Document	Document Title
US09742662B2	Fabric discovery for a cluster of nodes Implementations of discovery functionalities in accordance with the present invention are characterized by being exceptionally minimalistic. A primary reason and benefit for such minimalistic implementations relate to these discovery functionalities being implemented via a management processor and associated resources of a system on a chip (SoC) unit as opposed to them being implemented on data processing components of a cluster of nodes (i.e., central processing core components). By focusing on such a minimalist implementation, embodiments of the present invention allow discovery functionalities to be implemented on a relatively low-cost low-power management processor coupled to processing cores that provide for data serving functionality in the cluster of nodes.
US09742652B2	Proactive identification of hotspots in a cloud computing environment The present invention proactively identifies hotspots in a cloud computing environment through cloud resource usage models that use workload parameters as inputs. In some embodiments the cloud resource usage models are based upon performance data from cloud resources and time series based workload trend models. Hotspots may occur and can be detected at any layer of the cloud computing environment, including the server, storage, and network level. In a typical embodiment, parameters for a workload are identified in the cloud computing environment and inputted into a cloud resource usage model. The model is run with the inputted workload parameters to identify potential hotspots, and resources are then provisioned for the workload so as to avoid these hotspots.
US09742647B2	Reporting serving cell packet loss rate According to one embodiment, an apparatus may include a memory and a processor. The memory may store control information. The processor may determine, based at least in part upon the control information, an expected packet loss rate associated with performing a radio operation. The processor may then communicate the expected packet loss rate to a network node.
US09742643B2	Methods, systems, and product for twisted tabulation Methods, systems, and products describe a robust solution for the dictionary problem of data structures. A hash function based on tabulation is twisted to utilize an additional xoring operation and a shift. This twisted tabulation offers strong robustness guarantees over a set of queries in both linear probing and chaining.
US09742634B2	System and method for automatically learning and maintaining IP address allocation topology A topology map engine obtains, from a dynamic host control protocol relay device, a relayed request, of a client, for a dynamic host control protocol lease. The relayed request has at least one given IP address of the dynamic host control protocol relay device inserted therein. A search is made in a database for that IP address. If not found, dynamic host control protocol relay device information is obtained. This information includes: an identifier of the dynamic host control protocol relay device; and at least one network interface of the dynamic host control protocol relay device and any internet protocol addresses assigned to same. This information is obtained at the topology map engine and stored in the database.
US09742624B2	Logging incident manager Systems, methods, and other embodiments associated with intelligently processing log messages are described. In one embodiment, a computer-implemented method includes analyzing, by a logging appliance that includes at least hardware, communications received from a plurality of handlers to determine whether at least one of the communications indicates an error has been encountered by one of a plurality of components associated with the plurality of handlers. The method includes scheduling a subset of the plurality of handlers to provide reports that include a detailed set of log messages in response to detecting the error. The subset of the plurality of handlers includes handlers that are associated with the error.
US09742617B2	Virtual machine migration in a cloud fabric Technologies are generally described for systems and methods configured to migrate a virtual machine. Some systems may include a memory configured to store terms of a service level agreement for a first virtual machine. The first computing device may determine the terms of the service level agreement for the first virtual machine. The first computing device may be configured to determine that the first virtual machine is operating on the first computing device using operating resources in violation of the terms of the service level agreement. The first computing device may be configured to identify a second virtual machine operating on the first computing device. The first computing device may be configured to migrate one of the first virtual machine or the second virtual machine to a second computing device in response to the determination of the violation.
US09742614B2	Data-type definition driven dynamic business component instantiation and execution framework In a complex workflow environment, a data-type-definition (DTD) schema drives a dynamic business component instantiation and execution framework that integrates documents with data and information created by various applications, potentially operating on several different platforms, enabling complex workflow and collaboration to occur over a communication network such as the Internet. The DTD execution language is preferably an industry specific XML-based tag set that defines business component instantiation, execution, input and output parameters, workflow, user profile, and collaboration specifications for a given task or data in a complex workflow process. Business and data processing components available on systems both within and outside the complex workflow system are called upon to provide the processing, interpretation, and transformation functions for the complex workflow system. The results of such processing are then returned to the complex workflow system for integration within the workflow process.
US09742612B2	Method and device for transmitting data by using multidimensional constellation diagram Embodiments of the present invention relate to the field of communications, and provide a method and a device for transmitting data by using a multidimensional constellation diagram, which can further improve bit error rate-signal to noise ratio performance by means of a multidimensional constellation diagram. The method is: First, bit data is mapped, by using an n-dimensional constellation diagram, into a column vector including n real numbers, then the n real numbers included in the column vector are modulated by using a resource element and sent, and after demodulating the n real numbers from a received signal, a receiving device finds, in the n-dimensional constellation diagram, a constellation point with coordinate values having a closest Euclidean distance to a point with coordinates being the n real numbers, and finally maps the coordinate values of the constellation point back into the bit data.
US09742611B2	Synchronizing orthogonal frequency division multiplexed (OFDM) symbols in a receiver In an embodiment, an apparatus includes a buffer to store incoming orthogonal frequency division multiplexed (OFDM) samples. This buffer is configured to output the OFDM samples according to a read pointer that can be adjusted by a sum value corresponding to a sum of a length of a symbol and a feedback value, to align the read pointer with the symbol. In addition, the apparatus further includes a feedback circuit coupled to the buffer to receive the output OFDM samples and generate the feedback value based at least in part on the output OFDM samples.
US09742609B2	Apparatus for transmitting broadcast signals, apparatus for receiving broadcast signals, method for transmitting broadcast signals and method for receiving broadcast signals The present invention provides an apparatus of transmitting broadcast signals, the apparatus including, an encoder for encoding service data, a frame builder for building at least one signal frame by mapping the encoded service data, a modulator for modulating data in the built at least one signal frame by an Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiplexing, OFDM, scheme and a transmitter for transmitting the broadcast signals having the modulated data.
US09742600B2	Method and system for estimating and compensating for direct current (DC) offset in ultra-low power (ULP) receiver Provided is a method of estimating a Direct Current (DC) offset in an Ultra-Low Power (ULP) receiver. The method includes receiving a signal from an output of an Analog to Digital Converter (ADC) in the ULP receiver. The signal includes a correlated variable DC component for at least one of an in-phase arm and a quadrature arm of the ULP receiver. The method also includes estimating a DC offset compensation parameter in a plurality of phases for a plurality of stages based on the received signal such that the estimating includes calculating the DC offset compensation parameter in a magnitude estimation phase for the plurality of stages and calculating the DC offset compensation parameter in a sign estimation phase for the plurality of stages.
US09742599B2	Partial response signaling techniques for single and multi-carrier nonlinear satellite systems New partial response signaling systems and methods for high spectral efficiency communications are described. In a first implementation, a communication system includes a partial response signaling transmitter and a nonlinear satellite transponder. The partial response signaling transmitter includes a partial response transmit filter configured to convert complex-valued data symbols to a transmit signal using a partial response pulse shaping function; and a modulator configured to modulate the transmit signal onto a carrier wave. The transponder receives and non-linearly amplifies the modulated transmit signal for broadcast to receivers. In a second implementation, a receiver includes circuitry for downconverting a received input signal; a partial response filter with a partial response impulse function for filtering the downconverted signal; circuitry for downsampling the partial response filtered signal; circuitry for equalizing the downsampled signal; and a linear and non-linear interference cancellation module including circuitry for removing linear and non-linear ISI in the input signal.
US09742596B2	Decision feedback equalizer robust to temperature variation and process variation A decision feedback equalizer includes a positive signal line, a negative signal line, a sense amplifier, a feedback driver, a load unit, a differential driver, and a charge pump. The differential driver maintains a difference between the first voltage of the positive signal line and the second voltage of the negative signal line at a last time point of the normal period to be equal to or greater than the reference voltage by adjusting strength of the positive input current corresponding to a positive input signal and strength of the negative input current corresponding to a negative input signal based on a temperature signal. The charge pump provides a positive offset voltage and a negative offset voltage to the positive signal line and the negative signal line, respectively. The positive offset voltage and the negative offset voltage are used to maintain an average voltage of the first voltage and the second voltage at the last time point of the normal period at a first value.
US09742594B2	System and method for adjusting clock phases in a time-interleaved receiver Clock timing skew may occur during operation of a time-interleaved receiver. It would be beneficial to try to determine if there is timing skew, and if there is, then address it, such as by reducing or eliminating some or all of the timing skew. Embodiments are described herein that may achieve this. In one embodiment, a method includes generating at least two clocks having the same frequency but a different phase. Intersymbol interference (ISI) values are then determined, one for each of the clocks, by: for each clock, sampling a signal using the clock and determining a value representing ISI based on the sampled signal. A clock phase of at least one of the clocks is adjusted in response to at least one of the ISI values being different from a reference ISI value.
US09742593B2	Systems and methods for adaptively-tuned digital self-interference cancellation A method for adaptively-tuned digital self-interference cancellation comprises receiving a digital transmit signal; receiving a transform configuration; generating a set of signal components from the digital transmit signal; transforming the set of signal components into a digital self-interference cancellation signal according to the transform configuration; combining the digital self-interference cancellation signal with a receive signal to form a digital residue signal; detecting a trigger; in response to detecting the trigger: computing a ratio of the digital residue signal to the digital transmit signal; converting the ratio to the frequency-domain to form a frequency-domain-converted ratio; computing a frequency-domain self-interference channel between the transmitter and the receiver based on the frequency-domain-converted ratio; computing an inverse discrete Fourier transform matrix based on a portion of the discrete Fourier transform matrix; converting the frequency-domain self-interference channel to form a time-domain self-interference channel; and updating the transform configuration based on the time-domain self-interference channel.
US09742592B2	Processing interference in a wireless network Interference is processed in a waveform received at a device in a wireless network, the received interference comprising non-linear products of at least a first signal (C1) at a first carrier frequency and a second signal (C2) at a second carrier frequency. A complex composite baseband signal is generated comprising at least the first and second signal at baseband, occupying a respective first and second frequency range within a composite baseband frequency range and not overlapping in frequency. The complex composite baseband signal is processed by applying at least a first non-linear function (74a) to generate simulated interference comprising at least one simulated non-linear product. The received interference is then processed in dependence on the simulated interference.
US09742591B2	CSI-RS based channel estimating method in a wireless communication system and device for same A method is provided for computing a channel quality indicator (CQI) value by a user equipment in a wireless communication system. The method includes configuring, through a higher layer, channel measurement resources defined by channel status information-reference signal (CSI-RS) resource element configuration with non-zero transmission power and subframe configuration, configuring, through the higher layer, interference measurement resources defined by the CSI-RS resource element configuration with zero transmission power and the subframe configuration, and computing the CQI value based on a channel measurement and an interference measurement. The channel measurement is performed by using the channel measurement resources, and the interference measurement is performed by using the interference measurement resources. If two or more channel status information (CSI) subframe sets are configured, the interference measurement for one CSI subframe set of the two or more CSI subframe sets is performed by using the interference measurement resources.
US09742566B2	Homomorphic evaluation including key switching, modulus switching, and dynamic noise management Homomorphic evaluation of a function is performed on input ciphertext(s), which were encrypted using a public key of an encryption scheme that also includes multiple secret keys and multiple integer moduli. The homomorphic evaluation of the function includes performing operations(s) on the input ciphertexts. The function includes operation(s) including one or more of addition, multiplication, and automorphism. A key-switching transformation is performed on selected input ciphertext(s), and includes converting a first version of a selected ciphertext with respect to a first of the multiple secret keys and a first modulus to a second version of the selected ciphertext with respect to a second of the multiple secret keys and a second modulus, where the second modulus is an integer factor p times the first modulus, p>1. Each of the key switching transformations is performed prior to or after the operation(s) are evaluated. Results of the operation(s) are output.
US09742554B2	Systems and methods for detecting a synchronization code word Systems and methods for detecting a synchronization code word embedded in a plurality of frames of a signal are described. In one example embodiment, the synchronization code word contains “s” bits, embedded one bit per frame in “s” frames of an input signal. The method of detecting this synchronization code word includes: initiating a first segmentation procedure wherein “n” segments are defined in each signal frame of the input signal. A first correlation threshold value, which is based on the synchronization code word, is used to identify in the “n” segments, a first segment having the highest likelihood of containing at least a portion of the synchronization code word. The first segment is used to initiate a recursive detection procedure incorporating one or more additional segmentation procedures and one or more additional correlation threshold values, to detect the synchronization code word in a sub-divided portion of the first segment.
US09742541B2	User equipment, a radio base station, RBS, and methods therein for transmitting a subframe comprising at least two reference signals, RSS, to the RBS A method in a UE comprises: receiving, from an RBS, information regarding a base sequence and a first phase rotation speed of the base sequence; determining an order, L, of the IFDMA, indicating a spacing between subcarriers over which the base sequence is to be mapped in the frequency domain; generating an RS-specific second phase rotation speed of the base sequence based on a CS pseudo random offset; increasing at least the second phase rotation speed based on L; combining the first and the increased second phase rotation speeds to obtain a third phase rotation speed, and performing phase rotation of the base sequence based on the third phase rotation speed; and mapping the phase rotated base sequence to every L:th subcarrier of the RSs, and transmitting the RSs.
US09742537B2	Terminal device, base station device, integrated circuit, and wireless communication method A subframe in a certain cell that satisfies criteria which includes at least a criterion (i) is regarded as being valid as a CSI reference resource. In a case where, in the criterion (i), information which is signaled on a PDCCH and that indicates an UL-DL configuration for a cell is detected, the UL-DL configuration for the cell is given by the information. In a case where, in the criterion (i), the information is not detected, the UL-DL configuration for the cell is same as an UL-DL configuration that is indicated by a higher layer parameter. The criterion (i) stipulates that, in a case where multiple cells with different UL-DL configurations are aggregated and the terminal device is not capable of simultaneous reception and transmission in the multiple cells, a subframe in a primary cell is a DL subframe or a special subframe that is indicated by an UL-DL configuration for the primary cell.
US09742533B2	Avoiding serving cell interruption Techniques for minimizing the loss of radio signals transmitted on and/or received from serving cells in a multi-carrier system by selectively adapting the time instance at which a wireless terminal: (1) changes its radio frequency (RF) bandwidth or activates a second RF chain or any additional RF chain for measuring on one or more secondary serving cells, and/or (2) performs setup or release of one or more secondary serving cells. An example method, implemented in a radio network node, comprises determining (510) a scheduling instance during which a wireless terminal is expected to be scheduled on at least one cell; and, determining (520) a timing at which to send a setup or release command for at least one secondary cell such that the requested set up or release procedure does not coincide with the scheduling instance.
US09742529B2	Orthogonal frequency division multiple access with carrier sense A communication system in which an access point and one or more devices communicating through the access point adaptively apply Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiple Access (OFDMA). The access point may assign orthogonal subcarriers to devices as in conventional OFDMA, but the access point senses activity on the subcarriers and selects subcarriers without activity for assignment. In an alternative approach, a device that is configured for OFDMA communication may receive a channel assignment from a device that does not support OFDMA. The OFDMA-capable device may use only a portion of the subcarriers in the assigned channel, which may be communicated to the non-OFDMA device. During the non-OFDMA device may then ignore unused subcarriers in error detection and correction to avoid incorrectly classifying communications as erroneous. Information about OFDMA capabilities, subcarrier assignments and subcarriers in use may be communicated as information elements in network control communications, such as beacons and probe messages.
US09742519B2	Photonic cross-connect with reconfigurable add-drop-functionality A photonic cross-connect arrangement is presented which is able to cope with the transmission of super-channels, wherein complete super-channels are dropped and added to change a direction of transport. At least a cyclic filter is used in a drop-branch of a cross-connect for dividing a super-channel into sub-channels and/or at least a further cyclic filter is used in an add-branch to configure a super-channel.
US09742515B2	Reference signal detection Aspects of the disclosure are related to identifying whether an apparatus (e.g., base station, access point, etc.) is transmitting using a CRS based transmission scheme or a UE-RS based transmission scheme. Such detection may be necessary for PDSCH interference cancellation (IC) of a neighboring cell since a UE may not know which transmission scheme is used by the neighboring cell. For instance, the UE may know the transmission scheme of the serving cell, but the UE may not know the transmission scheme of a neighboring non-serving cell. As such, aspects of the disclosure provide for a blind detection algorithm to identify or determine a transmission mode or transmission scheme of a neighboring cell to then apply interference cancellation (IC) to an interfering signal received from the neighboring cell.
US09742511B2	Optimizing parameters in deployed systems operating in delayed feedback real world environments Optimizing parameters includes, during a time interval, rotating from setting a first parameter to a first value for a first time period, to setting the first parameter to a second value for a second time period such that the time interval includes multiple first time periods in which the first parameter is set to the first value sequenced with multiple second time periods in which the first parameter is set to the second value; obtaining, for the time interval, a first set of ratings corresponding to the first time periods and a second set of ratings corresponding to the second time periods; averaging, for the time interval, the first set of ratings to a first average rating and the second set of ratings to a second average rating; and correlating the first average rating to the first value and the second average rating to the second value.
US09742508B1	Systems and methods for calibrating multiple input, multiple output (MIMO) test systems and for using the calibrated MIMO test systems to test mobile devices MIMO test systems and methods are provided that eliminate the need for a wired connection between the test system and the antenna ports of the DUT, thereby eliminating the need to open up the housing of the DUT and risk damaging or destroying it. The MIMO test systems and methods also eliminate the need for an anechoic chamber, thereby eliminating the cost and space requirements associated therewith. A suitable non-anechoic, electromagnetically-shielded chamber can be used in the test system that is much less expensive and that has a much smaller spatial footprint than a typical anechoic chamber used in MIMO test systems.
US09742507B2	Systems and methods for enhancing spectral efficiency in a communication network A transmitter implements a method of transmitting data in a network. The transmitter encodes and transmits to a receiver a first transmission utilizing the first MCS level with a first quality level. The first quality level is higher than a prior quality level associated with the prior MCS level. The transmitter receives an indication that the transmission was received at the receiver with an error rate less than a first threshold. The transmitter encodes and transmits to the receiver a second transmission that is longer than the first transmission. The second transmission uses a second MCS level with a second quality level. The second quality level is between the prior quality level and the first quality level. The transmitter receives an indication that the transmission was received at the receiver with an error rate less than a second threshold. The transmitter utilizes the second MCS level to transmit data.
US09742500B2	Optical transmission apparatus and optical signal processing method An optical transmission apparatus includes an amplifier array device; and a switch device coupled to the amplifier array device via an optical cable, wherein the amplifier array device includes a plurality of amplifiers configured to amplify a plurality of optical signals at mutually different wavelengths and to output the plurality of amplified optical signals, a plurality of beam separators configured to generate a plurality of separated light beams by separating the plurality of amplified optical signals and to output the plurality of separated light beams, a beam combiner configured to generate combined light by combining the plurality of separated light beams and to output the combined light to the switch device through the optical cable, and a photo-detector configured to detect a power of the combined light returned from the switch device through the optical cable.
US09742493B2	Reconstructing light-based communication signals captured with a rolling shutter image capture device Methods and systems are described for sampling an LCOM message and accurately reconstructing the entire LCOM message using a light receiver (e.g., digital camera) of a typical mobile computing device, such as a smartphone, tablet, or other mobile computing device. These including receiving segments of an LCOM signal from at least two repetitions of the LCOM signal. The location of each segment within the LCOM signal is identified and each segment is stored in a corresponding location in a buffer configured to have a length equal to the LCOM signal. The buffer is a ring buffer, in some embodiments.
US09742488B2	Modular, expandable system for data reception and distribution A satellite reception assembly may comprise a first module operable to demodulate a first one or more channels of a signal output by a direct broadcast satellite (DBS) low noise block downconverter (LNB). The first module may output a signal to a second module which may demodulate a second one or more channels of the signal output by the DBS LNB. The second module may be installed after the satellite reception assembly has been deployed upon a number of clients served by the satellite reception assembly reaching a threshold.
US09742476B2	Uplink training for MIMO implicit beamforming In a method for beamforming in a multiple input multiple output (MIMO) communication system, a data unit is received from a communication device via a MIMO communication channel, and it is determined whether the data unit satisfies one or more selection criteria. Further, when it is determined that the data unit satisfies the one or more selection criteria, the data unit is selected to be used in developing a steering matrix for transmitting data units to the communication device.
US09742473B2	Apparatus and method for using near field communication and wireless power transmission An apparatus and method of using near field communication (NFC) and wireless power transmission (WPT) are provided. A power receiving apparatus includes a resonator configured to receive a power and to output the power. The power receiving apparatus further includes a near field communication (NFC) receiver configured to perform wireless communication using the power output by the resonator. The power receiving apparatus further includes a wireless power transmission (WPT) receiver configured to supply a voltage using the power output by the resonator. The power receiving apparatus further includes a connecting unit configured to selectively connect the resonator to either the NFC receiver or the WPT receiver. The power receiving apparatus further includes a mode selector configured to control the connecting unit to selectively connect the resonator to either the NFC receiver or the WPT receiver based on the power output by the resonator.
US09742469B2	Positioning guidance for increasing reliability of near-field communications To promote ease of use, as well as a reduction in bit error rates during extended data exchange between a coupled NFC tag/reader pair, signal strength is measured from a plurality of NFC tag antennas each positioned differently with respect to a common reader field, and differences in signal strength are used to determine an optimum positioning of the tag, or tag emulator, with respect to the reader. Alternative embodiments may include signal time of flight for determining orientation of the NFC antennas within the reader field. Information is generated by the tag, or tag emulator, and output by the tag, or tag emulator, such that a user may direct the positioning of the tag, or tag emulator, for improved communication with the reader.
US09742465B1	NBASE-T PHY-to-PHY information exchange method and apparatus A method of operation in an Ethernet transceiver is disclosed. The method includes initiating a training mode of operation, and transmitting Infofield frames to a link partner. Each Infofield frame including a payload field to provide data to the link partner. A flow of the transmitted Infofield frames is controlled such that a new Infofield frame is not transmitted before a previous Infofield frame is received by the link partner.
US09742463B2	Copper wire interface circuit A copper wire interface circuit is provided, where a current output amplifier is connected to a port impedance component and a transmit end, and the current output amplifier is configured to amplify a to-be-transmitted signal; the port impedance component is connected to a high-pass filter, impedance, after undergoing impedance transformation performed by the high-pass filter, of the port impedance component is used for performing impedance matching with equivalent impedance of a cable and a load; the high-pass filter is connected to the port impedance component and the cable, the high-pass filter is configured to filter the to-be-transmitted signal or a received signal and perform impedance transformation on the port impedance component; and an echo cancellation module is connected to the port impedance component and a receive end.
US09742446B2	High efficiency linearization power amplifier for wireless communication A predistortion system for linearizing the output of a power amplifier includes a first signal representative of an RF modulated signal and a feedback signal representative of nonlinear characteristics of a power amplifier. The system also includes a predistortion controller, comprising at least one lookup table, adapted to receive the first signal and the feedback signal and to generate a correction factor for correcting the nonlinear characteristics of the power amplifier and combining logic which combines the RF modulated signal with a signal corresponding to the correction factor and supplies it to the power amplifier to linearize the output of the power amplifier.
US09742431B1	Quaternary decoder Embodiments are provided for a quaternary decoder that includes a plurality of decoder circuits, each decoder circuit coupled to a respective input line of a plurality of quaternary interface lines and to a respective pair of binary output lines; and a control logic circuit having a plurality of control signal lines coupled to each of the plurality of decoder circuits, the control logic circuit configured to: output a first sequence of logic levels, and output a second sequence of logic levels after the first sequence is complete; wherein at a time after the second sequence is complete, each decoder circuit is configured to output a pair of binary data values that correspond to a quaternary state of the respective input line, the quaternary state being one of four quaternary states including a logic high state, a logic low state, a floating state, and a tie-back state.
US09742428B2	Delta sigma modulator for shaping noise and audio codec having the same A delta-sigma modulator includes a loop filter, a quantizer configured to change an analog output signal into a digital signal, and a digital-to-analog converter configured to receive the digital signal and including a first capacitor and a second capacitor. In a first sampling period, the first capacitor is discharged, and at the same time, the second capacitor is charged with a reference voltage. In a second sampling period, the digital signal includes noise caused by a clock jitter, the first capacitor is charged with a reference voltage, and the second capacitor is discharged and generates a charge corresponding to the noise. In a next first sampling period, the first capacitor is discharged, and at the same time, the second capacitor generates a noise current corresponding to the noise using the charge and is charged with a reference voltage.
US09742426B2	Signal transfer function equalization in multi-stage delta-sigma analog-to-digital converters Typically, complex systems require a separate and expensive equalizer at the output of an analog-to-digital converter (ADC). Rather than providing a separate equalizer, the effective Signal Transfer Function (STF) of a Multi-stAge noise SHaping (MASH) ADC can be modified by leveraging available digital filtering hardware necessary for quantization noise cancellation. The modification can involves adding calculations in the software previously provided for computing digital quantization noise cancellation filter coefficients, where the calculations are added to take into account equalization as well. As a result, the signal transfer function can be modified to meet ADC or system-level signal-chain specifications without additional equalization hardware. The method is especially attractive for high-speed applications where magnitude and phase responses are more challenging to meet.
US09742423B1	Separating most significant bits and least significant bits in charge storage elements of an analog-to-digital converter In an example embodiment, an apparatus includes: a first sampling capacitor to switchably couple between an input analog voltage, a reference voltage (VREF) and a ground voltage; a second sampling capacitor to switchably couple between the reference voltage and the ground voltage; and a comparator having a first input terminal to couple to the first sampling capacitor and a second input terminal to couple to the second sampling capacitor. The comparator may be configured to compare a voltage level at the second input terminal to a sum voltage based at least in part on the input analog voltage to generate at least one bit of a digital output.
US09742415B1	Apparatus for linearizing a differential charge pump A charge pump and a differential phase locked loop incorporating the charge pump. The charge pump includes a differential charge pump and an auxiliary charge pump. The differential charge pump has differential inputs and primary and mirror outputs. The differential charge pump is responsive to a down signal at the differential inputs to provide a negative current at the primary output and a positive current at the mirror output, and further responsive to an up signal at the differential inputs to provide a positive current at the primary output and a negative current at the mirror output. The auxiliary charge pump has differential inputs and an auxiliary output coupled to the mirror output of the differential charge pump. The differential charge pump is responsive to the down signal at the differential inputs to provide a negative current at the auxiliary output, and responsive to the up signal at the differential inputs to provide a positive current at the auxiliary output.
US09742414B2	Reducing errors due to non-linearities caused by a phase frequency detector of a phase locked loop A phase frequency detector (PFD) includes a first circuit portion and a second circuit portion. The first circuit portion receives a reference signal and activates a first error signal if the phase of the reference frequency leads the phase of a feedback signal. The second circuit portion receives the reference and activates a second error signal if the phase of the reference frequency lags the phase of the feedback signal. The first circuit portion is powered by a first power supply, and the second circuit portion is powered by a second power supply. A PLL implemented using the PFD generates a frequency output with minimized jitter.
US09742413B2	Electronic device and information processing apparatus An electronic device includes: a voltage controlled delay line including delay elements configured to delay an input clock signal and output the clock signal, a delay control element configured to control a delay time of the clock signal delayed by the delay elements in accordance with a control voltage, a delay sensitivity adjustment circuit configured to adjust a ratio of an amount of change of the delay time to an amount of change of the control voltage, and a plurality of delay circuits; and a control voltage generation circuit configured to compare a phase of an output signal of any one of the plurality of delay circuits and a phase of the clock signal, generate the control voltage so as to match the phase of the output signal and the phase of the clock signal based on the comparison result, and output the control voltage to the delay control element.
US09742406B2	Circuit skew compensation trigger system A circuit skew compensation trigger system comprises a voltage divider including a P-transistor and an N-transistor and a center node in the voltage divider pulled to a first level. The circuit skew compensation trigger system further comprising a trigger to activate when a skew between the P-transistor and the N-transistor is above a threshold. The trigger to initiate a compensator to adjust for the skew.
US09742403B2	State-retaining logic cell A state-retaining logic cell may include a plurality of inverters, an output node non-volatile (NVM) storage cell, and an input node NVM storage cell. The plurality of inverters may include a feed-forward inverter and a feed-back inverter disposed in a back-to-back arrangement. The output node NVM storage cell may include first and second terminals, where the first terminal is connected adjacent an output node of the feed-forward and the feed-back inverters, and the second terminal is connected to a programming rail. The input node NVM storage cell may include first and second terminals, where the first terminal is connected adjacent an input node of the feed-forward and the feed-back inverters, and the second terminal is connected to the programming rail.
US09742394B2	High-voltage, high-current, solid-state closing switch A high-voltage, high-current, solid-state closing switch uses a field-effect transistor (e.g., a MOSFET) to trigger a high-voltage stack of thyristors. The switch can have a high hold-off voltage, high current carrying capacity, and high time-rate-of-change of current, di/dt. The fast closing switch can be used in pulsed power applications.
US09742391B2	Single-chip multi-domain galvanic isolation device and method An integrated circuit, including: at least three integrated circuit portions mutually spaced on a single electrically insulating die, the integrated circuit portions being mutually galvanically isolated; and signal coupling structures on the die to allow communication of signals between the integrated circuit portions while maintaining the galvanic isolation therebetween.
US09742385B2	Bidirectional semiconductor switch with passive turnoff A symmetrically-bidirectional bipolar transistor circuit where the two base contact regions are clamped, through a low-voltage diode and a resistive element, to avoid bringing either emitter junction to forward bias. This avoids bipolar gain in the off state, and thereby avoids reduction of the withstand voltage due to bipolar gain.
US09742381B2	Pulse width modulator and non-transitory computer readable medium for storing program for pulse width modulator The pulse width modulator includes a subtraction unit configured to perform subtraction between an m value digital signal and a pulse width modulation signal; a feedforward filter unit configured such that a ΔΣ modulator to which an output signal of the subtraction unit is input and which includes integrators of a second order or higher is in cascade connection, and configured to operate with a sampling frequency FS; a product-sum computing unit configured to operate with a sampling frequency (FS/n) (n: an integer of two or more) to perform product-sum computing of an output signal of each integrator of the feedforward filter unit; and a pulse width modulation unit configured to operate with the sampling frequency (FS/n) to perform pulse width modulation of an output signal of the product-sum computing unit to output a pulse width modulation signal.
US09742371B2	Fast automatic gain control (AGC) for packet based systems A method and apparatus for use in a packet based wireless communication system for reducing automatic gain control (AGC) convergence time at a receiver are described. A radio frequency (RF) signal is received. The RF signal includes a sequence of a plurality of pre-defined power levels at a beginning of a preamble of the RF signal. Statistics for each of the plurality of pre-defined power levels at the beginning of the preamble of the RF signal are computed. An appropriate gain for a variable gain amplifier (VGA) is then computed based on the computed statistics for each of the plurality of pre-defined power levels and a-priori information related to transmission power differences between the plurality of pre-defined power levels of the sequence.
US09742365B1	Doherty amplifier A multistage linear power amplifier receiving an input signal. The multistage linear power amplifier comprises a plurality of Class-AB amplifiers connected in a cascade configuration. The plurality of Class-AB amplifiers amplifies the input signal to generate an amplified input signal. At least one of the plurality of Class-AB amplifiers is biased such that the multistage linear power amplifier emulates a Class-C amplifier.
US09742364B2	System and method for a low noise amplifier module In accordance with an embodiment, a circuit includes a low noise amplifier transistor disposed on a first integrated circuit, a single pole multi throw (SPMT) switch disposed on a second integrated circuit, and a bypass switch coupled between a control node of the low noise amplifier transistor and an output node of the low noise amplifier transistor. The SPMT switch couples a plurality of module input terminals to a control node of the low noise amplifier transistor, and the bypass switch including a first switch coupled between the control node of the low noise amplifier transistor and an intermediate node, a second switch coupled between the intermediate node and the output node of the low noise amplifier transistor, and a third switch coupled between the intermediate node and a first reference node. The first integrated circuit and the second integrated circuit are disposed on a substrate.
US09742359B2	Power amplifier with wide dynamic range am feedback linearization scheme Circuitry, which includes a package interface, a radio frequency (RF) amplification circuit, and a closed-loop gain linearization circuit. The package interface receives an RF signal and provides an amplified RF signal. The RF amplification circuit amplifies the RF signal in accordance with a gain of the RF amplification circuit so as to generate the amplified RF signal. In one embodiment, the closed-loop gain linearization circuit is configured to endogenously establish a target gain magnitude using the RF signal and linearize the gain of the RF amplification circuit in accordance with the target gain magnitude. By endogenously establishing the target gain magnitude using the RF signal, the closed-loop gain linearization circuit can provide linearity with greater independence from external control circuitry.
US09742358B2	Power amplification circuit A power amplification circuit includes: a first amplification transistor, a first signal being input to a base or gate thereof and a second signal obtained by amplifying the first signal being output from a collector or drain thereof; and a first bias circuit that supplies a first bias current to the base or gate of the first amplification transistor. The first bias circuit includes a first transistor that outputs the first bias current from an emitter or source thereof, and a first control circuit that controls an electrical connection between the emitter or source of the first transistor and ground. The first control circuit includes a first resistance element and a first switch element, which are connected in series with each other. The first switch element is switched on in the case of a first power mode and is switched off in the case of a second power mode.
US09742345B2	System and method for fault protection of a motor An exemplary motor driving system includes a power source, a driving circuit, a controller, a motor, and a protection circuit. The driving circuit including at least one switching device coupled with the power source. The motor includes a plurality of windings. The motor is coupled with the driving circuit and driven by the driving circuit. The controller is configured to provide first switch signals to the at least one switching device of the driving circuit in a normal mode. The protection circuit is coupled with the controller, and configured to generate second switch signals based at least in part on a fault signal in a fault mode and provide the second switch signals to the at least one switching device of the driving circuit so as to reconstruct circuit loops between the driving circuit and the plurality of windings. A method for operating the motor driving system is also described.
US09742344B2	Motor starter apparatus with start-up fault detection capability A motor starter apparatus includes at least one semiconductor switch configured to selectively couple a power source to a motor, at least one current sensor configured to generate a current sense signal indicative of a current provided via the at least one semiconductor switch, and a control circuit coupled to the at least one current sensor and configured to cause the at least one semiconductor switch to momentarily couple the power source to the motor and identify a fault based on a behavior of the current sense signal in response to the momentary coupling. The control circuit may be configured to identify the fault responsive to detecting that a rate of change of the current in response to the momentary coupling meets a predetermined criterion.
