US08007682B2
A compound of the following formula (1): CH2═CR1—COO—R2—OCO-Cy-COO-Cy-A-Cy-R3 (1) wherein R1 is a hydrogen atom or a methyl group; R2 is a hydrocarbon group having from 1 to 8 carbon atoms, provided that some or all of hydrogen atoms bonded to carbon atoms in the group may be substituted by fluorine atoms, and when it has 2 or more carbon atoms, it may have an etheric oxygen atom in a carbon-carbon bond, R3 is an alkyl or alkoxy group having from 1 to 8 carbon atoms, or a fluorine atom, provided that when it is the alkyl or alkoxy group, some or all of hydrogen atoms bonded to carbon atoms in the group may be substituted by fluorine atoms; Cy is a trans-1,4-cyclohexylene group, provided that hydrogen atoms bonded to carbon atoms in the group may independently be substituted by fluorine atoms, chlorine atoms or methyl groups; and A is a single bond, a trans-1,4-cyclohexylene group or a 1,4-phenylene group, provided that hydrogen atoms bonded to carbon atoms in the group may independently be substituted by fluorine atoms, chlorine atoms or methyl groups.
US08007680B2
The present invention has for its object to provide an electrolyte solution which can dramatically suppress the time degradation in performance of an electrochemical device, especially an electrochemical capacitor.The present invention relates to an electrolyte solution for electrochemical device which comprises an imidazolium salt (A) represented by the general formula (1) as a main component, wherein the content of the imidazolium salt (B) represented by the general formula (2) is not more than 15% by weight to the total weight of the imidazolium salt (A) and imidazolium salt (B); (in the formula, R1, R2 and R3 may be the same or different and each represents an alkyl group containing 1 to 3 carbon atoms; R4 and R5 may be the same or different and each represents an hydrogen atom or an alkyl group containing 1 to 3 carbon atoms; and X− represents a counter anion) (in the formula, R1, R3, R4, R5 and X− are the same as the definition for the general formula (1)).
US08007673B2
An adhesive layer, an insulating layer and a copper foil are laminated together on both surfaces of a metallic base material by way of for example thermal press molding. In this case, openings (window holes) are formed in opposed positions on a portion of the adhesive layer. A circuit pattern is formed by etching on the copper foil in this state, followed by an external shape machining step of executing separation treatment reaching the metallic base material in predetermined positions including the openings. After that, a part of the insulating layer is cut off along the edge of the opening to obtain a circuit board with the end of the metallic base material exposed.
US08007672B2
The present invention provides a multiple bed-type condensate demineralization method and apparatus for the method that are able to provide an improved treated water quality in ammonia operation by substantially reducing the cross contamination ratio during resin regeneration from the current cross contamination ratio.In the method of condensate demineralization using ion-exchange resin in a multiple-bed regime, condensate is passed through a resin layer having a multiple-bed structure in which an anion resin layer and a layer of a uniform particle size strong acid gel-type cation resin with a 10% to 16% degree of crosslinking, divided by a partition in such a manner that they do not mix with each other, are combined in alternation. The uniform particle size strong acid gel-type cation resin with a 10% to 16% degree of crosslinking is an ion-exchange resin that has a uniform particle size of 500 to 800 μm for which at least 95% of the resin particles fall in the range defined by the average particle size ±100 μm and the uniformity coefficient is less than or equal to 1.2. Ion-exchange resin that has come to require chemical regeneration is separately withdrawn and subjected to chemical regeneration by type and is returned into the originating partition.
US08007671B2
A method of treating a hollow fiber membrane microfiltration filter having an influent side and an effluent side to improve performance of the filter is disclosed. The method entails sealing imperfections in surfaces of the filter by flushing the filter with a liquid aqueous suspension of particulates. Filter cartridge devices also are disclosed. The devices may include a bactericidal chamber. A radial flow filter may be included in the devices. The filter cartridges may include a drain tube positioned within the filter for removing of effluent generated by the filter. A plurality of filter cartridges may be positioned on the drain tube.
US08007665B2
Disclosed herein is an advanced wastewater treatment device. The device includes a wastewater treatment bath having an anaerobic bath in which phosphorus is discharged, an anoxic bath in which denitrification of nitrate nitrogen is performed, and an aerobic bath in which decomposition and nitrification of organic matter is performed. A first movable divider separates the anaerobic bath from the anoxic bath and is movably provided in the wastewater treatment bath to change relative volume of the anaerobic and anoxic baths. A second movable divider separates the anoxic bath from the aerobic bath and is movably provided in the wastewater treatment bath to change relative volume of the anoxic and aerobic baths. A divider moving unit moves the first and second movable dividers. An air supply unit includes air nozzles, an air pump, and valves. A recycling unit recycles activated sludge of the aerobic bath to the anoxic bath.
US08007663B2
One aspect of the present invention relates to mesostructured zeolites. The invention also relates to a method of preparing mesostructured zeolites, as well as using them as cracking catalysts for organic compounds and degradation catalysts for polymers.
US08007660B2
A reduced puffing needle coke is formed from decant oil, which includes a lesser amount of nitrogen within the coke so that carbon articles produced from such coke experience minimal expansion upon heating to graphitization temperatures.
US08007658B2
A reduced puffing needle coke is formed, which includes a lesser amount of nitrogen within the coke so that carbon articles produced from such coke experience minimal expansion upon heating to graphitization temperatures.
US08007656B2
An electrochemical sensor strip has a base and a first electrode and a second electrode on the base. An oxidoreductase enzyme and a mediator are on the first electrode, and a soluble redox species is on the second electrode. The soluble redox species may be an organotransition metal complex, a transition metal coordination complex, an electroactive organic molecule, or mixtures thereof.
US08007655B2
A method and system for determining chemical properties of a fluid. The method and system include providing a weak electrolyte fluid, a container for the fluid, a detection method performed by a device having at least two electrodes, a detection and amplification device coupled to the electrodes and a sensed current compared to an uncontaminated, base fluid or compared to data characteristic of fluid contaminated or chemically changed in order to monitor and characterize the fluid.
US08007645B2
A biosensor can supply a sample solution accurately and easily, and includes a capillary for collecting a sample solution and analyzes a specific substance in the sample solution, an air hole, and at least two supply ports, i.e., a sample supply port and an auxiliary sample supply port, so that supply of the sample solution can be performed from either of the supply ports. Even when the sample supply port is closed up with a fingertip or the like and supply of the sample solution is stopped, the sample solution can be quickly supplied from the other auxiliary sample supply port.
US08007642B2
An electrochemical gas generator is provided with an electrolysis cell (1) with a housing, which is closed by a gas-permeable membrane (2) for the escape of the test or calibrating gas. A cathode (5) is provided formed of a noble metal, a mixture of noble metals or a material containing carbon. The cathode is in direct contact with an electrolyte (7) disposed in the housing. An anode (4) is provided formed of a noble metal, a mixture of noble metals or a material containing carbon. The anode is in direct contact with an electrolyte (7). The electrolyte (7) contains a carboxylic acid salt. A control unit (6) is provided that acts as a current source and which is connected to the electrodes (4, 5).
US08007634B2
A wafer spin chuck and an etcher using the same are provided. According to an aspect of the present invention, there is provide a wafer spin chuck device comprising: a spin body which spins a wafer; and a stationary body which holds the spin body and is under the spin body with a space between the spin body and the stationary body, wherein the stationary body includes a blocking unit which blocks the space with a fluid.
US08007620B2
A translucent composite material that can be used in various airplane interior applications that allows sufficient light transmissivity while preferably meeting Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) flammability requirements for overhead materials in the cabin of a commercial aircraft. The material also meets FAA standards regarding vertical burn, smoke emissions tests, and toxic fume emissions tests. The composite material is formed by laminating long glass fibers and (PPSU) into a composite sheet under controlled heat and pressure. The composite sheet is then cut, bent or thermoformed to form the desired part. The parts formed are available for a wide variety of uses within the passenger cabin of a commercial aircraft. The long glass fibers may be unidirectional or weaved into a glass cloth like material. While preferably formed for airplane interior applications, these components may also be used in other aerospace or non-aerospace applications.
US08007619B2
A ceramic sanitary fixture, in particular a ceramic toilet bowl (1) made by casting in resin or porous molds comprises: a first, bottom component (2) comprising a liquid collection pan (3) and a siphon portion (4) for draining out the liquids; a second, top component (5), or rim, composed of a front portion (6) forming the upper edge of the pan (3) and a rear extension (7) comprising a channel (8) for the passage of liquids; the first component (2) and the second component (5) of the bowl (1) are made in one piece in the mold to form a single part (2-5) and there is also a third, covering component (10), or outer casing, in which the single part (2-5) can be housed, the latter being able to be associated and assembled with the casing (10) at least at its upper edges.
US08007617B2
Provided is a method of transferring carbon nanotubes formed on a donor substrate to an acceptor substrate which may include vertically forming carbon nanotubes on a first substrate, providing a second substrate, aligning the first substrate with the second substrate so that the carbon nanotubes face the second substrate, and transferring the carbon nanotubes onto the second substrate by pressing the first substrate onto the second substrate.
US08007608B1
The present invention is directed to a tracer composition for tracer bullets and other projectiles. One preferred formula of the tracer composition generally includes about 58 parts by weight of magnesium, about 38 parts by weight of polytetraflouroethylene, about 4 parts by weight of acrylic rubber, and a burn rate stabilizer such as about 1.5 parts by weight of carbon black or graphite. Tracer bullets including the tracer composition of the invention tend to exhibit a projectile path that is almost unnoticeable to the naked eye but quite visible through the use of equipment detecting energy in the near infrared range.
US08007607B2
Combustible structural composites and methods of forming same are disclosed. In an embodiment, a combustible structural composite includes combustible material comprising a fuel metal and a metal oxide. The fuel metal is present in the combustible material at a weight ratio from 1:9 to 1:1 of the fuel metal to the metal oxide. The fuel metal and the metal oxide are capable of exothermically reacting upon application of energy at or above a threshold value to support self-sustaining combustion of the combustible material within the combustible structural composite. Structural-reinforcing fibers are present in the composite at a weight ratio from 1:20 to 10:1 of the structural-reinforcing fibers to the combustible material. Other embodiments and aspects are disclosed.
US08007606B2
An improved method for salvaging a spring element with a degraded force constant for return to a work environment. The spring element is subjected to a high temperature and extended duration annealing treatment alone or in combination with other treatments. The resultant salvaged spring is characterized by a more durable force constant relative to the original spring when it was new.
US08007601B2
A method for producing a tubular bar, more particularly a stabilizer bar, is provided. The method comprises providing a tubular bar of desired size having an outer and inner surface, heating the bar to an elevated temperature, quenching the bar by application of a cooling fluid to the surfaces of the bar, and forming the tube to a desired shape without annealing. The method further provides for the composition of a high-strength, high formability carbon steel alloy to be used in conjunction with the method. Advantageously, the bar is formable without thermal processing subsequent to quenching. In this fashion, metal tubular bars, such as stabilizer bars, may be formed at reduced cost.
US08007596B2
A cleaning device (10) incorporates drive means (14) and cleaning means (20), wherein the drive means (14) are operable to drive the cleaning means (20) across a surface to be cleaned, and wherein the drive means (14) are operable to adopt first and second driving modes, the first driving mode being a travelling mode and the second driving mode being a turning mode, wherein locking means (40, 42) of the drive means (14) allow selection between the first and second driving modes.
US08007595B2
A method for in-situ cleaning and inspecting of a tubular, comprising: deploying a closable housing to a tubular, hydraulically opening the closable housing and then hydraulically closing the closable housing around the tubular. Marine growth is removed from the tubular using a marine growth plough and high pressure water from at least one high pressure water jet unit, disposed a cleaning end of the closable housing. The cleaned tubular is inspected using at least one enclosable camera block containing at least one digital camera disposed on an inspection end of the closable housing. Signals from the cameras are communicated to a remote location. Hydraulic fluid and high pressure water are provided from the remote location to the closable housing. A tether is used to roll the closable housing along the tubular for continuous in-situ cleaning and inspection of the tubular without interrupting use of the tubular.
US08007572B2
A filter arrangement includes a filter element, a frame construction secured to the filter element, and a handle member secured to the filter element. In preferred embodiments, the handle member is secured to the frame construction. Preferably, the filter element includes a central core member, wherein fluted filter media is coiled around the central core member. Preferably, the central core member includes a plurality of corrugations, wherein the corrugations mateably engage at least some flutes. Preferably, the handle member is integral with the central core member, and also includes a fastening member for connection to a frame construction on the filter element. Methods for cleaning air and servicing an air cleaner preferably include constructions as described herein.
US08007568B2
The present invention describes a system and method for accurately measuring the pressure within a filter housing. A pressure sensor and a communications device are coupled so as to be able to measure and transmit the pressure within the filter housing while in use. This system can comprise a single component, integrating both the communication device and the pressure sensor. Alternatively, the system can comprise separate sensor and transmitter components, in communication with one another. In yet another embodiment, a storage element can be added to the system, thereby allowing the device to store a set of pressure values. The use of this device is beneficial to many applications. For example, the ability to read pressure values in situ allows integrity tests to be performed without additional equipment. In addition, integrity testing for individual filters within multi-filter configurations is possible.
US08007566B2
An electrostatic precipitator including: a collecting electrode in a gas passage; a discharge electrode in the gas passage and separated by a gap from the collecting electrode; a power supply applying a voltage to the discharge electrode, wherein the voltage establishes an electric field between the discharge electrode and the collecting electrode to ionize gas flow in the gap, and a resistor in series with the discharge electrode and having an effective resistance in series with the discharge electrode of at least 50 Ohms.
US08007558B2
A soil amendment comprising compost and between about 5% and about 30% by weight of an agricultural liming material, wherein at least about 50% of said liming material has an average particle size of about 65 microns or less is described. Methods for using and manufacturing this soil amendment are also described.
US08007557B2
A low-microcracked porous cordierite honeycomb ceramic particulate filter having a high strength in combination with a very low pressure drop, a very high filtration efficiency, and a high thermal shock resistance. Little or no microcracking, a fine median pore diameter, and a narrow pore size distribution contribute to high strength. A thin channel wall, high wall permeability, and narrow pore size distribution, contribute to low pressure drop. A fine pore diameter and narrow pore size distribution with a minimum of coarse pores contribute to high filtration efficiency. A high strain tolerance, MOR/E, contributes to high thermal shock resistance. Particulate filters disclosed herein can be useful as a hot gas particulate filter, and particularly as an internal combustion engine exhaust gas particulate filter, such as an exhaust gas filter for a gasoline direct injection engine.
US08007556B2
A block, particularly for filtering particulates present in the exhaust gases of an internal combustion engine, includes a plurality of flow channels for the gases (14e,14s), each of the channels (14e,14s) being bounded by a side wall (22), a plug (15e,15s) and an opening (19e,19s) terminating outwardly. The block according to the invention is remarkable in that a first portion (34) of the side wall (22) of at least one of the channels (14p,14p″), called the “reinforced channel”, includes a reinforcement compared to the rest of the side wall (22) forming a second portion (36) of the side wall (22), the ratio (R) of the thickness of the first portion (34) to the thickness of the second portion (36), in any transverse plane of section (P), being between 1.1 and 3.
US08007553B2
There is provided a ceiling type air conditioner capable of controlling the operation of at least one of a moving unit for moving a brush assembly or a suctioning unit for suctioning foreign matters stored in the brush assembly based on the position of the brush assembly for collecting and storing the foreign matters filtered by a filter. Therefore, it is possible to properly control the movement of the brush assembly to effectively collect and store the foreign matters filtered by the filter. In addition, since a user does not have to exchange or clean the filter, it is possible to prevent inconvenience from being caused by exchanging or cleaning the filter and to prevent the filter from being contaminated.
US08007551B2
The super finishing stone has such a shape that a width of an abrasive surface in a direction perpendicular to a radial direction becomes gradually narrower from outside to inside in the radial direction, when the raceway surface and the abrasive surface in contact with the raceway surface are seen at a plurality of sections perpendicular to the radial direction of the object to be worked, so that the abrasive surface and the raceway surface in contact with the raceway surface may intersect with each other at a constant angle at opposite side edges of the abrasive surface.
US08007542B2
The invention involves a submucosa tissue that has the capability of being shape formed or shape configured. The submucosa involves a purified form of submucosa tissue. Optionally, the submucosa can be packaged in such a manner to permit sterility or maintain sterility of the submucosa.
US08007539B2
A prosthetic joint assembly that includes a shell including an inner surface. The assembly also includes a bearing member including an outer surface. The bearing member is received by the shell such that the outer surface of the bearing member is adjacent the inner surface of the shell. Furthermore, the joint assembly includes a compressible member that is rigidly fixed to the inner surface of the shell or the outer surface of the bearing member to only cover a portion thereof. The compressible member is made of a material that is different from the shell or the bearing member.
US08007538B2
The invention features a glenoid (shoulder socket) implant prosthesis, a humeral implant prosthesis, devices for implanting glenoid and humeral implant prostheses, and methods of their use for the treatment an injured or damaged shoulder.
US08007536B2
A problem with total disc implant surgery appears to be the positioning of the implant which if not correct may lead to pain and eventually new surgery. The present invention relates to an improved disc implant (1) for total disc replacement, comprising two inter-vertebral elements (2) which are flexibly connected via coupling means (4,5). Following surgery, the relative movability of said two inter-vertebral elements is decreased overtime, as bone ingrowth occurring around the implant and specifically through osseointegrative sections gradually degrease the movability of the elements relative to each other. Following, the relative movability of the implant elements is replaced by fixation of the elements. The fixation has flowingly occurred in a position affected by the movement of the patient, and is thereby more acceptable to the patient.
US08007534B2
An at least in part cylindrical threaded interbody spinal fusion implant having an expandable height.
US08007532B2
A soft tissue expander includes an expandable cover, a base, an adjustable central portion and a connecting member joined to side portions and extending across the central portion to determine the width of the expander.
US08007531B2
An implantable prosthesis for use in positioning a breast implant comprising a sheet of a prosthetic material configured to form a sling-shaped receiving area for receiving and supporting the breast implant. The surface area of the implantable prosthesis contacting the breast implant comprises a biocompatible or chemically inert material to prevent abrasion of or reaction with the breast implant. The implantable prosthesis of the present invention can be used during corrective procedures to reposition and support a malpositioned breast implant or during reconstructive or cosmetic procedures at the time the implant is first positioned within the patient. The prosthesis is used with implants in the partial sub-muscular, completely sub-muscular, and sub-glandular position and is used to prevent medial, lateral and inferior displacement of the implant.
US08007524B2
A method of treating meibomian gland dysfunction. Heat is applied to the tissue proximate the patient's meibomian glands to provide conductive heat transfer to the meibomian glands. The application of heat assists in the expression of obstructions or occlusions in the meibomian glands to restore sufficient sebum flow to the lipid layer to treat dry eye. A force may also be applied to the tissue proximate the patient's meibomian glands to improve conductive heat transfer and reduce blood flow in the tissue that causes convective heat loss. Thus, the application of force can further increase the temperature level and/or reduce the time to reach desired temperature levels for removing obstructions. Reaching increased temperature levels may improve the melting, loosening, or softening of obstructions or occlusions in the meibomian glands while reducing the amount of time to reached desired temperature levels and/or aid in reducing discomfort to the patient during treatment.
US08007511B2
A surgical instrument system having an instrument member or shaft with a distal portion positionable through an incision of a patient to an internal site and for operation by a surgeon from outside the patient. A tool is carried at the distal end of the instrument shaft controlled by the surgeon in performing a procedure at an operative site of the patient. At least first and second turnable members are spacedly disposed along the instrument shaft distal portion, both disposed within the internal site, and each controlled from outside the patient for providing at least respective first and second degrees of freedom of control of the tool. The turnable members may be either a pivot joint or a bendable section.
US08007505B2
A system for tissue approximation and fixation is described herein. The devices are advanced in a minimally invasive manner within a patient's body to create one or several divisions or plications within a hollow body organ. The system comprises a tissue acquisition and folding device and a tissue stapling or fixation device, each of which is used together as a system. The acquisition device is used to approximate tissue regions from within the hollow body organ and the stapling device is advanced through a main lumen defined through the acquisition device and is used to affix the approximated tissue. The stapling device is keyed to maintain its rotational orientation relative to the acquisition device as well as to provide the user positional information of the stapling device. The acquisition device is also configured to provide lateral stability to the stapling device prior to the stapling device being clamped onto tissue.
US08007504B2
A method and apparatus for functionally occluding the lumen of the left atrial appendage (LAA) is provided. Access to the LAA is through an epicardial approach. The devices function to capture the LAA through various non-invasive means. After capturing the LAA with the devices and methods provided, a clamping device is preferably disposed about the base of the appendage. In certain embodiments, the appendage remains viable subsequent to the functional occlusion of the lumen.
US08007493B2
The invention provides a system and method for achieving the cosmetically beneficial effects of shrinking collagen tissue in the dermis or other areas of tissue in an effective, non-invasive manner using an array of electrodes. Systems described herein allow for improved treatment of tissue. Additional variations of the system include array of electrodes configured to minimize the energy required to produce the desired effect.
US08007490B2
A dual-lumen catheter for use in a body vessel. The catheter includes an elongate shaft having a longitudinal axis and defining at least a first and a second lumen. The elongate shaft has a cross sectional width normal to the longitudinal axis and a webbing section disposed between the two lumens. The webbing section has a webbing length less than the cross sectional width to reduce a tendency of the shaft to bend perpendicular to the webbing length when the shaft is rotated.
US08007487B2
Systems for injecting fluids and/or other materials into a targeted anatomical location, in particular, an intra-articular space, include a handpiece assembly having a proximal end and a distal end, a needle extending from the distal end of the handpiece assembly, a fluid delivery module comprising a cassette and a fluid transfer device. A conduit is generally configured to place the fluid delivery module in fluid communication with the handpiece assembly. Medications, formulations and/or other fluids or materials contained within vials that are secured to the fluid delivery module can be selectively delivered into an anatomy through a needle located at the distal end of the handpiece assembly. In some embodiments, ultrasound or other imaging technologies can be used to locate a joint or other targeted anatomical location.
US08007482B2
An ostomy bag with a filter assembly having a gas filter and a pre-filter for preventing or delaying solid/semisolid matter and liquid from reaching the gas filter. The pre-filter is at least substantially flat and comprises a number of constrictions, such as ribs extending along and between two inner surface parts of the channel. These constrictions/ribs form narrower and wider passages where the gas may more quickly pass a narrow passage and where the wider passages tend to receive and hold the liquid, solid matter and semisolid matter. At least a part of the constrictions may be provided in a random pattern.
US08007476B2
An administering apparatus having a casing including a reservoir for a product to be administered, a piston which can be shifted in the reservoir in an advancing direction towards a reservoir outlet to administer the product, a piston rod, a dosing and drive element for performing a dosing movement for selecting a product dose and a delivery movement for delivering the product dose, and a dose setting member which is moved in the advancing direction during the delivery movement, and which engages the piston rod and the casing such that it can only be moved in the advancing direction jointly with the piston rod and is moved counter to the advancing direction relative to the piston rod during the dosing movement.
US08007475B2
A flush syringe assembly comprises a barrel including a cylindrical side wall having an inside surface defining a chamber for retaining fluid, an open proximal end and a distal end including an elongate tip extending distally therefrom having a passageway in fluid communication with the chamber. A plunger including an elongate body portion has a stopper at its distal end. The stopper is slidably positioned in fluid-tight engagement with the inside surface of the barrel for driving fluid out of the chamber. The distal end of the stopper is configured to collapse while fluid is being driven though the passageway through motion of a plunger and to continue to drive fluid through the passageway after motion of the plunger has stopped.
US08007463B2
A catheter assembly includes a catheter body extending from a deflectable distal end to a proximal end, and the catheter body includes an actuator lumen. A housing is engaged to the proximal end of the catheter body. A flexible element extends from the housing through the actuator lumen to the deflectable distal end. The deflectable distal end is deflected by pushing and pulling of the flexible element. An actuator is movably coupled with the housing and connected to the flexible element. A tubular support is engaged around the flexible element and connected to the actuator, the tubular support moves with the actuator, and the tubular support substantially constrains lateral movement of the flexible element. The tubular support is telescopically received and engaged with an inner surface of the actuator lumen. The inner surface of the actuator lumen substantially constrains lateral movement of the tubular support and the flexible element.
US08007458B2
A urethral prosthesis provides relief of urinary retention and has first and second tubular elements with an interposed bridge segment. A valve can be disposed in the second tubular element to control the flow of urine therethrough.
US08007456B2
A low cost foldable orthosis for the treatment of foot and ankle conditions including plantar facitis and tendonitis, the orthosis is a foldable molded portion manufactured in a variety of incremental sizes, having a generally U-shaped cross-sectional configuration and a flat foot bed, interconnected by a hinge. This device includes a variety of spacers which enable the angle of covered by a soft fabric covering, and using a removable and interchangeable foot bed wedge insert permitting the angle of dorsiflexion, plantar flexion, inversion and eversion to be varied.
US08007453B2
The present invention relates to a device that can be used to brace the pelvic region of a patient and to a stretcher for bracing the pelvic region of a patient. The pelvic brace includes a plurality of bracing elements that can at least in part be wrapped around or about the pelvic region of a patient. The bracing elements being configured so as to be able to adjustable in length by two different fasteners so that the bracing elements can be fitted to people of various sizes ranging from young children to large adults. The stretcher includes a retractable frame assembly and preferably one or more than one pelvic brace fitted to the frame assembly to applying pressure to the pelvic region of a patient on the stretcher.
US08007447B2
A guide wire includes a first wire disposed on the distal side of the guide wire and a second wire disposed on the proximal side. The second wire has an elastic modulus larger than the first wire. The first wire is joined to the second wire at a welded portion by welding. A coil is disposed on the distal side of the first wire. A cover layer is formed on the outer peripheral surface of the wire member in such a manner as to cover at least the welded portion. The cover layer is made from a material capable of reducing the friction of the cover layer, for example, a fluorocarbon resin or a hydrophilic material, to thereby improve the sliding performance of the guide wire. Such a guide wire is excellent in operationality and kink resistance.
US08007440B2
An intravascular ultrasound catheter system is provided and enables a simplified, economical technique for ultrasound visualization of a blood vessel. The catheter may include a spark ablation system for crossing chronic total occlusions and severe stenoses. The catheter is advanceable and is oriented entirely under manual control of the clinician and the application of radiofrequency energy for spark erosion of the stenosis also is controlled manually by the clinician. The system enables the clinician to observe an ultrasound image sufficiently to determine where to orient the ablation electrode so as to reduce the risk of dissection or perforation of the blood vessel. The ultrasound image is generated in response to manual rotation of the catheter and the ablation spark is generated only when the physician is satisfied as to the orientation of the electrode within the vessel.
US08007438B2
An ultrasound diagnostic apparatus includes an ultrasound probe which transmits/receives an ultrasound wave with respect to a subject to be diagnosed, an ultrasound wave transmit section which transmits an ultrasound wave for driving the ultrasound probe, a pressing section which applies an external pressure to the subject, a displacement measuring section which obtains two tomographic image data different in time series from a reflected echo signal received from the ultrasound probe and measures a displacement of each part in the subject based on the two tomographic image data, an image generating section which generates an elastic image from elasticity information based on the displacement of each part measured by the displacement measuring section, and a display section which displays the generated elastic image. Further, a pressing decision section decides whether or not the pressing operation by the pressing section is proper.
US08007436B2
A biological information monitoring system includes a plurality of biological information sensor modules 1A and 1B attached to the right side and left side of a subject body, which sensor modules 1A and 1B each incorporate a biological information sensor for detecting biological information, and a communicator capable of wireless radio communication for the biological information. At least one of the biological information sensor modules 1A and 1B includes a determination device for performing determination of an abnormality by comparing the biological information detected by one biological information sensor in one of the sensor modules with biological information sent from the other biological information sensor module through the communicator.
US08007428B2
Methods for cardiac ventricular restoration include delivering an implantable expandable device into the ventricle via a catheter. The expandable device is anchored either to the wall of the left ventricle or to the inter-ventricular septum and then expanded. When expanded, the device assumes a size and shape which fills the lower portion of the ventricular cavity restoring the normal volume and ellipsoid shape of the remaining portion of the cavity and favorably altering myocardial oxygen demand and wall stress.
US08007419B2
A single-handed overspeed trainer system that detachably tethers an athlete to a trainer through a substantially quiet, non-hook and loop material, release structure is disclosed. In one embodiment, the athlete wears a belt with a substantially rigid loop extending therefrom. The trainer holds one end of a tether that contains a retractable pin toward its opposite end. The pin holds the rigid loop of the belt until the pin is retracted by the trainer, preferably when the tether's handle is released by the trainer.
US08007416B2
A rigid adjustable hand weight system for use in physical fitness exercise consisting of a rigid flat handle portion with rigid flat weight members disposed on either end whose size and shape are such that two or more units may be bundled together and held within the user's hand secured together by the user's grip. Each unit may be held singularly or in a group with one or more other units in various combinations to create a hand weight bundle of the desired poundage. For instance, units weighing 2, 3 and 4 pounds may be lifted singularly or combined as necessary to create 5, 6, 7 and 9 pound weight combinations as the user desires. Eliminated is the need for fasteners such as screws, pins or other means since the user's grip provides the force that keeps the units bundled together. This allows for quicker changing of the weight being lifted as the user can simply pick up or put down the number of units required to achieve the desired lift weight rather than adding or removing weight plates to or from a single connecting device and securing them by mechanical means.
US08007394B2
A transmission is provided having an input member, an output member, four planetary gear sets, a plurality of coupling members and a plurality of torque transmitting devices. Each of the planetary gear sets includes first, second and third members. The torque transmitting devices include clutches and brakes.
US08007393B2
A transmission is provided having an input member, an output member, first, second, and third planetary gear sets each having first, second and third members. The input member is continuously interconnected to the third member of the third planetary gear set and the output member is continuously interconnected to the third member of the first planetary gear set. The transmission further includes six torque transmitting mechanisms selectively engageable to interconnect one of the first, second, and third members with at least one other of the first, second, third members, and a stationary element. The torque transmitting mechanisms are selectively engageable in combinations of at least three to establish at least eight forward speed ratios and at least one reverse speed ratio between the input member and the output member.
US08007391B2
An orthogonal axis gear, a planetary gear reduction mechanism portion, and a differential gear mechanism portion are arranged along an axial center direction of left and right output shafts. The planetary gear reduction mechanism portion is constituted such that a sun gear thereof is provided as a continuation of a crown gear of the orthogonal axis gear, a ring gear thereof is fixed to a differential case, and a planetary carrier thereof serves as an output. Further, the differential gear mechanism portion employs a planetary gear mechanism and is constituted such that a ring gear of the planetary gear mechanism is provided as a continuation of the planetary carrier of the planetary gear reduction mechanism portion, a planetary carrier thereof is provided as a continuation of the left side output shaft, and a sun gear thereof is provided as a continuation of the right side output shaft.
US08007389B2
A technique of a heavy object turning apparatus that is compact, is enabled to reduce the distance between the center of gravity of a heavy object and a pivot positioned on an axis, and is configured so that a turning arm and a drive unit has a length in the direction of an axis passing through the pivot around which the heavy object is turned. A control unit fixes a support base onto a stand. An orthogonal axis reduction gear serves as an anterior reduction gear and has a configuration in which an output shaft is on an axis of a planetary gear type reduction gear serving as the posterior reduction gear. An input shaft is perpendicular to the axis. The orthogonal reduction gear is constituted by a hypoid reduction gear or a worm-geared reduction gear. A motor is disposed on the bottom surface of the orthogonal reduction gear.
