US07950768B2
A method of calculating a correction value includes: forming a test pattern by ejecting a liquid by a liquid ejecting apparatus, which has a first nozzle row in which a plurality of nozzles ejecting the liquid to a medium are arranged in a predetermined direction and a second nozzle row in which a plurality of nozzles ejecting the liquid to the medium are arranged in the predetermined direction, the second nozzle row being disposed so that an end portion on one side thereof in the predetermined direction overlaps with an end portion on the other side of the first nozzle row in the predetermined direction, to an area of the medium corresponding to certain pixel data on the basis of the certain pixel data from first nozzles belonging to the end portion on the other side of the first nozzle row and second nozzles belonging to the end portion on the one side of the second nozzle row; acquiring a read-out gray scale value by allowing a scanner to read-out the test pattern; and calculating a correction value used to correct the pixel data corresponding to the area to which the liquid is ejected from the first and the second nozzles on the basis of the read-out gray scale value.
US07950761B2
A liquid discharging apparatus includes a discharging device, a liquid receiving device, a voltage applying device, an electrical change detection device, a driving signal generating device, and a control device. The discharging device discharges liquid from a nozzle to a target on the basis of discharge data. At the time of discharging, the control device controls the discharging device so as to perform discharging on the basis of the discharge data using a generated discharge data driving signal. At the time of the nozzle testing, the control device controls the voltage applying device so as to apply a predetermined voltage between the discharging device and the liquid receiving device and controls the discharging device using a test driving signal to determine on the basis of an electrical change detected by the electrical change detection device whether the liquid is discharged to thereby perform the nozzle testing.
US07950755B2
A shelf for a piece of furniture, or for a refrigerator or similar element, including a panel for supporting articles and at least one structure made of plastic on at least one region of the periphery of the panel. The structure is configured to allow the shelf to be installed in a frame of the piece of furniture. The structure supports, at least on one of its two faces situated in the plane of the panel, a mechanism of attaching an accessory intended to be placed, in a position of use, in a free space of the corresponding side of the shelf.
US07950749B2
In a vehicle control apparatus, a hybrid ECU automatically stops and starts an engine if a predetermined condition is met while the vehicle is stopped. A brake ECU controls the braking force applied to wheels. A hybrid ECU controls the brake ECU so that braking force is applied to the wheels at the time of startup of the engine if while the vehicle is stopped, the vehicle run position is not selected as a shift position of the transmission. This restrains vibration of the vehicle at the time of startup of the engine.
US07950748B2
An hydraulically activated internal locking apparatus is disclosed including an hydraulic fluid reservoir, an hydraulically activated locking system and a electronic control system, where the electronic control system is in electrical communication with the locking system and the reservoir is in fluid communication with the locking system so that the locking system can be transitioned from a locked state to an unlocked state when the electronic control system receives a unlock or lock code or instruction.
US07950743B2
When stowed, this leg rest lies flat on the floor partially under the passenger's feet and partially under the seat. The leg rest pivots up from the floor to a raised position so that the edge nearest the seat aligns with the front of the seat pan. In its raised position, the leg rest and seat together form a continuous support surface along the entire length of a passenger's body.
US07950740B2
A seat swivel for providing angular adjustment of a seat to an infinite number of rotational positions with respect to a seat base. The seat swivel includes a swivel assembly having a swivel plate rotatably supported between a pair of fixed plates, the swivel plate being adapted to be affixed to the seat and the fixed plates being adapted to be affixed to a seat base. The seat swivel further includes a brake assembly having a mechanism for releasably retaining the seat in any one of the infinite number of positions when the seat is subjected to a first dynamic impact loading, the mechanism being either mechanically or electrically actuated, the mechanism being adapted to withstand a dynamic impact loading of up to about 16 g in at least one rotational position of the seat.
US07950739B2
A seat (1, 41, 61) for stadia, auditoria and the like is disclosed. The seat has a fixed backrest (2, 42) pivotable between a horizontal use position and a vertical standby position. A spring (33) or other resilient means urges the seat (5, 45) into the standby position. A damping mechanism such as a viscous grease damps the motion, preferably in both directions. Mounting straps (51, 52, 71, 72) enable a body (45) to be clamped to a spine (7, 47). By lightly tightening the straps, the position of the seat on the spine can be subject to small final adjustments before final tightening.
US07950736B2
A vehicle seat is slidably mounts to rails secured to a vehicle chassis. The rails extend downwardly and away from the steering shaft of the vehicle at a substantial slope. Grooves formed in the rails receive posts secured to the seat to slidably mount the seat. A plurality of registration surfaces, such as a row of apertures, are secured to the rails and engage one or more locking pins. The locking pins are actuated by cables extending to a lever positioned near the edge of the seat. Springs urge the locking pins into engagement with the registration surfaces when tension is not applied to the cables. In an alternative embodiment, an air spring mounts between the seat and vehicle chassis. The amount of air within the air spring controls the position of the seat along the rails.
US07950728B2
Disclosed herein are embodiments of vehicles having table assemblies. One embodiment of a vehicle comprises a vehicle body structure, a support member, and a table member. The vehicle body structure defines at least a portion of a compartment and has an opening permitting access to the compartment. The support member is coupled to the vehicle body structure to move from an interior position in which the support member is substantially inboard of the compartment, to an exterior position in which at least a portion of the support member moves through the opening to a location outboard of the vehicle body structure. The table member is coupled to the support member to move from a first position in which the table member is located inboard of the vehicle body structure, to a second position in which the table member is located outboard of the vehicle body structure.
US07950725B2
A reinforced structure for a cabin of a working machine is disclosed, which comprises a cabin, a boom installed along the cabin, and a reinforcing member provided for the cabin. The cabin includes front pillars, upper pillars and rear pillars. The reinforcing member includes a first member located longitudinally between upper ends of the front and rear pillars located on the working apparatus side of the cabin, the first member being fixed to the upper pillar located on the same side, and a second member, one end of the second member being fixed to an intermediate position of the first member, and the other end thereof being fixed to the other upper pillar.
US07950722B2
A method for constructing a wall structure for a bulk commodity carrying truck body or trailer is defined. The method includes arranging a plurality extruded aluminum panels to define a wall structure, wherein each of the plurality of panels includes a flat inner wall, an outer wall spaced-apart from the inner wall, and first and second end walls that extend between and interconnect the inner and outer walls. The arranging step includes locating the panels in a series with first and second end walls of adjacent panels abutted with each other and defining a seam. The method further includes fixedly securing the adjacent panels together by welding the seam and arranging the wall structure as part of the bulk commodity carrying truck body or trailer with each seam extending vertically. A wall structure and panel for same are also disclosed.
US07950717B2
The invention proposes a wiper device (10), in particular for a motor vehicle. This device comprises a plate (22), a first fastening means (34) and a second fastening means (36) and also a third fastening means (44), which is arranged outside the axis between the first fastening means (34) and the second fastening means (36). The third fastening means (44) has adjusting means (46) for tilting about a tilting angle of the plate (22). According to the invention, the adjusting means (46) allows only predetermined tilting angles (α).
US07950710B2
A robot includes a base unit, at least two link mechanisms arranged on the base unit, drive units capable of bending and expanding the link mechanisms, and a control unit controlling the drive units. At least one drive unit has a drive force larger than those of the other drive units, and the other drive units are passively displaced by external forces larger than their own drive forces.
US07950700B2
A connector assembly and method of creating a connection is described. The connector assembly includes a connector fitting having at least one receiving component on an end of the connector fitting and a gasket having at least one appendage, where the at least one appendage of the gasket engages the at least one receiving component to create an at least temporary secured attachment of the gasket to the connector fitting end.
US07950687B2
An improved wheelbarrow places the bucket at ground level when at rest. The wheelbarrow frame beneath the bucket rests on the ground while the wheelbarrow is at rest. The wheelbarrow wheel is lifted off of the ground at rest. The wheelbarrow provides greatly improved stability both at rest and while moving the wheelbarrow.
US07950685B2
A rear loading lowboy trailer is described having a pair of rear wheel assemblies mounted to a chassis of the trailer for movement between transport and loading positions such that the wheel assemblies are aligned across a back of the chassis when they are in the transport position and raised and positioned outwardly when the chassis is in the loading position. A linkage mechanism moves each of the wheel assemblies in both horizontal and vertical directions so as to move each of the wheel assemblies between the transport and loading positions. Each linkage mechanism automatically fastens the wheel assembly to the chassis of the trailer when the wheel assembly is moved to its transport position.
US07950684B2
Wheelchair side guards are provided with a strip and covering materials. The strip is sufficiently rigid to keep the shape and position of the side guards such that a user and their clothes are kept away from the wheelchair wheels. The side guards may also comprise a hinge near the middle that permit the wheelchair backrest to fold.
US07950672B2
A magnet is embedded in an outer rotational shaft provided in a bearing hole of a case, and an outer magnetic circuit and an inner magnetic circuit are formed on the outer peripheral surface and inner peripheral surface of the outer rotational shaft, respectively. In a magnetic fluid seal device, magnetic fluid is filled in minute gaps coming in contact with the outer peripheral surface and inner peripheral surface of the outer rotational shaft, and the two rotational shafts can be strongly sealed by the magnetic circuits formed by a magnet. As a result, the rotational shafts can be rotated while supported in a non-contact style. In addition, the dimension can be reduced, and the number of parts can be reduced.
US07950670B2
A seal assembly having a seal bumper wall with a series of pyramid shaped formations lying on the bumper wall. The formations cause their apex portion to wear down rapidly in use, while the remainder of the pyramids remain and act as slingers and/or produce a convection effect to reduce temperature along the sealed area. In another embodiment, there are two each pyramid shaped formations located on each of several thrust bumpers, which are held in position by a retainer.
US07950669B2
The invention provides a method that can be applied, for example, to seal a constant velocity joint. The invention includes a method comprising the steps of substantially sealing the constant velocity joint with the primary boot which includes first and second ends, fixedly associating the first end of the primary boot with the constant velocity joint, and slidably associating the second end of the primary boot with the shaft which extends from the constant velocity joint. In one aspect, the invention includes a primary boot having a body defining a substantially smooth interior surface and a secondary boot associated with the primary boot and spaced from the interior surface. In another aspect, the invention includes a constant velocity joint having an outer joint member, an inner joint member positioned in the outer joint member, a plurality of ball members positioned between said outer and inner joint members, and a shaft engaged with and extending from the inner joint member. The primary boot is fixedly associated with respect to the outer joint member and slidably associated with said shaft.
US07950666B2
An omnidirectional target system includes a target movable between a retracted position and an extended position and an actuation mechanism for moving the target to the extended position, the target and the actuation mechanism being releaseable so that the target can be moved back into the retracted position despite movement of the actuation mechanism.
US07950659B2
In an embodiment of the present invention, a plate is laid over sides of a second guide and a first guide that pivots relative to the second guide. The plate pivots with a first pin on the side of the second guide as a fulcrum. A second pin on the side of the first guide is inserted through a slit of the plate. The plate is pivoted by pivoting of the first guide in an opening direction. The second pin is fit in a stop slit provided in the slit to maintain the first guide in an open state. The first guide is pivoted in a closing direction to remove the second pin from the stop slit and close the first guide.
US07950654B2
A film handling system is described, including: a supply container for supporting a plurality of sheets of film; a film receiver; and a transport mechanism for retrieving a sheet of film from the supply container and transporting the sheet of film to the receiving mechanism, said transport mechanism comprising a vacuum head for adhering the sheet of film to the vacuum head; wherein the film receiver comprises a feed mechanism for conveying the sheet of film received by the film receiver, said feed mechanism including a sprocket for mating with at least one of a plurality of sprocket holes in the sheet of film transported by the transport mechanism.
US07950649B2
When two or more sheets of paper P are fed in an overlapped manner to a nip where a paper feed roller and a separation roller are in pressure contact with each other, a sub-CPU of a sheet feeding unit rotates the paper feed roller in a paper feeding direction and rotates the separation roller in a direction opposite to the feeding direction, so as to separate overlapping, and thereafter, it rotates the paper feed roller and the separation roller again in the feeding direction.
US07950647B2
A drive mechanism which drives a punching blade between a position at a side of a sheet and a standby position separate from the sheet, and a punch motor that rotates in a forward direction and a reverse direction and drives the drive mechanism are provided, a first load of the punch motor at the rotation in the forward direction and a second load of the punch motor at the rotation in the reverse direction are measured in a state where the sheet does not exist, and a drive amount of the punch motor is corrected according to the first load and the second load.
US07950637B2
An adjustable holding apparatus is provided, including a base unit, a clapping unit, and at least two stopping units. The base unit includes a surface on which the electronic device can be placed. The clapping unit is partially embedded in the base unit, and can move in the direction parallel to the surface of the base unit. The clapping unit includes a clapping part. The clapping part is located on one side of the clapping unit vertically. The stopping units are located at the lower part of the base unit with a distance separating the two stopping units. Each stopping unit includes a stopping part located at the upper part of stopping unit, and is off-center. The clapping part of the clapping unit and the stopping parts of the stopping units are located on the opposite sides of the surface of the base unit to form a three-point clapping on the device placed on the surface. The clapping units and the stopping units can be adjusted to accommodate a wide range of objects.
US07950634B2
A spring including a wire having an elasticity by which the wire is compressible by an external force to a first position at which first and second ends thereof of are separated by a first distance and when the force is removed or an electrical current applied, the wire is extensible in response to an internal spring force to a second position at which the wire is substantially straight. A spring assembly is disclosed including a plurality of inventive wires cross-coupled with a support structure consisting of a plurality of coaxial rings. In the assembly, the wires extend parallel to an axis through a center of the rings.
US07950633B2
A vibration isolator system for attaching a payload to a supporting base is provided, the payload having a center of mass and the system consisting of at least three vibration isolating pods. Each pod has two associated, non-parallel, elastic struts. A first end of each strut is attached to the supporting base and a second end of each strut is attached to the payload at a respective mounting point, and the a projected elastic center of the system is substantially co-located with said center of mass. The vibration isolator system is operable to substantially prevent translational vibration of the supporting base from inducing angular rotation of the payload.
US07950631B2
A water distribution tray having an improvement comprising a first downwardly inclined surface therein commencing at a base of a water impingement pedestal within a first of a plurality of channels and ending at a corresponding first of a plurality of discharge apertures, wherein the first downwardly inclined surface has a first declension angle associated therewith, and a second downwardly inclined surface commencing at the base within a second of the plurality of channels and ending at a corresponding second of the plurality of discharge apertures, wherein the second downwardly inclined surface has a second declension angle associated therewith different from the first declension angle. A method of manufacturing is also provided.
US07950630B2
This invention relates to a gas-liquid mixing device, forming a safety valve, designed capable of being incorporated into a gas-cleaning installation including a liquid tank (4), an inlet (1) for gas to be cleaned and an outlet (7) through which the gas flow is evacuated. It is characterized in that it has: a tube (2) sliding around the gas inlet (1) and including a peripheral float (8) located in its lower end and designed capable of floating in said tank (4), said sliding tube (2) being open in its lower portion, in order to draw liquid from said tank (4) by a venturi effect and to create a mist in a pressure-relief zone (5); a mixing chamber (6) interposed between said sliding tube (2) and said outlet (7), and designed capable of conveying the flow of said mist towards the bottom of said tank (4).
US07950626B2
The present invention relates to a collapsible hoist that can be easily stored and set up. The hoist is designed to provide sufficient lifting support to lift large objects such as an engine out of an engine compartment. Further, the invention provides the ability to transport and operate a hoist in a garage or in the field.
US07950624B2
A water valve apparatus includes a housing and a control valve stem. The housing has a spacer to divide the interior space and a base with a plurality of water outlets formed thereon. The spacer has a first opening. The base has a second opening corresponding to the first opening. The spacer and base are interposed by a displacement track. The displacement track has at least one first anchor zone and one second anchor zone. The valve control stem runs through the first opening and second opening, and has a water stopper located in the first opening and an anchor ring movably coupled thereon. The anchor ring has at least an anchor stub in the displacement track. The valve control stem is operable easily to allow users to determine water supply. No excessive contact with water faucets is needed. Thus the risk of bacteria contagion can be minimized.
US07950622B2
Systems, apparatuses and methods for controlling valves through controlled power escalation towards the actuation threshold of the valve. A power signal is applied to a control input of a valve at a level less than a valve switch threshold at which the valve will be actuated. The power to the control input is then progressively increased. The valve is actuated when the power signal eventually reaches the valve switch threshold, thereby actuating the valve using a power signal commensurate with the actual valve switch threshold of the particular valve and its current operating conditions.
US07950614B1
A system for removable installation and nondestructive removal and reinstallation of a stationary mast from which to suspend equipment on articulated arms for point-of-need positioning thereof includes parallel headers extending in a first horizontal direction, each with fasteners adjustably movable along its top for releasable connection to building structure over the headers, for selective emplacement of the headers relative to the building structure. Cross members extending under the headers are releasably fastened to the headers for emplacement, stationary but variable, along the headers. A mast depends from the cross members to support articulated arms and medical equipments.
US07950609B2
A pipe support for dampening acoustic propagation from a pipeline is provided. The pipe support can include a support base and a movable base spatially arranged from the support base. One or more fasteners can be disposed through the movable base to the support base, thereby connecting the movable base to the support base. One or more acoustic isolators can be disposed between an upper surface of the support base and a lower surface of the movable base.
US07950602B2
Device for moving paper reels in an unwinder of the type in which a nearly empty reel (1) is moved along a predetermined path between more operating stations in each of which the reel (1) is free to rotate about its longitudinal axis. The device is disposed and acting between the said operating stations and comprises: a carriage (4) intended to support a nearly empty reel (1) and movable between said operating stations, the reel (1) being free to rotate about its longitudinal axis on the carriage (4); a structure (5) supporting said carriage (4); means for moving said carriage (4) between said operating stations; means for controlling said means for moving the carriage (4).
US07950595B2
This wicking apparatus includes a liquid reservoir, a wick holder, and a wick.The wick holder has a top part for fitting on the reservoir neck and a bottom part for insertion into the reservoir opening, the top part being plate-formed with a central opening, and with two peripheral projections that are spaced apart and that extend downward from the plate towards the reservoir body, projections for contacting inner and outer walls of the reservoir neck, and a second projection for contacting an outer wall of the reservoir neck, the bottom part having wick supporting arms that extend downwards and have flexible end portions projecting inwardly towards the centre of the reservoir opening. The wick is step-shaped with a larger diameter part, and a smaller diameter part: the interface between them defines a shoulder which is supported and held in place by the flexible end portions of the supporting arms.
US07950594B2
An ultrasound apparatus capable of mixing and/or atomizing fluids is disclosed. The apparatus includes a horn having an internal chamber, containing at least one free member, through which fluids to be atomized and/or mixed flow. Connected to the horn's proximal end, a transducer powered by a generator induces ultrasonic vibrations within the horn. Traveling down the horn from the transducer, the ultrasonic vibrations induce the release of ultrasonic energy into the fluids to be atomized and/or mixed as they travel through the internal chamber. As the ultrasonic vibrations travel through the chamber, the fluids within the chamber are agitated and/or begin to cavitate, while the free member moves about the chamber, thereby mixing the fluids. Upon reaching the front wall of the chamber, the ultrasonic vibrations echo off the front wall and pass through the fluids within the chamber a second time, further mixing the fluids.
US07950578B2
In order to control the status and the operation of a dispensing machine assembly comprising one or more modules or sub-assemblies, at least one of modules or sub-modules is provided with an electronic tag and the machine is provided with a tag controller device for interacting with said tag by reading, writing and transmitting information data on or through said tag and operating said dispensing machine according to the information gathered from said tag or tags.
US07950577B1
The present disclosure relates generally to an apparatus, system and method, and more particularly to an electronic immigration customs visa card, which includes biometric verification means for verifying a biometric identifier stored thereon used to uniquely identify the immigration customs visa cardholder. The system and method includes the electronic immigration customs visa card and a passport reader connected to a computer, where the computer is configured for verifying an individual's authorized entry at a country's port of entry by validating a reusable immigration customs visa card's compliance with at least one immigration protocol for obtaining access into a country.
US07950573B1
A banking system operates responsive to data read from data bearing records. Based on user data read by a card reader from a user card, a banking system machine can be used to carry out a transaction. Data read by the card reader is compared by a computer to data stored in an authorized machine user database. The banking system machine is operative to capture images of machine users. The captured user images can be stored in correlation with user transaction data in data bearing records. The banking system machine can produce markup language documents which include the data bearing records. The markup language documents can be communicated to a remote authorized analysis terminal.
US07950562B2
A surgical stapling device has an elongated body and a removable loading unit and a securing structure for securing the loading unit onto the elongated body. Guiding ramps guide the movement of the loading unit as it is mounted onto the elongated body. A movable yoke secures the loading unit onto the elongated body. A sensor mechanism is engaged by the loading unit and moves with the securing structure. The locking structure has a first position for blocking movement of the sensor mechanism and preventing removal of the loading unit. The locking unit has a second position for allowing the loading unit to be removed from the device.
US07950561B2
A surgical stapler is provided having a pair of jaws including a staple containing cartridge and an anvil. Buttress material is releasable affixed to the staple containing cartridge and the anvil. One of the jaws includes a pair of longitudinal projections at a first end of the jaw and configured to frictionally engage corresponding slots in a first end the buttress material. One of the jaws includes a post at a second end of the jaw. The buttress material includes a hole in a second end of the buttress material for receipt of the post. A buttress material including at least one aperture for receipt of the at least one projection at a first end of jaws and a tab configured to engage the at least one jaw at a second end thereof is also provided.
US07950560B2
A surgical instrument including a housing, an endoscopic portion, a drive gear, a drive motor, a shift motor and an end effector is disclosed. The endoscopic portion extends distally from the housing and defines a longitudinal axis. The drive gear is disposed at least partially within the housing and is rotatable about a drive gear axis which extends therethrough. The drive gear is selectively movable along the drive gear axis. The drive motor is disposed in mechanical cooperation with the drive gear and is configured to rotate the drive gear. The shift motor is disposed in mechanical cooperation with the drive gear and is configured to move the drive gear along the drive gear axis. The end effector is disposed adjacent a distal portion of the endoscopic portion.
US07950559B2
A mechanical system for bilaterally securing skin tissue preferably utilizes a tissue manipulator apparatus to approximate a portion of an interior surface of each of two pieces of living dermis tissue along a vertical interface below an exterior surface without overlapping either interior surface across the vertical interface. An applicator apparatus includes a driving head portion positioned in the vertical interface and at least partially below the exterior surface and a handle portion positioned at least partially above the exterior surface. The applicator apparatus bilaterally drives at least one portion of the fastener through each piece of the living dermis tissue behind the interior surface of that piece of tissue such that the fastener is positioned below the exterior surface and a portion of the fastener is positioned generally transverse to the vertical interface. Preferably, the manipulator apparatus and the applicator apparatus are arranged together as part of a hand-held instrument capable of carrying and deploying multiple fasteners.
US07950558B2
A spring-energized stapler having a pliers type configuration, wherein papers and like items are fastened at a front end and the stapler is normally gripped and squeezed at a rear end. A compact mechanism and independent handle linkages provide a compact overall shape in a high efficiency action. An upper handle is pivoted at a front, top of a housing with a pressing area spaced at least one half the handle length away from the upper handle pivot. A lower handle includes a multi-segment cam link to a base to provide a minimal gripping distance with a large clamping force at an anvil. A simplified front-loading mechanism provides a compact, low cost assembly. A release latch holder is located behind the striker for a compact front end.
US07950548B2
A universal collar that attaches to a pump and, in turn, a container used in a dispenser having a keyplate, the universal collar including: a first flange and a second flange, wherein the flanges extend radially outward and are axially spaced from each other for receiving the keyplate therebetween.
US07950547B2
Reservoir for a dispense system designed to maintain a suspending fluid flow within the reservoir. The fluid dispense system is particularly well suited to be manufactured in a single-use format comprising a fluid reservoir and fill tube assembly, particularly comprising a reservoir, tubing, fittings and connectors, and a needle. The system ensures uniformity within the liquid by moving the fluid through the product reservoir such as with a continuous or pulsating flow, and is designed to maintain the fluid in motion in order to maintain a homogenous solution. The reservoir is designed to minimize any fluid dead zones.
US07950545B1
A drinking vessel having one or more sensory enhancing features disposed within a circumferential region in close proximity of the rim of the drinking vessel, such as a wine glass, is provided. The sensory enhancing features are located on the vessel near the rim at such a location that, when a user places the vessel or glass to his or her mouth, the sensory enhancing features of the present invention first contact the sensitive nerve endings on the user's tongue. The designs are etched into or raised from the surface of the vessel and placed where the touch sensitive nerve endings on the tongue can be stimulated. Thus, the sensitive nerve endings on the tongue are stimulated such that a sense of touch is enhanced, and further the flow of saliva is also stimulated to enhance the sense of taste.
US07950542B2
The present disclosure is directed to a beverage container having an opening assembly apparatus and method having an advanced design for sealing the contents within the container after opening. The opening assembly includes a lid having a top and bottom side, the lid being attached to a receptacle for containing the beverage contents, and a recess located about the top side of the lid for facilitating the filling of the receptacle. An aperture is located about the recess and projecting from the aperture is an undulating flange on the bottom side of the lid. A closure member coactively engaging the aperture and recess to provide a sealing engagement by inserting a first portion of the closure member into the recess and a second portion of the closure member into the aperture and rotating the closure member from an opened position to a closed position. The closure member includes a breakable seal for providing security that the container is tamper free.
US07950538B2
A modular display assembly for displaying merchandise includes a pair of opposite side members and a plurality of shelves adjustably mounted to the side members. The side members have forward and rearward facing edges, which include a plurality of protrusions spaced therealong. The shelf includes a mounting assembly, which includes a handle and first and second movable arms for mounting the shelf to the side members. The arms are configured to engage at least one of the protrusions to limit vertical movement along the side members when the arms are engaged with the edges of the side members. The shelf is positionable between the side members at a desired location and the handle is movable to move the arms into engagement with the forward and rearward facing edges to substantially clamp the side member between the arms and thus to fixedly secure the shelf to and between the side members.
US07950537B1
A ventilated shelf divider comprises a downwardly opening frame assembly including laterally diverging wire walls that are releasably mountable to laterally spaced shelf wires. Each of the wire walls includes a plurality of spaced legs that extending to couplers for gripping the shelf wires. The legs may be manually moved towards one another and positioned between the shelf wires, and, upon release, the legs bias the couplers into gripping engagement with the shelf wires.
US07950522B2
A package for feminine hygiene articles. The package includes a refillable cabinet having a front, a back, a top, a bottom, a first side, a second side, and a frame, the frame forming at least one feminine hygiene storage cavity having a frontward facing opening, and a plurality of replaceable drawers each containing a plurality of feminine hygiene articles and being slidingly installed within the feminine hygiene storage cavity.
US07950520B2
A support for a conveyor belt is provided. The support has a series of frames that may be installed beneath the underside of the conveyor belt to support the underside of the belt in a trough-shaped arrangement. Each frame supports a guide element, such as a roller, slider bar or bearing block, that permits the belt to ride over the frames. The frames may be installed beneath the belt and removed from beneath the belt from one side of the conveyor belt. Installation and removal of the components require minimal side clearance beneath the belt. As a result, the support may be installed and removed with minimal interference from adjacent structures or fixtures beneath the belt.
US07950514B1
A braking apparatus and method for an escalator or moving walkway are provided. The braking apparatus may include a braking element, a linearly controllable solenoid assembly, a biasing mechanism, and a control device. The braking element may be adapted to engage a brake drum or brake disk on a drive shaft of the escalator or moving walkway. The linearly controllable solenoid assembly may include a brake coil and an elongated member. The elongated member may be moveable linearly along an axis and the braking element may be coupled to the elongated member. The biasing mechanism may be arranged to bias the elongated member in a first direction along the axis to increase a torque applied to the drive shaft by the braking element. The control device may be configured to modulate a current to the brake coil based on at least one measured parameter associated with an operating condition of the escalator or moving walkway, whereby the elongated member is biased in a second direction along the axis opposite the first direction to decrease the torque applied to the drive shaft by the braking element.
US07950506B2
A shock absorber has an external valve that controls the damping loads for the shock absorber. The external valve extends generally parallel with the axis of the shock absorber and is attached to the reserve tube of the shock absorber. The inlet to the external valve is in communication with an intermediate chamber which is in communication with the working chamber of the shock absorber. The outlet of the valve is in communication with the reserve chamber of the shock absorber. The external valve controls the damping loads in both a compression and an extension stroke of the shock absorber.
US07950502B2
A self-boosting electromechanically actuable disc brake is characterized in that a component (pressure piston 9, 10), which is stationary during braking and which is connected to an adjusting device or is part of the adjusting device, of the self-boosting device is held, with slight play parallel to the brake disc rotational axis, between guide faces (29, 30) of that component (31) of the brake which is fixed with respect to the axle, in such a way that, during braking operations, the tangential forces which occur are supported directly by the stationary component of the self-boosting device on the component (31) of the brake which is fixed with respect to the axle.
US07950501B2
A stopper for preventing movement of a bag equipped with casters containing a base mounted on the bag bottom; a swingable member having one end portion rotatably connected to the base, and having the other end portion capable of being manipulated so as to swing the swingable member between a housing position where the other end portion is positioned close to the base and an engagement position for engaging the other end portion with the ground; a first link having one end portion rotatably connected to the swingable member, and having the other end portion rotatably and slidably connected to the base and slidable along the base bottom and a second link having one end portion rotatably connected to the other end portion of the first link, and constructed so as to be slidable with the other end portion of the first link along the base bottom.
US07950496B2
A support for a safety line of a fall arrest system includes a support section having a tube through which the safety line extends, an arm for attachment to a structure, an arm that is narrower than the support and that mounts the tube on the attachment, and at least one guide surface for rotating a traveller on the safety line for movement past the support.
US07950489B2
A safety interlock system for left foot operated vehicle accelerator control systems is disclosed which permits a left foot operated accelerator control system to be immobilized so that it cannot be activated unintentionally or accidentally by an individual operator who is not familiar with a vehicle so equipped. The safety interlock system may be selectively activated by the vehicle operator manually directly by mechanical means or remotely by means of a switch-controlled hydraulic, pneumatic or electrical activator. An indicator system is provided which indicates the status of the safety interlock system to the vehicle operator.
US07950482B2
In a fuel cell system in which a fuel cell case (14) houses a fuel cell stack (4) composed of a plurality of cells stacked on top of each other and a cell monitor board (11) for monitoring cell voltages of the fuel cell stack (4) and in which the fuel cell stack (4) is connected to a power converter such as an inverter in order to reduce the influence of the electromagnetic noise from the outside of the circuit board or from the circuit board on the outside and to achieve a stable operation of the fuel cell stack. The cell monitor board (11) is covered with a cell monitor cover (20) having high electromagnetic shield property. The cell monitor cover (20) is made of a conductor such as, for example, copper, iron, or aluminum.
US07950481B2
An electric powertrain includes an engine configured to provide mechanical energy and a generator operably coupled to the engine and configured to convert at least a portion of the mechanical energy into electric energy. The electric powertrain further includes at least one electric motor operably coupled to the generator, a plurality of driving members, and at least one power electronics unit configured to control at least one of the engine and the generator. The at least one electric motor is configured to provide torque for the plurality of driving members.
US07950480B2
A hybrid motor vehicle power train operating in thermal mode or electric mode includes a thermal engine coupled to a gearbox via a clutch and an electrical machine. The electrical machine is continuously connected to the input shaft of the gearbox.
US07950479B2
Here is invented an efficient road vehicles having special aerodynamic shapes, with stabilizing devices that enable aerodynamic efficiency. It is an articulated vehicle that is tall and narrow. It includes a carriage part that encloses a driver and passenger riding in tandem. This car is only wide enough for persons seated in single file, so it has very low projected frontal area compared with typical cars. Further, the narrow width makes a body shaped like an airship practical, where that shape is characterized by a very low drag coefficient in free flow conditions. The carriage is elevated on struts to enable such free flow aerodynamic conditions, thus the drag coefficient of the airship is made applicable to this road vehicle. Because this car has both low frontal area and low drag coefficient it will require minimal energy for high speed operation.
