. The electrical conductors may include (i) a first electrical conductor that electrically connects to a first connection point of said end connector, (ii) a second electrical conductor that electrically connects to a second connection point of said end connector, (iii) a third electrical conductor that electrically connects to a third connection point of said end connector and (iv) a fourth electrical conductor that electrically connects to a fourth connection point of said end connector.
US09549103B2 Antenna for camera
An antenna for a camera, comprising a camera having a communication module provided therein, a first radiator provided in a predetermined position of a lens barrel of the camera and having a length and a width for receiving a signal from a first wireless communication system, a power feeding line configured to feed a power from the communication module of the camera to the first radiator, and a ground line configured to ground the first radiator.
US09549084B2 Photo decoration device
A shooting processing section shoots a user as an object, and an editing processing section allows the user to edit a shot image obtained by shooting. An input receiving section receives, a plurality of times, selection of manipulation processing to be applied to the entire shot image, and a manipulation processing section generates, when the selection of manipulation processing has been received this time, an image after manipulation processing that is the entire shot image to which the manipulation processing received this time is applied over the manipulation processing, selection of which has been received previous time. The present invention can be applied to a photo sticker creating device, for example.
US09549075B2 Method for automatically establishing location-based conference calls
A method for automatically establishing multi-participant interactions and/or conference calls between users of mobile devices, according to which an interaction establishing application is installed on the mobile device of each participating user and receives for each user, phone numbers of other users defined as his friends and a list of predetermined triggers as conditions for initiating an interaction between users. The application constantly monitors the location of each user's mobile device and upon detecting that one or more of the triggers are met, the application automatically initiates one or more interactions between users that comply with the triggers that are met.
US09549072B2 Conference call alerts
Conference call alerting is provided. A first device of a plurality of telecommunications devices initiates a telecommunications link between the first device and a second device of the plurality of telecommunications devices. The first device receives an interaction that includes a communications address of a third device of the plurality of telecommunications devices. The telecommunications link is modified to include the third device. In response to the third device joining the telecommunications link, the first device issues an alert to the second device and the third device, wherein the alert indicates that the third device has joined the telecommunications link.
US09549071B2 Intercepting voice over IP communications and other data communications
Methods and apparatus for intercepting communications in an Internet Protocol (IP) network involve maintaining dialing profiles for respective subscribers to the IP network, each dialing profile including a username associated with the corresponding subscriber, and associating intercept information with the dialing profile of a subscriber whose communications are to be monitored. Intercept information will include determination information for determining whether to intercept a communication involving the subscriber, and destination information identifying a device to which intercepted communications involving the subscriber are to be sent. When the determination information meets intercept criteria communications are established with a media relay through which communications involving the subscriber will be conducted or are being conducted to cause the media relay to send a copy of the communications involving the subscriber to a mediation device specified by the destination information.
US09549066B2 Toll-free telecommunications management platform
Methods and systems are provided for the management, routing and reporting of toll-free telecommunications calls and data. Methods and systems are provided for pre-populating a call routing template based on natural language inputs and populating telecommunications routing codes at nodes of a call routing decision tree to generate a call routing template that may be identified and presented to a user interface based at least in part on a natural language input.
US09549042B2 Context recognition and social profiling using mobile devices
A method for using Bluetooth® information for inferring user context and computing sociability is presented. The method includes receiving wireless sensor data from wireless sensor communication for an electronic device. Information units are formed using the wireless sensor data. User context is inferred using the information units. An entropy metric is computed based on the inferred user context. Social profiling is created based on the entropy metric and one or more user context characteristics.
US09549037B2 System and method for maintaining solvency within a cache
In one embodiment, a computing system includes a cache including one or more memories and a cache manager. The cache manager is able to determine an amount of accessible data for a portion of the cache associated with the cache manager; compare the amount of accessible data to a threshold value; determine, for one or more clients associated with the cache manager, an amount of releasable data if the amount of accessible data exceeds the threshold value; communicate, to one or more clients associated with the cache manager, the amount of releasable data for the client; receive from one or more clients associated with the cache manager information associated with data released by the one or more clients; and determine an amount of data released by the one or more clients associated with the cache manager.
US09549031B2 Location ranking using social graph information
In one embodiment, a user of a social networking system requests to check in a place near the user's current location. The social networking system generates a list of places near the user's current location, ranks the places in the list of places near the user's current location by a distance between each place and the user's current location, as well as activity of the user and the user's social contacts for each place, and returns the ranked list to the user.
US09549030B2 Correlating input and output requests between client and server components in a multi-tier application
The present invention relates to correlating requests between a client and a server to a particular transaction. In one embodiment, transactions in a system of clients and servers are monitored and traced. From this information, a context comprising sets or groupings of transaction call sequences are determined. For example, a sequence of method calls on a client process is traced to a socket carrying data for transmission of a request message to a server. In response to this request message, the server then executes a set of method calls that can be correlated to the request message and the socket. This set of actions is considered part of a causally related grouping, and thus, associated together. In one embodiment, HTTP requests from a client may be comprise a unique custom header that is readily identified and traced. For other protocols, a client socket is associated with a corresponding server socket or to data received over a socket receive call.
US09549018B2 Message exchange between a native application and a web browser
There is provided a system and method for exchanging messages between a native application and a web browser using a server. The server configured to receive a message from a communication application of a first client device for delivery to the second client device, determine if the second client device includes the communication application, create a link to a webpage for rendering the message on the webpage when the second client device does not have the communication application, transmit the link to the second client device, render the message on the webpage to the second client device in response to receiving a request, receive a reply message from the second client device, and transmit the reply message to the first client device for rendering by the communication application. The message from the first client device may include a multimedia message, such as an animated avatar with a lip-sync audio.
US09549016B2 Congestion control for media flows
An apparatus can include a congestion controller at a source endpoint node of a network that is configured to send substantially real-time media data at a variable sending rate to another endpoint node via the network. The congestion controller can be configured to compute the sending rate as a function of a predetermined target delay and feedback from the other endpoint node that includes a receive delay time for packets of the substantially real-time media data to be received at the other endpoint node from the source endpoint node.
US09549006B2 Self-adaptive sample period for content sharing in communication sessions
According to one embodiment, a technique is presented to dynamically adjust a sample period used at a presenter device for a screen content capture sharing function during a communication session. In another embodiment, a technique is provided to control how frames of screen capture content, e.g., in a desktop sharing function, are sent to attendee devices during an online conference session. According to a still another embodiment, a technique is provided to enable on-demand designation of frames as key-frames during a desktop sharing function of an online conference session.
US09549002B2 Method and device for making available at least one communication datum
A method and a device are provided for making available at least one communication datum retrieved during consultation of a multimedia stream on a first terminal. The method includes a step of reception of a request for obtaining the at least one communication datum, a step of extraction of the at least one communication datum from the multimedia stream, a step of transmission to at least one second terminal of the at least one communication datum extracted. The communication datum transmitted thus makes it possible to implement on the second terminal an application making it possible to establish a multimedia communication between the second terminal and a remote device.
US09548999B2 Obfuscation of lawfully authorized electronic surveillance
The obfuscation of information included in Session Initiation Protocol (SIP) invites for the purposes of facilitating Lawfully Authorized Electronic Surveillance (LAES) is contemplated. The obfuscation may include the use of LAES headers with invites of sessions that require surveillance as well as those not requiring surveillance and/or selecting values or otherwise influencing parameter selection of data included in LAES headers according to a validity function, a shared secret, a key or other construct.
US09548990B2 Detecting a heap spray attack
Various techniques for exploit detection based on heap spray detection are disclosed. In some embodiments, exploit detection based on heap spray detection includes executing a program in a virtual environment, monitoring a heap of a memory while executing the program in the virtual environment, and detecting a potential heap spray attack based on detecting a burst allocation of a first plurality of blocks in the heap of the memory, in which each of the first plurality of blocks is stored in the predefined address range of the memory.
US09548984B2 Authorizing a user by means of a portable communications terminal
A method and system for authorizing a user at a field device by a portable communications device. A first information is acquired by the portable communications device for identifying the field device. The portable communications device sends to a system the first information and a second information for identifying at least one of (i) the portable communications device, and (ii) the user thereof. The system determines a first piece of access information on the basis of the first information and the second information, and sends the first piece of access information to the portable communications device. The portable communications device transmits the second information and the first piece of access information to the field device. The field device determines a second piece of access information on the basis of the second information, and compares the first piece of access information with the second piece of access information. Access to the field device is allowed upon determining that the first piece of access information and the second piece of access information match.
US09548983B2 Cross access login controller
Systems and methods here may be used for authorizing network access including using a flow controller server in communication with a first gateway associated with a first network, a second gateway associated with a second gateway, and a repository, the flow controller server configured to, receive a first client device request to access the first network via the first gateway, receive a second client device request to access the second network via the second gateways, retrieve a validation response from the repository, wherein the validation response includes correlated client device identifier with client device credentials for the first network and second network.
US09548982B1 Secure controlled access to authentication servers
An authentication-related request sent from a mobile device to an authentication server is received at a proxy server. A posture of the mobile device is dynamically determined based at least in part on information included in the request. The request is validated based at least in part on the dynamically-determined posture. The proxy server communicates with an authentication server on behalf of the mobile device to obtain authentication information usable by the mobile device to access a service.
US09548981B2 Method and system for providing security for universal plug and play operations in a home network environment based on ownership rights
A method and system for providing security to Universal Plug and Play (UPnP) operations in a home network environment based on ownership rights where a request is received from a Control Point (CP) to perform an UPnP action associated with an UPnP resource. It is determined whether the CP holds an ownership right to perform the UPnP action based on ownership data associated with the UPnP resource. Accordingly, the CP is authorized to execute the UPnP action on the UPnP resource or an error message is returned to the CP based on the ownership of the UPnP resource.
US09548975B2 Authentication method, authentication system, and service delivery server
A client terminal transmits a signal related to an authentication request to a service delivery server through a browser every time an application is started by an instruction from a user. Upon receiving the authentication request from the client terminal, an authentication server executes authentication processing in cooperation with the service delivery server based on authentication information of an application of the client terminal, a session of which has been established, and stored in the service delivery server, and user information related to the user stored in the authentication server.
US09548968B2 Image sharing system
A server system for distributing information securely includes a network interface for receiving, over a network, an information object accompanied by metadata. A repository stores the information object. Metadata is mapped to electronic addresses of trusted recipients. A processor is configured to generate a link for accessing the information object in the repository, acquire an electronic address of a trusted recipient based on the metadata accompanying the information object, insert the link into an electronic message addressed to the electronic address of the trusted recipient, and send the electronic message with the link to the trusted recipient. The processor is further configured to receive, over a second network, a request for the information object sent from a user device in response to an activation of the link, retrieve the information object from the repository, and transmit the information object to a browser of the user device over the second network.
US09548965B2 Proxy methods for suppressing broadcast traffic in a network
Some embodiments use proxies on host devices to suppress broadcast traffic in a network. Each host in some embodiments executes one or more virtual machines (VMs). In some embodiments, a proxy operates on each host between each VM and the underlying network. For instance, in some of these embodiments, a VM's proxy operates between the VM and a physical forwarding element executing on the VM's host. The proxy monitors the VM's traffic, and intercepts broadcast packets when it knows how to deal with them. The proxy connects to a set of one or more controllers that provides a directory service that collects and maintains global information of the network. By connecting to the controller cluster, the proxy can obtain information that it can use to resolve broadcast requests. In some embodiments, the connection between the proxy and the controller cluster is encrypted and authenticated, to enhance the security. Also, in some embodiments, the connection is an indirect connection through an agent that executes on the host device and connects the proxies of the host device with the controller cluster.
US09548961B2 Detecting adverse network conditions for a third-party network site
A network protection service for providing protective assistance to a subscribing host is presented. The network protection service is configured determine a set of rules for filtering network traffic for a subscribing host. The network protection service is further configured to receive network traffic on behalf of the subscribing host, filter the received network traffic according to the set of rules, and forward a portion of the filtered network traffic to the subscribing host. Still further, the network protection service is configured to analyze the received network traffic via the analysis server, and refine the set of rules for filtering the received network traffic based on the analysis of the received network traffic by the analysis server.
US09548941B2 Data flow node provisioning
Data flow node validation and provisioning techniques are described. In one or more implementations, a system is described that supports visual design and deployment of data flow pipelines to process streaming data flows. The system may be configured to include nodes and connections between the nodes to represent an arbitrary execution graph of data science algorithms (as algorithm action components) that are used to process the streaming data flows. The system may also support validation techniques to verify that the data flow pipeline may operate as intended. Further, the system may also support implementation and provisioning techniques that involve estimation and adjustment of runtime resource provisioning of a deployed data flow pipeline without preemption or starvation occurring for nodes within the pipeline.
US09548940B2 Master election among resource managers
The invention provides a technique for assigning a server to manage resources. The server identifies a capacity value that represents a maximum number of resources that the server can simultaneously manage, and parses data included in a tracker directory to identify the resources that have the fewest number of servers assigned to manage them. Next, based on the capacity value, the server registers to manage the identified resources, where each registration to manage an identified resource results in the server actively managing the resource when no other server is registered to manage the resource, or acting as a backup manager to the resource when at least one other server is registered to manage the resource, and the tracker directory is updated accordingly. Finally, the server, for each registration that results in actively managing a resource, configures itself to process client device requests that are directed to utilizing the resource.
US09548926B2 Multicast traffic load balancing over virtual link aggregation
One embodiment of the present invention provides a switch. The switch comprises one or more ports, a link management module and a load balancing module. The link management module operates a port of the one or more ports of the switch in conjunction with a remote switch to form a virtual link aggregation. The load balancing module generates an index of a weight distribution vector based on address information of a multicast group associated with the virtual link aggregation. A slot of the weight distribution vector corresponds to a respective switch participating in the virtual link aggregation. In response to the index indicating a slot corresponding to the switch, the load balancing module designates the switch as primary switch for the multicast group, which is responsible for forwarding multicast data of the multicast group via the virtual link aggregation.
US09548922B2 Enabling scalable virtual machine tracking in a data center fabric
A method is provided in one example embodiment and includes receiving at a first network element a packet from a second network element; processing the packet at the first network element to obtain information regarding an identity of a virtual machine (“VM”) hosted by the second network element contained within the packet; and storing at the first network element the identifying information. The identifying information stored at the first network element is accessible by at least one third network element. In some embodiments, the first network element comprises a physical switch and the second network element comprises a virtual switch.
US09548921B2 Compression of routing information exchanges
Embodiments of the present invention include systems and methods for improving the exchange of routing information between information handling system by using compression. In embodiments, route information may be packetized as normally performed according to protocol. In embodiments, these packets may be compressed and placed into the data/payload portion of a new format packet. In embodiments, the new format packet includes an extended header with one or more fields that provide information related to the compressed packets in the packet payload. A receiving device receives the new packets with compressed data, decompresses the data, and processes the decompress data packets as per the normal protocol procedures.
US09548918B2 Edge router systems and methods
A system including an edge router which collects data from a mesh network by receiving on multiple simultaneous frequencies. Using N simultaneous frequencies increases the throughput of a system by up to N-times, reducing the bottleneck that otherwise occurs at the take-out-point of a mesh communications system. Furthermore, nodes in direct communication with the edge router can send each data packet multiple times on multiple frequencies, increasing the probability that the packet is delivered correctly, eliminating the necessity to acknowledge (ACK) each packet. This further enhances system throughput.
US09548916B1 Performing discovery of a virtual environment
In one aspect, a method includes performing a fast discovery on a virtual network to obtain objects and attributes necessary to display the objects on a user interface, performing a full discovery on the virtual network after the fast discovery and performing rediscovery regularly on the virtual network after the full discovery comprising updating object data based on changes since the last discovery was performed.
US09548914B2 Estimating line rate
The invention measures the rates of a whole population of existing lines together with a line characteristic, such as capacitance, that can be measured prior to provisioning. Using these measures, a rating we refer to as a “quality figure” is generated for each distribution point by looking at the rate of the lines running through that distribution point, and comparing those rates to the rates of other lines having the same line characteristic across the whole population of lines. Distribution points that have lines operating better (faster) than the average for their given line characteristic will have higher quality figures. To estimate the rate of a new line, the quality figure of the distribution point that the new line passes through is used in conjunction with the measured line characteristic as a look up on the whole population of lines.
US09548913B2 Communication system and transmission unit employed in same
Provided are a communication system that is capable of acquiring information having a relatively large data amount by a transmission unit while securing a communication speed of a transmission signal of transmission unit, and a transmission unit employed in communication system. Transmission unit transmits superimposition requesting data from a superimposition requesting unit to a second monitoring terminal in a transmission segment of transmission signal. Second monitoring terminal, upon receiving superimposition requesting data and with responding thereto, transmits, to transmission unit, monitoring data corresponding to a monitoring input from a sensor device with a superimposition signal superimposed on transmission signal as superimposition response data in a reply segment of transmission signal. Transmission unit, upon receiving superimposition response data composed of monitoring data with a superimposition communication unit, transmits control data to either a second control terminal or a first control terminal associated with this monitoring data in control table.
