US08196633B2

Disclosed herein is a correction tape applicator or a transfer tape dispenser which is adapted to be used to correct markings, for example, such as characters, numerals, and the like recorded on a sheet of paper, or adhere sheets of paper to each other. According to the correction tape applicator of the present invention, a tape cartridge directly applied to the application work is completely protectively accommodated within a casing so that it can be used more stably for a long time period to improve durability to thereby achieve economic efficiency. Also, the tape cartridge can be easily disengaged from and engaged with the casing to enhance convenience of use, and an opening/closing space of a cover can be minimized to achieve miniaturization of the casing.
US08196625B1

A bead lock tire rim with a supplemental tread on the bead lock to protect the rim and the bolts. The tread extends past the edge of the rim to keep the tire from being split and the side area of the supplemental tread protects the bead lock while providing enhanced traction to the sidewall of the rim. A rim using a rounded projection to eliminate tire cutting and recessed nut locations with secure faceting is also provided for simple field repairs and long term durability.
US08196621B2

A collar for a dispensing connector and a fitment assembly are disclosed. The connector collar engages a valved fitment for a container for holding and dispensing fluid. The fitment includes a spout connected to the container and a sliding internal valve body and an external valve body securely positioned within the spout. The connector collar has a fitment end mateable with the fitment so as to compress the top edge of the external valve body so as to form a seal between the external valve body and the dispensing connector.
US08196620B2

The improved bag valve includes a flexible bag (4) made of an impermeable material with an opening that is closed by a valve (6) for filling the bag (4) with a desired product. The empty bag (4) is rolled up or folded about a longitudinal axis (X-X′) and kept in the rolled position. The bag (4) is designed so as to elongate itself when filled with the desired product.
US08196615B1

A device and method of using a liquid/air pressure testing tool to assist in testing and repairing liquid-filled agricultural tires is herein disclosed. The device provides a valving arrangement to allow alternating fluid transfer and air backfilling of a fluid-filled agricultural tire. The device utilizes quick-disconnect fittings providing quick in-line installation therebetween a fluid pump and a fluid filled tire. The device provides an inline ball valve and an isolation valve, thereby providing isolation of a pumping source and an air back-filling means, respectively. During fluid filling of a tire, the isolation valve allows monitoring of internal tire pressure using a common pressure gauge without removing the device or disconnecting any attached hoses. The device thus eliminates repeated steps when testing or repairing large fluid-filled tires as used on farm tractors and other agricultural machinery.
US08196608B2

The present invention is directed to a pressure-responsive valve assembly which functions in the nature of a check valve to control fluid flow across the assembly. The assembly includes a valve body which defines first and second internal flow passages, and includes a valve seat through which at least one flow port extends for joining the first and second passages in fluid communication with each other. A flexible, resiliently deformable valve member is positioned in operative association with the valve seat, and can be deflected, in response to a sufficient pressure differential, to move out of sealing engagement with the valve seat, to thereby permit fluid flow through the valve assembly.
US08196607B2

A subsea coupling comprises a male coupler having a probe and a female coupler comprising a socket for the reception of the probe. The couplers each include a valve which is openable on mating of the couplers to provide communication with the socket. The socket includes a recess accommodating an annular seal for providing a radial seal between the probe and the socket. In one embodiment the leading edge of the probe includes at least one relief channel for allowing the escape of hydraulic fluid entrapped between the probe, the seal and the recess when the couplers are made up. There may be a stand-off ring disposed between one end of the recess and the inner side of the seal. In another embodiment the relief channel is provided in the socket.
US08196606B2

A coupling member is disclosed which includes a valve device that is axially movable between an open position and a closed position where the valve device closes an annular valve opening defined an outer valve seat portion and an inner valve seat portion. The valve device includes an outer annular sealing member and an inner annular sealing member. The inner annular sealing member includes an annular extending portion configured such that, when the valve device approaches the closed position, the annular extending portion sealingly engages the inner valve seat portion and is elastically bent to allow the valve device advance further to the closed position so that the outer annular sealing member positively engages the outer valve seat portion.
US08196605B2

An air intake device for an engine is provided in which a bypass valve (V) is formed from a tubular valve chamber (15) having its interior opening on the upstream side of a bypass (20) and having an inner face with a metering hole (16) opening toward the downstream side of the bypass (20), and a valve body (25) that is slidably but non-rotatably fitted into the valve chamber (15) and that opens and closes the metering hole (16), wherein the valve chamber (15) and the metering hole (16) are formed in a bypass valve holder (10) provided so as to be connected to a throttle body (1), and a dividing wall (17) that divides the metering hole (16) into a plurality of small metering holes (16a, 16b) arranged in the peripheral direction of the valve chamber (15) is formed in the bypass valve holder (10) so as to be continuous with an inner peripheral face of the valve chamber (15). This can prevent any hindrance to the closing movement of the valve body of the bypass valve even when a large metering hole is employed.
US08196602B2

The Water Distribution System is specifically applicable in cold climates in which water distribution systems may be subjected to freezing during the winter months.The Water Distribution System is applicable to domestic, industrial, recreational and institutional water distribution systems including water transmission and distribution mains and service connections.The Water Distribution System has applications in specific terrain and climatic conditions such as high bedrock, high groundwater table and permafrost.The Water Distribution System may, in specific terrain and climatic conditions, use uninsulated or insulated water mains and service connections, but without heat tracing or water bleeding in any case.The Water Distribution System is applicable to single and multiple complex distribution pipe systems arranged as parallel or looped, or combination of both arrangements.The system design is simple, practical and economical when compared to conventional design of insulated and heat traced pipes or deep burry installations, or water bleeding to prevent freezing.
US08196593B2

A dishwasher including at least one cutlery basket for accommodating cutlery items in a horizontal position, wherein the at least one cutlery basket is adjustable at least in sections, and wherein the at least one cutlery basket includes a first subsection having an adjustable clearance height, and a second subsection having an adjustable clearance height.
US08196589B2

A wireless marker for localizing a target of a patient comprises a casing and a magnetic transponder at least partially received in the casing. The magnetic transponder produces a wirelessly transmitted magnetic field in response to a wirelessly transmitted excitation energy. The magnetic transponder also has a magnetic centroid. The marker also comprises an imaging element carried by the casing and/or the magnetic transponder. The imaging element has a radiographic profile in a radiographic image such that the marker has a radiographic centroid at least approximately coincident with the magnetic centroid.
US08196586B2

A draping system for use in medical procedures includes a drape portion adapted to cover a surface, such as medical equipment or a patient, and serves as a barrier to fluid and debris during medical procedures. The draping system may have a fastening portion affixed to the drape portion and adapted to secure the drape portion to medical equipment. The drape portion may form a pocket for collecting debris resulting from a medical procedure. The drape portion may have an opening therein spanned by a non-porous, elastic membrane.
US08196585B2

An air delivery system for providing a supply of air from a source of air at positive pressure to an interfacing structure located at the entrance to the airways of a patient includes a manifold adapted to connect with the supply of positive air pressure and at least one tube connected to the manifold and adapted to deliver the supply of air to the interfacing structure. Each tube is structured to allow movement between an open phase in which the tube allows the passage of air and a collapsed phase in which the tube is collapsed. Each tube is structured such that weight of a typical patient's head against bedding apparel is sufficient to collapse the tube from the open phase to the collapsed phase.
US08196582B2

An apparatus and system are disclosed to extract breathable air from snow via an air extraction backpack. The apparatus includes an air-permeable extraction assembly that is attached to a backpack. The air-permeable extraction assembly has an air intake cavity. An air-permeable membrane covers the air intake cavity. A mouthpiece is in fluid communication with the air intake cavity. The mouthpiece draws intake air through the air intake cavity upon inhalation by a user. A transfer guide passes intake air from the air-permeable extraction assembly to the mouthpiece upon inhalation by the user.
US08196579B2

A low flow heated/humidified respiratory gas delivery system, especially useful for low flow rates as preferred in the treatment of neonate and other such patients, wherein the respiratory gas is heated and humidified as desired for delivery to the patient and the temperature is monitored at the point of delivery to the patient.
US08196574B2

A nose mask for applying an anesthesia gas to a laboratory animal in a casing means includes an anesthesia tube, an outer wall which is disposed outside the anesthesia tube to form a space therebetween and an anesthesia recovery system having an anesthesia recovery port open to the space. The anesthesia tube includes an anesthesia supply section which opens to an wall of the anesthesia tube so that the anesthesia is applied to the laboratory animal by inserting the nose of the laboratory animal, an anesthesia introducing section for introducing the anesthesia gas to the anesthesia tube, and an anesthesia discharging section for discharging the anesthesia gas from the anesthesia tube.
US08196573B2

A system for intermittent delivery of an aerosolized medicament is disclosed. The system may include an aerosol generator, a controller and a conduit. The aerosol generator may be configured to aerosolize a medicament. The controller may be configured to receive physiological characteristic information about a patient, and control the aerosol generator based at least in part on the physiological characteristic information. The conduit may be configured to supply the aerosolized medicament to the patient's airway.
US08196572B1

The solar panel cone with rotating mirror includes a cone-shaped solar panel array that rests upon a base, and a rotating mirror. The rotating mirror rotates about the base via a series of gears and motor. The device includes an electrical converter that is wired to the motor and an electrical wire that supplies electricity.
US08196563B2

Operating an engine includes monitoring engine crank position, a corresponding engine torque, and an engine operating point. A state of an engine control parameter is adjusted in response to a difference between an identified location of peak torque and a preferred location of peak torque.
US08196559B2

A device for removing a fluidic contaminant from lubricating oil in an internal combustion engine includes a fluid absorbing element comprising a mounting element and a fluid absorption media assembled into a sump of a crankcase of the internal combustion engine. The fluid absorbing element is immersed within the oil contained in the sump when the engine is not operating. The fluid absorption media is configured to absorb a fluidic contaminant in the engine oil when the engine is not operating and to desorb the absorbed fluidic contaminant.
US08196558B2

In a system, a starter includes a motor for rotatably driving an output shaft with a pinion and an actuator that shifts the pinion toward a ring gear to be engaged with the ring gear. A monitor unit monitors a rotational speed of the internal combustion engine. The rotational speed of the internal combustion engine drops after an automatic control for stop of the engine. When an engine restart request occurs with the rotational speed being within a preset range during the rotational speed of the internal combustion engine dropping by the automatic control for stop of the engine, a drive unit drives the actuator to shift the pinion toward the ring gear to be engaged with the ring gear. The drive unit rotatably drives the motor with the pinion being engaged with the ring gear to thereby crank the crankshaft.
US08196551B1

A simulated mouse toy having a prerecorded sound chip therein is provided which emits a prerecorded sound upon physical movement, such as when swatted, rolled or carried, to encourage pets to continue to play. A motion imparting device formed of a solenoid is operatively connected in conjunction the prerecorded sound chip to simultaneously provide a jittery or twitching visual stimulation.
US08196550B2

A solar-powered ball is described. The solar-powered ball includes a member positioned in an interior of the solar-powered ball. The member comprises a solar panel that powers motion-activated lights. The solar-powered ball provides a pet toy. The solar-powered ball further includes an internal frame that supports an outer shell. The outer shell allows solar or light radiation to pass through to the solar panel in order to power the motion-activated lights.
US08196545B2

In order to manufacture an epitaxial wafer having satisfactory flatness over its entire surface, epitaxial layers are experimentally grown upon actual wafer samples under various different layer formation conditions, the thickness profiles are measured over the entire surfaces of these wafers before and after growth of the layers, and, from the differences thereof, layer thickness profiles over the entire areas of the epitaxial layers under the various different layer formation conditions are ascertained and stored. Thereafter, the thickness profile of a substrate wafer is measured over its entire area, this is added to each of the layer thickness profiles under the various different layer formation conditions which have been stored, and the planarities of the manufactured wafers which would be manufactured under these various different layer formation conditions are predicted. And one set of processing conditions is selected which is predicted to satisfy a required flatness specification, and an epitaxial layer is actually grown upon the substrate wafer under these processing conditions.
US08196544B2

A machine controlled by a computer for depositing a liquefied electronically-interactive material on a sheet or support card, which includes: a base (1) to support the mobile bed (2) which is moved longitudinally (Y) by means of a worm screw (20) whose movement is controlled by a computer, and for the support and fixing of the said support sheet or card “S” on which the layer of electronically-interactive material is to be formed; a bridge above the said base with a transversal shaft (30) which also has a worm screw and whose movement is also controlled by the said computer, in which the transversal shaft (30) moves the said distribution unit for the electronically-interactive material to be deposited (3) in an orthogonal direction (X).
US08196542B2

A towing apparatus comprises a structural assembly extending between opposing first and second bases for pivoting between operating and stored positions. A locking assembly includes a pin in each base and a hook carried at opposing ends of the structural assembly. A cam is pivotally connected to the hook for movement between locked and released positions. In the locked position, the hook is secured to the pin for preventing rotation of the structural assembly. In the released position, the hook is spaced from the pin to permit rotation of the structural assembly. The hook is rotatable with the cam from the released position to adjacent the pin by rotation of a shaft and slidable along the pin into the locking position by a continued shaft rotation. A cable is attached between the base and a spring within the structural assembly for biasing the structural assembly toward the operating position.
US08196539B2

An offshore platform includes a buoyant hull comprising three or more interconnected pontoons and a plurality of support columns. The support columns support a deck or structure that supports equipment and/or payloads above a water surface. The support columns extend upwardly from respective ends of the pontoons to the deck or structure supported above the water surface. Anchoring members anchor the platform to the seabed.
US08196536B1

An apparatus to reduce skin friction drag on a marine hull by imparting ultrasonically-induced cavitation at a boundary layer of a hull-water interface. The apparatus comprises a sonification plate mounted or adapted to be mounted on at least a portion of a wettable area of the hull (interior or exterior) to define a boundary layer region with the water medium, a power source to energize the sonification plate, and a controller to regulate the frequency and/or intensity of microcavitation bubbles produced at the boundary layer whereby to alter the Reynolds number, kinematic viscosity, and coefficient of friction. The sonification plate is hermetically sealed and includes an array of ultrasonic transducers therein, which may be mounted on all or a portion of the hull. Energizing the transducers nucleates microcavitation bubbles upon entrained gases and/or particulate matter residing in the water medium.
US08196530B1

The Christmas tree supporting table includes a box support, a circular tabletop that has a hole about the middle and is divided into two sections that are hingedly connected. The box support contains the Christmas tree stand and a power strip for powering the Christmas tree lights. The circular tabletop folds flat upon the box and the Christmas tree stand and base of the Christmas tree. The supporting table elevates the Christmas tree, hides the Christmas tree stand, and provides a hiding place for a power strip to supply electricity to the Christmas tree lights.
US08196526B2

A worksurface arrangement comprising at least a first support member, a first worksurface forming member supported by the first support member at a first vertical height and extending to a first side from the first support member, a second worksurface forming member supported by the first support member at a second vertical height and extending to a second side opposite the first side of the first support member and a housing including, a front cover extending below the first worksurface forming member, a substantially vertical upper back cover extending downward from the first worksurface forming member substantially to the second vertical height proximate the second worksurface forming member and spaced from the front cover wherein the upper back cover and the front cover bound an upper housing cavity width and a lower back cover extending below the second worksurface forming member and spaced from the front cover wherein the lower back cover and the front cover bound a lower housing cavity width that is larger than the upper housing cavity width.
US08196525B2

A leg assembly for a table and notably for a desk includes a base resting on the ground, shaft with a vertical appearance, attached to the base, and an upper sole surmounting the shaft and provided for supporting a platform. The sole has a hook positioned at a free end of the sole localized in the vicinity of a border of the platform.
US08196516B2

A sensor head-transporting roller carriage has four pairs of wheels acting around pivot points at the four corners of the carriage, which is advanced along tracks that are supported by vertical structures. The lateral wheel spacing is chosen in correlation with the track support interval distances such that the vertical travel of all the wheels together is averaged, to be zero. As a result, variations in displacement alignment of the sensor are minimized. In addition, the pivot mechanism results in a fifty percent reduction in the effect of random vertical deflections caused by track debris or wheel concentricity etc. versus standard non-pivoting wheel sets. The roller carriage moves the sensor head along the cross direction to monitoring physical characteristics of a web of material that is moving in the machine direction.
US08196510B2

A method for producing a flexographic plate that includes a base layer and a layer of a photosensitive material fixed on the base layer. An image is produced on the photosensitive layer by selective reticulation. Areas to be reticulated are exposed to amplitude-modulated laser light with a wavelength ranging from 390 to 410 nm, which scans the surface of the photosensitive layer. The non-reticulated areas are then removed.
US08196503B1

A hull for an armored vehicle is provided, comprising a set of panels constituting portions of the hull, and having a passenger cabin with an interior defined by at least some of the panels. The panels are attached to one another via a plurality of bolts. The hull comprises one or more preventing arrangements for preventing the bolts from reaching the interior of the passenger cabin in an event that they become secondary projectiles.
US08196502B2

The invention pertains to a device (1) for the rotative scoring of flat printed products in order to prepare a bending line, particularly in a brochure cover that is supplied in the form of a sheet (2), with said device featuring at least one pair of scoring tools (11.1, 11.2) that consists of a scoring knife (12) and an assigned scoring matrix (13), with the scoring tools (12, 13) being arranged on a first and a second scoring shaft (14.1, 14.2) that are arranged parallel to one another and driven in opposite directions, and with said device also featuring at least one pair of transport rollers (30) that is arranged axially adjacent to the pair of scoring tools (11.1, 11.2) and consists of a first and a second transport roller (31, 32) that effectively clamp the sheet (2) between one another with respect to its transport, wherein it is proposed that the first transport roller (31) is arranged on the first scoring shaft (14.1) and the second transport roller (32) is supported independently of the scoring tools (12, 13). The axial spacing of the at least one pair of scoring tools (11.1, 11.2) can be adjusted in accordance with the desired scoring depth without affecting the at least one pair of transport rollers (30). The load on the scoring shafts (14.1, 14.2) is significantly reduced because bending due to an excessively narrow adjustment of the transport rollers (31, 32) is prevented.
US08196500B2

A stitch flap cutting block is mountable to a cutting head of a board blank cutting machine, along with a slotting knife. A sheet of board passed between the cutting head and an anvil head is cut to form a blank for a box or the like. The cutting block comprises a steel body with a cylindrical barrel holding a cylindrical spring block, to which is mounted a blade holder carrying an elongate blade. The blade moves within a transverse slot across the body and is deflectable into the body and may rock about a midpoint of the slot. Impact forces are reduced, cleaner cuts are produced, and re-setting of the blade is required much less often. An alternative stitch flap cutting block is mountable to the cutting head by a separate side arm, facilitating mounting to cutting heads having different diameters.
US08196499B2

Woodworking machines and safety methods for use with those machines are disclosed. The machines include a detection system adapted to detect one or more dangerous conditions and a reaction system associated with the detection system. The reaction system can include an explosive to trigger the system, and also can be configured to retract a cutting tool at least partially away from a cutting region upon detection of a dangerous condition by the detection system.
US08196495B2

A versatile tool is driven by a drive tool and comprises a body defined with a through channel, two steel balls, two slide sleeves, and a rod member. The two slide sleeves are provided at both ends of the body, and the two steel balls are movably assembled in the through holes in two drive portions at both ends of the body, respectively and are capable of protruding into the channel. The rod member includes a magnetic end. When the rod member enters into the channel from either end of the body to be positioned by the corresponding steel ball, the drive space in the opposite end of the body can be used to assemble or disassemble multi-sized screws, simplifying the preparation procedure. In addition, the versatile tool can cooperate with different forms of tool heads or drills to increase its function.
US08196489B2

Described is a lubricating device with at least one lubricating pinion for applying a lubricant, in particular grease, which is for example fed through a lubricant line by a lubricant pump from a reservoir, to at least one gearwheel or the like, wherein the lubricating pinion has an outer toothing into which at least one lubricant outlet opens out. The teeth of the outer toothing of the lubricating pinion have a shortened tooth flank profile in relation to an involute toothing, wherein the addendum and/or the width of the tooth flanks in the peripheral direction are reduced in a tooth flank section which is situated radially outside the reference circle.
US08196482B2

A method and an apparatus for efficient resource sharing are presented. The apparatus includes a central unit having a plurality of surfaces on the outside, the central unit holding a resource. Compartments are coupled to the central unit, each of the compartments being placed adjacent to one of the surfaces of the central unit. Each compartment has a platform to support an object, and has a sensor that reads an output signal indicating that the object in the compartment has finished accessing the resource from the central unit. A computation unit receives and processes the output signal from each of the compartments. The sensor in the apparatus may be located in the central unit instead of in the compartments.
US08196473B2

In a device and method for non-destructive materials testing with at least one ultrasonic transducer, the transducer is able to be moved by a movement system in at least one direction to a workpiece surface. The emission of ultrasonic by the ultrasonic transducer is able to be synchronized with the activation of the movement system so that electrical interference caused by the movement system occurs at times at which no echo is expected for ultrasonic emitted by the transducer. The method and device can be applied to non-destructive materials testing with ultrasound.
US08196470B2

An interface adapted for use with an audiometer, including a digital wireless interface supported by a base unit and a remote unit wherein the base unit receives signals from the audiometer and provides the signals to the remote unit via the digital wireless interface.
US08196466B2

A sensor for measuring fluid level is provided that includes a float, which may be steel or another material that affects magnetic flux. The sensor further includes a housing defining a cavity configured to receive the float. The housing may be, but need not be, tubular, and the cavity may be cylindrical. At least one magnetic coil is wound to the housing along the cavity. The coil may be wound around the housing. The float is positionable in the fluid to move within the cavity in relation to fluid level.
US08196459B2

The spark plug comprises: —a central electrode (2), —an insulating core (6) bearing the central electrode (2), —an external body (8) in which the insulating core (6) is mounted and which has a region (18) where the external body (8) is crimped onto the insulating core (6), and—a force sensor (30). The force sensor (30) is mounted at the periphery of the external body (8) between, on the one hand, a bearing element (38) secured to a first peripheral region of the external body (8) and, on the other hand, a second peripheral region (24) of the external body (8). The second peripheral region (24) of the external body (8) is further away from the crimping region (18) than the first peripheral region. The bearing element (38) is prestressed against the force sensor (30).
US08196456B2

An autosampler for high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) with a high-pressure injection valve (1, 2) having improved life, particularly in high pressure operation. The geometry of the valve components and the connections of the high-pressure injection valve are provided such that the switching processes do not take place in a deleterious direction. The grooves in rotor (2) and/or the port opening cross sections (131, 151) in stator (1) and the rotational direction are selected such that fluid flows from grooves under high pressure in the direction of narrow, substantially pressure-free ports are avoided. This applies in particular to the switching process from INJECT to LOAD, since the sample loop contains a relatively large dead volume of compressed fluid. In addition, the valve can be controlled according to the invention in such a manner that an appropriate time is available for reducing harmful or undesired pressure differences.
US08196454B2

An apparatus for testing a protective mask. The apparatus includes a testing unit for testing a protective mask. The testing unit includes a headform upon which a protective mask to be tested is mounted. The testing unit is configured to take a sample of the challenge from two different locations about the protective mask. The testing unit may also be configured to inflate and deflate a neck seal protective mask when mounted on the headform prior to performing a mask leakage test to eliminate or significantly reduce pockets or folds that may hide a leak.
US08196440B2

The present invention is directed to a drum washing machine. In particular, the drum washing machine includes a rotating tub, wherein the rotating tub has a cylindrical drum having a front formed with a circular opening through which laundry is put into the rotating tub and having a rear that is closed. The drum washing machine further includes a DC brushless motor for generating a driving force for wash, rinse and dehydration operations and a rotor. The drum washing machine further includes a rotational shaft of the motor having a front end directly fixed to the rotating tub and a rear end fixed to a core of the rotor, so that torque developed by the motor is directly transmitted to the rotating tub. A current detector is provided in the drum washing machine for detecting electric current flowing into the motor. A torque control unit is also provided in the drum washing machine for performing a vector control for the motor on the basis of the current detected by the current detector, so that torque developed by the motor is rendered optimum for at least the wash and dehydration operations. A speed control unit for controlling a rotational speed of the motor, based on the current detected by the current detector and a laundry amount determining unit for determining an amount of laundry in the rotating tub, based on a magnitude of an accumulated value of torque current in a period when a rotational speed of the motor is accelerated are also provided in the drum washing machine of the present invention.
US08196437B2

Core rod sections useable for production of finished optical fiber preforms are fabricated by inserting one or more core body pieces axially end-to-end inside a glass cylinder, thereby defining joints between adjacent ones of the inserted pieces. The cylinder is mounted with the contained core body pieces in the region of a furnace. The glass cylinder and core body pieces are heated together in the furnace, thereby elongating the cylinder and the core body pieces contained in the cylinder, and the cylinder collapses to form a finished core rod. Core rod sections are cut from the finished core rod at positions that coincide with the joints between the core body pieces. One or more of the cut core rod sections are useable for the production of optical fiber preforms.
US08196429B2

In order to provide method and apparatus for manufacturing a vitreous silica crucible with little mixing of foreign matter and stable arc during arc melting, the method and apparatus for manufacturing a vitreous silica crucible have a device which blows off air from the side of arc electrodes toward a melting space of a mold, and air discharge ports which discharge the air within the heating furnace, and perform forced supply of air into the melting space during melting to make the atmospheric pressure of the melting space higher than the surroundings, and preferably, form an air pressure difference of 100 Pa or more between the melting space and the surroundings, thereby performing melting.
US08196425B2

A freeze type dispenser having a refrigeration system including a compressor, condenser, expansion means and evaporator in the form of one or more freeze chambers in an enclosure is provided with a sub-cooler or auxiliary coil. The sub-cooler is located downstream of the condenser but upstream of the expansion means and is supplied with condensed refrigerant liquid. The sub-cooler is located adjacent the freeze chamber enclosure to prevent or reduce condensation of the same, without adversely affecting, and in fact increasing cooling performance or capacity.
US08196421B2

A method for controlling temperature pulldown of an enclosure with a refrigeration system having a compressor, a heat rejecting heat exchanger, an expansion valve, and an evaporator comprises circulating a refrigerant through the refrigeration system, sensing a parameter of the enclosure, determining a desired evaporator pressure based upon the parameter sensed, and adjusting the expansion valve as a function of the desired evaporator pressure.
US08196418B2

Provided is a method for sensing ice-making water in a refrigerator. The method includes activating a pump to move water from a water tank to an ice-making chamber; comparing a temperature of the ice-making chamber with an ice-making reference temperature set; when the temperature of the ice-making chamber is equal to the ice-making reference temperature, calculating an ice-making consumption time until the ice-making reference temperature after the activating of the pump; comparing the ice-making consumption time with an ice-making reference time set; and when the ice-making consumption time is smaller than the ice-making reference time, determining that there is no water in the water tank.
US08196415B2

A closed cycle Stirling cryogenic cooler, typically utilizing a noble gas (He or like) as a working fluid and containing a pneumatically driven expander interconnected with a low frequency pressure wave generator using a flexible transfer line or conduit, wherein the pressure wave generator includes a sealed gas discharge cavity containing the pressurized working fluid and a plurality of discharge electrodes which are electrically isolated, protrude through the walls of the cavity and are electrically connected to the high frequency pulse voltage supply, thus producing the glow discharge resulting in a cloud of cold plasma, making a so-called “plasmanized gas piston”.
US08196414B2

A twin-shaft gas turbine 1, which has a gas generator 2 including a compressor 7, a combustor 8, and a high-pressure turbine 9, is configured to make a first control mode and a second control mode selectively usable for control of the gas generator. In addition, in the first control mode, an IGV angle in the compressor is controlled in accordance with a corrected shaft rotation speed of the gas generator, and in the second control mode, the IGV angle is controlled to maintain a constant gas generator shaft rotation speed. Furthermore, the first control mode is used to start, to stop, and to operate the turbine under fixed or lower load conditions, and that the second control mode is used under operational states other than those to which the first control mode is applied.
US08196408B2

A turbomachine includes a compressor, a turbine operatively connected to the compressor, and a combustion assembly fluidly connected between the compressor and the turbine. The combustion assembly includes an end cover including a plurality of fuel circuits, a fuel distributing flange fluidly connected to at least one of the plurality of fuel circuits, a nozzle assembly fluidly linked to the at least one of the plurality of fuel circuits, and a fuel distribution system configured and disposed to deliver fuel to the fuel distributing flange. The fuel distribution system is selectively activated to stage fuel delivery to the at least one of the plurality of fuel circuits at a pressure sufficient to achieve atomization at the nozzle assembly without requiring a supplemental atomization air flow prior to delivering fuel to others of the plurality of fuel circuits at a pressure to achieve atomization without requiring a supplemental atomization air flow.
US08196407B2

A small gas turbine engine for use in an UAV such as a cruise missile, the gas turbine having a combustor forming a primary burn zone and a secondary burn zone, and in which fuel is injected into both the primary and the secondary burn zones by either a rotary cup injector or a plurality of fuel injector nozzles. The secondary burn zone with separate fuel injection allows for the diameter of the engine to be reduced in size but still allow for adequate power and efficiency to be reached for powering the vehicle. Air flow from the compressor is used to cool the combustor walls before being injected into the combustor, and to pass through and cool the guide nozzles and a main bearing located near the hot section of the combustor prior to being introduced into the combustor.
US08196400B2

A method of controlling a work vehicle includes detecting an operational condition of a powertrain which is adapted to propel the vehicle, wherein a power source in the powertrain is adapted to operatively drive at least one variable displacement pump, wherein the pump is adapted to operatively drive at least one hydraulic actuator via hydraulic fluid for moving a work implement and/or steering the vehicle. The method further includes comparing the detected operational condition with a predetermined critical condition, limiting a maximum available displacement of the pump and thereby establishing an available pump displacement range if the magnitude of the detected operational condition is within the predetermined critical condition, detecting a hydraulic load associated to the actuator, and adjusting the pump displacement of the pump in response to the detected hydraulic load within the available pump displacement range.
US08196382B2

A mower deck for a rotary vegetation cutting mower device pulled by a motor vehicle includes a housing defining a main portion disposed generally horizontally when the mower deck is in a position for cutting the vegetation and a pair of side walls extending downwardly from the main portion generally perpendicular thereto and forming in combination with the main portion a compartment of the housing wherein the blade rotates. At least one of at least one reinforcing rib and raised portion is disposed on the top surface of the main portion. A plate is releaseably secured to the top surface of the housing and carries a gearbox thereon. The housing and the plate are manufactured from a polypropylene material having a thickness of about one inch.
US08196380B2

A machine for harvesting maize includes a supporting structure carrying a plurality of harvesting units set alongside one another in a transverse direction. Each harvesting unit includes a framework fixed with respect to the supporting structure and includes two box sections set at a distance from one another in a transverse direction by an empty space elongated in a longitudinal direction and two stripper plates carried by respective box sections. The stripper plate has respective edges facing one another that extend on opposite sides in the empty space, and the facing edges of the stripper plates form a squeezing channel. A pair of counter-rotating traction rollers are arranged underneath the squeezing channel. The stripper plates are mobile in a vertical direction with respect to the respective box sections and are associated to respective spring devices that push the stripper plates elastically towards a raised position.
US08196376B2

A heat shrinking apparatus for a shrink film, which can uniformly heat shrink a shrink film covering a part of a whole of an article and can prevent adherence of water droplets on the surface of the article and the shrink film. The heat shrinking apparatus may include a heat treatment chamber installed so as to surround a transfer conveyor for transferring a bottle on which cylindrical label has been fitted, and heating means that heats the cylindrical label fitted on the bottle passing through the heat treatment chamber. The heat treatment chamber may include an external tunnel and an internal tunnel installed in a preheating zone, and an external tunnel and an internal tunnel installed in a main heating zone. The heating means includes preheating means that preliminarily heats and softens the cylindrical label fitted on the bottle passing through the interior of the internal tunnel, and main heating means that uses superheated steam to heat shrink the cylindrical label fitted on the bottle passing through the interior of the internal tunnel.
US08196371B2