US07950471B2
A hand-held power tool includes a percussion power tool includes a percussion piston (5) for applying blows to an anvil (8) axially displaceable in a guide tube (6) within limits defined by two, spaced from each other, stops (9a, 9b) arranged in the guide tube (6), a pneumatic percussion mechanism (2) for driving the percussion piston (5), an air spring (3) for connecting the percussion piston (5) with the percussion mechanism (2), and an impact ring (12) arranged coaxially with the anvil (8) outwardly thereof and having spaced from each other, inner radical flanks (14) located on opposite axial sides of the outer radial collar (11) provided on the anvil (8), with the impact ring (12) freely axially displaceable, within limits, relative to the outer radial collar (11) and having an outer diameter smaller than a guiding inner diameter of the guide tuber (6), and with a mass ratio of the impact ring (12) to the anvil (8) being equal at least 0.25.
US07950467B2
This invention describes a conveyor tube for use in installing or replacing a well tool in a producing well, wherein the well tool is fed into the conveyor tube which at least runs between a valve tree and at least one receiving unit in the well, and wherein the conveyor tube is installed on the outside of and in fluid communication with a production tube in the well. A method for using same is also described.
US07950464B2
An improved multi-well control system (MWCS) has a centrally based multi-well controller (MWC) in communication with one or more slave controllers and one or more electronic flow measurement devices (EFMs) for instant data monitoring and control of individual wells. The system also provides for an application host sub-system (AHSS) in communication with the MWC for historical and instant data retention. The system is capable of assigning one or more wells to a group for allocation purposes and organizing groups dependent on production levels of individual wells. The MWC is capable of tracking gas volumes produced by each well independent of groupings and communicating such data to the AHSS. The MWC provides monitoring and tracking data from one or more EFM devices and assigns total flow volume to individual wells. The entire MWCS can result in the reduction of manpower and an increase in overall production efficiency.
US07950462B2
Methods are given for making scale inhibitors, that were previously incompatible with fluids containing fluoride ion, compatible with fluids containing fluoride ion. Examples of such scale inhibitors include phosphonates and phosphino-polycarboxylates. The method is replacing alkali metal and alkaline earth metal cations, present in salts or bases, or as counter ions of the scale inhibitors, with hydrogen or ammonium ions. Methods of inhibiting scale formation and of dissolving scales are also given.
US07950456B2
Casing deformation and control for inclusion propagation in earth formations. A method of forming at least one inclusion in a subterranean formation includes the steps of: installing a liner within a casing section in a wellbore intersecting the formation; and expanding the liner and the casing section, thereby applying an increased compressive stress to the formation. Another method of forming the inclusion includes the steps of: installing an expansion control device on a casing section, the device including at least one latch member; expanding the casing section radially outward in a wellbore, the expanding step including widening at least one opening in a sidewall of the casing section, and displacing the latch member in one direction; and preventing a narrowing of the opening after the expanding step, the latch member resisting displacement thereof in an opposite direction.
US07950454B2
A technique that is usable with a well includes running a screen assembly and a service tool as a unit into a well and using the service tool in connection with a sand control operation. The use of the service tool in connection with the sand control operation includes operating at least one valve of the screen assembly. The technique includes withdrawing the service tool from the well after the sand control operation and running a completion into the well to operate the valve(s) of the screen after the withdrawal.
US07950453B2
A gas burner assembly for heating a subsurface formation includes an oxidant conduit, a fuel conduit, and a plurality of oxidizers coupled to the oxidant conduit. At least one of the oxidizers includes a mix chamber for mixing fuel from the fuel conduit with oxidant from the oxidant conduit, an igniter, and a shield. The shield includes a plurality of openings in communication with the oxidant conduit. At least one flame stabilizer is coupled to the shield.
US07950450B2
A method for cleaning and/or altering an inside surface and shape of a tubular is disclosed. The method includes placing a surface finishing tool in the tubular, energizing the surface finishing tool, and causing extendable assemblies therein to extend radially to contact an inside diameter of the tubular. Moving the surface finishing tool axially and/or rotationally while the extended members are in contact with the inside diameter of the tubular cleans debris from the inside surface of the tubular. In another aspect of the invention, the tool burnishes the inside diameter of the tubular, thereby altering the surface characteristics and rounding the tubular.
US07950447B2
A heat dissipation module includes a cooling base, at least a guide heat pipe and a cooling fin set. The cooling base provides at least a circular recess and at least a receiving groove. The guide heat pipe is placed in the circular recess. The cooling fin set is joined to the cooling base and provides a lower folding side at each cooling fin thereof and the folding side has at least a concave upward portion corresponding to the circular recess. The receiving groove is disposed at two end sides of the circular recess for receiving solder, soldering paste, solder club or bonding agent. Therefore, when the cooling fin set and the guide heat pipe are joined to the cooling base, the receiving groove is capable of speeding up the joint and preventing abnormal phenomena such as incomplete soldering, creating clearance and excessive solder.
US07950444B2
An automotive air conditioning system is disclosed. At the foot mode position of a rotary door 25, a gap T is formed along the door diameter between a circumferential end of a door surface 25c of the rotary door 25 and a seal rib 28 of a case 11. The flow path of a foot opening 22 communicates with a defroster opening 20 through the gap T. At the defroster mode position of the rotary door 25, on the other hand, the other circumferential end of the door surface 25c comes into contact with the seal rib 28 and closes the gap T, and the door surface 25c closes up the foot opening 22. Even upon slight rotation of the foot rotary door under the air pressure of the foot mode, therefore, the defroster blowout air amount and the foot blowout air amount are kept in a predetermined proportion.
US07950441B2
A method including positioning an insert in a vertical mold including a first mold portion and a second mold portion; and casting a material including a metal around at least a portion of the insert.
US07950436B1
A room darkening screen apparatus includes a shade roll. A shade with a first end and a second end is provided wherein the first end is connected with the shade roll and the second end is connected with a bottom bar. A header is connected with the shade roll and a folding rod is connected with the header such that the folding rod, when released from the header, folds the shade.
US07950435B2
A convenient adhesive tape dispenser with improved cutting operation of the adhesive tape at a lower part of a case body. The adhesive tape dispenser includes a case body having a body case formed with a holding part to mount an adhesive tape inside, a coupling case coupled with the body case and formed with an assembling space at a rear part, and a cover case formed with a fitting piece at a front part to be coupled in the assembling space. The case body is formed with a mounting hole at a front part and an exposure space at an upper part of the mounting hole. A cutter part is mounted in a mounting hole of the case body. An elastic pressing plate is positioned at an upper part of the holding part for pressing the adhesive tape downward elastically to keep tension when the adhesive tape is released.
US07950429B2
A tire for vehicles which does not require pressurization by means of a pressurized fluid has a tread, two sidewalls, and two beads which are attached to a wheel rim made of elastomer material, and is provided with at least one tubular reinforcement body which is associated with the tread; each of the sidewalls having a respective homogeneous resilient annular membrane, a straight generatrix of which forms an angle (A) other than 90° with the axis of the tire; the membranes being stretched radially between the tread and the beads such as to be pre-tensioned in the absence of external loads acting on the tire.
US07950426B2
A tire comprising a circumferential tread including at least one tread block having at least one edge. The tread block includes at least one void provided therein not more than about 4 millimeters from the edge of the tread block. Exemplary voids include sipes, such as one-end open sipes, two-end open sipes, and internal sipes, and cutouts, such as internal cut-outs and edge cut-outs.
US07950419B2
A condensate draining pipe is provided for a heating system, a ventilating system, and/or an air conditioning (HVAC) system that includes, but is not limited to a condensate feed portion and a condensate drain portion. The condensate feed portion and the condensate drain portion are connectable to one another by a press-fit coupling assembly comprising an O-ring seal.
US07950395B2
A mechanical restraining system for use in situations where it is desirable to restrain a detainee, such as a prisoner, psychiatric patient or accused criminal defendant, while minimizing the ability of the public or certain courtroom participants to readily observe that the detainee has been placed in or is being held by some type of restraining device.
US07950380B2
A paint ball gun trigger for easy of replacement and orientation change is disclosed, which includes a lower trigger body, an upper trigger body, and an orientation-setting unit. The lower trigger body includes at the top a lower-and-upper body connecting piece, which further includes a screw hole and a positioning hole communicating with said screw hole. The upper trigger body includes at the bottom a lower-and-upper body connecting chamber, and at the lateral side a stabilizing hole communicating with the lower-and-upper body connecting chamber. The orientation-setting unit includes a setting piece, a blocking piece, an elastic element, and an adjusting screw, each of which is assembled in order by screwing into the screw hole of the lower trigger body for orientation change of the lower trigger body.
US07950377B2
A valve having a valve body with an inlet port and an outlet port and a valve disposed between the inlet port and outlet port. A sensor is operably associated with the valve and the valve body, and measures a characteristic in proximity to the valve. The sensor communicates information regarding said characteristic to a control unit that sends position commands to said valve.
US07950376B2
A device for distributing recirculated gases to a component of an exhaust gas recirculation system. The device includes an inlet and an outlet for recirculated gases, an inlet port and an outlet port to the component, and a mechanism to reverse the stream of recirculated gases flowing through the component. A device for cooling recirculated exhaust gases is equipped with a mechanism to reverse the stream of recirculated gases inside the exchanger. A method of recirculating exhaust gases includes cleaning the EGR system, which is triggered by an electronic unit, and which includes reversing the stream of EGR gases flowing through an EGR cooling device.
US07950367B2
To provide an accelerator position sensor arrangement structure for a motorcycle that can prevent an increased vehicle-width without change of operational feeling of a throttle. An accelerator position sensor is connected to a throttle grip via a pair of throttle cables and disposed externally of main frames, of a body frame, extending from a head pipe toward the rearward of a vehicle body.
US07950360B2
A continuous variable valve lift apparatus according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention includes an input cam disposed to an input shaft, a first shaft in parallel with the input shaft, a first link connected with the first shaft, a second link rotatably connected to the first link, an output cam that is rotatably connected with the second link and configured with a contact portion contacting the input cam, a second shaft disposed to the output cam parallel with the input shaft, at least one valve unit that is opened and closed by the output cam, and a control part that controls a position of the second shaft.
US07950357B2
An engine comprises a power cylinder having a power chamber, a compression cylinder having a compression chamber and a flow-through chamber connected with the compression chamber when a flow-through valve is open and connected with the power chamber when an intake valve is open. The engine is operated by flowing-in fresh charge into the compression chamber while increasing the volume of the compression chamber, compressing the fresh charge while decreasing the volume of the compression chamber, pushing-over the compressed fresh charge into the flow-through chamber, pushing-out the fresh charge into the power chamber, combusting the fresh charge while increasing the volume of the power chamber and discharging the combusted charge while decreasing the volume of the power chamber. The flow-through chamber volume increases during at least a part of the pushing-over step and, at the end thereof, the volume is less than 15% of its maximum volume.
US07950352B2
A pet toy may include an outer covering and a bladder assembly. The bladder assembly may include a bladder and a squeaker assembly. The squeaker assembly may include one or more ribs. The bladder may include a body and a neck. The neck may have one or more grooves. A rib may engage a groove. The engagement of the rib with the groove may prevent the squeaker assembly from exiting the opening of the bladder when the bladder is compressed. The body of the bladder may have a shape which allows the body to return to the uncompressed state after the body has been compressed. The body may be made of a material which allows the body to return to the uncompressed state after the body has been compressed.
US07950345B2
A dispenser for a liquid crystal display panel includes a substrate on which a plurality of image display parts is formed, a table on which the substrate is loaded, a plurality of syringes for dispensing a material on the substrate, and a plurality of supports aligning and affixing the plurality of syringes, wherein at least a first predetermined number of the plurality of syringes is affixed and aligned to at least one of the plurality of supports.
US07950339B2
Apparatus for the pyrolysis of solid waste material includes a thermal reactor including an elongate hollow housing with a reaction chamber disposed within the housing. The thermal reactor is vertically oriented in order to cause solid waste material fed thereinto to pass through said reaction chamber by the force of gravity and a plurality of vanes are disposed for both conducting heat into said reactor chamber and for tumbling said solid waste material as said solid waste material passes through said reaction chamber. Inlets and outlets are provided for passing oxygen transversely through the reaction chamber.
US07950338B2
A vertically adjustable keyboard support is mounted on a pair of U-shaped members having crossed legs pivoted on a horizontal axis providing scissor linkage support for adjusting the height of the keyboard to accommodate the keyboard operator in a standing position as well as in a sitting position.
US07950331B2
A narrow slot roller and guide system for high density mobile storage systems having a plurality of storage units. The roller and guide system includes a longitudinally extending axial guide defining a first slot in a floor and a drive rail parallel thereto defining a second slot in the floor. The axial guide includes a roller arrangement adapted to engage a downwardly extending guide member coupled to the carriage of the storage units. The engagement of the roller arrangement and guide member serves as a guide for the storage units as the storage units are moved axially along the axial guide and drive rail. Further, the present invention limits the width of the first and second slots to a very narrow width, e.g. less than one half inch, thereby easily permitting disabled individuals to freely travel across a floor in which the roller and guide system is mounted. The roller and guide system may include an anti-tip assembly to prevent the tipping of the storage units as the storage units are moved along the axial guide and drive rail.
US07950327B2
A stamping device comprising a stamp, a drive mechanism for moving the stamp between a printing position and a standby position, and a return urging member that urges the stamp towards the standby position in order to return the stamp to the standby position if the drive mechanism becomes inoperable.
US07950326B2
In a print area provided on a peripheral surface of a gravure roll, a plurality of cells are defined by printing-direction walls and perpendicular walls, and each perpendicular wall has a plurality of cuts. In a center portion of the print area, most intersections of the printing-direction walls and the perpendicular walls are defined by T-shaped intersections where the perpendicular walls do not cross the printing-direction walls, but meet the printing-direction walls in a T-shaped arrangement. Preferably, round chamfers are provided at corners where a portion of each printing-direction wall and a portion of each perpendicular wall intersect, and at leading ends of the perpendicular walls pointing toward the cuts.
US07950322B2
A plunger assembly including a pony rod adapter, a plunger releasably attached to the pony rod adapter, and a pony rod being releasably attached to the pony rod adapter. The pony rod adapter has a first cylindrical body and a number of apertures penetrating the first cylindrical body for receiving a lever. A first helically threaded pin is affixed to the first cylindrical body and projects from one of its ends. A second helically threaded pin is affixed to the first cylindrical body and projects from the other of its ends. The plunger has a second cylindrical body for reciprocating within a pumping chamber. The second cylindrical body has a first outer end with a first helically threaded bore for threadably receiving the first helically threaded pin. The second cylindrical body also has a first inner end with a polygonal socket for receiving a plunger key. The pony rod has a third cylindrical body for reciprocating into, and out of, the power end of a pump. The third cylindrical body has a second inner end with a second helically threaded bore for threadably receiving the second helically threaded pin. The third cylindrical body also has a second outer end. A peripheral flange is affixed to, and extends outwardly from, the second outer end. The peripheral flange is provided with a number of holes through which an equal number of threaded fasteners are extended for connecting the pony rod to the power end of a pump.
US07950320B2
Disclosed is a brake booster for motor vehicles, the control valve (12) of which is operable, irrespective of an actuating rod (7) that displaces a valve piston (9), via an electromagnet (20), which actuates a third sealing seat (24) allowing ventilation of the working chamber (3). The third sealing seat (24) is provided on a sleeve (32) that cooperates with the electromagnet (20), and a ring (36) is arranged, which is displaceable in relation to the third sealing seat (24) and is supported on the sleeve (32) by the intermediary of an elastic or compressible element (37). In order to improve the dynamics and the sound behavior of the brake booster, the ring (36) is arranged radially within the sleeve (32) in such a manner that its areas (33), by which it is in contact with the valve body (10), at least partly release the passages (19) provided in the valve body (10).
US07950316B2
An automated saw system, including a saw head movable in a cutting stroke and rotatable in angle to perform miter cuts and a lumber feed conveyor to feed lumber to be cut to the saw head. The short lumber member conveyor has a floating gripping assembly that is shiftable along a substantially linear path that is substantially parallel to the lumber long axis whereby a short lumber member cut from the lumber is supported by the short lumber member conveyor during at least part of a cutting process and, after the cutting process is complete, is conveyed from the vicinity of the saw head to an out-feed area for removal.
US07950315B2
A saw includes a base, a frame assembly disposed on the base, a first rail disposed on the frame assembly, and a table slidingly disposed on the first rail. The table has an upper surface for supporting a workpiece. A support assembly is disposed on the frame. A saw assembly is supported by the support assembly. The saw assembly includes a motor, a cutting wheel driven by the motor, a guard portion covering an upper portion of the cutting wheel, and a fluid delivery assembly configured to direct fluid toward the cutting wheel. The fluid assembly includes a flexible nozzle with a hole. The nozzle is configured to direct airflow created by the cutting wheel away from the hole.
US07950307B2
The bicycle brake and shift operation device is a device mounted on a drop handle of a bicycle, and includes: a bracket, a lever member, a winding body, a positioning mechanism, and a shift position display portion. The bracket is mounted on the drop handle. The lever member is a member that is pivotally supported by the bracket. The winding body is mounted to be rotationally movable on a support shaft provided on the lever member, and engages with a shift cable. The positioning mechanism, supported by the lever member, is a mechanism for positioning the winding body to positions that correspond to a plurality of shift positions of a rear derailleur. The shift position display portion is mechanically interlocked with the rotational movement of the winding body to display shift positions.
US07950294B2
A valve system includes a valve and a controller that controls the valve. The valve includes a valve body, and a motor configured to deliver a torque to the valve body to cause the valve body to move between an open position and a closed position. The controller is configured to drive the motor by applying a current to the motor. The controller is configured to measure the torque delivered by the motor to the valve body, compare the calculated torque with a threshold value, and diagnose a need by the valve system for preventive maintenance when the calculated torque is substantially equal to the threshold value. The threshold value represents substantially the maximum amount of torque available from the stepper motor.
US07950293B2
The invention relates to a method for measuring flow rates in liquid melts in a temperature range above 200 DEG C. using an ultrasonic generator and to an associated ultrasonic waveguide according to the ultrasonic Doppler method. The aim of the invention is to provide good signal incoupling and outcoupling. This is achieved by the preparation of the wettability of the end face of the ultrasonic waveguide before the measuring operation, subsequent direct incoupling of ultrasonic measuring signals into the melt at an angle that is not equal to 90 DEG, achieved by the immersion of the end face of the ultrasonic waveguide into the melt, outcoupling of the ultrasonic signals reflected in the melt via the end face of the ultrasonic waveguide and routing of said signals to an evaluation circuit. To prepare the wettability of the end face, the latter is mechanically and chemically cleaned and subsequently coated with a suitable material.
US07950292B2
In a constant current circuit, a constant current is caused to flow through a resistor, thereby causing a constant voltage to occur across the resistor. This constant voltage is then superimposed on an output signal of an operational amplifier that is to be fed back to the drain of a field effect transistor, thereby maintaining the same potential in an AC manner between the output terminal of the operational amplifier and the drain of the field effect transistor. In this way, the gate and drain of the field effect transistor is caused to exhibit the same potential in an AC manner, so that no current will occur through the stray capacitance between the gate and drain of the field effect transistor. As a result, similarly to a case of using a feedback capacitor, the input impedance of the field effect transistor can be raised.
US07950290B2
A method and apparatus for determining a mode of failure of a bond between an electrically conductive ball deposit and a substrate when breaking the ball deposit off of the substrate. The method and apparatus utilize tool force and displacement values to plot a force/displacement curve. The force/displacement curve is used to calculate the energy necessary to break the ball deposit off of the substrate. The energy value of a portion of a force/displacement curve is selected by reference to a peak force. In one preferred embodiment, this energy value is compared with a predetermined reference energy value to indicate a mode of failure. The peak force is preferably the maximum peak force, in the preferred embodiment, the method and apparatus distinguish between a ductile failure mode and a brittle failure mode.
US07950289B2
A damage sensor comprises a probe track, a sense track, and a signal generator operable to input a probe signal to the probe track. The probe track and the sense track are electromagnetically coupled by a structure on which they are provided, such that the probe signal induces, in dependence on the degree of electromagnetic coupling between the probe track and the sense track, a sensed signal in the sense track. The magnitude, phase and frequency of the sensed signal can be analysed in order to determine whether and where damage has occurred to the structure.
US07950283B2
A method of predicting workpiece deformation prior to machining that causes the workpiece to deform through release of residual stresses. The method includes emitting a beam of ultrasound waves onto the workpiece surface in such a way that a longitudinal wave is propagated in a given direction under and substantially parallel to the surface, positioning at least one transducer in receive mode on the surface to receive a subsurface longitudinal wave that has been propagated, and measuring the propagation velocity of the subsurface longitudinal wave. The method further includes performing these steps in two workpiece regions, a first region sensitive to residual stresses and a second region somewhat insensitive to residual stresses, then calculating a difference in propagation velocity between the velocity measured in the first region and the velocity measured in the second region and from the difference, deducing the deformation that will result from machining the first region.
US07950278B2
The present invention provides elimination of atmosphere that is not suitable to a space concerned by controlling atmosphere.The present invention is characterized that atmosphere in space is analyzed based on voice, and if atmosphere that is not suitable to the space is detected, the atmosphere in the space is controlled by choosing and irradiating illumination that enables to create atmosphere suitable to the space, atmosphere in the space is controlled for creating atmosphere that is suitable to the space.
US07950274B2
A method for determining an absolute rotational position of a vehicle steering column is provided. In one exemplary embodiment, the method determines a relative position of a steering assist motor utilizing a relative position sensor. Thereafter, the method determines the absolute rotational position of the vehicle steering column based upon the relative position of the steering assist motor.
US07950264B2
A measurement arrangement comprising a flexible disposable container and a disposable measurement probe for measuring an analytical property of a medium. The measurement probe is mounted on an inside wall of the disposable container and comprises a sensing element extending into the container, which is ready to use and which produces reliable measurement results. The disposable measurement arrangement comprises a closed capsule containing a buffer solution and a tether connecting said capsule to said probe. The container, the measurement probe, the capsule and the buffer solution are sterilized. The sensing element is inserted in the buffer solution during storage and the capsule is removed from the sensing element during measurement operation.
US07950262B2
A guided keeper assembly and method for metal forming dies includes a base having a flat mounting face and at least one marginal fastener aperture to detachably mount the base to an associated die shoe, as well as a central guide aperture. The assembly also includes a guide pin having a central portion closely received in the central guide aperture of the base for precisely guiding reciprocal motion between the die pad and an associated die shoe. The guide pin has an enlarged head at a first end thereof which abuts the mounting face of the base to positively limit travel between the die shoe and the die pad, and a shoulder at the opposite or second end thereof with an alignment mechanism that precisely locates the second end of the guide pin on the die pad. A first fastener extends through the marginal fastener aperture in the base to securely, yet detachably, connect the same with the die shoe. A second fastener securely, yet detachably, connects the second end of the guide pin with the die pad.
US07950257B2
A dryer or a washing machine includes a cabinet which forms an exterior of the dryer or the washing machine. A drum is rotatably mounted in the cabinet and a steam generator is provided outside the drum to supply steam to the drum, where the steam generator includes a water chamber to hold water, the water chamber having a heater mounted thereto for heating the water. The steam chamber is provided above the water chamber to hold steam generated as the water is heated, where the steam chamber has a steam discharge opening for discharging the steam, where the steam discharge opening is provided with a separator for isolating a steam discharge area from other areas and where the water chamber has a vertical direction length relatively greater than a horizontal direction length.
US07950252B2
The present invention relates to a method of manufacturing a formed article comprising forming an upper surface of a forming material comprised of a thermosoftening substance into a desired shape by positioning the forming material on a forming surface of a mold and heating the forming material to a temperature permitting deformation to bring an entire surface of a lower surface of the forming material into tight contact with the forming surface. The positioning of the forming material is conducted by supporting the forming material with a support member so that at least a portion of a lower surface rim portion of the forming material is in tight contact with the forming surface and a center portion of the lower surface of the forming material is separated from the forming surface, and the support with the support member is conducted so that a lower portion of a lateral surface of the forming material is separated from the support member and at least a portion of an upper edge portion of the lateral surface of the forming material is supported by the support member. According to the present invention, a formed article with a desired shape can be manufactured with high precision by hot sag forming method.
US07950245B2
In a refrigerator, cold air discharged from a cold air fan is guided by a guide member such that it flows directly to an evaporator. The guide member reduces flow of air through a gap between an inner surface of a cold air generating compartment and the evaporator. The guide member also includes a drainage portion configured to guide defrost water generated at the cold air fan to a position beneath the evaporator.
US07950238B2
A method is provided for performing a transfer from gas fuel operation to liquid fuel operation in a gas turbine with a dual fuel system. The method includes initiating a predetermined uncontrolled liquid fuel prefill flow rate through the liquid fuel system, sensing an onset of the uncontrolled liquid fuel flow to the combustor nozzles, and initiating transfer from gas fuel operation to liquid fuel operation when the flow of uncontrolled liquid fuel at the combustor nozzles is sensed. The onset of uncontrolled liquid fuel flow to the combustor nozzles is determined by monitoring changes of Fuel Normalized Power (FNP), a parameter sensitive to uncontrolled liquid fuel flow, and determining when FNP exceeds a threshold algorithm value.
US07950236B2
An annular exhaust duct of a gas turbine engine includes inner and outer cases co-axially disposed, and radially spaced apart by a plurality of airfoils radially extending therebetween. The outer case includes a connection apparatus for supportably connecting the exhaust duct to the gas turbine engine and the inner case includes an axial end portion at a rear end thereof for connection with a tail cone. The axial end portion bends radially and inwardly at a rear extremity thereof to stiffen the rear end of the inner ease.
US07950227B2
An exemplary compressor for a turbocharger includes a compressor wheel that includes first and second compressor faces oriented back-to-back and a bore for mounting the compressor wheel to a shaft along a rotational axis of the compressor wheel; and a compressor housing that includes a first air inlet oriented to pass inlet air in an axial direction along the rotational axis to the first compressor face, a second air inlet positioned a distance radially from the rotational axis and oriented to pass inlet air in an axial direction parallel to the rotational axis and radially toward the rotational axis to the second compressor face, and a single volute that receives compressed air from the first and second compressor faces.
US07950225B2
An exhaust control system for an internal combustion engine provided with an exhaust gas processing device and a NOx purifying catalyst which are arranged in series in an exhaust system, comprises: a first temperature detector for detecting a temperature of the exhaust gas processing device; a second temperature detector for detecting a temperature of the NOx purifying catalyst; a control means for controlling an exhaust temperature to conduct a regeneration process for removing sulfur contents trapped by the NOx purifying catalyst; and a control mode selection means for selecting one of a plurality of exhaust temperature control modes according to a relationship between an output from the first temperature detector and an output from the second temperature detector, wherein the control means conducts exhaust temperature control according to the control mode selected by the control mode selection means.
US07950221B2
The present invention provides methods and apparatus for controlling catalytic processes, including catalyst regeneration and soot elimination. An alternating current is applied to a catalyst layer and a polarization impedance of the catalyst layer is monitored. The polarization impedance may be controlled by varying the asymmetrical alternating current. At least one of water, oxygen, steam and heat may be provided to the catalyst layer to enhance an oxidation reaction for soot elimination and/or to regenerate the catalyst.
US07950215B2
A gas turbine combustion system for a turbine engine is disclosed. The gas turbine combustion system may include a plurality of combustor baskets positioned circumferentially about a longitudinal axis of the turbine engine, at least one firing nozzle extending into each of the plurality of combustor baskets and a fuel delivery system in communication with each of the at least one firing nozzles and in communication with at least one fuel source. Each combustor basket may include a fuel flow control device of the fuel delivery system inline with each of the at least one firing nozzles in that combustor basket such that fuel flow to some of the combustor baskets can be shut off while fuel flow to firing nozzles in other combustor baskets remains unobstructed, thereby permitting some combustor baskets to remain non-fired while other combustor baskets are firing to reduce CO emissions.
US07950213B2
A link belt for use as a conveyor belt or power transmission belt is provided. The belt is formed of a plurality of links forming a series in successive overlapping relation. The upper surface of each belt link includes an electrically conductive layer. Additionally, the lower surface of each belt link may have an electrically conductive layer. The conductive layer or layers provide an electrical path along the belt to impede the build-up of static electricity as the belt is run during use. A method for producing the conveyor assembly is also provided. A plurality of layers of reinforcing material are arranged in overlapping relation. A binding material such as thermoset urethane is deposited on the reinforcing material to bind the reinforcing materials together, thereby forming a composite material. An electrically conductive layer is deposited on the composite material, forming a conductive layer. The combined conductive layer and composite material are cured so that the conductive layer permanently bonds to the composite material. The combined conductive layer and composite material are then cut into a plurality of belt links, such that the conductive layer of each belt link is generally coextensive with the upper surface of the belt link. The belt links are then assembled to produce a link belt having an electrically conductive path.
US07950201B1
Drainage under a deck can be performed by a structure that includes hanging components and corrugated panels. For example, a hanging component can have connected first and second portions, with the first portion being connected to hang from one of the joists and extending downward to where it connects to the second portion, which is below the joist. The second portion can be connected to support of at least one of the panels from above. The upper surfaces of panels are sloped so that drainage occurs from a high part to a low part. The direction of slope and the direction of corrugations are not perpendicular, and can be approximately the same. The hanging components can, for example, be L-shaped brackets, U-shaped, or inverted T-shaped, and can be integrally formed by extrusion of plastic or can be metal. The panels can be corrugated plastic or metal sheets.
US07950200B2
An apparatus is disclosed which includes a drilling device and a tube. The drilling device typically has a first end, at which a point is located and a second end which is connected to a first end of the tube. The apparatus also includes an insertion bar having a first end inserted into the tube and a second end at which a latching device is located. The latching device can set a location of the insertion bar with respect to the tube so that a height is set. The apparatus may also include a first pole receiver connected at the second end of the insertion bar. The apparatus may include a handle which can be inserted into the insertion bar for rotating the insertion bar, tube, and drilling device to drill the drilling device into the ground.
US07950199B2
A filler assembly for spanning, filling, and concealing a gap between an installed metal cabinet and an adjacent wall, or adjacent cabinet is disclosed. The assembly includes a bracket, a backing strip and a filler strip and the filler strip is formed with a projecting tongue. The bracket includes a narrow channel sized to receive the tongue of the filler strip in a sliding relationship. The tongue of the filler strip can slide into the channel to different depths so that the tongue and bracket span and fill the gap and the position of the backing strip can be adjusted by an adjustment feature.
US07950184B2
To open a two-action gate, a sliding of a latch and a lifting of the gate to disengage a double stop is required. Performing one step without the other fails to open the gate. The gate is engaged in a frame which may in turn be engaged in a partition or doorway. Via a thumb tab, a portion of the latch can be slid out of the frame. Then the gate is lifted to lift the double stop up and clear of a lower portion of the frame such the gate is swingable. The gate is journaled to a vertically running frame member which serves as the swinging and sliding axis for the gate.
US07950180B2
A fish lure break away system, having a lure attachment member, a hook section with at least one elongated shank, an eyelet, an eyelet guide, and a least one curved bend terminating in a tip section. The eyelet defines an eyelet gap having a predetermined width. In one embodiment the lure attachment member has a predetermined breaking strength in combination with a selected thickness and flexibility such that the lure attachment member can be squeezed through the eyelet gap and thereby attached to the eyelet. The lure attachment member may be of strength less than that of fishing line so as to break if snagged to release and avoid loss of a lure. The hook section has an inwardly projecting member which may be maneuvered to close or minimize the eyelet gap to retain the lure attachment member.
US07950173B2
A portable sign including three legs movable between deployed and collapsed positions and a flexible covering bearing text, graphics or both includes a biasing mechanism urging the legs toward the deployed position. A support within the biasing mechanism secures three springs with the coils facing outward, one extension from each spring embedded in an upper support member and another extension movable within a plane tangential to a periphery of a lower support member and received by a hollow portion of one of the legs.
US07950171B2
A saddle block assembly including a main body having a shipper shaft opening through the main body bottom end, and an eccentric pin opening in the main body top end, an eccentric pin received in an eccentric pin opening in the top end of the main body, and a wear plate support. The wear plate support has a pin receiving opening, the eccentric pin being received in the pin receiving opening. Wear plates are mounted on the bottom end of the wear plate support and are adapted to bear against the top of a dipper handle.
