Document	Document Title
US09680591B2	Method for reporting channel state information having reflected interference cancellation capability therein, and apparatus therefor A method for reporting channel state information (CSI) having reflected interference cancellation capability therein in a wireless communication system is performed by a terminal and includes receiving interference configuration information indicating a first group of cells corresponding to targets for which interference cancellation capability is reflected, and scheduling information of a serving cell, from the serving cell, receiving a specific sequence transmitted from a second group of cells, determining whether to reflect the interference cancellation capability for the first group of cells and the second group of cells, using the interference configuration information, the scheduling information or the specific sequence, and transmitting CSI having reflected the interference cancellation capability therein, wherein the second group of cells correspond to candidate cells capable of reflecting the interference cancellation capability other than the indicated cells.
US09680588B2	OTN switching systems and methods using an SDN controller and match/action rules A method and network include receiving a Time Division Multiplexing (TDM) connection; determining information in overhead of the TDM connection; and if match/action rules defined by controller exist for the TDM connection, establishing the TDM connection based on matching an associated rule in the match/action rules. A Software Defined Networking (SDN) controller is configured to receive a request from a node related to a new TDM connection in the network; determine one or more routes in the network for the new TDM connection; determine match/action rules for the one or more routes at associated nodes of the one or more nodes; if the one or more routes include at least two routes, determine a group table at associated nodes of the one or more nodes to distinguish between the at least two routes; and provide the match/action rules and the group table to the associated nodes.
US09680580B2	Wireless communication methods and apparatus A method in a wireless system, including: receiving, at a wireless device, over first and second networks, from each of plural radios of the first and second networks, respective first and second sets of reference signals received from first radios of the first and second networks, and plural further reference signals received from remaining radios of plural radios of the first and second networks, the first radios of the first and second networks located at a common location; calculating first and second sets of normalized reference signals from ratios for each further reference signal of the first and second sets of reference signals with the first and second reference signals of the first and second sets of reference signals; comparing predictions of signal loss based on the first and second sets of normalized reference signals; and determining an estimate of shadow fading or signal reflectors using the comparison result.
US09680568B2	Method and apparatus for alien device identification in passive optical networks A manner of detecting the presence of alien devices, for example ONUs, that are transmitting upstream in an optical access network such as a PON. An alien detection device, for example a properly configured OLT, supports normal network operation and also monitors a selected performance characteristic. When the selected performance characteristic is evaluated to perform within satisfactory parameters, a protocol that includes a command to subscriber devices such as ONUs to go quiet, for example a rogue check, is executed and a signal detector monitored during the quiet period. An alarm may be generated if an alien device appears to be present.
US09680567B2	Fault localization and fiber security in optical transponders Designs, methods, and applications for fault localization and fiber security in optical transponders is described. In one embodiment a two-way time transfer protocol or other suitable method for synchronizing clocks between distant transponders is used. The clock synchronized transponders have digital signal processing to continually detect high precision time-histories of physical layer attributes in the transmission between the two transponders. Physical layer attributes can include: state-of-polarization changes, changes in polarization-mode-dispersion, change in propagation delay, changes or loss-of-light, changes in OSNR, changes in BER between the two nodes. By recording these physical layer changes and time-stamping them information on the magnitude and estimated location of the changes can be inferred by from the time records. In one aspect the method may be used in a distributed optical sensor for monitoring trespassing events that are a risk to fiber security of an optical transmission link.
US09680565B2	Free-space optical network with agile beam-based protection switching A system includes a network having multiple network nodes each configured for free-space optical communication. Each network node includes one or more apertures through which optical beams are transmitted and received over optical links. The optical links include (i) a traffic link that transports higher-rate traffic between nodes and (ii) an acquisition/tracking link that transports lower-rate signals used to establish and maintain location knowledge of other nodes. Each network node also includes a network processor configured to determine one or more backup paths through the network. Each network node further includes a beam steering unit configured to redirect an optical beam from the traffic link onto the acquisition/tracking link to create a backup traffic link.
US09680563B2	System and method for partial bandwidth communication A system and method for partial bandwidth communication. The system includes a device that has a transceiver configured to connect to a network, a memory storing an executable program and a processor. The program causes the processor to perform operations including receiving data to be transmitted to second device, determining if the data uses less than a predetermined bandwidth used as a unit for a carrier aggregation, determining a plurality of sub-bands in the predetermined bandwidth, each sub-band including at least one pilot and a plurality of frequency tones, receiving network information from the second device, the network information indicating a preferred sub-band of the sub-bands, assigning one of the sub-bands to the second device based upon the network information, generating a packet including an indication, the indication indicating the assigned sub-band; transmitting the packet to the second device and transmitting the data in the assigned sub-band.
US09680556B2	Narrowband signal transport sub-system for distributed antenna system Certain aspects involve narrowband signal transport sub-systems for a distributed antenna system (“DAS”). The narrowband signal transport sub-system includes one or more filter banks that are communicatively coupled to a port of a unit in the DAS. The input port can receive a broadband downlink signal that includes multiple carriers. Each filter bank can generate a set of narrowband downlink signals corresponding to a carrier from the broadband downlink signal. Each filter bank can include demodulators and filters. The demodulators can generate respective frequency-shifted downlink signals from the carrier. Each frequency-shifted downlink signal can have a respective frequency shift from the carrier's frequency that is based on a respective bandwidth for the carrier. Each filter can have a passband corresponding to the bandwidth of a narrowband channel associated with the carrier and can generate one of the narrowband downlink signals by filtering a respective one of the frequency-shifted downlink signals.
US09680554B2	Method and system for distributed transceivers for distributed access points connectivity A controlling entity communicates with a plurality of network devices having a plurality of distributed transceivers and one or more corresponding antenna arrays. The controlling entity receives information, such as location information, propagation environment characteristics, physical environment characteristics and/or link parameters and quality from the network devices and/or communication devices that are communicatively coupled to the plurality of network devices. The controlling entity coordinates communication of data streams for the distributed transceivers and the antenna arrays based on the received information. The network device comprises an access point, a router, a switching device, a gateway and/or a set top box. The controlling entity is located within or external to one of the network devices. One or more functions performed by the controlling entity are split between the controlling entity and one or more of the network devices.
US09680547B2	Methods for efficient beam training and network control device utilizing the same A network control device. A wireless communications module receives a plurality of first signals each including information regarding a preferred transmitting beam in a first beam level determined by a communications apparatus. A controller selects a group of communications apparatuses to join a 1-to-many beam training according to the received first signals and selects one or more transmitting beams in a second beam level to be trained. The communications apparatuses in the group have the same preferred transmitting beam in the first beam level and the transmitting beam(s) in the second beam level associates with the preferred transmitting beam in the first beam level. The wireless communications module further uses the transmitting beam(s) in turn to transmit signals to perform the 1-to-many beam training for training the transmitting beam(s) in the second beam level among the group of communications apparatuses at the same time.
US09680537B2	Radio base station, user terminal, radio communication system and radio communication method The present invention is designed to reduce the increase in the amount of the calculation process in a mobile station and the amount of CSI feedback data, and also prevent the amount of overall system capacity from decreasing. This radio communication system (1) has a radio base station (200) which can form a plurality of beams that are vertically sectorized. The radio base station (200), using an array antenna (10), forms at least the first beam that is directed to the cell edge side and a second beam that is directed to the cell center side, in parallel. A mobile station (100) measures channel quality by extracting reference signals from each of the first beam and the second beam, generates a communication quality feedback signal including channel quality measured from at least one of the beams, and feeds this back to the radio base station (200) via the uplink.
US09680536B2	System and method for supporting antenna beamforming in a cellular network The present invention is a method and system for supporting a beamforming antenna system in a mobile broadband communication network with an improved beam pattern, beam sweep pattern, pilot channel design with feedback and reporting rules, and control signaling design. Specifically, the improved beam pattern includes a method of supporting wireless communications in a wireless network forming at least two spatial beams within a cell segment where the at least two spatial beams are associated with different power levels, and separately, where at least two spatial beams can be moved across the cell segment according to a unique sweep pattern. The pilot channel design improves network bandwidth performance and improves user mobility tracking Feedback and reporting rules can be established using a particular field designator, CQI, in the preferred embodiment.
US09680517B2	Optimized wireless charging system A transmission device that includes a fixed support for receiving an electronic appliance. The transmission device has at least one first and one second retaining elements defining between them a receiving space, the second retaining element being movable with respect to the fixed support along a main direction so as to give the possibility of adapting the size of the receiving space. The transmission device includes a transmission element attached to the retaining elements by a mechanism that includes a first return element connecting the transmission element to the first retaining element and a second return element connecting the transmission element to the second retaining element. The stiffness of the first return element is equal to the stiffness of the second return element.
US09680512B2	Message retrieving system with signal collision mitigation and a method thereof A message retrieving system and method for signal collision mitigation and the method thereof are disclosed. The message retrieving system transmits two orthogonal signals over two isolated antenna during a time period that it expects to receive the response. Two virtual channels are artificially created and the collision of response signals originated from the respondents is mitigated.
US09680501B1	De-serialization circuit and method of operating the same A de-serialization circuit includes a clock generation circuit, a first and a second latch circuit. The clock generation circuit is configured to generate a set of phase clock signals based on a first clock signal and a control signal. Each phase clock signal of the set of phase clock signals being offset from adjacent phase clock signals of the set of phase clock signals by a phase value. The first latch circuit is configured to generate a first set of data signals based on the set of phase clock signals and an input data signal. The second latch circuit is configured to generate a second set of data signals based on a first phase clock signal of the set of phase clock signals and the first set of data signals. Each signal of the second set of data signals being aligned with each other, wherein the first clock signal is non-continuous.
US09680496B2	Apparatus for overload recovery of an integrator in a sigma-delta modulator Described is an apparatus which comprises: a first integrator to receive an input signal and to generate a first output; a second integrator to receive the first output or a version of the first output and to generate a second output; and an analog-to-digital converter (ADC) to quantize the second output into a digital representation, the ADC including a detection circuit to detect an overload condition in the second output.
US09680491B2	Signal processing circuit A signal processing circuit includes: a plurality of daisy chain-connected AD converters each including a data ready output terminal, a synchronizing signal input terminal, and a serial clock input terminal; a calculator connected to the data ready output terminal of any of the AD converters and for outputting a serial clock to the serial clock input terminal of each of the AD converters when a data ready signal is input; and a reset processor included in the calculator and for outputting a synchronizing signal to the synchronizing signal input terminal of each of the AD converters when an output time lag among data ready signals from each of the AD converters is detected for a predetermined number of times.
US09680488B2	Switchable secondary playback path In accordance with embodiments of the present disclosure, a processing system may include a plurality of processing paths including a first processing path and a second processing path, a digital-to-analog stage output, and a controller. The first processing path may include a first digital-to-analog converter for converting the digital input signal into a first intermediate analog signal, the first digital-to-analog converter configured to operate in a high-power state and a low-power state. The second processing path may include a second digital-to-analog converter for converting a digital input signal into a second intermediate analog signal. The digital-to-analog stage output may be configured to generate an analog signal comprising a sum of the first intermediate analog signal and the second intermediate analog signal. The controller may be configured to operate the first digital-to-analog converter in the lower-power state when a magnitude of the digital input signal is below a threshold magnitude.
US09680483B2	Current mirror circuit and charge pump circuit A current mirror circuit includes: a reference current circuit including a reference transistor and a constant current source coupled between a high potential source and a low potential source; a first proportional current circuit, including a first transistor that forms a first current mirror circuit with the reference transistor, to generate a first current having a first ratio to a reference current of the reference current circuit; a second proportional current circuit, including a second transistor that forms a second current mirror circuit with the reference transistor, to generate a second current having a second ratio to the reference current; a comparison circuit to output a difference between a drain voltage of the first transistor and a drain voltage of the second transistor; and a current adjustment transistor coupled to a drain of the second transistor and including a gate to which an output of the comparison circuit is applied.
US09680482B2	Phase-locked loop device A phase-locked loop device may include the following elements: a phase frequency detector configured to generate a control signal; a charge pump connected to the phase frequency detector; a loop filter connected to the charge pump and configured to generate a control voltage based on a first current received from the charge pump, wherein the charge pump is configured to generate a second current based on the control signal and a first copy of the control voltage and to provide the second current to the loop filter, the second current being linearly related to the control voltage; a voltage-controlled oscillator connected to the loop filter and configured to generate an output signal based on a second copy of the control voltage, wherein a frequency of the output signal is directly proportional to the control voltage; and a signal processor connected between the voltage-controlled oscillator and the phase frequency detector.
US09680479B1	Electronic apparatus and controlling method An electronic apparatus includes a voltage-controlled oscillator and a biasing circuit. The voltage-controlled oscillator includes varactors. The voltage-controlled oscillator is configured to output an oscillating frequency at a first temperature. The biasing circuit electrically coupled with the varactors is configured to provide a first biasing voltage to the varactors at the first temperature, and provide a second biasing voltage to the varactors at a second temperature, in which the varactors have a first temperature coefficient, and the biasing circuit generates the first biasing voltage and the second biasing voltage according to values of the first temperature coefficient and a second temperature coefficient.
US09680475B1	Early global set/reset signal determination for programmable logic devices Techniques are provided to assign a set/reset signal of a user design to global set/reset (GSR) resources of a programmable logic device (PLD). By assigning a set/reset signal of the user design to the GSR resources during synthesis and prior to mapping, configurable resources consumed by the design may be reduced. In one example, a method includes receiving a user design for a programmable logic device (PLD) that comprises a plurality of configurable resources and global set/reset (GSR) resources. The method also includes identifying a plurality of set/reset signals of the user design. The method also includes determining, for each set/reset signal, a measurement of configurable resource savings associated with an assignment of the set/reset signal to the GSR resources. The method also includes assigning a selected one of the set/reset signals to the GSR resources based on the associated measurement. Additional methods and related systems are also provided.
US09680466B2	Analog switch and multiplexer The analog switch includes a first DMOS transistor of a second conductivity type that is connected to an input terminal at a first end of a current path thereof and to the gate of the first MOS transistor at a second end of the current path, and is controlled in accordance with the second current. The analog switch includes a second DMOS transistor of the second conductivity type that is connected to the second end of the current path of the first DMOS transistor at a first end of a current path thereof and to an output terminal at a second end of the current path and is controlled in accordance with the second current. The analog switch includes a first switch element that is connected between a gate and the second end of the current path of the first DMOS transistor.
US09680463B2	System and method for a radio frequency switch A circuit includes multiple switching networks coupled between corresponding multiple RF ports and a common RF port. Each of the multiple switching networks includes a first switch between its corresponding RF port and the common RF port. At least one of the multiple switching networks includes a selectable network between the first switch and the common RF port. The selectable network provides a DC path in a first state and a series capacitance in a second state. A control circuit is configured to establish an RF path by activating a first switch and by deactivating other first switches. The control circuit is also configured to establish an RF path by placing a selectable network in the first state when the control circuit operates in a first mode and by placing a selectable network in the second state when the control circuit operates in a second mode.
US09680462B2	System and method for voltage regulation with zero voltage reduction and autotransformer modes Various embodiments are described herein for methods and systems of regulating incoming voltage supplied from a utility power supply to a load. In one example embodiment, a voltage regulator adapted to be electrically interposed between the utility power supply and the load, each having at least one phase, is provided. The voltage regulator comprises an autotransformer having, for each phase, a series winding and a regulating winding, where the regulating winding has a plurality of taps and the series winding has a load side for connection to the load and a supply side for connection to the utility power supply. The voltage regulator comprises a controller coupled to the autotransformer, where the controller is configured to operate the voltage regulator in a zero voltage reduction mode and an autotransformer mode, and where the controller comprises a zero voltage reduction mode switch connected across a first subset of at least two taps of each regulating winding and a normally closed contactor connected across a second subset of at least two taps of each regulating winding.
US09680458B1	Input-controlled multiple threshold debounce system Disclosed herein are various implementations of input-controlled multiple threshold debounce circuits or algorithms. In one embodiment, an input-controlled multiple threshold debounce system is configured to receive an input signal and to control an output. An analysis subsystem may determine when an input signal exceeds an assertion threshold and may assess at least one additional characteristic of the input signal. Supervisory logic in communication with the analysis subsystem may select a variable delay based on the at least one additional characteristic of the input signal. A delay subsystem controlled by the supervisory logic may assert a first signal after the input signal remains above the assertion threshold for longer than the variable delay. Finally, a system output may be configured to receive the first signal and may be configured to assert the debounce system output based on the first signal.
US09680453B1	Oscillator circuit Aspects of various embodiments of the present disclosure are directed to applications utilizing oscillator circuits. In certain embodiments, an apparatus includes an oscillator circuit having one or more capacitors. The oscillator circuit is configured to generate an oscillating signal by repeated charging and discharging of the capacitors. The apparatus also includes a control circuit connected to the oscillator. The control circuit is configured to set the oscillation frequency of the oscillator circuit as a non-linear function of an input control signal. For instance, in a more specific embodiment, the control circuit may be configured to set oscillation frequency of the oscillator circuit to a frequency scaled by a value raised to an exponent specified by the input control signal.
US09680451B2	Integrated circuit An integrated circuit includes: a latch unit suitable for inverting a voltage level of a first node and driving a second node with the inverted voltage level of the first node, and inverting a voltage level of the second node and driving the first node with the inverted voltage level of the second node; and a sink unit coupled with one or more among the first and second nodes, and suitable for sinking a charge of the coupled node.
US09680440B2	Multi-band impedance tuners using weakly-coupled LC resonators Radio frequency (RF) filter structures and related methods and RF front-end circuitry are disclosed. In one embodiment, an RF filter structure includes a first terminal and a first tunable RF filter path defined between the first terminal and a second terminal. The first tunable RF filter path is tunable to provide impedance matching between the first terminal and the second terminal at a first frequency. The first frequency may be provided within a first frequency band. Additionally, the RF filter structure includes a second tunable RF filter path defined between the first terminal and the second terminal. The second tunable RF filter path is tunable to provide impedance matching between the first terminal and the second terminal at a second frequency. The second frequency may be within a second frequency band. In this manner, the RF filter structure is configured to provide impedance tuning for multiple impedance bands simultaneously.
US09680436B1	System and method for setting analog front end DC gain A system and method for setting analog front end in a serial receiver. The serial receiver includes a decision feedback equalizer. During initialization, taps of the decision feedback equalizer other than the zeroth tap are disabled, and the zeroth tap is used to estimate the amplitude of the signal at the output of the analog front end. The analog front end gain is iteratively adjusted until the estimated value of the zeroth tap is within a set range.
US09680435B1	Method and device for improving acoustics of an AM demodulation output signal A method for improving acoustics of amplitude modulation (AM) audio signal, comprising: amplifying and mixing, with an amplitude modulation (AM) front-end module, an analog AM signal and an automatic gain control (AGC) signal from an AGC module; converting and sampling, with an analog-digital converter and down-sampling module, the amplified and mixed signal to generate a digital AM signal; digitally mixing, with a digital mixer module, the digital AM signal to generate a first digital AM envelope signal; compensating, with an AM compensator module, the first digital AM envelope signal by an AM compensating AGC signal from the AM compensator module to generate a second digital AM envelope signal; demodulating, with a demodulation module, the second digital AM envelope signal; and outputting, with an output module, a demodulated AM audio signal.
US09680432B2	Power amplifier and input signal adjusting method A power amplifier includes a class-D amplifier and an input signal supplier. The class-D amplifier includes an input portion and a switching device. The switching device is switched according to an input signal that is input to the input portion so that a current is supplied to a load from a power source via the switching device. The input signal supplier supplies the input signal to the input portion of the class-D amplifier, calculates a virtual output voltage to be output from a virtual power source having a prescribed internal impedance characteristic when a current to flow through the load is output from the virtual power source, and adjust an amplitude of the input signal according to the virtual output voltage.
US09680428B2	Reduced crosstalk and matched output power audio amplifier using a triangle wave generator A multi-channel Class D audio amplifier is provided to substantially reduce channel-to-channel crosstalk by employing in each channel a local triangle ramp generator controlled by a single global digital timing signal. The noise critical timing/integrating capacitor for the triangle ramp generator resides locally in each channel and adjacent to the PWM comparator of that channel and referenced to the local ground of that channel. The amplifier can also include a duty cycle limitation circuit to limit output power availability depending on the impedance of any attached loads (speakers).
US09680422B2	Power amplifier signal compensation Exemplary embodiments are related to power amplifier power level compensation in a pre-distortion system. A method may include applying digital pre-distortion (DPD) of a power amplifier at a frequency channel, a fixed input power value, and a fixed temperature. The method may also include determining an optimal input power value for the power amplifier in response to a change in at least one of frequency and temperature.
US09680421B2	Ground fault circuit interrupter and method A method and circuit for dynamically correcting offsets associated with an AC power system. In an embodiment, a first offset current generated in response to a ground to neutral fault stimulus is decreased and a second offset current generated in response to a differential fault stimulus is decreased. In another embodiment, the circuit includes an offset correction circuit that has one of a chopper circuit or an auto-zeroing circuit. An amplifier is connected to the offset correction circuit and an output connected to the offset correction circuit. A signal generator is switchably coupled to a first input of the offset correction circuit and a bias generator is switchably coupled to the first input of the offset correction circuit.
US09680420B2	Apparatus for compensation of electronic circuitry and associated methods An apparatus includes a multi-stage amplifier. The multi-stage amplifier includes first, second, and third amplifier circuits coupled in a cascade configuration. The multi-stage amplifier further includes first, second, and third compensation networks. The first compensation network is coupled between the output of the third amplifier circuit and the input of the second amplifier circuit. The second compensation network is coupled between the output of the third amplifier circuit and the input of the third amplifier circuit. The third compensation network is coupled between the output of the second amplifier circuit and the input of the second amplifier circuit.
US09680406B2	Variable-flux motor drive system A variable-flux motor drive system including a permanent-magnet motor including a permanent magnet, an inverter to drive the permanent-magnet motor, and a magnetize device to pass a magnetizing current for controlling flux of the permanent magnet. The permanent magnet is a variable magnet whose flux density is variable depending on a magnetizing current from the inverter. The magnetize device passes a magnetizing current that is over a magnetization saturation zone of magnetic material of the variable magnet. This system improves a flux repeatability of the variable magnet and a torque accuracy.
US09680402B2	Driver circuit and method for single-phase and three-phase induction motors A control circuit for an induction motor operates to determine whether the inductor motor is of the three-phase type or single-phase type. If three-phase, a variable frequency drive operation is implemented. If single-phase, a closed loop current control process is implemented. The closed loop current control process includes an operation by the control circuit to measure winding resistances and determine a turns ratio for the main and auxiliary motor windings. The turns ratio is used in the closed loop current control process to scale a measurement of current in the auxiliary winding for the purpose of generating the control voltage for the auxiliary winding. Phase of the current in the windings is further processed to generate a phase control signal.
US09680401B2	Strain gauge pump control switch A control switch incorporates a solid state transducer, a strain gauge. The transducer responds to a local environmental condition, such as fluid level, or pressure and exhibits a parameter change which can be detected as an electrical output. Control circuits coupled to the transducer can sense the parameter change and switch a source of electrical energy to a load in response thereto.
US09680400B2	Method and device for generating electrical energy in a motor vehicle A method and device for generating electrical energy in a motor vehicle involves thermoelectric generator having a plurality of thermoelectric modules and coupled to at least one electrical consumer. Module open-circuit voltages of the modules are determined and those modules for which a sum of their module open-circuit voltages attains twice a predefined generator output voltage with the smallest possible deviation are determined and electrically connected to one another in series.
US09680399B2	Linear ultrasonic motor and lens apparatus and image pickup apparatus using the same A linear ultrasonic motor includes a vibrator having a piezoelectric element, a movable part applying a pressing force to the vibrator and bringing the vibrator into pressed contact with a base part, a cover part being fixed to the base part, a rolling part being rollably held between a movable guide part of the movable part and a cover guide part of the cover part, and a body to be driven having a transmission member that is pivotably supported and able to move only in the movable direction. The transmission member includes a bias part that abuts on a transmission part of the movable part and applies a biasing force of biasing the movable part to the rolling part to the transmission part. The rolling part is held by a resultant force of the pressing force or a reaction force of the pressing force, and the biasing force.
US09680387B2	Switched mode power supply, base station, and method of operating a switched mode power supply A switched mode power supply comprising a switched mode converter and a controller for controlling the switched mode converter, the switched mode converter being provided for converting an input voltage to an output voltage and including, on a primary side, a primary winding and a controllable switch based circuitry connecting the input voltage over the primary winding; and, on a secondary side, a secondary winding coupled to the primary winding and a capacitive element connected over the secondary winding, wherein the output voltage is obtained as the voltage over the capacitive element. The primary winding comprises a first winding portion and at least one further winding portion and the switch based circuitry comprises controllable switches capable of controlling the duty cycle of the switched mode converter and capable of switching between a first operation state wherein the input voltage is connected only over the first winding portion and at least a second operation state wherein the input voltage is connected over the first and the at least one further winding portions, thereby enabling switching between two different transformer ratios. The controller comprises a first control arrangement connected to monitor the output voltage of the switched mode converter and operatively connected to the controllable switches to control the controllable switches to switch to thereby control the duty cycle in response to the monitored output voltage and a reference voltage using PID feedback control. The controller further comprises a second control arrangement connected to monitor the input voltage of the switched mode converter and operatively connected to the controllable switches to control the controllable switches to switch between the first and the at least second operation states in response to the monitored input voltage.
US09680386B2	Minimum duty cycle control for active snubber This application provides methods and apparatus for controlling aspects of a synchronous rectifier power converter. In an example, an apparatus can include a minimum duty cycle control circuit configured to receive first control signals for one or more switches associated with the synchronous rectifier power converter, to compare a duty cycle of the first control signals to a minimum duty cycle threshold, and to provide second control signals having at least the minimum duty cycle for an active snubber switch of the synchronous rectifier power converter.
US09680385B2	Power converter A power converter includes a circuit board having an elongated anode receiving an input voltage and an input current and an elongated cathode providing an output voltage and an output current, and a plurality of diodes electrically arranged in parallel between the anode and cathode. The parallel diodes convert the input voltage to an output voltage, convert the input current to an output current.
US09680384B2	Controller for a power supply with transition region regulation Energy in a power converter is regulated by receiving a first signal representative of an output voltage and a second signal representative of a current of the power converter. An output current of the power converter is determined in response to at least one of the first and second signals. An inner maximum output power point corresponding to a first value of output voltage and a first value of output current is determined. An outer maximum output power point corresponding to a second value of output voltage and a second value of output current is determined. A maximum capability boundary between the inner maximum output power point and the outer maximum output power point is determined. A power switch is switched to regulate the output voltage and the output current of the power converter such that the maximum output power is lower than the maximum capability boundary.
US09680383B2	Input overvoltage protection using current limit A controller for use in a power converter includes a state selection circuit coupled to receive an input voltage sense signal representative of an input voltage, a switch current sense signal representative of a switch current of a power switch, and a feedback signal representative of an output quantity of the power converter. The state selection circuit is coupled to generate an input voltage signal in response to the input voltage sense signal, an input current signal in response to the switch current sense signal, and an input threshold signal in response to the feedback signal. A state machine circuit is coupled to the state selection circuit to generate a drive signal in response to the input voltage signal, the input current signal, and the input threshold signal to switch the power switch to control a transfer of energy from an input to an output of the power converter.
US09680375B2	Switching mode power supply with adaptively randomized spread spectrum In described examples, a switching mode power supply includes an output filter, a driver, a pulse width modulator, and pulse adaptation circuitry. The output filter is configured to provide output of the switching mode power supply. The driver is coupled to the output filter and is configured to switch current to the output filter. The pulse width modulator is configured to generate pulses that control switching of current by the driver. The pulse width modulator includes spread spectrum logic configured to randomize timing of the pulses generated by the pulse width modulator. The pulse adaptation circuitry is configured to identify an instantaneous excursion of the output of the switching mode power supply beyond a predetermined threshold, and to modify the randomized timing of the pulses produced by the pulse width modulator based on the identified instantaneous excursion.
US09680373B2	Charge pump circuit The present invention has: a pump capacitor (12), which has one end thereof connected to the source power supply (B) side via a diode (7), and which has the other end thereof connected to two kinds of voltage sources via switches (3, 4); and an output capacitor (13), which has one end there of connected to a high-potential terminal of a pump capacitor via a diode (8), and the other end thereof connected to a source power supply. A filter circuit configured with a resistor (15) and a capacitor (11) is provided between the source power supply and the diode (7).
US09680371B2	Charge pumps having variable gain and variable frequency In one embodiment, a circuit comprises a charge pump. A gain control circuit is configured to detect an input voltage and generate a gain control signal to change a gain of the charge pump to maintain the output voltage of the charge pump in a voltage range. A voltage to frequency converter is configured to detect the input voltage and change a frequency of a frequency control signal applied to the charge pump based in the detected input voltage to maintain the frequency in a frequency range so that the output voltage of the charge pump is maintained in the voltage range.
US09680367B1	System and method for limiting output current in a switching power supply A switching power supply comprises one or more power supply stages configured to receive power from an input power source and to generate an output voltage for powering a load by alternately opening and closing a set of switches. An output current sensor is configured to monitor a level of an output current of the switching power supply. The opening and closing of the set of switches is controlled so as to maintain the output voltage at a desired level when the level of the output current is below the threshold and so as to limit the output current when the level of the output current exceeds the threshold.
US09680361B2	Pulley electric motor An electric motor apparatus that includes a disk with an increased mechanical advantage to the attached axle, with donut-shaped permanent magnets, windings, a fulcrum (A.K.A. axle), bearings, a commutator, and a single bearing conductor that replaces the brushes. The center axis consists of the windings and spools with the axis of the windings placed coradial in orbit around the fulcrum of a disk. The donut-shaped permanent magnets are cut with a slot to allow passage of the disk, spools, and windings. When windings of magnet wire are inserted with windings around the spools such that the center points of the faces of the spools are concentric to the same radius of the disk and pass through the center of a donut-shaped permanent magnet, and the windings are electrified with the correct polarity, the windings are repulsed magnetically in the direction of rotation of the orbit around the fulcrum (A.K.A. axle) causing the disk and axle to rotate. Upon completion of the fractional rotation, the original set of windings is deenergized and another set of windings is energized further rotating the disk and axle.
US09680356B2	Architecture of interconnected electronic power modules for rotary electrical machine, and rotary electrical machine comprising architecture of this type An architecture of interconnected electronic power modules for a polyphase rotary machine, includes electrically interconnected power modules (5) and a connector (6) including one or more layers formed by pluralities of conductive traces borne by plates, such as to connect the power modules (51 to 53) to one another and to electrical elements of the rotary machine. The power modules (51 to 53) include a plurality of connection elements (510 to 530) brazed directly to components of the power modules (51 to 53) and, in the upper part, to conductive traces of the connector (6). This architecture includes a heat sink (4) equipped with open cavities (41 to 43) for receiving the power modules (51 to 53). A polyphase rotary machine is also provided using such an architecture, in particular a dual three-phase alternator with synchronous rectification.
US09680351B2	Electrical machine having cooling features An electrical machine has passages in the rotor. The passages have an inlet port and an exit port disposed at different locations. The passages remove heat from the electrical machine during operation. Another embodiment is an electrical machine rotor. The rotor has passages that remove heat from an electrical machine during operation. Other embodiments include apparatuses, systems, devices, hardware, methods, and combinations for electrical machines and the cooling of electrical machine rotors and/or stators.
US09680335B2	Apparatus for transmitting and receiving wireless power An apparatus for transmitting and receiving wireless power may include: a transmission module receiving power from an external device to charge a battery; a reception module providing power from the battery to the external device; a switching unit performing switching so as to select the transmission module or the reception module; a switching control unit performing Bluetooth communications with the external device and controlling the switching of the switching unit; and a host control unit creating operating mode information so as to provide the operating mode information to the switching control unit. The switching control unit may perform Bluetooth communications with the external device so that data is transmitted or received depending on the operating mode.
US09680330B2	Multiband wireless power system The present disclosure relates to a module for relaying power wirelessly to a device implanted in a user. The module may include a structure adapted to be worn by the user, a receiver configured to receive a first wireless power transmission at a first frequency, a transmitter configured to transmit a second wireless power transmission at a second frequency different from the first frequency, and a frequency changer configured to convert energy generated by the first wireless power transmission into energy for generating the second wireless power transmission. Each of the receiver, transmitter and frequency changer may be disposed on or in the structure.
US09680323B2	Single inductor DC-DC converter with regulated output and energy harvesting system An energy harvesting circuit receives an input voltage from a transducer and uses a single inductor operating in a DC-DC converter charging mode to generate charging current at a first output coupled to an energy storage device where a supply voltage is stored. The energy harvesting circuit further receives the supply voltage from the energy storage device and uses the same single inductor operating in a DC-DC converter regulating mode to generate load current at a second output where a regulated load voltage is provided. The energy harvesting circuit switches between the charging mode and the regulating mode in accordance with a discontinuous mode (DCM) control process.
US09680305B2	Implementation of fire safety shutdown for solar panels with high reliability System and method for restricting output power from multiple serially coupled DC power sources, such as a solar cell array, controlled by power balancing circuitry, thereby enabling power restriction in the event of an emergency. Output bypass circuitry allows the output voltage to be selectively restricted, and though power for switching between states would be needed, use of bi-stable bypass circuitry would avoid a need for power to remain in a state of bypass operation. Additionally, with the serially coupled DC power sources controlled by power balancing circuitry, use of solid-state current switching elements ensures continued output power restriction due to the clamping action of the body diodes upon the output voltage.
US09680304B2	Method for distributed power harvesting using DC power sources A system and method for combining power from DC power sources. Each power source is coupled to a converter. Each converter converts input power to output power by monitoring and maintaining the input power at a maximum power point. Substantially all input power is converted to the output power, and the controlling is performed by allowing output voltage of the converter to vary. The converters are coupled in series. An inverter is connected in parallel with the series connection of the converters and inverts a DC input to the inverter from the converters into an AC output. The inverter maintains the voltage at the inverter input at a desirable voltage by varying the amount of the series current drawn from the converters. The series current and the output power of the converters, determine the output voltage at each converter.
US09680301B2	Master-slave architecture for controlling operation of photovoltaic power plants A photovoltaic power plant with master-slave control architecture. The photovoltaic power plant includes slave plant controllers, with each slave plant controller controlling operation of photovoltaic inverters that convert direct current generated by solar cells to alternating current suitable for delivery to a utility power grid at a point of interconnection (POI). A master plant controller controls and coordinates the operation of the slave plant controllers. The master plant controller generates a global inverter real or reactive power setpoint, which is provided to each slave plant controller. In each slave plant controller, the global set point is processed to generate individual inverter real or reactive power setpoints that are provided to corresponding photovoltaic inverters controlled by that slave plant controller. A photovoltaic inverter generates an output based on received individual inverter setpoint to achieve a desired real power, voltage or power factor.