US08007386B2
A tensioner for tensioning a strand of chain between two sprockets including a tensioner body and a ramp fixed to ground. The tensioner body has an oval shape defined by first and second arcuately curved sides. Each side has a distal end, a proximal end, and a blade spring. The first and second arcuately curved sides are coupled together at the distal ends and pivotally attached to ground at the proximal ends. When the first arcuately curved side is in contact with the ramp, the second arcuately curved side is in contact with the chain strand, and the tensioner body is positioned relative to the ramp such that the blade springs of the tensioner body are compressed, a tensioning force is applied to the strand of chain.
US08007383B2
A bicycle rear derailleur comprises a base member, a movable member that supports a chain guide including a pulley that rotates around a pulley axis, and a linking member coupled between the base member and the movable member so that the chain guide moves laterally relative to the base member between a first lateral position and a second lateral position. Examples of features include the linking member being coupled to the base member through separate pivot pins, the linking member straddling the base member, and the base member having link coupling projections with different thicknesses.
US08007382B1
An expandable arrow broadhead used for releasable attachment to one end of a hollow arrow shaft. The arrow broadhead includes a pair of two-piece, folding cutting blades pivotally attached to a side of sliding shaft housing and a tip base. The tip base is part of a sliding shaft received in a collar bore in the sliding shaft housing. The cutting blades include a front cutting blade pinned to a rear pivot arm. The front cutting blade includes an outer cutting edge and an inner edge. The cutting blades are held in a retracted position during arrow flight using a flexible band received around a portion of the cutting blades or a coil spring received around the sliding shaft and mounted in the collar bore. Upon target contact, the folding cutting blades are extended outwardly from the side of the sliding shaft housing for increased penetration in the target.
US08007372B2
The present invention relates to a golf club head provided with a shell defining an inner cavity and having a face and a body. The face has a first or reinforcement portion with a first thickness and a second or remaining portion with a second thickness less than the first thickness. The reinforcement portion is located at the center of the face. In one embodiment, the exterior surface of the face defines at least one groove spaced from the center of the face.
US08007363B2
A game system has a plurality of game devices (1), and a game server device (3) that communicates the game devices (1) to obtain a game result for each of a plurality of players, and a plurality of portable terminals (terminal devices) (4) operated individually by at least one of the players. The game server device (3) stores a private player identifier for identifying each of a plurality of players in association with a game result. The game server device (3) also stores a private player identifier of one of the players in association with a private player identifier of a competitor player specified by the one player. The game server device (3), upon receiving a view request from the game device (1) a view request instructing that a game result of the competitor player be transmitted as a response, transmits a view response containing the game result.
US08007360B2
A gaming machine according to one embodiment of the invention has a rotating reel display device that variably displays a plurality of kinds of identification information required for a game, and a transmissive image display device 30 to enable symbol information of the rotating reel display device to be visually recognized. The transmissive image display device 30 has a liquid crystal panel 34 that displays an image, and a light guide plate 37 that is provided on the back side of the display panel 34 and that irradiates the display panel while having display windows 37L, 37C and 37R formed therein to cause the symbol information of the rotating reel display device to be visually recognized, and prism sheets 40, each of which deflects the introduced light introduced to inside the light guide plate 37 toward the vertex area of the rotating reel, are provided in frame portions 37L, 37C and 37R of the display windows.
US08007359B2
A gaming environment is described. When a predetermined time is elapsed, spinning reels are stopped and symbols are displayed on symbol display areas. Then, if it is determined that a winning combination will be newly realized in a case where any symbol is displayed on another symbol display area, the symbol is enlarged displayed over plural symbol display areas. And then, an award corresponding to the realized winning combination will be provided.
US08007352B2
The present invention discloses that outside air flows into an APU room by using a difference in pressure of the inside and the outside of the APU room during driving of a bus to induct a natural convection in the APU room and thus cool an air drier provided in the APU room, and is discharged from the APU room. Accordingly, an increase in temperature of air drier is prevented and the high temperature compressed air generated in compressor is subjected to active heat exchanging in respects to the outside while passing through air drier, thereby preventing formation of moisture according to a change in temperature of the compressed air.
US08007350B2
An apparatus for the payout of coins from a pair of neighbouring coin tubes, in which one stack of coins at a time is supported on the bottom of a coin tube, with a payout disc below the coin tubes, which is rotatably mounted around an axis parallel to the axis of the coin tubes and which has a payout element on the side facing the coin tubes, which is moved along a curved slit in the bottom of the respective coin tube in an angular rotation of the payout disc, in order to capture the respective lowermost coin and to push it out, with an electric drive motor for the payout disc and a control device, which triggers the drive motor such that departing from a rest position, the payout disc is rotated at option about a limited rotational angle up to a final position, and is consecutively turned back into the rest position, wherein the payout disc has an extension in the rotational direction by which the stack of coins rests on the payout element in the final position of the payout disc, characterised in that on the lower side of the payout disc a stopper element is provided, which co-operates near the final positions with one dead stop at a time, the payout disc has a first mark on the side opposite to the stopper element which is detectable by two sensors arranged side by side, the payout disc has further one second mark at a time at both sides of the stopper element which is detectable by a sensor, wherein the second marks are situated in the region of the sensor when the payout disc is in one of the final positions, and the sensors are connected to the control device and the control device reduces the speed of the drive motor when one of the second marks reaches the sensor which is the first one in the rotational direction and reverses its rotational direction when it reaches the second sensor.
US08007347B1
The present invention relates to rotary abrading tools of the erasure-type. The invention includes a wheel assembly comprising an annular eraser wheel having an outer crown of radially directed teeth, a central core of an elastomeric material that radially expands during operation, and a pair of discoid hubs secured on opposite axial ends of the eraser wheel. The teeth of the eraser wheel are helically arranged.
US08007337B1
A multi-use recreational product fully assembled constitutes a toy that can be towed on water and on snow and in the air, and when airborne, the rider can detach the tow rope and use the product as a glider. The toy disassembled, separates a wing section from a fuselage or tail section. The wing section is independently usable as a wakeboard; longitudinally extending fins which provide stability in movement of the assembled product in water and air and easier lift-off into the latter, also aid in control of the wakeboard in water and on snow. The fuselage or tail section is independently usable as a surfboard or water ski, wakeboard, snowboard or kneeboard. As a surfboard, it would be inverted so that thin vertical fins on the wider tail end of its upper surface when used as the fuselage, would extend into the water. Control elements exist on the appropriate surfaces of the sections to enable rider steerage of the sections and/or assembled product.
US08007336B2
A method for manufacturing a field emission element includes the following steps. The insulating substrate is provided. At least one grid, a first electrode and a second electrode are formed on the insulating substrate. The first and second electrodes are within the grid. The insulating substrate having at least one grid, the first electrode and the second electrode is covered with a carbon nanotube structure. The carbon nanotube structure includes a plurality of carbon nanotubes successively extended from the second electrode to the first electrode. The carbon nanotubes between the first electrode and the second electrode are cut to form a plurality of substantially parallel electron emitters in the at least one grid. One end of each electron emitter is electrically connected to the second electrode and opposite end of each electron emitter faces towards the first electrode.
US08007320B1
An electrical connector includes a first connector interface and a second connector interface arranged side by side and spaced from each other along a longitudinal direction of the electrical connector. The first connector interface is of tongue portion with a plurality of contacts arranged on the tongue portion; the second connector interface is of frame shape. Two end walls are disposed at two opposite ends of the connector along the longitudinal direction and aligned with two connector interfaces and a connecting wall connects with the end walls at one side of the connector interfaces. The second connector interface has at least one mating cavity, which has no wall at one side so that the mating cavity directly faces to one guiding slot on the end wall.
US08007317B2
A cable connector assembly includes an insulative housing (1) having a number of contacts (2) received therein, a shielding member (3) enclosing the insulative housing, a printed circuit board (4) connected with tail portions of the contacts, a cable (5) connected with the printed circuit board, and a metallic shell (6) enclosing the printed circuit board. The metallic shell has a top shell (61) and a bottom shell (62) assembled to each other, and the metallic shell also defines a pair of blocking portions (625) bent from a front end thereof, the blocking portions are perpendicular to a mating direction and adjacent to a front surface of the shielding member.
US08007310B2
An electrical connector assembly includes a first connector portion for supporting a plurality of insulated electrical conductors, and a second connector portion removably engageable with the first connector portion. The first connector portion includes a plurality of detent elements to secure the electrical conductors to the first connector portion, and at least one alignment recess. The second connector portion includes socket portions corresponding to the plurality of electrical conductors of the first portion, and an alignment member cooperative with the alignment recess to guide the second connector portion into engagement with the first connector portion. Socket portions include an insulation displacement crimp (IDC) connector portion configured to penetrate a corresponding external insulating layer of a corresponding one of the plurality of electrical conductors to place the IDC connector portion in electrical communication with the conductive core portion of the corresponding electrical conductor.
US08007308B2
An electrical connector assembly includes a carrier and a plurality of terminated cable assemblies retained by the carrier. The carrier includes a plurality of first alignment elements and each terminated cable assembly includes one or more second alignment elements. The first and second alignment elements are configured to cooperatively align the plurality of terminated cable assemblies in the carrier.
US08007305B2
An electrical connector includes an elongated insulative housing and a plurality of terminals retained in the housing. The housing defines a mating face, a rear wall opposite to the mating face, two slots opening to the mating face and arranged side by side. A plurality of terminals are secured in the insulative housing. Each terminal defines a contact portion exposing to the corresponding slot. A latch integrally extends from the rear wall forwardly and is located between the two slots, the latch has two arms separated by a groove thereby providing resiliency.
US08007296B2
A safety gate for selectively covering socket holes of an electrical outlet comprises an upper slide plate comprising an upper space with an upper recessed platform on a first side and an upper slant on an opposed side. A lower slide plate comprises a lower space with a lower slant on a first side and a lower recessed platform on an opposed side. The upper and lower spaces allow load plug pins to pass through, and the intervals of the spaces correspond to the interval of load plug pins. The upper slide plate is stacked with the lower slide plate to overlap the upper recessed platform with the lower slant and the upper slant with the lower recessed platform. The upper slide plate slides relative to the lower slide plate. Load plug pins slide along the inclined slopes of the upper and lower slants to slidingly displace the upper and lower slide plates a distance that is no less than the thickness of a pin.
US08007290B1
A mounting device for mounting a connector to an opening of an electronic device, an electronic device comprising the mounting device, and a method for mounting a connector to an opening of an electronic device are described.
US08007288B2
An apparatus for connecting a multi-conductor cable of a first device to a pin grid array connector of a second device, wherein said apparatus comprises a first printed circuit board (PCB) for terminating the conductors of the cable, which are connected to a first PCB surface mounted connector mounted on the first PCB. The first PCB surface mounted connector is mated with a second PCB surface mounted connector mounted on a second PCB, on which a PCB surface mounted socket grid array is also mounted for mating to the pin grid array connector of the second device. This apparatus allows the same (i.e., standardized) multi-conductor cable with the same first PCB and the same first PCB surface mounted connector to be used regardless of what style connector is used by the second device.
US08007283B2
There is provided systems and methods for a reorientable electrical outlet. In one embodiment, a system includes a housing configured to be coupled to an electrical power source, the housing having a first rotation stop, and an electrical plug receptacle, mountable within the housing, the insert having a second rotation stop, the first and second rotation stops configured to cooperate with each other to limit rotation of the insert within the aperture at a number of degrees, wherein the plug receptacle is configured to receive an electrical plug.
US08007279B2
Disclosed within is a dental restorative system including an impression coping with a body portion having a first end, a second end, and an internal chamber having non-frustoconical side walls. The body portion also has a facial aspect and a lingual aspect and the distance between the first end and second end on the facial aspect is greater than the distance between the first end and second end on the lingual aspect. The first end of the impression coping may include an opening and an interproximal, continuous slope. Certain embodiments of the impression coping include means for engaging an abutment or implant, located on the internal chamber. Other embodiments include external flange portions for retention of the coping in impression material. Alternative embodiments of the impression coping are also disclosed.
US08007268B2
A clamp assembly includes a base, a clamp, a cutting blade, and a connecting shaft. The clamp includes a first claw pivotably connected to the base via a first rotating shaft, and a second claw movable relative to the first claw and pivotably connected to the base via a second rotating shaft. The cutting blade is coupled to an end of the second rotating shaft away from the clamp. The connecting shaft has one end fixed to the second claw and the other end fixed to the cutting blade for making the cutting blade capable of rotating along the second rotating shaft together with the second claw.
US08007266B2
An apparatus comprises: forming means movable along a first path for compression moulding doses of plastics; a plurality of transfer means for transferring said doses to said forming means; a plurality of arm means, each arm means being associated with a corresponding transfer means for moving said transfer means along a second path having a portion substantially coinciding with a further portion of said first path.
US08007261B2
The scroll machine has a first and a second scroll member each having intermeshed scroll wraps. A compensation member is attached to one of the scrolls. As the scroll machine warms to operating temperature, the compensation member exerts a force on the one scroll member causing it to deflect. The deflection of the scroll member compensates for the unequal growth of the scroll wrap which is caused by a temperature difference between the radially inner section and the radially outer section of the scroll wrap.
US08007260B2
A scroll fluid machine has a stationary scroll having a stationary scroll lap fixed to a scroll casing and an orbiting scroll having an orbiting scroll lap that orbits relative to the stationary scroll lap. The stationary and orbiting scrolls are connected via a coupling mechanism other than an Oldham coupling or pin crank type mechanism having sliding parts. The coupling mechanism includes plate springs that connect the stationary scroll to the orbiting scroll. The orbiting scroll lap engages with the stationary scroll lap to form a closed compression chamber.
US08007257B2
A manually-activated reduced pressure treatment system includes a substantially rigid housing, and an end cap slidingly received by the housing. An inner chamber is disposed between the end cap and housing, and a volume of the inner chamber is variable in amount depending on the position of the end cap within the housing. The end cap is slidingly movable between an uncompressed position at which the volume of the inner chamber is at a maximum value and a compressed position at which the volume of the inner chamber is at a minimum value. A position indicating member is associated with the end cap and housing to indicate the position of the end cap relative to the housing at predetermined positions between the uncompressed position and the compressed position.
US08007256B2
An electromagnetic reciprocating fluid device in which a movable member is equipped with permanent magnets, resists a torque rotating the movable member about an axis thereof in the reciprocating direction. The electromagnetic reciprocating fluid device has a pair of electromagnets facing each other, and permanent magnets disposed in a space between the opposed electromagnets and held by a movable member. When an alternating current is applied to coils formed in the electromagnets, a magnetic force is generated between the electromagnets and the permanent magnets, whereby a driving force for reciprocation is applied to the movable member. One end of the movable member is connected to a piston of a first piston-cylinder assembly, while the other end is connected to a piston of a second piston-cylinder assembly. The first and second piston-cylinder assemblies are arranged such that an axis line of the first piston-cylinder assembly and an axis line of the second piston-cylinder assembly are non-coaxial and vertically offset from an axis of the movable member.
US08007254B2
An axial-flow blood pump for pumping blood includes a substantially cylindrical outer enclosure. A tubular housing concentric with and located within the outer enclosure has at one end an inlet and at an opposite end an outlet. A motor stator is concentric with and located between the outer enclosure and the tubular housing. An impeller is concentric with and located within the tubular housing. The impeller is suspended in operation by a combination of passive magnetic forces between magnets within the impeller or magnetized regions of the impeller and the motor stator and hydrodynamic thrust forces generated as blood flows between the tubular housing and a plurality of hydrodynamic thrust bearing surfaces located on the impeller. A volute may be in fluid-tight connection with the outlet of the tubular housing for receiving blood in the axial direction and directing blood in a direction normal to the axial direction. The volute has a flow-improving member extending axially from the volute and into and coaxially with the tubular housing.
US08007248B2
In an exemplary embodiment, the momentum of oil-containing air rotating with a crankshaft counterweight in an engine crankcase is converted to static pressure by blocking the flow and directing the resulting static pressure through an orifice to a vent chamber wherein the pressure acts against a cam ring of a variable displacement oil pump. The arrangement modifies the action of an oil pressure control by increasing the effective pump outlet pressure as a function of engine speed using relatively low cost modifications of the engine and oil pump. This pressure may also be used in various ways to modify the control functions of other devices.
US08007247B2
Detection of end of stroke for an electromagnetic pump is performed using, for example, a calculated first flux derivative.
US08007245B2
A turbine includes a turbine wheel having a plurality of buckets, each of the buckets including a bucket airfoil, a bucket dovetail to connect the bucket to a turbine wheel and a shank shape to connect the airfoil to the bucket dovetail, the shank having an uncoated nominal profile including a concave, pressure side, substantially in accordance with Cartesian values of X, Y and Z′ set forth in Table I wherein the Z′ values are non-dimensional values in a range from 0 to 1 convertible to Z distances in inches by multiplying the Z′ values by shank height in inches, and a convex, suction side, substantially in accordance with Cartesian values of X, Y and Z′ set forth in Table II wherein the Z′ values are non-dimensional values in a range from 0 to 1 convertible to Z distances in inches by multiplying the Z′ values by the shank height in inches. The X and Y are distances in inches which, when connected by smooth continuing arcs, define a shank profile section at each distance Z, the profile sections being joined smoothly with one another to form a complete shank shape.
US08007242B1
A turbine rotor blade made from the spar and shell construction in which the shell is a thin wall shell made from a high temperature resistant material that is formed by a wire EDM process, and where the shell is secured to the spar using a retainer that is poured into retainer occupying spaces formed in the shell and the spar, and then hardened to form a rigid retainer to secure the shell to the spar. The spar includes a number of radial extending projections each with a row of cavities that form the retainer occupying spaces in order to spread the loads around. The retainer can be a bicast material, a transient liquid phase bonding material, or a sintered metal. An old shell can be easily removed and replaced with a new shell by removing parts of the retainer and re-pouring a new retainer with a new shell in place.
US08007228B2
A wind guiding cover, mounted on a fan, includes a rotating ring and a plurality of slats. The rotating ring is pivoted to the fan, and has an opening for an air flow generated by the fan to pass through. The rotating ring has a weight portion for offsetting the center of gravity of the rotating ring and normally maintaining the rotating ring at a static equilibrium position. The slats are pivoted to the rotating ring and arranged at the opening. When the fan operates, the slats are lifted by the air flow to open the opening. When the fan stops operating, the slats cover the opening under the gravity.
US08007222B1
A variable counterweight system includes a counterweight and at least one linear transfer device. The counterweight preferably includes a plurality of individual counterweight members. Each linear transfer device preferably includes a moving track and a drive device. The moving track could be a chain or a belt. The drive device is preferably a hydraulic, electric or pneumatic motor. The moving track is preferably retained in a guide track. A control unit receives input from at least one vertical sensor. If an attachment or a boom is in an elevated position, then the control unit powers the at least one drive device to move the counterweight to a rear of the skid steer. If the attachment or boom is in a lowered position, then the control unit powers the at least one drive device to move the counterweight to a front of the skid steer.
US08007213B2
When a horizontal shaft and a piston are caused to travel to a first side with a gear coupling engaging, the revolution of the piston is designed to be restricted by meshing a spur gear with an internal gear fixed to a main body of a horizontal swivel part. On the other hand, when the horizontal shaft and the piston are caused to travel to a second side and the gear coupling thus disengages, the horizontal shaft and the piston are designed to be revolved in an integrated manner by meshing spur gears respectively with other spur gears. When the horizontal shaft and the piston travel from the first side to the second side, the spur gear is designed to be spaced away from the internal gear after the spur gear meshes with the spur gear.
US08007211B1
An apparatus is disclosed for making aligned inclined holes in upper and lower work piece. The apparatus includes a set of drill bits and an alignment element. Each of the drill bits can be driven into the upper and lower work pieces to make the inclined holes. The alignment element includes a horizontal plate, a vertical plate extended from the horizontal plate and a tube extended from a corner formed between the horizontal and vertical plates. The horizontal plate is used for contact with the upper work piece. The vertical plate is used for contact with the lower work piece. The tube includes a tunnel for receiving a selected one of the drill bits, a space for receiving debris produced because of the drilling and an aperture through which the selected drill bit is inserted into the space from the tunnel.
US08007209B2
A milling tool for the processing of workpieces by cutting is provided with multiple cutting flanks (3) and flutes (4) arranged in between these. The cutting flanks (3) have cutting edges (6) along the cutting side (5) of which bezels (10) are provided. At least one bezel (10) extending along a cutting edge (6) has an effective cutting angle (y2) that differs from the effective cutting angles (y2′, y2″, . . . ) of the bezels (10) extending along the further cutting edges (6). This asymmetric arrangement of the bezels (10) in a tool results in a calmer running of the tool which impacts the surface quality of the processed surface and results in a better serviceable life of the tool.
US08007208B2
A tool system comprising a holder and a cutting tool having a tool cutting edge and a fixing part, wherein the tool cutting edge projects by a predeterminable projecting length beyond the holder for a machining operation, is characterized in that the holder is provided at the outer circumference with a supporting part which projects in the direction of the projecting length of the tool cutting edge and forms a supporting surface for at least partial abutment of the cutting tool.
US08007200B2
A compactor wheel is disclosed that includes a hub mountable to an axle of a compaction machine and a rim mounted around an outer circumference of the hub, with the rim having a wrapper and inner and outer circumferential edges. The compactor wheel also includes a modular axle guard positioned near the inner circumferential edge and extending outward from the wrapper, the modular axle guard having a plurality of guard modules arranged about an outer circumference of the rim. Each of the guard modules includes a pair of wedge segments affixed to the wrapper and positioned on the wrapper in a spaced apart relationship and a guard segment positioned on the wrapper and seated between the pair of wedge segments. The guard segment includes a portion that extends radially outward from the wrapper and beyond the pair of wedge segments.
US08007174B2
A bag-like container with a spout in which a plastic linear fastener is interposed in an upper part of the container so that when water content or the like is to be supplied after contents of a liquid food container or the like have been administered to a subject, opening and closing the linear fastener enables the water content or the like to be supplied in an uncomplicated manner without the use of a separate member such as a spout that is an open part for pouring food, water, or the like into the container.
US08007166B2
A method for optimizing direct wafer bond line width for reduction of parasitic capacitance in a MEMS device by reducing the width of a bond line between a first and a second wafer, exposing the MEMS device to a water vapor for a predetermined time period and at a first temperature capable of evaporating water, cooling the MEMS device at a second temperature capable of freezing the water, and operating the MEMS device at a third temperature capable of freezing the water to determine if there is discontinuity during operation.
US08007162B2
A system to provide an efficient, faster, and consistent slurry material application through utilizing a digital positioning receiver and micro controller as means for adjusting output flow rates and percentages of the individual materials within the slurry recipe.This slurry control system consists of a digital positioning receiver for means of sensing vehicle speed, a hydraulically motor controlling the aggregate and emulsion, an electronic liquid additive flow meter, an electronically controlled water flow meter, a dry additive hydraulic motor, an adjustable display, a dedicated prime mover and pump, and a programmed micro controller to proportionally control each material of the slurry recipe to accomplish each of their target output flow rates and percentages.
US08007149B2
A vehicle lighting assembly is provided which uses a light guiding lens without a dedicated light source. The vehicle lighting assembly can include: a light source configured to emit light rays used at least for forming a target light distribution; a light guiding member made of a transparent or semi-transparent material, the light guiding member including a plurality of individual reflective light emitting surfaces configured to be illuminated with light rays entering the light guiding member from the light source, the light guiding member including another reflective light emitting surface configured to be illuminated with parallel light rays entering the light guiding member; and a reflector having a first reflective surface configured to reflect light rays emitted from the light source for use in forming the target light distribution and a second reflective surface configured to adjust a leak portion of light rays that are not for use in forming the target light distribution so that the leak portion of light rays are made parallel with each other.
US08007147B2
A vehicle door safety warning lamp is provided. A light source is respectively disposed on each side of a light socket, and each light source is electrically connected to a power supply device of a vehicle. A white or transparent first shade body and a colored (for example, red or yellow) second shade body cover the two sides of the light socket. When a vehicle door is opened, the light sources disposed on the two sides of the light socket emit lights at the same time, light rays from the first shade body are used to irradiate a traveling path of passengers, and light rays from the second shade body are used to warn other vehicles at the back, thereby improving the safety of the passengers when getting on and off the passenger vehicles (for example, buses or touring vehicles).
US08007143B2
An LED illuminating device includes an optical section, an electrical section, and a heat dissipation section. The heat dissipation section is provided with a loop heat exchange device. The loop heat exchange device includes a hollow metal base and a plurality of metal fins extending outwardly from the metal base. A hermetical chamber is defined in the metal base. The chamber is cylindrical and has a U-shaped cross section along an axial direction of the metal base. A wick structure is attached to an inner surface of the chamber. A working fluid is saturated in the wick structure. A light source is thermally attached to the metal base.
US08007135B2
An LED lamp includes a heat sink, a plurality of LED modules and a reflector. The heat sink has a conical wall. The LED modules are attached to an inner surface of the wall. The reflector is engaged in the heat sink. The reflector has an outer surface facing and angled with the LED modules. Light generated by the LED modules is reflected by the outer surface of the reflector to radiate out of the LED lamp.
US08007132B2
An electric torch includes a main body, a holder and a connecting portion. The main body includes a lamp shade and a light emitting portion. The lamp shade defines a receiving space. The light emitting portion is secured in the receiving space and configured for emitting light. The holder is rotatably connected to the main body via the connecting portion and configured for supporting the main body. The connecting portion includes a protrusion, a locating rod and a torsion spring. The protrusion is extended from the main body and communicates with the receiving space of the lamp shade. The locating rod is inserted into the protrusion and received in the holder with two ends fixed to the holder. The torsion spring is sleeved on the locating rod with one end attached to the lamp shade and another end attached to the holder.
US08007128B2
A lighting device has a light-bar mount and multiple light bars. The light-bar mount is integrally formed from a board. The light bars are mounted on the light-bar mount and each light bar has a heat sink, a circuit board and multiple high-power LED modules. The heat sink is detachably mounted in the light-bar mount. The circuit board is mounted in the heat sink. The high-power LED modules are mounted on the heat sink and electrically connected to the circuit board for providing outward illumination.
US08007117B2
An assembling mechanism for assembling a lens module of a projector to an optical engine base of the projector includes a supporting stage fixed to the optical engine base, a supporting flange fixed to the lens module, a first fastener fixed to the optical engine base, a second fastener selectively engaged with the first fastener and disposed on the lens module around an axis, a first electrical connector fixed to the optical engine base, and a second electrical connector selectively coupled with the first electrical connector and disposed on the lens module. When the supporting flange contacts against the supporting stage and then the second fastener is engaged with the first fastener, the displacement of the supporting flange along the axis and the rotation of the supporting flange about the axis relative to the supporting stage are limited, and the first electrical connector is coupled with the second electrical connector.
US08007103B2
In one aspect, the invention features a method for determining an eyeglass prescription for an eye. The method includes obtaining a measurement of a wavefront indicative of the refractive properties of the eye, establishing an optimization space corresponding to a plurality of possible prescriptions for the eye, determining a value for a merit function for each of the possible prescriptions in the optimization space, where the merit function value corresponds to a visual function of the eye when corrected using the corresponding possible prescription, generating a representation of the merit function values, and outputting the representation to an eye care professional.
US08007096B2
Highlighter ink compositions can be prepared which provide improved abilities to reduce smear during highlighting. Highlighter ink compositions can include an acid buffer having a pKa from about 2 to about 6, a highlighter colorant, and a liquid vehicle. The image for highlighting can be formed on the substrate using any conventional printing technique, such as ink-jet printing or other printing techniques. Application of the highlighter ink compositions of the present invention to a printed image results in a reduced degree of image smear, particularly when the image was produced by an ink-jet printing process. Further, the acid buffer can be configured for reducing mobility of specific ink-jet colorants. In this way, the highlighter ink composition can be specifically tailored for reducing smear of various printed inks.
US08007089B2
An inkjet printer that has a printer body, a printhead cartridge for installation in the printer body, and an ink cartridge for supplying the printhead cartridge with ink. The ink cartridge has external formations for engaging a first complementary formation on the printhead cartridge and a second complementary formation on the printer body.
US08007079B2
A piezoelectric actuator, a cavity plate, a base plate, and a supply plate are common in normal specifications, black high-speed focused specifications, and color-image focused specifications, but other plates such as a manifold plate, a damper plate, a spacer plate, and a nozzle plate are produced according to these specifications. A center of a communicating hole which connects a pressure chamber and a nozzle is gradually shifted in a paper feeding direction, and a position at which the nozzle is formed is also shifted in the paper feeding direction. Accordingly, it is possible to decrease the number of manufacturing lines and to reduce the manufacturing cost as compared to those in a conventional method of manufacturing a liquid droplet jetting head.
US08007078B2
A microfluidic device includes first and second substrates bonded together. The first substrate has first and second opposed surfaces. A die pocket is formed in the first opposed surface, and a through slot extends from the die pocket to the second opposed surface. The second substrate is bonded to the second opposed surface of the first substrate whereby an outlet of a channel formed in the second substrate substantially aligns with the through slot. The channel of the second substrate has an inlet that is larger than the outlet.
US08007074B2
A liquid discharge recording head comprising a plurality of recording element boards for discharging black ink and color ink, by which image quality of color ink is improved without decreasing image quality of black ink. The liquid discharge recording head including: a first recording element board including a first discharge aperture for discharging liquid; a second recording element board including a second discharge aperture, the second discharge aperture being smaller than the first discharge aperture; and a support member including a face for supporting the first recording element board and the second recording element board. A distance from the face of the support member to the second discharge aperture is longer than a distance from the face of the support member to the first discharge aperture.
US08007069B2
An ink jet recording head comprises a discharge port forming member that forms a discharge port used to discharge ink and a channel forming member that forms an ink channel communicating with the discharge port, at least either one of the channel forming member and the discharge port forming member comprising a substance having fluorine atoms and a rubber member composing a part of an ink passage continuous with the channel, the rubber member being cross-linked by an organic substance.
US08007068B2
A printer comprising a printhead and a pressure-regulating chamber containing ink at a predetermined first level relative to the printhead. The chamber comprises an outlet port, a return port positioned in a base of the chamber, a snorkel extending from the return port and terminating at a snorkel outlet positioned above the first level of ink, and an air vent open to atmosphere. An upstream ink line interconnects the outlet port and an ink inlet of the printhead. A downstream ink line interconnects the return port and an ink outlet of the printhead. The downstream ink line has a section looping below the first level of ink. In a printing configuration, a second level of ink in the snorkel is equal to the first level of ink in the chamber.
US08007044B1
A headrest for baby to be used in baby seats and car seats is disclosed. The headrest includes two conjoined soft hands which are joined to the wrist at some angle to form wide U or boat shape. The head of the baby rest into the soft conjoined hands and the chin resting on the middle/center joining part of the hands of the headrest stopping the unwanted forward movement of the head. Cheeks and temples of the baby rests on palm and fingers of the hands which stop unwanted side to side movement of the head Headrest has straps attached at the outer layer/back side of the conjoined hand and strap's other end is attached to the baby seat with the fastening system to hold the headrest in position.
US08007024B2
A raisable truck bed cover protects the contents of the truck bed from the elements and theft, while allowing access to the contents when materials are placed on the cover. The raisable cover maintains the storage capability of the original truck design while allowing additional material hauling capacity by way of the cover and an optional ladder rack system.
US08007021B2
A mounting system for mounting a body to a tailgate having first and second latch assemblies that engage a pair of striker plates. The mounting system includes a first mounting bracket having a first striker plate to engage the first latch assembly and a second mounting bracket having a second striker plate to engage the second latch assembly. The first and second mounting brackets mount the body on the tailgate when the first and the second mounting brackets are attached to the body and when the first and second striker plates are engaged with the first and second latch assemblies.