US07950166B1
A simplified energy-return shoe system includes an energy-return shoe system is disclosed including a shoe portion for containing a user's foot with an upper sole having an upper toe sole area and an upper heel sole area. The upper sole is affixed to a bottom surface of the shoe portion and the upper sole is bendable at a point between the upper toe sole area and the upper heel sole area. A lower sole has a lower toe sole area and a lower heel sole area. The lower sole is bendable at a point between the lower toe sole area and the lower heel sole area. A heel suspension mechanism links the upper heel sole area to the lower heel sole area whereas the upper heel sole area is held in a parallel relationship to the lower heel sole area and the upper heel sole is allowed to move backwards in relationship to the lower heel sole. A device such as a spring is provided for pushing the upper heel sole area away from the lower heel sole area.
US07950163B2
A foot type and plantar pressure measuring device is provided. The device includes a color pad and a foggy film on the color pad. The device further includes a mesh pad on the foggy film and/or a resilient pad under the color pad, the resilient pad having protrusions. When a patient stands still on the device for a few seconds and then steps off, the patient's foot type and plantar pressure is shown by color pattern displayed on surface areas of the foggy film. The color pattern corresponds to the plantar pressure exerted on the device, and tones of the color pattern represent the plantar pressure exerted on the surface areas.
US07950160B2
A mobile electronic apparatus capable of effectively preventing erroneous recognition of a bearing (azimuth oz compass direction) by a user, as a correct display of the bearing is correct when the reliability of the display of the bearing is lowered by a change of the usage environment, and a bearing display method of the same, are provided. If a mobile electronic apparatus (100) is mounted on a charger (200) having a speaker (201), while information on a bearing calculated according to geomagnetism detected by a geomagnetic sensor (108) is displayed on a display part (107), updating of the information on the bearing repeated up to them is stopped, and information on a predetermined bearing is continuously displayed on the display part (107). This enables a user to correctly recognize that the information on the bearing displayed on the display part (107) is incorrect, thereby preventing the user from being misled by the unreliable information on the display part (107).
US07950156B2
A power tool is provided with a perforated material remover to remove perforated material from power tool cutting implements. The power tool also includes a rip guide which has a long guide edge and two attachment points to the shoe/base of the saw. The rip guide is attached to the base/shoe via a pair of L-shaped openings that accept L-shaped support arms of the rip guide. The rip guide can also be folded for compact storage. The power tool also includes dual bevel scales for quickly and easily setting the bevel angle on the power tool.
US07950154B2
An assembly of a pair of roller bearings in which the inner bearing rings are axially spaced apart by a first member and the outer bearing rings are spaced apart by a second member with one of the inner or outer ring of each bearing being an axially outer bearing ring spaced axially further from the outer bearing than the other ring of that bearing. The method comprises forming an assembly of the two members and bearings in which one of the axially outer bearing ring is a loose fit on one of the first and second members, and then axially moving the axially outer bearing ring of the one bearing which is loose fit in a direction towards the other bearing to create a pre-load, and then increasing the degree of pre-load to effect elastic deformation of that ring and thereby create a shrink fit type interface load.
US07950141B2
A specialized tool is provided for the removal of components in a microwave module in which a fixed tool having a channeled tip is positioned adjacent the component to be removed, with a hot stream of gas, forced through the channel to the top of the component which serves to heat the component, the component being removed through shearing when the component is forced against the tip.
US07950138B2
A main pole layer is deposited within an opening in a patterned photoresist layer on a substrate. The photoresist is thinned to expose an upper portion of a pole tip region that is then trimmed to a rectangular shape while a lower portion retains an inverted trapezoidal shape. Thereafter, a second trimming process forms a pole tip with a first width in the upper rectangular portion and a second thickness and second width which is less than the first width in the lower portion. A CMP step subsequently thins the upper portion to a first thickness of 0.04 to 0.08 microns while the second thickness remains at 0.16 to 0.32 microns. The bottom surface of the lower portion along the ABS becomes the trailing edge in a recording operation. The pole tip has a consistent first width (track width) that is not influenced by CMP process variations.
US07950134B2
A method of forming and connecting an antenna to a feedthrough member of a housing. The method comprising a step of: positioning the feedthrough member and an antenna template relative to each other. A step of connecting the first portion of at least one electrically conducting wire to the feedthrough member. An additional step of winding the wire at least once around the antenna template, and a further step of connecting a second portion of each wire to said feedthrough member.
US07950133B2
A method comprising: a first process of placing a laminated rotor core in a preheating device to preheat the laminated core; a second process of removing the preheated laminated core from the preheating device and disposing the laminated core between upper and lower dies of a resin sealing apparatus; a third process of pressing the laminated core by the upper and lower dies and liquefying resin material in resin reservoir pots by heating; and a fourth process of ejecting the liquefied resin material from the pots into the magnet insertion holes by plungers inserted and moving vertically in the pots and thermally curing the resin material. The method improves efficiency of resin sealing the permanent magnets in the laminated core.
US07950132B2
Disclosed is an integrated device which can peel a protective film from a board assembly and mount the board assembly on a backlight unit. The integrated peeling and mounting device includes: an index rotary unit having a shaft for rotating heads facing in different directions; an alignment calibration unit for calibrating an aligned state of the board assembly and the backlight unit; and a mounting unit for mounting a board assembly adsorbed to a first head of the index rotary unit on the backlight unit.
US07950122B2
The pool cue clamp is a spring squeeze clamp having sturdy, flexible fingers extending therefrom for holding pool cues. The fingers are rotatable within the clamp and can be configured to comply with horizontal, vertical or angular surfaces. The pool cue clamp holds up to five cue sticks in a vertical position.
US07950118B1
A memorial urn assembly for comingling remains from two containers includes a pair of containers such that each of the containers includes a perimeter wall defining an interior. The perimeter wall has an interior surface and an exterior surface. The perimeter wall of one of the containers has a mating area configured to engage with a mating area of another one of the containers. The containers are couplable together so that the interior of one of the assemblies is in fluid communication with the interior of another one of the assemblies.
US07950099B1
A caulk working tool for working caulk against first and second surfaces defining an intersection comprising a shaft member and a scraper body. The shaft member is substantially rigid, and scraper body is substantially resilient. The scraper body is molded over the shaft member and comprises a scraper surface defining a point and first and second sides. The scraper body deforms when the first and second sides are held in contact with the first and second surfaces. The caulk working tool is displaced relative to the first and second surfaces while the first and second sides are in contact with the first and second surfaces to cause the scraper surface to work the caulk against the first and second surfaces and form a desired profile in the caulk.
US07950090B2
An article for distress-washing fabric comprising a hollow float and at least one distressing feature projecting outwardly from an outer surface of the float, wherein the article is substantially wear resistant and does not produce residue as a result of impact with fabric, internal surfaces of a washing machine and additional articles for distress-washing fabric. A method for distress-washing fabric utilizing an article described herein.
US07950089B2
A method of controlling a washing machine and a washing machine, in which the energy efficiency of a washing machine can be optimized without incurring additional costs are provided. The method includes heating wash water contained in a washing tub; and supplying steam into the washing tub, wherein a time frame during which the heating the wash water is performed at least partially overlaps with a time frame during which the supplying steam is performed. The washing machine includes a cabinet; a washing tub disposed in the cabinet; a wash water heating unit; and a steam supply unit, wherein a time frame during which the wash water heating unit heats the wash water in the washing tub at least partially overlaps with a time frame during which the steam supply unit supplies steam into the washing tub.
US07950084B1
A breathable mattress including a plurality of layers, where one of the mattress layers is further comprised of a plurality of sections and the sections are comprised of different types of materials, which have varying firmnesses and feel, and where each of the layers is comprised of material that is perforated or of an open-cell structure to allow for air circulation. The mattress is supported by an air filtration foundation capable of creating an air flow within the mattress.
US07950083B2
A portable child bed in the nature of a cot. The cot includes a frame having a network of interconnected legs such that the frame is collapsible and expandable between open and closed configurations. The frame includes a stop to halt the expansion of the frame at a certain position. Flexible bedding depends from the frame in the nature of a hammock, with the flexible bedding being anchored at six positions about the frame. The frame of interconnected legs includes legs that are shaped to be out-of-the-way of the depending flexible bedding such that a child rests on the flexible bedding, not on the frame. Flexible straps run on an underside of the bedding and run to and between hubs of the frame.
US07950082B2
Cradle for a passenger cabin of an aircraft, suitable for a child of less than 2 years old capable of sitting upright, comprising a rigid and formable structure formed by a rectangular frame and two uprights, designed to be fixed to one wall of the cabin, and a cover with mattress attached to the rectangular frame. The cover comprises in one of its longitudinal sides two windows separated by a strip of fabric and closed by a retractable tulle flap in such a way that the child can sit upright in the cradle with his or her legs passing out of the cradle through the windows and on either side of the fabric strip when the flap has been retracted.
US07950078B2
A preformed structural support for ceramic tile for use in constructing a horizontal support surface, such as a seat or a foot rest in a shower or the like installation environment is provided. The preformed structural support includes a base of a corrosion-resistant material that can be trimmed to conform to the irregularities of the structural walls to which it is to be installed against. The base includes tile receiving sides that are textured and are ready for the application of tile using a suitable adhesive, such as a thinset compound. The preformed structural support is installed without the use of penetrating fasteners, thereby preserving the integrity of the waterproofing of the shower.
US07950077B2
An improved spa nozzle that is capable of entraining high air flow rates from the surrounding environment, said nozzle of the type having a water input conduit of diameter D, a flow output conduit having entry and diameter of DID, a transition conduit having a diameter of ID and a length of PL, and an air entrainment conduit, and wherein the following ratios are defined to describe the relative geometry of the nozzle: α=PL/(DID−ID), β=DID/ID and γ=D/ID, the improvement comprising: the water input, transition and output conduits being configured such that α is in the range of 1.3-5 and β is>1.9.
US07950069B2
Provided is pants having a body-shaping function including; an elastic fabric included in the pants, and having a boundary that is partially fixed on the pants to elastically support hips of a wearer; and a hip-up band fixed on the elastic fabric to push the hips up so as to make contours of the hips more voluminous or compression bands on lower side portions of the elastic fabric in order to compress thighs of the wearer so as to make the thighs look thin, or a pair of pads having predetermined thicknesses and disposed on the elastic fabric to make the hips of the wearer look more attractive. Therefore, since the elastic fabric is integrally fixed in the pants for shaping the hips, the conventional girdle is not required. In addition, since the girdle in the pants only compresses the hips, it does not affect blood circulation around the belly, and is easily wearable. Also, the contours of the hips look more attractive due to the pads.
US07954166B2
An improved method of loading tips and other surfaces with patterning compositions or inks for use in deposition. A method of patterning is described, the method comprising: (i) providing at least one array of tips; (ii) providing a plurality of patterning compositions; (iii) ink jet printing at least some of the patterning compositions onto some of the tips; and (iv) depositing at least some of the patterning compositions onto a substrate surface; wherein the ink jet printing is adapted to prevent substantial cross-contamination of the patterning composition on the tips. Good printing reproducibility and control of printing rate can be achieved. The surfaces subjected to ink jet printing can be treated to encourage localization of the ink at the tip. The method is particularly important for high density arrays.
US07954160B2
An intrusion detection system, and a related method and computer program product, for implementing intrusion detection in a remote, on-demand computing service environment in which one or more data processing hosts are made available to a remote on-demand user that does not have physical custody and control over the host(s). Intrusion detection entails monitoring resources defined by the on-demand user (or a third party security provider) for intrusion events that are also defined by the on-demand user (or security provider), and implementing responses according to event-action rules that are further defined by the on-demand user (or security provider). An intrusion detection system agent is associated with each of the data processing hosts, and is adapted to monitor the intrusion events and report intrusion activity. If there are plural intrusion detection system agents, they can be individually programmed to monitor and report on agent-specific sets of the intrusion events. An intrusion detection system controller is associated with one of the data processing hosts. It is adapted to manage and monitor the intrusion detection system agent(s), process agent reports of intrusion activity, and communicate intrusion-related information to the on-demand user (or security provider). The responses to intrusion events can be implemented by the intrusion detection system controller in combination with the intrusion detection system agents, or by any such entity alone.
US07954151B1
Monitored content is classified to determine partial matches with fragments of documents. A set of redundant keys, or sliding sectional fingerprints, are computed for every possible alignment of the documents with respect to the monitored content. The keys are stored in repositories according to the classification of the corresponding documents. Sectional fingerprints are computed for the monitored content, and the repositories are searched. If a match is found in a repository corresponding to public content, then the monitored data section is classified as public. If a match is found only in a repository corresponding to private content, then the data section is classified as private. Otherwise, the data section is classified as unknown. In a related aspect, a set of policies are searched for a first match in part according to the classifications of the monitored data sections, and a designated action taken if the first match is found.
US07954145B2
Techniques for virtual private network (VPN) access are provided. A dynamic determination, in response to privileges, is made as to whether a principal and a device of a principal are to receive a thin client virtual private network (VPN) installation for a thin client VPN session between the principal and a remote site or whether a clientless VPN session is appropriate. Dynamic switching between the clientless VPN session and thin client VPN session is permissible when the principal supplies the appropriate credentials for such a switch.
US07954143B2
Methods, network services, and computer program products that dynamically assign computer network users to firewall policy groups are provided. A user is assigned to a first firewall policy group, and user activity on the computer network is monitored. The user is assigned to a second, different firewall policy group automatically if monitored user activity indicates that a change in detail level of rules is necessary. Each firewall policy group has rules that control whether to block or allow communications through firewalls on the computer network. The firewall policy groups are arranged in a hierarchical structure having a plurality of levels that are arranged such that rules within the firewall policy groups are different at each level. A user may be assigned to a different firewall policy group that is below, above, or at the same level as the initial firewall policy group.
US07954131B2
Apparatus and methods for premises gateway functions that integrate or unify functions typically distributed across multiple devices within a content-based network. In one embodiment, the out-of-band (OOB) signaling functionality normally provided in each of a set-top-box (STB) and digital video recorder (DVR) are unified into a common OOB (e.g., DOCSIS) capable premises gateway device, thereby obviating OOB tuners and related components from each device. In another variant, the premises gateway is adapted for all-IP operation, such as for use with IP-based computers and IP set-top boxes, etc. Fully unified variants are also disclosed, wherein the DVR and/or STB functions are physically integrated within the premises gateway.
US07954130B2
A network camera system that transmits video captured by a camera to a client via a network include a recording device directly connected thereto or built therein, wherein the client switches between a normal mode in which the camera transmits continuous video images and a file transfer mode in which video captured by the camera is temporarily stored as a file in the recording device and the file is transferred to the client in response to an instruction from the client.
US07954129B2
A surveillance system and method for remote viewing of inputs associated with at least one wireless input capture device ICD(s) monitoring a target environment, and a corresponding digital input recorder (DIR) and/or another ICD, including the steps of providing base system and at least one user accessing the DIR or ICD(s) via user interface remotely from a remote viewing device.
US07954127B2
A direct broadcast system having a high altitude communication device that transmits broadcast signals, which are received by an antenna, is provided. The system includes an outdoor unit (ODU) electrically coupled to the antenna. The ODU includes a low noise block converter (LNB) that receives and amplifies the broadcast signals. An ODU receiver is electrically coupled to the ODU and selects a desired frequency of the broadcast signals. Integrated receiver and decoders (IRD(s) are electrically coupled to the ODU receiver via a single distribution cable. The IRD(s) convert the broadcast signals into IRD output signals. Methods of performing the same are also provided, herein, including a transport select method and a service select method for receiving the broadcast signals. A direct broadcast system installation method and wireless communication between the ODU and the IRD(s) are also provided.
US07954116B2
A combination compact disk player and jewelry box is disclosed having a housing, a compact disk (CD) player internally mounted in the housing with built-in compact disk storage. Mechanism for playing the CDs is provided and at least one slide out drawer is provided for holding jewelry and other trinkets therein.
US07954114B2
A firmware socket module is deployed on a reconfigurable logic device, wherein the firmware socket module is configured to provide both commands and target data to an entry point in a data processing pipeline, wherein each command defines a data processing operation that is to be performed by the data processing pipeline, and wherein the target data corresponds to the data upon which the data processing pipeline performs its commanded data processing operation. Also, the firmware socket module may be configured to (1) access an external input descriptor pool buffer that defines an order in which commands and target data are to be provided to the data processing pipeline, and (2) transfer the commands and target data from an external memory to the data processing pipeline in accordance with the defined order.
US07954113B2
A signal processing apparatus includes the following elements. A plurality of signal processing software modules perform unit signal-processing steps of signal processing by means of software processing. An instruction input receiving unit receives an instruction. A virtual connecting unit sets up a virtual connection between inputs and outputs of the signal processing software modules in response to the received instruction. A circuit structure information storing and managing unit stores and manages the virtually connected signal processing software modules. A path routing unit routes a signal processing path to determine the order in which the stored signal processing software modules perform the signal processing. A signal processing executing unit performs the signal processing by sequentially executing the signal processing software modules in the determined order. The path routing unit determines whether a feedback loop including no delay element is generated in a circuit composed of the signal processing software modules.
US07954112B2
Data interchanges are processed so that problematic individual elements within the data interchanges do not cause the processing of the data interchanges to be suspended unless there is a catastrophic error. The data interchanges are split up by flat file and/or XML disassemblers of a message engine into independent messages even if some elements are incorrect or cause processing failures. Those messages in the interchange that may be processed are processed, while those that would cause processing errors are suspended in a suspend queue for recovery processing. Even when a message is placed in the suspend queue, processing continues with the next independent message in the data interchange. Messages that are placed in the suspend queue for lack of routing information may be resumed by providing the routing information and again attempting to route the previously suspended message. The method of the invention is scalable since it works regardless of the size of the interchange or its individual message elements.
US07954092B2
The present invention provides processor-implemented method and system of creating an assured execution environment for at least one computer program executable on a computer system. In an exemplary embodiment, the method and system include (1) converting the executable into a computer program targeted for the computer system, where the converting includes scrambling the executable by applying an encryption scheme to the executable and (2) executing the program on the computer system only if the program complies with a policy.
US07954091B2
A method for unit testing of business processes for Web services, including steps of mapping the Web service description language (WSDL) elements of a process under test and its partner processes into equivalent Object-Oriented language (OO) elements, and performing testing on the process under test based on Object-Oriented unit testing frameworks. Each Web service interface of the process under test and its partner processes is mapped into an equivalent OO interface, partner stubs are generated on basis of the OO interfaces of the partner processes, WSDL binding and service port information are defined for the generated partner stubs, test cases are formed which contain test logic describing the service invocations between the process under test and its partner processes, and the test cases are executed, wherein the partner stub and its associated mock object collectively implement the service of a corresponding partner process.
US07954086B2
A method, and a corresponding mechanism, are used for creating a self-describing kernel module. The method includes the steps of expressing data describing a module in a modmeta file format and creating a C language source file. The C language source file is created by translating the expressed data into a series of C language data structures, wherein the series of C language data structures comprises the C language source file. The C language source file is then compiled and linked into the module itself, thus making the module contain its own descriptive data.
US07954084B2
The software generates the computer code of at least one part of a computer application, from a description of this part of the computer application by distributing this part among several code generators according to modifiable distribution rules. Each code generator translates the part of the description that it is provided with, in order to provide at least one part of the computer code in a respective language. The invention also relates to a software description language, notably of the type of an object-oriented language for computer application modeling. The invention also relates to a software enabling to graphically or textually build a computer application model, notably a computer application human-machine interface model, and to provide a description of the model in a software description language according to the invention.
US07954070B2
A display for identifying a floor of a building being monitored presents a plurality of groups of floors and a plurality of floors in a group. The groups can be of floors and selected plurality of floors automatically presented to identify one or more floors that are exhibiting a selected ambient condition being monitored. Alternately, a slide can be used to identify one of a plurality of floors. A zoom function can also be provided.
US07954063B2
A computer system includes a user interface, which includes a display device for displaying a graphical program interface. The graphical program interface includes one or more controls for assigning at least one attribute value to an attribute of an object. The graphical program interface also includes a current attribute values interface in which attribute values assigned to the object are displayed and an assignable attribute values interface in which a limited set of possible values of at least one of the attributes are shown. At least one of the current attribute values interface and assignable attribute values interface includes a value select control for selecting at least one of the possible values and assigning this selected value to the object attribute.
US07954061B2
Internet location objects are created and displayed as icons in a graphical user interface environment. When an object is dragged from within an application into a system window, a drag object describing what is being dragged is passed from the application to the operating system. Depending on the drag object, the file manager either causes an Internet location object to be created directly or intelligently parses a text string that has been dragged and dropped onto the user desktop to determine whether the text string is likely a URL. If a text string is found to likely be a URL, then an Internet location object is created to contain a URL by transforming the text string into the URL. When the user “opens” an Internet location object, a browser or other program is launched and retrieves the resource identified by the URL stored as part of the Internet location object.
US07954054B2
A computer system and method for providing user feedback when creating, modifying, or editing electronic documents. An insertion point icon is placed in a document at a position for insertion and/or deletion of text, graphics, data, etc. Upon receiving a user input indicating movement, the insertion point icon is divided into two icons, one stationary at the position, and one moving with user input. When movement is complete, space contained between the icons may be deleted or inserted. The system may be used to shift handwritten text to subsequent lines on an electronic document containing handwritten text, and may be used to bring two groups of text together, deleting space in between. A connection line may be displayed between the icons to provide feedback regarding the action to be taken.
US07954052B2
A computer implemented method for processing a collaborative web page. An initiation method is invoked to locate commands within nodes in a tree. The commands may place events in a queue to form queued events. Events are processed on a data hub to deliver the queued events to the data hub. A discover method is invoked on the commands present in the tree for allowing identical commands to update. A render method is invoked on the commands present in the tree to display the commands on the collaborative web page.
US07954051B2
Systems, methods and apparatus provide a character process for processing markup language data, such as XML data, by receiving a character stream of markup language data and applying sequences of characters of the character stream to a set of state machines. The set of state machines includes a plurality of construct state machines responsible for processing respective markup language constructs identified by the sequences of characters. The character processor produces, from application of the sequences of characters to the set of state machines, an intermediate representation of the markup language constructs identified by the sequence of characters of the character stream of markup language data. The intermediate representation contains encoded items containing type, length, value representations representative of constructs within the character stream of markup language data.
US07954044B2
A method and apparatus for creating links between a representation, (e.g. text data,) and a realization, (e.g. corresponding audio data,) is provided. According to the invention the realization is structured by combining a time-stamped version of the representation generated from the realization with structural information from the representation. Thereby so called hyper links between representation and realization are created. These hyper links are used for performing search operations in realization data equivalent to those which are possible in representation data, enabling an improved access to the realization (e.g. via audio databases).
US07954032B2
A method and apparatus for transmitting a broadcast physical layer packet in a mobile communication system supporting multi-slot transmission and hybrid Automatic Repeat Request (H-ARQ) are provided. The method comprises initially transmitting the broadcast physical layer packet according to a fixed transmission format for at least one first slot interval and retransmitting the broadcast physical layer packet for at least one second slot interval using a variable transmission format different from the transmission format used in the first slot interval.
US07954028B2
A design structure for implementing redundancy programming in a memory macro of an integrated circuit chip. It is assumed that all fails are row fails until determined to be bitline fails, circuits for implementing a method wherein it is assumed that all fails are row fails until determined to be bitline fails and test patterns are passed back to the failure detecting circuit when a wordline destination of the test patterns has previously been determined to be failing, and the test patterns and resultant patterns are passed between the memory macro and a test engine via logic paths connecting the memory macro to other circuits in said integrated circuit chip.
US07954020B2
A system and method for testing a memory array are disclosed which may include establishing a stored data vector, including a plurality of data bits, within at least one circuit; applying one or more logical operations on the stored data vector to generate a succession of original data vectors at the at least one circuit; transmitting the succession of original data vectors through a memory array to provide a succession of exercised data vectors; comparing the succession of exercised data vectors to the succession of respective original data vectors; and determining whether the memory array passes or fails based on the comparing step.
US07954013B2
A storage system including a maintenance terminal, at least one disk drive, and a plurality of volumes that are provided by the at least one disk drive, and each store therein data written by the plurality of host devices. In this storage system, the maintenance terminal sets information for use to measure the performance of the storage device, and the storage device acquires the set information, measures the performance of the storage device with respect to the data stored in the plurality of volumes based on the information, and transmits, to the maintenance terminal, performance information about the performance being a measurement result. The storage system as such can collect information about the performance of a storage device that is not measurable from the side of the host devices, and a method for collecting such performance information can be provided.
US07954002B2
Systems and methods according to these exemplary embodiments provide for methods and systems for improving efficiency in communications systems by, for example, bulk release of resources upon a partial node failure. Bulk release messages including, for example, at least one identifier associated with a plurality of resources, can be transmitted from a node toward other nodes to release such resources after the node failure.
US07953986B2
An apparatus, a computer-readable recording medium, and a method of controlling data recording and reproducing to and from a disk. Controlling the recording of data includes storing password information set in a recording mode and key information to a first area of the disk, encrypting location information of the first area, storing the encrypted location information to a second area of the disk, encrypting desired data and an address of the desired data using the key information, and recording the encrypted data at the encrypted address. Controlling the reproducing of data includes, when the password information is received in a reproducing mode, reading the encrypted location information saved to the second area of the disk, decrypting the encrypted location information of the first area, reading the password information saved to the first area, comparing the received password information with the read password information, and when the received password information is identical to the read password information, reading the key information saved to the first area and reproducing the desired data and the address using the read key information.
US07953984B1
A computer-implemented method detecting malware that includes providing a malware detection application and providing a search engine, the search engine being configured to receive data and commands from the malware detection application and to return data pertaining to search results to the malware detection application. The method also includes sending at least one of scan options and at least one malware-suggestive pattern from the malware detection application to the search engine. The method additionally includes searching, using the search engine and the at least one of scan options and the at least one malware-suggestive pattern, to obtain data pertaining to scan targets. The method also includes sending the data pertaining to the scan targets from the search engine to the malware detection application. The method further includes performing malware detection, using the malware detection application and the data pertaining to the scan targets, on the scan targets.
US07953979B2
Systems and methods consistent with the present invention enable explicit and multilateral trust across a community of federated servers via a network. A trusted third party establishes a framework of policies and procedures governing a federation. Organizations joining the federation submit to an audit process of internal policies and procedures to ensure compliance with the policies and procedures of the federation. Upon successful completion of an audit, an organization may receive a digital certificate containing the digital public key of the organization and indicating approval of the trusted third party. The organization may then use the associated digital private key for signing security assertions associated with a request for resources from another federation service provider. The service provider may trust the assertion from the organization based on trust placed in trusted third party by the service provider and the trust placed in the organization by the trusted third party.
US07953975B2
Disclosed herein is a method of generating anti-collusion fingerprint codes using a (na, n2a−2, na−1, n, 0, 1) GD-PBIBD. The fingerprint codes are generated using computer equipment that executes a program for executing a program for generating the fingerprint codes. The method includes step 1 of receiving an arbitrary prime number n and an arbitrary integer a larger than 3, step 2 of generating an n×n index matrix, step 3 of generating n n×n type_i matrixes, step 4 of generating an n2×n2 matrix using the n×n index matrix and the n×n type_i matrixes, step 5 of generating an na×n2a−2 matrix, and step 6 of extracting one arbitrary column from the na×n2a−2 matrix.
US07953973B2
Methods, systems, and computer program products for passively routing secure socket layer (SSL) encoded network traffic are disclosed. According to one aspect, a method includes passively receiving a copy of SSL encoded network traffic. Further, the method includes passively parsing the received network traffic and generating an identical copy of the network traffic such that the network traffic is not decrypted and without interfering with the network traffic. A target output network device can be selected for transmission of the identical copy of the network traffic. The identical copy of the network traffic can be transmitted from the selected target output network device.
US07953969B2
An automated arrangement for reducing the occurrence and/or minimizing the impact of false positives by a reputation service is provided in which overrides for a reputation of an adversary are reported to a reputation service from security devices, such as unified threat management systems, deployed in enterprise or consumer networks. An override is typically performed by an administrator at a customer network to allow the security device to accept traffic from, or send traffic to a given IP address or URL. Such connectivity is allowed—even if such objects have a blacklisted reputation provided by a reputation service—in cases where the administrator recognizes that the blacklisted reputation is a false positive. The reputation service uses the reported overrides to adjust the fidelity (i.e., a confidence level) of that object's reputation, and then provides an updated reputation, which reflects the fidelity adjustment, to all the security devices that use the reputation service.
US07953964B2
A system for migrating information includes a first information handling system (“IHS”). The first IHS is for, in response to a first boot event, booting from a computer readable medium, bypassing the first IHS' user authentication requirement, and establishing a connection between the first IHS and a second IHS. The system for migrating information also includes the second IHS, coupled to the first IHS. The second IHS is for, in response to a second boot event, booting from a storage device of the second IHS, establishing the connection between the first IHS and the second IHS, and migrating information from the first IHS to the second IHS.
US07953951B2
Systems and methods for distributing thread instructions in the pipeline of a multi-threading digital processor are disclosed. More particularly, hardware and software are disclosed for successively selecting threads in an ordered sequence for execution in the processor pipeline. If a thread to be selected cannot execute, then a complementary thread is selected for execution.
US07953943B2
In one embodiment, a MUD logger receives a notification from another MUD logger maintaining another MUD log for a volume, the notification indicating one or more modifications to be made to a MUD log maintained by the MUD logger receiving the notification, wherein the MUD log includes information for one or more epochs, wherein the information for each of the epochs indicates a set of one or more regions of the volume that have been modified during the corresponding epoch. The MUD logger updates the MUD log associated with the volume, wherein updating the MUD log is performed in response to the notification.
US07953937B2
An efficient method for breaking source data into smaller data subsets and storing those subsets along with coded information about some of the other data subsets on different storage nodes such that the original data can be recreated from a portion of those data subsets in an efficient manner.
US07953924B1
A method for managing a plurality of servers is disclosed. Each server of the plurality of servers has access to data stored by other servers. The data is stored to one or more data storage devices. Coordinating information is written for the plurality of servers to a master mailbox record. The coordinating information includes data that each server uses to recover after a failure by a server. The master mailbox record is stored on a selected storage device at a location known to the plurality of servers, and the selected storage device is designated as a lock storage device. A plurality of lock storage devices is chosen so that in the event of failure of a server of the plurality of servers, at least one lock storage device will be available to the remaining servers.
US07953921B2
In a directed auto-refresh (DARF) mode, refresh commands are issued by a controller, and refresh row and bank addresses are maintained internally to a memory module. A bank address counter internal to the memory is initialized to a first predetermined value upon entering DARF mode. The memory refreshes the currently addressed bank in response to a DARF command, and increments the bank address counter in a predetermined sequence. The controller tracks the bank address, and may issue one or more memory access commands while a DARF operation is being performed, if the memory access and the refresh are directed to different banks. Upon exiting a self-refresh mode, the bank address counter assumes a second predetermined value. The second predetermined value may be fixed, or may be n+1, where n is the value of the bank address counter when self-refresh mode is initiated.
US07953920B2
A semiconductor storage device includes a first memory area configured in a volatile semiconductor memory, second, third and fourth memory areas configured in a nonvolatile semiconductor memory, and a controller which executes following processing. The controller executes a first processing for storing a plurality of data by the first unit in the first memory area, a second processing for storing data by a first management unit in the fourth memory area, a third processing for storing data by a second management unit in the third memory area, a fourth processing for moving an area of the third unit from the fourth memory area to the second memory area, a fifth processing for copying data to an area of the third unit and allocating the area to the second memory area, and a sixth processing for copying data to an empty area of the third unit in the second memory area.
US07953914B2
Embodiments of the invention provide an interrupt handler configured to distinguish between critical and non-critical unrecoverable memory errors, yielding different actions for each. Doing so may allow a system to recover from certain memory errors without having to terminate a running process. In addition, when an operating system critical task experiences an unrecoverable error, such a task may be acting on behalf of a non-critical process (e.g., when swapping out a virtual memory page). When this occurs, an interrupt handler may respond to a memory error with the same response that would result had the process itself performed the memory operation. Further, firmware may be configured to perform diagnostics to identify potential memory errors and alert the operating system before a memory region state change occurs, such that the memory error would become critical.