US09742341B2	AC motor drive system An AC motor drive motor system includes a charge and discharge controller controlling a charging and discharging circuit based on a DC voltage value on the output side of a converter and a charging and discharging current value of a power storage device. The charge and discharge controller, when regenerative power via an inverter from an AC motor exceeds a power threshold, charges the power storage device such that the DC voltage value becomes a voltage threshold corresponding to the power threshold. When regenerative power is the power threshold or less, the converter performs regeneration when the DC voltage value reaches a regeneration start voltage threshold or higher, and ends regeneration when the DC voltage value reaches a regeneration end voltage threshold or lower. The DC-voltage-value time averaged value during regeneration is set lower than that at no-load time when the converter does not perform power supply and regeneration.
US09742338B2	Dual power mode drive A method of controlling a motor drive having a normal mode wherein a DC link voltage is charged using an AC (e.g. mains) power supply and an emergency mode wherein the DC link voltage is charged using a DC supply (e.g. from a battery) is described. In the normal mode of operation, if the DC link voltage falls below a threshold indicative of the AC power supply being lost, the emergency mode is entered, typically following an intervening coast mode (during which the motor is not driven). Similarly, in the emergency mode, if the DC link voltage rises above a threshold indicative of the AC power supply being restored, the normal mode is entered, typically following an intervening coast mode.
US09742329B2	Current regulation in motors A motor controller that includes a processing device and a drive circuit. The drive circuit may include a plurality of switches, a motor winding, and a current sensor coupled together in an H-bridge configuration. The processing device is configured to cause a drive current to drive through the motor winding for a minimum amount of time. The processing device is also configured to compare the current through the current sensor to a threshold value at the minimum amount of time. The processing device is also configured to, based on the current being at or above the threshold value at the minimum amount of time, stop the drive current for an off period of time and cause a first decay of the current for a first percentage of the off period of time and a first slow decay for a second percentage of the off period of time.
US09742328B2	Method for controlling an electric machine A method for controlling an operation of a multi-phase electric machine with a stator and a rotor is disclosed. The stator or the rotor includes permanent magnets, whereas the rotor or the stator includes a plurality of conductor bars interconnected by connecting elements of at least one circuit board and disposed within a magnetic field of the permanent magnets and having an internal inductance connected. The connecting elements are arranged outside the magnetic field and have an external inductance. Each phase includes at least one of the conductor bars. The multi-phase electric machine is controlled by regulating for each phase of the multi-phase electric machine at least one electrical quantity, which is dependent on the internal and external inductance of a respective phase, to a desired value.
US09742318B2	Control of an electric machine A method of controlling an electric machine, the method comprising storing a plurality of power maps, each power map comprising control values for driving the electric machine at different power, and selecting a power map in response to an input signal. Additionally, a control system for an electric machine, and a product incorporating the control system and electric machine.
US09742313B2	Piezoelectric motor, robot hand, robot, finger assist apparatus, electronic component conveying apparatus, electronic component inspecting apparatus, liquid feeding pump, printing apparatus, electronic timepiece, and projection apparatus A first driving signal is supplied to a first electrode of a vibrating body. A second driving signal is supplied to a second electrode of the vibrating body. A common driving signal is supplied to a common electrode of the vibrating body. A phase of the first driving signal is set changeable with respect to a phase of the common driving signal. A phase of the second driving signal is set changeable with respect to the phase of the common driving signal. Then, it is possible to switch a driving direction of a piezoelectric motor according to which phase of the first driving signal or the second driving signal is varied from the phase of the common driving signal. If the phase is simply changed, a switch is unnecessary. It is possible to reduce a driving circuit in size.
US09742304B2	Driver board and power converter Provided is a driver board capable of miniaturizing itself while ensuring insulation voltage resistance performance. In the driver board: a transformer 114 is configured, so as to cross a first insulating region 120a, such that a primary side terminal 114a is connected to a primary side circuit 112a and a secondary side terminal 114b is connected to a secondary side circuit 113a; a power supply control IC 115 is configured, so as to cross a insulating region 120b, such that a primary side terminal 115a is connected to a primary side circuit 112b and a secondary side terminal 115b is connected to a secondary side circuit 113b; and the insulating region 120a and the insulating region 120b are formed so as to at least partially face each other via an insulating board 111 such that the primary side circuit 112a and the secondary side circuit 113b do not face each other via the insulating board and the primary side circuit 112b and the secondary side circuit 113a do not face each other via the insulating board.
US09742295B2	Flyback-based power conversion apparatus with multi-functional pin A power conversion apparatus including a flyback power conversion circuit, a control chip and a detection auxiliary circuit is provided. The flyback power conversion circuit converts an input voltage into a direct current (DC) output voltage. The control chip generates a pulse width modulation (PWM) signal for controlling operations of the flyback power conversion circuit. The detection auxiliary circuit assists the control chip in obtaining a first detection voltage via a multi-function detection pin of the control chip within an enabling period of the PWM signal, so as to execute an over current detection according to the first detection voltage. Besides, the detection auxiliary circuit assists the control chip in obtaining a second detection voltage via the multi-function detection pin within a disabling period of the PWM signal, so as to execute a valley voltage detection according to the second detection voltage.
US09742292B2	Multifunction power conversion device A multifunction power conversion device for dynamical detection includes an input filter unit, a transformer, a switching transistor, a driving controller, a feedback unit and an output unit. Two sensing signals from the primary and auxiliary coils of the transformer form a current sensing zero detection signal. The digital control unit of the driving controller determines if a current flowing through a secondary coil of the transformer is reduced to zero due to discharging, and further finds valley of the current of the secondary coil. The switching transistor is turned on after a preset number of the valley and then turned off by a process of current sense. Therefore, the present invention greatly reduces switching loss, increases efficiency of power conversion, and particular, enhances flexibility of application to meet actual requirements by simply updating program executed by the digital control unit.
US09742291B2	Control circuit and related integrated circuit and switching-type converter A control circuit can include: a power supply circuit having a bias capacitor coupled between a power terminal and a common node, where the power supply circuit supplies power to the control circuit via the bias capacitor; a detection circuit coupled between the common node and a current output terminal of a main power switch of a power stage circuit, to detect current flowing through the main power switch; a current feedback circuit that generates a feedback signal according to a difference value between a sense value obtained from a voltage at the power terminal during an off state of the main power switch and a present voltage at the power terminal, where the feedback signal represents an inductor current of the power stage circuit; and a control signal generator that generates a control signal according to the feedback signal to control the main power switch.
US09742290B2	Control arrangement for increasing the available output from a source A control arrangement for use in controlling the electrical supply from a power supply unit including an internal capacitance to an output is described, the control arrangement comprising an inductor, a switch arranged in parallel with internal capacitance, and a controller operable to control the operation of the switch such that closing of the switch results in the formation of an LCR circuit, the internal capacitance forming the capacitance of the LCR circuit. An associated control method is also described.
US09742289B2	Integrated circuit and switching power-supply device A switching power-supply device has an inductor, a switching element serially connected to the inductor, a control circuit, which controls on and off of the switching element and performs an output voltage control in any one of a plurality of modes including a continuous mode and a discontinuous mode, and a continuous mode detection circuit, which detects that the output voltage control is performed in the continuous mode when a current flowing through the switching element is equal to or greater than a threshold.
US09742287B2	Switched-mode power supply comprising a module for charging and discharging an energy store including an electrical transformer The disclosure concerns a switched-mode power supply comprising a module for charging and discharging an energy store including an electrical transformer. The device provides high configuration flexibility.
US09742279B2	Interleaved buck converter An interleaved buck converter performs buck conversion by controlling operation of each of two switches thereof between an ON state and an OFF state. The switches have the same switching period and the same ON time interval, and a time delay from switching of one of the switches into the ON state to switching of the other one of the switches into the ON state equals the ON time interval of the switches minus a predetermined time interval.
US09742247B2	Thermally protected electric motor An electric motor for driving a motor vehicle component, such as a fan motor for cooling cooling water, has a thermal fuse with a contact spring. The contact spring has attached ends that are connected to a conducting path section between which an interruption point is formed. The springy ends of the contact spring are in soldered contact with each other in a spring-biased manner. The thermal fuse is a fuse module with a plastic support in which the conducting path sections are partially embedded in such a way that the contact spring lies in a window opening in the support. Terminals of the conducting path sections protrude from the plastic support.
US09742246B2	Multiple speed motor with thermal overload protection An electric motor includes a stator and a rotor. The stator has a plurality of low speed windings and a plurality of separate high speed windings. A first type of thermal overload protector is coupled with at least one of the low speed windings and a second type of thermal overload protector is coupled with at least one of the high speed windings.
US09742244B2	Driver device In a driver device, a controller substrate has a center part on which a rotation angle sensor is attached and an outer periphery portion which is fixed onto a heat sink. The heat sink has a cylinder part extending in an axial direction of the rotation shaft to contact the outer periphery portion of the controller substrate. The cylinder part of the heat sink is continuously formed along an entire periphery and has the same height at all portions. Such configuration provides an even deformation distribution of the cylinder part due to a temperature change, thereby reducing unevenness of heat stress distribution along a substrate plane and decreasing stress applied to the sensor, which facilitates a reduction of a detection error of the sensor.
US09742243B2	High-speed high-power switched reluctance machine A switched reluctance machine designed for high-speed high-power operation. The switched reluctance machine has a rotor having a plurality of radially extending rotor poles, an interpolar filler positioned between the rotor poles, a stator having a plurality of stator poles extending radially inwardly from the inner surface of a machine frame, a stator winding positioned about each stator pole, wherein the stator wire has a rectangular cross-sectional profile, an axial cooling system, an end turn cooling system, and a cooling jacket positioned radially about the machine frame, and a power source configured to selectively supply electrical power to the one or more stator windings to induce rotation of the rotor.
US09742234B2	Centralized power distribution member for motor A centralized power distribution member A for motor arranged on the outer periphery of a stator S of a motor and configured to feed power to windings of the stator S includes a plurality of annular busbars 10 each including a power feeding terminal 20 and connection terminals 15 to the windings on one side edge, an annular holder 30 made of synthetic resin and configured to accommodate the busbars 10 laminated in a radial direction in a mutually insulated manner, and a power feeding unit 70 arranged near a predetermined position in a circumferential direction and individually connected to the power feeding terminal 20 of each busbar 10 and power supply side terminals drawn out from a power supply side. The power feeding unit 70 is arranged on an end surface side of the stator S where the power feeding terminals 20 and the connection terminals 15 are arranged.
US09742226B2	Electric machine An electric machine comprise a first carrier having an array of electromagnetic elements and a second carrier having electromagnetic elements defining magnetic poles, the second carrier being arranged to move relative to the first carrier. An airgap is provided between the first carrier and the second carrier. The electromagnetic elements of the first carrier include posts, with slots between the posts, one or more electric conductors in each slot, the posts of the first carrier having a post height in mm. The first carrier and the second carrier together define a size of the electric machine. The magnetic poles having a pole pitch in mm. The size of the motor, pole pitch and post height are selected to fall within a region in a space defined by size, pole pitch and post height that provides a benefit in terms of force or torque per weight per excitation level.
US09742225B2	Electric machine An electric machine comprise a first carrier having an array of electromagnetic elements and a second carrier having electromagnetic elements defining magnetic poles, the second carrier being arranged to move relative to the first carrier. An airgap is provided between the first carrier and the second carrier. The electromagnetic elements of the first carrier include posts, with slots between the posts, one or more electric conductors in each slot, the posts of the first carrier having a post height in mm. The first carrier and the second carrier together define a size of the electric machine. The magnetic poles having a pole pitch in mm. The size of the motor, pole pitch and post height are selected to fall within a region in a space defined by size, pole pitch and post height that provides a benefit in terms of force or torque per weight per excitation level.
US09742223B2	System for optical wireless power supply A system for optical wireless power transmission to a power receiving apparatus generally situated in a mobile electronic device. The transmitter has an optical resonator with end reflectors and a gain medium positioned between them, such that an optical beam is generated. The frequency of the beam is selected such that it is absorbed by almost all transparent organic materials in general use. A beam steering unit on the transmitter can direct the beam in any of a plurality of directions, and the beam is absorbed on the receiver by means of an optical-to-electrical power converter, through a low reflection surface. The band gap of this power converter is selected to be smaller than that of the gain medium. The receiver has a voltage converter including an inductor, an energy storage device and a switch. A beam steerer controller ensures that the beam impinges on the receiver.
US09742221B2	Power supply device, power supply method, and program A power supply device includes a power supply unit that wirelessly supplies power to a power reception device, a reception unit that receives an interrupt request from a second power reception device during power supply to a first power reception device by the power supply unit, a determination unit that determines whether the interrupt of the second power reception device is to be permitted, and a power supply control unit that stops the power supply to the first power reception device and starts power supply to the second power reception device when the determination unit has determined that the interrupt is to be permitted.
US09742214B2	Wireless power transfer system and wireless charging system Disclosed is a wireless power receiving apparatus for wirelessly receiving power. The wireless power receiving apparatus includes a power receiving unit configured to wirelessly receive power, a charging unit configured to receive the power from the power receiving unit, and supply the power to a battery, and a control unit configured to determine an output voltage, which enables a charging efficiency of power, supplied to the battery, to be the maximum, based on an output capacity output from the power receiving unit, and control the power receiving unit for the battery to be charged with the output voltage.
US09742207B2	Cell protection system A cell protection system includes a charge control MOSFET, a charge current detection MOSFET, a discharge control MOSFET, a discharge current detection MOSFET, a charge current detection resistance, a discharge current detection resistance and a control circuit. The charge current detection MOSFET has a drain and a gate common with the charge control MOSFET. The discharge control MOSFET has a drain common with the charge control MOSFET. The discharge current MOSFET has a drain and a gate common with discharge control MOSFET. The charge current detection resistances and the discharge current detection resistance are provided in correspondence to the charge current detection MOSFET and the discharge current detection MOSFET, respectively. The control circuit generates a gate control signal for the charge control MOSFET and the charge current detection MOSFET by using the charge current detection resistance and generates a gate control signal for the charge control MOSFET and the discharge current detection MOSFET by using the discharge current detection resistance.
US09742192B2	Method and system for island detection and anti-islanding protection in distributed power generation systems An effective, yet relatively simple and inexpensive, method for detection of islanding in distributed power generation systems. Statistical analysis of the local line frequency, as measured at the distributed generator, is performed to detect when an island has been formed. The statistical characteristics of the local frequency are controlled by the grid when the distributed generator is not islanding. When an island is formed, however, frequency control switches to circuitry associated with the distributed generator. Because the statistical characteristics of the frequency control performed by the distributed generator are markedly different from those of the grid, the islanding condition can be detected and corrected.
US09742190B2	Device and method for electrically decoupling a solar module from a solar system Devices and methods for electrically decoupling a solar module from a solar system are described. In one embodiment, a solar system includes a string of a plurality of solar modules coupled with an inverter through a DC power line. An AC input is coupled with the DC power line. A device is also included and is configured to provide a closed circuit for one of the plurality of solar modules if an AC signal voltage from the AC input is present on the DC power line, and is configured to provide an open circuit for the one of the plurality of solar modules if no AC signal voltage from the AC input is present on the DC power line.
US09742188B2	System and method for installing solar panels based on number of panels and output of panels A controller for a plurality of solar panels is provided. An input connector is configured to receive (a) power from the plurality of solar panels, and (b) information from the individual solar panels. An output is configured to forward from the input connector the power from the plurality of solar panels. A controller is configured to receive the information, and based on the information selectively enable or disable the flow of power from the input to the output. The controller enables the flow of power when (a) a number of solar panels connected to the input is within a first threshold, and (b) the total rated output of solar panels connected to the input is within a second threshold. The controller disables the flow of power when (a) a number of solar panels connected to the input exceeds the first threshold, and/or (b) the total rated output of solar panels connected exceeds the second threshold.
US09742179B2	Conduit and end fitting for offshore cable assembly A conduit for an offshore cable assembly that includes a conduit body that has at least one longitudinal strength member embedded therein. The at least one longitudinal strength member extends the length of the conduit body. A plurality of cables, hoses, or a combination are received inside of the conduit body.
US09742173B2	Roof top junction box A roof top junction box to protect wiring systems and a roof top from water leakages. The junction box includes a storage unit and an enclosure. A mounting component is fastened at an internal storage area of the storage unit to secure a terminal component thereon. Threaded screw elements are aligned in at least two of a plurality of screw hole channels utilizing a first sealing gaskets, a plurality of rubber washers and a plurality of press fit flutes. The plurality of threaded screw elements is affixed at a flashing member attached to the roof top. A compression ring and a multithreaded flute are aligned at a bottom conduit port in the storage unit. A conduit is inserted through the bottom conduit port and an opening at the flashing member to connect the conduit with at least one wiring system of a building.
US09742169B1	Junction box assemblies with sequentially elevated openings An electric junction box assembly configured to help preserve the structural integrity of a bend in a tube is provided. The electric junction box assembly includes a junction box having at least one tube opening. The tube opening extends from an outer surface of the junction box into the inner space of the junction box. The tube opening is configured to hold the bend of the tube. The tube opening includes an outer opening and at least one inner opening. The outer opening is formed on an outer wall of the junction box and the inner opening is formed on an inner wall of the junction box. The inner opening is elevated with respect to the outer opening. Accordingly, the electric junction box assembly distributes the load of the weight of a tube and wire assembly so as to preserve the integrity of the tube and wire assembly.
US09742168B2	Conductive path A conductive path is provided that enables easily connecting stranded electrical lines to a plurality of single-core electrical lines collectively inserted into a pipe. The conductive path includes a plurality of single-core electrical lines, each being made up of one single-core conductor enveloped in an insulating sheathing, and a shield pipe into which the single-core electrical lines are collectively inserted. An end portion of each of the single-core conductors is a junction portion to which a stranded electrical line is to be connected, the stranded electrical line including a stranded conductor made up of a plurality of twisted individual wires, and an insulating sheathing that envelops the stranded conductor. The junction portions of the single-core electrical lines are arranged in the longitudinal direction with respect to each other outside of the shield pipe.
US09742165B2	Apparatus and system for scheduling mobile device operations on a power transmission system Described embodiments include a system, apparatus, method, and computer program product. A described apparatus includes a receiver circuit configured to receive data indicative of at least one physical parameter of a power transmission system configured to transport electric power from one place to another. The apparatus includes an analysis circuit configured to assess a potential operational risk to a portion of the power transmission system at least partially based on the received data. The apparatus includes a planning circuit configured to schedule a traverse by a mobile device over a transmission line of the power transmission system at least partially based upon the assessed potential operational risk.
US09742164B2	Secondary disconnect assembly for a switching device A secondary disconnect assembly for a switching device includes a first mounting bracket configured to support a secondary connector of a switching device system, a telescopic arrangement connected to the first mounting bracket, a slider connected to the telescopic arrangement, and a second mounting bracket including a projection. The second mounting bracket is operable to move with the switching device. The slider is engageable with the projection and movable with the second mounting bracket in an automatic operation of the secondary disconnect assembly. The slider is disengageable from the projection and movable with respect to the second mounting bracket in a manual operation of the secondary disconnect assembly.
US09742159B1	Spark plug for a gas-powered internal combustion engine and method for the manufacture thereof A spark plug for a gas-powered internal combustion engine, having a center conductor, an insulator surrounding the center conductor, a body surrounding the insulator, a center electrode connected in an electrically conductive manner to the center conductor, and at least one ground electrode that is connected in an electrically conductive manner to the body and forms a spark air gap with the center electrode. A shield that shields the spark air gap in the radial direction of the spark plug is located at the front end of the body. The shield includes multiple shield components that are attached to the front end of the body adjacent to one another in the circumferential direction of the spark plug.
US09742158B2	Spark plug Disclosed is a spark plug with improved lifetime. The spark plug includes a first electrode and a second electrode having an electrode base and an electrode tip joined to the electrode base with a gap defined between the first electrode and the electrode tip. The electrode tip has a flat surface located apart from the electrode base and is joined to the electrode base at a side opposite to the flat surface by laser welding with emission of laser beam in a plane direction from one to the other end of the flat surface. A fused part is formed by the laser welding at the opposite side of the electrode tip. A cross-sectional shape of the fused part taken along a plane perpendicular to the flat surface and parallel to the plane direction has a constricted section at a position from one side to the other side in the plane direction.
US09742157B2	Spark plug A spark plug includes an insulator having a through hole formed in the direction of an axis, a rod-shaped center electrode inserted in the through hole and extending in the direction of the axis, a metal shell disposed around an outer circumference of the insulator, and a ground electrode electrically conducted with the metal shell and adapted to define a gap between the ground electrode and the center electrode. A front end part of the insulator has a front end surface, an outer circumferential surface and a curved surface region formed between the front end surface and the outer circumferential surface. In a cross section including the axis, a front end of an inner circumferential surface of the metal shell faces the curved surface region in a direction perpendicular to the axis. The curved surface region has a curvature radius of 0.2 mm to 0.8 mm.
US09742155B2	Modular laser apparatus A laser apparatus includes a plurality of laser modules each generating a laser line in a working plane. The laser modules are juxtaposed so that the laser lines generated by the modules combine into a single laser line. Each of the laser modules includes at least one laser line generator. The laser line generator includes two linear arrays of strips of laser diodes each emitting a focused laser beam. The two linear arrays are arranged parallel to each other so that the strips are staggered. The two sets of parallel laser beams generated by the two linear arrays of strips, respectively, are merged into a single laser line by a set of mirrors. The linear arrays of strips of laser diodes and the mirrors are arranged so that the two sets of laser beams trace optical paths of the same length before being merged into a single laser line.
US09742154B2	Mode control in vertical-cavity surface-emitting lasers Aspects of the subject disclosure may include, for example, a first distributed Bragg reflector, a second distributed Bragg reflector, an active region with an oxide aperture between the first and second distributed Bragg reflectors, and a dielectric layer, where a positioning of the dielectric layer with respect to the first and second distributed Bragg reflectors and the oxide aperture causes suppression of higher modes of the vertical-cavity surface-emitting laser device. Other embodiments are disclosed.
US09742138B2	Belt strip for contact elements Provided is a belt strip for contact elements, which includes of a flat metal strip, from which individual tabs are angle by approximately 90°, wherein the tabs each have two retaining arms which are bent towards one another, wherein the retaining arms each have a constant direction of curvature, and wherein the radius of curvature is greater in the direction of the ends of the respective retaining arms.
US09742133B1	Power connector having a housing with a T-shaped tongue and each terminal with parallel and separated contact portions A power connector is disclosed in this invention, including an insulating housing and at least one pair of power terminals. The insulating housing includes a T-type tongue plate, which has a flange, multiple grooves formed on two opposite surfaces of the tongue plate, and multiple ribs separating the grooves. Each power terminal includes a retaining plate, multiple parallel and separated contact portions mounted into the corresponding grooves and multiple parallel and separated mounting portions. The power terminal of the present invention can realize the power distribution and improve the heat dissipation performance of the power terminal by disposing these contact portions and defining heat-dissipating channels between these contact portions.
US09742131B2	Power transfer systems In a power transfer system, a first main switch can transfer power from a first connector to an output terminal. A first path can deliver a current from the first connector to the output terminal and control the current to be within a predefined ranger. A second main switch can transfer power from a second connector to the output terminal. A second path can deliver a current from the second connector to the output terminal and control the current to be within a predefined range. Control circuitry can turn off the second main switch and the second path and turn on the first path if the first power source is available at the first connector when the second power source is providing power to the output terminal. The control circuitry can turn on the first main switch when a time interval from turning on the first path has elapsed.
US09742126B2	Power connector, and electrical connection element and operating method therefor An electrical connection element is for a power connector. The power connector includes an electrical component having a number of first electrical mating members. The electrical connection element comprises: a housing including a number of second electrical mating members structured to be electrically connected to the number of first electrical mating members; a contact assembly enclosed by the housing and being electrically connected to the number of second electrical mating members; and an operating mechanism for opening and closing the contact assembly. The contact assembly is structured to electrically connect and disconnect power while the number of first electrical mating members remain mechanically coupled to the number of second electrical mating members.
US09742113B1	Electrical interface Systems and methods providing an electrical interface between a male plug (1002) and a female receptacle (100, 500, 1000, 1600). The methods comprise: receiving a conductive pin (402, 800, 1006, 1602) of the male plug in a socket opening (112, 900, 1012, 1612) of the female receptacle; providing (a) first spring loaded floating contact points (460) between an elongate body (422) of the conductive pin and an electrical contact (106A-106B) of the female receptacle and (b) at least one second spring loaded floating contact point (462) between a tip (420) of the conductive pin and the electrical contact (110) of the female receptacle, when the conductive pin is fully inserted into the female receptacle; and maintaining at least two of the spring loaded floating contact points when the pin moves within the socket opening as a result of an external force applied to the male plug or female receptacle.
US09742112B1	Automatic gravity connector A two sided electrical connection system that automatically connects two connector sides together is provided. A male side and female side of the connector have bodies shaped such that the male side may be received by the female side automatically by a force of gravity. Guiding structure around the female side of the two sided connector allows the male side to be guided into place without requiring perfect alignment of the two sides of the connector.
US09742111B2	Active cover plates One embodiment includes a cover plate for an electrical receptacle. The cover plate includes first and second conductors that protrude rearward from the cover plate and are configured to contact terminals of a receptacle to supply power to a load associated with the cover plate. Insulators over at least a portion of the conductors inhibit the conductors from contacting other conductive materials.
US09742105B2	Protective cover and electrical connector having a radiation window formed by a plurality of radiation passages A protective cover and an electrical connector assembly having the protective cover are disclosed. The protective cover has a body formed of an at least partly transparent or translucent electrically insulating material and an opaque electrically conductive layer disposed on the body. The electrically conductive layer has a radiation window penetrable by optical radiation formed by a plurality of radiation passages.
US09742104B2	Underwater connecting apparatuses and assemblies Underwater connecting apparatuses include a flexible diaphragm that at least in part defines a wall of a chamber configured to contain a fill material, the wall having a perimeter with a non-circular profile when the chamber is viewed in cross-section. The non-circular profile of the perimeter is configured to allow a volume of the chamber to change without substantially changing a length of the perimeter.
US09742103B2	Connector A connector that can make it easy to manufacture a metal mold for cover manufacturing is provided. A connector includes a connector body and a cover that covers the region between the connector body and a parking brake cable. The connector body includes a body-side attachment portion to which the cover is attached, and the body-side attachment portion is formed with an elliptic cylindrical shape. The cover includes a cover-side attachment portion for attachment to the body-side attachment portion of the connector body, and the cover-side attachment portion is formed with a true circle cylindrical shape so as to have an opening portion that is shaped as a true circle.
US09742097B2	Fluidproof connector A waterproof connector includes a housing (10) provided with cavities (11) capable of accommodating terminal fittings (T) and open backward, a dummy plug (30) configured to be held in close contact with an inner surface of the cavity (11) by being inserted into the cavity (11) from behind, tapered surfaces (18) formed on a rear surface of the housing (10) to surround openings (16) of the cavities (11) and inclined to come closer to the inner surfaces (17) of the cavities (11) toward the back, and a pressing portion (32) provided on the dummy plug (30) and configured to be pressed against the tapered surface (18) by a forward force acting on the dummy plug (30).
US09742094B1	Outlet faceplate extension An outlet faceplate extension device includes female receiving components at a first side, male electronic components at a second side, and a rim that is connectable to furniture.
US09742090B2	Contact A contact includes a first terminal including a plurality of arms; a second terminal; a spring connecting the arms to the second terminal; and a casing covering the spring, wherein the arms outwardly protrude from one end of the casing, wherein an interval between the arms increases from a side of the casing to front edges of the arms, wherein when the arms are pushed toward the casing the arms are retracted into the casing and contact an inner side of the casing so that the interval between the arms decreases.
US09742084B2	Connector and manufacturing method therefor A connector is provided which includes engaging portions for engaging hooks formed on the upper arm portion of each terminal, an actuator having two contact pressure portions formed on each of two end surfaces positioned on opposite sides from each other in the left and right direction, and a housing having two holding portions opposing each other on the left and right sides and interposing the actuator. The holding portions press against the contact pressure portions of the actuator in a second position and do not press against the contact pressure portions of the actuator in a first position, where the position of the actuator when the engaging portions are engaging the hooks is the first position and the position of the actuator when the engaging portions are not engaging the hooks is the second position.
US09742076B2	Space efficient multi-band antenna A multi-band antenna having an aperture tuner is disclosed. The multi-band antenna may simultaneously transmit a first radio frequency (RF) signal and a second RF signal. The aperture tuner may modify a resonant frequency associated with one or more antenna elements of the multiband antenna in accordance with the first RF signal or the second RF signal. One or more of the antenna elements of the multi-band antenna may be disposed above and/or substantially parallel to other antenna elements. In some exemplary embodiments, an air gap may be formed between one or more antenna elements.
US09742061B2	Swivel mounted antenna A swivel mount apparatus and method for installing a swivel mount apparatus on a vehicle. The swivel mount apparatus includes a first member, a second member rotatably coupled to the first member, and a mounting post affixed to the first member and extending upwardly relative to the first member, wherein the mounting post receives the second member. A receiving space is defined by the second member and receives an accessory, such that the accessory may be adjusted relative to the vehicle.
US09742053B2	Methods of modifying erect concealed antenna towers and associated modified towers and devices therefor The disclosure describes installing an antenna canister in a portion of a concealed antenna pole at a location that is below a top of the pole while the antenna pole is erect and associated components to facilitate the procedure, as well as multi-piece vertical rods, pole mounting bracket assemblies and retrofit kits.
US09742050B2	Methods and devices for grounding deep drawn resonators Difficulties in grounding a non-integral, deep drawn resonator (DDR) to the filter body of a cavity may be substantially eliminated by preventing the movement of the DDR away from a grounding contact area on the filter body. The addition of a compression plate and stop limiter in the connection of the non-integral DR to the filter body helps insure that any such movement is eliminated or substantially reduced.
US09742049B2	Gravoltaic cells Gravoltaic cell devices and methods are disclosed for producing robust electrochemical gravoltaic cells that convert a gravitational force into electrical energy. The cells includes a reaction vessel and a first stationary homogeneous volume of dissociated aqueous cations and a second stationary homogeneous aqueous volume of dissociated aqueous reactant cations, both volumes being disposed within the reaction vessel, and providing bulk solvent and anions a stationary bulk volume of a homogeneous mixture of solvent and dissociated anions collectively disposed homogeneously throughout the two layers of dissociated aqueous cations. The cell also includes an anode junction providing electrochemically active dissimilar anode/cation chemical species junction. The cell also includes a cathode junction providing a gravity-sustained electrochemically passive similar cathode/cation chemical species junction. One of the several purposes of the present invention is to further study and define said properties and to develop longer lasting interfaces.
US09742042B2	Voltage protection and health monitoring of batteries with reference electrodes In some variations, an apparatus provides real-time monitoring of voltage and differential voltage of both anode and cathode in a battery configured with at least one reference electrode. Voltage monitors are connected to a computer programmed for receiving anode voltage signals; receiving cathode voltage signals; calculating the derivative of the anode voltage with respect to time or with respect to capacity; and calculating the derivative of the cathode voltage with respect to time or with respect to capacity. Other variations provide an apparatus for real-time assessment of capacities of both anode and cathode in a battery, comprising a computer programmed for receiving electrode voltage signals; estimating first and second electrode open-circuit voltages at two different times, and correlating the first and second electrode open-circuit voltages to first and second electrode states of charge, respectively, for each of anode and cathode. The anode and cathode capacities may then be estimated independently.
US09742030B2	Ionic gel electrolyte, energy storage devices, and methods of manufacture thereof An electrochemical cell includes solid-state, printable anode layer, cathode layer and non-aqueous gel electrolyte layer coupled to the anode layer and cathode layer. The electrolyte layer provides physical separation between the anode layer and the cathode layer, and comprises a composition configured to provide ionic communication between the anode layer and cathode layer by facilitating transmission of multivalent ions between the anode layer and the cathode layer.
US09742028B2	Flexible membranes and coated electrodes for lithium based batteries An example of a flexible membrane includes a porous membrane and a solid electrolyte coating formed on at least a portion of a surface of the porous membrane, in pores of the porous membrane, or both on the surface and in the pores. The solid electrolyte coating includes i) a polymer chain or ii) an inorganic ionically conductive material. The polymer chain or the inorganic material includes a group to interact or react with a polysulfide through covalent bonding or supramolecular interaction.
US09742025B2	Battery pack A battery pack includes a module stack body having a plurality of stacked battery modules; first and second connecting members each provided on the same surface of the module stack body in order to hold the stacked battery modules and extending in the stacking direction of the battery modules; a first reinforcing member fixed to the first and second connecting members at first and second fixed points; and a second reinforcing member fixed to the first and second connecting members at third and fourth fixed points. Orientation of the components along the stacking direction of the battery modules of vectors having respectively the first and third fixed points as a start point and the second and fourth fixed points as an end point are opposed to each other.
US09742020B2	Fuel cell A fuel cell capable of achieving excellent power output, which comprises a non-catalytic anode electrode and in which a reductant is used as a fuel, is provided.The fuel cell of the present invention comprises an anode electrode, a cathode electrode, and a membrane having ion conductivity that is disposed between the anode electrode and the cathode electrode, in which a reducing fuel in the anode electrode is oxidized in the presence of a heterocyclic compound containing nitrogen and carbon atoms and having 5- or 6-membered ring.
US09742019B1	Method for forming a nanoporous grain boundary structure Gadolinium-doped cerium oxide slurries used to form a patchwork type surface structure with nanoporous grain boundary prepared by mixing gadolinium-doped cerium oxide and a polymer binder to form a first mixture; wet-atomizing the first mixture under a pressure of at least 100 MPa to obtain a second mixture; coating the second mixture to a substrate to fog in a coated substrate; and sintering the coated substrate. The patchwork type structure is a polygonal or honeycomb structure having a size of from 0.1 μm to 3 μm.
US09742016B2	Fuel cell startup apparatus and method A fuel cell startup apparatus and method reduces high-voltage generation and corrosion of a cathode electrode that may occur because the density of oxygen is locally high in a cell near a central flow distributor after long-term parking of a fuel-cell vehicle. To this end, density control gas is selectably injected into a fuel supply line prior to supply of reaction gas of hydrogen and air in a fuel cell startup process after long-term parking to forcedly mix anode-side gas in the fuel supply line and the cell with the density control gas.