US09548908B2 Flow de-duplication for network monitoring
A method is provided in one example and includes receiving flow data associated with a traffic flow. The flow data can be tagged with a data source identifier identifying a data source exporting the flow data, a source site identifier identifying a site associated with a source device of the traffic flow, and a destination site identifier identifying a destination site associated with a destination device of the traffic flow. The method further includes determining at least one authoritative data source for each site and metric type using at least one selection rule. The method further includes receiving a query for de-duplicated flow data, and generating de-duplicated flow data based on the data source identifier, source site identifier, and destination site identifier and particular flow data associated with the determined at least one authoritative data source.
US09548900B1 Systems and methods for forwarding network packets in a network using network domain topology information
A controller may be used to control client switches in a network that includes non-client, switches. The controller may form client domains from groups of client switches that are separated by intervening non-client domains formed from non-client switches. The controller may determine a network domain topology from the client domains and non-client domains. The controller may determine a spanning tree that interconnects the nodes of the network domain topology. The controller may control client switches of the client domains to allow only network traffic between the client domains and the non-client domains along the spanning tree. The controller may use the network domain topology to generate inter-domain forwarding maps. The inter-domain forwarding maps may be used to determine network forwarding paths between end hosts in the network.
US09548899B2 Methods and systems for exploitation of well-connected nodes in peer-to-peer wireless networks
Certain embodiments of the present disclosure relate to methods for increasing a capacity in a peer-to-peer (P2P) wireless network. The methods include generating a connectivity metric (CM) value indicative of a number of other wireless nodes of the P2P wireless network to which the wireless node is connected, receiving a query for services, and then responding to the query for services if the CM value is greater than a defined CM threshold value. The disclosed methods therefore allow well-connected nodes of the P2P wireless network to be exploited in a manner that increases the overall connectivity of all the nodes in the network.
US09548893B2 Dynamic agent replacement within a cloud network
A computing device receives information from one or more agents, wherein the one or more agents monitor one or more resources in a cloud network. The computing device determines that the configuration of the one or more agents monitoring the one or more resources needs to be changed based on at least the information received from the one or more agents. The computing device changes the configuration of the one or more agents monitoring the one or more resources based on at least the information received from the one or more agents.
US09548891B2 Configuration of network devices
According to examples described herein computer devices coupled to a network can be automatically configured. Systems information is gathered from a plurality of computer devices by way of one or more of an agent and a scout. This information is standardized and stored in one or more databases. A program function is determined from the standardized information. This program function is used to identify two different sets of computer programs installed on a set of networked computer devices. This configuration is then replaced by a configuration where only a single common computer program is used to perform the program function.
US09548884B2 Method and apparatus for providing a unified resource view of multiple virtual machines
Various embodiments provide a method and apparatus for dynamically allocating resources to processes by using unified resources. In particular, a superVM allows a process from an application to utilize resources (e.g., CPU, memory, and storage) from other VMs. Advantageously, sharing resources of of VMs that are operating below capacity increases cost efficiencies and providing resources without the overhead of spawning new VMs to VMs requiring additional resources increases application performance. Moreover, legacy applications may run utilize resources from multiple VMs without modification.
US09548879B2 Virtual multicarrier design for orthogonal frequency division multiple access communications
Embodiments of the present invention provide a virtual multicarrier design for orthogonal frequency division multiple access communications. Other embodiments may be described and claimed.
US09548878B2 Digital radio frequency transceiver system and method
A transceiver architecture for wireless base stations wherein a broadband radio frequency signal is carried between at least one tower-mounted unit and a ground-based unit via optical fibers, or other non-distortive media, in either digital or analog format. Each tower-mounted unit (for both reception and transmission) has an antenna, analog amplifier and an electro-optical converter. The ground unit has ultrafast data converters and digital frequency translators, as well as signal linearizers, to compensate for nonlinear distortion in the amplifiers and optical links in both directions. In one embodiment of the invention, at least one of the digital data converters, frequency translators, and linearizers includes superconducting elements mounted on a cryocooler.
US09548874B2 Selecting a content delivery network
A device may receive a content distribution network (CDN) routing table from a topology manager; receive a request, from a device in either of a redirect CDN or a domain name system (DNS), to identify a target CDN for sending content to a user device; perform a lookup in the CDN routing table, based on information provided by the device and CDN selection policies, to select the target CDN; obtain an identifier corresponding to the target CDN as a result of performing the lookup; and provide the identifier to the device.
US09548870B2 Mobile terminal and method for controlling same
The present invention relates to a mobile terminal capable of controlling a navigation device and to a method for controlling same. The method for controlling the mobile terminal includes the steps of: receiving home information generated by home appliances, which includes product information; outputting the received home information to a display unit and detecting purchase reservation commands for the products; searching for a navigation device positioned on a predetermined street in response to the purchase reservation commands; and transmitting destination setting commands to the navigation device, together with the home information, in order to allow a found navigation device to set a destination related to the products.
US09548869B2 Systems and methods for implementing multicasting using personal area network “pan” wireless technology
Systems and methods for multicasting using Bluetooth low energy are described herein. In one embodiment, a first device advertises multicasting capabilities over one or more channels using a first type of advertising packet. One or more receiving devices scan the one or more channels for the first type of advertising packets to identify the first device as a multicasting capable device. Further, the one or more receiving devices request information from the first device as to the channel and timing of transmission of the multicasting data. The one or more receiving devices use the requested information to listen for the multicasting data on the appropriate channel.
US09548868B2 Gathering participants for meetings
Participants for an in-progress meeting are gathered, preferably by broadcast of instant messaging notifications thereto. Information for people who are invited to a scheduled meeting but are not participating when the meeting begins, as well as for one or more additional people who are mentioned by the current participants of the meeting as desired new invitees to the in-progress meeting, is placed on a participant list. A disambiguation process may be used in cases where it is not clear who was intended in the discussion of a new invitee. Responses to the notifications are collected and used to populate a consolidated joining status window, where this joining status window depicts the joining status of persons on the participant list.
US09548862B1 Managing entropy in computing devices for cryptographic key generation
This disclosure describes cryptographic secure implementation of a Pseudo Random Number Generator (PRNG) architecture based on existing Fortuna algorithm, but providing improvements thereupon for gathering and measuring entropy. The improvement includes a unique step of initial seeding that is not covered by Fortuna. The solution should be adapted to a variety of computing and communicating devices, including mobile devices.
US09548860B2 Asymmetric-computing type shared key establishing method suitable for cloud computing and IoT
An asymmetric-computing type shared key establishing method suitable for cloud computing and IoT has the following advantages. The realization efficiency and the security level are high, and a cryptographic algorithm coprocessor is not needed. The method can be applied to occasions in which the computing capabilities are asymmetric, and attacks from quantum computers can be resisted. Compared with a conventional key exchange protocol such as the Diffie-Hellman key exchange protocol, the method can be more effective between servers and mobile equipment in the security fields as the IoT and cloud computing, and the method can be used in both the electronic environment and the quantum environment. Thus, the asymmetric-computing type shared key establishing method suitable for cloud computing and IoT provided by the invention can be widely applied to the field of information security systems such as network security and e-commerce.
US09548856B2 High-speed clock skew correction for SERDES receivers
The present invention is directed to data communication. More specifically, the present invention provides a mechanism for determining an adjustment delay that minimizes skew error due to poor alignment between edge samples and data samples. The adjustment delay is determined by sampling edge samples and data samples using different test delays at a calibration frequency that is different from the sampling frequency. The test delay associated with the least average position between the data samples and edge samples is selected as the adjustment delay. The adjustment delay is used as a parameter when sampling data at the sampling frequency. There are other embodiments as well.
US09548852B2 Antenna cross connect scheme for LTE
A radio and antenna combination with 4×N MIMO on the downlink path, with antenna arrays spaced 1 wavelength apart, and N×4 MIMO (or SIMO) on the uplink path, with 3 to 10 wavelengths or more separation of the antenna arrays.
US09548848B1 Method and apparatus for reduced complexity CQI feedback in wireless communication systems
Adaptive Modulation and Coding Scheme (MCS) selection is used in many wireless communication systems. The goal of Adaptive MCS selection is to use the most suitable MCS for any particular channel conditions. Often, the MCS selection is based on channel measurements by the client terminal. The relationship between the block error rate (BLER) and the Signal-to-Interference-plus-Noise Ratio (SINR) is not linear. The BLER is often determined by the lowest SINR rather than the average SINR experienced by the set of bits that are part of the block. The Exponential Effective SINR Mapping (EESM) method is often used to compute effective SINR for adaptive MCS selection. However, the complexity of selecting the optimum channel feedback from the client terminal to the base station is typically high. A method and apparatus are disclosed that enable EESM for selecting the most suitable MCS with reduced complexity and reduced power consumption.
US09548844B2 Communication device and communication system
A preamble signal is an OFDM signal, and is a real-part signal obtained by removing an imaginary-part signal from a signal in the time domain that is generated by an IFFT process being performed on a signal in the frequency domain obtained by assigning preamble data to subcarriers in accordance with a predetermined arrangement pattern. The predetermined arrangement pattern indicates that preamble data is assigned to any of subcarriers given numbers equal to or less than N/2−1 and the preamble data is not assigned to subcarriers given numbers more than N/2−1, where a plurality of subcarriers are numbered by integers from 0 to N−1 (N is an integer) in ascending order with respect to the center frequency of each subcarrier.
US09548839B2 Method for mapping physical hybrid automatic repeat request indicator channel
A method for mapping a physical hybrid automatic repeat request indicator channel (PHICH) is described. The method for mapping a PHICH includes determining an index of a resource element group transmitting a repetitive pattern of the PHICH, according to a ratio of the number of available resource element groups in a symbol in which the PHICH is transmitted and the number of available resource element groups in a first or second OFDM symbol, and mapping the PHICH to the symbol according to the determined index. In transmitting the PHICH, since efficient mapping is performed considering available resource elements varying with OFDM symbols, repetition of the PHICH does not generate interference between neighbor cell IDs and performance is improved.
US09548837B2 Method and apparatus for transmitting and receiving a data block in a wireless communication system
A method for transmitting and receiving a source data block using hybrid automatic retransmission request protocol. At the transmitting side, the source data block that is not decoded correctly at the receiving side is divided into a plurality of data segments, each of which may be padded with known data to expand the data segments to be a predetermined lengthen. At the receiving side, when each of the received data packets includes a data segment and a redundancy information segment, decoding is performed based on the received data segment and redundancy information segment extracted from buffered data packets, with chances to restore the data segment that is not decoded correctly in previous decoding processing. The additional decoding chances improve the probability of correctly decoding the erroneous data segment.
US09548828B1 System and method for providing near real-time tsunami notification with the aid of a digital computer
A pinpoint forecast of the possible impact of a tsunami is created by processing near real-time tsunami data, including seismic data or wave data obtained using underwater pressure sensors, bathymetry data of the body of water in which the tsunami occurs, and topographic data of specific locations. Notifications are provided to subscribers via their mobile devices. The forecast presents the notification in a form that is easily understandable and which allows the subscriber to take any appropriate action. Disaster response personnel responsible for warning the populace can be similarly notified in a further embodiment. Additional assistance can be provided by activating disaster response and notification devices in the specific locations to be impacted. By providing the location-specific notifications and other actionable data, the system and method clarifies precisely where danger due to the tsunami exists on an individual basis and simplifies the evacuation from the affected areas, aiding public safety.
US09548826B2 Reception device, reception method, and program
Provided is a reception device including a first acquisition unit configured to acquire station information regarding a station transmitting a broadcasting wave of broadcasting on an arbitrary segment, a storage unit configured to store the station information, a selection unit configured to select a station transmitting a broadcasting wave that is receivable at a predetermined position as a tunable station to be tuned to using the station information, a specifying unit configured to specify a transmission frequency used at a transmission point of a broadcasting wave of the broadcasting performed by the tunable station using the station information, and a tuning control unit configured to perform tuning control such that a service of the broadcasting performed by the tunable station is tuned to according to the transmission frequency.
US09548812B2 Method and apparatus for sub-carrier frequency control
The invention pertains to methods, apparatus, and systems for controlling the sub-carrier frequencies in an optical frequency division multiplex communication system by using a metric available from the sub-carrier modem's digital receive block as an indicator of cross-talk between sub-carriers and adjusting the sub-carrier frequency separation as a function of that metric.
US09548806B2 Radio measurement method and radio measurement apparatus using multi-antenna channel multiplex
A radio measurement apparatus comprising: an array antennal selection unit selecting array antennas corresponding to received signals; a reference path selection unit selecting a reference array antenna; a signal processing unit selecting a reference antenna channel through analysis of signal characteristics measured through two reception channels; a sequential channel multiplex unit determining sequentially inputting received signals of remaining array antennas to output the sequentially input signals to a receiver; and a correction signal input unit compensating amplitude and phase characteristics of the respective reception channels.
US09548795B2 Method of identifying wireless power receiver in wireless power system
A method of identifying a wireless power receiver for a mobile device in a wireless power system includes transmitting a first identity of the mobile device to a wireless power base station of the wireless power system via a first wireless communication interface, receiving a first message including the first identity from the wireless power base station via a second wireless communication interface, and identifying the first message is destined to the mobile device according to the first identity.
US09548792B2 Adaptive monitoring of crosstalk coupling strength
The disclosure relates to a method of reducing crosstalk in a crosstalk cancelation system. The method comprises at least the steps of applying to the at least one first signal a crosstalk cancelation according to a set of crosstalk coefficients; monitoring crosstalk received in the at least one first signal at a first end of the first path during the application of the crosstalk cancelation; and updating the crosstalk coefficients during the monitoring. The disclosure also includes a device, which can carry out the method.
US09548788B2 Frequency conversion system with improved spurious response and frequency agility
A frequency conversion system with improved performance. In one embodiment an image reject mixer is used to perform frequency conversion providing an initial degree of suppression of the image and local oscillator leakage signals, and a signal to noise enhancer (SNE) is used to further suppress the image and local oscillator signals, the signal to noise enhancer being a nonlinear passive device that attenuates low-power signals while transmitting high power signals with little loss. The signal to noise enhancer may be fabricated as a thin film of yttrium iron garnet (YIG) epitaxially grown on a gadolinium gallium garnet (GGG) substrate, the GGG substrate secured to a microwave transmission line from the input to the output of the signal to noise enhancer, such that the thin film of yttrium iron garnet is close to the transmission line.
US09548784B2 Distance marker and mobile device case for distance measurement
A mobile device case or cover can include a distance marker for distance measurement. A mobile device coupled with the case may include a measurement application or module that can acquire video or still images of the distance marker. The measurement application can calculate a distance to the distance marker based on a captured image of the distance marker in the video or still images. The mobile device case can include a pocket, slot, or storage compartment for storing the distance marker.
US09548775B2 Mitigation of transmitter passive and active intermodulation products in real and continuous time in the transmitter and co-located receiver
A transmitter channel interference mitigation processing method for cancellation of intermodulation products are described. In one embodiment, a method comprising generating continuous and real time IMP cancellation signals (ICS) in the baseband digital signal set of the transmitter based on a transmitter signal set, combining digital IMP cancellation signals with a digital baseband transmitter signal set such that the digital cancellation signals, when converted to analog signals and transmitted as part of an analog transmitter signal set, are cancelled by and so cancel the IMPs generated by the non-linear components in the analog transmitter hardware, including digitally generating the IMP cancellation signals using a process based on a power series description of a non-linear process generating the IMPs, generating 3rd order IMP cancellation signals by digitally multiplying two or three signals of the transmitter signal set to create 3rd order IMP cancellation signals, generating 5th order IMP cancellation signals by digitally multiplying two or three or five signals of the transmitter signal set to create 5th order IMP cancellation signals, generating 7th order IMP cancellation signals by digitally multiplying two or three or five or seven signals of the transmitter signal set to create 7th order IMP cancellation signal, generating odd order IMP cancellation signals (ICS) by digitally multiplying an odd number of digital signals and combining multiplied digital signals with the transmitter baseband digital signals, creating IMP cancellation signals in the receiver, and cancelling one or both of active and passive IMPs generated in a transmitter path that fall within a receiver passband.
US09548773B1 Mitigation of EMI/ESD-caused transmission errors on an electronic circuit
A method detects and mitigates harm caused by electromagnetic interference (EMI) to digital transmissions within an electronic circuit. One or more processors check for an initial transmission error during an initial digital transmission between a digital transmitter and a digital receiver on an electronic circuit. In response to detecting the initial transmission error, the processor(s) receive electromagnetic interference (EMI) detection signals from one or more EMI detectors. In response to determining that the EMI detection signals represent an EMI level that exceeds a predetermined value, the processor(s) identify an EMI anomaly source on the electronic circuit and adjusts the EMI anomaly source until the EMI level has been reduced to a nominal level. A copy of the initial digital transmission is then resent from the digital transmitter to the digital receiver. If no transmission error reoccurs, then the EMI anomaly source is kept in the adjusted state.