US07953910B2
An AIO PC has its LVDS link or interface, between the mother board and the LCD, modified by the insertion of an LVDS Switch which can connect to a second LVDS source such as LCD controller which takes its input from a socket mounted on the housing of the AIO PC. The LVDS switch and LCD controller are located within the enclosure or housing of the AIO PC. The LVDS switch is controlled by a physical electromechanical switch.
US07953906B2
A device, method and software for handling multiple interrupts in a peripheral device are disclosed. The disclosed method includes, upon a hardware event in the peripheral device recording the hardware event and determining an acceptable period before which an interrupt should be generated to service the event. A timer at the peripheral device is adjusted as needed to maintain a value within the acceptable period. Upon expiry of the timer a single interrupt is generated to a processor interconnected to the peripheral device. In response to the single interrupt, software code is executed on the processor to service un-serviced hardware events for which an indicator has been recorded.
US07953902B2
A proposal is discussed that facilitates exchanging parameters for a link layer that allows a variable number of parameters without changing a communication protocol. Likewise, the proposal allows for both components connected via the link to negotiate values for the parameters that are exchanged without a need for external agent intervention or redundancy.
US07953900B2
A system and method for discovering I/O bus capabilities. Specifically, a system is described for discovering I/O bus capabilities on a computer system. The system includes an ACPI name space, a first ACPI interface, and a second ACPI interface. The ACPI name space details hardware configuration in the computer system. The first ACPI interface in the ACPI name space details current capabilities of an I/O bus that is communicatively coupled to an I/O slot. The second ACPI interface details a list of all the capabilities of the I/O bus that supports the I/O slot.
US07953899B1
Numerous types of hardware devices and memory included in a computing system can be accessed with a universal interface that has common interface commands. The universal interface aids engineers and technicians working on the system. This is particularly useful in a data storage system that includes a plurality of nodes for providing access to a data storage facility.
US07953882B2
A layered media stream comprising media information layers of different priorities may be adaptively distributed by transmitting at least one of the media information layers to a client on a time-windowed basis. Within each time window, the transmission of the media information layers is attempted in priority order and lower priority layers are transmitted as network conditions allow.
US07953847B2
A method of managing a computing system (300) includes generating (1702) transaction requests in accordance with a transaction profile of the system (300). The transaction requests are provided for processing by the system (300). Status data of a set of managed resources (102) of the system (300) is collected (1704) in accordance with a system model stored in a knowledge base (204). Performance indicators of the system (300) are determined (1706) from the status data in accordance with the system model. The transaction performance of the system (300) is monitored (1710) by comparing the performance of the system (300) in processing the transaction requests with an expected performance. When a degradation in transaction performance is detected, a signal (1712) is generated to indicate that a degradation in performance has occurred, to enable the status data and/or performance indicators to be analysed at the time at which the performance degradation occurs. The method improves over prior art management methods by providing for the simultaneous measurement of the transaction performance of the system (300), along with monitoring of defined status and performance metrics, thereby enabling correlation between changes in performance and changes in the status of the system. A corresponding computer implemented means for managing a computer system, and computer program products, are also provided.
US07953823B2
Mechanisms for securing access to network resources are described. The mechanisms may provide functionality for securing access to a network element and which can include associating a network element with a set of data, and configuring a portion of the data to be responsive to a first subset of access rights. The mechanisms may further provide for selection of an appropriate security to govern access by a user to network resources.
US07953812B2
A system and method of the present invention allow communication via electronic messages between a Customer and a domain name Registrar, avoiding traditional electronic mail (email) communication. Email messages may not be delivered to the Customer for various reasons including the situations where the Customer employs anti-SPAM protective technologies. The system and method of the present invention establish a Communication Link between a Customer's Computer and Registrar's Server, which avoids anti-SPAM protective technologies and email messaging altogether. Information relating to the communication may be stored on a database and the system may present the Customer with various options relating to a domain service. The implementation of this invention would result in a higher rate of delivered messages to the Customer.
US07953809B2
Techniques for acquiring, sending, receiving or using status information from a remote location over a network are disclosed. The status information is transmitted over the network between or among electronic devices. The status information can be provided by one or more sensors associated with the electronic device that is transmitting the status information. The status information can be transmitted with messages so as to enhance the messages. The electronic devices include at least computing devices, such as personal computers, personal digital assistants, pagers, and mobile telephones.
US07953805B2
A method for creating an electronic mailing group. The method is implemented via execution of computer readable program code on a processor of a computer system. A first input is stored in a computer-readable storage medium. The first input includes a first group name for distributing a first electronic mail message. The first group name is associated with a plurality of electronic mail addresses, based on a first set of received instructions. The first group name represents the addresses. After associating, information associated with the first group name is stored in the storage medium. The information is associated with each address of the addresses and designates each address of the addresses as a first recipient type selected from: To recipient, Carbon Copy recipient, and Blind Carbon Copy recipient. At least one address of the addresses is designated as a Carbon Copy recipient or a Blind Carbon Copy recipient.
US07953797B2
To assign clients distributed across a plurality of subnetworks to a server, one of the clients is first selected in a respective subnetwork. A search is carried out across the subnetworks by a respective selected client for other selected clients and for the server, whereby when it locates the server, the selected client stores server address information identifying said server and when it locates another selected client, it requests the server address information from that client and stores it on receipt. The stored server address information is transmitted by the selected client to one or a plurality of other selected or non-selected clients.
US07953786B2
A system and method for collecting and storing communications preferences of recipients and delivering communications to a recipient in accordance with the recipient's preferences is disclosed herein. Preferably, the communications preferences consist of at least one mail formatting preference and at least one sending preference. The system automatically formats a message in accordance with the intended recipient's communications preferences stored in a profile table. In an alternative embodiment, the system provides for a prompting function that can alter the communications preferences in the event that a particular preference must be changed. This prompting function is also useful if recipient does not have a corresponding profile in the profile table.
US07953775B2
People are enabled to share tagged data via the Internet. In one embodiment, an Internet site receives, via the Internet, from various different users, content items of many different content types. The site also receives a tag for each content item and maps that tag to that content item. When other users supply search query terms, the site selects tags that match the search query terms. The site presents content items that are mapped to the selected tags. Using this technique, users are able to share with each other content items of all different content types using a single Internet site, without needing to store content items of different types on different Internet sites. In order to share a particular content item with other users, the user who wants to share the content item needs only to disclose the particular content item's tag to the other users.
US07953769B1
A method for communicating data includes selecting a portion of data for communication to a remote computer, with the data portion in device-dependent format and comprising at least an integer, a real number, or a binary value. An XML tree of values is generated from the selected data portion and the XML tree comprises the selected portion of data with each value associated with one data type. The XML tree of values is bundled into a portable buffer communicated to the remote computer for processing the data portion in a second device-dependent format.
US07953753B2
An on-line article comprising instances of newsmakers is provided by an Internet connected news server or news aggregator server and the names of the newsmakers are automatically identified by a newsmaker verification and commenting module. The article is displayed to a reader on an Internet connected client computer. The instances of the newsmakers in the article are emphasized such that they stand out in the article. The reader initiates a verification process by indicating that he is a newsmaker. The newsmaker verification and commenting module is in communication with a verification database and the identity of the reader is verified as the newsmaker through a series of questions and answers. After verification, comments provided by the reader are stored by the newsmaker verification and commenting module. The comments and article are published such that the comments are displayed conspicuously with the article on any client computer accessing the article.
US07953751B2
Audio hot spotting is accomplished by specifying query criterion to include a non-lexical audio cue. The non-lexical audio cue can be, e.g., speech rate, laughter, applause, vocal effort, speaker change or any combination thereof. The query criterion is retrieved from an audio portion of a file. A segment of the file containing the query criterion can be provided to a user. The duration of the provided segment can be specified by the user along with the files to be searched. A list of detections of the query criterion within the file can also be provided to the user. Searches can be refined by the query criterion additionally including a lexical audio-cue. A keyword index of topic terms contained in the file can also be provided to the user.
US07953750B1
Systems and methods for storing data in a customer center environment are provided. In this regard, a representative method comprises: generating data from workforce applications, at least one of the workforce applications including at least one of forecasting, scheduling, recording, and monitoring functionalities; and storing the data from the at least one of the workforce applications in a storage area network (SAN), the SAN being operable to connect the at least one of the workforce applications to computer storage devices. The method can further include keeping recorded contacts in a long term storage device such as the SAN or an operational data store (ODS) and transparently searching in both the ODS and the SAN simultaneously. With a concept of moving data on to a file system SAN which is cheaper as compared to a database technology such as ODS, the method facilitates predictable performance from the ODS and easier manageability with constant cost from SAN.
US07953735B2
The present invention relates to an information processing apparatus, an information processing method, and a program in which a content piece matching preference information of a user or a content piece similar to a specified content piece can be searched for with a smaller amount of computation and can be provided to the user. Each of items of metadata (such as title, artist name, genre, review text, tempo, beat, and rhythm) of music is classified into any of cluster layers (first to n-th layers), and is classified (clustering) into a plurality of clusters provided in the cluster layers into which actual information of each of the items is classified. Then, instead of the metadata, cluster information including cluster IDs (such as CL11 in FIG. 2) of the clusters into which actual information of each of the items of metadata is classified is compiled in a database as information indicating the features of music. The present invention can be applied to a homepage server for recommending a purchase of content such as music data, a video recorder for recommending a recording reservation of a television program, and the like.
US07953731B2
Embodiments of the invention improve the quality of search results returned for a given set of search terms based on metadata associated with the user performing the search. A search query may specify metadata elements to consider in ranking the search results. The metadata used may include bookmarks set by the user (either locally or at a social bookmaking site), group bookmarks, etc. In such a case, search results may be reordered to improve the ranking of websites that are both in the search results and in the bookmarks.
US07953727B2
Method for handling requests for data stored in database tables is provided. The method includes receiving a request for data stored in a database table, the database table including non-hash and hash columns, a hash column including hash values computed based on non-hash values in at least one non-hash column, generating database queries that are executable to retrieve data stored in the database table satisfying the request, each database query using a different combination of columns in the database table, ranking the database queries based on desirability, determining whether any of the database queries only uses indexed columns, responsive to one or more of the database queries only using indexed columns, selecting a highest ranked of the one or more database queries that only uses indexed columns for execution.
US07953712B2
A computer system includes a database containing a plurality of data documents stored thereon, each data document containing at least one data field, and an archive system for electronically archiving data documents originating from the database. The database includes a control table stored thereon containing change rule information pertaining to the at least one data field of a data document archived in the archive system.
US07953708B2
A technique for optimizing grace period detection following a data element update operation that affects preemptible data readers. A determination is made whether the data processing system is a uniprocessor system or a multiprocessor system. Grace period detection processing is performed using a first grace period detection technique if the data processing system is a multiprocessor system. Grace period detection processing is performed using a second grace period detection technique if the data processing system is a uniprocessor system. The grace period detection processing according to either technique determines the end of a grace period in which readers that are subject to preemption have passed through a quiescent state and cannot be maintaining references to the pre-update view of the shared data.
US07953705B2
The embodiments of the invention provide methods, computer program products, etc. for autonomic retention classes when retaining data within storage devices. More specifically, a method of determining whether to retain data within at least one storage device begins by storing data items in at least one storage device. Furthermore, the method maintains access statistics for each of the data items, an age of each of the data items, and an administrator-defined importance value of each of the data items. Following this, a retention value is calculated for each of the data items based on the access statistics for each of the data items, the age of each of the data items, and the administrator-defined importance value of each of the data items.
US07953704B2
In one embodiment, a user or client device is connected to a distributed file system comprised of one or more physical nodes. The data on each of the physical nodes store metadata about files and directories within the file system. Some of the embodiments permit a user to take a snapshot of data stored on the file system. The snapshot may include a single file, a single directory, a plurality of files within a directory, a plurality of directories, a path on the file system that includes nested files and subdirectories, or more than one path on the file system that each includes nested files and directories. According to one embodiment, the system stores and updates metadata, including a governance list, for each of the files and directories. The governance list provides a representation of the snapshots which govern a file or directory and its descendants.
US07953701B2
A system includes at least a user and a file system connected to the user through a network. An estimated write size of a write operation of the user into the file system is managed as an accumulated value. The timing of judging the limit of the disk usage amount is specified from the accumulated value and a predetermined threshold value, and the limit of the disk usage amount is judged at the specified timing, so that disk usage amount by a user may be limited and managed.
US07953700B2
A home page automatic update system includes home page management means for reading out an HTML document from a home page database in response to a request from a user terminal, and transmitting the readout HTML document to the user terminal, patrol search means for extracting update data by executing in turn a reception process of a mail message stored in a mail server, an extraction process of update data of an HTML document stored in the home page database, a file search process in a personal computer, and a search process of schedule data in a storage device on the basis of a priority order, and banner data generation means for generating update HTML data on the basis of the extracted update data. The home page management means transmits an HTML document which contains the update HTML data generated by the banner data generation means to the user terminal.
US07953698B2
A replication system with methodology for replicating stored procedure calls is described. In one embodiment, for example, in a database system without support for logging stored procedure invocations, a method of the present invention is described for replicating invocation of a stored procedure from a primary database to a replicate database, the method comprises steps of: inserting table data into the primary database for storing information sufficiently characterizing the procedure's invocation to allow its replication, the table data being logged to a log file; reading the log file, for determining changes to apply to the replicate database for replicating the procedure's invocation; and reconstructing the procedure's invocation at the replicate database based on the determined changes.
US07953694B2
Provided is a system, method, and program for specifying multidimensional calculations. Selection of a subset of a cube model metadata object that is generated from a facts metadata object and one or more dimension metadata objects is received. The facts metadata object references one or more measure metadata objects. A statement is generated for retrieving multidimensional information using metadata in the cube model metadata object and the measure metadata objects, wherein each of the measure metadata objects specifies one or more aggregations.
US07953693B2
A method and apparatus for ontology-based classification of media content are provided. With the method and apparatus, initial confidence values of classifiers in a hierarchical classification structure are modified based on relationships between classifiers. A confidence value for a classifier is boosted by a boosting factor based on a correspondence between the confidence value and confidence values of ancestor classifiers in the hierarchical classification structure. A confidence value for a classifier is modified by a confusion factor based on a correspondence between the confidence value of the classifier and the confidence values of mutually exclusive classifiers in the hierarchical classification structure. In this way, a more accurate representation of the actual confidence that media content falls within the classification associated with the classifier is obtained. From this improved classification mechanism, indices for media content may be generated for use in accessing the media content at a later time.
US07953676B2
A method for predicting future responses from large sets of dyadic data includes measuring a dyadic response variable associated with a dyad from two different sets of data; measuring a vector of covariates that captures the characteristics of the dyad; determining one or more latent, unmeasured characteristics that are not determined by the vector of covariates and which induce local structures in a dyadic space defined by the two different sets of data; and modeling a predictive response of the measurements as a function of both the vector of covariates and the one or more latent characteristics, wherein modeling includes employing a combination of regression and matrix co-clustering techniques, and wherein the one or more latent characteristics provide a smoothing effect to the function that produces a more accurate and interpretable predictive model of the dyadic space that predicts future dyadic interaction based on the two different sets of data.
US07953674B2
Systems and methods that incorporate fuzzing capabilities within an SQL server to facilitate penetration testing. A fuzzing component associated with the SQL server provides an entry point for accessing the fuzzing system to update explicit user specified parameters associated with SQL, wherein the server's in depth knowledge regarding semantics of the language code (e.g., manner of parsing) can be employed to determine vulnerabilities thereof.
US07953673B2
The present invention can increase the odds of choosing the right people for a team by considering their “rate of interest/knowledge” in multiple topics. Given a known contacts network, represented by nodes interconnected by links, several different sub-networks are identified within it, corresponding to different topics or areas of expertise required to a specific project. For each sub-network, there will be nodes with an associated grade, based on that person's knowledge/interest for the topic related to that sub-network. As such, each node/person receives a grade for each topic. Using these grades, a weight of each link between the nodes is calculated. This process is performed for every node for each topic and associated grade. After that, a superposition of all sub-networks is made and a multiple interest network is yielded.
US07953672B2
A process and architecture may be implemented to structure ESFRB financing or refinancing for Municipal Facilities operation, construction and/or renovation to improve economic and business terms for involved or interested parties, including without limitation, a Municipal Entity which owns, for example, water/sewer facilities, airports, seaports, bus and train transit systems, toll roads and bridges, parking lots and/or energy plants.
US07953663B1
The invention is related to a system and method for offering a financial instrument to a pre-qualified consumer. Potential consumers are pre-qualified for a variety of financial instruments, which pre-qualifications are stored in one or more databases and are linked to the consumer by a unique identifier and information that may later be verified. When a consumer contacts an entity operating, or otherwise in contact with, the system and method of the invention, the system determines whether that particular consumer has been pre-qualified for one or more financial instruments. The system may also determine whether one or more of the financial instruments which the consumer is pre-qualified for is appropriate for offering to the consumer according to pre-determined conditions linked to the financial instrument. Further checks may be performed at the time of the consumer contact for any indicators that the consumer should not be offered one or more of the financial instruments. The consumer may then be offered one or more of the financial instruments for which he or she has been pre-qualified. Typically, the consumer contacts the system for a purpose unrelated to requesting any financial instruments, and the invention permits the marketing of financial offerings to pre-qualified consumers.
US07953660B2
The present invention provides a method, system, and article of manufacture for providing payment services on a network. Information identifying a network user is received. The network user is assigned a payer status. A request to make a payment to a payee on behalf of the network user is received. If a first payer status is assigned to the network user, the payment will be made no matter the identity of the payee. If a second payer status is assigned to the network user, the payment will only be made if the payee is one of a group of payees that is not determined by the network user. With the second payer status, the network user can only direct payments to the group of payees. The payer status can be changed from one payer status to another payer status.
US07953651B2
A computer-implemented method for validating updated business rules. A first set of documents utilized to validate a first set of business rules is provided. A second set of business rules generated from an update of the first set of business rules is received. Each business rule includes input parameters. A second set of documents is received. A template file includes the input parameters and corresponding path expressions. An augmented set of documents includes the first and second sets of documents. The second set of business rules is automatically semantically validated against the augmented set of documents. The semantic validation includes executing the second set of business rules with each document of the augmented set. The executing includes binding, via the path expressions, the input parameters to values included in a document of the augmented set.
US07953645B2
A recurring order management system and method for a computer network is disclosed. The system receives a request to suggest a recurring order for one or more products or services. The system generates a profile which stores the suggested products or services, the suggested recurrence for those products or services and the suggested quantities to deliver upon each recurrence. The order then automatically recurs one or more times according to the specified recurrence.
US07953638B2
A method is described that comprises providing a cultural specific on-line commerce experience for an end user by translating an action of the end user into a standard format used by an on-line auctioneer and by causing the translated action to be sent over a network. The action is taken through a cultural specific end user interface. The standard format is used by an on-line commerce service's back end application software to recognize end user actions originating from experiences that include the cultural specific on-line experience as well as experiences other than the cultural specific on-line experience.The action that is translated into the standard format is to be sent into a network so that it can be received by the on-line commerce service's back-end resources and recognized by the back-end application software.
US07953632B2
A product management system for quick serve restaurants that displays to the staff what to cook on a main control unit 1 is programmed with a sales forecast through the office computer 14. The main control unit communicates to the product hold timers 3, 4, 5 to calculate when product is used and when products are cooked. The main control unit 1 monitors each instruction request, and if it is not followed, the main control unit 1 stores an error and sends the error to the manager unit 6 and grade display unit 8. A slave unit 10 displays cook information at an alternate cook station.
US07953626B2
Methods and systems for assessing and tracking operational and functional performance can include compiling performance data for an entity (e.g., an entire enterprise, a corporate business unit, a particular operational region, a particular position, a particular employee, etc.) corresponding to a plurality of indicators corresponding to at least one goal category. The method may further include weighting the performance data corresponding to the plurality of indicators for the entity and generating a performance score for the entity based on the weighted or un-weighted performance data. Another method for assessing performance of at least one entity can be based on a first set of indicators and a second set of indicators reflecting performance of the entity. The method may also include generating goal achievement data for the first set of indicators and the second set of indicators and, based on the generated goal achievement data, generating a summary or composite goal achievement data for the first set of indicators and the second set of indicators by weighting the generated goal achievement data.
US07953624B2
A method for providing consulting services includes assembling a plurality of solutions or recommendations designed to promote cost savings and improved operational efficiency of a business enterprise, categorizing at least a subset of the plurality of solutions or recommendations into groups, selecting client-relevant solutions, recommendations or groups from the plurality of solutions, recommendations or groups based on information received from the client, prioritizing the client-relevant solutions, recommendations or groups into a prioritized list of client-relevant solutions, recommendations or groups, and successively presenting to the client, over a predetermined amount of time, each of the client-relevant solutions, recommendations or groups from the prioritized list of client-relevant solutions, recommendations or groups. The consulting service is preferably subscription based where the delivery of the recommendations are parsed out to the client over the course of months or years so that the client can easily adopt the recommendations one at a time.
US07953623B2
A method, apparatus, and computer-usable medium for scheduling a meeting, determining a set of policies for selecting a replacement meeting moderator if an original meeting moderator is not present in the meeting, specifying the a set of policies for reestablishing control of the meeting to the original meeting moderator when the original meeting moderator rejoins the meeting, deciding whether to implement a default policy or a custom policy as the set of policies. The default policy includes examining a user directory, establishing a hierarchy ranking of a collection of meeting members, where the original meeting moderator holds the highest rank, and designating a member of the collection of meeting members as a replacement meeting moderator, where the member holds a next highest rank in the hierarchy ranking.
US07953618B2
A transport system having commuters with identification and/or vehicles with identification (“identifiers”) authorizing them to take part in the transport system, at least one vehicle park in which authorized commuters may park vehicles and/or take on board authorized commuters who may or may not have parked vehicles and transport them to a specified destination and/or for set down near the specified destination, a hub at which vehicles of authorized commuters or others may take on board authorized commuters and transport them to the or a said vehicle park, optionally near the specified destination, at least one pickup point from which authorized commuters may be transported back to the hub, and a benefit sharing system involving the use of the identifiers at the vehicle park(s) and/or said hub whereby an authorized commuter, when a driver of authorized commuter(s) leaving and/or returning to or arriving at the vehicle park(s) and/or hub, benefits at some detriment to each carried commuter.
US07953606B2
A checkout apparatus is arranged in a shopping cart. The checkout apparatus includes an ID information inputting section to input customer ID information, an article identification information reading section that reads article identification information, an article information acquiring section which acquires article information of the article, and a checkout process section which performs a checkout process of the cost of the article on the basis of the acquired article information by using the input customer ID information.
US07953605B2
A novel bandwidth extension technique allows information to be encoded and decoded using a fractal self similarity model or an accurate spectral replacement model, or both. Also a multi-band temporal amplitude coding technique, useful as an enhancement to any coding/decoding technique, helps with accurate reconstruction of the temporal envelope and employs a utility filterbank. A perceptual coder using a comodulation masking release model, operating typically with more conventional perceptual coders, makes the perceptual model more accurate and hence increases the efficiency of the overall perceptual coder.
US07953603B2
A machine readable storage can include a set of instructions for load balancing. The storage can include a plug-in receptor of a load balancer. The plug-in receptor can be compliant with a known industry standard and can be is associated with a two or more load balancing algorithms. The load balancer can utilize selected ones of the load balancing algorithms to determine which of two or more voice servers are to handle incoming speech processing requests. Selected ones of the load balancing algorithms can include a speech utilization algorithm. The speech utilization algorithm can calculate a speech utilization score for at least one of the voice servers based upon speech processing specific factors.
US07953602B2
Character information recognition means extracts, through a character recognition process, character information from a selection button included in an index image. Based on text data having been outputted from the character information recognition means, index dictionary creation means creates an index dictionary usable for a speech recognition process performed by speech recognition means. The speech recognition means performs the speech recognition process by using speech data retrieved through an ADC and the index dictionary stored in storage means. Based on a result of the speech recognition process performed by the speech recognition means, reproduction control means performs reproduction control of a chapter. Thus, a desired button can be selected by speech, from chapter selection buttons displayed on a chapter selection image of a DVD video.
US07953598B2
A device receives a voice recognition statistic from a voice recognition application and applies a grammar improvement rule based on the voice recognition statistic. The device also automatically adjusts a weight of the voice recognition statistic based on the grammar improvement rule, and outputs the weight adjusted voice recognition statistic for use in the voice recognition application.
US07953595B2
Methods, devices, and systems for coding and decoding audio are disclosed. At least two transforms are applied on an audio signal, each with different transform periods for better resolutions at both low and high frequencies. The transform coefficients are selected and combined such that the data rate remains similar as a single transform. The transform coefficients may be coded with a fast lattice vector quantizer. The quantizer has a high rate quantizer and a low rate quantizer. The high rate quantizer includes a scheme to truncate the lattice. The low rate quantizer includes a table based searching method. The low rate quantizer may also include a table based indexing scheme. The high rate quantizer may further include Huffman coding for the quantization indices of transform coefficients to improve the quantizing/coding efficiency.
US07953588B2
A method (and system) for emulating a target system's memory addressing using a virtual-to-real memory mapping mechanism of a host multiprocessor system's operating system, includes inputting a target virtual memory address into a simulated page table to obtain a host virtual memory address. The target system is oblivious to the software it is running on.
US07953587B2
A method is disclosed for generating a wellsite design, comprising: designing a workflow for an Earth Model; building an initial Earth Model based on the workflow adapted for modeling drilling and completions operations in a hydrocarbon reservoir; calibrating the initial Earth Model thereby generating a calibrated Earth Model; and generating the wellsite design using the calibrated Earth Model.
US07953586B2
A method and system for designing bottom hole assembly configuration. The system and method include modeling the bottom hole assembly by dividing complicated BHA configurations into independent modules and segments. Modules are bounded by two stabilizers where segments are bounded by bottom hole assembly components. A recursive process is used to derive solutions for each of the segments and modules. Only two unknowns (and two non-linear equations) are left when the recursive process reaches to the bit. The two unknowns are then solved by iteration.
US07953579B2
The computer-implementable method allows for the fast creation of a multi-unit interval data signal suitable for simulation. The created signal represents the output of an otherwise ideal Discrete Time Filter (DTF) circuit, and the quick creation of the signal merely requires a designer to input the number of taps and their weights without the need of laying out or considering the circuitry of the DTF. A matrix is created based on a given data stream, and the number of taps and weights, which matrix is processed to create the multi-unit-interval data signal. Noise and jitter can be added to the created signal such that it now realistically reflects non-idealities common to actual systems. The signal can then be simulated using standard computer-based simulation techniques.
US07953578B2
Systems and methods of limiting contact penetration in numerical simulation of non-linear structure response using implicit finite element analysis are described. According to one aspect, a finite element analysis (FEA) model of a structure is defined as a number of nodes and elements based on geometry and material properties of the structure. A time-marching analysis of the FEA model is then performed. The time-marching analysis results contain a number of solutions of non-linear structure response at respective time steps. Solution at each time step requires at least one iteration to compute. Non-linear structure response is determined in the following manner: 1) determining a search direction; 2) calculating a contact penetration parameter in the search direction; and 3) finding a minimum energy imbalance location along the search direction as a solution which is further restricted by the CPP such that contact penetration of the structure is substantially limited.
US07953577B2
A method and apparatus for detecting faults in power plant equipment is discloses using sensor confidence and an improved method of identifying the normal operating range of the power generation equipment as measured by those sensors. A confidence is assigned to a sensor in proportion to the residue associated with that sensor. If the sensor has high residue, a small confidence is assigned to the sensor. If a sensor has a low residue, a high confidence is assigned to that sensor, and appropriate weighting of that sensor with other sensors is provided. A feature space trajectory (FST) method is used to model the normal operating range curve distribution of power generation equipment characteristics. Such an FST method is illustratively used in conjunction with a minimum spanning tree (MST) method to identify a plurality of nodes and to then connect those with line segments that approximate a curve.
US07953573B2
A semiconductor device that may include temperature sensing circuits is disclosed. The temperature sensing circuits may be used to control various parameters, such as internal regulated supply voltages, internal refresh frequency, or a word line low voltage. In this way, operating specifications of a semiconductor device at worst case temperatures may be met without compromising performance at normal operating temperatures. Each temperature sensing circuit may include a selectable temperature threshold value as well as a selectable temperature hysteresis value. In this way, temperature performance characteristics may be finely tuned. Furthermore, a method of testing the temperature sensing circuits is disclosed in which a current value may be monitored and temperature threshold values and temperature hysteresis values may be thereby determined.
US07953570B2
A method is disclosed for continuous analysis of the transmission quality in fieldbus networks in automation systems with a plurality of fieldbus participants, which communicate with one another over the fieldbus network. Directly measurable logical and physical bus parameters are recorded from the line signal transmitted over the fieldbus network, and are stored with a predefinable retrospectivity. Operational parameters are derived from the measured bus parameters, these being weighted and the weighted bus parameters being linked together to form the operational parameter. The quantitative weighting of a bus parameter is functionally determined by at least one other bus parameter.
US07953569B2
An on die thermal sensor (ODTS) includes a thermal sensor for outputting a first comparing voltage by detecting a temperature of the semiconductor memory device; a comparing unit for outputting a trimming code by comparing the first comparing voltage with a second comparing voltage and increasing or decreasing a preset digital code in response to the comparing result; and a voltage level adjusting unit for adjusting a voltage level of the second comparing voltage by determining a maximum variation voltage and a minimum variation voltage based on the trimming code and a temperature control code.
US07953559B2
Methods and systems for constructing a load history database for a structure is disclosed. In one embodiment, a method is disclosed that may include detecting a measurable parameter on the structure utilizing a sensor positioned on the structure and determining a value of external loads acting upon the structure based on the detected parameter. Further, the method may include evaluating the value of the external loads against a pre-established factor. Based on the evaluation, the value of the external loads are selectively stored in the load history database.
US07953553B2
Provided is a navigator, which reduces current consumption in a gap of an orbiting GPS satellite signal. A method for reducing the current consumption of the navigator is disclosed. The method includes measuring the strength of a geostationary GPS satellite signal; stopping the tracking of an orbiting GPS satellite signal when the measured geostationary GPS satellite signal strength is less than a critical value and such a state passes a preset time; performing a navigation mode where an orbiting GPS satellite signal and a geostationary GPS satellite signal are tracked when the measured geostationary GPS satellite signal strength exceeds the critical value. The navigator reads a gap of an orbiting GPS satellite signal using a geostationary GPS satellite signal and stops tracking the orbiting GPS satellite signal in the gap, thereby reducing its current consumption.
US07953542B2
A computer implemented method and control device for regulating a gasoline engine is provided. A control device automatically records a characteristic of Lambda values and loads a test phase during an operation of the gasoline engine having activated transition compensation. It automatically extracts relevant load changes as a function of the determined characteristics, a load change describing a change from a first load to a second load that differs from the first load. Further, the control device automatically implements a classification of the extracted load changes as a function of specifiable classification criteria and assigns at least one Lambda value to each of the load changes. The control device automatically determines a quality value for each of extracted load changes as a function of a deviation of the at least one assigned Lambda value from a specifiable setpoint Lambda value. The control device also automatically weighs the determined quality values with respect to a classification of the assigned load changes. Still further, the control device automatically determines an overall quality as a function of the weighted quality values using at least one statistical method.
US07953538B2
A control apparatus for a vehicular drive system including an electric differential portion and a mechanical power transmitting portion which are disposed in series in a power transmitting path between an engine and a drive wheel of a vehicle, the control apparatus being configured to limit an output of the engine according to a difference between an actual rotating speed of an input rotary member of the mechanical power transmitting portion, and a theoretical rotating speed calculated from an actual vehicle speed and a presently established speed ratio of the mechanical power transmitting portion, whereby reduction of torque capacity of an input clutch provided in the mechanical power transmitting portion does not cause an excessive rise of the rotating speed of a rotary member which is located on one side of the input clutch nearer to the engine, and an excessive rise of the rotating speed of an electric motor connected to the input rotary member.
