US08272679B2
A strategically located door spacer block for transferring door beam bend/kink away from the occupant seating position is provided. The door spacer block is positioned between the door inner panel and the door outer panel and is aligned with the door beam. The door spacer block of the disclosed invention is placed between door inner panel and the door outer panel with the intention of minimizing the effect that the bend/kink in the door beam has on the occupant loading. The door spacer block engages the door beam and transfers the effective position of the kink of the door structure in a side impact away from the occupant seating position, thus freeing up crushable space in the occupant loading zone. The door spacer block of the disclosed invention eliminates or delays the loading of the beam surface to the pelvis bolster material, thus enabling additional free-crush space and allowing for a lower force transfer to the occupant.
US08272673B2
A semiconductor handler subassembly is provided. The semiconductor handler subassembly includes an adjustment apparatus with a floating lock that is configured to adjust and lock in place to a desired position, and a tip attached to the floating lock and configured to engage a part.
US08272672B2
A suspension device for receiving a load includes a U-shaped lifting arm, a mounting plate for receiving a load and provided on the lifting arm, a guide rod extending between the legs of the U-shaped lifting arm, a suspending fishplate displaceable along the guide rod for suspending the suspension device from a lifting/support unit, and a damping member arranged between one of the legs of the U-shaped arm and the suspending fishplate, with a stiffness of the damping member being selected to a predetermined angle to a horizontal.
US08272663B2
A tow assembly for a truck for high capacity loads provides independent load paths interconnected to a tow eye for bearing a towing load. According to one embodiment, the assembly includes a mounting interface having a front face and oppositely located side faces and defining an interior space, a first outer member extending from one side face of the mounting box, a second outer member extending from an opposite side face of the mounting box, an inner member disposed and extending through the first outer member, the interface, and the second outer member, and, a tow eye mounted to the front face of the interface and structurally interconnected to the inner bar. Towing loads are transmitted to the mounting interface and distributed and shared by the inner member and first and second tube structure.
US08272661B2
A gooseneck hitch assembly is provided for attaching to a towing vehicle. The hitch assembly generally includes a hitch ball head assembly and retaining assembly for receiving and securing the hitch ball head assembly. The retaining assembly includes a channel coupled to a locking collar. Once the hitch ball head assembly is inserted into the channel, the collar is released and resilient members guide the collar to its offset resting position to lock the hitch ball head assembly in place. Alternatively, the collar is released and resilient members guide a lever into a circumscribed groove of the hitch ball head assembly, thereby locking the hitch ball head assembly in place. The hitch ball head is removable and may be selectively received by the retaining assembly in both towing and inverted positions. Optionally, the hitch assembly may be protected or covered by a housing.
US08272656B2
A vehicle, such as a motorcycle, has a structure in which strength of a body frame is increased and positional accuracy between members constituting the body frame is improved. A head pipe of the motorcycle can include a pipe portion inside which a steering shaft is disposed, and a wall portion formed rearward of the pipe portion. The wall portion and the pipe portion can be integrally formed by extruding performed in a direction in which the pipe portion extends. Left and right main frames extending rearward can be disposed on the wall portion. The motorcycle can further include a reinforcing member disposed rearward of the wall portion, arranged such that an upper portion thereof is sandwiched by the right and left main frames, and having rest portions on which the right and left main frames are placed.
US08272655B2
A mini bike for strengthening a leg muscle, and for enjoying amusement and a leisure time is provided. The mini bike having a pedal as a power generator includes: a driver having a first bevel gear in order to transmit rotation power generated by a rolling motion of a pedal; a second bevel gear installed to transmit rotation power generated in the driver; a first power transmission gear coaxially installed in the second bevel gear to transmit rotation power to a spline shaft; a clutch positioned at the spline shaft to selectively connect rotation power of the first power transmission gear to a first gearshift and a second gearshift and for controlling a low speed and a high speed; a first driving gear and a second driving gear for rotating by selection of the clutch; and a driving controller including a gearshift in which the clutch is connected to the cable in order to select the first gearshift and the second gearshift. Therefore, when young boys and girls go to or coming from a school, when office workers go to or come from their office, when an adult enjoys a leisure time, as well as when children enjoy amusement, the bike can be used, and when riding on the bike, the user can enjoy a low speed or a high speed, and the bike can be used for strengthening a leg muscle.
US08272647B2
A cargo cart comprising a bed configured for carrying cargo, the bed having a front side, a back side, a left side and a right side, the bed having an upper surface and an under surface; an axle located beneath the under surface of the bed and extending from a left end proximate the left side of the bed to a right end proximate the right side of the bed, the axle having a first bend proximate the left end, the axle extending from the first bend away from the bed, the axle having a second bend proximate the right end. the axle extending from the second bend away from the bed, the axle having a first attachment location at the left end and a second attachment location at the right end.
US08272640B2
A first lower layer control unit controls a conveyance unit, that conveys the medium in a first conveyance section of a conveyance path. A second lower layer control unit controls a conveyance unit, that conveys the medium in a second conveyance section located downstream of the first conveyance section. An upper layer control unit determines whether the medium is at a position where both the first lower layer control unit and the second lower layer control unit engage with conveyance control of the medium, instructs the first lower layer control unit and the second lower layer control unit to operate in synchronization with each other when the medium is at the position, and instructs the second lower layer control unit to operate asynchronously to the first lower layer control unit when the medium is not at the position.
US08272636B2
A paper feed device including a paper feed unit configured to feed sheets; a separation unit configured to separate and feed the sheets fed from the paper feed unit automatically one by one; a sheet guide member provided between the paper feed unit and the separation unit, the sheet guide member provided on a downstream side relative to a sheet feed direction rotatably supported at one edge thereof; and a guide driving member configured to change a sheet guide position of the sheet guide member depending on a sheet type.
US08272631B2
The melon-holder includes an elongated base having a pair of jaws each pivotal about a separate side of the base. The jaws are pivotal from a melon-engaging position to a melon-releasing position. The jaws have a number of lateral spaces which are spaced apart from one another and which are adapted to receive a knife for cutting the melon into lateral slices while the jaws are in the melon-engaging position.
US08272630B2
A device for fixing especially surface-like workpieces has a flexible attachment surface at least one holding device which holding devices may be embodied as spheres which are held in openings by an elastic surface-like component in a resilient manner. Between the elastic surface-like component and the attachment surface, there exists a reduced pressure, so that, as a consequence of the reduced pressure, or the air pressure of the ambience, respectively, a workpiece resting at the attachment surface is pressed against the attachment surface 2. Consequently, spheres are pressed out of the openings only where the workpiece rests on the attachment surface in order to be held.
US08272621B2
The seal (10) for a spray gun (20) is tubular in form and molded from an elastomer. The seal is placed in compression between two generally parallel surfaces (12) so as to seal out the fluid (such as paint) from the rod (14). As the trigger (16) is pulled and the rod (14) moved rearward, the seal (10) bulges to accommodate the travel without exposing the rod (14) to the fluid.
US08272617B2
An adjustable supporting stand includes a main body with a receiving room, a slidable module disposed in the receiving room, a supporting holder assembled on the slidable module, a gear set connected to the supporting holder, and an elastic member disposed on the main body. The gear set has at least one first gear and a second gear, and the first gear is smaller than the second gear. One end of the elastic member is fixed on the main body and another end of the elastic member is connected to the second gear.
US08272609B2
A bracket for mounting a heat sink on a printed circuit board includes two supports, two rails slidably attached to the supports, four adjusting assemblies slidably attached to the rails and four positioning members extending through the supports to engage with the rails to position the rails on the supports. Positions of opposite ends of the rails in the supports are adjustable along a first direction. Each of the rails defines two spaced slide slots in opposite ends of the rail. The supports and the rails are attached to a first side of the printed circuit board. Positions of the adjusting assemblies in the slide slots are adjustable along a second direction perpendicular to the first direction. The adjusting assemblies extend through the circuit board to engage with the heat sink at a second side of the printed circuit board.
US08272608B2
The present invention concerns a keyboard support for movably supporting a keyboard with respect to a work surface of a workstation. The keyboard support includes a workstation engaging member adapted to be attached to an underside of the work surface, a keyboard engaging member for supporting a keyboard, and a linkage assembly mechanically coupling and providing relative movement between the workstation engaging member and the keyboard engaging member and thereby between the keyboard and the work surface. The keyboard support also includes a braking assembly adapted to allow relative movement of the keyboard engaging member with respect to the workstation engaging member in an unlocked position and to prevent relative movement of the keyboard engaging member with respect to the workstation engaging member in a locked position. The braking assembly comprises a roller assembly carried on a connector of the linkage assembly. The roller assembly is biased against a wedge affixed to a vertical side of the keyboard engaging member.
US08272606B2
A mounting apparatus for mounting a data storage device includes a bracket, a mounting member fixed to the data storage device, a locking member movably attached to the bracket, and a resilient member arranged between the locking member and the bracket. The bracket defines a slide slot. The mounting member forms a post at an outer surface to slide in the slide slot. The locking member forms a protrusion with an inclined surface and a stop surface. The post of the mounting member can ride over the inclined surface of the locking member to be limited by the stop surface.
US08272600B2
A keyboard support having a generally flat keyboard supporting surface and a track extending along an outer periphery of the keyboard support. A mouse support has a generally flat mouse supporting surface and is coupled to the keyboard support by a track follower that engages the track for movement along the track. A coupling arm engages the track follower and allows pivoting of the mouse support with respect to the keyboard support.
US08272597B2
A potable water system capable of being drained in flight. The system provides positive separation between the potable and gray water systems. The design of the system will allow draining of components such as water tanks or interconnect lines that are below the level of the drain point. The systems will allow draining of components such as water tanks or interconnect lines that would not gravity drain due to the routing of their interconnect lines. This invention would apply to aircraft that need the capability to drain their potable water system in flight.
US08272582B2
Systems and methods for producing ozonated water on demand. In particular, these systems comprise a water source, an ozone source, and a nozzle that mixes ozone and water to form a highly concentrated, ozonated water solution. Instead of requiring the ozonated water to be re-circulated to achieve a desired ozone concentration, the nozzle is configured to form the ozonated water solution in a single pass through the nozzle. Additionally, instead of requiring the ozonated water to be discharged into a pressurized tank to increase ozone absorption, the nozzle allows the ozonated water to be openly discharged. In some cases, the nozzle comprises a venturi with multiple ozone inlets to increase mixing. Additionally, in some cases the nozzle comprises a single pass mixing mechanism that mixes the water and ozone to form the high concentrate, ozonated water solution in a single pass through the nozzle.
US08272579B2
A deposition apparatus comprising one or more atomizers structurally integrated with a deposition head. The entire head may be replaceable, and prefilled with material. The deposition head may comprise multiple nozzles. Also an apparatus for three dimensional materials deposition comprising a tiltable deposition head attached to a non-tiltable atomizer. Also methods and apparatuses for depositing different materials either simultaneously or sequentially.
US08272575B2
A semiconductor device in which damages to an element such as a transistor are reduced even when external force such as bending is applied and stress is generated in the semiconductor device. The semiconductor device includes a first island-like reinforcement film over a substrate having flexibility; a semiconductor film including a channel formation region and an impurity region over the first island-like reinforcement film; a first conductive film over the channel formation region with a gate insulating film interposed therebetween; a second island-like reinforcement film covering the first conductive film and the gate insulating film.
US08272571B2
A system for one or more portions of one or more regions of an electronic paper assembly having one or more display layers includes, but is not limited to: one or more conformation sensor modules configured to direct acquisition of first information associated with one or more conformations of one or more portions of one or more regions of the electronic paper assembly and one or more multi-layer display control modules configured to direct control of display of one or more portions of one or more display layers of the electronic paper assembly regarding display of second information having one or more classifications in response to the first information associated with the one or more conformations of the one or more portions of the one or more regions of the electronic paper assembly. In addition to the foregoing, other related method/system aspects are described in the claims, drawings, and text forming a part of the present disclosure.
US08272565B2
A transaction card assembly includes a transaction card, a foldable backer, and an article. The transaction card includes an account identifier fixedly connected thereto. The account identifier is machine readable by a point-of-sale terminal and links the transaction card to a financial account or record. The foldable backer supports the transaction card and defines an interior surface, an exterior surface opposite the interior surface, and a viewing aperture extending from the interior surface to the exterior surface. The article is coupled with the interior surface of the foldable backer such that a portion of the article is viewable through the viewing aperture when the foldable backer is in a folded configuration around the article. Stored-value cards, combinations, methods of facilitating use of a transaction product and other embodiments are also disclosed.
US08272560B2
A multi-sided container comprises a bottom wall, opposite side walls, opposite end walls, a longitudinal axis, and a transverse axis. The multi-sided container also comprises diagonal corners connecting adjacent ends of the side walls and the end walls. The diagonal corners each comprising an inner diagonal corner panel and an outer diagonal corner panel. One of the inner and outer diagonal corner panels extends at an angle of less than 45° with respect to an adjacent end wall, and the other of said inner and outer diagonal corner panels extends at an angle of less than 45° with respect to an adjacent side wall. One of the inner and outer diagonal corner panels has a major thrust vector in a direction parallel to the transverse axis of the container and said other of said inner and outer diagonal corner panels has a major thrust vector in a direction parallel to the longitudinal axis of the container. The inner and outer diagonal corner panels provide resistance to both lateral and longitudinal deflection of the container.
US08272558B2
The invention relates to a suspension file (10, 110) for accepting documents, comprising a web (12) made of foldable material with two top edges (14) and two lateral edges (16) which interconnect the top edges (14). The web (12) is folded on a bottom (20) of the file so as to form at least one fold (18) and is provided with two sidewalls (22) that extend from the bottom (20) of the file to the top edges (14). Hooks (26) that project from the lateral edges (16) are attached to the top edges (14). The suspension file (10, 110) further comprises at least one reinforcement element (36) which is connected to the web (12) and extends from one top edge (14) to the other along one of the lateral edges (16). According to the invention, the at least one reinforcement element (36) is arranged at a distance from the respective lateral edge (16).
US08272556B2
This metal lip seal capable of ensuring tightness between two elements includes: two resilient members each intended to be accommodated in a cavity of one of the two elements, said cavities being located in line with a zone of engagement of the two elements one with the other in which tightness is desired; and a flexible body secured to the element receiving the resilient members, provided with two free ends, said free ends extending at least in line with said engagement zones and being in contact with the resilient members. Each of the resilient members is capable of exerting a contact force on the free ends in order to ensure tightness between the two elements.
US08272539B2
The present invention provides a piston pump for liquid in which a sump is defined in a chamber into which sump liquid in the chamber flows due to gravity. A passageway leads from an outlet of the sump out of the chamber to a dispensing outlet. The dispensing outlet is at a height below the height of the sump outlet and fluid to exit the sump flows from the sump outlet upwardly in a first portion of the passageway to a height above the sump outlet then downwardly to the dispensing outlet. The chamber and its sump is defined between a piston chamber-forming member defining the chamber to be downwardly opening and a piston forming element axially slidable in the chamber.
US08272535B2
A feeding system includes a hopper for containing materials therein, a dispensing pipe, a sensor, a scraper, a driving mechanism. The dispensing pipe is connected to the hopper and is configured for dispensing the materials in the hopper to a predetermined position. The sensor is arranged adjacent to the dispensing pipe and is configured for detecting an amount of the materials loaded in the dispensing pipe. The scraper is arranged in the dispensing pipe and is configured for removing the materials remained on the inner wall of the dispensing pipe by scraping the inner wall of the dispensing pipe. The driving mechanism is configured for driving the scraper to rotate in the dispensing pipe and scrape along the inner wall of the dispensing pipe.
US08272532B2
A beverage container lid for a container base having a reservoir, the lid comprising a shell removably mountable on the base comprising a first drink passage that extends through the shell and communicates with ambient and a cartridge removably engageable to the shell. A second drink passage is in communication with the first drink passage and is formed between an outer surface of the cartridge and inner surface of the shell. The cartridge comprises a valve that is moveable between an open condition and closed condition to control communication between the reservoir and second drink passage.
US08272529B2
The invention provides a drink mixing cup for fluids comprising an outer chamber having an outer rim disposed at its top and a chamber disposed inside the outer chamber having an inner rim disposed below the outer rim by an amount selected to optimize mixing fluids poured from said chambers when drunk by humans while not interfering with their noses. The design allows for nesting of cups to reduce storage space. Anti-nesting ribs prevent full nesting so that separation of cups is not difficult. When thin walls made from plastic are used and the inner chamber is elevated, the fluid in the inner chamber is thermally insulated. When inverted, the chamber below the inner chamber can serve as a drinking glass.
US08272518B2
The present invention has its object to provide a direct hemoperfusion adsorber packed with an adsorbent made by using a water-insoluble carrier having a relatively readily available particle size distribution, with water-insoluble microparticles having been removed therefrom, without needing any special granulation apparatus or coating apparatus, and method of obtaining a direct hemoperfusion adsorbent having water-insoluble microparticles removed therefrom.Now, a direct hemoperfusion adsorber has been obtained that is packed with an adsorbent having a number average particle diameter of not smaller than 300 μm but not larger than 600 μm, with the coefficient of variance in particle diameter distribution being not lower than 10% but not higher than 20%, and having water-insoluble microparticles removed therefrom to a safe level, without the loss of the adsorbent, by using a water-insoluble microparticle-removing-mesh such that the ratio of the mesh opening size for removing water-insoluble microparticles to the mesh opening size of the adsorber is not lower than 1.3 but not higher than 1.5.
US08272510B2
An inflatable structure generally includes a valve formed between a pair of edge portions and an internal edge portion formed of a flexible film such that an enclosed chamber of the inflatable structure substantially envelops the internal edge portion. The valve and remainder of the inflatable structure can be formed from a single piece of flexible film using a method of manufacturing an inflatable structure from a continuous web of flexible film. A corresponding inflation device fills the inflatable structure with air and may do so without requiring heat sealing or contact between the inflatable structure and outlet of the inflation device. The inflation device may include a mechanical registration device which can engage an optional locator aperture in the inflatable structure such as to assist in temporarily locating the outlet of the source of pressurized air proximate to the valve in the inflatable structure.
US08272509B1
A caddy for storing diamond polishing pads used by grinding machines holds multiple containers in a rack in a case. Each container is independently removable from the rack and case and stores a complete set of stacked pads so that sets of used pads are always sorted and accessible according to both their grit and wear characteristics. The case, rack and containers are configured with respect to the sets of pads and to each other so as to minimize their relative three dimensional motion during transport of the caddy. The case, rack and body of the containers are preferably made of cardboard so that many sets of pads can be stored and transported in one or more lightweight and inexpensive caddies.
US08272507B1
Embodiments of the present invention provide a kit of a plurality of detachable pockets, a detachable pocket and associated methods. An embodiment of a kit has a container with a plurality of detachable pockets positioned therein. Each pocket within the container be used to hold personal items on a person's clothing or skin by adherence of the pocket to a person's skin or clothing. Example embodiments of the detachable pocket include a pocket body having a pocket layer and a flange. Both the pocket layer and the flange can be fabricated from one or more materials. The pocket layer can have an end to be attached as open and defining an open end and three sides having the flange disposed there around and to which adhesive is disposed. The pocket can be attached and removed as desired.
US08272503B2
A support device for the support of conveyed objects includes a roller body with a series of rollers, which run along a path and support the conveyed objects in a support region. The rollers roll in the support region on a support surface. Thereby, the following steps are carried out: relieving the rollers on entering into a part region of the support region; aligning the relieved rollers; renewed loading of the rollers on leaving the part region of the support device. For this, at least one recess of the support surface is present in the support region, wherein a roller which is located in the region of the recess, may be moved into the recess.
US08272491B2
An electronic lock is provided for removably securing a movable item to a structure, the electronic lock comprising first and second complementary cooperating member, each mounted to a respective one of the movable item and the structure and being engageable together in a lockable position and a securing assembly for securing the first and second connecting member together when engaged in the lockable position, wherein the securing assembly comprises inter alia a position detecting means, an electronic control means, an actuator, a locking aperture and a movable locking member.
US08272490B2
An arrangement of a disk spring (2) at a piston (1) of a shifting element (3) in which the fingers of the disk spring (2) protrude through crests in the housing (4) and abut against a sheet metal sleeve (5) which is held in the housing (4) of the shifting element (3). The disk spring (2) is configured as a closed ring and the outer diameter (7) of the disk spring (2) abuts against the piston (1) of the shifting element (3).
US08272480B2
An oil pan assembly is disclosed that includes an oil filter, and an oil pan receiving the filter. The oil pan includes a reservoir defining a drain aperture for selectively draining fluid out of the oil pan, and a wall defining a filter cavity in fluid communication with a receiving passage and a sending passage of the oil pan. The oil pan further includes a filter cover assembly, including a cover securing the oil filter within the filter cavity, a filter drain tube extending from the cover through the filter cavity and into a drain passage, and a plug disposed on the filter drain tube, the plug selectively sealing the drain passage. The drain passage allows fluid communication between the filter cavity and the reservoir. The filter drain tube is configured to receive filtered oil from the oil filter.
US08272467B1
A remotely controlled backhoe is provided to permit operation of a backhoe and visual monitoring of a volatile or dangerous excavation site from a safe distance. The backhoe has an articulated rear boom arm and a rear bucket. Cameras are coupled to the backhoe proximate a left rear corner and a right rear corner of the cabin roof. A rear boom arm control is positioned on a remote control unit. The rear boom arm control is operationally coupled to the rear boom arm for maneuvering the rear boom arm. A rear bucket control is also positioned on the remote control unit and operationally coupled to the rear bucket for maneuvering the rear bucket. A monitor is coupled to the remote control unit and operationally coupled to the left rear camera and the right rear camera for displaying images from the left rear camera and the right rear camera.
US08272465B2
In an electric vehicle, the generation of unusual sounds due to the movement of snow and ice remaining in an undercover is prevented, thereby enhancing silence. An electric vehicle comprising an undercover arranged below a vehicle floor is provided. The undercover comprises: a substantially flat-plate cover body that covers the vehicle floor from the vehicle front side to the vehicle rear side; a discharge portion for discharging snow and ice that have entered between the vehicle floor and the cover body; and an upward protruding portion which is arranged on the vehicle front side relative to the discharge portion and which is formed to extend in a vehicle width direction and to protrude upwardly from the plane including the cover body.
US08272463B2
A combined hybrid drive system and electro-hydraulic machine includes a hybrid drive system that is adapted to decelerate a rotatably driven mechanism, accumulate the energy resulting from such deceleration, and use the accumulated energy to subsequently accelerate the rotatably driven mechanism. An electro-hydraulic machine is operatively connected to the hybrid drive system and is adapted to be operated in one or more of a plurality of modes to improve the performance of the hybrid drive system.
US08272448B2
An electrical line for installation in a well for transmitting power to a well pump includes a string of coiled tubing. An electrical cable having insulated electrical conductors embedded within an elastomeric jacket extends longitudinally through the interior passage of the tubing. Body members are placed around the outer periphery of the electrical cable, and the body members are compressed onto the electrical cable through the use of an anchor assembly. The anchor assembly is held in a compressed state through the use of frangible support elements. Once the electrical cable is in place within the coiled tubing, the user applies an external force to cause the support elements to fail, thereby releasing the anchor assembly from its compressed state. The anchor assembly contacts the inner wall of the coiled tubing, such that the weight of the electrical cable is transferred to coiled tubing.
US08272445B2
A tubular valve system including a tubular having a plurality of ports therethrough; a plurality of strokable sleeves disposed at the tubular being configured to stroke in response to a same external input; and a plurality of motion translating details disposed at at least one of the tubular and the plurality of strokable sleeves configured to alter a stroke of the plurality of strokable sleeves after a selected number of strokes to thereby open at least one of the plurality of ports and method.
US08272443B2
A method of servicing a subterranean formation comprising positioning a wellbore servicing tool comprising an axial flowbore within a wellbore, making a first application of pressure to the axial flowbore of the wellbore servicing tool; wherein the pressure within the wellbore servicing tool is at least a first upper threshold during the first application of pressure, allowing the pressure within the axial flowbore following the first application of pressure to fall below a first lower threshold, making a second application of pressure to the axial flowbore of the wellbore servicing tool, wherein the pressure within the wellbore servicing tool is at least a second upper threshold during the second application of pressure, allowing a second subsiding of pressure within the axial flowbore following the second application of pressure to fall a second lower threshold, and communicating a fluid to the wellbore, the subterranean formation, or both via one or more ports of the wellbore servicing tool.
US08272442B2
Hydrocarbon-containing organic matter is extracted from a hydrocarbon-containing material that is a viscous liquid, liquid or gaseous fossil fuel material. A turpentine liquid is contacted with a hydrocarbon-containing material in-situ in an underground formation containing the fossil fuel material to form an extraction mixture so as to extract hydrocarbon-containing organic matter into the turpentine liquid and form an extraction liquid. The extraction liquid is removed from the formation, the extraction liquid including the turpentine liquid containing the extracted hydrocarbon-containing organic matter. The extracted hydrocarbon-containing organic matter is separated from a residual material not extracted.
US08272437B2
Systems and methods for maximizing energy recovery from a subterranean formation are herein disclosed. According to one embodiment, a selected subterranean open-hole interval is isolated and at least one fracture is stimulated in the isolated subterranean open-hole interval.
US08272435B2
Methods and apparatus for diverting fluids either into or from a well are described. Some embodiments include a diverter conduit that is located in a bore of a tree. The invention relates especially but not exclusively to a diverter assembly connected to a wing branch of a tree. Some embodiments allow diversion of fluids out of a tree to a subsea processing apparatus followed by the return of at least some of these fluids to the tree for recovery. Alternative embodiments provide only one flowpath and do not include the return of any fluids to the tree. Some embodiments can be retro-fitted to existing trees, which can allow the performance of a new function without having to replacing the tree. Multiple diverter assembly embodiments are also described.
US08272432B2
A system and method for providing cool air to a passenger compartment of a hybrid vehicle in an engine off mode is disclosed. This may include operating a HVAC system to provide cold refrigerant flowing through an evaporator while an engine is operating, and forcing air through the evaporator to cool the air. A first portion of the cooled air from the evaporator is directed through a heater core and a second portion around the heater core, and an electric water pump is activated to pump coolant from a thermal storage tank, through the heater core and back to the thermal storage tank to cool the coolant. When the engine operation is ceased, the air flow is directed through the heater core, and the coolant is pumped from the thermal storage tank, through the heater core and back to the thermal storage tank to cool the air.
US08272431B2
A heat exchanger is disclosed. The heat exchanger may have an inlet configured to receive a first fluid and an outlet configured to discharge the first fluid. The heat exchanger may further have at least one passageway configured to conduct the first fluid from the inlet to the outlet. The at least one passageway may be composed of a graphite foam and a layer of graphite material on the exterior of the graphite foam. The layer of graphite material may form at least a partial barrier between the first fluid and a second fluid external to the at least one passageway.
US08272428B2
A cooling apparatus includes a brine circuit through which brine flows, a pump disposed on the brine circuit, and a heat exchanger unit including a heat absorbing member and a heat radiating member. The heat absorbing member is in communication with the brine circuit. The heat absorbing member is capable of conducting heat generated from a cooling object to the brine for cooling the cooling object. The heat radiating member is in communication with the brine circuit and capable of receiving the heat from the brine. The brine circuit is configured such that the brine passes through the heat exchanger unit at a pressure equal to or lower than an atmospheric pressure.
US08272425B2
The invention relates to a flexible shutter device, designed for closing a bay or other opening which cooperates with drive means which permit a displacement of the flexible shutter between an open position and a closed position. The device comprises a drum which may turn about the axis thereof and about which the flexible shutter is wound in the open position thereof, forming a roll comprising turns made up of successive layers attaching one to the other and from which the flexible shutter can be unwound and pushed into the closed position thereof. Slides mounted on a fixed support provide guidance along the bay for the unwound part of the flexible shutter. Pressure or restriction elements (33, 50, 66) avoid buckling of the lateral edges (2,3) in the supported part thereof, extending between a first end (30) of the slides (4,5), nearest the roll and the roll.
US08272420B2
Methods and other embodiments associated with a fabric welding machine are presented. The fabric welding machine includes a base, a welding machine body, and a support beam with a first end and a second end. A first roller is positioned adjacent to the first end of the support beam opposite the welding machine body. A swing arm with a body end and a roller end is attached to the welding machine body. The roller end is opposite the welding machine body and is configured to move to a first position and a second position. A heat element attached to the first end of the support beam.
US08272418B2
Described herein are various embodiments of an apparatus, system and method for manufacturing irregularly shaped panel filters. For example, according to one illustrative embodiment, a system for manufacturing irregularly shaped panel filters includes a filter medium source, a scoring section in filter medium receiving communication with the filter medium source, a first gathering section in filter medium receiving communication with the scoring section, an unfolding section in filter medium receiving communication with the first gathering section, a shaping section having a laterally moveable cutting portion in filter medium receiving communication with the unfolding section, and a second gathering section in filter medium receiving communication with the shaping section.
US08272416B2
A heavy-load tire comprises a tread portion, a pair of sidewall portions, a pair of bead portions each with a bead core therein, a carcass comprising a carcass ply of cords including a main portion and a pair of turnup portions, and an inner liner made from air-impermeable rubber and disposed on the tire internal cavity surface. The inner liner includes a radially inner portion that terminates radial inside than a lateral reference line passing through the innermost axial point and outermost axial point of the bead core. A rubber thickness ta is in a range of from 2.5 to 5.0 mm ranging from the tire internal cavity surface to the cord of the carcass ply on the lateral reference line, and an inner liner thickness tb is smaller than the rubber thickness ta and is in a range of from 0.5 to 3.0 mm on the lateral reference line.
US08272412B2
Elastomer compositions and products formed therefrom, the compositions including one or more elastomers and glass microfibers having an average fiber diameter of no more than about 5 μm and an average length of between about 5 and 200 μm, wherein the glass microfibers are directionally oriented within the elastomer composition. Alternatively, the average length of the glass microfibers may be between 5 and 100 μm or in other embodiments, between about 10 and 70 μm.The elastomer compositions may be used to form products that include a tire tread or a support member within the sidewall of a tire. The glass microfibers may be oriented in, inter alia, a substantially circumferential orientation, a tread thickness orientation or at a 45° orientation in a plane formed between the tread thickness and circumferential orientations or in a sidewall thickness direction.
US08272406B2
The present invention relates generally to the field of structural pipe lining for conduit rehabilitation and more specifically, to methods for rehabilitating conduits using structural liners. There is provided a method for rehabilitating a tubular conduit having an inner conduit space and at least one service connection tied into the tubular conduit. A portion of the at least one service connection protrudes into the inner conduit space. A liner is provided for covering the inner surface of the tubular conduit. The liner is made of a flexible material capable of being impregnated with a first curable adhesive resin and has a film made of a material impermeable to liquid bonded onto the inner surface of the liner. Also provided, is a flexible sealing member made of a second curable adhesive resin. The method includes the steps of providing access to the inner conduit space of the tubular conduit and snugly fitting the sealing member onto the protruding portion of the at least one service connection in surrounding relation therewith. The liner and the sealing member together form a unitary structure and a seal about the protruding portion of the at least one service connection once the first curable resin and the second curable resin have hardened.
US08272404B2
A device for vibrating tubing as it is inserted into a wellbore is disclosed. The device has a fluidic switch that has no moving parts. The fluidic switch is connected to a piston that oscillates back and forth in a cylinder. The piston is the only moving part. As the piston oscillates, it blocks and unblocks openings in the cylinder or other components. The movement of the piston controls the timing of the oscillation, and also generates an impulse or vibration. The vibration may reduce the friction between the tubing and the wellbore.