US09548768B2 Radio frequency front end circuitry for carrier aggregation
Radio frequency (RF) front end circuitry includes first RF multiplexer circuitry and second RF multiplexer circuitry. The first RF multiplexer circuitry is a quadplexer, while the second RF multiplexer is a triplexer. The RF front end circuitry is configured to support the transmission and reception of signals within a first operating band, a second operating band, and a third operating band. Further, the RF front end circuitry is configured to support carrier aggregation configurations between the first operating band and the third operating band and the second operating band and the third operating band.
US09548764B1 Memory efficient decoders for low-density parity-check codes
A decoder including a compression module configured to select one or more nodes from a plurality of nodes associated with data being decoded by the decoder, where each node includes one or more bits, and to compress the one or more bits associated with the selected nodes. A memory is configured to store the compressed one or more bits associated with the selected nodes.
US09548757B2 Digital-to-analog converter circuit
A digital to analog converter including a current source for providing a master current, a first sub digital to analog converter coupled to the current source which generates a plurality of currents, and a second sub digital to analog converter coupled to at least one of the plurality of currents from the first sub digital to analog converter which generates a second plurality of currents. The digital to analog converter also includes an overlap adjustment circuit coupled with the second sub digital to analog converter which adds current. The digital to analog converter is configured to operate in a first mode for generating a sine wave with a first bit level accuracy and, when in the first mode, the overlap adjustment circuit adds no current. to the second sub digital to analog converter The digital to analog converter is configured to operate in a second mode for generating a ramp wave with a second bit level accuracy and, when in the second mode, the overlap adjustment circuit adds current to the second sub digital to analog converter. When in the second mode, the total current of the second sub digital to analog converter and the overlap converter is greater than one of the plurality of currents generated by the first sub digital to analog converter.
US09548754B1 Systems and methods for comparator calibration
The present invention is directed integrated circuits and methods thereof. More specifically, an embodiment of the present invention provides a comparator calibration loop where a digital integrator stores a running sum based on the output of a comparator. A DAC converts the running sum and generates an offset calibration voltage, which is filtered by a low-pass filter module, and the filtered offset calibration voltage is used to cancel out the intrinsic offset voltage and low frequency noise of the comparator. There are other embodiments as well.
US09548752B1 Calibration technique for current steering DAC
The disclosure provides a current steering digital to analog converter (DAC) that includes a plurality of DAC elements. At least one DAC element of the plurality of DAC elements is coupled to a calibration circuit. The calibration circuit includes a fixed current source coupled to a primary node of the DAC element through a first estimation switch. A digital code generator is coupled to the primary node, and generates a first digital code corresponding to a primary voltage generated at the primary node. The digital code generator generates a second digital code. A correction DAC is coupled to the digital code generator and generates a bias voltage based on the second digital code. The bias voltage is provided to the DAC element such that a current flowing through each DAC element of the plurality of DAC elements is equal.
US09548744B2 Compensating for hysteretic characteristics of crystal oscillators
In some examples, compensating for hysteretic characteristics of a crystal oscillator in a timing circuit includes obtaining a plurality of successive temperature measurements. From the plurality of successive temperature measurements, a temperature gradient having a sign and a magnitude can be determined. A frequency compensation parameter can then be determined based on any combination of two or more factors chosen from a set of factors including a temperature measurement, the sign of the temperature gradient, and the magnitude of the temperature gradient. A frequency error of the timing circuit can then be compensated based on the frequency compensation parameter.
US09548738B2 High voltage RC-clamp for electrostatic discharge (ESD) protection
In accordance with some embodiments, an electrostatic discharge (ESD) protection circuit for high-voltage power rails includes an RC-triggered clamp having an RC-circuit having a resistor coupled between a first node and a second node, and a capacitor coupled between the second node and a third node. The RC-triggered clamp also has a transistor with a first source/drain, a gate, and a second source/drain, wherein the first source/drain is coupled to the first node, and the second source/drain is coupled to the third node. The RC-triggered clamp also has an inverter, wherein an input of the inverter is coupled to the second node, and an output of the inverter is coupled to the gate of the transistor. The ESD protection circuit also includes one or more forward-biased diodes coupled in series between a supply node and the first node.
US09548727B2 Oscillator circuit
An oscillator circuit includes: a plurality of delay elements, a first delay element configured to receive a first oscillator signal outputted from a second delay element in one stage before the first delay element and a second oscillator signal outputted from a third delay element in two or more stages before the first delay element, the plurality of delay terminals being connected in a ring by at least three or more delay elements, and the first oscillator signal and the second oscillator signal having phases different from one another; and a bias voltage generator configured to change a ratio of a first input bias current for the first oscillator signal to a second input bias current for the second oscillator signal, in accordance with a first bias voltage and a second bias voltage supplied to the plurality of delay elements.
US09548725B2 Frequency specific closed loop feedback control of integrated circuits
Systems and methods for frequency specific closed loop feedback control of integrated circuits. In one embodiment, a plurality of controllable inputs to an integrated circuit is adjusted to achieve a frequency specific predetermined value of a dynamic operating indicator of the integrated circuit at the desired specific operating frequency. The predetermined value is stored in a data structure within a computer usable media. The data structure comprises a plurality of frequency specific predetermined values for a variety of operating frequencies. An operating condition of an integrated circuit is controlled via closed loop feedback based on dynamic operating indicators of the measured behavior of the integrated circuit.
US09548723B1 Current mode DVR or PVCOM with integrated impedances
One or more resistors or resistances are integrated in a 7-bit DVR or PVCOM integrated circuit. A 7-bit DVR or PVCOM integrated circuit includes a 7-bit DAC. The integrated resistors or resistances (R1, R2, or RSET, or any combination) reduces the number of external components, reduces the number of pins, and increases the accuracy of the DVR or PVCOM circuit. The least significant bit (LSB) of the DAC depends only on ratios of internal resistors, which can be made very accurate and independent of temperature.
US09548722B2 Apparatus and methods for reducing glitches in digital step attenuators
Apparatus and methods for reducing glitches in digital step attenuators are disclosed. By configuring a multi-bit DSA such that an attenuation control block changes a plurality of control signals in a manner sequencing individual switches of the DSA, glitches can be reduced and RF signal behavior can be enhanced. The sequence, based upon a unit time delay, causes the transient attenuation value to be bounded between a minimum and maximum and can improve settling time.
US09548720B1 Temperature stable MEMS resonator
A resonant member of a MEMS resonator oscillates in a mechanical resonance mode that produces non-uniform regional stresses such that a first level of mechanical stress in a first region of the resonant member is higher than a second level of mechanical stress in a second region of the resonant member. A plurality of openings within a surface of the resonant member are disposed more densely within the first region than the second region and at least partly filled with a compensating material that reduces temperature dependence of the resonant frequency corresponding to the mechanical resonance mode.
US09548719B2 Tuning fork type piezoelectric vibration piece and tuning fork type piezoelectric vibrator
A tuning fork type piezoelectric vibration piece 2 includes a base portion 25 in which a piezoelectric vibration substrate has a connection area with an external element, and a pair of leg portions 21, 22 projecting from a first end face of the base portion. The pair of leg portions has vibrating portions 212, 222 equipped with drive electrodes, wide weight portions 211, 221 formed at tip ends of the vibrating portions, and connecting portions 213, 223 between the vibrating portions and the weight portions. The connecting portions have widening sections whose width increases exponentially from the vibrating portions to the weight portions. The length of the widening sections is greater than their width. The weight portions have constant-width parts whose width is fixed from their connecting positions with the connecting portions. The weight portions are free of drive electrodes.
US09548715B2 Tunable impedance network
A tunable impedance network and a method for tuning the tunable impedance network are disclosed. In one aspect, the tunable impedance network comprises a plurality of transformers connected in series. Each transformer has a primary winding and a secondary winding. The transformers have a voltage transformation ratio of N:1 with N>1. An impedance structure, acting as a resonant circuit together with the inductance of the secondary winding, is connected at the secondary winding of each transformer. A control circuit or processor is configured to tune the imaginary part of at least one of the impedance structures so as to change its resonance frequency to mimic a reference impedance. The control circuit is further configured to tune the real part of at least one of the impedance structures so as to change its Q-factor to mimic the reference impedance.
US09548694B2 Power generator unit for a vehicle
A power generator unit includes a crankshaft-connecting unit and a power supply unit adapted to be arranged substantially in a left-right direction in which a crankshaft of a vehicle extends. The crankshaft-connecting unit includes a recharge generator adapted to be disposed on and actuated by the crankshaft, and a transmission shaft adapted to extend in parallel with and be driven rotatably by the crankshaft. The power supply unit includes a main shaft connected coaxially to the transmission shaft, and a supply generator connected to the main shaft and actuated by the main shaft. A portion of the transmission shaft is covered by the power supply unit.
US09548688B2 Motor control apparatus
A motor control apparatus operates a power conversion circuit connected between a direct current power source and a motor, which performs mutual conversion between power at the direct current power source and power at the motor in response to a powering operation and a regenerative operation carried out by the motor. The motor control apparatus includes: a voltage command calculator that calculates a voltage command to the power conversion circuit; a suppression gain calculator that calculates a suppression gain such that an absolute value of an estimation value of a power source current or an absolute value of a detection value of the power source current is not more than a target value; and a voltage command suppressor that suppresses a voltage command by multiplying the suppression gain to the voltage command calculated by the voltage command calculator. Additionally, the suppression gain is within a range of 0 to 1.
US09548685B2 Over-voltage prevention device and current rectifying circuit
According to one embodiment, an over-voltage prevention device includes a first short-circuit device provided between a secondary side of a wound-rotor induction machine and a frequency converter configured to excite the secondary side by a three-phase AC current and having a function of short-circuiting between phases of the three-phase AC current, resistors each connected between the first short-circuit device and the frequency converter for each phase, and second short-circuit devices connected respectively to the resistors in parallel and having a function of short-circuiting between the frequency converter and the secondary side of the wound-rotor induction machine.
US09548683B2 Motor controller
When a control device of a motor controller simultaneously rotates a first DC motor and a second DC motor by controlling a first circuit, a second circuit and a third circuit, the second circuit is shared. Further, the control device controls each of switch elements of the shared second circuit by using pulse-width modulation. Accordingly, the drive of the first DC motor and the second DC motor can be controlled with high accuracy by the change of a duty ratio of each of the switch elements of the shared second circuit.
US09548682B2 Actuator with electric motor and motor controller
An actuator (1M, 1S) with a motor (12) and a motor controller (11) is configurable to operate as a master or a slave to another actuator which is coupled mechanically for driving a common load. For the case where the actuator (1M) is set as the master, the motor controller (11) receives on an input terminal (Y3) an external position control signal (pC), generates a motor control signal (sC) for controlling the motor (12) based on the position control signal (pC), and supplies the motor control signal (sC) to an output terminal (U5) for controlling a slave. For the case where the actuator (1S) is set as the slave, the motor controller (11) controls the motor (12) by supplying to the motor (12) the motor control signal (sC) received from the master. Controlling the actuators with a master improves workload balancing and reduces damages to transmission mechanics of the actuators.
US09548681B2 Vortex flux generator
A method and apparatus for generating electricity by electromagnetic induction, using a magnetic field modulated by the formation, dissipation, and movement of vortices produced by a vortex material such as a type II superconductor. Magnetic field modulation occurs at the microscopic level, facilitating the production of high frequency electric power. Generator inductors are manufactured using microelectronic fabrication, in at least one dimension corresponding to the spacing of vortices. The vortex material fabrication method establishes the alignment of vortices and generator coils, permitting the electromagnetic induction of energy from many vortices into many coils simultaneously as a cumulative output of electricity. A thermoelectric cycle is used to convert heat energy into electricity.
US09548643B2 Load cell on EMA housing with trim resistors
A instrumented housing for an electric motor actuator is provided. The instrumented housing may have a ribbon gage coupled to a housing of an electrical motor actuator. The ribbon gage may have one or more strain gages. The strain gages may measure the tension on the housing when the electric motor actuator exerts a load. A cover may extend over at least a portion of the housing and ribbon gage.
US09548636B2 Electromechanical flywheel containment system
An electromechanical flywheel machine includes a multi-wall containment system used in connection with a motor-generator for exchanging energy with a flywheel mass.
US09548631B2 Antenna for harvesting RF energy
An antenna for harvesting RF energy includes a radiator; and a ground plane onto which the radiator is supported. Further, the antenna includes a vertical ground plane that is formed on the ground plane in a direction parallel to the radiator at a location spaced by a predetermined distance from the radiator.
US09548628B2 System, method and apparatus for portable power supply
The invention is a portable power supply having a built in battery, switch matrix, external voltage and impedance sensing means, inverter, and charging circuitry. The device uses a power plug for receiving AC from a wall electric receptacle; a transformer for transforming high voltage input to a low voltage output; a rectifier, for rectifying the low alternating voltage to direct voltage; at least one battery rechargeable by said direct voltage; an inverter, for inverting direct voltage supplied by the rechargeable battery to relatively low alternating voltage, which is supplied to the secondary winding of the transformer; and an alternating current (AC) socket, for receiving high voltage from the primary winding of the transformer. Both AC and DC of various voltages may be supplied by this device in a portable manner, which uses a single transformer both for recharging batteries and for supplying AC power produced via the batteries. A switching assembly allows for connecting the batteries (which may be rechargeable) in a variety of topologies.
US09548621B2 Contactless connector system tolerant of position displacement between transmitter coil and receiver coil and having high transmission efficiency
A contactless connector apparatus is provided with a first coil closely opposed to a second coil so as to be electromagnetically coupled thereto. The first coil includes: an inner transmitter coil wound around an axis passing through its center; and an outer transmitter coil wound around the axis and outside the inner coil. One end of the outer transmitter coil is connected to one end of the inner transmitter coil such that, when a current flows through the transmitter coils, a direction of a loop current generated around the axis by a current flowing through the inner transmitter coil is opposite to that of a loop current generated around the axis by a current flowing through the outer transmitter coil. A self-inductance of the outer transmitter coil is larger than that of the inner transmitter coil.
US09548620B2 System and method for power charging or discharging
A system comprising a plurality of stacks and a plurality of converters, each of the plurality of converters is operable to charge a corresponding stack for adsorbing ions in a liquid, wherein when one of the plurality of stacks is charged or discharged at a first state, one of the plurality of converters associating with the stack operates in a first mode, and is configured to indirectly convert a first voltage to a second voltage at least by an intermediate stage, one of the plurality of stacks is charged or discharged at a second state, one of the plurality of converters associating with the stack operates in a second mode, and is configured to directly convert the first voltage to the second voltage.
US09548619B2 Method and apparatus for storing and depleting energy
A method to control storage into and depletion from multiple energy storage devices. The method enables an operative connection between the energy storage devices and respective power converters. The energy storage devices are connectible across respective first terminals of the power converters. At the second terminals of the power converter, a common reference is set which may be a current reference or a voltage reference. An energy storage fraction is determined respectively for the energy storage devices. A voltage conversion ratio is maintained individually based on the energy storage fraction. The energy storage devices are stored individually with multiple variable rates of energy storage through the first terminals. The energy storage is complete for the energy storage devices substantially at a common end time responsive to the common reference.
US09548618B2 Heated insoles
An efficient system to heat the insole of a heated insole of a shoe in which the Intelligent Circuit (IC) for a flat lithium battery is located outside the shoe and the placement of the heater for the insole is between more efficient heat insulation and heat conducting members.
US09548617B2 Battery-charging base for mobile information terminals
A battery-charging base for a portable information device, which is provided so as to easily connect and disconnect, to and from a battery-charging plug connector, a battery-charging slot for a portable information terminal, is a battery-charging base that is capable of holding one of a plurality of types of portable information terminals that are different in length and width sizes and positions of battery-charging slots provided at lower ends thereof, and charging the held one of the plurality of types of portable information terminals by inserting the battery-charging plug connector into the battery-charging slot of the held one of the plurality of types of portable information terminals. The battery-charging base for a portable information terminal includes: a holding base main body for holding the one of the plurality of types of portable information terminals on a main mounting surface inclined with respect to a horizontal surface; and a battery-charging cover including a first housing section capable of housing the battery-charging plug connector while changing a housing position thereof, the battery-charging cover being fixed to a lower end of the main mounting surface in a freely removable manner. The battery-charging cover is configured to support the lower end of the one of the plurality of types of portable information terminals to be held on the main mounting surface, and is rotatable about a first rotation axis provided at a lower end portion thereof.
US09548612B2 Paralleling module for a generator system
Some embodiments relate to an example power management system. The power management system includes a first enclosure and a second enclosure. A first generator is inside the first enclosure and a second generator is inside the second enclosure. The power management system further includes a paralleling enclosure and a paralleling module inside the paralleling enclosure. The paralleling module includes at least one switching device within the paralleling enclosure to electrically connect the first generator to the second generator. The paralleling enclosure further includes a plurality of connectors that permit electrical connection between the paralleling module and the first generator, the second generator and an output without opening the paralleling enclosure.