US09680295B2	Anti-icing coating for power transmission lines Provided are methods and systems for forming piezoelectric coatings on power line cables using sol-gel materials. A cable may be fed through a container with a sol-gel material having a piezoelectric material to form an uncured layer on the surface of the cable. The layer is then cured using, for example, infrared, ultraviolet, and/or other types of radiation. The cable may be suspended in a coating system such that the uncured layer does not touch any components of the system until the layer is adequately cured. Piezoelectric characteristics of the cured layer may be tested in the system to provide a control feedback. The cured layer, which may be referred to as a piezoelectric coating, causes resistive heating at the outer surface of the cable during vibration of the cable due transmission of alternating currents and environmental factors.
US09680293B2	Surface mounted multiple cable or wire organizer A surface mounted multiple cable or wire organizer that includes a rigid connector body with a center void and plurality of transversely aligned holes configured to receive a twist tie. The connector body includes a bottom surface, a top surface, and outer side walls. Adhesive tape or a threaded connector is used to attach the bottom surface of the connector body to a flat surface. During use, a twist tie is inserted through the holes in the connector body. The ends of the twist tie extend outward from the holes on opposite sides of the connector body. A single cable or wire or a bundle of cables or wires is extended over the top surface of the connector body and the ends of the twist tie are bent and twisted over the connector body and the cables and wires to hold them over the top surface of the connector body.
US09680289B2	Long-life, high-efficiency laser apparatus having plurality of laser diode modules A laser apparatus includes laser diode module groups (LDMGs) and power supply units and provides a laser light source by collecting laser beam from the LDMGs, and comprises: a driving current supply circuit network for injecting the driving currents into the respective LDMGs, independently; a control unit which controls the driving currents independently; a first recording unit in which are recorded data representing a relationship between the driving current and optical output power, and data representing a relationship between the driving current and drive voltage; and a first calculating unit which calculates the driving currents to be allocated to the LDMGs so as to achieve maximum electrical to optical conversion efficiency, wherein the control unit allocates the driving currents to the LDMGs in accordance with the results calculated by the first calculating unit so that the LDMGs as a whole can achieve maximum electrical to optical conversion efficiency under conditions.
US09680286B2	Spectral and radiometric calibration using tunable lasers A tunable laser system includes a tunable laser, an adjustable laser cavity for producing one or more modes of laser light emitted from the tunable laser, a first optical parametric oscillator positioned in a light path of the adjustable laser cavity, and a controller operable to simultaneously control parameters of at least the tunable laser, the first optical parametric oscillator, and the adjustable laser cavity to produce a range of wavelengths emitted from the tunable laser system. A method of operating a tunable laser system includes using a controller to simultaneously control parameters of a tunable laser, an adjustable laser cavity for producing one or more modes of laser light emitted from the tunable laser, and a first optical parametric oscillator positioned in a light path of the adjustable laser cavity, to produce a range of wavelengths emitted from the tunable laser system.
US09680274B2	Electrical connector having insulative housing and method of making the same An electrical connector (100) includes a shielding plate (1), a base portion (2) insert molded with the shielding plate and defining two rows of passageways (21), two rows of terminals (3) affixed to the base portion, and an insulative housing (4) over molded with the base portion. The two rows of passageways extend through the base portion along a front-to-back direction and exposed completely upwardly and downwardly. Each terminal includes a contacting beam (31) having a contacting portion (311). The shielding plate is located between the two rows of terminals.
US09680267B2	Downsized connector having a structure that is tolerant of twist A connector comprises first contacts, second contacts and a housing. The first contacts have first contact portions which come into contact with first mating contacts. The second contacts have second contact portions which come into contact with second mating contacts. The housing has at least two long wall portions and at least one supporting portion. The long wall portions extend in an X-direction and are disposed apart from each other in a Y-direction to form a slot between the two of the long wall portions. The supporting portion protrudes in a Z-direction from one of the long wall portions and has a plate-like shape extending in the X-direction. The first contact portions are supported by the supporting portion. The second contact portions are located in the slot at least in part.
US09680266B2	High density connector In one embodiment, a method for increasing potential data capacity for a high-density transceiver connector includes: aligning at least two transceiver-switch copper contacts opposite at least one network switch copper contact associated with a network switch, aligning at least two transceiver-cable copper contacts opposite at least one cable copper contact, and connecting the at least two transceiver-switch copper contacts to the at least two transceiver-cable copper contacts, wherein the high-density transceiver connector shares a form factor with a low-density transceiver connector.
US09680264B2	Multi-contact audio jack connector assembly Disclosed is an audio jack assembly that reduces or eliminates signal loss with an audio jack by reducing or eliminating the resistance with a conventional audio plug. The jack assembly employs a support housing having a passageway sized to receive the audio plug with an insulated first connector having first and second terminal strips, each formed integral to a first disk base and positioned to engage the grooved tip of an audio plug when engaged. A second isolated connector includes first and second terminal strips positioned to engage each side of a sleeve when the audio plug is engaged. The second connector is electrically isolated from the first connector wherein the second connector is fastened to the support housing securing the first connector therebetween.
US09680263B2	Coaxial cable connector having electrical continuity member A coaxial cable connector includes, in one embodiment, a body, post, coupler and continuity member. The continuity member has an anchored post contact portion and a plurality of arcuate coupler contact portions. The connector is configured to form an electrical grounding continuity path.
US09680253B2	Connectors to connect electronic devices and other devices An example electronic device is provided in accordance with an aspect of the present disclosure. The electronic device includes a housing having at least a front section and a rear section that is opposite to the front section, a connector embedded in a center of the rear section, wherein the connector includes a connection portion to electronically connect the electronic device to an external system and an attachment portion to mechanically attach the connector to an external system.
US09680249B2	Molded enclosures having a seamless appearance An enclosure for an AC to DC adapter has a continuous and seamless exterior surface. The enclosure includes a housing and a front wall that are joined by a bonded interface. The front wall is formed from a metallic interface plate and an exterior layer of plastic that is formed over the metallic interface plate and bonded to the housing.
US09680243B2	Card holding member and card connector set A card holding member is provided which is able to hold a card having terminal members and is able to be inserted into a card connector. The card holding member includes a card holding frame portion facing the side surfaces of the card, and a first portion including a first connecting portion. The card holding member further includes a main body portion, and a second portion including a second connecting portion connected to the first connecting portion. The card holding member further includes a first elastic member mounted on the outer periphery of the main body portion. The card holding member further includes a second elastic member mounted between the first connecting portion and the second connecting portion.
US09680239B2	Grounding stud and electrical connections An electrical connection includes an elongate stud defining a central longitudinal axis, and having a patterned segment, a shoulder, and a flange. The shoulder is generally circular in cross-section having one or more outwardly directed curved surfaces. The shoulder may have an outer continuous curved surface, an outer continuous undulating curved surface, an outer continuous undulating curved surface including alternating sectors of concave and convex regions relative to the longitudinal axis of the elongate stud. Convex regions of the shoulder define corresponding flutes whose cross sections each form a fraction of a first circle, and concave regions define corresponding lobes whose cross sections each form a fraction of a second circle. A diameter or radius of the first and second circles are the same. In an aspect, the diameters or radii of the first and second circles are different. The shoulder may be multilobular, pentalobular, hexalobular or octalobular.
US09680238B1	Vertical mount battery fuser terminal A vertical mounted battery terminal mounting assembly includes a battery having a terminal post. A post attachment structure including a contact portion shaped to engage the terminal post of the battery is provided. The post attachment structure includes a wedge translation portion having an angled slide surface. An internal wedge is positioned within the post attachment structure. The internal wedge includes an angled wall and terminal contacts. A core bolt is rotationally fixed and extends through the post attachment structure and the internal wedge. A nut is threaded on the core bolt and contacts an upper edge of the internal wedge wherein the angled wall of the internal wedge engages the angled slide surface of the post attachment structure. Rotation of the nut imparts a downward force on the internal wedge wherein contact of the angled wall and the slide surface evenly translates the downward force to a horizontal force wherein the terminal contacts and the contact portion engage the battery terminal post.
US09680229B2	Modular reflector assembly for a reflector antenna An modular reflector assembly may include a shell and a support frame. The modular reflector assembly may also include a plurality of support links that mechanically couple the shell to the support frame. The shell may be thermally decoupled from the support frame by the plurality of support links.
US09680218B2	Method and apparatus for controlling an antenna A method and apparatus for controlling an antenna is provided. A load on a second antenna of a device is determined, the device comprising at least one processor, a first antenna, a variable tuning circuit connected to the first antenna, and the second antenna, wherein the processor determines the load. The processor controls the variable tuning circuit based on the load on the second antenna to change a match of the first antenna.
US09680208B1	Data communications case having an internal antenna array A data communications apparatus including a case having a base and a lid connectable to the base, the lid movable with respect to the base between an open position and a closed position. The case has an inner surface. A power supply is secured inside the case. A router device is secured inside the case, the router device selectively receiving power from the power supply. A plurality of mounting brackets can be adhered to the inner surface of the case. An antenna array is in electrical communication with the router device, the antenna array including at least two cellular antennas, at least two wireless networking antennas, and at least one global positioning system antenna, each antenna of the antenna array secured inside the case to a corresponding mounting bracket.
US09680205B2	Electronic device with peripheral display antenna An electronic device may be provided with electrical components mounted in a housing. The electronic device may include wireless transceiver circuitry and antenna structures. A display may be mounted in the housing. The display may have a transparent layer such as display cover layer. The display cover layer may have an inner surface with a recess. The recess may be a groove that runs along a peripheral edge of the display cover layer. An antenna structure such as an inverted-F antenna resonating element may be formed from a metal trace on a plastic support structure. The metal trace and support structure may be mounted in the groove with adhesive. The housing may be a metal housing that forms an antenna ground. Springs may be used in forming an antenna feed and an antenna return path that couples the antenna resonating element to ground.
US09680200B2	TP on/in cell-type thin-film transistor display device having integrated NFC antenna A thin-film transistor displayer integrated with an NFC antenna, is a TP on/in cell thin-film transistor displayer. The NFC antenna is arranged on a display screen of the thin-film transistor displayer, where the NFC interface is built in an output circuit of the display screen and connected to a control mainboard of the display screen. The display screen and NFC antenna features are combined into one, and the NFC antenna is arranged directly on the thin-film transistor displayer, avoiding problems of signal quality deterioration and reception failure due to wearing of the NFC antenna interface and inaccurate alignment. In addition, a solution is provided for facilitating reception of an NFC signal from a display panel and touch panel of the displayer, or for the case that the NFC signal must be received from the display panel and touch panel of the displayer.
US09680199B2	System and apparatus for driving antenna A multiple-antenna positioning system with a single drive element, providing reduced weight and complexity over systems that have a drive element for each antenna. In certain examples, each antenna can be coupled with a rotating spindle, with each antenna spindle being coupled with a pair of link arms. By driving a single drive spindle, each of the antenna spindles in the system can be rotated by the associated pair of link arms. The link arms can have an adjustable length, such as through a turnbuckle mechanism, to reduce backlash in the system, and in some examples can apply a preload to the system. By reducing backlash, the multiple antenna positioning system can have improved responsiveness to a rotation of the single drive element, as well as improved stability of the positioning of each antenna when the drive element is held in a fixed position.
US09680192B2	Air battery and air battery stack There is provided an air battery having a power generation body, the power generation body comprising: a laminate in which a negative electrode, a separator, a positive electrode having a catalyst layer and a positive electrode current collector, and an oxygen diffusion membrane are laminated in this order; and an electrolyte being in contact with the negative electrode, the separator and the positive electrode, wherein one of main surfaces of the oxygen diffusion membrane is arranged facing one of main surfaces of the positive electrode current collector; and at least a part of a peripheral edge part of the oxygen diffusion membrane is in contact with atmospheric air.
US09680184B2	Non-aqueous secondary battery and method for producing same An easier method is provided for producing a battery comprising an oxalato complex-derived coating on the negative electrode. This invention provides a method for producing a non-aqueous secondary battery, the method comprising: preparing a negative electrode paste comprising a negative electrode active material, a binder, and a polycarboxylic acid-based gas formation inhibitor; fabricating a negative electrode by applying the negative electrode paste to a negative current collector surface; constructing an assembly with a positive electrode, the negative electrode, and a non-aqueous electrolyte solution comprising an oxalato complex; and subjecting the assembly to activation thereby to decompose the oxalato complex and forming a coating derived from the oxalato complex on the negative electrode surface while inhibiting gas formation with the gas formation inhibitor.
US09680182B2	Solid polymer electrolyte composition for lithium ion battery A composition suitable as a solid polymer electrolyte for a lithium ion battery comprises a mixture of polyoctahedral silsesquioxane-phenyl7(BF3Li)3 and a poly(ethylene oxide).
US09680177B2	All-solid-state thin-film battery An all-solid-state thin-film battery according to an aspect of the present disclosure includes: a solid electrolyte layer; a cathode active material layer; a cathode current collector layer including a first portion and a second portion; an anode terminal layer; and an anode layer including a third portion and a fourth portion. The first contact surface between the solid electrolyte layer and the cathode active material layer, the second contact surface between the solid electrolyte layer and the first portion of the cathode current collector layer, and the third contact surface between the third portion of the anode layer and the anode terminal layer are located within a single plane.
US09680173B2	Energy saving method in combined system of bioethanol producing device and solid oxide fuel cell The present invention is to provide, in a combined system of a bioethanol producing device and an SOFC, a method that is capable of further enhancing the electric power generation efficiency of the SOFC, and is also capable of achieving further reduction of the energy required for distillation of the fermented liquid. A part of an anode off-gas is refluxed to the water-containing ethanol vapor line from the mash column to the reforming device at a reflux ratio ((flow rate of reflux gas)/(flow rate of (anode off-gas)−(reflux gas))) of from 1 to 2. The ethanol concentration of the water-containing ethanol vapor is controlled by refluxing, to a range of from 25 to 35% by weight with water contained in the anode off-gas of the solid oxide fuel cell.
US09680172B2	Flow-type electrochemical cell Flow type electrochemical cells are disclosed. The electrochemical cell has an anode half-cell, a cathode half-cell, and permeable separating layer. The half-cells are bounded by side elements. Respective porous electrodes are housed in the half-cells. The permeable separating layer is disposed between the anode half-cell and the cathode half-cell. An electrolyte region connected to an electrolyte feed and an electrolyte outflow region connected to an electrolyte drain are further provided. An electrolyte inflow region and an electrolyte outflow region are disposed on opposite sides of the porous electrodes such that inflowing electrolyte flows through the porous electrode perpendicularly to the permeable separating layer.
US09680170B2	Gas generator with combined gas flow valve and pressure relief A gas generator includes a reactant capable of producing a gas and a gas outlet valve that can function as both a gas flow valve and a pressure relief vent, using the same gas flow path through the valve. When the valve is closed and the pressure within the gas generator is below a threshold pressure, a moveable valve member is biased against a valve seat to block the outlet port. When gas generator is coupled to the apparatus, an actuator is inserted into the valve, displacing the moveable valve member and separating it from the valve seat to open the valve. When the gas generator is uncoupled, pressure at or above a threshold displaces the moveable member, separating it from the valve seat to open the outlet port so pressure can be released to the external environment.
US09680165B2	Separator and fuel cell with the same A separator for a fuel cell is provided. The separator is disposed at both sides of a membrane-electrode assembly and is configured to supply a reaction gas to the membrane-electrode assembly. In addition, the separator includes a conductive microporous body that is formed on a reaction surface corresponding to the membrane-electrode assembly and a channel unit that is connected to an inlet manifold and an outlet manifold through which the reaction gas flows and is configured to guide the reaction gas to the reaction surface.
US09680163B2	Fuel cell and method for production thereof A fuel cell (1) has a plate (2) produced by powder metallurgy which comprises in one piece a porous substrate area (4) to which the electrochemically active cell layers (6) are applied, and a gastight edge area (5) which is provided with gas passages (17, 18).
US09680156B2	Composition, polymer thereof, electrode and electrolyte membrane for fuel cell, and fuel cell including the same A composition including a compound having a fluorine functional group, a polymer as a polymerization product of the composition, an electrode and an electrolyte membrane for a fuel cell, which include the composition or the polymer thereof, and a fuel cell including at least one of the electrode and the electrolyte membrane.
US09680153B2	Nonaqueous electrolyte secondary battery A nonaqueous electrolyte secondary battery includes a power generating element including a positive electrode having a positive electrode active material layer and a negative electrode having a negative electrode active material layer. A main plane having the smaller area, between a main plane of the positive electrode active material layer and a main plane of the negative electrode active material layer, has an approximately rectangular shape with a short side having a length of 132 mm or more. The positive electrode active material layer and the negative electrode active material layer are provided such that the main plane of the positive electrode active material layer and the main plane of the negative electrode active material layer face each other with a separator interposed therebetween, and the positive electrode active material layer contains a binder in an amount of 2 mass % or more and 3.5 mass % or less.
US09680150B2	Electrical device To provide a means by which an electrical device such as a lithium ion secondary battery that has a positive electrode using a solid solution positive electrode active material can be provided with satisfactory performance in terms of rate characteristics while sufficiently making use of the high capacity characteristics that characterize solid solution positive electrode active materials.An electrical device that has a power generating element containing a positive electrode in which a positive electrode active material layer containing a positive electrode active material is formed on the surface of a positive electrode current collector, a negative electrode in which a negative electrode active material layer containing a negative electrode active material is formed on the surface of a negative electrode current collector, and a separator, in which the coating amount of the negative electrode active material layer is 3 to 11 mg/cm2, the negative electrode active material layer contains the negative electrode active material represented by the formula (1), the positive electrode active material layer contains the positive electrode active material represented by the formula (2) (solid solution positive electrode active material), and, as a solid solution positive electrode active material to be contained in the positive electrode active material layer, the material having composition represented by the formula (3) is used.
US09680146B2	Apparatus and method for filling a cell of a rechargeable battery with electrolyte liquid A device (1) and method for filling at least one cell (2) of a rechargeable battery (3) with electrolyte liquid (30) has an evacuatable sealing container (20) to accommodate a filling apparatus (10) and the rechargeable battery (3). A feed means (11) passes through the container wall (21) to supply the filling apparatus (10) with electrolyte liquid (30). The filling apparatus (10) has at least one reservoir (13) for electrolyte liquid (30) that is in a state of pressure balance with the interior of the sealing container (20) when filled above the level (31) of the electrolyte liquid. Via at least one outlet (12) located below the level (31) of the electrolyte liquid, the reservoir (13) can be flow-connected to a filling opening (4) of the cell (2) that is to be filled, while the interior (5) of the cell (2) is sealed so as to be pressure-tight vis-à-vis the interior (22) of the sealing container (20).
US09680138B2	Battery pack Battery cells are fixed by a cell holder and are housed inside a case in a state where both electrodes are sandwiched by a positive-electrode current collecting plate and a negative-electrode current collecting plate, and springs are arranged above and under the current collecting plates. Claws are provided on side surfaces of the case, which can temporarily fix the springs to the current collecting plates at the time of assembly and prevents the case from being ejected suddenly when a fastener is released at the time of disassembly.
US09680137B2	Battery device and electronic apparatus A battery charger includes a battery attachment section configured to have a rechargeable battery releasably attached thereto. The battery attachment section includes a flat attachment surface having a width corresponding to a width of a bottom surface of a case of the battery to be charged and a length greater than a length of the bottom surface of the case of the battery to be charged; a plurality of locking hooks provided on the attachment surface; a charger terminal configured to contact a terminal of the battery to be charged, the charger terminal including a plurality of plate-shaped contact pieces configured to be inserted into engaging grooves of the battery to be charged; and an attachment projection adjacent to the attachment surface and configured to secure the battery to the charger.
US09680133B2	Display device A display device includes a plurality of pixels each including a light emitting region; and a light blocking layer provided on a side of the plurality of pixels on which light is output. In each of the plurality pixels, the light blocking layer has a plurality of openings allowing light from the light emitting region to be output. In one embodiment, in the light blocking layer, the openings adjacent to each other may be located line-symmetrically. In one embodiment, in the light blocking layer, the openings adjacent to each other may be located point-symmetrically.
US09680131B2	Organic light-emitting diode (OLED) panel, manufacturing method thereof and display device An organic light-emitting diode (OLED) panel, a manufacturing method thereof and a display device are provided. The OLED panel comprises: a base substrate, a plurality of OLED units formed on the base substrate, and a reflective structure formed on the base substrate, disposed along the periphery of the OLED units and configured to partially or completely encircle the OLED units. The OLED unit includes an anode layer, an organic emission layer and a cathode layer. The reflective structure is provided with a reflective surface which is configured to reflect light emitted from a side terminal of the organic emission layer to the outside of the OLED panel. The OLED panel can improve the utilization rate of light emitted by the OLED units and hence improve the display quality of the OLED panel.
US09680129B2	Method for manufacturing organic light emitting element including light extracting layer formed by irradiating coating solution A method of manufacturing an organic light emitting element equipped with a transparent substrate, an internal light extracting layer, and a transparent metal electrode includes: forming the internal light extracting layer on the transparent substrate, and forming the transparent metal electrode on the internal light extracting layer. The step of forming the internal light extracting layer includes: applying a coating solution onto the transparent substrate into a predetermined pattern, the coating solution containing a light scattering particle having an average particle size of 0.2 μm or more and less than 1 μm and a refractive index of 1.7 or more and less than 3.0 and a hydroxy-containing solvent, and drying the applied patterned coating solution through irradiation with infrared light having a proportion of 5% or less of a spectral radiance at a wavelength of 5.8 μm to a spectral radiance at a wavelength of 3.0 μm.
US09680125B2	Organic electroluminescent lighting device and method for manufacturing the same The present invention is to provide an organic electroluminescent lighting device that can reduce the occurrence of short-circuiting caused by inrush current. The organic electroluminescent lighting device includes: transparent substrate 1; positive electrode film 2 that is formed on the surface of transparent substrate 1 and includes terminal 2a formed at one end or both ends and electrode 2b formed continuously from terminal 2a; negative electrode terminal film 3 that is formed separate from positive electrode film 2 on the surface of transparent substrate 1 and includes first resistive region 7; organic light emitting film 4 formed on the surface of electrode 2b of positive electrode film 2; and negative electrode film 5 continuously formed from the surface of organic light emitting film 4 to the surface of negative electrode terminal film 3. When viewed from a first cut surface that is along a thickness direction of negative electrode terminal film 3, a conductor's cross-sectional area in first resistive region 7 is smaller than a negative electrode terminal film's cross-sectional area at boundary 11a with outer peripheral part of negative electrode film 5.
US09680122B1	Organic light emitting display device and method of manufacturing the same An organic light emitting display device may include: a cell array comprising gate lines and data lines intersecting each other on a substrate so as to define a plurality of pixel areas, a plurality of thin film transistors formed at intersections between the gate lines and the data lines to correspond to the plurality of pixel areas, and a protective film evenly formed over the substrate to cover the thin film transistors; a plurality of first electrodes formed such that portions of an metal oxide layer corresponding to emission areas of the respective pixel areas, is made conductive, the metal oxide layer evenly disposed on the protective film; a bank constituting the remaining portion of the metal oxide layer in which the first electrodes are not formed and formed so as to have insulating properties; an emission layer formed over the metal oxide layer; and a second electrode formed on the emission layer so as to face the first electrodes.
US09680116B2	Carbon nanotube vacuum transistors Vacuum transistors with carbon nanotube as the collector and/or emitter electrodes are provided. In one aspect, a method for forming a vacuum transistor includes the steps of: covering a substrate with an insulating layer; forming a back gate(s) in the insulating layer; depositing a gate dielectric over the back gate; forming a carbon nanotube layer on the gate dielectric; patterning the carbon nanotube layer to provide first/second portions thereof over first/second sides of the back gate, separated from one another by a gap G, which serve as emitter and collector electrodes; forming a vacuum channel in the gate dielectric; and forming metal contacts to the emitter and collector electrodes. Vacuum transistors are also provided.
US09680111B2	Compositions for electronic applications This invention relates to a composition including (a) a dopant, (b) a first host having at least one unit of Formula I, and (c) a second host compound. Formula I has the structure where Q is a fused ring linkage having the formula In Formula I: R1 is the same or different at each occurrence and is D, alkyl, aryl, silyl, alkoxy, aryloxy, cyano, vinyl, or allyl; R2 is the same or different at each occurrence and is H, D, alkyl, or aryl, or both R2 are an N-heterocycle; R3 is the same or different at each occurrence and is H, D, cyano, alkyl or aryl; and a is the same or different at each occurrence and is an integer from 0-4.
US09680110B2	Compounds for use in opto-electrical devices A composition for use in fabricating opto-electrical devices comprising a solution processable triazine host material and a phosphorescent moiety.
US09680106B2	Pyrene-based compound and organic light-emitting device including the same A pyrene-based compound is represented by Formula 1: where R11 to R14, L11, m11, n11, k11, a12, a13, and a14 are as defined in the specification.
US09680095B2	Resistive RAM and fabrication method A structure for a resistive memory device and a method to fabricate the same is disclosed. The method includes providing a bottom electrode comprising a metal and forming a memory layer on the bottom electrode. The memory layer includes a first layer of metal oxide, and a second layer including the nitrogen-containing metal oxide. A top electrode is formed over the memory layer.
US09680092B2	Current selectors formed using single stack structures Provided are hybrid electrodes comprising base structures and plugs disposed within the base structures. Also provided are selector elements comprising such hybrid electrodes and memory arrays with selector elements used for addressing individual memory cells. Specifically, the base structure and plug of a hybrid electrode have different compositions but both interface the same dielectric of the selector element. This design allows anti-parallel diode and other configurations with a very few components. The base structure and plug may have different dopants, different stoichiometry of the same alloy, or formed from completely different materials. The interfacing surface portions of a hybrid electrode may have different sizes. A combination of these surface portions (e.g., areas, surface conditions) and materials (e.g., compositions) can be used for tuning operating characteristics of selector elements using such hybrid electrodes.
US09680091B2	Structure and method for a complimentary resistive switching random access memory for high density application The present disclosure provides a resistive random access memory (RRAM) structure. The RRAM structure includes a bottom electrode on a substrate; a resistive material layer on the bottom electrode, the resistive material layer including a defect engineering film; and a top electrode on the resistive material layer.
US09680089B1	Magnetic tunnel junctions A magnetic tunnel junction comprises a conductive first magnetic electrode comprising magnetic recording material, a conductive second magnetic electrode spaced from the first electrode and comprising magnetic reference material, and a non-magnetic tunnel insulator material between the first and second electrodes. The magnetic reference material of the second electrode comprises a synthetic antiferromagnetic construction comprising two spaced magnetic regions one of which is closer to the tunnel insulator material than is the other. The one magnetic region comprises a polarizer region comprising CoxFeyBz where “x” is from 0 to 90, “y” is from 10 to 90, and “z” is from 10 to 50. The CoxFeyBz is directly against the tunnel insulator. A non-magnetic region comprising an Os-containing material is between the two spaced magnetic regions. The other magnetic region comprises a magnetic Co-containing material. Other embodiments are disclosed.
US09680088B2	Ferromagnetic tunnel junction element and method of driving ferromagnetic tunnel junction element In a tunnel junction element having a ferromagnetic free layer, an insulating layer and a ferromagnetic fixed layer, in order to reduce the current necessary for spin-transfer magnetization reversal operation in the tunnel junction element, the ferromagnetic free layer comprises first and second ferromagnetic layers, a nonmagnetic metal layer is provided between these ferromagnetic layers, the nonmagnetic metal layer is such that magnetic coupling is preserved between the first and second ferromagnetic layers, also such that there is no influence on the crystal growth of the first and second ferromagnetic layers, the first ferromagnetic layer and the second ferromagnetic layer are placed such that the first ferromagnetic layer is in contact with the insulating layer, and the second ferromagnetic layer has a smaller magnetization than the first ferromagnetic layer.
US09680087B2	Methods for manufacturing carbon ribbons for magnetic devices In one embodiment of the invention, there is provided a method for manufacturing a magnetic memory device, comprising: depositing a carbon layer comprising amorphous carbon on a substrate; annealing the carbon layer to activate dopants contained therein; and selectively etching portions of the carbon layer to forms lines of spaced apart carbon conductors.
US09680080B2	Thermoelectric conversion of waste heat from generator cooling system An electrical generator includes a rotor, a stator core disposed axially around the rotor, a stator sleeve assembly disposed axially around the stator core, and a stator housing disposed axially around the stator sleeve assembly. The stator sleeve assembly includes a cylindrical stator sleeve and thermoelectric elements. The cylindrical stator sleeve has a radially inward facing surface and a radially outward facing surface. The thermoelectric elements are affixed to the radially outward facing surface of the cylindrical stator sleeve. The stator housing includes at least one coolant channel. The coolant channel is in thermal contact with the thermoelectric elements. The thermoelectric elements generate power as a function of the temperature difference between the cylindrical stator sleeve and the coolant channel.
US09680075B2	Light-emitting device A light-emitting device in accordance with the present invention includes a mounting substrate; an LED chip bonded to a surface of the mounting substrate with a bond; and an encapsulating portion covering the LED chip. The bond transmits light from the LED chip. The mounting substrate includes: a light-transmissive member having a planar size larger than that of the LED chip; and first and second penetrating wirings which penetrate the light-transmissive member in the thickness direction thereof and are electrically connected to first and second electrodes of the LED chip via first and second wires, respectively. The light-transmissive member includes at least two light-transmissive layers with different optical properties which are stacked in the thickness direction. A light-transmissive layer of the light-transmissive layers which is farther from the LED chip is higher in reflectance to the light.
US09680074B2	Optical device and light emitting device package including the same An optical device may include a first surface having a shape of a quadrangle; and a second surface disposed to be opposite to the first surface and comprising a convex curved surface. The optical device has an aspherical shape in a cross-section taken along a diagonal direction of the quadrangle and has a semicircular shape in a cross-section taken along a direction connecting a central portion of a first side of the quadrangle and a central portion of a second side opposite to the first side of the quadrangle. In a cross-sectional view of the optical device, the second surface is continuously varied between the semicircular shape of the cross-section and the aspherical shape of the cross-section.
US09680071B2	Light emitting device having substrate including heat dissipation terminals A light emitting device includes a substrate having a first main surface that serves as the light extraction surface, a second main surface that is opposite the first main surface, and a mounting surface that is adjacent to at least the second main surface, and that is provided an insulating base material, a pair of connection terminals disposed on the second main surface, and a heat dissipation terminal disposed on the second main surface and between the pair of connection terminals; a light emitting element that is mounted on the first main surface of the substrate and; a sealing member that seals the light emitting element and is formed substantially in the same plane as the substrate on the mounting surface.
US09680068B2	Quantum dot films utilizing multi-phase resins Multi-phase polymer films containing quantum dots (QDs) are described herein. The films have domains of primarily hydrophobic polymer and domains of primarily hydrophilic polymer. QDs, being generally more stable within a hydrophobic matrix, are dispersed primarily within the hydrophobic domains of the films. The hydrophilic domains tend to be effective at excluding oxygen.
US09680067B2	Heavily phosphor loaded LED packages having higher stability Heavily phosphor loaded LED packages having higher stability and a method for increasing the stability of heavily phosphor loaded LED packages. A silicone overlayer is provided on the phosphor silicone blend layer.
US09680066B2	Phosphor, light emitting element, and light emitting device The present invention relates to an Mn4+-activated complex fluoride phosphor with improved moisture resistance due to modification of the particle surface, and a light emitting element and light emitting device having excellent color rendering properties and stability due to the use of this phosphor.The phosphor of the present invention is characterized in that it is represented by the general formula: A2MF6:Mn4+, wherein element A is an alkali metal element comprising at least K, element M is one or more metal elements chosen from among Si, Ge, Sn, Ti, Zr and Hf, F is fluorine, and Mn is manganese, wherein the phosphor comprises a Ca-containing compound on a particle surface.
US09680063B2	Semiconductor light-emitting device and semiconductor light-emitting device array A semiconductor light-emitting device comprises an optical semiconductor multilayer disposed above a support substrate, which has a structure in which a first semiconductor layer having a first conductivity type, an active layer having light emitting properties, and a second semiconductor layer having a second conductivity type different from the first conductivity type are sequentially stacked from the support substrate side, in which a groove, which has a height exceeding at least the active layer from the support substrate side, is formed along an outer edge of the optical semiconductor multilayer, and which includes an external region being a region further outside than the groove, an inner region being a region further inside than the groove, and a connection region corresponding to a region where the groove is provided, in plan view.
US09680062B2	Optoelectronic devices incorporating single crystalline aluminum nitride substrate The invention provides an optoelectronic device adapted to emit ultraviolet light, including an aluminum nitride single crystalline substrate, wherein the dislocation density of the substrate is less than about 105 cm−2 and the Full Width Half Maximum (FWHM) of the double axis rocking curve for the (002) and (102) crystallographic planes is less than about 200 arcsec; and an ultraviolet light-emitting diode structure overlying the aluminum nitride single crystalline substrate, the diode structure including a first electrode electrically connected to an n-type semiconductor layer and a second electrode electrically connected to a p-type semiconductor layer. In certain embodiments, the optoelectronic devices of the invention exhibit a reverse leakage current less than about 10−5 A/cm2 at −10 V and/or an L80 of at least about 5000 hours at an injection current density of 28 A/cm2.
US09680053B2	Nitride semiconductor device A nitride semiconductor device includes a transistor having a semiconductor stacked body formed on a substrate, and a pn light-emitting body formed on the semiconductor stacked body. The semiconductor stacked body includes a first nitride semiconductor layer, and a second nitride semiconductor layer formed on the first nitride semiconductor layer and having a bandgap wider than that of the first nitride semiconductor layer. The transistor includes: the semiconductor stacked body; a source electrode and a drain electrode formed away from each other on the semiconductor stacked body; and a gate electrode provided between the source electrode and the drain electrode and formed away from the source electrode and the drain electrode. The pn light-emitting body includes a p-type nitride semiconductor layer and an n-type nitride semiconductor layer to emit a light beam having an energy value higher than an electron trapping level existing in the semiconductor stacked body, in which the p-type nitride semiconductor layer of the pn light-emitting body is electrically connected to the gate electrode, and functions as a gate of the transistor.