US08272402B2
A sequential stepped directional control valve accepts pressurized hydraulic fluid from a pressure port, and directs that pressurized fluid to a first stage port, or to both a first stage port and a second stage port. In the neutral position, the valve blocks the flow of pressurized hydraulic fluid into the valve. In the first stage position, pressurized hydraulic fluid flows into the valve and is directed by the valve to the first stage port, however, the pressurized fluid flow to the second stage port is blocked. In the second stage position, pressurized hydraulic fluid flows into the valve and is directed to both the first and second stage ports. When the valve transitions from the first stage position to the second stage position, the valve does not cycle through a neutral position, and the flow of pressurized hydraulic fluid to the first stage port is uninterrupted.
US08272396B2
The outdoor sillcock mounting kit is positioned around a pipe that is connected to a sillcock. The kit is utilized prior to adding finishing material to the outer wall of a home or building. The kit permits adjustments to the pipe and the sillcock when necessary due to a change in the dimensions of the finished material added to the outer wall, especially those outer finished walls that add brick, stucco, and other types of building materials. The kit has three components, two sleeves of the same basic shape and size except one sleeve is longer. The longer sleeve can be utilized with the third component, which is a block-shaped cover. The cover is utilized with rectangular-type finishing material on the outer wall, and fits over the longer sleeve.
US08272392B2
A method of controlling a main fluid in a conduit using a microvalve is described. The microvalve includes a corresponding actuation aperture in an actuation aperture layer. A control fluid flows through the actuation aperture in response to an electric field applied via a charge distribution near an actuation aperture layer. In one embodiment, the electric field may adjust the opening and closing of the actuation aperture thereby controlling the flow of the control fluid. In a second embodiment, the control fluid is an electrorheological fluid where the electric field controls the viscosity of the ER fluid, thereby controlling fluid flow through the actuation aperture. In both embodiments the flow of the control fluid controls stretching of a flexible membrane into and out of the conduit, thereby controlling the flow of the main fluid by opening or closing the conduit.
US08272385B2
A garment for the treatment of sleep apnea and/or snoring includes a member for attachment to an individual afflicted with sleep apnea and an elongate, position control member at the rear of the garment and extending outwardly therefrom. The elongate member is a continuous member having transversely spaced-apart side surfaces, and the side surfaces are joined to an outer wall of the position control member at elongate side edges. The side surfaces and/or side edges are located to engage a mattress or other sleeping surface when an individual wearing the garment is sleeping in a lateral position to aid in supporting the individual in a lateral position.
US08272382B2
A headgear connection assembly for a mask assembly includes a pair of clip receptacles provided to respective sides of a mask frame and a pair of locking clips adapted to be removably interlocked with respective clip receptacles. The locking clips are adapted to be removably connected to headgear straps in use. Each clip receptacle includes an upper wall. The upper wall has a recess and a lip adjacent to the recess at the edge of the upper wall.
US08272376B2
A gas cooker control system includes an ignition controller including a touch button, a resistor, a first comparator, a second comparator and a third comparator, one end of the touch button connected to external power source, and the other end connected to first inputs of the first, second and third comparators, the resistor being connected between the inputs of the first, second and third comparators and ground, outputs of the first, second and third comparators being connected to an igniter, a gas valve and a system power source; a gas valve controller including a switch circuit connected to a power source, at least one gas valve circuit connected between the switch circuit and ground, and a protection circuit parallel to the at least on gas valve circuit; and a power and ignition controller driving device including a power source driving circuit, an ignition driving circuit and a comparison circuit.
US08272372B2
Apparatus is provided for removing oil from crankcase gases flowing from an internal combustion engine. The apparatus includes filtration particles, contained within an outer case, that collect oil particles and allow drainage of the oil into an accumulator. The apparatus includes a separation chamber which initially causes the oil to separate from the crankcase gases.
US08272370B2
A fuel injector for fuel injection systems of internal combustion engines is described. The fuel injector includes an electromagnetic actuating element having a magnetic coil, a core and a valve jacket as the outer magnetic circuit component and a movable valve-closure member which interacts with a valve-seat surface assigned to a valve-seat member. The core and a connecting tube in an inner opening of a thin-walled valve sleeve and the valve jacket on the outer circumference of the valve sleeve are firmly connected to the valve sleeve by pressing them therein/thereon. The fixed press connection between two of these metallic components of the fuel injector is characterized in that at least one of the component partners has a structure including grooves in its press area and/or the particular press area has an inlet rounding in at least one transition to an adjacent component section.
US08272368B2
A dual fuel connector separately supplies two different fuels to fluidly isolated fuel passages within a fuel injection valve of an internal combustion engine. The dual fuel connector comprises a body with separate fluid connections to the first fuel inlet, the second fuel inlet, a first fuel rail and a second fuel rail. A first fuel passage within the body is in fluid communication with the first fuel rail and the first fuel inlet. A second fuel passage within the body is in fluid communication with the second fuel rail and the second fuel inlet, and wherein the first fuel passage is fluidly isolated from the second fuel passage. The dual fuel connector supplies two different fuels to a fuel injection valve, for engines that are not designed with a cylinder head that has internal bores that can serve as fuel rails.
US08272363B2
A compression-release brake system for operating an exhaust valve of an engine during an engine braking operation. The compression-release brake system comprises a self-contained compression brake control module (CBCM) operatively coupled to the exhaust valve for controlling a lift and a phase angle thereof and a source of a pressurized hydraulic fluid. The CBCM includes a casing defining piston and actuator cavities, a slave piston mounted within the piston cavity, a check valve provided between a supply conduit and a slave piston chamber and a compression brake actuator disposed in the actuator cavity. The compression brake actuator includes an actuator element and a biasing spring. The actuator element selectively engages the check valve when deactivated so as to unlock the slave piston chamber, and disengages from the check valve when activated so as to lock the slave piston chamber. The actuator element is exposed to atmospheric pressure.
US08272361B2
The aim of the invention is to optimize the running smoothness of an internal combustion engine. To achieve this aim, the individual cylinders are synchronized with respect to their torque contribution. According to the method, fuel is injected into the combustion chamber of a cylinder in at least one injection step, the at least one injection contributing to the torque of the internal combustion engine. Fuel is injected into the combustion chamber of the cylinder in a torque neutral manner by way of a secondary injection during a working stroke of the cylinder and the amount of fuel of the secondary injection us calculated in such a manner that the exhaust gas substantially corresponds to a stoichiometric air/fuel mixture.
US08272358B2
When a hydraulic pressure generation source begins to generate hydraulic pressure, the present invention measures the hydraulic pressure in an oil supply line connected to a hydraulic actuator, and sets a viscosity index value indicating an oil viscosity in accordance with the pace at which the measured hydraulic pressure rises. The viscosity index value is calculated and set so that the slower the pace at which the measured hydraulic pressure rises, the higher the viscosity indicated by the viscosity index value.
US08272357B2
Crossover valve systems and corresponding methods offer an effective means to overcome large opening pressure force, or provide reasonable gas flow area, or both. In an exemplary embodiment, a crossover valve system for a split-cycle engine having a power cylinder and a crossover passage comprises first and second crossover valves, each valve opening outwardly away from the power cylinder and providing fluid communication between the power cylinder and the crossover passage, with the diameter of the second crossover valve being larger than the diameter of the first crossover valve; and an actuation mechanism operative to open the first crossover valve, then the second crossover valve after a predetermined delay to allow a certain rise in the pressure inside the power cylinder, resulting in much smaller differential pressure forces across the crossover valves, larger flow areas, or both.
US08272352B2
A method and a compartment within an incubator, capable of allowing chicks to feed during the hatching process without reducing hatchability or livability. Thanks to immediate post hatch nutrition, the development during the chicks first days is significantly improved, resulting in a significant improvement in their weight as well. Furthermore, the accessibility of feed for the chicks is enabled and improved immediately after their hatching thanks to suitable lighting and the use of feeding troughs with transparent walls.
US08272341B2
A device for cutting textile and non-textile sheet materials with a sewing machine having a turning device (9) that can be mounted on the lower end of the needle bar (5). A cutting needle (23) is inserted from below into the turning device (9) instead of a sewing needle and can be brought into the desired cutting position, for example, by a fin (17) that projects from the turning device (9).
US08272329B1
The dynamically configurable controlled fragmentation insert mechanism of this invention includes an assembly of three or more sleeves with differing through hole patterns thereon, that fit inside the shell casing. The individual sleeves can move independently of one another and a simple pinning mechanism holds the parts in place for a selected configuration. The warfighter can realign the insert sleeves by to create different geometric patterns of holes, each designed to engage a different target set with optimally sized fragments. The aligned patterns of holes creates individual geometric shapes that focus high-velocity jets to cut into the steel shell casing to correlate to the through-holes in the aligned patterned sleeves. Realigning the insert sleeves changes the through-hole pattern to produce different fragment sizes and mass distributions. To defeat light armored vehicles for instance, a warfighter can deploy a sleeve hole pattern to produce larger fragments with greater penetrating power, while to engage enemy troops for instance, a warfighter can “dial in” another hole pattern through the fuze assembly to otherwise produce a much larger number of smaller, lighter fragments.
US08272319B2
A device for producing a beverage from a capsule, comprising a motor-driven extraction module which comprises a first jaw member and a cooperating second jaw member, wherein in an opened state of the extraction module the jaw members are distanced from each other while in the closed state the jaw members tightly enclose a capsule space, a motor for controlling the transfer of the extraction module between the closed and opened state, and a knee lever arrangement, being functionally connected to the motor and to at least one of the jaw members and being designed to convert the motor drive action into a closure force, i.e. a force with which the first and second jaw member are approaching each other, which is increasing during the course of the closure movement.
US08272311B2
Reactive armor that includes a casing having a plurality of walls, a back, and a cavity formed therebetween; a cover that closes the cavity and forms a strike face; a filler placed within the cavity, the filler comprising a disruptive material; and an explosive. To defeat projectile or projectile related threats, the reactive armor substantially, but not necessarily wholly, implements laterally oriented force mechanisms, erosion mechanisms, and bulking mechanisms, e.g., explosive forces, with respect to the strike face.
US08272309B1
A composite truss armor and a method of manufacturing the same. The composite truss armor includes a filler material and a three-dimensional (3D) ordered truss structure. The 3D ordered truss structure includes: a plurality of first truss elements defined by a plurality of first self-propagating polymer waveguides and extending along a first direction; a plurality of second truss elements defined by a plurality of second self-propagating polymer waveguides and extending along a second direction; and a plurality of third truss elements defined by a plurality of third self-propagating polymer waveguides and extending along a third direction. The first, second, and third ordered truss elements interpenetrate each other at a plurality of nodes to form a continuous material. The first, second, and third truss elements define an open space. The filler material occupies at least a portion of the open space, and the 3D ordered truss structure is self-supporting.
US08272308B1
A feed disengage mechanism for a weapon with a sprocket-type feed system may include a sprocket rotatably fixed to the receiver. A forward pawl may be selectably engageable with a forward end of the sprocket. The forward pawl may include a flange and be biased for engagement with the sprocket. An anti-backup pawl may be selectably engageable with a rear end of the sprocket. The anti-backup pawl may include a cam path and be biased for engagement with the sprocket. A feed cover may include a feed slide assembly that may be translatable in a slot in the feed cover. The feed slide assembly may include a front pin engageable with the flange of the forward pawl and a rear pin engageable with the cam path of the anti-backup pawl.
US08272302B2
There is provided a precision roll turning lathe which can perform machining of fine grooves at a dramatically higher speed as compared to conventional roll turning lathes, thus significantly shortening time taken for machining one groove. The precision roll turning lathe includes: a bed; a headstock, mounted on the bed, having a main spindle for rotating a roll as a workpiece while holding one end of the roll by means of a chuck; a tail stock, mounted on the bed and disposed opposite the headstock, for rotatably supporting the other end of the roll; a carriage including a saddle mounted on the bed movably in the longitudinal direction of the roll, and a table mounted on the saddle movably in a direction perpendicular to the longitudinal direction of the roll; and an air slide apparatus, mounted on the table, including a guide rail extending parallel to the roll in the longitudinal direction, an air slider having a diamond tool, capable of traveling in a floating state on the guide rail, and a linear motor for driving the air slider.
US08272290B2
A parallel robot includes a base plate, two first actuators located on the base plate, a mobile platform, and two kinematic chains respectively interconnecting the base plate and the mobile platform. Each kinematic chain includes a driving bar assembly and a driven bar assembly. The driving bar assembly is connected to one of two first actuators. The driving bar includes two substantially parallel first transmission bars. Each of the first transmission bars includes a rotating portion rotatably connected to the base plate. The driven bar assembly interconnects the driving bar assembly and the mobile platform. Each of the two first actuators rotates two rotating portions of the two first transmission bars in the same direction simultaneously.
US08272288B2
A double-clutch transmission having at least three and preferably four, hydraulic shift cylinders, and a control device to actuate the hydraulic shift cylinders. To improve the speed of operation when selecting a gear, the shift cylinders needed for gear shifting are actuated with the aid of at least three electromagnetically shiftable directional valves.
US08272282B2
In a starter motor equipped with a shock absorbing device, a disk spring is placed between a bottom part of a cylindrical casing and one side of a disk stack structure composed of rotatable disks and fixed disks which are alternately stacked. Caulking parts formed at an opening end of the cylindrical casing are bent toward the inner diameter side of the cylindrical casing in order to push the disk spring toward the bottom part side of the cylindrical casing through the disk stack structure. The disk spring accumulates reaction force (or elastic force) by the caulking. The reaction force accumulated in the disk spring pushes the disk stack structure to the axial direction of the cylindrical casing. The structure of the shock absorbing device can supply a uniform load to the disk spring, and provides a stable shock absorbing capability.
US08272251B2
New methods and apparatus are described for assessing the integrity of a separation module or filtration system. A principle embodiment concerns use of a transient pulse of challenge species to probe a spiral wound module. The resulting time-dependent concentration of challenge species in the permeate is detected, recorded, and compared to a reference. An apparatus is further claimed for detecting permeate conductivity at multiple points within the permeate collection tube of a spiral wound module. Also disclosed is a process whereby the permeate stream from a filtration system is concentration by a high recovery membrane apparatus prior to measurement of challenge species concentration.
US08272249B1
A detection device capable of giving atomic and molecular compositions of gases made of concentric tubes and a fiber optic. The body of the detector holds these constituents in their relative positions. A micro-discharge is created between two of the concentric tubes at the tip of the device. The small size of the tubes allows a stable discharge to be achieved. The light from this discharge is delivered from the discharge area to an optical sensing device through the fiber optic. The optical sensing device, along with a computer, analyzes the light to determine the composition of the gas in the discharge. Gas and vacuum are applied through the tubes as needed to aid operation. The detector can be battery powered and used in both hot and toxic environments. Alternatively, a voltmeter can be used to measure impedance across the discharge thus providing another means to determine relative changes in gas composition.
US08272242B1
A mechanical-combination door lock has a housing assembly, a lever assembly, a disable mechanism and a combination mechanism. The housing assembly is adapted to securely mount on a door. The lever assembly is mounted though the housing assembly and has a lock body, a lock bolt, an outer lever, an inner lever, a lock core, a lock rod and a linking gear wheel. The disable mechanism is mounted in the housing assembly above the lever assembly and has a retaining ring, a resetting resilient element and a turning rod. The combination mechanism is mounted in the housing assembly and has a pintle, multiple sleeves and multiple wheels. The mechanical-combination door lock has mechanical-combination detection and resetting functions and is allowed to be temporarily disabled while the door is open.
US08272240B1
A system for simplifying launching and storage procedures for a recreational boat comprising a radio receiver/controller adapted to be permanently installed onboard the boat, a hand-held radio transmitter for sending a plurality of different signals to the receiver/controller, the receiver/controller including a plurality of separate control circuits, said circuits being connectable to a plurality of power-operated locks on the boat and a set of other electrically operated devices on the boat such as electric lights, an engine tilt actuator, and a bilge blower, the receiver/controller being arranged to be powered by an electrical power circuit serving electrically operated devices on the boat separate from those controlled by the transmitter and receiver/controller, the locks being integrated with manually operated latches and having a manual key override feature.
US08272235B2
To provide a method whereby it is possible to produce an alkali-free glass having little bubbles therein and excellent in homogeneity and flatness.A method for producing an alkali-free glass, which comprises melting a glass raw material containing a silicon source, followed by forming, wherein as the silicon source, a silica sand is used which has a median particle diameter D50 of from 20 μm to 80 μm and which contains particles having a particle diameter of at most 2 μm at a ratio of at most 0.3 vol % and particles having a particle diameter of at least 100 μm at a ratio of at most 2.5 vol %.
US08272232B2
The present invention discloses a refrigerator with a water tank for supplying water to an ice tray by closing of a door. A refrigerator includes a cooling chamber for storing an article at a low temperature, an ice tray positioned in the cooling chamber and filled with water, for making ice, a water tank with a water supply hole for storing water and supplying water to the ice tray, and a valve for selectively opening and closing the water supply hole. In addition, a refrigerator includes a cooling chamber for storing an article at a low temperature, a main body for defining the cooling chamber, a door for opening and closing the cooling chamber, an ice tray positioned inside the door and filled with water, for making ice, a water tank with a water supply hole for storing water and supplying water to the ice tray, and a valve for selectively opening and closing the water supply hole.
US08272230B2
A temperature control unit for an electronic component and a handler apparatus, which are excellent in responsibility during cooling and heating, is obtained. The temperature control unit for an electronic component includes a cooling cycle device having a refrigerant passage circulating through a compressor, a condenser, an expander, and an evaporator; a thermally conductive block having an outer surface capable of coming in contact with the electronic component that is an object to be temperature-controlled, where an inner surface corresponding to the outer surface is placed opposite to the outer surface so as to be brought in contact with or apart from the evaporator; at least one first heater for heating the thermally conductive block; and a compressed air feeding circuit for feeding compressed air between facing surfaces of the evaporator and the thermally conductive block to part them.
US08272229B2
Disclosed is an air conditioner having a control box assembly, which enhances the serviceability of a circuit board and reduces production costs. In the air conditioner, which has a casing unit forming an external appearance of the air conditioner, a heat exchanger, a blowing device, and a control box assembly provided in the casing, the control box assembly includes a mounting unit mounting a circuit board; a control box housing the circuit board and the mounting unit; and guide units provided in the control box to guide a rectilinear reciprocating motion of the mounting unit to allow the mounting unit to come into and out of the control box and guide a rotating motion of the mounting unit in the case that the mounting unit is located at a designated position.
US08272213B2
In a vehicular hydraulic control circuit equipped with a mechanically-operated oil pump and an electrically-operated oil pump, a hydraulic control device is provided for reducing a high load imposed on the electrically-operated oil pump, when the electrically-operated oil pump is started during stoppage of the mechanically-operated oil pump. When the electrically-operated oil pump (72) is started from a state in which both the mechanically-operated oil pump (70) and the electrically-operated oil pump (72) are stopped, the mechanically-operated oil pump (70) is pre-started, and then the electrically-operated oil pump (72) is started. Therefore, oil pressure pre-generated by the mechanically-operated oil pump (70) can reduce a load imposed on the electrically-operated oil pump (72). As a result, excessive current that may occur in a control circuit for the electrically-operated oil pump (72) can be prevented.
US08272212B2
Systems, methods and devices for optimizing thermal efficiency within a gas compression system are described herein. In some embodiments, a device can include a first hydraulic cylinder, a second hydraulic cylinder, and a hydraulic actuator. The first hydraulic cylinder has a first working piston disposed therein for reciprocating movement in the first hydraulic cylinder and which divides the first hydraulic cylinder into a first hydraulic chamber and a second hydraulic chamber. The second hydraulic cylinder has a second working piston disposed therein for reciprocating movement in the second hydraulic cylinder and which divides the second hydraulic cylinder into a third hydraulic chamber and a fourth hydraulic chamber. The hydraulic actuator can be coupled to the first or second working piston, and is operable to move the first and second working pistons in a first direction and a second direction such that volume in the hydraulic chambers are reduced accordingly.
US08272207B2
Various systems and methods are described for controlling an engine in a vehicle, the engine having a cylinder with a bowl. One example method comprises, during regeneration of a particulate filter positioned in an engine exhaust, timing a late post injection of fuel in an exhaust stroke to spray at least some of the injected fuel into the bowl and without hitting cylinder walls.
US08272206B2
A reduction system for particulate materials in exhaust gas, which is connected to a tailpipe of an engine that burns a hydrocarbon-based fuel supplied from a fuel storage tank, and collects and removes particulate materials within the exhaust gas, may include a plasma reactor having a gas inlet and an outlet, and a DPF (diesel particulate filter) trap having a filter. The tailpipe of the engine may communicate with the gas inlet of the plasma reactor, and the outlet of the plasma reactor may communicate with the DPF trap. The exhaust gas exhausted from the engine may be transferred to the DPF trap after being heated while passing through the plasma reactor.
US08272205B2
A process for sequestering carbon dioxide in fresh concrete from the exhaust emitted from the combustion of carbonaceous fuel in a concrete mixing truck is disclosed. In the process, exhaust from the engine containing carbon dioxide is redirected after passing through the required environmental controls to the concrete mixing chamber on the concrete truck. This carbon dioxide is allowed to physically mix with the ingredients producing fresh concrete. When the concrete is made from cementitious material which include calcium oxide, then the carbon dioxide may chemically bind with the calcium to form calcium carbonate and be permanently sequestered in the concrete product.
US08272191B2
Apparatus, systems, devices, methods and computer program products configured to provide one or more of the following: improved rotary table or platform packaging systems, improved adhesive (glue) based film seal systems, and/or easier loading or releasing mounting systems of horns, forming collars and/or sprockets.
US08272186B2
The present invention relates to a vent pipe protection cover for repairing damaged flashing or for any new construction for waterproofing the vent pipe. A two piece construction which allows one device to accommodate roof pitches and various size vent pipes without the need to custom make the device is disclosed.
US08272184B2
Improved grips for retaining plural concrete reinforcing bars in a selected association are disclosed. The grips include a base portion and a retention portion including engageable structures establishing first and second spaced opposing pairs of clamping formations. Each of the plural reinforcing bars in the association is positively gripped along a length thereof between the clamping formations. Grip embodiments for parallel and right angle reinforcing bar associations are disclosed.
US08272177B2
A solar roofing panel includes at least one photovoltaic device, including a front structure and a rear structure, and at least one solar collector capable of delivering hot water, including a front structure and a rear structure. The respective front structures of the photovoltaic device and of the solar collector include glass substrates forming a cover that has an upper face, to face an external environment, and an opposed inner face, the respective rear structures of the photovoltaic device and of the solar collector being placed beneath the cover, facing the inner face. The glass substrates have no metal frames and are joined together, or are separated by other transition glass substrates, so as to form a uniform unitary glass cover.
US08272176B2
A solar energy collection assembly includes a wind deflector and a solar module. A method of assembling includes roll forming frame sections of channel from sheet metal, connecting the frame sections to form an upright frame, and attaching the wind deflector and solar module to the frame.
US08272173B2
An anchoring assembly part for a wind turbine tower, which part is in a ring- or ring segment shape and prefabricated from a concrete material, and which has at least one projecting reinforcement element for the connection with a lower tower portion made of a concrete material, and at least one bore for receiving an anchor bolt for the detachable connection with an upper tower portion made of steel, an anchor sleeve with an internal thread for screwing in the anchor bolt being arranged in said bore.
US08272169B2
The invention relates to a locking device (11) with a bolt part (13) and a lock part (15) for arrangement on a room-closing element having an opening and a door (17) closing the opening. The bolt part (13) has a longitudinal guiding device (25) and a bolt (23) that can be displaced in a longitudinal displacement direction (21) with respect to the longitudinal guiding device (25). The lock part (15) has a receiving opening (29) for receiving a first end of the bolt (23). The bolt part (13) has in addition to the longitudinal guiding device (25) a transverse guiding device. Spring means (39), which are in active engagement with the longitudinal guiding device (25) and the transverse guiding device cushion a displacement of the bolt (23) in a transverse adjustment direction (47). The adjustment direction (47) is directed transversely to the displacement direction (21) of the bolt (23) and parallel to the door plane and is defined by the transverse guiding device (34).
US08272158B1
A device that assists in the holding and releasing of a cast net when thrown for fishing is herein disclosed. The device replaces the traditional practice of holding the edge of a casting net in a fisherman's mouth while throwing. The device is made of a section of synthetic cord wherein each end of the cord is attached to the outward leg of a clip mechanism, thus forming a loop configuration. The loop is then placed around the fisherman's neck with the clip mechanism hanging in a downward configuration. The cast net is then prepared to throw but instead of placing the edge of the net in the mouth, it is secured within the jaws of the clip. The net is then cast and as the net travels away from the fisherman, it pulls away from the clip resulting in a perfect cast.
US08272151B2
Equipment for mining and excavating includes a bucket used to remove overburden, a boom for positioning the bucket, and a hoist and drag cable for controlling the bucket. The equipment also includes a drum; a pedestal, a pinion assembly, and a cartridge assembly. The drum is used to wind the hoist cable or the drag cable. The pedestal supports the drum and surrounds a bull gear attached to the drum. A pinion of the pinion assembly extends within a port in the pedestal to engage the bull gear. The cartridge assembly is attached to the pedestal and includes an electric motor having a shaft extending from the motor, and a gear reduction coupled to the motor shaft. The pinion assembly is driven by the motor via the gear reduction. The pedestal allows the pinion assembly and other components to be removed or installed, without entirely separating the cartridge assembly from the pedestal.
US08272147B2
The present invention relates to a structure of a multi-elastic insole for shoes wherein a plurality of polyurethane foams having different elasticity from one another are sequentially laminated on the concaved portion of the bottom surface of an insole abutting against a wearer's heel portion, thereby excellently absorbing the impacts generated from a foot sole to make the wearer feel comfortable while in use, which reduces the work load of the leg and foot and the muscle fatigue in the workers standing up for long hours on a hard floor and prevents the muscular skeletal diseases to make the workers healthy.
US08272142B2
A hair dryer includes a body having an air inlet and an air outlet, a fan for generating air flow from the air inlet to the air outlet, a heater for heating the air flow, and an attachment secured to the body and in communication with the air outlet to receive the air flow. A plurality of openings through which the air flow blows is formed in a concave surface which is sized and shaped for receiving a convex-shaped hair brush. The body includes a base portion adapted to support the hair dryer in a vertical orientation on a horizontal support surface so that the dryer can be utilized with hands free operation. The body also includes a grip portion between the base portion and the attachment that forms a cylindrically-shaped hand grip. Vertical central axes of the attachment, the grip portion, and the base portion are coaxial.
US08272134B2
A power cutter comprising an engine mounted within a housing, a support arm mounted on and projecting forward of the housing and a blade mounting mechanism rotatably mounted on the end of the support arm which is capable of being rotationally driven by the engine. A cutting blade having a circular central hole mounts on and is rotationally driven by the blade mounting mechanism. The blade mounting mechanism comprises a spindle rotatably mounted on the support arm, an adaptor upon which the cutting blade is mounted, and a clamping mechanism capable of axially and angularly locking the cutting blade to the spindle. When the blade is mounted on the adaptor, the central hole of the blade mounts on the corresponding one of a plurality of differently sized radial support surfaces on the adaptor so that the axis of rotation of the blade is substantially co-axial with that of the spindle.
US08272130B2
A method of manufacturing an ink jet print head capable of bonding the printing element substrate to the support surface with high precision in a reduced period of time is provided. For this purpose, raised flat portions are formed in the support surface of the supporting member to provide in an adhesive layer between the printing element substrate and the supporting member a portion of the thermosetting adhesive that is thinner than others. After the relative positions of the printing element substrate and the supporting member are adjusted, the thin portions of the adhesive layer are hardened. This enables the printing element substrate to be bonded to the supporting member in a relatively short period of time. As a result, if there are undulations on the support surface, the printing element substrate can be bonded to the supporting member with high precision, improving the mass productivity of the print head.
US08272127B2
A circuit interrupting device is manufacturable in a number of different configurations providing current path options, conductor connectivity options and sensing options. The device may include a configurable solid insulation housing into which various operable components are installed. The device may include a core element including a sensor assembly and conductor members, from which the various configurations may be established including a plurality of different current path configurations. A plurality of circuit interrupting devices may be configured together in an assembly with corresponding disconnect assemblies. An interlock is provided to prevent operation of the disconnect assemblies unless the circuit interrupting devices are in an open state.
US08272119B2
The method of manufacturing a coil assembly for a stator formed with slots includes a coil wire combination forming step of forming a band-like coil wire combination by overlapping a plurality of coil wires while forming them with in-slot portions to be accommodated in the slots and turn portions each connecting each adjacent two of the in-slot portions, and a shaping step of shaping the band-like coil wire combination into a cylindrical shape by helically winding the band-like coil wire combination. The coil wire combination forming step is carried out by performing an interlaced part forming step of forming an interlaced part by overlapping the coil wires with each adjacent two of the coil wires intersecting with each other and a non-interlace part forming step of forming an interlaced part by overlapping the coil wires with each adjacent two of the coil wires not intersecting with each other.
US08272118B2
A method is provided for connecting two fuselage sections. A less complicated and time consuming method was found by using High-Speed-Drilling (HSD) for a group of final bore holes through the outer skin of at least one fuselage section and/or the coupling using one drilling template preferably without any pilot drilling.
US08272116B2
A method for fixing a boot includes mounting a tubular anchoring areas, defined in opposite ends of a resinous boot, on an outer periphery of a counterpart member, and applying a clamping force to boot bands mounted around respective outer peripheries of the tubular anchoring areas to thereby fix the tubular anchoring areas to the outer periphery of the counterpart member. Coils are disposed around respective outer peripheries of the boot bands to generate an induction current in the boot bands. In this way, a reactive force of the magnetic field is generated between the coils and the boot bands to plastically deform the boot bands and reduce their diameters, whereby the tubular anchoring areas are fixed to the outer periphery of the counterpart member.
US08272114B2
A connector cover assembling system includes an arrangement apparatus, which aligns covers and includes a transporting channel for transporting the covers to a frame that supports the covers and associated connector bodies. A cover driving member transports the covers one by one from the frame to a separating mechanism, which further transports the cover to a location above a clamping mechanism for being clamped by the clamping mechanism. A lifting mechanism drives an inserting mechanism and the clamping mechanism to the separating mechanism. The clamping mechanism clamps the covers from the separating mechanism. The inserting mechanism drives the clamping mechanism to transport and assemble the cover to the connector body. A holding mechanism holds the connector body during the assembling operation. The control unit coordinates operations of the above-mentioned components. Therefore, manufacturing efficiency of electrical connector can be improved and manufacturing costs reduced.
US08272111B2
The invention relates to a device for needling a fibrous web having at least one needle bar. The needle bar carries a needle board on the bottom thereof having a plurality of needles, the needle bar being guided by means of a moveably mounted bar carrier. The bar carrier is driven by a vertical drive in an oscillating manner in up and down movements. For straight guidance of the bar carrier, a guiding device is provided, which has at least one rocker held at the end by a rotary bearing of a machine frame. In order to obtain the straightest possible guide path in the bar carrier, according to the invention the opposite end of the rocker and the bar carrier are connected by a plurality of members of a coupling kinematic mechanism.
US08272104B2
A liftable slide cover mounting structure consisting of two hinges, two metal sheet bracket mechanism, two sliding rails, two gears, two gear racks and two supplementary support mechanisms. Subject to the use of the sheet plate bracket mechanisms to hold the sliding rails instead of zinc alloy sliding rail holders, the weight of the liftable slide cover mounting structure is minimized. Further, when the cover panel is opened from the base member, the sheet plate bracket mechanisms are forced into engagement with the supplementary support mechanisms to support the cover panel in position for enabling the user to operate the display screen of the cover panel positively.
US08272100B2
The invention includes a universal retractable handle assembly for attachment to luggage items of a variety of different sizes. A plurality of tubes having a fixed length can be attached to a bracket member such that each tube can extend in a telescoping manner to a different distance from the bracket member when the handle is in the extended position and thus be employed in different sizes of luggage. Additionally, a tube housing is provided which includes a tube receiving portion and reinforcing portions on an outer surface of the tube housing. The tube receiving portion is formed with an arcuate shape which corresponds with the shape of the tube member to be inserted therein. The reinforcing portions include a plurality of planar flanges which extend beyond the outer surface of the tube receiving portion to provide improved structural characteristics.
