US08343006B2
A transmission includes an input shaft (IP), an output shaft (OP), a single planetary gearset (SP), a compound planetary gearset (CP), shifting elements. The single planetary gearset is arranged before the compound planetary gearset, and the shifting elements comprise at least two brakes (B1,B2), the first clutch (C1), the second clutch (C2), the third clutch (C3), and all the shifting elements are positioned between the single planetary gearset and the compound planetary gearset, which has compact arrangements, and can reduce the power transmission length. The transmission also includes an one-way clutch (OWC) acted on the compound planetary gearset. When the transmission shifts to the first speed stage, the first clutch (C1) and the one-way clutch are operated, and the power is transferred from the input shaft to the output shaft via the single planetary gearset and the compound planetary gearset, and when the first speed stage is shifted to the second speed stage, only the first brake (B1) should be operated to engage, thereby it can reduce the frequency of operating the shifting elements and the shifting time in low speed stage.
US08342988B1
A weight member is removably attachable to a racquet for use during warm-up. The device is a skeletal structure that has a laterally expandable mouth, a throat, and a pair of heads that resiliently converge toward one another. The skeletal structure is formed of a metal bar member of a gauge to match the desired device weight and is coated with a protective outer layer. At least one resilient member can bridge a gap at the mouth and throat. The device is symmetrical in both the X-plane and the Y-plane.
US08342986B2
A multi-purpose spring-loaded divot repair tool comprising, in one embodiment, a forked end containing two prongs, a round ball marker, a concave recession, a handle, and a belt clip. The two prongs extend from one end of the handle and are used to repair divots. The round ball marker is located on the handle and is distally positioned to the forked end. Furthermore, the concave recession is proximally located to the round ball marker and distally located to the forked end, such that the concave recession faces upward when the forked end is inserted into the ground. The tool is manufactured from high quality materials. In a further embodiment, a dual acting spring loaded actuation system including spring action in both the deployment and return directions for actuating the forked end.
US08342980B2
Embodiments of golf club heads with loft-based weights and methods to manufacture golf club heads are generally described herein. Other embodiments may be described and claimed.
US08342977B2
The amplitude of a swing powered by an electric motor is controlled by detecting a peak voltage induced in the motor coil by the swing motion when the motor is not being powered and comparing the detected voltage with a one of a set of pre-measured reference values of peak voltages obtained at corresponding amplitude settings to provide a signal to a motor controller which adjusts the power supplied to the motor to bring the swing amplitude to. The motor controller supplies a PWM signal voltage to power the motor and adjusts the voltage on-time to bring or restore the swing to the selected amplitude.
US08342969B2
A tripod-type constant-velocity universal joint has a journal raw profile with reduced weight and a reduced number of manufacturing steps. A leading end corner portion of the journal raw profile is held with use of a die and forged. By the forging, at the part including an elliptically longitudinal side relatively on a leading end portion side of an outer peripheral surface of each of journals, edge portions reducing a lateral sectional area of each of the journals toward a leading end side thereof are formed, and tapered surfaces are formed on the leading end side of the edge portions. Centering on each of the journals is performed by causing two points on an elliptically longitudinal side of the edge portions to abut against a centering jig.
US08342968B2
A method of conveying a command to a user using a practice system is provided. The method includes detecting movement of the user using a sensor; selecting a command from a list of pre-determined commands; and conveying the command to the user using a signaler.
US08342956B2
The present invention is a method and a gaming system for operating a progressive game that is accessible at a plurality of gaming machines. The progressive game has a plurality of progressive jackpots. The method and system involve collecting wager-input data at the plurality of gaming machines that corresponds to wager inputs made at the plurality of gaming machines, and crediting a portion of the wager inputs to a first group of the plurality of progressive jackpots in accordance with a first distribution set. In response to the wager-input data meeting a predetermined criteria, the method and system include crediting a portion of subsequent wager inputs to a second group of the plurality of progressive jackpots in accordance with a second distribution set. The first group directs funds to at least one progressive jackpot in an amount that is different from the second group.
US08342943B1
A method for providing personalized rewards to slot machine players may involve defining multiple player categories. The method may also involve providing player category rules. The method may also involve assigning slot machine players to the player categories based on the player category rules. During a gaming session on a slot machine, the method may involve identifying a current player on the slot machine and identifying a player category to which the current player is assigned. In response to detecting a triggering event involving the current player's activity on the slot machine, bonus credits may be awarded to the current player based on the player category that is assigned to the current player.
US08342938B2
A gaming machine reel having a motor capable of rotating the reel operatively coupled to a controller to control a reel rotation speed, a support mechanism coupled to the motor having an outer circumferential region, a rotatable display mounted on the outer circumferential region operable to rotate about an axis of the reel. The rotatable display may be used to display game play indicia utilized in a wager-based game of chance. A game controller coupled to the rotatable display may be configured to determine a portion of the rotatable display that is visible through a viewing window on the gaming machine at a particular, determine pixel locations associated with the visible portions and map visual content to the visible portions as a function of time while the rotatable display is rotating.
US08342934B2
A gaming machine, at the beginning of a game, determines static symbols for each of the video reels and executes variable display. Then, in a case where the static symbols do not form a winning combination and where the static symbols include symbols constituting a winning combination, video reels displaying symbols not constituting the winning combination are statically displayed after other video reels.
US08342929B2
A multi-media interactive play system has a number of play elements situated in a variety of play environments or play media. The play elements are linked to a common record of participant performance, progress, character attributes, etc. The participant's performance in the play elements determines the play elements to which the participant may proceed as well as the play parameters of the play element in which the participant is currently involved. The play elements are thus interlinked to define a sequence or path network along which the participant advances. By advancing through the play elements the participant carries out a plot, story, theme, etc. that attaches a significance to the successful completion of a given play element or elements. Also disclosed in a variety of play elements suitable for use in the system, an example of a plot or theme that may be carried out by the system, and a send/receive radio frequency network that may be used to track play participants in a play center.
US08342916B2
An improved processing assembly having a meat emulsion pump connected to a stuffing horn. The stuffing horn positioned to fill casings with meat emulsion which form a strand of processed meat that is received by a twister, then a linker, and subsequently deposited on a conveyor.
US08342910B2
An abrasive tool including a CMP pad conditioner having a substrate including a first major surface, a second major surface opposite the first major surface, and a side surface extending between the first major surface and the second major, wherein a first layer of abrasive grains is attached to the first major surface and a second layer of abrasive grains is attached to the second major surface. The conditioner further includes a first sealing member extending in a peripheral direction along a portion of the side surface of the substrate.
US08342907B2
A polishing state monitoring apparatus measures characteristic values of a surface, being polished, of a workpiece to determine the timing of a polishing end point. The polishing state monitoring apparatus includes a light-emitting unit for applying light from a light source to a surface of a workpiece being polished, a light-receiving unit for receiving reflected light from the surface of the workpiece, a spectroscope unit for dividing the reflected light received by the light-receiving unit into a plurality of light rays having respective wavelengths, and light-receiving elements for accumulating the detected light rays as electrical information. The polishing state monitoring apparatus further includes a spectral data generator for reading the electrical information accumulated by the light-receiving elements and generating spectral data of the reflected light, and a processor for calculating a predetermined characteristic value on the surface of the workpiece based on the spectral data generated by the spectral data generator.
US08342906B2
A system method and apparatus to monitor a frictional coefficient of a substrate undergoing polishing is described. A polishing pad assembly includes a polishing layer including a polishing surface, and a substrate contacting member flexibly coupled to the polishing layer having a top surface to contact an exposed surface of a substrate. At least a portion of the top surface is substantially coplanar with the polishing surface. A sensor is provided to measure a lateral displacement of the substrate contacting member. Some embodiments may provide accurate endpoint detection during chemical mechanical polishing to indicate the exposure of an underlying layer.
US08342902B2
A deer call includes a cylindrical mouthpiece in which a reed assembly is mounted for oscillatory movement creating a sound replicating that of a deer and a sound attenuating tube secured to the mouthpiece. The mouthpiece is composed of a rigid tubular member and an elastic skin secured about the tubular member. The rigid tubular member includes a central cut-out section exposing the elastic skin to an interior of the mouthpiece thereby defining the elastic skin resonance control surface, wherein the elastic skin in the area of the elastic skin resonance control surface includes a sound control aperture allowing the user to control air pressure within the mouthpiece and thereby control amplitude of sound generated by the deer call.
US08342900B2
A glitter circulation device includes a housing defining a chamber configured to receive a doll. A tray is coupled to the housing and configured to hold a plurality of glitter particles. A fan is coupled to housing and in communication with the tray and the chamber. The fan is configured to draw the glitter particles from the tray and expel the glitter particles into the chamber.
US08342898B2
A bonding agent sheet (30) including removed bonding agent portions (31) corresponding to terminal portions (102) is bonded to a mother sealing substrate (400). Further, a mother element substrate (100) including display regions (101) and the terminal portions (102) is bonded to the bonding agent sheet (30) to form a mother panel (200). Then, the mother panel (200) is separated into individual organic EL display panels to form organic EL display devices.
US08342893B2
An electrical terminal operable to facilitate electrical connectivity between the terminal and an electrical connector. The electrical terminal may include a conducting element, such as but not limited to a coil spring, within a open end used to connect to an electrically conducting connector. The conducting element may facilitate electrical connectivity between the inserted connector and the terminal.
US08342892B2
The high conductivity energy-saving clamping device comprises a clamp and a cable fixed upon the clamp. Inside the cable, the conductive material protrudes and is set on the juncture of the clamp and the external conductor. When the clamp is connected to the external conductor, the conductive material and the external conductor contact and meet. This invention possesses the following advantages: it simplifies the production technology, lessens raw materials needed for production and hence saves resources and cost by the direct contact of the conductive material and the external conductor; moreover, due to the increase of conductive contact area, it enhances the electrical conductivity by 10% to 15% compared to those common clamps which use tooth-like conductive parts to connect the external conductor. Meanwhile, the invention greatly decreases environmental pollution by omitting the plating process of tooth-like conductive parts.
US08342887B2
An electrical connector and assembly having a body arranged and disposed to receive an interconnector of a guide wire at a first end and an interface cable at a second end, and a contact module in the body, the contact module comprising a contact housing and a plurality of contacts, disposed in the contact housing, the plurality of contacts being configured for electrical connection with the interface cable and the guide wire, is disclosed.
US08342886B2
An electrical connector includes an insulating housing defining an uninterrupted tongue portion with opposite first surface and second surface and a plurality of contacts loaded in the tongue portion. The first surface defines at least one rib. The plurality of contacts includes a first group of contacts with contacting portions loaded in the first surface at one side of the at least one rib, a second group of contacts with contacting portions loaded in the first surface at another side of the rib and a third group of contacts with contacting portions loaded in the second surface opposite to the at least one rib. Each of the second and third group of contacts is composed of signal contacts and grounding contacts. The grounding contacts of each group unitarily connect with each other by a connecting bar at front distal ends thereof.
US08342881B2
A shield is provided for use with a connector assembly that includes for sides that form an enclosure, one of the sides being a baseplate. The shield can include a plurality of guides positioned on the baseplate and the plurality of guides can be arranged in a pattern. Each guide can be formed by making two slits in the bottom plate so as to define a body portion of the guide and the body portion can be extended in the enclosure. Each guide can be supported by the baseplate at opposite ends of the body portion.
US08342880B2
A connector includes a terminal electrically connected to an end of an electric wire, and a connector housing which accommodates the terminal and the electric wire. The terminal is capable of being fastened to an opposite member by means of a fastening member so that the terminal is electrically connected to the opposite member. The connector housing includes a housing arm which supports the terminal so as to be displaceable in a direction in which the fastening member is fastened to the opposite member.
US08342873B2
An electrical socket used to connecting an IC package to a printed circuit board comprises an insulative housing (2) and a plurality of contacts (1) received therein, the insulative housing (2) comprises a top surface (21), a bottom surface (22) opposite to the top surface (21) and a plurality of passageways (211) penetrated the top surface (21) and the bottom surface (22), the contact (1) comprises a body portion (10), a connecting portion (11) extending upwardly from the body portion (10) and a spring portion (12) extending horizontally from the connecting portion (11), the spring portion (12) comprises a supporting portion (120) at the end thereof touching with the insulative housing (2).
US08342870B2
A socket connector (100) comprises a socket body (5), a plurality of contacts (3) received in the socket body (5), a lid (1) movably mounted on the socket body (5) and moving up and down along a vertical direction, a moving plate (4) movably mounted upon the socket body (5) and moving along a horizontal direction and an operating lever (2) located between the lid (1) and the moving plate (4), the operating lever (2) comprises a press member (22), the press member (22) presses on the top surface of the moving plate (4) to prevent the floating of the moving plate (4) in the vertical direction.
US08342866B2
A connector assembly having a connector body that includes a support structure and a mating side and has an adjustable cavity therebetween. The mating side has a mating array of terminals thereon that is configured to face a communication component. The mating side is moveable relative to the support structure. The connector assembly also includes an elastic container having a reservoir that holds a working fluid. The elastic container is positioned within the adjustable cavity between the support structure and the mating side. The elastic container changes between first and second shapes to move the mating side toward and away from the communication component.
US08342862B2
A power connector comprises a slidably positionable earth pin. The earth pin is able to be positioned in a travel, or small form factor and in an operational form factor. The housing of the connector comprises a member having a slot that defines a sliding path for the earth pin. The member also has two sets of grooves for receiving a set of spring loaded protrusions on the earth pin. The protrusions come to rest in one of the sets of grooves thereby defining a small form factor and an operational form factor.
US08342852B2
A system for simulating one or more hemorrhages in order to provide a more dynamic and realistic hemorrhage simulation in order to train medical personnel and other critical care givers, such as first responders, medics, and emergency medical technicians (EMTs) on treating hemorrhages. The system includes a reservoir, a flow controller, and at least one conduit connected to at least one simulated wound site wherein the system supplies fluid to the simulated wound site in order to simulate a hemorrhage. The system may further include a plurality of wound sites that have their respective fluid flows controlled by the fluid flow controller. In at least one embodiment, the reservoir and the flow controller are housed within a bag. In at least one embodiment, the system further includes an audio system for providing audio cues to the simulation participants to enhance the realism of the simulation.
US08342837B2
There are provided a first mold 2 and a second mold 1 that can be brought into and released from contact with the first mold 2. A substrate 70 provided in both the molds 1, 2 and mounted with electronic components is subjected to resin sealing and molding by filling with resin of cavities formed by both the molds 1, 2. The second mold 1 is placed on a base plate 9 so as to be capable of horizontally reciprocating, and has a cavity block 7 that can be brought into and released from contact with the first mold 2 and a mold clamping mechanism 16 that supports the cavity block 7 and that brings and releases the cavity block 7 into and from contact with the first mold 2 so as to perform mold clamping. On the base plate 9 is provided a horizontal actuation mechanism 11 for moving the second mold 1 to a facing position where the second mold 1 faces the first mold 2 and to a non-facing position where the second mold 1 has been moved sideways from the facing position.
US08342833B2
A three-dimensional object forming apparatus for forming a three-dimensional object includes: a base platform; a transmission portion; a detachable construction tank; a movable powder supplying tank provided for driving to supply construction powder above the detachable construction tank; a print module including at least a print cartridge with at least a nozzle; a heating portion; an lifting portion arranged below the detachable construction tank; a nozzle cleaning module; a nozzle sealing module having a holder, at least a sealing portion and a moisture portion; and a stretchable dust-proof cover connected to a side of the powder supplying tank, which is provided for moving together with the powder supplying tank to cover the construction powder in the construction tank.
US08342831B2
An electrospinning apparatus for spinning polymer fibers from a fluid delivered by a jet supply device, which apparatus comprises at least one collector of a plurality of collectors in electrical communication with an electrode of the jet supply device. Collectors are insulated from each other. At least one collector comprises a stretcher adapted to stretch polymer fibers. The stretcher is an integral part of at least one collector. A controller controls sequence and time duration at which collectors are in electrical communication with the electrode of the jet supply device creating a non-woven polymer fabric or weaving polymer fibers into a fabric. The electrospinning apparatus comprises a rotator adapted to rotate the stretcher.
US08342830B2
A metal mold of improved durability and enhanced ventilation efficiency during vulcanization of a tire, including a plug for a vent hole of the mold and a tire manufactured by using the metal mold. The metal mold is one in which vent holes pass through toward an outer portion of the mold from an inner surface of the mold, and in which a plug body is detachably fitted into each of the vent holes. The plug body is configured by a cylinder and a valve. The cylinder includes a large-diameter head portion at an upper portion of the cylinder, and a tubular cylindrical portion with a ventilation hole formed in the center of the cylinder. The valve is inserted into the ventilation hole of the cylinder with an interstice having a predetermined size interposed therebetween. Through-holes communicating with the interstice are formed on the side surface of the cylinder.
US08342822B2
A suction device for dental, medical and industrial purposes with a radial fan with a suction side and a delivery side. An air outlet of a centrifugal separator is connected to the suction side of the fan. At least one drive motor controlled by a control unit, and in the form of a rotating electric motor, drives the fan and the separator. A fan drive motor and a separator drive motor are arranged, uncoupled in terms of rotation, one behind the other on a common shaft fixed to the housing. The respective stators are supported by the common shaft. The rotating parts of the fan are connected to the rotor of the fan drive motor, and the rotating parts of the separator are connected to the rotor of the separator drive motor and are mounted to rotate coaxially with respect to the shaft fixed to the housing.
US08342818B2
An apparatus is disclosed for an improved float type wave powered pump that uses the continuous rising and falling wave action in a body of water to pump a fluid. The pump includes piston and cylinder assemblies that are configured for relative reciprocal movement therebetween. One of the assemblies is anchored to the floor of the body of water and the other is vertically moveable in response to a drive float riding on a wave. The pump selectively includes a tide compensating device to reduce the ratio of vertical travel of the drive float to vertical travel of the moveable assembly. The pump also selectively includes a fluid inlet check valve incorporating a support plate of the piston assembly with openings therein and a cover for the same. The pump further selectively includes a directional pressure-activated seal at the point of sliding connection between the piston rod and the cylinder.
US08342802B1
A large and highly tapered and twisted turbine rotor blade for a large frame and heavy duty industrial gas turbine engine, where the blade includes a main spar with multiple impingement chambers extending along the chordwise direction of the blade, and with a thin thermal skin bonded to the main spar to form an airfoil section for the blade. The chordwise impingement channels are separated by ribs to form multiple chambers in the spanwise direction from the root to the blade tip. These compartmented impingement channels formed along the airfoil spanwise direction can be used for tailoring the gas side pressure variation in the spanwise direction, and individual impingement channels can be designed based on the airfoil local external heat load to achieve a desired local metal temperature. With this cooling circuit, the usage of cooling air is maximized for a given airfoil inlet gas temperature and pressure profile.
US08342800B2
A plastic compressor housing, in particular a radial flow compressor housing, preferably for a turbocharger, has at least one thermosetting plastic body for providing an intake pipe, a compressor duct, and an outlet pipe, and a thermoplastic at least partially covering the thermosetting plastic body in a hood-like fashion. The thermosetting plastic body is formed as a basic body and the thermoplastic is injection molded on the basic body. At least a first anchoring element is embodied on at least a first surface of the thermosetting plastic body and at least a second surface of the first anchoring element is substantially completely covered with the thermoplastic. The disclosure further relates to a method for producing a plastic compressor housing.
US08342798B2
A system includes a turbine casing including a first hook configured to mate with a second hook to support a turbine shroud about a plurality of turbine blades. The turbine casing includes a coolant circuit configured to adjust clearance between the turbine shroud and the turbine blades based on coolant flow through the coolant circuit. The coolant circuit includes a first plurality of radial coolant passages extending into the first hook.
US08342796B2
Damping systems and engines including the damping systems are provided. In one embodiment, and by way of example only, the damping system includes a rotor, a bearing assembly mounted to the rotor, a spring cage disposed around the bearing assembly, an axially-extending housing surrounding the spring cage, a first squeeze film damper formed between the bearing assembly and the spring cage, and a second squeeze film damper formed between the spring cage and the axially-extending housing.
US08342786B2
A container according the present application includes a container auto-lock system. The container auto-lock system is integrated into the outboard apertures of the lower castings of a domestic sized container. The container auto-lock system includes a locking mechanism which is configured to recess when the container is lowered onto a surface lacking an acceptable receiving aperture. The locking mechanism is also configured to automatically lock when placed on top of a domestic sized container. The container auto-lock system is configured to be compatible with international sized container by allowing the inboard apertures on each lower casting to be available for attaching the domestic container on top of an international container with a conventional locking device.
US08342784B2
A collapsible intermodal transport platform and methods for its operation are disclosed. The invention comprises structural ribbings that rotate about an axle disposed beneath the loading surface of the platform. The ribbings are positioned along the platform so as to provide lifting and stacking fitments at the standard overhead crane lifting points when in a lift configuration. The ribbings may be rotated inboard down to the loading surface, thereby presenting stacking blocks at the crane lifting points for stacking several platforms together. Alternatively, the ribbings may be rotated outboard to accommodate full size loading of cargo. The ribbings are rotated under electric or hydraulic power, according to the various embodiments disclosed. Other features and aspects disclosed lend to the invention's low weight and high carrying capacity, as well as its unique load securing features.
US08342781B2
A drill body for chip removing machining, including a rotationally symmetrical envelope surface and front and rear ends between which a center axis extends, around which the envelope surface is rotatable in a predetermined direction of rotation. A head is formed in the front end that includes two cutting edges, each one of which includes a first part edge and a second part edge. The first part edge is included in a central tip part having a front end portion situated along the center axis. The second part edge extends between a peripheral end point positioned along the envelope surface and a radially inner end point where the second part edge transforms into the first part edge. The two first part edges converge at a positive nose angle (α) in an axially forward direction, and the two second part edges diverge at a negative angle (β) in the axially forward direction. Each cutting edge is delimited between a chip surface adjacent to a chip flute countersunk in the envelope surface, and a primary clearance surface that transforms into a secondary clearance surface situated rotationally behind the primary clearance surface. Each primary clearance surface includes two part surfaces which mutually form an obtuse angle (χ), and which meet each other in a first chute bottom that runs rotationally rearward from the inner end point of the second part edge. A second chute bottom extends in the extension of the first chute bottom and separates two second part surfaces included in the secondary clearance surface.
US08342779B2
In a cutting insert of the invention, a protruded portion formed on an upper surface lying more inward than a breaker groove along a corner comprises a breaker projection adjacentmost to the corner; a breaker wall face formed connectedly with the breaker projection so as to project more upward than the breaker projection; and a breaker side face formed connectedly with the breaker wall face. The breaker wall face is formed to have a smaller width toward the projecting direction of the breaker wall face, and inclined to have a higher position as it departs from the corner. The breaker side face is formed to have a larger width as it departs from the corner. The height of the breaker projection is not more than half of the height of the top of the breaker wall face, and is lower than the height of the cutting edge along the corner. A cutting method using a cutting tool comprising the cutting insert is also provided.
US08342774B2
A conveying system for conveying material having a tendency to stick, in particular a mobile conveying system for paving material used for constructing road mats has at least one conveying element which is accommodated in a conveying channel. The conveying element is directly or indirectly driven by at least one combustion engine. The conveying system has a primary heating device predominantly for the conveying element and/or the conveying system. Furthermore, the conveying system has at least one secondary heating device for at least partially relieving the primary heating device. The secondary heating device is operated with direct or indirect exit heat of the combustion engine. Alternatively, a combination of a primary heating device and at least one secondary heating device is provided, which secondary heating device is operated with exit heat originating from the combustion engine in order to at least partially relieve the primary heating device.
US08342771B2
A reinforced connector assembly for a tubular grab railing has an upper tubing support that is aligned with the grab railing during use and a lower base portion bolted directly to the tubing support fastened to a wall or floor. The tubing support has an opening that divides it into upper and lower halves with a reinforcing plate hidden between them to form a three layer sandwich structure with at least one boss confined during use within the tubing. The connector assembly is a composite formed from an outer plastic resinous connector element and the hidden reinforcing plate which can be formed from steel. The reinforcing plate which provides reinforcement for the plastic components can include exposed ears on each side that frictionally engage and distend the tubing to prevent it from rotating during use. An adjustable connector assembly has two pivotally related portions to permit angular adjustment on site. A corner elbow, an end connector and an end extension are provided.
US08342762B2
Information indicating whether or not a printhead of a printer has been replaced or detached is obtained. Before the start of printing on the printer, a message is displayed prompting for print position adjustment of the printer if it is determined, based on the obtained information, that the printhead has been replaced or detached. The information indicating whether or not a printhead has been replaced or detached is initialized based on a response to the displayed message.
US08342730B2
There is provided an illumination device equipped with a light guide plate having a light emission face and a light incident face, a printed substrate having a first plane and a second plane opposite to the first plane, a plurality of point like light sources for supplying light to the light guide plate, a housing disposed at a opposite side of the light emission face of the light guide plate, and a light source holding member for holding the printed substrate. The light source holding member has a bend portion, and a edge of the bend portion is inserted in between the light guide plate and the housing.
US08342725B2
A light bar may include a light head with chip-on-board (COB) light emitting diode (LED) and an optic component mounted adjacent to the COB LED. The light bar may comprise short and long center modules. The light bar may include a plurality of housing modules where each housing module includes a light head and a lens cover having a top portion that is substantially impervious to ultraviolet radiation, and a lens portion extending downward from the top portion in generally opposing relationship with the light head. The light bar may include a circuit board including a wire-to-board connector, and a light head including a wire-to-board connector mated with the wire-to-board connector on the circuit board to electrically connect the light head to the circuit board. The light head may include a holographic diffuser.
US08342722B1
A light system for mounting adjacent to a wall is provided which includes an opaque panel disposed adjacent to and offset from the wall. The panel has a wall side and a lower side (facing the room in which the light system is mounted). The panel has a perimeter edge. Lights are mounted within the perimeter edge on the wall side of the panel, between the wall and the panel, such that the lights are generally not visible, but light emanating from the lights is visible to form a halo on the wall around the panel, generally conforming to the perimeter edge of the panel. An upper releasable mounting bracket and a lower releasable mounting bracket are provided where the upper releasable mounting bracket is disposed on the wall and the lower releasable mounting bracket disposed on the wall side of the panel.
US08342720B2
A vehicle light and a road illumination device can include a semiconductor light emitting device capable of forming a luminance distribution where the light with a maximum value can be arranged at or near a light distribution cutoff line, thereby improving its light utilization efficiency. The vehicle light can include a semiconductor light emitting device including a semiconductor light emitting element and a wavelength conversion layer having a thickness-decreased portion that is formed substantially at a center line of the semiconductor light emitting element and extending to one end thereof so that the thickness is reduced from the center portion toward the one end. A projection optical system for forming a cutoff line can be configured to project a plurality of light source images each including an image portion corresponding to the thickness-decreased portion at its upper area, and to arrange the image portions in at least one of a horizontal direction and an oblique direction.
US08342715B2
A lens arrangement for telescopic illuminator includes a reflector. The reflector has a cavity defined therein. An inner periphery of the cavity is annularly formed with a conical surface. The conical surface is inwardly inclined. A convex lens is disposed in the cavity and positioned in a middle part of the reflector. A tapered portion is annularly disposed on an outer periphery of the reflector and inclined toward the inner end of the reflector. A flat surface is formed on the inner end of the reflector. The flat surface has a receiving hole centrally defined therein and passing therethrough. A lamp movably is disposed adjacent to the reflector. The lamp is born by an aluminum board.
US08342709B2
LED module, arrays of LED modules, luminaires incorporating such arrays, and methods of illumination where the configuration of respective components facilitates any one or more of desired angle, location and shape of illumination provided by the LEDs. LED modules are selectively disposed on a carrier plate. Each of the LED modules includes a substantially planar LED circuit board with LED chips disposed thereon, a heat sink formed of heat transmitting material and having a mounting surface for accommodating an LED circuit board to dissipate heat from the LED chips, and a reflector with its reflective surface disposed with respect to the LED chips to direct the emitted light toward an axis of illumination extending away from and substantially perpendicular to a plane containing the planar LED circuit board. The heat sink, the LED circuit board and the reflector are arranged such that the axis of illumination is not perpendicular to a plane containing the surface illuminated by the light emitted from the LED chips.
US08342703B2
A light emitting apparatus including a circuit board (10), at least one light emitting chip (20), an integrated optical cover (30) and a fluorescent layer (40). The light emitting chip (20) is arranged on the circuit board (10). The integrated optical cover (30) has a peripheral wall (31), a top wall (32) and a light guiding post (33). The peripheral wall (31) is arranged around the circuit board (10). The top wall (32) is arranged on the peripheral wall (31). The light guiding post (33) extends from the top wall (32) toward the light emitting chip (20). The light guiding post (33) includes a recess portion (332). The light emitting chip (20) is accommodated in the recess portion (332). The fluorescent layer (40) is arranged between the recess portion (332) and the light emitting chip (20). By using the recess portion (332) and the light emitting chip (20) cooperatively to confine the fluorescent layer (40), the thickness thereof can be controlled to be consistent.
US08342699B2
An electronic device includes a body, a rotatable member, a projecting unit configured for projecting an image, a sensing unit and a processing unit. The body includes a connecting end, and a plurality of conductive contacts is formed at the connecting end. The rotatable member is rotatably connected to the connecting end. The rotating member includes a conductive ball configured for being electrically connected to one of the plurality of the conductive contacts, and the plurality of conductive contacts are formed along a displacement path of the conductive ball. The sensing unit is configured for sensing interactions at specific locations corresponding to the projected image. The processing unit stores a plurality of images, and is configured for controlling the projecting unit to project a corresponding image according to the conductive contact which is electrically connected to the conductive ball.
US08342691B2
An information technology system includes a micro projector display for displaying status, operating, troubleshooting, and location information. An image output from the micro projector display is viewable from outside the enclosure, for example on a cabinet door, an optional retractable projection screen included with the enclosure, or a floor, wall, or ceiling of a room, or other external surface. In some embodiments of the invention, a micro display projector is adapted for removable electrical and mechanical connection to one or more docking ports on the information technology system. In some embodiments of the invention, a projection direction for the micro projector display is selectable.
US08342688B1
A multifocal capable ophthalmic aberrometer has an afocal relay defining an optical axis, an object plane, and an image plane. The image plane is conjugated to the object plane. A probe beam is projected along the optical axis and is propagated toward the object plane. Reflection of the probe beam from a subject eye located at the object plane generates a wavefront emerging from the object plane. A Hartmann-Shack sensor positioned at the image plane and produces an image of Hartmann-Shack spots of the wavefront. A control electronics acquires the images of the Hartmann-Shack spots in a single measurement. A processing electronics calculates an optical power map of the subject eye with respect to a center of the wavefront and averages the optical power map over the images.
US08342682B2
Disclosed is a process for molding plastic optical articles with a hard coated film, comprising steps of coating one side of an optical film with a hard coating, pre-curing the hard coating to a tack free state while still maintaining the coating flexibility, making an insert from the coated film for the desired optical article, molding the plastic resin onto the insert through insert injection molding, and post-curing the molded article. The utilization of the pre-curing and post-curing steps have been found to eliminate hard coating cracks during the insert making and the molding step, while providing a hard coating with desired properties. Such an optical article possesses a hard coating integrated on its surface, thus, eliminating the need to further coat the optical article.
US08342680B2
A lens that covers the front side of an eye, includes: a high light-transmissive region including an eyepoint; and a low light-transmissive region surrounding the entire circumference of the high light-transmissive region, a light blocking ratio in the low light-transmissive region being higher than the light blocking ratio in the high light-transmissive region, wherein the low light-transmissive region has a region where the light blocking ratio changes toward the periphery.