The present invention is directed to a cap supply device having a simple and inexpensive structure and which is capable of supplying caps all directed in the same direction. The cap supply device includes: a receiving section 104 for receiving the caps 3; and a discharge unit 106 having an endless member 108 placed in the receiving section 104 and support members 109 provided at the endless member. The discharge unit 106 is configured to lift the caps upward and discharge the caps 3 from the receiving section 104 while the caps 3 are supported at the support members 109 with their openings directed to an opposite side of the endless member 108.
US08196368B2

A ductile seismic shear key construction including a concrete support, a concrete shear key supported on the concrete support, a generally vertical reinforcement bar in and extending between the concrete support and the concrete shear key and anchored in the concrete support, and an isolation key. The isolation key is in and at the base of the concrete support and adjacent the reinforcement bar. The bar can be one of the two legs of a downwardly-disposed U-shaped bar. The other leg, if present, is also in and extends between the concrete support and the shear key and is anchored in the concrete support; and a second isolation key is in the concrete support at the base thereof and adjacent the second leg. The bars can pass through through-holes in the isolation keys, particularly for an interior shear key construction. For an exterior shear key construction the bars can be disposed in notches of the isolation key. Horizontal reinforcement bars can be placed perpendicular to the vertical bars (legs) and directly above the isolation key(s) and secured to the vertical bars.
US08196367B2

A support bracket (10) for anchoring cladding tiles (40) to a support wall structure (54), the support bracket (10) comprising: a substantially elongated base plate portion (12) attachable to the support wall structure (54), the base plate portion (12) defining a base first end edge (20) and a substantially opposed base second end edge (18), the base plate portion (12) also defining a base first side (22) and a substantially opposed base second side (24); and a substantially elongated flange portion (30) extending from the base first side (14), the flange portion (30) having a substantially T-shaped lateral cross-section, the flange portion (30) defining a flange first end edge (64) and a substantially opposed flange second end edge (56), the flange portion (30) being substantially longitudinally offset relatively to the base plate portion (12) such that the flange portion (30) is protruding from the base first end edge (20) substantially adjacent the flange first end edge (64); the base plate portion (12) and the flange portion (30) together defining a pair of substantially oppositely disposed channel recesses (65) facing substantially laterally outwardly relatively to the flange portion (12) for each receiving a portion of a respective one of the cladding tiles (40), the channel recesses (65) being each closed with a respective stop flange (66) extending substantially adjacent the flange first end edge (64), the stop flanges (66) being each substantially perpendicular to the base plate portion (30).
US08196366B2

Floor panel of the type comprising a hard top layer (3) forming a decorative surface, from which, together with other identical or similar floor panels (1), a floor covering can be formed, wherein this floor panel (1) includes at least one sound-absorbing layer (4) which is integrated into the floor panel (1) and is located between other layers of this floor panel (1).
US08196361B1

A stairway having an alternating series of risers and treads wherein two risers and a tread form a step structure for use in constructing the stairway. The step structure including a first riser having a front portion and a rear portion, a tread having a support surface and an opposite surface, a second riser having a front portion and a rear portion, and wherein the tread is positioned between the rear portion of the first riser and the front portion of the second riser and wherein the second riser of one step structure becomes the first riser of the next-up step structure.
US08196357B2

A portable and collapsible barrier that is lightweight and can be easily transported and erected. The barrier includes a base, a top and an enclosed volume such as a diaphragm that can be expanded with a medium such as a gas or liquid to a desired shape. The expanded volume will act as a barrier. When a series of expanded barriers are connected, they will form a wall that can contain bulk materials or liquids.
US08196355B1

A double-hung window having a uniform interior wood appearance is disclosed. The window has a head jamb and side jambs. The window has an upper and lower sash, each having a wood frame. The upper and lower sashes are held in the window by the side jambs. Lock-pins are extendable from each side of the lower sash. A concealed jamb liner cover for selective engagement with each upper side jamb is provided which has an exposed wood surface and a channel for receiving the lock-pin of the lower sash. An upper sash lock housing attached to an upper portion of the wood frame of the upper sash, is provided which holds an upper sash lock-pin for each side of the upper sash. A wooden interior upper parting stop connected to the head jamb conceals the upper sash lock housing when the window is closed.
US08196353B2

The invention relates to a guiding mechanism for sliding devices, especially leaves or doors. Said guiding mechanism comprises a profiled guide rail which is mounted on rolls or sliding elements and is optionally fitted with a superstructure. A stationary roll support and at least one movable roll support are provided. The movable roll support is moved into the operating position thereof substantially without producing a load moment.
US08196349B2

The lifting window (15) has a windowpane (17) which can be raised and lowered by means of a lifting device and which is guided here by two guide rails (24; 25). In the region of at least one side edge (19), the windowpane (17) is guided, at a point remote from the lifting device, only indirectly by the associated guide rail (24) by means of an adjusting device (38). The adjusting device (38) has a guide strip (39) which interacts with the associated guide rail (24). The guide strip (39) is guided by means of a guide device (41) so as to be moveable at least approximately perpendicularly to the windowpane (17). Said guide strip (39) can be adjusted relative to the windowpane (17) by means of an adjustment device (42) and can be fixed in the desired relative position by means of a fixing device.
US08196347B2

A process for controlling grapevine ripening comprises a step, to be implemented between the birth of the rachis (R) and harvesting of the bunch (G), in which rachis (R) supporting means (1) are applied, designed to at least counterbalance the weight of the flowers and fruit developing on the rachis (R), allowing the rachis (R) to grow according to its original direction. A piece of equipment for controlling grapevine ripening, in accordance with the above-mentioned process, comprises a structure (2) fixed to the ground and rachis (R) supporting means (1) which can be connected to the fixed structure (2).
US08196346B2

A composite, time-delayed, polymer-coated, granulated material for maintaining hydration in plants is formulated to delay acceptance of water in order to operate in drilling, plugging, and disking equipment used for aeration, soil amendment, or both. Whether potted or outdoors, whether relying on a third-material binder or a small, hydrated portion of the polymer itself as a binder, the material may be injected or otherwise placed below the surface of soils. Water is eventually absorbed sufficiently to expose the bulk of the hydrating particles attached to each granule. Addition of the granulated material as a soil amendment resists dehydration normally occurring in plants between waterings, yet its initial delay in hydrating supports water-jet injection and soil integration by resisting premature expansion from hydration.
US08196339B1

A rodent trap comprises a stiff U-shaped spring with long outstretched arms and wire half-noose that are normally closed tightly together. A folding spreader mechanism at the base of the U-shaped spring holds the long outstretched arms apart until a trigger allows the spreader to fold up. The folding spreader mechanism is prevented from extending over-center and locking like a knee joint as near the point of going over-center, a tiny force like a trigger keeps the folding spreader mechanism extended even against strong spring pressures.
US08196335B2

The present invention provides a simple, yet improved, spring-loaded fishing hook and bobber. The bobber includes a spring-loaded triggering apparatus attached to a light weight rod and floating device. The triggering apparatus is inertia-driven and activated when a fish swimming by attempts to bite on the lure. The fish activates the device by its movement away from the lure and pulls the spring free from its latch allowing the spring to activate and forces the hook into the fish's mouth. The quickness of the trigger does not allow the fish to avoid the hook and the forcefulness of the trigger means less fish can free themselves of the hook before being caught.
US08196327B2

A modular magazine for a firearm is disclosed. The magazine has a tower and a magazine body. The tower and magazine body are modular and can be disconnected from each other. When disconnected, the tower can be paired with other magazine bodies. Also, the magazine body may be connected to other suitable towers. Different towers may allow a magazine to connect with a plurality of styles of firearm. Also, a plurality of styles of magazine may be used with a single firearm when connected to a suitable modular tower.
US08196326B2

A multi-frame groove-mount wall system comprises a multiplicity of closed frame sections and a panel element. Each closed frame section has a frame opening and a plurality of interconnected frame members, each with a groove segment. The closed frame sections can be releasably coupled to form a multi-frame structure having an outer perimeter. The panel element has a flexible substrate portion, a periphery and a multiplicity of edge gasket segments disposed about the periphery. The panel element can be removably and tensionally affixed to the multi-frame structure such that the substrate portion is simultaneously disposed across the frame opening of each closed frame section by interengagement between a plurality of the edge gasket segments and a plurality of the groove segments that are proximate the outer perimeter, and none of the edge gasket segments are shared between a groove segment of one closed frame sections and a groove segment of another closed frame section.
US08196319B2

A shoe, in particular a sports shoe, which includes a front body for accommodating phalanxes of a foot, a rear body for accommodating a heel of the foot, an internal lateral body and an external lateral body linking the front body and the rear body, and a sole. The shoe has a clamping device for exerting a pressure essentially laterally on the rear body and a clamping member and pinching members for cooperating with the clamping device and wherein the pinching members are positioned laterally on either side of a median strip of the rear body and whereby the pinching members place force against the median strip by tightening of the clamping device.
US08196316B2

An article of footwear includes an upper and a sole assembly secured to the upper. The sole assembly has a shell having a first hardness and a recess. A lateral side of the recess has a first depth and a medial side of the recess has a second depth that is different than the first depth. A first aperture extends through a forefoot portion of the shell, with the first aperture defining a first tongue fixed on a medial side thereof with a remainder of the first tongue free to flex with respect to the shell. An insert has a second hardness and is seated in the recess. A lateral side of the insert has a first height and a medial side of the insert has a second height that is different than the first height, with the second hardness being different than the first hardness.
US08196310B2

An apparatus for drying wood veneer includes an elongate drying chamber including a conveyor for conveying material to be dried from an input end to an output end; and a cooling section for cooling veneer leaving the output end of the drying chamber, the cooling section including a pressure controller for maintaining a pressure in the cooling section that is slightly higher than pressure in the drying chamber while maintaining a near-zero pressure differential between the drying chamber and the cooling section.
US08196300B2

A manufacturing method of an electric contact and manufacturing equipment of the electric contact. A contact and a metal base are superimposed and support by a jig, and a rotational tool, which rotates at a predetermined speed and advances/retracts to/from the jig, is pressed into a surface, which is not contacted with the contact, of the metal base while being rotated, so that the contact and the metal base are joined by solid state diffusion welding by using frictional heat generated by friction between the rotational tool and the metal base, and then the rotational tool is retracted from the metal base.
US08196299B2

A connection terminal of a litz wire, a mounting method thereof, and a manufacturing method of a cooking appliance with a working coil consisting of the litz wire. The mounting method includes preparing the litz wire including plural wires, each of which includes a sheath, installing one end of the litz wire at the connection terminal, removing the sheaths from the plural wires by heating the litz wire, and deforming the connection terminal through a pinch-off process, thereby connecting front ends of the wires through the connection terminal and removing the sheaths or sheath residues between cores of the wires, and thus reducing resistance of the litz wire.
US08196293B2

Disclosed are a printed circuit board including a core substrate including core circuit layers on both sides thereof, a first build-up layer formed on one side of the core substrate, a second build-up layer formed on the other side of the core substrate, and first and second protective layers formed on the first and second build-up layers, respectively, wherein the first build-up layer includes a trench circuit layer as an outermost circuit layer formed by a trench technology, the trench circuit layer is embedded in the first protective layer, and an outermost circuit layer of the second build-up layer is embedded in an outermost insulating layer of the second build-up layer, and a method of manufacturing the printed circuit board. Thanks to the formation of the outermost circuit layer by the trench technology, it is difficult to separate the outermost circuit layer from the outermost insulating layer.
US08196292B2

A part cartridge for a mounter device used in a mounting process for mounting electronic parts on a substrate by heating the substrate to a predetermined temperature after the electronic parts are mounted on the substrate put on a conveying carrier by the mounter device, comprising holding part holding the substrate in the state of being fitted to the conveying carrier, and a guide tape holding the holding part. The holding member is stored in the state of being wound together with the guide tape so that the holding part can be mounted on the conveying carrier by the mounter device. By this, a method of holding and carrying the substrate for mounting the holding part on the conveying carrier by using the mounter device can be adopted in the mounting process. The deflection of the substrate in reflow can be securely prevented while suppressing cost by effectively utilizing the existing mounting line and devices.
US08196290B2

A serial-connection fitting assembly and a punch apparatus applied therefore are disclosed. The serial-connection fitting assembly includes a plurality of fitting members and a plurality of joining members staggered with the fitting members in alignment. Each fitting member has a conjunction hole radially arranged therein, and a groove indented radially on a top surface thereof with the same axial direction of the conjunction hole. The serial-connection fitting assembly is loaded in the punch apparatus, and the fitting members could be punched into pre-holes of respective plates one by one. Therefore, the labor hour for inserting the fitting members could be saved, and the efficiency for assembling the plates would be increased.
US08196286B2

A coil-holding assembly for an electrical machine has coil holders made of plastic and on which coils of a stator can be wound. The coil holders are formed and pivotal on an outer edge of a planar central plastic support by integral film hinges between a winding position parallel to a plane of the support and a bent-up position perpendicular to the plane. Thus the coils can be wound on the holders in the parallel position thereof and the holders are then moved into the bent-up position for use in the electric machine.
US08196284B2

Embodiments of the present invention help to effectively suppress vibration of the disk in a Hard Disk Drive (HDD) with low density gas sealed therein, and securely prevent leakage of the low density gas from the base. In an embodiment, helium gas is sealed in a hermetically sealed enclosure of an HDD, and a shroud is formed integrally with a base. In manufacturing the base, a magnetic disk facing surface of the shroud is shaped by cutting after die-casting. This accomplishes a small and precise size of the gap between the magnetic disk facing surface and the circumferential edge of the disk. Cutting the shroud formed independently from the exterior walls, which ensure the hermeticity with the shroud, suppresses the vibration of the magnetic disk and eliminates the necessity of cutting of the inner surfaces of the exterior walls for the purpose of suppression of the vibration to reduce the risk of helium leakage.
US08196278B2

A method for taking an electronic component out of a carrier tape configured to house the electronic component in a concave that is defined by a sidewall and a bottom surface reduces a binding force applied by the concave to the electronic component by stretching the sidewall to outside near a perforation hole that is formed at least one of the sidewall and a portion of the bottom surface adjacent to the sidewall.
US08196276B2

A multi-functional rotary turning and positioning apparatus and method for performing multiple service operations on a turbomachinery rotor while the rotor remains continuously supported with the apparatus. The apparatus includes a platform, a rotary headstock mounted to the platform, a spindle coupled to and rotatably supported by the headstock and adapted for coupling to a turbomachinery rotor, bearing pedestals mounted to the platform and adapted for rotatably supporting the rotor, at least one motor for turning the spindle at least two different rotational speed ranges, equipment mountable to the platform for performing multiple service operations on the rotor, and equipment for controlling the rotational speed and position of the spindle for the purpose of performing the service operation with the operating equipment.
US08196275B2

A casket ornament display comprises a shadow box comprising opposed side walls, opposed end walls, a back wall, and a transparent pane front, a casket ornament including a fastener adapted to removably secure the ornament to a casket, the casket ornament attached to the back wall of the shadow box via the fastener, and indicia attached to the shadow box identifying a deceased to be memorialized, the ornament being either a) one that was removed from the casket in which the deceased was displayed, or b) one that is substantially identical to an ornament that was secured to the casket in which the deceased was displayed.
US08196256B2

A backing strip for a windshield wiper assembly includes a pair of rails. Each of the pair of rails includes a body portion and a detent portion. The detent portion includes a cut-out on each side thereof. The cut-outs form at least a pair of hooks on each side of said detent portion. The cut-out on one side of the detent portion of each of said rails is for receiving a claw of the windshield wiper assembly and the hooks on the opposite side of the detent portion of each of the rails are for engaging a windshield wiper blade of the windshield wiper assembly.
US08196251B2

A gutter cleaning robot can traverse rain gutters to agitate and remove debris. The gutter cleaning robot is equipped with a debris auger at a front end that contacts and ejects the debris, and has a drive system for propelling the gutter cleaning robot along the rain gutter. The debris auger can include a spiral screw or various other forms of auger, and may be interchangeable by the user so as to enhance the effectiveness of the gutter cleaning robot in various environments or modes of operation.
US08196247B2

A floor maintenance apparatus having a floor maintenance machine and an attached sulky which allows an operator to ride in a standing position or walk behind the floor maintenance machine. A wheeled sulky having a first attaching portion, a stopping portion, a wheel receiving portion, and a platform portion having a first portion and a second portion is also provided. Methods of operating the apparatus are also provided.
US08196232B2

An exhaust unit for a hanging toilet bowl is described, and includes a house with a back wall and a front wall, two exhaust coupling tubes extending in the house from the front wall to the back wall and having a first end projecting outside the house back wall. The first end of a second exhaust coupling tube can have a diameter that is larger than the diameter of the first end of a first exhaust coupling tube. At its second end, the first exhaust coupling tube can be provided with a sealing ring arranged in a groove-shaped recess of the inner wall. At its second end, the second exhaust coupling tube can provided with a sealing ring arranged in a groove-shaped recess of the inner wall.
US08196228B1

A protective toilet seat cover comprising in combination a sheet of foldable flexible material having an overall size to cover the toilet, the sheet having a top panel defining a through opening to register with and overlie the toilet bowl, the sheet having opposite side panels configured to hang downwardly at opposite sides of the toilet, the side panels having upright front edges, the sheet having a front panel configured to hang downwardly at the front of the toilet, the front panel having spaced edges that extend upwardly and sidewardly to define front panel upper portions separate from the side panels, and that hang in protective overlying relation to front edges of the side panels.
US08196222B2

Examples of a nursing cover are described, including a sheet having a top edge, a bottom edge, a first side edge and a second side edge, wherein a stiffener pocket, a first strap and a second strap are disposed along the top edge of the sheet, the first strap and second strap being configured to detachably couple together, and a stiffener housed within the stiffener pocket and being configured to bow outward from the top edge of the sheet, the stiffener comprised of a material comprising a material memory associated with a pre-determined shape, the stiffener assuming the pre-determined shape during a resting state and, when a force is applied, the stiffener is configured to temporarily deform and, when the force is removed, the stiffener reassumes the pre-determined shape, the stiffener having a first end cap formed at a first end and a second end cap formed at a second end, wherein the stiffener, the first end cap and the second end cap collectively comprise a single member.
US08201263B2

A method, an apparatus and a processor readable medium for enabling access to contact information. The contact information for contacting a recipient may be accessed in accordance with a rights object.
US08201257B1

A security risk management system comprises a vulnerability database, an asset database, a local threat intelligence database and a threat correlation module. The vulnerability database comprises data about security vulnerabilities of assets on a network gathered using active or passive vulnerability assessment techniques. The asset database comprises data concerning attributes of each asset. The threat correlation module receives threat intelligence alerts that identify attributes and vulnerabilities associated with security threats that affect classes of assets. The threat correlation module compares asset attributes and vulnerabilities with threat attributes and vulnerabilities and displays a list of assets that are affected by a particular threat. The list can be sorted according to a calculated risk score, allowing an administrator to prioritize preventive action and respond first to threats that affect higher risk assets. The security risk management system provides tools for performing preventive action and for tracking the success of preventive action.
US08201256B2

A method and system of developing electronic performance support systems implemented in a computer system or in a graphical user interface. A method and system determines electronic compliance with a regulatory scheme, includes a compliance standard and using a question and answer prompt in conjunction with a scanning engine to perform an assessment of a computer network's compliance with at least one predetermined standard in addition to a technical assessment of the computer network.
US08201234B2

Computer-readable medium having a data structure stored thereon for defining a schema for expressing a network security policy. The data structure includes a first data field including data defining a parameter to be applied based on the network security policy. The network security policy defines at least one of the following: a firewall rule and a connection security rule. The data structure also includes a second data field having data specifying restrictions of the parameter included in the first data field. The parameter in the first data field and the restrictions in the second data field form the schema for expressing the network security policy to be processed. The network security policy manages communications between a computing device and at least one other computing device.
US08201233B2

Methods and apparatus are provided to allow Internet Key Exchange (IKE) phase 1 keying materials to be periodically refreshed in a secure manner without requiring user interaction. A client and server perform authentication and key exchange during set up of a secure connection. A token is passed to the client by the server during or after the initial user authentication phase. The token is stored both at the client and at the server. Instead of requiring user credentials, the token can be used to securely prove the identity of the client.
US08201203B2

An entertainment system includes a video system mounted within an automobile headrest, the headrest including a headrest body in which the video system is mounted. A cooling system is integrated with the headrest for maintaining the video system at a desirable temperature.
US08201195B2

In a particular embodiment a method is disclosed for inserting data objects into a video stream including but not limited to decomposing using a compression technique video content into a plurality of video portions, a low-quality video portion of the plurality of video portions capable of reproducing a low quality version of the video content, the other video portions capable of reproducing higher quality versions of the video content when combined with the low quality portion; sending the low-quality video portion to the subscriber terminal for storage at the subscriber terminal; and receiving from the subscriber terminal a selection request corresponding to the video content after sending the low-quality video portion to the subscriber terminal. A computer readable medium and apparatus for performing the method are also disclosed.
US08201193B2

A system for processing a transaction on an end user application and an application server. The system initiates the transaction on the end user application in a first language (such as a markup language) with a first application program (such as a Web browser). The system transmits the transaction to the server and converts the transaction from the first language of the first end user application to a language running on the application server. The system processes the transaction on the application server, transmits the transaction from the application server back to the end user application, and converts the transaction from the language running on the application server to the language of the end user application.
US08201191B2

Apparatus and methods for improved software programming interface functionality in a network. In one exemplary embodiment, the network comprises an HFC cable network with CPE in which network-specific programming interfaces (e.g., APIs) may be downloaded to the CPE, registered, authenticated, stored and executed in a software protocol stack implementing OpenCable Application Platform (OCAP) or Multimedia Home Platform (MHP) standards. The host device software comprises a “manager” module that registers APIs identified by the OCAP Monitor Application, such that all applications launched thereafter on the device can use these communications APIs, provided they have the appropriate permission(s). This relieves individual applications from having to support details regarding network-specific protocols and APIs. In an alternate embodiment, class and data files associated with the API functionality are downloaded along with an application. The downloaded application registers the API using a modified version of the API using a description file (DF). The DF describes the class and data files provided with the application that are part of the registered API.
US08201187B2

The present invention relates to a system for monitoring an object space shared among plural applications. Objects stored in the shared space are registered for monitoring and the system receives data related to the registered objects that can be utilized to perform statistical analysis, for example, relating to the overall health of the applications.
US08201180B2

A resource management system for managing resources in a computing and/or communications resource infrastructure is disclosed. The system comprises a database for storing a model of the resource infrastructure. The database defines a set of resources provided by the infrastructure; a set of software applications operating within the infrastructure and utilizing resources; and associations between given applications in the model and given resources to indicate utilization of the given resources by the given applications. The model can be used to perform resource utilization analysis and failure impact analysis.
US08201178B2

Disclosed are computer systems, a plurality of methods and a computer program for preventing a delay in execution time of one or more instructions. The computer system includes: a lock unit for executing an instruction to acquire exclusive-use of the external resource and an instruction to release the exclusive-use of the external resource in the one or more threads; a counter unit for increasing or decreasing a value of a corresponding one of counters respectively associated with the threads; and a controller for controlling an execution order of the instructions to be executed by exclusively using the external resource and instructions that causes a delay in the execution time of the instructions to be executed by exclusively using the external resource.
US08201171B2

Various technologies and techniques are disclosed for handling data parallel operations. Data parallel operations are composed together to create a more complex data parallel operation. A fusion plan process is performed on a particular complex operation dynamically at runtime. As part of the fusion plan process, an analysis is performed of a structure of the complex operation and input data. One particular algorithm that best preserves parallelism is chosen from multiple algorithms. The structure of the complex operation is revised based on the particular algorithm chosen. A nested complex operation can also be fused, by inlining its contents into an outer complex operation so that parallelism is preserved across nested operation boundaries.
US08201169B2

In a computer system running a primary virtual machine (VM) on virtualization software on a primary virtualized computer system (VCS) and running a secondary VM on virtualization software on a secondary VCS, a method for the secondary VM to provide quasi-lockstep fault tolerance for the primary VM includes: as the primary VM is executing a workload, virtualization software in the primary VCS is: (a) causing predetermined events to be recorded in an event log, (b) keeping output associated with the predetermined events pending, and (c) sending the log entries to the virtualization software in the secondary VCS; as the secondary VM is replaying the workload, virtualization software in the secondary VCS is: (a) sending acknowledgements indicating that log entries have been received; (b) when the virtualization software encounters one of the predetermined events, searching the log entries to determine whether a log entry corresponding to the same event was received from the primary VCS, and if so, comparing data associated with the predetermined event produced by the secondary VM with that of the primary VM; if there is a match, the virtualization software in the secondary VCS transmitting an acknowledgement to the virtualization software in the primary VCS; one of the virtualization software in the primary or secondary VCS dropping the event and the other dispatching the output; and if there is no match, performing a checkpoint resynchronization.
US08201153B2

A method, apparatus, and computer instructions for a configurable JAVASERVER pages processing framework to process JAVASERVER pages (JSP). A JSP document or page is translated into a document object model (DOM) object that encapsulates elements of the JSP. The syntax of the JSP is validated by a JSP translator with built-in classes and errors are returned if necessary. A JSP visitor configuration file, which defines user configured classes and sequence of execution, is used by the JSP translator to invoke methods of user-defined classes in the order specified by the user to process or visit elements of the DOM object. Result of user-defined class processing may be passed from one class to another within the set.
US08201142B2

A general purpose high-performance distributed execution engine can be used by developers to deploy large-scale distributed applications. To allow developers to easily make use of the distributed execution engine, a graph building language is proposed that enables developers to efficiently create graphs (e.g., direct acyclic graphs) that describe the subprograms to be executed and the flow of data between them. A job manager (or other appropriate entity) reads the description of the graph created with the graph building language, builds the graph based on that description, and intelligently distributes the subprograms according to the graph so that system resources are used efficiently. In one embodiment, the graph building language (and, thus, the description of the graph) includes syntax for replication, pointwise connect, cross connect and merge.
US08201140B2

A method of providing multi-instantiable state templates to a statechart environment is discussed. The method includes the step of providing a graphical definition of an independent state machine object belonging to a statechart. The method further includes the step of instantiating a first instance and a second instance of the independent state machine object in the statechart. The method additionally includes the steps of starting execution of the first instance of the independent state machine object and then stopping execution of the first instance of the state machine object. Additionally, the method includes the step of starting the execution of the second instance of the independent state machine object in the state diagram.
US08201139B2

A framework for generating a semantic interpretation of natural language input includes an interpreter, a first set of types, and a second set of types. The interpreter is adapted to mediate between a client application and one or more analysis engines to produce interpretations of the natural language input that are valid for the client application. The first set of types is adapted to define interactions between the interpreter and the one or more analysis engines. The second set of types is adapted to define interactions between the interpreter and the client application.
US08201137B1

A method to create an integrated circuit that includes digital and analog components comprising: displaying on a computer system display, user input to the computer system that specifies parameter information to determine a binding between an analog circuit design component and a digital circuit design component; saving the user specified parameter information within a file that also specifies at least a portion of the analog circuit design; associating the analog circuit design component a first design block of an integrated circuit that also includes a second digital design block coupled to the first design block; using parameter information to determine a binding between the first analog circuit design component and the first digital circuit design component; saving the determined binding in computer readable storage media.
US08201135B2

A method for managing error information of a printed circuit board layout system is provided. The system provides an error file recording names of all the errors to be displayed in wiring diagrams, generates wiring diagram files, outputs a first user interface showing one wiring diagram. Each of the wiring diagram files includes an attribute table for describing error information. The attribute table comprises the names and the set of coordinates. The method comprises obtaining the error file and the attribute table, outputting a second user interface comprising a first display area and a second display area, outputting the name in the first display area, analyzing the obtained attribute table to provide a classifying table. Then outputting one selected name and at least one set of coordinates corresponding to the one selected name in the second display area according to the classifying table. A related system is also provided.
US08201133B2

A printed circuit board with reduced signal distortion, including one or more layers of non-conductive substrate upon which are disposed conductive pathways that conduct signals, the signals characterized by distortion at least partly caused by orientation of the conductive pathways on the layers of the printed circuit board, and a periodically patterned reference plane; each conductive pathway that conducts signals oriented orthogonally or diagonally at forty-five degrees with respect to other conductive pathways that conduct signals on the printed circuit board; the periodically patterned reference plane comprising a conductor having discontinuities arranged in a periodically recurring pattern, the pattern of the discontinuities oriented on a surface of a layer of the printed circuit board at an optimum angle, with respect to the conductive pathways that conduct signals on the printed circuit board, that reduces distortion of the signals.
US08201127B1

A method is provided whereby a placement-based cost function is utilized to minimize leakage and dynamic power that is consumed by clock networks implemented within integrated circuits (ICs) such as field programmable gate arrays (FPGAs). An initial placement of clock signal loads is analyzed to determine whether an alternative placement of clock signal loads results in the reduction of the usage of vertical clock spines, or equivalently, the optimization of the cost function. Several desirable characteristics are obtained through strategic clock signal load placement within the FPGA in accordance with the cost function. First, the number of clock regions spanned by a particular clock signal is minimized. Second, interconnect capacitance within the clock region is also minimized. By minimizing the total capacitance of a particular clock network implemented within a clock region, the leakage and dynamic power consumed by the clock network within the clock region is also minimized.
US08201121B1

In one embodiment of the invention, a method of designing integrated circuits is disclosed. The method includes determining a power correction factor for a subset of partitions of circuits in an integrated circuit design; determining a gross power consumption estimate for all partitions of circuits in the integrated circuit design without synthesizing the entire integrated circuit design; and improving the accuracy of the gross power consumption estimate using the power correction factor to generate a reasonably accurate power consumption estimate for the entire integrated circuit design prior to substantially full circuit synthesis thereof.
US08201119B2

Some embodiments of the present invention provide techniques and systems for determining whether a high-level model (HLM) for a circuit design is equivalent to a register-transfer-level (RTL) model for the circuit design. During operation, a system can identify a set of checkpoints. Each checkpoint can be associated with a characteristic function defined over the states of a finite-state-machine (FSM) representation of the HLM, a characteristic function defined over the states of an FSM representation of the RTL model, and an invariant defined over a set of variables in the HLM and a set of registers in the RTL model. Next, the system can generate a set of invariant proof problems, wherein each invariant proof problem corresponds to a transition between two checkpoints in the set of checkpoints. The system can then determine whether the HLM is equivalent to the RTL model by solving the set of invariant proof problems.
US08201117B2

A method, system and computer program product for integrating implication-based analysis and equivalent gate analysis to maintain transitive reduction in an implication graph over a sequence of graph operations. One or more gates of a design are identified that are equivalent in all reachable states. Equivalent gates are assigned to an equivalence class when all gates within the equivalence class are equal. During the implication-based analysis the system determines when one or more implication paths are associated with the one or more equivalence classes, and an implication is generated at the implication path associated with the equivalence classes. A transitively reduced graph is received depicting the implications and equivalence classes of the design. When one or more operations are assigned to the transitively reduced graph, the graph is automatically adjusted to maintain transitive reduction.
US08201110B1

Optical proximity correction (OPC) is a technique used to compensate for optical distortions, process effects, or both, by modifying a pattern that is used during lithography. A reference OPC model is used to create an OPC design layout pattern based on pre-distorting a desired design layout pattern associated with an integrated circuit (IC). The OPC design layout pattern is used when the IC is produced, such that the fabricated IC ideally matches the desired design layout pattern. The present invention relates to using a regression OPC model to create estimated fragment movements of the desired design layout pattern. The estimated fragment movements are then provided as initial fragment movements to the reference OPC model, which then creates the OPC design layout pattern. The initial fragment movements provided by the regression OPC model may reduce the number of iterations needed by the reference OPC model, thereby reducing computation time.
US08201098B1