US09680044B2	Tandem nanofilm photovoltaic cells joined by wafer bonding An energy conversion device comprises at least two thin film photovoltaic cells fabricated separately and joined by wafer bonding. The cells are arranged in a hierarchical stack of decreasing order of their energy bandgap from top to bottom. Each of the thin film cells has a thickness in the range from about 0.5 μm to about 10 μm. The photovoltaic cell stack is mounted upon a thick substrate composed of a material selected from silicon, glass, quartz, silica, alumina, ceramic, metal, graphite, and plastic. Each of the interfaces between the cells comprises a structure selected from a tunnel junction, a heterojunction, a transparent conducting oxide, and an alloying metal grid; and the top surface and/or the lower surface of the energy conversion device may contain light-trapping means.
US09680037B2	Solar cell and method of manufacturing same, and solar cell module A solar cell of the present invention includes a collecting electrode on one main surface of a photoelectric conversion section. The collecting electrode includes first and second electroconductive layers in this order from the photoelectric conversion section side, and an insulating layer between the first and second electroconductive layers, the insulating layer having an opening section formed therein. The first electroconductive layer is covered with the insulating layer, contains a low-melting-point material, and is conductively connected with a part of the second electroconductive layer via the opening section. The surface roughness of the second electroconductive layer is preferably 1.0 μm to 10.0 μm. The second electroconductive layer is preferably formed by a plating method. In order to conductively connect the first and second electroconductive layers, annealing of the first electroconductive layer by heating is preferably performed prior to forming the second electroconductive layer.
US09680036B2	Organometallic and hydrocarbon additives for use with aluminum back solar cell contacts A method of reducing bow and/or improving the electrical performance of an aluminum back contacted silicon solar cell includes applying to a silicon wafer substrate a paste including aluminum and an organometallic compound, and firing the substrate. The organometallic compound is a C1 to C30 organometallic compound of a metal selected from the group consisting of Ag, Al, Ba, Bi, Ca, Co, Cr, Cu, Fe, K, Li, Mg, Mn, Mo, Na, Nd, Ni, Sb, Si, Sn, Sr, Ta, V, Zn, Zr. A paste is formed having an exothermic reaction peak at a temperature of at least 300° C. to less than 660° C.
US09680034B2	Manufacturing method for semiconductor device with point defect region doped with transition metal A simplified manufacturing process stably produces a semiconductor device with high electrical characteristics, wherein platinum acts as an acceptor. Plasma treatment damages the surface of an oxide film formed on a n− type drift layer deposited on an n+ type semiconductor substrate. The oxide film is patterned to have tapered ends. Two proton irradiations are carried out on the n− type drift layer with the oxide film as a mask to form a point defect region in the vicinity of the surface of the n− type drift layer. Silica paste containing 1% by weight platinum is applied to an exposed region of the n− type drift layer surface not covered with the oxide film. Heat treatment inverts the vicinity of the surface of the n− type drift layer to p-type by platinum atoms which are acceptors. A p-type inversion enhancement region forms a p-type anode region.
US09680033B2	Semiconductor device and manufacturing method thereof A semiconductor device and a manufacturing method thereof is disclosed in which the semiconductor device includes a p-type anode layer formed by a transition metal acceptor transition, and the manufacturing process is significantly simplified without the breakdown voltage characteristics deteriorating. An inversion advancement region inverted to a p-type by a transition metal acceptor transition, and in which the acceptor transition is advanced by point defect layers, is formed on the upper surface of an n-type drift layer. The inversion advancement region configures a p-type anode layer of a semiconductor device of the invention. The transition metal is, for example, platinum or gold. An n-type semiconductor substrate with a concentration higher than that of the n-type drift layer is adjacent to the lower surface of the n-type drift layer.
US09680026B2	Semiconductor device having gate electrode overlapping semiconductor film A semiconductor device that can operate at high speed or having high strength against stress is provided. One embodiment of the present invention is a semiconductor device including a semiconductor film including a channel formation region and a pair of impurity regions between which the channel formation region is positioned; a gate electrode overlapping side and top portions of the channel formation region with an insulating film positioned between the gate electrode and the side and top portions; and a source electrode and a drain electrode in contact with side and top portions of the pair of impurity regions.
US09680012B1	Semiconductor device structure and method for forming the same A semiconductor device structure is provided. The semiconductor device structure includes a substrate having a top surface. The semiconductor device structure includes a first pillar structure over the substrate. The first pillar structure includes a first heavily n-doped layer, a first p-doped layer, an n-doped layer, and a first heavily p-doped layer, which are sequentially stacked together. The first pillar structure extends in a direction away from the substrate.
US09680005B2	Semiconductor device having an active trench and a body trench A semiconductor substrate having a first main surface and a transistor cell includes a drift region, a body region between the drift region and the first main surface, an active trench at the first main surface extending into the drift region, a gate insulating layer at sidewalls and a bottom side of the active trench, a gate conductive layer in the active trench, a source region in the body region, and adjacent to the active trench, a body trench at the first main surface extending into the drift region, the body trench being adjacent to the body region and to the drift region, an insulating layer at sidewalls and at a bottom side of the body trench, the insulating layer being asymmetric with respect to an axis extending perpendicular to the first main surface at a center of the body trench, and a conductive layer in the body trench.
US09680003B2	Trench MOSFET shield poly contact A recess is formed at a semiconductor layer of a device to define a plurality of mesas. An active trench portion of the recess residing between adjacent mesas. A termination portion of the trench residing between the end of each mesa and a perimeter of the recess. The transverse spacing between the mesas and the lateral spacing between the mesas and an outer perimeter of a recess forming the mesas are substantially the same. A shield structure within the trench extends from the region between the mesas to the region between the ends of the mesas and the outer perimeter of the recess forming the mesas. A contact resides between a shield electrode terminal and the shield portion residing in the trench.
US09679999B2	Bidirectional bipolar transistors with two-surface cellular geometries A two-surface bidirectional power bipolar transistor is constructed with a two-surface cellular layout. Each emitter/collector region (e.g. doped n-type) is a local center of the repeated pattern, and is surrounded by a trench with an insulated field plate, which is tied to the potential of the emitter/collector region. The outer (other) side of this field plate trench is preferably surrounded by a base connection region (e.g. p-type), which provides an ohmic connection to the substrate. The substrate itself serves as the transistor's base.
US09679997B2	Semiconductor device with suppressed two-step on phenomenon A semiconductor device includes an IGBT region with a bottom-body region on a front surface side of an IGBT drift region, an IGBT barrier region on a front surface side of the bottom-body region, and a top-body region on a front surface side of the IGBT barrier region. A diode region is include with a bottom-anode region on a front surface side of the diode drift region, a diode barrier region on a front surface side of the bottom-anode region, a top-anode region on a front surface side of the diode barrier region, and a pillar region extending from the front surface of the semiconductor substrate, piercing the top-anode region, and reaching the diode barrier region, and connected to the front surface electrode and the diode barrier region. An impurity concentration of the top-body region is lower than an impurity concentration of the bottom-anode region.
US09679993B2	Fin end spacer for preventing merger of raised active regions After formation of gate structures over semiconductor fins and prior to formation of raised active regions, a directional ion beam is employed to form a dielectric material portion on end walls of semiconductor fins that are perpendicular to the lengthwise direction of the semiconductor fins. The angle of the directional ion beam is selected to be with a vertical plane including the lengthwise direction of the semiconductor fins, thereby avoiding formation of the dielectric material portion on lengthwise sidewalls of the semiconductor fins. Selective epitaxy of semiconductor material is performed to grow raised active regions from sidewall surfaces of the semiconductor fins. Optionally, horizontal portions of the dielectric material portion may be removed prior to the selective epitaxy process. Further, the dielectric material portion may optionally be removed after the selective epitaxy process.
US09679992B2	FinFET device and method A fin field effect transistor (FinFET) and a method of forming the same are introduced. In an embodiment, trenches are formed in a substrate, wherein a region between adjacent trenches defines a fin. A dielectric material is formed in the trenches. A part of the substrate is doped and a region of high dopant concentration and a region of low dopant concentration are formed. Gate stacks are formed, portions of the fins are removed and source/drain regions are epitaxially grown in the regions of high/low dopant concentration. Contacts are formed to provide electrical contacts to source/gate/drain regions.
US09679988B2	Polysilicon design for replacement gate technology The present disclosure provides an integrated circuit. The integrated circuit includes a semiconductor substrate; and a passive polysilicon device disposed over the semiconductor substrate. The passive polysilicon device further includes a polysilicon feature; and a plurality of electrodes embedded in the polysilicon feature.
US09679984B2	Metal gate structure with multi-layer composition The present disclosure provides a semiconductor structure. The semiconductor structure includes a semiconductor substrate and a gate stack disposed on the semiconductor substrate. The gate stack includes a high-k dielectric material layer, a titanium-rich TiN layer over the high-k dielectric layer, and a metal layer disposed over the titanium-rich TiN layer. The metal layer includes aluminum.
US09679981B2	Cascode structures for GaN HEMTs A multi-stage transistor device is described. One embodiment of such a device is a dual-gate transistor, where the second stage gate is separated from a barrier layer by a thin spacer layer and is grounded through a connection to the source. In one embodiment the thin spacer layer and the second stage gate are placed in an aperture in a spacer layer. In another embodiment, the second stage gate is separated from a barrier layer by a spacer layer. The device can exhibit improved linearity and reduced complexity and cost.
US09679963B2	Semiconductor structure and a method for processing a carrier According to various embodiments, a semiconductor structure may include: a first source/drain region and a second source/drain region; a body region disposed between the first source/drain region and the second source/drain region, the body region including a core region and at least one edge region at least partially surrounding the core region; a dielectric region next to the body region and configured to limit a current flow through the body region in a width direction of the body region, wherein the at least one edge region is arranged between the core region and the dielectric region; and a gate structure configured to control the body region; wherein the gate structure is configured to provide a first threshold voltage for the core region of the body region and a second threshold voltage for the at least one edge region of the body region, wherein the first threshold voltage is less than or equal to the second threshold voltage.
US09679961B2	Transistor with wurtzite channel A device includes a source region, a drain region, and a wurtzite semiconductor between the source region and the drain region. A source-drain direction is parallel to a [01-10] direction or a [−2110] direction of the wurtzite semiconductor. The device further includes a gate dielectric over the wurtzite semiconductor, and a gate electrode over the gate dielectric.
US09679960B2	Semiconductor devices, methods of manufacture thereof, and methods of manufacturing capacitors Semiconductor devices, methods of manufacture thereof, and methods of manufacturing capacitors are disclosed. In an embodiment, a method of manufacturing a capacitor includes: etching a trench in a workpiece. The trench may extend into the workpiece from a major surface of the workpiece. The method further includes lining the trench with a bottom electrode material and lining the bottom electrode material in the trench with a dielectric material. The dielectric material may have edges proximate the major surface of the workpiece. The method further includes forming a top electrode material over the dielectric material in the trench, and etching away a portion of the bottom electrode material and a portion of the top electrode material proximate the edges of the dielectric material.
US09679959B2	Capacitor and contact structures, and formation processes thereof Capacitor and contact structures are provided, as well as methods for forming the capacitor and contact structures. The methods include, for instance, providing a layer of conductive material above a conductive structure and above a lower electrode of a capacitor; etching the layer of conductive material to define a conductive material hard mask and an upper electrode of the capacitor, the conductive material hard mask being disposed at least partially above the conductive structure; and forming a first conductive contact structure and a second conductive contact structure, the first conductive contact structure extending through an opening in the conductive material hard mask and conductively contacting the conductive structure, and the second conductive contact structure conductively contacting one of the lower electrode of the capacitor, or the upper electrode of the capacitor.
US09679946B2	3-D planes memory device The present invention is a means and a method for manufacturing large three dimensional memory arrays. The present invention is a means and a method for addressing the WL and BL resistance by creating arrays having not only large plane conductors for each of the memory layers (WLs) but also for the opposite polarity common layer (BL). The present invention is also a means and a method to form via interconnections between the substrate logic and the respective layers of a multidimensional array. The present invention is also a way to operate an array in which the select device is unipolar but the array is above to be operated in a bipolar way. This facilitates a bipolar operation for memory cell technologies such as Resistive RAM (e.g., RRAM, ReRAM and Memresistors).
US09679943B2	Semiconductor device A semiconductor device may include a first magnetic layer including a plurality of first regions configuring a plurality of memory cells and spaced apart from each other on a substrate, and a second region encompassing the plurality of first regions and electrically isolated from the first regions, a tunnel barrier layer disposed on the first magnetic layer, and a second magnetic layer disposed on the tunnel barrier layer.
US09679942B2	Light emitting device A light emitting device includes: a ceramic substrate; a plurality of LED chips; a printed resistor(s) connected in parallel with the plurality of LED chips; a dam resin made of a resin having a low optical transmittance; a fluorescent-material-containing resin layer; and an anode-side electrode and a cathode-side electrode, (a) which are provided on a primary surface of the ceramic substrate so as to face each other along a first direction on the primary surface and (b) which are disposed below at least one of the dam resin and the fluorescent-material-containing resin layer. With the configuration in which a plurality of LEDs, which are connected in a series-parallel connection, are provided on a substrate, it is possible to provide a light emitting device which can achieve restraining of luminance unevenness and an improvement in luminous efficiency.
US09679935B2	Image sensors An image sensor may include a device isolation structure defining a plurality of pixel regions in a substrate and a photoelectric conversion element formed in each of the pixel regions. The device isolation structure may include an insulating gapfill layer extending from an upper portion to a lower portion of the device isolation structure, a spacer provided at the upper portion of the device isolation structure and interposed between the insulating gapfill layer and the substrate, and a lower impurity region provided at the lower portion of the device isolation structure and interposed between the insulating gapfill layer and the substrate.
US09679922B2	Display device having vertical oxide semiconductor channel layer on sidewall of insulating spacer A display device includes a substrate, a first insulating layer having a first side wall, an oxide semiconductor layer on the first side wall, a gate electrode facing the oxide semiconductor layer, a gate insulating layer between the oxide semiconductor layer and the gate electrode, a first transparent conductive layer between the oxide semiconductor layer and the substrate, the first transparent conductive layer being connected with a first portion of the oxide semiconductor layer, a first electrode on the first insulating layer on the side opposite to the substrate, the first electrode being connected with a second portion of the oxide semiconductor layer, and a second transparent conductive layer connected with the first transparent conductive layer, the second transparent conductive layer forming the same layer with the first transparent conductive layer.
US09679915B2	Integrated circuit with well and substrate contacts An integrated circuit comprises standard cells arranged in rows and columns. The integrated circuit also comprises tap cells arranged in rows and columns. The tap cells each comprise a substrate having a first dopant type and a thickness from a first surface of the substrate to a second surface of the substrate. The integrated circuit further comprises a well region in the substrate having a second dopant type different from the first dopant type and a depth from the first surface of the substrate less than the thickness of the substrate. The integrated circuit additionally comprises a first quantity of rows of tap cells and a second quantity of rows of tap cells less than the first quantity. Each row of the first quantity of rows of tap cells comprises at least one well contact, and each row of tap cells of the second quantity of tap cells comprises at least one substrate contact.
US09679905B1	Integrated circuits with non-volatile memory and methods of producing the same Integrated circuits and methods of producing the same are provide. In an exemplary embodiment, a method includes determining a memory area of the integrated circuit, and forming a select layer overlying the substrate. A portion of the select layer is selectively etched to form a select gate within the memory area. A concentration of an indicator is measured in an etch off-gas during the selective etching of the select layer, and the selective etching of the select layer is terminated when the concentration of the indicator crosses an end point determination concentration.
US09679900B2	Semiconductor arrangement comprising first semiconductor device and second semiconductor device that share active area and third semiconductor that shares another active area with first semiconductor device A semiconductor arrangement and method of formation are provided. A semiconductor arrangement includes a first semiconductor device adjacent a second semiconductor device. The first semiconductor device includes a first gate over a first shallow well in a substrate. A first active area is in the first shallow well on a first side of the first gate. The second semiconductor device includes a second gate over a second shallow well. A third active area is in the second shallow well on a first side of the second gate. The second shallow well abuts the first shallow well in the substrate to form a P-N junction. The P-N junction increases capacitance of the semiconductor arrangement, as compared to a device without such a P-N junction.
US09679897B1	High density nanofluidic structure with precisely controlled nano-channel dimensions A nanofluidic structure including a semiconductor substrate and a dielectric layer positioned above and in contact with the semiconductor substrate. A first reservoir and a second reservoir are defined by the semiconductor substrate and the dielectric layer. The second reservoir is spaced apart from the first reservoir. Bottom passage fins protrude from the semiconductor substrate and extend from the first reservoir to the second reservoir. Top passage fins, above and spaced apart from the bottom passage fins, extend from the first reservoir to the second reservoir. Nanofluidic passages between the top and bottom fins connect the first reservoir and the second reservoir. Each of the nanofluidic passages includes a bottom wall, a top wall and sidewalls. The bottom wall is defined by a respective bottom passage fin. The top wall is defined by a respective top passage fin. The sidewalls are defined by the dielectric layer.
US09679894B1	Semiconductor variable resistor and semiconductor manufacturing method thereof A semiconductor variable resistance device includes: a substrate; a gate formed on the substrate, the substrate further including a first trench the first trench formed outside a side of the gate; first and second doped regions, formed in the substrate, the first and second doped regions formed on two sides of the gate, the first trench formed between the gate and the first doped region; and first and second lightly-doped drain (LDD) regions, formed in the substrate. The first LDD region is formed between the first trench and the first doped region. The second LDD region is formed between the gate and the second doped region. The first and second doped regions form a source and a drain, respectively. The first trench is deeper than the first and the second lightly-doped drain regions.
US09679892B2	Method of manufacturing a reverse blocking semiconductor device A reverse blocking semiconductor device is manufactured by introducing impurities of a first conductivity type into a semiconductor substrate of the first conductivity type through a process surface to obtain a process layer extending into the semiconductor substrate up to a first depth, and introducing impurities of a second, complementary conductivity type into the semiconductor substrate through openings of an impurity mask provided on the process surface to obtain emitter zones of the second conductivity type extending up to a second depth deeper than the first depth and channels of the first conductivity type between the emitter zones. Exposed portions of the process layer are removed above the emitter zones.
US09679891B2	Optimized ESD clamp circuitry ESD protection circuitry is disclosed. In one embodiment, an integrated circuit includes first and second sensor circuits. The first sensor circuit has a first resistive-capacitive (RC) time constant, while the second sensor circuit has a second RC time constant. The RC time constant of the first sensor circuit is at least one order of magnitude greater than that of the second sensor circuit. A first clamp transistor is coupled to and configured to be activated by the first sensor circuit responsive to the latter detecting an ESD event. A second clamp transistor is coupled to and configured to be activated by the second sensor circuit responsive to the latter detecting the ESD event.
US09679890B2	Junction-less insulated gate current limiter device In one general aspect, an apparatus can include a semiconductor substrate, and a trench defined within the semiconductor substrate and having a depth aligned along a vertical axis, a length aligned along a longitudinal axis, and a width aligned along a horizontal axis. The apparatus includes a dielectric disposed within the trench, and an electrode disposed within the dielectric and insulated from the semiconductor substrate by the dielectric. The semiconductor substrate can have a portion aligned vertically and adjacent the trench, and the portion of the semiconductor substrate can have a conductivity type that is continuous along an entirety of the depth of the trench. The apparatus is biased to a normally-on state.
US09679885B2	Integrated protection devices with monitoring of electrical characteristics Disclosed are systems, devices, circuits, components, mechanisms, and processes in which a switching mechanism can be coupled between components. The switching mechanism is configured to have an on state or an off state, where the on state allows current to pass along a current path. A monitoring mechanism has one or more sensing inputs coupled to sense an electrical characteristic at the current path. The electrical characteristic can be a current, voltage, and/or power by way of example. The monitoring mechanism is configured to output a reporting signal indicating the sensed electrical characteristic. The monitoring mechanism can be integrated with the switching mechanism on a chip.
US09679874B2	Semiconductor package and semiconductor device including the same A semiconductor device includes a substrate, a first semiconductor package disposed on the substrate, and a second semiconductor package spaced apart from the first semiconductor package on the substrate. The second semiconductor package includes a semiconductor chip stacked on the substrate, an adhesion part covering the semiconductor chip, and a heat-blocking structure disposed between the substrate and the semiconductor chip. Heat generated from the first semiconductor package and transmitted to the second semiconductor package through the substrate is blocked by the heat-blocking structure.
US09679863B2	Semiconductor device and method of forming interconnect substrate for FO-WLCSP A semiconductor device has a first encapsulant deposited over a first carrier. A plurality of conductive vias is formed through the first encapsulant to provide an interconnect substrate. A first semiconductor die is mounted over a second carrier. The interconnect substrate is mounted over the second carrier adjacent to the first semiconductor die. A second semiconductor die is mounted over the second carrier adjacent to the interconnect substrate. A second encapsulant is deposited over the first and second semiconductor die, interconnect substrate, and second carrier. A first interconnect structure is formed over a first surface of the second encapsulant and electrically connected to the conductive vias. A second interconnect structure is formed over a second surface of the second encapsulant and electrically connected to the conductive vias to make the Fo-WLCSP stackable. Additional semiconductor die can be mounted over the first and second semiconductor die in a PoP arrangement.
US09679862B2	Semiconductor device having conductive bumps of varying heights A semiconductor structure and a method for forming the same are provided. The semiconductor structure includes a substrate including a plurality of conductive traces and a semiconductor chip. The semiconductor chip includes a surface facing the plurality of conductive traces and a plurality of conductive pads on the surface and correspondingly electrically connected with the plurality of conductive traces through a plurality of conductive bumps. A height of each of the plurality of conductive bumps is determined by a minimum distance between the plurality of conductive pads and the corresponding conductive traces thereof.
US09679859B2	Interconnect structure and method of forming same An apparatus comprises a dielectric layer formed on a first side of a substrate, a first side interconnect structure comprising a first metal line and a pad formed in the dielectric layer, wherein the pad comprises a bottom portion formed of a first conductive metal and an upper portion formed of a second conductive metal, and wherein sidewalls of the upper portion are surrounded by the bottom portion and a top surface of the pad is coplanar with a top surface of the first metal line and a passivation layer formed over the dielectric layer.
US09679858B2	Semiconductor device and method of manufacturing same To provide a semiconductor device having improved reliability. The semiconductor device is equipped with a first polyimide film, rewirings formed over the first polyimide film, first and second dummy patterns formed over the first polyimide film, a second polyimide film that covers the rewirings and the dummy patterns, and an opening portion that exposes a portion of the rewirings in the second polyimide film. The first dummy pattern is, in plan view, comprised of a closed pattern surrounding the rewirings while having a space therebetween.
US09679838B2	Stub minimization for assemblies without wirebonds to package substrate A microelectronic package can include a substrate and a microelectronic element having a face and one or more columns of contacts thereon which face and are joined to corresponding contacts on a surface of the substrate. An axial plane may intersect the face along a line in the first direction and centered relative to the columns of element contacts. Columns of package terminals can extend in the first direction. First terminals in a central region of the second surface can be configured to carry address information usable to determine an addressable memory location within the microelectronic element. The central region may have a width not more than three and one-half times a minimum pitch between the columns of package terminals. The axial plane can intersect the central region.
US09679832B1	Rough leadframe with a nanolayer of silver One or more embodiments are directed to leadframes and leadframe semiconductor packages. One embodiment is directed to copper leadframes with one or more die pads and one more leads with a roughened surface. Covering the roughened surface of the die pad of the leadframe is nanolayer of Silver (Ag). The thickness of the nanolayer preferably has a thickness that corresponds to the roughened surface of the copper leadframe. For instance, in one embodiment, the copper leadframe is roughened to have peaks and valleys that approximately average 10 nanometers and the thickness of the nanolayer is 10 nanometers. Covering a portion of the nanolayer of Ag is a microlayer of Ag, which provides a suitable bonding surface for coupling a semiconductor die to the die pad by an adhesive material.
US09679826B2	Method for fabricating semiconductor package with stator set formed by circuits A semiconductor package is provided, including a substrate having a top surface, a bottom surface opposing the top surface, a via communicating the top surface with the bottom surface, and a stator set formed by circuits; an axial tube axially installed in the via of the substrate; a plurality of electronic components mounted on the top surface of the substrate and electrically connected to the substrate; an encapsulant formed on the top surface of the substrate for encapsulating the electronic components and the axial tube; and an impeller axially coupled to the axial tube via the bottom surface of the substrate. In the semiconductor package, the stator set is formed in the substrate by a patterning process. Therefore, the thickness of the semiconductor package is reduced significantly.
US09679820B2	Evaluation method of device wafer An evaluation method of a device wafer on which plural devices are formed on a front surface and inside which a gettering layer is formed is provided. In the evaluation method, electromagnetic waves are radiated toward a back surface of the device wafer and excitation light is radiated to generate excess carriers. Furthermore, the gettering capability of the gettering layer formed in the device wafer is determined based on the damping time of reflected electromagnetic waves.
US09679804B1	Multi-patterning to form vias with straight profiles A method includes forming a carbon-containing layer with a carbon atomic percentage greater than about 25 percent over a first hard mask layer, forming a capping layer over the carbon-containing layer, forming a first photo resist over the capping layer, and etching the capping layer and the carbon-containing layer using the first photo resist as a first etching mask. The first photo resist is then removed. A second photo resist is formed over the capping layer. The capping layer and the carbon-containing layer are etched using the second photo resist as a a second etching mask. The second photo resist is removed. A third photo resist under the carbon-containing layer is etched using the carbon-containing layer as etching mask. A dielectric layer underlying the third photo resist is etched to form via openings using the third photo resist as etching mask. The via openings are filled with a conductive material.
US09679803B2	Method for forming different patterns in a semiconductor structure using a single mask The present disclosure provides a method for forming an integrated circuit (IC) structure. The method comprises providing a semiconductor structure including a substrate, a dielectric layer formed over the substrate, and a hard mask region formed over the dielectric layer; forming a first photoresist layer over the hard mask region; performing a first lithography exposure using a photomask to form a first latent pattern; forming a second photoresist layer over the hard mask region; and performing a second lithography exposure using the photomask to form a second latent pattern. The photomask includes a first mask feature and a second mask feature. The first latent pattern corresponds to the first mask feature, and the second latent pattern corresponds to the first mask feature and the second mask feature.
US09679795B2	Article storage facility An article storage facility is provided which is relatively simple in structure and in which it is easier to perform maintenance work of apparatus provided to each zone. A first switching valve is provided in each of a plurality of zone gas supply portions whereas a second switching valve is provided in each of a plurality of storage section gas supply portions. A plurality of relief passages is provided with each relief passage connected to the inactive gas supply passage on a downstream side, with respect to a gas supplying direction, of the position in which the first switching valve is provided and on an upstream side, with respect to the gas supplying direction, of the position in which the second switching valve is provided in the inactive gas supply passage. A zone relief switching valve is provided to each of the plurality of relief passages.
US09679793B2	Optical monitoring system for coating processes The invention concerns an optical monitoring system for the measurement of layer thicknesses of thin coatings applied in a vacuum, particularly on moving substrates, during the coating process, in which the light intensity of the light of a light source injected into a reference light guide and released by a first piezoelectric or electrostrictive or magnetostrictive light chopper is registered by a light detector unit in a reference phase, the light of the light source in a measuring phase is injected into a first measuring light guide and the light released by a second piezoelectric or electrostrictive or magnetostrictive light chopper is directed to the substrate, and the light intensity of the light reflected or transmitted from the substrate is registered by the light detector unit through a second measuring light guide, and a remaining light intensity is registered by the light detector unit in at least one dark phase, wherein the reference phase, the measuring phase, and the dark phase are shifted in time by the light chopper and are digitally adjusted depending on the position of the substrate.
US09679784B2	Wafer-level packaged optical subassembly and transceiver module having same A wafer-level packaged optical subassembly includes: a substrate element, the substrate element including a top layer and a base layer being bonded with the top layer; a top window cover being bonded with the top layer of the substrate element; and a plurality of active optoelectronic elements disposed within the substrate element. At least one primary cavity is defined in the substrate element by the top layer and the base layer, and configured for accommodating the active optoelectronic elements. A plurality of peripheral cavities are defined around the at least one primary cavity as alignment features for external opto-mechanical parts.
US09679767B2	SiC epitaxial wafer and method for manufacturing the same Provided is a method of manufacturing a SiC epitaxial wafer including a SiC epitaxial layer on a SiC substrate using a SiC-CVD furnace which is installed in a glove box. The method includes a SiC substrate placement step of placing the SiC substrate in the SiC-CVD furnace while circulating gas in the glove box.
US09679766B2	Method for vertical and lateral control of III-N polarity Disclosed herein is a method of: depositing a patterned mask layer on an N-polar GaN epitaxial layer of a sapphire, silicon, or silicon carbide substrate; depositing an AlN inversion layer on the open areas; removing any remaining mask; and depositing a III-N epitaxial layer to simultaneously produce N-polar material and III-polar material. Also disclosed herein is: depositing an AlN inversion layer on an N-polar bulk III-N substrate and depositing a III-N epitaxial layer to produce III-polar material. Also disclosed herein is: depositing an inversion layer on a III-polar bulk III-N substrate and depositing a III-N epitaxial layer to produce N-polar material. Also disclosed herein is a composition having: a bulk III-N substrate; an inversion layer on portions of the substrate; and a III-N epitaxial layer on the inversion layer. The III-N epitaxial layer is of the opposite polarity of the surface of the substrate.
US09679751B2	Chamber filler kit for plasma etch chamber useful for fast gas switching A chamber filler kit for an inductively coupled plasma processing chamber in which semiconductor substrates are processed by inductively coupling RF energy through a window facing a substrate supported on a cantilever chuck. The kit includes at least one chamber filler which reduces the lower chamber volume in the chamber below the chuck. The fillers of the kit can be mounted in a standard chamber having a chamber volume of over 60 liters and by using different sized chamber fillers it is possible to reduce the chamber volume to provide desired gas flow conductance and accommodate changes in vacuum pressure during processing of the substrate. The chamber filler kit can be used to modify a standard chamber to accommodate different processing regimes such as rapid alternating processes wherein wide pressure changes are needed without varying a gap between the substrate and the window.
US09679745B2	Controlling an ion beam in a wide beam current operation range Provided herein are approaches for controlling an ion beam within an accelerator/decelerator. In an exemplary approach, an ion implantation system includes an ion source for generating an ion beam, and a terminal suppression electrode coupled to a terminal, wherein the terminal suppression electrode is configured to conduct the ion beam through an aperture of the terminal suppression electrode and to apply a first potential to the ion beam from a first voltage supply. The system further includes a lens coupled to the terminal and disposed adjacent the terminal suppression electrode, wherein the lens is configured to conduct the ion beam through an aperture of the lens and to apply a second potential to the ion beam from a second voltage supply. In an exemplary approach, the lens is electrically insulated from the terminal suppression electrode and independently driven, thus allowing for an increased beam current operation range.
US09679737B2	Spark gap A spark gap comprising a cathode and an anode is provided. The spark gap is divided into two partial spark gaps by means of a central piece, namely a high-pressure spark gap and an effective spark gap. The effective spark gap can for example, be used to generate monochromatic x-rays. In order to guarantee a defined switching time, the high pressure spark gap which is initially switched to defined, is used. The switching initiates a potential so high on the centre piece that, when the high pressure spark gap is switched, the effective spark gap can also be switched in a defined manner without significant delays, to a visibly higher voltage.
US09679736B2	Encapsulated structure for X-ray generator with cold cathode and method of vacuuming the same An encapsulated structure of an X ray generator with a cold cathode and method of vacuuming the same are disclosed. The X ray generator has a glass ball-tube having a base, a tungsten filament, a cold cathode, a focus cap, and an anode target inside, associated with a first electrode pin, a second electrode pin, a single-used pin, and anode pin extended out. The tungsten filament located at the periphery of the base has a first wire end connected with the second electrode pin and a second wire end connected with the single-used pin. While vacuuming the glass ball-tube before melting an end to seal, a voltage is exerting on the single use pin to heat the tungsten, and a high voltage is exerting on the anode target to accelerate the hot electrons emitting from the filament to bombard the inside wall of the glass ball-tube and the anode target so as to shorten the vacuuming time and increase the vacuum level.
US09679733B2	Actuation system for an electrical switching device An actuation system for a switch assembly having at least one switch includes a linear actuator drivable for actuating the switch, and a handle configured for selectively driving the linear actuator. The handle is operable in a first state in which the handle is coupled to the linear actuator such that turning the handle does not drive the linear actuator, and a second state in which the handle is coupled to the linear actuator such that turning the handle drives the linear actuator.
US09679727B2	Switch assembly A switch assembly (1) for switching electric circuits comprises a contributory switch (3), a main switch (2), and a flexible element (4). The contributory switch (3) and the main switch (2) are connected electrically in series, the contributory switch (3) and the main switch (4) each comprise at least one movable contact and the flexible element is connected to one movable contact of the contributory switch, a first contact (5a), and one movable contact of the main switch, a second contact (6a).
US09679721B2	Air break electrical switch having a blade toggle mechanism A high voltage/high current air break switch, the switch including a support frame and a blade pivotally supported by the support frame, so as to be pivotable relative to the support frame. The blade includes a load interrupter between a blade support and the distal end of the blade. And a method of operating an air break electrical switch with a swinging blade mounted on a support and having blade contacts brought into and out of engagement with a terminal with terminal contacts, and a load interrupter with contacts in a vacuum bottle, the method steps comprising turning the support to move the blade relative to the terminal, then turning the support to move the vacuum bottle electrical contacts and to move the blade contacts relative to the terminal contacts.
US09679719B2	Arc extinguishing contact assembly for a circuit breaker assembly An arc extinguishing contact assembly for a circuit breaker assembly is provided. The arc extinguishing contact assembly includes a fixed contact assembly, a movable contact assembly and an arc extinguishing assembly. The fixed contact assembly includes a fixed arc contact assembly, a fixed main contact assembly, and a number of movable, intermediate arc contact assemblies. The movable contact assembly includes a movable arc contact assembly and a movable main contact assembly. The arc extinguishing assembly is structured to extinguish an arc generated as the movable contact assembly moves between an open, first position and a closed, second position.