US07953536B2
A method and apparatus is provided for validating a plurality of data, comprising transmitting one or more first values for a variable from a first source of values to a first processor, transmitting one or more second values for the variable from a second source of values to the first processor, transmitting one or more third values for the variable from the first source of values for to the second processor, transmitting one or more fourth values for the variable from the second source to the first processor, comparing the one or more first values for the variable with the one or more third values for the variable, comparing the one or more second values for the variable with the one or more third values for the variable, and comparing the one or more second values for the variable with the one or more fourth values for the variable.
US07953528B2
A system and method for monitoring data transfer performance between a central facility and a vehicle that includes calculating the message latency between the transmission and receipt of a message from a call center to the vehicle, or vice-versa. The information can be used to generate a latency map that is useful in diagnosing wireless system problems and in deciding when and how to communicate with a vehicle depending upon its location.
US07953519B2
A monitoring method and system. The method includes monitoring by a monitoring apparatus, a power configuration for electrical devices and a status for power supplier entities. The monitoring apparatus re-balances a power usage for the electrical devices. The monitoring apparatus generates a first report indicating current loads associated with the electrical devices. The monitoring apparatus transmits the first report to the power supplier entities. The monitoring apparatus generates a group of reports indicating power consumption associated with the power supplier entities. The monitoring apparatus transmits each report of the group of reports to an associated power supplier entity of the power supplier entities. The monitoring apparatus generates a second report indicating updated power consumption associated with the power supplier entities. The monitoring apparatus stores the second report.
US07953508B2
A quality control system and method for monitoring an assembly operation is provided. The method can include: (1) providing an assembly line having a plurality of machines being assembled thereon; (2) providing a tool for performing an assembly operation; (3) performing a plurality of the assembly operations with the tool; (4) measuring a measurable parameter indicative of the performance of the tool for at least a subset of the plurality of assembly operations; (5) storing the measured values in an electronic format with a data collection device; (6) analyzing the measured values; and (7) providing a signal based on the analysis with the signal indicative of at least satisfactory or unsatisfactory performance of the tool. In some instances, the data collection device can provide for storing additional information and/or data with any particular stored measured value.
US07953505B2
A digital filter device that filters a digital sound signal input to an input terminal and outputs an output digital signal from an output terminal, has a peak value controlling circuit compares a first gain multiplier value and a second gain multiplier value with each other, and replaces a filter coefficients stored in a first coefficient register with a new filter coefficients stored in a second coefficient register at a timing when the gain multiplier value applied to a gain multiplier becomes zero or becomes closest to zero for the first time during shifting the gain multiplier value from a first gain multiplier value to a second gain multiplier value if said first gain multiplier value and said second gain multiplier value are different in sign.
US07953501B2
A process control loop monitor includes a housing configured to mount in the field of an industrial process. A loop interface circuit couples to a process control loop and receives data from the process control loop. A memory stores data received by the loop interface circuit from the process control loop.
US07953499B2
An apparatus includes an electrical lead comprising a lead body and an electrical conductor, and an electrode coupled to the electrical conductor, wherein the electrode includes a coating on at least a portion of a surface of the electrode, the coating including two or more layers, with a first layer adjacent the surface of the electrode comprising an insulative material and a second layer adjacent the first layer comprising at least one pharmacological agent.
US07953491B1
Audio streaming is made available throughout the signal processing path of the speech processor of a cochlear implant or other audio signal processor. Audio streaming comprises the digitally phase locked playback of a real time n-bit digital audio stream, where n may be a large number, e.g., 8, 12, 16, 24 or 32, that emanates (unsolicited) from an operating speech processor. A number of sample points are made available long the processing chain of a digital signal processor (DSP) used within the speech processor of the cochlear implant. Audio streaming may occur at any sample point. The signal at a selected sample point may be selectively monitored in order to allow appropriate diagnostics to be performed. Audio streaming utilizes an auto-referencing mixed-mode phase locked loop. Such phase locked loop processes an asynchronous stream of digital audio samples that arrive at a designated location, e.g., a selected sample point, at a consistent, but unknown, average rate. Once the stream of asynchronous audio samples are received, the average sample rate is extracted, and a local clock is generated at the average frequency. The incoming audio streaming samples are then re-synchronized with the local clock. in order to allow digitally phase locked playback of the audio stream.
US07953487B2
An implantable heart stimulating device for indicating congestive heart failure (CHF) has a processor, an activity sensor that generates an activity signal indicative of a patient's activity, and a blood temperature sensor that measures blood temperature inside the heart of the patient and generates a temperature signal indicative of the measured temperature. From the activity signal and the temperature signal, the processor identifies a characteristic dip in the temperature signal related to a predetermined increase in the activity signal. The processor determines a CHF indicator value indicating the degree of CHF based on the magnitude of the temperature sensor dip for at least two increased activity levels.
US07953486B2
A maximum pacing rate limiter for use in adaptive rate pacing in conjunction with a cardiac rhythm management system for a heart. The maximum pacing rate limiter may function to measure an interval, termed the ERT interval, between a paced ventricular evoked response and a T-wave. The maximum pacing rate limiter may further function to maintain the ERT interval at less than a certain percentage of the total cardiac cycle. In one disclosed embodiment, a maximum pacing rate limiter calculates an ERT rate based on the detected paced ventricular evoked response and the T-wave, and the pacing rate limiter module further communicates the minimum of the ERT rate and an adaptive-rate sensor indicated rate to a pacemaker.
US07953485B2
A system comprising a medical device that includes an impedance measurement circuit adapted to be coupled to implantable electrodes to obtain an intracardiac impedance signal between electrodes, a therapy circuit operable to deliver a therapy to a subject, and a controller circuit coupled to the impedance measurement circuit and the therapy circuit. The controller circuit determines a time rate of change of the intracardiac impedance signal and adjusts at least one parameter related to therapy in a manner that alters the rate of change.
US07953479B2
An exemplary includes acquiring an electroneurogram of the right carotid sinus nerve or the left carotid sinus nerve, analyzing the electroneurogram for at least one of chemosensory information and barosensory information and calling for one or more therapeutic actions based at least in part on the analyzing. Therapeutic actions may aim to treat conditions such as sleep apnea, an increase in metabolic demand, hypoglycemia, hypertension, renal failure, and congestive heart failure. Other exemplary methods, devices, systems, etc., are also disclosed.
US07953471B2
A method and system to assist in a planning and navigation of procedure. Generally, the system allows for image acquisition of a selected area of the anatomy. The images may then be used to mark various points to determine true anatomical definitions and planes. The definitions may assist in positioning a prosthesis.
US07953466B2
A superconductive cable is provided which upon normal state, restricts flowing of electric current to a former to the maximum extent to thereby keep a cryogenic state in the superconductive cable stable. The superconductive cable includes a former surrounded by a superconductive layer and a cryostat provided at the outside of the superconductive layer, wherein the former includes a metal wire-wound part around which a plurality of wires is wound and an eddy-current prevention layer provided on the outer face of the wire-wound part, and the metal wires and the eddy-current prevention layer are made of a copper alloy.
US07953465B2
A mobile communication terminal is provided. The mobile communication terminal includes a first body, a second body slidably moveable between a first position and a second position, a plate located between the first body and the second body, the plate being connected to one of the first body and the second body, a slider supported by the plate to be slidably moveable thereon, the slider being connected to the other of the first body and the second body. An elastic supporter may be located on at least one of the plate and a first surface of the slider. A buffering part may be located on the slider. Alternatively, the buffering part may be located on one of the first body and the second body.
US07953464B2
A sliding-type portable terminal is provided. The sliding-type portable terminal includes a first housing, a second housing sliding in a longitudinal direction of the first housing while facing the first housing, and an elastic member including a helical coil and free ends. The free ends extend from the coil in a direction away from each other and the elastic member provides an elastic force in a direction to move the free ends away from each other, in which the coil is interposed between the first housing and the second housing. An end of one of the free ends is rotatably supported on a first face of the first housing, and another of the free ends is extended toward the inside of the second housing and rotatably supported on an inner surface of the second housing. The sliding-type portable terminal has an advantage in that each of the free ends is located in one of the housings, by which the thickness of the terminal can be easily reduced and a space for a flexible printed circuit is easily ensured. Also, since sliding guides may be mounted to the first housing slidingly support the rear cover of the second housing, the terminal allows simple assembly, a reduced number of parts, and a slimmed profile thereof.
US07953460B2
A mobile terminal having a dual display unit, a dual speaker and a dual microphone, and a method of controlling the dual speaker and the dual microphone thereof are provided. The method of controlling a dual speaker and a dual microphone of a mobile terminal having a dual display unit including a first body having a first display unit and first speaker on a front surface and a second display unit and second speaker on a rear surface, a second body having a first and a second microphone, and a hinge module for rotatably connecting the first body and the second body, includes determining which of the first and second display units is activated; activating, if the first display unit is activated, the first speaker; and activating, if the second display unit is activated, the second speaker.
US07953456B2
An electronic device includes first and second speakers, a microphone, and circuitry configured to generate first and second audio signals in response to a source audio signal, to play the first audio signal over the first speaker, and to play the second audio signal over the second speaker. The first and second audio signals are configured, and the first and second speakers are positioned, so that the first audio signal output by the first speaker and the second audio signal output by the second speaker combine destructively at the microphone.
US07953453B2
A mobile telephone comprises a ringer to provide an audible alert of an incoming telephone call. The mobile telephone has a ringer control schedule. The ringer control schedule indicates times at which a parameter of the ringer is to change. The mobile telephone further comprises a ringer controller to automatically change the parameter of the ringer according to the ringer control schedule.
US07953443B2
Apparatus and a method of securing private content stored in a memory are presented. A terminal includes a memory to store private content. The terminal also includes a security function to compare a private content identifier with a smart card identifier that includes MSISDN information associated with the smart card, to produce a comparison result. The security function grants the smart card access to the private content when the first comparison result is positive.
US07953438B2
Disclosed are circuits and user interfaces of a mobile communication device that include a light source and a shutter that are driven by at least one common voltage line. Also disclosed are circuits and user interfaces of a mobile communication device that include a sensor and a shutter that are driven by at least one common voltage line. Further disclosed are circuits and user interfaces that include a light source, a sensor and a shutter that are driven by at least one common voltage line. The shutter may be divided into a plurality of segments so that one segment may be in optical alignment with a light source and another segment may be in optical alignment with a sensor. A shutter may be part of the same circuit as a light source and/or a sensor without needing its own circuit and driver.
US07953425B2
A universal event/data recorder system provides a common bridge between various event/data recorders found on mobile assets. The universal event/data recorder system includes an onboard segment that is capable of interfacing with any manufacturer's event/data recorder device. Additionally, the universal event/data recorder system also includes a remote segment for accessing, analyzing and reviewing data collected from any of a plurality of event/data recorders. The universal event/data recorder system may allow accessing data from various event/data recorders using any of a number of communication means including the Internet and a wireless communication network.
US07953422B2
There is disclosed a method and device for operating an image database shared by a plurality of users. In an embodiment, each image captured by a user and stored in a shared image database is associating with the geographic coordinates of the location at which the image was captured. A search engine for the image database is configured to accept geographic coordinates as a search criterion for locating at least one captured image stored in the shared image database. The images having location coordinates within a predefined range of geographic coordinates is displayed to the user.
US07953419B2
In a data communications network building automation system, integration of wirelessly communicating network nodes is visualized in a process environment on an output unit of a commissioning device. The current spatial position of the commissioning device is detected and represented in the visualized process environment by detecting an identification signal of the network nodes and determining a relative spatial position of the network nodes for which the identification signal was detected. A proposal for the assignment of the detected identification signal to a node model is stored in a database based on the relative spatial position, in relation to the spatial position of the commissioning device.
US07953416B2
A dynamic contact routing system includes establishing a plurality of service provider accounts. The service providers submit bids for a per-contact charge. A contact list is created wherein the service providers are ranked from the highest bidder to the lowest bidder. A contact received from a potential customer is routed to the highest ranked bidder service provider on the contact list. If the contact is not responded to or rejected, the contact is rerouted to the next highest ranked service provider on the contact list. The service provider's account who has received the contact is charged the pre-contact amount by that service provider.
US07953410B2
A cross-technology coverage mapping system and method for modulating scanning behavior of a wireless user equipment (UE) device in a radio network environment. In one exemplary embodiment, the wireless UE device is operable to determine its geographic area location. A logic module of the wireless UE device is adapted for interrogating a database to determine which radio access technologies (RATs) have coverage in the geographic area location. Responsive to the interrogation, scanning by the wireless UE device is restricted to only those RATs that have coverage in the particular geographic area.
US07953407B1
A method of managing telecommunications parameters in a telecommunications system which comprises base transceiver stations of several wireless telecommunications networks and a terminal which is capable of establishing a wireless data transmission connection to said base transceiver stations wherein the base transceiver stations are connected to a fixed network which comprises a server for storing services and telecommunications parameters transmitted by the base transceiver stations of the telecommunications networks.
US07953390B2
A method for content delivery is disclosed. The method provides a digital engine accessible by a wireless communication device via an information network, maintains selectable content digitally formatted, receives a user selection of a content file, initiates transmission of the content file to the wireless communication device for storage and processing, and initiates transmission of additional information associated with the content file to the wireless communication device.
US07953389B2
A method and system for wireless intrusion detection, prevention and security management. The method and system provides autonomous wireless intrusion detection and prevention, with minimal or no operator intervention. The method and system includes a smart wireless radio frequency (RF) antenna subsystem with an adaptive RF beamformer for adaptively and dynamically positioning RF null in a wireless RF transmission beam pattern to block one more rouge wireless network devices from accessing a wireless network such as aboard a military ship.
US07953376B2
A method of providing assistance for synchronization of a radio link in a communications network comprising at least a first network element, the method comprising the steps: making a decision to connect a user equipment to the first network element via a first radio link to transmit a signal discontinuously thereto; transmitting the signal continuously from the user equipment to the first network element via the first radio link; synchronizing the first radio link; and switching the user equipment to transmit the signal discontinuously after the first radio link is synchronized.
US07953373B2
Methods are provided for predicting uplink interference potential to a mobile satellite system (MSS) generated by ancillary terrestrial components (ATCs) of an ancillary terrestrial network (ATN) and/or ATC radioterminals that are configured to terrestrially use/reuse satellite frequencies that are used and/or authorized for use by a MSS. The methods include measuring power transmitted by and/or received at one or more radioterminals communicating with one or more terrestrial networks and/or transmitted by and/or received at the one or more terrestrial networks communicating with the one or more radioterminals using terrestrial frequencies that are at least partially outside a range of the satellite frequencies. Uplink interference potential to the MSS generated by terrestrial use/reuse of satellite frequencies by the ATN and/or the ATC radioterminals is predicted responsive to the measured power. Related ancillary terrestrial networks are also described.
US07953367B2
System and method for use in a hybrid multispot satellite broadcasting system comprising at least one satellite (S; S1; S2) for multibeam broadcasting of beams in respective frequency bandwidths (F1; F2; F3), the system further comprising a plurality of terrestrial repeater (R1; R2; R3) for receiving, processing and re-transmitting said beams in a frequency bandwidth which is different from that of the bandwidth of the beam received. Each terrestrial repeater (R1; R2; R3) re-uses for terrestrial re-transmission a combination of bandwidths corresponding to different beams broadcast from said satellite to different beams.
US07953362B2
An image forming apparatus includes a photoconductor and a lubricant applicator. The photoconductor carries a toner image formed by developing an electrostatic latent image with a toner. The lubricant applicator applies a solid lubricant to a surface of the photoconductor, and includes a brush roller, a holder, a pressing member, and a protrusion. The holder holds the solid lubricant. The brush roller scrapes off the solid lubricant from the holder and applies the scraped solid lubricant to the surface of the photoconductor. The pressing member has an ellipse shape and presses the solid lubricant toward the brush roller via the holder. The protrusion is disposed on the holder and contacts an inner circumferential surface of the pressing member at two positions provided in both end portions of the pressing member in a direction of a minor axis of the ellipse formed by the pressing member to support the pressing member.
US07953360B2
A fixing apparatus includes a pair of fixing members composed of a fixing roller and a pressure roller that make pressure-contact with each other; an external heating belt for heating a surface of the fixing roller externally; and first and second external heating rollers having a heat source, for allowing the external heating belt to be suspended in a tensioned state. A sum of stiffnesses of the first and second external heating rollers is greater than or equal to a stiffness of the fixing roller.
US07953359B2
An image heating apparatus for heating an image formed on a recording material, including a heating unit having a heater and a flexible sleeve to be rotated in contact with the heater; an elastic roller for constituting a nip portion, in cooperation with the heater and through the flexible sleeve, for heating the recording material under pinching and conveying; and a frame having a roller supporting portion for supporting the heating unit and the elastic roller; wherein the frame has a guide portion for mounting the heating unit on the frame; and the roller supporting portion of the frame is positioned, in a conveying direction of the recording material, in a downstream position of an imaginary line passing through a center of the guide portion.
US07953353B2
A developing device includes a magnet roll magnetized with plural magnetic poles including a main magnetic pole, a sleeve in a cylindrical shape which is arranged so as to be opposed to an image holding body, and a supporting frame that stably supports the magnet roll in a manner of restraining the magnet roll from rotating in the tangential direction, and supports the sleeve so as to rotate in the tangential direction around the magnet roll. The magnet roll is so arranged that the main magnetic pole is opposed to the image holding body, and a point on the peripheral face where magnetic flux density of the main magnetic pole in the tangential direction at a position along the peripheral face of the magnet roll is zero is set at a position predetermined with respect to a position where the magnet roll comes most closely to the image holding body.
US07953350B2
A developing device including a development part for developing latent images to toner images. The developing device also includes an agitation part that agitates developer, and a controller, which controls an agitation strength of an agitator in the agitation part. The developer circulates between the development part and the agitation part.
US07953342B2
An image forming apparatus, having: an image carrier to carry a toner image; a transfer unit to transfer the toner image on the image carrier onto a sheet through a rotating member disposed to face the image carrier; a fixing unit to heat and fix the transferred toner image onto the sheet; and a cooling device to suctions air from a transfer unit side and discharge the air to a fixing unit side.
US07953341B2
An automatic document feeder, included in an image reading system that can be included in an image forming apparatus, is configured to transfer an original document to an image reader included in the image reading system, and includes a first drive unit configured to include a first motor to drive the document separation and feed unit, a second drive unit configured to include a second motor to drive the document conveyance unit, a third drive unit configured to include a third motor to drive the document discharging unit, where at least two motors of the first, second, and third motors disposed in a substantially in-line arrangement, and a cooling member configured to supply a coolant to the at least two motors disposed in a substantially in-line arrangement, to the first, second, and third motors, in that order.
US07953334B2
An image-forming apparatus includes an optical sensor including a light-receiving element that receives light reflected by a belt-like moving medium to produce an output corresponding to the amount of light received. This image-forming apparatus determines the density of a toner patch image formed by an image-forming unit by correcting an output produced when the optical sensor detects the toner patch image at a position on a roller disposed opposite the sensor on the basis of an output produced by the optical sensor in an area where no toner image is formed on the belt-like moving medium at the same position on the opposite roller as the position where the sensor detects the toner patch image.
US07953330B2
A cartridge includes an engagement gear which includes a first engaging portion and is configured to selectively rotate. The cartridge also includes a rotational body which includes a second engaging portion, and a center axis of the rotational body is aligned with a center axis of the engagement gear. Moreover, the cartridge includes an extension portion which is positioned offset from a center of rotation of the rotational body. The engagement gear and the rotational body are configured to selectively be positioned in one of a first state in which the second engaging portion and the first engaging portion are separated from each other, and a second state in which the second engaging portion engages the first engaging portion. The rotational body is configured to rotate with the engagement gear when the engagement gear rotates and the engagement gear and the rotational body are in the second state.
US07953326B2
The systems and methods of the invention provide for improved underwater communication systems. In particular, the systems and methods of the invention provide for improved underwater optical modems including optical transmitters and optical receivers that allow omni-directional transmission and reception of optical signals underwater and having a range of about 100 m and allowing data rates greater than 1 Mbit/s. The systems and methods of the invention also provide for underwater communication networks having a plurality of optical modems communicating with each other.
US07953322B2
According to an aspect of embodiment, an optical switch comprises a signal light input unit, a control light input unit, a first polarization controller, a second polarization controller, a coupler, a nonlinear medium, a monitor and a controller.The first polarization controller controls a polarization of a signal light. The second polarization controller controls a polarization of a control light. The nonlinear medium generates an intensity correlation signal. The monitor monitors a polarization state of light outputted from the nonlinear medium. The controller controls the first polarization controller and the second polarization controller on the basis of the polarization of the signal light and the polarization of the control light.
US07953317B2
A lens barrel includes a driven ring, a follower provided on the driven ring, a rotational transfer ring including a circumferential groove having no axial-direction component and a rotational transfer groove including an axial-direction component, a guide ring, and a cam groove formed on the guide ring for guiding the driven ring via the follower. Rotation of the driven ring is prevented when the follower is engaged in the circumferential groove so that the driven ring is held at a non-photographing position. When the follower is engaged in the rotational transfer groove, the driven ring is moved along the cam groove between the non-photographing position and a ready-to-photograph position. Opposed wall surfaces in the circumferential groove determine a position of the follower when the driven ring moves between the non-photographing position and the ready-to-photograph position. The range of the cam groove, that is used to move the driven ring between the ready-to-photograph position and the non-photographing position of the guide ring, includes an axial-direction component.
US07953315B2
Video player circuitry used with encoded source video and a display. Decoder circuitry receives encoded source video and decodes the encoded source video to produce a sequence of full frames of video data. Pre-processing circuitry, pursuant to sub-frame information, generates a plurality of sequences of sub-frames of video data from the sequence of full frames of video data, a first sequence of the plurality of sequences of sub-frames of video data having a different center point within the sequence of full frames of video data than that of a second sequence of the plurality of sequences of sub-frames of video data. Post-processing circuitry, pursuant to supplemental information, modifies the plurality of sequences of sub-frames of video data to produce an output. Interface circuitry that delivers the output for subsequent presentation on the display.
US07953311B2
An enclosure assembly for use with a fiber optic cable, the cable having a lengthwise cable axis and including a plurality of optical fibers and a jacket surrounding the optical fibers includes an enclosure housing and a cable control clip. The enclosure housing defines a chamber to receive the cable. The cable control clip is configured to be inserted through the cable to extend radially between the optical fibers and the jacket to limit contact between the optical fibers and one or more other components of the cable, and to limit displacement of the enclosure housing relative to the cable when the cable control clip is disposed in the chamber.
US07953303B2
A method and system for generating an optical frequency comb that employs a dual parallel modulator that inputs an optical signal at a center frequency of a desired optical frequency comb and an RF signal at a frequency corresponding to a desired spacing of the teeth of the optical frequency comb. The amplitudes of the teeth of the optical frequency comb are controlled by controlling the amplitudes of the two RF inputs to the DPM and the phase shift between the two RF inputs. In some embodiments, the three bias voltages for the three interferometers in the DPM are also controlled. In some embodiments, all three interferometers are all biased at the same point (e.g., quadrature). Preferably, but not necessarily, the three interferometers of the DPM are formed on a single substrate.
US07953299B2
An image searching apparatus which searches for an image that is similar to a query image from among a plurality of images is provided. The apparatus derives a color similarity that denotes a degree of similarity and a luminance similarity that denotes a degree of similarity between the query image and each of the images to be compared with. Then, the apparatus transforms the luminance similarity of each of the grayscale images to be compared with and the query image into an integrated similarity that is integrated in accordance with a correspondence between the color similarity and the luminance similarity of each of the color images to be compared with, and outputs the images to be compared in order by similarity, using the color similarity of the color images to be compared and the integrated similarity of the grayscale images to be compared.
US07953297B2
The procedure of the present invention estimates a correction rate for elimination of a positional shift between the multiple first images, executes correction with the estimated correction rate to eliminate the positional shift between the multiple first images, and combines the multiple corrected first images to generate the second image. The procedure selects a target pixel among pixels included in the second image, and detects multiple adjacent pixels respectively in the multiple first images, which adjoin to the selected target pixel. The procedure then selects an image as a composition object or a composition object image with regard to the target pixel among the multiple first images according to the multiple adjacent pixels, and calculates a pixel value of the target pixel based on the composition object image. The procedure excludes the first image that includes a certain adjacent pixel out of the multiple adjacent pixels, which is detected to have a motion relative to one base image selected among the multiple first images, from the composition object image with regard to the target pixel. This arrangement of the invention enables generation of a high-resolution still image by taking into account motions of image parts.
US07953285B2
The differential value of the adjacent pixels is calculated firstly and is coded by a VLC coding. The VLC coding includes codes representing the Quotient and Remainder with a marker bit inserted in between. The divider is predicted with no code in the coded data stream. If three pixel components are presented in the same clock time, three VLC encoders and three VLD decoders are applied to encode and decode one pixel at a time. During encoding, both Remainder and Quotient of the same pixel component are encoded in parallel followed. During decoding, both Remainder and Quotient of the same pixel component are decoded in parallel and the results of the first pixel component are used a reference to decode the second pixel component which adopts the same decoding procedure and the decoded results of the second pixel component is used as reference to decode the third pixel component.
US07953279B2
Described is a technology by which online recognition of handwritten input data is combined with offline recognition and processing to obtain a combined recognition result. In general, the combination improves overall recognition accuracy. In one aspect, online and offline recognition is separately performed to obtain online and offline character-level recognition scores for candidates (hypotheses). A statistical analysis-based combination algorithm, an AdaBoost algorithm, and/or a neural network-based combination may determine a combination function to combine the scores to produce a result set of one or more results. Online and offline radical-level recognition may be performed. For example, a HMM recognizer may generate online radical scores used to build a radical graph, which is then rescored using the offline radical recognition scores. Paths in the rescored graph are then searched to provide the combined recognition result, e.g., corresponding to the path with the highest score.
US07953274B2
An apparatus and method for preparing a stain to match a target color of a selected substrate (e.g., wood species). The apparatus may include a computer and hardware and/or software to store a database of stain records, create or load spectral data (e.g., a digital image) of a target sample, and display images and/or process spectral data. The apparatus may facilitate stain selection, and may also dispense colorant agents and/or vehicles to create stains. The apparatus may be used in a “manual” mode (whereby a human compares database and target images and makes a selection); an “automatic” mode (whereby the computer suggests a match based on the selected substrate); or a “combination” mode (whereby the computer suggests a match and the user can then compare the suggested match with various images to achieve a final selection).
US07953266B2
A method for extracting a local center-axis representation of a vessel, includes: placing first and second seed points in an image that includes the vessel, wherein the first and second seed points are placed near a beginning and an end of a centerline of the vessel; representing the image as a discrete graph having nodes and edges, wherein the first seed point is a source node and the second seed point is a goal node; and finding a minimum-cost path between the first and second seed points by computing a cost of edges between the first and second seed points, wherein the cost of each edge is reciprocal to a vesselness measure of the edge.
US07953265B2
A method and system is provided for automatically processing a volumetric diagnostic image dataset. A first seed point is defined within a lesion. The lesion is within a first image dataset representative of a subject. A first boundary is defined in three dimensions within the first image dataset and the first seed point and the lesion are within the first boundary. At least one parameter is determined based on the first image dataset. A first segmentation algorithm is selected from a plurality of segmentation algorithms based on the at least one parameter, and the lesion is segmented using the first segmentation algorithm.
US07953263B2
An X-ray CT apparatus includes a unit which extracts a high-contrast region of comparatively high X-ray attenuation coefficient from an image, units which generate an unsharp image concerning the high-contrast region, on the basis of the position of the extracted high-contrast region and a point spread function peculiar to the apparatus, and a unit which subtracts the unsharp image from the original image in order to generate a low-contrast image concerning a low-contrast region of comparatively low X-ray attenuation coefficient.
US07953262B2
A technique for producing a three-dimensional segmented image of blood vessels and automatically labeling the blood vessels. A scanned image of the head is obtained and an algorithm is used to segment the blood vessel image data from the image data of other tissues in the image. An algorithm is used to partition the blood vessel image data into sub-volumes that are then used to designate the root ends and the endpoints of major arteries. An algorithm is used to identify a seed-point voxel in one of the blood vessels within one of the sub-volume of the partition. Other voxels are then coded based on their geodesic distance from the seed-point voxel. An algorithm is used to identify endpoints of the arteries. This algorithm may also be used in the other sub-volumes to locate the starting points and endpoints of other blood vessels. One sub-volume is further sub-divided into left and right, anterior, medial, and posterior zones. Based on their location in one of these zones, the voxels corresponding to the endpoints of the blood vessels are labeled. Starting from these endpoints, the artery segments are tracked back to their starting points using an algorithm that simultaneously labels all of the blood vessel voxels along the path with a corresponding anatomical label identifying the blood vessel to which it belongs.
US07953251B1
A method for red-eye detection in an acquired digital image acquiring one or more preview or other reference images without a flash. Any red regions that exist within the one or more reference images are determined. A main image is acquired with a flash of approximately a same scene as the one or more reference images. The main image is analyzed to determine any candidate red eye defect regions that exist within the main image. Any red regions determined to exist within the one or more reference images are compared with any candidate red eye defect regions determined to exist within the main image. Any candidate red eye defect regions within the main image corresponding to red regions determined also to exist within the one or more reference images are removed as candidate red eye defect regions.
US07953245B2
A system, method and program product for camera-based object analyses including object recognition, object detection, and/or object categorization. An exemplary embodiment of the computerized method for analyzing objects in images obtained from a camera system includes receiving image(s) having pixels from the camera system; calculating a pool of features for each pixel; then deriving either a pool of radial moment of features from the pool of features and a geometric center of the image(s) or a pool of central moments of features from the pool of features; then calculating a normalized descriptor, based on an area of the image(s) and either of the derived pool of moments of features; and then based on the normalized descriptor, a computer then either recognizes, detects, and/or categorizes an object(s) in the image(s).
US07953242B2
A speaker mounting region looks smaller as viewed from the front side. An image display apparatus comprises a frame forming portion located at the lower part of a front frame, a rectangular sound emitting unit formed in a horizontal direction of the frame forming portion, first and second walls to have a horn shape for the sound emitting unit, a third wall which continues to the front side of the lower second wall and is tilted and retreated while being bent as it goes downwards, and a remote control signals receiving window, supporting portions, speaker devices mounted on the supporting portions, and a substrate having a remote control circuit mounted thereon.
US07953239B2
A speaker system with an enclosure having at least six sides. At least two active transducers are mounted inside the enclosure. Each active transducer is oriented to project from one of the sides. At least four passive radiators are mounted inside the enclosure. Each passive radiator is oriented to project from one of the sides. The number of active transducers and passive radiators equals the number of sides on the enclosure.
US07953237B2
In a hearing aid device system with a hearing aid device which can be worn on or in the left ear of a user and a hearing aid device which can be worn on or in the right ear of the user for the binaural supply of the user, the aim is to reduce feedback tendency. To this end, it is proposed to transmit audio signals resulting from the microphone signals of the hearing aid devices in a crosswise fashion between the hearing aid devices and thus to emit an acoustic signal recorded by the microphone of a hearing aid device, after the signal processing and amplification, by means of the receiver of the respective other hearing aid device. In this way, the distance between each receiver and microphone, between which a feedback path exists, is essentially increased for the relevant audio signals.
US07953234B2
A digital audio-signal output circuit is provided, which is capable of outputting an audio signal without generating pop noise. In suppressing pop noise, the audio signal output circuit requires no analog circuit nor mute control signal for external peripheral devices. Upon receipt of a digital input audio signal having an AC component superposed on a reference voltage VREF, the circuit selects one of a pulse-density-modulated audio signal derived from the input audio signal and a transition signal that smoothly varies between zero volt and the reference voltage, and provides the selected signal to speakers.
US07953233B2
A synchronous detection and calibration system is provided for expedient calibration of differential acoustic sensors in a manufacturing and testing environment. By processing a series of sequentially received tones, respective portions of a system using differential acoustic sensors are tuned for optimum individual operation, following which corresponding control data are generated and stored for use in selecting among predetermined calibration vectors which establish and maintain optimum system operation.
