Document	Document Title
US09554425B2	Induction heating device An induction heating device includes: a rectifying circuit that rectifies an AC power supply; a smoothing capacitor that smooths the rectified output to obtain a DC power supply; a first and a second inverters each composed of a heating coil, a resonance capacitor, and a switching element, and connected to the smoothing capacitor in parallel; a first and a second oscillating circuits that supply drive signals to the switching elements; and a controller that controls drive of the first and second oscillating circuits. The controller alternately drives the first and second oscillating circuits, and controls a drive time ratio of the first and second oscillating circuits so that a power change amount generated every time the drive is switched between the first and second oscillating circuits is not more than a predetermined amount.
US09554414B2	Method and apparatus for scaling an idle period of time for which an association is maintained between a station and an access point A method, apparatus and computer program product are provided to allow the idle period to be defined in a more tailored manner, such as on a per station or per class of stations basis, as opposed to on a per access point basis. In the context of a method, an indication of an idle period is caused to be provided to a station. The method also causes an association with the station to be maintained for a period of time that is at least partially defined by the idle period. The period of time for which an association is maintained with the station is different than a period of time for which an association is maintained with another station in an absence of communication with the another station. A corresponding apparatus and computer program product are also provided.
US09554407B2	Linking method between communication devices and related machine readable medium A linking method employed by a first communication device includes: transmitting a first network domain information to a second communication device before/after a link with the second communication device is established; receiving a second network domain information from the second communication device before/after the link with the second communication device is established; and when the first communication device is decided to be a group owner before/after the link with the second communication device is established, determining a network domain address of the link according to the first network domain information and the second network domain information.
US09554402B2	Freeing up mobile network for important phone calls in case of disaster According to one exemplary embodiment, a method for reducing load on a mobile network after the occurrence of a disaster event is provided. The method may include receiving a disaster location time. The method may include determining a target area based on the disaster location. The method may include determining target persons located within the target area. The method may include predicting the location of each target person based on historical movement data associated with each target person. The method may include determining a plurality of filtered persons based on the predicted location of each target person and the disaster time. The method may include determining a plurality of safe persons based on the filtered persons and a safety indicator. The method may include sending a safety notification to a plurality of concerned contacts associated with each safe person and blocking network traffic associated with each safe person.
US09554398B2	Method and apparatus for enhancing RLC for flexible RLC PDU size Enhancements are provided for the radio link control (RLC) protocol in wireless communication systems where variable RLC packet data unit (PDU) size is allowed. When flexible RLC PDU sizes are configured by upper layers, radio network controller (RNC)/Node B flow control, RLC flow control, status reporting and polling mechanisms are configured to use byte count based metrics in order to prevent possible buffer underflows in the Node B and buffer overflows in the RNC. The enhancements proposed herein for the RLC apply to both uplink and downlink communications.
US09554392B2	Machine to machine traffic management methods and systems A method and system for managing M2M traffic in a network is provided. The M2M device sends a message that includes a machine identity for the M2M device. A query is submitted to a database that correlates the machine identity with a QoS parameter or a priority. The message is assigned to one of a plurality of input queues based on the assigned QoS parameter or priority. Each input queue is associated with a delay period so that the message is held in the queue for a period less than the delay period.
US09554386B2	Component carrier activation and deactivation using resource assignments This invention relates to a proposal of an uplink resource assignment format and a downlink resource assignment format. Furthermore, the invention relates to the use of the new uplink/downlink resource assignments in methods for (de)activation of downlink component carrier(s) configured for a mobile terminal, a base station and a mobile terminal. To enable efficient and robust (de)activation of component carriers, while minimizing the signaling overhead, the invention proposes a new uplink/downlink resource assignment format that allow the activation/deactivation of individual downlink component carriers configured for a mobile. The new uplink or downlink resource assignment comprises an indication of the activation state of the configured downlink component carriers, i.e., indicate which downlink component carrier(s) is/are to be activated or deactivated. This indication is for example implemented by means of a bit-mask that indicates which of the configured uplink component carriers are to be activated respectively deactivated.
US09554377B2	Apparatus and method of avoiding control channel blocking The present application is directed to a wireless communication system and, more particularly, a method of processing a control channel at a user equipment in a wireless communication system using multiple carriers. The method comprises receiving a plurality of search spaces, wherein each search space comprises a plurality of control channel candidates and each search space is corresponding to respective carrier. The method also includes monitoring the control channel candidates for the control channel.
US09554375B1	Sector selection for coordinated multipoint based on application type Coordinated multipoint (CoMP) may involve coordination between multiple sectors to receive and/or process a given user equipment's uplink signal. Embodiments herein may help to intelligently select the particular sectors that should coordinate to provide uplink CoMP, based on the types of applications being served in sectors that are candidates to provide uplink CoMP. For example, a base station serving a primary sector in an CoMP group that includes two or more candidates from which to select a secondary sector sectors for uplink CoMP, may evaluate the application being served by traffic flows in these candidates, in an effort to select secondary sectors having lower-priority traffic flows.
US09554372B2	Method and device for controlling transmission power for uplink control channel in carrier aggregation system Provided are a method of controlling transmission power for an uplink control channel for a terminal to which a plurality of cells are assigned, and a device using the method. The method receives a first set of parameters and a second set of parameters that are used for determining transmission power for the uplink control channel and determines the transmission power for the uplink control channel by using the first set of parameters or the second set of parameters, wherein the first set of parameters or the second set of parameters is used according to one of the cells to which the uplink control channel is transmitted.
US09554368B2	Method and apparatus for transceiving control information in a wireless communication system An embodiment of the present invention relates to a method in which a terminal receives control information in a wireless communication system, said method comprising: a step of performing blind decoding in at least one portion of a resource region except the time unit indicated by a physical control format indicator channel (PCFICH) on a subframe, said at least one portion of the resource region is determined by whether a synchronizing signal or system information is transmitted or not.
US09554364B2	Communication system, mobile station and communication method Provided are a communication system, a mobile station and a communication method that can suppress the increase of processing loads of an IP-CAN accompanying trials made by mobile stations to connect to the IP-CAN via a wireless access network that does not support any services on the IP multimedia core network subsystem (IMS). For example, a UE (100) receives, from an SGSN via the 3G, service non-supporting information indicating that the 3G does not support any services on the IP multimedia subsystem, and, when having received the service non-supporting information, stops the transmission of an Activate PDP Context Request via the 3G.
US09554362B2	Method and system for controlling the operation of movable wireless networks A movable wireless network includes one or more wireless communication devices. The movable wireless network further includes a detector configured to detect a network event. The movable wireless network further includes a controller configured to change an operational state of the movable wireless network by changing at least one of a mobile country code and a mobile network code of the movable wireless network to be different from that of another wireless network, responsive to detection of the network event by the detector. The changed operational state corresponds to changing from a state of coordinated operation of the movable wireless network and the other wireless network to a state of independent operation of the movable wireless network and the other wireless network.
US09554359B2	Dynamic antenna tuner setting for carrier aggregation scenarios Apparatus and methods for dynamically adjusting radio frequency circuitry in a wireless communication device are disclosed. The wireless communication device can receive downlink communication using carrier aggregation through a primary component carrier and a secondary component carrier. When carrier aggregation is not enabled, the wireless communication device adjusts the radio frequency circuitry based on default values. When carrier aggregation is enabled, the wireless communication device evaluates radio frequency conditions for the primary and secondary component carriers and adjusts the radio frequency circuitry based on whether uplink and/or downlink communication is power constrained. When uplink communication is power constrained, the wireless communication device adjusts the radio frequency circuitry for optimal performance via the primary component carrier, and when uplink communication is not power constrained, the wireless communication device adjusts the radio frequency circuitry for optimal performance via the combination of the primary and secondary component carriers used for carrier aggregation.
US09554357B2	Method of providing a service on a downlink shared channel A method of receiving a service from a network in a mobile communication system in accordance with the present invention comprises receiving static scheduling information from a network, the static scheduling information including information on radio resources associated with combining reception, receiving dynamic scheduling information from the network, the dynamic scheduling information including control information for receiving the service, and receiving the service by combining downlink shared channels transmitted from a plurality of cells based on the static scheduling information and the dynamic scheduling information.
US09554347B2	Automatic calibration of processing delay of radio equipment A method and system for measuring end-to-end processing delay of the RE between an input interface and a transmit port in the downlink direction and a receive port and an output interface on the uplink direction is disclosed. The method and system if for use in a radio equipment node (RE) connected to a radio equipment control node (REC). Once the downlink and uplink radio channels are activated at a predetermined carrier frequency, a chirp sine wave is added at the input interface and the receive port such that the chirp sine wave becomes mixed with the carrier frequency. Sampling of a received downlink mixed signal is done at the transmit port and of the received uplink mixed signal at the output interface. The sampled mixed signals are then cross-correlated with a reference chirped sine wave to obtain a signal phase shift which is then converted to obtain a time delay associated with the end-to-end processing delay of the RE.
US09554346B2	Enhancing jitter buffer performance through radio level feedback A jitter buffer in a Voice over LTE receiver may be influenced by radio level feedback (RLF) from both local and remote endpoints to preemptively adjust the jitter buffer delay in anticipation of predicted future losses that have a high probability of occurring. The radio events of the RLF and the scenarios that trigger the preemptive adjustments may be identified, and their use may be expressed in terms of mathematical formulas. Previously, the instantaneous jitter was derived from a weighted history of the media stream, and consequently only packets that had already been received were used to compute the instantaneous jitter to adjust the length of the buffer. By providing and using RLF from both local and remote endpoints, the anticipated delay—for packets that have not yet arrived—may be used to preemptively adjust the buffer, thereby minimizing packet loss without introducing unnecessary delay.
US09554333B2	Method for controlling transmission power of wireless device A method for controlling transmission power of a wireless device is provided. A WiFi link is established to a communication device. A data rate of data packets transmitted to the communication device is monitored. Information from the communication device is obtained in response to the transmitted data packets. A transmission power of the wireless device is decreased when the data rate of the data packets reaches a highest data rate and the first information satisfies a specific condition.
US09554330B2	Wireless communication device A wireless communication device 81 operates in either a ROD mode or a non-ROD mode. The non-ROD mode sets the state of the device to an active state that the device can perform wireless communication compliant with a first communication scheme with a communication destination device 82. The ROD mode: sets the state of the device to either the active state or a sleep state that the device can receive an activation instruction signal compliant with a second communication scheme requiring smaller electric power to receive a signal than the first communication scheme and cannot perform wireless communication compliant with the first communication scheme with the communication destination device; sets the state of the device to the sleep state when a predetermined sleep condition is satisfied; and sets the state of the device to the active state when the device receives the activation instruction signal.
US09554323B2	Generating sequenced instructions for connecting through captive portals Embodiments produce a set of instructions for connecting to a network through a network access point based on data crowdsourced from mobile computing devices. The crowdsourced data describes interactions between the mobile computing devices and the network access point when establishing a connection to the network. A cloud service analyzes the crowdsourced data to identify a set of instructions for association with the network access point. The mobile computing devices replay the set of instructions when subsequently attempting to connect to the network access point.
US09554316B2	System and method to provide fast wide-area mobile IP handoffs A system, device, and method for real-time handoff in a mobile IP network is provided. In an embodiment, an indication that a mobile device is in a new network is sent out more often in a beacon than in an IRDP message in order to provide an effective seamless connectivity between service areas for wireless communications.
US09554314B2	Method and apparatus for providing cell re-selection An approach is provided for cell re-selection. A notification message is generated to indicate initiation of a coverage area re-selection procedure to operate in a new coverage area from a current coverage area. The re-selection procedure is performed if an acknowledgement message is received in response to the notification message.
US09554311B1	Resource management in first network based on service within second network A method and corresponding system to help manage resources in a wireless communication system. When a first access network has allocated a resource for use in serving a UE and the UE has then transitioned from being served by the first access network to being served by a second access network, a determination may be made that (i) the UE has then moved into particular coverage of the second access network and (ii) the first access network does not have a coverage area that corresponds with that particular coverage area of the second access network. In response, the first access network may then release the resource that it had allocated for use in serving the UE. In a scenario where the first access is configured to normally release the resource upon expiration of a resource-release timer, the release in response to the determination may advantageously occur before the timer expires.
US09554308B2	Delaying a trigger of a scheduling request after handover Methods, systems, and devices are described for transmitting scheduling requests for uplink transmission resources following a handover. A user equipment (UE) may determine that a handover from a first base station to a second base station has occurred, and may implement one or more processes to enhance efficiency in communications following the handover. A UE, for example, may wait for successful acquisition and/or derivation of timing information from a base station before attempting to schedule uplink resources with the base station.
US09554306B2	Method and system for transitioning between radio access technologies (RATS) A method in a wireless communications device having a first protocol stack for use with a first radio access technology (RAT) and a second protocol stack for use with a second RAT, the first protocol stack comprising a reordering component associated with a first layer of the first protocol stack and arranged to implement a data reordering queue, the method for transitioning from the first RAT to the second RAT, the method comprising: determining that the device should transition from the first RAT to the second RAT; in response to determining that the device should transition, determining that data is present in a reordering queue implemented by the reordering component; sending the data present in the reordering queue to a second layer which is higher than the first layer; and attempting transitioning from the first RAT to the second RAT.
US09554300B2	System and method for reporting that a maximum number of data contexts is reached If a wireless device does not know how many data contexts can be supported, then the wireless device might attempt to establish more data contexts than are supported. Such attempt would normally be rejected. However, the signalling involved in the attempt to establish another data context and the rejection of that attempt is considered wasteful. Embodiments of the present disclosure allow such waste to be reduced or avoided by signalling to the wireless device when the maximum number of data contexts is reached or when it is about to be reached. Such signalling can occur before any attempt to establish more data contexts than are supported. Thus, wasteful signaling involved with attempting to establish more data contexts can be avoided.
US09554294B2	Augmenting spectrum sharing using network measurements A method of operating a spectrum system includes issuing communicating transmitter commands to a spectrum operator system from the spectrum system. The spectrum operator system is in communication with a transmitter. The method also includes instructing, using a computing processor, the spectrum operator system to identify a set of wireless terminals associated with the transmitter, instruct the set of wireless terminals or a subset of the wireless terminals associated with the transmitter to return network measurements to the spectrum system, and instruct different subsets of wireless terminals associated with the transmitter over time to return network measurements to the spectrum system.
US09554293B2	Smooth transition between predictive and mobile-assisted spectral allocation Technologies are generally described for providing a transition between predictive and mobile-assisted spectral allocation. In some examples, wireless devices may be enabled to determine adequacy of theft allocated spectral path to meet their communication needs by analyzing signal-to-noise ratios (SNRs) of their assigned sub-carriers. If a wireless device determines a current sub-carrier to be inadequate based on the analysis, it may send information associated with preferred sub-carriers to a base station. The base station may determine one or more nearby good clusters based on a comparison of a sequence of received preferred sub-carriers and the spectral paths represented by the nearby cluster centers, and select a re-allocated spectral path with shortest information distance to the sequence of preferred sub-carriers.
US09554288B2	Method, system, and device for confirming uplink-downlink configuration Embodiments of the present invention relate to the technical field of wireless communication, and relate particularly to a method, a system, and a device for confirming an uplink-downlink configuration, for use in confirming via interference detection whether or not a cell is capable of conducting independently the uplink-downlink configuration. The method of the embodiments of the present invention comprises: a network side device confirming the receipt of a first RSRP value of a reference signal from a second cell by a first cell, the second cell being an adjacent cell of the first cell (201); on the basis of the first RSRP value, the network side device confirming whether or not the first cell is capable of conducting autonomously the uplink-downlink configuration (202). Measuring the RSRP value to determine whether or not the cell is capable of conducting independently the uplink-downlink configuration allows for the normal operation of a dynamic uplink-downlink configuration, reduced interference between adjacent cells in a dynamic uplink-downlink configuration environment, and improved system efficiency.
US09554285B2	Establishing wireless communication between a train and base stations Methods and systems are provided for communication between moving objects (e.g., a train) and land-based systems (e.g., base stations of mobile wireless networks). For example, wireless communication may be established between a train and one or more base stations arranged along a track travelled by the train. In some instances, multiple-input and multiple-output arrays may be configured, comprising antennas of one or more communication relays arranged on the train, and the one or more base stations. Communications may be performed concurrently via multiple communication channels, such as channels of a MIMO arrays, using cooperative communication schemes for example. Channel state information (CSI) may be stored, remotely or locally, such as in a data storage system, and for communicating via the communication channel(s), channel state information may be determined, such as depending on information defining the current location of communication relays used in establishing the channels.
US09554280B2	Method for managing data communication between a communication device and another device and communication device A method for managing data communication between a communication device (102) and another device (112) in a communication network, comprises providing (500) data for transmission by the communication device (102), and controlling by at least one secure management element (300, 304) operating in a secure environment (218) in the communication device the transmission of the provided data by the communication device so as to manage data transmitted by the communication device. The step of controlling may include at least one of controlling an amount of data transmitted, controlling a time of transmission of data and controlling a periodicity of transmission of data. A communication device and a method of managing data received by a communication device are also described.
US09554277B2	Managing access rights using a passive tag Methods, devices, and systems for managing access rights are described herein. One method includes receiving, by a mobile device, information from a passive tag located at an entrance to an area, wherein the information includes identification information for the entrance, sending, by the mobile device to a computing device of an access control system associated with the area, the information from the passive tag and a request to access the area, and granting, by the computing device of the access control system, access to the area based on the information from the passive tag and the request to access the area.
US09554270B2	Enhanced security for direct link communications A method and apparatus for secure direct link communication between multiple wireless transmit/receive units (WTRUs) are disclosed. The WTRUs may exchange nonces that are used for generating a common nonce. Group identification information may be generated from at least the common nonce and is forwarded to an authentication server. The authentication server may generate a master key from the group identification information to match WTRUs as part of a key agreement group. The common nonce may be a session key and be refreshed during communication with the second WTRU. A group key encryption key (GKEK) and a group key confirmation key (GKCK) may also be generated based on the common nonce and used to encrypt and sign the master key so that base stations do not have access to the master key. A first WTRU may generate a group direct link temporal key (GDLTK) for communicating with the second WTRU.
US09554268B2	System and method for updating persistent data in a wireless communications device A system and method are provided for updating persistent data in a wireless communications device. The wireless communications device receives patch manager run time instructions from an airlink interface. A run-time engine is launched. The run-time engine receives the patch manager run time instructions with dynamic instruction sets and new code sections, including updated persistent data. The run-time engine processes the dynamic instruction sets. In response to processing the dynamic instruction sets, the run-time engine selectively updates persistent data in the system software. The updated persistent data may, for example, be selected from the following: radio frequency (RF) calibration data, nonvolatile system and user configuration data, resource data, nonvolatile system and user application data, and arbitrary data.
US09554265B1	Methods and systems for facilitating data communication In accordance with one or more embodiments of the invention, methods and systems for facilitating data communication are presented. Requests to communicate data are received that include data indicative of a location of a target remote mobile computing device. A location to be searched for a target devices is determined, and location-based data of mobile devices is accessed. Potential target mobile devices are identified and data consistent with the request is sent to one or more potential targets.
US09554255B2	System and method for providing USSD services using cross-operator number A computer-implemented method and system for providing Unstructured Supplementary Service Data (USSD) services is provided. The computer-implemented method comprises the steps of configuring a cross-operator USSD module for receiving one or more service requests sent to a cross-operator number by one or more communication devices associated with one or more telecommunication service providers. The cross-operator USSD module further processes the one or more service requests for generating one or more interactive USSD menus based on information retrieved from the one or more service requests and one or more pre-defined rules. Furthermore, the cross-operator USSD module renders the one or more interactive USSD menus on the one or more communication devices, wherein the one or more interactive USSD menus facilitate one or more users of the one or more communication devices to avail the USSD services.
US09554242B2	Device, method and computer readable medium for communication on a zigbee network In a zigbee network, reliable communications are provided by maintaining messages transmitted from a device in a message queue in the device. If no successful acknowledgement is received for a transmitted message, the message is re-transmitted when the message queue executes. Messages are deleted from the queue when the message is successfully transmitted or when a maximum number of re-tries has been exhausted.
US09554233B2	Method and device for controlling multipriority in wireless communication system The present invention relates to a wireless communication system and, more specifically, to a method and a device for controlling a backoff timer on the basis of multipriority in a wireless communication system. The method for controlling a backoff timer in a terminal in which multipriority is set, according to one embodiment of the present invention, comprises the steps of: transmitting, to a network node, a non access stratum (NAS) request message which is set to a first priority level and does not have an access point name (APN); receiving a reject message for the NAS request message from the network node; and starting a session management (SM) backoff timer on the basis of the rejection message, wherein while the SM backoff timer is operated, the terminal is permitted to transmit a new NAS request message which is not set to the first priority level.
US09554231B2	Enterprise femtocell signaling A mobile device sends a request for a unique wireless network session identifier and receives, based on the request, the unique wireless network session identifier. The mobile device determines whether the unique wireless network session identifier includes a femtocell identifier. The mobile device applies one set of configuration settings when the unique wireless network session identifier includes the femtocell identifier, and applies a different set of configuration settings when the unique wireless network session identifier does not include the femtocell identifier.
US09554225B2	Devices and methods for audible indicators emanating from selected locations Methods, systems, and devices are described for providing audio to one or more individuals in an operating room. An ultrasonic signal generator may be provided that generates two or more ultrasonic signals that combine to produce an audible signal at a desired location. The audio signal may be perceived by individuals in the operating room to emanate from a surface or location within the operating room, or the audio signal may be generated to provide an audible signal to one or more persons within a particular location within the operating room. Multiple audio signals may be generated to emanate from multiple different locations. Likewise, multiple audio signals may be generated to provide different audible signals in different locations in the operating room.
US09554224B2	Holding unit for a vibration transmitter and a vibration transmission system using it A holding unit and a vibration transmission system are disclosed. The holding unit comprising a holding plate is configured to be attached to the skin by means of magnetic attraction between a number of external magnets that are either: a) integrated within the holding plate; b) mechanically attached to the holding plate; or c) constituting the holding plate and a number of internal magnets implanted under the skin of a hearing impaired person. The holding unit comprises a transmission member or plate member configured to transfer mechanical vibrations from a vibrator through the skin to the bone of the person. The transmission member or plate member is interconnected by a mechanical flexible coupling to the magnet(s) of the holding plate.
US09554220B2	System and method for network based hearing aid compatible mode selection A system and method for providing a hearing aid compatibility mode of communication service to hearing aid users is disclosed. The described system can store an indication at a communication network that a given account is used by a person who wears hearing aid equipment. Services provided to that account can then use communication parameters and network resources which tend to minimize interference with a hearing aid. The network can instruct the user equipment and the radio access network to communicate using hearing aid friendly parameters. In some cases, network resources beyond those allocated for accounts not indicated as hearing aid user accounts can be allocated. Parameters adjusted in hearing aid compatibility mode can include codec rates, operating power levels, and burst frame length, among others. In some described embodiments, the hearing aid compatibility mode can be selectively enabled as desired by an account user.
US09554218B2	Automatic sound optimizer Disclosed herein are systems and methods that help to optimize the sound quality produced when a sound processing mode is enabled in an audio device, such as a hearing prosthesis. When the sound processing mode is enabled, a sound processor in the audio device will create a candidate transformed signal based on a default set of parameters associated with the sound processing mode (i.e. a candidate signal processing function). Further, the sound processor will create a reference transformed signal based on the same enabled sound processing mode, but with a varied set of parameters (i.e. a modified signal processing function). The sound processor will then compare the candidate transformed signal to the reference transformed signal to determine which signal has a higher quality. The device then creates an output based on the higher quality signal.
US09554216B2	Bone-sealed audio device having insertion part with adhesive and phase-changing material An audio device with an insertion part being adapted to be inserted into an ear canal of a user. The insertion part comprises pressure means and a resilient surface. The resilient surface comprises an adhesive, which is adapted to adhere to a skin portion of a bony portion of an ear canal of a user. The pressure means are adapted to provide a force to press the adhesive against the skin portion. The pressure means include a phase-changing material, which is adapted to cause a reduction in the force, when heat is supplied to the phase-changing material.
US09554210B1	Multichannel acoustic echo cancellation with unique individual channel estimations A multi-channel echo cancellation system that dynamically adapts to changes in acoustic conditions. The system does not require a sequence of “start-up” tones to determine the impulse responses. Rather, the adaptive filters approximate estimated transfer functions for each channel. A secondary adaptive filter adjusts cancellation to adapt to changes in the actual transfer functions over time after the adaptive filters have been trained, even if the reference signals are not unique relative to each other.
US09554204B2	Mobile terminal device, computer-readable recording medium, and computer data signal Even if an external output device like an earphone is disconnected during outputting of reproduced recorded contents, the recorded contents can be consecutively output at the time of subsequent reproduction. When an earphone connection detector detects that an earphone is disconnected during the reproduction operation of reproducing and outputting audio and image information in a recording section with the earphone being connected, a CPU performs control in such a manner as to stop the reproduction operation. When the earphone connection detector detects that the earphone is connected while the reproduction operation is stopped, the CPU resumes reproducing the audio and image information in the recording section at the stop position.
US09554201B2	Multiple-orientation audio device and related apparatus An audio device includes a housing having first and second support surfaces for supporting the device at different orientations relative to the surface on which the device is placed, a driver to output sound in a radiating pattern associated with a first axis of the driver, and an orientation sensor to detect a direction of a force of gravity. A control circuit coupled to the driver and the orientation sensor determines the direction of the force of gravity relative to the first axis and whether the first axis is oriented to one of a first angle of elevation associated with physically supporting the device by the first surface and a second angle of elevation associated with physically supporting the device by the second surface. The circuit can alters the output by the driver based on the first axis being oriented to the first or second angles of elevation.
US09554200B2	Electronic shelf assembly incorporating spring loaded circuit pack latch rails An electronic shelf assembly configured to selectively receive a circuit pack including a pivotable handle incorporating a retention hook, the electronic shelf assembly including: a shelf assembly housing configured to selectively receive the circuit pack; a support rail coupled to the shelf assembly housing; a latch rail member movably coupled to the support rail and defining a recess configured to selectively receive and retain the retention hook of the pivotable handle of the circuit pack, thereby selectively securing the circuit pack within the shelf assembly housing; and a spring mechanism coupled to the latch rail member and the support rail, wherein the spring mechanism allows for relative movement of the latch rail member with respect to the support rail while biasing the latch rail member towards the support rail, thereby selectively biasing the circuit pack into the shelf assembly housing.
US09554197B2	Apparatus and method for processing an interactive service A method of processing an interactive service and an apparatus includes generating an application parameter table including a first identifier and a second identifier, wherein the first identifier identifies a interactive programming segment which application parameter table pertains to, and wherein the second identifier identifies an application within the scope of application parameter table; generating an activation message file that indicates at least one of activation times of the applications, wherein the activation message file includes a third identifier and activation messages, wherein the third identifier matches the first identifier of application parameter table which contains the applications, wherein the activation message includes a fourth identifier and a start time information, wherein the fourth identifier matches the second identifier of the application in the application parameter table.
US09554191B2	Method and system for implementing interactive televisions through near field communication technologies Interactive data, audio data, and video data are respectively encoded and packaged, and then an interactive television program is produced by multiplexing them. A receiving terminal receives the interactive television program and performs unpacking and decoding. The unpacked interactive data are transmitted by a near field communication module. An operating terminal receives the unpacked interactive data by a near field communication module thereof, parses out corresponding participatory information, and carries out the interaction with the content of the present television program.
US09554186B2	Method and an electronic device for playback of video The present disclosure relates to streaming of media content. In one example embodiment, an electronic device for playing video content may comprise a user interface, a processor and a memory. The memory may comprise computer program code, which, when run in the processor causes the electronic device to receive a first request to play first video content associated with a first video stream at the user interface, and in response to receiving the first request, pre-buffer data related to the first video stream; while pre-buffering this data and before playing the first video content at the user interface; display (at the user interface) a still image corresponding to a portion of the first video content in a first video tile at a first size; and re-size the first size to a second size such that a zooming-out effect of the displayed still image is provided.
US09554182B2	Personalized video entertainment system One or more content sequences are created from a store of video content, which could simply be broadcast content which has been captured and stored at a server within a network. The content sequences are generated according to the viewer's specified, or demonstrated, viewing preferences. The viewer preferences are captured form entry by the user themselves, or by observation of their viewing habits. Multiple ‘users’ per household and multiple content sequences per viewer are possible. A content sequences is then streamed to the viewer, and looks to him/her just like a TV channel: when one program ends, another starts automatically. It is also possible for a viewer to select an item within the content sequence using an interactive program controller.
US09554168B2	Methods and systems for sample recovery in AVB networks Embodiments are disclosed for a system for detecting and recovering from missing samples in an audio/video stream. In some embodiments, a system comprises a processor and a storage device storing instructions executable by the processor to determine that a first sample, of a plurality of samples in an audio/video data stream, was not received by a listener device in an audio video bridging system and allocate a first entry in a time slotted buffer for the first sample, wherein the first entry corresponds to a timestamp associated with the first sample. The instructions are further executable to fill the first entry in the time slotted buffer with a second sample immediately preceding the first sample in the audio/video data stream.
US09554152B2	Concurrent processing of horizontal and vertical transforms In an example, a method of transforming video data in video coding includes applying a first stage of a two-dimensional transform to a block of video data values to generate a block of first stage results, and applying a second stage of the two-dimensional transform to the block of first stage results without reordering the first stage results to generate a block of second stage results.
US09554150B2	Combined bi-predictive merging candidates for 3D video coding A video coder generates a list of merging candidates for coding a video block of the 3D video. A maximum number of merging candidates in the list of merging candidates may be equal to 6. As part of generating the list of merging candidates, the video coder determines whether a number of merging candidates in the list of merging candidates is less than 5. If so, the video coder derives one or more combined bi-predictive merging candidates. The video coder includes the one or more combined bi-predictive merging candidates in the list of merging candidates.
US09554147B2	Image coding method, image decoding method, image coding apparatus, image decoding apparatus, and image coding and decoding apparatus An image coding method includes: writing, into a sequence parameter set, buffer description defining information for defining a plurality of buffer descriptions; selecting one of the buffer descriptions for each processing unit that is a picture or a slice, and writing buffer description selecting information for specifying the selected buffer description, into a first header of the processing unit which is included in the coded bitstream; and coding the processing unit using the selected buffer description, and the buffer description defining information includes long-term information for identifying, among a plurality of reference pictures indicated in the buffer descriptions, a reference picture to be assigned as a long-term reference picture.
US09554144B2	Method for inducing a merge candidate block and device using same The present invention relates to a method for inducing a merge candidate block and a device using same. An image decoding method involves decoding motion estimation region (MER) related information; determining whether or not a predicted target block and a spatial merge candidate block are included in the same MER; and determining the spatial merge candidate block to be an unavailable merge candidate block when the predicted target block and the spatial merge candidate block are included in the same MER. Accordingly, by parallely performing the method for inducing a merge candidate, parallel processing is enabled and the computation amount and implementation complexity are reduced.
US09554143B2	System and method for efficient multi-bitrate and multi-spatial resolution media encoding A system and method for multi-bitrate and multi-spatial resolution media encoding are disclosed. In an embodiment for encoding a sequence of pictures at a given spatial resolution to an encoding format at a plurality of output bitrates, the sequence of pictures and a picture type for each of the pictures are received. Further, best combinations of encoding parameters for each coding tree block (CTB) in each of the pictures are identified from a determined set of combinations of encoding parameters supported by the encoding format for the associated picture type. Furthermore, the sequence of pictures are encoded using the best of the identified combinations of encoding parameters for each CTB in each of the pictures to create media bit streams at the plurality of output bitrates.
US09554142B2	Encoding of video stream based on scene type An encoder for encoding a video stream or an image is described herein. The encoder receives an input video stream and outputs an encoded video stream that can be decoded at a decoder to recover, at least approximately, an instance of the input video stream. The encoder encodes a video stream by first identifying scene boundaries and encoding frames between scene boundaries using a set of parameters. For at least two different scene sequences, different sets of parameters are used, providing adaptive, scene-based encoding.
US09554135B2	Method, medium, and system compressing and/or reconstructing image information with low complexity A system, medium, and method compressing and/or restoring images. Such a data compression method may include selecting a mode from among a plurality of modes for compressing current data, according to predetermined criteria, and calculating a difference between the current data and reference data, according to the selected mode, and compressing the current data, or truncating a part of the current data and compressing the current data. Accordingly, it is possible to significantly lower the complexity of an image encoder/decoder system and exactly meet a picture-based CBR required by LCD DCC devices/systems.
US09554129B2	Extension data handling A length indicator (23) associated with an encoded representation (20) of a slice (3) is parsed. The length indicator (23) is indicative of a length of an extension field (24) present in a slice header (21) of the encoded representation (20). A decoder (40) can then determine to ignore, during decoding of the encoded representation (20), any value of the extension field (24) in the slice header (21) where these values are identified based on the length indicator (23). As a consequence, extension fields (23) can be added to slice headers (21) and still enable legacy decoders (40) to correctly decode the encoded representations (20).