US08007012B2
Coupling, comprising a first part (1) in the form of a male part and a second part (2) in the form of a female part, the male part can be brought into the female part and thereby form a ring shaped void (3) between the facing surfaces of male and female parts, which ring shaped void in the axial direction of the parts are delimited with an inner restriction (4) at an inner side and an outer restriction (5) at an outer side, and a feed-through (6) is arranged from the outer surface of the female part to the void (3), for injection of glue into the void, and a feed-through (7) is arranged from the void to the outer surface of the female part, for venting and leakage of glue when filling the void with glue, distinguished in that the feed-through (7) for venting and leakage of glue is arranged closer to the outer side of the void than the feed-through (6) for injection of glue.
US08007009B2
In one embodiment, a male coupling connectable to and separable from a female coupling (e.g., a female threaded port) is provided. The female coupling includes a receiving portion sized to receive at least a portion of the male coupling, where the receiving portion has internal threads provided therein. The male coupling includes a body having a passageway extending therethrough and a locking member disposed about the body and configured to move between locking and releasing positions. The locking member includes a retaining formation configured to engage the internal threads of the female coupling when the locking member is in its locking position. The male coupling further includes a locking sleeve disposed about and axially movable with respect to the body between first and second positions. After insertion of the male coupling into the female coupling and upon movement of the locking sleeve to its first position, the locking sleeve forces the locking member to move to its locking position causing the retaining formation of the locking member to engage the internal threads of the female coupling, thereby locking the male coupling and the female coupling together.
US08007008B2
A foldable media holder for blocking wind includes a foldable frame and a flexible sheeted material. The foldable frame has an erect configuration and a folded configuration and the flexible sheeted material is attached to the foldable frame. The foldable frame includes first, second, third, fourth, and central elongated support members, each having first and second ends. The first and second elongated support members have first and second pivots, respectively. The first end of the central elongated support member is operatively connected to first end of the first elongated support member and the second end of the central elongated support member is operatively connected to the first end of the second elongated support member. When the foldable frame is in the erect configuration the central elongated support member is positioned substantially parallel to the third and fourth elongated support members and is about centrally positioned therebetween.
US08007003B2
A diffuser (50) for use in an air bag system, the diffuser comprising: a connector part (52) configured to be connected to an air bag inflator, the connector part including a side wall (53); and a gas distribution part formed as an integral extension of the connector part and configured to deliver gas from the connector part to the air bag (150), and the distribution part including a first conduit (60) and a second conduit (70), the two conduits configured to give the diffuser a low profile.
US08006998B2
Inflatable airbag cushions often have modular components attached to them after the main airbag has been manufactured. Such modular components can include external tethers, mounting tabs, mounting assemblies, inflatable curtain ramps, and fill tubes. Often, these modular components are positioned at predetermined locations on the airbag. The modular component can be coupled to the airbag by employing one or more adhesives. Also, the modular component can be coupled to the airbag by stitching.
US08006992B2
A child transport vehicle including: a frame, displacement means connectable to the frame, and a transport attachment storage system including one or more engagement devices operable and positioned to store an unused transport attachment in an inoperable position on the vehicle.
US08006990B1
An improved suspension that may be used in any dynamically loaded beam structure, such as a trailer chassis. Specifically, an improved spring hanger and method for attachment are discussed, in which the improved spring hanger is welded to the web of a support beam, where stresses are lower, as opposed to the bottom flange thereof. Methods are provided for welding the spring hanger to said beam alongside as well as in contact with existing, transverse support members.
US08006981B2
A moving target system for defensive training includes an elongated ground-based track defining a track axis, a trolley operable to move along the track, the trolley having a target support facility, a driver operable to move the trolley along the track, and the target facing in a direction angularly offset from perpendicular to the track axis. The target support facility may be operable to fall from a vertical position when the trolley reaches an end of the track. There may be an actuator operably connected to the driver to initiate movement of the trolley when actuated.
US08006979B1
A multi-player game for sculpting a designated object by players of the game and judging said designated object by a judge, wherein the players earn points for each sculpted object chosen by the judge as most representing the designated object. The game broadly comprises a judge's board, a plurality of player's boards, sculpting dough, a plurality of object cards, a smasher, an eye mask, a timer, a plurality of points indicators, and a game box for storing the above-listed items. A method of performing the game broadly comprises the steps of (a) selecting a judge from the plurality of players for a round of play of the game; (b) selecting an object to be sculpted; (c) preventing the selected judge from visually seeing the sculpting of the objects; (d) sculpting the selected object; (e) presenting the sculpted objects to the judge; and (f) selecting a winning sculpted object.
US08006975B2
A method and an apparatus are provided to convey and align sheets being fed to a processing machine. In the event of a machine “stop,” a sheet, which has been separated from an overlapping stream, is conveyed back into the overlapping stream by raising the rear sheet edge with a mechanical or pneumatic device.
US08006972B2
A paper sheet processing apparatus has a take-in device which takes in notes set in a setting unit, a judgment device which judges the quality and condition of a note taken in by the take-in device, a stacking box which stacks the note judged the quality and condition by the judgment device, a backup which is provided movably up and down in the stacking box and stacks notes, and a control device which variably controls the position of the backup based on the result of judgment by the judgment device.
US08006971B2
A sheet stack apparatus comprises a storage portion configured to support sheets conveyed one by one in a standing position, a receiving portion configured to receive lower ends of the sheets supported by the storage portion, an assisting member configured to move from a first position to the storage portion side and at a second position where the assisting member contacts with the sheets conveyed to the storage portion, assist stacking of the sheets on the storage portion, and a holding member configured to move in correspondence with a movement of the assisting member via an attaching portion, when the assisting member is at the second position, separate from the lower ends of the sheets, and when the assisting member is at the first position where the assisting member is separated from the sheets supported by the storage portion, contact with the lower ends of the sheets, thereby hold them on the storage portion side.
US08006962B2
A humidification system includes a housing mountable into an air duct, that includes a base frame, a cover and at least one open end panel. The base frame is mountable to an opening in the air duct that is shaped and configured to align with the base frame. The cover attaches to the base frame with the open end panel between the base frame and cover. The air outlet is through the open end panel. An evaporative element is positioned between the air inlet and air outlet. Controlling humidity output provides moisture to the evaporative element when needed. The bypass frame includes louvers that are positioned within the air inlet, where the louvers are sized to extend into the air duct. The louvers are graduated in size. After passing through the housing, an air return directs humidified air from the open end panel to a low pressure air duct.
US08006959B2
The present invention provides an ignition system for a pulse fog generator having a carburetor, a pump for pumping air into the carburetor, and a priming pump for directing a quantity of fuel into the carburetor. The ignition system includes an igniter operable on low voltage, a switch for activating and deactivating the igniter, and a grounding connection for grounding the igniter to the carburetor. The grounding connection can include an igniter bracket and a ground wire assembly which couples to the igniter and to a location substantially near a sparkplug of the pulse fog generator.
US08006958B2
A portable winch assembly includes a winch mechanism connected to a support structure adapted to be manually transportable. A battery pack is releasably coupled to a remote control unit. The remote control unit is operated to control the winch mechanism. The battery pack and the remote control unit can be electrically connected to the winch mechanism by a flexible power cable, or the battery pack can be mounted with the winch mechanism and a wireless remote control unit can be used to operate the winch mechanism.
US08006953B2
A luer hub connector comprises a hub having a cylindrical bore extending there through. The hub is adapted to have a luer device connected at one end. A cap having a hollow nozzle extending therefrom is formed at the other end of the hub. A cylindrical spring-like member is positioned within the bore in the hub, and a septum membrane closes the end of the spring-like member. A sliding, hollow sleeve member is received in the bore of the hub member, with a hollow nozzle extending from the sleeve member into the bore of the spring-like member. When a luer device is threaded onto the end of the hub, it contacts and drives the sleeve member towards the septum. The end of the hollow nozzle is pushed through the septum, and the spring-like member is also compressed. When the luer device is removed, the spring-like member pushes the sleeve member back, and the hollow nozzle withdraws out of contact with the septum. The septum then closes and seals.
US08006951B2
Disclosed is a solenoid valve having a magnet unit and a valve cartridge having a capsule, an armature guided longitudinally in the capsule and connected to a sealing pin guided longitudinally inside a valve insert, and a valve body with a sealing seat; a magnetic force generated by the magnet unit moves the armature together with the sealing pin from an initial position toward the valve body counter to the force of a return spring, causing the sealing pin to move into and close the sealing seat in an end position, where the initial position represents a maximum volumetric flow between a valve inlet and a valve outlet. A spring support is embodied and situated so that the return spring is supported outside the volumetric flow and presses the armature into the initial position against the capsule, and the inlet and outlet are embodied and situated so that the direction of the volumetric flow assists the closing motion of the armature with the sealing pin.
US08006947B1
Coil/helix shaped stands and methods of using and installing the stands that can be wrapped about elongated supports. The stands can have looped holders for supporting objects such as planters and pots, off ground level. The looped holders can be adjustable so as to remain level with different size diameter elongated supports. The stands can be aesthetically pleasing and attractive and be easy to assembly and mount. The stands are easily removable. Additionally, the coil stands can support other objects such as tables, flagpoles and umbrellas.
US08006943B2
A relay for a toy track set, the relay having a first actuator, a second actuator and a conduit fluidly coupling the first actuator to the second actuator. The first actuator having a release mechanism moveably secured thereto for movement between a first position and a second position wherein movement of the release mechanism from the first position towards the second position causes the first actuator to force a fluid through the conduit, wherein the fluid forced through the conduit by the first actuator causes the second actuator to actuate a second release mechanism.
US08006926B2
A knife bank assembly of a counter knife assembly of an integral chopper assembly of a combine harvester that includes an elongated bracket member that extends between opposed knife bank end plates and has a plurality of spaced retainment mounts securable therealong, with at least one, and preferably two, knife blades being removably connectable to each retainment mount in a side by side arrangement. The knife elements are removably connectable to the retainment mounts at first and second space mounting points, preferably in such a way that the knife elements are maintained in an extended position by application of a biasing force at the second mounting point but are rotatable about the first mounting point to a displaced or relaxed position if a sufficient force is applied to the leading edge of the knife element to overcome the biasing force.
US08006925B2
The present invention provides a control method for superfine powder grinding industrial waste slag in an energy-saving and environmental-friendly type of closed cycle with high yield and the apparatus for the same. The method combines a drying process and a powder grinding process, adopts an in-line monitoring process, automatically adjusts and controls the operating parameters. Therefore, the invention changes the conventional open cycle into a closed cycle, shortens the cycle, achieves the automatic control and adjustment of the operating parameters, and obtains the superfine product with high yield. So the invention enhances the application value of industrial waste slag, extends the applicable field of industrial waste slag, and increases the extra value of final product. The apparatus primarily adds a wind sweeping drying grinder, an in-line laser particle detector, and an automatic control device, furthermore selects a screener and a deduster with high efficiency and product quality and therefore needs less space, investment and energy consumption, improves the work efficiency, the quality of the product and overall efficiency. The apparatus can automatically adjust and control the operating parameters, improve the physical and chemical characteristics of industrial waste slag, and change the industrial waste slag to industrial additive or admixture with good performance; therefore it has good economic and social benefit.
US08006916B2
An apparatus, system, and method for providing a fluid stream into an environment for cooling purposes are disclosed. Such an apparatus includes a body portion and a nozzle, the nozzle being adapted to direct water into the environment. Such an apparatus may include a body portion having a flow channel defined therein for gas flow therethrough; and, a nozzle operatively disposed within the flow channel; said nozzle adapted to direct a liquid therefrom; wherein the channel and the nozzle are operatively disposed relative to each other so that a gas flowing through the channel and the liquid are combined into a fluid stream directed from the apparatus into the surrounding environment.
US08006914B2
A method of identifying an object having coded data identifying a plurality of fiducials on a surface of the object and a random pattern superimposed with the coded data. The random pattern defines a fingerprint for the object. The method includes the steps of: receiving, in a computer system, fingerprint data from a data reader interacting with the surface, the fingerprint data identifying some of the random pattern and a fiducial; using the fiducial to identify a portion of the random pattern; and identifying, using the identified portion of the random pattern, an object identity.
US08006911B2
Disclosed herein are a bar code encoding system and a bar code decoding system. The bar code encoding system includes a method for compressing the original data and adding data for error detection and correction to the compressed data to generate a large capacity 2-dimensional color bar code so as to be used as prints in an off-line environment and a large capacity 2-dimensional bar code pattern. The decoding system includes a method for receiving the prints including the 2-dimensional bar code generated by the encoding system through an input device such as a scanner and a camera, searching the 2-dimensional bar code to recognize it, performing color correction and error detection and correction, decompressing the compressed data to decode the original data.
US08006910B2
An article package formed from, for example, an aluminum-evaporated laminated film includes a cut-out section, which has no aluminum-evaporated layer, in an edge. An electromagnetic-coupling module is disposed in the cut-out section. A wireless IC device is constituted by the electromagnetic-coupling module and an aluminum-evaporated layer of the package. A magnetic-field antenna of the electromagnetic-coupling module is coupled to the aluminum-evaporated layer of the package. The whole of the article package acts as a radiator of the antenna.
US08006906B2
A module and an arrangement for, as well as a method of, generating a generally uniform distributed line pattern of light on a symbol to be read by image capture, include a light source for generating light along an optical axis in a distribution having different extents along intersecting directions generally perpendicular to the axis, and an optical component for receiving, and for optically modifying, the light from the light source to generate the generally uniform distributed line pattern of light on the symbol. The optical component includes a plurality of compound conic elements spaced apart from one another along one of the directions. Each compound conic element has a pair of conic segments for modifying the light along the one direction. A collimating lens modifies the light along the other of the directions. A solid-state imager has an array of image sensors for capturing return light from the symbol over a field of view having different extents along the intersecting directions.
US08006904B2
A system and method for monitoring operation and performance of electronic tags such as article surveillance (EAS) tags or radio frequency identification (RFID) tags such as by monitoring and reporting electronic tag readability and operator/system performance levels. The system includes an optical symbol reader and/or electronic tag sensor/deactivator that measures and reports values of reading, detection, or deactivation events during operation which may be indicative of electronic tag operability. The apparatus may further comprise a data accumulation device including memory storage to accumulate the measurement values for each set of electronic tags, and a programmed computing system to analyze the measured values and report on the results of the analysis.
US08006903B2
An apparatus is provided that includes a processor configured to operate a software application, which is configured to receive selection of a number of discrete groups into which to divide a plurality of identified products. The products are located at respective storage locations in a collection of storage locations. The software application is therefore configured to divide the identified products into discrete groups such that the areas of the resulting groups of products at respective storage locations are substantially non-overlapping. The software application is further configured to assign the groups of products to respective workstation computers, each of which is configured to generate and transmit, for each of one or more of the products of a respective group, a signal to an associated RFID tag to thereby direct the RFID tag to generate a notification signal. A method and a computer program product for managing inventory are also provided.
US08006883B2
A cordless nailer is provided having a nosepiece assembly with improved features. The nosepiece assembly includes a driver retention feature that is provided to retain a drive blade from accidentally escaping the nailer. The nosepiece assembly includes a nosepiece, a nosepiece cover coupled to the nosepiece and moveable between a first closed position and a second open position. The nosepiece cover includes a surface formed on an end thereof, wherein at least one of the nosepiece and nosepiece cover forms a channel. A driver is disposed within the channel, wherein as the nosepiece cover is moved from the first closed position to the second open position, the surface of the nosepiece cover prevents the driver from moving from the channel.
US08006879B2
A driving piston 4 is provided slidably up and down in a driving cylinder 3 arranged in a tool body 1. By moving a movable sleeve 10 provided at the upper portion of the driving cylinder 3 up and down, the movable sleeve 10 is brought into contact with and separated from the driving cylinder 3 and a cylinder head 8 provided above the driving cylinder 3, whereby a combustion chamber can be opened and closed. Mixture gas obtained by stirring and mixing combustible gas and air together in the combustion chamber by a fan 16 is ignited by an ignition plug 15 disposed at the cylinder head 8 and explosively combusted. By this high-pressure combustion gas, the driving piston 4 is impulsively driven, and a driver 5 coupled to the lower surface side of the driving piston drives nails. Between an exposed base portion of a center electrode of the ignition plug 15 which is exposed to the outside facedown and a leading end of the center electrode, there is provided a stagnation part 25 which stagnates temporarily a residue remaining after the combustion of the mixture gas.
US08006872B2
A pressure package system for providing a working pressure on a fluid included in a pressure package, the system being provided with a pressure package (2) in which a product chamber (4) is included for holding the fluid and in which a working pressure chamber is included for keeping a propellant at the working pressure, the system being further provided with a pressure controller (5) and a high-pressure chamber (6) connected with the pressure controller for keeping the propellant in supply at a relatively high pressure, the pressure package system being further provided with a wall (7) which is designed to be movable relative to the pressure controller, a first side (8) of the wall bounding the working pressure chamber at least partly and a second side (9) of the wall, facing away from the working pressure chamber, bounding the product chamber at least partly.
US08006869B2
A foam dispensing device is provided which can prevent water from entering without disturbing an introduction of outer air. The foam dispensing device includes a base cap with a hollow neck portion mounted on a mouth portion of a container; a pump suspended from a lower face of the base cap having two discharge channels for suctioning, pressurizing and discharging a content in the container and the outer air individually; and a pressing head with a nozzle for actuating the pump. The pressing head includes a cover that surrounds the hollow neck portion and that is opened at its lower side. A seal member for closing a gap the cover and the hollow neck portion in the initial position of the pressing head is provided on at least one of a lowermost end of the cover and an uppermost end of the hollow neck portion.
US08006868B2
A valve actuator for a valved container containing a pressurized fluid, the actuator comprising a mounting to attach the actuator to the container, and characterized by a post-expansion chamber in communication with the outlet of the actuator in which residual fluid remaining in the outlet after use can expand, and a separate suction chamber in communication with the outlet conduit via a suction opening to suck residual fluid back toward the expansion chamber.
US08006861B2
A disposable paper container holder in the form of a circular-truncated-cone-shaped casing having open top and bottom ends. The disposable paper container holder comprises a body having an inner surface and an outer surface, and a plurality of dimples distributed throughout the body of the casing. The dimples comprises a plurality of debossed dimples protruding inwardly from the body and a plurality of embossed dimples protruding outwardly from the body to maximize a distance between the inner and outer surface of the body, thereby providing an improved heat-shielding effect. The disposable paper container holder can be integrated with a disposable paper container to provide an integrated disposable paper container.
US08006859B2
A dispensing device comprising a housing having an upper loading chamber, a dispensing chamber located beneath the loading chamber and a gate movable between a first, open position and second, closed position to allow selective communication of the loading chamber and the dispensing chamber, entry to the lower chamber being by way of a door, the device further comprising a lock which prevents the door from opening when the gate is in the open position and which prevents opening of the gate, when the door is open.
US08006856B2
The object is to provide a seal ring for a plug, which, when used in a plug cap, can be used regardless of kind of chemical liquid and has no possibility of damaging a seal surface of the plug in tightening the plug cap. The seal ring is placed in the plug cap installed on the plug having a liquid path and/or a gas path, and the seal ring achieves liquid sealing and/or gas sealing of the plug. The seal ring (1) has on its upper surface an edge seal section (17), on its inner surface a surface seal section (18), and on its outer surface a projection section (19) engaging with a ring engagement section (16a) formed on the inner surface of the plug cap.
US08006855B2
A collapsible container defined by a continuous rigid structure and an integrated internal truss system. The continuous rigid structure is preferably four-sided such that it defines four continuous surfaces of a cube. The continuous rigid structure is collapsible due to at least one scoring line defined on at least one surface thereof. The internal truss system includes at least one inelastic member that is threaded through the surfaces of the continuous rigid structure to form a symmetrical and unitary support. A liner may be integrally affixed to each of the four sides and additionally provides a fifth side that forms the bottom of the container. A protective cover may be secured to the exterior of the continuous rigid structure for protecting the contained materials against the elements. The cover can be selectively sealed for rendering the container of the present invention substantially impervious to the elements.
US08006846B2
A portable carrying case is described to hold medicine vials during travel, doctors' visits, etc. The case includes an open-topped box with a hinged lid and attachment means to secure the lid to the box. The case further includes a vial support platform, which may be the upper surface of the box, or a separate platform attachable to the box bottom wall. The platform has a plurality of spaced, parallel divider walls having lower edges attached to the support surface and upper edges. The divider walls have aligned left holes and aligned right holes. An elastic cord is slidable through aligned holes to cord ends outside an end divider wall. A cord lock is used to adjust the length of the cord. The support surface, walls and cord form a plurality of adjustable vial receiving compartments, with the force on each vial being equal regardless of differences in vial sizes.
US08006834B2
A pack for a co-packaged article with an inner flange member and an outer flange member. A first cavity is defined by the inner flange member and the outer flange member. The first cavity has an outer surface and a first internal wall. A second cavity is defined by the inner flange member and the outer flange member. The second cavity has an outer surface and a second internal wall spaced apart from the first internal wall. The second internal wall has at least one protrusion with a first position and a second position. The protrusion is spaced apart from the first internal wall in the first position and contacts the first internal wall in the second position limiting inward flexing of the first and second cavities toward each other.
US08006829B2
A motorized roller includes a roller body of a cylindrical shape, in which a motor and a reducer are housed. The motorized roller has fixed shafts protruding out of both ends of the roller body. A first fixed shaft has a cavity, in which a first connector is housed. A second connector is connected to the first connector. The first fixed shaft has a first engaging part (inside screw) for preventing disengagement of the second connector, so that a part (screw forming part) of the second connector is engaged with the first engaging part.
US08006824B2
A storage system of the present invention includes a storage area for arranging and storing articles (W), a carrying-in line (200) for carrying in the articles (W) toward the storage area, and a transfer mechanism (300) arranged on an upper region of the storage area in order to transfer the articles (W) carried in by the carrying-in line to the storage area. The storage area includes a supporting table (100) for arranging and supporting a plurality of pallets (P) capable of loading the articles (W), and the transfer mechanism (300) transfers the articles (W) to the pallets (P) supported on the supporting table (100). Since an operation for transferring the articles stored directly on the floor face as before to the pallets is not required, a carrying-out process is simplified and efficiency of storage process of the articles as a whole (carrying-in from the outside, transfer to the storage area, carrying-out to the outside) is improved.
US08006821B2
A rotary anti-pullback unit is provided which comprises a rotor 22 and a frame 43 for rotatably supporting the rotor 22. Rotor 22 comprises a plurality of disks 25 arranged coaxially in a line and in axially spaced relation to each other, and a plurality of fletched fins 26 axially protruding from at least one radial surface 25a of disks 25 toward an opposite radial surface 25a of the other adjoining spaced disk 25. Rotor 22 is rotated concurrently with a bill 70 transported along each outer periphery of disks 25 in contact to transported bill 70 to radially inwardly move a flexible extracting tool 71 connected to bill 70, and bring tool 71 into tangled engagement with fin or fins 26 in order to prevent unduly extraction of bill 70.
US08006820B2
A torsional damper with a hub assembly and a disc assembly has coil springs disposed therebetween. The coil springs are disposed in pockets defined in part by apertures in opposed cover plates. The apertures have sharply angled end portions providing deflection relief near the ends of the coil springs.
US08006808B2
An encoder failure in an elevator drive system is detected and managed. A velocity of the elevator drive system is provided by an encoder signal (60) and compared with a minimum velocity threshold (62). An encoder fault timer is incremented when the velocity is less than the minimum velocity threshold (64). The elevator drive system is disabled when the encoder fault timer reaches a fault threshold time (66).
US08006805B2
An elevator door panel for closing the opening to an elevator shaft comprising a generally planar steel sheet reinforced on the shaft side by a perimeter framework and intermediate vertical stiffening members. At its lower edge the panel includes a resilient seal member supported on a structural steel construction that is generally symmetrical about a vertical plane at a mid-section of the panel thickness.
US08006797B2
A side collision detecting apparatus includes a pressure sensor disposed in a side door of a vehicle and including a diaphragm for detecting a pressure in the side door. The diaphragm has a pressure receiving surface configured to be distorted in accordance with a change in the pressure. The pressure sensor is arranged so as to satisfy one of a first condition where an angle between a line along which the pressure receiving surface extends and a horizontal line extending in a front-rear direction of the vehicle is from 60 degrees to 90 degrees and a second condition where the angle is less than 60 degrees or greater than 90 degrees and the pressure receiving surface is not vertical.
US08006792B2
A vehicle cowl may comprise a receiving portion formed as a local depression, and one or more openings formed on sides of the receiving portion. The vehicle cowl may be configured to be disposed rearward of a front wheel of a vehicle, the one or more openings to face rearward and the local depression to extend rearward when the vehicle cowl is in place on the vehicle. The receiving portion may be configured to receive and/or deflect an object or substance splashed or thrown up by the front wheel, such as water, mud or road debris, in a position rearward of the front wheel. Moreover, air can flow through the one or more openings on the sides of the receiving portion, to cool heat-generating parts such as the radiator and engine. The vehicle may be a motorcycle.
US08006789B2
A reluctance machine includes a stator and a rotor. The stator and rotor have a same number of poles. The rotor is configured to rotate about an axis of rotation. Each stator pole is formed of a primary stator pole and an auxiliary stator pole. The auxiliary stator pole is axially aligned with the primary stator pole in the direction of the axis of rotation. Each rotor pole has a length extending in the direction of the axis of rotation sufficient to at least partially cover the primary stator pole and axially aligned auxiliary stator pole. The primary stator poles are actuated with an alternating magnetic field orientation, and the auxiliary stator poles are also actuated with an alternating magnetic field orientation. The field orientations for the primary and auxiliary stator poles are, however, opposite each other such that a primary stator pole its axially aligned auxiliary stator pole have opposite magnetic field orientations.
US08006783B2
A down-the-hole assembly includes a housing having a central axis and a mechanical gear box positioned within the housing. The mechanical gear box is coupled to the housing such that rotation of the housing at a first rotational rate provides a rotary input to the mechanical gear box. A rotary cutting bit is coupled to the mechanical gear box. The mechanical gear box is configured to rotate said rotary cutting bit at a second rotational rate in response to that rotary input from the housing. The second rotational rate is greater than the first rotational rate. The mechanical gear box is also further configured to cause the rotary cutting bit to orbit about the central axis of the housing.
US08006782B2
A drill head assembly includes a shaft having a shaft axis, an oscillator assembly operatively associated with the shaft, the oscillator assembly having at least one eccentrically weighted rotor configured to rotate about a pivot point to generate an oscillating vibratory force, wherein an oscillation centerline is defined transverse to the shaft axis and including the pivot point. The drill head assembly also includes a lower bearing coupled to the shaft on a first side of the oscillation centerline and an upper bearing coupled to the shaft on a second side of the oscillation centerline, the second side being opposite the first side.
US08006775B2
A strip tillage implement includes a plurality of forward disk gang members for sizing plant residue. An upright tool support bracket extends rearwardly from the rear frame member and defines a downwardly opening accommodation space at a top portion of the bracket for a closing disk assembly rockshaft or support. The bracket includes a lower end supporting a parallel linkage that carries a clearing tool assembly in a generally constant horizontal attitude as the linkage pivots with movement of the clearing disks over obstacles. A tool support arm is pivotally connected to the bracket adjacent the parallel linkage and below the rear frame member. A closing disk arm supported from the rockshaft can be rotated to adjust down pressure or to lift the closing disk is completely out of ground contact. Closing disk spacing and disk angle are adjustable to provide the desired berm shape. Each closing disk arm is relatively long and independently supported to reduce torsional forces and improve plugging resistance of the units.
US08006773B2
A swellable packer construction for continuous or segmented tubing. A method of constructing a swellable packer on a continuous tubular string includes the steps of: attaching a swellable seal material to the tubular string to thereby form the packer; and then wrapping the tubular string with the packer on a spool. A swellable packer includes a tubular body portion for incorporation into a tubular string, and a seal material wrapped about the body portion, the seal material being swellable in response to contact with a fluid. A method of constructing a swellable packer for a tubular string includes the steps of: wrapping a seal material about a tubular body portion to thereby form the packer; and then swelling the seal material in response to contact with a fluid. A continuous tubular string includes a seal material attached to a body portion of the tubular string to thereby form a swellable packer; and the packer wrapped with the tubular string on a spool.
US08006772B2
A method for performing a wellbore-related activity may include positioning a sealing device along the wellbore; conveying a work string into the wellbore; using the work string to perform the activity; extracting the work string out of the wellbore; and shifting the sealing device to a closed position to seal a bore of the wellbore using a portion of the work string. A device that selectively seals or occludes a wellbore tubular may include a sealing device having a first and a second sealing element that seal a bore of the wellbore tubular. The first and second sealing elements may support a pressure applied in different directions. Pulling an engagement sleeve with the work string in an uphole direction may fold the first and second sealing elements into the closed position. The bore may be unsealed by applying a pressure cycle to shift the sealing device.
US08006770B2
An expandable casing with enhanced collapse resistance and sealing capability. An expandable tubular for use in a subterranean well includes multiple recesses extending into a wall of the tubular, with the recesses being longitudinally spaced apart along the wall. A method of expanding tubulars in a subterranean well includes the steps of: expanding a tubular in the well, the tubular including multiple recesses extending into a wall of the tubular; and after the expanding step, allowing the wall of the tubular to retract radially inward more at each of the recesses than between the recesses.
US08006765B2
A well servicing tool storage system for subsea well intervention is disclosed which provides a tool storage means as part of the intervention system and which has a plurality of tool storage arms deployed around the tool storage means. Each arm has a clamp capable of clamping a tool, and moving the clamped tool between a stored position near the perimeter of the tool storage means, and a deployed position in the centre of the tool storage means where the tool can be made up into a wireline connection.
US08006764B2
An adjustable hanger for retaining in tension casing and tubing extending between a subsea wellhead and a surface wellhead on a platform.
US08006761B2
A wellbore fluid comprising a base fluid and a particulate bridging agent comprised of a sparingly water-soluble material selected from the group consisting of melamine (2,4,5-triamino-1,3,5-triazine), lithium carbonate, lithium phosphate (Li3PO4), and magnesium sulfite.
US08006755B2
A method for “tagging” proppants so that they can be tracked and monitored in a downhole environment, based on the use of composite proppant compositions comprising a particulate substrate coated by a material whose electromagnetic properties change at a detectable level under a mechanical stress such as the closure stress of a fracture. In another aspect, the invention relates to composite proppant compositions comprising coatings whose electromagnetic properties change under a mechanical stress such as the closure stress of a fracture. The substantially spherical composite proppants may comprise a thermoset nanocomposite particulate substrate where the matrix material comprises a terpolymer of styrene, ethylvinylbenzene and divinylbenzene, and carbon black particles possessing a length that is less than 0.5 microns in at least one principal axis direction incorporated as a nanofiller; upon which particulate substrate is placed a coating comprising a PZT alloy manifesting a strong piezoelectric effect or Terfenol-D manifesting giant magnetostrictive behavior to provide the ability to track in a downhole environment.
US08006754B2
In one aspect, the invention relates to a method for “tagging” proppants so that they can be tracked and monitored in a downhole environment, based on the use of composite proppant compositions containing dispersed fillers whose electromagnetic properties change at a detectable level under a mechanical stress such as the closure stress of a fracture. In another aspect, the invention relates to composite proppant compositions containing dispersed fillers whose electromagnetic properties change under a mechanical stress such as the closure stress of a fracture. The currently preferred embodiments use substantially spherical thermoset nanocomposite particles where the matrix comprises a terpolymer of styrene, ethylvinylbenzene and divinylbenzene, a PZT alloy manifesting a strong piezoelectric effect or Terfenol-D manifesting giant magnetostrictive behavior is incorporated to provide the ability to track in a downhole environment, and carbon black particles possessing a length that is less than 0.5 microns in at least one principal axis direction may optionally be incorporated as a nanofiller.