US09679713B2	Key switch and analog pressure detection system including the same A key switch is disclosed. The key switch includes an axis, a pressure sensor layer, an axis component, and a key cap. The axis support includes a first opening. The pressure sensor layer is made of a pressure-sensitive electronic material and disposed on an upper surface of the axis support. The axis component is disposed in the first opening and vertically movable with respect to the axis support and the pressure sensor layer. The keycap is mounted on the axis component and includes a lower surface facing the upper surface of the axis support. When the keycap is depressed, the lower surface of the keycap depresses the pressure sensor layer and an electronic property of the pressure sensor layer varies. An analog pressure detection system including the key switch is also disclosed.
US09679710B1	Switching module controller for a voltage regulator A voltage regulator comprising a tap selector switch, a switching module and a switching module controller. The tap selector can comprise stationary contacts and movable contacts which can be adjusted for regulating the voltage between a source and a load. The switching module can comprise first and second bypass switches controlled by a bypass actuator and a non-arcing switch, such as a vacuum interrupter, controlled by an interrupter actuator. The switching module controller can be configured to perform a tap change operation through a series of steps that involve actuating a bypass switch and the non-arcing switch. In one example, the switching module controller can wait a predetermined amount of time before proceeding with each step of the tap change operation. In other examples, the switching module controller can receive signals or measurements from the system before proceeding with each step of the tap change operation.
US09679708B2	Circuit interrupters with masses in contact spring assemblies Devices and assemblies are provided for operating circuit interrupters. A circuit interrupter assembly includes a circuit interrupter and a contact spring assembly. The circuit interrupter is located within the housing and includes a moving contact and a stationary contact. Contact spring assembly includes a mass, a plunger, a ferrule, a spring, and a dielectric drive rod. The mass defines an inner bore with a first diameter at a first portion of the mass and a second diameter that is larger than the first diameter at a second portion of the mass. The plunger has a flange portion and a body portion. The flange portion is located within the inner bore at the second portion and has a flange diameter that is larger than the first diameter. The spring is disposed within the inner bore between the plunger and the ferrule.
US09679707B2	Contact device and electromagnetic relay A contact device includes a pair of fixed contacts, a movable contactor, a contactor holder, a movable shaft, and a base. The pair of fixed contacts are aligned in a first direction. The movable contactor comes into or out of contact with the pair of fixed contacts in a second direction orthogonal to the first direction. The contactor holder holds the movable contactor. The movable shaft moves the contactor holder in the second direction so that the movable contactor comes into or out of contact with the fixed contacts. The base accommodates the fixed contacts, the movable contactor, and the contactor holder. The base has a projection projecting from a position opposing the contactor holder in a third direction orthogonal to both the first and second directions.
US09679693B2	Subsea transformer with seawater high resistance ground A seawater-based high resistance grounding device for a subsea transformer includes an insulated pipe mounted to the outside of the transformer so as to be exposed to seawater. The insulated pipe has two or more cylindrical metallic electrodes electrically connected to ground and to the neutral node of the secondary transformer windings. The volume of seawater within the pipe and between the electrodes provides one or more high resistance ground paths for protection of the transformer.
US09679692B2	Reactor device Provided is a reactor device which is inexpensive, has high heat radiation and with which there is a high degree of freedom when positioning the transformer core. A heat-radiating plate (105) of U-shaped cross section is contacted onto an upper face and both side faces of an upper part E core (102) forming a transformer (101) upper part, and a transformer (101) provided with the heat-radiating plate (105) is housed from one face which is open of a reactor case (106), and a potting resin material is charged into the gap between the transformer (101) and the reactor case (106) until a lower edge part of the heat-radiating plate (105) is submerged. The reactor case (106) housing the transformer (101) is installed and secured onto a base providing a cooling mechanism.
US09679681B2	Hybrid cable including fiber-optic and electrical-conductor elements A hybrid cable includes a first jacket and a second jacket with webbing connecting the first and second jackets, where the second jacket has a larger cross-sectional area than the first jacket. Optical fibers extend through a cavity of the first jacket. Conductive wires extend through a cavity of the second jacket. Metallic shielding surrounds the conductive wires, positioned between the conductive wires and the second jacket within the cavity of the second jacket.
US09679673B2	Conductive composition, conductor and solid electrolytic capacitor using conductive composition A conductive composition according to the present invention contains a conductive polymer (A) having a sulfonic acid group and/or a carboxyl group; and an alkali metal hydroxide and/or an alkaline earth metal hydroxide (B). In such a conductive composition, the amount of the hydroxide (B) is set at 0.2˜0.65 mol per 1 mol of a repeating unit that contains a sulfonic acid group and/or a carboxyl group in the conductive polymer (A).
US09679668B2	Spent fuel storage rack A spent fuel storage rack that accommodates and stores spent fuels in a large number of cells formed in a grid pattern includes a flat rectangular plate-shaped base forming the bottom of the rack, columnar members extending upward from the four corners of the base, and at least a pair of upper and lower grid-shaped frame plates disposed above the base and fixed to and supported by the columnar members. Each of the cells is formed by assembling metal plates to which boron is added to a density greater than 1% into a polygonal tube, and the cells are arranged contiguously at fixed intervals in the grid-shaped frame plates.
US09679663B2	OTP cell with reversed MTJ connection A one time programming (OTP) apparatus unit cell includes magnetic tunnel junctions (MTJs) with reversed connections for placing the MTJ in an anti-parallel resistance state during programming. Increased MTJ resistance in its anti-parallel resistance state causes a higher programming voltage which reduces programming time and programming current.
US09679649B2	Reconfigurable cam A content addressable memory having at least one CAM cell including first and second inverters cross-coupled between first and second storage nodes; a first transistor coupling the first storage node to a bitline, the first transistor being controlled by a first control signal; a second transistor coupling the second storage node to the bitline, the second transistor being controlled by a second control signal; and a control circuit adapted to perform a CAM read operation by pre-charging the bitline to a first voltage level, and then selectively activating either the first or second transistor based on a bit of input data.
US09679642B2	Cross-point memory compensation The apparatuses and methods described herein may operate to measure a voltage difference between a selected access line and a selected sense line associated with a selected cell of a plurality of memory cells of a memory array. The voltage difference may be compared with a reference voltage specified for a memory operation. A selection voltage(s) applied to the selected cell for the memory operation may be adjusted responsive to the comparison, such as to dynamically compensate for parasitic voltage drop.
US09679634B2	Semiconductor device Provided is a semiconductor device including: a memory cell array including a plurality of memory cells disposed in a matrix; and a peripheral circuit adjacent to the memory cell array. Each of the memory cells includes: a capacitive element including a lower electrode having a cylinder shape extending in a direction perpendicular to a principal surface of a substrate; and a switch transistor provided between the capacitive element and a bit line, turning on/off of the switch transistor being controlled based on a potential of a word line. The peripheral circuit includes a signal line that is adjacent to the lower electrode in a horizontal direction parallel to the principal surface and is supplied with a fixed potential, or a pair of signal lines respectively supplied with complementary potentials.
US09679624B2	Magnetic random access memory (MRAM) cell with low power consumption A magnetic random access memory (MRAM) cell including a magnetic tunnel junction containing: a storage layer including at least one storage ferromagnetic layer, each storage ferromagnetic layer having a storage magnetization; an antiferromagnetic storage layer pinning the storage magnetization at a low threshold temperature and freeing them at a high temperature threshold; a reference layer; and a tunnel barrier layer between the reference layer and the storage layer. The magnetic tunnel junction also includes a free ferromagnetic layer having a free magnetization adapted to induce a magnetic stray field magnetically coupling the free ferromagnetic layer with the storage layer; such that the storage magnetization can be switched by the magnetic stray field when the magnetic tunnel junction is at the high temperature threshold. The disclosed MRAM cell has low power consumption.
US09679623B2	Stacked clock-generation circuit An electronic circuit is disclosed for dividing the frequency of a periodic signal, wherein at least one of the memory elements is arranged with its output terminal connected to the input terminal of another memory element wherein the electronic circuit is configured to generate an output signal having a smaller fundamental frequency than the clock signal at at least one of the output terminals. Each memory element is configured to change and hold a voltage at the output terminal based on a voltage at the input terminal at times controlled by a clock signal received at the clock terminal. At least two of the memory elements are stacked in the sense that the bottom terminal of a first memory element is connected to the top terminal of a second memory element to enable the charge to flow from the first memory element to the second memory element.
US09679616B2	Power management Methods of operating a die, including counting primary clock cycles of a clock signal in a counter, monitoring a signal indicative of high current demand during secondary clock cycles of the clock signal, determining a total unit consumption of current responsive to a particular value of the signal indicative of high current demand during the secondary clock cycles of the clock signal, and pausing an access operation for the die at a designated point. When a value of the counter matches an assigned counter value of the die while the access operation is paused, determining whether a value of the total unit consumption of current exceeds a unit limit, and resuming the access operation and resetting the value of the total unit consumption of current if the value of the total unit consumption of current is less than or equal to the unit limit.
US09679612B2	Techniques for providing a direct injection semiconductor memory device Techniques for providing a direct injection semiconductor memory device are disclosed. In one particular exemplary embodiment, the techniques may be realized as a direct injection semiconductor memory device including a first region coupled to a source line, a second region coupled to a bit line. The direct injection semiconductor memory device may also include a body region spaced apart from and capacitively coupled to a word line, wherein the body region is electrically floating and disposed between the first region and the second region. The direct injection semiconductor memory device may further include a third region coupled to a carrier injection line configured to inject charges into the body region through the second region.
US09679611B2	Method for displaying status associated with a storage device, computer system and status-monitoring device thereof A method implemented by a status-monitoring device connected between a storage device and a corresponding output unit includes: a) determining presence of a storage device according to a first packet from the storage device; b) when it is determined that the storage device is present, generating a pulse signal according to a second packet from the storage device; c) generating a driving signal indicating a status associated with the storage device according to at least a logic level of the pulse signal; and d) sending the driving signal to the output unit for driving the output unit to output an output signal indicating the status.
US09679607B2	Storage and editing of video and sensor data from athletic performances of multiple individuals in a venue Video and sensor data from multiple locations in a venue, in which multiple individuals are engaged in athletic performances, is stored and edited to create individualized video programs of athletic performances of individuals. Each camera provides a video feed that is continuously stored. Each video feed is stored in a sequence of data files in computer storage, which data files are created in regular time intervals. Each file is accessible using an identifier of the camera and a time interval. Similarly, data from sensors is continuously received and stored in a database. The database stores, for each sensor, an identifier of each individual detected in the proximity of the sensor and the time at which the individual was detected. Each sensor is associated with one or more cameras.
US09679606B2	Method of modifying play of an original content form A method of facilitating modified content play such that modification actions may be implemented during play of original content form. The modification actions may be specified by users to modify the original content form. The modification may be disseminated to subscribers or other users desiring similar content modifications. The method may be useful in social networking systems to allow social members to share commentary and otherwise modify original content forms to include their personal reflections.
US09679604B2	Playback speed adjustable apparatus for playback of moving picture The present invention provides an apparatus for playback of a moving picture, which compares an action speed of a specific action of an object in a moving picture played back and displayed by a playback unit with an action speed of a separately acquired specific action which is a comparison target, controls a playback speed during the playback of the specific action by the playback unit based on the comparison result, and displays comparison information relating to the comparison result during the playback of the specific action by the playback unit.
US09679587B2	High frequency assisted magnetic recording head and disk device comprising the magnetic recording head According to one embodiment, a magnetic recording head includes an air-bearing surface, a main magnetic pole, a write shield opposed to the main magnetic pole with a write gap therebetween, a high-frequency oscillator which includes a spin injection layer and a oscillation layer and is provided between the main magnetic pole and the write shield, the oscillation layer and the spin injection layer including a stack surface extending in a direction intersecting with the air-bearing surface, and a magnetic material layer which is provided in at least one of the main magnetic pole and the write shield, faces the high-frequency oscillator, and has negative magnetic anisotropy with respect to a direction intersecting with the stack surfaces of the high-frequency oscillator.
US09679586B2	Manufacturing method of a write portion for a thermal assisted magnetic head slider A manufacturing method of a write portion for a thermally assisted magnetic head slider includes providing a write portion including a write element, a waveguide, and a plasmon unit; lapping opposed-to-magnetic recording medium surfaces of the write element and the waveguide, and an near-field light generating surface of the plasmon unit; only forming a carbon layer on the opposed-to-magnetic recording medium surface of the write element. Corrosive elements in the write portion can be prevented from being corroded and the write element can be prevented from being worn and abraded not only, stable thermal ability for a plasmon unit can be maintained but also.
US09679582B2	Method of providing dynamic speech processing services during variable network connectivity A user device provides dynamic speech processing services during variable network connectivity with a network server. The user device includes a monitor that monitors a level of network connectivity between the user device and the network server. A user device speech processor processes speech data and is initiated based on a determination that the level of network connectivity between the user device and the network server is impaired. The monitor determines when the level of network connectivity between the user device and the network server is no longer impaired.
US09679581B2	Sign-language video processor The present invention relates to implementing a system and method for enhancing the recording of a sign-language video by automatically associating the prompter text with the segment(s) of the sign-language video recording. The segment(s) of the sign-language video recording is automatically determined based on the phrases identified within the video recording. Further, the system and method implements a plurality of features to manage the sign-language video and facilitates a means to actively collaborate, upload, and store the sign-language video within the network.
US09679579B1	Systems and methods facilitating selective removal of content from a mixed audio recording Systems and methods facilitating removal of content from audio files are described. A method includes identifying a sound recording in a first audio file, identifying a reference file having at least a defined level of similarity to the sound recording, and processing the first audio file to remove the sound recording and generate a second audio file. In some embodiments, winner-take-all coding and Hough transforms are employed for determining alignment and rate adjustment of the reference file in the first audio file. After alignment, the reference file is filtered in the frequency domain to increase similarity between the reference file and the sound recording. The frequency domain representation (FR) of the filtered version is subtracted from the FR first audio and the result converted to a time representation of the second audio file. In some embodiments, spectral subtraction is also performed to generate a further improved second audio file.
US09679554B1	Text-to-speech corpus development system A system may determine text for inclusion in a voice corpus for use in text-to-speech (TTS) processing using an interface that allows multiple entities to connect and review potential text segments concurrently. The interface may allow networked communication with the system. Individual text segments may be approved or rejected by reviewing entities, such as proofreaders. The system may prioritize text segments to send to reviewers and may re-prioritize text segments based on a linguistic coverage of previously accepted text segments.
US09679546B2	Sound vest Vibratory motors are used to generate a haptic language for music or other sound that is integrated into wearable technology. The disclosed system enables the creation of a family of devices that allow people with hearing impairments to experience sounds such as music or other auditory input to the system. For example, a “sound vest” transforms musical input to haptic signals so that users can experience their favorite music in a unique way, and can also recognize auditory cues in the user's everyday environment and convey this information to the user using haptic signals.
US09679538B2	Eye display interface for a touch display device A wearable eye display device allows a user to use the touch interface of their touch display device while enjoying a personal view of the touch display device's display interface. During use the display screen of the touch display device is deactivated while the touch interface remains active. The wearable eye display device enables the touch display device to be used with greater privacy since the display screen is not observable to others while deactivated. In addition, power consumption is reduced since the touch display device consumes less power when viewing the display interface on the wearable eye display device instead of on the touch display device's larger display area.
US09679532B2	Automatic image-based recommendations using a color palette Systems and methods are described that recommend images, items, and/or metadata based at least in part on a reference color palette or reference color name. A color name can be converted into a representation of the color name in a color space. The reference color can be used to identify images that contain the reference color. The identified images and associated metadata can be analyzed, sorted and provided as an ordered list of items. Systems and methods are also described that identify items that contain colors affiliated with the reference color. Systems and methods are also described that validate color identifier information in metadata associated with an image. Systems and methods are also described that identify non-color specific keywords associated with the reference color.
US09679530B2	Compressing graphics data rendered on a primary computer for transmission to a remote computer One embodiment of the present invention sets forth a method for compressing via a pixel shader color information associated with a line of pixels. An intermediary representation of an uncompressed stream of color information is first generated that indicates, for each pixel, whether a previous adjacent pixel shares color information with the pixel. A set of cascading buffers is then generated based on intermediary representation, where each cascading buffer represents a number of unique color codes across different groups of pixels. Finally, a compressed output stream that specifies the unique color codes as well as the number of pixels that share each unique color code is generated based on the set of cascading buffers.
US09679521B2	Electro-optical device and electronic apparatus An electro-optical device includes a first pixel circuit provided so as to correspond to a first data line, a second pixel circuit provided so as to correspond to a second data line, a first storage capacitor of which one end is connected to the first data line and the other end is potential-shifted according to a current to be supplied to a light emitting element of the first pixel circuit, a second storage capacitor of which one end is connected to the second data line and the other end is potential-shifted according to a current to be supplied to a light emitting element of the second pixel circuit, and a constant potential line provided between the first storage capacitor and the second storage capacitor in plan view.
US09679514B2	OLED inverting circuit and display panel An inverting circuit is disclosed. The inverting circuit includes a pull-up unit including first, second, and third terminals. The first terminal receives a first control signal, and the third terminal is connected to a signal output terminal and outputs a first level signal. The inverting circuit also includes a pull-down unit including fourth, fifth, and sixth terminals. The fourth terminal is connected to the second terminal of the pull-up unit, and the fifth terminal receives a second control signal. In addition, the sixth terminal is connected to the signal output terminal and outputs a second level signal. The inverting circuit also includes a first capacitor, connected to the second terminal of the pull-up unit and the fourth terminal of the pull-down unit, and to the third terminal of the pull-up unit and the sixth terminal of the pull-down unit.
US09679510B2	Display apparatus and pixel voltage driving method thereof A display apparatus includes a pixel array, a data line and a data driver. The pixel array has adjacent first and second pixels disposed in different rows. The data line transmits first and second pixel voltages to be written into the first and second pixels respectively. The first and second pixel voltages are employed to illustrate a same frame. The data driver is utilized for generating the first and second pixel voltages furnished to the data line based on input image data. The data driver includes a voltage analysis unit and a voltage setting unit. The voltage analysis unit is used for calculating a voltage difference between the first and second pixel voltages, and for comparing the voltage difference with a preset value so as to generate a control signal. The voltage setting unit is utilized for setting the voltage of the data line according to the control signal.
US09679508B2	Display panel and repair method thereof A display panel includes scan lines, data lines, organic light emitting diodes, pixel circuits configured to supply drive currents, and electrically coupled to the scan lines and the data lines, repair pixel circuits configured to generate repair drive currents when there is a malfunctioning pixel circuit, repair lines, and repair data lines, wherein a corresponding repair pixel circuit corresponds to the malfunctioning pixel circuit, and is configured to generate the repair drive current based on a repair data voltage from a corresponding repair data line, wherein the repair drive current is configured to be supplied to a corresponding organic light emitting diode that corresponds to the malfunctioning pixel circuit through a corresponding repair line that corresponds to the malfunctioning pixel circuit, and wherein a portion of the repair data lines that extends in the first direction is longer than a portion that does not extend in the first direction.
US09679471B2	Trainable transceiver and cloud computing system architecture systems and methods A system for controlling a remote device includes a first trainable transceiver, a second trainable transceiver, and a cloud computing system configured to be in communication with the first trainable transceiver and the second trainable transceiver. The cloud computing system stores a code roll, and the cloud computing system transmits a current value of the code roll to the first trainable transceiver or the second trainable transceiver upon receiving a request transmission from the first trainable transceiver or the second trainable transceiver respectively.
US09679468B2	Device and apparatus for self-testing smoke detector baffle system A device and method for self-testing fire detection device uses a blockage sensor system to determine if a detection chamber is blocked due to dust, for example. The system includes at least one pathway light source for shining the light into pathways of a baffle system and one or more detectors for detecting the light. The blockage sensor system detects obstructions in the pathways by analyzing how light propagates through the pathways.
US09679464B2	System and a method for monitoring hand sanitizing opportunities in hospital wards A system for monitoring the hand sanitizing opportunities in hospital wards (1), the system (1) comprising a plurality of sensors (8, 9, 10) arranged inside a ward (2), capable of detecting at least one hand sanitizing action according to a set of hand sanitizing opportunities, the system (1) further comprising at least one indication device (7) of the hand sanitizing action related to the set of hand sanitizing opportunities.The present invention further relates to a method of monitoring the hand sanitizing opportunities in wards.
US09679462B1	Wireless wake-up alarm with occupant-sensing apparatus A wake-up alarm with occupant-sensing apparatus attached to a bed which is configured via wireless protocol with a personal computing device of the occupant of the bed. During an alarm period, defined by a turn-on time and turn-off time, the alarm will emit an alarm sound when an occupant is detected in the bed. During the alarm period, the alarm cannot be disabled.
US09679458B2	Information processing system, information processing apparatus, information processing method, information processing program, portable communication terminal, and control method and control program of portable communication terminal To readily and effectively take a crime and disaster prevention countermeasure, there is provided an information processing apparatus including an acquirer that, when a crime and disaster prevention assistant device is connected to a portable communication terminal, acquires specifying information for specifying the crime and disaster prevention assistant device from the crime and disaster prevention assistant device via the portable communication terminal, a driver executor that executes a driver program corresponding to the specifying information to control the crime and disaster prevention assistant device, and an application executor that executes a crime and disaster prevention application program corresponding to the specifying information to acquire status detection information detected by the crime and disaster prevention assistant device connected to the portable communication terminal, specifies countermeasure processing corresponding to the acquired status detection information with reference to a management database, and controls the crime and disaster prevention assistant device via the portable communication terminal based on the countermeasure processing.
US09679452B2	Sound field security system and method of determining starting point for analysis of received waveform using the same Provided is a sound field security system with improved sound field analysis performance, and a method of determining a starting point for analysis of a received waveform by using the same, in which a starting point for analysis of a received waveform may be accurately determined even when there are irregular delays in a system, thereby enabling sound field analysis to be more adaptive to irregular delays that may occur in the system, and ensuring stable sound field security.
US09679443B2	Gambling and/or gaming apparatus The present invention refers to a gambling and/or gaming apparatus comprising an input apparatus for inputting of a stake or and/or playing-tip information in the form of a number and/or number combination and/or a number matrix, an outcome ascertainment apparatus for ascertaining a winning number and/or a winning number combination and/or a winning number matrix, an indicator apparatus for indicating the ascertained winning number and/or the ascertained winning number combination and/or the ascertained winning number matrix, and a win ascertainment apparatus for ascertaining a gambling and/or gaming win from a comparison of the ascertained winning number and/or the ascertained winning number combination and/or the ascertained winning number matrix with the input stake and/or playing-tip information. According to the invention, the outcome ascertainment apparatus of the gambling and/or gaming apparatus, which is used to ascertain the winning number, winning number combination and/or the ascertained winning number matrix, comprises a monitoring apparatus for monitoring at least one skill/skilled sport installation on which a game of skill/skilled sport which provides at least one game outcome can be executed by at least one participant, wherein the monitoring apparatus comprises game outcome determination means for determining the game outcome, wherein the monitoring apparatus comprises a game outcome determination means for determining the game outcome, and a determination device for determining the winning number and/or winning number combination and/or a winning number matrix from the determined game outcome.
US09679432B2	Paper sheet stacking mechanism and paper sheet handling device A paper sheet stacking mechanism 50 includes a stacking wheel 52, a roller 54 that is disposed outward from the stacking wheel 52 so as to be coaxially aligned with the stacking wheel 52 and that is rotatable about a shaft 53 at a greater angular velocity than that of the stacking wheel 52, and a transport unit that is configured to transport a paper sheet to the gap between two adjacent vanes 52b of the stacking wheel 52. The transport unit is located such that a discharge position is disposed outward from the outer periphery of the base 52a of the stacking wheel 52 and inward of the circular region defined by the tips of the vanes 52b of the stacking wheel 52 during the rotation of the stacking wheel 52, when viewed in the axial direction of the shaft 53 of the stacking wheel 52.
US09679431B2	Detecting duplicate deposit items at point of capture Methods, systems, and computer-readable media for detecting duplicate deposit items at a point of capture are presented. In some embodiments, a computing platform may receive image data of a deposit item presented for deposit. Subsequently, the computing platform may obtain magnetic ink character recognition (MICR) information for the deposit item. Then, the computing platform may extract information from one or more visible fields of the deposit item. Next, the computing platform may compare the MICR information and the information extracted from the one or more visible fields with item history information to determine a confidence score indicative of whether the deposit item is a duplicate of a previously-deposited item. If the confidence score is less than a threshold, the computing platform may reject the deposit item at the point of capture. Alternatively, if the confidence score is not less than the threshold, the computing platform may accept the deposit item.
US09679422B2	Method for increasing accuracy of vehicle data The present invention is for a method of creating new vehicle data using existing vehicle data. The method relies on using vehicle parameter(s) to adjust a less accurate parameter or create a new related parameter for subsequent use. This will be useful in situations where the vehicle network signal provided to a device such as an OBDII data collection system is not accurate or does not have enough resolution.
US09679421B2	Vehicle lift configured for integration with vehicle diagnostic computing devices A vehicle lift comprising a main housing and a carriage assembly configured to engage a wheel of a vehicle, with the carriage assembly being vertically shiftable relative to the main housing. The vehicle lift additionally includes a lift control module for controlling actuation of said carriage assembly. The vehicle lift further includes a docking area configured to receive a diagnostic device, with the docking area including a power port configured to provide power to the diagnostic device.
US09679417B1	System and method for presenting virtual reality content to a user This disclosure describes a system configured to present primary and secondary, tertiary, etc., virtual reality content to a user. Primary virtual reality content may be displayed to a user, and, responsive to the user turning his view away from the primary virtual reality content, a sensory cue is provided to the user that indicates to the user that his view is no longer directed toward the primary virtual reality content, and secondary, tertiary, etc., virtual reality content may be displayed to the user. Primary virtual reality content may resume when the user returns his view to the primary virtual reality content. Primary virtual reality content may be adjusted based on a user's interaction with the secondary, tertiary, etc., virtual reality content. Secondary, tertiary, etc., virtual reality content may be adjusted based on a user's progression through the primary virtual reality content, or interaction with the primary virtual reality content.
US09679413B2	Systems and methods to transition between viewpoints in a three-dimensional environment Systems and methods to transition between viewpoints in a three-dimensional environment are provided. One example method includes obtaining data indicative of an origin position and a destination position of a virtual camera. The method includes determining a distance between the origin position and the destination position of the virtual camera. The method includes determining a peak visible distance based at least in part on the distance between the origin position and the destination position of the virtual camera. The method includes identifying a peak position at which the viewpoint of the virtual camera corresponds to the peak visible distance. The method includes determining a parabolic camera trajectory that traverses the origin position, the peak position, and the destination position. The method includes transitioning the virtual camera from the origin position to the destination position along the parabolic camera trajectory. An example system includes a user computing device and a geographic information system.
US09679408B2	Techniques for enhancing multiple view performance in a three dimensional pipeline Techniques may be directed to enhancing multiple view performance in a three dimensional pipeline. A plurality of view transformations associated with an image may be received. The vertex data associated with the image may be received. Operation data may be determined by performing the view transformations on the compiled vertex data. A plurality of display lists may be determined through a single run of a vertex pipeline. A display list may be based on the operation data. Other embodiments are described and claimed.
US09679396B2	Unitary shadows Methods, devices, systems, and computer readable media to improve the operation of window-based operating systems is disclosed. In general, techniques are disclosed for correctly rendering areas on a display in which two or more shadows overlap. More particularly, two or more shadow regions (based on the arrangement of overlapping windows/shadows) are identified and merged in a top-down process so that no region's shadow is painted or rendered more than once. To accomplish this a shadowbuffer (analogous to a system's framebuffer) may be used to retain windows' alpha information separately from the corresponding windows' shadow intensity information.
US09679392B2	Hosted camera remote control A motion capture system includes motion capture cameras positioned in various locations and orientations with respect to a motion capture volume. The motion capture system includes a host computing device that is operatively coupled with the motion capture cameras. The host computing device remotely controls operation of the motion capture cameras to record movement within the motion capture volume. At least one of the motion capture cameras includes a user-interface that is operable by a user to remotely initiate a control operation of the host computing device.
US09679386B2	Image processing device capable of segmenting an image into plural areas An image processing device of the present invention determines the pixel values of background pixels based on a pixel value histogram of a target image to be segmented into a foreground and a background, determines pixels of the target image having pixel values equivalent to the pixel values of these background pixels, as a portion of the background pixels, and determines other background pixels and foreground pixels in the target image by use of the pixel value of each pixel in the target image and the positional information of this portion of the background pixels.
US09679385B2	Three-dimensional measurement apparatus and robot system There are provided a three-dimensional measurement apparatus capable of speeding up image processing, and a robot system including the same.
US09679382B2	Georeferencing method and system A method of georeferencing a first image of a scene acquired from a first imaging device based on at least one second image of the scene acquired from a second imaging device. The method includes obtaining data indicative of an eligibility parameter for one or more areas of the scene; selecting one or more pivot areas among the one or more areas of the scene, wherein the eligibility parameter of the pivot areas satisfy a predefined criterion; for at least some of the selected pivot areas, identifying tie points for the first and second images; and solving the external orientation of the first image using the identified tie points and a first imaging device model.
US09679370B2	Image processing device and image processing method The present invention provides an image processing device whereby the probability of outputting a restored image which accurately corresponds to an original image which is included in a low-quality input image is improved. This image processing device comprises: an image group generating means for generating, from the input image, using a dictionary which stores a plurality of patch pairs wherein a degradation patch which is a patch of a degraded image wherein a prescribed image is degraded is associated with a restoration patch which is a patch of this prescribed image, a plurality of restored image candidates including a plurality of different instances of content which have a possibility of being the original content of the input image; and an image selection presentation means for clustering the generated plurality of restored image candidates, and selecting and outputting an image candidate on the basis of the result of this clustering.
US09679365B2	Processing high dynamic range images Various implementations address high dynamic range (“HDR”) images. In one particular implementation, a low dynamic range (“LDR”) image is generated from an HDR image, and information is generated allowing the HDR image to be reconstructed from the LDR image. The LDR image and the information are encoded. In another implementation, a signal or signal structure includes an LDR section including the encoded LDR image, and an information section including the encoded information. In another implementation, the encoded LDR image and the encoded information are both decoded. The HDR image is then reconstructed based on the decoded LDR image and the decoded information.
US09679357B2	Image processing device, and an image processing method An image processing device includes an edge direction determination unit, a filter coefficient calculation unit, and a filter processing unit. The edge direction determination unit determines a first edge direction of an edge including a first pixel of input image data, and calculates a first reliability value of the determined edge direction corresponding to the first pixel. The filter coefficient calculation unit calculates a first filter coefficient corresponding to the first pixel, a second filter coefficient corresponding to a second pixel, and a third filter coefficient corresponding to a third pixel at least based on the first reliability value of the first edge direction. The filter processing unit performs filter processing on the input image data on the basis of the calculated first through third filter coefficients, and outputs output image data.
US09679355B2	Image processing device Provided is an image processing device capable of reproducing an original thin linear image region from a linear image region, which has become thick due to upscaling processing for a low-resolution image. In an image processing device (100), an amplitude estimation unit (1) calculates a magnification a in a local region so that an input image signal becomes similar to a low-resolution pattern PtnL. A similarity calculation unit (2) outputs a similarity s, which has a great value, at a pixel position which is similar to the low-resolution pattern PtnL. An FIR filter unit (4) sets an FIR filter coefficient by a difference pattern PtnDiff, receives a product of the magnification a and the similarity s, and performs FIR filter processing, and thereby acquires a high frequency component ΔD. Then, when the high frequency component ΔD is added to an input image Din by an adder (5), an output image Dout having excellent definition is acquired.
US09679350B2	Techniques for optimizing stencil buffers One embodiment sets forth a method for associating each stencil value included in a stencil buffer with multiple fragments. Components within a graphics processing pipeline use a set of stencil masks to partition the bits of each stencil value. Each stencil mask selects a different subset of bits, and each fragment is strategically associated with both a stencil value and a stencil mask. Before performing stencil actions associated with a fragment, the raster operations unit performs stencil mask operations on the operands. No fragments are associated with both the same stencil mask and the same stencil value. Consequently, no fragments are associated with the same stencil bits included in the stencil buffer. Advantageously, by reducing the number of stencil bits associated with each fragment, certain classes of software applications may reduce the wasted memory associated with stencil buffers in which each stencil value is associated with a single fragment.
US09679348B2	Storage and compression methods for animated images The present disclosure is related to a method for creating hardware texture content for display on a display of a computing device. The method includes receiving by a processor the content in an image file format, where the content includes a first frame and a second frame. After receiving the content, the method includes creating by the processor a first hardware file corresponding to the first frame and creating by the processor a second hardware file corresponding to the second frame. After creating the first and second frames, the method further includes determining by the processing element a first delta hardware file corresponding to changes between the first hardware file and the second hardware file. In the method the first hardware file, the second hardware file, and the first delta hardware file include data directly usable by a graphics processing unit.
US09679347B2	Shader pipeline with shared data channels A graphics processing unit (GPU) may allocate a shared data channel in on-chip graphics memory of the GPU that is shared by at least two stages of a graphics processing pipeline. Shader units in the GPU may execute the at least two stages of the graphics processing pipeline. The GPU may store, in the shared data channel in on-chip graphics memory, data produced by each of the at least two stages of the graphics processing pipeline executing on the shader units.
US09679345B2	Method and system for frame pacing A frame pacing method, computer program product, and computing system are provided for graphics processing. A method and system for frame pacing adds a delay which evenly spaces out the display of the subsequent frames, and a measurement mechanism which measures and adjusts the delay as application workload changes in an evenly spaced manner.
US09679343B2	System and method for personal broadcast Embodiments for providing personal broadcast are generally described herein. A computing device to display a personal bulletin board may comprise a transceiver configured to data at the computing device from a second computing device; a rear-facing screen configured to present an indication of the data to a user of the first computing device; an input module configured to receive a command from the user to display a representation of the data on the front-facing screen; and a front-facing screen configured to display the representation of the data in response to receiving the command from the user.
US09679341B2	Methods, systems, and computer readable media for evaluating a hospital patient's risk of mortality A method for evaluating a hospital patient's risk of mortality includes collecting data from physiologic signals generated by patient monitors, physiologic signals of organ function, and demographic information for a patient. A measure of the variability of at least one of the physiologic signals is determined. Data and the measure of variability are analyzed to determine whether a value for a particular physiologic or demographic variable falls within a critical interval for the variable that indicates that the value is predictive of mortality or survival. Each time a value for a physiological or demographic variable for the patient falls within a critical interval, the occurrence of an event for the patient is recorded. The number of events for the patient is counted over a time period. Output perceptible by human user that indicates the patient's risk of mortality or likelihood of survival is generated based on the count.