US08342672B2
A recording apparatus including: an intermediate transfer member; an image forming composition layer formation unit that supplies an image forming composition to the intermediate transfer member, the image forming composition containing a curable material that cures upon application of an external stimulus; an ink application unit that applies ink to the image forming composition layer that has been formed on the intermediate transfer member; a transfer unit that transfers the image forming composition layer from the intermediate transfer member to a recording medium by contacting the image forming composition layer onto which the ink has been applied with the recording medium; and a first stimulus application unit that applies a stimulus to the image forming composition layer that cures the image forming composition layer, the stimulus being applied at least one of immediately before the image forming composition layer comes into contact with the recording medium, or during the contact.
US08342654B2
An electric wiring board 120 of a liquid injection recording head has a base film 123 formed with an opening, a first wiring member 122 formed on a first surface that is a rear surface of the base film 123 as seen from a supporting member 140, a second wiring member 129 formed at a position closer to the opening than the first wiring member 122 on the first surface, and connected to a wire 170, a cover film 124 which covers the first wiring member 122 and has an end 150 between the first wiring member 122 and the second wiring member 129, an adhesive 127 which bonds together the first wiring member 122 and the cover film 124, a third wiring member 125 formed on a second surface opposite to the first surface of the base film 123, a first through hole 160, and a second through hole 161.
US08342653B2
A liquid ejecting apparatus includes at least one liquid ejecting head having a nozzle surface formed with a nozzle array which is operable to eject liquid toward a target medium and extends in a first direction, a reference surface perpendicular to the nozzle surface, and two correctors arranged side by side with a predetermined distance and brought into contact with the reference surface.
US08342643B2
A printhead integrated circuit includes one or more nozzle rows extending along a longitudinal axis thereof. The printhead IC has first and second ends for butting engagement with other printhead ICs so as to define a pagewidth printhead. Each nozzle has an associated primary dot position, wherein a first nozzle positioned at the first end is configured to fire some ink droplets skewed towards the first end in addition to firing some ink droplets at its own primary dot position.
US08342641B2
Ink separators are described herein. One example ink separator is described, which includes an ink receptacle to receive ink aerosol particles, a surface within the ink receptacle to change a direction of an airflow entraining the ink aerosol particles and cause at least a portion of the ink aerosol particles to combine to form ink droplets on the surface, and a chamber adjacent the surface to receive the airflow including the ink droplets and at least some of the ink aerosol particles, wherein the chamber includes at least two flow paths to separate the airflow and the ink aerosol particles from the ink droplets by directing the airflow and the ink aerosol particles to an aerosol collection port and the ink droplets to an ink droplet collection port.
US08342635B2
Inkjet recording apparatus and recording medium conveyance method for the inkjet recording apparatus
There is provided an apparatus capable of obtaining an image with good quality even if platen suction pressure for reducing sheet floatation is different. The apparatus includes a conveyance unit configured to convey a recording medium, a platen configured to hold the recording medium at a position facing the recording head, a generation unit configured to generate power to attract the recording medium on the platen, and a control unit configured to correct a drive amount of the conveyance unit based on the generated power.
US08342634B2
A printing apparatus includes: a first printing unit group, a second printing unit group, a turnover unit and a control unit controlling the path change unit. The control unit controls the path change unit so that a difference is as small as possible between the length of the path along which the printing medium is transported from at least one printing unit of the first printing unit group to several printing units of the second printing unit group via the turnover unit and the length of the path along which the printing medium is transported from another printing unit of the first printing unit group to several printing units of the second printing unit group via the turnover unit.
US08342629B2
A liquid ejecting apparatus executes a collective multiple liquid ejecting process of ejecting a liquid so as to superimpose the predetermined number of unit images on basic images formed on a target. The liquid ejecting apparatus includes: an ejection executing unit which ejects the liquid onto the target from an ejecting head; a position acquiring unit which acquires arrangement positions of the predetermined number of two or more basic images, at which an arrangement image in which the predetermined number of two or more unit images are arranged among the plurality of basic images formed on the target is superimposed; an image adjusting unit which detects an error between the acquired arrangement positions of the basic images and arrangement positions of the predetermined number of two or more unit images, and adjusts the arrangement positions of the unit images by allocating the detected error to each unit image.
US08342623B2
Methods of adjusting ink ejection characteristics of an inkjet printing apparatus and driving the inkjet printing apparatus are provided. A method of adjusting ink ejection characteristics of an inkjet printing apparatus may include adjusting at least one of a voltage and an application duration of a driving signal applied to a plurality of piezoelectric actuators that provide ejection pressures to a plurality of nozzles so that volumes of a plurality of ink droplets ejected from the plurality of nozzles are uniform, and displacing an application starting time of the driving signal applied to the plurality of piezoelectric actuators so that the plurality of ink droplets ejected from the plurality of nozzles reach a printing medium at a same time.
US08342618B2
An electric motor is coupled to driving wheels 2, 2. When a slippage of the driving wheels 2, 2 is detected, the electric motor 5 produces a regenerative torque to suppress the slippage of the driving wheels 2, 2. The regenerative torque is controlled in a variable manner according to an index parameter that indicates a road surface condition. Thus, when the slippage of the driving wheels occurs, the slippage of the driving wheels is suppressed according to the road surface condition by a regenerative operation of the electric motor coupled to the driving wheels.
US08342616B2
An object of the invention is to reduce an influence of deviation in pressure increasing performance, which would be caused by individual differences of pressure increase valves, so that a desired braking force may be obtained. A moderate pressure increasing operation is carried out for wheel cylinder pressure of a wheel, which is on a high μ-road, wherein a demand differential pressure for a pressure increase valve is set at a first target pressure for a first time period and then switched to a second target pressure for a second time period. The influence of the deviation may be absorbed during the moderate pressure increasing operation, so that a difference of wheel cylinder pressure between front left and front right wheels may be reduced.
US08342610B2
A green concrete saw that allows for precise adjustment of a height of a circular saw blade is provided. The saw provides for the circular saw blade to be secured to a front end of a mainframe mounted on an undercarriage. A major height adjustment is performed by adjusting the height of the mainframe relative to the undercarriage. Further, the undercarriage supports wheels for the saw, and a fine height adjustment is performed by adjusting the height of a front end of the undercarriage relative to the ground through the use of an eccentric front axle.
US08342607B2
A seat cushion for the production of a vehicle seat has a foam body and a carrier element. The carrier element is disposed on the back side of the foam body and provides mechanical support to the foam body on the back side thereof. At least one bubble element is disposed between the foam body and the carrier element and can be supplied with compressed air via an air inlet. The carrier element features an air-impermeable barrier layer on the side facing towards the foam body. The bubble element is composed of two bubble halves that are connected to one another by means of an airtight sealing joint, and wherein the bubble half facing away from the foam body is formed by a surface section of the barrier layer of the carrier element, and wherein the second bubble half facing towards the foam body is fastened at the assigned surface section of the barrier layer while forming the airtight sealing joint.
US08342605B2
A vehicle seat lock device is provided. The vehicle seat lock device includes a seat lock housing, a striker, a hook member and a blocking member. The seat lock housing is configured to be fixed to one of a seat back and a vehicle body. The striker is configured to be fixed to the other of the seat back and the vehicle body. The hook member is rotatably mounted on the seat lock housing to latch and unlatch the striker by engaging and disengaging the striker, respectively. The blocking member is pivotally mounted on the seat lock housing. The blocking member pivots and contacts with the hook member to prevent the hook member from rotating and to maintain engagement between the hook member and the striker when a load that is higher than a predetermined amount is inputted to the vehicle body.
US08342604B2
A child restraint includes a juvenile vehicle seat and a movable headrest mounted on the seat. The seat includes a base, a back, and a child-restraint harness coupled to the base and to the movable headrest. The child-restraint harness includes shoulder belts arranged to pass through openings formed in the seat back and the movable headrest.
US08342590B1
A pickup truck bed having a tailgate operable to slidably stow underneath the floor of the pickup truck bed. The pickup truck bed further includes a first channel and a second channel integrally formed into the bed to facilitate the positioning of the tailgate such that the tailgate can be stowed underneath the floor of the bed. The tailgate further includes a plurality of wheels operable to engage the first channel and the second channel so as to slidably move the tailgate such that the tailgate is substantially underneath the floor of the pickup truck bed. The tailgate further includes a first attachment pin and a second attachment pin that are operable to pivotally transition the tailgate from a closed position to an open position. The first attachment pin and second attachment pin are further configured to be retractable so as to facilitate the tailgate being slidably transitioned such that the tailgate is underneath the floor of the pickup truck bed.
US08342584B1
The present invention relates to a method of manufacturing single and multi-core lifting slings, the method comprising: aligning a plurality of core fibers to form a sling body; applying a coating along length of the sling body, wherein an initial layer of the coating seals the plurality of core fibers from exposure to contaminates; and applying additional layers of the coating in areas of the sling body subject to high crush and shear forces. Other exemplary embodiments include tensioning the plurality of core fibers and forming a multi-core lifting sling by applying a seaming coat of the coating material to the sling body and at least to one of a second sling body. In an exemplary embodiment, the coating can be at least an isocyanate mixed with an amine forming polyurea.
US08342558B1
A fifth wheel glider hitch is disclosed having a pair of sliding rails that support a fifth wheel assembly, the fifth wheel assembly sliding on the rails over first and second brackets that include a locking hole. The sliding rails each have apertures defining a forward position and a rear position, and the glider includes handle with a locking mechanism that traps the assembly in a forward or aft position.
US08342542B2
A suspension device includes a wheel supporting member configured to rotatably support a wheel. Two links respectively link the wheel supporting member and a vehicle-body side member and are disposed substantially in parallel in a vehicle width direction. At least one projecting portion extends from at least one of the two links towards the other link, and an elastic linking portion links the projecting portion of one of the links to at least one of the other link and the projecting portion of the other link. A toe angle adjusting device is configured to input a force in a direction oriented backward in the vehicle forward-backward direction to the wheel supporting member to adjust a toe-in angle of the wheel.
US08342541B2
The invention relates to a vehicle comprising a vehicle component moveable in an oscillating manner with respect to a first vehicle component, and a first measuring means for measuring at least one acceleration measuring value of said first vehicle component with respect to a ground surface, wherein a calculating means is provided for determining an optimum acceleration value of said second vehicle component to be applied at the moment of the presence of the acceleration measuring value, and at least one actuator arranged between the first and second vehicle components, with control and closed-loop control units, for minimizing a deviation of a real acceleration value of said second vehicle component from the optimum acceleration value by using at least one available spring path.
US08342536B2
A sealing device that hermetically seals a gap between a first member and a second member that is reciprocally movable with respect to the first member. The sealing device seals liquid supplied into a pressurizing chamber surrounded by the first member and the second member. The sealing device includes a seal member that is attached to the second member. The seal member slides relative to the first member while being in contact with the first member. The seal member includes a base portion and a protruding portion. The protruding portion protrudes from the base portion toward the first member to separate the first member from the base portion. After the liquid is supplied into the pressurizing chamber to fill the pressurizing chamber with the liquid, the protruding portion elastically deforms to bring the base portion into close contact with the first member.
US08342533B2
An inventory sensor is positioned and configured to identify playing cards stored in compartments of one or more playing card receivers. The inventory sensor allows the identity of a playing card stored in the playing card receiving compartment to be checked or otherwise verified with respect to an identity of a playing card expected to be stored in the playing card receiving compartment. Anomalies may be identified and appropriate messages provides and/or actions taken, for example removing the anomalous playing card from use.
US08342523B2
A pair of conveyor rollers arranged in an image forming apparatus to convey a recording sheet is configured to be shiftable relative to the body between a first position and a second position. A first holding member is configured to support one of the conveyor rollers so that the supported conveyor roller is swingable around a pivot to allow the pair of conveyor rollers to be shifted between the first position and the second position. The first holding member including a sheet guide portion which provides a variable-position guideway extending from a position located upstream along the sheet conveyance path toward a peripheral surface of the supported conveyor roller, where the sheet guide portion moves to a position suitable to guide the recording sheet to be nipped by the pair of conveyor rollers at least when the pair of conveyor rollers is shifted to the first position.
US08342510B2
Provided are an apparatus for feeding sheets, booklets or the like having a wider adjustable range according to the thickness of the object than the conventional apparatus, and a system for sorting forwarding documents with the foregoing feeding apparatus. In the feeding apparatus, a moving shaft is supported by a fixed sleeve so as to be movable upward and downward. A main compression coil spring is located between the moving shaft and the fixed base and imparts a main spring force to the moving shaft in order that an overlap feed limiting member is pressed against a conveying belt. A sub compression coil spring imparts an oppositely directed sub spring force to the moving shaft. A position of a pressing washer is displaced downward by a threading engagement of an upper end adjusting bolt, so that even when the spring force of the main compression coil spring is increased, an increased amount is cancelled by an increase in the spring force of the sub compression coil spring.
US08342508B2
A system for transporting an object between stations, for example, from a magazine to a conveyor is provided having a rotary apparatus having two arms, wherein a first arm rocks back and forth between two positions and a second arm rotates about an axis on the first arm. The second arm can be fixedly connected to a holder having one or more suction heads for grasping the object. Preferably, the holder is arranged parallel to the object and moved in a direction perpendicular to the plane of the object as the object is removed from the magazine. Additionally, the holder is preferably displaced above the conveyor and positioned to be parallel to the conveyor, after which the holder is moved toward the conveyor in a path that is perpendicular to the plane of the conveyor. Therefore, the lateral force, shearing force, and friction exerted on the object during removal from the magazine and deposition onto the conveyor can be minimized.
US08342505B2
An improved apparatus and method for accumulating sheets having a horizontal transport deck. Inserts are fed from an insert feeder positioned above the deck. Driven accumulator nip rollers are positioned to receive accumulations of sheets transported on the horizontal deck, and they are also positioned close enough to the insert feeder to receive inserts fed from the insert feeder. A recessed accumulation deck is positioned immediately downstream of the accumulator nip rollers. When a first sheet rests in the recessed accumulation deck, a subsequent second sheet will be placed on top of the first sheet when it enters the recessed deck. The process is controlled whereby insert sheets are released by the insert feeder prior to arrival of an accumulation on the deck. The released insert is driven by the accumulator nip rollers onto the recessed accumulator deck. Then when the accumulation arrives, it is deposited on top of the insert resting there.
US08342503B2
An image recording apparatus including a first tray having a first holding portion for holding sheets, a second tray disposed above the first tray and including a second holding portion for holding sheets, a sheet feeder that selectively feeds a sheet from one of the first tray and the second tray in a sheet feed direction, a recording unit that records an image on the sheet fed by the sheet feeder, and a discharge roller that discharges the sheet on which the image is recorded by the recording unit. The second holding portion of the second tray moves above the first holding portion of the first tray. The second tray further includes a discharged sheet receiving portion for receiving the sheet discharged by the discharge roller. The second tray including the discharged sheet receiving portion pivots relative to the first tray.
US08342502B2
An image recording apparatus including a first tray having a first holding portion for holding sheets, a second tray disposed above the first tray and including a second holding portion for holding sheets, a sheet feeder that selectively feeds a sheet from one of the first tray and the second tray in a sheet feed direction, a recording unit that records an image on the sheet fed by the sheet feeder, and a discharge roller that discharges the sheet on which the image is recorded by the recording unit. The second holding portion of the second tray moves above the first holding portion of the first tray. The second tray further includes a discharged sheet receiving portion for receiving the sheet discharged by the discharge roller. The second tray including the discharged sheet receiving portion pivots relative to the first tray.
US08342488B2
An improvement to damping cylinders in which the damping fluid needs to be separated from a gas is disclosed. In particular, an annular bladder is used. An annular bladder allows for a control shaft to extend at least a portion of the length of the damping cylinder. This configuration effectively and simply reduces most issues that result from when an IFP is used for the same purpose.
US08342485B2
A fence post assembly for mounting to a substructure with a single point of attachment. The post assembly has an outer sleeve surrounding a support member and an attachment rod extending through the support member. The post assembly is mounted to the substructure by securing one end of the attachment rod in the substructure and securing the support member between a compression plate and the substructure by tensioning the upper end of the attachment rod. Attachment points for securing additional fence components to the post are provided by inserting an adapter into a receiving channel defined along a longitudinal length of the support member.
US08342482B2
This invention relates to hand tools and more specifically to tools designed for removing deck boards or the like from floor joists to which they are attached. The embodiment is more particularly a pry bar, having a long handle, a center block coupled to the long handle and having a transverse bore therethrough, two pry arms, one attached on each side of the center block, a bore through each of the pry arms, and a shaft rotatably coupling each of the pry arms to the tool through the center block bore.
US08342481B2
Coupler bodies with pivot rings for use in bottom loading couplers and bottom loading couplers comprising the same are disclosed. The coupler body for a bottom loading coupler may include a body sidewall having a fluid channel extending between an adapter end and a supply end. A plurality of slots may extend through the body sidewall of the coupler body. A pivot ring may extend substantially around the outer circumference of the coupler body. A plurality of interlocks may be positioned in corresponding slots in the body sidewall and pivotally engaged with the pivot ring. The interlocks are pivotable about the pivot ring between an engaged position and a disengaged position.
US08342479B2
A solenoid controlled valve includes a housing engaged into a receptacle and having a tubular member and having an outer peripheral space for receiving a coil, and having a peripheral compartment for receiving two magnetic conductive members, a solenoid controlled device includes two prongs connected to the coil, the housing includes an inlet mouth, and an outlet mouth communicative with the tubular member, and includes a valve seat formed between the outer end portion of the tubular member and the outlet mouth, and one or more reinforcing ribs for reinforcing the tubular member to resist a greater pressure, and the solenoid controlled device includes a plunger for engaging with the valve seat of the housing.
US08342473B2
Mounting of gas turbine engines in aircraft requires use of thrust struts associated with mountings. It is important should there be failure that a load path is maintained. Furthermore, on a wing or in-situ inspection is highly desirable with respect to reducing maintenance costs. Of particular concern is failure as a result of cracking both sideways and vertical which may result in loss of all load paths through the mounting. By provision of independent cranks which are associated through crank pivots in apertures of the cranks and then articulation about central pivots provided in apertures and a central element along with pivot association of the struts through pivots created about apertures in the cranks load paths are maintained. By independent provision of the cranks sideways and vertical cracking cannot cause failure in both load paths to the arrangement from the struts. Furthermore, gaps between the cranks and the mounting and in particular snubber surface can be monitored to indicate component failure.
US08342452B2
A covering structural element is adapted to close an elongate gap provided on an aerodynamic surface of an aircraft. Such an element has a strip-shaped body made of metal material, including a fixing portion, adapted to be fixed along one of the longitudinal borders of the elongate gap; a sliding portion adapted to urge in a sliding manner on the other of the longitudinal borders of the strip-shaped gap; and a connection portion, connecting the sliding portion to the fixing portion, the thickness of which is so sized as to allow, in use, a controlled elastic bending of the structural covering element. The covering structural element has a profile so sized as to be tapered at the transition from the fixing portion to the connection portion and from the sliding portion to the connection portion, the covering structural element having a smooth surface on the side intended to face away from the elongate gap.
US08342449B2
A vertically movable passageway for a space in the ceiling region in an aircraft cabin. The passageway comprises a passageway floor and a displacement device, wherein the displacement device is designed to variably set the height (h1) of the passageway floor.
US08342434B2
A cutting wheel for a grinder pump includes in one embodiment a monolithic disc-shaped base portion having a bottom surface having a plurality of integrally formed spaced-apart, downwardly-depending cutting elements disposed adjacent the peripheral edge of the disc-shaped based portion. In another embodiment, a cutting wheel for a grinder pump includes a monolithic disc-shaped base portion having a bottom surface having a plurality of integrally formed spaced-apart, downwardly-depending cutting elements disposed adjacent the peripheral edge of the disc-shaped based portion, and a plurality of integrally formed downwardly-depending paddle elements spaced-apart from the cutting elements.
US08342427B1
A fertilizing device for installing in a water system comprising a first half housing removably attached to a second half housing; an intake pipe disposed on a first side and an outlet pipe disposed on a second side of the first half housing, the intake pipe and outlet pipe are both fluidly connected to the inner cavity of the first half housing; a box with apertures disposed in the first and second half housings for holding a chemical bar with fertilizer; wherein the intake pipe is connected to a first portion of a pipe of the water system, the outlet pipe is connected to a second portion of the pipe of the water system; wherein water from the water system can enter the intake pipe, mix with the chemical bar, and exit via the outlet pipe.
US08342426B2
A method for adjusting telescopic water pipe and its structure comprise assembling an internal pipe and an external pipe to form a first water passage and a second external water passage, and an independent second internal water passage. A water passage control switch is disposed to an end of the external pipe and has a channel seal cap that divided into a first channel and a first through hole to connect the first water passage. A water stop plug ring is fit to the first through hole. A second and third through holes corresponding to a second and third channels can be connected to the second internal water passage. A rotary switch is connected to the channel seal cap. A penetration hole is disposed to a partition attached to the channel seal cap. An interconnection groove and an arc plane are disposed to the partition.
US08342413B2
The present invention relates to a method of enhancing document security for documents of the type each comprising a print medium on which is printed personalizing information, this printed medium being laminated between two laminates that are at least partially transparent, this method rendering any forging of these documents by ungluing the laminates ineffective, and it is characterized in that at least one additional phantom personalizing image is printed on at least one of the laminates.
US08342403B2
A method and optical reader system for label-independent detection as defined herein. The reader system includes: a launch beam; a first lens; a receptacle for receiving at least one optical biosensor article, the article having a mask on one face, and the mask having at least one aperture there through for receiving and transmitting radiation from the collimated launch beam; an angular separator; and an imager to record the image of the optical biosensor article.
US08342392B2
A system for providing secure document distribution is disclosed. The system includes an application configured to: allow an author to create a document, allow the author to secure the document using an access code, wherein the access code is needed to gain access to the document, encrypt the access code, and forward a message to a recipient, wherein the message includes the document and the encrypted access code, a terminal configured to: allow the recipient to open the message, and generate an image, the image having information embedded therein, the embedded information including the encrypted access code, and a portable device configured to: allow the recipient to capture the image, store predetermined information, wherein the predetermined information is usable to decrypt the encrypted access code, capture input information from the recipient, the input information to be used to ensure that the recipient is authorized to use the portable device, extract the information embedded in the image, decrypt the encrypted access code using the predetermined information, and generate an output, the output including the access code. The terminal is further configured to receive the output generated by the portable device and evaluate the output to determine if the correct access code needed for access to the document is provided.
US08342387B2
The present disclosure relates to methods of making solder balls having a uniform size. More particularly, the disclosure relates to improved solder ball formation processes that prevent or reduce bridging/merging of two or more solder balls during reflow. The processes of the instant disclosure are desirable because they do not require a sifting step to obtain uniformly-sized solder balls.
US08342384B2
The invention relates to a novel process for producing a metal ceramic substrate, especially a copper-ceramic substrate, in which at least one metal foil at a time is applied to the surface sides of a ceramic layer or a ceramic substrate using a high temperature bonding process and the metal foil is structured on at least one surface side for forming conductive tracks, contact surfaces, and the like.
US08342382B2
A method of determining the quality of a friction weld between two components, the method comprising joining two components together using a friction welding process, measuring the loss of length of the components as a function of time during the friction welding process, determining the double differential with respect to time of the loss in length of the components as a function of time, determining the quality of the friction weld by calculating the R2 value of the linear fit to the loss in length of the components as a function of time over a defined time period, determining the end of the defined time period by identifying the start of the final positive peak of the double differential with respect to time of the loss of length of the components as a function of time, calculating R2 from the least square difference of the linear fit over the defined time period of the loss of length of the components as a function of time and comparing the calculated value of R2 with acceptable values of R2 to determine if the quality of the friction weld is acceptable.
US08342378B2
The present disclosure is directed to a surgical instrument, which includes a handle assembly and an elongate member having two jaw members. The second jaw member is movable in relation to the first jaw member between an open position and a closed position. The first jaw member is supported by the elongate body and contains a plurality of fasteners. The elongate member extends distally from the handle assembly and defines both a longitudinal axis and a distal portion. A switch is placed about the handle assembly to allow the handle assembly to operate in multiple modes.
US08342364B2
A fluid dispenser and method of operating the same. The fluid dispenser can include a wheel driven by diluent passing along a flow path in the fluid dispenser. The wheel can be connected to a pump to pump fluid from a reservoir for dispense into the diluent. In some embodiments, the ratio of wheel rotations to pump cycles is selected to provide a desired and repeatable dilution ratio of concentrated fluid to diluent. The fluid dispenser can be portable and/or disposable, and in some embodiments is adapted for installation on an upper rim of a reservoir wall. Also, the fluid dispenser can be provided with a baffle limiting the velocity and impact of incoming diluent to the wheel driving the pump, thereby improving dosing accuracy of the dispenser in some embodiments.
US08342363B2
An automatic discharge device includes a housing having a top portion and a base portion, wherein surfaces defining a recess are provided therebetween for securely holding a container. At least one gear is disposed substantially between the recess and a rear panel of the housing. A drive motor is in association with the at least one gear. An actuator arm is also provided. Activation of the drive motor and the at least one gear provides for movement of the actuator arm between at least one of a pre-actuation position and a discharge position along a path that is substantially parallel to a longitudinal axis of the container.
US08342361B2
The Novel Modular Vending Machine for Packaged Goods allows consumers to purchase packaged goods without an attendant present. The invention uses two or more conveyor assemblies to store and transfer packaged goods and primarily uses gravity to transfer the packaged goods from the storage location to the customer. When a vend is initiated, a dispensing drum rotates and places a packaged item on a delivery system for transportation to the customer. The remaining packaged goods move into position for the next vend. When the lower conveyor assembly is empty, an upper conveyor assembly is lowered into position to transfer the remaining packaged goods to the dispensing drum. The apparatus may be configured in a system comprised of multiple modular units controlled by a single user interface.
US08342359B2
A container for holding a dipping condiment or sauce and allowing a user to wipe a food item to remove excess condiment or sauce. The container has a base and a side wall having one portion higher than an opposing portion, the wall including at least one ridge, groove or other fluid retention device. The wall also includes a pair of opposing inwardly curved gripping surfaces for facilitating gripping by a user's fingers, the gripping surfaces including ribs or grooves. The container may also include a lid which snap fits onto the lip of the container.
US08342358B2
A fuel tank includes a first fuel chamber for receiving liquid fuel; a communication chamber communicated with the first fuel chamber and having a bottom higher than a bottom of the first fuel chamber; and a second fuel chamber communicated with the communication chamber, the second fuel chamber having a bottom lower than the bottom of the communication chamber. The fuel tank also includes a sleeve member having a lower end opening toward the bottom of the communication chamber, and configured so that fuel evaporative emissions are discharged while liquid fuel is supplied to the first fuel chamber. The first fuel chamber, the communication chamber, and the second fuel chamber are all molded integrally by resin blow molding. The communication chamber is provided with a protrusion which is convex when viewed from inside the communication chamber, and a depression which is concave when viewed from outside of the communication chamber.
US08342355B2
An on-demand drinking adapter for use with a beverage container is disclosed. The adapter includes a base with an upper surface and generally cylindrical sides which extend below the upper surface. The cylindrical sides are adapted for temporarily fastening the adapter to a mouth of a beverage container. The adapter also includes a spout with a vertically extending surface, a second surface, and an on-demand drinking aperture. The spout extends above the upper surface and the vertically extending surface is curved and coextensive with a portion of the cylindrical sides.
US08342352B2
Disks configured to float on the surface of a body of liquid, including a top member configured to float substantially above the surface of the body of liquid, a bottom member spaced from the top member and configured to float substantially below the surface of the body of liquid, a sidewall extending between the top member and the bottom member along the periphery of the top member and along the periphery of the bottom member, wherein the top member, the bottom member, and the sidewall collectively define a cavity, a chamber mounted within the cavity, the chamber enclosing a predetermined volume of a gas, and a port defined in the sidewall to allow liquid from the body of liquid to enter the cavity, wherein the predetermined volume of gas enclosed in the chamber is selected to impart a buoyancy force sufficient to maintain the disk afloat on the body of liquid with the bottom member a predetermined depth below the member of the body of liquid.
US08342349B2
A container assembly for storing and transporting consumable products. The container assembly includes two or more containers, each having a container coupling portion configured to facilitate the coupling of one container to another container. The container assembly also includes one or more adaptor lids operative to seal a cavity of a container by threaded engagement therewith, and to selectively couple two containers together. In some embodiments, two containers may be coupled to each other by placing a first container on top of a second container and rotating the two containers relative to each other. The container assembly may be operative to permit multiple quantities and sizes of containers to be selectively coupled together to provide flexibility for a user to store and transport a variety of consumable products. The container assembly may also include a lid having a handle to allow a user to easily transport the container assembly.
US08342341B2
A utensil storage stand, which comprises a base, a column extending away from the base, a distal end on the column, and utensil engaging means rotatably mounted on the column. The utensil engaging means is rotatably mounted on the distal end of the column by a ball bearing arrangement comprising plastic races cooperating with plastic or ceramic bearings interposed between the races. The utensil engagement means comprises a first set of radially extending spokes with enlarged perforations through the spokes and a second set of radially extending spokes providing utensil support hooks extending from the spokes. The utensil engagement means is rotatably mounted with respect to column having an axis substantially perpendicular to the plane of the base. The open body of the utensil engagement means creates a canister for the purpose of containing small kitchen items with the disc top acting as the floor or bottom of the canister.
US08342339B2
Aspects of the invention include a sport accessory support stand. In some aspects, the sport accessory support stand is configured for retaining a sport accessory. In certain embodiments, the sport accessory support stand includes a base member and a support member wherein the support member is configured for being associated with the base member. In certain embodiments, the support member includes a plurality of post elements which extend away from the base member, wherein each of the post elements are positioned relative to one another so as to form a receptacle there between for receiving a portion of a sport accessory. In certain embodiments, the receptacle comprises a first width and a second width. For instance, in certain embodiments, the receptacle comprises a first width that is configured for receiving a portion of a bicycle, e.g., a front wheel portion, and the receptacle comprises a second width that is configured for receiving a portion of a scooter, e.g., a front portion of an inline foot scooter. In certain embodiments, the support stand is collapsible. Methods of assembling and using the support stand for supporting and/or storing one or more sports accessories are also provided herein.
US08342336B2
In a device and a method for extracting non-magnetic ores from a pulp comprising non-magnetic ore particles and having a solid fraction of at least 30 mass percent, the pulp flows continuously through a reactor in the direction of flow and magnetic or magnetizable magnet particles that form ore magnetic particle agglomerations with the non-magnetic ore particles are added to said pulp. The ore magnetic particle agglomerations are moved by a magnetic field into an accumulation range of the reactor, and are then discharged out of reactor range and separated into ore and magnetic particles. In a device and a method, the separated magnetic particles are treated, in particular hydrophobized, such that during a new interaction with non-magnetic ore particles, new ore magnetic particle agglomerations are formed. Accordingly, a high yield of ores can be obtained and the mine can be operated in an economical and environmentally friendly manner.
US08342331B2
A pharmaceutical product supply is disclosed in the form of a container, a pharmaceutical product receiver, pharmaceutical product, an adhesive, and at least one release liner. The pharmaceutical product receiver includes a plurality of receptacles for pharmaceutical product. The container is initially disposed in a first configuration where all of the pharmaceutical product receiver receptacles may be accessible. The container is thereafter disposable in a second configuration where no covering for any of the pharmaceutical product receiver receptacles is accessible through any openable access incorporated by the container. One or more release liners may be moved to expose adhesive for disposing and retaining the container in its second configuration. The noted second configuration of the container facilitates disposal of the pharmaceutical product supply (e.g., now being in a form that should reduce the potential for gaining access to any remaining pharmaceutical product still enclosed within the pharmaceutical product receiver).
US08342311B2
A store-feeding device including a feeding conveyer with a belt catch that can be positioned in an infinitely variable fashion in a horizontal and/or vertical direction. The belt catch can be controlled by a controller such that products can be conveyed from a production station directly to the packaging station by a conveyer. If the packaging station is fully utilized or stopped, the belt catch can be positioned such that the products can be placed in the store. A further conveyer can be loaded with rejected or faulty series of products. For this purpose, the belt catch can be retracted and lowered.