An application capture is distributed by an application capture trigger associated with an online communication session between a first user and a second user and generating an application capture associated with rendered portions of the first user's display in response to activation of the application capture trigger. The application capture is sent to the second user within the online communication session.
US08201079B2

Methods, systems, and articles of manufacture for maintaining annotations for changing source documents are provided. For some embodiments, an annotation system may support multiple policies, with each policy dictating how (or if) an annotation created for a version of a source document should be applied to subsequent versions of the source document. For some embodiments, a user creating an annotation may select from a group of available policies to be applied to the annotation. For some embodiments, policies may be enforced when annotated documents are checked into a content management system used to manage the annotated documents.
US08201076B2

An MMR system for publishing comprises a plurality of mobile devices, an MMR gateway, an MMR matching unit, and an MMR publisher. A computer includes a document authoring application, plug-in, and printer driver. The MMR matching unit receives an image query from the MMR gateway and sends it to one or more of the recognition units to identify a result including a document, the page and the location on the page. The list of results and links are sent back to the MMR gateway for presentation on the mobile device. The present invention also includes a number of novel methods including a method for capturing symbolic information from documents and for capturing printer dll functions.
US08201072B2

An image forming apparatus includes an information delivery apparatus including an analysis unit and a first display controller. The analysis unit analyzes data to extract data elements. The first display controller displays preview of the data elements on a first display unit. A data element selected from the preview is transmitted to an information processing apparatus via a network. The information processing apparatus displays the data element as a symbol at a predetermined position on a second display unit. The second display unit displays an application window. When the second display unit receives input to select the symbol and place it on the application window, the data element is entered into a corresponding application and the symbol is displayed on the application window.
US08201066B1

A disk drive is disclosed comprising a disk, a head actuated over the disk to generate a read signal, and a trellis detector for detecting an estimated data sequence from the read signal. The trellis detector comprises a sampling device operable to sample the read signal to generate a sequence of signal sample values, and a plurality of add/compare/select (ACS) circuits each corresponding to a state in a trellis. Each ACS circuit comprises a first and second branch metric calculators for computing first and second branch metrics in response to first and second errors adjusted in response to first and second deltas that compensate for a distortion in the read signal.
US08201057B2

A system and method for inter-packet channel encoding/decoding for recovering lost packets, while minimizing network latency and delay. The novel inter-packet channel encoding/decoding scheme described herein operates on a running-basis. This running-basis scheme advantageously allows for a large number of packet losses to be corrected at a receiving node.
US08201054B2

A fault-tolerant approach for updating a compressed read-only file system in embedded devices using a two-step approach. In the first phase an update package creates an intermediate memory image where the data blocks are independently compressed so that, if needed, the data therein can be decompressed and read without access to any other surrounding data blocks. Then in the second phase the intermediate memory image is decompressed in a buffer so that it can be reimaged into its final form and order before being recompressed and written back to non-volatile memory over-writing the intermediate memory image.
US08201047B2

A decoding apparatus includes a row processing unit 5 and a column processing unit 6 for performing a calculation and an update of probability information with row processing and column processing according to a Min-Sum algorithm on a received signal which is low-density parity-check coded in batches of 1 bit or a predetermined number of bits, a decoded result judgment unit 8 for determining a decoded result from a hard decision of a posterior value, for performing a parity check on the decoded result, and for judging whether or not the decoded result is correct, and a control unit for controlling iteration of decoding processing by the row processing unit 5 and column processing unit 6 on the basis of the judgment result of the decoded result judgment unit 8.
US08201038B2

A method executes computerized instructions within an integrated and packaged semiconductor device using a centralized programming interface within the packaged semiconductor device to perform in-system preventive and recovery actions, configure and issue stimulus to chips, components and sensors within the semiconductor device. The method monitors chip, components and sensors within the packaged semiconductor device, using the centralized programming interface, to measure characteristics of the packaged semiconductor device in response to the stimulus. The structure including chips, components and sensors produce outputs representing the characteristics. The method performs an evaluation to determine whether the chip, component and sensor outputs are within predetermined limits, using the centralized programming interface; and reports occurrences of instances of the chip, component and sensor outputs being outside the predetermined limits, using the centralized programming interface, to an on-chip storage medium, external test equipment or computerized device outside of the packaged semiconductor device.
US08201037B2

A semiconductor integrated circuit includes memories, a BIST circuit, and an analyzer. The BIST circuit includes a test controller performing the test and generating a memory selection signal selecting a memory to be tested, an address generator generating write and read addresses, a data generator generating write data and an expected output value, and a control signal generator generating a control signal. The analyzer includes a memory output selector selecting output data, a bit comparator comparing the output data with the expected output value, an error detection unit determining whether there is an error in the memory, a plurality of pass/fail flag registers capable of storing a pass/fail flag, a repair analyzer analyzing a memory error and generating a repair analysis result, a plurality of repair analysis result registers capable of storing the repair analysis result, and an output unit outputting the pass/fail flag and the repair analysis result.
US08201034B2

A method for testing a memory device is disclosed. The method includes: respectively writing at least one test data into a plurality of storage blocks in the memory device such that a plurality of first time written test data are stored in the storage blocks; in a read with write back test mode, reading the first time written test data from the storage blocks in the memory device and writing the plurality of first time written test data into the storage blocks to generate a plurality of second time written test data; and in a compress test mode, reading the plurality of second time written test data from the storage blocks by a compress test operation and determining whether the memory device operates erroneously according to the plurality of second time written test data and the test data.
US08201024B2

Embodiments are described for managing memory faults. An example system can include a memory controller module to manage memory cells and report memory faults. An error buffer module can store memory fault information received from the memory controller. A notification module can be in communication with the error buffer module. The notification module may generate a notification of a memory fault in a memory access operation. A system software module can provide services and manage executing programs on a processor. In addition, the system software module can receive the notifications of the memory fault for the memory access operation. A notification handler may be activated by an interrupt when the notification of the memory fault in the memory access operation is received.
US08201023B2

A method for optimizing tests of a software application. The method includes determining a test run time for each test of a plurality of tests of a software application; and dividing the tests into a plurality of test groups. The method further includes assigning a worker system of a plurality of worker systems to each test group; and causing the worker systems to run the tests.
US08201019B2

A method, apparatus, and computer program product for performing a set of operations on a data storage device is provided. A data storage device is flagged as suspect. The adapter suspends the suspect data storage device from participation in the RAID array, assigns the suspect data storage device to a pool of data storage devices to be retested, selects a data storage device from a pool of spare data storage devices, rebuilds contents of the suspect data storage device on the selected disk drive, assigns the substitute data storage device to the RAID array, invokes a diagnostic test on the suspect data storage device, and analyzes the diagnostic result. Responsive to the diagnostic result exceeding a threshold, the suspect data storage device is repaired. The adapter assigns the repaired data storage device to the pool of spare data storage devices and increments a counter of the repaired data storage device.
US08201005B2

Includes receiving, from a link partner, a message specifying a link partner receive wake time and resolving to the lesser of the received link partner receive wake time and a local transmit wake time.
US08201002B2

A control system for saving power in an electronic device obtains information of maximum power that can be supplied to the electronic device by each power supply, detects how much power is demanded by the electronic device, determines minimum number of the plurality of power supplies, based on the detected power demanded by the electronic device, and turns on power supplies, of which the number is equal to the determined minimum number, and turn off the other power supplies.
US08200996B2

A network equipment for a powered device of a PoE system is adapted to be connected to multiple network lines, each transmitting a network signal, and a DC power that is carried on the network signal, and that has a magnitude smaller than a power necessary for driving power-consuming components of the powered device. The network equipment includes: multiple Ethernet network ports, each coupled to a respective network line; a transformer module coupled to the Ethernet network ports, and configured to separate the DC powers from the network signals; a power module coupled to the transformer module for combining the DC powers into a supplying power; and a signal processing circuit coupled to the power module for receiving at least a portion of the supplying power, and coupled to the transformer module for processing the network signals. The supplying power has a magnitude sufficient for driving the power-consuming components.
US08200993B2

A method for booting a computer device under a low temperature state is provided. A trigger signal is detected when a power button is pressed. A hard disk temperature of a hard disk is obtained via a temperature sensor to determine whether the hard disk temperature is less than a first predetermined temperature. If so, a heater is activated to heat the hard disk until the hard disk temperature is greater than the first predetermined temperature. If the hard disk temperature is greater than the first predetermined temperature, the heater is turned off and afterwards a voltage of a battery cell is checked if the voltage has reached a predetermined voltage. If the voltage of the battery cell has reached the predetermined voltage, a system component of a computer device is activated.
US08200986B2

Computer related method and apparatus to transmit a logical value (e.g., 1 or 0) between two entities, such as an operating system and application program, in a secure way in an insecure environment. The logical status is sent by in effect encrypting it using two random numbers, one from each entity, before sending it to the other entity. However the encrypting is much “lighter” (requiring much less computer or circuit resources) than any conventional secure cipher and has a built-in verification feature.
US08200976B2

The presently claimed invention relate generally to portable audio devices. One claim recites a method including: receiving audio content data through an interface of a portable personal digital device capable of playing audio; storing the received audio content data in electronic memory; audibly rendering said audio content data; utilizing an electronic processor, counting a number of plays of the received audio content data; and displaying the number of plays of the received audio content data to a user of the portable personal digital device. Of course additional claims and combination are provided as well.
US08200975B2

Systems and/or methods enabling an individual to digitally sign data using an identifier where the data being digitally signed and the identifier are not accessed at the same location are described. In some cases, the systems and/or methods permit an individual to digitally sign data for an electronic document using an identifier inaccessible by a remote computer where the electronic document is rendered using view information from that remote computer. The systems and/or methods may also enable a network computer to send view information for, and a digital encoding of, an electronic document to a local computer effective to enable the local computer to digitally sign the electronic document by signing the digital encoding of electronic document.
US08200974B1

A system and method for securely exchanging plurality of information items used to generate a plurality of encryption keys used in a public key-and-private key system. In accordance with the principles of the invention, elements of exchanged information items, such as public key and synchronizing indictors are encrypted before the exchange. The information item element is encrypted using an encryption key determined from information items that were previously exchanged. The encryption of information items used to determine subsequent encryption keys provides additional security to the encryption key used in the transmission of informational data as the encrypted elements of the information item must be decrypted before the data message encryption key can be decrypted. The process of exchanging encrypted information items can be repeated until an agreed upon number of encrypting keys is determined.
US08200968B2

A system and method for communicating between a user device locator module and a user receiving device includes forming a secure connection with a user device locator module. The user receiving device communicates user identifier data and port data to the user device locator module. An authentication module authenticates the user data from the user device locator module and generates an authentication signal. The user device locator module registers the port data at the user device locator module in response to the authentication signal.
US08200964B2

One embodiment of the present invention provides a system for accessing an encrypted file through a file system. During operation, the system receives a request to access the encrypted file. In response to the request, the system sends an encrypted file key for the encrypted file from the file system to a tamper-resistant module. Next, the tamper-resistant module uses a master secret to decrypt the encrypted file key to restore the file key, wherein the master secret is obtained from an external source by the tamper-resistant module. The system then uses the file key to access the encrypted file.
US08200959B2

An authentication agent may cryptographically identify a remote endpoint that sent a media initialization message even though intermediate devices may modify certain fields in the message after a signature is inserted. The originating endpoint's agent may create the signature over some fields of the message using an enterprise network's private key. The agent may insert the signature into the message and send the message to a recipient endpoint's authentication agent. The recipient agent may verify the signature, receive a certificate including a second public key, and challenge the identity of the originating endpoint in order to confirm that identity. This challenge may request a confirmation that the originating endpoint knows the private key corresponding to the second public key and may occur while running encrypted media at the endpoints. After the originating endpoint is authenticated, the endpoints may exchange encrypted and/or unencrypted media.
US08200952B2

Firmware of a system is configured to allow secondary devices, such as a smart card, to be used for authentication. In an example embodiment, the secondary device is a CCID smart card in compliance with the ISO 7816 specification. The smart card is inserted into a card reader coupled to the system prior to booting the system. The firmware comprises an emulator and driver configured to allow authentication information from the smart card to be utilized to allow execution of the boot process. In an example embodiment, the smart card comprises external keys for use with BITLOCKER™. The secondary device is compatible with systems implementing a BIOS and with systems implementing EFI. Authentication also can be accomplished via devices that do not provide data storage, such as a biometric device or the like.
US08200950B2

A pipeline operation processor comprises a pipeline processing unit and an instruction insertion controller which inserts an instruction when access to an operation memory is requested, and corrects control information by reference to control information of stages. When a control program is in execution, on receiving an access request instruction requesting for access to the operation memory, the instruction insertion controller inserts an NOP instruction from the instruction decoding unit in place of the access request instruction. The access request instruction is executed while the pipeline processing unit executes no operation, and subsequently, the pipeline processing is continued.
US08200949B1

A multi-threaded processor system, method, and computer program product capable of utilizing a register file cache are provided for simultaneously processing a plurality of threads. A processor capable of simultaneously processing a plurality of threads is provided. The processor includes a register file and a register file cache in communication with the register file.
US08200938B2

The present invention relates to native and platform-independent software code. In a particular embodiment, the method includes providing a first software program compiled to platform-independent code for execution in a first process of the computer system, providing a second software program compiled to native code for execution in a second process of the computer system, and sending a message from the first process to the second process to request a memory buffer.
US08200937B2

The invention is a method of managing flash memory-allocation in an electronic token. Said token has a memory comprising a list area and a managed area. Said managed area comprises allocated spaces and at least one free memory chunk. Said list area comprises at least one valid entry referencing a free memory chunk. Said valid entry comprises a state field. Said method comprises the step of selecting a free memory chunk further to an allocation request where said free memory chunk is referenced by an old entry, and the step of identifying a new allocated space in the selected free memory chunk. The state field of said valid entry is preset with a virgin state. Said method comprises the step of invalidating the old entry referencing the selected free memory chunk.
US08200935B2

An allocation control apparatus may access an address table storing addresses of slice areas allocated in a storage area for an entire storage system having a plurality of storage devices and addresses that do not correspond to allocated slice areas. The allocation control apparatus includes a reception unit receiving a request for allocating an arbitrary storage capacity an allocation unit allocating, by referring to the address table, an address that does not correspond to the allocated slice area for at least a part of the requested storage capacity and allocates an address for the slice area to the remaining storage capacity when the reception unit receives the allocation request, and a transmission unit transmitting the result allocated by the allocation unit to a requesting source of the allocation request.
US08200931B2

A software installation system comprises an interface component that receives a request to access data resident upon a flash memory card. An installation component compares a unique identifier associated with the data with a unique identifier embedded within the flash memory card, and the installation component determines whether to allow access to the data based at least in part upon the comparison. The installation component prohibits access to the data if the unique identifier associated with the data does not match the unique identifier embedded within the flash memory card.
US08200927B2

In a backup management system, data is copied remotely from a backup source volume to an intermediate volume. When access by a host ends and a backup time arrives, data is copied locally from the intermediate volume to a backup target volume. During a data restore, a user is able to select not only backup target volumes but also the intermediate volume as restore source candidates.
US08200924B2

Systems and methods for efficient storage of data are provided. For instance, a method that includes acts of receiving a data stream to be stored on a first storage system, the data stream comprising a data object and metadata that describes attributes of the data object, extracting the metadata from the data stream, storing the data object on the first storage system and storing the extracted metadata, separately from the data object, on a computer-readable medium is disclosed. Additionally, a storage system is disclosed that includes a first storage medium, an interface configured to receive a data stream including a data object to be stored on the first storage medium and a controller. The controller may be configured to extract metadata from the data stream, the metadata being descriptive of attributes of the data object, and to direct the extracted metadata to be stored on a computer-readable medium.
US08200920B2

Methods, systems, and apparatus for storing and accessing data stored in a data array are presented. In one embodiment, data is stored in a data array that includes a plurality of nodes. The nodes of the data array are segmented into one or more standard and priority pages. The pages are represented in a packed index. The priority pages are then cached and the standard pages are saved to disk. In another embodiment, data stored in a node of a data array may be accessed wherein the data array is segmented into at least one priority page and at least one standard page and the data array includes a plurality of nodes. A request for data stored in the node may be received. A priority page and/or a standard page may be searched for the node and, when found, the node may be accessed.
US08200919B2

A storage device with self-status detection and an inspection method thereof are provided. The storage device includes a plurality of storage areas (i.e., block tables), a plurality of memory blocks, and a status detection unit. The storage areas respectively have a corresponding weight value, and the addresses of memory blocks which have the same number of error correct codes (ECCs) are recorded in the same storage area. The status detection unit obtains a status of the storage device according to the number of addresses of the memory blocks recorded in a storage area and the corresponding weight value of the storage area.
US08200914B2

An apparatus, system, and method are disclosed for a read-before-write storage controller instruction. A sequencer receives an atomic read-before-write instruction comprising new data, a target address for the new data, and an undo log address. An I/O unit reads old data from the target address, writes the old data and the target address to the undo log address, and writes the new data to the target address as directed by the sequencer.
US08200908B2

A data processing system includes a system interconnect, a first interconnect master coupled to the system interconnect, a second interconnect master coupled to the system interconnect, and a cache coherency manager coupled to the first and second interconnect masters. The first interconnect master includes a cache. The cache coherency manager provides debug cache coherency operations and non-debug cache coherency operations to the first interconnect master. The cache coherency manager generates the debug cache coherency operations in response to debug cache coherency commands from a debugger and generates the non-debug cache coherency operations in response to transactions performed by the second interconnect master on the system interconnect.
US08200905B2

A processing system includes a memory and a first core configured to process applications. The first core includes a first cache. The processing system includes a mechanism configured to capture a sequence of addresses of the application that miss the first cache in the first core and to place the sequence of addresses in a storage array; and a second core configured to process at least one software algorithm. The at least one software algorithm utilizes the sequence of addresses from the storage array to generate a sequence of prefetch addresses. The second core issues prefetch requests for the sequence of the prefetch addresses to the memory to obtain prefetched data and the prefetched data is provided to the first core if requested.
US08200898B2

An apparatus includes a controller and a plurality of drives. The controller has a communication control unit for accepting a data input/output request, a controller unit for controlling a drive, and a cache memory for temporarily storing data transferred between the communication control unit and the controller unit. The plurality of drives has different communication interfaces and connected to the controller unit to communicate with the controller unit.
US08200892B2

In the control of the number of program-erase cycles, when assigning a logical block (LB) to a physical block (PB), the number of program-erase cycles of a first PB and that of a second PB are compared, which first PB is a free PB of which the number of program-erase cycles is the smallest among that of free PBs, which second PB is a PB earliest assigned a LB among PBs each assigned a LB. As a result, in a case where the number of program-erase cycles of the first PB is larger by a predetermined value or more than that of the second PB, data stored in the second PB are transferred to a free PB of which the number of program-erase cycles is the largest among free PBs, and then the LB is assigned to the second PB.
US08200873B2

An editing system in which a personal computer is easily configured as an editing apparatus that performs editing processing in synchronization with predetermined timing. According to the invention, a personal computer 2 transmits an acquisition command C1 to a timing notice apparatus 4 over a USB cable 3, as a result, the personal computer 2 receives a timing notice signal S2 transmitted from the timing notice apparatus 4 under frame timing over the USB cable 3. Thus, it becomes possible to notify the personal computer 2 of the frame timing as reception timing of the timing notice signal S2 by connecting the timing notice apparatus 4 to the personal computer 2 over the USB cable 3 without the need of troublesome works such as installing a PCI board in a main body of the personal computer 2, thereby realizing an editing system 1 in which the personal computer 2 is easily configured as an editing apparatus that performs editing processing in synchronization with predetermined timing.
US08200863B2

A device management apparatus connected to one or more devices via a data transmission channel includes an input information holding unit for holding an input information group including one or more pieces of input information, each of which is to be connected to device information of a device; a device search unit for detecting the devices by a search; a device information acquiring unit for acquiring the device information from the devices; a cross-checking unit for cross-checking information items of the input information with those of the device information; and a registering and updating unit for performing data registration/update by, when the cross-checking unit determines that there is a common information item between the input information and the device information, connecting a piece of input information to the device information based on item entries of the common information item, and storing the connected information as registry management information.
US08200861B2

A dongle for connecting a disk drive assembly to the backplane of a storage enclosure is disclosed. The dongle includes: a housing having a disk drive connector portion having a plurality of contact pins for connecting to a disk drive assembly and having a PCB holding portion having walls that define a recess; and, a PCB located within the recess, the PCB having a plurality of contact fingers on at least one surface at an edge of the PCB to form a backplane connector for connecting to the backplane. At least some of the disk drive connector contact pins are in electrical connection with at least some of the contact fingers of the backplane connector.
US08200858B1

A universal serial bus (USB) communication system, the communication system including: (a) at least one asynchronous transmission queue manager configured to queue, in at least one asynchronous transmission queue, information for asynchronous transmission through at least one asynchronous pipe; (b) at least one guaranteed transmission queue manager configured to insert into at least one queue information for transmission through a dedicated pipe utilized by the communication system; wherein the at least one queue is selected from the at least one asynchronous transmission queue, at least one periodic transmission queue and at least one additional queue; and (c) a transmitter configured to transmit information through the at least one asynchronous pipe and the dedicated pipe, wherein the transmitting through the dedicated pipe is prioritized over the transmitting at the at least one asynchronous pipe, wherein the transmitting at the dedicated pipe is irrespective of time in which information for transmission at the dedicated pipe is inserted into the at least one queue.
US08200852B2

Methods and systems are described for utilizing multi-mode dongles with peripheral devices. The multi-mode dongles are configured to provide standard mode signals for a standard mode of operation and alternate mode signals for an alternate mode of operation, for example, where a host information handling system is unable to provide the alternate mode signals to the peripheral device. The multi-mode dongle receives mode control signals from a host information handling system and automatically switches from a standard mode of operation to an alternate mode of operation, where the alternate mode signals are provided to the peripheral device, based upon the mode control signals. In one embodiment, the multi-mode dongle can be configured for a universal serial bus (USB) port, and the alternate mode signals can be associated with charging a consumer electronics (CE) device.
US08200850B2

Communication modules are coupled in a communication ring and are operable to send and receive data from peripheral devices. The modules are operable to send and receive data streams on paths of the ring, and each module is operable, responsive to receiving a predetermined initialization signal, to operate as a master for initially blocking data in the first path and initially sending a block signal to a neighboring module downstream in the second path. The modules are operable, responsive to receiving the block signal in one of the paths, to block data in that one of the paths, so that responsive to initialization of one of the modules as a master, the master and the neighboring module create an inactive virtual link therebetween in order to prevent data from propagating around the ring more than once.
US08200848B2

The invention includes method and apparatus for generating a protocol agent adapted to facilitate communications between a managed system and at least one management system. The method includes generating an implementation of a unified information model from an information model specification and generating the protocol agent from a protocol specification. The protocol specification includes first mappings to the information model specification and the protocol agent includes second mappings to the implementation of the unified information model. The second mappings are formed using the first mappings. The information model specification includes a model of hardware of the managed system. The implementation of the unified information model includes a plurality of logical entities, wherein the logical entities represent a plurality of physical entities of the managed system. The protocol specification includes a model of a protocol. The protocol agent includes a plurality of protocol entities.
US08200839B1

Multiple service label types may be used in a given network element to optimize scalability of the data plane, minimize overhead associated with service label management, and allow new services to be offered. Service label management may be done in a dynamic manner so that service labels may be selected for routes in a dynamic fashion as the network changes. VPNs handled by the network element may have different types of service labels, and different routes within a particular VPN may be allocated different service label types. Service label requests may be stored on the data plane to allow a service label request database to be restored from the data plane upon a control plane failure, so that new service labels are not required to be allocated after a control plane failure.
US08200830B2

Systems and methods are provided to allow detection of the load conditions on network devices. The load detection can occur using a mobility management device to track establishment of sessions and attempts at session establishment to determine the loading conditions on various network devices. This information can then be used by a selection logic to determine which devices are selected to send session establishment messaging for new session establishment requests. This can provide quicker setup times as highly loaded network devices or network devices experiences other failures are selected less until conditions are back to normal.
US08200825B2

The present invention comprises a system for the control of multiple remote resources. A plurality of user stations, each comprising a keyboard, video screen and a mouse, communicate with a server management unit. The server management unit is comprised of a server chassis, matrix switch and a switch server. Remote resources are each connected to a port of a multiplexer or to a server interface. A user station connects to a remote resource by making a request to the server management unit. The switch server identifies the multiplexer or server interface port to which the resource is connected from a database. A request is made to a remote interface server connected to the multiplexer and server interfaces and the remote interface server connects the appropriate ports of the server management unit and the multiplexer or server interface.
US08200813B2

According to one embodiment, each monitoring device acquires monitoring variables from an observation target, generates an individual multidimensional distribution of the monitoring variables, and transmits the individual multidimensional distribution to a server. The server generates sampling data using the individual multidimensional distribution received from each monitoring device, generates an overall multidimensional distribution of the monitoring variables using the sampling data, determines a statistical model of each index using the overall multidimensional distribution, generates an overall index multidimensional distribution of indexes using the statistical model and the overall multidimensional distribution, and transmits the overall index multidimensional distribution and statistical models to each monitoring device. The monitoring device generates sampling data using the individual multidimensional distribution, and calculates a positioning of the observation target using the sampling data, the overall index multidimensional distribution and the statistical models.
US08200812B2

Embodiments of the present invention address deficiencies of the art in respect to workload management of backend systems and provide a novel and non-obvious method, system and computer program product for limiting a request rate from a client based on a health state of a server system. In one embodiment of the invention, a computer-implemented method for limiting a request rate from a client based on a health state of a server system that includes monitoring a server system, determining a measure of health of the server system, sending the determined measure of health to a client submitting a request to the server system and receiving a subsequent request from the client that is delayed by a time period, wherein the time period is based at least in part upon the determined measure of health. The computer-implemented method can further include receiving server system CPU utilization, determining an approximate predicted real server response time of a transaction and sending the determined approximate predicted real server response time of a transaction to a client submitting a request to the server system.
US08200801B2

A data processing system using a client-server configuration includes a method and apparatus for simultaneously generating multiple copies of data sets in multiple storage pools. Simultaneous copies of data sets may be made for storage pools having LAN-free paths in addition to storage pools having only access from a LAN path.
US08200795B2

Systems, apparatus and methods for enabling a mobile station to control a virtual world being executed on a console system are described. The method can include establishing a communication link between the mobile station and a console system, identifying user interface characteristics of the mobile station, and providing a game controller application to the mobile station, the game controller application being based on the identified user interface characteristics and configured to transform user interface inputs into game controller commands. The method can further include receiving signals containing data representing the game controller commands from the mobile station over the communication link and determining game results based on the received game controller commands. In one aspect, the system includes a controller application server storing multiple game controller applications for mobile stations characterized by different user interfaces.
US08200794B1

The invention facilitates remote management of a computer via a network. Remote computer management capability can be expanded beyond that previously available through the addition of one or more new primitive functions that can be performed on a managed computer.
US08200793B2

A method for tracking the routing of an electronic document, including embedding a unique identifier within an electronic document and monitoring e-mail messages transmitted from senders to recipients, for detection of e-mail messages having the electronic document embedded therewithin or attached thereto, based on the unique identifier. A system and computer readable storage medium are also described and claimed.
US08200783B2

A field mountable interface module is provided. The intelligent interface module includes at least one data connection port configured to couple to a data communication network as well as at least one process communication connection port configured to couple to a field device bus. The intelligent interface module also includes a controller and memory coupled to the controller. The controller is configured to provide a higher order function with respect to one or more field devices and/or field device buses. Higher order functions include calibration support, complex device support, diagnostic support, distributed control system support, and virtual field device functions.
US08200776B2

Methods and apparatus are provided for controlling a computing device. The behavior of a user of a computing device is observed when the computing device is connected to each of a plurality of networks. A profile is automatically maintained for each of the networks. Each profile contains one or more predefined actions to be performed when the computing device is connected to the corresponding network. The predefined actions are based on the observed behavior. The predefined actions that are recorded in the automatically generated profile and based on the observed behavior can be automatically triggered when the computing device is connected to the network associated with the profile.
US08200765B2

A method and system for preserving a message ordering while processing message are discussed. A message ordering manager records an order in which electronic messages arrive at an input queue. An application server processes the electronic messages out-of-order or in parallel. The message ordering manager commits the processed electronic messages in the order in which electronic messages arrive at an input queue. If a processed message cannot be committed because older message(s) are not completely processed, then application server determines whether processing older message(s) is critical or not. If the processing the older message(s) is critical, the application server rolls back the processed message and the older message(s). Otherwise, the message ordering manager commits the processed message before the older electronic messages are committed.
US08200763B2

A device, system, and method are directed towards providing a recipient list for a message to be communicated within a group associated with an event. A recipient list for the message is defined based on identities of a plurality of members in the group. Ordering information for the recipient list is determined based on at least one characteristic of the event. Additional ordering information may also be determined based on other characteristics of other events. The recipient list is ordered based on the determined ordering information(s). The ordered recipient list is truncated if a length of the recipient list exceeds a first threshold. A selectable option to retrieve the (truncated) recipient list is provided with the message, if a length of the message plus a length if of the (truncated) recipient list exceeds a second threshold. Otherwise, the (truncated) recipient list is provided with the message.
US08200753B2

A method and system for establishing an Instant Messaging (IM) relationship are provided. The method for establishing the IM relationship includes: sending user information of a first user to an IM client of a second user, checking whether the user information of the first user meets filter conditions of the second user; establishing the IM relationship between the first user and the second user when the user information of the first user meets the filter conditions of the second user.
US08200752B2

The present disclosure presents systems and methods for maintaining an original source IP address of a request by an intermediary network device despite the source IP address being modified by a cache server during an unfulfilled cache request. An intermediary receives a request from a client to access a destination server via a first transport layer connection. The client request identifies the client's IP address as a source IP address. The intermediary transmits to a cache server, via a second transport layer connection, the client request as a second request modified to include the client IP address of the first request in a header. The intermediary device receives, via a third connection, the second request as a third request from the cache server. The intermediary device obtains the client IP address from the header of the third request and transmits to the server identified in the first request the third request as a fourth request identifying the client IP address as the source IP address.
US08200749B2

A data processing method is disclosed. The data processing method comprises the step of receiving a request for a service interface description of a service from a client at a server, wherein the service is implemented via a first service endpoint at the server, and wherein the first service endpoint is associated with a first service endpoint interface description. In a further step, a given set of correlations is employed for the determination of service endpoints correlated with the first service endpoint with respect to the service, wherein each of the correlated service endpoints is associated with a service endpoint interface description. Furthermore the service interface description is generated by aggregating the first service endpoint interface description with the service endpoint interface descriptions of the correlated service endpoints and the service interface description is provided to the client.
US08200745B2

A handheld client framework system provides a server proxy client that services client requests for network accessible information and determines the server that is most appropriate to supply the requested information and sends information request packets to that server across the Internet and/or intranet. Server responses to information requests are received by the server proxy client. The server proxy client separates the response information into the appropriate data components. Data components are sent to the appropriate client. Presentation and logic components are temporarily stored in a one-behind cache on the client. A client will continue to use the presentation and logic components already installed or in the one-behind cache to service the current user request. Any updates sent by the server proxy client and stored in the one-behind cache are retrieved by the client upon subsequent use by the user. The state of the client is saved by the server proxy client so that the client is not dropped when a user, for example, changes from a wired connection to a wireless connection. The invention includes a scripting language that supplies the logic component of the client and gives the client unlimited flexibility by allowing the host to modify the client's behavior or add new features at any time.
US08200744B2

Methods and/or systems relating to mote networks having one or more indexes. A sensing function or a control function is determined at a mote in the network. In response, one or more indexes are created.
US08200742B2