US09548606B2 Control system, transformer, protection control apparatus, and bit stream storage unit
According to one embodiment, the A/D conversion unit includes a ΔΣ modulating device which samples the analog electric quantity provided by the electric power system with a predetermined modulation frequency and outputs a bit stream changing over time of single bit obtained by performing ΔΣ modulation, and the digital operation processing unit includes one or more digital filters which inputs the bit stream from the ΔΣ modulating device and of which frequency characteristics differ according to a type of protection control operation, and one or more operation processing elements which perform different kinds of protection control operation processing, based on the bit stream provided by the digital filter.
US09548601B2 Environmentally sealed cable breakout assemblies
A cable breakout assembly is provided, including a feeder cable, a breakout structure having a first end threadedly engaged with a cable nut having a single-port cable gland through which the feeder cable extends, a central conduit which houses the sections of the feeder cable passing there through, and an opposed second end threadedly engaged with a cable nut having a multi-port cable gland, whose number of ports corresponds to the number of splices of the feeder cable. A plurality of environmentally sealed, flexible conduits are provided, each having a first end that interfaces with and extends from a respective port of the multi-port gland, and a second end adapted to interface with an external device, wherein each flexible conduit houses a respective spliced section of the feeder cable therein.
US09548598B2 Cable management fitting
A cable management attachment fitting for a ladder-type cable tray includes a rung attachment portion configured to attach to a lower flange of a rung of the ladder-type cable tray without the use of an additional fastener. A cable management attachment portion extends upward from the rung attachment portion and is configured to provide a structure to which a cable management device can be secured.
US09548595B2 System for extending an electrical cable through a tubular member
A system for extending an electrical cable through a tubular member, including the electrical cable, a first cable hanger component for connecting with a first tubular member end, and a second cable hanger component for connecting with a second tubular member end. A method for extending an electrical cable through a tubular member, including mechanically and electrically connecting the electrical cable with the second cable hanger component, extending the electrical cable through the tubular member, connecting the second cable hanger component with the second tubular member end, extending the electrical cable through the first cable hanger component, connecting the first cable hanger component with the first tubular member end, mechanically and electrically connecting the electrical cable with the first cable hanger component, and tensioning the electrical cable.
US09548592B2 Spark plug
A sparkplug includes: an insulator with an axial hole extending along an axial line; a metal shell covering the insulator; and a shelf part inside the metal shell. The insulator includes a second column part formed in the front end side of a tapering part. When a volume surrounded by a first plane that passes through the front end of the shelf part of the metal shell and is orthogonal to the axial line, a curved surface extending from an outer circumference of the second column part, and an outer circumferential surface of the insulator is defined as A, and a volume surrounded by the first plane, the curved surface, a second plane that passes through the front end of the metal shell and is orthogonal to the axial line, and the axial hole of the insulator is defined as B, a relational expression 0.9≦A/B≦2.4 is satisfied.
US09548589B2 Grating based optical transmitter
An optical transmitter including two reflective regions formed at two opposite ends of an interference region along a first direction and at least three electrodes electrically coupled to the interference region, where the amount of electrical carriers inside the interference region can be modulated by changing the relative electrical fields among the three electrodes, so that the amount of photons generated inside the interference region can be modulated and resonant along the first direction and emit along a second direction that is different from the first direction.
US09548575B2 Device for fixing and electrical contacting a facing element of an aircraft on a support structure
A device for fixing and electrical contacting of a facing element of an aircraft on a support structure, which is attached to an aircraft structure including a fixing device for detachable fixation of the facing element on the support structure and a contacting device for providing multiple electrical contacts between facing element leads and connecting leads on the support structure, wherein the fixing device can be placed into positive engagement by a transitory relative movement between the facing element and the support structure, and the contacting device includes at least two first contacts on the facing element and the same number of second contacts on the support structure cooperating therewith, which can be respectively brought into contact with one another electrically during the transitory relative movement, wherein the first contacts are connected with the facing element leads and the second contacts are connected with the connecting leads on the support structure.
US09548573B2 High-speed-transmission connection device having a metal protrusion electrically connected to a connector
A high-speed-transmission connection device includes a male connector, a cable, and a metal protrusion structure. The cable is connected to the male connector. The metal protrusion structure is formed on an outer surface of the male connector. When the male connector is connected to a female connector, the metal protrusion structure is in close contact with the inner surface of the female connector. The metal protrusion structure fills a gap between the male connector and the female connector, and prevents electromagnetic waves from leaking outwardly from the gap.
US09548571B2 Connector socket
A connector socket comprises a shielding shell, an insulating body and two baffles disposed on two opposite sides of the insulating body, and further comprises two rows of contact terminals and a spacer all embedded into the insulating body, the insulating body comprises a base and a tongue plate connected to a front end of the base, the two rows of contact terminals are exposed from two opposite sides of the tongue plate, respectively, the two baffles are disposed to correspond to the sides where the two rows of contact terminals are located, respectively; the spacer is located between the two rows of contact terminals so as to isolate the two rows of contact terminals from one another; a plurality of positioning holes for reinforcing the firmness of connection between the spacer and the insulating body are formed on the spacer.
US09548569B2 Connector
A connector is mountable on an object in an up-down direction and mateable with a mating connector along a front-rear direction perpendicular to the up-down direction. The mating connector comprises first mating contacts and second mating contacts. The connector comprises a holding member, first contacts and second contacts. Each of the first contacts has a first contact portion, a first fixed portion and a first coupling portion. The first contact portions are brought into contact with the first mating contacts. Each of the second contacts has a second contact portion, a second fixed portion and a second coupling portion. The second contact portions are brought into contact with the second mating contacts. The first coupling portions of the first contacts and the second coupling portions of the second contacts overlap with each other. The second coupling portion intersects with both the front-rear direction and the up-down direction.
US09548565B2 Connector element
The connector element, in particular SFP connector, contains a locking mechanism for forming a lockable plug-type connection between the connector element and a mating piece. For this purpose, a locking element is formed. The locking element is mounted in rotatably movable fashion, wherein, in the case of actuation of an actuation element, in particular a pull tab, the locking element is rotated out of a locking position into an open position. In order to exert a restoring force for return to the locking position, a spring steel sheet is disposed which is supported on a housing part and which exerts a spring force on the locking element counter to the force brought about by the actuating element. Expediently, a plurality of spring lugs are formed which exert a spring force on the locking element in different directions.
US09548564B2 Wire connection terminal holding structure
A wire connection terminal holding structure includes an insulation outer case and a conductive holding frame disposed in the outer case. The outer case is formed with a wire socket and a perforation. The holding frame includes an electrical connection member and elastic members respectively disposed on two sides of the electrical connection member. Each of the elastic members extends to form a holding section. The holding sections extend toward each other to define therebetween a holding mouth corresponding to the wire socket and a wire insertion space positioned between the holding sections in communication with the holding mouth. A split is formed between top edges of the holding sections. A pushbutton is disposed in the perforation for pushing and opening/closing the holding mouth. A stop section is disposed on at least one of the holding sections of the elastic members for blocking the split.
US09548550B2 Electrical connector having a plurality of contacts and capable of holding them in alignment
Provided is a connector capable of holding a plurality of contacts in alignment. The connector includes a main body, a plurality of contacts to be electrically connected to a connection object and a contact holder holding the plurality of contacts in juxtaposition. The main body includes a fixing portion for fixing the contact holder. The plurality of contacts are fixedly held to the contact holder through integral molding therewith.
US09548549B1 Cable connection structure and cable arranging part
A cable arranging part of the present invention has a fixed shape and comprises a position determining portion, a plurality of cable through holes, and an opening. In a state in which the position determining portion is secured to a position reference portion, the cable arranging part is in a predetermined position on a substrate. The cable through holes become perpendicular to a line of the electrodes and parallel to the substrate in the predetermined position. The opening is provided somewhere midway through the cable through holes and a ground cable through hole. As for the sizes of the cable through holes in a perpendicular direction to the substrate in the predetermined position, the size of the cable through hole on the side where the electrodes are located relative to the opening is greater than the size of the cable through hole on the side opposite to the electrodes.
US09548548B2 Methods of assembling a neutral rail to a plug-on neutral load center
A method of assembling a load center featuring a dielectric barrier that securely retains a plug-on neutral rail without requiring any fasteners. The dielectric barrier and the rail are installed in the same Z-axis direction, which is orthogonal to a rear wall of an enclosure into which the load center is installed. Retention features in the dielectric barrier can create a snap-fit connection between the rail and the barrier, or the barrier can feature a support feature onto which the rail snaps as the rail is installed relative to the dielectric barrier in the Z-axis direction. The snap fit connections eliminate the need for any fasteners, and together with the Z-axis assembly, the assembly process is simplified and accelerated and the possibility of assembly error is reduced or eliminated.
US09548535B1 Phase-controlled antenna with independent tuning capability
Antenna structures and methods of operating the same of a phase-controlled antenna of an electronic device are described. A phase-controlled antenna includes a radio frequency (RF) feed, an antenna structured coupled to the RF feed and including a ground path coupled to a ground node, and a phase-controlling circuit coupled between the ground path and the ground node. The antenna structure is configured to operate at a resonant frequency in a first state, and the phase-controlling circuit is configured to introduce a phase shift in the antenna structure to change the resonant frequency of the antenna structure to a second resonant frequency in a second state.
US09548534B2 Method for calibrating an active antenna
In the field of active phase-control antennas, a method is provided for calibrating the phase center of an active antenna including a plurality of sub-elements able to receive a useful signal emitted by a satellite, the calibration being defined as a function of the reception characteristics of a reference signal at the level of each sub-element, the reference signal being emitted by the same satellite on a frequency band substantially equal to the frequency band of the useful signal and whose theoretical reception characteristics are known.
US09548528B2 Antenna device
An antenna device includes a first triplate line and one or more second triplate lines that are connected to the first triplate line so as to cross the first triplate line. Two ground plates of each second triplate line include respective flange portions that are in contact with and fixed to a surface of one of two ground plates of the first triplate line. At least one of a surface of each flange portion that contacts the one of the ground plates of the first triplate line and the surface of the one of the ground plates of the first triplate line that contacts each flange portion is provided with an irregular portion for reducing a contact area between each flange portion and the one of the ground plates.
US09548517B2 Battery cell of stair-like structure
Disclosed herein is a battery cell configured to have a structure in which an electrode assembly including a separator disposed between a cathode and an anode is mounted in a battery case, wherein the battery case includes an upper case and a lower case, the upper case and/or the lower case being provided with a receiving part, in which the electrode assembly is mounted, the electrode assembly includes a plurality of electrodes or unit cells stacked in a height direction on the basis of a plane, two or more of the electrodes or the unit cells having different planar sizes, and the receiving part of the battery case is provided with stair-like steps corresponding to an external appearance of the electrode assembly.
US09548515B2 Electrolyte for lithium secondary battery and lithium secondary battery comprising same
Provided are an electrolyte for a high-voltage lithium secondary battery and a high-voltage lithium secondary battery containing the same, and more particularly, an electrolyte for a high-voltage lithium secondary battery which may not be oxidized and decomposed at the time of being kept at a high voltage and a high temperature to prevent swelling of a battery through suppression of gas generation, thereby having excellent high-temperature storage characteristics and excellent discharge characteristics at a low temperature while decreasing a thickness increase rate of the battery, and a high-voltage lithium secondary battery containing the same.
US09548506B2 Fuel cell evaluator and fuel cell evaluation method
In one embodiment, there is provided a fuel cell evaluator for evaluating a characteristic of a fuel cell based on a frequency characteristic of impedance of the fuel cell. The evaluator includes: an impedance acquisition unit configured to acquire impedances of the fuel cell for a certain current value in a Tafel region by changing a measurement frequency; an extraction unit configured to extract a reaction resistance from the acquired impedances; a calculator configured to calculate the product of the reaction resistance and the certain current value; and an indicator configured to indicate the product calculated by the calculator as the frequency characteristic of the impedance of the fuel cell.
US09548503B2 Fuel cell system and operating method thereof
A fuel cell system includes: a fuel cell stack (S) formed by stacking multiple unit cells (C) horizontally and having, in the stacked body, manifolds through which to supply and discharge reaction gases to and from each of the unit cells (C); and drainage paths (1A, 1B) extending from an anode-off-gas discharge manifold (M), on both end sides of the fuel cell stack (S) in the stacking direction of the unit cells, respectively.
US09548501B2 Supported catalyst
A supported catalyst is prepared by a process that includes establishing shell-removal conditions for a supported catalyst intermediate that includes capped nanoparticles of a catalyst material dispersed on a carbon support. The capped nanoparticles each include a platinum alloy core capped in an organic shell. The shell-removal conditions include an elevated temperature and an inert gas atmosphere that is substantially free of oxygen. The organic shell is removed from the platinum alloy core under the shell-removal conditions to limit thermal decomposition of the carbon support and thereby limit agglomeration of the catalyst material such that the supported catalyst includes an electrochemical surface area of at least 30 m2/gPt.
US09548486B2 Battery
A battery is provided. The battery includes a positive electrode including a positive electrode active material layer provided on a positive electrode current collector; a negative electrode; and a separator at least including a porous film, wherein the porous film has a porosity ε [%] and an air permeability t [sec/100 cc] which satisfy formulae of: t=a×Ln(ε)−4.02a+100 and −1.87×1010×S−4.96≦a≦−40 wherein S is the area density of the positive electrode active material layer [mg/cm2] and Ln is natural logarithm.
US09548481B2 Battery module
A battery module includes an electrode assembly in a case, at least one current collector in the case, the current collector being electrically connected to the electrode assembly, a cap plate covering the case, the cap plate including a safety vent and at least one terminal inserter penetrating the cap plate, at least one terminal part including a terminal plate outside the case and a connector connecting the at least one current collector to the terminal plate through the at least one terminal inserter, at least one fixing member fixing the terminal part into the cap plate, and a groove pattern in an area of the cap plate adjacent to the safety vent.
US09548478B2 Middle or large-sized battery module employing impact-absorbing member
Disclosed herein is a battery module using battery cells each having an electrode assembly mounted in a battery case including a resin layer and a metal layer as unit cells, wherein each battery cell has a thin upper end, including a sealing part, which is formed at a region where electrode terminals are placed, and an impact-absorbing member is mounted at the upper end of each battery cell. The battery module according to the present invention prevents the weak upper parts of battery cells, such as electrode terminals and sealing parts, from the breakage of the battery module or the occurrence of a short circuit in the battery module due to the movement of the battery cells caused by dropping of the battery module or application of external impacts to the battery module.
US09548460B2 Compound for organic optoelectronic device, organic light emitting diode including the same and display including the organic light emitting diode
A compound for an organic optoelectronic device is represented by Chemical Formula 1: and, in Chemical Formula 1, one of Ar1 or Ar2 is a substituted or unsubstituted C6 to C30 aryl group, or a substituted or unsubstituted C3 to C30 heteroaryl group, and the other of Ar1 or Ar2 is a substituent represented by the Chemical Formula 2:
US09548458B2 Polyphenylene host compounds
Polyphenylene compounds such as compounds represented by Formula 1 may be used in electronic devices such as organic light-emitting devices. For example, the compounds may be used as host materials in a light-emitting layer.
US09548453B2 Multiple-surface imposition vapor deposition mask
A method for producing a multiple-surface imposition vapor deposition mask enhances definition and reduces weight even when a size is increased. Each of multiple masks in an open space in a frame is configured by a metal mask having a slit, and a resin mask that is positioned on a front surface of the metal mask and has openings corresponding to a pattern to be produced by vapor deposition arranged by lengthwise and crosswise in a plurality of rows. In formation of the plurality of masks, after each of the metal masks and a resin film material for producing the resin mask are attached to the frame, the resin film material is processed, and the openings corresponding to the pattern to be produced by vapor deposition are formed in a plurality of rows lengthwise and crosswise, whereby the multiple-surface imposition vapor deposition mask of the above described configuration is produced.
US09548451B1 Method of making antireflective apparatus
An apparatus having a reduced reflection from its surface includes a dielectric material and a capacitive circuit analog sheet buried within the dielectric material and configured to produce a reflection that adds out of phase with a reflection from an incident side of the dielectric material. The capacitive circuit analog sheet comprises conductive patches configured to have high impedance for transverse magnetic (TM) polarization.
US09548450B2 Devices containing metal chalcogenides
Some embodiments include a device having a conductive material, a metal chalcogenide-containing material, and a region between the metal chalcogenide-containing material and the conductive material. The region contains a composition having a bandgap of at least about 3.5 electronvolts and a dielectric constant within a range of from about 1.8 to 25. Some embodiments include a device having a first electrode, a second electrode, and a metal chalcogenide-containing material between the first and second electrodes. The device also includes an electric-field-modifying region between the metal chalcogenide-containing material and one of the first and second electrodes. The electric-field-modifying region contains a composition having a bandgap of at least about 3.5 electronvolts having a low dielectric constant and a low conduction band offset relative to a workfunction of metal of the metal chalcogenide-containing material.