US07953229B2
According to one embodiment, a sound processor includes a creating module, a filter, and a combining module. The creating module creates a plurality of first acoustic models based on a frequency characteristic that represents an acoustic property of an object to be measured. The first acoustic models are modeled with respect to resonance properties that vary depending on frequency bands. The filter extracts frequency components in the frequency bands from the respective first acoustic models. The combining module combines the frequency components extracted from the first acoustic models to create a second acoustic model.
US07953225B2
A mobile wireless communications device which may include a housing, an antenna carried by the housing, a wireless transceiver carried by the housing and connected to the antenna, and at least one memory for storing a compressed software file, a digest of an uncompressed version of the software file, and a digital signature of the compressed software file and the digest generated based upon a private key. The device may further include a processor carried by the housing and cooperating with the wireless transceiver for performing wireless communications. The processor may also cooperate with the at least one memory for authenticating the compressed software file based upon the digital signature and a public key corresponding to the private key. Upon authentication of the compressed software file, the processor uncompresses the compressed software file. The uncompressed software file may then be re-authenticated at a time after installation based upon the digest.
US07953216B2
Disclosed are systems and methods for preventing unauthorized persons from using an electronic device within a facility. In such an embodiment, the system may include a plurality of RFID tags each having unique identification information associated with a wearer of one of the RFID tags. This system may also include an RFID reader associated with the electronic device and having an RFID coverage zone for detecting RFID tags within the coverage zone. A device management system may be connected to the reader and configured to determine whether wearers in the coverage zone are authorized to use the electronic device based at least in part on detected RFID tags' unique identification information. In such an embodiment, the device management system is configured to activate the electronic device if it determines only authorized wearers are detected in the coverage zone, and to deactivate the electronic device if it determines an unauthorized wearer is detected in the coverage zone.
US07953210B2
A switch proxy comprising a controller, a translations database and a switching fabric are connected to a trunk group between a remote terminal and its controlling local switching system. The switch proxy monitors control and alarm signals to and from the switching system on the trunk. In the event of loss of control signals from the host switching system, the switch proxy intercepts requests for service, etc. from a calling telephone connected to the remote terminal and performs a look up in the translation database. If the call can be completed without the controlling switching system the call is looped back to the remote terminal. The translation database is maintained by a switch proxy management system that receives change orders from the local exchange carrier. The switch proxy management system forwards relevant changes to the switch proxy's translation database in the field.
US07953205B2
The invention comprises an X-ray system that is orientated to provide X-ray images of a patient in the same orientation as viewed by a proton therapy beam, is synchronized with patient respiration, is operable on a patient positioned for proton therapy, and does not interfere with a proton beam treatment path. Preferably, the synchronized system is used in conjunction with a negative ion beam source, synchrotron, and/or targeting method apparatus to provide an X-ray timed with patient respiration and performed immediately prior to and/or concurrently with particle beam therapy irradiation to ensure targeted and controlled delivery of energy relative to a patient position resulting in efficient, precise, and/or accurate noninvasive, in-vivo treatment of a solid cancerous tumor with minimization of damage to surrounding healthy tissue in a patient using the proton beam position verification system.
US07953201B2
A shift register includes a plurality of shift register stages cascade-connected with each other. Each shift register stage includes a pull up module for outputting an output pulse in response to a first clock signal, a pull-up driving module for turning on the pull up module in response to a driving pulse of a previous one stage of the shift register, a pre-pull-down module coupled to a previous two stage of the shift register and a first node for pulling down voltage level of the first node in response to a output pulse of the previous two stage of the shift register, a pull down module coupled to the first node for pulling down voltage level of the first node in response to a pulling-down triggering signal, and a pulling down driving module for providing the pulling-down triggering signal.
US07953196B2
A method includes receiving first data corresponding to a first signal sampled at a first sample rate, decimating the first data to provide a second signal sampled at a second sample rate, and recovering a pilot signal from the second signal. The method also includes evaluating the pilot signal to determine an error value, where the error value is based on a comparison of a sample of the pilot signal to zero. The method also includes adjusting the second sample rate based on the error value.
US07953190B2
The present invention provides architectures and methods which enables faster and more power efficient detection of channel parameters used by a communication system. Various parallel preamble correlator structures are able to perform searches for multiple preambles in parallel. The received samples are correlated with different delays between the samples corresponding to the different possible channel parameters that may be used by the communication system. Processing elements used in the preamble search may be shared among the parallel preamble search sections of a given architecture to reduce costs and power consumption. Decimation and filtering may also be used to reduce the interference from adjacent channels.
US07953188B2
Aspects of a method and system for rate>1 SFBC and/or STBC using hybrid maximum likelihood (ML)/minimum mean squared error (MMSE) estimation are presented. Aspects of an exemplary system may enable rate 5/4 coding in diversity communication systems that utilize SFBC and/or STBC. A transmitting station may utilize SFBC or STBC to generate and/or concurrently transmit a plurality of signals symbols, which are encoded to enable rate 5/4 transmission. A receiving station may decode rate 5/4 encoded signals utilizing a hybrid decoding method. The hybrid decoding method may result from application of a plurality of decoding methods when decoding the rate 5/4 encoded signals. In an exemplary aspect of the invention, the hybrid method may utilize ML/MMSE estimation in combination with zero forcing (ZF) interference cancellation. The combination may be referred to as hybrid ML/MMSE estimation.
US07953182B2
Transmitters, receivers and associated methods are disclosed for providing phase and amplitude modulation in a carrier-less communication system (e.g., an ultra-wide band communication system). An approximate quadrature signal is provided by delaying the in-phase signal by an amount determined by various criteria, such as the bandwidths of the component signals, minimizing the mean square error between an approximate quadrature signal and the true quadrature signal, and minimizing the auto-correlation function of the in-phase signal.
US07953180B2
Even when there is limit placed upon transmission power control time, the transmission power control method enables accurate control transmission power. The transmission power control method includes: a first measuring step of measuring, in a symbol interval before a symbol interval where mode of the power amplifier changes, output power of the power amplifier before mode changes; a first setting step of setting target power of the power amplifier after mode changes based on a measurement result obtained in the first measuring step and a transmission power control signal; a second measuring step of measuring, in the symbol interval where mode of the power amplifier changes, output power of the power amplifier after mode changes, the output power being controlled using the target power set in the first setting step; and a second step of setting corrected target power based on a measurement result obtained in the second measuring step.
US07953176B2
There is provided a method for transmitting channel state information in a wireless communication system. The method includes receiving a pilot signal, obtaining an estimated channel using the pilot signal, obtaining a plurality of bases representing the estimated channel, wherein a basis comprises a plurality of vectors and transmitting a representative vector as channel state information, wherein the representative vector is selected from the plurality of bases.
US07953173B2
An apparatus and a method for transmitting broadcasting signals in a broadcasting system having multi-antenna are provided. The apparatus comprises at least one antenna, a signal generator for generating two or more broadcasting signals to be transmitted, at least two of the two or more broadcasting signals being generated according to different user-required quality characteristics, a multi-antenna modulator for modulating each of the broadcasting signals according to one of a plurality of multi-antenna transmission methods selected for each of the broadcasting signals according to the user-required quality characteristics of the respective broadcasting signals, and a transmitter for transmitting the modulated signals via the at least one antenna.
US07953170B2
Signal processing under attenuated transmission conditions. Within an orthogonal signal space, the number of orthogonal signals that are used to transmit information from a transmitter to a receiver is reduced and the transmitted power of each of the now remaining orthogonal signals is modified; this may involve increasing the power of all of the remaining orthogonal signals equally or alternatively modifying them individually. The same modulation used before the reduction may also be used afterwards; within communication systems having multiple transmitter-receiver paths, this will ensure that the communication system's throughput and efficiency will remain unchanged even when one (or more) transmitter-receiver paths are highly attenuated. In addition, robust mode operation is provided for ranging and registering of transmitter devices when entering the communication system. In addition, the unused orthogonal signals may be employed to support interference cancellation of those orthogonal signals that are used to transmit information.
US07953168B2
To reduce the influence of inter-block interference even when the order number of the channel (physically corresponding to the impulse response length of the channel) is larger than the CP length. A receiver 20 for a transmission system using a block including a plurality of symbols, comprises a transfer function estimating part 21 which estimates a transfer function of a channel, and an inter-block interference component generating part 24 which generates a replica of an inter-block interference component from a previous block to a current block in accordance with the transfer function h estimated in the transfer function estimating part 21 and a received signal s(n−1) of the previous block, wherein the inter-block interference component of a received signal is reduced by using the replica of the inter-block interference component.
US07953166B2
A method of performing resource allocation in OFDM transmission is disclosed. The method includes performing a partitioning of the OFDM spectrum into a number of predefined regions (Rij, R′ij) of sub-carriers (SCi) for a number of OFDM transmission cells, assigning at least one respective transmission-related characteristic to the regions of sub-carriers, and allocating the resources for communication with at least one user equipment in at least one region of sub-carriers based on the partitioning and dependent on the characteristic assigned to the regions of sub-carriers. This allows fast resource allocation with low signaling effort, as well as fast adjustment to changing system settings or changing systems conditions, while providing a possible alternative to costly handover procedures.
US07953163B2
A method and apparatus for channel equalization in a multi-carrier communication system. The method may include receiving a symbol having multiple sub-carriers and reducing an error on at least one of the sub-carriers of the symbol by adding to it, one or more weighted multiples of other sub-carriers. The added weighted multiples may be from neighboring sub-carriers in the same symbol and/or from other symbols in a tone, for example, a previous or next symbol. The apparatus may include a reduced-complexity block linear equalizer.
US07953141B2
An interference reduction receiver is disclosed. The interference reduction receiver includes a weight generating unit for obtaining weights by multiplying a signal correlation matrix of an input signal and a channel response vector. The input signal is despread at two or more predetermined timings, the despread signals are multiplied by the weights, the weight-multiplied signals are added, and an original signal is obtained.
US07953128B2
Structures and techniques are disclosed that enable efficient generation of terahertz (THz) radiation capable of surpassing the fundamental quantum limit, as defined by the Manley-Rowe relations. In one particular embodiment, a difference frequency mixing (DFM) crystal stage receives pump radiation and signal radiation, and generates THz radiation. Leftover signal radiation from the DFM stage is then used to pump an optical parametric oscillator (OPO) stage, which is used to generate another mixing signal and more THz radiation. The output signal and the residual pump from the OPO stage can then be used in a subsequent DFM process to generate even more terahertz radiation, and further drives a subsequent OPO stage. Such cascaded OPO, DFM, OPO staging can be repeated to maximize total amount of THz output power.
US07953124B2
A scrambler performs IQ multiplexing of output signals from a spreader and a distributor in order to generate a complex signal (I signal and Q signal), amplitude coefficients βcc(I) and βcc(Q) are determined in accordance with signal powers on I axis and Q axis.
US07953123B2
The method allows communications means to be listed, for end-to-end broadcasting of information other than that required for managing multimedia sessions. After a selection (52) of communications channels through an infrastructure for managing multimedia sessions, the method provides via the application level, the establishment of a communication specifically using the selected communications channel(s). Purely descriptive/explanatory fields of characteristics of a session may be selected at an application level and used for conveying additional information in addition to the signaling protocol. It is thus possible to change the conditions for consuming/using the multimedia contents or the established flux. Instantaneity of the services and service use conditions may be obtained by requesting for example renegotiation in real time of a service when the conditions of use are modified (iconification of a TV/Video streaming flux in order to reduce the bandwidth used).
US07953112B2
A variable bandwidth communication system includes a first and a second communication station, coupled for continuous, bi-directional communication. The first communication station is capable of transmitting at a first and a second bandwidth, and is capable of receiving at a third and a fourth bandwidth. The second communication station is capable of receiving at the first and second bandwidth and is capable of transmitting at the third and fourth bandwidth. The transmitting bandwidth of each station is selectable by the user. The second bandwidth is greater than the first and the fourth bandwidth is greater than the third. Preferably, but not necessarily, the first and third bandwidth like the second and fourth bandwidth are about the same. The first communication system can display communication received at the fourth bandwidth at the first bandwidth, and the second communication system can display communications received at the second bandwidth at the third bandwidth.
US07953111B2
An interworking function (IWF) for a first and second protocol based network, for example, an H.323 protocol based network and an SIP protocol based network comprises an interworking gateway server including a state machine for defining each call processing state and a translation table for use in translating addresses formatted in each protocol. A method of interworking for use in interworking between said first protocol based network and said second protocol based network comprises the steps of receiving at said interworking gateway server serving said first and second protocol based networks a request from an endpoint in the first or second protocol based networks, establishing a state machine in memory whereby, for each state of said state machine, a message associated with that state is categorized as one of a triggering message, a non-triggering message and an error message, establishing a translation table in said memory whereby an address formatted in said first protocol has a one-for-one correspondence with an address formatted in said second protocol, processing said request in accordance with said translation table and said state machine and permitting communication between said first and second endpoints utilizing a realtime transport protocol. In the event media is terminated at said interworking gateway server, the interworking gateway server, in one embodiment, comprises a media switching fabric for switching media terminated at the gateway to an addressed endpoint capable of receiving it.
US07953102B2
An application gateway is configured to facilitate message communication between an application executing on a wireless device and a backend server. The application gateway comprises a message interface, a backend connector and a transformer. The message interface facilitates communication between the wireless device and the application gateway in a compact format. The backend connector facilitates communication between the application gateway and the backend server using a schema-based internal format. The transformer translates data between the compact format and the internal format. The transformer further includes a transformer mapping document for correlating elements in the compact format with elements in the internal format.
US07953101B2
In one embodiment, data words and ordered sets in a Fibre Channel data stream are formed into a group and the ordered sets are moved to the beginning word positions of the group. The ordered sets are encoded so that a control character in the first byte of the ordered set is replaced with a control code byte encoding the original location of the ordered set in the group, the identity of the control character replaced by the control code byte, and whether the following word is an ordered set.
US07953097B2
The invention is directed to providing NDP mediation over an IP interworking VLL. ICMPv6 Neighbor Discovery and Inverse Neighbor Discovery messages are intercepted by provider edge (PE) devices to learn both IPv6 interface addresses and link-layer addresses of customer edge (CE) devices before forwarding the messages to the CE devices, and in some cases after altering the messages to make them more meaningful to the receiving CE devices. In this manner, the CE device interface addresses do not need to be communicated over the LDP control link, as in IPv4 ARP Mediation.
US07953093B2
A method for a receiver to perform processing of incoming data segments transmitted over a network by a transmitter in accordance with a transport protocol. The segments incorporate sequence values indicative of a transmission order of the segments. The method consists of receiving the data segments over the network in a reception order. Then, for each segment received in the reception order, the sequence values of the received segment and of the segments received earlier in the reception order are compared in order to assign the received segment a classification identity as an in-order or out-of-order segment.The method further includes writing the segments, in a writing order that is substantially identical to the reception order, to respective locations in an output buffer responsive to the classification identity of each segment, so that the segments in the output buffer are arranged in the transmission order.
US07953082B2
A method and system for packet classification is proposed for applications such as firewalls, intrusion detection, policy-based routing, and network service differentiations, within network systems such as Internet or intranet/extranet systems. The proposed method and system is characterized by the use of protocol-oriented rule rearrangement, the probable bit vector (PBV) based on the aggregated bit vectors (ABV) and folded bit vectors (FBV), an ABV-FBV index table dataset whose data structure is based on a featured split full-tree schema, and a DCBV (Don't-Care Bit Vector) dataset for packet classification. The combination of these features allows the packet classification to be implemented with a reduced amount of memory and access time during operation.
US07953078B2
The address of an image processing apparatus is set as the network address of an external network of an information processing apparatus, a network address different from the address of the image processing apparatus is set as the network address of a local network, and an address different from these network addresses is distributed to another information processing apparatus.
US07953076B2
Provided is a method and apparatus for reserving a session resource in an IPv4/IPv6 combination network system. It allows a node to simultaneously establish an end-to-end session and a tunnel session by notifying a starting node of the tunnel session in advance about whether a last node supports RSVP while assigning IPv4 address information to an IPv6 host according to DSTM upon reserving a resource according to an RSVP mechanism in a 4over6 dual stack transition mechanism (DSTM) environment.
US07953073B2
A communications module including an electrical interface for operatively connecting the communications module to an electric device is disclosed. The electric interface enables data communication between the communications module and the electric device in either a serial mode or parallel mode. The communications module includes: one or more electrical connectors arranged in the electric interface, a Dual Port RAM is connected to the electrical interface for providing parallel transfer of data through the electrical interface, and a control unit connected to at least one of the one or more electrical connectors, wherein the control unit is adapted to determine the value of one or more signals applied on the at least one of the one or more electrical connectors and enable either serial or parallel data communication through the electrical interface depending on the value of the one or more signals.
US07953063B2
A method and system for increasing the efficiency of providing bandwidth for voice traffic to a data provider via communication mediums is provided. This is generally accomplished by not transmitting any data during the silence periods and playing out background noise (i.e., comfort noise) at the other end, to obtain significant bandwidth savings.
US07953062B2
In a transmission scheme wherein multi-slot packet transmissions to a remote station can be terminated by an acknowledgment signal from the remote station, code symbols can be efficiently packed over the multi-slot packet so that the remote station can easily decode the data payload of the multi-slot packet by decoding only a portion of the multi-slot packet. Hence, the remote station can signal for the early termination of the multi-slot packet transmission, which thereby increases the data throughput of the system.
US07953057B2
A wireless local area network (WLAN) transceiving integrated circuit includes a WLAN interface, an input buffer, an input buffer controller, and a processor. The WLAN transceiving integrated circuit may also include an output buffer, an output buffer controller, a transcoder, and/or an audio Coder-Decoder (CODEC). The WLAN transceiving integrated circuit is installed in a WLAN device that services voice communications. The input buffer receives packetized audio data from the WLAN interface. When the input buffer satisfies a buffer vacancy threshold, the processor and the input buffer controller cooperatively operate to fill at least a portion of the input buffer with packetized audio data. The processor copies packetized audio data from the input buffer and fills the input buffer with the copied packetized audio data to maintain an audio pattern in the input buffer. The input buffer controller fills the input buffer when the processor is available and after copying/filling is no longer effective. The processor operates to maintain the audio pattern when additional packetized audio data is received by the WLAN interface. These operations are also performed for the output buffer, which receives packetized audio data from the transcoder and writes the packetized audio data to the WLAN interface.
US07953036B2
A system that incorporates teachings of the present disclosure may include, for example, a mobile Voice over IP (VoIP) communication device (MVCD) having a controller element to register with a VoIP call processing system by way of a Wireless Fidelity (WiFi) access point operating in a cluster of WiFi access points each having cell coverage area, and re-register with the VoIP call processing system by way of the WiFi access point in response to receiving a re-registration request upon expiration of a timer having a period determined from one or more behavioral attributes of the MVCD. Additional embodiments are disclosed.
US07953031B2
Methods and apparatus are provided for enabling an apparatus having a wireless module mounted thereon to detect an access point while saving power consumption in a battery. An apparatus according to the present invention preferably has a system main body, a cover which covers a surface of the system main body, an antenna disposed to the cover, a lid sensor which detects that the cover is opened from the system main body and outputs a lid event signal, a wireless module which is connected with the antenna and detects an access point upon receiving a power, and a power supply module. This power supply module supplies the power to the wireless module in response to output of the lid event signal from the lid sensor. As a result, even if this portable computer is in an OFF state, the power is supplied to the wireless module when the cover is opened, thereby detecting an access point.
US07953021B2
Optimizing a radio link is done by acquiring at least OSI layer one and two performance measurements, determining an optimum setting collection for at least OSI layer three to a top layer, then configuring at least the OSI layer three to the top layer based upon the optimum setting collection. The top layer is at least OSI layer four. The invention includes optimized radio links, methods of making optimized radio links, revenue generating making optimized radio links by providing means for optimizing the radio link.
US07953017B2
Various exemplary embodiments relate to a method and related network node including one or more of the following: creating the application specific service ping packing including a special packet identification field that identifies the application specific service ping packet as a special packet, and including an application identification field that identifies an application to which the application specific service ping packet corresponds; modifying a deep packet inspection engine to recognize the application specific service ping packet; sending the application specific service ping packet through a deep packet inspection element; identifying the application specific service ping packet as a special packet; determining that the application specific service ping packet can be mapped to a specific application; identifying the specific application; setting an application for processing to the specific application; and performing known application processing based on the set specific application.
US07952993B2
An automatic network connection device includes a first connection port, a second connection port, a first network connection unit, a second network connection unit, a control unit, and a switching unit. When the first network connection unit operates normally, the switching unit electrically connects the first network connection unit to the first connection port, such that the first network connection unit transmits and receives a network signal. When the first network connection unit fails, the switching unit switches the first connection port to be electrically connected to the second network connection unit, such that the second network connection unit transmits and receives the network signal.
US07952991B2
Provided is a method and an apparatus for transmitting a large quantity of control information in a mobile communication system. When there is no uplink data to be transmitted, a UE spreads second control information, a quantity of which is less than or equal to a pre-defined threshold, by using a ZC sequence cyclic-shifted according to resource blocks, each of which indicates at least one time interval used for a transmission of the second control information. When there is uplink data to be transmitted, the UE performs TDM of the uplink data with third control information. When there is no uplink data to be transmitted and the quantity of control information exceeds a pre-defined threshold, or when the first control information includes various types of information, the UE spreads the first control information in a time domain by the orthogonal codes.
US07952989B2
Various example embodiments are disclosed. According to an example embodiment, a method may comprise sending, by a sending wireless station in a wireless network, data to a receiving wireless station, the data being sent via at least one logical distributed resource unit (LDRU), the LDRU including slots included in at least one physical resource unit (PRU), each of the slots included in the at least one PRU being associated with a different orthogonal frequency division multiple access (OFDMA) symbol and a different OFDMA subcarrier.
US07952980B2
An optical-pickup apparatus comprising: a polarization beam splitter fixed to a base, which includes a first prism that laser light emitted from a laser diode enters, a second prism that return light of the laser light reflected from a signal recording layer of an optical disc enters, and a control film that is formed on either one of opposed surfaces of the first and second prisms so that the laser light and the return light are selectively passed through or reflected from the control film, the opposed surfaces being opposed to each other; and first and second positioning pins provided on the base to position the polarization beam splitter, the polarization beam splitter being fixed to the base in a state where the opposed surface of at least one of the first and second prisms is made in contact with at least one of the first and second positioning pins.
US07952978B2
An optical controller includes a light source for emitting light, an object lens for condensing light emitted from the light source, a light detection unit for receiving light reflected on an optical information recording medium and outputting a signal corresponding to the amount of the light, and a laser control unit for controlling the amount of the light emitted from the light source to the information recording surface on which information is to be recorded or reproduced, based on the recording state of an information recording surface disposed closer to the object lens than an information recording surface on which the information is to be recorded or reproduced.
US07952974B2
An apparatus and method for measuring the quality of a signal on an optical disc based on level information of a viterbi decoder are provided. The signal quality measuring apparatus includes: a binary unit that generates binary signals from input RF signals; a channel identifier that receives the input RF signals and the binary signals output from the binary unit and outputs reference level values corresponding to the binary signals; and an information calculator that receives the reference level values and detects a signal quality value.
US07952970B2
A method and apparatus for accomplishing an OPC (optimal power calibration) at a test area secured in data recording area of a writable optical recording medium and detecting an optimal writing power appropriate to the test area, are discussed. According to an embodiment, the method searches for a marginal area adjacent to a data section recorded on an optical recording medium, records test data on the marginal area discovered in the searching step while changing a writing power; and reproduces the test data recorded on the marginal area and determining an optimal writing power based upon the characteristics of the reproduction signal.
US07952966B2
A tracking apparatus for an optical information reproduction apparatus includes the following: a photoelectric detector (1) in which a far-field pattern of a light spot converged on a recording medium is formed across a divided light-receiving cell; an arithmetic unit (2) for outputting at least a pair of arithmetic signals from the output of the photoelectric detector (1); a phase comparator (4) for detecting a phase difference between the output signals of the arithmetic unit (2); an absolute value detector (8) for detecting an absolute value of the output signal of the phase comparator (4); a level detector (9) for generating a signal that indicates whether or not a convergence position of the light spot is located off an information track by detecting a predetermined number of times or more the output signal of the absolute value detector (8) has become larger than a predetermined value; a sensitivity detector (10) for detecting and outputting the sensitivity of the level detector (9) by observing the output signal of the level detector (9); and a controller (11) for adjusting the detection conditions of the level detector (9) so that the output of the sensitivity detector (10) is a predetermined value.
US07952964B2
A land/groove switch position detecting method includes measuring information about a land/groove switch generation timing of a disc, using a first signal having a frequency that varies in proportion to a rotation speed of the disk in a normal playback mode, and a second signal having a predetermined frequency higher than the frequency of the first signal, and calculating a predicted land/groove switch generation position in the seek mode, using the information about the land/groove switch generation timing.
US07952961B2
A method for tracking motion using an audio compass is disclosed. The method comprises receiving motion sensor data indicating seismic activity recorded by at least two seismic sensors, and converting the received motion sensor data into audio signals for interpretation at an audio compass. The method uses the audio compass to determine a current distance to the seismic activity based on an interpreted signal intensity of the audio signals. The method further uses the audio compass to identify a current position of the audio compass relative to the seismic activity.
US07952955B2
A semiconductor memory is provided which includes a word line coupled to a transistor of a memory cell; a word driver configured to activate the word line; a first resistance portion configured to couple the word line to a low-level voltage line in accordance with an activation of the word line and to decouple the coupling after a first period in an activation period of the word line elapses; a second resistance portion configured to couple the word line to a high-level voltage line in a second period in the activation period; and a third resistance portion configured to couple the word line to the low-level voltage line in the second period, a resistance of the third resistance portion being higher than a resistance of the first resistance portion, wherein a high-level voltage of the word line in the second period is lower than that of the high-level voltage line.
US07952950B2
Semiconductor device including anti-fuse circuit, and method of writing address to anti-fuse circuit
An anti-fuse circuit according to the present invention includes an anti-fuse element that holds data in a nonvolatile manner and a latch circuit that temporarily holds data to be written to the anti-fuse element. The writing to the latch circuit can be performed in the order of nanoseconds, and thus, even when the defective addresses respectively different are written in a plurality of chips, a writing process to the latch circuit can be completed in a very short period of time. Thereby, an actual process for writing to the anti-fuse element can be performed in parallel for the chips, and as a result, the process for writing to the anti-fuse element can be performed at high speed.
US07952948B2
A semiconductor memory apparatus includes non-inversion repeaters that non-invert data and output the inverted data; and inversion repeaters that invert data and output the inverted data. The non-inversion repeaters or the inversion repeaters are arranged on a first data line and a second data line at a predetermined distance, respectively, which are parallel with each other and the most adjacent to each other and the non-inversion repeater or the inversion repeater is arranged at first positions corresponding to the first data line and the second data line, respectively. The non-inversion repeaters are arranged on one of the first data line and the second data line while the inversion repeaters are arranged on the other first data line and the second data line, at second positions except for the first arrangement positions of positions corresponding to the first data line and the second data line, respectively.
US07952945B2
An invention is provided for determining write leveling delay for a plurality of memory devices having command signals lines connected in series to each memory device is disclosed. The invention includes determining a device delay value for each memory device. Each device delay value indicates a period of time to delay a DQS signal when accessing a related memory device. Once these delay values are determined, the delay values are examined sequentially and a prior device delay value is set to a lower value, for example zero, when a subsequent device delay value of a memory device connected subsequently along the command signal lines is greater than the prior device delay value.
US07952943B2
The present invention relates to a semiconductor memory device having a low power consumption type column decoder and read operation method thereof. In accordance with the semiconductor memory device and read operation method thereof according to the present invention, one of a plurality of decoding units of a column decoder is selectively operated according to a logic value(s) of one of some of bits of a column address signal. It is thus possible to reduce unnecessary switching current.
US07952939B2
Circuit and methods for providing the CVDD supply to the cells in an SRAM array while maintaining a desired VDD voltage. A circuit is described for tracking the VDD supply voltage and providing a CVDD supply for the SRAM cells that maintains an offset above VDD until a maximum voltage for the CVDD voltage is reached. The CVDD voltage supplies the word line drivers and the cells in an SRAM array, while the bit line precharge and the remaining circuitry is operated on the VDD supply. By maintaining a maximum offset between the voltage CVDD and the supply voltage VDD, the SRAM will have the required static noise margins for reliable operation, while a lowered VDD_min voltage may also be obtained. A method for supplying a CVDD voltage to an SRAM cell array is disclosed where the CVDD voltage tracks a VDD supply voltage plus a predetermined offset voltage.
US07952935B2
A nonvolatile memory device includes a bit line sensing signal supply unit configured to output a bit line sensing signal, having a rising voltage level that rises in discrete steps, in response to a control signal, and a bit line sensing unit configured to selectively connect a bit line and a sensing node in response to the bit line sensing signal.
US07952930B2
A NAND flash memory according to examples of the invention includes a memory cell array comprised of first, second, and third NAND blocks disposed in order in a first direction and first and second transfer transistor blocks disposed in order in the first direction at one end in a second direction intersecting with the first direction of the memory cell array. An address allocation to the word lines in the first NAND block is inverted against an address allocation to the word lines in the third NAND block.
US07952926B2
In this AG-AND type flash memory, a layered bit line configuration where a memory array is divided into a plurality of sub blocks, new main bit lines are allocated so as to correspond to each sub block, and a main bit line is selectively connected to a global bit line in an upper layer via a switch is adopted, so that charge sharing write-in is carried out between two main bit lines. Accordingly, write-in of data into the flash memory can be carried out with low power consumption, and the threshold voltage can be controlled with precision.
US07952923B2
A Multiple-bit per Cell (MBC) non-volatile memory apparatus, method, and system wherein a controller for writing/reading data to/from a memory array controls polarity of data by selectively inverting data words to maximize a number of bits to be programmed within (M−1) virtual pages and selectively inverts data words to minimize a number of bits to be programmed in an Mth virtual page where M is the number of bits per cell. A corresponding polarity control flag is set when a data word is inverted. Data is selectively inverted according the corresponding polarity flag when being read from the M virtual pages. A number of the highest threshold voltage programming states in reduced. This provides tighter distribution of programmed cell threshold voltage, reduced power consumption, reduced programming time, and enhanced device reliability.
US07952919B2
A phase change memory structure with multiple resistance states and methods of forming, programming, and sensing the same. The memory structure includes two or more phrase change elements provided between electrodes. Each phase change element has a respective resistance curve as a function of programming voltage which is shifted relative to the resistance curves of other phase change elements. In one example structure using two phase change elements, the memory structure is capable of switching among four resistance states.
US07952911B2
This invention discloses a static random access memory (SRAM) cell array structure which comprises a first and second bit-line coupled to a column of SRAM cells, the first and second bit-lines being substantially parallel to each other and formed by a first metal layer, and a first conductive line being placed between the first and second bit-lines and spanning across the column of SRAM cells without making conductive coupling thereto, the first conductive line being also formed by the first metal layer.
US07952908B2
A multi-level sensing apparatus of the non-volatile memory includes a first sense amplifier configured to compare a first reference voltage with a read data of a bit line and amplify a comparison result to generate a first output; a reference voltage selector configured to select one of a second reference voltage and a third reference voltage as a fourth reference voltage according to a logic level of the first output; a second sense amplifier configured to compare the fourth reference voltage with the read data of the bit line and amplify a comparison result to generate a second output; and a decoder configured to decode the first and second outputs to output a sensing data.
US07952897B2
Described herein is a system for generating electric power, comprising: an electric-power source (1) having a preferential point of operation; a double-stage inverter (3A, 3B), which transfers the energy from said source to an external a.c.-voltage electrical network (9); a block (5) for identification of the preferential point of operation, which supplies a reference signal according to the conditions of operation of the electric-power source and to the preferential point of operation of said source; a corrector block (10), provided for setting the parameter for control of the boost converter (3A) of the double-stage inverter (3A, 3B) as a function of the reference signal and of a signal of actual operation of said electric-power source, and for maintaining the source in the proximity of the preferential point of operation.