An apparatus, system, and method are disclosed for facilitating data flow between a first application programming interface (“API”) and a second API. The function receiving module receives a first function call from a calling application. The first function call is directed at one or more files comprising an API signature according to the first API. The function converting module converts the first function call according to the first API into a second function call according to a second API. The sending module sends the second function call to a processing application. The result receiving module receives a first data result from the processing application according to the second API. The result converting module converts the first data result according to the second API to a second data result according to the first API. The returning module returns the second data result to the calling application.
US08200737B2

Systems, program code, and methods to facilitate pipeline management, are provided. An example of a method can include the steps of forming digitized map segments to provide for display of a geographical relationship between terrain featured in the map segments and a pipeline network, forming pipeline equipment records to provide for detailed engineering analysis on associated pipeline equipment, functionally linking each digitized map segment and each pipeline equipment record to at least one geographically associated pipeline operational area, identifying a rupture exposure radius coverage area of the rupture, identifying an immediate upstream and downstream valve from the pipeline rupture, identifying pipeline valves potentially needing to be closed, determining potential lost inventory, forecasting a potential environmental impact of the rupture, and displaying critical engineering data and drawings for the effected portion of the ruptured pipeline, the identified immediate upstream valve, and the identified immediate downstream valve.
US08200714B2

A data tree is generated in memory by parsing a first XML file. Default setting requests and validation requests are read from a second XML file. Default data values for nodes in the data tree are generated by executing default data generation code from locations specified in the default setting requests and recorded in the data tree. The content of data stored in nodes of the data tree is then validated by executing validation code from locations specified in the validation requests. The data tree is then searched by getting a nodepath, parsing the nodepath into a plurality of path pieces, searching the data tree based on each of the path pieces, and returning one or more nodes of the data tree based on the search that satisfy the path pieces. A data value of one or more nodes or child nodes may be specified to narrow the search.
US08200685B2

The present invention relates to an aspect-level news browsing service system and method for mitigating effects of media bias, which group news articles having different aspects on the same event on the basis of aspects, and simultaneously provide grouped news articles to users. The aspect-level news browsing service system may include a user terminal for accessing a news service server over an Internet and receiving aspect-level news article information from the news service server. A news provision server may transmit news article information to the news service server over the Internet. The news service server may extract aspects from the received news article information, classify the news article information based on the extracted aspects, and may transmit the aspect-level news article information to the user terminal depending on the aspects to enable the news article information to be displayed. The Internet may be configured to connect the user terminal to the news service server.
US08200683B2

A system and method to sort search results based upon a desirability value is illustrated. This desirability value may be based upon the difference between a demand value and a supply value. Demand may be based upon user activity such as click-throughs, purchases, price, or location. Supply may be based upon a supply of keywords that may be the number of times a word is used in search or item title. The system and method may include receiving a search query, associating a first numerical value with a keyword that is a part of the search query, tracking user activity associated with the keyword, associating a second numerical value with the keyword based upon the user activity, finding a difference value between the first and second numerical values, associating this difference value with the keyword, sorting keywords based upon the difference values, and returning the search results of the sorting.
US08200682B2

A method of detecting a reference sequence of events in a sample sequence of events, wherein each event is of a certain event type and holds a set of data attributes, includes the steps of: picking candidate combinations of events from said sample sequence so that the event types within each candidate combination match the event types in the reference sequence, calculating an overall similarity score for each candidate combination from at least (i) an event occurrence score based on occurrence deviations of the events of a candidate combination with respect to the matching events of the reference sequence and (ii) an attribute match score based on similarity deviations between the data attributes of the events of a candidate combination and the data attributes of the matching events of the reference sequence, and identifying the candidate combination with the best overall similarity score as reference sequence detected.
US08200670B1

Methods, systems, and apparatus, including computer program products, for clustering documents. A plurality of documents are identified from a set of documents, where the identified documents have the same top N terms by term frequency score for an integer N. A pattern string that is satisfied by at least a subset of the identified documents is identified. A document cluster is formed from at least the subset of the identified documents.
US08200668B2

Systems and methods that group atomic scalar values recognized by a database such as columns into sets (e.g., column sets). A grouping component associated with the SQL server creates a logical representation for column groupings, which are accessible by a single I/O and can be co-located (e.g., substantially close or compact) in terms of storage location. Interesting column sets (e.g., non-null) can also be selected for a data representation thereof as a single entity to other applications.
US08200660B2

There is provided a computer-implemented method of executing a query plan against a database. An exemplary method comprises accessing a first subset of rows of a database table using a direct access method. The query plan may comprise the direct access method. The exemplary method also comprises determining a processing cost of accessing the first subset of rows. The exemplary method further comprises modifying the direct access method in response to determining that the processing cost exceeds a specified threshold. Additionally, the exemplary method comprises accessing a second subset of rows of the database table using the modified direct access method.
US08200658B2

A system and method for enabling a second database instance to more quickly process a request to execute a database statement that has previously been executed by a first database instance is described. In one embodiment, the method involves sending the database statement from the first database instance to the second database instance, and generating by the second database instance one or more structures needed to prepare the statement for execution, such as a parse tree and an execution plan for the statement. If at some point in the future, the second database instance receives a request to execute the same statement, the above structures can be used for execution, thereby eliminating the need for one or more potentially time-consuming operations, such as generation of a parse tree or execution plan for the statement.
US08200657B2

Processing non-Boolean term conditions in database queries. A query that is a request for data in a database is received and includes at least one uneven non-Boolean term condition that spans multiple tables in the database. The non-Boolean term condition is split into separate portions, each of the portions providing a Boolean term that can be satisfied by accessing one table in the database. The separate portions are executed independently to find at least one data result in the database that satisfies the Boolean term of each separate portion, and the data result from each separate portion are combined into a final result that satisfies the query.
US08200656B2

A method, system and computer program product are disclosed for searching for information using a knowledge base. In one embodiment, the method comprises receiving a query; formulizing the query, including dividing the query into a plurality of parts; for each of the parts, identifying a source, using the knowledge, that addresses that part; and combining the sources to answer the query. In one embodiment, the query includes text; the text is separated into a plurality of segments; and, for each of the segments, at least one source is identified addressing the segment. In an embodiment, a logical proof is formulated having a conclusion that is an answer to the query, and a sequence of statements that establish said conclusion; and a proof of this conclusion is generated by identifying two or more documents that assert the sequence of statements.
US08200650B2

From when any one of several DMSs 2 is selected, until contents are downloaded from that DMS 2, a DMP 1 stores the search information which has been specified for that DMS 2. And if some other DMS 2 is selected before contents have been downloaded from the DMS 2 which was first selected, then the DMP 1 specifies this search information which is stored to that other DMS 2. Accordingly, it is possible greatly to enhance the ease of use when it is not known upon which DMS 2 the desired contents is stored.
US08200648B2

A method includes finding regions of a reference signal which provide at least one of: local evidence scores and a global evidence score. The local evidence scores indicate local similarity of the regions of the reference signal to regions of a query signal and the global evidence score defines the extent of a global similarity of the query signal to the reference signal. A media exploring device is also included which includes an importance encoder and a media explorer. The importance encoder generates importance scores of at least portions of digital media as a function of at least one of local evidence scores and global evidence scores. The media explorer enables exploring through the digital media according to (i) the importance scores, (ii) data associations/links induced by the evidence scores between different portions of the digital media. The device may also include a media player to play the digital media with adaptive speeds as a function of the importance scores. The device may also include a labeling/annotation module which inherits labels/annotations/markings according to the abovementioned data associations.
US08200643B2

Disclosed is a method, system, and program for lock management. Under control of a lock manager, lock request queuing is performed, heartbeat functions are performed, and state information is maintained.
US08200640B2

A system, framework, and algorithms for data deduplication are described. A declarative language, such as a Datalog-type logic language, is provided. Programs in the language describe data to be deduplicated and soft and hard constraints that must/should be satisfied by data deduplicated according to the program. To execute the programs, algorithms for performing graph clustering are described.
US08200629B2

Methods and system for transferring images between devices is disclosed. For example, differently scaled images by a host device may automatically and/or selectively be transferred to a media player for display. In turn, appropriately scaled images may be transferred automatically and/or selectively to another display device for example a TV, camera or printer. The selectivity may occur either at the host level or at the player level.
US08200627B2

The disclosure and claims herein are directed to efficient journaling for recovery of a database index by journaling zones of a page. A journal mechanism maintains a page zone bit map that includes a bit for a plurality of zones in each page to indicate which zones have had their unchanged image journaled before being changed since a last sync point update. The page zone bit map has a bit for each zone in each page so that the status of each zone can be tracked separately. Tracking the smaller zones of the pages makes the process more efficient both at run time and during recovery by reducing the period of time for memory deposits and reducing the amount of total redundant/recovery data sent to disk for larger pages.
US08200622B2

A system, method and computer program product for integrating, managing and coordinating activities of customers in an enterprise, across a plurality of applications, resources and touch-points. Customer data is obtained during interactions between a customer and an application, a resource or a touch-point. This data is stored in the form of virtual composite objects in cache memory, on a cluster of servers. The virtual composite objects contain customer data, policies and behaviors of the enterprise. The applications query for the virtual composite objects through the server. The server hosting the queried virtual composite object delivers the queried virtual composite object in real time to the querying application. Any updates to the virtual composite object on account of events at the applications, resources or touch-points, is carried out in real time.
US08200616B2

An apparatus for polynomial based data transformation may include a processor. The processor may be configured to identify data that is relevant to a set of one or more queries and generate an information source vector that indicates information sources associated with the data. The processor may also be configured to generate a cyclotomic polynomial based on the information source vector and factor the cyclotomic polynomial to generate a plurality of orthogonal data signatures. Associated methods and computer program products may also be provided.
US08200605B2

A decision making unit suitable for an autonomous platform. The decision making unit includes a receiving module configured to receive at least one ability request and a preconditioning module configured to precondition the received ability request. A filter is configured to filter the preconditioned ability request. A first generator is configured to generate a set of behavior instructions associated with the filtered ability request. A priority processor is configured to priority process the filtered ability request. A second generator is configured to generate at least one control signal depending upon the priority processing of the filtered ability request, wherein the control signal includes information about the generated set of behavior instructions.
US08200599B2

Memory architecture provides capabilities for high performance content search. The architecture creates an innovative memory that can be programmed with content search rules which are used by the memory to evaluate presented content for matching with the programmed rules. When the content being searched matches any of the rules programmed in the Programmable Intelligent Search Memory (PRISM) action(s) associated with the matched rule(s) are taken. Content search rules comprise of regular expressions which are converted to finite state automata (FSA) and then programmed in PRISM for evaluating content with the search rules. PRISM architecture comprises of a plurality of programmable PRISM Memory clusters (PMC) which comprise of a plurality of programmable PRISM Search Engines (PSE). Groups of PMCs can be programmed with the same rules and used in parallel to apply these rules to multiple data streams simultaneously to achieve increased performance. PMC groups provide 10 Gbps performance with 10 PMC groups enabling 100 Gbps content search and security performance.
US08200596B2

Classes of web graph algorithms are extended to run directly on virtual node-type compressed web graphs where a reduction in runtime of the extended algorithms is realized which is approximately proportional to the compression ratio applied to the original (i.e., uncompressed) graph. In the virtual node compression technique, a succinct representation of a web graph is constructed by replacing dense subgraphs by sparse ones so that the resulting compressed graph has significantly fewer edges and a relatively small number of additional nodes.
US08200590B2

A novel method is disclosed for efficiently solving minimax problems, and in particular, for efficiently solving minimax problems wherein the corresponding matrix is large. In particular, the novel method solves minimax problems in O(n2 T) operation count, where n denotes the problem size and T is reversely proportional to the required duality gap as one skilled in the art will understand. Further disclosed herein is a method for solving linear programming (LP) problems by converting such problems into minimax problems, and then using the novel minimax solution method disclosed herein.
US08200578B2

Aspects of the present invention comprise systems and methods for design and use of web-based applications for account management. Some embodiments may comprise a virtual agent or avatar as part of an account collection or management web application. Some embodiments may comprise applications, utilities and tools for account-related web resource design.
US08200577B2

An operational support system includes a data collection unit and a number of network devices that are associated with various telecommunications services. The data collection unit retrieves raw data records from the network elements and identifies information in the raw data records that is relevant for billing purposes. The data collection unit normalizes the raw data records to create a billable record. The billable record may then be passed to a rating or billing unit that determines the charges associated with a customer's use of the telecommunications services.
US08200565B2

The claimed invention relates to an adjustable derivative contract. Particularly a method and system for adjusting the derivative contract to account for time value of money due to an occurrence of a corporate event that affects the value of the derivative contract. The claimed method and system allocates distributions amongst different derivative contracts, each derivative contract representing a different economic interest of at least two shares of an underlying security. The claimed invention uses the concepts of present and future values to value derivative contracts in order to more fairly and accurately represent the interests of the various holders of such derivative contracts upon the occurrence of a corporate event affecting the value of these derivative contracts.
US08200564B2

A method and system for creating an equity exchange fund for public and private entities are provided. The method includes the steps of receiving an application to participate in the fund from at least one investor, the investor having a position in at least one commercial entity; evaluating the entity based on at least one predetermined criteria; if the entity is acceptable, performing a valuation of the position in the entity; and determining a number of shares of the fund to be exchanged for the position in the entity. The determining the number of shares step includes determining a future value of the position at a scheduled date of liquidation of the fund; dividing the future value of the position by a total current fund value plus the future value of the position to determine a ratio; and multiplying a number of shares of the fund by the ratio.
US08200559B1

A financial analysis program includes an object oriented architecture having a number of abstract classes associated with performing financial calculations. The abstract classes include an instruments class that defines a number of financial instruments in a hierarchical manner. The abstract classes also include a models class that defines a number of objects or functions used to perform financial calculations. The program also includes an interface to allow a user to pass instrument parameters to the objects or functions and execute the object or function using the instrument parameters.
US08200558B2

In a trading environment that comprises buy side traders and securities brokers, a computer process capable of preventing securities brokers from receiving information irrelevant to a commission payment for a securities transaction. The process comprises means for providing an overview of commission payments for a predetermined time period, means for providing details of step-out payments for the predetermined period, means for adjusting step-in amounts and frequencies, means for providing notification that a commission payment has been stepped out and is capable of being credited, means for automatically suggesting and performing step-ins and step-outs, and means for assessing the step-outs and step-ins against a predetermined budget.
US08200557B2

Systems and methods are provided for computing migration and performance matrices. The matrices may provide risk and performance data, as well as different views on the data useful for making and monitoring investment decisions. The migration and performance matrices may bring together data to reflect information on the likelihood that a rated entity will change its current rating within a given time period, information reflecting retention rates, and information describing the effect of changed exchanged rates on different data, for example.
US08200551B1

A method and system for communicating retail-item-purchasing data in a computer network environment is provided. Commute information is leveraged to provide purchasing options to end-users and to permit customers to automatically search for various products available at local businesses without having to visit each business. The commute information can be a commute path or a location reference. One or more providers of the items within a distance of the commute path are identified. Purchasing data is communicated based on the determination of the providers.
US08200547B2

An auction system and method, which identifies at least one lot to be auctioned, having a plurality of units within the lot and associated auction parameters; transmits a remaining quantity of units within the lot from a central server to a plurality of remote locations; receives bid identifications for remaining units within the lot at the contemporaneous offering price from the plurality of remote locations; and decrements the offering price over time. The decrement may be adaptive to a bid activity pattern, and the bid activity pattern may be stored in a database. A local server may be provided to communicate between the central server and remote locations while changing the format of the information communicated. The packets preferably include compressed information, and preferably include quantity remaining information for a plurality of auction lots.
US08200542B2

An image of at least one object (14) is captured. An object class selection is received from a menu (70) of a plurality of object classes. At least one task menu specific to the object class selection is provided. A task selection is received from the at least one task menu. A task associated with the at least one object (14) is facilitated based on the image and the task selection.
US08200541B2

An image of at least one object (14) is captured. An object class selection is received from a menu (70) of a plurality of object classes. At least one task menu specific to the object class selection is provided. A task selection is received from the at least one task menu. A task associated with the at least one object (14) is facilitated based on the image and the task selection.
US08200498B2

A process for distributing digital audio sequences according to a nominal flux format including a succession of fields, each of which includes at least one digital block clusterizing a selected number of coefficients corresponding to single audio elements that are digitally coded inside the flux and utilized by audio decoders that are able to play it to be able to decode it correctly, including a preparatory step including modifying at least one of the coefficients, and a transmission step including a primary flux in compliance with a nominal format including blocks that were modified during the preparatory step and by a route separated from the primary flux by an additional piece of digital information which allows reconstruction of the original flux starting with a calculation, on recipient equipment, as a function of the primary flux and of the additional information.
US08200495B2

A speech recognition system receives and analyzes speech input from a user in order to recognize and accept a response from the user. Under certain conditions, information about the response expected from the user may be available. In these situations, the available information about the expected response is used to modify the behavior of the speech recognition system by taking this information into account. The modified behavior of the speech recognition system according to the invention has several embodiments including: comparing the observed speech features to the models of the expected response separately from the usual hypothesis search in order to speed up the recognition system; modifying the usual hypothesis search to emphasize the expected response; updating and adapting the models when the recognized speech matches the expected response to improve the accuracy of the recognition system.
US08200483B2

Disclosed is an adaptive excitation vector quantization device capable of improving quantization accuracy of adaptive excitation vector quantization while suppressing increase of the calculation amount in CELP encoding which performs encoding in sub-frame units. An adaptive excitation vector generator cuts out an adaptive excitation vector of a frame length (n) from an adaptive excitation codebook. An impulse response matrix former forms a n×n impulse response matrix using impulse response matrixes of sub-frames inputted from a synthesis filter. A target vector generator adds a linear prediction residual vector of each sub-frame to form a target vector of frame length (n). An evaluation measure calculator calculates an evaluation measure of the adaptive excitation vector quantization by using the adaptive excitation vector, the impulse response matrix, and the target vector.
US08200481B2

The present invention discloses a method for performing a frame erasure concealment to a higher-band signal, including: calculating a periodic intensity of a higher-band signal with respect to a lower-band signal; judging whether the periodic intensity of the higher-band signal is higher than or equal to a preconfigured threshold; if the periodic intensity of the higher-band signal is higher than or equal to the preconfigured threshold, using a pitch period repetition method to perform the frame erasure concealment to the higher-band signal of a current lost frame; and if the periodic intensity of the higher-band signal is lower than the preconfigured threshold, using a previous frame data repetition method to perform the frame erasure concealment to the higher-band signal of the current lost frame. The present invention further discloses a device for performing a frame erasure concealment to a higher-band signal and a speech decoder. The problem that the quality of the voice signal is lowered is avoided.
US08200477B2

A method and system for extracting opinions about a subject of interest from a text document in which each sentence is analyzed individually to identify the opinions. The most relevant feature terms related to the subject are extracted from the document based on their relevancy scores. Candidate feature terms are definite noun phrases at the beginning of the sentences. For each sentence that refers to the subject or a feature term, the invention determines whether the sentence includes an opinion polarity about the subject or the feature term. The opinion polarity is detected by identifying opinion terms in the sentence using an opinion dictionary or an opinion rule base, parsing the sentence with an English parser to identify grammatical components in the sentence and their relationships, and finding a matching entry in the dictionary or the rule base.
US08200454B2

Method, apparatus, and system, including computer program products, implementing and using techniques for time series analysis, wherein the time series exhibit trend and/or seasonality. Model parameters of the time series data are determined by selecting and/or suggesting a most appropriate combination of trend and seasonality of the time series data based on analysis of variances of transformed time series data.
US08200436B2

A sensor apparatus comprising a housing, two or three gyroscope units and three accelerometer units. The gyroscope units are oriented orthogonally respective to each other and mounted within the housing. Each gyroscope unit includes a plurality of gyroscopes with input axes parallel to each other. The accelerometer units are oriented orthogonally respective to each other and mounted within the housing. Each accelerometer unit includes a plurality of accelerometers with detection axes parallel to each other.
US08200433B1

The present disclosure is directed to a Synthetic Vision System (SVS) view combined with information from navigation charts. The operator of a vehicle is not required to mentally combine separate SVS view and navigation charts, increasing situational awareness and decreasing complexity. A synthetic terrain representation is generated, combined with navigation chart information, and displayed. Additionally, the combination may include an indicator indicating the intended path of the current planned course. The combination may be generated with less detailed navigation chart information when further away or more detailed navigation chart information when close, displaying more detail as landmarks are approached. The combination may include indicators representing one or more navigation aids based on information in the navigation charts. The combination may include text based on navigation chart information.
US08200429B2

The navigation apparatus has a display unit ready to accept a user operation that moves a reference point of a navigation route already being defined on a map by the apparatus. The move of the reference point of the navigation route according to the user operation, together with map information, defines a new navigation route that incorporates route amendments. The navigation apparatus thus allows the user to easily and responsively modify an already-defined navigation route in a novel manner, which enables a rubber-banding of the already-defined navigation route.
US08200428B2

The illustrative embodiments provide a method for processing sensor data and controlling the movement of a vehicle. In one illustrative embodiment, a vehicle having a plurality of sensors attempts to receive sensor data. In response to an inability of the vehicle to obtain needed sensor data, collected sensor data is requested from a plurality of other vehicles to form alternate sensor data. The alternate sensor data is received and the vehicle is controlled using the alternate sensor data. In another illustrative embodiment, a request is received at a first vehicle for sensor data from a different vehicle. Sensor data is collected from a plurality of sensors at the first vehicle. The sensor data is then sent to the different vehicle.
US08200404B2

A method for controlling wheel-hop in a vehicle driveline includes detecting that a wheel-hop condition occurs upon determining an amplitude and frequency of speed oscillations of a component that transmits power to wheels of the driveline, engaging a transmission friction clutch that transmits torque in the driveline between an engine and the wheels, and modulating requested engine torque.
US08200397B2

Mirrors on a motor vehicle are adjusted by monitoring the position of a first, preferably manually adjusted, mirror and adjusting the position of additional mirrors based on the monitored position of the first one of the mirrors.
US08200389B1

An analysis tool which extracts all the available parameter identifications (i.e. PIDS) from a vehicle's power train control module for diagnostic decisions. This is done by checking these PIDS and other information (e.g., calculated PIDS, Break Points, charts and algorithms) in three states; key on engine off, key on engine cranking, key on engine running. In all three modes the tool is comparing the live data from PIDS and voltage to the other information (e.g, Break Points). If any of this data are outside the programmed values a flag is assigned to the failure or control problem. The relationship between a particular PID and its associated preprogrammed value(s) may be indicated by a light. The depth of the problem (if any) is conveyed by the color of the light. Also included are tests/charts for fuel trim, engine volumetric efficiency, simulated injector, power, catalyst efficiency, and engine coolant range.
US08200387B2

In a method for controlling the operation of an internal combustion engine, a target torque to be produced is determined in several steps: In a first step a torque requested by a user is determined and modified in subsequent steps by different functions, which reproduce the influences of at least one continuously determined working and/or operating parameter of the engine on the torque that is actually produced, in such a way that at the end of the steps the target torque required during the engine operation is defined and the engine operation and the determination of the working and/or operating parameter are monitored for errors. If errors occur, diagnostic values that describe or indicate the errors are generated and used to modify, in particular limit the target torque. The diagnostic values are individually assigned to the individual steps to modify the determination or modification of the torque performed in each step.
US08200380B2

A method and an apparatus for an on-board train control device are provided, and are based on converting speed codes received from wayside cab-signaling devices into movement authority limits. The device determines the train location independent of the wayside train detection system, and generates and enforces stopping profiles based on said movement authority limits.
US08200377B2

The system for securing an aircraft flight plan has a flight management system delivering: a flight plan and points comprising passage setpoints in terms of speed, altitude and time; an avionics computer; at least one resource for storing environmental data constituting a hazard for the aircraft; a performance model of the aircraft defining limiting flight conditions according to the performance capabilities of said aircraft; at least one resource for processing the aircraft's avoidance trajectories. It makes it possible, based on a sampling of points of the flight plan, to calculate a set of avoidance trajectories and correlate them with the environmental data in order to detect the engagement points requiring a corrective maneuver.
US08200364B2

A mail system including a tracking and reporting system that is adapted to integrate address information together with a unique code on at least one mailpiece, wherein the address information and code are linked, an in-process tracking and archiving system that is adapted to track the mailpiece as the address information and code are printed on the mailpiece and during a mailpiece insertion process to verify that the at least one mailpiece is inserted into a mailer and store an electronic copy of the mailpiece with the address information and code in an archive, an in-bound data capture of return mail system that scans the unique code and automatically links the mailpiece to account information stored in an account database and an postal address update and management system that is linked to a postal service database for verifying address information and correcting address errors.
US08200362B2

A numerically controlling apparatus is provided in which the automatic operation of a machine tool can be stopped at a desired block and yet at plurality of desired blocks without changing NC programs. In this numerically controlling apparatus, an operator performs a change into the “EDIT” mode with a mode selecting switch on a keyboard 18 and makes the cursor shifted up to the block, at which the automatic operation is desired to be stopped, with the keyboard 18, in the state where the NC program for setting stop points is displayed in the image 20. By pushing the “SET STOP POINT” key 24A provided in the key display area 24, the stop point 25 indicated with a “red circle” is set ahead of the block. When, in the course of the automatic operation of the machine tool, the action due to the command of the block, for which the stop points 25 is set, has been completed, the automatic operation of the machine tool becomes stopped.
US08200355B2

The present invention relates to a method for manufacturing artificial implants, comprising 1) acquiring the pre-operation three dimensional volume image and the post-operation three dimensional volume image of the operation portion, thereby respectively producing the pre-operation target image and the post-operation target image including the target; 2) aligning the pre-operation target image with the post-operation target image so as to generate the aligned image; 3) acquiring the difference image of the incised part in the target based on the aligned image; 4) building the three dimensional model of mold points of the incised part based on the difference image; and 5) manufacturing the artificial implant having the same shape with the incised part based on such three dimensional model of mold points.
US08200346B2

An MPC controller technique integrates feedback control performance better than methods commonly used today in MPC type controllers, resulting in an MPC controller that performs better than traditional MPC techniques in the presence of process model mismatch. In particular, MPC controller performance is enhanced by adding a tunable integration block to the MPC controller that develops an integral component indicative of the prediction or other control error, and adds this component to the output of an MPC controller algorithm to provide for faster or better control in the presence of model mismatch, which is the ultimate reason for the prediction error in the first place. This technique enables the MPC controller to react more quickly and to provide better set point change and load disturbance performance in the presence of model mismatch, without decreasing the robustness of the MPC controller.
US08200342B2

An energy management system facilitates the transfer of high frequency energy coupled into an implanted abandoned lead at a selected RF frequency or frequency band, to an energy dissipating surface. This is accomplished by conductively coupling the implanted abandoned lead to the energy dissipating surface of an abandoned lead cap through an energy diversion circuit including one or more passive electronic network components whose impedance characteristics are at least partially tuned to the implanted abandoned lead's impedance characteristics.
US08200341B2

Methods, implantable medical devices and systems configured to perform analysis of captured signals from implanted electrodes to identify cardiac arrhythmias. In an illustrative embodiment, signals captured from two or more sensing vectors are analyzed, where the signals are captured with a patient in at least first and second body positions. Analysis is performed to identify primary or default sensing vectors and/or templates for event detection.
US08200340B2

The disclosure describes guided programming for posture state-responsive therapy. The guided programming may include receiving therapy adjustment information that includes therapy adjustments made by a patient to at least one parameter of one or more stimulation therapy programs for one or more patient posture states, generating one or more suggested therapy parameters for one or more of the stimulation therapy programs based on the therapy adjustment information, presenting the suggested therapy parameters to a user.
US08200335B2

A lead connection assembly of an implantable medical device (IMD) may include at least two different types of electrical connectors. In some examples, the lead connection assembly may include first and second electrical connectors that have at least one of a different electrical contact arrangement, a different lead connection receptacle geometry or a different size than the first electrical connector. The first electrical connector may be electrically connected to a first therapy module that generates cardiac rhythm therapy that is delivered to a heart of a patient, and the second electrical connector may be electrically connected to a second therapy module that generates electrical stimulation that is delivered to a tissue site within the patient. The second electrical connector may be configured to be incompatible with a lead that delivers the cardiac rhythm therapy to the patient.
US08200333B2

An implantable medical device provides ventricular pacing capabilities and optimizes AV intervals for multiple purposes. In general, intrinsic conduction is promoted by determining when electromechanical systole (EMS) ends and setting an AV interval accordingly. EMS is determined utilizing various data including QT interval, sensor input, and algorithmic calculations.
US08200325B2

A micropower neural amplifier with adaptive power biasing for use in multi-electrode arrays is provided. The micropower neural amplifier includes a low noise gain stage. The low noise gain stage is implemented using an amplifier and pseudoresistor elements.
US08200320B2

In some embodiments, a wearable physiologic monitor comprises a mixed analog and digital application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC) including signal conditioning circuitry, an A/D converter, a real-time clock, and digital control logic. The signal conditioning circuitry includes analog amplification circuitry, analog (continuous-time or switched capacitor) filtering circuitry before the A/D converter, and in some embodiments digital (DSP) filtering circuitry after the A/D converter. The monitor includes sensors such as electrocardiogram (ECG) electrodes, accelerometers, and a temperature sensor, some of which may be integrated on the ASIC. The digital control logic receives digital physiologic data sampled at different rates, assembles the data into physiologic data packets, time-stamps at least some of the packets, and periodically stores the packets in a digital memory. The monitor may include a disposable patch including the ASIC, and a reusable, removable digital memory such as flash memory card. Applications include ambulatory monitoring and quantitative titration of care.
US08200308B2

A catheter has a plurality of sensors and electrodes, wherein the sensors are arranged alternately and spaced apart from each other. A system for continuous measurement and mapping of physiological data may use such a catheter with a coupling unit for insulated coupling of the plurality of sensors with a measurement unit and a mapping unit for mapping values received from the sensors to a predefined matrix.
US08200305B2

A variable wavelength generating method and an apparatus thereof, for use in measuring a body fluid constituent concentration. The apparatus includes: a thermo-electric cooler (TEC) whose temperature is varied depending on a change in a supplied current; a light source section generating a wavelength that is varied depending on a temperature change of the thermo-electric cooler; a current supply control section controlling a current supplied to the TEC; an operation power source generation section supplying an operation power source for performing synchronization so that an operation of the light source section may be performed; and a controller for adjusting a current flowing in the TEC adjusting the operation power source supplied to the light source section.
US08200300B2

A sliding electronic device includes a first component, a second component, a connecting element and a torsion element. The second component faces the first component. The connecting element is disposed between the first component and the second component, and has a first end and a second end, wherein the first end is rotatably disposed within the first component, and the second end is movably disposed within the second component. The torsion element connecting the first component to the connecting element is for providing torque to drive the connecting element. When a relative movement between the first component and the second component is generated under an applied force, the connecting element and the torsion element cause the second component to move between a close location and an open location on the first component.
US08200295B2

A communications system may include at least one mobile wireless communications device, and a wireless communications network for sending text messages thereto. More particularly, the at least one mobile wireless communications device may include a wireless transceiver and a controller for cooperating therewith for receiving text messages from the wireless communications network. It may further include a headset output connected to the controller. The controller may be for switching between a normal message mode and an audio message mode based upon a connection between the headset output and a headset. Moreover, when in the audio message mode, the controller may output at least one audio message including speech generated from at least one of the received text messages via the headset output.
US08200293B2

A mobile phone cradle may include a housing, a lower body displaceably received in the housing, an upper body rotatably fixed to an upper portion of the lower body and displaceably received in the housing, wherein a mobile phone is held on the upper body, a first elastic member, wherein one end of the first elastic member is selectively wound around a roller rotatably mounted on the housing to move the lower body upwards and the other end of the elastic member is fixed to the lower body, a fixing member selectively fixing the lower body to the housing, and a moving unit guiding displacement of the lower body along the housing, wherein the upper body is rotated at a predetermined angle when taken out of the housing by the first elastic member.
US08200288B2