US08342308B2
A clutch unit with a clutch hub mounted non-rotatably on a shaft. The clutch unit includes at least two clutch elements that can be brought into frictional engagement with one another for torque transmission when the clutch unit is actuated by a mechanical actuation device with the help of cable-pull. The mechanical actuation device is attached to and held on the clutch unit.
US08342299B2
A bicycle disk brake pad comprises a backing plate and a friction member. A first joined area of the friction member is welded to the backing plate, and a second joined area of the friction member is adhesively joined to the backing plate.
US08342286B2
In a normally-open type clutch structure operatively connected to a vehicle which includes an engine, a drive wheel driven by the engine, and an automatic transmission arranged between the engine and the drive wheel. A clutch operating mechanism is provided having an actuator for engaging or disengaging a clutch connected to the automatic transmission. The clutch operating mechanism performs a control so as to bring the clutch into an engaged state when the actuator is operated, and clutch operating mechanism operates the clutch so as to bring the clutch into a disengaged state when the actuator is not operated.
US08342273B2
Over rotation limitation control is performed to control an engine rotation speed so that a rotation speed of a pinion gear of a planetary gear set will not exceed a limit value, when a travel mode is changed to a limp-home travel mode in response to an abnormality in an inverter for a first motor generator. With this over rotation limitation control, a difference between rotation speeds of a ring gear coupled to a wheel side and a carrier coupled to an engine side. Thus, when the limp-home travel mode is performed due to the abnormality in the inverter for the first motor generator, a secondary failure, in which the pinion gear burns out and the planetary gear set fails, is prevented.
US08342269B1
A polycrystalline diamond compact useful for wear, cutting, drilling, drawing and like applications is provided with a first diamond region remote from the working surface which has a metallic catalyzing material and a second diamond region adjacent to or including the working surface containing a non-metallic catalyst and the method of making such a compact is provided. This compact is particularly useful in high temperature operations, such as hard rock drilling because of the improved thermal stability at the working surface.
US08342262B2
A boring tool moves having a pitch orientation, a yaw orientation and a roll orientation and is steerable underground using the roll orientation. A maximum drill string curvature is established for steering. The boring tool is advanced over a path segment. An averaged roll characteristic is determined for movement of the boring tool along the path segment. A path segment pitch orientation is established based on at least one measured pitch orientation along the path segment. Using the maximum drill string curvature in combination with the averaged roll characteristic and the path segment pitch orientation, the yaw orientation is determined. The averaged roll characteristic is determined based on a series of incremental roll measurements that are spaced across the path segment. A set of coupled ordinary differential equations is used to characterize movement of the boring tool.
US08342251B2
Provided is a shoe for wellbore lining tubing and to a method of locating wellbore lining tubing in a wellbore. In particular, but not exclusively, the present invention relates to a shoe for wellbore tubing having an improved fluid flow diverter assembly for controlling circulation of fluid in the wellbore.
US08342241B2
Delivery of a substance to a subterranean location is achieved by suspending the substance as nanoparticles in a carrier fluid in which the substance is insoluble. First a dispersible powder composition, is formed by dissolving the substance in a solvent, emulsifying the resulting solution as the dispersed phase of an emulsion, and freeze-drying the emulsion to a powder. On mixing the powder with a fluid in which the substance is insoluble, the insoluble substance becomes a dispersion of nanoparticles which is pumped to the subterranean location. At the subterranean location a tracer dispersed as nanoparticles may migrate from injected water into hydrocarbon in a hydrocarbon reservoir. Another possibility is that the carrier fluid contains polymer and the dispersed nanoparticles comprise an agent which participates in cross-linking and consequent viscosification of the polymer at the subterranean location.
US08342237B1
An apparatus for containing leaks from a stuffing box on a wellhead production assembly is provided. The apparatus comprises a containment vessel consisting of two half shells that are joined below the stuffing box. The apparatus further comprises a seal subassembly. The components of the seal subassembly are positioned one the nipple and pumping tee below the stuffing box. The half shells are positioned about and joined to the seal subassembly in a manner that provides a liquid tight seal. Additionally, the apparatus comprises a transparent topper having an upper opening to receive a polished rod extending from the stuffing box. The topper is secured to the containment vessel in a liquid tight manner such that the stuffing box is substantially isolated from the environment. As such, any leaks originating from the stuffing box will be contained in the apparatus.
US08342232B2
A speed synchronization system in an aluminum alloy slab continuous casting and rolling line having a twin-belt casting machine and skin pass rolling machine which suitably controls a belt speed of the twin-belt casting machine and roll speed of the skin pass rolling machine so as to obtain a sound aluminum alloy continuously cast and rolled slab and a production facility and method of production of an aluminum alloy continuously cast and rolled slab using the same. These (1) compare an actually measured value of a slab speed during advance from a twin-belt casting machine to a skin pass rolling machine with a line speed setting to control a roll speed of a skin pass rolling machine by proportional/integrated control and simultaneously (2) control a belt speed of the twin-belt casting machine based on the line speed setting and a solidification shrinkage rate of the aluminum alloy to be cast so as to synchronize the belt speed of the twin-belt casting machine and the roll speed of the skin pass rolling machine.
US08342231B2
A cast strip withdrawing apparatus includes a plurality of pairs of rolls, and retains and withdraws a dummy bar via a fixed-side roll and pressure-side roll, which face each other, of each of these pairs of rolls. Each of the pressure-side rolls includes a fluid pressure cylinder imparting a dummy bar retaining pressure. A source pressure side fluid line supplying fluid pressure to these fluid pressure cylinders includes: a first pressure-reduction unit, a pressure drop detection unit, a line isolating unit installed on a source pressure side of the pressure drop detection unit, and a bypass unit.
US08342228B2
The present invention includes systems and methods for insert-molding. In some embodiments, a hook can be formed in a metal part by passing die-steel of a die-cast mold through the metal part during a die-casting process. This may, however, result in a hole in the metal part that is beneath the hook area. When plastic material is insert-molded over the metal part, the plastic material may flow through the hole and into the metal part. Accordingly, in some embodiments the plastic material can be prevented from flowing through the hole during the insert-molding. As one example, a tape material can be coupled over the hole. As another example, a wedge can be press-fit into the hole. As yet another example, a plug can be inserted into the hole.
US08342227B2
A sunshade for regulating the entry of light into the interior of a vehicle. The sunshade includes a wind-up mechanism engaging a primary sheet. A secondary sheet is secured to the primary sheet. The primary sheet has a first end remote from the wind-up mechanism, the first end having a surface with a light reflecting value (A). The primary sheet has a second end adjacent the wind-up mechanism, the second end having a surface with a light reflecting value (B) which is greater or lesser than the light reflecting value (A). The secondary sheet has a first side facing the first end of the primary sheet, the first side having a surface with a light reflecting value substantially equal to value (A). The second side of the secondary sheet faces the second end of the primary sheet and has a surface with a light reflecting value substantially equal to value (B).
US08342225B2
A connector for a multiple element blind assembly includes a first coupling element for association with a first blind element, said first coupling element having a body and a projection extending therefrom. The projection includes a keying portion. Also provided is a second coupling element for association with a second blind element. The second coupling element has a body defining a bore therein, which includes a keyway portion. The keying portion is insertable into and keys with said keyway to a torque transferring portion such that torque applied to one of said coupling elements is transferred to the other coupling element. Also, the keying portion is only insertable into said keyway to said torque transferring portion when said first and second coupling elements are aligned within a single relative rotational range.
US08342224B2
An architectural louver shade assembly comprising a shade canopy mounted to a rotatable central axle tube that supports a rod rib assembly to which the shade canopy is attached by adjustable tensioners that mechanically stretch and tension the fabric element of the shade canopy to remove wrinkles and sags. A wax cylinder piston attached by elements of a wax piston pressure system that changes the pitch of the shade canopy in response to temperature with a gas spring unit that returns the shade canopy to its default, horizontal orientation with decreasing temperatures. An optional manual/mechanical system that, through use of control cables, changes the pitch of the shade canopy with a gas spring unit that returns it to a default orientation. A camber cable assembly that maintains an equal compression load on the rib arm units that directly support the shade canopy, and carrier brackets that support the central axle tube and connect the louver shade assembly to a building wall.
US08342218B2
Apparatus for manufacturing a tubular product comprising a tube forming means, a tube maintaining means, a drawing means and energy application means, in which the tube forming means comprises a formation aperture or series of apertures adapted to form a subject material drawn therethrough into a tubular shape, in which the tube maintaining means comprises a circular aperture or series of apertures adapted to maintain the subject material drawn therethrough in the tubular shape, in which the drawing means is adapted to draw the subject material through the tube forming means and the tube maintaining means, in which the energy application means is adapted to direct an energy to the subject material, or an energy absorbent component disposed thereon, such that the subject material is set in the tubular shape, and in which the tube maintaining means is adapted to maintain the subject material in the tubular shape during absorption of the energy.
US08342210B2
A security cap (1) for selectively closing an open end (3) of a pipe (5). The security cap (1) includes inner and outer cap assemblies (7, 11), at least one latch (17), and a driving assembly (21). The outer cap assembly (11) is rotatable with respect to the inner cap assembly (7), and along with it, is intended to cover the open end (3) of the pipe (5). Each latch (17) is cooperable with the inner and outer cap assemblies (7, 11), and displacable with respect to the cap assemblies (7,11) so as to be operated between first and second configurations, wherein in the first configuration, each latch (17) is drawn away from an outer groove (19) of the open end (3) of the pipe (5) thereby enabling the security cap (1) to be removed from the open end (3) of the pipe (5), and wherein in the second configuration, each latch (17) is engaged with the outer groove (19) thereby preventing the security cap (1) from being removed from the open end (3) of the pipe (5). The driving assembly (21) is operatively disposed between the inner and outer cap assemblies (7, 11), and cooperable with the same, as well as with the at least one latch (17), for selectively driving each latch (17) between the first and second configurations via a given rotation of the outer cap assembly (11) with respect to the inner cap assembly (7) of the security cap (1).
US08342208B2
An object of the present invention is to allow a vehicle to run in the case where an air compressor connected to an input port fails so as to cause air leakage from the location of the failure, by preventing air in a parking brake circuit from leaking from the failure location through a bleed air flow path. In order to achieve the object, a multi-protection valve includes: a communication passage for communicating between an input chamber and a service output port so as to bypass a pressure control valve provided in correspondence with the service output port, the communication passage having a check valve for preventing air from flowing from the service output port into the input chamber and a throttle for restricting the air flow rate; and a bleed air flow path for communicating between the input chamber and the parking output port so as to bypass pressure control valves, the bleed air flow path having a second check valve for preventing air from flowing from the input chamber to the parking output port. The multi-protection valve further includes a third check valve provided between the input chamber and an input port to prevent air from flowing from the input chamber to the input port.
US08342205B2
The slide type valve of the present invention has a structure in which a movable flowpath forming member is pressed toward a slidable sealing member by use of a spring member and in which the load of the slidable sealing member received from the movable flowpath forming member becomes equal to a constant spring load determined by a spring force of the spring member. Additionally, an attachment member holding the movable flowpath forming member that is movable to the fixed flowpath forming member has a housing hole whose shape substantially coinciding with the shape of the movable flowpath forming member. The movable flowpath forming member is housed in the housing hole so as to be slidable in a direction perpendicular to the first end surface of the fixed flowpath forming member, and, accordingly, the load distribution is uniformed both in a first seal sliding surface and in a second seal sliding surface of the slidable sealing member. Additionally, a third flowpath is formed to follow one direction so as to reach the second seal sliding surface from the first seal sliding surface, and, as a result, a pressure loss in the flowpath is minimized.
US08342176B2
A sealed self-piercing capsule for storing and delivering a substance, such as a medicine, comprises one or more barrier layers forming a sealed chamber for containing the substance. An internal puncturing mechanism is disposed within the capsule chamber for puncturing a barrier layer to release the substance from the chamber. The internal puncturing mechanism may comprise a sharpened edge located on a movable tube, which moves relative to a barrier layer forming the sealed chamber to puncture the barrier layer.
US08342165B2
An appliance with a Venturi based venting system is disclosed. The appliance includes a housing defining an airflow channel in flow communication with outside of the appliance, the airflow channel having a common channel with a diverging section; first and second heating units disposed in the housing; a first duct through which a first cavity of the first unit is in flow communication with the common channel, the first duct having a first outlet end disposed at least partially in the diverging section; a second duct through which a second cavity of the second unit is in flow communication with the common channel, the second duct having a second outlet end disposed in the diverging section; and a fan in flow communication with the common channel.
US08342163B2
Embodiments of the disclosure provide an aggregate cutting saw chain having a pitch in the range of approximately 0.440 to approximately 0.450. Embodiments also include tie straps and/or other components having fluid distribution features.
US08342155B2
An injector has a body that defines a high-pressure passage for passing high-pressure fuel to an injection hole inside, a needle that is accommodated in the body and that opens and closes the injection hole, an electric actuator that causes the needle to perform the opening and closing action, a lead wire that is arranged in a lead wire insertion hole formed in the body and that supplies an electric power to the electric actuator, and a fuel pressure sensor that is fixed to the body and that senses pressure of the high-pressure fuel. An outlet hole, via which the lead wire extends from the lead wire insertion hole to an outside of the body, is located at a position closer to the injection hole than the fuel pressure sensor is.
US08342153B2
Digital fuel injector, injection and hydraulic valve actuation module and engine and high pressure pump methods and apparatus primarily for diesel engines. The digital fuel injectors have a plurality of intensifier actuation pistons allowing a selection of up to seven intensified fuel pressures. The disclosed engine operating methods include using at least one cylinder for a compression cylinder for providing compressed intake air to at least one combustion cylinder. A pressure sensor in each combustion cylinder may be used to indicate temperature in the combustion cylinder to limit combustion temperatures to below temperatures at which substantial NOX is generated. A re-burn cycle may be used to complete the burning of hydrocarbons, providing a very low emission engine. A compression cylinder may be provided with a pump actuated by the piston in the compression cylinder. Various aspects and embellishments of the invention are disclosed.
US08342139B2
Improvements in a catch and drain pan for a water heater is disclosed. The improvement includes an immersion resistant water heater support having a fixed or an adjustable leveling capability. The water heater Lifesaver support fits on the water heater support stand/area or inside a catch drain basing to elevate the water heater weight supporting base or metal legs above any standing water. The water heater Lifesaver support is also fabricated to level an uneven water heater to bring the water heater to a vertical orientation. The adjustable water heater support uses a sandwich of two supports in a cam configuration that are indexable in a plurality of finite engagement positions to slightly alter the vertical orientation of the water heater to account for variations and or horizontal orientation of the water heater mounting surface.
US08342138B2
A simple, small, light weight and economical device for catching and holding a dog's waste before it falls on the ground. The device would be held on the dog's tail by a fastener with a simple clip mechanism. Two flexible retractable arms, in the shape of a trapezoid with no base, are attached to the fastener enabling a simple adjustable folded diaper to be caught and placed in the right position to catch and hold the dog's waste before it falls on the ground or grass. When not in use the device might be folded and become compact and easy to carry.
US08342125B2
A safety valve for use in a dairy backflushing and dipping system. The safety valve is situated on or near a milker unit to seal and protect downstream dairy milk lines from teat dip and cleaning fluids that are fed through the safety valve to upstream milker unit components. All of the fluids, including dip, cleansers, water, and air pass through and are controlled by the safety valve.
US08342118B2
An apparatus for extrusion forming a sheet product having an extruder assembly with a sheet die through which a flowable material is delivered and a roll stand assembly made up of a roll stack sub-assembly and a sheet take-off sub-assembly. The roll stack assembly has first and second rolls between which a nip location is defined at which flowable material from the sheet die is delivered. The sheet take-off sub-assembly produces an advancing force upon a first sheet component made up of at least the first sheet layer. The roll stand assembly further has a coating system for applying a coating component to a surface on at least one sheet component advancing through the apparatus. The roll stand assembly is constructed to be reconfigured thereby to change a path traveled by the at least one sheet component and facilitate selective application of the coating component.
US08342116B1
A mooring pendant apparatus for releasably coupling and decoupling a boat, the apparatus having a clip comprising hook and ring sections, with an opening therebetween defining a mouth. The ring section consists of a pair of loaded holes and an access of rotation hole. A movable arm is biased such that the mouth is kept closed, and it only opens upon activation by a boater who pulls on a cable causing a functional retractor arm to create a greater force on the movable arm that the force keeping it shut, therein causing it to open. A mooring rope is attached to the apparatus which operates as an extension of the boater's arm, and it can be utilized either by keeping the apparatus on the boat or leaving it connected to the mooring line and also to the mooring ball.
US08342105B2
A open top railcar comprises a body on pair of spaced trucks, and a top chord extending the length of the side and the width of the end of the railcar, wherein the top chord includes an inwardly sloped top surface configured to discharge lading toward the interior of the railcar through gravity. The railcar further includes corner cap members that have inwardly sloped top surfaces configured to discharge lading toward the interior of the railcar through gravity. The railcar has a plurality of discharge chutes including a plurality of doors operated through a pneumatic door operating system and a manual door operating override for each door. The railcar also includes a nonmetallic touch pad housing provided with a plurality of touch plates for operating selective doors.
US08342100B2
The present invention provides a gas generator including a combustion chamber formed inside a housing having a gas discharge port, a disk-shaped gas generating agent stacked and loaded or a single tubular gas generating agent loaded in the combustion chamber in the axial direction of the housing, an igniter disposed inside the combustion chamber to enclose the igniter and fixed to a bottom surface of the housing by a fixing member, the fixing member including a fixing portion for the igniter and a plurality of elastic rod-like gas generating agent support portions extending in the radial direction of the housing from the fixing portion, the gas generating agent support portions abutting against a surface of the gas generating agent opposing the bottom surface of the housing, and the gas generating agent being pressed and fixed between the gas generating agent support portions and a top surface of the housing.
US08342092B2
Porous roll with axial zones and method of proving printing liquid to a cylinder in a printing press
A roll for distributing printing liquid in a printing press is provided. The roll includes a roll core having at least a first and a second axial zone, a first liquid feed for feeding liquid to the first axial zone, a second liquid feed for feeding the liquid to the second axial zone independent of the first axial zone and a porous shell covering the first and second axial zones. A printing press, a method for providing printing liquid through a porous shell of a printing liquid supply roll to a cylinder of a printing press, an inking apparatus and a method for providing ink to an anilox roll are also provided.
US08342074B1
A system and method for visual awareness that replaces transparent armor with opaque armor while still providing for clear vision for the occupants of a vehicle. The system and method may include a number of components with at least one partially mirrored surface. A component may have an armored base and a reflective surface or other means for directing light. The components may be arranged in a manner to block the direct path of a threat while still allowing a given optical path through the system.
US08342067B2
A punching apparatus includes a punch for punching holes in a sheet, a cam member for reciprocally moving the punch in a punching direction, a motor for moving the cam member, a pulse generator for generating pulses that are synchronized with the driving of the motor, and a control unit for applying a brake to the motor to stop the cam member upon counting the pulses of a predetermined number from the pulse generator after the cam member moved by the driving of the motor passes through a reference position.
US08342058B2
A torsional vibration damper includes an inertia mass and a rotating shaft or hub with an elastomeric ring between the inertia mass and the rotating shaft or hub. A large portion of said elastomeric member is located in a channel located either in the inertia mass or in the hub. This allows one to achieve high contact pressure without creating a significant fatigue on the elastomeric member. This can be used with either a crankshaft damper or an internal or external drive shaft damper.
US08342054B2
A spatial linkage including an inboard gimbal plate that provides a ground for the spatial linkage, an outboard gimbal plate, and at least three links that couple the outboard gimbal plate to the inboard gimbal plate. Each link has a longitudinal axis and two pivotal couplings disposed at opposite ends of the longitudinal axis. Each link is pivotally coupled to the outboard gimbal plate at a first end of the longitudinal axis and pivotally coupled to the inboard gimbal plate at a second end of the longitudinal axis opposite the first end. The pivotal couplings allow the outboard gimbal plate to move relative to the inboard gimbal plate and preventing relative rotation between the outboard gimbal plate and the inboard gimbal plate. Counterweight is coupled to at least one of the links on the opposite side of the inboard gimbal plate from the outboard gimbal plate.
US08342043B2
A system for collecting a sample of fluid from a fluid source and reintroducing the sample of fluid to the fluid source is disclosed. The system includes a pump in fluid communication with the source of fluid, a filter vessel in fluid communication with the pump and the source of fluid to receive a flow of fluid from the pump and substantially eliminate contaminants from the fluid flowing therethrough, and a fluid reservoir in fluid communication with the pump, wherein the fluid is directed from the pump into the fluid reservoir when in a sample mode.
US08342039B2
A system and method for measuring the preload condition of a vehicle differential gear assembly includes a multi-axis load cell having a spherical load button. The differential assembly is supported by the pinion shaft and the load cell button is positioned within a carrier housing hole. The pinion shaft is then rotated relative to the housing resulting in the housing to rotate along with the pinion shaft and abut against the load button. The resulting force against the button is measured in three orthogonal directions permitting an accurate force vector to be determined. The bearings preload is simultaneously set by applying an axial compressive force against the bearings while the pinion shaft is rotated.
US08342032B2
This invention relates to a tribology device for assessing mouthfeel-related tribological properties of a food sample, comprising a measuring surface composed of a thermoplastic polymer as an integral part.
US08342028B2
Disclosed is a photoacoustic measurement apparatus that irradiates a light beam onto a subject, from a same side as that of an acoustic wave detector, and that measures photoacoustic waves. The photoacoustic measurement apparatus has: an acoustic wave detector; a diffraction grating member provided in front of a detection surface of the detector; a light source that generates a light beam; and an optical system that guides the light beam from the light source towards the diffraction grating member. The diffraction grating member is configured such that the light beam led to the diffraction grating member is outputted by the diffraction grating member towards a subject surface that opposes the detection surface of the detector. As a result, light beams can strike a biological body in a near-perpendicular angle. This affords greater illumination efficiency, and allows light of substantial light energy to be irradiated deep inside biological structures.
US08342019B2
A probe unit includes a gas sensor having multiple gas introduction bores for introducing a gas into an inside of the gas sensor, and a sensor holder inside of which the gas sensor is held and that is arranged inside of a duct so as to introduce an exhaust gas flowing in the duct into the gas sensor. A calibration gas flow channel is arranged in the sensor holder and has an opening at an inner surface of a side wall, surrounding the gas introduction bores of the gas sensor, of the sensor holder so as to supply a calibration gas to the gas sensor. A guide groove is arranged continuous to the opening of the calibration gas flow channel and arranged on the inner surface of the side wall along an arranging direction of the multiple gas introduction bores to face the multiple gas introduction bores.
US08342015B2
A method for diagnosing a failure of an EGR circuit of an engine including an EGR exchanger, an EGR valve, a bypass duct of the EGR exchanger, and a bypass flap arranged upstream from the EGR exchanger and the bypass duct to adjust a proportion of exhaust gases flowing therethrough. The EGR circuit can be activated according to a cooled mode, in which the flap is shut, or according to a bypass mode, in which the flat is open. The method carries out, during a diagnosis phase, two activations of the flap, and measures an average of variations of the EGR gas temperature at an outlet of the EGR exchanger during the diagnosis phase.
US08342008B2
In the case of measuring a pattern having a steep side wall, a probe adheres to the side wall by the van der Waals forces acting between the probe and the side wall when approaching the pattern side wall, and an error occurs in a measured profile of the side wall portion. When a pattern having a groove width almost equal to a probe diameter is measured, the probe adheres to both side walls, the probe cannot reach the groove bottom, and the groove depth cannot be measured. When the probe adheres to a pattern side wall in measurements of a microscopic high-aspect ratio pattern using an elongated probe, the probe is caused to reach the side wall bottom by detecting the adhesion of the probe to the pattern side wall, and temporarily increasing a contact force between the probe and the sample. Also, by obtaining the data of the amount of torsion of a cantilever with the shape data of the pattern, a profile error of the side wall portion by the adhesion is corrected by the obtained data of the amount of torsion.
US08342007B2
A detection cell for a chromatography system includes a cell body having an inlet, an outlet, and a counter electrode, a working electrode, a sample flow passageway extending between the inlet and the outlet and in fluid contact with the counter and working electrodes, and a palladium/noble metal reference electrode system. A method of using the detection cell is also described.
US08342003B2
A system for measurement and analysis of pipeline contaminants is provided. The system includes a first assembly for engaging a pipeline from which a first fluid flow sample may be isokinetically collected for measurement of aerosol contaminants. The system also includes a second assembly for engaging the pipeline from which a second fluid flow sample may be collected for chromatographic analysis of the aerosol contaminants. The system may further include a third assembly for engaging the pipeline from which a fluid flow sample may be obtained for measurement of solid contaminants. Information on aerosol contaminants and solid contaminants can subsequently be used to select an appropriate extraction technology to control the presence of aerosol and solid contaminants within the pipeline. Information from the chromatographic analysis, on the other hand, may be used to identify the origin of the aerosol contaminants, so that corrective measures can be implemented to minimize the presence of aerosol contaminants within the pipeline. A method for measurement and analysis of pipeline contaminants is also provided.
US08342000B2
A servo-press machine determining whether or not a drive power supply voltage between a positive power supply path and a negative power supply path that connect a power supply device and a motor rotation control section is lower than an induced voltage of a servomotor, and correcting speed-related data based on slide motion information when the servo-press machine has determined that the drive power supply voltage is lower than the induced voltage.
US08341999B2
A method for producing a terminal has the steps of disposing butt surfaces of a pair of forming dies and side surfaces of a linear conductive material having a square shape in cross section parallel to one another, forming cutting recesses on ridge lines of the linear conductive material by first pressing surfaces, each provided on each of the butt surfaces, forming tapered surfaces continuous with the cutting recesses by second pressing surfaces, each formed by cutting at least one side edge portion of the first pressing surface, and cutting the cutting recesses so that a unit-length terminal is cut out.
US08341990B2
A method for processing a plate workpiece supported on a workpiece support. The method includes moving a tool die and a tool punch along a stroke axis and toward a processing position above a support plane of the workpiece support. The processing position corresponds to a region of the plate workpiece having a formed shape, which extends upwardly from the support plane of the workpiece support.
US08341989B1
A key fob with a retractable key blank is provided. The present invention includes a housing having a first portion and a second portion coupled together. The housing includes an aperture formed between the first and second portions on an end of the housing. The aperture allows for a key blade to slide therethrough. The present invention further includes a key blank having a base portion and a blade portion, wherein the base portion is coupled to an activation mechanism and the blade extends from the base portion. The base portion is slideable within the housing and retained at all times within the housing. The blade portion slides out and in the housing in response to operation of the activation mechanism. The blade portion slides between an extended portion and a refracted position. The key blank is cuttable while coupled to the housing.
US08341985B2
Various embodiments of a security device are provided for attaching to and securing small articles, such as jewelry or other accessories that are either loose or attached to a display card. The security device may engage various sizes of card stock and/or secure articles that include a ring component in a practical and unobtrusive manner. The security device may detect unauthorized removal of the item from the retail premises. In some cases, the security device may also be configured to detect tampering of the security device and may include one-alarm, two-alarm, or three-alarm functionality. Moreover, the security device may also provide other features or functionalities that a retail operator may prefer or consider prior to the use or selection of a particular security device over others. The device may provide easy securing to and/or removal from an object by an authorized operator, such as an employee, and may be reusable.
US08341981B2
A washing machine is disclosed. A washing machine includes a tub holding wash water, a drum rotatable within the tub to hold laundry, a first cabinet forming a first space provided with the tub and the drum to wash laundry, a second cabinet forming a second space for additional function, the second cabinet formed as one body with the first cabinet, and a single partition wall provided between the first and second cabinets to partition off the second space from the first space, wherein the second cabinet comprises a first frame and a second frame provided in both opposite portions out of front and rear portions and side portions of the second cabinet, the first and second frames having a rectangular shape.
US08341979B2
A method of producing an optical fiber preform by heating a glass preform that has a glass rod and a silica glass porous body and includes a valid portion and invalid portions, comprising: heating the glass preform while moving the glass preform along its axial direction relative to a heater; stopping the relative movement or decreasing a speed of the relative movement when an invalid portion positioned at a tail end reaches a vicinity of the heater; heating the invalid portion for a predetermined time while maintaining a temperature at which the silica glass porous body can be vitrified; decreasing the heating temperature to a temperature determined by adding 200° C. to an annealing point of a silica glass; and removing the glass preform to the outside of the heating furnace without increasing the heating temperature to the temperature at which the silica glass porous body is vitrified.
US08341978B2
A method of forming high strength glass fibers in a refractory lined glass melter is disclosed. The refractory lined melter is suited to the batch compositions disclosed for the formation high modulus, and high-strength glass fibers. The glass composition for use in the method of the present invention is up to about 70.5 Weight % SiO2, 24.5 weight % Al2O3, 22 weight % alkaline earth oxides and may include small amounts of alkali metal oxides and ZrO2. Oxide based refractories included alumina, chromic oxide, silica, alumina-silica, zircon, zirconia-alumina-silica and combinations thereof. By using oxide based refractory lined furnaces the cost of production of glass fibers is substantially reduced in comparison with the cost of fibers using a platinum lined melting furnace. Fibers formed by the present invention are also disclosed.
US08341962B2
A system and methods are disclosed that assist in biasing of a working fluid. In one embodiment, the method includes providing a first portion of a working fluid to a first low pressure turbine and a second portion of the working fluid to a second low pressure turbine, the second portion being greater in quantity than the first portion; processing the first portion of the working fluid in the first low pressure turbine to create a first exhaust fluid and processing the second portion of the working fluid in the second low pressure turbine to create a second exhaust fluid; providing the first exhaust fluid to a first condenser; and providing the second exhaust fluid to a second condenser, wherein the second exhaust fluid is greater in quantity than the first exhaust fluid.
US08341953B2
An exhaust manifold includes: a double collecting pipe having an inner pipe, including a collecting pipe portion and branch pipe portions, and an outer pipe, covering the collecting and branch pipe portions and thicker than the inner pipe; and an inner pipe retainer having semi-circular portions and a connecting portion, and thicker than the inner pipe and thinner than the outer pipe. The inner pipe retainer connects the inner and outer pipes with a gap therebetween. Exhaust gas from exhaust ports of a set of cylinders is introduced into the collecting pipe portion through the branch pipe portions. The total spot-welded area of the outer peripheral portions of the branch pipe portions and the inner peripheral portions of the semi-circular portions is larger than that of the inner peripheral portion of the outer pipe and the outer peripheral portions of the semi-circular portions.
US08341952B2
An exhaust gas system includes an exhaust manifold, in particular a single-wall exhaust manifold, which includes a plurality of inlet pipes for connection to exhaust gas outlets of an internal combustion engine and a collector device for the combining of the inlet pipes. The collector device has an outlet opening which is connected to downstream elements of the exhaust gas system, wherein the collector device is resistant to bending and the inlet pipes are comparatively flexible with respect to the collector device. The collector device includes an inlet pipe stub which is likewise resistant to bending and which is made for the direct connection to an exhaust gas outlet of an internal combustion engine.
US08341944B2
A method for application in conjunction with an exhaust gas post-treatment system for metering an ammonia-releasing reducing agent into the exhaust gas stream of an internal combustion engine installed in a motor vehicle and operated with excess air. A control unit meters the quantity of reducing agent as a function of a stored model and during the operation of the internal combustion engine varies the metered quantity during certain operating phases and compares the change in the measured value of at least one NOx sensor installed downstream of the SCR catalyst with an expected value.
US08341931B2
A lift-driving engagement chain capable of improving buckling strength of a pair of lift-driving engagement chains, by modifying the buckling restricting flat surfaces in order to suppress the force which causes a relative slippage along buckling restricting flat surfaces between hooked inner tooth plates and outer tooth plates that contact each other through the buckling restricting flat surfaces.