US08272097B2
An upright vacuum cleaner for cleaning a surface includes an upper body having a dust collection container received therein, a base unit and a carriage configured to provide movement of the base unit on the surface. A motor-fan unit is disposed in the base unit and configured to create a partial vacuum at the surface. A rigid, yoke-shaped duct member provides at least a portion of an air path from the base unit to the upper body. The yoke-shaped duct member supports the upper body such that the upper body is pivotable relative to the base unit about a tilt axis extending horizontally when the upright vacuum cleaner is in a position of use.
US08272095B2
The invention relates to a notched spatula applicator (1) including gripping means (3) connected to a spatula (2) of which the straight working edge (2c) is equipped with a plurality of notches (4) that are identical and evenly spaced apart by a distance between 35 and 50 mm, the width of said notches being between 9 and 18 mm and their height between 8 and 20 mm.The invention also relates to a process for laying, by bonding, rigid floorcoverings, especially parquet, which uses said applicator and an adhesive composition comprising from 0.2 to 5 wt % of substantially spherical particles of a material for which the substantially identical diameter may range from 1 to 7 mm.The invention finally relates to the adhesive composition used in said process.
US08272089B1
A massage table assembly includes a tabletop with a top side, a bottom side, a first end, a second end, a first lateral edge and a second lateral edge. The tabletop has a primary aperture therein extending into the top side nearer to the first end than the second end. The primary aperture is elongated. Each of a plurality of insets is individually positionable in the primary aperture. The insets each have a pair of openings therein configured to receive breasts of a person lying face down on the tabletop. The openings extend into an upper surface and outwardly of a lower surface of each of the insets. Each of the insets has pairs of openings has different sizes with respect to other ones of the insets. A plurality of legs is attached to and extends downwardly from the bottom side.
US08272086B1
The lift is attachable to a foot end of a bed beneath a mattress. Elongate arms extend up from a base portion of the lift. A rod can join the upper ends of the arms, sheets or other bed covers supported above an upper end of the elongate arms and the rod to define a clearance space beneath the upper ends of the elongate arms and the rod. The arms are moved from a lowered position to a raised position by action of a driver. The driver preferably is powered by an electric motor. When the arms are raised the clearance space keeps the bed covers off of feet of a user resting on the bed.
US08272072B1
A reversible, seamless article of clothing and a system for constructing reversible seamless garments and accessories by assembling and attaching a plurality of reversible and interchangeable panels of the article of clothing with a plurality of fasteners. The panel elements have a plurality of edges with a plurality of buttonholes adjacent to the edges. The fasteners are elastomeric two-headed button studs. The panel elements are attached by matching the buttonholes of the elements to form the article of clothing and inserting the studs into the buttonholes to fasten the panel elements. A plurality of trim elements have buttonholes adjacent to the edges and can be attached to the article of clothing by inserting the stud into a trim buttonhole and a buttonhole on the garment. With the system of construction using reversible elements with buttonholes and stud fasteners, accessories, such as tote bags and watch bracelets, can be constructed.
US08276203B2
A system and method for mitigating a denial of service attack in a subscriber network. A traffic monitor monitors bandwidth usage of a subscriber network that is directed to a particular port. The traffic monitor detects excessive traffic based on preset thresholds or algorithms. When excessive traffic is detected, the traffic monitor may obtain the source IP address from headers in the packet stream and identify the device or devices from which the packets were delivered to the network. Using the IP addresses of affected devices, a policy may be implemented to throttle packets originating from those devices that are directed to the particular port.
US08276202B1
Some embodiments of cloud-based gateway security scanning have been presented. In one embodiment, some data packets are received sequentially at a gateway device. The data packets constitute at least a part of a file being addressed to a client machine coupled to the gateway device. The gateway device forwards an identification of the file to a remote datacenter in parallel with forwarding the data packets to the client machine. The datacenter performs signature matching on the identification and returns a result of the signature matching to the gateway device. The gateway device determining whether to block the file from the client machine based on the result of the signature matching from the datacenter.
US08276201B2
A method for protecting the integrity of a set of memory pages to be accessed by an operating system of a data processing system, includes running the operating system in a virtual machine (VM) of the data processing system; verifying the integrity of the set of memory pages on loading of pages in the set to a memory of the data processing system for access by the operating system; in response to verification of the integrity, designating the set of memory pages as trusted pages and, in a page table to be used by the operating system during the access, marking non-trusted pages as paged; and in response to a subsequent page fault interrupt for a non-trusted page, remapping the set of pages to a region of the data processing system memory which is inaccessible to the virtual machine.
US08276195B2
Described herein is a method that includes receiving multiple requests for access to an exposed media object, wherein the exposed media object represents a live media stream that is being generated by a media source. The method also includes receiving data associated with each entity that provided a request, and determining, for each entity, whether the entities that provided the request are authorized to access the media stream based at least in part upon the received data and splitting the media stream into multiple media streams, wherein a number of media streams corresponds to a number of authorized entities. The method also includes automatically applying at least one policy to at least one of the split media streams based at least in part upon the received data.
US08276194B2
Method and systems for user authentication are provided according to the embodiments of the invention. The method mainly includes: sending, by a management station, an authentication request message of an authentication protocol to a managed device via a management protocol, and sending user authentication information to the managed device; and authenticating the user by the managed device via the authentication protocol or a authentication server based on the received user authentication information, and returning an authentication acknowledgement message of the authentication protocol carrying the authentication result to the management station via the management protocol. The system mainly includes a management station and a managed device; or, a management station, a managed device and a backend authentication server. With the present invention, methods and systems for user authentication with a good extensibility and a widened application are provided.
US08276192B2
A method for security planning with hard security constraints includes: receiving security-related requirements of a network to be developed using system inputs and processing components; and generating the network according to the security-related requirements, wherein the network satisfies hard security constraints.
US08276188B2
Systems and methods for managing storage devices are provided. The functionalities of smart card and micro SD card are integrated into a storage device to expand the effective storage capacity. The system includes a storage device having a storage area, a microcontroller, and a microprocessor. The microcontroller receives an access request, determines whether the access request conforms to a specific protocol or whether the access request is requesting to activate the microprocessor, and transmits the access request to a microprocessor when the access request conforms to the specific protocol or when the access request is requesting to activate the microprocessor. The microprocessor executes a Card Operating System (COS), and manages the storage area by performing the access request based on the COS. Further, the segmentation of expanded storage space and independent management/security mechanism for segmented spaces also make it possible to perform multi-applications for different card organizations/issuers.
US08276174B2
Methods, systems, and apparatus, including computer programs encoded on a computer storage medium, for providing television advertisements while a viewing device is tuning to a channel. In one aspect, a viewing device, in response to receiving a signal to tune to a channel, selects advertisement data for an advertisement from a data storage device storing advertisement data for one or more advertisements, and generates a video signal when tuning to the channel, the video signal generated only for the duration that the viewing device is tuning to the channel and for displaying on the television device, and the video signal causing the advertisement to be displayed on the television device.
US08276172B2
A lifting frame has a lifting pin that fits into a lifting cam groove of a follower slider, and swings up and down about a rod near a disk slot. A holding member is swingably attached to front end of the lifting frame. This holding member supports a turntable unit for holding a disk. The holding member has a cam follower pin that fits into a swinging cam groove of a loading slider to raise and lower the holding member. When the lifting frame swings down from a read/write position to a lowered position, the holding member inclines from the lifting frame so as to place the turntable unit substantially parallel to a disk carrying direction.
US08276170B2
An apparatus and system for recording, playing, handling, and storing a plurality of media disks in a plurality of configurations and a device for moving any disk into and out of a media disk storage mechanism and into or out of a selected media player/recorder on demand, and a controller for directing operation of the device for moving the disks and controlling selection of operation of the media disk storage mechanism.
US08276165B2
Activity callbacks in a continuation-based runtime. At framework-definition time, a framework activity is authored. The framework activity may have an environmental logic portion the processes input or output parameters whose values will be supplied to and/or received from an activity callback. The framework activity also includes a callback invocation portion that, during execution time, will actually provide parameter value(s) to and/or receive parameter value(s) from the activity callback. The framework activity serves as a framework that operates with any activity callback that has one or more characteristics. Such activity callbacks may not even be defined at framework-definition time. Instead, the framework activity may be used multiple times in the same applications, or in different applications to thereby provide core framework functionality, while allowing application developers to plug in activity callbacks that meet the custom needs of the application.
US08276163B2
A portable electronic device and method for scheduling sessions in a portable electronic device is provided. The device provides a session manager. The session manager provides different types of sessions between multimedia services and multimedia drivers in the device. Each session comprises one or more statuses directed at controlling allotment of the multimedia services to applications. The session manager coordinates the statuses of the sessions if a service has modified a status of a corresponding session. The session manager provides callbacks to notify a corresponding service when a status of the corresponding session has been coordinated.
US08276156B2
A method of assigning task management blocks for first type tasks to time slot information on a one-by-one basis, assigning a plurality of task management blocks for second type tasks to time slot information, selecting a task management block according to a priority classification when switching to the time slot of the time slot information, and switching to the time slot except the time slot information. Additionally a task switching apparatus selects the task management block assigned to the time slot and executes the task.
US08276148B2
A system and associated method for continuously optimizing data archive management scheduling. A job scheduler receives, from an archive management system, inputs of task information, replica placement data, infrastructure topology data, and resource performance data. The job scheduler models a flow network that represents data content, software programs, physical devices, and communication capacity of the archive management system in various levels of vertices according to the received inputs. An optimal path in the modeled flow network is computed as an initial schedule, and the archive management system performs tasks according to the initial schedule. The operations of scheduled tasks are monitored and the job scheduler produces a new schedule based on feedbacks of the monitored operations and predefined heuristics.
US08276147B2
Shutting down a computer work scheduler. The work scheduler includes a number of virtual processors, each of which is either active or inactive. An active processor executes work, searches for work, or is idle. An inactive has no context running atop it. The method includes determining that all processors controlled by the scheduler are idle. As a result of determining that all controlled by the scheduler are idle, the method proceeds to a first phase of a shutdown operation, which when successful, includes: performing a sweep of all collections searching for any work in the scheduler and determining that no work is found in the scheduler. As a result of determining that no work is found in the scheduler, the method proceeds to a second phase of a shutdown operation, which when successful includes messaging all contexts in the scheduler and telling them to exit.
US08276146B2
The present invention is method for scheduling jobs in a grid computing environment without having to monitor the state of the resource on the gird comprising a Global Scheduling Program (GSP) and a Local Scheduling Program (LSP). The GSP receives jobs submitted to the grid and distributes the job to the closest resource. The resource then runs the LSP to determine if the resource can execute the job under the conditions specified in the job. The LSP either rejects or accepts the job based on the current state of the resource properties and informs the GSP of the acceptance or rejection. If the job is rejected, the GSP randomly selects another resource to send the job to using a resource table. The resource table contains the state-independent properties of every resource on the grid.
US08276144B2
The drive for multi-tasking and/or availability of numerous applications can interfere with productivity. Constant interruptions from email and real-time online communication can lead to decreased productivity. In addition, attempting to tackle a massive number of different projects with different applications can impede progress on any one of the projects. Functionality can be implemented in a workspace to focus interaction with one or more applications in the workspace. Focused interaction allows a user to limit distractions (e.g., email notifications, instant message notifications, etc) and restrict activities not related to his or her current task.
US08276143B2
Disclosed herein is a system and method for dynamic scheduling of application tasks in a distributed task-based system. The system and method employ a learning mechanism that observes and predicts overall application task costs across a networked system, taking into account how the states or loads of the applications are likely to change over time. The application task costs are defined in economic terms. The system and method allows continuous optimization of application response times as perceived by application users.
US08276141B2
One or more transaction managers are automatically selected from a plurality of transaction managers for use in processing a transaction. The selection is based on types of resources used by the transaction and supported resource types of the transaction managers. The selection of the one or more transaction managers enables less than all of the transaction managers of an application server to be used in transaction commit processing, thereby improving performance.
US08276136B2
A method and apparatus for configuring a remotely available service. In one embodiment, the method includes downloading configuration data for the remotely available service while running a current instance of the service, and invoking a new instance of the service without causing a current instance of the service to terminate. The method may further include causing the current instance of the service to continue performing designated operations until the new instance completes initialization using the configuration data and is able to perform the designated operations.
US08276135B2
The present invention is a method, system, software and data structure for profiling programs, other code, and adaptive computing integrated circuit architectures, using a plurality of data parameters such as data type, input and output data size, data source and destination locations, data pipeline length, locality of reference, distance of data movement, speed of data movement, data access frequency, number of data load/stores, memory usage, and data persistence. The profiler of the invention accepts a data set as input, and profiles a plurality of functions by measuring a plurality of data parameters for each function, during operation of the plurality of functions with the input data set, to form a plurality of measured data parameters. From the plurality of measured data parameters, the profiler generates a plurality of data parameter comparative results corresponding to the plurality of functions and the input data set. Based upon the measured data parameters, portions of the profiled code are selected for embodiment as computational elements in an adaptive computing IC architecture.
US08276125B2
A computer implemented method, data processing system, and computer program product for automatic discovery of the Java classloader delegation hierarchy. One or more classloaders are instrumented with byte code instrumentation code such that a delegation event is received each time a classloader delegates a resource finding method to a parent classloader of the classloader. From each delegation event received, the classloader that generated the delegation event and a parent classloader to which the classloader directly delegates the resource finding method is determined. Based on the delegation events received, the classloaders to which a current classloader in the one or more classloaders can directly delegate are determined. The order of delegation to the classloaders may then be determined.
US08276120B2
The exemplary embodiment is for an architecture integrated in a generic System on Chip (SoC) and consisting of reconfigurable coprocessors for executing nested program loops performed in a functional unit array in parallel. The data arrays are accessed from one or more system inputs and from an embedded memory array in parallel. The processed data arrays are sent back to the memory array or to system outputs and enable the acceleration of nested loops. The coprocessors are connected either synchronously or using asynchronous first in first out memories (FIFOs), forming a globally asynchronous locally synchronous system and each coprocessor can be programmed by tagging and rewriting the nested loops in the original program and produces a coprocessor configuration per each nested loop group, which is replaced in the original code with coprocessor input/output operations and control.
US08276115B2
A system and method for constructing and deploying a business activity monitoring (BAM) dashboard associated with an event-based process are disclosed. A configuration module receives an event-based process identifier for an event-based process and data, such as inputs or outputs, for the event-based process. A generation module then generates a dashboard description that includes the identifier and an associated dashboard template having one or more dashboard components. This dashboard description is used by a dashboard server to automatically generate a BAM dashboard for monitoring the event-based process by using the association between the dashboard template and the event-based process to display data associated with the event-based process using one or more dashboard components.
US08276106B2
A method, system, and computer program product for exploring and optimizing an electrical design space. A computer receiving a design space assigns a plurality of initial values (random or predetermined) for optimizing the design space. A particle swarm containing a plurality of particles is created and an optimization of the design space is then performed using the assigned initial values. Following completion of optimization, the global best and personal best for each particle are updated. Velocity vectors and position vectors of the design space are then updated before the computer performs the optimization process again. The process loops, continually updating global and personal bests and velocity and position vectors until a termination criteria is reached. Upon reaching the termination criteria, the best fitness of each particle of the swarm is assigned as an optimized design space. In an alternate embodiment, the particle with the worst target fitness may be assigned.
US08276104B2
A process for automated via doubling in a layout of a semiconductor device, comprising: selecting at least one cell of the layout for via doubling, wherein the at least one cell comprises at least two metal layers; selecting at least two metal layers of the at least one cell for via doubling; selecting metal/metal intersection areas out of the at least two metal layers, wherein a metal/metal intersection comprises an existing via interconnecting a plurality of metal layers; and dimensionally fitting additional vias into the selected metal/metal intersection areas, wherein the additional vias are placed into the layout.
US08276099B2
The invention's features improve the user interaction of Caret and Selection manipulation in text GUI components. The Precaret, like the Caret, indicates a position between text characters, but unlike the Caret, the Precaret continually tracks the Cursor, jumping from position to position to indicate exactly where the Caret will be placed when the mouse is clicked. The Gapper visually indicates a gap of one or more white space characters in the text or a gap of white space between paragraphs; the Gapper tracks either the Precaret or the Caret, whichever moved last. An enhanced Cursor switches to a less-obtrusive form while it is over text so as not to obscure the position of the Precaret while moving the mouse or the leading edge of the Selection while dragging the mouse. The Caret and Precaret change shape to indicate a special feature of a position within the text, such as the wrapping of one text row to the next.
US08276088B2
The present invention uses invisible junctions which are a set of local features unique to every page of the electronic document to match the captured image to a part of an electronic document. The present invention includes: an image capture device, a feature extraction and recognition system and database. When an electronic document is printed, the feature extraction and recognition system captures an image of the document page. The features in the captured image are then extracted, indexed and stored in the database. Given a query image, usually a small patch of some document page captured by a low resolution image capture device, the features in the query image are extracted and compared against those stored in the database to identify the query image. The present invention also includes methods for recognizing and tracking the viewing region and look at point corresponding to the input query image. This information is combined with a rendering of the original input document to generate a new graphical user interface to the user. This user interface can be displayed on a conventional browser or even on the display of an image capture device.
US08276083B2
The invention relates to an information processing apparatus and method which allow a user to readily select, upon transmission of an electronic mail or upon uploading of image data, image data of a plurality of images to be attached to the electronic mail or image data to be transmitted. The user uses a cross key and a determination button of an inputting section of a camcorder to operate an anchor 424 on an image selection screen 411 to operate a page backward feeding button 421 and a page feeding button 422 to select a thumbnail image displayed. In response to an operation of the user, the anchor 424 is positioned on the left side of the number of the thumbnail image designated by the user, and image data of the thumbnail image at which the anchor 424 is positioned are selected. At a left upper portion of the selected thumbnail image, a check mark representative of such selection is displayed. When the user wants to end the image selection operation, it operates the anchor to operate a determination button 426. The present invention can be applied to a camcorder.
US08276081B2
Methods and systems for assisting individuals arrange meetings such as networking meetings with other individuals at a specified time (or within a specified time range) and at a specified place (or within a specified geographic region). More specifically, methods and systems for allowing individuals to post an invitation to for a meeting on an on-line network.
US08276062B2
A system for displaying comment documents within a parent document that avoids replication/save conflicts regardless of the number of users having local document replicas. The graphical user interface to a parent document provides the user with the ability to enter a comment with regard to the parent document. In response to indication that a comment is to be entered, the user interface to the parent document allows the user to enter content to be included in the comment. In response to indication that the entered comment should be saved, the system operates to capture the comment contents and store it into a newly created comment document associated with the parent document. After a comment document has been created, its contents are presented through a predetermined display region within the user interface to the parent document. In response to detection of a transition of a parent document from a state in which comments can be added to a state in which comments cannot be added, the system locates all comment documents associated with the parent document, copies the contents of those comment documents into the parent document such that they are displayed as part of the parent document, and deletes all associated comment documents for that parent document.
US08276059B2
Systems and techniques for displaying detailed information in the context of a condensed enumeration of information. For example, in one aspect, in one aspect, a display includes a visual rendition of a table that systematically arranges condensed information in a collection of rows and columns for reference by a human user. The table includes information characterizing a collection of items. The visual rendition of the table comprises a region that renders additional detail regarding a first item in the collection. The region is disposed in the midst of the visual rendition of the table.
US08276050B2
A method of encoding data using low density parity check (LDPC) code defined by a m×n parity check matrix is disclosed. More specifically, the method includes encoding input source data using the parity check matrix, wherein the parity check matrix comprises a plurality of z×z sub-matrices of which row weights and column weights are ‘0’ or ‘1’.
US08276045B2
Conventional C2 coding and interleaving for multi-track data tape in LTO-3/4 do not support recording data onto a number of concurrent tracks which is not a power of two. Higher-rate longer C2 codes, which do not degrade error rate performance, are provided. An adjustable format and interleaving scheme accommodates future tape drives in which the number of concurrent tracks is not necessarily a power of two. A data set is segmented into a plurality of unencoded subdata sets and parity bytes are generated for each row and column. The parameters of the C2 code include N2 as the least common multiple of the number of possible tracks to which codeword objects are to be written. COs are formed from N2 C1 codewords, mapped onto a logical data track according to information within headers of the CO and modulation encoded into synchronized COs which are written to the tape.
US08276042B2
The present disclosure includes methods, devices, modules, and systems for operating semiconductor memory. A number of method embodiments include reading data from memory cells corresponding to a sector of data, determining a number of the memory cells in a non-erased state, and, if the number of the memory cells in a non-erased state is less than or equal to a number of errors correctable by an ECC engine, determining the sector is erased.
US08276028B2
In various embodiments, the reference voltage used for read operations in a non-volatile memory may be adjusted up or down in an attempt to read data from an area that previously produced at least one uncorrectable error. The direction and amount of this adjustment may be based on the number and direction of correctable errors in surrounding data.
US08276026B2
A receiving station repeatedly performs decoding processing of data in a decoding processing portion, performs error detection of the decoding results, and transmits to a transmitting station an error detection result (ACK/NACK) for decoding results for a preset number of executions, and moreover issues a request to the transmitting station to modify the data transmission interval based on the data reception characteristic. The transmitting station transmits data at transmission intervals according to the transmission interval modification requests sent from the receiving station. The receiving station selectively inputs to the decoding processing portion the data received from the transmitting station and the previous decoding result data.
US08276012B2
A mechanism is provided for priority-based power capping. A power management controller identifies a set of priorities for a set of partitions of the data processing system. The power management controller determines whether a measured power of the data processing system exceeds a power cap for the data processing system. Responsive to the measured power exceeding the power cap, the power management controller sends a set of commands to a set of component actuators to adjust one or more of a set of operation parameters for a set of components associated with the set of partitions using the set of priorities. The set of component actuators adjust the one or more of the set of operational parameters associated with the set of component in order to reduce a power consumption of the data processing system.
US08276009B2
A mobile phone that uses OS virtualization for minimizing power consumption in mobile phones is provided. Apparatus and methods may involve conserving processor power in a mobile phone according to the invention may include the following steps. A first step may be awakening a first processing core from a low power state in response to a first operating system (OS) thread. A following step may include processing the first OS thread using the first processing core. A next step may include determining whether utilization of the first processing core over a first time period has exceeded a predetermined threshold. The method may also include awakening a second processing core from a low power consumption state if utilization of the first processing core over a first time period has exceeded a predetermined threshold.
US08276008B2
A system, method and non-transitory computer readable storage medium are disclosed for managing workload in a data center. The method includes receiving, at a workload manager, energy consumption information associated with at least one of a first data center and a second data center that is geographically distanced from the first data center. The method further includes receiving workload information associated with at least one of the first data center and the second data center, and transmitting, as controlled by the workload manager, at least part of workload scheduled to be processed at the second data center to the first data center based on at least one of the energy consumption information and the workload information.
US08276006B2
In one embodiment, a power adapter comprises a power supply to output power for powering a powered device. The power adapter outputs information indicative of an amount of power output by the power supply for use by the powered device to control the amount of power used by the powered device.
US08276001B2
An apparatus and method for adaptively changing a constant power level of a system in compliance with a current system specification can improve safety issues such as overheating, due to excess charging capacity. After purchase/after market add-ons to the system made by a customer can change the load such that the present invention adaptively changes the constant power level supplied to match the after initial purchase add-ons. The method includes acquiring system specification information, searching for a constant power level corresponding to the acquired system specification information, and changing a constant power level according to the searched constant power level.
US08276000B2
A system and method are provided for supplying power to a load using deep-sleep-mode power supplies. Each of plural switching power supplies includes an input converter, an output converter and a standby converter. Each is configured to have its output converter connected to the load, and each is configured to operate in at least an online mode in which the input, output and standby converters are enabled for switching, and a deep sleep mode in which the input, output and standby converters are disabled from switching. A system controller is configured to place a first set of the plural switching power supplies in the online mode and a second set of the plural switching power supplies in the deep sleep mode while the load is operating and the power supplies in the first set are supplying power to the load.
US08275999B2
A method for powering on an information handling system (IHS) includes receiving a power request signal from a video display in communication with the IHS. The methods further includes determining that the power request signal is a response to a power-on signal for the video display, and powering on the IHS by sending the power-on signal to a power controller of the IHS.
US08275989B2
A method for authenticating and negotiating security parameters among two or more network devices is disclosed. The method has a plurality of modes including a plurality of messages exchanged between the two or more network devices. In a main mode, the two or more network devices establish a secure channel and select security parameters to be used during a quick mode and a user mode. In the quick mode, the two or more computers derive a set of keys to secure data sent according to a security protocol. The optional user mode provides a means of authenticating one or more users associated with the two or more network devices. A portion of the quick mode is conducted during the main mode thereby minimizing the plurality of messages that need to be exchanged between the initiator and the responder.
US08275984B2
The prevention of impersonation attacks based on hijacked common gateway interface (CGI) session IDs is disclosed. In accordance with one embodiment, a secured communication channel is formed between a server and a client using an initial transport layer security (TLS) key. Additionally, an authenticated CGI session is formed over the secured communication channel based on an initial CGI session identifier (ID). Further, the initial CGI session ID and the initial TLS key are combined into a pair. Next, incoming data that includes an incoming CGI session ID is received via a secured communication channel. An incoming TLS key of the secured communication channel that carries the incoming CGI session ID is then retrieved. Based on the retrieved incoming TLS key, the incoming data is permitted to execute on the server when the incoming TLS key matches the initial TLS key of the pair.
US08275978B1
In one embodiment the present invention includes a microprocessor that has a pipeline circuit, a branch circuit, and a control circuit. The pipeline circuit pipelines instructions for the microprocessor. The branch circuit is coupled to the pipeline circuit and operates to store branch information. The control circuit is coupled to the pipeline circuit and the branch circuit. The control circuit stores a first branch information from the pipeline circuit to the branch circuit when a first condition is met. The control circuit retrieves a second branch information from the branch stack circuit to the pipeline circuit when a second condition is met. In this manner, the need for dedicated pipeline flush circuitry is avoided.
US08275977B2
A system includes a first processor, a second processor, a first clock coupled to the first processor, and a third clock coupled to the first processor and to the second processor. The first processor includes debug circuitry coupled to receive the third clock, synchronization circuitry coupled to receive the first clock, wherein the synchronization circuitry receives a first request to enter a debug mode and provides a first synced debug entry request signal and wherein the first synced debug entry request signal is synchronized with respect to the first clock, and an input for receiving a second synced debug entry request signal from the second processor wherein the first processor waits to enter the debug mode until the first synced debug entry request signal and the second synced debug entry request signal are both asserted.
US08275971B2
A method and a system for allowing a guest operating system (guest OS) to modify an entry in a TLB directly without an involvement of a hypervisor are disclosed. Upon receiving a guest TLB miss exception, a guest OS issues a TLBWE (TLB Write Entry) instruction to logic. The logic executes the TLBWE instruction at a supervisor mode without invoking a hypervisor. The TLB may incorporate entries in a guest page table and entries in a host page table.
US08275968B2
A computing device executing a file system maintains a search tree that includes extents for managing first regions of unallocated storage space and bitmaps for managing second regions of unallocated storage space. For each region of unallocated storage space, the file system determines whether to manage that region using an extent or a bitmap based on one or more space management criteria.
US08275961B2
A flash device for secure delivery of media content is provided. The flash device can include a controller module and a memory module. The controller module can include at least one local central processing unit, at least one register having factory initialized data written therein, and at least one memory module interface. The factory initialized data can include: a vendor identification (“VID”) string, a product identification (“PID”) string, and a manufacturer identification string. The memory module can include at least one read-only partition having digital data disposed therein, where at least a portion of the digital data comprises at least one machine executable instruction set.
US08275960B2
A method for protecting data in the hard disk is provided. The method is suitable for a computer system and includes the following steps. First, a plurality of specification parameters conforming to the computer system is read. Next, a part of the specification parameters are encoded for obtaining a recognition byte. Then, when the computer system writes data to a hard disk, a specific operation is performed to a byte read or written by the hard disk and the recognition byte for maintaining a security of the data in the hard disk.
US08275958B2
A storage system 1 includes a first storage apparatus 100 and a second storage apparatus 100 communicatively coupled to an external apparatus 300. The first and second storage apparatuses respectively have first and second storage areas VDEVs selectively accessible from the external apparatus, first and second temporary storage areas 113, and remote copy controllers 1122 configured to control data copy process. The storage system includes a data I/O process authority information storage unit LDK storing data I/O process authority information. Either of the remote copy controllers reads the data I/O process authority information and copies according to the data I/O process authority information, to the other storage apparatus, data stored either in the first storage area and the first temporary storage area, or in the second storage area and the second temporary storage area that are included in the storage apparatus to which the remote copy controller belongs.
US08275957B2
A method (and system) of storing data in a value-based storage system, includes optimizing a value of data stored in the value-based storage system.
US08275947B2
A method and data processing system for tracking global shared memory (GSM) operations to and from a local node configured with a host fabric interface (HFI) coupled to a network fabric. During task/job initialization, the system OS assigns HFI window(s) to handle the GSM packet generation and GSM packet receipt and processing for each local task. HFI processing logic automatically tags each GSM packet generated by the HFI window with a global job identifier (ID) of the job to which the local task is affiliated. The job ID is embedded within each GSM packet placed on the network fabric. On receipt of a GSM packet from the network fabric, the HFI logic retrieves the embedded job ID and compares the embedded job ID with the ID within the HFI window(s). GSM packets are forwarded to an HFI window only when the embedded job ID matches the HFI window's job ID.
US08275946B1
A method and system for performing logical to physical address translations in a memory is disclosed, wherein the memory includes a translation cache containing a subset of a plurality of entries mapping logical block addresses to physical locations of the memory. Aspects of the exemplary embodiment include receiving from a processor a read/write request for a logical block and context information regarding the logical block, the context information including at least one of a relationship of the logical block to other logical blocks and a description of future activity associated with the logical block; and pre-fetching a first entry into the translation cache based on the context information so that the first entry required to satisfy a future request is available in the translation cache when the future request is received.
US08275945B2
A memory system is provided. The system includes a controller that regulates read and write access to one or more FLASH memory devices that are employed for random access memory applications. A buffer component operates in conjunction with the controller to regulate read and write access to the one or more FLASH devices. Wear leveling components along with read and write processing components are provided to facilitate efficient operations of the FLASH memory devices.
US08275941B2
According to one embodiment, an information processing apparatus includes a controller configured to write, first data to a first storage device from a first address to a second address according to a size of the first data, to write second data having a part of the first data to a second storage device from the first address, a size of the second data being equal to n times a page size, to write, to a cache memory, third data which is equal to the first data except the second data, and to write, when the controller receives a writing instruction includes third address being adjacent to the second address and fourth data, fifth data to the second storage device, the fifth data having the third data and at least part of fourth data, and a size of the fifth data is equal to the page size.
US08275940B2
A method is provided for optimization of the management of a server cache for dynamic pages, which may be consulted by client terminals with differing characteristics which requires the provision of discrete versions of a dynamic page in the cache. When a terminal requests a dynamic page, a verification step—for the presence of at least one version of the dynamic page in the cache is carried out, such that if the verification is positive the following complementary steps are carried out: procurement of a set of characteristics specific to the type of client terminal, determination of a subset of necessary characteristics from amongst the specific characteristics for the reproduction of the dynamic page on a client terminal, search, among the version(s) of the dynamic page in the cache for a suitable version using the subset of necessary characteristics and allocation of the suitable version to the client terminal.