US07952896B2
A controller for a power conversion system reduces common-mode voltage generated by the power conversion system by imposing a constraint on the control signals applied to the power conversion system. The power conversion system includes a plurality of switching devices that are responsive to control signals provided by the controller to selectively connect each output of the power conversion system to one of a plurality of inputs. The controller generates control signals based on a desired output of the power conversion system. In addition, the controller imposes a constraint on the control signals to reduce the common-mode voltage. The constraint is defined by assigning an integer value to each input of the power conversion system, and requiring that the selective connection of outputs to inputs must result in a sum of integer values equal to zero.
US07952889B2
A stacking structure (20) of printed circuit board is provided. The stacking structure includes a first printed circuit board (22), a second printed circuit board (24), and at least one electronic component. The first printed circuit board has a first shielding frame (262) arranged thereon, and the second printed circuit board has a second shielding frame (264) arranged thereon. The second printed circuit board is stacked on the first printed circuit board. The at least one electronic component is disposed on at least one opposite surfaces of the first and the second printed circuit board. The first shielding frame is engaged with the second shielding frame for shielding the at least one electronic element. In addition, an electronic device incorporating the stacking structure of printed circuit board (10) is also provided.
US07952887B2
A card unit on which a card attached to a connector and detached from it is loaded has a frame, which is loaded with the card and is expanded and contracted, and an attaching/detaching mechanism which attaches the card to the connector and detaches the card from the connector by expanding and contracting the frame. The attaching/detaching mechanism has a rotatable attaching/detaching lever which makes the frame expand and contract by its rotational operation. A maintaining part (maintaining surface parts) is provided, and the frame is maintained at a position, at which the card is disengaged from the connector, by the maintaining part.
US07952886B2
According to one embodiment, an electronic apparatus is provided with a case, a module contained in the case, a ground provided in the case, a plurality of protrusions which protrude from an inner surface of the case, and a cable connected electrically to the module. At least one of the protrusions includes, on a side face thereof, a conductor connected electrically to the ground. The cable includes an electrically conductive film and is supported by the respective side faces of the protrusions.
US07952883B2
A first swinging member is connected to a rack mount unit for swinging movement around a first horizontal axis. A second swinging member is connected to a rack for swinging movement around a second horizontal axis. The second swinging member is coupled to the first swinging member around a third horizontal axis extending in parallel with the first horizontal axis. The rack mount unit is pulled out forward from the rack along a horizontal plane. The first horizontal axis follows the forward movement of the rack mount unit. The second horizontal axis is prevented from moving, since the second horizontal axis is connected to the rack. The first and second swinging members expand around the third horizontal axis. The holding members of the first and second swinging members hold a wire on the first and second swinging members. The wire is thus prevented from tangling.
US07952880B2
A graphics card includes a graphics processing unit (GPU), a heat dissipation fin, an electric cooling module and a thermoelectric generator. The electric cooling module has a cold side and a hot side. The cold side contacts the GPU, and the hot side contacts the heat dissipation fin. The thermoelectric generator contacts the heat dissipation fin and is electrically connected to the electric cooling module. Furthermore, a method for dissipating the heat of the graphics card is also disclosed herein.
US07952865B2
An exemplary computer enclosure for detachably coupling an external device to the computer enclosure by a cable includes a receiving cavity, a interface device, and a cable guide member. The receiving cavity is configured for receiving a portion of the cable. The interface device is movably received in the receiving cavity. The interface device defines at least one port for coupling the cable thereto. The cable guide member is located adjacent to the receiving cavity, and the cable guide member supports the cable that extends from the at least one port.
US07952860B2
A mobile terminal is provided in which gaps between keys provided in a second main body change as a first main body moves. The mobile terminal includes a first main body; a second main body having a plurality of keys; and a hinge connecting the first main body and the second main body, wherein when the first main body opens from the second main body, the second main body extends and gaps between the plurality of keys are widened, and when the first main body closes on the second main body, the second main body retracts and the gaps between the plurality of keys are narrowed. Therefore, when the mobile terminal is opened, gaps between keys provided in the mobile terminal are widened and thus a user can more conveniently use the keys provided in the mobile terminal.
US07952854B2
An apparatus is disclosed which includes an electrolytic capacitive element with multiple capacitor sections.
US07952848B2
Electrostatic discharge protection, also known as ESD protection, is provided in the form of a discrete array with a voltage variable material (VVM) or a VVM device. The array is fabricated with a common electrode for connection to ground, and one or more electrodes configured for connection to an electrical component. The electrical component is a connector attached to an electrical circuit containing devices subject to damage by ESD events. The array is placed into a pocket or space on the connector and is held in place mechanically by spring force or by soldering to leads or electrodes of the connector. The array may be soldered to a ground connection or held in place by pressure, such as from a spring or from an outer housing or shell. In some embodiments, the array is removable from the component without affecting component circuits other than removal of ESD protection.
US07952846B2
In an electric power transmission network, comprising several substations interconnected by power transmission lines, a communication device of a substation communicates over a power transmission line to a communication device of a neighboring substation by using command signals in a frequency band and a guard signal located in a first half of the frequency band. For successive lines, a repeating sequence of different schemes of command signals is used, each of the schemes comprising only command signals with frequencies located in a second half of the frequency band. By using a repeating sequence of different schemes for successive lines and by using in each of the schemes only command signals with frequencies located in one half of the reserved frequency band, it is possible to reduce the number of different frequency bands required in electric power transmission networks for transmitting command signals used for coding (tele-) protection commands.
US07952843B2
An arc detector comprising a voltage generator for detecting a voltage and an integrator for integrating said voltage with respect to time and generating an output signal corresponding to said integration. The arc detector also includes a discharge controller for controlling said output signal of said integrator, an amplifier for amplifying said output signal from said integrator and outputting an amplified signal; and a comparator for comparing said amplified output signal to a reference voltage and generating a detection signal based on said comparison.
US07952841B2
A device for determining an interference with a regulated voltage provided by a control loop with a unit for monitoring a control variable of the control loop and a unit for generating a notification signal if the control variable or a change in the time of the control variable is beyond a tolerance range around a normal value.
US07952838B2
A read head for a rotating magnetic storage system including concentric tracks is disclosed. The read head comprises a magnetoresistive (MR) sensor that reads information from a read track of the magnetic storage medium. First and second shields have a length greater than two tracks in a track width direction and define a gap therebetween, wherein the MR sensor is arranged in the gap. Inner magnetic portions of the first and second shields are spaced a first distance from the read track. Outer magnetic portions of the first and second shields are spaced a second distance from adjacent tracks to the read track, wherein the first distance is less than the second distance.
US07952834B2
In accordance with various embodiments, a printed structure of a flex circuit assembly includes a plurality of adjacent land portions formed on a heat conductive stiffener member and which support electrically conductive paths for connection to an integrated circuit. A corresponding plurality of separation channels are formed between the adjacent electrically conductive paths, and thermal energy generated by operation of the integrated circuit is transferred through the separation channels to the stiffener member. In some embodiments, the separation channels retain a fluid, such as air or a low density inert gas, which flows through the separation channels in response to rotation of a rotatable member adjacent the flex circuit assembly. In other embodiments, a dielectric, thermally conductive material fills the separation channels.
US07952827B2
A heat-assisted magnetic head that can efficiently and locally heat a magnetic recording medium. The head includes a heating coil element, and a write head element for writing data signals by generating a signal magnetic field, and a read head element for reading data signals by sensing the signal magnetic field. The heating coil element comprises a main heating magnetic pole layer, an auxiliary heating magnetic pole layer, and a heating coil layer for generating a magnetic flux in the main heating magnetic pole layer and the auxiliary heating magnetic pole layer and passing through at least between the main heating magnetic pole layer and the auxiliary heating magnetic pole layer. The read head element, heating coil element, and the write head element are stacked in this order from an element-formed surface of a substrate.
US07952826B2
A method of operating a hard disk drive (HDD) on the basis of a predicted new defect in a disk associated with the HDD is disclosed. The method includes detecting defects in a magnetic surface of the disk, defining a plurality of clusters by grouping the detected defects using a hierarchical clustering algorithm, calculating a curve fit for each one of the plurality of clusters, predicting a new defect likely to occur in the magnetic surface of the disk on the basis of the calculated curve fit; and writing data to the disk on the basis of the new defect prediction.
US07952818B1
The present invention provides an optical imaging lens assembly comprising, in order from an object side to an image side: a first lens element with positive refractive power having a convex object-side surface; a second lens element having a concave object-side surface; a third lens element with positive refractive power; a fourth lens element having a convex object-side surface and a concave image-side surface; a first stop disposed between the first lens element and the second lens element; and a second stop disposed between the second lens element and the fourth lens element. Such an arrangement of optical elements can effectively reduce the total track length of the lens assembly, lower the sensitivity of the optical system, and obtain good image quality.
US07952814B2
A lens barrel includes at least two cam tubes, and an operation based on the rotation of an operation ring actuates the two cam tubes to move a lens group. The lens barrel includes a first cam tube that drives part of the lens group in response to an operation based on the rotation of the operation ring, and a second cam tube that moves part of the lens group in the optical axis direction in response to the operation based on the rotation of the operation ring. The second cam tube rotates at a speed different from that of the first cam tube.
US07952808B2
A display system for vehicle includes an outside information-obtaining section configured to obtain outside information of a moving object; a position-detecting section configured to detect a position of one eye of an image viewer getting on the moving object; and an image-projecting section. The image-projecting section is configured to obtain a position of a target in the outside information obtained by the outside information-obtaining section, to generate a display object on the basis of the obtained position of the target, and to project a light flux including an image having the generated display object toward the one eye of the image viewer on the basis of the detected position of the one eye.
US07952804B2
There is disclosed an optical filter element that includes a translucent substrate; a laminated film formed by laminating plural thin films including a metal film on the translucent substrate; and a parallel structure in which parallel concave-shaped defective parts are periodically provided at a pitch shorter than a transmitted light wavelength. The parallel structure is formed in at least a part of the laminated film.
US07952795B2
There is provided an information display panel capable of maintaining a uniform gap between substrates and preventing migration. An undivided member for ensuring the gap is arranged as a pattern in a region where wiring electrodes are arranged, of a region between an information display region of the information display panel and a sealant forming portion provided in an outer edge portion of the information display panel and a plurality of divided members for ensuring a gap are arranged as a pattern in a region where the undivided member for ensuring a gap is not arranged, of the region between the information display region of the information display panel and the sealant forming portion provided in the outer edge portion of the information display panel.
US07952781B2
A method of scanning a light beam is disclosed. The method comprises scanning the light beam along a first axis and scanning the light beam along a second axis, such that a functional dependence of the scanning along the first axis is substantially a step-wave, and a functional dependence of the scanning along the second axis is other than a step-wave.
US07952764B2
What is provided are a novel system, method, and computer program product for hierarchical (telescopic) color error diffusion which effectively controls the dot distribution for both primary and secondary dot formation which covers the class of error diffusion that follow telescopic dot firing constraint principles. In one example embodiment, an input CMYK ink coverage is received. The input CMYK ink coverage is transformed into a CMYKRGB domain using a CMYK to CMYKRGB conversion. A weighted error value can be added to each color component of the CMYKRGB domain. The color components of the CMYKRGB domain are hierarchically grouped into a plurality of subgroups based on relative dot visibility. More visible subgroups are half-toned earlier to achieve maximum uniform dot distribution. Dots of specific color channels within subgroups are fired based on thresholding and a set of decision rules provided herein.
US07952761B2
System and method to compensate streaks using a spatially varying printer model and run time updates
Systems and methods are provided for compensating for streak defects in images formed by an image forming device, such as a digital printer. The methods include using a spatially varying printer model and run time updates to generate spatially varying tone reproduction curves (STRC actuation) in an iterative control system for improving streak correction in a digital printing machine. Streaks are rapidly learned and eliminated at cycle-up and tracked and eliminated during print run time using STRC actuation.
US07952753B2
A system and method for rendering an image file for outputting a copy of an image represented by the image file. In some embodiments, rendering the image includes generating an output file, such as an output bitmap based on a predetermined halftone. In one embodiment, the system comprises an input module, and a processor. The input module obtains a page description of the image to be output. In some instances, the page description includes one or more level masks designed to impart corresponding transparency levels to one or more objects in the page description. The processor (i) detects the one or more level masks in the page description, (ii) determines the one or more corresponding transparency levels of the one or more detected level masks, (iii) obtains one or more custom masks that correspond to the same one or more transparency levels as the one or more detected level masks, wherein the one or more custom masks are designed based on the predetermined halftone, and (iv) replaces the one or more level masks in the page description with the corresponding one or more custom masks.
US07952752B2
An image forming apparatus which performs multicolored printing by overlaying a plurality of printing materials using an electrophotographic process is provided. The apparatus includes a generation unit configured to generate bitmapped data of each of the plurality of printing materials, a detection unit configured to compare bitmapped data of a first printing material and of a second printing material of the plurality of printing materials to detect an overlapping area in which the first and second printing materials overlap, and a control unit configured to decrease the supply amount of the first or second printing material in the overlapping area.
US07952748B2
A display device output adjustment system comprises an electronic device having a visual adjustment module configured to automatically adjust a size of visual content displayed on a display device coupled to the electronic device based on a comparison between at least one characteristic of the display device and a desired output value.
US07952745B2
A handheld mobile communications device includes a chassis; mobile communications circuitry and components mounted on the chassis; a printer apparatus mounted on the chassis, the printer apparatus having a pagewidth printhead and an ink supply module arranged on the printhead; and a print media feed mechanism mounted on the chassis to feed print media through the printer apparatus. The ink supply module is a molded multi-part structure defining a plurality of converging ink flow paths. The printer apparatus is detachable from the chassis for replacement after a predetermined amount of usage.
US07952743B2
A mobile telephone is provided for printing a business card on a print medium. The print medium has coded data indicative of a print medium identifier and the mobile telephone has an inbuilt printer module to print the business card on the print medium such that the print medium shows at least one contact detail relevant to a business. The mobile telephone also has an interface for connection to a remote server, a sensor module to sense a print media identifier of the print medium and, a processor to generate an association between the print medium identifier and the at least one contact detail. Sensing the coded data with the sensor module to derive the print medium identifier, allows the processor to perform an action in relation to the contact detail.
US07952741B2
A PC has a data receiving portion to store data in the HDD, and a function ticket generating portion to store in the HDD a function ticket that defines the state of processing executed for the data. Each of a plurality of MFPs has a function ticket acquiring portion to acquire the function ticket, an object processing determining portion to determine executable object processing among processing defined by the function ticket, a data acquiring portion to acquire the data, an object processing executing portion to execute the object processing for the data, a data updating portion to update the data stored in the PC with data for which the object processing has been executed, and a function ticket updating portion to update the state of processing defined by the function ticket stored in the PC with an executed state.
US07952735B2
An image formation apparatus which includes a reader-writer that carries out reading of data from a storage medium provided for paper and writing of data to the storage medium provided for the paper, a document data acquisition section that acquires original document data to be printed on the paper, a determination section that determines whether the paper has the storage medium, and a printing out section that, when it is determined that the paper does not have the storage medium, carries out ordinary printing on the paper on the basis of the original document data, and when it is determined that the paper has the storage medium, carries out printing an image corresponding to the original document data on the paper on the basis of the original document data, and carries out writing and outputting of the original document data to the storage medium provided for the paper.
US07952727B2
An optical contour digitizer including a radiation source for emitting radiation therefrom, a first mirror for folding the radiation emitted from the radiation source towards an object being measured, a second mirror for folding a reflection of the radiation from the object being measured and a sensor for sensing the reflected radiation folded by the second mirror, and a method of using the same.
US07952724B2
Interferometer with multiple modes of operation for determining characteristics of an object surface
Disclosed is a system including: (i) an interferometer configured to direct test electromagnetic radiation to a test surface and reference electromagnetic radiation to a reference surface and subsequently combine the electromagnetic radiation to form an interference pattern, the electromagnetic radiation being derived from a common source; (ii) a multi-element detector; and (iii) one or more optics configured to image the interference pattern onto the detector so that different elements of the detector correspond to different illumination angles of the test surface by the test electromagnetic radiation. The apparatus is configured to operate in a first mode in which the combined light is directed to the detector so that the different regions of the detector correspond to the different illumination angles of the test surface by the test light, and a second mode in which the different regions of the detector correspond to the different regions of the test surface illuminated by the test light to enable a profiling mode of operation.
US07952713B2
A bonding agent sticking inspection apparatus includes a photographing section, a movement section, and a control section. The photographing section photographs an image of a substrate. The image includes a sticking expected range indicating a range in which a bonding agent should be positioned. The control section controls the photographing section and the movement section, sets an inspection region having a width equal to the pitch between electrodes in an entire edge part in a direction in which the electrodes are arranged in a peripheral edge part of the sticking expected range in the image, detects a ratio of a nicked part of the bonding agent to the inspection region, and judges whether or not an abnormality is present in the bonding agent on the basis of a comparison between the ratio of the nicked part and a threshold set in advance.
US07952710B2
A box 14 having a body 13 is used with a transparent flexible bag containing a liquid such as an IV bag. First and second faces 12 are positioned relative to each other. The faces each have therewithin an end or fiber optic port 11 of a respective light path. A light source is optically coupled with the light path of the first face and a spectrometer is optically coupled with the light path of the second face. The light paths are coaxial and are disposed so that the transparent flexible bag is positionable therebetween. The spectrometer is disposed to detect an anomaly in the liquid within the transparent flexible bag, and to annunciate the anomaly to a human user. The box defines a reproducible light path length through the liquid. A caliper 29 having a body 22 may be used in spectrometric analysis of a transparent tube containing a liquid such as a syringe or an IV line. The caliper has finger pads 27 which permit opening the spring-loaded caliper as needed. Rivets 25 provide a pivoting action relative to a pivot structure 21 which can also serve as a distance gauge. Compression spring 24 urges the caliper jaws together at lens locations 26. Lens locations 26 are optically coupled with internal fiber optic lines 28, and thence to external fiber optic connectors 23. A light source is optically coupled with one of the connectors 23 and a spectrometer is optically coupled with the other of the connectors 23.
US07952707B2
A microstructure is formed on a conductor. The microstructure is equipped with a dielectric base material, in which a great number of fine holes having substantially the same shape in plan view are formed. The fine holes are open at the surface of the dielectric base material, and are substantially uniformly provided therein. A plurality of micro metal members are fixed to the dielectric base material. The micro metal members include filling portions that fill one or more of the fine holes, and protruding portions that protrude from the surface of the dielectric base material and are of diameters greater than the fine holes, capable of inducing local plasmon. The plurality of micro metal members include those that have different numbers of filling portions.
US07952704B2
The subject matter described herein includes an optical assay system for intraoperative assessment of tumor margins. According to one aspect, the subject matter described herein includes a biological sample containment and illumination apparatus for holding a biological sample for illumination by a plurality of electromagnetic radiation probes. The biological sample containment and illumination apparatus includes a plurality of frame members positioned with respect to each other to form an interior space for receiving a biological sample. At least one of the plurality of frame members includes a plurality of probe receiving locations for receiving a plurality of electromagnetic radiation probes. The probe receiving locations position the probes with respect to the biological sample to allow illumination of plural locations of the biological sample by the probes.
US07952701B2
If an illuminance of a measurement spot is limited in order to prevent heat damage on an article to be inspected, since detection sensitivity and a detection speed are in a relation of trade-off, it is difficult to improve one of them without sacrificing the other or to improve both of them. Also, there is a problem that the detection sensitivity is lowered on an outer circumference portion than on an inner circumference portion of the article to be inspected.A plurality of measurement units comprising an illumination optics, a measurement spot, a collection optics, and a light detection optics are provided, inspection results obtained from the plurality of measurement spots are integrated, and light-amount distribution to each measurement spot is controlled according to a scan radial position.
US07952700B2
A method and apparatus of detecting a defect by inspecting a specimen in which a surface of a specimen on which plural patterns are formed is illuminated with an elongated shape light flux from one of plural directions which are different in elevation angle by switching an optical path of the light flux emitted from an illuminating light source in accordance with a kind of defect to be detected. Plural optical images of the specimen illuminated by the elongated shape light flux are captured with plural image sensors installed in different elevation angle directions by changing an enlarging magnification in accordance with a density of the pattern formed on the sample in an area irradiated with the illuminating elongated shape light flux. A defect on the specimen is detected by processing the images captured by the plural image sensors.
US07952699B2
When size of a defect on an increasingly miniaturized pattern is obtained by defect inspection apparatus in the related art, a value is inconveniently given, which is different from a measured value of the same defect by SEM. Thus, a dimension value of a defect detected by defect inspection apparatus needs to be accurately calculated to be approximated to a value measured by SEM. To this end, size of the defect detected by the defect inspection apparatus is corrected depending on feature quantity or type of the defect, thereby defect size can be accurately calculated.
US07952697B2
A coffee refractometer includes a prism that receives a brewed coffee sample, thus forming a prism-sample interface. A processor or microcontroller controls a light source to provide incident light to the prism-sample interface. The prism-sample interface refracts light toward a photodetector. A temperature sensor provides temperature information to the processor. The refractometer includes a memory store that stores a TDS formula that expresses the TDS of brewed coffee as a function of the index of refraction (ns) of brewed coffee and the temperature of brewed coffee. The processor determines the TDS of the brewed coffee sample by accessing the TDS formula in the memory store and employing the determined index of refraction (ns) of the brewed coffee sample to find the TDS from the TDS formula. The refractometer displays the resultant TDS % on a display of the refractometer and/or transmits such information to an information handling system.
US07952693B2
An approach to detecting microorganisms in blood uses the changes of hemoglobin and the physical and chemical properties of blood to detect the presence of microorganisms in blood. Spectrophotometric measurements are taken several wavelengths across the UV-Vis-NIR portion of the electromagnetic spectrum, and a deconvolution is performed quantitatively to interpret distinct spectral characteristics of blood enabling the detection of microorganisms.
US07952688B2
Embodiments of a multi-waveband sensor system and method for seeking targets are generally described herein. In some embodiments, the multi-waveband sensor system includes a secondary reflector positioned within a gathering path of a primary reflector to reflect the wavebands gathered by the primary reflector back through an aperture in the primary reflector. The multi-waveband sensor system may also include a laser waveband dichroic beam splitter positioned within a focal path of the secondary reflector to pass infrared (IR) wavebands and to reflect laser wavebands. A LADAR subsystem may transmit laser wavebands for reflection by the laser waveband dichroic beam splitter through the aperture to the secondary reflector for reflection to an off-axis region on the primary reflector for direction toward a target.
US07952686B2
A stage apparatus that includes a stage and moves the stage in at least a first direction. The stage apparatus also includes a plurality of holding units fixed on the stage to extend in the first direction, in which the first direction is a longitudinal direction. Each of the holding units includes a first portion. A second portion is arranged between the first portion and the stage and a third portion is arranged between the second portion and the stage. The first portion includes a holding surface to hold an object. A length of the second portion in the first direction is less than a length of the first portion in the first direction, and the length of the second portion in the first direction is less than a length of the third portion in the first direction. Ends of the second portion are determined by two slits extending from both ends of the holding units in the first direction towards a central portion of the holding units, and the first portion is connected to the third portion at only one point via the second portion.
US07952678B2
An exemplary liquid crystal panel (30) includes a first substrate (31), a second substrate (32), a liquid crystal layer (37), and a sealant (35). The first substrate includes a first base (310), a plurality of first protrusions (316), and a first orientation layer (315). The second substrate is parallel to the first substrate, and includes a second base (320). The sealant is disposed between the first base and the second base at a periphery of the liquid crystal panel. The first base, the second base, and the sealant cooperatively forming an accommodating space therebetween. The liquid crystal layer is disposed in the accommodating space. The first protrusions are disposed on or generally adjacent to the first base and are embedded in the sealant, and part of the first orientation layer is disposed at interspaces between the first protrusions. A method for manufacturing the liquid crystal panel is also provided.
US07952677B2
An array substrate for an in-plane switching mode liquid crystal display device includes a plurality of gate lines on a substrate including a display region and a non-display region at a periphery of the display region; a plurality of common lines in the display region and parallel to the gate line, an end of each of the common lines disposed in the non-display region; a plurality of gate link lines each connected to an end of each of the gate lines and disposed in the non-display region; a gate insulating layer on the gate lines, the common lines and the gate link lines; a plurality of data lines on the gate insulating layer and crossing the gate lines to define a plurality of pixel regions in the display region; a first auxiliary common line on the gate insulating layer and in the non-display region, the first auxiliary common line crossing the gate link lines; a passivation layer on the data lines and the first auxiliary common line, the passivation layer including a first contact hole exposing the end of each of the common lines and a second contact hole exposing a portion of the first auxiliary common line; and a second auxiliary common line on the passivation layer and overlapping the first auxiliary common line, the second auxiliary common line electrically connected to the first auxiliary common line through the second contact hole and each of the common lines though the first contact hole, wherein the second auxiliary common line has substantially the same shape as the first auxiliary common line.
US07952671B2
A liquid crystal display device comprising: a switching element that has a drain electrode and that is arranged on a substrate; a first insulating film that covers the switching element and that has a first opening on the drain electrode; a first etching stopper electrode that is formed in the first opening and that is connected to the drain electrode; a common electrode that is arranged on the first insulating film; a second insulating film that covers the first etching stopper electrode and the common electrode, and that has a second opening on the first etching stopper electrode; and a pixel electrode that is connected through the second opening to the first etching stopper electrode and that extends onto the second insulating film so as to face the common electrode.
US07952668B2
A display medium including: a pair of substrates; a pair of electrodes disposed on the pair of substrates, and facing each other; and a functional layer and a display layer disposed between the pair of electrodes with an adhesive layer disposed between the functional layer and the display layer. The display layer includes a binder and microcapsules dispersed in the binder. The microcapsules have a polymer serving as a wall material, and a liquid crystal enclosed therein. A shape of an interface of the display layer at least on the side of the adhesive layer in a cross section along a thickness direction of the disposed layers is an irregular line having a distance between a highest protruding portion and a lowest depressed portion is from about 0.5 μm to about 2.0 μm.
US07952666B2
Disclosed is an optical compensation film comprising an optically-anisotropic layer and at least one optically-isotropic layer adjacent to the optically-anisotropic layer and having a refractive index that differs from the mean refractive index of the optically-anisotropic layer.
US07952663B2
In a transflective liquid crystal display device having a first substrate, a second substrate, a liquid crystal layer disposed between the two substrates and a reflective region and a transmissive region in each pixel; the second substrate has a pixel electrode to drive the liquid crystal layer and a common electrode; the reflective region of the second substrate is formed with an in-cell polarizer between the pixel electrode and common electrode and the reflector. In this invention, the thickness of the liquid crystal layer is set greater in the reflective region than in the transmissive region. The difference in the liquid crystal layer thickness between the reflective region and the transmissive region is provided by forming a step in the first substrate or the second substrate.
US07952658B2
An in-plane-switching-mode (IPS) LCD device includes a TFT substrate and a CF substrate sandwiching therebetween an LC layer, and a pair of polarizing films sandwiching therebetween the substrates and the LC layer. Each polarizing film has a polarization layer and a protective layer. An optical compensation layer having a birefringence is disposed between the light-emitting-side polarizing film and to the CF substrate. The optical compensation layer has an in-plane retardation of N1 satisfying the following relationship: 83.050−0.810×D1≦N1≦228.090−0.74D1 in the range of 0
US07952657B2
A liquid crystal display comprising a backlight module and a liquid crystal display panel is provided. The backlight module comprises a white point source that emits a spectrum of light comprising three peaks. The liquid crystal display panel comprises a liquid crystal layer disposed between a color filter substrate, which comprises a blue filter, a green filter and a red filter, and an opposite substrate. The color filter substrate and the backlight module satisfy the following formulas: ∑ 555 605 BL ( λ ) × CF Red ( λ ) × Δλ ≤ 6.0 ; ( 1 ) ∑ 580 630 BL ( λ ) × CF Green ( λ ) × Δλ ≤ 3.5 ; ( 2 ) ∑ 505 580 BL ( λ ) × CF Blue ( λ ) × Δλ ≤ 3.5 . ( 3 ) Herein, the backlight module has the maximum luminance in one wavelength, with the maximum luminance being set at 1.0. BL (λ) represents the normalized luminance spectrum at each wavelength. CFBlue(λ), CFGreen(λ) and CFRed(λ) represent the transmittance of light at each wavelength passing through the blue filter, the green filter, and the red filter respectively. Δλ is the wavelength interval.
US07952650B2
It is an object to prevent deterioration of reflectance of a reflection layer composed of silver or a silver alloy, resulting from heat-caused migration of silver. The reflector for projection type display apparatuses which display image light beams emitted and reflected by a light source, modulated for light intensity by a display device and magnified by a projection lens, wherein the reflector is provided, on the reflection surface side, with a reflection layer composed at least of silver or a silver alloy, and a layer comprising inorganic particles and a binder composed of a silicon compound; and a light source and image display device which use the reflector.
US07952639B2
An actuator element comprises at least two actuator arms. Each of the at least two actuator arms is fixed to a first mount part at a first end of the actuator arm and to a second mount part at a second end of the actuator arm. The at least two actuator arms are configured to cause moving of the first mount part and the second mount part in respect of each other by application of an electric field to the at least two actuator arms. A lens element may comprise the actuator element and a lens mounted on the first mount part. An electronic device may comprise the actuator element or the lens element.
US07952633B2
A method and apparatus for propagating charge through a sensor and implementation thereof is provided. The method and apparatus may be used to inspect specimens, the sensor operating to advance an accumulated charge between gates of the TDI sensor. The design implementation provides a set of values representing a plurality of out of phase signals, such as sinusoidal or trapezoidal signals. These out of phase signals are converted and transmitted to the sensor. The converted signals cause the sensor to transfer charges in the sensor toward an end of the sensor. Aspects such as feed through correction and correction of nonlinearities are addressed.
US07952630B2
A data processor includes: a reference signal generator generating a reference signal that gradually varies to enhance an amplitude of the processing signal; a comparator comparing the processing signal with the reference signal generated by the reference signal generator; a count period controller determining to perform a real number count operation or a complement number count operation; a counter performing the count operation during the count period determined by the count period controller and acquiring a predetermined level of digital data by storing the count value at the time of completion of the count operation; and a corrector acquiring the digital data as a value of a real number by correcting the complement number count operation. The count period controller independently controls the real number count operation and the complement number count operation of the counter on the basis of a predetermined criterion.
US07952616B2
An electronic camera system includes a programmable transmission capability for selectively transmitting electronic image data to a plurality of remote base units. In one embodiment, a camera module is detachably coupled to a portable computer including a display screen and a data entry device. The electronic image data generated by the camera module is supplied to the portable computer for display on the display screen. The data entry device is used by an operator to select which of the plurality of base units are to receive the digital image data. The digital image data is supplied by the portable computer to a radio-frequency transmitter module for transmission to the selected base units. The radio-frequency transmitter module is formed either integral with the portable computer or, like the camera module, is detachably coupled to the portable computer. In a further embodiment, a combined telephone/camera unit is provided that includes a camera module for generating electronic image data representative of a scene to be imaged, a memory unit for storing the electronic image data generated by the camera module, a display screen for displaying the electronic image data stored in the memory unit, a mechanism for selecting which of the plurality of base units is to receive the digital image data, and a cellular transceiver for transmitting the digital image data to the base units selected by the selection mechanism.
US07952614B2
Apparatus for digital image stabilization using object tracking can produce a digital still image free of an image blurring phenomenon caused by shaky hands without separate hardware and can produce an image that is bright, clear, and noise free. The apparatus includes an image signal processing unit that outputs a first digital image obtained under a first exposure value condition and a plurality of second digital images obtained under a second exposure value condition. The apparatus also includes a shaky hand compensating unit that compensates for motion in comparative second digital images relative to a reference second digital image using object tracking. The compensating unit then generates a shaky hand compensated image by overlapping each compensated comparative image with the reference image. The apparatus further includes an image property correcting unit that corrects a property of the shaky hand compensated image based on a property of the first digital image.
US07952611B1
A method and apparatus for providing improved images utilizing acceleration data is described. In one embodiment, the method utilizes the accelerometer data to time the taking of the image to minimize motion effects.