US09548441B2 Perpendicular MTJ stacks with magnetic anisotrophy enhancing layer and crystallization barrier layer
Magnetic tunnel junctions (MTJ) suitable for spin transfer torque memory (STTM) devices, include perpendicular magnetic layers and one or more anisotropy enhancing layer(s) separated from a free magnetic layer by a crystallization barrier layer. In embodiments, an anisotropy enhancing layer improves perpendicular orientation of the free magnetic layer while the crystallization barrier improves tunnel magnetoresistance (TMR) ratio with better alignment of crystalline texture of the free magnetic layer with that of a tunneling layer.
US09548440B2 Circuit module and composite circuit module
A circuit module and a composite circuit module, which suppress or prevent damage to a connection to or within a device when heat is applied, includes a SAW filter including a piezoelectric substrate. In a package substrate that is a resin substrate, the SAW filter is mounted. A mounting substrate is a multilayer substrate mounted on a mother substrate, and the package substrate is mounted therein.
US09548436B1 Josephson junction readout for graphene-based single photon detector
A detector for detecting single photons of infrared radiation. In one embodiment a waveguide configured to transmit infrared radiation is arranged to be adjacent a graphene sheet and configured so that evanescent waves from the waveguide overlap the graphene sheet. An infrared photon absorbed by the graphene sheet from the evanescent waves heats the graphene sheet. The graphene sheet is coupled to the weak link of a Josephson junction, and a constant bias current is driven through the Josephson junction, so that an increase in the temperature of the graphene sheet results in a decrease in the critical current of the Josephson junction and a voltage pulse in the voltage across the Josephson junction. The voltage pulse is detected by the pulse detector.
US09548434B2 Wafer level packaging of electronic device
Wafer level packaging of LED devices is accomplished using a bottom wafer that includes one or more vias. A passivation layer is placed over the top surface of the bottom wafer including the surface of the vias. Metal pads are placed on the top surface of the passivation layer and extend to the bottom of the vias. Bond pads are then associated with the metal pads and ultimately used in attaching an LED device bottom wafer assembly. An encapsulation layer is applied and in contact with the LED device and a top wafer is attached to the encapsulation layer. The thickness of the bottom wafer is reduced, removing the lower portion to expose the metal pads at the bottom of the vias. An isolation layer is applied to the bottom wafer and holes are formed in the isolation layer to expose the metal pads. Electroplated structures are in contact with the isolation layer and in contact with the exposed metal pads.
US09548428B2 Light-emitting diode and fabrication method thereof
A light emitting diode includes: a substrate of front and back main surfaces; a V-shaped groove, which has a reflecting surface, formed over front surface of the conductive substrate; a light-emitting epitaxial layer, the margin of which has its vertical projection between the bottom and the inner margin of the V-shaped groove, formed over the substrate, so that light emitted from the light-emitting epitaxial layer margin is incident to the mirror surface of the V-shaped groove and emits outwards. This structure can effectively improve extraction efficiency of device and control path of light at peripheral region of the light-emitting epitaxial layer.
US09548426B2 Semiconductor light-emitting device
A semiconductor light-emitting device includes a light-emitting structure including a first conductivity-type semiconductor layer, an active layer, and a second conductivity-type semiconductor layer, and a selective transmission-reflection layer disposed on the light-emitting structure and including a plurality of dielectric layers having different optical thicknesses alternately stacked at least once. The sum of an optical thickness of a dielectric layer having a maximum optical thickness and an optical thickness of a dielectric layer having a minimum optical thickness is in the range of 0.75 to 0.80.
US09548421B2 Optoelectronic devices with back contact
A semiconductor structure includes an optoelectronic device located in one region of a substrate. A dielectric material is located adjacent and atop the optoelectronic device. A top contact is located within a region of the dielectric material and contacting a topmost surface of the optoelectronic device. A bottom metal contact is located beneath the optoelectronic device and lining a pair of openings located with other regions of the dielectric material, wherein a portion of the bottom metal contact contacts an entire bottommost surface of the optoelectronic device.
US09548418B2 Gallium nitride self-supported substrate, light-emitting device and manufacturing method therefor
Provided is a self-supporting gallium nitride substrate useful as an alternative material for a gallium nitride single crystal substrate, which is inexpensive and also suitable for having a large area. This substrate is composed of a plate composed of gallium nitride-based single crystal grains, wherein the plate has a single crystal structure in the approximately normal direction. This substrate can be manufactured by a method comprising providing an oriented polycrystalline sintered body; forming a seed crystal layer composed of gallium nitride on the sintered body so that the seed crystal layer has crystal orientation mostly in conformity with the crystal orientation of the sintered body; forming a layer with a thickness of 20 μm or greater composed of gallium nitride-based crystals on the seed crystal layer so that the layer has crystal orientation mostly in conformity with crystal orientation of the seed crystal layer; and removing the sintered body.
US09548403B2 Solar cell and method for manufacturing the same
A solar cell according to an embodiment of the invention includes a substrate of a first conductive type, an emitter region of a second conductive type opposite the first conductive type, which is positioned at the substrate, an anti-reflection layer including a first opening exposing the emitter region and a plurality of second openings which expose the emitter region and are separated from one another, a first electrode which is positioned on a first portion of the emitter region exposed through the first opening and is connected to the first portion, a first bus bar which is positioned on a second portion of the emitter region exposed through the plurality of second openings and is connected to the second portion and the first electrode, and a second electrode which is positioned on the substrate and is connected to the substrate.
US09548399B2 Junction field effect transistor cell with lateral channel region
A semiconductor device includes a junction field effect transistor cell with a top gate region, a lateral channel region and a buried gate region. The lateral channel region is arranged between the top gate region and the buried gate region along a vertical direction with respect to a first surface of a semiconductor body. The lateral channel region comprises at least two first zones of a first conductivity type and at least one second zone of a second conductivity type, wherein the first and second zones alternate along the vertical direction. The embodiments provide well-defined channel widths and facilitate the adjustment of pinch-off voltages as well as the manufacture of normally-off junction field effect transistor cells.
US09548397B2 Semiconductor device and method for manufacturing the same
An object is to provide a structure of a transistor which has a channel formation region formed using an oxide semiconductor and a positive threshold voltage value, which enables a so-called normally-on switching element. The transistor includes an oxide semiconductor stack in which at least a first oxide semiconductor layer and a second oxide semiconductor layer with different energy gaps are stacked and a region containing oxygen in excess of its stoichiometric composition ratio is provided.
US09548388B1 Forming field effect transistor device spacers
A method for forming field effect transistors comprises forming a first dummy gate stack over a first fin, forming a second dummy gate stack over a second fin, depositing a first layer of spacer material on the first dummy gate stack, the first fin, the second dummy gate stack, and the second fin, patterning a first masking layer on the first dummy gate stack and the first fin, etching to remove portions of the first layer of spacer material and form a spacer adjacent to the second dummy gate stack, removing the first masking layer, epitaxially growing a silicon material on the second fin, depositing a layer of oxide material on the first layer of spacer material, the first epitaxial material and the second dummy gate stack, and depositing a second layer of spacer material on the layer of oxide material.
US09548384B2 Conductive spline for metal gates
An integrated circuit may include a metal gate which extends over an active area and onto an isolation dielectric layer. A conductive spline is formed on the metal gate, extending on the metal gate over at least a portion of the isolation dielectric layer, and extending on the metal gate for a length at least four times a width of the metal gate.
US09548374B2 High power insulated gate bipolar transistors
A method of forming a transistor device include forming a drift layer of a first conductivity type, forming a well of a second conductivity type in the drift layer, forming a JFET region with first conductivity type dopant ions in the drift layer, forming a channel adjustment layer of the first conductivity type on the JFET region and the well, implanting first conductivity type dopant ions to form an emitter region of the first conductivity type extending through the channel adjustment layer and into the well, wherein the emitter region is spaced apart from the JFET region by the well, implanting second conductivity type dopant ions to form a connector region of the second conductivity type adjacent the emitter region, forming a gate oxide layer on the channel region, and forming a gate on the gate oxide layer.
US09548368B2 Semiconductor device including ion gel material and electronic device including the semiconductor device
A semiconductor device, a method for manufacturing the same, and an electronic device including the same are provided. The semiconductor device includes a first transistor and a second transistor. The first transistor includes a first channel layer and a first ion gel. The second transistor includes a second channel layer and a second ion gel. The first channel layer and the second channel layer may include, for example, graphene. The first ion gel and the second ion gel include different ionic liquids. The first ion gel and the second ion gel include different cations and/or different anions. One of the first transistor and the second transistor is a p-type transistor, and the other one is an n-type transistor. The combination of the first transistor and the second transistor constitutes an inverter.
US09548365B2 Semiconductor device and method for manufacturing semiconductor device
A semiconductor device includes: a buffer layer formed over a substrate; a first semiconductor layer formed over the buffer layer by using a compound semiconductor; a second semiconductor layer formed over the first semiconductor layer by using a compound semiconductor; and a gate electrode, a source electrode, and a drain electrode formed over the second semiconductor layer, wherein the first semiconductor layer contains an impurity element serving as an acceptor and an impurity element serving as a donor; and in the first semiconductor layer, an acceptor concentration of the impurity element serving as the acceptor is greater than a donor concentration of the impurity element serving as the donor; and the donor concentration is greater-than over equal to 5×1016 cm−3.
US09548351B2 Radio frequency isolation for SOI transistors
According to one example embodiment, a structure includes at least one SOI (semiconductor-on-insulator) transistor situated over a buried oxide layer, where the buried oxide layer overlies a bulk substrate. The structure further includes an electrically charged field control ring situated over the buried oxide layer and surrounding the at least one SOI transistor. A width of the electrically charged field control ring is greater than a thickness of the buried oxide layer. The electrically charged field control ring reduces a conductivity of a surface portion of the bulk substrate underlying the field control ring, thereby reducing RF coupling of the at least one SOI transistor through the bulk substrate. The structure further includes an isolation region situated between the electrically charged field control ring and the at least one SOI transistor. A method to achieve and implement the disclosed structure is also provided.
US09548350B2 High quality factor capacitors and methods for fabricating high quality factor capacitors
Provided are space-efficient capacitors that have a higher quality factor than conventional designs and improve coupling of electrical energy from a through-glass via (TGV) to a dielectric. For example, provided is a TGV having a non-rectangular cross-section, where one end of the TGV is coupled to a first metal plate. A dielectric material is formed on the first metal plate. A second metal plate is formed on the dielectric material in a manner that overlaps at least a portion of the first metal plate to form at least one overlapped region of the dielectric material. At least a part of the perimeter of the overlapped region is non-planar. The overlapped region can be formed in a shape of a closed ring, in a plurality of portions of a ring shape, in substantially a quarter of a ring shape, and/or in substantially a half of a ring shape.
US09548343B2 Flexible display
A flexible display includes: a first flexible substrate; an intermediate barrier layer positioned on the first flexible substrate and comprising silicon oxide; an adhesive layer positioned on the intermediate barrier layer and comprising at least one of amorphous silicon on which a P-type or N-type conductive impurity is doped, or hydrogenated amorphous silicon; a second flexible substrate positioned on the adhesive layer; a first barrier layer positioned on the second flexible substrate and comprising silicon oxide; a second barrier layer positioned on the first barrier layer and comprising silicon nitride; a buffer layer positioned on the second barrier layer and comprising silicon oxide; a thin film transistor positioned on the buffer layer; and an organic light emitting element connected to the thin film transistor.
US09548337B2 Image sensor and electronic device including the same
An image sensor including a semiconductor substrate integrated with a plurality of photo-sensing devices and a nanopattern layer on the semiconductor substrate, the nanopattern layer having a plurality of nanopatterns, wherein a single nanopattern of the plurality of nanopatterns corresponds to a single photo-sensing device in the plurality of photo-sensing devices.
US09548336B2 Image sensors and electronic devices including the same
Image sensors, and electronic devices including the same, include a first photo-sensing device sensing light in a full visible to near infrared ray region, a second photo-sensing device sensing light in a blue wavelength region, a third photo-sensing device sensing light in a red wavelength region, and a fourth photo-sensing device sensing light in a green wavelength region. At least one of the first photo-sensing device, the second photo-sensing device, the third photo-sensing device, and the fourth photo-sensing device includes a pair of light-transmitting electrodes facing each other, and a photoactive layer between the light-transmitting electrodes. The photoactive layer includes an organic light-absorbing material.
US09548323B2 Thin film transistor display panel and method of manufacturing the same
A thin film transistor array panel includes: a first gate line extending in a first direction; a second gate line extending in the first direction; a data line extending in a different second direction; a first common signal distribution line including a plurality of first branches connected to each other, wherein the first branches extend in the second direction and intersect under or over with the first gate line and the second gate line. The first branches are connected to receive an electrostatic offset voltage of polarity opposite to that of data line voltages supplied on the data line. A column of pixel-electrodes are sandwiched between the data line and one of the first branches.
US09548321B2 Method of manufacturing thin film transistor (TFT) array substrate
A thin film transistor (TFT) array substrate is provided that includes a TFT on a substrate. The TFT can include an active layer, gate electrode, source electrode, drain electrode, first insulating layer between the active layer and the gate electrode, and second insulating layer between the gate electrode and the source and drain electrodes. A pixel electrode is disposed on the first and second insulating layers. A capacitor including a lower electrode is disposed on a same layer as the gate electrode and an upper electrode. A third insulating layer directly between the second insulating layer and the pixel electrode and between the lower electrode and the upper electrode. A fourth insulating layer covers the source electrode, the drain electrode, and the upper electrode, and exposes the pixel electrode and can further expose a pad electrode.
US09548320B2 Heterogeneous semiconductor material integration techniques
Techniques are disclosed for heteroepitaxial growth of a layer of lattice-mismatched semiconductor material on an initial substrate, and transfer of a defect-free portion of that layer to a handle wafer or other suitable substrate for integration. In accordance with some embodiments, transfer may result in the presence of island-like oxide structures on the handle wafer/substrate, each having a defect-free island of the lattice-mismatched semiconductor material embedded within its upper surface. Each defect-free semiconductor island may have one or more crystalline faceted edges and, with its accompanying oxide structure, may provide a planar surface for integration. In some cases, a layer of a second, different semiconductor material may be heteroepitaxially grown over the handle wafer/substrate to fill areas around the transferred islands. In some other cases, the handle wafer/substrate itself may be homoepitaxially grown to fill areas around the transferred islands.
US09548317B2 FDSOI semiconductor structure and method for manufacturing the same
The present invention provides a method for manufacturing a semiconductor structure, which comprises following steps: providing a substrate, which comprises upwards in order a base layer, a buried isolation layer, a buried ground layer, an ultra-thin insulating buried layer and a surface active layer; implementing ion implantation doping to the buried ground layer; forming a gate stack, sidewall spacers and source/drain regions on the substrate; forming a mask layer on the substrate that covers the gate stack and the source/drain regions, and etching the mask layer to expose the source region; etching the source region and the ultra-thin insulating buried layer under the source region to form an opening that exposes the buried ground layer; filling the opening through epitaxial process to form a contact plug for the buried ground layer. Accordingly, the present invention further provides a semiconductor structure. The present invention proposes formation of a buried ground layer contact plug, which then connects buried ground layer electrically to source region, thereby enhancing control capabilities of a semiconductor device over threshold voltages, suppressing short-channel effects and improving device performance; whereas no independent contact is required to build for the buried ground layer, which then saves device area and simplifies manufacturing process accordingly.
US09548304B2 Semiconductor device including gate structure for threshold voltage modulation in transistors and method for fabricating the same
A method for fabricating a semiconductor device includes forming an NMOS region and a PMOS region in a substrate, forming a first stack layer including a first gate dielectric layer and a first work function layer that is disposed over the first gate dielectric layer and contains aluminum, over the PMOS region of the substrate, forming a second stack layer including a second gate dielectric layer, a threshold voltage modulation layer that is disposed over the second gate dielectric layer and contains lanthanum, and a second work function layer that is disposed over the threshold voltage modulation layer, over the NMOS region of the substrate, and annealing the first stack layer and the second stack layer, thereby forming a first dipole-interface by diffusion of the aluminum in the first gate dielectric layer and a second dipole-interface by diffusion of the lanthanum in the second gate dielectric layer, respectively.
US09548303B2 FinFET devices with unique fin shape and the fabrication thereof
A semiconductor device includes a PMOS FinFET and an NMOS FinFET. The PMOS FinFET includes a substrate, a silicon germanium layer disposed over the substrate, a silicon layer disposed over the silicon germanium layer, and a PMOS fin disposed over the silicon layer. The PMOS fin contains silicon germanium. The NMOS FinFET includes the substrate, a silicon germanium oxide layer disposed over the substrate, a silicon oxide layer disposed over the silicon germanium oxide layer, and an NMOS fin disposed over the silicon oxide layer. The NMOS fin contains silicon. The silicon germanium oxide layer and the silicon oxide layer collectively define a concave recess in a horizontal direction. The concave recess is partially disposed below the NMOS fin.