A communication terminal, computer program product and method thereof by which an image set for a phone number can be provided using a plurality of partial images in inputting a phone number to which a call signal will be transmitted. Also, a display for displaying information, a user input unit for inputting a plurality of digits configuring a phone number, and a controller for controlling the display to complete an image including at least one or more partial images by sequentially displaying the at least one or more partial images, when a plurality of the digits are inputted via the user input unit.
US08200272B2

An apparatus and method for controlling an output power of a home Base Transceiver Station (BTS) are provided. The method includes, when receiving a location registration message, determining a type of a user that sends the location registration message, determining a maintain power when the user type is a home user and increasing an output power value to be applied to the home BTS by a difference of the powers between the maintain power and a latest avoid interference power when the maintain power is less than or equal to the latest avoid interference power.
US08200262B2

An enhanced services platform has an interface for receiving a communication from a user requesting a desired data. An automated response module parses the communication and retrieves the desired data. The enhanced services platform arranges the desired data into a response message that is sent to the user, where the response message includes an embedded code corresponding to a link allowing the user to re-contact the enhanced services platform. An operator assistance module receives communications from the user initiated via the link to provide further assistance regarding the user's request.
US08200260B2

In one embodiment, a transaction server facilitates a purchase transaction for goods or services between users at two mobile phones. The Purchaser initiates a request for a purchase transaction to a server, and is provided with a unique code (“purchasing nonce”) that is uniquely associated with the request. The user of the first mobile phone provides the purchasing nonce to the Seller, who enters that value into the selling mobile phone. The selling mobile phone initiates a request to join the transaction as identified by the purchasing nonce. After confirmation of the Purchaser that the Seller can join the transaction, the Seller can itemize the goods for sale, which are electronically presented to the Purchaser for approval. After all items are selected, the Purchaser approves the transaction, and the transaction server can then transfers funds. An electronic receipt is provided to the Purchaser's mobile phone for confirmation.
US08200259B2

A method may include receiving a multimedia messaging service (MMS) message from a sending device, the MMS message being addressed to a terminating device. A notification may be sent to the terminating device that the MMS message is available. A user agent profile may be received from the terminating device, the user agent profile including a network indicator to indicate the type of network currently servicing the terminating device. It may then be determined if transcoding of the MMS message is required based on the type of network indicated in the user agent profile and attributes of the MMS message.
US08200257B2

In one embodiment, a method includes: receiving, at a mobile device, a first service command and a second service command; sending the first service command from the mobile device to a server; sending the second service command from the mobile device to a server; receiving, at the mobile device, first service results corresponding to the first service command; receiving, at the mobile device, second service results corresponding to the second service command; combining the first service results with the second service results; and displaying the combined service results on the mobile device.
US08200243B1

Mobile device for receiving, demodulating and processing a Global Positioning System (GPS) signal and a photo camera generated processed signal into a combined GPS and camera signal and providing combined processed signal to a cross-correlator and filter for cross-correlation, filtering and Code Division Multiple Access (CDMA) and of Time Division Multiple Access (TDMA) quadrature modulation of combined signal. The CDMA and TDMA modulated signal is transmitted in a cellular system. The mobile device is connected to the wired or wireless internet network and to a cellular system and contains a receiver and a processor for receiving, demodulating and processing a first Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiplexed (OFDM) modulated video signal. The mobile device processes the first OFDM signal and provides it to a television (TV) set. The mobile device contains a touch screen signal generator and processor for processing the touch screen generated signal into a control signal for control of transmission of CDMA modulated signal and of OFDM modulated video signal. The mobile device contains a smoke detector and a motion detector and corresponding processors for processing motion and smoke detector generated signal.
US08200232B2

A method and apparatus of selecting a cell in a wireless communication system is provided. A user equipment receives an Intra Frequency Reselection indicator (IFRI) from a barred cell. The user equipment starts an Intra Frequency Reselection (IFR) timer when the IFRI indicates not to allow reselection of a neighboring cell in a frequency of the barred cell, and searches neighboring cells in the frequency of the barred cell while the IFR timer is running.
US08200221B2

A communication system comprising a network element, a mobile station, and a plurality of radio access means. The plurality of radio access means is configured to provide communication services to the mobile station. A radio access means of the plurality of radio access means includes a plurality of cells. The plurality of radio access means use different communication methods. The network element is configured to order the radio access means based on provided information. The provided information is associated with the plurality of radio access means and is based on a plurality of parameters associated with each of the plurality of radio access means. The network element is further configured to select a target radio access means of the plurality of radio access means based on the ordering and to send a request to the mobile station to perform compressed mode measurements based on the selected target radio access means for selecting a cell associated with the selected target radio access means.
US08200220B2

A method and an apparatus for identifying a UE in an SAE network, and an MME are provided herein. The method includes: receiving an SAE-TMSI which is allocated to a UE that accesses an SAE network and includes at least: a pool-ID, an MME-ID, and a UE temporary identifier; using the SAE-TMSI to temporarily identify the UE in the SAE network. The apparatus includes: a receiving unit and a temporary identifying unit. The MME includes a temporary identifier allocating unit. Moreover, a method for transmitting and allocating a temporary identifier, and a method for receiving and transmitting information according to the temporary identifier are disclosed herein.
US08200215B2

Speech signals to be sent between a first node and a second node via a wireless communication system are Adaptive Multi-Rate (AMR) encoded. A need to change the first node's first data transmission rate over a radio interface to a second different data transmission rate is determined. A new AMR source bit rate is then determined for both nodes. Information is sent to the second node, in advance of changing the data transmission rate over the radio interface, requesting the second node to change towards the new AMR source bit rate. After a predetermined time period sufficient for the second node to change from the current AMR source bit rate to the new AMR source bit rate expires or after the second node indicates a change to the new AMR source bit rate, the first node starts transmitting at the second data transmission rate over the radio interface.
US08200214B2

A method is provided for connecting an in-vehicle communication system to a plurality of wireless communication networks, including a mobile telephony network and an internet protocol network. The in-vehicle communication system is configured to roam between the plurality of wireless communication networks, wherein the method includes the step of receiving a first wireless communication signal from one of the plurality of wireless communication networks. The method also includes the step of detecting a second wireless communication signal from a second of the plurality of wireless communication networks. The method further includes the step of determining an intensity level of the first and second wireless communication signals. The method further includes the step of switching the in-vehicle communication system to one of the plurality of wireless communication networks based on the intensity level of the first and second wireless communication signals.
US08200207B2

A method and system that employs a proxy server associated with a mobile device in a wireless network, wherein the proxy server monitors whether the mobile device is still in coverage. The media service operates on top of a connectionless peer-to-peer packet-based transport protocol. The out-of-coverage condition may relate to the mobile device itself or to a remote mobile device engaged in the media service. If the proxy server detects that the device has lost coverage for more than a predetermined length of time, then it sends an out-of-coverage message to the other termination point engaged in the media service. If an out-of-coverage situation is detected, then the method or device initiates service cancellation or release. The out-of-coverage message may instruct the termination point to release or cancel the service.
US08200205B2

A computer system having one or more non-transitory computer readable mediums having stored thereon instructions which, when executed by one or more processors of the computer system, causes the one or more processors to prioritize a target mobile content by (a) receiving interaction information relating to the mobile content accessed by a first mobile communication facility by a user thereof; (b) receiving a datum associated with the user of the first mobile communication facility, wherein the datum corresponds to offline information relating to the user; (c) weighting the mobile content based at least in part on the interaction information and the offline information relating to the user; and (d) providing the weight as a parameter for use in ordering the mobile content for presentation on a second mobile communication facility.
US08200195B2

An intelligent remote device equipped with a security token operatively coupled thereto is processing communications with a security token enabled computer system over a wireless private network. The intelligent remote device is adapted to emulate a local security device peripheral connected to the computer system. Multiple computer systems may be authenticated to using the intelligent remote device. Additionally, various secure communications connections mechanisms are described which are intended to augment existing security protocols available using wireless network equipment. Authentication of a user supplied critical security parameter is performed by the security token. The critical security parameter may be provided locally via the intelligent remote device or received from the wireless network and routed to the security token. Aural, visual or vibratory feedback may be provided to the user to signal a successful authentication transaction.
US08200193B2

To detect an anomaly in traffic sent by at least one mobile terminal (TM) in a radiocommunication network, a device capable of communicating with a radiocommunication network (RR) location register (HLR) comprises an evaluation module (ME) to increase, for a predetermined time interval, an authentication account (CA) assigned to the mobile terminal when security data (DS) are transmitted to a network unit to authenticate the mobile terminal, to detect an anomaly in the traffic sent by the mobile terminal if the authentication account exceeds a predefined upper limit value upon expiration of the predetermined time interval, and to transmit a message concerning such traffic anomaly to a unit in the network in charge of taking the necessary measures to eliminate the said anomaly.
US08200190B2

A method and apparatus for reducing the vulnerability of the telecommunications system to unauthorized use that is easy to implement and that can reduce the instances of unauthorized access even during periods when telecommunications personnel are not able to give attention to the traffic on the system. The telecommunications system collects statistics of each user's pattern of telecommunications usage. Typically, these statistics will be in the form of, say, the average number of calls per day or the average number of calls per day on given days of the week. It may also include the mean busy hour for the given days of the week. Moreover, daily averages may be taken not only for all calls but also for all calls of a particular type, e.g., of all international calls. These statistics are taken for a reference period, such as the preceding thirty days, and the corresponding quantity for the current day is also computed. If the current statistics are not excessive as compared with the reference statistics, then access to a communications resource—e.g., an outgoing trunk line—is granted to the call without any supplemental access restrictions. But if a predetermined deviation is detected between the current statistics and the reference statistics, then a supplemental restriction is placed upon the call.
US08200185B2

Techniques for supporting eCalls are described. In an aspect, an eCall indicator may be used to indicate an eCall being established. In one design, a terminal may generate a message including an eCall indicator and may send the message to originate an eCall. The eCall indicator may indicate (i) whether or not a call is an eCall or (ii) whether an eCall is initiated automatically by the terminal or manually by a user. In another aspect, a terminal may avoid sending signaling for mobility management and connection management to wireless networks except for eCalls and designated calls. The terminal may avoid performing location updating, performing registration, responding to paging requests, etc. The terminal may exchange signaling with a wireless network for an eCall initiated by the terminal. After the eCall is initiated, the terminal may perform location updating with the wireless network and call establishment for the eCall.
US08200177B2

A network search method of a user equipment (UE) for a wireless communication system that improves network search speed for acquiring Public Land Mobile Network (PLMN) available list available where the user equipment is located. A network search method measures powers of all the frequency bands supported by a UE in response to a network search request, generates a scan list as a result of measurement of the powers, searches networks listed in the scan list for available channels; acquires neighbor cell information from a system information message of one of the available channels. In addition, the method skips the networks indicated by the neighbor cell information in search of networks by removing the networks from the scan list.
US08200172B2

A system and method for optimizing the performance of RF devices having a transmitter and an antenna that function at multiple frequencies. Due to regulatory limits on radiation output, and because antenna gain varies with frequency, transmitter power has been constrained by the highest efficiency point of the antenna. According to the present invention, the optimal power setting is empirically determined for each frequency, and stored in a data table. When an operational frequency is selected for the RF device, the data table is consulted to determine the appropriate power setting for the transmitter.
US08200171B1

A method and apparatus for testing a polar transmitter uses at least one square wave waveform as test stimuli replacing a multitone waveform. Each square wave signal is coupled one at a time to a frequency modulating input of the polar transmitter. The output of the polar transmitter is analyzed by observing the amplitude and frequency of the demodulated components corresponding to each square wave signal.
US08200168B2

A programmable antenna assembly includes a configurable antenna structure, a configurable antenna interface, and a control module. The configurable antenna structure includes a plurality of antenna elements that, in response to an antenna configuration signal, are configured elements into at least one antenna. The configurable antenna interface module is coupled to the at least one antenna and, based on an antenna interface control signal, provides at least one of an impedance matching circuit and a bandpass filter. The control module is coupled to generate the antenna configuration signal and the antenna interface control signal in accordance with a first frequency band and a second frequency band such that the at least one antenna facilitates at least one of transmitting and receiving a first RF signal within the first frequency band and facilitates at least one of transmitting and receiving a second RF signal within the second frequency band.
US08200161B2

Aspects of the invention may comprise calibrating operations of wireless transmitters and/or receivers in a communication device to mitigate interference caused during concurrent communications via the wireless interfaces in the communication device. Calibration may be performed dynamically, and may comprise managing system parameters and/or physical resources of the communication device and/or the wireless transmitters and/or receivers; managing characteristics of wireless communication performed via the wireless transmitters and/or receivers; and/or managing isolation between two or more of said plurality of wireless transmitters and/or receivers in said communication device. The calibration may be performed based on data generated, via the wireless transmitters and/or receivers, during active and/or idle phases of operations. The data may be based on monitoring of RF effects caused by operations of other wireless transmitters and/or receivers. A coexistence manager may exchange data and/or control signaling with the wireless transmitters and/or receivers during to performing the calibration.
US08200156B2

An integrated circuit (IC) includes a plurality of circuit modules, a millimeter wave (MMW) transceiver, a controller. The controller is further operably coupled to: obtain potential inter-chip millimeter wave (MMW) communication links within a device; identify at least one of the inter-chip potential inter-chip MMW communication links as being a dedicated point-to-point MMW link; determine requirements to establish the dedicated point-to-point MMW link; and, when inter-chip MMW resources are available to support the requirements, allocate the inter-chip MMW resources to support the dedicated point-to-point MMW link.
US08200148B2

An EV-DO terminal module is made up of hardware and software for implementing the function as an EV-DO terminal. A W-LAN terminal module is made up of hardware and software for implementing the function as an AP of W-LAN. An information exchange terminal module has a function equal to that of the W-LAN terminal module. A control module has a dialup function and a function based on PPP protocol and is a hardware and software module for controlling the EV-DO terminal module, the information exchange terminal module, and the W-LAN terminal module.
US08200146B2

A book spread identification arrangement for a board book is provided, the arrangement comprising a plurality of conductive paths, contact means disposed adjacent at least part of at least one of the conductive paths and processing means connected to the conductive paths and configured for processing signals associated with the conductive paths. One selection end of each path is disposed adjacent the spine surface of the book. The contact means comprise one or more conductive surfaces and are arranged, upon opening of the book to a spread, to contact one of a plurality of combinations of one or more of the conductive paths. Each of the plurality of combinations is in a predetermined unique association with a respective single spread of the book. From the processed signals, the processing means are able to determine the particular combination of conductive paths contacted by the contact means and identify to which spread the book is open.
US08200143B2

An image forming apparatus includes an image forming portion for forming an image using developer; a transfer unit for transferring the image to a medium transported thereto; a first detection unit disposed at a specific position for detecting the image thus transferred; and a second detection unit disposed to face the first detection unit for detecting a distance to the medium so that the first detection unit detects a detection result of the second detection unit.
US08200134B2

An image forming apparatus enables a high-quality double-side printing of a transfer medium by one-pass method using a simple structure. A latent image is formed and developed on an image carrier (drum) in a process cartridge. A resultant toner image is transferred by a first transfer unit (roller) onto either an upper surface of the transfer medium or a first intermediate transfer body (roller) in a first transfer area. The toner image on the first intermediate transfer body is transferred onto a back surface of the transfer medium in a fourth transfer area via a second intermediate transfer body (belt) and a third intermediate transfer body (roller). The fourth transfer area is located downstream of the first transfer area along a transport path of the transfer medium.
US08200131B2

A method for detecting, in-situ, a cross-process linearity error in an image printing system that prints on an image bearing surface movable in the process direction is provided. The method includes placing marking material to form of a row of registration marks on the image bearing surface, detecting a position in a cross-process direction of each registration mark in the row using a linear array sensor that extends in the cross-process direction, and determining a correction function with a processor using the positions of the registration marks as detected by the linear array sensor to compensate for an error in the positions in the cross-process direction of the registration marks. The row of registration marks extends in a cross-process direction transverse to the process direction.
US08200127B2

A developer storing container includes outer and inner cases. The outer case includes first and second hollow portions. The first hollow portion includes a surrounding wall so shaped as to surround a center axis. The surrounding wall has both ends in a cross-section perpendicular to the center axis, and has an ejection opening. The second hollow portion includes first and second outer walls extending from both ends of the surrounding wall and a third outer wall disposed therebetween. The inner case is rotatably disposed in the first hollow portion, and has an opening corresponding to the ejection opening. The surrounding wall extends from one of both ends to the other of both ends at an angle greater than or equal to 180 degrees with respect to the center axis. An entire outer surface of the surrounding wall constitutes a part of an outer surface of the outer case.
US08200118B2

An image-forming device includes: a casing; an image-forming section including a plurality of image-forming units; a paper supply unit; and a discharge unit. The plurality of image-forming units are arranged substantially vertically within the casing when the casing is disposed in an orientation in which it is intended to be used, each image-forming unit forming an image in a corresponding color. The paper supply unit is disposed above the image-forming units when the casing is disposed in the orientation in which it is intended to be used. The paper supply unit is configured to accommodate a recording medium substantially in a vertical orientation and to supply the recording medium to the image-forming section. The discharge unit is disposed above the image-forming units when the casing is disposed in the orientation in which it is intended to be used. The discharge unit is configured to receive the recording medium discharged from the image-forming section substantially in a vertical orientation.
US08200106B2

An image forming apparatus includes a photosensitive member; a charging device for electrically charging the photosensitive member; an exposure device for exposing to light the photosensitive member electrically charged by the charging device to form an electrostatic image; a developing device for developing the electrostatic image with toner to form a first patch and a second patch; a detecting device for detecting a density of the first and second patches formed by the developing device; and a control device for controlling an image forming condition on the basis of a difference in density between the first patch formed on the photosensitive member at a portion where a surface potential of the photosensitive member is zero volts and the second patch formed at a portion electrically charged by applying a predetermined charging bias to the charging device.
US08200102B2

An image forming apparatus includes a unit, which is detachably attachable to a main body of the apparatus and has a portion to be detected, and a detecting device which detects the portion to be detected in the unit. It is determined that the unit is in an unused state since both of a first state in which the portion to be detected is detected by the detecting device and a second state in which the portion to be detected is not detected by the detecting device are confirmed, and thereafter, the first state or the second state is maintained. Furthermore, there is provided a restricting member which inhibits the first state or the second state from being maintained.
US08200100B2

Optical receivers and a method for providing a diagnostic measurement of optical modulation amplitude at other than a signal output of an optical receiver are invented and disclosed. The method includes the steps of applying a representation of an output of an optical detector to a circuit that determines a difference between a first signal level and a second signal level that is different from the first signal level and buffering the difference between the first signal level and the second signal level received from the circuit. The optical receivers include an optical detector, a transimpedance amplifier that applies automatic gain control, a circuit that determines a difference between two signal values and a limiting post amplifier. The receivers provide a diagnostic measure that can be compared to certain thresholds relating to known bit error rates or applied in a calculation to generate an absolute optical modulation amplitude value.
US08200088B2

A communication unit inhibits delay and jitter during network communication, improving the communication quality. For this purpose, the communication unit includes: a first terminator that terminates a communication channel in the first optical communication scheme established between the communication unit and another communication unit; a second terminator that terminates a signal in the second optical communication scheme; and a path setting switch that switches between a first signal path setting and a second signal path setting.
US08200084B2

A network component comprising at least one control plane controller configured to implement a method comprising transmitting a message to at least one adjacent control plane controller, wherein the message comprises a Type-Length-Value (TLV) indicating Routing and Wavelength Assignment (RWA) information. Included is a method comprising communicating a message comprising a TLV to a control plane controller, wherein the TLV indicates RWA information. Also included is an apparatus comprising a control plane controller configured to communicate a TLV to at least one adjacent control plane controller, wherein the TLV indicates RWA information.
US08200082B2

A network may include fiber optic lines and fiber distribution panels connected by the one or more fiber optic lines. At least one of the fiber distribution panels may include an optical fiber connector designated as a connector that is for emergency use. The network may further include a plurality of optical network terminals located at premises of subscribers to the network.
US08200080B2

An image sensing apparatus has focus state detection areas, photometry areas, a defocus amount obtaining unit that obtains a defocus amount of each focus state detection area, a photometry unit that obtains a photometric value of each photometry area, and a determination unit that determines a weighting coefficient for each photometry area. The photometry areas includes a first photometry area, corresponding to any of the focus state detection areas, for which the weighting coefficient is determined using a defocus amount of the corresponding focus state detection area, and a second photometry area for which the weighting coefficient is determined using the weighting coefficient for the first photometry area or the defocus amount of the focus state detection area corresponding to the first photometry area. The second photometry area includes one or more photometry areas, and, in a field area, the number of photometry areas below a first area for obtaining a photometric value in the first photometry area is greater than that above the first area.
US08200075B1

A camera-based mobile communication device includes a light sensor, a camera module, a flashlight, and a micro-processing unit (MPU). The light sensor is operable to detect a brightness value of an external light source. The camera module is operable to photograph an image. The flashlight is operable to generate a flash. The MPU is electrically connected to the light sensor, the camera module, and the flashlight. The MPU includes a comparison module, a face recognizing module, and a flashlight control module. The comparison module is operable to compare the brightness value with a threshold brightness value. The face recognizing module is operable to determine whether there exists a facial feature in the image. The flashlight control module is operable to turn on the flashlight when the detected brightness value is greater than the threshold brightness value and the facial feature is recognized from the image.
US08200066B2

The present invention relates to a reproducing apparatus and a reproducing method. A code number is inputted. First control information is reproduced in an info file for controlling reproduction of all of a plurality of playlists recorded on a recording medium. Second control information is reproduced in a playlist for controlling reproduction of the playlist. The reproduction of data is permitted, even when the first control information and the second control information are both active, if the inputted code number is consistent with a personal identification number (PIN) which is recorded in the info file, without requiring another input of the code number. Display of information in a playlist is controlled and the display of the information in the playlist is prohibited when the first control information or the second control information is active.
US08200065B2

An integrated circuit includes a storage that stores a module that has a function of a virtual machine for executing an application recorded on a recording medium. The integrated circuit also includes a central processing unit that executes the module to cause the virtual machine to function and a decoder, that is distinct from the central processing unit, that decodes a video stream and an audio stream that are included in digital streams stored on a recording media. When the central processing unit executes the module, a package manager manages status information of the digital streams. If at least one of the digital streams is in an enable status, the decoder decodes the digital stream. When the decoder decodes the digital stream, the package manager changes the status information of another digital stream to an enable status or a disable status according to a request from the application.
US08200064B2

An optical disk for recording stereoscopic videos and high-quality video signals and a system for reproducing the videos and signals from the optical disk are made compatible with the conventional video reproducing system. A reproducing device which is used for reproducing stereoscopic videos and high-quality videos obtains stereoscopic video or high-quality videos by reproducing both first and second interleaved blocks on the optical disk in which first and second video signals are alternately recorded on the left and right sides by dividing the first and second video signals into frame groups of one GOP or more and a reproducing device which is not used for reproducing the stereoscopic videos and high-quality videos obtains ordinary videos by only reproducing either the first or second interleaved block by jumping tracks.
US08200061B2

A signal processing unit includes a feature quantity extracting unit, a segmentalizing unit, a clustering unit, an existence probability function deriving unit, an existence probability function similarity calculating unit, a cluster integrating unit and a cluster information output unit. The signal processing unit classifies the signal feature quantity which characterizes the content signal segmentalized into segments according to the similarity with respect to each other, obtains functions which indicate the existence probabilities for clusters of classified segments, and integrates the clusters whose obtained functions are at the high level of similarity.
US08200055B2

Methods and devices for optical beam steering are disclosed including coupling a laser light into an apparatus comprising a first substrate; an array of air core photonic crystal waveguides; columnar members etched around each air core waveguide; a pair of metal electrodes around the columnar members; a trench around the pair of metal electrodes surrounding each air core photonic crystal waveguide; a second substrate coupled to the first substrate comprising electrical interconnection lines; and a holographic fanout array comprising a third substrate; a photopolymer film coated on the third substrate; a hologram written in the photopolymer film configured to couple the laser light into the third substrate; and an array of holograms recorded in the photopolymer film configured to couple a portion of the laser light into the waveguides; and passing a current through the electrodes to induce a refractive index change in the first substrate to control the phase of the portion of the laser light that passes through each waveguide. Other embodiments are described and claimed.
US08200045B2

The invention relates to an image processing method to generate, from a source image, an image of reduced size whose ratio between the width and the height is equal to a predetermined value, called reduced ratio. It comprises the following steps: selecting one rectangular image part in the source image, and extracting the rectangular image part to generate the reduced image. According to an essential characteristic of the method, if the ratio between the width and height of the rectangular image part, called first ratio, is not equal to the reduced ratio, the width or the height of the rectangular image part is modified before the extraction step according to values of perceptual interest associated with each pixel of the source image in such a manner that the ratio between the width and the height of the modified rectangular image part, called second ratio, is equal to the reduced ratio.
US08200043B2

A system and method for character recognition with document orientation determination is shown. The method is a detection of simple page orientation based on a limited version of character recognition. The method includes binairizing an input image which has a plurality of alphanumeric characters with a first orientation. The method continues with extracting the connected components and determining a second orientation where the second orientation is based on a 90° turn clockwise or counterclockwise or, in the alternative, no turn from the first orientation. The second orientation will result in a 180° variance from the proper orientation or it will be the proper orientation. The method continues with implementing a limited version of optical character recognition for an analysis of a character and determining if that second orientation is upside down, based at least in part on the analysis. This method generally uses the character “i” for analysis. However, for documents that have a limited number of “i”s, e.g. such as Russian documents or documents with all capital letters, the “T” may also be used.
US08200042B2

An endoscope apparatus includes an electronic endoscope that picks up a measurement object and produces a picked-up-image signal; an image-processing unit that produces a image signal based on the picked-up-image signal; and an measurement processing unit that undertakes measurement processing to the measurement object based on the image signal. The measurement processing unit includes: a reference point-designating unit that designates two reference points on the measurement object; an approximate-outline—calculating unit that calculates an approximate outline by approximating the outline of the measurement object based on the reference points; and a loss-composing points-calculating unit that calculates loss-composing points that constitute a loss outline formed on the measurement object based on the reference points and the approximate outline. This enables loss size measurement upon designating two reference points, thereby reducing complex operations and improving operability.
US08200041B2

Disclosed herein are approaches for detecting and/or generating silhouettes, in graphics processing applications, of objects (e.g., convex objects such as polyhedrons).
US08200039B2

Systems, methods, and apparatuses, including computer program products, are provided for re-layout of composite images. In some implementations, a method includes identifying geometric transformations corresponding to multiple images from a collection of images, where a geometric transformation reorients a corresponding image in relation to a common reference frame when applied and identifying a reference image for the multiple images in the collection of images. The method also includes determining overlapping image regions for the multiple images starting from the reference image, the determining based on the identified geometric transformations, determining additional transformations of a specified type for the multiple images based on the overlapping image regions, where an additional transformation lays out a corresponding image in relation to the reference image when applied, and making the additional transformations available for further processing and output with respect to the collection of images.
US08200038B2

An image processing apparatus and an image processing method. The image processing apparatus includes a first convolution unit, a weight generator, a second convolution unit, an arithmetic unit and an outputting unit. The first convolution unit performs a convolution to output edge strength according to an original image signal and a high pass filter mask. The weight generator chooses a weight coefficient according to the edge strength. The second convolution unit performs a convolution to output an unsharp image signal according to the original image signal and a low pass filter mask. The arithmetic unit outputs a first sharpening signal according to the original image signal, the unsharp image signal and the weight coefficient. The outputting unit outputs a processed image signal according to the original image signal and the first sharpening signal.
US08200037B2

Importance guided image transformation. A subject image is accessed, an importance is assigned respective features of the subject image and a scaling scheme is determined for the subject image based on the importance assigned the respective features of the subject image. A transformed image is generated based on the determined scaling scheme and the transformed image is provided to an image presentation system for display.
US08200034B2

Techniques are generally described for detecting double JPEG compression in images. Example detection techniques of double JPEG compression may include receiving JPEG images for analysis and extracting 2-dimensional (2-D) arrays of JPEG coefficients from the images. 2-D difference arrays may be generated from the array of JPEG coefficients, with the entries in the difference array reflecting relative changes in values of pairs of entries in the array of JPEG coefficients. The detection techniques also model the difference arrays using random processes, and evaluate whether the random processes reveal statistical artifacts in the JPEG images. These statistical artifacts result from double JPEG impression performed on the JPEG images.
US08200032B2

An image processing method includes generating a block matching result by performing a block matching operation according to a plurality of image blocks in the horizontal direction without referring to an image block in the vertical or other directions and performing an image processing operation according to the block matching result of the block matching operation.
US08200030B2

Provided are methods and apparatuses for converting a lower bit-plane image, and methods and apparatuses for inverse-converting the lower bit-plane image, which increase the correlation of the lower bit-plane image. According to the method of converting a lower bit-plane image, pixels of the lower bit-plane image are sequentially added or subtracted so as to generate a converted lower bit-plane image. Accordingly, the lower bit-plane image has higher regularity, and thus the efficiency of image processing using the lower bit-plane image is improved.
US08200024B2

An image monitoring system including: an image data acquisition unit for taking in video signals from a camera to acquire image data; and an image recognition unit for carrying out image recognition processing using an inputted image obtained from the image data acquisition unit, wherein the image recognition unit includes: a reference image registration means for registering a reference image selected from among the inputted images; a motion detection means for acquiring motion detection information from the inputted image; an image blur detection means for detecting image blur by comparison of the reference image with the inputted image for edge strength; a similarity computation means for computing a similarity between the reference image and the inputted image; and a camera anomaly detection unit for determining any anomaly in the camera from the motion detection information, the image blur and the similarity, wherein the comparison for edge strength and the computation for the similarity are carried out respectively for an image region excluding a region of a moving object extracted by the motion detection means.
US08200013B2

A method and a device for segmenting a digital image of biological cells, a method and a device for analyzing the dynamic behavior of biological cells and a method and a device for visualizing the dynamic behavior of biological cells. To provide a segmentation method that has minimal technical requirements, does not necessitate any special preparation or manipulation of the cells to be observed and which requires as few assumptions as possible to be made about the properties of the cells, it is proposed that the method comprises the following steps: determining a maximum gradient for each pixel of the image as the maximum difference between a pixel value of the pixel and the respective pixel values of all or selected neighboring pixels, determining a segmentation threshold value using the maximum gradients, classifying the images into an object class and an environment class using the segmentation threshold value and forming a segmentation zone of the digital image using a class merging method, in particular a region growing method.
US08200011B2

Embodiments of the present invention provide a method and a system for mapping a scene depicted in an acquired stream of video frames that may be used by a machine-learning behavior-recognition system. A background image of the scene is segmented into plurality of regions representing various objects of the background image. Statistically similar regions may be merged and associated. The regions are analyzed to determine their z-depth order in relation to a video capturing device providing the stream of the video frames and other regions, using occlusions between the regions and data about foreground objects in the scene. An annotated map describing the identified regions and their properties is created and updated.
US08200010B1

An image segmentation system selects candidate images from an image collection. Image analysis on individual images proceeds by first detecting salient features on each image. Patches are centered on points of interest located on the salient features of the image. Each patch is gridded into blocks. The block feature vectors are merged to generate a patch feature vector. A fingerprint for each image is obtained by merging patch feature vectors across the image. Images with similar fingerprints are identified and geometric matching is performed to further select images with similar objects. Common regions are tabulated and merged into single regions to segment out coherent objects.
US08200008B2

An image processing device and method is provided to reduce color artifact. A smooth unit performs a smooth operation on color signal corresponding to a pixel and adjacent pixels to generate smooth color signal. A level shifter performs a level-shifting on the smooth color signal to obtain level-shifted color signal. A color strength unit calculates a color strength indicator based on the color signal. A gray level decision unit is connected to the color strength unit for deciding whether the pixel is in a gray level region or not based on the color strength indicators of the pixel and adjacent pixels to generate a gray level indicator. An adjustment unit adjusts the smooth color signal and the level-shifted color signal based on the gray level indicator to generate an output color signal.
US08200007B2