US07952606B2
An apparatus for providing an omnidirectional stereo image with a single camera includes a first reflector reflecting a first omnidirectional view viewed from a first viewpoint, a second reflector positioned to be coaxial with and separated from the first reflector to reflect a second omnidirectional view viewed from a second viewpoint, a third reflector positioned to be coaxial with the first and second reflectors to reflect the second omnidirectional view reflected by the second reflector, wherein the second and third reflectors have a folded structure satisfying a single viewpoint constraint, and an image sensor positioned to be coaxial with the first, second and third reflectors to capture an omnidirectional stereo image containing the first omnidirectional view reflected by the first reflector and the second omnidirectional view reflected by the third reflector, and output the captured omnidirectional stereo image, wherein shapes of the first, second, and third reflectors and a relative positional relationship between the first, second, third reflectors and the image sensor satisfy the single viewpoint constraint for the first viewpoint and for the second viewpoint. The apparatus provides a high three-dimensional recovery resolution, accomplishes compactness, and facilitates search of corresponding points in two images.
US07952605B2
A light scanning unit assembly, an electrophotographic image forming apparatus including the light scanning unit assembly, and a method of adjusting a scanning line skew. The light scanning unit assembly includes a frame, a primary light scanning unit and at least one secondary light scanning unit each being mounted to the frame to scan a corresponding beam, and a skew adjuster to adjust a scanning line skew of the at least one secondary light scanning unit to equal a scanning line skew of the primary light scanning unit. In the light scanning unit assembly, the skew adjuster includes at least one side to project out from at least one side of the at least one secondary light scanning unit, at least one adjusting screw to connect the at least one side projection with the frame, and at least one elastic member interposed between the at least one side projection and the frame. The scanning line skew adjustment method includes mounting the primary and the at least one secondary light scanning units on the frame and manipulating the at least one skew adjuster such that a scanning line skew of the at least one secondary light scanning unit is equal to a scanning line skew of the primary light scanning unit. The skew adjustment operation includes adjusting the scanning line skew of the at least one secondary light scanning unit to coincide with the scanning line skew of the primary light scanning unit by rotating the at least one adjusting screw.
US07952604B2
An image forming apparatus capable of shortening first copy time to thereby reduce wait time before execution of a print job and prolonging the service life of a scanner motor at the same time. An image forming apparatus that forms a latent image on a photosensitive drum in response to a copy start instruction signal. A scanner motor drives a rotating polygonal mirror that scans the photosensitive drum by reflecting light, for rotation. A counter counts the number of times of start of the motor. A control circuit causes the scanner motor to be started up before the signal is generated, if the count of the counter is less than a predetermined value, and to cause the scanner motor to be started up upon generation of the signal, if the count of the counter is not less than the predetermined value.
US07952598B2
A printer with debris control apparatus which minimizes printer fouling. The printer includes a print head for printing on media, a platen having a side for feeding the media along a path past the print head, and debris control member in contact with the media.
US07952596B2
An electronic device can include a display and a controller. The controller identifies a location within a displayable area of video frames which has movement, and controls panning/zooming of a sub-area within the video frames that is displayed on the display in response to the identified location of the movement. Some configurations of the controller detect movement of a person's mouth within the video frames while the person is speaking, identifies the associated location of the person speaking, identifies characteristics of voice in the video frames that is concurrently occurring with the detected movement of the person's mouth, and correlates the identified voice characteristics with the identified location of the person speaking. The controller then detects subsequent occurrence of voice in the video frames having the identified voice characteristics of the person and, responsive thereto, pans a sub-area within the video frames displayed on the display toward the identified location of the person and/or zooms-in to increase size of the person speaking by decreasing size of a sub-area within the video frames at the location of the speaker that is fit to the display.
US07952594B2
The position and orientation of the viewpoint of an observer (100) are acquired. The position and orientation of a stylus (120) are acquired. A list image is laid out near the position of the stylus (120). An image of a virtual space after laying out the list image, which is seen in accordance with the position and orientation of the viewpoint, generated. The generated image is output to the display screen of an HMD (110).
US07952578B2
A design support apparatus includes: a section that sets, as a reference plane in a virtual space, the plane of a mesh which is selected as a first mesh, from among meshes forming the shape of an object model displayed in the virtual space; a section that sets a vertex of the first mesh as a reference point; a section that sets a side of the first mesh that includes the reference point as a first axis and sets a axis other than the first axis that is included in the reference plane and passes the reference point as a second axis to set the first and second axes as coordinate axes; a section that sets the dimension of each coordinate axis; and a section that displays, in addition to the object model, the coordinate axes and the dimensions as a coordinate system of the reference plane.
US07952576B2
If a next endpoint in a line segment is determined to be neither in a first nor a second reference direction passing through a base endpoint, a point obtained by projecting the next endpoint onto a straight line in the first reference direction passing through the base endpoint or a straight line in the second reference direction passing through the base endpoint is set as a correction endpoint. If the next endpoint is determined to be in the first or second reference direction passing through the next endpoint, the next endpoint is set as a new base endpoint. If the next endpoint is determined to be in neither the first reference direction passing through the base endpoint nor the second reference direction, the correction endpoint is set as a new base endpoint. Each endpoint of the plurality of line elements is subjected to the above process so as to generate a simplified shape.
US07952565B2
A display device may include a display panel, a plurality of pixels that are disposed on the display panel, a plurality of sensing units that are disposed on the display panel to generate sensing signals based on touch of the display panel, a sensing signal processor that receives the sensing signals and performs predetermined signal processes to generate sensing data, and a touch detection unit. The touch detection unit may include a first controller that determines, based on the sensing data from the sensing signal process, whether or not there is a touch occurrence of the sensing units and whether or not the sensing signal is in an appropriate state. The touch detection unit may also include a second controller that determines the touch occurrence and touch positions on the sensing units based on the sensing data and controls the sensing signals to be in the desired range.
US07952564B2
A touch sensor method and device are described that allow one or more simultaneous touches to be sensed and mapped to Cartesian coordinates. The device utilizes closely spaced multiple conducting strips to provide digital location of a touch position according to the position strip and analog location along the length of the strip. When the strips are energized individually and in coordinated ways, multiple touches are individually sensed and their positions are reported.
US07952560B2
A pointing apparatus and method and a pointer display apparatus and method using a virtual region which generate a virtual region corresponding to a detected display region, convert coordinates of a location, and display a pointer at the converted coordinates. The pointing device includes a region detector detecting a display region, which displays a pointer, using at least one received signal; a virtual region generator generating the virtual region corresponding to the display region and having an aspect ratio equal to that of the display region; a coordinate converter converting coordinates of a location, which is pointed at by the pointing device, in the virtual region into ratios of the coordinates of the location to a size of the virtual region; and a coordinate ratio transmitter transmitting the ratios.
US07952558B2
Certain types of displays such as electrophoretic displays tend to deteriorate if their pixel units are persistently driven by currents flowing in only one direction for the purpose of maintaining (i.e. refreshing) a relatively constant optical state. A first method pulses the pixel unit with a drive pulse of opposed polarity but duration too short (i.e. less than 1/25 second) for a viewer to notice. A second method pulses the pixel unit with a drive pulse of opposed polarity but magnitude to small to effect change in optical state.
US07952555B2
A luminance detected by a built-in photosensor and a luminance of light emitted from a backlight through a liquid crystal panel are measured in a plurality of states where the backlight has a different luminance, and are preliminarily stored in a storage unit. Moreover, a luminance of light emitted through the liquid crystal panel in each input level when the maximum luminance of light emitted through the liquid crystal panel is a predetermined value is measured and is preliminarily stored in the storage unit. The maximum luminance of light emitted through the liquid crystal panel is then accepted, the luminance of the backlight is controlled, the luminance in each input level and an ideal luminance in each gray level are calculated, and an input level which gives a luminance substantially equal to the ideal luminance in each gray level is obtained to update an LUT.
US07952553B2
A circuit includes an amplifier circuit that is configured to generate voltage levels between a power voltage level and a common reference voltage level at an output thereof responsive to image data. A reset control circuit is configured to reset the voltage level at the output of the amplifier circuit to about one-half of a difference between the power voltage level and the common reference voltage level.
US07952552B2
An apparatus and method for driving an LCD device is provided. The apparatus for driving an LCD device comprises an image display unit that includes liquid crystal cells formed in each region defined by a plurality of gate lines and a plurality of data lines. A data driver supplies analog video signals to the respective data lines. A gate driver supplies scan pulses to the respective gate lines. A data converter detects motion vectors from input data and generating modulated data by filtering the input data in accordance with the motion vectors to generate overshoot or undershoot in a boundary along a motion direction. A timing controller aligns the modulated data to supply the aligned data to the data driver and operates the data driver and the gate driver.
US07952550B2
A selector (103A) outputs a gray level voltage corresponding to pixel data (D-A) as drive voltage (Va). When the drive voltage (Va) is written in a source line (LineS-A), switches (105A-1, 105A-2) are ON while a switch (106A) is OFF. When the drive voltage (Va) written in the source line (LineS-A) is retained, the switches (105A-1,105A-2) are OFF while the switch (106A) is ON.
US07952540B2
An organic light emitting display device includes a display area including pixels coupled to scan, light emission control, and data lines; a scan driver electrically coupled to the display area through the scan and light emission control lines; a data driver electrically coupled to the display area through the data lines; an optical sensor for generating a sensor signal corresponding to an ambient light brightness; a first luminance control unit for outputting a first luminance control signal (Vc1) for controlling a gamma-corrected gray level voltage of a data signal in accordance with the sensor signal; a second luminance control unit for outputting a second luminance control signal (Vc2) for controlling a width of a light emission control signal in accordance with data of one frame; and a comparator/selector for comparing the first and second luminance control signals to output one of them into the data driver or the scan driver.
US07952538B2
A plasma display apparatus and a method of driving the same are disclosed. The plasma display apparatus includes a plasma display panel including an address electrode, a control board, and a data driver. The control board converts a video signal input from the outside into a differential signal, and transmits the differential signal, wherein the differential signal includes a first signal and a second signal being an inverted signal of the first signal and has a frequency of 200 MHz or more. The data driver receives the differential signal, restores the video signal from the differential signal, and supplies the restored video signal to the address electrode of the plasma display panel.
US07952534B2
A plurality of antenna electrodes 11, 12, 13, 14 on a substrate 1 can be connected to a ground electrode on the substrate 1 via connectors at spots 11A-11C, 12A-12C, 13A-13C, and 14A-14C. Each connector can be opened/closed by a switch; or provided with a impedance varying device. Any one of the antenna electrodes may be connected to the ground electrode by the switch or the impedance varying device. The radio wave beam outputted from this antenna electrode shifts in phase from the radio wave beams outputted from the other antenna electrodes, whereby the direction of the integrated radio wave beam is inclined. Connecting one or another of the spots 11A-11C, 12A-12C, 13A-13C, and 14A-14C to the ground electrode changes the direction and the magnitude of the integrated radio wave beam.
US07952524B2
A method and system for positioning mobile units using angle measurements taken by neighboring mobile units is disclosed. A selected mobile unit and mobile units in the vicinity of the selected mobile unit are selectively instructed to measure and report information related to the position of the selected mobile unit. The reported information is used to compute a position of the selected mobile unit.
US07952521B2
Method of multi-parameter direction finding of several sources in an array of N sensors, comprising at least the following steps: a) choosing a parameter to be determined, or parameter of interest, b) expressing the direction vector in the form of a linear relation between the parameter of interest chosen and the secondary parameters b0(θ, Φ0)=U0(θ) φ0(Φ0), c) applying a MUSIC-type direction finding step by factorizing the criterion serving for the determination of the angles of incidence so as to determine at least the incidence parameter, d) on the basis of the incidence value, determining the vector representative of the secondary parameters and expressing this vector in the form of a linear relation between a chosen parameter to be determined and the other secondary parameters, e) applying a MUSIC-type direction finding step by factorizing the criterion serving in the determination of the chosen parameter, f) repeating steps d) to e) so as to determine the majority or the whole set of secondary parameters.
US07952520B2
A monitor antenna receives radio waves transmitted from a Doppler very high frequency omnidirectional radio range (DVOR) device and includes a carrier signal and a subcarrier signal, orthogonal detectors shift a phase of a signal of each subcarrier component by a phase difference equivalent to a prescribed distance away from the DVOR apparatus relative to a signal of a carrier component, and a combiner combines signals of the carrier component and the subcarrier component to output the combined signal to a DVOR demodulator.
US07952516B2
The present invention is directed to an integrated circuit device that includes a primary signal synthesizer configured to generate a free-running first digital frequency signal and at least one secondary signal synthesizer disposed in parallel with the primary signal synthesizer and configured to generate a free-running at least one second digital frequency signal. A switch element includes a first switch input coupled to the primary signal synthesizer and at least one second switch input coupled to the at least one secondary signal synthesizer. The switch element is configured to select a switch output that provides either the free-running first digital frequency signal or the free-running at least one second digital frequency signal based on a switch control input.
US07952503B2
A voltage following device is described, for the driving of a sampling network coupleable to an analog/digital converter, comprising at least one first transistor provided with a first terminal to receive an input signal, and a second terminal to provide an output signal to the sampling network which is representative of the input signal translation of an amount equal to a gate and source voltage of said at least one first transistor. The voltage following device having a driving network of said at least one first transistor to keep said gate and source voltage equal to a shift reference voltage.
US07952501B2
A demodulator capable of compensating for an offset voltage of a radio frequency (RF) signal, and a method of compensating for the offset voltage of the RF signal are provided. The demodulator includes an analog-to-digital conversion (ADC) unit for converting a first analog signal corresponding to a difference between the RF signal comprising the offset voltage and an analog reference signal into a first digital signal, and a compensation voltage generation unit for converting the first digital signal into an offset compensation voltage. The ADC unit converts a second analog signal corresponding to a difference between the RF signal comprising the offset voltage and the offset compensation voltage into a second digital signal. Accordingly, the offset voltage included in the RF signal is compensated for, and thus distortion and a signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) of the RF signal are reduced. This leads to an improvement of the reception sensitivity of an RF receiver.
US07952498B2
A method and system of an embodiment may include a system comprising a touch screen display panel, and a tactile panel with one or more raised surfaces wherein the touch screen display panel is positioned on top of the tactile panel and the tactile panel creates one or more raised surfaces on the touch screen display panel providing tactile information to a user of the touch screen display panel.
US07952488B1
A method and system for monitoring latent faults in power supplies may include a variable voltage source and a logic module that may be coupled to an OR FET circuit. The monitoring system may also include comparators for measuring a voltage drop across a FET and, based upon a value of the voltage drop, may determine a latent fault, such as a short circuit or open circuit across the FET.
US07952486B2
A liquid crystal display device with a substrate and a gas detector. The substrate has a pixel array area and an electrical connection area. The pixel array area has a plurality of pixels. The electrical connection area has a plurality of bond pads positioned on the surface of the substrate to address the plurality of pixels in the pixel array area. The gas detector is positioned within the electrical connection area. The gas detector is arranged to detect the presence of a specified gas.
US07952485B2
A temperature monitoring service in which remote monitoring units are distributed to customers who then set up monitoring as desired at their facilities. The devices may be registered through a web site using the Internet. Monitoring information may be communicated using a publicly available, wireless network, such as a cellular telephone network. The service may be provided with a system, including a server, architected to allow each remote monitoring unit to be simple and low cost. Similarly, the system may be architected to allow monitoring and control information to be communicated reliably, but at low cost. The server, however, can deliver high levels of monitoring functionality. The server may support using a variety of analytical methods to process the monitoring information, including analyzing the rate of temperature change at a monitored facility.
US07952481B2
An RFID system includes an RFID tag, an RFID reader, and a server. The RFID tag communicates to the server via encrypted information. The information may be encrypted with synchronized encryption keys. In this manner, the reader need not decrypt the information from the RFID tag. The effectiveness of malicious readers is thereby reduced, resulting in improved RFID tag security.
US07952476B1
A mobile security system is described herein. A detector communicates with a mobile device if an event has occurred. The event may be various types of events, such as fire or motion. Once the mobile device receives the communication of the event occurrence, the mobile device may, among others, sound an alarm or communicate with a central monitoring system to notify emergency services of the occurrence. The mobile device may also communicate with another communication device, such as another cell phone or a computer, using various forms of communication. The detector may be an integral part of the mobile device, i.e. fixed part of the mobile device, or may be detachable. The detector may also be wholly separate.
US07952464B2
A multi-band and/or multi-protocol, configurable, RFID tag is provided. The tag can include one or more electrical or mechanical selectors for selecting from among multiple frequency bands and communication protocols. In some embodiments, a signal band and protocol can be detected automatically and selection among bands and protocols can be performed automatically. In some embodiments, one or more externally accessibly switches can be actuated by a user to select a band and/or protocol.
US07952462B2
The invention provides a remote controlled power switch including a line interface, a radiation-based receiver and a processor. The line interface is electrically connected in series to a power line. The radiation-based signal receiver functions as receiving a radiation-based signal and converting the radiation-based signal into an operative code. And, the processor controls, based on the operative code, the line interface to cut off or provide transmission of electric power transmitted through the power line.
US07952457B2
A coil component that can be mounted on a printed circuit board, with a part in an aperture of the printed circuit board. The coil component includes a first flange on an upper side and a second flange. Terminal boards are on respective opposite sides of the first flange. Terminals respectively project in a direction perpendicular to an axial direction of a winding drum, from the terminal boards and bend and are inserted into through-holes of the printed circuit board. First and second touching surfaces, which are parts of a downside surface of the second flange, touch an upside surface of the printed circuit board.
US07952453B2
A semiconductor device comprising a signal line and ground line is disclosed. The signal line comprises an opening and at least a portion of the ground line is in the opening in the signal line.
US07952447B2
An adaptive electromagnetic interference (EMI) detection and reduction device for multi-port applications is provided. The invention includes at least two physical devices (PHY), where the PHYs transmit data along wire pairs to a register jack (RJ). The transmissions create EMI along the wire pairs, where the transmissions have constructively interfering resonant frequencies having phases and amplitudes. An antenna is disposed proximal to each RJ, where the antennae detect each frequency. A resonating network determines a peak amplitude of each frequency, an envelope detector amplifies each peak amplitude from the resonating network. A discretization circuit converts the amplified peak to discrete amplitude values, where the discretization circuit transmits the discrete amplitude values to a controller. The controller receives the discrete amplitude values from the discretization circuit, and communicates with each PHY, where a phase or frequency of the PHY signal is modified to minimize the constructive interference between the resonant frequencies.
US07952437B2
A systems and methods for providing phase lock conditions detection, such as a quality of phase lock and loss of lock detection, are described herein. One exemplary method comprises detecting an output frequency, comparing the output frequency with a first reference signal, providing a first signal and a second signal as a function of the output frequency and first reference signal comparison, receiving a predetermined threshold from a second reference signal, monitoring a deviation of the first and second signals from the predetermined threshold, generating a third signal as a function of the deviation, comparing the third signal to a window threshold wherein the window threshold is set based on a predetermined loop variable, generating a fourth signal a function of the third signal and the window threshold comparison, and providing an alarm based on the fourth signal.
US07952432B2
A class-D amplifier includes a differential integrator that integrates a difference between an input signal and a feedback signal to output an integration value signal, a pulse width modulation circuit that outputs a digital signal having a pulse width corresponding to a level of the integration value signal, an output buffer that drives a load based on the digital signal, a feedback section that feeds an output signal of the output buffer into the differential integrator as the feedback signal, a clamp section that performs a clamping of limiting the level of the integration value signal within a specified level range, an attenuation section that attenuates the level of the input signal to be input to the differential integrator in response to an attenuation command, and an attenuation control section that outputs the attenuation command to the attenuation section in response to the clamping performed by the clamp section.
US07952430B1
An amplifier circuit for amplifying a differential input signal includes a first feedback resistance, a second feedback resistance, first transconductance circuitry, and second transconductance circuitry. The first feedback resistance is connected between a first input node and a first output node of the amplifier circuit. The second feedback resistance is connected between a second input node and a second output node of the amplifier circuit. The first transconductance circuitry is arranged to inject a transconductance current at a point along the first feedback resistance, and is configurable to vary the point along the first feedback resistance where the transconductance current is injected. The second transconductance circuitry is arranged to inject another transconductance current at a point along the second feedback resistance, and is configurable to vary the point along the second feedback resistance where the another transconductance current is injected.
US07952425B2
A system provides a high quality, and intuitive multi-band filter that adapts when noise frequencies or noise amplitudes change. A system for adaptively filtering patient monitoring signals, comprises a filter controller for adaptively determining the number of, and individual filter bandwidth of, multiple adaptive signal filters to be used in filtering multiple bandwidths within an encompassing signal filtering bandwidth. The filter controller does this in response to, (a) noise data indicating noise source frequencies and (b) configuration data determining medical signal or noise source characteristics, to provide programming data for programming a plurality of adaptive signal filters. The system includes multiple adaptive signal filters individually having a filtering bandwidth and filtering characteristic programmable in response to received programming data. A noise detector automatically identifies a noise component in a received patient monitoring signal and generates the noise data.
US07952422B2
Methods and apparatus are provided for varying one or more of a supply voltage and reference voltage in an integrated circuit, using independent control of a diode voltage in an asymmetrical double-gate device. An integrated circuit is provided that is controlled by one or more of a supply voltage and a reference voltage. The integrated circuit comprises an independently controlled asymmetrical double-gate device to adjust one or more of the supply voltage and the reference voltage. The independent control may comprise, for example, a back gate bias. The independently controlled asymmetrical double-gate device may be employed in a number of applications, including voltage islands, static RAM, and to improve the power and performance of a processing unit.
US07952419B1
A bootstrapped switch circuit can include a switch transistor, having a drain configured as an input terminal to receive an input signal, and a voltage-controlled voltage source, configured to provide predetermined constant voltages between a gate and a source of the switch transistor in response to a control signal received at a control terminal. The predetermined constant voltages can include a first predetermined constant voltage to turn on the switch transistor and pass the input signal to the source and a second predetermined constant voltage to turn off the switch transistor. The first and second predetermined constant voltages can be independent of the magnitude of a signal passed to the source of the switch transistor based on the input signal at the drain.
US07952417B2
Apparatus for controlling an integrated circuit comprises a power control device for controlling the power to at least part of the integrated circuit, the power control device is connected to a first input, for receiving a power-down signal, and a second input, for receiving a power-up signal, the power control device is adapted to power-up the at least part of the integrated circuit if a power-up signal is received at the second input when the at least part of the integrated circuit is in a powered-down state, and the power control device is further adapted to maintain the at least part of the integrated circuit in the powered-up state regardless of any signal received at the second input when the at least part of the integrated circuit is in a powered-up state, the apparatus is arranged so that the second input is also connected to a component of the integrated circuit and the apparatus comprising means for sending a signal to the component of the integrated circuit via the second input when the at least part of the integrated circuit is in the powered-up state.
US07952415B2
A level shift circuit includes a level shifter, the level shifter configured to receive input signals and generate level-shifted signals by level-shifting the input signals, an output buffer that includes a first sourcing circuit and a first sinking circuit, the first sourcing circuit and the first sinking circuit being connected in series between a first power and a second power, a first buffer coupled between the level shifter and the output buffer, the first buffer configured to buffer the level-shifted signals and provide a first driving signal to the first sourcing circuit, and a second buffer coupled between the level shifter and the output buffer, the second buffer configured to buffer the level-shifted signals and provide a second driving signal to the first sinking circuit.
US07952414B2
Disclosed is a phase clock generator. The phase clock generator can include transistors and a buffer. The transistors are connected between a power line and a grounding line and are provided in a form of a 4×N matrix to receive a plurality of phase-delayed signals through their gate terminals. Four transistors can form a unit column between the power line and the grounding line. From ground line to power line, the first two transistors of the unit column provide a pair of NMOS transistors, and the second two transistors provide a pair of PMOS transistors. The buffer is connected to a line, which is provided between the pair of the NMOS transistors and the pair of the PMOS transistors forming the unit column, to transmit a clock signal.
US07952410B2
A voltage-controlled oscillation circuit (15) includes a plurality of independent ring oscillation circuits different in the number of stages; and a selector (22) selectively outputting as a feedback clock signal (FB) an output of one of the ring oscillation circuits, so that any of the outputs of the independent ring oscillation circuits is always outputted as the feedback clock signal, which makes it possible to output the feedback clock signal keeping a proper duty ratio even when the operating speed is high, allowing arbitrary adjustment of the delay time before an input signal (DLLI) is outputted.
US07952409B2
A clock generation circuit comprises: a first generation unit; a second generation unit; and a control unit that, using a plurality of third delay elements that respectively have a propagation delay time that correlates with the propagation delay time of a first delay element, and correlates with the propagation delay time of a second delay element, generates a control signal for controlling the third delay elements such that a total of propagation delay times of the plurality of third delay elements corresponds to a target value depending on a cycle of the external clock, and controls the propagation delay time of the first delay element, the propagation delay time of the second delay element, and the propagation delay times of the third delay elements using the control signal.
US07952389B2
A level shift circuit insusceptible to mistaken operations at the time of disengagement of a standby state is disclosed. The level shift circuit includes a level converter circuit 5, a barrier gate circuit 2 and a holding circuit (MMP1, MMP2). The level converter circuit converts a signal level of a circuit operating in a VDD1 system to a signal level of a VDD2 system. The barrier gate circuit is responsive to a standby signal (STBY) to fix input signals (AB, AAB) of the level converter circuit 5 at a LOW level. The holding circuit holds an output of the level converter circuit 5 at a constant voltage when the input signals (AB, AAB) are at the LOW level (FIG. 1).
US07952383B2
There is provided a semiconductor device that includes: an output buffer capable of adjusting an impedance based on an impedance adjustment signal, and a through-rate control circuit that adjusts a through rate of the output buffer based on at least the impedance adjustment signal, wherein the through-rate control circuit sets a relatively high through rate when the impedance adjustment signal designates a relatively low impedance, and sets a relatively low through rate when the impedance adjustment signal designates a relatively high impedance.
US07952372B2
A contacting component has a probe contact formed by plating and adapted to be contacted with a target portion. The contacting component includes an insulating substrate, a conductive circuit formed on one surface of the insulating substrate, and the probe contact is made of a conductive material and formed on the other surface of the insulating substrate. The conductive circuit and the probe contact are electrically connected in a through hole penetrating the insulating substrate. The probe contact includes a bump contact of a convex shape, the bump contact is formed by plating and having a surface which has a shape of a semispherical protrusion to be contacted with the target portion. The bump contact is made of a material containing a metal and carbon, the content of carbon falling within a range between 0.2 at % and 1.2 at %, both inclusive.
US07952367B2
Methods and apparatus related to a sensor are discussed herein. The sensor can include a sensing element having a sensing path, the sensing element coupled to a sensing channel, and a processor configured to interpret a signal generated by the sensing channel indicative of a capacitance between the sensing path and a system ground. The processor can have a first mode configured to set a parameter to a desired value. The desired value can be related to a first position of an object sensed along the sensing path and a range of parameter values mapped to a length of the sensing path. A second mode can adjust the parameter based on a displacement of the object along the sensing path.
US07952363B2
Issuance of work orders in response to monitoring signal egress from shielding integrity flaws in a cable communication system by detecting received signal strength from a mobile receiver only during rising trends in received signal strength when the mobile receiver is in motion and tracking the maximum received signal strength peak during each rising trend. Rising trends are detected by computing two rolling averages of received signal strength sample of different lengths and offset from each other and applying a threshold to the difference between the rolling averages to provide hysteresis in switching between rising and falling trend detection. Reported peaks are then compared by proximity to each other and their circle of influence determined in accordance with respective signal strengths to determine if newly reported peaks are duplicates of previously reported peaks and duplicate reported peaks are removed or discarded.
US07952358B2
Multi-component induction measurements are made using a resistivity logging tool in an anistropic earth formation. The X-signal (quadrature) is insensitive to borehole eccentricity. A subset of the multi-component measurements are inverted to first determine horizontal resistivities. Using the determined horizontal resistivities and another subset of the multi-component measurements, the vertical resistivities are obtained. Results of using the in-phase signals are comparable to those obtained using multifrequency focusing of quadrature signals.
US07952351B2
Coil sensitivity of a receive coil to a gradient null location is measured and, from the measurements, a coil calibration value is determined and used to modify the MR data acquired with that receive coil to reduce the adverse effects of gradient nulling on MR images. Coil sensitivity values are determined for each coil of a coil array and the data for each coil is respectively weighted. An image that is substantially free of gradient null artifacts or ghosting is then reconstructed from the weighted data.
US07952349B2
Apparatus and method for harvesting energy from the environment and/or other external sources and converting it to useful electrical energy. The harvester does not contain a permanent magnet or other local field source but instead relies on the earth's magnetic field of another source of a magnetic field that is external to the sensing device. One advantage of these new harvesters is that they can be made smaller and lighter than energy harvesters that contain a magnet and/or an inertial mass.
US07952346B2
A method for estimating the magnetization level of one or more permanent magnets established in one or more permanent magnet rotors of a wind turbine generator includes the steps of: establishing one or more magnetization sensors at the stator of the generator, connecting the one or more magnetization sensors to a measuring mechanism, processing measured data in the measuring mechanism, and establishing values of magnetization. Furthermore the invention also relates to a wind turbine.
US07952342B2
A constant current source apparatus is provided that includes a complementary switching section that selectively outputs a reference voltage or a driving voltage according to a control signal and a constant current source circuit that causes a constant current determined by the reference voltage to flow to a load in a case where the reference voltage is received from the complementary switching section and cuts off the current flowing to the load in a case where the driving voltage is received from the complementary switching section. The complementary switching section includes a first FET in which one of either a source or a drain is connected to the driving voltage, the other source or drain is connected to an output end of the complementary switching section, and a gate receives the voltage according to the control signal and a second FET that switches to an opposite polarity of the first FET in which one of either a source or a drain is connected to the reference voltage, the other source or drain is connected to the output end of the complementary switching section, and a gate receives the voltage according to the control signal.
US07952338B2
A disclosed boost DC/DC converter includes a direct-current power source, of which a negative terminal is connected to ground; an inductor connected to a positive terminal of the direct-current power source; a first switching element connected between the inductor and ground and having a control node for controlling an on-resistance thereof; a second switching element connected in series to the inductor and having a control node for controlling an on-resistance thereof; a smoothing capacitor connected between the second switching element and ground; a switching circuit configured to select a voltage of the direct-current power source during a start-up phase, and to select an output voltage of the smoothing capacitor after the start-up phase; and a control unit configured to cause the switching circuit to apply the voltage selected by the switching circuit to the control node of each of the first and the second switching elements at a predetermined cycle.
US07952330B2
A protection circuit is provided for protecting a secondary battery from overcharging and excessive discharge current by a simple circuit. The protection circuit is provided with a connection terminal (T3) for connecting the secondary battery (6); a connection terminal (T1) for connecting a charging device for charging the secondary battery (6) and/or a load device driven by a discharge current from the secondary battery (6); a bimetal switch (SW1) that is provided between the connection terminals (T1, T3) and turned off in the case of exceeding a specified temperature set beforehand; a heater (R2) for heating the bimetal switch (SW1); and an integrated circuit (IC1) for turning the bimetal switch (SW1) off by causing the heater (R2) to generate heat if a voltage applied to the connection terminal (T3) by the secondary battery (6) exceeds a preset reference voltage.
US07952329B2
A system and methods for an avionics system are provided. The avionics system includes an enclosure, a recording device positioned within the enclosure, and an energy storage device positioned within the enclosure wherein the energy storage device electrically coupled to the recording device to supply electrical power to the recording device for a time period of greater than thirty seconds.
US07952327B2
The present invention provides an assembled battery total voltage detection and leak detection apparatus which is reduced in size and is reduced in manufacturing costs. Detection of a total voltage is performed at a measurement time of a total voltage of an assembled battery 1 by connecting an output of a positive electrode resistance voltage dividing circuit composed of resistors 9 and 10 to + input of a differential amplifier 20 and connecting an output of a negative electrode resistance voltage dividing circuit composed of resistors 12 and 11 to − input of the amplifier 20, and it performs leak detection at a leak detection time by connecting an output of a positive electrode resistance voltage dividing circuit to + input of the amplifier 20 and connecting + input of the amplifier 20 to the minus input of the differential amplifier 20 to measure an output voltage of the amplifier 20. The total voltage detection and the leak detection can be performed without requiring an insulation type voltage sensor, an insulation power source, photo-couplers, or the like.