US09548299B2 Semiconductor device
A semiconductor device provides reduced size and increased performance, and includes a semiconductor layer having a surface layer including first and second semiconductor regions connected to first and second potentials, respectively; a third semiconductor region provided inside the first semiconductor region and connected to a third potential; a fourth semiconductor region provided inside the second semiconductor region and connected to the third potential; a plurality of a first element provided in each of the first, second, third, and fourth semiconductor regions; a first isolation region provided between and in contact with the first and second semiconductor regions, electrically connected to the semiconductor layer, and connected to a fourth potential; and a second isolation region which encloses the periphery of and maintains a withstand voltage of the first and second semiconductor regions. The third and fourth potentials are lower than the second potential, which is lower than the first potential.
US09548298B1 Method of improving bipolar device signal to noise performance by reducing the effect of oxide interface trapping centers
An integrated circuit includes an NMOS transistor, a PMOS transistor and a vertical bipolar transistor. The vertical bipolar transistor has an intrinsic base with a band barrier at least 25 meV high at a surface boundary of the intrinsic base, except at an emitter-base junction with an emitter, and except at a base-collector junction with a collector. The intrinsic base may be laterally surrounded by an extrinsic base with a higher dopant density than the intrinsic base, wherein a higher dopant density provides the band barrier at lateral surfaces of the intrinsic base. A gate may be disposed on a gate dielectric layer over a top surface boundary of the intrinsic base adjacent to the emitter. The gate is configured to accumulate the intrinsic base immediately under the gate dielectric layer, providing the band barrier at the top surface boundary of the intrinsic base.
US09548294B2 Semiconductor device with temperature-detecting diode
A capacitive component region is formed below a temperature detecting diode or below a protective diode. In addition, the capacitive component region is formed below an anode metal wiring line connecting the temperature detecting diode and an anode electrode pad and below a cathode metal wiring line connecting the temperature detecting diode and a cathode electrode pad. The capacitive component region is an insulating film interposed between polysilicon layers. Specifically, a first insulating film, a polysilicon conductive layer, and a second insulating film are sequentially formed on a first main surface of a semiconductor substrate, and the temperature detecting diode, the protective diode, the anode metal wiring line, or the cathode metal wiring line is formed on the upper surface of the second insulating film. Therefore, it is possible to improve the static electricity resistance of the temperature detecting diode or the protective diode.
US09548290B2 Semiconductor device having magnetic alignment marks and underfill resin layers
A semiconductor device includes a semiconductor element, a connection electrode formed on the semiconductor element, and alignment marks formed on the semiconductor element. At least one of the alignment marks is made of a magnetic material.
US09548277B2 Integrated circuit stack including a patterned array of electrically conductive pillars
The present disclosure describes a stacked integrated circuit system that includes two integrated circuit layers stacked on opposite sides of an interposer layer. The interposer layer may include at least one integrated circuit die and an interposer portion that includes a plurality of electrically conductive pillars arranged in a laterally patterned array within the interposer layer.
US09548264B2 High density organic bridge device and method
Embodiments that allow multi-chip interconnect using organic bridges are described. In some embodiments an organic package substrate has an embedded organic bridge. The organic bridge can have interconnect structures that allow attachment of die to be interconnected by the organic bridge. In some embodiments, the organic bridge comprises a metal routing layer, a metal pad layer and interleaved organic polymer dielectric layers but without a substrate layer. Embodiments having only a few layers may be embedded into the top layer or top few layers of the organic package substrate. Methods of manufacture are also described.
US09548258B2 Silicon-on-plastic semiconductor device and method of making the same
A semiconductor device that does not produce nonlinearities attributed to a high resistivity silicon handle interfaced with a dielectric region of a buried oxide (BOX) layer is disclosed. The semiconductor device includes a semiconductor stack structure with a first surface and a second surface wherein the second surface is on an opposite side of the semiconductor stack structure from the first surface. At least one device terminal is included in the semiconductor stack structure and at least one electrical contact extends from the second surface and is electrically coupled to the at least one device terminal. The semiconductor stack is protected by a polymer disposed on the first surface of the semiconductor stack. The polymer has high thermal conductivity and high electrical resistivity.
US09548252B2 Reworkable epoxy resin and curative blend for low thermal expansion applications
A curable composition including: an epoxy resin; and an amine curing component including: an aromatic amine curing agent; and a solubilizer including an aliphatic amine, a cycloaliphatic amine, a non-volatile primary alcohol, non-volatile solvent or a mixture thereof. An electronic assembly including: a substrate; an underfill including a cured product of the curable composition on the substrate; and a ball grid array on the underfill is also disclosed.
US09548247B2 Methods for producing semiconductor devices
A method for producing a semiconductor device in accordance with various embodiments may include providing a semiconductor workpiece attached to a first carrier; dicing the semiconductor workpiece and the carrier so as to form at least one individual semiconductor chip; mounting the at least one semiconductor chip with a side facing away from the carrier, to an additional carrier.
US09548243B1 Self aligned via and pillar cut for at least a self aligned double pitch
A method of forming via openings that includes forming sidewall spacers on a plurality of mandrels that are overlying a hardmask layer that is present on an interlevel dielectric layer. Etching the hardmask layer using a portion of the sidewall spacers and the plurality of mandrels to form a first pillar of hardmask material. The interlevel dielectric layer is etched using the first pillar of hardmask material as a mask to define a first via opening. The plurality of mandrels are removed. The hardmask layer is etched using the spacers to define a second pillar of hardmask material. The interlevel dielectric layer is etched using the second pillar of hardmask material to provide a second via opening.
US09548230B2 Temporary storage device, transport system, and temporary storage method
A temporary storage device transfers an article in different positions to and from an overhead travelling vehicle system and a second transport system, and transfers an article to and from an article transfer position outside the temporary storage device. The temporary storage device includes a local carrier including a hoist, travel rails of the local carrier below a travel rail of the overhead travelling vehicle system, passing directly above an article transfer position, and a slide rack below the travel rails of the local carrier, slidable between a portion directly above the transfer position and a second position in which an article can be transferred to and from the second transport system, the second position being different from the portion directly above the transfer position in a direction perpendicular or substantially perpendicular to the travel rails of the local carrier in a horizontal plane.
US09548224B2 Method and apparatus to control surface texture modification of silicon wafers for photovoltaic cell devices
A method and apparatus to modify the surface structure of a silicon substrate or deposited silicon layer in a controllable manner using gas only in an atmospheric environment, suitable for making photovoltaic (PV) wafer based devices. The method and apparatus comprising the steps of disposing the substrate or deposited layer on a moveable carrier; pre-heating the substrate or deposited layer; and moving the substrate or deposited layer for etching through an atmospheric reactor; under an etchant delivering module inside the reactor and applying at least one etchant in gas form at a controlled flow rate and angle to the substrate or deposited layer in the reactor, wherein the at least one etchant gas is selected from the group comprising fluoride-containing gases and chlorine-based compounds. The technical problem that has been solved is the provision of a high throughput dry etching method at atmospheric pressure. This apparatus does not require plasma to aid the etching process using fluoride-containing gases and chlorine-based compounds and is performed at open atmospheric pressure. The use of elemental fluorine, which has a significantly lower bonding energy than any of the other etchants used to date, allows for the use of much lower power energy source to crack the elemental fluorine in to its etching radicals. The apparatus enables the delivery of a predetermined texture finish by controlling the flow rate of the gasses which are bombarded on the surface of the substrate.
US09548215B2 High visibility endoprosthesis and method
An endoprosthesis, a method for imaging an endoprosthesis, a method of making an endoprosthesis involve a polymeric substrate that has been modified to have voids embedded within the substrate. The voids are sized to scatter optical radiation from within the substrate so that an optical coherence tomography (OCT) image can be obtained in which an interior region of the substrate can be easily differentiated from empty space and other structures that surround the endoprosthesis. The voids allow for OCT visualization of the polymeric substrate which may be difficult to visualize by other methods such as fluoroscopy.
US09548212B2 Semiconductor devices and fabrication method thereof
A method is provided for fabricating a semiconductor device. The method includes providing a substrate having a device region and a peripheral region; and forming device structures on the substrate in the device region so as to form trenches between adjacent device structures. The method also includes forming a stop layer on the substrate and the device structures; and forming a first dielectric layer on the stop layer such that a portion of the densified first dielectric layer fills the trenches and a top surface of a portion of the first dielectric layer in the peripheral region is lower than a surface of the stop layer on the device structures by a densify high aspect ratio process. Further, the method includes forming a second dielectric layer on the densified first dielectric layer; and performing a plurality of polishing processes until the top surface of the device structures is exposed.
US09548209B2 Method for integrated circuit fabrication
Provided is an integrated circuit (IC) fabrication method. The method includes receiving a mask, the mask having a plurality of dies and receiving a wafer, the wafer having a resist layer. The method further includes exposing the resist layer using the mask with a fraction radiation dose thereby forming a first plurality of images; re-positioning the mask relative to the wafer; and exposing the resist layer using the mask with another fraction radiation dose. A second plurality of images is formed, wherein a portion of the second plurality of images is superimposed over another portion of the first plurality of images.
US09548205B2 Method of manufacturing a semiconductor device
A method of manufacturing a semiconductor device that reduces degradation of device properties includes forming an impurity region in a surface layer of a semiconductor substrate by ion injection; forming a transition metal layer in a surface of the impurity region; and exposing the semiconductor substrate with the transition metal layer formed thereon to a hydrogen plasma atmosphere formed by microwaves. The transition metal layer is heated and the heat is transferred from the transition metal layer to the impurity region to form an ohmic contact at the interface of the transition metal layer and the impurity region by reaction of the transition metal layer and the impurity region, and the impurity region is activated. When the substrate is a silicon carbide substrate, the ohmic contact is composed of a transition metal silicide and the impurity region, which is an ion injection layer, is activated.
US09548194B2 Toroidal trapping geometry pulsed ion source
An ion trap is disclosed comprising: a plurality of electrodes which define a toroidal or annular ion confining volume that extends around a central axis; a first device arranged and adapted to apply one or more DC voltages to said plurality of electrodes in order to generate a DC potential well which acts to confine ions in a radial direction within said toroidal or annular ion confining volume, wherein said radial direction is substantially perpendicular to said central axis; and a control system arranged and adapted to non-mass selectively eject ions from said toroidal or annular ion confining volume. The ion trap enables a large number of ions to be trapped and ejected simultaneously.
US09548187B2 Microwave radiation antenna, microwave plasma source and plasma processing apparatus
A microwave radiation antenna includes an antenna body having a microwave radiation surface; a processing gas inlet configured to introduce a processing gas into the antenna body; a gas diffusion space configured to diffuse the processing gas in the antenna body; a plurality of gas outlets provided in the antenna body and configured to discharge the processing gas into the chamber; a plurality of slots provided in the antenna body under a state where the slots are separated from the gas diffusion space and the gas outlets; and an annular dielectric member provided in the microwave radiation surface side of the antenna body to cover a slot formation region where the slots are formed. A metal surface wave is formed in the microwave radiation surface by the microwave radiated through the slots and the annular dielectric member and a surface wave plasma is generated by the metal surface wave.
US09548184B2 Microreactor for a transmission electron microscope and heating element and method of manufacture thereof
A microreactor for use in a microscope, comprising a first and second cove layer (13), which cover layers are both at least partly transparent to an electron beam (14) of an electron microscope, and extend next to each other at a mutual distance from each other and between which a chamber (15) is enclosed, wherein an inlet (4) and an outlet (5) are provided for feeding fluid through the chamber and wherein heating means (8) are provided for heating the chamber and/or elements present therein.
US09548182B2 Charged particle beam generating apparatus, charged particle beam apparatus, high voltage generating apparatus, and high potential apparatus
An instrument producing a charged particle beam according to the present invention is provided with: a charged particle source; a plurality of first electrodes disposed along a direction of irradiation of charged particles from the charged particle source; a plurality of insulation members disposed between the first electrodes; and a housing mounted around the plurality of first electrodes. The housing is formed from an insulating solid material, and includes a plurality of second electrodes disposed at positions in proximity to the plurality of first electrodes. At least one of the plurality of second electrodes is electrically connected to at least one of the plurality of first electrodes, each of the plurality of second electrodes having the same potential as the potential of the proximate one of the first electrodes.
US09548179B2 Ion trap apparatus and method for manufacturing same
An ion trap device includes a substrate over which at least one central DC electrode, an RF electrode and at least one side electrode are disposed. The central DC electrode includes a DC connector pad and a DC rail connected to the DC connector pad. The RF electrode includes at least one RF rail located adjacent to the DC rail and an RF pad connected to the at least one RF rail. The RF electrode is disposed between the central DC electrode and the side electrode. At least one pair of electrodes among the central DC electrode, the RF electrode and the side electrode have round corners facing each other.
US09548168B2 Robot and emergency stop method of robot
A robot includes a power source of the robot, and a switch section adapted to block electrical power supply to the power source. The switch section is disposed on a front side of the robot arranged to face to a workbench when at work. The switch section blocks the electrical power supply to the power source in a case in which it is detected that a distance between the robot and the workbench is longer than a predetermined distance.
US09548166B2 Capacitor electrolyte
A capacitor for an implantable medical device is presented. The capacitor includes an anode, a cathode, a separator therebetween, and an electrolyte over the anode, cathode, and separator. The electrolyte includes ingredients comprising acetic acid, ammonium acetate, phosphoric acid, and tetraethylene glycol dimethyl ether. The capacitor has an operating voltage ninety percent or greater of its formation voltage.
US09548156B2 Ignition coil for internal combustion engine
An ignition coil for an internal combustion engine includes a wire-wound resistor. The wire-wound resistor includes a core material, a conductor winding, a pair of metal caps disposed at both ends of the core material, the pair of metal caps in contact with the conductor winding, and a resin coating material disposed so as to be in close contact with the core material and the conductor winding. The resin coating material is filled between the conductive winding and the resin coating material is formed to cover the conductor winding from an outer peripheral side of the conductor winding The metal cap includes a bottom portion and a cylindrical side portion. An inner peripheral side of the side portion is provide with ridges projecting internally formed along a direction crossing a winding direction of the conductor winding.
US09548152B2 Redundant current-sum feedback actuator
A system and methods for redundant current-sum feedback control of an actuator system is presented. An actuator comprises actuation coils configured to actuate the actuator, and an actuation coil current sensor senses a measured total coil current comprising a sum of coil currents of each of the actuation coils. Actuator coil controllers control the actuation coils based on a commanded total coil current and the measured total coil current.
US09548149B2 Rare earth based magnet
The present invention provides a rare earth based magnet having a microstructure in which in a section of the R2T14B main-phase crystal grains, the number density of the fine products in the interior of (inside) the crystal grains is larger than that in the periphery of (outside) the crystal grains. That is, the rare earth based magnet includes R2T14B main-phase crystal grains and grain boundary phases formed between the R2T14B main-phase crystal grains. The R2T14B main-phase crystal grains include a substance where fine products are formed in the crystal grains. In the section of the main-phase crystal grains, when the crystal grains are divided into the interior of the crystal grains and the periphery of the crystal grains with a specific ellipse, the fine products are formed such that the number density in the interior is larger than that in the periphery.
US09548141B2 Light-reflective anisotropic conductive adhesive and light-emitting device
A light-reflective anisotropic conductive adhesive used for anisotropic conductive connection of a light-emitting element to a wiring board includes a thermosetting resin composition, conductive particles, and light-reflective insulating particles. The light-reflective insulating particles are at least one of inorganic particles selected from the group consisting of titanium oxide, boron nitride, zinc oxide, and aluminum oxide, or resin-coated metal particles formed by coating the surface of scale-like or spherical metal particles with an insulating resin.
US09548136B2 Method to identify extrinsic SRAM bits for failure analysis based on fail count voltage response
A method and an apparatus for identifying non-intrinsic defect bits from a population of failing bits for failure analysis to characterize the extrinsic failure mechanisms is provided. Embodiments include performing a failure mode test on a bank of a memory array at different low VDD; determining optimal bank size to observe plateaus of fail counts; determining fail counts of the bank at each different low VDD; determining a plateau of the fail counts; determining whether the plateau represents extrinsic bits of the bank; and submitting the extrinsic bits for root cause analysis.
US09548134B2 Semiconductor integrated circuit device and multi chip package including the same
A semiconductor integrated circuit device includes a first circuit block configured to receive data from a plurality of data I/O (input/output) lines and output test data in a test mode, and a second circuit block configured to connect the plurality of data I/O lines and the first circuit block, output the data of the plurality of data I/O lines in a normal mode and output the test data provided from the first circuit block in the test mode.
US09548124B1 Word line dependent programming in a memory device
A memory device includes memory cells arranged in word lines. Due to variations in the fabrication process, with width and spacing between word lines can vary, resulting in widened threshold voltage distributions. In one approach, a programming parameter is optimized for each word line based on a measurement of the threshold voltage distributions in an initial programming operation. An adjustment to the programming parameter of a word line can be based, e.g., on measurements from adjacent word lines, and a position of the word line in a set of word lines. The programming parameter can include a programming mode such as a number of programming passes. Moreover, the programming parameters from one set of word lines can be used for another set of word lines having a similar physical layout due to the variations in the fabrication process.