US09742013B2	System for inspecting quality of membrane-electrode assembly of fuel cell and quality inspection method thereof A system for inspecting quality of a membrane-electrode assembly (MEA) of a fuel cell includes a bonding device configured to bond the MEA and a gas diffusion layer (GDL) to manufacture a bonded unit thereof. A transfer device adsorbs one surface of the bonded unit to transfer the bonded unit. An inspection device is disposed on one side of the bonded unit transferred by the transfer device and inspects an outer appearance of the bonded unit. A reversing device places the bonded unit thereon by the transfer device and reverses the bonded unit vertically. A loading and lifting device loads the bonded unit thereon after being transferred by the transfer device and adjusts a loading height.
US09742001B2	Graphene foam-protected anode active materials for lithium batteries A lithium-ion battery anode layer, comprising an anode active material embedded in pores of a solid graphene foam composed of multiple pores and pore walls, wherein (a) the pore walls contain a pristine graphene material having essentially no (less than 0.01%) non-carbon elements or a non-pristine graphene material having 0.01% to 5% by weight of non-carbon elements; (b) the anode active material is in an amount from 0.5% to 95% by weight based on the total weight of the graphene foam and the anode active material combined, and (c) some of the multiple pores are lodged with particles of the anode active material and other pores are particle-free, and the graphene foam is sufficiently elastic to accommodate volume expansion and shrinkage of the particles of the anode active material during a battery charge-discharge cycle to avoid expansion of the anode layer. Preferably, the solid graphene foam has a density from 0.01 to 1.7 g/cm3, a specific surface area from 50 to 2,000 m2/g, a thermal conductivity of at least 100 W/mK per unit of specific gravity, and/or an electrical conductivity no less than 1,000 S/cm per unit of specific gravity.
US09741999B2	Lithium-ion battery A lithium-ion battery having an anode including an array of nanowires electrochemically coated with a polymer electrolyte, and surrounded by a cathode matrix, forming thereby interpenetrating electrodes, wherein the diffusion length of the Li+ ions is significantly decreased, leading to faster charging/discharging, greater reversibility, and longer battery lifetime, is described. The battery design is applicable to a variety of battery materials. Methods for directly electrodepositing Cu2Sb from aqueous solutions at room temperature using citric acid as a complexing agent to form an array of nanowires for the anode, are also described. Conformal coating of poly-[Zn(4-vinyl-4′methyl-2,2′-bipyridine)3](PF6)2 by electroreductive polymerization onto films and high-aspect ratio nanowire arrays for a solid-state electrolyte is also described, as is reductive electropolymerization of a variety of vinyl monomers, such as those containing the acrylate functional group. Such materials display limited electronic conductivity but significant lithium ion conductivity. Cathode materials may include oxides, such as lithium cobalt oxide, lithium magnesium oxide, or lithium tin oxide, as examples, or phosphates, such as LiFePO4, as an example.
US09741996B2	Construction of electrochemical storage cell An electrochemical storage cell is disclosed that comprises a core and a rectangular shell that receives the core snugly therein. The rectangular shell has first and second open ends. A first end cap is used to close the first open end. An anode terminal extends through the first end cap from an interior portion of the electrochemical storage cell to an external portion thereof. A first gasket is secured within the rectangular shell between the first end cap and the core to resiliently hold the core away from the first end cap. A second end cap is used to close the second open end. A cathode terminal extends through the second end cap from an interior portion of the electrochemical storage cell to an external portion thereof. A second gasket is secured within the rectangular shell between the second end cap and the core to resiliently hold the core away from the second end cap.
US09741991B2	Integrated voltage sense and bus bar system and method for vehicles having a traction battery A vehicle includes a traction battery having a plurality of battery cells positioned in an array with a non-conductive bus bar housing having a plurality of compartments insulated from one another and containing one or more bus bars each having an integrally formed voltage sense connector. Each compartment may accommodate terminals of a pair of adjacent battery cells to be coupled by the associated bus bar. The voltage sense connector may include fingers for crimping and securing a voltage sense wire or a welding pad for welding, soldering, or similar connection. The voltage sense wires connect to a battery control module.
US09741981B2	Electronic apparatus having lock mechanism for locking battery accommodated in battery compartment An electronic apparatus with a lock mechanism for locking a battery in a battery compartment, with high space efficiency, even when the sizes of an apparatus body and the battery are reduced. A digital camera includes a battery compartment member formed with a battery compartment for removably accommodating a battery, a battery lid for opening and closing an insertion opening of the battery compartment, a pivot shaft for pivotally supporting the battery lid, a lock member for engaging the battery to lock the same, and an urging member for urging the battery lid in an opening direction. The lock member can move along an axis of the pivot shaft between a position for engaging the battery and a position for releasing the engagement. The urging member is disposed coaxially with the pivot shaft and urges the lock member toward the position for engaging the battery.
US09741978B2	Pulse laser welding aluminum alloy material, and battery case This aims to provide a pulse laser welding aluminum alloy material, which can prevent the occurrence of an abnormal portion, when an A1000-series aluminum material is welded with a pulse laser, so that a satisfactory welded portion can be homogeneously formed, and a battery case. The pulse laser welding aluminum alloy material is made of an A1000-series aluminum material, and has a viscosity of 0.0016 Pa·s or less in a liquid phase. Alternatively, the pulse laser welding aluminum alloy material has such a porosity generation rate of 1.5 (μm2/mm) or less in the pulse-laser welded portion as is numerically defined by dividing the porosity total area (μm2), as indicated by the product of the sectional area and the number of porosities, by the length (mm) of an observation section.
US09741972B2	OLED device and preparation method thereof, and display device An OLED device and a preparation method thereof, and a display device are provided. The OLED device comprises a substrate and a plurality of functional layers disposed sequentially on the substrate. One functional layer of the plurality of functional layers is a transition functional layer, the transition functional layer comprises a first sub-layer and a second sub-layer provided on the first sub-layer, the first sub-layer and the second sub-layer are made of a same material; and the first sub-layer is prepared by using a first process, and the second sub-layer is prepared by using a second process different from the first process.
US09741952B2	Display device and method of manufacturing the same A display device includes a display panel, a top member, and a bottom member. The top member is disposed on the display panel. The bottom member is disposed under the display panel, and includes a plurality of layers. At least one of the layers has an opening at a bending region of the display device.
US09741948B2	Self-assembled peptide nucleic acids Ordered (e.g., self-assembled) structures, arranged from peptide nucleic acids and/or analogs thereof, are disclosed. The peptide nucleic acids forming the ordered structures comprise from 1 to 10 PNA backbone units, at least one comprising a guanine nucleobase or an analog thereof. Processes of generating the ordered structures, uses thereof and articles-of manufacturing, devices and systems containing same are also disclosed.
US09741947B2	Organometallic complex and organic light-emitting device including the same An organometallic complex represented by Formula 1 below and an organic light-emitting device including the same: Formula 1 is as defined in the specification.
US09741946B2	Light-emitting element containing organic iridium exhibits blue-green to blue light emission An organometallic complex which can be provided at low cost and which emits blue phosphorescence is provided. An organometallic complex in which nitrogen at the 1-position of a 5-aryl-4H-1,2,4-triazole derivative is coordinated to a Group 9 metal or a Group 10 metal, the aryl group is bonded to the Group 9 metal or the Group 10 metal, and the 5-aryl-4H-1,2,4-triazole derivative is a 3-aryl-5,6,7,8-tetrahydro-4H-[1,2,4]triazolo[4,3-a]pyridine derivative is provided. The organometallic complex emits green to blue phosphorescence and is also advantageous in terms of cost.
US09741945B1	Tunable photoluminescent metal-organic-frameworks and method of making the same The present disclosure is directed to new photoluminescent metal-organic frameworks (MOFs). The newly developed MOFs include either non rare earth element (REE) transition metal atoms or limited concentrations of REE atoms, including: Ti, V, Cr, Mn, Fe, Co, Ni, Cu, Zn, Ga, Ge, Y, Ru, Ag, Cd, Sn, Sb, Ir, Pb, Bi, that are located in the MOF framework in site isolated locations, and have emission colors ranging from white to red, depending on the metal concentration levels and/or choice of ligand.
US09741939B2	Condensed cyclic compound and organic light-emitting device including the same A condensed cyclic compound represented by Formula 1: An organic light-emitting device including a first electrode; a second electrode facing the first electrode; and an organic layer between the first electrode and the second electrode, the organic layer including an emission layer, and further including at least one of the condensed cyclic compounds of Formula 1.
US09741937B2	Fluorene derivative, light-emitting element, light-emitting device, electronic device, and lighting device An object is to provide a light-emitting element having high light-emission efficiency by provision of a novel fluorene derivative as represented by General Formula (G1) below. In the formula, R1 to R8 independently represent any of a hydrogen atom, an alkyl group having 1 to 6 carbon atoms, a substituted or unsubstituted phenyl group, or a substituted or unsubstituted biphenyl group. Further, α1 to α4 independently represent any of a substituted or unsubstituted arylene group having 6 to 12 carbon atoms. Furthermore, Ar1 and Ar2 independently represent any of an aryl group having 6 to 13 carbon atoms in a ring and Ar3 represents an alkyl group having 1 to 6 carbon atoms or a substituted or unsubstituted aryl group having 6 to 12 carbon atoms. J, k, m, and n each independently represent 0 or 1.
US09741934B2	Polymer compound and light emitting device using the same A polymer compound comprising a constitutional unit having a group represented by the formula (1): wherein Ring A1A and Ring R2A represent an aromatic hydrocarbon ring or a heterocyclic ring and these rings each optionally have a substituent, nA represents an integer of 0 to 5, nB represents an integer of 1 to 5, LA and LB represent an alkylene group, a cycloalkylene group, an arylene group, a divalent heterocyclic ring group, a group represented by —NR′—, an oxygen atom or a sulfur atom, and R′ represents a hydrogen atom, an alkyl group or the like, and Q1 represents a crosslinkable group.
US09741924B2	Magnetic sensor having a recessed die pad A magnetic sensor has a pair of Hall elements formed in spaced-apart relationship on a front surface of a semiconductor substrate. A die pad is bonded to a back surface of the semiconductor substrate and overlaps the Hall elements. The die pad has formed therein a magnetic converging plate holder having a recessed portion, and a magnetic converging plate having the same shape and size as the recessed portion is fitted in the recessed portion of the magnetic converging plate holder.
US09741922B2	Self-latching piezocomposite actuator A self-latching piezocomposite actuator includes a plurality of shape memory ceramic fibers. The actuator can be latched by applying an electrical field to the shape memory ceramic fibers. The actuator remains in a latched state/shape after the electrical field is no longer present. A reverse polarity electric field may be applied to reset the actuator to its unlatched state/shape. Applied electric fields may be utilized to provide a plurality of latch states between the latched and unlatched states of the actuator. The self-latching piezocomposite actuator can be used for active/adaptive airfoils having variable camber, trim tabs, active/deformable engine inlets, adaptive or adjustable vortex generators, active optical components such as mirrors that change shapes, and other morphing structures.
US09741913B2	Light-emitting diode and method of manufacturing same Provided are a light-emitting diode which prevents degradation of reflectance and which enables high-luminosity light emission, and its manufacturing method. Such a light-emitting diode includes a substrate (1) upon which are provided, in this order, a reflecting layer (6), a transparent film (8) wherein multiple ohmic contact electrodes (7) are embedded at intervals, and a compound semiconductor layer (10) including a current diffusion layer (25) and a light-emitting layer (24) in this order. The periphery of the surface of each ohmic contact electrode (7) on the substrate (1) side are covered by the transparent film (8), and the ohmic contact electrodes (7) contact the reflecting layer (6) and the current diffusion layer (25).
US09741907B2	Light emitting diode package and manufacturing method thereof A light emitting diode package includes a light emitting diode chip disposed in a housing, a first phosphor configured to emit green light, and a second phosphor configured to emit red light. White light is configured to be formed by a synthesis of light emitted from the light emitting diode chip, the first phosphor, and the second phosphor. The second phosphor has a chemical formula of A2MF6:Mn4+, A is one of Li, Na, K, Rb, Ce, and NH4, and M is one of Si, Ti, Nb, and Ta, and the Mn4+of the second phosphor has a mole range of about 0.02 to about 0.035 times the M.
US09741904B2	Light emitting device A light emitting device includes a light emitting chip which generates a first light having a first color, a first cavity layer disposed on the light emitting chip and which generates a second light having a second color and has a first refractive index, a second cavity layer disposed on the first cavity layer and which generates a third light having a third color and has a second refractive index, a first half mirror layer disposed between the first cavity layer and the light emitting chip and which reflects at least a portion of the second light, a second half mirror layer disposed between the first cavity layer and the second cavity layer and which reflects at least a portion of the third light, and a third half mirror layer disposed on the second cavity layer and which transmits the first light.
US09741895B2	Removal of 3D semiconductor structures by dry etching Various embodiments include methods of fabricating a semiconductor device that include providing a plurality of nanostructures extending away from a support, forming a flowable material layer between the nanostructures, forming a patterned mask over a first portion of the flowable material and the first portion of the plurality of nanostructures, such that a second portion of the flowable material and a second portion of the plurality of nanostructures are not located under the patterned mask and etching the second portion of the flowable material and the second portion of the plurality of nanostructures to remove the second portion of the flowable material and the second portion of the plurality of nanostructures to leave the first portion of the flowable material and the first portion of the plurality of nanostructures unetched.
US09741894B2	Ion implant system having grid assembly An ion implantation system having a grid assembly. The system includes a plasma source configured to provide plasma in a plasma region; a first grid plate having a plurality of apertures configured to allow ions from the plasma region to pass therethrough, wherein the first grid plate is configured to be biased by a power supply; a second grid plate having a plurality of apertures configured to allow the ions to pass therethrough subsequent to the ions passing through the first grid plate, wherein the second grid plate is configured to be biased by a power supply; and a substrate holder configured to support a substrate in a position where the substrate is implanted with the ions subsequent to the ions passing through the second grid plate.
US09741890B2	Protective insulating layer and chemical mechanical polishing for polycrystalline thin film solar cells A method for forming a photovoltaic device includes forming an absorber layer with a granular structure on a conductive layer; conformally depositing an insulating protection layer over the absorber layer to fill in between grains of the absorber layer; and planarizing the protection layer and the absorber layer. A buffer layer is formed on the absorber layer, and a top transparent conductor layer is deposited over the buffer layer.
US09741889B2	Contact for silicon heterojunction solar cells A photovoltaic device and method include a substrate coupled to an emitter side structure on a first side of the substrate and a back side structure on a side opposite the first side of the substrate. The emitter side structure or the back side structure include layers alternating between wide band gap layers and narrow band gap layers to provide a multilayer contact with an effectively increased band offset with the substrate and/or an effectively higher doping level over a single material contact. An emitter contact is coupled to the emitter side structure on a light collecting end portion of the device. A back contact is coupled to the back side structure opposite the light collecting end portion.
US09741880B2	Three-dimensional conductive electrode for solar cell A photovoltaic device and method include forming a plurality of pillar structures in a substrate, forming a first electrode layer on the pillar structures and forming a continuous photovoltaic stack including an N-type layer, a P-type layer and an intrinsic layer on the first electrode. A second electrode layer is deposited over the photovoltaic stack such that gaps or fissures occur in the second electrode layer between the pillar structures. The second electrode layer is wet etched to open up the gaps or fissures and reduce the second electrode layer to form a three-dimensional electrode of substantially uniform thickness over the photovoltaic stack.
US09741879B2	SPAD photodiode covered with a network The invention relates to a single-photon avalanche diode (SPAD) photodiode having a layer made of semiconductor material, including an N doped zone and a P doped zone separated by an avalanche zone. The semiconductor material layer is intercalated between a periodic structure and a low index layer having a refractive index less than that of the semiconductor material layer and less than that of the periodic structure. The periodic structure is deposited directly on the semiconductor material layer. The photodiode provides low temporal dispersion and high quantum efficiency, without requiring a strong charge acceleration voltage.
US09741875B2	Sensor chip package structure and manufacturing method thereof A sensor chip package structure and a manufacturing method thereof are provided. The sensor chip package structure includes a substrate, a sensor chip and a wiring layer. The sensor chip is mounted on the substrate and has a top surface and a concave portion concaved from the top surface. The sensor chip has an active region formed on the top surface and the concave portion is located at one side of the active region. The concave portion has a depth of 100 μm to 400 μm. The wiring layer is disposed on the sensor chip and electrically connected to the active region. At least a portion of the wiring layer extends from the active region along a sidewall of the concave portion to a bottom surface of the concave portion.
US09741873B2	Avalanche-rugged silicon carbide (SiC) power Schottky rectifier In at least one general aspect, a SiC device can include a drift region of a first conductivity type, a shielding body, and a Schottky region. The SiC device can include a rim having a second conductivity type at least partially surrounding the shielding body and the Schottky region. The SiC device can include a termination region at least partially surrounding the rim and having a doping of the second conductivity type. The termination region can have a transition zone disposed between a first zone and a second zone where the first zone has a top surface lower in depth than a depth of a top surface of the second zone and the transition zone has a recess.
US09741866B2	Semiconductor device To provide a highly reliable semiconductor device which includes a transistor including an oxide semiconductor, in a semiconductor device including a staggered transistor having a bottom-gate structure provided over a glass substrate, a gate insulating film in which a first gate insulating film and a second gate insulating film, whose compositions are different from each other, are stacked in this order is provided over a gate electrode layer. Alternatively, in a staggered transistor having a bottom-gate structure, a protective insulating film is provided between a glass substrate and a gate electrode layer. A metal element contained in the glass substrate has a concentration lower than or equal to 5×1018 atoms/cm3 at the interface between the first gate insulating film and the second gate insulating film or the interface between the gate electrode layer and a gate insulating film.
US09741865B2	Method of forming semiconductor device including oxide semiconductor stack with different ratio of indium and gallium A highly reliable semiconductor device including an oxide semiconductor is provided by preventing a change in its electrical characteristics. A semiconductor device which includes a first oxide semiconductor layer which is in contact with a source electrode layer and a drain electrode layer and a second oxide semiconductor layer which serves as a main current path (channel) of a transistor is provided. The first oxide semiconductor layer serves as a buffer layer for preventing a constituent element of the source and drain electrode layers from diffusing into the channel. By providing the first oxide semiconductor layer, it is possible to prevent diffusion of the constituent element into an interface between the first oxide semiconductor layer and the second oxide semiconductor layer and into the second oxide semiconductor layer.
US09741846B2	Semiconductor device A semiconductor device includes a lateral transistor having: a semiconductor substrate including a drift layer; a first impurity layer in the drift layer; a channel layer in the drift layer; a second impurity layer in the channel layer; a separation insulation film on the drift layer between the channel layer and the first impurity layer; a gate insulation film on a channel region between the second impurity layer and the drift layer connected with the separation insulation film; a gate electrode on the gate insulation film and the separation insulation film; a first electrode connected with the first impurity layer; a second electrode connected with the second impurity layer and the channel layer; and a field plate on the separation insulation film between the gate electrode and the first electrode and connected with the first electrode. The field plate is larger than the gate electrode in a current direction.
US09741834B2	Heterojunction bipolar transistor architecture A transistor includes a sub-collector, a base, a collector between the sub-collector and the base, and an emitter on the base opposite the collector. The collector includes a first region adjacent to the base and a second region between the first region and the sub-collector. The first region has a graduated doping profile such that a doping concentration of the first region decreases in proportion to a distance from the base. The second region has a substantially constant doping profile. By providing the collector with a doping profile as described, the linearity of the transistor is significantly improved while maintaining the radio frequency (RF) gain thereof.
US09741826B1	Transistor structure A transistor structure including a substrate, a gate, a first dielectric layer, a first contact and a second contact is provided. The gate is disposed on the substrate. The first dielectric layer is disposed on the substrate. The first dielectric layer covers a portion of a top surface of the gate. The first contact is electrically connected to the gate. The second contact is disposed on the first dielectric layer. The second contact is electrically connected with the first contact.
US09741820B2	PMOS transistor and fabrication method thereof The disclosed subject matter provides a p-channel metal-oxide-semiconductor (PMOS) and fabrication method thereof. The PMOS transistor is fabricated by a method including forming a dummy gate structure on a semiconductor substrate, forming a source region and a drain region in the semiconductor substrate on both sides of the dummy gate structure, forming an intermediate layer to cover the dummy gate structure and the semiconductor substrate, and forming a multiple-level etching stop layer including at least a first etching stop layer and a second etching stop layer. The fabrication method also includes performing a UV curing process after forming each of the first and second etching stop layers.
US09741816B2	Electrical device and method for manufacturing same A method for manufacturing an electrical device is disclosed. In an embodiment, the method includes providing a first layer of a first conductivity type, providing an intrinsic layer onto the first layer, providing one or more trenches into the intrinsic layer, filling the one or more trenches with a material of a second conductivity type opposite to the first conductivity type, and providing a second layer of a second conductivity type onto the intrinsic layer.
US09741811B2	Integrated circuit devices including source/drain extension regions and methods of forming the same Integrated circuit devices may include a stack that includes channel regions and gate electrodes stacked in an alternating sequence in a vertical direction. The channel regions may include impurities having a first conductivity type. The integrated circuit devices may also include source/drain regions on respective opposing sides of the stack, and the source/drain regions may be spaced apart from each other in a horizontal direction and may include impurities having a second conductivity type that is different from the first conductivity type. The integrated circuit devices may further include extension regions that may be between respective ones of channel regions and one of the source/drain regions and may include impurities having the second conductivity type. Each of the extension regions may have a thickness in the vertical direction that is less than those of the channel regions and the one of the source/drain regions.
US09741809B2	Nonplanar device with thinned lower body portion and method of fabrication A nonplanar semiconductor device having a semiconductor body formed on an insulating layer of a substrate. The semiconductor body has a top surface opposite a bottom surface formed on the insulating layer and a pair of laterally opposite sidewalls wherein the distance between the laterally opposite sidewalls at the top surface is greater than at the bottom surface. A gate dielectric layer is formed on the top surface of the semiconductor body and on the sidewalls of the semiconductor body. A gate electrode is formed on the gate dielectric layer on the top surface and sidewalls of the semiconductor body. A pair of source/drain regions are formed in the semiconductor body on opposite sides of the gate electrode.
US09741803B2	Nonvolatile charge trap memory device having a deuterated layer in a multi-layer charge-trapping region A charge trap memory device is provided. In one embodiment, the charge trap memory device includes a semiconductor material structure having a vertical channel extending from a first diffusion region formed in a semiconducting material to a second diffusion region formed over the first diffusion region, the vertical channel electrically connecting the first diffusion region to the second diffusion region. A tunnel dielectric layer is disposed on the vertical channel, a multi-layer charge-trapping region including a first deuterated layer disposed on the tunnel dielectric layer, a first nitride layer disposed on the first deuterated layer, and a second nitride layer comprising a deuterium-free trap-dense, oxygen-lean nitride disposed on the first nitride layer. The second nitride layer includes a majority of charge traps distributed in the multi-layer charge-trapping region.
US09741801B2	Method for producing a semiconductor device A method for producing a semiconductor device includes depositing an oxide film containing an impurity having a first conductivity type on a substrate. A nitride film is deposited and a first oxide film is deposited that contains an impurity having a second conductivity type that differs from the first conductivity type. The first oxide film, the nitride film, and the second oxide film are etched to form a contact hole. An epitaxial growth process is carried out form a first pillar-shaped silicon layer in the contact hole. The nitride film is removed and epitaxial growth process is performed to form an output terminal.
US09741798B2	Semiconductor device According to one embodiment, a semiconductor device includes a structure, an insulating film, a control electrode, first and second electrodes. The structure has a first surface, and includes a first, a second, and a third semiconductor region. The structure has a portion including the first, second, and third semiconductor regions arranged in a first direction along the first surface. The insulating film is provided on the first surface. The control electrode is provided on the insulating film. The first electrode is electrically connected to the third semiconductor region. The second electrode is electrically connected to the first semiconductor region. The insulating film includes a charge trap region. A bias voltage is applied to the first and second electrodes, and includes a shift voltage. The shift voltage shifts a reference potential of a voltage applied to the first and second electrodes by a certain voltage.
US09741794B2	Semiconductor device and method for manufacturing semiconductor device Provided is a semiconductor device having a structure which can prevent deterioration of the electrical characteristics, which becomes more significant with miniaturization. The semiconductor device includes a first oxide semiconductor film over an insulating surface; a second oxide semiconductor film over the first oxide semiconductor film; a third oxide semiconductor film over the second oxide semiconductor film; a source electrode and a drain electrode each in contact with side surfaces of the first oxide semiconductor film, the second oxide semiconductor film, and the third oxide semiconductor film and a top surface of the third oxide semiconductor film; a gate insulating film over the third oxide semiconductor film, the source electrode, and the drain electrode; and a gate electrode which is on and in contact with the gate insulating film and faces a top surface and a side surface of the second oxide semiconductor film.
US09741785B2	Display tile structure and tiled display A display tile structure includes a tile layer with opposing emitter and backplane sides. A light emitter having first and second electrodes for conducting electrical current to cause the light emitter to emit light is disposed in the tile layer. First and second electrically conductive tile micro-wires and first and second conductive tile contact pads are electrically connected to the first and second tile micro-wires, respectively. The light emitter includes a plurality of semiconductor layers and the first and second electrodes are disposed on a common side of the semiconductor layers opposite the emitter side of the tile layer. The first and second tile micro-wires and first and second tile contact pads are disposed on the backplane side of the tile layer.
US09741782B2	Active matrix organic light-emitting display and display apparatus An AMOLED comprises a plurality of pixel structures arranged in a matrix and one layer of power supply signal electrode configured to provide a power supply voltage signal for the pixel structures, and the power supply signal electrode has a planar structure. The planar power supply signal electrode can greatly reduce its resistance and hence can reduce the IR drop of power supply voltage signals that are transmitted over the power supply signal electrode, effectively reduce the impact of the IR drop on the display effect, and remarkably reduce the power consumption of a panel.
US09741781B2	Optoelectronic component with adjustable light emission and method for producing the same Various embodiments may relate to an optoelectronic component, including an optoelectronic structure, which is designed to provide a first electromagnetic radiation, and a measuring structure, which is designed to measure electromagnetic radiation, wherein the measuring structure has an optically active structure and at least one electro-optical structure. The optically active structure is optically coupled to the optoelectronic structure. The optically active structure is designed to absorb an electromagnetic radiation in such a way that the optically active structure produces a measured signal from the absorbed electromagnetic radiation. The absorbed electromagnetic radiation at least partially includes the first electromagnetic radiation and/or at least one second electromagnetic radiation of an external radiation source. The electro-optical structure is designed in such a way that the electro-optical structure has an adjustable transmittance, such that the fraction of the second electromagnetic radiation incident on the optically active structure can be adjusted.
US09741777B2	Bottom-emitting OLED display panel A bottom-emitting OLED display panel is provided. The bottom-emitting OLED display panel includes: a driving transistor disposed on a substrate; a protective layer covering the driving transistor; a planarization layer disposed on the protective layer; and a OLED device disposed on the planarization layer; and a reflective structure disposed between the protective layer and the planarization layer, the reflective structure is configured for reflecting light emitted from the OLED device and radiated on the reflective structure; a bottom surface of the reflective structure which is close to the protective layer at least covers a region occupied by the driving transistor.
US09741776B2	Manufacturing method for organic light emitting diode display and organic light emitting diode display using the same A method for manufacturing an organic light emitting diode display includes forming a thin-film transistor on a substrate, forming a protection layer by using a deposition method on an entire surface of the substrate, and forming an organic light emitting element on the protection layer. Forming the protection layer includes forming a first protection layer, a surface thereof including a first wrinkle, and forming a second protection layer on the first protection layer, a surface thereof including a second wrinkle. A first modulus value of the first protection layer is less than a second modulus value of the second protection layer by at least 300 MPa.
US09741769B1	Vertical memory structure with array interconnects and method for producing the same Disclosed herein is a method and apparatus for fabricating a memory device. The memory device has a vertical stack of alternating layers of conductive and insulating layers wherein a top layer and a bottom layer are insulating layers. A plurality of vias is formed through the vertical stack from the top layer to the bottom layer. A memory layer disposed adjacent the conductive layers in the vias. A selector device disposed adjacent the memory layer wherein the selector device comprises multiple layers of dissimilar metal oxides. A lateral electrical contact to the memory layer through the conductive layer. And a top contact electrically connected to the conductive layer through a portion of the memory layer and the portion of the memory layer wherein the portion of the memory layer is configured to store data therein.
US09741768B1	Controlling memory cell size in three dimensional nonvolatile memory A method is provided that includes forming a vertical bit line disposed in a first direction above a substrate, forming a multi-layer word line disposed in a second direction above the substrate, the second direction perpendicular to the first direction, and forming a memory cell including a nonvolatile memory material at an intersection of the vertical bit line and the multi-layer word line. The multi-layer word line includes a first conductive material layer and a second conductive material layer disposed above the first conductive material layer. The memory cell includes a working cell area encompassed by an intersection of the first conductive material layer and the nonvolatile memory material.
US09741754B2	Charge transfer circuit with storage nodes in image sensors Apparatuses and methods for charge transfer in image sensors are disclosed. One example of an image sensor pixel may include a first charge storage node and a second charge storage node. A transfer circuit may be coupled between the first and second charge storage nodes, and the transfer circuit may have a first region proximate the first charge storage node and configured to have a first potential. The transfer circuit may also have a second region proximate the second charge storage node configured to have a second, higher potential. An input node may be configured to control the first and second potentials based on a transfer signal provided to the input node.
US09741753B2	Array substrate and manufacturing method thereof, and display apparatus thereof An embodiment of the present disclosure provides an array substrate and a manufacturing method thereof and a display apparatus. The array substrate includes a base substrate, wherein, the base substrate is provided with a bonding region; a bonding pad and a first bonding lead connected with the bonding pad and extending to an edge of the base substrate are provided in the bonding region, and one or more metal patterns are arranged above the first bonding lead, the one or more metal patterns crossing over the first bonding lead and being insulated from the first bonding lead.
US09741749B2	Digital circuit having correcting circuit and electronic apparatus thereof Provided is a digital circuit (30) that comprises: a switching circuit (31) having first transistors (32, 33) supplied with power supply potentials (VDD, VSS); correcting circuits (34, 36) connected between an input terminal (IN) inputted with an input signal and control terminals (gates) of the first transistors; capacitors (C2, C3) connected between the control terminals and the input terminal; diode-connected second transistors (35, 37) that are provided between nodes (N5, N6) between the capacitors and the control terminals and the power supply potentials and have the substantially same threshold voltage as the first transistors; and switches (SW2, SW3) connected in series with the second transistors.
US09741738B2	Non-volatile semiconductor storage device and method of manufacturing the same A non-volatile semiconductor storage device has a plurality of memory strings to each of which a plurality of electrically rewritable memory cells are connected in series. Each of the memory strings includes first semiconductor layers each having a pair of columnar portions extending in a vertical direction with respect to a substrate and a coupling portion formed to couple the lower ends of the pair of columnar portions; a charge storage layer formed to surround the side surfaces of the columnar portions; and first conductive layers formed to surround the side surfaces of the columnar portions and the charge storage layer. The first conductive layers function as gate electrodes of the memory cells.
US09741724B2	SRAM well-tie with an uninterrupted grated first poly and first contact patterns in a bit cell array An integrated circuit containing an SRAM may be formed using one or more periodic photolithographic patterns for elements of the integrated circuit such as gates and contacts, which have alternating line and space configurations in SRAM cells. Strap rows of the SRAM containing well ties and/or substrate taps which have SRAM cells on two opposite sides are configured so that the alternating line and space configurations are continuous across the regions containing the well ties and substrate taps.
US09741721B2	Low leakage non-planar access transistor for embedded dynamic random access memory (eDRAM) Low leakage non-planar access transistors for embedded dynamic random access memory (eDRAM) and methods of fabricating low leakage non-planar access transistors for eDRAM are described. For example, a semiconductor device includes a semiconductor fin disposed above a substrate and including a narrow fin region disposed between two wide fin regions. A gate electrode stack is disposed conformal with the narrow fin region of the semiconductor fin, the gate electrode stack including a gate electrode disposed on a gate dielectric layer. The gate dielectric layer includes a lower layer and an upper layer, the lower layer composed of an oxide of the semiconductor fin. A pair of source/drain regions is included, each of the source/drain regions disposed in a corresponding one of the wide fin regions.
US09741718B2	High voltage CMOS with triple gate oxide An integrated circuit containing a first plurality of MOS transistors operating in a low voltage range, and a second plurality of MOS transistors operating in a mid voltage range, may also include a high-voltage MOS transistor which operates in a third voltage range significantly higher than the low and mid voltage ranges, for example 20 to 30 volts. The high-voltage MOS transistor has a closed loop configuration, in which a drain region is surrounded by a gate, which is in turn surrounded by a source region, so that the gate does not overlap field oxide. The integrated circuit may include an n-channel version of the high-voltage MOS transistor and/or a p-channel version of the high-voltage MOS transistor. Implanted regions of the n-channel version and the p-channel version are formed concurrently with implanted regions in the first and second pluralities of MOS transistors.
US09741717B1	FinFETs with controllable and adjustable channel doping A method of forming features of a finFET structure includes forming fins on a surface of a substrate. A first liner is formed around each fin and a shallow trench isolation region is formed around each fin. A dopant layer is implanted in each fin. A portion of the shallow trench isolation region is etched from each fin. A first portion of the structure is blocked and the first liner replaced with a second liner in a second portion of the structure.
US09741709B2	ESD protection device The present invention is provided with a Si substrate, an ESD protection circuit formed in the Si substrate, pads formed on the surface of the Si substrate and electrically connected to first and second input/output terminals of the ESD protection circuit, a rewiring layer formed on the surface of the Si substrate for electrically connecting the pads and metal plated films, and an insulating resin film formed on the rear surface of the Si substrate. Thus, provided is an ESD protection device which can suppress the influence of external noise, etc.
US09741708B2	Transient voltage suppressor and ESD protection device and array thereof Provided is a transient voltage suppressor including a substrate, a well region of a first conductivity type, a first doped region of a second conductivity type, and a second doped region of the second conductivity type. The substrate is electrically floating. The well region is located in the substrate. The first doped region is located in the well region to form a diode, and the first doped region is electrically connected to a first voltage. The second doped region is located in the well region, and the second doped region is electrically connected to a second voltage.
US09741704B2	Silicon-controlled rectifier and an ESD clamp circuit A silicon-controlled rectifier (SCR) includes a first-type field, a second-type first field and a second-type second field disconnectedly formed in a first-type well; an entire first-type doped region formed within the first-type field; a segmented second-type doped region formed within the second-type first field; and a segmented first-type doped region formed within the second-type second field.