US09679336B2	Social ad hoc networking protocol and presentation layer In one embodiment, a method includes implementing an ad hoc network protocol comprising transmitting, from a first mobile device, one or more neighbor messages that includes a first user identifier corresponding to a first user of the first mobile device, wherein the first user identifier corresponds to a user account of the first user in a social networking system, receiving, at the first mobile device, one or more second neighbor messages from one or more second mobile devices that include second user identifiers corresponding to respective second users of the one or more second mobile devices, wherein the second user identifiers correspond to respective user accounts of one or more second users in the social networking system, and storing, at the first mobile device, information received in the one or more second neighbor messages for access by one or more applications hosted on the first mobile device.
US09679332B2	Apparatus and method for processing a multimedia commerce service A multimedia commerce service processing method includes the steps of receiving a signal for selecting a first product provided by the multimedia commerce service, detecting body size information of a user from login information of an account of the user who uses the multimedia commerce service, generating a first avatar graphic image including the detected body size information of the user and transmitting a signal for outputting an image of the first product in a specific area of the first avatar graphic image to a display device. A multimedia commerce service processing apparatus includes a receiving module configured to sense a signal, a communication module configured to transmit and receive data, a storage module configured to store login information of an account of a user and a controller configured to control operation of the multimedia commerce service processing apparatus.
US09679329B2	Beverage dispensing and tracking system A system for managing beverage sales and inventory, and for enabling customers to pour their own beverages while preventing shrinkage is disclosed. The system enables a user to access a beverage from a beverage dispenser by presenting a beverage-pour tracking device. The beverage dispenser can prevent a user from accessing the beverage without the beverage-pour tracking device. Further, the system can confirm whether the user is permitted to access the beverage dispenser before enabling the user to access the dispenser.
US09679326B2	Storage device and method for controlling a storage facility of a delivery station A storage device and method for controlling a storage facility of at least one of merchandise and service item stored in the storage facility of a delivery station located within a building and distant including station server connected to an e-provider server via a network and a delivery device, the storage device controlling the storage facility comprising a CPU, a memory, operating keys, indicators, display touch screen for identifying an order received from a dweller of the building, at least one of barcode reader and RFID reader for providing error-free pickup and gathering and a transceiver for communicating the storage status and pickup including updates and details of the pickup, gathering and the stored item status in real time with at least one of the station server and the delivery device.
US09679320B2	User-personalized media sampling, recommendation and purchasing system using real-time inventory database A user-personalized product sampling, recommendation and purchasing system uses customer identification numbers and associated customer profile data to tailor specific product recommendations to a customer at a content sampling station of a retail location. The customer also can use her customer profile to receive the same information from an Internet website of the merchant. In-store sampling stations also may have the capability of checking store inventory and central warehouse inventory and providing recommendations to the customer in accordance with product availability, and optionally may provide the customer with the ability to place product orders directly through the sampling station. The recommendation system also can be used to tailor product recommendations in accordance with a rule-based model and real-time inventory data from a POS database.
US09679319B2	Personalized item trading card generation and management Methods and systems to generate and manage an item trading card are provided. A method may include providing an interface to access an item trading card associated with an item, and generating the item trading card including an item identifier associated with the item, a trading card identifier associated with the trading card, item data about the item, and market data about the item. The method further includes sharing the item trading card.
US09679312B2	System and method to initiate a mobile data communication utilizing a trigger system A system and method to enable a user to initiate a communication with an organization using a mobile communication device by means of a trigger system. A system and method to enable an organization to acquire a user mobile device address by means of a trigger system. A system and method to enable an organization to respond to a user by means of a trigger system and a message application server. A system and method to enable organizations to deliver mobile messages, coupons, offers and promotions to users mobile device by means of a combination of a trigger system, a message application server and an offer application.
US09679307B2	System and method for search engine campaign management A system for managing search engine campaigns may include storing advertising campaign data associated with a customer account and generating a synchronization thread for an advertising platform selected from a plurality of advertising platforms. The system may synchronize the advertising campaign data with the advertising platform by selecting a proxy class associated with the advertising platform; requesting from the advertising platform, via the proxy class, a set of campaigns that are associated with the customer account and the advertising platform; receiving, from the advertising platform, the set of campaigns associated with the customer account; and updating the advertising campaign data stored in the database based on the set of campaigns received from the advertising platform and a set of campaigns stored in the advertising campaign data.
US09679302B2	Audience migration information Event records can include session data representing a particular consumer and a particular standard period of time, and can include station identification information indicating a media station to which the consumer was tuned during standard period of time. Records can be designated as overlapping event records if multiple event records represent the same consumer and the same period of time, but identify different media stations, and at least some overlapping event records can be eliminated from consideration before determining audience migration information. Audience migration information, including tune-ins and tune-outs, can be determined based on whether or not a consumer has multiple event records showing different media stations at adjacent times. The audience migration information can then be transmitted to an end-user machine for display.
US09679294B2	In-store card activation A user having an account with a payment provider receives an unregistered payment card that is associated with the payment provider, and that includes a magnetic strip encoded with a number unique to the card and a machine readable code such as a QR/barcode embossed thereon. The user may then open an application on the user's mobile device to capture the number associated with the card by, for example, scanning the QR/barcode, capturing an image of the number, speaking the number into the device, or manually entering the number into the user's device. The user may also authenticate with the payment provider by entering login credentials. The user may then confirm a request to link the number of the card with the user's payment provider account, which activates and links the card to the user account so that the user can immediately use the card for purchases.
US09679291B2	System and method of transmitting data over a voice channel A method for transmitting data over a voice channel by transcoding a bit of the data stream into two bits, and converting each of such two bits into a value of a parameter of a curve of a sound frequency that can be carried on the voice channel. At the receiving end of the voice channel, the values of the parameters of the curve are reconverted into bits, and the pairs of bits are transcoded back into the bit of the data stream.
US09679285B2	System and method for paying a merchant by a registered user using a cellular telephone account A system and method allows users to make purchases by charging or funding a prepaid debit card with their cell phone accounts by simulating a user roaming with their mobile device.
US09679282B2	Reading apparatus In accordance with one embodiment, a reading apparatus, arranged at a position between an operator and a customer who stand in face to face manner, comprises a main body having an opening on a surface thereof facing the operator, a first image capturing section for operator, housed in the main body, configured to photograph a commodity through the opening of the main body to capture an image of the commodity, and a second image capturing section for customer, arranged on the main body, configured to photograph an object held by the customer to capture an image of the object.
US09679281B2	Online purchase processing system and method A system and method to use quick response (QR) codes encoded with merchant website t identification codes and session GUID to register a user or code scanner with a merchant server, login the user or code scanner with the merchant server, and complete a purchase of an item or service within a virtual shopping cart of the merchant server. A code scanner can scan a QR code displayed on a device connected to the internet. An application server can receive an identification code from the code scanner and then transmit data indicating form fields to be filled in on a merchant webpage. A user profile can include data regarding the user and a payment instrument. The user profile data can prepopulate the form fields and the form field data can be transmitted to the merchant server to use for logging in the user and completing the purchase.
US09679278B2	Automated banking machine that operates responsive to data bearing records A banking system controlled responsive to data bearing records includes a card reader that can read identifying data from user cards. The system can authorize operation of an automated banking machine responsive to the read data. The system can provide an electronic transaction receipt to the machine user. A bank computer is operable to submit the receipt to a system address on record with the bank. The address can correspond to an e-mail address, phone number, or other address associated with an account involved in the transaction. The receipt can also include an image associated with the transaction. The system cal also operate to image a check deposited at the machine, and then electronically send the image to the check maker, the payee, and/or a clearinghouse.
US09679270B2	Robotic ordering and delivery system software and methods Systems, methods and devices for the automated delivery of goods form one to another using a robotic tug and accompanying cart. A computer within the tug or cart stores an electronic map of the building floor plan and intended paths for the tug to take when traversing from one location to the next. During the delivery, a variety of different sensors and scanners gather data that is used to avoid obstacles and/or adjust the movement of the tug in order to more closely follow the intended path. The system preferably includes both wired and wireless networks that allow one or more tugs to communicate with a tug base station, a primary network located at the site of the delivery and a remote host center that monitors the status and data collected by the tugs.
US09679250B2	Efficient fact checking method and system An efficient fact checking system analyzes and determines the factual accuracy of information and/or characterizes the information by comparing the information with source information. The efficient fact checking system automatically monitors information, processes the information, fact checks the information efficiently and/or provides a status of the information.
US09679247B2	Graph matching A method of building a soft linkage between a plurality of graphs includes initializing a correspondence between type-1 and type-2 objects in the plurality of graphs, and reducing a cost function by alternately updating the type-1 correspondence and updating the type-2 correspondence.
US09679244B2	Method for predicting quality or manufacturing condition of cement Provided is a method capable of predicting the quality of cement in a short time period and with high accuracy. The method of predicting the quality or manufacturing conditions of cement through use of a neural network including an input layer and an output layer includes: performing learning of the neural network for a sufficiently large number of times of learning such that σL<σM is obtained, using learning data and monitor data; then repeating the learning of the neural network until σL≧σM is obtained while the number of times of learning is decreased; inputting specific observation data to the input layer of the neural network in which a judgment value for analysis degree obtained from the neural network after the learning is less than a preset value; and outputting an estimated value of specific evaluation data from the output layer of the neural network.
US09679240B2	Antenna device and radio communication apparatus An antenna device includes a multilayer body including magnetic layers or dielectric layers that are stacked, a first coil conductor that has a winding axis extending in a direction perpendicular or substantially perpendicular to a stacking direction of the multilayer body, the first coil conductor being provided in the multilayer body, and a second coil conductor that has a winding axis extending in a direction perpendicular or substantially perpendicular to the winding axis of the first coil conductor, the second coil conductor being provided in the multilayer body.
US09679232B2	Electronic apparatus An electronic apparatus includes the following elements. A circuit forming device forms a circuit configured in accordance with configuration information. A first storage unit stores first configuration information externally obtained via a first communication line. The first configuration information is used for forming a first circuit implementing a function including a first communication function in the circuit forming device. A second storage unit stores second configuration information different from the first configuration information. The second configuration information is used for forming a second circuit implementing a function including the first communication function in the circuit forming device. A recovery controller performs control so that the second circuit is formed in the circuit forming device by using the second configuration information, upon the occurrence of an error in communication via the first communication line when the first circuit is formed in the circuit forming device by using the first configuration information.
US09679231B2	Copier and method in which print processing proceeds prior to storing all read image data exceeding predetermined size when ACS is selected No chase control is performed in copying utilizing ACS (auto color select) determination processing. ACS determination is performed to determine whether image data is color or black-and-white image data and the chase control is performed after the ACS determination is completed.
US09679217B2	Information processing apparatus, information processing system, information processing method and storage medium According to one embodiment, an information processing apparatus includes an image acquisition module, an elevation-angle acquisition module, a character deformation specification module, a character detection dictionary storage, a character detection dictionary selector and a character detector. The elevation-angle acquisition module is configured to acquire an elevation angle of a photographic device assumed when the photographic device has obtained an acquired image. The character deformation specification module is configured to specify how an appearance of the character in the acquired image is deformed, based on the acquired elevation angle.
US09679216B2	Morphological automatic triangle orientation detection A system and method are provided for assessing a resolution of an optical sensor. An image is obtained from the optical sensor. A target area is selected from the image. The selected area is subjected to a thresholding process to generate a binary image. Pixels at a center of the binary image are tagged. The remaining pixels of the binary image are looped through, where pixels that are not already tagged, are touching a tagged pixel, and are of the same color of previously tagged pixels are tagged. A plurality of distances associated with each corner of the binary image is calculated from the corner to the nearest tagged pixel in a row or column of pixels. At least two shortest distances of the calculated plurality of distances are selected to determine an orientation of an object defined by the tagged pixels in the generated binary image.
US09679211B2	Display apparatus and method for operating the same for protecting privacy A display apparatus and a method for operating the same are disclosed. The method for operating a display apparatus includes acquiring biometric information about a user through a camera or a sensor unit, comparing the acquired biometric information with pre-stored authentication information, and switching the display apparatus to a first mode, if the acquired biometric information does not match with the pre-stored authentication information, the first mode restricting access to content predetermined from total content.
US09679209B2	State monitoring apparatus In an image pickup system, illumination light emitted by a light emission part is collected and reflected by an optical member and is distributed to a predetermined area. This light distribution to the predetermined area permits a constituent point farther away from the light emission part to receive illumination light having a greater intensity of light being equal to or greater than a predetermined reference value. The image pickup system thus distributing the illumination light enables the intensity of light incident on each pixel constituting an image pickup predetermined area to be equal to or greater than an intensity reference value while enabling the distribution of the intensity of light incident on each pixel constituting the image pickup predetermined area to be within a first reference range.
US09679205B2	Method and system for displaying stereo image by cascade structure and analyzing target in image A method and a system for analyzing a target in a stereo image by displaying the stereo image using a cascade structure are disclosed. The method includes for the input stereo image, generating, based on a first relevant feature, rule or model of the stereo image, at least a first first-level structure map, each of the first first-level structure maps being generated based on an individual tolerance level of the first relevant feature, rule or model, and each of the first first-level structure maps including the target at an individual first division level; and at least partly integrating the first first-level structure maps and analyzing the target in the stereo image, to obtain a structure map of a first-level target analysis result including the target.
US09679182B2	Display apparatus capable of image scanning and driving method thereof According to an embodiment of the present invention, a display apparatus capable of image scanning and a method for driving the same are provided.According to an embodiment of the present invention, a display apparatus capable of image scanning is provided including a contact sensor arranged in each unit pixel. The contact sensor includes a pixel electrode forming a contact capacitance by contact with a contact means; a reset transistor where a drain electrode is connected to a node where the contact capacitance is formed, and each of a gate electrode and a source electrode is connected to a first scan line to which a selective signal is applied; an amplifying transistor where a gate electrode is connected to the drain electrode of the reset transistor, and a source electrode is connected to a power input terminal; and a detecting transistor where a drain electrode is connected to the drain electrode of the amplifying transistor, a gate electrode is connected to a second scan line to which a selective signal is applied, and a source electrode is connected to a readout line detecting a current corresponding to the contact capacitance.
US09679178B2	Scanning improvements for saturated signals using automatic and fixed gain control methods A method controls the exposure of an image containing a barcode for a barcode reading device. The method obtains a line of scan data from the image and identifies areas of saturation within the scan data. If there are saturated areas within the scan data, the method switches from an automatic gain control to a predetermined gain control. The method then resumes automatic gain control after a predetermined time.
US09679169B2	Sample carrier identification A sample carrier (102) includes a sample support region (104) that supports a sample to be processed by a sample carrier processing apparatus and storage and communications circuitry (106) that includes a wireless interface (502) that wirelessly communicates with a storage component reader of the sample processing apparatus when the sample carrier is loaded in the sample processing apparatus for processing. A sample carrier processing apparatus (100) includes a plurality of sample carrier receiving regions (116) respectively configured to receive individual sample carriers carrying samples to be processed by the sample carrier processing apparatus and a plurality of storage component readers (120), one for each of the plurality of sample carrier receiving regions and respectively configured to wirelessly communicate, one to one, with the sample carrier in a corresponding one of the sample carrier receiving regions.
US09679168B2	System and method to automatically discriminate between different data types There is described a system and method for automatically discriminating between different types of data with an image reader. In brief overview of one embodiment, the automatic discrimination feature of the present image reader allows a human operator to aim a hand held image reader at a target that can contain a dataform and actuate the image reader. An autodiscrimination module in the image reader in one embodiment analyzes image data representative of the target and determines a type of data represented in the image data.
US09679165B2	Encryption/decryption for data storage system with snapshot capability A method for managing access to encrypted data of a data storage system storing snapshot data, a snapshot providing a previous point-in-time copy of data in a volume of the data storage system, wherein the data storage system utilizes changing encryption keys for write data. For each snapshot, the method stores at least one decryption key identifier for each decryption key corresponding to an encryption key utilized to encrypt data written to a volume since a previous snapshot was committed to disk, and associates the at least one decryption key identifier with the snapshot. A key table associating decryption key identifiers with corresponding decryption keys is provided, and based on the key table and the at least one decryption key identifier associated with the snapshot, one or more decryption keys required for accessing encrypted data associated with the snapshot are determined. Decryption key identifiers may be stored in snapshot metadata.
US09679156B2	Database virtualization Aspects of the subject matter described herein relate database virtualization. In aspects, clusters of database servers may be located at various locations of the Internet. When a client seeks to access a logical database, the client may send a logical server and logical database name in a data structure. These names may be used to find a physical server(s) and database(s) that correspond to the logical database. Once the location is determined, a proxy component is used to intercept and/or forward communications between the client and the physical server(s) and database(s) corresponding to the logical database. Using this system, a client may access data from a logical database without knowing the physical address of the logical user database.
US09679155B1	Prefix search in encrypted text A method enables prefix search of cloud stored encrypted files that are encrypted using an order preserving encryption (OPE) algorithm. The encrypted text prefix search method generates a minimum possible plaintext string and a maximum possible plaintext string of the same character length including the search term as the prefix. The minimum and maximum possible plaintext strings are encrypted using the same order preserving encryption algorithm for the encrypted text. The method determines from the minimum ciphertext and the maximum ciphertext a set of common leading digits. The set of common leading digits is used as an OPE encrypted prefix search term and provided to a cloud storage service to search in the cloud stored encrypted files for encrypted text matching the OPE encrypted prefix search term.
US09679151B2	Method for encrypting on-screen contents, electronic apparatus using the method and recording medium using the method A method for encrypting on-screen contents, an electronic apparatus using the method, and a recording medium using the method are provided. The method is adapted for the electronic apparatus having a screen. In the method, contents are displayed on the screen. A user's operation is then detected to generate a trigger signal. The displayed contents are encrypted according to the trigger signal.
US09679137B2	Anti-viral scanning in Network Attached Storage In one embodiment a method comprises initiating, by a network attached storage device, a virus scan process on the network attached storage device, receiving, by the network attached storage device, a first file access request that identifies a file, and interrupting the virus scan process to respond to the first file access request.
US09679129B2	Information processing device and information processing method There is provided an information processing device including a first motion body that is a target for imaging performed by another information processing device, a detection unit configured to detect motion of the first motion body, and an authentication unit configured to decide whether to authenticate the another information processing device on the basis of a motion state of the first motion body that has been estimated by the another information processing device on the basis of a captured image acquired through the imaging and a motion state of the first motion body that has been detected by the detection unit.
US09679123B2	Password authentication system and password authentication method using consecutive password authentication Disclosed is a password authentication system and a password authentication method using continuous password authentication. In the password authentication system, a password is set using an original password and a shift value, and the password authentication system includes a password authentication unit configured to receive a password subjected to the shift value, apply the shift value inversely to the password to obtain the original password and perform authentication processing, a defense mode changing unit configured to change to a defense mode requiring continuous authentication of the password at least twice, and a defense mode control unit configured to require the user to continuously input a first password and a second password, and to determine the authentication of the password as a success and release the defense mode.
US09679119B2	Software utilization privilege brokering in a networked computing environment Embodiments of the present invention provide a subscription service for documenting, verifying, administering, and auditing use of entitled software products in third-party networked computing environments (e.g., a cloud computing environment). Specifically, aspects of the invention provide an Entitlement Brokering System (EBS) (also referred to as an entitlement broker) that reduces the risk associated with clients improperly running licensed software products on their computing infrastructure, thus increasing the reliability and auditability of the software product's entitlement status and accelerating intake of new or existing clients through automation of the entitlement verification process.
US09679118B2	Method and system for secure distribution of selected content to be protected The present invention relates to data rights management and more particularly to a secured system and methodology and production system and methodology related thereto and to apparatus and methodology for production side systems and are consumer side systems for securely utilizing protected electronic data files of content (protected content), and further relates to controlled distribution, and regulating usage of the respective content on a recipient device (computing system) to be limited strictly to defined permitted uses, in accordance with usage rights (associated with the respective content to control usage of that respective content), on specifically restricted to a specific one particular recipient device (for a plurality of specific particular recipient devices), or usage on some or any authorized recipient device without restriction to any one in specific, to control use of the respective content as an application software program, exporting, modifying, executing as an application program, viewing, and/or printing of electronic data files.
US09679114B2	Systems and methods for dispensing prescription medication using a medication dispensing machine Systems and methods for dispensing prescription medication from a medication-dispensing machine. In an embodiment, an identification of medication and patient information for an electronic prescription is received. A container of the identified medication is retrieved from a plurality of containers stocked within the machine. Each container comprises a first barcode. The first barcode is scanned, and a patient label is generated and applied to the retrieved container. An image of the retrieved container is captured and provided to a pharmacist over a network. After an approval is received over the network from the pharmacist, the retrieved container is released to a user.
US09679111B2	System and method of modeling erythropoiesis including iron homeostasis A method of adjusting a patient's undesired hematocrit and/or hemoglobin concentration to a value within a desired range at a predetermined time with an erythropoiesis stimulating agent (ESA) regimen includes obtaining patient parameters required for input into a model for predicting the patient's hematocrit and/or hemoglobin concentration at a predetermined time with a selected ESA administration regimen, the model including iron homeostasis, and employing the patient parameters and an initially selected ESA administration regimen in the model to predict the patient's hematocrit and/or hemoglobin concentration at the predetermined time with the initially selected ESA administration regimen. The method then includes administering ESA to the patient with an ESA administration regimen predicted to adjust the patient's hematocrit and/or hemoglobin concentration to the desired range at the predetermined time. The method can be implemented in a hemodialysis system.
US09679109B2	Interview system, server system, server device, information terminal, interview method, information processing method, and program An information processing system includes one or more information processing devices and controls bidirectional communication of image data and audio data between a first information terminal used by a first user and a second information terminal used by a second user. The information processing system includes a calculation unit analyzing the image data and the audio data on the second user received from the second information terminal and calculating difference information that indicates a difference between a current state and a past state of the second user; an image generation unit superimposing the difference information on the image data received from the second information terminal, such that the difference information is displayed around a field where an image of the second user is placed; and a transmission unit transmitting, to the first information terminal, the image data on which the difference information is superimposed and the audio data.
US09679108B1	System, medical item including RFID chip, data collection engine, server and method for capturing medical data A system includes a plurality of RFID chips affixed to medical items, a data collection engine device, and a server device. The data collection engine wirelessly transmits power to a first one of the RFID chips and receives first medical data from the first RFID chip while the first RFID chip is activated by the power receiver. The data collection engine generates a first message indicative of the first medical data to be sent to the server device. The server device can determine aspects of the medical items such as position and consumption based upon the first medical data.
US09679107B2	Physician and clinical documentation specialist workflow integration A medical documentation system and a CDI system may be linked together, or integrated, so there is a tie between the two systems that allows for a much more efficient and effective CDI process. In one disclosed embodiment, a medical documentation system transmits to a CDI system a structured data set including at least some information relating to one or more medical facts the medical documentation system automatically extracted from text documenting a patient encounter.
US09679098B2	Protocol probes This application discloses a computing system to provide test stimulus to an electronic device modeled in a verification environment by the computing system. The computing system can identify transactions performed by the electronic device in the verification environment based, at least in part, on messages exchanged over an interconnect in the electronic device in response to the test stimulus. The computing system can output the transactions from the verification environment and bundle a plurality of the transactions based, at least in part, on messaging relationships defined by a communication protocol for the interconnect. The computing system can utilize the bundles of transactions to determine whether the electronic device functions in accordance with the communication protocol.
US09679097B2	Selective power state table composition This application discloses a computing system to identify an interconnection between portions of a circuit design corresponding to different power domains. The computing system can select a subset of power state tables in the circuit design based, at least in part, on power supplies associated with the interconnection, and generate a composite power state table from the selected subset of power state tables. The computing system can analyze the interconnection to identify electrical characteristics based, at least in part, on power states in the composite power state table, and determine whether a power intent specification in the circuit design can prompt synthesis of interface circuitry capable of implementing the electrical characteristics for the interconnection.
US09679081B2	Navigation control for network clients Methods and apparatus for controlling navigation behavior in a computer network include an object creation node, an object navigation node, and an object server node. The object creation node may define objects in images that are associated with network resources. The object server node stores the objects and associated network resources. When an image containing an object is retrieved by an object navigation node, the object server node sends a definition of the object and a network resource identifier to the object navigation node. The object navigation node can access the network resource using the received network resource identifier when interacting with the object.
US09679072B2	Mobile photo sharing via barcode, sound or collision Jane talks to Bob, who can be a stranger. She shows him photos on her mobile device. He wants a copy of a photo. Jane could work for a company that wants to promote its products. Her device has product images. She makes data with a link to the image, and her contact information. The data is in a barcode on her screen. Bob decodes the data. He gets her email address. His device replies with an auto-generated message. Her device gets his electronic address. Her device can send a message, offering a discount or extra features about the product. Another use lets Bob comment in text or speech about Jane's photo. His comment is added to the webpage that shows the photo. Other wireless means are possible. Including “chirp”—an identifier of the data is transmitted as audio. Or using accelerometers and geolocation on both devices. The invention permits the automated transmission of photos and contact information between people, with minimal manual steps. A company can use it to build a database of potential customers interested in their products. Another method lets Jane transmit her email address to Bob, who takes a photo of her and emails it to her.
US09679067B2	Personalized network searching Personalized network searching, in which a search query is received from a user, and a request is received to personalize a search result. Responsive to the search query and the request to personalize the search result, a personalized search result is generated by searching a personalized search object. Responsive to the search query, a general search result is generated by searching the general search object. The personalized search result and the general search result are provided to a client device, an advertisement is selected based at least in part upon the personalized search object, and the advertisement, the personalized search result, and the general search result are displayed.
US09679064B2	Method and apparatus for providing user-corrected search results An approach is provided for providing user-corrected search results. The explanation platform processes and/or facilitates a processing of one or more search results to calculate a ranking of the one or more search results. Next, the explanation platform determines one or more parameters related to calculating the ranking, one or more values of the one or more parameters, or a combination thereof. Then, the explanation platform causes, at least in part, a presentation of one or more representations of at least one of the one or more parameters as one or more explanations for the ranking.
US09679063B2	Search results based on an environment context A computer performs a search and generates a context-aware search result. The computer crawls a plurality of servers to fetch a plurality of knowledge documents, parses the plurality of knowledge documents, and indexes the plurality of parsed knowledge documents in a search index. Parsing can include annotating at least one of the plurality of knowledge documents, and indexing can include building a term index and an annotation index. The computer receives from a requestor a search request including a search term, and requests and receives a context of an asset environment associated with the requestor. The computer determines a context-aware search result based, at least in part, on the search term, on the context, and on information stored in the search index, and transmits the context-aware search result to the requestor.
US09679062B2	Local recommendation engine A recommendation engine and a user profile stored on a user device are employed by the user device to select from a content store, content that is relevant to a current display of the user device. The selected content is combined with the current display to generate the contextually relevant display. The user profile on the user device is updated based on user interaction with the displayed content and the updated profile may be uploaded to the server in accordance with privacy settings associated with the user profile.
US09679060B2	Following online social behavior to enhance search experience Systems and methods are disclosed for customizing a user's experience with an application such as a search engine application. The user's experience is customized based on inferring a mood and/or interests of the user at least in part from an analysis of the user's posts on one or more social media sites. The search engine application is configured to include a user-following engine which follows a user's activities on social media websites. By tracking a user's posts and other activity on social media websites, and possibly those of his or her friends, the user-following engine is able to draw inferences about a user, including for example the user's emotional state, current trending interests, future plans, likes/dislikes and aspirations. The user-following engine may then customize the user's search experience based on these drawn inferences.
US09679059B2	Systems and methods for remote access to DB2 databases Systems and methods are provided that allow client programs using APIs for accessing local DB2 databases to access DB2 systems on remote logical partitions and remote zSeries mainframes rather than from a local DB2 system. For example, a method may include intercepting a DB2 request using a documented API for accessing local DB2 databases from a client program executing on a source mainframe system. The method may also include selecting a destination mainframe system and sending a buffer including information from the request from the source mainframe system to the destination mainframe system and establishing, at the destination mainframe system, a DB2 connection with the DB2 system from the request. The method may further include receiving a response from the DB2 system, sending a buffer having information from the response from the destination mainframe system to the source mainframe system, and providing the information to the client program.
US09679056B2	Document reuse in a search engine crawler Systems and method are provided for setting a respective reuse flag for a corresponding document in a plurality of documents based on a query-independent score associated with the corresponding document. A document crawling operation is performed on the plurality of documents in accordance with the reuse flag for respective documents in the plurality of documents. This document crawling operation includes reusing a previously downloaded version of a respective document in the plurality of documents instead of downloading a current version of the respective document from a host computer in accordance with a determination that the reuse flag associated with the respective document meets a predefined criterion.
US09679055B2	Method and system for constructing database based on mutual relations between video data The present invention relates to a method and system for constructing a database (DB) based on mutual relations between pieces of video data. The present invention provides the method of constructing a DB based on mutual relations between pieces of video data, including 1) generating one or more nodes so that pieces of identical video data are included in an identical node, 2) generating pieces of node information about respective generated nodes, 3) comparing comparison target video data with pieces of video data of the respective nodes, and then setting relations between the comparison target video data and the pieces of video data of the respective nodes, and 4) updating pieces of node information about the respective nodes, based on the set relations, and also provides a DB construction system using the method.
US09679053B2	Detecting media watermarks in magnetic field data Methods, apparatus, systems and articles of manufacture (e.g., physical storage media) to detect media watermarks in magnetic field data are disclosed herein. Example methods disclosed herein to detect media watermarks can include accessing multidimensional magnetic field data representative of values of a magnetic field measured within a first distance of audio circuitry that is to output an audio signal corresponding to media presented by a media device. Such example methods can also include processing the multidimensional magnetic field data to detect a watermark included in the audio signal.
US09679040B1	Performing deduplication in a distributed filesystem The disclosed embodiments provide techniques for performing deduplication for a distributed filesystem. Two or more cloud controllers collectively manage distributed filesystem data that is stored in one or more cloud storage systems; the cloud controllers cache and ensure data consistency for the stored data. During operation, a cloud controller receives an incremental metadata snapshot that references new data that was added to the distributed filesystem by a remote cloud controller. The cloud controller extracts a set of deduplication information from this incremental metadata snapshot. Upon receiving a subsequent client write request (e.g., a file write that includes one or more data blocks), the cloud controller uses the extracted deduplication information to determine that one or more data blocks in the client write request have already been written to the distributed filesystem.
US09679029B2	Optimizing storage cloud environments through adaptive statistical modeling Embodiments of the present invention provide an approach for adapting an information extraction middleware for a clustered computing environment (e.g., a cloud environment) by creating and managing a set of statistical models generated from performance statistics of operating devices within the clustered computing environment. This approach takes into account the required accuracy in modeling, including computation cost of modeling, to pick the best modeling solution at a given point in time. When higher accuracy is desired (e.g., nearing workload saturation), the approach adapts to use an appropriate modeling algorithm. Adapting statistical models to the data characteristics ensures optimal accuracy with minimal computation time and resources for modeling. This approach provides intelligent selective refinement of models using accuracy-based and operating probability-based triggers to optimize the clustered computing environment, i.e., maximize accuracy and minimize computation time.
US09679027B1	Generating related questions for search queries Methods, systems, and apparatus, including computer programs encoded on computer storage media, for identifying related questions for a search query is described. One of the methods includes receiving a search query from a user device; obtaining a plurality of search results for the search query provided by a search engine, wherein each of the search results identifies a respective search result resource; determining one or more respective topic sets for each search result resource, wherein the topic sets for the search result resource are selected from previously submitted search queries that have resulted in users selecting search results identifying the search result resource; selecting related questions from a question database using the topic sets; and transmitting data identifying the related questions to the user device as part of a response to the search query.
US09679025B2	Providing search query results based on entity variant generation and normalization Search results are provided for a search query. A search query including an entity and entity type is received. The entity is parsed into semantic components. Variants are generated based on input from auxiliary information and user configuration information for each of the semantic components. The entity is recomposed in different morphological forms from different variants of the semantic components. At least one morphological form for the entity is presented as a search result.
US09679024B2	Social-based spelling correction for online social networks In one embodiment, a method includes receiving a search query, determining if a bloom filter indicates an n-gram of the query does not exist in a set of object names associated with a vertical, identifying variant-tokens for each n-gram that does not exist in the set of object names, generating unique combinations of the n-grams and variant-tokens, where each unique combination includes a variant-token corresponding to each n-gram that does not exist in the set of object names for the n-gram, calculating a confidence score for each unique combination based at least in part on the search query and whether the unique combination exists in the set of object names, identifying objects matching each unique combination, where the unique combination has a confidence score greater than a threshold confidence score, and sending a search-results page responsive to the search query to the client device of the user.
US09679019B2	System and method for patent and prior art analysis Systems and techniques for analyzing patents and prior art in a patent management system are described herein. Claims of an issued and a published patent may be retrieved. The claims may be compared to identify a unique keyword present in the issued claim but not present in the published claim. The unique keyword may be cross-referenced to a passage in a specification of the issued patent. A first and second prior art document may be identified. Overlap scores may be calculated for the first and second prior art document based on the occurrence of the unique keyword. A ranking may be calculated based on a comparison of the overlap scores. The overlap score of the first prior art document, the overlap score of the second prior art document based on the ranking and the passage in the specification of the issued patent may be displayed in a user interface.
US09679009B2	Component independent process integration message search The present disclosure involves systems, software, and computer implemented methods for centralized message searching of business processes. One process includes identifying a process integration (PI) domain associated with a message search, where the PI domain includes at least one PI component, and receiving a set of user-defined search attributes for searching messages within the identified PI domain, where each search attribute associated with a corresponding value. At least one message corresponding to the set of the received user-defined search attributes associated with at least one PI component is identified, and information associated with the identified at least one message corresponding to at least a portion of the set of received search attributes is retrieved. At least a portion of the retrieved information associated with the identified at least one message is presented via a user interface.
US09679006B2	Dynamic join processing using real time merged notification listener Described are methods, systems and computer readable media for dynamic join operations.
US09679001B2	Consensus search device and method A consensus search device is provided, which includes a semantic data indexing unit configured to divide text data of an electronic document written about at least one object into segments, to extract at least one semantic descriptor from the each segmented text data, and to generate a semantic data index matching each of the extracted semantic descriptor to the object and the each segmented text data. The consensus search device also includes a semantic searching unit configured to retrieve an object related to a query, based on the semantic data index. The text data is divided into the segments by units of meaning.