US08275936B1
A load reduction system and method for use with memory systems which include one or more DIMMs, each of which includes a circuit arranged to buffer data bytes being written to or read from the DIMM, with the system nominally organized such that the bytes of a given data word are conveyed to the DIMMs via respective byte lanes and stored in a given rank on a given DIMM. The system is arranged such that the DRAMs that constitute a given rank are re-mapped across the available DIMMs plugged into the slots, such that a data word to be stored in a given rank is striped across the available DIMMs, thereby reducing the loading on a given byte lane that might otherwise be present. The system is preferably arranged such that any given byte lane is wired to no more than two of the DIMM slots.
US08275935B2
According to one embodiment, a semiconductor storage device comprises a main memory, a request issue module, a delay module, and an access module. The main memory is configured to store candidate information for determining a compaction candidate for a nonvolatile memory. The request issue module is configured to issue an access request for the candidate information in the main memory. The delay module is configured to delay the access request issued from the request issue module. The access module is configured to access the candidate information in the main memory based on an access request delayed by the delay module.
US08275934B2
A nonvolatile memory device includes first and second registers configured to store parameters received via an input/output (IO) unit, a microcontroller configured to control an operation of the nonvolatile memory device according to the parameter stored in the first register, and a control logic unit configured to, when a parameter is received via the IO unit while the microcontroller performs an internal operation, store the received parameter in the second register.
US08275925B2
Methods and apparatus for improved performance in communications with a SATA target device. Features and aspects hereof provide for continuing DMA transfers from a storage controller (e.g., a SATA host or a SAS/STP initiator) to a SATA target device without regard to receipt of DMA ACTIVATE Frame Information Structures (FIS). Logic to implement these features may be provided by bridge logic within an enhanced SAS expander coupled with an enhanced SAS/STP initiator or may be provided by suitable logic in an enhanced SATA host coupled directly with an enhanced SATA target device. By continuing DMA transfer of data from the initiator/host to the SATA target device without regard to receipt of a DMA ACTIVATE FIS, more of the available bandwidth of the SAS/SATA communication link may be utilized. Other standard features of the SAS/SATA protocols provide for flow control to prevent overrun of the SATA target device's buffers.
US08275922B2
A method and circuit for implementing serial link training sequences, and a design structure on which the subject circuit resides are provided. A transmitter device transmits a training sequence (TS) pattern; then the transmitter device transmits random data for a predefined time duration. The steps of transmitting the TS-pattern, then transmitting the random data for the fixed time duration are repeated. A receiver device detecting a plurality of the TS-patterns separated by the predefined time interval of random data, performs receiver initialization steps. The receiver device performs a plurality of receiver initialization steps including, for example, acquiring byte lock, and a link width determination.
US08275917B2
A mechanism is provided for efficient communication of producer/consumer buffer status. With the mechanism, devices in a data processing system notify each other of updates to head and tail pointers of a shared buffer region when the devices perform operations on the shared buffer region using signal notification channels of the devices. Thus, when a producer device that produces data to the shared buffer region writes data to the shared buffer region, an update to the head pointer is written to a signal notification channel of a consumer device. When a consumer device reads data from the shared buffer region, the consumer device writes a tail pointer update to a signal notification channel of the producer device. In addition, channels may operate in a blocking mode so that the corresponding device is kept in a low power state until an update is received over the channel.
US08275916B2
A system for processing routing according to priorities of logical interfaces is provided. The system includes a priority setting unit for setting priorities of a plurality of logical interfaces set in a physical interface, and a priority scheduler for determining a priority of a respective logical interface from an input frame, and for outputting the input frame to a driver queue of the physical interface when the input frame is output from a logical interface having the highest priority. Traffic burstiness caused by queuing can be reduced in a network routing system employing at least one logical interface.
US08275914B2
Discovery of connections utilizing a control bus. An embodiment of a method includes detecting a transition of a control bus from a high state to a low state by a source device, the source device being configured to be coupled with a sink device via an interface, the interface including the control bus, the source device including a pullup device and the sink device including a pulldown device; pulsing the control bus to a high state at the source device; and upon detecting by the source device that the control bus remains in the high state ceasing the pulsing of the control bus to the high state, and transitioning the source device from a disconnected state to a connected state.
US08275912B2
Systems and methods that ensure formation of a single ring from a seed node at any given time. A “bootstrap” phase is included in a node's life cycle, to mitigate adverse affects of split-brain conditions in a network. During such bootstrap phase, if an existing ring is found, the seed node can join the existing ring in a same manner as a non-seed node does. If no ring is detected, the bootstrap phase attempts to elect a seed node to be the “super-seed node”, wherein a new ring can then be formed with such new super-seed node as the first node.
US08275900B2
Techniques are provided for the configuration of a home-networking system. Home-networking configuration information may be stored on a host system in a manner accessible to the home-networking system and migrated to a home-networking gateway or router that has not yet been configured. Wireless configuration information may be stored on a home-networking gateway or router and used to configure one or more wireless access points through the use of a physical connection, such as a wired communications pathway. One or more wireless home-networking devices may be configured based on wireless configuration information stored in a central repository on a host system or a home-networking system. The wireless configuration information may be accessible only through the use of a security code.
US08275899B2
Network activity in a network is regulated. Network activity scores that correspond to network usage patterns for respective network users are calculated. A network user is assigned into one of multiple risk classes responsive to a respective one of the network activity scores. A subsequent action is selected responsive to which of the risk classes the network user is assigned.
US08275887B2
A mobile communications device capable of replying to advertising message (ad) quickly and a method thereof are provided. The method includes steps of: receiving an ad transmitted by a server; identifying whether the received ad is a message in a predetermined format; reading a decoding program from a storage unit to decode the received ad if the received ad is messages in the predetermined format; displaying a basic content part and a reply content part after the ad is decoded; receiving a user's reply, generating a reply message includes a reply code corresponding to the user's reply, and sending the reply message.
US08275884B2
A method and apparatus for securely sharing content are provided, which can securely share the content without allowing access by unauthorized third parties. The method of securely sharing content includes a first domain, which has content that requires security among a plurality of domains logically generated on a hardware platform, sharing the content with at least one second domain, and if the second domain intends to write the content in a region in which writing is not permitted, preventing the writing of the content.
US08275881B2
A method, system, and program for managing escalating resource needs within a grid environment are provided. A job is submitted into a first selection of resources in a grid environment from among a hierarchy of discrete sets of resources accessible in the grid environment. Discrete sets of resources may include locally accessible resources, enterprise accessible resources, capacity on demand resources, and grid resources. The performance of the first selection of resources is monitored and compared with a required performance level for the job. If the required performance level is not met, then the discrete sets of resources are queried for available resources to meet the required performance level in an order designated by said hierarchy. Available resources in a next discrete set of resource from the hierarchy of discrete sets of resources are added to a virtual organization of resources handling the job within the grid environment. In particular, the virtual organization of resources may include the first selection of resources and the added resources which are distributed across heterogeneous systems. If capacity on demand resources are allocated and added to the virtual organization, then the capacity on demand resources are deallocated when no longer needed.
US08275880B2
A media content programming, delivery, and consumption model is provided by which consumers can receive programming that is personalized to their tastes and interests and discover new media content that they will likely enjoy, without having to put in a lot of effort or needing to be technically adept. The received media content programming can then be played on a PC or portable media player. Consumers can access the media content programming from a cloud-based service with the same ease as tuning to a radio station, and then may simply enjoy the programming without needing to take any additional steps. However, unlike traditional linear programming, the programming here is curated so that the delivered content is highly relevant to the consumer. Navigation within a programmed sequence is enabled by skipping ahead or going back in a playlist, and consumers can learn more about particular content by interacting with rich metadata.
US08275871B2
The present solution provides a spillover management technique for virtual servers of an appliance based on bandwidth. A network administrator may configure a bandwidth threshold for one or more virtual servers, such as virtual servers providing acceleration or load balancing for one or more services. The bandwidth threshold may be specified as a number of bytes transferred via the virtual server. The bandwidth threshold may also be specified as a round trip time or derivative thereof. A user may specify the bandwidth threshold via a configuration interface. Otherwise, the appliance may establish the bandwidth threshold. The appliance monitors the bandwidth used by a first virtual server. In response to detecting the bandwidth reaching or exceeding the bandwidth threshold, the appliance dynamically directs client requests to a second virtual server.
US08275870B2
A repository, distribution, and discovery system for collecting users' online identifiers and relationships, and allowing them to be retrieved and/or updated through a central access point by the users, third parties, and other users. An identity graph in the form of links to the user's public profiles can be ported to any web page or web service. Links back to the user's public profile on the repository are ported to the user's profile pages. The system includes analytics and statistics relating to users' behaviors throughout the web and normalization of actions and data across the social web space. The links inherent in the repository system enhances the level of the user's profiles in search engine listings.
US08275869B2
An apparatus and method for improving network efficiency for data transfer utilizing partial node discovery a during system recovery are disclosed. Upon retrieving a saved last sequence number associated with a network element (“NE”) from a database in a network management system (“NMS”), a process of the partial node discovery obtains a current last sequence number associated with the NE from the NE. After identifying missing sequence numbers associated with the NE, sequence events associated with the NE in the database are updated in accordance with the missing sequence numbers.
US08275858B2
A method is provided to update firmware of a radio frequency identification (RFID) reader through a network system, wherein a management host issues an update message to a gateway through the network system, and then depending upon the location where reader firmware update data is stored, either the management host transmits the reader firmware update data through the gateway to each designated RFID reader, or the gateway directly transmits the reader firmware update data to each of the designated RFID readers. A microprocessor of the RFID reader stores the received reader firmware update data to a firmware data storage section of a memory unit thereof.
US08275856B2
A method and apparatus for updating bookmarks is described. In one embodiment, a server has a bookmark database and a bookmark synchronizer. The bookmark synchronizer is configured to manage a remote bookmark list including sublists each associated with a corresponding one of multiple browsers. The bookmark synchronizer receives a client request, from one of the browsers, to synchronize a local bookmark list with the remote bookmark list, and collects the local bookmark list from the one web browser. The bookmark synchronizer compares the local bookmark list with the remote bookmark list, the bookmark synchronizer adds or deletes bookmarks from the local bookmark list or the associated sublist.
US08275854B2
A method and apparatus for managing bookmark information of a media server through a network based on the UPnP AV standard is disclosed. If a request for bookmarking a content item is made, a bookmark item is created and the created bookmark item is linked to the content item by adding the ID of the created bookmark item to the property information of the content item and recording the ID of the content item to be bookmarked in the created bookmark item.
US08275853B2
Presented is a method and system for a service intermediary selection in a web service management system. The method comprises: receiving a service request by the web service management system; and selecting the service intermediary from a plurality of service intermediaries by a planning module of the web service management system.
US08275847B2
An Interactive Maintenance Management System (“IMMS”) (10) is an alarm handling system (FIG. 2) for handling alarms (102) that indicate present or imminent equipment failure. The IMMS (10) may be utilized in industrial situations, such as strip-mines (14), to reduce equipment (12) downtime and reduce or prevent equipment failure. The IMMS (10) utilizes a flexible response system to track, analyze, and improve performance of the alarm handling system.
US08275846B2
A system and method for an extendable software interface includes software architecture for use in a mobile device having a processor and a memory device. The software architecture includes a set of first-order controller software instructions configured to interface the application program with a first-order data model, and a first-order data object stored in the memory device in the form of the first-order data model. The first-order data object includes a second-order data object. A second-order set of controller software instructions configured to interact with the second-order data object is also included in the software architecture.
US08275843B2
An example computing device creates a resource module that acquires resource information relating to resources of the computing device and acquire quality of experience information corresponding to a quality of audio, and creates a roster module that displays a participant list including resource information relating to resources of a plurality of other computing devices connected to the teleconference and display quality of experience information corresponding to a quality of audio a user of each of the plurality of other computing devices experiences when connected to the teleconference. The device also creates a policy module configured to evaluate the resource information and quality of experience information acquired by the client resource module against rules of a teleconference policy and implement actions based on a determination that the computing device is non-compliant with one or more of the rules of the teleconference policy to control quality of audio during the teleconference.
US08275839B2
Systems and methods for processing email messages are described. In one embodiment, the occurrence of a condition is determined indicating at least one email message transfer of an email message by an email application, wherein determining the occurrence of the condition is external to the email application, the email message is identified, wherein the email message comprises event data, an email event is compiled from at least some of the event data, and the email event is indexed.
US08275834B2
Disclosed is a flexible, multi-modal system useful in communications among users, capable of synchronizing real world and augmented reality, wherein the system is deployed in centralized and distributed computational platforms. The system comprises a plurality of input devices designed and configured to generate signals representing speech, gestures, pointing direction, and location of a user, and transmit the same to a multi-modal interface. Some of the signals generated represent a message from the user intended for dissemination to other users. A plurality of agents and one or more databases (defined by matrices which include input commands or information from the input devices, and meanings for some input commands or combinations thereof) are integrated into the system, where at least some of the agents are designed and configured to receive signals from the multi-modal interface, translate the signals into data, compare the same to a database, generate signals representing meanings as defined by the database, and transmit the signals to the multi-modal interface. In some embodiments, at least one agent resides on a computational device located on a user, and at least one other agent resides on a computation device remote from the user. Finally, a plurality of output devices are associated with the system and designed and configured to receive and process signals from the multi-modal interface, some of said signals representing messages to the user to be communicated by means of an output device in visual, auditory, or tactile modes.
US08275827B2
Software-based network attached storage (NAS) services are hosted on a massively distributed processing system configured by coupling a multiplicity of distributed devices with a network, wherein each of the distributed devices are enabled to process workloads for the distributed processing system by a client agent program. More particularly, the client agent program is configured with a NAS software component to enable selected distributed devices from the multiplicity of distributed devices to appear to client devices coupled to the network as dedicated NAS devices. The NAS software component allocates an available amount of storage resources in the selected distributed devices to provide NAS services to the client devices. Storage priority controls, including user specified constraints, standard bit, block and file priority levels, and direct bit, block or file priority markings may be utilized to facilitate the full use of the available amounts of unused storage in the selected distributed devices.
US08275825B2
One embodiment provides a computer-implemented method for enforcing a temperature limit of a client computer. The method includes receiving a request for computer-executable work to be executed on a client computer. If executing all of the requested work on the client computer would cause the client computer to exceed the temperature limit, a portion of the requested work may be selectively redirected to a remote computer in an amount selected to enforce the temperature limit of the client computer. Simultaneously, the remainder of the requested work may be executed on the client computer. The output of the redirected work may be communicated from the remote computer back to the client computer over a network.
US08275823B2
A filter intended to receive a discrete time signal at a sampling clock frequency, comprising a determined number, greater than 2, of filtering units, each filtering unit comprising head capacitors in a number equal to the determined number, assembled in parallel between an input terminal and the terminal of an integration capacitor, and means for connecting, in successive clock cycles in a number equal to the determined number, successively each head capacitor to the input terminal, and for then simultaneously connecting the head capacitors to the integration capacitor, and in which the successive clock cycles during which the head capacitors of a filtering unit are connected to the input terminal are offset by one clock cycle from one filtering unit to the next one.
US08275818B2
An apparatus including logic to receive a data packet comprising a string of characters, said apparatus having a plurality of states and at least one state for every character position in the string of characters; logic to examine the string of characters for matches with a plurality of predefined values, beginning with an initial character; and logic to execute forward exit transitions from any of the plurality of states based upon the examination of the characters, wherein a current state of the apparatus represents a count of a number of characters from the initial character of the string of characters.
US08275817B2
A frequency multiplier device including a plurality of multipliers, each of which has a first input port, a second input port and an output port; a first combiner coupled to the plurality of multipliers so as to receive an output signal from at least two of the plurality of multipliers, the first combiner outputting a first output signal; and a second combiner coupled to the plurality of multipliers so as to receive an output signal from at least two of the plurality of multipliers, the second combiner outputting a second output signal. The plurality of multipliers includes a first multiplier, a second multiplier, a third multiplier and a fourth multiplier, where the first multiplier has a first input port and a second input port and receives a first input signal at the first input port and the second input port; the second multiplier has a first input port and a second input port and receives a second input signal at the first input port and the second input port; the third multiplier has a first input port and a second input port and receives the second input signal at the first input port and the first input signal at the second input port; and the fourth multiplier has a first input port and a second input port and receives the first input signal at the first input port and the second input signal at the second input port.
US08275814B2
The disclosed embodiments relate to a multimedia data encoding/decoding method and apparatus. In some aspects, an encoding method includes generating a file type area having information on a file format; generating a data area comprising a plurality of media data areas; and generating a media information area comprising a plurality of track areas corresponding to the plurality of media data areas, respectively. According to one aspect, the multimedia data encoding/decoding method and apparatus can construct a slide show using only a small amount of multimedia data. Thus, a time taken to process and transmit the multimedia data can be reduced.
US08275811B2
A contact center system features: testing comprehension of informational messages with a quiz; capturing insight of users having a KPI score above a threshold by having them describe why they perform so well; dynamically ordering issue solutions by re-ranking the solutions periodically based on recency and frequency; integrating information used by a contact center representative while online with a customer and information for use when not online; storing content in a telecommunications industry taxonomy; directing feedback on a content item to the proper owner/manager of that content; communicating solution information using a solutions taxonomy; displaying a dual information system having a CRM application and reference material that is context-appropriate; enforcing completion of templates when creating a content item to be published; ensuring a group of templates are complete before publishing them; and searching within a contact center system portal using a continuum of search functions.
US08275810B2
An XML representation of the metadata for objects in a database system. The XML representation is called SXML. The SXML representations of two objects that belong to the same class of objects may be compared to produce a difference representation that shows the differences between the objects. Database commands that will create or alter objects may be produced from the difference representation, as well as an XML representation of the database commands. In addition to being comparable, SXML representations have the characteristics that a given property of the metadata is expressed in only one way in the representation, that SXML does not describe properties that belong only to particular instances of the object described by the metadata, that SXML describes only properties that the user can specify when creating an object, and that SXML is easy for humans to read, understand, and write.
US08275807B2
Management device for a network of audiovisual information reproduction systems or jukeboxes, including a database with a plurality of sets of arrays, each array containing grouped information either about the composition of a jukebox, or the use of the jukebox, or the payment of fees. The database is managed by a computer server connected with the audiovisual information reproduction systems to receive messages sent by each audiovisual information reproduction device and containing information necessary to update determined sets of arrays in the database, and update data or the program for each audiovisual information reproduction device with information stored in at least one set of arrays in the database and transmitted in this message.
US08275806B2
A method includes receiving a selection of a logical field of a data abstraction model. The method includes determining model entries (e.g., concepts) associated with the selected logical field and examining the data abstraction model to determine other model entries that are equal to the model entries associated with the selected logical field. For each equal model entry, the method includes determining web services to be used in performing a search, where the web services are determined by querying a discovery registry associated with the data abstraction model to discover one or more web services that are resolvable based on the selected logical field. A first discovered web service is executed with user supplied criteria provided via a user interface to obtain a list of values. A condition is created that limits acceptable values associated with the selected logical field based on the user supplied criteria.
US08275805B2
A method of decreasing a total computation time for a visual simulation loop includes sharing a common data structure across each phase of the visual simulation loop by adapting the common data structure to a requirement for each particular phase prior to performing a computation for that particular phase.
US08275803B2
A system, method and computer program product for providing answers to questions based on any corpus of data. The method facilitates generating a number of candidate passages from the corpus that answer an input query, and finds the correct resulting answer by collecting supporting evidence from the multiple passages. By analyzing all retrieved passages and that passage's metadata in parallel, there is generated an output plurality of data structures including candidate answers based upon the analyzing. Then, by each of a plurality of parallel operating modules, supporting passage retrieval operations are performed upon the set of candidate answers, and for each candidate answer, the data corpus is traversed to find those passages having candidate answer in addition to query terms. All candidate answers are automatically scored causing the supporting passages by a plurality of scoring modules, each producing a module score. The modules scores are processed to determine one or more query answers; and, a query response is generated for delivery to a user based on the one or more query answers.
US08275776B2
An apparatus, method and article of manufacture of the present invention detects the presence of references to the same concept in separate sections of text, and, with no input required from the reader, presents the reader with information concerning the detected references to the concept. The information provided may comprise information related to the location of the reference to the concept in other sections of text, and the reader also is provided the ability to move from one reference to a concept directly to another reference to the same concept.
US08275768B2
A method and system for selecting communication means are provided. The method includes receiving a request for communication (102) by a current user (101) with a target contact and searching data of prior communication attempts (105) by prior users with one or more prior target contacts using different communication means, wherein the current user and the prior users fall within a first defined category and the target contact and the prior target contacts fall within a second defined category. The success of the communication means of prior communication attempts is determined (104) and a communication means for the current user is recommended (103). The method includes referencing (107) relationship resource (109) to determine if users or target contacts fall within defined categories, such as, for example, an organizational structure level, a department, or a group of people with a given form of relationship to another group of people.
US08275764B2
A computer-implemented method includes receiving information expressing a user's interest in one or more media programs, obtaining information indicative of popularity for a plurality of media programs responsive to the received information by individuals other than the user, and transmitting one or more recommendations of media programs for display to the user, from the plurality of media programs that relate to the received information.
US08275747B2
The present invention is related to the task of retrieving numeric information in response to a textual keyword-based query by automatically associating a unit to the type of data being retrieved. An information retrieval system is presented which suggests a unit for data exploration by leveraging the local environment of numeric data across the corpus. This local environment is parsed, including through natural language processing and proximity-based techniques, to determine units relevant to particular keyword phrases. The system also relies on knowledge of semantically and scientifically related units to optimize their binning for suggested unit scoring.
US08275745B2
Techniques for performing an incremental update to a set of hierarchically structured information that do not expose the structure and content of the hierarchically structured information to unauthorized parties. The present techniques include encrypting the hierarchically structured information such that an arrangement of nodes and corresponding data of the hierarchically structured information is not exposed and each node includes a corresponding node identifier that is not encrypted and updating the hierarchically structured information by referring to the nodes using the node identifiers.
US08275735B2
The present invention provides a diagnostic system that diagnoses a diagnostic object by applying a diagnostic rule to data measured on the diagnostic object wherein an object of the present invention is to allow the diagnostic rule to be updated based on a variety of diagnostic case data. Each of multiple diagnostic devices 101 makes a diagnosis by applying a diagnostic rule to diagnostic object data measured on a diagnostic object 104 and sends diagnostic case data, which includes diagnostic object data and its diagnostic result, to a diagnostic rule generation device 102 via a network 103. The diagnostic rule generation device 102 generates a diagnostic rule based on the diagnostic case data received from the multiple diagnostic devices 101 and sends the generated diagnostic rule to the diagnostic devices 101 via the network 103. The diagnostic devices 101 update a diagnostic rule in their devices with the diagnostic rule received from the diagnostic rule generation device 102.
US08275723B2
A network-based system is provided for performing data analysis services using a support vector machine for analyzing data received from a remote user connected to the network. The user transmits a data set to be analyzed and along with an account identifier that allows the analysis service provider to collect payment for the processing services. Once payment has been confirmed, the service provider's server transmits the analysis results to the remote user.
US08275722B2
Systems and methods for determining semantically related terms using an active learning framework such as Transductive Experimental Design are disclosed. Generally, to enhance a keyword suggestion tool, an active learning module trains a model to predict whether a term is relevant to a user. The model is then used to present the user with terms that have been determined to be relevant based on the model so that an online advertisement service provider may more efficiently provide a user with terms that are semantically related to a seed set.
US08275721B2
Multi-class cost-sensitive boosting based on gradient boosting with “p-norm” cost functionals” uses iterative example weighting schemes derived with respect to cost functionals, and a binary classification algorithm. Weighted sampling is iteratively applied from an expanded data set obtained by enhancing each example in the original data set with as many data points as there are possible labels for any single instance, and where each non-optimally labeled example is given the weight equaling a half times the original misclassification cost for the labeled example times the p−1 norm of the average prediction of the current hypotheses. Each optimally labeled example is given the weight equaling the sum of the weights for all the non-optimally labeled examples for the same instance. Component classification algorithm is executed on a modified binary classification problem. A classifier hypothesis is output, which is the average of all the hypotheses output in the respective iterations.
US08275712B2
Reloadable or non-reloadable prepaid transaction card activation systems are disclosed. More specifically, the system provides a platform for activation of prepaid or stored value transaction cards and capture of customer demographic information, and verification of that information, after the customer has obtained or has been issued a prepaid transaction card. The data capture is performed at activation rather than at point of sale.
US08275706B2
Methods and system for processing transfer requests are described. In one embodiment, a value transfer request may be received from a value provider through a network. The value transfer request may include a value amount to be provided from a source user to a target user. A settlement account of the value provider may be reduced by the value amount. A target account of the target user may be increased by the value amount.
US08275705B2
A computer-based system and method for resolving disputes between a customer and an electronic payment provider concerning an electronic transaction between the customer and a merchant, including receiving data related to the transaction in a computer; transmitting the data from the computer to a dispute resolution server; comparing the transaction data to predetermined eligibility criteria for dispute resolution in the dispute resolution server, and if the dispute resolution criteria is met, declining future transactions from the merchant for the disputing consumer; and, comparing the transaction data to predetermined eligibility criteria for transaction credit, and if the credit criteria is met, and transmitting a credit instruction for the transaction.
US08275703B1
A system for processing bank account deposits may comprise at least one subsystem that creates an account at a first bank by a second bank on behalf of a customer of the second bank, at least one subsystem that sets up an automatic transfer to the second bank from the account created at the first bank, and at least one subsystem that accepts an automatic transfer from the account created at the first bank at the second bank, said automatic transfer resulting from a deposit made by the customer at the first bank.
US08275697B2
A system and method for trading order priority levels in an electronic trading environment are described. In one embodiment, a trader who is willing to have his order moved from a high priority level to a lower priority level in an order queue may advertise his willingness to do so, and other traders can place bids for the high priority level. In such an embodiment, for example, a bidder who places the highest bid or whose bid is received first may get the high priority level in the order queue in exchange for the paid fee.
US08275694B2
The present invention is a console, system and method for providing an interface to a financial market trading system or to a financial market based gaming system. The invention enables the trader to trade on financial markets using an interface simulating known and popular games from the world of sports, arcade, games of chance, strategic games and the like.
US08275684B2
An investment program for funding benefits by maintaining assets in the investment program that includes an employer owned trust account and at least one life, disability, health or annuity contract (including a terminal annuity) obtained directly or indirectly from a partially or wholly owned or non-owned captive insurance company. The insurance contract is purchased with assets from the trust account and the partially or wholly owned or non-owned captive insurance company is a least partially, wholly or non-owned by the employer. When paying or reimbursing benefits, the employer or the trust may pay the benefit and if the employer pays the benefit, the trust may reimburse the employer.
US08275683B2
Systems and methods may be provided for deposit prediction based upon an example Monte Carlo analysis. The system and methods may include receiving deposit information associated with a plurality of deposits for a deposit account of a financial institution customer, where the deposit information includes a plurality of deposit amounts, and a respective date associated with each of the plurality of deposit amounts; applying a Monte Carlo analysis to at least a portion of the received deposit information; and identifying, based upon the applied Monte Carlo analysis, a largest total monetary amount that can be expected to be deposited within a time interval according to a predetermined confidence level.
US08275682B2
Systems and methods for consumer price index determination using panel-based and point-of-sale market research data are disclosed. An example method to determine a consumer price index disclosed herein comprises obtaining panelist market research data determined by monitoring items purchased by a plurality of statistically-selected panelists, obtaining retail site market research data for items sold by a plurality of retail sites, combining the panelist market research data and the retail site market research data to determine weighted equivalent unit pricing information for each group of common items in an item stratum of the consumer price index having substantially similar attributes except for a unit amount, and determining the consumer price index using the weighted equivalent unit pricing information.
US08275678B2
The present invention automates the process of receiving transportation documentation and producing advance loading manifests therefrom to optimize load planning and dynamic product shipment and delivery control. Methods provide for receipt of the transportation documentation, initial preparation, and transmission of the documentation from on board a vehicle or while the vehicle is in transit.
US08275677B2
A storage medium for resolving demand and supply imbalances is provided. The storage medium includes machine-readable computer program code and instructions for causing a computer to implement a method. The method includes identifying an excess component inventory liability or constraint in supply capability for an end product by matching current buying patterns for the end product against inventory liability and supply capability based on a previous demand forecast. Where excess component inventory liability exists, the method includes: refocusing the excess component inventory liability by determining alternative end products that use components identified in the excess component inventory liability; and executing sales activities for enticing sales of the alternative end products. Where constrained supply capability exists, the method includes determining alternative end products that are functionally equivalent to those in the constrained supply capability, and executing sales activities for enticing sales of functionally equivalent alternative end products.
US08275672B1
In general, the subject matter described in this disclosure can be embodied in methods, systems, and program products. A server system receives a request to purchase a product from a first computing device. The first computing device is one of multiple computing devices assigned to a user account. The server system requests to charge an account associated with a user of the first computing device for a price. The server system receives an indication that the account has been charged. The server system sends for receipt by each of the computing devices a notification that a purchasing event has occurred. The server system receives, as sent by each of at least a subset of the multiple computing devices, a request for details. The server system sends, for receipt by each of the at least subset of the multiple computing devices, an indication that the product has been purchased.
US08275671B2
Methods of the present invention allow for validating eCommerce transactions. An exemplary method for validating an eCommerce transaction may comprise the steps of validating a Hosting Provider, validating a Merchant using the Hosting Provider to host an eCommerce website, and validating a Customer who may purchase goods or services from the Merchant via the eCommerce website. If the Hosting Provider, Merchant, and Customer are validated, an eCommerce transaction may be approved.
US08275657B2
A method of generating and redeeming a plurality of coupons includes generating a first coupon, generating a second coupon, distributing the first coupon to the first consumer, and distributing the second coupon to the second consumer. Generating a first coupon includes selecting a first group of offers from a plurality of offers such that the first group of offers is individually customized to the first consumer, and printing a first bar code identifying a first account and indicating that the first coupon relates to the first group of offers. Generating a second coupon includes selecting a second group of offers, and printing a second bar. Each of the plurality of offers is redeemable for a discount on a corresponding one of a plurality of products offered for sale, and the first group of offers differs from the second group of offers.
US08275656B2
Embodiments employ a maximum likelihood estimation (MLE) under a covariance matrix floor constraint to predict missing data from observed data. An MLE solution is obtained for approximately Gaussian distributions under the constraint that the covariance matrix is greater than or equal to a positive-definite matrix. In one embodiment, an offline model estimation is performed using an expectation-maximization (EM) approach to estimate various statistical parameters based on observed data. Then, in an online approach, parameters for various missing CTR data may be predicted based on the offline estimated statistical parameters. A non-limiting, non-exhaustive example using the constrained MLE approach is described for predicting missing click-through rate data useable in selecting an advertisement to display with a search query result.
US08275651B2
A behavior improvement system for ascertaining behavior reform by helping a person take notice of his/her behavior in regard to behavior modification from various sides. The behavior improvement system is executed using terminals connected to a LAN. The behavior improvement system is characterized by setting a goal for a behavior improvement, setting an action plan realizing the goal, a member periodically carrying out a self-check of the action plan to take notice of growth of a behavior within him/herself or comparing a diagnosis interview result replied by the member and a diagnostician using the same diagnosis interview sheet to take notice of a difference of evaluations between him/herself and another person, the member taking notice of his/her behavior improvement with each other member using a bulletin board function, and enabling the member to obtain an idea to be done by him/herself using advice from an advisor who is an expert.
US08275649B2
Techniques for providing mining life pattern are described. This disclosure describes mining a life pattern of an individual, for example, by identifying places visited during the individual's daily activities. Mining the individual life pattern includes collecting location data for the individual and predicting behaviors and preferences of the individual based at least in part on a location history. The location history of the individual is represented with a sequence of geographical regions that have been visited by the individual with corresponding arrival and departure times for each region. Once the life pattern is predicted from the location history, information is recommended to the individual based at least in part on the life pattern.