A method of estimating, illuminant comprises minimizing a Minkowski norm with illuminant constraints. The norm is preferably between 3 and 7 and most preferably between 4 and 6. The method is used to remove the color of an illuminant from an image.
US08199995B2

A method for mapping radiological image data from a source imaging system to a target imaging system obtains sensitometric response data for both the source and the target imaging systems and identifies an anchor point that relates a specified source signal value to a specified target signal value. A transform is applied to map a range of source signal values to a corresponding range of target signal values, wherein the transform is defined according to the sensitometric response data obtained for both the source and the target imaging systems and according to the identified anchor point.
US08199988B2

By matching a first data set including digital, three-dimensional, dental models with a second data set including digital, cranio-facial 3D medical scan records, missing or inaccurate portions of the cranio-facial 3D medical scan record can be improved. Example methods for matching the data sets include automatically positioning the dental model with respect to the 3D medical scan record and automatically eliminating common (i.e., overlapping) portions from one of the data sets. Two-dimensional images can be mapped onto images generated from either of the first and second data sets to enhance accuracy and/or photo-realism.
US08199979B2

A processor-based system operating according to digitally-embedded programming instructions includes a face detection module for identifying face regions within digital images. A normalization module generates a normalized version of the face region. A face recognition module automatically extracts a set of face classifier parameter values from the normalized face region that are referred to as a faceprint. A workflow module automatically compares the extracted faceprint to a database of archived faceprints previously determined to correspond to known identities. The workflow module determines based on the comparing whether the new faceprint corresponds to any of the known identities, and associates the new faceprint and normalized face region with a new or known identity within a database. A database module serves to archive data corresponding to the new faceprint and its associated parent image according to the associating by the workflow module within one or more digital data storage media.
US08199977B2

A method of extracting a feature from a point cloud comprises receiving a three-dimensional (3-D) point cloud representing objects in a scene, the 3-D point cloud containing a plurality of data points; generating a plurality of hypothetical features based on data points in the 3-D point cloud, wherein the data points corresponding to each hypothetical feature are inlier data points for the respective hypothetical feature; and selecting the hypothetical feature having the most inlier data points as representative of an object in the scene.
US08199976B2

An image pickup device that acquires images is controlled by an image pickup device controller that accepts image acquisition requests from multiple application programs, and an application scheduler selects application programs to be executed. Information indicative of the image data volumes and image data acquisition rates required for each of the multiple application programs is stored and used to select multiple concurrently executable application programs on the basis of the image data volumes and image data acquisition rates. An image acquisition scheduler determines the timing and intervals at which the multiple executable application programs repeat receiving image data from the image pickup device, without overlapping in terms of time. In addition, an operations section, which explicitly presents concurrently executable application programs to a user and commands the startup of these programs, is displayed on a navigation screen menu.
US08199972B2

An unknown named territory encloses a known physical target location that is specified by a target longitude and a target latitude. An operation is performed to identify a number of rectangular-shaped terrestrial areas that each enclose both the target longitude and the target latitude. Each of the identified rectangular-shaped terrestrial areas respectively encloses a polygonal-shaped named territory. Each polygonal-shaped named territory is defined by a respective circumscribing set of contiguously positioned vectors. An operation is performed to evaluate the circumscribing sets of contiguously positioned vectors of the polygonal-shaped named territories to determine if a given polygonal-shaped named territory includes both the target longitude and the target latitude. When both the target longitude and the target latitude are found to reside within a given polygonal-shaped named territory, the identity of the given polygonal-shaped named territory is conveyed.
US08199967B2

An image processing apparatus includes an analyzing unit configured to analyze an incomplete portion of input image data; and an obtaining unit configured to identify a storage location of original data corresponding to the input image data from the input image data, and to obtain the original data from the storage location. The original data obtained by the obtaining unit is corrected on the basis of a result of analysis by the analyzing unit to generate a complete image, and the complete image is output.
US08199966B2

A system and method for providing contemporaneous product information with animated virtual representations includes identifying a product by detecting a marker with a user device. Based upon the product, an animated virtual representation is generated in a display of the user device. Information about the product is conveyed to the user by virtual interaction with the animated virtual representation.
US08199963B2

A microphone arrangement comprises a stack arrangement (1) which comprises a first semiconductor body (10) having a microphone structure (13) and a second semiconductor body (80). The second semiconductor body (80) comprises a first main face (81) on which an integrated circuit (83) is arranged and a second main face (82) which faces the first semiconductor body (10).
US08199962B2

A loudspeaker diaphragm having a small overall height dimension, in which a dome portion has a sufficient rigidity and which is capable of realizing a stable loudspeaker operation, wherein the loudspeaker diaphragm can realize a desirable sound reproduction without noise, or the like, with a frequency response that is flat over a wide range. In the loudspeaker diaphragm of the present invention, the dome portion includes a concave dome portion formed at a center thereof, a convex dome portion along an outer periphery of the concave dome portion, a plurality of depressed ribs each extending in a radial direction across a boundary between the concave dome portion and the convex dome portion, a voice coil attachment portion along an outer periphery of the convex dome portion, and a plurality of protruding ribs extending in the radial direction across a boundary between the convex dome portion and the voice coil attachment portion, wherein each protruding rib is spaced apart in a circumferential direction from two adjacent depressed ribs.
US08199953B2

A device, for transmitting or receiving ultrasonic signals, includes a transducer and an acoustic horn. The transducer is configured to convert between electrical energy and the ultrasonic signals, and may be a micro electromechanical system (MEMS) transducer. The acoustic horn is coupled to the transducer, and includes multiple apertures through which the ultrasonic signals are transmitted or received in order to manipulate at least one of a radiation pattern, frequency response or magnitude of the ultrasonic signals. The multiple apertures have different sizes.
US08199952B2

A small hearing aid is provided which fits completely in an ear canal of a user wherein a shell as an outer housing of the hearing aid is shaped to closely surround components of the hearing aid to provide a gap between the hearing canal inner walls and the shell to allow flow of air when the hearing aid is mounted in the ear by a mounting element connected to the shell. The mounting element is provided with at least one aperture to allow the air flow. In a fabricating method, an image of the shell is shrunk to closely surround the hearing aid components while maintaining a shape of the ear canal to assure a custom fit.
US08199948B2

A system of signal processing an input signal in a hearing assistance device to avoid entrainment wherein the hearing assistance device including a receiver and a microphone, the method comprising using an adaptive filter to estimate an acoustic feedback path from the receiver to the microphone, generating one or more estimated future pole positions of a transfer function of the adaptive filter, analyzing stability of the one or more estimated pole positions for an indication of entrainment and adjusting the adaptation of the adaptive filter based on the stability.
US08199946B2

The invention relates to a hearing aid with a sound receiver for generating a microphone signal representing a sound wave received and a sound generator for generating a sound depending on a power signal received. The hearing aid has a transmission unit which on the input side is connected to the sound receiver and on the output side to the sound generator and generates a power signal depending on a microphone signal received. The transmission unit modifies a transmission characteristic of the transmission unit as a function of a tag signal received. The hearing aid has a radio frequency detection device connected to the transmission unit, with a spatial detection zone where the radio frequency detection device detects, electromagnetically and in particular inductively, a radio frequency tag and, depending on the radio frequency tag, to generate a tag signal and to output this to the transmission unit.
US08199941B2

With an array of speakers including a center speaker provided with left and right ultrasonic electro-acoustic transducers and left and right speakers provided with respective ultrasonic electro-acoustic transducers, it is possible to identify the left and right speakers. One approach includes energizing the left transducer of the center speaker to emit an acoustic ping signal, utilizing the transducers of the left and right speakers to detect the ping signal, measuring lapse of time between emission of the ping signal by said the left transducer and detection of the ping signal by the transducers of the left and right speakers. Then, the right transducer of the center speaker is energized to emit an acoustic ping signal, the transducers of the left and right speakers are utilized to detect the ping signal, and lapse of time between emission of the ping signal by the right transducer and detection of the ping signal by the transducers of the left and right speakers is measured.
US08199940B2

An audio reproduction system includes: a first speaker arranged near a listener and behind a head of the listener with a speaker unit being held by first holding means to make it possible to mix sounds emitted from front and rear of a vibration plate of the speaker; second and third speakers held by second holding means and arranged near the listener and on left and right of the first speaker; separating means for separating and obtaining low-frequency components and medium- and high-frequency components for left and right channels from an input audio signal; means for supplying the low-frequency components separated by the separating means to the first speaker; and means for supplying the medium- and high-frequency components for the left and right channels separated by the separating means to the second and third speakers.
US08199932B2

A signal processing apparatus includes a plurality of equalizers configured to input an audio signal of a corresponding channel among audio signals of a plurality of channels and configured to perform at least gain adjustment on the basis of a set parameter, each of the equalizers being provided in such a manner as to correspond to an audio signal of one of the plurality of channels; a plurality of output sections configured to output each audio signal for each of the plurality of channels, the audio signal being processed by the equalizer; a measurement section configured to measure frequency-amplitude characteristics of the audio signal output from the output section; and a computation section configured to perform a computation process for correcting frequency-amplitude characteristics of an audio signal of each channel on the basis of the measurement result by the measurement section.
US08199921B2

A sound field controlling device for supplying audio signals to a plurality of speakers provided in a space to form a sound field in the space, includes a measuring unit which measures levels of indirect sounds, which are outputted from the speakers, reflected from a wall surface of the space, and reach a listening position respectively, a reverberation applying unit which generates a reverberation simulation signal for reinforcing the indirect sounds on the basis of the audio signals, and a reverberation balance adjusting unit which controls the level of the reverberation simulation signal and supplies the controlled reverberation simulation signal to the corresponding speakers on the basis of the levels of the indirect sounds outputted from the speakers so that respective synthesized levels of the indirect sounds and the reverberation simulation signal are balanced between the speakers.
US08199917B2

A method and a system for unlocking a storage device that has become locked or cannot be unlocked are disclosed. A hint is generated from a key by removing bits and adding bits. A position of removed bits, a position of added bits, the number of removed bits and the number of added bits are stored and known securely. When the key cannot unlock a storage device corresponding to the key, the position of removed bits, the position of added bits, the number of removed bits (N) and the number of added bits are retrieved. Then, the added bits are removed in the hint. Each possible N bits are placed in the hint at the position of removed bits to generate 2N possible keys. Then, each of 2N possible key are tried to unlock the storage device.
US08199912B2

It is described a method for providing an electronic key within an integrated circuit (100) including both a volatile memory (102) and a non-volatile memory (104). The described comprises starting up the integrated circuit (100), reading the logical state of predetermined data storage cells (102a) assigned to the volatile memory (102), which data storage cells (102a) are characterized that with a plurality of start up procedures they respectively adopt the same logical state, and generating an electronic key by using the logical state of the predetermined data storage cells (102a). Preferably, the predetermined data storage cells (102a) are randomly distributed within the volatile memory (102). It is further described an integrated circuit (100) for providing an electronic key. The integrated circuit (100) comprises a volatile memory (102) comprising predetermined data storage cells (102a), which are characterized that with a plurality of start up procedures they respectively adopt the same logical state, and a non-volatile memory (104) having information stored upon regarding the predetermined data storage cells (102a). Thereby, the electronic key is defined by the corresponding logical states of the predetermined data storage cells (102a).
US08199909B2

A cryptographic calculation is carried out in an electronic component according to a specific cryptographic algorithm including at least one specified non-linear operation on blocks of data of k bits, k being a whole number of more than 2. Several blocks of masked intermediate data of j bits are generated from an initial block of data of k bits, j being a whole number that is smaller than k. Then a non-linear operation S is applied to at least one of the masked intermediate data blocks of j bits with the aid of a substitution table with 2 inputs producing a modified data block of j bits. The modified data block of j bits and at least some of the masked intermediate data blocks of j bits are combined to form a result block of k bits corresponding to the initial data block of k bits by means of a transformation including the specified non linear operation.
US08199908B2

One or more method(s), system(s), and/or device(s) produces an assembly for securing a product to a dissimilar material, such as a magnet to plastic. A magnet assembly may include a plastic cap having one or more wings extending laterally from a side surface of the plastic cap. A plastic holder defines a product cavity and has one or more grooves formed to integrally fit with the one or more wings of the plastic cap. A magnet is positioned within the product cavity. The plastic cap is joined to the plastic holder, such as through staking or welding, to capture the magnet within the product cavity.
US08199904B2

Embodiments relate to a method for rendering a media signal in a communication terminal, comprising the steps of, under control of a control unit in the communication terminal: receiving a transmission over a network, selecting media files stored in the communication terminal in a first order forming a media signal, and rendering the selected media files in the first order over an output arrangement of the communication terminal.
US08199903B2

A system of remote computer service including a call center, the Internet and a computer service supporting system. The computer service supporting system receives the requests from the computer and allocates and/or designates corresponding call center for the computer; the present invention also provides a method that the computer sends service request to the computer service supporting system by Internet; the computer service supporting system allocates and/or designates a call center for the computer and relates the computer and the call center by service ID; then, returns the communication means information and the service ID of the call center to the computer; the computer contacts with the call center by the communication means information, and the call center provides the service applied to the computer by using the service ID.
US08199896B2

Embodiments of the invention include a method for handling communication sessions by a central gateway, such as session border controller. The method may include receiving an indication that the interaction between a customer and an agent has ended and automatically routing by the session border controller the customer to an automated feedback application.
US08199885B2

A method and apparatus for transmitting emergency messages is disclosed. A system that incorporates teachings of the present disclosure may include, for example, a communication device, of a communication system, having a controller element to send a selection of types of emergency alert messages to be transmitted to one or more associates of a subscriber corresponding to the communication device; and receive an emergency alert message of a public emergency alert system for a zone of coverage, wherein the subscriber is in the zone of coverage and wherein the emergency alert message is transmitted to one or more associate communication devices of each of the one or more associates according to the selection of types of emergency alert messages to be transmitted. Additional embodiments are disclosed.
US08199879B2

A system and method for forming an adjusted estimate of scattered radiation in a radiographic projection of a target object, which incorporates scattered radiation from objects adjacent to the target object, such as a patient table. A piercing point equalization method is disclosed, and a refinement of analytical kernel methods which utilizes hybrid kernels is also disclosed.
US08199873B2

A system and method for forming an adjusted estimate of scattered radiation in a radiographic projection of a target object, which incorporates scattered radiation from objects adjacent to the target object, such as a patient table. A piercing point equalization method is disclosed, and a refinement of analytical kernel methods which utilizes hybrid kernels is also disclosed.
US08199867B2

Described is an apparatus for suppressing spurious spectral lines in a frame based bit-serial data stream, in which frames include payload data and frame markers. The apparatus includes means (16) for randomizing first frame marker elements (START) in a first position within each frame and means (18) for correlating second frame marker elements (STOP) in a second position within each frame with the randomized first frame marker element.
US08199857B2

A method and apparatus is disclosed to dynamically reconfigure a communications receiver to support one or more single stream modes of operation, multiple stream modes of operation, and/or propriety modes of operation. The communications receiver is configured to support according to a first single stream mode of operation, multiple stream mode of operation, and/or proprietary mode of operation according to a known single stream communications standard, a known multiple stream communications standard and/or a proprietary communications standard. The communications receiver may receive a single stream communications signal and/or a multiple stream communications signal having a second single stream mode of operation, multiple stream mode of operation, and/or proprietary mode of operation according to a known single stream communications standard, a known multiple stream communications standard and/or a proprietary communications standard. The communications receiver may be dynamically re-configured to the second single stream mode of operation, multiple stream mode of operation, and/or proprietary mode of operation to process the single stream communications signal and/or a multiple stream communications signal.
US08199856B2

A method is disclosed that includes receiving a signal having a data vector component and an interfering component and creating a first set of digitized data that represents the interfering component. The method can also generate a polynomial equation based on the first set of digitized data and generate a second set of digitized data that represents a data vector component of the received signal. The polynomial equation can be subtracted from the received signal to cancel at least a portion of the interfering component and provide an interference mitigated signal representing the data vector component. An error in the interference mitigated signal can be determined and the interference mitigated component can be recalculated based on the error. Other embodiments are also disclosed.
US08199854B2

An encoder encodes sound data and the like to generate a binary signal. A mapper converts the binary signal into a four-level symbol and outputs the four-level symbol. A base band filter includes a root raised cosine filter and a sinc filter. The base band filter blocks a predetermined frequency component of a symbol to shape the symbol into a waveform signal and outputs the waveform signal shaped. An FM modulator transmits a signal subjected to FM modulation according to a magnitude of an amplitude of a waveform signal to a receiving unit. When a symbol of ±3 is outputted from the mapper, a frequency shift of a signal transmitted from the FM modulator has a predetermined value in a range of ±0.822[kHz] to ±0.952[kHz]. This makes it possible to provide a modulating apparatus, a mobile communication system, a modulating method, and a communication method that use a modulating method that can conform to the FCC rule to be enforced in 2005 without using a linear power amplifier.
US08199840B2

In MIMO systems, two or more transmit signals are transmitted from different antenna clusters having one or more transmit antennas each. A precoding circuit weight the transmit signals transmitted from each transmit antenna using a common set of frequency independent antenna weights for all antenna clusters. The antenna weights are computed based on correlations between transmit antennas in the same antenna cluster.
US08199836B2

Systems and methods are for generating a codebook by: generating a multi-resolution codebook by selecting a common precoder index from a low resolution codebook for a group of adjacent resource blocks (RB)s and for each RB within the group, selecting a high-resolution codebook to fine-tune each RB precoder; and generating feedback for the multi-resolution codebook by quantizing channel state variations.
US08199829B2

Decoding systems and methods are disclosed. In a particular embodiment, a video decoder system includes a first decoding path and a second decoding path configured to decode at a slower average rate than the first decoding path. The video decoder system includes a dynamic switch configured to provide a first portion of the encoded video signal to the first decoding path or to the second decoding path. The dynamic switch is further configured to provide a subsequent portion of the encoded video signal to the first decoding path or to the second decoding path in response to a value of a decoding metric associated with decode processing of the first portion.
US08199825B2

Input data at a first resolution are received from a source. The input data are compressed. The input data can be downsampled to generate compressed downsampled data at a reduced resolution. The compressed downsampled data can be used to generate a frame at the reduced resolution. When the frame is needed as a reference for another frame, the compressed downsampled data can be decoded to generate decompressed downsampled data at the reduced resolution. Motion compensation is performed on the decompressed downsampled data at the second resolution to generate motion compensated decompressed downsampled data used as a reference for a second frame. Thus, by performing motion compensation on downsampled data directly, data processing operations such as transcoding can be accomplished quickly and effectively while saving computing resources.
US08199819B2

Provided is an apparatus and method for encoding/decoding moving pictures based on adaptive scanning. The moving picture apparatus and method can increase a compression rate based on adaptive scanning by performing intra prediction onto blocks of a predetermined size, and scanning coefficients acquired from Discrete Cosine Transform (DCT) of a residue signal and quantization differently according to the intra prediction mode. The moving picture encoding apparatus includes: a mode selector for selecting and outputting a prediction mode; a predictor for predicting pixel values of pixels to be encoded of an input video based on the prediction mode to thereby output a residue signal block; a transform/quantization unit for performing DCT onto the residue signal block and quantizing the transformed residue signal block; and an encoder for adaptively scanning and encoding the quantized residue signal block based on the prediction mode.
US08199815B2

An intraprediction encoding and decoding apparatus and method to improve compression efficiency are provided. A video encoding method includes dividing an input video of a predetermined size into at least two sub-planes, performing intraprediction encoding on at least one of the divided at least two sub-planes, and performing interprediction encoding on at least one of the remaining sub-planes by using the intraprediction encoded sub-plane as a reference sub-plane.
US08199813B2

A method for embedding frames of image data in a streaming video is disclosed, comprising the steps of receiving a plurality of frames of image data of a target object over a period of time; compressing the plurality of frames of image data; embedding the plurality of compressed frames of image data in a streaming video; initiating a control signal during the period of time to embed a particular frame of image data; selecting a frame of image data from the plurality of frames of image data received near the time the control signal is initiated; embedding a user data marker in the streaming video; and embedding the selected frame of image data in the streaming video as user data, wherein the embedded selected frame of image data has a higher quality than the embedded plurality of compressed frames of image data.
US08199803B2

A receiver is provided for a quadrature-modulated signal, which can be divided into an inphase signal and a quadrature signal. The inphase signal is fed to first and third equalizers, and the quadrature signal is fed to second and fourth equalizers, wherein the first and second equalizers each perform a first equalization of the respective signal. An output of the first equalizer is connected to a second input of the fourth equalizer, which, by means of a second equalization of the quadrature signal, transmits an equalized quadrature signal as a function of the previously fed equalized inphase signal of the first equalizer. An output of the second equalizer is connected to the second input of the third equalizer, which, through a second equalization of the inphase signal, transmits an equalized inphase signal as a function of the previously fed equalized quadrature signal of the second equalizer.
US08199795B2

A data transmission method between at least two mobile communication devices is provided, a communication device comprising a first and a second transceiver. The first transceiver communicates with a transceiver of another device with a data rate higher than that of the second transceiver, and the second transceiver communicates with a transceiver of another device with power consumption level lower than that of the first transceiver. The device is configured to communicate with another communication device using the first transceiver when data is to be transmitted between devices; stop using the first transceiver when data transmission ceases, and communicate with another communication device using the second transceiver to set up the use of first transceiver when a need to send data arises.
US08199787B2

A laser diode package assembly includes a reservoir filled with a fusible metal in close proximity to a laser diode. The fusible metal absorbs heat from the laser diode and undergoes a phase change from solid to liquid during the operation of the laser. The metal absorbs heat during the phase transition. Once the laser diode is turned off, the liquid metal cools off and resolidifies. The reservoir is designed such that that the liquid metal does not leave the reservoir even when in liquid state. The laser diode assembly further includes a lid with one or more fin structures that extend into the reservoir and are in contact with the metal in the reservoir.
US08199778B2

A random access channel transmission method in which a user terminal selects a preamble pattern from among a plurality of known preamble patterns and transmits that preamble pattern to a base station, where that transmission method comprises: a step of dividing a cell into a plurality of areas, and setting one or more preamble patterns and the number of repetitions for transmitting the preamble pattern for each area; and a step wherein a user terminal that exists in an are close to the base station transmits a specified preamble pattern one time, and a user terminal that exists in an area far from the base station transmits another specified preamble pattern a plurality of times.
US08199776B2

A system for supporting a burst transmission procedure includes a burst manager that divides a selected content item into individual content segments. A transmitter then transmits the content segments in a substantially concurrent manner over different corresponding transmission channels. One or more electronic devices receives and stores the transmitted content segments. A content manager of the electronic device performs a reassembly procedure to convert the content segments into the originally-transmitted content item for utilization by a device user.
US08199771B2

An apparatus and method for transmitting packet data through at least two transmit antennas in a packet data communication system using transmit antenna diversity. In the packet transmitting apparatus, a feedback information interpreter interprets feedback information including CQIs and antenna weights received from a plurality of UEs requesting a packet data service. A weight generator classifies the antenna weights and selects UEs having orthogonal weights. A transmitter applies the selected weights to packet data destined for the selected UEs and transmits the packet data to the selected UEs simultaneously.
US08199769B2

Systems and methods of decoding data streams and conserving power are described. In some embodiments, a stream of data containing audio and other data is divided into a plurality of timeslots. A first timeslot of the plurality of timeslots is allocated to a first service. A grant location message which indicates a location of the first timeslot allocated to the first service is generated. The grant allocation message and the plurality of timeslots are transmitted to a receiver.The receiver may receive and decode the grant allocation message to identify OFDM symbols that carry information regarding the first service. The receiver may also receive the plurality of timeslots. The receiver may set a power mode of a component during OFDM symbols that indicate a status of the first service.
US08199766B2

An improved mechanism is provided that facilitates transmission of small packets within an ad hoc peer-to-peer network. A small packet is identified to a receiver within a control channel so that its lower power can be considered in an interference management protocol implemented among local peer devices. In a traffic slot, a transmitter voluntarily backs down on the transmitter power as a smaller packet will require much lower signal-to-noise ratio. This will improve the signal energy per bit per noise power density for the transmission as well as minimize the interference caused to other wireless communications happening in the same spectrum.
US08199764B2

Methods and devices are provided for the efficient allocation and deletion of virtual output queues. According to some implementations, incoming packets are classified according to a queue in which the packet (or classification information for the packet) will be stored, e.g., according to a “Q” value. For example, a Q value may be a Q number defined as {Egress port number∥Priority number∥Ingress port number}. Only a single physical queue is allocated for each classification. When a physical queue is empty, the physical queue is preferably de-allocated and added to a “free list” of available physical queues. Accordingly, the total number of allocated physical queues preferably does not exceed the total number of classified packets. Because the input buffering requirements of Fiber Channel (“FC”) and other protocols place limitations on the number of incoming packets, the dynamic allocation methods of the present invention result in a sparse allocation of physical queues.
US08199763B2

There is described a method for setting up a call over the Internet between a Web-based phone and a phone device. The Web-based phone is loaded on a Java-enabled computing device. The call involves a Web application hosted on an external server capable of communication with a SIP Server on which the Web-based phone is pre-registered. Upon request from the computing device, the external server sends an HTTP message to a SIP Switch which in turn forwards a SIP NOTIFY message to the computing device through the SIP Server. The Web-based phone then pops up on the computing device and the call initiation can be confirmed. There is also described a platform independent Web-based phone as well as a Web application for auto-populating a contact directory from contacts on a social networking Web site.
US08199761B2

A communication link is established with a packet-communications device. According to an example embodiment of the present invention, a network connection is established between the packet-communications and a server to pass data such as requests and responses, as well as files, media, streaming and other data. The network connection is a tunneled connection, facilitating the communication of data using a particular protocol that may be different from or otherwise incompatible with the data being communicated. The tunnel is divided into two or more logical communications channels, facilitating the multiplexing of data (e.g., request/response pairs) onto a single physical network connection.
US08199760B2

Policy-based routing of packets over a peer-to-peer, quality of service connection includes sending a connection setup request, over a control connection to a connection establishing device, to dynamically establish the peer-to-peer, quality of service connection between a source peer implemented on at least one device and a destination peer implemented on at least one device. Packets originating from an application requiring a specified level of service are transmitted, from the source peer implemented on at least one device, over the peer-to-peer, quality of service connection. Packets originating from an application that does not require the specified level of service are transmitted, from the source peer implemented on at least one device, over a best effort connection.
US08199759B2

A method and apparatus for enabling ID based streams over Peripheral Component Interconnect Express (PCIe) is herein described. In this regard an apparatus is introduced including a memory ordering logic to order packets to be transmitted over a serial point-to-point interconnect, the memory ordering logic to bypass a stalled first packet with a second packet that arrived after the first packet if the second packet includes an attribute flag set to indicate that the second packet is order independent and if the second packet includes an ID that is different from an ID associated with the first packet. Other embodiments are also described and claimed.
US08199745B2

In one embodiment, the present invention is a method and apparatus for generalized third party call control in session initiation protocol networks. In one embodiment, a method for controlling a media negotiation with one or more endpoints in a network includes determining, for each endpoint, a current state of a corresponding port on a third-party controller and transitioning the corresponding port to a new state in accordance with a finite state machine that tracks the state of the media negotiation.
US08199740B2

A system and method are provided for reliable, wireless group alerting in a system having a database, switch, wireless network, and a plurality of intelligent mobile receivers, and preferably employing a modified two-way paging based on ReFLEX™ protocol information service (IS) messages and a novel ALOHA command for multicast acknowledgement from mobile receivers. An encrypted message is broadcast to a group address and received by a selected number of the mobile receivers. The network replies to the sender with detailed information about the individual members in the alert group. Each of the mobile receivers in the group then acknowledges the common message back to the system, decrypts the message, displays it to the user, and allows the user to respond. The system employs centralized management to simplify the roles of the mobile users and administrators, minimizing configuration and operational human errors that would otherwise result in confusion or lost messages.
US08199736B2

An apparatus, comprising a data processing entity for processing a signal for communication in a first subchannel, in which first subchannel communication occurs simultaneously with one or more second subchannels using the same radio resource.
US08199730B2

A method for handling an uplink grant received on a physical downlink control channel (PDCCH) in a user equipment (UE) of a wireless communication system is disclosed. The method includes steps of setting a Temporary Cell Radio Network Temporary Identifier (Temporary C-RNTI) of the UE to a value assigned in a Random Access Response message, monitoring a contention resolution message, receiving an uplink grant on PDCCH addressed to the Temporary C-RNTI, and not using the uplink grant to transmit data if the uplink grant corresponds to a Hybrid Automatic Repeat Request (HARQ) Process different from an HARQ Process used for transmission of a MediumAccess Control (MAC) Protocol Data Unit (PDU) in a Message 3 buffer.
US08199719B2

A method for performing handover by wireless User Equipment (UE) is provided. The UE includes a Long Term Evolution-Mobile Extreme Convergence (LTE-MXC) application processor, a LTE processor and a Digital Signal Processor (DSP). The UE buffers a set of IP packets when a Radio Access Technology (RAT) indicator is less than a pre-defined threshold and sends the set of IP packets to the LTE processor and the DSP. The LTE processor transmits the set of IP packets to the LTE network and sends acknowledgement signals to the LTE-MXC application processor and the DSP. When the handover is complete, the LTE processor sends the transmission status of the set of IP packets to the DSP. The UE also includes multimode Radio Resource Control (RRC) and Non-Access Stratum (NAS) modules.
US08199699B2

Techniques and systems for automatically configuring devices to interact with “legacy” wireless access points (“WAPs”) are disclosed. According to one technique, a user programs a WPS-enabled WAP with the configuration information of a “legacy” WAP. This makes the WPS-enabled WAP “aware” of the “legacy” WAP. When any other user brings his device within discovery range of the WPS-enabled WAP, the WPS-enabled WAP sends, to that device, a list of the WAPs of which the WPS-enabled WAP is aware. The device's user selects one of the WAPs (e.g., a “legacy” WAP) from the list. The WPS-enabled WAP receives the user's selection and sends, to the device, the configuration information for the selected WAP. The user's device configures itself, using the configuration information, to interact with the selected WAP. Thereafter, the user's device can access a network through the selected WAP, even if the selected WAP is a “legacy” WAP.
US08199677B1

The present invention is a method and system for propagating routing information in a wireless network. In an exemplary embodiment, the method includes defining a set of artery nodes to propagate distance vector routing information throughout the wireless network. The set of artery nodes may broadcast distance vector routing information to neighboring network nodes. The method may also include receiving distance vector routing information by the neighboring nodes to modify distance vector routing tables defined within each of the neighboring nodes. The set of artery nodes may then re-broadcast distance vector routing information in order to propagate distance vector routing information throughout the wireless network.
US08199674B2

A system, method, and network node for checking the consistency of node relations in the nodes of a strongly connected network. An initiating network node initiates a request to check the consistency of node relations in the network. Each receiving node that receives the request determines whether defined relations received from the initiating node are symmetrically reflected by defined relations stored in the receiving network node. A local result is temporarily stored. The receiving node also identifies other nodes, if any, with which the receiving node has defined relations, and sends consistency-checking requests to the identified nodes. As responses are received from all of the identified nodes, the receiving network node aggregates the results with the stored local result and sends an aggregated response to the initiating node reporting the consistency or inconsistency of all of the receiving node's defined relations.
US08199656B1

The present invention provides a complete virtual multi-vendor EMS based network that behaves identical to the network elements of the EMS clients. A virtual network simulator is built that has the ability to faithfully simulate the behavior of any vendor's EMS to represent the data objects required by the TMF 814 specification. This allows automatic provisioning and maintenance of the Operation Support Systems to fully test new functionality against complete EMS based network without depending upon the availability of any physical equipment, thereby providing much quicker, low cost, extremely life-like testing environment.
US08199653B2