US09678998B2	Content name resolution for information centric networking A content-name-resolution (CNR) system can resolve IP addresses for named data objects (NDOs) based on their name. During operation, a CNR server can receive a query from a client device for a source to a named data object. The query can include at least a name prefix for the named data object. The CNR server can identify a cache server that corresponds to the named data object's name prefix, and determines one or more sources associated with the named data object's name prefix. The CNR server then returns, to the client device, a query response that includes a network address for the cache server, and includes a content record specifying the one or more sources.
US09678996B2	Conflict resolution system for database parallel editing As a conflict resolution method for the modification/editing of databases, the mechanism “for assigning priority to editing based on more up-to-date information” is disclosed.The method is effective in both full-fledged “parallel DB editing” in which a computer holds duplicated DBs permanently and the case in which a computer holds the duplicated DBs temporarily. The method is characterized in that “editing based on old information is determined to be ineffective.”When the information for which a conflict is predicted is edited, the possibility that the editing becomes ineffective can be reduced by a “substantially online operation” which performs “the synchronization with the up-to-date information, the editing, and the transmission of the editing records” quickly. Conversely, when the information for which the conflict is not predicted is edited, it is possible to carry out a “substantially off-line operation” which performs the editing at slow speed and transmits the editing records collectively after the synchronization of the information.
US09678991B2	Apparatus and method for processing image Provided are an image processing apparatus and an image processing method thereof. The image processing method extracts at least one texture area from an input image according to at least one texture feature of an object, processing, for each texture area of the extracted at least one texture area, the texture area using an image set value respectively corresponding to the texture area, and combining the at least one texture area that is processed by the processing and outputting the combined at least one texture area.
US09678990B2	Construction drawing evaluation systems and methods The invention provides the ability to count symbols within drawings in an automated fashion using a computer processor. This may be accomplished by identifying a particular symbol (representing a drawing part) and then permitting the computer to search for the identified symbol in the drawing. Following the initial search, a secondary search may be performed to increase the accuracy of an initial automated count, and obtaining refined searches results representing similar parts (represented by the same symbol) but being a part type as indicated by an identifier associated with the initial symbol.
US09678982B2	Accessibility advisement system for digital assets A method for digital asset storage can begin with the maintenance of repository profiles and asset profiles by an asset accessibility advisement system for digital asset repositories. A repository profile can comprise attribute values that describe a digital asset repository. An asset profile can comprise attribute values that describe the digital assets contained in the digital asset repository. In response to an advisement request for a digital asset, an accessibility profile can be generated for the digital asset. The accessibility profile can express key attributes of the digital asset with regards to its subsequent accessibility by other entities. One or more digital asset repositories can be identified that best match the accessibility profile using the repository profiles and asset profiles. The determined digital asset repositories can then be presented as an asset accessibility recommendation. The asset accessibility recommendation can be presented to an asset submitter having originated the advisement request.
US09678981B1	Customizing data management for a distributed filesystem The disclosed embodiments provide a system that adjusts the characteristics of a distributed filesystem using a locality policy. Two or more cloud controllers collectively manage distributed filesystem data that is stored in one or more cloud storage systems; the cloud controllers cache and ensure data consistency for the stored data. During operation, a cloud controller receives a locality policy that specifies one or more management policies for the cloud controller. The portion of the distributed filesystem's data that is managed, created, and/or cached at the cloud controller is then managed based on this locality policy. Locality policies facilitate customizing and optimizing data management for the distributed filesystem to fit the needs of an organization (e.g., specific sets of users, applications, and/or datasets).
US09678968B1	Deleting a file from a distributed filesystem The disclosed embodiments disclose techniques for deleting a file from a distributed filesystem. Two or more cloud controllers collectively manage distributed filesystem data that is stored in one or more cloud storage systems; the cloud controllers store metadata for the distributed filesystem, and cache and ensure data consistency for the data stored in the cloud storage systems. During operation, a cloud controller receives a request from a client to delete a file from the distributed filesystem. The cloud controller updates a user view of the distributed filesystem to present the appearance of the target file being deleted to the client, and then initiates a background deletion operation to delete the target file without negatively affecting the performance of the other users of the distributed filesystem.
US09678967B2	Information source agent systems and methods for distributed data storage and management using content signatures Information source agent systems and methods for distributed content storage and management using content signatures that use file identicality properties are provided. A data management system is provided that includes a content engine for managing the storage of file content, a content signature generator that generates a unique content signature for a file processed by the content engine, a content signature comparator that compares content signatures and a content signature repository that stores content signatures. Information source agents are provided that include content signature generators and content signature comparators. Methods are provided for the efficient management of files using content signatures that take advantage of file identicality properties. Content signature application modules and registries exist within information source clients and centralized servers to support the content signature methods.
US09678965B1	System and method for enforcing data lifecycle policy across multiple domains A first backup storage system within a receiving domain receives information from an originating domain distinct from the receiving domain. The first backup storage system includes at least one storage device and the information includes backup data and corresponding lifecycle policy information for the backup data. The first backup storage system automatically performs an operation relating to the backup data, where the operation is specified by the received lifecycle policy information. In some embodiments, the lifecycle policy information may be received by the receiving domain within a header located within the backup data.
US09678964B2	Method, system, and computer program for monitoring performance of applications in a distributed environment A method, system, and computer program include receiving a request string, and mapping the received request string to a distinguishable request string and a collapsible request string. The received request string may be in the form of a JSP, a servlet, and remote Enterprise Java Bean calls. A user may be prompted to create rules for mapping of a received request string to a distinguishable request string and a collapsible request string.
US09678963B2	Methods and apparatus for point cloud data processing Methods and apparatus are provided for processing data representing three-dimensional points organized in a data structure wherein each point has multiple components, the data is organized in a respective layer per component, each layer is segmented in cells of a two-dimensional grid, the cells are arranged such that the components of a given point are contained in corresponding cells of multiple layers, the cells are grouped in patches by layer, and the patches are arranged such that the components of an array of points is represented by corresponding patches of multiple layers. At least one first criterion and at least one second criterion are obtained. Data are retrieved from cells of patches meeting the at least one first criterion and from layers meeting the at least one second criterion. The retrieved data are processed to obtain a derivative data set.
US09678956B2	Data capturing and structuring method and system A method for a data capturing and structuring includes determining at least one data capture mode for processing a non-electronic data record into an electronic data record and selecting a record owner having a plurality of existing data records to be associated with the electronic data record. The method also includes capturing the non-electronic data record into the electronic data record and collecting metadata from data associated with the record owner and the electronic data record and data generated during the capturing. Further, the method includes creating structured data records by combining the electronic data record and the metadata and exporting the structured data records.
US09678955B2	Data collection visualization facility for creating three-dimensional user interfaces Disclosed herein are system, method, and computer program product embodiments for implementing a data collection visualization facility. An embodiment operates by adding a visualization component to an application, to create a three-dimensional (3D) user interface and implementing a data adaptor associated with the visualization component. This embodiment further implements an event handler configured to function with the visualization component.
US09678949B2	Vital text analytics system for the enhancement of requirements engineering documents and other documents A Vital Text Analytics System (VTAS), incorporating a repository of enterprise terms or concepts, is one that improves the readability and fidelity of technical specifications, instructions, training manuals requirements engineering documents and other related engineering documents, typically from a single organization or workgroup. The system stresses ontological analysis of a corpus of related documents, and applies a suite of computational tools that supports the identification and assessment of risk in evaluating the content of the documents, as well as providing statistical measures reflecting the frequency and severity of document features that threaten comprehension.
US09678948B2	Real-time message sentiment awareness Provided are techniques for determining a sentiment of an electronic message. The electronic message is parsed to identify one or more sub-constructs. For at least one of the sub-constructs that is not false-positive, a sentiment indicator is assigned from a set of types of sentiment indicators, and a score is assigned for the sentiment indicator. A final score is obtained for at least one type of sentiment indicator in the electronic message by summing scores for that type of sentiment indicator. Based on the final score for the at least one type of sentiment indicator, a sentiment of the electronic message is identified.
US09678945B2	Automated reading comprehension Methods and apparatus are disclosed for determining similarities and/or differences between entities in a segment of text based on various signals are presented, and for determining one or more likelihoods that one or more subjects found in a segment of text are capable of performing one or more associated actions based on various signals.
US09678944B2	Enhanced predictive input utilizing a typeahead process Particular embodiments may store, at a client device, information associated with nodes and edges of a social graph. A node may comprise a user node or a concept node. Each node may be connected by edges to other nodes of the social graph. A first user may be associated with a first user node of the social graph. The client device may receive a character string from the first user, and identify, as the first user inputs the character string, an edge-type based on the character string and one or more edges of the identified edge-type, wherein the edges are locally stored on the client device. The client device may display one or more predictive typeahead results based on the identified edge-type and the identified edges. The predictive typeahead results may correspond to nodes stored locally on the client device.
US09678943B2	Partial gesture text entry A graphical keyboard including a number of keys is output for display at a display device. The computing device receives an indication of a gesture to select at least two of the keys based at least in part on detecting an input unit at locations of a presence-sensitive input device. In response to the detecting and while the input unit is detected at the presence-sensitive input device: the computing device determines a candidate word for the gesture based at least in part on the at least two keys and the candidate word is output for display at a first location of the output device. In response to determining that the input unit is no longer detected at the presence-sensitive input device, the displayed candidate word is output for display at a second location of the display device.
US09678941B2	Domain-specific computational lexicon formation According to an aspect, a candidate token sequence including one or more word tokens is extracted from an unstructured domain glossary that includes entries associated with a domain. A look-up operation is performed to retrieve language data for each word token in the candidate token sequence and annotates each word token in the candidate token sequence found by the look-up operation with corresponding retrieved language data to form an annotated sequence. A pattern match of the annotated sequence is performed relative to a repository of patterns and identifies a best matching pattern from the repository of patterns to the annotated sequence based on matching criteria. The annotated sequence is refined with lexical information associated with the best matching pattern as a refined annotated sequence. The candidate token sequence and the refined annotated sequence are output to a domain-specific computational lexicon file.
US09678939B2	Morphology analysis for machine translation A method and system for analyzing language morphology to facilitate statistical machine translation from a first language to a target language is disclosed. The method and system can include marking words in a first language text with a part-of-speech tag, and parsing one or more sentences in the first language text to determine syntactic dependence relations between the words in the one or more sentences of the first language text. Morphological features of the words in the first language text can also be extracted. The method and system can also include tagging the words in the first language text with a language morphology tag from a second language. A modified form of words in the first language text can be generated using the language morphology tags from the second language. The modified form of the words can be used to facilitate translation from the first language to a target language.
US09678929B2	Stereoscopic online web content creation and rendering Improved techniques are presented for generating stereoscopic image of 2D web pages. In accordance with an exemplary embodiment, a stereo-enhancing annotation tool is provided and used to generate intermediate HTML source code. The intermediate HTML source code—together with the normal HTML code that is served when a user's browser makes a URL call—are used by a computer processing unit to generate stereoscopic images. Algorithms optimize the look and feel of stereoscopically-imaged web-page content using a number of known presentation optimized parameters that are automatically determined based on a priori assumptions of depth cues.
US09678926B2	Image preview A method, apparatus, and system are provided for displaying a graphical representation of at least a portion of a file by interfacing with a graphical interface relating to the file. A request for viewing a file content is received. A window for viewing a graphical representation of at least a portion of the content of a file is provided.
US09678925B2	Method and system for displaying visual content in a virtual three-dimensional space A system and method for displaying pages in a 3D virtual space. A set of pages may be portioned into one or more clusters of pages that are arranged in a plane in the 3D space so that for each cluster, the pages in the cluster are arranged contiguously in the plane. A boundary may then be formed in the plane around pages of the cluster. If a first page in a cluster contains an active link, a page opened by activating the link is positioned in the plane within the boundary of the cluster in a selectable position relative to the first page.
US09678920B1	Self-calibration and compensation of detector offset in GSM transceivers power control loop A method for performing self-calibration and compensation of a detector offset is provided. The method includes: detecting for a calibration flag; if the calibration flag is detected, transmitting a first signal; reading and accumulating detector codes in response to the first signal; and calculating a detector offset based on the detector codes.
US09678916B2	Method and apparatus for simplifying communication between a host system and a display subsystem A method for simplifying the host-to-display subsystem communications and consolidating the non-volatile memory requirements into a PMIC (power management integrated circuit) is disclosed. Hardware and software resource reduction in both the client devices (located in the display subsystem) and the host System on a Chip (SOC) can be realized with a novel PMIC design. The novel PMIC design achieves the resource reduction by providing for the following features: (1) Single-point communication, (2) Single-point notification, (3) Client device status storage, (4) Client device initialization from PMIC non-volatile memory, and (5) Subsystem calibration retrieval from PMIC non-volatile memory.
US09678915B2	Serial communication control circuit In a serial communication control circuit, serial data transmitted from a transmission processing unit is switched to data generated in a mark ratio improvement data generation unit depending on a switch signal from the transmission processing unit, and is transmitted. Thereby, mark ratio improvement data is inserted in a transmission signal to improve a mark ratio during communication, thereby preventing reception signal's jitters from increasing.
US09678911B2	System for distributed computing and storage A distributed computing and storage system, comprising a switch fabric, an input/output interface connected to the switch fabric and a plurality of nodes connected to the switch fabric, each node of the plurality of nodes having a node physical address, each node of the plurality of nodes having a node communication address, which is assigned by the processor inside the node based on the node physical address, each node further comprising at least one processor, at least one memory controller connected to the at least one processor and a plurality of memory devices connected to the at least one memory control.
US09678906B2	Oldest link first arbitration between links grouped as single arbitration elements A method for scheduling a crossbar using distributed request-grant-accept arbitration between input group arbiters and output group arbiters in a switch unit is provided. Each input group arbiter and output group arbiter maintains an ordered queue of links in an input group or an output group. The ordered queue prioritizes links in the output group or output group that was least recently selected. To satisfy an arbitration slot won on the group-level, the input group arbiter or output group arbiter starts a search from the oldest link that was selected and maintains fairness among links in the group.
US09678905B2	Bus controller, bus control system and network interface In a bus control system for a semiconductor circuit, data is transmitted between first and second nodes over a network of buses. The bus controller is connected directly to the first node and includes: a route load detector which detects loads on routes that form at least one of a group of forward routes leading from the first to the second node and a group of backward routes leading from the second to the first node; a candidate route extraction circuit which extracts a candidate route from the group of routes so that loads on the routes that form the group become uniform; a route determining circuit which determines the route to transmit the data based on the candidate route and a predetermined selection rule; and a data communication circuit which transmits the data between the first and second nodes based on header information including route information indicating the route.
US09678902B2	Data processing apparatus A concurrent flag set (changed from a first state to a second state) when generating a plurality of event signals at the same time from one circuit module that operates synchronously is prepared. When it is determined that the concurrent event signals are generated with reference to the concurrent flag, processing corresponding to the concurrent event signals is executed in order of priority, or requests for ordering or starting the processing are issued in order of priority.
US09678901B2	Techniques for indicating a preferred virtual processor thread to service an interrupt in a data processing system A technique for handling interrupts includes receiving an event notification message (ENM) that specifies an event target number (ETN) and a number of bits to ignore (NBI). The ETN identifies a specific virtual processor thread (VPT) and the NBI identifies the number of lower-order bits of the specific VPT to ignore when determining a group of VPTs that may be potentially interrupted. In response to two or more VPTs within the group of VPTs being dispatched and operating on an associated physical processor, whether multiple of the two or more VPTs do not have a pending interrupt is determined. In response to determining that multiple of the two or more VPTs do not have a pending interrupt, one of the two or more VPTs is selected to service an interrupt associated with the ENM based, at least in part, on respective preferred bits for the two or more VPTs.
US09678900B2	Abnormal interrupt request processing To detect an abnormality in an interrupt control system without completely depending on dualization of a circuit, without the need to create a test pattern for a built-in self-test by spending time, and without considerably increasing an amount of power consumption. A test interrupt request is generated periodically using a timer or the like in an interrupt signal system from an interrupt controller to a central processing unit, the state of an interrupt request flag within the interrupt controller is checked in an interrupt processing routine, and in the case where it is detected that the same interrupt request flag is kept in a set state twice or more in succession, it is supposed that there is a high possibility that a failure has occurred in the interrupt signal system and it is considered that there is an abnormality.
US09678892B2	Flexible I/O DMA address allocation in virtualized systems An I/O DMA address may be translated for a flexible number of entries in a translation validation table (TVT) for a partitionable endpoint number, when a particular entry in the TVT is accessed based on the partitionable endpoint number. A presence of an extended mode bit can be detected in a particular TVT entry. Based on the presence of the extended mode bit, an entry in the extended TVT can be accessed and used to translate the I/O DMA address to a physical address.
US09678880B1	System and method for cache management in systems that interface to cloud storage A method and a system for cache management in system interfacing to a cloud storage. The cache has two layers: the filter layer for tracing read access to the data blocks and the cache layer for keeping the actual data blocks. The layer two consists of two modules—a main cache and a boot cache. The boot cache is filled during the short period of time after the first file open operation. The boot cache also has a limit on the amount of data that can be put into the cache for the particular file. The filter layer detects continuous read access pattern and avoids caching data, if the data is read continuously beyond some limit.
US09678870B2	Diagnostic apparatus, control unit, integrated circuit, vehicle and method of recording diagnostic data A diagnostic apparatus comprises a diagnostic data buffer constituting a volatile memory, and a non-volatile memory capable of receiving data from the buffer. A data buffer controller is also provided and is operably coupled to the buffer and has an event alert input and a data channel monitoring input for receiving diagnostic data. The buffer receives, when the state of a buffer status memory indicates that the buffer is in an unprotected state, at least part of the diagnostic data received by the controller via the data channel monitoring input to the buffer and the controller sets the state of the buffer status memory to indicate the protected state in response to receipt of an event alert received via the event alert input. A controller monitors the buffer status memory and copies a portion of the buffer to the non-volatile memory in response to the buffer status memory being set to be indicative of the protected state.
US09678866B1	Transactional memory that supports put and get ring commands A transactional memory (TM) includes a control circuit pipeline and an associated memory unit. The memory unit stores a plurality of rings. The pipeline maintains, for each ring, a head pointer and a tail pointer. A ring operation stage of the pipeline maintains the pointers as values are put onto and are taken off the rings. A put command causes the TM to put a value into a ring, provided the ring is not full. A get command causes the TM to take a value off a ring, provided the ring is not empty. A put with low priority command causes the TM to put a value into a ring, provided the ring has at least a predetermined amount of free buffer space. A get from a set of rings command causes the TM to get a value from the highest priority non-empty ring (of a specified set of rings).
US09678859B2	Detecting error states when interacting with web applications Detecting error states when interacting with web applications is performed by accessing a first web page of a web application, determining that the first web page includes an input validation operation, configuring an input to cause the input validation operation to effect an error state, providing the input to the first web page, thereby effecting the error state, identifying a feature that is absent from the first web page before the input is provided to the first web page and present in the first web page after the input is provided to the first web page, and detecting that a second web page of the web application is in an error state if the feature is present in the second web page.
US09678853B2	Lifting of bounded liveness counterexamples to concrete liveness counterexamples A trace of a bounded liveness failure of a system component is received, by one or more processors, along with fairness constraints and liveness assertion conditions. One or more processors generate randomized values for unassigned input values and register values, of the trace, and simulate traversal of each of a sequence of states of the trace. One or more processors determine whether traversing the sequence of states of the trace results in a repetition of a state, and responsive to determining that traversing the sequence of states of the trace does result in a repetition of a state, and the set of fairness constraints are asserted within the repetition of a state, and that the continuous liveness assertion conditions are maintained throughout the repetition of the state, a concrete counterexample of a liveness property of the system component is reported.
US09678848B2	Eliminate corrupted portions of cache during runtime In an approach for taking corrupt portions of cache offline during runtime, a notification of a section of a cache to be taken offline is received, wherein the section includes one or more sets in one or more indexes of the cache. An indication is associated with each set of the one or more sets in a first index of the one or more indexes, wherein the indication marks the respective set as unusable for future operations. Data is purged from the one or more sets in the first index of the cache. Each set of the one or more sets in the first index is marked as invalid.
US09678844B1	State-tracked testing across network boundaries Remote computing resource service providers, including online retailer, provide externally facing computer systems that allow users to interact with the service provider. Furthermore, the service provider may maintain computer systems and service inside an isolated network not exposed to users. Occasionally, service providers may test these externally facing computer systems using one or more external hosts operating on a public network. A coordinator may archive aggregated testing resources located on the isolated network and deploy the testing resources to the one or more external hosts. A database may be used to track the deployment state of the one or more external hosts in order to allow the coordinator to manage the testing process.
US09678836B1	Systems and methods for managing data protection of storage units A computer-implemented method for managing data protection of storage units may include 1) providing a user interface that enables a user to configure data protection policies for storage units, 2) selecting at least one storage unit for data protection, 3) enabling the user to configure, through the user interface, a data protection policy to schedule a data backup of the storage unit, and 4) enabling the user to configure, through the same user interface, the same data protection policy to schedule a data transfer operation from the storage unit to an additional storage unit. The data transfer operation may include at least one of a replication operation and a continuous data protection operation. Various other methods, systems, and computer-readable media are also disclosed.
US09678834B2	Recovery and fault-tolerance under computational indeterminism A method for promoting fault tolerance and recovery in a computing system including at least one processing node includes promoting availability and recovery of a first processing node, by, at the first processing node, generating first spawn using a spawner that has been assigned a first generation-indicator so that its spawn inherits the first generation indicator, beginning a checkpoint interval to generate nodal recovery information, suspending the spawner from generating spawn, assigning, to the spawner, a second generation-indicator that differs from the first one, resuming the spawner, so that it generates second spawn that inherits the second generation-indicator, controlling an extent to which the second spawn writes to memory, and after committing nodal recovery information acquired during the checkpoint to durable storage, releasing control over the extent to which the second spawn can write to memory.
US09678832B2	Storage module and method for on-chip copy gather A storage module and method for on-chip copy gather are provided. In one embodiment, a storage module is provided with a memory comprising a plurality of word lines and a plurality of data latches. The memory copies data from a first word line into a first data latch and copies data from a second word line into a second data latch. The memory then copies only some of the data from the first data latch and only some of the data from the second data latch into a third data latch. After that, the memory copies the data from the third data latch to a third word line. In another embodiment, a storage module is provided comprising a memory and an on-chip copy gather module. Other embodiments are provided.
US09678828B2	Error detection capability over CCIe protocol A device is provided comprising a shared bus, a slave device, and a master device. The slave device may be coupled to the shared bus. The master device may be coupled to the control data bus and adapted to manage communications on the shared bus. Transmissions over the shared bus are a plurality of bits that are encoded into ternary numbers which are then transcoded into symbols for transmission, and either the 3 least significant bits or the least significant in the plurality of bits are used for error detection of the transmission.
US09678825B2	Autonomous reconfiguration of a failed user action A processor determines that a requested action is a failed action. The processor determines that the failed action is a valid action. The processor determines that the failed action is not properly configured. The processor generates a reconfigured action by reconfiguring the failed action. The reconfiguration of the failed action includes one or both of a) changing the preconditions of the failed action, or b) creating a recovery path in addition to the failed action.
US09678821B2	Operating a trace procedure for a computer program A method is provided for operating a trace procedure, which traces execution of a computer program, where the program uses different callable modules. A program stack is used to store trace buffer information and an error state, and the modules include calls of the trace procedure. The method includes: (i) when entering execution of a module, storing the current write position of the trace buffer and a cleared error flag in the current frame of the stack; (ii) in case of an error condition during execution of the program, setting the error flag in the current frame; and (iii) when leaving execution of a module, determining if the error flag is set, and if not, then rewinding the trace buffer to the write position stored in the current frame, and deleting the current write position of the trace buffer and the error flag from the stack.
US09678820B2	Alerting with duplicate suppression The present disclosure is related to systems, methods, and non-transitory machine readable media for alerting with duplicate suppression. An example non-transitory machine readable medium can store instructions executable by a processing resource to cause a computing system to receive an alert at a first virtual computing instance (VCI) from a second VCI, compare the alert with at least one previously received alert to determine if the alert is a duplicate alert, and send the alert to an alert notification queue associated with the first VCI in response to a determination that the alert is not a duplicate alert. In some embodiments, the medium can store instructions to confirm that the alert has been sent in response to the determination that the alert is a duplicate alert.
US09678810B2	Multi-operating system A mobile computing device with a mobile operating system and desktop operating system running concurrently and independently on a shared kernel without virtualization. The mobile operating system provides a user experience for the mobile computing device that suits the mobile environment. The desktop operating system provides a full desktop user experience when the mobile computing device is docked to a secondary terminal environment. The mobile computing device may be a smartphone running the Android mobile OS and a full desktop Linux distribution on a modified Android kernel.
US09678803B2	Migration of network entities to a cloud infrastructure A network ontology can be determined for at least one node indicated for migration. The network ontology can describe nodes with which the indicated node has a communication relationship. These nodes and the indicated node can be added to a migration group, and each node of the migration group can be migrated to a cloud infrastructure.
US09678786B2	Management of a virtual machine in a virtualized computing environment based on a concurrency limit One or more concurrency limits may be checked in connection with the performance of a virtual machine management operation such as a virtual machine deploy, resize or migration operation to enable the virtual machine management operation to be scheduled on a host for which no concurrency limits have been met.
US09678784B2	Temporal dynamic virtual machine policies Temporal dynamic policies may be used to effectively alter the management of a virtual machine in a virtualized computing environment based upon some temporal condition such as how long a virtual machine has been active or idle, how long it has been since the virtual machine was created or deployed, etc. The altered management may be used, for example, to activate various performance and/or reliability-related technologies such as high availability and failover functionality for longer-running virtual machines.
US09678766B2	Controlling the configuration of computer systems Embodiments relate to controlling configuration of a computer system comprising one or more exchangeable components. The exchangeable components comprising identification means to store an identifier. A pair of a private key and a public key are generated for each accepted manufacturer of the exchangeable components and a pair of a private key and a public key for the computer system; assigning an identifier for each exchangeable component available for attachment to the system; receiving configuration data comprising a list of encrypted identity records comprising identifiers of the components together with signatures over the data generated with the private key of the respective component manufacturer for each component expected to be attached to the system; and receiving a configuration record. The configuration data of the expected components from the received configuration record is compared with the configuration data of the components attached to the system.
US09678763B2	Display apparatus and controlling method thereof A display apparatus and a controlling method thereof are provided. The controlling method of a display apparatus includes receiving a power-off command through a control apparatus to control the display apparatus, storing image content information and identification information, the image content information being about an image content which is displayed by the display apparatus at a time at which the power-off command is input, and the identification information being about the control apparatus, in response to a power-on command being input, determining whether information included in the power-on command matches the stored identification information, and in response to the information included in the power-on command matching the stored identification information, displaying the stored image content information.
US09678762B2	Dynamic, automated monitoring and controlling of boot operations in computers A network device manages multiple computers and connects the computers to boot devices that store boot programs used by the computers to boot. The network device downloads to each computer a respective boot order that specifies an order in which the computer is to attempt to boot from boot devices specified in the boot order. The network device automatically determines network paths over which each computer is to access the boot devices in the boot order for that computer. The network device automatically determines an availability of each network path and an availability of each boot device. The network device also receives boot status from each computer while the computer attempts to boot from boot devices in the boot order for that computer. The network device automatically performs boot-related actions based on the determined network path and boot device availabilities, and the received boot status.
US09678754B2	System and method of processing hierarchical very long instruction packets A system and method of processing a hierarchical very long instruction word (VLIW) packet is disclosed. In a particular embodiment, a method of processing instructions is disclosed. The method includes receiving a hierarchical VLIW packet of instructions and decoding an instruction from the packet to determine whether the instruction is a single instruction or whether the instruction includes a subpacket that includes a plurality of sub-instructions. The method also includes, in response to determining that the instruction includes the subpacket, executing each of the sub-instructions.
US09678747B2	Code injection and code interception in an operating system with multiple subsystem environments Systems, methods, and apparatuses are provided for code injection and code interception in an operating systems having multiple subsystem environments. Code injection into a target process can rely on generation of a virtual process that can permit analysis of information loaded in a memory image of the target process regardless of the host environment in which the target process is executed. Based at least on information collected via the analysis, code can be injected into the target process while preserving integrity of the target process. Code interception also can exploit the analysis for suitable hooking that preserves integrity of target process. Code interception can utilize relocatable tokenized code that can be parameterized through token replacement.
US09678744B2	Automated code parser for reviewing automation scripts Automation scripts may be examined and compared to a set of new or changed operating system messages to identify potential issues with the automation script that occur with updates to the operating system. When the issue is identified, the reference in the automation script may be updated to refer to the changed operating system message. Further, the reference in the automation script may be modified to address other changes in the system messages, such as changes in information and/or parameters reported in the message.
US09678738B1	Software update methodology Software update information is communicated to a network appliance either across a network or from a local memory device. The software update information includes kernel data, application data, or indicator data. The network appliance includes a first storage device, a second storage device, an operating memory, a central processing unit (CPU), and a network adapter. First and second storage devices are persistent storage devices. In a first example, both kernel data and application data are updated in the network appliance in response to receiving the software update information. In a second example, only the kernel data is updated in the network appliance in response to receiving the software update information. In a third example, only the application data is updated in the network appliance in response to receiving the software update information. Indicator data included in the software update information determines the data to be updated in the network appliance.
US09678718B1	Analyzing information associated with logic In an embodiment, information associated with logic is acquired. The logic may have a changed portion and an unchanged portion. The information may include information associated with an execution of the logic. A filter is applied to the acquired information to identify information associated with the changed portion of the logic. A report may be generated based on the identified information.
US09678715B2	Multi-element comparison and multi-element addition An apparatus 8 for performing a selectable one of multi-element comparison and multi-element addition is formed from a carry propagate adders stage 12 supplied with four non-final intermediate operands formed from the input vector, a non-final limit value selecting stage 14, which when performing a multi-element comparison serves to select, in dependence upon at least carry save values generated by the carry propagate adder, limit values that are of a larger or a smaller value of a pair of elements. A final intermediate operand forming stage 16 forms final intermediate operands from two non-final intermediate sum values from the carry propagate adders stage 12 and supplies these to a final output adder stage 18 which forms a sum of these two final intermediate operands to generate an output operand which can be either one or more candidates for limit values that will be a maximum or minimum value, or a sum value, or partial sum values in the case of a multi-element addition.
US09678713B2	Method and apparatus for processing commands directed to a media center A system that incorporates teachings of the subject disclosure may include, for example, a method for controlling a steering of a plurality of cameras to identify a plurality of potential sources, identifying the plurality of potential sources according to image data provided by the plurality of cameras, assigning a beam of a plurality of beams of a plurality of microphones to each of the plurality of potential sources, detecting a first command comprising one of a first audible cue based on signals from a portion of the plurality of microphones, a first visual cue based on image data from one of the plurality of cameras, or both for controlling a media center, and configuring the media center according to the first command. Other embodiments are disclosed.
US09678705B2	Displaying information on wearable devices A method in an electronic device is provided including establishing a communication with a wearable device and transmitting a first data item from the electronic device to the wearable device based on (i) a distance between the electronic device and the wearable device and (ii) a position of the wearable device relative to the electronic device.
US09678700B2	Information processing apparatus, information processing method, and storage medium storing program for requesting communication and communicating with a printing apparatus supporting a plurality of communication protocols When communicating with a printing apparatus used for the print function of an application, communication with the printing apparatus is requested of a second layer constituted by an instruction set which is translated in advance to be able to execute the instruction set by a processor, in a first layer constituted by a script instruction set which is translated to be able to execute the script instruction set by the processor when executing the application and is executed. In the second layer, communication with the printing apparatus is performed in accordance with the request.
US09678699B2	Communication apparatus and method of controlling the same A communication apparatus performs wireless connection processing for performing wireless communication with another communication apparatus, specifies a service that is to be executed along with the other communication apparatus, in the wireless connection processing, using wireless communication that is based on the wireless connection processing, and performs port control such that a port necessary for execution of the specified service is opened, and a port not necessary for execution of the service is locked.
US09678688B2	System and method for data deduplication for disk storage subsystems A method for data deduplication includes the following steps. First, segmenting an original data set into a plurality of data segments. Next, transforming the data in each data segment into a transformed data representation that has a band-type structure for each data segment. The band-type structure includes a plurality of bands. Next, selecting a first set of bands, grouping them together and storing them with the original data set. The first set of bands includes non-identical transformed data for each data segment. Next, selecting a second set of bands and grouping them together. The second set of bands includes identical transformed data for each data segment. Next, applying a hash function onto the transformed data of the second set of bands and thereby generating transformed data segments indexed by hash function indices. Finally, storing the hash function indices and the transformed data representation of one representative data segment in a deduplication database.
US09678677B2	Determining adjustments to the spare space in a storage device unavailable to a user based on a current consumption profile of a storage device Provided are a computer program product, system and method for determining adjustments to the spare space in a storage device unavailable to a user based on a current consumption profile of a storage device. A current write amplification is based on storage writes to a media at a storage device and host writes from a host to the storage device. An adjustment to the current write amplification is determined to produce an adjusted write amplification based on an estimated lifespan of the storage device, a maximum storage writes for the storage device, and the storage writes at the storage device since the storage device was powered-on. A determination is made to an adjustment to spare space based on the adjusted write amplification. The spare space and the free space available to the user are reconfigured to adjust the spare space by the determined adjustment to the spare space.
US09678675B2	Thin provisioning A mechanism is provided for thin provisioning. An original time-domain sequence of a load parameter of storage resources already allocated to an application program is collected. A future load peak time period of the storage resources already allocated to the application program is determined based on the collected original time-domain sequence of the load parameter. A new storage resource unit from a high-speed storage is allocated in response to receipt of a request to allocate the new storage resource unit to the application program in the future load peak time period. On an occasion of thin provisioning, whether the physical storage resources newly allocated to the application program are located in a low-speed storage or a high-speed storage is determined according to the accesses of the application program to the already-allocated physical storage resources.
US09678674B2	Synchronous input/output command with partial completion Aspects include communicating synchronous input/output (I/O) commands between an operating system and recipient by issuing a first synchronous I/O command with an initiation bit set, identifying that a mailbox command has been initiated to return control to an operating system before waiting for operations of the first synchronous I/O command to complete, and issuing a second synchronous I/O command with a completion bit set in response to the control returning to the operating system.
US09678673B2	Coordinating replication of data stored in a non-volatile memory-based system A technique includes, in response to a first stream of writes to a first non-volatile memory system, generating a second stream of writes for a second non-volatile memory system; and coordinating replication of data stored in the first non-volatile memory system. The coordinating includes embedding at least one command in the second stream of writes to create a synchronization point for data storage in the second non-volatile memory system in response to at least one corresponding command in the first stream to create a synchronization point for data storage in the first non-volatile memory system.