US08006749B2
Seal for tubular heat exchanger comprising groove with an inner edge; tongue of the diaphragm having front face extending in the radial direction and inner edge parallel to the axis of the channel; the face extending beyond the radial width of the groove in inward direction and overlapping the face of the shoulder of the channel in which the groove being provided. The tongue of the diaphragm being thus kept away from entering the groove; the diaphragm having flexibility to permit deflection of the tongue, the tongue of the diaphragm being loaded from outer side by the internal compression ring, the said internal compression ring being loaded in turn by the threaded push bolts/rods being fitted in the threaded holes on periphery of the threaded lock ring. This load is ultimately transferred to the joint between the gasket and face to achieve leak-proof joint.
US08006747B2
A semiconductor die is constructed and arranged to have at least one conduit portion therein. At least a portion of the conduit portion is proximate to the localized area. The conduit portion is at least partially filled with a heat-dissipating material. The conduit portion absorbs heat from the localized area and dissipates at least a portion of the heat away from the localized area.
US08006746B2
A heat sink having a very high heat transfer capability may be made from a plurality of unit elements. Each unit element includes a series of inlet tubes having a range of diameters and a series of outlet tubes also having a range of diameters. At least one inlet tube having a minimum inlet tube diameter may be in flow communication with at least one outlet tube having a minimum outlet tube diameter.
US08006744B2
A system and method of drying casting molds for forming metal parts is provided. In one embodiment, the method includes providing a casting mold comprised of a meltable pattern coated with a ceramic slurry containing a liquid solvent and a binder, placing the casting mold in a chamber, encapsulating the casting mold in a desiccant material, sealing the chamber sufficient to pull a vacuum in the chamber, and applying a variable vacuum to the chamber to dry the mold. In one embodiment, the vacuum is controlled and gradually increased over time from atmospheric pressure to a predetermined maximum vacuum pressure. The vacuum is preferably applied at a rate such that the meltable pattern has a temperature that does not decrease more than about 5 degrees F. from atmospheric pressure to maximum vacuum pressure in one embodiment. In another embodiment, the retained moisture level of the desiccant may be controlled to minimize temperature swings of the meltable pattern during the vacuum application.
US08006743B2
A method of and a device for determining the position of the solidification point (1a) in a strand (1) during continuous casting of liquid metals, in particular of steel, lead to precise results, while an indirect measurement of a movable amount of a core liquid volume per unit of length is carried out by direct measurement of generated process parameters by force and/or path signals on fixed or adjustable individual support rollers or groups of fixed or adjustable support roller pairs, and based on the measurement values, a calculation model for a momentary position of the solidification point (1a) is produced, based on which, changeable casting parameters are continuously adjusted.
US08006741B2
A process for producing a rare earth alloy comprising: heating a raw material alloy in an inert atmosphere to be a molten alloy, and then quench-solidifying the molten alloy, wherein the raw material alloy is compounded so as to have a composition represented by the formula: REx(Fe1-yMy)4Sb12 (wherein RE is at least either one member of La and Ce, M is at least one member selected from the group consisting of Ti, Zr, Sn and Pb, 0
US08006740B2
A method of forming a brake rotor includes forming a plurality of metal insert portions. Each insert portion includes an inner side and an outer side with a plurality of attachment members coupled to the inner side. The method also includes positioning the plurality of insert portions into a mold such that the inner side of one of the plurality of insert portions faces the inner side of another one of the insert portions. The method also includes introducing a molten aluminum into the mold such that the molten aluminum contacts the inner side of each insert portion. The method further includes forming a mechanical bond between the aluminum and at least a portion of at least one of the inserts.
US08006739B2
An architectural mesh sunscreen panel having at least a first portion including a first architectural mesh assembled from a plurality of first interwoven helically-wound spiral units and first connector rods; and a second portion including a second architectural mesh assembled from a plurality of second interwoven helically-wound spiral units and second connector rods. The first architectural mesh defines a first shading characteristic that is different from a second shading characteristic defined by the second architectural mesh.
US08006733B2
A pneumatic tire containing a tread, a carcass having at least one belt ply disposed below the tread, and a cap ply located between the carcass and the tread. The cap ply comprises at least one layer of an open construction leno weave tape having a pair of warp yarns in the longitudinal direction and a weft yarn in the weft direction. The pair of warp yarns comprises a first warp yarn and a second warp yarn, where the second warp yarn has a force of elongation of between about 1 and 40% the force of elongation of the first warp yarn, where the second warp yarn is in tension, and where the second warp yarn has an elongation at break of greater than 2%. The leno weave tape is disposed in a flat pattern around the circumference of the carcass in the area of the belt ply. A method of making a pneumatic tire is also disclosed.
US08006729B2
Disclosed is a pneumatic tire including a plurality of land portions and a plurality of fine grooves. The plurality of land portions are formed of blocks and a rib, and are defined in a tread part of the pneumatic tire. The fine grooves with a depth of 0.1 mm to 0.8 mm, a width of 0.1 mm to 0.8 mm and a pitch of 0.5 mm to 2.0 mm are formed in the tread surface of each of the land portions to be inclined at an angle of 42° to 60° relative to the circumferential direction of the tire. The inclined directions of the fine grooves relative to the circumferential direction of the tire are reverse to each other on the left and right sides of the equator of the tire.
US08006726B2
A tree stump coring apparatus and method of coring a tree stump using the same is provided. The tree stump coring apparatus includes an elongated cylindrical cutting blade of a hollow tubular body rotatable about a vertical axis with cutting blades on an open lower end of the cutting blade for mounting on a vehicle such as a skid steer loader which provides a means to rotate the cutting blade and a means to move the cutting blade in a generally vertical direction downwardly to core a tree stump and upwardly to remove the tree stump core from the ground.
US08006724B2
An apparatus for transferring a cryogenic fluid. The apparatus includes a conduit having an inlet and an outlet, a source of cryogenic fluid connected to the inlet for providing cryogenic fluid to the conduit and a cool down line connected to the conduit at an intermediate port between the inlet and the outlet, the cool down line in fluid communication with the source of cryogenic fluid for providing cryogenic fluid to the conduit through the intermediate port. The cool down line can be external and intersect with the conduit at the intermediate port, or may be disposed within the conduit. The conduit may have more than one intermediate port for providing cryogenic fluid to the conduit downstream from the inlet. Such an apparatus enables a conduit for transferring a cryogenic fluid to be pre-cooled to a cryogenic temperature more quickly so that transfer operations can begin.
US08006713B2
A hydrant coupling assembly includes a hydrant valve and a hydrant coupler, including a coupler body and a coupler actuating collar assembly having an actuating collar movable axially relative to the coupler body. The actuating collar includes at least one movable latching lug that is selectively moved into place around a mating feature on the hydrant valve adapter by lifting or lowering the actuating collar. A locking mechanism is installed within the coupler actuating collar and includes a coupler plunger, a collar plunger, a coupler plunger check ball, and a collar plunger cheek ball. The coupler plunger and the coupler plunger check ball are adapted to lock the actuating collar in a disconnected state and the collar plunger and the collar plunger check ball are adapted to lock the actuating collar in a connected state. A hydrant coupler for use in a hydrant coupling assembly is also disclosed.
US08006706B2
A vanity case is provided in which a first hinge piece and a second hinge piece are formed in one of the case body and the lid, and a hinge block is formed in the other one of the case body and the lid and arranged between the first and the second hinge pieces. A friction member is provided to brake the rotational speed of the lid caused by a torsion spring. A protrusion is provided for braking the rotational speed of the lid by sliding contact. A recessed circumferential portion is formed in the vanity case so as to release the sliding contact of the braking protrusion at least at the closed position of the lid.
US08006701B2
An anastomotic device, particularly a circular stapler (10), comprises a handle (12) and a stem (14). A channel suitable to receive a guide wire at least partially develops along the length of the stapler. The stem (14) is made of a flexible material, such as to facilitate reaching the site requiring anastomosis. The circular stapler (10) comprises an anvil (16) suitable to be introduced on the free end of the stem (14). The anvil (16) comprises a channel (22) suitable to receive a guide wire (66) and extending along the anvil, and a portion (20) suitable to act as a striker against the wall of one of the portions (A; B) of the tissues to be joined.
US08006698B2
The invention regards a therapeutic aerosol device in which a main aerosol flow, which is generated with the help of a compressed gas and is supplied to one of the nostrils of a user, is superimposed by pressure fluctuations. The superimposition of the pressure fluctuations occurs directly at one of the two nostrils of the user. A flow resistance is provided in the other nostril.
US08006693B2
An aerosol transfer device for medical aerosol generators comprises an elongate shaped hollow member, located in a vertical plane constituting an aerosol storage area. The member has a first opening allowing entry of outside air. The first opening is located on an upper or lower horizontal surface of the member to ensure vertical air entry. A second opening opposite said first opening allows escape of aerosol, and a third opening serves for spraying aerosol into the storage area in the vertical plane and in axial alignment with the air inlet opening. The member has a minimum height of 6 cm and allows dispersion of the sprayed aerosol without recycling aerosol deposited on the walls. The member is located between an aerosol generator source and a patient interface and does not include any valve on the aerosol path from the storage area to the patient.
US08006691B2
A flow generator and humidifier construction is described, including a flow generator construction adapted to reduce noise output compared to known flow generators of comparable size. The flow generator includes a chassis forming first and second muffler volumes and a venturi-shaped connection portion, and a metal/polymer composite material blower enclosure which suppresses noise from the blower. The flow generator may be programmed to include a reminder system including a menu from which the user may request a reminder to take specific action, e.g., replace a component, call a physician, and/or enter patient data card, etc.
US08006689B2
In an energy wave solar reflector assembly (12) for an energy concentrator (10), the assembly has a support structure (21) with support arms (22) extending from a central zone (24), and an array of concentric annular reflective elements (28) spacedly arranged on the support arms or on elongate mounting strips fixed to each or selected supported arms. The reflective elements having a reflective surface shaped to reflect incident energy waves, and a holding arrangement having holding devices (40, 74) arranged to hold the reflective elements in an orientation to direct the reflected energy waves thereof in a direction towards a focal zone (16) of the reflective elements.
US08006687B2
An appliance is disclosed. The appliance includes a main body defining a cavity and an air channel which is in flow communication with an outside of the appliance; an access door supported by the main body for selectively closing the cavity, the access door having an airway in flow communication with the outside of the appliance and the air channel; a fan disposed in the air channel; and an Human Machine Interface disposed on or in the access door. When activated, the fan causes ambient air from the outside of the appliance to pass through the airway before entering the air channel so that the access door is cooled off by the ambient air.
US08006685B2
A bleed gas clean-up system for a re-circulating oven.
US08006674B2
A valve is disposed between a fuel tank and an engine intake manifold in a small engine fuel system equipped to recapture running loss evaporative emissions. The valve includes a resilient diaphragm that blocks the flow path When vapor pressure in the fuel tank reaches a predetermined level, the diaphragm opens and allows the vacuum forces in the manifold to purge the vapors in the fuel tank by drawing the vapors into the manifold to be burned in the engine. The diaphragm isolates the fuel tank vapor dome from the vacuum pressure generated in the manifold, thereby preventing the engine from being starved of fuel. The valve may be integrated with a liquid discriminating valve to form a valve assembly.
US08006672B2
A method for starting an internal combustion engine under cold conditions. The intake manifold throttle valve is held closed and spark ignition is suspended. Fuel and air are admitted into the cylinders and the pistons are cranked for a plurality of revolutions. During each engine revolution cycle, the fuel/air mixture is compressed and heated adiabatically by the energy of the engine starter motor, and the mixture is exhausted into the exhaust manifold. During valve overlap a portion of the mixture is withdrawn into the cylinder and recompressed in the next cycle. Additional fuel may be injected to replace lost fuel. After several engine cycles, the fuel/air mixture becomes heated to a temperature above the flashpoint of the mixture. Sparking is re-established to fire the warmed mixture, and the intake throttle valve is re-enabled. The first firing can provide sufficient heat to continue spark-firing of newly-introduced mixture thereafter.
US08006664B2
A device including two air distribution chambers configured to be fixed on a cylinder head and an air distributor and/or an air transfer pipe, the air transfer pipe and the air distribution chambers including, in the immediate surroundings of their nozzles, for being relatively positioned and assembled together: between the air distributor and one of the air distribution chambers, a positioning and supporting mechanism for support and precise relative centering, substantially without clearance, except for possible pivoting about the axis of engagement, once the centering has been provided along the axis, and, between the air distributor and the other air distribution chamber: an additional support mechanism and locating mechanism. A fixing mechanism locks, at the required swivel angle and in relative support, each air distribution chamber and the air distributor.
US08006655B2
In a heat storage system for a vehicle including a heat accumulator 3, in which engine coolant is stored and allowed to flow, in an engine coolant circulation circuit connecting an engine 1 and a heater core 2 of an air conditioning unit, the engine coolant circulation circuit is a circuit connecting heat accumulator 3 side inlet and outlet, engine 1 side inlet and outlet, and heater core 2 side inlet and outlet, and has a circuit configuration including four modes of a “heat storage mode,” a “heat storage maintaining mode,” a “quick engine warm-up mode,” and a “quick interior warm-up mode” to be selectable by switching a valve set in the circuit.
US08006651B2
A condensing heat exchange economizer wherein upwardly flowing hot flue gas is redirected to flow in a downward direction over a bundle of heat exchange tubes carrying a counter-flowing heat exchange medium to form condensate and cool the flue gas, and the condensate is forced by gravity to flow in the downward direction. The economizer may be in the form of a cylindrical economizer adapted for insertion in an exhaust stack for flue gas. The cooled flue gas may be redirected to flow in an upward direction and merged with a primary flow passage leading to the stack.
US08006646B2
An aquarium system for containing water and aquatic life therein is disclosed that includes a reservoir and an aquarium that is mounted generally above the reservoir. The aquarium has an outlet in liquid communication with the reservoir through an outlet conduit that includes a discharge mechanism, preferably an inverted U-shaped siphon conduit, that periodically discharges a portion of the water from the aquarium to the reservoir therethrough once the water has reached a maximum water level. A pumping mechanism pumps water from the reservoir up to the aquarium through an inlet conduit that is in fluid communication with the reservoir and an inlet of the aquarium. As such, when the water reaches the maximum level in the aquarium, the siphon conduit substantially fills with water which begins to flow out through the outlet conduit, drawing a portion of water from the aquarium rapidly through the outlet conduit until the water in the aquarium reaches the open bottom end of the siphon conduit. Air in the aquarium thereafter enters the siphon conduit to break the siphon. Water leaving the output conduit enters a filter means to filter and clean the water before it is returned to the aquarium by the pump. An embodiment emulates the current of a river, wherein the aquarium takes the shape of an elongated, substantially transparent tube or trough. A wave surge mechanism may be included for producing periodic wave surges in the aquarium.
US08006640B2
A plasma processing apparatus includes: a process container configured to accommodate a target object and hold a vacuum therein for performing a plasma process; a worktable configured to place the target object thereon inside the process container; a planar antenna including a plurality of slots and configured to supply microwaves into the process container; a gas feed mechanism configured to supply a process gas into the process container; and a top plate disposed opposite the worktable, the top plate being set at a position separated from the target object placed on the worktable by a distance of 20 mm or more and 100 mm or less.
US08006637B2
A method and apparatus for applying a uniform membrane coating to a substrate, such as a honeycomb structure, having a plurality of through-channels, wherein the through-channels have an average diameter of less than or equal to 3 mm. The method includes providing a liquid precursor comprising membrane-forming materials to the substrate and applying a pressure differential across the substrate. The pressure differential causes the liquid precursor to travel uniformly through the through-channels, depositing the membrane-forming materials on the walls of the through-channels and forming the membrane on the walls of the through-channels. The apparatus includes a chamber capable of holding the substrate and of maintaining a pressure differential across the plurality of through-channels.
US08006635B2
A water feed device for feeding water to a moistener for moistening envelope flaps that is incorporated into a mail handling machine, the water feed device comprising a reserve stock of water from which a quantity of water flows to a reservoir of water with which the reserve stock of water is in communication, said quantity of water being suitable for imbibing a piece of foam soaking in said reservoir of water, said reserve stock of water being disposed in a receptacle that is mounted to move vertically between a low position and a high position, which positions correspond respectively to a low water level and to a high water level in said reservoir, it being possible for the receptacle to take up a plurality of other positions between said low and high positions.
US08006629B2
A pallet includes an upper and lower deck. The upper deck includes snap-pin openings. First joining members project downwardly from the upper deck, with each first joining member including an outer sleeve surrounding a respective snap-pin opening. Second joining members project upwardly from the lower deck, with each second joining member including an inner sleeve and a snap-pin receiving cavity positioned therein. The inner sleeves receive the outer sleeves to define support blocks joining the upper and lower decks. Snap-pins are inserted into the snap-in openings in the upper deck. Each snap-pin includes a head for engaging a snap-pin opening, and spaced apart tips that extend through the snap-pin receiving cavity for engaging a backside of the inner sleeve associated therewith.
US08006625B2
Tube car, network of tubes, personal transport system, and control system and control method thereof
The present invention provides a new personal transport system for passengers and goods, which comprises: a tube car comprising a self-powered closed tube car carrying passengers or goods from door to door; and a network of tubes comprising a plurality of tubes, the said network of tubes combined with the existing blocks or buildings, with each tube in the network of tubes provided with an upper rail and/or a lower rail for supporting and/or guiding the said tube car carrying passengers or goods. According to the invention it is possible to achieve a door-to-door transport between two buildings. In comparison to other traffic systems, the inventive system's velocity, line capacity, safety and reliability, ability of resisting disasters and comfortableness are much increased while its consumption of energy, construction cost, occupied space, operating cost, noise and visual pollution are greatly reduced. Furthermore, the transport system of the invention is easy to put into a standardized production, quick to be laid, removed and reused.
US08006623B2
A high-lethality fragmentation warhead with reduced risk of collateral damage to the warhead launch platform. High lethality is achieved with a forward-firing fragmentation assembly placed in front of the explosive and a side-firing fragmentation assembly placed in a void space in the aft section of the explosive. The risk of collateral damage to the launch platform is reduced by forming the case and explosive containment structures of materials that are pulverized upon detonation of the explosive. This substantially eliminates radial fragments and in particular fragments thrown back towards the platform. Performance may be enhanced by tapering the aft section of the containment structure and explosive to eliminate explosive that does not contribute to the total energy imparted to the forward-firing fragmentation assembly by the pressure wave to create the void space for the side-firing fragmentation assembly. Performance may be further enhanced by forming the end of the explosive and forward-firing fragmentation assembly with largely conformal dome shapes that approximately match the shape of the front of the pressure wave. This both increases the amount of explosive energy delivered to those fragments and serves to expel them in a desirable pattern.
US08006610B2
An axial piston machine in a swash-plate construction with an actuating device. The actuating device comprises a actuating piston and a mating piston. The actuating piston and the mating piston are connected to the swash plate each with the first end thereof and can be applied with the second end thereof with a force acting in the direction of the first end. For resetting the swash plate in the direction of a resting position, an elastic element is provided on the actuating piston and on the mating piston, which is supported on a spring bearing arranged on the first side facing the swash plate of the actuating piston or of the mating piston. In the other direction, the elastic element is supported on a second spring bearing arranged on the end facing away from the swash plate of the actuating piston or of the mating piston. When the swash plate is deflected from the resting position, the second spring bearing of the actuating piston or of the mating piston is supported on a counter bearing on the housing side. The second spring bearing of the respective other actuating bearing or mating bearing is supported on a counter bearing on the piston side.
US08006606B1
A protective folding shield for mounting to a rail of a vehicle may include a generally rectangular shield; a base stand fixed to a first side of the shield; a shim fixed to the first side of the shield and spaced apart from the base stand; a hinge fixed to the base stand and the shim; a base fixed to the base stand; a pair of latch bases fixed to the base adjacent a second side of the shield; a pair of latch uprights fixed to the second side of the shield wherein, in a substantially vertical position of the generally rectangular shield, the pair of latch uprights are removably fixed to respective ones of the latch bases; and a plurality of clamps fixed to the base wherein the rail is disposed between the clamps and the base.
US08006601B2
An object of the present invention is to provide a high-quality fiber reinforced resin member that enables a longitudinal yarn to be laid out, without slipping, around an outer periphery of a mandrel having at least a bent portion, thus allowing both the longitudinal yarn and a diagonal yarn to be evenly laid out, and a method of manufacturing the fiber reinforced resin member, as well as an apparatus manufacturing a fiber fabric for the fiber reinforced resin member. A fiber reinforced resin member 1 includes an elongate fiber fabric formed by braiding a plurality of longitudinal yarns Q, . . . extending in a longitudinal direction of the fiber fabric and a plurality of diagonal yarns P, . . . inclined at a predetermined angle to the longitudinal direction, the fiber fabric being impregnated with resin that is then hardened. The fiber reinforced resin member 1 has at least a bent portion 1″. The longitudinal yarns Q, . . . are spirally wound at the bent portion 1″, in a posture in which the longitudinal yarns are inclined at an angle of, for example, 10 to 15 degrees to the longitudinal direction.
US08006596B2
A cutting tool in accordance with the invention may include an arbor lock, located within its housing, for preventing the arbor from rotating to assist an operator in installing, removing or replacing the saw blade. The cutting tool may also include an internal storage compartment for storing items or equipment, including those for use in connection with the cutting tool, an internal mobility system to assist the operator in moving the cutting tool when desired, and a cutting implement angle memory indicator for aiding the operator in keeping track of a desired cutting implement position. The cutting tool may also be provided with a sturdy bench top extension extending out from the cutting tool housing which the operator may use to perform a variety of workshop tasks including some not related to the use of the cutting tool itself.
US08006593B2
A tool revolver, in particular for a machine tool, includes a tool disk (1) rotatable about a revolver axis and provided with a plurality of tool stations distributed along the disk circumference and movable to an operation position by the disk (1) rotation. At least one part of the tool stations (13) has a reception area (25) for receiving a tool holder (3). A fixing device is used for fixing a corresponding tool holder (3) at a defined position in the reception area (25). The interaction between an elastic adjusting body (31) protruding perpendicularly to the reception area (25) and used in the form of an orientation element for positioning and adjusting surfaces (41, 43) deepened into a base surface (7) of the tool holder (3) enables the tool holder to take an adjustment position when a screw fitting is fastened.
US08006580B2
A lifting device is provided for a two-leaf folding flap whose upper leaf is hinged to a top wall or partition wall of a carcass around a horizontal first axis and whose lower leaf is pivotally connected to the upper leaf around a second axis parallel to the first axis. The lifting device has at least one two-armed lever which is pivotally mounted to a side carcass part around a horizontal pivot axis and whose longer arm is hingedly connected to the lower leaf, and at least one hinge arm which hingedly connects the leaves and is respectively fastened in hinge cups arranged in the leaves. The hinge arm is adjustable with respect to a hinge cup via a first eccentric device in one direction and via a second eccentric device in another direction perpendicular to the first direction.
US08006575B2
Force measuring device for measuring the force between a first element and a second element of an application, comprising a housing and a sensor arrangement, which is arranged in the housing, the sensor arrangement comprising a first part and a second part and the force between the first element and the second element determining a relative position between the first part and the second part, characterized by at least one spring element, which is positioned between the second element and a support region arranged on the housing, and is supported on the second element and the support region.
US08006574B2
The present application relates to an input torque measuring device for a drive train of a bicycle. The drive train includes a first crank arm and a second crank arm. An inboard end of each crank arm is rotatably mounted to the bicycle at a bottom bracket of the bicycle. At least one chain ring is configured to rotate a driven wheel of the bicycle. A spider is connected to the first crank arm adjacent the bottom bracket and extends out to the at least one chain ring. The chain ring is attached to the spider by a fastener extending through a bushing within an opening of the spider. Sensors may be attached to the spider or the crank arms and may be directly connected to a flexible circuit board. The sensors, the flexible circuit boards and other components of the input torque measuring device may be encapsulated in a protective material.
US08006571B2
An arrangement for measuring air flow includes a source of measurement values and a processing unit. The source of measurement values is operable to generate measurement values representative of a difference in pressure from air obtained on a first side of an obstruction and air obtained on a second side of the obstruction. The processing unit is configured to, in one case, convert any negative measurement values of the measurement values to a less negative value. The processing unit is further configured to perform low pass filtering on the measurement values and convert the filtered measurement values to a flow value.
US08006560B2
A mode of the present invention includes a transmitter (12) for shooting exciting laser light to an object of measurement (M) to excite ultrasonic waves in the object of measurement (M), a receiver (14) for shooting probing laser light to the object of measurement (M) to receive reflected light of probing laser light from the object of measurement (M) for detection of ultrasonic waves, a light blocking structure (16) having a first opening (16a) allowing the object of measurement (M) to pass therethrough and operable to accommodate the object of measurement (M), and a cover (18) operable to cover and open the first opening (16a).
US08006558B2
A sample 10 is measured by generating ultrasound at 12, for example by using a laser 22 and spatial light modulator 26. The ultrasound is detected at 16, for example by optical beam deflection techniques. A characteristic of the generation at 12 is swept across a range of values to vary the efficiency of generation of ultrasound. The value of the characteristic, which corresponds with the peak amplitude detected at 16, is identified to provide a measure of the acoustic velocity at the region 12. The method is executed at a plurality of sites 12, 20 to provide a set of spatially resolved measurements of the sample 10. This allows an image of the sample to be created.
US08006557B2
A method and apparatus for sensing accelerations directed along multiple directions are provided. An embodiment comprises a sensor array comprising two sensor pairs, each of which provides an output signal based on acceleration along two orthogonal directions. The sensor pairs are so that they collectively provide an output signal for each of three mutually orthogonal directions. In some embodiments, the sensor array is augmented to provide three additional signals, each of which is based on rotation about an axis aligned with one of the three orthogonal directions.
US08006554B2
The invention provides a method, a system, and a computer readable medium for determining the fill-ready status of one or more wells of a plurality of wells formed in a filter or solid-phase extraction (SPE) plate. In the method, a signal is directed toward a well of the plurality of wells. A reflected signal is received from the well responsive to the directed signal. The fill-ready status of the well is determined based on the received reflected signal. The steps may be repeated until the fill-ready status of each of the plurality of wells has been determined. In the method and the apparatus, the directed signal may be generated by a piezoelectric crystal. Some of the reflected vibrations impact the piezoelectric crystal, which oscillates in response. The piezoelectric crystal transmits a signal to a processor, the signal corresponding to the height of the liquid or other material in the well.
US08006552B2
A wind turbine generator system that can quantitatively determine the energy of a lightning strike on a wind turbine blade is provided. In the wind turbine generator system generating electricity by driving an electrical generation mechanism through rotation of a rotor head to which wind turbine blades are attached, an electrically conductive shield tape for judging the charge quantity (C) of a lightning strike is bonded to surfaces of the wind turbine blades.
US08006543B2
Device for measuring the permeation of a hollow body provided with an opening such as a neck in particular, this device comprising a chamber in which the follow body is placed, on a support; this hollow body, when placed on its support, together with the chamber defining an internal space and an external space, the device being provided with means for providing sealing between the internal space and the external space, the sealing means comprising three seals, namely a first seal, a second seal termed the intermediate seal, and a third seal, these three seals being housed in grooves belonging to the body of the support, these seals projecting from the side edge of the support and being able and configured to bear against the internal face of the opening of the hollow body; the body of the support, the opening of the object and the seals thus define two spaces positioned between the internal space and the external space, a first space being bordered by a first seal and an intermediate seal, the second space being defined by the intermediate seal and a third seal.
US08006538B2
A control device, for a servo die cushion, by which the speed of a die cushion is prevented from largely deviating from the speed of a slide, whereby the press force between the slide and the die cushion is not significantly reduced. The control device includes a slide speed detector for detecting the speed of the slide, a die cushion speed detector for detecting the speed of the die cushion, and a die cushion speed commanding part for controlling the speed of the die cushion. When a tentative speed command of the die cushion is largely deviated from the detected slide speed, the command of the die cushion is corrected such that the absolute value thereof does not exceed the value calculated by adding the absolute value of the detected slide speed to a positive constant.
US08006536B2
A mechanism for forming thin metallic skin enclosures from blanks. The apparatus includes a forming assembly including a plurality of die stations. The stations are stepped farther away from an axis in a direction of which blanks being processed are positioned at a plurality of die stations. Grippers spaced along the axis and away from the axis at distances substantially the same as are die stations are carried by the transfer assembly. An actuator is used to move the transfer assembly reciprocally in directions generally parallel to the axis between first and second axial positions. A ram is provided to move the transfer assembly between first and second stepped positions relative to the axis.
US08006532B2
A workpiece supporting device for a multiple-die horizontal forging press comprises a transfer pliers arranged at each recess of a die and having a movable stem operating as a workpiece ejecting means, the stem being coupled, at one end portion thereof, facing a driving mechanism, through a coupling bracket, to a driving rod, one end of which, arranged at a recess of the die respectively of the transfer pliers, houses a workpiece restraining device, formed by a rocker mechanism, which can swing about a cross pivot pin and against a spring means affecting an arm of the rocker mechanism.
US08006531B2
A bending machine designed to bend and shape sheet metal comprises a blade-holder unit (10) with a “C” shaped cross-section, mobile along two mutually orthogonal directions with respect to a fixed bed, and on which one or more bending blades are fixed. This machine comprises a kinematic system for driving the operating units, in which servomotors (15, 21, 22) and epicyclical reduction gears are used for the movement of the blade-holder unit (10). Moreover, the blade-holder unit (10) of the bending machine uses an articulated mechanism consisting of two mechanical units (13, 14) which form a closed kinematic chain with five members connected by five kinematic turning pairs.
US08006529B2
The systems and methods include a feed mechanism supplying multi-strand wire to a coil-spring winder. The coil spring typically has a plurality of turns and is resilient. The multi-strand wire is typically steel, but may be of other suitable material, or a combination of materials. The coil-spring winder receives wire from a spool of wire and forms that wire into a coil spring. Typically, but not always, the coil-spring winder cuts the coil spring to a desired length, and thereby forms a plurality of coil springs of the type that can be employed in mattresses, furniture, car seats, for industrial machines, or for any other application. To feed the coil-spring winder, the systems include a wire holder that supplies the wire to the coil-spring winder along a feed direction. The wire holder is supported for rotation about an axis that may be aligned with the feed direction. The rotation of the wire holder may be substantially synchronous with the formation of the turns of the coil spring. In one embodiment, the spool of wire is mounted onto a wire holder rotatable about a holding axis for reducing torque about a cross section of the wire. Thus, as the spool of wire revolves around the central spool axis, the spool also revolves around a second axis, which typically is orthogonal to the spool axis. In this way, it is understood that the coil-spring winder can pull wire off the spool without it causing twisting that may unravel or snap the multi-strand wire.
US08006528B2
In straightening a duplex stainless steel pipe on a multi-roll pipe straightener, the value of A defined by the formula (1) is set to not more than 2.0% when it is not necessary to improve the mechanical strength of the pipe, and the value of A is set to more than 2.0% but not more than 3% when it is necessary to improve the mechanical strength of the pipe. Thereby, the mechanical strength of the duplex stainless steel pipe is regulated, A=(Di−Hi)/Di (1) where each of the symbols in the formula (1) indicates the following: Di: the outer diameter (mm) of the pipe at an entry side of an i-th stand in the straightener, and Hi: the gap (mm) between groove bottom portions of the rolls at an i-th stand in the straightener.
US08006522B2
A washing machine is provided. The washing machine includes a support frame, which supports the main housing of the washing machine, and a liquid detergent container, which is disposed in the support frame and contains a liquid detergent therein. Therefore, the washing machine can improve the efficiency of the use of a liquid detergent.
US08006519B2
Fiberizing bushings for fiberizing molten materials including molten glass are heated by applying a voltage drop across the bushings wherein molten material flows through an array of hollow tips attached to, or integral with, a tip plate having orifices therein that generally align with channels through the hollow tips to form fibers. The uniformity of the diameter of the fibers produced is much improved by using tips of different lengths and/or tips having channels of differing ID's to compensate for unequal electrical heating and/or cooling effects of drawn-in ambient air that cools the tips on the extreme outer periphery and/or cooling or heating effects of external supports or cooling members running through the array of tips that cools or heats adjacent tips more than the interior tips.