US09554127B2	Display apparatus, method for controlling the display apparatus, glasses and method for controlling the glasses A display apparatus for providing a multi view mode along with glasses is provided. The display apparatus includes a communicator which communicates with the glasses, a display which displays multiple contents respectively, a screen telephony performer which performs screen telephony with another display apparatus, and a controller. The controller controls the communicator to transmit a user's voice received from the another display apparatus to the glasses, when the screen telephony with another display apparatus is performed, and which controls the display to display screen telephony images received from the another display apparatus and one content from among the multiple contents in a multi view mode.
US09554121B2	3D scanning apparatus and method using lighting based on smart phone A 3D scanning apparatus and method using lighting based on a smart phone. The 3D scanning apparatus includes: an image capturing unit for capturing the image of a 3D object using a camera and a lighting apparatus installed in a terminal; an image processing unit for generating a color-enhanced image corresponding to the light emitted by the lighting apparatus; and a scanning unit for scanning the 3D object in 3D by extracting a scan area from the color-enhanced image based on the light and by extracting position information corresponding to the scan area.
US09554120B2	Apparatus and method for generating depth image using transition of light source An apparatus and method for generating a depth image using transition of light sources may include a surface information determination unit to determine surface information related to a surface of an object, using a plurality of intensity images generated according to position of light sources; and an output depth image generation unit to generate an output depth image, using an original depth image and the surface information.
US09554106B2	Projector and method for controlling projector A projector in which a liquid crystal display panel modulates light emitted from a light source and the modulated image light is projected, the projector includes a temperature detector that detects a temperature in the projector and a controller that determines the amount of overdrive based on the temperature detected by the temperature detector in accordance with a driven state of the projector and performs overdrive control on the liquid crystal display panel based on the amount of overdrive.
US09554102B2	Processing digital images to be projected on a screen An embodiment relates to a method for converting a digital image from a first color space to a second color space. The first color space is associated with an electronic source device, and the second color space is associated with a projection apparatus of digital images on a screen and coupled to the source device. The method includes: performing a first conversion on a first triad of parameters associated to the first color space by a first conversion matrix to map such a first triad in a third triad of parameters; the third triad is representative of a color space independent from the first and the second color spaces; performing a second conversion on the third triad of parameters by a second conversion matrix to map such a third triad of parameters in a second triad of parameters representative of the second color space. An embodiment of the step of performing the second conversion includes a step of computing the coefficients of the second conversion matrix based on at least one first piece of information representative of a variable distance between the projection apparatus and the screen.
US09554099B1	Multifunctional security surveillance and lighting device A multifunctional security and surveillance and lighting apparatus which takes the appearance of a prior art conventional lighting apparatus to discretely observe an area. The device has an optical video camera, a computer, an infrared detector, a motion detector, and a speaker. The device communicates the output of its various sensors to a remote server. The device further has a high output lighting apparatus, which apparatus is smaller than prior art conventional high intensity discharge lamps, allowing the housing to store surveillance equipment while still appearing similar to a prior art conventional housing.
US09554088B2	Mobile terminal, display apparatus and control method thereof Disclosed is a control method for a display apparatus and a mobile terminal which includes a camera for taking a photograph and generating an image; a voice input unit which is used to input a voice; a user input unit which receives a user's input; a display unit which displays the image thereon; a wireless communication unit which communicates with a counterpart mobile terminal through a wireless network; and a controller which performs a video call by transmitting to the counterpart mobile terminal video call data comprising a video generated by the camera and a voice input by the voice input unit according user input, displays on the display unit a shared image during the video call, and transmits to the counterpart mobile terminal the shared image added to the video call data.
US09554086B1	True motion vector editing tool A method of generating motion vectors for image data includes identifying boundaries of at least one object in original frames of image data, performing object motion analysis based upon the boundaries, performing pixel-level motion layer generation, using the object motion analysis and the pixel-level motion layers to generate motion for blocks in the image data, and producing block level motion information and layer information for the original frames of image data.
US09554085B2	Method and device for dynamically controlling quality of a video Embodiments of the present disclosure disclose a method and a device for dynamically controlling quality of a video displaying on a display associated to an electronic device is provided. The method comprises detecting current eye position of a user and identifying at least one region of interest (ROI) on a display screen of the display device based on the current eye position of the user. Then, the method comprises predicting next position of the eye based on at least one of the current eye position of the user or the at least one ROI. Also, the method comprises converting the SD video in to a high definition (HD) video displayed on the ROI on the display screen associated with the current and next position of the eye. Further, the method comprises displaying the HD video on the ROI of the display screen.
US09554083B2	Methods for selecting resolution with minimum distortion value and devices performing the methods A method of operating an image processing according to an example embodiment includes generating a plurality of encoded bitstreams having different resolutions using an original image output from a video source, generating a plurality of restored images corresponding to the plurality of encoded bitstreams, respectively, the plurality of restored images having a same resolution as a first resolution of the original image, and outputting one of the plurality of encoded bitstreams, based on the plurality of restored images and the original image.
US09554079B2	Vehicle-mounted electronic device A vehicle-mounted electronic device according to the present invention is provided with a sensor 15 that detects illumination 17 from a following vehicle 16, in at least one of a display unit 9 and a main body case 7, and is configured such that a control unit 11 rotates the display unit 9 by means of a drive unit 10 when the sensor 15 detects the illumination 17 from the following vehicle 16. Thereby, the illumination 17 from the following vehicle 16 does not reflect on the display unit 9 toward a viewer, as a result of which, the influence by illumination from the following vehicle 16 can be reduced.
US09554074B2	Ramp generator for low noise image sensor A readout circuit for use in an image sensor includes a sense amplifier circuit coupled to a bitline to sense analog image data from a pixel cell of the image sensor. An analog to digital converter is coupled to the sense amplifier circuit to convert the analog image data to digital image data. A ramp generator circuit is coupled to generate a first ramp signal. The analog to digital converter is coupled to generate the digital image data in response to the analog image data and the first ramp signal. A first capacitive voltage divider is coupled to the ramp generator. The first capacitive voltage divider is coupled to reduce an output voltage swing of the first ramp signal coupled to be received by the analog to digital converter to reduce noise in the first ramp signal.
US09554073B2	Integrated circuit and image sensor comprising same An integrated circuit comprises a first signal transfer block comprising first through (M)-th aligning blocks that are cascade-coupled to produce first aligned control signals through (M)-th aligned control signals, respectively, by aligning first control signals with a clock signal, wherein M is an integer greater than one, and a functional block divided into first through (M)-th sub-functional blocks configured to perform a same function in parallel, each of the first through (M)-th sub-functional blocks operating according to corresponding ones of the first aligned control signals through (M)-th aligned control signals generated by the first through (M)-th aligning blocks.
US09554069B2	Solid-state imaging apparatus changing a gate voltage of a transfer transistor, driving method for the same, and imaging system A solid-state imaging apparatus includes: a photoelectric conversion unit configured to convert light into an electric charge; a floating diffusion region configured to convert the electric charge into a voltage; a transfer transistor configured to transfer the electric charge from the photoelectric conversion unit to the floating diffusion region; and a transfer transistor driving circuit configured to control a gate potential of the transfer transistor, wherein the transfer transistor driving circuit controls the gate potential so as to be changed in at least two changing rates during a period of transition from the ON state to the OFF state of the transfer transistor, and the second changing rate out of the two changing rates is higher than the first changing rate.
US09554065B2	Image capture with addition of accumulation signals for adjacent photodetectors An image capture instrument implements an addition of accumulation signals for photodetectors which are adjacent within a row of photodetectors. Segments are defined in the row with one and the same common length of segment, while being progressively offset by an offset length which is constant. The accumulation signals are added together for photodetectors which belong to one and the same segment. The offset length is less than the segment length, and greater than half said segment length. Artifacts in the image captured, which are due to spectrum aliasing, are thus decreased. The signal-to-noise ratio of the image is increased.
US09554058B2	Method, apparatus, and system for generating high dynamic range image There is provided a method of generating a high dynamic range (HDR) image, including obtaining an image sequence with similar exposure times, obtaining a plurality of still images with different exposure times, which temporally correspond to at least one image among the image sequence, and generating a matched image having an HDR from the plurality of still images by using the image sequence.
US09554049B2	Guided video capture for item listings Disclosed in some examples is a method of guided video capture, the method including identifying a video capture template, the video capture template including a plurality of target video parameters, each of the target video parameters corresponding to one of a plurality of video capture directions; while capturing video, selecting a video capture direction from the plurality of video capture directions based on video parameters of captured video and the plurality of target video parameters using a processor and presenting the selected video capture direction to a user on a display device.
US09554042B2	Preventing motion artifacts by intelligently disabling video stabilization Digital video stabilization is selectively turned off in circumstances where it could actually decrease the quality of a captured video. A video camera includes a device for directly detecting physical motion of the camera. Motion data from the motion detector are analyzed to see if video stabilization is appropriate. If the motion data indicate that the video camera is stable, for example, then video stabilization is not applied to the video, thus preventing the possibility of introducing “motion artifacts” into the captured video. In another example, motion as detected by the motion detector can be compared with motion as detected by the video-stabilization engine. If the two motions disagree significantly, then the video-stabilization engine is probably responding more to motion in the captured video rather than to motion of the camera itself, and video stabilization should probably not be applied to the video.
US09554035B2	Image pickup device, method of controlling image pickup device, and computer program for automatically achieving composition specified by user There is provided an image pickup device including: a composition detection unit configured to calculate a time at which an object that is specified by a user and is included in a captured image achieves a composition specified by the user; a time calculation unit configured to calculate a time after start instruction of image pickup operation is issued but before an image is captured; and an image pickup control unit configured to start image pickup processing of the image in response to the start instruction of the image pickup operation. The composition detection unit issues the start instruction of the image pickup operation to the image pickup control unit the time calculated by the time calculation unit before the time at which the composition specified by the user is achieved.
US09554034B2	Lens device The purpose of the present invention is to reduce the size of an image pick-up lens unit. A part of a bundle of rays representing subject optical images is deflected vertically downward by a polarization prism, and is further deflected forwards by a total reflection mirror. A bundle of rays totally reflected by the total reflection mirror is split in three directions by a tri-directional splitting prism. The bundle of rays, which is split in three directions, is incident on a first optical-path-length-difference image pick-up element, a second optical-path-length-difference image pick-up element, and a phase-difference image pick-up element included in a phase-difference AF optical system. Auto focus (AF) is performed on the basis of the optical path length difference from signals obtained from the optical-path-length-difference image pick-up elements, and AF is performed on the basis of the phase difference from a signal obtained from the phase-difference image pick-up element. Since the phase-difference AF optical system is disposed so as to be parallel to the axis of the light forming the subject optical images, the size of the image pick-up lens unit can be reduced.
US09554033B2	Focus detection apparatus, method of controlling the same, and storage medium A focus detection apparatus comprises a line sensor including a photoelectric conversion element and an integrating capacitor, a storage unit configured to store information concerning a defective pixel, a first comparison unit configured to compare a signal from the defective pixel with a predetermined threshold, a switching unit configured to switch between a first accumulation mode and a second accumulation mode, and a control unit configured to control the switching unit so as to set the line sensor in the first accumulation mode if the first comparison unit determines that a signal from the defective pixel is not more than the predetermined threshold and set the line sensor in the second accumulation mode if the first comparison unit determines that a signal from the defective pixel is larger than the threshold.
US09554032B2	Image pickup apparatus and display control method An image pickup apparatus uses an image pickup device. A manual focus adjusting unit is configured to control a focus lens in response to a user's input operation. An edge detecting unit is configured to detect edge components from an image signal obtained by the image pickup device and to output detection levels of the detected edge components. A color signal replacement unit is configured to replace a signal of a pixel corresponding to the detection level with a predetermined color signal when the detection level satisfies a predetermined condition. A display unit is configured to display an image based on an output image signal from the color signal replacement unit.
US09554012B2	Image reading apparatus and image forming apparatus A driving device is used in an image reading apparatus, and reciprocates a scanning unit for reading an image on an original. The driving device comprises a pull member, a driving pulley which transmits driving force to the pull member, a following pulley which applies tension to the pull member and a pulley holder having a pulley axis which holds the following pulley rotatably. Then, the pulley axis has a lock pawl capable of locking an upper end portion of the following pulley and canceling engagement with the following pulley by being tilted toward a side of an axial center by elastic deformation. Furthermore, the lock pawl is arranged at a side of a tension acting direction from the pull member to the following pulley except the farthest position from the driving pulley among positions in a circumferential direction of the pulley axis. It is possible to attach and detach the following pulley easily at a time of maintenance or the like.
US09553997B2	Toll-free telecommunications management platform A Toll-Free Management Platform (TFMP) includes methods and systems for number administration, customer administration, call management services, texting services and text registry, and a smart services registry. The TFMP may allow users to search for, receive recommendations for, and make reservations of toll-free numbers. A user interface may allow activating a toll-free number, through a one-click activation function and users may access the TFMP to create and access existing templates of toll-free call routing templates, and utilize a routing tree engine to create customized call routing trees for the toll-free numbers of interest to the user. Predictive analytic services may be provided that allow a user through a customizable user interface, or dashboard, to access third party data sources and other information derived from toll-free telecommunications networks.
US09553993B2	Device and process for selecting one of a plurality of direct inward dialing numbers Selecting one of a plurality of direct inward dialing numbers for dialing an international number preceded by a direct inward dialing number is disclosed. A destination phone number to be dialed by a wireless device is initially received at the wireless device. It is then determined that the destination phone number is an international destination phone number. In response to the determination that the destination phone number is an international destination phone number, one direct inward dialing number is selected from among a plurality of direct inward dialing numbers. The selected one direct inward dialing number connects the wireless device to a server. Next, the wireless device dials the one selected direct inward dialing number and determines that a connection between the wireless device and the server has been established. Finally, the international destination phone number is forwarded to the server.
US09553986B2	Computer-implemented voice markup language-based server A computer-implemented method and system for a telephony server to provide services based upon a call from a user. A user communicates with the telephony server over a telephone communication device. The telephony server retrieves a voice application over a computer network from a remote web site and uses it to have a speech-based conversation with the user. The conversation results in obtaining service data from the user. The retrieved voice application performs the requested service based upon the user-provided service data. After the requested service is performed, the voice application and the user service data are removed from the telephony server.
US09553985B2	Determining and denying call completion based on detection of robocall or unsolicited advertisement Unwanted calls are detected by determining all calls which are unverified by prior prompting the caller to provide data, such as “press 5 to be connected” or “say ‘proceed’” before being allowed to connect. Once connected, the called party may indicate that the call was/is unwanted and should be disconnected. Then, the call is disconnected from the called party while being maintained with the switch. The call is also recorded in embodiments of the disclosed technology, with the audio therefrom, or audio signature, being used to detect future unwanted calls. The detection of future unwanted calls may further be modified or determined based on association of called parties to each other, which, additionally, may be used to change the threshold of closeness of audio signatures between calls.
US09553983B2	Data and call routing and forwarding A system and method for determining an order in which to communicate with a list of numbers and/or addresses for a particular contact is disclosed. Each caller that communicates with the contact may specify a different order for the contact's various phone numbers and other addresses. A communication management system may then automatically dial the numbers or use messaging addresses to initiate data communications in the specified order when the initiating party attempts to communicate with the contact. The order may specify simultaneous and/or sequential use of numbers or addresses. Alternatively or additionally, the communication management system may dynamically and/or automatically determine the communication order or a portion thereof. The automatic determination of the order may be based on a communication history or communication receiving of the initiating party. In some arrangements, the order may be partially manually defined and partially automatically defined.
US09553971B2	Portable device-enabled monitoring and security system A portable device-based monitoring and security system has a docking device with a connector for connecting to a portable electronic device. The docking device has a plurality of sensors that are able to transmit to the portable electronic device signals representing measurement values acquired by the sensors. In one embodiment, the docking device is a base with a cradle and a plug connector for connecting with a jack of the portable electronic device. The base may be an externally powered unit, forming a charging station for the portable electronic device. The sensors may include a carbon monoxide sensor, an ambient light sensor, a sound sensor, a gas sensor, a smoke sensor, a motion sensor, and the like. In the case in which the docking device is a portable dongle or a protective case with a dongle, the sensors are advantageously CO sensors, TDS sensors, pH sensors, breathalyzer or UV sensors.
US09553970B2	Cell phone system for enabling and disabling a vehicle A cell phone system (10) for enabling and disabling a vehicle (12) includes a cell phone (20) and a receiving receptacle (22) secured within the vehicle (12) that is configured so that the cell phone (20) cannot transmit signals whenever the cell phone (20) is secured within the receiving receptacle (22). A vehicle enabling mechanism (44) is secured within the receiving receptacle (22) and is also secured in communication with an engine (50) of the vehicle (12) so that placement of the cell phone (20) within the receiving receptacle (22) activates the vehicle enabling mechanism (44) to put the vehicle (12) in an enabled mode, and so that removal of the cell phone (20) from the receiving receptacle (22) deactivates the vehicle enabling mechanism (44) to put the vehicle (12) in a disabled mode.
US09553968B2	Method and device for recording information A method for a mobile terminal to record information, including: detecting an acceleration of the mobile terminal; determining whether the detected acceleration is higher than or equal to a preset acceleration threshold; and initiating a recording function of the mobile terminal to record information if it is determined that the detected acceleration is higher than or equal to the preset acceleration threshold.
US09553962B2	Window member and display apparatus having the same A window member includes a base substrate that includes a display area transmitting a light and a non-display area disposed adjacent to the display area, a color pattern disposed on a surface of the base substrate in the non-display area, and a heat-discharge member that covers the color pattern and absorbs a heat to discharge the heat to an outside.
US09553960B1	Loudspeaker with laminate panel for mobile computing platforms Systems and methods enhancing loudspeaker audio performance in thin devices, such as mobile computing platforms and/or communication handsets. In some embodiments, a laminate panel including a dielectric membrane and one or more conductive traces forming an inductive loop suitable wireless charging and/or near field communication (NFC) element is employed as a loudspeaker driven at audio frequencies. In some embodiments, the laminate panel is driven with one or more piezoelectric element. In some embodiments, the laminate panel is of a stiffness and mass to provide a frequency response distinct from that of integrated micro-speakers for a 2.1 audio solution with wider bandwidth than is possible with micro-speakers employing back-side cavities. In some embodiments, the frequency spectrum spanned by the laminate panel loudspeaker enables a tweeter design lacking back-side cavities for smaller device form factor. In some ultra-small form factors, micro-speakers may be eliminated from the platform with the laminate panel providing the only loudspeaker diaphragm for the mobile platform.
US09553958B2	System and method for full-duplex MAC timing modifications A system, method, and computer-readable storage media for reducing monopolization of a frequency channel during full-duplex communications. The MAC layer of governing communications can be modified to reduce likelihood of monopolization by (1) in networks which are exclusively filled with full-duplex devices, configuring non-communicating devices to ignore data collisions of communicating devices, requiring the communicating devices to wait for an standard backoff time after the data transmission is complete; and/or (2) in mixed half-duplex/full-duplex networks, requiring a half-duplex nodes and/or a full-duplex node to wait an extended duration after the data transmission is complete, while the non-communicating devices do not wait an extended duration.
US09553957B2	Transmitting apparatus, receiving apparatus and signal processing method thereof A transmitting apparatus includes: a baseband packet generator configured to generate a baseband packet including a header and payload data corresponding to an input stream; a frame generator configured to generate a frame including the baseband packet; a signal processor configured to process the generated frame; and a transmitter configured to transmit the processed frame, wherein the header includes information about whether a number of null packets deleted when generating the baseband packet is more than a predetermined number, information about a number of packets within the baseband packet, and information about a number of the deleted null packets.
US09553954B1	Method and apparatus utilizing packet segment compression parameters for compression in a communication system A method and apparatus for compressing data in a communication system by receiving uncompressed packet at a compressor of the communication system, segmenting the packet into a plurality of packet segments, estimating packet segment compression parameters for each of the plurality of packet segments and compressing the packet segments utilizing one or more of the estimated packet segment compression parameters that are estimated and adjusted based upon the signal characteristics of the uncompressed packet and a desired compression ratio.
US09553949B2	Method and system implemented by a collaborative distributed computational network, and related devices Method and system implemented by a collaborative distributed computational network, and related devices, comprising a plurality of client devices supported by a computational network to cooperatively perform interactive operations in at least one community of practice organized in a hierarchical structure at strategic levels, wherein said method comprises the steps of registering at least one community of practice on the computational network, creating a network of practice; assigning a unique identification code for a device on the network of practice computational network, identifying a user through an unique identification user code; connecting the user to at least one community of network of practice; defining a practice; unfolding the practice in strategic levels of this community of practice; registering the practice on the computational network; locating the practice in organizational or geographical coordinates; registering the localization of practice on the computational network; selecting a template guide containing sequential instructions content (as a script) and components; configuring the guide that implements the practice at the strategic level of the community of practice; publishing the guide in a client device through computer applications; setting up the interfaces of guides of client device for groups of people in group interactions of the same strategic level or between community of practice strategic levels; setting up specific interfaces of guides for individual actions on the client devices for individual interaction; manipulating guides on the client device group for the group interaction or when there is interaction between community of practice strategic levels; manipulating the individual guides on personal client devices when there are individual actions; storing the guide manipulation data in a distributed and asynchronous way on the client devices; maintaining versioning of data from historical records; synchronize data between client devices themselves and with the servers when the there is connectivity between them; and process the distributed guide data organizing and sorting out the history of best practices.
US09553945B2	Semantic data broker for dynamic association between devices and applications In one embodiment, a broker device receives device-identifying data to identify a device in a computer network. An ontology associated with the device-identifying data is then identified by the broker device and in response to identifying the ontology, interpretation instructions related to the identified ontology are determined. The broker device receives data from the identified device and interprets the received data based on the interpretation instructions.
US09553944B2	Application server platform for telecom-based applications using an actor container In accordance with various embodiments, a set of features are described for enabling an application server platform for telecom based applications. A system for providing an application server for telecom-based applications can include a computer, including a computer readable medium and processor. The system can also include an application server, executing on the computer. The application server can include an actor container that manages and provides lifecycle and runtime properties for application classes that are executed as actors in the application server. The actor container can manages a set of event transactions, wherein all storage operations are performed as part of the event transaction that spans each event handler invocation.
US09553943B1	Dynamic push notifications based on indoor micro-locations A process for dynamic modification of push notifications based on indoor micro-locations includes receiving a selection for initial message parameters for a push notification. A push message is sent to a mobile device using the initial message parameters. The push message is received with the initial message parameters. The mobile device determines an access event including unlocking the mobile device or sensing a change in light. The mobile device substitutes the push notification initial message parameters with new message parameters based on the access event and real-time detection of one or more micro-locations in a particular venue.
US09553926B2	System and method for peer to peer social networking System enables users to surf the web and engage in social networking interaction through a downloadable peer-to-peer client that stores all user's private information locally on the user's computer. System establishes communication between the computers of multiple users participating in social interaction without having to store users' personal information on central servers. All user data, including, without limitation, pictures, ideas, personal information and communications with friends is maintained locally on the user's own computer and the social communication takes place between two or more users' computers. This provides the users with greater control over the dissemination of their personal information. In addition, the system randomly selects peer-to-peer social networking clients that are online at any given time and enable such clients to randomly and automatically connect with one another.
US09553924B1	Load sharing among loosely coupled or independent video servers Methods, systems, and apparatuses can provide a pooling architecture for video servers and network resources. The pooling architecture can be based upon allocating content object copies to two or more nodes, intelligently selecting a primary streaming resource and a failover streaming resource, and identifying and compensating for exception asymmetries in system resource demand.
US09553918B1	Stateful and stateless cookie operations servers A stateful or stateless cookie operations server machine can provide real-time, actionable, user-specific tracking abilities in the collection of impressions and user interactions with a company's digital properties. The client-side code (e.g., in a web browser) may request an element configured with parameters and a hyperlink (e.g., URL) that causes parameters to be sent to a remote server. The remote server may process the parameters and perform various operations based on the parameters. Mathematical and/or other operations may be performed using the parameters. The remote server may retrieve a configuration corresponding to the request. The remote server may generate or transform content, based on the configuration. The remote server may transmit the transformed content.
US09553917B2	Server, device and recording medium for HTTP file transfer during chatting session established by another protocol A message server for transferring a file by using hypertext transfer protocol (HTTP) during a chatting session established by another protocol, includes: a server transceiver unit configured to transmit and receive data; and a server control unit configured to provide a chatting service by establishing the chatting session between a transmitting terminal device and a receiving terminal device through the server transceiver unit, and transmit file link information to the receiving terminal device through the server transceiver unit when the file link information is received from the transmitting terminal device through the server transceiver unit, wherein the file link information is associated with a file uploaded using HTTP to a content server by the transmitting terminal device.
US09553909B2	System and method for assignment and switching of content sources for a streaming content session Various embodiments of a system and method for assignment and switching of content sources for a streaming content session are described. Embodiments may include the generation and use of content source rankings for improving playback quality of content streams. In embodiments, a merchant system may collect and aggregate multiple quality metrics for different content streams that various content sources provide to various clients. The merchant system may utilize the quality metrics to generate rankings of content sources for clients. The merchant system may provide such rankings to clients to improve the content stream playback experience on the client. For instance, at content acquisition time, a client may request a content stream from a content resource ranked highest on a content source ranking provided by the merchant. If the content stream degrades, the client may source subsequent portions of the content stream from another highly ranked content source of the ranking.
US09553906B2	Method and system for synchronization of data streams A method includes: while streaming video frames on a network toward a client device, detecting a loss of connectivity between the network and the client device; responsive to detecting the loss of the connectivity between the network and the client device, ceasing the streaming of the video frames toward the client device; subsequent to detecting the loss of connectivity, determining that the connectivity between the network and the client device has been re-established; responsive to determining that the connectivity between the network and the client device has been re-established, resuming the streaming of the video frames on the network toward the client device by transmitting an Instantaneous Decoder Refresh (IDR) frame on the network toward the client device without sending one or more frames corresponding to images chronologically prior to an image corresponding to the IDR frame.
US09553890B2	Devices, systems, and methods for detecting proximity-based mobile malware propagation Devices, systems, and methods are disclosed. An agent resides in a mobile communication device. The agent detects Proximity-based Mobile Malware Propagation. The agent injects one or more trigger network connections in the candidate connection list. These connections appear as legitimate networks and devices, but instead trigger connection to an agent server on a service provider's network. By attempting to connect through the trigger network connection, the malware reveals itself. The system helps collect the malware signature within a short period of time after the malware outbreak in local areas, though such attacks typically bypass network based security inspection in the network.
US09553889B1	System and method of detecting malicious files on mobile devices Disclosed are system, method and computer program product for detecting malicious files on mobile devices. An example method includes: analyzing a file to identify classes and methods contained in said classes; identifying a bytecode array for each identified method; determining instructions contained in each method by identifying a corresponding operation code from the bytecode array of each method; dividing the determined instructions for each method into a plurality of groups based on similarity of functionality among said instructions; forming a vector for each method on the basis of the results of the division of the instructions into the plurality of groups; comparing the formed vectors with a plurality of vectors of known malicious files to determine a degree of similarity between the compared vectors; and determining whether the analyzed file is malicious or clean based on the degree of similarity between the compared vectors.
US09553888B2	Systems and methods for dynamic protection from electronic attacks Systems and methods for gathering, classifying, and evaluating real time security intelligence data concerning security threats presented by an IP address, and reporting in real time the degree and character of such security threats.
US09553878B2	People directory with social privacy and contact association features In one embodiment, a social networking system provides people look up service and establish anonymous communication session between users; creates contact association for future communication between users; and configures one or more privacy settings for users.
US09553876B2	IOT device environment detection, identification and caching A method and apparatus for controlling latency within a wireless system, and more specifically sharing, updating and storing status information between devices in a wireless network, is disclosed. An example method includes receiving, at a computing device, a communication including an indication that a mobile device is associated with a device on a network; transmitting stored status data, wherein the stored status data includes a status corresponding to the device, and wherein when the stored status data is received, the stored status data is used to display the status corresponding to the device; detecting updated status data corresponding to the device; updating the stored status data corresponding to the device using the updated status data corresponding to the device; and transmitting the updated status data, wherein the updated status data includes the updated status corresponding to the device, and wherein when the updated status data is received, the updated status data is used to display the updated status corresponding to the device.
US09553865B2	Protecting websites from cross-site scripting Methods and systems for protecting websites from cross-site scripting are disclosed. A request for a web page comprising a web page element is received from a client. It is determined if the web page comprises a data integrity token for the web page element. It is also determined if a value of the data integrity token matches an expected value. If the web page comprises the data integrity token and if the value matches the expected value, the web page comprising the web page element is sent to the client. If the web page does not comprise the data integrity token or if the value does not match the expected value, a protective operation is performed.
US09553858B2	Hardware-based credential distribution This document describes various techniques for distributing credentials based on hardware profiles. A resource access request including a hardware profile is transmitted to a remote entity having access to a previous hardware profile and a credential useful to access a resource is received if at least a portion of the hardware profile matches the previous hardware profile.
US09553855B2	Storing a key to an encrypted file in kernel memory Storing a key to an encrypted file in a kernel memory is disclosed. Authentication data may be received and authentication credentials of the authentication data may be stored in a file. The file may be encrypted and a key to the encrypted file may be generated. The encrypted file may be stored in a user space and the key may be stored in a kernel space. The key may be retrieved from the kernel space and applied to the encrypted file in the user space to decode the encrypted file and subsequently access the authentication credentials stored in the encrypted file.
US09553854B2	Data security service A distributed computing environment utilizes a cryptography service. The cryptography service manages keys securely on behalf of one or more entities. The cryptography service is configured to receive and respond to requests to perform cryptographic operations, such as encryption and decryption. The requests may originate from entities using the distributed computing environment and/or subsystems of the distributed computing environment.
US09553850B2	Multi-tenant secure separation of data in a cloud-based application Multi-tenant and single-tenant methodologies are blended into a single solution to provide cost savings of multi-tenancy along with data security and privacy of a single-tenant environment. The cloud infrastructure is partitioned to include a first set of servers, and a second set of servers. The first set of servers are dedicated to a first operation, such as data presentation, while the second set of servers are dedicated to a second operation, such as data processing. The first set is operated in a multi-tenant operating mode, while the second set is operated in a single-tenant operating mode. Thus, the first set is available for general use, presenting data from any of the server(s) in the second set. The second set, in contrast, is dedicated to individual tenants. Preferably, each tenant has dedicated server(s) in the second set, which functions like a traditional, single-tenant environment providing inherent security and privacy guarantees.
US09553844B2	DNS application server A method for providing access to an Internet resource includes receiving a DNS query including a hostname to be resolved, receiving status data, invoking a code by a name indicated by the hostname, conveying the status data to the code, receiving from the code a selection of an infrastructure, and generating a DNS response directing a resolution to the infrastructure.
US09553836B2	Systems and methods for processing emails An e-mail processing system includes: a non-persistent or random memory storing a message queue map having a plurality of message queues, an input handler, and an output handler. Each message queue includes a plurality of data nodes, and each data node represents one message intended for delivery to a respective domain. The input handler comprises instructions for: (i) obtaining an incoming first e-mail, (ii) digesting the incoming first e-mail into a first data node representing the incoming first e-mail, and (iii) analyzing the first data node to determine a first message queue in the number of message queues based at least on the destination domain of the first data node, and (iv) appending the first data node to the plurality of data nodes in the first message queue. The output handler processes a data node in a message queue in the message queue map to send e-mail to an intended recipient.
US09553834B2	Electronic messaging system involving adaptive content An electronic messaging system is provided to generate and send electronic messages that contain adaptive content to customize the electronic messages for each recipient. The system operates to receive an adaptive content asset and a content rule, select a set of adaptive content elements from the adaptive content asset based upon the content rule, and send a content locator to an author computing device to permit the author computing device to include the content locator in the electronic message and send the electronic message to a recipient computing device.
US09553826B2	Real-time sharing method, apparatus and system A real-time sharing method, apparatus and system, which relate to the online application field to solve the problem that a user cannot actively send a request to another terminal by using a terminal according to a personal requirement to implement real-time sharing of resources of an online application of another terminal. The real-time sharing method for sharing of an online application includes: receiving a browsing request message sent by a first terminal, where the browsing request message carries an identifier of a second terminal; acquiring, according to the identifier of the second terminal, virtual machine information of a virtual machine that provides an online application service for the second terminal; and sending, to the first terminal, resource information sent to the second terminal by the virtual machine corresponding to the virtual machine information.
US09553825B2	Electronic information caching Electronic information is made available to access requestors based on anticipated demand. Electronic information stored on a first storage medium is identified for transport. A determination is made to store the electronic information on a second storage medium that is more accessible to the access requestors. The determination is based on an anticipated demand of the access requestors for the electronic information. The anticipated demand is determined based at least on information that is not particular to any single access requestor. The electronic information then is stored on the second storage medium and the access requestors are provided access to the electronic information from the second storage medium.