US08275636B2
The instant invention relates to a system and method for ensuring and verifying the identity of all parties involved in an online marketplace transaction involving buyers, sellers, and third parties, such as a marketplace. Anonymous transactions are supported by the present invention. Verification is provided and insurance may be purchased in accordance with the instant invention guaranteeing that the parties are who they represent themselves to be and are capable of entering into the transaction, thereby facilitating completion of the online transaction. Both the verification provided and insurance purchased take into account numerous factors including, but not limited to, the credit score of a user trading counterpart, the amount and type of a user's or trading counterpart's past trading activity, the monetary amount, size, and type of transaction for which verification and/or insurance is sought, and the nature of the goods and/or services involved in the transaction for which verification and/or insurance is sought.
US08275634B2
The method, system and user-interface allows alignment of refill dates associated with a plurality of prescriptions to a plurality of alignment dates, such that a plurality of selected prescriptions require refills on each of the plurality of alignment dates, thus limiting the number of occasions on which a customer must visit the pharmacy to retrieve refills of the aligned prescriptions, and increasing the likelihood that the customer will comply with the recommended medication regimen.
US08275628B2
A computationally implemented method includes, but is not limited to: providing one or more relevant reported aspects associated with one or more source users that are relevant to achieving one or more target outcomes, the providing of the one or more relevant reported aspects being based, at least in part, on the one or more relevant reported aspects' association with the one or more source users; and developing one or more personalized plans designed to facilitate an end user to achieve the one or more target outcomes when one or more emulatable aspects indicated by the one or more personalized plans are emulated, the development of the one or more personalized plans being based, at least in part, on the providing In addition to the foregoing, other method aspects are described in the claims, drawings, and text forming a part of the present disclosure.
US08275626B2
An apparatus for decoding an encoded audio signal having first and second portions encoded in accordance with first and second encoding algorithms, respectively, BWE parameters for the first and second portions and a coding mode information indicating a first or a second decoding algorithm, includes first and second decoders, a BWE module and a controller. The decoders decode portions in accordance with decoding algorithms for time portions of the encoded signal to obtain decoded signals. The BWE module has a controllable crossover frequency and is configured for performing a bandwidth extension algorithm using the first decoded signal and the BWE parameters for the first portion, and for performing a bandwidth extension algorithm using the second decoded signal and the bandwidth extension parameter for the second portion. The controller controls the crossover frequency for the BWE module in accordance with the coding mode information.
US08275624B2
A speech aid for persons with hypokinetic dysarthria, a speech disorder associated with Parkinson's disease. The speech aid alters the pitch at which the user hears his or her voice and/or provides multitalker babble noise to the speaker's ears. The speech aid induces increased speech motor activity and improves the intelligibility of the user's speech. The speech aid may be used with a variety of microphones, headphones, in one or both ears, with a voice amplifier, or connected to telephones.
US08275623B2
A process and system including a device, such as a set-top box, including a controller to detect a plurality of users engaging in a voice conference to discuss a presentation of a media program, convert speech dialog detected in the voice conference to textual dialog, detect from the textual dialog a behavioral profile of at least one of the plurality of users, and identify at least one of advertisement content and marketable media content for the plurality of users based on the behavioral profile of the at least one user. Other embodiments are disclosed.
US08275622B2
A method and system recognizes an unknown speaker by directing an ultrasonic signal at a face of the unknown speaker. A Doppler signal of the ultrasonic signal is acquired after reflection by the face, and Doppler features are extracted from the reflected Doppler signal. The Doppler features are classified using Doppler models storing the Doppler features and identities of known speakers to recognize and identify the unknown speaker.
US08275617B1
In an interactive computer controlled display system with speech command input recognition and visual feedback, implementations are provided for predetermining a plurality of speech commands for respectively initiating each of a corresponding plurality of system actions in combination with implementations for providing for each of said plurality of commands, an associated set of speech terms, each term having relevance to its associated command. Also included are implementations for detecting speech command and speech terms. The system provides an implementation responsive to a detected speech command for displaying said command, and an implementation responsive to a detected speech term having relevance to one of said commands for displaying the relevant command. The system further comprehends an interactive implementation for selecting a displayed command to thereby initiate a system action; this selecting implementation is preferably through a speech command input. The system preferably displays the basic speech commands simultaneously along with the relevant commands.
US08275616B2
The present invention relates to a continuous speech recognition system that is very robust in a noisy environment. In order to recognize continuous speech smoothly in a noisy environment, the system selects call commands, configures a minimum recognition network in token, which consists of the call commands and mute intervals including noises, recognizes the inputted speech continuously in real time, analyzes the reliability of speech recognition continuously and recognizes the continuous speech from a speaker. When a speaker delivers a call command, the system for detecting the speech interval and recognizing continuous speech in a noisy environment through the real-time recognition of call commands measures the reliability of the speech after recognizing the call command, and recognizes the speech from the speaker by transferring the speech interval following the call command to a continuous speech-recognition engine at the moment when the system recognizes the call command.
US08275615B2
A translation method and system include a recognition engine having a plurality of models each being employed to decode a same utterance to provide an output. A model combiner is configured to assign probabilities to each model output and configured to assign weights to the outputs of the plurality of models based on the probabilities to provide a best performing model for the context of the utterance.
US08275614B2
A support device, program and support method for supporting generation of text from speech data. The support device includes a confirmed rate calculator, a candidate obtaining unit and a selector. The confirmed rate calculator calculates a confirmed utterance rate which is an utterance rate of a confirmed part having already-confirmed text in the speech data. The candidate obtaining unit obtains multiple candidate character strings resulting from a speech recognition of an unconfirmed part having unconfirmed text in the speech data. The selector preferentially selects, from among the plurality of candidate character strings, a candidate character string whose utterance time consumed in uttering the candidate character string at the confirmed utterance rate is closest to an utterance time of the unconfirmed part of the speech data.
US08275610B2
A plural-channel audio signal (e.g., a stereo audio) is processed to modify a gain (e.g., a volume or loudness) of a speech component signal (e.g., dialogue spoken by actors in a movie) relative to an ambient component signal (e.g., reflected or reverberated sound) or other component signals. In one aspect, the speech component signal is identified and modified. In one aspect, the speech component signal is identified by assuming that the speech source (e.g., the actor currently speaking) is in the center of a stereo sound image of the plural-channel audio signal and by considering the spectral content of the speech component signal.
US08275609B2
A voice activity detection (VAD) device and method provide for a VAD threshold that is adaptive to background noise variation.
US08275605B2
A computer-implemented machine translation system translates text from a first language to a second language. The system includes a plurality of mappings, each mapping indicative of associating a dependency structure of the first language with a dependency structure of the second language, wherein at least some of the mappings correspond to dependency structures of the first language having varying context with some common elements, and associated dependency structures of the second language to the dependency structures of the first language. A module receives input text in a first language and outputs output text in a second language based on accessing the plurality of mappings.
US08275601B2
An improved mobile electronic device enables the inputting of text in one alphabet, Traditional Chinese in the present example, by transliteration of inputs in another alphabet, BoPoMoFo in the present example. Since some of the inputs can be ambiguous, transliteration of an ambiguous input is delayed until a detection of a finalization event, thus avoiding the outputting of unnecessary transliteration results, and thus advantageously avoiding a distraction to the user.
US08275600B2
Methods, systems, and apparatus, including computer program products, for automatically identifying transliteration pairs are disclosed. In one implementation, a method is provided. The method includes receiving a plurality of resources, the plurality of resources including a plurality of anchor text; determining one or more potential transliterations from the plurality of anchor text; and identifying one or more potential transliteration pairs from the one or more potential transliterations, where each potential transliteration pair includes a first anchor text in a first writing system and a second anchor text in a second writing system, the second anchor text and the first anchor text identifying a same resource or location.
US08275597B1
In one embodiment, a method comprises creating a simulation model for a column of bit cells in a memory, simulating the simulation model to generate a result; and displaying the result for a user. Each of the bit cells in the column is coupled to a different wordline, and the simulation model comprises one or more linear elements in place of a nonlinear element in each bit cell that is coupled to an inactive wordline. The one or more linear elements approximate a behavior of the nonlinear element while the wordline is inactive. A computer accessible storage medium storing a simulator that implements the method is contemplated, and the simulator itself is also contemplated, in various embodiments.
US08275596B2
According to one exemplary embodiment, a method for robust statistical semiconductor device modeling includes building a semiconductor device model using at least one new device parameter variation, constructing a variation library for the semiconductor device model, and verifying the variation library against measured data from physical semiconductor devices. The variation library is constructed by determining variations of the at least one new device parameter variation and standard device parameters as functions of, for example. sizes and locations of semiconductor devices on semiconductor dies.
US08275588B2
An emulation system includes a first circuit for emulating a first logical part of a device, a second circuit for emulating a second logical part of the device that is different from the first logical part, wherein the first circuit is separate from the second circuit, and a third circuit connecting the first circuit and the second circuit to communicate signals between the first circuit and the second circuit.
US08275584B2
A method of developing a statistical model for integrated circuits includes providing a set of test patterns; collecting a set of intra-die data from the set of test patterns; collecting a set of inter-die data from the set of test patterns; generating a total variation sigma (sigma_total) from the set of intra-die data and the set of inter-die data; appointing one of a global variation sigma (sigma_global) and a local variation sigma (sigma_local) as a first sigma, and a remaining one as a second sigma; generating the first sigma from one of the set of intra-data and the set of inter-data; generating the second sigma by removing the first sigma from the sigma_total; generating a corner model for global variations based on sigma_global and the set of inter-die data; and generating a corner model for local variations based on sigma_local and the set of intra-die data.
US08275583B2
A system and method for interactively optimizing shipping density of racked parts by a user is provided. The system includes a user computer system, a communications network, a remotely located computer system, a data storage device a computer-generated model of a component part; a computer-generated model of a container for transporting the component part and an executable shipping density optimization software program. The methodology includes the steps of the user selecting the component part model and container. The methodology also includes the steps of analyzing the shipping density of component parts within the container. The methodology further includes the steps of identifying a bottleneck feature and modifying the bottleneck feature and determining the optimized density of the modified component parts in the container.
US08275577B2
A method and apparatus are provided for diagnosing faults in a monitored system that is monitored by sensors. An empirical model is generated for a targeted component of the monitored system. The empirical model is trained with an historical data source that contains example observations of the sensors. Substantially real-time estimates are generated based on instrumented data corresponding to the targeted component. The substantially real-time estimates are compared and differenced with instrumented readings from the sensors to provide residual values. The residual values are analyzed to detect the faults and determine a location of the faults in the monitored system.
US08275572B2
A method and apparatus for detecting objects. A first plurality of electromagnetic signals having a first frequency and a second plurality of electromagnetic signals having a second frequency are transmitted. At least one of the first frequency and the second frequency is changed through a range of frequencies. A delayed difference frequency signal substantially equal to a difference between the first frequency and the second frequency is monitored for. The delayed difference frequency signal is generated by an object having non-linear electrical characteristics in response to the object receiving the first plurality of electromagnetic signals and the second plurality of electromagnetic signals. A range measurement is generated for the object by comparing the delayed difference frequency signal and an undelayed difference frequency signal. The undelayed difference frequency signal is substantially equal to the difference between the first frequency and the second frequency.
US08275570B2
A method for modeling of an overhead electrical conductor, includes: collecting 3-dimensional location data of the conductor; substantially simultaneous with said collecting, acquiring a thermal measurement of the conductor with a local thermal sensor; and generating a CAD model of the conductor using the collected 3-dimensional location data of the conductor and the thermal measurement of the conductor. The CAD model facilitates thermal line analysis of the conductor, thermal rating of a power line that includes the conductor, clearance analysis relative to the conductor, and vegetation management relative to the conductor. Apparatus for determining temperature of the overhead electrical conductor, includes: a local thermal sensor that acquires thermal measurements of the conductor; and a data processor that extracts thermal readings from the thermal measurement, and processes the thermal readings and remotely collected 3-dimensional location data of the conductor to determine the temperature of the conductor.
US08275569B2
Provided is a test apparatus that tests a device under test, comprising: a plurality of modules that each include an output circuit that outputs a prescribed output signal to the device under test and a measurement circuit that measures a prescribed characteristic of the device under test; and a control section that, for each module, causes the measurement circuit to measure output of the output circuit and diagnoses the module based on a measurement result of the measurement circuit. Each measurement circuit measures the output of the corresponding output circuit in parallel, and the control section is provided in common to the plurality of modules and sequentially reads the measurement result of the measurement circuit of each module.
US08275564B2
A method and system for inspecting a surface of a material having a repeating pattern of relative work function. The method and system processes sensor data to identify data characteristic of the repeating pattern, and the sensor data is then further processed to remove the data characteristic of the repeating data, leading to a characteristic of non-uniformities of the material surface.
US08275556B2
Method for quantifying analyte polynucleotide in a test sample using real-time amplification and adjustment of a stored calibration curve. The method may be practiced using as few as a single adjustment calibrator to adjust the stored curve. This simplifies the quantitative analysis procedure, while still providing the advantages of internal calibration adjustment to account for variation in amplification reaction efficiency.
US08275552B1
The present invention is a method for communicating and forecasting the extent of toxicity of a given treatment program by deploying a uniform multi-modality grading system, and capturing significant high-grade events within defined risk periods to create a treatment-specific summary rating or classification of the toxicity experience.
US08275547B2
A method for locating a stem of a target tree is disclosed. The target tree is identified from a sensing dataset. At least one slice is created from the sensing dataset. The at least one slice includes at least a portion of the target tree. A tree stem location of the target tree is determined from the at least one slice. A system for locating a stem of a target tree is also disclosed. The system has a processor configured to implement the described method. The system also has a data input coupled to the processor and configured to provide the processor with the sensing dataset. The system further has a user interface coupled to either the processor or the data input.
US08275546B2
A location extraction component analyzes a set of travelogues to identify locations mentioned therein. A co-occurrence extraction component computes co-occurrence values for the identified locations. When a request to generate a travel route from a starting location to an ending location is received, suggested locations on or near the travel route are identified through the use of the co-occurrence values. A suggested travel route is then generated that passes through the starting location, the ending location, and the suggested locations. A map may be displayed showing the starting location, the ending location, the suggested locations, and the suggested travel route.
US08275544B1
A system and method for determining a position of a remote object comprising inertial sensors and three axis magnetic sensor, together with a target sighting device aligned with the observation platform to determine a target line of sight and a target range finder to determine a distance to the target along the line of sight. A GPS receiver may be included for determining an observation platform position and orientation, The three axis magnetic sensor provides both magnetic north and vertical attitude information for improved rapid initialization and operation in motion. Magnetic anomaly information is detected by comparing IMU and magnetic navigation information and by other methods. Target identification may be determined by a human operator and/or by computer. The system may be integrated with a weapon system to use weapon system sights. The system may be networked to provide target location and/or location error information to another identical unit or a command information system.
US08275536B2
A method for the determination of a fuel mass of a pre-injection injected into at least one combustion chamber of an internal combustion engine by means of at least one injection under high pressure is characterized in that a corrective variable is determined for the pre-injection by means of a comparison between a measure for the actual amount of injected fuel of at least one test post-injection carried out for a predetermined target amount of a desired pre-injection due to a measure, and the measure for the target amount.
US08275524B2
The disclosure describes, in one aspect, an implement control system that includes a controller operatively connected to an implement. The controller is adapted to receive a signal from an input device indicative of a desired implement movement by an operator and to receive an automatically generated signal indicative of an automatically determined implement movement. The controller is further adapted to determine whether to move the implement based on the input device signal or the automatically generated signal. The controller is adapted to generate a control signal to move the implement based on the input device signal when a portion of the implement is above a desired cutting plane.
US08275514B2
An intelligent vehicle seat support system may include an air storage tank for storing air and supplying the air when needed, a plurality of air cushions disposed in a vehicle seat in contact with a human body, and configured to selectively expand and shrink depending on the air flow, a pressure sensor for measuring air pressure of each air cushion, an air control valve disposed between the air storage tank and the air cushions, and configured to control the air that flows into each of the air cushions, and a control unit for, when a passenger takes the vehicle seat, automatically controlling the air control valve so that it starts injecting air into each of the air cushions, and, when the air pressure of each air cushion is higher than a preset reference value, controlling the air control valve so that it stops injecting air into each air cushion.
US08275509B2
System and method for detecting and storing at least speed as an information relevant for resignation for a tachograph system. to provide a tamperproof tachograph system offering a high degree of security. An arithmetic unit detects signals for determining the speed from at least two independent sensors and compares them with each other and stores a sensor-related error message if the signals deviate significantly from each other. The signals of at least three independent sensors are compared with each other in the arithmetic unit and are checked for their plausibility by excluding any signals that significantly deviate from a plurality of signals and determining the speed of the vehicle to be stored only using one or more of those signals that deviate from each other only within defined limits.
US08275505B2
The invention relates to a method and a control system for controlling an auxiliary device of a vehicle, wherein the auxiliary device is automatically started at a starting time which is determined based on an estimated departure time of the vehicle. In particular, the invention relates to an air-conditioning device which is automatically started for pre-air-conditioning (PAC) based on an estimate departure time of an electric or hybrid vehicle. The invention enables a precise and flexible automatic determination of an activation time of the auxiliary device, wherein determining a time of usage of at least one home appliance of a user of the vehicle; determining a departure time of the vehicle based on the time of usage of the at least one home appliance; and determining a starting time of said auxiliary device based on the determined departure time of the vehicle are determined.
US08275500B2
A system and method of controlling a gas turbine engine controller in a rotorwing aircraft includes determining when a fixed collective takeoff (FCTO) of the rotorwing aircraft is being conducted. A control loop gain of the gas turbine engine controller is at least selectively varied when the FCTO is being conducted.
US08275498B2
A system and method for assessing the risk of conjunction of a rocket body with orbiting and non-orbiting platforms. Two-body orbital dynamics are used to initially determine the kinematic access for a ballistic vehicle. The access may be represented in two ways: as a volume relative to its launcher and also as a geographical footprint relative to a target position that encompasses all possible launcher locations.
US08275488B2
A system and method of use for self-tuning a PID controller utilized with an exciter and generator is disclosed. The system includes a power source, an exciter electrically connected to the power source, a generator that is electrically energized by the exciter, and a processor that provides a PID controller that calculates an estimated exciter time constant and an estimated generator time constant using particle swarm optimization (“PSO”) to control exciter field voltage. The particle swarm optimization (“PSO”) technique includes increasing the voltage reference by a predetermined percentage over a predetermined time period, initializing each particle position of exciter time constant and generator time constant, calculating generator voltage, performing a fitness evaluation and then obtaining and updating best values. This is followed by repeating the steps of determining the generator voltage, the fitness evaluation, and the best values over a predetermined number of iterations.
US08275483B2
Demand Flow operates chilled water plants at substantially improved efficiency, regardless of plant load conditions. In general, Demand Flow utilizes an operating strategy which controls chilled and condenser water pumping according to a constant Delta T line, which is typically near or at design Delta T. This reduces or eliminates Low Delta T Syndrome and reduces energy usage by chilled and condenser water pumps for given load conditions. Operation of chilled water pumps in this manner creates a synergy which generally balances flow rates throughout the plant, reducing undesirable bypass mixing and energy usage at air handler fans and other components of the chilled water plant. At plant chillers, application of Demand Flow increases the refrigeration effect through refrigerant sub-cooling and superheating, while preventing stacking. Demand Flow includes a critical zone reset feature which allows the constant Delta T line to be reset to adjust to changing load conditions.
US08275477B2
A method for digitally processing audio signals to emulate the effects of vacuum tube amplifiers and preamplifiers, musical instrument amplification systems, and distortion effects. By use of an implicit numerical method to estimate the response of a parametrically-controlled non-linear transfer function, non-linear filters, and feedback elements, the dynamic behavior and distortion effects of tube amplification stages are simulated. This provides the capability to reproduce the desired sounds of vintage and modern tube amplifier systems and effects with the conveniences and control associated with digital signal processing systems and software.
US08275474B2
A system and method for flexibly outputting audio from a plurality of programs to the particular outputs that are desired for each audio stream. This routing flexibility enables the audio system to operate in a variety of configured usage modes, wherein each usage mode identifies the routing of each audio stream to one or more outputs such as SPDIF, HDMI, I2S, and DAC.
US08275472B2
In a field device for process automation, a reprogammable logic device is used, in order to achieve a high flexibility as regards hardware components.
US08275463B1
Exemplary techniques for recording a context for sensed biological data are described. One technique senses biological data from a patient and records supporting data with the sensed biological data.
US08275460B2
A device is provided for stimulating select body tissues and organs from within a compartment in a body. The device includes a tube having a distal end, a proximal end and a plurality of lumens. At least one distendable element is located along and coupled to the tube in closer proximity to the distal end than to the proximal end. Each distendable element is configured to expand against the compartment into a first position and contract within the compartment into a second position. At least one electrical component is in association with each of the distendable elements and configured to activate and deactivate electrical stimulation to the select body tissues and organs. The expansion and contraction of each distendable element and the activation and deactivation of each electrical component in the compartment is repeated over a period of time.
US08275458B2
Methods and systems for performing pacing interval optimization are provided. One or more optimum pacing interval is determined for each of a plurality of different ranges of heart rate, different levels of autonomic tone, different body temperature ranges, or combinations thereof. The information (e.g., measures of hemodynamic response) collected to perform pacing interval optimization can be collected and stored in a table over disjoint periods of time. Such measures of hemodynamic performance are preferably relative measures, but can alternatively be absolute measures.
US08275450B2
A method of measuring blood velocity includes obtaining a first velocity image by illuminating a tissue surface with a light source for a first exposure time, obtaining a second velocity image by illuminating the tissue surface with the light source for a second exposure time, computing a first average intensity of a first pixel block at a first predetermined location of the first velocity image and a second average intensity of a second pixel block at a second predetermined location of the second velocity image, identifying mid-range velocities of the first and second pixel blocks, computing an optimal optical coherence parameter based on the mid-range velocity of the first pixel block and the mid-range velocity of the second pixel block, and iteratively re-computing the first velocity image and the second velocity image using the optimal optical coherence parameter.
US08275443B2
A medical robot for use inside an MRI includes a horizontal motion assembly, a vertical motion assembly and a controller. The horizontal motion assembly and the vertical assembly each includes a motion joint, an ultrasonic motor operably connected to the motion joint and an encoder operably connected to the ultrasonic motor. The motor and encoder are positioned proximate to the joint of the respective horizontal motion assembly and vertical motion assembly. Each motor has a cross section positioned in one of the axial and sagittal plane of the MRI. A medical instrument assembly is operably connectable to one of the moving joint of the vertical motion assembly. The controller is operably connected to the horizontal motion joint and the vertical motion joint and it is adapted to be powered off when the magnetic resonance imager is being used to collect images.
US08275434B2
A method for measuring blood oxygen content under low perfusion, which is used in a device for measuring blood oxygen content, includes the steps of: initializing the device that is applied with power; collecting and processing data with a driving circuit of light emitting device, a bias circuit, a gain circuit and an A/D sampling circuit, which are controlled under a cone control module; calculating blood oxygen saturation based on the collected data with a data processing module which integrates the collected data in a period of time with an area integration method; and outputting from a communication functional module results of the blood oxygen saturation or pulse rate calculated with the data processing module. The method further includes a decision step of deciding the two results acquired from the data processing module with the waveform method and the integration method respectively based on the intensity of the measured signal and generating the final measured result, performed by a decision unit included in the device. By adopting the above method, the disturbance to effective signal by noise can be eliminated. As a result, the measuring accuracy of blood oxygen content under low perfusion can be improved without increasing the production cost for the measuring device.
US08275431B2
A tape-type superconductor (1), comprising an elongated substrate (2), in particular a metal tape, and a continuous superconducting layer (3), in particular of a HTS type material, deposited on the substrate (2), is characterized in that Ic∥/Ic⊥≧1.5, with Ic∥ being the width density of critical current of the continuous superconducting layer (3) in parallel to the substrate (2) and in parallel to the elongated direction of the substrate (2), and with Ic⊥ being the width density of critical current of the continuous superconducting layer (3) in parallel to the substrate (2) and perpendicular to the elongated direction of the substrate (2). The tape-type superconductor has reduced ac losses.
US08275413B1
A hand-held mobile communication device, such as smart telephone, incorporating sensors and signal conditioning modules for measuring signals from external sources of electromagnetic radiation (EMR) in the low, radio, ultraviolet, and infrared spectral ranges. These include the detector for receiving and monitoring electromagnetic fields originating from various external sources of radiation that pose potential health hazards or may interfere with various electronic devices. The mobile phone equipped with such sensors could alternate between communication and monitoring functions. Other integrated EMR sensors are a photodiode for the ultraviolet detection to monitor the user's sun exposure and a thermopile for non-contact measurement of temperature of humans or inanimate objects. This infrared sensor in combination with a photographic digital camera and a pattern recognition signal processing allows measuring temperatures at specific locations and from optimal distances to the surface of the object to enhance accuracy of non-contact temperature measurements.
US08275408B2
In a wireless communications system, a serving base station performs outer and closed power control for an overhead channel and a traffic channel for data, either of which can carry an acknowledgement (Ack) channel and Channel Quality Indicator (CQI) channel on an uplink from User Equipment (UE). In an exemplary aspect, data packet communication is implemented in 3GPP LTE Rel. 8 wherein the uplink has a Single Carrier Frequency Division Multiplex (SC-FDM) uplink waveform. The UE performs open loop power control by a determining transmit power spectral density value by using received energy per symbol for a reference signal.
US08275405B2
In a mobile communication system performing the space division multiplex, the wireless resources are saved as much as possible and the reception powers of communication signals, which are received by a base station apparatus from mobile station apparatuses, are evened. A mobile communication system wherein each of mobile station apparatuses (10) includes a maximum power transmission information transmitting part (13) that transmits, to a base station apparatus (20), maximum power transmission information indicating that a communication signal is transmitted at the maximum transmission power of that mobile station apparatus (10), while the base station apparatus (20) includes a reception power acquiring part (22) that acquires the reception powers of the communication signals transmitted from the respective mobile station apparatuses (10), a maximum power transmission.
US08275398B2
Various embodiments are directed to improved message addressing techniques. In one embodiment, a computing device may comprise a messaging client arranged to receive an input sequence of alphabetic or alphanumeric characters as a destination of an outbound message. The messaging client may recognize that the input sequence represents a mnemonic short code and may automatically generate a common short code comprising a sequence of numeric digits associated with the mnemonic short code. The messaging client may display both the input sequence comprising the mnemonic short code and the common short code and enable the outbound message to be sent using the common short code as the destination. Other embodiments are described and claimed.
US08275396B2
A method of transmitting paging information for a network terminal of a wireless communications system including initiating a dedicated paging procedure to transmit dedicated paging information to a user equipment using a high speed downlink operation in a CELL_PCH state. The high speed downlink operation includes reception of a high speed downlink shared channel.
US08275395B2
A method and device for controlling the operability of a transmitter on a mobile communications device by determining if the mobile communications device is located proximate to an operator's seat of a vehicle. A condition parameter of the mobile communications device may be determined. The transmitter on the mobile communications device may be disabled in response to the mobile communications device being located proximate to an operator's seat of a vehicle and further in response to the determined condition parameter. The transmitter on the mobile communications device may be enabled, in response to determining that the mobile communications device is not located in a restricted location.
US08275385B2
The present invention relates to a method and an arrangement of facilitating the allocation of radio resources in a communication network, comprising a communication network node (15) communicating with said user equipment (18) by means of data streams over a radio interface on radio channels. A channel quality message having a length of a predefined number of bits is provided comprising information which is used for comparing an obtained channel quality if a single data stream transmission is selected or if a multi data stream transmission is selected for said communication. The available radio resources are then allocated based on said channel quality message.
US08275383B2
A method for ranging in a wireless communication system and a communication apparatus and/or system using the same are provided. A base station (BS) device includes a terminal grouping unit to group terminals associated with the BS device into a plurality of groups, a radio resource assignment unit to allocate a radio resource assigned to the BS device to each of the plurality of groups, a transmission unit to transmit information about a radio resource assigned to a first group of the plurality of groups to a terminal included in the first group, and a receiving unit to receive a ranging signal from the terminal using the radio resource assigned to the first group, wherein the terminal grouping unit assigns the terminal to be included in a second group of the plurality of groups where the ranging signal is not received by the receiving unit.
US08275381B2
Signaling resource partition of a component carrier in a wireless communication system is disclosed. The number of primary resource blocks and the number of extension resource blocks of the component carrier is encoded and signaled to a UE, so the UE can obtain the resource partition of the component carrier.
US08275376B2
In cellular mobile networks handover between base stations of adjacent cells requires the identity, address and frequency of all adjacent cells to be known to other elements of the network. Conventional networks can be extended by the addition of unlicensed-radio access networks. These include an access network controller (303) preferably connected via a broadband network (302) to a plurality of low-power local base stations (301), which communicate with mobile stations (1) over an unlicensed radio interface. The number and changing location of the local base station renders the operation and maintenance required to enable handover from the conventional network to these access networks prohibitively complex. This difficulty is alleviated by assigning the whole access network a single identifier. With this arrangement regardless of which base station mini-cell (304) an active call is being handed-over to, the conventional network will be able to route the request to the access network controller.
US08275371B2
An apparatus and method for providing communications and connection-oriented services to devices are provided. According to one aspect, an interface device for providing communications between a first device and a second comprises an input, logic, and an output. The input of the interface device receives data in a first format from the first device. The logic performs a connection-oriented service on the data. The connection oriented service may include overriding caller identification information associated with the data, sending the data to a voicemail system, and storing a detail record associated with the data. The logic also identifies the second device for receiving the data. The logic then identifies a second format compatible with the second device and translates the data to the second format compatible with the second device. The translated data is then transmitted to the second device via the one or more outputs.
US08275369B2
A method of automatically testing a mobile communication terminal selects a communication frequency band for testing the mobile communication terminal. The mobile communication terminal switches to the selected communication frequency band. One or more service modes, of the mobile communication terminal, which need to be tested under the selected communication frequency band are selected, and a test sequence of the one or more service modes is set. The mobile communication terminal using one of the service modes. Test data of the mobile communication terminal is obtained according to a preset use duration, a test frequency and the test interval of each service mode. A report is generated using the test data.
US08275362B2
In one general sense, information may be presented to a user by receiving one or more ambiguous characters that may be resolved to one of at least two disambiguated characters, exchanging at least one of the ambiguous characters with a host, receiving, from the host, results that reflect disambiguated terms related to the ambiguous characters exchanged with the host, rendering the results in a manner enabling the user to perceive which of the disambiguated terms will be used upon user selection of an aspect of the results, and enabling the user to select an aspect of the results to effect use of a corresponding one of the disambiguated terms.
US08275357B1
A method of operating a mobile wireless network comprising: receiving, by a provisioning server, a signal from a mobile wireless network specifying a location of a first mobile device having a first International Mobile Subscriber Identity (IMSI) and operating in the mobile wireless network under a first condition, the mobile wireless network including a plurality of mobile switching centers (MSCs) and a plurality of mobile devices operating in the mobile wireless network; provisioning the first IMSI in the first HLR based on a state transition rule from a first provisioning state to a second provisioning state; provisioning a second IMSI in the first HLR based on the state transition rule from a third provisioning state to the first provisioning state; and transmitting data identifying the second IMSI to the first mobile device to allow the first mobile device to operate in the mobile wireless network under a second condition.
US08275353B2
A method handling payment transactions in a system using mobile communication devices as stored value devices is disclosed. A transaction operations server receives multiple records of the transaction from the stored value device—one via a communication channel through the telecommunication provider network, and another via an independent communication channel. The records are reconciled at the transaction server for transaction verification.
US08275352B2
Methods, systems, and apparatus, including computer program products, for location-based emergency information. A current geographic location of a device is determined. One or more first contact information items based on the determined geographic location are received at the device. The first contact information items include one or more contact information items associated with emergency services.