US08006518B2
The present invention relates to a method for manufacturing a preform for optical fibers, wherein deposition of glass-forming compounds on the substrate takes place. The present invention furthermore relates to a method for manufacturing optical fibers, wherein one end of a solid preform is heated, after which an optical fibre is drawn from said heated end.
US08006517B2
The present invention discloses improved methods and apparatus for forming sheet glass. In one embodiment, the invention introduces a counteracting force to the stresses on the forming structure in a manner such that the thermal creep which inevitably occurs has a minimum impact on the glass flow characteristics of the forming structure.
US08006514B2
In a refrigerating device comprising: a compressor that is driven by a motor; a refrigerant circulation flow passage that includes an oil separator/collector, a condenser, an expansion valve, and an evaporator; and an oil flow passage that conducts oil in the oil separator/collector to a bearing of the compressor, an oil supply opening is provided for a motor casing that stores the motor, an oil supply line for supplying oil from an oil sump of the refrigerant circulation flow passage on the discharge side of the compressor to the oil supply opening is provided, oil is supplied to the oil supply opening through the oil supply line, and oil is distributed across surfaces of windings of the motor. And an internal pressure of the motor casing is lower than a pressure in the oil sump in the refrigerant circulation flow passage on the discharge side of the compressor, consequently oil is easily distributed across the entire motor casing. In such a refrigerating device, an insulation capability of the motor does not decrease with the elapse of long time.
US08006509B2
A humidity control system (10) includes a refrigerant circuit (50) in which an adsorption heat exchanger (51, 52) carrying an adsorbent thereon is connected. During a regeneration action of a humidification operation of the humidity control system (10), outdoor air passes through the adsorption heat exchanger (51, 52) from upstream towards downstream in the flow of refrigerant. Therefore, the air can be effectively increased in temperature at the air inflow end of the adsorption heat exchanger (51, 52), thereby preventing freezing of dew condensation water.
US08006495B2
An object of the invention is to provide a technique for excellently controlling a supercharger equipped with an electric motor. A supercharging system for an internal combustion engine according to the present invention is provided with a supercharger equipped with an electric motor, where rotation of the rotary shaft of the supercharger is assisted by the electric motor, and control unit for controlling assisting force of said electric motor in such a way that the rotation speed of the supercharger becomes a target rotation speed. The control unit determines the target rotation speed of the supercharger based on any one of (1) the degree of opening of the accelerator, (2) the degree of opening of the accelerator and the rotation speed of the internal combustion engine, (3) the actual degree of opening of a throttle valve and the rotation speed of the internal combustion engine, and (4) the target degree of opening of the throttle valve and the rotation speed of the internal combustion engine, and controls the assisting force by the electric apparatus in such a way that the target rotation speed is attained.
US08006494B2
A variable-geometry turbocharger and a low-pressure EGR passage are provided. The variable-geometry turbocharger includes a turbine provided in an exhaust passage, and a compressor provided in an intake passage. In the variable-geometry turbocharger, the cross sectional area of a path through which exhaust gas passes is adjusted by adjusting the opening degree of a nozzle vane. The low-pressure EGR passage connects the area of the exhaust passage downstream of the turbine to the area of the intake passage upstream of the compressor. The EGR gas is recirculated to the intake passage through the low-pressure EGR passage. The EGR gas is directed to flow through the low-pressure EGR passage when a vehicle is decelerating or when fuel supply to the internal combustion engine is cut off. The pressure in the intake passage is adjusted toward a target pressure by adjusting the opening degree of the nozzle vane when the EGR gas flows through the low-pressure EGR passage.
US08006489B2
An exhaust diffuser for a truck includes a chamber mountable on a truck exhaust stack pipe. The chamber has a cross sectional area much greater than the cross sectional area of the exhaust pipe, and has a dispersing element disposed in the line of exhaust flow to divert exhaust gases laterally into the chamber volume. One or both of the top and front side walls are formed as a mesh or screen to allow the dispersed exhaust gases to flow outward away from the truck cab in a diffused area.
US08006483B2
In an exhaust emission purifying apparatus for reductively purifying NOx in the exhaust emission by using a liquid reducing agent or its precursor, to be referred to as “liquid reducing agent” herein, a dosing flow rate of the liquid reducing agent according to engine operating conditions is computed, and the dosing of the liquid reducing agent is controlled based on the computed dosing flow rate, and also, it is judged whether or not a supply system of the liquid reducing agent is failed, based on a ratio between an integrated amount obtained by sequentially integrating the dosing flow rate and a consumed amount of the liquid reducing agent.
US08006482B2
A fluid injector for use in an exhaust treatment system is disclosed. The fluid injector may have a nozzle portion, a heater associated with the nozzle portion, and a controller in communication with the heater. The controller may be configured to recognize a condition triggering a purge event of the fluid injector. The controller may also be configured to activate the heater to purge the fluid injector in response to the recognized condition.
US08006480B2
A lean NOX trap is a diesel exhaust aftertreatment system is selectively denitrated in a manner that addresses unreliability of NOX sensor data. According to one concept, data from a NOX is ignored or given decreased weight in a period immediately following a denitration. According to another concept, denitration is made contingent on both a first and a second criteria being met. The first criteria relates to the amount of NOX stored in the LNT or remaining NOX storage capacity of the LNT. The second criteria relates to the current performance of the exhaust treatment system, or a portion thereof, as determined from one or more measurements of NOX concentration in the exhaust. This reduces premature denitrations and associated unnecessary fuel expenditures resulting from inaccurate NOX concentration data and transient events.
US08006479B2
A gas turbine engine system includes a first nozzle section associated with a gas turbine engine bypass passage and a second nozzle section that includes a plurality of positions relative to the first nozzle section. In at least one of the positions, there is a gap between the first nozzle section and the second nozzle section. A movable door between the first nozzle section and the second nozzle section selectively opens or closes the gap.
US08006466B2
A portable or disposable package of tissues includes a reflective surface. The surface may be directly associated with the package. In another embodiment, the reflective surface is associated with another body which is connected to the package. That body may be removable from the package, so that it may be used with successive packages after the tissues in prior packages have been exhausted and the package disposed of.
US08006465B1
The invention comprises a storage container preferably having four sides, an open top end, a bottom end having an opening therethrough, and at least two handles preferably located on opposing sides of the container. In use, the storage container is preferably used with water fowl decoys having flexible monofilament lines with looped ends attached thereto. The container is preferably held upside down and the flexible lines of the decoys are passed into the container from underneath and the looped ends are pulled through the opening. The decoys are then pulled into the container. The container is then turned over and the handles are pulled together. The lines of the decoys are pulled over the top end of the container and the looped ends of the lines can be fastened to the handles with a clip. The decoys can then be conveniently transported and stored in the container.
US08006463B2
Apparatus, systems, devices, methods and computer program products configured to provide one or more of the following: improved rotary table or platform packaging systems, improved adhesive (glue) based film seal systems, and/or easier loading or releasing mounting systems of horns, forming collars and/or sprockets.
US08006462B2
A deployable truss is formed from a plurality of column members connected at their ends where at least some of the column members are formed from column assemblies, each including a plurality of strut members that are at least connected to each other at a first and second end of the column assembly. For added rigidity, strut members of a column assembly may be connected to each other between the first and second ends using, for example, a rigidizable resin, a fixed spacer, or a deployable spacer. Connecting strut members between the ends of the column assembly provides mutual bracing to the strut members and decreases the free buckling length of the individual strut members. Spacers are preferably configured to radially space the strut members away from the longitudinal centerline of the column assembly to increase its moment of inertia, and hence its buckling strength.
US08006453B2
A hanging display system is provided comprising an electrified grid system adapted for operative communication with display animation modules.
US08006448B2
A building panel for attachment to exterior and interior building surfaces, the panel including a casting layer having at least one imbedded reinforcing layer, at least one attachment means extending through the casting layer and imbedded reinforcing layer for attachment to a building frame, and a finishing layer adjacent to the casting layer, the finishing layer being positioned to cover a first end of the at least one attachment means.
US08006437B2
A glass run channel assembly is provided. In the glass run channel assembly, after being mounted, an elastic force is generated in a vertical side portion which contacts a vertical frame of a door frame, and an elastic force is generated in an upper side portion which contacts an upper frame of the door frame. Here, the cross-sectional shapes of the upper side portion and the vertical side portion are adjusted such that the frictional force per unit length obtained by multiplying a coefficient of static friction of the upper side portion with the upper frame by the elastic force is larger than a frictional force per unit length obtained by multiplying the coefficient of static friction of the vertical side portion with the vertical frame by the elastic force.
US08006428B2
A sighting device is mountable to a gun. The device includes a light source (preferably a laser), a power source connectable to the light source and a mount attachable to the gun so that the laser is juxtaposed either the top surface of the gun or a side surface of the gun. In one embodiment, the sighting device includes a bottom rail mountable in a slot on the gun, wherein the slot is preferably positioned on the top surface of the gun. The sighting device may also include a mechanical sight that functions as the rear mechanical sight on the gun and/or a secondary light source.
US08006425B2
The present invention is a spring-biased folding firearm that stows compactly and safely. The firearm has three main components: a stock, a receiver and a grip/magazine combination. In folding, the stock folds over the receiver, sandwiching the grip/magazine between the components. When folded, the magazine over-inserts into the grip housing, allowing the stock to clear and providing additional safety when stowed by isolating the ammunition feed. A buttplate latches over the open joint to contain the unit and further secure it. When stowed, the bolt is disengaged from the ammunition feed supply, preventing accidental firing, so a loaded round can be safely carried in the chamber—allowing for immediate use of the firearm upon opening. The weapon is deployed through single-handed actuation and is spring-assisted into firing position. Currently the firearm uses readily available aftermarket parts for easier replacement if necessary and does contain hardware for mounting accessories.
US08006424B1
A stand secures a loaded firearm in an inoperable condition for quick release to an authorized user in the event of an emergency. A housing serves as a base for the stand. A mechanism fixed to the housing prevents the firearm from firing. For example, a rod fixed to the housing is inserted through the muzzle and into the bore until it extends into an empty chamber of a revolver or into the receiver of an automatic pistol. Another mechanism mounted on the housing is operable between a first position in which it permits engagement of the firearm on and disengagement of the firearm from the rod and a second position in which it prevents disengagement of the firearm from the rod. The operating mechanism may be actuated manually by a key or electronically by a key pad, a fingerprint recognition pad or the like.
US08006423B1
An improved magazine follower for use in existing magazines such as a 30 round magazine comprises a follower plate, a base plate, and a spring. The follower plate comprises a top plate, a convex follower leg, and a concave follower leg. The external shapes of the top plate, the convex follower leg, and the concave follower leg mirror the interior profile of the magazine, constraining the motion of the follower plate to a well-defined path within the magazine. The method of attaching the spring to the follower plate and the base plate in addition to the shape of the spring keeps the spring from “wobbling” or moving off a vertical axis of the spring as rounds of ammunition are loaded or dispensed. Consequently, the present system reduces binding or jams within the magazine, improving performance and life of the magazine follower.
US08006418B2
A plurality of patterns 40a through 40e comprising a plurality of plotting lines 41a to 41e of a predetermined width drawn parallel to each other at predetermined intervals and drawn inclined with respect to the axial direction of a can 3 are provided in staggered positions at intervals corresponding to the width of the plotting lines 2. Meanwhile, a plurality of linear opaque portions 21 of a predetermined width alternating with a plurality of linear transparent portions 22 of a predetermined width are provided parallel to each other on a cylindrical heat-shrink film 1 at an inclination angle corresponding to the angle of the plotting lines 41a through 41e on the can 3. This cylindrical heat-shrink film 1 is then mounted on the outside of the can 3. In this way, a container with screen part on which the pattern can be changed is provided in a way not possible before.
US08006416B2
Improved pressing machines for pants, in reference to FIG. 1B an upper portion pressing machine for pants. The framework (11) has a contour shape of the upper portion of a pair of pants, making it easier to drape the upper portion of the pants over the machine for pressing. In reference to FIG. 2B a pressing machine for pressing the inseams and out seams on the legs of a pair of pants. The pressing framework (42) is wider at the rear side and narrower at the opposite end, allowing relatively small and large pants to be pressed. In reference to FIG. 3C the pressing machine is to be used on creased pants. The framework plate (73) has an indention (74). The seams of a pair of pants are aligned with the indention, when the plate (73) is brought down, it will not touch the seams. The pants are left with no impressions or shiny marks. All three pressing machines have steam and vacuum valve connections and are manually operated, by stepping on the foot pedals.
US08006412B2
A collapsible snowshoe is provided. The snowshoe includes a frame having a first supporting cross-bar configured to interact with a second supporting cross-bar, wherein the cross-bars are configured to alternate between an open position and a closed position, a first supporting material configured to be coupled to the cross-bars and further configured to extend between the cross-bars, whereby the extended supporting material creates a support surface for walking when the cross-bars are in the open position; and a frame-locking mechanism configured to secure the cross-bars in the open position.
US08006406B2
A method and apparatus for drying and reducing the particle size of malleable material. Preferred embodiments of the invention include a drying apparatus for use with a malleable material, comprising a blower, an airlock feeder, a main line which contains an accelerator, a conditioning chamber, and a dehydration chamber, a polishing line which contains an accelerator, a conditioning chamber, and a dehydration chamber, and a squid line blower for providing pressurized heated air to the apparatus. An alternative preferred embodiment of the invention comprises a method of drying and size reducing malleable material.
US08006401B1
The cut-out tool (10) includes an insert adaptor (22) configured to insert into and be secured within a utility receptacle (12) prior to sheeting material (16) overlying the receptacle (12), such as an electric receptacle (12). The insert adaptor (22) defines a mounting sleeve (30), and whenever the sheeting material (16) is secured over the receptacle (12) and insert (22), an insert hole (84) is cut adjacent and around an interior perimeter of the mounting sleeve (30). A mounting post (34) of an exterior template (32) is then secured within the mounting sleeve (30), and the exterior template (32) defines a cutting slot (42) that is dimensioned to contiguously and substantially overlie an exterior perimeter (28) of the receptacle (12). A cut is them made through the cutting slot (42) to define a template hole (86), and the sheeting material (16) then slides over the receptacle (12).
US08006392B2
A support arrangement for a reciprocating tool comprises a first locking surface configured to engage a second locking surface in a locking engagement. The first locking surface is secured to the reciprocating tool. The second locking surface is provided on a support foot assembly. A shaft extends between the first locking surface and the second locking surface. The shaft defines a shaft axis that is oriented substantially orthogonal to the tool axis. An adjustment mechanism is positioned on the shaft. The adjustment mechanism is configured to move upon the shaft and clamp the first locking surface and the second locking surface together. In at least one embodiment, a ratchet arrangement is provided in the adjustment mechanism. The ratchet arrangement limits the extent that the adjustment mechanism may be tightened to clamp the first locking surface to the second locking surface.
US08006389B2
Pocket safety cutter devices include ergonomic blade housing and handle portions adapted to be safely folded together into compact closed configurations.
US08006387B2
A method for processing parts. In one advantageous embodiment, a setoff set of studs are welded to a part to form a set of fixed studs. A set of tabs are attached to the set of fixed studs. The set of tabs are affixed to a manufacturing tool.
US08006386B2
A method of forming an inner wall of a sidewall configuration of a trailer is provided which comprises the steps of: (a) providing a plurality of posts, each post having slots provided therethrough; (b) providing at least one pre-configured punching die; (c) providing a one-piece continuous liner; (d) securing the one-piece continuous liner to the plurality of posts; and (e) punching slots through the one-piece continuous liner with the at least one pre-configured punching die. In a first embodiment of the method, step (d) is performed before step (e). In a second embodiment of the method, step (e) is performed before step (d).
US08006385B2
A forming method of a tooth trace of a gear according to the present invention includes: a first step of preparing a preformed gear made of metal including a cylindrical main body and a tooth part having a flat tooth flank having a uniform thickness in a tooth trace direction inside of the main body; and a second step of conducting a surface treatment locally to an outside surface of the main body in order to deform the outside surface of the main body in such a manner that the same becomes concave, so that a crowning bulging in the tooth trace direction is formed on the tooth flank of the tooth part.
US08006384B2
A method of producing a pagewidth inkjet printhead includes forming a substrate having defined therein a nozzle chamber operable to receive and store a fluid, the chamber fed at one side by an inlet passage; forming a nozzle plate in-situ on the substrate to define a nozzle opening on an opposite side of the nozzle chamber to the inlet passage; and forming a heater element including an electrically conductive element between the nozzle opening and the inlet passage, the heater element formed such that the electrically conductive element is in direct contact with the fluid in the nozzle chamber. The heater element is cantilever supported at one end by the nozzle chamber. The electrically conductive element includes two major face, a first major face facing the nozzle opening, and a second major face facing the inlet passage, the first and second major faces both in direct contact with the fluid in the nozzle chamber.
US08006383B2
A frame and an ink-jet head including a nozzle plate and a fixed plate are placed on a first jig having a first face and a second face parallel to the first face and located outside the first face when seen in a direction perpendicular to the first face while being at a predetermined distance from the first face with respect to the direction perpendicular to the first face, in such a manner that a portion of the frame other than a portion formed with an adhesive layer is in contact with the second face, that an ink ejection face of the nozzle plate is opposed to the first face, and that both ends of the fixed plate are in contact with the adhesive layer. Thereafter, the adhesive layer is cured under a state where the ink ejection face is in contact with the first face, so that a head unit is manufactured.
US08006381B2
A method of modifying an existing casting mold for a turbine moving blade having a shroud band segment with an initial coupling geometry for coupling with a further shroud band segment, the coupling geometry having an initial coupling angle of the shroud band segment relative to a circumferential direction of the turbine, includes calculating a modified coupling geometry for the shroud band segment, the modified coupling geometry including a modified coupling angle of the shroud band segment relative to the circumferential direction. The method further includes creating at least one of a removal zone and an application zone, wherein the creating of the removal zone includes removing a first amount of casting mold material from the removal zone and wherein the creating of the application zone includes applying a second amount of an additional casting mold material to the application zone, wherein the removing and the applying steps result in the casting mold having the modified coupling angle.
US08006379B2
In a positioning apparatus, a fixed scroll engaged with a movable scroll is pressed against a housing member, and then, is stirred to an appropriate position by applying impact force to the fixed scroll in this state. Thus, the stirring of the fixed scroll terminates in the state that the fixed scroll is pressed against the housing member.
US08006377B2
The present invention has for its object to provide a multilayer printed circuit board which is very satisfactory in facture toughness, dielectric constant, adhesion and processability, among other characteristics. The present invention is directed to a multilayer printed circuit board comprising a substrate board, a resin insulating layer formed on said board and a conductor circuit constructed on said resin insulating layer, wherein said resin insulating layer comprises a polyolefin resin.
US08006376B2
The method for assembly of an LED lighting device comprising an LED module and a reflective and/or refractive optical unit and provided particularly as a reading or seat light for use in a vehicle such as, e.g., an airplane, a train or a bus, comprises the following steps: providing an LED module (12) comprising at least one LED (22), providing a reflective and/or refractive optical unit (14) for illuminating a measuring plane by use of electromagnetic radiation from the LED module (12) and with the aid of said optical unit, arranging the optical unit (14) and the LED module (12) for later fixation to each other, driving the LED module (12) to cause it to emit electromagnetic radiation for illuminating a measuring plane, detecting at least a part of the electromagnetic radiation of the LED module (12) that is incident on the measuring plane, by use of a detector (18), moving the LED module (12) relative to the optical unit (14) and/or the optical unit (14) relative to the LED module (12) along the optical axis (16), until the detector (18) detects electromagnetic radiation of the LED module (12) of a presettable intensity, and fixing the optical unit (14) and the LED module (12) relative to each other in their current relative positions.
US08006372B2
A multi-use tool for assembly of electrical connectors includes a main tool body having an electrical connector assembly holder. The holder includes first and second cavities. The first cavity includes spaced anvils and removably retains an electrical connector end cap between the anvils. A cutting ram is opposed to the first cavity and includes two cutting blades that are translatable between disengaged and engaged positions to trim and sever excess wire lengths from the electrical connector end cap. The second cavity removably retains the electrical connector end cap and a jack housing. A termination ram is opposed to the second cavity and movably mounted between disengaged and engaged positions to terminate the jack housing with the end cap. A trigger mechanism is operably connected to both the cutting ram and the termination ram.
US08006366B1
This invention pertains to a method for preparing simulated bamboo from metal tubing that includes the following steps: (1) preparing a plurality of short segments of metal tubing; (2) creating a tapered wide opening on one end of each segment of metal tubing; (3) cutting an acute angle on the tapered wide opening; (4) longitudinally aligning two segments together by inserting the straight end of one segment into the tapered end of the second segment; (5) applying a flux to the joint of said segments; (6) joining the two short segments together; and, (7) grinding the outer surface of the joint to create a smooth surface. When the metal tubing is made of copper, or steel with copper-based metallic paint applied thereto, an oxidizing agent may be applied to the joint and the outer surfaces of the two short segments to product a circular black line around the joint and a green, brown color surface that simulates bamboo. When the metal tubing is made of steel, the segments are welded together. Paint is then applied to the outer surfaces or to the joint to simulate bamboo.
US08006365B2
A tacker for applying a rotary tack, including a drive shaft coupled to a trigger, wherein operating the trigger causes rotation of the drive shaft, an articulated applicator arm pivotally connected to the drive shaft at a pivot, the articulated applicator arm including a rotatable output shaft connected to a magazine that holds a rotary tack, and a clutch mechanism which, at initial movement of the trigger, has a first orientation that causes the articulated applicator arm to pivot about the pivot until reaching a stop, and has a second orientation wherein upon continued movement of the trigger, the clutch mechanism permits the drive shaft to rotate the output shaft and cause application of the rotary tack from the magazine.
US08006364B2
A method and apparatus for removing the lowest workpiece from a stack of a plurality of substantially similar workpieces. A horizontal shuttle has a lip on its edge, and is driven in one direction to remove the lip from a void beneath the stack, thereby permitting the stack to fall. The lowest workpiece drops into the void, and the next higher workpiece rests on the upper surface of the shuttle lip. The shuttle is subsequently reversed to drive the workpiece into a slot in a vertical clamp body. The clamp body is driven downwardly, thereby driving the workpiece downwardly, to be acted upon by a secondary device, such as a conventional degating apparatus.
US08006348B2
A hinge wing includes a cup intended for being fixed in a hole of a furniture component. The wing is provided with a pair of expandable teeth arranged on opposite sides of the cup. The teeth are fixed on an eccentric lever of the wing, by rotating which the teeth are moved in an opposite direction to the direction of insertion of the cup into the respective receiving hole. The wing includes for each tooth a cam that, upon rotation of the eccentric lever, causes the respective tooth to expand against a side wall of the receiving hole of the cup to fix the cup to the furniture component. Each cam is formed with a cam element of yieldable material interposed between a side wall of the cup and the respective tooth.
US08006344B2
A suction nozzle hanging apparatus for use in a vacuum cleaner that can hang and store a suction nozzle assembly having a suction nozzle on a cleaner body. The suction nozzle hanging apparatus includes a fixing part formed on a suction nozzle assembly, the suction nozzle assembly having a suction nozzle and an extended tube connected to the suction nozzle, and a counter fixing part formed on a cleaner body and joining with the fixing part to support the suction nozzle assembly on the cleaner body, wherein the fixing part is disposed to be rotatable on a longitudinal axis of the joining connector.
US08006342B2
A toothbrush with a handle having a base, a body, and a head. The body having a first section and a second section forming an oblique angle. A projector of a beam of light located within the handle. The toothbrush having at least one bristle attached to the head. The toothbrush having a grip attached to the base. A method of using a toothbrush including the step of gripping the toothbrush. The method further including the step of engaging the projector of a beam of light. The method still further including the step of utilizing the toothbrush while the projector of a light beam is activated.
US08006338B2
A repositionable loading dock pit seal panel comprising: (a) a repositionable pit seal panel including a substantially incompressible height and width sized to substantially span an entire vertical dimension and substantially span an entire widthwise dimension of a loading dock pit to substantially close off a cross-sectional area of the loading dock pit when the repositionable pit seal panel is in a barrier position, where the repositionable pit seal panel is repositionably mounted to at least one of an overhead door, a surface partially defining the loading dock pit, and a surface adjacent to the loading dock pit, where the repositionable pit seal panel is repositionable between the barrier position inhibiting horizontal use of a vertically stored dock leveler and a storage position allowing horizontal use of the vertically stored dock leveler, where the repositionable pit seal panel in the barrier position cooperates with the overhead door to close off a loading dock opening defined by a loading dock doorway and the cross-sectional area of the loading dock pit, and where the width of the repositionable pit seal panel is less than a width of a bottom section of the overhead door.
US08006336B1
An in-home method for treating a fabric article in need of treatment and a new to the world, in-home, self-contained, stand alone fabric article treating apparatus, such as a “cabinet”-type of apparatus, useful in such method is provided.
US08006333B2
A patient support apparatus includes a support surface, with at least one fluid bladder, a base wall, and a cradle, and a fluid delivery system configured to deliver fluid to the bladder. The cradle is formed from a compressible material and is supported by the base wall, with the bladder being anchored at the base wall.
US08006326B2
Foldable and portable playard assemblies with a storage compartment and methods of use thereof are disclosed. An example playard includes a lower frame having a collapsed position and an erected position and an upper frame having a collapsed position and an erected position. The example playard further includes a handle coupled to the lower frame, wherein movement of the handle from a generally horizontal position to a generally upright position causes the lower frame to move between the collapsed position and the erected position.
US08006319B2
A device for breast self-examination worn over the fingers of a user's hand, comprising an operative portion with an outside shell, an inside liner, and a lubricant contained therebetween, and a barrier adhering the outside shell to the inside liner and acting to seal the lubricant within. The operative portion is sized to substantially restrict access to just the pads of the distal and middle regions of the four fingers, preventing the non-recommended use of the thumb and palm during the inspection process, due to their limited sensitivity. The operative portion is designed to allow the recommended substantial lateral displacement of the inside layer relative to the outside shell that remains in substantially immobile contact with an area of skin. The novel design substantially prevents incorrect use thereby increasing the detection effectiveness.
US08011011B2
A data processing apparatus for processing and protecting data stored in a removable storage medium, including a medium monitoring unit configured to monitor the state of the removable storage medium, an information storage unit configured to store information, and a controller configured to move the data from the removable storage medium to the information storage unit in accordance with the monitoring result of the medium monitoring unit.
US08011010B2
Methods and systems for scanning a virtual machine image. The virtual machine image may be stored as a collection of one or more virtual hard disk files. The virtual machine image may be stored by taking the virtual machine off-line or may be stored by taking a checkpoint of the virtual machine while the virtual machine is on-line. The virtual machine image is rendered to file-system data. Rendering the virtual machine image to file-system data may comprise mounting the virtual machine image's virtual hard disk drives. An anti-malware engine is invoked to scan the exposed file-system data, and data indicative of the scanning may be stored.
US08011006B2
An access controller controls access to control target resources by a program. The access controller includes a function access detection unit and a resource access control unit. The function access detection unit detects loading of a control target function from the program and generates identification information to specify an access request issued from the detected control target function. The resource access control unit obtains a request of accessing the control target resources from the program and determines permission of the access request based on the identification information.
US08011001B2
A security management method in a mobile communication system supporting Proxy Mobile Internet Protocol (IP). In the security management method, a Mobile Node (MN), a Serving Packet Data Service Node (S-PDSN), and an Authentication, Authorization and Accounting (AAA) server generate a security key of the Proxy Mobile IP. Upon receipt of information for authentication of a security key from the MN, the S-PDSN sends an access request message to the AAA server and receives information for verification of the security key. The S-PDSN sends a first message for requesting verification of the security-related key to a Home Agent (HA). The HA verifies the security-related key through the AAA server and sends a second message to the S-PDSN when the security-related key is verified. The S-PDSN sends a message indicating initiation of the Proxy Mobile IP, to the MN.
US08010994B2
Apparatus, and an associated method, for selectably providing access to a communication device connected to a network access port in a communication network. When a communication device is connected at the access port, its connection is detected by a detector. A determiner determines whether the communication device is 802.1x capable. If the device is non-802.1x capable, the device is assigned to a selected, non-secure VLAN by way of which to communicate.
US08010990B2
A computer system having a plurality of virtual machines is provided. Each virtual machine in the computer system has an associated policy (rules) database and database (policy table) for storing rules and a database lookup associated with the policy database. One policy database/database lookup pair per virtual machine allows each virtual machine to have a different set of packet processing rules and security policies for handling the same key. In addition, the policy database associated with one virtual machine may be updated and the database lookup associated with the policy database re-generated independently without requiring any update of the policy database lookups associated with any of the other policy databases in the computer system.
US08010989B2
Systems and methods for establishing a security-related mode of operation for computing devices. A security-related mode of operation is established through security mode configuration data. The security mode configuration data specifies the proper security mode or modes for operation of the computing devices.
US08010979B2
An interactive television program guide is provided. Program guide display elements are arranged and styled using markup language documents. These markup language documents may also indicate and select program guide functions. The program guide interprets the markup language documents and generates the display screens and program guide functionality without user intervention. The program guide may also be updated by supplying new markup language documents that modify display screens and program guide functionality. The markup language documents may be supplied by a main facility or a television distribution facility.
US08010978B2
Method and apparatus for providing personalized advertisements in internet protocol TV (IPTV) system
Provided are an apparatus and method for providing an advertisement service personalized for each user or for each group. The personalized advertisement providing method includes: a personalized advertisement providing method which is used in an Internet Protocol Television (IPTV) System, including: receiving at least one broadcasting program of a plurality of broadcasting programs classified according to a plurality of channels; and determining whether a present time is an advertisement broadcasting time, transmitting a received broadcasting program to a plurality of user terminals which selects a channel on which the broadcasting program is provided if the present time is not an advertisement broadcasting time, dividing the plurality of user terminals into a plurality of groups and transmitting an advertisement classified for each group to one or more user terminals belonging to the group if the present time is an advertisement broadcasting time. Therefore, it is possible to enhance use efficiency of bandwidths, to reduce restrictions related to installation, etc. of an apparatus for providing advertisement services, and to reduce the number of apparatuses that have to be installed, resulting in reduction of costs.
US08010975B2
A disc cartridge accommodating a photon mode optical information recording medium is provided with a disc case having an opening section, and a shutter movably disposed between a closing position to close the opening section and an opening position to open the opening section. The disc case includes a light path bending portion for bending a clearance between the shutter at the closing position and the disc case at least at two points. Stray light propagating in the clearance between the disc case and the shutter is bent at least at two points.
US08010969B2
A technique to monitor software thread performance and update software that issues or uses the thread(s) to reduce performance-inhibiting events. At least one embodiment of the invention uses hardware and/or software timers or counters to monitor various events associated with executing user-level threads and report these events back to a user-level software program, which can use the information to avoid or at least reduce performance-inhibiting events associated with the user-level threads.
US08010968B2
A computer implemented method/system of creating and managing one or more interceptors. The method comprises the steps of intrinsically chaining the interceptors, and storing state information, in at least one of the chained interceptors, directed to a reference to the next interceptor. A server computer in a client-sever environment that includes a processor configured to generate one or more interceptors and to intrinsically chain the interceptors, and a memory associated with at least one of the chained interceptors and configured to store state information directed to a reference to the next interceptor thereof. The method/system, in various embodiments, includes dissimilar interceptors, callbacks, and flyweight pattern weighting.
US08010967B2
A computer implemented method/system of creating and managing one or more interceptors. The method comprises the steps of intrinsically chaining the interceptors, and storing state information, in at least one of the chained interceptors, directed to a reference to the next interceptor. A server computer in a client-sever environment that includes a processor configured to generate one or more interceptors and to intrinsically chain the interceptors, and a memory associated with at least one of the chained interceptors and configured to store state information directed to a reference to the next interceptor thereof. The method/system, in various embodiments, includes dissimilar interceptors, callbacks, and flyweight pattern weighting.