US09678670B2	Method for compute element state replication A method and system for compute element state replication is provided. The method includes transforming at least a subset of metadata of a source compute element from a memory tier of the source compute element to a block representation; within a destination compute element, mounting the block representation; reverse transforming the metadata to a memory tier of the destination compute element; and using the reverse transformed metadata to operate the destination compute element.
US09678666B2	Techniques to configure a solid state drive to operate in a storage mode or a memory mode Examples are disclosed for configuring a solid state drive (SSD) to operate in a storage mode or a memory mode. In some examples, one or more configuration commands may be received at a controller for an SSD having one or more non-volatile memory arrays. The SSD may be configured to operate in at least one of a storage mode, a memory mode or a combination of the storage mode or the memory mode based on the one or more configuration commands. Other examples are described and claimed.
US09678660B2	Method and apparatus for conveying efficient map panning over a mapping user interface An approach is provided for processing one or more user interactions and/or user gestures with the user interface element to a cause panning for specifying routes with location anchors for streets. A panning platform determines an input for specifying at least one panning operation over a mapping user interface. Next, the panning platform determines one or more map features rendered in the mapping user interface. Subsequently, the panning platform processes and/or facilitates a processing of the one or more map features to determine one or more parameters for the at least one panning operation, wherein the at least one panning operation includes a recentering of the mapping user interface.
US09678658B2	Method for displaying interface content and user equipment A method for displaying interface content and user equipment, which effectively improve interaction experience of a user when the user performs a flick operation on a touchscreen, and enhance pleasure in application interaction. A specific solution is acquiring an initial position and a movement direction of a touch point, determining a motion parameter of an interface element object in each grid on a screen according to the initial position and the movement direction, where the screen is divided in advance into multiple grids, and each grid includes a preset quantity of pixels, and moving the interface element object in each grid according to the motion parameter of the interface element object in each grid.
US09678654B2	Wearable computer with superimposed controls and instructions for external device A wearable computing device includes a head-mounted display (HMD) that provides a field of view in which at least a portion of the environment of the wearable computing device is viewable. The HMD is operable to display images superimposed over the field of view. When the wearable computing device determines that a target device is within its environment, the wearable computing device obtains target device information related to the target device. The target device information may include information that defines a virtual control interface for controlling the target device and an identification of a defined area of the target device on which the virtual control image is to be provided. The wearable computing device controls the HMD to display the virtual control image as an image superimposed over the defined area of the target device in the field of view.
US09678648B2	Mobile terminal and controlling method thereof A mobile terminal and controlling method thereof are disclosed, by which transparency and output location of a video can be automatically adjusted. In performing multitasking for processing an additional task while playing a video, the present invention includes displaying a play window for outputting the video by overlaying the play window on a task window for processing the additional task, receiving a user input for scrolling the task window, and automatically adjusting at least one of a transparency of the play window and a display location of the play window while scrolling the task window in response to the user input.
US09678646B2	Electronic device and computer-readable recording medium storing information display program An electronic device includes a magnified view window display unit configured to display a magnified view window to magnify and display an area including a first touched position, a magnified view window size change unit configured to enlarge a size of the magnified view window based on the first touched position and a second touched position when a touched position moves to the second touched position from the first touched position, and a view target area determining unit configured to determine a display target area including the second touched position corresponding to the size of the magnified view window and to display the display target area on the magnified view window.
US09678639B2	Virtual mouse for a touch screen device In one embodiment, a technique is provided for using a virtual mouse to interact with an electronic device. The virtual mouse is displayed on a touch screen display of the electronic device. The virtual mouse includes a pointer identifying a position, and a control region positioned proximate to, but offset from, the pointer. The control region includes a movement area for receiving touch input that is mapped to movement of the virtual mouse, and one or more buttons for performing one or more actions related to an item or point located at the identified position. In use, when touch input is received in the movement area of the virtual mouse, the virtual mouse, including the pointer, is moved. When, a button of the one or more buttons is pressed, an action is performed that is related to the item or point located at the identified position.
US09678622B2	Terminal for supporting icon operation and icon operation method Methods and apparatus are provided for an icon operation. A signal for designating a preset non-use period is received. An icon is output in a display format according to a non-use history of the icon and based on the preset non-use period.
US09678612B2	Single layered electrode structure A single layered electrode structure includes a plurality of first electrode groups arranged along a first direction, a plurality of second electrode groups arranged along the first direction, and a plurality of third electrodes arranged along the first direction. Each of the first electrode groups includes at least one first electrode arranged along a second direction. Each of the second electrode groups includes a plurality of second electrodes arranged along the second direction, with each of the second electrodes at least corresponding to the at least one first electrode. Each of the third electrodes is arranged as one of combinations of between two of the first electrode groups, between two of the first electrode groups, and between one of the first electrode groups and one of the second electrode groups.
US09678602B2	Touch-sensitive apparatus with improved spatial resolution A touch-sensitive apparatus is configured to define a touch surface on a panel by propagating diverging energy beams (e.g. of radiation) across the touch surface inside the panel. Two rows (20A, 20B) of components (2, 3) of a first type that emits energy as a diverging beam and a second type that detects energy are functionally connected to the panel at opposite ends of the touch surface. The rows (20A, 20B) are defined by consecutive component blocks (B) that each contain only components (2, 3) of one type and are defined by type and number of included components. Each row (20A, 20B) comprises a respective sequence (S) of two component blocks (B) of different types and is defined by systematically repeating the sequence (S) along the respective opposite end. To achieve an improved spatial resolution of the touch-sensitive apparatus for a given number of components, at least one of the sequences (S) is selected to consist of two component blocks (B) with different number of components, and the sequences (S) are selected such that at least one component block (B) differs between the sequences (S).
US09678599B2	Acquiring multiple capacitive partial profiles for interleaved capacitive sensing Embodiments include a method, input device, and processing system for operating a plurality of sensor electrodes for capacitive sensing. The method includes acquiring a first capacitive partial profile by driving a first capacitive sensing signal onto a first sensor electrode of a first plurality of sensor electrodes while driving a second sensor electrode of the first plurality of sensor electrodes with a substantially constant voltage. The method further includes acquiring a second capacitive partial profile by driving a second capacitive sensing signal onto the second sensor electrode while driving the first sensor electrode with the substantially constant voltage, and determining a first capacitive profile based on at least the acquired first capacitive partial profile and the second capacitive partial profile.
US09678598B2	Touch panel A capacitive touch panel includes a scanning circuit portion for inputting a drive voltage to each scanning electrode sequentially in 1st to n-th sub detection periods, a capacitance detection circuit portion for detecting a capacitance detection signal of the each detecting electrode in the 1st to n-th groups, and a control circuit portion for calculating a capacitance detection signal change amount from the capacitance detection signals of a plurality of the detecting electrodes detected by the capacitance detection circuit portion, and calculating coordinates of a touch position based on the capacitance detection signal change amounts. The control circuit portion determines, in consecutive sub detection periods, the capacitance detection signal change amount of the each detecting electrode in two groups from which the capacitance detection signals are detected in the consecutive sub detection periods, based on the capacitance detection signals consecutively detected from at least one same detecting electrode.
US09678593B2	Gate on array circuit applied to liquid crystal display device A GOA (Gate On Array) circuit applied to a liquid crystal display device is disclosed. The liquid crystal display device has a plurality of scan lines. The GOA circuit has a plurality of cascaded GOA units. An (N)th level GOA unit is controlled to charge an (N)th level scanning line accordingly. The (N)th level GOA unit includes a signal transfer circuit, an inverting amplifier circuit, a signal reset circuit, and an inverting logistic circuit. Processing a first screen scanning procedure, the GOA circuit will forward scan from the 1st level GOA unit to the (N)th level GOA unit, while the GOA circuit receives a touch signal, the GOA circuit enters into a touch point scanning procedure, then entering into a second screen scanning procedure. This improves the format of touch scanning and increases the report rate of the touch panel to improve the sensitivity of the touch panel.
US09678590B2	Portable electronic device A display unit (13) displays objects. A contact detection unit (11) detects contact at positions corresponding to the objects displayed on the display unit (13). A pressure detection unit (12) detects pressure due to contact on the contact detection unit (11). A control unit (10) executes processing associated with an object displayed on the display unit (13) when the contact detection unit (11) detects contact at a position corresponding to the object and data based on the pressure detected by the pressure detection unit (12) satisfies a predetermined standard. The control unit (10) executes control so that the predetermined standard differs among display areas of the display unit (13) on which the objects are displayed.
US09678582B2	Flexible display apparatus and controlling method thereof A flexible display apparatus is provided. The flexible display apparatus includes a display configured to display content on a screen, a sensor configured to detect bending of the display from a first form to a second form, and a controller configured to reconstruct the content based on the bending and to display the reconstructed content in a first screen generated in one region of the display when it is determined that the display is restored to the first form.
US09678569B2	Systems and methods for providing haptic effects Systems and methods for providing haptic effects are disclosed. For example, one disclosed system includes a computer-readable medium having program code, the program code including program code defining a haptic widget. The haptic widget includes program code defining a haptic effect; program code defining an interface for the haptic widget; program code for receiving, via the interface, a configuration of at least one parameter of the haptic widget; program code for receiving, via the interface, a play command for the haptic effect; and program code for outputting, via the interface, a signal configured to cause the haptic effect, the signal based on the at least one parameter and in response to the play command.
US09678566B2	Hand-held controllers for virtual reality system There is provided a handheld controller for a virtual reality system. The hand-held controller includes a user-input surface and a grip coupled to the user-input surface. The user-input surface has a first user-input key. The hand-held controller further includes a cage coupled to the user-input surface. The cage includes a plurality of illumination sources on an outer surface of the cage, which provide light to be detected by a camera for sensing a position of the controller based on a user motion.
US09678565B2	Projector and image drawing method A projector includes a recognition section adapted to recognize an image to be drawn and a drawing area in which the image is drawn based on a trajectory of a symbol written to a projection surface, an acquisition section adapted to acquire image data representing the image recognized by the recognition section, and a drawing control section adapted to perform control so that the image represented by the image data acquired by the acquisition section is drawn in the drawing area of the projection surface recognized by the recognition section.
US09678558B2	Memory system and method for power management for reducing a variable credit value by a computed consumed energy value for each corresponding updated cycle In one embodiment, a memory system is provided comprising at least one memory die, a sensor configured to sense an average amount of power consumed by the memory system over a time period, and a controller. The controller is configured to maintain a token bucket that indicates an amount of power currently available for memory operations in the at least one memory die and is further configured to reduce a number of tokens in the token bucket by an amount of power consumed over the time period as indicated by the average amount of power sensed by the sensor over the time period.
US09678554B2	Low power mode operation when charging a device A power management circuit is provided. The power management circuit includes a power switch, a current/voltage detector, a current setting unit, and a control unit. The power switch is coupled to a power supply of the computer system. When the power switch is turned on, it supplies an output current and an output voltage of the power supply to an external device. The current/voltage detector detects the magnitudes of the output current and the output voltage. The current setting unit sets a plurality of current thresholds. When the computer system is in a power-saving state and when the output current is greater than a first current threshold and smaller than a second current threshold or the output voltage is smaller than a first voltage threshold and larger than a second voltage threshold, the control unit issues a notification signal to execute a predetermined operation on the power supply.
US09678553B2	Power sequencing for embedded flash memory devices The invention relates to a system and method for improved power sequencing within an embedded flash memory device for a plurality of voltage sources. In one embodiment, a power sequence enabling circuit comprises a PMOS transistor, a first NMOS transistor, a second NMOS transistor, and a first voltage source. During a power up time period, a voltage output from the first voltage source ramps upward, toward a voltage output from a second voltage source through the PMOS transistor. During a power down period, a voltage from the second voltage source ramps downward toward an intermediate voltage greater than zero volts through the first NMOS transistor.
US09678550B2	Dynamic router power control in multi-core processors Technologies are generally described for systems, devices, and methods effective to dynamically select at least one power supply rail for a router. In some examples, a power control unit may be configured to determine a buffer occupancy level of one or more buffers of the router. In some further examples, the buffer occupancy level may be compared to a threshold value. In various other examples, the at least one power supply rail of the router may be switched from a first power rail to a second power rail based on the results of the comparison.
US09678549B2	Selectively uploading applications to a mobile device based on power consumption A computer-implemented method, system, and/or computer program product controls downloading of an application to a mobile device based on power consumption of the application. A server receives a first power nameplate for a first application and a second power nameplate for a second application, a first priority rating of the first application and a second priority rating of the second application, a power descriptor that identifies an amount of power available to a mobile device, and a set of application downloading rules. The set of application downloading rules includes a soft rule, a hard rule, and a medium rule. The server then selectively uploads, to the mobile device, the first application or the second application based on a selected rule.
US09678546B2	Enclosure with multiple heat dissipating surfaces A fanless industrial computer enclosure dissipates heat generated by the hottest components on heat sinks dedicated to respective heat zones within the enclosure. Heat generated by the component that operates at the highest temperature in each heat zone is conducted to a heat sink on the exterior of the enclosure. Using a heat sink dedicated to each heat zone, heat generated by components such as an industrial computer, storage devices, power supply, or other electrical components, is dissipated on the outer surface of the enclosure to the surrounding ambient environment. Providing a low resistance heat conductive path from the hottest components to respective heat sinks to dissipate heat outside the enclosure from each heat zone creates an environment within the enclosure where disk drives do not exceed the specified upper operating temperature rating without regard to the operating temperature of other electrical components in the enclosure.
US09678543B2	Information processing device, information processing method, and computer program product with display inclination features An information processing apparatus, method and computer program product cooperate to provide a device that changes the way content is displayed depending on an inclination angle of the device. The device includes an inclination acquisition device that acquires inclination information of a display housing that houses a display with a displayed image thereon. A first controller causes a first change to the displayed image according to the inclination information. A second controller causes a second change to the displayed image when a predetermined condition is met with respect to the inclination information. By including subcomponents that cooperate in this manner, the device allows a user to perceive a displayed image at various viewing angles and easily recognize whether certain displayed features are able to be actuated when the device is positioned in a certain inclination angle.
US09678539B2	Flexible display device A display device includes a first body including a first internal space and a first opening at a first side of the first body, a second body including a second internal space and a second opening at a first side of the second body, the second opening facing the first opening, a flexible display panel to display images, the flexible display panel having a changeable display area in accordance with a distance between the first and second bodies, and an arm assembly including a plurality of connecting arms supporting the first and second bodies, the plurality of connecting arms being rotatably coupled to the first and second bodies.
US09678538B2	Electronic apparatus An electronic apparatus includes an expansion unit having a battery. The electronic apparatus includes a controller and a display. The controller performs power management of the battery. The display displays a residual capacity of the battery. The controller controls the display such that the display performs pattern display based on the residual capacity.
US09678531B2	Methods and apparatus for adaptive time keeping for multiple timers A timer distribution module supports multiple timers and comprises: a command decoder arranged to determine expiration times of a plurality of timers; and a timer link list distribution adapter, LLDA, operably coupled to the command decoder. The LLDA is arranged to: receive a time reference from a master clock; receive timer data from the command decoder wherein the timer data comprises at least one timer expiration link list; construct a plurality of timer link lists based on at least one of: the timer expiration link list, at least one configurable timing barrier; dynamically split the link list timer data into a plurality of granularities based on the timer expiration link list; and output the dynamically split link list timer data.
US09678527B2	Method and apparatus in an electricity distribution network There is provided a network element in an electricity distribution network, the network element arranged to: identify a plurality of controllable devices connected to the electricity distribution network; determine the capabilities of the plurality of controllable devices; receive an indication of a target power consumption value; calculate which, if any, of the plurality of controllable devices connected to the electricity distribution network should be activated and which, if any, should be inactivated to meet the target power consumption value; and send instructions towards each controllable device that should be activated and each controllable device that should be inactivated to meet the target power consumption value.
US09678522B2	Method and apparatus for actively managing consumption of electric power over an electric power grid A client device manages consumption of power supplied by an electric utility to multiple power consuming devices. Power flow to the power consuming devices is selectively enabled and disabled by one or more controllable devices controlled by the client device. The client device receives a power control message from a load management server. In one embodiment, the power control message indicates at least one of an amount of electric power to be reduced and an identification of at least one controllable device to be instructed to disable a flow of electric power to one or more associated power consuming devices. Responsive to the power control message, the client device issues a power management command or instruction to one or more controllable devices under the client device's control. The power management command causes the controllable device(s) to disable a flow of electric power to at least one associated power consuming device.
US09678503B2	Fail-over system and method for a semiconductor equipment server A fail-over system and method relates to a fail-over technology of an equipment server managing a semiconductor fabrication equipment server. The fail-over system includes a semiconductor fabrication equipment group including a plurality of semiconductor fabrication equipment and configured to perform semiconductor fabrication processes; an equipment server group including a plurality of equipment servers and configured to control an operation of the semiconductor fabrication equipment group; and a management server configured to detect an error or a faulty operation in at least one equipment server in the equipment server group by communicating with the equipment server group, and execute a fail-over policy for a faulty equipment server in which the faulty operation is detected, wherein executing the fail-over policy includes allocating at least one application running in the faulty equipment server to at least one normal equipment server in which no faulty operation is detected in the equipment server group.
US09678496B2	Concrete material dispensing system A control system for a concrete plant adds intelligent capabilities in the concrete plant that may enhance safety, localize control of the concrete plant, and assist with troubleshooting. The control system may also enhance accuracy for determining an amount of mixed concrete dispensed, or amounts of concrete ingredients to dispense, and may eliminate the need for equipment used to verify the amount of mixed concrete or concrete ingredients dispensed.
US09678486B2	Device abstraction system and method for a distributed-architecture heating, ventilation and air conditioning system The disclosure provides an HVAC data processing and communication network and a method of manufacturing the same. In an embodiment, the method includes configuring a user interface to receive a first parameter setting associated with a system device. The user interface is further configured to send a message to the system device including the first parameter setting. The user interface is further configured to receive from the system device a second parameter setting that is dependent on the first parameter setting. The user interface is further configured to make the second parameter setting available for viewing.
US09678484B2	Method and apparatus for seamless state transfer between user interface devices in a mobile control room Methods and apparatus for operating a process plant include a server providing display information to a first user interface (UI) device, storing state information, and providing display information to a second user interface device according to the stored state data. A processor is coupled to a unitary, logical data storage area and to a memory device that stores machine-readable instructions executable by the processor. The instructions cause the processor to retrieve process data for display on a first UI device, transmit to the first UI device the retrieved process data, store state information associated with the display of the process data on the first UI device, retrieve process data for display on a second UI device according to the stored state information, and transmit to the second UI device the process data retrieved according to the stored state information.
US09678477B2	Mechanical component, mechanical component manufacturing method, movement, and timepiece A mechanical component configured to rotate with a shaft member includes a component main body having a through-hole through which the shaft member is passed, and one or more shaft support portions formed on the inner surface of the through-hole to fix the shaft member to the component main body. The one or more shaft support portions protrude from the inner surface of the through-hole and are capable of retaining the shaft member due to an elastic force. The one or more shaft support portions are made of material having a larger elongation percentage than that of the material of the component main body thereby preventing breakage of the mechanical component due to stress created when the shaft member is forced through the through-hole in the component main body.
US09678476B2	Scalable and tileable holographic displays A holographic display system for generating a super hologram with full parallax in different fields of view in the horizontal and vertical directions. The display system includes assemblies or subsystems each adapted to combine holographic displays and coarse integral displays to produce or display a coarse integral hologram. The display system is adapted to combine such displays or display systems to add more detail or information. For example, the display system can be assembled as if it were made up of “holographic bricks” that can be stacked and combined to provide a unique image/output. Briefly, the display system described herein teaches techniques for combining coarse integral holographic (CIH) displays in a seamless and scalable manner, e.g., a display system where multiple spatial light modulators (SLMs) can be placed or provided behind coarse integral optics.
US09678475B2	Security elements and method for their manufacture The present invention relates to complex security elements based on recording materials for optical elements with refractive index modulation, in particular, holograms, which are subsequently coated with specific metallic nano-shaped metal particles, a method for their manufacture, in particular on a paper or on a plastic substrate and a security product obtainable using the security element. A further aspect of the invention is the use of such a security element for the prevention of counterfeit or reproduction of a document of value.
US09678471B2	Process cartridge, electrophotographic image forming apparatus, and electrophotographic photosensitive drum unit A process cartridge for use with a main assembly of an electrophotographic image forming apparatus. The process cartridge includes a casing, a photosensitive drum having an axis L1, and a coupling member having an axis L2. The coupling member is movable between a first position in which the axis L2 of the coupling member is coaxial with the axis L1 of the photosensitive drum, and a second position in which the axis L2 of the coupling member is inclined with respect to the axis L1 of the photosensitive drum.
US09678466B2	Image forming apparatus that controls a conveyance speed of sheets while purging the sheets after a paper jam An image forming apparatus includes: an image forming unit configured to form an image on a paper sheet; a conveying unit configured to convey the paper sheet to the image forming unit at a first conveyance speed and convey the paper sheet in the image forming unit at a second conveyance speed; a trouble detecting unit configured to detect a trouble; and a control unit configured to control the conveyance of the paper sheet in the conveying unit and the image formation on the paper sheet in the image forming unit, wherein, when the trouble detecting unit detects a trouble from the paper sheet being conveyed, and the control unit controls the conveying unit to perform a purging process to discharge a troubled paper sheet to the outside of the apparatus, the control unit controls a conveyance speed to be equal to the second conveyance speed.
US09678464B2	Sheet feeder, and image forming apparatus using the sheet feeder A sheet feeder is provided. The sheet feeder includes a sheet container installation space forming member to form a sheet container installation space in the sheet feeder; a sheet container to contain a recording sheet therein, which can be inserted into or extracted from the sheet container installation space; and a sheet feeding device, which contacts with the recording sheet in the sheet container at a sheet pickup position to apply a feeding power to the recording sheet. The sheet feeder has a passage, which is formed by the sheet container and the sheet container installation space forming member to communicate the inside of the sheet feeder with the outside thereof and which is detoured plural times, wherein the passage is located above the sheet pickup position.
US09678455B2	Optical scanning device and image forming apparatus including the same The optical scanning device includes a polygon mirror, one or more planar mirrors for reflecting the beam light so as to be led to a photosensitive drum, and a pressing member for pressing a back surface of a final planar mirror. The final planar mirror has a glass plate for allowing the beam light to pass therethrough and a reflection layer arranged on an opposite surface of the glass plate. The beam light passes through the glass plate and is reflected at the opposite surface side, so that a scanning line is curved on a surface to be scanned in a convex shape to one side in a sub-scanning direction. The final planar mirror is pressed by the pressing member so as to be curved, so that the scanning line on the surface to be scanned is adjustable to a flat shape.
US09678447B2	Toner for developing electrostatic images and method for producing the toner The present invention is to provide a toner which is able to prevent an odor generated from the toner upon fixing and which has excellent fixability. The present invention is also to provide a method for producing the toner. Disclosed is a method for producing a toner for developing electrostatic images, wherein a content of diethylbenzene in colored resin particles after a polymerization step and before a stripping step, is set to 100 to 400 ppm by the polymerization step; and wherein the diethylbenzene content in the colored resin particles after the stripping step is set to 30 to 250 ppm by the stripping step, and a content of the monovinyl monomer in the colored resin particles after the stripping step is set to 30 ppm or less by the stripping step.
US09678438B2	Illumination system of a microlithographic projection exposure apparatus An illumination system of a microlithographic projection exposure apparatus includes an optical integrator that includes an array of optical raster elements. A condenser superimposes the light beams associated with the optical raster elements in a common field plane. A modulator modifies a field dependency of an angular irradiance distribution in an illuminated field. Units of the modulator are associated with one of the light beams and are arranged at a position in front of the condenser such that only the associated light beam impinges on a single modulator unit. The units are configured to variably redistribute, without blocking any light, a spatial and/or an angular irradiance distribution of the associated light beams. A control device controls the modulator units if it receives an input command that the field dependency of the angular irradiance distribution in the mask plane shall be modified.
US09678427B2	Resist underlayer film-forming composition containing copolymer that has triazine ring and sulfur atom in main chain A resist underlayer film-forming composition containing a copolymer having a structural unit of Formula (1) and a structural unit of Formula (2), a cross-linkable compound, a cross-linking catalyst, and a solvent. wherein A is a divalent organic group containing a triazine ring, X1 is an —S— group or an —O— group, Q is a linear, branched, or cyclic hydrocarbon group having a carbon atom number of 1 to 15, the hydrocarbon group may have at least one sulfur atom or oxygen atom in a main chain and at least one hydroxy group as a substituent, n is 0 or 1, R1 and R2 are each independently a C1-3 alkylene group or a single bond, Z is a divalent group having at least one sulfur atom or oxygen atom, and when X1 is an —O— group, Z is a divalent group having at least one sulfur atom.
US09678426B2	Polymerizable fluoromonomer, fluoropolymer, resist material, and method of pattern formation Disclosed is a polymerizable fluoromonomer represented by the following general formula (1). In the formula, R1 represents a hydrogen atom, methyl group, fluorine atom, or trifluoromethyl group. n is an integer of 0 or 1, and m is that of from 1 to (3+n). R2 and R3 each independently represents a hydrogen atom or a protective group. A resist containing a fluoropolymer obtained by polymerizing or copolymerizing the monomer is suitable for use in microfabrication by immersion exposure or by a double patterning process based on immersion exposure.
US09678425B2	Polymerizable fluoromonomer, fluoropolymer, resist material, and method of pattern formation Disclosed is a polymerizable fluoromonomer represented by the following general formula (1). In the formula, R1 represents a hydrogen atom, methyl group, fluorine atom, or trifluoromethyl group. n is an integer of 0 or 1, and m is that of from 1 to (3+n). R2 and R3 each independently represents a hydrogen atom or a protective group. A resist containing a fluoropolymer obtained by polymerizing or copolymerizing the monomer is suitable for use in microfabrication by immersion exposure or by a double patterning process based on immersion exposure.
US09678424B2	Photosensitive resin composition and photosensitive resin printing plate original [Problem] To provide a photosensitive resin composition which exhibits excellent relief image reproducibility and improved toughness and printing durability, and a photosensitive resin printing plate precursor. [Solution] A photosensitive resin composition which is characterized by containing (A) a modified and partially saponified poly(vinyl acetate) having a reactive group in a side chain, (B) a polyamide having a basic nitrogen atom, (C) a compound having a molecular weight of 300 or lower, a 5-7 membered ring and a polymerizable ethylenic double bond, and (D) a photopolymerization initiator.
US09678414B2	Projecting type image display apparatus including light source control unit and cooling control unit An image display apparatus including a light source; a light source control unit configured to control electric power to be supplied to the light source; a light source cooling unit configured to cool the light source; a cooling control unit configured to control the light source cooling unit; an image display device; an illumination optical system configured to introduce light from the light source to the image display device, and a projecting optical system configured to project light modulated by the image display device. When the light source control unit receives a turn-off command, the light source control unit first lowers electric power to be supplied to the light source to a predetermined electric power lower than normal electric power to be supplied when the lamp is on, and then blocks the supply of the electric power to the light source, thereby turning the light source off.
US09678390B2	Mask plate, photo-alignment method and liquid crystal display device The disclosure is related to a photo-alignment method, comprising the following steps. A top panel and a bottom panel each with an alignment film are provided; a mask plate for shielding the top panel and the bottom panel is provided, and a transparent section of the mask plate is disposed; an ultraviolet is emitted along a first incident direction by the mask plate for exposing the alignment film of the top panel and the bottom panel; the transparent section of the mask plate is adjusted, an ultraviolet is emitted along a second incident direction by the mask plate for exposing the alignment film of the top panel and the bottom panel. The manufacture of the alignment film in the whole liquid crystal display device can be accomplished by a mask plate undergoing exposure twice, so that the exposure times decrease and the process is simplified.
US09678386B2	Liquid-crystal display device and process for producing liquid-crystal display device The present invention provides a liquid-crystal display device capable of maintaining a high voltage holding ratio even without an alignment film. The liquid-crystal display device of the present invention includes a pair of substrates, a liquid crystal layer which is sandwiched between the substrates and which contains a liquid crystal material, and a polymer layer which is disposed on a surface of each of the substrates and which controls the alignment of liquid crystal molecules. The outermost surfaces of both the substrates comprise substantially no alignment film. The polymer layer is formed by polymerizing one or more radical polymerizable monomer species added to the liquid crystal layer. At least one species of the one or more radical polymerizable monomer species is a biphenyl compound having a specific structure.
US09678385B2	Apparatus for manufacturing alignment layer, and method of manufacturing liquid crystal display device by using the same An apparatus for manufacturing an alignment layer includes: a dispenser which supplies an alignment material; an anilox roll, onto which the alignment material supplied from the dispenser is applied; a printing roll which is engaged and rotated with the anilox roll; and a resin plate attached to an outer peripheral surface of the printing roll, where the resin plate receives the alignment material applied onto the anilox roll and prints the alignment material to a targeted substrate, in which the resin plate comprises a first area and a second area surrounding the first area, first convex portions and first concave portions are disposed in the first area, second convex portions and second concave portions are disposed in the second area, and an area of each second convex portion is larger than an area of each first convex portion.
US09678383B1	Method and apparatus for light diffusion An apparatus includes a substrate and an LED attached to the substrate via conductive pads on a first side of the LED. The LED includes a first reflective element disposed adjacent the first side of the LED so as to reflect light in a direction away from the substrate, and a second reflective element disposed adjacent a second side of the LED that opposes the first side of the LED. The second reflective element disposed so as to reflect light primarily in a direction toward the substrate.
US09678380B2	Liquid crystal display and method of manufacturing the same A liquid crystal display includes: a substrate including a display region and a non-display region, a light leakage preventing layer disposed on the substrate along the non-display region, a step providing layer disposed on the light leakage preventing layer, and a hydrophobic layer disposed on the step providing layer.
US09678379B2	Liquid crystal display apparatus and method of manufacturing the same The viewing angle of a Liquid Crystal Display (LCD) apparatus is expanded by means of a sampled light redirecting layer, In one embodiment, the sampled light redirecting layer is formed as a compensation layer disposed between a top polarizing plate and the rest of a liquid crystal display panel having a first substrate, a second substrate, and a liquid crystal layer interposed therebetween. The compensation layer includes at least two optical path changing patterns disposed in interleaved manner. The two optical path changing patterns have different refractive indexes. As a result of the different refractive indices and shapes of the at least two different optical path changing patterns some of the light rays sampled out of the output of the rest of a liquid crystal display panel are directed in a first direction by means of reflection or refraction and some are directed in a different second direction, thereby improving a side visibility of the display apparatus.
US09678376B2	Liquid crystal display comprising a liquid crystal layer positioned in a microcavity having a column portion in contact with a tapered side wall of the microcavity A liquid crystal display includes a microcavity formed on an insulation substrate that has a tapered side wall; a liquid crystal layer positioned in the microcavity; and a column portion in contact with the tapered side wall of the microcavity and between microcavities. The column portion includes a second column organic layer and a first column insulating layer formed outside the second column organic layer, and a side surface of first column insulating layer coincides with the side wall of the microcavity.
US09678375B2	Display device A display device includes a display component, a plastic frame, and a rear frame. The plastic frame supports the display component near an edge portion of the display component from a rear side of the display device relative to the display component. The rear frame is disposed on the rear side of the display device relative to the display component. The rear frame includes a fixing component that fixedly couples at least the plastic frame relative to the rear frame. The fixing component has an inner bent component that extends forward and inward of the display device from an edge part of the rear frame.
US09678371B2	Display with delay compensation to prevent block dimming A display may have an array of pixels controlled by display driver circuitry. The display driver circuitry may supply the pixels with data signals over data lines in columns of the pixels and may supply the pixels with gate line signals over gate lines in rows of the pixels. The display driver circuitry may have a display driver integrated circuit located on one of the edges of the display. The display driver circuitry may also have gate driver integrated circuits that extend along opposing edges of the display to form a pair of shift registers. Conductive lines in a display substrate may be coupled to opposing ends of the shift registers and to intermediate locations within the shift registers to minimize delays in distributing a gate high voltage signal from the display driver integrated circuit to the shift registers.
US09678363B2	Optical article with gradient photochromism The present invention is drawn to an optical article comprising: (a) a photochromic substrate comprising at least one photochromic dye, and (b) an interference coating having a specific gradient thickness providing for a gradient reflectance. It also pertains to a process for making such an optical article.
US09678356B2	Projection screen apparatus, projection apparatus, and projection method A projection screen apparatus has: a display panel having an external panel surface and an internal panel surface; an actuator device by way of which an oscillating motion is impartable to at least a part of the projection screen apparatus; a diffuser screen, disposed adjacently to the internal panel surface, to which the oscillating motion with respect to the display panel is imparted by way of the actuator device; and a gap between the internal panel surface of the display panel and an inner surface of the diffuser screen directed toward the internal panel surface being filled at least in part with at least one viscoelastic filler material.
US09678352B2	Liquid crystal grating and display device The liquid crystal grating includes a first substrate and a second substrate arranged opposite to each other, and a liquid crystal layer arranged therebetween. The liquid crystal grating further includes: a plurality of first electrodes having a first extension direction and arranged parallel to each other and on the first substrate; and a plurality of second electrodes having a second extension direction and arranged parallel to each other and on the second substrate. The first electrodes and the second electrodes cross each other and are configured to enable, under control of a first driving signal, the liquid crystal layer to form a first grating for the 3D display together with the display panel in a first direction, and to enable, under control of a second driving signal, the liquid crystal layer to form a second grating for the 3D display together with the display panel in a second direction.
US09678350B2	Laser with integrated multi line or scanning beam capability A method and system for providing illumination is disclosed. The method may include providing a laser having a predetermined wavelength; performing at least one of: beam splitting or beam scanning prior to a frequency conversion; converting a frequency of each output beam of the at least one of: beam splitting or beam scanning; and providing the frequency converted output beam for illumination.
US09678349B2	Transparent type near-eye display device The present invention relates to a transparent near-eye display device. The near-eye display device includes a main case providing a containing space to include an electronic component assemble; a see-through display unit mechanically connected with the main case and electrically connected with the electronic component assemble; and an attaching unit configured on the main case and attachable to a spectacle-based frame.