US08275346B2
Plural voice pendants 100 communicate with a remote monitoring station using a wireless communications protocol and without requiring a connection to a circuit switched telephone network. Such a configuration may be used in any group environment, such as a retirement home or an assisted living facility. The voice pendants can be carried or worn by the residents/patients/members of the home or the facility to assist in calling for help in an emergency situation, e.g., if someone has fallen and cannot get up. By activating an actuator (e.g., a button or switch) on the pendant, the person wearing the pendant is put into voice communication with the monitoring station without the need to dial any phone numbers or hit a “send” style button which indicates the end of a dialed number sequence.
US08275339B2
A fixed point finite impulse response (FIR) filter comprising: 1) an input stage for receiving an input signal as a sequence of input samples comprising: i) delay elements connected in series for receiving and shifting N sequential input samples; ii) multipliers, each multiplier receiving a selected one of the N sequential input samples from the delay elements and multiplying the selected input sample by a corresponding coefficient to produce an intermediate product; and iii) a summer for receiving and adding N intermediate products from the multipliers to produce an output sum signal comprising a sequence of output sum samples; and 2) an output stage for truncating k least significant bits (LSBs) from each of the output sum samples, wherein k is a variable number.
US08275335B2
A communication device reads and stores in memory a state value which was utilized for operating a communication subsystem during a wake-up period of the communication subsystem. The device then causes the communication subsystem to enter into a sleep mode. Subsequently, the device causes the communication subsystem to exit from the sleep mode and enter into a current wake-up period. The stored state value is provided to the communication subsystem for use in operating the communication subsystem during a warm-up period of the current wake-up period. After the warm-up period of the current wake up period, a current state value is provided from a state controller to the communication subsystem for use in operating the communication subsystem during the wake up period. The current state value is determined based on a detected signal level of a current signal received in the communication subsystem.
US08275334B1
An apparatus and method for detecting solid-state electronic devices are described. Non-linear junction detection techniques are combined with spread-spectrum encoding and cross correlation to increase the range and sensitivity of the non-linear junction detection and to permit the determination of the distances of the detected electronics. Nonlinear elements are detected by transmitting a signal at a chosen frequency and detecting higher harmonic signals that are returned from responding devices.
US08275323B1
A system including an activity sensing module to sense RF activity in first and second sub-channels of a communication channel of a first wireless network. N adjacent channel interference (ACI) filter modules arranged in parallel receive signals from N antennas, respectively, filter out signals in channels adjacent to the communication channel, and generate N filtered signals, respectively, where N>2. The activity sensing module generates control signals based on the N filtered signals. A channel identification module processes the control signals, and determines that both of the first and second sub-channels are available when the RF activity originating from a second wireless network is not present in both of the first and second sub-channels, and that the first sub-channel is available when the RF activity originating from the second wireless network is present only in the second sub-channel and is less than or equal to a predetermined threshold.
US08275321B2
An electrical circuit comprises a source of an interferer signal; at least one component configured for using the signal; at least two electrically parallel conductive paths by which the signal can pass between the source and each of the at least one components; and a signal path selector configured to selectively enable the signal to pass from the source to the component by any of the at least two conductive paths and to, when one of the paths is enabled to carry the signal, disable each of the other at least two paths from carrying the signal.
US08275318B2
A magnetic induction data transmission network comprising a master hub, at least one sensor node communicatively coupled to the master hub and a magnetic induction coil preferably adapted to be worn about a body part of a subject such as an individual's waist or neck. In at least one embodiment of the invention, the magnetic induction coil preferably includes a connector which serves as an intermediary between the coil and the hub to allow data communication.
US08275310B2
The invention relates to a wireless system for transmitting data between a base station and a relay antenna of a mobile telephony network. A link comprises, for the separating of the channels, two filters having a lower isolation than a total predetermined isolation and the antennas are dual-polarization antennas, each polarization being allocated to one of the two channels. The isolation provided by the filters and the antenna are added together to obtain the total predetermined isolation.
US08275309B2
An irrigation system includes an irrigation controller, at least one environmental sensor and a vandal resistant data relay. The irrigation controller includes a two conductor hard wired communications link for accepting an actual value of at least one parameter of interest from an environmental sensor in the form of data encoded on the conductors via current modulation. The environmental sensor is mounted in a location remote from the irrigation controller. A circuit is connected to the environmental sensor for transmitting an RF signal representing an actual value of a parameter of interest detected by the environmental sensor. The vandal resistant data relay is connected to the two conductor hard wired communication link of the irrigation controller. The vandal resistant data relay includes a receiver that receives the RF signal, and circuitry configured to extract the actual value of the parameter of interest and emulate a predetermined set of physical and protocol properties of the two conductor hard wired communication link of the irrigation controller.
US08275308B2
Disclosed is a cooperative relay station that relays between a base station and a mobile station when retransmitting a signal. Also, disclosed is a base station that receives a signal from a mobile station in mutual cooperation with the cooperative relay station. After the cooperative relay station receives and decodes a signal that the mobile station transmits to the base station or a service relay station, if an error of the decoded signal does not exist, it stores the received signal. If an error occurs when the base station decodes the signal that the mobile station transmits, the base station requests retransmission for the signal with the error to the cooperative relay station. If the cooperative relay station gets a request of retransmission, it transmits the signal that the base station requests to the base station. In this was, since an error rate may be reduced when the base station requests retransmission of the signal, resource reuse efficiency may become improved, interference may be reduced, and it is easy to adapt to a service being sensitive to time delay.
US08275294B2
A developing device includes: a container that contains a developer including toner; a partition that forms a plurality of chambers by partitioning an interior space of the container; an agitation mechanism that agitates the developer in the interior space and moves the developer between the plurality of chambers; a transport section that is supplied with the developer from the container, and transports the developer to a surface of an image carrier that carries an electrostatic latent image such that the transported developer is close to or contacts the surface of the image carrier, thereby developing the electrostatic latent image; and a driving mechanism that moves at least the partition.
US08275282B2
An image forming apparatus having a display unit for displaying a program which can be executed in the apparatus so as to be identified is disclosed. The apparatus has: an input unit for inputting a program into the image forming apparatus; a display control unit for controlling a process for displaying select keys including a plurality of select keys to instruct a selection of a desired one of a plurality of programs stored in the image forming apparatus onto a display screen displayed on the display unit; and a discriminating unit for discriminating whether the select key to instruct a selection of the program inputted by the input unit can be further displayed onto the first display screen to display the select keys corresponding to the programs registered in the image forming apparatus in response to the input of the program from the input unit or not.
US08275277B2
An image forming apparatus includes an image bearing member; a charging device, including a rotatable magnetic particle carrying member and electroconductive magnetic particles carried on the rotatable magnetic particle carrying member, for charging the image bearing member by contacting the magnetic particles to the image bearing member; a measuring device for measuring magnitudes of a first force in a first direction and a second force in a second direction which are produced in a contact region between the image bearing member and the magnetic particles, wherein the first direction and second direction are independent from each other; and a control device for controlling an image forming operation on the basis of the forces measured by the measuring device.
US08275269B2
The distributed Raman amplifier monitors an OSNR of each channel in a WDM light which has been propagated through a transmission path to be Raman amplified, and thereafter, is amplified by an optical amplifier in an optical repeating node; judges whether a monitor value of the OSNR is larger or smaller than a previously set target value thereof; and feedback controls a driving state of a pumping light source which supplies a Raman pumping light to the transmission path, based on the judgment result. The optical communication system comprises the above distributed Raman amplifier in each repeating span thereof, and performs a pumping light control of the distributed Raman amplifier corresponding to the repeating span selected based on the OSNR in each distributed Raman amplifier and the monitor result of span loss. As a result, it becomes possible to effectively improve the OSNR of each channel in the WDM light, and also, to reduce the power consumption.
US08275268B2
An optical repeater connected to an optical transmission line between an optical network unit having an optical network unit (ONU) function on the side of a subscriber and an optical line termination (OLT) on the side of a center includes first electrical/optical conversion means connected to a first optical transmission line on the side of the center, a second electrical/optical conversion means connected to a second optical transmission line on the side of the subscriber, and transmission means connected between the first electrical/optical conversion means and the second electrical/optical conversion means to transmit an optical repeater supervisory signal between the optical transmission lines.
US08275265B2
Communication devices, systems, and methods for dynamic cell bonding (DCB) for Radio-over-Fiber (RoF)-based networks and communication systems are disclosed. In one embodiment, a method of operating an optical fiber-based wireless communication system is provided. The method includes determining a first plurality of remote units in a cloud bonded to a Radio-over-Fiber (RoF) communication session. The method also includes measuring a received signal strength from each of the first plurality of remote units. The method also includes measuring a received signal strength from each of a second plurality of remote units in the cloud not bonded to the RoF communication session. At least one of the second plurality of remote units is dynamically bonded to the RoF communication session if the measured received signal strength of the one of the second plurality of remote units is greater than the measured received signal strength of the first plurality of remote units.
US08275263B1
Technologies are described herein for a phase deviation multiplication apparatus that implements an in-place multiplication approach for multiplying the phase deviation of an input signal while maintaining the frequency of the carrier signal within a frequency band of operation. According to an embodiment, a multi-stage phase deviation multiplication apparatus includes a plurality of sequentially arranged phase deviation multipliers, including at least a first phase deviation multiplier and a last phase deviation multiplier. The phase deviation multipliers have respective predetermined phase deviation multiplication factors. The first phase deviation multiplier receives an input signal and the last phase deviation multiplier generates a last phase deviated signal. The last phase deviated signal has a phase deviation multiplication factor that is the product of the respective predetermined phase deviation multiplication factors of the plurality of phase deviation multipliers.
US08275260B2
The design of telecommunication networks is such that there is provision of end-to-end path protection to multiple demands under a single link or node failure in the networks. Restoration routes are provided on Preconfigured Virtual Cycles (PVC's), where each demand is assigned one restoration route and specific restoration wavelengths on a segment of one cycle. Multiple demands may share restoration wavelengths, and the number of restoration wavelengths may vary among the PVC links. First, a plurality of candidate PVC's are generated where each demand may be assigned to multiple candidates. Assignment of demands with common failure scenarios are allowed, under certain conditions, to the same PVC. Next, a set of PVC's is selected from among the candidates, while minimizing total reserved restoration capacity and ensuring that all demands are protected. Next duplicate assignments are eliminated. Finally, conflicts of wavelength assignments are resolved. The invention focuses primarily on optical networks.
US08275257B2
Methods and apparatus for varying the transmission rate of a signal transmitted within a dense wavelength division multiplexing (DWDM) system or network are disclosed. According to one aspect of the present invention, a method includes obtaining a first signal and determining a transmission rate associated with the first. If it is determined that the transmission rate is a first rate, the method includes processing the first signal as having a first transmission format and the first rate. Alternatively, it is determined that the transmission rate is not the first rate and is a second rate, the method includes processing the first signal as having a second transmission format and a second rate.
US08275255B2
The lens barrel includes a flexible wire, a first supporting frame and a second supporting frame. The flexible wire has a first end with at least one terminal, a second end with at least one terminal and a bent portion disposed between the first and second ends. The bent portion includes a plurality of part overlapping each other. The first supporting frame supports the first end. The second supporting frame is movably disposed in a first direction with respect to the first supporting frame and supports the bent portion.
US08275252B1
A camera including a main body, a lens and a flashlight module is provided. The main body has an image capturing unit. The lens is disposed on the main body at a position corresponding to the image capturing unit for guiding lights to the image capturing unit. The flashlight module includes a first light source and second light sources. The first light source is disposed on the main body and has a first emitting area. The second light sources are disposed on the main body and surround the first light source. Each second light source has a second emitting area. The second emitting areas surround the first emitting area.
US08275246B2
A digital content reproducing and storing apparatus according to one aspect of the invention is configured to perform a storing operation while receiving TS packet constituting digital content and configured to perform a reproducing operation through a PES (Packetized Elementary Stream) obtained by demultiplexing the received TS packet or a read-out TS packet stored therein. The digital content reproducing and storing apparatus includes: a storing unit operable to: demultiplex the received TS packet to obtain the PES; add time information contained in the obtained PES to the received TS packet; and store the received TS packet with the time information added thereto; and a reproducing unit configured to specify a TS packet based on the time information corresponding to a designated prior time and perform the reproducing operation based on the specified TS packet.
US08275242B2
If a program is reproduced on a thumbnail image screen in thumbnail image display, it is effective for judging whether the program is a desired program. A program desired by a user is viewed at a timing not intended by the user because important scenes are viewed beforehand on the thumbnail image display screen in some cases. The recording/reproducing apparatus is structured in such a manner that a thumbnail image display method can be automatically changed for each program in accordance with whether it is highly recognized that the program is viewed by a user.
US08275237B2
A reproducing apparatus configured to reproduce moving image data based on management information including time information and position information about a plurality of intra pictures in the moving image data and display the reproduced moving image data on a display includes a determination unit configured to acquire information about a time interval and a position interval between two intra pictures from the time information and the position information and determine a bit rate between the two intra pictures, and a display control unit configured to display information concerning the bit rate determined by the determination unit, on the display.
US08275235B2
A storage medium storing: video data; and graphics data for displaying a menu. The graphics data includes first graphics data displayed on the screen when an activation command is generated by a user and may also include second graphics data displayed on the screen at a designated time.
US08275225B2
A method for installing a fiber optic cable assembly includes providing a fiber optic cable assembly. The fiber optic cable assembly includes a first jacket, a strength layer, and a second jacket. The strength layer surrounds the first jacket and includes a first set of strength members helically wrapped around the first jacket and a second set of strength members reverse helically wrapped around the first jacket. The first and second sets of strength members are unbraided. The method further includes routing the fiber optic cable assembly from a fiber optic enclosure to an end location. A portion of the second jacket at an end of the fiber optic cable assembly is split. The portion of the second jacket is removed.
US08275224B2
An optical coherent detector that employs an interleave-chirped arrayed waveguide grating (AWG). The AWG has a periodic chirp pattern that enables the AWG to function as an optical 90-degree hybrid. If the AWG is implemented using a birefringent material, then the AWG can also function as a polarization demultiplexer. In one embodiment, the AWG is designed to simultaneously function as a wavelength demultiplexer, a polarization demultiplexer for each wavelength-division-multiplexed (WDM) signal component, and a 90-degree hybrid for each polarization-division-multiplexed component of each WDM signal component.
US08275215B2
A method for merging first and second images includes determining a pixel difference image from the first and the second images, determining first and second locations of the foreground subject from the pixel difference image, determining a minimum path of values from the pixel difference image for a region between the first and the second locations of the foreground subject, forming a merged image by stitching the first and the second images along the minimum path, and adjusting pixels of the merged image within a width of the minimum path.
US08275210B2
Disclosed is method of encoding a set of data values (205-245). Each data value corresponds to a pixel position (205,210, 220,225) within an image (100). The method operates on a current (230) said data value at a current pixel position. The method creates (605) a context set (215,225) for the data value (230), the context set including a data value at a pixel position (225) in the set immediately preceding the current pixel position in an encoding order, wherein the immediately preceding pixel position is not adjacent said current pixel position within said image. The method then encodes (500) the data value (230) using the created context set (215,225). A corresponding decoding method is also provided.
US08275209B2
In certain embodiments, overlap operators are applied during encoding and/or decoding of digital media, where the overlap operators have reduced DC gain mismatch and/or DC leakage between interior overlap operators and overlap operators at the edge and/or corner. In other embodiments, information indicating a selected tile boundary option for overlap processing can be encoded and/or decoded. The selected tile boundary option indicates one of a hard tile boundary option and a soft tile boundary option for processing with overlap operators. Overlap transform processing can then be applied based at least in part on the selected tile boundary option.
US08275205B2
A system having an approach for prioritizing targets for an order of capturing the targets photographically or otherwise. Prioritizing is based on cost of obtaining or capturing the target for viewing or photographing in high resolution. One acquisition mechanism is for obtaining a wide field of view of a scene of targets and another acquisition mechanism is for obtaining a narrow field of view of a target for capture. The cost for prioritizing is based on the time that the narrow field of view acquisition mechanism takes to pan and tilt to get a close-up image of a target divided by the width of the target. The targets may be faces of people.
US08275203B2
A sheet music processing method of processing, by an image processing apparatus, image data of sheet music input by an input device, the method comprising setting, by a user using a designation unit of the image processing apparatus, a unit in which the image data of the sheet music is processed; dividing the image data of the sheet music into units corresponding to the unit; determining whether image data of a first one of the units is repeated in one or more others of the units; and processing the image data, when the image data of the first one of the units is determined to be repeated in the one or more others of the units, to append information using the image processing apparatus to the image data of the first one of the units and the image data of the one or more others of the units.
US08275199B2
Upon creating a color conversion table from a first color space to a second color space, a reversal region where hues are reversed is detected from at least one color gamut in step S2, and the reversal region is corrected in step S3. Mapping is done based on the corrected color gamut in step S4, thereby creating an appropriate color conversion table that suppresses any hue reversal.
US08275196B2
According to one embodiment, an image processing device includes a plurality of parallax image generators. Each of the parallax image generators is configured to generate a first image and a second image based on an input image and a parameter for setting a distance between viewpoints. There is a first parallax between the first image and the second image. The first parallax depends on the parameter for setting the distance between viewpoints. The input image is inputted to the parallax image generators in common. A plurality of parameters for setting the distance between viewpoints different from each other are inputted to the parallax image generators, respectively.
US08275193B2
This invention documents the efforts on the research and development of a miniaturized GPS/MEMS IMU integrated navigation system. A miniaturized GPS/MEMS IMU integrated navigation system is presented; Laser Dynamic Range Imager (LDRI) based alignment algorithm for space applications is discussed. Two navigation cameras are also included to measure the range and range rate which can be integrated into the GPS/MEMS IMU system to enhance the navigation solution.
US08275188B2
A system for inspecting chips in a tray comprises a three-dimensional sensor, a focus computing unit, an image sensor and a focusing device. The three-dimensional sensor is used to obtain the height signals of surfaces of the chips. The focus computing unit calculates the focusing positions of chips. The surface inspection sensor is used to inspect the surfaces of the chips. The focusing device is used to bring the images of the surfaces of the chips into the focus of the image sensor.
US08275187B2
In a radiographic image detection apparatus that can perform long-size radiography on a region of a patient that is larger than the detection range of a radiographic image detector, radiography is performed so that a collimator image is included in a radiographic image in such a manner that the collimator image is present in the vicinity of a side edge of the radiographic image. Further, the inclination of each radiographic image caused by inclination of the radiographic image detector at the time of radiography is corrected based on the collimator image. Further, a synthesis image is produced by combining the plurality of radiographic images the inclination of which has been corrected.
US08275176B2
A user authentication method and apparatus using a face image are provided. The method includes transforming a face image in a normalized spatial domain into frequency-domain data, extracting valid transform coefficients from the frequency-domain data based on energy-concentrated region information, extracting a feature vector from the extracted valid transform coefficients, and performing user authentication by comparing the extracted feature vector with a previously registered feature vector. Accordingly, it is possible to perform user authentication using a face image while using a minimum data dimension, thereby improving the speed and precision thereof.
US08275173B2
A parking assistance system (PAS) comprising an image capture device, a display device and an image analysis device is provided, wherein the image capture device captures a rear parking image of a car and the image analysis device analyses the parking image to determine an initial line, two side lines and an auxiliary line in the parking image. The image analysis device determines a first reference point according to a specific position on the car, a second reference point according to an interval of the initial line between the two side lines, a third reference point according to an interval of the auxiliary line between the two side lines and a recommended parking path according to these reference points, and transmits the parking image and the recommended parking path to the display device, such that the parking image and the recommended parking path are superimposed to be displayed on the display.
US08275167B2
There is provided an image processing apparatus including: an image information acquisition unit that acquires image information representing an image obtained by reading a recording medium containing one or a plurality of detectable substances; an extraction unit that extracts an image corresponding to the detectable substances from the image information acquired by the image information acquisition unit; a computation unit that computes feature quantities of distribution of the detectable substances in the recording medium based on the image corresponding to the detectable substances extracted by the extraction unit; and a memory that stores the feature quantities computed by the computation unit.
US08275166B2
A headphone of convenient assembly and package includes a first earpiece and a second earpiece. The first earpiece has a tubular first casing and the first casing includes a first ear plug. The second earpiece has a tubular second casing and the second casing includes a second ear plug. The first casing has a clasping portion at an end opposite to the first ear plug. The second casing has a clasping recess at an end opposite to the second ear plug for receiving the clasping portion. Therefore, the first earpiece and the second earpiece can be assembled together into a tubular single piece, benefiting the first earpiece and the second earpiece for being packaged and carried, thus improving the convenience of the headphone.
US08275158B2
Provided is a piezoelectric micro speaker. The piezoelectric micro speaker includes a device plate having a front cavity, a front plate having a radiation hole which communicates with the front cavity in front of the device plate, and a rear plate having a rear cavity and a vent portion. A rear portion of the device plate forms a wall of the vent portion. The device plate includes at least one first vent hole which communicates with the vent portion, and the front plate includes at least one second vent hole which communicates with the first vent hole.
US08275152B2
Bass frequencies of audio can be dynamically boosted using various techniques and tools. The described techniques and tools can be applied separately or in combination. Bass frequencies of audio can be boosted using a linear combination of an input audio signal and output of a high-pass filter. For example, bass frequencies of audio can be boosted by applying a high-pass filter to an input audio signal to produce an output of the high-pass filter, determining a current level, determining a target gain amount, dynamically adjusting the input audio signal and the output of the high-pass filter, and combining the gain-adjusted signals to produce an output signal. A dynamic bass boost filter can comprise a high-pass filter and a dynamic boost module.
US08275150B2
An apparatus for processing an audio signal and method thereof are disclosed, by which a local dynamic range of an audio signal can be adaptively normalized as well as a maximum dynamic range of the audio signal. The present invention includes receiving a signal, by an audio processing apparatus; computing a long-term power and a short-term power by estimating power of the signal; generating a slow gain based on the long-term power; generating a fast gain based on the short-term power; obtaining a final gain by combining the slow gain and the fast gain; and, modifying the signal using the final gain.
US08275145B2
The present invention relates to a vehicle communication system comprising a plurality of microphones adapted to detect speech signals of different vehicle passengers, a mixer combining the audio signal components of the different microphones to a resulting speech output signal, a weighting unit determining the weighting of the audio signal components for the resulting speech output signal, where the weighting unit determines the weighting of the signal components based upon non-acoustical information about the presence of a vehicle passenger.
US08275140B2
A transducer system is disclosed for detecting actual or simulated body sounds. An audio signal generation and detection system is disclosed for the purposes of simulating the medical examination of a patient or simulating the listening of sounds seeming to emanate from a live or inanimate body. A signal generator sets up a voltage potential at an electrode physically attached to the body, or electrically connected to a body, thereby setting up a voltage potential on a surface area of the body. An electric field potential sensor or a capacitive electrical sensor placed in proximity to the electrode or body surface then detects the voltage potential. The signals produced by the signal generator can represent heart, lung, bowel or other sounds and the electrical sensor can take the physical form of a listening device such as a stethoscope, thereby creating a simulation of listening to body sounds for medical diagnostic purposes.
US08275137B1
A system and methods for distortion reduction in a non-linear audio system are disclosed. A method includes the operation of defining a non-linear system transfer function which relates a system electronic input signal with a system acoustic output over a range in which the system acoustic output is in a transition between non-saturated and saturated conditions in a medium in which the system acoustic output of the non-linear audio system is broadcast. A preprocessing transfer function is created that is the inverse of the non-linear system transfer function. The preprocessing transfer function is applied to the system electronic input signal to reduce the level of harmonic distortion at the system acoustic output.
US08275136B2
Disclosed herein is an apparatus. The apparatus includes a first audio input device, a second audio input device, an analog to digital converter, a voice activity detector, and a position detector. The first audio input device is configured to receive a first audio signal. The second audio input device is configured to receive a second audio signal. The analog to digital converter is connected to the first and the second audio input devices. The voice activity detector is connected to the analog to digital converter. The voice activity detector is configured to receive input from the first and the second audio input devices. The position detector is connected to the voice activity detector. The position detector is configured to determine a position of the apparatus and classify the audio signals based on, at least partially, a ratio of the first audio signal and the second audio signal.
US08275134B2
A method for guaranteeing the security of critical data, which is used in a terminal including a secured chip and includes the steps of: activating the secured chip by the terminal platform to receive cryptograph A of said critical data; parsing internally by the secured chip the cryptograph A with a preset key A to generate a plaintext, then encrypting said plaintext with a preset key B to generate cryptograph B, and returning the cryptograph B to the terminal platform. Since cryptograph conversion is performed inside the secured chip, and the process of converting the cryptograph A to the cryptograph B is completed inside the secured chip as a one-shot action, the secured chip cannot be eavesdropped upon or stolen by any vicious software, and thus the critical data is guaranteed to be always in a cryptograph status from the secured input device to the remote server, which ensures the security of the critical data. In addition, the present invention is low in cost, advantageous in spreading and application, and convenient in customization and upgrading. The present invention further provides a terminal and a secured chip.
US08275125B2
A system and method for designing a secure hash function is provided. Both of which have been designed for secure hash functionality, Secure Hash Algorithm (SHA-3) using pre processing (MP) methods and to help reduce hash collisions. It is a one way hash function which is a combination of message pre-processing which is a bijective function and the cipher block chaining mode (CBC).
US08275122B2
A communications system and a method of detecting and learning new ringtones in an automatic manner, comprising a desk phone (1), a hook switch, a ringtone detector (3), and a communications device (2). In a first embodiment a mechanical hook switch device is connected to the desk phone (1), and in a second embodiment an electronic hook switch unit (9) is connected to the desk phone (1). The ringtone detector (3) adaptively sets the filter and amplifier parameters according to the sensor position and pick-up sensitivity. The ringtone detector (3) automatically detects and learns the characteristics of new ringtones. The communications device (2) may comprise a base station (6) and a headset (7).
US08275121B2
A portable communication device includes a base, an intermediate portion and a top portion that are operatively coupled by a combination hinge assembly. The combination hinge assembly is configured to facilitate sliding motion between the base and the intermediate portion and rotation between the base and the top portion. The base, intermediate portion and top portion may be configured to include respective displays and/or touch input devices to provide a portable communication device with increased display area and/or control area with a smaller footprint often associated with conventional clamshell or slider portable communication devices.
US08275119B2
A method of operating a telephony service on a telephony network is disclosed. The method comprises the steps of establishing and/or requesting a telephonic connection and/or a call between a caller and a call recipient, receiving a command signal initiated by the caller and/or the call recipient and/or the telephony network during any phase in the call process, the command signal comprising a data signal and/or tone, and initiating a service to the caller and/or the call recipient, or initiating a transaction between the caller and the call recipient in response to receiving the command signal other than a standard call connect and/or disconnect command. Preferably, the data signal and/or tone relates to one of the “*”, “0” or “#” keys of the telephone equipment of the caller, wherein each of the “*”, “0” or “#” keys is associated with a different category of service or transaction.
US08275116B2
This document discusses, among other things, a networked contact center that includes multiple platforms to host multiple tenants. Example embodiments include receiving a message associated with one of the tenants and identifying one or more of the platforms associated with the message. For some example embodiments, the networked contact center may allow the platform to access a data location that is both associated with the tenant and shared by two or more of the multiple tenants.
US08275108B2
A teleconference between at least two participants is evaluated by monitoring the teleconference and detecting a triggering event if more than one participant desires to speak at the same time. Upon detecting a triggering event, e.g., detecting an attempt of one or more participants to interrupt another participant, or detecting a request initiated by one or more participants to interrupt another participant, a dominant source is selected from among the ones of the participants attempting/requesting to speak based at least in part upon a determined hierarchal order of those participants attempting/requesting to speak. A participant is then selected from the participants to have the role of the dominant participant based upon the selected dominant source and only the speech of the dominant participant is conveyed to each participant through the teleconference system.
US08275098B2
Architecture and methods to provide an intermediary model for inter-carrier Multi-Media Messaging (MMS) services so that numerous wireless operators can transmit MMS messages between them. The architecture also provides for delivery, at least of notification messages, to those wireless operators who are not part of the overall inter-carrier MMS infrastructure.
US08275093B2
An apparatus and method for x-ray inspection of footwear while the footwear is worn on the feet of walking persons. A source of penetrating radiation, such as an x-ray tube, mounted on one side of a system, provides a fan beam of penetrating radiation contained in a substantially vertical plane, while a detector, disposed on the opposing side of the system, detects penetrating radiation that has traversed the footwear. A controller creates an image of the footwear. The system may have a sensor for detecting presence of the person and for initiating operation of the source of penetrating radiation in response thereto. The system may be installed inside a portal including a metal detector portal.
US08275092B1
Methods for a tangible image of an inspected object. An object is illuminated with at least two sources of penetrating radiation that generate respective pencil beams and define respective viewing points and view planes. Post-interaction penetrating radiation due to the respective sources is used to generate signals based on respective views of the inspected object, and thus derive information with respect to a dimension transverse to the first view plane based on the second signal. A tangible image of the inspected object is then displayed depicting information with respect at least to the first view plane and the transverse dimension.
US08275091B2
The present invention is a self-contained mobile inspection system and method and, more specifically, improved methods and systems for detecting materials concealed within a wide variety of receptacles and/or cargo containers. In particular, the present invention is an improved method and system with a novel boom structure that reduces the weight of the boom. The single, light-weight boom of the inspection system is relatively compact in a stowed configuration and has a low height and center of gravity lending to greater maneuverability.
US08275090B2
A multi-mode tomosynthesis/mammography system and method in which a mammography gain map is used to gain correct mammographic images of a patient's breast but enhanced gain maps for respective projection angled are used to correct tomosynthesis images acquired with the same system.
US08275089B2
It discloses a shift register and a gate line driving device, relating to the technology field for a liquid crystal display, it is made to reduce the switching on errors for gate lines and improve the quality of the image. Said shift register includes: a first thin film transistor, a second thin film transistor, a third thin film transistor, a storage capacitor, a feedback module, and a switch module, wherein said feedback module is used to receive a trigger signal of the feedback module of the previous stage and a clock signal in order to pull up the level of the first node Qa as a pull up node, and to output a feedback signal to the shift register of the previous stage and output a trigger signal to the feedback module of the next stage, said switch module is used to maintain the output terminal of the shift register of the present stage at a low level when the shift register of the present stage does not operate. An embodiment of the present invention is applied to a liquid crystal display panel.
US08275086B2
An apparatus for frequency synchronization is proposed to detect a synchronization signal from the baseband signals. It is featured that three types of detection values are introduced to detect whether the synchronization signal is received or not. More particularly, the claimed frequency synchronization apparatus provides at least one signal power generator for receiving a predetermined number of symbols of the baseband signals, and further calculating an average quality value therefore. Further, the apparatus includes a signal selector for producing a first detection value according to the average quality value. Still further, the apparatus provides a decision unit to produce a second detection value. After that, a signal processor inside the decision unit is used to calculate a third detection value as combining the first detection value and the second detection. Consequently, the decision unit particularly decides whether the synchronization signal is received or not in reference with the third detection value.
US08275079B2
A communication apparatus, a method, and a tangible machine-readable medium thereof for processing ranging interference of an orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (OFDM) signal. The communication apparatus comprises a receiving unit, a processing unit, and a mask generating unit. The receiving unit receives the OFDM signal having a plurality of OFDM symbols. The processing unit estimates a delay value and an energy value of at least one ranging code according to the OFDM symbols. The mask generating unit generates a mask function according to the delay value and the energy value. Finally, the processing unit synthesizes the ranging interference in the OFDM signal and removes it according to the mask function.
US08275078B2
In order to reduce the complexity of complex signal correlator and realize algorithm optimization, the present invention provides a method and an apparatus for implement complex signal correlation by means of shifter and adder instead of complex multiplier. In the method, the amplitude and radial angle of a corresponding received symbol is firstly adjusted based on a pre-stored local reference symbol. Then, the radial angle of the adjusted received signal is rotated based on a corresponding interchange indicator. Finally, all the processed received signals are combined to obtain a final complex correlation signal. With this method, the chip size and computing load can be greatly reduced.