US09741703B1	Integrated circuit containing standard logic cells and ilbrary-compatible, NCEM-enabled fill cells, including at least via-open-configured, gate-short-configured, TS-short-configured, and AA-short-conigured, NCEM-enabled fill cells An IC includes logic cells, selected from a standard cell library, and fill cells, configured for compatibility with the standard logic cells. The fill cells contain structures configured to obtain in-line data via non-contact electrical measurements (“NCEM”). The IC includes such NCEM-enabled fill cells configured to enable detection and/or measurement of a variety of open-circuit and short-circuit failure modes, including at least one via-open-related failure mode, one GATE-short-related failure mode, one TS-short-related failure mode, and one AA-short-related failure mode.
US09741680B1	Wire bond through-via structure and method A stackable integrated circuit chip layer and module device that avoids the use of electrically conductive elements on the external surfaces of a layer containing an integrated circuit die by taking advantage of conventional wire bonding equipment to provide an electrically conductive path defined by a wire bond segment that is encapsulated in a potting material so as to define an electrically conductive wire bond “through-via” accessible from at least the lower or second surface of the layer.
US09741673B2	RF transistor packages with high frequency stabilization features and methods of forming RF transistor packages with high frequency stabilization features A packaged RF transistor device includes an RF transistor die including a plurality of RF transistor cells, an RF input lead coupled to the plurality of RF transistor cells, an RF output lead, and an output matching network coupled between the plurality of RF transistor cells and the RF output lead. The output matching network includes a plurality of capacitors having respective upper capacitor plates, wherein the upper capacitor plates of the capacitors are coupled to output terminals of respective ones of the RF transistor cells. The plurality of capacitors may be provided as a capacitor block that includes a common reference capacitor plate and a dielectric layer on the reference capacitor plate. The upper capacitor plates may be on the dielectric layer.
US09741671B1	Semiconductor die with backside protection A semiconductor die with backside protection includes an active region and a first polysilicon layer formed on a front side of a semiconductor substrate. A signal net is connected to the first polysilicon layer by way of a metal contact and a conductive wire is formed above the active region. During an invasive attack, when a trench is formed in the substrate and an electrically conductive filling is deposited in the trench, the signal net, the conductive wire, and the first polysilicon shape form a short-circuit, which renders the die dysfunctional and thereby foiling the invasive attack.
US09741670B2	Electronic chip comprising multiple layers for protecting a rear face An electronic chip and a method of making thereof is provided, where the electronic chip includes at least: an electronic circuit arranged at a front face of a substrate; a first protective layer arranged on a rear face of the substrate; a resistive element arranged on the first protective layer and facing at least one part of the electronic circuit, mechanically supported by the first protective layer and connected electrically and/or in an inductive manner to the electronic circuit; a second protective layer covering at least the resistive element; and in which the first protective layer comprises at least one dielectric material having a resistance to chemical etching by at least one chemical etching agent less than or equal to that of a dielectric material of the second protective layer.
US09741669B2	Forming large chips through stitching A method includes performing a first light-exposure and a second a second light-exposure on a photo resist. The first light-exposure is performed using a first lithograph mask, which covers a first portion of the photo resist. The first portion of the photo resist has a first strip portion exposed in the first light-exposure. The second light-exposure is performed using a second lithograph mask, which covers a second portion of the photo resist. The second portion of the photo resist has a second strip portion exposed in the second light-exposure. The first strip portion and the second strip portion have an overlapping portion that is double exposed. The method further includes developing the photo resist to remove the first strip portion and the second strip portion, etching a dielectric layer underlying the photo resist to form a trench, and filling the trench with a conductive feature.
US09741655B2	Integrated circuit common-mode filters with ESD protection and manufacturing method An integrated circuit common-mode electromagnetic interference filter incorporating electro-static discharge protection comprising two inductive coils is provided. A pair of primary and secondary spiral inductor coils is disposed corresponding to each other. A dielectric layer is used to separate the primary spiral inductor coil from the secondary spiral inductor coil electrically. Resistivity of a high-resistance substrate is more than 100 Ω-cm for supporting the primary spiral inductor coil, the secondary spiral inductor coil and the dielectric layer thereon. The proposed filter structure can be formed in integrated circuit (IC) back-end processes and thus be extraordinarily advantageous of effectively eliminating electromagnetic interferences and having electrostatic protection effect at the same time, while having small footprint.
US09741653B2	Devices and methods related to radio-frequency switches having reduced-resistance metal layout Devices and methods related to radio-frequency (RF) switches having reduced-resistance metal layout. In some embodiments, a field-effect transistor (FET) based RF switch device can include a plurality of fingers arranged in an interleaved configuration such that a first group of the fingers are electrically connected to a source contact and a second group of the fingers are electrically connected to a drain contact. At least some of the fingers can have a current carrying capacity that varies as a function of location along a direction in which the fingers extend. Such a configuration of the fingers can desirably reduce the on-resistance (Ron) of the FET based RF switch device.
US09741641B2	Method for manufacturing semiconductor device, and semiconductor device A semiconductor device, includes a die pad that has a first main surface and a second main surface located on the opposite side of the first main surface; a lead arranged next to the die pad; a semiconductor chip that has a surface, a first electrode and a second electrode formed on the surface, and a reverse side located on the opposite side of the surface, and is mounted on a chip mounting area of the first main of the die pad; a first wire that electrically couples the first electrode of the semiconductor chip and the lead; a second wire that electrically couples the second electrode of the semiconductor chip and the die pad; and a sealed body that seals the semiconductor chip, the first wire, and the second wire.
US09741637B2	Electronic device having a heat dissipation unit and method of manufacturing an electronic device An embodiment discloses an electronic device, including: a processing component; and a heat dissipation unit thermally coupled to the processing component, the heat dissipation unit comprising: a first thermal conductive layer that directs heat that is generated by the processing component away from the processing component in a first direction, and a second layer disposed in relation to the first thermal conductive layer, where the second layer has a lower thermal conductivity as compared with the first thermal conductive layer in the first direction. Other aspects are described and claimed.
US09741636B1	Nano-thermal agents for enhanced interfacial thermal conductance A thermal interface material (TIM) using high thermal conductivity nano-particles, particularly ones with large aspect ratios, for enhancing thermal transport across boundary or interfacial layers that exist at bulk material interfaces is disclosed. The nanoparticles do not need to be used in a fluid carrier or as filler material within a bonding adhesive to enhance thermal transport, but simply in a dry solid state. The nanoparticles may be equiaxed or acicular in shape with large aspect ratios like nanorods and nanowires.
US09741634B2	Semiconductor device A semiconductor device includes: a semiconductor substrate having a main plane; a semiconductor element provided on the main plane of the semiconductor substrate; an electrode pad provided on the main plane of the semiconductor substrate and connected to the semiconductor element; a guard ring surrounding the semiconductor element and the electrode pad, and provided on the main plane of the semiconductor substrate; and an insulating film covering all region of a semiconductor of the main plane of the semiconductor substrate exposed inside the guard ring, wherein the insulating film is made of a water impermeable material.
US09741629B2	Plasma processing apparatus and plasma processing method A plasma processing method of processing layer structure previously formed on an upper surface of a wafer disposed in a processing chamber within a vacuum container and having a layer to be processed and an undercoating layer disposed under the layer by plasma in the processing chamber, includes a step of calculating an etching amount of the layer to be processed at time during processing of any wafer by using result of comparing real pattern data with detection pattern data obtained by combining two patterns of intensity having as parameter wavelength of interference light obtained by processing the layer structure containing three or more undercoating layers having different thickness and the layer to be processed in advance of the processing of the any wafer and a real pattern of intensity having as parameter the wavelength of the interference light obtained during processing of the layer structure on the any wafer.
US09741622B2	Methods of forming NMOS and PMOS FinFET devices and the resulting product One illustrative method disclosed herein includes, among other things, recessing first and second fins to define replacement fin cavities in a layer of insulating material, forming an initial strain relaxed buffer layer such that it only partially fills the replacement fin cavities, implanting carbon into the initial strain relaxed buffer layer in the NMOS region, forming a channel semiconductor material on the initial strain relaxed buffer layer within the replacement fin cavities in both the NMOS region and the PMOS region to thereby define an NMOS fin comprised of the channel semiconductor material and a carbon-doped strain relaxed buffer layer and a PMOS fin comprised of the channel semiconductor material and the initial strain relaxed buffer layer and forming gate structures for the NMOS and PMOS devices.
US09741617B2	Encapsulated semiconductor package and method of manufacturing thereof Encapsulated semiconductor packages and methods of production thereof. As a non-limiting example, a semiconductor package may be produced by partially dicing a wafer, molding the partially diced wafer, and completely dicing the molded and partially diced wafer.
US09741614B1	Method of preventing trench distortion A method of forming trenches and a via by self-aligned double patterning includes providing a dielectric layer covered by an SiOC layer, a TiN layer and a SiON layer from top to bottom. At least two mandrels are formed on the SiOC layer. Later, two spacers are formed respectively at two sidewalls of each mandrel. Subsequently, the mandrels are removed. The SiOC layer and the TiN layer are patterned by using the spacers to form numerous recesses. The spacers are then removed. A mask layer with a via pattern is formed to cover the SiOC layer. A via is formed in the dielectric layer by taking the mask layer as a mask. After that, the mask layer is removed. Finally, numerous trenches are formed in the dielectric layer by taking the SiOC layer and the TiN layer as a mask.
US09741611B2	Method of forming semiconductor device including protrusion type isolation layer A semiconductor device may include a semiconductor layer having a convex portion and a concave portion surrounding the convex portion. The semiconductor device may further include a protrusion type isolation layer filling the concave portion and extending upward so that an uppermost surface of the isolation layer is a at level higher that an uppermost surface of the convex portion.
US09741606B2	Desmear with metalized protective film Embodiments herein may relate to a technique for generating a via in a substrate. Specifically, the technique may include coupling a polyethylene terephthalate (PET) layer, a protective metal layer, and a build-up layer to a metal layer. The process may further include etching a via in the PET layer, the protective metal layer, and at least a portion of the build-up layer. The process may further include performing a plasma desmear process on the substrate and then peeling the PET layer to remove the PET layer and the protective metal layer. Other embodiments may be described and/or claimed.
US09741605B2	Reducing defects and improving reliability of BEOL metal fill A method of reducing defects in and improving reliability of Back-End-Of-Line (BEOL) metal fill includes providing a starting metallization structure for semiconductor device(s), the metallization structure including a bottom layer of contact(s) surrounded by a dielectric material. The starting metallization structure further includes an etch-stop layer over the bottom layer, a layer of dielectric material over the etch-stop layer, a first layer of hard mask material over the dielectric layer, a layer of work function hard mask material over the first hard mask layer, a second layer of hard mask material over the work function hard mask layer, via(s) to the first hard mask layer and other via(s) into the etch-stop layer. The method further includes protecting the other via(s) while removing the second hard mask layer and the layer of work function hard mask material, and filling the vias with metal. Protecting the other via(s) may include, prior to the removing, filling the other via(s) with an Energy Removal Film (ERF) up to a top surface of the first hard mask layer, and, after the removing, removing the ERF material.
US09741603B2	Method for producing hybrid substrate, and hybrid substrate A hybrid substrate has an SOI structure having a good silicon active layer, without defects such as partial separation of the silicon active layer is obtained without trimming the outer periphery of the substrate. An SOI substrate is obtained by sequentially laminating a first silicon oxide film and a silicon active layer in this order on a silicon substrate. A terrace portion that does not have the silicon active layer is formed in the outer peripheral portion of the silicon substrate surface. A second silicon oxide film is formed on the silicon active layer surface of the SOI substrate The bonding surfaces of the SOI substrate and a supporting substrate that has a thermal expansion coefficient different from that of the SOI substrate is subjected to an activation treatment. The SOI substrate and the supporting substrate are bonded with the second silicon oxide film being interposed therebetween.
US09741595B2	Bonding method, storage medium, bonding apparatus and bonding system There is provided a method of bonding substrates to each other, which includes: holding a first substrate on a lower surface of a first holding part; adjusting a temperature of a second substrate by a temperature adjusting part to become higher than a temperature of the first substrate; holding the second substrate on an upper surface of a second holding part; inspecting a state of the second substrate by imaging a plurality of reference points of the second substrate with a first imaging part, measuring positions of the reference points, and comparing a measurement result with a predetermined permissible range; and pressing a central portion of the first substrate with a pressing member, bringing the central portion of the first substrate into contact with a central portion of the second substrate, and sequentially bonding the first substrate and the second substrate.
US09741582B2	Method of forming a semiconductor device including a pitch multiplication Disclosed herein is a manufacturing method of a semiconductor device that includes forming first and second layers over an underlying martial such that the first layer is between the underlying material and the second layer, forming a third layer over the second layer, forming first and second core portions apart from each other over the third layer, forming a gap portion between the first and the second core portions; and removing the second and the third layers by using the first and the second core portions and the gap portion as a mask to expose a part of the first layer.
US09741576B2	Light irradiation type heat treatment method and heat treatment apparatus A metal film is deposited on a front surface of a semiconductor wafer of silicon. After the semiconductor wafer is received in a chamber, the pressure in the chamber is reduced to a pressure lower than atmospheric pressure. Thereafter, nitrogen gas is supplied into the chamber to return the pressure in the chamber to ordinary pressure, and the front surface of the semiconductor wafer is irradiated with a flash of light, so that a silicide that is a compound of the metal film and silicon is formed. The oxygen concentration in the chamber is significantly lowered during the formation of the silicide because the pressure in the chamber is reduced once to the pressure lower than atmospheric pressure and then returned to the ordinary pressure. This suppresses the increase in resistance of the silicide resulting from the entry of oxygen in the atmosphere in the chamber into defects near the interface between the metal film and a base material.
US09741570B1	Method of manufacturing a reverse-blocking IGBT A method of manufacturing a reverse-blocking IGBT (insulated gate bipolar transistor) includes forming a plurality of IGBT cells in a device region of a semiconductor substrate, forming a reverse-blocking edge termination structure in a periphery region of the semiconductor substrate which surrounds the device region, etching one or more trenches in the periphery region between the reverse-blocking edge termination structure and a kerf region of the semiconductor substrate, depositing a p-type dopant source which at least partly fills the one or more trenches and diffusing p-type dopants from the p-type dopant source into semiconductor material surrounding the one or more trenches, so as to form a continuous p-type doped region in the periphery region which extends from a top surface of the semiconductor substrate to a bottom surface of the semiconductor substrate after thinning of the semiconductor substrate at the bottom surface.
US09741561B2	Transparent nanocrystalline diamond coatings and devices A method for coating a substrate comprises producing a plasma ball using a microwave plasma source in the presence of a mixture of gases. The plasma ball has a diameter. The plasma ball is disposed at a first distance from the substrate and the substrate is maintained at a first temperature. The plasma ball is maintained at the first distance from the substrate, and a diamond coating is deposited on the substrate. The diamond coating has a thickness. Furthermore, the diamond coating has an optical transparency of greater than about 80%. The diamond coating can include nanocrystalline diamond. The microwave plasma source can have a frequency of about 915 MHz.
US09741560B2	Method of growing nitride semiconductor layer A method of growing a nitride semiconductor layer may include preparing a substrate in a reactor, growing a first nitride semiconductor on the substrate at a first temperature, the first nitride semiconductor having a thermal expansion coefficient different from a thermal expansion coefficient of the substrate, and removing the substrate at a second temperature.
US09741553B2	Elliptical and dual parabolic laser driven sealed beam lamps The invention is directed to a sealed high intensity illumination device configured to receive a laser beam from a laser light source. A sealed chamber is configured to contain an ionizable medium. The chamber includes a reflective chamber interior surface having a first parabolic contour and parabolic focal region, a second parabolic contour and parabolic focal region, and an interface surface. An ingress surface is disposed within the interface surface configured to admit the laser beam into the chamber, and an egress surface disposed within the interface surface configured to emit high intensity light from the chamber. The first parabolic contour is configured to reflect light from the first parabolic focal region to the second parabolic contour, and the second parabolic contour is configured to reflect light from the first parabolic contour to the second parabolic focal region.
US09741549B2	Mass spectrometer vacuum interface method and apparatus A mass spectrometer vacuum interface can include a skimmer apparatus having a skimmer aperture and an internal surface. A method of operating the mass spectrometer vacuum interface can include establishing an outwardly directed flow along the internal surface of the skimmer apparatus.
US09741546B2	Symmetric plasma process chamber Embodiments of the present invention provide a plasma chamber design that allows extremely symmetrical electrical, thermal, and gas flow conductance through the chamber. By providing such symmetry, plasma formed within the chamber naturally has improved uniformity across the surface of a substrate disposed in a processing region of the chamber. Further, other chamber additions, such as providing the ability to manipulate the gap between upper and lower electrodes as well as between a gas inlet and a substrate being processed, allows better control of plasma processing and uniformity as compared to conventional systems.
US09741545B2	RPS assisted RF plasma source for semiconductor processing Embodiments of the disclosure generally relate to a hybrid plasma processing system incorporating a remote plasma source (RPS) unit with a capacitively coupled plasma (CCP) unit for substrate processing. In one embodiment, the hybrid plasma processing system includes a CCP unit, comprising a lid having one or more through holes, and an ion suppression element, wherein the lid and the ion suppression element define a plasma excitation region, a RPS unit coupled to the CCP unit, and a gas distribution plate disposed between the ion suppression element and a substrate support, wherein the gas distribution plate and the substrate support defines a substrate processing region. In cases where process requires higher power, both CCP and RPS units may be used to generate plasma excited species so that some power burden is shifted from the CCP unit to the RPS unit, which allows the CCP unit to operate at lower power.
US09741536B2	High aspect ratio structure analysis Curtaining artifacts on high aspect ratio features are reduced by reducing the distance between a protective layer and feature of interest. For example, the ion beam can mill at an angle to the work piece surface to create a sloped surface. A protective layer is deposited onto the sloped surface, and the ion beam mills through the protective layer to expose the feature of interest for analysis. The sloped mill positions the protective layer close to the feature of interest to reduce curtaining.
US09741527B2	Specimen holder for a charged particle microscope A specimen holder for a Charged Particle Microscope is disclosed. The holder has a support structure with an elongated member including a specimen mounting zone. The specimen mounting zone comprises a rotor with an axis perpendicular to the elongated member with a paddle connected to it which may be rotated. Specimens may be mounted on the paddle so that rotation of the paddle allows specimens to be rotated and/or inverted for microscopic observation on both sides. Specimens may either be directly mounted on the paddle, or on a grid, half-moon grid, lift-out grid, aperture frame, dielectric film, etc.
US09741516B2	Electromagnetic relay for vehicle In an electromagnetic relay, terminal slits into which a coil terminal connected to a coil, a fixed contact terminal to which a fixed contact is attached, and a movable contact terminal electrically connected to a movable contact are inserted into is formed in a base, and the base is formed with ventilation holes used to discharge gas generated in an internal space and discharge vapor generated in the internal space. The ventilation holes are formed so as to be connected with the terminal slits.
US09741500B1	Terminal connecting mechanism for molded case circuit breaker A terminal connecting mechanism for a molded case circuit breaker that does not need a tool for connection or release between a wire and a terminal is disclosed. The terminal connecting mechanism of a molded case circuit breaker comprises a supporter having a through hole portion for allowing passing through of a terminal of the molded case circuit breaker and a terminal seat portion where the terminal, which has passed through the through hole portion, is mounted; a spring of which one end is supported by the supporter; and a lever member being in contact with the other end of the spring, rotataby moving to a position for allowing insertion of a wire to contact the terminal, and pressurizing the wire by means of an elastic force of the spring to maintain a contact state between the wire and the terminal.
US09741492B2	Energy storage in quantum resonators Methods and apparatus for storing information or energy. An array of nano-capacitors is provided, where each nano-capacitor has a plurality of cathodic regions and an anode separated from each of the cathodic regions by one or more intervening dielectrics. Each nano-capacitor acts as a quantum resonator thereby suppressing electron emission. The thickness of the intervening dielectric is in the range between 0.1 nanometers and 1000 nanometers and is shorter than an electron mean free path within the dielectric. Each cathodic region is at least 100 times larger than the thickness of the intervening dielectric in every direction transverse to the thickness of the intervening dielectric. An excess of electrons is stored on the cathodic regions. The dielectric may be a metal oxide, particularly a native oxide of the cathode material.
US09741484B2	Laminated coil component A laminated coil component includes a magnetic body part made of a Ni—Zn-based ferrite material and a coil conductor containing Cu as a main component, which is wound into a coil shape, and the coil conductor is embedded in the magnetic body part to form a component base. The component base is divided into a first region near the coil conductor and a second region other than the first region. The grain size ratio of the average crystal grain size of the magnetic body part in the first region to the average crystal grain size of the magnetic body part in the second region is 0.85 or less. The molar content of CuO in the ferrite raw material is set to 6 mol % or less, and firing is performed in a reducing atmosphere in which the oxygen partial pressure is an equilibrium oxygen partial pressure of Cu—Cu2O or less.
US09741483B2	Noise filter and electronic device with integrated common mode and normal mode noise filters A noise filter and an electronic device including the same are disclosed. The noise filter is configured to suppress noise generated in a power line or a ground line of a power circuit unit provided in an electronic device. The electronic device including: at least one coil connected to the power line and the ground line; and a core around which the coil is wound, a common core portion configured to suppress common mode noise generated at the ground line and a normal core portion configured to suppress normal mode noise generated at the power line are formed as a single body. Thus, the common mode noise filter and the normal mode noise filter are integrated with each other to thereby improve productivity and reduce production costs.
US09741478B2	Multi-resolution potentiometer An electrical assembly including a conductor arrangement and a multi-resolution potentiometer electrically connected to the conductor arrangement. The multi-resolution potentiometer includes a first resistive element having a first adjustment mechanism and a first wiper, and a second resistive element having a second adjustment mechanism and a second wiper. The first adjustment mechanism is coupled in a hysteresis arrangement to the second adjustment mechanism. A resistor network provides an electrical output for the potentiometer and electrically couples the first wiper with the second wiper.
US09741476B2	Covers for distribution lines and insulators A protective cover assembly for an electrical power distribution line conductor mounted on a horizontally oriented post insulator includes an insulator cover and a retaining pin. The insulator cover includes a cover body defining an insulator cavity configured to receive the insulator and a mounting bracket integral with the cover body. The mounting bracket defines a bracket slot having a bottom entry opening configured to receive the horizontally oriented insulator to couple the cover body to the insulator. The retaining pin is configured to close off the bottom entry opening to secure the insulator cover to the insulator. The cover body is formed of a flexible first material and the mounting bracket is formed of a second material that is more rigid than the first material.
US09741472B2	Method for manufacturing MgB2 superconductor, and MgB2 superconductor Provided are a method for manufacturing MgB2 superconductor by pressure molding a mixture of Mg powder or MgH2 powder and B powder and heat-treating the mixture, the method including (I) a step of adding a polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon to the B powder, while heating the mixture to a temperature higher to or equal to the melting point of the polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon at the time of this addition, and thereby covering the surface of the B powder with the polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon; and (II) a step of mixing the B powder having the surface covered with the polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon, with the Mg powder or the MgH2 powder, or a step of combining the B powder having the surface covered with the polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon, with an Mg rod; and an MgB2 superconducting wire which has high critical current density (Jc) characteristics and less fluctuation in the critical current density (Jc).
US09741469B2	Data cable for high-speed data transmissions A data cable for high-speed data transmissions includes at least one wire pair formed of wires extending in a longitudinal direction and being surrounded by a shielding foil to form a pair shielding. A dielectric intermediate film or foil having a varying lay length is spun around the wire pair between the shielding foil and the wire pair, in order to effectively avoid a damping peak at high transmission frequencies.
US09741466B2	Waterproof structure for stopping water between bare wires of multiple circuits A waterproof structure for stopping water between bare wires of multiple circuits stopping water between bare wires all together for plural covered wires each of which has a stripped wire exposed part formed by removing a cover material in an intermediate portion thereof, and is folded over at the stripped wire exposed part; a non-electrically conductive wire support supporting plural covered wires so as to prevent short-circuits between the stripped wire exposed parts of plural covered wires; a container accommodating portions of plural covered wires supported by the wire support and the stripped wire exposed part; and a thermosetting waterproofing agent filled into the container to immerse at least the stripped wire exposed parts of plural covered wires and cured to immerse the stripped wire exposed part and clearance between plural covered wires.
US09741446B2	Memory system with small size antifuse circuit capable of voltage boost A memory system includes a control block, an antifuse voltage generator, an array voltage generator, and a memory array. The control block is used to output control signals to the memory array according to a memory control data signal. The antifuse voltage generator is used to output an antifuse control signal to the memory array according to a control signal and a driving voltage. The array voltage generator is used to output a selection signal and a following control signal to the memory array according a control signal. The memory array is coupled to the control block, the antifuse voltage generator, and the array voltage generator and configured to access data according to the first control signal, the antifuse control signal, the selection signal, and the following control signal. The first control signal comprises address information of the memory array.
US09741443B2	Memory controller and system including the same A memory controller according to an example embodiment of the present disclosure may include a duty ratio adjusting circuit which generates adjusted clock signals in response to a clock signal for strobing data, and a selection circuit which outputs one of the clock signal and the adjusted clock signals to a memory device as an output clock signal. Each of the adjusted clock signals may have a different duty ratio.
US09741441B2	Nonvolatile memory system including nonvolatile memory device and memory controller and operating method of memory controller A nonvolatile memory system includes a nonvolatile memory device including a plurality of memory cells, and a memory controller. The memory controller is configured to count a clock to generate a current time, program dummy data at predetermined memory cells among the plurality of memory cells at a power-off state, detect a charge loss of the predetermined memory cells when a power-on state occurs after the power-off state, and restore the current time based on the detected charge loss.
US09741439B2	Non-volatile semiconductor memory device According to one embodiment, a non-volatile semiconductor memory device comprises a memory cell array and a memory region. The memory cell array has a plurality of physical blocks. Each of the plurality of physical blocks includes a plurality of string units. Each string unit has a plurality of NAND strings that shares a plurality of word lines connected to a plurality of memory cells, respectively. The memory region is disposed to one of the plurality of physical blocks. Each of the plurality of string units configures a first logical block, and when the first logical block is failed, information of the first failed logical block is stored in a first region of the memory region.
US09741435B1	Sense amplifier circuit A sense amplifier circuit includes a sampling capacitor coupled to the input of an inverting amplifier. The output of the inverting amplifier is coupled to a transistor that includes a current terminal. The memory read operation includes two phases. During a first phase, a terminal of the capacitor is coupled to a first cell. During a second phase, the terminal of the capacitor is coupled a second cell.
US09741433B2	Apparatuses and methods for bi-directional access of cross-point arrays The disclosed technology generally relates to apparatuses and methods of operating the same, and more particularly to cross point memory arrays and methods of accessing memory cells in a cross point memory array. In one aspect, an apparatus comprises a memory array. The apparatus further comprises a memory controller configured to cause an access operation, where the access operation includes application of a first bias across a memory cell of the memory array for a selection phase of the access operation and application of a second bias, lower in magnitude than the first bias, across the memory cell for an access phase of the access operation. The memory controller is further configured to cause a direction of current flowing through the memory cell to be reversed between the selection phase and the access phase.
US09741431B2	Optimal read threshold estimation An optimal read threshold estimation method includes determining a flip difference corresponding to an optimal step size Δopt, estimating a first slope m1 at a first read point and a second slope m2 at a second read point, and obtaining an optimal read threshold (XLPopt) as the intersection of a first line with the first slope m1 and a second line with the second slope m2.
US09741428B2	Integrated circuit devices and methods An integrated circuit can include multiple SRAM cells, each including at least two pull-up transistors, at least two pull-down transistors, and at least two pass-gate transistors, each of the transistors having a gate; at least one of the pull-up transistors, the pull-down transistors, or the pass-gate transistors having a screening region a distance below the gate and separated from the gate by a semiconductor layer, the screening region having a concentration of screening region dopants, the concentration of screening region dopants being higher than a concentration of dopants in the semiconductor layer, the screening region providing an enhanced body coefficient for the pull-down transistors and the pass-gate transistors to increase the read static noise margin for the SRAM cell when a bias voltage is applied to the screening region; and a bias voltage network operable to apply one or more bias voltages to the multiple SRAM cells.
US09741424B2	Memory controller A memory controller component includes transmit circuitry and adjusting circuitry. The transmit circuitry transmits a clock signal and write data to a DRAM, the write data to be sampled by the DRAM using a timing signal. The adjusting circuitry adjusts transmit timing of the write data and of the timing signal such that an edge transition of the timing signal is aligned with an edge transition of the clock signal at the DRAM.
US09741421B1	Refresh circuitry The present disclosure includes apparatuses and methods related to refresh circuitry. An example apparatus can include a memory array including a main portion and a redundant portion. The apparatus can include refresh circuitry configured to, responsive to a determination of a hammering event, refresh at least a portion of the redundant portion.
US09741416B1	Memory devices based on gate controlled ferromagnestism and spin-polarized current injection Memory devices based on gate controlled ferromagnetism and spin-polarized current injection are provided. The device structure can include a two dimensional (2D) topological insulator (TI) having an active area body. One or a pair of ferromagnetic storage units are provided on top of the 2D TI with a dielectric and a gate thereon. A first contact can be at one end of the 2D TI and a second contact can be at the other end of the 2D TI, with the one or pair of ferromagnetic storage units on the 2D TI between the two contacts to facilitate 2D TI transport along a one-dimensional edge of the first and/or second lateral side. Application of biases via the gate and the first and second contacts enable read and write operations.
US09741414B2	Spin orbit and spin transfer torque-based spintronics devices A spin orbit torque-based spintronics device that includes a ferromagnet layer having a first surface and a second surface opposed to each other, a metal layer and a spacer layer covering the first surface and the second surface of the ferromagnet layer, respectively, and an dielectric layer covering either the metal layer or the spacer layer. Also disclosed are two related spin orbit torque-based spintronics devices and methods of using these three spintronics devices.
US09741396B2	Converting apparatus, contents converting method, and computer readable recording medium A contents converting apparatus, a contents converting method, and a computer readable recording medium are provided. The contents converting apparatus is for converting contents including a plurality of stream data and stored in a Blu-ray disc. The contents converting apparatus includes a controller configured to receive manifest information of a data structure configuring the contents, and determine stream data to be copied from the Blu-ray disc based on the manifest information. The convents converting apparatus further includes a formatter configured to convert the determined stream data of a first format to new stream data of a second format.
US09741395B2	System and method for content-based navigation of live and recorded TV and video programs A system, method and computer-readable medium are presented for providing real-time content-based navigation of live video programming. The method aspect of the invention comprises receiving a live video program, generating an index to the received live video program by extracting images and/or text from the video program, recording the live video program, presenting at least a portion of data associated with the generated index to a user, receiving user input regarding a portion of the recorded video program to which the user desires to navigate and playing back the recorded video program starting at the navigated portion identified by the user input.
US09741394B2	Efficient content based video retrieval Various disclosed embodiments relate to video content analysis based in part upon the detection of shot transitions. In some embodiments, a process and computer system for detecting shot transitions in a video is used to separate a video sequence into a series of “shots” having multiple frames. These shots may then be used for additional processing, e.g., content detection within the video frames.
US09741381B1	Near field transducers (NFTs) including a protective layer and methods of forming Devices having air bearing surfaces (ABS), the devices include a near field transducer (NFT) that includes a disc; a peg, the peg including gold (Au), silver (Ag), copper (Cu), aluminum (Al), rhodium (Rh), iridium (Ir), or combinations thereof; and the peg having a front surface at the air bearing surface of the device, an opposing back surface, a top surface that extends from the front surface to the back surface, two side surfaces that extend from the front surface to the back surface and a bottom surface that extends from the front surface to the back surface; and a protective layer disposed on at least one surface of the peg, the protective layer comprising an oxide of a metal that has a higher oxidation tendency than that of the material of the peg.
US09741373B1	Microwave assisted magnetic head, head gimbal assembly, and magnetic recording device A microwave assisted magnetic head is equipped with a main magnetic pole that generates a recording magnetic field to be applied to a magnetic recording medium from an end surface forming a portion of an air bearing surface opposed to the magnetic recording medium, a trailing shield that is disposed interposing a write gap at a trailing side of the main magnetic pole, and that forms a magnetic path with the main magnetic pole, two side shields that are disposed at both sides of the main magnetic pole in the cross track direction, respectively, and a spin torque oscillator that is disposed within the write gap. The write gap is configured to substantially linearly extend along the cross track direction when viewed from an air bearing surface side, and is positioned between trailing-side end surfaces of the main magnetic pole and the two side shields, and a leading-side end surface of the trailing shield.
US09741367B1	Fabrication of a tape head with a monobloc closure A tape head including a body with a tape-bearing surface configured to contact a magnetic tape, at least one transducer that is a read or write element, configured so the tape head may read from or write to the tape, in operation; and a monobloc closure with a structured cross-sectional profile, so as to exhibit: contact part, fixed on a side of the body which adjoins the tape-bearing surface at an edge thereof, the contact part having a top surface level with the tape-bearing surface; and connecting part integral with the contact part, the connecting part having a top surface recessed from the contact part's top surface, perpendicularly to a contact plane defined by the tape-bearing surface, so the connecting part's top surface does not contact the tape, in operation; and a broken line of mechanical weakness that extends at an end of the top surface of the connecting part.
US09741366B1	Method for fabricating a magnetic writer having a gradient in saturation magnetization of the shields A method provides a magnetic transducer having a media-facing surface (MFS). The method includes providing a pole, providing a side gap, providing coil(s) for energizing the pole and providing side shield(s). A portion of the pole resides at the MFS. The side gap is between the pole and the side shield(s). The side shield(s) have a gradient in a saturation magnetization such that the saturation magnetization increases in a yoke direction perpendicular to the MFS. The step of providing the side shield(s) further includes providing a nonmagnetic structure having a side surface parallel to the MFS and providing at least one side shield layer. A portion of the side shield layer(s) are on the side surface. The portion of the side shield layer(s) has the gradient in the saturation magnetization. At least part of the side shield being formed by the portion of the side shield layer(s).
US09741363B2	Laser power optimization for heat assisted interlaced magnetic recording A storage device disclosed herein stores data on a storage media using interlaced magnetic recording (IMR) and it includes a storage controller configured to determine power levels applied to the power source such that power levels applied to heat various tracks can be different from each other. An implementation of the storage device determines the track density, linear densities and power levels for even and odd tracks in IMR HAMR for the storage media.
US09741354B2	Bitstream syntax for multi-process audio decoding An audio decoder provides a combination of decoding components including components implementing base band decoding, spectral peak decoding, frequency extension decoding and channel extension decoding techniques. The audio decoder decodes a compressed bitstream structured by a bitstream syntax scheme to permit the various decoding components to extract the appropriate parameters for their respective decoding technique.