US09553819B2	Systems and methods for timing adjustment of metadata paths in a network switch under timing constraints A new approach is proposed that contemplates systems and methods to support automatic timing adjustment of a plurality of paths carrying metadata of incoming data packets in a network switch to meet their respective timing constraints. First, the paths for transmitting different pieces of metadata of incoming packets are identified in the network switch. Once the metadata paths are identified, the proposed approach identifies the timing constraints that the metadata paths need to satisfy in order for the network switch to function properly. The proposed approach then calculates the current delays of the metadata paths and determines optimal timing values of each of the metadata paths in order to meet the timing constraints. The optimal timing values of the metadata paths are then compared to the current delays of the metadata paths to identify the paths which current delay values need to be adjusted. These identified metadata paths are then adjusted accordingly to meet the timing constraints at the minimum cost in terms of additional areas taken by devices and interconnect wires need to be included in the layout of the network switch.
US09553816B2	Optimizing mobile network traffic coordination across multiple applications running on a mobile device A system with distributed proxy for reducing traffic in a wireless network to satisfy data requests made by a mobile application is provided. The system includes a mobile device having a local proxy for intercepting a data request made by the mobile application. The local proxy simulates application server responses for the mobile application on the mobile device for data requests where responses are available in the local cache. A proxy server is coupled to the mobile device and an application server to which the data request is made. The proxy server is able to communicate with the local proxy. The local proxy forwards the data request to the proxy server for transmission to the application server for a response to the data request. The proxy server queries the application server independent of activities of the mobile application for any changes to the data request.
US09553809B2	Asymmetric packet flow in a distributed load balancer A distributed load balancer in which a router receives packets from at least one client and routes packet flows to multiple ingress servers. For unknown packet flows, an ingress server cooperates with primary and secondary flow trackers to establish connections to server nodes. For known packet flows, the ingress server sends the packets to target server nodes. The server nodes randomly select egress servers for outgoing packets of the packet flows. The ingress servers, flow trackers, and egress servers are implemented by multiple load balancer nodes in a load balancer node layer. The ingress and egress servers for a given packet flow may be on different load balancer nodes. The load balancer nodes may use a consistent hash function to compute a consistent hash ring for the nodes according to packet flow client/public endpoint pairs so that nodes associated with given packet flows can be located.
US09553801B2	Network device A network device may comprise storage media configured to store traffic, instructions for a lookup engine, a map manager, a traffic forwarder, and a map. The map may comprise rules associating IPv4 and IPv6 addresses. The traffic forwarder may be configured to forward outbound traffic to the second device. The lookup engine may comprise instructions to cause the processor to check the map to determine whether the map comprises a rule associating the second address of the second device and the first address of the first device. If so, the instructions may cause the processor to forward the inbound traffic from the second device to the first device. If the map does not comprise this rule, the instructions may cause the processor to send a query to a second network device asking whether the second network device comprises a rule associating the first and second address.
US09553799B2	System and method for client communication in a distributed telephony network A system and method for regional routing of internet protocol based real-time communication that includes registering a set of client application endpoint routes, comprising registering at least a first client gateway route of a first endpoint in a first region; receiving a communication invitation of the first endpoint; processing a set of communication instructions associated with the communication invitation and identifying a set of communication resources and at least a second endpoint; querying the client application endpoint routes and identifying a client gateway route of the second endpoint; and dynamically directing signaling path and media path of the communication according to the regional availability of the communication resources, the client gateway route of the first endpoint, and client gateway instance route of the second endpoint.
US09553798B2	Method and system of updating conversation allocation in link aggregation A method of updating conversation allocation in link aggregation is disclosed. The method starts with verifying that an implementation of a conversation-sensitive link aggregation control protocol (LACP) is operational at a network device of a network for an aggregation port. Then it is determined that operations through enhanced link aggregation control protocol data units (LACPDUs) are possible. The enhanced LACPDUs can be used for updating conversation allocation information, and the determination is based at least partially on a compatibility check between a first set of operational parameters of the network device and a second set of operational parameters of a partner network device. Then a conversation allocation state of an aggregation port of the link aggregation group is updated based on a determination that the conversation allocation state is incorrect, where the conversation allocation state indicates a list of conversations transmitting through the aggregation port.
US09553791B2	Virtualization of control plane network elements A system includes a first regional network including a first network element; a second regional network including a virtualized control plane network element, the virtualized control plane network element supporting a routing protocol at the first regional network, the routing protocol employing a location-based cost model; and a network connection connecting the virtualized control plane network element to the first regional network, the network connection having a network connection cost, the network connection cost applied in the location-based cost model to support the routing protocol at the first regional network.
US09553786B2	Storing data associated with packet related metrics Methods, systems, and computer readable media for storing data associated with packet related metrics are disclosed. According to one method, the method includes generating a test packet including a port tuple sequence number (PTSN), wherein the PTSN indicates a number of packets across multiple flows associated with a same port tuple, wherein the port tuple indicates an ingress port and an egress port that the test packet traverses at a device under test (DUT), and storing the PTSN in an entry of a data structure, wherein the entry is indexed by the port tuple.
US09553785B2	Smart migration of overperforming operators of a streaming application to virtual machines in a cloud A streams manager monitors performance of a streaming application on a physical machine, and determines operators that are underperforming and operators that are overperforming. When the performance needs to be improved, the streams manager automatically modifies the flow graph to deploy one or more operators of the streaming application that are overperforming to a virtual machine in a cloud. Moving the overperforming operators off of the physical machine to a VM leaves additional resources for the underperforming operators that are left on the physical machine to improve performance of the streaming application.
US09553783B2	Spam flood detection methodologies A computer-implemented method analyzes a website to determine whether the website represents a potential source of spam, and, in response to the analyzing, flags content of the website as spam content. The determination can be made by computing a total number of content items associated with the website, calculating a publication frequency of the content items, and determining whether the website in its entirety represents spam content based on the total number and the publication frequency. The determination could also be made by generating a signature of a webpage containing a content item, obtaining an occurrence count for the generated characterizing signature, and, when the obtained occurrence count is greater than a threshold count, identifying the content item as spam.
US09553782B2	Dynamically modifying quality of service levels for resources running in a networked computing environment Embodiments of the present invention provide an approach for dynamically modifying Quality of Service (QoS) levels for resources (e.g., applications, processes, services, etc.) running in a networked computing environment. Specifically, embodiments of the present invention dynamically adjust transport level networking QoS parameters based on associated service level agreements (SLA) term. In a typical embodiment, a set of service level requirements associated with a resource running in the networked computing environment will first be identified (e.g., in a computer data structure). Then, the set of service level requirements will be mapped to a set of QoS parameters associated with a transport layer of the networked computing environment. A current performance of the resource within the transport layer will then be determined. Once the current performance has been determined, it will be further determined whether the current performance meets the set of service level requirements. Based on this determination/comparison, the set of QoS parameters can be adjusted accordingly.
US09553769B2	Devices and methods for communication in ad-hoc networks In a particular embodiment, a method includes determining, by a first device, a number of discovery messages received during at least one discovery interval. Based on the number of discovery messages, an estimated number of devices in an ad-hoc network is determined. The method further includes transmitting, during a second discovery interval that is subsequent to the at least one discovery interval, a discovery message. The discovery message indicates the estimated number of devices in the ad-hoc network.
US09553768B2	Determining, without using a network, whether a firewall will block a particular network packet A determination is made regarding whether a firewall will block a network packet. The network packet indicates a set of one or more characteristics. A test packet is generated that indicates the set of characteristics. The test packet is sent to the firewall without using a network. A test result is received from the firewall. The test result is stored.
US09553763B2	System and method for automated DCB configuration of access switches A system and method of automated Data Center Bridging (DCB) configuration of an access switch includes a control unit, a memory, and a port configured to couple the access switch to a peer device. The control unit is configured to operate the port according to a state machine including a DCB disabled state, a DCB downstream state, and a DCB upstream state. When the port is in the DCB disabled state, the control unit exchanges network traffic on the port without any DCB extensions. When the port is in the DCB upstream state, the control unit exchanges network traffic on the port using DCB extensions based on the DCB configuration and receives the DCB configuration from the peer device. When the port is in the DCB downstream state, the control unit exchanges network traffic on the port using the DCB extensions and transmits the DCB configuration to the peer device.
US09553759B2	Network system, node device group, and sensor device group A network system has a computer device, and a plurality of node devices communicatively connected to the computer device via network with one or more sensor devices allowed to be connected to each of the plurality of node devices via wireless communication. Each of the node devices obtains sensor data from the sensor device which is connected to the node device itself via the wireless communication and saves the sensor data in a sensor data storage section incorporated in the node device itself. The computer device specifies and requests via the network sensor data that any one or more of the one or more sensor devices obtained, and obtains via the network the specified sensor data from the node device which has saved the specified sensor data in the sensor data storage section among the plurality of node devices.
US09553757B1	Substitution of requests or results in access control systems Approaches are described for allowing an access control policy to specify that a substitute operation be executed when a request for access matches certain conditions specified in the access control policy (e.g., when the identity of the requestor matches a specified identity in the policy). For example, the access control may specify that a substitute result should be provided to a requestor in response to a request for access or a substitute request should be executed instead of executing the received request and the results of the substitute request should be provided to the requestor in response to the request. The substitute result or the result of the substitute request may appear to the requestor as though their original request for access succeeded but the content of the result may be different than what would have been generated if the access control policy allowed the request to proceed.
US09553755B2	Method for implementing and executing communication center routing strategies represented in extensible markup language A method is provided for supplementing existing interaction routines in a contact center with added capability including acts for (a) creating at least one rule having at least one rule attribute; (b) creating one or more processes, the processes integral to the rule; (c) defining the at least one rule and integral processes as a strategy; and (d) linking the strategy to the interaction routine, the link serving to cause execution of the strategy during an interaction between an entity and the routine, execution thereof promoting further interaction defined in the strategy.
US09553752B1	Method and apparatus for frequency offset detection in OFDM systems with frequency reuse Estimating and compensating the frequency offset between a transmitter and a receiver is essential for reliable communication in wireless communication systems. Before a client terminal synchronizes with a base station, the initial frequency offset may be high. The frequency offset estimation may need to be performed even without having time synchronization with a base station. In case of cellular systems multiple base stations may be using the same RF channel to transmit their signals. The signals from different base stations may be superimposed at the receiver of the client terminal. A method and apparatus are disclosed for frequency offset estimation in presence of the signals from multiple base stations and with unknown timing of the base station.
US09553749B2	Communication device and integrated circuit Provided is a radio communication base station device which can suppress a use amount of an SRS communication resource. In this device, a correlation rule setting unit (102) sets a rule for correlating a preamble with an SRS transmission time interval so that the preamble transmission time band and the SRS transmission time band are in the same transmission time band. An SRS transmission band decision unit (103) decides a time interval of a transmission time band which can transmit the SRS according to the preamble transmission time interval inputted from a preamble transmission band decision unit (101) and the correlation rule setting unit (102).
US09553747B2	Systems and methods for switching quality factors during inductively coupled communications A method for inductively coupled communications is described. The method includes applying a high loaded quality factor to a matching network of an active transmitter during an amplitude modulation (AM) high state. The method also includes switching to a low loaded quality factor for the matching network during an AM low state.
US09553746B2	System and method for multi-threaded OFDM channel equalizer with coprocessor A system for an orthogonal frequency division multiplexed (OFDM) equalizer, said system comprising a program memory, a program sequencer and a processing unit connected to each other, wherein the processing unit comprises an input selection unit, an arithmetic logic unit (ALU), a coprocessor and an output selection unit; further wherein the program sequencer schedules the processing of one or more symbol-carrier pairs input to said OFDM equalizer using multiple threads; retrieves, for each of the one or more symbol-carrier pairs, multiple program instructions from said program memory; generates multiple expanded instructions corresponding to said retrieved multiple program instructions; and further wherein said ALU performs said processing of the one or more symbol-carrier pairs using the multiple threads across multiple pipeline stages, wherein said processing comprises said ALU executing arithmetic operations to process said expanded instructions using said multiple threads across the multiple pipeline stages.
US09553742B1	Method and apparatus for independent rise and fall waveform shaping Embodiments are directed to apparatuses and methods of waveform equalization. More specifically, various embodiments provide independent rise and fall waveform shaping equalization. There are other embodiments as well.
US09553738B2	Migrating configuration information based on user identity information Techniques are provided for the configuration of a home-networking system. Home-networking configuration information may be stored on a host system in a manner accessible to the home-networking system and migrated to a home-networking gateway or router that has not yet been configured. Wireless configuration information may be stored on a home-networking gateway or router and used to configure one or more wireless access points through the use of a physical connection, such as a wired communications pathway. One or more wireless home-networking devices may be configured based on wireless configuration information stored in a central repository on a host system or a home-networking system. The wireless configuration information may be accessible only through the use of a security code.
US09553736B2	Aggregating data traffic from access domains According to one embodiment, a first message identifying a best root node of a spanning tree may be generated. The spanning tree may be implemented by an access domain. The message may be generated independently of a spanning tree protocol instance. The first aggregation node may transmit the first message to a plurality of access nodes of the access domain. Data traffic from the plurality of access nodes may be received. Each access node of the plurality of access nodes may implement a spanning tree protocol instance that selects the best root node as a root node of the spanning tree. The data traffic may be aggregated with other data traffic of a plurality of access domains, and the aggregated data traffic transmitted to an aggregation network.
US09553730B2	Certificating authority trust evaluation In many information security scenarios, a certificate issued by a certificating authority may be presented to a client in order to assert a trust level of a certificated item, such as a message or a web page. However, due to a decentralized structure and incomplete coordination among certificating authorities, the presence and exploitation of security vulnerabilities to issue untrustworthy certificates may be difficult to determine, particularly for an individual client. Presented herein are techniques for providing a certificating authority trust service that collects and evaluates certificates submitted to clients by certificating authorities, and advises the clients of a certificating authority trust level for respective certificating authorities (e.g., determined as a consensus of the evaluated certificates issued by the certificating authority). The clients may use a certificating authority trust set distributed by the certificating authority trust service to determine whether to trust a certificate issued from a particular certificating authority.
US09553728B2	Method and apparatus for providing end-to-end security for distributed computations An approach is provided for providing end-to-end security in multi-level distributed computations. A distributed computation security platform determines one or more signatures associated with one or more computation closures of at least one functional flow. The distributed computation security platform also processes and/or facilitates a processing of the one or more signatures to generate at least one supersignature. The distributed computation security platform further determines to associate the at least one supersignature with the at least one functional flow.
US09553726B2	Method for distributed identification of a station in a network The present invention relates to a method for identifying and/or, authenticating, and/or authorizing a first radio station in a radio network, comprising the steps of (a) at the first radio station, transmitting to a second radio station a first radio station identifier computed from a set of identity parameters based on the identity of the first radio station, comprising at least one identity parameter, (b) at the first radio station, transmitting at least one identity parameter from the set of identity parameters, (c) at the second radio station, comparing an authentication identifier computed on the basis of the transmitted identity parameter to the first radio station identifier for enabling a subsequent communication between the first and second radio stations.
US09553717B2	Systems and methods for clock and data recovery Apparatus and method for clock and data recovery are disclosed. A reset circuit counts clock cycles between edges of an input signal and resets a signal processing circuit that performs acquisition and tracking of a data stream when the clock cycle count is outside of a range. The signal processing circuit is further configured to perform acquisition and tracking according to a corrected data rate, which can be generated by data rate adjustment through a phase error correcting control loop and/or dithering between two data rates.
US09553713B2	Method and system for transmitting clock reference streams with timestamps directly to audio/video end nodes in an audio/video bridging network An apparatus used to communicate with a plurality of audio/video (A/V) end nodes in an Audio Video Bridging (AVB) network. The apparatus may include a first A/V end node. The first A/V end node may be configured to transmit a clock reference stream including a plurality of timestamps to a plurality of A/V end nodes. The plurality of A/V end nodes may transmit a media stream including a plurality of video samples and a plurality of audio samples to one another. The media stream may be separate from the plurality of timestamps. The plurality of A/V end nodes may be arranged to syntonize or synchronize the plurality of video samples and the plurality of audio samples with one another for playback in response to the plurality of timestamps.
US09553710B2	Methods and an apparatus for carrier aggregation Provided herein is a method and apparatus for heterogeneous carrier aggregation, the method including calculating interferences regarding a plurality of interference paths between an adjacent cell and serving cell; determining weighted values for the plurality of interference paths in the serving cell; calculating an accumulated value (accumulated margin or accumulated interference) regarding the plurality of interference paths based on the weighted values in the serving cell; determining a component carrier to be used in the carrier aggregation based on the accumulated value calculated in the serving cell; and performing the carrier aggregation based on the component carrier determined.
US09553696B2	Bit interleaver for low-density parity check codeword having length of 64800 and code rate of 3/15 and quadrature phase shift keying, and bit interleaving method using same A bit interleaver, a bit-interleaved coded modulation (BICM) device and a bit interleaving method are disclosed herein. The bit interleaver includes a first memory, a processor, and a second memory. The first memory stores a low-density parity check (LDPC) codeword having a length of 64800 and a code rate of 3/15. The processor generates an interleaved codeword by interleaving the LDPC codeword on a bit group basis. The size of the bit group corresponds to a parallel factor of the LDPC codeword. The second memory provides the interleaved codeword to a modulator for quadrature phase shift keying (QPSK) modulation.
US09553695B2	Likelihood generation circuit and likelihood generation method A phase of a symbol on an inner or outer circle of a received 8QAM symbol set, which is bitmapped by being assigned one bit depending on whether the symbol is on the inner or outer circle of a constellation mapping diagram and two bits for each of the quadrants, is rotated to generate, by QPSK likelihood generation, along with a likelihood of a received QPSK modulation symbol, a likelihood for the two bits assigned to the quadrant of the 8QAM modulated symbol set whose phase is rotated. Further, the phase-rotated 8QAM modulated symbol set is phase-rotated to the first quadrant of the diagram to move the symbol set to the QPSK symbol mapping positions, thereby generating, by QPSK likelihood generation, the likelihood for the one bit assigned to represent whether the symbol is on the outer circle or the inner circle of the 8QAM modulated symbol set.
US09553693B2	Data communication using bandwidth modulation Methods and apparatus to determine a level of inherent jitter for signals from a transmitter and a receiver, and modulate information onto a signal transmitted by the transmitter by using spot jitter (with bandwidth and center frequency modulation) and/or pulse width jitter in a region outside of a data region with inherent jitter to carry communication between systems.
US09553690B2	Passive optical network user terminal and method of power supply control and power supply state reporting for the same The present disclosure discloses a method, wherein the method comprises generating a passive optical network (PON) protocol message, wherein the PON protocol message comprises an identifier of a PON user terminal and an action indication indicating that the PON user terminal intends to exercise a first power supply mode that is a power-saving mode. The present disclosure further provides a method for controlling the PON power supply and for reporting the power supply state. The present disclosure allows control of the energy usage of the PON user terminal to save power when a service in the PON user terminal is not used or when the user terminal uses a backup power source to supply power.
US09553678B2	Interconnection apparatus and method using terahertz waves Disclosed herein is an interconnection apparatus and method using terahertz waves. The interconnection apparatus using terahertz waves according to the present invention includes a first terahertz wave generation unit for generating a first transmission terahertz wave, a center frequency of which is a first center frequency, using photomixing. A second terahertz wave generation unit generates a second transmission terahertz wave, a center frequency of which is a second center frequency different from the first center frequency. A first terahertz wave detection unit detects a first reception terahertz wave corresponding to the first transmission terahertz wave. A second terahertz wave detection unit detects a second reception terahertz wave corresponding to the second transmission terahertz wave.
US09553671B1	Package structure for photonic transceiving device A photonic transceiver apparatus in Quad Small Form-factor Pluggable (QSFP) package. The apparatus includes a case having a base member, two partial side members, and a lid member to provide a spatial volume with an opening at a back end of the base member. Additionally, the apparatus includes a printed circuit board (PCB), installed inside the spatial volume over the base member having a pluggable electrical connector at the back end. Further, the apparatus includes multiple optical transmitting devices in mini-transmit-optical-sub-assembly package, each being mounted on a common support structure and having a laser output port in reversed orientation toward the back end. Furthermore, the apparatus includes a silicon photonics chip, including a fiber-to-silicon attachment module, mounted on the PCB and coupled to a modulation driver module and a trans-impedance amplifier module. Moreover, the apparatus includes a pair of optical input/output ports being back connected to the fiber-to-silicon attachment module.
US09553656B2	System and method for reducing desensitization of a base station transceiver for mobile wireless repeater systems A repeater system including bi-directional amplifier circuitry that is configured for repeating signals between at least one device and a first signal source. Receiver circuitry is coupled with the amplifier circuitry provides at least one signal associated with at least one of a device or the first signal source or a second signal source. Controller circuitry is configured for monitoring a parameter of a provided signal that is reflective of a property of a signal source or a device. The monitored parameter is used to make a determination of whether repeated signals associated with the first signal source will desensitize the operation of the second signal source. The controller circuitry is also operable for adjusting the power level of the signals that are repeated by the bi-directional amplifier circuitry based on the determination that repeated signals will desensitize the operation of the second signal source.
US09553653B2	Apparatus for transmitting broadcast signals, apparatus for receiving broadcast signals, method for transmitting broadcast signals and method for receiving broadcast signals A method and an apparatus for transmitting broadcast signals thereof are disclosed. The apparatus for receiving broadcast signals, the apparatus comprises a receiver to receive the broadcast signals, a demodulator to demodulate the received broadcast signals by an OFDM (Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiplex) scheme, a frame parser to parse a signal frame from the demodulated broadcast signals, wherein the signal frame includes at least one service data, a time deinterleaver to time deinterleave each the service data, wherein the time deinterleaving is performed depending on a number of physical paths for each the service data, a damapper to demap the time deinterleaved data and a decoder to decode the demapped service data.
US09553634B2	Electrical duplex to optical conversion A device converts between electrical duplex and optical signals. In one embodiment, such a device includes an echo cancellation circuit that reduces the echo from an incoming optical signal.
US09553633B2	Terminal apparatus, base station apparatus, and integrated circuit A terminal apparatus, a base station apparatus, a communication method, an integrated circuit, and a radio communication system are provided that enable a base station apparatus and a terminal apparatus to determine parameters relating to an uplink reference signal and efficiently communicate with each other. A terminal apparatus that transmits a demodulation reference signal, the terminal apparatus comprising: means for receiving a cell-specific parameter used for enabling or disabling a sequence group hopping, means for a user-equipment-specific parameter used for disabling the sequence group hopping, and means for generating a sequence of the demodulation reference signal on the basis of the enabled or disabled sequence group hopping, wherein, in a case that a transmission on the physical uplink shared channel corresponding to a downlink control information format to which CRC parity bits scrambled by a temporary C-RNTI are attached, the sequence group hopping is enabled or disabled on the basis of the cell-specific parameter.
US09553630B2	Switching module and wireless communication equipment A switching module includes a common terminal, individual terminals connected to respective corresponding signal paths, and a switch portion that selectively switches and connects the common terminal to one of the individual terminals. The switch portion includes first switches and at least one second switch, each first switch being connected to the common terminal at one end portion within the switch, the at least one second switch being connected to the common terminal at one end portion via a connection wiring electrode provided on a wiring board. This does not allow directional connection between the one end portion of the second switch and the common terminal within the switch. Thus, mutual interference between a communication signal transmitted through the first switch and a communication signal transmitted through the second switch is prevented.
US09553619B2	Domino circuit and related architectures and methods for carrier aggregation Domino circuit and related architectures and methods for carrier aggregation. In some embodiments, a Domino circuit can include first and second signal paths for respective first and second frequency bands, and each signal path can be configured to present an approximately zero impedance to a signal in the other frequency band. The Domino circuit can further include a coupling circuit that couples the first and second signal paths, and configured such that the approximately zero impedance presented by the signal path to the signal in the other frequency band results in the signal in the other frequency band being substantially excluded from the signal path.
US09553606B2	Bit interleaver for low-density parity check codeword having length of 64800 and code rate of 3/15 and 64-symbol mapping, and bit interleaving method using same A bit interleaver, a bit-interleaved coded modulation (BICM) device and a bit interleaving method are disclosed herein. The bit interleaver includes a first memory, a processor, and a second memory. The first memory stores a low-density parity check (LDPC) codeword having a length of 64800 and a code rate of 3/15. The processor generates an interleaved codeword by interleaving the LDPC codeword on a bit group basis. The size of the bit group corresponds to a parallel factor of the LDPC codeword. The second memory provides the interleaved codeword to a modulator for 64-symbol mapping.
US09553605B2	Efficient data encoding A source data set is processed to produce a symbol table and a distribution without using a tree construct or any tree-related processing. The symbol table and the distribution outputted for encoding the data set and decoding encoded versions of the data set.
US09553594B1	Delay-locked loop with false-lock detection and recovery circuit A DLL includes a phase detector, a counter, a delay circuit, and a false-lock detection and recovery circuit. The false-lock detection and recovery circuit checks whether the DLL is in a true-lock condition or not, based on an average of a phase difference between a clock signal and an intermediate clock signal. The intermediate clock signal is generated by the delay circuit based on a count value generated by the counter and a select signal generated by the false-lock detection and recovery circuit. The false-lock detection and recovery circuit generates and provides a control signal to the counter. Based on the control signal, the counter modifies the count on which a delay between the clock signal and an output signal of the DLL depends when the DLL is not in the true-lock condition.
US09553577B2	GOA circuit based on LTPS semiconductor TFT The present invention provides a GOA circuit based on LTPS semiconductor TFT, comprising a plurality of GOA units which are cascade connected, and N is set to be a positive integer and an Nth GOA unit comprises a pull-up control part (100), a pull-up part (200), a first pull-down part (400) and a pull-down holding part (500); the pull-down holding part (500) utilizes a high/low voltage reverse design and comprises a first, a second and a third DC constant low voltage levels (VSS1, VSS2, VSS3) which are sequentially abated and a DC constant high voltage level (H), the influence of electrical property of the LTPS semiconductor TFT to the GOA driving circuit, and particularly the bad function due to the electric leakage issue can be solved; meanwhile, the existing issue that the second node voltage level the pull-down holding circuit part in the GOA circuit based on the LTPS semiconductor TFT cannot be at higher voltage level in the functioning period can be solved to effectively maintain the first node (Q(N)) and the output end (G(N)) at low voltage level.
US09553575B2	Semiconductor device Two or more pads and are connected to a gate region, so that a pad for applying a gate voltage can be selected. In the case where, for example, the peripheral region is likely to overheat, a turn-on voltage is applied to the first pad to turn on the peripheral region later than the central region, and a turn-off voltage is applied to the second pad to turn off the peripheral region earlier than the central region. The problem that the peripheral region is likely to overheat can be addressed. In the case where the flow of an excess current raises the temperature, the turn-off voltage is applied to the second pad. The problem that the temperature is likely to rise in the peripheral region when an excess current flows can be addressed.
US09553573B2	Differential mode bandwidth extension technique with common mode compensation A method and apparatus are provided. The apparatus may be a capacitive element for adjusting a net capacitance of a circuit. The apparatus may be configured to be coupled to the circuit. The apparatus may be configured to adjust the net capacitance of the circuit to decouple common mode and differential loop bandwidth adjustment of the circuit. The capacitive element may include a pair of cross-coupled capacitors configured to be coupled to differential nodes of the circuit, and a pair of negative gain buffers coupled to respective capacitors.
US09553569B1	Low power buffer with dynamic gain control The present disclosure provides a detailed description of techniques for implementing a low power buffer with dynamic gain control. More specifically, some embodiments of the present disclosure are directed to a buffer having a gain boost configuration and a current shunt circuit to control the gain of a respective gain boosting transistor of the gain boost configuration. The current shunt circuit and resulting gain are dynamically controlled by a gain control signal such that the buffer gain can be adjusted to within an acceptable range of the target gain for the current operating and device mismatch conditions. In one or more embodiments, the gain boost configuration with dynamic gain control can be deployed in a full differential implementation. Both analog and digital dynamic calibration and control techniques can be used to provide the gain control signals to multiple current shunt circuits and multiple buffers.
US09553561B2	Vibrating device and manufacturing method therfor A vibrating device having vibrating arms connected to a supporter. The vibrating arms have an n-type Si layer which is a degenerated semiconductor and an exciter provided on the n-type Si layer. The exciter has a piezoelectric thin film and a first and second electrodes with the piezoelectric thin film interposed therebetween.
US09553554B2	Signal processing device A signal processing device includes an excessive input estimating unit that estimates excessive input of a target signal, a controller that calculates frequency characteristics which will lessen the excessive input of the target signal from the excessive input information estimated by the excessive input estimating unit, and a frequency characteristic modification unit that modifies the frequency characteristics of the target signal in accordance with the frequency characteristics the controller calculates.
US09553552B2	Diversity amp module and apparatus comprising the same An amplifying module having one input terminal and one output terminal and passing an antenna signal input through the input terminal towards the output terminal. The amplifying module includes a first switch connected to the input terminal, a plurality of filters selectable by the first switch, a plurality of amplifiers respectively connected to the plurality of filters and amplifying a signal that has passed through the filters, and a second switch for connecting the amplified signal to the output terminal.
US09553551B1	Wide-band amplifiers using clipper circuits for reduced harmonics The present invention breaks up the frequency bands which can be filtered by a simple low-loss band-pass or low pass filter. The second harmonic frequency is reduced by use of a non-linear clipper element which controls the driving waveform symmetry and can reduce the harmonics by as much as 5-15 db which makes the filter much simpler and allows the amplifier to remain wide-band. The output waveform from the amplifier is symmetrical or nearly symmetrical.
US09553548B2	Low drop out voltage regulator and method therefor A circuit and method for regulating an output voltage are provided. The circuit includes a fully differential first stage amplifier, a second stage amplifier, and a power output driver transistor. The first stage amplifier receives a reference voltage and feedback voltage relative to an output voltage of the power output driver transistor. A differential output of the first stage amplifier is received at differential inputs of the second stage amplifier. The second stage amplifier provides a voltage at a control terminal of the power transistor. The output voltage of the power transistor is based on the voltage at the control terminal and a supply voltage coupled to the power output driver transistor.
US09553535B2	Motor driving apparatus A motor driving apparatus includes a rotor, a first yoke including a first magnetic portion, a first coil configured to, if energized, excite the first magnetic portion, a second yoke including a second magnetic portion, a second coil configured to, if energized, excite the second magnetic portion, a detecting portion including a first detection element, a second detection element, a third detection element, and a fourth detection element, each detection element being configured to detect a rotation position of the rotor, and a controller configured to switch a pole excited by the first magnetic portion and the second magnetic portion by switching an energization direction of the first coil and the second coil based on an output of the detecting portion.
US09553520B2	Switching power source, method and control chip for controlling the same A switching power source, a method and a control chip for controlling the same are provided. The switching power source includes: a filtering and rectifying module, connected with an AC power source and configured to filter and rectify an alternating current outputted from the AC power source to obtain a direct current; a control module, connected with the filtering and rectifying module and configured to obtain an amplitude of the alternating current from the direct current, to adjust a frequency of a control signal according to the amplitude, in which the control module decreases the frequency of the control signal continuously or intermittently when the amplitude increases, and to output the control signal; and a primary constant current circuit, connected with the control module and the filtering and rectifying module respectively, and configured to receive the control signal and to output a constant current according to the control signal.
US09553509B2	Multichannel DC-DC converter In a multichannel DC-DC converter that reduces radiation noise to a minimum, a wiring line between the coil conductor of a channel having the smallest load current and the switching IC, among the coil conductors defining a plurality of channels, is the longest connection wiring line, such that a channel having the smallest load current is connected to a wiring line that is most likely to radiate noise and radiation noise is reduced to a minimum. A connection wiring line connected to a coil conductor having the largest load current among the plurality of coil conductors is the shortest connection wiring line. A channel having the largest load current is connected to a wiring line that is least likely to radiate noise and, as a result, radiation noise is further reduced.
US09553501B2	System and method providing over current protection based on duty cycle information for power converter System and method for protecting a power converter. An example system controller for protecting a power converter includes a signal generator, a comparator, and a modulation and drive component. The signal generator is configured to generate a threshold signal. The comparator is configured to receive the threshold signal and a current sensing signal and generate a comparison signal based on at least information associated with the threshold signal and the current sensing signal, the current sensing signal indicating a magnitude of a primary current flowing through a primary winding of a power converter. The modulation and drive component is coupled to the signal generator.
US09553498B2	Planar motor and processing apparatus and using the same A planar motor includes a base provided with at least one stator, a mover provided on a top portion of a planar object to be placed on a top portion of the base, and moving according to a magnetic field generated by the stator, a mover support connected to the mover, supporting the mover from the planar object, and moving the mover according to a force of the magnetic field, and a controller supplying a control current to the stator to control location of the mover.
US09553497B2	Horizontal linear vibrator The present invention provides a horizontal linear vibrator which can reduce the thickness but increase vibration strength while at the same time guaranteeing a sufficiently long lifetime and satisfactory responsivity. The horizontal linear vibrator includes a casing, a bracket, a vibration unit and springs. The casing defines an internal space therein. The bracket is disposed under the casing. A cylindrical coil is provided on the bracket. The vibration unit has a magnet, a yoke and a weight. The yoke contains the magnet therein and is open on the lower end thereof. The weight is coupled to the outer surface of the yoke. The springs are coupled to sidewall plates of the casing or the bracket. The springs elastically support the vibration unit to allow the vibration unit to vibrate in the horizontal direction.