US08010961B1
The inventions relate generally to layered computing systems that provide public access to the content of the layers. Also disclosed herein are prioritization schemes usable in a layered computing system, including prioritization by layer type, by assigned priority weights, by access type, by sub-layers and by read-write indicators. Processes may further be associated to layers from which they originate, and priority given to associated layers thereby. Association may also be provided for installer services, thereby depositing an applications updates into its layer. Layers may also contain file reference information including exclusion or inclusion entries indicating what files may be written thereto. Paths recorded in layers may also embed variables to true paths on a layered system. Detailed information on various example embodiments of the inventions are provided in the Detailed Description below, and the inventions are defined by the appended claims.
US08010960B2
A method includes initiating an installation of software on a device or a removal of software from the device. The installation or removal of the software involves a plurality of installers capable of installing software components on or removing the software components from the device. The method also includes presenting a status panel associated with the installation or removal of the software to a user. The status panel identifies a plurality of operations associated with the installation or removal of the software and a status of each of the operations. The plurality of operations is associated with at least two different installers. The status panel includes at least one indicator that repeatedly changes to indicate that the installation or removal of the software is progressing.
US08010958B2
The object is to provide a data processing apparatus, a program managing apparatus, a program managing system, etc., capable of securely and efficiently updating and managing a control program in the data processing apparatus. The data processing apparatus analyzes received data and when program updating data sent from a superior rank apparatus is acquired, temporarily stores program data for updating out of such data in a storage device. Upon occurrence of an event of a program updating request, the data processing apparatus executes updating processing based on the updating program data stored in the storage device and, after completion of the program updating, gives a notice of updating completion to the superior rank apparatus and again waits for the event. Timing of the program updating request is set later than that of the program updating data being sent from the superior rank apparatus.
US08010956B1
It has been discovered that a control transfer table can be structured to reduce the overhead resulting from its use (e.g., misses from accessing the control transfer table). Entries of a control transfer table (e.g., a jump table or a procedure linkage table) can be organized in accordance with their respective use frequencies, as well as other parameters. For example, entries can be organized in a manner that would group the most frequently used entries, thus facilitating their contemporaneous availability in a memory (e.g., cache). The use frequencies may be determined from profile information for a code that references the control transfer table.
US08010954B2
A computing device-implemented method includes receiving a program created by a technical computing environment, analyzing the program, generating multiple program portions based on the analysis of the program, dynamically allocating the multiple program portions to multiple software units of execution for parallel programming, receiving multiple results associated with the multiple program portions from the multiple software units of execution, and providing the multiple results or a single result to the program.
US08010952B2
Syntax and semantic validation of network commands use a command database that has been learned automatically for validation of the syntax and the semantics of command line interface commands by interpreting the network commands as the network commands are entered to identify syntax errors or semantic errors before applying the same commands on a device of interest.
US08010945B1
One embodiment of the invention includes a method for extending an object-oriented programming language to include support for a shading language vector data type. The method generally includes defining a template class for a shading language vector, defining a template class for a swizzled vector, and partially specializing the vector template class for vectors of one, two, three, and four elements. The partial specialization includes a union of instances of the vector swizzle template, where each instance represents a desired vector swizzle. In addition to defining the vector and vector swizzle data types, the templates classes may overload operators provided by the object-oriented programming language to perform operations corresponding to operations of the operators in the shading language.
US08010938B2
Computer method and apparatus for providing pattern specification especially in computer software program modeling is disclosed. The invention method and apparatus defines patterns as a meta-class in a target domain. Each pattern has one or more pattern roles. The method and apparatus defines pattern roles as meta-properties and specifies one or more constraints between pattern roles in the context of the pattern meta-class. One or more connectors are used between meta-properties to represent relationships between pattern roles. One or more associations are used for representing high level relationships between pattern roles in a manner simplifying pattern specification.
US08010931B1
A configurable logic tool that allows minimization of dynamic power within an FPGA design without changing user-entered specifications. The minimization of power may use minimized clock nets as a first order operation, and a second order operation that minimizes other factors, such as area of placement, area of clocks and/or slack.
US08010928B1
A system of automatically routing interconnect of a integrated circuit design while taking into consideration the parasitic issues of the wiring as it is created. The system will be able to select an appropriate wiring pattern so that signals meet their performance requirements.
US08010926B2
Power, routability and electromigration have become crucial issues in modern microprocessor designs. In high performance designs, clocks are the highest consumer of power. Arranging clocking components with regularity so as to minimize the capacitance on the clock nets can help reduce clock power, however, it may hurt performance due to some loss of flexibility in physically placing those components. The present invention provides techniques to optimally place clock components in a regular fashion so as to minimize clock power within a performance constraint. A rectangular grid is created and clock distribution structures are assigned to the grid intersection points. Latches are then located around the clock distribution structures to minimize an overall distance for connections between the latches and respective clock distribution structures. The horizontal and vertical pitches of the grid may be independently adjusted to achieve a more uniform spread of the clock distribution structures.
US08010923B1
A computer-implemented method of implementing a circuit design within a programmable logic device can include selecting at least one circuit element of the circuit design. The selected circuit element can be converted to a latch. A timing analysis can be performed upon the circuit design after conversion of the selected circuit element to a latch. A determination can be made as to whether the timing of the circuit design improves and the conversion of the selected circuit element to a latch can be accepted when the timing of the circuit design improves. The circuit design can be output.
US08010909B1
A method, system, and program product for creating a logical hierarchy for visualization and editing of data stored in a relational database. A plurality of data entities and relationships are first determined. A plurality of information on the structure of the relational database is maintained within a schema of control tables. A hierarchy path to impose on the relational database is defined interactively. A hierarchical visualization of data in the relational database is then presented on a user interface using the defined hierarchy path. Editing of the logical hierarchy presented on the user interface automatically edits data stored in the relational database.
US08010902B2
In general, the invention relates to a method for tracking social capital. The method includes monitoring interactions with a first shared content provider based on a first number of equity changing activities, where the interactions with the first shared content provider are associated with a user. The method further includes monitoring interactions with a second shared content provider based a second number of equity changing activities, where the interactions with the second shared content provider are associated with the user. The method further includes determining a personal equity for the user based on the interactions with the first shared content provider and the interactions with the second shared content provider and publishing the personal equity to the first shared content provider, where content contributed by the user to the first shared content provider is rated based on the personal equity.
US08010895B2
A method for correcting typing errors according to character layout positions on a keyboard which consists of depressing responsive touch panels to do character entry to correct typing errors caused by mistakenly hitting a neighboring key of a targeted character due to a swerved typing position includes at least the steps of: (1) corresponding a character; (2) calculating a swerved amount; (3) selecting a prepared character; (4) determining whether input is finished; (5) judging rules; (6) getting the prepared character; and (7) switching the character. Through this method input accuracy can be improved and input characters can be automatically amended as desired.
US08010894B2
The subject invention can track and apply user edits to a source document as a sequence of changes. The changes can be applied in a document or spatial order irrespective of temporal factors. The invention can maintain intervals that represent user operations (e.g., insertions, deletions, zero-net-length changes). As well, the invention can infer a location in the original document that corresponds to a particular operation. In accordance therewith, the invention can arrange temporally sequenced user document modifications into an order consistent with the layout of the document file encoding. This functionality of mapping re-sequenced changes into the original document data representation is one novel feature of the invention. The invention can enable portions of the source document loaded into memory on an as-needed basis whereby changes relevant to the instant portion can be made.
US08010888B2
Input to a transformation engine is produced, responsive to a client computer providing a data access service (DAS) computer with XML data for transformation, by creating a graph shell and XML store for the XML data, determining if the graph has a store; and, if so, requesting an empty TrAX result; requesting to fill the empty TrAX result using TrAX source, and requesting a store parser for events related to the XML store; while avoiding wrapping by the TrAX DAS of a graph shell with TrAX source, requesting by a TrAX source of a graph for one or more nodes, requesting by a graph from a store for one or more nodes, parsing of a buffer by a store, returning events from a store to a graph, building of a graph by the same graph, returning nodes from a graph to a TrAX source; and building events by a TrAX source.
US08010886B2
Embodiments of the invention provide a method, system, and media for intelligently presenting representations of files. The method can include determining a set of files for which information about them is to be rendered in a window of a graphical user interface even when not all of the files are the same type, conditioning a format of each representation based on a type of each file, selecting for each representation a set of file properties to be presented (the selection being based on the type of each file), and presenting the set of representations consistent with the formats and with appropriate file properties.
US08010885B2
Differential dynamic content delivery with a presenter alterable session copy of a user profile. Typical embodiments include providing a session document for a presentation, wherein the session document includes a session grammar and a session structured document; providing a session copy of a user profile including a user classification; receiving, from a presenter, a user classification instruction to change a user classification in the session copy of a user profile; changing the user classification in the session copy of a user profile in dependence upon the presenter's instruction; selecting from the session structured document a classified structural element in dependence upon a user classification in the session copy of a user profile of a user in the presentation; and presenting the selected structural element to the user.
US08010883B1
A detector includes a Viterbi module that generates a first preliminary data estimate signal and a second preliminary data estimate signal based on a received data signal. A first loop generates a first error signal based on said first preliminary data estimate signal. A second loop generates a second error signal based on the second preliminary data estimate signal.
US08010873B2
A system and method for efficient uncorrectable error detection in flash memory is described. A microcontroller including a non-volatile flash memory utilizes an Error Correction Code (ECC) having a certain error detection and correction bit strength. The user data is first processed by a hash function and hash data is stored with the user data. Then, the user data and hash data are processed by the ECC system. In detection, the hash ensures that a relatively low bit-strength ECC system did not incorrectly manipulate the user data. Such a hash integrity check provides an efficient, robust detection of incorrectly corrected user data resulting from errors beyond the correction but strength of the ECC system utilized.
US08010859B2
A system having a transmission unit transmitting an output data signal formed from output data and related error detection code and a corresponding receiving unit. The output data signal is pre-emphasized by a pre-emphasis driver in the transmission unit. The receiving unit includes an equalizer equalizing the received output data signal and an error detector analyzing the error detection code to determine whether a bit error is present in the received data. Upon successive data transmission failures either an equalization coefficient in the equalizer or a pre-emphasis coefficient in the pre-emphasis driver are changed.
US08010857B2
Scan testing of plural target electrical circuits, such as circuits 1 through N, becomes accelerated by using the scan test response data output from one circuit, such as circuit 1, as the scan test stimulus data for another circuit, such as circuit 2. After reset, a scan path captures the output response data from the reset stimulus from all circuits. A tester then shifts the captured data only the length of the first circuit's scan path while loading the first circuit's scan path with new test stimulus data. The new response data from all the circuits then is captured in the scan path. This shift and capture cycle is repeated until the first circuit is tested. The first circuit is then disabled and any remaining stimulus data is applied to the second circuit. This process is repeated until all the circuits are tested. A data retaining boundary scan cell used in the scan testing connects the output of an additional multiplexer as the input to a boundary cell. The inputs of the additional multiplexer connect to the data input and data output of the boundary cell.
US08010856B2
In a method for determining a number of possible hold time faults in a scan chain of a DUT, an environmental variable of the scan chain is set to a value believed to cause a hold time fault in the scan chain, and then a pattern is shifted through the scan chain. The pattern has a background pattern of at least n contiguous bits of a first logic state, followed by at least one bit of a second logic state, where n is a length of the scan chain. The number of possible hold time faults in the scan chain can be determined as a difference between i) a clock cycle when the at least one bit is expected to cause a transition at an output of the scan chain, and ii) a clock cycle when the at least one bit actually causes a transition at the output of the scan chain. If a value of the environmental variable at which the scan chain operates correctly can be determined, the location of one or more hold time faults can also be determined.
US08010843B2
Methods and systems for debugging a software program, such as BIOS is provided. The methods and systems make use of a debugger application executing on a host computer and configured to communicate with a debugger module executing on a target computer via serial/parallel/USB port of host computer, an adapter and the SMBus of the target computer.
US08010838B2
Disclosed is a computer implemented method, data processing system, and apparatus to respond to detection of a hardware interface error on a system bus, for example, during a concurrent maintenance operation. The service processor may receive an error on the system bus. The error identifies at least one field replaceable unit and may inhibit the suppression of clock signal to the field replaceable unit. The service processor adds an identifier of the field replaceable unit to an eligible Field Replaceable Unit (FRU) list. The service processor recursively adds at least one field replaceable unit that the field replaceable unit depends upon. The service processor suppresses the clock signal to the field replaceable unit. The service processor inhibits tagging the field replaceable unit as unusable for next initial program load.
US08010837B2
This storage system includes a first storage sub system having a first logical volume where a first data area is dynamically allocated to each prescribed area, and which stores data transmitted from a host computer in the first data area, and a second storage sub system having a second data area for backing up the first logical volume; wherein the first storage sub system includes: a first management unit for managing the status of the first data area allocated to each of the areas of the first logical volume; a transfer unit for transferring the data stored in the first data area allocated to each of the areas of the first logical volume to the second storage sub system; and a restoration unit for restoring the first logical volume based on the status of the first data area managed by the first management unit and/or the data transferred from the second storage sub system.
US08010836B2
When failure occurs in a virtualization apparatus in storage network circumstances in which the virtualization apparatus is operated, a storage management server judges volume position information, cache configuration information and pair configuration information which are configuration information of the virtualization apparatus and external storage collectively to decide candidates of recovery methods of volume and candidates of recovery methods of data in the volume, so that construction of a physical volume and a pair and recovery of data are performed and an access path is then changed to the recovered physical primary volume. Consequently, change to the system configuration in which operation is performed without passing through the virtualization apparatus can be made in a short time and continuous operation can be attained.
US08010834B2
According to an aspect of the embodiment, an area control unit refers to usage information of an area management table based on a determined type of an extracted failure information, determines whether the extracted failure information can be stored in a identified lower storage areas, determines a storage location for the extracted failure information in the identified lower storage areas when the extracted failure information can be stored in the identified lower storage areas, and determines a storage location for the extracted failure information in the upper storage areas other than an upper storage area including the identified lower storage areas based on the area management table when the extracted failure information cannot be stored in the identified lower storage areas.
US08010826B2
Reconfigurable circuits, methods, and systems with reconfigurable interconnect devices, clusters of reconfigurable logic devices, and a programming interface configured to receive configuration data to configure a first combination of the reconfigurable interconnect and logic devices to implement a circuit, and to remap a portion of the received configuration data, corresponding to a defective cluster, from the defective cluster to another non-defective cluster of the plurality of clusters to configure a second combination of the reconfigurable interconnect and logic devices to implement the circuit.
US08010825B2
A jitter reduction circuit includes a signal line transmitting a first signal and having a plurality of sections, and a plurality of delay lines transmitting a second signal and provided in one-to-one correspondence to the sections of the signal line, wherein the plurality of delay lines is configured such that a delay of the second signal on a given one of the delay lines is set to a first delay in response to a first level of the first signal in a corresponding one of the sections, and is set to a second delay in response to a second level of the first signal in the corresponding one of the sections.
US08010820B1
An access point coupled to an Ethernet port detects whether it is using power over Ethernet, and if so, adjusts its operation to maintain its power requirements within those capable of being supplied by power over Ethernet. The access point might include a detector capable of determining if external power is available, or if that access point is operating using power over Ethernet. If the access point is operating using power over Ethernet, it adjusts the operation of its radios, gracefully degrading those radios from (first) both radios operating in 3x3 mode, to (second) a first radio operating in 3x3 mode and a second radio operating in 2x2 mode, to (third) both radios operating in 2x2 mode. The power adaptation circuit may also throttle clock speeds in the system (processor or peripherals), or shut down or idle various peripherals to lower power consumption for the duration consumption is high.
US08010807B2
A method and apparatus for preventing unauthorized access to information temporarily stored in memory, such as a hard disk drive, associated with a digital document processor, such as a digital copier, printer, or facsimile machine. This invention includes storing information to memory, conducting an operation on the information, and automatically overwriting the information one or more times with a bit mask. Bit masks may be non-random or random sequences of binary values.
US08010803B2
A system and method for determining export requirements for a content file may include examining a content file to identify content used by or included in the content file that is subject to export control, determining, in response to the identified content, export requirements that are applicable to the content file, and providing an indication of the determined export requirements.
US08010793B2
A data communication method for forwarding a session control message designating a destination server with an IP address to the destination server via a session management server, wherein, when an application program or encrypted communication software on a client issues a connection request designating a destination server with an IP address, the client or the session management server automatically converts the IP address into a desired resource identifier identifiable a domain, thereby to determine the domain to which the received connection request message should be forwarded.
US08010791B2
A database system for encryption and protection of confidential data is provided. The database system includes a data source system receiving confidential data and first associated data. A secure data network interface system is connected to the data source system over an open network, the data network interface system receives the confidential data and the first associated data from the data source system and further comprises a secure data storage system coupled to the data network interface system and isolated from the open network, a data encryption system generating a unique encrypted identifier for the confidential data, and a data association system associating the confidential data with the unique encrypted identifier and storing the confidential data, the first associated data and the unique encrypted identifier in the secure data storage system.
US08010786B1
A system for providing interoperability between PKI networks is provided in which a identity management server converts PKI requests received in a client-specific format into a generic format, identifies an appropriate certificate authority for handling the request, converts the request into a format specific to the format used by the identified certificate authority, and forwards the request to the identified certificate authority for processing.
US08010778B2
Apparatus and methods for negotiating a capability in establishing a peer-to-peer communication link
Apparatus and method to negotiate parameters of a policy in establishment of a peer-to-peer link are described herein. In an embodiment, a security policy is negotiated in establishment of a peer-to-peer link in a wireless mesh network.
US08010764B2
A method and system for decreasing power consumption in memory arrays having usage-driven power management provides decreased power consumption in the memory array of a processing system. Per-page usage information is gathered on memory by a memory controller and periodically evaluated by software. The software distinguishes between more frequently accessed pages and less frequently accessed pages by analyzing the gathered usage information and periodically migrates physical memory pages in order to group less frequently accessed pages and more frequently access pages in separately power-managed memory ranks. When used in conjunction with a usage-driven power management mechanism, the ranks containing the less frequently accessed pages can enter deeper power-saving states and/or any power-saving state for longer periods. Operation may be further enhanced by using packed allocation in the memory ranks containing the less-frequently accessed pages and scattered allocation in the memory ranks having more frequently accessed pages.
US08010762B2
The invention relates to a system and method for controlling implementation of a command to a NAND memory device. The method comprises: monitoring an input/output (I/O) bus connected to the NAND memory device for an assertion of a write command for the NAND memory device. Upon detection of the write command, the method evaluates a destination address associated with the write command. If the destination address is not a restricted address for the NAND memory device, then the method allows the write command to modify the contents; and if the destination address is a restricted address for the NAND memory device, then the method prevents assertion of the write command on the contents.
US08010758B1
Various methods and systems for synchronizing replicas using a single change map are disclosed. One method involves detecting a write to a first region of a volume, while synchronization of the volume with a replica volume is ongoing. If the first region is unsynchronized with respect to a corresponding region of the replica volume, replication of the write is inhibited. Otherwise, the write is replicated. Writes for which replication is inhibited will be applied to the replica volume at a later time as part of the ongoing synchronization.
US08010750B2
A network on chip (‘NOC’) including integrated processor (‘IP’) blocks, routers, memory communications controllers, and network interface controller, wherein the memory communications controller configured to execute a memory access instruction and configured to determine a state of a cache line addressed by the memory access instruction, the state of the cache line being one of shared, exclusive, or invalid; the memory communications controller configured to broadcast an invalidate command to a plurality of IP blocks of the NOC if the state of the cache line is shared; and the memory communications controller configured to transmit an invalidate command only to an IP block that controls a cache where the cache line is stored if the state of the cache line is exclusive.
US08010747B2
Embodiments of the present invention provide methods and systems for efficiently tracking evicted or non-resident pages. For each non-resident page, a first hash value is generated from the page's metadata, such as the page's mapping and offset parameters. This first hash value is then used as an index to point one of a plurality of circular buffers. Each circular buffer comprises an entry for a clock pointer and entries that uniquely represent non-resident pages. The clock pointer points to the next page that is suitable for replacement and moves through the circular buffer as pages are evicted. In some embodiments, the entries that uniquely represent non-resident pages are a hash value that is generated from the page's inode data.
US08010743B2
A method and system of automatic redundant array of independent disks (RAID) volume generation based on an application type is disclosed. In one embodiment, a method for selecting a RAID level includes receiving setup data of an application type and a number of volumes for generating the RAID, assigning a level of the RAID in response to the application type and generating the number of volumes for the level of the RAID. The method may also include mapping the number of volumes to a host of the RAID, scanning the volumes for data written to the volumes and read from the volumes and evaluating the data to determine an appropriateness of the level of the RAID for the application type. Further, the method may include automatically migrating to another RAID level for the application if the level of the RAID is inappropriate.
US08010742B2
Techniques for optimizing hard disk drive performance. According to one embodiment, a storage system includes a storage unit that stores data and a controller. The controller receives an idle mode indication and performs at least one operation based on the idle mode indication. According to another embodiment, a host system includes a processor and a scheduler that is operative to issues commands. The processor computes the idle mode indication, and the processor sends the idle mode indication to the storage system.
US08010731B2
In one embodiment, the present invention includes an apparatus having an adapter to communicate according to a personal computer (PC) protocol and a second protocol. A first interface coupled to the adapter is to perform address translation and ordering of transactions received from upstream of the adapter. The first interface is coupled in turn to heterogeneous resources, each of which includes an intellectual property (IP) core and a shim, where the shim is to implement a header of the PC protocol for the IP core to enable its incorporation into the apparatus without modification. Other embodiments are described and claimed.
US08010703B2
A method for providing data conversion services is disclosed for a distributed processing system. The distributed processing system identifies and utilizes the capabilities of distributed devices connected together through a wide variety of communication systems and networks and utilize those capabilities to organize, manage and distribute project workloads to the distributed devices.
US08010701B2
Methods and systems for automatically customizing applications for a particular user within virtual workspaces are provided. An Application Workspace System “AWS” is provided which enables users to access remote server-based applications (e.g., thin client applications, terminal server applications, applications on hosted operating systems, etc.) using the same interface that they use to access local applications, without needing to know where the application is being accessed. The AWS automatically determines which applications the user is entitled to use, and then figures out automatically, based upon a variety of parameters, which applications are to be made available to the user (resolved to version, particular package etc.), and whether they are to be installed locally, or accessed remotely. Script objects are retrieved and executed to automatically customize installed applications for a particular user in response to events associated, for example, with a state of the local computing device.
US08010699B2
There is disclosed a method for accelerating network communications. The method may be implemented on a server computer or other computing device. The method may exist as a software program and may be stored on a storage medium. The method may include receiving a request, forwarding the request to a server, receiving a response from the server, and reviewing the response to determine whether the response includes a native expiration. When the response does not include the native expiration, a calculated expiration for the response may be computed. The calculated expiration may be inserted into the response creating an amended response. The amended response may be forwarded to the client. When the response includes the native expiration, the response may be forwarded to the client. The amended response may be stored and provided to other requesters.
US08010697B2
Transmitting data from a source to a destination, includes receiving the data from the source and providing the data to the destination using a network, where the data is acknowledged to the source as being successfully received at the destination prior to all of the data being provided to the network. The source may be a primary storage device. The destination may be a secondary storage device. The data may be provided from the source in a first format and may be provided to the network in a second format that is different from the first format where the first format may be RDF and the second format may be TCP/IP or UDP. The destination may receive the data in a first format different from a second format used to transmit the data over the network. The first format may be RDF and the second format may be TCP/IP or UDP.
US08010689B2
A system and method for locational tagging in a capture system are described. Metadata associated with a captured object includes: information about a location in storage of an object and that objects association to a particular user; and/or tiered location information.
US08010672B2
Methods and systems for controlling utilization of resources(s) of contention by a plurality of devices of a single or multiple priority classes. A utilization scaling factor is determined for each class for the resource(s) and compared with a threshold value. An apersistence property pattern is then created for each class that includes apersistence property entries corresponding to apersistence update cycles of an apersistence pattern window. Where the scaling factor is in a first range corresponding to low resource loading, the class pattern includes unimpeded entries allowing the devices in a class to attempt to utilize the resource. Otherwise, the class pattern is created with at least one blocking entry that prevents all devices in a class from attempting utilization of the resource during the corresponding apersistence update cycle. An apersistence property pattern entry is then provided from the pattern to the devices in each apersistence update cycle of the apersistence pattern window.
US08010663B2
A computationally implemented method includes, but is not limited to acquiring subjective user state data including data indicating incidence of at least a first subjective user state associated with a first user and data indicating incidence of at least a second subjective user state associated with a second user; acquiring objective occurrence data including data indicating incidence of at least a first objective occurrence and data indicating incidence of at least a second objective occurrence; and correlating the subjective user state data with the objective occurrence data. In addition to the foregoing, other method aspects are described in the claims, drawings, and text forming a part of the present disclosure.
US08010662B2
A computationally implemented method includes, but is not limited to: acquiring objective occurrence data including data indicating occurrence of at least one objective occurrence; soliciting, in response to the acquisition of the objective occurrence data, subjective user state data including data indicating occurrence of at least one subjective user state associated with a user; acquiring the subjective user state data and correlating the subjective user state data with the objective occurrence data. In addition to the foregoing, other method aspects are described in the claims, drawings, and text forming a part of the present disclosure.
US08010657B2
Systems and methods are provided to track viral marketing. The resulting user interfaces can include a map that tracks propagation via a node tree or a geographic map that shows where media was viewed. The information may also be displayed as a cumulative or absolute tracking graph, which is based on various parameters, such as number of views, number of transmissions, rewards earned, etc. The systems and methods can track viral propagation through, e.g., email, social networking service or site messages or postings, and instant messages. Data used by the invention include URLs as received from a media transmission page form, the URLs pertaining to both the propagator and the recipient, time stamps at which the media was propagated and viewed, and so on.
US08010653B2
An apparatus and method for testing a ubiquitous service or a ubiquitous device using a uniform object model are provided. Because a virtual ubiquitous environment is constructed with devices, services, users, layouts, and the like, physical construction of the ubiquitous environment to test services or devices is not needed. Therefore, the effectiveness of the ubiquitous device or service can be confirmed without requiring a ubiquitous environment to be physically constructed. Additionally, time or cost of constructing a ubiquitous environment can be reduced. Because a variety of environments can be easily constructed through the test of devices or services, the performances of the devices or services can also be improved.
US08010651B2
Techniques are described for managing execution of programs on multiple computing systems, such as based at least in part of user-specified constraints. For example, constraints related to execution of a program may be based on a desired relative location of a host computing system to execute a copy of the program with respect to an indicated target (e.g., computing systems executing other copies of the program or copies of another indicated program), on particular geographic locations, and/or on factors not based on location (e.g., cost of use of a particular computing system, capabilities available from a particular computing system, etc.). Some or all of the multiple computing systems may be part of a program execution service for executing multiple programs on behalf of multiple users, and each may provide multiple virtual machines that are each capable of executing one or more programs for one or more users.
US08010649B2
In one embodiment, a network-bound request for a multi-media file is intercepted to determine whether the file is located locally on a user computer. If the file is located on the user computer, it is retrieved. If the file is unavailable locally, the file is retrieved from a network-accessible location. In another embodiment, a file locator is configured to intercept network-bound requests for multi-media files and determine whether the files are available locally using a list that includes local file directories where files may be stored. When a user retrieves a file from a network and saves it in a directory, if the list does not include the directory, the list is updated to include the directory. If the file locator cannot find the file locally, the user is prompted to select a directory where the file is stored, and the list updated to include the directory.
US08010648B2
Replica placement in a network of nodes is provided. Nodes are selected for replica placement to satisfy location-based preferences. Additionally, nodes are selected for replica placement to spread replicas of the same data over different fault domains and upgrade domains. In some instances, nodes may be selected for replica placement based on load-based information for the nodes.
US08010641B2
A method couples online and Internet services. Previously, personalized services in particular (e-mail etc.) are only available from Internet service providers via the telecommunications network and RAS/RADIUS access and not via the public Internet. Now the ISP is equipped with an open Internet application platform (OIA) coupled so that the ISP customer can take advantage of an extended range of services compared to usual Internet customers, even during access via the Internet. The method permits e-mails to be re-directed from the ISP server with a known address to the OIA platform, in such a way that the customer can use these services world-wide via the public Internet using any terminal via any network. One example is the use of a T-Online e-mail account from the fixed network and mobile telecommunications network, from home, at work and while travelling via foreign telephone networks and local and foreign company networks/LAN access.
US08010638B2
A method and apparatus updates software data for an interface unit that interfaces a portable audio/video player with another audio/video system. When the portable audio/video players are updated by adding new features, etc., the method and apparatus enables the users to obtain the corresponding update file for the interface unit in the same manner that the user obtains the music file. Thus, the user can easily and quickly obtain the update file for updating the interface unit and store it in the portable audio/video player in the same manner as the music files. For executing the update operation, the user selects the update file from the play list and starts playing the update file on the portable audio/video player while connecting it to the interface unit.
US08010635B2
A method for configuring a thin client connected to a communications network includes the thin client sending a request for a network address to an address server. The address server sends an assigned network address back to the thin client together with a location of a configuration server. The thin client sends a request for configuration information to the configuration server. The request for configuration information includes information on the thin client. The configuration server generates a configuration file containing configuration information based on the received thin client information. The configuration file is then sent by the configuration server to the thin client, which uses the configuration file for configuration.
US08010629B2
The system and methods disclosed herein, according to one or more embodiments, utilize locally stored resources in a secure manner within a network-based application, while allowing locally stored resources to be shared over a network. In one embodiment, a system and method for facilitating information transactions over a network include communicating with a user device and one or more distribution channels via the network, installing a local network server on the user device, monitoring user drop events, generating resource mapping of media resources based on the user drop events, and uploading media resources.
US08010621B2
A system for enabling a user to wirelessly download desired information in the form of a offline website without having to maintain a live Internet connection. Information is delivered from an active or passive source to a device via short-range wireless communication. This information is automatically interpreted by the device to form an offline version of a full-scale Internet website. The user may view the offline version of the website, and if additional information is desired, download or upload additional information at a time more convenient to maintain a live Internet connection.
US08010613B2
The present invention provides various simple and easy ways for each end user to manage the thread in a way that suits them. In some cases, the user experience requires only a single click. Additional embodiments allow user to manage inbox space, recover suppressed threads, be alerted on contextual changes of such threads, and so forth. The system allows the user to specifically configure his/her own email thread management scheme by selecting an email and choosing “Suppress Thread” on his/her user interface. The system then performs a number of steps such as examining the
US08010608B2
The subject invention provides a system and/or a method that facilitates enhancing an adapter utilizing a locking mechanism between a receive location and a process. An interface component can receive a message related to a receive location that is an endpoint. A lock component binds the receive location to the process such that the process exclusively receives the messages from the endpoint at a single instance in real time. Moreover, the lock component can provide a replacement/switching technique, wherein a process that participates in a locking relationship can be switched with another process based at least in part upon the health of the process.
US08010604B2
A method of enabling conferencing using encoded forms is provided in which a computer system receives indicating data from a sensing device used to interact with a first form, determines conference information, and outputs a second form. The first form has first tags and an identity associated with a form description in the computer system. Each first tag encodes data on the identity and the location of that tag on the first form, which is included in the indicating data. The computer system determines the conference information from the indicating data and form description. The second form is output with second tags, the conference information and a hierarchical tree of form versions. The computer system produces the hierarchical tree by associating the second form identity with the form description. Each second tag encodes data on the second form identity and the location of that tag on the second form.
US08010599B2
A method, system and graphical user interface for dynamically updating transmission characteristics in a web mail reply are described. In one embodiment of the invention, a graphical user interface includes a web mail reply form that includes: one or more address fields; an input area for inputting a reply message; and a plurality of response options selectable by a user. In response to selection of a response option by a user, one or more of the address fields in the reply form are changed while maintaining the reply message in the input area.