US09548122B2 Level shift driver circuit capable of reducing gate-induced drain leakage current
A level shift driver circuit comprises a level shift circuit and a driver circuit. The driver circuit comprises a first and a second P-type transistors and a first and a second N-type transistors coupled in series. When a first input signal of the level shift circuit is at an operative voltage, the level shift circuit turns off the second N-type transistor. A control terminal of the first N-type transistor receives the operative voltage to avoid a gate-induced drain leakage current of the second N-type transistor. When the first input signal is at a system base voltage, the level shift circuit turns off the first P-type transistor. A control terminal of the second P-type transistor receives the operative voltage to avoid a gate-induced drain leakage current of the first P-type transistor.
US09548115B2 Variable resistance element, semiconductor device having variable resistance element, semiconductor device manufacturing method, and programming method using variable resistance element
This variable resistance element is provided with a variable resistance film, a first electrode, which is disposed in contact with one surface of the variable resistance film, and a second electrode, which is disposed in contact with the other surface of the variable resistance film. The first and the second electrodes have corner portions, respectively, and the distance between the corner portions of the first and the second electrodes is set equal to the shortest distance between the first and the second electrodes. Furthermore, the variable resistance element has a third electrode, which is disposed on the one surface of the variable resistance film.
US09548111B2 Memory device
According to one embodiment, a memory device includes a memory cell, a sense amplifier, and a resistor. The sense amplifier includes a first input and a second input, outputs a signal in accordance with a difference between the first and second inputs, and is selectively coupled at a second input to the memory cell. The resistor is in a first path between the first input of the sense amplifier and a ground node.
US09548108B2 Virtual memory device (VMD) application/driver for enhanced flash endurance
A Virtual-Memory Device (VMD) driver and application execute on a host to increase endurance of flash memory attached to a Super Enhanced Endurance Device (SEED) or Solid-State Drive (SSD). Host accesses to flash are intercepted by the VMD driver using upper and lower-level filter drivers and categorized as data types of paging files, temporary files, meta-data, and user data files, using address ranges and file extensions read from meta-data tables. Paging files and temporary files are optionally written to flash. Full-page and partial-page data are grouped into multi-page meta-pages by data type before storage by the SSD. Ramdisks and caches for storing each data type in the host DRAM are managed and flushed to the SSD by the VMD driver. Write dates are stored for pages or blocks for management functions. A spare/swap area in DRAM reduces flash wear. Reference voltages are adjusted when error correction fails.
US09548095B2 Redundant magnetic tunnel junctions in magnetoresistive memory
Memory cells in a spin-torque magnetic random access memory (MRAM) include at least two magnetic tunnel junctions within each memory cell, where each memory cell only stores a single data bit of information. Access circuitry coupled to the memory cells are able to read from and write to a memory cell even when one of the magnetic tunnel junctions within the memory cell is defective and is no longer functional. Self-referenced and referenced reads can be used in conjunction with the multiple magnetic tunnel junction memory cells. In some embodiments, writing to the memory cell forces all magnetic tunnel junctions into a known state, whereas in other embodiments, a subset of the magnetic tunnel junctions are forced to a known state.
US09548091B2 Memory module having address mirroring function
A memory module having an address mirroring function is provided. The memory module includes a register that allows mode registers of first memory chips of a first rank and mode registers of second memory chips of a second rank to be identically programmed in response to a mode register set (MRS) command during a rank-merged test mode. The register sets address signals, which are symmetrically connected to the first and second memory chips through through-via-holes (TVHs) or blind-via-holes (BVHs) of a printed circuit board, to be selectively mirrored.
US09548076B2 Magnetic devices with overcoats
A magnetic device including a magnetic writer; and an overcoat positioned over at least the magnetic writer, the overcoat including oxides of yttrium, oxides of scandium, oxides of lanthanoids, oxides of actionoids, oxides of zinc, or combinations thereof.
US09548074B2 Perpendicular magnetic recording media with magnetic anisotropy gradient and local exchange coupling
A perpendicular magnetic recording medium adapted for high recording density and high data recording rate comprises a non-magnetic substrate having at least one surface with a layer stack formed thereon, the layer stack including a perpendicular recording layer containing a plurality of columnar-shaped magnetic grains extending perpendicularly to the substrate surface for a length, with a first end distal the surface and a second end proximal the surface, wherein each of the magnetic grains has: (1) a gradient of perpendicular magnetic coercivity Hk extending along its length between the first end and second ends; and (2) predetermined local exchange coupling strengths along the length.
US09548072B2 Concurrent modulation and frictional heating head disk contact detection
An apparatus comprises a heat-assisted magnetic recording (HAMR) head, a sensor, and a controller. The HAMR head is configured to interact with a magnetic storage medium. The sensor is configured to produce a signal indicating the occurrence of head-medium contact. The controller is configured to receive the signal and concurrently determine from the signal if the occurrence of head-medium contact is caused by a first contact detection parameter, a second contact detection parameter, or both the first and second contact detection parameters.
US09548070B1 HDD magnetic head degradation field-failure detection and prediction
A method, apparatus, and system for implementing head degradation detection and prediction for hard disk drives (HDDs) are provided. Statistical parameter stability tests are used that are calculated as Confidence Intervals (CIs) from HDD parameter measurements. HDD parameters include, for example, change or delta in fly height (dFH), magnetic resistor resistance (MRR) head values, servo variable gain amplifier (SVGA) readback amplitude values, that are used in conjunction with two or more confidence level indicators and an Auto-Regressive Integrated Moving-Average (ARIMA) (p, d, q) predictor for head degradation detection and field failure prediction.
US09548067B2 Estimating pitch using symmetry characteristics
An estimate of a pitch of a signal may be computed by using correlations of frequency portions of a frequency representation of the signal. An initial pitch estimate may be obtained and frequency portions of the frequency representation may be identified using multiples of the initial pitch estimate. Correlations of the frequency portions may be computed, and a score for the initial pitch estimate may be determined using the correlations. A second pitch estimate may be determined using the first score, and the process may be repeated.
US09548065B2 Energy post qualification for phrase spotting
In one embodiment, a computing device can detect an utterance of a target phrase within an acoustic input signal. The computing device can further determine a first estimate of cumulative signal and noise energy for the detected utterance in the acoustic input signal with respect to a first time period spanning the duration of the detected utterance, and a second estimate of noise energy in the acoustic input signal with respect to a second time period preceding (or following) the first time period. The computing device can then calculate a signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) for the detected utterance based on the first and second estimates and can reject the detected utterance if the SNR is below an SNR threshold.
US09548060B1 High frequency regeneration of an audio signal with temporal shaping
A method for generating a reconstructed audio signal having a baseband portion and a highband portion is disclosed. The method includes extracting temporal envelope information and spectral components of the baseband portion. The method further includes obtaining a decoded baseband audio signal. The obtaining includes filtering in a frequency domain at least some of the spectral components of the baseband portion with the reconstruction filter using the temporal envelope information to shape a temporal envelope of the baseband portion. The method also includes extracting a noise parameter and an estimated spectral envelope of the highband portion and obtaining a plurality of subband signals by filtering the decoded baseband audio signal. The method further includes generating a high-frequency reconstructed signal by copying a number of consecutive subband signals of the plurality of subband signals and obtaining an envelope adjusted high-frequency signal by adjusting, based on the estimated spectral envelope of the highband portion, a spectral envelope of the high-frequency reconstructed signal.
US09548053B1 Audible command filtering
Devices, methods, and systems for detecting wake words and audio commands that should be disregarded are disclosed. In some instances, a local device may receive a wake word or audible command transmitted or uttered in a television or radio advertisement, program, broadcast, etc. In these instances, the local device should disregard such wake words and audible commands, as they are not from a user of the local device. To detect such wake words and commands, audio fingerprinting and speech recognition techniques may be used to determine whether the wake word and/or command substantially matches the audio of a known television or radio advertisement, program, broadcast, etc. If the wake word and/or command substantially matches, the local device may then disregard the command.
US09548047B2 Method and apparatus for evaluating trigger phrase enrollment
An electronic device includes a microphone that receives an audio signal that includes a spoken trigger phrase, and a processor that is electrically coupled to the microphone. The processor measures characteristics of the audio signal, and determines, based on the measured characteristics, whether the spoken trigger phrase is acceptable for trigger phrase model training. If the spoken trigger phrase is determined not to be acceptable for trigger phrase model training, the processor rejects the trigger phrase for trigger phrase model training.
US09548041B2 Portable terminal capable of controlling display brightness and method for controlling display brightness thereof
Disclosed is a method for controlling a backlight of an electronic device, such as a portable terminal, which includes the steps of storing preset backlight brightness values so as to correspond to the backlight brightness values to backlight steps, detecting a backlight brightness value stored so as to correspond to the backlight step required by a user in backlight regulation mode, and regulating the backlight brightness according to the detected backlight brightness value. Further, since the present invention can regulate the backlight brightness at night, the illumination intensity of which is low, the consumption of the battery can be reduced.
US09548040B2 Image processing method and display device using the same
Provided is an image processing method of processing first red, green, and blue (RGB) data with a display device including a pixel configured with red, green, blue, and white sub-pixels and providing the processed data. The method includes receiving the first RGB data, rendering the first RGB data to generate second RGB data and white (W) data, converting the first RGB data into hue, saturation, and value (HSV) data, obtaining RGB compensation data by using the HSV data on the basis of a lookup table, compensating for the second RGB data by using the RGB compensation data, and outputting the compensated second RGB data and the W data.
US09548039B2 Display device
A display device is driven through no wire cable such as an FPC, and a display image is continuously held for a certain period of time by storing an image signal received from a wireless communication device so that the display image can be held even when the display device is out of communication range with the wireless communication device. A display device includes at least a pixel circuit having an SRAM (static random access memory) circuit, a circuit which controls the pixel circuit, an antenna circuit, a circuit which generates a demodulation signal, a circuit which rectifies a wireless signal, a circuit which generates first voltage, a charge circuit which stores second voltage, a charge control circuit, a voltage supply control circuit, and a circuit which controls the charge control circuit and the voltage supply control circuit.
US09548030B2 Image display device and image display method
A light quantity measurement unit measures a quantity of light of a light source that has a first light-emitting element that emits light of a first wavelength band and a second light-emitting element that emits light of a second wavelength band. The light quantity measurement unit includes first and second filters having the first and second wavelength bands as the detection wavelength bands. The first and second light-emitting elements are caused to sequentially emit light, and on the basis of the results of measurement of the quantity of light that is measured by way of the first and second filters, a control unit generates first compensation information in which light of the second wavelength band is measured with the first filter and second compensation information in which light of the first wavelength band is measured with the second filter, finds a first compensation light quantity of the first light-emitting element by excluding the quantity of light based on the first compensation information from the quantity of light that is measured by way of the first filter, finds a second compensation light quantity of the second light-emitting element by excluding a quantity of light based on the second compensation information from the quantity of light measured by way of the second filter, and then controls the quantity of light of the first and second light-emitting elements based on the first and second compensation light quantities.
US09548027B2 Display apparatus, driving method for display apparatus and electronic apparatus
Disclosed herein is a display apparatus, including: a pixel array section including a plurality of pixels, a writing transistor, a driving transistor, a first switching transistor, a holding capacitor, and a second switching transistor; a first scanning section configured to drive the writing transistor in a unit of a row of the pixels; a second scanning section configured to drive the switching transistors in synchronism with scanning by the first scanning section; and a third scanning section configured to control the second switching transistors to a non-conducting state within a period after the image signal is written by the writing transistor until the signal writing period of the same row of the pixels ends but to a conducting state within any other period.
US09548026B2 Emission control driver and organic light emitting display device having the same
An emission control driver includes stages sequentially outputting emission control signals through emission control lines. Each stage includes a first signal processor receiving a first voltage and generating first and second signals in response to first and second sub-control signals, a second signal processor receiving a second voltage having a level higher than a level of the first voltage and generating third and fourth signals in response to the third sub-control signal, the first signal, and the second signal, and a third signal processor receiving the first and second voltages and generating the emission control signal in response to the third and fourth signals. The first signal processor of each stage receives the emission control signal output from a previous stage as the first sub-control signal, and the first signal processor of a first stage among the stages receives a start signal as the first sub-control signal.
US09548021B2 Method of driving light-source and display apparatus for performing the method
A method of driving a light-source module includes adjusting a frequency of a boosting switching signal based on a dimming signal which controls luminance of a light-emitting diode (“LED”) string of the light-source module, where the LED string comprises a plurality of LEDs connected to each other in series, and controlling a main transistor in response to the boosting switching signal to transfer a driving voltage to the LED string.
US09548019B2 Organic light emitting display device
An organic light emitting display device includes: a display area including a plurality of pixels including organic light emitting diodes, pixel circuits connected to the organic light emitting diodes, and one or more repair circuit units disposed between the pixel circuits of the pixels disposed on adjacent lines, in which the one or more repair circuit units include a plurality of repair circuits arranged to form at least one line within the display area.
US09548000B2 Scoring server
A scoring server for assessing technical skills in a practical environment. A client application acts as a middle man between a terminal and an operating system to capture and forward all input from and output to students to the scoring server. The scoring server compares recorded student activity against a list of tasks deemed capable of accomplishing course objectives assigned to students. As objectives are met by a student, the students' grade is updated in real-time. Each student passes or fails an exam based on tasks performed and skills employed. The client application exists for two operating system types: WINDOWS® and LINUX®. A LINUX® client employs a pseudoterminal to permit access to terminal input/output and communication through stdin, stdout, and stderr channels. A WINDOWS® client (WC) comprises a WC command line activity logger and a WC monitor process to intercept all communication through stdin, stdout, and stderr communication channels.
US09547986B1 Lane assignments for autonomous vehicles
Disclosed are various embodiments for coordination of autonomous vehicles in a roadway. A roadway management system can generate lane configurations for a roadway or a portion of the roadway. The roadway management system can determine the direction of travel for lanes in a roadway and direct autonomous automobiles to enter the roadway in a particular lane.
US09547985B2 Method and apparatus for providing access to autonomous vehicles based on user context
An approach is provided for granting access to an autonomous vehicle based on validation of a request, and configuring an autonomous vehicle to transport a user and/or items to at least one destination. The approach involves receiving a transport request for a transport of at least one user, at least one item, or a combination thereof to at least one destination. The approach also involves determining profile information associated with the at least one user, the at least one item, or a combination thereof, wherein the profile information specifies at least one role associated with the at least one user, the at least one item, or a combination thereof. The approach further involves causing, at least in part, a validation of the request based, at least in part, on a comparison of the at least one destination to one or more approved destinations associated with the at least one role. The approach also involves causing, at least in part, a granting of an access to one or more autonomous vehicles for the transport of the at least one user, the at least one item, or a combination thereof to the at least one destination based, at least in part, on the validation.
US09547983B2 Analysis method and analyzing device
An analysis method includes: acquiring first path information indicating a first movement path, first velocity information of a first moving body on the first movement path, second path information indicating a second movement path, and second velocity information of a second moving body on the second movement path; calculating, based on a specific rule, a similarity between the first velocity information and the second velocity information when the first path information and the second path information are extracted as candidates to be integrated; determining, based on the similarity, whether the first path information and second path information are to be integrated; and generating graph information to draw at least a part of the first path information and at least a part of the second path information as a single path when it is determined that the first path information and the second path information are to be integrated.
US09547967B2 Environment detection alarm system
The system includes a control module, an environment detection unit and an electricity generation module. The control module includes a control unit for data processing and operating and an alarm unit, electrically connected to the control unit for receiving a command of the control unit. The environment detection unit is electrically connected to the control unit of the control module for detecting a physical quantity of environmental matter to generate a signal to send back to the control unit. The electricity generation module is electrically connected to the control module and has an electricity generator for generating electricity by environmental energy to supply the control module and the environment detection unit.
US09547965B2 Battery operated device and tag for a battery operated device
A device tag including a housing that includes a first connector structure constructed and arranged to engage with a battery operated device and a second connector structure constructed and arranged to slidingly engage with a battery such that the device tag is provided between the battery operated device and the battery. The device tag also includes an electrical connector carried by the housing and constructed and arranged to provide an electrical connection between the battery operated device and the battery. The device tag further includes an electronic device carried by the housing and constructed and arranged to transmit electrical signals.
US09547964B2 Integrated home lighting and notification system
An integrated lighting and notification system includes a light fixture connected to an electrical power supply, a camera, a control unit, and a trigger device. The electrical power supply provides electrical power to the light source unit and the camera. The control unit transmits a signal via a network in response to receiving a signal transmitted by the trigger device.
US09547960B2 System, method, article of manufacture of mixed reality based, biometrically signed reusable physical financial instrument
The present invention relates to a reusable physical financial instrument and a system and a method for enabling the financial instrument to perform multiple financial transactions. The financial instrument is capable of creating mixed reality experience when it comes in vicinity of the payor or payee device or ATM. Through the created mixed reality experience, the payor and the payee inputs payor-side and payee-side transaction and biometric data which are stored onto smart chip of the instrument and/or on Cloud Storage using cloud computing interface. The stored payor-side and payee-side transaction data are cross-validated and their biometric data is further verified against golden copy at the respective financial institutions or at the Central Authority's repositories for performing the financial transaction. Upon completing the transaction, the payor-side and the payee-side data is erased, deleted or invalidated from the smart chip, thus making the financial instrument reusable for performing another transaction.