US08275069B2
A transmitting apparatus and method transmits different modulated signals from a plurality of antennas, and employs a configuration that includes a modulation section that obtains a modulated signal by performing signal point mapping of transmit bits using a signal point arrangement that is divided into a plurality of signal point sets on the IQ plane, whereby the minimum distance between signal points within a signal point set is smaller than the minimum signal point distance between signal point sets; and an antenna that transmits a modulated signal obtained by the modulation section. A signal point generating apparatus generates a first and second symbols to be transmitted by first and second antennas, respectively.
US08275064B2
A multiple-input-multiple-output (MIMO) wireless communication enhanced detection method and apparatus are proposed whereby quasi optimal link performance is achieved, at low complexity for MIMO systems including those of high dimension and those operating at very high SNR.
US08275059B2
A frequency synchronization apparatus includes: a correlating unit that obtains a first correlation value by correlating a known reference guard interval of an OFDM symbol and a reference copy interval corresponding to the reference guard interval, and obtains a second correlation value by correlating the estimate guard interval and an estimate copy interval corresponding to the estimate guard interval; a determining unit that compares the first and second correlation values to determine a first case where the first correlation value is larger by a pre-set magnification than the second correlation value, a second case where the second correlation value is larger by a pre-set magnification than the first correlation value, and a third case which is not the first case nor the second case; and a frequency offset estimating unit that estimates a frequency offset by using a correlation value corresponding to any one of the first to third.
US08275056B2
A channel characteristic calculation unit 23 estimates channel characteristics based on SP signals included in received signals, and a symbol interpolation filter 24 frequency-shifts frequency transfer characteristics and filters output signals of the channel characteristic calculation unit 23. A filter control unit 27 estimates channel characteristics based on CP signals included in the received signals and observes the estimated channel characteristics to determine a shift amount by which the symbol interpolation filter 24 frequency-shifts the frequency transfer characteristics. The symbol interpolation filter 24 frequency-shifts the frequency transfer characteristics based on the shift amount determined by the filter control unit 27.
US08275055B2
The invention relates to receivers and methods for receiving multi-carrier differentially modulated signals utilizing iterative decision-directed differential detection. The receiver includes a decision feedback loop including a channel estimator for estimating inter-symbol channel variations, and a differential equalizer for correcting channel-induced errors in a differentially detected signal based on the estimated inter-symbol channel variations.
US08275049B2
Disclosed is a graphics processing unit comprising an instruction decoder and sum-of-absolute-differences (SAD) accleration logic. The instruction decoder is configured to decode a SAD instruction into parameters describing an M×N and an n×n pixel block in U,V coordinates. The SAD accleration logic is configured to receive the parameters and compute SAD scores. Each SAD score corresponds to the n×n block and to one block contained within the M×N pixel block and horizontally offset within the n×n block. Also disclosed is a GPU comprising a host processor interface receiving video acceleration instructions and a video acceleration unit. The unit is responsive to the instructions and comprises SAD accleration logic configured to receive the parameters and compute SAD scores. Each SAD score corresponds to an n×n pixel block and to one block contained within an M×N block and horizontally offset within the n×n block. M, N, and n are integers.
US08275047B2
Methods and devices for encoding and decoding video data are provided, wherein an image data structure can be represented as a group of macroblocks and each macroblock contains a plurality of blocks. One inventive aspect includes a method of decoding image data comprises decoding a current block of data, comprising retrieving a related reference block, decoding texture information of the current block, and reconstructing the current block, prior to the decoding of another block of data.
US08275046B2
The present invention is a method to accelerate the frame/field decision by estimating more suitable structure using SAD (sum of absolute difference) between picture samples and their mean. Next the uses the correlation observed between the optimal macroblock prediction modes found with the inferred structure and the probability of the non-inferred structure being better than the inferred one. The invention can lead to the significant reduction of the computational complexity at the cost of slight degradation of coding efficiency.
US08275034B2
A moving image encoding apparatus, comprising, a first image transformation unit adapted to transform image data into first image information, with reference to reference image data, a second image transformation unit adapted to inverse transform the first image information into reconstructed image data and a determination unit adapted to determine, based on the image data and the reconstructed image data, whether or not to use the reconstructed image data as the reference image data, wherein the determination unit calculates a peak signal-to-noise ratio (PSNR) from the reconstructed image data and the image data, and, if the PSNR is greater than or equal to a predetermined threshold, determines to use the reconstructed image data as the reference image data.
US08275033B2
An adaptive picture mode selection transcoder selects an encoding mode in a second format for frames of video previously encoded in a first format by determining a magnitude of interlacing phenomenon in the using picture information obtained during decoding of the video from the first format. In one aspect, the picture information includes discrete cosine coefficients for macroblocks in the frame. In another aspect, the picture information includes an encoding mode for the macroblocks in the first format. In yet another aspect, the picture information includes motion vector information for the macroblocks. In still another aspect, the determining is specific to an encoding mode for the frame.
US08275017B2
The invention achieves carrier and clock frequency synchronization in QAD packet communications systems. The invention involves using frequency-hopping radio systems that use pseudo-noise data sequences to mark the beginning of data transmissions and carrier frequency switches. The invention involves transmitting in each of the quadrature channels at an initial carrier frequency a first signal over consecutive time intervals and after transmitting the first signal, transmitting in each of the quadrature channels at a second carrier frequency a second signal over consecutive time intervals.
US08275016B2
A demodulation method and device, an equalization method and system in a transmitting diversity mode are provided. The demodulation method includes: demodulating two equalized equalization signals respectively through a transmitting diversity mode; and then performing a maximum ratio combination on the demodulated signals. According to embodiments of the present invention, the two equalized signals are respectively demodulated according to a transmitting diversity mode, and then a maximum ratio combination is performed on the two signals to get a demodulated signal, which improves the performance of the demodulated signal and the equalization system.
US08275013B2
A semiconductor laser device includes a first semiconductor laser element formed on a surface of a first conductive type substrate, obtained by stacking a first conductive type first semiconductor layer, a first active layer and a second conductive type second semiconductor layer successively from the first conductive type substrate and a second semiconductor laser element obtained by successively stacking a first conductive type third semiconductor layer, a second active layer and a second conductive type fourth semiconductor layer, wherein the third semiconductor layer is electrically connected to the first semiconductor layer by bonding a side of the third semiconductor layer to the surface of the first conductive type substrate through a fusible layer.
US08275008B2
A semiconductor laser apparatus is provided which can vary an output wavelength of a light source. A semiconductor laser diode and one or more heat source devices arranged around the semiconductor laser diode are integrated on one substrate. The semiconductor laser diode is configured to be uniformly heated by the heat source device. An output wavelength of the semiconductor laser diode can be easily and quickly varied.
US08275002B2
A broadcasting service transmitting apparatus and method and a broadcasting service receiving apparatus and method for providing a broadcasting service formed of various types of data are provided. The broadcasting service receiving apparatus includes a receiving unit, a transport frame processing unit, a transport packet processing unit, and a broadcasting data processing unit. The receiving unit receives a transport frame having a predetermined size. The transport frame processing unit acquires from the transport frame service access information for accessing at least one broadcasting service and also acquires from the transport frame at least one transport packet for transporting at least one broadcasting data packet, by using the service access information. The transport packet processing unit processes the at least one transport packet so as to acquire at least one broadcasting data packet from the at least one transport packet. The broadcasting data processing unit processes the at least one broadcasting data packet.
US08274994B2
Methods and a gateway apparatus for facilitating communication between communications devices which support different communications protocols are described. The gateway device may receive an identifier of interest from a first device which supports a first communications protocol but not a second communications protocol. The gateway monitors signals corresponding to the second communications protocol to detect signals corresponding to the identifier of interest. An externally perceivable alert is generated by the gateway device when a signal corresponding to the identifier of interest is detected. Communications is established between the first communications device and a second communications device with the gateway device performing protocol conversion to the extent required. The first device may power down its interface after sending the identifier of interest to the gateway and then power up the interface in response to sensing of the alert or input from a user responding to the alert.
US08274989B1
In an Ethernet network multiple point-to-multipoint (P2MP) trees are constructed to provide a P2MP service. Each tree provides service from a common root node to common leaves via different paths through the network. GMPLS signaling is utilized for configuring and maintaining the P2MP trees at each of the nodes in the network forming the respective tree. Each tree is constructed using a unique VID/MAC combination wherein the VID is unique to the tree and the MAC is associated with the multicast group identifying the P2MP membership. Traffic is forwarded through the network by the designated tree(s) by the VID/MAC DA combination by the common root node. The varying paths of each tree improves fault tolerance and enables redundancy and protection switching to be provided. Each tree of the service can be modified or repaired while traffic is still being routed through the remaining working tree(s), thus service impact is minimized.
US08274971B2
A method for controlling a flow of packet data in a memory management unit of a network switch fabric is disclosed. A first portion of a data packet is received at a port on an ingress bus ring of the network switch fabric. A class of service for the data packet is determined based on the first portion and the portion is stored in a packer RAM of the port based on the class of service. Subsequent portions of the data packet are stored in the packer RAM. Once the predetermined number of portions have been received, the predetermined number of portions is sent to a packet pool RAM. A reference pointer to a first predetermined number of portions is sent to a transaction queue once an end of packet is detected and an egress scheduler detects a presence of a ready packet in the transaction queue and notifies an unpacker of the ready packet. The unpacker puts the ready packet into a FIFO and the ready packet is sent to an ingress/egress module.
US08274966B2
Provided are devices, methods, communication managers and user interface solutions that enable access to multiple services from a mobile communications device. A mobile communication device that provides telephony services via a PSTN also includes multiple communication channels that exploit packet data transfer via an IP network, for example enabling VoIP, instant messaging and other internet-based communication services to be initiated from a mobile telephone.
US08274961B2
Access control based on CSMA is favorably carried out with the RTS/CTS method used together.If the RTS/CTS procedure is used together, CTS information is transmitted in response to the reception of RTS information, and data is transmitted in response to the reception of CTS. The CTS transmitting station measures the quality of RTS receive signal, and thereby determines a transmission rate at which it can receive and notifies a station as the destination of CTS. The station as the destination of CTS transmits data in response to CTS information. As the transmission rate for this data, the transmission rate indicated in the RATE field in CTS is applied.
US08274958B2
System(s) and method(s) are provided to route traffic and signaling between a set of networked femto access points (APs) and devices served there from, and enable management of content and equipment that is part of a network functionally coupled to the set of networked femto APs. Networked equipment spans a network deployed within the coverage area spanned by the set of femto APs. A routing platform functionally couples the networked equipment and the femto AP to enable content manipulation amongst a mobile device and the equipment. Routing platform also affords remote control of the networked equipment. Delivery of advertisement and monetary incentive(s) can be provided through the routing platform to the equipment. Routing platform further provides security features related to operation of specific equipment and wireless services supplied via the routing platform.
US08274956B2
Broadcast or multicast traffic is classified into different types of traffic such that different types of traffic are transmitted over different sub-networks. In addition, different transmission schedules may be associated with each of the different sub-networks. A device may thus be configured to receive only a selected portion of the different types of traffic by only waking from a power save mode at the intervals at which the corresponding sub-network sends the traffic. The standby time of the wireless station may thus be improved because the wireless station may awaken less frequently and for shorter periods of time. Different sub-networks carrying different types of broadcast and multicast traffic may be implemented in an 802.11-based system. For example, a single access point may define multiple basic service set identifiers for a single wireless channel.
US08274955B2
This disclosure describes a new keep alive timeslots based method to track registered handsets for a MAC protocol that combines contention-free and contention-based MAC protocols into a heterogeneous MAC protocol used for forwarding VoIP traffic in VoIP systems on wireless networks using multiple base stations thus allowing for transmission of high bit-rate data to multiple users over wired and wireless means.
US08274950B2
A method of performing reception status report in a mobile communication system is disclosed. The method of performing reception status report in a specific protocol layer of a user equipment which receives data transmitted from a base station in a mobile communication system includes performing reception status report of at least one first data block in the protocol layer in accordance with a first value of at least one parameter, the at least one first data block being transmitted from the base station, changing the first value of the at least one parameter to a second set value if a previously set event occurs or if at least one condition is satisfied and performing reception status report of at least one second data block in accordance with a second set value of the at least one parameter, the at least one second data block being transmitted from the base station.
US08274942B2
A service provision method in an Internet Protocol Multimedia Subsystem (IMS) network is provided. A service request message is transmitted from a first user terminal to a second user terminal for requesting a service. The service request message includes global identifiers (IDs) allocated to the first user terminal and the second user terminal. A service response message is transmitted from the second user terminal to the first user terminal. A service session is established between the first user terminal and the second user terminal, when the service response message is received by the first user terminal.
US08274939B2
A method of transmitting a data block in a wireless communication system includes generating a data block having a variable size in an upper layer, transmitting a radio resource request message to a base station according to the size of the data block in a medium access control (MAC) layer and transmitting the data block by using a radio resource allocated by using the radio resource request message. For a packet service such as VoIP in which a delay time is important, QoS can be improved by decreasing the delay time of packet transmission and by decreasing a packet discard ratio.
US08274933B2
A wireless communication network is provided that includes a plurality of communication cells each defined by at least one communication coverage area and a plurality of access points each corresponding to a different one of the plurality of communication cells. Each access point is configured to communicate on a first frequency with at least one of (i) a subscriber in the at least one communication coverage area in a first communication cell and (ii) a subscriber in a second communication cell. Each access point is further configured to communicate on a second frequency with an access point in a third communication cell.
US08274931B2
Sounding reference signal presence information is incorporated into an uplink data resource assignment for a user equipment, and the uplink data assignment including the sounding reference signal presence information is sent to the user equipment.
US08274930B2
A base station transmits a set of sounding requests to a set of mobile station (MS) in a cell, using a set of beams, wherein there is one beam for each sounding request. Qualities of sounding signals transmitted by the set of MSs in response to receiving the sounding request are measured, and the set of MSs are grouped into subsets according to the qualities, wherein there is one subset of MSs associated with each beam.
US08274928B2
A wireless mesh network where a portion of the nodes have reduced receive sensitivity. The negative effects of the density of the wireless mesh network, such as interference, are reduced when fewer nodes receive messages to rebroadcast. In an alternative embodiment, some of the nodes of the mesh network are configured to not rebroadcast even if they receive a message. A method for configuring a dense mesh network is also provided. As many nodes as possible are discovered and registered in the network. Node characteristics of those nodes are adjusted to reduce or eliminate the negative effects of the dense mesh network so that additional nodes may be discovered and registered.
US08274915B2
A wireless communications system comprising at least one network station and a plurality of subscriber stations. As part of a network access procedure, a number of the subscriber stations selecting a time slot from a plurality of predefined time slots and transmitting an individual code to the network station in the selected time slot. At the network station, receiving and decoding the codes and broadcasting a preliminary decoding status report to the subscriber stations and broadcasting a detailed decoding status report associated with each time slot in which one or more codes were decoded successfully. At a subscriber station which transmitted a code, identifying successful decoding if the preliminary decoding status indicator associated with the time slot in which subscriber station transmitted its code comprises a positive indicator, and if the detailed decoding status report associated with that positive indicator identifies the code transmitted by the subscriber station.
US08274905B2
A system and method for monitoring performance of a packet network may include storing network performance information collected from a packet network, where the network performance information may distinguish network performance information associated with communications of data packets including real-time content and data packets including non-real-time content. A graphic user interface including a graphical representation of the network performance information distinguishing the network performance information associated with communications of data packets including real-time content and network performance information including non-real-time content with a node segment over a time duration may be generated.
US08274900B2
Disclosed is a radio (wireless) communication system providing a radio communication service and a terminal, and more particularly, to a method of delivering a continuously and/or consecutively received Packet Data Convergence Protocol (PDCP) Service Data units (SDUs) to an upper layer immediately if a PDCP entity receives the PDCP SDUs during a process of a RLC re-establishment within an Evolved Universal Mobile Telecommunications System (E-UMTS) that has evolved from a Universal Mobile Telecommunications System (UMTS) or a Long Term Evolution (LTE) system.
US08274891B2
Systems and techniques are described which improve performance, reliability, and predictability of networks without having costly hardware upgrades or replacement of existing network equipment. An adaptive communication controller provides WAN performance and utilization measurements to another network node over multiple parallel communication paths across disparate asymmetric networks which vary in behavior frequently over time. An egress processor module receives communication path quality reports and tagged path packet data and generates accurate arrival times, send times, sequence numbers and unutilized byte counts for the tagged packets. A control module generates path quality reports describing performance of the multiple parallel communication paths based on the received information and generates heartbeat packets for transmission on the multiple parallel communication paths if no other tagged data has been received in a predetermined period of time to ensure performance is continually monitored. An ingress processor module transmits the generated path quality reports and heartbeat packets.
US08274887B2
According to an example embodiment, a total offered traffic load for a shared resource within a network switching system may be determined, the total offered traffic load may include, for example, a sum of offered traffic loads from one or more active virtual output queues (VOQs) of the network switching system. A capacity of the shared resource within the network switching system may be determined. A transmission rate from one or more of the active VOQs over the shared resource may be adjusted such that the total traffic load from the active VOQs does not exceed the capacity of the shared resource.
US08274883B1
A method and a system for allocating restoration capacity in a network link in a communications network provides that a common pool of communication capacity is provisioned in a network link, such that the common pool of communication capacity includes spare capacity for new service and restoration capacity. A pool of pre-allocated communication capacity for future growth of at least one connection in the network link is also provisioned. The pool of pre-allocated communication capacity for future growth is available for restoration capacity, but not for spare capacity for new service. The communications network can be, for example, a private line (PL) network, a SONET-based network, an Asynchronous Transfer Mode (ATM)-based network, an Internet Protocol/MultiProtocol Label Switching (IP/MPLS)-based network or a frame relay (FR)-based network.
US08274882B2
A network is configured to utilize available bandwidth to conduct bulk data transfers without substantially affecting the successful transmission of time-sensitive traffic in the network. In order to avoid this interference, the packets carrying data for bulk data transfers are associated with a low priority class such that the routers of the network will preferentially drop these packets over packets associated with the normal traffic of the network. As such, when the normal traffic peaks or there are link failures or equipment failures, the normal traffic is preferentially transmitted over the bulk-transfer traffic and thus the bulk-transfer traffic dynamically adapts to changes in the available bandwidth of the network. Further, to reduce the impact of dropped packets for the bulk-transfer traffic, the packets of the bulk-transfer traffic are encoded at or near the source component using a loss-resistant transport protocol so that the dropped packets can be reproduced at a downstream link.
US08274877B2
An optical pickup (10) includes a light emitting element (11), a holding member (14), a light receiving element (18), and a base (13). The holding member (14) is fixed to the base (13) by a combined bonding portion (17). The combined bonding portion (17) is sandwiched between the holding member (14) and the base (13) so as to fix the holding member (14) to the base (13). The combined bonding portion (17) includes a first bonding portion (15) composed of a first adhesive and a second bonding portion (16) composed of a second adhesive having a higher curing shrinkage rate than the first adhesive. The first bonding portion (15) and the second bonding portion (16) are each sandwiched between the holding member (14) and the base (13), and the second bonding portion (16) is provided to cover at least a part of an outer peripheral surface of the first bonding portion (15). A difference between the curing shrinkage rate of the first adhesive and that of the second adhesive is 3.0% or less.
US08274872B2
A system is described comprising an optical record carrier and an apparatus for recording the optical record carrier. The apparatus comprises a facility (20) for generating a visually detectable pattern at a physical location on the record carrier (40), and a facility (20) for storing pattern information. The pattern information comprises at least first information indicative for the physical location.
US08274857B2
A semiconductor memory device capable of reducing off-current in a standby mode is provided. The semiconductor memory device includes an enable signal generating unit configured to receive a plurality of address decoding signals and generate a first enable signal to select a first cell block and a second enable signal to select a second cell block, and an internal voltage generating unit for generating an internal voltage by controlling a supply of a first voltage in accordance with the first or second enable signals.
US08274855B2
A semiconductor device according to the present invention has an address scrambling circuit for performing address scrambling operation of an address and a redundancy judging circuit for judging that redundancy judgment is performed about the address scrambled by the address scrambling circuit. This structure makes it possible to completely refresh operation concerned with normal word lines and redundancy word lines.
US08274842B1
An integrated circuit may include: access circuits that couple first electrodes of a plurality of programmable metallization cells (PMC) to access paths in parallel, each PMC comprising a solid ion conducting material formed between the first electrode and a second electrode; a plurality of write circuits, each coupled to a different access path, and each coupling the corresponding access path to a first voltage in response to input write data having a first value and to a second voltage in response to the input write data having a second value; and a node setting circuit that maintains second electrodes of the PMCs at a substantially constant third voltage while write circuits couple the access paths to the first or second voltages.
US08274839B2
A method for erasing a flash EEPROM memory device is disclosed. The memory device has a first semiconductor region of one conductivity type formed within a second semiconductor region of an opposite conductivity type, source and drain regions formed from a semiconductor layer of the opposite conductivity type in the first semiconductor region, a well electrode formed from a semiconductor layer of the conductivity type inside the first semiconductor region, a charge storing layer electrically isolated from the first semiconductor region by a dielectric layer and having electric charge retention properties, and a control gate electrode electrically isolated from the charge storing layer by a inter layer of coupling dielectrics. The method comprises the steps of: applying a first voltage bias to both the well electrode and the second semiconductor region and a second bias to the control gate electrode for a duration of F/N tunneling; applying a third voltage bias to the well electrode and the second semiconductor region and a first zero voltage bias to the control gate electrode for a duration of traps depopulation; and, after the duration of traps depopulation, applying a fourth voltage bias to the control gate electrode and a second zero voltage bias to the well electrode and the second semiconductor region for a duration of traps assisted tunneling.
US08274819B2
An array of SMT MRAM cells has a read reference circuit that provides a reference current that is the sum of a minimum current through a reference SMT MRAM cell programmed with a maximum resistance and a maximum current through an reference SMT MRAM cell programmed with a minimum resistance. The reference current forms an average reference voltage at the reference input of a sense amplifier for reading a data state from selected SMT MRAM cells of the array such that the reference SMT MRAM cells will not be disturbed during a read operation. The read reference circuit compensates for current mismatching in the reference current caused by a second order non matching effect.
US08274813B2
A memristive Negative Differential Resistance (NDR) device includes a first electrode adjacent to a memristive matrix, the memristive matrix including an intrinsic semiconducting region and a highly doped secondary region, a Metal-Insulator-Transition (MIT) material in series with the memristive matrix, and a second electrode adjacent to the MIT material.
US08274810B2
A semiconductor memory device including a transistor having a vertical channel structure is provided. The device includes a first sub memory cell array including a first memory cell connected to a first bit lines and including a transistor having a vertical channel structure, a second sub memory cell array including a second memory cell connected to a first inverted bit lines and including a transistor having a vertical channel structure, and a plurality of precharge blocks. In addition, first and second precharge blocks are disposed at first and second sides of the first bit line and precharge the first bit line, and third and fourth precharge blocks are disposed at first and second sides of the first inverted bit line and precharge the first inverted bit line.
US08274807B2
A boost power module and an inverter form a semiconductor module. A smoothing capacitor is arranged outside the semiconductor module. A bus bar forming a power supply line is divided into bus bars, between which a lead member extending outward from the semiconductor module is coupled. The lead member has an electric contact with one of terminals of the capacitor arranged outside the semiconductor module. A bus bar forming an earth line is divided into bus bars, between which a lead member extending outward from the semiconductor module is coupled. The lead member has an electric contact with the other terminal of capacitor.
US08274805B2
There is provided a high voltage power supply capable of reducing voltage stress of a voltage multiplying device. The high voltage power supply includes: a power converter switching on/off and converting an input direct current power into a direct current power having a preset voltage level; and a voltage multiplier including a first multiplying cell multiplying the voltage level of the direct current power from the power converter, wherein the first multiplying cell includes: first and second capacitors charging the direct current power from the power converter, respectively; a first diode providing a path for transferring the direct current power when the power converter is switched off; and a second diode providing a path for transferring the direct current power when the power converter is switched on.
US08274804B2
A voltage transforming apparatus includes a first high voltage side coil, a first low voltage side coil magnetically coupled to the first high voltage side coil, a second low voltage side coil magnetically coupled to the first high voltage side coil, and a first switch switching an externally supplied voltage between being supplied to the first low voltage side coil and the second low voltage side coil and being supplied to the first high voltage side coil. The first low voltage side coil and the second low voltage side coil are provided such that a magnetic flux that is generated by current flowing through the first low voltage side coil and a magnetic flux that is generated by current flowing through the second low voltage side coil cancel each other out when a voltage is supplied via the first switch.
US08274803B2
A variable frequency drive comprises a diode rectifier receiving multiphase AC power from a source and converting the AC power to DC power. An inverter receives DC power and converts the DC power to AC power to drive a load. A link circuit is connected between the diode rectifier and the inverter and comprises a DC bus to provide a relatively fixed DC voltage for the inverter. A bus capacitor is across the bus. A soft charge circuit limits inrush current to the bus capacitor. The soft charge circuit comprises an inductor connected between the source and the link circuit and a switch circuit in the link circuit for selectively providing a semiconverter configuration or a full bridge converter configuration to provide two stage charging of the bus capacitor.
US08274801B2
Switching mode power supplies (SMPS) that can operate in a control mode for a normal load condition and operate with a burst-mode controller for a light load condition are disclosed herein. In one embodiment, a method for controlling the switching mode power supply includes when the load is in a light load condition, the switching mode power supply is controlled by a burst-mode controller.
US08274798B2
A carrier substrate includes a substrate having a chip side and a PCB side, a plurality of bond pads disposed on the chip side for bonding a chip, a plurality of land grid array (LGA) pads disposed on the PCB side, and a plurality of resilient flanges installed on the PCB side in an array manner. The plurality of resilient flanges electrically connects with the LGA pads correspondingly.
US08274788B2
A portable computer includes a base, a display panel rotatably connected to the base, a locking mechanism mounted to the display panel, and a security lock. The base includes a receiving chamber and a hole communicating with the receiving chamber. The locking mechanism includes a main body, a rotation member rotatably connected to the display panel, and a sliding member. The rotation member includes an extending end defining a receiving hole. The extending end is operable to be received in the receiving chamber. The sliding member includes a hook portion being received in the receiving hole. The hook portion is capable of disengaged from the receiving hole, causing the extending end to rotate by the thereof. The security lock includes a latch for engaging the extending end to prevent the extending end of the rotation member from disengaging from the base, to lock the display panel to the base.
US08274786B2
An I/O housing holds an I/O port and is pivotable between a housed position, wherein the I/O housing is held snugly flat in a chassis of the computer, and an extended position, wherein the port end of the housing is distanced from the chassis. The I/O housing can mechanically engage an I/O device with the port establishing communication between the I/O device and the computer processor.
US08274781B2
Advanced ultracapacitor construction of irregular shape is provided, having higher utilization of the available energy storage shape in various electronic and electromechanical products over the prior art ultracapacitors. Said irregular shape of ultracapacitor is achieved by using flexible and pliable cell materials in layers, blanked into any desired shape, and stacked. The layers may be also bent to follow any contour. More capacity in given irregular volume is thus accomplished.
US08274779B2
Provided are an embedded capacitor, an embedded capacitor sheet using the embedded capacitor, and a method of manufacturing the same that may increase a surface area to thereby increase a capacity for each unit area and may provide an embedded capacitor in a sheet to thereby readily lay the embedded capacitor on an embedded printed circuit board. The embedded capacitor may include: a common electrode member 11 including a plurality of grooves 11a; a sealing dielectric layer 12 being formed by sealing a nano dielectric powder with a high dielectric constant in the plurality of grooves 11a formed in the common electrode member 11; a buffer dielectric layer 13 sealing and smoothing an uneven portion of the sealing dielectric layer 12 by applying a paste or a slurry including epoxy of 20 Vol % through 80 Vol % and dielectric powder of 20 Vol % through 80 Vol % with respect to the sealing dielectric layer 12; and an individual electrode member 14 being formed on the buffer dielectric layer 13.
US08274772B2
An apparatus for detecting and controlling current. A current detector for generating a first value that represents an amount of current being delivered to a device. A current limit circuit for generating a second value that represents a maximum permitted current level from a current source. A current controller for controlling the amount of current drawn by the device if the first value exceeds the second value.
US08274756B2
Approaches for implementing a conductive gasket comprising carbon nanotubes for deployment within a sensitive environment, such as an environment containing equipment whose operation may be affected by airborne particles or electromagnetic energy. For example, a hard-disk drive (HDD) comprises an enclosure that is formed by coupling a first component, such as a cover, to a second component, such as a base, using one or more gaskets. The one or more gaskets may be constructed using a material that includes carbon nanotubes. The composition of the material used to construct the gaskets may be selected to achieve a desired electromagnetic conductivity for the gaskets. In this way, the gaskets of the enclosure of the HDD do not render the enclosure vulnerable to external electromagnetic energy and are constructed in a manner that does not introduce any harmful airborne contaminants within the protective enclosure of the HDD.
US08274751B2
A system and method for measuring the modulation between a magnetic head and a magnetic storage medium, such as a disk, is disclosed. A magnetic read/write head is positioned above a magnetic storage medium at a given flying height. The magnetic read/write head reads a signal from the magnetic storage medium. A tester measures an alternating electric current between the magnetic read/write head through the slider and the magnetic storage medium. A computer may then calculate the modulation by the magnetic read/write head based on the alternating electric current. A DC voltage to the head may be applied to lower the flying height of the magnetic head.
US08274748B1
A lens actuator includes a housing, a loading plate, a moving unit, four magnetic elements, and an elastic plate. The housing and the loading plate cooperatively form an accommodating room. The housing includes a top panel having four fixing portions. The moving unit is movably received in the accommodating room. The four magnetic elements are received in the accommodating room around the moving unit, and are fixed on four inner sidewalls of the housing. The elastic plate is disposed between the top panel and the moving unit, and the four fixing portions of the housing firmly press the elastic plate on the four magnetic elements.
US08274747B2
An exemplary piezoelectric actuator includes a fixed barrel, a movable barrel in the fixed barrel, a piezoelectric driving module, a flexible circuit board on the fixed barrel, a bracing sheet, and a preloading module. The movable barrel receives a lens module. The driving module drives the movable barrel to move relative to the fixed barrel along an optical axis of the lens module. The driving module includes a piezoelectric member on the fixed barrel, and a friction member on the movable barrel and opposite to the friction member. The flexible circuit board is electrically connected with the piezoelectric member. The sheet is attached around the flexible circuit board. The preloading module is between the fixed barrel and the movable barrel. The preloading module is opposite to the piezoelectric driving module for exerting a pressure on the movable barrel, thereby making the friction member resist against the piezoelectric member.
US08274746B2
An exemplary voice coil motor includes a movable unit, a fixed unit, and a resilient plate. The movable unit includes a hollow lens barrel for accommodating a number of lenses, and at least one fine pattern coil fixed on a sidewall of the lens barrel and configured for electrical connection to a power source. The fixed unit includes a hollow frame structured bracket and a number of magnets mounted on the bracket. The bracket accommodates the movable unit. The magnets surround and are spaced apart from the at least one fine pattern coil. The resilient plate is resiliently connected between the bracket and the lens barrel to hold the lens barrel on the bracket.
US08274730B2
Electrochemical/electrically controllable device having variable optical and/or energetic properties, including a first carrier substrate provided with an electrically conductive layer associated with a first stack of electrically active layers and a second carrier substrate provided with an electrically conductive layer associated with a second stack of electrically active layers, wherein the first and second stacks each function optically in series on at least a portion of their surface and are separated by an electrically insulating means, which is a gas, or is a vacuum.