US08010598B2
A relay server is connected to a LAN and communicable with a relay server of another LAN. The relay server includes an account information registering unit arranged to store account information including information of a client terminal connected to the same LAN; a relay group information registering unit arranged to store relay group information including information of a group of relay servers permitting connection with one another; a shared resource information registering unit arranged to store shared resource information including information of a resource and information of the client terminals sharing the resource; a relay processing unit arranged to, when accepting from the client terminal stored in the account information registering unit operation instruction on a resource operable by a client terminal connected to another LAN based on the shared resource information, relay the operation of the resource based on the relay group information; and a resource information providing unit arranged to, when accepting an access based on a predetermined protocol from an external client terminal, convert the shared resource information to a format of the predetermined protocol and providing the information to the external client terminal, the external client terminal other than the client terminal stored in the account information registering unit being registerable in the shared resource information registering unit.
US08010593B2
The present invention provides an adaptive integrated circuit. The various embodiments include a plurality of heterogeneous computational elements coupled to an interconnection network. The plurality of heterogeneous computational elements include corresponding computational elements having fixed and differing architectures, such as fixed architectures for different functions such as memory, addition, multiplication, complex multiplication, subtraction, configuration, reconfiguration, control, input, output, and field programmability. In response to configuration information, the interconnection network is operative in real time to configure and reconfigure the plurality of heterogeneous computational elements for a plurality of different functional modes, including linear algorithmic operations, non-linear algorithmic operations, finite state machine operations, memory operations, and bit-level manipulations.
US08010579B2
A media diary or media management application implemented in a digital device that incorporates a bookmarking and/or annotating mechanism for providing graphical enhancement to media files, calendar events and time periods displayed in the media management application. In addition, the bookmarking and annotation mechanism provides for text notes to be associated with the media files, calendar event or time period and for the text note to be accessible through the bookmark or annotation.
US08010571B2
A method, system and program product are disclosed for enabling a user to construct a conceptual hierarchical framework representing a virtual or physical environment. The framework may then be populated with a collection of items. Users may graphically and intuitively view and manipulate various subsets of the environment's space as well as items placed within the modeled environment.
US08010567B2
A method, system, and computer program product for using a federated ontology as an index to enterprise knowledge are provided. The method includes receiving a request for the enterprise knowledge, mapping the request to a concept within the federated ontology, and searching the federated ontology for the concept to identify one or more data sources holding the enterprise knowledge. The method further includes retrieving the enterprise knowledge from the identified one or more data sources as search result data, and returning the search result data.
US08010563B2
The presentation of information in HTML files is desirably enhanced by the use of one or more separate scripting Javascript™ files, referenced from the HTML file, which uses information presented as variables in the HTML file. In this manner, a high degree of formatting flexibility can be achieved, while reducing the likelihood of errors in the HTML pages, improving ease of site maintenance, and standardizing the “look and feel” of the site. Improvements in the network bandwidth required to browse sites organized in this manner can also be achieved in favorable instances.
US08010560B2
Logical abduction is used to derive the premises that support an access query. In a logic-based access-control system, a query, as to one or more principals' right to access one or more resources, is a statement that can be either true or false. The statement evaluates to true if the principal is allowed to access the resource under the existing set of assertions. Assertions that, if made, would cause the statement to be true can be abduced from the query and from the policy against which the truth of the query is to be judged. The abduced assertions can be used to assist in making the appropriate assertions to cause the query to evaluate to true so that access to the resource can be granted.
US08010559B2
A transactional file system wherein multiple file system operations may be performed as a transaction. An application specifies that file system-related operations are to be handled as a transaction, and the application is given a file handle associated with a transaction context. For file system requests associated with a transaction context, a file system component manages operations consistent with transactional behavior. Transactions over a network are facilitated. Remote files may be accessed within a transaction via a redirector protocol. A redirector on a client computer system communicates with an agent on a server computer system to relay and maintain transactional information on both systems.
US08010553B2
A method of extracting knowledge from a knowledge archival and recollection system, comprising the steps of: recognizing a user actuation; initiating a search application; displaying a user search interface; receiving input parameters via the search interface; identifying a query type based on the received input parameters; formulating a database query based on the received input parameters; transmitting the database query to a database; obtaining database query results from the database; providing the database query results to a result analyzer module; and displaying search result analyzer module results to a user.
US08010541B2
Novel methods and systems for the privacy preserving mining of string data with the use of simple template based models. Such template based models are effective in practice, and preserve important statistical characteristics of the strings such as intra-record distances. Discussed herein is the condensation model for anonymization of string data. Summary statistics are created for groups of strings, and use these statistics are used to generate pseudo-strings. It will be seen that the aggregate behavior of a new set of strings maintains key characteristics such as composition, the order of the intra-string distances, and the accuracy of data mining algorithms such as classification. The preservation of intra-string distances is a key goal in many string and biological applications which are deeply dependent upon the computation of such distances, while it can be shown that the accuracy of applications such as classification are not affected by the anonymization process.
US08010540B2
A computer program product and computer system for in-place sorting sequences of binary bits stored contiguously in an array within a memory device of the computer system prior to sorting. Each sequence includes contiguous fields of bits. The algorithm is executed by a processor of the computer system. The in-place sorting executes program code at each node of a linked execution structure. Each node includes a segment of the array. The program code is executed in a hierarchical sequence with respect to the nodes. Executing program code at each node includes: dividing the segment of the node into groups of sequences based on a mask field having a mask width, wherein each group has a unique mask value of the mask field; and in-place rearranging the sequences in the segment, wherein the rearranging results in each group including only those sequences having the unique mask value of the group.
US08010534B2
Techniques for grouping related objects such as documents and files using quantum clustering are disclosed. A method may include constructing a feature-object database of multiple objects. The feature-object database may have quantized selected features as keys. A connected objects database maybe built. Clusters of connected objects may be identified in the connected objects database. The clusters of identified objects may be evaluated to determine groups of related objects. The method may be implemented on a computing device.
US08010530B2
Mechanisms for representing multiple locales in metadata models are provided. The mechanisms comprise a locale repository for storing locale information used to display multilingual metadata, and a display module for displaying the metadata model. The locale repository has locale references for representing locales, and multiple values of locale sensitive objects in a metadata model for representing locale values of the objects.
US08010525B1
Methods, systems, and computer program products feature determining a plurality of search result items responsive to a search query. A plurality of search modes are identified based on the query or the plurality of search result items or both. Each search mode is associated with a respective collection of records. The plurality of search result items are provided to a user with an indication of each search mode in the plurality of search modes. User input selecting a first search mode is received, where the first search mode is one of the plurality of search modes. One or more mode-specific search result items are determined based on the search query, where each mode-specific search result item is from the collection of records that is associated with the first search mode. The one or more mode-specific search result items are provided to the user.
US08010524B2
Consumer-generated media (CGM) and/or other media are monitored to allow an organization to become aware of, and respond to, issues that may affect how it is perceived by the public. An extract, transform, load (ETL) engine is used to process CGM and other media content, and an analytical engine utilizes a multi-step progressive filtering approach to identify those documents that are most relevant. The filtering approach includes executing broad queries to extract relevant content from different CGM and other sources, extracting text snippets from the relevant content and performing de-duplication, defining organizational identity (e.g., brand name, trade name, or company name) and hot-topic models using a rule-based and statistical-based approach, and using the models together in an orthogonal filtering approach to effectively generate alerts and reports. The methodology is found to be substantially more effective compared to a conventional keyword based approach.
US08010515B2
Systems and/or methods that enable an electronic form to provide data external to the electronic form in response to a query while offline with respect to a data source from which the data originated are described. These systems and methods may also, in one embodiment, receive data from a data source that is capable of being inaccessible and associate that data with an electronic form, a user, and a query. These systems and methods may, in another embodiment, provide data in response to a query made by a user to an electronic form that was previously associated with the electronic form, the user, and the query.
US08010507B2
A set of versions of a file, with one chosen as baseline version, is displayed as a single flow of material where all agree with the baseline and in separate difference columns where they do not. A current version may be edited either directly or by adoption of material from different versions, which may be toggled in and out of visibility. Sequential undo (step-wise or by a slider) can be localized to chosen subsets of the current version, and any chosen subset can be restored as a unit to an earlier state.
US08010502B2
To recover deleted files in a data store, candidate blocks of the data store may be identified and, for each of the candidate blocks, a probability that the candidate block contains a directory entry may be determined. Directory entry metadata for candidate blocks that have a determined probability that is greater than a predetermined probability threshold may then be extracted.
US08010500B2
A website image capturing method includes the steps of: receiving at least one network address from a predetermined website information management system; accessing a website corresponding to the received at least one network address and determining whether a predetermined webpage error occurs in the website; generating image information through a capturing operation with respect to the website, when the webpage error does not occur in the website; generating predetermined access result information in association with the generation of the image information; and transmitting the access result information to the website information management system.
US08010499B2
Embodiments of the present invention allow the results of a query to an operational datastore to be augmented with relevant data that may be stored in a staging area datastore. Upon receiving a query to the operational datastore, it is determined whether data relevant to the query is present in the staging area datastore. If relevant data is present, such data may be transformed, transferred and combined with data in the operational datastore. The query is then run against the combined data and the results displayed to the user.
US08010494B2
Embodiments of the invention provide systems and methods for maintaining audit records for a database or other resource. According to one embodiment, a method for maintaining audit records for a database can comprise detecting an operation involving at least one record of the database. An audit record can be generated for the operation and the audit record can be stored in an audit table in the database. Insert operations and select operations for the audit table can be supported but other operations for the audit table can be prohibited. Additionally or alternatively, creation of more than one audit table having a same name and schema can be prevented.
US08010488B2
An information distribution system is provided with a plurality of information processing devices that are capable of communication with each other via a network, and that store shared information so that the information can be shared by the plurality of information processing devices. The shared information is shared information that has a public release time that is before the current time.
US08010476B2
A method for predicting survival rates of medical patients includes providing a set D of survival data for a plurality of medical patients, providing a regression model having an associated parameter vector β, providing an example x0 of a medical patient whose survival probability is to be classified, calculating a parameter vector {circumflex over (β)} that maximizes a log-likelihood function of β over the set of survival data, l(β|D), wherein the log likelihood l(β|D) is a strictly concave function of β and is a function of the scalar xβ, calculating a weight w0 for example x0, calculating an updated parameter vector β* that maximizes a function l(β|D∪{(y0,x0,w0)}), wherein data points (y0,x0,w0) augment set D, calculating a fair log likelihood ratio λf from {circumflex over (β)} and β* using λf=λ(β*|x0)+sign(λ({circumflex over (β)}|x0)){l({circumflex over (β)}|D)−l(β*|D)}, and mapping the fair log likelihood ratio λf to a fair price y0f, wherein said fair price is a probability that class label y0 for example x0 has a value of 1.
US08010471B2
A “Classifier Trainer” trains a combination classifier for detecting specific objects in signals (e.g., faces in images, words in speech, patterns in signals, etc.). In one embodiment “multiple instance pruning” (MIP) is introduced for training weak classifiers or “features” of the combination classifier. Specifically, a trained combination classifier and associated final threshold for setting false positive/negative operating points are combined with learned intermediate rejection thresholds to construct the combination classifier. Rejection thresholds are learned using a pruning process which ensures that objects detected by the original combination classifier are also detected by the combination classifier, thereby guaranteeing the same detection rate on the training set after pruning. The only parameter required throughout training is a target detection rate for the final cascade system. In additional embodiments, combination classifiers are trained using various combinations of weight trimming, bootstrapping, and a weak classifier termed a “fat stump” classifier.
US08010467B2
An active element machine is a new kind of computing machine. When implemented in hardware, the Active element machine can execute multiple instructions simultaneously, because every one of its computing elements is active. This greatly enhances the computing speed. By executing a meta program whose instructions change the connections in a dynamic Active element machine, the Active element machine can perform tasks that digital computers are unable to compute.
US08010462B2
A last mile delivery system (LAMIS system) for delivery of parcels to recipients includes Automatic Delivery Machines (ADMs) that are located in public places. Each ADM has a local computer and data and communication network connection, and a set of cells for storing parcels, and a single access mechanism for each such set adapted to provide a recipient with access to a parcel stored in a cell while preventing access to parcels in other cells. Control centers use an ADM database with locations of the ADMs, a LAMIS server computer program for handling the data associated with the operation of the system. The control center has data and communication network connecting the LAMIS server with the local computers of the ADMs. The local computers are adapted to identify the recipient and to provide access to the parcel in the cell of the chosen ADM.
US08010453B2
A payment system for facilitating a payment transaction between a payer and a payee includes a payer access device, a payee access device, and a services hub. The services hub is configured to communicate with the payer device and the payee device; maintain information relating to a payer account and access device information associated with the payer account, the payer account being linked to the access device; generate a tracer ticket in response to a request issued by the payer using either the payer device or the payee device, the tracer ticket containing information relating to the payment transaction; validate the access devices; and authorize the payment transaction against the payer account. Upon receiving the request from the payee device for the tracer ticket, the services hub generates the tracer ticket and forwards a copy thereof to the payer via the payee device. Upon receiving the copy of the tracer ticket, the payer uses the payer device to communicate with the services hub and forward the received copy of the tracer ticket to the services hub. The services hub then validates the payer device based on the access device information.
US08010446B2
A method of providing a variable credit account to a consumer (12) is provided. The method includes the steps of: offering, by a credit issuer (14), a variable credit account to a consumer (12) by telephone, electronically, mail or at an in-store location; accepting, by the consumer (12), the offer; opening, by the credit issuer, the variable credit account (18) for the consumer (12), where the account includes an open-ended loan portion (22) and a close-ended loan portion (20). The method may further include the steps of initially activating the open-ended loan portion (22) when the initial offer is made electronically, by mail or at an in-store location; and initially activating a close-ended loan portion (20) of the account when the initial offer is made at any point-of-sale. A system and apparatus for providing a variable credit account to a consumer (12) is also discussed.
US08010445B1
One system for forming a consolidated commercial paper issue includes: a plurality of borrowers, with each borrower having a short-term borrowing need; a credit rating agency operable to determine a credit rating for each borrower; a consolidator operable to aggregate the short-term borrowing needs of at least two borrowers into a consolidated commercial paper issue; and a communication network operable to transmit communications between one or more of the credit rating agency, the consolidator, and at least one of the borrowers. One method of forming a consolidated commercial paper issue includes: identifying a plurality of borrowers, with each borrower having a short-term borrowing need; determining a credit rating for each borrower; and aggregating the short-term borrowing needs of at least two borrowers into a consolidated commercial paper issue.
US08010444B2
Techniques and systems for settling over-the-counter financial instruments includes sampling over a periodic interval are disclosed. A volume weighted average price of the sampled process may be calculated and forward points may be applied to the volume weighted average priced to determine an associated spot exchange rate. Such a synthetic spot FX exchange rate may be published to subscribers. Over-the-counter financial instruments may establish delivery obligations according to the spot exchange rate. In the event where a number of transactions during the sampling period is less than a threshold, a midpoint of bids and asks associated with orders for the exchange traded financial instrument may be used to determine an average of the midpoint, to which the forward points may be applied to determine the spot exchange rate. Alternatively, the time-weighted average of the bid and ask orders during a periodic interval may be used in computing the volume-weighted average price.
US08010441B2
A method of and system for terminating or assigning outstanding OTC derivative transactions between a plurality of financial institutions (banks). The system comprises: a processing station arranged to receive transaction data describing a plurality of transactions from a plurality of banks via the Internet. The processing station comprises: a linking module for linking different versions of the same transaction received from different parties to that transaction; an analysis module for determining a set of linked transactions between a plurality of different banks, wherein each bank has debts and claims towards other banks in the set; a calculation module arranged to calculate an aggregated value of each set of linked transactions and select the set of linked transactions which has an aggregated value within bank-specified tolerance limits acceptable for executing a termination; and an execution module for executing a termination or assignment of the selected set of linked transactions.
US08010439B1
Disclosed are systems and methods for processing financial information such that securities backed by tax-exempt bonds may be issued. In one embodiment, the method includes establishing a senior class of securities, such that the senior class of securities includes a guarantee feature; establishing a junior class of securities, such that the junior class of securities serves as collateral for the senior class of securities; and issuing the senior and junior classes of securities, such that the junior and senior classes of securities are backed by assets of a single trust.
US08010434B2
Methods and apparatus, including computer program products, for multiple client/user and capital market funded participating interest in qualifying trust. Methods include establishing a legal trust that holds assets and issues obligations that grant participation rights in its assets. The legal trust can be a legal qualifying trust. The legal qualifying trust can grant participation rights to multiple beneficiaries or participants.
US08010423B2
An opportunity server searches for potential vehicle repair transaction providers by receiving a signal from a mobile system indicating a need for a transaction with a business entity responsive to an on-board diagnostic detection of a real-time fault condition resulting in recording of a Diagnostic Trouble Code; automatically issuing requests for bids for the transaction to provider parties located in a first potential geographic point for repair service indicating estimated times of arrival at each geographic point; receiving offers from the provider parties; automatically coalescing the offers by screening to meet user preferences, and modifying and organizing into a format for uniform presentation to a user; presenting the coalesced offers to an operator of the mobile system; and automatically performing enterprise resource planning for a user-selected business transaction.
US08010420B2
A package processing system is disclosed for a distribution facility. The package processing system includes a reader and a controller. The reader is configured to automatically identify vendor labels on each package of a shipment of packages, each such vendor label being one of a plurality of label types and including a package identifier code representative of the corresponding package. The reader is configured to select a vendor label for each package from identified vendor labels based on label type. The controller is configured to receive distribution instructions based on electronic shipment data representative of the shipment and each package of the shipment and on inventory and to assign a routing code for each package based on a comparison of the package identifier code of the corresponding selected label with electronic shipment data and distribution instructions. Each package is distributed within the distribution facility based on the corresponding routing code.
US08010418B1
A system for identifying and managing social circles is provided that includes a data store and instructions. The data store stores a social circle that lists individuals. The social circle members are identified by monitoring individuals that a customer communicates with via the customer's mobile device. The data store further maintains recommendations and purchase histories associated with the individuals of the social circle. When instructions are executed by a processor, the processor promotes managing the individuals of the social circle, searching for businesses and products, and retrieving recommendations and purchase histories from the data store that are associated with the searched businesses and products.
US08010414B2
A method of effecting a purchasing transaction includes providing a printed form having printed thereon coded data distributed over an area; capturing an image of the form using a sensing device, the captured image showing a portion of the coded data; decoding at least some of the coded data within the captured image; determining from the coded data an identity of the form, a position of the coded data on the form, and a parameter of the purchasing transaction; determining a position of the sensing device relative to the form from a distortion of the captured image and the determined position of the coded data; compiling the identify of the form, the position of the sensing device, and the parameter of the purchasing transaction as indicating data; receiving in a computer system the indicating data; and identifying, in the computer system and from the indicating data, at least one parameter relating to a purchasing transaction.
US08010413B2
The invention describes a novel integrated data-system, a personal device for the system, and methods for operating the system. The invention produces means and technology for providing quantitative information about products. A key function of the system is to provide information about product-based emissions, such as carbon dioxide emissions.
US08010412B2
A networked commercial interaction management method assembles information into bundles that include a data element reference and meta data describing the data element. The method distributes the meta data and the data element reference from the bundles through the network, and distributes copies of the data elements in the bundles from the network node of their respective data owners to the network nodes of accessors using the meta data and the data element reference distributed through the network. In at least one embodiment, the method periodically issues bundle version identifying signals to different nodes of the network. The bundle version identifying signals indicate changes to the data elements to the network nodes of accessors.
US08010408B2
A method and system for packetized advertising carried out with machine readable and decodable information indicia, where the packetized advertisements are formed by associating any combination of a plurality of products and services with the information indicia. In response to a device capturing an image of the information indicia a universal resource locator (URL) is generated. The URL generates a webpage with a series of URL that correspond to the plurality of products and services that are associated with the captured information indicia.
US08010406B2
A computer-implemented method includes receiving item data at a network-based computer system, the item data related to an item categorized in at least a first category of a plurality of categories supported by the network-based computer system and including an item price-based value associated with the item. A category-specific threshold price-based value, for the first category of the plurality of categories supported by the network-based computer system, is automatically determined. The item data is automatically determined to the irregular, based on the item price-based value associated with the item and the category-specific threshold price-based value for the first category of the plurality of categories supported by the network-based computer system. Responsive to the determination that the item data is irregular, an entity associated with the item is restricted from using the network-based computer system.
US08010401B1
A method of gathering research associated with a product that includes distributing the product in a market resulting in a distributed product, wherein the distributed product that includes a first test group identified based on a selection key, enabling a first test feature in the first test group, gathering usage data associated with the first test feature from the first test group, and evaluating the first test feature based on the usage data to obtain a test result.
US08010382B2
Certain embodiments provide systems and methods for self-updating procedure duration estimation for patient scheduling. A scheduling system for scheduling procedures in a clinical environment includes historical procedure data including stored duration values for a procedure. The scheduling system also includes a user interface providing scheduling and procedure duration information to a user for scheduling the procedure for a patient. The scheduling system further includes a scheduling engine estimating one or more duration values for the procedure for scheduling the procedure for a patient. The scheduling engine establishes a default duration value for a procedure and updating the default duration value based on the historical procedure duration data. The scheduling engine provides a plurality of procedure durations including the updated default duration value to the user for selection via the user interface. The scheduling engine schedules a procedure using a user selected value for procedure duration.
US08010380B2
A system includes a Healthcare Advisory System (HAS) module and a server. The HAS module may send user location information to the server. Based on user information and environment information stored on the server, an alert may be generated and sent to a user via the HAS module.
US08010371B2
Systems and methods are provided for ultra-low latency compression. In accordance with one implementation, a method is provided that includes formatting, by a processor, an input audio signal into a plurality of overlapping time-domain blocks, transforming, by a processor, each time-domain block to a transform domain block comprising a plurality of coefficients, and partitioning the coefficients of each transform domain block into signal coefficients and residue coefficients. The method also includes quantizing the signal coefficients for each transform domain block and generating signal quantization indices indicative of such quantization, modeling the residue coefficients for each transform domain block as stochastic noise and generating residue quantization indices indicative of such quantization, and formatting the signal quantization indices and the residue quantization indices for each transform domain block as an output bit stream.
US08010369B2
A system, method and computer-readable medium for controlling devices connected to a network. The method includes receiving an utterance from a user for remotely controlling a device in a network; converting the received utterance to text using an automatic speech recognition module; accessing a user profile in the network that governs access to a plurality of devices on the network and identifiers which control a conversion of the text to a device specific control language; identifying based on the text a device to be controlled; converting at least a portion of the text to the device control language; and transmitting the device control language to the identified device, wherein the identified device implements a function based on the transmitted device control language.
US08010360B2
A system and method is provided for reducing latency for automatic speech recognition. In one embodiment, intermediate results produced by multiple search passes are used to update a display of transcribed text.
US08010358B2
Methods and apparatus for voice recognition are disclosed. A voice signal is obtained and two or more voice recognition analyses are performed on the voice signal. Each voice recognition analysis uses a filter bank defined by a different maximum frequency and a different minimum frequency and wherein each voice recognition analysis produces a recognition probability ri of recognition of one or more speech units, whereby there are two or more recognition probabilities ri. The maximum frequency and the minimum frequency may be adjusted every time speech is windowed and analyzed. A final recognition probability Pf is determined based on the two or more recognition probabilities ri.
US08010354B2
A noise cancellation system with improved performance for canceling from an input signal of a microphone a noise component relating to reproduced sound of an audio system reproducing multiple channels of sound, provided with an audio canceller for acquiring audio signals of two channels and processing them by filter coefficients by convolutional processing so as to produce noise cancellation signals at adaptive filters, an adder for adding the input signal of the microphone and the noise cancellation signals, canceling the noise component from the input signal, and outputting the signal after noise cancellation, nonlinear converters for nonlinear conversion of the signal after noise cancellation, and filter learning units for calculating the filter coefficients to be set next based on the nonlinear converted signal.
US08010351B2
A speech coding method of significantly reducing error propagation due to voice packet loss, while still greatly profiting from a pitch prediction or Long-Term Prediction (LTP), is achieved by limiting or reducing a pitch gain only for the first subframe or the first two subframes within a speech frame. The method is used for a speech class decided by a classification algorithm; the classification algorithm is designed, depending on at least one pitch cycle length compared to one subframe size. Speech coding quality loss due to the pitch gain reduction is compensated by increasing a coded excitation codebook size or adding one more stage of excitation only for the first subframe or the first two subframes within the speech frame.
US08010343B2
A method and system for addressing disambiguation issues in interactive applications by creating a disambiguation system for generating complex grammars that includes homonym detection and grouping, and provides optimization feedback that eliminates time-consuming and repetitive iterative steps during the grammar generation portion of the interactive application configuration.
US08010340B2
A method, system, and computer program product for national language support. National language support for an application is provided by recording translations of a text string in corresponding different languages in a single property file so as to allow display of the translations in the property file. One of the translations of the text string recorded in the property file is selected for use by an application based on a locale associated with the execution of the application and the selected one of the translations is used in the execution of the application.
US08010327B2
One of a plurality of description elements for a scenario is attached to a composite asset. The composite asset comprises one or more data sets. Each data set is associated with a simulation. And, a simulation asset is generated for a scenario based at least in part on the composite asset.
US08010315B2
An inspection method is provided and includes acquiring at least one inspection data set. Each inspection data set comprises inspection data for a component. The inspection method further includes mapping the inspection data set onto a three-dimensional (3D) model of the component, to generate a 3D inspection model for the component, and validating the inspection data against the 3D model of the component using at least one validation criterion. A multi-modality inspection method is also provided and includes acquiring multiple inspection data sets corresponding to multiple inspection modalities for a component and fusing the inspection data sets to form a fused data set. The multi-modality inspection method further includes mapping the fused data set onto a 3D model of the component to generate a 3D multi-modality inspection model for the component.
US08010308B1
A method of navigation includes providing an angular rate sensor and a direction-of-gravity reference. The method also includes determining bias error of the angular rate sensor about a vertical axis based on data substantially from the angular rate sensor and from the direction-of-gravity reference. In one embodiment, the first angular rate sensor is moved from a first position around a substantially horizontal axis to a second position around the substantially horizontal axis. The first angular rate sensor provides angular rate data for attitude at the first position and for compass heading at the second position. Data from the first angular rate sensor and from the direction-of-gravity reference is processed with a program for determining a bias error correction for the first angular rate sensor while the first angular rate sensor is in the first position. Bias error correction determined while the first angular rate sensor is in the first position is used to correct angular rate of the first angular rate sensor while the first angular rate sensor is in the second position.
US08010307B2
A method and system for controlling an overlay shift on an integrated circuit is disclosed. The method and system comprises utilizing a scanning electron microscope (SEM) to measure the overlay shift between a first mask and a second mask of the circuit after a second mask and comparing the overlay shift to information about the integrated circuit in a database. The method and system includes providing a control mechanism to analyze the overlay shift and feed forward to the fabrication process before a third mask for error correction. A system and method in accordance with the present invention advantageously utilizes a scanning electron microscope (SEM) image overlay measurement after the fabrication process such as etching and chemical mechanical polishing (CMP).
US08010296B2
The present invention provides a device and method for removing non-discriminatory indices of an indexed dataset using ensemble statistics analysis. The device may include a data removal module (320) for removing non-discriminatory indices. For example, the data removal module (320) may comprise a common characteristic removal module and/or a noise removal module. In addition, the data analyzer (300) may comprise a normalization means (310) for normalizing the indexed data. The method of the present invention comprises the steps of identifying and removing portions of the set of data having insufficient discriminatory power based on ensemble statistics of the set of indexed data. For example, the method may include the steps of identifying and removing common characteristics and/or noise portions of the set of indexed data. In addition, the method may comprise the step of normalizing the indexed data either prior to or after the step of removing portions of the set of data.
US08010284B2
Wireless coverage data are associated with a geographic database that contains data that represent a road network in a geographic region. The wireless coverage data indicate areas within the geographic region in which navigation-related services or data from a navigation services provider are available wirelessly, or conversely, areas within the geographic region in which navigation-related services or data from a navigation services provider are not available wirelessly. An end user obtains the wireless coverage data. The wireless coverage data are used to indicate to the end user areas in which navigation-related services or data from the navigation services provider are available wirelessly or areas in which navigation-related services or data from the navigation services provider are not available wirelessly. The wireless coverage data may also be used to warn the end user when he/she is leaving an area in which navigation-related services or data from the navigation services provider are available wirelessly. Data for uncovered areas can be downloaded to an end user's computing platform while the end user is still within an area in which navigation-related data from the navigation services provider are available wirelessly.
US08010282B2
A system, comprising a first computing device receiving data from an input feed, the data corresponding to one of operations data and revenue data of an airport facility, the first computing device organizing the data into files which are viewable by users of the system and an additional computing device connected via a communication network to the first computing device, receiving the files organized by the first computing device and displaying the files to a user.
US08010277B2
A fuel injection controller (incorporated in an engine control ECU) for controlling an injection operation of an injector has a program for executing injections in plural injection patterns including an injection pattern of a multiple injection in a certain order into a certain cylinder of the engine during non-injection operation and a program for obtaining sums of fluctuation degrees of an engine operating condition due to all the injections in a first injection unit composed of one (single stage injection) of the plural patterns and all the injections in a second injection unit composed of a different one (multiple injection of two stages) of the plural patterns which are executed by the former program, with an injection condition (cylinder number and data number N).
US08010271B2
A brake control device for an electric vehicle includes an instruction controller, a pattern generator, and comparators. The instruction controller generates an instruction signal for instructing a motor about electric brake force. The pattern generator generates a first pattern signal for changing over electric brake force to machine brake force and a second pattern signal obtained by shifting the first pattern signal by a predetermined frequency. One of the comparators outputs, as an electric-brake force pattern, smaller one of the instruction signal and the first pattern signal. The other of the comparators outputs, as a notification signal, a signal output when the second pattern signal becomes equal to or smaller than the instruction signal.
US08010253B2
A method of stabilizing a vehicle combination including a towing vehicle and a trailer, includes determining at least one vehicle state variable describing the state of the vehicle from a comparison with an assigned nominal value. A correcting variable is produced, which is supplied to an actuator in the vehicle. The correcting variable acts upon a steering actuator in order to adjust the wheel steering angle.
US08010247B2
An engine and an electric machine are operative to communicate tractive power with a transmission device to control output power to an output member. The electric machine is electrically coupled to an energy storage device. A method for controlling the engine and electric machine includes monitoring an operator request for power, monitoring a state of charge of the energy storage device, determining an operating cost for each of a plurality of candidate engine operating points based on the operator request for power and the state of charge of the energy storage device; and operating the engine at the candidate engine operating point having a preferred operating cost.
US08010240B2
A method and system for electricity consumption profile management for electrical devices, is provided. One implementation involves receiving an energy consumption control command at a consumer site including on or more electrical devices connected to an energy distribution network; determining energy consumption adjustment including determining an energy consumption adjustment for at least one of the electrical devices based on the energy consumption control command; and transmitting an energy consumption adjustment message to said at least one of the electrical devices, commanding the electrical device to adjust its electrical energy consumption accordingly.
US08010239B2
The present invention relates generally to a partial discharge counter for the diagnosis of a GIS. The partial discharge counter includes a partial discharge detection sensor for detecting a partial discharge. A first surge inflow prevention circuit separates a surge signal from an output terminal of the partial discharge detection sensor. A channel 1 frequency conversion module forms a low-frequency signal. A noise detection sensor detects noise. A second surge inflow prevention circuit separates a surge signal from an output terminal of the noise detection sensor. A channel 2 frequency conversion module forms a low-frequency signal. An ADC circuit generates partial discharge data and noise data. A synchronization device enables the partial discharge data and the noise data to be output in synchronization with frequency of the phase voltage. A digital signal processing unit counts a number of times the partial discharge occurs. Counting units display a count value.