US09741353B2	Apparatus and method for generating a frequency enhanced signal using temporal smoothing of subbands An apparatus for generating a frequency enhancement signal has: a signal generator for generating an enhancement signal from a core signal, the enhancement signal having an enhancement frequency range not included in the core signal, wherein a current time portion of the enhancement signal or the core signal has subband signals for a plurality of subbands; a controller for calculating the same smoothing information for the plurality of subband signals of the enhancement frequency range or the core signal, and wherein the signal generator is configured for smoothing the plurality of subband signals of the enhancement frequency range or the core signal using the same smoothing information.
US09741348B2	Segment-based speaker verification using dynamically generated phrases Methods, systems, and apparatus, including computer programs encoded on a computer storage medium, for verifying an identity of a user. The methods, systems, and apparatus include actions of receiving a request for a verification phrase for verifying an identity of a user. Additional actions include, in response to receiving the request for the verification phrase for verifying the identity of the user, identifying subwords to be included in the verification phrase and in response to identifying the subwords to be included in the verification phrase, obtaining a candidate phrase that includes at least some of the identified subwords as the verification phrase. Further actions include providing the verification phrase as a response to the request for the verification phrase for verifying the identity of the user.
US09741347B2	Automated speech recognition proxy system for natural language understanding An interactive response system mixes HSR subsystems with ASR subsystems to facilitate overall capability of voice user interfaces. The system permits imperfect ASR subsystems to nonetheless relieve burden on HSR subsystems. An ASR proxy is used to implement an IVR system, and the proxy dynamically determines how many ASR and HSR subsystems are to perform recognition for any particular utterance, based on factors such as confidence thresholds of the ASRs and availability of human resources for HSRs. In some embodiments, the ASR proxy dynamically selects one or more recognizers based at least in part on the identified grammar and the time length of the utterance.
US09741335B2	Steerable acoustic resonating transducer systems and methods An acoustic transducer system for ultrasonic imaging may include an array of sub-wavelength ultrasonic transducer elements; at least one electromagnetically resonant element with an electromagnetic resonance within the electromagnetic frequency band coupled to each of the sub-wavelength ultrasonic transducer elements; at least one electromagnetically resonant element with an electromagnetic resonance within the electromagnetic frequency band coupled to each of the sub wavelength ultrasonic transducer elements; an electromagnetic transmission module configured to modify one or more characteristics of transmitted electromagnetic energy to effectuate an acoustic emission by the array of sub-wavelength transducer elements according to an acoustic transmission pattern corresponding to the respective electromagnetic resonance characteristics of at least some of the electromagnetically resonant elements coupled to the sub-wavelength ultrasonic transducer elements; and a common port configured to facilitate electromagnetic communication with each of the electromagnetically resonant elements coupled to the sub-wavelength transducer elements.
US09741320B2	Vibration dampening device and a closed chamber deflectable accessory for a vibration dampening device A capo for a stringed musical instrument is clamped on the neck of the instrument and has a flexible portion that is pressed against the strings between frets to change the tone of the instrument. The flexible portion may comprise various materials including a vessel wall structure filled with a fluid. Also, the flexible portion may comprise a silicone rubber.
US09741315B2	Adjusting a transparent display with an image capturing device A system and method for adjusting a transparent display an image capturing device is provided. The system includes an image receiving module to receive an image from the image capturing device, the image capturing device being situated on an opposing side in which the transparent display presents content; an interfacing module to interface with the transparent display; an analysis module to analyze the received image with the interfacing module to perform an analysis; and an output module to perform a display modification or an error indication based on the analysis.
US09741308B2	Active matrix substrate An active matrix substrate (100) includes a display region (R1) in which a plurality of pixels are provided and a frame region (R2) provided around the display region, the frame region including a plurality of peripheral circuit TFTs (5) which are constituents of a driving circuit, wherein each of the plurality of peripheral circuit TFTs includes a gate electrode (12), a source electrode (16), a drain electrode (18), and an oxide semiconductor layer (14), and in at least some of the plurality of peripheral circuit TFTs, a source connecting region (Rs) that is a connecting region between the oxide semiconductor layer and the source electrode and a drain connecting region (Rd) that is a connecting region between the oxide semiconductor layer and the drain electrode are asymmetrically provided.
US09741304B2	Shift register unit and driving method thereof, shift register circuit, and display apparatus The application relates to a shift register unit and a driving method thereof, a shift register circuit and a display apparatus. The shift register unit may include a gate starting terminal, a first clock terminal, a second clock terminal, a reset terminal, a low level terminal, a gate output terminal, a storage capacitor, a charging module, an output control module and a reset module. In the shift register according to the present application, since the reset operation is under control of the second transistor and the fifth transistor both, an improper reset operation will not occur, even if the signal at the reset terminal is unstable.
US09741296B2	Driving method of a display device, and a display device According to one embodiment, three columns of a first and second columns of first and second color pixels, and a third column of third and fourth color pixels arranged alternately, are repeatedly provided along a first direction. The first set of a first, a second and a third color pixels along the first direction, and the second set of a first, a second and a fourth color pixels along the first direction are each defined as a composite color unit pixel. Pixel signals are supplied to the pixels of the third columns in a pattern that polarities of the pixel signals of the pixels of the third columns along the first direction are . . . , +, +, −, −, +, +, −, −, +, +, −, −, . . . .
US09741286B2	Interactive display panel with emitting and sensing diodes Exemplary methods and systems use a micro light emitting diode (LED) in an active matrix display to emit and sense light. Display panels, systems, and methods of operation are described in which LEDs may be used for both emission and sensing.
US09741282B2	OLED display system and method A method and system control an OLED display to achieve desired color points and brightness levels in an array of pixels in which each pixel includes at least three sub-pixels having different colors and at least one white sub-pixel. The method and system select a plurality of reference points in the pixel content domain with known color points and brightness levels. For each set of three sub-pixels of different colors, the method and system determine the share of each sub-pixel to produce the color point and brightness level of each selected reference point, and select the maximum share determined for each sub-pixel as peak brightness needed from that sub-pixel.
US09741267B2	Gripping element for data carrier for vegetables, fruits, and indoor plants A gripping element for a data carrier, e.g. a label, for vegetables, fruits, and indoor plants can be used to attach information to vegetables (e.g. vine tomatoes), fruits and indoor plants, among others. The data carrier may be a three-dimensional gripping element obtained from folding and gluing a piece of punched or cut paper, cardboard, or other thin material.
US09741265B2	System, design and process for secure documents credentials management using out-of-band authentication The invention provides an easy to use credential management mechanism for multi-factor out-of-band multi-channel authentication process to protect a large number of documents without the need to remember all the document passwords. When opened, the secure document application generates a multi-dimensional code. The user scans the multi-dimensional code and validates the secure document application and triggers an out-of-band outbound mechanism. The portable mobile device invoices the authentication server to get authenticated. The authentication server authenticates the user based on shared secret key and is automatically allowed access to the secure document. The process of the invention includes an authentication server, a secure document application to generate an authentication vehicle or an embodiment (i.e. multi-dimensional bar code) and handle incoming requests, secret keys and a portable communication device with a smartphone application.
US09741264B2	Clinical assessment and training system A system for medical training includes an anatomical simulator modeled after at least a portion of a body, the simulator including at least one external surface, and at least one cavity in fluidic communication with the external surface via a cavity. The system further includes at least one internal sensor positioned at an internal location of the anatomical simulator, the internal sensor positioned to receive an internal input based on forces applied from within the cavity, at least one external sensor positioned at an external location of the anatomical simulator and to receive an external input based on forces applied to the external surface, and a feedback display system in communication with the sensors to simultaneously record external sensor readings from the at least one external sensor and internal sensor readings from the at least one internal sensor and at least one time measurement device.
US09741257B1	System and method for coordinated learning and teaching using a videoconference system A system and method for collaborative online desktop sharing is described, wherein a teacher can view the teacher's own desktop as well as the desktop(s) of the teacher's student(s), and the student(s) can see their own desktop as well as the teacher's desktop. As a result, the teacher and student(s) can monitor each other's screens, thus allowing the students to follow a teacher's on-screen actions in real time or near real time and allowing the teacher to ensure that student's are successfully completing demonstrated tasks.
US09741256B2	Remote laboratory gateway A remote laboratory gateway enables a plurality of students to access and control a laboratory experiment remotely. Access is provided by an experimentation gateway, which is configured to provide secure access to the experiment via a network-centric, web-enabled interface graphical user interface. Experimental hardware is directly controlled by an experiment controller, which is communicatively coupled to the experimentation gateway and which may be a software application, a standalone computing device, or a virtual machine hosted on the experimentation gateway. The remote laboratory of the present specification may be configured for a software-as-a-service business model.
US09741250B2	Parking assist apparatus, parking assist method, and computer program product A parking assist apparatus of an embodiment includes an area detection unit, a line detection unit, and a target position calculation unit. The area detection unit detects a parking allowable area where the parking of a vehicle is allowable. The line detection unit detects a parking section line provided on a track surface. The target position calculation unit calculates a target parking position by using a detection result of the parking allowable area by the area detection unit when the parking allowable area is detected by the area detection unit, the parking section line is detected by the line detection unit, and the parking section line is located outside the parking allowable area.
US09741248B2	System and method for traffic management using lighting networks A lighting network (100) and methods therefore are disclosed. The lighting network (100) includes a plurality of lighting units (LU0-LU10) each including a wireless receiver (12) arranged to obtain a wireless signal from an object (30) to be tracked and a communication interface (14). The lighting network (100) also includes a control unit (20) including a communication unit (22) that is arranged to communicate with at least one of the plurality of lighting units (LU0-LU10) to obtain tracking data based upon the wireless signal. The tracking data is processed by the control unit (20) using a topology table (FIG. 1b). The topology table (FIG. 1b) is based upon the geographic locations of the plurality of lighting units and mapping data.
US09741239B2	Systems and methods of calibrating replacement alarm control panels An apparatus and method of up-dating an existing alarm monitoring system control panel having installed wire loops, with detectors coupled thereto, and installed end-of-line resistors. Upon removal of the existing control panel, the loops are coupled to an up-graded control panel having an adjustable loop interface. The existing loops can be coupled to the adjustable loop interface. The interface automatically determines operating loop voltages in view of existing end-of-line resistors. Detectors on the loops can be read without any changes needed to end-of-line resistor values. Determined operating loop voltages can be digitized and stored in the up-graded control panel for subsequent use in monitoring loop operating characteristics.
US09741233B2	Personnel proximity detection and tracking system Systems and methods for tracking, locating, identifying, or mapping movements of persons or personnel within a facility may include badges carried by selected persons or personnel through the facility, and these badges can each include a transmitter configured to transmit a series of signals including signature information identifying the badges and also identifying codes of each signal transmitted. In addition, a series of receivers can be positioned at selected locations of the facility and can receive the signals transmitted by the transmitters of the badges, and these receivers can be configured to identify each badge from which signals are received based upon signature information for identified badges and also to determine the proximity, range, distance, or zone between the badge identified and one or more receivers.
US09741231B2	Tamper/damage detection Various aspects are directed to the detection of tampering, as may be applicable to retail goods and a variety of implementations. As may be consistent with one or more embodiments, an apparatus includes a loop conductor having first and second ends and contiguous conductive material extending in a loop between the ends. A detection circuit detects continuity of the loop conductor and characteristics of power that is provided to the loop conductor and is indicative of validity of the continuity detection. A communication circuit communicates a wireless signal indicative of the detected electrical characteristics, and an energy circuit powers the loop conductor, detection circuit and communication circuit via received wireless power. Other aspects are further directed to an interrogator that provides the wireless power and evaluates the wireless signal to detect tampering with the conductive loop and validity thereof.
US09741225B1	Safety detection system and method There is provided a safety method of detecting and signaling presence of a danger related to a danger source, the method comprising providing a base station at the danger source comprising first detectors and second detectors, the base station being adapted to determine an angular position of a target detected by a first detector among the first detectors within a detection zone based on an angular orientation of the first detector known a priori by the base station, and to determine a distance of the target by activating a second detector among the second detectors to measure the distance between the target and the base station in response to the target detection; and providing targets with portable target devices adapted to send signals in response to signals received from the first detectors of the base station. The first detectors are radio frequency transceivers and the second detectors are ultrasound transceiver. There is also provided a safety system for detecting and signaling presence of a target in danger zone.
US09741224B1	Alarming parents for stopping children being left in a vehicle by mistake Reminder mechanisms for driver handheld mobile devices are provided to provide an alarm to prevent children being left in a vehicle by mistake by a child caregiver for stopping hot vehicle deaths of children due to heat strokes. A wireless in-vehicle reminder device system comprises a wireless in-vehicle reminder device having a housing including a plug to snugly insert into a socket or a port of a vehicle to connect to a power source of the vehicle. The wireless in-vehicle reminder device includes a first wireless transceiver configured to communicate on a first wireless link with a first wireless module of a handheld mobile device and a reminder mechanism configured to provide a reminder in a form of an alarm signal to the handheld mobile device over the first wireless link in response to a warning event detected in the vehicle. The wireless in-vehicle reminder device system further comprises a reminder application (APP) installed on the handheld mobile device and associated with the reminder mechanism to provide at least one of an audio warning and a visual warning from the handheld mobile device in response to the alarm signal.
US09741220B2	Multi spectral detection device including an acoustic array, a protection system, and related methods A multi-spectral detection device is provided that includes a housing, a bezel spacer, a microphone, an end cap and electro-optical sensors mounted to the end cap. The housing has an inner chamber that holds sensor components. The bezel spacer has a first end and an opposed, second end. The first end of the bezel spacer extends from a first end of the housing. The bezel spacer has a central bezel passage leading to the inner chamber of the housing. The bezel spacer further has at least four side walls. Each side wall is positioned 90 degrees away from an adjacent side wall. A microphone is coupled to each side wall of the bezel spacer in such a manner that each microphone is faced 90 degrees with respect to an adjacent microphone to form a compact acoustic array. The end cap is coupled to the second end of the bezel spacer and the electro-optical sensors are mounted to the end cap.
US09741218B2	Explicit real-time fire disaster alarming device and method An explicit real-time fire disaster alarming device includes a fire disaster detector, human body detector, controller and outdoor light displaying portion. If the fire disaster detector detects any fire inside a space or room, it will send out a fire signal. The human body detector detects whether there is any human inside the space and send out a YES signal or a NO signal accordingly. When the controller receives the fire signal, the outdoor light displaying portion changes from a storing form to an extending form. When the controller receives the YES signal, the outdoor light displaying portion turns on a light for showing there is a human inside the space. When it receives the NO signal, the outdoor light displaying portion turns on another light for showing there is no human inside. Hence, fire fighters and rescuers are provided with a priority reference for life rescue.
US09741213B2	Radio communication apparatus and radio communication system Disclosed is a radio communication apparatus capable of stopping useless transmission of a calling signal to a locator. A calling apparatus transmits, using a near field radio communication apparatus, a calling signal to a locator attached to an item and outputting a notification sound, the calling signal being used for calling the locator. The calling apparatus periodically stands by for reception of a response signal from the locator using one slot when performing consecutive transmission of the calling signal to the locator using a plurality of slots. The calling apparatus stops the consecutive transmission of the calling signal by being triggered upon reception of the response signal from the locator.
US09741208B2	Bonus jackpots in enriched game play environment Systems and methods for a providing a jackpot bonus in a gaming system A jackpot bonus element is generated in an entertainment game portion of a hybrid game and a gambling game in a gambling game portion of the hybrid game is triggered when a player initiates an encounter in the entertainment game with the bonus element. It is then determined if the player wins the gambling game triggered by the player's encounter with the bonus element in the entertainment game a payout is provided to the player when it is determined that the player has won the gambling game.
US09741207B2	Non-sequential frame insertion interleaved wagering system A non-sequential frame insertion interleaved wagering system is disclosed including an interactive processing device constructed to: provide an interactive application and display; communicate application telemetry data; incorporate the application resource data into the interactive application; a wager controller constructed to: determine a wager outcome; and communicate wager outcome data; and the process controller operatively connecting the interactive processing device and the wager controller, and constructed to: generate non-sequential frames; determine whether disruption system parameters are met; communicate generated non-sequential frames; determine a change in user performance; when a change in user performance is determined, communicate change in user performance notification data; when a change in user performance is not determined, determine whether to trigger a wager request; when a wager request is triggered, generate wager request data and communicate wager request data; determine wagering telemetry and application resource data; communicate wagering telemetry and application resource data.
US09741206B2	Apportionment of pay out of casino game with escrow A gaming apparatus which, for each of a plurality of plays of a primary game: randomly generates one of a plurality of different primary game outcomes, displays the generated primary game outcome, and displays any award associated with the displayed primary game outcome. If a bonus triggering event occurs, the gaming apparatus: determines a first part of a constant value, causes the determined first part of the constant value to be provided to a first player, determines a second part of the constant value, wherein the determined first part of the constant value and the determined second part of the constant value form the constant value, and causes the determined second part of the constant value to fund a designated award.
US09741204B2	Methods and devices for anonymous competition Methods and devices are presented for facilitating anonymous gameplay in multi-state, multiplayer games, such as poker. A gaming server may allow players to anonymously join instances of a game. The gaming server may represent an anonymous player to himself or herself using a non-anonymous alias, while the gaming server may represent the anonymous player to the other players or entities using an anonymous alias. Additionally, the gaming server may record events occurring in the game, and provide similarly anonymized versions of these events to other players and entities.
US09741198B2	Gaming device with special symbol A gaming machine that provides a game in which an array of symbol positions are populated with game symbols from a set of game symbols, the set of game symbols including ordinary game symbols and at least one special symbol, the gaming machine being adapted to award an award if a winning combination of game symbols is displayed, the gaming machine including a user interface in communication with a game controller, wherein the game controller is adapted to enhance the characteristics of at least one of the ordinary game symbols to create at least one enhanced symbol based upon the relative location of the ordinary game symbol to a special symbol.
US09741194B2	Banknote discrimination apparatus A banknote discrimination apparatus includes a plurality of photoelectric conversion elements in which an incident light including fluorescence emitted from a banknote irradiated with excitation light enters; a plurality of organic film filters that are arranged so as to overlap each of the plurality of photoelectric conversion elements, and have mutually different transmission bands; a circuit including a plurality of pixel circuits which are each connected to one corresponding element among the plurality of photoelectric conversion elements and output a pixel signal converted by each photoelectric conversion element in accordance with an intensity of the incident light that transmits through the organic film filter and enters to the photoelectric conversion element; a spectral processor; and a discriminator. At least one of the plurality of organic film filters is a filter obtained by overlapping two or more filter layers on each other.
US09741177B2	Transit fare collection system A method and apparatus for collecting transit fares is disclosed. The method implements databases contained within a central database that receive data indicating value. Detectable objects are associated with an identifier, which is then associated with one of the databases. Each identifier stores available fare value data in a database. Detectors that read the identifiers are placed at trip starting and/or endings locations and are coupled or couplable to a local memory that stores the identifiers and associated available fare data. Data sets from the central database comprising an available fare value and its associated identifier are downloaded on to the local memories from the databases. Once a detectable object is detected, its associated identifier is read and a fare is debited from the available fare value. The databases and local memories are periodically updated with updated fare values associated with each identifier.
US09741175B2	Display apparatus assembly A display apparatus assembly including: a display apparatus; and a speed measuring device that measures a movement speed of the display apparatus, wherein the display apparatus includes a glass-type frame that is mounted on a head of an observer and two image displaying devices for left and right eyes that are mounted in the frame, each of the image displaying devices includes an image forming device, an optical system that forms light output from the image forming device to be parallel light, and an optical device to which light output from the optical system is incident and in which the light is guided so as to be output, and a convergence angle is changed based on the movement speed of the display apparatus that is measured by the speed measuring device.
US09741174B2	Information processing apparatus, information processing method, and computer-readable recording medium An information processing apparatus according to an embodiment includes an imaging unit that obtains a captured image including position identification information identifying a position in which a virtual object represented by an image including an immovable part and a movable part is to be displayed; a generator that generates a composite image obtained by combining the virtual object with the captured image in the position thereof identified by the position identification information; a display unit that displays thereon the composite image; an operation receiver that receives an operation on the movable part included in the composite image displayed on the display unit; and a display controller that controls the display of the movable part, based on display setting information for displaying the virtual object, when the operation receiver has received the operation on the movable part.
US09741173B2	System and method of operation for remotely operated vehicles with superimposed 3D imagery The present invention provides a system and method of utilizing superimposed 3D imagery for remotely operated vehicles, namely 3D, reconstructed images of the environment of the ROV. In another aspect, it includes generating a virtual video of 3D elements in the operation environment, synchronizing the angle and position of the camera of a virtual video with the angle and position of a real camera, superimposing the virtual video and the real video from the real camera; superimposing these video feeds such that one is manipulated to show transparencies in areas of less interest, in order to show through the other video. It furthermore may include superimposing information, whether graphic, textual or both on to the hybrid virtual-real 3D imagery. The subject invention is also networked, such that the immersive visual interface described above accessible to a plurality of users operating from to plurality of locations.
US09741171B2	Image processing device and image processing method An image processing device includes memory; and a processor configured to execute a plurality of instructions stored in the memory, the instructions comprising: recognizing a target object recognized from a first image, which is a captured image, including the target object in a real world; controlling a second image, which is an augmented image, including information of the target object from the first image, and a third image which is an augmented image of the second image and to be formed so as to inscribe an outer surrounding the second image and covers a center of visual field of a user relative to the second image; and displaying, in a state where the user directly visually recognizes the target object in the real world, the second image and the third image such that the second image and the third image are caused to correspond to a position.
US09741147B2	System and method to modify avatar characteristics based on inferred conditions A system and method to modify avatar characteristics and, in particular, to modify avatar characteristics based on inferred conditions. The system comprises a collection engine configured to collect one or more inputs and at least one rule set. The system also comprises an emotion engine configured to accept the one or more inputs and operate on the at least one rule set by comparing the one or more inputs to the at least one rule set, the emotion engine configured to modify at least one characteristic of a user participating in a virtual universe when the comparing produces a match.
US09741144B2	Seamless compositing using a soft selection A healing component that heals foreground pixels with background pixels is provided. In some embodiments, the healing component is programmed or otherwise configured to respond to a single healing request by identifying a plurality of regions within a selected area and healing each region of the plurality of regions independently of other regions.
US09741143B2	Multocular imaging system, synthesis process method of acquired images, and program A basis image is converted into a more functional image by image synthesis technology using a number of imaging devices arranged independently of each other. A multocular imaging system is provided with a plurality of imaging parts that can be arranged independently of each other, a similar component search part operable to acquire a basis image outputted from at least one imaging part of the plurality of imaging parts and a reference image outputted from another imaging part of the plurality of imaging parts and to search a similar component included in the reference image for each of components included in the basis image, and an image synthesis part operable to perform a synthesis process on at least one component included in the basis image into a desired image with reference to the similar component extracted by the similar component search part and to output the desired image as a synthesis image.
US09741142B2	Method and apparatus for enabling text editing in a scanned document while maintaining fidelity of the appearance of the text A computer implemented method and apparatus for enabling text editing in a scanned document while maintaining fidelity of appearance of the text. The method comprises creating a synthesized font comprising a plurality of characters using characters present in a scanned document; replacing the plurality of characters in the scanned document with characters from the plurality of characters from the synthesized font; and enabling editing of the scanned document wherein enabling editing comprises adding at least some characters from the plurality of characters of the synthesized font to the document for at least some characters added during editing.
US09741141B2	Image processing device, program, and image processing method There is provided an image processing device including: a recognition unit configured to recognize a plurality of users present in an input image captured by an imaging device; an information acquisition unit configured to acquire display information to be displayed in association with each user recognized by the recognition unit; a weight determination unit configured to determine a weight of each user recognized by the recognition unit; and an output image generation unit configured to generate an output image by determining a display position of the display information associated with each user on the basis of the weight of each user determined by the weight determination unit and overlaying the display information on the input image in the determined display position.
US09741134B2	Method and apparatus for dimensioning box object A method to determine the volume of a box object from the captured image of the box object. The method includes identifying a geometric mark on the box object in the captured image to find the positions of two reference points of the geometric mark. The two reference points are separated by a predetermined distance. The method also includes processing a group of parameters and a predetermined mapping obtained from a calibration process. The group of parameters includes the positions of the two reference points and the predetermined distance separating the two reference points.
US09741128B2	Method and system for characterizing plan phenotype The present disclosure provides a computer-implemented method of, and system for, characterizing the phenotype of a plant. The method includes: (i) obtaining mesh data representing a surface of the plant, said mesh data including data representing a plurality of polygons having respective sets of vertices, each vertex having a spatial coordinate; and (ii) applying at least two segmentations of progressively finer resolution to the mesh data to assign the vertices to distinct morphological regions of the plant.
US09741127B1	Image processing device The image processing device generates an operation image by adding or subtracting an original image and a standard deviation image which maps the standard deviation for the pixels configuring the original image. In this operation image, images of the structures seen in parts in the original image other than metal pieces are erased. Consequently, structures that are not metal pieces appearing in the original image in a whitish color, for example, do not appear in the operation image. If such an operation image is subjected to binarization processing in which the metal pieces appearing in a whitish color, for example, are extracted, since accurate graph cut processing is then possible, images originating from structures that are not metal pieces do not appear in the resulting image.
US09741118B2	System and methods for calibration of an array camera Systems and methods for calibrating an array camera are disclosed. Systems and methods for calibrating an array camera in accordance with embodiments of this invention include the detecting of defects in the imaging components of the array camera and determining whether the detected defects may be tolerated by image processing algorithms. The calibration process also determines translation information between imaging components in the array camera for use in merging the image data from the various imaging components during image processing. Furthermore, the calibration process may include a process to improve photometric uniformity in the imaging components.
US09741116B2	System and method for boundary classification and automatic polyp detection A system and method is provided for automated polyp detection in optical colonoscopy images. The system includes an input configured to acquire a series of optical images, and a processor configured to process the optical images. Processing steps include performing a boundary classification with steps comprising locating a series of edge pixels using at least one acquired optical image, selecting an image patch around each said edge pixel, performing a classification threshold analysis on each image patch of said edge pixels using a set of determined boundary classifiers, and identifying, based on the classification threshold analysis, polyp edge pixels consistent with a polyp edge. Processing steps for the processor also include performing a vote accumulation, using the identified polyp edge pixels, to determine a polyp location. The system also includes an output configured to indicate potential polyps using the determined polyp location.
US09741115B2	System and method for detecting trachea Disclosed are systems, devices, and methods for detecting a trachea, an exemplary system comprising an imaging device configured to obtain image data and a computing device configured to generate a three-dimensional (3D) model, identify a potential connected component in a first slice image, identify a potential connected component in a second slice image, label the first slice image as a top slice image, label the connected component in the top slice image as an active object, associate each connected component in a current slice image with a corresponding connected component in a previous slice image based on a connectivity criterion, label each connected component in the current slice image associated with a connected component of the preceding slice image as the active object, and identify the active object as the trachea, based on a length of the active object.
US09741113B2	Image processing device, imaging device, image processing method, and computer-readable recording medium An image processing device includes: an acquisition unit configured to acquire image data generated by an imaging element where each of narrow band filters constituting a predetermined array pattern is disposed at a position corresponding to any one of a plurality of pixels; a determination unit configured to determine whether or not a light amount of the invisible light range under an environment at the time when the imaging element generates the image data is larger than a threshold value; and a generation unit configured to generate vital information of a subject based on the determination result of the determination unit.
US09741112B2	Generating image-based diagnostic tests by optimizing image analysis and data mining of co-registered images A method for generating an image-based test improves diagnostic accuracy by iteratively modifying rule sets governing image and data analysis of coregistered image tiles. Digital images of stained tissue slices are divided into tiles, and tiles from different images are coregistered. First image objects are linked to selected pixels of the tiles. First numerical data is generated by measuring the first objects. Each pixel of a heat map aggregates first numerical data from coregistered tiles. Second objects are linked to selected pixels of the heat map. Measuring the second objects generates second numerical data. The method improves how well second numerical data correlates with clinical data of the patient whose tissue is analyzed by modifying the rule sets used to generate the first and second objects and the first and second numerical data. The test is defined by those rule sets that produce the best correlation with the clinical data.
US09741111B2	Subject information acquiring device and subject information acquiring method A subject information acquiring device has: an acoustic detector which receives an acoustic wave propagated in a subject and converts into an electrical signal; and a data processing device which generates a subject information distribution using the electrical signal, and the data processing device has a matching processing unit which acquires a similarity distribution by calculating a similarity between: template data indicating a relationship between a real image; and an artifact and the subject information distribution used as a matching information distribution, so that it is possible to provide a photoacoustic image forming diagnosing device which can distinguish between an image and a background even when the contrast is poor.
US09741107B2	Full reference image quality assessment based on convolutional neural network Embodiments generally relate to providing systems and methods for assessing image quality of a distorted image relative to a reference image. In one embodiment, the system comprises a convolutional neural network that accepts as an input the distorted image and the reference image, and provides as an output a metric of image quality. In another embodiment, the method comprises inputting the distorted image and the reference image to a convolutional neural network configured to process the distorted image and the reference image and provide as an output a metric of image quality.
US09741096B2	Guided image upsampling using bitmap tracing A method of increasing resolution of an image includes generating vector contours associated with a first image and scaling the vector contours to a second resolution. The first image has a first resolution, and the second resolution is greater than the first resolution. The vector contours are rendered to generate a guiding image at the second resolution, and a second image is generated from the first image based on the guiding image, by using joint upsampling. The second image is generated at the second resolution. The vector contours can be generated by bitmap tracing binary images at different quantization levels. An apparatus and computer readable device implementing the method of increasing the resolution of an image are also provided.
US09741087B2	Parallel image processing method and system A hybrid processing-based image processing system performs image chain flattening, token queue creation and pipeline prior to image rendering in order to allow various portions of the image processing to be performed in parallel. Tokens are passed between the filters of the pipeline generated from the flattened image chain to allow order-preserving operations to be performed which result in the same image as would have been produced by the original image chain using sequential processing.
US09741081B2	Perturbing a subject's contextualization of a proposition about an item considered in a quantum representation by altering the item The present invention concerns methods and apparatus for detecting perturbations to previously established and known contextualizations practiced or exhibited by subjects when confronted by certain propositions about original items. The subjects are understood to be any sentient beings, e.g., human beings that use the known contextualizations modulo the propositions and also exhibit known measurable indications in response to these propositions. Measurable indications can take on the form of responses, actions, behaviors or any measurable aspects that can be collected from the subjects in response to the propositions. The perturbation to the contextualization that is adopted by the subjects is due to altering the original item to generate an altered item and placing the altered item at the center of the proposition that was previously apprehended by the subjects to be about the original item.
US09741074B2	Dynamic handling for resource sharing requests A system or method is provided to allow users to share or donate a portion of their credit line to others. In particular, the system may provide an interface between credit line donors and recipients and allow a user's friends or family to donate portions of their credit lines to the user. With the system serving as an intermediary between the borrowers and the lenders, the credit line donation arrangement may be hidden from the lenders. The system may manage the distribution of the credit line from the five donor friends to the beneficiary friend. Further, the system may manage the payoff or pay back of the credit lines from the beneficiary friend back to the lenders. In particular, based on the donation arrangement, the system may receive the payoff amount from the beneficiary user and distribute the payoff back to the lenders.
US09741073B2	Optimizing aggregation routing over a network In one example embodiment, a method for optimizing aggregation routing over a network may include detecting that aggregated account data is unavailable over a network from a first data aggregator server, detecting that the aggregated account data is available over the network from a second data aggregator server, formatting a request for the aggregated account data to be compatible with the second data aggregator server, routing the formatted request over the network to the second data aggregator server, and receiving the requested aggregated account data over the network from the second data aggregator server.
US09741071B2	Computer-assisted shopping and product location In general, techniques are described that enable crowdsourcing of product-related information. Product-related information may include availability and intra-store locations of various products at particular stores. An example system includes an interface, a memory, and one or more programmable processors configured to receive, at the interface an intra-store product location from a first client device, the intra-store product location indicating a location of a product within a store. The programmable processor(s) are further configured to store, to at least one storage device coupled to the system and in association with the product, the received intra-store product location, receive, at the interface, a request associated with the product from a second client device, and send, from the interface, the intra-store product location to the second client device in response to receiving the request associated with the product.
US09741067B2	Internet radio and broadcast apparatus and system with music information and purchasing Data streams are generally selected according to user preferences and transmitted to the user in general alignment with expressed preferences of the user. Such data streams may be music, including music videos. Users may indicate their general or specific preferences with regards to song, artists, or albums. Any other aspects or factors that might affect the user's preferences can be taken into account. A playlist is created that combines all of these factors. The playlist then serves as the basis for feeding the data streams to the user. Each user is able to express his or her own preferences and receive music corresponding to those preferences on an on-going basis.
US09741059B1	System and method for managing website scripts A system and method for managing website scripts includes operations which provide for selection and automatic management of community contributed website scripts in order to provide efficient operation for consumer users and computing systems providing services on their behalf. Periodically, at least once during each refresh period, one or more website scripts are selected to be automatically performed on a biller website, based on a predetermined priority, and if the selected script performs successfully for a given user account, no further script operations are required to be performed on the same website for that particular user account, during that same refresh period.A system and method for managing website scripts further includes decommissioning operations which provide for automatic decommissioning of community contributed website scripts that are functioning below a predetermined minimum performance threshold level.
US09741056B1	Applying user preferences, behavioral patterns and/or environmental factors to an automated customer support application A method and apparatus of applying user profile information to a customized application are disclosed. One example method of operation may include receiving an inquiry from a user device at a customer call center server and identifying and authorizing the user from the received inquiry. The method may also provide retrieving a user profile from memory that includes history information based on previous interactions between the user device and the customer call center server and calculating a prediction as to a purpose for the inquiry. The prediction may be based on user profile history, social networking profile information, recent transactions, etc. The method may also provide transmitting a response to the inquiry based on the calculated prediction.
US09741050B2	System and method for managing gratuities A computer-implemented method for allocating gratuities is disclosed that includes employing at least one processor configured to execute computer-executable instructions stored in memory to perform the following acts: receiving transaction information from a point of sale, wherein the transaction information comprises at least gratuity data for each of a plurality of transactions during an accounting period; receiving employee information from the point of sale, wherein the employee information comprises at least hours worked for each of a plurality of employees during the accounting period; receiving gratuity distribution rules for allocating gratuities among at least a portion of the employees; and determining a gratuity allocation for each applicable employee of the plurality of employees based on at least the received transaction information, the received employee information, and the received gratuity distribution rules. Also disclosed is a computer-implemented system for managing gratuity allocations.