A system and method for communicating network performance information of a node segment of a packet network may include generating network performance information indicative of transmission characteristics of a node segment on a packet network. The network performance information may be included in a data packet and communicated using in-band signaling to a network communications device.
US08199647B2

According to the present invention, a large scale traffic distribution is carried out in a packet-oriented communication network. The distribution results, in a simple, practical and inexpensive way, for all the services and applications which reliably and efficiently preserve their specific quality of service requirements, in a highly balanced quality of service with best effort character. Preferably, there is in the traffic at least a priority class traffic whereof the traffic concerned is transmitted in distributed manner and in packets with strict priority in the communication network. The observance of specific quality of service requirements is monitored at least for the priority traffic. Classification in the priority class traffic enables to provide an adequate quality of service, even for real-time services and applications.
US08199643B2

A method for allocating resources includes receiving one or more parameters associated with an object of interest. At least one of the parameters corresponds to a probability that the object of interest is participating in a predetermined situation of interest. The method also includes calculating a plurality of values, based at least in part on the parameters, and selecting, based at least in part on the calculated values, one or more operations to be performed involving the object of interest. In addition the method includes generating an instruction based at least in part on the operation to be performed transmitting the instruction to an operational resource.
US08199639B2

A method of providing path protection includes setting a working path and a protection path by identifying, as a single path, a set of a control-purpose virtual network identifier and at least one virtual network identifier that are assigned to one or more users at a section defined as a point-to-point connection in a virtual network, and switching between the working path and the protection path.
US08199635B2

A sensor network having a first command center and a first access node, comprising a wireless transceiver, coupled to the command center. The sensor network may also include a plurality of nodes individually comprising a wireless transceiver and a directional antenna, wherein each of the plurality of nodes is successively located in a downlink direction relative to the first access node, and is configured to wirelessly communicate via the directional antenna with at least one node of a first neighbor group in a first direction and at least one node of a second neighbor group in a second direction. In addition, a sensor device is individually coupled to at least one of the nodes, and is configured to provide sensor data for the first command center.
US08199632B2

Systems and methods for orthogonal frequency division multiplexing are provided. In one embodiment, a multi-carrier modem comprises: a receiver configured to receive a waveform comprising a plurality of spectrally overlapping carrier signals from at least two of a plurality of remote units, wherein the plurality of spectrally overlapping carrier signals are modulated using an inverse Fourier transform algorithm; a transmitter; a processor coupled to the transmitter, wherein the processor outputs data for transmission to the transmitter, wherein the processor applies an inverse Fourier transform algorithm to the data provided to the transmitter; and a controller programmed to analyze a training signal received from a first remote unit and adjust receiver equalizer parameters based on the training signal.
US08199628B2

An apparatus for reading from a multilayer holographic storage medium with a coaxial arrangement of a reference beam and a reconstructed object beam is described. The apparatus has an objective lens for focusing the reference beam into the multilayer holographic storage medium such that the reference beam has a focal point behind or in front of a reflective layer of the multilayer holographic storage medium, wherein a distance between the objective lens and the multilayer holographic storage medium is set in accordance with an addressed layer of the multilayer holographic storage medium, and an imaging system with a fixed lens of focal length f and a movable lens of focal length f for re-collimating a reconstructed object beam, wherein for a specific position of the movable lens the imaging system assumes a 4f configuration. For re-collimating the reconstructed object beam the apparatus is adapted to shift the movable lens of the 4f imaging system by substantially twice the shift of the objective lens necessary for addressing a specific layer of the multilayer holographic storage medium.
US08199621B2

According to the present invention, multiple space bitmaps (SBMs #0 and #1 30) are provided for the user data area of each recording layer. A disc management structure update unit including one of those space bitmaps and a disc definition structure (TDDS 32) and having a size of one block is written on a management information area (TDMA 17). As a result, data including the disc definition structure (TDDS 32) can always be arranged in the first block at the top of the management information area (TDMA 17).
US08199619B2

A method for tuning a plurality of write strategy parameters of an optical storage device includes detecting a plurality of patterns. Each pattern corresponds to a pit or a land on a phase-changed type optical storage medium accessed by the optical storage device. The method further includes performing calculations corresponding to a plurality of data types and generating a plurality of data-to-clock edge deviations respectively corresponding to the data types. Each pattern belongs to a data type. The data-to-clock edge deviations are utilized for tuning the write strategy parameters corresponding to the data types respectively.
US08199617B2

A recording apparatus having a reproduction means to play digital data from a recording medium recorded with that digital data and retrieval information, a recording means to write the digital data reproduced by the reproduction means and record the retrieval information on a control table, and a control circuit to search the control table by using the retrieval information when the digital data from the reproduction means is written by the recording means, to permit the writing of digital data recorded on the medium with the recording means when the retrieval information is not recorded on the control table, and to prohibit the writing of digital data recorded on the medium with the recording means when the retrieval information is already recorded on the control table, and also prevent the mistaken duplicate copying of the digital data with the recording means.
US08199616B2

A method for assembling an optical pickup apparatus for recording/reproducing a high density DVD, DVD and CD including two objective lens and three laser light sources, the objective lenses being provided on the lens holder having an actuator base for supporting the actuator, the method for assembling the optical pickup apparatus comprises the steps of adjusting a first tilt angle of the actuator base so that a coma aberration of a spot formed by the first light beams decreases when the first light beams are converged onto the first recording medium via the first objective lens, and adjusting a second tilt angle formed between the second objective lens and the lens holder so that a coma aberration of a beam spot formed by the second light beams decreases when the second light beams are converged onto the second recording medium via the second objective lens.
US08199611B2

A seismic sensor module includes sensing elements arranged in a plurality of axes to detect seismic signals in a plurality of respective directions, and a processor to receive data from the sensing elements and to determine inclinations of the axes with respect to a particular orientation. The determined inclinations are used to combine the data received from the sensing elements to derive tilt-corrected seismic data for the particular orientation.
US08199607B2

Provided is a duty cycle corrector including a low frequency detector detecting whether an input clock signal frequency is less than or greater than a predetermined frequency. If less than, a common mode control circuit controlling a common mode of a duty cycle correction amplifier amplifying the input clock signal is disabled. The duty cycle corrector may include a column address strobe (CAS) latency determination unit that determines whether a CAS latency is greater than or less than a predetermined value instead of the low frequency detector.
US08199606B2

A semiconductor memory apparatus includes: an address buffer configured to buffer an input address and generate a buffered address; a command buffer configured to buffer a chip selection command and generate a buffered command; a latch control unit configured to receive an internal clock and the buffered command and generate a latch control signal; and an address latch unit configured to latch the buffered address based on the latch control signal.
US08199601B2

An electronic system implements a plurality of voltage domains, at least one of which has a selectively variable supply voltage, without requiring the use of a large number of level shifters (e.g., for each data and/or address line). The supply voltage for a first domain is set equal or nearly equal to that of a second domain for a first duration, when the two domains are connected for data transfer across a system bus. When the first domain is isolated from the bus, its supply voltage is set differently from that of the second domain for a second duration. In the second duration, the first domain may have a higher supply voltage, e.g., to perform high-performance computational tasks. Alternatively, it may have a lower supply voltage, to conserve power, if its computational task is less demanding.
US08199597B2

First and second memory cell arrays are adjacent in a first direction. First and second areas are positioned adjacent to one and the other side of the first memory array in a second direction. Third and fourth areas are positioned adjacent to one and the other side of the second memory array in a second direction. A sense amplifier is arranged in the first area and a current sink is arranged in the fourth area. The sense amplifier compares a read current which flows into the current sink via a memory cell in the first memory cell array and the second area from the sense amplifier with a reference current which flows into the current sink via the third area and a reference memory cell in the second memory cell array from the sense amplifier.
US08199589B2

Disclosed is a shift register including a plurality of flip-flops configured in series to shift input data in response to an applied clock, and a drive operation controller. The drive operation controller includes; a first logic gate configured to receive and logically combine selected outputs from selected ones of the plurality of flip-flops to generate a gate output signal, a drive operation controller flip-flop configured to receive the gate output signal and retime the gate output signal in response to a first clock applied to a clock terminal of a first flip-flop in the plurality of flip-flops to generate a clock enable signal, an inverter configured to receive the clock enable signal and generate an inverted clock enable signal, and a second logic gate configured to receive and logically combine the first clock and the inverted clock enable signal to generate a second clock, wherein the second clock signal is applied to a clock terminal of at least one later stage flip-flop following the first flip-flop in the plurality of flip-flops.
US08199573B2

A nonvolatile semiconductor memory device comprises: a bit line; a source line; a memory string having a plurality of electrically data-rewritable memory transistors connected in series; a first select transistor provided between one end of the memory string and the bit line; a second select transistor provided between the other end of the memory string and the source line; and a control circuit configured to control a read operation. A plurality of the memory strings connected to one bit line via a plurality of the first select transistors. During reading of data from a selected one of the memory strings, the control circuit renders conductive the first select transistor connected to an unselected one of the memory strings and renders non-conductive the second select transistor connected to unselected one of the memory strings.
US08199571B2

Shifts in the apparent charge stored on a floating gate (or other charge storing element) of a non-volatile memory cell can occur because of the coupling of an electric field based on the charge stored in adjacent floating gates (or other adjacent charge storing elements). The problem occurs most pronouncedly between sets of adjacent memory cells that have been programmed at different times. To account for this coupling, the read process for a particular memory cell will provide compensation to an adjacent memory cell in order to reduce the coupling effect that the adjacent memory cell has on the particular memory cell.
US08199568B2

A hard disk drive with a disk base including a disk wall with a first intake, a second intake off of the first intake, an outlet and an air filter configured to receive a first airflow from the first intake and suction from a second airflow from the second intake creating negative pressure at a trapping surface of the air filter away from the outlet. At least one disk rotates to create a rotating disk surface generating airflow configured to enter the first intake to create the first airflow. A disk damper includes an enclosing wall neighboring the air filter to create a flow chamber providing a third airflow through the outlet formed of the first air flow crossing the trapping surface and the second air flow. A disk cover mounts on the disk base to encapsulate the air chamber. The disk base and disk damper are disclosed.
US08199567B2

A memory device comprises a plurality of memory cells, each memory cell comprising a memory cell material that has an initial resistance that is determined in response to an applied programming current in a programming operation, the resistance of the memory cell varying from the initial resistance over a time period following the programming operation, and each memory cell being connected to a conduction line of the memory device that is used to apply the programming current to program the resistance of the corresponding memory cell in the programming operation and that is used to apply a read current to read the resistance of the corresponding memory cell in a read operation. A modification circuit modifies the resistance of a memory cell of the plurality of memory cells selected for a read operation to return its resistance to near the initial resistance prior to a read operation of the memory cell.
US08199564B2

Methods of writing to a multi-bit MRAM memory unit are described. The method includes to self-detected writing to a multi-bit (i.e., multilevel) thermally assisted MRAM. The self-detected writing increases a reading margin between data state levels and decreases reading margin variability due to cell resistance variation.
US08199557B2

A nonvolatile semiconductor memory device includes: a plurality of memory cell arrays stacked on a semiconductor substrate and including a plurality of first wires, a plurality of second wires and memory cells disposed at intersections of the first wires and the second wires and having a rectifier element and a variable resistive element are connected in series; and a control circuit configured to selectively drive the first wires and the second wires. The control circuit executes a resetting operation to change a state of the variable resistive element from a low resistance state to a high resistance state. At a time of executing the resetting operation, the control circuit increases a pulse voltage to be applied to the variable resistive element to a first voltage, and then decreases the pulse voltage to a second voltage lower than the first voltage and higher than the ground voltage.
US08199550B2

The present invention provides a magnetic memory device capable of providing high-speed access without increasing an array area. Gate word lines are respectively linearly disposed between source impurity regions and drain impurity regions within a memory cell array area. Gate word line protrusions are respectively provided at boundary regions of memory cell forming regions. Contacts relative to the gate word line protrusions are respectively provided at boundary regions of memory cells at adjacent columns. The drain impurity regions are respectively disposed with being shifted from the centers of the memory cell forming regions in such a manner that spaces between the drain impurity regions become large in the regions in which the protrusions are disposed.
US08199541B2

A bridgeless PFC power converter comprises a first inductor and a second inductor coupled from a first input-terminal and a second input-terminal to a first transistor and a second transistor. A first diode and a second diode are coupled from the first transistor and the second transistor to an output capacitor. A first capacitor and a second capacitor are coupled from the input-terminals to the ground terminal through a third transistor and a fourth transistor. A control circuit generates a first-switching signal and a second-switching signal to control the first transistor and the second transistor. The second-switching signal will turn on the second transistor when the first-switching signal switches the first transistor. The first-switching signal will turn on the first transistor when the second-switching signal switches the second transistor. The control circuit turns off the third transistor and the fourth transistor during the light-load of the PFC power converter.
US08199535B2

A switching power source apparatus has a controller generating a drive signal that controls an ON/OFF period of a switching element 3. The controller includes a load tester for testing the switching power source apparatus when detecting an edge of the drive signal after the switching element is switched from ON to OFF, a bottom detector of the switching element during an OFF period thereof, a bottom skip state tester, and a bottom skip operation tester carrying out a pseudo resonant operation that turns on the switching element at a first minimum voltage point if the apparatus is in a heavy load state, and if the apparatus is in the light load state and if the bottom skip state has continued for a first predetermined time, shift the pseudo resonant operation to a bottom skip operation.
US08199531B2

An embodiment of a voltage converter includes: voltage-transformer means having a primary side, designed to receive an input voltage, and a secondary side, designed to supply an output voltage; control-switch means coupled to said primary side; and a control circuit, coupled to a control terminal of said control-switch means and designed to control switching thereof as a function of a first signal correlated to said output voltage; said control circuit being provided with an error-amplifier stage, designed to process a difference between said first signal and a reference signal, wherein said error-amplifier stage is configured so as to have a transconductance characteristic with a linear-operation region, having a given slope, and at least one first clamped region, which has a slope lower than said given slope and is contiguous to said linear-operation region.
US08199528B2

An electronic device including: a circuit board on which an electronic component is mounted; a plate material which is used as a ground, the plate material being extended in parallel with the circuit board; and a ground connection member which includes a fixed section and multiple elastic leg sections, the fixed section being tightened to the circuit board and connected to a ground on the circuit board, the elastic leg sections being extended from the fixed section toward different directions along the circuit board, each of the elastic leg sections being extended onto the plate material side to elastically press the plate material.
US08199522B2

A printed circuit board includes a first signal layer, a first reference layer, a second reference layer, and a second signal layer. An integrated circuit mounted on the first signal layer includes a power supply terminal connected to a first power supply via. The second signal layer includes a filter and a power supply wire. The filter includes a power terminal connected to the first power supply via, and a ground terminal connected to the second reference layer. The first power supply via is connected to the first reference layer through the power supply wire and a second power supply via. A void defined in the second reference layer is at least partially vertically overlapping with the power supply wire, and enables the first reference layer to function as a reference plane for the power supply wire, to increase impedance of the power supply wire.
US08199519B2

A chip adapter used to install a chip on a first chip arranging area of a circuit board includes a board. The size of the board has the same size as the first chip arranging area of the circuit board. Edges of the chip adapter define a number of gaps corresponding to first pads of the circuit board. A second chip arranging area of the same size as the chip is arranged in a center of the chip adapter. A number of second pads are arranged around the second chip arranging area of the chip adapter corresponding to pins of the chip. Each second pad is electrically connected to a sidewall of the corresponding gap of the chip adapter.
US08199510B2

A multi-layer system-on-chip (SoC) module structure is provided. The multi-layer SoC module structure includes at least two circuit board module layers and at least one connector module layer. Each connector module layer is sandwiched between and thus electrically connects two circuit board module layers such that the SoC module structure is formed by stacking. Each circuit board module layer is composed of at least one circuit board module while each connector module layer is composed of at least one connector module. Hence, the SoC module structure can be manufactured as a three-dimensional structure, thus allowing highly flexible connections within the SoC module structure.
US08199509B2

An electronic equipment includes: an attachment plate; attachments disposed on the attachment plate and each provided with a female screw; a printed circuit board placed on the attachments; electronic parts mounted on the surface of the printed circuit board opposite to the attachments, and whose surfaces opposite to the surface of the printed circuit board serves as heat release surfaces; and a heat sink having a thermal-conduction surface and screw insertion holes. The thermal-conduction surface is abutted in common against the heat release surfaces with a heat release grease between them, male screws inserted into the screw insertion holes are penetrated through the printed circuit board, and meshed with the female screws threaded in the attachments, the heat sink is attached together with the printed circuit board to the attachments, and at least one of the attachments can be displaced in the thickness direction of the printed circuit board.
US08199508B2

A heat dissipation device dissipates heat generated by a heat-generating electronic element mounted on a top surface printed circuit board. The printed circuit board defines a plurality of first through holes. The heat dissipation device comprises a heat spreader located at a top side of the printed circuit board. The heat spreader defines a plurality of second through holes corresponding to the first through holes, respectively. A first heat sink is located over the heat spreader, and a plurality of second heat sinks is located at a bottom side of the printed circuit board. A plurality of heat pipes extending through the second through holes of the heat spreader and the first through holes of the printed circuit board to thermally connect the first and second heat sinks to the heat spreader.
US08199498B2

A support member includes a coupling piece that defines a support piece aperture extending through the coupling piece and that includes a coupling arm that extends from a location on the coupling piece that is spaced apart from the support piece aperture. The support member also includes a support piece that defines a coupling arm aperture, wherein the coupling arm is located in the coupling arm aperture. A support surface engagement member extends from the support piece and through the support piece aperture, wherein the support surface engagement member comprises an engagement surface and a stop member that extends from a surface on the support surface engagement member that is opposite from the engagement surface.
US08199491B2

A drainage system is provided for draining liquid accidentally spilled on a casing having a plurality of pushbuttons on a surface of the casing. An electronic apparatus may comprise a casing and a drainage system. The drainage system may be connected with the casing. The drainage system may include a liquid collecting basin, a drainage exit, and a liquid passageway. The liquid passageway may have a capillary surface and may lead the liquid from the liquid collecting basin to the drainage exit.
US08199490B2

The support system of the present invention provides an enhanced mounting system for electronic devices which makes portable use of the electronic devices simpler and more efficient. One exemplary application for which this system is very useful is photography. The system preferably, but not necessarily, includes a support platform that may be secured to a tripod, rolling stand, quick release plate, or to any other suitable support structure.
US08199484B2

An electronic device includes: a first housing that includes an inlet and an outlet on one end; a second housing; and a linkage section that links the second housing to the first housing such that the second housing can be opened and closed. The device is configured such that the second housing divides at least a part of a space between the inlet and the outlet while the second housing is in the open position relative to the first housing. While the second housing is opened relative to the first housing, the second housing divides the space between the inlet and the outlet, thereby preventing the exhausted warm air from being drawn into the electronic device.
US08199471B2

A rollable display device including a first housing 32; a second housing 34 mateable with the first housing 32; an electronic package 36 disposed within at least one of the first housing and the second housing 34; a roll frame 40 coupled to the first housing 32; a rollable display 38 rotatably disposed within the roll frame 40, having one end connected at the second housing 34, and operably connected to the electronic package 36 to display information from the electronic package 36; and a spreader mechanism 50 having a first leg assembly 52, a second leg assembly 54, and a joining assembly 56. First leg assembly 52 couples the first housing 32 and the second housing 34, second leg assembly 54 couples the first housing 32 and the second housing 34, and joining assembly 56 couples the first leg assembly 52 and the second leg assembly 54.
US08199468B2

A multipart computer housing is described. The multipart computer housing includes at least a clutch barrel. The clutch barrel encloses a connector assembly, the connector assembly providing support for a lid. The clutch barrel is configured such that a junction formed by the clutch barrel and a top layer of the lid is not visible to a user when the computer housing is on a horizontal surface.
US08199461B2

A solid electrolytic capacitor that contains a capacitor element that includes an anode body, dielectric layer, and solid electrolyte is provided. The capacitor also contains an anode lead that is electrically connected to the anode body. Contrary to conventional capacitors in which the lead is welded or connected using a layer of seed particles, a refractory metal paste (e.g., tantalum paste) is employed in the present invention to electrically connect the anode lead to the anode body. The use of such a refractory metal paste allows the anode lead to be sinter bonded to a surface of the anode body after it is pressed. In this manner, a strong and reliable connection may be achieved without substantially decreasing the surface area of the lead that is available for connection to a termination. The paste of the present invention generally contains particles of a relatively small size. Due to in part to the relatively small size of the particles, the paste may have a relatively low viscosity, allowing it to be readily handled and applied to an anode lead and/or anode body during manufacture of the capacitor. Further, the thickness of the applied paste may also be relatively thin and still achieve the desired binding of the lead to the anode body.
US08199446B2

The present disclosure relates to a circuit interrupting device and system capable of being tested and reset from remote locations, and in particular to circuit interrupting devices and system capable of being tested and reset from remote locations. A remote monitoring device can also be included which can be used to control an actuation device which is capable of controlling a circuit interrupting device. Alternatively the remote monitoring or control device can be used to control the device directly.
US08199443B2

A magneto-resistance effect element includes: a first magnetic layer of which a first magnetization is fixed in one direction; a second magnetic layer of which a second magnetization is fixed in one direction; a spacer layer located between the first magnetic layer and the second magnetic layer and made of at least one selected from the group consisting of an oxide, a nitride, an oxynitride and a metal; and a current bias generating portion, which is located adjacent to the spacer layer, for applying a bias magnetic field to the spacer layer.
US08199441B2

A head suspension 31 has a piezoelectric element 13 that deforms in response to a voltage applied thereto, a base plate 33 having an opening 43 into which the piezoelectric element 13 is fitted, and a load beam 35 that is fixed to the base plate 33 so that a front end of the load beam 35 moves in a sway direction according to the deformation of the piezoelectric element 13. The head suspension 31 includes an electric insulating layer 51 formed at the opening 43 by vapor-depositing and polymerizing electrically insulative high polymer materials at the opening 43. The piezoelectric element 13 is fitted into the opening 43 through at least the electric insulating layer 51. The head suspension 31 satisfies a miniaturization requirement.
US08199440B2

A transducer positioning apparatus is provided that supports a read/write head on a data storage machine and biases the head against rotation. The transducer positioning apparatus may comprise a base that includes a linear drive motor and a support frame to which the read/write head is secured. The support frame is reciprocally driven by the linear drive motor relative to the base. A magnetic coupling is provided between the base and the support frame that resists movement of the frame other than the reciprocal movement of the support frame relative to the base. A method is also disclosed for magnetically biasing a movable head of a transducer against rotation.
US08199436B2

A magnetic head slider according to the present invention comprises: a slider body including either a write head element or a read head element or both the write head element and the read head element; a seed layer provided on an air bearing surface of the slider body, the seed layer covering either the write head element or the read head element or both the write head element and the read head element, the seed layer having a film thickness that is less than 1 nm; and a protective film formed of diamond-like carbon, the protective film covering the seed layer. The seed layer is mainly formed of silicon and contains a 6A group element in a proportion of 2 atomic % or more and 30 atomic % or less.
US08199429B2

A magnetic recording head includes: a main magnetic pole containing a ferromagnetic layer; a main magnetic pole-magnetization fixing portion containing an antiferromagnetic layer in contact with at least one side surface of the main magnetic pole; a heater for heating at least the main magnetic pole so that a magnetic interaction between the main magnetic pole and the main magnetic pole-magnetization fixing portion can be decreased; and a magnetic field generator for generating a magnetic field so as to direct a magnetization of the main magnetic pole in one direction.
US08199414B2

The present invention is a variable power zoom lens that is suitable to APS-format single-lens reflex cameras. The zoom lens has the foremost or first lens group G1 of positive refractivity, the second lens group G2 of negative refractivity, the third lens group G3 of positive refractivity, and the fourth lens group G4 of positive refractivity disposed in sequence from a position closer to the object toward the image plane, and it meets requirements as defined in conditional formulae as follows: 6
US08199410B2

The invention relates to an optical element having adjustable focal length, and a method for producing an optical element. The optical element comprising a first transparent layer and a transparent soft polymer having a chosen refractive index situated thereon, said layer being made from a material having a chosen flexibility, e.g. a thin glass layer, the optical element also being provided with an actuator for applying a force upon said flexible layer, said force being essentially symmetric relative to said axis thus bending the layer providing a lens surface and providing a curved refractive surface.
US08199402B2

A portable screen assembly that is lighter in weight and easier to handle. The assembly includes a casing, a spring-biased roll rotatably mounted to the casing, a screen bonded at one end thereof to a top bar and wound around the spring-biased roll when in storage, and an expanding and contracting device having one end rotatably mounted to a mounting member mounted to the top bar and the other end rotatably mounted to the casing. The expanding and contracting device is a half-pantograph type expanding and contracting device having a first arm, a second arm and a third arm arranged in an extended plane parallel to the extended screen. The second arm includes two or more mutually parallel sub arms provided to be mutually parallel in the extended plane. The two or more sub arms are connected to the first arm and the second arm so as to form a parallel link.
US08199401B2

A display has a light source, a spatial light modulator and an intermediate spatial light modulator. The display may be a front projection display or a rear-projection display. The spatial light modulator is illuminated with light from a light source. The intermediate spatial light modulator is located in a light path between the light source and the spatial light modulator. The light source may comprise an array of controllable light-emitters. The display may provide a high dynamic range.
US08199399B1

Apparatus and method for amplifying laser signals using segments of fibers of differing core diameters and/or differing cladding diameters to suppress amplified spontaneous emission and non-linear effects such as four-wave mixing (FWM), self-phase modulation, and stimulated Brillouin and/or Raman scattering (SBS/SRS). In some embodiments, different core sizes have different sideband spacings (spacing between the desired signal and wavelength-shifted lobes). Changing core sizes and providing phase mismatches prevent buildup of non-linear effects. Some embodiments further include a bandpass filter to remove signal other than the desired signal wavelength and/or a time gate to remove signal at times other than during the desired signal pulse. Some embodiments include photonic-crystal structures to define the core for the signal and/or the inner cladding for the pump. Some embodiments include an inner glass cladding to confine the signal in the core and an outer glass cladding to confine pump light in the inner cladding.
US08199394B2

A mirror device comprises: a plurality of electrodes disposed on a substrate; a hinge connected to at least one of the electrodes; a mirror connected to the hinge and corresponding to at least one of the electrodes, wherein a barrier layer is comprised between the hinge and mirror, and/or between the hinge and electrode. Also noted is a mirror device production method for producing such-configured mirror device. Further noted is a projection apparatus comprising such-configured mirror device.
US08199384B2

The color tone compensation method provides a simple and efficient method to compensate the color tone differences between two different sources of images. A first image sample, such as a still image, from a first image capturing source and a second image sample, such as a video frame, from a second image capturing source are aligned, and a tone-mapping estimation routine is applied to the two aligned images. The tone-mapping estimation routine uses the pixel intensity value histograms associated with the two aligned images and generates a tone mapping table. The tone mapping table includes a conversion intensity value for each intensity value in the second image. The conversion intensity value is a statistical measure, such as the mean, calculated according to the data in the corresponding pixel intensity value histogram. The tone-mapping table is applied to any image generated by the second image capturing source, thereby generating a new image with similar color tone as the first image generated by the first image capturing source.
US08199379B2

An optical detection apparatus includes a detector configured to detect image data in a predetermined reading area on a conveying path to convey the sheet, a first illuminator configured to intermittently emit an excitation light to a first illumination area including the reading area of the detector, a second illuminator configured to continuously emit an excitation light to a second illumination area which is continued with the first illumination area on the upstream of the first illumination area on the conveying path and which does not include the reading area of the detector, and a control unit configured to control the detector to detect image data of the sheet according to the emitting operation of the first illuminator.
US08199372B2

Disclosed herein is a white balance processing apparatus comprising white balance processing means for effecting white balance processing on an image to be taken, color histogram processing means for effecting histogram processing by color components in accordance with the image to be taken processed of white balance by the white balance processing means, and display means for displaying histograms by color components obtained by the color histogram processing means.
US08199368B2

An image data correcting apparatus includes: an image data obtaining section that obtains print image data representing a print image; an area designation receiving section that receives a designating operation to designate an area in the print image represented by the print image data; a density adjusting section that has an adjustment value designated through an operation for the printing density; a change estimating section that estimates a change in a print color in the printing system that is caused by the adjustment of the printing density with the use of the adjustment value; and a data correcting section that corrects the print image data to cancel the change estimated by the change estimating section in the area other than the designated region in the print image.
US08199345B2

A method for controlling an information processing apparatus connected to a printing apparatus including a storage device includes acquiring a status of the printing apparatus; generating a first print file from image data in accordance with the status of the printing apparatus; transmitting the first print file to the printing apparatus; generating and transmitting an instruction to the printing apparatus to perform printing using the first print file; generating a second print file from the image data in accordance with a status that is different from the status of the printing apparatus; transmitting the second print file to the printing apparatus; and generating and transmitting an instruction to the printing apparatus to store the first and second print files in the storage device thereof.
US08199336B2

An optical measurement apparatus includes: a storage processing part storing into a storage part a plurality of main reference positions where measurement is to be performed and at least one movement value relative to each main reference position; a main measuring part moving a measurement position to one of the main reference positions stored in the storage part, then irradiating light, and then measuring a change in a state of reflected light; an auxiliary measuring part moving the measurement position to an auxiliary reference position based on the movement value relative to one of the main reference positions stored in the storage part, then irradiating light, and then measuring a change in a state of reflected light; a main calculating part performing analysis and calculating a film thickness or an optical constant; and an auxiliary calculating part performing analysis and calculating a film thickness or an optical constant.
US08199315B2

Objectives, such as projection objectives for semiconductor lithography, are disclosed. An objective generally has an optical axis and optical elements mounted in an objective housing. Projection exposure apparatuses having an objective are also disclosed. In addition, guides and adjusting systems for an optical element in an objective are disclosed. Further, related components and methods are disclosed.
US08199313B2

A temperature regulating apparatus includes a heat exchanger and regulates a temperature of a first medium by performing heat exchange between the first medium and a second medium via the heat exchanger. A regulating operation unit generates a flow rate regulating signal so that the temperature of the first medium flowing out from a primary side outlet of the heat exchanger becomes equal to a target temperature. A control valve regulates a flow rate of the second medium based on the flow rate regulating signal. A correcting operation unit (a) calculates, based on temperatures detected by first, second, third and fourth temperature sensors, a heat exchange amount of the heat exchanger, a logarithmic mean temperature difference or an average temperature in the heat exchanger, and the flow rate of the second medium, (b) calculates an overall heat transfer coefficient of the heat exchanger based on the calculated heat exchange amount and the calculated logarithmic mean temperature difference or the calculated average temperature, and the flow rate of the second medium, (c) obtains a ratio (ΔG) of a change (Q2-Q′2) in the heat exchange amount to a change (ΔF2) in the flow rate of the second medium based on the calculated flow rate (F2) of the second medium and the calculated overall heat transfer coefficient (K), and (d) corrects a gain of the regulating operation unit based on the obtained ratio.
US08199309B2

Disclosed is a liquid crystal display device that includes a TFT substrate. A plurality of gate lines and a plurality of common lines extend in a first direction on the TFT substrate. Drain lines extend in a second direction substantially perpendicularly to these lines. Bus lines are located outside a display area and are extending parallel to the drain lines. Common line terminals are provided on either side of each block that is constituted by a predetermined number of gate terminals. The common line terminals and the lead lines therefore are formed on the same layer as the drain lines and are connected to the bus lines on the same layer without any contacts being used. Resistance along the routes taken by common lines can be reduced.
US08199294B2