US08341930B1
A rope structure adapted to engage an external structure comprising a primary strength component and a coating. The primary strength component comprises a plurality of fibers. The coating comprises a lubricant portion and a binder portion that fixes the lubricant portion relative to at least some of the fibers. The coating is applied to the primary strength component such that the lubricant portion reduces friction between adjacent fibers and reduces friction between fibers and the external structure.
US08341928B2
A harvesting machine includes a harvesting header with a header frame, a flexible cutterbar assembly attached to the header frame along the length thereof and configured to cut a crop, and a flexible draper assembly positioned behind the cutterbar assembly to permit the draper assembly to flex with the cutterbar assembly and operable to receive severed crop material from the cutterbar assembly. The draper assembly includes fore-and-aft extending rollers and an endless flexible belt entrained around the rollers. The draper assembly further includes at least one support panel to support the belt.
US08341927B2
A crop header has generally horizontal flail disks mounted for driven rotation about generally upright axes. A pair of conditioner rolls is mounted in a discharge opening and a transfer roller is mounted behind the disks and in front of the nip. At each end, two disks are mounted outwardly of the discharge opening each rotating so that its blade moves inwardly and each carries an impeller to carry the crop inwardly. A third disk is arranged so that a line forward of the end of the discharge opening intersects the third disk inward of the axis of the third disk. The third disk rotates so that its blade moves outwardly so that the crop tends to pass between the second and third disks. A pair of impellers are mounted behind the second disk and move inwardly to carry the cut crop to the discharge opening.
US08341918B2
A method, a system, and a device for erecting a tower. The method comprises assembling proximate to the ground a base section, top section, and one or more intermediate sections of the tower into an assembled tower lying in a substantially horizontal first plane, the assembled tower comprising a top end including the top section and a bottom end including the base section. The method also includes orienting the attitude of the assembled tower using a lift initiator to lie in a second plane defining an acute angle to the first plane, so that the top end of the tower is higher in elevation than the bottom end. The method also includes lifting the assembled tower from the second plane to a vertical plane with a primary lift assembly and coupling the assembled tower to the foundation.
US08341916B2
A joint for panels, the panels comprising a core, a decorative upper surface and edges provided with joining means for positioning the panels towards one another. Predetermined portions of the edges are provided with a layer of polymer. The panels are joined to one another by use of the joining means where the polymer forms a seal in the joint preventing penetration of water into the joint wherein a highly water resistant unit of a plurality of panels is formed.
US08341915B2
Floor panels (1, 1′) are shown, which are provided with a mechanical locking system having a flexible tongue (30) in a displacement groove (40), which during a vertical folding motion is displaced. Moreover, a tongue blank (50), a production method and an installation method are shown.
US08341913B2
The invention relates to a system for suspending ceiling tiles, comprising a plurality of substantially parallel upper supports, a plurality of substantially parallel lower supports which are substantially perpendicular to the upper supports and which cross the upper supports at crossing points, the upper supports having apertures and being suspended via suspending means, a mounting clip which affixes each lower support to an upper support at a crossing point, the lower supports each having a substantially vertical web, wherein the mounting clip has the form of two plates each having an upper section and a lower section and the upper section of each plate has a protruding section at one edge, and the two protruding sections each pass through an aperture in the upper support, whereby the lower sections of the two plates pass on opposite sides of the vertical web of the lower support and press against and grip the lower support as a result of the protruding sections being held within the aperture or apertures in the upper support. It also relates to a method for mounting ceiling tiles using this system, a novel mounting clip and a novel stop clip for use in the system and method.
US08341912B2
A decorative shutter assembly including a plurality of main slats arranged in side-by-side relation, end pieces positioned at each end of the main slats and each including laterally spaced tongues spaced and sized to fit in their respective open ends of the main slats at a respective end of the main slats, and cross slat structures positioned in overlying relationship to seams formed between inboard ends of the end pieces and the respective ends of the main slats. The cross slat structures are removably secured to the end pieces and to the main slats so that, following delivery of the shutter assembly to a building site, the cross slat structures may be removed, the end pieces and main slats may be secured to a building surface utilizing fastener members, and the cross slats may be repositioned over the fastener members to conceal the fastener members.
US08341911B2
A flooring material having a textile pad substructure with a density of greater than 10 pounds per cubic foot is provided. The textile pad has reinforcement and binding fibers. The binding fibers are thermoplastic and are used to bind the reinforcement fibers together. The pad is created by heating and compressing a fibrous textile batt so that it has a density of greater than 13 pounds per cubic foot.
US08341894B2
An enclosure is made out of transparent or translucent panes which form a chamber (1) through which a liquid flows in closed circuit and which interchanges energy with the inner and outer environments, a heat exchanger (2) in contact with the liquid, a circulation pump (3), and a hydrostatic pressure reducer device (4). The hydrostatic pressure reducer device allows the reduction of the thicknesses of the transparent panes which hold the liquid inside. The active character of the enclosure is due to its capacity of controlling the solar heat load and the illumination. The solar heat load is regulated through the heat exchanger. The illumination of the building is controlled through the adjustable transparency of the liquid. The described enclosure allows the creation of an isothermal envelope which allows the climatization of the building. The system can be used for active outer enclosures or for interior partitions for the climatization and luminic control, as well as for glass roofs or false ceilings.
US08341890B2
A dual channel window lift assembly is provided, the assembly having: a door bracket; a pair of guide rails each being rotationally mounted to the door bracket for rotational movement in a predetermined range; and a cable assembly secured to the door bracket wherein at least one cable of the cable assembly is not received within a conduit and the at least one cable is secured to as least one pulley rotationally mounted to the one of the pair of guide rails and the at least one cable remains on the at least one pulley as the pair of guide rail each rotate within the predetermined range.
US08341879B1
The present invention is a plant supporting structure that provides effective support to a fruit bearing plant. It consists of two courses of rings that are vertically spaced. The rings in the outer course form an enclosure within which the rings from the inner course may be placed. The rings are held in place by spines. Each spine ascends vertically, successively connecting the rings of the outer course, and then descends vertically, connecting the rings of the inner course. The spines are spaced around the circumference of the rings. In some embodiments, the bottom ring of the outer course has the largest diameter of all the rings. In such embodiments, the bottom ring may sit on the ground or other plant growing surface and support the entire structure. The outer bottom ring may be lower than the inner bottom ring, thus preventing the fruits from touching the ground.
US08341869B2
An ice fishing trap comprising in its operational state a crossbeam dimensioned for extending across a hole in ice covering a body of water, and a hingedly coupled vertical mast. The vertical mast has a rotatable reel dimensioned to carry a length of fishing line and a hook. A trigger mechanism is provided, wherein a rotation of the reel causes an arcuate movement of a trigger hook. One aspect of the invention provides at least two stabilizer limbs hingedly coupled to the crossbeam, so as to form a general Z shaped support base when operational. In another aspect the fishing trap provides a trigger bolt coupled to an indicator spring, wherein the trigger bolt is utilized to couple the indicator spring to the trigger hook. The trigger bolt is slidingly supported by bolt guide, thus providing improved resistance to false indications due wind vibration and the like. Preferably, the trigger bolt is coupled to the indicator spring by a ring shaped coupler.
US08341855B2
A spinning shoe having an upper and sole member in which the sole member has a spinning assembly in the forefoot. The spinning assembly is placed within a recess in the forefoot region of the sole member. Thus, the user may walk about in the spinning shoe in a normal mode or spin about a vertical axis by placing the user's weight on the forefoot region and then spin about on the vertical axis.
US08341853B2
A drying apparatus has a casing, a cavity formed in the casing for receiving an object, a fan located in the casing and creating an airflow, a motor provided in the casing for driving the fan and ducting for carrying the airflow from the fan to at least one opening arranged to emit the airflow into the cavity, wherein the ducting includes at least one air duct in which at least one vane is located, the vane extending in the direction of airflow and dividing the air duct into a plurality of airflow portions.
US08341850B2
A device for measuring anatomic angles with two arms and a fastener for securing them together at one end providing a pivot. One arm has degree markings around the pivot and the other has a marker to indicate the angle between the two. One or both arms have a method for extending and contracting their length. The device is sufficiently small and light to allow ease of portability in a clothing pocket. In a preferred embodiment the arms are made of thin, clear, light plastic to allow ease of portability as well as inexpensive manufacture. In another preferred embodiment the arms are made of metal, or other heat-resistant material, to allow autoclave sterilization for use during surgery. In a further preferred embodiment the method to allow extension and contraction of one or both arms is by affixing thin, tubular, telescoping metal sleeves to one or both arms.
US08341846B1
The hair clippers use a self-contained motor-driven adjustment mechanism to adjust the relative position of the stationary and reciprocating blades of a common type of blade set. Two momentary switches operable by the thumb of the hand holding the clipper afford a barber total automatic adjustment with the clipper itself in an on or off condition. Since the small gear motors used for the adjustment are brush type or brushless permanent magnet motors which are operated by direct current, the adjustment feature is most compatible with cordless clippers already using an on-board DC source in the form of a re-chargeable battery to drive the reciprocating blade. The invention will be described as a modification of a cordless clipper, although AC driven corded type clippers can also be modified with this feature by the addition of an on-board AC to DC power supply for the adjustment motor.
US08341844B2
With respect to an outer ring 2b in which a diameter DB1 of a first outer ring raceway 10c is greater than a diameter DB2 of a second outer ring raceway 10b (DB1>DB2), a method is realized which facilitates the entry of a grinding tool 12 into an inner side of the outer ring when these both outer ring raceways 10c and 10b are subjected to a grinding process.The grinding tool 12 is made to enter the inner side of the outer ring 2b through an opening on a side close to the first outer ring raceway 10c.
US08341835B1
A method of manufacturing a semiconductor package includes mounting and electrically connecting a semiconductor die to a substrate. The semiconductor die and the substrate are encapsulated to form an encapsulation. Via holes are laser-ablated through the encapsulation and conductive material is deposited within the via holes to form vias. A first buildup dielectric layer is formed on the encapsulation. Laser-ablated artifacts are laser-ablated in the first buildup layer. The laser-ablated artifacts in the first buildup layer are filled with a first metal layer to form a first electrically conductive pattern in the first build up layer. The operations of forming a buildup layer, forming laser-ablated artifacts in the buildup layer, and filling the laser-ablated artifacts with an electrically conductive material to form an electrically conductive pattern can be performed any one of a number of times to achieve the desired redistribution.
US08341830B2
A quick circuit board press-mount device comprises: a positioning device, having a positioning board and a back board, and the positioning board having an adjusting knob with a screw rod portion, and the back board having an adjusting notch; an adjusting device, having a combining board, an insert board extended forward from the front end of the combining board, and the insert board having a screw hole for securing the screw rod portion, and the insert board being inserted into the adjusting notch, and the insert board having a lateral connecting board extended from a side from the combining board, and the lateral connecting board having an oblong adjusting slot for securing a position screw hole of the back board by a screw rod; and a press-mount element, coupled to the combining board, so that the circuit board module and the interface card can be mounted conveniently and quickly.
US08341829B2
An apparatus for splicing a fiber optic cable comprises a clamp for clamping a first portion of a first fiber optic cable, a bail for connecting the clamp to a support structure, a splice closure for splicing a second portion of the first fiber optic cable to a second fiber optic cable, and means for connecting the splice closure to the bail. A method of splicing a fiber optic cable, using the apparatus is also included.
US08341813B2
A locator device for locating the centerline of a plurality of piano hinge segments without the use of hard tooling includes a target support element, a pair of targets supported on opposite ends of the target support element, and a locator element for locating the target support element relative to hinge pin holes so that the targets are equally spaced from the hinge pin holes. The targets may be reflective-type targets used in laser targeting systems, photogrammetry targets used in digital photogrammetry locating systems, or other known targets.
US08341808B2
A clip has an opposed jaw end, a bridged back end and defines a slot extending across the bridged back end. It is connected to an article, for example, another clip or a float, which has an enlarged spherical head extending longitudinally therefrom. The head of the post has a diameter which is slightly greater than the width of the slot so that the connected item has rotational freedom of movement by receipt of the spherical head through the slot.
US08341802B2
A robot cleaner that is capable of preventing dust collected in a dust tank from flowing backward outside when a situation in which the dust may be discharged outside occurs includes a cleaner body, a dust tank mounted in the cleaner body to collect dust, and a backward-flow preventing device to prevent dust from flowing backward outside through a suction port of the dust tank. The backward-flow preventing device includes a shutter unit to open and close the suction port and a stopper unit to drive the shutter unit.
US08341801B2
A windscreen wiper device comprising a carrier element, as well as a wiper blade which includes opposing longitudinal grooves on its longitudinal sides, in which grooves spaced-apart longitudinal strips of the carrier element are disposed, wherein neighboring ends of the longitudinal strips are interconnected by a respective connecting piece, wherein at least one connecting piece comprises engaging members engaging around the longitudinal strips so that the strips are mounted in grooves formed by the engaging members wherein the strips and the connecting piece are slidably connected by means of a snap connection, wherein the snap connection comprises laterally extending means on the strips, and wherein the laterally extending means comprise at least one protrusion extending laterally from an interior edge of each strip, the protrusion being located within the outer contour of each strip and between stops on the connecting piece, with the special feature that the grooves of the wiper blade each comprise a stop for blocking a longitudinal movement of the wiper blade relative to the strips.
US08341790B2
The power toothbrush includes a toothbrush body and a stem portion extending from the toothbrush body which has a workpiece with a flexible membrane at a remote end thereof, and a flexible membrane at a near end thereof as well. A movable piston is positioned in the stem portion, as well as a fluid which is in communication with the flexible membrane at the workpiece end of the toothbrush and the flexible membrane at the near end of the stem portion. The body includes a solenoid coil which, when actuated, moves the piston in opposing directions in a controlled manner within the stem, which acts on the fluid in the stem and moves the flexible membrane at the workpiece in and out at a desired frequency and amplitude.
US08341786B2
An apparatus and method providing variable support and variable comfort control of a sleep system, the apparatus including a sleep support member including: a comfort layer including: a plurality of comfort layer inflatable members; and a comfort layer sensor configured to provide data relating to respective pressures of the comfort layer inflatable members; a data analysis unit configured to analyze data provided by the comfort layer sensor and to generate analyzed comfort layer data; and a control unit configured to control a pressure within each of the respective comfort layer inflatable members using the analyzed comfort layer data.
US08341785B2
A crib rail bumper is formed with a cushioning pad, a fabric cover dimensioned to encompass the pad, and reversible fastening means on opposite sides of the cover for securing the cover and pad to the crib rail. The reversible fastening means is preferably a reversible zipper. The crib rail bumper is compressible along the length dimension so as to encompass crib rails of varying lengths. The cushioning pad has a major length dimension, a minor width dimension, and a thickness dimension, the dimensions being selected for encompassing a crib rail. The reversible fastener allows multiple bumpers to be attached together to encompass wide rails or a plurality of rails.
US08341780B2
A decorative object, most conveniently embodied as a decorative pillow, is constructed to maintain a substantially fixed spatial relationship to a supporting substrate within a vehicle interior while not requiring the use of fastening means. The supporting substrate may comprise a vehicle seat. A decorative pillow is provided with a surface or surfaces providing ornamentation. Components in the interior of the pillow interact to function efficiently as a fill chamber and a ballast chamber. The ballast chamber may be positioned to avoid engagement with surfaces exposed to a user. Ballast provides for inertia so that the pillow will tend to stay in place when acceleration forces are applied thereto.
US08341777B2
A patient support is connectable to an external power source. The patient support includes a bedframe supported on a floor, a plurality of wheels coupled to the bedframe, and a brake configured to prevent the bed from moving on the floor. The brake is moveable between a braked position and an unbraked position. The patient support also includes a controller configured to activate an alarm when the brake is moved to the unbraked position when the bed is connected to the external power source.
US08341776B2
A spa apparatus including a frame, a basin received in the frame, and an adjustable leg rest coupled to the frame. The adjustable leg rest is configured to slide between a first retracted position and a second extended position. The adjustable leg rest is selectively lockingly engaged by a fixation member to hold the adjustable leg rest in the desired position relative to the frame.
US08341775B2
An adjustable curved double curtain rod shower assembly for hanging and supporting the weight of two shower curtains and attached to the walls of a shower area and forms a shower enclosure area and the curtain rod assembly comprises: (a) two adjustable curved curtain rods in a horizontal plane one an inner rod and the second an outer rod and each rod comprises a first and a second tubular section wherein the first section fits into the second section thereby providing for telescopic adjustment of each of the rods and two end pieces that join the ends of each of the two adjustable rods together; (b) two end hanging means having pivotably positioned therein the two end pieces wherein each of the hanging means is attached to the walls of the shower enclosure and when shower curtains are attached to each of the rods form an enclosed shower area.
US08341766B2
A jacket has several features useful for participating in a sport while wearing the jacket. The jacket may have a shell with a pocket in an upper region of the shell and a semi-rigid collar located in the pocket, wherein the semi-rigid collar is movable between a storage position wherein the semi-rigid collar is in the pocket and a use position wherein the semi-rigid collar is partially removed from the pocket. The jacket may also have a shoulder region with discrete areas of gripping material located on the shoulder region. The jacket may also have an inner core wrap having a perimeter, wherein a portion of the perimeter is removably attached to the outer shell that hugs the torso of a wearer. The jacket may also have a sleeve and a gusset formed on an outer surface of the sleeve by folding material forming the sleeve at an inner angle of the wearer's elbow, wherein the gusset unfolds and the sleeve lengthens when the arm of a wearer is straightened and wherein the gusset refolds and the sleeve shortens when the arm of the wear is bent.
US08347407B2
There is provided an authority management system in which, when a data user discloses secret information only to a specific partner having the authority to receive the disclosure of the secret information, the information can be disclosed only if the correctness of the partner is confirmed in a face-to-face manner. A holder of disclosure data encrypts data, generates and divides a decryption key of the data, and sends a partial decryption key to a disclosure partner beforehand. At the time of data disclosure, the data holder physically meets a disclosure partner terminal. The partial decryption key is sent in a proximate state, and the decryption key is reproduced. With this, the data is decrypted and disclosed. Thus, the data holder meets the disclosure partner having the authority to receive the disclosure, and visually confirms the correctness of the partner.
US08347403B2
A single point authentication component is provided that is responsible for authenticating incoming requests received via various mediums into a system of a plurality of Web services. The single point authentication component is configured to receive a request from a client for accessing one of the plurality of Web services and to determine and enforce security policies acceptable for accessing the requested Web service.
US08347402B2
A method and system facilitating the development and distribution of software is provided. The system includes a database provided on a computing device, the computing device configured to enable users to provide an update to an element of the database, wherein the element is associated with an object. The system further includes time stamp tracking software configured to enable revisions to elements of the database by establishing time stamps for each stored element changed at a specified time and an assembler configured to enable a user to assemble elements for execution based on time stamping.
US08347395B2
A method and an apparatus for monitor mirroring in the display of data requiring confidentiality is disclosed, including a computer system, an identification unit that identifies the data requiring confidentiality, and a filter unit that filters the identified data requiring confidentiality, so that only the filtered data and data not requiring confidentiality are shown on the monitor. The screen content of the monitor can thereupon be mirrored onto a further monitor.
US08347394B1
A DNS engine monitors domain name system (DNS) network activity occurring between a user computer and a remote computer server. The engine collects DNS traffic information during a specified time window at the user computer using the monitored DNS network activity. The engine generates a local DNS reputation for the user computer and stores the local DNS reputation on the user computer. When a triggering event is received at the user computer the engine determines that the triggering event is abnormal in comparison to the stored local DNS reputation. An alert is issued to a software product on the user computer. The engine takes an action using a software product upon the alert. The reputation may be a frequency distribution for each accessed domain name and IP address. A triggering event may be an abnormal access to a domain name or IP address, or a mismatch between DNS queries and DNS responses of the user computer.
US08347391B1
A network activity detection system is trained to detect network activities of interest such as threats by malicious computer data. The training involves distilling the characteristics of known network activities of interest (e.g., intrusion by computer viruses, exploits, worms, or the like) into a minimal set of meta-expressions. At run-time, the network activity detection system combines the minimal set of meta-expressions with efficient computer algorithms for evaluating meta-expressions to detect known network activities of interest, as well as their unknown variants, among an unknown set of network activity. The network activity detection system may produce appropriate responses upon the detection of network activities of interest.
US08347389B2
A system for protecting devices operating on 64-bit editions of operating systems by retrieving the file path by which the process was run and not the actual file path from where the process is running and scanning this retrieved file path for viruses.
US08347384B1
Methods and systems are provided for using incremental operation for processing regular expressions in intrusion-prevention systems. In an embodiment, a state-transition table is provided, said table representative of a predetermined data pattern, and including states each having one or more egress events defining transitions to other states. A first portion of a subject is received, where the subject is to be evaluated for the presence of the predetermined data pattern. While using the state-transition table for said evaluation, a first state is transitioned into, after which it is determined that a set of restart information should be saved for the first state, said determination including identifying a tail to save from an end of the first portion of the subject. The restart information is saved, along with at least the identified tail.
US08347378B2
An improved solution for authenticating a user seeking to manage a computer system is provided according to aspects of the invention. A user seeking to perform out-of-band management of the computer system can provide a set of credentials to a service processor, which in turn provides them to the computer system for authentication. Additionally, a user seeking to perform in-band management of the computer system can provide a set of credentials to a management agent executing on the computer system for authentication. In either case, the computer system can authenticate the set of credentials, e.g., using an operating system interface.
US08347354B2
Users of a computer are prevented from directly accessing certain hardware for which a driver is installed on the computer. The users are provided a limited, indirect manner to access the hardware for a specific purpose or to do a specific job. One example of such hardware is a wireless hardware communication interface. The wireless activity of the computer may be restricted so that the wireless hardware communication interface is prevented from communicating with any devices compatible with the wireless hardware communication interface other than one or more specific devices.
US08347353B1
Addressing security in an asymmetrical network. At a centralized database, a handshake message is received from a security element that received the message on a first path. A second handshake message is received from a second security element that received the second message on a second path, where the centralized database tracks handshake messages and associations between the messages and communication sessions. A determination is made that the first message is associated with a session. Another determination is made that the second message is associated with the same session. An association between the second message and the first message is stored in the centralized database, based on the associations of the first message and the second message with the same communication session. A determination that the communication session is allowed is stored in the centralized database, based on the association of the second handshake message to the first handshake message.
US08347346B2
Granular policy management is provided based upon an active status of a process and the display status of an associated visual display. A policy is constructed and applied to a process by a combination of individual control policy parameters associated with the status of a process or a graphical user interface. Each active policy is dynamically adjusted in response to a change in at least one policy condition.
US08347345B1
The invention relates to apparatus and methods for a television terminal with a modem. The television terminal may be a set top terminal for use with a cable television program delivery system. The modem may be integral to the terminal or may be provided as a hardware upgrade unit or expansion card connected to the terminal to modularly enhance the functionality of the terminal. The modem enables the terminal to communicate with interactive services and on-line databases, including services and databases outside of the television program delivery system. The services and databases may provide home shopping, airline reservations, news, financial information, classified advertisements, home banking, and/or interactive teletext.
US08347337B2
A data storage management and scheduling system schedules the recording, storing, and deleting of television and Web page program material on a client system storage medium. A schedule of time versus available storage space is generated that is optimal for the viewer's scheduled program recordings. The programs include television broadcast programs and Universal Resource Locators (URLs). A program is recorded if at all times between when the recording would be initiated and when it expires, sufficient space is available to hold it. All scheduling conflicts are resolved as early as possible.
US08347336B2
A digital television (DTV) signal for use in a DTV receiver includes an extended text table (ETT) which includes a header and a message body. The header includes a table identification extension field which serves to establish uniqueness of the ETT, and the message includes an extended text message (ETM). If the ETT is an event ETT, the table ID extension field includes an event identification which specifies an identification number of an event associated with the ETT. On the other hand, if the ETT is a channel ETT, the table identification extension field includes a source identification which specifies a programming source of a virtual channel associated with the ETT. A section-filtering unit included in the DTV receiver is able to use table identification extension fields of a plurality of ETTs for section-filtering a pertinent event or channel ETT from the ETTs.
US08347334B2
A method of recording television content is disclosed and includes receiving one or more television program search criteria from a set-top box device at a recurrent searching system. The method also includes storing the one or more search criteria at the recurrent searching system. Further, the method includes performing a first search of electronic program guide (EPG) data accessible to the recurrent searching system based on the television program search criteria and performing at least one additional search of EPG data accessible to the recurrent searching system based on the television program search criteria after the first search.
US08347330B2
A virtual channel table for broadcasting protocol and a method for broadcasting by using the virtual channel table includes identification information identifying and permitting discrimination of active and inactive channels contained in the virtual channel table. At a receiver, the virtual channel table transmitted from the transmitting side is parsed, thereby determining whether the current received channel is an active or inactive channel.
US08347328B2
A method and system for initiating an emergency alert in a broadcast system includes a broadcast operations channel management system providing a user alert user interface and determining guide channels eligible for an emergency alert. The broadcast operations channel management system sends a trigger to the traffic scheduling system and initiates an emergency alert event in response to the trigger.
US08347323B2
A broker-program generating unit generates a broker program by using an interface-definition-language file defining interface definition information concerning a plurality of applications described in various programming languages. The broker program is installed in a middleware platform that absorbs and hides a common object request broker architecture, and brokers an interaction between the applications with a structure that stores data in a binary format as an interface to the middleware platform.
US08347319B2
Multi-function devices expose multiple functions to device drivers or other lower-level software. Device function providers can interface with such drivers or lower-level software and can provide information, including device identifiers regarding such functions, to a device display object infrastructure. A device display object can then be created that encompasses one or more functions such that, in one embodiment, the device display object corresponds to a single, physical multi-function device. Alternatively, any combination of functionality from one or more physical devices can be combined into a single device display object representing a virtual multi-function device. Properties of the device display object can be set with reference to user-specified settings, remotely maintained metadata, locally available metadata, and information associated with each function. Functions can be ranked such that, if there is a conflict, information from more highly ranked functions is used to set the properties of the device display object.
US08347318B2
An application component communication method and an apparatus using the same are provided to an SCA-based system for efficiently performing data communication between SCA-based application components by using a dynamic connection manager. The application component communication apparatus includes an application module provided in the SCA-based system and driven, an application packaged by a plurality of application components, and an application factory for generating the application and driving the application components by parsing XML files. The dynamic connection manager registers port information of each of the application components, and establishes a connection for data communication between the application components according to the port information. According to the present invention, data communication between the respective application components can be efficiently performed by using the dynamic connection manager.
US08347313B2
Methods, apparatuses, and systems are presented for automating organization of multiple processes involving maintaining a uniform record of process threads using at least one server, each process thread comprising a representation of a collaborative process capable of involving a plurality of users, enabling at least one of the plurality of users to carry out a user action while interacting with one of a plurality of different types of application programs, and modifying at least one process thread in the uniform record of process threads in response to the user action carried out by the user. Modifying the at least one process thread may comprise generating the at least one process thread as a new process thread. Alternatively or in addition, modifying the at least one process thread may comprise modifying the at least one process thread as an existing process thread. At least one of the process threads may reflect user actions carried out by more than one of the plurality of users.
US08347308B2
An information processing apparatus having a storage unit configured to execute a workflow with a plurality of processes combined therein and hold history information of the workflow, the information processing apparatus comprising an instructing unit configured to instruct such that a test workflow regarding a workflow selected to be executed is executed; a generating unit configured to generate the test workflow for the workflow selected to be executed; and an executing unit configured to execute the test workflow; wherein the generating unit generates the test workflow at least by adding a process not held in history information to processes of the test workflow, without adding a process held in the history information to the processes of the test workflow.
US08347302B1
Technology is provided to manage requests for physical resources in computing systems using system-aware scheduling techniques. Transactions having two or more dependent requests for a physical resource are identified by the computing system. Information identifying the requests as part of a dependent transaction is passed with the requests for the physical resource. In at least one mode of operation, a scheduler corresponding to the physical resource allocates submission of the requests to the physical resource using the dependent transaction information.
US08347286B2
A method, system and program product for managing downloads of files from a server. The method includes presetting, using a tool, a threshold number of allowable connections for each client requesting connections to download files from a server. The method further includes identifying, using the tool, a client requesting one or more connections to download a file and tracking, using the tool, whether or not the client has exceeded the threshold number of allowable connections preset. If the client has not exceeded the threshold number of allowable connections preset, allowing the one or more connections up to the threshold number of allowable connections preset for the client to download the file from the server and if the client has exceeded the threshold number of allowable connections preset, preventing the client from connecting to the server, such that overloading of the server with too many simultaneous active connections is minimized.
US08347281B2
A method and apparatus for updating set top box software from a resident software version stored in a memory of the set-top box to a current software version is disclosed. The method comprises the step of automatically checking to determine if the resident software version is the current software version, and downloading data comprising at least a portion of the current software version if the resident software version is not the current software version.
US08347274B2
A debugging support device includes: a plurality of CPU simulating units which simulates the operations of a plurality of CPUs which executes programs in parallel; a memory simulating unit of a memory to be shared by the plurality of CPUs; an event monitoring unit that detects a predetermined event occurring between each CPU simulating unit and the memory simulating unit; and a state judging unit that judges whether the state of the occurred predetermined event matches a predetermined condition and, if the predetermined condition is matched, records history information related to the state of the memory simulating unit.
US08347270B1
A computer-implemented software self-assembled system and method for providing an external override and monitoring capability to dynamically self-assembling software containing machines that self-assemble execution sequences and data structures. The method provides an external override machine that can be introduced into a system of self-assembling machines while the machines are executing such that the functionality of the executing software can be changed or paused without stopping the code execution and modifying the existing code. Additionally, a monitoring machine can be introduced without stopping code execution that can monitor specified code execution functions by designated machines and communicate the status to an output device.
US08347262B2
A method, computer-readable medium and system are described for deriving a schematic diagram representative of an integrated circuit (1C) comprising a plurality of circuit elements. In general, the method, computer-readable medium and system are configured to receive as input a working schematic diagram identifying at least some of the circuit elements, and at least one existing schematic diagram from one or more libraries thereof. Based on this input, at least a portion of the working schematic diagram that matches at least a portion of the at least one existing schematic diagram is identified and replaced, thereby forming a revised schematic diagram.
US08347252B2
An automated method for estimating layout-induced variations in threshold voltage in an integrated circuit layout. The method begins with the steps of selecting a diffusion area within the layout for analysis. Then, the system identifies Si/STI edges on the selected area as well as channel areas and their associated gate/Si edges. Next, the threshold voltage variations in each identified channel area are identified, which requires further steps of calculating threshold voltage variations due to effects in a longitudinal direction; calculating threshold voltage variations due to effects in a transverse direction; and combining the longitudinal and transverse variations to provide an overall variation. Finally, a total variation is determined by combining variations from individual channel variations.
US08347249B2
Disclosed is a computer implemented method, data processing system, and computer program product to optimize, incrementally, a circuit design. An Electronic Design Automation (EDA) system receives a plurality of nets wherein each net is comprised of at least one pin. Each pin is linked to a net to form a path of at least a first pin and a second pin, wherein the first pin is a member of a first net. The second pin can be a member of a second net, and the path is associated with a slack. The EDA system determines whether the path is a critical path based on the slack. The EDA system reduces at least one wire length of the path, responsive to a determination that the path is a critical path. The EDA system moves a non-critical component in order to reduce at least one wire length of the nets that include pins of a non-critical component, responsive to reducing at least one wire length of the path, wherein the non-critical component lacks pins on a critical path. The EDA system legalizes the components on a net having a pin selected from the first pin and the second pin. The EDA system determines whether a component is a non-critical component. The EDA system, responsive to a determination that component is a non-critical component, legalizes the non-critical component. The EDA system incrementally optimizes a time delay of the plurality of paths, responsive to legalizing.
US08347248B2
A method and system to insert redundant vias while preserving timing is disclosed. The system and method preserve the timing during redundant via insertion, which utilizes incremental timing and extraction updates. A budgeting based approach and a path based approach to the method are disclosed. The budgeting approach is faster, while the path based method has a better insight of the worst slack/slew for the entire design.