US09553494B2	Electronically controlled universal motor An electric motor apparatus and method of controlling the same are provided. The electric motor apparatus includes a stator and a rotor rotationally mounted coaxially with the stator; an intermediate screen having a magnetic material and rotationally mounted between the stator and the rotor to provide magnetic screening between the rotor and the stator; and control circuitry to control power supplied to windings on the rotor and the stator in dependence upon a desired output rotational speed.
US09553470B2	Method and apparatus for charging a lead acid battery The invention relates to a method of operating a lead acid battery which undergoes discharging phases and charging phases in a cyclical fashion. The method involves monitoring the current discharged from the battery during a discharging phase and recording information relating to that current flow, such as the charge lost from the battery. During the subsequent charging phase, a desired amount of charge to be supplied to the battery is calculated based upon the recorded information, and then supplied to the battery.
US09553469B2	Method of overcurrent detection voltage correction and battery protection integrated circuit There is provided a method of correcting an overcurrent detection voltage of a battery protection integrated circuit including a current path between a first terminal and a second terminal, one or more transistors for controlling current of a secondary battery, an overcurrent detection circuit and a control circuit. The method comprises the steps of: measuring a resistance value between the first terminal and the second terminal wherein the one or more transistors are turned on at a predetermined temperature; estimating resistance values between the first terminal and the second terminal at respective temperatures based on the measured resistance value; calculating adjusting data for canceling temperature dependency of charge or discharge current of the secondary battery based on the measured resistance value and the estimated resistance values, wherein a value of the charge or discharge current varies depending on temperature; correcting the overcurrent detection voltage based on the calculated adjusting data.
US09553467B2	Distribution apparatus Disclosed herein is an invention of a power system including a distal distributor, an electric actuator which receives a supply of power from the distal distributor, and a relay device. Regenerative power generated by the electric actuator is output to a storage battery.
US09553466B2	Electric power tool system An electric power tool system comprises a tool main body, a battery pack detachably attached to the tool main body, and a first charger that charges the battery pack. The first charger comprises a rechargeable battery that supplies current to at least one rechargeable battery of the battery pack. The at least one rechargeable battery of the first charger preferably has a larger charge storage capacity than the at least one rechargeable battery of the battery pack.
US09553464B2	In-vehicle-mounted charging device A vehicle-mounted charging device includes a charging main body, an external module, an electric wire, and a lighting module. The charging main body includes a circuit board in a first shell, a power plug, and a first shell. A power socket of a vehicle connects to the circuit board. The external module includes a charging plug and a second shell. The charging plug is arranged in the second shell. The charging plug connects to a charging socket of an electronic device to recharge a battery of the electronic device. The electric wire is configured to electrically connect to the charging main body, the external module, and the lighting module to visually indicate the state of charge of the battery of the electronic device.
US09553463B2	Systems, methods, and apparatus for a homopolar generator charger with integral rechargeable battery Systems, methods, and apparatus for providing a homopolar generator charger with an integral rechargeable battery. A method is provided for converting rotational kinetic energy to electrical energy for charging one or more battery cells. The method can include rotating, by a shaft, a rotor in a magnetic flux field to generate current, wherein the rotor comprises an electrically conductive portion having an inner diameter conductive connection surface and an outer diameter conductive connection surface, and wherein a voltage potential is induced between the inner and outer diameter connection surfaces upon rotation in the magnetic flux field. The method can also include selectively coupling the generated current from the rotating rotor to terminals of the one or more battery cells.
US09553459B2	Supply system and method for supplying an electric load A system for supplying an electric load, in particular for charging a battery device, including a charging station with an accommodation unit for the battery device and a detection unit for the battery device. The detection unit includes a first optical transmitting device for transmitting a first optical signal and an optical receiving device for receiving the first optical signal. The battery device includes a second optical transmitting device for transmitting a second and third optical signal, the second optical transmitting device functioning as a transmitter of a discretely configured optocoupler for transmitting information from the battery device to the charging station. The optical receiving device of the charging station is configured as a receiver of the discretely configured optocoupler for receiving the second and third optical signals.
US09553446B2	Shared ESD circuitry An integrated circuit including ESD circuitry that is shared among more than one terminal segment of the integrated circuit to discharge current from an ESD event on any of the terminal segments. The shared ESD circuitry includes a clamp circuit that is coupled to power buses of each segment to discharge current from ESD events on each segment. The shared ESD circuitry includes a trigger circuit that is coupled to nodes coupled to terminals of each segment to detect an ESD event on each segment.
US09553443B2	Inverter and power system with fuse protection A power conversion system includes a bus bar, a switch coupled to the bus bar and configured to receive a DC input voltage from a voltage source through the bus bar, and a parallel fuse system. The parallel fuse system may be disposed on the bus bar in series with the voltage source and the switch. The parallel fuse system includes two or more parallel fuses, and may be configured for an inductance imbalance between the fuses, such that there is an asymmetric flow of currents through the fuses when the power conversion system is in operation. For the inductance imbalance, for example, the fuses may be positioned asymmetrically with regard to a shortest conductive path from the voltage source to the switch.
US09553442B2	Power control device with multi-directional sensing ability A power control device includes an electric power switch and a control unit. The control unit is mounted on an electric device, determines whether the electric device is disposed at a normal use position or an abnormal inclined position, and determines whether the electric device is at a normal use state and is disposed at the normal use position. The control unit controls the electric power switch to provide electric power to the electric device when the electric device is at the normal use state, and to stop providing the electric power to the electric device when the electric device is at the abnormal inclined position.
US09553440B2	Wire seal assembly In at least some implementations, a seal for a wire includes a body having at least one opening adapted to receive at least one wire therethrough, and an axially extending engagement surface disposed around at least a portion of each of said at least one openings. The engagement surface has at least a portion that is not parallel to an axis of the opening and is disposed at an acute included angle relative to the axis so that, when the engagement surface is contacted by another component, the size of the adjacent opening tends to be reduced.
US09553432B2	Push-in cable connector and electrical box assembly A cable connector is provided for coupling to and mounted within the internal cavity of an electrical box for securing an electrical cable passing through an opening in the electrical box. The cable connector includes a body having a first end positioned next to or adjacent the cable opening in the electrical box and a second end spaced from the first end and the cable opening. At least one and typically two retaining members are spring biased from the first end of the body and extend into a cable passage of the body toward the second end. A front wall is provided at the second end of the body with an opening for receiving the wires and forming a stop member to prevent the armor sheathing from passing through the front wall.
US09553429B2	System for inserting and removing cables A method and system for installing and removing a row of cables from a cable array is provided. The method includes providing an installation tool having a first body with a plurality of arms extending from one side. The plurality of arms being configured to receive a cable connector body, the plurality of arms including at least one first projection extending from one of the plurality of arms. The installation tool is moved onto a row of cables held coupled together by a bracket, each of the cables in the row of cables having a cable connector body. The connector bodies are engaged into receptacles and the bracket is moved with the at least one first projection.
US09553427B2	Corona ignition device The invention relates to a corona ignition device for igniting fuel in an internal combustion engine by means of a corona discharge, comprising a central electrode, an insulator, into which the central electrode plugs, a housing, into which the insulator plugs, a bobbin, onto which a coil which is attached to the central electrode is wound, and a shield cap, which is plugged onto an end portion of the bobbin facing the insulator. According to the invention, a portion of the central electrode protrudes through a bottom of the shield cap, or a circumferential wall of the shield cap has one or more slots, or the shield cap has a circumferential wall, which protrudes only on one side beyond the bottom of the shield cap only on one side.
US09553426B1	Optical device structure using GaN substrates and growth structures for laser applications Optical devices having a structured active region configured for selected wavelengths of light emissions are disclosed.
US09553423B2	Miniature structured light illuminator A miniature structured light illuminator is provided. The miniature structured light illuminator uses a semiconductor surface emitting array including VCSEL or RC-LED array and an array of microlens elements to generate a wide range of structured light illumination patterns. The emission beam from a surface emitter array may be selectively directed, steered, focused or expanded, by applying a lateral displacement of the microlens array, such that centers of the emission beam and microlens array are misaligned. Emitted beams may be directed through small optical components to project the structured light pattern to a distant plane. The surface emitting arrays may be configured in addressable form to be activated separately for continuous or pulsed operation with very fast pulses having <100 ps risetime. A compact structured light illuminator module with projection optics is provided in very small physical size (˜6×6×3 mm3) suitable to configure in a handheld device.
US09553410B2	Waterproof electrical connector An electrical connector, mounted upon a printed circuit board, includes an insulative housing, a number of terminals disposed in the insulative housing, a shielding shell attached to the housing, and a glue wall formed by glue. The housing defines a third base portion and a groove located at an upper surface in a rear end and for receiving glue. The terminals has a number of first contacts and a number of second contacts. Each first contact has a first soldering portion and each second contact has a second soldering portion. The shielding shell defines a guiding hole for flowing the glue. The glue wall flows from the guiding hole through the groove to seal up a gap between the insulative housing and the shielding shell.
US09553407B2	Electrical plug retainer outlet An electrical plug retainer outlet includes a connector outlet including a switchable plug retainer assembly mounted on the connector outlet. The plug retainer assembly includes a retaining element, a switch, and a coupling unit connecting the switch and the retaining element. The outlet is configured such that by operating the switch, the retaining element is shifted between a neutral position and an engaged position. In the engaged position, the retaining element provides a form-fit connection, a frictional connection, or both, to a plug connected to the connector outlet. The retaining element interferes with an insulation of the plug.
US09553405B2	Positioning structure and connector assembly A positioning structure is applied to a male end connector and a female end connector. The female end connector has an inserting slot and two guiding slots. The positioning structure has a case, two guiding pins, two elastic parts, and a positioning member. The two guiding pins are connected to the case. The male end connector is located between the two guiding pins. The elastic parts are connected to the case and to the male end connector. The positioning member has a first positioning hole and two second positioning holes. The first positioning hole is used for the male end connector passing through to enter the inserting slot. The second positioning holes are used for the guiding pin passing through to enter the guiding slot.
US09553402B2	Electrical plug connector with plug-in connection and cable outlet member An electrical plug connector with a plug-connection member and a cable outlet member is provided. The cable outlet member has a cable guidance channel for guiding and a cable clamping arrangement for fixing a cable which is connected to the plug-connection member. The cable outlet member has a first and a second housing shell and also a cap nut. The second housing shell is movable between an open position which releases the first housing shell and a closed position which covers the first housing shell. The cable clamping arrangement has clamping wedges which are arranged on the inner sides of the housing shells which face each other. The cap nut in the closed position of the second housing shell is able to be screwed onto the two housing shells.
US09553400B1	Vibration resistant connector A vibration resistant connector is disclosed. The connector employs a friction member to create a resistance between a coupling nut of the connector and a connector body of the connector that is disposed in a cavity formed by the coupling nut. In some embodiments, the friction member is in the form of an O-ring that encircles a portion of the connector body and that is compressed by the coupling nut.
US09553397B2	Electric connector and housing having a simple mounting structure Provided is an electric connector for connecting electric equipment to a power device. The electric connector includes a connector body defining an outer appearance thereof, a connection bar disposed on the connector body to electrically the connect electric equipment to the power device, an insertion part disposed on the connector body, the insertion part being inserted into the electric equipment, and a sealing disposed on a shaft of the insertion part in a circumferential direction.
US09553394B2	Connector with plurality of circuit board cable assemblies and overmold A connector assembly includes a housing, a plurality of circuit board cable assemblies, and an overmold. Each of the circuit board cable assemblies includes a printed circuit board and a pair of shielded cables. The overmold extends and insulate a portion of the shielded cables and a portion of the printed circuit board that includes a plurality of conductive contact pads for electrical connection to the shielded cables.
US09553387B2	Electrical connecting device with spring connection element and compact actuator and multi-pole plug connector comprising a plurality of said spring contacts An electrical connecting device (10) comprising an electrical insulating body (20) with at least one pair of longitudinal parallel seats (23) and (24) adapted to house, respectively, a connecting element (30) with a spring terminal and an actuator pin (40) having a cam profile oriented towards a spring (32) of the terminal to cause the opening and closure of the terminal by sliding into the corresponding seat, said spring (32) being a ring-shaped spring having a curved lower portion (34), a back ascending portion in form of a leg (35) engageable with a projecting portion (41) of said cam profile of the actuator pin (40) and an upper portion (36) with a slot (37) adapted to receive at least one electric conductor (60), wherein said cam profile of the actuator pin (40) has at least a tapered side (45) and a remaining ribbed portion (46), and that said back ascending portion in form of a leg (35) of the spring (32) has a corresponding groove (39) apt to house said at least one ribbed portion (46) of the actuator pin (40) in the maximum extroversion status of the spring, that is when the terminal is closed and empty.
US09553384B2	Connector and manufacturing method therefor A connector is provided which includes engaging portions for engaging hooks formed on the upper arm portion of each terminal, an actuator having two contact pressure portions formed on each of two end surfaces positioned on opposite sides from each other in the left and right direction, and a housing having two holding portions opposing each other on the left and right sides and interposing the actuator. The holding portions press against the contact pressure portions of the actuator in a second position and do not press against the contact pressure portions of the actuator in a first position, where the position of the actuator when the engaging portions are engaging the hooks is the first position and the position of the actuator when the engaging portions are not engaging the hooks is the second position.
US09553382B2	Headphone socket assembly and electronic equipment including same A headphone socket assembly for use in electronic equipment, includes: a headphone socket electrically connected to a circuit board in the electronic equipment; and an electromagnetic shielding device disposed at a periphery of the headphone socket.
US09553377B2	Terminal connection structure A terminal connection structure has a housing, a base housed in the housing, and a terminal unit having a pair of tab terminals disposed on the base, a pair of terminal portions disposed in the tab terminals in parallel, each of which is exposed from the housing and configured to be connected to an external terminal, and a terminal plate sandwiched between the pair of tab terminals.
US09553375B2	Tool-less coaxial cable connector A coaxial cable connector includes a body having a front end, a rear end, a longitudinal axis, and an interior. An inner post is disposed within the interior and supports the body. A thread assembly formed in the interior of the body includes a first thread and a separate second thread.
US09553374B1	Electrical connectors and connection assemblies and methods including the same According to embodiments of the invention, an electrical connector for use with an electrical conductor having a terminal end includes a connector body and a stud member. The connector body includes a conductor engagement section and a stud mounting section. The conductor engagement section is configured to receive the terminal end of the conductor to mechanically and electrically connect the conductor to the connector. The stud mounting section includes a socket bore including a tapered bore section. The stud member includes an elongate stud section extending to a free end, and a tapered insertion section. The tapered insert section is received in the tapered bore section. The tapered insert section includes an internal cavity defined therein to permit deformation of the tapered insert section as the tapered insert section is forced into the tapered bore section.
US09553371B2	Radar module An integrated antenna package includes an interposer, an integrated circuit die, and a cap that forms a cavity within the integrated antenna package. A lossy EBG structure resides at the cap overlying the integrated circuit device. A lossless EBG structure resides at the cap overlying a microstrip feedline. A radar module includes a plurality of receive portions, each receive portion including a parabolic structure having a reflective surface, an absorber structure, a lens, and an antenna.
US09553368B1	Multi-band cable antenna with irregular reactive loading An antenna includes a first antenna section that can be joined to an antenna feed. The first section has conductive elements in series with reactive loads. The reactive loads are positioned with a regular spacing. The reactive loads and spacing are optimized for operation of the first section at the highest frequency. Additional antenna sections having successively lower frequencies are joined in series to the first antenna section. Each additional section has conductive elements joined in series with reactive loads at a particular spacing. The additional sections spacing and reactive loads are provided to work in conjunction with the higher frequency antenna sections to optimize the antenna for an additional frequency. A method for making such an antenna is further provided.
US09553364B2	Liquid crystal filled antenna assembly, system, and method An antenna assembly may include a ground shield defining an interior chamber, a feed line coupled to the ground shield within the interior chamber, a plurality of dielectric members, and a plurality of liquid crystal members. Each of the plurality of liquid crystal members may be spaced apart from another of the liquid crystal members by at least one of the plurality of dielectric members.
US09553360B1	Helix antenna device A helix antenna device includes a board, a signal output circuit, a ground wire, and a helix antenna. The board includes first holes and second holes. The first holes are aligned to form a first row, and the second holes are aligned to form a second row. The signal output circuit is disposed on the board. The ground wire disposed on the board is between the first row and the second row and is connected to the signal output circuit. The helix antenna is rotationally passed through the first holes and the second holes so that it can surround a part of the area of the board. One end of the helix antenna is electrically connected to the signal output circuit. Thereby, it is convenient to have the helix antenna assembled to the board, and the structure parameters of the helix antenna are not easily influenced due to deformation.
US09553352B2	Communication device and display incorporating antennas between display pixels A display, such as for a touch-sensitive communication device, can include a transparent cover glass, pixels that emit light through the cover glass, and multiple antennas positioned along respective paths in an inactive area between the pixels. The antennas do not obstruct the light produced by the pixels, and can therefore be composed of opaque materials, such as metallic thin films, without affecting the optical properties of the display. In some examples, several antennas can have the same size and shape but different orientations, so that a radio can switch between or among the antennas to optimize reception. In some examples, the antennas can have different sizes and/or shapes, so that the antennas can send and/or receive radio signals in different frequency ranges of the electromagnetic spectrum. In some examples, locating the antennas in the display can allow the device to include a metallic housing.
US09553351B2	Glazing having antennas and a method of manufacturing said glazing The invention is a new type of antenna connection which allows two or more antennas to be connected to an external circuit via a small surface contact. Surface contact size is reduced due to the use of coupling electrodes, at least portions of which are laid adjacent to and parallel with each other such that alternating current coupling occurs between them.
US09553345B2	Heat exchanger The invention relates to a heat exchanger, in particular for controlling the temperature of batteries or electronics, having at least one header with a bottom and a top, with openings which are provided in the bottom for receiving tube ends of tubes which are in fluidic communication with the headers, the headers being formed from a U-shaped element with two parallel limbs and a bottom region which connects the limbs, the openings being provided in the bottom region and a wall region which is introduced between the limbs being provided as top.
US09553338B2	Lithium secondary battery The present invention relates to a lithium secondary battery including a cathode, an anode, a separator disposed between the cathode and the anode, and a non-aqueous electrolyte. An ionomer is included in at least one element selected from the group consisting of the cathode, the anode, the separator, and the non-aqueous electrolyte.
US09553328B2	Electrochemical system for storing electricity in metals An electrochemical system for storing electrical energy in metallic material comprises a charging assembly having one or more cathode and anode couples for metal deposition and a discharging assembly having one or more cathodes and spaces amid the cathodes for containing metal anode. The charging assembly and discharging assembly are physically separated allowing independent operation of the charging and discharging facilities and independent scaling of power and energy capabilities. It also allows storage of anode metal material in simple containers separated from the charging and discharging assemblies and thus allows for economical energy storage.
US09553324B2	Fuel cell resin frame equipped membrane electrode assembly A resin frame member of a resin frame equipped membrane electrode assembly includes a recess where adhesive is provided. An inner protrusion on an inner side of the recess abuts against an electrode catalyst layer protruding outward beyond a gas diffusion layer of a membrane electrode assembly. An outer protrusion on an outer side of the recess abuts against the outermost portion of a gas diffusion layer of the membrane electrode assembly such that a solid polymer electrolyte membrane is interposed between the outer protrusion and the gas diffusion layer.
US09553323B2	Fluidized bed contaminant separator and water-control loop for a fuel reactant stream of a fuel cell A fluidized contaminant separator and water-control loop (10) decontaminates a fuel reactant stream of a fuel cell (12). Water passes over surfaces of an ammonia dissolving media (61) within a fluidized bed (62) while the fuel reactant stream simultaneously passes over the surfaces to dissolve contaminants from the fuel reactant stream into a separated contaminant and water stream. A fuel-control heat exchanger (57) upstream from the scrubber (58) removes heat from the fuel stream. A water-control loop (78) directs flow of the separated contaminants and water stream from an accumulator (68) through an ion exchange bed (88) which removes contaminants from the stream. Decontaminated water is directed back into the scrubber (58) to flow through the fluidized bed (62). Separating contaminants from the fuel reactant stream and then isolating and concentrating the separated contaminants within the ion exchange material (88) minimizes costs and maintenance requirements.
US09553322B2	Fuel cell system and operation method thereof A fuel cell system includes a fuel processor; a fuel cell stack; a first water tank; a combustor; a water discharge passage connected to a water drain port formed in the first water tank to discharge the water from inside of the first water tank; a water filling detector configured to detect that at least one of the water drain port and the water discharge passage is filled with water; a water supply unit for supplying the water to the first water tank; and a controller configured to execute a water filling step of supplying the water to the first water, supply the combustible gas to the combustor via the first water tank and cause the combustor to combust the combustible gas, when the water filling detector detects that at least one of the water drain port and the water discharge passage is filled with water.
US09553320B2	Fuel cell system A fuel cell system includes a fuel cell module for generating electrical energy by electrochemical reactions of a fuel gas and an oxygen-containing gas, and a condenser for condensing water vapor in an exhaust gas discharged from the fuel cell module by heat exchange between the exhaust gas and a coolant to collect the condensed water and supplying the collected condensed water to the fuel cell module. The condenser includes an air cooling condensing mechanism using the oxygen-containing gas as the coolant, and a water cooling condensing mechanism using the hot water stored in the hot water storage unit as the coolant. The air cooling condensing mechanism includes a thermoelectric converter for performing thermoelectric conversion by a temperature difference between the exhaust gas and the oxygen-containing gas.
US09553315B2	Direct liquid fuel cell having ammonia borane or derivatives thereof as fuel Fuel cell systems comprising ammonia borane or derivatives thereof as fuel and an anode and/or cathode which comprises a non-noble metal (e.g., copper) or a non-metallic substance (e.g., an iron electron-transfer mediating complex) as a catalyst are disclosed. Fuel cell systems comprising ammonia borane or derivatives thereof as fuel and a peroxide as an oxidant are also disclosed. Uses of the fuel devices are further disclosed.
US09553306B2	Lithium secondary battery The present invention provides a lithium secondary battery having reduced internal resistance. The lithium secondary battery comprises a positive electrode, a negative electrode, and a non-aqueous electrolyte. The positive electrode comprises, as a positive electrode active material 30, a lithium transition metal composite oxide having a layered structure. In a surface region 82A of a positive electrode active material particle 82, at least one species among elements belonging to groups 3 to 7 of the periodic table is supplemented by ion implantation.
US09553305B2	Anode active material, anode and lithium battery containing the same, and preparation method thereof An anode active material. The anode active material includes a core including SiOx (0.5≦x≦1.7), and a coating layer formed on the core at least partially. The coating layer includes metal unreactive toward lithium.
US09553303B2	Silicon particles for battery electrodes Silicon particles for active materials and electro-chemical cells are provided. The active materials comprising silicon particles described herein can be utilized as an electrode material for a battery. In certain embodiments, the composite material includes greater than 0% and less than about 90% by weight of silicon particles. The silicon particles have an average particle size between about 0.1 μm and about 30 μm and a surface including nanometer-sized features. The composite material also includes greater than 0% and less than about 90% by weight of one or more types of carbon phases. At least one of the one or more types of carbon phases is a substantially continuous phase.
US09553302B2	Electrode assemblage and rechargeable battery using the same An electrode assemblage includes a first electrode assembly with first electrodes. Each first electrode has a porous first electrode current collector with a plurality of pores, and first electrode active material layers attached to the porous first electrode current collector. The electrode assemblage further includes a second electrode having a second electrode current collector and second electrode active material layers attached to the second electrode current collector, and also includes a separator disposed between the first electrode assembly and the second electrode.
US09553286B2	Battery pack for reducing damage from external static electricity A battery pack includes: a core pack; a protection circuit module electrically connected to the core pack and including a connector for further electrically connecting to an external electronic device; and a metallic cover for covering the core pack and the protection circuit module while exposing the connector to the outside, the metallic cover including a protrusion adjacent to a ground portion of the connector.
US09553283B1	Molding packaging material and battery case Provided is a molding packaging material that can have an increased use life, can suppress a decrease over time in inter-layer lamination strength, and can have superior molding properties in extrusion molding, draw forming, and the like. The laminate molding packaging material contains: an outside substrate layer (2) comprising a heat resistant resin; an inside sealant layer (3) comprising a thermoplastic resin; and a metal foil provided between the two layers as a barrier layer (4). A matte coat layer (6) comprising a heat resistant resin coating film containing a dispersion of inorganic or organic solid microparticles is formed on the outer surface of the outside substrate layer (2), and the gloss value of the surface thereof is suppressed to no greater than 30%.
US09553281B2	Lighting device A lighting device is provided with a structure body which has an inner surface including a region with a negative Fresnel lens shape and a high refractive index material layer which is closely in contact with the inner surface. The high refractive index material layer has a Fresnel lens shape in a region closely in contact with the inner surface, and a plane light-emitting body is provided over the structure body with the high refractive index material layer interposed therebetween. The high refractive index material layer is provided so as to fill at least the negative Fresnel lens shape of the structure body and thus has a surface including the region with the Fresnel lens shape at the interface with the structure body.
US09553279B2	Organic EL display device comprising different patterns in edge and inner regions An organic EL display device includes lower electrodes each provided for each of pixels, a bank layer formed so as to cover the peripheries of the lower electrodes and including bank openings through each of which a portion of the lower electrode is exposed, a light-emitting layer, an organic layer including portions each formed in the bank opening, a first barrier layer covering the organic layer, a second barrier layer covering the first barrier layer, an intermediate layer located at the edges of the bank openings, and light reflection films each provided under the lower electrode for each of the pixels. A first region where the intermediate layer is present when the pixel is viewed in a plan view includes, above or under the intermediate layer, a different layer structure from that of a second region inside the first region.
US09553278B2	Organic electroluminsescence element and lighting device The disclosure relates to an organic electroluminescence element including an organic layer including multiple light-emitting layers. The light-emitting layers include a blue light-emitting layer including a blue light-emitting dopant. In a case where emission color of the organic electroluminescence element operated at an operation temperature for a stable state is represented in a CIE1931 chromaticity coordinate system, when coordinate point A of the emission color at an early stage of use and coordinate point B of the emission color deteriorated by use are represented by (x1, y1) and (x2, y2) respectively, a relation of y2≧y1 is satisfied. When amounts of changes in x and y values from coordinate point A to coordinate point B are represented by equations of Δx=x2−x1 and Δy=y2−y1 respectively, a relation of Δy≧Δx is satisfied. It can be made difficult to perceive change in emission color and lifetime can be prolonged
US09553271B2	Compound and organic light-emitting device including the same A compound and an organic light-emitting device including the same, the compound being represented by Formula 1, below:
US09553262B2	Arrays of memory cells and methods of forming an array of memory cells An array of memory cells includes buried access lines having conductively doped semiconductor material. Pillars extend elevationally outward of and are spaced along the buried access lines. The pillars individually include a memory cell. Outer access lines are elevationally outward of the pillars and the buried access lines. The outer access lines are of higher electrical conductivity than the buried access lines. A plurality of conductive vias is spaced along and electrically couple pairs of individual of the buried and outer access lines. A plurality of the pillars is between immediately adjacent of the vias along the pairs. Electrically conductive metal material is directly against tops of the buried access lines and extends between the pillars along the individual buried access lines. Other embodiments, including method, are disclosed.
US09553257B1	Linear MRAM device with a self-aligned bottom contact A technique relates to a linear magnetoresistive random access memory (MRAM) device. A linear magnetic tunnel junction structure includes a non-magnetic tunnel barrier on top of a free layer and a reference layer on top of the non-magnetic tunnel barrier, where the linear magnetic tunnel junction structure is in a line. Bottom contacts are separated from one another by a column space while the plurality of bottom contacts are self-aligned to the linear magnetic tunnel junction structure, such that the plurality of bottom contacts are in the line with and underneath the linear magnetic tunnel junction structure. The bottom contacts abut a bottom of the linear magnetic tunnel junction structure. MRAM devices are formed by having non-conducting parts of the free layer isolating individual interfaces between the bottom contacts and the free layer. The MRAM devices are formed in the line of the linear magnetic tunnel junction structure.
US09553239B2	Light emitting device and light emitting device package A light emitting device includes a first conductive-type semiconductor layer laminated on a substrate; a light emitting layer laminated on the first conductive-type semiconductor layer; a second conductive-type semiconductor layer laminated on the light emitting layer; a first ITO layer laminated at a side of the first conductive-type semiconductor layer opposite to the substrate; a second ITO layer laminated at a side of the second conductive-type semiconductor layer opposite to the substrate; a first metal layer laminated on the first ITO layer; and a second metal layer laminated on the second ITO layer. The first and second metal layers have the same structure and each includes a lower metal layer which contacts a corresponding ITO layer of the first ITO layer and the second ITO layer; and an upper metal layer laminated on the lower metal layer, the upper metal layer being thicker than the lower metal layer.
US09553238B2	Method of manufacturing light emitting element A method of manufacturing a semiconductor light emitting element includes forming a semiconductor stacked layer body on a substrate, the semiconductor stacked layer body including a first semiconductor layer and a second semiconductor layer; removing a portion of the semiconductor stacked layer body and exposing the first semiconductor layer such that the second semiconductor layer includes an extending portion that extends in a plane direction; forming a conductor layer electrically connecting the first semiconductor layer and the extending portion of the second semiconductor layer; forming a first electrode electrically connected to the first semiconductor layer and a second electrode electrically connected to the second semiconductor layer; forming a protective film covering at least a portion of the first electrode and at least a portion of the second electrode; and after forming the protective film, removing a portion of the exposed portion of the extending portion.
US09553237B2	Light emitting element A light emitting element includes a semiconductor layer; an upper electrode disposed on an upper surface of the semiconductor layer; and a lower electrode disposed on a lower surface of the semiconductor later. In a plan view, the upper electrode includes a first extending portion extending in an approximately rectangular shape along an outer periphery of the semiconductor layer, a first pad portion connected to a first side among four sides of the first extending portion, a second pad portion connected to a second side that is opposite to the first side, among the four sides of the first extending portion, and a second extending portion and a third extending portion, each disposed in a region surrounded by the first extending portion, the second extending portion and the third extending portion each connecting the first pad portion and the second pad portion.
US09553234B2	Method of manufacturing nanostructure semiconductor light emitting device A method of manufacturing a nanostructure semiconductor light emitting device may includes preparing a mask layer by sequentially forming a first insulating layer and a second insulating layer on a base layer configured of a first conductivity-type semiconductor, forming a plurality of openings penetrating the mask layer, growing a plurality of nanorods in the plurality of openings, removing the second insulating layer, preparing a plurality of nanocores by re-growing the plurality of nanorods, and forming nanoscale light emitting structures by sequentially growing an active layer and a second conductivity-type semiconductor layer on surfaces of the plurality of nanocores. The plurality of openings may respectively include a mold region located in the second insulating layer, and the mold region includes at least one curved portion of which an inclination of a side surface varies according to proximity to the first insulating layer.
US09553232B2	Light emitter with a conductive transparent p-type layer structure A light emitting device includes an n-type layer, a p-type layer structure, a layer of p-type nano-dots imbedded in the p-type layer structure, and an active region sandwiched between the n-type layer and the p-type layer structure, where the p-type nano-dots possess a sheet density of 1010 to 1012 cm−2, a lateral dimension of 2-20 nm, and a vertical dimension of 1-5 nm. The p-type layer structure with a layer of p-type nano-dots imbedded therein provides good vertical conductivity and UV transparency. Also provided is a method for making the light emitting device.
US09553211B2	Schottky barrier diode and apparatus using the same A Schottky barrier diode includes a first semiconductor layer, a LOCOS layer arranged in contact with the first semiconductor layer, a Schottky junction region provided on a contact surface between the first semiconductor layer and a first electrode, a second semiconductor layer connected to the first semiconductor layer and having a higher carrier concentration than that of the first semiconductor layer, and a second electrode forming an ohmic contact with the second semiconductor layer. In this case, the Schottky junction region and the LOCOS layer are in contact.
US09553207B2	NVM device using FN tunneling with parallel powered source and drain A nonvolatile memory (“NVM”) bitcell includes a capacitor, a transistor, and a tunneling device. The capacitor, transistor, and tunneling device are each electrically coupled to different active regions and metal contacts. The three devices are coupled by a floating gate that traverses the three active regions. The tunneling device is used to program and erase the device, allowing for faster page erasure, and thus allows for rapid testing and verification of functionality. The transistor is used to read the logical state of the floating gate. The capacitor and floating gate are capacitively coupled together, removing the need for a separate selection device to perform read, write, and/or erase operations.
US09553205B2	Semiconductor device, driver circuit, and display device To provide a semiconductor device having a high aperture ratio and including a capacitor with a high charge capacitance. To provide a semiconductor device with a narrow bezel. A transistor over a substrate; a first conductive film over a surface over which a gate electrode of the transistor is provided; a second conductive film over a surface over which a pair of electrodes of the transistor is provided; and a first light-transmitting conductive film electrically connected to the first conductive film and the second conductive film are included. The second conductive film overlaps the first conductive film with a gate insulating film of the transistor laid between the second conductive film and the first conductive film.