US09741048B2	Predicting economic conditions Computer-implemented methods for identifying or assessing any type of risk and/or opportunity that may arise can include either, alone or in combination, band pass filtering, principal component analysis, random matrix theory analysis, synchronization analysis, and early-warning detection. Each technique can also be viewed as a process that takes a set of inputs and converts it to a set of outputs. These outputs can be used as inputs for a subsequent process or the outputs may be directly actionable for formulating certain economic predictions to make certain decisions.
US09741047B1	System and method for creating segmentation of a population A system including a processor may filter a population to identify a group having members, and deliver, over an electronic network, a survey to members of the group to determine value preferences and value gaps. The survey may be made according to a set of paired comparisons or other related techniques. The system may generate vectors according to the determined value preferences and value gaps for members of the group, which may have lengths equal to numbers of determined values for the members. The system may cluster members of the group into segments by calculating patterns of differences between generated vectors. Results of this process enable the creation of a predictive model to estimate segment membership, which can be used in the generation of a promotion for display corresponding to a clustered segment, and deliver the promotion to a client device associated for display.
US09741041B1	Service representative and remote location document communication The present disclosure provides apparatus, systems, and methods for service representative and remote location document communication. One or more embodiments include a memory, and a processor configured to execute executable instructions stored in the memory to identify a remote location of a customer, identify a type of device available to be utilized at the remote location, and provide to the device at the remote location instructions for capturing information from a document.
US09741039B2	Click modeling for ecommerce A system and method of click modeling are disclosed. A ranking algorithm is modified using a click model. The click model makes inferences based on user click data. The user click data includes indications of user intent to transact a shopping action for an item for sale. Item listings are ranked for a search results page using the ranking algorithm in response to receiving a search query. Each item listing comprises an item for sale on an e-commerce site. The user click data can also include user clicks of item listings in a search results page. The shopping action can include bidding on an item for sale or purchasing an item for sale.
US09741036B1	Provisioning account numbers and cryptographic tokens Disclosed herein are systems and methods for real-time provisioning of new card numbers to users of a consumer computing system. A consumer computing system (“CCS”) may have servers and databases situated within a banking infrastructure in order to provide various features to users via a software application executed by a client device. The software application may interact with the CCS servers, such that the CCS servers and the software application offer the client device and the user certain features not ordinarily available in conventional banking infrastructures. These features may include the real-time provisioning of card numbers for a user's banking account. In operation, the client device may submit a request for a new card number to a CCS server, which may be generated in real-time and active in the payment stream when the card number is generated.
US09741034B1	Management of reportings for item listings Disclosed are various embodiments for managing reportings of item listings for items that are available through an electronic commerce system. A reporting for the item listing is obtained from a merchant, and evaluations of the reporting are obtained from other merchants. A net evaluation of the reporting is generated, and it is determined whether to initiate a correction event based at least in part on the net evaluation of the reporting.
US09741033B2	System and method for point of sale payment data credentials management using out-of-band authentication The invention provides an easy to use credential management mechanism for multi-factor out-of-band multi-channel authentication process to protect payment credentials without the risk of malware and skimming attacks. When opened, the secure payment application generates a multi-dimensional transitory key. The user authenticates the multi-dimensional transitory key and validates the secure payment application, triggering an out-of-band outbound mechanism. The portable mobile device invokes the authentication server and the authentication server authenticates the user based on the authenticated transitory key. After authentication, the merchant is allowed access to the payment credentials to complete the transaction. The process of the invention includes an authentication server, a secure payment application to generate an authentication vehicle or an embodiment (i.e. multi-dimensional transitory key) and handle incoming requests, and a portable communication device with a smartphone application.
US09741028B2	System and method for transaction payments using a mobile device A system and method for performing a financial transaction may include processing a purchase transaction for products for purchase by a customer to determine a transaction amount. A communication with a mobile device of the customer may include communicating a store identifier, POS identifier, and the transaction amount. In response to receiving an approval number for the purchase transaction from a financial institution of the customer, completing the purchase transaction for the purchase of the products by the customer.
US09741024B2	Systems and methods of bank transfer A financial institution and a payment initiator may exchange public keys to enable the secure exchange of data. A business wishing to collect payment can provide its account information to the payment initiator. A customer wishing to pay can instruct the payment initiator to encrypt the business's account information along with details for a particular invoice and transmit the information to the financial institution. The financial institution can decrypt the information and initiate a transfer of money from the customer to the business. The financial institution may present the information about the transaction to the customer for modification or confirmation before initiating the transfer. The information may be sent from the payment initiator to the financial institution via the customer. After the payment has been initiated by the financial institution, a confirmation may be sent to the customer, the payment initiator, the business, or any suitable combination thereof.
US09741019B2	Restoring deleted items with context Deleted property information relating to deleting an item, such as an electronic message, is used for restoring the deleted item. The deleted property information is stored in response to deleting the item. The stored deleted property information identifies a location of where the item was deleted from and may include other information. The location information may be a specific location such as a folder (e.g. inbox, sent, folder 1, . . . ), a calendar, a network location, and the like. In response to a request to restore a deleted item, the deleted property information is used to restore the deleted item to the location where the item was when deleted. A graphical user interface may be used to assist a user in restoring deleted items. The user interface may display a user friendly name (e.g. “Inbox”, “Folder 1”, . . . ) of where the deleted item(s) will be/have been restored.
US09741017B2	Interpreting categorized change information in order to build and maintain change catalogs Methods, systems, and articles for receiving, by a monitor server, change data associated with a change captured on a target host, are described herein. In various embodiments, the target host may have provided the change data in response to detecting the change, and the change data may include one or more rules, settings, and/or parameters. Further, in some embodiments, the monitor server may then group the change data into clusters and may correlate the clusters with a change catalog in order to provide a possible reason or cause for the cluster of changes. Once the change data have been classified as clusters, a report may be generated providing classification or categorization and cluster information for the various changes. In various embodiments, the generating may comprise generating a report to the target host and/or to an administrative user. In various embodiments, a reason may be determined for causing a cluster of changes and the change catalog may updated with the reason.
US09741000B2	Role-based framework and mechanisms for configuration of collaborative applications A role action framework allows for comprehensive control of various objects, data, and behaviors within a procurement and requisitioning application. This framework can be extended to be used by various transactions. A common and central mechanism that makes a supplier relationship management application highly configurable can be provided. This mechanism can allow organizations to customize the application in a manner that is most suitable for the different types of those organizations' users. For example, using this mechanism, users having defined roles within the organization can be limited to appropriate interactions with various facets of the application, such as objects, data, and behaviors. Using the mechanism, an organization can define customized roles, and for each role, the organization can define, for each facet of the application, interactions that users assigned to that role can have relative to that facet.
US09740999B2	Real time customer access to location, arrival and on-site time data The method provides real time task-related data to customers seeking services by a vendor's task person (T-P) at a customer location. The T-P has a GPS-enabled phone-tablet-device linked by a the network to a task collection database which includes data on task, customer, location, T-P, and current location. The customer is permitted to access the database showing location, the time and/or distance of T-P, the projected time of arrival, duration, and time of completion. The customer selects a communications channel for call ahead time and delay notice. Additionally, the system and method may be deployed over a distributed computed system which includes a supplemental computer and a supplemental database. The web based server forwards to the supplemental computer and supplemental database the customer selected communications channel, mode, call ahead and delay data.
US09740998B2	Cloud based recipe distribution in an enterprise management system A content distribution platform may include processing circuitry having a processor and memory. The memory may store a plurality of content items associated with at least one content library. The processor may be configured to enable distribution of the content items to at least a selected asset among a plurality of food preparation assets via a network. The content items may include at least visible content descriptive of a food item preparable using the selected asset and invisible content including non-human readable instructions for enabling the selected asset to prepare the food item.
US09740993B2	Detecting anomalies in field failure data A method of detecting anomalies in the service repairs data of equipment. A failure mode-symptom correlation matrix correlates failure modes to symptoms. Diagnostic trouble codes are collected for an actual repair for the equipment. The diagnostic trouble codes are provided to a diagnostic reasoner for identifying failure modes. Diagnostic assessment is applied by the diagnostic reasoner for determining the recommended repairs to perform on the equipment in response to identifying the failure modes. Each of the recommended repairs is compared with the actual repair used to repair the equipment. A mismatch is identified in response to any recommended repair not matching the actual repair. Reports are generated for displaying all of the identified mismatches. The reports are analyzed for determining repair codes having an increase in a number of anomalies. Service centers are alerted of a correct repair for the identified failure mode.
US09740992B2	Data warehouse system A data warehouse system for managing performance of organizations is provided. The data warehouse system comprises a data model for storing data representing dimensions and measures applicable for multiple organizations, and a configuration unit for setting the placeholders such that the data model represents the particular organization. The data model has placeholders settable such that the data model represents a particular organization.
US09740982B2	Item selecting apparatus, item selecting method and item selecting program In an item selecting apparatus performing a selection of an item to be recommended for each user, it is performed to calculate, with respect to each usage registration of an item by a user, an elapsed value as a difference between a time point of creating the item or staring providing of the item and a predetermined time point, acquire a usage characteristics of each user based on the elapsed value and calculate a freshness value representing a degree of freshness about each item. Further, using correspondence rules of different characteristics corresponding to the usage characteristics, it is performed to calculate a novelty index by applying the freshness value of each item on the correspondence rule corresponding to the usage characteristics of each user, calculate a priority of the item for each user, based on the novelty index and performing a selection of the item.
US09740970B2	Image forming apparatus, image forming method, printing control terminal device and computer readable record medium An image forming system is provided. One or more embodiments sets forth an image forming method using printing data that includes a plurality of strip information including a plurality of images, respectively, segmented into a plurality of regions by rendering at least one page from a file, and that includes unique information having information on respective number indicators allocated to the plurality of strip information The method includes sequentially receiving the unique information and the plurality of strip information, detecting an intended number of the plurality of strip information configuring the page based on the received unique information, determining whether all of an intended plurality of strip information configuring the page are received by comparing the intended number of the plurality of detected strip information with a detected number of the received plurality of strip information, and performing printing using the plurality of received strip information based on the determining.
US09740969B2	Printer device The present invention is to provide a printer device capable of obtaining a print result having a good balance between characters in a predetermined print area and thus having good appearance. When the print length of an input character string is to be corrected, a comparison is first made in terms of the length of blank in each character and/or clearance between characters. In a case where minus correction is performed to reduce the print length, the blank or clearance is deleted by one column at a time preferentially from the area where the length of the blank and/or clearance is larger; while in a case where plus correction is performed to increase the print length, the clearance is added by one column at a time preferentially to the area where the length of the blank and/or clearance is smaller.
US09740962B2	Apparatus and method for spatially referencing images Provided is a method of spatially referencing a plurality of images captured from a plurality of different locations within an indoor space by determining the location from which the plurality of images were captured. The method may include obtaining a plurality of distance-referenced panoramas of an indoor space. The distance-referenced panoramas may each include a plurality of distance-referenced images each captured from one position in the indoor space and at a different azimuth from the other distance-referenced images, a plurality of distance measurements, and orientation indicators each indicative of the azimuth of the corresponding one of the distance-referenced images. The method may further include determining the location of each of the distance-referenced panoramas based on the plurality of distance measurements and the orientation indicators and associating in memory the determined locations with the plurality of distance-referenced images captured from the determined location.
US09740958B2	Method for vignetting correction of image and apparatus therefor Method and apparatuses for correcting vignetting effects of an image are disclosed. A method for vignetting correction of an image according to an exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure may comprise receiving a two-dimensional image; calculating a radial bright channel representing intensity of the two-dimensional image; estimating a vignetting function of the two-dimensional image having similarity to the calculated radial bright channel; and correcting the vignetting effects of the two-dimensional image by using the estimated vignetting function. The vignetting correction methods and apparatuses according to the present disclosure can rapidly correct vignetting effects of an image by using a smaller memory, and correct vignetting effects of an arbitrary single image without being affected by a camera setting and camera lenses used for the image.
US09740952B2	Methods and systems for real time automated caption rendering testing Exemplary methods and processing systems for determining whether an audio video (AV) source is performing closed captioning (CC) rendering properly, are described. An AV stream including one or more AV frames is received from the AV source; for each frame from the AV stream the following operations are performed: detecting a CC image in the frame; cropping the CC image from the frame; and outputting the CC image and metadata associated with the frame. A caption file is generated based on the AV stream, where the caption file includes captioning information for the AV stream. The CC image and metadata output for a frame from the AV stream are compared with CC information within the caption file related to that frame to determine whether the AV source is performing CC rendering properly.
US09740950B1	Method and system for automatic registration of images A computer-implemented method and system register plural images using a computer processor and computer memory, where computer code stored in the computer memory causes the computer processor to perform the registration. The registration includes receiving a reference image; receiving a sensed image; computing an approximate image transformation between the reference image and the sensed image; finding plural candidate tie points by utilizing template matching; applying radiometric filtering to at least a portion of the plural candidate tie points; applying geometric filtering to at least a portion of the plural candidate tie points; computing a calculated image transformation using candidate points of the plural candidate points that were not filtered out by the radiometric and geometric filtering; transforming the sensed image using the calculated image transformation; and registering the sensed image with the reference image.
US09740947B2	Hardware architecture for linear-time extraction of maximally stable extremal regions (MSERs) An architecture for linear-time extraction of maximally stable extremal regions (MSERs) having an image memory, heap memory, a pointer array and processing hardware is disclosed. The processing hardware is configured to in real-time analyze image pixels in the image memory using a linear-time algorithm to identify a plurality of components of the image. The processing hardware is also configured to place the image pixels in the heap memory for each of the plurality of components of the image, generate a pointer that points to a location in the heap memory that is associated with a start of flooding for another component and store the pointer in the array of pointers. The processing hardware is also configured to access the plurality of components using the array of pointers and determine MSER ellipses based on the components and MSER criteria.
US09740945B2	Driver assistance system for vehicle A driver assistance system of an equipped vehicle includes a camera and a communication system operable to receive vehicle information pertaining to another vehicle. A control is operable to process the vehicle information to determine an estimated time to arrival of the other vehicle at a location in a projected path of travel of the equipped vehicle. Responsive at least in part to a determination that the estimated time to arrival is less than a threshold amount, the control generates an alert to the driver of the equipped vehicle that it is not safe to proceed along the projected path of travel. The alert may also be generated responsive to image processing of image data captured by a forward viewing camera when such image processing determines that an object is present in the projected path of travel of the equipped vehicle.
US09740938B2	Eye gaze correction A user's eye gaze is corrected in a video of the user's face. A facial tracking module is configured, in an active tracking mode, to track at least one angular coordinate of the user's face and to output a current value of the at least one angular coordinated that is within a range of possible values. Frames of the video are modified to correct the eye gaze of the user, whereby the user is perceived to be looking directly at the camera in the modified frames, only when the tracking module is in the active tracking mode and the current value is within a restricted subrange of the range of possible values for which the user's face is oriented towards the camera.
US09740934B2	Image recognition device and method for registering feature data in image recognition device An image recognition device has a database in which pieces of feature data of a plurality of objects are registered while divided into classes for each of the plurality of objects; an identification unit that identifies an unknown object by evaluating which feature data of the class registered in the database is most similar to feature data obtained from an image of the unknown object, and a feature data registration unit that registers feature data in the database. The database is capable of setting a plurality of classes to an identical object. The feature data registration unit, in adding new feature data with respect to a first object already registered in the database, sets a new class other than an existing class with respect to the first object.
US09740930B2	Read determining device and method A read determining device includes: a similar portion identifying unit configured to identify a similar portion in a document which is similar to a portion in the document or a similar portion in a document which is similar to a portion in another document which is already read; and a determination unit that lowers a threshold value with which a document is determined to be read with respect to the document which includes more similar portions than those in another document which includes less similar portions and thereby determines whether or not the document is read, so that the determination accuracy is improved.
US09740927B2	Identifying screenshots within document images Systems and methods for identifying screenshots within document images. An example method comprises: receiving an image of at least a part of a document; identifying, within the image, a polygonal object having a visually distinct border comprising a plurality of edges of one or more intersecting rectangles; asserting a screenshot image hypothesis with respect to the identified polygonal object; and responsive to evaluating at least one condition associated with one or more attributes of the identified polygonal object, classifying the identified polygonal object as a screenshot image.
US09740922B2	Adaptive tracking system for spatial input devices An adaptive tracking system for spatial input devices provides real-time tracking of spatial input devices for human-computer interaction in a Spatial Operating Environment (SOE). The components of an SOE include gestural input/output; network-based data representation, transit, and interchange; and spatially conformed display mesh. The SOE comprises a workspace occupied by one or more users, a set of screens which provide the users with visual feedback, and a gestural control system which translates user motions into command inputs. Users perform gestures with body parts and/or physical pointing devices, and the system translates those gestures into actions such as pointing, dragging, selecting, or other direct manipulations. The tracking system provides the requisite data for creating an immersive environment by maintaining a model of the spatial relationships between users, screens, pointing devices, and other physical objects within the workspace.
US09740916B2	Systems and methods for persona identification using combined probability maps Disclosed herein are systems and methods for persona identification using combined probability maps. An embodiment takes the form of a method that includes obtaining at least one frame of pixel data; processing the at least one frame of pixel data to generate a hair-identification probability map; and generating a persona image by extracting pixels from the at least one frame of pixel data based at least in part on the generated hair-identification probability map.
US09740911B2	System and method of using an electric field device A biometric scanner having an electric field device and a method of using that scanner are disclosed. The electric field device (a) has no electric field generator or an electric field generator that is prevented from providing an electric field to a biometric object, such as a finger, and (b) has an electric field sensor array comprised of a plurality of electric field sensors. Capacitance readings from the sensor array are used to generate values that are attributed to locations corresponding to the sensors.
US09740910B2	Array substrate, driving method and display device There are disclosed in the present disclosure an array substrate, a driving method of a fingerprint recognition circuit and a display device. The array substrate comprises a substrate. There are formed on the substrate a fingerprint recognition circuit, a fingerprint signal read line, an initialization signal line, a common voltage input terminal and an output control signal line. As such, on one hand, since it is not needed a separate film layer or panel to carry the fingerprint recognition circuit, thickness of a corresponding display device can be reduced; on the other hand, the fingerprint recognition circuit and related signal lines can be formed simultaneously in the process of manufacturing the array substrate, thereby decreasing difficulty in manufacturing the corresponding display device.
US09740904B2	Method of using camera sensor interface to transfer multiple channels of scan data using an image format A computer system for decoding a signal of decodable indicia is disclosed. The computer system includes a laser scanner configured that outputs a signal of decodable indicia and a microprocessor that include a camera sensor interface that is configured to receive the signal from the laser scanner.
US09740903B2	Module or arrangement for, and method of, uniformly and efficiently illuminating a target by generating an illumination pattern that is substantially congruent to and overlaps a field of view of an imaging reader An illumination light source emits illumination light toward a target to be read by image capture. An imaging assembly captures the illumination light returning from the target along an imaging axis over a field of view that extends along mutually orthogonal, first and second directions that are generally perpendicular to the imaging axis. A compound parabolic reflector receives, and optically modifies, the emitted illumination light to generate a generally uniform illumination light pattern that is substantially congruent to, and substantially overlaps, the field of view along both of the first and second directions. The compound parabolic reflector has first and second pairs of parabolic segments for respectively reflecting the emitted illumination light over first and second illumination angles along the first and second directions.
US09740892B2	Method and system for asset tracking in an enterprise environment A method and system for tracking an asset in an indoor facility. The method includes receiving, from a first mobile device, an asset tracking tag collision report, the asset tracking tag collision report including a tag identifier of an asset tracking tag associated with an asset; determining a new location of the asset based on the received asset tracking tag collision report; updating an asset location database to indicate the new location of the asset; and, in response to determining the new location of the asset, transmitting an instruction message to a mobile device to cause the mobile device to direct the asset tracking tag to cease broadcasting the wireless signal. The method and system use crowd-sourcing to determine a new location of an asset that has moved in an indoor facility.
US09740883B2	System and method for enabling control of mobile device functional components A system is provided including a non-transitory computer readable storage medium that causes a mobile device to store client states indicating statuses of mobile device functional components. Each client state corresponds to a functional component. A client digest of the client state is stored. A server digest corresponding to a server state and the client digest is received from a server. The server state indicates a status of a mobile device functional component. The server digest is compared with the client digest. A state request is transmitted to the server responsive to a determination of a difference between the server digest and client digest. The server state is received from the server. The functional component is enabled or disabled as indicated by the server state. The server state and digest are stored as the client state and digest respectively. Methods for control of mobile device functional components are also provided.
US09740876B1	Securely storing and provisioning security telemetry of multiple organizations for cloud based analytics A cloud based system receives multiple types of security telemetry from multiple participating organizations. The received security telemetry can be pseudonymized by replacing fields containing sensitive information with corresponding pseudonyms. Two data stores can be maintained, a first for raw telemetry, and a second for pseudonymized telemetry. Each data store can comprise a directory structure organized according to factors such as originating organization, administrative unit, telemetry type, schema, format and/or version and receipt time. Raw telemetry is stored in directories of the first data store, and pseudonymized security telemetry is stored in directories of the second data store, both organized according to the above-described factors. Analytics of the telemetry is facilitated by providing controlled access to analytics clients, according to permissions granted by the originating organizations and declared requirements of the analytics clients, at levels of granularity based on the above described factors and pseudonymization status.
US09740875B2	Mobile device sharing facilitation methods and systems featuring exclusive data presentation Structures and protocols are presented for using or otherwise relating to a first mobile device (a smartphone or tablet computer or wearable device, e.g.) configured to be shared by two or more parties such that a subset of the parties may be addressed selectively (in content directed to such parties, e.g.) in a cost-effective manner.
US09740874B2	Content preview including sharable information A user of a content management system can store one or more content items at the user's account with the system. In some instances, the system can generate and present a preview of a content item of interest (e.g., a content item selected by the user). In addition to the preview of the content item, the system can generate and present a web address or other machine-readable code referring to (or otherwise associated with) the preview of the content item. Various embodiments of the present disclosure can enable the web address or other machine-readable code to be sharable and to provide access to the content item (or a copy thereof). For example, the user who is previewing the content item can share the web address of the preview with one or more other users. The one or more users can then access the content item via the web address.
US09740869B1	Enforcement of document element immutability In some embodiments, techniques for computer security comprise parsing an electronic document; determining that a first element of the electronic document specifies immutability of a second element of the electronic document; setting an immutability indicator associated with the second element of the electronic document; receiving a request to modify the second element of the electronic document; determining that the immutability indicator associated with the second element of the electronic document is set; and responsive to determining that the immutability indicator associated with the second element of the electronic document is set, preventing the second element of the electronic document from being modified.
US09740866B2	Automatic measuring boot process using an automatic measuring processor coupled to a memory An apparatus includes a first interface configured to be coupled to a storage device via a first bus. The apparatus includes a second interface configured to be coupled to a system processor (e.g., a central processing unit (CPU), a graphics processing unit (GPU), a digital signal processor (DSP), etc.) via a second bus. The apparatus further includes a processor configured to, during a boot process of the system processor, receive boot code from the storage device via the first interface. The processor is configured to generate a first value based on the boot code. The processor is further configured to provide the boot code to the system processor via the second interface.
US09740854B2	System and method for code protection Systems, methods, and techniques are disclosed for. An example method of providing code protection includes identifying a set of methods including one or more code portions to extract from an application. The method also includes extracting the one or more code portions from the set of methods. The one or more extracted code portions is executable on a computing device remote from a client. The method further includes inserting an interface into the application. The interface enables the client to remotely execute the one or more extracted code portions. The method also includes transmitting the application including the interface and without the one or more extracted code portions to the client.
US09740848B2	Authentication method using relative movement A method for authentication of a user to a device by a remote server comprises a remote server initiates a local procedure on the device that causes the user to perform an act, wherein the act is observed by the device, and further wherein the act involves relative movement between the user and a camera, where fiducial marks are captured, and information transmitted to the server for the server to make a determination of whether to authorize the user to the device.
US09740842B1	Wearable computing device authentication using bone conduction A wearable computing device is authenticated using bone conduction. When a user wears the device, a bone conduction speaker and a bone conduction microphone on the device contact the user's head at positions proximate the user's skull. A calibration process is performed by transmitting a signal from the speaker through the skull and receiving a calibration signal at the microphone. An authentication process is subsequently performed by transmitting another signal from the speaker through the skull and an authentication signal is received at the microphone. In the event that frequency response characteristics of the authentication signal match the frequency response characteristics of the calibration signal, the user is authenticated and the device is enabled for user interaction without requiring the user to input any additional data.
US09740840B2	User authentication using voice and image data Techniques are generally described for user authentication. Example techniques may include providing a data set including audio data and image data, wherein the audio data includes voice recordings of multiple people, wherein the image data includes at least a facial image of at least one of the multiple people, receiving a response to the data set from a user device, and determining whether the received response corresponds to at least a part of content of the voice recording of the one of the multiple people whose facial image is included in the image data.
US09740837B2	Apparatus and method for preventing cloning of code An apparatus and corresponding method for preventing cloning of code. The apparatus includes a memory, an authentication module, and a device. The memory is configured to store the code, which includes unencrypted code and a fragment of encrypted code. The authentication module is configured to receive and decrypt the fragment of encrypted code from the memory into a fragment of decrypted code, and to store the fragment of decrypted code in an authentication module buffer. The device configured to execute the unencrypted code from the memory and to execute the fragment of decrypted code from the authentication module buffer, wherein the fragment of encrypted code is personalized to the device.
US09740830B2	Method of enhanced distribution of pharmaceuticals in long-term care facilities Methods of enhanced distribution of pharmaceuticals in long-term care facilities are provided. An embodiment of a method includes positioning two or more pharmaceutical storage and electronic dispensing machines each positioned in a different long-term care facility remote from a long-term care facility pharmacy group management server and in communication therewith, and long-term care facility pharmacy management computer programs associated with the long-term care facility pharmacy group management server to enhance use of the one or more of pharmaceutical storage and electronic dispensing machines. The long-term care facility management computer programs include a patient prescription receiver and a medication dispensing apparatus administrator and are configured and operable to transmit dispensing instructions to the one or more pharmaceutical storage and electronic dispensing machines when no drug conflicts exist to thereby initiate packaging and dispensing of one or more disposable patient dosing packages.
US09740828B2	Medicine container with an orientation sensor A medicine container configured to hold one or more different medications. The container may include an orientation sensor to determine the orientation of the container. The container may also include one or more additional sensors to detect other physical characteristics about the container and/or medicine. The orientation of the container in combination with the information from the one or more additional sensors is used to determine an accurate indication of an amount of the medicine within the container and thus usage information. The container also includes a wireless transmitter for transmitting the information regarding the medicine to a remote location.
US09740826B2	Wireless medical room control arrangement for control of a plurality of medical devices A wireless medical room control arrangement includes a wireless controller having a wireless router. A room identifier and a device identifier are stored in the controller. A communication interface sends commands to and receives commands from the wireless controller. In response to commands from the interface, the wireless controller sends wireless control signals to operate medical devices in the room. A room monitor adjacent a doorway provides room identifiers to medical devices and wireless controllers entering the room and provides dummy identifiers to medical devices and controllers exiting the room. The room monitors may connect to a global network processor that determines the location of the medical devices in a medical facility.
US09740820B2	Control apparatus and authentication method A blood pressure meter, a thermometer, and a pulse oximeter are connected to the control apparatus, and the control apparatus includes an input unit configured to wirelessly input information identifying a measurement time and unique information along with the measurement value from the measurement devices, a processing unit configured to store the inputted measurement value and unique information in a memory, and an authentication unit configured to authenticate the measurement device that inputted the measurement value as being the same as a measurement device that inputted a stored measurement value by comparing the unique information with unique information stored along with a measurement value measured prior to the inputted measurement value. Here, the processing unit is configured to store the inputted measurement value in the case where the authentication succeeds.
US09740819B2	Method for determining risk of diabetes A method of determining risk of diabetes is provided. In one embodiment, the method comprises: a) measuring the levels of a plurality of biomarkers in a blood samples obtained from a patient, wherein the plurality of biomarkers comprises at least five of the following biomarkers: glucose, adiponectin, CRP, IL2RA, ferritin, insulin and HbAIc; b) calculating a diabetes risk score for the patients using the levels and, optionally, patient age and/or gender. Results obtained from performing the assay on a reference population are similar or identical to those obtained using Formula I.
US09740818B1	Model identification and analysis of bivalent analytes using surface plasmon resonance Methods, software, systems, and apparatuses that can identify bivalent reaction mechanisms using surface plasmon resonance (SPR) are provided. Methods, software, systems, and apparatuses that can identify SPR sensorgrams that fit a bivalent analyte model are also provided. A method can include recording multiple SPR sensorgrams with an analyte at different concentrations, fitting each sensorgram with a single exponential function with exponents, determining the exponents for each sensorgram and R2 values for each sensorgram, and plotting R2 versus analyte concentration and determining if an optimal concentration exists.
US09740808B2	Method and apparatus for implementing a system-level design tool for design planning and architecture exploration A method for designing a system on a target device includes mapping a high-level description of the system onto a model of a target device prior to generating a register transfer level description of the system. A visual representation of the mapping is generated.
US09740806B1	System and method for transitioning between executing models Model metadata for each of a plurality of mathematical models is stored. Data describing two sets of models is received. Each of the sets identifies one or more models of the plurality of mathematical models. One of the sets comprises a transition-from set and one of the sets comprises a transition-to set. Data describing a launch date for commencing a transition from executing the model(s) in the transition-from set to executing the model(s) in the transition-to set is received. Data describing a transition period of time for the transition is received. The models in the transition-from set and in the transition-to set are executed during the transition period of time. An output of the execution of the model(s) in the transition-from set is combined with an output of the execution of the model(s) in the transition-to set. The output is stored in a database.
US09740800B2	Systems and methods for intelligent power tool access Systems and methods are provided for designing a composite tool to manipulate a specific set of known fasteners in a product, the fastener(s) having a constrained access and specific torque requirements. The system comprises a display screen, a database, a means for scanning and a computing device executing at least an operating system configured to operate the display screen, the database and the means for scanning. The computing device is further configured to electronically select a virtual socket that is configured to properly engage the fastener at its driving end, virtually position at the fastener in a pre-secure and a post-secure position within a virtual constrained access, and electronically determine the existence of an interference condition at either or both of the pre-secure or post-secure position. When an interference condition exists, computing device electronically selects another socket with a different dimension and repeating the virtual positioning and electronically determine steps.
US09740797B2	Counting bloom filter Technologies are generally described for a scheme for computing a counting number of a keyword. In some examples, a method performed under control of a computing device may include obtaining a result of a j-th set of hash functions with regard to a key; marking a head marker into a bit array of a bloom filter based at least in part on the result of the j-th set of hash functions, if the j is zero; and marking a tail marker into the bit array of the bloom filter based at least in part on the result of the j-th set of hash functions, if the j is the same as or larger than 1.
US09740792B2	Connection paths for application topology A user may create a blueprint that specifies an application's architecture, including virtual machines (VM) nodes, software services and application components within the VM nodes. To do so, the user manipulates a graphical user interface (GUI) rendered by a graph layout manager and a Scalable Vector Graphics (SVG) layout engine. The SVG layout engine parses declarative layout configurations and translates the declarative layout into SVG elements that visually represent the blueprint. The graph layout manager renders topology connections representing deployment dependencies in the GUI using a street-block-and-roads design pattern.
US09740788B2	Interactive selection and display of a raw data parsing rule Embodiments are directed towards previewing results generated from indexing data raw data before the corresponding index data is added to an index store. Raw data may be received from a preview data source. After an initial set of configuration information may be established, the preview data may be submitted to an index processing pipeline. A previewing application may generate preview results based on the preview index data and the configuration information. The preview results may enable previewing how the data is being processed by the indexing application. If the preview results are not acceptable, the configuration information may be modified. The preview application enables modification of the configuration information until the generated preview results may be acceptable. If the configuration information is acceptable, the preview data may be processed and indexed in one or more index stores.
US09740783B2	Content recommendation system In various example embodiments, systems and methods to provide content recommendations are provided. A selection of a category is received from a device of a user. An attribute associated with the user is derived. A search of a coupled database for content that corresponds to the derived attribute in the selected category is performed. A list of content is caused to be presented in a user interface of the device of the user.
US09740781B2	Secure DNS query A secure DNS query may be made by establishing a secure connection with a specific DNS server to determine an address for a hostname. A client device may have a database that may contain a record of a secure DNS server for one or more hostnames. When a DNS request contains one of the specified hostnames, an authenticated session may be created with the designated secure DNS server and a network address for the hostname is returned using the session. The authenticated session may authenticate a client device to the server as well as authenticate the server to the client. In some embodiments, the secure DNS server may accept connections from authenticated clients and may disregard connection requests from non authenticated clients.
US09740766B2	Methods and systems of playing multi-source media content Methods and systems described herein play multi-source media content. A multi-source media content includes digital assets from multiple media sources. The digital assets may include a video digital asset, an audio digital asset, or a textual digital asset. The digital assets may be provided by different media content providers. The digital assets from multiple media sources may be played such that various components (e.g., a video component, an audio component, or a textual component) of a media content are synchronized. When a digital asset or a digital asset segment for a media content is retrieved from a media content provider into the domain, an index is created to associate the digital asset with the media source from which the digital asset or the digital asset segment may be retrieved. As such, a media content may be played without retrieving, from a media content provider, those digital assets or digital asset segments already existing in the domain.
US09740760B2	Method for tracking differences between production and development databases to perform an automatic synchronization Embodiments disclosed herein relate to systems, methods, and computer program products for updating a development database. In some embodiments, the system and method compare a development database and an associated production database to determine a drift score. The development database is then updated when the drift score exceeds a predetermined threshold. In some situations, the system extracts a schema from the development database and the associated production database in order to identify differences between the two databases. The system then calculates a drift score based on the differences and compares the drift score to a predetermined threshold value. If the drift score exceeds the threshold value, the system alerts the user to update the development database or automatically updates the development database.
US09740758B2	Integration flow database runtime The present disclosure describes methods, systems, and computer program products for providing application integration functionality directly on a relational database according to an implementation. One computer-implemented method includes inserting relational data into a start table of a database, detecting a change in the start table, retrieving the inserted relational data from the start table, processing, using a computer, the relational data using a database integration flow runtime into result data, inserting the result data into an end table of the database, detecting a change in the end table, and retrieving the result data from the end table.