US08347232B1
Methods and apparatuses are provided for navigating an electronic document. In one implementation, a method includes executing a command associated with a region selected by a tap gesture. In another implementation, a method includes displaying a slider on a slide bar including an expanded part corresponding to a section of the electronic document. The expanded part is disproportionately larger than other parts of the slide bar corresponding to other sections of the electronic document. Methods and apparatuses are provided for activating an element of an electronic document. In one implementation, a method includes activating the element selected by a touch gesture. Methods and apparatuses are provided for controlling a perceived brightness of an electronic document. In one implementation, a method includes displaying a partially opaque graphical object in front of the electronic document. The perceived brightness of the electronic document being based on an opacity of the graphical object.
US08347229B2
A multifunction peripheral and a control method thereof include an input to provide an input screen through which an item is selected from a plurality of items to execute a plurality of operations, and data corresponding to the selected item is input, and a controller to control the multifunction peripheral such that when the data corresponding to the selected item is input, the input data is applied to execute the operations.
US08347220B2
An original image is displayed on a display screen. Here, when a sub-screen input mode is set, a sub-screen that is obtained by reducing an entire screen displayed on the display screen is displayed on an image display portion. The user uses an electronic pen to select an optional input area within the sub-screen. An area corresponding to the selected input area is displayed on the entire screen. At this timer, the reduced image of the entire screen is switched to an image of the input area on the sub-screen. Then, the user uses the electronic pen to perform an editing work on the sub-screen. The sub-screen is set within reach of the user, and editing on an area out of reach on the entire screen can be also performed on the sub-screen.
US08347199B2
A method for receiving packet data at a communication channel and transmitting the packet data over serial links of the communication channel. The packet data is sliced into n-bit data portions which are concatenated with a header prior to transmitting an n-bit portion across one of the serial links of the communication channel. The header includes a CRC to provide improved error detection.
US08347182B2
Mechanisms for ensuring data consistency in a data store are provided. The mechanisms access a parity scrub factor f and perform a check on a data group of the data store. The check on the data group includes performing a parity check on a portion of the data group, the portion being equal to 1/f of the data group, and performing a data verify on the remainder of the data group. The performing of the check is repeated for the entire data store. An offset factor is used to select the portion of the data group for the parity check. In this case, the offset factor may be incremented when the performance of the check on the data group of the data store has been repeated for the entire data store.
US08347176B2
A memory controller and method that provide a read-refresh (also called “distributed-refresh”) mode of operation, in which every row of memory is read within the refresh-rate requirements of the memory parts, with data from different columns within the rows being read on subsequent read-refresh cycles until all rows for each and every column address have been read, scrubbing errors if found, thus providing a scrubbing function that is integrated into the read-refresh operation, rather than being an independent operation. For scrubbing, an atomic read-correct-write operation is scheduled. A variable-priority, variable-timing refresh interval is described. An integrated card self-tester and/or card reciprocal-tester is described. A memory bit-swapping-within-address-range circuit, and a method and apparatus for bit swapping on the fly and testing are described.
US08347174B2
A method for transmitting data from a network to a user equipment in a wireless communication system is provided. The network adds an error detection code, generated using a first identifier allocated to the user equipment, to scheduling information for data to be transmitted to the user equipment and transmits the scheduling information to which the error detection code has been added to the user equipment. The network also adds an error detection code, generated using a second identifier allocated to the user equipment, to the data to be transmitted to the user equipment and transmits the data to which the error detection code has been added to the user equipment.
US08347163B2
A method for a receiver to receive data from a transmitter, the receiver including a plurality of buffers to support data retransmission by the transmitter. The method includes: receiving a data packet from the transmitter; determining whether or not at least a predetermined number of buffers are in use; and notifying the transmitter if it is determined that at least the predetermined number of buffers are in use.
US08347157B2
Today many instances of IEEE 1149.1 Tap domains are included in integrated circuits (ICs). While all TAP domains may be serially connected on a scan path that is accessible external to the IC, it is generally preferred to have selectivity on which Tap domain or Tap domains are accessed. Therefore Tap domain selection circuitry may be included in ICs and placed in the scan path along with the Tap domains. Ideally, the Tap domain selection circuitry should only be present in the scan path when it is necessary to modify which Tap domains are selected in the scan path. The present disclosure describes a novel method and apparatus which allows the Tap domain selection circuitry to be removed from the scan path after it has been used to select Tap domains and to be replaced back into the scan path when it is necessary to select different Tap domains.
US08347153B2
A method and an apparatus for testing the physical layer of high speed serial communication devices and systems with protocol awareness is disclosed. The apparatus comprises of two major blocks: a General Purpose Platform (GPP) and an Analog Front End (AFE). Physical layer testing is divided into two sets of testing procedures: Receiver and Transmitter testing. This test system can be used in a traditional BERT setting where the test system commands the Device Under Test (DUT) to be placed into either a loop back mode, or into a more advanced mode where the test system is communicating with the DUT on a protocol level and counts the frame error ratio (FER). This FER is protocol dependent and each protocol receiver has its own way of reporting transmission errors to the transmitter. The protocol awareness of this invention is capable of detecting such a level of errors.
US08347149B2
Embodiments herein generally relate to implantable medical devices and, specifically, to a system and method for providing fault tolerant processing in an implantable medical device. In an embodiment a system for providing fault tolerant processing in an implantable medical device is provided. The system can include an implantable medical device comprising a processor and memory store configured to execute a plurality of threads, temporal and spatial constraints assigned to one or more of the threads, and a kernel. The kernel can include a scheduler and a thread monitor configured to monitor execution of threads against the temporal and spatial constraints, and further configured to issue a response upon violation of either of the constraints by one of the plurality of threads. In an embodiment a method for providing fault tolerant processing in an implantable medical device is provided. Other embodiments are also included herein.
US08347147B2
Systems and methods for lifecycle management of automated testing are disclosed. In one embodiment, a method includes processing multiple manual test cases for an application under test, associating a set of reusable test scripts to the manual test cases, where the set of reusable test scripts is selected from a library of reusable test scripts, and executing the set of reusable test scripts for the application under test using an automated testing tool associated with the set of reusable test scripts.
US08347146B2
A method of assisting failure mode and effects analysis of a system having a plurality of components includes obtaining data associated with a component, or a group of components, of the system. The component or the group is associated with component type data or group type data, respectively, that includes data relating to at least one failure feature common to all components or groups, respectively, of that type. The component/group data and the component/group type data can then be stored and/or transferred for use in a failure mode and effects analysis of the system.
US08347141B2
A volatile or nonvolatile cache memory can cache mass storage device read data and write data. The cache memory may become inaccessible, and I/O operations may go directly to the mass storage device, bypassing the cache memory. A log of write operations may be maintained to update the cache memory when it becomes available.
US08347135B2
An approach is provided for determining if video content provided to a device is still being viewed, without disrupting the presentation of the content. A device is monitored for input from the user, wherein the device is configured to present content to the user. A determination is made whether the user input is within a predetermined time period. A control signal is generated to change the presentation of the content without explicitly notifying the user of the change, wherein the presentation of content will cease if the user input is not within the predetermined period.
US08347134B2
A power control system for a network system in which a plurality of devices are connected over a network can adequately distribute limited power according to the operational state of each device while keeping a high reliability. A device operating in normal mode broadcasts a power accommodation request when the power of the device is insufficient. Upon reception of the power accommodation request, devices operating in low-power mode send accommodatable power values to the requesting device, and sends a low-power mode fixation notification indicating that operational mode is fixed to the low-power mode to a controller. Upon reception of the low-power mode fixation notification from the notifying devices, the controller sets a job assignment ratio to the notifying devices lower than that of the requesting device.
US08347122B2
There is provided an information processing apparatus including an internal power source that supplies power, a power source information acquiring unit that acquires, from the internal power source, power source information relating to supply of the power in the internal power source, a drive status setting unit that determines power supply capability of the internal power source based on the power source information and sets setting information to define a drive status of a device in accordance with a determination result, and a device control unit that controls the drive status of one or more control subject device, based on the setting information.
US08347119B2
In some embodiments, the invention involves modification of the processor utilization calculations that are used by operating system power management services to improve processor efficiency. An embodiment of the present invention is a system and method relating to power management policies under operating system control. In at least one embodiment, the present invention is intended to modify the processor utilization evaluation process so that C-state transition time and/or unhalted reference cycles are included in the calculation. Other embodiments are described and claimed.
US08347116B2
An access control method of a semiconductor device includes providing an inputted password as an input of a hash operator; performing a hash operation in the hash operator and outputting a first hash value; controlling the hash operator so that the hash operation is repeatedly performed in the hash operator by providing the first hash value as an input of the hash operator when the first hash value and a second hash value stored in a nonvolatile memory do not coincide; and setting an access level with respect to the inner circuit according to the repetition number of times of the hash operation of the hash operator when the first and second hash values coincide.
US08347100B1
A method, computer readable medium, and device for providing authenticated domain name service includes forwarding at a traffic management device a request for a domain name from a client device to one or more servers coupled to the traffic management device. The traffic management device receives a first response comprising at least a portion of the domain name from the one or more servers. The traffic management device attaches a first signature to the first response when the first response is determined by the traffic management device to be an unauthenticated response, and provides the first response with the first signature to the client device.
US08347098B2
Some embodiments of the invention provide a content-distribution system for distributing content under a variety of different basis. For instance, in some embodiments, the content-distribution system distributes device-restricted content and device-unrestricted content. Device-restricted content is content that can only be played on devices that the system associates with the particular user. Device-unrestricted content is content that can be played on any device without any restrictions. However, for at least one operation or service other than playback, device-unrestricted content has to be authenticated before this operation or service can be performed on the content. In some embodiments, the system facilitates this authentication by specifying a verification parameter for a piece of device-unrestricted content. The content-distribution system of some embodiments has a set of servers that supply (1) media storage structures that store content, (2) cryptographic keys that are needed to decrypt device-restricted content, and (3) verification parameters that are needed to verify device-unrestricted content. In some embodiments, the device that receives the media storage structure inserts the received cryptographic key or verification parameter in the received media storage structure. In some embodiments, the set of servers also supply cryptographic content keys for the device-unrestricted content. These keys are used to decrypt the content upon arrival, upon first playback, or at some other time. However, some embodiments do not store these cryptographic keys in the media storage structures for the device-unrestricted content.
US08347094B2
A password protocol for establishing secure communications between sensor nodes in a network using secure environmental values (SEV). A first sensor sends a message to a second sensor comprising the first sensor's location and a key encrypted by a first SEV. The second sensor responds with a message comprising a key encrypted by a second SEV and a first nonce encrypted by a session key. The first sensor sends a third message comprising the first nonce and a second nonce encrypted by the session key. The second sensor verifies the first nonce and sends a fourth message comprising the encrypted second nonce. The first sensor then verifies the second nonce.
US08347089B2
A method and system are provided for secure messaging on mobile computing devices. The method and system provide for an indication of a security trust level associated with a security method used with an electronic message.
US08347081B2
A method, apparatus and system for employing a secure content protection system is disclosed. In one embodiment, a certificate having a unique device identification associated with a first device is received, and, at a second device, a revocation list having unauthorized device identifications is received. The unique device identification is incrementally compared with the unauthorized device identifications of the revocation list, and media content is transmitted from the second device to the first device, if the unique device identification is not matched with the unauthorized device identifications of the revocation list.
US08347077B2
Authenticating a registration request from a mobile node includes an authenticator operable to facilitate a communication session for the mobile node. Access authentication to provide the mobile node access to an Internet Protocol (IP) network is facilitated. A mobility key is obtained from the access authentication. A registration request is received from the mobile node, and is authenticated using the mobility key.
US08347072B2
A processor capable of secure execution. The processor contains an execution unit and secure partition logic that secures a partition in memory. The processor also contains cryptographic logic coupled to the execution unit that encrypts and decrypts secure data and code.
US08347070B1
A method and system for sharing platform data are described. The method for sharing platform data includes during a boot sequence of system firmware, accessing a first data structure tag associated with a resource accessible by the operating system. Also during the boot sequence of the system firmware, the method includes determining a memory address corresponding to platform specific data associated with the resource. During a boot time sequence of the system firmware, run time code is parsed. The method includes accessing a second tag that is visible to the operating system and associating it with the location of the platform specific data. This allows for the platform specific data to be consumed by an operating system during runtime in accordance with the industry common interfaces defined in ACPI.
US08347066B2
Replay instruction morphing. One disclosed apparatus includes an execution unit to execute an instruction. A replay system replays an altered instruction if the execution unit executes the instruction erroneously.
US08347065B1
A shared memory management system and method are described. In one embodiment, a memory management system includes a memory management unit for concurrently managing memory access requests from a plurality of engines. The shared memory management system independently controls access to the context memory without interference from other engine activities. In one exemplary implementation, the memory management unit tracks an identifier for each of the plurality of engines making a memory access request. The memory management unit associates each of the plurality of engines with particular translation information respectively. This translation information is specified by a block bind operation. In one embodiment the translation information is stored in a portion of instance memory. A memory management unit can be non-blocking and can also permit a hit under miss.
US08347060B2
This storage system has an allocation unit for allocating a storage extent in prescribed units to the dynamic logical volume upon storing the data sent from the host computer in the dynamic logical volume; a management unit for managing the storage extent recognized as being currently used by the file system among the storage extents allocated to the dynamic logical volume by the allocation unit; and a release unit for releasing the storage extent that is not being managed by the management unit from the dynamic logical volume.
US08347055B2
A method may defrag a memory for an IC card having a plurality of files stored in memory portions, each file including respective links to one or more other files. The method may include detecting a start address of a first free memory portion of the memory, detecting an address of a memory portion following the start address and storing one file to be moved, detecting files including links to the address of the file to be moved, moving the file to be moved to the start address of the first free memory portion, updating the links to point at the start address, and repeating the above steps until at least two free memory portions following the moved files are separated by one or more of files.
US08347051B2
A storage apparatus includes a second volume which stores data serving as a copying source of data to be stored in a first volume, serving as a data copying destination in another storage apparatus, a session establishing unit which establishes a session between the second volume and the first volume, and a copy directing unit which directs a volume, including a free area, in the other storage apparatus such that data equivalent to the data to be stored in the first volume is copied, in response to a copy setting command issued by a server.
US08347047B2
A memory system with serialized data transfer. The memory system includes within a memory controller and a plurality of memory devices. The memory controller receives a plurality of write data values from a host and outputs the write data values as respective serial streams of bits. Each of the memory devices receives at least one of the serial streams of bits from the memory controller and converts the serial stream of bits to a set of parallel bits for storage.
US08347043B2
Systems and methods for dissolving the bottleneck issue of management task requested from management client to the storage virtualizer which consolidates externally attached storage arrays while providing a single management point of the entire system to the management client. Specifically, by utilizing the storage virtualizer to distribute received management tasks to respective external attached arrays, it can off load tasks, thus reducing the workload on the storage virtualizer itself. Because of the task distribution, the storage virtualizer consequently does not need to copy and hold detailed information of each storage volume in the respective attached storage arrays, thereby avoiding any inconsistent information between the arrays and the virtualizer when the configuration change has been done on the external array.
US08347041B2
Disclosed are a system and method to preserve and recover unwritten data present in data cache of a disk subsystem across power outages. In one embodiment, a method of a controller is described. The method includes applying a write-back technique between a host server and a data store, accessing a dirty data in a cache memory during a power outage. The method may apply an algorithm for efficiently offloading the dirty data to a non-volatile storage device during the power outage. In addition the method may apply the algorithm to efficiently transfer the dirty data from the non-volatile storage device to the data store when power is restored.
US08347037B2
A data processing system includes a processor core having an associated upper level cache and a lower level victim cache. In response to a memory access request of the processor core that specifies a non-modifying access to a target coherency granule, a determination is made whether the memory access request hits or misses in a directory of the lower level victim cache. In response to determining that the memory access request hits in the lower level victim cache in a data-valid coherence state, the lower level victim cache provides the target coherency granule of the memory access request to the upper level cache. The lower level victim cache preserves the target coherency granule in the lower level victim cache in a shared coherence state if the memory access request is of a first type and invalidates the target coherency granule if the memory access request is of a second type.
US08347036B2
In response to a data request, a victim cache line is selected for castout from a lower level cache, and a target lower level cache of one of the plurality of processing units is selected. A determination is made whether the selected target lower level cache has provided more than a threshold number of retry responses to lateral castout (LCO) commands of the first lower level cache, and if so, a different target lower level cache is selected. The first processing unit thereafter issues a LCO command on the interconnect fabric. The LCO command identifies the victim cache line to be castout and indicates that the target lower level cache is an intended destination of the victim cache line. In response to a successful coherence response to the LCO command, the victim cache line is removed from the first lower level cache and held in the second lower level cache.
US08347032B2
An image forming apparatus includes a RAID control unit comprising an access request queue and an access request arbitrating unit configured to store access requests to a logical disk sent from an operating system in the access request queue on the basis of fetch order determination information, and to fetch the access requests. An access arbitration method for a RAID driver comprises the steps of storing the access requests in an access request queue on the basis of fetch order determination information, converting logical disk access information contained in access information corresponding to the access requests into physical disk access information, and supplying the access information containing the physical disk access information to a RAID controller.
US08347029B2
A method is provided for reducing the number of writes in a non-volatile memory (122). The method involves writing data in the non-volatile memory and determining a set of data from the data in the non-volatile memory to be written to a removable memory (126) that is operatively coupled to the non-volatile memory (e.g., a NAND memory). The method also involves writing the set of data to the removable memory (e.g., a hard disk) from the non-volatile memory. The method further involves writing a delineation marker (e.g., a sequence number) to the non-volatile memory specifying that the set of data has been written to the removable memory. Notably, the metadata of the data in the non-volatile memory comprises at least one marker set as a specific marker type (e.g., a valid marker and a dirty marker).
US08347023B2
The present disclosure includes systems and techniques relating to non-volatile memory. Systems and techniques can include obtaining information to store in a non-volatile memory, the information including a data segment, compressing data within the data segment, including pad data in one or more portions of the data segment based on a compression result attained by the compression, and writing data of the data segment.
US08347018B2
Techniques to broadcast a message across a point-to-point network are described. More particularly, some embodiments of the invention relate to broadcasting messages between electronics components within a point-to-point interconnect. Other embodiments are also disclosed.
US08347017B2
An integrated circuit for accessing a universal serial bus (USB) device via a USB 3.0 receptacle is provided. The integrated circuit includes a plurality of pins and a controlling unit. The pins include a first group for receiving and transmitting a first pair of differential signals of the USB device, a second group for receiving a second pair of differential signals from the USB device, and a third group for transmitting a third pair of differential signals to the USB device. The second group is disposed between the first and third groups. The controlling unit controls the plurality of pins to receive or transmit the first, second or third pair of differential signals.
US08347014B2
A mobile computing device (MCD) can determine, based on model-specific test result information, whether an accessory may be incompatible with specific MCD functions. In some embodiments, the accessory provides test result information separately indicating a test result for each of a number of MCD models. Multiple MCD models can be grouped into a device class, and the MCD can deem the accessory compatible if he received test result information indicates a pass result for at least one of the device models associated with a device class to which the MCD belongs. If the accessory is not deemed to be compatible with the mobile computing device, the MCD can generate a warning.
US08347009B2
A certain ECU transmits a reference message for requiring the other ECUs to transmit data. After transmission of the reference message, each of all the ECUs transmits priority information of its transmit message onto a communication bus, and then detects whether some priority information transmitted from the other ECUs has a higher priority than its own transmitted priority information. If there is detected no priority information of a higher priority than its own transmitted priority information, it transmits a message associated therewith, and then is prohibited to transmit data of the same priority until receiving a next reference message.
US08347008B2
Certain aspects of a method and system for a hardware-based implementation of USB 1.1 over a high-speed link may comprise translating at a client side of a client server communication system, USB protocol messages comprising a first USB standard to corresponding encapsulated USB protocol messages, wherein the USB protocol messages comprising the first USB standard are received from a client device at the client side of the client server communication system. The translated corresponding encapsulated USB protocol messages may be communicated from the client side to a server at a server side of the client server communication system.
US08346994B2
A memory access control apparatus receives from a DMA requestor an access request command, which contains an IOID, for a DMA address space that is a memory area used for a DMA transfer, and determines whether the access is permitted or not and executes the access if it is permitted. The operating system on the PU sets in MMU the correspondence relationship between the logical address space of a user process and the DMA address space. When the user process instructs to access the DMA address space by specifying a logical address, the MMU translates the logical address into a physical address of the DMA address space.
US08346989B2
A display apparatus capable of adjusting the time for detecting input signals from an external input source is provided. The display apparatus includes a signal detector which checks a plurality of input sources in sequence for a predetermined basic time and detects signals input from the plurality of input sources, and a controller which controls the signal detector to adjust the basic time and recheck the plurality of input sources if no signal is detected within the basic time. Accordingly, it is possible to recognize an input source from which input signals are detected late.
US08346987B2
Improved techniques for communicating between a portable electronic device and an accessory (or auxiliary) device are disclosed. The accessory device can augment or supplement the functionality or capabilities of the portable electronic device. For example, in one embodiment, the accessory device can provide wireless communication capabilities to the portable electronic device. In one embodiment, the portable electronic device pertains to a portable media player and thus provide media data for storage, playback or transmission. In one embodiment, the accessory device is attachable to the portable electronic device.
US08346985B2
A computer system includes a receiver configured to pair with a set of peripheral devices and have active connections with a first subset of the peripheral devices and inactive connections with a second subset of the peripheral devices. The first and the second subsets of peripheral devices are subsets of the set of peripheral devices. If a select one of the peripheral devices in the inactive set of peripheral devices is operated, the receiver is configured to activate a connection with the select one of the peripheral devices in a latency period that is below human perception levels of the latency period.
US08346980B2
Apparatus and methods for providing an interface for a semiconductor processing tool are provided. In some embodiments, the apparatus may include an input/output bridge for receiving analog and state command system control signals from, and sending return data and status information to, a system controller, wherein the analog and state command system control signals are intended to control an analog device, and for converting the analog and state command system control signal into a digital system control signal intended to control a digital device; and an upper pneumatic assembly coupled to the input/output bridge for providing pressure control to one or more pressure zones located on a polishing apparatus coupled to the upper pneumatic assembly for the polishing of semiconductor wafers.
US08346977B2
According to one aspect there is disclosed an apparatus. The apparatus may include a first device. The first device may include a first serial input port configured to receive serial data from at least one of a host MCU and a second device; a first serial output port configured to output the serial data to a third device when the third device is coupled to the first device; a first shift register configured to receive the serial data from the first serial input port; a first multiplexer configured to selectively couple the first serial output port to the first shift register or the first serial input port; and a bus controller configured to receive the serial data from the first serial input port, the bus controller further configured to control the first multiplexer to couple the first serial output port to the first serial input port or the first shift register, based at least in part on the serial data, wherein the serial data includes a command section of a command and at least a portion of a payload section of the command, wherein the command section includes a command code, a target address and an error check and the payload section includes at least one new address and at least one corresponding error check.
US08346970B2
A data relay device has a reception processing unit for dividing transmitted data into data blocks to store in a storage unit together with labels for managing the data blocks, a manipulation processing unit for manipulating the data blocks stored in the storage unit and a transmission processing unit for transmitting the data blocks of which manipulation is completed to a destination. Since the reception processing unit divides the transmitted data while receiving the same, the reception processing unit, the manipulation processing unit and the transmission processing unit may operated in parallel, thereby realizing reduction of time required to relay the transmitted data.
US08346965B2
A method may include constructing an auxiliary graph for a network comprising a plurality of network elements, the network elements having an Internet Protocol layer, a lower layer, and a wavelength layer, the auxiliary graph including a plurality of directed edges, the plurality of directed edges indicative of connectivity of components of the plurality of network elements. The method may further include: (i) deleting directed edges from the auxiliary graph whose available bandwidth is lower than the required bandwidth of a selected demand; (ii) finding a path for the demand on the auxiliary graph via remaining directed edges; (iii) deleting at least one directed edge of the auxiliary graph on the wavelength layer along the path; (iv) adding lower layer lightpath edges to the auxiliary graph for a lower layer lightpath for the path; and (v) converting lower layer lightpaths to Internet Protocol lightpaths if a conversion condition is satisfied.
US08346963B2
A system for sending and receiving personal information using a mobile terminal is disclosed. In the present invention, a personal information is sent using a short message service with an attached identification information. Accordingly, when the short message is received by a receiving mobile terminal, the attached identification information allows the receiving mobile terminal to distinguish and process the short message for personal information differently from other general short messages.
US08346962B2
Disclosed are examples of an interworking system and related methods. The interworking system can be configured to implement a session initiation protocol (SIP) message routing method that may include checking a transmitting subject and a transmission method of a SIP message, applying a network address translation based on the checked message's transmitting subject and its transmission method, and specifying the address of the node selected based on the checked message's transmitting subject in routing path information.
US08346958B2
A system and method for controlling rates for a Lightweight Directory Access Protocol (LDAP) over MQSeries (LoM) server. The system comprises a health metrics engine configured to calculate an actual delay value, at least one LoM server configured to asynchronously obtain the actual delay value from the health metrics engine and place the delay value between one or more requests, and a LDAP master configured to accept the one or more requests and send information in the one or more requests to a LDAP replica.
US08346957B2
A method and apparatus are provided for transmitting and receiving information in an Internet Protocol (IP) network. In the method of allowing a client to receive information from a server, the client requests that a third client in a subnet to which the client belongs transmit the information, and receives the information that the third client transmits in response to the request. Accordingly, it is possible to quickly share information for a broadcast, which the server provides, while minimizing the load on the server.
US08346943B2
A multimedia gateway that has an ISIM is provided. The multimedia gateway comprises: request receiving means for receiving, from a client terminal, a request message that specifies a destination IMS AS and a communications protocol, and identifying an IMPU assigned to the client terminal, establishing means for establishing a session for communication with the IMS AS by means of the communications protocol, and establishing a connection with the IMS AS over the session, authentication information sending means for sending authentication information derived from the ISIM that contains the identified IMPU to the IMS AS, request sending means for sending the request message together with the identified IMPU to the IMS AS through the connection, response receiving means for receiving a response message from the IMS AS through the connection as a response to the request message, and response sending means for sending the response message to the client terminal.
US08346940B2
A method for execution by at least one entity in the service provider network. The method comprises receiving an access request from a communication device; determining a logical identifier intended for use by the communication device during an eventual communication session; and identifying, based on the logical identifier, an object linked to a physical location of the communication device. Finally, in one aspect, the method comprises obtaining account credentials for a customer known to be associated with the object, whereas in another aspect, the method comprises establishing a data session between the communication device and a network entity associated with the object without necessarily obtaining any account credentials.
US08346936B2
A resource-node of a peer-to-peer (P2P) network adapted to manage the allocation of resources to channel swarms. Resource allocation is based on a distributed algorithm in which resource-nodes of the P2P network occasionally join and leave channel-swarms. Each resource-node independently decides whether or not to stay in the channel-swarm that it has joined to. These decisions are based on values of a transience parameter set by a transience mechanism of the resource-node.
US08346933B2
A virtual machine location system includes a resource conflict detection unit for detecting a resource conflict using measurement data regarding a resource usage state of the entirety of a single server and a resource usage state of virtual machines running on the server, and a virtual machine relocation determination unit for transferring the virtual machine on the server for which a resource conflict has been detected to another server having a lower resource usage rate are included.
US08346923B2
In embodiments of the present invention improved capabilities are described for improving network quality of service, such as through controlling the bandwidth consumed by a client computing facility. To affect this, the software applications operating through the client computing facility may be identified to determine which applications are requesting network access, and confirming which are permitted only restricted bandwidth when making network communications. The requesting software application that is permitted only restricted bandwidth may then be allowed to make the network communications through a bandwidth restricted network connection.
US08346921B1
Techniques are described for managing program execution capacity or other capacity of computing-related hardware resources used to execute software programs, such as for a group of computing nodes that is in use executing one or more programs for a user. Dynamic modifications to the program execution capacity of the group may include adding or removing computing nodes, such as in response to automated determinations that previously specified triggers are currently satisfied, and may be automatically governed at particular times based on automatically generated predictions of program execution capacity that will be used at those times by the group, such as to verify that requested dynamic execution capacity modifications at a time are within the predicted execution capacity values for that time. In some situations, the techniques are used in conjunction with a fee-based program execution service that executes multiple programs on behalf of multiple users of the service.
US08346912B2
A system and method of emulating a network controller within an information handling system is disclosed. In one form, an information handling system can include a host chipset operably coupled to a network interface controller of a first main circuit board, and a management controller operably coupled to the host chipset. The information handling system can also include an emulated network interface controller operable to be activated by the management controller. The information handling system can further include a communication bus coupled to the host chipset and the management controller. In one form, the communication bus is operable to activate a communication link between the host chipset and the emulated network interface controller.
US08346909B2
An on-demand manager provides an improved distributed data processing system for facilitating dynamic allocation of computing resources among multiple domains based on a current workload and service level agreements. Based on a service level agreement, the on-demand manager monitors and predicts the load on the system. If the current or predicted load cannot be handled with the current system configuration, the on-demand manager determines additional resources needed to handle the workload. If the service level agreement violations cannot be handled by reconfiguring resources at a domain, the on-demand manager sends a resource request to other domains. These other domains analyze their own commitments and may accept the resource request, reject the request, or counter-propose with an offer of resources and a corresponding service level agreement. Once the requesting domain has acquired resources, workload load balancers are reconfigured to allocate some of the workload from the requesting site to the acquired remote resources.
US08346902B2
A method, apparatus and computer instructions in a data processing system for identifying device configurations. Unique identification information is identified for a set of devices in the data processing system. The identified unique identification information is compared with previously identified unique identification information. Configuration data is moved to a memory for devices in the set of devices in which a match exists between the identified unique identification information and the previously identified unique identification information for devices. Configuration information is obtained from a device in which configuration information is absent in the memory after configuration data has been moved to the memory for the devices to form a current set of configuration data for the set of devices.
US08346900B2
Systems and methods are provided that disclose a network service for modularly constructing a software defined radio (“SDR”). A server system provides an SDR kernel (i.e., a potentially platform-neutral definition of digital signal processing functionality and control operations necessary to implement the core portion of a software defined radio implementing a particular radio standard) to a client system. The client system may select a desired SDR kernel through a variety of means disclosed herein. While some SDR kernels may be provided for free and unrestricted use, others may be purchased or subscribed to and additionally restricted by digital rights management (“DRM”) policies. Based upon the agreed upon payment terms and any other restrictions, a customized set of DRM policies may be applied by the server system to the SDR kernel before sending it to a client system. Additionally, the server system may provide a description of governmental regulations applicable to a given locality.
US08346899B2
A server comprising a network interface controller (NIC) may be operable to determine network components and/or resources that may be utilized to create, modify and/or terminate a hyper-channel in a network fabric. A configuration for creating, modifying and/or terminating the hyper-channel may be initiated by the NIC based on knowledge of the network fabric up to the edge of network and each of the switches along a path of the hyper-channel may be instructed by the NIC to configure the hyper-channel. The configuration may also be initiated by the NIC based on knowledge of the network fabric up to a first hop and each of the switches along a path of the hyper-channel may then be allowed to configure the hyper-channel based on knowledge of the network fabric surrounding each of the switches.
US08346895B2
The present disclosure involves systems, software, and computer implemented methods for providing user productivity on-demand services. One process includes operations for determining a hosted service for use with an application at a client based on user context data associated with the application. A request for the hosted service and a reference to stored data required for the hosted service is received. The hosted service is executed, and the results are transmitted to the client.
US08346886B2
A computer system comprises a server. The server, in turn, comprises one or more master instances of an operating system (OS). The OS comprises a set of computer program files to operate a computer. The server also includes a version-managing program maintaining the one or more master operating systems. The computer system also includes a number of client computers each of which is configured to operate using one of the one or more master operating systems as read-only files.