US09553204B2	Semiconductor device, electronic component, and electronic device A semiconductor device excellent in writing operation is provided. In a structure where a data voltage supplied to a source line is supplied to a node of a memory cell via a bit line, a switch is provided between memory cells connected to the bit line. During a period in which the data voltage is supplied to the node of the memory cell, the switch on the bit line, which is provided between the memory cells, is off. With such a structure, parasitic capacitance of the bit line during a period in which the data voltage is supplied to the node of the memory cell can be reduced. As a result, writing of the data voltage into the memory cell can be performed fast.
US09553203B2	Display panel A display panel includes a base substrate including a pixel area and a peripheral area, a semiconductor layer disposed on a portion of the base substrate, a display element disposed in the pixel area, and a thin film transistor which controls the display element and includes an input electrode, an output electrode and a control electrode, in which the semiconductor layer includes a first portion disposed on the input electrode of the first thin film transistor, a second portion disposed on the output electrode of the first thin film transistor, and a third portion which connects the first portion and the second portion, overlaps the control electrode of the first thin film transistor, and defines a channel of the first thin film transistor.
US09553200B2	Semiconductor device and method for manufacturing the same An oxide semiconductor layer is formed, a gate insulating layer is formed over the oxide semiconductor layer, a gate electrode layer is formed to overlap with the oxide semiconductor layer with the gate insulating layer interposed therebetween, a first insulating layer is formed to cover the gate insulating layer and the gate electrode layer, an impurity element is introduced through the insulating layer to form a pair of impurity regions in the oxide semiconductor layer, a second insulating layer is formed over the first insulating layer, the first insulating layer and the second insulating layer are anisotropically etched to form a sidewall insulating layer in contact with a side surface of the gate electrode layer, and a source electrode layer and a drain electrode layer in contact with the pair of impurity regions are formed.
US09553191B1	Fin field effect transistor and method for fabricating the same A method of fabricating a FinFET includes at last the following steps. A semiconductor substrate is patterned to form a plurality of trenches in the semiconductor substrate and at least one semiconductor fin between the trenches. Insulators are formed in the trenches. A gate stack is formed over portions of the semiconductor fin and over portions of the insulators. A strained material doped with a conductive dopant is formed over portions of the semiconductor fin revealed by the gate stack, and the strained material is formed by selectively growing a bulk layer with a gradient doping concentration.
US09553189B2	Self-aligned silicide formation on source/drain through contact via According to certain embodiments, a silicide layer is formed after the fabrication of a functional gate electrode using a gate-last scheme. An initial semiconductor structure has at least one impurity regions formed on a semiconductor substrate, a sacrifice film formed over the impurity region, an isolation layer formed over the sacrifice film and a dielectric layer formed over the isolation film. A via is patterned into the dielectric layer of the initial semiconductor structure and through the thickness of the isolation layer such that a contact opening is formed in the isolation layer. The sacrifice film underlying the isolation layer is then removed leaving a void space underlying the isolation layer. Then, a metal silicide precursor is placed within the void space, and the metal silicide precursor is converted to a silicide layer through an annealing process.
US09553187B2	Semiconductor device and related fabrication methods Semiconductor device structures and related fabrication methods are provided. An exemplary semiconductor device structure includes a body well region having a first conductivity type, a drift region and a source region each having a second conductivity type, where a channel portion of the body well region resides laterally between the source region and a first portion of the drift region that is adjacent to the channel portion. A gate structure overlies the channel portion and the adjacent portion of the drift region. A portion of the gate structure overlying the channel portion proximate the source region has the second conductivity type. Another portion of the gate structure that overlies the adjacent portion of the drift region has a different doping, and overlaps at least a portion of the channel portion, with the threshold voltage associated with the gate structure being influenced by the amount of overlap.
US09553174B2	Conversion process utilized for manufacturing advanced 3D features for semiconductor device applications Embodiments of the present invention provide methods for forming fin structure with desired materials using a conversion process for three dimensional (3D) stacking of fin field effect transistor (FinFET) for semiconductor chips. In one embodiment, a method of forming a fin structure on a substrate includes performing an directional plasma process on a fin structure formed from a substrate comprising a first type of atoms, the directional plasma process dopes a second type of atoms on sidewalls of the fin structure, performing a surface modification process to form a surface modified layer on the sidewalls of the fin structure reacting with the first type of atoms, replacing the first type of the atoms with the second type of the atoms in the fin structure during the surface modification process, and forming the fin structure including the second type of the atoms on the substrate.
US09553170B2	Manufacturing method of thin film transistor and thin film transistor A manufacturing method of a thin film transistor and a thin film transistor are provided. In the manufacturing method, formation of pattern of a source electrode (7), a drain electrode (8) and an active layer (6) comprises: forming a semiconductor layer (10) and a conductive layer (11) that cover the whole substrate on the substrate in sequence; forming a first photoresist layer (4) at a region where the source electrode is to be formed and at a region where the drain electrode is to be formed on the conductive layer (11), respectively; forming a second photoresist layer (5) at least at a gap between the source electrode and the drain electrode that are to be formed on the conductive layer (11); conducting an etching process on the substrate with the first photoresist layer (4), the second photoresist layer (5), the semiconductor layer (10) and the conductive layer (11) formed thereon, so as to form pattern of the active layer (6), the source electrode (7) and the drain electrode (8).
US09553156B2	Organic light emitting display device and method of manufacturing the same Provided are an organic light emitting display device and a method of manufacturing the organic light emitting display device according to an exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure. The organic light emitting display device includes: a substrate including a display area and a pad area; a pad electrode structure on the substrate in the pad area and including a first pad electrode and a second pad electrode on the first pad electrode; and a protection conductive layer covering a lateral surface of the second pad electrode so as to reduce corrosion of the second pad electrode.
US09553146B2	Three dimensional NAND device having a wavy charge storage layer A monolithic three dimensional NAND string includes a semiconductor channel, where at least one end portion of the semiconductor channel extending substantially perpendicular to a major surface of a substrate, a plurality of control gate electrodes extending substantially parallel to the major surface of the substrate, an interlevel insulating layer located between adjacent control gate electrodes, a blocking dielectric layer located in contact with the plurality of control gate electrodes and an interlevel insulating layer, a charge storage layer located at least partially in contact with the blocking dielectric layer, and a tunnel dielectric located between the charge storage layer and the semiconductor channel. The charge storage layer has a curved profile.
US09553142B2	Semiconductor device having buried layer A semiconductor device includes a substrate having a first conductivity type, a high-voltage well having a second conductivity type and disposed in the substrate, a source region disposed in the high-voltage well, a drain region disposed in the high-voltage well and spaced apart from the source region along a first direction, and a buried layer having the second conductivity type and disposed under an area between the source region and the drain region.
US09553136B2	Organic light emitting diode display An organic light emitting diode (OLED) display, including a flexible substrate bent in a first direction, an OLED arranged on the flexible substrate, a first thin film transistor connected to the OLED and including a first channel area extending in a second direction crossing the first direction, and one or more additional thin film transistors connected to the first thin film transistor and including corresponding additional channel areas extending in the second direction.
US09553132B1	Semiconductor memory device According to the embodiment, a semiconductor memory device includes a first conductive layer, a second conductive layer, a first memory cell, a second memory cell, a third conductive layer, a first contact, a intermediate memory cell, a fourth conductive layer, a third memory cell, a fifth conductive layer, and a second contact. The third conductive layer is separated from the first conductive layer and the second conductive layer in a third direction crossing a first direction and crossing a second direction and extends in the second direction. The fifth conductive layer is separated from the second conductive layer in the third direction and extends in the second direction. A first length of the second conductive layer along the second direction is shorter than a second length of the fifth conductive layer along the second direction.
US09553126B2	Wafer-level bonding method for camera fabrication A wafer-level method for fabricating a plurality of cameras includes modifying an image sensor wafer to reduce risk of the image sensor wafer warping, and bonding the image sensor wafer to a lens wafer to form a composite wafer that includes the plurality of cameras. A wafer-level method for fabricating a plurality of cameras includes bonding an image sensor wafer to a lens wafer, using a pressure sensitive adhesive, to form a composite wafer that includes the plurality of cameras.
US09553101B2	Semiconductor device A semiconductor device may include gate structures spaced apart above a top surface of a substrate. The gate structures may include a horizontal electrode extending in a first direction parallel with the top surface of a substrate. An isolation insulating layer may be disposed between the gate structures. A plurality of cell pillars may penetrate the horizontal electrode and connect to the substrate. The plurality of cell pillars may include a minimum spacing defined by a shortest distance between any two of the plurality of cell pillars. The thickness of the horizontal electrode may be greater than the minimum spacing of the cell pillars.
US09553097B2	Semiconductor device, related manufacturing method, and related electronic device A semiconductor device includes a substrate, a first transistor, and a second transistor. The first transistor includes a first source terminal formed of a material and connected to a first source, a first drain terminal formed of the material and connected to a first drain, a first gate overlapping a portion of the substrate that is between the first source and the first drain, and a first dielectric layer between the first gate and the substrate. The second transistor includes a control gate formed of the material and overlapping a part of the substrate that is positioned between a second source and a second drain, a second dielectric layer between the control gate and the substrate, a floating gate extending through the second dielectric layer to contact a doped region in the substrate, and an insulating member positioned between the control gate and the floating gate.
US09553095B2	Capacitor and method for making same A system-on-chip (SOC) device comprises a first capacitor in a first region, a second capacitor in a second region, and may further comprise a third capacitor in a third region, and any additional number of capacitors in additional regions. The capacitors may be of different shapes and sizes. A region may comprise more than one capacitor. Each capacitor in a region has a top electrode, a bottom electrode, and a capacitor insulator. The top electrodes of all the capacitors are formed in a common process, while the bottom electrodes of all the capacitors are formed in a common process. The capacitor insulator may have different number of sub-layers, formed with different materials or different thickness. The capacitors may be formed in an inter-layer dielectric layer or in an inter-metal dielectric layer. The regions may be a mixed signal region, an analog region, a radio frequency region, a dynamic random access memory region, and so forth.
US09553091B1	Semiconductor structure and method for manufacturing the same A semiconductor structure is provided, which includes a first high-voltage MOS device region having a first well and a first light-doping region in a part of the first well, wherein the conductive type of the first well and the conductive type of the first light-doping region are opposite. The first high-voltage MOS device region also includes a first gate stack on a part of the first well and a part of the first light-doping region, and first heavy-doping regions in the first well and the first light-doping region at two sides of the gate stack, wherein the conductive type of the first heavy-doping region and the conductive type of the first well are the same. The first light-doping region between the first well and the first heavy-doping regions is a channel region of the first high-voltage MOS device region.
US09553087B1	Semiconductor device In some embodiments, a semiconductor device includes a first transistor and a second transistor. The first transistor includes a first source region in a first bulk region having a first concentration, and a first gate. The second transistor includes a second source region in a second bulk region having a second concentration higher than the first concentration. The second source region is connected with the first source region and the first gate.
US09553075B2	Recessed and embedded die coreless package Methods of forming a microelectronic packaging structure and associated structures formed thereby are described. Those methods may include forming a cavity in a plating material to hold a die, attaching the die in the cavity, forming a dielectric material adjacent the die, forming vias in the dielectric material adjacent the die, forming PoP lands in the vias, forming interconnects in the vias, and then removing the plating material to expose the PoP lands and die, wherein the die is disposed above the PoP lands.
US09553070B2	3D packages and methods for forming the same Embodiments of the present disclosure include a semiconductor device, a package, and methods of forming a semiconductor device and a package. An embodiment is a method including placing a plurality of dies over a passivation layer, the plurality of dies comprising at least one active device, molding the plurality of dies with a first molding material, and forming a plurality of through-package vias (TPVs) in the first molding material, first surfaces of the plurality of TPVs being substantially coplanar with a backside surfaces of the plurality of dies. The method further includes patterning the passivation layer to expose a portion of the first surfaces of the plurality of TPVs, and bonding a plurality of top packages to the first surfaces of the plurality of TPVs.
US09553064B2	Electronic device, and manufacturing method of electronic device An electronic device includes a drive substrate (a pressure chamber substrate and a vibration plate) including a piezoelectric element and electrode wirings related to driving of the piezoelectric element formed thereon, and a sealing plate bonded thereto, the electrode wirings are made of wiring metal containing gold (Au) on the drive substrate through an adhesion layer which is a base layer, and has a removed portion in which a portion of the wiring metal in a region containing a part bonded to a bonding resin is removed and the adhesion layer is exposed.
US09553063B2	Semiconductor element, semiconductor device and method for manufacturing semiconductor element The semiconductor element has an electrode including: a Ni-inclusion metal layer containing nickel formed on a side of at least one surface of the semiconductor-element constituting part; a Ni-barrier metal layer formed outwardly on a side of the Ni-inclusion metal layer opposite to the side toward the semiconductor-element constituting part; and a surface metal layer outwardly formed on a side of the Ni-barrier metal layer opposite to the side toward the semiconductor-element constituting part, to be connected to the metal nanoparticles sintered layer; wherein the Ni-barrier metal layer contains a metal for suppressing diffusion of nickel toward the surface metal layer.
US09553057B1	E-plane probe with stepped surface profile for high-frequency A method of forming an E-plane probe includes forming a plurality of monolithically integrated circuits (MICs) on a wafer, each MIC including a monolithic microwave integrated circuit (MMIC), and an E-plane probe coupled to the MMIC, mounting the wafer on an ultra-violet (UV) tape, cutting the wafer with a laser at a first power and a first linear cutting speed along vertical streets and then along horizontal streets to form separate substrates, cutting with the laser at a second power and a second linear cutting speed a rectangle or a portion of a rectangle from the separate substrates to form narrow substrate extensions on the substrates, and repeating this step for each rectangle or portion of a rectangle to be cut to form substrate extensions, and curing the UV tape, wherein the E-plane probes are on the narrow substrate extensions.
US09553056B1	Semiconductor chip having tampering feature Silicon-based or other electronic circuitry is dissolved or otherwise disabled by reactive materials within a semiconductor chip should the chip or a device containing the chip be subjected to tampering. Triggering circuits containing normally-OFF heterojunction field-effect photo-transistors are configured to cause reactions of the reactive materials within the chips upon exposure to light. The normally-OFF heterojunction field-effect photo-transistors can be fabricated during back-end-of-line processing through the use of polysilicon channel material, amorphous hydrogenated silicon gate contacts, hydrogenated crystalline silicon source/drain contacts, or other materials that allow processing at low temperatures.
US09553052B2	Magnetic shielding package of non-volatile magnetic memory element A magnetic shielding package of a non-volatile magnetic memory element, including: a soft magnetic material support plate 12; a first insulating material layer 13 formed on the support plate; a non-volatile magnetic memory element 11 fixed on the first insulating material layer; a second insulating material layer 14 that encapsulates the memory element and the periphery thereof; in the second insulating material layer, a wiring layer 15, a soft magnetic layer 15b or 25 and a conductive portion 16 connecting an electrode of the circuit surface of the memory element and the wiring layer; and a magnetic shield part 17 containing a soft magnetic material arranged like a wall at a distance from a side surface of the memory element so as to surround the memory element side surface partially or entirely, the magnetic shield part being magnetically connected to the soft magnetic layer.
US09553051B2	Electronic component In an embodiment, an electronic component includes a dielectric layer having a first surface and a second surface, one or more semiconductor dies embedded in the dielectric layer and at least one electrically conductive member. The electrically conductive member includes a first portion and a second portion. The first portion includes a foil including a first metal and the second portion includes an electrodeposited layer including a second metal. The first portion and the second portion are embedded in the dielectric layer.
US09553050B2	Semiconductor device A semiconductor device includes a semiconductor substrate, an interlayer insulating film on the semiconductor substrate and having a first hole extending therethrough, and a contact portion in the first hole of the interlayer insulating film. The contact portion includes a first silicon film along an inner surface of the first hole of the interlayer insulating film.
US09553037B2	Semiconductor device A semiconductor device includes a semiconductor element having a front surface and a rear surface, a pair of heat sinks disposed facing each other so as to sandwich the semiconductor element, and attached respectively to the front surface and the rear surface, and a fastening screw fastening the pair of the heat sinks in the facing direction, the fastening screw having insulation property. Threads are arranged on at least a part of the fastening screw in an axis direction of the fastening screw between the pair of the heat sinks.
US09553028B2	Methods of forming reduced resistance local interconnect structures and the resulting devices A method includes forming a layer of insulating material above first and second transistors, within the layer of insulating material, forming a set of initial device-level contacts for each of the first and second transistors, wherein each set of initial device-level contacts comprises a plurality of source/drain contacts and a gate contact, forming an initial local interconnect structure that is conductively coupled to one of the initial device-level contacts in each of the first and second transistors, and removing the initial local interconnect structure and portions, but not all, of the initial device-level contacts for each the first and second transistors. The method also includes forming a copper local interconnect structure and copper caps above the recessed device-level contacts.
US09553021B2	Method for processing a wafer and method for dicing a wafer In various embodiments, a method for processing a wafer may include: providing a wafer having at least one die region and at least one metallization disposed over the at least one die region; covering the at least one metallization with a protecting layer; plasma etching the wafer to form at least one die.
US09553013B2	Semiconductor structure with TRL and handle wafer cavities A method is disclosed. The method comprises fabricating a device layer on a top portion of a semiconductor wafer that comprises a substrate. The device layer comprises an active device. The method also comprises forming a trap rich layer at a top portion of a handle wafer. The forming comprises etching the top portion of the handle wafer to form a structure in the top portion of the handle wafer that configures the trap rich layer. The method also comprises bonding a top surface of the handle wafer to a top surface of the semiconductor wafer. The method also comprises removing a bottom substrate portion of the semiconductor wafer.
US09553001B2	Method of forming a molding layer for semiconductor package A method of forming a molding layer includes the following operations: forming a substrate having at least one column structure thereon; flipping over the substrate having the column structure such that the column structure is beneath the substrate; dipping the column structure of the flipped substrate into a molding material fluid contained in a container; and separating the column structure of the flipped substrate from the container to form a molding layer covering and in contact with the column structure.
US09552997B2	Silicon carbide switching devices including P-type channels Methods of forming a p-channel MOS device in silicon carbide include forming an n-type well in a silicon carbide layer, and implanting p-type dopant ions to form a p-type region in the n-type well at a surface of the silicon carbide layer and at least partially defining a channel region in the n-type well adjacent the p-type region. A threshold adjustment region is formed in the channel region. The implanted ions are annealed in an inert atmosphere at a temperature greater than 1650° C. A gate oxide layer is formed on the channel region, and a gate is formed on the gate oxide layer. A silicon carbide-based transistor includes a silicon carbide layer, an n-type well in the silicon carbide layer, and a p-type region in the n-type well at a surface of the silicon carbide layer and at least partially defining a channel region in the n-type well adjacent the p-type region. A threshold adjustment region is in the channel region and includes p-type dopants at a dopant concentration of about 1×1016 cm−3 to about 5×1018 cm−3. The transistor further includes a gate oxide layer on the channel region, and a gate on the gate oxide layer. The transistor may exhibit a hole mobility in the channel region in excess of 5 cm2/V-s at a gate voltage of −25V.
US09552991B2	Trench vertical NAND and method of making thereof A method of making a monolithic three dimensional NAND string includes providing a stack of alternating first material layers and second material layers different from the first material layer over a substrate, etching the stack to form at least one trench in the stack, forming a blocking dielectric over a side wall of the at least one trench, forming a charge storage layer over the blocking dielectric in the at least one trench, forming a tunnel dielectric over the charge storage layer in the at least one trench and forming a semiconductor channel over the tunnel dielectric in the at least one trench.
US09552985B2	Oxide semiconductor layer and production method therefor, oxide semiconductor precursor, oxide semiconductor layer, semiconductor element, and electronic device The invention provides an oxide semiconductor layer that has less cracks and is excellent in electrical property and stability, as well as a semiconductor element and an electronic device each including the oxide semiconductor layer. The invention provides an exemplary method of producing an oxide semiconductor layer, and the method includes the precursor layer forming step of forming, on or above a substrate, a layered oxide semiconductor precursor including a compound of metal to be oxidized into an oxide semiconductor dispersed in a solution including a binder made of aliphatic polycarbonate, and the annealing step of heating the precursor layer at a first temperature achieving decomposition of 90 wt % or more of the binder, and then annealing the precursor layer at a temperature equal to or higher than a second temperature (denoted by X) that is higher than the first temperature, achieves bonding between the metal and oxygen, and has an exothermic peak value in differential thermal analysis (DTA).
US09552976B2	Optimized HID arc tube geometry The geometry of a High Intensity Discharge (HID) arc tube is controlled to improve lamp color control and temperature distribution. In some embodiments, conical sections located at the transition zones near the electrodes are included to provide funnel-like body-leg interface portions. The body-leg interface portions are shaped so as to advantageously control the temperature distribution along the internal surface of the discharge chamber wall so that it monotonically decreases resulting in a stable local cold spot location at the body-leg interface.
US09552952B2	12CaO-7Al2O3 electride hollow cathode The use of the electride form of 12CaO-7Al2O3, or C12A7, as a low work function electron emitter in a hollow cathode discharge apparatus is described. No heater is required to initiate operation of the present cathode, as is necessary for traditional hollow cathode devices. Because C12A7 has a fully oxidized lattice structure, exposure to oxygen does not degrade the electride. The electride was surrounded by a graphite liner since it was found that the C12A7 electride converts to it's eutectic (CA+C3A) form when heated (through natural hollow cathode operation) in a metal tube.
US09552936B2	Push switch A push switch is provided with a knob that causes the movable contact point in contact with the fixed contact point to slide thereon by a push operation of the knob, thereby connecting/disconnecting the movable contact point and the fixed contact point. A sliding direction of the movable contact point is set to a direction vertical to the push direction of the knob, and the push operation of the knob allows the movable contact point in contact with the fixed contact point to slide in a direction vertical to the push direction of the knob.
US09552934B2	Slot motor, slot motor cover, slot motor—arc plate assembly, and methods of operation A slot motor apparatus for a circuit breaker is disclosed. The slot motor has first and second legs connected by a thin web, and an extending portion extending rearward from the rear faces of the legs. Slot motor-arc plate assemblies having an arc plate assembly received at least partially overtop of the extending portion are also disclosed, as are assemblies having the arc plate assembly received very close to the rear faces of the slot motor legs. Circuit breakers, slot motor-arc plate assemblies, slot motor covers, and methods of operating the slot motor-arc plate assemblies are disclosed, as are other aspects.
US09552932B2	Highly porous separator foil The invention relates to a biaxially oriented single- or multilayer porous foil, the porosity of which is generated by transformation of ss-crystalline polypropylene during orientation of the foil. The Gurley value of the foil is <250 s. The invention also relates to a process for producing the foil by using a low transverse stretching velocity for the transverse orientation process.
US09552913B2	Superconducting coil and superconducting device A superconducting coil includes: first and second pancake coils that are formed by winding a superconducting wire, are stacked in a thickness direction, and are adjacent to each other; and a cooling substrate that is provided in contact with an end surface of the first pancake coil and is separable into a plurality of cooling plates.
US09552911B2	Hf—Co—B alloys as permanent magnet materials An alloy composition is composed essentially of Hf2-XZrXCo11BY, wherein 0
US09552909B2	Conductive polymer electronic devices with surface mountable configuration and methods for manufacturing same Surface-mountable devices include a conductive polymer layer between first and second electrodes, on which are disposed first and second insulation layers, respectively, with first and second planar terminals on the second insulation layer. A first cross-conductor connects the second electrode to the first terminal, and is separated from the first electrode by a portion of the first insulation layer. A second cross-conductor connects the first electrode to the second terminal, and is separated from the second electrode by a portion of the second insulation layer. At least one cross-conductor may include a beveled portion through the first insulation layer. Alternatively, at least one cross-conductor may contact an anchor pad on the first insulation layer, the anchor pad having a small area relative to the areas of the terminals. Enhanced adhesion between the cross-conductor(s) and the first insulation layer is provided, while allowing thermal expansion without excessive stress.
US09552887B2	Semiconductor memory systems using regression analysis and read methods thereof A memory system includes: a bit counter and a regression analyzer. The bit counter is configured to generate a plurality of count values based on data read from selected memory cells using a plurality of different read voltages, each of the plurality of count values being indicative of a number of memory cells of a memory device having threshold voltages between pairs of the plurality of different read voltages. The regression analyzer is configured to determine read voltage for the selected memory cells based on the plurality of count values using regression analysis.
US09552884B2	Nonvolatile memory and erasing method thereof An erase method of a nonvolatile memory includes supplying an erase voltage to a substrate, supplying a selection word line voltage to word lines connected with a selected sub-block within a memory block of the nonvolatile memory, supplying a non-selection word line voltage to word lines connected with an unselected sub-block within the memory block during a first delay time from a point of time when the erase voltage is supplied, and thereafter floating the word lines connected with the unselected sub-block.
US09552874B2	Combined memory block and data processing system having the same A combined memory block includes a first memory unit configured to store data and an additional memory unit that forms a stacked structure with the memory unit, wherein the memory unit and the storage unit together form multi-level cells having variable resistance in storing data.
US09552869B1	Random access memory with pseudo-differential sensing Embodiments herein describe DRAM that includes storage circuitry coupled between complementary bit lines which are in turn coupled to the same sense amplifier. The storage circuitry includes a transistor and a storage capacitor coupled in series. The gate of the transistor is coupled to a word line which selectively couples the storage capacitor to one of the complementary bit lines. Because the capacitor is coupled to both of the bit lines, when reading the data stored on the capacitor, the charge on the capacitor causes current to flow from one of the bit lines into the other bit line which causes a voltage difference between the complementary bit lines. Put differently, both ends of the capacitor are electrically coupled to bit lines thereby generating a larger voltage difference between the bit lines when reading data from the storage capacitors.
US09552864B1	Offset compensation for ferroelectric memory cell sensing Methods, systems, and devices for operating a ferroelectric memory cell or cells are described. Offsets in the threshold voltage of switching components (e.g., transistors) connected to digit lines may be compensated by using various operating techniques or additional circuit components, or both. For example, a switching component connected to a digit line may also be connected to an offset capacitor selected to compensate for a threshold voltage offset. The offset capacitor may be discharged in conjunction with a read operation, resulting in a threshold voltage applied to the switching component. This may enable all or substantially all of the stored charge of the ferroelectric memory cell to be extracted and transferred to a sense capacitor through the transistor. A sense amplifier may compare the voltage of the sense capacitor to a reference voltage in order to determine the stored logic state of the memory cell.
US09552858B2	STT-MRAM cell structure incorporating piezoelectric stress material A magnetic memory cell including a piezoelectric material, and methods of operating the memory cell are provided. The memory cell includes a stack, and the piezoelectric material may be formed as a layer in the stack or adjacent the layers of the cell stack. The piezoelectric material may be used to induce a transient stress during programming of the memory cell to reduce the critical switching current of the memory cell.
US09552851B2	Current-mode sense amplifier A current sense amplifier comprises a reference current input terminal, a control line input terminal, a sense current input terminal, an output terminal, a first NAND gate, a transmission gate, and two cross coupled inverters each comprising a n-FET. The first NAND gate comprises an output terminal being coupled to the output terminal of the amplifier. The transmission gate comprises two transmission terminals and a gate terminal. The gate terminal is coupled to the control line terminal. Sources of the n-FETs are coupled to the sense current input terminal and the reference current input terminal, respectively. One of the transmission terminals is coupled to an input terminal of one of the inverters and the other transmission terminal is coupled to an input terminal of the other inverter. The input terminals of the first NAND gate are coupled to the control line terminal and one of the input terminals of the inverters, respectively.
US09552835B1	Actuator limiters for multiple disk-stack, shared actuator hard disk drive An actuator rotational limiter mechanism for a multiple disk-stack, shared actuator hard disk drive includes an actuator comb with a cam-lock feature and an actuator limiter with a rotatable cam-roller that is engagable with the cam-lock feature to temporarily hold in place the actuator comb. The cam-lock feature may be positioned at or near a middle location of a back arm of the actuator armature, where the actuator comb being held in place by the cam-roller corresponds to the head slider being positioned on a load/unload ramp between adjacent disk stacks.
US09552833B2	Devices including a multilayer gas barrier layer Devices that include a near field transducer (NFT); a multilayer gas barrier layer positioned on at least a portion of the NFT, the multilayer gas barrier layer including at least a first and a second sublayer, where the second gas barrier sublayer is positioned on the first gas barrier sublayer, the first gas barrier sublayer is positioned adjacent the NFT and the second gas barrier sublayer is positioned adjacent the wear resistant layer, the first and second sublayers independently have thicknesses from 0.01 nm to 5 nm; and a wear resistance layer positioned on at least a portion of the gas barrier layer.
US09552827B2	Echo control through hidden audio signals A method (800) for determining an estimate (215, 261) of an echo path property of an electronic device (200, 250, 300, 600). The electronic device is configured to render a total audio signal using a loudspeaker (102), and the electronic device is configured to record an echo of the rendered audio signal using a microphone (103), thereby yielding a recorded audio signal (112). The method comprises inserting (801), in an inaudible manner, an auxiliary audio signal (212) into the total audio signal to be rendered; wherein the auxiliary audio signal (212) comprises a tonal audio signal at a first frequency; isolating (803) the echo of the auxiliary audio signal (212) from the recorded audio signal (112); and determining (804) the estimate (215, 261) of the echo path property based on the inserted auxiliary audio signal (212) and based on the isolated echo of the auxiliary audio signal (212).
US09552824B2	Post filter Disclosed is a method, apparatus and non-transitory computer readable storage medium, which is configured to examine an input audio signal to determine an estimated pitch period associated with a detection criterion, encode the filtered audio signal to generate a compressed audio bit stream, decode the compressed audio bit stream to generate a decoded audio signal and adaptively filtering the decoded audio signal to produce an output audio signal, wherein adaptively filtering the decoded audio signal comprises filtering each of a plurality of segments of the decoded audio signal in a manner that is dependent upon the estimated pitch period associated therewith, and wherein a pitch-based post-filter operates to shape noise components located between harmonics of the input audio signal.
US09552817B2	Incremental utterance decoder combination for efficient and accurate decoding An incremental speech recognition system. The incremental speech recognition system incrementally decodes a spoken utterance using an additional utterance decoder only when the additional utterance decoder is likely to add significant benefit to the combined result. The available utterance decoders are ordered in a series based on accuracy, performance, diversity, and other factors. A recognition management engine coordinates decoding of the spoken utterance by the series of utterance decoders, combines the decoded utterances, and determines whether additional processing is likely to significantly improve the recognition result. If so, the recognition management engine engages the next utterance decoder and the cycle continues. If the accuracy cannot be significantly improved, the result is accepted and decoding stops. Accordingly, a decoded utterance with accuracy approaching the maximum for the series is obtained without decoding the spoken utterance using all utterance decoders in the series, thereby minimizing resource usage.
US09552813B2	Self-adaptive intelligent voice device and method A self-adaptive intelligent voice device and method, wherein the device includes a voice recognizing module (101), a recognition result processing module (102), a voice broadcasting module (103), and a broadcast voice parameter generating module (104), and the broadcast voice parameter generating module (104) is configured to acquire extracted voice parameters from the voice recognizing module (101), and generate broadcast voice parameters according to the extracted voice parameters and a default policy, and input the broadcast voice parameters to the voice broadcasting module (103), the abovementioned technical solution enables the broadcast voice more closely matching a user's voice.
US09552810B2	Customizable and individualized speech recognition settings interface for users with language accents A computer implemented method and system for customizing speech recognition for users with accents. A spoken language of a user is identified. An indicator of a speech accent language can be initiated by the user using a computer. The indicator identifies the speech accent language and defines an influence of the speech accent language on the spoken language. Speech recognition characteristics are set according to the spoken language and the indicator. An automatic speech recognition (ASR) conversion is adjusted based on the speech recognition characteristics.
US09552806B2	Sound synthesizing apparatus A sound synthesizing apparatus includes a processor coupled to a memory. The processor configured to execute computer-executable units comprising: an information acquirer adapted to acquire synthesis information which specifies a duration and an utterance content for each unit sound; a prolongation setter adapted to set whether prolongation is permitted or inhibited for each of a plurality of phonemes corresponding to the utterance content of the each unit sound; and a sound synthesizer adapted to generate a synthesized sound corresponding to the synthesis information by connecting a plurality of sound fragments corresponding to the utterance content of the each unit sound. The sound synthesizer prolongs a sound fragment corresponding to the phoneme the prolongation of which is permitted in accordance with the duration of the unit sound.
US09552802B2	Electromagnetic pickup for stringed instruments An electromagnetic pickup for electric guitars has one or two dual-coil assemblies wherein an inner coil is wound around a bobbin and then an outer coil around the inner coil. In the dual-coil assembly the inner coil replaces the entire or part of wall space of pole piece holes in a plastic molded bobbin. The outer and inner coils in the dual-coil assembly are electrically connected in-phase to produce single coil pickup sound. The outer coil or the serially connected inner and outer coils are connected to a coil in the other pole piece/bobbin/coil assembly out-of-phase to generate humbucking pickup sound.