US09678345B1	Dynamic vergence correction in binocular displays A binocular display vergence correction system is described. The binocular display vergence correction system includes a binocular display, a display tracking system, and a controller. The binocular display, being pixelated, includes a left eye image display and a right eye image display. The display tracking system is configured to determine the position and angular orientation of the binocular display relative to an origin position and origin angular orientation. The controller, includes a processor, and is configured to correct the vergence of the binocular display based on an apparent viewing distance from an eye position of the binocular display to a target object to be viewed on a screen based on the determined position and angular orientation of the binocular display. A method of correcting vergence for a pixelated binocular display is also described.
US09678339B2	Display, in particular for a motor vehicle A display, in particular for a motor vehicle, includes a projection module for generating an image in order to project it in the normal viewing direction of a user of the display, along an optical path. The display also includes a reflecting and/or displaying element, which is movable between various display positions. The display also includes a holder for the reflecting and/or displaying element. The holder can be moved vertically between various positioning states.
US09678338B1	Systems and methods for reducing boot time and power consumption in wearable display systems Systems and methods for communications with wearable devices having displays with low boot time are provided. In one example embodiment, a display command is received at a low-power processor, and the low-power processor boots a video processor. The video processor then boots a high-speed processor as part of managing display of content. In certain embodiments, a low-power wireless connection from a camera to a client device is established. Based on this connection, the low-power processor initiates boot-up of a high-speed processor and wireless communication circuitry, which is used to receive content for display on the wearable device.
US09678330B1	Electrowetting display device including a top internal diffuser A display device including a top support plate having a first refractive index. A diffusion layer on a first surface of the top support plate includes a plurality of features. Each feature of the plurality of features has a second refractive index greater than the first refractive index. A transparent conductive polymer layer is applied over the diffusion layer. The transparent conductive polymer layer has a third refractive index equal to the first refractive index, and provides a common electrode.
US09678329B2	Angled facets for display devices This disclosure provides systems, methods and apparatus for provided masked structures on an embossed substrate. In one aspect, these masked structures may be reflected facets for use as part of a frontlight film. In another aspect, these masked structures may be masked wiring for use as part of a capacitive touchscreen array. In one aspect, the structures may have a discrete mask formed thereon, while in other aspects, these structures may have self-masking attributes, and may include an interferometric black mask.
US09678328B2	Eyepiece lens and imaging apparatus An eyepiece lens consists essentially of a first lens having positive refractive power, a second lens having negative refractive power, a third lens having positive refractive power, and a fourth lens having positive refractive power in this order from an observation object side. Conditional expression (1): −3.5
US09678327B2	Endoscope objective lens and endoscope An endoscope objective lens consists essentially of, in order from the object side, a negative first lens group, a stop, and a positive second lens group. At least one of the first lens group and the second lens includes only one cemented lens which is formed by a positive lens and a negative lens cemented together. The entire system includes a positive single lens. The endoscope objective lens satisfies given condition expressions relating to the focal length of the entire system, the center thickness of the positive single lens, the center thickness of the cemented lens, the distance from the most object-side lens surface to the stop, and the distance from the stop to the most image-side lens surface.
US09678326B2	Generating perspective views in microscopy A microscope includes a spatial light modulator configured for adjusting the perspective angle of a view imaged at the light detector. The spatial light modulator is positioned at a pupil plane, or at an equivalent conjugate plane thereof, in the illumination light path or in the detection light path. The microscope enables perspective views of a sample at different angles, which may be utilized to generate a three-dimensional image of the sample.
US09678314B2	Imaging lens assembly An imaging lens assembly is provided in the present disclosure. The imaging lens assembly includes a first lens with positive refractive power, a second lens with negative refractive power, a third lens with negative refractive power, a forth lens with positive refractive power, a fifth lens with positive refractive power and a sixth lens with negative refractive power. The first lens, the second lens, the third lens, the forth lens, the fifth lens and the sixth lens are arranged in sequence from the object side to the image side and satisfy conditions provided in the present disclosure.
US09678313B2	Imaging lens A compact low-cost imaging lens which provides brightness with an F-value of 2.5 or less and a wide field of view and corrects aberrations properly, meeting the demand for low-profileness. The imaging lens elements are arranged in the following order from an object side to an image side: a first lens with positive refractive power having a convex surface on the object side; a second lens with negative refractive power; a third lens with positive or negative refractive power having at least one aspheric surface; a fourth lens with positive refractive power; a fifth lens as a meniscus double-sided aspheric lens having a concave surface near an optical axis on the image side; and a sixth lens as a meniscus lens having a concave surface near the optical axis on the object side. The both surfaces of the fifth lens have pole-change points off the optical axis.
US09678308B2	Optical system An optical system includes: a first lens having refractive power and comprising an object-side surface which is convex in a paraxial region; a second lens having refractive power and comprising an object-side surface which is convex in the paraxial region; a third lens having refractive power; a fourth lens having refractive power; and a fifth lens having refractive power. The first to fifth lenses are sequentially disposed from an object side. An Abbe number of the first lens is between 30 and 50. Deteriorations in resolution at high temperatures and/or low temperatures may be decreased, MTF performance may be maintained even during temperature changes, and changes in focusing positions may be decreased. In addition, an aberration improvement effect, a wide field of view and a high degree of resolution may be implemented.
US09678305B2	Inner focus lens An inner focus lens includes sequentially from an object side, a first lens group having a positive refractive power; a second lens group having a negative refractive power; and a third lens group having a negative refractive power. The second lens group is moved along the optical axis, whereby focusing from a focus state for an object at infinity to a focus state for a minimum object distance is performed. The inner focus lens satisfies a conditional expression (1) −29.0≦f3/f≦−5.4, where f3 is a focal length of the third lens group at the focus state for an object at infinity and f is a focal length of the optical system overall at the focus state for an object at infinity.
US09678296B2	Telecommunications assembly A telecommunications assembly includes a chassis defining an interior region and a tray assembly disposed in the interior region. The tray assembly includes a tray and a cable spool assembly. The cable spool assembly is engaged to a base panel of the tray. The cable spool assembly is adapted to rotate relative to the tray. The cable spool assembly includes a hub, a flange engaged to the hub and an adapter module. The flange defines a termination area. The adapter module is engaged to the termination module of the flange. The adapter module is adapted to slide relative to the flange in a direction that is generally parallel to the flange between an extended position and a retracted position.
US09678295B2	Fiber optic cable module holder A holder for a plurality of fiber optic cable modules. The holder may includes a tray, wherein the tray is movably positionable in a chassis; and a plurality of mounts coupled to the tray, each mount configured to releasably retain a module of a plurality of various types of modules relative to the tray.
US09678294B2	Optical fiber connection apparatus An optical fiber distribution apparatus includes a panel extending along a first direction and formed with a first mounting hole and at least two second mounting holes spaced apart from the first mounting hole along the first direction. A plurality of rows of optical fiber connector adapters are arranged in a stack in a direction transverse to the first direction and are inserted into the first mounting hole. At least two multi-fiber push on (MPO) connector adapters are respectively inserted into the at least two second mounting holes.
US09678291B2	Cable sealing unit with sealed actuator A cable sealing unit has an actuator that is sealed to inhibit the intrusion of debris from compromising the working components of the actuator. A sealant can be pressurized using an actuator that includes a handle threaded over a shaft to compress a spring. A sealing arrangement is disposed at the actuator to prevent a particulate contaminant, such as sand, from damaging the threads of the actuator. The sealing arrangement also can prevent the spring from being exposed to particulate contaminants. The sealing arrangement can include one or more sealing members disposed on the handle and/or the shaft.
US09678290B2	Fiber optic cable assembly including a connector assembly A fiber optic cable assembly includes a fiber optic cable and a connector assembly. The fiber optic cable includes an optical fiber, having a core surrounded by a cladding, and a jacket, which surrounds the optical fiber. The jacket includes a plurality of reinforcement members integrated into a matrix material of the jacket. The connector assembly includes a rear housing having a connector end that is directly engaged with an end portion of the jacket. A fiber optic cable includes an optical fiber with a core surrounded by a cladding. The fiber optic cable also includes a jacket that surrounds the optical fiber. The jacket includes about 40% to about 70% by weight of a plurality of reinforcement members integrated into a matrix material of the jacket.
US09678286B2	Optical connection assembly with improved guiding of the ferrules of optical contacts, ferule with reduced dimensions and connection method associated An optical connection assembly includes a first optical contact including at least one body which is designed to envelop a first ferrule at least partly, laterally, and constitutes the receptacle for the first ferrule, at least a first guide arm extending beyond the front face of the first ferrule, and at least a second guide arm beyond which the body of the ferrule extends; a second optical contact including at least one body which is designed to envelop a second ferrule at least partly, laterally, and constitutes the receptacle for the second ferrule, and at least one guide means extending beyond the front face of the ferrule and being designed to cooperate with the first guide arm of the first optical contact, in order to carry out the guiding, then the connection, between the first and second optical contacts.
US09678281B2	Apparatus for and method of terminating a multi-fiber ferrule An apparatus allows a plurality of optical fibers to be held together during the termination process. A handling device holds the optical fibers while a cleaving device allows for consistent cleaving of the optical fibers to ensure the ends are cleaved consistently. The handling device may also be used during the fixation of the optical fibers in the fiber optic ferrule. A method for terminating the plurality of optical fiber is also provided.
US09678278B2	Integrated optical circuit and methods for its manufacturing and reconfiguring The present invention is related to an integrated optical circuit, in particular, to an optical-field writable array, as well as to methods for its manufacturing and reconfiguring.The integrated optical circuit comprises at least one nanophotonic device and at least one photonic wire, wherein the nanophotonic device comprises a substrate equipped with at least one reception for at least one external connector, wherein the reception is coupled to at least one connector waveguide, and at least one set of nano-optic components, wherein the nano-optic component is one of a nanophotonic waveguide or a nanophotonic component, wherein the nano-photonic component is nano-optically coupled to at least one nanophotonic waveguide, wherein at least one of the nanophotonic waveguides is selectively coupleable to at least one of the connector waveguides, wherein the photonic wire connects at least one of the nanophotonic waveguides to at least one of the connector waveguides.
US09678276B1	All-glass on-chip high quality-factor optical microresonator Optical microresonator platforms are provided comprising a substrate having a surface, a plurality of SiO2 pillars, and a plurality of SiO2 whispering gallery mode (WGM) optical microresonators, each SiO2 pillar extending from the surface of the substrate and terminating in a corresponding SiO2 WGM optical microresonator of the plurality of SiO2 WGM optical microresonators, wherein the substrate, the plurality of SiO2 pillars and the plurality of SiO2 WGM optical microresonators form a monolithic structure, and further wherein the substrate is substantially transparent to visible light. The substrate may be a SiO2 substrate and the SiO2 WGM optical microresonator may be a SiO2 optical microtoroid.
US09678275B1	Efficient coupling of infrared radiation to renal calculi Herein are disclosed protected optical fiber terminations for use in the treatment of renal and biliary calculi. The protected optical fiber termination including a ferrule affixed to the optical fiber that provides the termination of the optical fiber with protection from contact with saline and/or biological fluids. The optical fiber termination can include open or closed ferrules. The open ferrules providing a means for maintaining a bubble, e.g., a Moses bubble on the termination; the closed ferrules providing a calumniated focus on the renal or biliary calculi.
US09678260B2	Omnidirectional high chroma red structural color with semiconductor absorber layer A high-chroma omnidirectional red structural color pigment. The omnidirectional structural color pigment is in the form of a multilayer stack that has a reflective core layer, a semiconductor absorber layer extending across the reflective core layer, and a high index of refraction dielectric layer extending across the semiconductor absorber layer. The multilayer stack reflects a single band of visible light with a hue between 0-40°, and preferably between 10-30°, on an ab Lab color map. The single band of visible light has a hue shift of less than 30° on the ab Lab color map when viewed from all angles between 0-45° normal to an outer surface of the multilayer stack.
US09678257B2	Photoresist composition for green color filter The present disclosure relates to a photosensitive composition for a green color filter. More particularly, the present disclosure relates to a dye for a green color filter which has a high light transmittance; a photosensitive composition including the dye; and a green color filter manufactured using the photosensitive composition.
US09678254B2	Red pixel, green pixel and color filter and display device A red pixel has a chromaticity coordinate in the CIE colorimetric system in use by a light emitting element containing quantum dots as a light source, satisfying 0.670≦x≦0.680, and a film thickness of 3.0 μm or less. A green pixel has a chromaticity coordinate in the CIE colorimetric system in use by the light emitting element as a light source, satisfying 0.690≦x≦0.710, and a film thickness of 3.0 μm or less. The color filter has at least one of the red pixel and the green pixel. A display device comprises a color filter having at least one of the red pixel and the green pixel, and the light emitting element containing quantum dots.
US09678252B2	Multilayer stack with overlapping harmonics for wide visible-infrared coverage A broadband mirror, polarizer, or other reflector includes at least one stack of microlayers. Microlayers in the stack are arranged into optical repeat units. At a design angle of incidence such as normal incidence, the stack provides a 1st order reflection band, a 2nd order reflection band, and optionally a 3rd order reflection band. The 2nd order reflection band overlaps, or substantially overlaps, the 1st and/or 3rd order reflection bands to form a single wide reflection band. The wide reflection band may include the 2nd and 1st but not a 3rd order reflection band, or the 2nd and 3rd but not the 1st order reflection band, or it may include the 1st, 2nd, and 3rd order reflection bands, as well as still higher order reflection bands. The wide reflection band may cover at least a portion of visible and infrared wavelengths.
US09678248B2	Antireflective article, image display device, production mold for antireflective article and production method for antireflective article production mold In order to improve the scratch resistance of an antireflective article having a moth-eye structure, an antireflective article is provided that has fine protrusions densely arranged therein, and has the interval between adjacent fine protrusions being no more than the shortest wavelength in the wavelength band for antireflection. At least some of the fine protrusions are fine protrusions having a plurality of apexes.
US09678239B2	System and method for imaging properties of subterranean formations A system and method for imaging properties of subterranean formations in a wellbore is provided. The system comprises a formation sensor for collecting currents injected into the subterranean formations, the formation sensor positionable on a downhole tool deployable into the wellbore. The system comprises a controller for controlling the formation sensor and a formation imaging unit. The formation imaging unit comprises a current management unit for collecting data from the currents injected into the subterranean formations, the currents having at least two different frequencies. The formation imaging unit comprises a drilling mud data unit for determining at least one drilling mud parameter, a formation data unit for determining at least one formation parameter from the collected data, and an inversion unit for determining at least one formation property by inverting the at least one formation parameter.
US09678238B2	Intelligent train wheel sensor This disclosure relates to an intelligent train wheel sensor including a permanent magnetic coil and a low-pass filter circuit, an amplifying and shaping circuit, an analog/digital conversion circuit, and an output interface and interface conversion circuit, which are connected to each other in turn. The analog/digital conversion circuit and the output interface and interface conversion circuit being connected to a micro-processing control unit. The permanent magnetic coil is further connected in turn to a rectifier and filter circuit, a power storage circuit, a charging control circuit and rechargeable batteries. The rechargeable batteries supply power to the low-pass filter circuit, the amplifying and shaping circuit, the analog/digital conversion circuit, the micro-processing control unit and the output interface and interface conversion circuit. Such intelligent sensor has high reliability, requires no external power supply, can be installed and maintained conveniently. Furthermore, such intelligent sensor can identify a wheel signal of a low-speed train.
US09678236B2	Fracture characterization by interferometric drillbit imaging, time reversal imaging of fractures using drill bit seismics, and monitoring of fracture generation via time reversed acoustics and electroseismics Apparatus, systems, and methods may operate to receive radiated energy as scattered energy after the radiated energy interacts with a geologic formation, wherein the scattered energy is received at a sub-surface multi-channel sensor array that operates to transform the scattered energy into received signals, and wherein the radiated energy is provided by a sub-surface source of elastic energy; and to identify discontinuous features in the geologic formation by interferometric comparison of the received signals as elastic signals and/or electromagnetic signals among some sensors in the sensor array, or by time-reversal propagation of the received signals as elastic and/or electromagnetic signals in a numeric model of a volume of the geologic formation. Additional apparatus, systems, and methods are disclosed.
US09678232B2	System, method and computer program product for stacking seismic noise data to analyze seismic events Disclosed is a method for determining seismic event data from indications of seismic noise, the method including receiving seismic trace data from a plurality of locations, and providing a virtual trace value (ERvirtual) as seismic event data for a virtual trace location from the seismic trace data. A system and computer program product for determining seismic event data is also disclosed.
US09678222B2	Reducing trap effects in a scintillator by application of secondary radiation A radiation detector device for detecting a primary radiation includes a scintillator which generates a converted primary radiation in response to incoming primary radiation and a photo detector for detecting the converted primary radiation. The radiation detector device further includes a secondary radiation source for irradiating the scintillator with a secondary radiation which has a wavelength different from a wavelength of the first radiation and which is capable of producing a spatially more uniform response of the scintillator to primary radiation.
US09678220B2	X-ray detector with saturated sensor element estimated photon counting The present invention relates to an x-ray detector comprising a sensor unit for detecting incident x-ray radiation comprising a number of sensor elements, a counting channel per sensor element for obtaining a count signal by counting photons or charge pulses generated in response to the incident x-ray radiation since a beginning of a measurement interval, an integrating channel per sensor element for obtaining an integration signal representing the total energy of radiation detected since the beginning of the measurement interval, and a processing unit for estimating, from the integration signals of the sensor elements, count signals of sensor elements whose counting channel has been saturated during the measurement interval.
US09678219B2	Position and orientation determination system and method A position determination system and method is provided that may be used for obtaining position and orientation information of a detector in a contaminated room. The system includes a detector, a sensor operably coupled to the detector, and a motor coupled to the sensor to move the sensor around the detector. A CPU controls the operation of the motor to move the sensor around the detector and determines distance and angle data from the sensor to an object. The method includes moving a sensor around the detector and measuring distance and angle data from the sensor to an object at incremental positions around the detector.
US09678215B2	Correlated GPS pseudorange error estimation method A method for predicting a GPS pseudorange error includes receiving a first plurality of pseudorange errors at a plurality of different times for a plurality of global positioning system (GPS) satellites. The method also includes creating, using a processor, a first matrix. Each element of the first matrix is determined using a portion of the first plurality of pseudorange errors. The method yet further includes creating, using the processor, a second matrix that includes at least a portion of the first plurality of pseudorange errors. A size of the second matrix is determined by comparing each element of the first matrix to a predetermined threshold. The method still further includes predicting, using the processor, a second plurality of pseudorange errors for the plurality of GPS satellites using the first plurality of pseudorange errors and the second matrix.
US09678211B2	Method for optically scanning and measuring an environment A method, system and computer program product are provided for displaying three-dimensional measurement points on a two-dimensional plane of a display screen having a plurality of pixels. The method includes projecting the measurement points onto the plane. Each of the measurement points is assigned to one of the pixels. A depth value is assigned to each of the pixels. A first pixel is selected having a first measurement point and a first depth value. A first side is searched for a second pixel having a second measurement point and a second depth value. A second side is searched for a third pixel having a third measurement point and a third depth value. It is determined whether the second and third measurement points are on a same plane. The first depth value of the first pixel is changed when the second and third measurement points are on the same plane.
US09678207B2	Object detection device and object detection method An object detection device includes a controller, a first sensor, and a second sensor. The first sensor transmits a first energy wave, and the second sensor transmits a second energy wave. The first sensor receives a reflected wave of the first energy wave to convert the reflected wave into a first self-signal, and receives a reflected wave of the second energy wave to convert the reflected wave into a first correspondence signal. The second sensor receives the reflected wave of the second energy wave to convert the reflected wave into a second self-signal, and receives the reflected wave of the first energy wave to convert the reflected wave into a second correspondence signal.
US09678204B2	Speed measuring device for moving bodies A speed measuring device has an antenna with directionality that transmits a transmission wave toward the moving body based on a transmission signal supplied from a Doppler sensor, and receives a reflected wave reflected by the moving body to generate and supply to the Doppler sensor a reception signal. An imaginary line extending along a direction in which a gain of the antenna is maximized is defined as an imaginary axis that indicates an orientation direction of the antenna. An antenna supporting unit is provided on a housing and supports the antenna so an inclination of the imaginary axis can be altered. A display is provided on an upper surface of the housing with a flat display surface of a rectangular shape facing upward and displays various display contents including the movement speed of the moving body on the display surface.
US09678203B2	Method for determining at least one parameter for the purpose of correlating two objects A method for determining at least one parameter for the purpose of correlating two objects (10, 20), particularly the distance (r) and/or the relative speed (v) of the two objects (10, 20). A plurality of transmission pulse sequences following one after the after, each with at least one transmission pulse of an electromagnetic signal, forms a series of transmission pulse sequences. The duration of transmission of the individual transmission pulses is varied from transmission pulse sequence to transmission pulse sequence in order to reduce the susceptibility to interference in the determination of the at least one parameter.
US09678200B2	Scattered light reference pixel The present invention relates to an apparatus for determining an intensity and/or a phase of intensity modulation of an intensity-modulated electromagnetic radiation signal, having a detector and imaging optics for imaging an intensity-modulated radiation signal onto the detector. In comparison with this, the present invention addresses the problem of providing an apparatus for reducing scattered light influences on an intensity and/or phase determination of the intensity modulation of an intensity-modulated electromagnetic radiation signal. In order to solve this problem, the invention proposes configuring the apparatus of the type mentioned at the outset in such a manner that said apparatus has at least one scattered light reference pixel, which is arranged outside an imaging section of the imaging optics and is set up in such a manner that said pixel records measured values for an intensity-modulated scattered light signal during operation, and a determination device which is set up in such a manner that said determination device processes measured values from at least one pixel in a pixel matrix of the detector inside the imaging section as a first data input and measured values from at least one scattered light reference pixel as a second data input during operation in such a manner that said determination device determines a corrected intensity of the intensity-modulated radiation signal and/or a corrected relative phase between the intensity modulation of the intensity-modulated radiation signal and a reference signal at least for the pixel inside the imaging section and provides said intensity and/or phase as a data output.
US09678189B2	Mapping cardiac tissue architecture systems and methods Systems and methods are provided for mapping myocardial tissue architecture based on diffusion tensor imaging (DTI). A set of eigenvectors is derived from diffusion tensor data, where each eigenvector describes the diffusion of spins along one of the Cartesian directions. A radial coordinate axis and a circumferential plane are determined based on anatomical information of the subject, such as from an image depicting the epicardial surface of the subject's heart, A longitudinal coordinate axis and a circumferential coordinate axis are determined based on the radial coordinate axis and circumferential plane, A fiber architecture matrix (FAM) is then computed for locations in the subject's heart based on projecting the set of eigenvectors onto a local coordinate system defined by the circumferential, radial, and longitudinal axes, Maps that represent myocardial tissue architecture can then be generated using the FAM for locations within the subject's heart.
US09678188B2	Magnetic resonance system and method to acquire at least two measurement data sets from an examination subject In a magnetic resonance data acquisition of at least two measurement data sets of an examination subject, each of the at least two measurement data sets is acquired in at least three partial measurements. Each partial measurement covers a partial region of k-space corresponding to the examination subject to be examined, and the partial measurements are executed in series in an order such that two successive partial measurements are associated with different data sets of the at least two measurement data sets, and such that two successive partial measurements respectively do not measure the same partial region. A reduced movement sensitivity is achieved by the acquisition of the interleaved partial measurements associated with different measurement data sets. Unwanted refocusings (and therefore echo signals of residual magnetization) are also avoided by avoiding successive partial measurements that measure the same partial region.
US09678186B2	Probe for magnetic resonance force microscopy and method thereof A probe for use in Magnetic Resonance Force Microscopy (MRFM) to provide an image of a sample comprising: a magnetic field source adapted to orient the spin of the nuclei in a sample; a detector capable of detecting a magnetic field comprising an oscillator; at least one conductor substantially surrounding the oscillator for forming a RF antenna for transmitting a radio frequency electromagnetic field; whereby the at least one conductor transmits a radio frequency electromagnetic field that influences the nuclei in the sample, and whereby the detector detects how the nuclei are influenced through the oscillations of the oscillator to provide identification information concerning the content of the sample. Also included is a method for magnetic resonance force microscopy of a sample.
US09678183B2	Wireless actuator circuit for wireless actuation of micro electromechanical system switch for magnetic resonance imaging A wireless actuator circuit configured to actuate a micro electromechanical system (MEMS) switch is provided. The wireless actuator circuit includes a transmitter portion and a receiver portion operatively coupled to the transmitter portion. The transmitter portion includes an oscillator device configured to generate a signal at a determined frequency and a first antenna operatively coupled to the oscillator device to receive a modulated signal. Further, the receiver portion includes a second antenna configured to receive the modulated signal from the transmitter portion, a radio frequency power detector configured to detect the modulated signal and a comparator configured to produce a control signal in response to the modulated signal detected by the radio frequency power detector to toggle the MEMS switch.
US09678180B2	Coaxial cable magnetic resonance image (MRI) coil Example magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) radio frequency (RF) coils are described. An MRI RF coil may include a first terminal and a second terminal that are connected by a coaxial cable. Rather than rely exclusively on two terminal passive components (e.g., resistor, inductor, capacitor), example coax MRI RF coils rely on the capacitance that can be created in the coax cable between the inner conductor and the outer conductor. The capacitance of the coil may be controlled by selectively disrupting (e.g., cutting, stripping) the outer conductor, the inner conductor, or the dielectric material disposed between the inner and outer conductor.
US09678177B2	Magnetic sensor device for suppressing magnetic saturation A magnetic sensor device comprises a thin film first magnetic body provided with a magnetic path convergence/divergence section arranged on a predetermined axis, and at least a pair of wing-shaped sections extending from the magnetic path convergence/divergence section toward the opposite sides of the axis, a thin film second magnetic body provided with a magnetic path convergence/divergence section arranged on the predetermined axis to be spaced from the magnetic path convergence/divergence section of the first magnetic body, at least a pair of wing-shaped sections extending from this magnetic path convergence divergence toward the opposite sides of the axis, a first coil wound around the first magnetic body, a second coil wound around the second magnetic body, and a magnetoresistance effect element arranged between the magnetic path convergence/divergence section of the first magnetic body and the of the second magnetic body, wherein the first coil applies a magnetic field to a magnetic path of the first magnetic body, the magnetic path converging/diverging from/to the at least a pair of wing-shaped sections of the first magnetic body to/from the magnetic path convergence/divergence section the second coil applies a magnetic field to a magnetic path of the second magnetic body, the magnetic path diverging/converging from/to the magnetic path convergence/divergence section to/from the at least a pair of wing-shaped sections of the first magnetic body, and a magnetic field is applied to the magnetoresistance effect element along the converged magnetic path.
US09678173B2	Power module with integrated current sensor A power module includes a first substrate having a metallized side, a second substrate spaced apart from the first substrate and having a metallized side facing the metallized side of the first substrate, and a semiconductor die interposed between the first and second substrates. The semiconductor die has a first side connected to the metallized side of the first substrate and an opposing second side connected to the metallized side of the second substrate. The power module further includes a sensor connected to the metallized side of the first substrate and galvanically isolated from the metallized side of the second substrate. The sensor is aligned with a first metal region of the metallized side of the second substrate so that the sensor can measure a magnetic field generated by the first metal region.
US09678172B2	Current difference sensors, systems and methods Embodiments relate to current difference sensors, systems and methods. In an embodiment, a current difference sensor includes first and second conductors arranged relative to one another such that when a first current flows through the first conductor and a second current, equal to the first current, flows through the second conductor, a first magnetic field induced in the first conductor and a second magnetic field induced in the second conductor cancel each other at a first position and a second position; and first and second magnetic field sensing elements arranged at the first and second positions, respectively.
US09678170B2	Bias field generation for a magneto sensor Embodiments related to the generation of magnetic bias fields for magnetic sensing are described and depicted. In one embodiment, a sensor includes at least one magnetosensitive element, and a magnetic body with an opening, the magnetic body comprising magnetic material magnetized mainly in a vertical direction, the magnetic body having inclined surface sections shaped by the opening, wherein the sensor is arranged atop the opening.
US09678167B2	Degradation speed estimation method, and degradation speed estimation device, of lithium-ion battery A deterioration rate estimation method for a lithium-ion battery of estimating the deterioration rate of the lithium-ion battery including a negative electrode having stage structures switching depending on an electric storage amount includes a first step of acquiring first information about the stage structure, a second step of acquiring second information about the battery temperature of the lithium-ion battery, and a third step of estimating the deterioration rate from the first information and the second information.
US09678160B2	Industrial automatic-diagnostic device An industrial automatic-diagnostic device connected to an FA system in which a plurality of FA devices are connected to each other, the industrial automatic-diagnostic device includes: an engineering tool; and a display unit. Based on interface connection information and device configuration information of a corresponding FA device held by each of the FA devices, the engineering tool creates overall configuration information of the FA system and displays an overall configuration of the FA system on the display unit based on the overall configuration information. When an abnormality occurs in the FA device, diagnosis information about an abnormal part self-diagnosed by the FA device and abnormality contents with respect to the abnormality occurred in a corresponding abnormal part is obtained. Based on the obtained diagnosis information, occurrence of an abnormality is displayed in an abnormal part in an overall configuration of the FA system displayed on the display unit.
US09678150B2	Methods and circuits for debugging circuit designs Various example implementations are directed to circuits and methods for debugging circuit designs. According to an example implementation, waveform data is captured, for a set of signals produced by a circuit design during operation. Data structures are generated for the set of signals and waveform data for the signals is stored in the data structures. Communication channels associated with the set of signals are identified. Waveform data stored in the data structures is analyzed to locate transaction-level events in the set of signal for one or more communication channels. Data indicating locations of the set of transaction-level events is output by the computer system.
US09678141B2	Measurement for transistor output characteristics with and without self heating A method of measuring semiconductor output characteristics is provided that includes connecting a pulse generator to the gate structure of a semiconductor device, and applying a plurality of voltage pulses at least some of which having a different pulse width to the gate structure of the semiconductor device. The average current is measured from the drain structure of the device for a duration of each pulse of the plurality of pulses. From the measured values for the average current, a self-heating curve of the average current divided by the pulse width is plotted as a function of the pulse width. The self-heating curve is then extrapolated to a pulse width substantially equal to zero to provide a value of drain current measurements without self-heating effects.
US09678140B2	Ultra fast transistor threshold voltage extraction A method for performing a semiconductor parametric test comprising performing a full voltage sweep for a first component on a first semiconductor wafer to determine a first value of an electrical characterization parameter for the first component, wherein the full voltage sweep comprises a range between about a minimum input voltage level of the first component and about a maximum input voltage level of the first component, determining a smart sensing window (SSW) for a plurality of subsequent components on the first semiconductor wafer according to the first value, wherein the SSW comprises a range comprising a portion of the full voltage sweep range, performing a partial voltage sweep in the SSW for each of the subsequent components to determine a second value of the electrical characterization parameter for each of the subsequent semiconductor components, and adapting the SSW for at least some of the subsequent components.
US09678136B2	Back-plane connector for cubesat A back-plane connector connects component boards for a cubesat with a processing unit and a board connector electrically connected to the back-plane connector. The board connector mates with complimentary connectors on the component boards. The arrangement facilitates assembly, testing and operational reliability. An image capture system may be included and has an image capture device with a multiplexer for interactive collection and storage of image and video data.
US09678135B2	Device for diagnosing the loss of a connection between an electronic control module and a ground The subject of the present invention is a device for diagnosing the loss of a connection to a ground (M) of an electronic control module (BCM) of a motor vehicle. This device (1) comprises a first branch (B1) connecting the electronic control module (BCM) to the ground(M), a second branch (B2) connecting the electronic control module (BCM) to the ground (M) adapted to receive power currents (I(power)) originating from power equipments (EQP) and comprising unidirectional current-conducting means (D), a diagnostic circuit (CD) connected to the second connecting branch (B2) at the level of a measurement point (PM) situated between the unidirectional current-conducting means (D) and the ground (M) and defining a voltage (Vdiag) for diagnosing a loss of connection to the ground (M) of the electronic control module (BCM) on the first branch connecting (B1). According to the invention, the second connecting branch (B2) comprises, between the measurement point (Pm) of the diagnostic circuit (CD)and the ground(M), voltage-generating means(Rs, Idiag) adapted to increase the diagnostic voltage (Vdiag) in case of disconnection of the first branch (B1).
US09678132B2	Capacitor combination stress testing A method of evaluating at least one parameter of a first capacitor. The method couples a number of capacitors in a capacitor network to a common node, the number of capacitors comprising at least three capacitors. Further, the method first applies a first voltage range to the capacitor network for causing a first voltage drop across the first capacitor, and it evaluates the at least one parameter in response to the first voltage range. The method second applies a second voltage range to the capacitor network for causing a second voltage drop across the first capacitor, the second voltage drop greater than the first voltage drop, and it evaluates the at least one parameter in response to the second voltage range.
US09678126B2	System and method for testing radio frequency wireless signal transceivers using wireless test signals A system and method to facilitate wireless testing of a radio frequency (RF) signal transceiver device under test (DUT). With the DUT operating in a controlled electromagnetic environment, the tester exchanges multiple test signals wirelessly with the DUT. Signal phases of the respective test signals are controlled in accordance with feedback signals from the DUT and test equipment. Magnitudes of the respective test signals can also be controlled in accordance with such feedback signals, thereby enabling minimizing of apparent signal path loss between the tester and DUT to effectively simulate an electrically conductive signal path.
US09678122B2	Intelligent electronic device for providing broadband internet access An intelligent electronic device for monitoring and determining an amount of electrical power usage by a consumer, or end user, and for providing broadband Internet access to the consumer. The intelligent electronic device includes at least one sensor coupled to an electric circuit configured for measuring at least one power parameter of the electrical circuit and generating at least one analog signal indicative of the at least one power parameter; at least one analog to digital converter coupled to the at least one sensor configured for receiving the at least one analog signal and converting the at least one analog signal to at least one digital signal; a processor configured for receiving the at least one digital signal and calculating energy consumption in the electrical circuit; and a gateway configured for receiving data transmissions imposed on the electrical circuit and for demodulating the imposed data transmission for providing data communications.
US09678111B2	Current sensing with compensation for component variations A system can provide current detection in an integrated circuit (IC) chip while compensating for variations in circuit components resulting from process, voltage supply, temperature, or combinations thereof. The system can include the IC chip that has a power switch circuit that includes a power circuit path including a first transistor connected to a power source through a first conductive trace that has a first resistance value, and to a load by a second conductive trace having a second resistance value. A current detection circuit is configured to compensate for the variations in the power switch circuit using a sense circuit path that is configured to match process, voltage supply, and temperature variations in the power circuit path.

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