US08346883B2
Compute nodes of a parallel computer organized for collective operations via a network, each compute node having a receive buffer and establishing a topology for the network; selecting a schedule for a broadcast operation; depositing, by a root node of the topology, broadcast data in a target node's receive buffer, including performing a DMA operation with a well-known memory location for the target node's receive buffer; depositing, by the root node in a memory region designated for storing broadcast data length, a length of the broadcast data, including performing a DMA operation with a well-known memory location of the broadcast data length memory region; and triggering, by the root node, the target node to perform a next DMA operation, including depositing, in a memory region designated for receiving injection instructions for the target node, an instruction to inject the broadcast data into the receive buffer of a subsequent target node.
US08346879B2
A computer implemented electronic out-of-office message analysis system and method are disclosed. The method includes, for each of a plurality of users, receiving a user-generated electronic out-of-office message in a natural language in which a time window of absence and at least one alternate named contact are expressed and, based on the out-of-office message, generating a structured representation of the out-of-office message which links the alternate contact to a normalized representation of the time window. The structured representation of the out-of-office message is stored in a database. From the database it can be determined whether a current user's out-of-office message conflicts with another user's out-of-office message. If a conflict is detected, the current user can be notified.
US08346877B2
A computer-readable medium including computer-executable code for enhancing an electronic document with one link and being served via a network responsively to a request received via the network and correspondent to an electronic document. The chat application may be for use with a mobile device and be less computing resource intensive. Certain embodiments of the present invention may not require a code or applets to be inserted to provide chat functionality. Advantageously, only a link may need to be inserted, for example. This may provide particularly well suited for use with websites where traditional chat code or applets may not be inserted.
US08346870B2
A browser-based debugger application is configured to debug a second browser based application. A channel repeater module is invoked to establish a bidirectional communication channel between the debugger application and the second application. A start indication is transmitted from the second application through the channel repeater module. The second application enters a blocked wait state. A debug operation is performed on the second application. A debug request message is transmitted to the second application through the channel repeater module to cause the second application to transition from the blocked wait state to a run state and to perform a debug action indicated by the debug request message. A response to the debug request message is received from the second application through the channel repeater module. The second application transitions to the blocked wait state from the run state.
US08346860B2
The invention generally relates to optimizing the speed and reliability of the delivery of content or functionality to electronic devices. In certain aspects, the invention provides a system for managing content including a production server with a web interface and configured to allow a producer to create content. The system includes a gateway server which can receive the content and write it to a dynamic section. The gateway server can then compile the dynamic section into a compiled section, still including the content, and send it to a client, thereby giving an end-user access to new content or functionality.
US08346858B2
A system for providing an optimal motivational response is provided. The system includes an input device configured to receive at least one client input from the client. The system further includes a processor configured to analyze the at least one client input received from the client and generate a current state of the client based on the at least one client input. The processor is further configured to analyze the current state of the client and determine an optimal motivational technique for the client based on the current state of the client and the at least one client input. The processor is also configured to generate an optimal motivational response based on the optimal motivational technique. The system further includes an output device configured to display the optimal motivational response to the client.
US08346857B2
Methods and systems for allocating resources, such as computer controlled resources, in a networked system are described. An example system includes a network interface, an item database, a load balancer, a web proxy processor configured to selectively block or route an inbound user browser request, a cache cluster system configured to cache data and states for access by other system components, and program code stored in computer readable memory configured to store a session identifier on a user terminal associated with a user browser, process an item acquisition request from the user browser while the browser is accessing a first website, transmit to the browser an indication that the acquisition request is accepted if the acquisition request meets a predefined criterion, if the acquisition request is accepted then automatically transmit to the browser an offer to transfer the item to another, use the session identifier for identification, and determine if a transfer instruction has been received from the browser.
US08346854B2
A method and system of operating system independent cloud computing is provided. In one embodiment, a method of a client device includes accessing a first application through a first application template. The first application template resides on a server. The method also includes accessing the first application based on a response to a request of a user interface of the client device. Furthermore, the method includes processing the first application through a processor such that the first application accesses the first application template such that the client device permits an access of the first application through the first application template. The method also includes executing the first application through the first application template such that an execution of the first application through the first application template emulates the execution of the first application installed on an operating system of the client device.
US08346849B2
A method and system for setting up and managing secure data/audio/video conferences with a wide range of topologies is described. The disclosed method and system allow extending the range of topologies possible with the H.323 conferencing standards while overcoming T.120 negotiating constraints. Security in such conferences may be based on a trusted node system or on more complex security procedures. Furthermore, the taught conference topologies fully utilize the T.120 standards while also permitting the reach of the conferences to the extent enabled by the H.323 standards by implementing additional modules to manage the setting up and tearing down of one or more conference connections. In addition, the method and system allow for dynamically adjusting conference connections to improve bandwidth usage and utilize H.323 support for gatekeepers.
US08346846B2
Methods and/or systems relating to mote networks having mote-addressed content logs of a first set of motes. The mote-addressed content logs are aggregated and transmitted.
US08346835B2
The invention relates to a method and filter structure for filtering an input signal, which is applied to an input (1) of the filter structure, having a symbol rate. The input signal is guided to multiple parallel branches of the filter structure connected to the input (1), in which at least two sequence holding members (4) are each disposed. Symbol values of the input signal, which are applied to the outputs of the sequence holding members (4) at certain points are guided to multiple (N) parallel signal addition units (3) having weighted inputs. One output signal each is generated in the signal addition units (3) as the sum of the weighted symbol values that are applied to the inputs. According to the invention, space and energy saving filter structure is provided, wherein: the same amount of sequence holding members (4.1, 4.2, 4.3) is disposed in each of the parallel branches; as many signal addition units (3.1, 3.2, 3.3, 3.4) are disposed in the filter structure as the amount of parallel branches are provided in the filter structure; the sequence holding members (4.1, 4.2, 4.3) and addition units (3.1, 3.2, 3.3, 3.4) are nested inside each other; and the sequence holding members die (4.1, 4.2, 4.3) and the signal addition units (3) are controlled via a multi-phase clock signal (F1 to 4).
US08346823B2
In order to face fragmentation, a method for storing and organizing files on a storage medium via a file system reserves on the storage medium a non-fragmented segment for taking up a file by storing within the file system an identification of an address range of the segment. The file is written within the segment and information is stored in the file system. The information is suited to find the file. The size of the segment is derived by statistical methods from file sizes of a kind of the file.
US08346817B2
Embodiments relate to systems and methods for embedding an interpolated data object in an application data file. A database management system can store operational data, such as financial, climate or other information. A user can input or access target data, representing an output desired to be generated from an interpolated set of input data. Thus, the average air temperature of a region may be known for several years, along with other inputs including water temperature, wind speed, and other data. The target data can include an expected average temperature for the current year. The interpolation engine can receive the current-year target temperature, and generate water temperatures, wind speeds, and other variables that produce the target temperature. In aspects, the interpolation engine can embed the interpolated data as an object in a local or remote spreadsheet or other local data file via dynamic data links, to permit automatic updating of the embedded interpolated data.
US08346814B2
An approach is provided for managing split and merge operations for information spaces with respect to their information content.
US08346811B2
A system and method for analyzing and reporting data from multiple sources is provided. The system is a foundation for an analytical platform that covers not only traditional relational data, but also a new generation of extensible data formats designed for the web, such as those based on XML (FIXML, FpML, ebXML, XBRL, ACORD, etc.), as well as HTML, E-mail, Excel, PDF, and others. In a preferred embodiment, the eXtensible on-line analytical processing (XOLAP), is a scalable client/server platform that allows the multi-dimensional analysis of modern data types, as well as traditional relational data, by bringing them all into an internal common XML-based model, without the time and expense of creating a data warehouse.
US08346806B2
An image processing apparatus includes a browser which obtains an external resource or internal resource of the apparatus and displays the resource on the display unit, and a storage unit for storing an internal resource that can be displayed on the display unit. The image processing apparatus performs control not to display information by which storage location of the internal resource in the storing unit is identifiable in the case where the resource obtained by the browser unit is an internal resource.
US08346805B2
A system and method for excluding certain types of files from being saved to a system by examining file data. The file data is examined by: mapping the circular queue to memory; reading the file identifiers from the circular queue (a named mutex is locked until all file identifiers have been read from the queue); using the file identifier to open the file; scanning the opened file to create a file signature; comparing the file signature to each entry on a list of signature criteria; and performing a storage policy if there is a match.
US08346797B2
A search device and an information providing system are structured, to lessen a user's operation load, such that a crawling portion executes a crawling while sequentially changing an expansion header indicating a voice display capacity in an HTTP request into a voice display capacity of a typical model within each of model groups, and registers the obtained result in a search index in correspondence to the model name within the model group, a search service providing portion executes a search from the search index in correspondence to a search condition like a key word from a cellular phone terminal unit and the model name in the HTTP request, and a response portion generates a search result in correspondence to a template, and sends to a Web browser of the cellular phone terminal unit via an HTTP server.
US08346791B1
Methods, systems, and apparatus, including computer program products, for generating or using augmentation queries. In one aspect, augmentation queries are identified from user interactions or are machine generated. The augmentation queries can be stored in an augmentation query data store. When a user submits a search query to a search engine, the terms of the query, and optionally additional information, such as the geographic location from which the query is received or the language of the query, can be used to identify stored augmentation queries and select one or more similar augmentation queries. The selected augmentation queries, in turn, can be used by the search engine perform an augmented search operation.
US08346789B2
A method according to one embodiment includes determining the presence of pre-existing metadata associated with at least one local media content file. The method of this embodiment may also include determining at least one data field contained within the pre-existing metadata and generating a homogeneous metadata file for the at least one local media content file by mapping data contained within the at least one data field of the pre-existing metadata into at least one defined data field of the homogeneous metadata file.
US08346787B1
A method and apparatus for continuous data protection is provided. In one embodiment, the method for continuous data protection comprises receiving a write request for writing at least one data segment to storage; computing, using at least one processor, a signature for the at least one segment; comparing, using at least one processor, the signature that is associated with the at least one segment with a plurality of data signatures for previously stored data segments; and processing the data segment in a manner dependent upon whether the signature matches any one of the plurality of data signatures.
US08346785B1
Abstraction and/or integration can be performed on information, e.g. transaction data items in standard and/or proprietary formats, using data processing systems. For example, standard-based abstraction operations can analyze transaction data items in standard format to obtain transaction segment data items, each about a transaction segment; transaction segment data items can be used to obtain and store segment group data structures, each about a type of transaction segment data items and which can also include standard-based abstraction artifacts. Abstraction operations on standard or proprietary format can automatically extract pre-integration information, such as usage attributes, useful in integration and for other purposes. Integration can be performed on transaction type attribute data, producing merged attribute data including mapping attributes, such as based on match results from associated fields of selected transaction types in different formats. Attribute data items being integrated can include pre-integration information and segment group data structures with standard-based abstraction artifacts.
US08346781B1
A dynamic content distribution system and method that uses a unique Item Response Function IRF method to provide digital content to end-users based on psychometric reasoning. The system and method gathers psychometric attributes of Registered Users and Registered Subscribers and combines the psychometric attributes with Item Response Function methods, including characterizing content by corresponding psychometric attributes, to determine how and when digital content is presents to the Registered Users.
US08346779B2
A system and method for enhancing bitmap indexing representation of a dataset, which comprises a plurality of cases and features, each case characterized by one or more values of each feature. Currently, the bins vector for each case in the dataset, is a binary array, which is a bitmap indexing representation of each respective feature of the case. The system and method enhance the bitmap indexing by padding each bins vector. The padding is carried out by identifying all target bit locations with a ‘1’ value and replacing at least one ‘0’ bit adjacent to a target bit location with a non-zero numerical value, thereby creating a padded bitmap index. The padding factor may be based on any mathematical or statistical factor concerning population or subpopulation relevant to each of the features of the dataset.
US08346769B2
System, method and program for managing bookmarks. A user hovers a cursor over a primary bookmark displayed on a client computer. In response, the client computer automatically sends a request to a server corresponding to the primary bookmark to identify one or more alternate bookmarks that correspond to the primary bookmark. In response to receipt of the identification of the one or more alternate bookmarks from the server, the client computer displays the one or more alternate bookmarks adjacent to the primary bookmark. If a user selects one of the alternate bookmarks which is displayed, the client computer sends a request to a web server corresponding to the selected alternate bookmark for a web page corresponding to the selected alternate bookmark.
US08346768B2
A method is presented for merging document metadata at a client computer. A document obtained from a server computer is opened by a user at the client computer. If the document does not include paragraph identifiers, a paragraph identifier is assigned to each paragraph in the document. When the document is opened by a second user at a second client computer, metadata for the document is received from the server computer. A determination is made whether to merge the metadata received from the server computer with current metadata for the document. When it is determined that the current metadata and the metadata received from the server computer should be merged, paragraph identifiers are adjusted in the document based on the metadata received from the server computer.
US08346760B2
In one embodiment, the invention provides a method comprising determining metadata encoded in instructions of a stored program; and executing the stored program based on the metadata.
US08346757B1
A system determines whether a term of a search query is a term with little significance based on a context of the search query. The system performs a search based on the search query while considering the term with little significance as optional when the search query includes the term with little significance and presents a list of search results based on the search.
US08346755B1
System and method for indexing rendered web page images. A web crawling engine stores the content and crawl time of a web page. A scheduling engine sends the content and crawl time to a rendering engine, and processes requests for embedded objects. If a requested object has been crawled, it sends the contents to the rendering engine. Otherwise it schedules the crawl of the object, and once the object is crawled, it resends the content and crawl time of the web page to the rendering engine. The rendering engine receives the content and crawl time of a web page, requests all embedded objects, and renders the web page to an image once all embedded objects are received.
US08346754B2
Methods, computer programs, and systems for generating a link title for a URL (Uniform Resource Locator) within a context webpage to be shown as a web result are provided. The method evaluates generation parameters for a plurality of sources for picking words from the link title. Further, the method generates candidates for the link title, and a likelihood is computed for each candidate. When computing the likelihood, the generation parameters, the context webpage and the words are considered. In addition, the method selects a candidate with the highest likelihood from all the computed likelihoods, and presents the URL with the selected candidate as the title.
US08346753B2
A system and method for searching and voting on Internet-accessible content is presented. HTML-linked content on one or more Internet host servers is indexed and stored on associated meta servers. Non-HTML content and dynamic HTML content from the deep web, is processed by the present invention into HTML content, indexed, and stored on the meta servers. Each meta server includes a local search engine. The present invention also includes a central repository which tracks user votes, query language progressions, and information about content on each of the meta sites. The present invention also provides a plurality of enhancement plug-ins for standard web robots, including a toolbar for conventional web browsers. The toolbar can be used to securely solicit and authenticated user votes from standard web sites, while preserving the privacy of the voter. The plug-ins facilitate interoperability between existing Internet software (and technology) and the present invention.
US08346747B2
Embodiments relate to database technology, and more specifically, to extending database tables in a multi-tenant environment. A method for extending a database table, includes receiving a request of a tenant for extending a database table; and generating a description file corresponding to the tenant according to the received request, the description file describing an extended field defined for the database table as at least one extended column.
US08346739B1
Techniques for storing electronic documents include defining multiple logical storage locations, with each logical storage location corresponding to a respective first set of data parameters, and storing electronic documents in the logical storage locations. Each electronic document is stored in a logical storage location having a particular corresponding first set of data parameters. The particular corresponding first set of data parameters is associated with the electronic document, and the electronic document is indexed within the logical storage location based on a second set of data parameters.
US08346733B2
A system and method for determining media to be exported out of a media library is described. In some examples, the system determines a media component to be exported, determines the media component is in the media library for a specific process, and exports the media component after the process is completed.
US08346729B2
For information lifecyle management (ILM) a process receives a user-definition of ILM actions, data state transitions, and associations among the respective data state transitions and ILM actions and responsively stores a data structure representing the received data state transitions, ILM actions, and correspondence among the respective data state transitions and ILM actions. A process for an ILM model detects a workflow definition event in a monitored process running on a computer system. An information lifecycle flow data structure for the workflow definition is stored responsive to the workflow definition in the monitored process having a data state transition matching one of the user-defined data state transitions, wherein the information lifecycle flow data structure models the matching data state transition, so that the ILM action corresponding to the matching data state transition may be performed for the data responsive to occurrence of a workflow process event in which the matching data state transition occurs.
US08346725B2
XML schema evolutions can be performed on an XML-type database using partial data copy techniques. The partial data copy techniques provide mechanisms to identify a minimal set of data in the database that needs be copied out in order for schema evolution operations to occur. Identifying the minimal set of data involves comparing an existing XML schema to a new XML schema and determining the differences between the two schemas. Based on those differences, a minimal set of data can be determined. That data can then be copied to a temporary storage location, while the XML schema and its associated database structure are updated to conform to the new XML schema. Then, the minimal set of data is copied back into the modified database structure.
US08346723B2
Embodiments of the invention provide for applying modifications to database instances in a way that allows some of instances to be modified without requiring that all of the instances be modified. Patching less than all of a plurality of replicated database instances can comprise applying a patch to a first version of a table in a first database instance. The first version of the table may be replicated in a corresponding first version of the table in a second database instance. Applying the patch to the first version of the table in the first database instance can result in a second version of the table in the first database instance. Transformations caused by applying the patch to the first version of the table in the first database instance can be consolidated based on differences between the first version of the table and the second version of the table.
US08346719B2
Replication techniques are presented. According to an embodiment of a method, a node of a replicated storage network is assigned to be an owner of a data block to issue write memory block commands. The network includes at least two nodes including the node assigned to be the owner. If a read memory block command is received to read the data block, a read_lock is issued for the data block, the data block is read, and the read_lock for the data block is released. If a write memory block command is received to write new data to the data block, a write_lock is issued for the data block, the data block is written and a version associated with the data block is incremented, and the write_lock for the data block is released.
US08346715B2
Implementing intelligent agent services includes generating an ontological domain for an individual based upon sets of information elements. A set of the information elements represents aspects of a detectable behavior of the individual at a point in time. The detectable behavior is one of a number of detectable behaviors of the individual occurring within a physical and virtual geography and in relation to time. The detectable behaviors include an activity conducted by the individual at a computer and a presence of the individual at a function. Implementing the intelligent agent services also includes determining relevance of relationships among the sets of the information elements in the ontological domain, and searching sources of information using the sets of the information elements having a relationship determined to be relevant, and identifying a solution for satisfying an interest based on the search.
US08346710B2
Methods, systems, and apparatus, including computer programs encoded on computer storage media, for evaluating statistical significance using placebo actions. One method includes receiving exposure data and control data describing exposed and control subjects and determining a test statistic for each of a plurality of subject actions including a desired action and a plurality of placebo actions. The test statistic for an action corresponds to an estimated effect that exposure to the treatment has on a likelihood that a subject will take the action. The method further includes comparing the test statistic for the desired action to the test statistics for the plurality of placebo actions, and determining whether the test statistic for the desired action is statistically significant according to the comparison. Another method includes automatically identifying placebo actions using a taxonomy that classifies subject actions or treatments, and determining test statistics for the placebo actions.
US08346707B2
Rule reasoner includes: a Rete network builder for receiving ontology, including ontology instance represented by triple and ontology schema defining classes and properties of the triple, and reasoning rule, building Rete network corresponding to the ontology and the reasoning rule, selecting clue pattern corresponding to wild pattern rule with reference to the ontology schema when reasoning rule having wild pattern is received, rewriting the wild pattern rule with reference to the clue pattern, and adding test node, alpha memory node, and wild rule node so that the rewritten wild pattern rule is incorporated; a Rete network implementer for generating reasoned triple by implementing the Rete network built by the Rete network builder or generating reasoning rule where the wild pattern rule is dynamically materialized; and a Rete network expander expanding the Rete network by inputting the new reasoning rule, generated by the Rete network implementer, to the Rete network builder.
US08346702B2
Systems and methods are provided that predict the accuracy of expert forecasts based on a corpus of prior expert forecasts. Expert forecasts (also referred to as opinions) are analyzed and processed to determine an opinion and related positions expressed by the expert. Each opinion is combined with relevant industry information to create a structured model for the opinion. A plurality of structured models for a given expert are then analyzed along with information related to the actual outcome of prior predictions to create a decision model for the particular expert. A new opinion issued by an expert is then analyzed using the decision model for that expert to predict the accuracy of the new opinion from the expert. Recommended actions in accordance with or against the new expert opinion may then be provided.
US08346698B2
A system and method is provided for developing, implementing and managing orders whereby a raw order set can be resolved into a canonical order set to identify at least one order within the one raw order set. A commonality analysis can be performed by comparing one canonical order set with another canonical order set to determine at least one common order subset. The canonical order sets sharing at least one common order subset can then be restructured into a hierarchical structure, and prioritized to minimize downstream processing.
US08346693B2
The method for Hammerstein modeling of a steam generator plant includes modeling of the linear dynamic part of a Hammerstein model with a state-space model, and modeling the nonlinear part of the Hammerstein model with a radial basis function neural network (RBFNN). Particle swarm optimization (PSO), typically known for its heuristic search capabilities, is used for estimating the parameters of the RBFNN. Parameters of the linear part are estimated using a numerical algorithm for subspace state-space system identification (N4SID).
US08346685B1
Computerized system for enhancing expert-based processes and methods useful in conjunction therewith
A computerized system for enhancing expert-based processes, the system comprising a computerized expert based data analyzer receiving input from a plurality of experts by operating a corresponding plurality of expert-based processes on a body of data, the input including a discrepancy set including at least one point of discrepancy regarding which less than all of the plurality of experts agree and an agreement set including at least one point of agreement regarding which all of the plurality of experts agree; and an oracle from which oracle input is received resolving at least the point of discrepancy and not resolving any point of agreement in the agreement set; wherein the computerized analyzer is operative to select and to subsequently actuate for purposes of receiving input regarding the body of data, a subset of better experts from among the plurality of experts based on the oracle input.
US08346684B2
For assigning a test pattern to a class chosen from a predefined set of classes, the class membership probability for the test pattern is calculated as well as the confidence interval for the class membership probability based upon a number of training patterns in a neighborhood of the test pattern in the feature space. The number of training patterns in the neighborhood of the test pattern is obtained from computing a convolution of a density function of the training patterns with a Gaussian smoothing function centered on the test pattern, where the density function of the training patterns is represented as a mixture of Gaussian functions. The convolution of the smoothing function and the mixture of Gaussian functions can be expressed analytically.
US08346674B2
A system and method for handling unwanted physical mail pieces having a sorter and imager which intercepts one or more pieces of physical mail, which produces an electronic image of a front panel of each piece of mail, and which physically retains pieces of mail in temporary physical storage, and which cooperates with an optical recognizer to determine an intended recipient for each retained piece of mail, further cooperating with a server that notifies the intended recipients and receives a choice for disposition of the mail, and including a destruction which destroys said pieces of mail rejected by the intended recipient.
US08346670B2
The invention concerns a system for controlling user access to a service having a read device (210) arranged to contactlessly read a payment card (211) of a user; and a control block (214) coupled to an entry gate (202), the control block arranged to determine whether online payment authorization should be requested for the payment card, wherein if it is determined that online payment authorization should be requested, the control block is arranged to allow the user access to the service prior to completing an online payment authorization for the payment card.
US08346669B2
A method and system for reselling an object in a client-server environment is disclosed. The method and system also enables a user using a client device can order an object, order a customized object, order a composite object, and order a customized composite object. The system includes an object order form handler, an object order handler, a view objects handler, a reseller form handler, a reseller handler, a reseller permission handler, an add object handler and a server database.
US08346658B1
A line of credit with pre-agreed line increases is described. In example embodiments, the line of credit is secured by a residence, and the borrower can agree at initial closing to periodic line increases, so that additional closings and re-recording are not necessary. Modeling can be used by the financial institution to determine if and when to offer increases in the LOC. An automated servicing routine is then used to produce a recommendation with respect to increasing the LOC loan amount. This automated servicing routine includes at least one model to produce the recommendation. The line of credit can be increased if and when recommended by the servicing platform.
US08346652B2
A system and method of allocating orders in an exchange configured for trading by a combination of electronic and open-outcry trading mechanisms is provided. One method includes permitting multiple quotes to be disseminated to the market, but limiting market making to only those entities having a physical presence on the floor of the exchange. Methods of enhancing the hybrid electronic and open-outcry exchange also include automatically eliminating crossed quotes and locked quotes while permitting certain orders to trade against locked quotes.
US08346647B1
In one aspect, an embodiment comprises a computer system comprising: (a) a computer readable memory that stores price information for a plurality of bonds; and (b) a processor unit that calculates a liquidity cost score for one or more of said plurality of bonds; wherein said liquidity cost score calculation is based on data regarding quoted bid price and quoted ask price if a bond is a quoted bond, wherein said liquidity cost score calculation is based on a regression analysis if a bond is a non-quoted bond, and wherein said processor unit comprises one or more processors.
US08346642B2
In various embodiments, an apparatus includes a processor and a memory. The memory is communicatively coupled to the processor. The memory stores software instructions that, when executed by the processor, cause the processor to receive a trading order for a particular quantity of a trading product. The trading order specifies that a first portion of the particular quantity is a displayed quantity and that a second portion of the particular quantity is a reserved quantity. The trading order specifies at least one of a decay rule, a decay interval, a decay rate, decay quantity, and one or more conditions. The software instructions, when executed by the processor, cause the processor to cause the reserved quantity to decay based at least in part on at least one of the decay rule, the decay interval, the decay rate, and the decay quantity, and one or more conditions.
US08346639B2
Transaction processing involves receiving data from an access transaction application of a portable consumer device, wherein the received data comprises data from an access transaction data string that includes a transit verification value wherein, with the exception of the transit verification value, the access transaction data string is substantially similar to a retail data string comprising retail data, wherein the access application data string is adapted for use with an access transaction processing system and the retail data string is adapted for use with a retail processing system. The transaction processing involves processing access transaction application data for selective authorization of the transaction.
US08346619B2
The present invention provides an intermediation system of transaction that has purchasing indicators to show purchase intent of buyers in transaction through a network. The intermediation system includes first user terminals for requesting the acquisition of information about predetermined products or services, second several user terminals for providing information on products or services which they offer, and an intermediation device for mediating the information between the first user terminals and the second user terminals. The first and second user terminals and the intermediation device are interconnected over a network.
US08346617B1
A system is provided. The system comprises a computer, a processor, a memory, and an application stored in the memory that, when executed by the processor, receives a message that a communications device has accessed an electronic storefront. The system also determines the amount of funds presently credited to a deposit account associated with the communications device. The system also identifies a first group of products, the first group comprising the products available from the electronic storefront with prices equal to or less than the amount of funds presently credited to the deposit account. The system also transmits pricing information about each of the first group of products to the communications device. The system also transmits instructions to the communications device on arranging the pricing information for each of the first group of products in the display of the communications device.
US08346615B2
Methods, computer program products, and systems, related to providing financial gadgets to users. In one implementation, a method includes receiving gadgets and receiving a notification that one or more gadgets has been certified. A web page with an interface through which users can select gadgets is generated and provided to a user computer. A user selects a gadget, and the selected gadget is run, including providing the user-specific financial information to the gadget. Content based on the output of the gadget is provided to the user. User-specific financial information can be collected, and modified by the gadget. A notification can be received that a financial institution has authorized one or more of the certified gadgets and the web page can only allow users to select authorized gadgets.
US08346614B2
Disclosed herein is a computer implemented method and system for promoting a web technology through a virtual service marketplace. Online tools are provided on a host website for creating a project website. The host website comprises the virtual service marketplace. A user defines a project and proposes the project to multiple consultants in the virtual service marketplace. The consultants bid for the proposed project in the virtual service marketplace. Core controlling factors set by the user during project definition are synchronized with core controlling factors set by the project consultant. The user selects a project consultant based on the synchronization. The selected project consultant creates the project website using the online tools. The user pays the selected project consultant for creating the project website. The presence of the virtual service marketplace promotes the web technology and the growth in numbers of users and consultants familiar with the web technology.
US08346613B2
Solutions for e-commerce merchants that allow such merchants to interact with buyers in foreign jurisdictions are disclosed. More specifically, solutions are presented that provide an intermediation service that operates to provide variants of e-commerce (or other) Web sites in a local language of a visitor to such site, such variants including facilities to accept payments for goods or services in the currencies and/or payment forms of the foreign jurisdiction and to provide the e-commerce merchant with required shipment documents to assist in order fulfillment.
US08346611B2
A transaction processor can receive transaction information from a transaction between a customer and a merchant. The transaction information includes an account identifier associated with a financial account of the customer. The processor determines that the account identifier is associated with a fixed price futures contract. The transaction is completed at the current market price. Thereinafter, the processor can determine if the fixed price is lower than the current market price. If the fixed price is lower than the current market price, the process determines the difference in cost for the transaction if the fixed price were used. Then, the processor can create and send a resettlement transaction to the customer's account to reimburse the customer for the difference. As such, the customer receives a simple method for paying for commodities at a set price without having special payment instruments or special accounts.
US08346609B2
Some embodiments disclosed herein are a method and a system for displaying an advertisement on a web page in which advertisement data displayed on the same web page from among different advertisement data can check mutual existence of the displayed advertisement data, thereby displaying another advertisement data different from the displayed advertisement data. The method for displaying another advertisement data includes recording and maintaining advertisement data including respective identification numbers in an advertisement database, loading the advertisement data from the advertisement database to a local computer memory of a user connected with a web page, identifying advertisement data having an identification number among the advertisement data loaded to the local computer memory, identifying predetermined option which may comprise predetermined display advertisement data from the advertisement database when the advertisement data having the identification number exists, and displaying the display advertisement data on the web page.
US08346607B1
A learning model is built on a combination of advertiser, publisher and user data. The learning model can be applied to all advertisers in an advertising system. The learning model provides predicted conversion rates for a given advertisement (“ad”) appearing on different publisher networks. A predicted conversion rate represents the probability that a click on a given ad appearing on a given publisher will lead to a conversion. The predicted conversion rates are used to generate a multiplier. The multiplier is used to automatically adjust the advertiser's bid (e.g., maximum cost-per-click (CPC)) for the given ad prior to an auction for the ad. Adjusting the advertiser's bid equalizes a cost-per-conversion among the publishers for the ad.
US08346606B2
Certain embodiments of the present invention provide a system for collecting and disseminating customer data and for distributing real estate marketing literature. The system includes a customer terminal, which is in communication with a data center, which, in turn, is in communication with a business terminal. The customer terminal includes a device for inputting customer data and a device for distributing relevant marketing literature. The customer data is sent to the data center, where it is stored for subsequent retrieval by a sales person using the business terminal.
US08346601B2
A system and method for processing promotional savings using existing communications platforms. A plurality of promotional codes are assigned and stored in a promotions database. These promotional codes are positioned by marketers on products, packaging, or the like, along with instructions informing consumers to transmit the promotional code to a predefined destination address, such as a phone number, a short code text number, or an email address. After a message containing the promotional code is received from the consumer, the received code is parsed from the message, validated, and a promotional savings value associated with the code is identified. That amount is communicated to an operator of at least one account associated the consumer, and applied as a savings to the operator's billing statement.
US08346594B2
Systems and techniques for collecting information as authorized by information providers and sharing the information with information recipients according to criteria specified by the information providers. Information is collected from one or more of a variety of sources and stored in a provider profile, with the provider profile also specifying criteria for sharing the information, including payment required for sharing the information with particular categories of recipients. An exchange system is maintained allowing recipients to request or to otherwise specify needs for particular categories of information and payments to be provided by the information, and needs or requests of recipients for information are matched with criteria specified by providers, with information being transferred or used to provide results for a recipient and payment being transferred from the recipient to a provider or providers when a match between information needs and criteria for sharing information is identified.