US09552788B2	GOA circuit based on LTPS semiconductor TFT The present invention provides a GOA circuit based on LTPS semiconductor TFT, comprising a plurality of GOA units which are cascade connected, and N is set to be a positive integer and an Nth GOA unit comprises a pull-up control part (100), a pull-up part (200), a first pull-down part (400) and a pull-down holding part (500); the pull-down holding part (500) utilizes a high/low voltage reverse design and comprises a first, a second and a third DC constant low voltage levels (VSS1, VSS2, VSS3) which are sequentially abated and a DC constant high voltage level (H), the influence of electrical property of the LTPS semiconductor TFT to the GOA driving circuit, and particularly the bad function due to the electric leakage issue can be solved; meanwhile, the existing issue that the second node voltage level and the pull-down holding circuit part in the GOA circuit based on the LTPS semiconductor TFT cannot be at higher voltage level in the non-functioning period can be solved to effectively maintain the first node (Q(N)) and the output end (G(N)) at low voltage level.
US09552777B2	Phase control backlight This document describes techniques and apparatuses for implementing a phase control backlight. A phase control backlight is configured to concentrate light to each pupil of a viewer of a display to cause images to be displayed to each pupil of the viewer. The phase control backlight can include an illuminator and a light guide that includes a diffraction grating. The light guide is configured to receive light rays from the illuminator, and to diffract light rays out of the light guide via the diffraction grating. In accordance with various embodiments, the light guide can be controlled to alter a phase of the light rays as the light rays are guided within the light guide to cause the diffracted light rays to converge to a concentration point that corresponds to a position in space of each pupil of the viewer.
US09552764B2	Display device, pixel circuit, electronic apparatus, and method of driving display device A display device includes a display portion, a hold capacitor, a write transistor writing a drive voltage corresponding to a video signal to the hold capacitor, a drive transistor driving the display portion in accordance with the drive voltage written to the hold capacitor, and a pulse width adjusting portion adjusting a width of a pulse signal causing a drive pulse used to drive at least one of the write transistor and the drive transistor so as to correspond to an environmental change.
US09552763B2	Data conversion unit and method of converting data A data conversion unit includes a gamma conversion unit configured to generate a first gamma data by gamma-converting a first data supplied from an outside thereof, a representative luminance value calculation unit configured to calculate a representative luminance value of an entire panel, based on the first gamma data, a subtraction unit configured to subtract the calculated representative luminance value from gamma conversion values of respective pixels included in the first gamma data, a compensation unit configured to generate a second gamma data by converting the gamma conversion values of the respective pixels, based on the subtracted values corresponding to the respective pixels, and an inverse gamma conversion unit configured to generate a second data by inverse-gamma-converting the second gamma data.
US09552760B2	Display panel An EL light-emitting element is driven digitally to reduce power consumption using a pixel having three transistors and two capacitors. A reset transistor for diode connection writes the threshold voltage of the drive transistor onto a coupling capacitor. The data voltage plus threshold voltage is then written onto the gate of the drive transistor. This reduces the amplitude of the data voltage required, further reducing power consumption.
US09552759B2	Display with gate lines in a diagonal direction A display apparatus includes a display panel including a driving part arranged along one side of the display panel, the display panel including a plurality of first gate lines that zigzag across the display in a diagonal direction between the first and second directions by alternately extending in the first and the second directions. The display device includes a first display area and a second display area, pixels within the first display area always receiving gate signals from a driving part connected to an end of the first gate lines. Within the second display area, a second gate lines extending in the first direction may be electrically connected to the first gate lines that relay gate signals to the first gate lines. This results in a reduced peripheral area of the display area, so that many displays can be combined together to produce a single image.
US09552757B2	Image device with improved chrominance quality The invention provides an image device with improved chrominance quality. The image device includes a plurality of RGBW pixels, a plurality of RGBY pixels, and a plurality of RBGB pixels. Each RGBW pixel includes a red sub-pixel, a green sub-pixel, a blue sub-pixel and a white sub-pixel. Each RGBY pixel includes a red sub-pixel, a green sub-pixel, a blue sub-pixel and a yellow sub-pixel. Each RBGB pixel includes a red sub-pixel, a green sub-pixel, and two blue sub-pixels. The RGBW pixels, RGBY pixels, and RBGB pixels are mixed in the image device. The image device of the present invention can solve the problem of dark yellow in the conventional RGBW display while achieving a white balance status. As a result the chrominance quality is improved.
US09552747B1	Helmet impact simulator and method A head impact test apparatus is configured to enable viewing a head model including a brain component that may be at least partially surrounded by a fluid component and within a skull component. A head model may be a cross-sectional model of a person's head and have a translucent cover extending over the cross-sectional plane to enable viewing and image capture of the components of the head model. A camera may be configured to take a plurality of images during an impact test. These images may be analyzed to determine the acceleration and deformation of the brain component. An impact element is configured to impact the head model and the head model may have any type of helmet thereon. A helmet component may comprise a helmet cover. The test may be used to determine the effectiveness of helmets and helmet covers in reducing brain trauma.
US09552738B2	Systems and methods for computer-based testing Systems and methods are provided for administering a test using an electronic device. The electronic device is registered to a test-taker, where the registering includes receiving identifying information from the test-taker and associating the electronic device with the test-taker using the identifying information. The test is stored in encrypted form on the electronic device, and the test includes a test question. The test is decrypted prior to test administration. The test is administered to the test-taker via the electronic device, and the administering includes displaying the test question on the electronic device and receiving an answer to the test question on the electronic device. The administered test is removed from the electronic device after transferring the answer to a testing service.
US09552735B2	Autonomous vehicle identification A computer in a first vehicle is configured to receive data relating to a second vehicle. The computer may use the data to determine that the second vehicle is being operated at least partially autonomously. Further, the computer may cause the first vehicle to take an action to autonomously operate the first vehicle based at least in part on determining that the second vehicle is being operated at least partially autonomously.
US09552728B2	Route-based propulsion mode control for multimodal vehicles A method and system of operating a multimodal vehicle includes determining a vehicle route between a starting point and an ending point, establishing one or more waypoints along the determined vehicle route based on one or more factors such as topography or road classification, and changing the propulsion mode of the vehicle at each of the established waypoints. This can be used, for example, to help optimize the use of different propulsion modes such as gasoline and battery power to thereby increase energy utilization efficiency.
US09552719B1	Systems and methods of dynamically varying a pre-alarm time of a security system Systems and methods of adjusting a pre-alarm time are provided, including detecting, by a sensor, an entry into a building by a person and generating detection data according to the detected entry. A processor communicatively coupled to the sensor adjusts a pre-alarm time according to the detection data. An alarm is output, by an alarm device communicatively coupled to at least the processor, according to the detection data and the adjusted pre-alarm time.
US09552714B2	Occupant egress prediction systems, methods and devices A method comprises determining a person's level of risk for developing an adverse condition; selecting a care protocol based on the level of risk; displaying a proposed configuration of a person support structure corresponding to the care protocol for a caregiver to approve; and upon approval by the caregiver, implementing the configuration.
US09552712B2	Systems and methods for notifying users of vehicle conditions Systems and methods are disclosed for notifying users of vehicle conditions. According to certain embodiments, the system comprises at least one processor configured to determine whether an ambient temperature associated with a vehicle exceeds a temperature threshold and detect a sound associated with the vehicle. The at least one processor is further configured to output a notification based on the determined ambient temperature and detected sound.
US09552708B2	Systems and methods for protecting retail display merchandise from theft Security systems and methods configured for use with an item of merchandise for retail display include a housing, at least one sensor carried by the housing and at least one output device carried by the housing. The security system further includes a controller carried by the housing and operably coupled to the sensor and to the output device. The controller is operable to determine a distance traveled by the item of merchandise from a retail display “home” position based upon a sensor input from the sensor, and to activate the output device based upon the distance traveled by the item of merchandise exceeding a threshold distance. The controller may utilize the at least one sensor in conjunction with an inertial navigation system (INS) and motion processing algorithms or techniques to determine the distance traveled by the item of merchandise from the retail display “home” position.
US09552707B1	Wearable device that indicates the passage of time as a tactile sensation moving across the surface of a person's skin A wearable time-telling device that indicates the passage of time as a tactile sensation moving across the surface of the wearer's skin is disclosed. The wearable device does not require a person's vision in order to perceive the current clock time, and the device can even be discreetly used by a person who is blind or visually impaired.
US09552704B2	Wagering game having multi-array symbol placement feature A gaming system includes one or more display devices, one or more processors, and one or more memory devices. The one or more memory devices store instructions that, when executed by at least one of the one or more processors, cause the gaming system to (i) display, on at least one of one or more display devices, a first symbol array and a second symbol array, (ii) in response to a triggering symbol appearing in the first symbol array, place a first symbol into a number of symbol positions within the second symbol array, the number being defined by a quantifier associated with the triggering symbol, (iii) provide an award based on one or more winning symbol combinations in the second array with the first symbols placed in the symbol positions.
US09552691B2	Automatically generated display code for wagering game machine configuration Systems, methods and machine-readable media operate on configuration data for wagering game machines. A wagering game machine configuration or meter data on a wagering game machine is modified. In response to the modification, the configuration data or meter data is transformed into a displayable code such as a bar code or QR (Quick Response) code. The wagering game machine presents the displayable code on a code display of the wagering game machine. A portable computing device reads the displayable code and uses the displayable code to compare the configuration data with configuration data obtained from other wagering game machines or configuration data obtained from a configuration server.
US09552690B2	System and method for determining the volatility of a game based on one or more external data feeds Various embodiments of the present disclosure provide a system and method for determining the volatility of a game based on one or more external data feeds. Generally, the system is configured to communicate with and collect data from one or more external data feeds, use the collected data to determine volatility data representing the volatility of a game, and provide one or more plays of the game having the volatility represented by the volatility data. In various embodiments, the system includes a volatility determination system including a data accumulator, an external feed data analyzer, and a metric data analyzer; and a gaming system. The volatility determination system collects the data from the external data feeds and uses the collected data to determine the volatility data representing the volatility of the game, and the gaming system provides a play of the game having the volatility represented by the determined volatility data.
US09552677B2	Image processing apparatus, image processing method, and program An information processing system that acquires image data captured by an image capturing device; identifies a density of distribution of a plurality of feature points in the acquired image data; and controls a display to display guidance information based on the density of the distribution of the plurality of feature points.
US09552664B2	Relative encoding for a block-based bounding volume hierarchy A system, method, and computer program product for implementing a tree traversal operation for a tree data structure is disclosed. The method includes the steps of receiving at least a portion of a tree data structure that represents a tree having a plurality of nodes and processing, via a tree traversal operation algorithm executed by a processor, one or more nodes of the tree data structure by intersecting the one or more nodes of the tree data structure with a query data structure. A first node of the tree data structure is associated with a first local coordinate system and a second node of the tree data structure is associated with a second local coordinate system, the first node being an ancestor of the second node, and the first local coordinate system and the second local coordinate system are both specified relative to a global coordinate system.
US09552662B2	Method and apparatus for removing false intersection in ray tracing A method of removing an intersection test error in ray tracing includes obtaining an intersection by performing an intersection test on a ray and a primitive; determining location information of the intersection indicating whether the intersection is located inside or outside an object; determining an intersection error based on comparing the location information of the intersection to path information of the ray.
US09552647B2	Method and arrangement for analysing the behaviour of a moving object The detected movements of an object are analyzed. Each location record includes coordinates of a detected or assumed location of the object and time information. For a number of location records, there is calculated a location-record-specific descriptor value that becomes the more significant the more densely there are other location records around the location record for which the descriptor value is calculated. After selecting a location record that has the most significant descriptor value, those other location records are found that according to their time information are the latest and earliest in a certain environment. The analysis result is that the object stopped at the coordinates of the selected location record for a stopping time calculated from the time information of the latest and earliest location records.
US09552644B2	Motion analysis method and apparatus A method and apparatus for analyzing a motion based on depth information are provided. The method includes: receiving event signals from a first vision sensor configured to generate at least one event signal by sensing at least a portion of an object in which a motion occurs; receiving a current frame from a second vision sensor configured to time-synchronously capture the object; synchronizing the received event signals and the received current frame; and obtaining depth information of the object based on the synchronized event signals and current frame.
US09552635B2	Visual task feedback for workstations in materials handling facilities Visual task feedback for workstations in a materials handling facility may be implemented. Image data of a workstation surface may be obtained from image sensors. The image data may be evaluated with regard to the performance of an item-handling task at the workstation. The evaluation of the image data may identify items located on the workstation surface, determine a current state of the item-handling task, or recognize an agent gesture at the workstation. Based, at least in part on the evaluation, one or more visual task cues may be selected to project onto the workstation surface. The projection of the selected visual task cues onto the workstation surface may then be directed.
US09552633B2	Depth aware enhancement for stereo video Systems, methods, and devices for enhancing an image are described herein. In some aspects, a device comprises a memory unit configured to store a left image and a right image. The left image and right image each depict a same scene from a different viewpoint. The device further comprises a coder configured to retrieve the left image and the right image from the memory unit. The coder is configured to determine a depth map based on a difference in spatial orientation between the left and right image. The device further comprises a processor coupled to the coder. The processor is configured to identify a portion of the left or right image selected by a user. The processor is further configured to determine an enhancement region surrounding the portion selected by the user based on the depth map. The processor is further configured to enhance the enhancement region.
US09552632B2	Dynamic waveform region enhancement A system and method includes reception of a color image comprising a plurality of color pixels, conversion of the color image to a monochromatic image comprising a plurality of monochromatic pixels, performance of M erosion operations on the monochromatic image to generate an eroded monochromatic image, where M is equal to or greater than one, performance of N dilation operations on the eroded monochromatic image to generate a mask image, where N is equal to or greater than one, identification of one or more regions of the mask image based on the mask image, and modification of regions of the color image corresponding to the identified regions of the mask image.
US09552628B2	Image processor A setting circuit sets a quantization value per input image on the basis of a noise value of the whole input image, and a quantization circuit performs quantization on first image data to generate second image data. Quantization value based on the noise value the whole input image can realize appropriate denoising depending on the noise level of the whole input image.
US09552626B1	Digital image blemish removal Techniques are disclosed for removing blemishes from a digital image by detecting pixels containing the blemishes and replacing or blending those pixels with other pixels in the image that have a relatively low probability of containing a blemish. A standard pixel mask includes a user-selected region of the image; an extended mask extends beyond the user-selected region; and a minimal output pixel mask corresponds to the user-selected region. The minimal mask increases the transparency of some regions in the standard mask while maintaining the opacity of the standard mask in the blemish areas. Colors in the extended mask are weighted and clustered, and pixels in the minimal mask are assigned varying shades of transparency as a function of the color frequency. A blemish removal algorithm is applied using the minimal mask, with semi-transparent regions receiving a blend of source and patch pixel colors according to the level of transparency.
US09552622B2	Method and system for automatically cropping images An image cropping technique includes detecting, at a computer system including one or more processors, faces within an image and evaluating, at the computer system, the faces to determine if any of the faces correspond to people within a user's online social network. The technique additionally includes defining, at the computer system, a first crop region including a subset of the faces when at least one face within the subset of the faces corresponds to a first person in the user's online social network and cropping, at the computer system, the image based on the first crop region.
US09552621B2	Image processing apparatus, image forming apparatus, and computer readable medium An image processing apparatus includes a reception unit, an acquisition unit, an enlarging/reducing unit, and a detector. The reception unit receives two image data to be compared. The acquisition unit acquires character sizes of characters contained in the two image data received by the reception unit. The enlarging/reducing unit enlarges or reduces the image data received by the reception unit such that the character sizes of the characters contained in the two image data acquired by the acquisition unit coincide with each other. The detector detects a difference between the two image data which have been enlarged or reduced by the enlarging/reducing unit such that the character sizes of the characters contained in the two image data coincide with each other.
US09552617B2	Mobile media, devices, and signaling Consumer uses of mobile devices and electronic media are changing. Mobile devices include increased computational capabilities, mobile broadband access, better integrated sensors, and higher resolution screens. These enhanced features are driving increased consumption of media such as images, maps, e-books, audio, video, and games. As users become more accustomed to using mobile devices for media, opportunities arise for new digital watermarking usage models. For example, transient media, like images being displayed on screens, can be watermarked to provide a link between mobile devices, extending the reach of digital watermarking. Digital fingerprinting can also be employed. Applications based on these emerging usage models can provide richer user experiences and drive increased media consumption. A great variety of other features and arrangements are also detailed.
US09552616B2	Using OPC UA to automatically generate process graphics A method and device for generating a set of graphical objects to be displayed by using OPC UA (Unified Architecture) specification. The method includes indicating, by using OPC UA nodes, graphical objects to be displayed, the graphical objects representing physical components of a monitored process. Further, the method includes indicating, by using OPC UA references, how an indicated graphical object should be interconnected to another indicated graphical object when displayed. Next, the respective OPC UA node is associated with a corresponding predetermined graphical object, the set of graphical objects is generated from the associations and the individual graphical objects of the set is interconnected in accordance with the indicated interconnections. Finally, the generated set of graphical objects is displayed.
US09552614B2	Fine powder of polyamide from renewable materials and method for making such a powder The present invention relates to a powder of polyamide PA (homopolyamide or copolyamide) derived at least partially from renewable materials, in which the particles have a nonspherical shape and a volume median diameter of less than or equal to 20 μm. The present invention also relates to a process for preparing such a powder.
US09552609B2	Intelligent information dissemination The technology is suitable for any kind of distributed networks having different data rates on different connections and a computer system where the data to distribute is created. The system comprises one or more supersets of data to be distributed to client computers by extracting subsets of data from the superset(s) of data. Thereafter, the subsets of data are distributed to selected groups of clients based on information about the network architecture. This provides an efficient way of distributing data without having to duplicate distributed data. In example implementations, subsets may be distributed to clients based on a counter performance or a data rate of a client's connection to the computer system.
US09552607B2	Systems and methods for selling sounds Systems and methods sell a sound file to a user of a digital audio workstation (DAW). A sound vendor receives the sound file from a sound creator and analyzes the sound file to automatically determine a beats-per-minute value and a musical key value. The sound file is stored, in association with the beats-per-minute value and the musical key value, within a database of the sound vendor. A web interface is generated to interact with the user to receive a search request defining at least one of the beats-per-minute value and the musical key value. The sound file is selected from the database based upon the search request, a financial agreement between the user and the sound creator is completed for sale of the sound file to the user, and the sound file is sent to the DAW.
US09552599B1	Platform for multi-service procurement The present invention describes an on demand service provisioning system to interface with suppliers and customers. One embodiment of the present invention includes a database to store information on customers, suppliers and transactions; a module to interface customers; a module to interface suppliers; a module to interface the database; a stateful section including the module to interface with the database; and a stateless section including the module to interface with the customers and the suppliers.
US09552596B2	Tracking content through serial presentation Computer systems, methods, and computer program products for tracking content using serial presentation are disclosed. Some embodiments track an aggregated quantity of words displayed by Rapid Serial Visual Presentation (RSPV) in a digital media item across a plurality of user electronic devices. Some embodiments track what words are displayed by RSVP. Some embodiments track a percentage of words displayed by RSVP across a plurality of user sessions. Some embodiments track trends in the percentage of words displayed by RSVP. Some embodiments use RSVP tracking and trending information to enhance search results. Some embodiments analyze RSVP consumption across a plurality of sessions to determine opportunities for improving content consumption and improving selection of sub-content items. These and other embodiments are further disclosed herein.
US09552586B2	System for encoding customer data A rules engine stores customer data, a first rule comprising a first plurality of conditions, and a second rule comprising a second plurality of conditions, wherein the customer data is associated with a particular customer. The rules engine transforms a first portion of the customer data into a first code segment by applying the first rule and by satisfying a condition of the first plurality of conditions of the first rule. It also transforms a second portion of the customer data into a second code segment by applying the second rule and by satisfying a condition of the second plurality of conditions of the second rule. The rules engine further combines at least the first code segment and the second code segment to form a customer profile code. An interface engine communicatively coupled to the rules engine communicates the customer profile code to a third party.
US09552584B1	Electronic Wallet Ready to Pay Timer A mobile device having a time controlled electronic wallet is disclosed. The mobile device comprises a processor and an electronic wallet application that executes on the processor. The electronic wallet application enters a ready-to-pay mode, initiates a ready-to-pay timer when entering the ready-to-pay mode, transmits the confidential information when in the ready-to-pay mode based on receiving contactless communication, and leaves the ready-to-pay mode when the ready-to-pay timer expires.
US09552579B2	Near field communication activation and authorization A method of activation and authorization of a near field communication (NFC) enabled device comprising: receiving login information from an NFC enabled device; sending packet data via a network in response to receiving the login information from the NFC enabled device; and receiving corresponding data from the NFC enabled device in response to the sending of the packet data, the sending of the packet data and the receiving of the corresponding code facilitates the activation and authorization of the NFC enabled device, and the subsequent activation of the NFC device via a NFC link without further authorization of the NFC enabled device, is described herein.
US09552578B2	Method and system for authentication of payment card transactions A method and a system are provided for authenticating secure payment card transactions and verifying and validating payment card user identities. The method includes determining a numeric or alphanumeric code on a vehicle registration plate of a vehicle (e.g., a driverless vehicle or a drone) bearing a processing device that is approaching a payment area (e.g., a toll road, a refueling station, or a retail store). A wireless communication circuit (e.g., Near Field Communication (NFC) circuit) is communicatively coupled to the processing device. The method also includes determining a numeric or alphanumeric identification of the processing device; comparing the numeric or alphanumeric code on the vehicle registration plate with the numeric or alphanumeric identification of the processing device to determine whether or not an association exists between the vehicle and the processing device; and assessing the determined association to facilitate determining whether a payment transaction using the processing device is valid or invalid (e.g., potential fraud).
US09552576B2	Networked authentication systems and methods Networked authentication systems and methods are described including using a mobile network operator (MNO) agent in communication with an authentication system, a data storage, and a wireless handset via a network, the MNO agent configured to, receive a request for validated data denominations from the wireless handset via the network, generate data denomination corresponding to the requested denomination, retrieve, from the data storage, numbers of validator strings corresponding to the requested data denomination, wherein the validators are received from the authentication system prior to and/or after receiving the request, and append the corresponding number of validator strings to the requested data denominations.
US09552574B2	Methods and systems for payment account issuance over a mobile network According to some embodiments, an over-the-air (“OTA”) provision services receives a request to provision a temporary payment account to a customer's mobile device. The request includes customer data and a temporary primary account number (“PAN”). A process includes mapping the temporary PAN to a mobile PAN, storing the temporary PAN in a mapping database, generating a software package comprising a payment application and the mobile PAN, and transmitting the software package OTA to the customer's mobile device. The software package personalizes the customer's mobile device with the mobile PAN enabling use of that mobile device to utilize the temporary PAN to complete payment transactions shortly after the processor receives the request.
US09552570B2	Document classification system, document classification method, and document classification program A document classification system is provided. The document classification system analyzes digital document information which is collected to be submitted as evidence in a lawsuit and classifies the digital document information. The document classification system includes an extraction unit that extracts documents from the collected document information, a document display unit that displays an extracted document group, a classification code receiving unit that receives a classification code assigned to the displayed document group, a selection unit that classifies the extracted document group for each classification code, analyzes a keyword commonly appearing in the classified document group, and selects the keyword, a database that records the selected keyword, a search unit that searches for the keyword from the document information, a score calculation unit that calculates a score indicating connection between the classification code and the document, and an automatic classification unit that automatically assigns the classification code.
US09552567B2	Computer-implemented methods and systems for determining fleet conditions and operational management thereof A method for determining fleet conditions and operational management thereof, performed by a central system includes receiving fleet data from at least one distributed data repository. The fleet data is substantially representative of information associated with a fleet of physical assets. The method also includes processing the received fleet data for the fleet using at least one process of a plurality of processes. The plurality of processes assess the received fleet data into processed fleet data. The method additionally includes determining a fleet condition status using the processed fleet data and the at least one process of the plurality of processes. The method further includes generating a fleet response. The fleet response is substantially representative of a next operational step for the fleet of physical assets. The method also includes transmitting the fleet response to at least one of a plurality of fleet response recipients.
US09552564B1	Autonomous delivery transportation network Aspects of an autonomous delivery transportation network for the delivery of items are described. The network includes a central management system that directs the operation of a network of vehicles for delivering items. In one embodiment, the system receives a request for transportation including a pickup location, a delivery location, and item attribute data. The system analyzes the existing service routes of vehicles in the network to identify a vehicle compatible with the request. The system also estimates a delay to the existing service route of the vehicle with reference to the pickup and delivery locations and, when determining that the delay is acceptable, assigns the vehicle to service the request. When determining that the delay is unacceptable, the system may dispatch a new vehicle to join the network. The system may also communicate various aspects of service, such as estimated pickup and/or drop off times, to client devices.
US09552555B1	Methods, systems, and media for recommending content items based on topics Mechanisms for recommending content items based on topics are provided. In some implementations, a method for recommending content items is provided that includes: determining a plurality of accessed content items associated with a user, wherein each of the plurality of content items is associated with a plurality of topics; determining the plurality of topics associated with each of the plurality of accessed content items; generating a model of user interests based on the plurality of topics, wherein the model implements a machine learning technique to determine a plurality of weights for assigning to each of the plurality of topics; applying the model to determine, for a plurality of content items, a probability that the user would watch a content item of the plurality of content items; ranking the plurality of content items based on the determined probabilities; and selecting a subset of the plurality of content items to recommend to the user based on the ranked content items.
US09552554B2	Bayes network for target identification A method for target identification includes receiving, at one or more processors, a number of measurements of a target, each measurement from the number of measurements being observed at a predetermined time (zk), a number of target types (T), each one of the number of measurements, each one the number of target type and each one of one or more hidden states, each hidden state (xk) being characterized at the predetermined time, being correlated to one another, providing, using the one or more processors, a first conditional probability distribution, a conditional probability of a target type given a number of measurements, defined inductively, and obtaining an estimate of the target type from the first conditional probability. Systems that implement the method are also disclosed.
US09552545B2	Fixation filter assembly A filter assembly is provided for collecting samples in a fluid environment, the assembly utilizing a laminar convective flow to cause the flow of a preservative/fixative and a filtrate through a filter. A substantially concave dead space around the filter is flushed free of the preservative and the differential in density of the preservative and filtrate causes the more dense fluid to collect in the reservoir and preserve the collected specimen.
US09552541B2	Non-transferable radio frequency identification label or tag A Non-transferable Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) assembly for attachment to an article comprises a RFID module; and a antenna module coupled with the RFID module, the antenna module comprising a conductive layer, a substrate, and an adhesive modification layer between the conductive layer and the substrate, the adhesive modification layer configured such that when the assembly is attached to the article and attempt to remove the assembly will cause the substrate to release and leave the conductive layer intact.
US09552540B2	Persistent nodes for RFID An RFID transponder in one embodiment comprises a radio frequency (RF) transceiver, processing logic coupled to the RF transceiver, a switch coupled to the processing logic, a tunneling device coupled to the switch and a differential sensing circuit having a first input coupled to the tunneling device and a second input coupled to a predetermined reference voltage. In one embodiment, the tunneling device can discharge to a voltage below the predetermined reference voltage.
US09552537B2	Color conversion method and profile generation method A tincture adjustment value used to adjust a monochrome signal to a tincture desired by a user is set, and a tincture conversion table and chromaticity line table are generated based on that tincture adjustment value and the profile of an image output apparatus. Using the generated tables, a lightness signal L* corresponding to an input monochrome signal is converted into a distance signal l on a chromaticity line, and the distance signal l is converted into a chromaticity signal (a, b). The lightness signal L* and chromaticity signal (a, b) are converted into a color signal of the image output apparatus.
US09552536B2	Image processing device, information storage device, and image processing method An image processing device includes an input reception section that receives a learning image and a correct answer label, a processing section that performs a process that generates classifier data and a processing target image, and a storage section. The processing section generates the processing target image that is the entirety or part of the learning image, calculates a feature quantity of the processing target image, generates the classifier data based on training data that is a set of the feature quantity and the correct answer label assigned to the learning image that corresponds to the feature quantity, generates an image group based on the learning image or the processing target image, classifies each image of the image group using the classifier data to calculate a classification score of each image, and regenerates the processing target image based on the classification score and the image group.
US09552533B2	Image registration apparatus and method An image processing apparatus comprises a registration unit configured to perform a first registration between a first set of image data and a second set of data, and a second registration between the first set of image data and the second set of data. The apparatus also comprises a registrability determination unit configured to determine a difference between the first registration and the second registration, and to determine a measure of registrability between the first set of image data and the second set of data based on the difference between the first registration and the second registration.
US09552523B2	Apparatus and method for generating virtual lane, and system for controlling lane keeping of vehicle with the apparatus Disclosed are an apparatus and a method for generating a virtual lane, which correct or estimate an undetected lane depending on detection of a lane at each side and a system for controlling lane keeping of a vehicle with the apparatus. The apparatus for generating a virtual lane according to the present invention includes: a lane detection judging unit configured to judge whether both lanes of a front road are normally detected based on a front image; a lane correction unit configured to generate a virtual lane by correcting one lane based on the other lane when it is judged that the one lane of both lanes is not normally detected; and a lane estimation unit configured to generate the virtual lane by estimating both lanes based on previously detected lane information when it is judged that either lane is not normally detected.
US09552513B2	Systems and methods for yaw estimation Systems and methods of automatic detection of a facial feature are disclosed. Moreover, methods and systems of yaw estimation of a human head based on a geometrical model are also disclosed.
US09552504B2	Register for counting and tracking items in a bag A register for counting and tracking items in a bag includes a manifest and an RFID reader. The RFID reader is used to query a plurality of RFID tags attached to items contained in the bag. The register creates reports counting and/or identifying changes to items contained in the bag while the bag is routed and/or items in the bag are processed for a customer.
US09552503B2	Distributed positioning and collaborative behavior determination A system and its associated methodology for distributed positioning and collaborative behavioral determination among a group of objects, interactive tags associated with each of a plurality of objects provide to each object relative positional data and state information regarding the other nearby objects. Using this information, each object develops a spatial awareness of its environment, including the position and action of nearby objects so as to, when necessary, modify its behavior to more effectively achieve an objective.
US09552494B1	Protected indexing and querying of large sets of textual data A protected querying technique involves creating shingles from a query and then fingerprinting the shingles. The documents to be queried are also shingled and then fingerprinted. The overlap between adjacent shingles for the query and the documents to be queried is different, there being less, or no overlap for the document shingles. The query fingerprint is compared to the fingerprints of the documents to be queried to determine whether there are any matches.
US09552493B2	Access control framework for information centric networking One embodiment provides an access-control framework for publishing and obtaining a collection of encrypted data in encrypted form. During operation, a content consumer can obtain a Manifest object for a data collection, such that the Manifest includes references to a set of encrypted Content Objects of the data collection, and includes one or more Access Control Specifications (ACS) that each specifies a decryption protocol for decrypting one or more Content Objects of the data collection. The consumer can disseminate Interest messages to receive encrypted Content Objects listed in the Manifest over an Information Centric Network (ICN). The client can also obtain, from the Manifest, an ACS associated with a respective encrypted Content Object, and decrypts the respective encrypted Content Object using the decryption protocol specified in the ACS.
US09552492B2	Secure application access system A proxy server creates an index of keywords, receives an encrypted record, decrypts the received encrypted record as decrypted data and, when a keyword in the index is encountered in the decrypted data, associates in the index an encrypted record location identifier with the encountered keyword. The proxy server receives a search query and uses the keyword index to retrieve encrypted records from the server. The encrypted records are decrypted and sent as search results in response to the search query.
US09552490B1	Managing resource dependent workflows Systems and method for the management of resource dependent workflows are provided. One or more resource control devices monitor usage of a computing resource by server computing devices. Each resource control device may direct a server computing device to proceed with a workflow or to pause processing a workflow. A resource control device may further direct a server computing device to take resource conserving actions. When a computing resource is determined to be available, a resource control device may direct a paused server computing device to resume a workflow.
US09552487B2	Price mining prevention systems and related methods A price-mining prevention system, in various embodiments, is configured for: (A) detecting an access request for a particular web page; (B) at least partially in response to detecting the access request, determining, based at least in part on the access request, a source of the request; (C) determining, based at least in part on the source, whether the source is an unwanted source; and (D) at least partially in response to determining that the source is an unwanted source, taking one or more defensive actions against the source. The one or more defensive actions may include, for example: (1) requiring the source of the access to complete one or more CAPTCHAs; (2) blocking access to the particular web page from the source; and/or (3) providing access to a modified version of the particular webpage to the source.
US09552486B2	Systems and methods for protecting video content Systems and methods for content-protecting video codecs are described. At least one embodiment of the invention comprises a system for protecting video content comprising computer memory comprising a stored set of instructions for processing video data; and at least one microprocessor configured to process the video data according to the stored set of instructions, the stored set of instructions requiring identification of data to be removed, at least a portion of which is essential to obtaining a visually acceptable reproduction of video, the stored set of instructions being further configured to replace removed data with data-hiding values, wherein the visually acceptable reproduction of video cannot be generated without a key that enables recovery of enough of the removed data from the data-hiding values that replaced the removed data.
US09552481B1	Systems and methods for monitoring programs A computer-implemented method for monitoring programs may include (1) placing a program within an enclave that includes a protected address space that code outside of the protected address space is restricted from accessing, (2) hooking an application programming interface call within the program in the enclave to monitor the behavior of the program, (3) inserting an enclave entry instruction into code outside of the protected address space that the program accesses through the hooking of the application programming interface call, and (4) monitoring the behavior of the program by executing the program within the enclave in an attempt to force the program to use the hooked application programming interface call in order to access data outside the enclave. Various other methods, systems, and computer-readable media are also disclosed.