US09740757B1	Systems and methods for collection and consolidation of heterogeneous remote business data using dynamic data handling A method, system and computer program product for controlling collection of data from heterogeneous data sources is disclosed. Data is extracted in a data source independent manner using at least two types of control messages to hide implementation details for the heterogeneous data sources. The method receives from the heterogeneous data sources, a request for a first control message type, which defines data to be extracted from the heterogeneous data sources. Responsive to receiving the request, the method sends a first control messages type to the heterogeneous data sources. The method receives from the heterogeneous data sources, a second control message type that includes data extracted from the heterogeneous data sources that was defined in the first control message type. The method also stores, in a data store, the received data identified in the first control message type and that was extracted from the heterogeneous data sources.
US09740755B2	Event limited field picker An event limited field picker for a search user interface is described. In one or more implementations, a service may operate to collect and store data as events each of which includes a portion of the data correlated with a point in time. Clients may use a search user interface perform searches by input of search criteria. Responsive to receiving search criteria, the service may operate to apply a late binding schema to extract events that match the search criteria and provide search results for display via the search user interface. The search user interface exposes an event limited field picker operable to make selections of fields with respect to individual events in a view of the search results. In response to receiving an indication of a fields selected via the picker, visibility of selected fields may be updated to control which field and values are included in different views.
US09740753B2	Using spheres-of-influence to characterize network relationships Techniques are disclosed for using spheres-of-influence to characterize network relationships, where a graph depicts stronger relationships as being closer to an entity than more tenuous relationships. That is, while an entity may have many first-degree relationships, some relationships are closer than others. Thus, relationships where one entity may have a greater degree of influence over another are characterized as being closer to an entity in a graph. Similarly, a tenuous first-degree relationship may be characterized as being at a greater “depth” from the entity in the graph.
US09740750B1	Selecting score improvements Methods, systems, and apparatus, including computer programs encoded on a computer storage medium, for selecting score improvements. In one aspect, a method includes obtaining search query data, each search query being associated user selection data that identifies which search results were selected by users; obtaining a plurality of score improvement lists, each score improvement list being an ordered list of adjusters, wherein the adjusters are serially applied to initial scores of a group of search results to determine a final scoring of the search results; testing the plurality of score improvement lists comprising: iteratively selecting pairs of score improvement lists from a pool of score improvement lists, and determining, for each pair of score improvement lists, a winning score improvement list and a losing score improvement list based on the search query data, repeating testing until ending criteria are reached; and selecting one or more score improvement lists.
US09740748B2	Similarity and ranking of databases based on database metadata A processor selects a first database and a second database from a plurality of databases. The processor determines one or more terms found in the first and second database, wherein each term of the one or more terms includes metadata of a database of the plurality of databases. The processor identifies one or more common terms between the first database and the second database and determines the one or more common terms found in each of a plurality of groups of databases of the plurality of databases, wherein each group of databases corresponds to a number of databases which constitute the group of databases. The processor determines a similarity score between the first database and the second database of the plurality of databases based on the one or more common terms found in each group of databases of the plurality of databases.
US09740744B2	Systems and methods for visualizing and manipulating graph databases Systems and methods for visualizing and manipulating graph databases in accordance embodiments of the invention are disclosed. In one embodiment of the invention, a graph database manipulation device includes a processor and a memory configured to store a graph database manipulation application, wherein the graph database manipulation application configures the processor to obtain a graph database including a set of nodes and a set of edges, determine a source node within the set of nodes, locate a set of related nodes based on the source node and the set of edges, recursively locate a set of sub-related nodes based on the set of related nodes and the set of edges, generate a representation of the set of related nodes from the perspective of the source node, and recursively update the generated representation of the set of sub-related nodes from the perspective of the source node and the related nodes.
US09740739B2	Visionary query processing in Hadoop utilizing opportunistic views Systems and methods are disclosed for query processing in a big data analytics platform by enumerating plans for a current query using a processor; building a dominance graph for the current query; for each plan, determining a regret value and a score for the plan based on the regret value and cost; and selecting query plans in an online fashion for query processing in big data analytics platforms where intermediate results are materialized and can be reused later.
US09740738B1	Data retrieval from datastores with different data storage formats A request that includes a syntax tree is received. A query plan that comprising one or more queries using storage metadata and one or more data attributes obtained from the syntax tree is generated. Individual ones of the one or more queries are used to retrieve at least one of the one or more data attributes from the at least two datastores. The generating of the query plan is generated by modifying individual ones of the one or more queries to access a datastore of the at least two datastores having a lower data retrieval latency. The one or more queries of the query plan are executed to generate the report, the report including data resulting from the executing of the one or more queries.
US09740728B2	System and method for tracking the conversion of non-destructive evaluation (NDE) data to electronic format Systems and methods are disclosed for tracking the conversion of data from a hardcopy or physical format such as radiograph film to electronic format such as DICONDE format. The method provides the capability of automatic consistency checks of image quality generated by the digitizer as well as allows for process quality checks by users. Authentication and authorization is built into the digitization process to allow access to authorized users for a particular task. The system provides the capability to generate statistical process control (SPC) curves and reports of the consistency checks. Disaster recovery capability is built into the system.
US09740724B2	Data partitioning for high-efficiency data retrieval Systematically enforcing generation of partition key values for records in a data management system such that for any given partitioned table, all records relating to a common business object share a common partitioning key. Partitioning and/or clustering of these records can then be done based on these specially generated partitioning key values, with entities dependent on the same first-class entity being placed in the same partition and/or cluster. This may provide considerable performance gains in at least some circumstances.
US09740713B1	Dynamic modeling of data in relational databases The disclosed embodiments provide a system that facilitates making updates to a data model, wherein the data model is associated with data items stored in a relational database system. In particular, updates to the data model are automatically propagated to the relational database system so that the structure of the relational database system remains consistent with the data model. This is accomplished by automatically executing queries corresponding to the updates against the relational database system. For example, changes to fields and/or tables in the data model can be automatically propagated to a relational database system by executing “Create,” “Drop,” “Alter,” and/or “Add” statements against corresponding fields and/or tables in the relational database system.
US09740704B2	Method and apparatus for random access of data stored in a sequential manner A deduplication engine is operable to select at least two chunks of data for deduplication and deduplicate the selected at least two chunks of data. A first store is operable to store the deduplicated chunks of data in a sequential manner, and a second store is operable to store at least a portion of at least one chunk of the deduplicated data in a manner to allow random access, where data is accessed via the first and/or second store.
US09740702B2	Systems and methods to identify unprotected virtual machines Virtualization sprawl can lead to virtual machines with no designated periodic backup. If the data associated with these unprotected virtual machines is not backed up, it cannot be restored if needed, leading to system failures. A data storage system identifies and protects the unprotected virtual machines. For instance, the system compares a list of virtual machines with a list of computing devices having a designated backup policy in the data storage system and determines which of the virtual machines are unprotected. The system further automatically categorizes the unprotected virtual machines, identifies those unprotected virtual machines that remain uncategorized, and applies a default backup policy to the uncategorized and unprotected virtual machines to provide protected virtual machines.
US09740684B2	Determining homonyms of logogram input For determining homonyms of logogram input, code may recognize a logogram from at least part of a written logogram drawn by a user or a typed logogram. In addition, the code may determine whether homonyms of the logogram are to be made available to the user. The code also may determine multiple logograms having a pronunciation that matches the pronunciation of the logogram if the homonyms of the logogram are to be made available to the user. The code may provide a hint list to the user that contains the multiple logograms to enable selection of a logogram from the hint list. The code may also rank the multiple logograms based on context.
US09740665B2	Systems and methods for processing patient information Systems and methods described herein are for transforming narrative content into structured output. In some embodiments the narrative content is processed using a natural language processing (NLP) engine and a clinical model. The structured output can include a section, a clinical assertion, and a plurality of elements, wherein the elements may include section elements and clinical assertion elements that annotate the section and clinical assertions respectively. The elements can be labeled based on the clinical model.
US09740660B2	CPU control method, electronic system control method and electronic system for improved CPU utilization in executing functions A CPU control method for controlling a first CPU and a second CPU The method comprises: (a) applying the first CPU to execute a first group of codes comprising at least one code if the first CPU is operating to perform a first function; and (c) applying the second CPU to execute a second group of codes comprising at least one code if the second CPU is operating to perform the first function. The first group of codes is optimized for the first CPU, the second group of codes is optimized for the second CPU and the first group of codes comprises at least one code different from the code for the second group of codes.
US09740656B2	Data bus driving circuit, and semiconductor device and semiconductor memory device including the same Provided is a data bus driving circuit including: a data processing unit that processes input data and outputs processed data; a first logic inversion unit that selects, based on a determination result signal, one of the processed data and inverted data obtained by logically inverting each value of a plurality of bits constituting the processed data, and outputs the selected data to a data bus; and an inversion determination unit that compares the data output from the first logic inversion unit with the input data that has not been processed by the data processing unit, and outputs the determination result signal based on a comparison result.
US09740645B2	Reducing latency in a peripheral component interconnect express link A method and system are described for reducing latency in a peripheral component interconnect express (PCIe) link between a host and an endpoint. In the described embodiments, an interrupt is issued from the endpoint to the host using the PCIe link. Then, while the interrupt is pending at the host, the PCIe link is prevented from entering a power-saving mode with an exit latency greater than a predetermined time period.
US09740642B2	Methods and electronic devices for adjusting the operating frequency of a memory Methods and electronic devices for adjusting an operating frequency of a memory are disclosed. The method includes: transmitting to the memory a first command that instructs the memory to hold the data information in the memory; transmitting to the memory controller a second command that adjusts the first frequency of the memory controller to a second frequency; and transmitting to the memory a third command that instructs the memory to exchange the data information according to the second frequency of the memory controller. According to the disclosure, it is possible to dynamically adjust the frequency of the memory during operation, avoiding the need of the user to turn off and then turn on the electronic device to adjust the frequency of the memory.
US09740623B2	Object liveness tracking for use in processing device cache A processing device comprises a processing device cache and a cache controller. The cache controller initiates a cache line eviction process and determines determine an object liveness value associated with a cache line in the processing device cache. The cache controller applies the object liveness value to a cache line eviction policy and evicts the cache line from the processing device cache based on the object liveness value and the cache line eviction policy.
US09740618B2	Memory nest efficiency with cache demand generation Embodiments of the disclosure relate to optimizing a memory nest for a workload. Aspects include an operating system determining the cache/memory footprint of each work unit of the workload and assigning a time slice to each work unit of the workload based on the cache/memory footprint of each work unit. Aspects further include executing the workload on a processor by providing each work unit access to the processor for the time slice assigned to each work unit.
US09740616B2	Multi-granular cache management in multi-processor computing environments Cache lines in a multi-processor computing environment are configurable with a coherency mode. Cache lines in full-line coherency mode are operated or managed with full-line granularity. Cache lines in sub-line coherency mode are operated or managed as sub-cache line portions of a full cache line. Each cache is associated with a directory having a number of directory entries and with a side table having a smaller number of entries. The directory entry for a cache line associates the cache line with a tag and a set of full-line descriptive bits. Creating a side table entry for the cache line places the cache line in sub-line coherency mode. The side table entry associates each of the sub-cache line portions of the cache line with a set of sub-line descriptive bits. Removing the side table entry may return the cache line to full-line coherency mode.
US09740603B2	Managing content in persistent memory modules when organization of the persistent memory modules changes Techniques for managing content stored on persistent memory modules so as to ensure that the content can be accessed from the persistent memory modules in the correct order are provided. In one aspect, a method for managing content stored on persistent memory modules is provided. The method includes the step of: on each of the persistent memory modules, storing configuration data relating to an order in which the content is stored on the persistent memory modules. A method for managing content stored on persistent memory modules in a system is also provided.
US09740598B1	Live testing of applications based upon a debug keystore Technologies are disclosed herein for providing live testing of applications based upon a debug keystore. An application developer develops an application and registers with an application store. A public portion of a debug keystore may be used to generate a digital signature to sign the application in order to allow for live testing of the application at the application store with respect to various components of the application. In this way, live testing can occur without the need for publication and approval of the application by the application store. Additionally, use of the debug keystore may allow for live testing of the application to occur without the application developer incurring in-application purchase fees.
US09740583B1	Layered keys for storage volumes Techniques are described for managing data storage. Users may create data storage volumes that may each be stored by a data storage service. In an embodiment, chunks that differ between related volumes may be encrypted with different encryption keys. One or more of the encryption keys may be deleted in response to a request to delete a volume or a data chunk, rendering the volume and/or the data chunk unusable. Other techniques are described in the drawings, claims, and text of the disclosure.
US09740582B2	System and method of failover recovery In some example embodiments, a method comprises: receiving, by a first node of a plurality of nodes in a distributed database system on a shared disk cluster infrastructure, a transaction request to perform a user database transaction a data item in a user database on a shared disk; acquiring, by the first node, a transaction lock for the data item; storing a lock file for the user database transaction in a lock information database on the shared disk, the lock file comprising lock information for the transaction lock and an indication of a status of the user database transaction, and the lock information comprising an identification of a location of the data item; and storing a transaction record of the user database transaction in the user database on the shared disk subsequent to the storing of the lock file in the lock information database on the shared disk.
US09740568B2	Centralized graphical user interface and associated methods and systems for a centralized management center for managing storage services in a networked storage environment Methods and systems for a networked storage environment are provided. For example, a method includes interfacing by a management device with a plurality of management layers that communicate with a plurality of application plugins executed by a plurality of computing devices, where each application plugin is associated with an application for providing storage services for stored objects managed by a storage system for the plurality of applications; for managing the plurality of computing devices, presenting selectable options for adding an application plugin for a computing device, configuring the application plugin, migrating the application plugin from one location to another and placing the computing device in a maintenance mode; and providing a summary for a plurality of storage service operations and a data protection summary.
US09740567B2	System and method for secured backup of data A system and method of selectively providing encrypted data is provided. Embodiments of the invention may store data in encrypted form on a storage device. Embodiments of the invention may selectively provide encrypted or decrypted data to a requestor of data based on configuration or other parameters. A filter driver or other module or unit may examine a request for, or communication of data from the storage device and may determine if data is to be provided in encrypted or decrypted form. Decrypted data may be provided to a caching system. A filter driver or other module or unit may examine a request for, or communication of data from the caching system. Data provided from the caching system may be selectively encrypted based on configuration or other parameters.
US09740544B2	Live snapshotting of multiple virtual disks in networked systems A system and method are disclosed for servicing requests to create live snapshots of a plurality of virtual disks in a virtualized environment. In accordance with one example, a first computer system detects that a second computer system has issued one or more commands to create a first snapshot of a first virtual disk of a virtual machine and a second snapshot of a second virtual disk of the virtual machine while the virtual machine is running on the second computer system. In response to a determination that the creating of the second snapshot failed, the first computer system issues one or more commands to destroy the first snapshot and deallocate an area of a storage device that stores the first snapshot.
US09740542B2	All-to-all message exchange in parallel computing systems A method for all-to-all message exchange between program tasks including N>1 hierarchy levels ln, n=1 to N, in which a first level l1 includes a plurality of group tasks and each higher level l(n>1) includes at least one group of level l(n−1) groups to which that task belongs in respective hierarchy levels of the network topology; sending a message via the interconnection network to a respective destination task whose hierarchical identifier is determined; and using the hierarchical identifier to send the program task and the network topology, such that the resulting exchange pattern for the all-to-all message exchange exploits a hierarchical distance in the network topology in a desired manner.
US09740540B2	Method of process context-awareness A process context-awareness method analyzes events arising from a process according to context concepts, compare and analyze entity contents of the events, event types, applicable contextual situations and rules, so as to subsequently trigger the other activities or yield result. The method applies to enterprise information systems, project scheme execution or meets any other operation requirement, suits different enterprise operational context, gains insight into dynamic circumstances of the enterprise context.
US09740535B2	System management and maintenance in a distributed computing environment Technology for monitoring all resources and services of a distributed computing environment to collect and store information technology (IT) infrastructure resources, task resource usage metrics, and idle times of the environment. A system management task, both manually created by administrators and automatically scheduled, is queued on a management queue to be processed at a later time. When the system management task is removed from the queue, resources required to execute the activity of the distributed computing environment are then requested. The task is authorized to execute if the requested resources and time to complete the activity are available. The resources are then secured and the system management task executed in the distributed computing environment.
US09740530B2	Decreasing the priority of a user based on an allocation ratio An information processing system includes: a memory configured to store job requests each of which is to be assigned to one of computing resources based on a priority which is determined by an allocation ratio assigned for each of a plurality of users; and processing circuitry configured to: assign first job request to the one of the computing resources; determine, when the first job request is assigned, a decrease degree of the priority of a first user corresponding to the first job request based on an allocation ratio of the first user and allocation ratio of other users whose job requests are stored in the memory; modify the priority of the first user based on the determined decrease degree of the priority; and assign second job request to one of the computing resources, based on the modified priority of the first user and priority of remaining plurality of users.
US09740529B1	High throughput synchronous resource-constrained scheduling for model-based design A system and method for optimizing a system design that includes two or more components, where at least one component is to be implemented using a constrained resource. From an initial schedule, the resource having a longest span time between a start busy time slot and an end busy time slot is identified. The schedule for the other resources is then also extended to the span time. The resulting design can be made synchronous by inserting up-sampler and down-sampler function blocks before and after any strongly connected components.
US09740520B1	Systems and methods for virtual machine boot disk restoration A computer-implemented method for virtual machine boot disk restoration may include (1) identifying a hypervisor that hosts at least one virtual machine, where a replication system is configured to replicate virtual machine data stored by the virtual machine, including a virtual machine boot disk used by the virtual machine, to a data repository that is separate from the hypervisor, (2) determining that the replication system is to restore the replicated virtual machine data back to the hypervisor for the virtual machine, including boot disk data replicated from the virtual machine boot disk, (3) attaching, at the hypervisor, the virtual machine boot disk to a storage proxy virtual machine hosted by the hypervisor, and (4) restoring, from the replication system and via the storage proxy virtual machine, the boot disk data back to the virtual machine boot disk. Various other methods, systems, and computer-readable media are also disclosed.
US09740519B2	Cross hypervisor migration of virtual machines with VM functions A hypervisor executing on a source host receives a request to migrate a virtual machine from the source host to a destination host. Responsive to determining that the virtual machine is executing a VM function component, the hypervisor on the source host pauses the migration of the virtual machine. Responsive to determining that the VM function component has completed executing the hypervisor on the source host resumes the migration of the virtual machine to the destination host.
US09740518B2	Conflict detection circuit for resolving access conflict to peripheral device by multiple virtual machines A system-on-chip device comprises a core supporting a first virtual machine image and a virtual machine monitoring unit capable of communicating with the first virtual machine image. A shareable resource is also provided as well as a conflict detection unit capable of communicating with the virtual machine monitoring unit and the first virtual machine image. The conflict detection unit is arranged to detect, when in use, an access conflict caused by more than one virtual machine image attempting to access initially the shareable resource. The conflict detection unit is arranged to refer, when in use, the access conflict in response to detection thereof to the virtual machine monitoring unit for resolving of the access conflict, thereby handling the access conflict before the virtual machine monitoring unit.
US09740514B1	Method and system to share data with snapshots in a virtualization environment Disclosed is an improved approach to optimize link-based cloning in a virtualization architecture. In some approaches, each of the remote nodes is allowed to maintain its own snapshot of the linked/shared image. In this way, the processing power of each remote node can be used in a decentralized manner to administratively handle access to the shared data, rather than requiring the CPU resources of only the host node to centrally handle administrative access to the data. In addition, each of nodes can maintain copies of the shared image in a local cache. This allows the caching resources to also be decentralized, as each of the nodes can use its own caching resources to hold the shared data.
US09740511B2	Per-block sort for performance enhancement of parallel processors A method of enhancing performance of an application executing in a parallel processor and a system for executing the method are disclosed. A block size for input to the application is determined. Input is partitioned into blocks having the block size. Input within each block is sorted. The application is executed with the sorted input.
US09740510B2	Minimizing overhead over-provisioning costs in machine configurations A method and apparatus for substantially minimizing overhead over-provisioning costs in machine configurations is disclosed. The method involves the steps of: clustering a plurality of given machine configurations into a quantity of clusters less than or equal to a pre-specified amount; determining a respective dominant provisioning machine configuration for each cluster of the quantity of clusters; and determining an overall over-provisioning resource cost associated with the respective quantity of clusters and associated respective dominant provisioning machine configurations; and assigning to a mapping function the respective associated dominant provisioning machine configuration of each respective cluster of the quantity of clusters as the target for the given machine configurations of each respective cluster of the quantity of clusters. The method for substantially minimizing overhead over-provisioning costs in machine configurations provides advantages over systems known in the art by allowing minimization of average overhead due to over-provisioning costs as well as minimizing the maximum overhead due to over-provisioning costs.
US09740509B2	Generic physical location codes for virtual system and partition cloning A cloned configuration of a source machine is created by determining a first set of physical location codes for a source machine. A map is generated based on the sorted physical location codes that maps the first set of physical location codes to a first set of generic location codes. A second set of physical location codes associated with a second set of adapter slots in a target machine is generated. A second map is generated based on the sorted second set of physical location codes that maps the second set of physical location codes to a second set of generic location codes. A third set of physical location codes is generated based on the first set of generic location codes and the second map. If an entry in the third set of physical location codes is not present the second set of physical location codes, an error is generated.
US09740505B2	Accurate static dependency analysis via execution-context type prediction Exemplary embodiments provide methods, mediums, and systems for generating a runtime environment that is customized to a particular computer program, particularly in terms of the function definitions that support function calls made in the computer program. The customized runtime environment may therefore be smaller in size than a conventional runtime environment. To create such a customized runtime environment, an analyzer may be provided which monitors test executions of the computer program and/or performs a structural analysis of the source code of the computer program. The analyzer may determine a list of probabilistically or deterministically required function definitions, and provide the list to a component reducer. The component reducer may eliminate any function definitions not deemed to be required from a runtime environment, thereby producing a customized runtime environment that is built to support a particular computer program.
US09740504B2	Hardware acceleration for inline caches in dynamic languages Aspects include apparatuses, systems, and methods for hardware acceleration for inline caches in dynamic languages. An inline cache may be initialized for an instance of a dynamic software operation. A call of an initialized instance of the dynamic software operation may be executed by an inline cache hardware accelerator. The inline cache may be checked to determine that its data is current. When the data is current, the initialized instance of the dynamic software operation may be executed using the related inline cache data. When the data is not current, a new inline cache may be initialized for the instance of the dynamic software operation, including the not current data of a previously initialized instance of the dynamic software operation. The inline cache hardware accelerator may include an inline cache memory, a coprocessor, and/or a functional until one an inline cache pipeline connected to a processor pipeline.
US09740499B2	Method for implementing a line speed interconnect structure A method for line speed interconnect processing. The method includes receiving initial inputs from an input communications path, performing a pre-sorting of the initial inputs by using a first stage interconnect parallel processor to create intermediate inputs, and performing the final combining and splitting of the intermediate inputs by using a second stage interconnect parallel processor to create resulting outputs. The method further includes transmitting the resulting outputs out of the second stage at line speed.
US09740498B2	Opportunistic multi-thread method and processor Disclosed are an opportunistic multi-thread method and processor, the method comprising the following steps: if a zeroth thread, a first thread, a second thread and a third thread all have instructions ready to be executed, then a zeroth clock period, a first clock period, a second clock period and a third clock period are respectively allocated to the zeroth thread, the first thread, the second thread and the third thread; if one of the threads cannot issue an instruction within a specified clock period because the instruction is not ready, and the previous thread still has an instruction ready to be executed after issuing certain instructions in the previous specified clock period, then the previous thread will take the specified clock period. The processor comprises an instruction cache, an instruction decoder, an instruction pipeline controller and an arithmetic logic unit; the opportunistic multi-thread processor adds for each stage of production line a prediction circuit for an effective thread instruction and a set of two-dimensional thread identity registers.
US09740497B2	Processor with memory-embedded pipeline for table-driven computation A processor and a method implemented by the processor to obtain computation results are described. The processor includes a unified reuse table embedded in a processor pipeline, the unified reuse table including a plurality of entries, each entry of the plurality of entries corresponding with a computation instruction or a set of computation instructions. The processor also includes a functional unit to perform a computation based on a corresponding instruction.
US09740496B2	Processor with memory-embedded pipeline for table-driven computation A processor and a method implemented by the processor to obtain computation results are described. The processor includes a unified reuse table embedded in a processor pipeline, the unified reuse table including a plurality of entries, each entry of the plurality of entries corresponding with a computation instruction or a set of computation instructions. The processor also includes a functional unit to perform a computation based on a corresponding instruction.
US09740492B2	System management mode trust establishment for OS level drivers Various embodiments are generally directed to establishing trust in system management mode. An operating system management mode driver can invoke a system management mode and provide a signature to the system management mode to authenticate the driver with. Additionally, a hash value of the driver can be used to determine whether the driver is authorized to invoke system management mode or particular operations or features of system management mode.
US09740491B2	Instruction group formation techniques for decode-time instruction optimization based on feedback A technique of processing instructions for execution by a processor includes determining whether a first property of a first instruction and a second property of a second instruction are compatible. The first instruction and the second instruction are grouped in an instruction group in response to the first and second properties being compatible and a feedback value generated by a feedback function indicating the instruction group has been historically beneficial with respect to a benefit metric of the processor. Group formation for the first and second instructions is performed according to another criteria, in response to the first and second properties being incompatible or the feedback value indicating the grouping of the first and second instructions has not been historically beneficial.
US09740479B2	Complexity reduction of user tasks An exemplary method for reducing complexity of at least one user task includes steps of calculating a complexity metric for the at least one user task; identifying one or more usability issues having a measurable impact on the complexity metric for the at least one user task; determining one or more recommendations for addressing at least one of the one or more usability issues; and displaying a representation of at least one of the one or more usability issues and of at least one of the one or more recommendations. In an illustrative embodiment, implementing any one of the one or more recommendations reduces the impact of the usability issue on the complexity metric of the at least one user task and thereby reduces a complexity of the at least one user task.
US09740477B2	Entity wide software tracking and maintenance reporting tool Embodiments of the invention are directed to a system, method, or computer program product for providing an entity wide software tracking and maintenance tool for monitoring maintenance and software updates across an entity. As such, the invention provides a uniform and stable method of monitoring software updates and software installation across an entity's information technology infrastructure. The invention receives software updates or new programs for installation across the entity. The invention then creates a tracking module to link to the maintenance update. The tracking module is a self-contained, self-describing module that contains static information related to the maintenance. Subsequently, the tracking module allows users to monitor the progress of maintenance levels. In some embodiments, the user may query the system to determine the progress of a specific maintenance. In some embodiments, the system may automatically notify a user of the success or failure of maintenance at one or more stages.
US09740474B2	Orchestration of software applications upgrade using automatic hang detection In an upgrade infrastructure performing an overall upgrade operation comprising multiple upgrade processes being executed, possibly concurrently, on multiple hosts for upgrading one or more software applications hosted by hosts, automated hang detection mechanisms are disclosed for quickly, efficiently, and automatically detecting when one or more of the upgrade process are in a hang state. Different hang detection techniques are described including a metadata-driven hang detection mechanism and a code-driven hang detection mechanism.
US09740473B2	Software and associated hardware regression and compatibility testing system The present disclosure describes testing regression and compatibility of software and associated hardware. Embodiments herein disclosed receive an indication from a user to test the regression and the compatibility of proposed software; access software files related to installation of the proposed software; present a verification interface to the user, wherein the verification interface includes various validation functions for validating entries created or updated along with the proposed software being installed or uninstalled, such as a registry entry, a log file entry, an Add or Remove Programs entry, and the like, wherein when each of the validation functions is selected, the system automatically determines if the corresponding entry for installation or uninstallation of the proposed software is successful. Embodiments herein disclosed further receive an indication from the user for selection of the validation functions and present to the user an indication of success of the validation of the entries.
US09740466B2	Systems and methods for exporting, publishing, browsing and installing on-demand applications in a multi-tenant database environment A computer implemented method of developing computer applications, the method comprising providing to multiple users access, over a network, to information on a data center, with a subgroup of the users having access to a sub-portion of the information that is different from the sub-portion accessible by the remaining tenants of the subgroup; and communicating with the data center over the network employing a computer system associated with a user of the sub-group to establish application functionality with the sub-portion that may be accessed, over the network, by additional parties authorized by the user. Also disclosed is a machine-readable medium and a data center, both of which facilitate carrying-out the steps of the method.
US09740464B2	Unified intermediate representation A system decouples the source code language from the eventual execution environment by compiling the source code language into a unified intermediate representation that conforms to a language model allowing both parallel graphical operations and parallel general-purpose computational operations. The intermediate representation may then be distributed to end-user computers, where an embedded compiler can compile the intermediate representation into an executable binary targeted for the CPUs and GPUs available in that end-user device. The intermediate representation is sufficient to define both graphics and non-graphics compute kernels and shaders. At install-time or later, the intermediate representation file may be compiled for the specific target hardware of the given end-user computing system. The CPU or other host device in the given computing system may compile the intermediate representation file to generate an instruction set architecture binary for the hardware target, such as a GPU, within the system.
US09740457B1	Method and apparatus for displaying timeline of software development data According to one aspect of the present disclosure, a computer-implemented method is disclosed. From a plurality of data sources, software development data is obtained that relates to development of a software application and includes a time and description of multiple types of events that occurred during a predefined time period during development of the software application. A view selection of one of a plurality of views is received, wherein each view has a respective predefined timeline display template. The software development data is formatted according to the predefined timeline display template of the view selection to obtain a timeline of the software development data. The timeline of the software development data is displayed on an electronic display.
US09740446B2	Ranking print jobs based on transfer media healthy area In an embodiment, a processor-readable medium stores code representing instructions that when executed by a processor cause the processor to access a list of print jobs for printing. The processor further determines a healthy area of a transfer media. For each job in the list, the processor calculates an image risk area (IRA) based on the healthy area, and ranks each job in a print order according to its IRA.
US09740429B2	Relay interface module for a distributed control system A relay interface module that is commutatively connectable to at least one I/O device and a controller, wherein the relay interface module is configured to provide data from the I/O device to at least one controller in a distributed control system (DCS) via a communication interface. An application related to a particular I/O device may then be executed freely on any controller present in a DCS without losing real time connection with the associated I/O device. Data can be transferred from an I/O device to an associated application executed on a controller such that the real time connection between the I/O device and the application being executed is maintained.
US09740426B2	Drive array policy control An apparatus can include an interface; cache memory; a plurality of drives; and a controller that includes detection circuitry, a write through mode and a write back mode, where the write through mode writes information received via the interface to the plurality of drives, where the write back mode writes information received via the interface to the cache memory and writes information written to the cache memory to the plurality of drives, and where the detection circuitry selects the write through mode based at least in part on detection of a first condition and selects the write back mode based at least in part on detection of a second condition, where the first condition and the second condition differ.
US09740422B1	Version-based deduplication of incremental forever type backup A system and method for improving deduplication techniques in a data storage system. In one embodiment, a data storage system is configured to divide first data into a first plurality of segments, to generate a first plurality of fingerprints that are each to be associated with a segment, to identify second data that is to be updated by the first data and a second plurality of fingerprints associated with the second data, to load the second data and the second plurality of fingerprints from persistent storage of the data storage system into working memory, to determine, in the working memory, that a first segment of the first plurality of segments updates the second data by comparing a first fingerprint associated with the first segment to the second plurality of fingerprints, and to overwrite a second segment of the second data with the first segment in response to the determination.
US09740420B2	Storage system and data management method A storage system comprises a storage apparatus and a storage device that is a basis for a storage area provided to the storage apparatus. The storage device determines whether or not a first format that is a format of data stored in the storage device and a second format that is a format of data utilized by the storage apparatus managing the data match with each other, and performs format conversion of either converting data in the first format to data in the second format or converting data in the second format to data in the first format in a case where the first format and the second format do not match with each other.
US09740410B2	Maximize IO throughput in hybrid storage solution In an embodiment of the invention, an apparatus comprises: a hard disk drive input/output (HDD I/O) optimizer configured to receive a primary input/output (I/O) operation stream for a given cylinder in a permanent storage device, configured to schedule a secondary input/output (I/O) operation stream that is pending on the same given cylinder or that is pending on an adjacent cylinder that is adjacent to the given cylinder, and configured to allocate free space from the same given cylinder or from the adjacent cylinder for the secondary I/O operation stream that is pending.
US09740408B1	Using information specifying an organization of a data structure associated with a storage device A storage device associated with a storage array may be identified. Information specifying an organization of data included in a data structure may be retrieved from the storage device. The data may be associated with characteristics of a plurality of data blocks of the storage device. A read operation or a write operation may be performed for the storage device based on the information specifying the organization of the data included in the data structure that is associated with the characteristics of the plurality of data blocks of the storage device.
US09740405B2	Information processing device and information processing system An information processing device includes a processor. The processor is configured to transmit to a tape drive a write request in one of a first mode and a second mode for accompanying data. The write request in the first mode requests to store the accompanying data in a buffer memory included in the tape drive without writing the accompanying data to a magnetic tape. The write request in the second mode requests to write data stored in the buffer memory and the accompanying data to the magnetic tape. The processor is configured to transmit a write request for one of multiple pieces of data in the first mode if a remaining amount of the buffer memory is larger than a predetermined threshold value, and in the second mode if the remaining amount is equal to or smaller than the predetermined threshold value.
US09740404B2	Control apparatus and control method A control apparatus, which is configured to control a plurality of processors corresponding to a plurality of storage areas arranged at an interface for accessing the storage areas, comprises: an update unit configured to, in a case a command sequence including each command outputted to one of the storage areas is inputted, update, by each one of the processors, a load applied by a command currently being executed to the storage area corresponding to the processor; a selection unit configured to, for one command of the command sequence, based on a load applied by a command currently executed at the processor updated by the update unit, select a processor out of the processors as an allocation destination of the one command; and an output unit configured to output the one command to the processor selected by the selection unit.
US09740401B2	Systems and methods for physical storage resource migration discovery In accordance with embodiments of the present disclosure, a system may include a storage controller for managing virtual storage resources and physical storage resources of one or more information handling systems. The storage controller may be configured to, responsive to removal of a physical storage resource owned by the storage controller from a first information handling system broadcast a request to one or more other information handling systems to determine if the physical storage resource has been relocated to a second information handling system. The storage controller may also be configured to, responsive to receiving a reply from the second information handling system indicating that the physical storage resource has been relocated to the second information handling system, operate in concert with a second storage controller of the second information handling system to use the data of the physical storage resource.