US08346591B2
A method, system, and program for automating responses by grid providers to bid request indicating criteria for a grid job are provided. A bid controller grid service of a grid provider receives a job request from a client for processing a job within a grid environment of the grid provider, wherein the job request specifies at a least one criteria required for the grid provider to handle a particular grid job. The grid service determines whether the grid environment includes the hardware platform class, software platform class, and network bandwidth required by the job request. If the grid service determines that the grid environment includes a sufficient hardware platform class, software platform class, and network bandwidth, then a total required workload for the job request is calculated. Next, a total cost for the total required workload is estimated and the grid service automatically returns a bid response to the client system, where the bid response includes an identifier for the grid provider and the total cost for the job request.In addition, the bid response may include a total time for performance of the grid job described by the job request.
US08346585B1
A system and method of data mining for republishing is described. In some embodiments products having a high potential for increased sales through republishing are identified based on relationships with products having consistent sales. In some embodiments products having a high potential for increased sales through republishing are identified based on sales in one language and availability of rights in another language. In one aspect, translations are facilitated via a translations marketplace.
US08346582B1
A system for facilitating a project between owners and contractors. The system includes a program for receiving owner, project and contractor data. The program determines a contractor rating for each of a plurality of contractors and a project rating for at least one project. The program then identifies contractors having a contractor rating that is compatible with the project rating. The program may further provide notifications, bid letting support, project finance support, project scheduling assistance, construction support and/or bond acquisition support.
US08346581B2
Methods, systems, and computer readable storage mediums for presenting project information are disclosed. Project information may be presented by receiving electronic planning information associated with a project, where the received electronic planning information includes at least one milestone associated with two or more phases of the project and occurring during the two or more phases. The received electronic planning information is then transformed into a graphical representation of the received electronic planning information for visual presentation to a user and presented for perception by the user. The presented graphical representation includes two or more bars corresponding to the two or more phases and a connection between the two or more bars corresponding to a time at which the milestone occurs.
US08346579B1
A recurring automatic payment date may be set for an insurance policy premium based on customer preference. A server may receive a customer-specified day of a month and/or a request for bimonthly withdrawals, such as may be entered via a user interface on an insurance company webpage. The customer specified day(s) may be analyzed against data associated with the insurance policies to determine whether the day is disallowed. The day may be disallowed, for example, because it would result in falling behind an earned premium curve and thereby require a double bill or short bill to stay ahead of the earned premium curve.
US08346574B2
A tangible computer-readable storage device storing computer-executable program instructions that generate a user interface for displaying workflow information associated with a tissue specimen in a pathology laboratory. The program instructions may be configured to perform a method including displaying a virtual laboratory component representing a physical pathology laboratory having one or more laboratory stations for processing the tissue specimen, wherein the tissue specimen is processed by the one or more laboratory stations according to a workflow, and displaying a specimen indicator that indicates a current specimen state based on a current relationship of the tissue specimen to the workflow. The method may further include enabling a first active component associated with the virtual laboratory component, wherein the first active component is configured to receive a user selection of a laboratory station and generating a supplemental view component of the selected laboratory station in response to the user selection, wherein the supplemental view provides supplemental information on processing by the selected laboratory station of the tissue specimen.
US08346563B1
A system for delivering advanced natural language interaction applications, comprising a dialog interface module, a natural language interaction engine, a solution data repository component operating comprising at least one domain model, at least one language model, and a plurality of flow elements and rules for managing interactions with users, and an interface software module. Upon receipt of a request from a user via a network, the dialog interface module preprocesses the request and transmits it to the natural language interaction engine. The natural language interaction engine interprets the request using a plurality of language recognition rules stored in the solution data repository, and based at least determined semantic meaning or user intent, the natural language interaction engine forms an appropriate response and delivers the response to the user via the dialog module, or takes an appropriate action based on the request.
US08346561B2
A voice activatable system for providing the correct spelling of a spoken word is disposed in an elongated body of a writing instrument such as a ball point pen. The system includes a microphone the output of which is fed to an amplifier analog to a digital converter and from there to a speech recognition program, the output of the speech recognition program is fed to a computer, namely a word processor/controller that includes a data base. The output of the speech recognition is compared with the digital library of words and when a match is found, it is amplified and fed to digital to analog connector. The output of the digital/analog computer is fed to a speaker that repeats the word with the correct pronunciation followed by a correct spelling of the word. The system includes a battery for powering the system as well as an on/off switch and a repeat button for repeating information from the system.
US08346553B2
A recognition result extraction unit and an agreement determination unit are provided. The recognition result extraction unit extracts, from a recognition result storage unit, N best solutions A and B obtained by an utterance B. The utterance B follows an utterance A corresponding to the N best solutions A and made by a speaker b who is different from a speaker of the utterance A. In a case where a repeat utterance determination unit determines that the N best solutions B are N best solutions obtained by a repeat utterance B according to the utterance A corresponding to the N best solutions A, when the best solution A and B are different each other, the agreement determination unit determines that some or all of the N best solutions A can be replaced with some or all of the N best solutions B.
US08346548B2
The aural similarity measuring system and method provides a measure of the aural similarity between a target text (10) and one or more reference texts (11). Both the target text (10) and the reference texts (11) are converted into a string of phonemes (15) and then one or other of the phoneme strings are adjusted (16) so that both are equal in length. The phoneme strings are compared (12) and a score generated representative of the degree of similarity of the two phoneme strings. Finally, where there is a plurality of reference texts the similarity scores for each of the reference texts are ranked (13). With this aural similarity measuring system the analysis is automated thereby reducing risks of errors and omissions. Moreover, the system provides an objective measure of aural similarity enabling consistency of comparison in results and reproducibility of results.
US08346539B2
The invention provides a system and method for indexing and organizing voice mail message by the speaker of the message. One or more speaker models are created from voice mail messages received. As additional messages are left, each of the new messages are compared with existing speaker models to determine the identity of the callers of each of the new messages. The voice mail messages are organized within a user's mailbox by caller. Unknown callers may be identified and tagged by the user and then used to create new speaker models and/or update existing speaker models.
US08346536B2
Multi-lingual information retrieval methods and systems are described.
US08346534B2
The present invention provides a method and a system for automatic keyword extraction based on supervised or unsupervised machine learning techniques. Novel linguistically-motivated machine learning features are introduced, including discourse comprehension features based on construction integration theory, numeric features making use of syntactic part-of-speech patterns, and probabilistic features based on analysis of online encyclopedia annotations. The improved keyword extraction methods are combined with word sense disambiguation into a system for automatically generating annotations to enrich text with links to encyclopedic knowledge.
US08346532B2
A method, information processing system, and computer program storage product for managing information within an electronic file are provided. A plurality of information sets within an electronic file is analyzed. At least one of the information sets is compared to at least one statistical classification model. The statistical classification model includes one or more probabilities associated with a plurality of analyzed information sets that indicate a likelihood that a respective analyzed information set is classified sensitive information. The at least one information set is determined to substantially match at least one analyzed information set in the statistical classification model. The probability associated with the at least one analyzed information set is determined whether to be above a threshold. The at least one information set is classified as sensitive information in response to determining that the probability is above the threshold.
US08346530B2
A dynamic reconfigurable interconnect network architecture in a logic simulation system that interconnects a plurality of simulation engines together, providing a high degree of interconnectivity in an efficient manner. The logic simulation system may create and manage linkable sub-programs for execution by a simulation engine. The logic simulation system may schedule various tasks in a design to be simulated, including horizontal and vertical partitioning of the design and determination of an order in which events such as clock edges and asynchronous signals are to be implemented by a logic simulation system.
US08346524B2
A wellness system monitors the controlled progress of patients under surveillance and includes a server base station which is generally off-site, a web-site interface and a local station at the point-of-use, which is generally a health or fitness center. A unique data base is created for each user and goals and objectives may be set with progress monitored. Typically, the user will respond to a surveyor questionnaire to populate his specific database. This is combined with a professional assessment and an automated measurement of vital statistics such as weight, blood pressure and body composition as measured at the local station. Other data may be entered manually such as height, age and the like. In a more comprehensive system the invention is designed to monitor other data such as cholesterol and blood glucose, as well. The locally input data may be updated at will by the user or on behalf of the user by professional personnel.
US08346519B2
A method of optimising a processing system comprising a plurality of apparatuses includes defining a system model indicative of a predetermined range of apparatus options within a processing system, constraints indicative of feasible interconnections between each apparatus and another apparatus, and parameters indicative of performance criteria associated with each apparatus. The system model is analysed with respect to predetermined criteria to determine a preferred arrangement of apparatuses within the processing system.A parameter relating to at least one apparatus is indicative of the availability and/or the reliability of the apparatus expressed as a function of time.
US08346515B2
Line system design techniques are provided for use in performing routing and coloring operations associated with one or more demands. In one aspect of the invention, a technique for designing a line system comprises the following steps/operations. A set of one or more demands is obtained for use in computing the line system design. The line system design is then represented as a graph in accordance with a graph coloring operation wherein colors represent bandwidths such that bandwidths are assigned and the one or more demands are routed so as to attempt to achieve a minimum total design cost. The line system being designed may be an optical line system.
US08346513B2
In three-dimensional data generation unit 120, data edition unit 122, generates a spreadsheet data that includes information relating to a plurality of node points on a continuous arrangement route of target components by interactive process with a user, and stores the data in storage unit 130. Three-dimensional data conversion unit 123, on the basis of spreadsheet data, arranges the node points in a three-dimensional space, connects node points having a predetermined relationship using line segments, and imparts cross-sectional shapes to the connected line segments, to carry out thereby conversion into target component arrangement three-dimensional data. Three-dimensional data management unit 124 stores the obtained target component arrangement three-dimensional data in storage unit 130, in a format readable by three-dimensional CAD or three-dimensional review system, and outputs the data in response to an output instruction from interface unit 110.
US08346509B2
A method for performance monitoring in a computing system is described. In some embodiments, an addressable memory stores data and instructions for performing context switch sampling. A processor includes hardware event counters, and is coupled with the addressable memory to access said instructions and in response to said instructions, the processor counts occurrences of a first hardware event in a first hardware event counter and counts occurrences of a second hardware event in a second hardware event counter. After a specified number of occurrences of the first hardware event have been counted, the second hardware event counter is sampled and hardware event counters are reset. In some embodiments the processor counts occurrences of segment register load events in the first hardware event counter and then records the sampled second hardware event counter value with a process identifier value and/or a thread identifier value.
US08346508B2
A system and method for diagnosing a home appliance are disclosed. The home appliance outputs product information as a predetermined sound signal, and transmits the sound signal to a service center of a remote site over a communication network, such that a service technician of the service center can easily check a current status of the home appliance. When a diagnostic server of the service center analyzes the sound signal of the home appliance, it selects a plurality of preamble candidates and can effectively and correctly detect data using weights, so that it can quickly diagnose a faulty operation of the home appliance. An erroneous data analysis and its associated erroneous diagnosis are prevented, so that the diagnostic system provides a service for more correctly diagnosing a faulty operation of the home appliance and also increases user satisfaction and reliability of the home appliance.
US08346500B2
A self check-type flame detector includes a casing provided with a monitoring window formed therein. A wavelength generation unit is disposed inside the casing and generates a wavelength in a direction of the monitoring window. A wavelength detection element is disposed inside the casing and detects the wavelength. A comparison unit is provided with a wavelength DB for storing intensity of a reference wavelength and determines whether the monitoring window has been contaminated. A display unit is located outside the casing and displays a state of the monitoring window. A communication unit is disposed inside the casing and configured to receive operation information for the wavelength generation unit, to provide the operation information to the wavelength generation unit, and to transmit the intensity of the wavelength, or a normal signal or a contamination signal of the monitoring window.
US08346499B2
A semiconductor device 100 including an internal circuit 4 that operates based on an input pattern includes a clock driver 25 that generates an internal clock 7 based on a generated clock 6, a counter 23 that generates count data 28 by counting the generated clock 6, a nonvolatile storage device 22 that stores storage data 27 used in an IDDQ test, a comparator 24 that stops the generation of the internal clock 7 by the clock driver 25 when the count data 28 and the storage data 27 match each other, and a pseudo random number generation circuit 3 that supplies a pseudo random number 8 to the internal circuit 4 in synchronization with the internal clock 7.
US08346480B2
A navigation and control system including a sensor configured to locate objects in a predetermined field of view from a vehicle. The sensor has an emitter configured to repeatedly scan a beam into a two-dimensional sector of a plane defined with respect to a first predetermined axis of the vehicle, and a detector configured to detect a reflection of the emitted beam from one of the objects. The sensor includes a panning mechanism configured to pan the plane in which the beam is scanned about a second predetermined axis to produce a three dimensional field of view. The navigation and control system includes a processor configured to determine the existence and location of the objects in the three dimensional field of view based on a position of the vehicle and a time between an emittance of the beam and a reception of the reflection of the emitted beam from one of the objects.
US08346469B2
A method and apparatus for determining protection levels in a satellite navigation system includes the following steps: (1) determining an integrity risk at the alert limit for a plurality of application situations—for example, starting from approaches in category I (Category I precision approach) up to the operation “oceanic enroute;” (2) determining an interval of the alert limits between the largest set of alert limits which produces too high an integrity risk, and the smallest set of alert limits which produces an acceptable integrity risk; and (3) carrying out an interval nesting for the interval of the alert limits that was determined in the previous step, the integrity risk between the horizontal and the vertical being divided in the same way as it is obtained from the relationship between these integrity risks in the largest set of alert limits.
US08346464B2
Disclosed is a method and device for aiding ground navigation of an aircraft on an airport in which a current position and current heading of the aircraft are determined by a set of information sources. A first determination unit determines, according to the determined current position and current heading, and according to information obtained from an airport database, a current traffic lane on which the aircraft is situated, and parameters relating to a next intersection of the current traffic lane. Parameters relating to the next intersection include the position of the next intersection; and the distance between the next intersection and the current position of the aircraft. A head-up display unit overlays, on an environment in front of the aircraft, a first symbol illustrating the determined current traffic lane and a set of second symbols illustrating the determined parameters of the next intersection.
US08346461B2
Method for controlling a start-up of an internal combustion engine, an actuation of the internal combustion engine being begun and maintained by an electric machine in order to set the internal combustion engine into independent motion, thereby characterized, in that the actuation of the internal combustion engine is concluded before an initial combustion in the internal combustion engine takes place.
US08346453B2
A braking force control device for a vehicle comprises a controller that includes an automatic-brake selective-actuation section configured to compare a manual braking force created by a manual brake device with a required braking force for an automatic brake device and to selectively actuate the automatic brake device when the required braking force exceeds the manual braking force; a braking-force-difference time-rate-of-change calculation section configured to calculate a braking-force-difference time-rate-of-change corresponding to a rate of change per unit time in a difference, which difference is obtained by subtracting the required braking force from the manual braking force; and a required braking force control section configured to correct the required braking force to reduce the required braking force when selectively actuating the automatic brake device and to correct a reducing amount of the required braking force to decrease the reducing amount of the required braking force as the braking-force-difference time-rate-of-change increases.
US08346450B2
A method and a device for controlling the slip of a tractor vehicle or the like, in which the drive wheel slip is determined and, if the actual slip is different from a specified nominal slip, the gear ratio of a controllable transmission in the drivetrain is adjusted in the direction of slip optimization. The transmission is a geared-neutral transmission whose output speed, at full drive power, can be adjusted to an extremely small value close to zero.
US08346437B2
When a lane-width-direction lateral position (X2obst+X0) of a vehicle (MM) reaches a predetermined control start position (60) being a lane-width-direction lateral position (X2obst+X0) serving as an approach prevention indicator for the vehicle (MM), a control start is determined and a yaw moment (Ms) toward the center of a vehicle traveling lane (200) is applied to the vehicle (MM) to control the vehicle (MM). Then, when the lane-width-direction lateral position (X2obst+X0) of the vehicle (MM) moves from the outside to the inside of the control start position (60), the determination of control start is suppressed for a predetermined period, compared to a period before the movement to the inside of the control start position (60).
US08346434B2
When a vehicle is turning, it is determined whether an inside turning wheel has sufficient grip force. If the inside wheel has sufficient grip force, left and right forces orthogonally input to the vehicle body are calculated based on longitudinal and lateral tire forces, and are checked if there is a difference in the left and right forces. If there is such a left-right force difference and the vehicle is not undergoing a braking operation, the turning angle of the inside wheel is corrected using a left-right independent steering device that independently controls the turning angles of left and right wheels, so that the difference becomes zero. Thus, the difference in left and right forces laterally input to the vehicle body is reduced to minimize a jack-up force. This improves the driving stability and achieves a good roll feel by means of a jack-down force, thereby achieving improved driving feel.
US08346433B2
A control system (18) and method for an automotive vehicle (10) includes a pitch rate sensor (37) generating a pitch rate signal, a longitudinal acceleration sensor (36) generating a longitudinal acceleration signal, and a yaw rate sensor (28) generating a yaw rate signal. A safety system (44) and the sensors are coupled to a controller. From the sensors, the controller (26) determines an added mass and a position of the added mass, a pitch gradient and/or a pitch acceleration coefficient that takes into account the added mass and position. The controller controls a vehicle system in response to the added mass and the position of the added mass, the pitch gradient and/or pitch acceleration coefficient variables.
US08346431B2
A suitable electrical system for a motor vehicle is provided, which system requires a voltage supply during a possible towing-away operation. A voltage-supply control device recognizes the provision of an external voltage supply, in particular by way of a towing vehicle for the motor vehicle, and controls the voltage supply in the motor vehicle in such a manner that only one or more subsystems of the entire electrical system of the motor vehicle are supplied with voltage.
US08346430B2
A method for generating operating software on a control device for a motor vehicle by executing control software in a production line end computer or in the control device, has the following steps: a) Executing a diagnosis function in the motor vehicle, with which the configuration of the motor vehicle can be established so that the functions to be performed by the control device (1) are clearly defined, b) Selecting only from among the necessary software components from an external data source (2), so that the configuration of the motor vehicle can be mapped with the operating software on the control device (1), and c) Generating the component-individual operating software on the control device (1) by inclusion of the selected software components.
US08346428B2
The invention concerns an electronic vehicle dynamics regulation system for a land vehicle, which system is set up for steering and braking intervention, and with which a sensor arrangement is associated, which sensor arrangement, for a steering intervention device and for a braking system which builds up braking forces independently of or in addition to the driver, captures the yaw angular velocity and/or the transverse acceleration and feeds them to the steering intervention device and braking system.
US08346419B2
One embodiment includes a method that includes monitoring a battery state of charge circuit that is coupled to a vehicle battery, calculating an averaged value of the state of charge over a time period, charging the vehicle battery by powering a generator with a fuel burning engine that powered on and powered off according to one of a first operational mode and a second operational mode, wherein in the first operational mode the engine is powered on when the battery state of charge drops below a first state of charge and continues until the averaged value of the state of charge increases to a first preprogrammed value.
US08346418B2
A method of output torque smoothing for a hybrid powertrain having an electric machine and a spark ignition engine with a first cylinder and a second cylinder includes commanding a fuel-cut transition, including consecutively initiating and completing deactivation of the first cylinder and initiating and completing deactivation of the second cylinder. The fuel-cut transition is characterized by an absence of retarding spark to the first cylinder and second cylinder. Fuel is supplied to the first cylinder until the first cylinder completes deactivation and to the second cylinder until the second cylinder completes deactivation. The electric machine captures a first torque from the first cylinder by generating electricity until the first cylinder completes deactivation and captures a second torque from the second cylinder by generating electricity until the second cylinder completes deactivation.
US08346414B2
By taking a pressure reading at a particular port on a multiple-unit braking valve, e.g. the MU-2-A valve, and comparing such a reading to a main reservoir pressure, one can identify whether the locomotive in which the valve is situated is in trailing mode or leading mode. In particular, it was found that the pressure on port 63 of the MU-2-A valve is indicative of which mode the locomotive is in since port 63 is exhausted to atmosphere in lead mode whereas it is at or near the pressure in the main reservoir which is readily distinguishable from atmosphere.
US08346403B2
An electrical wiring device operates in more than one operating mode and includes a microcontroller, an occupancy detection sensor communicably coupled to the microcontroller, and at least one accessible user interface communicably coupled to the microcontroller. The accessible user interface is accessible to an end-user without having to disassemble any portion of the device. The accessible user interface is manipulated to select one of several operating modes. In some embodiments, the device includes a night light that also can be an accessible user interface. In some of those embodiments, one of the operating modes includes a night light operating mode, wherein the device's operation is dependent upon the status of the night light. In some embodiments, an indicator is included to inform the end-user when to stop manipulating the accessible user interface.
US08346401B2
A system and methods that enables smart charging for electric resources. A smart charging method may include smart charging customer guarantees. The charging behavior guarantee may comprise a guaranteed charging schedule that matches a regular charging schedule of an electric resource and provides power flow flexibility. In addition, a smart charging method may manage electric resources via a smart charging benefit analysis. A smart charging benefit may include an impact resulting from the energy management system which is beneficial to an electric resource. A smart charging method may manage the charging behavior of the electric resources on a grid based on the smart charging benefit. Further, a smart charging method may manage electric resources via a smart charging benefit analysis and smart charging customer guarantees.
US08346399B2
An apparatus for delivering a bolus of a medical agent to a patient. The apparatus comprises a pump mechanism, a data input device, and a processor in data communication with the keypad and arranged to control the pump mechanism. The processor is programmed to receive data specifying a bolus amount through the data port, receive data regarding duration through the data port, receive a percentage through the data port, the percentage defining a portion of the bolus amount to deliver immediately upon executing a deliver command and a remainder of the bolus amount to deliver over the duration upon executing a deliver command, and execute the deliver command thereby controlling the pump mechanism to deliver the bolus. Also a method of temporarily adjusting the delivery rate of an infusion pump. The infusion pump is programmed to deliver a basal rate. The method comprises prompting a user to select whether to enter the temporary rate as a percent of the current delivery rate or as a new delivery rate; entering into the pump a period of time having a beginning and an end; entering into the pump a temporary basal rate; and delivering the therapeutic agent at a delivery rate substantially equal to the temporary basal rate during the period of time.
US08346398B2
The various embodiments described herein relate to systems and methods, circuits and devices for providing data center cooling while optimizing power usage effectiveness and/or compute power efficiency of the data center. The various embodiments can provide optimized thermal performance and can reduce power consumption of the data center by strategically locating sensor modules, preferably microsystems with MEMS technology, in the data center and using a processing circuit to acquire data from the sensors and to generate a control law for operating the air conditioning system efficiently. In particular the sensors are operable to measure and provide granular environmental data to further characterize the environmental conditions of the racks locally, and the data center as a whole. The processing circuit may also generate a profile of local racks and simulate a data center environment to develop and test control strategies for implementation in the actual data center.
US08346387B2
A dedicated self-service return terminal is provided for receiving returned media on which entertainment data is stored. The dedicated self-service return terminal comprises a media transporter having a media return slot through which returned media can be received from a customer returning the media, a removable media storage bin for storing returned media which has been received through the slot, a container having a chamber in which the media storage bin is installed when the media storage bin is in use, a sliding mechanism arranged to support the container for vertical sliding movement between a top position in which the media storage bin can receive returned media received through the slot and a bottom position in which the media storage bin can be removed from the container, and a controller arranged to control the sliding mechanism to effect movement of the container between the top and bottom positions during operation of the dedicated self-service return terminal.
US08346383B2
The present invention relates to a method for determining a selected machining quality of components in a manufacturing process, particularly during metal cutting, having at least the following method steps of determining process-relevant variables by sensors and/or from the data stream in the machine controller, extracting variable curves characteristic for the respective machining process, selecting a number of different characteristics of the extracted variable curves, the linking of which enables a clear assignment to the selected machining quality, and multivariate linking of the selected characteristics to a characteristic pattern correlating with the selected machining quality.
US08346378B2
The value of fixed cycle time is adjusted to an optimum value in a short period of time. In a second operational mode (MON) of a PLC, a series of a plurality of system processes are repeatedly performed with a change to a user program in a peripheral service process being allowed. A change to fixed cycle time to be compared with actual cycle time is prohibited in a first operational mode (RUN) but is allowed in the second operational mode (MON) and a non-operational mode (PRG).
US08346371B2
An electrode unit for carrying current or voltage between an implantable electromedical device and a treatment and/or diagnosis site in the human body comprises at least one current-/voltage-carrying feed line (1) and at least one electric contact pole to the body part. The feed line (1) is associated with at least one section (4) having frequency-dependent transmission behavior, wherein this at least one frequency-dependent transmission section (4) at least partially filters out therapeutically and/or diagnostically undesirable signals in at least one defined frequency range.
US08346369B2
Embodiments of the invention are directed to systems and methods for programming implantable medical devices, amongst other things. In an embodiment, the invention includes a method of programming an implantable medical device. The method can include gathering parameter data representing a set of previously programmed parameter values from a plurality of implanted medical devices. The method can further include performing association analysis on the parameter data to form a set of association rules. The method can further include suggesting parameter choices to a system user regarding a specific patient based on the set of association rules. In an embodiment, the invention can include a medical system including a server configured to perform association analysis on a set of data representing previously programmed parameter values from a plurality of implanted medical devices to derive a set of association rules. Other embodiments are also included herein.
US08346368B2
Coding of received audio signals and the resulting application of electrical stimuli applied to electrodes used in a cochlear implant system are disclosed together with a method of fitting this new coding strategy. One of the aims is to improve place specific stimulation representing pitch by applying near threshold electrical stimuli with limited and focused excitation fields. A range of stimulation rates and a minimal range of current levels above threshold are used for creation of a dynamic loudness percept for a cochlear implant recipient. Another aim is to disclose a coding scheme based on a model of physiological measures (i.e. refractoriness, adaptation, spread of activation field, spatiotemporal acoustical cochlear activation patterns and spontaneous activity) to estimate the proportions of available excitable auditory neurons close to the electrodes available for stimulation. The spectral bands formed from the pre-processing of incoming audio signals are weighted by these proportions of excitability to control place, timing, rate and current level of electrical stimuli applied to the electrodes available in the array.
US08346363B2
A pancreatic controller, comprising: a glucose sensor, for sensing a level of glucose or insulin in a body serum; at least one electrode, for electrifying an insulin producing cell or group of cells; a power source for electrifying said electrode with a pulse that does not initiate an action potential in said cell and has an effect of increasing insulin secretion; and a controller which receives the sensed level and controls said power source to electrify said electrode to have a desired effect on said level.
US08346360B2
Various system embodiments comprise a stimulator adapted to deliver a stimulation signal for a heart failure therapy, a number of sensors adapted to provide at least a first measurement of a heart failure status and a second measurement of the heart failure status, and a controller. The controller is connected to the stimulator and to the number of sensors. The controller is adapted to use the first and second measurements to create a heart failure status index, and control the stimulator to modulate the signal using the index. Other aspects and embodiments are provided herein.
US08346359B2
Techniques are provided for use by implantable medical devices for controlling ventricular pacing, particularly during atrial fibrillation. In one example, during a V sense test for use in optimizing ventricular pacing, the implantable device determines relative degrees of variation within antecedent and succedent intervals detected between ventricular events sensed on left ventricular (LV) and right ventricular (RV) sensing channels. Preferred or optimal ventricular pacing delays are then determined, in part, based on a comparison of the relative degrees of variation obtained during the V sense test. In another example, during RV and LV pace tests, the device distinguishes QRS complexes arising due to interventricular conduction from QRS complexes arising due to atrioventricular conduction from the atria, so as to permit the determination of correct paced interventricular conduction delays for the patient. The paced interventricular conduction delays are also used to optimize ventricular pacing. Biventricular and monoventricular pacing regimes are provided.
US08346354B2
Described embodiments include a system, an apparatus, and a method. A described system includes a sensor device configured to sense a property of a mammal without physically contacting the mammal. The system also includes a signal generator configured to generate a signal indicative of the sensed property of the mammal. The system further includes a treatment decision device configured to determine in response to the signal indicative of the sensed property of the mammal a neuromodulation treatment regimen for administration to a nervous system component of the mammal. The system also includes a computer-readable medium configured to maintain and to provide access to information corresponding to the determined neuromodulation treatment regimen.
US08346351B2
Methods and apparatus for determining a patient specific QT-RR curve. One embodiment of a method in accordance with the technology comprises providing electrophysiological data for a specific patient. The method can further include: (a) determining QT durations and RR values for a plurality of heart beats of the specific patient from the electrophysiological data; (b) ascertaining effective RR intervals for the plurality of heart beats by weight-averaging the RR values according to the equation Effective RRi=C×Effective RRi−1+(1−C)×[RRweighted], where C is a number between 0 and 1, and where RRweighted is based on an observed RRi value and a trend predicted RR value; and (d) finding a value Cf defined by a value of C where a curve fitted to the QT durations and the ascertained effective RR intervals is within a desired standard deviation.
US08346350B2
Detected changes in atrial activation can be used to discriminate between hemodynamically stable and hemodynamically unstable tachyarrhythmias.
US08346345B2
In one aspect the present invention provides methods for assessing a physiological state of a mammalian retina in vivo, the methods of this aspect of the invention each include the steps of (a) irradiating a portion of a mammalian retina, in vivo, with light having a wavelength in the range of from 600 nm to 1000 nm at an intensity sufficient to stimulate two-photon-induced fluorescence in the retina; and (b) assessing a physiological state of the retina by analyzing the fluorescence.
US08346343B2
A medical-device magnetic guiding position detecting system that can prevent a decrease in the strength of a position detecting magnetic field in an operating area of a medical device is provided. The medical-device magnetic guiding position detecting system includes a medical device that is disposed in the body of a subject and that includes at least one magnet and a circuit including an internal coil, a first magnetic field generating unit for generating a first magnetic field in the operating area of the medical device, position detecting means for detecting an induction magnetic field induced in the internal coil due to the first magnetic field, and at least one pair of opposing coils for generating a second magnetic field that acts on the at least one magnet. The opposing coils forming each of the at least one pair are independently driven.
US08346332B2
A medical device for monitoring a patient condition includes a first combination of a light source and a light detector to emit light into a volume of tissue, detect light scattered by the volume of tissue, and provide a first output signal corresponding to an intensity of the detected light. A control module is coupled to the light source to control the light source to emit light at least four spaced-apart light wavelengths, and a monitoring module is coupled to the light detector to receive the output signal, compute a measure of tissue oxygenation in response to the light detector output signal, and detect tissue hypoxia using the measure of tissue oxygenation.
US08346331B2
Functional near-infrared (fNIR) neuroimaging is used to assess credibility, detect deception, and implement a query methodology for determining deception via neuroimaging. Oxygenation levels of portions of the brain are imaged via fNIR spectroscopy and utilized to determine if the subject is telling a lie or a truth. In an example configuration, oxygenation levels in the inferior and/or middle prefrontal cortical areas of the brain, such as the bilateral dorsolateral prefrontal and/or inferior frontal cortex, are measured to determine if a subject is lying relative to telling the truth. An example system includes a portable, flexible, belt like sensing device that is positioned proximate the subjects scalp. Sensed neural activity is transmitted either through wired or wireless means, to a processor for analysis of the sensed neural activity. The query methodology utilizes an attestation assertion that mitigates variance in brain responses due to the length or form of a question.
US08346321B2
A handheld type electronic device includes a main device body, a screen body, and first and second limiting mechanisms provided between the main device body and the screen body. The main device body includes a depression. The screen body is provided between left and right inner walls of the depression. The first limiting mechanism includes a pair of first protrusions and a pair of second recesses. The first protrusions extend resiliently and respectively into the first recesses to limit the screen body at a flipped-up state. The second limiting mechanism includes at least one second protrusion, and a second recess. The second protrusion is disposed to extend into the second recess to limit the screen body at a folded state. The second protrusion is subjectable to a force to withdraw from the second recess to enable the screen body to be flipped upward relative to the depression.