US08010234B2
A live handle switch in the form of a hand operated safety switch for an industrial robot or a machine is described. The live handle comprises a safety certified switch for operating a robot or other machine safely while under manual control. The live handle switch may be comprised in a portable robot controller of the TPU Teach Pendant Unit type. Such a TPU may comprise control means for moving a robot in three or more degrees of freedom. In other aspects of the invention a system comprising a robot and a control unit and the live handle switch are described.
US08010232B2
A technique to wholly recognize the surrounding environment may be provided by excluding unknown environment which arises due to parts of a body of a robot hindering the sight of the robot during operations.The robot of the present invention is provided with a body trunk including head and torso, at least one connected member that is connected to the body trunk by a joint in which a driving mechanism is provided, a body trunk side camera that is arranged on the body trunk, and a connected member side camera that is arranged on the connected member. Further, the robot is provided with a composite image creation unit that creates composite image of a body trunk side image taken by the body trunk side camera and a connected member side image taken by the connected member side camera, such that a part of the body trunk side image is replaced with a part of the connected member side image so as to exclude the connected member from the body trunk side image.
US08010227B2
A system and method are disclosed for providing geographic data to end users' mobile units from a remotely located navigation services provider so that navigation functions can be provided locally on the mobile units. The navigation services provider determines one or more map tile exit points along the route and sends the tile exit points and a set of map tiles to the mobile unit. The mobile unit calculates a route from its current position to the farthest map tile exit point for which map tile data has been received from the navigations services provider.
US08010226B2
A method for conforming components may include a measuring operation and a modifying operation. The method may comprise measuring a first component using a conforming tool that includes a measuring member, and recording position data for the first component based on the measuring. A path for the conforming tool may be provided using the position data, and a second component may be modified with a modifying member by moving the same conforming tool based on the provided path. The measuring member may include a sleeve configured so as to surround the modifying member when measuring, and to be removed from the modifying member so as to allow the modifying operation.
US08010224B2
A plasma cutting device performs cutting in a plurality of stages. In a first cutting sub-process, a manufactured product is cut out from a base material upon a stage according to an NC program. Next, images of respective regions in the vicinities of proper positions at two corner points of the manufactured product which has been cut out are photographed by an image sensor, the actual positions of these two corner points of the manufactured product are detected from these images which have been photographed, and the translation distances and the rotational angle between the actual positions which have been detected and the proper positions are calculated. The NC program is corrected. And, in a subsequent cutting sub-process, additional cutting for beveling is carried out upon cutting surfaces at the outer circumference of the manufactured product, according to the corrected NC program.
US08010221B2
A cleaning apparatus for immersion light exposure includes a cleaning apparatus main body including a mechanism configured to perform a cleaning process on the substrate, and a control section configured to control respective components of the cleaning apparatus main body. The control section is arranged to fabricate a new process recipe in response to input of a surface state of a film formed on a substrate, such that the new process recipe contains hardware conditions and/or process conditions corresponding to the surface state, with reference to relationships stored therein between parameter values representing a surface state of a film formed on a substrate and hardware conditions and/or process conditions for performing suitable cleaning for the parameter values; and to control the cleaning apparatus main body to perform a cleaning process in accordance with the new process recipe.
US08010213B2
A safety device is set forth having at least one safety control and having a plurality of outputs for the safe activation of connected actuators and having inputs for the reception of signals of connected sensors as well as having a serial communications device, in particular a bus which connects the safety control to the outputs and to the inputs, to receive and/or to transmit data packets. In this respect, in addition to the serial communication at least one bypass line is provided which connects the safety control or an input to at least one output to be able to transmit a deactivation signal independently of the serial communication to an actuator connected to the output.
US08010205B2
Embodiments of an improved implantable medical device system for orientation-independent telemetry to and from the device are disclosed. The system includes an external controller which produces an electromagnetic field to induce a current in a coil in the implantable medical device and vise versa. In a preferred embodiment, the external controller comprises three orthogonal coils, each of which is potentially activated to generate or receive the electromagnetic field. Algorithms are disclosed to allow for the choice of one or more of the coils best suited for telemetry based on the chosen coil's orientation with respect to the telemetry coil in the implantable medical device. Because all three of the orthogonal coils are potentially activated if necessary, the result is that at least one of the coils will be in a proper orientation with respect to the coil in the implantable medical device, thereby improving telemetry efficiency. The disclosed techniques may be used to improve induction-based powering or charging of the device as well.
US08010204B2
A system comprising: at least one electrode adapted to be placed on a vagus nerve below a vagal innervation of the heart; an implantable controller comprising an induction coil, at least one circuit for generating a neural conduction blocking signal connected to the at least one electrode, a battery, and a central processing unit comprising program storage and memory; and an external programmer configured to: communicate at least one parameter for the neural conduction blocking signal to the implantable controller, wherein the parameter is selected for the neural conduction blocking signal to i) at least partially downregulate the vagus nerve, ii) allow at least partial recovery of the nerve activity following discontinuation of the neural conduction blocking signal, and iii) reduce pancreatic and biliary output via inhibition of pancreo-biliary output; and an external coil adapted to be worn by the patient, wherein the external coil is connected to the external programmer, and is adapted to inductively couple to the induction coil of the implantable controller.
US08010203B2
Techniques that involve generating test stimulation programs based upon specific patient feedback to guide the programming process for stimulation therapy are described. The patient describes positive effects and adverse effects of the test stimulation by listing and/or rating specific types of effects, both positive and adverse, and the location of each effect. In this manner, a programming device, i.e. a programmer, uses the feedback to generate subsequent test stimulation programs. Initially, programs with unipolar electrode configurations are tested, but the programmer may generate bipolar electrode configurations to test if the patient rates the unipolar electrode combinations poorly. After the stimulation programs are tested and rated, the programmer sorts the tested programs based upon the feedback and presents the tested programs to the user. The user selects the best tested program to use for chronic stimulation therapy. Additionally, the patient may utilize the guided programming technique for continued therapy optimization.
US08010194B2
An exemplary method includes delivering a pace using an electrode positioned on the lateral wall of the left ventricle of a heart, sensing the pace using an electrode positioned in the right ventricle of the heart, determining a left to right directional conduction time (TLR), delivering a pace using an electrode positioned in the right ventricle of the heart, sensing the pace using an electrode positioned on the lateral wall of the left ventricle of the heart, determining a right to left directional conduction time (TRL), calculating a site-to-site offset (VVATP) for multi-site anti-tachycardia pacing based on the left to right directional conduction time and the right to left directional conduction time and instructing an implantable device to deliver multi-site anti-tachycardia pacing using the site-to-site offset (VVATP). Other exemplary methods, devices, systems, etc., are also disclosed.
US08010189B2
A method is provided including identifying that a subject has suffered a subarachnoid hemorrhage (SAH), and treating a complication of the SAH by stimulating at least one site of the subject in conjunction with treating the SAH, the site selected from the group consisting of: a sphenopalatine ganglion (SPG), a greater palatine nerve, a lesser palatine nerve, a sphenopalatine nerve, a communicating branch between a maxillary nerve and an SPG, an otic ganglion, an afferent fiber going into the otic ganglion, an efferent fiber going out of the otic ganglion, an infraorbital nerve, a vidian nerve, a greater superficial petrosal nerve, and a lesser deep petrosal nerve.
US08010186B1
A system and related methods for assisting a user approximate the location of a fibrillation driver within a heart. The system includes an electrode and a computer, which is coupled to the electrode. The electrode is configured to sense a signal emitted from a location in the heart. The computer is configured to calculate a standard deviation of cycle length value for the signal. The user can approximate the location of the fibrillation driver based on a comparison of the standard deviation of cycle length value to other standard deviation of cycle length values that previously have been calculated by the computer for signals emitted from other locations in the heart.
US08010185B2
A method for sensitively diagnosing lower urinary tract disorders, particularly interstitial cystitis, is provided. The method can visually, simply, and clearly diagnose bladder ulcer without requirement of bladder hydrodistention under anesthesia. In the method, lower urinary tract disorders are diagnosed by observing an abnormality of a blood vessel and/or a newly formed blood vessel in a surface of bladder mucous membrane among abnormalities in blood vessels and/or newly formed blood vessels by visually comparing an image of the surface of the bladder mucous membrane and an image of a deep portion of the bladder mucous membrane obtained using a bladder endoscope system having a narrow band imaging device.
US08010183B2
A detecting system of the position and the posture of a capsule medical device includes a main body of the capsule medical device that is inserted in a living body, a coil in a capsule that is arranged to the main body of the capsule medical device and forms a resonant circuit, a magnetic field generating device that is arranged around the living body and generates the Alternating magnetic field for generating an induced magnetic field in the coil in the capsule, and a plurality of magnetic field detecting devices that detect the strength of the induced magnetic field generated by the coil in the capsule by the magnetic field generated by the magnetic field generating device.
US08010178B2
A biomagnetic field measurement apparatus capable of easily bringing the sensor planes close to the head surface of the subject and capable of detecting cerebral magnetic fields of the left brain and the right brain simultaneously with a higher sensitivity is provided by disposing two independent cryostats holding SQUID fluxmeters in the mirror image relation to each other. The two cryostats move vertically and horizontally and rotate while interlocking with each other and maintaining the mirror image relation to each other. A gantry holding the cryostats has a function of suppressing vibration of the cryostats and has a gate shape.
US08010165B2
A mobile communication device comprising a transceiver module used for receiving an incoming caller number; a switch module; a power source; a keypad including a plurality of keys electronically connected to the switch module; a control module electronically connected to the transceiver module, the switch module and the keypad, the control module controlling the switch module to make the keys corresponding to the incoming caller number vibrate to prompt the incoming caller number. An incoming caller number prompt method of the mobile communication device is also provided.
US08010156B2
A microphone, transmitter, speaker, receiver, and power source, all mounted to an eyeglasses frame, for sending and receiving signals wirelessly to and from a remote cell phone or other electronic device. The microphone and the transmitter can be mounted to extension arms that can be extended, pivoted, or otherwise moved to a position for use, and then moved to a stored position when not in use. Alternatively, the microphone, transmitter, speaker, receiver, and power source, can be mounted onto a clip-on or other attachment member that mounts onto a conventional eyeglasses frame, or to a hat or other article worn on the head.
US08010145B2
When moving from a public wireless area to a local wireless area, a mobile communication terminal transmits its telephone number to a local wireless service authentication server to inquire whether the mobile communication terminal can receive a local wireless service. The local wireless service authentication server, in response to the inquiry, determines whether the telephone number of the mobile communication terminal itself is registered in a local telephone number storage unit. When the number is registered therein, a transmission power level reduction instruction signal is transmitted to the mobile communication terminal. The mobile communication terminal, in response to the reception of the signal, controls the wireless unit to reduce output level of the transmission power in a wireless unit to a level that it can be received by a local base station while it cannot be received by a public base station. This enables restricting communication that uses public wireless network.
US08010144B2
A priority indication, which is used to prescribe at least one priority with which a conference session to which the at least one participant communication terminal is to be invited is to be conducted, is added to a conference session invitation message.
US08010122B2
A method of scheduling at least one of a plurality of mobile stations for data transmission in a multi-carrier wireless communication system that includes scheduling at least one mobile station on at least one of a plurality of carriers of the multi-carrier wireless communication system based on RF measurements received from the plurality of mobile stations and a Quality of Service (QoS) of the plurality of mobile stations.
US08010113B2
A communication system including a closed loop power control system. Prior to allowing a handoff to a new base station, the subscriber station verifies that its reverse link signal is being received by the destination base station with sufficient energy. The determination is made based on the received reverse link power control commands from the base station. Moreover, a handoff may be forced when the base station providing the best forward link signal in not receiving the reverse link signal from the subscriber station with sufficient energy.
US08010106B2
Camping on a cell of a wireless network is disclosed. One or more available cells are determined for a wireless device. One or more available networks are determined based at least in part on the one or more available cells. A network is selected based at least in part on one or more network selection criteria. A cell of the selected network is selected. The selected cell is camped on, wherein camping enables receiving control channel information from the cell of the selected network. In the event that a registration condition is satisfied, the wireless device is registered on the selected network using control channel information.
US08010103B2
Embodiments of techniques to perform passive and active scanning in a wireless network are presented herein.
US08010094B2
Embodiments of the present invention comprise systems and methods for providing mobile devices having themed multimedia effects. One embodiment comprises a method in receiving a plurality of multimedia effects associated with a theme at a mobile device, receiving mobile device information comprising call log information, power source level, and signal strength associated with a wireless connection between the mobile device and a second device, detecting a mobile device event associated with the mobile device, determining a multimedia effect correlated with the mobile device event based at least in part on the mobile device information and the theme, and outputting the multimedia effect.
US08010090B2
A mobile collection application is disclosed that is capable of providing collection data to a field agent on a wireless pocket PC. A collection case inventory module is used to generate a list of collection cases on the wireless pocket PC. The field agent may view a detailed report of collection cases that are contained in the list of collection cases. A payment plan component is also provided that allows the field agent to work out a payment plan with the debtor. The mobile collection application is also capable of allowing field agents to register transient taxpayers for the purpose of collecting sales and use taxes.
US08010083B2
According to one aspect of the present invention, there is provided a method, in a communication system having a plurality of communication devices each having a first and second identifier associated therewith at the time of a connection attempt to the network, of identifying when one of the identifiers has been cloned, the connection status of the first identifier being obtainable from a network element, comprising receiving the first and second identifiers of a communication device, determining whether one of the identifiers has been cloned, the determination being made in part through information obtained from a connection history database, and in part through information obtained from the network element.
US08010080B1
A method and system for managing subscriber payments is disclosed. When a subscriber account reaches a threshold state, the subscriber may be directed to a payment platform that requests the subscriber to make a payment in order to continue using telecom service. As described, a billing system determines the subscriber's rate of usage of telecom service so far in a current billing period and then applies the determined rate of usage to predict a quantity of telecom service that the subscriber will use in the remainder of the billing period. The billing system then computes an overage charge for at least a portion of the predicted quantity of telecom service and conveys at least that overage charge to the payment platform. The payment platform then requests the subscriber to pay at least the computed overage charge, preferably as a condition to the subscriber using further telecom service.
US08010077B2
A direct conversion receiver (200) includes a low noise amplifier (LNA) (213), at least one baseband amplifier (119, 123 and 127), register banks (250 and 251) for storing a plurality of offset data corresponding to at least two LNA gain settings and a plurality of baseband gain settings, a DC offset correction system (235) for providing a DC offset signal, a state machine (275) for sequencing through each of the plurality of baseband gain settings and through enable and disable states for the LNA, and a processor (290) programmed to activate the state machine and to run the DC offset correction system.
US08010075B1
A high-order harmonics generator includes a plurality of high-pass filters to block out DC signals. In one embodiment, high-pass filters are coupled to the output signals from an envelope detector and a power detector. A high-pass filter can also be coupled to the output of a multiplier that multiplies the filtered envelope signal and the filtered power signal. Additional multipliers may also be used at outputs of multipliers in a cascaded chain of multipliers for higher harmonics generation.
US08010074B2
A balanced mixer circuit (300, 400, 500, 600, 700 and 800) in a baseband receiver (202) includes an oscillator circuit (212), a mixer (214 and 215), a digital-to-analog converter (258 and 259) and a digital signal processor (250). The mixer includes CMOS devices (301, 302, 303 and 304). In response to differential outputs from the mixer, the digital signal processor controls the digital-to-analog converter to output bias voltages for the gate of at least one of the CMOS devices of the mixer to compensate for imbalance in the differential output of the mixer that may be caused by mismatch among two or more CMOS devices of the mixer or caused by other reasons, in order to increase second order intercept point of the mixer.
US08010073B2
A power amplifier for use in a transmitter enables linear in dB output power control capability with 2 dB step sizes.
US08010070B2
A wireless diversity receiver includes, in part, N signal processing paths, a bin-wise combiner, and an inverse transformation module. Each signal processing path includes, in part, a mixer adapted to downconvert a frequency of an RF signal received by that path, an analog-to-digital converter adapted to convert the downconverted signal from an analog signal to a digital signal, and a transformation block adapted to transform the digital signal represented in time domain to an associated frequency domain signal having M subband signals. The bin-wise combiner is configured to combine the corresponding subband signals of the N paths. The inverse transformation block is configured to transform the output of the bin-wise combiner to an associated time-domain signal.
US08010062B2
A multiple frequency antenna array includes a first antenna circuit and a second antenna circuit. The first antenna circuit has a first radiation pattern and is tuned to a first carrier frequency. The first antenna circuit transmits a first representation of a radio frequency (RF) signal at the first carrier frequency, where the first carrier frequency corresponds to a carrier frequency of the RF signal and a first frequency offset. The second antenna circuit has a second radiation pattern and is tuned to a second carrier frequency. The second antenna circuit transmits a second representation of the RF signal at the second carrier frequency, where the second carrier frequency corresponds to the carrier frequency of the RF signal and a second frequency offset.
US08010061B2
Apparatus for combining at least multimedia signaling (e.g., CATV signals) and wireless network signaling for transmission over the same communication medium includes a first port for receiving a multimedia signal, a second port for receiving a wireless networking signal, and a third port being couplable to the communication medium. The apparatus is configured for generating a combined signal at the third port, the combined signal including at least a portion of the multimedia signal and at least a portion of the wireless networking signal. In this manner, wireless networking signals may be conveyed over the same communication medium as is used for multimedia signals.
US08010056B2
A wireless headphone assembly has left and right speakers attached to ends of a headphone body, and at least two antennas, e.g., one located at each speaker. Reception can be improved by selecting a “best” one of the antennas based on a quality metric.
US08010053B2
Reliability detection of channel quality indicator (CQI) and application to outer loop power control
A method for determining a channel quality in wireless communications includes receiving a high speed shared control channel (HS-SICH) transmission. An expected number of HS-SICH transmissions and a number of unsuccessful HS-SICH transmissions are counted. The number of unsuccessful HS-SICH transmissions includes a number of failed HS-SICH transmissions and a number of missed HS-SICH transmissions. The expected number of HS-SICH transmissions and the number of unsuccessful HS-SICH transmissions over a fixed time period are periodically reported, whereby the reporting is an indication of the channel quality.
US08010051B2
A multi-path simulation system (100) includes a signal generator (10) generating a signal, a power divider (24) connected to the signal generator for dividing the signal into N attenuated sub-signals, N delay lines (26) connected to the power divider delaying the N attenuated sub-signals to simulate the delays resulting from the transmission of the signal in the N paths, P switches (28) connected to the delay lines selecting the attenuated sub-signals delayed by the delay lines, thereby generating selected signals, and a signal combiner (29) connected to the switches combining the selected signals into a single signal. The delay lines are respectively represented by transmission lines disposed on a printed circuit board. A length of the transmission line controls a distance of transmission of the signal. Wherein N is an integer greater than one, and P is an integer equal to or greater than one.
US08010046B2
A wireless communication apparatus for demodulating modulated information which is transmitted from a wireless tag so as to read out the modulated information, includes: an antenna which transmits a transmission signal to the wireless tag and receives a signal transmitted from the wireless tag as a reception signal; a demodulator which demodulates the reception signal to output a demodulated signal; a signal output unit which outputs a proportional signal proportional to the transmission signal; and a controller which calculates the proportional signal and the demodulated signal to output an calculated signal, and calculates the calculated signal and the reception signal.
US08010036B2
An image forming apparatus includes: an apparatus main body that performs image forming processing to a recording sheet; a sheet receiving member provided on a top surface of the apparatus main body and provided with a sheet receiving surface; a sheet discharge port through which a recording sheet bearing thereon a formed image is discharged toward the sheet receiving surface; and a swinging mechanism that allows the sheet receiving member to swing. The swinging mechanism allows the sheet receiving member to swing for the sheet receiving surface to change a posture between a first state where the sheet receiving surface sinks on the sheet discharge port side and a second state where the sheet receiving surface on the sheet discharge port side is closer to horizontal than in the first state.
US08010022B2
A developing roller having a properly adjusted toner feed quantity comprises a shaft, an elastic layer and a surface covering layer, in which a JIS 10-point average roughness (Rz) of the surface is 4-7 μm and a specular gloss at 85° according to JIS Z8741 of the surface is 14-55.
US08010018B2
A discharger is provided, which can eliminate charge from a surface of a photoconductor. The discharger includes: a light source; and a light guide member which extends in a first direction to be opposed to the surface of the photoconductor in a second direction substantially orthogonal to the first direction. The light guide member has a plurality of holes, each defined by a hole surface. At least a portion of the hole surface is curved. The hole extends in an orthogonal direction substantially orthogonal to the first and second directions.
US08010010B2
An energy storage device that includes capacitor cells of a first type having a first internal resistance and capacitor cells of a second type having a second internal resistance which is higher than the first internal resistance. Further, there is a detection unit that detects a voltage value between two opposing ends of at least one of the capacitor cells, or a voltage detection switching unit that integrates a switch arranged between two opposing ends of at least one of the capacitor cells.
US08010007B2
A control unit controls supply of power to a plurality of heating units at predetermined control period T1 that is set by a first unit. A second unit sets power supply time t1 for a first heating unit having largest power consumption within the control period T1 and power supply time t2 for a second heating unit having second largest power consumption. A third unit controls to supply the power to the first heating unit for the power supply time t1 from beginning of the control period T1 and to supply the power to the second heating unit from a point obtained by subtracting the power supply time t2 from end of the control period T1 to the end of the control period T1.
US08010006B2
A fixing device includes: a fixing unit that irradiates light to a color material transferred to a medium at a position specified by image data, to fix the color material on the medium; and a control unit that controls irradiation of light of the fixing unit so that an energy of light irradiated to an image-forming area on the medium including an area in which the color material has been transferred at the position specified by the image data is lower than an energy of light irradiated to a non image-forming area on the medium other than the image-forming area.
US08009994B2
An economical optical network is constituted by effectively using network resources by using the minimum number of, or minimum capacity of 3R repeaters. 3R section information corresponding to topology information on the optical network to which an optical node device itself belongs is stored, and the 3R section information stored is referred so as to autonomously determine whether or not the optical node device itself is an optical node device for implementing the 3R relay when setting an optical path passing through the optical node device itself. Alternatively, when the optical node device itself is a source node, another optical node device for implementing the 3R relay among the other optical node devices through which the optical path from the optical node device itself to the destination node passes is identified, and this identified optical node device is requested to implement the 3R relay when setting an optical path in which the optical node device itself is a source node.
US08009982B2
A system and method is disclosed that allows real-time processing of child OPOI and rider service alarms from a parent OPOI which determines if one or more STS alarms are associated with a rider service, a child OPOI, or a parent OPOI. The system and method performs in real-time processing intervals required for alarm surveillance in a telecommunications network.
US08009974B2
A power transmission capable of regulating the disengagement of a nut part from a screw part, and the like are provided. The power transmission is constructed of a rotation shaft having a thread formed on a periphery thereof; a nut member capable of being opened and closed, the nut member having a thread engaged with the thread of the rotation shaft, and pinching the rotation shaft and moving as the rotation shaft is rotated; a regulating part enabling movement of the nut member by regulating opening of the nut member; and a regulation releasing part capable of releasing engagement between the nut member and the rotation shaft by opening the nut member.
US08009961B2
An electronic apparatus includes a stream data obtaining unit that obtains stream data; a file generating unit that converts the obtained stream data into a predetermined format to generate stream files; a recording unit that records the generated stream files; and an index file generating unit that generates an index file including a plurality of pieces of file information each including first link information linking to each of the stream files recorded in the recording unit. In response to an instruction to register a bookmark during the obtaining of the stream data, a bookmark information registering unit stores bookmark information regarding the bookmark in a memory, records the stream files in the recording unit, records the bookmark information in the recording unit, and records second link information linking to the bookmark information in the piece of file information for the recorded stream file associated with the bookmark.
US08009957B2
A strain relief for distributing strain along an outer surface of an optical fiber cable is disclosed. The strain relief is shaped to surround and tangentially grip the cable via friction between the outer surface of the cable and an inner surface of the strain relief. The strain relief also includes a pulling eye to protect the cable (and a connector) from pulling force (i.e. strain), water and dust. The strain relief is relatively small, low cost and easy to use.
US08009946B2
A patient monitoring system includes a plurality of diffraction gratings integrated along the length of an optical fiber, wherein the optical fiber and each grating are together configured to alter either the effective refractive index or grating periodicity of the respective grating at its corresponding location along the fiber in response to at least one desired external stimulus.
US08009934B2
When an output unit is capable of operation at a frame rate F and a resolution of x×y pixels, an imaging unit or an image input unit converts an image into an imaged frame in an internal data format having the frame rate F and a resolution of ix×jy pixels. An image converter converts the resolution of the imaged frame supplied from the imaging unit or the image input unit into a resolution that can be represented by the output unit, generating an output frame having x×y pixels. At this time, the image converter carries out predetermined resolution conversion based on a moving velocity of the image by blocks each having a predetermined size. Thus, such visual effect that an observer of the image of the output frame perceives the image at a resolution exceeding the actual resolution of the output frame is achieved.
US08009931B2
In a digital reproduction system incorporating a single pass scanner, accurate image processing results from processing a subset of grayscale image data. More specifically, scanlines that correspond to the leading edge of a document are stored and processed to detect skew and to obtain an appropriate correction. The lead edge correction is then applied to the entire grayscale image. Accordingly, the present systems and methods eliminate skew from grayscale images in real-time. The corrected image is rendered to binary and stored in electronic pre-collation memory and cropping, masking and other image editing operations can be performed on the binary image data before the image is printed.
US08009925B2
In one embodiment of the invention, the invention my concern a method including receiving digital images, each image including object pixels and non-object pixels; and filtering the non-object pixels from the object pixels. Other embodiments are described and claimed.
US08009919B2
An image display apparatus includes: an image information storage that stores image information including locations where images are captured as information corresponding to captured image data; a cluster managing section that manages the image information with hierarchical clusters including a plurality of clusters configured in a plurality of layers; a display layer designation section that designates a layer to be displayed as a display layer among from an uppermost layer through a lowermost layer in the plurality of layers; a display condition designation section that designates a display condition of the image data; a conditional filtering section that selects such image data in the display layer that the image information thereof exists within a predetermined range based on the display condition; and a drawing section that draws in the display layer, as an image location display, the image captured locations of the image data selected based on the image information.
US08009918B2
The present invention relates to a Visual Background Extractor (VIBE) consisting in a method for detecting a background in an image selected from a plurality of related images. Each one of said set of images is formed by a set of pixels, and captured by an imaging device. This background detection method comprising the steps of: establishing, for a determined pixel position in said plurality of images, a background history comprising a plurality of addresses, in such a manner as to have a sample pixel value stored in each address; comparing the pixel value corresponding to said determined pixel position in the selected image with said background history, and, if said pixel value from the selected image substantially matches at least a predetermined number of said sample pixel values: classifying said determined pixel position as belonging to the image background; and—updating said background history by replacing the sample pixel values in one randomly chosen address of said background history with said pixel value from the selected image. The method of the invention is applicable a.o. for video surveillance purposes, videogame interaction and imaging devices with embedded data processors.
US08009906B2
Mapping spectral colors in an Interim Connection Space (ICS) of a full spectral space based on a colorimetric gamut map in a color space is provided. A spectral color value in the ICS is accessed, and the spectral color value is transformed into a calorimetric color value in the color space. The calorimetric color value is mapped into mapped calorimetric color value in a first subspace of the ICS. Mapping the colorimetric color value includes gamut-mapping the calorimetric color value using the calorimetric gamut map, followed by identifying the color space with the first subspace. An intersection of a spectral gamut in the ICS and an affine subspace characterized by the mapped colorimetric color value is determined, and the spectral color value is projected onto the intersection. The first subspace is an orthogonal complement of a null space of a transformation from the ICS to the color space.
US08009900B2
A system and method for detecting an object in a high dimensional image space is disclosed. A three dimensional image of an object is received. A first classifier is trained in the marginal space of the object center location which generates a predetermined number of candidate object center locations. A second classifier is trained to identify potential object center locations and orientations from the predetermined number of candidate object center locations and maintaining a subset of the candidate object center locations. A third classifier is trained to identify potential locations, orientations and scale of the object center from the subset of the candidate object center locations. A single candidate object pose for the object is identified.
US08009896B2
A coplanarity inspection device for a printed circuit board includes a base, a supporting disk, a driver, a printed circuit board, a light source, an image acquisition means, and a controller. The supporting disk is arranged on the base, and the driver rotates the supporting disk. The printed circuit board is placed on the supporting disk, and includes a to-be measured side facing downward. The light source projects light beams on the to-be measured side of the printed circuit board. The image acquisition means aims at a specific area of the to-be measured side for image acquisition. The controller is to control the driver, and to store image taken by the image acquisition means. As such, the coplanarity inspection device for a printed circuit board can be employed to inspect whether the coplanarity of the printed circuit board satisfies the standard of setting values in a certain range.
US08009895B2
A semiconductor wafer analysis system is provided. In an embodiment, the semiconductor wafer analysis system includes a tester to test semiconductor wafers manufactured by at least one manufacturing facility, a wafer map generation module to generate wafer maps on the basis of the test results from the tester, and a wafer analysis module. The wafer analysis module may include a data generation module that divides each wafer map into a plurality of defect analysis regions and generates feature vectors representing the semiconductor wafers, and an operation module that statistically analyzes the feature vectors.
US08009891B2
Certain embodiments of the present invention provide a system for image processing including a database, an image processor, and a display. The database includes a plurality of image slices. Each image slice in the plurality of image slices is based at least in part on an object. The image processor is adapted to generate a display image. The display image includes a selected image slice rendered about perpendicular to a localizer image. The selected image slice is selected from the plurality of image slices. The display is adapted to display the display image.
US08009888B2
The present invention refers to a mobile device for measuring dynamic parameters of particles, e.g. spermatozoa, such as the translation speed and the rotational speed of particles.
US08009879B2
Disclosed herein is an object recognition device for recognition of an object that exists in an image, the device including: an edge image creator configured to create an edge image from a target image; a local feature extractor configured to extract a feature of each edge point on an edge image, and determine a base point and a support point from edge points in a local area defined for the edge image; a feature matching unit configured to implement, with reference to a memory, feature matching of a base point and a support point to thereby acquire a matching pair; and a matching pair determiner configured to determine final matching pairs by employing matching pairs having a highest matching cost among matching pairs obtained by the feature matching unit, wherein an object in a target image is identified based on matching pairs determined by the matching pair determiner.
US08009875B2
The invention aims at providing personal identification in environments where non-contact is required, with high accuracy even though using a finger vein pattern images unclear and susceptible to positional deviations, wherein it has: a means for acquiring finger vein patterns without contact; a means for carrying out rotational correction using the outline of a finger as a method of taking out a vein pattern contained in the acquired image; a means for normalizing the position of the finger image with reference to the fingertip; a means for acquiring an overall vein pattern statistically by repetitively tracking regions of dark luminance intensities for a desired length from a desired position in the image; a matching means for comparing regions where vein patterns manifest vivid features; and a means for independent matching of subregions and evaluating positional deviations where matching is recognized.
US08009872B2
Disclosed herein is a method of compensating a signal of an image of one screen for distortions in the horizontal and/or vertical directions of a screen of the image. The method includes the steps of: dividing one screen area of the image into a plurality of picture divisions; and detecting a movement vector of the image for each particular one of the picture divisions from information on a difference in image between the particular picture division on one of two screens and the particular division on the other of the two screens. The method further includes the steps of: finding a difference in the detected movement vector between any specific picture division and a picture division adjacent to the specific picture division in order to detect a velocity of a change in image distortion for the specific picture division; and compensating the image for a distortion for each of the picture divisions on the basis of a velocity detected for each of the picture divisions as the velocity of a change in image distortion.