US09552479B2	Malware detection and computer monitoring methods A method is disclosed, where some embodiments of the method include installing at least one benign malware indicator on one or more computing devices, monitoring the one or more computing devices for the presence of the at least one benign malware indicator, and responsive to determining the benign malware indicator is no longer present, sending a notification indicating the benign malware indicator is no longer detected as present on the one or more computing devices. Other embodiments include performing an antivirus scan or identifying unauthorized software programs. An apparatus and one or more non-transitory computer-readable media storing computer-readable instructions capable of performing similar actions, the latter in conjunction with a computer executing instructions stored on the media, are also disclosed.
US09552475B2	Gesture recognition for device unlocking Systems and methods provide a security function for a device or applications running on a device. A lock tap sequence is entered by a user when the device is to be locked. When the user desires to unlock the device, the user enters a unlock tap sequence. If the lock tap sequence matches the unlock tap sequence, the device is unlocked.
US09552473B2	Claiming data from a virtual whiteboard A method of storing data from a whiteboard application executed on a computing system including an interactive display device is provided. The method comprises storing, in a memory of the computing system, whiteboard data input to the whiteboard application in response to user interaction with the interactive display device, displaying a login selector on the interactive display device, upon detecting actuation of the login selector, identifying the user based on credentials of the user; and in response to identifying the user, (i) retrieving previews of stored whiteboard files from a user account in a cloud-based storage system corresponding to the identity of the user, (ii) displaying the previews on the interactive display device, and (iii) uploading the whiteboard data as a whiteboard file from the memory of the computing system to the user account.
US09552471B1	Personal familiarity authentication A method for computer security. A gallery comprising a first identity of a first human person is maintained, the first identity associated with a plurality of tags, with first properties, useful for identifying the first human person. A first Internet search for facial images of the first human person is performed using the plurality of tags. A first facial image is selected from the results of this search. A second Internet search is performed for facial images of other human persons based on second properties that are generated by modifying the first properties of the plurality of tags. A plurality of additional facial images of the other human persons retrieved by the second Internet search is selected. A palette of randomized facial images including the first facial image together with the plurality of additional facial images is presented. Access is denied unless the correct facial image is selected.
US09552468B2	Image processing apparatus and control method thereof An image processing apparatus is provided, including a user input interface to input biometric information of at least one user, a processor to process image data to be displayed as an image and to provide a preset service to authenticate a personal identification (ID) and the group ID of a user group including users corresponding to personal IDs, and a controller to specify a personal ID corresponding to biometric information of an input through the user input interface, and to select and authenticate the group ID corresponding to specified personal IDs from the storage when multiple personal IDs are specified. The controller derives interest of the multiple users corresponding to the respective specified personal IDs in the image and selects the group ID corresponding to a personal ID of a user determined to have a high interest.
US09552460B2	Apparatus for supporting and monitoring a person A system includes a person-support structure, a sensor configured to sense a characteristic of a person supported on the person-support structure, and a control configured to calculate a condition score as a function of the characteristic of the person. The control is operable to change a characteristic of the person-support structure as a function of the condition score.
US09552442B2	Visual meme tracking for social media analysis A system and method for analyzing visual memes includes identifying visual memes associated with at least one topic in a data source. The visual memes propagated over time are tracked to extract information associated with identified visual memes. The information associated with the visual memes is analyzed to determine at least one of generation, propagation, and use of the identified memes.
US09552439B1	Online information system with continuous scrolling and advertisements A web page may be rendered for display on a client device. The rendered web page may include a first document and a first advertisement that is based on the first document. It may be determined that a first scroll position of the rendered web page has a first characteristic. Possibly responsive to determining that the first scroll position of the rendered web page has the first characteristic, a second document may be requested and received from a content server device, and, based on the second document, a second advertisement may be requested and received from an advertisement server device. The web page may be re-rendered for display on the client device. The re-rendered web page may include content from the first document, content from the second document, the first advertisement, and the second advertisement.
US09552438B2	Systems and methods for responsive web page delivery based on network bandwidth A system comprising a computer-readable storage medium storing at least one program, and a computer-implemented method for responsive web page delivery based on network bandwidth. Upon initiation of a network communication session, a bandwidth of a network connection of the client device involved in the network communication session is determined. At least one initial display element to provide as part of a webpage for display on the client device is selected based on the bandwidth of the network connection. Instructions are then provided to the client device which cause the client device to display the at least one display element. In some embodiments, an updated bandwidth is subsequently determined and updated display elements are selected based on the updated bandwidth.
US09552437B1	Content position recommendations A user data-driven method and system for generating position recommendations for content links on a web page is disclosed. The method and system collect user activity data associated with a set of content links positioned in one or more content position boxes of the multiple content position boxes of a web page during an activity window. An engagement measurement associated with a particular content link of the set of content links during the activity window is determined. A performance delta for a particular content link based on the calculated engagement measurement associated with the particular content link is determined. Multiple predicted user engagement measurements associated with moving the particular content link to a plurality of updated positions is determined. The method and system generate content position recommendations associated with the particular content link based on a comparison of the multiple predicted user engagement measurements.
US09552436B2	Serving expandable content items In general, one aspect of the subject matter described in this specification can be implemented on a computer system. A quantity of slots associated with one or more publications can be received from/identified by a publisher. Slot properties for each of the slots in the received quantity of slots can be determined including determining the permitted expansion directions for the slots based on the slot properties. Content items can be selected for publishing from one or more expandable content items based, at least in part, on the possible expansion directions of the slots.
US09552431B2	Unified online content manager apparatuses, methods, and systems Apparatuses, methods, and systems for transforming user identification information and user selection data inputs into a profile data output, a generated query output, search results output, and a secure home page with customized content. According to one embodiment, the method includes indexing disparately owned content via a multi-content owner spider indexing engine; generating a disparately owned content index from the indexing engine; receiving, by a first server, a request to access secure content through a network, the request including user identification information; automatically constructing a query based on the request without input from the user; providing the constructed query to the search engine and running the constructed query against the index; constructing a display by placing the results of the query sent from the search engine within a multi-source owner template interface; and providing the multi-source owner template interface to a requestor for display.
US09552422B2	System and method for detecting a search intent A method and system for detecting a search intent of a user are provided. The method includes receiving an input search query from a user device; tokenizing the input search query to at least one token to create at least one tokenized query; processing the at least one tokenized query by a plurality of engines, wherein each engine of the plurality of engines configured to compute a certainty score that indicates a probability that the at least one tokenized query is mapped to at least one entity, wherein each engine of the plurality of engines is further configured to correspond to at least one entity indicating a topic of interest, thereby the plurality of engines are configured with different entities; receiving from a set of engines of the plurality of engines their respective entities and computed certainty scores, wherein the set of engines output computed certainty scores above a predefined threshold; and analyzing the received certainty scores and the respective entities to determine the search intent.
US09552417B2	System and method for multi-modal audio mining of telephone conversations A system and method for the automated monitoring of inmate telephone calls as well as multi-modal search, retrieval and playback capabilities for said calls. A general term for such capabilities is multi-modal audio mining. The invention is designed to provide an efficient means for organizations such as correctional facilities to identify and monitor the contents of telephone conversations and to provide evidence of possible inappropriate conduct and/or criminal activity of inmates by analyzing monitored telephone conversations for events, including, but not limited to, the addition of third parties, the discussion of particular topics, and the mention of certain entities.
US09552416B2	Method for identifying clusters of fluorescence-activated cell sorting data points A method and/or system for analyzing data using population clustering through density based merging.
US09552415B2	Category classification processing device and method A category classification processing device includes a search unit that stores, as a search keyword log assembly, Q&A examples, which are actually referred to by a client, together with keywords; and a category extracting unit that obtains keyword storage frequencies expressing a number of times each of the keywords, which are recorded together with the Q&A examples in the search keyword logs, is stored for each of the Q&A examples, extracts, as category candidates of each of the Q&A examples, an m number of top keywords (m being a positive integer) in a descending order of the keyword storage frequency, uses the extracted category candidates as categories, and associates the categories with the Q&A examples.
US09552412B1	Boolean-query composer Provided is a process of refining Boolean queries, the process including: obtaining a query; searching a corpus of documents based on the query; selecting narrowing terms that pertain to respective subsets of the responsive documents; selecting broadening terms related to the query; instructing the user's computing device to present a graphical user interface comprising: graphical representations of the narrowing terms; graphical representations of the broadening terms; and one or more user inputs by which the user refines the query by adding a selected narrowing term or a selected broadening term; obtaining a user selection of a broadening term or a narrowing term; forming a refined query based on the user selection; searching at least part of the corpus based on the refined query to identify refined responsive documents; and instructing the user's computing device to present an updated graphical user interface with information about the refined responsive documents.
US09552405B1	Methods and apparatus for recovery of complex assets in distributed information processing systems A distributed information processing system comprises first and second sites, which may comprise respective production and replica sites. A snapshot of a first portion of a complex asset is generated at the first site and sent to the second site, and a second portion of the complex asset is replicated at the second site. The complex asset includes one or more virtual machines provided by one or more hypervisors of a virtualization platform of the first site and at least one storage element surfaced through a storage platform of the first site, with the storage platform being external to the virtualization platform. Recovery of the complex asset is implemented at the second site utilizing, for example, a ghost complex asset preconfigured in accordance with current complex asset state information based on the snapshot of the first portion of the complex asset and the replicated second portion of the complex asset.
US09552404B2	Data model definition display and modification Data model display and modification techniques are provided that can be executed on a wireless computing device. A data model display and modification technique includes wirelessly receiving a data model definition at a wireless communication device. A visual representation of the model definition is displayed on a display of the wireless device. User interactions with the visual representation of the model definition are recorded through the wireless device to alter the data model definition. The altered data model definition is stored, and transmitted to another device.
US09552400B2	Defining and mapping application interface semantics An example implementation includes a system having one or more processors, a definition module, a data store, and a workflow module. The definition module is executable by the one or more processors to determine a first semantic element for a first operation included in a first application interface representing a first service and a second semantic element for a second operation included in a second application interface representing a second service, such as an enterprise service bus. The definition module may further determine a mapping of the first semantic element with the second sematic element. The data store is configured to store the mapping of the first semantic element with the second sematic element by the definition module. The workflow module is executable by the one or more processors to integrate the first application interface with the second service based on the mapping.
US09552394B2	Generation of multi-faceted search results in response to query Aspects retrieve, organize and display different classifications of sets of search results in different, respective tabbed sheets that are nested on top of one another in a web-based interface dashboard. A text string search query is classified into constituent primary search terms that are likely to return satisfactory search results as indicated by retrieved search history data as a function of search resources and language classification rules associated with the user identity indicia. Secondary search terms related to the primary search terms and including synonyms and antonyms are determined as substitutes for the primary search terms in response to search history indicating follow-up searches immediately subsequent to searches of the primary search terms at less than a specified threshold of frequency. The set of peripheral knowledge article results is generated by searching knowledge article resources for background information on the primary search terms or the secondary search terms.
US09552392B2	Optimizing nested database queries that include windowing operations A nested database query can be optimized by effectively representing a filtering function or operation (e.g., SQL filtering operation) of its outer sub-query by a qualification or qualify operation (e.g., SQL qualification operation) associated with at least one windowing function of at least one of its inner sub-queries. It will be appreciated that this representation can yield a modified query that would be equivalent (e.g., semantically equivalent) to the original nested query as its execution can produce the same results when optimization rules are applied.
US09552389B2	Apparatus and method of semantic service correlation system A correlation-based service mediator consists of Semantic Query Generator, Service Query Manager, Service Invocation Flow Generator, Service Invocation Manager, Expression Interpreter and Service Invocation Result Cache. The Semantic Query Generator converts service request to Semantic Query based on input/output parameters in the service request. The Service Query Manager interfaces with an Ontology Engine, passing query results to Service Invocation Flow Generator, which creates service invocation flow definition based on passed query results. The Service Invocation Manager executes flow definitions. It also manages a service invocation result cache, so that invocation results can be saved and reused for later service request. When the execution results are not available in cache, the Service Invocation Manager invokes service according to flow definition. When attribute dependent functions are invoked Expression Interpreter compute the execution results. The service mediator possesses two major functionalities: service matching and service invocation.
US09552384B2	Apparatus and method for single pass entropy detection on data transfer Embodiments of the present invention include a memory unit and a processor coupled to a memory unit. The processor is operable to group a plurality of subsets of data from an input data stream and compute a first hash value corresponding to a first grouped subset of data. Additionally, the processor is operable to detect a match between the first hash value and a second hash value stored in a hash table. Furthermore, the processor is also configured to monitor a hash value match frequency for the input data stream in which the processor is operable to increment a counter value responsive to a detection of the match and determine an entropy level for the input data stream based on the counter value relative to a frequent hash value match threshold. The processor can generate an instruction to either initialize performance of a data compression operation when the counter value meets or exceeds the frequent hash value match threshold or refrain from the performance of the data compression operation when the counter value fails to meet the frequent hash value match threshold.
US09552382B2	Reference counter integrity checking Disclosed is a method for checking the integrity of a reference counter for objects in a file system. A unique identifier can be associated with the reference referring to the object. A reference check can be associated with the object and set to a predefined initial value before any references referring to the object are added. When a new reference referring to the object is added, the reference counter is increased by one and the identifier associated with the new reference is added to the reference check. When an existing reference referring to the object is about to be removed, the reference counter is decreased by one and the identifier associated with the existing reference is subtracted from the reference check. If the reference check is not equal to the initial value when the reference counter is zero, then an error message is sent to the file system.
US09552378B2	Method and apparatus for saving search query as metadata with an image A computer implemented method and apparatus for saving a search query as metadata with an image, comprising receiving image search results from an image search string query, receiving one or more image files from the image search results as one or more selected image files for storage, generating metadata based on the image search string query, associating the metadata with the one or more selected image files, and storing the one or more selected image files with the metadata.
US09552376B2	Method and apparatus for managing digital files A computer-implemented method of associating digital tags with digital files comprises storing a plurality of digital files having embedded therein content data and metadata including tags; receiving, via a user interface device of a client device, a first tag label containing alphanumeric text created and inputted by a user of the client device; modifying, using a controller device, a selected first one of the tags of the metadata in a first of the digital files to include the first tag label; receiving, via the user interface device or another user interface device, an instruction to search for all of the digital files having at least the first tag label; responsive to receiving the instruction, automatically searching for all of the digital files having at least the first tag label; and displaying, on a video display device associated with the client device, a first indication of the first tag label.
US09552371B2	Electronic apparatus, information determining server, information determining method, program, and information determining system A method is provided for determining a category of a location. The method comprises determining, at a first time, information identifying a first device location of a first device associated with a user; and storing the first device location information and information identifying the first time in a location history. The method further comprises determining, at a second time, information identifying a second device location of the first device; and storing, in the location history, the second device location information and information identifying the second time. The method still further comprises determining, based on the location history, a category of a location.
US09552363B2	File management with placeholders Aspects of the subject matter described herein relate to file system placeholders. In aspects, placeholders may be used by a client to represent remote file system objects. The placeholders may include metadata and may also include none, some, or all of the content of the represented remote file system objects. In conjunction with local file system metadata, the placeholders allow a file system namespace to be navigated and may also allow other operations to be performed on the file system objects even when the client is offline with respect to the remote file system. After connectivity is re-established with the remote file system, the placeholders may be used in synchronizing changes.
US09552360B2	Resource reconciliation based on external factors A method that includes a first record that relates to a first subject entity is received and a second record that relates to a second subject entity is received, where it is unknown whether the first subject entity is the same as the second subject entity. A comparison of a first external/non-key attribute value for the first subject entity to a second external/non-key attribute value for the second subject entity is performed. A probability value is calculated, at least in part, on a first external/non-key attribute value for the first subject entity to a second external/non-key attribute value for the second subject entity.
US09552359B2	Revisiting content history The content items presented to a user account as part of a media station can be recorded in a content history index, which can be requested and presented to the user account. The content history can enable a user to revisit the content items included in the content history and/or provide feedback regarding the content items. The version of the content item returned to the user can be based on the client device used to request the content item. For example, a user that was presented a content item on their mobile device, can later request to revisit the content item on their PC and receive a version of the content item best suited for presentation by the PC, rather than the version presented on the mobile device.
US09552357B1	Mobile device search optimizer A system is provided for a mobile device search optimizer. The system includes a storage device, a processor, and an optimizer engine. The optimizer engine, when executed by the processor, stores user input for a mobile device to the storage device. The optimizer engine also identifies a pattern of multiple user inputs entered to select a presentation view of an application on the mobile device during multiple occasions. Additionally, the optimizer engine configures the application to offer a user input option to display the presentation view in response to a selection of the user input option.
US09552355B2	Dynamic bi-phrases for statistical machine translation A system and a method for phrase-based translation are disclosed. The method includes receiving source language text to be translated into target language text. One or more dynamic bi-phrases are generated, based on the source text and the application of one or more rules, which may be based on user descriptions. A dynamic feature value is associated with each of the dynamic bi-phrases. For a sentence of the source text, static bi-phrases are retrieved from a bi-phrase table, each of the static bi-phrases being associated with one or more values of static features. Any of the dynamic bi-phrases which each cover at least one word of the source text are also retrieved, which together form a set of active bi-phrases. Translation hypotheses are generated using active bi-phrases from the set and scored with a translation scoring model which takes into account the static and dynamic feature values of the bi-phrases used in the respective hypothesis. A translation, based on the hypothesis scores, is then output.
US09552352B2	Enrichment of named entities in documents via contextual attribute ranking Technologies pertaining to retrieval of contextually relevant attribute values for an automatically identified named entity in a document are described herein. Named entity recognition technologies are employed to identify named entities in the text of a document. Context corresponding to an identified named entity is analyzed to probabilistically assign a class to the named entity. Attributes that are most relevant to the class are determined, and attribute values for such attributes are retrieved. The attribute values are presented in correlation with the named entity in the document responsive to user-selection of the named entity in the document.
US09552350B2	Virtual assistant conversations for ambiguous user input and goals Ambiguous input of a user received during an interactive session with a virtual agent may be processed. The virtual agent may be presented via a computing device to facilitate the interactive session with the user. The user may provide the ambiguous input, which is processed to determine a response to the input. The virtual agent may provide the response to the user. The virtual agent may also carry out a goal-based dialogue where a goal to be accomplished is identified. The virtual agent may prompt the user for information related to the goal.
US09552349B2	Methods and apparatus for performing spelling corrections using one or more variant hash tables Methods and apparatus are provided for performing spelling corrections using one or more variant hash tables. The spelling of at least one candidate word is corrected by obtaining at least one variant dictionary hash table based on variants of a set of known correctly spelled words, wherein the variants are obtained by applying one or more of a deletion, insertion, replacement, and transposition operation on the correctly spelled words; obtaining from the candidate word one or more lookup variants using one or more of the deletion, insertion, replacement, and transposition operations; evaluating one or more of the candidate word and the lookup variants against the at least one variant dictionary hash table; and indicating a candidate correction if there is at least one match in the at least one variant dictionary hash table.
US09552347B1	Data grid cell styling systems and methods Generally discussed herein are systems and methods for data grid cell styling. A method can include defining a data structure for a data grid, inserting a data column from a column in the data grid into the data structure, defining a style column in the data structure corresponding to the inserted data column, and associating the data structure to a control for the data grid such that the data structure is bound to the control when the control is rendered, without modifying the control.
US09552346B2	Producing visualizations of elements in works of literature A visualization of literary elements of a work of literature, such as a novel or short story, is generated from meta-data records representing a digital work of literature including literary elements (humor, drama, adventure, etc.), characters, and plot devices related to a position within the work of literature where each appears. A significance level is determined for each of the elements, characters and plot devices at each position within the work of literature, and these are plotted into a sequential graph having position (e.g. timeline) axis and a significance level axis. The sequential graph is then output for printing or display. Human-generated and machine-generated meta-data may be ingested equally well by the method. Colors, line thickness, and a broken line patterns may be employed for greater visual meaning. And, the sequential graph may be annotated according to segments (e.g. chapters, sections) and dominant genre within each segment.
US09552338B2	Mechanisms to compose, execute, save, and retrieve hyperlink pipelines in web browsers A method for composing and executing a plurality of hyperlink pipelines within a web browser, wherein the method comprises moving a first source hyperlink that corresponds to a first resource to a destination hyperlink that corresponds to a second resource, merging the first source hyperlink with the destination hyperlink to create a first hyperlink pipeline, moving a second source hyperlink that corresponds to a third resource to the first hyperlink pipeline, merging the second source hyperlink with the first hyperlink pipeline to create a second hyperlink pipeline, and executing the second hyperlink pipeline such that the second resource is invoked before the first resource and the third resource, and the first resource is invoked before the third resource.
US09552329B2	Correction arithmetic circuit and a signal processor A correction arithmetic circuit disclosed herein includes an offset temperature characteristic correction unit that corrects an offset temperature characteristic of an input signal according to an input signal characteristic at a specific temperature and a temperature characteristic at a specific input signal. A signal processor disclosed herein includes a pulse count number setting circuit that generates a pulse count number setting signal in accordance with an input signal and a pulse generation unit that generates a pulse signal by counting a pulse number of a reference clock signal according to the pulse count number setting signal. The pulse count number setting circuit corrects the pulse count number setting signal so as to cancel a frequency temperature characteristic of the pulse signal.
US09552327B2	Memory controller for a network on a chip device Systems and methods may be provided to support memory access by packet communication and/or direct memory access. In one aspect, a memory controller may be provided for a processing device containing a plurality of computing resources. The memory controller may comprise a first interface to be coupled to a router. The first interface may be configured to transmit and receive packets. Each packet may comprise a header that may contain a routable address and a packet opcode specifying an operation to be performed in accordance with a network protocol. The memory controller may further comprise a memory bus port coupled to a plurality of memory slots that are configured to receive memory banks to form a memory and a controller core coupled to the first interface. The controller core may be configured to decode a packet received at the first interface and perform an operation specified in the received packet.
US09552323B1	High-speed peripheral component interconnect (PCIe) input-output devices with receive buffer management circuitry Interface circuitry is provided to control the flow of data transmitted over a high-speed serial link. The interface circuitry may receive data over a high-speed serial link and store the received data in a receive buffer. The receive buffer may be connected to an additional buffer in an application layer module. The application layer module may produce credits based on the processing capacity of the additional buffer and send those credits to the interface circuitry. The interface circuitry may then send these credits over the high speed link.
US09552321B2	Apparatus and method for automatically aligning data signals and strobe signals on a source synchronious bus A method for aligning signals on a bus, including: replicating propagation path lengths, loads, and buffering of a radial distribution network for a strobe; receiving a first signal, and generating a second signal by employing the replicated propagation path lengths, loads, and buffering; receiving control information over a standard JTAG bus, wherein the control information indicates an amount to adjust a propagation time; and measuring the propagation time beginning with assertion of the first signal and ending with assertion of the second signal, said measuring comprising: selecting one of a plurality of successively delayed versions of the first signal that coincides with assertion of the second signal; adjusting the propagation time by the amount prescribed by the control information to yield an adjusted propagation time; and gray encoding the adjusted propagation time to generate a value on a lag bus.
US09552318B2	Removable memory card type detection systems and methods Removable memory card type detection systems and methods are disclosed. In one aspect, a removable memory card is inserted into a receptacle of a host. The host determines a type of removable memory card based upon either electrical or physical properties of the removable memory card. In this manner, if the host detects that the removable memory card possesses certain electrical or physical properties associated with a microSD card, the host determines that the removable memory card is a microSD type card. If the host detects that the removable memory card possesses certain electrical or physical properties associated with a UFS card, the host determines that the removable memory card is a UFS type card. By determining the card type based on detection of certain electrical or physical properties, aspects disclosed herein are able to distinguish between UFS and microSD cards without requiring an additional pin or card initialization time.
US09552317B2	Apparatus and method for operating and switching a single conductor interface This application discusses, among other things, communication apparatus and methods, and more particularly, a single conductor or single wire communication scheme. In an example, a method for communicating between a master device and a slave device using a first single conductor can include transmitting a first ping on the first single conductor using a master device, the first single conductor configured to couple the master device to a slave device, receiving a slave ping on the first single conductor at the master device during a ping interval, toggling a logic level of the first single conductor prior to sending a first data packet using pulses having a duration of less than one half of a unit interval, such as a unit interval associated with a bit interval.
US09552304B2	Maintaining command order of address translation cache misses and subsequent hits A computer-implemented method includes storing commands and maintaining an order of receipt of the commands in a command processing unit. The commands include address translation cache miss commands that are organized as one or more linked lists and stored in a content-addressable memory (CAM). All nodes within a single linked list include commands having addresses that map to the same hash value. Based on receiving a memory fetch completion indicator for a cache entry for a command in a head node in a linked list, all of the commands in the linked list are returned. The returning includes sending the commands in the linked list to an address translation unit in an order specified by the linked list.
US09552294B2	Dynamically configuring regions of a main memory in a write-back mode or a write-through mode The described embodiments include a main memory and a cache memory (or “cache”) with a cache controller that includes a mode-setting mechanism. In some embodiments, the mode-setting mechanism is configured to dynamically determine an access pattern for the main memory. Based on the determined access pattern, the mode-setting mechanism configures at least one region of the main memory in a write-back mode and configures other regions of the main memory in a write-through mode. In these embodiments, when performing a write operation in the cache memory, the cache controller determines whether a region in the main memory where the cache block is from is configured in the write-back mode or the write-through mode and then performs a corresponding write operation in the cache memory.
US09552286B2	Information processing apparatus and installation method The installation of multiple applications by an installer is executed in a mode that does not display an error message in a display device. Upon an installation performed by the installer ending, the result of the installation performed by the installer is determined. As a result of the determination, an installer that failed at the installation is caused to re-execute the installation of the application whose installation failed in a mode that displays an error message in the display device. As a result of the re-execution, an error message is displayed in the display device by the installer that failed at the installation.
US09552283B2	Spreadsheet data transfer objects Various systems and methods are disclosed for automatically generating a spreadsheet template to store information usable to generate one or more data transfer objects for input to a system under test. One such method involves identifying one or more properties of a data transfer object to be input to a software system under test. Identifying the properties of the data transfer object involves inspecting one or more structural requirements of a module within the software system under test that consumes that data transfer object. The method then automatically generates a spreadsheet template corresponding to the data transfer object, such that the spreadsheet template includes a respective column for each of the properties of the data transfer object. The spreadsheet template is configured to store information representing one or more versions of the data transfer object.
US09552272B1	Utility to instantly protect sensitive information for an application log at runtime A computing system intercepts a message generated by an application at runtime. The message has content to be logged in a log data store. The computing system identifies sensitive information in the message content and modifies the message content to protect the sensitive information. The computing system causes the modified message content to be logged in the log data store.
US09552269B2	Test logic for a serial interconnect An apparatus that includes a serial interconnect is provided, wherein the serial interconnect includes test logic to send a number of reporting messages, wherein each reporting message is associated with a link sub-segment in a link in the serial interconnect, and each reporting message comprises a status region for the associated link sub-segment to report transmission errors. The test logic also includes analysis logic to record errors in the link sub-segment.
US09552265B2	Information processing apparatus and storage system There is provided an information processing apparatus including a control unit. The control unit adds type information indicating a first type in a first operation request in which operation target storage devices are specified by unique identifiers, respectively, used in a first storage apparatus and outputs the first operation request to the first storage apparatus through the network. When the control unit transmits the first operation request to a second storage apparatus and receives an error response indicating a type error from the second storage apparatus after transparent failover is executed, the control unit adds type information indicating the second type in a second operation request in which operation target storage devices are specified by unique identifiers, respectively, used in the second storage apparatus and outputs the second operation request to the second storage apparatus through the network.
US09552261B2	Recovering data from microslices in a dispersed storage network A method begins by a processing module of a dispersed storage network (DSN) identifying a data segment to be retrieved from storage units of the DSN, where the data segment is encoded into a set of encoded data slices that is divided into block sets of encoded data slices, and where each storage unit stores a block set of encoded data slices. The method continues with the processing module generating a set of read requests in accordance with retrieval information which assures that at least a decode threshold number of encoded data slices of the set are retrievable, where each request includes identity of a block set a number of encoded data slices that are to be read from a storage unit. The method continues with the processing module sending the set of read requests to the storage units and decoding received encoded data slices to recover the data segment.
US09552257B2	Memory cell coupling compensation Methods for memory cell coupling compensation and apparatuses configured to perform the same are described. One or more methods for memory cell coupling compensation includes determining a state of a memory cell using a voltage that is changed in accordance with a first memory cell coupling compensation voltage, performing an error check on the state of the memory cell, and determining the state of the memory cell using a voltage that is changed in accordance with a second memory cell coupling compensation voltage in response to the error check failing.
US09552256B2	Semiconductor memory device including non-volatile memory, cache memory, and computer system In one embodiment, the memory device includes a data storage region and an error correction (ECC) region. The data storage region configured to store a first number of data blocks. The ECC region is configured to store a second number of ECC blocks. Each of the second number of ECC blocks is configured to store ECC information. The second number of the ECC blocks is associated with the first number of data blocks, and the second number is less than the first number.
US09552245B1	Resolving errors that arise while accessing online user accounts The disclosed embodiments provide a system that manages access to an online user account. During operation, the system uses stored authentication credentials for a user to access the online user account of the user. Next, the system aggregates financial data for the user from the online user account. Upon detecting an error associated with aggregating the financial data, the system obtains error information describing the error from a web page associated with the error. Next, when the user subsequently accesses the aggregated financial data, the system displays the error information to the user to facilitate resolution of the error by the user.
US09552234B2	Method and apparatus for energy optimization in multi-level distributed computations An approach is provided for providing energy optimization in multi-level distributed computations. A distributed computation energy optimization platform determines energy availability information associated with at least one level of a computational architecture executing at least portion of one computation closure. The distributed computation energy optimization platform also determines energy consumption information associated with the at least portion of one computation closure. The distributed computation energy optimization platform further processes and/or facilitates a processing of the energy availability information, the energy consumption information, or a combination thereof to determine whether to migrate the at least portion of one computation closure to at least one other level of the computational architecture.
US09552230B2	Apparatus and method for allocating a task based on measured and estimated core usage A task allocating apparatus capable of improving task processing performance is provided. The task allocating apparatus measures a core usage of a plurality of tasks that are run in multiple cores, according to predetermined periods, estimates a core usage of each task for a following period based on the measured core usages, and allocates one or more tasks to the multiple cores based on the estimated core usage.
US09552229B2	Systems and methods for task scheduling Disclosed herein is a computer implemented method for scheduling a new task. The method comprises: receiving task data in respect of the new task, the task data comprising at least information enabling the new task to be uniquely identified and a target runtime for the new task; recording the received task data in a data structure and determining if a new job needs to be registered with an underlying job scheduler.
US09552227B2	System and method for context-aware adaptive computing The present disclosure relates to systems and methods for context-aware adaptive computing. In one embodiment, the present disclosure includes a method comprising receiving a request at a first information handling system (IHS) to perform an application computation. The method also includes determining a user's context, the user operating the first IHS, and ascertaining a battery state of the first IHS. The method further includes allocating the application computation between the first IHS and a second IHS based at least on the user's context and the battery state of the first IHS. The present disclosure also includes associated systems and apparatuses.
US09552219B2	Migrating middlebox state for distributed middleboxes A controller of a network control system for configuring several middlebox instances is described. The middlebox instances implement a middlebox in a distributed manner in several hosts. The controller configures, in a first host, a first middlebox instance to receive a notification from a migration module before a virtual machine (VM) running in the first host migrates to a second host and to send middlebox state related to the VM to the migration module.
US09552217B2	Using active/active asynchronous replicated storage for live migration Examples perform live migration of VMs from a source host to a destination host. The disclosure changes the storage environment, directly or through a vendor provider, to active/active synchronous and, during migration, migrates only data which is not already stored at the destination host. The source and destination VMs have concurrent access to storage disks during migration. After migration, the destination VM executes, with exclusive access to the storage disks, and the system is returned to the previous storage environment (e.g., active/active asynchronous).
US09552216B2	Pass-through network interface controller configured to support latency sensitive virtual machines A host computer has a plurality of virtual machines executing therein under the control of a hypervisor, where the host also includes a physical network interface controller (NIC). An interrupt controller detects an interrupt generated by the physical NIC, where the interrupt corresponds to a virtual machine. If the virtual machine has exclusive affinity to one or more physical central processing units (CPUs), then the interrupt is forwarded to the virtual machine. If the virtual machine does not have exclusive affinity, then a process in the hypervisor is invoked to forward the interrupt to the virtual machine.
US09552215B2	Method and system for transferring a virtual machine A virtual machine management system is used to instantiate, wake, move, sleep, and destroy individual operating environments in a cloud or cluster. In various embodiments, there is a method and system for transferring an operating environment from a first host to a second host. The first host contains an active environment, with a disk and memory. The disk is snapshotted while the operating environment on the first host is still live, and the snapshot is transferred to the second host. After the initial snapshot is transferred, a differential update using rsync or a similar mechanism can be used to transfer just the changes from the snapshot from the first to the second host. In a further embodiment, the contents of the memory are also transferred. This memory can be transferred as a snapshot after pausing the active environment, or by synchronizing the memory spaces between the two hosts.