To provide: a production method of a liquid crystal display device, the production method being capable of efficiently and stably providing alignment treatment for an alignment film of the liquid crystal display device, in which a plurality of domains is formed in a pixel region; and an exposure device for alignment treatment. A production method of a liquid crystal display device comprising: a first substrate; a second substrate facing to the first substrate; a liquid crystal layer provided between the substrates; a first alignment film provided on the liquid crystal layer side surface of the first substrate; and a second alignment film provided on the liquid crystal layer side surface of the second substrate, wherein the production method comprises subjecting the first alignment film and/or the second alignment film to scanning exposure continuously over a plurality of pixel regions, and the scanning exposure comprises exposing the first alignment film and/or the second alignment film while scanning an inside of each pixel region more than one time in antiparallel directions to form, in the each pixel region, regions for aligning liquid crystal molecules to the surface (s) of the first alignment film and/or the second alignment film in antiparallel directions.
US08199291B2

A liquid crystal display device has at least a pair of transparent substrates, polymer-stabilized blue phase liquid crystal layer disposed therebetween, and a transparent film having an absolute value |Re| of in-plane retardation Re of 10 nm or smaller in the visible light region, having an absolute value |Rth| of thickness-wise retardation Rth of 30 nm or smaller in the visible light region, having an absolute value |Re(400)−Re(700)| of difference between values of in-plane retardation Re at 400 nm and 700 nm of 10 nm or smaller, and having an absolute value |Rth(400)−Rth(700)| of difference between values of thickness-wise retardation Rth at 400 nm and 700 nm of 35 nm or smaller.
US08199289B2

There is provided: an optical film suitable for a liquid crystal display apparatus providing a colorless neutral display in all azimuth angle directions; a liquid crystal panel employing the optical film; and a liquid crystal display apparatus employing the liquid crystal panel. An optical film includes a transparent protective film, a polarizer, and a birefringent layer having a relationship of nx>ny=nz and positive uniaxial property, in the stated order, in which the polarizer and the birefringent layer are laminated directly through one of a pressure-sensitive adhesive and an adhesive.
US08199288B2

A projection display includes a light source, a liquid crystal panel encapsulating a vertical alignment mode liquid crystal between a first substrate and a second substrate which are opposite to each other, the liquid crystal panel modulating light emitted from the light source, a longer axis of a molecule of the vertical alignment mode liquid crystal tilted from the normal direction of the first substrate, a projection lens projecting light modulated by the liquid crystal panel, a first polarization plate placed on an optical path from the light source to the liquid crystal panel, a second polarization plate placed on an optical path from the liquid crystal panel to the projection lens, an optical-compensation plate placed between the liquid crystal panel and the second polarization plate, and the optical-compensation plate including a plate-like base and a retardation plate formed on a surface of the plate-like base.
US08199285B2

A light-blocking film is formed by a resin, is formed on a surface of a first substrate that is closer to a second substrate continuously without being interrupted along a side edge of the first substrate, and is formed extending from an outer edge of a display region to the side edge of the first substrate. The first substrate is formed to be thinner than the second substrate. A region having a uniform surface height is formed on the surface of the first substrate that is closer to the second substrate along the side edge of the first substrate.
US08199282B2

A wire grid polarizer includes fine metal wires arranged parallel to one another and thus transmitting TM-polarized light. A light absorbing layer for absorbing TE-polarized light is provided on at least one of the surfaces of the wire grid polarizer.
US08199281B2

In a backlight of a liquid crystal display device, the screen of a liquid crystal panel is divided into a plurality of rectangular regions, an edge-light type light guide plate is provided corresponding to each of the rectangular regions, and a plurality of LEDs are provided on the end face of each edge-light type light guide plate. The brightness of the image displayed on each of the rectangular regions is obtained based on an image signal, and, based on the brightness, the brightness of the plurality of LEDs corresponding to each of the rectangular regions is controlled. Accordingly, the power consumption can be reduced as compared with the case where the entire liquid crystal panel is illuminated with uniform brightness. Furthermore, the edge-light type light guide plate is used to allow a decrease in number of the LEDs and the wiring arrangements.
US08199280B2

A backlight assembly includes; a plurality of light guide blocks disposed substantially in parallel with each other along a first direction, each of the plurality of light guide blocks including; a light guide plate (“LGP”) having a wedge-shape decreasing in thickness from a first side thereof to a second side thereof, and a light source unit disposed facing a side surface of the LGP, and a light source driving unit which individually controls the light source units of the plurality of light guide blocks to emit light via a local dimming method.
US08199277B2

The liquid crystal display device includes a middle frame fixing a liquid crystal display panel, a lower frame having a first plate portion, and a lower cover having a second plate portion and a housing together with the upper cover. A pitch of first through holes formed in the lower frame and a pitch of second through holes formed in the lower cover differ from each other. By selecting a combination of the first through hole and the second through hole, by aligning the selected first through hole and second through hole, and by inserting an insert into the aligned first through hole and the second through hole, a relative positional relationship between the first through hole and the second through hole is fixed.
US08199272B2

A flexible display device includes an array substrate, a display medium layer, a transparent substrate and a first sealant. The array substrate has a display region and a sealant spread region surrounding the display region. The display medium layer is disposed on the array substrate and located in the display region. The transparent substrate is disposed above the display medium layer. The first sealant is formed between the array substrate and the transparent substrate and located in the sealant spread region of the array substrate. The first sealant has a first sidewall and a second sidewall. One of the first sidewall and the second sidewall has a plurality of fillisters arranged at intervals. Since the first sealant of the flexible display device has the fillisters arranged at intervals, the stress imposed on the first sealant may be decreased. Therefore, the life of the first sealant may be prolonged and the sealing performance of the flexible display device can be improved.
US08199259B2

This video display device includes a maker name table and a device type table. Moreover, this video display device includes a communication means which, when some external input channel is selected, receives from a device upon that external input channel the logical address and the vendor ID which are allocated in advance to that device on that external input channel. This video display device also includes a conversion means which converts the vendor ID which has been received by the communication unit to a letter string representing a maker's name, on the basis of the maker name table. The conversion means also converts the logical address which has been received by the communication unit to a letter string representing the device type of the device, on the basis of the device type table. Furthermore, this video display device also includes a display means which displays those letter strings.
US08199257B2

A video processor includes a video filter and a calculation circuit. The video filter performs a low-pass filtering operation on first frame data to obtain brightness distribution data. The calculation circuit obtains difference data between the brightness distribution data and second frame data. The calculation circuit multiplies the difference data and a weighting parameter together to obtain a product, and then summates the product and the second frame data together to generate processed frame data.
US08199254B2

In a device for separating a synchronous signal in a video signal, a capacitor receives the video signal to obtain a coupling signal, a level determining circuit receives the coupling signal and compares a voltage level of the coupling signal with a number of reference voltages. The reference voltages define several reference voltage ranges, one of which is a predetermined reference voltage range. The level determining circuit outputs an adjusting signal according to a reference voltage range corresponding to a minimum voltage level of the coupling signal within a predetermined time period. A level adjusting circuit has several current sources for receiving the adjusting signal and thus controls the current sources to adjust a DC level of the coupling signal. A synchronous signal separating circuit separates the synchronous signal from the coupling signal when the minimum voltage level of the coupling signal is substantially within the predetermined reference voltage range.
US08199253B2

A clock range setting device including a horizontal counter, a filter unit, a clock detecting unit, a first infinite impulse filter (IIR filter), and a clock range modulator is provided. The horizontal counter counts a horizontal counter value. The filter unit obtains a lead clock of each teletext video signal according to a lead clock range, and generates a corresponding clock intermediate value. The clock detecting unit detects level changes of the lead clock of each teletext video signal according to the clock intermediate value, so as to generate a corresponding current clock cycle number. The first IIR filter generates corresponding number mean value according to the current clock cycle numbers sequentially received by the first IIR filter. The clock range modulator sets the lead clock range corresponding to each teletext video signal according to the current clock cycle number, the number mean value, and the horizontal counter value.
US08199249B2

A digital image capture system and method uses a display device to illuminate a target with light for improved image capture under poor lighting conditions. Various characteristics of the flash (e.g., brightness, color, duration, etc.) can be adjusted to improve image capture. Users are provided with feedback (e.g., live video feed, audio and/or visual countdowns, etc.) to assist them in preparing for image capture. The captured images are seamlessly integrated with existing applications (e.g., video conferencing, instant text messaging, etc.).
US08199233B2

A solid-state imaging device includes a pixel array unit in which pixels having photoelectric converting elements configured to accumulate electric signals in accordance with the quantity of received light and detecting units configured to detect the electric signals accumulated using the photoelectric converting elements are arrayed in a matrix and a timing signal generator configured to generate a timing signal with which an electric signal accumulation time period of each of respective pixels constituting the pixel array unit is set to be a time period obtained by adding a time period calculated on the basis of a position where each of the respective pixels constituting the pixel array unit is arranged to a predetermined time period.
US08199229B2

A color filter allows a light signal to pass through by each pixel and be incident on an imaging device. The light signal is inputted through a lens and including one of plural different spectral components. The plural different spectral components include a first spectral component which has a widest frequency bandwidth among the plural different spectral components, a second spectral component corresponding to a predetermined frequency band close to a frequency that causes no chromatic aberration of the lens, and a third spectral component expressed in terms of a linear sum of a value resulting from multiplying the first spectral component by a first weighting factor and a value resulting from multiplying the second spectral component by a second weighting factor.
US08199218B2

A novel method and apparatus for controlling operation of a photosensor array in a portable electronic device to reduce flicker resulting from fluorescent light having a periodic intensity. The method comprises selecting a time zone in which the device is to be operated, correlating the time zone with a corresponding frequency of the fluorescent light, and signaling the photosensor array to operate in accordance with a mode optimized to reduce flicker based on the selected time zone.
US08199202B2

An image processing device that performs registration processing between a plurality of images using an image transformation defined by at least one inter-frame motion vector, is provided with a lens characteristic acquisition unit for obtaining a lens characteristic of an imaging lens that photographs the plurality of images; a motion vector measurement region setting unit for setting, on the basis of the lens characteristic, a plurality of motion vector measurement regions in each of which a motion vector is to be measured; a motion vector reliability calculation unit for calculating a reliability of each of calculated motion vectors; and a motion vector integration processing unit for calculating the at least one inter-frame motion vector by integrating the motion vectors of the plurality of motion vector measurement regions in accordance with the reliability of the motion vectors.
US08199199B1

There is provided a method and a system for registration of real time position of tennis ball relatively to boundary lines on tennis court. The method and system comprise sensitive to near-infrared radiation at least one video camera, outputting video image of court and the method and system further include at least one point source of near-infrared radiation, illuminating tennis court and displaced relatively to the video camera. It is suggested a simple and inexpensive way of determining if a tennis ball bounces in or out of court by determining point of intersection of trajectories of the tennis ball and its shade from near-infrared radiation and comparing the position of the determined point of intersection with previously calibrated boundary lines of court.
US08199197B2

An aerial camera system including a plurality of main reels, a camera interface/safety reel and a stabilized camera head. The camera head is supported from main cables from the main reels with a safety reel cable providing power, data and video communication between the camera head and a main computer system. Each of the main reels, the camera interface/safety reel and the camera head are in communication with the main computer system, which controls the feeding and reeling in of the main cables. Further, the computer system controls the feeding and reeling in of the safety reel cable, which typically only follows the camera head as it moves in three-dimensional space, but may in emergency mode support the weight of the camera head and be used to slowly pull the camera head up and out of the way so that it does not interfere with any activity below the flight area. The aerial camera system may also include a level wind assembly that keeps the cables wound on the drum of the main reels and/or the safety reel in a controlled and consistent manner. Furthermore, the camera head of the aerial camera system may use a rotating gimbal assembly with computer controlled leveling motors for keeping the camera head level as the gimbal assembly moves.
US08199193B2

A heat treating furnace inspection system comprises a camera configured to move through the furnace chamber of the furnace. The system typically includes a carriage which carries the camera and is especially useful for inspecting a roller hearth furnace. Conveyor rolls or another conveyor mechanism of the furnace is operated to move the camera through the furnace chamber in order to photograph the interior of the chamber for the purposes of inspection. Images of the furnace chamber interior may be displayed on a display screen and merged with text which may communicate information related to inspection findings.
US08199190B2

An image processing apparatus is configured so that a combination of the processes that are performed is set for each of unit cycles (according to the value of a counter) in accordance with priorities individually set for the processes, and image processing is performed in a fundamental cycle that is constituted of six unit cycles. A face direction determination process, a line-of-sight direction determination process, a blink detection process, a dozing determination process, and a consciousness deterioration level determination process are selectively performed depending on the value of the counter, which varies from 1 to 6. According to the image processing apparatus, it is possible to more efficiently perform image processing that involves a plurality of processes.
US08199189B2

The present invention relates to an imaging device designed with the intent of visualizing subcutaneous structures within an organism. Visualization of subcutaneous structures will increase the speed and accuracy with which medical treatments requiring insertion of instruments into these structures can be performed. Especially fluid insertions into or extractions from an organism will be facilitated as the device is adapted to be placed upon the organism in a manner giving continued full mobility for the recipient and operator of the device.
US08199188B2

A video imaging system that allows a user to save select image data to a detachable storage device, the image data presented on a display for the user, where the user is provided with various control interfaces for saving and appending information to the saved image data. The detachable storage device also including user settings data that is used to adjust the settings of the camera control unit according to the user preferences.
US08199185B2

The present invention enables eye contact between conferees during a teleconference using a terminal equipped with a beamsplitter for reflecting an image of a conferee. In one embodiment the image of the conferee appears to be in a backdrop. The display is positioned behind the viewing side of the beam-splitter so that the conferee views the display through the beamsplitter. The invention can be configured to create the appearance that a life-size teleconference image of a remote conferee appears in the same room as the local conferee apparently sitting on the other side of the desk or table—creating the experience of telepresence with eye contact. Additional embodiments include adaptable features of the present invention which enable it to be configured into many specific types of eye contact display products. The invention further teaches the design of a telepresence network, linking numerous terminals sharing a commonality in configuration. The invention also includes many additional versatility embodiments for desktop and group videoconferencing, as well as other videoconferencing applications.
US08199174B2

A method and apparatus for generating documents having stored electrostatic pattern information provides security with respect to the authenticity of documents. A liquid medium including a plurality of electrostatic monopoles is applied to the surface of a document, which embeds a permanent electrostatic pattern in the document. The pattern is then readable by an electrostatic scanner. The monopoles may be associated with differing colors, including black and white, may be transparent or have a neutral color. The patterns may embed data, certificates or shapes. The monopoles may provide a watermark or visible image. The apparatus may be a pen or printer, and may include multiple selectable vessels containing ink and/or electrostatic liquid medium of one or both charge states. Visible features of the document can be compared with the detected pattern, or the pattern may be compared to a database or decrypted with a key.
US08199172B2

A color adjustment method for a display device includes receiving a composite video signal including a first chrominance signal and a first luminance signal, generating a hue signal and a saturation signal according to at least the first chrominance signal, generating an intensity gain parameter according to the hue signal and the saturation signal, generating a saturation gain parameter according to the hue signal, generating a hue deviation parameter according to the hue signal, adjusting the first luminance signal according to the intensity gain parameter for generating a second luminance signal, and adjusting the first chrominance signal according to the hue deviation parameter and a mixed parameter generated according to the saturation gain parameter, for generating a second chrominance signal.
US08199171B2

There is provided a display device equipped with a display unit, the display device including a receiving part for receiving a difference signal of a plurality of channels including an image signal and content identification information inserted in a blanking period and outputting the image signal and the content identification information; a light emission amount regulation part for setting a reference duty according to image information of the image signal; an adjustment part for adjusting so that an actual duty is within a predetermined range based on the reference duty and an adjustment signal and adjusting a gain of the image signal so that a light emission amount defined by the actual duty and the gain of the image signal becomes the same as the light emission amount defined by the reference duty; and an adjustment signal generation part for generating the adjustment signal based on the content identification information.
US08199170B2

A display control device includes a state specifying unit, an information specifying unit and a controller. The state specifying unit specifies a placement state of a medium on a display screen. The information specifying unit specifies either (i) electronic information which is a source of an image recorded on the medium or (ii) electronic information relevant to the electronic information which is the source of the image recorded on the medium. The controller controls such that a specific image representing the electronic information specified by the information specifying unit is displayed on the display screen in accordance with the placement state specified by the state specifying unit.
US08199158B2

In accordance with some embodiments, a graphics process frame generation frame rate may be monitored in combination with a utilization or work load metric for the graphics process in order to allocate performance resources to the graphics process and in some cases, between the graphics process and a central processing unit.
US08199154B2

Herein described is a method and system of displaying low resolution graphics onto a high resolution display. The low resolution graphics may be displayed using one or more displayable maps or surfaces, each of which is defined by way of one or more parameters. The display may comprise a monitor, television set, or set top box, capable of displaying at a particular resolution. In one or more representative embodiments, the various aspects of the invention permit scaling the low resolution graphics onto the high resolution display by way of using the one or more displayable maps or surfaces such that the graphics data is properly displayed on the higher resolution display.
US08199141B2

It is an object to provide a high reliable display device which can suppress the generation of high electric field near the drain of the transistor used as a switching element and a driving method thereof. A relaxation time when charge is stored in the display element of the pixel and other capacitors connected to the display element in parallel is focused on, and the voltage applied between the source and the drain of the transistor in the writing period is suppressed by changing the video signal applied to the signal line step by step and finally setting it at the desired level.
US08199126B1

Methods and apparatus related classifying touch events are disclosed. A first event is detected at a touch interface of a wearable computing device. Detecting the first event includes detecting a first capacitance change at the touch interface. A first-event signature of the first event is determined based on at least the first capacitance change. A first-event classification for the first event is selected from among a touch classification and a potential-touch classification based on the first-event signature. A first-event confidence value for the first-event classification is determined. Contextual information during a predetermined time after detecting the first event is obtained. The first-event classification can be adjusted based on the contextual information.
US08199125B2

An information display method includes steps of: detecting a touch position of an object on a screen of a display unit; determining whether a plurality of touch positions are detected; detecting a motionless touch position which is motionless for a predetermined time period in the plurality of detected touch positions; detecting a behavior of a touch position other than the motionless touch position among the plurality of detected touch positions; detecting an instruction corresponding to the behavior of the touch position; and controlling, in accordance with the motionless touch position and the detected instruction, the display unit to reduce an display area of a kept image, the image being displayed on the display unit when the motionless touch position is detected, to a predetermined size to continue displaying the reduced kept image, and to display an image other than the reduced kept image.
US08199122B2

A pressure sensitive conductive sheet is provided by having a plurality of ferromagnetic conductive particles dispersed in a transparent elastic member joined together and linearly aligned with the thickness direction thereby forming a linear aggregate and then having the linear aggregate segmented into a plurality conductive elements, held linearly aligned with the thickness direction, with predetermined gaps formed therebetween. Further, a touch panel having good transparency and allowing stabilized operation is provided by interposing the pressure sensitive conductive sheet between an upper conductive layer on the lower face of an upper substrate and a lower conductive layer on the upper face of a lower substrate.
US08199116B2

A display panel includes an array substrate and an opposite substrate. The array substrate includes pixels, first signal lines, and second signal lines. The opposite substrate is combined with the array substrate, interposing a liquid crystal layer there between. The opposite substrate includes an opposite base substrate and first and second protruded electrodes. The first and second protruded electrodes are formed in regions corresponding to the first and second signal lines, respectively, and are electrically connected to the first and second signal lines, respectively, based on an externally provided pressure. Therefore, a thickness of the display panel is decreased, and a touch position is easily detected.
US08199109B2

A system for controlling a remote vehicle, the system comprising: a hand-held controller having a plurality of buttons; a display including a graphical user interface having soft buttons; and a processor in communication with the hand-held controller and the display. Buttons of the hand-held controller are mapped to soft buttons of the graphical user interface to allow actuation of soft buttons of the graphical user interface, and the hand-held controller is capable of switching between two or more button function modes, wherein each button function mode assigns different functions to one or more of the buttons of the hand-held controller.
US08199107B2

Various implementations of an interface device, along with associated methods and systems, are described in which the interface device has a housing with a transformable form factor, and a transformation assembly that can change the form factor of the housing. At least one of the form factors of the housing has a shape that corresponds to data associated with the interface device.
US08199101B2

The transmission liquid crystal display device includes a liquid crystal panel and a backlight, wherein the liquid crystal panel has pixels each of which is divided into four sub pixels as red (R), green (G), blue (B), and white (W) sub pixels. Further, an emission luminance of the backlight can be controlled.
US08199084B2

A driving circuit of a flat panel display device includes a horizontal bus, a plurality of horizontal driver ICs, a vertical bus, and a plurality of vertical driver ICs. The horizontal driver IC is operative to decode N-types of vertical driving signals output from the horizontal bus, so as to transmit the N-type vertical driving signals to the corresponding vertical driver IC via a vertical signal line of the vertical bus.
US08199081B2

Disclosed herein is a display apparatus including: a pixel array section including pixel circuits laid out to form a matrix as pixel circuits each having an electro optical device, a signal writing transistor, a device driving transistor, and a storage capacitor; a power-supply scan circuit; a signal outputting circuit; and a write scan circuit.
US08199065B2

A dual-band antenna includes a first antenna element having a generally “J” shaped element, and a second antenna element having a generally “h” shaped element. The first antenna element and the second antenna element share a common feed point and each antenna element is oriented substantially perpendicular to the other. The first antenna element and the second antenna element, in one implementation, are adapted to efficiently operate the dual-band antenna at approximately 1575 MHz and approximately 850 MHz, respectively.
US08199061B2

A thermal compensating subreflector tracking assembly for a reflector antenna and methods of use. The subreflector tracking assembly provided with a base, an intermediate support and a subreflector mount. The intermediate support coupled to the base, movable normal to the base and the subreflector mount coupled to the intermediate support, movable orthogonal to the intermediate support. The movement in the Z, Y and or Z-axis enabling electrical performance optimizing reflector antenna beam alignment and/or focus adjustments resulting from asymmetric thermal distortion of the reflector antenna.
US08199049B2

A computer apparatus for post positioning with a selected precision. The apparatus includes a GNSS post processor to post process reference GNSS carrier phases from a reference system and rover GNSS carrier phases from a rover receiver to compute a secure position for the rover receiver not available to a user. The apparatus includes a vector offset generator to use the selected precision to compute a dither level for offset vectors to degrade an intrinsic precision of the secure position to provide a user-available position for the rover receiver at the selected precision.
US08199046B2

An object detection system includes a first object detection unit that detects an object in an area near the system using a radar and an object determination section that determines whether the object in the area near the system is a subject of detection, using a result of detection by the first object detection unit. The object determination section treats the object as the subject of detection if (i) an intensity of a radio wave from the object that is currently received by the first object detection unit is equal to or higher than a first threshold value or if (ii) an intensity of a radio wave from the object that was received in the past by the first object detection unit was equal to or higher than the first threshold value and the intensity of the radio wave from the object that is currently received by the first object detection unit is equal to or higher than a second threshold value that is lower than the first threshold value.
US08199038B2

Provided are an active resistance-capacitance (RC) integrator and a continuous-time sigma-delta modulator, which have a gain control function. The active RC integrator includes an amplifier, a first base resistor connected between a first input node and a positive input port of the amplifier, a second base resistor connected between a second input node and a negative input port of the amplifier, a first resistor unit connected between the second input node and the positive input port of the amplifier, and a second resistor unit connected between the first input node and the negative input port of the amplifier. A resistor network including resistors and switches is configured to vary an input resistance, so that an active RC integrator may have a gain control function.
US08199035B2

A data communication device or system includes a preamble unit and a data interface. The preamble unit generates or detects a first preamble having a first length for a first data line, and generates or detects a second preamble having a second length for a second data line. The first length is different from the second length, and data on the first and second data lines form parallel data. The data interface communicates a first data with the first preamble via the first data line and communicates a second data with the second preamble via the second data line. The respective length and/or respective pattern of each preamble are adjustable and/or programmable.
US08199016B2

An RFID device includes a first, relatively permanent portion and a second alterable or inactivatable portion. Upon the occurrence of some predetermined event, the second portion and/or its coupling to the first portion is physically altered, inactivating it. The first portion may itself be an antennaless RFID device that may be read at short range, and the second portion may be an antenna that, when coupled to the first portion, substantially increases the range at which the first portion may be read. The second portion may be configured to be altered or inactivated by any of a variety of predetermined events, such as involving physical, chemical or electrical forces, performed either on the RFID device, or upon an object to which the RFID device is coupled.
US08199015B2

A system and methods for measuring the temperature of an RFID reader module and inserting a delay in the RFID reader's duty cycle to prevent the RFID reader from initiating a thermal shutdown. The system and methods are self-adaptable, therefore incurring the benefit regardless of the design of the RFID reader host and its associated heat sink. The system and methods also provide for archiving the collected data and analyzing the data providing the ability to improve the design of the RFID reader host.
US08199014B1

The present invention relates to the field of mobile communications, and in particular to a system for near field wireless data communication using RFID for checking whether a portable item is to be brought by a user from one place to another or not by using a mobile electronic device comprising a radio communication device and a method for achieving this.
US08199004B1

A radio frequency identification (RFID) tag reader. The tag reader includes a power detection circuit operable to detect power from a plurality of different power sources, and a controller for operating the radio frequency identification tag reader at a power consumption level commensurate with a detected power source.
US08199002B2

A power saving wireless fire alarm system has a master station and a plurality of battery-powered fire detecting terminals linked for wireless communication with each other. Upon detection of a fire occurrence at one of the fire detecting terminals, the fire detecting terminal transmit a fire detection message to a master station which in turn transmit a wake-up message to the other fire detecting terminals and thereafter a fire information message which starts a multiple synchronous communication between the master station and the fire detecting terminals. Each fire detecting terminal has a power controller which selects an intermittent reception mode of activating its own receiver only intermittently until receiving the wake-up message or information indicative of the fire occurrence, and select a constant operation mode thereafter to make the fire detecting terminals be ready for the multiple synchronous communication commenced by the fire information message from the master station.
US08199000B2

A wireless patient monitoring system forms a Network Around a Patient (NAP) and includes sensor nodes configured to acquire patient data from a patient. A gateway device is in bi-directional wireless communication with the sensor nodes for a plurality of defined communication frames. The gateway device is configured to transmit a beacon message to the sensor nodes at each of a plurality of frequencies. The sensor nodes are further configured to receive the beacon message from the gateway device and transmit the acquired patient data to the gateway device at each of the plurality of frequencies.
US08198978B2

The invention relates to a film resistor (1) comprising a carbon-containing material (3) into which clusters (4) of conductive cluster material are introduced, wherein the conductive cluster material has a positive temperature coefficient. The clusters (4) are surrounded by a graphite casing and embedded in the carbon-containing material (3). Furthermore, the cluster material is present in a thermodynamically stable phase. The invention also relates to a method for producing a film resistor (1), wherein a PVD process is carried out on a carrier substrate (11) using a sputtering material under a reactive atmosphere of a carbon-containing gas, and therefore the carbon-containing gas is dissociated and a carbon-containing layer (3) is deposited on the carrier substrate (11), with clusters (4) of the sputtering material being embedded in said carbon-containing layer, wherein the carbon-containing layer (3) is heated to a predetermined temperature while the PVD process is carried out, with the sputtering material or a compound of the sputtering material forming in a stable phase at said temperature.
US08198974B2

An electrostatic actuator having a base including a first electrode and a flexible membrane including at least two material layers of different materials in contact with each other. At least one of the material layers includes a second electrode electrically isolated from the first electrode. The flexible membrane includes a fixed end connected to the base and a free end opposite the fixed end and spaced apart from the base. The second electrode has at least first and second portions separated by a third portion and in combination defining a first and second step provided in a vicinity of the fixed end.
US08198971B2

A laminated inductor includes a laminate having a plurality of insulating layers, a helical coil and first and second external electrodes on an underside of the laminate. The helical coil has coiled electrodes, each coiled up in one turn, and the first and second external electrodes are connected to respective, or corresponding, ends of the helical coil. Each of the coiled electrodes of the helical coil follow a path along the periphery of one of the insulating layers and include first end located in the path and second end located outside the path. The helical coil and the first external electrode are connected to each other by a lead via conductor formed in a space that is enclosed by parts of the coiled electrodes including the first and second ends.
US08198962B2

A carrier for transmitting a high frequency signal and a carrier layout method thereof are provided. The carrier includes a substrate, conducting wires and reference planes both formed on the substrate. The carrier layout method includes defining impedance and thickness of the carrier according to the high frequency signal and defining layout parameters according to the impedance and the thickness. The layout parameters include a conducting layer formed on the conducting wires, a coplanar waveguide encompasses both the reference planes and the conducting wires as a part thereof, roughness portions formed on the conducting wires, recessed portions formed on the conducting wires, and the substrate being a high loss tangent substrate. The layout is performed according to the layout parameters defined thereabove, so as to increase loss of the high frequency signal in transmission.
US08198961B2

A microwave filter based on the combination of dual-mode and single-mode cavities. The single-mode cavity symmetrically extends from the dual-mode cavity with respect to the symmetric reference plane to form the so called extended doublet network. The microwave filter in extended-doublet configuration exhibit high frequency selectivity since it has a pair of finite frequency transmission zeros on the upper and lower stopband. The design concept can also be applied to build higher order filters.
US08198954B2

An impedance matched circuit board utilizes a series of vias, one signal via that is surrounded by four ground vias in order to effect impedance matching with a coaxial signal transmission line. The vias are plated and extend through the thickness of the circuit board. Both opposing surfaces of the circuit board are provided with a conductive ground layer and each such ground layer has an opening formed there that encompasses one or more of the vias. On the top surface the opening surrounds the signal and ground via and on the bottom surface the opening only partially surrounds the signal via and the opening includes a convex portion formed therein.
US08198949B2

The present application relates to a digital modulator comprising an output stage comprising a number of unit cell arrays, and a sampling stage. The present application relates also to a communication device comprising said digital modulator, a method for digitally modulating and a computer program product. More particularly, the digital modulator comprises an output stage comprising a number of unit cell arrays, wherein the output stage comprises at least one carrier frequency signal input terminal configured to receive a carrier frequency signal. The digital modulator comprises a sampling stage connectable to the output stage, wherein the sampling stage is configured to oversample at least one data input signal. The digital modulator comprises at least one sampling clock generating device configured to generate at least one sampling clock signal depending on the number of arranged unit cell arrays and the carrier frequency signal.
US08198948B2

A vibrator element includes: a base part; and a vibrating arm extended from the base part in a first direction, the vibrating arm including a first region, a second region, and a third region sequentially arranged from the base part side in the first direction, the first region to the third region including first electrodes and second electrodes that generate electric fields in second directions perpendicular to the first direction in a plan view and are electrically independent from each other, wherein electric field directions of the first region and the third region and an electric field direction of the second region are opposite to each other, and the vibrating arm is expanded and contracted in the first direction by the electric fields in the second directions, and the vibrating arm is vibrated in third directions as directions perpendicular to the respective first direction and second directions.
US08198946B2

A semiconductor integrated circuit includes a ring oscillator and a noise canceller. The ring oscillator includes first and second signal generators. The first signal generator is configured to generate a first output signal having a first phase based on an input signal. The second signal generator is configured to generate a second output signal having a second phase different from the first phase based on the input signal. The noise canceller includes first and second amplifiers and an arithmetic module. The first amplifier is configured to amplify the first output signal generated by the first signal generator using a first amplification factor. The second amplifier is configured to amplify the second output signal generated by the second signal generator using a second amplification factor. The arithmetic module is configured to combine the first output signal amplified by the first amplifier with the second output signal amplified by the second amplifier.
US08198939B2

Embodiments of the present invention provide systems and methods for automatic amplifier gain profile control, including a method for automatically configuring a variable gain profile amplifier according to received input and a variable gain profile amplification system. Further, embodiments of the present invention provide systems and methods for increased gain profile accuracy, including methods and systems to reduce the effects of temperature and/or process variations on the gain profile of an amplifier.
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