US08274724B2
Implementations of actuators that use flexures to provide support to actuators and pivoting mechanisms to the actuators. Such actuators can be electromagnetically activated actuators that include a magnet stator and a coil rotor mounted on a flexure. A positioning sensor, such as a capacitor sensor, is provided to measure and monitor positioning of the actuator and is coupled to a feedback circuit which uses the measured positioning of the actuator to control the actuator.
US08274718B2
The present invention is to provide methods and apparatuses for creating color conversion definition to make the same output result appear without any uncomfortable feeling when a same output result is observed under different illumination lights. To achieve this, the method comprising the successive steps of: (a) assuming an observational environment under an illumination light in which a difference in color appearance of an output result of the image output device in a plurality of observational environments with different illumination lights to observe the output result is made less; (b) determining measured color values of a device color of the image output device in the observational environment under the illumination light in which a difference in each color appearance is made less; and (c) creating a color conversion definition on the basis of the measured color values of the device color of the image output device determined at step (b).
US08274710B2
Input image data is converted into a brightness component to obtain a difference between the brightness component and a threshold. A count variation is determined based on the obtained difference, and the counter is used to follow up and change the threshold. The threshold obtained by the follow-up and change is used to execute a background color removal process in each pixel by executing a signal conversion process.
US08274707B2
An object of the present invention is to provide an image processing apparatus which provides an image with an extended region of a size suitable for performing block processing. In order to achieve the object, the image processing apparatus according to the present invention includes an input unit for inputting image data and printer setting information of the image data; and an extended region computing unit for dividing the image data into a block region and computing an extended region of the divided block region based on the printer setting information. The apparatus also includes a generating unit for generating a processed block region with the extended region added to the block region; and a processing unit for performing image processing on the processed block region produced by the generating unit.
US08274702B2
The subject application is directed to a system and method for color space conversion. Image data is received comprised of a plurality of pixels having a value encoded in a first multidimensional color space. Each of the pixels encoded in the first color space is converted to a corresponding pixel encoded in a second multidimensional color space, the conversion further including transforming each of the pixels based upon a function of the pixel values in the first color space having component values defining a fractional relationship having a numerator portion and a denominator portion, with each portion including at least one of the component values. A value of each denominator portion is converted relative to a threshold value and the pixels encoded in the first color space are converted to the second color space with an alternative quantity selectively substituted for each denominator portion in accordance with the comparison.
US08274696B2
A color table editing apparatus includes an image data input unit configured to input image data, a color table selection unit configured to select a given color table from a plurality of color tables in association with the input image data, an initial color data generation unit configured to generate initial color data from the selected color table and representative color data including a plurality of predetermined colors, a target color data editing unit configured to edit the initial color data to generate target color data, an optimized color data generation unit configured to generate optimized color data by performing optimization processing based on a color gamut of the edited target color data, and a user interface image display unit configured to display on a 2-dimensional color plane a user interface image including the target color data and optimized color data.
US08274687B2
An image forming apparatus includes: a communication interface accessing Web addresses; a memory for storing predetermined addresses; a first determination unit for determining whether the image forming apparatus is in a first state that access of the image forming apparatus is limited to the predetermined addresses or a second state that the image forming apparatus is permitted to access any addresses; a second determination unit for determining whether a designated address is included in the predetermined addresses, when the image forming apparatus is in the first state; and a permission unit for giving to the communication interface permission to access the designated address, when the designated address is included in the predetermined addresses.
US08274684B2
In a first route, image data from an image reading unit is processed by both a first image processing block and a second image processing block and sent to a storage unit, and in a second route, the image data processed by the first image processing block is stored in the storage unit and image data from the storage unit is processed by the second image processing block and sent to the storage unit. The control unit switches a process of the second image processing block according to a result of a process of the first image processing block, and switches an input source to the second image processing block according to a process content of the second image processing block.
US08274678B2
Methods and systems for facilitating remote access and customization of internally generated printing node status reports. In some embodiments, the methods and systems advantageously facilitate remote access and customization of internally generated printing node status reports by adapting preexisting features that generate local hard copies of printing node status reports in response to locally initiated commands. Such adaptation enables a printing node to receive, process and respond to remotely initiated requests for printing node status reports in a manner that permits remote customization of the style of printing node status reports.
US08274677B2
An information processing system includes a device having a printing unit and an information processing apparatus connected to the device via a network. The device includes a display screen sharing client unit configure to acquire data of a display screen displayed at the information processing apparatus and to display the data of the display screen on a display unit of the device, thereby achieving display screen sharing. The information processing apparatus includes a display screen sharing server unit configured to supply the data of the display screen displayed at the information processing apparatus to the device, and a print setting unit configured to acquire, through a network, usage information necessary to use the printing unit in response instruction from the device, and to spontaneously make a setting necessary to cause the printing unit to print document data stored in the information processing apparatus in response to the usage information.
US08274673B2
A multi-functional peripheral allows a user to select a productivity priority mode or an image quality priority mode. In the productivity priority mode, a scanner performs a reading operation without moving first and second carriages in a sub-scanning direction, a foreign object image removing processing is executed in accordance with image data obtained by the reading operation, and image forming is performed in accordance with the image data applied with image processing. In the image quality priority mode, the first and second carriages are moved from a reading position P to a reading position P′ at which the foreign object does not adhere to a reading slot, the scanner performs the reading operation, and an image forming is performed in accordance with image data applied with image processing not including the foreign object image removing processing.
US08274671B2
A printing system having a printing apparatus and a post-processing apparatus connected to the printing apparatus, and a method for controlling the printing system, are provided. When an in-line job is received that is set to perform a printing process by the printing apparatus and a post-process by the post-processing apparatus with respect to a sheet printed by the printing process, it is determined whether or not the in-line job is to be separated into the printing process and an off-line process of performing the post-process by the post-processing apparatus without performing the printing process. When it is determined that the separation is to be performed, the printing apparatus is caused to execute the printing process and print information for executing the off-line process is held. When a user's instruction to execute the off-line process is received, the off-line process is executed with respect to the sheet printed by the printing process.
US08274666B2
A combined projector/printer that can receive data in a printer format or a projector format, and then either generate a displayable image, a printed document or both. In the case that the input data is not in a video format but rather in a print format, the projector system is further capable of converting the print format data to image data and to render the image data on a digital display. The print format to image data conversion is provided by a coder/decoder. The combined projector/printer system is capable of displaying an image, printing an image, or recording a presentation according to the needs of the user. The present invention also includes a variety of methods for performing the functionality of the present invention including a “print-to-display” method.
US08274664B2
An image forming apparatus is provided with an image reading unit for reading the image information of a document and an image forming unit for performing a specified image forming process based on this image information. The image reading unit includes a contact glass on which a document to have image information read therefrom is to be placed, an image reading unit main body on which the contact glass is mounted, a document pressing member openable and closable to press a document placed on the contact glass, and an optical member for optically scanning a document surface of the document placed on the contact glass to read as a document image. The image reading unit main body includes a top panel formed with an opening covered by the contact glass and the outer surface of the top panel is in a dark color.
US08274663B2
A thickness detecting mechanism is provided for detecting a thickness of a to-be-measured article. The thickness detecting mechanism includes a detecting arm and an optical displacement sensing module. The detecting arm is moved as the to-be-measured article is sustained against the detecting arm. The detecting arm includes a surface. The optical displacement sensing module detects the surface of the detecting arm when the detecting arm is respectively located in a first position and a second position. According to the displacement amount of the detecting arm from the first position to the second position, the thickness of the to-be-measured article is acquired.
US08274653B2
The present invention provides a small spectroscope that has a short response time. A spectroscope according to one embodiment of the present invention includes: a beam deflector that includes an electro-optic crystal, having an electro-optic effect, and paired electrodes used to apply an electric field inside the electro-optic crystal; spectroscopic means for dispersing light output by the beam deflector; and wavelength selection means for selecting light having an arbitrary wavelength from the light dispersed and output by the spectroscopic means.
US08274642B2
A maskless exposure method of drawing a circuit pattern includes: moving a substrate with respect to a projection optical system; scanning, by the projection optical system, the substrate in a first direction; shifting a scanning region in a second direction; scanning the substrate in the first direction so that an overlapping part is formed. A plurality of marks different from the circuit pattern are exposed in a vicinity of the overlapping part. The plurality of marks are a set of marks at least including two marks disposed on one side of the overlapping part and two marks disposed on another side of the overlapping part. Deviations between the pair of the scanning regions, an inclination of exposing light, and a yawing angle of a stage are analyzed by measuring deviations of distances among the plurality of marks. Calibration data are obtained from a result of the analyzing.
US08274641B2
A table is disclosed in which measures are taken to seal between the table and an edge of an object, in use, supported on the table. In particular, a capillary passage is formed between the object on the table and the table itself. A meniscus pinning feature and/or the presence of an overpressure at the radially inward side of the capillary passage holds the liquid in the passage and helps prevent it from advancing further radially inwardly. The features to perform this function may be associated with or formed in a member surrounding the object. The member may be thermally decoupled from a part of the table.
US08274631B2
Certain embodiments of liquid crystal displays and liquid crystal display functional parts have low reflection for outdoor applications. Various embodiments also have the advantage of being able to provide increased contrast and brightness for certain convenient viewing directions for outdoor viewers wearing polarized sunglasses.
US08274627B2
The invention provides a liquid crystal panel and a liquid crystal display device, which has suppressed light leakage at an angle of 45 degrees to an absorption axis of a polarizing plate, a low black-state brightness in an oblique direction and an improved contrast. The liquid crystal panel comprises a liquid crystal cell including a liquid crystal layer containing liquid crystal molecules that is oriented in homogeneous alignment when no electric field is applied thereto, a first polarizer placed on one side of the liquid crystal cell, a second polarizer placed on another side of the liquid crystal cell, a first anisotropic optical element placed between the liquid crystal cell and the first polarizer and satisfying nx1>ny1>nz1, and a second anisotropic optical element placed between the first anisotropic optical element and the liquid crystal cell and satisfying nz2>nx2>ny2, wherein the slow axis of the first anisotropic optical element is parallel to the slow axis of the second anisotropic optical element.
US08274622B2
A cooling system and a method for cooling an electronic display. A preferred embodiment utilizes a closed loop cooling system in a constricted convection cooling setup to remove heat from the backlight of a display assembly. Cooling air can be pulled or pushed through a gap between the display (or backlight) and a rear cooling chamber. The resulting warm air can then be exhausted out of the display housing. The cooling air may be air conditioned or may be exposed to a thermoelectric device. A thermostat may be used so that cooling fans are only energized when the temperature reaches a predetermined point.
US08274619B2
A display device which can reduce easily the brightness unevenness produced by the insufficient writing of TFT, wherein, the display device having: a display panel which, over a surface of an insulating substrate, includes plural scanning signal lines; plural picture signal lines; plural TFTs; plural pixel electrodes coupled to sources of the TFTs; and a counter electrode, wherein the pixel and counter electrodes are arranged over the same surface of an insulating layer overlying the surface of the insulating substrate, and when a gate insulating film provided at one TFT among the TFTs is thinner than a gate insulating film provided at another TFT among the TFTs, a gap between a pixel electrode coupled to the source of the one TFT and the counter electrode is set to be wider than a gap between a pixel electrode coupled to the source of the another TFT and the counter electrode.
US08274615B2
A mobile video system includes a housing having a front surface and a rear surface. The housing is shaped and dimensioned for attachment to a rear surface of a back support portion of an vehicle seat, wherein the housing includes a rear surface that is provided with coupling members shaped and dimensioned for attachment to the back support portion of the vehicle seat. A video monitor and a video source are supported within the housing. The video monitor is mounted within the housing for movement between an exposed orientation in which it is positioned above the housing and a storage position in which it is positioned within the housing for protection from the external environment.
US08274614B2
According to one embodiment, a television apparatus includes a main body, a housing, an exothermic component, and a heat transfer mechanism. The main body has a display screen, and is used in a first orientation where one side of the display screen is positioned on the upper side and in a second orientation where another side is positioned on the upper side. The housing at least partially constitutes the outline of the main body. The exothermic component is housed in the housing. The heat transfer mechanism includes a heat receiving portion that receives heat from the exothermic component, a heat releasing portion that releases heat, and a heat transferring portion that houses a medium to transfer heat from the heat receiving portion to the heat releasing portion. In both the first orientation and the second orientation, the heat receiving portion is located lower than the heat releasing portion.
US08274610B2
A TV remote control is powered using RFID principles from an electric field generated by the TV and so the RC requires no batteries. The RC changes the ID field of the data packet it transmits based on what button was pushed so that a first button is associated with a first ID, a second button is associated with a second ID, and so on. In this way, only a single RFID tag need be provided in the RC.
US08274609B2
Provided are a tuning method according to a variable key input length and a broadcast receiving apparatus using the tuning method. The tuning method includes: if it is determined that an input length of one of at least one or more key inputs is more than or equal to a predetermined time, tuning to a first type broadcast; and if it is determined that the input length is less than the predetermined time, tuning to a second type broadcast different from the first type broadcast. Thus, different types of broadcasts can be tuned according to a length of a key input performed by a user. As a result, a digital broadcast channel can be directly input using only a number key.
US08274607B2
An image processing apparatus is provided, including: a first image processing unit which converts an input image signal into a brightness signal and a chromaticity signal; and a second image processing unit which adjusts a bandwidth used to filter the chromaticity signal to correspond to a noise level of the image signal, and filters the chromaticity signal with the adjusted bandwidth to extract a chrominance signal.
US08274606B2
A video receiving apparatus comprises a switch, an analog-to-digital converter (ADC), a video processing circuit and a decoder is provided. The ADC receives a first analog channel data from the switch within a plurality of first periods and receives a second analog channel data from the switch within a plurality of second periods, and output a digital video signal. The sampling frequency of the ADC is a plurality of times of a switching frequency of the switch. The video processing circuit includes a recovery circuit and a noise reduction circuit. The recovery circuit restores the digital video signal to a recovery video signal corresponding to a video format of the analog video signal. The noise reduction circuit reduces noises generated by the switch according to the digital video signal. The decoder outputs a display signal according to the analog video signal.
US08274604B2
A image display unit is allowed to reproduce display characteristics substantially equivalent to that obtained with use of a cinema projector, when performing a image display based on a film image signal or an equivalent. The image display unit including: an image insertion section inserting an interpolation frame image into an input video signal as the film image signal or the equivalent; and a display section performing image display based on a video signal where the interpolation frame image is inserted. The image insertion section generates an optimized image as the interpolation frame image in which the insertion time period and the signal level are optimized based on display characteristics to be achieved in a projected image projected with the cinema film by a cinema projector, thereby to insert the optimized image into the input video signal at a position corresponding to a gap between frames of the cinema film.
US08274601B2
A digital camera includes a bezel and an extending ring. The bezel includes a convex ring and at least one fixing portion. The convex ring is positioned on a center of the bezel. The fixing portion is defined on an outer sidewall of the convex ring. The extending ring includes a sleeve, a flange, and at least one fastening portion. The sleeve is placed around the outer sidewall of the convex ring. The flange extends from an end of the sleeve and abuts the convex ring. The fastening portion cooperates with the fixing portion.
US08274588B2
In a CMOS image sensor (10) including a pixel array unit (12) having pixels separately arranged in even-numbered pixel rows and odd-numbered pixel rows, a reading operation performed on odd pixels having a short accumulation time is performed in an exposure start portion of even pixels having a long accumulation time. By this, even when the even pixels are saturated and signal charges overflow from the even pixels, and therefore, part of the signal charges intrude into the odd pixels adjacent to the even pixels, an adverse effect of blooming due to the saturation of the even pixels to signals of the odd pixels is eliminated since the reading operation performed on the odd pixels has already been completed. The adverse effect due to the blooming to the low-sensitive signals is eliminated when a method for attaining a dynamic range by differentiating accumulation times between adjacent pixels is employed.
US08274581B2
An image capture device includes an image capture unit, a switching unit, a calculation unit, a comparison unit, and a display unit. The image capture unit captures consecutive images. The switching unit switches to a playback mode. The calculation unit calculates each of gradient values between adjacent pixels within each the image and cumulates a total value composed of the gradient values of the image. The comparison unit compares different total values corresponding to different images to determine the image having a maximum total value. The display unit displays the acquired image.
US08274580B2
The present invention includes a color converting section carrying out color conversion processing and a coefficient correcting section setting a correcting coefficient group to a coefficient group of the color conversion. The coefficient correcting section sets a local area containing a pixel to be processed, and calculates “feature information of the local area” containing at least one of averaged color information, averaged luminance information, and flatness on the basis of the pixel signals of the local area. The coefficient correcting section determines a correcting coefficient group to be used for the pixel to be processed on the basis of the feature information of the local area. With this construction, the present invention suppresses influence of noise when changing the color conversion processing for each pixel.
US08274576B2
When still images are captured, signals read from all pixel cells of a pixel cell array having a Bayer array of color filters are selected, as a first output to be recorded and displayed, by an output selector. When moving images are captured, a 9-pixel binned signal is selected as the first output by the output selector, and a differential component between an output signal of a pixel cell located at the center-of-mass position of the 9 pixels, and the 9-pixel binned signal, is supplied as a second output from a memory circuit. Contrast information of a subject image is acquired based on the second output to perform lens focus adjustment.
US08274562B2
A camera for identifying soiling on a protective screen, such as a vehicle windscreen, is focused on a scene through the protective screen and can be used to identify soiling and for other applications, e.g. to identify driving lanes and/or objects in the scene. Soiling is identified merely by evaluating successively recorded image frames, and artificial reference frames or reference objects are not required. A prerequisite is that the relative speed vrel between the camera and at least one recorded object in the scene is not equal to zero and its trajectory in the image is predicted. By comparing the relevant image frame sections, possible soiling on subregions of the protective screen is identified.
US08274551B2
A method and apparatus for using header information of stereoscopic image data is provided. The method includes using three-dimensional reproduction period information related to three-dimensionally reproduced stereoscopic image data of image data recorded in a payload region of the stereoscopic image bitstream, in a header region of the stereoscopic image bitstream; recording camera information related to cameras used for obtaining a stereoscopic image, in the header region; recording parallax information between base and additional images of the stereoscopic image in the header region; and recording the image data in the payload region of the stereoscopic image bitstream.
US08274546B1
The present invention is a system and method for improving the audio quality during a in a living-room type of environment having multimedia equipment. In accordance with an embodiment of the present invention, the audio signals emanating from various speakers are modified/altered, so as to capture audio signals with the highest signal to noise ratio. One situation where embodiments of the present invention are usable is in the context of a video/audio call. Since the positions of the microphone and speakers are generally fixed, in some embodiments, the speaker outputs are controlled/modified to provide an improved signal-to-noise ratio. In accordance with one embodiment, the audio emanating from the central speaker is subdued or eliminated to reduce significantly the problems that occur due to the audio from the center speaker being captured by the microphone, which is typically in close proximity to the center speaker. The audio may be provided to the speakers by various ways, such as HDMI, RCA, and so on.
US08274545B2
An apparatus and a method for casting video and audio data to a web during video telephony in a mobile communication terminal are provided. The method includes sending a transmitting request message to a counterpart terminal, if a transmitting request menu is selected in a video telephony mode, sending authentication information to a server, if a transmitting accept message is received from the counterpart terminal, and transmitting video telephony data to the server, if an authentication complete message is received from the server.
US08274539B2
A light-emitting element array drive device includes: plural light-emitting elements; plural switch elements electrically connected mutually in an array and respectively to the light-emitting elements, and setting the respective light-emitting elements ready to emit light when turned on, and unready to emit light when turned off; a transfer signal supply unit supplying transfer signals for getting the switch elements turned-on by sequentially switching each switch element from being turned-off to turned-on, and to turned-off, where periods during which the respective switch elements are turned on are displaced so that each two periods for two of the switch elements adjacently-connected overlap; and a light-emission signal supply unit supplying a light-emission signal having light-emitting periods for the light-emitting elements, where an end point of each light-emitting period is set based on a start point of the above overlap, while a start point thereof is set before each end point.
US08274537B2
Apparatus for thermal transfer printing of an image from a thermal retransfer sheet onto an article, includes heating means (40, 42, 44, 46) adapted to supply heated gas at a variable flow rate. Also disclosed is a method of printing an image, and the resulting printed article.
US08274536B2
A method is performed at a multifunction device with a touch screen display. The method includes displaying a text entry interface with a soft keyboard in a first area and a viewing area with a first size to display scrollable information. The method detects a finger gesture on the viewing area, and responds to the gesture. When the viewing area displays only a portion of the information, the response includes: (1) ceasing to display the soft keyboard, (2) expanding the viewing area to a second size, including at least some of the first area, and (3) scrolling the information in the expanded viewing area. When the viewing area with the first size displays all of the information, the response includes: (1) maintaining display of the soft keyboard, (2) keeping the viewing area at the first size, and (3) moving the information in the viewing area based on the finger gesture.
US08274534B2
After positioning the cursor and pressing-and-holding a mouse button to begin a drag, a user continues to drag the cursor out of and into plural popped up regions. While the cursor is within a region, an associated function effects the displayed graphical information in a particular way, such as continuously panning, drawing, zooming, or rotating. Upon rolling-out of a region without entering a contiguous region, the last function continues to execute and all popped up regions are removed such that the user may utilize the entire display without being switched to another function. In a simple form, after release of the mouse button, a tool may zoom out if the user held the mouse substantially stationary and zoom in on a rectangle if the mouse was dragged. Reducing the number of times a user clicks by eliminating the step of selecting a function should help avoid repetitive strain injuries.
US08274533B2
What is disclosed is a system and method for performing a background deletion that exploits both local and global context to remove background and other white space between objects with the aim of retaining structural relationships between objects in the document. A document image is received and seams are carved through the image. Seams composed of uniform background pixels are identified. Adjacent seams containing background pixels are collected into groups of seams. The background seam groups are classified according to their widths. A target number of seams to be removed for each background seam group is then determined based on the classification. Seam groups which are wider will have at least the same or a greater target number of seams to be deleted therefrom than will seam groups of narrower widths. The document image is then resized by deleting seams from the seam groups based on the assigned target number.
US08274532B2
A system adaptively orients a display image on a device for presenting data acquired via one or more cables connected to a particular side of the device. The system includes a sensor for detecting orientation of the device and providing a device orientation representative signal indicating whether the device is in a first orientation or a second orientation substantially different to the first orientation. A display screen presents display images on the device. A display generator automatically generates a display image on the display screen oriented to be upright in the first and second orientations of the device, in response to the orientation representative signal. A command processor adaptively selects functions assigned to user selectable buttons positioned on both sides of the display screen of the device, in response to the orientation representative signal.
US08274531B2
A display apparatus adapted to generate image data for controlling a first light modulation section adapted to project a first window, and image data for controlling a second light modulation section adapted to project a second window smaller than the first window and projected so as to overlap with the first window, includes: a first image conversion section adapted to convert a resolution of input image data in accordance a resolution of the first light modulation section to form the image data for controlling the first light modulation section; and a second image conversion section adapted to extract data included in a range corresponding to a resolution of the second light modulation section among the input image data to form the image data for controlling the second light modulation section.
US08274530B2
The present invention is directed to systems and methods for processing 2-D to 3-D image conversion. The system and method includes erode filling when an object has been removed from an image. In one embodiment, a target binary t image mask of the removed object is used for comparison with a binary source mask of the image. In an iterative process, color differences between pixels in the target mask and pixels in the source mask are identified and the pixels in the target mask are changed working from the periphery of the target mask to the center of the mask. Color noise is eliminated in the filled region of the target mask and, if desired, random color noise is added to the filled target mask.
US08274525B2
A color gamut mapping maps an input image signal which has input pixel colors defined by an input luminance and an input chromaticity into a mapped image signal which has corresponding mapped pixel colors defined by a mapped luminance and a mapped chromaticity for a display. The input pixel colors lie within the input color gamut different than the display color gamut. The desired mapped luminance may be retrieved by looking up stored desired luminance values in a look-up table at the mapped chromaticity, or by calculating a relative to white luminance, or a luminance decrease, etc.
US08274516B2
Architecture that expresses scene composition and animation in a form that can run entirely on the graphics processing unit (GPU). The architecture stores retained graph information (e.g., scene graph and animation information) as texture information, and uses shaders (e.g., vertex and pixel) to evaluate time information, evaluate animation, evaluate transforms, and rasterize paths. Additionally, the architecture provides the ability to compute animation positions and redraw entirely on the GPU without per primitive CPU intervention.
US08274510B2
A method, apparatus, article of manufacture for illustrating progress in achieving a goal of a system modeled by a computer program. In one embodiment, the invention is evidenced by a method comprising the steps of displaying a widget wherein the widget comprises a center portion representing a category of data represented by the computer program and the category of data includes n data points that must be fulfilled to achieve the goal and an outer portion, comprising a segment representing each one of the n data points; and updating the widget to represent each of the n data points that has been fulfilled by delineating each segment representing a fulfilled data point requirement from each segment representing a non-fulfilled data point requirement.
US08274505B2
The present invention relates to a driving device for a display and the method thereof for driving a pixel matrix containing N×M pixel units. The driving device for a display comprises: a first vertical driver generating N first vertical driving signals in sequence, each of N first vertical driving signals being used to drive the first through the K-th pixel units on each row of the pixel matrix; and a second vertical driver generating N second vertical driving signals in sequence, each of N second vertical driving signals being used to drive the (K+1)-th through the M-th pixel units on each row of the pixel matrix.
US08274502B2
A video switch for allowing at least two users to view video data from respective ones of at least two video sources. The video switch comprises a switch for selecting one of the at least two video sources and at least one sampler connected to the switch. The sampler is for sampling video data from the at least two video sources. The video switch further comprises a controller for controlling the switch and sampler to select one of the at least two video sources and sample a frame of video data. An output is provided for transmitting video data to one of the at least two users. The output supports a maximum number of simultaneous users which is at least two, and the number of samplers in the video switch is less than the maximum number of simultaneous users.A video switch according to the present invention allows a sampler for capturing video data to be shared between at least two simultaneous users. This reduces the cost, size and complexity of the hardware required to implement a video switch.In one embodiment of the invention, the sampler may comprise a programmable Phase Locked Loop which can optionally have a fast lock mode.
US08274497B2
A data input device comprises a microprocessor electrically connected to a camera device, a mirror installed in front of a lens of the camera device to allow the camera device to take a reference image reflected by the mirror. When the microprocessor detects that the camera device takes that a user touches the reference image in at least one input zone of an image, it then generates a corresponding input signal according to that the camera device takes that the user touches input images in at least one input zone. The data input device according to the present invention can more accurately and quickly generate input signal corresponding to an input operation processed by the user and saves the production cost more.
US08274487B2
A touchpad or touchscreen has a sensitive operating area for setting particular functions. To simplify operation, at least one mechanical control element is arranged above the sensitive operating area, said control element having a trigger which acts on the sensitive operating area to set functions when the control element is moved.
US08274473B2
An electro-optic display includes a first substrate provided thereon with a first electrode, a second substrate provided thereon with a second electrode forming an electric field in cooperation with the first electrode, and an electro-optic material interposed between the first and second substrates. The electro-optic material includes a non-polar solvent and a polar solvent dispersed in the non-polar solvent and controlled by the electric field. The first electrode is disposed on a non-display region of the first substrate including a plurality of pixels each of which having a display region, in which an image is displayed, and the non-display region adjacent to the display region. At least one of a reflective layer and a light sourcing layer defines an amount of light passed through the display area.
US08274466B2
An LCD controller includes at least one I/O pad for providing an LCD drive voltage in an LCD mode of operation. I/O pad logic drives the at least one I/O pad responsive to a provided bias voltage. Voltage selection logic selects a higher voltage between an LCD drive voltage and an externally provided system voltage as a first voltage. Bias voltage logic selects one of the system voltage or the first voltage as the bias voltage for the I/O pad logic. The system voltage is selected as the bias voltage for the I/O pad logic in a non-LCD mode of operation for the I/O pad and the first voltage is selected for the bias voltage for the I/O pad logic in the LCD mode of operation for the I/O pad.
US08274462B2
An electro-optical device includes a pixel that has an electro-optical element with a light transmittance that changes to a predetermined value in response to an applied voltage, which changes in response to the temperature. A light source irradiates light to the pixel. A driving unit includes a predetermined number of sub-fields having the same length in one frame. The driving unit provides either an on-voltage indicating light-on or an off-voltage indicating light-off to the pixel in each of the predetermined number of the sub-fields in response to the grayscale to be displayed. A temperature measuring unit measures the temperature and outputs a temperature signal. A time controlling unit controls the length of one sub-field on the basis of the temperature signal. A light intensity controlling unit controls the intensity of the light incident on the pixel on the basis of the temperature signal.
US08274460B2
A liquid crystal display apparatus includes a liquid crystal panel assembly having pixels arranged in a matrix form, which have a first group of pixels and a second group of pixels, gate lines having a first group of gate lines and a second group of gate lines that are connected with the first group of pixels and the second group of pixels, respectively, and data lines each of which is connected with one of the first group of pixels and one of the second group of pixels in every row of the matrix form. The liquid crystal display apparatus also includes a signal controller that receives input image signals and generates two groups of image data, a data driver that receives the two groups of image data and provides data voltages corresponding to the image data to the data lines, and a gate driving unit including a first gate driver that provides first gate-on signals to the first group of gate lines and a second gate driver that provides second gate-on signals to the second group of gate lines.
US08274454B2
Disclosed herein is an electro luminescence display panel having a pixel structure corresponding to an active matrix drive system, including: a reverse bias potential generating portion configured to generate a reverse bias potential in which corresponding one of gradation values of pixels is reflected; and a voltage applying portion configured to apply the reverse bias potential to a gate electrode of a drive transistor composing a pixel circuit adapted to operate for a non-emission time period.
US08274452B2
An organic light emitting display including a demux is disclosed. The display include a plurality of RGB switching transistors which apply a data voltage through RGB data lines as the RGB switching transistors are coupled to the respective RGB data lines, and a plurality of RGB pixel circuits coupled to the RGB switching transistors of the demux. In addition, the RGB data voltage of the demux can be applied during a period which a turn-on emission control signal is applied to the RGB pixel circuits.
US08274451B2
The present invention relates to an electroluminescent device, particularly to an organic electroluminescent device reliably receiving driving voltage from a voltage source, and a method of driving the same. A driving circuit of the electroluminescent device includes first to third sub-pixels formed on crossing areas of data lines and scan lines, a pre-charge driving circuit which applies pre-charge current to the data lines of the first to third sub-pixels and a data driving circuit which applies data current to the pre-charged data lines. The pre-charge current is applied to the first to third sub-pixels in different time. The organic electroluminescent device of the present invention and the method of driving the same can reliably receive the driving voltage from the voltage source, and prevent quick flames of the device.
US08274444B2
An antenna device includes an insulating substrate, a ground plane, a radiating element, a horizontal feed probe and a vertical feed probe. The insulating substrate has a first surface and a second surface opposite to the first surface. One end of the first surface defines an insulating area. One end of the second surface adjacent to the insulating area defines a first isolating area, a second isolating area, a horizontal feed circuit and a vertical feed circuit. The ground plane includes a first ground plane and a second ground plane. The radiating element is located onto the insulating area. The horizontal and vertical feed probes are inserted in the insulating substrate and the radiating element with one end thereof projecting beyond the radiating element and the other end thereof respectively penetrating through the first and second isolating areas so as to couple with the horizontal and vertical feed circuits, respectively.
US08274441B2
Antenna systems include adjustment mechanisms to adjust the position of dish antennas. The adjustment mechanism includes a clip, a bracket, and a cam mechanism. The clip is fixedly coupled to and projects outwardly from a mast. The bracket is pivotally coupled to the mast and is between the stationary clip and cam mechanism. The cam mechanism is pivotally coupled to the clip and positioned to rotate the bracket and the dish antenna as the cam mechanism rotates. The clip is made of a lightweight material to reduce the overall weight of the antenna system to enhance performance.