US09740396B1	Adaptive gesture recognition Systems, methods, and computer-readable media are disclosed for receiving sensor data indicative of one or more vibrational and/or environmental characteristics associated with a user device, a user of the user device, and/or an environment that includes the user device; determining a value for a metric representative of the one or more characteristics; determining a value of a gesture detection parameter based at least in part on the value of the metric; receiving input corresponding to a touch event detected at a touch-sensitive display of the device; and analyzing the input based at least in part on the value of the gesture detection parameter to determine whether the touch event corresponds to a particular type of gesture.
US09740393B2	Processing a hover event on a touchscreen device A system and method for processing a hover event on a touchscreen device includes obtaining web page data on the touchscreen device. Content corresponding to the web page data is displayed on a touchscreen of the touchscreen device. A determination is made if the web page data includes a web page element associated with a hover event. If the web page data includes the web page element associated with the hover event, a hover button is displayed on the touchscreen in association with the displayed content corresponding to the web page data.
US09740391B2	Moving an object displayed on a display screen A method, system, and/or computer program product moves a movable object displayed on a display screen using an electronic device. The method comprises the electronic device displaying a first frame around a first area on a display screen, and displaying a second frame around a second area on the display screen. The second frame displayed is larger than the first frame, and adjusts in size until it intersects a movable object. Once the second frame intersects the movable object, a half line is displayed from the first frame to the movable object, and in response to receiving a movement signal, a display of the movable object is then displayed in the first area.
US09740386B2	Speed/positional mode translations Gestures for converting from a position control mode to a motion continuation mode are disclosed. A position control mode can be invoked when the user simultaneously places two or more fingers upon a sensor panel. The fingers can then be moved around to effect position control. A motion continuation mode can be invoked when one or more fingers are lifted off (but at least one finger remains in contact with the sensor panel). If the motion continuation mode is invoked, a virtual control ring can be generated, and scrolling of the viewable area or dragging of the cursor or object can continue in a particular direction specified by a velocity vector pointed in the direction of finger movement at the time the motion continuation mode is invoked, and having a magnitude proportional to the velocity of the finger at the time the motion continuation mode was invoked.
US09740382B2	Methods and apparatus to monitor tasks in a process system enterprise Methods and apparatus to monitor tasks in a process system enterprise are disclosed. In one example, a method is disclosed that comprises analyzing, using a processor, tasks in an enterprise to determine a criticality of each task and an actionability of each task, ordering, using the processor, the tasks based on the criticality and the actionability of each of the tasks, and rendering, via a display, a first graphic representative of at least a portion of the ordered tasks.
US09740378B2	Collaboration content sharing In one embodiment, a device including a communication interface to receive a notification during a collaboration event that there is at least one content item that has been offered for sharing during the collaboration event and a processor to generate a user interface screen for output, to a display device, during the collaboration event, the user interface screen including a pictorial representation of the notification of the at least one content item that has been offered for sharing and at least one participant representation. Related apparatus and methods are also described.
US09740363B2	Methods and systems for managing community information The present disclosure describes a system and method for managing and disseminating community information in a cloud. The computer-implemented method and system for comparing service performance comprises receiving, by a server over a communication network from a computer of each of a plurality of client companies, metadata of a plurality of transactions in enterprise resource planning systems being operated by the plurality of client companies, and presenting, by the server over the communication network to a computer of a selected client company of the plurality of client companies, comparative performance information for display on a graphical user interface of the selected client company based on metadata of transactions in enterprise resource planning systems of other client companies that are substantially similar to the enterprise resource planning system of the selected client company.
US09740359B2	Voltage difference-based capacitive touch detection device, capacitive touch detection method and capacitive touch screen panel, and display device with built-in capacitive touch screen panel Provided is a new capacitive touch detection device, detection method, and touch screen panel for detecting a touch signal by detecting a voltage difference of a sensor pattern from a driving voltage applied by an auxiliary capacitor, and to a display device having a built-in capacitive touch screen. A capacitive touch detection device includes: a sensor pattern (10) forming a touch capacitance (Ct) in between a touch input device and the sensor pattern; an auxiliary capacitor (Caux) connected on one side to the sensor pattern (10) and having a driving voltage for touch detection applied to the other side thereof; a charging unit (12) for providing pre-charge signals to the touch capacitance (Ct) and the auxiliary capacitor (Caux); and a touch detection sensor (14) which is connected to the sensor pattern (10) and which detects a touch signal by detecting a voltage difference in the sensor pattern (10) when the touch capacitance (Ct) is added to the auxiliary capacitor (Caux) according to a touch of a touch input instrument. Effects of parasitic capacitance generated due to noise, coupling phenomena and other factors are minimized, to thus stably acquire touch signals.
US09740351B2	Multi-step incremental switching scheme A capacitance measurement circuit cancels background capacitance while reducing charge leakage and supply ripples during reset phases and integrate phases. The capacitance measurement circuit operates a first switch into a linear mode causing a first resistance in the first switch, and after a delay, operates a second switch into a saturation mode causing a second resistance in parallel to the first resistance.
US09740335B2	Touch circuit, touch substrate and touch display device The present disclosure discloses a touch circuit, a touch substrate and a touch display device. The touch circuit includes a light sensing module arranged corresponding to a touch area and configured to, when the touch area receives light which meets a first preset condition, transmit a first signal transmitted via a signal input line as a sensing signal to a processor through a first sensing signal transmission line and a second sensing signal transmission line, respectively. The processor determines position information of the touch area based on a first sensing signal transmitted via the first sensing signal transmission line and a second sensing signal transmitted via the second sensing signal transmission line.
US09740331B2	Display device with touch panel A display device with a touch panel includes a display panel, and a touch panel formed above the display panel. The touch panel includes X electrodes which extend in a first direction, and Y electrodes which extend in a second direction different from the first direction. The X electrodes and the Y electrodes respectively include intersection portions each formed where the X electrodes and the Y electrodes overlap each other, and electrode portions each formed between the intersection portions, wherein the electrode portions of one of the X electrodes is smaller in area than the electrode portions of one of the Y electrodes, and wherein floating electrodes are formed close to the electrode portion of the one of the X electrodes or Y electrodes, and over a reduced portion of the X electrode.
US09740327B2	Display device with integrated touch screen A display device with integrated touch screen is provided. The display device includes a panel configured to include a plurality of electrodes and to be division-driven in a display driving mode and a touch driving mode during one frame period, a display driver IC configured to apply a common voltage to the plurality of electrodes during the display driving mode, and an ROIC configured to apply, to the plurality of electrodes, a touch scan signal for sensing a touch when the touch driving mode is a first touch driving mode, and apply, to the plurality of electrodes, a touch scan signal for detecting a touch input position when the touch driving mode is a second touch driving mode.
US09740326B2	Sensor array with split-drive differential sensing A device for capacitive sensing includes: a plurality of sensor electrodes, the plurality of sensor electrodes comprising: a plurality of receiver electrodes and a plurality of transmitter electrodes, wherein a transmitter electrode of the plurality of transmitter electrodes comprises a first portion and a second portion with a separation between the first portion and the second portion; and a processing system, configured to: drive the first portion of the transmitter electrode with a transmitter signal, receive a resulting signal corresponding to the first portion of the transmitter electrode via a first receiver electrode of the plurality of receiver electrodes, receive a reference signal corresponding to the second portion of the transmitter electrode via a second receiver electrode of the plurality of receiver electrodes, and determine a modified resulting signal based on the resulting signal and the reference signal.
US09740320B2	Pixel circuit and display apparatus Disclosed are a pixel circuit and a display apparatus. The pixel circuit comprises a pixel compensation module, a light emitting module and a touch detection module; the pixel compensation module is connected to a first to a fourth scan signal lines (Scan[1], Scan[2], Scan[3], Em), a first operation voltage (Vdd), a data voltage (Vdata) and the light emitting module respectively, and is configured to control the light emitting module to emit light for display in accordance with inputs from the scan signal lines; the touch detection module comprises a detection sub module and an output sub module. The pixel compensation module and the touch detection module are integrated into the pixel circuit, and the pixel compensation module and the touch detection module share the data voltage (Vdata) and the scan signal line in common.
US09740317B2	Touch sensor and production method for same A touch sensor (2) includes: a substrate (21); a net-shaped electrode (22) which is provided on the substrate (21) and includes conductive wires (221) arranged in a net form; and an outer edge wire (23) which is provided in at least a part of an outer edge of the net-shaped electrode (22) and is integrally formed with the net-shaped electrode. The conductive wire (221) includes a large-width portion which is provided in at least one of lateral parts of a connection portion and gradually widens according to approaching the outer edge wire (23), and the connection portion is a portion of the conductive wire (221) which is connected to the outer edge wire (23). Expressions (1) and (2) are satisfied: A≦100 [μm] (1) B/A≧½ (2). In Expressions (1) and (2), “A” is a width of the outer edge wire (23), and “B” is a largest width of the conductive wires (221) in a portion where the large-width portion (222) is provided.
US09740313B1	Method and device for replacing stylus tip Systems, methods, and devices for monitoring use of a tip of a stylus, determining an amount of wear of or life remaining in the tip, and notifying a user when to replace the tip are disclosed. The tip should be replaced to avoid an abrasive material of the tip from being exposed and contacting a touch screen or other surface of a computing device to avoid scratching or otherwise damaging the touch screen or other surface of the computing device. The computing device or the stylus device may perform one or more of the monitoring, determining, or prompting steps.
US09740309B2	Finger-driven computer mouse The present invention relates to a finger-driven computer mouse. The finger-driven computer mouse includes a mouse housing and finger retention device adjacent thereto. The user inserts his or her finger tips in the finger retention device and can position the mouse across a flat surface by actions of the fingers except the thumb which is used to operate mouse buttons arranged on a side surface. The finger-driven mouse allows the wrist and hand muscles to be in a relaxed, natural posture.
US09740306B1	Freely rotatable physical object with multiple faces communicating rotation information to a data handling system A physical object with multiple faces can freely rotate. For each rotation from one face to another of the physical object, a data structure having a plurality of discrete ordered items is advanced by one item. Wireless communications are established between the physical object and a data system. The data system navigates the data structure per the rotations of the physical object. The number of faces of the physical object is different from the number of discrete ordered items of the data structure.
US09740301B2	Keyboard and mobile device with radio frequency antenna A keyboard and mobile device are provided that include a plurality of keys installed in the keyboard or mobile device, and a radio frequency antenna device mounted below the plurality of keys.
US09740281B2	Human-machine interaction method and apparatus Embodiments of the present invention disclose a human-machine interaction method and apparatus. The method includes: capturing a line-of-sight direction; determining a change of an angle between a line of sight and a screen, and/or a change of a distance between a user and the screen according to the line-of-sight direction; and performing, according to the change of the angle and/or the change of the distance, a corresponding operation on content displayed on the screen. Corresponding to the foregoing method, the foregoing apparatus includes: a line-of-sight tracking unit, a processing unit, and an executing unit. In the present invention, an action of a user can be determined without depending on gravity sensing, and a corresponding operation can be performed on content displayed on a screen.
US09740272B2	Hard drive energy-saving control method and apparatus, and central processing unit A hard drive energy-saving control method is disclosed. The method includes: obtaining a historical working state of a hard drive in each preset time segment, where each preset time segment is each preset time segment in at least one statistic period; predicting a working state of the hard drive in a next time segment of the current time segment according to the historical working state of the hard drive; and selecting a corresponding energy-saving policy level according to the working state of the hard drive in the next time segment, and performing energy-saving control on the hard drive. Embodiments of the present invention solve the technical problem in the prior art that energy consumption of a hard drive is not correlated with actual service access traffic and the energy-saving efficiency is not optimum. The embodiments of the present invention improve the energy-saving efficiency of the hard drive.
US09740268B2	Intelligent management for an electronic device An electronic device is disclosed. The electronic device includes a first input device; a second input device capable of operating in a first operating mode; and a system management module in communication with the first input device and the second input device. The system management module is configured for switching the second input device to a second operating mode in response to detecting, by the first input device, a presence of a user without receiving any operation-specific input from the user.
US09740261B2	USB power delivery dead-battery control A method of power delivery. Port controllers each include a state machine, an IO pin, a receptacle supply pin receiving power from a receptacle, and a gate driver pin coupled to a control node of a power path switch each having an output coupled to a load. The state machines implement a dead-battery control (DBC) algorithm upon sensing a DB condition. The DBC algorithm pulls up the IO pin, starts a timer for T1, and monitors the IO pin for T1. If the IO pin is pulled low, the port controller is reset for a pulled low period, the DBC algorithm is then restarted or its IO pin is monitored until not pulled low for T1. One port controller pulls its IO pin low for an assertion period to claim priority over the other port controller, and closes its associated power path switch to exclusively provide power to the load.
US09740253B2	Electronic apparatus Electronic apparatus includes a display component, a base, a moveable case, and a transmission component. The display component includes a rotational shaft. The base is pivotally connected to the rotational shaft. The base has an opening. The moveable case is pivotally connected to the base. The moveable case can selectively cover or uncover the opening. The transmission component is disposed on the base. The transmission component is operatively connected between the rotational shaft and the moveable case. When the display component is rotated away from the base, the rotational shaft actuates the moveable case to rotate to uncover the opening through the transmission component. When the display component is rotated toward the base, the rotational shaft actuates the moveable case to rotate to cover the opening through the transmission component.
US09740247B2	Card retention mechanism A system can include a chassis; a board operatively coupled to the chassis where the board includes card slots aligned along respective parallel planes and circuitry operatively coupled to the slots; a retainer; and a bracket operatively coupled to the chassis where the bracket includes a guide that guides rotation of the retainer to and translation of the retainer along a plane orthogonal to the parallel planes. Various other apparatuses, systems, methods, etc., are also disclosed.
US09740246B2	Touchpad supporting device The touchpad supporting device includes a frame and a supporting body. The frame has an upper surface, a lower surface and a first opening defined through the upper surface and the lower surface. The supporting body is provided for supporting the touch pad, and the supporting body has a connecting end and a distal end opposite to each other. The supporting body is extended obliquely from an inner sidewall at one side of the first opening and close to the lower surface toward an inner sidewall at another side of the first opening and close to the upper surface. The connecting end connects to the inner sidewall at one side of the first opening of the frame. The distal end is not coplanar with the lower surface.
US09740216B2	Air-conditioning control system, and method for connecting control device and operating terminal The air-conditioning control system includes an air-conditioning controller and a server. The air-conditioning controller is connected to an air-conditioning unit and controls the air-conditioning unit. The server is connected to the air-conditioning controller by a communication network. The air-conditioning controller includes a display unit and a control unit. The display unit displays an image that includes setting information required to connect an operating terminal and the air-conditioning controller via the server. The control unit causes the operating terminal to acquire the image displayed in the display unit by capturing the image using a camera provided in the operating terminal and to connect to the air-conditioning controller via the server, based on the setting information included in the acquired image.
US09740215B2	Thermostatic mixing valve with integrated flow diverter The invention relates to a thermostatic mixing valve with integrated flow diverter provided with a first coupling for a control lever for the flow rate adjustment and the flow diversion through a valve group that is housed between a base and a cylindrical body, and with a second coupling for a knob for the temperature adjustment through a thermostatic device, said valve including a member for the transmission of the flow rate adjustment and flow diversion control that directly connects the control lever to the valve group passing through the cylindrical body without moving it, the latter being also enclosed within an external casing secured to the base and achieving a watertight sealing with the base.
US09740207B2	Navigating semi-autonomous mobile robots Techniques for navigating semi-autonomous mobile robots are described. A semi-autonomous mobile robot moves within an environment to complete a task. A navigation server communicates with the robot and provides the robot information. The robot includes a navigation map of the environment, interaction information, and a security level. To complete the task, the robot transmits a route reservation request to the navigation server, the route reservation request including a priority for the task, a timeslot, and a route. The navigation server grants the route reservation if the task priority is higher than the task priorities of conflicting route reservation requests from other robots. As the robot moves within the environment, the robot detects an object and attempts to classify the detected object as belonging to an object category. The robot retrieves an interaction profile for the object, and interacts with the object according to the retrieved interaction profile.
US09740195B2	Storage cell system and power plant control system To further optimize an operation of a power plant. The system has a storage cell which charges utilizing surplus electric power generated by a power plant 10 and a database 23 which accumulates at least information on power consumption for each power plant apparatus 11 (hereinafter, described as an in-plant apparatus). An integrated controller 225 compares power consumption of the power plant apparatus 11 in operation in the case of executing each function among a plurality of functions and an electric discharge capacity of the storage cell, and selects an executable function within a range of the electric discharge capacity of the storage cell. Then, it controls to execute the selected function utilizing electric power supplied from the storage cell.
US09740193B2	Sensor-based safety features for robotic equipment Technologies are generally described for sensor-based safety features for robotic equipment, and the implementation thereof. One or more sensors may be positioned relative to the robotic equipment such that the sensors may capture light from at least a portion of an environment surrounding the robotic equipment. In some examples, the sensors may be integrated with the robotic equipment and/or may be configured to rotate. An analysis module coupled to the sensors may build a model image of the environment based on the light captured by the sensors. The analysis module may detect that an unintended object is approaching the robotic equipment in response to detecting a change in the model image, and based on a proximity and/or a speed of approach of the object to the robotic equipment, the analysis module may instruct the robotic equipment to reduce an operating speed and/or stop motion of the robotic equipment.
US09740190B2	Method for programming a three-dimensional workpiece scan path for a metrology system A method for programming a three-dimensional (3D) workpiece scan path for a metrology system comprising a 3D motion control system, a first type of Z-height sensing system, and a second type of Z-height sensing system that provides less precise surface Z-height measurements over a broader Z-height measuring range. The method comprises: placing a representative workpiece on a stage of the metrology system, defining at least a first workpiece scan path segment for the representative workpiece, determining preliminary actual surface Z-height measurements along the first workpiece scan path segment, and determining a precise 3D scan path for moving the first type of Z-height sensing system to perform precise surface Z-height measurements. The precise 3D scan path is based on the determined preliminary actual surface Z-height measurements. The precise 3D scan path may be used for performing precise surface Z-height measurements or stored to be used in an inspection program.
US09740166B2	Fluorescence receiving apparatus and fluorescence receiving method A fluorescence receiving apparatus comprises an excitation light source, a spatial light modulator of a phase modulation type for phase-modulating excitation light to obtain phase-modulated light, a focusing optical system configured to focus the phase-modulated light to a specimen, a specimen stage for supporting the specimen, a fluorescence receiver for receiving fluorescence generated by focus of the phase-modulated light to the specimen, a control unit for displaying a first CGH on the spatial light modulator, and a correction unit for correcting the first CGH. The correction unit comprises a receiver-specific sensitivity information storage preliminarily acquiring and storing sensitivity information per reception position specific to the fluorescence receiver, and a second hologram generator for correcting the first CGH, based on intensities of the fluorescence and the sensitivity information, to generate a second CGH. The control unit displays the second CGH on the spatial light modulator.
US09740165B2	Dust collecting filter A filter frame includes a first frame portion that includes a filter installation surface for installing a filter, a second frame portion that retains the filter by holding the filter between the first frame portion, and a hinge portion that connects the first frame portion and the second frame portion. The first frame portion has a plurality of fitting projections and an arm provided on a filter installation surface of the first frame portion so as to extend between a plurality of fitting projections. The second frame portion has a plurality of fitting portions for receiving the plurality of fitting projections, and a cutout provided in a side of the frame facing the side in which the second frame portion is connected to the first frame portion by the hinge portion.
US09740164B2	Image forming apparatus with side frames An image forming apparatus includes a main body including a first guide portion and a second guide portion, a process cartridge including a photosensitive drum, a support frame configured to support the process cartridge and move between an inside position and an outside position. The support frame includes a first side frame. The first side frame includes a first guided portion to be guided by the first guide portion. The second side frame includes a second guided portion guided by the second guide portion A dimension of the first side frame is greater than or equal to a dimension of the first side frame. A dimension of the second side frame is greater than or equal to a dimension of the second side frame.
US09740159B2	Power supply device, image forming apparatus and method of controlling power supply device A power supply device includes: a DC-DC converter that includes a switching element, a coil, a capacitor and a controller which controls the turning on and off of the switching element; a detection circuit to which an output voltage of the DC-DC converter is input and which outputs a detection signal whose level is changed depending on whether or not the output voltage is less than a reference voltage; and a power supply control circuit which stops the DC-DC converter when the number of times the level of the detection signal is changed within a predetermined detection period is equal to or more than a specified number of times.
US09740157B1	Axially shifting a photoconductive drum using a wear surface A photoconductor unit for an electrophotographic image forming device according to one example embodiment includes a housing and a photoconductive drum rotatably mounted on the housing. The photoconductive drum includes a drive coupler that is positioned to mate with a corresponding drive coupler of the image forming device to receive rotational and axial force therefrom for rotating and axially biasing the photoconductive drum when the photoconductor unit is installed in the image forming device. A wear member is positioned to receive frictional contact from a portion of the photoconductive drum in a direction of the axial bias on the photoconductive drum such that as the photoconductive drum rotates, the frictional contact on the wear member gradually wears away the wear member in the direction of the axial bias on the photoconductive drum thereby gradually shifting the photoconductive drum axially in the direction of the axial bias.
US09740150B2	Fixing device having fixing nip formed by elastic roller and a back-up unit with cylindrical film and film guide including a plurality of ribs extending circumferentially along the inner periphery of the film An image fixing device includes an elastic roller; a back-up unit forming a fixing nip with the roller therebetween, the back-up unit including a cylindrical film, a film guide, extending inside the film, for guiding the film, and an end portion guiding member including a guiding portion for guiding an inner surface of an end portion of the film. The film guide includes plural ribs contacting the film and arranged in a generatrix direction at positions upstream of the fixing nip with respect to a feeding direction of a sheet. The ribs have free end portions retracted more toward a downstream side with respect to the feeding direction of the recording material than the guiding portion of the end portion guiding member. An inside rib has a free end portion which is retracted more toward the downstream side than free end portions of the opposite end ribs.
US09740140B2	Developer stirring member and image forming apparatus A developer stirring member is supported by a rotation portion in a container that stores developer and is configured to stir the developer. The developer stirring member includes a base portion and a reinforcement portion. The base portion is a film-like member including a first supported portion and an end portion, the first supported portion being supported by the rotation portion, the end portion being a free end to pivot. The reinforcement portion is a film-like member overlapping only a part of the base portion that is on a first supported portion side.
US09740128B2	Positively chargeable toner for electrostatic latent image development A positively chargeable toner for electrostatic latent image development includes toner particles. The toner particles each include a toner core containing boron nitride and a shell layer disposed over a surface of the toner core. The boron nitride is contained in an amount of no less than 0.05% by mass and no greater than 35% by mass relative to total mass of the toner core. The boron nitride has a thermal conductivity of no less than 40 W/m·K and no greater than 220 W/m·K.
US09740121B2	Image forming apparatus An image forming apparatus includes a first development part provided with an image forming developer containing image forming pigments and image forming macromolecular compound, a second development part provided with a bonding developer containing bonding macromolecular compound, a transfer part transferring the image forming developer to a surface of a medium, and a fuser part fusing the image forming developer to the medium. Wherein heating temperature T1 (° C.) for the image forming developer by the fuser part and heating temperature T2 (° C.) for the bonding developer by the fuser part satisfy a condition expressed by Eq. (1) below, and solubility parameter δ1 of the image forming macromolecular compound and solubility parameter δ2 of the bonding macromolecular compound satisfy a condition expressed by Eq. (2) below. 10° C.≦T1−T2≦30° C. (1) 5.9≦\|δ1−δ2\|≦7.4 (2)
US09740118B2	Method of producing liquid developer Provided is a method of producing a liquid developer containing a dispersing agent, an insulating liquid (a), and a toner particle that contains a colorant and a binder resin, the method including a step (1) of preparing a mixture containing the colorant, the binder resin, the insulating liquid (a), a solvent (b), and the dispersing agent, and a step (2) of distillatively removing the solvent (b) from the mixture, wherein the binder resin dissolves in the solvent (b) and does not dissolve in the insulating liquid (a), the dispersing agent dissolves in both the insulating liquid (a) and the solvent (b), and the binder resin contains a polymer A that has an alkali metal sulfonate group or an alkaline-earth metal sulfonate group.
US09740106B2	Substrate placement in immersion lithography A method for determining an offset between a center of a substrate and a center of a depression in a chuck includes providing a test substrate to the depression, the test substrate having a dimension smaller than a dimension of the depression, measuring a position of an alignment mark of the test substrate while in the depression, and determining the offset between the center of the substrate and the center of the depression from the position of the alignment mark.
US09740100B2	Hemiacetal compound, polymer, resist composition, and patterning process A polymer for resist use is obtainable from a hemiacetal compound having formula (1a) wherein R1 is H, CH3 or CF3, R2 to R4 each are H or a monovalent hydrocarbon group, X1 is a divalent hydrocarbon group, ZZ designates a non-aromatic mono- or polycyclic ring of 4 to 20 carbon atoms having a hemiacetal structure, k1=0 or 1, and k2=0 to 3. A resist composition comprising the polymer displays controlled acid diffusion and low roughness during both positive and negative tone developments.
US09740086B2	Wide field angle projection system and projection-type image display apparatus A projection system includes a first lens group to an n-th lens group with n being 6 or 7 sequentially arranged from a enlargement side. The first lens group includes a first-first lens group and a first-second lens group sequentially arranged from the enlargement side. The two lens groups are separated from each other by a variable distance for image plane correction. The first lens group and the n-th lens group are fixed and the second lens group to the (n−1)-th group are moved when the magnification is changed. The following conditional expression is satisfied: 2
US09740083B1	Mobile device photography apparatus for even illumination A system for evenly-scattered adaptable subject lighting for mobile device photography, comprising a case configured to enclose and securely fasten a mobile device and an illuminating portion, the illuminating portion configured to produce light based on input received from a plurality of sensors. The system further comprising a plurality of programming instructions stored in a memory and operating on a processor of a network-connected computing device, and configured to direct the operation of the illuminating portion comprising at least a sensor processor and an image capture device, wherein the sensor processor adjusts the illuminating portion based on preconfigured thresholds to provide evenly-scatter lighting for capturing images of subjects via the image capture device.
US09740079B1	Integrated optical transceiver with electronically controlled optical beamsteering A beam-steering optical transceiver is provided. The transceiver includes one or more modules, each comprising an antenna chip and a control chip bonded to the antenna chip. Each antenna chip has a feeder waveguide, a plurality of row waveguides that tap off from the feeder waveguide, and a plurality of metallic nanoantenna elements arranged in a two-dimensional array of rows and columns such that each row overlies one of the row waveguides. Each antenna chip also includes a plurality of independently addressable thermo-optical phase shifters, each configured to produce a thermo-optical phase shift in a respective row. Each antenna chip also has, for each row, a row-wise heating circuit configured to produce a respective thermo-optic phase shift at each nanoantenna element along its row. The control chip includes controllable current sources for the independently addressable thermo-optical phase shifters and the row-wise heating circuits.
US09740077B2	Optical modulator module that includes a plurality of optical modulators An optical modulator module includes: a substrate in which a plurality of optical modulators are formed; a connector configured to include a plurality of terminals to which a plurality of signals for driving the plurality of optical modulators are input; and a relay board provided between the substrate and the connector. Each of the optical modulators includes an optical waveguide, a modulation electrode formed near the optical waveguide, and a feeder electrode electrically connected to one end of the modulation electrode. The terminals are arranged in parallel to a longitudinal direction of the substrate. Positions of respective ends of the modulation electrodes at which the respective feeder electrodes are electrically connected are the same as positions at which the respective terminals are provided in the longitudinal direction. Wiring patterns are formed on the relay board so as to electrically connect the terminals to the respective feeder electrodes.
US09740074B2	Electrochromic mirrors and other electrooptic devices This invention focuses on electrooptic devices and in particular on electrochromic (EC) devices with several aspects directed towards automotive EC mirrors and windows. Adhesive compositions are disclosed herein which improve device processing attributes and their performance and durability.
US09740067B2	Display device and method for producing same In a display device, in which an IC chip, which has an output and an input bump group, is mounted onto a display panel via an ACF, and a total area of end surfaces of output bumps that form the output bump group is larger than a total area of end surfaces of input bumps that form the input bump group, a concentration of conductive particles in a portion of the ACF corresponding to the output bump group is lower than a concentration of conductive particles in a portion of the ACF corresponding to the input bump group.
US09740053B2	Array substrate, fabrication method thereof, and display device Embodiments of the disclosure provide an array substrate and a fabrication method thereof, and a display device. The array substrate includes: a base substrate and a switch unit disposed on the base substrate. The array substrate further includes: a passivation layer disposed on the base substrate and a spacer disposed on the passivation layer; and the spacer corresponds to the switch unit.
US09740052B2	Display device and method of manufacturing the same Between a pair of mother substrates, spaces are defined by a seal. The pair of mother substrates is cut to cut out cells. The seal is arranged to fill a region between adjacent spaces. On the seal, a low moisture-permeable layer made of a material that is harder and has lower moisture permeability than the seal is laminated in the region between the adjacent spaces. On at least one of the pair of mother substrates, a pair of projecting stripe portions extending along a length of the seal and arranged at an interval is formed in the region between the adjacent spaces at a position overlapping with the seal and the low moisture-permeable layer. In a step of cutting the pair of mother substrates, together with the pair of mother substrates, the seal and the low moisture-permeable layer are cut between the pair of projecting stripe portions.
US09740042B2	Lens for backlight of display device and backlight of display device including the same A lens for a backlight of a display device, includes a lower surface, a groove portion defined recessed from the lower surface and comprising a curved surface; and an upper surface comprising an outer edge and a center, in a plan view, of which a distance from the lower surface decreases in a direction from the outer edge to the center.
US09740039B2	Display device A display device includes a plurality of color filters positioned in a plurality of color pixels, respectively, and representing different colors from each other, and an overcoat layer including a transparent organic material and a blue colorant and including a portion positioned on the plurality of color filters and a portion positioned in the white pixel.
US09740037B2	Liquid crystal display device A liquid crystal display, including a display panel including an upper panel, a lower panel, and a liquid crystal layer interposed therebetween, the display panel being defined by a display area and a peripheral area, the display panel including a sealing member enclosing the display area and in the peripheral area, the upper panel including a light blocking member in the peripheral area, the light blocking member including a well.
US09740035B2	Flexible organic light emitting display device and method for manufacturing the same There is provided a flexible display having a new wire structure and a new insulating layer structure. A flexible display includes a flexible substrate having a first area and a second area. The second area is curved in a non-zero angle relative to the plane of the first area. The flexible display further includes a plurality of wires that extend over from the first area to the second area of the flexible substrate. Each of the wires is covered by an upper insulating pattern, which is separated from other upper insulating pattern. Each upper insulating pattern covering the wire has substantially the same trace pattern shape of the corresponding wire thereunder. Accordingly, by adopting the above-described wire structure and upper insulating layer structure, crack generation and propagation in the wires and the insulating layers from bending of the flexible display can be minimized.
US09740034B2	Control of directional display Disclosed is a light guiding valve apparatus including an imaging directional backlight, an illuminator array and an observer tracking system arranged to achieve control of an array of illuminators which may provide a directional display to an observer over a wide lateral and longitudinal viewing range, wherein the luminous intensity of optical windows presented to the observer as viewing windows is controlled dependent on the lateral and longitudinal position or speed of an observer. Further an optical window control system may comprise detection of an observer's hand. An image control system may comprise a method to provide an image that can be switched from a first mode with a first brightness into a second mode with a high brightness region and low brightness region, where the brightness of the second low brightness region is matched to the first brightness.
US09740032B2	Optical modulator having reflection layers An optical modulator is provided, including a lower reflection layer, an active layer formed on the lower reflection layer, and an upper reflection layer formed on the active layer. The active layer includes a multiple quantum well structure including a quantum well layer and a quantum barrier layer. The upper reflection layer includes a dielectric material. A plurality of micro cavity layers are included in the upper reflection layer.
US09740027B2	Fluid-filled lenses and actuation systems thereof An actuator assembly for an adjustable fluid-filled lens is provided. In some embodiments, the actuator assembly includes a clamp configured to adjust the optical power of the fluid lens module when the clamp is compressed. In some embodiments, a magnetic element is configured to adjust the optical power of the fluid-filled lens. In some embodiments, a plunger changes the optical power of the fluid lens module. In some embodiments, a reservoir is configured such that deformation of the reservoir changes the optical power of the fluid-filled lens. In some embodiments, a balloon is configured to deform the reservoir. In some embodiments, an adjustable fluid-filled lens includes a septum configured to be pierceable by a needle and automatically and fluidly seal a fluid chamber after withdrawal of the needle. In some embodiments, a thermal element can heat fluid within a fluid chamber to change an optical power of the lens module.
US09740026B2	Contact lenses for refractive correction Ophthalmic lenses for correcting refractive error of an eye are disclosed. Ophthalmic lenses include a deformable inner portion and a deformable peripheral portion. When disposed over the optical region of an eye, the inner portion is configured so that engagement of the posterior surface against the eye deforms the posterior surface so that the posterior surface has a shape diverging form the refractive shape of the epithelium when viewing with the eye through the ophthalmic lens. The rigidity of the inner portion is greater than the rigidity of the peripheral portion and the ophthalmic lenses are configured to allow movement relative to the eye upon blinking of the eye and to be substantially centered on the optical region of the cornea following the blinking of the eye. Methods of correcting refractive errors of an eye such as astigmatism or spherical aberration using the ophthalmic lenses are also disclosed.
US09740018B1	Light control film with varied viewing angle A light control film includes a plurality of spaced apart substantially parallel first light absorbing regions arranged along a first direction, each first light absorbing region having a width and a height, the plurality of first light absorbing regions including nonoverlapping first and second sub-pluralities of the plurality of first light absorbing regions, the first sub-plurality of the plurality of first light absorbing regions having a first viewing angle, the second sub-plurality of the plurality of first light absorbing regions having a different second viewing angle.
US09740003B2	Compact, low dispersion, and low aberration adaptive optics scanning system and method An adaptive optics scanning system and method using a beam projection module with four or more axes of motion that can project and control the position and angle of a beam of light to or from an adaptive optics element. The adaptive optics scanning system is compact in size, overcoming the challenges of a traditional lens and mirror based pupil relay design. The adaptive optics scanning system has little to no dispersion, chromatic aberration, and off-axis aberration for improved optical performance. The system and methods for calibrating and optimizing the system are described. A modular adaptive optics unit that scans and interfaces an adaptive optics element is described.

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