US08346318B2
A user replaceable cover for attachment to and detachment from an apparatus including a first lateral part extending in a first direction, a second lateral part disposed opposite the first lateral part and extending in the first direction, a posterior part extending substantially in a second direction orthogonal to the first direction and joining the first lateral part and the second lateral part and an upper part having extremities and joining at the extremities the first lateral part, the second lateral part and the posterior part, wherein each of the first lateral part, the second lateral part, the posterior part and the upper part has an interior surface and an exterior surface, the user replaceable cover further including a plurality of sidewalls defined by the first lateral part, the second lateral part and the posterior part, wherein the sidewalls terminate at a lower edge for abutment with the apparatus; a face defined by the exterior surface of the upper part; an anterior edge defined at where the first lateral part, the second lateral part and the upper part terminate for abutment with the apparatus; a first posterior tenon extending from the interior surface of the posterior part; a second posterior tenon extending from the interior surface of the posterior part; and an anterior tenon extending from the anterior edge of the first lateral part.
US08346316B2
A personal digital assistant includes a body, and a touch panel. The body includes a display screen. The touch panel is located on a surface of the display screen. The touch panel includes at least one transparent conductive layer including a carbon nanotube layer.
US08346313B2
Techniques for dynamically selecting warm-up time for a wireless device operating in the idle mode are described. At each active interval, conditions affecting warm-up of the wireless device at a next active interval are determined. The conditions may pertain to channel conditions, operating conditions, and/or hardware configuration. A warm-up time is selected based on the determined conditions. A wake-up time for the next active interval is determined based on the selected warm-up time. The wireless device then goes to sleep until the wake-up time. In one scheme, the strongest pilot acquired in each active interval is identified, and its pilot strength is averaged to obtain an average pilot strength. The average pilot strength is compared against at least one threshold, and one of at least two possible time durations is selected for the warm-up time based on the comparison result.
US08346308B2
A wireless device having a microprocessor for controlling the operation of the device, the device including an upper casing including an interior surface having a primary display and an exterior surface having a secondary display, the primary display being active when the device is in an open configuration and the secondary display being active when the device is in a closed configuration, a lower casing including a keypad, a hinge assembly connecting the upper casing to the lower casing and enabling the device to alternate between the open and closed configurations, and a switch assembly including a switch provided in the upper casing and an actuator provided in the lower casing in alignment with the switch, the switch and actuator configured for engaging each other to perform an action when the upper and lower casings are pressed together.
US08346307B2
A method of displaying contact information on a communication device includes storing a plurality of contacts and corresponding statistical information pertaining to communications on a communication device. Input is received relating to the statistical information. The contacts are displayed based on the input and the statistical information.
US08346305B2
Theft deterrence and secure mobile platform subscription techniques for wireless mobile devices are described. An apparatus may comprise a removable secure execution module arranged to connect with a computing platform for a wireless mobile device. The removable secure execution module may comprise a first processing system to execute a security control module. The security control module may be operative to communicate with a security server over a wireless channel on a periodic basis to obtain a security status for the wireless mobile device. The security control module may output control directives to control operations for one or more components of the computing platform based on the security status. Other embodiments are described and claimed.
US08346301B2
A calling method, device and system are disclosed. The calling method includes: obtaining, by a service platform, subscription information of a roaming prepaid subscriber, modifying and sending the modified subscription information to a visited mobile switching center (VMSC) of the roaming prepaid subscriber so that a call initiated by the roaming prepaid subscriber could be triggered to the service platform by the VMSC; receiving, by the service platform, the call to a called subscriber initiated by the roaming prepaid subscriber and triggered by the VMSC; and instructing, by the service platform, the VMSC to release the call and instructing a call connection device to connect the roaming prepaid subscriber to the called subscriber after determining from the call that the roaming prepaid subscriber has activated a callback service. User operation is simplified and user's experience is improved with the method, device and system in accordance with the embodiments of the invention.
US08346299B2
Methods and apparatus for dynamic thermal management and control within, e.g., small form-factor wireless devices such as laptop computers or cellular “smartphones”. In one embodiment, a thermal management system monitors the temperature (or other relevant criteria) for one or more components, and implements different operating states within the wireless transceiver (e.g., Wi-Fi™ or WiMAX transceiver) so as to both reduce thermal output and minimize disruption to the wireless link and/or user experience. In another embodiment, a wireless client may communicate with other clients, and/or access points, so as to cooperatively provide more options for thermal management. In addition, methods and apparatus employing “high performance” (e.g., high power output or high data rate) radios within aggressively small industrial designs are also disclosed.
US08346293B2
There are provided a plurality of systems of reconfigurable radio processing unit (102) whose function and performance can be modified. A control unit (104) collects quality information on the communication link in communication methods received at respective radio processing systems (102a, 102b). According to this, the control unit (104) selects an optimal communication method and transmission mode from a plurality of communication methods and transmission modes (for example, diversity transmission between a plurality of systems, diversity transmission by a single communication method, and MIMO channel multiplex transmission). By modifying configurations of the reconfigurable radio processing unit (102) according to the selected communication method and transmission mode, it is possible to communicate at a desired transmission mode. Thus, it is possible to perform an optimal transmission to the communication link according to the quality condition and other request condition.
US08346288B2
Transient distortion is compensated for by multiplying an exponentially-decaying phase shift onto the distorted waveform. The exponentially decaying phase shift waveform is patterned after the transient which typically takes the form of an exponential and occurs upon introduction of power to a circuit or circuit component. A digital circuit produces an appropriate exponentially-decaying waveform which is used as the input for a look up table whose output is a complex sinusoidal waveform capable of compensating for the distortion. The complex sinusoid is multiplied onto the transmitted waveform. The decaying exponential is biased so that it crosses a threshold at which point the compensating circuitry is turned off.
US08346285B2
A system and method is disclosed for detecting the presence and level of wireless communications activity within a predetermined area, without disclosing the identity of the wireless users, and for generating a message to certain information and communications devices in response to the detection of a predetermined level of wireless communications activity within the predetermined area. The information detected also may Include information relating to the general direction and rate of movement of detected wireless devices. The message generated in response to the detection of wireless communications activity may include wireless messages, including Short Message Service (SMS) messages, to persons desiring or needing to receive such information; messages to public officials and other interested persons; and automatic signals to devices such as computers, computer networks (including the internet and wireless networks), facsimile machines, signs, lights, loudspeakers, and other devices providing Information through other communication and Information media.
US08346272B2
A method of accommodating aberrant behavior in wireless devices in a wireless network includes the steps of establishing communication with at least one wireless device, monitoring signals received from the at least one wireless device, determining characteristics of the at least one wireless device based on the monitored signals, comparing the determined characteristics with prescribed characteristics for wireless devices exhibiting aberrant behavior and altering settings to accommodate the at least one wireless device, when the determined characteristics match the prescribed characteristics.
US08346271B2
The present invention relates a method for implementing a business of communication service level based on a user request. A calling user initiates a call request at least including the user's requirement information for the current communication service level; a network equipment receives the call request, detects the requirement information for the current communication service level in the call request, determines whether the user-network interface on the calling side has the capability of providing the communication service level; if yes, the network equipment analyzes the requirement information for the current communication service level and the utilization status of the network resources, obtains the strategy information relevant to the communication service level of the current call; said network equipment allocates user-network resources for the calling side according to the relevant strategy information and then the calling terminal and the called terminal establish call connection; if no, it doesn't respond to the requirement information for the current communication service level. The present invention implements the different requirements for the communication service level by the call request as the same calling user under different circumstances. It's convenient and simple to operate.
US08346265B2
Secure communication network user mobility apparatus and methods are disclosed. A mobile user that is locally connected to a first communication network in which a service is provided, but is associated with an independently controlled second secure communication network, may be authenticated for access to the service by the second communication network. This allows seamless user mobility between networks in a partner extranet or other collection of trusted networks based on existing inter-network user mobility relationships. Access control, monitoring, and reporting, for example, and possibly other functions, may also be provided.
US08346263B2
A method, system and memory are provided for enabling interoperability. A communication session between different communication systems, such as radio systems, operating using different protocols is initiated by receiving a scenario identifier from one of the user devices. An interoperability server receives the scenario identifier and accesses interoperability data to obtain the connection information corresponding the scenario matching the scenario identifier. The data includes scenarios for communication sessions and the connections required for each scenario. Once the interoperability server obtains the connection information, the communication session is initiated.
US08346248B2
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 within the cabin of an airplane. 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 within an airplane and further in response to the determined condition parameter.
US08346242B2
The present invention overcomes the problem of S1 interface failure by redirecting user equipments to another radio basestation, or another RAT. This redirecting may be on a UE-by-UE basis, i.e. when a connection request is received, redirecting that UE, or may involve redirecting all UEs in a cell by broadcasting modified system information. The redirecting may be such that future traffic load, for example as caused by UEs performing tracking area updates, is minimized, by instructing UEs to redirect after a randomized period of time, or by locking the cell after a randomized period of time, for example. In yet further embodiments of the invention, the cell may be locked after a certain number of connection requests have been received. In this way, particularly busy cells can be locked sooner than would otherwise be the case.
US08346241B2
A method includes identifying, through a base station controller, a mobile device when the mobile device is within a coverage area of an antenna of a base station associated with the base station controller based on an identification data of the mobile device. The method also includes determining that the mobile device is within the coverage area based on a sequence of detection of the mobile device through the antenna and another antenna when the mobile device passes an access control point to enter the coverage area, and gaining, through the base station controller, control of an access of wireless communication associated with the mobile device based on the identification data when the mobile device is within the coverage area. The control is gained through the antenna generating a signal that is stronger than a wireless signal of a cell site associated with a wireless service to the mobile device.
US08346231B1
A method and system of establishing a conference call between end users provides initiating a request for at least one invitee to participate in the conference call. The request message is received on a first device prior to time the conference call is scheduled to begin. The message includes a hyperlink which may be activated to autonomously dial a number through the wireless device and connect with a conference call service provider. The conference call may be further accessed by satisfying one or more parameters necessary to enter the conference call. A communication link may be established between the at least one wireless device and the conference call service provider to begin the conference call via one or more autonomous conference call access operations.
US08346230B2
A system and method for delivering geographically restricted content, including but not limited to over-air broadcast programming, to a recipient over a computer network, namely the Internet. The content is only delivered over the computer network if the recipient's computer or network device requesting the content over the network is verified to be located in the geographically restricted area. A conventional tuner is employed by the recipient's computer to receive one or more over-air signals having a broadcast range deemed to be synonymous with the geographically restricted area for the requested content. If the tuner is able to receive such over-air signal(s), the requested content is delivered over the network to the recipient's computer. This is because the recipient is known to be physically located in the geographically restricted area by the ability of the tuner to receive the over-air signal(s).
US08346226B2
A method and system for creating a web listing using a mobile phone whereby a user, typically a business owner or a representative of the business, provides information/data associated with the business to a mobile application including an on-line directory service using a merchant mobile phone, or other mobile computing system, associated with the user and/or the business and/or a mobile application, and/or an SMS and/or another mobile communications network. The information associated with the business provided via the merchant mobile phone, or other mobile computing system, is then used by the on-line directory service to create an on-line presence for the business such as, but not limited to, an on-line web-listing for the business in the on-line directory that includes at least part of the information associated with the business provided via the merchant mobile phone, or other mobile computing system.
US08346218B2
A method, apparatus, and computer product for avoiding redundant data transmissions during communication via multimedia mobile phones. In operation, a sending party inquires whether intended for transmission data already resides in a mobile phone of a receiving party Depending on a content of the response from the receiving party, the sending party transmits the data or a request for displaying the already available data.
US08346217B2
Systems, apparatus, methods and articles of manufacture provide for controlling access to one or more functions of a mobile device, or other computing device, based on information about activities of a user.
US08346213B2
A method of protecting AT commands during the interaction between the AT command module of a mobile terminal and the serial communication unit of an external device, comprising the steps of: receiving AT command from the serial communication unit to the AT command module at an initial state; putting the AT command module into an ID verification mode, wherein the AT command module receives a username and password from the serial communication unit in turn, and verifies said received username and password; and putting the AT command module into an AT command processing state, when the ID verification is successful. Therefore, it's impossible for an illegal user to take the control of the mobile terminal through AT command.
US08346210B2
An approach is provided for managing one or more services corresponding to a bearer tag (e.g., near field communication (NFC) tag, radio frequency identification (RFID) tag, contactless card, or barcode). A request to manage a service is initiated by reading service information from a bearer tag corresponding to the one or more services. A services platform initiates management of the one or more services based on the service information according to a predetermined or recurring billing arrangement.
US08346206B1
A method for loading a customizable keypress tone package on a desired electronic device includes defining a customizable keypress tone package. The customizable keypress tone package can include one or more customizable keypress tones and can optionally include one or more customizable visual aids. A user requests installation of the defined customizable keypress tone package on the electronic device and the network sends the defined customizable keypress tone package to the electronic device. Once the device receives the package, the device installs the defined customizable keypress tone package on the electronic device.
US08346199B2
A mobile wireless communications device includes a housing and circuit board in the housing and having radio frequency (RF) circuitry and a power amplifier and microphone mounted thereon. An antenna is carried within the housing and operative with the RF circuitry. An RF shield surrounds and isolates the microphone from the RF circuitry, power amplifier and antenna and shields the microphone from radiated energy generated from the RF circuitry, antenna or power amplifier.
US08346189B2
Implementations and examples of power amplifier devices, systems and techniques for amplifying RF signals, including power amplifier systems based on Composite Right and Left Handed (CRLH) metamaterial (MTM) structures.
US08346186B1
A multiprocessor system used in a car, home, or office environment includes multiple processors that run different real-time applications. A dynamic configuration system runs on the multiple processors and includes a device manager, configuration manager, and data manager. The device manager automatically detects and adds new devices to the multiprocessor system, and the configuration manager automatically reconfigures which processors run the real-time applications. The data manager identifies the type of data generated by the new devices and identifies which devices in the multiprocessor system are able to process the data.A communication system for a mobile vehicle, home, or office environment includes multiple processors. The multiple processors each run an Open Communication system that controls how data is transferred between processors based on data content as opposed to the links that connect the processors together. The open communication system enables data or messages to be effectively transferred and processed for real-time applications or other server based applications that may be running on the multiple processors in a secure environment regardless of processors, locations, or data links.
US08346182B2
A radio communications system having a processing circuit, comprising a freely programmable logic control and processing receiving signals and transmission signals. The programming of the freely programmable logic control is modified in order to adjust the same to the sending operation and the receiving operation. Said modification carried out by charging and discharging the functional blocks in the freely programmable logic control via a bus system. The adjustment occurs without any interruption of the function of the radio communications system.
US08346176B2
A method and system for determining whether a given electromagnetic frequency is in use. An incoming signal is sampled and a test statistic is calculated based on the magnitude of the received samples and a predetermined constant. A determination is then made regarding whether the frequency is in use, based on whether the test statistic has exceeded a threshold.
US08346172B2
Systems and methods which place a spurious signal within a capture bandwidth of a tuner. Placement of the spur is preferably controlled to dispose the spur within a spur placement window, such as may be defined between traffic channels of an input signal. A tuner system operating in accordance with embodiments may be controlled to select a particular input frequency band comprising a plurality of traffic channels for frequency conversion and to determine local oscillator frequencies which result in most relevant spurs being placed outside of the tuner capture bandwidth. The local oscillator frequencies may be shifted to place a relevant spur remaining within the capture bandwidth of the tuner between traffic channels of the plurality of traffic channels. Embodiments operate to determine frequency offset between a transmitter and a tuner to determine the midpoint between channels.
US08346168B2
A method of communicating with short range wireless devices using a mobile terminal includes selectably communicating with a plurality of portable wireless devices to support at least one operating mode. The mobile terminal includes a short range communication module configured to be connected to and communicate with a plurality of paired short range portable wireless devices, an input unit for recognizing an external input received to configure the mobile terminal to support at least one operating mode with at least one portable wireless device, and a controller configured to support the at least one operating mode with the at least one portable wireless device, the controller controlling the short range communication module such that the short range communication module selectively communicates with the plurality of portable wireless devices to support a first operating mode.
US08346165B2
An underwater communications system is provided that transmits electromagnetic and/or magnetic signals to a remote receiver. The transmitter includes a data input. A digital data compressor compresses data to be transmitted. A modulator modulates compressed data onto a carrier signal. An electrically insulated, magnetic coupled antenna transmits the compressed, modulated signals. The receiver that has an electrically insulated, magnetic coupled antenna for receiving a compressed, modulated signal. A demodulator is provided for demodulating the signal to reveal compressed data. A de-compressor de-compresses the data. An appropriate human interface is provided to present transmitted data into text/audio/visible form. Similarly, the transmit system comprises appropriate audio/visual/text entry mechanisms.
US08346164B2
An underwater communications system is provided that transmits electromagnetic and/or magnetic signals to a remote receiver. The transmitter includes a data input. A digital data compressor compresses data to be transmitted. A modulator modulates compressed data onto a carrier signal. An electrically insulated, magnetic coupled antenna transmits the compressed, modulated signals. The receiver that has an electrically insulated, magnetic coupled antenna for receiving a compressed, modulated signal. A demodulator is provided for demodulating the signal to reveal compressed data. A de-compressor de-compresses the data. An appropriate human interface is provided to present transmitted data into text/audio/visible form. Similarly, the transmit system comprises appropriate audio/visual/text entry mechanisms.
US08346161B2
When a transmission request for new data is issued under a situation where a plurality of data are transmitted to a specific service area from a plurality of service areas, a feeder link station searches an available frequency to be allocated to the new data in a down-link frequency band of the specific service area, and when any of data communications is completed, allocates a down-link frequency band used in the data communication as a down-link frequency band for the new data. A satellite repeater arranges the new data on the down-link frequency band right after the data communication is completed following a relay control by the feeder link station.
US08346159B2
Configuring a cellular telecommunications network base station repeater for use at a particular location includes performing data collection activity at the location to obtain an indication of the transmit frequency of a nearby base station of the cellular telecommunications network. The repeater is then set to amplify received signals at that frequency. By only amplifying this particular frequency, the repeater can provide cellular telecommunications coverage at a location (for example a basement) where coverage might not otherwise be available by amplifying only the relevant frequency. This is in contrast to amplifying indiscriminately a wide range of frequencies, which can interfere with other radio transmissions.
US08346158B2
A repeater system combines co-located antennas, an intentional imbalance in signal amplification between downlink and uplink, stability management and an amplification indicator to create a user-installed solution to co-channel interference within cellular systems, in strong signal environments such as elevated locations or high-rise building. The invention may be particularly relevant to cellular systems, such as CDMA, that allow limited imbalance between uplink and downlink path losses, thus enabling the design of an inexpensive repeater with a weaker or non-existent uplink, and which creates moderate signal amplification for selected line-of-sight signals, defeating co-channel interference over a small area. The difference in signal amplification on the downlink and uplink is maintained at a level below the capacity of the system to support imbalance, guaranteeing reliable cellular calls.
US08346151B2
An image forming apparatus includes: a plurality of image forming sections respectively including developing portions and first removing portions as defined herein; a plurality discharging pipes as defined herein; and a delivery pipe as defined herein, the delivery pipe includes a changing portion in which a direction of delivering the coloring materials is changed to an upper side, and, among the discharging pipes, a discharging pipe that is downward extended from one of the first removing portions that is placed on a most downstream side in the oblique direction is disposed downstream from the changing portion of the delivery pipe in the delivering direction, and has a length shorter than lengths of the other discharging pipes.
US08346136B2
There is provided a developer carrying device, including a first carrying body having a first electrode group configured to form a traveling electric field while being applied a voltage sequentially and to circulate charged developer through a facing portion with respect to a developer supply target; and a second carrying body having a second electrode group configured to form a traveling electric field while being applied a voltage sequentially and to circulate the developer through a facing part with respect to the first electrode group so that the developer being carried is supplied to the first carrying body.
US08346135B2
A powder conveyance device includes a powder conveyance pipe having a first conveyance section communicating with the powder container section and having a supply inlet to receive powder from a powder container. A second conveyance section is provided in the powder conveyance pipe to communicate downstream with the first conveyance section via a first bending section. The second conveyance section downwardly extends to the conveyance destination being inclined from a horizontal at a larger angle than the first conveyance section. A third conveyance section is also provided in the powder conveyance pipe to communicate downstream with the second conveyance section via a second bending section. The third conveyance section extends toward the conveyance destination being inclined from the horizontal at a smaller angle than the second conveyance section. The third conveyance section has a replenishment outlet for replenishing the powder from the powder conveyance pipe to the powder conveyance destination.
US08346132B2
An image forming unit has a rotatable electrostatic latent image carrier, a charge member positioned to contact the electrostatic latent image carrier and charge a surface of the electrostatic latent image carrier, and a developing part, which supplies a developer to the electrostatic latent image carrier for obtaining a developer image. The charge member includes a conductive elastic layer and a surface layer formed on a circumferential surface of the conductive elastic layer. The surface layer contains particles having an average particle size of 5 μm-20 μm; and a ratio of a surface area per unit area of the surface layer is in a range from 1.5 to 3.0.
US08346124B2
An image forming device includes a casing having a guide and a drawer configured to be movable between an inner position in which the drawer is located at an inner side of the casing and an outer position in which the drawer is located at an outer side of the casing. The drawer may include a plurality of photosensitive drums and a support disposed closer to a rear edge of the drawer than a front edge of the drawer. The guide may include a main guiding surface and one or more inclined surfaces. An engagement of the support with the one or more inclined surfaces of the guide regulates movement of the drawer upward or downward during movement of the drawer between the inner position and the outer position.
US08346115B2
A power supply circuit identification device for identifying a type of a power supply circuit, the power supply circuit having an input terminal to which a control signal for controlling electrical power supplied to an electrical load is input and an output terminal from which a detection signal that indicates whether the electrical power corresponding to the control signal is supplied to the electrical load is output, at least one of the input terminal and output terminal being plurally provided and having a type-dependent correlation between the input and output terminals. The identification device includes: a control section configured to input the control signal to the power supply circuit via the input terminal; a reading section configured to read the detection signal from the output terminal; and an identification section configured to identify a type of the power supply circuit based on a reading result from the reading section.
US08346111B2
A main controlling part is configured to choose and execute either a constant belt speed control which controls a driving motor (a driving source for an intermediate transfer belt) to move the intermediate transfer belt at a predetermined target belt speed or a constant motor speed control which rotates the driving motor at a predetermined target rotational speed according to a print command, and then, prior to a first-time print job, after executing a writing position correcting process while moving the intermediate transfer belt under the constant belt speed control, forms a color shift detecting image by switching from the constant belt speed control to the constant motor speed control, measures a difference between amounts of color shift, and executes a speed correcting process for correcting the target rotational speed of the driving motor in the constant motor speed control based on the measurement result.
US08346105B2
An information storage device installed in a removable device configured to be removably installed in an image forming apparatus body, includes: an information storage unit that stores information communicated between the image forming apparatus body and the removable device; a terminal that comes in contact with a body side terminal; and a substrate that holds the information storage unit and the terminal and includes a hole configured to be engaged with a protruding section installed in the image forming apparatus body. The terminal includes a plurality of terminals each including one of a plurality of metallic plates arranged in a transverse direction thereof. An earth terminal, which comes in contact with a body side earth terminal formed in the protruding section, is formed in the hole. The hole is disposed at a position sandwiched between two metallic plates among the plurality of metallic plates.
US08346100B2
A method and apparatus for use in an optical receiver are provided for monitoring the received optical power in the optical receiver over wide range of optical power levels with high accuracy. An adjustable resistor circuit of the apparatus has a first resistor and one or more second resistors that may be switched into and out of parallel with the first resistor to vary the resistance of the adjustable resistor circuit. A controller of the optical receiver controls the switching of the one or more second resistors into and out of parallel with the first resistor. Varying the resistance of the adjustable resistor circuit in this manner causes the value of the analog voltage signal representing the received optical power to be varied prior to being input to the ADC of the controller. In this way, the amplitude of the analog voltage signal is reduced when it is at the high end of the received power range so as not to exceed the input range of the ADC of the controller IC. When the amplitude of the analog voltage signal is at the lower end of the input range of the ADC, the amplitude of the analog voltage signal is not reduced. In this way, a wide range of received power is monitored with high accuracy.
US08346076B2
An inspection device for visually inspecting an image sensor of a digital recording device, such as a digital camera. The inspection device includes a tubular housing and a lens mounted therein. The housing is configured to engage a lens interface of a camera body. A lighting assembly is provided that is configured to illuminate the image sensor when the inspection device is coupled to a digital camera body so that the image sensor may be visually inspected for contamination.
US08346067B2
A media system and method for distributed trick play resolution using user preferences. The method of distributed trick play resolution in a distributed media group network, includes: determining trick play preferences at each of a plurality of peer nodes in the distributed media group network with respect to a media item; and resolving conflicting trick play preferences between the peer nodes based on the determined trick play preferences. Other embodiments are disclosed.
US08346065B2
An apparatus for and method of storing video data comprising receiving an MPEG video stream comprising I-frames and P-frames, separating the I-frames from the P-frames, storing the I-frames and the P-frames separately, and providing information so that the I-frames and the P-frames can be combined to produce a full-motion video.
US08346061B2
The digital signal recording/reproducing apparatus inputs a digital signal having a control flag as to a temporary copy permission, and records the digital signal temporarily into a recording medium in accordance with conditions in the control flag, then reproducing the digital signal temporarily from the recording medium in accordance with the conditions in the control flag. The recording/reproducing of the temporary copy is permitted, depending on the following conditions: The recording medium's type, the reproducing point-in-time, the reproducing time-period, and the reproducing frequency. With this method employed, even in a program permitting no recording, the temporary recording/reproducing is permitted under a condition of being limited to the time-shift recording on the receiving side.
US08346059B2
A data reproducing apparatus, which is capable of reproducing stream data according to time stamps without need to have an independent time counting clock. At step S141, it is determined whether a received access unit has a time stamp. When the access unit has a time stamp, the flow advances to step S142. At step S142, a value of the time stamp is set. When the access unit does not have a time stamp. The flow advances to step S144. At step S144, a value corresponding to the previous pic_struct is added to the current time. Thereafter, the flow advances to step S143. At step S143, the current pic_struct is stored for the next process. The present invention is capable of being applied to for example a game device using a DVD.
US08346049B2
Disclosed is a captioned video playback apparatus comprising a storage unit that stores a caption signal defining a plurality of caption lines and a video signal defining a plurality of video images in association with a playback timing; a caption select unit that selects one of the plurality of caption lines defined by the caption signal stored in the storage unit; a caption playback unit that plays back the caption line selected by the caption select unit; a video playback unit that plays back the video signal stored in the storage unit; and a mode changeover unit that changes between a caption view mode for playing back a caption line selected by the caption select unit and a video image corresponding to the caption line using the caption playback unit and the video playback unit, and a normal view mode for playing back a video image using the video playback unit.
US08346047B2
A fiber management component includes a housing having an interior, a floor in the interior and a first wall having an aperture communicating with the interior. A platform is connected to the housing, which platform has a first portion with a bore that has a first end facing the aperture and a second portion forming a channel extending toward the bore. The channel is configured to releasably secure a spring push of a fiber optic connector to the platform and the bore is configured to slidably support a ferrule of a fiber optic connector.
US08346041B2
The present invention relates to an optical communications system that allows improving OSNR while suppressing the power increase of pumping light for distributed Raman amplification. In the optical communications system, an optical fiber is laid in a transmission section between a transmitter station (or repeater station) and a receiver station (or repeater station), and optical signals are transmitted from the transmitter station to the receiver station via the optical fiber. In the optical communications system, pumping light for Raman amplification, outputted by a pumping light source provided in the receiver station, is fed into the optical fiber via an optical coupler, and the optical signals are distributed-Raman-amplified in the optical fiber. The transmission loss and the effective area of the optical fiber satisfy, at the wavelength of 1550 nm, a predetermined relationship.
US08346032B2
An optical fiber sensor has a measurement path and a reference path. Both paths each consist of two optical fibers and are fed with modulated light. The fibers of the reference path have a predefined difference in length, whereas the fibers of the measurement path are the same length. All fibers are at approximately the same temperature. An evaluation circuit determines the phase differences in each case between the fibers of the measurement path and of the reference path. A measurement value calculated from the phase differences is then output.
US08346031B2
A micro-resonator sensor uses an evanescent wave of a total reflection mirror. The sensor includes an input waveguide for guiding inspection light incidented on one end section to the other section. A total reflection mirror is disposed at the other section of the input waveguide such that an incident angle made with the input waveguide is larger than a total reflection threshold angle at which the inspection light is totally reflected, and includes a receptor provided on the other side from the side on which the inspection light is incidented and combined with a measurement-subject material. An output waveguide is disposed at a certain output angle relative to the total reflection mirror for outputting a reflection light whose intensity changes according to the measurement-subject material due to an interaction between the evanescent wave generated by the inspection light incidented to the total reflection mirror and the measurement-subject material.
US08346028B2
The optical device includes a waveguide on a base. The device also includes a modulator on the base. The modulator includes an electro-absorption medium configured to receive a light signal from the waveguide. The modulator also includes field sources for generating an electrical field in the electro-absorption medium. The electro-absorption medium is a medium in which the Franz-Keldysh effect occurs in response to the formation of the electrical field in the electro-absorption medium. The field sources are configured so the electrical field is substantially parallel to the base.
US08346027B2
Provided is an electro-optic device. The electro-optic device includes an input Y-branch comprising a first input branch and a second input branch, an output Y-branch comprising a first output branch and a second output branch, a first optical modulator and a second optical modulator connected in series between the first input branch and the first output branch, and a third optical modulator connecting the second input branch to the second output branch. The first optical modulator comprises a PIN diode, and each of the second optical modulator and the third optical modulator comprises a PN diode.
US08346026B2
Provided are a photoelectric device using a PN diode and a silicon integrated circuit (IC) including the photoelectric device. The photoelectric device includes: a substrate; and an optical waveguide formed as a PN diode on the substrate, wherein a junction interface of the PN diode is formed in a direction in which light advances; and an electrode applying a reverse voltage to the PN diode, wherein N-type and P-type semiconductors of the PN diode are doped at high concentrations and the doping concentration of the N-type semiconductor is higher than or equal to that of the P-type semiconductor.
US08346021B2
Embodiments of the present invention are directed to an image processing system. The image processing system may comprise a content detection module having an input to receive a sequence of input pixels and configured to generate an adjustable parameter based on detected differences between adjacent pairs of input pixels, and a digital filter having an input for the sequence of input pixels and a control input coupled to an output of the content detection module. The digital filter may adjust filtering coefficients according to the parameter.
US08346002B2
An apparatus and method provide for providing an output image from an input image. The input image may contain at least one portion that does not display certain desired information of the image, such as texture information. The desired information may be obtained from a second portion of the input image and applied to the at least one portion that does not contain the texture information or contains a diminished amount of the texture information. Also, at least one characteristic of the second portion of the input image may not be applied to the at least one portion such as illumination information. In another example, the input image may be decomposed into multiple parts such as a high frequency and a low frequency component. Each component may be hallucinated individually or independently and combined to form the output image.
US08345999B2
Disclosed is a system and method for monochrome or binary compression, and more particularly compression of binary images segmented in a binary domain into at least two regions of different image types, where the regions are compressed using different compression techniques.
US08345996B2
Several methods and a system to perform determination of a field referencing pattern are disclosed. In one aspect, a method is disclosed. A motion vector of a previously coded frame is analyzed using a processor and a memory. A statistic is updated based on whether the motion vector includes one or more of a fractional pel vertical component, a half pel vertical component, and an integer pel vertical component. A field referencing pattern of a target field is determined based on the statistic and an exception protocol.
US08345977B2
A method for processing a document image includes: performing horizontal and vertical text line extraction on the document image; providing an overlapping matrix, a value of an element of the overlapping matrix indicating an overlapping relation between horizontal and vertical text lines; merging the overlapping matrix in the vertical and horizontal direction; determining one or more text overlapping regions in the document image, based on the values of the elements of the merged overlapping matrix; counting the total number of strokes or pixel points in the horizontal and vertical text lines, respectively, within one of the one or more text overlapping regions; and determining an orientation of the text overlapping region is horizontal if the total number of strokes or pixel points in the horizontal text lines is larger than that in the vertical text lines, otherwise, determining the orientation is vertical.