US09552214B2	Tool for automated extraction and loading of configuration settings Systems, methods, and machine-readable media are disclosed for automating setup of configuration data for an application program. In one embodiment, a method of automating setup of configuration data for an application program can comprise identifying a set of configuration data used by a first instance of the application program. The set of configuration data can contain data for substantially replicating a configuration for the first instance of the application program. The method can further include extracting the set of configuration data from the first instance of the application program. A manifest can be created identifying data in the set of configuration data. The set of configuration data can be saved in a portable format that includes the set of configuration data and the manifest.
US09552211B1	Method for performing hot-swap of a storage device in a virtualization environment Performing a hot-swap of a storage device for a node in a virtualization environment having a plurality of storage devices, includes performing pass-thru of a storage manager managing the plurality of storage devices to a service virtual machine, such that the service virtual machine communicates with the plurality of storage devices without going through a storage software layer of its corresponding hypervisor, booting the hypervisor from a device other than the plurality of storage devices and performing the hot-swap of the storage device.
US09552196B2	Schedulers with load-store queue awareness In one embodiment, a computer-implemented method includes tracking a size of a load-store queue (LSQ) during compile time of a program. The size of the LSQ is time-varying and indicates how many memory access instructions of the program are on the LSQ. The method further includes scheduling, by a computer processor, a plurality of memory access instructions of the program based on the size of the LSQ.
US09552191B2	Secure random number generation Various aspects are directed to random, number generation. A request from a game terminal for a random number may be received. Whether a new seed is required may be determined, for example, based on the time or quantity of random numbers generated since the last re-seeding. Conditioned on determining that the new seed is required, a pseudo-random number generator may re-seeded, wherein the re-seeding comprises setting a current seed value equal to the new seed. The pseudo-random number generator may generate a random number based at least in part on the current seed value; and transmit information based on the random number to the game terminal.
US09552187B2	System and method for display mirroring A computing system that supports the use of multiple displays in display mirroring mode and extended display mode may automatically determine a display mode in which to configure the system (with little or no user input) based on various characteristics of the displays in the system. For example, the system may determine that a television, projector, or other presentation type display is connected in the system, and in response, may determine that the system should be configured in a display mirroring mode, rather than in an extended display mode. The system may also determine that the presentation type display is the preferred display, and may render image content in a best (or preferred) mode for that display using its native resolution, aspect ratio or color profile. The system may then scale the rendered image content for display on other (non-preferred) displays, such as an internal display, without re-rendering it.
US09552185B2	Information processing apparatus which stores a setting state to be acquired by a client apparatus When causing a printing apparatus to execute printing via a server apparatus, a print job is transmitted to the server apparatus. When acquiring a print setting set in the server apparatus or the printing apparatus, a setting job concerning the print setting is transmitted to the server apparatus. In accordance with transmission of the print job or the setting job, the status of printing by the printing apparatus based on the print job or the print setting corresponding to the setting job is acquired from the server apparatus as the status of the printing apparatus. The print environment of the server apparatus is determined based on the acquired status.
US09552175B2	System and method for providing a command buffer in a memory system A system for interfacing with a co-processor or input/output device is disclosed. According to one embodiment, the system is configured to receive a command from a host memory controller of a host system and store the command in a command buffer entry. The system determines that the command is complete using a buffer check logic and provides the command to a command buffer. The command buffer comprises a first field that specifies an entry point of the command within the command buffer entry.
US09552170B2	Memory managing apparatus and image processing apparatus The memory area managing unit 22 (a) sets a protect flag to each virtual area allocated in a virtual memory space, the protect flag indicating whether a use of the virtual area has been finished or not, and (b) when a part or all of a first virtual area would overlap another second virtual area due to expansion or movement of the first virtual area, allows the expansion or the movement of the first virtual area accompanying with overlapping the second virtual area, if the protect flag of the second virtual area indicates that a use of the second virtual area has been finished. If the expansion or the movement is allowed, the memory pool managing unit 23 adds a physical area in a physical memory space corresponding to an overlapping part of the first and second virtual areas into a memory pool to map to another virtual area.
US09552167B2	Raid array transformation in a pooled storage system A method according to one embodiment includes receiving an I/O request for data, and determining whether the I/O request refers to migrated or unmigrated data. Unmigrated data is data residing on a first portion of a drive array, the first portion being arranged in according to a first array configuration having at least a first parameter. Migrated data is data that has been migrated from the first portion to a second portion of the drive array, the second portion having a second array configuration having at least a second parameter. The method also includes using parameters corresponding to the first array configuration in response to determining that the requested data is unmigrated data. However, in response to determining that the requested data is migrated data, parameters corresponding to the second array configuration are used.
US09552155B2	Dynamic soft keyboard In accordance with one or more aspects of a dynamic soft keyboard, a user input is received via a soft keyboard having multiple keys. Information describing a current input environment for the soft keyboard is obtained, and a determination is made as to which one or more keys of the multiple keys was intended to be selected by the user input. This determination is made based at least in part on the current input environment.
US09552144B2	Item preview with aggregation to a list A server machine manages and presents a user interface. The user interface presents search results, and the server machine receives a cursor input that corresponds to a particular search result. The particular search result references an item available for purchase, and the item is described by descriptors. Responsive to the cursor input, the user interface presents a preview window that contains a descriptor not shown in the particular search result. The server machine receives a further cursor input that indicates the item is to be included in a list of items. Responsive to the further cursor input, the user interface presents a list of items as including an icon that references the item. The icon indicates that the item is included in the list of items.
US09552143B2	Systems and methods of interaction with water usage information Exemplary systems and methods for interaction with water usage information are provided. In various embodiments, a method comprises receiving water usage data from a meter device, receiving an identifier from a user associated with the meter device, providing an interactive interface to the user, the interactive interface conveying at least some water usage information based on the water usage data, receiving a first characterization of a first water activity from the user, generating a visualization based on the water usage information and the first characterization of the first water activity, and displaying the visualization.
US09552138B2	Mobile terminal and method for controlling the same A mobile terminal and a control method thereof are provided. When a pre-set input with respect to an object is received, the mobile terminal selects the object, and searches and displays at least one application associated with the selected object, and when an input with respect to a specific application, among the at least one application, is received, the mobile terminal converts the selected object into an applicable form corresponding to the specific application and displays the converted object.
US09552136B2	Methods and systems for providing graphical representations of relationships between customers and computing objects An exemplary method includes a computing system providing a user interface to a user, populating a listing accessible via the user interface with a set of graphical icons that represent a set of computing objects that are associated with a customer of a service provider and hosted by the service provider, detecting a selection by the user via the user interface of one or more graphical icons from the set of graphical icons populated within the listing, and providing a graphical representation of one or more relationships between the customer and one or more of the computing objects represented by the one or more selected graphical icons for presentation to the user via the user interface. Corresponding systems and methods are also described.
US09552129B2	Interactive visual representation of points of interest data Search results may be rendered on a map utilizing one or more points of interest. An individual point of interest may include a casing layer and a core layer. Casing layers and/or core layers may be configured to change in size and color at different levels of detail associated with zoom operations. Zoom operations may further include de-clustering overlapping points of interest to eliminate overlap. A hover input associated with a cluster may render a numerical value associated with a corresponding number of points of interest that appear in the cluster. Various embodiments provide a visual language that enables a continuous representation, at different levels of detail, that range from a single discrete point to multiple points that are near each other or clustered together to unify the look-and-feel of represented elements and provide interactive consistency across various map properties and platforms.
US09552126B2	Selective enabling of multi-input controls A control system is disclosed that is configurable (e.g., by a programmer) so as to enable input from multiple sources to capture to multiple controls. Also or alternatively, the system is configurable so as to enable input from multiple sources to capture to a single control. The system also provides a consistent and extendable scheme for filtering out conflicting events for individual controls. In one embodiment, this means that the system is configurable (e.g., based on the programmer's asserted preferences) so as to enable a selective determination as to whether additional inputs can be captured for a given control.
US09552124B2	Character based search and discovery of media content Mechanisms are provided for character-based and image-based media content search and discovery. Character images or entity images are mapped to corresponding media content. Selection of an image or a portion of an image may trigger or search for corresponding media content or begin playback of relevant media content. Character images or entity images need not correspond to a primary program character or object but may correspond to minor characters or tangential entities depicted periodically on particular programs.
US09552109B2	Inputting fingertip sleeve An inputting fingertip includes a sleeve and an inputting end. The inputting end is located on the sleeve. The inputting end includes a supporter and a conductive layer. The conductive layer is located on a surface of the supporter. The conductive layer includes a graphene composite layer including a plurality of graphenes and a polymer matrix.
US09552105B2	Display device having multi-touch recognizing function and driving method thereof A display device having a multi-touch recognition function includes an integration module having a plurality of cameras integrated at an edge of a display panel; and a processor that detects a touch area using at least first and second images captured by the plurality of cameras, respectively.
US09552103B2	Optical incoupling for touch-sensitive systems A touch-sensitive apparatus comprises a light transmissive panel, an illumination arrangement and a detection arrangement. The illumination arrangement is configured to couple light into the panel via an incoupling site such that the light propagates by total internal reflection in opposite top and bottom surfaces of the panel and such that an object touching the top or bottom surface causes a change in the propagating light. The detection arrangement comprises a light detector arranged to detect the change in the propagating light. A compact and robust incoupling site is defined by a sheet-like micro-structured surface portion which is fixedly arranged on one of the top and bottom surfaces and configured to transmit light having an angle of incidence that enables light propagation by TIR inside the panel.
US09552101B2	Touch screen assembly The present invention relates to a touch screen panel and a touch screen assembly including the touch screen panel, the touch screen panel including a substrate; a transparent electrode layer formed on the substrate and defined by a touch area; a plurality of conductive wires electrically connected to the transparent electrode layer; and an insulation film stacked on an upper surface of the transparent electrode layer, wherein each of the plurality of conductive wires is electrically connected to a conductive line inside the insulation film, and the conductive line is extended to an outside of the insulation film and exposed therefrom, whereby a PCB and conductive wires can be improved in electrical reliability.
US09552094B2	User interface responsiveness in an electronic device having a touch screen display An electronic device with a touch screen display that includes capacitive sensing to determine the point of contact between the display and an input device. The device also includes a graphics circuit for rendering images on the touch screen display. The graphics circuit may be inactivated when not in use. The inactive mode provides a variety of advantages, such as a lower power drain on the power source. The device is further configured to sense the approach of an input device in proximity to the display. The device is configured to start activating the graphics circuit upon sensing the approach of the input device prior to contact with the display. The timing of the activation improves responsiveness of the electronic device.
US09552092B2	Display device including touch sensor and manufacturing method thereof The present disclosure relates to a display device including a touch sensor and a manufacturing method thereof, and more particularly, to a display device including a touch sensor using a piezoelectric material and a manufacturing method thereof. The display device includes a first substrate, wherein a plurality of thin film transistors are disposed on the first substrate; a second substrate disposed facing the first substrate; a plurality of piezoelectric elements disposed on the second substrate; and a first sensing electrode overlapping the piezoelectric elements, the first sensing electrode being configured to transfer a sensing voltage generated as a result of pressure applied to the piezoelectric elements.
US09552076B2	Information processing apparatus, information processing method and computer program for determining rotation of a device An information processing device is disclosed. The information processing device includes an inclination detection unit configured to generate a first signal regarding inclination of the device. The information processing device also includes a display processing unit configured to, based on the first signal, generate a second signal to initiate a change in orientation of a display of content, and generate a third signal to cancel the change in orientation in response to receipt of a CANCEL command after initiation of the change.
US09552074B2	Method and system for generating user feedback of a gesture capturing device A method and a system for generating user feedback of a gesture capturing device with content projection capability are provided herein. The method may include the following steps: projecting content, by a content projector, onto a projection surface; projecting patterned light, by a pattern projector, onto said projection surface and onto a maneuverable object controlled by a user; capturing reflections of the patterned light coming from said projection surface and said maneuverable object; calculating, based on said reflections, at least one of: a relative position and a relative orientation of at least two of: said projection surface, said maneuverable object, said content projector and said pattern projector; and generating a feedback, based on said calculated relative positions and/or orientations, wherein said feedback relates to a proper operation of the system, based on said relative position and a relative orientation, in view of predefined criteria.
US09552067B2	Gesture interpretation in navigable zoom mode An electronic device can be enhanced to enable its user to navigate about and view, on the device's display, different portions of a page or document while the device remains in a zoomed-in mode that magnifies the portion of the document that the device is currently displaying. Upon entering the zoomed-in mode, the device can magnify a portion of the document on the display. While in this mode, the device can react to user-produced gestures in a manner that is different to the manner in which the device would react to the same gestures otherwise. Responsive to user-produced gestures while in the zoomed-in mode, the device can navigate to other portions of the document while remaining in the zoomed-in mode, so that those other portions are also presented magnified. The device's user is not forced to first zoom-out from one document portion in order to zoom-in on another document portion.
US09552057B2	Electronic apparatus and method for controlling the same An electronic apparatus and a control method thereof are provided, which displays first voice guide information indicating voice commands available to control the electronic apparatus, and if a command to control an external device connected to the electronic apparatus is received, changes the first voice guide information and displays second voice guide information to indicating voice commands available to control the external device.
US09552053B2	Methods for power management in a computer system with multiple processing resources and multiple power supplies A system and method are provided for strategic power supply sequencing in a computer system. The system and method includes a plurality of processing resources that process data and a plurality of power supplies that provide power for the processing resources. A power management engine adjusts the power supplies in response to processing resource changes to optimize power consumption. The power management engine brings online power supplies to meet the demand created by bringing online additional processing resources and brings offline power supplies to meet the decreased demand caused by a decrease in the number of processing resources. Also, the power management engine rotates which power supplies operate to take advantage of more efficient power supplies and to extend the lives of the power supplies. The power management engine also adjusts the power supplies in advance based upon predicted demand levels for the computer system.
US09552051B2	Block partition to minimize power leakage Disclosed herein is a system to minimize power leakage. The system is configured to include a system-on-chip (SOC). The SOC is configured to include a Universal Serial Bus (USB) physical subsystem and system firmware, wherein the system firmware conveys USB related events to the SOC. The system is configured to include a power management apparatus, where the power management apparatus includes USB wake functionality and USB On-the-Go (OTG) functionality.
US09552038B2	Monitoring and managing processor activity in power save mode of portable electronic device An electronic device and a method operative therein monitor automatic wakeup events that occur during a power save mode. Wakeup events are monitored for respective applications executable within the electronic device. Applications with processing activity during the power save mode are then listed, on the basis of at least the monitored wakeup events. An indication of which apps are consuming battery power during the power save mode can then be obtained.
US09552037B2	Switching a computing device from a low-power state to a high-power state Systems and methods for switching a computing device from a low-power state to a high-power state are provided. In some aspects, a method, implemented on a power management processing unit of the computing device, includes receiving, while the computing device is in the low-power state, a first audio signal. The method also includes verifying the first audio signal based on an audio signal key. The method also includes providing, in response to verifying the first audio signal, instructions for switching the computing device from the low-power state to the high-power state.
US09552035B2	Method, node and computer program for reset of timers A method, node and computer program for a client node (100) in a communications system for resetting of timer units, the client node comprising at least two timer units, the method comprising: for each of the timer units: detecting (S100) the timer unit (130) by a timer handling unit (110), registrating (S110) the detected timer unit (130) in a timer inventory (140) by the timer handling unit (110), the method further comprising: determining (S120) by the timer handling unit (110) which of the at least two timer units that expires first, determining (S130) a time T when the determined timer unit at the latest will be reset, and prior to the timer expiring, resetting (S140) at least one of the other timer units (130) with a new reset time based on the time T, thereby enabling longer radio and CPU sleep periods of the client node between reset of timer units.
US09552022B2	Housing components for electronic devices Electronic devices are provided with a protective housing having one or more housing components. A housing component can be formed from a single sheet of material to appear as if the housing component had been formed from a hollowed out solid block of material. The sheet of material may be deep drawn, forged, and machined to form the housing component. One or more holes may be formed through a portion of the housing component to provide an I/O interface.
US09552007B2	Parallel technique for computing problem functions in solving optimal power flow An exemplary method includes solving on a computing system an optimal power flow formulation for a plurality of generators in a power system. The solving includes computing using multi-threaded parallelism a plurality of constraints for the formulation, computing using multi-threaded parallelism a plurality of Jacobian functions of the constraints, and computing using multi-threaded parallelism a Hessian of Lagrangian functions. The method further includes outputting results of the solving, wherein the results comprise values of generation levels for the plurality of generators. Apparatus and program products are also disclosed.
US09551997B2	Electromagnetic fluid valve Electromagnetic fluid valve regulating the throughflow of a pressure medium which flows through a housing part having at least two inlet openings which lie opposite one another and at least one outlet opening for the pressure medium. It being possible for a channel which is situated between the inlet openings and the outlet opening to be closed to a greater or lesser extent by an axially movable slide for regulating the throughflow of the pressure medium, a pin protruding into the channel centrically with respect to the center axis of the fluid valve, the pin being provided, for flow guidance, with an outer contour which is of at least approximately conical, pyramidal or hyperbolic design, with the result that the pressure medium which is to flow from the inlet openings strikes the outer contour of the pin and diverted in the direction of the at least one outlet opening.
US09551990B2	Unmanned aerial vehicle landing system The present disclosure provides an unmanned flying vehicle (UAV) operable in a plurality of operating modes including a normal operations mode, a safe landing mode and an emergency landing mode. The normal operations mode is initiated when no errors are detected in the system. The safe landing mode is initiated when one or more non-critical components of the UAV are in non-responsive mode or do not work as desired. The emergency landing mode is initiated when one or more critical components are in non-responsive mode or do not work as desired. Further, the safe landing mode overrides the normal operations mode and the emergency landing mode overrides both the normal operations mode and the safe landing mode.
US09551980B2	Solar timer using GPS technology In a GPS-equipped device such as a smart phone or a tablet computer with a compatible operating system, a useful dynamic display of directional and timing information is provided based on GPS data obtained through conventional means processed according to computational modules or applications stored on the device. These displays include a solar timer, a compass dial and other date, time and location-based information. Underlying the displayable information is a database of information that is processed with input from an accurate compass employing a calculated reference line based on two time-separated GPS readings and a direction parameter.
US09551979B1	Method of music instruction A method of music instruction utilizing a system capable of producing two or more sounds perceived by the user as originating in specific locations in three-dimensional space relative to the user, with the system comprising a user interface, a sound generator, a transmitter, and a monitoring device, and the method comprising the steps of obtaining the system; interacting with the user interface of the system to provide instruction to the sound generator; interacting with the monitoring device; generating the one or more sounds perceived to be emanating from some location in three-dimensional space based on the instruction provided; transmitting output signals to the monitoring device; and perceiving the sounds by means of the monitoring device, with the method being practiced at the same time that the user either plays or does not play a musical instrument.
US09551975B2	Polycarbonate-based security documents and/or documents of value with a hologram in the card body The invention relates to polycarbonate-based or copolycarbonate-based security documents and/or documents of value which contain at least one hologram integrated in the card body, and to a method for producing such security documents and/or documents of value.
US09551972B2	Image forming apparatus An image forming apparatus includes a transfer portion transferring a toner image onto a sheet, a fixing portion fixing the toner image which has been transferred by the transfer portion onto the sheet by using heat, a discharge path guiding the sheet on which the toner image has been fixed by the fixing portion to a discharge port, a branch path branched from the discharge path, a rotator pair providing on the branch path and conveying the sheet, and a control portion configured to rotate the rotator pair while consecutively discharging the sheets to the discharge port through the discharge path without passing through the branch path.
US09551969B2	Deskew mechanism with linear motion An apparatus comprises a bracket connected to a frame, where the bracket connects a light source to the frame. The frame supports a photoreceptor that has a planar surface. Also, the bracket positions the light source at a set distance from the photoreceptor. Further, the bracket comprises an adjustment device that moves the light source along a plane that is parallel to the planar surface of the photoreceptor, and that maintains the light source at the set distance from the photoreceptor as the light source moves within the plane.
US09551960B2	Image forming apparatus A CPU 26 sets the value of the applied voltage to a first set value when the absolute value of the amount of charge on the toner remaining on the intermediate transfer belt 8 is lower than a threshold value, and sets the value of the applied voltage to a second set value when the absolute value of the amount of charge on the toner remaining on the intermediate transfer belt 8 is equal to or greater than the threshold value, and when the first set value is VC1 and the second set value is VC2, the relationship \|VC1\|<\|VC2\| is established.
US09551950B2	Image forming apparatus An image forming apparatus for forming an image on a sheet includes an image bearing drum; a charging member for charging the drum by applying a voltage while contacting the drum; an AC voltage generating unit for generating and applying an AC voltage to the charging member; a state detector for detecting a state of the apparatus; a discharge current detector for detecting a discharge current between the charging member and the drum; a discharge current control unit for controlling the AC voltage generating unit on the basis of a result of detection of the discharge current detector; and a discriminating unit for discriminating whether to calibrate the discharge current detector before formation of the image, in accordance with a result of detection of the state detector.
US09551941B2	Illumination system for an EUV lithography device and facet mirror therefor The invention relates to an illumination system for an EUV lithography device, comprising: a first facet mirror having facet elements that reflect EUV radiation, and a second facet mirror having facet elements for reflecting the EUV radiation reflected by the first facet mirror onto an illumination field. At least one of the facet elements of the first facet mirror or of the second facet mirror is designed as a diffractive optical element for diffracting the EUV radiation. In particular, at least one of the facet elements of the second facet mirror is designed as a diffractive optical element for illuminating only a part of the illumination field. The invention also relates to an EUV lithography device comprising such an illumination system, and to a facet mirror comprising at least one diffractive facet element.
US09551936B2	Perfluoroalkyl sulfonamides surfactants for photoresist rinse solutions A method of modifying a surface of a photoresist material including exposing the photoresist material to an aqueous ionic surfactant solution and varying the pH of the aqueous ionic surfactant solution until a fluorochemical layer is formed in or on the photoresist material. The aqueous ionic surfactant solution includes a perfluoroalkyl sulfonamide the formula: RfS02NH—R′ where Rf=CnF2n+1— and n=1 to 6, R′=—H, —CH3, and —CH2CH2OH. The aqueous ionic surfactant solution has a pH of within about 3 pH units of a pKa of the perfluoroalkyl sulfonamide.
US09551935B2	Pattern forming method and resist composition Provided is a method of forming a pattern, ensuring excellent exposure latitude (EL) and focus latitude (depth of focus DOF). The method of forming a pattern includes (A) forming a film from a resist composition, the resist composition, (B) exposing the film to light, and (C) developing the exposed film using a developer containing an organic solvent, thereby forming a negative pattern. The resist composition contains (a) a resin that is configured to decompose when acted on by an acid and ΔSP thereof represented by formula (1) below is 2.5 (MPa)1/2 or above, (b) a compound that is composed to generate an acid when exposed to actinic rays or radiation, and (c) a solvent. ΔSP=SPF−SPI (1)
US09551924B2	Structure and method for fixing phase effects on EUV mask This invention relates to a structure for fixing phase effects on EUV mask which contains a repeating pattern with an assist feature, or a pattern with two different sized features in close proximity. The EUV mask with the repeating pattern is capable of printing a group of trenches on a photoresist layer. The invention also relates to a method of fabricating an EUV mask for fixing phase effects. The EUV mask contains an absorber layer over the multilayer reflector, and the absorber layer is patterned to form a mask pattern which contains absorptive regions and reflective regions. The absorber is in the absorptive regions, and a phase shifter is deposited at least in the whole reflective regions of the mask pattern to a thickness capable of correcting phase effects. The phase shifter has an index of refraction value is about equal to or less than that of the absorber. The thickness of the phase shifter is determined by simulation.
US09551920B2	Tensioned projection screen assembly A projection screen assembly is disclosed including a projection screen and a projection screen frame. The projection screen frame includes a plurality of projection screen frame modules that may be coupled together to provide a projection frame for projection screens of different sizes.
US09551918B2	Image processing apparatus, image processing method, and computer-readable storage medium An image processing apparatus includes an analyzing unit, a changing unit, and a control unit. The analyzing unit analyzes a projection image projected by a projection unit. The changing unit changes, depending on an analysis result obtained by the analyzing unit for the projection image, dimensions of the projection image projected by the projection unit so as to obtain a resized projection image. The control unit performs control for correcting a distortion of the projection image projected by the projection unit, in accordance with an analysis result obtained by the analyzing unit for the resized projection image.
US09551917B2	Light source unit and projection display system using same The projection display system has a light source unit where a first light source and a second light source respectively emitting a first and second wavelength or wavelength range of light are juxtapositionally arranged; a third light source emitting a third wavelength or wavelength range of light; an optical combiner device for combining the three wavelengths or wavelength ranges of light from the light sources; an optical device for averaging distributions of the wavelengths or wavelength ranges of light; an image display device for receiving the light transmitted through the optical device and forming image light responsive to a video signal; and a projector lens for projecting the image light onto a screen. At least two of the optical axes of the first, second, and third wavelengths or wavelength ranges of light which are incident on the optical device are not coincident with each other.
US09551916B2	Integrated and adjustable image projection with auto-image correction in electronic devices using an in-facing or world-facing image projector A system and method for implementing integrated and adjustable image projection with auto-image correction in electronic devices using an in-facing or world-facing image projector are disclosed. A particular embodiment includes an electronic device including: a lid; a base including a hinge coupling the lid with the base; and an image projection subsystem including an image projector installed in the lid, the image projector being configured to produce a projected image that is projected onto a projection surface, the angle of the projection being adjustable by adjusting the angle of the lid relative to the base.
US09551914B2	Illuminator with refractive optical element An illumination system having a refractive optical element that compensates for dependence in irradiance of images of objects captured by a photosensor is provided. The refractive optical element may structure the light such that similar objects in the same spherical surface in the field of view of the camera have the same irradiance on the camera photosensor. The illumination system may have an image sensor, a light source, and a refractive optical element. The image sensor has a photosensor that captures images of objects in a field of view. The irradiance of images of objects having a given exitance that are captured by the photosensor may depend on angular displacement from an optical axis of the image sensor. The refractive optical structures light from the light source to illuminate the field of view to compensate for the dependence of irradiance on angular displacement from the optical axis.
US09551910B2	Active matrix substrate and display device An active matrix substrate 5 is provided with: a plurality of source wiring lines and a plurality of gate wiring lines, which are arranged in a matrix pattern; and picture elements, each of which has a thin film transistor provided in the vicinity of a part where each source wiring line and each gate wiring line intersect each other, and a picture element electrode 26 connected to the thin film transistor. In the active matrix substrate, a base member 5a is provided such that the source wiring lines and the gate wiring lines intersect each other, and on the base member 5a, the connecting portion 28a of an auxiliary capacitor electrode and the connecting portion 29a of an auxiliary capacitor wiring line are connected to each other by having therebetween a nitride film 33 composed of a high melting point metal material.
US09551905B2	Display device A display device is provided that includes a first substrate, a gate wiring formed on the first substrate and extending in a first direction, a data wiring insulated from and crossing the gate wiring and extending in a second direction, and a pixel electrode including a first subpixel electrode to which a first data voltage is applied from the data wiring and a second subpixel electrode to which a second data voltage different from the first data voltage is applied from the data wiring, wherein the first subpixel electrode is surrounded by the second subpixel electrode, and the second subpixel electrode includes a plurality of slit patterns formed in portions thereof which are adjacent to the first subpixel electrode.
US09551903B2	Liquid crystal panel and liquid crystal displaying device A liquid crystal panel includes an array substrate and a color filter substrate that is arranged opposite to the array substrate and a liquid crystal layer interposed between the array substrate and the color filter substrate, and an enclosure resin frame surrounding the liquid crystal layer. A support is arranged in the liquid crystal layer of the liquid crystal panel and the support supports between the array substrate and the color filter substrate. The support includes a first support layer and a second support layer connected to the first support layer. The first support layer is made of a thermally deformable material. The second support layer is made of a flexible material of elastic restorability. A liquid crystal displaying device is also provided.
US09551901B2	Vertically aligned nematic mode liquid crystal display having large tilt angles and high contrast A reflective liquid crystal on silicon (LCOS) display comprises a transparent substrate, a reflective substrate, and liquid crystal fluid between the substrates. The LCOS display further comprises a matrix of pixels, arranged in a plurality of rows and columns, wherein an intersection of a row and a column defines a position of a pixel in the matrix. The LCOS display has tilt angles sufficient to overcome disclinations due to fringe fields, and, at the same time, achieves high contrast. The surface azimuthal direction of the molecules of the liquid crystal fluid is either substantially parallel or perpendicular to the direction of polarization of incoming incident linearly polarized light. Light leakage is minimal because the effective birefringence as seen by the incoming incident linearly polarized light is substantially zero and does not depend on the pretilt of the molecules of the liquid crystal fluid. Between the transparent substrate and the reflective substrate, the twist of the molecules of the liquid crystal fluid may vary from about 0 degrees to about 90 degrees when in the “OFF” state.
US09551900B2	Method and controller for operating a variable optical retarder and an array A method and a controller for operating an array of variable optical retarders are disclosed. Neighboring pixels of the array of variable optical retarders are driven with disordered temporal bit sequences. An optical beam illuminating the pixels tends to integrate time-domain modulation caused by individual pixels driven in a non-coordinated or disordered fashion, which reduces the overall time-domain modulation amplitude of the optical beam.
US09551894B2	Display A display including a back cover, a diffuser plate, a display panel, and a light source is provided. The back cover has a first supporting portion, a connecting portion and a second supporting portion. Two opposite ends of the connecting portion are connected to the first supporting portion and the second supporting portion respectively. The first supporting portion has a first surface, the second supporting portion has opposite second and third surfaces, and the first surface faces the second surface to form a containing space between the first surface, the connecting portion and the second surface. At least a part of a periphery of the diffuser plate is disposed in the containing space. The display panel is supported on the third surface. The light source is disposed on the back cover and adapted to provide a light beam to illuminate the display panel after passing through the diffuser plate.
US09551887B2	Optical modulator An optical modulator has a ridge optical waveguide and a modulation electrode. The modulation electrode is composed of a signal electrode to which a modulation signal is supplied, a first ground electrode, and a second ground electrode, the signal electrode has a wide portion having a width wider than the width of the uppermost portion of the ridge optical waveguide, the first ground electrode has a central portion ground electrode component provided on a first surface so as to extend along a first direction, and the second ground electrode has a central portion ground electrode component provided on a second surface so as to extend along the first direction. The central portion ground electrode components respectively have a first and a second through-holes, and these through-holes overlap the wide portion of the signal electrode as seen in a planar view.
US09551880B2	Polarizing optical system There is provided an optical system, including a light-transmitting substrate having at least two major surfaces parallel to each other and edges, and an optical device for coupling light into the substrate by total internal reflection. The device includes a polarization sensitive reflecting surface.
US09551879B2	Optical mechanism An optical mechanism includes a bracket, a first polarization beam splitter, a second polarization beam splitter, a plurality of panels and a plurality of lenses. The first polarization beam splitter and the second polarization beam splitter are joined to the bracket. Light passes through the first polarization beam splitter to reach the panels and is reflected by the panels to generate image beams. The image beams are reflected by the first polarization beam splitter to enter the second polarization beam splitter. The image beams are reflected by a splitting surface of the second polarization beam splitter to pass through the lenses and projected by the lenses.
US09551874B2	Substrate-guide optical device An optical device, including a light waves-transmitting substrate has two major surfaces and edges, optical means for coupling light into the substrate by total internal reflection, and a plurality of partially reflecting surfaces (22a, 22b) carried by the substrate. The partially reflecting surfaces (22a, 22b) are parallel to each other and are not parallel to any of the edges of the substrate, one or more of the partially reflecting surfaces (22a, 22b) being an anisotropic surface. The optical device has dual operational modes in see-through configuration. In a first mode, light waves are projected from a display source through the substrate to an eye of a viewer. In a second mode, the display source is shut off and only an external scene is viewable through the substrate.
US09551862B2	Scanning microscope There is provided a scanning microscope so configured that when the position of the exit pupil of an imaging optical system and a position conjugate to the exit pupil change, the position of the rotation center of a scanned light flux is moved and follows the changed exit pupil position. A scanning microscope includes a light source, an objective lens, and a scan unit. The scan unit includes first to fourth deflectors, and the deflection angle of illumination light deflected off each of the first to fourth deflectors is so controlled that the pivotal point of the illumination light deflected off each of the first and second deflectors and the pivotal point of the illumination light deflected off each of the third and fourth deflectors substantially coincide with the exit pupil of the objective lens or a position conjugate to the exit pupil.
US09551860B2	Infrared-reflective film An infrared-reflective film includes a substrate film composed of a polyolefin film or a polycycloolefin film. The substrate film has two main surfaces and an infrared-reflective layer is formed on one main surface and the other main surface faces air, nitrogen gas, inert gas or a vacuum. A surface of the infrared-reflective layer faces either of air, nitrogen gas, inert gas or a vacuum.

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