US09547953B2 Online, real-time game playing with distributed Bad Beat progressive jackpot
Wagering methods, devices, and systems that allow individual participants in a game of poker to opt-in or opt-out of a bad beat feature are presented. For each hand played at a given table, a participant may activate the bad beat feature. Once the feature is activated, the participant is eligible for winning at least part of a bad beat progressive jackpot. This jackpot may be funded by tokens purchased by the participant, a rake taken from the hand's wagers, or by some other means. Apportionment of the bad beat progressive jackpot may be triggered by the participant losing the hand despite having cards that provide the participant with a significant likelihood of winning the hand.
US09547935B2 Method and a system for building a three-dimensional model from satellite images
The invention relates to a method for building a 3D model of an area of interest on the surface of a planet. The method comprises providing a plurality of 2D images from satellites, where each 2D image out of the plurality of 2D images at least partly covers the area of interest. Also, each subarea of the area of interest is covered by at least two images, taken from different angles, out of the plurality of 2D images. Bundle adjustments are performed for the plurality of 2D images and the area of interest is divided into parts. For each part of the area of interest at least one combination and preferably all possible combinations out of two images covering that part of the area of interest are taken. Said two images are taken from the at least two images, taken from at least two different angles, out of the plurality of 2D images. Further, for each part of the area, point matching correspondence is established for a set of points for each such combination of two images. The sets of points are combined if more than one set of points exists. Even further, for each part of the area, a 3D model of said part of the area of interest is built based on the combined set of points. The 3D models from each part of the area of interest are combined to a 3D model of the whole area of interest. The invention also relates to a system, a computer program and a computer program product.
US09547932B2 Splitting bounding volumes of primitives
A system, method, and computer program product are provided for splitting primitives. A plurality of primitives is received for a scene and a pre-determined plane that intersects the scene is identified. Bounding volumes of the plurality of primitives that are intersected by the pre-determined plane are split, where a bounding volume that encloses each intersected primitive of the plurality of primitives is split into a first bounding volume and a second bounding volume at an intersection of the bounding volume and the pre-determined plane.
US09547930B2 Hardware switching between direct rendering and binning in graphics processing
This disclosure presents techniques and structures for determining a rendering mode (e.g., a binning rendering mode and a direct rendering mode) as well as techniques and structures for switching between such rendering modes. Rendering mode may be determined by analyzing rendering characteristics. Rendering mode may also be determined by tracking overdraw in a bin. The rendering mode may be switched from a binning rendering mode to a direct rendering mode by patching commands that use graphics memory addresses to use system memory addresses. Patching may be handled by a CPU or by a second write command buffer executable by a GPU.
US09547929B1 User interface device for adaptive systems
A system for providing feedback regarding the division of automated and operator tasks is provided. The system includes a display device and a processor. The processor is configured to at least selectively supply image rendering display commands to the display device that cause the display device to simultaneously render an operator pane, an automation pane, and a shared pane. The operator pane displays one or more tasks that have been allocated for execution by a human operator, the automation pane displays one or more tasks that have been allocated for execution by automation, and the shared pane displays one or more tasks that have been allocated for execution by both automation and a human operator.
US09547927B2 Automated video looping with progressive dynamism
Various technologies described herein pertain to generating a video loop. An input video can be received, where the input video includes values at pixels over a time range. An optimization can be performed to determine a respective input time interval within the time range of the input video for each pixel from the pixels in the input video. The respective input time interval for a particular pixel can include a per-pixel loop period and a per-pixel start time of a loop at the particular pixel within the time range from the input video. Moreover, an output video can be created based upon the values at the pixels over the respective input time intervals for the pixels in the input video.
US09547925B2 Force-directed graphs
Embodiments of the present invention provide systems and methods for graphing networks. In one embodiment, a dampening heuristic is utilized to graph networks to increase their stability. Nodes are visualized by finding local and global minima and equilibrium positions. Factors such as the influence of neighboring nodes; attraction and repulsion phases; and dynamism of complex networks are addressed by embodiments of the present invention. The stability of nodes are measured quantitatively using vectors, degree of influence of neighboring nodes on other nodes, and updating dampening heuristics.
US09547921B1 Texture fading for smooth level of detail transitions in a graphics application
Systems and methods for providing smooth level of detail (“LOD”) transition for textures in a graphics applications are disclosed. The texture LOD of a first frame of imagery can be compared to a second texture LOD for a current frame. For areas where the second LOD is higher than the first LOD, an LOD fade from the first LOD to the second LOD can be performed to provide a smooth LOD transition. The LOD fade can be implemented by generating a blend between textures at the first LOD and the second LOD. In one aspect, the blend is generated based on an interpolant value calculated based on the difference between the first LOD and the second LOD. The interpolant value can be incremented in subsequent frames to achieve a desired fade rate for the transition. The fade rate can be variable such that the LOD transition time remains constant.
US09547918B2 Techniques for deferred decoupled shading
Various embodiments are generally directed to techniques for reducing the processing demands of shading primitives in rendering a 2D screen image from a 3D model. A device includes a fine rasterizing component to employ multiple screen image samples per screen image pixel to perform fine rasterization to identify a set of visible primitives, a coarse rasterizing component to employ a single shading image sample per shading image pixel to perform coarse rasterization from the same perspective as the fine rasterization to identify at least one primitive along a path of a shading image pixel, and a shading component to shade a primitive identified by a screen image sample of a first screen image pixel as visible within the shading image pixel and identified as along the path of the shading image sample associated with the shading image pixel to derive a color value. Other embodiments are described and claimed.
US09547908B1 Feature mask determination for images
Implementations relate to feature mask determination for images. In some implementations, a computer-implemented method to determine a feature mask for an image includes estimating one or more prior regions in the image that define a feature in the image. The method determines superpixels based on multiple pixels of the image similar in color. The method constructs a graph, each node of the graph corresponding to a superpixel, and determines a superpixel score for each superpixel based on a number of pixels of the superpixel. The method determines one or more segmented regions in the image based on applying a graph cut technique to the graph based at least on the superpixel scores, and determines the feature mask based on the segmented regions. The feature mask indicates a degree to which pixels of the image depict the feature. The method modifies the image based on the feature mask.
US09547903B2 Method for quantifying caries
Method and/or apparatus embodiments for automatically identifying caries, executed at least in part on data processing hardware, can acquire, multiple reflectance images of a tooth, wherein each reflectance image includes at least red, green, and blue intensity values for a region of pixels corresponding to the tooth. Each reflectance image in the plurality of reflectance images is processed by (i) defining a tooth region within the reflectance image; and (ii) identifying caries within the defined tooth region for each reflectance image. The reflectance images are registered and the registered processed images are combined to form a result image that shows the identified caries. In one embodiment, multiple reflectance images of a tooth are taken from substantially the same camera position.
US09547902B2 Method and system for physiological image registration and fusion
A method and system for physiological image registration and fusion is disclosed. A physiological model of a target anatomical structure in estimated each of a first image and a second image. The physiological model is estimated using database-guided discriminative machine learning-based estimation. A fused image is then generated by registering the first and second images based on correspondences between the physiological model estimated in each of the first and second images.
US09547899B1 Mobile hemolysis detection in whole blood samples
A system for hemolysis detection, where the system generally includes—individually or in combination—a containment apparatus for holding the blood sample and a software application for analyzing the blood sample. The containment apparatus houses the sample therein, and blocks out any light from penetrating the apparatus and reflecting off of the sample. In conjunction, the software application uses camera color for processing the color of the sample to determine the hemoglobin level in plasma based on the color.
US09547895B2 Medical image processing system and method
A system 100 for processing medical images, the system being arranged for obtaining a first medical image 102 and a second medical image 104, the first medical image and the second medical image being rigidly registered medical images of an anatomical structure, and the system comprising a displacement estimator 120 for establishing displacement vectors 122 for at least a first portion of the first medical image, the displacement vectors matching the first portion of the first medical image to a second portion of the second medical image, a deformation estimator 140 for, in dependence on the displacement vectors, establishing deformation values 142 for the first portion, the deformation values representing a deformation of the first portion with respect to the second portion, and a visualization generator 160 for generating visualization data 162 for, when being displayed on a display 180, establishing a multi-dimensional graph 182 comprising magnitudes of the displacement vectors as first variables 184 and the deformation values as second variables 186.
US09547892B2 Apparatus and methods for predicting wafer-level defect printability
Disclosed are methods and apparatus for qualifying a photolithographic reticle. A reticle inspection tool is used to acquire images at different imaging configurations from each of the pattern areas of a calibration reticle. A reticle near field is recovered for each of the pattern areas of the calibration reticle based on the acquired images from each pattern area of the calibration reticle. Using the recovered reticle near field for the calibration reticle, a lithography model for simulating wafer images is generated based on the reticle near field. Images are then acquired at different imaging configurations from each of the pattern areas of a test reticle. A reticle near field for the test reticle is then recovered based on the acquired images from the test reticle. The generated model is applied to the reticle near field for the test reticle to simulate a plurality of test wafer images, and the simulated test wafer images are analyzed to determine whether the test reticle will likely result in an unstable or defective wafer.
US09547877B2 Identification of a trigger-type leader in a social network
Techniques for identification of a trigger-type leader in a social network are described. According to various embodiments, a specific content item posted by a particular actor of a plurality of actors and interactions by other actors of the plurality of actors with the specific content item are identified. A leadership score associated with the particular actor is then calculated, the leadership score indicating a propensity of the particular actor to stimulate discussion among actors of the online social network service. The particular actor is then classified as an information trigger among the plurality of actors of the online social network service, based on the calculated leadership score.
US09547876B2 Digital data processing systems and methods for searching and communicating via a social network
A method for querying the collective social network on behalf of a limited group of users is described. The method consists of a system that schedules and executes searches according to a set of search objectives specified by the users. The system searches each member's social network for a connection that matches any search objective.
US09547874B2 Method, language, and system for parallel algorithmic trading and overseeing trading activity
The invention provides: methods, languages, and systems for parallel algorithmic trading of financial instruments. Each instrument of interest is included in a parallel list, in a reference list, or in both lists. Market data messages are decoded by parallel threads and converted into data series. The number of the threads is preferably equal to the number of the messages in a set of messages. A trader/market regulator selects or creates a trading/overseeing algorithm consisting of expressions based on data series extracted from the messages and on predefined functions. Some of the expressions have outputs representing buy/sell/cancel orders or have outputs aimed for overseeing trading activity. The algorithm is executed by parallel threads. The number of the threads is preferably equal to the number of the instruments in the parallel list.
US09547867B2 Targeted advertising and customized display of advertisements in satellite broadcasting
Selecting a content filler from a plurality of content fillers in a satellite broadcast comprises receiving a content in a first broadcast frequency channel, and a plurality of content fillers in a respective plurality of second broadcast frequency channels, wherein the content includes a gap in content to be filled by one of the plurality of content fillers, the gap in content defined by a start indicator and an end indicator. The receiver transmits the content to a display device. The receiver determines a second broadcast frequency channel, from among the plurality of second broadcast frequency channels and responsive to receiving the start indicator, switches to the determined second broadcast frequency channel, transmits the content filler in the determined second broadcast frequency channel to the display device. Responsive to receiving the end indicator, the receiver switches to the first broadcast frequency channel and transmits the content to the display device.
US09547858B2 Real-time multi master transaction
According to some embodiments, a system comprises a plurality of data centers communicatively coupled by a network. The data centers include an assigned data center and a second data center. The assigned data center receives a request for a session, determines the session passes authentication, and communicates session information to the second data center indicating the session passes authentication. The assigned data center also receives a first message comprising a first portion of transaction information and communicates synchronization data for replicating the first portion of transaction information at the second data center. The second data center receives a second message comprising a second portion of transaction information. The system facilitates a financial transaction in real-time based on the first portion and the second portion of transaction information.
US09547855B2 Gesture-based device
The use of gestures on a user device to interact with and obtain functionality from remote communication hub devices is disclosed. A user device includes an accelerometer or other motion detection device and a wireless communications capability. The device is small enough to be placed conveniently about the person and communicates with a communication hub device to perform context-dependent actions. A user makes a gestural command to the device. The device interprets the gesture and undertakes activity. The gestural sensing device may be a motion switch, a multi-axis accelerometer, a video camera, a variable capacitance device, a magnetic field sensor, an electrical field sensor etc. When combined with business logic running on a remote computer system, the device can be used to implement a range of applications and services.
US09547849B2 Method and apparatus for providing real time mutable credit card information and for providing sleep mode functionality
A method for using a smartcard is provided. The smartcard may include a microprocessor chip, a button, a dynamic transaction authorization number, a Bluetooth low energy (“BLE”) device, and a battery. The battery may power the BLE and the microprocessor chip. The smartcard may also include memory. The memory may store the dynamic transaction authorization number. The smartcard may also include a dynamic magnetic strip. The dynamic magnetic strip may include a digital representation of the dynamic transaction authorization number. The method may include pressing the button. The method may also include transmitting an instruction to a smartphone for a request for a dynamic transaction authorization number. The transmission of an instruction may be in response to the pressing of the button. The method may also include receiving a dynamic transaction authorization number from a smartphone.
US09547846B2 Method and apparatus for the processing of data relating to calendar entries
Embodiments of the invention are concerned with processing data relating to calendar entries. In one embodiment processing includes detecting a correspondence between a telephone number and at least one characteristic of a calendar workspace item, and processing data relating to a communications event identified by the telephone number on the basis of the detected correspondence. The processing may include triggering a notification for an incoming communications event, such as a telephone call or text message, that is received by a telephony device.In another embodiment processing includes detecting a correspondence between at least one characteristic of a stored communications event workspace item and at least one characteristic of a calendar workspace item, and processing data relating to the communications event on the basis of the detected correspondence. This processing may include filtering a plurality of communications event workspace items, and displaying one or more of the filtered items.
US09547841B2 Deriving overlay information from a user input for a base message schema associated with a node in a message flow
There is disclosed a method, apparatus and computer program for deriving overlay information from a user input for a base message schema associated with a node in a message flow. The base message schema is presented to the user and has at least one variable portion. A user selection of a variable portion of the base schema is received. The user is then provided with possible overlay schema information for the selected variable portion. A user selection of the schema to be overlaid on the selected variable portion is received. The selected overlay schema is associated with the base schema.
US09547824B2 Method and apparatus for accelerated data quality checking
Disclosed herein is a method and apparatus for hardware-accelerating various data quality checking operations. Incoming data streams can be processed with respect to a plurality of data quality check operations using offload engines (e.g., reconfigurable logic such as field programmable gate arrays (FPGAs)). Accelerated data quality checking can be highly advantageous for use in connection with Extract, Transfer, and Load (ETL) systems.
US09547819B1 Phase-change material time-delay element for neuromorphic networks
A synapse for a neuromorphic network is provided. The synapse includes a time-delay portion having a first end and a second end, a first actuator located at the first end and in operational contact with the time-delay portion, and a second actuator located at the second end and in operational contact with the time-delay portion. The time-delay portion is formed from a phase change material wherein a change in the material of the time-delay portion alters a propagation time of a signal transmitted from the first actuator to the second actuator.
US09547808B2 Head-pose invariant recognition of facial attributes
A system facilitates automatic recognition of facial expressions or other facial attributes. The system includes a data access module and an expression engine. The expression engine further includes a set of specialized expression engines, a pose detection module, and a combiner module. The data access module accesses a facial image of a head. The set of specialized expression engines generates a set of specialized expression metrics, where each specialized expression metric is an indication of a facial expression of the facial image assuming a specific orientation of the head. The pose detection module determines the orientation of the head from the facial image. Based on the determined orientation of the head and the assumed orientations of each of the specialized expression metrics, the combiner module combines the set of specialized expression metrics to determine a facial expression metric for the facial image that is substantially invariant to the head orientation.
US09547801B2 Methods of chromogen separation-based image analysis
Methods for chromogen separation-based image analysis are provided, with such methods being directed to quantitative video-microscopy techniques in cellular biology and pathology applications.
US09547779B2 Method and apparatus for secure execution using a secure memory partition
A processor includes a plurality of general purpose registers and cryptographic logic to encrypt and decrypt information. The cryptographic logic is to support a Data Encryption Standard (DES) algorithm, a triple DES (3DES) algorithm, a Rivest-Shamir-Adleman (RSA) algorithm, and a Diffie Hellman algorithm. The processor also includes a plurality of memory partition registers to define a physical address range in a dynamic random access memory for use as a secure memory partition. The processor also includes a plurality of execution units coupled to the plurality of general purpose registers, the plurality of memory partition registers, and the cryptographic logic. The processor also includes secure partition enforcement logic coupled to the plurality of execution units and the memory partition registers, the secure partition enforcement logic to selectively permit read or write access to the dynamic random access memory.